"1) And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2) And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." (Rev. 12: 1,2; KJV)
Mary the mother of Jesus is spoken of as a woman with a crown and as Jesus is the King of Kings (Rev. 19:16), then we know that she is the Queen Mother. In Biblical times she would sit on HIS right side (I Kings 2). Biblical Kings could have many wives but only one mother and she would be in the place of honor next to him when she came to court.
In the tradition of the early church Mary the mother of Jesus was held in great regard. She is a perpetual virgin and not until after the protestant reformation was this concept thrown to the wayside. Through the ages Mary has visited people telling them to come back to her SON and pray.
Our Lady of the Rosary Las Lajas Las Lajas, Columbia
In 1754 she appeared to a mother and child. The child did not speak and after seeing the Holy Mother the child could speak. The woman was afraid to tell anyone of her personal miracle. When her child died she carried the child out of town to the rock where she had seen the Holy Mother. She prayed for the soul of her child and the child was brought back to life. Then a picture appeared on the rocks. Someone might believe that the child was not truly dead, but this picture can not be disputed. It is not painted, but is the pigment of the rock. Like our painted rocks of the South West, it is the minerals in the rocks that make the pigment of the picture. A glorious mosaic created by GOD.
Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to an Aztec man named Juan Diego in 1531. There is a great Amazon movie that explains the story of Juan Diego along side a modern reporter searching for the truth. There is a depiction in the movie of the moment that Juan Diego comes to the Bishop at the mission with his cloak filled with unseasonable roses and his cloak is imprinted with the picture above. Again scientists could not dispel that this was painted by the hand of God. It is believed that her message to Juan Diego called the people to pray and New Spain (Mexico) was saved from war. There are 8 Marian apparitions that have been approved by the Roman Catholic church and an additional 11 have been proved to have supernatural character.
The Virgin presented the rosary to St. Domoic , according to tradition, in 1208. The printing press was not created until 1436. The monks would pray the memorized Psalms by counting rocks from one bucket to another. Using the rosary made it easy to pray in a more portable way and easier to keep track.
A friend gave me this beautiful Rosary a few weeks ago. I have prayed with it daily since. As you know by now I do not do anything without a lot of prayer, research, and meditation. My upbringing in the the Protestant tradition told me this was wrong, having statues and pictures of Jesus and Mary was wrong, and having a cross with Jesus on it was wrong. You can now say, that I stand, kneel, and sit corrected.
* Praying a rosary is not "vein repetition". The angel in Revelations are singing "Holy, Holy, Holy..." (Rev. 4, KJV)
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Asking the Mother of God to pray for us is valid.
* I have pictures of my grandchildren and children on my walls. These pictures are of my earthly family just as Jesus and Mary are my Holy family.
* We do not worship the statues and artwork (icon or paintings). They are something that aids us in our worship to help us keep focused on WHO we worship.
* Yes Jesus is in Heaven interceding for us. However, I want to remember that HE suffered when HE was on earth. There is no suffering know to man that HE did not experience. No matter how ill treated I may feel in a day I can look at the crucifixion and see HIM carrying the weight of the sins of the world, separation from The Father, and any pain this world may throw at me.
You may decide to delete my Facebook account as your friend. You may cross the street and not want to talk to me again. However, I would hope if my new truth bothers you we can sit down with a gluten free muffin and coffee or tea and talk about what bothers you.
Pray for me a sinner.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. (Matt. 6, KJV)
Google what I have written. Research the Marian Apparitions, History of the Rosary, and Why people leave gifts at the statues in churches around the world.
Even better come see us on Sunday at Saint Luke's Anglican in Redding. I would love to sit with you and show you how we worship in the most traditional way in English.
My One Word for this year is JOY. A decade ago I used Ann Voskamp's journal to count 3 gifts a day for 365 days. That practice began a change in my lift to look for small gifts of joy in the day. We encourage the staff and students to pick One Word each year using the kid version of Jon Gordon's book. Last year my word was Kindness and I made a vision board with my word. In the next week I will have my 3rd graders make a vision board with their One Word. The 3rd graders humbled me last year with their sincerity when choosing their one word. The passion in an 8 or 9 year old's eyes when they spoke about why they chose that word was inspiring. I took time during my winter break to read my first Donna Fletcher Crow book. I love church history and after rereading How the Irish Saved Civilization I visited a friend who introduced me to Ms. Crow. A Very Private Grave was a fast read for me as I traveled through Ireland and followed the roads that Cuthbert had walked. My frien
Rejoice in the Middle of Lent In 2022 I wrote a blog on Rose or Gaudete Sunday of Advent. Every Sunday we rejoice in the shared meal of the Eucharist. Today the Gospel Reading is the feeding of the multitude found in John chapter 6. Our Bishop today reminded us that we can rejoice as we are the "multitude" being feed. The Old Testament reading today, from Exodus 16, was the feeding of the Israelites with Manna . Manna was the miraculous food that God rained from Heaven causing the Israelites to say, "What is it?" in their Hebrew/Egyptian language. Language fascinates me and I am always looking for the origin of words. We know that when people groups mix they collect pieces of each others language. The people with Moses who stepped outside their tents and saw this new food source said, "What is it?" and the name stuck. Thousands of years later we still don't know what it was but it nourished the Children of God in the dessert. As we take the
I haven't written much in 2023. I read a lot, worked a lot and dealt with skin issues. It was a year of listening to my own voice. Molly and I took it slow and easy. December 2022 My St. Luke's family January 2023 February 2023 I got to baby sit this little guy some. February 24, 2023 Snow Day! March 2023 Celebrated, "Gotcha!" 3 Years April 2023 I met my Zoom sisters and got to spend time with my distant church family at Synod in Walnut Creek. May 2023 I discovered Bank Holidays in France are very different than USA. June 2023 Since I couldn't go to France I outfitted Pooh to go. July 2023 I shampooed a school of carpets. August 2023 Celebrated my birthday working with these guys. Then got treated to lunch mid-August for a job well done. September 2023 Rains began. October 2023 Walked almost 5 miles everyday. November 2023 I spent Thanksgiving at the Abbey New Clairvaux December 2023 I enjoyed a lot of special time at church. January 2024 I acquired a skin
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