Let it Rain!

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ 

{Job 37:5-6}

Miracles with dolls and hot water bottles

This is a story written by a doctor who worked in Africa. It was sent to me by a friend.

 One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labour ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).

 We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.

 Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates)...

 'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles.

 They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.

 'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.'

 The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

 During prayer time, one ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'

 While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?'

 As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say 'Amen?' I just did not believe that God could do this.

 Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home.

 Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the verandah was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children…

Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored…

Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.

 Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the..... could it really be?

 I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new rubber hot water bottle. I cried.

 I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.

 Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!'

 Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!

 Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?'

 'Of course,' I replied!

 That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator.

 And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it 'that afternoon.'

 

'Before they call, I will answer.'  (Isaiah 65:24)

 Thank you for reading this. If you would like to copy this and email it to a friend, or print it off for whatever reason, please feel free to do so.

 Also a COMMENT would be very much appreciated!!!!!!!

 Sararose xox

Interesting!

   The best known example involved Pope Celestine V in 1294. After only five months as the Bishop of Rome, he issued a solemn decree declaring it possible that a pope can resign and then promptly did so. He then lived the rest of his days as a hermit and was later canonised.

 

More on the Pope later . . .

 

Father Ignatius makes a discovery

There are times when a light turns on in your head and you see something clearly for the first time and understand something new you’d never realized before.

Father Ignatius was a studious type of person spending many hours reading the Bible as well as many books on theology, ancient history and similar subjects which would soon send any lesser head spinning widely.

One evening he retired to the room he called “my meditation corner” and after reciting the Rosary he started reading the Bible and cross-referencing certain passages with other books to better understand what God is teaching through His Word.

One passage in particular caught his interest. After Christ’s death and burial, we are told that Mary Magdalene visited the tomb and found the stone rolled away from the entrance. She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple and told them what she had seen. Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb. When Simon Peter got in and went inside he noticed the linen wrappings lying there, but the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded and lying to the side.

There it was, in the Gospel of John Chapter 20 Verse 7.

Father Ignatius puzzled about this for a moment or two. He’d read that chapter many times and nothing specific occurred to him. But this time, as if a small voice buzzing in his head, he kept wondering the significance of what he had read.

“Why are we told that the cloth which covered Jesus’ head was folded and lying to the side? What’s so important about that?” Father Ignatius asked himself.

Yet somehow, John thought it important enough to mention it. Why?

Father Ignatius checked the other three Gospels but they did not mention this fact. “But why did John consider it so significant to point it out” he wondered silently.

After hours of searching other books and checking on ancient traditions he came upon something he’d never known before.

In ancient Hebrew tradition the folded napkin was symbolic between the master of the house and his servant.

When the servant set the dinner table he made sure that everything was perfectly set out as the master wished and then he would wait out of sight until the master finished eating.

The servant would not clear the table until the master had finished.

When the master finished his meal he would wipe his fingers and mouth with the napkin and then toss the napkin on the table.

The servant would then clear the table, because in those days a tossed napkin meant “I’ve finished.”

However … and this is the significant bit which Father Ignatius discovered for himself, if the master left the table but neatly folded the napkin and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not touch the table.

Because the folded napkin meant “I’m coming back!”

“He’s coming back …” mumbled Father Ignatius in wonderment.

That’s what John was trying to tell us in his Gospel.



This post was courtesy of TIME FOR REFLECTIONS. All work belongs to Victor S E Moubarak

Bl. Kateri Tekkawitha

The daughter of a Mohawk chieftain, Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656. Both her parents died when she was 6, from smallpox. She was adopted by her aunt and uncle, who became the next chief. Her Aunt Teedah tried to marry her off to many men, but Kateri refused.

She ran away to the Black Robes (priests) and was baptised and received the Blessed Sacrament around the age of 17. She died at the age of 24, on the 17 of April, 1680. Her last words were, “Jesus Christ”.

Kateri was beatified in 1980, and became Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks.  She is the first Native American to become a Blessed. Her feast day is July 14. She is the patroness of the environment and ecology.

 

Update

Today, Sunday, 21st of October, 2012, this strong woman will be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI. After today, she will be known as St. Catherine Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church..

 

Women of God

This conjures up Strong courageous women, who are willing to Fight for God. It reminds me of the Saints, particularly St Joan of Arc and St Claire of Assisi and Our Lady of course.
So Welcome to this new blog.

As I was googling an image or two to go with this post, I stumbled across an image of Our Lady. Yes she was certainly a strong but gentle women. Another image that came up was Mothere Teresa.

I hope you will enjoy our new blog and journey with us.