The Path to Heaven

by sevensistersapostolate | Jun 4, 2017

The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. –  Psalm 19:8b

“Love God, serve God.  Everything is in that.” – St Clare of Assisi

Greetings dearest Sisters…

We are together living in that sweet center of two momentous months for the Seven Sisters Apostolate. Our quiet-and-seeking time of discernment in the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary now encounters the reality of the call-to-action time of commitment in the month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Likely, the commands of the Lord have afforded you the necessary radiance of  light to see your next step in your place of loving and serving Him.

Please inform your Anchoress TODAY (if you haven’t already) whether you will continue with your Seven Sisters group or depart from its schedule and commitment.  By informing your Anchoress in a timely fashion, hope remains to adjust/adapt any prayer coverage transitions needed to keep them seamless for our priests. To both those continuing or departing – eternal gratitude.  Every sacrifice of prayer bears eternal worth. New beginnings and renewals hold great things – radiant with His light!

Recently while on a hike with friends, one of my comrades took hold of my hand as I gingerly searched for a next step attempting to maneuver across the challenge ofa rapid-running stream.  Successfully making it to dry land, I expressed gratitude for her quick assistance.  Later I was happily able to reciprocate when the sureness of the law of gravity expressed itself as my friend slid across a slippery log.  In both cases a keen hand of support and ready encouragement brought the other to a new and safer place in one unbroken piece!  Deeper than that, we each had the unrehearsed opportunity – and joy – of upholding another.

That trek in the woods perhaps hearkens to our endeavors as Seven Sisters.  How we rightly excite in the call to help another, to consider another greater than ourselves.  In this case, a priest.  What a privilege and joy to pray for him! This doctor of souls, whose life is full with prayer, sacrifice, requests, generosity, unpredictability and mystery all at once, is the gladsome recipient of our weekly sacrifices of prayer.

The path to heaven is a universal call.  Like my trek in the woods, it is realized by one step at a time: sometimes on predictable ground, other times amidst paths of unanticipated uncertainty. Our Holy Hour pledge of prayer for a priest/bishop is perhaps a bit like the readiness of a steadying hand offered to another.  Let me help you with the next step heavenward.

Scripture supports this action, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning. … Aaron and Hur held his hands up- one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset” (Exodus 17: 11,12).  Our concerted prayers – one on one side, one on the other – assuredly offer steady support to the priest/bishop to whom we are committed to pray.   We delight in the seeming littleness of our efforts, yet paradoxically sense a deep value perhaps even beyond measure! In the rays of the Blessed Sacrament our prayer efforts gain greater significance and sureness.   For in You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Psalm 36:9

Many priests nationwide are learning of new assignments/retirement in these days.  It is a new season for these shepherds and a new season for those Seven Sisters in prayer for them. Prayer efforts may need to be ramped up a bit for those in the unsteadiness of the transitions.  So many details, one step at a time.  Let us generously offer our folded hands in support.

Let us not lose the opportunity to honestly examine and pointedly be aware of and begin the process of our own detaching, letting go of a hand and heart we have held for a season.  In embracing this course,  the recipient of our prayers may be at greater liberty for his next steps ahead.  We too are freed to take on the task of prayer efforts for another that God has chosen.

This is my ‘go to’ prayer in life’s transitions.  May this prayer of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) be yours (and for a transitioning priest), as well:

“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You.  Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me.  I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me, and I shall meet it with peace. Amen.”

United in prayer and mission –
that our prayers may find the heart of every bishop and priest
… eternal gratitude as you each remember to offer a wee Hail Mary for me every day….  Pray that I will not ‘spoil the beautiful work that God has entrusted…’  (St Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Janette
+JMJ+

Renew/begin your Seven Sisters year of prayer in JUNE using the Commitment Prayer composed by our Apostolate Chaplain, Fr Joseph Johnson. Father Johnson asks that, if possible, renew together as a group and on/close to the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (this year:  June 23, Friday).

SEVEN SISTERS – in and out and about:  

Mary S (our Web master/designer extraordinaire and Anchoress), has added quite a number of items to the Web site:  a printable download of the Guidelines booklet, prayers to enhance our Holy Hours, links, and all the while updating the Google map and living a very full personal life alongside these extravagant offerings for the Apostolate.  Eternal gratitude, Mary…

Marg W (our spreadsheet maestro and Anchoress) will again be contacting you to update the Spreadsheet. The task is increasing! Eternal gratitude, Marg…

Here is the email to look for: [email protected]. Again, she will reach out to you.

STEADY GROWTH: Groups are continuing to form, especially in the Lincoln diocese of Nebraska and Superior diocese in Wisconsin. Both areas commit to “a group for every priest”.  The Archdiocese of St Paul/Mpls continues with new groups and a team is forming to commit to secure 100% coverage! We also welcomed groups in two new states: Mississippi and Georgia

COMING SOON: Plans are going forward for the Seven Sisters 4th Annual St Paul/Mpls Day of Recollection/Retreat.  It will be hosted by All Saints parish Seven Sisters groups (2) in Lakeville on the First Saturday of November, Nov 4.  One of the ORIGINAL  (dubbed the “Magnificent Seven”) groups was started in this parish – and still going strong! Check the Web for details regarding the event, as they unfold.

COMING SOON:  Book study of Sheen’s The Priest is not His Own.  Hoping to set this up through Web Site.  This book is FULL of GEMS!!  We are still working on figuring out how to do this… please pray!  It will happen!

A Seven Sisters logo is currently being designed and will make its debut later this month!

May: A Month of Discernment

by sevensistersapostolate | Apr 30, 2017

Greetings dearest Sisters…

“Walk with your feet on the earth, but in your heart, be in heaven.” – St John Bosco

May is traditionally a challenging month to our calendars – BUT for the Catholic, at the heart- it is the happily anticipated and beloved month of Mary and holds our continued celebration of Eastertide, St Joseph the Worker Feast Day, Mother’s Day, Ascension Sunday, Memorial Day and grand celebrations (and anniversaries) of many of the sacraments – Baptism, First Reconciliation and Holy Communion, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony and in many dioceses, Ordinations to the Diaconate and holy Priesthood.  And this May we will also uniquely celebrate Our Lady of Fatima Centenary.  All this resounding JOY will likely revitalize and strengthen us!

God continually meets His hungry and thirsty children with graces a-plenty!  He has supplied all that we need to come to the finish of each day and even the entire month of May – richer and closer to Him!  – and I will cheerily add that He will most certainly have an answer to your prayers of discernment regarding the Seven Sisters Apostolate too!!  Yes, it is a special month for the Apostolate – a month of prayer regarding YOU – and God’s plans for YOU!

My prayers steadfastly and heartily join yours as you commit in this month of May to discern (see Guidelines) your continued commitment or departure from the weekly Hour Hours as part of a Seven Sisters Apostolate group.  To aid your prayer efforts, I will offer a Holy Hour for you and your discernment on May 5, the First Friday in May.

As soon as you have a clear sense (you need not wait until the end of the month), let the Anchoress of your group know the direction of your call for the coming year.  Ideally, before June commences, committed intercessors will be identified and able to seamlessly continue in prayerful support of the priest or bishop.

WORTH NOTING: The Apostolate serves all priests/bishops, so be open to the call that might be to remain in the Apostolate, but perhaps serve in a different (or new!) group (ie Hospital Chaplain, retired priest/bishop, associate priest in a parish where pastor already has a group, priests serving in Seminaries, priests that are chaplains/professors in High schools/Universities, Canon lawyers, priests who serve the Chancery, priests in religious orders, etc).  Every priestly heart needs and deserves our prayers!! Be assured, if you ask, you will know where/how you are called. And likewise, be assured, that God’s graces are sufficient to the task!

Let me encourage you to continue with holy fidelity and focus to your Seven Sister’s commitments through May.  It may take extra planning and efforts in this month of ‘so much’. Let us be sensitive and remember that many of our parish priests and bishops are on ‘double duty’ in this merry, merry month as we celebrate so many of these events in our sacramental life and special Feast Days, as well.  Likewise, many priests will be learning of new assignments and needing our extra sacrifices and prayers as they anticipate transition.

This is a fitting segue to remind that your groups are designed to cover in prayer a priest in a particular position (ie pastor, rector, associate, etc) rather than a particular priest (with the exception of a retired priest who is nolonger receiving new assignments).  If the priest for whom you are praying is being reassigned, please continue prayers for him until he leaves and his replacement arrives.  Then seamlessly begin prayers for this incoming priest.  The outgoing priest will hopefully enter into an assignment that has an existing Seven Sisters group – or maybe you can encourage the genesis of one in his new environs!  Every breath of prayer, every sacrifice of prayer has merit…

United in prayer and mission –
that our prayers may find the heart of every bishop and priest
… eternal gratitude as you each remember to offer a wee Hail Mary for me every day…. (they likely have double benefits in May!) Pray that I will not ‘spoil the beautiful work that God has entrusted…’  (St Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Janette
+JMJ+

Strength in Prayer

by sevensistersapostolate | Mar 19, 2017

Greetings dearest Seven Sisters…

“Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come’.” – Isaiah 35:3,4a

A memory from my childhood holds both fondness and lessons for the heart.  Younger brother, Jim, following our home protocol, asked my mother if he could be excused from a finished meal.  With her nod, he dutifully muttered his prayer of thanksgiving, and hastily bussed his dishes.  In a flash, my siblings and I spotted him outside through the window.  We watched in a mix of perplexity and horror as he sped past his bicycle with training wheels and mounted our older brother’s bike.  Off he went with a sure grip, strong knees and surprisingly good balance.  We all jumped up and ran outside.  Jim happily made a U-turn in response to our screams and fearlessly demonstrated his peddling prowess all the way to where the stunned family had gathered.  He leapt off the bike and, proudly donning a semi-toothless grin, announced, “I’m strong to the finish, ’cause I ate my spinach.”  (For those that grew up alongside Popeye, no further explanation needed.  For the younger Seven Sisters, I advise a quick Google search.  And maybe look up the meaning of training wheels too.)

While spinach may not be la cle de succes in our Seven Sisters prayer times, the story certainly hearkens to the words of Isaiah (above) that speak of the longing of the human heart for assurance of strengthening from outside oneself when life’s circumstances call for it.

This Apostolate bears amazingly firm underpinnings and a consistent wellspring of strength. “In strengthening the priest you strengthen the whole Church… Strengthen the priest and you strengthen the whole foundation,  you strengthen everything in the Church” (Fr Gerald Fitzgerald).  Strength’s source is in, with, and through Our Lord.   His strength finds us and buoys us up in a myriad of expressions, some rather surprising and paradoxical.  As is the Way of Our Lord, He invites us to cooperate and collaborate in His gift of strength to us.

Letting go of our own will is a good start to open the channels to His graces of strength.  St Bernard of Clairvaux reminds: “Freed from the heavy burden of my own will, I may breathe freely under the light load of love.”  Entering our prayer chamber with this attitude and humble submission opens us to an easier offering of love in our prayers.  How does God want me to pray for this priest?  Come, Holy Spirit, help me. Not my will, but Thy Will. Help me.

Strength in the present finds its way to us from remembering … remembering that the Lord has been and will continue to be faithful, our Ever-present Help in time of need – for our prayers and for the priest for whom we are committed to pray.  In our need, in our weaknesses, in the priest’s needs and weaknesses, Jesus is our Strength. St Paul reminds, But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me (II Cor 12:9).  Likewise, remembering that the cloud of witnesses urges us on by example and by intercession (Heb 12:1) can serve to help us.  Most especially, the patrons of the Apostolate – Madonna of the Grapes, St John Vianney and St Margaret Clitherow – are ever-near in our Holy Hours.  Thank them for their potent witness.  Solicit their sound prayers to strengthen yours.  “Prayer offered in holiness from a faithful heart rises like incense from a holy altar” (St Augustine).  Imagine the extravagance of incense during your Holy Hours!

Strength in prayer is not necessarily fashioned by powerfully phrased or crafted prayers, but paradoxically can find its way through the voice of silence.  An anchor Scripture of the Apostolate assures,  In quietness and trust is your strength (Isaiah 30:15).  St Albert the Great has similar sentiment: “He who enters into the secret place of his own soul passes beyond himself, and does in very truth ascend to God. Banish, therefore, from thy heart the distractions of earth and turn thine eyes to spiritual joys, that thou mayest learn at last to repose in the light of the contemplation of God.”  St Bonaventure concurs, “When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than the proceedings of the mouth.”

Availing ourselves to the sacramental life – especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation – builds our spiritual sinew.  St John Paul II boldly discloses, “The Eucharist is the secret of my day.  It gives strength and meaning to all my activities of service to the Church and to the whole world.”  Revelations given to St Bridget affirm the benefits of Confession: “Just as an animal becomes a stronger beast of burden and more beautiful to behold the more often and better it is fed, so too confession – the more often it is used… conveys the soul increasingly forward and is so pleasing to God that it leads the soul to God’s very heart.” St John Bosco concurs, “You can fly to heaven on the wings of Confession and Communion,” and “There are two things the devil is deadly afraid of: frequent Communion and frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament.”  The use of Holy water, blessed medals, rosary beads and holy cards all can assist in our prayer times.

Partnering with others brings strength in many of life’s duties and pleasures alike, and in prayer practices too. Many Seven Sisters intercessors comment on the great peace of solidarity and stability sensed by knowing others are praying alongside during the other days of the week.  “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” – St Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Yielding to God in obedience and trust in your Seven Sister Holy Hours – all for His glory – is a hidden strength, a discipline unable to be reckoned with.  It is selfless, real, effective, durable, full, the lasting thing.  The secular life knows it not.  Let our example convert hearts.  “To persist in prayer without returns, this is not time lost, but a great gain.  It is an endeavor without thought of self and only for the glory of the Lord!” (St Teresa of Avila). What liberty of heart to know that God is pleased with our sacrifices and prayers and answers them perfectly and precisely in His Way, His Will, His divine Providence.  Staying faithful to our weekly appointments with the Lord (or securing a sub) brings with it a wealth of supernatural strength.  Love reigns.  “The Tabernacle is the actual meeting place of lovers of Jesus with Himself.  There, they find abundance of spiritual energy and fullness of life” (from ‘Listening to the Indwelling Presence’ by a Religious Pelligrini, 1940).

Draper’s image of The Golden Rays is a fitting one as I consider how each of you so readily waits on Our Lord for your strength, as does this eyes-toward-heaven youth.  Life bustles about her, but she captures that moment of her day and seeks her God, her Strength. She is unhurried in His rays, allowing them to penetrate her soul with His Goodness.  I see each of you in this same stance.  Thus, this months’s Communique is one of applause rather than instruction.  Your fidelity and reliance upon your Lord is evidenced in the continued growth and beauty of the Apostolate – and the testimony of your lives and the lives of the priests you are committed to pray for.  Your phone calls, emails and hand written notes have supported this image and insight of you, as well.

Your notes to me, all of which I cherish, share empowering words like: “Let this Apostolate spread like wildfire.” … “Every priest in my diocese needs to be strengthened by these prayers. I can help!” …”May the Holy Spirit enliven women everywhere to take up this challenge and pray, pray, pray.” … “We can’t let up in our sacrifices and prayers for priests.  I see a difference.” Dearest Seven Sisters,  you and yoursturdy hopes and sure visions bring strength to every priest – and to me!

United in prayer and mission –
that our prayers may find the heart of every bishop and priest
… eternal gratitude as you each remember to offer a wee Hail Mary for me every day…. asking for the prayers of Holy Mary at the two definitive times of any life: now and at the hour of death. The opportunities of death to self will present themselves a-plenty through each day.

Janette
+JMJ+

SEVEN SISTERS – out and about:  Currently there are new Seven Sisters groups being formed in Nebraska, Minnesota, Texas and Michigan.  More priests covered – and one more bishop on-the-way!

An Anchoress from Venezuela, Zahyra Balza, generously translates these Communiques in Spanish and Mary Shaffer, our Web designer/master maintainer (and Anchoress too), has added a tab. Check it out! She also added a tab a while ago, to remember Seven Sisters that have passed on to eternal life.  Please let us know if this becomes the case in any of your groups.  We want to honor their lives and contributions with our prayers.

Continued gratitude for the prayers following the invitation of Wendy Wiese (a Seven Sister herself) regarding the Relevant Radio spot on March 9. The podcast is on our Web Site.  Eternal gratitude for the many kind emails and donations.

March 24 will be a talk for a Serra Club in Medina, MN, and the next morning an early Mass and Apostolate Informational gathering at the St James Coffeehouse in Rochester, MN.  This Cafe has an Adoration Chapel! One-of-a-kind spot!  See Seven Sisters Web for details – all invited!

A special Feast Day is coming for us – March 26 – Feast of St Margaret Clitherow.  It lands on a Sunday this year so you may remember her then or perhaps on Monday – or like me – both days!

Please do not let up on the daily Hail Marys – every one is needed!!

What I Was Made For

by sevensistersapostolate | Feb 28, 2017

Greetings dearest Seven Sisters…

“This is what I was made for!” – St Joan of Arc

It is said that as God’s directive toward raising the siege at Orléans was assuredly unfolding in Joan of Arc’s heart, she espoused that she knew nothing of wars or horses. In trust, however, as she mounted her steed for the first time, she uttered, “This is what I was made for!”

How often I have experienced the joy of hearing a similar voice of conviction from those assuming the role of a Seven Sister intercessor. Again and again many express a lovely awakening of heart to this summons to pray for priests. Likely, I am witnessing the bloom of that truth of holy Scripture that assures that God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Ro 11:29).

Some verbalize it immediately, “When I was asked to do this, my heart leaped to say, ‘yes!’ or “I was praying for priests before, but this do-able structure and uniting my prayers with others appealed deeply, and I knew I was called to it.” Others come to a certitude after offering a few Holy Hours, “I cannot imagine a week without this Holy Hour. How was I spending my week prior to this?” or “I am learning afresh and anew about both myself and Father, as sister and brother in Christ. We are both benefiting. What a privilege to pray!”

We are together on this gladsome journey, together moving into God, into His beckoning of heart into His Heart on these matters, regarding the lives of these priests – and our lives too. His economy leaves nothing or no one orphaned. “In strengthening the priest you strengthen the whole Church…” (Fr Gerald Fitzgerald, s.P.).

Our committed Seven Sister days are not always so straightforward – either in getting to the Chapel or persevering through the hour of prayer or both.  Life throws curve balls at times and at times we have misplaced our catching mitt. When I am pressed to make decisions about my day’s events in order to remain faithful to this weekly summons, I may find those plans running counter to other opportunities and offerings. Likely, you have found the same challenges in your own lives. Further, our call to pray for our priests/bishops is not necessarily supported by those surrounding us nor those that do not share this particular call in their life at this particular time. So too, we can be our own worst enemy, and, at times, allow our feelings to attempt to dictate our duty. St. Alphonsus Liguori reminds: “He who trusts himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.” If you have experienced these challenges, be at peace. God has called you to this way of prayer. His graces are sufficient for you to be faithful to the charge.

Love demands effort. Pope St John Paul II said, “Real love is demanding. For it was Jesus – our Jesus himself – who said: ‘You are my friends if you do what I command you’ (Jn 15:14). Love demands effort and a personal commitment to the will of God. It means discipline and sacrifice, but it also means joy and human fulfillment.” There is reward, indeed, for our discipline and sacrifices, both immediate and long-term. As we move into what we are divinely called to do and be, the freedom and contentedness of being more fully who we are meant to be is ours.

A week seems to roll along at a fierce pace at times. As we journey into God each day, may we steady the pace by savoring the moments. St Francis de Sales reminds, ‘Every moment comes to us pregnant with a command from God, only to pass on and plunge into eternity, there to remain forever what we have made it.’ While we hope to experience this with more moments than not, let us strive as Seven Sister intercessors to at least weekly commit to sixty minutes of those moments that are pregnant with a command from God. Let us nurture the call on our lives to pray for our assigned priest/bishop and be content that our moments remain forever what we have made them – rich with love.

When our holy sister in Christ, Joan, recognized her weakness in light of God’s plans: of a lack of knowledge of wars and horses,then an exuberance of her lot in life – “This is what I was made for!”, history tells us she swiftly moved to a resoluteness noted in this response that immediately followed: “I fear nothing for God is with me!”

May this transformation be said of you and of me… a living reality…

United in prayer and mission –
that our prayers may find the heart of every bishop and priest
… eternal gratitude as you each remember to offer a wee Hail Mary for me every day….

Janette
+JMJ+

SEVEN SISTERS – out and about: Representing the Apostolate, I participated at a Prayer Fair at Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Faribault, MN, last Saturday and Sunday.  This congregation is full of zeal and mission for prayer!  I smiled throughout, left smiling and still am smiling!  Thursday, March 9, I will be joining dear Wendy Weise on Relevant Radio (1-1:30 pm).  (Yes, Fr Rocky has a Seven Sister group). Please hold us in prayer!  On its heels, is a Prayer Event, Saturday, March 11, where Seven Sisters will be represented by local members. March 24 will be a talk for a Serra Club in Medina, MN, and the next morning an early Mass and gathering at the St James Coffeehouse in Rochester, MN.  If you have never been to St James, put it on your bucket list.  This Cafe has an Adoration Chapel! One-of-a-kind spot!

Please do not let up on the daily Hail Marys – every one is needed!! My heart’s sense is to send this Communique the third weekend of the month,  and lately it is going out on the last day of the month!  OH, pray for me in this regard – that I be prudent in all my affairs regarding time usage!  And diligently continue praying for the approval of the Canonical status of the Apostolate. The best is yet to be…

To Jesus, Through Mary

by sevensistersapostolate | Jan 29, 2017

Greetings dearest Seven Sisters…

“De Maria numquam satis”-“Concerning Mary there is never enough”

Ancient adage of the Church

When we go to Mary she points to Jesus, she gives us Jesus – always.  How fitting that each New Year of the Lord begins with the Solemnity of Mary: the Holy Mother of God, honoring our mother too. I have been praying for you in a special way since then:  that this January has awakened a longing to know and love Mary more fully.  As for me, I have committed to read one new book regarding Mary each month of 2017.  My first was Fr Raoul Plus’ The Little Book of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Model of Christians, Cause of our Joy.  Indeed, she is CAUSE of our JOY!  She gave us our Redeemer, our King, our Emmanuel!

As Catholics, it is elementary – to Jesus, through Mary.  Yet some have forsaken this at times, myself included, and have needed this requisite reminder.   St Louis de Montfort so beautifully encourges: “We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour His Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour Him all the more perfectly.  We go to her only as a way of leading to the goal we seek – Jesus, her Son. … She is an echo of God, speaking and repeating only God.  If you say, ‘Mary,’ she says, ‘God.’

In our prayer offerings as Seven Sisters, aside from the commitment to pray solely for one priest or bishop and his sanctity during our Hour, our only other firm amendment is prayer that his relationship with Mary will be deepened.   Every Holy Hour inherently includes this petition.  The strength of this petition is imperative, for the priest is not his own.  He belongs to Mary. In the final paragraph of the book which I strongly recommend every Anchoress read, The Priest is Not His Own (Fulton Sheen) this is confirmed: “Is it any wonder, then, that she is the Woman in every priest’s life?  No priest is his own.  He belongs to the Mother of Jesus, once and always the Priest-Victim.” This relationship is distinctive in mankind, and we have a privilege to pray for its fruition for the priest for whom we pray!

While we look to Mary as universal Mother, as intercessors we especially view and seek her as the first disciple of Christ, reminding and teaching us to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us in our prayer efforts.  Like Mary, let us seek the Will and Way of God.  This month’s painting radiantly depicts the witness of Mary as a model to our own intercession: mirthfully docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  Pope Francis teaches: “A mother does not stop at just giving life.  With great care she helps her children grow, teaches them the way of life, accompanies them always with her care, with her affection, with her love, even when they are grown up.  In a word, a good mother helps her children to come of themselves.”  As we grow in discipleship in Christ, following Mary as our quintessential model, we become more fully who we are created to be – and likewise for the priest.

Regularly, many of the Seven Sisters share how they have deeply sensed the camaraderie of Mary in the formation of their prayers.  Her strong witness “to do whatever He tells you” spurs us on, keeps our heart and mind steady on the task at hand: to pray for all goodness, beauty and truth to be accomplished in the lives of the priests for whom we pray – and nothing less.  God’s Will and Way – and nothing less.

St John Paul II reminds: “The Blessed Virgin Mary communicates to believers an ever-new capacity to await God’s future and to abandon themselves to the Lord’s promises.”  This is precisely what our Seven Sisters’ prayers entail for our recipients!  As one priest recently stated to a group of Seven Sisters gathered, “Don’t pray I will be the priest you want me to be.  Pray that I will be the priest God wants me to be!”

Dearest sisters in Christ, take hold of the JOY and REWARD of soliciting the help of Mary in your prayers for priests – and likewise in so doing, growing in relationship with her yourself!  “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much.  You can never love her more than Jesus did.” (St Maximilian Kolbe)

Let us then seek Mary as that echo of God. As we say, ‘Mary”, let us discover that she answers, “God” – every time!

United in prayer and mission –
that our prayers may find the heart of every bishop and priest
… eternal gratitude as you each remember to offer a wee Hail Mary for me every day….

Janette
+JMJ+

PS – I just returned from a most beautiful time with Seven Sisters in Nebraska.  The motto of the state is “the good life”.  I assured them that when the Seven Sisters takes root in Nebraska it will be a “better life”!  I have also spoken recently at two local Serra clubs and anticipate speaking to two others in the near future.  There is another talk in the works at a coffee house in Rochester, MN. Please do not let up on the daily Hail Marys – every one is needed!!

A Gift that Lavishes

by sevensistersapostolate | Dec 31, 2016

Greetings dearest Seven Sisters…

“For it is in giving that we receive.”  – St Francis of Assisi

Most of us have likely received a gift that has overwhelmed our heart either because of its extravagance, an element of surprise or a grace of insight into the bigness of heart from which it was given.  In the Spring of 2013 I was recipient to a gift that inundated my heart by all three!  My daughter quite unexpectedly sent me a round-trip airline ticket to Rome.  A note was attached:  “Go to Rome and spend some Mom-time with Spencer.  After May 25 (his Ordination date), he will belong to the Church.”  This gift of love reduced me to a silence… and several tissues-ful of tears. That week abroad unfolded a gift of seemingly endless giving and receiving.  I will bless you so you will be a blessing (Genesis 12:2).  Even now, when I recall the memories and graces of that week – and alongside them, the particulars of my daughter’s sacrifices of  love and finances and time in planning (she missed no details!), – the gift indeed perpetuates a lovely mystery of giving and receiving.  Truly, truly… love is the lasting thing.

Each week each of you is that giver of a gift that lavishes, a gift that comes by great sacrifices of time and discipline and patience.  In quietness and trust is your strength (Isaiah 30:15).  Each week the recipient of that gift is likely overwhelmed in heart by the extravagance and surprise and bigness of heart of your gift.  The ensuing marvel is that you and he alike are blessed to be a blessing.  In that giving, both receive – ah, that wonderful, paradoxical life we live and profess as Christians.  Through the beautiful fidelity of united efforts of seamless prayer by each circle of Seven Sisters, much is wrought – for each intercessor, the recipient of her prayer offerings, and the Church beyond.  All are strengthened.

And here is another gift for you …. Savor this sampling of remarks from priests in response to your sacrifices of prayer.  Listen to the merit of your gift of prayer, a prayer that lavishes and bears fruit, fruit that will last (John 15:16)…

“Since my group of 7 Sisters started praying for me, I often feel comforted and very supported by the fact that I have this loving shield of Marian intercession continually round about me, enfolding me and bearing me up.  I like that, whenever I have a particular need or prayer request, I can call upon these dear, faithful sisters in Christ.  To be so loved, in such a spiritual, prayerful way, I feel so much more confident as a priest, especially when I am facing difficult situations.”

“The power of prayer is real and effective. I’ve felt it.  And it’s great to know that so many people are praying for me in particular. God bless you.” -Fr. Nick VanDenBroeke

“I am so grateful for the prayers of the Seven Sisters. Every now and then I experience an attack by the Evil One in one form or another. I always say a prayer. But I also know that the Seven Sisters are praying for me daily. Usually within a day, I can sense that the attack is over. Your prayers are SO POWERFUL! With much gratitude, A Twin Cities pastor”

“Thank you for all your prayers. The Lord truly uses them. Thank you for your hidden gift of grace from your gift of prayer.”

“I am grateful for your prayers. It allows the Lord to sustain and bear fruit in and through His priests.” -In Christ, Fr Jon Vander Ploeg

“I’m so deeply grateful to be daily enveloped by such powerful prayer.  The effects of the prayers of these dear women have been tangibly felt on numerous occasions.  I have no words to express how blessed I feel.” Pastor from St Paul

“It’s a comfort knowing that one of the Seven Sisters is praying for me every day.  I know I benefit from their prayers in many ways, some of which I’m probably unaware.  … I’m convinced that none of us can thrive without a reliance on prayer, so I appreciate knowing that I’m strengthened by my own prayer life, and the prayers being offered by the Seven Sisters.  God bless this Apostolate for all the good it’s doing for the lives of priests and for the life of the Church!”

“I take consolation and strength from knowing that I am being prayed for each day during a prayer hour.”

“I have very much felt the power of people praying for me since I began a new assignment. There was so much to do …I have felt the strong hand of support that comes through prayer and I know strong commitment of the Seven Ladies group and many others who have been praying for me. I appreciate the efforts of all those who pray for me. I hope my prayers are sufficient to return the grace.”

“Knowing that each day throughout the course of the week is covered with hidden prayer before the Lord is a great consolation that spurs me on to serve with zeal and generosity. I am a grateful recipient of this powerful and steady intercession which reminds me that apart from Him I can do nothing. All of us, priests included, are like the paralytic in the Gospel – carried aloft to the Lord by the prayers of friends, loved ones, even of hidden contemplatives and unknown intercessors. The Seven Sisters who dedicate themselves to pray for my intentions and priestly vocation in no small way take up their part in the Church’s mission for souls. With heartfelt thanks, A grateful associate pastor”

Dear sisters in Christ, if we but knew the width and depth of worth of every breath of our prayers, the benefit of our perseverance through challenges and distractions, the merit of every silent and uttered prayer of generosity of love toward our priests and bishops for whom we are committed to pray.  Be encouraged.  Take heart that your efforts are finding reward!

Like the woman in Portaels painting above, who prudently chooses the proper rose, continue to choose your prayer offerings well and with peace of heart.  Submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit – and trust. Let us say with heartfelt confidence, like St Ignatius of Loyola, “God, I give it all to you.  Give me only your grace and your love.  That is enough.”

United in prayer and mission –
that our prayers may find the heart of every bishop and priest
… eternal gratitude as you each remember to offer a wee Hail Mary for me every day….

Janette
+JMJ+