Today's Quote

In the midst of some sorting, putting away, and de-cluttering, I just came across one of my old Prayer Journals from a few years ago and flipped it open this this quote from St. Claude de la Columbiere. I remember it summing the cry of my heart at the time I first read it — and so many times since then!

Jesus, I feel within me
a great desire to please You
but, at the same time,
I feel totally incapable of doing this
without Your special light and help,
which I can expect only from You.

Accomplish Your will in me —
even in spite of me.

Dear Lord, accomplish your will in us today — even in spite of us.

The Harvest is Plentiful...

I read a delicious poem and the story behind it over at the Bonny Glen the other day. The colorful words and scene pictured brought several things to mind...

The Solitary Reaper

by William Wordsworth

Behold her, single in the field,

Yon solitary Highland Lass!

Reaping and singing by herself;

Stop here, or gently pass!

Alone she cuts and binds the grain,

And sings a melancholy strain;

O listen! for the Vale profound

Is overflowing with the sound.

No Nightingale did ever chaunt

More welcome notes to weary bands

Of travellers in some shady haunt,

Among Arabian sands:

A voice so shrilling ne'er was heard

In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,

Breaking the silence of the seas

Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?—

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,

And battles long ago:

Or is it some more humble lay,

Familiar matter of to-day?

Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,

That has been, and may be again?

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang

As if her song could have no ending;

I saw her singing at her work,

And o'er the sickle bending;—

I listen'd, motionless and still;

And, as I mounted up the hill,

The music in my heart I bore,

Long after it was heard no more.

..........................................

In many ways, I hope my life reflects that of The Reaper. A lass, laboring about her work, and singing "as if her song could have no ending". When souls "stop here, or gently pass", I hope they catch a glimpse of a working, maiden soul, a heart lifted in song; though not an eternally "melancholy strain", but a prayerful, joyous one. A life blended of work and song, the life of a laborer in the field. In some ways, solitary, but at the same time, surrounded by life. I shall say solitary in calling, but united in destiny.

And by the grace of the Lord of the vineyard, may those who pass by and see the maiden at her work be prompted to listen, perhaps "motionless and still", and as they continue on their way, the music in their heart be bore.


May the life, the work of this maiden be naught but one sweet, unending song, offered by a laboring heart and soul in the hopes of laying before the Master a bountiful harvest. Amen.

"The harvest is plentiful

but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore,

to send out workers

into his harvest field."

(Matthew 9:37-38)

Home... and Faired Out :)

It's a term we use around here. There are only so many days one can take of a Fair, you know? Even if one is working almost the whole time. :)

Jesting aside, my sisters and I just came off of another great week of volunteering at the Fond du Lac County Fair Farm Bureau Women's Food Stand in Wisconsin with Grandma and Grandpa. Being there again, it almost felt like we'd never left! (I said the same thing at Ave Cor Mariae Camp this year, though...evidence of how speedily time goes by from one year to the next, I suppose). This experience for us at the Food Stand is one I hope to tell to my grandchildren about someday. Or maybe, take them back there to work, if it's still going! :) Despite the long days (6:30 in the morning till 8 or so at night), and the sometimes-sore feet, we look forward to this every year. It has something to do with the joy of service, the satisfaction of hard work, the sweetness of volunteering one's time and energy for a good cause, and of course, the pleasure of making others happy. Offering a smile while working the cash register or taking orders seems to evoke a "waking up" response from the person across from you... "Have a nice day" and "Enjoy your meal" take on new meaning when you say them several hundred times in a day! I would try to really mean that, too -- not just rattle it thoughtlessly. What a difference!

I could write tons more, but I really think the snapshots we took say it best...

Note: I just got a chuckle out of the fact that when glancing back at my last year's post after the fair, I also mentioned "hoping to tell my grandchildren" about this. What can I say? It will always be a dear memory!

Sarah, poised and ready to fill an order

"Scrambled eggs there, ma'am? No problem!"

Sarah takes orders, and I fill them

Me making pancakes...there were times we couldn't flip them fast enough!

Grease that pan well...

Pour them on...

A plate of the finished product!

A photo Veronica took while all of us stood at the top of Grandpa and Grandma's hill, praying the Chaplet and enjoying the blue sky and breeze (one of those where she extended her arm and took it!)

Veronica had fun taking photos of Sarah on top the hill... I thought this one was neat

In between working, we did get a few breaks to stretch our legs and walk around the Fair. :) And we bought these pretty cotton/wool blend homemade capes made by a family from Equador...here's a view of the cranberry-colored one

Grandpa and Grandma, at 87 and 80 years old!

More to come...