Did Ya Ever Just Wonder. . .did ya???

I saw this “quote” written as graffiti on a wall near my home.  I looked at it and thought, this graffiti has real meaning.  Of course it made me wonder about many things.  I think we all wonder about things such as, Who is God?, Why am I here?, Do I really matter in this world?, Why do I have so much trauma in my life???

I have a story to tell you that will have you asking your own questions.  In January of this year two of my dear friends went to Haiti to see for themselves what is happening there and to be of some assistance to the people of Haiti.

My friends and I are covenanted Associates of the Passionists, an order of priests and nuns that was founded by St. Paul of the Cross.  One of our own Passionist Priests, Fr. Rick Frechette has been living and working there for over 25 years.  Fr. Rick is also a physician.  He built a pediatric hospital and orphanage for all the children who have been injured and left homeless orphans due to a devastating earthquake in January of 2010.

What Jan and Linda, who traveled with a few others, were not prepared for what they would experience.  They visited the pediatric hospital and orphanage and found children who were so very beautiful and suffering from cancer, illnesses from living in decaying and unhealthy places, some from amputations, etc. . .so many things.

Did ya ever wonder what would make these children and their mothers happy???  Did ya???  It was the power of a lollipop, 2 coloring book pages and 2 crayons and even a new dress or underpants.  This is what makes these kids happy.

Jan, Linda, and the other women brought 1,000 lollipops, some new dresses made by women in the States and new underpants for young boys and girls. . .the faces of these children were priceless as they held up their underpants to show on camera.   The girls showed off their new dresses.

On two days, my friends helped in the clinic that was basically an outdoor pavilion which looked more like a beat up old concrete space with a wall around it.  They saw 250 to 300 people a day.  These people came when they heard the doctors were coming and lined up outside the wall.  The young and the old appeared.  Each and every one of them were seen by one of the doctors.  That is a very long day in 95 degree heat.

When the doctors work at St. Damien’s/St. Luke’s Hospitals, they walk back and forth to the Villa Francesa compound after working at the hospitals all day.  These relatively short walks, but on dark and dangerous roads.  That is where the golf cart would help them tremendously.  The doctors walk as a group at night and wear a hat with a light so they can see where they are going.  They don’t walk alone because of gang activity.

So, Linda and Jan wondered if they would be able to raise enough funds to buy these doctors a golf cart so they can get back quicker and safer then they do now.

Would you be interested in helping to get these doctors a golf cart? Just wonder about what your donation for a golf cart would do for the doctors who are helping these wonderful people in Haiti.  Let your heart and the Lord guide you.  The children and doctors in Haiti will be forever grateful.

Here is the information:

 

 

Golf Cart Donation Campaign for Fr. Rick Frechette, C.P.
St. Luke Foundation for Haiti
Medical Teams and lay volunteers from all over the world donate their time and talents to the ill and suffering Haitian people. Currently, there is only one golf cart available for use by volunteers helping Fr. Rick’s organizations. As a result, many walk back, often without protection, to the guarded compound in the dark, after a long day of surgery, nursing care, and/or volunteerism. Additional golf cart(s) would make their lives easier and keep them safe.
Contributions to the St. Luke Foundation for Haiti are tax-deductible.
God Bless you for your kindness and generosity.

Please make checks payable to: St. Luke Foundation for Haiti
Name ____________________________________________________
Street Address______________________________________________
City__________________________ State______ Zip Code__________
Amount ________________
Send to: Janice Marco
1225 South Braddock Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15218

 

Resurrection

Resurrection is more than the cross we see,
and more than the story we’ve been told.
Resurrection is not something that was simply done for you and me,
It is more that the pretty holy card pictures and the prayers on the back;

Resurrection is something that requires of us a little dying each day,
A little rising above the deaths of our lives ~ ~
It is the truth that Christ died to show me how to live, to show me life.

And if you tell me that Resurrection was a biblical event some 2,000 years ago
I will tell you that I can’t understand, I can’t comprehend. . .
But when you stand before me and show me your wounds,
when you invite me to share in your pain, then I know, then I can comprehend. . .

for

each day an alcoholic goes without drink. . .
there is resurrection

each day a child is caressed in love and not struck in anger. . .
there is resurrection

for every day a person in depression and darkness sees the joy of life. . .
there is resurrection

for every victim of AIDS who finds comfort with a friend. . .
there is resurrection

every time the homeless find a home. . .
there is resurrection

whenever the cry of the poor is heard. . .
there is resurrection

when we can accept love and life as it is. . .
there is resurrection

when I can live fully,
when I can get strong in the middle of the pain
and still smile others into existence. . .
there is resurrection

when I can see light in the darkness of my heart
when I can love myself and see my goodness,
there is resurrection
when I can accept your concern and claim that as a way back through
the jungle of guilt and confusion. . .
There is resurrection

Sometimes it is so hard to live each day in the midst of what I see on the streets,
In my office, at home, in the lives of those I love. . .
Sometimes I want to run away and cry ~ ~ sometimes it is easier to die
than to be brought to life . . . sometimes. . .

Resurrection means “rising” above the death that living can bring.

For I cannot believe in a God who folds his arms over his chest and says,
“I can have nothing to do with you, you are a sinner”,
I can only believe in a God who catches me when I fall!

God can do nothing else,
God is Love,
God is Resurrection!!!

Sandy Ozanich © 2012

Peter’s Saturday

This poem, written in 2006 by Fr. Tim Fitzgerald C. P., a Passionist Priest and friend of mine, is such a moving piece of writing.  Here he looks at that terrible day when Peter denied Christ 3 times, just like Christ said he would.  This piece speaks volumes about Peter’s emotions the day after he denied Christ – – – imagine yourself in Peter’s position. . .

It was to be:

PETER’S SATURDAY

********
Sleepless night.
Phantoms of yesterday.
I must be dreaming,
I must awake or my heart will crack.

It is no dream.
I see others in the dark.
It really happened.
It is no dream.

Oh! If only I could have that moment back!
She was just a serving girl ~ sassy and quick.
What could she know?
Fear I never felt on the lake
strangled my tongue
Ate up my braggart way
Like sunlight eats up darkness.

Did those awful words come out of my mouth?
Did I, who never curse, curse?
I don’t know that Man,
I don’t know myself!

It’s coming back to me now. . .
I tried to shame away.
I wanted to disappear.
Then. . .

He crossed the courtyard
Not breathing, I thought;
He doesn’t know
How could He know so soon?

That face I had memorialized like the sea,
Turned slowly.
I grabbed more desperately at the shadows.
Those eyes I had studied so well
Sought me out
Penetrated my darkness
Caught my eyes
As a net snares a struggling fish.

I could not turn away.
I could not look down or beyond that gaze
I was crushed with self-loathing.
I sank beneath the blanket of cold,
Tangled in disgust beyond anything I had ever felt.

Yesterday I had my moment and I failed –
Faltered, fell headlong, denied myself/Himself.
This night you will deny me three times.
Never!
Never!
Yet I failed Him when He needed me the most.
Even for an hour, He had said.
But those eyes do not reproach me.
They must reproach me like a cock’s crow.

Oh that look, those dark and large eyes
Shining in the fire’s light,
Tell me only one thing:
I love you!
And I wept because His eyes said it all.
I still love you.

And still I weep, because I love Him,

Holy Saturday: 4/15/06
Fr. Tim Fitzgerald, C.P.

Sandy Ozanich (c) April 13, 2014

 

 

 

 

prayer to St. Paul of the Cross

This is a beautiful reflection and prayer by my good friend Br. Andre’ Mathieu. Have a Blessed Holy Week everyone!

Andre's Hearth

Today is Friday of the Fifth week of Lent.  Amazing isn’t it?  Next week is Holy Week.  Holy Week is the most sacred week of the year for Christians world wide, and it is particularly sacred to the Passionist community of Vowed Religious men and women, Lay Associates and friends.  Saint Paul of the Cross, our Founder, urges us to enter this week with a right mind and heart.  Following is a prayer to St. Paul of the Cross that may be helpful to all of us to pray as we prepare to celebrate the great mysteries of our redemption.

O good St. Paul of the Cross, you proclaimed God’s wonders in the Passion of God’s only Son.  By word and deed you became a preacher of the gospel to a world grown cold to the love of Jesus Christ.  Help me to see God’s love in the merciful cross of…

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