Category: Spirituality

Yesterday, in preparation of Lent, I was given confession, anointing of the sick (to help me with my osteoporosis diagnosis that I have just received but I will see my naturopath on February 21 and we’ll go to the endocrinologist on May 16th) and first communion by a priest from Divine Child, Fr. Jeremy.

I felt extremely blessed yesterday, and I felt God’s presence in my house because I have NOT had communion in years. I have been a member of the Virtual Front Pew with Fr. Mike schmitz on YouTube since week 17 of ordinary time 2021. It felt really good because I was ready for Lent!

But then this happened to my house today whilst I slept. I didn’t know what had happened at all until it was way over. My Mom came into my room and explained it to me. I was just waking up but it was so huge of a story that I told her I had to see the pictures!

I sent these pictures to two of my friends, but I prefaced it by saying that I am going to send the ‘after’ pictures first. I will do that here as well. My Mom is an excellent photographic journalist!:

She is also an excellent videographer, which I will show you right now. My body feels like there’s electricity surging through it! I told my Mom that I didn’t think that I would feel God anymore than I did yesterday but then today is today!:

I tried posting the video here, but it’s too large so I took a bunch of screenshots to give you the gist of what happened:

These next two are so dramatic in the video!!!:

The car was smoking!!!:

I couldn’t believe it when I saw this! My property is completely unscathed!!! The driver of that white car was 17 and he was coming out of Edsel Ford and driving Eastward on Rotunda. There was a red truck that T-boned him as they were turning onto Pelham and this is what happened.

He was still in the car when my Mom videoed everything. When he got out, she said that he was completely dazed and she told him to get checked out in the hospital. He thought that she was going to yell at him, but anyone who knows my Mom knows that that’s not how she is!!!

He came back here and knocked on the door after he got out of the hospital and my Mom talked with him in his friend‘s car. He was extremely apologetic and said he would fix the grass but my Mom told him that it’s winter it probably will flatten itself out in the spring when grass starts to grow.

I talked with Sean and he explained that it is because of, “Paula’s tree” that the house is fine. Paula was my neighbor before the current neighbor and she moved probably 10 years ago and before she moved, she put in two poplar trees. I don’t like them at all. but Sean, let me know that that tree took a beating, and it saved our house!!!:

I guess that he is right I think it’s insane how I feel right now! I have never experienced the Glory of God like I am experiencing right now!!! And all of this whilst I slept?!

I was wondering if the feeling I had yesterday and the day before yesterday would go away. I don’t feel well today but I must let you know that it’s STILL there! That awesome feeling of wonder! God is still here! My house was totally protected! I am going to try to put the video that shows how close that car was to my gate but if that doesn’t work out, I will post a picture because I think I have one of those too:

Video is too big, but here are pictures from my wonderful photo journalist, I just took screenshots of her video:

I thought about it for a moment that if my gate was hit, it would be replaced because it needs to be replaced anyway, because Leia gets out from there. But I much rather prefer that my house was completely protected!!!

Today is the eve of ‘go time,’ and my Mom has already gone to pick up the van. I have already set my alarms, went over my routine for the morning before I get out of bed, and I think I am set. I learned something new today! I think it’s crazy how I STILL learn something new every day!

Let me ‘splain ya:

I have been Catholic for 42 years and went to a Catholic school for my entire 12 years from kindergarten to senior year. Today, I learned a new term. I heard it while I was praying the Lenten prayer for today on Hallow. Jeff Cavens said today begins “Passiontide.”

It’s kind of like when I read the Bible for the first time. I was a Bible Quiz champion who never got a question wrong for all the years that I was there! Upon my first reading of the Bible, I quickly discovered that I didn’t really know the Bible before! I am currently in my third read through, and I have never heard the term ‘Passiontide.’ I looked it up on Google:

I’ve only known about Holy Week and those days. Holy Thursday is my favorite day of the Catholic liturgical year and I think it has been for my entire life! I remember watching the ‘Washing of the Feet’ when I was a child at church. They don’t do that anymore after Covid and I don’t even go to church anymore. I just go sitting in my living room watching my TV and I am part of The Virtual Front Pew.

I learned in my 21st year of having MS that it ain’t no joke, and I needed help to get through! I seem to have found it on Hallow. I started with the Bible in a Year and that segued into Hallow. I’m really digging this peace that I have found!!! This is difficult, and it hurts, but I still have peace and for that, I am ZBEYOND grateful!!!

Here’s the deal, my brain is slowing down. By that I mean, when I spoke with my Speech Pathologist at the beginning of this year, she told me that I am slower, but I am not unintelligible, so I don’t need her services right now. MS is a progressive disease, so I’m not sure when I will need it again, but she is already on my team of doctors.

I need to say this first, as I explain that there is ‘method to my madness.’ I want to say that this all started in October 2021. That is when I heard a commercial about the Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz. I started the Bible in 2022 for the first time. I got pressure sores on both of my heels that were a thing from April to November of that year. I think the pain was a lot more excruciating than I was experiencing, but I got through it. actually, my Mom and I got through it! She took such good care of my feet!

I am in my third read through of the Bible and yesterday, I heard John chapter 13, 14, and 15. That is the beginning of the Lord’s passion, and when Jesus washes the apostles feet! I listen to the Bible twice in the day. Once when I am trying to wake up and be ready for the day and then I listen to it a second time when I am going to sleep just to hear it again, because I am slowing down, my thought processes, I mean.

I listen to the Bible passages while I am laying in bed for the second time. Last night, Jesus washed the apostles feet, and I was completely reminded of Mr. Flint and my New Testament class!!! He washed our feet! He wasn’t going to wash the entire classes feet, rather, I think it was about five or six students. He explained it to us like this, he was going to wash some of our feet and he put our names on pieces of paper. He was going to read the names, and each student would decide if they wanted their feet washed in front of the class.

All I remember is that with each name, nobody wanted their feet washed! And then I remember when he saw my name. He took a breath and said. “Jenny Rios.” I shot up out of my seat and put my arms over my head and yelled as I ran to the front of our classroom like I was on The Price is Rght! I was seated in the back, so it was a very dramatic run! I was way too much back in high school!!! in retrospect, I’m glad that I lived it up because I was not prepared for what MS was going to do to me…

This being the third read through the Bible, but for my second, and for my third read through, I am reading the Bible twice. Maybe this is my fifth time through the Bible?! I will say that I am slowly getting more understanding after hearing the Bible. I thought I had understanding going to a catholic school for my whole life and being a Bible quiz champion. But I did not really know the Bible like I do now!

It’s only now that I understand, or I’m beginning to understand what Mr. Flint was doing! I’ve always thought the washing of the feet was such a beautiful thing at mass on holy Thursday! But when Mr. Flint did it in our classroom, after he was finished, washing my feet, he said, “Your feet are so small!” I remember, laughing and telling him, “These are my feet?!”

So, I drifted off to sleep last night with fond memories of Mr. Flint as I was listening to the passage recounting the Lord‘s passion, and I smiled!!!

My mom is at my aunt’s house setting up for my nephew’s graduation party. I watched Fr. Stu.

I hadn’t seen this movie for a while but I was recently thinking about the scene when he’s on the side of the road and Mary comes to him. But this part really got to me!!!:

Is my suffering a gift from God?! Is it?! I will tell you this is difficult for sure!!!