“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6

I woke up the day of my 30th birthday to discover that my once blush pink lips had disappeared into the rest of my face. From that day on I had to wear lipstick. At 40 my hair was metamorphosing to a new color of dull gray. I plucked out the unwanted grays until it became a battle in which surrendering to the enemy was giving up part of my youth. I remember the first time I colored my hair, never thinking it was the start of what today is an everlasting toil of labor.

We moved to Orange County in the early eighties, and  the only person that I knew that exercised regularly was my husband Mike. He ran up and down hills and back home, as our streets were not dotted with 24 Hour Fitness centers, and personal trainers were nonexistent . As a young mother, my job was to raise my children and tend to needs of the household, plus I was working part-time at our company. I rarely exercised, I didn’t need to…big mistake. Something was going on in my body that my brain failed to register. Five pounds a year is not that big of a deal right? Well, 5 pounds for 8 years is. So at 50, when my weight was shifting south, at first I would purchase clothes a size smaller with the thought that I would work hard and lose the weight to fit into the new outfits.  I finally came to the realization that my body was changing in slow motion that quickly turned into a rapid pace. I piled the new clothes, with tags and gave them away.

At 60 pretty much all hell broke loose, because I had a cancer scare, but thanks be to God no cancer. I was  diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but on a trip to France I was healed in the Grottos of Lourdes.

My teeth were a huge issue that required bone grafting. Bone grafting is a procedure in which an oral surgeon saws your jaw bone, lifts it up and places some type of animal bone to cause it to grow. In my case it was a pig bone that was used. I could never live being part pig so the grafting did not work for me. I never read the side effects of  bone grafting, but Mike did, and asked me “Are you sure you want to do this? It says that fingers could start growing on the side of your face?” That kind of stuff never scares me, I just wanted my teeth repaired. Remember that movie Aston Powers and the part that Mike Myers played? Well my family would tease me by quoting “One Million Dollar!” holding their pinkie to the corner of their mouth, I did not think that was funny.

My oral surgeon is the best in Orange County, and her clients include the members of the Anaheim Ducks. She was dumbfounded and told me that I was her first failed case. After we spent ton of money, the specialist decided that she wanted to give it another shot. Again, more pork in my mouth and again, failure. Mike was so upset that he decided to go with me to the follow-up visit. We honestly could have purchased a nice small vehicle for the expense that we were put through. The specialist’s observation led her to suggest that I get braces to correct another problem first; she said that she would foot the bill as well. Two more years were added and there I was with a cheesy 12-year-old smile, and for  the rest of my life I must wear retainer at night. It was not over yet because after the braces, we had to deal with the missing teeth, yet another specialist and another huge expense. I now have German molars, yes, they were made in Germany.

From my teeth the health concerns shifted to my feet. On Thursday I will have a procedure to alleviate my hammer toe. I am believing God that this will work; otherwise surgery will be needed. The hammer toe causes dry feet, I tried home remedies for the problematic foot like rubbing Vick’s on my feet. All that did was collect debris on my foot, and of course my daughter Sonja was asking me why I had leaves on my toes. Now the foot and ankle specialist is telling me that it is necessary that three of my toenails be removed in order to correct all the damage from the dreaded hammer toe.

Within the last ten years I have incorporated exercise on a regular basis and am working on gaining muscle tone, if for any reason to hold up my frame. For years I have worked on spiritual and have attained peace. My spirit has been striving to learn more of God, but my body has been lacking attention.

These health issues come with age, and since I am a full fledged senior, going into this era of my life was not done kicking and screaming, probably because I was sometimes limping. I have no grand illusion of what I have missed out on because I serve God. It is through this rocky path of mine that wisdom has taken hold of not only my mind but also my heart. I am more prone to prayer than argument. My opinion and values are kept locked up for using only at when asked. I personify the late St. Francis, who wisely said,  “Preach the gospel wherever you go, and when necessary use words.”  I cannot express the importance of Godly wisdom, especially the older we get. We must learn to allow the wisdom of God to rule our lives. The world would have it different saying, that everyone’s opinions matter, because for the most part they do not. That is why we are in the this  great mess today, we can’t seem to grasp the real truth when it is there for the asking.

My health problems are minuscule compared to those of  my sisters in Christ. Glenda, my sweet friend with advanced lupus, fights for her every breath and my precious sister Carol is battling for her life with stage four cancer, and my dear friend Jane recently lost her beautiful daughter Elizabeth. These three women are my examples of wisdom seasoned with grace. I pray for them daily.

” If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will given him.” James 1:5

When I need prayer I call a few dedicated prayer warriors to come alongside me, and many times I ask the intercession of saints to help my cause. There is a misconception about Catholics that we pray to saints; we do not. What we do is ask for their intercession. St. Faustina is one of my favorite saints. I would like to share  her story, and will do my best to open your hearts to this holy saint. St. Faustina was canonized on April 30, 2000 in Rome, and she  is to the history of the Catholic Church most influential in the teaching of Divine Mercy; this was her calling.

We were in Rome and were privileged to witness St. Fautina’s canonization. Our team arrived in Turin to visit the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, at that time there was an exposition of the Holy Shroud of Turin. Mike (my husband) was meeting us there. From there we went to Rome, and the ride took almost the entire day but the view was scenic and bountiful to my eyes. I wanted to stop and stroll the streets of Genoa, but it was not to be, we had an assignment in Rome.

We settled in Rome at our usual hotel, Mike and I and the rest of the team had tickets to the audience with Pope John Paul II the following day. We had no idea that a canonization was to take place that day. I knew very little of  St. Faustina and was elated to be part of this great celebration. As we sat, a huge picture of St. Faustina was rolled down above St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. This was not a planned occurrence but rather God ordained, I knew then that I would have a special attachment with this humble servant of God.

Rome was bustling with these nuns with usually big headpieces, which resembled the ones used on the Flying Nun (old television program).These nuns were from Poland, and belong to The Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, St. Faustina’s order. They were there to celebrate the canonization as well. We took our seats and witnessed this event; I was more curious and wanted to learn more about St. Faustina. It would be two years later that we made a pilgrimage to Krakow, Poland.

St. Faustina had regular visitations from Jesus. Her encounters were filled with intimate conversation and instruction as Jesus chose her to be his spokesperson to spread his Divine Mercy. St. Faustina was given a vision of our Lord and was asked to have a picture of Jesus painted. This was not any ordinary painting but one of Divine Mercy. From her diary, these are the words Jesus spoke to her: “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as My own glory.” Along with this image came the prayer to the Divine Mercy, which is to be prayed at the 3:00 hour. The 3:00 hour is the hour at which our Lord died on the cross. There are many graces that come with this prayer; in Jesus’s words: “I remind you, My daughter, that as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; at  that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world- mercy triumphed over justice.” This simple prayer is to be prayed on Rosary beads. The prayer is to appease the wrath of God and goes as follows: “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.” This prayer is needed more than ever today; imagine that our Lord teaching this to St. Faustina with the intention of the whole world understanding his Divine Mercy.

In 2002 we visited Poland on a pilgrimage to the Divine Mercy. We were given great favor at one of the services held in the Chapel. Our team was invited to sit at the altar, where we sang the Divine Mercy song to the congregation. I remember the feeling of disbelief  to be part of  a choir and for it to take place where Jesus spoke to the young saint. To the left side of the altar hanging was the original painting that Jesus commissioned St. Faustina to paint. I could not believe that I was there and participating in that manner, and a sense of humility filled my heart.

The first Sunday after Easter is dedicated  to celebrate Divine Mercy. We were there to celebrate with the locals of Krakow. To accommodate the  thousands of people, an outdoor Mass was held. I was with a group of eight  friends but because the mayhem of people, we were quickly separated to only four. When it came to communion time it appeared that the villagers were going to trample us. As the crowd tightened toward the priest giving communion, I felt hard pushing and there was no room for escape. My foot had been run over by a stroller which held a red faced baby with chubby cheeks. When we received the Eucharist, we were in danger of a stampede by the villagers. In a panic I pretended to throw up. Holding one hand to my mouth, I made a distinguished universal barf sound, and just like God parted the Red Sea for Moses, he did it for us as we ran out of harm’s way.

I am just giving a small abstract about the life of this holy saint, who has made a huge difference in my prayer life. I pray that you will experience drawing closer to our Lord with the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Do not allow the enemy to rob you of this prayer because you do not believe in saints, but rather understand that Jesus used St. Faustina to bring the message of Divine Mercy to the world. Remember many are called but few are chosen (Mt 22:14).