As we celebrate National Women’s Month, I am grateful for all the wonderful accomplishments of women who have stood their ground, persevered, and, against all odds, made their place in modern history. But the story I’d like to share is about the most humble, courageous woman: Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Her calling to serve God uniquely formed her into one of the most influential women of our time.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta

This tiny woman accomplished so much in her life. Mother Teresa ( her title at the time of the speech) was a special guest at the White House for the National Day of Prayer  in 1994. Her entire speech was about love: love of family and neighbor and how we are to receive those who are poor, hungry and homeless. She was there to serve at her full capacity.

Love was her key word and she commanded the respect of all who were there. Her speech was clear and convincing, knowing full well that more than half of her audience was not supporting her godly views, including President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton. She was Jesus to them and expressed the love of God to them without judgment.

Everyone in the audience received a copy of St. Francis of Assisi’s “Peace Prayer.” Saint Teresa invited all who were present to recite the prayer with her. Why did she do this? I believe she was putting all her listeners under the subjection of the Holy Spirit because what she had to say would resonate throughout the nation. This universal prayer was also performed by Elton John at Princess Diana’s memorial service. Mother Teresa moved mountains with her prayers, but it was how she delivered her humble message that affected many.

She spoke at length about the poorest of the poor, and, shared a story of when she brought them in to feed them, how they taught her a lesson on love. This godly saint spoke about their eyes and how to discern people’s emotions by looking into their eyes.  Saint Teresa also spoke about smiling and how joyful it was for her to see people in dire straits show great gratitude by a simple smile.

The Bible speaks about the eyes being the window to our soul.

^{Matthew 6:22-24   New American Bible (Revised Edition)}

²² “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; ²³ but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

It’s a gift from God to see a man’s soul through his eyes, and Saint Teresa had this gift. I have seen the souls of  many homeless people on  Skid Row; by looking into their eyes, I could discern if they were yielded to receive prayer. I knew that those who would not accept prayer, we simply expressed the love of God and allowed the Holy Spirit to open their broken hearts. When ministering, eye contact expresses sincerity and trust and when you smile, you are sharing love.

Saint Teresa’s  Speech

When St. Teresa spoke, she did not hold back. She was not worried about any backlash, or being cancelled because she came with a message from God. She quoted Scripture and used it invariably in her speech. Today, almost 30 years later, would this saint be respected and honored as she was in 1994? Only God can answer that question, but I believe that among us are many Christians who are operating in the spirit of this great saint. Her words were timeless and bold; to speak on the subject of abortion in 1994 was considered risky.

In the words of Saint Teresa of Calcutta:

“But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because Jesus said, “If you receive a little child, you receive me.”  So, every abortion is the denial of receiving Jesus — is the neglect of receiving Jesus.

It is really a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.  And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?  How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion?  As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts.

Jesus gave even His life to love us.  So, the mother who is thinking of abortion should be helped to love — that is, to give until it hurts her plans, her free time, to respect the life of her child. For the child is the greatest gift of God to the family because they have been created to love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts.

The father of that child, however, must also give until it hurts.”

Honoring Real Women

No one valued women more than Jesus. This started with His relationship with His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary’s gentle spirit taught Him how to treat women. Our Lord honored His Mother and taught us to do the same. Mary’s role was the greatest example of womanhood. No other woman can compare to her.

Every action we take in life will be our history. Our current president supported his wife First Lady Jill Biden, who celebrated International Women’s Day by presenting an an International Women of Courage Award to a biological male who identifies as a woman. This will be the legacy of President Biden. With this news, Saint Teresa would not be turning in her grave; rather, she would be praying fervently for our country.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, we honor all women who choose to do right in Your eyes. Bless them with Your love. Lord, help me with my struggle to pray for our sitting president. Teach me to operate in  love as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Help us all to become more loving. Thank You for teaching us that this special love comes from the heart of those who truly love You first. Amen.

Club 33 is a private, members only club located in the Orleans section of Disneyland. It cost $33,000 to join, and another $15,000 to keep the membership annually. This is the only place in the park where hard liquor is served. The waiting list to get into this club is four years, but it could take as long as 14 years. You will never see our name on this waiting list.

I knew Friday was going to be a busy day, so I started by attending Mass and then staying for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. I prayed for all those on my prayer list and recited a Rosary.
We left for Disneyland at about two o’clock with dinner reservations at Club 33 at six p.m.

I have been to Club 33 a total of three times. The only way you can dine there is through a member’s invitation. Last Friday was the most recent visit. Mike had been holding out on us; he has a good friend who is a member of Club 33.  When we ran into this gentleman at the funeral service of a mutual friend, he offered us the use of his membership at Club 33. Mike said that for years this man has been offering this opportunity to dine at the private club, so we finally took him up on it.

My First Visit to Club 33

Years ago some ladies from Sonja’s elementary school invited me to lunch with them at Club 33. At the time Sonja must have been in either second or third grade. What I remembered about this experience was that all the women ordered salads, but I ordered some type of roasted chicken. I never got the memo that we were all to order the same meal. I had no idea of the exclusivity or privateness of this restaurant, so I did not pay too much attention to any details. I do not believe that we had to pay an entrance fee for the park because the lady who owned the membership graciously took care of that. I was grateful for the experience and my roasted chicken was delightful.

My Second Visit to Club 33

We were guests again, but this time the Club 33 experience was won in a silent auction. We were a party of six, and as difficult as it was to narrow a date for all of us, we picked the worst day. Disney offers private parties for different organizations, which means that they shut down the park for these groups exclusively. This visit was in 1986 or 1987. Something was very unusual about this night; I noticed two women holding hands in the parking lot. I shrugged it off and kept this to myself. When we entered the park, it was apparent that we came on “Gay Night!” This was almost 40 years ago, and the shock of being surrounded by this made us all very uncomfortable. Seriously, we were not only out of our element, we stood out like sore thumbs. It was as if we were at a nudist colony fully dressed! I was worried about running into people we knew, which would have forced them out of  the closet, or worst yet, people running into us, thinking that we were gay and living a double life.

This night was their private party and we crashed it! The organization was called Odyssey Adventures, but in reality it was a gay function. So to say that I remembered Club 33 that night would be an understatement and an eventful evening that is still swirling in my brain. I remembered telling Mike to hold my hand so that it was known that we were straight. I also told Mike not to walk with the men that were with us so as not to give out a gay vibe.

I called Disney the following day to complain, but to no avail.  I also wrote several letters but they did not respond.

Club 33, We’re Back!

We finally got Mike to get us a date for Club 33.  Sonja, Russ and the boys have annual passes to Disneyland, so they joined us for dinner. In my past posts I have declared a great dislike for Disneyland and all other amusement parks. I do not like to be around large crowds. But in order to dine at this exclusive restaurant, you must go to the park. The boys were excited for me to ride some of the faster roller coasters. We rode a total of three rides, and I was done! The lines were an estimated 30 minutes each; that’s an hour and a half of my time that I will never get back!When we arrived for our reservation, a young lady with a 1920’s hairstyle and bright red lipstick greeted us, “You can wait here in the lobby until they call you in for your reservation.” In several ornate cabinets were Club 33 memorabilia available for purchase. We were told not to purchase anything until after dinner. There were many rules: absolutely no videos can be taken, and if you’re going to take pictures, it must be solely with your party.

The Powder Rooms

I did not hear the bizarre explanation about the restrooms or that it was forbidden to take any pictures. So when I went to use the facilities, I took so many pictures! Of course I will honor and respect the protocol by not sharing or posting these photos online. The bathroom was beautiful and sparkly clean. As I finished using the mouthwash, a young bathroom attendant walked in as I was putting the bottle of mouthwash in my pocket. I started to explain that I had used it, and I did not want to toss it into the fancy trash container. She was not interested in hearing my life story, so she kindly said, “We have a lot of those, don’t worry.” Then I went on to make small talk with her so that she wouldn’t think I was a thief.

Rebel Wilson, the famous singer, was banned from Disneyland for 30 days for taking a selfie in the women’s secret restroom. I do not understand the big overture about the restroom. I noted the bathroom descriptions: as you walk in, there is a light pinkish, antique lounge, with six tuck and roll buttons. Over the lounge is a beautiful Tiffany lamp, giving light over the comfortable chair. The wallpaper depicts Club 33  logo in brown, with the background in a soft shade of tan. On the wall is a picture of a woman framed in pink and gold. The drapes are dark brown satin and only serve as a statement piece. There is a beautiful, stained-glass window in the shape of a flower. Next to the window is an antique curio cabinet containing crystal perfume bottles and other ornate decorations.

The Dinner

This was a four-course meal and our grandsons were a bit lost when ordering, but they ate what was served. This was not my first fancy food rodeo, so when my first course arrived, it reminded me of Gramercy Tavern in New York, where we were served three fava beans in a swirly sauce. It was Friday during Lent, so I ordered  fish.

The dinner was not the highlight of the evening; it was the ambiance, and everything that surrounded us. I loved the rich wood of the hand-carved medallions holding up every light fixture, but the best part was spending time with our family!

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I pray for the repose of the soul of Walt Disney. I pray that Disneyland’s executives would rid itself of all the Woke propaganda and make it the Happiest Place on Earth once again. Thank You for allowing us to share this special experience. Amen.

Last week was a whirlwind because of our out-of-town visitors. My sister Jo, her son Frank, and his two sons vacationed in California. The main purpose of the trip was for Jo to finally visit the Grand Canyon, something that has been the desire of her heart for years.

Colton

On a whim, it was decided that we would drive to Colton. Frank wanted to relive all the nostalgic places that he visited in his youth, like the Country Boy Market (now a dollar store), our mother’s home and the place where he and his cousins walked for a special treat of ice cream. Colton remains the small town that I remember, but for at least an hour Frank wanted to find the drugstore that sold the ice cream. Although the area is only two square miles, we drove around for what seemed to be an eternity; but we never found the elusive drugstore. From there we visited our older brother Robert’s gravesite.

We also made arrangements to visit our 98-year-old Tia Maria at our cousin Delia’s home. I pray that when I get to be her age, I will have the same sharp mind and attitude that she has.

Amusement Parks

While Frank and his sons spent two days at amusement parks, Jo and I found our own adventures. Our first outing was to St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado Canyon. On our first attempt we never found the abbey; that day was a maze of misguided GPS directions, so we gave up and accepted defeat. The following day after Mass, we finally made it to St. Michael’s Abbey. Both Jo and I were in total awe of the grand, majestic church and its surroundings. There is something mystical on that hallowed ground and I look forward to attending a service there.

Shopping

Thursday was set aside for shopping at the retailers in Cabazon Outlets, one of the largestes discount malls in California. The weather took an ugly turn, and I had never experienced cold temperatures like this. This is an outdoor mall in the low desert. But when we made our way to different shops, it started to snow. I was not dressed for this rude spell that Mother Nature surprised us with. I was shivering in my thin layered raincoat, while Jo was prancing around in the long camel hair coat that she borrowed from me. “Hey, do you want to trade coats?” I asked her. “Absolutely not!” she answered. I offered my suffering up to the Lord and continued to shiver.

We had to meet our brothers and their families for dinner at 6 p.m. So by the time we had finished shopping, we were cutting it close. I made an announcement that I needed to change into warmer clothes, so we needed to go to the place where we were staying. My nephew Frank wanted to go straight to the restaurant, but I won that battle. We were to meet at Las Casuelas, a popular Mexican restaurant in Palm Desert. The day before I had received a group text message informing us that the location of the restaurant had changed. Since I do not open group text messages, I only read the first line. It read Las Casuelas. It turned out that we were an hour late for our dinner because Las Casuelas has three restaurants with the same name on the same street! We went to the wrong one! Mass confusion ensued, and I was in a panic scrambling to find the last text message.

Our brothers George and Mike and their families were gracious as we tried to explain the situation. I knew all along that I was going to take the fall. How can anyone make an excuse for being late one hour? I quickly ordered a Margarita and sat next to my cousin Nellie, who warned me “You’re going to get drunk if you drink that!”  I was still thawing out from the cold and felt guilty. Guilt makes you do stupid things, and after drinking only half of the Margarita, I suddenly became more talkative. I even gave a quick tutorial on how to tie a scarf. I explained that I learned this at the University of Tiktok.  It was wonderful visiting with our family, although out of seven siblings we’re now only five.

Arizona

My husband Mike  did all the driving, in  Jonah, my Prius. The following morning we left for Arizona to pick up our sister Norma, while Frank picked up his wife Lindy at the Phoenix International Airport. We decided to meet in Flagstaff. We arrived  just in time for dinner. Red Lobster has the best bread, but that’s about it. It was Friday and since we are in Lent I ordered fish and chips. To describe this meal would say that I would have been better off going through the trash dumpsters. As usual  I ordered the wrong meal,  and poor Norma followed my lead.

The Grand Canyon

We were all up early to catch the train to Williams for the grand finale of the trip. The Grand Canyon did its due diligence and commanded the most breathtaking views. The weather received the memo to stay clear for our visit as well. Finally, Jo’s wish came true!  That night we dined with a wonderful turkey dinner with all the trimmings. With so much turkey left over, I made sandwiches for the road.

The Weather 

After dinner we said our goodbyes to Frank, Lindy and the boys. Jo was going to ride back with us to drop Norma off, while Frank and his family drove to a hotel near the Phoenix airport. Around two o’clock in the morning, the snow made an unwelcoming appearance. Mike could not sleep because he was worried about getting snow chains. The plan was to leave at six a.m., but many of the roads were closed. By 8:30 a.m. it was clear enough for us to start our treacherous trip back home. Mike’s instructions were, “Please don’t pick any fights with your sisters, and try not to talk too much.”  I was the navigator, so this was going to be a challenge. During the first leg of the trip, we were traveling 23 miles per hour. As much as I find driving next to semi-trucks annoying, this time I welcomed them because they were paving the road for us.

As soon as we got out of the snow, Norma started the conversation about her 21- year-old cat Boi; she was worried that he may have died. “What am I going to do? I don’t even own a shovel! He better not have died on my bed!”  Well, much to her surprise, Boi was the welcoming committee! The cries of the old cat brought joy to my sister, and we all gathered around to pet the elderly tabby.

Birthday Party

Mike and I had to be at a birthday party for Will, Sonja and Jacob at 6 p.m.  How Mike puts up with me is a mystery because he drove straight through, making only two pit stops. We made it home by five, got ready, wrapped the gifts and were at the restaurant at exactly six o’clock. We were the only ones there because I did not open the group text informing us that the reservations were for 6:30!

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You for Jo’s visit and all the joy that she brought with her. I pray for all of my siblings and their families.  Please keep us safe, and may we always have You in our midst. Amen.