How a picture of Jesus

lead me to Mary

Jesus I Trust In You

Relationship with Holy Trinity

As a child I felt most drawn to God the Father. My prayers were directed to my creator. My most recurrent prayer was a simple dance of spinning in circles in the hands of my Heavenly Father.  As I moved into my adolescents years my soul felt a strong connection to the Holy Spirit. I always found great joy in faith formation classes and summer church retreats. This fiery passion for God extended into my twenties. My prayer often would end with, "Holy Spirit, be the light in my soul and the words on my lips." As I came into my thirties, I found myself in a place of deep reflection in hopes of being a better mother and wife. Recognizing more fully all of my shortcomings and sinfulness, I found refuge in my savior, Jesus Christ. I started spending more time in Adoration. A couple years passed, sitting quietly in the presence of my life-saving friend, before I experienced an extraordinary encounter the Eucharist that ultimately changed my life.

A Picture and A Priest

One Sunday during Lent in 2019, we had a traveling priest come to our parish. His name was Father Dan Cambra, and he was sharing the message of Divine Mercy shared in the vision of St. Faustina (pictured here). There were several key features about this portrait of Christ that spoke to my heart. I also was greatly influenced by new insight on the works of Pope John Paul II from Father Dan's sermon. All of this resulted in me ordering a few books from the Marian Order that sent this priest to our congregation. The more I studied these resources, I recognized a closeness to Christ that could be obtained in a relationship with the Blessed Mother. I started with praying the Rosary. Through meditating on the mysteries I got to know the characteristics and heart of Mary. Through her eyes and perspective I saw Jesus and God in new ways. Every bit of attention you place on her gets shifted back to her love for Jesus and God. She models humility and holiness we all should seek each day.

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