December 25, 2012

Good morning and Merry Christmas! It's hard to believe but this is the second anniversary of our blog! Since then, our ministry has grown and changed as people come and go from our group....but we are still knitting our shawls and our wrappers are bringing them to people who are so grateful for receiving them!!! On this Christmas morning let us thank God for the gift He has sent us...His son, our savior!   Have a blessed and holy Christmas (and take time after the hustle and bustle is over to knit a few stitches!)

Fourth Sunday of Advent 2012

As women, mothers,and knitters, we can surely feel a connection with Mary as she said yes to doing with a cheerful heart, the work that God asked of her. .our ministry is one of creating and giving with cheerful hearts to others so they may be warm in the love and prayers knit into our shawls. The days of Advent are almost over and we wait in silence for the glory that is Christmas, when Mary welcomed her child into the world for all of us.

I am not bound to make the world go right, but only to discover and to do, with cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.   Jean Bigelow

Sunday, December 16, 2012, the 3rd Sunday of Advent  (Gaudete Sunday)

From a portion of today's Gospel reading:

When all the people asked Him, "what must we do then?"
He answered, "Anyone who has two tunics must share with the one who has none."  Luke 3:10-18

This portion of today's Gospel certainly applies to our shawl ministry...for those of us who have the gift of warmth in this bleak mid-winter, also have the gift of giving warmth to others with our shawls!

 

 Our thoughts and prayers go out to those in Newtown, CT who lost children, loved ones and friends. How we wish we could wrap them all with love and compassion. May God be with them during this most tragic time.

 

 

December 2, 2012 - First Sunday of Advent

The beginning of Advent gives us a chance to pause and light the first candle on our Advent wreath...a time to knit and reflect quietly...to separate ourselves from the hustle and bustle of the season while doing the work of our hands for others.

"It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus open doors of hope."  From: Memory Awakens Hope; Seek that which is above
                                               John Cardinal Ratzinger 1986

Sunday November 18, 2012

As we prepare for Thanksgiving this week, let us give thanks for our ministry, our families and our friends. Let us pray that those who are hungry, lonely and in poor health find peace and comfort in the love of God.

Happy Thanksgiving to our knitters and our wrappers!

"Though the fig tree may no longer blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food...
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord!"
                 Habakkur 3:17-18

 

November 3, 2012

The beauty of Autumn is gone...colors washed away by hurricane winds and flooding rains. May our ministry continue to pray for those who are still living with darkness, and the lack of food, water and warmth. 
Our next meeting will be Saturday,November 10th, at 10:30 am in Mary's room at the Pastoral Center.

"Autumn asks that we prepare for the future. That we be wise in the ways of garnering and keeping. But it also asks that we learn to let go - to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness."  Bonaro W. Overstreet   

  

 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

"The Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy!"

Do we know that our knitting ministry is a source of joy that we give to others?  Let us knit joy into every stitch and every row of our prayer shawls.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

A part of today's Reponsorial Psalm is a lovely prayer to meditate and reflect on before we begin our knitting....whether we are alone or with one another in our ministry. 
"May the sweetness of the Lord be upon us, to confirm the work we have done."

Sunday, October 7, 2012

To everyone in our ministry and to those who benefit from our handiwork.....
"May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives."

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Yesterday afternoon at St. Anne's Parish in Shrewsbury, 300 women gathered for a retreat led by Sister Joyce Rupp. The retreat was all about learning self-compassion...caring for ourselves, stepping back and taking time to nourish our spirits, minds and bodies.  Don't we as women feel as if we are always giving to others because that is what we were taught to do? How can we serve others if we don't give ourselves respite...time to realize that God loves us just as we are? How can we feel compassion for others if we don't love ourselves? Take the time this week to sit quietly and yes, love yourself. Look at your hands and see what beauty comes from them...what they create for others. Before you wrap the yarn around your needles, wrap your arms around yourself!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Fall is finally here....the weather is cool and crisp and the final harvest has taken place.  Mother Nature is preparing to show off her glorious colors...take time to enjoy them..sit with a cup of tea and your knitting and enjoy God's artwork!

"And so let us not be deficient in doing good. For in due time we shall reap without fail." Galations 6:9

Sunday, September 16, 2012
As summer comes to an end, the earth is beginning to rest after it's growing season...so too, can we find a spot to rest, knit and enjoy the cooler weather before Autumn bursts forth in all her glory.
"You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am..You both precede me and follow me."
                                  Psalm I 39: 3-5

 

New beginnings!

Our first meeting of the 2012-2013 season was held on Saturday, September 8th in Mary's Room at the Pastoral Center. Eleven knitters were able to attend. After what seemed a long, hot summer, we once again came together in prayer, laughter and friendship. Our wonderful prayer leader, Marti Page, blessed our hands with oil from the Marist Center in Waltham. We shared stories of new beginnings...new jobs, life transitions, a new grandson...the room was vibrant with enthusiasm for our many blessings and renewed compassion for those who benefit from our ministry. Our next meeting will be on Saturday, October 13th at 10:30 am in Mary's Room. If you knit or crochet please join us in this wonderful ministry.

A new season begins!

St. Mary's prayer shawl ministry will begin their twelfth season on September 8th. We will gather in  Mary's room at 10:30 am in the Pastoral Center. If you have a friend who loves to knit or crochet, please invite them!!  

I will go down to the sea today,
take up my needles
and knit
I will sit in  the shade of
a blue umbrella
and pray
I will gaze upon
the azure waves
and meditate
I will laugh
for the pure joy
of this summer day
Yes, I will go down to the sea today
to knit, pray, meditate and laugh
in thanksgiving.

SMC  2012

Hope everyone is staying cool and despite the heat, managing to find respite in a shady corner with a cool drink...and maybe knitting a few rows!!!! Our shawls are all so unique...the colors and patterns we choose and the hands that make them. The miracle of creativity is that each of us brings something beautiful to the world, something no one else has to offer.  

"What is the rainbow? Sunlight turned back to our eye through drops of falling rain. What sign could be more simple? And yet what sign could be more perfect?"
               Charles Kingsley... from "God's Covenant"

I hope everyone had the pleasure of seeing this beautiful rainbow this afternoon!

"There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick it up in your hands and weave it into cloth that feels like life itself."
                        John Gregory Brown

A heartfelt thank you to God our Father for the fathers who gave us life and love!

 "Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born."  Dale Turner

As you begin to knit your shawl think of it as a new form of beauty waiting to be born, a gift of comfort and hope for someone,, a new dream of creating something beautiful.

The last meeting for the 2011-2012 season of our knitting ministry

Today's meeting was our last gathering until September. Our time together was filled with prayer, laughter, stories and of course .. knitting. We are truly a blessed ministry...may God watch over us and keep us safe as we spend the summer months enjoying the gifts that Mother Nature brings to our beautiful New England. The poem below sums it up perfectly. See you all in September. Keep checking back...I will still be posting on our blog in the hopes that we find some new knitters to welcome in the Fall!

For flowers that bloom about our feet
for tender grass, so fresh and sweet
For song of bird and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see
Father in Heaven, we thank Thee!
          Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday, May 13, 2012 - 6th Sunday of Easter

Mother's Day

Gospel reading John 15: 9-17
"Love one another as I have loved you"...True love is self-giving for the sake of another...
isn't that what our ministry is all about? Knitting all of God's love into our shawls so that someone can be wrapped with a big warm hug from Him?
Happy Mother's today to all of our knitters and wrappers who also give unconditional love to their families.

May 6, 2012 - The Fifth Sunday of Easter

"Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on it's own, unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me."
Gospel reading - John 15:1-8
Before you begin knitting, look at your needles, your yarn, your stitches....think of the needles as God's hands, strong and comforting, guiding  your hands... together  you are creating a vine that branches out into something beautiful. Without God's hands holding yours while you are knitting your shawls, they are just threads woven together without purpose.

April 29, 2012, fourth Sunday of Easter

The Lord tends his flock like a shepherd
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to His heart
He gently leads those that have young.
Isaiah 40:11
    As you knit, realize that your arms are not only the receivers of comfort and security, but they are givers of these blessings as well.
      From: Soul Retreats for Moms

This is the opening prayer that Marti read at our April meeting...a lovely, joyful prayer to begin your knitting. 

Falling in Love
Attributed to Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ (1907-1991)

Nothing is more practical than finding God,
than falling in love.
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in Love
and it will decide everything.

week of April 15, 2012

The blog will not be posted this week because of some technical difficulties with the server....our next ministry meeting will be on May 19 ....this will be the last meeting until September. Hope to see you there!

Easter Sunday,2012

Good morning and Happy Easter to all of our ministry members!


 On Easter Day the lilies bloom,
triumphant, risen from their tomb
their bulbs have undergone rebirth
born from the silence of the earth
symbolically to tell all men,
that Christ the Savior, lives again
        June Masters Bacher
from: Refresh my Heart in Spring

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Good morning....as we approach the end of our Lenten journey, take time to sit with your knitting ...place your palm branch close by and reflect on the days that are coming....the sufferings of Christ, the suffering of the people that are wrapped in our shawls...our own personal suffering and troubles. This lovely quotation from Louisa May Alcott is so appropriate for thoughtful and mindful knitting: "Sometimes, when we least expect it, a small cross proves a lovely crown."         

March 25, 2012 - 5th Sunday of Lent

As our Lenten journey continues, let us also see our knitting as our own personal journey...each stitch, each row draws us ever closer to the completion of our shawl and ever closer to God.  

"When you give of yourself, you receive more than you give"...Antoine De Saint-Exupery

March 20, 2012

My apologies...the blog was not posted Sunday,  but I thought this quote would be appropriate for our knitting ministry and our continuing journey through Lent...Happy first day of spring to our knitters and wrappers!

 "Happy are they who make daily progress and who consider not what they did yesterday but what advance they can make today."

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Today's readings focus on anger and forgiveness and how to respond and react in humility and love. I thought this poem would be a wonderful way to begin your knitting this week.
               Dwell on the Gladness

Life is too short to dwell on my sorrows
to harbor my grudges in bitter tomorrows
Life is too short to dwell on my pain
to play and replay some vengeful refrain
Life is too sweet to waste precious minutes
in nursing resentment, self-righteousness in it
Then, let me not dwell on life's sorrow and sadness
Oh Lord, let me think of life's blessings, with gladness.
                                      by Nancy Neff Dostie
                                      from "Keepsakes"the Salesian Collection

Sunday, March 4, 2012

This is such a lovely poem...perfect for our ministry and what we share with others

We leave His mark on each kind deed
that we bestow on those in need
We leave His mark when we show we care
for a lonely soul who has known despair

We leave His mark on each bright day
that we have chosen to pave the way
We sing the praises of heaven above
as we spread the joys of hope and love
    by Catherine Janssen
   (from Keepsakes, The Salesian Collection)

Sunday, February 26,2012

The First Sunday of Lent...from today's responsorial psalm:
"Make known to me your way Lord, teach me your paths"

Is your ministry part of God's plan and path for your life? As you walk with Jesus during these days of Lent, ask Him to guide your needles and hands, so you may continue to knit and bring comfort to others with your shawls.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

"Blessed is the one who has regard for the lowly and the poor" Psalms 41:2-3

When you take up  your knitting in these last days before Lent, reflect on the following: "Giving is a joy, if we do it in the right spirit. It all depends on whether we think of it as "what can I spare" or as "what can I share?"
                        Esther Burkholder...Quiet Whispers from God's Heart

Sunday, February 5, 2012

"This is the exactly the place God means me to be, in the place I am capable of filling; there is no mistake. My life is in  the proper setting"
Anna Robertson Brown

This is a lovely thought...as you knit, reflect on it, know that you are doing exactly what God wants you to do at that moment.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

A little humor to brighten up a cold winter day..keep those needles clicking!
                                         
                                                 A Knitter's Prayer   
 God grant me the serenity to accept the yarn I cannot return  the courage to change the yarn I can and the receipt to know the difference

                                                       

the celebration continues!

Marti bows before the Queen