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.