What an absolutely gorgeous day!  The temperature is perfect for a fall day, the sun is bright, the sky is cerulean blue with a few fluffy white clouds and the breeze is light!  The leaves are starting to display their fall brilliance.  Wow.  It is just perfect.  Rejoice in the day and rejoice in the Lord!
Please remember to pray for the trapped miners in Chile and for all those who are victims of disasters and for all who are persecuted in the name of the Lord.  Thank you.

Happy Grandparents' Day to all Grandparents out there.  Grandparents often form the hub of the family.  Thank you for all your blessings
Today' readings (Ex. 32:7-11, 13-14; I Timothy 1:12-17; and Luke 15:1-32), speak of forgiveness and welcoming back into the fold.  The three parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son which Christ shared in Luke emphasize the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.  If you have been searching, trying to find meaning in your life... If you feel hopeless or that you are beyond redemption, turn to Christ.  Come home, you who are weary, come home to Christ for there will be much rejoicing in heaven and you will find completeness and peace in the Lord.  Today is the perfect day to come to Christ.  Remember if God seems far away, He is not the one who has moved.  Find your way to God or find your way back.  God is waiting for you.  Shalom.

This is a day for remembering.  It is also a day for praying... praying for those whose lives were lost on 9/11, praying for their families and friends, praying for our country and its leaders, praying for those in the service, praying for all victims of persecution everywhere and praying for those who are extremists (on both sides) and those who persecute.  In Matthew Our Lord says "But I tell you who hear me:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.... Be merciful just as your Father is merciful:  Matt. 6:27-8, 36 GNT.  We are told by Paul to "pray without ceasing".  Mary in apparitions tells us to "Pray, pray, pray"  We can pray that hearts not be hardened against the Lord.  We can pray for peace in our time.  Use this day and every day to spend some time in conversation with God.  If you are able, come out to the Shrine and feel the peace it has to offer.  Spend some time with God where ever you are and pray.  May God bless America, land that we love!  Stand beside her and guide her, through the night with a Light from above. 

Nine months ago on Dec. 8th we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  The little we know about Mary's birth & youth comes primarily from the apocryphal "Gospel of the Nativity of Mary" translated from the Hebrew by St. Jerome (340-420 AD), the "Protevangelium of St. James" (ca. 125 AD), and visions of mystics.  God chose Mary from the beginning (check in Genesis!) to be the mother of His Son.  Happy Birthday, Mary!
Let us pray: O almighty & merciful God, Who through the cooperation of the Holy Ghost didst prepare the body & soul of the Immaculate Infant Mary that she might be the worthy Mother of Thy Son, and didst preserve her from all stain, grant that we who venerate with all our hearts her most holy childhood, may be freed, through her merits & intercession, from all uncleanness of mind and body and be able to imitate per perfect humlity, obedience & charity.  Through Christ Our Lord.  Amen.  (from the Prayer to the Maria Bambina)

Such a beautiful day!  Not too hot, nice breeze... it was a beautiful day at the Shrine.  A great day to rest from your labors and reflect on Our Lord and Our Lady.  So often we wish for a day off from work or housework or whatever.  But what a wonderful gift it is to have a job, to have a home, to be healthy enough to do the labors that need to be done no matter how mundane.  Please pray for those who do not have jobs, for the homeless, for those who no longer have the health or the energy to be able to labor.  And praise God for the rest and peace He provides for those who love Him and follow in His ways!