Lord, teach me to be patient — with life, with people and with myself. I sometimes try to hurry things along too much, and I push for answers before the time is right. Teach me to trust Your sense of timing rather than my own and to surrender my will to Your greater and wiser plan. Help me to let life unfold slowly, like the small rosebud whose petals unravel bit by bit, and remind me that in hurrying the bloom along, I destroy the bud and much of the beauty therein. Instead, let me wait for all to unfold in its own time. Each moment and state of growth contains a loveliness. Teach me to slow down enough to appreciate life and all it holds.
© 1992 Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

I go to look up Mass times for today, and this is what immediately pops out at me.  Certainly, God can’t be trying to tell me something, can He?  And then, in writing this entry, it abbreviates it as “Prayer for Pat,” which, of course, I will pray for Pat!  I love Pat!  Please also pray for her!

It is with great sorrow that I ask for prayers for these two women and their families today.

K gave birth to a little girl at 29 weeks gestation, who later developed a blood clot on her brain and has since gone home to the Lord.  This is K’s 3rd loss of a child.  Any loss is completely devastating, and I know well the depths of her pain.

S has just let us know that she has lost her pregnancy.  Another crushing loss.  You can never adequately state what this means.  I know I can’t verbalize my own loss very well or to put it in terms that really capture the scope of it.

My heart bleeds for them both.  Please pray for these two and their families — they will need it!  Blessed Virgin, please intercede for and support these two mothers in their time of grief.

An updated message went out on Andy:

We heard from Fr. J.J. this afternoon and Andy came through the surgery well. His spleen was 15 inches long and filled with ping pong ball size tumors. There is a tumor on the prostate and another on the liver which they could not do anything about. Andy is in ICU and receiving morphine; Fr. J.J. expects to bring him home tomorrow. The plan is to start chemo in about 10 days.
Keep up the prayers to St. Francis!

And a little later, basically the same message was sent out from a different source:

Yes, we just heard from Fr. J.J. a few minutes ago. Andy came through the surgery in good shape. His spleen was 15 inches long and filled with ping pong ball size tumors. They could not do anything about the tumor on his prostate or liver. Andy is in ICU and on a morphine drip; sounded like he is resting well and Father expects to bring him home tomorrow. The plan is to start chemo in about 10 days; that could change once they get the test results back though.

And, from another source:

We just got an update on Andy. He came through the surgery fine. They removed his spleen which was about 15 inches long and looked like a sack of ping pong balls. He will start chemo in a few days. He will hopefully come home tomorrow. Fr. JJ sounds much relieved and much better than yesterday.

Keep praying!