My Friend the Friar
A podcast where we learn about our faith and share what it takes to live a Catholic Christian life through conversations and contemplations with my friend the friar, a Discalced Carmelite Priest.
My Friend the Friar
A Quick Life Update and Request for Prayers
A Quick Life Update and Request for Prayers.
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Welcome to the podcast and thanks for joining me. You may have noticed the missed new episode on Friday and the short run time on this one Today is going to be an announcement of sorts instead of a proper episode. On the morning of September 7th, my mom, rita, had a massive stroke. She survived and is recovering massive stroke she survived and is recovering. The type of stroke she had is actually pretty rare, and that is partly because it turns out that the blood vessels in her brain are laid out in a rare way. The two carotid arteries that go into the brain are supposed to fan out, but in my mom's case hers merged down into a single one. This rare formation apparently only happens in 0.3 to 2% of people. Because of this, her stroke affected both sides of her brain instead of just one side, and that, plus the region where the stroke occurred. That takes place in anywhere between 0.3% and 4.4% of strokes is what we've learned. She's doing remarkably well so far, all things considered.
Speaker 1:I just want to say kind of a blanket thank you to the doctor who performed the procedure on her brain which saved her life, and to the healthcare people all the healthcare people who have contributed to her care so far and who will do so in the future, and to all the other healthcare workers out there, thank you. Your job is definitely not an easy one. Mom is able to eat as of now, move her head, her hands and toes. So far. She's just very recently able to remain sitting up under her own strength, if only for just a few seconds. She's able to speak with great effort and she's completely aware of the situation and everything going on in her hospital room around her. So she's definitely a tough lady. If you've been listening to my friend the friar for a while, you know that my mom is probably our biggest fan, which makes sense because you know, because she's my mom and everything. So, father Stephen and I, we hope to get back to releasing episodes soon. I realized just the other day that all of our recent episodes have been setting the stage for us to be able to talk about our mother Mary in Lumen Gentium, and I don't think there are any coincidences when it comes to God. So thank you for being patient with us. While I focus on family, we want to get back to releasing episodes as soon as it's right for us to do so New episodes they may also give my mom something to look forward to as she continues in her recovery and, who knows, you know, god willing maybe she'll even recover enough to be a guest one day. Uh, so, before I wrap this up, I do want to share some thoughts and ask for your prayers.
Speaker 1:I've spent who knows how many hours sitting in a chair next to her bed in her hospital room over the last two weeks. I was lucky enough for a relic of St Jude to come to our parish a short while back and I touched my rosary to it. So Mom and I have been spending a lot of time holding it and asking St Jude to pray for her healing, along with Mary and many other saints. Now, as I've sat holding her hand or looking into her eyes when she's awake, or watching her while she's slept, I've had a lot of thoughts and kind of realizations that I want to share. First of all is just how good God is. He's such a kind and gentle and loving father, and as I sit back and I watch her while she sleeps, or look into her eyes when she's awake and looking back at me unable to speak much of the time, I imagine how lovingly and how gently the Lord must look at us and just how my mom is still able to say so much without having to say a word. How much does our Father say to us constantly? Simply by how he looks at us. I pray for all of us to learn to become aware of His constant and loving gaze. The second thing that I've been spending time contemplating and praying about is how god is the divine healer. He isn't just healing my mom right now, but every member of our family and the health care workers who've been and will be working with my mom and, I imagine, each of you now as you listen to this.
Speaker 1:Many of the daily mass readings since my mom had her stroke have been about healing, and the Sunday Mass reading on September the 8th, or readings from Isaiah 35, verses 4-7, and Mark 7, verses 31-37, they were not lost on me. Jesus could literally walk into my mom's hospital room and take her by the hand and say, rita, get up. And that would be it. She would get up and she'd be completely healed. And these aren't just stories that the Bible gives us to hope or to give us hope or something right. They actually happened.
Speaker 1:Can you imagine what it must have been like for the people who took their loved ones to the Lord for healing, and do each of us? Do we have the faith to ask our loving God for that kind of healing in our lives, in the lives of our loved ones? The last thing that I've been thinking about is how poorly we prioritize our lives. I really want to encourage everyone to spend some time thinking about it. If you know, think about.
Speaker 1:Do you only pray when you need something from God? You know we should spend just as much time rejoicing in Him and loving Him as we do asking for stuff time rejoicing in him and loving him as we do asking for stuff. And your kids, your spouse, your parents, your siblings do you hold your loved one's hand or look into their eyes often, or not often enough? Do you make the time to spend time with the people you love or do you let how busy you are keep you from doing it? Do you make a point to tell them that you love them or do you fill your life with noise and busyness that gets in the way of you having those moments? You know we let the TV, the internet, social media work.
Speaker 1:I can tell you the quiet moments early in the morning or at night watching my mom sleep or holding her hand or looking into her eyes. They're worth more than any of those things which I've filled my life with those pointless distractions or noise, with those pointless distractions or noise. It's worth more than all that. So whenever you hear this, please pray for my mom and our family and pray for yours and go, hug and kiss your loved ones. Don't miss those moments that you can't get back. If you want, you can share stories or prayers or well wishes on YouTube's in the comment section, or you can use the send us a text button in your podcast player and please share the podcast with other people. Prayer is the most powerful thing that we can do, and I know it would mean a lot to my mom to know people around the world are praying for her recovery. God bless.
