GLORY, GLORY, A NEW KING IS BORN!

GLORIA!

HOSANNA IN EXCELSIS

IN HEAV’N BELLS ARE RINGING

VERILY THE SKY IS RIV’N WITH ANGELS SINGING

Dear Friends,

I would like to wish you all a very JOYFUL CHRISTMAS when we celebrate the Birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

I absolutely LOVE the hymn: ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID’S CITY. It takes me back to my childhood days, acting in our Nativity play. We had to do all the actions, and I can still remember rocking the Infant Jesus. It was such a precious time. The words are so profound: He came down to earth from heaven. Jesus is the Word made flesh. He came that we should have life in abundance.

In John 10:10 Jesus tells us, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” And He meant that we may have it (life) “exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all we can ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

I often think of people who have given up successful, high flying careers after having been completely changed by the power of Christ. The experience is an internal one. They discover something more, and although the world outside has not changed, and the problems still exist, they make a certain discovery, and find an inner peace, which the world cannot explain. Have you ever been or met someone who just radiates that inner peace and joy and you just want to be around that person?

More and more people are seeking for something beyond themselves. People are generally aware that there is a Power greater than us. There are so many self-help books, life coaches, doctrines and philosophy. The search is a real one to find our purpose and to make sense of our existence.

In every person there is an inner longing. There is a void that world cannot satisfy. At some point, we realise that the world cannot bring us the inner joy, peace, authentic love that we sincerely desire.  

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, for “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things have passed away and, behold, new things have come” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

This Christmas season, we celebrate the birth of Christ who calls His children back to Himself. 

Psalm 16:11 says it so well and we too, can welcome the Child King and say to Him:

You make known to me the path of life;
    You will fill me with joy in your presence,
        with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11

Have a HAPPY AND JOYOUS CHRISTMAS!

A BIG HUG

from

Olivia and Family

Now let us forget our problems and sing!

 

ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID’S CITY

Once in royal David’s city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby,
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall:
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.

For He is our childhood's pattern
Day by day, like us, He grew;
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles, like us He knew;
And He careth for our sadness,
And he shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that Child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above:
And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone.

ENJOY AN EXTRACT FROM ‘THE NEXT OF KIN’

Greetings friends!

It is with great delight that I today share with you an extract from my book. I am taking forward near the end but there is something special about this extract from Chapter 43. This segment happens in December, and as you read, you can imagine how much comfort Nicole needs at this moment as she tries to come to terms with the recent passing of Padre Angelo. As Angelo’s secret place is revealed, some secrets about his spiritual and artistic nature and the conflicts he had inside himself are revealed too. Enjoy!

-

8 December 2004

T

he next day Nicole was up and fully dressed, long before the dawn. There was silence in the mission, which tended to belie the drama of the recent events. She paced the verandah, sometimes stopping to look into the valley, wondering how often Angelo had looked across that direction. At times, she would just sit on the bench, facing the large cross, lost in grief, wondering when it would all end and if she would ever recover completely.

It was the same cross that depicted a distraught Saint John, who was standing with his arms wrapped around Mary, supporting and consoling her. It was Angelo’s favourite spot. And his violin was still reclining on Mary’s knees.

An old wound had re-opened; more than that – an old wound had been ripped open.

Nicole was still standing staring into the valley, when Carlos reappeared. It was just some minutes before six o’clock in the morning. He looked very tired, not having had much sleep, as he had to remain at the hospital while procedures were carried out before he could bring Angelo back to the mission for the final time.  He kissed her tenderly on her cheek and held her hand.

“Angelo is back.”

Then he saw the bruise on her forehead.

Carlos felt as if something hit his solar plexus. He lost his balance and tottered.

Before she could respond to either event, the singing and the drums, together with other homemade instruments, started again and seemed to get louder. Nicole held onto Carlos’ hands even more tightly and hid her face in his chest in an attempt to escape this never –ending nightmare.

He tenderly nursed the bruise on her forehead. And explanation for its presence was not necessary.

Soon, her daughters joined them on the verandah, in the silence of pain, which seemed to be compounded by each beat of the drums.

“Nicole… Come!” Having regained some semblance of strength, he intimated to her, also stretching out his hands to the girls. Carlos led her through the archway of the sweet smelling vines, which were now in blossom. Nicole thought that he was taking her to the church; however, she found herself going down into the valley, further and further away from the drums.

They came to a little stream. Carlos explained, “It comes from the mountains.”

Nicole washed her face in the cool, crystal waters and felt refreshed.

The very attractive and unusual stones and pebbles could be clearly seen lying on the sand bed. She was caught up in the wonder of the soothing waterfall and the stunning rainbow that was created by the cloud of mist and foam. The water flowed so peacefully from the waterfall and gurgled warmly, foaming as it made its way past the little boulders. Nicole found deep comfort.

“Look,” he pointed to a flat-topped rocked in the middle of the stream and another close by.  “Take your shoes off and we will rest here for a while. My daughters, there is also a seat for you. Don’t worry! No crocodiles!” He gave them a mischievous grin. This brought a smile to their faces as they looked in awe at the beauty of the place and welcomed the relief.

There could have been no better remedy for Nicole. The tranquil stream invigorated her soul. She swung her legs inside and against its flow. The water was refreshingly cool and the sand felt so soft between her toes as she wiggled them.

The early morning rays shone through the tall trees on either side of the bank and played on the water, giving off dazzling hues.

For Nicole, something was instantly familiar about this place and it brought back memories that were hidden in the recesses of her mind. Yes, the sheer peace, the seclusion of the trees, the sunlight flowing through the branches and the sound of the gurgling water reminded her of the secret place, with the flowing fountain and the towering statue of Archangel Michael.

It seemed like only yesterday.

“Angelo loved to come here. To hide here. To read his books and to write.”

“To write?”

“Yes. He liked to write poetry, stories for the mission children and various articles. He took great delight in composing music for the church and many things like that – like your John Bradburne.” His eyes twinkled as he caught her look of amazement.

“So when no one could find him, he was mostly here. This was the place where he came to find God. He often said God was waiting for him and he did not want to miss the appointment. Even when he felt unwell, he could be very stubborn and would still come here. Many times he came back in the rain, soaked.”

Carlos shook his head, “Angelo! Stubborn! Like ox!”

He asked her softly, “Did Angelo ever speak to you about the few weeks here in Mozambique before he became very ill and was taken to Zimbabwe?”

Encouraged by the look on Nicole’s face, he continued, “Angelo thought that the jungle would be a remedy for the pain he was going through, all the suffering and guilt he felt after…” He shrugged.

“I am his closest friend since seminary. I was with him the time his brother died. We were ordained together side-by-side.  As we lay face down on that day, Angelo was on my left side. We were like brothers, like Anton and Andre. Then it happened. The sorrow. All our celebrations stopped. He was still staggering, trying to find answers.”

He blinked back tears, “After some time, they allowed Angelo to join me here in Missao. He tried. He tried so hard. It was not easy. We all tried to help him. On the contrary, the jungle did not shield him from the devastation he felt on the inside. Then one day, he announced first to me, then to the Church, that he intended to leave his priesthood. Just like that! Can you imagine all our shock and disbelief?”

Carlos often wrestled with himself for not relating this painful aspect to Nicole when he brought Angelo to St Michael’s….  

 ***

 Meanwhile, below is a floral arrangement I made for my daughter, Candy, for her 21st birthday!

Dear Friends

I hope you are all doing fine, and reading! I will be posting something special, as always, for you next week and hopefully you will be inspired. We are again approaching that season of celebrating the birth of Christ and we are grateful for the redemption the Son of God brought to the world. The Birth of Christ no doubt came with a Promise of Forgiveness. The Promise of a better world.

In my book, that is one way or another the promise which some of the characters believe in, yet it is centered on how much we are willing to give up to follow in Christ’s footsteps. I trust that you are considering having a copy of my book The Next of Kin, so that we may have something to talk about together as one.

Check my blog next week!

Thank you once again.

Olivia

Something About Noble Life

I will continue to share with you anything about my book The Next of Kin – brief analyses or reviews of certain parts or whole extract of a certain chapter. Today, I am glad to share with you an analysis done by Beaven Tapureta, a book reviewer in Zimbabwe.

A Noble Life

There is a saying that goes: “If it means we are to die, let us die nobly” or something like that. Olivia C Paasche's novel has something important about living a noble life. I was most intrigued by Part Three of The Next of Kin which very well reveals the human spirit triumphing over death, having also triumphed over trials and tribulations that come with life on earth. One can add to the saying that ‘to die nobly is to have lived nobly’.

Part Three is as sad as it is spiritually uplifting. It contains six chapters, that is, ‘Arise, My Love’ (Chapter 40), ‘Mozambique’ (Chapter 41), ‘The Drumbeat of Heaven’ (Chapter 42), ‘The Secret Place Revisited’ (Chapter 43), ‘Horses and Chariots of Fire’ (Chapter 44) and ‘The Zulu Dancers’ (Chapter 45). Once again the author’s display of flowing descriptions as she captures scenes of spiritual activity is outstanding.

However, it is in the first three chapters (Chapter 40, 41, and 42) of this third part of the novel, where the power of faith and love when death approaches at a close range is exhibited in powerful language.

Nicole and Angelo in these chapters become incarnations of true love, of the very life-giving thing that we give voluntarily from the bottom of our hearts, guided by the example of Christ’s great love for humanity. Yet the focus is on Angelo’s approaching death and the grief this ‘waiting’ causes at the Mission and surrounding villages.

At this point Angelo is fatally ill, refusing to die until he sees his Nicole – the girl he had earlier seen in visions, the same young woman who had saved him 14 years ago when he was brought to St Michael’s Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe half-dead, the same young woman now by his side on his deathbed.

When one reads about this episode, the issue of noble death comes to mind. Life on earth will come to pass but what we would have done with it is what matters. Angelo, a priest devoted to serving God, had seen it all as a missionary.

His deeds followed him to death. They say believers die a noble death and it is true. Angelo had done so much for the villagers in Mozambique through his missionary work. As his best friend Carlos tells Nicole, “Angelo is much loved by the villagers…He sacrifices everything for them…”

And when he died, “They sang with all their hearts, paying tribute to a greatly respected priest who had befriended them, built their homes, schools and wells and taught them how to grow their own crops and progressed them towards self-sufficiency. Most of all, he had taught them, by his selfless example, how to love…Being ill many times, he would be sent back to Rome, but he always wanted to come back to his beloved mission and the people of Mozambique.”

We have seen leaders or celebrities who have been described as ‘great’ yet they die dishonorably because they would have lived a life lacking in love. Angelo was not selfish – his love for the African people was so deep that whenever he was flown back to Italy due to sickness, he would upon his recovery beg to return to Africa to complete his mission.

Angelo’s death was noble in the sense that he knew he had done what God wanted him to do. How do we know Heaven was satisfied by his noble deeds? The mysterious sight of four doves near Angelo’s room when he lay there close to death is interpreted very well by his best friend Carlos to Nicole: “…The doves are telling you and me that there is another world out there, a continuation of life. A more real existence: one where there is joy and peace. They are anxious to take Angelo away. In letting go in this way, God gives you your own rebirth. And suddenly when all is said and done, though weeping may tarry for the night, joy will come in the morning.”

When we do good on this earth, we are assured of Heaven and death becomes nothing but a passage to a higher life because, again as Carlos says to Nicole, “…We are all pilgrims on our journey, making our way back to the Homeland, to the Father…”

It is the same loving kindness for humanity that John Bradburne, a known martyr who protected the lepers, and the one whose life story is seemingly being re-lived by Angelo, displayed.

Now that Angelo has seen his Nicole, he feels that God has granted him his last wish and with it, a certain revelation of the goodness of human love. His words, “… I am like John Bradburne…” poses a significant choice that Angelo made years ago, of serving the world in every way possible as in the example of Bradburne and the ultimate example of Jesus Christ.

His best friend Carlos, when he is conversing with Nicole in the chapter ‘The Secret Place Revisited’, he says of Angelo, “He took great delight in composing music for the church and many things like that - like your John Bradburne.”

What all this inspires is the will to be ready to serve the people of the world with the same love as was exemplified by God’s prophets of long ago. Living a life of kindness towards the poor or vulnerable is voluntary and a work of deep faith in God; as such it calls for commitment until we see the Rose.

And when we see it, like Angelo who is in the throes of death, proclaim to the world:

“I found the Rose! I truly found the Rose!”

  Though the mood at the Mission is too somber when Angelo’s body is being carried from the church onto to a waiting helicopter, with orphans and many other villagers gathered to pay last respects to their beloved priest, the funeral soon turns into celebration of the power of great love.  In the chapter ‘The Zulu Dancers’, which is the last chapter of this Part Three of the novel, Angelo’s death becomes nothing but a victory and a celebration of a life well-lived.

    

 ***

Comments welcome. Thank you. 

Our Lady of Medjugorje Message

Greetings Friends,

I hope all of you are doing well?

As I promised last time I am going to include the latest monthly message from Mary - Our Lady of Medjugorje Message, 25 October 2019:

"Dear children! Today I call you to prayer. May prayer be a balm to your soul, because the fruit of prayer is joy, giving and witnessing God to others - through your life. Little children, in complete surrender to God, He will take care of everything and will bless you; and your sacrifices will have meaning. I am with you and bless all of you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call."

*

Meanwhile, here is a flower arrangement I made for my daughter's Birthday.

Comment and tell me what you think:

Thank you!

Medjugorje: A Place of Wonder and Peace

Hello everyone!

As promised, I would like to tell you a little about this wonderful and most peaceful place on earth - Medjugorje. This week, I will not be delving into The Next of Kin as I want to just focus on Medjugorje. I spent a week on pilgrimage from the 5th -12th September with St Peter the Apostle parish in Woolwich organized by Marian Pilgrimages. We all experienced deep inner peace and the presence of God and His love in unique ways. We got on so well as a group and we were very united in every way. There was a wonderful bond of love. 

I recently spoke to my pilgrim friends and they too feel quite homesick for Medjugorje. The story of Medjugorje is taken from Tekton Ministries. They specialize in pilgrimages. I have taken short extracts from it in order to give you a peak into this extraordinary place.

Please click here: THE STORY OF MEDJUGORJE

They have put out an absolutely wonderful story. The Story of Medjugorje is very much worth reading, however you can easily find many other internet sites/ books that are dedicated to this mystical place. 

Thank you so much Tekton Ministries and may God richly BLESS you!

MEDJUGORJE

The Parish of Medjugorje is situated in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, close to the border of Croatia and just 50 miles from the Adriatic Sea. The name “Medjugorje” literally means "between mountains."

On June 24, 1981, two young girls were walking in the hamlet of Bijakovici in the parish of Medjugorje when a woman holding an infant appeared high on a hill among the boulders and brambles of Mount Podbrdo. Instinctively, they knew it was the Virgin Mary, but they did not approach her. They and four other children felt called to return the next day, and Our Blessed Mother drew them to her, effortlessly transporting them up the mountain, over boulders and thorny bushes. The Blessed Mother introduced herself as the Queen of Peace. They fell to their knees and began to pray. She prayed with them and promised to return the next day. Our Lady has regularly appeared in Medjugorje ever since, as have countless stories of conversion and miracles, making The Story of Medjugorje one of the most fascinating in modern church history.

The messages that our Blessed Mother has shared with the visionaries are messages of peace and love. Our Lady says God sent her to Medjugorje as an act of grace to remind us that God does exist, and He loves us. She comes as the Queen of Peace to bring the world back to her Son. She has given us five “stones”, or weapons, to combat evil and bring us closer to Jesus; they are prayer, fasting, scripture, Mass, the Eucharist, and the Sacrament of confession. Through her miraculous works and messages, she longs to open our hearts to God and help us to reorient our lives towards His Church and the Sacraments, which so many of us have moved away from. 

Our Lady told the seers that one day God would place a “sign” on Mount Podbrdo (Apparition Hill) to prove to non-believers that the apparitions took place. While many look forward to climbing the mountain to see the Lasting Sign, many pilgrims fear missing out on this time of grace and want to visit Medjugorje while the apparitions are still taking place.

          At first, Mary appeared to all of the visionaries every day, sometimes together and sometimes separately. She told the visionaries they will each be entrusted with ‘secrets’ about events that will be revealed to the world three days before each one occurs. When the Blessed Mother shares her final secret with each visionary, she stops appearing daily to them. 

On the 25th of each month, Our Lady delivers a message for the world through Marija (one of the visionaries), which is translated and released by the Parish Information Office.

***

In the next blog post I hope to include the latest message. I anticipate that the Mother of God is desperately calling all of us to pray, pray, pray!

Until next time I pray you have a wonderful week.

God Bless!

Olivia

A Devotion to God

Dear friends, 

I am thrilled to share with you one of my photos from my ongoing pilgrimage in Medjugorje in the former Yugoslavia. As I promised, I will be sharing more details and images when I return.

FLOWERS FOR A WEDDING

I recently made this flower arrangement for a couple to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. It was my first attempt but I was rather proud of my amateur presentation. 

It would be great to hear your comments.

Thank you,

Olivia

The Beautiful Spirit of Sunflowers

Greetings to you all wonderful readers.

   I hope you had a good week?

   From Thursday this week I will be away on an eight day pilgrimage to Medjugorje in the former Yugoslavia. For those of you who do not know about Medjugorje, I will be talking about it when I come back.

   So for now I will continue to take you into the pages of The Next of Kin but before that:

   I am a newbie to flower arranging. I absolutely love it! I love watching the YouTube videos especially those by World Beauty, she is absolutely amazing.

  In the supermarkets and florist shops, the sunflowers are so alive here London. Incidentally, someone sent me a very heart-warming story of sunflowers.

   I very much wanted to share this with you and hope it touches your heart as it did mine.

SUNFLOWERS  

Sunflowers turn according to the position of the sun. In other words, they “chase the light.” You might already know this, but there is another fact that you probably do not know! Have you ever wondered what happens on cloudy and rainy days when the sun is completely covered by clouds? This is an interesting question. Isn’t it?

   Perhaps you think the sunflower withers or turns its head towards the ground. Is this what crossed your mind? Well, that’s incorrect!

   This is what happens:

   They turn towards each other to share their energy. Nature’s perfection is amazing. Now let’s apply this reflection to our lives. Many people may become low-spirited, and the most vulnerable ones even become depressed.

   How about following the example of the beautiful sunflowers, that is, "supporting and empowering each other". Nature has so much to teach us.

   Wishing everyone a "Sun flower" trait of turning towards each other in our cloudy and gloomy days. Spread goodness...it will come back to you…

 Olivia

Extract From The Next Of Kin

Chapter One

The Dream

‘In a dream, in the vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on mortals, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings…’ - Job 33: 15-16

Rome – Thursday, 27 October 1983.

The dream recurred at five thirty in the morning.

Angelo found himself walking along the seashore in the early hours of the morning. He was dressed in his Franciscan brown habit. His hood, which slipped off his face, allowed the ocean breeze to ruffle his thick dark brown hair.

The rising sun, adorned with beautiful reddish-golden hues, was just beginning to break through the strips of clouds yonder on the horizon. The breeze, fresh and gentle, mingled the fragrance of the ocean with those of the endless skies above.

Meditatively, he held his black leather-bound Bible with hands that were clasped behind his back. He strolled along barefoot, delighting in the feel of the silky sand between his toes. Slowly, he inhaled the whole experience and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he was just in time to see three doves directly above, which were making a spectacular flight display in the dazzling sunlight before flying out into the horizon.

The tide was gradually starting to come in and he felt the cool foaming waves splash and tease his feet. Once again, he inhaled deeply and felt at peace.

All was well.

Unexpectedly, his heart began to skip. There she was again! Of course, he knew who she was. She looked exactly as she did in the life-size painting that hung in his childhood home, which depicted her holding a large crucifix of the Lord, surrounded by roses. He had always been fascinated by the incredibly beautiful white rose that had fallen out of the main bunch. It was decorated with red speckles.

Today, here on the shore, her countenance was more compelling than ever. “Saint Therese…,” he whispered.

He stopped walking and stood, completely immobilised, watching her in great wonderment, like a little boy. In one hand, she held a large crucifix of the Lord, which was surrounded by many stunning roses. She smiled at him and offered him a pure white rose identical to the rose in the picture, but this one was far more exquisite – and did not have any red speckles.

Before accepting the rose, he first kissed the Lord’s nailed feet with deep devotion, lingering long enough to absorb the heavenly perfume from the many other roses.

When he finally took the flower from her, she gazed at him with a certain expression of urgency, infused with compassion and love.

Not a single word was spoken.

He was inexplicably engulfed by overwhelming pain and copious tears ran down his cheeks. As they fell and hit the center of the rose, the drops changed into vibrant red liquid, which then splattered onto the pure white canvas of the petals, thus giving the rose the appearance of a speckled white rose.

Although he felt distress rising within him, he could not help noticing how this transformed rose was now identical to the picture in his parents’ home. A replica hung on his wall in the seminary.

He felt himself grow more and more perplexed.

During the struggle to find the meaning of all this, an unexpected wave came and knocked him off balance and totally drenched him. While he wrestled with it for what seemed quite a long time, several other larger waves followed; each seemed to be more powerful than the preceding ones.

When everything became calm again, Angelo became frantic.

He had lost the rose!

He searched everywhere… in the sea, along the shore, but it was not to be found!

The loud pounding on the door jerked Angelo out of his fitful sleep. He found himself tangled up in his bed sheets and, being so confused, he tumbled out of bed, landing with a thud on the floor.

The knocking continued.

“Angelo! My old friend! Is everything all right?” It was Carlos, his close friend and one of the seminarians. “We are all waiting for you. It is your week to lead the Morning Prayer, remember?”

Hearing no reply, Carlos became quite concerned and opened Angelo’s room slightly and peered in. … …

(And the chapter, which is the first of the four chapters under Part One, continues…)

Dearest reader, I welcome comments from you. Feel free to share what you think about the extract. Later, I will share with you another extract. Many thanks for taking the time to read the extract.

- Olivia