Dear Readers, I usually write long blogs but this one is a short one for Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Dear Virgin Mary, I was blessed to see you on Jaun Diego’s cloak at El Tepeyac in Mexico City, years ago. Today is your feast day. I beg you for your help. My dog, Twister, is seriously ill. Will you please help him get well? In September 2009, he came to our home abandoned and near death. With your help, an efficient veterinarian and Jesus, he recovered. Today, I beg you to help him recover from his current ailment.
Here I am prostrate before your image asking for your help for my little dog, my kitten who has lost his sight, my husband who is also sick, and for my sister who suffers from a mental illness and also for my health (I have a very sharp pain in my spine).
My sister had Covid but today I found out that she has recovered. Thank you, dear blessed Virgen of Guadalupe. Thanks a lot!
Please reach out to everyone who needs help. Thank you very much, Our Lady, for all that you have done for me!
Dear Readers, please forgive me for not keeping up with my website. I haven’t blogged for about 3 months, but if you are one of my followers, you know that I have fibromyalgia, a dreadful, painful illness that interferes with my writing and other projects. In addition to fibromyalgia, I have spondylolisthesis. My primary care physician ordered X-rays of my abdomen and hips when I started complaining about an unbearable pain in the lumbar area, glutes, and hips. The radiologist reported the problem was my spinal column. Via Pain Management specialists, I underwent two surgeries that unfortunately did not help to alleviate the pain caused by spondylolisthesis.
In addition to the aforementioned maladies, I acquired another one. I fell in my bedroom and broke a bone in my left foot. I did not know that I had broken a bone. Because fibromyalgia (fibro) attacks the muscles in the body, it was easy for me to assume that fibro was responsible for the horrible pain. Since I sleep on my back, I was developing a bed sore on my right heel. It took a while to see a podiatrist. He examined my foot and prescribed a special boot that I use every night when I go to bed. When I mentioned that my left foot hurt, he took some x-rays and discovered that I indeed had a fracture. To take care of the broken bone, I had to wear a boot all day long and remove it at night. I wore the boot for three weeks. After this period, I started to walk with running shoes for three weeks. When this period ended, the podiatrist re-examined my foot. The bone had begun to heal. I was so happy. Jesus had taken care of me. He also helped me self-publish an Early Reader Children’s book: “Merrytenna and Friends… The Pollen-Collecting Mission.” If you are interested in taking a look at my book, you may find it in Amazon’s KDP program in the Children’s section under M. E. Murray or the book’s title.
Why did I use a bee as a primary character for my book? Since I’m an entomologist, I thought sharing my honeybee knowledge with children and their parents in a book that shows honeybees making friends, being kind to each other, and exercising their role as pollinators when they feed on flowers to collect pollen.
I am pleased to write about Merrytenna because she is a charitable honeybee willing to go to great lengths to collect pollen to ensure the survival of the honeybees and especially the Queen, who eats royal jelly, made from pollen. In addition to writing children’s books, I also wrote an 87,000-word supernatural novel.
Dear Readers, please pray for all the folks who are suffering from hunger, illness, losing a loved one, and their country, in this case: Russia invading the Ukraine.
A HEALING PRAYER
O Jesus, Good Shepherd, You heal the sick and the needy. I give You all those parts of my body which have suffered from illness. You know what it is like to endure pain. Look kindly on me today and heal me. Restore me to strength of soul and body.
Give your gift of wisdom to my physicians that they may be guided by the Holy Spirit in all they do. Bless my nurses so that their hands will become Your hands as they touch me. Bless, too, my medication. O Jesus, grant us all Your healing grace of love and peace. Amen.
“A Healing Prayer” was given to me in 2016 by a Catholic volunteer when I was recovering in the hospital from a fall that ended up as a hip replacement. The prayer came from www.maryscall.com. I say it, every day because I need Jesus’s help to take care of myself, my husband, my sister, and my pets. We are not alone. Jesus is always with us. So, I seek His help to deal with pain, daily activities, and my future appointment with a neurosurgeon that’s coming up in a month. Please pray for me. I hope the neurosurgeon can end the pain coming from the spinal column.
Dear Readers, thank you so much for your prayers and for reading my blogs. Best wishes, Maria Murray.
Through the years, Christmas Day has become commercialized. Gift-giving and receiving gifts have become the norm. Many times, people don’t appreciate the gifts they receive. I came from a poor background, so I appreciate everything nice folks do for me. When I was growing up, I would line up with other impoverished children at the police station to receive a paper sack filled with candies and a toy.
Today I celebrate God’s promise to us that He would send his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to save us from ourselves. I am no saint, but there are times when I definitely feel depressed and wonder how I am going to cope with fibromyalgia, a broken foot, and spinal column pain. With time, the broken foot will repair, but fibromyalgia and my spinal column pain are forever. Nevertheless, God has given me the strength to cope with these illnesses and others. Faith in the Lord keeps me going. If it weren’t for Him, I wouldn’t be writing and doing other things that healthy people are able to do.
Therefore, I tell myself that today is the perfect day to recall that Jesus suffered more than I have. Jesus endured all sorts of suffering since He was born. Our Saviour was born in a stable that I imagine was not very warm. Jesus’s birth reminds me of my childhood home, a brick house that I suspect was built in 1905. I was born in that house, I suppose, with the help of a midwife. During the winter months, our family tried to warm up the large rooms with old gas heaters that had to be turned off at night to protect the family from a fire, but Jesus didn’t have a space heater when He was born.
And towards the end of His life, Jesus suffered verbal abuse and physical torture. I broke my left foot about nine days ago. I twisted my foot when I fell on the hardwood floor in my bedroom. The pain was excruciating, but I am sure that it did not compare to the pain that Jesus suffered on the way to His final destination, been nailed to a wooden cross. I can only imagine how that must have felt. Today we celebrate his birthday, but we must remember that He chose to be born, even though He knew what was going to happen to Him. Why did he do this? The answer is simple. He loves us. And He will always be doing things for us if we just learn to love Him. So, don’t forget to thank Him for all that He has done for us. Merry Christmas!
Dear Readers: Today I will talk about the Blessed Virgin Mary and the places where she graced us with her presence: Rue de Bac in Paris in 1830 (the Miraculous Medal), La Salette in 1846 and Lourdes in 1858; Pontmain, France (1871), Knock, Ireland (1879), Fatima, Portugal (1917), Beauraing, Belgium (1932), Banneux, Belgium (1933), and in 1531 Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared four times to a humble Native Indian, Juan Diego, on Tepeyac Hill.
Most of you know that I was raised a Roman Catholic. So, today is a very special day. Christ’s mother is looking at me from Heaven as I beg her to perform some special miracles: cure my sister who has Alzheimer’s, protect my dear husband from any illness (He has been taking care of my sister, me, Marty, our cat, and Twister, our foxhound). It is a yearly custom to greet the Virgin at St. Patrick’s Cathedral early in the morning with the mariachi, the Virgin’s fans, and parishioners singing “Las Mañanitas.” This morning was too chilly for me. My fibromyalgia pain intensified. I asked the Blessed Virgin to heal me and other folks who have this dreadful disease. I also asked her to cure my spinal column pain. I need to be well to take care of my family.
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
There are several facts that I didn’t know about the Virgin of Guadalupe, so I am including them in this blog.
“The lady from Heaven”
Did you know?
Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Saint Juan Diego on December 9, 10 and 12, 1531.
The image left on Saint Juan Diego’s tilma is the only true picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe in existence.
The image has remained intact with all its original vibrancy for 475 years. The natural life span of a cloak made with fiber from the gave or maguey plant is only about 30 years.
The image is a pictograph which could be read and understood by the Aztec Indians.
Our Lady appears as a beautiful young Indian maiden and Queen.
Her eyes are looking down with humility and compassion. She is human, not God.
She is wearing a blue-green mantle (the color worn by royalty) covered with stars.
The stars signify she comes from heaven – the Queen of Heaven. The constellations are in the exact position as appeared before dawn on the morning of December 12, 1531.
Her robe is colored rose or pale red and covered with Aztec flowers, symbolic of an Aztec princess.
In the center of her robe, overlying her womb, is a four petal quincunx flower in the shape of a cross which is the sign of the Divine and the center of the cosmic order to the Aztec. The Virgin’s Baby, Jesus, is Divine and the new center of the universe.
Her hands are joined in prayer and, therefore, she is not God but clearly there is one greater than she and she points her finger to the cross on her brooch.
Her fur cuffs symbolize royalty.
She wears a black maternity band signifying she is with Child.
A black cross is on the brooch around her neck. This signifies she is a follower of the God of the Spanish Missionaries, Jesus Christ who died on the cross for all.
She stands in front of the sun. The sun symbolizes the greatest Aztec god – Huitzilopochtli. She announces the God who is greater than their sun god.
She stands on the moon. The crescent moon symbolized the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent moon god. She has clearly crushed and defeated him.
An angel with eagle’s wings supports the Mother of God. The eagle was the “bird of the sun.” Here the eagle is the servant of the Virgin. She holds her mantle in one hand and robe with the other, signifying the Son she bears is from both heaven and earth.
To date the image cannot be explained by science.
The image on the tilma was able to do what up to that time the missionaries were not able to do significantly. Namely, clearly explain Christianity to the Indian people. The proof is in the fact that after the apparitions, eight million natives of Mexico converted to Catholicism from 1531 to 1538.
Guadalupan Expert: Msgr. Eduardo Chávez Sánchez
Msgr. Eduardo Chávez Sánchez is co-founder and rector of the Institute for Guadalupan Studies, and is a canon of the Basilica of Guadalupe. Born in Mexico City, he studied philosophy and theology in the Institute for Ecclesiastical Studies at Mexico’s Conciliar Seminary. He was ordained on Aug. 15, 1981, in the Archdiocese of Mexico. He holds a diploma in philosophy from the Universidad del Valle de Atemajac in Guadalajara and, a doctorate in Church history from the Pontifical Gregorian University.https://videos.sproutvideo.com/embed/d39dd9bb131ae5c65a/16dcbacb7a14eb41https://videos.sproutvideo.com/embed/449dd9bb131bedc4cd/00a9862158a9924b
Dear Readers: Have a wonderful day! Don’t forget to thank Our Lady of Guadalupe for all the things she has done for you, even though you may not know it.
Dear Readers, the following information is taken from the Navy History and Heritage Command.
USS Arizona (BB-39) ablaze, immediately following the explosion of her forward magazines, 7 December 1941. Frame clipped from a color motion picture taken from onboard USS Solace (AH-5) (80-G-K-13512).
World War II came to the United States of America on Sunday morning, 7 December 1941, with a massive surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy. “Like a thunderclap from a clear sky,” Japanese carrier attack planes (in both torpedo and high-level bombing roles) and bombers, supported by fighters, numbering 353 aircraft from six aircraft carriers, attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in two waves, as well as nearby naval and military airfields and bases. The enemy sank five battleships and damaged three; and sank a gunnery training ship and three destroyers, damaged a heavy cruiser, three light cruisers, two destroyers, two seaplane tenders, two repair ships and a destroyer tender. Navy, Army, and Marine Corps facilities suffered varying degrees of damage, while 188 Navy, Marine Corps, and U.S. Army Air Force planes were destroyed. Casualties amounted to: killed or missing: Navy, 2,008; Marine Corps, 109; Army, 218; civilian, 68; and wounded: Navy, 710; Marine Corps, 69; Army, 364; civilian, 35. Japanese losses amounted to fewer than 100 men and 29 planes.Sailors, Marines, and Soldiers fought back with extraordinary courage, often at the sacrifice of their own lives. Those without weapons to fight took great risk to save wounded comrades and to save their ships. Pilots took off to engage Japanese aircraft despite the overwhelming odds. Countless acts of valor went unrecorded, as many witnesses died in the attack. Fifteen U.S. Navy personnel were awarded the Medal of Honor — ranging from seaman to rear admiral — for acts of courage above and beyond the call of duty, ten of them posthumously.
Japanese forces were astonished at the quick reaction and intensity of U.S. antiaircraft fire. That more Japanese aircraft were not shot down had nothing to do with the skill, training, or bravery of our Sailors and other servicemembers. Rather, U.S. antiaircraft weapons were inadequate in number and capability, for not only had the Japanese achieved tactical surprise, they achieved technological surprise with aircraft and weapons far better than anticipated — a lesson in the danger of underestimating the enemy that resonates to this day.
While damage to the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s battleline proved extensive, it was not complete. The attack failed to damage any American aircraft carriers, which had been providentially absent from the harbor. Our aircraft carriers, along with supporting cruisers and destroyers and fleet oilers, proved crucial in the coming months. The Japanese focus on ships and planes spared our fuel tank farms, naval yard repair facilities, and the submarine base, all of which proved vital for the tactical operations that originated at Pearl Harbor in the ensuing months and played a key role in the Allied victory. American technological skill raised and repaired all but three of the ships sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor. Most importantly, the shock and anger that Americans felt in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor united the nation and was translated into a collective commitment to victory in World War II.
Remembrance Resources Resources for Pearl Harbor remembrance events may be found in our Pearl Harbor Remembrance section.
Why Pearl Harbor? In the video sound bite below, Naval History and Heritage Command historian Robert J. Cressman discusses Japan’s strategic objective for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Click the links below for additional sets of video sound bites to hear Cressman answer questions about other aspects of the attack. Videos may be downloaded from DVIDS.
The Navy Department Library Online Reading Room contains an overview of the Pearl Harbor attack; that page also provides most of the links given above. Published: Fri Dec 03 15:42:15 EST 2021. Please pray for the brave armed forces who helped us win the war! Thank you to the men and women who served their country under such horrible conditions.
Dear Readers, this has been a bad year for many folks, including me, but I am not going to gripe about the constant fibromyalgia and spinal column pain that keep me from writing and enjoying life. I have gotten behind on my blogs. I missed talking about many events, including Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. This does not mean that I have forgotten the saints or people who were part of my life.
Veterans Day is coming up. On this day we should honor our departed relatives, friends, and all the men and women who fought for our country to make it what it is today. In my family, there are 2 Army veterans: Victor, my older brother and Bob, my husband, and a marine, my brother-in-law. They deserve our respect and thanks.
Now, I will switch gears to another time and place. Although, I am sick with fibromyalgia and spinal column problems, I am fortunate to be alive. Years ago, when I was probably a 7-year-old kid, I was at Boca Chica beach, about 30 miles from Brownsville, Texas, celebrating an outing at the beach with my family. At that age, I was not bothered by the heat at all. Now, if I’d just walk along the beach, I would sweat profusely.
My parents, especially my mother, enjoyed weekend outings at Padre Island or Boca Chica. Rocky, an Airedale-German Shepherd mix, did not like the water and spent the day digging under our car so that by the time we were ready to leave, we were stuck in the sand and had to figure out a way to dig the car out. Lobito, a terrier mix, loved the water and would swim to my brothers, Victor and Hector, where the water was already up to their chests. In the meantime, my sister, mom, dad and I spent our time in the shade provided by the car or on the edge of the ocean where the waves would come in and out and sweep us towards deeper waters. We had an innertube from a car tire that I used to float on the water which could have been 2 feet deep.
Suddenly, I found myself laying on the sand close to the ocean. My older brother was kneeling beside me. I opened my eyes and caught a glimpse of the innertube. It had floated a long distance from us and disappeared. We lost the innertube but I was alive. My brother probably was responsible for saving my life, but I was a kid. I don’t recall thanking my brother for saving my life. I didn’t even realize that I had almost drowned. What I remember is being in a peaceful, painless darkness. I don’t know if he had to resuscitate me. All I remember is seeing the innertube disappear, then later getting up to get closer to the lashing waves, and seeing my brothers swimming in the deeper waters with Lobito.
In today’s blog, I didn’t choose a flag to celebrate Veterans Day. I chose a lovely thistle flower to thank veterans for their participation in all our wars and to thank my brother for saving my life. He never mentioned it, and he also didn’t mention going to Vietnam, but I strongly suspect that he did. With tears in my eyes, I thank you, Victor and Jesus Christ, for saving my life and others’ lives. God bless our country’s veterans.
Dear Readers: my poem, a description of the moon, was accepted for publication in Three Line Poetry on September 28, 2021. I’m truly excited because I’m a poet and a fiction writer! Many thanks to Mr. Glenn Lyvers for accepting my submission. If you would like to read my poem go to Threelinepoetry.com and click on Issue #57. Scroll down until you see my name: M. E. Murray.
Wisteria Blooms decorating a walkway at the Fort Worth, Texas Botanic Gardens
Dear Readers:
Americans remember exactly what they were doing when the towers crumbled, killing friends, relatives, and first responders in New York. That infamous morning, I was preparing breakfast for me and my husband who was supposed to go to Australia on a business trip when one of his colleagues called. My husband said Carol had told him to turn on the TV.
That’s when I saw the worst news of my life. I watched both towers go down, then I saw where the plane of courageous passengers landed. Until that day, I felt fairly safe in my country. But that feeling dissipated quickly as thoughts that we were being attacked by terrorists filtered through my skull, filling my brain with sorrow and confusion.
I sympathize with the people who lost loved ones. I know what it means to lose a loved one. My Dear Parents are gone. My oldest brother passed away in 2016, and my younger brother passed away last year. I still can’t get used to not having them around. I truly miss them. I’m having a difficult time adjusting to not having them. And I’m slowly losing my sister to Alzheimer’s. Please pray for me. I need to toughen up. I am praying for the folks who lost loved ones. And I pray that our country will prosper and become the powerful nation that it was years ago.
Dear Readers, I hope this day hasn’t been too rough for you. I pray that all those memories will make you and me more resilient. God Bless America!
Maria resting with Klyban during a fibromyalgia flare-up
Dear Readers:
As usual, I’m behind schedule. I haven’t been able to discuss Labor Day, an important federal holiday, for many reasons, illness and taking care of my sister, who has Alzheimer’s. Fortunately, Labor Day is not over until midnight.
Before I talk about the history of Labor Day, I want to mention that I had a wonderful surprise from my dear neighbors. I was trying to relieve the pain in my back by lying down on cold packs on my bed when the phone rang. It was Jessica Woerner. This afternoon, about 2 p.m. the crew that regularly takes care of her yard was mowing my front lawn, and she called because they needed access to my backyard. I cried while I talked to her on the phone. (My husband hurt his back and hasn’t been able to take care of our yard, shrubs, etc.) What a lovely Labor Day this has been!
It’s almost time for supper, but I need to talk about my childhood and labor. I have mentioned that I grew up in an impoverished neighborhood and participated in the Medicaid program. I’m not sure how old I was when my affluent aunt needed help to pick cotton. Something had happened to the mechanical cotton harvester. That’s what I remember when she asked my family for help. I recall that we worked for a week, maybe more. I’m not sure since I was the youngest kid.
Every morning, mom, and four kids ( 2 boys and 2 girls) got a huge white bag.(Dad couldn’t help. He had to keep his shop running.) I swear it was the size of two large pillow cases. I was okay early morn, but as the day got old, that sack grew heavy, and it became a difficult object to drag through the rows of cotton plants. At the end of the day, the bags were weighed and we were paid a certain amount. I don’t remember how much we earned, though. But I’m sure I earned the least amount since my bag was not very full. What I recall is plucking cotton, from rebellious plants that scratched my delicate hands; being thirsty; and sweating buckets under that hot Rio Grande Valley sun. Plus, I was not dressed appropriately, no hat, no gloves. I sympathize with anybody who had to earn a living in this manner for years.
The following information comes from History.com,
Labor Day 2021 will occur on Monday, September 6. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. Labor Day weekend also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans, and is celebrated with parties, street parades and athletic events.
Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?
Labor Day, an annual celebration of workers and their achievements, originated during one of American labor history’s most dismal chapters.
In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages.
People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.
As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the wellspring of American employment, labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay.
Many of these events turned violent during this period, including the infamous Haymarket Riot of 1886, in which several Chicago policemen and workers were killed. Others gave rise to longstanding traditions: On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.
The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later, when a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view. On May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives.
Wishing you a wonderful time today and forever. I hope we get rid of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Take care of yourselves, Dear Readers. Good Night.
Vase of Flowers and U.S. Flag Celebrate Our Independence
Dear Readers:
Hot dogs and firecrackers have become part of our festivities to celebrate our independence, but let us not forget that friendship, unity, and protecting each other from infectious viruses must be incorporated into our 4th of July festivities. Let freedom ring! Let it ring throughout our United Nation.
Here’s more information from History.com.
A History of Independence Day
When the initial battles in the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical.
By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments such as those expressed in the bestselling pamphlet “Common Sense,” published by Thomas Paine in early 1776.
On June 7, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence.
Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee—including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York—to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.
Did you know? John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”
On July 4th, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence.
M. E. Murray 
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