As part of my recovery from surgery in the hospital, I now have physical therapy from a Christian Egyptian (provided by Northwell) who escaped the oppression of the Muslim Brotherhood of 2010.  I told him I wished I could do more for his fellow Christians than pray for them, but he assured me prayer was a great thing.

It is good to hear praise for prayer from someone who has relied on it, and I, who have had most of my needs provided, need that kind of affirmation.  I am nevertheless grateful for an existence of which I need not be ashamed, and I know I have it from the Lord our God.

I was on e-mail, and I saw that the first written telling of the Guadalupe story was done by an American Indian educated by the Franciscans, who went on to become an important Spanish Government official.  He wrote in his native language, although he had become fluent in Spanish and Latin.

I loved reading this, because my suspicious mind had construed the story as a Franciscan invention.  It’s for real, and the miraculous cures are the proof.  I pray for Our Lady of Guadalupe’s intercession daily.

Oh Lady of Guadalupe, hear for Jesus’ ear my own story, and grant me some vindication while I’m still on earth.

I had a chance to order a new pair of shoes recently, and foolishly I ordered a size larger than usual.  They worked fine for half a year, but now my heels are starting to bleed and are painful at night.

I remember my brother Rudy who had such a bad foot he couldn’t walk, which made his last days miserable.  I think I need to get rid of the shoes and maybe see a doctor about the bleeding.  No sense in tempting fate.  It’s amazing how easily we upset the apple cart.

My prayer now is that I think straight and don’t give in to whimsy.  Why was I ordering by mail order if I couldn’t keep the facts straight?

Sometimes I think I would love to die a martyr for all the faithful, but then I have reservations about my endurance.  Christ’s horrid death made all that unnecessary, and for many Christians death is a piece of cake, as they say.  I thank the Lord for that.

Anyone who has contemplated the death of Jesus Christ must wonder how a man can endure all those details thought of by the Roman executors, or be considered insensitive.  I thank the Lord for including me in the benefactors.

While on earth, may I still consider offering my sufferings, inescapable as they are, for all of the faithful I have known and will know.

Severe thunderstorm warnings!  I don’t recall those from my youth, so the weather is changing.  People are worrying about an eventually uninhabitable world, and if we can do anything about it.  We probably can, but I wouldn’t get panicky about it.

Much as we fight it, the world is still in God’s hands, and nobody seems concerned with offending Him.  What has happened to modern mankind?  Is it getting better or worse?  I see improvement.

I’ll go with that, and pray there’s enough people to see us through.