No coincidences

I recently inherited a stack of holy cards saved by my mother over the course of decades. Nothing could be more moving than seeing some of those old cards and the names of long deceased relatives--my mother's aunt who was a Franciscan sister, my father's 25-year-old cousin who fell in the second world war, grandparents and great grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends.  The characters from all my mother's old stories spread before my eyes once more.

Having so many prayer cards is a good reminder to pray for the holy souls, and I resolved that our family would pray for one departed family member every day during Advent.  After tonight's vigil Mass, we chose our first card--a delicate, yellowed slip of paper with a pen and ink drawing of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the name "Mary Dunn" on the back.  Mary Dunn was my great grandmother and my children's great-great grandmother.  I know very little about her, except that she was serious compared to her husband, benevolent Grandpa Jim, and that she once fainted when her youngest son was bitten by a shark.  (Yes, you heard right, but that is a story for another day.)

It felt good talking to the children about their great-great grandmother, offering up our prayers for her, and pondering this mother of the not-so-distant past.  Not so very long ago, she was living in a brownstone in Harlem with four little children to keep her busy.  Imagine the smile that spread across our faces when I read the card a bit more closely and noticed her date of death:  November 29, 1953, the same month and day as the First Sunday of Advent this year.  

It seems praying for the holy souls is exactly what God wants us to do this blessed season--how kind of Him to let us know!

May the souls of the faithful departed, especially Mary (Higgins) Dunn, rest in peace.  Amen.

Comments

[Margaret in Minnesota]

I only have a handful of these memorial holy cards but they are so precious to me--both for the stories they tell and the hope they promise.

Happy Advent, sweet Alice!

[Eileen]

Alice, you never fail to move and inspire me! I love this idea. Thank you for sharing it!

Warmly,
Eileen

[michelle waters]

Alice, I'm so glad to hear your "voice" again. I've missed it! Praying for a blessed Advent for you and yours.

[KC]

I've missed you as well. And, what a great idea to pray for someone each day of Advent.

We don't have a lot of these so we'll just pray for someone we know especially those whose husbands are deployed.

God bless you and your family.

[Jennifer Gregory Miller]

I treasure those memorial cards in our family, too.

It is so wonderful to read you again, Alice. Many blessings for your family this new Church year!

[Elizabeth (Frabjous Days)]

What a treat to see a couple of posts from you... And a lovely post, too.

I'm a convert, so I don't have any of these precious memorial cards -- but it's wonderful to know that my now Catholic family can pray for our deceased relatives.

[Cheryl M.]

Hi Alice - So nice to hear from you! I was just recommending your site and liturgical tea info to a homeschooling mom of girls after Mass this morning. :)

[Tracy]

You are blogging again? Hurray!

My MIL is Mary Dunne - with an "e" and so is my daughter!

I have been thinking of you as I plan tea times in Advent, Alice. It seems that the Dora star cereal is no longer made and I cannot find the Stella D'Oro cookies in Minnesota. I think I found some online for $50! Did this company go out of business? Oreo cookie cones seem to be a hot commodity too, only available online, and not from Amazon.

I think I have substituted toddler star puffs before, but what about the rest? I could dip sugar cones in chocolate for the church steeple, but do you have any ideas for Stella D'Oro substitutes?

[Alice Gunther]

Stella DOro is indeed out of business.  (I just googled to confirm your suspicion and found a news story on it.)  I am truly shocked to hear it, because it is such a popular brand in this part of the country.

There are so many offerings in the Guadalupe Tea and Jesse Tea that I would skip the Angel Wings and Crescent Moons altogether.  Or use refrigerated crescent rolls for the crescent moons and perhaps store-bought Madelines or bakery cookies for the wings.  (Great idea about the toddler star puffs!)

Thanks for the kind words, Tracy--and everyone!

[Meredith]

Alice, just wanted to take a moment and thank you for ALL your inspiration.

Though I grew up Catholic, we had very little in the way of culture. I had never even heard of these memorial holy cards before, but we may create some to help us remember our own family.

Thanks to your influence, a couple of moms and our kids are gathering at my house for a Guadalupe lunch. We will make big, bright tissue paper roses and pans of enchiladas to take home for dinner.

[leona]

Awesome to see how God showed you what you were doing was his plan!

Thanks for sharing, great to see you post again.
Leona

[Renee]

Lovely post. Alice, so good to have you back, you were missed. My grandmother gifted me with her holy card collection, those lovely assorted filigree papers and moving funeral cards were all included. I can't agree with you more that these are constant reminders to pray for souls. Thanks for this lovely post. :)God Bless.

[Jenny]

I came over here from Margaret's. Thank you for this sharing this beautiful story. I have been looking for something new to do for Advent. Although I do not have any old prayer cards, we can pray for souls too. God Bless.

[Gan Ainm]

Speak of coincidences! I just had a very similar exprience, came upon a collection of cards a dead great-aunt had; on each one she wrote a list above the decedent's date of death of the dates of death of each previously deceased relative; the list obviosly grew with each card; it was the Communion of Saints embodied in faded fountain pen ink!

BTW, Stella D'Oro closed after selling to a new owner wasted a lot of time in a shameful attempt at denying its employees their right to organize to protect their interests.