The last five days were absolutely awe inspiring as we celebrated mass honoring the feast days of St. Paul the Apostle, and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Both, have both been very instrumental in revealing to my husband and I the wonder and the grace of God's amazing love for us both. We began our time away by celebrating the mass with Father Oscar at San Pablo. But before we had walked into church we were invited to buy raffle tickets for their annual fundraiser. In that moment I saw a very beautiful young woman smiling and I knew she had looked familiar, but I could not place her name. Her eyes light up with excitement to see us. Then when I had shared the news with my husband he said it was Lucia! Much to our surprise we were asked before mass began, to bring up the gifts and Fr. Oscar later commented as we left the church how beautiful it was to see us holding up the gifts with great reverence. We were both greatly honored to serve in the church we were married in. We listened attentively to the great homily and received holy communion on bended knee. After mass we processed outside the church and entered into the beautifully landscaped prayer gardens, and gazebo, where we all stood in silence and together we began to pray The Litany of Humility. So many memories were rekindling in my mind, the ABCD fundraisers, the old benefactors, and those who made contributions to the church in the form of holy statues. I was reminded of Honey. She had the greatest devotion to Padre Pio statue and I remember her excitement about ordering a statue in his honor. When the church was looking for a donars to continue the back of the wall behind Padre Pio, honoring St Michael, my husband prayerfully considered donating to the church in honor of everyone we love. Our church life today and even back then meant everything to both of us. And our memories within the church were a sustaining force, keeping us grounded and faith filled and true to God and one another in a blessed community. I then walked the entire grounds one last time to feel my roots, beneath my feet, my religious roots were embedded into this earth right here. Grounded deeply in faith, and deeply within the community, I have come to love. And I smiled as I remembered the joy Jesus gave me. He had sent me to that community to make a difference, and it was there I had found Christ, my spouse, and four very beautiful children I had helped raise, and I was given the gift of growing in my faith as a professed third order franciscan in Key West Florida where I had met a wonderful group of men and women who mentored me and filled my mind and soul with the love of the holy spirit and franciscan charism. I had returned to Saint Marys Church now the Basilica, to finish my indulgence for the Jubilee Year 2025 with prayers for Pope Francis. Feeling very clean after a great confession with Fr. Jets I was ready to complete the process and honor my maternal grandmother Marianna's soul so that she could receive the benefit of this indulgence. We walked the holy grounds peaked through the garden where my dad and I visited together in 2015. I sensed his spirit. We entered the adoration chapel wrote our intentions of thanksgiving placing them in a basket in front of the altar. As we were leaving a surge of emotion filled my soul and my husband held me close. God revealed himself. And I encountered his presence. I saw him as we drove through the everglades, when the sun rose, and the alligators were sunbathing, when the osprey, flamingos, bald eagles flew over us, and the reflection of the sky kissed the water, I saw Jesus!
