How Can I ever Say Thank You?

I got home from our camping trip last Saturday.........and collected the three days of mail from the mailbox. There was a little package in there.

Hmmm.........I wondered what I was getting from Roman Catholic Sacramentals.......I did not remember ordering anything. I thought maybe I had signed up for something free a long time ago and maybe it was suddenly showing up.

When I got to the house, I opened the package. Inside was a small vial of oil. I saw on the PayPal receipt it was Holy Oil from the Holy House of Loreto.

Hmmmm....I do not ever use PayPal......so, it cannot have anything to do with something I did.

My immediate thought was: someone from the 4 Real message boards must have sent this to me for the healing of my current breathing problems. It brought tears to my eyes.......these ladies are so special. Then, while I was thinking WHO could have been the one...........my heart immediately went to aussieannie as the choice.......

Then, I studied the Paypal receipt..........there was an email there.............I was about to go to the boards to check her email, to see if it matched the one on the receipt......but, before I got to that page, I received notice of a private message for me.

I was right! It was a private message from aussieannie......and it was she who sent the gift.

I am so in awe of Anne's generosity. I always knew she was special....but this goes beyond the simple definition of special. I cannot even find the words to say thank you to her........I have waited a whole week.......trying to think how best to thank Anne........and I cannot get beyond this.

I guess the best I can do is to keep her intentions close to my heart and God's mind, while I pray this summer Rosary Novena.

I would like you to take a moment and visit the beautiful blog kept by Anne: Under Her Starry Mantle. With a title like this, you just know she loves our Blessed Mother.

And, on Tuesdays, Anne has a special devotion to Saint Anne on her blog. Saint Anne is a particular friend of mine.............Marty and I begged her for a baby after two-plus years of marriage and promised we would name our baby after her if it were a girl.......well, most of you know it must have worked!

The Holy Oil comes from the House of Loreto, the stone house in which Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived while in Nazareth. "According to tradition, in 1291, when the Crusaders were finally expelled from Palasinte, Our Lady's stone house was transported 'by angels' first to Illyria (in Croatia), then to the territory of Loreto on December 10, 1294, where it remains to this day.".........from the insert with the oil.

The oil I have received, comes from the leftover oil that burns in the Holy House, and is used as a sacramental. I am using it to invoke Our Lady of Loreto's intercession for healing, especially during this Rosary Novena I am praying. I have been blessing my chest with it whenever I have more moderate symptoms. This was daily at first......and now sometimes every two days. I always have a relief of symptoms when I have used the oil. Thanks be to God. He is so generous in providing us with sacramentals.


More info about the House of Loreto is here.

Anne, thank you so very much.

You are SO sensitive to others' needs.........and I am so humbled to be one of those you were "thinking of"

Thank you so much.......SO MUCH. Someday God will share with you the magnatude of my gratitude.......I SO wish I could give you a hug, in real life. In the meantime, consider yourself hugged.

I was going to beg God to let me know what to do, the next step, and then the Holy Oil shows up in my mail box. I am thinking this is my direction, for now. Thank you.

Blessings to you and yours.........wishing we did not live so far away from each other.....

God will reward you for your generosity, much better than I can!

With love and friendship, across the ocean,

And, in the sweet heart of Mary,

Chari