We have some exciting news to share! In 2015, the bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, AZ, Bishop Thomas Olmstead, wrote a letter to the men of his diocese called Into the Breach. The phrase “into the breach” comes from the Bible, specifically, from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel: “And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I
What is grief? How does it impact the person? What can you do to help a friend who is grieving? In order to help someone who is grieving, we must first attempt to understand what it means to walk in their shoes. One of my goals with this blog is to show you, with words, what grief is like. Leave behind the “I could never imagine” and begin to imagine with me for just one
As I type the title to this latest blog post it shocks me to my core and I dissolve into tears. In a million years I never would have thought that I would be advising other grieving families on their child’s gravesite. It is something I had never stopped to imagine or consider and I know that most people don’t. It’s just not a normal thing to think about. As I have walked this path
Let’s talk about overwhelm. I cannot speak to what men experience but I can speak to what so many women experience. We are consistently exhausted and overwhelmed by the many demands life places on us. When grief is added into this mix all of these thoughts swirling around in our heads are suddenly exacerbated one hundredfold. How do I get the laundry folded when I can’t stop crying? How do I show my children peace
Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years, and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.
Isaiah 65:17-21
Friends,
We know that many of you, if not all of you, are preoccupied with the COVID-19 virus that is sweeping our country. We very much share this concern with you and our fellow countrymen. Know that we are praying for all of our supporters during this time, that as we are forced to be quarantined, especially families, joy can be present among us.
With so much tumult going on due to the virus, we would rather not bring to your attention a personal matter unrelated to the virus, but this matter is a potentially serious issue and we very much need your prayers and support.
As you all know, since losing Maggie, life has been difficult, to say the least. What many do not know is that the last 11 months in particular have been especially difficult and have compounded our family’s suffering in no small measure. At this time, we cannot disclose the details of this issue, however, depending on how things go, we may be doing so in the coming week. Suffice it to say for now, certain individuals and entities are bullying our family and committing an injustice towards us, and are now threatening us. We have exercised great restraint the past 11 months in seeking social media and legal action against these individuals and entities, and we continue to do so now. But it appears that the time may be coming where we have to do so. We are hoping this is not the case. We would rather that their hearts be converted and they do the right thing.
As we approach Maggie’s 2 year anniversary (May 6th) and what would have been her 13th birthday (May 19th), and as we prepare to welcome our new child, the enemy is seeking to rob us of our peace, joy and healing through our present circumstances. We remind ourselves of little Nicaea’s words, which she declared so boldly as we left to the hospital to say goodbye to our beloved Maggie – “The devil has no power over us!”
Pray for us, friends.
Love, The Ramirez Family
Join in worldwide at 3 pm central time. This is one of the ways we can unite with each other spiritually when we cannot be united in the Eucharist.
www.cathdal.org/news-item?r=IX6DG26SC0
Pope urges Catholics to 'unite spiritually' in praying rosary Thursday (9 P.M. Rome / 3 P.M. CST)
www.cathdal.org
Amid worsening conditions related to the global coronavirus outbreak, Pope Francis urged Catholics to unite spiritually to pray the rosary simultaneously on the Feast of St. Joseph.We have some exciting news to share! In 2015, the bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix AZ, Bishop Thomas Olmstead, wrote a letter to the men of his diocese called Into the Breach. The phrase “into the breach” comes from the Bible, specifically, from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel: “And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none” (Ez 22:30) .
Bishop Olmstead describes his letter as a “clarion call” to Catholic men to “step into the breach” and help stop the deterioration of the faith in society and within the Church. This letter from the bishop has inspired a miniseries on the different aspects of manhood and was commissioned by Knights of Columbus. In December 2018, I was contacted and asked if I would be willing to do a filmed interview about losing Maggie and how to embrace suffering. I agreed. As it turned out, we filmed on February 22, 2019, the feast day of the Chair of St. Peter, my patron saint.
We are pleased to announce that, after a long wait, the video has now been released. Due to time constraints, not all of Maggie’s story could be told. If you want to hear the whole story, then I direct you to our podcast series, The Passion of Maggie, as well as the interviews my wife has done which can be found at our website.
We know that currently there is a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety over the COVID-19 virus and a great many precautions are taking place that are significantly affecting society, the economy and our daily living. We hope that this video, as well as our podcast and interviews, can be a source of encouragement to you in all of this.
Love,
Frank
youtu.be/ni7PkuwjF-A
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See our interviews here
joyfullikemaggie.com/interviews/
See our podcast here
joyfullikemaggie.com/podcast/
Learn more about Maggie's dad and mom
joyfullikemaggie.com/podcast/
How to Embrace Suffering | Into the Breach
youtu.be
Become a Knight today: kofc.org/joinus Subscribe now to keep up with the Knights! bit.ly/SubscribeKnightsOfColumbus Stay connected on social me...In times of unsure change, we must always remember this. We were not created for comfort. We were created for greatness. Today, be great. Be great in charity towards others. Be great in sacrifice for others. Be great in kindness towards other living creatures. Be. Great.
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