Holy wow, holy wow, holy wow!  

I accidentally stumbled upon this gem while doing a bit of research on St. Clare of Assisi. Apparently there is a church in Mexico that bears her name that boasts a small chapel with THIS AMAZING TABERNACLE as its centerpiece:

Go ahead and bask in its awesomeness for a few moments.  I've never seen such an extraordinary concept for a tabernacle (outside of these in honor of the Incarnation).  The theological significance is breathtaking.

For those of you not familiar, the pelican was revered as the most self-sacrificing of birds when it came to protecting and nurturing its young.  In hard times, a pelican will stab its own heart to produce blood for its young to be nourished by.  As such, this bird became a symbol of Christ's own willingness to give of Himself wholly to us from the Cross for sustenance.  Thus, to have this image not only on the tabernacle of the Eucharist, but AS the tabernacle of the Eucharist... whew!  Amazing.  So, so amazing.  

Beyond the theological significance of the imagery, the craftsmanship of the piece is beautiful, too.  It looks like some sort of enamel outlined and embellished with gold details.  The nest they are nestled in looks like a crown of thorns, does it not?  

Here's a photo of the side chapel for reference:

I found these photos on Wiki-commons if anyone is interested in checking out more.  :)

Last Friday, I attended a Mother's Day "concert" put on by my son's kindergarten class.  I was the first parent who showed up, so his teacher and I chatted for a bit before the festivities started.  Now that I'm noticeably pregnant, she said, "So this one's gonna be a boy, huh?"  I laughed and said, "Yup.  Vince is super psyched."  She said, "Yeah, I know!  He talks about him non-stop."  

I shared with her that it's funny how excited he is for Nathan when, for the longest time, he wanted a little sister because of all his female cousins.  His teacher then said, "He said something strange the other day.  He told me he does have a sister, but she lives in Heaven."

I sorta stopped because I haven't really spoken about Myla to him.  I've mentioned her in prayer, but never as a "Myla is your sister who lives in Heaven."  

I acknowledged to his teacher that I'd had a miscarriage two years ago, and then I asked if he'd ever used his sister's name.  She said he hadn't, and on the way home, I asked him how he knew he had a sister in Heaven.  He just said, "I dunno.  I just knowed it."  (Yes, "knowed" it).  

Then last night, I asked him to grab my scheduler so I could double check a few appointments.  I said, "Vincent, can you get Mommy's book?  The one with the pretty girl on the front?"

He grabbed my planner and said (in front of John), "Mommy, that's the girl who made the baby come in your belly."

I was totally bewildered.  I asked him to clarify.  I asked if he knew who the pretty girl on the front was and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I dunno.  She made the baby come in your belly.  I just knowed it."

For the record, this is what the front of my scheduler looks like:

Yup.  Good old St. Philomena.  The same Philomena that I'd only recently learned was the patroness responsible for interceding on behalf of young married couples yearning for children. The same Philomena who chose me to chase down in 2014 and the same Philomena I've kept as my patron for 2015 once I realized the movement of Divine Providence between the two of us. 

Then to top it off, John told me that on the car ride home from school, Vince brought up guardian angels to him.  This one I take full credit for.  I've always told Vince that he has a guardian angel. I explained that everyone has their very own guardian angel who protects them and brings them closer to Jesus.  Vincent apparently told John that he should pray to his angel (or was it Jesus?) so he can be protected.  

Didn't make John too happy, but as I pointed out, that's an educational victory as much as it is a spiritual one.  For my VERY literal son, to make the jump from "Mommy and I have angels" to "Daddy must have an angel, too" is remarkable.  

My sweet little one is attuned to the miraculous.  God bless him and his innocent little heart.  :)