Sarah Smiled! Greetings from Venasque, France! A saintly surprise and a wonderfully kind lady who brought happy laughter today!
Hello Everyone!
As most of you know, I am in Venasque, France on a Pilgrimage of sorts. Let me explain.
The French celebrate the big Catholic holidays by giving everyone the days off! And on August 15, 2021, this little hilltop Village of Venasque will be “off the chain” in celebration! August 15th is the day we celebrate the Blessed Virgin’s Mary’s ( “Marie” here in France ) Trip to, and Arrival from the world, and onto Heaven.
The French will be celebrating, and I will be sending you photos on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter – Look for us on Social Media.
My wonderful niece Casey Bayer-Russell ( whom you’ve read about already ) is ably taking care of SaintsforHope.com and SaintsforSinners.com so go ahead and place you orders. You can’t order Our Lady of the Assumption though, because we packed all the medals and brought them to Venasque to share with the folks in this tiny Hamlet.
Actually, well, I guess you can order an Our Lady of the Assumption medal package. I will mail you one from Venasque! It might take a while to get to you though.
A NEW REVELATION!
SAINT SARAH WAS NEARBY TODAY!
The big news of the day is that we saw the most beautiful Saint Sarah medal today. We were at a market in Ils Sur La Sorgue. I met a lovely lady who was selling lots of different items, including saint medals.
So, I went to the lady’s booth and said “Bonjour” and indicated I wanted to see the medals that were under glass. She opened up the big glass encased box and I scooped up every medal she had so I could get a really good look at what she had to offer. I had my “Readers 4.0” on and saw every nook and cranny of all the medals she had. It was a truly beautiful day and this lady, whose name I sadly did not get, was chatting with me in French. I was faking that I knew how to speak the language by saying “beaucoup,” “tres bien” and “magnifique” a lot. It worked. The lady had no idea I was a foreigner.
And then my little shell game and house of cards came tumbling down. I looked at the lady’s blouse where a medal was pinned to her. I saw she was wearing Saint Sarah. So, I said “Oh My God, you have Saint Sarah!”
I was so excited to see the medal because I can’t find it anywhere. Pretty soon I was staring into the lady’s cleavage to get a better look at Saint Sarah’s medal. Then the lady admonished me.
She cheerfully told me “No” and indicated the Saint Sarah medal was “NOT FOR SALE.” Still, she and I were both enjoying marveling at her heart shaped design.
Saint Sarah’s story comes from the Old Testament. Her story is steeped in Jewish History. Sarah was a Convert from Paganism and the first woman to follow the Faith of Abraham.
Her story is fantastic! When Sarah was 90 years old some Angels came down to visit her. They told her, “You are going to have a baby soon.” Sarah laughed it off but around nine months later, sure enough, she gave birth to a son! She named him “Isaac,” a word derived from the word “laughter.”
I bought a few of the lady’s medals and was leaving her booth. She called me back though and pulled me over to another table. She showed me a marble encased font and an antique medal of Saint Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes. Here is a photo:
Soon after, I was leaving and again the lady called me back. She handed me the marble encasing and gave it to me!
I can’t speak French but my eyes can show amazement! We had another wonderful moment looking at each other with kindness and love. No wonder they say Saint Bernadette is a “Miracle Worker!” We had no language barrier.
That’s it for this Newsletter. Look forward to notes and photos from the Celebration of the Assumption of Marie. It goes on for 3 days!
OH! ONE MORE THING:
Casey has been travelling around the country in a camper this summer. Her family has had the Great Adventure of a lifetime.
A funny thing happened too! Casey made a TIK TOK video. Her clip of her husband John tossing their son, Dean, (you know him, the one who tugged my heartstrings when he said, “Look, Uncle Rob is in love with Mommy!”) into a lake has been seen 5 Million Times! @SeaBearGo is the name Casey uses on Tik Tok. Follow her or have your kids or your kids’ kids follow her on Tik Tok.
I look forward to sending you more notes from Venasque!
Thanks for reading to the bottom line.
Our Lady of Lourdes - #2/Flower Border, Hand-Painted Saint Medal, Patron of France, Miracles
Saints for Sinners$29.95
Our Lady of Perpetual Succor, Hand-Painted Medal, Constant Help in Times of Need
Saints for Sinners$29.95