…and so we dropped by when we were in Rome last Easter. I remember her whenever I use the bag (which now holds gift-wrapping tissue.)
Tag Archives: Josephine
Dedication
This Sunday evening, the Solemnity of the Assumption, I will be singing with Voices of St Francis at The Basilian Marian Shrine of Gratitude.
For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.

In the Transfiguration Christ enjoyed for a short while that glorified state which was to be permanently His after His Resurrection on Easter Sunday. The splendor of His inward Divinity and of the Beatific Vision of His soul overflowed on His body, and permeated His garments so that Christ stood before Peter, James, and John in a snow-white brightness. The purpose of the Transfiguration was to encourage and strengthen the Apostles who were depressed by their Master's prediction of His own Passion and Death. The Apostles were made to understand that His redeeming work has two phases: The Cross, and glory—that we shall be glorified with Him only if we first suffer with Him. (quoted at catholicculture.org)
By her death on this feast day, we are reminded that her suffering is over and she is heading to her glorification with Our Lord, His Mother, and the saints that she relied on for intercession.
The Communion of Saints.
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, California
The Simple Woman’s Daybook – 13 July 2010
…the sun is setting. It’s been cooler the past couple of days with a bit of rain. Everything feels a little fresher and more focussed.
I am thinking…
…about the future. I turned 50 last Friday and it feels like a time to think about what I want to do with the next 50.
I am thankful for…
…my Kindle e-reader, a gift from Z that arrived from amazon in the mail today! I am so excited about it. I have already downloaded one book and moved a bunch of pdfs that I’ve been wanting to read over from my computer. It’s so small and light, and I’m excited about always having reading material with me!
From the kitchen…
…we had grilled flank steak with a salad of romaine, cucumber, tomato, avocado, and blue cheese for dinner tonight. A perfect summer meal. Accompanied by bread and Ontario cherries.
I am wearing…
….an olive green sport skirt and tank.
I am going…
… to see Miss Saigon at the Four Seaons Centre this Friday night.
I am reading…
…Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, a terrific first novel by Helen Simonson. Am about two thirds of the way through and wish it would never end. I love books like that!
I am hoping…
…for continued cool weather this week.
I am hearing…
…the television in another room, where Z is watching Life Unexpected. Also some strange intermittent beeping from the kitchen, the source of which I cannot determine.
Around the house…
…I still have curtains to hem and a lot of dusting to do.
One of my favorite things…
… is preparing a meal that everyone in the household enjoys and comments (positively) on!
A few plans for the rest of the week:
I’m getting together with a friend for lunch on Thursday, and then taking Michael to his tuba lesson that evening. Friday is Miss Saigon. I also want to get a couple of weeks work done in my genealogy course, and do some photocopying at the North York Central Library for an enquiry that’s come into the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. And play with my Kindle!
Here’s a picture thought I am sharing:
This is my mother-in-law Josephine taken with all her children when we were in Paris last month. They are not often all together, so this was a wonderful opportunity. From left to right (back row): Marie-Louise, Jean-Louis, Gemma, Tony. Front: Zouheir, Jacques, Josephine.
The Simple Woman’s Daybook is brought to us at http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ . Head over there to join the fun!
Wordless Wednesday – Marriage in Syriac Rite
Photo appeared in L’Osservatore Romano. Depicts marriage of Z’s parents, Josephine and Georges in 1949 in Harrisa, Lebanon.
Thinking about Josephine.
My mother-in-law has not been well, and we’re heading to Paris to see her as soon as Michael finishes his exams mid-June. Alex has to return after a week to start his summer job, so I’ll fly back with him. Z will stay on for another week with Michael and do some travelling.
When she was here over Christmas, I posted about her and her special relationship with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Here’s a repost of something I wrote a number of months ago in her honour.
Things I learned from my Mother-in-Law
In no particular order:
- Tabbouleh should have a high parsley to bulgur ratio with NO parsley stems.
- Dishwashing soap is the best pre-wash treatment for clothing stains.
- It is entirely possible to spend your life raising (and praying for) your children and make a HUGE difference in the world.
- It’s always better to have too much food on the table than too little.
- Always welcome visitors for a meal or a night, even if it means Ikea mattresses in the living room.
- Leftovers are a **good** thing.
- Morning prayers are better if you light a candle.
- Make your way in the world with confidence, even if you don’t have much education or speak the local language.
- Be patient and forbearing with those who annoy you, but speak your mind in matters of faith and morals.
- Your freezer is your friend. Use it to store herbs, tomato paste, leftover lemon juice, old bananas, nuts that you buy in bulk, bulgur. [It’s REALLY your friend when your MIL visits you and fills it with home cooking.]
- Partake of the sacraments as often as you can. It doesn’t matter if the mass is in your language. You know what’s going on.
- There’s always room for a statue of the BVM in your suitcase. And gifts for every friend and relative that you will see on your trip.
- If you love something, buy one for (or recommend one to) everyone you meet. Think enamel roasting pans, Swedish lemon pepper seasoning, over-the-sink colanders, Cuisinart food processors.
All this from Josephine, my “mama”. We communicate in our second language (French), and live an ocean apart, but she has taught me so much over the 26 years I have been married to her son. And I love her very much.
My mother-in-law and the Immaculate Conception
My mother-in-law, Josephine (“Mama”), arrived from Stockholm on Monday to spend a month with us here in Toronto. I blogged about her previously, about her wisdom and all that she has taught me in the 26 years I’ve been married to her fourth child, even though we’ve been separated by an ocean most of the time. She hasn’t visited with us for over three years, although she saw Z when he first moved to Toronto from Atlanta, before the boys and I moved up.
I am refreshing my French, as that is our common language. She loves to tell stories about the past, and I am enjoying hearing some old ones as well as some new ones. She is a very devout Catholic, and has experienced the hand of God throughout her life, bringing her safely through many hardships and heartbreaks.Her parents were born in Mardin, Turkey (left) in the early part of the last century. They were part of the forced exodus of Armenians and other Christians from Turkey between 1915 and 1917. Her mother, Marine, was four years old when her family was expelled from the city and marched south. Her grandmother was pregnant with her uncle at the time, and gave birth on the road.
Yesterday morning, realizing that it was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I asked Mama whether she’d like to go to mass. We’d already missed the one mass at our parish, so I had found one at another parish close by yesterday evening. She looked at me and told me that it was very important that she go to mass, not only for the Immaculate Conception but because her mother had been born on that day in 1912, as the bells were ringing for church. It was for that reason that she was named Marine. Even more importantly, she died on the same feast day 86 years later. She said that she had a lot of prayers to say, and that she very much wanted to go to church. Z had to stay late at work, so we went together, just the two of us. We arrived a little bit early, and she took out her handful of prayer cards, mostly in Arabic, and began her prayers. There were 40 or 50 people at mass, mostly women. The priest began mass with the hymn Ave Maria, and I was overjoyed to hear my mother-in-law join in on the chorus. She has been to Lourdes a number of times, and told me that it is the song sung during processions there, with everyone singing in their own language. . The chorus is Latin, and she sang along with the congregation. I wish she could have understood the homily, because the priest talked about the gifts that we are all given to assist us with our vocation, just as Mary was given the gift of sinlessness. Mass ended with Salve Regina, and we headed back home at the beginning of the snow storm that hit us overnight. This morning, she reported that had prayed another hour and a half at home before bed, and had slept very well, unlike her first night here. I hope to recount some of the stories she tells me over the next month. She is a model of holiness, a prayer warrior, a very courageous and funny woman, who has found comfort in her faith throughout her 78 years.From left to right: Josephine’s brother Joseph, Josephine, her paternal grandmother Meme Marro, her mother Marine, her sister Antoinette.
Things I learned from my Mother-in-Law
In no particular order:
- Tabbouleh should have a high parsley to bulgur ratio with NO parsley stems.
- Dishwashing soap is the best pre-wash treatment for clothing stains.
- It is entirely possible to spend your life raising (and praying for) your children and make a HUGE difference in the world.
- It’s always better to have too much food on the table than too little.
- Always welcome visitors for a meal or a night, even if it means Ikea mattresses in the living room.
- Leftovers are a **good** thing.
- Morning prayers are better if you light a candle.
- Make your way in the world with confidence, even if you don’t have much education or speak the local language.
- Be patient and forbearing with those who annoy you, but speak your mind in matters of faith and morals.
- Your freezer is your friend. Use it to store herbs, tomato paste, leftover lemon juice, old bananas, nuts that you buy in bulk, bulgur. [It’s REALLY your friend when your MIL visits you and fills it with home cooking.]
- Partake of the sacraments as often as you can. It doesn’t matter if the mass is in your language. You know what’s going on.
- There’s always room for a statue of the BVM in your suitcase. And gifts for every friend and relative that you will see on your trip.
- If you love something, buy one for (or recommend one to) everyone you meet. Think enamel roasting pans, Swedish lemon pepper seasoning, over-the-sink colanders, Cuisinart food processors.
And speaking of my mother-in-law…
My brother-in-law in Sweden recently sent along this photo that he came across while going through some family papers.
This is a photo of my in-laws wedding. It took place in Harissa, Lebanon in the summer residence of the Syrian Catholic patriarch, in 1949.
The photo was publised in the Osservatore Romano in 1960 in an article written by Zs uncle about the Syrian Catholic Rite. The text in Italian on the photo reads (approximately):From left to right, the photo depicts Msgr. Karroum (a relative of my mother-in-law), my in-laws Josephine and Georges, and Msgr. Mansourati, my husband’s uncle. The arabic text at the lower corner are notes made by Mgr. Mansourati indicating that the photo came from his book.A wedding in the Syrian Rite: the traditional placement of the crowns on the heads of the spouses.
[edited to correct year of marriage]