THIS PAGE IN MEMORY OF MY BELOVED GRANDMA MARY GERTRUDE McNAMARA.

October 23rd, 1920 - August 13th, 2006

We ask that all who visit this page take a moment to pray a "Hail Mary" for the repose of Grandma's soul.

I know Grandma will pray for YOU, too! She was such a Prayer Warrior.

She encouraged us in this apostolate and prayed for us every day. She nurtured our faith, but more importantly she LIVED it!

She was never too busy to listen, never to busy to make me feel like the most important person in the world. She heaped loads of love and affection upon me as a child and always made the best darn fudge on the whole East coast!

Grandma McNamara was proud of her Irish heritage (with family hailing from County Cork, Ireland) and so I have dedicated this page to her.

I miss you and love you, Grandma! May you be in Heaven smiling down upon all of us. And yes, we pray you were in Heaven a half hour before the devil knew you had passed (IRISH HUMOR folks)

Grandma, Ask God to bless all who visit this page!

Grandma's middle name was GERTRUDE. As children we always found the name to be "amusing". As we got older, we understood about the great Saint that Grandma had for her middle name.

St. Gertrude the Great is invoked for souls in purgatory and for living sinners. Our Lord told St. Gertrude that the following prayer would release 1000 souls from purgatory each time it was said! The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well. Is that awesome or what?

Please, pray with me: "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen."

I just couldn't pass up this cute graphic! Is that a glass of green Guinness I spy? Grandma might be rolling her eyes over this one, but we know the relatives are chuckling (right all you Moore's and McNamara's?)

True history and legend are often intertwined when it comes to St. Patrick. It is known that he was born in Banwen, Wales and was kidnapped and sold in Ireland as a slave. He became fluent in the Irish language before making his escape to the continent.

Eventually he was ordained as a deacon, then as a priest, and finally as a bishop. Pope Celestine then sent him back to Ireland to preach the gospel. Evidently, he was a great traveler, especially in Celtic countries, as innumerable places in Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are named after him.

St. Patrick is best known the world over for having driven the snakes from Ireland. Different tales tell of his standing upon a hill, using a wooden staff to drive the serpents into the sea, banishing them forever from the shores of Ireland. One legend says that one old serpent resisted, but the Saint overcame it by cunning. He is said to have made a box and invited the reptile to enter. The snake insisted the box was too small and the discussion became very heated. Finally, the snake entered the box to prove he was right, whereupon St Patrick slammed the lid and cast the box into the sea. Many do not realize that it is true there are no snakes in Ireland! As in many old pagan religions serpent symbols were common, and possibly even worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was also symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice.

It was St. Patrick who encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan practice. He converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the Holy Wells, which still bear that name. According to tradition, St. Patrick died in A.D. 493 and was buried in the same grave as St. Bridget and St. Columba at Downpatrick, County Down. The jawbone of St. Patrick was preserved in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits, and as a preservative against the evil eye. Another legend says St. Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury and was buried there. The Chapel of St. Patrick still exists as part of Galstonbury Abbey. There is evidence of an Irish pilgrimage to his tomb during the reign of the Saxon King Ine in A.D. 688, when a group of pilgrims headed by St. Indractus were murdered.

St. Patrick pray for us.

My final note to Grandma.
Thank you for making me feel like the most special child on earth. Thank you for giving me confidence to attempt things that I would have never attempted without your prayers. Thank you for nurturing my faith. Thank you for being what a grandmother should be. Thank you for all the cookies. Thank you for taking time to teach me how to crochet and showing me the importance of working with my hands. Thank you for always giving of yourself. Even though your back was bad and your hands were not quite steady, you insisted on helping me. I was blessed to have you as my Grandmother and am a better person because of you. In fact, the whole world is a better place because you were here for 85 wonderful years! Please, pray for us. Please, pray too that the apostolate will touch folks who need love and encouragement.
Love forever and ever, Wendy

...'TIS BUT A THIN VEIL!

Sometimes when one is grieving, it is hard to keep things in perspective. Paula put it perfectly. I'd like to share her note with anyone who is experiencing the earthly loss of a loved one...

Dear Wendy,
So very sorry for your loss of your grandma. I know it is very hard to
lose someone in this life so dear to you, but she is not in your past, she
is in your future and one day you will meet again face to face. In the
meantime she is as close as a prayer from your lips to her as she waits for
the family reunion in Christ Jesus in heaven one day, and she is now a part
of the communion of saints at the altar at every Mass you attend. There is
just a thin veil between you and her, she can see you though for the veil does not hinder her any longer as it hinders us on this side. You are in my prayers, as well as all those who loved and cared for your grandma and will feel her loss. In Jesus love, Paula

May God's light shine upon ye during ye pilgrimage here on earth...
May we all meet one day in Heaven!