Have you ever wondered
whether there is a patron saint
of D-I-Y ?

I wonder about it …

When I’m standing
at the foot of a ladder
while Paul repairs a gutter,
patches-up a porch
or repairs roof cement
I wonder … and I pray.

When Paul is sawing wood,
drilling holes,
building a log store
or fitting cladding to a wall …
I wonder … and I pray.

When Paul is painting a ceiling
high above the stairs,
when he is fitting smoke alarms
or laying loft insulation …
I wonder … and I pray.

I’m never quite sure
who to pray to
because I’ve never heard
of a patron saint of D-I-Y .
But I pray to Saint Joseph.
He was a carpenter, you see,
and if anyone knows
all about D-I-Y,
surely it’s a carpenter!

St Joseph, patron saint of D-I-Y …
I think that has a certain ring to it!
(Don’t you???)

© Claire Murray, 18th November 2025

Heart of Jesus

Buenos Aires, 1996.

A desecrated host
which has been found in the chapel
has been placed reverently
in a glass of holy water
to dissolve.
This glass is then locked safely away
in the tabernacle.

A week later
the glass no longer contains
a host –
it contains, instead,
a piece of flesh.

Three years later
the flesh remains in the glass.
It has not decayed
at all.

A sample is sent away
to a forensic pathologist
for examination.
This man is unaware of the background
of this piece of flesh.
His conclusion?
This is flesh
taken from the heart of a living person
whose body was under severe stress
at the time.
Its blood group is AB.

This is the same blood group
as Our Blessed Lord.

While this has never been declared
to be a miracle,
it is very much in my mind
as I kneel in adoration
before the Blessed Sacrament.

Not only is Jesus on the altar
in the form of body, blood,
soul and divinity
(as if that isn’t enough!)
but this is the very HEART of Jesus!

This blows my mind.

The Blessed Sacrament on the altar
feels infinitely more precious now
and I find myself praying
the words of an old hymn:

“Heart of Jesus, Heart of Jesus,
burning with love for me,
inflame my heart,
inflame my heart
with love,
with love for Thee.”

These words express perfectly
what I wish to say.
I need to add only one word –
Amen!

© Claire Murray, 11th November 2025