WHISpers Podcast Sheila S Ward, ofs

My sisters and brothers, our podcast song is called, ‘Peace, God’s Blessings’. Today’s podcast brings us to the closing of this part of our journey with WHISpers podcast. This podcast is episode 79, and through God’s Word, prayers, and our witnessing from a total of 89 of our spiritual songs, God truly has blessed us with having you, in our family of faith, united in the family of God! Still, all things must come to an end, and only one thing remains, love, love for God, and love for each other. Our ministry is going through a transformation. What this entails we don’t know, only the Lord knows. When we need to know, He will tell us and the Holy Spirit of God will lead us. I’ve had these inner feelings many times in my life, and I recognize the signs. It seems that when ever my inner soul starts to grieve, with no reasons existing, I know what ever mission I am part of, that soon I will no longer be part of, for that part of my journey will come to an end. This is where WHISpers podcast is, for WHISpers podcast is ending in the same way it came into existence, with the Holy Spirit in control. My soul rejoices in what God has done for me. This is very exciting you know, it’s an exciting moment when you’re living for God through the Holy Spirit in you.
I remember the time I worked as waitress, I loved my job so much. Then one day out of no where, I felt my inner soul start to grieve, I didn’t understand it, yet somehow without any reasons, I felt my job was coming to an end, and this feeling stayed with me for a little more than a week, I couldn’t shake that grieving. Then I came into work one day, and the place was closed down. I had no job. I took a step back and realized I was not saddened by this sudden event, I understood and realized that Holy Spirit was in control of me. He had already prepared me, and all I was able to feel was this awesome great joy going through me. My soul rejoiced in what God has done for me.
My sisters and brothers, do you recognize inner spiritual changes in your life? Can you recognize the promptings of the Holy Spirit’s leading, teaching, speaking to your soul? When our soul experiences Spiritual grieving, it is not the same as when our human bodies experience a loss of a loved one. Just as with God’s Spiritual joy, this joy is not the same as human joy, which is felt only through happy times. Right? Spiritual Joy is felt through all times, deep inside your whole being. Spiritual grieving and Spiritual joy, goes beyond any human experiences. My friends, words can not explain supernatural where a human mind would understand. It is like entering into God’s world, your body maybe in this world but your soul is in God’s world, for the Holy Spirit carries out God’s work in you. The Holy Spirit is mysterious, and is my most precious friend. At Baptism, the Holy Spirit first makes his entrance into the human soul, for it is at that Sacred moment, when the Holy Spirit is mysteriously embodied in the human soul. My friends, that is something to ponder.
My sisters and brothers, what ever you do in life, be opened, to the source of all holy inspirations. As we wait on the Holy Spirit to lead us in our ministry, we will continue to pray for you, always. We hope these episodes have strengthen your relationship with our Lord, as it has for us, and may you and I continue to Glorify the Lord in our own lives. God bless you my dear friends. Amen.

My sisters and brothers, today our podcast is about recognizing true joy in our own lives. Our podcast song is ‘ Lord You Fill My Life With Joy’. Back in the middle 70s, I started keeping a folder of all the songs we were writing. If one were to look at this folder, it would appear to them as a bunch of scribbles. This piece was one of our first songs and it was written in 1977. Throughout our journey, whenever I would look back at any of our songs, it would take me back to the place where my heart was at that time. This song took me back to when my little boy Johnny was only six and my little girl Jennifer was between seven and eight. The joy I experienced went far beyond any joy one may have from receiving a birthday gift or anything of that sort. For this joy is the true joy of God within one’s being and life, and the joys I speak of, were the joys of my life, from the very moment they were born, they were my joy.
I was home alone one morning and my children were at school. I found myself singing about my children. I seemed to have had moments like these often, where I am thankful to the Lord for all He has given me, and I couldn’t stop singing of my greatest joys. I started scribbling through my tears, and lyrics were following the tune in my soul. No one has ever heard this song, it stayed with me deep inside my soul. When I was looking at this song this past week, and started recording it, my heart was overwhelmed with tears, for it took me back to my little ones, when they were little ones, and the love I felt the Lord loving me with, were through these joys, of my son and of my daughter. 
My friends, do you see His wonders in your life? The wonders in your life and mine, are the true wisdom of the joys the Lord fills in our lives!

My sisters and brothers, our podcast today is about God’s most precious blessings, babies and children. Our podcast song is ‘ A New Born Babe’. I remember that Great joy which flooded my heart when my doctor came into the recovery room and told me that I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with soft reddish curls, then he brought her into the room, and I saw her for the first time, and I gently embraced my baby Jennifer. What great joy God has blessed us with. Then 19 months later… our second baby, most handsome little baby boy Johnny with that giggling little smile. Again, what great joy God has blessed us with. I thank God our Father everyday, for these two great joys, and for all blessings in my life!
Another great joy that I remember well, is the joy I saw in the faces of my very close friends, Gwen and Joe, when she gave birth to their first born little baby boy, and again 4 years later, to their second born, their baby girl. Wow, so totally amazing are the blessings God showers into our lives. When Gwen gave birth to their first born, her’s and Joe’s faces were as bright as God’s light of love, and my heart was remembering all the joys my babies were and are to me. I could hear soft music playing in my soul, I could hear singing, a song, for Gwen and Joe, of a new born babe, was being born in me. I started writing about the joys of a new born babe, about the love that baby brings into lives. The baby’s smile starting off a new day, without fears or worries, and how that new born baby only feels the lovingness of mom’s and dad’s tenderness. I thank our Lord for this creation, making lives compleat with deep affection. I ask our Lord Jesus to shine His light in their hearts and never from them depart. I ask our Lord Jesus to guide their steps and help them walk in God’s ways, and to give them words when they speak, to their baby, all about the Lord. After it was finished, this song was a dedication to Gwen and Joe, and is also a reminder to us all, about how the power of God’s Blessings in a new born baby, fills our lives with overflowing joy. We want to give them everything good. Right? My sisters and brothers, yes, right.

My sisters and brothers, our podcast today is about, Love, God’s Love. Our podcast song is ‘The Lord Smiled Down On Me’.
When This song was first written, it was during the time of my baby steps into God’s healing, in the mid to late seventies, which is described in our book, Journey with Trust and Fire Within. I was discovering Love in my life, God’s Love, in all the people in my life, and in all the people that became part of my life, my families and friends. The more I knew of God’s Love for me, the more I became in love with the Lord my Savior, the more I loved my Lord Jesus, the more I loved my loved ones, my children, my family, and that love kept deepening into my whole being. I remember thinking of how great a mystery God’s Love truly is. I didn’t know love could be so powerful. The power of God’s Love took permanent procession into the center of my heart and soul. Deep in my soul I could hear music, then music being joined with lyrics that flooded my eyes as my inner being was singing. It may be hard to see or even recognize, because this song goes beyond what a human heart may be able to conceive, still, I saw beyond this song of love, for I saw God’s love holding me when no one else would.
My sisters and brothers, God smiles down on us, on you, on me, and He gives us people in our lives. But the world doesn’t stop turning, situations in our lives do not stay the same, people evolve, they grow together or apart, nothing of this world stays the same. Only one thing and one thing only remains forever, and that my friends, is God’s Love, nothing can ever keep us from the Love God has for you and for me. Yes, the Lord smiled down on me and gave me love so true, but, love of this world changes and may or may not remain true. Still, in that Love, God’s love remains true, so yes, when He gives you someone to love, God’s love is there, and God’s love remains forever. Maybe walking hand in hand, and together in Faith, you will have that dream live longer in your lives. 
My friends, there’s the key, two hearts, side by side, walking in Faith, with our Lord God, Lord of their lives. I know, you may be thinking about that love song and how wonderful it is to have a love story come true. And you’re right, it is, even but for a short time. However, the ending for me in that love song, was very hard and inwardly painful, as life situations sometimes are. But here’s the Truth, God’s love remains faithful. God’s love brought me through, and the Lord kept on smiling down on me. Jesus picked me up, every time I fell, and His love held me close to His heart. So my dear friends, remember, no matter what the change, or where your journey takes you, God’s Love will never change, God’s Love is forever picking you up, holding you close to His Heart and loving you. If you remember nothing more, remember this, for God’s love is faithful and true! Amen.

My sisters and brothers, our podcast today is about, people and nations everywhere giving praise to the Lord, and our podcast song is ‘Hallelujah’. This song was written around the same time that our other songs based on Psalms were written, and this one was also used throughout our Ministry Mission Journey, as part of our Catholic Mass Services, but mostly as a Praise Worship song for large groups and gatherings. It was another praise song that was first loved and used by Sister Bernadette Sheldon, SCJ, and Father Bill McCarthy, MSA, bless their Souls. They sometimes would enjoy opening their teachings with it, because it was one of those praising songs that was simply an easy song to catch on to, plus, it brought them right into the sharing of Psalm 117.
This song, ‘Hallelujah’, is based on Psalm 117. Looking back I remember in the middle toward later part of the 70s, how one of my special friends, Mickey Raymond, loved the book of Psalms, in fact, it was her favorite book in the Bible, and though she does not know this she inspired me to reading more of the Psalms. Thank you my sweet Mickey.
The Psalms are very much like songs to the Lord. When I was looking at this Psalm 117, though it is but only two verses, still, as many Psalms do, it touched my inner soul with music. I absolutely love what these Psalms do to me Spiritually.
When I heard Sister Bernadette and Father Bill read and talk about psalm 117, as few verses this Psalm has, there’s a lot being said in these two verses. I went home that day with a song in my heart. And the following week at the Holy Spirit Breakfast, Sister Bernadette had all the people praising the Lord with this song, Hallelujah. They were all lifting their hearts and hands up to the Lord singing:
‘Praise the Lord all nations now, hallelujah. Praise the Lord people of the earth, hallelujah. His Love for us is truly great, hallelujah. His Faithfulness endures forevermore, sing praise to the Lord, hallelujah, praise the Lord, hallelujah!’

My sisters and brothers, our podcast is about, ‘blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest’, our podcast song is ‘Hosanna’. This song was also part of our original writings, which was used throughout our ministry mission journey, along with our music from ‘Come Receive Me’, as part of Catholic Mass Services. This song, ‘Hosanna’, is based on Scripture. Looking at Scripture, it is written in both the Old Testament and the New Testament; Quote: “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. UnQuote. And in the Gospels of Matthew chapter 21, verse 9, and Mark chapter 11, verse 9, the scripture verse continues with; Quote: “hosanna in the highest‘. UnQuote. These are verses of praise which the Catholic Church uses in their liturgy. The Church tells us that these verses also add to Jesus as triumphant Messiah.
Now this is how this song, ‘Hosanna’, was composed: One day, many decades ago, when I was listening to a Sunday Mass Reading on ‘The Entry into Jerusalem’, that Scripture reading stayed in my thoughts for many days and into weeks. I didn’t know why, not until I heard music from within my soul singing these words over and over; ‘hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest’, and again, ‘hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest’! That was when I knew, there was a song being born in me. Yet not that these words have not been sung before through all of church history, for I have heard sung in church many songs with some of the same words. Still, it was new in me. Almost like I was hearing them for the first time. I remember driving my children to practice one day, and I heard in my thoughts as I was driving; ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’. I wondered, where did that thought come from? Then, my thoughts continued, ‘Come, let your hearts rejoice, sing and dance for the Lord, children everywhere, clap your hands to the Lord’. Now I knew, I knew where these thoughts were coming from, these thoughts were making it’s entrance in me and becoming a song. I couldn’t hold it back. It wasn’t waiting for my return back home, it just kept pouring into my soul. I found a pen and paper in the glove compartment, and I started writing what I was hearing, not while I was driving, of course not, when we got to where we were going. My thoughts continued; ‘Jesus our Prince of Peace, came to bring all of His Love. Jesus our King of kings, has redeemed all of his people. Open oh gates up wide, and receive the King of Glory. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.’ And now, this song was finished, and I could not stop my heart from singing it. But I did not write this, though the music was in my soul, and these words were written on paper, it wasn’t me after all, the Holy Spirit wrote it in me, I was the instrument used.
The Scripture verses I read are from the Little Rock Catholic Study Bible, Through God’s grace and mercy and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, this song ‘Hosanna,’ is based on Scripture, music and all added lyrics were written in 1979, ©️1980, first time ®️ 2021.