Look at it this way… You’re NOT in it. You can cross over it…There is a Bridge, His name is Jesus Christ. The only Way.
Thank you Lord for being the ONLY “Bridge”.
Category: Prayers
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The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”…
BE NOT AFRAID!
My Lord and my God!
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My husband and I were discussing the fact that since the fall of man from grace, not one soul was allowed into heaven. In all the souls who had passed since then, not one was worthy, other than our Lord to open the gate and allow the souls to enter.
I’m sitting here imagining and pondering our Lord and His passion,on the “Outside”. Not able to fully comprehend the vast amount of souls waiting for Him to come to their rescue.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
ARTICLE 5
“HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN”631 Jesus “descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens.”476 The Apostles’ Creed confesses in the same article Christ’s descent into hell and his Resurrection from the dead on the third day, because in his Passover it was precisely out of the depths of death that he made life spring forth:
Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.477
Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was “raised from the dead” presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection.478 This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ’s descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.479
633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, “hell” – Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek – because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.480 Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into “Abraham’s bosom”:481 “It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell.”482 Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.483
634 “The gospel was preached even to the dead.”484 The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfilment. This is the last phase of Jesus’ messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ’s redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.
635 Christ went down into the depths of death so that “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”485 Jesus, “the Author of life”, by dying destroyed “him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.”486 Henceforth the risen Christ holds “the keys of Death and Hades”, so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”487
Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him – He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . “I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead.”488
IN BRIEF636 By the expression “He descended into hell”, the Apostles’ Creed confesses that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered death and the devil “who has the power of death” (Heb 2:14).
637 In his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before him.
EDIT TO ADD:
From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday
The Lord descends into hell
Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.
He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.
For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.
See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.
I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.
Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity. -
“So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, ‘Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do,’” (John 13: 12-15)
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Nikolai Ge’s 1891 painting Conscience, Judas
Not sure where I found this painting or the words:
Nikolai Ge’s 1891 painting Conscience, Judas shows us a more layered Judas, here grasping his cloak tight around him, the darkness closing him, the light of Jesus being led away shrinking in the distance, the weight of his betrayal sinking in. Treachery has left its mark on all involved. The betrayed as well as the betrayer. Jesus as well as Judas. Here, alone in the dark, Judas finds himself — as I so often find myself — betraying that which he was meant to love. We, as Christians go with Jesus to the cross. Yet, we as Christians, too, stay with Judas in the garden as the dark closes in, mourning our betrayals.
For as long as I could remember, before my conversion began, I used to think of Judas as just a misunderstood soul, trapped for some reason, in the “Bad Guy” role for what he had to do to our Lord. Until I came to hear and ponder this scripture:
“But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,”Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” John 12:4-6
With the imagery of Judas, being a thief while he was with our Lord and the Apostles, stealing from them, I can’t help but ponder now, the Good Thief and the Bad Thief, crucified alongside our Lord. The Good Thief being the Apostles who did repent and turn back to our Lord, and Judas, having the time and being given everything he could to turn back to our Lord, being the bad thief and not changing, not taking advantage of the grace he was given to repent in the presence of our Lord.
For someone to hang himself for what he had done, I do know he was a troubled soul with a conscience that would not allow him to rest, who was unable to face life anymore, who was unable to go to the Apostles to seek forgiveness from his brothers because of one simple thing. Pride. The rest of the Apostles were just as guilty of other sins, but did not take their own lives. They repented. They held their ground and asked for forgiveness.
I don’t like to think about Judas as I am sure not many do like to think about him. We all hate to come to the realization that we all have a little Judas in us at some time, that truly needs to be purged and replaced with grace and mercy.
Lord Jesus, you were betrayed by the kiss of a friend:
be with those who are betrayed and slandered and falsely accused.
You knew the experience of having your love
thrown back in your face for mere silver
be with families which are torn apart by mistrust or temptation.
To you, Jesus, who offered your face to your betrayer,
be honor and glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever. Amen. -
Daily Prayer For Priests
O Jesus,
I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
For your unfaithful and tepid priests;
For your priests laboring at home or
abroad in distant mission fields.
For your tempted priests;
For your lonely and desolate priests;
For your young priests;
For your dying priests;
For the souls of your priests in Purgatory.
But above all, I recommend to you
the priests dearest to me:
The priest who baptized me;
The priests who absolved me from my sins;
The priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me
Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
The priests who taught and instructed me;
All the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way
(especially).
O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart,
And bless them abundantly in time and in Eternity.
Amen By St. Therese of LisieuxPray for Priests and Vocations
“Now we ask you to respect those who work hard
among you. Hold them in the highest regard in love
because of their work.” (1 Thess. 5:12, 13, NIV) -
I reached that point in my conversion back home to where our Lord has told me to go and LIVE. Its been 17 years on this road to this point.. (no, its not over, Its a lifelong process until He takes me home)
For a while, I began to feel like a pill bug, turned in on myself afraid to move, for a VERY long time. I can only assume it needed to be, in order for me to see myself, in every direction, for who I was and for who God created me to be. But more to see God for who He is. I take His words to heart now: “Be not afraid”. Rather than taking them in fear and trembling… Thank you Lord. Glory to God.
I TRUST in You O Lord.
EDIT TO ADD:
We can’t all have that metamorphosis in such a grand way as the worms changing to butterflies. Sometimes, all the changes that need to take place are simply in direction…
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This IS Demonic America. Even the LEAST faithful soul who believes in God, knows the devil is real and demons are real.
1 John 5:19
“We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” Who is controlling you and your family? What do you place first? That is what is controlling you and your family…From:Fr. Z’s Blog
Nun UNDER The BusYou probably saw my post Sister explains the situation. Spittle-flecked nutty, bullying, intimidation ensue.
Sr. Jane Laurel, OP, gave a talk at a Catholic High School. Hell broke loose.
If you want to sample her talks, go HERE. Her talk at the High School was “Masculinity & Femininity: Difference & Gift”. Presentations with that title are on that website. Listen to a few. At the High School, Sister included comments about homosexuality, divorce and single parents. Some people lost their minds. Read more here.
I suspect that what happened, to build this up into such a thing, is that parents heard vague reports – I say vague because teens are such great sources of accuracy in reporting – about her remarks from their politically-correctly conditioned children and, stung in conscience, got out the pitchforks and torches.
The nutty built up into grand mal nutty in the form of the increasingly inevitable “town hall” meeting.
Am I entirely off base here? Did Sister actually say things that were so outrageous, so unacceptable, so lacking in truth and in charity, that the resulting furor was appropriate, proportionate and justified? Really? Go listen to some of her talks using that link, above. Does it seem likely?
Now I read that Sister is going to have a sabbatical. HERE
It looks as if Alinsky’s Rules were at work here. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself. … Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”
Look. This is just the starting line for some observations.
It seems to me that this sad episode is one of many which reveal the building in our midst of a mob mentality akin to that which drove the Salem Witch Trials. If you speak in public now with any clarity about the Church’s teachings on sexuality, marriage, etc., or avert to conclusions which rational people reach about the same derived from the Natural Law, you will be met with fury. “I saw Lizzie Procter speaking with the devil!” Well… bad example, since most of the people who will join the snarling pack likely don’t believe in the devil.
There is a new and twisted “normal” coalescing. This new “normal”, violating the dictates of reason, will prompt the more aggressive and ideologically driven to impose iron norms, which, when violated, will spark vicious attacks from the now easily manipulated mob.
Watching episode in Charlotte build, I had the image of one of those mobs protests a G8 meeting. In these mobs there are professional instigators, anarchists and so forth, who are dedicated to getting the crowd of the curious, the young, the dumb, the enthusiastic, etc., whipped up into a frenzy. Then, as the frenzy rises, someone pitches a garbage can through a shop window and the havoc begins.
What is happening in our society that accepts so readily the hounding to ruin of the head of some business because he says that he supports true, natural marriage and does not endorse homosexual unions?
Surely there is something of a mob mentality building, and swiftly. The speed is driven by the new phenomenon of social media arriving in your hand 24/7. It is also driven by the erosion of the ability of many to reason (thanks to decades of poor education) and incessant mass media exaltation of self-satisfaction and base carnality, which also switches off higher functions.
But there is also something of the demonic in this present movement.
Some of you readers will remember back in the 50′s and 60′s the benign anti-littering campaigns. “Don’t be a litter bug!” education camps once teachers in schools were daily pounding on their empty-skulls heads about “pollution”. That campaign was probably also an outgrowth of the early ecology movement and neo-Malthusian efforts, but, hey, cleaner streets and roads were good.
Gramsci got it right: get control of the schools and, over time, you’ll control everything else. Have an agenda? Focus on school curricula and teachers. Extirpate anyone who doesn’t conform. Silence any discordant voice.
The campaign that we are seeing now, however, anything but benign. It is brush fire fast and there is in it something of the demonic.
The good news? God already won… The choice is yours to make.
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You show me this, I tell you, Yes.
You show me this,
And I see this…No matter how an artist draws our Lord, or an actor portrays our Lord, we must see our Lord as He said. In the Body of Christ.
A conversation between myself and my daughter this morning..
Chloe: “Mom? Is that a picture of Jesus in real life?”
Me: “No Chloe. The Eucharist, The Body of Christ is the real Jesus”
Chloe: “AMEN Mommy”.
Peg Pondering Again began with a second title, Trying to paint A Picture of Christ. I truly believe the painting is complete..
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The apple never falls far from the tree….
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Here is the thing.. There will come a time when he can’t do this anymore and he will need someone else to do this. To often we look and say, boy that was great when SO & SO used to do this or that.I miss that. I miss them..
The reality is we miss the message to pick up where he or she left off, and do it where we are, right now.
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Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.
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Please read and DO! Far to many souls receive our Lord like they are buying a new pair of shoes…
Taken from Saint Peters List:
Personal Prudence and Objective Standards
1. Presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion should be a conscious decision, based on a reasoned judgment regarding one’s worthiness to do so, according to the Church’s objective criteria, asking such questions as: “Am I in full communion with the Catholic Church? Am I guilty of grave sin? Have I incurred a penalty (e.g. excommunication, interdict) that forbids me to receive Holy Communion? Have I prepared myself by fasting for at least an hour?” The practice of indiscriminately presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion, merely as a consequence of being present at Mass, is an abuse that must be corrected (cf. Instruction “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” nos. 81, 83).
Abortion, Euthanasia, and the Law
2. The Church teaches that abortion or euthanasia is a grave sin. The Encyclical Letter Evangelium vitae, with reference to judicial decisions or civil laws that authorize or promote abortion or euthanasia, states that there is a “grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. […] In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to ‘take part in a propaganda campaign in favour of such a law or vote for it’” (no. 73). Christians have a “grave obligation of conscience not to cooperate formally in practices which, even if permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to God’s law. Indeed, from the moral standpoint, it is never licit to cooperate formally in evil. […] This cooperation can never be justified either by invoking respect for the freedom of others or by appealing to the fact that civil law permits it or requires it” (no. 74).
Please continue reading at Saint Peters List
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For longer than I can remember, I have come to accept the evil one has taken control of my dreams. Hear me out. But he can only set the stage. He can not control the content, nor the direction. I only know this because I have not been able to stop dreaming about someone in my past. This person is NEVER in my thoughts, words, desires nor is his name ever on my lips. I could care less about this particular person or where he is or doing. I forgave him and prayed for his conversion. He was someone who I loved very much and was hurt by immensely but I had forgiven him and moved on.
I KNOW the evil one is doing this because of the state of my soul at the time I was with this person. The evil one keeps trying to bring this person back into my thoughts and actions, by trying to make me do things that in my stupidity while with this person I would have done without even thinking, and I find it rather funny because the devil is showing his cards and he lost. I forgave this man for doing what he had done to me. I released him. Its obvious, the devil hasn’t gotten the memo. I had also repented deeply for being that person and our Lord is showing me, who He intended me to be. No more to chase after the things and people that used to hold me back from who He, our Lord, needed me to be. Who He created me to be. I love our Lord.
Every time I dream about this person, it’s always in his home where he can control the situation. Its his turf and I am unwelcome. It’s always the same. The house is falling down and held together by garbage that he treasured over me. He is always very plastic in his actions to me and is always waiting for someone other than me to come over and my being there is just another inconvenience. The only reason I am there ever in my dream is a mystery. Last night was different. He told me, you can stay here with me, I missed you and my response back to him, but I don’t love you that way. I don’t want to be with you.I never want to be with you.
Prayers please, that these dreams stop already. I haven’t lost any sleep over them, because our Lord is protecting me. I do love this person as if I didn’t, I would have never forgiven him nor would I pray for him and his family. But I do not want to dream about him anymore. He is NOT my dream boy and that ship sailed a long time ago.
I know I am battling Satan. I may not ever be able to defeat Satan.. but I, through Christ have defeated my sins and death. That is enough… Game over “It was you who saved us, Lord: we will praise your name without ceasing.”
Glory to God. -
From last night, on my Facebook page:
Spent some time with our Lord in Exposition. Strange thing took place, like always LOL. A thought of how wonderful it was to finally be back home (In the Catholic Church) after being separated for so long came, as I knelt in front of our Lord and as always I thanked Him for His grace and love..
I remembered something personal, about how the bells would ring out for a returning repentant sinner. LMBO as I got in my car on the way home, the radio station decided to play a Block of Bell songs. It was songs all about bells on my way home and the last one to play was If Only You Knew by Patti Labelle… You tell me.
As I got ready to go to bed, I opened Divine Office and began to pray. Part of the prayers for the night included:
1 Corinthians 2:7-10a
What we utter is God’s wisdom: a mysterious, a hidden wisdom. God planned it before all ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew the mystery; if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. Of this wisdom it is written:
“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard
nor has it so much as dawned on man
what God has prepared for those who love him.”Yet God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit.
Glory to God!
LMBO! After posting this story on this blog, I tried to share it on Stumble. LMBO It wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t STUMBLE! LMBO Glory to God (Not making this up)
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Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner…
Hello my wonderful readers (Brothers & Sisters in Christ). I have a personal prayer request. We all need prayers and I am no different. I am asking for your prayers for me, as I am going in for gallbladder surgery in the next few days. I have had some other health issues including a partially collapsed lung and some nodules found on my thyroid along with a hiatal hernia that is producing an over abundance of acid so much so that it is finding its way into my lungs. Yup! I’m a mess but I have for many years been offering up all my suffering to our Lord. If it is Gods will that this is my time, let it be known that I join all my suffering to His, including my death. In that case, please pray for my soul. I trust in our Lord as He is the spouse of my soul. The foundation of my faith has always been rooted in the fact, He said so. No matter how frightening things have been or can be the simple fact our Lord has said and done everything already, is consolation enough for me to understand, His will be done, not mine. I have received Anointing of the Sick and if any of my readers are in the same health way as I am, please go and be anointed before any medical procedure like surgery.. Its best to be prepared.
Please pray for my healing and for my children and husband to pull closer to our Lord during this time . God bless you and thank you. I love you.
EDIT TO ADD: I received my Surgery date and it seems its going to be held off until March 13th, 2014 at 11:00 AM. Glory to God.
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I came across the story while walking through my family’s past, reminiscing about my Great Uncle in Slovakia who survived the Nazis and the Communists. Some days I am just overwhelmed by not being able to stop thinking about what took place in that time. How so many souls went to their death in Nazi Camps. How souls living near the camps allowed it as if it was nothing. Because they just didn’t care and it didn’t affect them. I would be willing to bet the justifications by so many today FOR Abortion, and pro Choice are exactly the same as the justifications by those who did NOTHING to stop the slaughter of millions back then. Today, truly is no different. With great understanding, nothing has changed.
While the Nazis nurtured the illusion of limitless technological and social progress and a racially purified utopian worker/agricultural paradise…they created the archetypal “culture of death”
The Germans murdered over a million Jewish children. Like the sick and the old, they were viewed as useless mouths to feed and often among the first killed. Some were used in medical experiments, but newborns were typically murdered at birth. – Sound familiar today? Tell me what has changed? Nothing. Evil always hides behind a name. Nazi was that name in the 30’s & 40’s. But the evil is still here. Hiding behind another name. The key is not to stamp out the name, but the evil itself. As long as we continue to feed the “culture of death”, by way of complicity, lackadaisical caring, or just not giving a damn, we are doomed to repeat the past. And we are repeating it today. How many children today are murdered daily through Abortion because we view them as less than human? How about post birth abortion? Aborted children used in stem cell research? How can they be less then human when we ourselves we that little once. They are no less human than you or I.This is not just the “culture of death” mentality but evil itself. The pro death (Pro Abortion) argument today is no different than the pro Nazi argument of the past. Its LEGAL. Just because man creates a law that goes against what is right, does not make it okay.
This story here needs to be read: The Dachau Seven: The Nameless Pro Life Hero who Saved Seven Pregnant Concentration Camp Prisoners
This one also:
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Can you all see what is going on today? Can you see the facts? Can you see how evil has exposed itself for what it truly is? Its time to get back to God boys & girls…
This isn’t a joke…This isn’t a game. This isn’t a drill. This is evil exposed. This is your chance to escape. Return to your first Love. Repent…
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I pray for a Pro Life world…
March For Life 2014. Prayers for all the “Catholics” who support the culture of death through ignorance about their Catholic Faith. There is no such thing as a Pro Abortion or Pro Choice Practicing Catholic.
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Man gives up everything, walks across U.S. making reparation for sins of abortion, family breakdown
Thank you Mark. May God bless you and protect you. Please keep him in your prayers and pray to end abortion worldwide.
TEXAS, January 7, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – It can be a temptation living in these dark times to simply throw up one’s hands in despair as the world descends from one blackness into another. But accepting defeat has never been an option for Mark Byerly.
Instead of standing idly by witnessing western civilization become more and more corroded through abortion, the breakdown of marriage and family, and the loss of a sense of sin, the 49-year-old decided on a radical course of action: He would embark on a journey across America on foot, praying for the spiritual needs of his countrymen.
“Ultimately, I just couldn’t stand around and watch this happen anymore,” Byerly told LifeSiteNews.com by phone during his brief stop in Odessa, Texas for Christmas.
Byerly’s journey would be a pilgrimage of penance, prayer, and sacrifice to make amends for his own crimes and the crimes of others committed against God and neighbor.
The word “pilgrim” conjures up images of someone from the Middle Ages dressed in tattered robes and traveling across Europe or Russia with a staff and a ragged bundle slung across his back. While Byerly is a modern pilgrim with modern tools, such as an iPad for communicating and for tracing out his route, he is driven by that same mysterious hunger felt by pilgrims of all ages, a hunger for God and for his Kingdom to come.
Byerly set out on his pilgrimage from his hometown of Newark, Delaware on July 25, 2013. Prior to this he had disentangled himself of his worldly responsibilities. He left a successful job as a manager of a private Spanish restaurant. Then he gave away, sold, or threw out everything he owned, except for what he needed for his journey.
Please continue reading at the link in the story above.
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A week ago, I was contacted by a man with questions about Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I was taken back at his call because I had not been the Captain of the Adoration Society for at least 8 months. You see, he held on to a very old Church bulletin with my contact information inside, in regards to sitting with our Lord.
As the call came, I was going to give him the churches contact information and send him on his way. He began to ask questions, and I knew in my heart he was crying for help. As we talked he opened up, and the Holy Spirit began to do His work. The man on the other end of the phone, began to tell me what he had been through in the past few years, and ever time he said a word, I could see myself. In all he was saying, I had been there. You see, the man, who I will call David, was emptying his heart out to me, in regards to how he wanted to come back home to the Catholic Faith.
Since my ties to the parish he was inquiring about had been in the past, I gave him the contact information to do what he needed to do. We talked for over an hour and he made it very clear, he was screaming for Our Lord to help him. We cried together in discussing the faith and the love our Lord has for us, and the rocky road we had been on. I was overcome with a love that no one could understand. I could see the pain this man was in and knew the help he needed as I had screamed out for the same help many years ago. When I was lost, unknowingly on the road “down from Jerusalem to Jericho.”
A few days later, he called me back and in the midst of our conversation, he had revealed to me that no one was contacting him for the numbers I had given to him. He then began to reveal many struggles he was enduring even in his own home for simply praying. He began to pray more, and his sisters began chastising him. “What are you praying for?” Why do you want to go to Church?” “Whats wrong with you?” “Are you crazy?”. Simply because he was turning away from sin, and to our Lord. This poor man was being “beaten” and “robbed” of his faith in his own family.
I had a few concerns in speaking to him as I was now Married and in all honesty, I didn’t think it was a good idea to carry on a relationship, EVEN one on one Spiritually, with someone I had not known, nor who had known my husband. In listening to David, he had revealed to me that he had a cousin who was a Catholic Priest but had not talked to him in some time. I advised David that he NEEDED a good strong Spiritual adviser to help him out and since no one was getting back to him, it would be a fantastic idea to contact his cousin the Priest. David agreed, and begged me to join him in Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Friday, as he was afraid to go alone, and so I agreed to join him.
Not sure of David would call his Priest Cousin, I tracked him down myself. I had given Father the background and told him that I would LOVE to continue to help David, but didn’t think it would be good, under my circumstances. He had revealed to me that David did in fact contact him but he wanted to talk to me first and was glad he did. He assured me that David would have adequate care now in his spiritual needs. I said “God bless you Father”, and hung up the phone, knowing I had brought this beaten man to the Doctor that can nurse him back to health.
Thank you God..
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Last night, while praying Divine Office, as I arrived at Psalm 91, I remembered what it was like to be a small child. To be secure. To be protected. To be safe. To be loved. To not have a care in the world. For a brief moment I snuggled under that Wing of Abba Father. I didn’t want to leave the amazing comfort I found there. All I desire is that.
As brief as that consolation was last night, what came next was unstoppable crying. As I was pulled from the shelter of Abba Father, a memory replaced the comfort. I was a little child in my pajamas with my slippers on. It was the heart of winter and bitter cold outside. I had just gotten ready for bed and walked into the kitchen. Something called me to the side door in the kitchen and I remember going outside to do something. I don’t remember why I left the house. But I did, and did what I needed to do, quickly, as I walked back to the side door, my dad closed the door and locked it. I was very little at the time and my slippers were sliding on the ice. I knocked as hard as I could and he wouldn’t come to let me back in. He couldn’t hear me. I started crying very hard because it was very cold and no one knew I was outside. As I walked through the snow, around the house to get to the front door, I fell and was now wet and freezing as I slipped on the ice on the sidewalk to get to the front door. I pounded as hard as I could and my dad was still not coming. I reached up with all my might, climbing up on the railing on the porch and rang the bell.
The door opened and there stood my dad in SHOCK, seeing who it was as I shivered at the door. He opened the door fast and let me in. Nothing mattered at that moment. NOTHING! I was back in warmth. My dad was never a “hugging” person or very affectionate. But he was at that moment. He knew how cold it was out there. He could tell how long I was pounding. He wrapped me in his blanket and he warmed me up on his couch.
That security of a parent can never be matched or replaced. When Abba Father allowed me last night to see it again, for as brief as it was, it truly has become all I ever want. Just to spend eternity wrapped in His warmth. With Him, holding me tight.
That time I had spent on the “outside”, was extremely dangerous. As it was with my faith! It became apparent to me how important it is to TELL Abba Father everything before I just go “thinking” I can handle anything alone. Such is my journey back home from “exile”. And yes, its cold “outside”.
What sparked this reflection:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: “My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”It is he who will free you from the snare
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge.You will not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand fall at your right,
you, it will never approach;
his faithfulness is buckler and shield.Your eyes have only to look
to see how the wicked are repaid,
you who have said: “Lord, my refuge!”
and have made the Most High your dwelling.Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels,
to keep you in all your ways.They shall bear you upon their hands
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread
and trample the young lion and the dragon.Since he clings to me in love, I will free him;
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: “I am with you,”
I will save him in distress and give him glory.With length of life I will content him;
I shall let him see my saving power.Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.“Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings.”
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Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord – Spiritual reflection (Taken from News.va English)
From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope: “The Lord has made his salvation known to the whole world”
The loving providence of God determined that in the last days he would aid the world, set on its course to destruction. He decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ. A promise had been made to the holy patriarch Abraham in regard to these nations. He was to have a countless progeny, born not from his body but from the seed of faith. […]
In the persons of the Magi let all people adore the Creator of the universe; let God be known, not in Judea only, but in the whole world. […] As Isaiah prophesied: the people of the Gentiles, who sat in darkness, have seen a great light, and for those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death a light has dawned. He spoke of them to the Lord: The Gentiles, who do not know you, will invoke you, and the peoples, who knew you not, will take refuge in you. […]
This came to be fulfilled, as we know, from the time when the star beckoned the three wise men out of their distant country and led them to recognize and adore the King of heaven and earth. The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all men to find Christ.
Dear friends, you must have the same zeal to be of help to one another; then, in the kingdom of God, to which faith and good works are the way, you will shine as children of the light: through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
Domenico Ghirlandaio. 1485–1488. Adoration of the Magi. Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence.
Peace.
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Let Him enter your heart. Let Him take hold of every aspect of your life.
Fill every day He has given you, and gives to you, with Him. In deed, in thought, in prayer in love.
Cast away your past sins and sinfulness. Don’t continue in the past but prepare for the future. A new year is upon us. Be the change in the world for the good of all and to the Glory be Gods. Live the faith, daily. Love God above all else, daily.
The Year of Faith has concluded. May we Christian Family’s, make it our Mission to ensure we do
the Will of God. Stand up and be what our Lord has called you to be, HOLY.Not just for 2014,but for all time, teach your children to be holy by your example. One need not be a Catholic Priest or Sister to be Holy or to be a Great Saint. We are ALL called to be saints first. Teach them to love God above all else as with this ONE lesson for life, everything falls into place in perfection of Christ Jesus, thus all society reaps the bountiful harvest of the fruits of faith. When you love God above everything, it becomes VERY easy to see, all sin stems from the soul breaking the very first commandment. “You shall have no other gods before me”
As a Catholic Parent, you have ONE job. To teach your children to love God above EVERYTHING else. Sainthood is the ONLY “Profession” we should encourage our children into. Profession of Faith. Parents are so caught up in wanting their children to succeed in the world and overlook how much more important it is to do the Will of God – the faith becomes secondary. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Our Lord then doubled it to Love your neighbor as yourself.
With the first command to love God above all else and teach your children to also, the second command becomes natural and easy to do. If you love God above all else, doing the Will of the Father, becomes your will. The Great Saints placed God first. Not their desire to become “Scholars” as the reason they became GREAT Scholars is because of their Love for God therefore becoming Great Saints first. St. Augustine did not set out on the path to God thinking about how fantastic it was to write. He wrote everything he EXPERIENCED through God. Thus, doing the Will of God, and God giving him the title after his entering into Eternal Life. Leaving a visible path behind for others to our Lord, and thereby to Abba Father. As did all the great Saints.
In 2014, let’s make it clear to the entire world that as Christians, we love God above all else. Placing worldliness and sinful behaviors behind us. And if you fall, He will pick you back up to continue on through His Sacraments. If we do just this one thing, the entire world would never be the same. Don’t allow 2014 to become just another secular year, make it HOLY. Dedicate it to Him who gave His life to you. What is just one year to give Him in return? In one year, living the faith with your entire heart, you will never want to return to who you once were without Him. You won’t be able to remove your eyes from Him ever again.
I for one am looking forward to placing 2013 in the past. I am grateful for all God has done for me and my family. Lord may we all move forward into the new year, with YOU and never without You O Lord. May we apply all the gifts you have given to us, in all aspects of our lives, to give Abba Father all the glory and honor through Jesus Christ and the most gracious Holy Spirit, Three, eternally in the One God of all. Amen
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Merry Christmas
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Yesterday Pope Frances reflected on “Silence”. Pope: silence guards one’s relationship with God. I have been struggling with this for many years. Since my conversion began back in 1998. There are no coincidences. I truly feel as if my journey is over in seeking some sort of answer for what has taken place in my life. The changes that have overtaken every aspect of who I used to be, and who God has created me to be. As I went out to lunch yesterday, “Fire on the Earth” on Immaculate Heart Radio was on and answered EVERY question I have had since my conversion began. Everything is out of my hands. I cannot control a thing that takes place in what I see, hear, or in what other do. Everything is in God’s hands. All I can control is my sinfulness through repentance and the Sacraments our Lord has given to us. All I need to know is that the reason for all of this is simply because God loves me and I am a child of God. I am called to live this life as His.
That is the best gift anyone can receive. Forgiveness and repentance from the sinful life I had led is only achieved through the grace He has given me. I accept His gift freely and without any soul on earth coming to me to say YES! It was Him. Or NO! That is not Him. You see, “Silence” is our Lords way of allowing the soul to discern what is from Him and what is not. Silence is the way He speaks the loudest. The way He allows us to continue on to Him without a push or force, but freely. What truly is odd about Pope Frances comments is that I made a Christmas Video to share with all. It was made over a week ago and it does exactly as Pope Frances has asked. Taking into account the first video I made was deleted by another media outlet because it contained things with a copyright. Its okay. Everything happens for a reason. Here it is:
I have spent many years speaking about my experience’s and trying way to hard to explain to souls who could never comprehend what our Lord has done with me, to me, and it truly is personal. For me and only today, after 15 years of this journey, I have come to understand there isn’t a soul on earth that can answer for Him. That can justify for Him what He has done to me. It is truly Him who I seek. Him who I live for and Him who I give the glory to for all that has taken place. I have said all I need to say. Now, I leave this blog, and the talking and actions and everything to our Lord. I pray that I have not said too much. It truly is time for me to be silent and relish in the gifts our Lord has given to not just me, but to all who seek Him.
This does not mean that I return to the old way of life but continue on in the new life He has given to me. I continue to pray for all until He calls me back home. I truly have PEACE! This is not the end. But the beginning.
Merry Christmas. Life is His wonderful gift!
‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’
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We start the fourth week of Advent tonight.. Its time..
Time to finish the journey back into the “town” of our birth, to be counted among the “faithful”.
St Joseph, pray for us that we carry with us always, love, hope, faith and joy, and share the gifts we receive from our Lord with everyone on the road back home, as the route of repentance we now take is much different then the route we took to encounter our Infant Lord, laying in the arms of our Virgin Mother Mary. That we may give the glory to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, Three eternally in one, for all time and eternity. Amen
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A few points to ponder from Pope Francis, EVANGELII GAUDIUM. When we think of New Evangelization, we must take Mama Mary’s way to bring comfort and strength to all souls not only in need of hearing the gospel’s, but in every aspect of our lives. We are called to LIVE the gospel’s. Not just hear them, clap and say, wow that sounds nice and go back to what we were previously doing.
I see this a lot with so many every time Pope Francis speaks to the “masses”. The flags wave, the cheering from the crowds and the screams of “I love you Papa”. But are we truly listening and following what is being said? Imagine the Apostles listening to our Lord and never grasping what He was teaching them, but rather just allowing Him to continue because they liked the “atmosphere”. Judas comes to mind. He never got over being a “fan” of our Lord rather than becoming a “follower” like the rest. When we become “fans” rather than “Followers”, the second something that is said or done that we don’t like, we find someone else to become a “fan” of.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Pope Francis as I love everyone, and this is not about trashing him, or what he is doing or not and who likes him or not. He is the “Vicar of Christ”. Its about not applying his messages, daily, in all of our lives. Not applying the same message as it has always been through 2000 years, from our Lord in our daily lives. The “Church” is, but we are called to be a part of that “Church”, not “apart from”.
Mama Mary from the beginning, was neither a “fan” of her Son, nor a “follower”. She is His Mother. Thus the Catholic Church is OUR Mother. We are called to “Listen” to her, as she is telling us what WE need to do. What happens when we don’t listen to “Mom”?
In the times that we live, I am constantly reminded of St. Paul’s message of “A Church Divided Over Leaders”. So often we get so wrapped up in “who” we are “following” that we forget the Church is our Mother and we run to different people who appeal to our “liking”. We become “fans” of so & so rather than a living example, as Mama Mary, to the entire “Church”. We argue and cause great angst with one another and that is poison to not only the “Church”, but it paints a very negative view to those on the outside, in need the most. Souls who do not understand look at the “arguing”, and some is very nasty, between brothers & sisters in a dim light that portrays all of what we are trying to accomplish as nothing more than a “Fight Club” rather than a “Family” united in Christ. I ask you to please read this:
10 I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to* Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I give thanks [to God] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 (I baptized the household of Stephanas also; beyond that I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
That “the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning”. Once we place our love of one over another, the entire meaning becomes lost. Mama Mary, did not love one over the other. Because of her great “Humility”, She loves all.
II. Mary, mother of evangelization
284. With the Holy Spirit, Mary is always present in the midst of the people. She joined the disciples in praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14) and thus made possible the missionary outburst which took place at Pentecost. She is the Mother of the Church which evangelizes, and without her we could never truly understand the spirit of the new evangelization.
Jesus’ gift to his people
285. On the cross, when Jesus endured in his own flesh the dramatic encounter of the sin of the world and God’s mercy, he could feel at his feet the consoling presence of his mother and his friend. At that crucial moment, before fully accomplishing the work which his Father had entrusted to him, Jesus said to Mary: “Woman, here is your son”. Then he said to his beloved friend: “Here is your mother” (Jn 19:26-27). These words of the dying Jesus are not chiefly the expression of his devotion and concern for his mother; rather, they are a revelatory formula which manifests the mystery of a special saving mission. Jesus left us his mother to be our mother. Only after doing so did Jesus know that “all was now finished” (Jn 19:28). At the foot of the cross, at the supreme hour of the new creation, Christ led us to Mary. He brought us to her because he did not want us to journey without a mother, and our people read in this maternal image all the mysteries of the Gospel. The Lord did not want to leave the Church without this icon of womanhood. Mary, who brought him into the world with great faith, also accompanies “the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus” (Rev 12:17). The close connection between Mary, the Church and each member of the faithful, based on the fact that each in his or her own way brings forth Christ, has been beautifully expressed by Blessed Isaac of Stella: “In the inspired Scriptures, what is said in a universal sense of the virgin mother, the Church, is understood in an individual sense of the Virgin Mary… In a way, every Christian is also believed to be a bride of God’s word, a mother of Christ, his daughter and sister, at once virginal and fruitful… Christ dwelt for nine months in the tabernacle of Mary’s womb. He dwells until the end of the ages in the tabernacle of the Church’s faith. He will dwell forever in the knowledge and love of each faithful soul”.[212]
286. Mary was able to turn a stable into a home for Jesus, with poor swaddling clothes and an abundance of love. She is the handmaid of the Father who sings his praises. She is the friend who is ever concerned that wine not be lacking in our lives. She is the woman whose heart was pierced by a sword and who understands all our pain. As mother of all, she is a sign of hope for peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice. She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal love. As a true mother, she walks at our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love. Through her many titles, often linked to her shrines, Mary shares the history of each people which has received the Gospel and she becomes a part of their historic identity. Many Christian parents ask that their children be baptized in a Marian shrine, as a sign of their faith in her motherhood which brings forth new children for God. There, in these many shrines, we can see how Mary brings together her children who with great effort come as pilgrims to see her and to be seen by her. Here they find strength from God to bear the weariness and the suffering in their lives. As she did with Juan Diego, Mary offers them maternal comfort and love, and whispers in their ear: “Let your heart not be troubled… Am I not here, who am your Mother?”[213]
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I can’t help but think of the first Advent while Mama Mary was waiting in silence for her Child to enter into the world. “Let it be done according to your word”, the “yes” for all time, bringing true Peace to earth. Peace that has never been known since the fall of man.
