December 22
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
Tag: Advent
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Fourth Sunday of Advent Lectionary: 12
Sound the trumpet in Zion; the day of the Lord is near; he comes to save us, alleluia.
It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer now than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent, the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. – Romans 13:11-12
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December 20
O Key of David,
opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness! -
The words we don’t hear enough today, backed up by action. “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you”.
The entire world today seems to be on an “Escalator”. The anger and outrage at everything is so thick, you can see it like a fog rolling in, forgetting that not every “escalator” goes up when we get on.
Newton’s Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action. Looking at this today in society, one can easily assess that for every action there is blown out of proportion over re-action.
“You offended me” is the phrase of the day and one that can be only followed by “I’m calling my attorneys”. Or, “You don’t deserve to live because you offended me”. That last line can be seen from the gang ridden streets of Chicago all the way to the Middle East, as its no different. Society as a whole, is staring to mimic a perpetual sandbox fight of six year olds in which everyone throws their sucker in the sand and stomps away to get the older brother to beat up the perceived evil kid who called someone a name or dare to knock down a “sand castle” created.
To be “Offended” is to be resentful or annoyed, typically as a result of a perceived insult. What is behind that? Pride. A deep rooted, nasty, maggoty pride that needs to be cut out completely. To do this takes humility.
When I hear souls today try to use the key trigger words like, Crusades, Molestation by Priests, Inquisition and the anti-Catholic mantra of the day, as a means of looking for anything they can grasp, as a means to make the entire faith look bad, or offend me personally, I pity them for the simple fact of what they can not see, that my faith isn’t based on the mistakes nor sins, little or big, of anyone. My faith is built on and in, the Love that Jesus Christ has for us all. On His cross, the words that left His lips, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”.
What comes with forgiveness? Forgiveness is the biggest, baddest weapon on the face of this earth. There is nothing stronger then it when it is given for and out of love for the other. It cuts to the heart of the problem and allows two souls to speak and not scream. It immediately deescalates all situations in which the soul can be placed in when it is received from the party it is given to. When it is not received, the soul giving it, not only places it firmly in our Lords hands, but receives the peace needed from our Lord to continue without any need for the receiver to acknowledge the forgiveness given as the soul understand it has done all it could and peace is achieved.
May our Lord bring His peace this Christmas, to all who seek it, through humility, in saying we are sorry, showing we are sorry and accepting the forgiveness that is given.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us
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December 17O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the path of knowledge!From the USCCB
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Forgive me for not posting anything for this picture. I am in awe. Here is a link. Please read.
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This morning I am filled with a peace that only our Lord can give and I am grateful. This wonderful peace today is born from knowing that no matter what may come, in Christ, nothing can take away the JOY of knowing He is Lord. “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
Last night, I was experiencing some great pain from what ever is going on inside my body and was troubled to see how my not being able to carry out some duties as mom and wife, was starting to weigh on my husband. My children filled the gap between us that was growing wider, with arguing about frivolous things. As I called for peace in this home, no one but our Lord heard my cry.
I was informed by my doctor that the blood work was back and they were ruling out anything wrong (cancer or disease) with my liver and pancreas, which to me, was great news. However, they have not ruled out a penetrating ulcer, which makes total sense with the amount of anti-inflammatory medicine I take for my spinal issues. Ulcer penetration is a complication in which the ulcer erodes through the intestinal wall without digestive fluid leaking into the abdomen. Instead, the ulcer penetrates into an adjoining organ, such as the pancreas or liver. The signs of penetration are more severe pain without rhythmicity or periodicity, and the spread of the pain to the lower back.
Next Tuesday, I have an appointment to find out more as more tests are scheduled. In the mean time, I have to ignore the pain and suffering because other things need attention. My children and my husband. That doesn’t mean our Lord is ignoring me. On the contrary, I am finding Him with me, every second as my pain and suffering is joined to His. As He is giving me His attention, I find it crucial now, to give that same attention to them.
No one on earth could ever understand fully, the position, place and condition a soul is in,nor the experiences, good and bad, they are going through completely, except our Lord. Its as if its just Him and me now, as I am sure its always been but I just couldn’t see it, walking through this entire experience, forgetting self and trying to bring peace in this home, in this family that just can’t see what is going on here. When I can see this, I can see my children and husband in the Light. I can understand more, the things that they can’t understand yet. Rather than become distant and uncaring to their needs, I am more and more careful in regards to how I attend to them. Mercy being the key. As our Lord pours His mercy on me, I am just a funnel in which that same mercy pours down into this home, on to my husband and children. Even when it is not reciprocated from them, as they are vessels also, that will hold it, until He determines when they shall need and use it through remembering if they choose through free will to do so with His grace. That is the peace and joy I have today. It is His, our Lords.
Pondering, “What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.” Oh how true this is.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” -
I don’t like to blow my own horn, ever. Today is my 49th birthday. Next to the gift of life, Mercy from our Lord added with the Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis through our Lords Church, is the greatest gift any soul can receive outside of Eternal Life with our Lord Himself. Celebrate Life!
Tomorrow, the Jubilee of Mercy begins. For my birthday, I seek to help with Mercy, bringing souls back into communion with our Lord. I ask all my readers to please take advantage of the Jubilee of Mercy and use the grace our Lord is giving YOU ALL, to come home to Him. Seek Him and you will find Him. The door is open! Ask!
Today, I am dedicating my blog and the posts within for the next year, to be used as a tool of Mercy for souls in need who desire time with our Lord. When I first heard of this beautiful upcoming year, I was in awe. For the past twenty years, I have been on a path back to our Lord and have experienced Him living, much alive in all aspects of life. There are souls who do not believe you can prove that He even exists, and there are souls who need no proof as the very fact they have lived, is proof enough. When He reveals Himself in every aspect of your life, that empty hole in your heart, that we try to fill with anything but Him, becomes a place that only He and you, together, can exist in and nothing else can fill you with more joy than this encounter with Him, as it is the foundation to build all life in Christ, on. May our Holy Mother Mary be the model of faith, we all seek to emulate in the sorrow and pain we experience and know that no matter how hard it may be, our Lord has the final word.
When we accept His mercy, we accept His justice. With the sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), comes Absolution.
I pray for the conversion of souls this year, as I have been and hope that this Year of Mercy brings a personal encounter with Love to each soul in such a way, turning away from that Love, is never even part of the equation.
Our Lord Jesus Christ loves you very much. Its a love unlike any other. When that Love is placed first, above all else in your life, His life, alive , becomes alive in you.
Peace! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
Let all who thirst come; let all who desire it, drink from the life-giving water (Revelation 22:17)
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Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people.
We await your coming. Come, O Lord.Second Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 6Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
all flesh shall see the salvation of God. -
‘I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.’ – Albert Einstein
The sticks are the crosses we are to carry and the stones are the hearts of men, without the fear of God in them….
Man can grind up & destroy EVERY weapon on the face of the planet and he will still kill his own brother using his own stone cold heart, by his own selfish hand.
The problem society has today isn’t guns, its disdain for God, disdain for the Truth, disdain for anything holy, right and just. When God is removed from “society”, as has been being attempted, society loses Fear of the Lord, and fear of the Lord holds all society in check. Fear of the Lord balances society so it is not tossed into chaos but remains in His peace. Without Fear of God, there isn’t any respect for anyone’s life. That loss of respect for life, is the problem we have today. Period.
The entire world is in need of a conversion of heart. The devil will always blame God, blame the innocent and blame all he can on what is good while creating as much chaos as he can, pushing man into a frenzy to enact more laws when the ones he truly needs have already been written on his own heart. The devil will always try to push all society into the pit of hell. A heart of stone does more killing, physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually than any weapon man can create.
The entire world is in need of a conversion of heart. Pick up your cross with our Lord’s most Sacred Heart and carry it with Him again and smash that heart of stone that seeks what is never attainable in a heart of stone, replacing it with the attainable heart of flesh. LOVE!
Our Lady of Fatima said “In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph”. Look to her as your role model to ensure our Lord will remove the stone and create an Immaculate Heart in you.
“We the Christians are the true Israel which springs from Christ, for we are carved out of His heart as from a rock.” — St. Justin Martyr (d. 165)
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” — Matthew 11:29
“There is in the Sacred Heart the symbol and express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love in return.” — Pope Leo XIII
EDIT TO ADD: From a Priest friend on Facebook
Kyrie, eleison.
Some good advice from Father Jay Finelli (obviously this is directed to Catholics … !)
Are you concerned with the shooting today in San Bernardino? Are you concerned with terrorism? Are you concerned with all the many evils taking place in our world today (the times in which we live)?
Well, do something about it!1) Go to Mass tomorrow (and as often as possible)
2) Pray your Rosary
3) Go to Adoration and make at least one Holy Hour a week
4) Pray the St. Michael Prayer throughout the day
5) Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
6) Go to Confession frequently
7) Turn away from sin, away from the world, repent and believe in the Gospel
8) Now that you have done #7, live itDo all of the above and more and in no particular order!
(This advice doesn’t preclude other kinds of action: political discussion on homeland security, and gun violence, for instance. It is the foundation for any kind of action, or ought to be. The kind of action most of us get involved in: interminable online discussions, meme wars which only establish us in our own positions, and feelings of superiority to others, and acerbic commentary, don’t achieve much, if anything. They certainly don’t help us become saints, I don’t think.) -
Pondering: Vatican II (inside the church) not being the reason souls left the pews, but the temptation of the ‘sexual revolution” (on the outside), being the “apple” many “fell for” that lead souls astray and out of the pews. Therefore our Lord was already prepared to address the needs of a society of souls far off, and the Father meeting them on the road to welcome them back home.
If souls were “obedient” and in love with our Lord, there wouldn’t have been a mass exodus. It’s as if a fear of something other than of our Lord gripped the souls in the pews rather than “trust” and “obedience” to our Lord, which holds all souls in love.. Just as a temptation that “original sin” is a thing of the past grips souls today and holds them in that same lack of “obedience” to God.
BUT “patience obtains all things” and “all things work for the greater glory of God”.
Just pondering….
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The Global Warming Of Hearts
Please see the edits to the previous post.
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Saturday July 4th, I will be dedicating to our Holy Mother Mary and first Saturday. I ask you to join me as we celebrate her, our Catholic Faith and TRUE Independence from our sinfulness. I have my flag out already. I will be bringing my children to Holy Mass after we all receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Just an idea I feel needs to be shared.
“In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph.” – Our Lady of Fatima
FREEDOM!
All praise, honor and glory to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
EDIT to add:
Its not a call to abandon hope, nor to hide inside this day, but to celebrate LIFE in Christ. To still enjoy our Lords creation. TO STILL live the life our Lord has given to us and to appreciate Holiness in the Light. Its not that we are NOT still sinners, but rather we know we are and we are TRYING with the grace of God to get back home to our Lord, in TRUE Love. Agape!
“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Amen!”EDIT:
The original photo has been changed at the top of this post. WITHOUT KNOWING, I was flying my Vatican Flag upside down for many many WEEKS. I didn’t know it. Today, I fixed it. Keep in mind ANY flag flown upside down is a sign of “distress” and NOT disrespect. Pray for this nation and the ENTIRE Church.
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REPENT…
All over the MSM you see “Love Wins” in regards to the same sex marriage law being man made legal in 50 US states. Yes. Love most certainly does win but most do not know who He is yet. I pray that many will receive the grace from our Lord for understanding of who He is.
Again SCOTUS chants “We have no king but Caesar”. Just as it was chanted through the pen for Abortion and now for Marriage. Jesus Christ is MY King, not the USA. It was Saint Augustine of Hippo who stated that “An unjust law is no law at all”. Just as an unjust law is no law at all, so to are the men and woman who enforce the unjust law. So to are those who follow the unjust law. I will not. I OPENLY refuse to worship the “Golden Calf” of the nation. Jesus Christ is my King. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
“Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years ago, Obergefell v. Hodges does not settle the question of marriage today. Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as a result, both will eventually fail. Today the Court is wrong again. It is profoundly immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same sex can constitute a marriage.”
Please continue to read at the link.
Repent. Pray Divine Office 3X daily. Pray the Rosary daily. Pray before every meal. Attend daily Holy Mass (if you can) and if you can not, participate in it through EWTN rebroadcast. Pray without ceasing. Receive the sacraments frequently. “LOVE one another as I have loved you” – Be not afraid. DO not give into disrepair. Give in only to our Lord Jesus Christ. Teach your children to do the same! LIVE the faith. Don’t just talk about it.
The Sacrament of Marriage will never change.
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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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Tonight brings with it, the Third Week of Advent. Our journey to the Newborn King is almost complete.. There is a Light in the darkness. A hint of Sunrise just after the darkness is about to pass..
In this week, I have been blessed to see our Lord in His infancy. Pure innocence through the gift of my daughter, by simply asking me an innocent question. A question born from her gift of “innocence” from our Lord, asking about His.
I spent a good portion of my time able to see just how beautiful His gift is to us in the relationship He had with Mama Mary. That first look of His and hers after the moment of birth, was the exact look between the both of them at the moment of His death on the cross. His “innocence” of infancy, being the Son of God, was exactly the same on the Cross, in His sacrifice, as His “innocence” at birth.
I sat in contemplation in front of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in Exposition last night. As I examined MY conscience, and pondered how guilty I was, I could see the Infant Christ in front of me, cooing and looking at me, without a care in the world for my sins, looking for me to simply love Him. To pick Him up and hold Him in my heart. To carry Him. And Mama Mary was right there to hand Him to me. For a repentant sinner, the greatest gift there is, is to hear and comprehend, that the Innocent Infant truly loves me and wants me to love Him.
While praying the sorrowful mystery’s of the Holy Rosary, I couldn’t see our Lord as a 33-year-old Man. I could only see Him as the Innocent Infant in the manger for each and every mystery. The Babe, unable to speak at times. At other times when able to speak, no one could comprehend what He was saying and punished Him for their inadequacies. It brought me great consolation in regards to how Abba Father seen His Son and the magnitude of His sacrifice. It also brought me in for a closer look as to how Abba Father sees ALL His “children”. It’s no wonder that a single drop of His blood covers a magnitude of sins.
Truly, a wonderful gift this is. The gift of Gods Son, giving me life, and giving me a life to ask an innocent question, about the Life of the One, where all life is created.
May you be filled with wonder and awe and may reading everything here be a gift, to give glory to God and fill you with joy.
The journey continues to Peace!
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In this world, the reasons we hate are vast. So vast you can’t count them. No matter the circumstances, reason or justification from any soul, the reason to Love is greater. As Love has conquered the many reasons to hate.
The life of St. John of the Cross, was full of many reasons for him to hate. But he choose to love instead. For all the reasons in the world to hate and despise can never match the one reason we Love.
I never knew until today how much I can identify with this wonderful Doctor of the Church. I sit here and ponder and contemplate everything. I have been doing this most of my life and never understood the reason why I can’t become angry anymore about the sufferings I have gone through and still go through every second in exile, until I received that wonderful grace today at Holy Mass in honor of St. John of the Cross.
What good can come from anything other than Love?
Thank you, on your feast day, St. John of the Cross, for prayers answered. I hold my cross with Love to give all the glory and honor to our Lord. I carry it in Love. There is no other way to hold it or to carry it.
“Who teaches the soul if not God?”- St. John of the Cross
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When we talk about the “piercing cold”, more often we identify with the sense of touch and the coldness to skin then with the pain in the heart.
Why is no one listening, has been a deep subject I have been experiencing in my own life. From my children who are so jazzed bout Santa coming that they don’t even see each other fighting like cats and dogs. My husband who is so wrapped up in what to get everyone that he can’t see the things around the house that need to be addressed. I’ll be honest. I can’t stand “Anti Christmas”.
“Anti Christmas” is that “piercing cold” you get from people around you, so caught up in gifts, getting to the store to get the “have to have” garbage that ends up in a landfill by the following Christmas, they forget the reason there is Christmas. They become nasty to be around and become “to busy” to love. When the Christmas season is all about love and the “warmth” of that love that comes with our Newborn King.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
He chose to be born in this “cold”. Not only in a damp, physically cold cave, but into the “coldness” of the world. Cold hearts, that could not see past their own misguided wants. We are all guilty. In the chill of that cave, “Fire” was born. As the years of our Lords childhood passed, that tiny little spark, was stoked, with the billows of Abba Father, and set the world on fire.
As children of Abba Father, we need to remember through humility that we to are called to be on fire in faith. So when we are confronted by the “coldness” of others, in all seasons, it is not us who become lukewarm because of the “cold”, but rather we warmth the chill, “piercing” through the “cold” in those around us through that same Love born in the “piercing cold”, in Bethlehem. That same Love which by the “cold piercing” of a lance to His side, spilled the “Flame of Love” about the face of the earth, which brought forth mercy, hope, and forgiveness through Love, to melt through the ice that held us in its death grip.
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Now, WAKE UP!
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”(Mt 24:37-44).[1]Today we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent and a new liturgical year for the Church, year A, which features the Gospel of Matthew. In today’s readings, the passage speaks to the uselessness of looking for signs for the coming of the Lord in glory; there will be none. The metaphor of the thief sneaking in during the night makes us aware that watchful waiting and vigilance are necessary. As Christians, we know that our Lord is coming even if we cannot know a precise time. Our Lord calls us to be watchful, attentive, like the homeowner and not to be carried away by the flood as in the days of Noah. If we become loose in our Christian living, we may be caught vulnerable and unprepared.
This was taken from this mornings Divine Office. Please read my post from a few days ago, “Watch”
To be “sleeping” as our Lord is speaking of, means not being attentive to His words. Being worldly, living in the world with disregard to the spiritual life, and not putting on the “new man”. Sleep walking among those wide awake. Don’t fall asleep.
It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us live honorably as in daylight; not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:11-12
Wake up! Take a shower (Confession) and put on the “New Man”, pick up your “cross” and lets go! We have a journey to take. Glory to God, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us all.
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The USCCB has a wonderful tool on their website for family’s to enjoy and better understand this Advent Season. HERE
Tonight is the first night of Advent. The first candle is lit and we begin our journey to the newborn King.
Bless your Advent wreath. Sing “O Come Emmanuel” and light the first candle.
Prayer for the First Week of Advent
God of our longing,
be with us during these days of Advent
as we accept Your invitation
to climb Your holy mountain.
May we walk in the light of Your love
and learn your ways
so that each day may draw us closer
to You and another
as we await the coming
of the One Who is
and Who is to come,
Jesus Christ, Your Son,
in Whose name we pray.
Amen -
Prepare for Advent, before Christmas.
“When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His second coming. By celebrating the precursor’s birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to His desire: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ ” (§524)
Its “New Years Eve” early. Make your resolutions now. I hope to start and stick with the Christmas Novena (St. Andrews Novena) Not for the squeamish. prayed 15 times every day from the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (November 30) until Christmas, along with a few other personal things..
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“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Matthew 3:11
Two years ago, I had a vision of our Lord. Although I have posted about many of them, this one I decided to keep in my heart as it was something of pure bliss. Just before the 4th of July in 2011, I had a vision of our Lord swimming in a beautiful river. His face was just above the very peaceful water and He was swimming towards me. I just knew it was Him. His eyes pierced my entire being and His smile was a smile unlike any I have ever seen. It pulled me into a joy I had never known before. That was it. I was swimming in this beautiful place with Him. What make it beautiful was Him just being there. Although the vision didn’t last for more than a few moments, it has never left me. From that day, when I would pray the rosary and I would ponder the Baptism of our Lord, the vision stuck with me. His face coming up from the water and the heavens opening up, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” echos through me with the face that I had seen in the vision.
Today after Mass, my priest tapped me on the shoulder and told me he had a package for me and wanted to give it to me after Mass. He then asked me if I would like to light the last Advent candle on the wreath. I was so excited I couldn’t pass it up. My girls look forward every week to the lighting of the candle which brings us that much closer to Christmas, and participating in lighting it, would be something they would never forget. After the final candle was lit and the most beautiful Mass was over, I met Father in the sacristy and he handed me a small package. We took it home and my girls had to have me open it, and so I did. My jaw dropped when I seen the beautiful piece. I received an bi-fold icon of the Baptism of our Lord and if I had opened this in front of Father, I would have cried like a baby and hugged him. He would have thought I was nuts. There is no doubt in my mind, the Holy Spirit whispered to Father about his gift idea to me. It is so precious to have this closeness with our Lord more so then the piece I was given today, but to have not only the vision and joy but also the physical, is just something so sweet that nothing on earth could ever match. When I look at it, I can’t help but say, it is You. It is my Beloved telling me, it is I.
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When I was a child, I asked my dad why God created humans the way He did. I admired the animals He created and how they had sharp claws, fur, feathers, scales and all of them seemed to have something that set them apart from one another. Some could run fast and some could climb and others could fly but I could never understand why God created man and women the way He did. We are different then all other creatures of His creation. Being a child, I was a bit upset that I didn’t have big sharp teeth like a lion or wings like a bird. I could never understand why we had “nothing” visible to help us in the world for protection or defence. God created us defenceless. My dad simply said, God gave us intellect and allows us to conquer all other creatures, giving us authority over them. Being a child, it wasn’t a good enough answer. I wanted to know why I didn’t have four legs and a tail, which I am now laughing at. Why do I look like this and why do I think like this?
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
What is intellect? Intellect: The ability to think abstractly or profoundly. When we mix that with “Free Will” and unfortunately the fall from grace in which we received “awareness”, we become less fortunate and even more defenceless. Defenceless in the regard of falling into temptation to do things no longer for the greater glory of God, but rather for our self-preservation and self-serving, self-gratification. Before the fall, God provided everything for us, thus the reason we were created “Defenceless”. There was no need for anything but God. The fall separated us from Him and His “defences”. It’s no wonder our Lord came into the world, as He did. The defenceless child with no need for anything but God to be physically present again with His defenceless creation.
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“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:42
How many times do I see myself at the good thief, crucified with our Lord, to many to be counted and when all is said and done, I should be counted as the bad thief.. I try to try to do what is right and just and find myself doing exactly what is wrong and unjustified in the eyes of our Lord. Yesterday I attended Holy Mass and seen a soul not “looking” as if they were praying to our Lord but rather what seemed to be one holding Him in contempt. Not standing at the right times, not participating in the prayers and certainly not showing any amount of reverence for our Lord, but yet, going up to receive Him in the Eucharist. I cringed and became adamant that one could receive our Lord in such a way. The Priest turned to him first and offered our Lord to him, then to me. When Mass had ended and I walked out, I thought of my attitude towards the other who had received our Lord is this way, and was quickly reminded of how I to used to receive our Lord. Completely looking past the Mass, the Wedding Feast, to what I would be doing after. Looking to the day after the beautiful time I had with Him. I was quickly reminded of the times I did not have any idea how much our Lord loved me and how I was so confused upon returning to Him. I didn’t understand why I had returned, but I did return. I was reminded that I was not the only one to see our Lord in this way and I did not have a monopoly on His love nor His voice. Time belongs to Him and be it that we do not understand why He calls us back is not the point, but rather the fact He called us back in the first place, is the only point that matters. No one is perfect but Him and rather than condemnation to any souls, I should have been full of joy that another had returned to Him, to be a part of His body. To call on Him at every step. Forgive me Lord. I know not what I do.
This first week of Advent and in the coming weeks before Christmas and the birth of our Lord, I feel a strong need to understand I am not alone in this faith and to be alone in His body would simply be vainglory in my faith. I need to understand I have to recall that I too have worn the shoes of homelessness, I have worn the shoes of unworthiness and could very easily return to that person. Nothing has come from me but rather from the One True God. I need to remember me as the bad thief and beg for our Lords mercy every day of my life. Knowing that I must stay awake and not fall asleep in the misery of the world, nor the fact that God giveth and taketh away. I must continue on the path of what is right and just, no matter how painful it may be. Everything is for the greater glory of God.
I found a little plaque today while walking through Goodwill that put it all in perspective for me. “I love Jesus not only for what He is, but for what I am now that He is in my heart.”. Thank you Lord for correcting the things in me, You are not. I love You.
