Jesus alone gives us all the new loving perspective of the escape from the grips of death.
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9:23).
Tag: Catholic
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I read a beautiful article this morning which added more meaning to the words our Lord spoke at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me”.
Its an article that speaks about the significance of THAT Passover feast in which our Lord gave all of Himself to us. The shear difference of this last supper, as compared to all the others before. “Why were there no women at the Last Supper?”
I have never been a supporter of women priests or deacons, and after having read this article, I am more in support of this position, for not ever having them. You see, when our Lord said: “do this in memory of me.” He meant it. It meant all of it. There wasn’t any women there. This feast was very different. And it has remained, very different. It is the very difference our Lord made, with His sacrifice, that changed everything. As it still does today.
Prayers for all our Lords priests today, and always.
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I would like to say to all those who read my blog, that my prayers continue for you and your intentions. I pray you have a blessed Holy Week and leave the tomb with our Lord on Easter morning.
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Isaiah 53:2-3
He grew up like a sapling before him,
like a shoot from the parched earth;
There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by men,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
One of those from whom men hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.As I ponder this today, I am reminded to strive to see our Lord in all who are forgotten, brushed off as nothing but ordinary. How often to we meet someone with the thought of “What do you have to offer me?” And the answer is nothing but ordinary? For 30 years of His life, our Lord spent being unknown to most. Not worthy of a second look.
What is Ordinary?
or·di·nar·y
ˈôrdnˌerē/Submit
adjective
1.
with no special or distinctive features; normal.
“he sets out to depict ordinary people”
synonyms: usual, normal, standard, typical, common, customary, habitual, everyday, regular, routine, day-to-day
“the ordinary course of events”
2.
(especially of a judge or bishop) exercising authority by virtue of office and not by delegation.
nounAn Ordinary Man, Who IS Extraordinary, crucified, died and rose from the dead. For us ordinary sinners… Allowing us to become extraordinary children of God.
ex·traor·di·nar·y
ikˈstrôrd(ə)nˌerē,ˌekstrəˈôrdnˌerē/Submit
adjective
1.
very unusual or remarkable.
“the extraordinary plumage of the male”
synonyms: remarkable, exceptional, amazing, astonishing, astounding, sensational, stunning, incredible, unbelievable, phenomenal;
noun
1.
an item in a company’s accounts not arising from its normal activities.Ordinary water was taken and used to wash away our original sin at His command.
Ordinary wine and bread becomes our Lord’s body and blood at His word.
Ordinary clay mixed with His spit cured the blind man..Ordinary becomes holy, because He is Holy. He is the Master of Ordinary.
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While everyone stands, sits, kneels, shouts, boycotts, fights with this man or that, or this group or that one….
We must never forget what we have been called to be first…
“For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”
Peace
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You can’t simply delete history by trying to destroy it. All you do by trying is add to its lunacy.
Repent and proclaim the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ, by LIVING it
LIVE the faith. Live in Him
“Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace. Peace will be the last word of history” – St. Pope John Paul II
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Photo is my Grandmother Stephanie from 1918, in her Traditional Slovak Dress.
As I unpack from the weekend trip, meeting my sister Pat, to pick up a box of photo memories to share with my children, I found myself contemplating “Family Tradition”. My sister surprised me with another package I was not expecting. It was a bag, containing the Traditional Slovak Folk costume my grandmother had made for my mother when she was about 12 years old. I had forgotten about it. It drew me back into the heritage of my family and with good reason, that same heritage I could now share in a very special way with my children.
I found myself pondering Family Traditions.
Family tradition, is defined as an aggregate of attitudes, ideas and ideals, and environment, which a person inherits from his/her parents and ancestors. Which one can definitely see, our Lord being the main portion. When we look at “Family Tradition”, that which has been handed down, its easy to see the importance of “Sacred Tradition” in our Faith Family. We can easily assess the Truth of our Lord being Abba Father, as our Lord Jesus Christ gave us, through our spiritual Ancestors, the Apostles, His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist, and Word of God, also sending the Advocate, to continue His teachings in Love. We can look at the beautiful paintings, read His Word, participate in His Holy Sacrifice and yet there is still a longing for more, because when you truly love Him, you want to know everything you can about Him. Every detail, every aspect, every breath He takes, every step and every moment, you want to spend with Him. Details about Him, become important, the deeper the love is in Him. Prayer life blossoms and you hear Him.
Just as my Grandparents and Great Relatives would speak with love, sharing memories of their family members, my family members, and this love rings in our hearts with a smile of remembering that we, also, shall one day, be a memory. So to does our Catholic faith, carry on this same Love of our Lord, teaching us about Him, and He does come to us, ringing deeply in not only our hearts, but our entire soul bringing us conscious, waking up a place deep in Love for the good of others for Him. What we hear, should spark a deep delight for pleasing only our Lord. Which within the soul produces a desire and longing to learn more and more about Him.
Getting back to the folk costume. You can look at the pictures above and assume, but the assumptions we have, tend to miss out on very detailed information if we don’t look closer, just as we miss detailed information when we assume things about our Faith. When we go back to look closer, we see many things we missed before.
This is the shoulder of a sleeve of the blouse, from the traditional costume my grandmother had made. Do you see the detail? Can you see every stitch that went into this work? Can you see the beauty of what once was a simply story and a black and white photo? This is how it is, when you delve deeper into our faith.
And the detail put into the building of the apron. There is so much. And every detail of this has a special meaning to it. Such is our Faith! In every detail is a meaning interwoven into the entire Church. If one were to say they know everything there is to know about our Catholic Faith, that one would be seriously mistaken. Just as if one were to say they know everything to know about each family member, they would be mistaken.
The vest. How the details are made known the more we look. Many different parts, coming together. Just as we are all many parts to the Body of Christ.
I was able to try it on both of my younger daughters, and it fit my youngest daughter. Granted, it needs to be cleaned, pressed, and cared for a bit, for it to be worn as it should be. Just like we do, when we put on the full armor of our faith.
Please read “Faith Of Our Fathers”, a post of mine from a few years ago.
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As we celebrate Pentecost, I am filled with reflections through the years, of how our Lord has continued to enter the hearts of His faithful and in them, light the fire of His Love.
What are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit?
Wisdom helps us recognize the importance of others and the importance of keeping God central in our lives.
Understanding is the ability to comprehend the meaning of God’s message.
Knowledge is the ability to think about and explore God’s revelation, and also to recognize there are mysteries of faith beyond us.
Counsel is the ability to see the best way to follow God’s plan when we have choices that relate to him.
Fortitude is the courage to do what one knows is right.
Piety helps us pray to God in true devotion.
Fear of the Lord is the feeling of amazement before God, who is all-present, and whose friendship we do not want to lose.
Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.
Saint Augustine
As I was praying last night, I was reminded of this post from 2011 and started to ponder all that was here and how our Lord does love us all.
Washing The Kitchen Floor With The Holy Spirit
My typical Saturday…with only one difference. I got my lazy but off the computer for a break to wash my kitchen floor and had a friendly chat with the Holy Spirit while doing so. It went something like this:
Holy Spirit: Hey Peg?
Me: Yes?
Holy Spirit: Remember back when you were so distraught and didn’t have anyone left to turn to regarding the state of your soul and the mortal sins you were covered in? Remember when your eyes were so swollen from crying, thinking that God would never forgive you and that He must be punishing you, and you thought God hated you?
Me: Yes. I’ll never forget that day. Or the days that followed.
Holy Spirit: Remember when you dropped everything you were doing, got in your car, drove to find any Catholic Church, and parked your car, walked in and sat in the pew, and broke down in tears again, begging God to forgive you?
Me: Yes. I don’t know how I got there or how I brought myself to do that.
Holy Spirit: Remember there was only one other person in that church, that just happened to be open? A church building where the doors were not locked? Remember then after sitting in tears, the Catholic Priest who just happened to be there, who just happened to tap you on the shoulder and ask you if he could help you?
Me: Yes. I was lucky that day!!
Holy Spirit: Luck? HAHA! Remember it being as if the Priest was pulling your teeth, for him to get you to confess your sins? Remember Him asking you if you would like to confess them and you did everything you could not to and told him that God would never forgive you but you confessed your sins anyway?
Me: Yes. For many years after, I struggled with thinking He was very angry with me. I walked out that day thinking, pfft, yeah. My life then was hell. I hated being there but didn’t know how to get out. I wasn’t sure if I could. In the state of hell that is. I didn’t want to leave the church.
Holy Spirit: Do you understand now, it was I who was with you, before you acted on my Love for you and you decided to go? Do you know now that it was I who carried you out of that hell you were living in and continue to keep you from there? Do you know now, that is God’s Grace? Do you know now, it was I who planted the seeds of repentance? I who made it possible for you to find the open church? I who made sure the Priest was there for you? I who was with you when you left and stayed with you? I who am STILL with you? I who Love you? I who made everything so EASILY possible for you to return to me? All you did was listen and followed your heart, where I can always be found. Do you know now how much God loves you? How much God loves ALL his children?
Me: I do now. Thank you Lord!
More like the Holy Spirit washing the floor with me…..
*Self Knowledge
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“During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah”
She traveled in haste, meaning she left very quickly after the Angel Gabriel revealed to her, what would be. The above photo is from the Church of the Visitation in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem. The site where our Blessed Mother recited her song of praise, the Magnificat. The site where St. John the Baptist leaped in St. Elizabeth’s womb. Where our Holy Mother stayed with her cousin to attend to her in her time of need, waiting on her, helping her, as she herself was carrying our Lord in her womb.
While we wait for the descent of the Holy Spirit to come upon us, may we, in haste, pull closer to our beautiful Mother, whom the Holy Spirit has already descended upon, and deeply reflect on her perfect humility, love and dedication to the Holy Trinity, in mind, spirit and body.
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The Magnificat
- My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
- Magnificat anima mea Dominum,
- Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salvatore meo,
- Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes,
- Quia fecit mihi magna, qui potens est: et sanctum nomen eius,
- Et misericordia eius in progenies et progenies timentibus eum.
- Fecit potentiam in brachio suo: dispersit superbos mente cordis sui;
- Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles
- Esurientes implevit bonis: et divites dimisit inanes.
- Suscepit Israel puerum suum: recordatus misericordiae suae,
- Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros: Abraham et semini eius in saecula
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Tomorrow, Thursday, May 25, 2017, is a Holy Day of Obligation for SOME Catholics.
Scott P. Richert from ThroughtCo. can shed more light on my above comment:
CELEBRATING ASCENSION THURSDAY
The Vatican agreed. Today, only the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and Omaha (the state of Nebraska) continue to celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord on Thursday. The faithful in those provinces (an ecclesiastical province is basically one large archdiocese and the dioceses that are historically associated with it) are required, under the Precepts of the Church, to attend Mass on Ascension Thursday.
CELEBRATING ASCENSION ON SUNDAY
In the rest of the dioceses of the United States, the celebration of the Ascension has been transferred to the following Sunday (the 43rd day after Easter). That does not mean, however, that the Ascension is no longer a Holy Day of Obligation in those dioceses. Under the Precepts of the Church, every Sunday is a Holy Day of Obligation.
Because attendance at Mass on a holy day is obligatory (under pain of mortal sin), if you have any doubts about whether you live in one of the provinces that celebrates the Ascension on Thursday, you should check with your parish priest or diocesan office.
For the date of the Ascension (both the Thursday celebration and the Sunday transferred celebration) in this and future years, see When Is Ascension?
Kudos to Christopher Ferraro for the above graphic.
A wonderful way to reflect on The Ascension of our Lord, is to read, pray and ponder the Catechism:
ARTICLE 6
“HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER”From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
660 The veiled character of the glory of the Risen One during this time is intimated in his mysterious words to Mary Magdalene: “I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”537 This indicates a difference in manifestation between the glory of the risen Christ and that of the Christ exalted to the Father’s right hand, a transition marked by the historical and transcendent event of the Ascension.
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My husband & I had been working all day on our gardening. Its been about four years since I have been able to do any weeding or serious physical working, as my back and neck issues had been declining. Today and yesterday, our Lord allowed me the grace to get out and do some serious physical work. It was wonderful!
We had lost everything in the drought. There wasn’t much left growing in front of our home. Even our palm trees died. You can imagine the mess. So, we decided to just level everything and start over, planting nothing but succulents with a wonderful rock garden, a sand base and maybe a dry river bed. Something easy for us to take care of and didn’t need a lot of water nor upkeep.
We cut back a wall of dead ice plant that had overgrown the retaining wall which leads up to the back yard. Clearing out almost everything that should have been done a long time ago. As we ended tonight, and entered our home and we had a beautiful sense of accomplishment. We were able to get something done together that had been bothering both of us, for a long time. Working together to get it done. Mind you, it was only the cleaning out of four years of overgrown deep weeds and dead trees and plants. We haven’t started the new decorating yet, but we did it together to build something new.
I walked out on the balcony to take some pictures and I posted them to my social media page. As I looked at the pictures, I seen something I hadn’t before. That retaining wall. The one that was unseen for many years, covered in overgrown dead ice plant. I realized quickly where my Mama Mary Garden would now be. The retaining wall looked just like a snake with its head cut off. It will soon have a statue of our Holy Mother, above the water fall in the corner of it. Mothers Day is just around the corner.
May is the month of Mary. May she be crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth, in all hearts.
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I believe it was 2008, Easter Sunday, morning, I walked into my back yard and began to water the flowers. There is a protestant church directly behind my home and my yard backs to it and overlooks its parking lot. As I sat and began watering, I watched car after car pull into the lot to attend to Sunday service for Easter.
As I sat there, I began to think about how they were not Catholic. What were they doing to actually celebrate Easter? Whats the point of going there?
I sat in my shorts, smoking a cigarette, watering the flowers, or what I had of them, our Lord entered my heart in regards to myself, asking me; What are YOU doing?
It hurt when I thought about it. It hurt bad and I knew I needed to do something. What was I doing? I had the girls baptized, our oldest in 2006, and our youngest in 2007. But, what was I doing now? My husband was stationed in Yuma at this time and I had not given much thought to spending much of any time on the weekends doing anything but being with him and the girls. He was only home on weekends and I was mom to two small children full time, alone, for the rest of the time.
By the time I went back into the house, it was mid afternoon. Easter was almost over and there was always next year. (As I write this I can’t believe I actually thought that but I did)
The next morning, my husband left for Yuma and it was another week of being mommy and blogging about Military and political things which kept my attention away from what I should have been doing. But this week was different. What are YOU doing kept playing over and over in my heart. By Friday of that week, I was determined to attend Holy Mass on Sunday, which I did, and it was Divine Mercy Sunday.
I had no idea what Divine Mercy Sunday was. There was a giant painting of Jesus. The Priest said something during the Homily about it and I still had no clue what it was. All I knew was Sunday Holy Mass was what was missing, again. You see, back in the late 90’s & early 2000s, before I had moved to California, I began attending Holy Mass again and underwent a truck load of , all I can call now, serious spiritual attacks. Everything that could go wrong in my life and keep me from our Lord, did. I fell back into my old ways, and all those “nasty things”, went away when I put our Lord out of the picture. But you see, they didn’t go away. They were still there hidden behind illusions of love, peace and tranquility, which was all false without Him.
At the conclusion of Holy Mass, a woman, got up to speak about how the Ministry of Perpetual Adoration was in need to souls to sit with our Lord. I signed up that day. Later on as my conversion of heart continued to melt the ice from my heart, that woman became ill, and I was placed to head Perpetual Adoration Mission.
As I left Mass and my conversion blossomed, I never stopped attending Holy Mass, even bringing my two small children with me every Sunday. Weeks later, coming to learn of Divine Mercy Sunday and the meaning behind it. In the years that have since followed, from that day, it rekindled my love which was held so deeply for the Sacred Heart of our Lord, which in turn, kindled a desire to find out more of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
There are souls today who feel that the Sacred Heart Devotion has been overlooked and somehow pushed to the side for an “easier” thing as Divine Mercy. I can tell you from my point of view, Divine Mercy opened me to love again. But now, to love DEEPLY the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As He should be. There is no difference between the Sacred Heart of our Lord and Divine Mercy. Its the same Heart of our Lord.
Please feel free to search my blog for how many times I speak of the Love of the Sacred Heart of our Lord. Or you can read True Love, my post in which I speak of how I was given a picture of the Sacred Heart of our Lord and fell in love with the image of our Lord and not Him in Word or Body Blood Soul and Divinity, when I was about 8 years old. Keep always in mind, He loves us first.
If you have doubts of the Divine Mercy of our Lord, pray more. Trust Him more. Doubts in His mercy and justice, cause serious internal problems within the soul which lead many to walk away from the faith, as I had many times before.
This Divine Mercy Sunday, I pray souls come to understand more and embrace His Mercy, His Divine Mercy which pulls souls into His most Sacred Heart.
There is something I would like to share which speaks of this problem some have.
Please see: The Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy
Also, from 5 years ago: A Monk Reflects on Divine Mercy and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Excellent prayer from St. Francis Xavier:
O God, everlasting creator of all things, remember that the souls of unbelievers were made by Thee and formed in Thine own image and likeness. Remember that Jesus, Thy Son, endured a most bitter death for their salvation. Permit not, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy Son should be despised any longer by unbelievers, but do Thou graciously accept the prayers of holy men and of the Church, the Spouse of Thy most holy Son, and be mindful of Thy mercy. Forget their idolatry and unbelief and grant that they too may some day know Him Thou hast sent, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Life and Resurrection, by whom we have been saved and delivered, to whom be glory for endless ages.
Amen.
EDIT TO ADD: Bishop Robert Barron’s Homily for 4/30/2017. Its rather remarkable to hear after the fact, what our Lord is calling us to do, and you find out you are back on the right road.
Please see:
THE PATTERN OF LOVE
Like the two disciples walking towards Emmaus, a symbol of worldly power and security, and away from Jerusalem, the center of sacrifice, we need to be stopped in our tracks. Christ appears to them, but they do not recognize him. They do not recognize him because they are walking the wrong way. The recognition of the pattern of Christ’s life does come until the Eucharistic act which presents the pattern of sacrificial love. Then they immediately go back to Jerusalem, the place of suffering love.
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As my daughters and I were rummaging around a thrift store this afternoon, one of my daughters pointed out a cute little hand painted item. As she handed me the item, she told me, I had to have it. It was something I needed to take home. I have a deep devotion to our Lord in the Eucharist.
It is St. Paschal Baylon. His name is painted on the back of this image and I found it quite strange that being a Franciscan, he was painted in white. How many souls today are slaughtered for simply celebrating Holy Mass and receiving our Lord in the Eucharist! “The white–robed army of Martyrs, praise Thee”
As we continue to celebrate the Easter Season, may his prayer be received into the hearts of us all, for deeper conversion, for a deep desire of our Lord present in the Holy Eucharist, to be received by us all, with sincere devotion and reverence. May we all fall in love with the Eucharist, Jesus Christ truly present, in the tabernacles throughout the entire world.
Prayer:
Litany of St. Paschal Baylon, Patron of Eucharistic Congresses
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world,Have mercy on us. God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us. Holy Mary, Pray for us. Holy Mother of God, Pray for us. Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us. Saint Paschal,Pray for us. Thou ardent adorer of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Pray for us. Who as a child sought thy bliss before the Tabernacle, Pray for us. Who assisted at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the most fervent devotion, Pray for us. Who as a shepherd-boy was favored with an apparition of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Pray for us. Who as a Religious didst remain day and night at the foot of the Altar,Pray for us. Who in meditating on the Most Blessed Sacrament wert filled with heavenly wisdom, Pray for us. Who didst joyfully make known thy belief in the Most Blessed Sacrament, Pray for us. Who didst defend with holy zeal the Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, Pray for us. Who didst endure persecution and suffering for Our Saviour in the Blessed Sacrament, Pray for us. Who didst end thy life in adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Pray for us. Who didst show reverence to the Most Blessed Sacrament after death, Pray for us. Who dost prepare thy faithful clients for the reception of the Holy Viaticum, Pray for us. Who, because of thy wonderful devotion toward the Most Blessed Sacrament, hast been declared by Holy Church the Patron of all Eucharistic Congresses, Pray for us. Thou model of true simplicity of heart and humility, Pray for us. Thou lover of evangelical poverty, Pray for us. Thou model of faithful obedience, Pray for us. Thou lily of holy purity, Pray for us.Thou great penitent, Pray for us. Thou ardent client of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God,Pray for us. Thou faithful son of Saint Francis, Pray for us. Thou pride of the Seraphic Order, Pray for us. Thou father of the poor and needy, Pray for us. Thou great Wonder-worker, Pray for us.
That thou mayest obtain for us a lively faith and tender devotion toward the Most Blessed Sacrament, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest obtain for us an ardent love for Him Who in the Most Blessed Sacrament has loved us to the end, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest obtain for us a holy zeal in assisting at Mass, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest obtain for us a holy longing for frequent reception of the Most Blessed Sacrament, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest through thy intercession guard us from unworthy reception of the Most Blessed Sacrament, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest help us through humility and purity of heart to become true lovers of the Eucharistic Saviour, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest promote the endeavors of Eucharistic Societies by thy powerful intercessions, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest obtain for us the greatest of all graces, to depart this life after the worthy reception of the Holy Viaticum, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest obtain for the enemies of the Most Blessed Sacrament the grace of conversion, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest obtain for us a childlike devotion to the Mother of God, We beseech thee, hear us. That thou mayest obtain for us eternal happiness, We beseech thee, hear us. Saint Paschal, our patron in life and death, We beseech thee, hear us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world:Have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
Our Father, Hail Mary
V. Saint Paschal, Patron of All Eucharistic Societies, pray for us
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. O God, Who dost glorify those who glorify Thee and desirest to be honored in Thy Saints: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may worthily extol the glorious merits of Saint Paschal, imitate his virtues, and rejoice in his powerful intercession before Thy Heavenly Throne. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
Amen.
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What does this mean?
Ponder
“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
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“See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted…
Though harshly treated, he submitted and did not open his mouth; Like a lamb led to slaughter or a sheep silent before shearers, he did not open his mouth…
But it was the Lord’s will to crush him with pain. By making his life as a reparation offering, he shall see his offspring, shall lengthen his days, and the Lord’s will shall be accomplished through him,”
(Isaiah 52:13, 53:7,10)
Silence…
Nothing more to say..
It is finished.
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Why are we hated by so many for loving our Lord? Because there are many who refuse to face reality. So many do not know Him.
“There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist” – St. John Paul II
This Holy Thursday, I pray for our Priests and for the laity to pray for our Priests, to look deeper into the need for all of them and to seek to understand our Lord in the Eucharist in a more profound way, then one had known before.
Please read St. Pope John Paul II – ECCLESIA DE EUCHARISTIA, in its relationship to the Church. Also, to pray for vocations to the Priesthood, and for all our Priests today.
A Prayer for Priests
By St. Therese of LisieuxO Jesus, eternal Priest,
keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,
where none may touch them.Keep unstained their anointed hands,
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.Keep unsullied their lips,
daily purpled with your Precious Blood.Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,
sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.Let Your holy love surround them and
shield them from the world’s contagion.Bless their labors with abundant fruit and
may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their beautiful and
everlasting crown.Amen.
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How can one make this Holy Week, truly Holy?
Welcome our Lord into your heart and keep Him there for this upcoming week, and strive to keep Him there forever. Grow in faith. Hold on to the conversion of heart He is offering you.
Receive the Sacrament of Confession which returns your soul to the state it was in the day you were baptized. A clean and beautiful temple to receive our Lord.
Attend Holy Mass and pay attention. Listen to every word, participate when you are to participate. Sing when you are to sing. Listen intently to what is being read. Follow with your heart as the Priest speaks. Forget distractions seeing to pull you away from our Lord.
Receive our Lord in the Eucharist. Speak to Him when you do receive Him.
Pray more this week. Try praying the entire Rosary daily, or add praying Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours). Just speak to our Lord in all ways, in all instances, at every moment you are awake. Be aware at all times that He is truly with you in what you are doing and INVITE Him in to your activities, like you would invite your best friend. Try Lectio Divina, “Divine Reading” – Lectio Divina”, a Latin term, means “divine reading” and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us.
You can also pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Reflect on the Gospels of this week. Stations of the Cross is a beautiful reflection on how great our Lord suffered for us. Try to attend Daily Mass every day this week. Especially during the Easter Triduum, “The Easter Vigil is the “Mother of All Vigils.” If you can’t attend daily Holy Mass, look for it on EWTN, or any other Catholic TV station via the internet. You can find it online, for rebroadcasts any time of day.
The Easter Triduum:
- Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday)
- Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
- Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord
Don’t forget that Easter does not end after you have your family meal together Sunday after attending Holy Mass. Easter has just begun. Come Monday, while everyone returns back to work, and lent done, Easter has just begun and is not over until the coming of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost Sunday. We often forget that after our Lords Resurrection, many things took place and Easter lasts for FIFTY days after Easter Sunday.
Divine Mercy Sunday is the Sunday following Easter Sunday. The Divine Mercy Novena begins on Good Friday at 3:00 PM, the hour our Lord gave Him self for us.
This is the season we are to look forward to. The great celebration that comes from repenting, turning away from the old self and putting on the new man, working with our Lord to live as He has called us. Let Him into your heart. Let Him roll away the stone in your heart and live with Him in His peace and joy. Leave the tomb of self behind. Allow yourself this week, to be crucified with Him and therefore, rise with Him.
Keeping you all in my prayers, praying you “Be not afraid” and “Follow Him”. “Be holy”.
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This past Thursday, as I attended Holy Mass, there was a slight disturbance that took place which broke into a deep sense of pondering it.
We also look at distractions as nothing more than aggravations or personal spiritual attacks, which take place to disturb us from where WE want to be, and seldom look at them as a means to ponder our Lord more deeply.
Just before the liturgy of the Word at Holy Mass, as the Lector began to read, she realized that the microphone was not working. She fumbled about trying to get it to work for a while and after a few silent moments summonsed the altar servers and they went into the back to turn them on. As I was focused on the problem, I realized my attention was taken away from our Lord. It was a moment of silence in which I heard our our distinctively say to me, “Pray”. And in that very moment of hearing Him, I prayed for the problem to be fixed. The very second my interior prayer ended, the microphones worked and the Lector continued on. It was not me who made this work. It was not me who did anything. I did nothing. It was our Lord who did everything. And this is true for all prayers. Its not us who make the flowers grow. We dig the holes and plant the seeds, we water them and it is our Lord who makes them grow.
As I pondered this moment in the last few days I came to see how helpless and useless we truly are without the direction of our Lord. In that moment of silence, my focus being on the little distraction, and not on Him, I couldn’t even remember to pray for this issue for her to come to a close, without the direction of our Lord to have to tell me to pray. And in that moment, He showed me that in asking, we truly do receive and “without me you can do nothing”.
How deep a fact that is of our Lord, to come to grips with this? It draws me into John 5:30, in which our Lord says, “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
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When you spill your heart of all its contents in love and humility, all that desire and complete confidence, and those you hoped would hear and be moved, simply trample through the blood and contents like nothing… He knows that pain too.
Many times we confide in others our deepest longings for unity and peace from our hearts and they fall only to be trampled beneath the feet of one who has yet to understand.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” – Matthew 23:37
Mocked and ignored while on the cross and still, He was pouring out everything to who was waiting.
How many parents today, myself included, have children who no longer practice any faith, who share in His wounded heart. Who long to be heard by those who refuse to listen because they believe they know better. Or how many today have brothers and sisters, parents or cousins who do this also. There is an eminence longing, a deep pain in the family today, from many who do not even understand they are sharing in His pain. Sharing His wounded Sacred Heart.
How do we fix this? We follow Him. Not fighting the life we have been given by Him, but embracing this life of suffering, falling more deeply in love with Him. Living more deeply in the spiritual life and less in the material life. Rather than being possessed by the pain and suffering we have received, we must allow ourselves to be possessed by His pain, as it comes with His glory in joy.
If we are possessed by our own pain and sorrow, it is empty and becomes so bitter it can no longer do any good because it is born in pride. Suffering and pain coming from pride opens the door and brings with it wrath which leads to various other vices, some which lead to the destruction of others and self. Which, possesses us to do things that hurt others, self and our Lord.
If one is not possessed by God alone, (God alone being the Holy Trinity), then by what or who, is one possessed by? It is this total possession in thoughts, works, deeds, of our Lord, being completely consumed with Him, which leads a soul to do that which he ought, and not what he feels because he is compelled by Love. To do what is right and just, and not what is diabolical.
Great quote:
If we are united in His suffering, we will be united in His joy. However, we must also be united in Spirit. If we allow the possessions of this world to take over the areas of that which He is to possess within us, the areas of our lives, that which He should already possess, how then can we truly say, we are teaching our children the faith, or, we are sharing our faith with our neighbors, if we are not truly practicing our faith? I say this as its my own guilt of not practicing the faith as it should have been lived before I turned back to Him. When we live our faith, faith in every aspect of our lives, we truly can be a beacon of His light in the dark. Hope, however, needs to be reinforced by working our faith in all aspects of our daily life. Be not afraid. Live the faith.
Lets go back to the opening of my post. When we didn’t listen. When we trampled through His blood. When we mocked Him by refusing to believe. When we were not moved by His words to change, to move closer to Him, to repent and believe. When we refused to quench His thirst for our love for Him. We were covered in His blood. He loved us during every one of those moments. As we should love those who do not yet hear our cries as we are attached to Him, on and from His cross.
EDIT to Add today: 3/23/17
“But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you..” –LK 11:14-23
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Leaving the bucket behind, for me, is leaving everything I had and wanted, and accepting all of Him. Following Him. His Truth. As my testimony, leaves me thirsty for more of Him. His, is Life giving water, which one never thirsts again. Its not what I do, but what He continues to do.
The question for me is no longer, do you believe because of what our Lord has done for me, rather, will you believe because of what He says and does, and are you willing to allow Him to do everything for you? There must be a willingness in the soul, to answer as our Holy Mother did so, to our Lord, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”. A moment for the soul to surrender to the will of God.
“Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.” – John 4:41-42
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Complete detachment, with reattachment only to our Lord.
I was watching a viral “feel good” video this morning of a little girl, who had been grieving the loss of her old cat and was given a “surprise” new kitten. Granted, thy typical click bait title was given: WATCH What Happens Little Girls Reaction is Priceless!
It was and she was overcome with many emotions and she cried, and the new kitten gets a hug from her new owner. But… What happens when that kitten grows up and runs the course of its life? Lather, rinse and repeat, in regards to the grief, loss and emotions of replacing that kitten again, which becomes a cat and so on. Its the vicious cycle of material attachments.
As I pondered this more deeply, I couldn’t help but post an update on my facebook page, not even linking the video or mentioning it in any way which simply said..
status.Imagine this video… “This little soul lost everything she thought was hers. Her memories, her home, her friends, her children, her livelihood, and her own brothers and sisters, because of her faith in Jesus. Everything she lost God replaced with Jesus Christ. Her reaction is priceless”.As I pondered this more deeply, I began to think of how we were all called to give up everything and follow Christ. I strolled over to Twitter and Bishop Robert Barron “just happened” to tweet a new Word On Fire Show. I highly suggest listening to the entire podcast, as it completes my post. Praise, glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please see here:
WOF 066: How to Have Hope
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“While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”I hear you Lord
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As I ponder today’s gospel reading, and all the ways the evil one tried to tempt our Lord, so brazen as to offer our Lord everything He already has. Everything, in all creation, belongs to our Lord. This is how empty the so called promises are.
Imagine the evil one as a door to door salesman, coming to your home, knocking on your door, forcing himself in and trying to sell you everything within your home that you already own. Imagine him pointing to the photos of your family & children, or placing his arms around them, and telling you, if you follow him, you can have them too. This is the insolence of evil. That same evil so full of himself, to approach our Lord and offer Him all that He had already created. What the evil one didn’t take into account, was our Lord’s mission to regain from the evil ones hands, what he thought he had stripped away from Him, was already done.
Like a hamster on a treadmill, we chase after all these empty promises as if we just go around one more time, we will be filled with them all, when that big break comes! The big break comes, when we are no longer alive and we see the life we lead was full of emptiness and it can no longer be filled with hope, love and faith in our Lord, complete with eternal joy.
I also remember, that our Lord, had us first, through the sacrament of Baptism when we rejected Satan and all his empty promises. Lent is the opportune time to turn back to Him, inviting Him back into our “homes”, to rid them of that door to door snake oil salesman.
Kudos to My Catholic Faith Ministrys for the above photo
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What shall I do? I will do as our Holy Mother Mary told us at the very start.
If we are to be His servants, and we are to serve, what must we do?? Do what our beautiful Mama Mary told us :
“His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” John 2:5
And what was the first thing our Lord told us to do?:
“Repent and believe in the gospel”
Praying the Gospel. Gnawing on it. Reading, pondering, over and over. Letting Him soak into the deep within. God willing.
Please listen to this wonderful homily from Fr. Anthony this morning on EWTN.
(If the video does not play from the beginning, you will have to fix that manually. as for some technical reason, its not playing the full Gospel & homily)
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I went to grab a bowl from my cabinet for dinner tonight and when I did, I found this…
Before finding this, and keep in mind it was one of my favorite bowls, I had received an email from my daughter’s teacher in regards to her struggling with behavior issues again, requesting a meeting. My youngest daughter is on the Autism Spectrum and problems arise when her routine changes.
Before receiving the email, I had been struggling with other family issues pertaining to my oldest daughter, and my middle daughter is struggling with both issues with her sisters on top of being a very emotional preteen. SO , things have been slightly tense trying to carry it all, not very easily, and coming to realize that I can not fix anything, but I can hope in our Lord and pray.
My favorite bowl. When I pulled it down and noticed the bottom had fallen out, all I could think of was, “This too?”. I’m not a materialistic person. The loss of the bowl was a split second of loss, as I got back to the real issues with my girls, which also, I was not able to fix today. So I pray and place it all once again into our Lord hands.
I sat down and pondered for a moment of all that was taking place. Got back up an pulled that bottomless bowl from the trash and was reminded to cling to our Lord. Stop struggling.
When things in this world are tough, and everything seems to go so bad that the bottom falls out, cling to our Lord even tighter and don’t let go. When the bottom falls out, your left with the top. And that is how a “halo” is made.
A beautiful quote from St. Faustina:
Sister Faustina wrote of her experiences at the behest of the Lord Jesus:
My daughter, I demand that you devote all your free moments to writing about My goodness and mercy. It is your office and your assignment throughout your life to continue to make known to souls the great mercy I have for them and to exhort them to trust in My bottomless mercy. (1586)“O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.”
And this.. is the side of that favorite bowl. His word was not broken.
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The Vocation of Marriage
What is a Vocation?
Catholic Dictionary
Term
VOCATION
Definition
A call from God to a distinctive state of life, in which the person can reach holiness. The Second Vatican Council made it plain that there is a “Universal call [vocatio] to holiness in the Church” (Lumen Gentium, 39). (Etym. Latin vocatio, a calling, summoning; from vocare, to call.)
As a woman, married to my husband, and also one who has accepted our Lords call for me to the Third Order of Carmel, I can strongly attest to the importance of “Ongoing Formation” with my brothers and sister in Carmel. We meet once a month, now, after a few years of discernment on my part, and my orders, as to, is this the correct path for me? Am I doing this because of a call from our Lord or am I doing this for selfish ideal, or for some other purpose that our Lord has not designed? There is a lot of time spent, in prayer and pondering a big decision as this.
As a married woman, when I look through my entire life, now, I can attest to the strong need for formation, BEFORE the Sacrament of Marriage, starting at a young age, before one jumps into the Vocation blind. As a soul who has had my fair share of interaction of others, who did not understand the Sacred Bond of the Vocation of Marriage, I ate up all the false ideas of this vocation, including the one that the world tries to feed us, that if it doesn’t work, just leave. No. When we come to understand, that decision to leave, is nothing but toxic poison that kills family due our own underdeveloped conscious, and we end up making life worse for not only us, but for all the souls effected by the sudden departure of a new family destroyed by divorce.
When I was very young, I held the strong belief that if one were to have relations with someone, they were in fact married and nothing could take that bond back, that the two shared together. It was a bond no one else had a right to share with either of the two. The most toxic thing someone told me, not long after I presented that belief I held at a very young age, was, that was the dumbest thing I could ever think or believe. Today, at the age of 50, I forgive that person and know I was right. Hindsight is 20/20. Very clearly I can see that if I had souls in my life at that time, who backed up what we believe in our faith, my life may have been a lot less painful. Only our Lord knows. But I also see how merciful He is, to lead me back to Him and that train of thought which keeps me on His track. Able to teach my daughters how important it is, to preserve the gift of self for the time our Lord has laid out for us, be it Marriage or Religious Life and not just cast ourselves wherever and whenever.
Getting back to the Vocation, A call from God to a distinctive state of life, in which the person can reach holiness. With my Vocation in Marriage, I am called to help my husband get to heaven. As he is called in this Vocation, to help me get to heaven. Last year, we were so greatly attacked spiritually and physically, this call could have ended. Through the grace of our Lord, I held on tight knowing, His love, His mercy, His call, that there was no way, on my part, I could allow something like the demon of divorce to be allowed to part, what our Lord had placed together. The temptation to walk away came dangerously close, until I was able to see how “easy” the evil one was making it to leave. I dug in and held on to our Lord, and last weekend, my husband and I renewed our Marriage Vows. This was not something we planned or set up for us to do. I had accepted a fill in request to be an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for the Saturday Holy Mass, which we very rarely attend, and it was a special event that had been a part of Saturdays Holy Mass, without prior knowledge of either of us.
Today, there is a report from Pope Francis:
Marriage prep should be more than just a few courses, Pope tells priests
I can not tell you how much support I have for this as I am one who truly believes that Marriage preparation begins in the home, the moment our children are given to us as parents. Formation is a life long process, which should be deeply taught to youth, before they even set out in search of a spouse.
I will leave this here, with a quote in which I find to be so true and one I see to, even today, in my current state of Life, in my Vocation of Marriage.
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Once an old man spread rumors that his neighbor was a thief. As a result, the young man was arrested.
Days later the young man was proven innocent. After being released he sued the old man for wrongly accusing him.
In the court the old man told the Judge:
“They were just comments, didn’t harm anyone.”
The judge told the old man:
“Write all the things you said about him on a piece of paper. Tear it up on the way home and throw away the pieces. Tomorrow, come back to hear the sentence.”
Next day, the judge told the old man:
“Before receiving the sentence, you will have to go out and gather all the pieces of paper that you threw out yesterday.”
The old man said:
“I can’t do that! The wind spread them and I won’t know where to find them.”
The judge then replied:
“The same way, simple comments may destroy the honor of a man to such an extent that one is not able to fix it. If you can’t speak well of someone, rather don’t say anything.”
*”Let’s all be masters of our words rather than being slaves of our words.”*
“Write everything down, on the way home, tear it up and throw away the pieces” <— Its very important to understand, we just don’t cast it (sin) to the wind where it is taken all over and others read it and are influenced by it to do the same. We place it in the trash can when we get home. That “trash can” is the confessional and you know where home is. And when you place it there, leave it there.
When I read this above, which was shared on Facebook by a Catholic Priest, I can see myself as both the young man and the old man. The “old self” and the “new self”.
And what is a soul to do? Trust in our Lord. Place your faith in our Lord. Hope in our Lord. Believe Him. Love Him.
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According to the “media” there is a “civil war” inside the Catholic Church over “doctrine”….
Has it dawned on anyone that there really isn’t? Can the left index finger declare war against the right index finer on the same “Body”? The only “war” that exists, is between souls out of communion with our Lord, and our Lord. “Enter through the narrow gate.” comes to heart and mind.
“Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” – John 14:23
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“If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love, so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on, trusting in the One that loves you” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – Jesus Of Nazareth Psalm 91)
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Pope Francis to the laity: Go out and evangelize, or buy mothballs
This blog, has been an ongoing conversion story of what our Lord has done for me. What about you? Jesus is asking you: Will you go out with Me?
Share YOUR story
We know what our Lords canonized Saints have done and what our Lord has done to them, now, what about the Saints we do not know about? That is you and I 
“Go Out” and share what He has done. Do not get discouraged when you share your story. Do not become filled with regret when you share. Be sure of one thing. Even if no one accepts it, our Lord does as He did it to you. Peace“do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not be alarmed, for I am your God. I give you strength, truly I help you, truly I hold you firm with my saving right hand.”
Peg Pondering Again 