I pray for a Pro Life world…
March For Life 2014. Prayers for all the “Catholics” who support the culture of death through ignorance about their Catholic Faith. There is no such thing as a Pro Abortion or Pro Choice Practicing Catholic.
Tag: God
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Man gives up everything, walks across U.S. making reparation for sins of abortion, family breakdown
Thank you Mark. May God bless you and protect you. Please keep him in your prayers and pray to end abortion worldwide.
TEXAS, January 7, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – It can be a temptation living in these dark times to simply throw up one’s hands in despair as the world descends from one blackness into another. But accepting defeat has never been an option for Mark Byerly.
Instead of standing idly by witnessing western civilization become more and more corroded through abortion, the breakdown of marriage and family, and the loss of a sense of sin, the 49-year-old decided on a radical course of action: He would embark on a journey across America on foot, praying for the spiritual needs of his countrymen.
“Ultimately, I just couldn’t stand around and watch this happen anymore,” Byerly told LifeSiteNews.com by phone during his brief stop in Odessa, Texas for Christmas.
Byerly’s journey would be a pilgrimage of penance, prayer, and sacrifice to make amends for his own crimes and the crimes of others committed against God and neighbor.
The word “pilgrim” conjures up images of someone from the Middle Ages dressed in tattered robes and traveling across Europe or Russia with a staff and a ragged bundle slung across his back. While Byerly is a modern pilgrim with modern tools, such as an iPad for communicating and for tracing out his route, he is driven by that same mysterious hunger felt by pilgrims of all ages, a hunger for God and for his Kingdom to come.
Byerly set out on his pilgrimage from his hometown of Newark, Delaware on July 25, 2013. Prior to this he had disentangled himself of his worldly responsibilities. He left a successful job as a manager of a private Spanish restaurant. Then he gave away, sold, or threw out everything he owned, except for what he needed for his journey.
Please continue reading at the link in the story above.
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A week ago, I was contacted by a man with questions about Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I was taken back at his call because I had not been the Captain of the Adoration Society for at least 8 months. You see, he held on to a very old Church bulletin with my contact information inside, in regards to sitting with our Lord.
As the call came, I was going to give him the churches contact information and send him on his way. He began to ask questions, and I knew in my heart he was crying for help. As we talked he opened up, and the Holy Spirit began to do His work. The man on the other end of the phone, began to tell me what he had been through in the past few years, and ever time he said a word, I could see myself. In all he was saying, I had been there. You see, the man, who I will call David, was emptying his heart out to me, in regards to how he wanted to come back home to the Catholic Faith.
Since my ties to the parish he was inquiring about had been in the past, I gave him the contact information to do what he needed to do. We talked for over an hour and he made it very clear, he was screaming for Our Lord to help him. We cried together in discussing the faith and the love our Lord has for us, and the rocky road we had been on. I was overcome with a love that no one could understand. I could see the pain this man was in and knew the help he needed as I had screamed out for the same help many years ago. When I was lost, unknowingly on the road “down from Jerusalem to Jericho.”
A few days later, he called me back and in the midst of our conversation, he had revealed to me that no one was contacting him for the numbers I had given to him. He then began to reveal many struggles he was enduring even in his own home for simply praying. He began to pray more, and his sisters began chastising him. “What are you praying for?” Why do you want to go to Church?” “Whats wrong with you?” “Are you crazy?”. Simply because he was turning away from sin, and to our Lord. This poor man was being “beaten” and “robbed” of his faith in his own family.
I had a few concerns in speaking to him as I was now Married and in all honesty, I didn’t think it was a good idea to carry on a relationship, EVEN one on one Spiritually, with someone I had not known, nor who had known my husband. In listening to David, he had revealed to me that he had a cousin who was a Catholic Priest but had not talked to him in some time. I advised David that he NEEDED a good strong Spiritual adviser to help him out and since no one was getting back to him, it would be a fantastic idea to contact his cousin the Priest. David agreed, and begged me to join him in Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Friday, as he was afraid to go alone, and so I agreed to join him.
Not sure of David would call his Priest Cousin, I tracked him down myself. I had given Father the background and told him that I would LOVE to continue to help David, but didn’t think it would be good, under my circumstances. He had revealed to me that David did in fact contact him but he wanted to talk to me first and was glad he did. He assured me that David would have adequate care now in his spiritual needs. I said “God bless you Father”, and hung up the phone, knowing I had brought this beaten man to the Doctor that can nurse him back to health.
Thank you God..
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Last night, while praying Divine Office, as I arrived at Psalm 91, I remembered what it was like to be a small child. To be secure. To be protected. To be safe. To be loved. To not have a care in the world. For a brief moment I snuggled under that Wing of Abba Father. I didn’t want to leave the amazing comfort I found there. All I desire is that.
As brief as that consolation was last night, what came next was unstoppable crying. As I was pulled from the shelter of Abba Father, a memory replaced the comfort. I was a little child in my pajamas with my slippers on. It was the heart of winter and bitter cold outside. I had just gotten ready for bed and walked into the kitchen. Something called me to the side door in the kitchen and I remember going outside to do something. I don’t remember why I left the house. But I did, and did what I needed to do, quickly, as I walked back to the side door, my dad closed the door and locked it. I was very little at the time and my slippers were sliding on the ice. I knocked as hard as I could and he wouldn’t come to let me back in. He couldn’t hear me. I started crying very hard because it was very cold and no one knew I was outside. As I walked through the snow, around the house to get to the front door, I fell and was now wet and freezing as I slipped on the ice on the sidewalk to get to the front door. I pounded as hard as I could and my dad was still not coming. I reached up with all my might, climbing up on the railing on the porch and rang the bell.
The door opened and there stood my dad in SHOCK, seeing who it was as I shivered at the door. He opened the door fast and let me in. Nothing mattered at that moment. NOTHING! I was back in warmth. My dad was never a “hugging” person or very affectionate. But he was at that moment. He knew how cold it was out there. He could tell how long I was pounding. He wrapped me in his blanket and he warmed me up on his couch.
That security of a parent can never be matched or replaced. When Abba Father allowed me last night to see it again, for as brief as it was, it truly has become all I ever want. Just to spend eternity wrapped in His warmth. With Him, holding me tight.
That time I had spent on the “outside”, was extremely dangerous. As it was with my faith! It became apparent to me how important it is to TELL Abba Father everything before I just go “thinking” I can handle anything alone. Such is my journey back home from “exile”. And yes, its cold “outside”.
What sparked this reflection:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: “My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”It is he who will free you from the snare
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge.You will not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand fall at your right,
you, it will never approach;
his faithfulness is buckler and shield.Your eyes have only to look
to see how the wicked are repaid,
you who have said: “Lord, my refuge!”
and have made the Most High your dwelling.Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels,
to keep you in all your ways.They shall bear you upon their hands
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread
and trample the young lion and the dragon.Since he clings to me in love, I will free him;
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: “I am with you,”
I will save him in distress and give him glory.With length of life I will content him;
I shall let him see my saving power.Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.“Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings.”
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Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord – Spiritual reflection (Taken from News.va English)
From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope: “The Lord has made his salvation known to the whole world”
The loving providence of God determined that in the last days he would aid the world, set on its course to destruction. He decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ. A promise had been made to the holy patriarch Abraham in regard to these nations. He was to have a countless progeny, born not from his body but from the seed of faith. […]
In the persons of the Magi let all people adore the Creator of the universe; let God be known, not in Judea only, but in the whole world. […] As Isaiah prophesied: the people of the Gentiles, who sat in darkness, have seen a great light, and for those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death a light has dawned. He spoke of them to the Lord: The Gentiles, who do not know you, will invoke you, and the peoples, who knew you not, will take refuge in you. […]
This came to be fulfilled, as we know, from the time when the star beckoned the three wise men out of their distant country and led them to recognize and adore the King of heaven and earth. The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all men to find Christ.
Dear friends, you must have the same zeal to be of help to one another; then, in the kingdom of God, to which faith and good works are the way, you will shine as children of the light: through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
Domenico Ghirlandaio. 1485–1488. Adoration of the Magi. Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence.
Peace.
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Let Him enter your heart. Let Him take hold of every aspect of your life.
Fill every day He has given you, and gives to you, with Him. In deed, in thought, in prayer in love.
Cast away your past sins and sinfulness. Don’t continue in the past but prepare for the future. A new year is upon us. Be the change in the world for the good of all and to the Glory be Gods. Live the faith, daily. Love God above all else, daily.
The Year of Faith has concluded. May we Christian Family’s, make it our Mission to ensure we do
the Will of God. Stand up and be what our Lord has called you to be, HOLY.Not just for 2014,but for all time, teach your children to be holy by your example. One need not be a Catholic Priest or Sister to be Holy or to be a Great Saint. We are ALL called to be saints first. Teach them to love God above all else as with this ONE lesson for life, everything falls into place in perfection of Christ Jesus, thus all society reaps the bountiful harvest of the fruits of faith. When you love God above everything, it becomes VERY easy to see, all sin stems from the soul breaking the very first commandment. “You shall have no other gods before me”
As a Catholic Parent, you have ONE job. To teach your children to love God above EVERYTHING else. Sainthood is the ONLY “Profession” we should encourage our children into. Profession of Faith. Parents are so caught up in wanting their children to succeed in the world and overlook how much more important it is to do the Will of God – the faith becomes secondary. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Our Lord then doubled it to Love your neighbor as yourself.
With the first command to love God above all else and teach your children to also, the second command becomes natural and easy to do. If you love God above all else, doing the Will of the Father, becomes your will. The Great Saints placed God first. Not their desire to become “Scholars” as the reason they became GREAT Scholars is because of their Love for God therefore becoming Great Saints first. St. Augustine did not set out on the path to God thinking about how fantastic it was to write. He wrote everything he EXPERIENCED through God. Thus, doing the Will of God, and God giving him the title after his entering into Eternal Life. Leaving a visible path behind for others to our Lord, and thereby to Abba Father. As did all the great Saints.
In 2014, let’s make it clear to the entire world that as Christians, we love God above all else. Placing worldliness and sinful behaviors behind us. And if you fall, He will pick you back up to continue on through His Sacraments. If we do just this one thing, the entire world would never be the same. Don’t allow 2014 to become just another secular year, make it HOLY. Dedicate it to Him who gave His life to you. What is just one year to give Him in return? In one year, living the faith with your entire heart, you will never want to return to who you once were without Him. You won’t be able to remove your eyes from Him ever again.
I for one am looking forward to placing 2013 in the past. I am grateful for all God has done for me and my family. Lord may we all move forward into the new year, with YOU and never without You O Lord. May we apply all the gifts you have given to us, in all aspects of our lives, to give Abba Father all the glory and honor through Jesus Christ and the most gracious Holy Spirit, Three, eternally in the One God of all. Amen
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Merry Christmas
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Yesterday Pope Frances reflected on “Silence”. Pope: silence guards one’s relationship with God. I have been struggling with this for many years. Since my conversion began back in 1998. There are no coincidences. I truly feel as if my journey is over in seeking some sort of answer for what has taken place in my life. The changes that have overtaken every aspect of who I used to be, and who God has created me to be. As I went out to lunch yesterday, “Fire on the Earth” on Immaculate Heart Radio was on and answered EVERY question I have had since my conversion began. Everything is out of my hands. I cannot control a thing that takes place in what I see, hear, or in what other do. Everything is in God’s hands. All I can control is my sinfulness through repentance and the Sacraments our Lord has given to us. All I need to know is that the reason for all of this is simply because God loves me and I am a child of God. I am called to live this life as His.
That is the best gift anyone can receive. Forgiveness and repentance from the sinful life I had led is only achieved through the grace He has given me. I accept His gift freely and without any soul on earth coming to me to say YES! It was Him. Or NO! That is not Him. You see, “Silence” is our Lords way of allowing the soul to discern what is from Him and what is not. Silence is the way He speaks the loudest. The way He allows us to continue on to Him without a push or force, but freely. What truly is odd about Pope Frances comments is that I made a Christmas Video to share with all. It was made over a week ago and it does exactly as Pope Frances has asked. Taking into account the first video I made was deleted by another media outlet because it contained things with a copyright. Its okay. Everything happens for a reason. Here it is:
I have spent many years speaking about my experience’s and trying way to hard to explain to souls who could never comprehend what our Lord has done with me, to me, and it truly is personal. For me and only today, after 15 years of this journey, I have come to understand there isn’t a soul on earth that can answer for Him. That can justify for Him what He has done to me. It is truly Him who I seek. Him who I live for and Him who I give the glory to for all that has taken place. I have said all I need to say. Now, I leave this blog, and the talking and actions and everything to our Lord. I pray that I have not said too much. It truly is time for me to be silent and relish in the gifts our Lord has given to not just me, but to all who seek Him.
This does not mean that I return to the old way of life but continue on in the new life He has given to me. I continue to pray for all until He calls me back home. I truly have PEACE! This is not the end. But the beginning.
Merry Christmas. Life is His wonderful gift!
‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’
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We start the fourth week of Advent tonight.. Its time..
Time to finish the journey back into the “town” of our birth, to be counted among the “faithful”.
St Joseph, pray for us that we carry with us always, love, hope, faith and joy, and share the gifts we receive from our Lord with everyone on the road back home, as the route of repentance we now take is much different then the route we took to encounter our Infant Lord, laying in the arms of our Virgin Mother Mary. That we may give the glory to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, Three eternally in one, for all time and eternity. Amen
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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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A very strange thing happened the other day. Someone who left the faith told me, “I read the bible many times and it did nothing for me”. Humm, I thought..
Technically, the bible doesn’t do anything for anyone, if it’s not applied. Although Sacred, and most definitely the Word of God, it’s what YOU do with it that matters. You can read “Sacred Scripture” until the end of eternity, but until you actually “practice” what He is saying, it doesn’t do anything. Until it is “Applied” to the “wounds” it’s not going to “heal”. I may make you desire to read more, but “practice” makes “perfect.” When its “applied” the Word becomes Flesh and dwells within you.
Imagine receiving a “prescription” from the “Doctor”, getting it filled (buying a bible), reading the “Directions” and not taking the “Medicine” but simply placing it in the cupboard waiting for results.
A person can study medicine their entire life, but until they actually “practice” medicine, all the reading, all the studying, all the tests and most assuredly all the degrees earned, all the time spent learning, means nothing and becomes dust. When put into “practice”, it blossoms. It becomes “alive”. You live it and grow with it. It becomes your life. You eat, sleep, dream and live “medicine”. You continue to “grow”, to study more while practicing and applying..
Thus, there is no difference “practicing” the faith, you become One with God…
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice”.
Living the faith, is practicing the faith. “Applying” the faith in every aspect of life. Never missing a dose of the “Medicine” from the “Doctor” of your soul..
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A few points to ponder from Pope Francis, EVANGELII GAUDIUM. When we think of New Evangelization, we must take Mama Mary’s way to bring comfort and strength to all souls not only in need of hearing the gospel’s, but in every aspect of our lives. We are called to LIVE the gospel’s. Not just hear them, clap and say, wow that sounds nice and go back to what we were previously doing.
I see this a lot with so many every time Pope Francis speaks to the “masses”. The flags wave, the cheering from the crowds and the screams of “I love you Papa”. But are we truly listening and following what is being said? Imagine the Apostles listening to our Lord and never grasping what He was teaching them, but rather just allowing Him to continue because they liked the “atmosphere”. Judas comes to mind. He never got over being a “fan” of our Lord rather than becoming a “follower” like the rest. When we become “fans” rather than “Followers”, the second something that is said or done that we don’t like, we find someone else to become a “fan” of.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Pope Francis as I love everyone, and this is not about trashing him, or what he is doing or not and who likes him or not. He is the “Vicar of Christ”. Its about not applying his messages, daily, in all of our lives. Not applying the same message as it has always been through 2000 years, from our Lord in our daily lives. The “Church” is, but we are called to be a part of that “Church”, not “apart from”.
Mama Mary from the beginning, was neither a “fan” of her Son, nor a “follower”. She is His Mother. Thus the Catholic Church is OUR Mother. We are called to “Listen” to her, as she is telling us what WE need to do. What happens when we don’t listen to “Mom”?
In the times that we live, I am constantly reminded of St. Paul’s message of “A Church Divided Over Leaders”. So often we get so wrapped up in “who” we are “following” that we forget the Church is our Mother and we run to different people who appeal to our “liking”. We become “fans” of so & so rather than a living example, as Mama Mary, to the entire “Church”. We argue and cause great angst with one another and that is poison to not only the “Church”, but it paints a very negative view to those on the outside, in need the most. Souls who do not understand look at the “arguing”, and some is very nasty, between brothers & sisters in a dim light that portrays all of what we are trying to accomplish as nothing more than a “Fight Club” rather than a “Family” united in Christ. I ask you to please read this:
10 I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to* Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I give thanks [to God] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 (I baptized the household of Stephanas also; beyond that I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
That “the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning”. Once we place our love of one over another, the entire meaning becomes lost. Mama Mary, did not love one over the other. Because of her great “Humility”, She loves all.
II. Mary, mother of evangelization
284. With the Holy Spirit, Mary is always present in the midst of the people. She joined the disciples in praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14) and thus made possible the missionary outburst which took place at Pentecost. She is the Mother of the Church which evangelizes, and without her we could never truly understand the spirit of the new evangelization.
Jesus’ gift to his people
285. On the cross, when Jesus endured in his own flesh the dramatic encounter of the sin of the world and God’s mercy, he could feel at his feet the consoling presence of his mother and his friend. At that crucial moment, before fully accomplishing the work which his Father had entrusted to him, Jesus said to Mary: “Woman, here is your son”. Then he said to his beloved friend: “Here is your mother” (Jn 19:26-27). These words of the dying Jesus are not chiefly the expression of his devotion and concern for his mother; rather, they are a revelatory formula which manifests the mystery of a special saving mission. Jesus left us his mother to be our mother. Only after doing so did Jesus know that “all was now finished” (Jn 19:28). At the foot of the cross, at the supreme hour of the new creation, Christ led us to Mary. He brought us to her because he did not want us to journey without a mother, and our people read in this maternal image all the mysteries of the Gospel. The Lord did not want to leave the Church without this icon of womanhood. Mary, who brought him into the world with great faith, also accompanies “the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus” (Rev 12:17). The close connection between Mary, the Church and each member of the faithful, based on the fact that each in his or her own way brings forth Christ, has been beautifully expressed by Blessed Isaac of Stella: “In the inspired Scriptures, what is said in a universal sense of the virgin mother, the Church, is understood in an individual sense of the Virgin Mary… In a way, every Christian is also believed to be a bride of God’s word, a mother of Christ, his daughter and sister, at once virginal and fruitful… Christ dwelt for nine months in the tabernacle of Mary’s womb. He dwells until the end of the ages in the tabernacle of the Church’s faith. He will dwell forever in the knowledge and love of each faithful soul”.[212]
286. Mary was able to turn a stable into a home for Jesus, with poor swaddling clothes and an abundance of love. She is the handmaid of the Father who sings his praises. She is the friend who is ever concerned that wine not be lacking in our lives. She is the woman whose heart was pierced by a sword and who understands all our pain. As mother of all, she is a sign of hope for peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice. She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal love. As a true mother, she walks at our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love. Through her many titles, often linked to her shrines, Mary shares the history of each people which has received the Gospel and she becomes a part of their historic identity. Many Christian parents ask that their children be baptized in a Marian shrine, as a sign of their faith in her motherhood which brings forth new children for God. There, in these many shrines, we can see how Mary brings together her children who with great effort come as pilgrims to see her and to be seen by her. Here they find strength from God to bear the weariness and the suffering in their lives. As she did with Juan Diego, Mary offers them maternal comfort and love, and whispers in their ear: “Let your heart not be troubled… Am I not here, who am your Mother?”[213]
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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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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 -
In light of the Obama Administrations plans to “Downscale” the Vatican’s Embassy, in protest, I will be flying my flag of our Vatican City outside of my home, to show this Administration that the “Holy See” what he is doing.
Please join me by doing the same and praying for this nation, Blessed John Paul II, pray for us, Pray for solidarity among all Roman Catholics and all Christians and all faiths in the United States and around the entire world for peace. Jesus Christ our King, have mercy on us all.
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It most certainly is a Child.
This is the Adoration Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in San Diego. The Tabernacle behind the Altar, is mounted in the womb of our Holy Mother.
CONSTITUTION ON THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD
Excerpts from
Second Vatican Council
December 7, 1965
27. Coming down to practical and particularly urgent consequences, this Council lays stress on reverence for man; everyone must consider his every neighbor without exception as another self, taking into account first of all his life and the means necessary to living it with dignity, so as not to imitate the rich man who had no concern for the poor man Lazarus.
In our times a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of every person without exception, and of actively helping him when he comes across our path, whether he be an old person abandoned by all, a foreign laborer unjustly looked down upon, a refugee, a child born of an unlawful union and wrongly suffering for a sin he did not commit, or a hungry person who disturbs our conscience by recalling the voice of the Lord, “As long as you did it for one of these the least of my brethren, you did it for me” (Matt. 25:40).
Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator.
51. To these problems there are those who presume to offer dishonorable solutions indeed; they do not recoil even from the taking of life. But the Church issues the reminder that a true contradiction cannot exist between the divine laws pertaining to the transmission of life and those pertaining to authentic conjugal love.
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.
Man’s sexuality and the faculty of reproduction wondrously surpass the endowments of lower forms of life; therefore the acts proper to married life are to be ordered according to authentic human dignity and must be honored with the greatest reverence. When it is a question of harmonizing married love with the responsible transmission of life, it is not enough to take only the good intention and the evaluation of motives into account; the objective criteria must be used, criteria drawn from the nature of the human person and human action, criteria which respect the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love; all this is possible only if the virtue of married chastity is seriously practiced. In questions of birth regulation the sons of the Church, faithful to these principles, are forbidden to use methods disapproved of by the teaching authority of the Church in its interpretation of the divine law. (1)
Let all be convinced that human life and its transmission are realities whose meaning is not limited by the horizons of this life only: their true evaluation and full meaning can only be understood in reference to man’s eternal destiny.
1.Cf. Pius XI, Encycl. Casti Connubii: AAS 22 (1930), p. 559-561; DENZ., 2239-2241 (3716-3718); Pius XII, Address to Italian Midwives, 29 Oct. 1951: AAS 43 (1951), p. 835-854; PAUL VI, Address to the Cardinals, 23 June 1964: AAS 56 (1964), p. 581-589.
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Crown him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon his throne,
Hark! how the heav’nly anthem drowns
All music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of him who died for thee,
And hail him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.Crown Him the Son of God,
Before the worlds began,
And ye who tread where He hath trod,
Crown Him the Son of Man;
Who every grief hath known
That wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own,
That all in Him may rest.Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed over the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring,
And lives that death may die.Crown Him the Lord of lords,
Who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word,
For ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light,
Where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night,
Their God, Redeemer, King.Crown Him the Lord of Heaven,
Enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the King to Whom
Is given the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns,
As thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns,
For He is King of all.“Crown Him With Many Crowns” taken from Divine Office, as I was praying, I knew in my heart, this was much better than what I could say about my King. Our Lord.
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The “Smoking Gun”
The first shot fired by the war on women started when she was conceived out of the Bonds of Holy Marriage because Mom & Dad didn’t know what love was..
The second shot came when she was refused spiritual guidance to Abba Father after birth because it’s a “Parental Right” to not believe in God.
The third shot on the war on women came when she entered into school and they taught her a child in the womb of a pregnant woman was just a mass of tissue.
The forth shot fired in the war on women came when she was taught sex outside of the Bonds Of Holy Marriage was just fine, “Do what Makes You Feel Good”.
The fifth shot fired in the war on women came when she objectified herself thinking it would bring her “love” because the “sex” education she received.
The sixth shot fired in the war on women was fired from her own hands when she killed her own daughter she was taught was just a mass of tissue because she believed in doing what made her feel good.
There is a “War on Women”. Woman are pulling the trigger on themselves. Put the gun down. Your killing yourselves. Women are at war with themselves and until women understand what LOVE is, the war rages on.
Please don’t make me pay for it by paying for your abortions and contraception because I know what Love is. And it isn’t that nor is it “healthcare”. But that is a subject for another day.
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Almighty, everlasting God who didst will that all things should be made new in thy beloved Son, the universal King, mercifully grant that all kindred of the Gentiles scattered by the ravishes of sin may be brought under the sweet yoke of His rule. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen
Via REV. DANIEL LORD, S.J.
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Until a soul experiences Christ, you truly have not experienced life. We live but what do we live for? To impress? To glorify self? To be caddy? To be angry? To be ignorant? To be arrogant? To be a façade to others knowing we are crumbling drywall and mildewed inside?
The life given by Him, in love, is life to all in exile that no amount of money, real estate, cars, beauty or anything else of material value to the worldly could compare. He allows the “person” to become what Abba Father intended the “person” to be. Alive. Trusting. Compassionate and above all innocent. Striving to turn souls to Him and away from the destruction we create to replace Him in our inescapable need to be loved and to love.
Never in any way, could I have hopped for in what He has done to me. His hand is so tender and His love so sweet, the soul desires nothing but Him. He makes me good cry, at every step. He shows me all His beauty. He offers everything to share in His life. He is firm in His dealings with me as He should be and so caring is His compassion that on earth, there are no words to express the gravity of His love when given in doses as He does. He knows what I need to continue and He supply’s everything at the time it is needed.
I have never once, in my entire existence, going all the way back to as far as I could remember, been able to say I love life until now that He is in it. I live for Him. I am alive because of Him. Christ the King. My King. So much so that my faith in Him now extends beyond hope for myself, but rather extends to all others. My love is not for self, or for only those who believe, but for all others. To see the human person for the image they were created in, that of God, is to separate the sinner from the sin and to see the sin for what it is and understand “for they know not what they do”. Because if they did know, they would have to hate God so much, that they could not have been created in His image. As He is the only “need” we have in our fallen state, and when we have Him, we want nothing else.
We need nothing else but Him. Ensuring we are no longer Defenceless.
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I have been struggling a lot with myself lately in regards to entering into a deeper “chamber” and tonight of all nights, The Presentation of the Virgin Mary, I believe its time to do just that. Thank you Mama Mary for the answer to the past 15 years of my life. NOW I get it. “Be not afraid”. Glory to God.
I can never make anyone understand, nor comprehend the beauty of our Lord and His love for each and every one of us. I can only share my story in hopes one day it will bring hope to others. I truly know in my heart our Lord has called me into a deeper “chamber” not to boast or brag, but to contemplate how, now, to put what He has given to me, what He has shared with me to good use and put it into daily practice at home, and in all the different communities He has brought me into.
Silence is calling me to be vigilant still. To turn all this into what He needs me to do now, and Trust is the name. Knowing fully that no matter what takes place anymore, no matter how I may stumble, or what may startle me, He never will. All I have seen and all I have been a part of, is His love and mercy. He was with me outside calling me inside where He waits for me also. I accept in love. Finally.
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Never forget “this post” LINK HERE and the fact I love both forms of our Holy Mass
Our Lord is in the Holy Mass in “Word”, scripture, “Blood & Flesh” in the Eucharist and Spirit, through the Holy Spirit – St. Augustine taught us, “what the soul is to man’s body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Holy Spirit does in the whole Church what the soul does in the members of the one body.” We can’t “Escape” Him anywhere we go, why would it matter which way the Priest is facing while celebrating Holy Mass? Would our Lord not “show up” all of a sudden because of the position the Priest is facing?
Psalms, chapter 139 1:12
For the leader. A psalm of David
LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
You sift through my travels and my rest;
with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
LORD, you know it all.
Behind and before you encircle me
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
far too lofty for me to reach.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence, where can I flee?
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.
If I take the wings of dawn
and dwell beyond the sea,
Even there your hand guides me,
your right hand holds me fast.
If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”
Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as the day.
Darkness and light are but oneOur Lord is with us always. There is no escape. If in all our ways we can not escape Him, why would anyone think for a second He would leave us in His Sacrament because the Priest is facing a different direction or is not speaking in Latin?
The Church teaches that the priest ministers in persona Christi, in the person of Christ. In speaking to his disciples, Jesus said, “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me” (Lk 10:16). “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22–23).
Did our Lord turn His back on the Apostles while preaching to them or during the Last Supper? Of course not. (I don’t mean this in regards to what many may say is the reason the priest turning his back on the congregation as originally, the Priest is facing East and leading the way to our Lord) We are surrounded at Holy Mass by our Lord therefore when we look past the “distractions” we have in our own ideas, we can focus once again on the Face of our Lord. Thus I believe the reason our Lord is truly present in both forms of the Holy Mass. Because He said so, and it gives us time to “overcome” that which distracts us and pulls our attention away from our Lord to grow in understanding that it’s not the “Church” that is broken and as so many say in “shambles” because of this, but we who are because we “choose” to allow the “distractions” of our own, to pull us away from our Lord.
Both forms should make sense..
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All this debate over Traditional VS Novus Ordo. I was born in 1966. Our Lord called me back to His One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church after many years of being away. He didn’t specify that I should choose a side inside His Church, just that I take His “side”, in the Center of the Cross.
He is present in both forms. I love them both because He is there. I have no preference as long as He remains there. In my heart, I know He will because HE said so. There is no VS in regards to Traditional And Novus Ordo.
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Demons KEEP the soul from attaining the “Awareness” of Christ. That’s what they do! They keep the soul in a state of perpetual sin and corruption to make ones conscience not open to the gift of Fear of the Lord. This is why this society we live in is so confused along with this so-called “teacher”. Episcopalian ‘Bishop’: Paul Bigoted for Not Embracing Diversity in Demon-Possessed Girl
St. Paul did as our LORD commanded. When one is “aware” of his own sinfulness, he becomes more ‘aware” of Christ and pulls closer to embrace Him. When one becomes aware of Christ, he obtains the ability to see the demons that tempt him back into sin and grow in faith and humility. Rather then succumb to pride. St. Paul committed one of the greatest acts of love and mercy for this girl.
When St. Paul wrote: “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”, that “thorn” was external. Not internal as the case of the girl. Allowing him to “see” his torment (awareness) and use the grace of God to overcome it.
To say what this woman is saying is very Anti-Christian and anti-Christ. We are to use EVERY means possible to allow His children to seek and find Him, to live “Life” to the fullest. Not half-hearted.
When one is “aware” of the Presence of Christ, one can not help to pull closer to Him, in love above all other means. Demons forbid the soul to move closer to Him and they cloud the soul, mind and conscience with false notions, and begin to build a tiny room that encloses the soul to believe only in one’s self, rather than on the promise of our Lord. It is one thing to believe in Christ and quite another to know Him. To know Him is to love Him. If the house is not built by our Lord, it will be knocked down. Thus all that the demons build in the soul is completely destroyed.
I am sickened by this story, thus the reason for this post.
“The Spirit says clearly that some men will abandon their faith in later times. They will obey lying spirits and follow the teaching of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).
Awareness – knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you. If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love; as I also have kept my Father’s commandments, and do abide in His love.”
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“Take, O take me as I am. Summons out what I shall be. Set Your seal upon my heart and live in me O Lord.”
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I’m not sure how to post this or write this as what I am about to say is not intended to bring malice or harm to anyone but rather has been a very clear message to me.
On “another form of internet media”, I was engaged this morning in a very interesting conversation. It was striking actually as I didn’t know who I was talking to at first and then when it hit me, the understanding came through.
I don’t watch television and mainly when I do, I’m not truly watching and I am praying and speaking to our Lord in contemplation. Being that my husband watches a lot of television, I do spend time with him as he is watching. Recently we started watching a show, in which I had grown sort of fond of. It was interesting and to be honest, I could see a lot of references to faith and our Lord to keep me occupied while not truly falling into the “story worshiping.”
One night, or maybe a for a few, after my children were settled down for the night, my husband and I would sit together to watch this particular show. I would normally go off to pray as my children went to bed but started to place my praying the Divine Office later and later. I started to grow very fond of the show and the lead character that played in it. I could see a lot of “Spiritual” things in him that reminded me of our Lord but truly were not Him.
Back to the “conversation” on the other “internet media site”. A question was posed in regards to faith. I responded and the back & forth between the two of us was very revealing. I did not know I was speaking to someone who was unaware of the faith. As I looked deeper and was accused of things in which I did not say, I looked to see who this person was. Low and behold, It’s the lead character to the show I had placed my prayer time on hold for to watch.
It is true, our Lord uses everyone to convey what He needs to be said. This has left me with a deeper trust in Him and a definite pulling away from the “world” that attempted to suck me back in. Don’t get me wrong, I love the man who truly was unaware of this taking place and I pray deeply for his conversion along with forgiving him for what has been said.
It truly was a blessing, and IS a blessing for our Lord to speak to me in this way. No matter what, God comes first. Prayer life and speaking to our Lord first! This goes much deeper, but I truly know it would be best kept it in my heart.
Glory to God. I am deeply grateful to our Lord.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”
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Look closely at this photo. It is my Grandfather at the age of three and my Great Grandparents and Uncles & Aunts and “Family”. All “blood” relatives. Do you see what is missing in today’s society? This photo was taken in Prievidza Slovakia in 1907. Click on it for the enlargement.
This is a follow-up post to “Will There BE Faith“.
I’m going to post a short profound conversation that I had this morning that took place on Facebook. It was regarding a photo that I had found of my Great Uncle Monsignor Mikulas Misik circa 1958 in Slovakia.
Peg Demetris: He presided over my First Holy Communion I truly believe he is the reason for my coming back home to the Catholic Church too
Peg Demetris: Although I had only met him 3 times, and he never spoke a word of English, his life is a HUGE inspiration to me. He survived the Nazis and then the Communists, never seeing “freedom” ever again in his home country of Slovakia but understood completely, true “Freedom” comes from God. Not any secular nation on earth. His country didn’t save him. God did. Our Lord did. That is the faith I have in my heart today.
John R. Misik: He also said Holy Mass at my mom and dad’s 50th wedding anniversary in 1975.
Peg Demetris: That was when I made my First Holy Communion Uncle John R. Misik along with Kim & Pam
John R. Misik: Didn’t know that.
Peg Demetris: May 4th 1975. I was married to my husband Mark just this past May 4th in the Church. It was Great Uncle whispering to me the entire time to fix the fact I was out of Communion
I didn’t realize until after talking about it, just how much our Lord used, not only my great-uncle to impact my life, but an entire Generation of Faithful. Today, I have zero attachment to the country I live in. I have zero attachment to anything outside of the faith. It’s not to say for the past 15 years or so, looking back on my life in regards to where I went wrong, but rather looking to see where I needed to return to, to get back on the road to “Home”. It’s not to say that I have been living in the past. Not at all. For the past fifteen years, I have been living for the future. Our Lord had granted me the grace to “See” and apply the Truth, His Truth, to the life I was called to live. He used the “Faith of our Fathers” to do so.
“Return to your first Love”.
Faithful women, rearing their children in the faith, not in the things of the world.
EDIT TO ADD: From Pope Francis today:
And reflecting on the icon of Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple, Pope Francis noted that it depicts three generations that come together fulfilling a single design: the elderly persons represent faith as memory; Mary and Joseph are the family, sanctified by the presence of Jesus who is the fulfillment of all God’s promises. Like the Holy Family of Nazareth – the Pope said – “every family is part of the history of a people; it cannot exist without the generations who have gone before it”.
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Last night as I was in Adoration, in front of our Lord in the tabernacle, I was praying the Divine Office. As I got to the antiphon: “When the Son of Man comes to earth, do you think he will find faith in men’s hearts?” and answered with a knee jerk response of no, and felt a feeling of darkness come over me for the state of the world and myself. It was as if our Lord was telling me “wrong answer.” And when I thought of it deeper and pondered it, The answer no to this question came with “pride” and is not through humility. As I started to continue, I heard in my heart “The gates of hell shall not prevail” and I stopped in my tracks and said “Wait one minute!”.
Yes! I exclaimed. YES! When the Son of Man comes to earth, he will find faith in men’s hearts! Because He said so! His entire “Mission” was to instill that faith in men’s hearts. To not lose hope, to not lose the true love for others and to be charitable and with His grace, “All things are possible with God”. He surely did not die and raise from the dead for this beautiful faith to die as He did. NO! Thus the reason He died for her, the Church, so she could live on to teach with Him, with the Holy Spirit all that He had done in love and continues to do.
How miserable of a world would it be, not to find faith in the hearts of one single soul. How unbearable life would be to not find one ounce of compassion or true charity and love. As I look around today at the state of the world, and since my conversion, as bad as it had gotten in regards to what I have seen in myself and others, our Lord was there and still is, the entire time with His consolation to pull me through. To see love as it is. To see compassion. To see faith and to hold on to hope, knowing His word is true: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”. For as long as there is our Lord, there is the Church He gave to us.
This is the job for the laity He has for us. To continue, strong in the faith. To teach our children to be strong in the faith so their children and their children for generation after generation can continue to have Him in their hearts. We must be strong against the temptations in this world. We can only place our faith and trust in our Lord to see to all our needs. When we do, everything, all “things” that can never bring true happiness are replaced with joy. We must fight the evil in this world with love and true faith in Him. Without fear of what may happen to us. It’s not a battle in the physical sense, but the spiritual truth in which all must adhere to our Lord and not the things the world is tempting us with.
If we learn that nothing is ours but the faith, and we live by this truth, we learn to let go of all we grab on to in this world, allowing God to hold on to us as He seeks to do.
I thank my Grandparents generation for living the faith. The family motto was always “Scattered but never lost”. It held the “family” together through the most horrific times. They never relied on anything or anyone but our Lord. They celebrated the Saints days. They attended daily Mass. All the Sacraments were considered major celebrations. Their love for one another was through the love they had for our Lord. All through World War I, the great depression and then World War II. They faced the most uncertain times with the certainty of our Lord. My Great Uncle becoming a priest, ordained in 1930 Slovakia. Surviving the Nazis and then the Communist Occupation, NEVER placing his faith in the governments that came and went, but solidly in our Lord. Never seeing “freedom” again in his nation of Slovakia but knowing TRUE “Freedom” through our Lord. This faith, is still here today. This faith, is here in my heart. I am not alone. As we live through this Great Depression of Faith in society, we must come to understand that no matter what may come, the Faith our Lord has given to us shall always be. Never give up hope. NEVER lose your faith! It is truly, all you have. Nurture it and teach it to your children that it is all they have.
“When faced with this abyss of evil, I can only respond with an abyss of love.” Blessed John Paul II in Nazi Occupied Poland, announcing to his friend he has chosen the life of Priesthood
