Artwork by William Kurelek
From Divine Office:
“Today you will know the Lord is coming, and in the morning you will see his glory.”
Isaiah 11:1-3a
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord,
and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord
As I sat in front of our Lord in Exposition Friday night, I began to ponder my entire life in general. I could see it among a tangled mess of fishing line, but it was different. What used to be tangled and trapped, was now a ball of line in a tangled mess, in my hands. I began to ponder the mess and see the knots in this mess, thinking of how, if it could be even remotely possible, to sit and untie all those horrible knots of sin. I asked our Lord how I could even remotely confess this mess and in prayer, He gave me the roots of that entire mess which caused my leaving Him in the first place.
A few weeks ago, I began to pray a novena I had not prayed before, Unfailing Novena To The Virgin Mary Untier of Knots. As I began, I placed my entire self into her hands, giving her everything I have seen, everything I was confused over, everything that had lead me astray and everything I had done. It was our Holy Mother in this Novena, who cut me lose from that tangled mess I had tangled myself in. When she placed it in my hands and I was able to see, I was unsure what to do with it. How could I fix this? It was our Lord in Exposition who made it clear to me, that all that sin was worthless and can not be used for anything. That “line of thought” I had was nothing but a mess and it was now in my hands to do what is right and just with it. In asking our Lord and in Him giving me the “roots”, of the cause, pride, covetousness and lust, I knew the only course of action to take, was to place it in His hands in His beautiful Sacrament of Confession, where He could toss it away, never to be used again by me or others, to never become tangled again in. This isn’t something we can just toss away ourselves by thinking we will never become tangled again because we are curious creatures and we forget the things that hurt us, hurt others also.
When we become tangled in a sinful “line of thought” it becomes a mess we tangle and capture others in, dragging them down into the deep sins we commit. Unless we are cut loose completely, the evil one tugs us back down, bringing others with us, no matter how close to our Lord we become. When we hand it to our Lord in His Sacrament of Confession, He cuts the line, He burns it and it can never be used against us again, and we become free.
I am grateful to our Lord for His gifts, especially the gift of His Mother to us, who teaches us how to use the NEW “line of thought” through her beautiful model.
Jesus Christ is my King.
Pondering 2 Peter Chapter 2
Pondering: Vatican II (inside the church) not being the reason souls left the pews, but the temptation of the ‘sexual revolution” (on the outside), being the “apple” many “fell for” that lead souls astray and out of the pews. Therefore our Lord was already prepared to address the needs of a society of souls far off, and the Father meeting them on the road to welcome them back home.
If souls were “obedient” and in love with our Lord, there wouldn’t have been a mass exodus. It’s as if a fear of something other than of our Lord gripped the souls in the pews rather than “trust” and “obedience” to our Lord, which holds all souls in love.. Just as a temptation that “original sin” is a thing of the past grips souls today and holds them in that same lack of “obedience” to God.
BUT “patience obtains all things” and “all things work for the greater glory of God”.
Just pondering….
The Global Warming Of Hearts
Please see the edits to the previous post.
Saturday July 4th, I will be dedicating to our Holy Mother Mary and first Saturday. I ask you to join me as we celebrate her, our Catholic Faith and TRUE Independence from our sinfulness. I have my flag out already. I will be bringing my children to Holy Mass after we all receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Just an idea I feel needs to be shared.
“In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph.” – Our Lady of Fatima
FREEDOM!
All praise, honor and glory to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
EDIT to add:
Its not a call to abandon hope, nor to hide inside this day, but to celebrate LIFE in Christ. To still enjoy our Lords creation. TO STILL live the life our Lord has given to us and to appreciate Holiness in the Light. Its not that we are NOT still sinners, but rather we know we are and we are TRYING with the grace of God to get back home to our Lord, in TRUE Love. Agape!
“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Amen!”
EDIT:
The original photo has been changed at the top of this post. WITHOUT KNOWING, I was flying my Vatican Flag upside down for many many WEEKS. I didn’t know it. Today, I fixed it. Keep in mind ANY flag flown upside down is a sign of “distress” and NOT disrespect. Pray for this nation and the ENTIRE Church.
REPENT…
All over the MSM you see “Love Wins” in regards to the same sex marriage law being man made legal in 50 US states. Yes. Love most certainly does win but most do not know who He is yet. I pray that many will receive the grace from our Lord for understanding of who He is.
Again SCOTUS chants “We have no king but Caesar”. Just as it was chanted through the pen for Abortion and now for Marriage. Jesus Christ is MY King, not the USA. It was Saint Augustine of Hippo who stated that “An unjust law is no law at all”. Just as an unjust law is no law at all, so to are the men and woman who enforce the unjust law. So to are those who follow the unjust law. I will not. I OPENLY refuse to worship the “Golden Calf” of the nation. Jesus Christ is my King. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
“Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years ago, Obergefell v. Hodges does not settle the question of marriage today. Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as a result, both will eventually fail. Today the Court is wrong again. It is profoundly immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same sex can constitute a marriage.”
Please continue to read at the link.
Repent. Pray Divine Office 3X daily. Pray the Rosary daily. Pray before every meal. Attend daily Holy Mass (if you can) and if you can not, participate in it through EWTN rebroadcast. Pray without ceasing. Receive the sacraments frequently. “LOVE one another as I have loved you” – Be not afraid. DO not give into disrepair. Give in only to our Lord Jesus Christ. Teach your children to do the same! LIVE the faith. Don’t just talk about it.
The Sacrament of Marriage will never change.
Last night my family and I attended the San Diego Padres game. We bought tickets through my girls school to sit in a section dedicated to all the school. My youngest child got in some trouble earlier in the day the second I dropped her off for school, so I actually thought of keeping her home and letting my husband and older daughter go.
As we waited for my husband to get home so they could go, I kept hearing in my heart, its a family occasion. My daughter who got in trouble at school had already been punished at school for her behavior and I just was not settled completely what I was deciding. At the last second, I decided that we would all go.
As we go there and made our way to the fantastic seats and began to settle in, my older daughter pretended to be a princess, blew kisses to all and went to throw herself in her seat. Well, much to her surprise she fell back hard. Really hard and smacked her elbow on the arm rest as the seat she though was there had folded up and she slammed into the ground. It hurt. No one from her school had seen what she had done so it saved her little pride moment but she was hurt. We sat for a moment as I checked out her elbow to see what damage had been done and the pain on her face was there. She couldn’t move it and streaked at the thought of moving it.
For the first two innings of the game I comforted her and kept vigil for her and the elbow to see if maybe she had broken something. We couldn’t just jump in the car and go to the hospital to get her checked out as we had taken the train to get to the park. The more the tears flowed the more I became to worry if she had in fact broken something. I got up and walked her to the First Aid station. All we needed was ice.
As we walked through a maze of different directions we go there. Looked through the window and a group of souls opened the door for us. The immediately brought her in and placed her on a medical chair and began asking the questions and checking her out. The nurse and the EMT checked her over and she was given an ice pack to keep any swelling down. They talked to her and had her bend it and move it to see where she had gotten hurt. After a while, then they handed her a Padres hat and a baseball. I was never expecting that.
As I sat there I was flooded with thoughts of our Lord. How much more then will your Heavenly Father give to you? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
I have worried about so much in my life taking place that I had in the past allowed the worry to replace Life. Even for the benefit of others, as that is the basis for all worry I have had. Worry does no good. Its the parable of the 10 Virgins that strikes me here. In all that I do for our Lord, I can not give my prayers and works to others to use for their salvation. God doesn’t have grandchildren. Only you can say yes to the adoption to be His child. I can’t share my holiness with you for your salvation. I can be a model of holiness, but I can not be a fountain. That is reserved for our Lord. You have to become holy using His grace. You have to trim your lamps at all times. Which is done through prayers, receiving the sacraments and obedience to Him. You have to use His grace for your salvation.
When I first noticed and acted upon my conversion of heart, all I was looking for was to go to heaven. When you realize what comes with Heaven, you can only start to understand, all I wanted was an “ice pack”.
My daughter is fine, just a bruise and is playing today, a little more guarded over what she had experienced last night.
Thanks be to God for no broken bones.
Thanks be to God for all His gifts. Thanks be to Jesus Christ our Lord for the gift of Life. Thanks be to the most Holy Spirit for giving gifts of the Father and the Son. All praise and honor and all glory to the most Holy Trinity for You are all we truly need. Amen.
From Catholic Online:
Glory be to the Father,
Who by His almighty power and love created me,
making me in the image and likeness of God.
Glory be to the Son,
Who by His Precious Blood delivered me from hell,
and opened for me the gates of heaven.
Glory be to the Holy Spirit,
Who has sanctified me in the sacrament of Baptism,
and continues to sanctify me
by the graces I receive daily from His bounty.
Glory be to the Three adorable Persons of the Holy Trinity,
now and forever.
Amen.
One point I feel a need to make..
The San Diego Padres beat the “Pits” burg Pyrites
Becoming a priest or a man or woman religious is not primarily our own decision…. Rather it is the response to a call and to a call of love.
—Pope Francis, Address to Seminarians and Novices, July 6, 2013
Gracious God,
You have called me to life
and gifted me in many ways.
Through Baptism You have sent me
to continue the mission of Jesus
by sharing my love with others.
Strengthen me to respond to
Your call each day.
Help me to become all You desire of me.
Inspire me to make a difference in
others’ lives.
Lead me to choose the way of life
You have planned for me.
Open the hearts of all to listen
to Your call.
Fill all with Your Holy Spirit that
we may have listening hearts and
the courage to respond to You.
Enkindle in my heart
and the hearts of others the desire
to make the world a better place
by serving as
Lay Minister, Sister, Priest,
Brother or Deacon.
Amen.
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.’
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. – 1 John 4:18
This week of lent, our parish has been hosting two wonderful redemptive Priests who are holding a Mission of the Cross of our Lord. I have been attending all week and have found them to be awe-inspiring. But this morning, was miraculous.
Today’s reflection was on healing and forgiveness. I have forgiven every soul in my life for everything but there was always something I felt that was in the way of my total healing. something holding me back and I could never put my finger on it. As I focused completely on the prayers with my heart this morning, I realized what was holding me back. Fear. Fear for others not listening to our Lord. Fear of others being separated from the love of God through the choices that they have made and continue to make.
As I was reminded of this through meditation and prayers of this morning, I began to have a strong pain in the pit of my stomach. It began to become stronger the more I focused on this issue and when I prayed for our Lord to remove this from me, the pain started to move upward, from my stomach and what felt like my esophagus and then I had this huge pain stuck for a bit in my throat. My eyes closed, I see the image of our Holy Mother Mary, in the painting of our Mother of Perpetual Help. She is the principal patron of the fathers giving this mission. Redemptorist Missionaries. I could barely think, let alone pray anymore but the pain continued to move until it was gone. It was without a doubt, our Lord removing a deep hook that I had swallowed. One that certainly held me back from healing. I can not say anymore about this now, as I truly need to pray and spend time in silence and contemplation of the love that has replaced that pain.
Prayer of Pope Pius XII
Enraptured by the splendor of your heavenly beauty, and impelled by the anxieties of the world, we cast ourselves into your arms, O Immaculate Mother of Jesus and our Mother, Mary, confident of finding in your most loving heart appeasement of our ardent desires, and a safe harbor from the tempests which beset us on every side.
Though degraded by our faults and overwhelmed by infinite misery, we admire and praise the peerless richness of sublime gifts with which God has filled you, above every other mere creature, from the first moment of your conception until the day on which, after your assumption into heaven, He crowned you Queen of the Universe.
O crystal fountain of faith, bathe our minds with the eternal truths! O fragrant Lily of all holiness, captivate our hearts with your heavenly perfume! O Conqueress of evil and death, inspire in us a deep horror of sin, which makes the soul detestable to God and a slave of hell!
O well-beloved of God, hear the ardent cry which rises up from every heart. Bend tenderly over our aching wounds. Convert the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed, comfort the poor and humble, quench hatreds, sweeten harshness, safeguard the flower of purity in youth, protect the holy Church, make all men feel the attraction of Christian goodness. In your name, resounding harmoniously in heaven, may they recognize that they are brothers, and that the nations are members of one family, upon which may there shine forth the sun of a universal and sincere peace.
Receive, O most sweet Mother, our humble supplications, and above all obtain for us that, one day, happy with you, we may repeat before your throne that hymn which today is sung on earth around your altars: You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are the glory, you are the joy, you are the honor of our people! Amen.
“In truth this man was son of God.” – Saint Longinus, pray for us.
Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us all…
Amen
Ephesians 6:4 “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 6:7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in
your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
A few months ago after having a vision, I contacted Rachals Vineyard Ministry’s to see about upcoming retreats. I went out of my way to get to this one, my first, that I am to attend this weekend. I thought at the time our Lord was asking me to set aside time for healing for myself. After seeing clearly the events of today, this is anything but for just myself.
This week has been a preparation week for me of tying up loose ends for the things I do at my church to attend this three day retreat. The retreat was to be set aside to study scripture in relation to forgivness and healing after having had an abortion. Our Lord has provided me with many souls who came forward to attend to our Adoration Chapel and a new Altar Society to take care of this BIG weekend and kick off to Holy Week in the Church. Sunday is Palm Sunday, and many things go on before Mass that so many take for granted. Anyway, our Lord has provided the souls necessary to take care of this for me to go, along with the funds to pay for it.
My five year old has been coming down with a nasty cold for the past week and it came to a head yesterday when the Doctor told me she has a bacterial infection INSIDE her nose. Poor little was is so sick. Her fever peaked last night and she said to me “Am I going to go to heaven tomorrow?”, in front of her six year old sister. My six year old started to pray for her and I joined in after holding back my tears. I realized just how much I love my children. All of them.
Before this week, I was pondering who was going to take my children to Mass while I was gone. My husband is a non practicing Greek Orthodox and my only relative here where I live has left the Catholic faith. I had asked a friend and she had said yes, but my girls have never spent much time with her. This morning, I brought up the issue with my husband and realized he is still in the world and doesn’t see the girls missing Mass as a big deal and does not want to take them, as he himself never attends. I do.
Children are a gift from God. When we become parents, the things we wish to do, even in the case of this Retreat, take a back seat. How could I justify going to a weekend retreat, immersing myself into God’s word, attending Mass, when the very young children He has given to us, are in need of nurturing too and will be left to “starve” while I am eating?
I see this in two ways. One being a test for my husband in regards to what would happen spiritually to our children if I was no longer in the picture to bring them to Mass and help secure them in the faith. Would he pick up and carry on as is his job, to be the spiritual leader of our house?
Two being, this entire situation with this, me and my past, through repenting and turning back to our Lord, is Him screaming to me, I forgave you already. I have been blessed with two very beautiful little girls after this dreaded sin, who need our Lord just as much as I do. It was good for me to want to attend the retreat, but better to ensure our children are not left out in the cold, even for just ONE HOUR. I don’t know how missing Mass one day would effect them in the long run especially since they are so young, I can only speculate they would use it as an excuse down the road to continue to miss Mass. Rather then allow that seed to be planted and pray for the best, I can only set aside the entire lot of seed and ensure they will NOT miss Mass, and grow stronger because of it. If I did attend this retreat, I would be retreating form the gift of nurturing the lives of two souls who need that one Mass, more then my desires to seek Him more in an entire weekend or my life.
In not going to look for Him in my life this weekend, I have found Him in the hearts of the children He has given to me. The evil one is relentless and will do anything to gain access into their hearts. We as parents need to be the fence that keeps him out, with the grace of God, and keep our children in the presence of our Lord 24/7, and crush the evil one, like Mama Mary, every second we are their parents.
Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
“Parents must regard their children as children of God and respect them as human persons”(CCC 2222).
EDIT TO ADD:
I love our Lord….
I want to say our Lord has given me the key to His heart just now….
After posting this, I ran to the church to meet a woman about the Altar Society. The school children were lined up waiting to get in to practice the Stations of the Cross. I let them in with my key and waited for them to all enter. I Stopped in Adoration to say hello to our Lord and entered the church. She wasn’t there but our Maintenance men were along with the key to our Tabernacle! I grabbed it and asked who left it there? A funeral just concluded and they left everything out. The scent of incense was still in the air. I didn’t know who had passed away, but I prayed for them. Only now can I associate the significance of that funeral with that of my child that I had never met face to face. I picked up the key and put it where it belonged. It was so overwhelming and was as if He left it there for me to find.
All the glory is our Lords.
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4
What is “Beauty”? We can see all sorts of beauty in God’s creation. In a field of flowers, a sunset or sunrise. Looking out over the ocean or the vastness of the mountains. All beautiful things but what is it exactly? Beauty is creation being exactly what God created it to be. Pure, untouched perfection. Such is the beauty of a soul. Beauty is knowing the perfection of God’s creation, which then fills the soul with His peace, comfort and joy.
Each human has been created exactly as God intend that soul to be. It is only this world and the corruption in it, that seeks to mar and scar the soul, in the same way man seeks to dominate and control all of his environment and then to take the credit for it to feed his own ego.
Beauty is God’s justification of innocence, and the fruit is genuine love, “ever ancient, ever new”. It can be found in every human heart, hidden from the reach of the outside world that is busy seeking the easily accessible corruption and destruction in it and the ways to damage it and inflect pain, torment and death on the soul. So often is this beauty overlooked that when it is found, it is all the soul seeks. Beauty is the needle in the haystack.
Late have I loved you,
O Beauty so ancient and so new,
late have I loved you!
You were within me, but I was outside,
and it was there that I searched for you.
In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
Created things kept me from you;
yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all.
You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.
You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.
You breathed your fragrance on me;
I drew in breath and now I pant for you.
I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.
You touched me, and I burned for your peace.St Augustine of Hippo
Just a general observation today that I can not help but ponder.
Upon attending mass this morning and seeing the wonderful display of Our Lady of Guadalupe inside our church, I was brought to question something. Something so sad I can not help but mention it. If I am missing something here, or anyone finds fault with what I am about to say, I am sorry. Forgive me, and help to change the way I am seeing this today.
In 1531 a “Lady from Heaven” appeared to a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City.
She identified herself as the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth.
She made a request for a church to be built on the site, and submitted her wish to the local Bishop. When the Bishop hesitated, and requested her for a sign, the Mother of God obeyed without delay or question to the Church’s local Bishop, and sent her native messenger to the top of the hill in mid-December to gather an assorment of roses for the Bishop.
After complying to the Bishop’s request for a sign, She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously on the native’s tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 479 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.
It apparently even reflects in Her eyes what was in front of her in 1531.
Her message of love and compassion, and her universal promise of help and protection to all mankind, as well as the story of the apparitions, are described in the “Nican Mopohua”, a 16th century document written in the native Nahuatl language.
There is reason to believe that at Tepeyac Mary came in her glorified body, and her actual physical hands rearranged the roses in Juan Diego’s tilma, which makes this apparition very special.
As I arrived at mass this morning, in the courtyard were many tents set up and scores of souls celebrating the feast day set for tomorrow. Vendors were selling statues and other items, including lots of food in booths. It was a carnival atmosphere. Many souls gathering together to eat, drink and celebrate. Its a feast! But where are they when our Lord is calling to them. Granted I am sure Mama Mary is honored, but at the price of leaving her Son, our Lord unattended, I can only ask for forgiveness and see no need to partake of this sort of feast.
Yesterday, I was saddened because I had received many calls from souls sitting in our Blessed Sacrament chapel, who had no one to release them. For the past few weeks, since Thanksgiving, many of our Adorers have stopped attending and we have been left with gaping holes in our Adoration schedule, in where the same souls sit with our Lord, in prayer, for several hours longer then the one hour they had signed up for. Keep in mind, our parish is over 70% Hispanic, but there has been a huge lack of response to get the over four thousand parishoners to participate in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
When Our Lady of Guadalupe first requested that a “church” be built in 1531, one was built. The “Church” is the place to worship her Son. The “Church” is where holy mass, the True Feast, is celebrated. From the Holy Mass, we attain Our Lord in complete humility in the Blessed Sacrament, and for the past few weeks, He is being left alone in the “Church”, His mother, our Holy Mother, requested to be built.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, through your intercession, I beg of you to ask our Lord to bring all God’s children back to the “Church” you requested to be built. To worship our Lord, to love God with our entire heart, mind, strength, body and soul. To place Him above all, including our own wants and needs. Abba Father forgive us and wake us up to Your needs, Most Merciful. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen
Most who will read this will either not understand or call me crazy. I forgive you. Some with a greater gift then I, I hope will read more into it then I can. This vision is so etched on my soul in great detail, it is the only thing on my mind. It has consumed me. After seeing this vision last night, and still being in this world, it has managed to separate two worlds completely. The world in which we live and the world in which we hope to live. I can only see this world we are in as dying and know I am still apart of it but the Kingdom of Heaven is my home and where I belong. There is zero doubt, this vision was a gift of our Holy Mother as it came to me while praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary last night. I was not sleeping, I was wide awake and with the help of the most Holy Trinity, Our Father will allow me to place this vision on paper to the detail it was presented to me. The events of daily activities that lead up to this vision are even more amazing and I will write about them as rather a footnote to this post.
I arrived home late last night from a visit with my sister at her home. It was after 9:00 PM and way past bedtime for my children. I had forgotten that I had promised last week that I would bring a coconut cake to the Legion of Mary meeting this morning and began frantically baking, pondering the entire time that it had been so late already and I could not miss my prayers. I was exhausted but knew I had to pray the rosary and all the prayers in the Legions prayerbook as it had been one of my daily affirmations since joining them just three weeks ago. The baking was complete and time I had spent on the computer between was over and it was time to pray.
I opened the Legion of Mary prayer pamphlet and began to pray. I reached to the point of praying the Rosary and began to ponder the mysteries as I normally do but this time was different. I was at total peace and was not distracted by my own troubles which at times work their way into my pondering in this beautiful prayer. I had a smile on my face the entire time that would not leave me and focused on just one tiny aspect of each mystery at a time. The Resurrection my focus was on Mary Magdalen’s pain followed by joy at the realization of our Lord standing in front of her. The Ascension of our Lord I pondered just what was in our Holy Mothers heart of the road with Christ as He was just about to leave. The Decent of the Holy Spirit my focus was on the upper room and the quiet of all the apostles and our Holy Mother just before the dramatic entrance of the Holy Spirit and then the joy that filled their hearts. The Assumption of our Holy Mother my focus was on the smile on the Holy Virgins face at the sight of her Son, our Lord bringing her home away from this world. Never to feel the pain anymore of this world and how it tries to capture and crush souls in sinful agony. Then, I arrived to The Coronation.
As I began to pray I, through my own thoughts, could see our Holy Mother just taking her place on her throne as I have envisioned her so many times, in a slightly foggy thought of mine where I can not see past her or where she is seated. Then I was taken away from my thoughts and filled with the vision I have never seen before. This was not from me. There is no doubt this was a gift and I have to share this as the detail is so pristine and beautiful I can never forget it. I know in my heart, our Lord is asking me to share this.
The second the crown was placed on her head, I was brought to a path. This path of interwoven cobblestone, each very differently shaped but perfectly placed with no need for mortar, at first looked like brown stone but as the vision became clearer, were actually gold. The path stretched forth to a wall of the same making which had a curved arch over the entrance, not very big, that allowed me to see into a beautiful garden. I peered into the garden and it contained one tree which stood out among everything. There were bushes, and shrubs of all sorts but they were perfect. Everything was perfect including the colors of which I have never seen before so clear. As I stepped into the garden through this arch of gold cobblestone, everything began to become further away so I could see the bigger picture of my surroundings. It was as if I was looking through a lens zooming out to capture everything I could see from a distance although I was right in where I needed to be. The further the vision zoomed out, I began to see the entire universe. From end to end, it was cut in two with a beam of light. No smoke, no fire, just the heat from the beautiful light. Everything that was evil, including hell and Satan caved in on itself and were consumed by this great light that turned the entire universe inside out. There was no more darkness as this light of God radiated everything. In the backdrop of the entire universe were eyes. They were the eyes of Our Lord. He was visible but barely. He was translucent and the further away from this world I became, the more I could see Him. I could only see His face, His pristine beautiful eyes and His brow. His smile and how it filled the universe with His love and warmth, the outline of His hair and just to His chest as this vision was coming from my point of view standing in His hand, I could not see beyond that. The zooming out to see the bigger picture was His moving hand with me in it. He was showing me this viewpoint. In His outstretched arms with my view from His hand, was the entire universe. All creation was in His arms and my viewpoint was from His hand. I have to say, my viewpoint as I can see it so clearly now, was just that and I can see this viewpoint not as me, but being Our Holy Mother Mary second that crown was placed on her head by Our Lord.
I have to use this analogy in regards to this vision. Imagine being one single hair follicle on the top of a head. Can that hair follicle see the host it resides on in its entirety without dying or being removed from that head it sits upon or can it only see where it is? That is exactly how large this vision of God and the kingdom was.
I can not express the peace & joy that has filled my soul. The details are etched in my memory and can never be taken away. The colors and the peace can never be replaced.
Footnote:
Last Saturday I attended the Mother of Life Conference at USD and met some wonderful women from Northern California starting a new group called Fellowship Of Catholic Christian Women. They explained to me their work and goals and I informed then about the Legion of Mary. I filled out a card as they were raffling off a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and wouldn’t you know, I won. It arrived this morning just before I started to write this vision down.
Last month, I was asked to fly, all expenced paid to The Fatima Center to help in their phone bank for two weeks. All expences paid. I had to turn it down as I had just been given the task of Captian of our Adoration Chapel and did not want to leave our Lord. I found out this morning at the Leigon of Mary meeting, my parish, St. John of the Cross, was chosen to host the traveling Holy Mother statue from, The Fatima Center. Here I was so distraught that I could not go see her and help her and now she is coming to us in San Diego.
There have been many many things in my life that have lead me to our Lord, all of which I had taken for granted for so many years going back to my very youth. I can never look at this life the same again.
When I think of our Holy Mother Mary, setting out alone on the journey to her cousin Elizabeth’s house, to help her in her time of need, I am awe struck at the Blessed Virgins own humility. Elizabeth’s home is about eighty miles or four or five days travel. Not only was the trip long and treacherous, but she herself was expecting. Setting out on a journey to help Elizabeth deliver John the Baptist, she would need supply’s not only for the journey to her home, but also for the time spent with her blessed cousin.
As I am praying the Rosary, I often ponder the “Unseen Army of God” that accompanied her on her journey. What she ate and how she kept warm and how tiring the trip must have been for her seeing as she was carrying with her the most precious cargo known to man. She never worried on the trip as her own pregnancy kept her spirits high and she knew God was with her. For she had been told. “Hail Mary full of grace, the LORD is with thee”.
Upon arriving at Elizabeth’s, she was greeted with jubilation and the sentiment was returned! Even after a grueling four to five day trip on a pack animal, with no water for bathing, but what she had packed or what God had given her on the road for this trip. The trip back home, our Holy Mother was three months further along in her pregnancy with Our Lord and that trip was just as hard if not harder due to the uncomfortable situations. But she did it anyway! Through her humility we can see how she loved not only her cousin, but God and all of mankind.
Luke 1:39-56
Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
And Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
A few weeks ago, I purchased this prayer card. I thought it was beautiful as I was reading it. It brought me back to the innocence of childhood. Last night, or should I say early this morning while in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, in front of our Lord, he told me Archbishop Fulton Sheen used to pray it. I looked it up this morning when I got home.
Mary Dixon Thayer who wrote more than one poem for Our Lady, is the author.
This prayer-poem was popularized in the 1950s by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
Here is the link and below, the prayer below
Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue
Lovely Lady dressed in blue ——-
Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy,
Tell me what to say!
Did you lift Him up, sometimes,
Gently on your knee?
Did you sing to Him the way
Mother does to me?
Did you hold His hand at night?
Did you ever try
Telling stories of the world?
O! And did He cry?
Do you really think He cares
If I tell Him things ——-
Little things that happen? And
Do the Angels’ wings
Make a noise? And can He hear
Me if I speak low?
Does He understand me now?
Tell me ——-for you know.
Lovely Lady dressed in blue ——-
Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy,
And you know the way.
SAINT MICHAEL
THE ARCHANGEL
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen..
O glorious prince St. Michael,
chief and commander of the heavenly hosts,
guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits,
servant in the house of the Divine King
and our admirable conductor,
you who shine with excellence
and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil
, who turn to you with confidence
and enable us by your gracious protection
to serve God more and more faithfully every day.