Music Found on Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Mantle
Merry Christmas
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Tag: Holy Spirit
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The death of Robin Williams is tragic. I see many now talking about how we can’t call suicide a “selfish act.” Being a survivor myself, by the grace of God, I will always call it selfish. We can never lose sight of God in this life. When we do, life does become hopeless. As without God, there is no hope. This does not mean I believe for a second all souls who commit this act are in hell. It means that we can NEVER lose sight of the mercy of God, no matter how “hopeless” everything may seem.
For him and all who did not get the second chance I did.
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the holy souls in purgatory rest in peace. Amen
As dark as it gets…He will lead you out of the dark and the beauty and fullness of His light is so bright and beautiful, once your out of the first blaze, you will treasure Him always above everything on earth. Nothing will stand between your soul and Him again. Sin will try but it will never withstand the power of the heat of His love for you. The key to getting out, is to never stop asking our Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit and all His Saints, to guide you out, through prayer, attending mass, confession, and ALL things “Holy”. Once you stop and assume you can find your own way out, you will be eaten alive. The evil one will grab you by your neck in his teeth and shake you until all life is gone. Only because God allows him to because you “Chose” to…
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We need NOT to get sucked into war, but rather stay the humanitarian course SENDING FOOD, WATER, SHELTER & MEDICINE BUT ABOVE ALL, PRAYERS! The evil one would LOVE to suck us in to war just to say to the world, see what they are doing, because its his design to kill. We can’t fall for the evil ones designs. We must understand FORTITUDE in the faith, bombard the entire situation with LOVE and unite our suffering and theirs with our Lords, Fearing God Alone.
“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.”
Knights of Columbus will match donations to aid persecuted Iraqis
Donations may be made through the webpage www.kofc.org/Iraq or via check or money orders sent to K of C Christian Refugee Relief, Knights of Columbus Charities, P.O. Box 1966, New Haven, CT 06509-1966.
The Knights of Columbus said that 100 percent of all donations will be used for humanitarian assistance.
Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax-deductible.
God protect us.
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” John 15:18
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Just over a year ago, my husbands niece was born. They named her Lilly. Keep in mind one of the greatest sufferings I have had to bear is my husband just had not been converted back home at the same rate as I have. I will not go further with this. After Lilly was born, my sister-in-law decided to have my husband be her God Father. I had mixed feeling about this. I was concerned for Lilly as my husband was still very worldly. I pray for him continually and I love him very much. There is a reason our Lord gave us BOTH the grace to make it through the Annulment Process and enter into Marriage. See my post: Cohabitation And Holy Communion and after making it through this, I truly had started to grow to understand that I can not change anyone, and that only our Lord could.
I had been asking him for months, to please go to confession before becoming God Father. He continually put it off until this week I had asked him on Friday, as the Baptism was set for Sunday, did you go? He said no. He was too busy. Well, my patience had run out in this matter. I didn’t want to be a part of a sacrament that mean nothing to him as he was about to take a vital role in the spiritual life of another. I told him I would not be going. I went into the yard and began to plant flowers. (Impatiens of all things) I prayed and planted, becoming more upset that anyone could have such disregard for what they were taking on. Keep in mind, my husband is Greek Orthodox. I’m not that familiar with the faith but I have this drive in me from our Lord to ensure my husband gets to heaven. I love him very much. I know our Lord placed him in my life for a reason. I also, through my faith believe we are truly bound to our Lord and married WITH Him. It’s very painful to see one you love so dearly not allowing our Lord to love him. I was blinded my own IDEA that I could somehow control what was taking place in HIS spiritual life.
I dusted the dirt off and went inside. I changed and left, upset, for Adoration. As I sat in front of our Lord I asked Him what I could do? What should I do? I prayed. My cell phone rang and I left the Church to see what it was. It was a wrong number. I shut off the phone and went back in and began to pray again. I felt so horrible that I had distracted others. I apologized to our Lord for not remembering to turn off the phone. My shoulders drooped and I felt very deflated. I told our Lord I never wanted to embarrass Him. I never wanted to do anything that would be shameful to Him. I love Him very much. Sometimes I may try to hard and I never mean to hurt Him or anyone. I left, and headed back home.
As I entered the house, I was crying a bit as I was under a feeling of total defeat. I wasn’t sure where our Lord wanted me nor what He needed me to do. I wasn’t sure what any of this was about anymore but I resigned myself to the faith He knew what He was doing and I trust Him and His mercy. I have HOPE! Along with Faith & Love. As painful as they may all be at times, they truly are priceless.
My husband didn’t say a word and I entered back into the yard. I sat down and began to ponder. Defeated. I looked down at the flower bed I had just planted, and seen that someone had sprinkled seeds among the flowers I had planted. The seed being a sort of grass seed. At first I began to cry hard. All the work I had done was ruined. Then like that, BAM! The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat.
I was at peace. I understood in that second, our Lord had answered my prayer. I was still a bit aggregated that someone had done this, but over time, I forgave and told my husband, I would be going Sunday to the Baptism. I knew, everything in God’s time, not mine.
Sunday came, I attended Holy Mass at our old Roman Catholic parish, with my daughters, and after we left for the Baptism. The Greek Orthodox Priest had told every what was needed and the Baptism commenced. As I watched, I became awe-struck, as my husband renounce Satan, all his works, and entered back into the faith himself, along with this little sweet child. I had never seen my husband pray. I had never seen him in the Light. Our Lord was bringing two in at the same time. One through renewal and the other as new. My heart began to fly. I was so overjoyed and thanked our Lord that He had shown me so much. After the Baptism my husband went to confession. I will not go into details as this is something I do not have the grace to write about. I can tell you there was an explosion of LOVE between my husband and I that only God could ignite. I continue to pray unceasingly for him and will always. I don’t know where this may lead him, but everything starts someplace. Like the second the weds and the wheat sprout, NO ONE knows which is which, BUT God, until it is unmistakable. That flame that I had carried for our Lord in faith, had been lit in my husband’s soul. Our Lord used the birth of a child to do this once again.. St. Augustine said it best: “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
This Friday is the Feast of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother. I can not help but already smell the Lilly’s left behind.
Glory to God. Praise be to God.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us
St. John the Baptist, pray for us.
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Brothers and sisters:
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.ROM 8:35, 37-39I was moved to tears and more at Holy Mass yesterday morning, when I heard after the Homily from a local Chaldean Deacon who was invited by our Priest to give a talk after the Homily, with first hand knowledge, of what has and is taking place in Iraq. This taking place to our Christian brothers & sisters, being tortured, murdered, raped and martyred by ISIS, being paid for by THIS nation we live in by the Obama administration. ISIS hate our Lord. They hate Him. They hate Him in the Eucharist. They hate Him in His Church. They Hate Him in His followers. They hate Him in the Rosary we pray to pull closer to Him. They hate Him in the statue’s that are religious “photos” of those we love and look to for peace and model our lives after. They hate Him and that is why they persecute us. They hate us, because we BELIEVE. We must protect our Lord and all that He is. This is a “Spiritual Battle” against evil that is manifesting itself and making itself known bluntly as evil across the globe. We must defend religious freedom, we must defend our Lord in the Eucharist. We must defend the FAITH He has given to us, even at the cost as He did, “death on a cross”. The cross we carry for future generations to find that peace, the world and worldly are rejecting.
We truly are at war. Spiritual War, against Satan and his demons, who seek to destroy everything that even resembles our Lord in this world, in even the slightest way. Come back home to our Lord. Yes it is already won through our Lord but now is the time to choose a side. Wake up! REPENT.
Homily On Iraq: LISTEN HERE!
“A small white lamb follows a white donkey through the rubble of homes in the northern district of Beit Hanun” IsraelI believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate
of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead
and His kingdom will have no end.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
With the Father and the Son
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen. -
A recent story came out regarding the words of the Imam who was present in the Vatican garden for the “Prayers for Peace”: What Did the Imam Really Say? Revisited
I’m reminded of the faith of the Prophet Elijah. Being Catholic we KNOW there is only One God. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Remember those who worshiped the false idols:
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Hummm
Elijah’s Prayer
…37″Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.”…Place your trust in our Lord.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
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Lord Jesus Christ, most merciful Saviour of the world, we humbly beseech You, by Your most Sacred Heart, that all the sheep who stray out of Your fold may in one days be converted to You, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls, who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end.
Amen. -
Todays Gospel, The Parable Of The Sower And The Seed (Matthew 13:1-23),is one that I have pondered over an over. My love for our Lord so deeply set in the “seed” when I was young. Loving Him so, and as age set in, so did the influence of the world. I was “carried away”. I was devoured by the “bird” of the world while I sat on the path. Being swallowed in sin and constant turbulence in the bowels of the world and worldliness. Taken into total darkness, wondering where I was, Where God was, and then becoming so indifferent to Him, surrounded by death and destruction, but still knowing there is a God, as I kept the “original form” that baptism had given to me. Knowing as I moved through the bowels of sin, that God was real. Somewhere. He had to be.
My conversion of heart came! I was still that little seed, but covered in the “poop” of my sinfulness as all worldliness and worldly desire is poop. As I hit the ground,and repentance came, the more I turned to the Grace our Lord offered me, His light shone on me and through constantly receiving His sacraments I was “watered”, washing away the “poop” of my mortal sinfulness.
I started to “sprout”. This little plant, in the beginning, couldn’t see above much as I struggled and tried to stretch up to receive more and more of the LOVE that our Lord was giving to me. I could see other beautiful flowers and a huge tree but I was so close to the ground, all I could do, was to look “Up”.
Yesterday, as I had finally reached a growing point, I looked arround. I realized I had been planted in the “Garden of our Lady of Mount Carmel”. This realization does not give me a pass not to grow any further. On the contrary, now, using all the gifts I have been given by our Lord, I must THRIVE in His Light and Love, to ensure I am not a “weed” but rather able to produce “Fruit” that is pleasing to our Lord. For our Lord.
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Pondering Obama: While he spouted “Hope & Change” he couldn’t “see”, that, “Hope & Change” only truly comes through Christ. Evil, be it intentions or actions, never win.
One need look only on Obama, and the “works” of his political party to see we NEED to turn back to God. “Return To Our First Love”.
Little did Obama know that his promise of “Hope & Change” was actually God calling the faithful to “see” him and what is going on in this nations for what it is. Spotlight on evil. We know. Glory to God for shedding light on evil for what it is. Glory to God for pulling souls closer to Him.
“Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam” – We know all things work for the greater glory of God. See God in all things. See God in all creation. See God in all souls.
Repent. Turn back to God. Love God above all things.
Over the gates of hell reads a sign, “Abandon ye hope all who enter here.” but over the gates of heaven reads but one word, “Forgiven!” – Dante Alighieri (Divine Comedy)
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Today at Holy Mass, The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, I was blessed to hear, one of the greatest Homily’s I have ever heard. I must share it. I had to write this to my Priest.
“Best Homily EVER Father Jacob! Although I don’t place the blame completely on you or any Catholic Priest fully. I take blame also as a parent. It’s good to know All Catholic Priests have “Catholic Parents Backs”, while we ALL carry the cross of RESPONSIBILITY of parenting and are Teaching our Children the Catholic Faith, to love God above all else. God bless our Priests.”
Please listen here: Don’t Forget Your Keys
In all honesty, I have been waiting for someone to say these words, and live by them for many years. Waiting for someone to help me back up the “Teaching” that is essential for my children, that we must place God above all else in our lives, no matter what we may think our goals may be. When we do place God above everything, all that was never meant to be in our lives, all the chaos and insecurity and false ideas, fall like dominoes and we can see the path of Life much clearly.
God bless our Priests and may we all come to understand what is crucial in our lives, living in this Secular Society, but separated from it, through our love of God above our love of all else.
“Seek and ye shall find”
With the grace of God, I found what I have been looking for.
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He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high…..
Pope Francis Excommunicates the Mafia
^ read at the link
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This is where I am….
We believe in ONE God. There is only ONE. Ours. We believe in ONE God… (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) if we truly BELIEVE in One God, why do we NOT believe that the ONE God is also the God of those who do not BELIEVE as we do? There is NO OTHER God. No matter what any other faith believes. No matter what they practice. Our focus should be on what are WE doing. There is only ONE God. Now! We must understand what Jesus Christ said: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
The difference between God and Abba Father is “Adoption”. It makes NO DIFFERENCE what “Others” believe, because if OUR “Focus” is on Christ at ALL TIMES, we are doing as He asked of us.. When we deviate from that “Focus” we become “worried” about what “Others” are doing and believing. And that ONLY pulls our attention away from OUR Lord. This does not mean to stop from proclaiming the Gospel to the entire world. Not at all. But it does mean that we need to TRUST our Lord when He said: And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
We as “Children” are to do what? LOVE God above ALL things. And love our Neighbor AS yourself! “If you love me, you will keep my commands”. When we are FOCUSED on His “Commands” LOVE is all we can do! EVEN when we face “Death on a Cross”. The KEY is – “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
Glory to God.
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Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium: et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.
V. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur.
R. Et renovabis faciem terrae.Oremus. Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere; et de eius semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
Amen.
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If you have issues with Pope Francis praying with Muslims and Jews and Orthodox, don’t point fingers at him and find fault, look in the mirror and fix what is wrong with yourself. Prayer is NEVER a bad thing. There is only ONE God, ours. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Might I suggest to thoes who find fault to re read this…
Vatican Council And Papal Statements On Islam
Along with this….
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I have had a VERY remarkable morning in regards to trying to get to Holy Mass. I had today off of work, and being that it is First Friday, I wanted to get to Holy Mass and be with our Lord. I wanted just to spend some time with Him, knowing that today was going to be slightly busy.
My girls started school at 8 AM and I already had an appointment after the * AM Mass with someone who needed to show me things in the Sacristy that were needed. As I met with them after the 8 AM Mass, keep in mind I have known them for some time, they began to tell me a story about someone who was truly not pleasant to hear. It was information that I really did not need to hear and upon hearing what they were telling me, I knew it was quickly going to turn into gossip VERY quickly. I stopped the conversation DEAD and told my friends, I no longer wanted to hear about it, but I would pray. It set the tone for the rest of the morning. I wasn’t to thrilled to be included in this story, and quickly looked forward to attending the 9 AM Mass with my daughters school.
As I looked forward to the next Holy Mass, and hopped it would be a pleasurable experience with my daughters, as this would officially be our last mass in this Church and School. We are moving into another school next year and it would have been nice to be able to say good-bye, as we had spent many years here. I found out moments later, the 9 AM Holy Mass was moved to 10 AM. I returned back home.
As I spoke with my husband, I learned that the 10 AM Mass was for the 8th Grade Graduation, on top of being the School Mass. I sighed a heavy sigh because I KNEW this was going to be crowded. I left my home and made it back to the Church and began to see right away, it was going to be anything BUT pleasurable this morning. People were already packing into the church in scantily clad outfits beholding their Starbucks Coffees in hand…
As is the way it is at this Church with ANY School celebration where people come for the “Party” and not the Holy Mass. There were not many spots available and the school children had not been let into the church yet. I seen one of my daughters who was going to be singing in the choir and told her that it was the Graduation Mass and that there may not be enough room for me. She was fine and we agreed that next Friday, we may attend Holy Mass together before I go to work, for the final Mass. I was not happy leaving unable to spend this time with her and my other daughter with our Lord. But I left, wondering about the next Holy Mass I may be able to make today.
I returned back home and my husband advised me to go to the girls NEW school and get squared away with the Summer School information and when they would be attending. I left again, this time heading for the NEW Church and School. I entered the parking lot and quickly remembered they had Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on First Friday. I was trilled and told myself I waned to spend sometime, if only a few moments, in front of our Lord today. I entered the School Office, took care of all I had to do and left, heading to the Chapel. As I walked out, the Pastor was leaving along with many school children. I asked them if Exposition was over and they said yes. I crinkled my nose at the thought and got into my truck.
There was no doubt today that someone did not want me to attend Holy Mass at my normal places of Worship. I would have gone to Mission San Diego tonight at 5:30, but my husband was working late tonight and struggling to get the girls to come with me, after they had attended Holy Mass today, was not something I wanted to do today.
I headed to St. Joseph Cathedral. I had spent many years attending 12:05 Holy Mass there. As I got close to the Cathedral, I noticed all the parking spots were taken. I knew spot on, it was going to be the parking lot across the street. I don’t like parking there because its expensive and Mass is less than an hour. Your charged for Four hours in the lot. I pulled in the lot anyway, and walked down to go pay.
As I was heading to pay, out of the corner of my eye, there was a group of men. I wasn’t paying much attention to them as the language was not the greatest and I just wanted to do what I needed to do and go spend time with our Lord. I got to the machine to pay and inserted my debit card to pay. With that, one of the men in the group I had seen, was standing directly next to me and asked me if I had used a card or cash. EVERYTHING told me, this man only wanted to know because he was about to rob me. I grabbed the paid ticket and told him “Card”. With that, another man approached me and it was the Parking attendant. The man who asked me, became VERY suspicious and told the attendant my card wasn’t working and began to make up a story about it. I looked at the Attendant as said its WORKING FINE! I showed him my ticket and began to walk to our Lord.
As I began to get further away the spooky man began to yell things at me. I’m not sure what he was saying,I know they were not nice, but I just kept walking to our Lord’s house. Ignoring everything he was saying. As I got to my truck, I placed the ticket in the window. I noticed a homeless man in a wheelchair. I walked up to him and asked him his name. He told me his name was Joe. I told Joe I was heading to Holy Mass, and would pray for him. I reached into my pocket and pulled out all the change I had and handed it to him and began again to walk to our Lord.
I don’t normally enter the main entrance of St. Joseph, but today and the circumstances that arose, gave me room to do just that. As I entered from the back of Church, my eyes directly were focused on the Monstrance, containing our Lord in Exposition. In that split second, seeing Him, nothing mattered but Him. I was at total peace. Nothing in this world has ever given me this peace, but Him.
I was in prayer, and then Benediction, and Holy Mass. It was then over and time to enter the world again. I left out the side door, that I normally would use to enter. Immediately my eyes were drawn to the “Gate”. A gate that since my moving to San Diego, discovering St. Joseph and attending Holy Mass, I have NEVER seen open, nor left open but only locked.. In that split second, I heard words from the Divine Mercy prayer.
“For Jesus is our Hope: Through His merciful Heart as through an open gate we pass through to heaven.”
It was as if our Lord was telling me, you did it.There is a lot more to this story, but no way for me to write about it without His grace to do so.
Glory to God..
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Dear Heavenly Father,
With a sober heart we come before You this Memorial Day. We pause for a moment and call to mind all the men and women who have died in the service of our nation since 1776.
Dear God, please look with mercy on our brave and selfless brothers and sisters, who did not shirk from their task but gave themselves completely to the cause of defending and protecting us all. Bless all who have given their lives for the sake of liberty, and grant them eternal rest with You.
We remember also our brave men and women now serving in our Armed Forces, both at home and abroad. Dear God, send out Your angels to protect them all. Help them discharge their duties honorably and well. Please bring them safely home to their families and loved ones. Please bring Your peace and mercy to our troubled world.
We ask this, Father, in the name of Jesus, Your Son, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
(Taken from The Roman Catholic Parish of Saint Charles Borromeo | Peoria AZ)
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17 May 1925, Canonization of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux…
This is the second time I have seen this quote from Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and it hit me. The “second” name of my blog is “Painting a Picture of Christ”. I find it funny that such a saint as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, if you have read her book, could pull me so close to our Lord. In more ways than I could ever describe that anyone could comprehend.. Last Friday, I received the call from Mama Mary, that I would be received into the Third Order of Carmel, July 12th, 2014, on the feast day of St. Veronica.
There is no greater Sister a sinner in this world could have in this beautiful Saint of our Lord’s, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
Thank you my sister, for all the wonders you have shared with me, for all the intercession and for all of your prayers for me.
The other day, my children were asked to bring a flower to the School Mass, for May Crowning for Mama Mary. After dinner Monday night, I gathered my girls together and went outside to head out to purchase a few flowers, so they wouldn’t go empty-handed. As I got to the bottom step of my front porch, I noticed my rose-bush had two beautiful rose buds, just ready to open.
Please keep in mind, most of my garden, since my illness, including some fruit trees, have died and most everything is in need of being ripped out, with the exception of this rose-bush, that I had not watered in some time, it was beautiful. This particular rose-bush is called “Chocolate Rose” or “Hot Cocoa Rose”. Which I now call the “Carmelite Rose”. Its natural color is a deep beautiful reddish deep brown. I don’t have a camera, so I got online to look for pictures of this rose and I found this one:
As I started looking for a good photo to post of them, Our Lady of Mount Carmel came to mind with the Carmelites because of the color of the Rose. It screamed Carmelites Habit. Keep in mind, this is not my rose-bush, but a Chocolate Rose Bush. There was ZERO doubt this was from. They, the flowers from the living rose-bush were presented to Mama, as I know they were intended for her.
This particular rose (photo) was seen last year in Kent England. It is IMPORTED from (drum roll) France: (From the photo Credit) “By the way, I saw a brown rose last year in Kent. It was wonderfully exotic. The color was that of milk chocolate. But, that is not my rose. The flower seller told me it was from another country and I found out it was France and she was importing flowers. The French developed this rose. Some of her flowers were sent from far away. Flower sellers have interesting information on types and countries of roses, btw.
St Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us. Thank you for your intercession. Lord Jesus Christ, I love You!
What did she mean by her “Shower of Roses”
Experience has shown that St. Therese’s “shower of roses” is both figurative and actual. As she was dying in the convent infirmary, Therese could look out and see the rose bushes blossoming. She loved roses. She had thrown rose petals as a Child before the Blessed Sacrament. As she reflected on her quiet, hidden, and gentle life ending, she believed in faith that God had great things in store for her. She believed that her mission was only beginning as she entered the fullness of life with God. She explained: “After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth. I will raise up a mighty host of little saints. My mission is to make God loved…”
Shortly after her death, the rain of roses began. Sometimes roses literally appeared, and sometimes just the fragrance of them. Cures of painful and fatal diseases and many other miraculous experiences were attributed to her intercession. Sometimes people found inner peace and regained an inner warmth of spirit and confidence, by appealing to St. Therese. Many miracles and actions of St. Therese do not involve roses. More often than not, marvelous things happen in people’s lives as they ask for her heavenly intercession. The miracles, healings and inner peace come from the trust one places in God, not from any manifestation of roses. St. Therese lived in the dark night of the senses and spirit, with little consolation. Thus, the friends and followers of St. Therese expect no consolation of sighted roses that their prayers are being answered. Her “little way” is about child-like trust and gentle love. She is the great apostle of faith in God’s love, not simple reliance on physical signs. Jesus warned us, and Therese experienced that the desire for signs is a sign of weak faith. It is always important to remember that St. Therese did not experience extra-ordinary phenomena in her life. Her faith was refined and strengthened by God.
Roses are Therese’s signature. It is her way of whispering to those who need a sign that she has heard, and God is responding. Thousands of people have given witness to the way Therese responds to their petitions and prayers with grace and roses. The grace is more important than the roses. So many miracles have happened through the intercession of St. Therese without any roses appearing – usually the deep inner peace of accepting God’s will and seeing His loving plan and presence is the “rose” experienced. Sometimes the lack of a physical “rose signature” is an affirmation of a strong faith.
One does not pray for roses. Therese’s message is about simplicity and love in the ordinary events of life. Trust in Therese is important, and when she wills, roses or their fragrance may appear. The stories are remarkable how roses have shown up in the lives and experiences of people, especially in the darkest times. The ordinary and constant way these roses and graces have shown up in people’s experience is extraordinary. It is important to always maintain the rose of confidence that our All-Loving God hears and responds to our needs, according to the mysterious ways of His Love.
Glory to God!
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CATHOLICS!
Now that the black mass has been exposed and people understand how precious our Lord is in the Eucharist, BE ADVISED! Protect Him at all cost! Eucharistic Ministers be not afraid to tell people to consume our Lord at the time they receive Him. Better safe than Sorry! PROTECT OUR LORD in the EUCHARIST! I beg you!
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us
Lord have mercy on us all
Glory to God
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You don’t have to show me a soul who loves God, as God shows you that soul Himself. St. Florian, please help to put out the fires of hell, in souls who do not understand how hurtful the sins they commit are to our Lord. Help repentant sinners to put out the fires of sinfulness, as you have helped me, in which were started through my own fault. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
There is no distance nor amount of time that could stand in the way, of getting my Lord a glass of water.. Please read here
In 1930, on this date My Great Uncle Mikulas was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest. 56 years ago, my “God Mother”, my oldest sister, received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. On this date in 1975, My Great Uncle Mikulas celebrated Holy Mass for the 50th Anniversary of my Grandparents, which at that time, I received the sacrament of First Communion One year ago today, my husband & I were married in the Roman Catholic Church. My “God Mother” was Matron of Honor.
Today is the day the Lord has made Let us rejoice and be glad Glory to God
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Something very profound took place as I was laying the hospital ER, on a stretcher last week that I know in my heart our Lord needs me to share.
It was before they understood what was taking place with my heart and in all honesty, they thought it was nothing and wanted once again to send me home. It was our Lord in my heart, telling me to tell them, I needed to stay. SO they kept me overnight.
As I was laying on the stretcher, they had given me a painkiller, to numb the chest pains I was having at the time. Nothing extreme like morphine or anything like that. It was just to dull the pain to get my breathing rate to come back to almost normal.
The nurse left the room, my husband had left me to attend his class and I relaxed as much as I could. I knew our Lord was with me as He had made it so blatant that He was with me. I began to feel all the water from all places in my body pull away and I became so thirsty. My lips began to chafe and my tongue became dry. “I Thirst” rang out all through me as I knew our Lord was allowing me to see His pain. His “Thirst”. For a very long time, I sat and thought of nothing but Him on the cross. Gazing only on Him in His pain. I felt a wave of all the water that had been pulled away wash over me, so gently that the moisture returned and watered my very soul.This took place many times that day in the ER and I am sure our Lord needs to have you hear.. “I Thirst”.
Yesterday, the couple who bring me our Lord in the Eucharist, brought me blessed salt and Holy Water for drinking. The entire experience rang out to me, and when I received our Lord, after my deep prayers with Him, I grabbed a glass, poured that Blessed Holy Water, tasted it, and handed the rest to my husband…..
I ponder that there is no amount of time to separate me, no amount of suffering, no amount of loss or gain, that can stop me from quenching my Lord and my God’s thirst…
I love Him. I’m in love with Him.
Glory to God
EDIT TO ADD:
Passion Week (Holy Week): Good Friday
I Thirst. – The Fifth Word from the Cross
by Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen
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A 2 by 4.
Building…
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Look at it this way… You’re NOT in it. You can cross over it…There is a Bridge, His name is Jesus Christ. The only Way.
Thank you Lord for being the ONLY “Bridge”.
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Nikolai Ge’s 1891 painting Conscience, Judas
Not sure where I found this painting or the words:
Nikolai Ge’s 1891 painting Conscience, Judas shows us a more layered Judas, here grasping his cloak tight around him, the darkness closing him, the light of Jesus being led away shrinking in the distance, the weight of his betrayal sinking in. Treachery has left its mark on all involved. The betrayed as well as the betrayer. Jesus as well as Judas. Here, alone in the dark, Judas finds himself — as I so often find myself — betraying that which he was meant to love. We, as Christians go with Jesus to the cross. Yet, we as Christians, too, stay with Judas in the garden as the dark closes in, mourning our betrayals.
For as long as I could remember, before my conversion began, I used to think of Judas as just a misunderstood soul, trapped for some reason, in the “Bad Guy” role for what he had to do to our Lord. Until I came to hear and ponder this scripture:
“But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,”Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” John 12:4-6
With the imagery of Judas, being a thief while he was with our Lord and the Apostles, stealing from them, I can’t help but ponder now, the Good Thief and the Bad Thief, crucified alongside our Lord. The Good Thief being the Apostles who did repent and turn back to our Lord, and Judas, having the time and being given everything he could to turn back to our Lord, being the bad thief and not changing, not taking advantage of the grace he was given to repent in the presence of our Lord.
For someone to hang himself for what he had done, I do know he was a troubled soul with a conscience that would not allow him to rest, who was unable to face life anymore, who was unable to go to the Apostles to seek forgiveness from his brothers because of one simple thing. Pride. The rest of the Apostles were just as guilty of other sins, but did not take their own lives. They repented. They held their ground and asked for forgiveness.
I don’t like to think about Judas as I am sure not many do like to think about him. We all hate to come to the realization that we all have a little Judas in us at some time, that truly needs to be purged and replaced with grace and mercy.
Lord Jesus, you were betrayed by the kiss of a friend:
be with those who are betrayed and slandered and falsely accused.
You knew the experience of having your love
thrown back in your face for mere silver
be with families which are torn apart by mistrust or temptation.
To you, Jesus, who offered your face to your betrayer,
be honor and glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever. Amen. -
Here is the thing.. There will come a time when he can’t do this anymore and he will need someone else to do this. To often we look and say, boy that was great when SO & SO used to do this or that.I miss that. I miss them..
The reality is we miss the message to pick up where he or she left off, and do it where we are, right now.
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Please read and DO! Far to many souls receive our Lord like they are buying a new pair of shoes…
Taken from Saint Peters List:
Personal Prudence and Objective Standards
1. Presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion should be a conscious decision, based on a reasoned judgment regarding one’s worthiness to do so, according to the Church’s objective criteria, asking such questions as: “Am I in full communion with the Catholic Church? Am I guilty of grave sin? Have I incurred a penalty (e.g. excommunication, interdict) that forbids me to receive Holy Communion? Have I prepared myself by fasting for at least an hour?” The practice of indiscriminately presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion, merely as a consequence of being present at Mass, is an abuse that must be corrected (cf. Instruction “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” nos. 81, 83).
Abortion, Euthanasia, and the Law
2. The Church teaches that abortion or euthanasia is a grave sin. The Encyclical Letter Evangelium vitae, with reference to judicial decisions or civil laws that authorize or promote abortion or euthanasia, states that there is a “grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. […] In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to ‘take part in a propaganda campaign in favour of such a law or vote for it’” (no. 73). Christians have a “grave obligation of conscience not to cooperate formally in practices which, even if permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to God’s law. Indeed, from the moral standpoint, it is never licit to cooperate formally in evil. […] This cooperation can never be justified either by invoking respect for the freedom of others or by appealing to the fact that civil law permits it or requires it” (no. 74).
Please continue reading at Saint Peters List
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For longer than I can remember, I have come to accept the evil one has taken control of my dreams. Hear me out. But he can only set the stage. He can not control the content, nor the direction. I only know this because I have not been able to stop dreaming about someone in my past. This person is NEVER in my thoughts, words, desires nor is his name ever on my lips. I could care less about this particular person or where he is or doing. I forgave him and prayed for his conversion. He was someone who I loved very much and was hurt by immensely but I had forgiven him and moved on.
I KNOW the evil one is doing this because of the state of my soul at the time I was with this person. The evil one keeps trying to bring this person back into my thoughts and actions, by trying to make me do things that in my stupidity while with this person I would have done without even thinking, and I find it rather funny because the devil is showing his cards and he lost. I forgave this man for doing what he had done to me. I released him. Its obvious, the devil hasn’t gotten the memo. I had also repented deeply for being that person and our Lord is showing me, who He intended me to be. No more to chase after the things and people that used to hold me back from who He, our Lord, needed me to be. Who He created me to be. I love our Lord.
Every time I dream about this person, it’s always in his home where he can control the situation. Its his turf and I am unwelcome. It’s always the same. The house is falling down and held together by garbage that he treasured over me. He is always very plastic in his actions to me and is always waiting for someone other than me to come over and my being there is just another inconvenience. The only reason I am there ever in my dream is a mystery. Last night was different. He told me, you can stay here with me, I missed you and my response back to him, but I don’t love you that way. I don’t want to be with you.I never want to be with you.
Prayers please, that these dreams stop already. I haven’t lost any sleep over them, because our Lord is protecting me. I do love this person as if I didn’t, I would have never forgiven him nor would I pray for him and his family. But I do not want to dream about him anymore. He is NOT my dream boy and that ship sailed a long time ago.
I know I am battling Satan. I may not ever be able to defeat Satan.. but I, through Christ have defeated my sins and death. That is enough… Game over “It was you who saved us, Lord: we will praise your name without ceasing.”
Glory to God. -
Reflect, Repent, Regain, Rebuild….. Remain!
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From last night, on my Facebook page:
Spent some time with our Lord in Exposition. Strange thing took place, like always LOL. A thought of how wonderful it was to finally be back home (In the Catholic Church) after being separated for so long came, as I knelt in front of our Lord and as always I thanked Him for His grace and love..
I remembered something personal, about how the bells would ring out for a returning repentant sinner. LMBO as I got in my car on the way home, the radio station decided to play a Block of Bell songs. It was songs all about bells on my way home and the last one to play was If Only You Knew by Patti Labelle… You tell me.
As I got ready to go to bed, I opened Divine Office and began to pray. Part of the prayers for the night included:
1 Corinthians 2:7-10a
What we utter is God’s wisdom: a mysterious, a hidden wisdom. God planned it before all ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew the mystery; if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. Of this wisdom it is written:
“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard
nor has it so much as dawned on man
what God has prepared for those who love him.”Yet God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit.
Glory to God!
LMBO! After posting this story on this blog, I tried to share it on Stumble. LMBO It wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t STUMBLE! LMBO Glory to God (Not making this up)
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Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner…
Hello my wonderful readers (Brothers & Sisters in Christ). I have a personal prayer request. We all need prayers and I am no different. I am asking for your prayers for me, as I am going in for gallbladder surgery in the next few days. I have had some other health issues including a partially collapsed lung and some nodules found on my thyroid along with a hiatal hernia that is producing an over abundance of acid so much so that it is finding its way into my lungs. Yup! I’m a mess but I have for many years been offering up all my suffering to our Lord. If it is Gods will that this is my time, let it be known that I join all my suffering to His, including my death. In that case, please pray for my soul. I trust in our Lord as He is the spouse of my soul. The foundation of my faith has always been rooted in the fact, He said so. No matter how frightening things have been or can be the simple fact our Lord has said and done everything already, is consolation enough for me to understand, His will be done, not mine. I have received Anointing of the Sick and if any of my readers are in the same health way as I am, please go and be anointed before any medical procedure like surgery.. Its best to be prepared.
Please pray for my healing and for my children and husband to pull closer to our Lord during this time . God bless you and thank you. I love you.
EDIT TO ADD: I received my Surgery date and it seems its going to be held off until March 13th, 2014 at 11:00 AM. Glory to God.
Peg Pondering Again 