I am leaving for a silent retreat away, to spend time in prayer, silence and pondering with our Lord for three days. I am requesting prayers and know that I am keeping you all in mine.
Thank you and may our Lord bless us all.
Tag: Jesus
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Those who accuse the religious of “bigotry” forget it is also bigotry to accuse the religious.
In English the word “bigot” refers to a person whose habitual state of mind includes an obstinate, irrational, or unfair intolerance of ideas, opinions, ethnicities, or beliefs that differ from their own, and intolerance of the people who hold them.
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Its best to read it and all of it, along with all the actual documents the Popes write, than to read what the main stream media wants you to think it says. Its also a good idea to pray to our Lord and ask Him for the gift of understanding so you can see what is being said with your entire heart and not just what you want to see.
Please see here:
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Repressed resentment of another is a miserable angry bear that springs up to attack when you least expect it. Forgiveness from the heart is necessary to the soul who hurt you in order to kill this bear from ever attacking you again. When we don’t truly forgive from the heart, that miserable bear comes back with vengeance when you are face to face with the person who hurt you and takes the form of another sin, rather than confronting the person with peace and Truth. It can take on many forms. One being lying to the person about how they hurt you when confronted. Another way it can come across is to flatten the person to hurt you.
When we choose to do either of these options, its a sin against charity.
When we repress resentment that we have been hurt, we unknowingly place part of the bitterness in a hidden place to be used later. We don’t necessarily know this is taking place. Placing all the hurt into the hands of our Lord allows us to see clear and when confronted, we can use all the gifts of the Holy Spirit to speak about the issue with the person we are face to face with. There by, we do not slide down the slippery slope into more sinful behaviors nor do we cause harm to the soul of the person we are speaking to. When we lie to them about what they have done to us, we are addressing the issue but dancing around it and that is fear of something other than our Lord. When we are honest with them, it opens the door for them to realize they had hurt us and it is expressed to them in a loving way. When we flatten them with physical attacks, we in fact have no room for forgiveness and mercy but only harm and we harm ourselves all the more.
When we possess true love of neighbor, we seek the better for them at every turn because that love we have for them is the same love we have for our self and both belong to the love that our Lord is showering down upon us all.
Prayer To Overcome Bitterness and Resentment
Father, I acknowledge that I’ve held resentment and bitterness against (name). I confess this as sin and ask You to forgive me. I forgive (name). Remind me, Lord, to not hold any more resentments, but rather to love this person. Father, I ask You to also forgive (name) . Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.
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I find it beautiful that when our Lord makes known His presence, its after a time of reflecting that we are able to put it all together and say without a doubt, after He has already been in the moment we are experiencing, I know that was you Lord. He makes it very clear by doing this, that we are not to cling to the moment, nor the people in it with us, but rather too Him and understand that He truly is always with us, sometimes hidden, when we forget He is in the Tabernacle and in His time, we come to see Him in many different ways in our lives.
Imagine being the soldiers at the tomb during His glorious resurrection. Imagine the anxiety of the soldiers who at one point were simply doing their job and the very next were faced with something so profound, the only thing they could do besides face it, was to run in fear. Imagine the fear that would cause a hardened trained solder to abandon his post. Imagine knowing that you are a soldier appointed to guard a post and leaving that post meant absolute death for not following the orders of your superiors.
Through my entire awareness of my conversion of heart, I have been presented with so many forms of anxiety and it was only when I learned how to depend on our Lord for everything that that the anxiety’s I was facing became nothing more than temptations to run away from the cross our Lord was asking me to carry with Him. Many times through this, when the pressure was at its greatest and I just couldn’t take any more of the pain I was seeing in others, that they never even noticed in themselves, and in the pain it was causing me to see it, I would be tempted to toss it all aside and run away. Anywhere away from it all. When we do that, we find out very quickly that no matter where we run to, its already there too. The reason its already there is because its our Lord calling you to help Him. Calling you to cling to Him. Calling you to pick up that cross of daily life and walk through all the destruction and misery that is attacking you, to walk through with Him, the valley of the shadow of death and into Life. Life in Him and with Him.
There is nothing more peaceful that a soul can do than to call out to our Lord while in the midst of the turmoil with your entire heart, calling to Him: “Jesus I trust in You”. He always answers as He is already there. “Be not afraid”. To the true believer, all the heavy fog of anxiety (fight or flight) and despair (run away) blows away and is replaced by His calm (fight for Him). If you are one with Him, handing Him all of it and not clinging to what you can’t let go of, you are able to see Him as the Storm that is raging all around and He pulls you into His Eye where there is silence, peace and joy. Like a hurricane, in the eye of the storm there is always calm. Its what is on the outside of the eye that is being blown about and scattered. Its not to say we don’t enter into the turbulence that surrounds, but we know we are anchored in Him and we have Him as our Life line back to the calm, in order to help those overcome by their own fears of destruction and anxiety’s of daily life.
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings – Psalm 17:8
How do we stay in the Eye of God? Love. We don’t run away. We don’t leave our post. We face all things with faith in Him. We walk through our lives as He on the via dolorosa with Him until we come to the end, in which He says “It is finished”.
Up until yesterday my husband and I had been experiencing a rough patch in our relationship. I had been struggling a lot lately with not being able to see our Lord in those within my own home and particularly in my husband. Much like the woman who went to the tomb, I know our Lord is here someplace, I just couldn’t find Him. As I wrote yesterday, I spoke about how my morning offering was very different. Something beautifully different. Before my husband left for work, he hugged me and smiled. For the first time in many years, it was genuine. It was a genuine hug in love and not just because that was what a husband did. Its been very difficult but our Lord has given my husband so much grace and I can see Him working through him. I can see our Lord working in him, trying to wake him up, but I had not seen my husband turn to Him and say yes Lord. That smile on his face was one I had not seen for some time and when he left, all I wanted to do was to see that smile when he came back. We must always remember that even though we can’t see, through faith, we trust Him, no matter how painful it may be.
This morning as I write this, after the events of yesterday, after of the events I have faced to date, after it has all unfolded and the very moment is now memory, the entire Resurrection of our Lord at that moment outside of His tomb, is in my heart in that hug and smile, and now I can see and shout with all certainty in JOY, “‘Rabbuni!’” I know with my entire heart, that was you. I picked up this cross, and all of them in this life that I give completely to You, with You and carry them all in love with You. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You.
Praise, glory and honor to You O Lord, for all time and eternity. Amen
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“Where most men work for degrees after their names, we work for one before our names: ‘St.’ It’s a much more difficult degree to attain. It takes a lifetime, and you don’t get your diploma until you’re dead.” – Mother Angelica
Beautiful soul, beautiful woman, beautiful day to enter into eternal life…
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
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He sure did!
This is my daughter Chloe and her reaction to the empty tomb at Santa Sophia Catholic Church after Holy Mass today. We share the same expression for all He does.
Thank you Lord for all your gifts, especially the gift of Life.
Happy Easter – He is risen indeed!
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“Our Lord spent 30 years of His life obeying, three years teaching, three hours redeeming! But how did He redeem? Suppose a golden chalice is stolen from an altar and beaten into a large ash tray. Before that gold can be returned to the altar, it must be thrown into a fire, where the dross is burned away; then the chalice must be recast, and finally blessed and restored to its holy use. Sinful man is like that chalice which was delivered over to profane uses. He lost his Godlike resemblance and his high destiny as a child of God. So our blessed Lord took unto Himself a human nature, making it stand for all of us, plunged it into the fires of Calvary to have the dross of sin burned and purged away. Then, by rising from the dead, He became the new head of the new humanity, according to which we are all to be patterned. The cross reveals that unless there is a Good Friday in our lives, there will never be an Easter Sunday. Unless there is a crown of thorns, there will never be the halo of light. Unless there is the scourged body, there will never be a glorified one. Death to the lower self is the condition of resurrection to the higher self. The world says to us, as it said to Him on the cross: ‘Come down, and we will believe!’ But if He came down, He never would have saved us. It is human to come down; it is divine to hang there. A broken heart, O Saviour of the world, is love’s best cradle! Smite my own, as Moses did the rock, that Thy love may enter in!” – Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Fifteen Mysteries)
A blessed and glorious Easter to all.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, roll away the stones from our hearts and those of the entire world this Easter and replace them with His Flesh and Blood. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my faith, trust and hope in You through the Immaculate Heart of our Holy Mother Mary. Amen
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Pope Francis – 2016 Easter Vigil Homily
Via – Vatican RadioPlease find below the English translation of Pope Francis’ homily at the Mass of the Easter Vigil“Peter ran to the tomb” (Lk 24:12). What thoughts crossed Peter’s mind and stirred his heart as he ran to the tomb? The Gospel tells us that the eleven, including Peter, had not believed the testimony of the women, their Easter proclamation. Quite the contrary, “these words seemed to them an idle tale” (v. 11). Thus there was doubt in Peter’s heart, together with many other worries: sadness at the death of the beloved Master and disillusionment for having denied him three times during his Passion.There is, however, something which signals a change in him: after listening to the women and refusing to believe them, “Peter rose” (v. 12). He did not remain sedentary, in thought; he did not stay at home as the others did. He did not succumb to the sombre atmosphere of those days, nor was he overwhelmed by his doubts. He was not consumed by remorse, fear or the continuous gossip that leads nowhere. He was looking for Jesus, not himself. He preferred the path of encounter and trust. And so, he got up, just as he was, and ran towards the tomb from where he would return “amazed” (v. 12). This marked the beginning of Peter’s resurrection, the resurrection of his heart. Without giving in to sadness or darkness, he made room for hope: he allowed the light of God to enter into his heart, without smothering it.The women too, who had gone out early in the morning to perform a work of mercy, taking the perfumed ointments to the tomb, had the same experience. They were “frightened and bowed their faces”, and yet they were deeply affected by the words of the angel: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (v. 5).We, like Peter and the women, cannot discover life by being sad, bereft of hope. Let us not stay imprisoned within ourselves, but let us break open our sealed tombs to the Lord so that he may enter and grant us life. Let us give him the stones of our rancour and the boulders of our past, those heavy burdens of our weaknesses and falls. Christ wants to come and take us by the hand to bring us out of our anguish. This is the first stone to be moved aside this night: the lack of hope which imprisons us within ourselves. May the Lord free us from this trap, from being Christians without hope, who live as if the Lord were not risen, as if our problems were the centre of our lives.We see and will continue to see problems both within and without. They will always be there. But tonight it is important to shed the light of the Risen Lord upon our problems, and in a certain sense, to “evangelize” them. Let us not allow darkness and fear to distract us and control us; we must cry out to them: the Lord “is not here, but has risen!” (v. 6). He is our greatest joy; he is always at our side and will never let us down.This is the foundation of our hope, which is not mere optimism, nor a psychological attitude or desire to be courageous. Christian hope is a gift that God gives us if we come out of ourselves and open our hearts to him. This hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5). The Paraclete does not make everything look appealing. He does not remove evil with a magic wand. But he pours into us the vitality of life, which is not the absence of problems, but the certainty of being loved and always forgiven by Christ, who for us has conquered sin, death and fear. Today is the celebration of our hope, the celebration of this truth: nothing and no one will ever be able to separate us from his love (cf. Rom 8:39).The Lord is alive and wants to be sought among the living. After having found him, each person is sent out by him to announce the Easter message, to awaken and resurrect hope in hearts burdened by sadness, in those who struggle to find meaning in life. There is so necessary today. However, we must not proclaim ourselves. Rather, as joyful servants of hope, we must announce the Risen One by our lives and by our love; otherwise we will be only an international organization full of followers and good rules, yet incapable of offering the hope for which the world longs.How can we strengthen our hope? The liturgy of this night offers some guidance. It teaches us to remember the works of God. The readings describe God’s faithfulness, the history of his love towards us. The living word of God is able to involve us in this history of love, nourishing our hope and renewing our joy. The Gospel also reminds us of this: in order to kindle hope in the hearts of the women, the angel tells them: “Remember what [Jesus] told you” (v. 6). Let us not forget his words and his works, otherwise we will lose hope. Let us instead remember the Lord, his goodness and his life-giving words which have touched us. Let us remember them and make them ours, to be sentinels of the morning who know how to help others see the signs of the Risen Lord.Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is risen! Let us open our hearts to hope and go forth. May the memory of his works and his words be the bright star which directs our steps in the ways of faith towards the Easter that will have no end. -
“And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart”
Just as our Lord was created for this, Mama, as were you. I thank our Lord for the gift of you, Immaculate Conception, to strengthen us, not only in that dreaded time of darkness, but in all time. On His Cross, as He spoke the words, “Woman, behold thy son. Son, behold thy mother.”, you “O most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven”, became our Mother.
From the Annunciation and the moment of your yes, it was your yes that carry’s all your children through the dark and into the Light of your Son, as your Son, our Lord, carries us through to our Father.
Thank you Mama, our Mother, O Most Beautiful Woman who the Holy Spirit had already descended upon to strengthen the Children of God in our days of darkness. Happy Mother’s Day. I love you.
I pray for all souls today, who do not know our Lord or what He has done. I pray Mama through your intercession, that all souls pull closer to listen, repent and to believe Him and in Him. “And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
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“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” – John 3:14-15
First, the raising of our Lord on the Cross…
Have mercy on us Lord. May we rise with you.
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Stay with me,
Remain here with me,
Watch and pray.
Watch and pray.Stay here and keep watch with me.
Watch and pray, watch and pray!Stay with me,
Remain here with me,
Watch and pray.
Watch and pray.
Watch and pray not to give way to temptation.The spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak.
My heart is nearly broken with sorrow.
Remain here with me, stay awake and pray.Stay with me,
Remain here with me,
Watch and pray.
Watch and pray.
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by.Stay with me,
Remain here with me,
Watch and pray.
Watch and pray.
Father if this cannot pass me by without my drinking it,
Your will be done.Stay with me,
Remain here with me,
Watch and pray.
Watch and pray.Stay with me,
Remain here with me,
Watch and pray.
Watch and pray.Stay With Me by Melinda Kirigin-Voss
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Today, please pray for Religious Freedom and support the Little Sisters of the Poor as they head to the US Supreme Court.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
BREAKING: FROM THE BECKET FUND FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Today is also the Anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”
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Last night in prayer, as I looked through the old prayer book given to me from my dad’s “Important Papers” (SEE HERE), I found this one to be simply beautiful. I must share. This particular prayer book has a list of indulgences all over it and I’m not one to post them as I am unsure about them. I just don’t focus on them and believe that when we are in Love, we do what we do in Love for our Lord and not simply for the rewards of that Love of His. Just using discernment, I placed crosses over them. If I was wrong in doing so, they are still there even if you can’t see them.
I’m not sure how old this is, but my dad has been gone for close to twenty years and this book was in with his First Holy Communion document from 1936.
I pray for all of us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us all.
You can click on the photo to enlarge it.
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As I pondered our Lord last night after prayers, He brought a thought to my heart. How would you react of you awoke one morning and looked in the mirror only to see that your reflection was not reflecting your movements, but its own. Your reflection had its own movements and refused to move as you moved, stuck its tongue out at you, and walked away? It would send anyone running in terror unsure what to do.
Being created in the image of God we are the reflection in the mirror looking back at Him. When sin entered into the world, the image became disconnected from the One projecting it. In order to be reattached, our Lord came as the “Go Between” to reattached (graphed)the reflection created in His image, to God himself.
When a soul is being reattached to Him, it listens for Him. It works with his grace in all ways, to move as He moves, speak as He speaks and acts as he acts knowing full well, that simply being the image, does not mean that the image is God, but just His reflection. The actions between Creator and creature become one as a dance.
In the beginning, the souls movements are rough and stiff and still learning the movements of the “First Dance” without the full orchestra playing. It trips up, it falls down and its movements are still jerky but over time, with daily practice, it becomes limber and the movements become smoothed and graceful.
When the soul knows the steps of dance, only then do the more intricate movements become useful and more rhythmic and in tune with His. That being the souls desire to eat, sleep, drink the dance of faith for Love of its Partner and not-self.
The reflection of the soul still lost, the one who walked away from the One whose image it was created in, can’t grasp the fact that the world in which it resides, is simply the reflection of the real world in freedom with the Creator. The world in which it resides is a mirror image in which everything is backwards. It can not understand it has walked away from the One and lives in a state of imagery, constantly seeking what it is missing as what it is missing, is the One whose image it had been created in. It reacts to echo’s and unattainable things. It chases after itself, staying on the path that led it away in the first place, getting lost in its own reflection and not finding the opening in the side, created to be reattached to the Creator.
The evil of all sin is that it is always a grotesque distorted reflection of good and can never be good. It can never move in unison with Good, and only move further away from good. It attached itself to anything but good. It seeks to destroy for its own idea of good.
“If you love me you will keep my commandments” – In keeping with Him, we move with Him, we sing with Him, we cry with Him, we suffer with Him, we love with Him. And when we misstep through our own fault, and sin, letting go of our Partners hand in the dance, we return to Him and atone of it with Him, taking it from the Top.
Faith in Him is a very simple dance and the more it is lived, the more beautiful and graceful it becomes. Let Him lead the dance and simply follow Him.
This Holy Week, when we reflect on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, let us never forget His Pierced Side, which became the opening to pass through to Him.
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I have written quite often about my conversion concerning the day my dad entered into eternal life. It was September 23, 1996, the feast of St. Padre Pio and my dad had been the glue that held my family, brothers and sisters and myself together. Since his death, many have left the Catholic faith and went off doing what ever. In all honestly, since I moved out to California I had lost contact with most of them and focused on what I had asked in that prayer.
The night my dad died, as he lay dying, I prayed that he would talk to our Lord and get me back home to Him. Here we are, 2016 and after extensive repenting and getting back in communion, I will be making my first Profession in the Third Order Of Carmel, TOC on October 1.
This morning at Holy Mass, during the Homily, my priest had told us that the main objective of our duties this Holy Week, was New Evangelization to those within our own Family’s who had left the faith. I sat with my head hung low as I knew this job that had just been presented to me, would be extremely difficult, as my brothers and sisters in my own family, along with nieces and nephews and even my own oldest daughter, have left the faith. Along with cousins, and others. Outside of an older sister of mine, the entire family stopped believing in Him and the faith we all grew up into and went their own ways. It has been extremely painful for me in many ways as I have been viewed by them as the crazy one. One never to be listened to. From the onset of my Conversion of Heart, I can not stop listening to our Lord, nor will I. I left them all and continued to cling to our Lord and the only Truth left in this world. And here we are.
This morning after Holy Mass, I took our Lord in the Eucharist to a few souls in the Nursing Home and had a conversation with an elderly friend of mine named Lilly, who is also a professed member of my Carmelite family.
We spoke about the topic of New Evangelization to family, and I had expressed to her that the only way anyone would ever listen to me, in my own family or home, was if I were dead. After leaving her, I prayed and realized I am dead to them. The person they knew no longer exists and they still won’t listen.
I arrived at home and the mail man had come. I noticed two packages and brought them in without even looking to see who they were addressed for. I assumed they were for my daughter and husband. As I was placing them on the table, I noticed my name on one of them. The return address was my sister whom I don’t talk to much anymore. I opened the package and cried when I seen what it was. Here in a package addressed to me was a message never intended for me, but for all my brothers and sisters who have left the faith. Directly from my dad.
Inside the box I found my dad’s First Holy Communion Certificate dated May 21, 1936 along with his personal prayer book. I read the letter attached from my sister which stated, she had found these in an envelop with my dad’s personal items, marked specifically, “Important Papers”. I knew just how important they are but unfortunately, my sister didn’t understand who they were meant for. This package was a direct message from my dad to my brothers and sisters who had left the faith. The “Important Paper” with your name on it. Remember YOUR Baptism. Remember YOUR First Holy Communion. Remember YOUR Confirmation. Remember OUR Lord. Remember OUR First Love. Return to Him. There is nothing else on the face of the earth more important than our faith. I also knew my dad needed me share this with them. They refuse to listen to me, I pray they listen to him. I pray they return to our Lord also. I pray all my Catholic Family return back home to Him, with their entire heart, mind, soul and strength. There is no greater Love than His for you. Repent. The door is open. Homecoming is just one confession away. I love you and I pray for all my brothers and sisters. St. Constantine the Great, pray for us.
All praise, glory and honor to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
EDIT TO ADD: After I had written this today, a tweet came across from the USCCB that just filled me with our Lord’s love.
From tonight’s Divine Office: Evening Prayer
“Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:
forget your own people and your father’s house.
So will the king desire your beauty:
He is your lord, pay homage to him.” -
Tuesday March 8, as I was on my way to visit a few souls I have been bringing our Lord in the Eucharist, who reside in a Nursing Home, I had my radio on in my car and heard a song I hadn’t heard for some time. “Make You Feel My Love” by Bob Dylan. As I listen to this song, various stages of our Lords passion came to my mind and heart, in such a way as I knew He was sharing His Life with me as I deeply seek to share every aspect of mine with Him…
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven’t made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I’ve known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong
I’d go hungry, I’d go black and blue
I’d go crawling down the avenue
There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on the rollin’ sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain’t seen nothing like me yet
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn’t do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my loveAnd its as simple as saying, yes Lord and doing everything He tells you. Once you know Him, you see Him everywhere…
Beautiful refection this morning from Saint Leo the Great from Divine Office
Second reading
From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope
Contemplating the Lord’s passionTrue reverence for the Lord’s passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus crucified and recognizing in him our own humanity.
The earth — our earthly nature — should tremble at the suffering of its Redeemer. The rocks — the hearts of unbelievers — should burst asunder. The dead, imprisoned in the tombs of their mortality, should come forth, the massive stones now ripped apart. Foreshadowings of the future resurrection should appear in the holy city, the Church of God: what is to happen to our bodies should now take place in our hearts.
No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance. Ignorance has been destroyed, obstinacy has been overcome. The sacred blood of Christ has quenched the flaming sword that barred access to the tree of life. The age-old night of sin has given place to the true light.
The Christian people are invited to share the riches of paradise. All who have been reborn have the way open before them to return to their native land, from which they had been exiled. Unless indeed they close off for themselves the path that could be opened before the faith of a thief.
The business of this life should not preoccupy us with its anxiety and pride, so that we no longer strive with all the love of our heart to be like our Redeemer, and to follow his example. Everything that he did or suffered was for our salvation: he wanted his body to share the goodness of its head.
First of all, in taking our human nature while remaining God, so that the Word became man, he left no member of the human race, the unbeliever excepted, without a share in his mercy. Who does not share a common nature with Christ if he has welcomed Christ, who took our nature, and is reborn in the Spirit through whom Christ was conceived?
Again, who cannot recognize in Christ his own infirmities? Who would not recognize that Christ’s eating and sleeping, his sadness and his shedding of tears of love are marks of the nature of a slave?
It was this nature of a slave that had to be healed of its ancient wounds and cleansed of the defilement of sin. For that reason the only-begotten Son of God became also the son of man. He was to have both the reality of a human nature and the fullness of the godhead.
The body that lay lifeless in the tomb is ours. The body that rose again on the third day is ours. The body that ascended above all the heights of heaven to the right hand of the Father’s glory is ours. If then we walk in the way of his commandments, and are not ashamed to acknowledge the price he paid for our salvation in a lowly body, we too are to rise to share his glory. The promise he made will be fulfilled in the sight of all: Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven.
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Today’s message from Pope Francis comes after a morning I have spent bringing our Lord in the Eucharist to a Nursing Facility.
As I heard our Holy Fathers message, I was reminded of another video I posted this morning on my Facebook page. One where I did not see a Rhythmic Gymnast, but rather how word, deed and our Lord’s grace come together to fulfill the needs of the weakest among us. We should be “flexible” not “ridged” to His voice, and His grace, willing to say yes to Him, without thinking of self first, at a moments notice. Allowing Him to do the work, though us in exile. Just as we do the work in exile, through Him. Praise, glory and honor to our Lord.
Pope Francis: God is real, too many Christians are fake
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Fr. Joe & The Gofundme donation online link is working again if you would like to continue to donate to help family’s truly in need.
See Here: Father Joe’s Water Well
Thank you so much for helping and may our Lord bless you always
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“Thank you to all for the outpouring of money and effort on behalf of Father Joe’s parish. Recently we have been blessed to have been introduced to a contractor who has done charitable work in Kenya for similar communities. By God’s grace fresh water may soon be a reality at a fraction of our original budget. We are presently linking this fund to an account for transfer to Father Joe and there is a temporary hold on contributions for a few days. It will be open again very soon. Thank you for your continued generosity and prayers.”
Praise, glory and honor to God for prayers answered!
” I was thirsty and you gave me drink”
Fr. Joseph Mungai was visiting the USA for a short time and is in need for his mission in Africa. His parishioners are in need of a well. They do not have clean drinking water and help is needed. Women must travel a 5k distance to a water source and often times are attacked on the way. Sometimes forced into paying for the water with their bodies. Water for sex has become common practice through the region as obtaining clean drinking water is very hard to come by and unscrupulous vendors are not in short supply.
I have a very serious request for my readers. If you are able to donate to help build a well, for family’s in Africa, please help our cause. EDIT TO ADD:
There are no coincidences. This is a painting that has hung on my wall for close to 7 years. “The Woman At The Well”. Please help us to build the well for clean drinking water in this mission so the women are not raped and forced into providing sex in return for clean water. I am a rape survivor. It was our Lord who taught me how to survive it, lead me through it and forgive the person who had done this. It is paramount for me to ensure no other woman be forced to endure this selfish act. For the price it would cost you to have your car detailed or your dog groomed, you can save a life and provide clean drinking water for many souls in need. Please consider donating or at least pray, for souls to come forward to build this well. Share this with someone who may be able to afford to donate.
“Lent is a time for reconsidering our feelings, for letting our eyes be opened to injustice, to open our hearts to those suffering.” – Pope Francis
According to the CDC, over 1 billion people are currently forced to use water from hazardous resources for cooking, bathing and consumption. Approximately half of this vulnerable population are children.
Any amount would be appreciated. God bless you. If you can not donate, please share this story to help spread the word about the need for this well.
If you would like to donate online, please go to: Father Joe’s Water Well on GoFundMe
He is also available on Twitter, if you have any questions to ask him: @frjoemungai #YearOfMercyWell
If you would like to send a donation, please do so. Donations can be made to:
Sr Larraine c/o Year of Mercy Well
11714 Main Street, Middletown Ky 40357
Contact: 502 – 356-9281 or Larraine@waterwithblessings.org
The video below is part of Father Mungai’s community who are definitely in great need of fresh water.
https://twitter.com/frjoemungai/status/626507070368522242
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us all.
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“Those who remain silent are responsible.” – Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
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This is a photo from Life Magazine of the 1961 Rosary Crusade that took place in San Francisco through the work of Servant of God, Father Patrick Peyton .
Catholic Action For Faith and Family is the place to sign up for Operation Storm Heaven.
From their link: SIGN UP HERE
During this Holy Year of Mercy, let us join Cardinal Burke in a spiritual crusade to storm Heaven with prayers to dispel confusion and:
bring Hope to souls and minds throughout America and the world;
provide spiritual support in the struggle against the temptations of discouragement;
to protect our families and our Faith;
to stop the advance of evil in our society;
and to flood souls with Grace and Light and Truth.Also, see the interview here of Cardinal Burke discussing Operation Storm Heaven
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Walk For Life!
This weekend, the Parish I belong to and our Pro Life Ministry held our Annual “Baby Shower” Charity Event to collect items for women and children in need. We hold this event every year in hopes of collecting items for women who have decided not to abort their children and donate the items to various Pro Life Pregnancy Centers in the area.
As the event ended yesterday, I volunteered to bring some items to Pregnancy Care Center east of San Diego , in El Cajon California. They are currently trying to build another location to provide pro-life services for women in the southern region of San Diego.
As I arrived with the donated items, they were holding their open house and truly didn’t have a place to put all the donated items. I advised them that I would be more then willing to return today to drop them off.
They normally were not open on Mondays, but in ringing the bell, I was greeted by the Executive Director, Josh McClure who was able to graciously take the donated things. He advised me of their upcoming charity event. One in which he hopes to get as many Groups to walk as Groups to raise funds to build the new facility to take care of the woman who do choose life. The date of this event happens to fall on the date that I had lost my own child to abortion. I could not let this go without sharing this event and I pray they can help as many women as they can, NOT to make the decision I did. If you are in the San Diego area, I please ask you and your entire group to join in this wonderful event to help save a life! It truly is a matter of life and death to our precious children in the womb.
From their site:
Walk For Life:
March 12 @ 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
Each spring, Pregnancy Care Clinic holds an annual, “stroller to wheelchair” Walk for Life fundraiser. Participants obtain sponsors who pledge a total amount for walker’s participation in the event. This, in turn, helps raise important funds for the ongoing operation of the Clinic. On the day of the event, walkers will gather at Santee Lakes and Walk for Life while praying to end abortion in this country. Those not able to attend can walk on their own wherever they are-so this is truly something everyone can do. Not only is the Walk a fun and fit way to raise money for the Clinic, but it also makes a statement, letting the world know that the Culture of Life is alive and well in San Diego County! Please join us immediately following the Walk for a celebratory picnic. THE HOT DOGS ARE ON US! Call (619)442-4357 or email Robin Brust for more information.
V.I.P. (Very Important Points)
- Saturday – March 12, 2016 at Santee Lakes 9310 Fanita Parkway, Santee CA 92071 Registration begins at 8:30 AM. Walk begins at 9:30 AM.
- Directions: From the 125 & 52 freeways, exit Mission Gorge Road, heading east. Turn left on Carlton Hills Blvd, then left on Carlton Oaks Drive. Turn right on Fanita Parkway. Entrance will be on the left.
- Parking is prepaid for participants. Registration is at the north end of Lake 5 in the picnic structure.
- It’s a 2 mile walk (2 laps around the lake). Your sponsors will support you with a single, generous, tax-deductible gift for your participation in the walk instead of being sponsored per mile.
- If it rains, bring an umbrella—the event will not be cancelled. If you are unable to come to the walk, no problem. You may turn in your form and walk on your own whenever and wherever it is convenient.
- Each person raising $200 in pledges will receive a free Walk t-shirt.
- Each person raising $500 in pledges will receive a free Pregnancy Care Clinic Sweat Shirt.
- Recruit a sponsored walker and receive a Precious Feet pin plus be entered in the raffle drawing for a Kindle Fire Tablet.
- Recruiter with the highest number of on-line registered sponsored walkers on their team wins an Amazon Fire TV receiver unit.
- After the walk, stick around for a picnic with your church or team.
- Click Here to register online and create your own Walk Fundraising Page.
- Click Here to download a pledge form to register your sponsors.
We’re cooking the hot dogs – you bring the chips!
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As I sat with our Lord tonight in Exposition, I had SO many questions about my trials. UNTIL I pondered and asked Him why am I allowing any of this to bother me. I have You Lord. Then came – I may not THINK I am worried, nor unsettled but in reality, that is what it is, for others. I became quiet. At that moment I began to ponder St. John and how beautiful it was for him to rest his head on the chest of our Lord. But, that too (for those moments) were only temporary moment for St. John. BLAMO This scripture than came to my heart. “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” We are still in the world, although in exile, while living in the Spirit there is complete tranquility. Think about how spending one hour with our Lord in Exposition is truly time to rest your head on His chest and lean into Him. My work in my interior life needs to reflect more on His peace while I am still here, in an unsettled world, I must be “settled” in Him.
Praise, glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ
(From our time together Friday January 22, 2016 )
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For today’s Novena please CLICK HERE
Life Matters: Domestic Violence
The Angelus
The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.Let us pray:
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.
Amen
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For today’s Novena please CLICK LINK
The only healing I have found, is through our Lord Jesus Christ and the much needed Sacraments He gave to us to act on and grab hold of the mercy and forgiveness He is offering to each and every soul on earth.Please read my story here, originally written on JANUARY 23, 2012. Slipping Away – Post Abortion Syndrome
There is a bit of a discussion of late in regards to the graphic images being used of the innocent children taken through abortion. If you have read the link I posted in regards to my story, you will understand that seeing the images of aborted children is horrific. What is more horrific, is not seeing them at all in public, and still seeing them in every day actions. It brings to light the grim reality of what we are doing.
I will post a comment I made yesterday, before I seen what today’s Novena contained. There is a Light in the dark.
Ask yourself, what would happen if we removed the graphic image of our Lord Crucified from our faith because it was to gruesome? What does that image of our Lord invoke? What does the thought of His battered and bruised body cause us to do? Repent. The second we remove Christ Crucified from our worship is the second its no longer Him and He is reduced to a sanitized idea of what He did for us. Its no different for the smallest among us. The reality’s of abortion have been removed from society and its turned into a sanitized idea, no longer seen as the murder of an innocent child. They need to be seen and heard in entirety for the reality to set in. I am post abortive. Before the images came to be used, I would see them anyway as I struggled from time to time with the sin I had committed as I see it now as a way for our Lord to being me to repent deeper and understand the MERCY He is offering through His forgiveness. The images are not doing a disservice nor are they a lack of respect for the children taken. By ending Abortion completely and making it unthinkable to do, they give glory to our Lord for the slaughter of the innocence finally ending.
Lord, I remember You Crucified as I see the children of abortion. May their images bring an end to the slaughter of the least among us. May they bring about repentance to the providers and to all effected by abortion. May these same souls feel the gentleness and compassion in your healing touch and they reach out in need for You. Amen
The USCCB has further links on this Novena for Help and Healing
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For today’s Novena, please CLICK LINK
As a survivor of a violet crime, I have seen what can take place to a person first hand, who has fallen deeply into things that carry no respect for self, nor others through actions that no human being with the fear of God could ever carry out. It was by the grace of our Lord that I survived, and by the grace of our Lord that I could forgive and move closer to Him, as I know it was Him who carried me out and through it. It is that same grace today that I praise Him. It is that same grace He offers to ALL of us, to be accepted or denied. Forgiveness does not mean we allow violent criminals to walk free from the harm they have caused, but allows the healing of that crime that was committed to begin.
I can never support the death penalty as it does not open a door for repentance in this life, for the survivor or the criminal. Nor does taking the life of another take away the harm, pain and suffering it has caused. It happened and I have to live with it. The only recourse, be it for me or them, is to forgive them so both can keep walking with the same ability to turn toward our Lord and seek forgiveness through repentance. It is not for me to ponder nor spend any time worrying if my attacker has repented or not, as we both, one day will have to face our Lord. I pray for my attacker as I pray for everyone. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
I have written about my attack and the early aftermath here. Please read: The Power Of Forgiveness
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There is a new “cute and fuzzy” animal video going viral on facebook, in which we see a little boy and a bear, “Bonding”. Once again like so many times, viewers comments are based on a delusion that the giant wild bear wants to be “friends” with the little boy overlooking the obvious, that being the bear sees the little boy as a simple and easy snack.
Video Here: “Boy And Bear Bonding” actually posted two years ago.
My children and I were at the zoo yesterday and I captured a video of a California Condor trying to attack my daughter through the glass. Although extremely funny and a great education, I thank God today for the glass that separated the two, along with having intellect and reason to build the glass in the first place.
There is a trend lately with people today who need to equate humans on the same level as animals and forget which side of the glass they are on and who built the enclosures. We see this time and time again with wild animals and the “oh how cute” comments from the very people who would be eaten by them. Animals are incapable of reason and do not understand and can not THINK, if I attack that child, there will be consequences to my actions. They see things in the way of, food, fight, breed, survive. They can not think and reason. Although many humans have taken on this way of living, it does not mean it is right.
Animal worship is rampant in secularism. So much so it loses sight of the fact that animals still kill to eat. Humans included. Man may be able to brainwash man into believing we are one in the same, but he will NEVER brainwash a wild Grizzly bear into thinking about anything, nor will he be able to “guilt trip” him into thinking he is anything other than a grizzly bear. That my friends is Secularism Utopia crushed.
Might I bring up a documentary called *Grizzly Man* 2005, a Werner Herzog documentary about Timothy Treadwell, a man who lived for several years with grizzlies in Alaska, “protecting” them from encroachment. Spoilers: He was mauled by Grizzly’s. Not only was he mauled, but placed the life of his girlfriend in danger who also, was mauled.
What is more horrific is he wasn’t alone and placed another human life in danger which is no different then what we are seeing over an over again today in a society filled with cuddly emotions rather than Truth driving the bus they are on.
When we look at the lives of Saints who were confronted by God’s “cuddly creatures”, we see distinctly, what is missing today in secular society. A society so in love with His creation, self, above that of love for Him. Which in fact, is bringing secular society itself, by their own hand, lower than the image in which man and woman were created, to that of animals. If we are left in the hands of a society that does not protect and nurture their own, through worshiping self, continuing to abort and euthanize, how then, can we protect and nurture anyone or anything?
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For today’s reflection, please see here DAY TWO
My plan for today is to go to bed a little earlier and talk to our Lord. For many years, I would be in bed by 8:30 PM, about the time I would send my children to bed, and bring my bible with me. I would crawl into bed, and “talk” to Him. I would contemplate all the souls our Lord had placed in my life, through reading and contemplating the Gospels and other books, that day, and reflect on where I could improve and change for the better to be more pleasing to Him. All the while, giving the praise, glory and honor to our Lord, praying for them all. When we stop and shut down completely, in quiet, it gives our minds and hearts a chance to catch up to what our Lord is doing, now, in our all our lives. Its not to say we can understand it all, but to have the realization that it is in fact Him, doing the work. Which allows our bodies to do what He is doing over time. Working to become one with Him.
My home-life had gotten very busy in the last year and I can see a lot of external noise trying to encroach into my prayer life. While praying the novena this morning, it was beautiful to get that little nudge from our Lord at the link from our Bishops, to stop and spend time with the Spouse of our Souls in a comfortable place. Simply by going to bed early and having a beautiful talk.
Peg Pondering Again 