The foundation of all racism in the world, is giving society’s the decision to choose who is, and who is not, a human being.
End abortion. End Racism. Human Rights.
Tag: Love
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Regarding:
If We Reject Trump, We May Be Inviting Persecution
The election is not Constantine VS Diocletian.
Discipleship and persecution in this world are in union. Although bitter at times, sweetness soon follows. It is what we do with this persecution, that can make or break us. When we see our persecution from the view of our Lord, mounted on the Cross, our vantage point changes and our vision becomes further, our faith in Him becomes stronger, and we come to see the great vastness of the souls who have not yet come to understand the beautiful love of our Lords passion. “Enter through the narrow gate”.
No matter who you vote for, discipleship comes with persecution to those who live and breath the faith. When we vote, we are voting for a political leader. We are not giving them our heart, mind and soul so to worship them. We are called to vote, we are not called to worship them, nor the political party they belong to.. “No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” But, this persecution also comes with the JOY of our Lord. “And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.”.
In this moment, when we are Crucified with Him, we come to the full realization that the “world” lost its moral compass long ago and everything we, while attached to it, had done, had been for vanity. In this moment, we can choose to let go of the attachment to it, no matter what this attachment may be, and grasp the absolute love and peace of Christ, freely pulling closer to Him, placing all our hope and trust in Him and not the things of this world. Then, we can as He asks, set the world on fire with Him. “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”
What this election has become, is the choice between worldly illusions, or discipleship. If you choose discipleship, keep in mind, His name is not on the voting ballot, as He is already our King, our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Follow Him.
See:
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Seven-year-old Gabe Haanen holds a sign during a rally in Green Bay June 8. The rally was part of the national “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” effort. (CNS photo/Steve Wideman, The Compass) (June 8, 2012) See RFREEDOM-ROUNDUP to come. In a recent story:
Hillary Clinton: Make Christians Change Their Religious Views to Support Abortion
Wake up –
She can’t. First off, Religious Freedom first and foremost comes from God. Not the government of the USA, nor any government. We all have the GOD given freedom to worship and live the faith. The problem is, many have placed the state & society above God and live in the illusion as if the state guarantees your right to worship.
A priest facebook friend recently posted: “Just because you don’t pay attention to politics, it doesn’t mean politics won’t pay attention to you.”
The fact is, the government infiltrated by the culture of death, has ROBBED you of that right to pray & worship where and when you desire along with doing what is right and just. For a Catholic today to live what they profess each and every week at Holy Mass, (What We Believe) in today’s world, takes that soul straight into the realm of persecution for living the Truth in every day life. Even in our own homes. Be convicted in the faith and not watered down.
BE NOT AFRAID – Live it! What good is to to profess and not live? BE NOT AFRAID. Marvelous and Miraculous things take shape when you live what we profess, through all society. Thus we answer our Lord when He called that how He had wished that the entire world was a blaze.
Second: If anything she is saying in this article has screamed to me is this, it is a call from our Lord, saying get right with Me and LIVE the faith, love God above all else and your neighbor as yourself, in the coming persecutions. Now is the time to repent. Turn back to Him. We can never be robbed of the right to worship our Lord. We may be beaten for our faith, imprisoned and persecuted, but they can never take away anything, that our Lord Himself has given to us.
If that false notion of separation of Church and State creep into your thoughts, remember as a Catholic that God comes first! I highly suggest reading:
CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
DOCTRINAL NOTE
on some questions regarding
The Participation of Catholics in Political LifePeace!
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I’m not buying the headlines today. Are Many Marriages Today Invalid? January 29th, 2005, I married my husband in Cesar’s Palace Las Vegas. Being Roman Catholic and he Greek Orthodox, it wasn’t until my serious conversion of heart, I took into account how serious of an offence this was against our Lord. We had both been married before. I love this man tremendously. Please read Cohabitation And Holy Communion, in which I have spoken about this before.
Today, after being married in the Catholic Church on May 4th, 20013, which I hold very dear to my heart and soul, we are continuing on in our marriage after a serious threat to all marriage. That being infidelity. I will not go into detail as the wounds are deep and we need time, prayers and patience to heal from this. I have forgiven my spouse and meant it. As I have also forgiven the other soul involved. We came very close to divorce. So close that we were just one day away from filing. It was pride and anger that lead to the decision to grab hold of an attorney and it was humility and love that made the decision to forgive and work through all the pain and suffering to continue on. The one thing for me that I just couldn’t stop pondering was how so many today “pretend”. Pretend everything. Marriage is not pretend. Vows are not pretend. The Church is not pretend. Our Lord is not pretend.
Back on June 3rd, the weekend before our filing was to be done, I prayed through the Immaculate Heart of Mary to our Lords Sacred Heart and I wrote:
What’s funny is, in all this divorce stuff, does a torn up piece of paper by the state mean anything to God? You can spend thousands of dollars in court to get a divorce and it can never amount to one drop of our Lord’s blood and a vow made with Him. So..Nope. I don’t believe it does. I made a vow to our Lord and Mark in the Church and I intend to keep it with God. I didn’t go through the annulment process and marry my husband in the church to have the state say your no longer married. My door will always be open for Mark to return, if he so chooses, and I pray our Lord converts his heart as He has mine, but I’m not holding my breath. So lets flush 20K down the toilet and Mark can continue to pretend he is not married. I will live still, as I know, I still am. End of story. Peace.
When I sought my attorney, so many signs were present. It was so easy to get one. It was even easy for this unemployed mother with no income to obtain a five thousand dollar retainer for them when we had been financially strapped for years. Something was wrong with this. It was far to easy and happening way to fast. This I knew in my heart was not from our Lord. I had heard in my heart that God hates divorce.
The following day, my husband moved back home with us and the process of healing began. As it is still today and will be for some time. I love him very much. As I love our Lord very much. And our Lord loves each of us first.
All I can say today, when I took my vow, I meant every word. I always intended to hold true to that vow no matter what. Even today under the serious issues we have faced and the continuing fallout from them. I said it before and I will say it again. I meant EVERY WORD of my vow to my husband and our Lord and I will never allow the state, if my husband should choose to leave and divorce me, to say that I am no longer married when it was to God, my husband and the state that I professed my vows of Marriage. Even if it should mean to live in a state of chastity and celibacy, we are called to that same chastity IN the sacrament of Marriage and being single. We are living in a world of souls playing “make believe” where nothing really matters and nothing means anything which couldn’t be farther from the Truth. The Truth is, humility, love, commitment, integrity and sincerity is needed for any Marriage to succeed. Beatitudes are to be lived. No matter what happens. That vow is also to our Lord. Look and see what our Lord said about how a man should love his wife and how a woman should love her husband and DO IT. Do it as your souls are Married to our Lord and live the vow as you are Married to our Lord. St. Thomas More, pray for us.
St. Monica pray for us.
St. Rita Of Cascia, pray for us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us all -
When we forgive, it stops all the pain caused by the one you are forgiving. It does not however, clean up the mess that was made in how you have been hurt. The person you forgive can no longer cause you any more hurt. The damage is already done. Its what we choose to do with that pain that makes all the difference. When we choose to join that pain with our Lords, it becomes very easy to heal from it. Even in regards to infidelity in marriage.
Although many emotions are flying around and the soul truly feels as if it is on a roller caster it can’t seem to get off, that it doesn’t want to be on, nor asked to get on, forgiveness eases the feelings of being angry, sick, irritated, betrayed, devastated, insignificant and yes, even quieting the need to see the red flags that passed by without noticing.
Spouse sold you? Pretended they didn’t for as long as they were with you? Pretended to love you? Caused you to lose everything? Others persecuted you for it? Crucified you? Yes, our Lord is there with you as it happened to Him first.
When we forgive, we choose mercy for the soul’s we are forgiving. We are not giving them a pass. We give ourselves the pass by choosing not to become exactly that which wounded us.
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Very timely pondering from my retreat which took place on April 15 through the 17 that truly needs to be shared. May it bring healing to many.
Forgiveness and Family Reconciliation
[Adapted and reorganized from personal notes from a talk given by Fr. Peter Mary on 16 April 2016 as part of a retreat given at the El Carmelo Retreat House in Redlands, California.]Question:
Do I have someone I need to forgive? Do I need to forgive myself?
How do I begin the process of forgiveness?
We are obligated to be merciful because God was merciful to us first.
Repay God’s mercy to us by being merciful to others.
The Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:5-15) is explicit. Our forgiveness from the Father is conditioned upon our forgiveness of others.
St. Teresa of Avila’s Way of Perfection (chap. 36).
Defining Forgiveness:
What Forgiveness Is:
Forgiveness is act of will and intellect.
Forgiveness is a process which takes time and practice. That’s why it seems hard.
Forgiveness is a free gift.
It does not depend upon the actions or response of the offender.
It is distinct from reconciliation, a further step, which includes the offender.
What Forgiveness Is Not:
Forgiveness is separate from any need to challenge the offender’s destructive behavior.
Forgiveness does not guarantee we forget.
Forgiveness does not remove the pain.
Fruits of Forgiveness:
Forgiving leads to joyful living and peace.
Not forgiving leads to other problems.
It can lead to loneliness and isolation due to an inability to trust others.
It can destroy clear thinking.
It can destroy physical and mental health. The body and mind are connected.
Recognizing Who to forgive:
Consider the people within your own family.
Consider the people you need to forgive.
Consider the people who annoy you.
It is not possible to completely avoid people who annoy us. Trying to ignore them leads to loneliness and isolation.
We need to transform the annoyances.
Principles for Practicing Forgiveness:
Recognize you could be wrong or have misunderstood.
Take into account the difficulties the offender might have had in their life.
Weak offenders may be incapable of forgiving. Forgiveness does not depend upon the offender reciprocating.
Be careful not to limit forgiveness by placing conditions.
Recall how Jesus embraced the pain of his passion and the cross.
Good can come out of evil especially if we imitate the cross. We need to transform evil. (purification of memories is dealt by St John of the Cross in the Ascent.)
Forgive the offender immediately.
Depend upon God’s love to empower your forgiveness.
Nine Practices to Develop Forgiveness:
1. Pray for those you need to forgive.
2. Pray for your ability to forgive.
3. Receive regular confession in gratitude for God’s mercy on you.
4. Receive regular reception of the Eucharist for God’s mercy to be present within you.
5. Become more aware of a tendency to see only the bad in people and strive to see the good.
6. Imagine yourself into the other person’s situation and the pain and hurt they may have felt.
7. Avoid unreasonable expectations of yourself and others.
8. Be honest about yourself that you could be wrong.
9. Examine your conscience to recognize progress.
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Its not the cloth, nor the promise made, nor the prestige, nor the fame of the name. None of these can bring us love and life in Christ. Its the life in Love we choose to give and live in total contemplation, prayer for our Lord through our beautiful Mother.
St. Simon Stock Pray for Us
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If its not about our Lord and His business, its a distraction away from our Lord and His business and simply not worth anything. Attend to the business at hand.
Matthew 3:2
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Needed to share – There is only one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” – St. Thomas Aquinas
It would do all society a great service, for Summa Theological to be required study.
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EDIT TO ADD:What ever allegations Mr. Voris is making in regards to the NY Archdiocese, is not the reason for my posting this story. As it stands, New York archdiocese denies allegation that it sought to smear Michael Voris. Please do not use this as a launching pad to promote more hate, allegations or discord against the Bishops, Church or anyone else. I simply sought to extend a hand to a man who seemed to be in pain. I will continue to pray for EVERYONE in this matter and will as I always do, pray for everyone. Peace. Its never good to jump to conclusions. We all need to stop and pray for one another. To love one another. I truly do, love you all.
“I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”________________________________________________
April 22, 2016
I have never been a fan of Michael Voris nor Church Militant. But I tell you from my heart, as a penitent myself, I truly respect him for this video as what he is saying is absolutely true about the power of our Lord for the worst of the worst sinners NO ONE loved or could love, but our Lord. God bless him.
Our Lord BEAUTIFULLY uses our past, to fish for souls still in the past we left behind with His grace, and in His own way. When we are open about our past and honest that it IS in the past and no longer who we are, as our Lord “makes all things new”, there is more for our Lord to use, to bring souls closer to Him. Otherwise we are “Limiting God” on what He can use and can not use.
We always have our own idea of where we think our Lord is calling us and what He is asking us to do. Our limited view says what we think, but our Lord is not limited to our view or understanding..
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I promised my daughters that I would bring them something home from my Retreat this weekend. I purchased two sheep rattles on my way home. Although I knew what I was bringing them was much more than stuffed toys. What they can’t see yet, but I do clearly, is their mom is coming back with a firm guard on the lambs our Lord has given to me to give back to Him. Just as the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep, so I must lay down my life for the lambs our Lord has entrusted me with, to care for until I can no longer. This is the job of a mom. This is the vocation of Motherhood. Yes, I care for all the souls placed in my life, but my top priority is for the two lambs in my own pen. As was my parents job when I was a “lamb”.
The story of my becoming aware of my conversion is one in which took place when my dad lay dying. When we are at a loss as to what we can do, our Lord is ever there to guide us. At that moment, as he was dying, I shook and prayed. Never thinking anything about it until it all became clear. We should never fear death, as we should only have fear of our Lord as we are living.
As I arrived home yesterday afternoon from the beautiful retreat, I handed my daughters their little sheep. A little while later my daughter Violet came to me as said with excitement “Mommy! It rattles!”. Immediately the words flowed back to her. I began to tell her that she should always, for the rest of her life, remember and never forget that she has received our Lord in the Eucharist. That she was in fact a “sheep”. When ever she gets lost, no matter how far she walks away from our Lord, our Lord can hear her shake from the inside. The second she becomes afraid, she should remember that our Lord always knows where she is because she has Him everywhere she goes and just like that little rattling sheep, He hears her and will lead her back home too. She should never be afraid of the Shepherd and should tell Him everything through the sacrament of Reconciliation. In the Confessional, so she knows for a fact, He healed her when she gets into the tangles or covered in burs of sin, which are poisonous. Then to never get into those tangles again but to stay close to Him. Walking His path.
“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.”
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How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
That moment you realize your really listening to the Good Shepherd….
“As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God”
While on retreat this past weekend, I was pondering that voice I had been listening to. It was a chilly and very windy day Saturday and in the midst of silence, I found myself walking around taking in the beauty of the nature I was placed in. I came to a water feature and bent down, finding myself asking our Lord, “Is it you Lord? Is this voice I have been listening to You? In an instant, I heard a slight giggle in my heart. I began to look myself over and I was dressed in all in white. The pants I unknowingly put on that morning were white along with my shirt were white and I was wearing my comfy snugly white coat that is fluffy like a lamb. I looked up at the statue atop the water feature and a smile came over my face. In that moment, I knew for a fact.
Yes. The lost sheep indeed was finally home, healed, and at peace. It was no doubt the Good Shepherd who retrieved me. The Good Shepherd Who healed me. The Good Shepherd who I love. It also just happened to be “Good Shepherd” weekend. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.” -
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.
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I am asking my readers to please pray for Virginia and Cathleen. Mother and daughter, both in the winter of life.
Virginia is an elderly woman who I am visiting every Monday, as I bring our Lord in the Eucharist to her. She is currently in a nursing facility and unable to care for herself. She informed me that her daughter Cathleen had been diagnosed with advanced Ovarian Cancer a year ago. She was doing much better and looked like she may survive after receiving Anointing of the Sick. Last week as I visited Virginia, she had advised me that her daughter had called her and told her she was not doing very well again and didn’t think she would be able to see her again as she believed her time in exile was almost over and believed our Lord would be taking her very soon.
I had put out a prayer request on facebok last week, seeking prayers for them both. As I visited Virginia today, Cathleen is still with us but still in need of our prayers.
I beg you, in your charity, please remember them both in your prayers. Along with all women who suffer with Ovarian Cancer. Thank you.
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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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This morning, the second I opened my eyes and began to pray, I was filled with a desire to take up to our Lord all the suffering of my family, friends and enemies. I began my Morning Offering and added to it, the suffering of those who do not know You Lord and the suffering of those who do not know how to place their suffering with Yours on the Cross.
I prayed:
Sweet Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary to your most Sacred Heart, I offer you all my prayers, my works, my joys, my sorrows, my suffering and those of my friends, enemies, and those who do not know you nor how to join theirs too You and unite them all to the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacles throughout the entire world, offered in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for all the intentions of Your most Sacred Heart, for all the intentions of our Holy Father Pope Francis, for the Holy Souls in purgatory and for the conversion of hearts. Amen
I pray the morning offering every day as I open my eyes but there was something special about this morning. Something different. TO truly unite the suffering of others who do not know Him, was something that burned with me and filled me with His peace. As I got out of bed and ran through a few things this morning, my husband woke and came to me with something that bothered him. I hugged him and remembered that prayer this morning and knew that embrace with him, was the peace he was looking for. He didn’t carry on about it but was able to let it go and get on with his day. He was smiling when he left for work this morning and it is my desire for him to return with that same smile.
Last night, we spent the evening with friends who came in from out of town. There was a lot of anxiety in a few of the conversations from a few souls talking to me about how they were looking for peace in their lives. In one conversation that I had with a friend of my mother in law, as she tried to speak to me about different things, truly pagan things, my mother in law kept chiming in with things that just kept upsetting the conversation we were trying to have and at every turn I could see her misery in her own life. I knew that no matter what I would say to her to try and bring her peace, was not going to happen as she just wasn’t open to peace. In order to have peace, we must be open to receiving it. That doesn’t mean we no longer offer it, we offer it more intensely. As she continued, I was able to interject our Lords own words which took the negative running rabid and tossed it off the cliff. The conversation became easy and ended with her friends stating it was time to leave.
There was something else going on here last night and I could see people I knew for many years looking for something but in all the wrong places. Not only could I see that they couldn’t find our Lord’s body, but they couldn’t even see His tomb. They couldn’t remember His name. They couldn’t remember what He had done and looked for Him, His peace and joy in places where only an essence of it was left, because someone attached a “New and Improved” label on it, and not in His fullness. They didn’t want to find His body, his tomb, His suffering in our lives. They had forgotten the simple things and were tied up in things that can never bring peace and joy. When we are suffering in the slightest way, we must remember that even what we call our suffering is not ours, but our Lord’s on His Cross for you and His call to come back home to Him.
I prayed Divine Mercy Novena with my daughter when we arrived back home and found consolation in who the fifth day was to be dedicated to.
“Today bring to Me the Souls of those who have separated themselves from My Church” and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion.”
There are so many Lord. There are so many. Mostly those who do not want to grip the Cross rather seek to grab onto anything but the Cross. May the suffering souls in this world, learn to unite all with You O Lord.
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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 I spend, as I have for all of Lent, in preparation. Deep prayer, cleaning my home, and looking forward to the Meal tonight. One I will not be cooking but must allow the Priest to “cook”. I smile as I write this hearing the worlds of a Priest friend on Facebook of mine who often would speak of “Slaving over a hot altar”. Mass Of The Lords Supper.
44. With the celebration of Mass on the evening of Holy Thursday, “the Church begins the Easter Triduum and recalls the Last Supper in which the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, showing his love for those who were his own in the world, he gave his body and blood under the species of bread and wine offering to his Father and giving them to the Apostles so that they might partake of them, and he commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to perpetuate this offering.” [50] Please see here
As I was praying the Divine Office last night, the antiphon before the Cantical of Mary struck me with awe.
“The Master says: My hour is close at hand; I and my disciples shall celebrate the Passover in your house.”
Immediately I was taken to that day. My house? Your coming HERE? To my house? I have to clean! I have to make sure you all are well pleased! What shall I make for you? What shall I do for You? The King is coming HERE! Press the linens! Sweep the floors clean! Prepare this home for Him and His Apostles!
Today, I know that my Lords house, is my house and His house is a house of prayer. At the beginning of lent, the cleaning of our souls is that day in which we hear that He will be coming to celebrate with us and all the time during Lent, is time of preparation for His entering into us. Just as our beautiful Mother Mary said yes, we welcome Him into a clean dwelling, that He may do with it as He sees fit, as we are to do for every Meal in His house.
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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.
