Forgive me for not posting anything for this picture. I am in awe. Here is a link. Please read.
Tag: Repent
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I don’t like to blow my own horn, ever. Today is my 49th birthday. Next to the gift of life, Mercy from our Lord added with the Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis through our Lords Church, is the greatest gift any soul can receive outside of Eternal Life with our Lord Himself. Celebrate Life!
Tomorrow, the Jubilee of Mercy begins. For my birthday, I seek to help with Mercy, bringing souls back into communion with our Lord. I ask all my readers to please take advantage of the Jubilee of Mercy and use the grace our Lord is giving YOU ALL, to come home to Him. Seek Him and you will find Him. The door is open! Ask!
Today, I am dedicating my blog and the posts within for the next year, to be used as a tool of Mercy for souls in need who desire time with our Lord. When I first heard of this beautiful upcoming year, I was in awe. For the past twenty years, I have been on a path back to our Lord and have experienced Him living, much alive in all aspects of life. There are souls who do not believe you can prove that He even exists, and there are souls who need no proof as the very fact they have lived, is proof enough. When He reveals Himself in every aspect of your life, that empty hole in your heart, that we try to fill with anything but Him, becomes a place that only He and you, together, can exist in and nothing else can fill you with more joy than this encounter with Him, as it is the foundation to build all life in Christ, on. May our Holy Mother Mary be the model of faith, we all seek to emulate in the sorrow and pain we experience and know that no matter how hard it may be, our Lord has the final word.
When we accept His mercy, we accept His justice. With the sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), comes Absolution.
I pray for the conversion of souls this year, as I have been and hope that this Year of Mercy brings a personal encounter with Love to each soul in such a way, turning away from that Love, is never even part of the equation.
Our Lord Jesus Christ loves you very much. Its a love unlike any other. When that Love is placed first, above all else in your life, His life, alive , becomes alive in you.
Peace! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
Let all who thirst come; let all who desire it, drink from the life-giving water (Revelation 22:17)
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‘I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.’ – Albert Einstein
The sticks are the crosses we are to carry and the stones are the hearts of men, without the fear of God in them….
Man can grind up & destroy EVERY weapon on the face of the planet and he will still kill his own brother using his own stone cold heart, by his own selfish hand.
The problem society has today isn’t guns, its disdain for God, disdain for the Truth, disdain for anything holy, right and just. When God is removed from “society”, as has been being attempted, society loses Fear of the Lord, and fear of the Lord holds all society in check. Fear of the Lord balances society so it is not tossed into chaos but remains in His peace. Without Fear of God, there isn’t any respect for anyone’s life. That loss of respect for life, is the problem we have today. Period.
The entire world is in need of a conversion of heart. The devil will always blame God, blame the innocent and blame all he can on what is good while creating as much chaos as he can, pushing man into a frenzy to enact more laws when the ones he truly needs have already been written on his own heart. The devil will always try to push all society into the pit of hell. A heart of stone does more killing, physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually than any weapon man can create.
The entire world is in need of a conversion of heart. Pick up your cross with our Lord’s most Sacred Heart and carry it with Him again and smash that heart of stone that seeks what is never attainable in a heart of stone, replacing it with the attainable heart of flesh. LOVE!
Our Lady of Fatima said “In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph”. Look to her as your role model to ensure our Lord will remove the stone and create an Immaculate Heart in you.
“We the Christians are the true Israel which springs from Christ, for we are carved out of His heart as from a rock.” — St. Justin Martyr (d. 165)
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” — Matthew 11:29
“There is in the Sacred Heart the symbol and express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love in return.” — Pope Leo XIII
EDIT TO ADD: From a Priest friend on Facebook
Kyrie, eleison.
Some good advice from Father Jay Finelli (obviously this is directed to Catholics … !)
Are you concerned with the shooting today in San Bernardino? Are you concerned with terrorism? Are you concerned with all the many evils taking place in our world today (the times in which we live)?
Well, do something about it!1) Go to Mass tomorrow (and as often as possible)
2) Pray your Rosary
3) Go to Adoration and make at least one Holy Hour a week
4) Pray the St. Michael Prayer throughout the day
5) Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
6) Go to Confession frequently
7) Turn away from sin, away from the world, repent and believe in the Gospel
8) Now that you have done #7, live itDo all of the above and more and in no particular order!
(This advice doesn’t preclude other kinds of action: political discussion on homeland security, and gun violence, for instance. It is the foundation for any kind of action, or ought to be. The kind of action most of us get involved in: interminable online discussions, meme wars which only establish us in our own positions, and feelings of superiority to others, and acerbic commentary, don’t achieve much, if anything. They certainly don’t help us become saints, I don’t think.) -
As I began making dinner tonight, after not feeling very well, I started gathering all I needed for dinner that was supposed to be made last night. I have had a fever and not sure what my body is doing again, and my children & husband escaped to a school function so I was left with a lot of ingredients, and no need to use them, or to cook yesterday.
Tonight, I’m preparing a pasta & shrimp meal with garlic & shallots, green onions and some lemons. I love cooking with our Lord as I am in “conversation” with Him through prayer. Simply asking Him, okay, what do we add here and should I use this and He points the little things out to me. It makes for a beautiful way to prepare a meal when the family is off doing what they are doing and allows me time away to enjoy the little consultations that our Lord gives to me.
Tonight as the meal is simmering in the pan, our Lord allowed me reflect on the topic of conversation that has been on everyone’s mind in regards to receiving Him at Holy Mass. I had shared my story before, but tonight as I began to ponder it, He made me laugh so hard and filled me with His joy. A few days ago, I had brought my girls to the mall and we entered into a store called Bath and Body Works. To be honest, I don’t much care for their products as that’s just not where I find simple pleasures, and this is in no way a plug, but its funny how things work in the end, and give glory to our Lord, even when the world doesn’t understand what it did, or is doing.
I allowed my daughter to purchase a few things that she liked and as we made our way to the back of the store, I notice next to the register, a bottle of hand soap named “Lemoncello”. I laughed because I had heard this story a few months ago: Rome prepares for Holy Year of Mercy – with ice cream. I purchased the limoncello soap.
Back to making dinner and pondering with our Lord, all the ingredients were in the pan, and now were ready to simply simmer. I walked to the sink and began to wash my hands. As I used the soap, I noticed the name: Bath and Body Works. I smiled as our Lord began to remind me again. Bath meaning Confession, as the Sacrament of Confession is the “shower for your soul” and Body meaning Eucharist, His Body in a state of grace, followed by “Works”. It works. Peace. “This is the time for mercy.” “Gather in my name”, not scatter.
Its a great consultation to have Him cooking with me in this home, I look forward to going to His home for our next meal together.
Praise, glory and honor to our Lord.
Praying for conversions back to our Lord now,and always, especially for the coming of the Holy Year of Mercy.
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So many are “upset” that our Holy Father, Pope Francis met with Kim Davis. Some because no one from the Vatican told them they were going to have this meeting. Others for the fact they don’t agree with Kim Davis. Others for the simple fact it gives them something to complain about.
Might I suggest you ponder DEEPLY the painting above. CLICK HERE
Our Lord informed us of this “meeting” Himself and continues to do so daily in each of our lives. -
Rethink Assisted Suicide becoming law as this will become the reality if it is not stopped. Never forget that the (click link) T4 Program of Nazi Germany is the foundation of this law and it can easily become the “Assisted Suicide” program of any nation that has lost its moral compass.
We already see it today here in the USA through the passing of Roe VS Wade going from RARE instance to on demand. The very thought of passing a law to allow someone to murder their own children in the womb and now to commit suicide is the distinct sign, the moral compass of the nation is smashed and broken.
The “euthanasia” program was Nazi Germany’s first program of mass murder. It predated the genocide of European Jewry (the Holocaust) by approximately two years. The program was one of many radical eugenic measures which aimed to restore the racial “integrity” of the German nation. It endeavored to eliminate what eugenicists and their supporters considered “life unworthy of life”: those individuals who—they believed—because of severe psychiatric, neurological, or physical disabilities represented both a genetic and a financial burden on German society and the state.
When the government is making your health decisions, and paying for them, it quickly becomes the government who will pull the plug because of that bottom line.
Repent.
UPDATE: And now…
People are being euthanized in Europe… for autism
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REPENT
I need to share with you today, the O’Carm reflection of Lectio Divina, which is no different then what you see today in the way our government refuses to do what is right an just for all people, and pass laws for their own personal gains, for their own personal agendas, and refuse to do what is right and just. The public outcry against abortion and the need to ban all funding to Planned Parenthood but rather, the secular slanted legal system along with the words directly from the nations leaders, going out of their way to silence the souls who made the videos, rather then doing what needs to be done for the children being slaughtered today. The pushing for homosexual marriage, which does not exist in the first place. The blatant stealing of innocence from children by means of forcing the “teaching” of sex education to the youngest in society and so much more that literally MIRRORS what had taken place in nations that have been crushed through all history.
You see the “faithful” obtaining information from “secular” society on matters of “faith” rather then going to the source of their “faith”, therefore becoming secularized and not growing in faith. I highly advise Catholics NOT to listen to the secular sources for any information concerning our faith, but turn directly to the Church and the Vatican for ALL information. Grow in the faith, not in the Religion of Nationalism.
Repent!3) Reflection
•Today’s Gospel describes the way in which John the Baptist was the victim of corruption and of the arrogance of the government of Herod. He was killed without a process, during a banquet of the king with the great of the kingdom. The text gives us much information on the time in which Jesus lived and on the manner in which power was used by the powerful of that time.• Matthew 14,1-2. Who is Jesus for Herod. The text begins by informing about the opinion which Herod had of Jesus: “This is John the Baptist himself, he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him”. Herod tries to understand Jesus starting from the fear which assailed him after murdering John. Herod was very superstitious and hid his fear behind the ostentation of his riches and of his power.
• Matthew 14, 3-5: The hidden cause of the murdering of John. Galilee, the land of Jesus, was governed by Herod Antipas, the son of King Herod, the Great, from the year 4 BC until the year 38 AD, after Christ. Forty-three years in all! During the time of the life of Jesus, there were no changes of government in Galilee! Herod was the absolute Lord of everything, he did not render an account to anyone, he did whatever passed through his mind. Arrogance, lack of ethics, absolute power, without control from the people! But the one, who commanded in Palestine since the year 63 before Christ, was the Roman Empire. Herod, in Galilee, so as not to be dismissed, tried to please Rome in everything. Above all, he insisted on an efficient administration which would bring riches to the Empire. His concern was his own promotion and his security. For this reason, he refrained from any type of subversion. Matthew says that the reason for murdering John was because he had denounced Herod, because he had married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Flavio Joseph, a Jewish writer of that time, says that the true reason for the imprisonment of John the Baptist was the fear of Herod that there would be a popular revolt. Herod like to be called the benefactor of the people, but in reality he was a tyrant (Lk 22, 25). The denunciation of John against Herod was the drop that caused the glass to overflow: “It is against the Law for you to have her”. And John was put in prison.
• Matthew 14, 6-12: The plot of the murderer. An anniversary and a festive banquet, with dances and orgy! Mark says that in the feast were “the great of the court, the officials and the important people of Galilee” (Mk 6, 21). This is the environment in which the murdering of John the Baptist is planned. John, the prophet, was a living denunciation of that corrupt system. This is why, he was eliminated with the pretext of a problem of personal revenge. All this reveals the moral weakness of Herod. So much power accumulated in the hands of one man incapable to control himself! In the enthusiasm of the feast and of the wine, Herod makes a promise by oath to Salome, the young dancer, daughter of Herodias. Superstitious as he was, he thought that he had to maintain this oath, and respond to the caprice of the girl; and because of this he ordered the soldier to bring the head of John on a tray and give it to the dancer, who then gave it to her mother. For Herod, the life of his subjects was worthless. He disposes of them as he disposes of the staircases in his house!
The three characteristics of the government of Herod: the new Capital, large estates, and the class of functionaries:a) The New Capital. Tiberiade was inaugurated when Jesus was only 20 years old. It was called like that in order to please Tiberius, the emperor of Rome. It was inhabited by the lords of the earth, the soldiers, the policemen, the unscrupulous judges (Lk 18, 1-4). The taxes and the products of the people were channelled toward it. It was there that Herod made his orgy of death (Mk 6, 21-29). Tiberiades was the city of the palaces of the King, where those who wore soft, delicate dresses lived (cf. Mt 11, 8). It is not known by the Gospels that Jesus entered this city.
b) The large estates. Scholars say that during the long government of Herod, the large estates grew causing harm to community property. The Book of Henoch denounces the lords of the land and expresses the hope of the little ones: “And then the powerful and the great will no longer be the lords of the land”. (Hen 38,4). The ideal of ancient times was the following: “Each one will peacefully sit under his vine and nobody will frighten them” (1 Mac 14,12; Mi 4,4; Zc 3,10). But the politics of the government of Herod made this ideal impossible.
c) The class of functionaries. Herod created a whole class of functionaries faithful to the project of the King: the Scribes, the merchants, the lords of the land, the officers of the market, the tax collectors, the militia, the policemen, the judges, the local heads,. In every village there was a group of persons which supported the government. In the Gospels, some Pharisees appear together with the Herodians (Mk 3, 6; 8, 15; 12, 13), and that shows the alliance between the religious power and the civil power. The life of the people in the villages was very controlled, both by the government and by the religion. Much courage was necessary to begin anything new, as John and Jesus did! It was the same thing as attracting to self the anger of the privileged ones, both from the religious and the civil powers.
Repent and BELIEVE
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I can’t help but ponder the day President Obama said: “God bless Planned Parenthood”.
Well Mr. President, and anyone else who can not see the grace of God at work here, and still can’t see the mercy of God, I offer you a few thoughts.
I believe He is doing just that with the revelations of what Abortion is in this country. That being the murder of a child by a BOOMING business of abortion. The Big Business of Abortion being given BILLIONS of tax payer money. The basic media blackout of any information on more news outlets that SHOULD be covering it and the twisting of facts and data to reflect back on the people who shot the videos to look like the bad guys, rather then the organization who has logged over 57 MILLION murders under its belt, who now are trying to justify the selling of aborted children organs. The pushing for “Fetal Stem Cell” research in Congress bringing to light the reason there has been so much push for federal funding for Planned Parenthood to me. The push for post birth abortions because as we know now, organ trafficking is big business. MILLIONS of woman regretting their abortions, being told that there baby was nothing but a blob of tissue in reality its a fully developed human child. The absolute all out destruction of the family, all being seen,and pushed for at the exact same time…..
The time is now to repent America. Can it be the grace of God that has revealed all this, all now regarding Abortion? About the callousness of our hearts in regards to the unborn and not caring enough for them? OR for ourselves to think we as human beings can be equated to dogs when created in the image of God? Acting like animals without ANY regard or responsibility for our actions?
About how a conversion of heart is needed for this entire nation that claims to be one UNDER God? I believe so. I believe its very blatant grace at work here. I believe its a time to repent for EVERYONE. How anyone can look at the dismembered smashed remains of a child and not see the evil behind it that caused its murder, is mind blowing. It reveals the total lack of compassion we have for one another.
Its not about “Health Care” or “Reproductive Rights”. This is about the time to end mans twisted justification of murdering children for greed and selfish ambition. The time is now to stop the blood bath of the American Holocaust that has taken the lives of over 57 MILLION children under the demonic name Abortion. The time is now to stop the EXPORTING of this murder business to every nation on earth.
God’s answer to your prayers? God’s grace? I believe so. With my ENTIRE converted heart.
Repent America. Now is the time.
For another look at the grace of God for us all, see: A Moment Of Grace For……Planned Parenthood
And this FANTASTIC truth: The Pity of Christ by FR. GEORGE W. RUTLER
Just a snip:“General Patton was thought by some not to have much pity. But he had a chest. When he entered Ohrdruf, the sub-camp of Buchenwald, his reaction to the corpses and crematoria surprised his soldiers. He did not say the lurid scene was “inappropriate” or “unacceptable” or “heartbreaking.” He bent over and vomited. And the medals on his chest rattled. When the people who lived outside the camps protested that they did not know what had been going on, General Eisenhower ordered them to walk through the fetid buildings and look at the corpses. Perhaps there will be a day when remnants of our sheepish generation are dragged through the moral carnage of our land and feel some of the pity that Christ feels for us.”
Keeping this entire nation and those who seek to destroy children in the womb, in my prayers.
Lord have mercy on us all. -
And repent. You know its wrong.
End abortion. Worldwide.
Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Congressman or Senator. Demand funding stop for Planned Parenthood. ASAP
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I had a very hard time falling asleep last night as I was pondering the state of the world and what is taking place. Although our hearts can be crushed at times, our love, hope and faith can not. I had posted something to Facebook last night:
We are facing Iran with nukes, US Marines being assassinated by terrorists, children being murdered and body parts harvested for profit, the media practicing Communist censoring tactics, forcing Catholic Nuns to supply birth control because the government no longer considers them to be a “religious group”, All out assault on the Catholic Church by the government, Gender neutrality, destruction of the natural family, homosexual “marriage”, flags being the cause of murdering people and terrorists are not, Kindergartners being taught sex education, Teens able to get an abortion without parental notification but are not Adults, Christians being labeled hate groups…. And the big story is an earthquake MAY wipe out the entire Pacific NW is supposed to worry me? Please. You can’t stop the earthquake. Everything else is the real problem that NEEDS attention and is all self inflected. ASAP. Lord have mercy on us all.
As I lay in bed, unable to sleep and found myself pondering all the things taking place, I began to pray to our Lord. Asking Him why? Asking Him how could so many souls be so lost in “worldliness” and not see true peace in Him? I pondered a post to twitter that i had made in regards to “crickets chirping” from anyone in the state government of California in regards to investigating planned parenthood.
I began to pray the rosary as I lay in bed. My focus was drawn on to the suffering of our Lord amidst the crowds of people who did not believe Him on the road to Calvary. It was horrific to see our Lord spat on and mocked. Ignored and very little compassion shown to Him. What I couldn’t help but see was He also went through the crowds of souls who didn’t care about Him. Didn’t want to hear Him. Had better things to do then repent and believe what He had said and done. I fell asleep and began to dream….
I had the most beautiful dream I have ever had. I was walking in the City of God. I was a princess being courted by our King. Everyone was full of joy. Everyone knew me and was so kind. Kindness radiated for every soul, no matter where I walked. But I didn’t know me. A man approached me and I knew Him to be our Lord without saying a word to me. He offered me everything and I asked Him, “Will you read me this book?”, I don’t know what the book was, and His smile answered. He was dressed for a huge celebration and wanted me to join Him. I kept telling him I needed to get ready. I needed to get dressed. He smiled and I heard in my heart, “Go look”. He knew I was complete, but I couldn’t comprehend what complete entailed. I walked into a small changing room that was full of mirrors. I had thought I was not dressed and ready for this celebration. I had been fumbling around in a purse for lipstick and when I looked up to apply it, nothing was needed. When I looked at myself, I was perfect. He had dressed me in what I had needed. He made me ready for where we needed to go. He provided everything without my even knowing it was already complete, it was done.
I woke up and my eyes fixed on the picture of our Lord in the Eucharist that I have on my dresser. The peace and joy that I had in this dream remained with me when I woke from it. And I still have it this evening. I had this immense ringing in my ears that sounded like crickets as I woke. What came to my heart the second I was aware of the ringing in my ears was Scripture John 8 21:30 with our Lord telling my heart, if they are not listening to Him, don’t listen to the misery they cause for themselves. Offering only Him in their pain. Hear nothing but the chirping crickets. Do not let it drag you into misery yourself. Peace. Faith, hope and love in Christ always.
Today I find myself pondering most of John 8 and knowing in my heart, it is already complete. Souls only need to answer Him, yes or no.
I had a dream I was a princess being courted by our King. When I woke up, it wasn’t a dream but the beauty of reality in living our faith in Him.
Glory, praise and honor to our Lord, Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen
“Let us understand that God is a Physician and that suffering is a medicine for salvation, not a punishment for damnation.” ~ St. Augustine
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Photo credit to Students for Life @Students4LifeHQ
What do they do? Please watch and share…
Planned Parenthood delivers them alive, then sells them for body parts. #PPSellsBabyParts
Please “LIKE” The Center for Medical Progress, which is releasing this, and other videos soon.
This is happening right now in America, in your state, in my city…Abortion needs to end RIGHT NOW!Planned Parenthood needs to end. Its obvious to me why so many support them in our government as there is LOTS of money to be made in the murder of others.
**BREAKING NEWS***
It has been confirmed that Planned Parenthood Action is selling the body parts of aborted fetuses. Go to babybodyparts.com to watch the bone chilling video of Dr. Deborah Nucatola admitting to the sale of human people. -
Receive the Sacraments, especially Confession, as often as you can. Not when you feel like it or when its required. Sit with Him in Adoration. Spend time with Him.
From a FB Friend.
Occupy Him
Pray your time zone
Divine Mercy at 3:00 PM daily.
Also the RosaryRepent. Tell God how sorry you are. Ask Him for forgiveness. None of us is without sin.
He loves you more then you can ever love Him.
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Saturday July 4th, I will be dedicating to our Holy Mother Mary and first Saturday. I ask you to join me as we celebrate her, our Catholic Faith and TRUE Independence from our sinfulness. I have my flag out already. I will be bringing my children to Holy Mass after we all receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Just an idea I feel needs to be shared.
“In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph.” – Our Lady of Fatima
FREEDOM!
All praise, honor and glory to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
EDIT to add:
Its not a call to abandon hope, nor to hide inside this day, but to celebrate LIFE in Christ. To still enjoy our Lords creation. TO STILL live the life our Lord has given to us and to appreciate Holiness in the Light. Its not that we are NOT still sinners, but rather we know we are and we are TRYING with the grace of God to get back home to our Lord, in TRUE Love. Agape!
“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Amen!”EDIT:
The original photo has been changed at the top of this post. WITHOUT KNOWING, I was flying my Vatican Flag upside down for many many WEEKS. I didn’t know it. Today, I fixed it. Keep in mind ANY flag flown upside down is a sign of “distress” and NOT disrespect. Pray for this nation and the ENTIRE Church.
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REPENT…
All over the MSM you see “Love Wins” in regards to the same sex marriage law being man made legal in 50 US states. Yes. Love most certainly does win but most do not know who He is yet. I pray that many will receive the grace from our Lord for understanding of who He is.
Again SCOTUS chants “We have no king but Caesar”. Just as it was chanted through the pen for Abortion and now for Marriage. Jesus Christ is MY King, not the USA. It was Saint Augustine of Hippo who stated that “An unjust law is no law at all”. Just as an unjust law is no law at all, so to are the men and woman who enforce the unjust law. So to are those who follow the unjust law. I will not. I OPENLY refuse to worship the “Golden Calf” of the nation. Jesus Christ is my King. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
“Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years ago, Obergefell v. Hodges does not settle the question of marriage today. Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as a result, both will eventually fail. Today the Court is wrong again. It is profoundly immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same sex can constitute a marriage.”
Please continue to read at the link.
Repent. Pray Divine Office 3X daily. Pray the Rosary daily. Pray before every meal. Attend daily Holy Mass (if you can) and if you can not, participate in it through EWTN rebroadcast. Pray without ceasing. Receive the sacraments frequently. “LOVE one another as I have loved you” – Be not afraid. DO not give into disrepair. Give in only to our Lord Jesus Christ. Teach your children to do the same! LIVE the faith. Don’t just talk about it.
The Sacrament of Marriage will never change.
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Can’t help but ponder…
Pondering “Laudato Si” and Pope Francis on Twitter in the past few hours:
“I invite all to pause to think about the challenges we face regarding care for our common home. #LaudatoSi. We need a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. #LaudatoSi. There is an intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet. #LaudatoSi. There is a need to seek other ways of understanding the economy and progress. #LaudatoSi. There is a value proper to each creature. The throwaway culture of today calls for a new lifestyle. #LaudatoSi. “To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God.” (Patriarch Bartholomew). The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. Climate change represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. #LaudatoSi. The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture. One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor. #LaudatoSi. The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together. The deterioration of the environment and of society affect the most vulnerable people on the planet. We have to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. #LaudatoSi. To blame population growth, and not an extreme consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues. A true “ecological debt” exists, particularly between the global north and south. Developed countries ought to help pay this debt by limiting their consumption of nonrenewable energy. There is no room for the globalization of indifference. #LaudatoSi. Economic interests easily end up trumping the common good. The alliance between economy and technology ends up sidelining anything unrelated to its immediate interests. Whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenceless before the interests of a deified market. We need only to take a frank look at the facts to see that our common home is falling into serious disrepair. #LaudatoSi. The present world system is certainly unsustainable from a number of points of view. #LaudatoSi. Each community has the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations. “Creation” has a broader meaning than “nature”; it has to do with God’s loving plan. #LaudatoSi. Every creature is the object of the Father’s tenderness, who gives it its place in the world. A fragile world challenges us to devise intelligent ways of directing, developing and limiting our power. At times more zeal is shown in protecting other species than in defending the equal dignity of human beings. We should be particularly indignant at the enormous inequalities in our midst. #LaudatoSi. We continue to tolerate some considering themselves more worthy than others. Earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. #LaudatoSi. For believers, this becomes a question of fidelity to the Creator. Never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely. Each age tends to have only a meagre awareness of its own limitations. It is possible that we don’t grasp the gravity of the challenges before us. #LaudatoSi. We are learning all too slowly the lessons of environmental deterioration. #LaudatoSi. By itself the market cannot guarantee integral human development and social inclusion. Scientific and technological progress cannot be equated with the progress of humanity and history. There is an urgent need for us to move forward in a bold cultural revolution. #LaudatoSi. Christian thought sees human beings as possessing a particular dignity above other creatures. The culture of relativism drives one person to take advantage of another, to treat others as mere objects. It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. #LaudatoSi. We need an integrated approach to combating poverty and protecting nature. For indigenous communities, land is not a commodity, but a gift from God, a sacred space. Having a home has much to do with a sense of personal dignity and the growth of families. #LaudatoSi. The world we have received also belongs to who will follow us. #LaudatoSi. What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? What is at stake is our own dignity. Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us.”
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My family and I walked into Holy Mass today and two little girls from my daughters class walked up to my daughter and asked her if she found a box of tissues. We were set back a bit and my daughter said no. We went to sit in the pew and like every week, my daughters argued over who was going to sit where and my Violet grudgingly slid deeper down the pew instead of grabbing the end of the pew. She began crying and became angry that her sister took HER SEAT. She sits there. It belonged to her and her alone!
As the tears ran down her cheeks from the raging anger that was eating her up about her sister, I reminded her about the two girls that asked her if she found a box of tissues and tried to calm her down and have her think about where we were, and prompted her to think of how it was our Lord was speaking to her. The two girls asking if she found the box of tissues, her getting upset about nothing and crying her eyes out, not having a tissue to wipe them away. Nothing was registering. She couldn’t comprehend what I was telling her. She didn’t want to listen. Her sister took HER seat! She began to tell me about how her sister sat in HER seat LAST WEEK TOO! To which I reminded her that we sat in the middle of the pew last week and everyone was someplace else.
The tears finally ended, focus was regained and Holy Mass began. As I received our Lord today in Holy Communion, He made me cry. It was my turn. I had been contemplating all the things He had been showing me, all the worry I had for others and myself and the state of the world as it is. How He had lead me back to Him and all the beautiful and frighting experiences I have seen and lived through with Him leading the way. I was crying like a baby as He reminded me, “My sheep hear my voice”. Everything that has caused me to worry about others and why no one was listening to me all became the focal point as to why. Why is because if I can here Him, they will too. In His time. When He calls His sheep, they will hear Him. Not me, but Him. A question was then asked of my heart. Is it for pride that I do this, or for Love? I didn’t have to answer as the answer radiated in my heart. That little box of lost tissues made seance again.
Mass had ended and we went for coffee and donuts in the back of the hall. One of the church groups was selling plants. “I am the vine. You are the branches”. My daughters bought two little plants. Our Lord made it perfectly known to me, He already gave me two more little “sprouts” on this “branch” to take care of on His Vine.
As we sat eating and relaxing, I had noticed that a chain on a gate that had been there for a very long time, was no longer there. Although the gate was closed, all I had to do was lean on it as it was no longer locked. I knew it was significant at the time, but it just wasn’t registering. I am only now reminded of last week and The Good Shepherd. “So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep.”
All glory, praise and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ. Today and forever. Amen
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Our Lady of Consolation (Carey, Ohio), Divine Mercy shrine
When I first started this blog, Peg Pondering Again, “Trying To Paint A Picture Of Christ” was a mission in my heart. I didn’t know how it would look. I didn’t know how to start. I didn’t know what our Lord wanted me to do. I just knew He was calling me to do it. Today, I know in my heart, the “painting” is complete. Merciful Lord Jesus Christ, I trust in you.
“In the document, Pope Francis says the Holy Year is “dedicated to living out in our daily lives the mercy” which God “constantly extends to all of us.”
St. Faustina, pray for us. St. John Paul II, pray for us. Our Lady of Consolation, intercede for us. Merciful Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
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St. John Paul II pushes open the Holy Door on Dec. 24, 1999.
Glory to God!
Everything you find in this blog, praise and glory be to God.. It is the mercy of God. It is His mercy that brought me back home and I pray the entire world takes advantage of the coming Holy Year of Mercy.“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.”
Repent and believe. St. John Paul II, pray for us. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you. Have mercy on us all.
VATICAN CITY — Saturday evening, in front of the Holy Door in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis’ will give the archpriests of the major basilicas of Rome copies of his “bull of indiction,” or formal proclamation, of the Holy Year of Mercy. An aide will read portions of it at the door before participants process into St. Peter’s for evening prayer.
Please continue reading here for the full story: Proclaiming the Holy Year at the Holy Door
Psalm 30
1 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple Of DavidI
2 I praise you, LORD, for you raised me up
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3 O LORD, my God,
I cried out to you for help and you healed me.
4 LORD, you brought my soul up from Sheol;
you let me live, from going down to the pit.II
5 Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful;
give thanks to his holy memory.
6 For his anger lasts but a moment;
his favor a lifetime.
At dusk weeping comes for the night;
but at dawn there is rejoicing.III
7 Complacent, I once said,
“I shall never be shaken.”
8 LORD, you showed me favor,
established for me mountains of virtue.
But when you hid your face
I was struck with terror.
9 To you, LORD, I cried out;
with the Lord I pleaded for mercy:
10 “What gain is there from my lifeblood,
from my going down to the grave?
Does dust give you thanks
or declare your faithfulness?
11 Hear, O LORD, have mercy on me;
LORD, be my helper.”IV
12 You changed my mourning into dancing;
you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness.
13 So that my glory may praise you
and not be silent.
O LORD, my God,
forever will I give you thanks. -
Our Lords journey into the unknown realm of death, for love of us, can and will never be unknown again.
“When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with his right hand and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.” Revelation 1 17:18
Eternal Love passed the test. Jesus Christ is LORD
You O Lord, today, still, churn the ocean of Mercy, making it difficult for my soul to escape the abyss of Your precious love, mercy and forgiveness. I freely give all that I am, my life, my will, my heart, my all to You O Lord, uniting my pitiful love to your Eternal Love for all eternity. It was and is you O Lord, who freed me from the chains of sin and death. I seek only to do thy will. Do with me as you see fit. They will be done. Amen
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The Way of the Cross
21 They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
The Crucifixion
22 They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is translated Place of the Skull).
23 They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it.
24 Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take.
25 It was nine o’clock in the morning* when they crucified him.
26 The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”
27 With him they crucified two revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left.
28 * [15:28] This verse, “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘And he was counted among the wicked,’” is omitted in the earliest and best manuscripts. It contains a citation from Is 53:12 and was probably introduced from Lk 22:37.
29 Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
30 save yourself by coming down from the cross.”
31 Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.
Mark 15 21:32
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66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s maids came along.
67 Seeing Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him and said, “You too were with the Nazarene, Jesus.”
68 But he denied it saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” So he went out into the outer court. [Then the cock crowed.]
69 The maid saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.”
70 Once again he denied it. A little later the bystanders said to Peter once more, “Surely you are one of them; for you too are a Galilean.”
71 He began to curse and to swear, “I do not know this man about whom you are talking.”
72 And immediately a cock crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.” He broke down and wept.
Mark 14 66:72
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I write this in regards to the reports of the destruction of the Church Buildings by ISIS and Radical Islam in Iraq…
The devil always tempts us to place faith in the material goods around us, including in the Church, and its an often used weapon to cause anger, and inflame rage in hearts at the destruction of “material goods”. The devil uses this so called destruction to cause more souls close to our Lord to sin deeper. Do not be alarmed by what you see. Do not worry. We know one day they will have to answer to our Lord, as we also shall. Watch your souls and pray for theirs.
Its not worth it to fall for the ISIS “Temper Tantrum”. The Vessel of God can never be destroyed. “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”.John 2:19
When a Church Building burns by accident, arson or any other way is destroyed, over time, it is rebuilt. Material possessions are not the heart of the Faith. The heart of the Faith is our Lord. Even when you see the inflammatory rhetoric stating that Shariah will dominate the world, we can never forget the words of our Lord:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Pray for them. ” be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
It may be disappointing to lose the things that have been around for thousands of years but we must also remember our Lord has always been and always will be.
Someone to ponder while ISIS destroys the Churches (buildings) in Iraq. Servant of God, Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan of Vietnam. Imprisoned for 13 years in Communist Vietnam, he celebrated daily Holy Mass in his dark cell, with a single crumb of bread & a tiny drop of wine. His Altar was his hand and his shirt pocket became a tabernacle.
We become tempted by thinking that excess of “things’ makes the Faith, but less, truly is more.
Pray for their conversions.. Pray for serenity. Pray without ceasing.
Servant of God, Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, pray for us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my faith and trust in You.
No one can destroy the Temple, as the Temple is our Lord.
The measure of the Holy Side Wound. Notice how each part can be moved to a different location than another, to every far reaching corner of eternity, never losing one part from another, held together by the Love of the Father and the Son.
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Our Lord has shown me great mercy since my Conversion of Heart began. I pray for the ENTIRE CHURCH to take advantage of the Year of Mercy and “Return to your First Love”, that being our Lord. COMPLETELY!
Be not afraid.
“The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9
Pope Francis: homily with announcement of Year of Mercy
This year as last, as we head into of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, we are gathered to celebrate the penitential liturgy. We are united with so many Christians, who, in every part of the world, have accepted the invitation to live this moment as a sign of the goodness of the Lord. The Sacrament of Reconciliation, in fact, allows us with confidence to draw near to the Father, in order to be certain of His pardon. He really is “rich in mercy” and extends His mercy with abundance over those who turn to Him with a sincere heart.
To be here in order to experience His love, however, is first of all the fruit of His grace. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, God never ceases to show the richness of His mercy throughout the ages. The transformation of the heart that leads us to confess our sins is “God’s gift”, it is “His work” (cf. Eph 2:8-10). To be touched with tenderness by His hand and shaped by His grace allows us, therefore, to approach the priest without fear for our sins, but with the certainty of being welcomed by him in the name of God, and understood notwithstanding our miseries. Coming out of the confessional, we will feel God’s strength, which restores life and returns the enthusiasm of faith.
The Gospel we have heard (cf. Lk 7:36-50) opens for us a path of hope and comfort. It is good that we should feel that same compassionate gaze of Jesus upon us, as when he perceived the sinful woman in the house of the Pharisee. In this passage two words return before us with great insistence: love and judgment.
There is the love of the sinful woman, who humbles herself before the Lord; but first there is the merciful love of Jesus for her, which pushes her to approach. Her cry of repentance and joy washes the feet of the Master, and her hair dries them with gratitude; her kisses are pure expression of her affection; and the fragrant ointment poured out with abundance attests how precious He is to her eyes. This woman’s every gesture speaks of love and expresses her desire to have an unshakable certainty in her life: that of being forgiven. And Jesus gives this assurance: welcoming her, He demonstrates God’s love for her, just for her! Love and forgiveness are simultaneous: God forgives her much, everything, because “she loved much” (Luke 7:47); and she adores Jesus because she feels that in Him there is mercy and not condemnation. Thanks to Jesus, God casts her many sins away behind Him, He remembers them no more (cf. Is 43:25). For her, a new season now begins; she is reborn in love, to a new life.
This woman has really met the Lord. In silence, she opened her heart to Him; in pain, she showed repentance for her sins; with her tears, she appealed to the goodness of God for forgiveness. For her, there will be no judgment except that which comes from God, and this is the judgment of mercy. The protagonist of this meeting is certainly the love that goes beyond justice.
Simon the Pharisee, on the contrary, cannot find the path of love. He stands firm upon the threshold of formality. He is not capable of taking the next step to go meet Jesus, who brings him salvation. Simon limited himself to inviting Jesus to dinner, but did not really welcome Him. In his thoughts, he invokes only justice, and in so doing, he errs. His judgment on the woman distances him from the truth and does not allow him even to understand who guest is. He stopped at the surface, he was not able to look to the heart. Before Jesus’ parable and the question of which a servant would love his master most, the Pharisee answered correctly, “The one, to whom the master forgave most.” And Jesus does not fail to make him observe: “Thou hast judged rightly. (Lk 7:43)” Only when the judgment of Simon is turned toward love: then is he in the right.
The call of Jesus pushes each of us never to stop at the surface of things, especially when we are dealing with a person. We are called to look beyond, to focus on the heart to see how much generosity everyone is capable. No one can be excluded from the mercy of God; everyone knows the way to access it and the Church is the house that welcomes all and refuses no one. Its doors remain wide open, so that those who are touched by grace can find the certainty of forgiveness. The greater the sin, so much the greater must be the love that the Church expresses toward those who convert.
Dear brothers and sisters, I have often thought about how the Church might make clear its mission of being a witness to mercy. It is journey that begins with a spiritual conversion. For this reason, I have decided to call an extraordinary Jubilee that is to have the mercy of God at its center. It shall be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live this Year in the light of the Lord’s words: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (cf. Lk 6:36)”
This Holy Year will begin on this coming Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and will end on November 20, 2016, the Sunday dedicated to Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – and living face of the Father’s mercy. I entrust the organization of this Jubilee to the Pontifical Council for Promotion of the New Evangelization, that [the dicastery] might animate it as a new stage in the journey of the Church on its mission to bring to every person the Gospel of mercy.
I am convinced that the whole Church will find in this Jubilee the joy needed to rediscover and make fruitful the mercy of God, with which all of us are called to give consolation to every man and woman of our time. From this moment, we entrust this Holy Year to the Mother of Mercy, that she might turn her gaze upon us and watch over our journey. – Pope Francis
Come back to me with all your heart.
Don’t let fear keep us apart.
Trees do bend, though straight and tall;
so must we to others’ call.
Long have I waited for your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life.The wilderness will lead you to your heart where I will speak.
Integrity and justice with tenderness you shall know.
Long have I waited for your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life.You shall sleep secure with peace;
faithfulness will be your joy.
Long have I waited for your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life. -
Becoming a priest or a man or woman religious is not primarily our own decision…. Rather it is the response to a call and to a call of love.
—Pope Francis, Address to Seminarians and Novices, July 6, 2013Gracious God,
You have called me to life
and gifted me in many ways.
Through Baptism You have sent me
to continue the mission of Jesus
by sharing my love with others.
Strengthen me to respond to
Your call each day.
Help me to become all You desire of me.
Inspire me to make a difference in
others’ lives.
Lead me to choose the way of life
You have planned for me.
Open the hearts of all to listen
to Your call.
Fill all with Your Holy Spirit that
we may have listening hearts and
the courage to respond to You.
Enkindle in my heart
and the hearts of others the desire
to make the world a better place
by serving as
Lay Minister, Sister, Priest,
Brother or Deacon.
Amen. -
Ah, holy Jesu, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.Who was that guilty? Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesu, hath undone Thee.
’Twas I, Lord, Jesu, I it was denied Thee!
I crucified Thee.Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For man’s atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.For me, kind Jesu, was Thy incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.Therefore, kind Jesu, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee,
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.“Ah, holy, Jesu, how thou hast offended” by Choir of the Abbey School Tewkesbury; Words: Johann Heerman, Devoti Musica Cordis, 1630 (Herzliebster Jesu); translated from German to English by Robert S. Bridges, 1899.
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From CNA/EWTN News
A priest who witnessed to a miracle in communist Czechoslovakia in the 1940s was tortured and beaten to death for refusing to recant what his parishioners had seen. And now Catholics from the country are honoring his heroic virtue and pushing for him to be recognized as a martyr.
During the season of Advent in 1949 – the early phase of the communist era in Czechoslovakia – some parishioners told Fr. Toufar that they saw a cross at the altar in the church moving from one side to another several times. The event has come to be known as “the Cihost’ miracle.”
To prevent the news of the phenomenon from going public, the secret police interrogated Fr. Toufar, demanding that he say that he had moved the cross himself.
The priest, however, refused.
In response, the police beat him so drastically that he was unable to speak, walk or sit. Later tortured until he would sign a document asserting his guilt, he died two months after the miracle took place.
After Fr. Toufar’s death, the Church along with all religions were suppressed across the Soviet Union-led communist regime. The state was officially atheist and any accounts of miracles and those who spoke of them were treated in way to be erased from the record and the historical memory. The regime even filmed a documentary which tried to show that the Cihost’ miracle was a forgery.
Today’s secular society continually seeks “signs”. Constantly looks for the ONE THING that would change their minds in regards to the faith, to cause one to repent and believe in our Lord. Always missing the fact that the “signs” of our Lords presence in our lives and in this world are so bright and so prevalent, one with faith can never miss them, and those without faith in Him, will always refuse to believe they are His “signs” at all. Placing their faith in something other then Him. Some other reason, some other answer, some other theory. Therefor making it impossible for themselves to find exactly what all hearts seek, that being peace.
In my own life, in trying to share my personal experiences with Christ our Lord with others, sharing all He has done for me and all He continues to do,every second, I am beginning to see the importance in His silence during His “trial”. His silence, keeps us silent to those who refuse to believe in Him. Stone hearts stood in judgement over flesh. In their minds, our Lord was already guilty and all “they” wanted was to silence Him. If “they” could not silence Him, “their” world would change drastically. Their “lifestyle” would change drastically and they, in fact, would have to change. No different then today. The evil that drove them, as the same evil today, would cease to exist, if they only listened and acted when they had the chance. You see today, where this Communist era ended and the Church and her faithful, continue on. Patience in trials, obtains all.
As the Communists did here and secular society’s try to do today to Christians, by trying to force them to adhere to secular teachings rather then “cleave” to Him and what He has taught us, with abortion, homosexual marriage, euthanasia, promiscuity, divorce, and like any “used car”, to much to list, secular society’s believe they are “gods” and force others, the faithful, who do not comply with their teachings, just as they did to our Lord.
At our Lords trial, many asked Him to prove Himself. Prove His words and actions. It wouldn’t have mattered what He would have done, as their minds and hearts were made up to crucify Him. All He did and said, was used against Him, instead of for Him, therefor bringing about His death and Resurrection, over 2000 years ago. He continues on. He always continues on. He is timeless.
You see, those who DO listen, who do repent, who do change and follow Him, have that peace in this life our Lord promised. Those stone hearts that once sat in the chests of many, became flesh again and were able to love as He loves. As you are still in the world, repent. Don’t wait until death. At death, its to late to go back and do everything for Him, after doing everything against Him. Where is Communism in Czechoslovakia today? Dead. Our Lord is still alive. Everything is a miracle. Everything is a sign.
Today’s Gospel:
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.” – LK 11:29-32 -
Music Found on Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Mantle
Merry Christmas
http://gloria.tv/embed/frame/media/YyNux3AD838/width/576/height/432
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I smiled a bit last night at Holy Mass, pondering about the worlds idea of the Ice Bucket Challenge, and our Lords while reciting the Responsorial Psalm: “I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.” Ezekiel 36:25 The key words being “I WILL”. If the world only knew..
Taking into account the Ice Bucket Challenge funds are donated to embryonic stem cell research, it’s not for me. I seek to live this life in Christ. Respecting His gift of baptism to promote life. Not destroying it.
From CNA:
In a statement released Aug. 20, the archdiocese voiced concerns over the ALS association’s support of embryonic stem cell research, which requires the destruction of embryonic life.
“The archdiocese is not dissuading individual Catholics from making donations, but they are encouraged to be fully informed and make their own prudential judgments.”
“The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has determined that its Catholic schools will not, as organizations, donate to that particular charity,” it read.
“To quote St. John Paul II, ‘Any treatment which claims to save human lives, yet is based upon the destruction of human life in its embryonic state, is logically and morally contradictory, as is any production of human embryos for the direct or indirect purpose of experimentation or eventual destruction.’”
The John Paul II Medical Research Institute (JP2MRI) is a secular non-profit research institute “grounded in a pro-life bioethic that respects the dignity of every human life,” according to their website. They conduct research to advance technology to treat diseases such as ALS, cancer, Alzheimer’s and other more rare diseases.
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Brothers and sisters:
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.ROM 8:35, 37-39I was moved to tears and more at Holy Mass yesterday morning, when I heard after the Homily from a local Chaldean Deacon who was invited by our Priest to give a talk after the Homily, with first hand knowledge, of what has and is taking place in Iraq. This taking place to our Christian brothers & sisters, being tortured, murdered, raped and martyred by ISIS, being paid for by THIS nation we live in by the Obama administration. ISIS hate our Lord. They hate Him. They hate Him in the Eucharist. They hate Him in His Church. They Hate Him in His followers. They hate Him in the Rosary we pray to pull closer to Him. They hate Him in the statue’s that are religious “photos” of those we love and look to for peace and model our lives after. They hate Him and that is why they persecute us. They hate us, because we BELIEVE. We must protect our Lord and all that He is. This is a “Spiritual Battle” against evil that is manifesting itself and making itself known bluntly as evil across the globe. We must defend religious freedom, we must defend our Lord in the Eucharist. We must defend the FAITH He has given to us, even at the cost as He did, “death on a cross”. The cross we carry for future generations to find that peace, the world and worldly are rejecting.
We truly are at war. Spiritual War, against Satan and his demons, who seek to destroy everything that even resembles our Lord in this world, in even the slightest way. Come back home to our Lord. Yes it is already won through our Lord but now is the time to choose a side. Wake up! REPENT.
Homily On Iraq: LISTEN HERE!
“A small white lamb follows a white donkey through the rubble of homes in the northern district of Beit Hanun” IsraelI believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate
of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead
and His kingdom will have no end.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
With the Father and the Son
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen. -
Pondering Obama: While he spouted “Hope & Change” he couldn’t “see”, that, “Hope & Change” only truly comes through Christ. Evil, be it intentions or actions, never win.
One need look only on Obama, and the “works” of his political party to see we NEED to turn back to God. “Return To Our First Love”.
Little did Obama know that his promise of “Hope & Change” was actually God calling the faithful to “see” him and what is going on in this nations for what it is. Spotlight on evil. We know. Glory to God for shedding light on evil for what it is. Glory to God for pulling souls closer to Him.
“Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam” – We know all things work for the greater glory of God. See God in all things. See God in all creation. See God in all souls.
Repent. Turn back to God. Love God above all things.
Over the gates of hell reads a sign, “Abandon ye hope all who enter here.” but over the gates of heaven reads but one word, “Forgiven!” – Dante Alighieri (Divine Comedy)
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