“Lord, you reward your faithful servants with prosperity, but for servants not of your mind, your justice will come and you will deliver your people from oppression and slavery. As the city of Hong Kong is under threats of abusive control, we pray for your mercy. Amongst adversaries and oppression, we believe your Word and Grace shall bring back the confidence and hope of your people.”
Prayer taken from Hong Kong diocese cancels pro-democracy prayer in newspapers
Back in the early 70’s, I remember my mom and dad having a discussion about the Church and all the changes taking place. SSPX was brought into the conversation and keep in mind, if you didn’t live through this time, you can’t imagine the confusion for souls who didn’t understand what was taking place. My dad had asked my mom what advise my great uncle was giving. Keep in mind, my great uncle was a Catholic Priest, who was living in Communist Slovakia. My mom told my dad, he said: Stick with Peter. And we did.
We must not fear what our Lord brings about. It is His Church. He is the Head. We are His members.
Bishop Robert Barron has a GREAT video today, on the subject of Vatican II which I must share.
Novena to St. Peter
St Peter, now that we are aware of the pressures the priests and bishops, cardinals and The Holy Father of Mother Church are under, I ask that you hear my prayer for you to send protection, guidance, support and encouragement to them, not forgetting the seminaries and the Brides Of Christ. The devil has been strong in recent times, not least in the last century and the beginning of this one. I ask that you intercede and ask St Michael and the archangels to fight the battle which needs to be fought for them. The Devil hides within holes throughout the centuries and I ask that you help the angels to find the places no matter how well hidden where he lurks and meddles from.
I know you shall not fail for my having asked you and I know that my prayers will be answered. The devil so often commands the moment. We are blessed to know that the eternal is the essential and we place our faith and knowledge in The Truth that our faith blesses us to know.
For the love of Jesus and the loving balm of the Holy Mother, help Mother Church to save Human Dignity. Amen
I pledge to pray this every day for nine days – (or 54 days) and network this so that all Catholics are made aware of its existence.
Continuing with yesterday’s post, we move into today’s Gospel. Always. How many times must I forgive? Always. It’s hard to think of doing this, especially when someone has hurt us, or when someone continues to hurt us, or when we see someone consistently making bad choices which move them to take out their own frustrations on us. BUT, it is necessary, as we know how much our Lord has forgiven us, when we too have been on that same path. As we forgive others, our Heavenly Father has forgiven us.
Matthew 18:21-22: Forgive seventy times seven! Before the words of Jesus on fraternal correction and reconciliation, Peter asks, “How often must I forgive? Seven times?” Seven is a number which indicates perfection and, in the case of Peter’s proposal, seven is synonymous with always. But Jesus goes beyond. He eliminates whatever possible limitation there may be to pardon: “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times”. It is as if He would say “Always, Peter! Even seventy seven times! Always!” This is because there is no proportion between God’s love for us and our love for our brother. Here we recall the episode of the Old Testament of Lamech: “Lamech says to his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; listen to what I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me. Sevenfold vengeance for Cain, but seventy-sevenfold for Lamech” (Gen 4:23-24). The task of the communities is to reverse the process of the spiral of violence. In order to clarify His response to Peter, Jesus tells them the parable of pardon without limits.
Please read more, HERE
Today’s Gospel beings the discourse of our Lord, in how to properly correct a soul who has failed. Keep in mind, “failure” is not the end, but a moment to address where the soul has gone wrong and rectify it, in love.
The Carmelites have a beautiful reflection on this today, and I MUST share it.
Matthew 18:15-18: Fraternal correction and the power to forgive. These verses give simple norms of how to proceed in case of conflicts in the community. If a brother or a sister should sin, if they had behavior not in accordance to the life of the community, they should not be denounced immediately. First, it is necessary to try to speak with them alone. Then it is necessary to try to know the reasons of the other. If no results are obtained, then it is necessary to take two or three persons of the community to see if it is possible to obtain some result. Only in extreme cases is it necessary to expose the problem to the whole community. If the person refuses to listen to the community, then they should be considered by you as “a sinner or a pagan”, that is, as someone who is not part of the community. Therefore, it is not you who excludes, but it is the person himself/herself who excludes himself/herself. The community gathered together only verifies or ratifies the exclusion. The grace to be able to forgive and to reconcile in the name of God was given to Peter (Mt 16:19), to the Apostles ( Jn 20: 23) and, here in the Discourse on the Community, to the community itself (Mt 18:18). This reveals the importance of the decisions which the community assumes in regard to its members.
Please see the rest of this reflection HERE
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is inviting all Christians and people of goodwill to join in a Day of Mourning on Friday, July 24 for the conversion of the #HagiaSophia in Istanbul back into a mosque after serving for over eighty years as a museum. The museum was a place of encounter and dialogue between people of all faiths and cultures. The Greek Orthodox have asked that every Church toll its bells, every flag be raised to half-mast and that the Akathist Hymn is chanted in the evening. For Catholics unfamiliar with the Akathist Hymn, the recitation of the Rosary is recommended, as both prayers entreat the Mother of God for her intercession.
Please see HERE
How to pray the ROSARY can be found HERE
Written article can be found HERE
Today is a good day, to read this from Venerable Fulton J. Sheen:
There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church – which is, of course, quite a different thing. These millions can hardly be blamed for hating Catholics because Catholics “adore statues”; because they “put the Blessed Mother on the same level with God”; because they say “indulgence is a permission to commit sin”; because the Pope “is a Fascist”; because the “Church is the defender of Capitalism.” If the Church taught or believed any one of these things it should be hated, but the fact is that the Church does not believe nor teach any one of them. It follows then that the hatred of the millions is directed against error and not against truth. As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.
If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other-worldly. Since it is other-worldly it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine. If then, the hatred of the Church is founded on erroneous beliefs, it follows that basic need of the day is instruction. Love depends on knowledge for we cannot aspire nor desire the unknown. Our great country is filled with what might be called marginal Christians, i.e., those who live on the fringe of religion and who are descendants of Christian living parents, but who now are Christians only in name. They retain a few of its ideals out of indolence and force of habit; they knew the glorious history of Christianity only through certain emasculated forms of it, which have married the spirit of the age and are now dying with it. Of Catholicism and its sacraments, its pardon, its grace, its certitude and its peace, they know nothing except a few inherited prejudices. And yet they are good people who want to do the right thing, but who have no definite philosophy concerning it. They educate their children without religion, and yet they resent the compromising morals of their children. They would be angry if you told them they were not Christian, and yet they do not believe that Christ is God. They resent being called pagans and yet they never take a practical cognizance of the existence of God. There is only one thing of which they are certain and that is that things are not right as they are. It is just that single certitude which makes them what might be called the great “potentials,” for they are ready to be pulled in either of two directions. Within a short time they must take sides; they must either gather with Christ or they must scatter; they must either be with Him or against Him; they must either be on the cross as other Christs, or under it as other executioners. Which way will these marginal Christians tend? The answer depends upon those who have the faith. Like the multitudes who followed Our Lord into the desert, they are as sheep without a shepherd. They are waiting to be shepherded either with the sheep or goats. Only this much is certain. Being human and having hearts they want more than class struggle and economics; they want Life, they want Truth, and they want Love. In a word, they want Christ.
It is to these millions who believe wrong things about the Church and to these marginal Christians, that this little book is sent. It is not to prove that they are “wrong”; it is not to prove that we are “right”; it is merely to present the truth in order that the truth may conquer through the grace of God. When men are starving, one need not go to them and tell them to avoid poison; nor to eat bread because there are vitamins in bread. One need only go to them and tell them that they are starving and here is bread, and the laws of nature will do the rest. This book of “Radio Replies” with 1,588 questions and answers goes out on a similar mission. Its primary task is not to humble the erroneous; not to glorify the Catholic Church as intellectual and self-righteous, but to present the truth in a calm, clear manner in order that with the grace of God souls may come to the blessed embrace of Christ.
It is not only the point of “Radio Replies” to prove that the Church is the only completely soul-satisfying Church in existence at the present day; it is also to suggest that the Catholic Church is the only Church existing today which goes back to the time of Christ. History is so very clear on this point, it is curious how many minds miss its obviousness. When therefore you, the readers of “Radio Replies” in the twentieth century, wish to know about Christ and about His early Church, and about His mysteries, we ask you to go not only to the written records but to the living Church which began with Christ Himself. That Church or that Mystical Person which has been living all these centuries is the basis of our faith and to us Catholics it speaks this way: “I live with Christ. I saw His Mother and I know her to be a Virgin and the loveliest and purest of all women in heaven or on earth; I saw Christ at Caesarea-Philippi, when, after changing Simon’s name to Rock, He told him he was the rock upon which the Church would be built and that it would endure unto the consummation of the world. I saw Christ hanging on a cross and I saw Him rise from His tomb; I saw Magdalene rush to His feet; I saw the angels clad in white beside the great stone; I was in the Cenacle room when doubting Thomas put fingers into His hands; I was on Olivet when He ascended into heaven and promised to send His Spirit to the apostles to make them the foundation of His new Mystical Body on earth. I was at the stoning of Stephen, saw Saul hold the garments of those who slew him, and later I heard Saul, as Paul, preach Christ and Him crucified; I witnessed the beheading of Peter and Paul in Rome, and with my very eyes saw tens of thousands of martyrs crimson the sands with their blood, rather than deny the faith Peter and Paul had preached unto them; I was living when Boniface was sent to Germany, when Augustine when to England, Cyril and Methodius to the Poles, and Patrick to Ireland; at the beginning of the ninth century I recall seeing Charlemagne crowned as king in matters temporal as Peter’s vicar was recognized as supreme in matters spiritual; in the thirteenth century I saw the great stones cry out in tribute to me, and burst into Gothic Cathedrals; in the shadows of those same walls I saw great Cathedrals of thought arise in the prose of Aquinas and Bonaventure, and in the poetry of Dante; in the sixteenth century I saw my children softened by the spirit of the world leave the Father’s house and reform the faith instead of reforming discipline which would have brought them back again into my embrace; in the last century and at the beginning of this I heard the world say it could not accept me because I was behind the times. I am not behind the times, I am only behind the scenes. I have adapted myself to every form of government the world has ever known; I have lived with Caesars and kings, tyrants and dictators, parliaments and presidents, monarchies and republics. I have welcomed every advance of science, and were it not for me the great records of the pagan world would not have been preserved. It is true I have not changed my doctrine, but that is because the doctrine is not mine but His who sent Me. I change my garments which belong to time, but not my Spirit which belongs to eternity. In the course of my long life I have seen so many modern ideas become unmodern, that I know I shall live to chant a requiem over the modern ideas of this day, as I chanted it over the modern ideas of the last century. I celebrated the nineteen-hundredth anniversary of the death of my Redeemer and yet I am no older now than then, for my Spirit is Eternal, and the Eternal never ages. I am the abiding Personage of the centuries. I am the contemporary of all civilizations. I am never out of date, because the dateless; never out of time, because the timeless. I have four great marks: I am One, because I have the same Soul I had in the beginning; I am Holy, because that Soul is the Spirit of Holiness; I am Catholic, because that Spirit pervades every living cell of my Body; I am Apostolic, because my origin is identical with Nazareth, Galilee and Jerusalem. I shall grow weak when my members become rich and cease to pray, but I shall never die. I shall be persecuted as I am persecuted now in Mexico and Russia; I shall be crucified as I was on Calvary, but I shall rise again, and finally when time shall be no more, and I shall have grown to my full stature, then shall I be taken into heaven as the bride of my Head, Christ, where the celestial nuptials shall be celebrated, and God shall be all in all, because His Spirit is Love and Love is Heaven.”.
Monsignor Fulton J. Sheen, Ph.D., D.D., L.L.D.
Via Radio Replies
July 20th is the Solemnity of the Prophet Elijah, the fiery prophet of Carmel.
If you would like to pray the Office with us, Carmelite Quotes is the place to find the Carmelite Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours. Please pray with us.
Here: 20 July: Our Father Saint Elijah
Also, if you would like to read more and learn more about the Carmelite Order and the Prophet, see Elijah, the Prophet of All Time written by Fr. Felix, O.Carm., also Elijah and the Carmelites
Something to ponder….
What exactly is NOT beautiful about worshiping our Lord at Mass?
Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan turned a concentration camp into a cathedral, the palm of his hand into an altar, his pocket into a tabernacle and darkness into Light with the grace of our Lord.
See yourself at a Wedding. Is the food not to your liking? Are the Groomsmen not wearing what you would like? Is the music not in the right key for your ear? Is the Wedding not up to your expectations?
What do you suppose the Bride and Groom’s mind is on this day? Is it the wedding or the Marriage? If she messes up her words, it is His that have already held True and it doesn’t negate the validity of the Marriage. It’s happening, everyone is there, its the most beautiful thing in this world.
We are a sorry lot. We often complain about the wedding without taking the Marriage into account. What makes the Liturgy strikingly beautiful, is the reality that our Lord entered into and rose above all that “ugliness” of ours and we can too, because He tells us to follow Him.
“Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
It is a blessing just to be there. We should be grateful simply for that.
“So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him’”
Glorify God in all that you do. In all places. At all times. He is with us always. Not just when we remember Him. Not just when we gather together, but always.
Blessed and beautiful feast to my Carmelite brothers and sisters!
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Most loving Savior, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.
Have you ever heard someone say, “If Jesus was here”, or have you said or thought this saying yourself? If we truly believe, we know He is here. He is with us always. It is our own lack of faith that tells us and others, when we say this, that He is not.
In today’s Gospel we hear our Lord’s proclamation:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Remember when you were a child. You were cared for and all the “worries” you may have today, back in childhood, were nonexistent. You went about life doing what a child would do. You just KNEW you were cared for. Such is the faith we have in our Lord when we know He is with us always.
When our Lord Ascended into Heaven, although He was gone, the Holy Spirit made known the reality of His continued presence. The Apostles did not preach saying “If Jesus was here right now”. No. They preached saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is here, our Lord Jesus Christ, is here STILL right now, repent and believe. As we still this day preach, because He truly is.
Our Lord is not a far away God. It is we who are far away in our knowing Him. We may know of Him, which keeps us distant from Him but He is not far from us at all, as He knows us. We must make the decision, as in all relationships, to know Him better. When we do this, we move closer to Him.
At the Wedding of Cana, our beautiful Mother Mary, intercedes for the Wedding Couple, when she says to our Lord, “They have no wine”. The guests, those who were there to be served, never knew. They continued on celebrating. Who knew the of the intercession? Who SEEN with their own eyes what took place? The servants who carried out the orders by our Lord. So too do we continue to see the work of our Lord, when we carry out the orders of our Lord and to see His hands at work in this world, is cause for joyful celebration that the “world” can not understand.
Please go to today’s Novena HERE
Today’s pondering is a focus on silence. On quiet. On listening and not speaking during prayer.
Do you find yourself aimlessly reciting prayers, without pondering what you are saying, because your mind is clouded with distractions? Be the distractions of what your plans are later, what is troubling you, what you had experienced at some other time or even trying to focus on the words themselves, so not to make a mistake while reciting them?
What one can try is very simple. Stop everything. Keep the focus on what you are doing right now. You are in prayer. Be in prayer. Place 100% into the prayer. Sit and be mindful. Turn off what your distraction is, and “turn on” what you are doing. Slow down what you are saying, so that each word perminates you. Allow the fragrance of the prayer to envelop your entire being. When we bend down to smell a flower, do we bend down without thinking of what we are doing, while thinking of all our troubles? No. We are captivated by the beauty of the flower, while taking in the lovely scent. Thus, we stop to smell the flowers. The same must be done with prayer.
In practicing this always, that same focus takes in the beauty of our Lord. He becomes our focus, while all else, falls away.
Please see today’s Novena HERE
Keeping the Word no matter what. In today’s Gospel, we hear our Lord say: “one’s enemies will be those of his household” . Do you find yourself at odds with those closest to you because you truly practice the faith? You are not alone. The more we pray, the more we adhere to our Lord’s commands and the more we come to believe in our Lord, the more we grow in the faith, and die to the world, the more we become like sandpaper to those around us, who do not believe. Oh, they often say they believe in our Lord, but they often add that “BUT” to their answer when you ask if they do.
All the “buts” they can give us, are very telling. Its generally a fear of wanting to move closer to the cross of our Lord. Moving closer to the cross, seems to souls that they will have more suffering, more struggles, more storms, more heat and who want’s that? The reality is, we have these things anyway, even far away from the cross, but closer to His cross, we find we are able to bare them because we are with our Lord.
How do we not become “sandpaper” to those around us? Through accepting the fact that we are all on this journey. We do not shove a soul nor demand them to believe in our Lord. We allow them to decide for themselves while we are living the faith deeply. Yes, you will be hated because of His name and we know that this is not against us, but the soul who finds fault with our Lord, is reveling the faults of themselves. They will hate you anyway, because they do not accept Him.
What they need, as a little sprout, is more water, more heat, or more sun. Fear keeps them from moving, growing into Him. Why is it, that humans are the only creatures that try not to reach out for what we need most and reach for what we want instead? Our Lord knows what we need. It is always Him.
On to today’s Novena HERE
In my pondering of today’s novena and Gospel, we hear talk of “seeds”. We all start off in this life, each one of us, as as something considered insignificant to the world. Consider the seed, before it sprouts, it is just a seed. The seed changes drastically in its short span of being a seed when planted and becomes something much different.
Have you ever bumped into someone you have not seen for many years, and in speaking with them, all they seem to focus on is how you were back twenty or so years ago, without any care of what has taken place in the past twenty plus years? The spouse you have, the children and grandchildren that are now part of your life? As if the focus is constantly on the husk of the seed that was tossed aside, rather than the family tree that came forth from it.
Our spiritual life, begins the same way. As much as we focus on our temporal needs, food, housing, family, etc, we should spend that same time, focusing on our spiritual needs, so as to grow beautifully into who we were crated to be. Imagine if you will, how many today call for “Separation of Church and State”. Lets call the worldly part of your life, the State, and the spiritual part of your life, the Church. Although there truly is, only one life. How long do you think it would take, for your spiritual life to fall away and turn to dust, like the husk of a seed, if you were to separate the two? Very quickly. When this happens, there is no spiritual growth, and when that Friend (our Lord) from long ago (when you were Baptized) comes to you (moment of death) there is nothing to say, there isn’t any new fruit to give, because you have not grown.
“Grant, Lord, that I may listen attentively and remember constantly Your teaching, that I may put it into practice forcefully and courageously, despising riches and avoiding the worries of a worldly life… Grant me Your strength and that I may meditate on Your words putting down deep roots and purifying me of all worldly perils (St. John Chrysostom, A Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew 44:3-4).“
Please go to today’s Novena HERE
Going deeper into the faith, takes commitment to doing what our Lord has commanded of us. What is the greatest commandment? To love. Love not as the world knows, but that of the love that our Lord has shown to us. Fearless love to carry out His will. Courageous love, to be truthful in all thing, in all places and in all circumstances.
In today’s Gospel, we find our Lord telling us: If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! “Therefore do not be afraid of them.“
Have you ever continued to sin, because you were afraid to speak out against a wrong being committed because you might upset someone? Or due to despair because you think your voice is not loud enough to change the situation? This is a situation in which you can change it by speaking out. You can assert your right to freedom from despair that our Lord has given to you. You can change that situation within you, thus by not allowing it to hold you back. Do not be afraid to be persecuted for the Truth, as our Lord is Truth. The first step to true freedom takes courage to not do the sinful things, that everyone else is doing. The first step to true freedom takes action on our part. We must be honest with ourselves. We must acknowledge we are fallen and need our Lord. Even if it doesn’t seem like much, it is great. It will bring persecution from those who do not believe in our Lord. It will bring suffering to us, but it is not in vain. No more is our suffering self inflicted, but instead, we suffer for the good of others. In this life, when we reflect on this suffering, we can see the good thief and the bad thief crucified with our Lord. We can suffer with our Lord, or suffer without Him.
To continue taking these steps, one needs to reflect constantly on what is right and just in our Lord, and do the good, turning away the bad. This life comes with responsibility. Coming to grips with our sins and changing our behaviors, attacks them head on. It’s not just taking into account what would Jesus do, but what does the Catholic Church believe and teach in this regard? If I find fault with this, why is that, as the Church is the authority. Do my thoughts and action mirror that of the teachings of the Church? Learning why the Church teaches what she does, brings to light what was hidden from our sight due to our own lack of “seeking”. In this way, we begin to get rid of the vices that have entered into each of us, which destroy our spiritual lives, turning us into dead wood on the Vine.
Please go to today’s Novena here
As I woke this morning and walked into our living room, I was greeted by one of our pet rats. She seen me coming and I greeted her with a warm “Good Morning”. She stood on her hind legs looking at me and it was adorable. This little creature of our Lord’s put a smile on my face. I seen her just as that. A creature of our Lord. Lesser no doubt than a human, as she is unable to reason as a human, but she brought me joy just the same. Was my greeting to her received as joy? No. Lesser creatures can not experience joy as we do as true Joy is a gift of our Lord. Joy is the gift that one retains even if it is not given in return. It’s the peace of our Lord, come to rest in the heart.
Have you ever greeted another human with joy, who does not know you, whom you have never met, in this way? Generally a smile is given in return. The gift of Joy when given to others, is no doubt the gift that keeps giving. Be it that it is given in return, or not.
As I contemplate today’s Novena, I can see the joy in the Wise Men, at finding our Lord. That gift of Joy they possessed without knowing at the time, which they tried to give to King Herod, who utterly despised it, returned to them, as they continued to seek our Lord where He was.
Today’s Gospel reading of Matthew 10:16-23, also a correlation to this gift of Joy, states: whoever endures to the end will be saved. This joy, is a finality of knowing our Lord. No matter what takes place, we know that our Lord is King. We know that our Lord sustains us. Our Lord gives us life giving water. We find ourselves swimming in His love. When we know this, all that we do, is for our Lord. One can not see that we are not swimming in this love, and simply we know where we are. Thus, in all that we encounter, we are in prayer. We know that our Lord’s love for us, prevails over all. The gift of joy, is our Lord Himself.
For today’s Novena see HERE
May we take this time we have been given today, to look deeply within our lives, and see where all our own dead parts are. What are dead parts, but that which sin has taken root, behaviors that cause us harm, unhealthy attitudes about others and ourselves, but especially actions that harm not only us, but all those around us.
Today’s Novena focuses on the red rose and “pruning”. I am brought to the Gospel of John.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
To remain in our Lord, is to love Him above all else. To continue daily to carry out His will and His commands. All that we love above our Lord, needs to be pruned or cut away, as it can not produce anything for our Lord. Again we hear in the Gospel of John:
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.2 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
On to today’s reflection:
Day 3 – Novena for Our Lady of Mt Carmel by Fr. Gregory Houck
Today is day two of the novena to our Lady of Mount Carmel. In today’s reflection, we find that there are many flowers in the Garden of Carmel.
I am not one to assume my own flower, as I would rather that our Lord or Lady would designate that for me, and so, yesterday I had a soul contact me via direct message on social media, with an obvious scam. This person demanded that I send an email to their contact person, so I could claim my huge prize winnings. When this is done, the scammer obtains your entire contact list and attempts this scam on more souls.
I reported this person, as it was a scam that targets the deaf and hard of hearing. See here: Deceiving the Deaf
I shared their information with others, with a warning about this scam, so others would not be deceived. As I took it to prayer yesterday, I pondered the Venus Fly Trap. The Venus flytrap is a flowering plant best known for its carnivorous eating habits. It seems to get a bad rap as an aggressive little plant, but actually eats all the pests that danger others and protects the rest of the garden. It doesn’t chase after any of its meals but waits patiently for them to come to it. In reflecting on this little plant, I thought about this in regards to the spiritual life. The fly is an obvious symbol of sin and evil. When we repent, sin still comes to us, but it goes no further if we do not act upon it. Rather, we, like the little fly trap, consume it, stop it from going any further, and keep on doing the will of God.
During this Novena to our Lady of Mount Carmel, I pray we all stop the evil that comes to us daily, cloaked in the allurement of worldly pleasures, seeing them for what they are, hearing the call of our Lord and stop them dead in their tracks, giving the glory to our Lord.
For the entire Day Two reflection and prayer, please click HERE
I recently deleted my twitter account, and in the next few weeks, will be deleting my Facebook page. You see, I have been sitting on social media for many years now, not just blogging here, but starting all the way back in 06, blogging for someone else. I have begun to feel like a parrot lately. I can go back all through the years, and recite the same things, over an over again. I don’t even have to write them anymore, as my comments on most everything have already been logged here.
Politics never changes. Its always political. Faith, our faith, in how we grow in it, changes us all the time, while our Lord, never changes. What more can I say all day long on social media, that I haven’t already said? Not much. What I can do, is put it more into practice in the ways I have been unable to in the past. Within my own “home”. Holy Abandonment is beautiful. It allows the soul to rest in our Lord, knowing that no matter what may come, may our Lord’s Will be done. My own “home” is what our Lord has entrusted me with.
So my days and time on social media platforms may not be a prevalent as past years, but my putting this faith into actions, I have been given, will be used where it is needed. In my home, in formation with my Carmalite community and in my parish.
Imagine my surprise today, to find this beautiful reflection in my morning prayer, in iBreviary. The words, echo my thoughts as I have contemplated this decision to leave. Our Lord is the Divine Master of all. What peace He has given to souls who seek Him.
From the book Way of Perfection by Saint Teresa of Avila, virgin
(Obras de la gloriosa madre Sta Teresa de Jesus, Tomo 1, Madrid, 1752: 30:1-4 pp. 526-528)
Your kingdom come
“When asking a favor of some person of importance would anyone be so ill-mannered and thoughtless as not first to consider how best to address him in order to make a good impression and give him no cause for offense? Surely he would think over his petition carefully and his reason for making it, especially if it were for something specific and important as our good Jesus tells us our petitions should be. It seems to me that this point deserves serious attention. My Lord, could you not have included all in one word by saying “Father, give us whatever is good for us?” After all, to one who understands everything so perfectly, what need is there to say more?
O Eternal Wisdom, between you and your Father that was enough; that was how you prayed in the garden. You expressed your desire and fear but surrendered yourself to his will. But as for us, my Lord, you know that we are less submissive to the will of your Father and need to mention each thing separately in order to stop and think whether it would be good for us, and otherwise not ask for it. You see, the gift our Lord intends for us may be by far the best, but if it is not what we wanted we are quite capable of flinging it back in his face. That is the kind of people we are; ready cash is the only wealth we understand.
Therefore, the good Jesus bids us repeat these words, this prayer for his kingdom to come in us: Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. See how wise our Master is! But what do we mean when we pray for this kingdom? That is what I am going to consider now, for it is important that we should understand it. Our good Jesus placed these two petitions side by side because he realized that in our inadequacy we could never fittingly hallow, praise, exalt or glorify this holy name of the eternal Father unless he enabled us to do so by giving us his kingdom here on earth. But since we must know what we are asking for and how important it is to pray for it without ceasing and to do everything in our power to please him who is to give it to us, I should now like to give you my own thoughts on the matter.
Of the many joys that are found in the kingdom of heaven, the greatest seems to me to be the sense of tranquility and well-being that we shall experience when we are free from all concern for earthly things. Glad because others are glad and for ever at peace, we shall have the deep satisfaction of seeing that by all creatures the Lord is honored and praised, and his name blessed. No one ever offends him, for there everyone loves him. Loving him is the soul’s one concern. Indeed it cannot help but love him, for it knows him. Here below our love must necessarily fall short of that perfection and constancy, but even so how different it would be, how much more like that of heaven, if we really knew our Lord!”
Edit to add: 7/03/2020 2:00 PM
I have now, reactivated my twitter account as of today, as I received an email from the Coordinator of Lay Carmelites, Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, inquiring if I would take the position of Regional Formation Coordinator for the San Diego region. After much consideration, and truly, this being the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, this is something I have been pondering for quite a while. Where, Lord, did You need me? That I may give You my all. What, Lord, are You asking of me? That I may give You to all. Social media, for me, had become a very loud place as I was trying to find that inner silence again. Sometimes, we get drawn into the chaos of the world, and our Lord truly is the only exit. I was unsure as to the answers of these questions and to be frank, that email from the Coordinator sat in my inbox for two days, without me even seeing it.
I have answered with a resounding yes to the coordinator and to our Lord. This latest encounter with our Lord, has definitely found me proclaiming, “My Lord and my God.”
With this yes, comes the challenge to keep my focus on our Lord, and Carmel. Looking into the deleting of some platforms, I have found myself turning them back on, as there are many souls who do seek our Lord, and in those platforms, a channel to Him has been established.
Racism is not reserved to white on black.
rac·ism/ˈrāˌsizəm/ noun
I can’t tell you how sick it makes me to hear, whites never encounter racism but perpetrate it. It runs in every culture. Just because someone may not have the same experience as someone else, does not make it not racism. Or what some had once called “reverse racism”. There is no such thing. There is only racism. What I am about to say is the reality of racism.
My family was forced to leave our former parish and school, because my daughter was bullied, bad, for not speaking Spanish. Keep in mind this was a few years ago. We didn’t learn of the bulling until she had entered into the third grade. We were astonished to learn it had been taking place when she began school, in kindergarten. We were told it was no big deal. It was a big deal. My daughter was picked on constantly, had her lunch stolen daily and was ridiculed without any care for her feelings. She began to struggle in school and was having a hard time concentrating and we were told, it was no big deal. So racism against white children, was no big deal according to the administrators. We were one of two ONLY white family’s in that particular school. When the decision was made to place our children there, I knew it was mostly Hispanic but it didn’t matter to me, it was Catholic.
We left a week later, and entered into a new parish and placed our children into the new school. STILL the minority among a majority of a mix of Chaldean’s and Spanish. Also Catholic. We have never been more happy in this new place. The child who was bulled at the other school, graduated two years ago with many friends and a joyful school experience she will never forget.
Life is hard! Humility is needed among ALL of us, no matter what color our skin may be and believe you me, HUMILITY toughens the skin no matter what color it is, to forget the hate and love anyway. I forgive them. I pray for them. When someone says that I need to walk in their shoes, I have. But it doesn’t matter to most, because what is said in return by most is that I’m white, which is a statement that is actually the heart of racism in itself.
Please read here, Cardinal Turkson: Racism driving some Catholics from Church. I am very saddened to see this article only address one aspect of racism. One point I need to make regarding this article is here:
“The Lord is calling the entire nation to repentance,” Purvis said. Catholics should examine their consciences to see how they might have demeaned their neighbor in thought, word, or act. Catholics can always ask God, “please show me my brokenness,” she said. “He will do that.” “Offering a concrete way for Catholics to fight racism, she said “Listen to people of color. Just listen.” We are all different colors. Does my “white” skin exclude me?
As Catholics, we are called to be of One Body. Skin tone doesn’t matter. Hair color doesn’t matter. Skin deep faith is not our faith. Our faith cuts deep in the heart where racism is not present and only Love exists.
From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
(Sermo 47, 12-14, De ovibus: CCL 41, 582-584)
“If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ
This is our glory: the witness of our conscience. There are men who rashly judge, who slander, whisper and murmur, who are eager to suspect what they do not see, and eager to spread abroad things they have not even a suspicion of. Against men of this sort, what defense is there save the witness of our own conscience?
My brothers, we do not seek, nor should we seek, our own glory even among those whose approval we desire. What we should seek is their salvation, so that if we walk as we should they will not go astray in following us. They should imitate us if we are imitators of Christ; and if we are not, they should still imitate him. He cares for his flock, and he alone is to be found with those who care for their flocks, because they are all in him.
And so we seek no advantage for ourselves when we aim to please men. We want to take our joy in men—and we rejoice when they take pleasure in what is good, not because this exalts us, but because it benefits them.
It is clear who is intended by the apostle Paul: If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. And similarly when he says: Be pleasing to all men in all things, even as I in all things please all men. Yet his words are as clear as water, limpid, undisturbed, unclouded. And so you should, as sheep, feed on and drink of his message; do not trample on it or stir it up.
You have listened to our Lord Jesus Christ as he taught his apostles: Let your actions shine before men so that they may see you good deeds, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven, for it is the Father who made you thus. We are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hands. If then you are good, praise is due to him who made you so; it is no credit to you, for if you were left to yourself, you could only be wicked. Why then do you try to pervert the truth, in wishing to be praised when you do good, and blaming God when you do evil? For though he said: Let your works shine before men, in the same Sermon on the Mount he also said: Do not parade your good deeds before men. So if you think there are contradictions in Saint Paul, you will find the same in the Gospels; but if you refrain from troubling the waters of your heart, you will recognize here the peace of the Scriptures and with it you will have peace.
And so, my brothers, our concern should be not only to live as we ought, but also to do so in the sight of men; not only to have a good conscience but also, so far as we can in our weakness, so far as we can govern our frailty, to do nothing which might lead our weak brother into thinking evil of us. Otherwise, as we feed on the good pasture and drink the pure water, we may trample on God’s meadow, and weaker sheep will have to feed on trampled grass and drink from troubled waters.”
First Martyrs of Rome, pray for us
Via Pedro Marrero –
A Meditation after praying the Divine Office:
As Deitrich Bonhoeffer reminds us, when Christ calls us he bids us die, to ourselves and to the world, and still at rarer times, in true martyrdom of the body for the sake of the Faith.
Some Christians will be crucified spiritually, others, as in the middle-east of our days, quite literally upon a Cross of Spiritual Battles or upon the wood of a roughly hewn beam under the watch of our old enemies, certain followers of a man who set us in opposition 1,400 years ago.
The Way, the Way of a Christian is along the Via Dolorosa towards the Cross.
The Gospel isn’t merely a set of books, as meritorious as their spiritual guidance is, but a profound sacrifice of ourselves through the grace gifted to us by the Persons of Love, as expressed through the Paraclete, the Comforter, who resides in an especially intimate way in the hearts of those called forth to the Altar worthily. The Word of God is dynamic, is alive, brings forth existence itself, is Scripture, Christ, His Church and all who follow the will of the Father. The Word of God is Love, and Love is a Person who invites us to His Presence. The Universe itself owes its existence to this effulgence of Love which could not help but call us forth to participate in this Love – And this is why Christ is King. This gift of the virtue of courage in martyrdom to ourselves and the world for love of God and neighbor for the Advancement of the Kingdom of True Love ( Agape ) is the Gospel, and that we can participate in it through the power of the Comforter is the Good News. That we have been overcome by grace and have become chalices overflowing with grace to bring new life into the world against the Cultures of Death and Darkness, which do not reside in the Truth since Truth is the Person of Love in the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity. The gaze of Love between the Father and the Son, eternally.
FROM TODAY’S OFFICE OF READINGS IN THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS:
From a homily by Pope Paul VI-
“Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man’s teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead.
All things, all history converges in Christ. A man of sorrow and hope, he knows us and loves us. As our friend he stays by us throughout our lives; at the end of time he will come to be our judge; but we also know that he will be the complete fulfilment of our lives and our great happiness for all eternity.
I can never cease to speak of Christ for he is our truth and our light; he is the way, the truth and the life. He is our bread, our source of living water who allays our hunger and satisfies our thirst. He is our shepherd, our leader, our ideal, our comforter and our brother.
He is like us but more perfectly human, simple, poor, humble, and yet, while burdened with work, he is more patient. He spoke on our behalf; he worked miracles; and he founded a new kingdom: in it the poor are happy; peace is the foundation of a life in common; where the pure of heart and those who mourn are uplifted and comforted; the hungry find justice; sinners are forgiven; and all discover that they are brothers.
The image I present to you is the image of Jesus Christ. As Christians you share his name; he has already made most of you his own. So once again I repeat his name to you Christians and I proclaim to all men: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Lord of the new universe, the great hidden key to human history and the part we play in it. He is the mediator – the bridge, if you will – between heaven and earth. Above all he is the Son of man, more perfect than any man, being also the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary his mother on earth, more blessed than any woman. She is also our mother in the spiritual communion of the mystical body.
Remember: it is Jesus Christ I preach day in and day out. His name I would see echo and re-echo for all time even to the ends of the earth.”
‘The Lord’s Prayer ‘is truly the summary of the whole gospel.’ ‘Since the Lord… after handling over the practice of prayer, said elsewhere, ‘Ask and you will receive, ‘ and since everyone has petitions which are peculiar to his circumstances, the regular and appropriate prayer (the Lord’s Prayer) is said first, as the foundation of further desires.’
Catechism of the Catholic Church; 2761.
“Run through all the words of the holy prayers [in Scripture], and I do not think that you will find anything in them that is not contained and included in the Lord’s Prayer” – St. Augustine
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Blessed Father’s Day
The other day, I read a story about how Minnesota schools would be banning books over racial slurs. I was brought back to how many times this “book burning” idea, was pinned on bible pushing conservatives. Remember when they said that Conservative Bible pushers were going to ban everything? Not so today. It seems the pendulum has swung and the reality of who is behind this is clear. It’s communism. Before communism takes over, it sends “peasants” in to do the dirty work of destruction. Then, it comes riding in on the “white horse” looking like the good guy, hiding the reality that it sent the peasants in to do the dirty work in the first place, so to take over.
In speaking with a friend about this, I felt I must share her words:
“Trying to censor and silence the past? It is a very ignorant and failed attempt at time travel by unserious willfully ignorant hackers of history. These literary pieces are key holes into the culture of that era in our history. They’re supposed to make you feel uncomfortable and angry. This country has spent generations transforming itself from this era. It is not where we are now. But we must look back on it to understand the human condition, man’s inhumanity to man, and yes racism. And we must also be able to see the failures in order to fully understand and appreciate our accomplishments.
However, the powers that be inside this Marxist based and driven movement cannot allow us to look into that keyhole for fuller context of where we were and where we are because it diminishes their fake premise and false narrative that we are still in that ear when we are NOT. So, our literature must be censored, banned and even destroyed.
It’s what every fascist And communist does. Destroys history and obliterates full context. Imagine our Bible’s history beginning with the Adam and Eve chapters and then going directly to the News Testament. Jesus Christ and His meaning would seem aimless and unnecessary, right? Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden and thrust into an existence of hardships and not only their own sins but the massive collateral damage the sins of others inflicts. To go from one ‘garden’ and end up in another ‘garden’ with the Son of God on His knees in tears and pleading with His Father has little to absolutely no context of what and how humanity was brought to that moment in the universal history.
By the way, it is those chapters of the Bible that those who insist that book is the most violent book ever written refer to. Understand the total loss of meaning in the context of the whole journey, bad and good, if chapters of history are removed. Imagine the power that those who would do these sort of censorship moves have over the rest of us and our future generations.
We’re seeing it now with the asinine kowtowing to the neo-fascists in all the kneeling and apologizing for centuries old sins we didn’t commit, and those who did have long since answered for when their own call to judgment arrived. To kneel and set yourself on fire with baseless apologies for something you’ve not done is to aid and abet in somebody else’s bearing false witness, in my opinion.
Imagine an amnesia patient with nobody around who knows him/her to remind him where he had been in life and what the world was like in his life and environment. That would give complete power of suggestion and “re-education” to those directly influencing him now to mold him into the person they believe is best suited for him. The left cannot control us without imposing cultural amnesia on us, and then guilting, intimidating, punishing us for a past we didn’t have a hand in, but they insist we’re responsible for. Yet, they insist of burning that past as some sort of retribution, creating a paradox for the world they are determined the rest of us live in under their thumb. If you destroy things like cultural era books and movies and caricatures, then you have also removed that evidence that it even existed/happened. This is Marxism and communism, enforced by fascism. This is Orwellian.”
More to come soon – This post will be updated. Please see HERE
Update: Can Catholics support ‘Black Lives Matter’?
I ask you to read Black Lives Matter – What We Believe, and then please, read below, ponder how this is not another communist political agenda.
Please read: DIVINI REDEMPTORIS – ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XI
ON ATHEISTIC COMMUNISM
Today –
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love you. Come to our aid, convert the hearts of souls at odds with You that they may come to love You too.
I received an email today, stating: ” Peg Pondering Again has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 100 Catholic Blogs on the web.”
I am humbled, and would like to give a shout out to all on the list. Praise, glory and honor to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
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Having been on the receiving end of racism, as a white woman, pondering how I see today’s riots, and the lack of action to end them, I was asking my children, if they remember when they studied about Kristallnacht. Both my children do, and we talked about it, in regards to what we are seeing today. We prayed.
We know, that racism is not reserved to white people, rather it is a cultural cancer in all society’s.
As the riots continued, I watched social media explode with Catholics screaming, “I am Antifa”, to which I could only shake my head and pray for them. Communism is not something any Catholic should be cheering on, nor supporting. Let me share with you, where “Antifa” was conceived and how today, it is still the case.
“Antifaschistische Aktion (German: [ˌantifaˈʃɪstɪʃə ʔakˈtsi̯oːn]), commonly known under its abbreviation Antifa (German: [ˈantifaː]), was a militant anti-fascist organisation in Weimar Republic started by members of the Communist Party of Germany“
As a Catholic, a child of God, we know that ALL racism is to be condemned as it is born from hate for neighbor. Racism is a fear of others, who do not “seem” to be like you. When one sees our Lord in their neighbor, racism has no place, and is never allowed to grow. We are called love our neighbor as our self. Communists fear nothing, especially God.
Today, a friend share this, and I feel I must share it with you.
When Mobs Dispense Social Justice
Written by Adam Mill
June, 5th 2020
We should never place the race of one, over the race of another. ALL of us belong to the Human Race.
O God, Creator of the universe, who extends your paternal concern over every creature and guides the events of history to the goal of salvation, we acknowledge your fatherly love when you break the resistance of mankind and, in a world torn by strife and discord, you make us ready for reconciliation. Renew for us the wonders of your mercy; send forth your Spirit that he may work in the intimacy of hearts, that enemies may begin to dialogue, that adversaries may shake hands and peoples may encounter one another in harmony. May all commit themselves to the sincere search for true peace which will extinguish all arguments, for charity which overcomes hatred, for pardon which disarms revenge.
– St. Pope John Paul II
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love
What is love? So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Act of Love
O my God, I love Thee above all things with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and I ask pardon for all whom I have injured.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Nothing can change what our Lord has already done. It is we who change and realign to Him. His mercy endues forever.
When our thought begin to imagine that we somehow presume to know more than we do, illusions kick in, and torment takes over, where peace once was. This is a trigger point, to keep in reference when we begin to fall back out of union with our Lord. What do I know? Is a question we should ask ourselves often. What I know, is that our Lord has promised to be with us until the end of the age. What I know, is that He doesn’t say what He doesn’t mean. Can I trust this? With my entire heart. This is not a time to rest in presumption of knowing our Lord. It is a time to delve deep into Him, spend time with Him, talk to Him, and learn to trust Him.
No matter what may come, our Lord is with us. He is with us when we freely choose to not follow Him. He is with us when we freely choose to follow Him. When we come face to face with ourselves, when we see we are no better or worse than anyone else, is when we can see the sins of all, right in the mirror as we look at ourselves. What then, shall we do at this moment? We offer to help our neighbor, not by condemning them in their sin, as our sin is no better, rather we accompany them as a friend, through their struggle with it, and try to help them to overcome it, as we have, through Christ. We do not justify the sin by continuing in it, rather, we give glory to our Lord, by acknowledging it, repenting from it, accepting our Lord forgiveness for it, and overcoming it. Never committing it again.
If since our Lord is with us, how can I justify fear of the terrible things that may come when I have ignored His call? I can not. What can be more terrible than the justice of God? Nothing. The wages of sin, is death. What can be more frightening than the justice of God? Nothing. Again, the wages of sin, is death. Notice, our Lord does not say which sins, but sin in general. Have I sinned? I know that I have. I am a sinner. Without the mercy of our Lord, the wages of my sins, have been laid out in front of me. Death.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” – If then I have received this gift from our Lord, what does this mean? I know that this gift did not come without a price. That price was the life of the One who loves with an eternal and everlasting love. The One who, as I said in the start of this post, He doesn’t say what He doesn’t mean.
This coming Sunday for some, today, we celebrate Christ’s Ascension. The Catechism states:
665 Christ’s Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus’ humanity into God’s heavenly domain, whence he will come again (cf. Acts 1:11); this humanity in the meantime hides him from the eyes of men (cf. Col 3:3).
666 Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father’s glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his Body, may live in the hope of one day being with him for ever.
667 Jesus Christ, having entered the sanctuary of heaven once and for all, intercedes constantly for us as the mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
If we can not see Him, how can we then believe this? One does not need to see Him in the flesh, in order to believe. One must, however, see Him in the heart, through conviction of the Holy Spirit. That is when the fire within rages for Truth. What is Truth? “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When the fire for Truth is ignited, one can only desire Truth. Truth about ones self. Truth about the world. Truth about sin. Truth about eternal life. In this way, we live Truth. When we freely choose to live Truthfully, there is everlasting joy which no one can ever take away. Which no one can touch. Because He is Truth itself.
“The Judgment of Solomon is a story from the Hebrew Bible in which King Solomon of Israel ruled between two women both claiming to be the mother of a child. Solomon revealed their true feelings and relationship to the child by suggesting to cut the baby in two, with each woman to receive half. With this strategy, he was able to discern the non-mother as the woman who entirely approved of this proposal, while the actual mother begged that the sword might be sheathed and the child committed to the care of her rival”
Happy Mothers Day to all who have had a child wrongly taken from them, had to place their child in foster care, or had to place a child up for adoption. You are a Mother who knows what it means to be a mother who suffers for your children. May our Lord bring you His peace and healing as I share in this pain with you. May you unite that suffering with our Lord, as He also knows what it means, to have His children taken away from Him through the allurement of sin. May you remember that our children, have only been entrusted to us to care and nurture. They truly belong to Him.
You will always be the mother of the child. Even if the relationship has been cut. Sometimes, like the prodigal son, they return, sometimes they do not. We know, and hold in our hearts, that one day they will return to our Lord. Pray for them, for that day, that they may recognize Him and not turn away again.
LITTLE FLOWER SHOW YOUR POWER IN THIS HOUR!!! (Repost via Fr. Dennis Brown)
Somebody reminded me that Saint Therese of Lisieux is the perfect patroness for our times since she died horribly of a respiratory disease.
When she was dying Thérèse was suffering violently at each breath she took, and she felt as though she were stretched out on “iron spikes.”
Later on, when she was in a state of exhaustion, she confided to Mother Agnes: “What would become of me if God did not give me courage? A person does not know what this is unless he experiences it. No, it has to be experienced!”
Towards the end she exclaimed, “When am I going to suffocate entirely? . . . I can’t stand any more! Ah! pray for me! Jesus! Mary! I will it!”
Pray, Therese for those who are dying of the coronavirus; that they may have the graces that you received and be comforted in the midst of their severe sufferings and for those who can may be cured and recover.
Read more details:
http://jameslau88.com/agonizing_death_of_st_therese_of_lisi…
Peg Pondering Again 