O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!
O Emmanuel, rex et legisfer noster, espectatio gentium et salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Domine Deus noster.
Tag: Joy
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My family and I were out at dinner last light, celebrating my birthday. Even in these moments, contemplation of our Lord takes place.
As we sat down and the server took our orders, he had placed a few coasters down to hold our drinks. On the coasters were a picture of gift with the words “Loyalty Is Rewarded”. As I looked at the printed gift and pondered the words, immediately my thoughts were brought to our Lord on the cross and the small group of followers who stayed with Him. Looking at the picture of the Christmas gift on the coaster, on a side bar, were some words with the highlighted enlarged words “STEAK”. I thought of how we often rip through the wrapping without noticing at all the real gift. Would anyone notice the presence of our Lord in a crowded place as this, in such a simple way as this? Can anyone assess the real presence in our midst in Word?
If you look at the photo above, although not a photo of what I had seen, I will tell you what our Lord was showing me in the gift.
The ribbons in the cross pattern, showing me the Cross of our Lord and the bow in the center being our Lord on the cross.
“Loyalty Is Rewarded”
LOYALTY
Definition
Constancy in allegiance to God or the things of God; steadfastness in fidelity to a person or cause, organization or enterprise. Implicit in loyalty is strong affection based on firm conviction that the object of one’s fidelity deserves the allegiance. (Etym. Latin legalis, of or belonging to the law, legal.)
And all while contemplating this, the server came back and took our orders. I had ordered a steak, cooked medium. You may say what does this have to do with anything? I did also at the time.
The server left and the conversation began again with all of us at the table. We prayed grace before our meal came.
I took hold of that coaster again as it was drawing my attention to the word “STEAK”. What is at steak? Well, our Lord was on the stake, and all of us are at stake. For some reason, I began to ponder the Gospel of Matt. 25:23
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’
I began to tell our Lord interiorly, forgive me Lord, I ordered my steak medium and not well done. I hope the life I am leading is pleasing to you and I am never lukewarm.
The server returned and with him, brought our meal. As he placed my order in front of me, what should have been a steak cooked medium, was dark and black. It looked burnt. I stopped for a moment just staring at it. Recalling what was taking place in my contemplation of Him. Without saying a word, I cut into the black steak, and it was perfect.
This coming of our Lord, at Christmas, as we rip apart the wrapping to get to what is hidden underneath, may we never lose sight of Him in our hearts, His commands and His promise to us:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
A blessed Second Week of Advent to all.
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He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
If you say it, live it for all time and for all eternity.
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“Having given myself wholly to God, I renounced for the love of Him, everything that was not He and began to live as if there was none but He and I in the world”
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
My faith is in our Lord. I will not leave Him nor His church. No matter what the “experts” may say, as the knowledge of the “experts” changes daily, but Wisdom is eternal.
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
I do not promote the link to this article, but stand with our Lord and pray for all who can identify with what is being said in it.
If your faith is shaken, then you may be being called to place your complete and total faith and trust in our LORD and not anything nor anyone else!
2018: The year of losing our religion
Holy Mary,
Obtain for me the help that I need,
to do my very best
using all the powers within me
and all the talents and skills I posses,
according to my possibilities,
to fulfill God´s plan
in every circumstance of my life.
Amen -
I just received this beautiful reflective poem from one of my OCarm sisters of the Third Order, and I know it is not mine to keep. I must share it with you all, as I am sure you are also suffering in one way or another in this world we have come to understand as exile.
I am not sure who wrote it, as it is a variation from a Trappist Monk, but it surely speaks to me. I pray for you and I hope in all your suffering, you look deeply at our Lord in His, joining all of your suffering to His.
There He hangs — pale figure pinned against the wood.
God grant that I could love Him as I really know I should.I draw a little closer to share that love Divine
And almost hear Him whisper, “Ah foolish child of Mine!If I should now embrace you,
My hands would stain you red.
And if I leaned to whisper,
The thorns would pierce your head.”And then I knew in silence that love demands a price
‘Twas then I learned that suffering is but the kiss of Christ.God bless you.
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A social media friend had asked me if I liked poetry and shared a wonderful poem with me. As I read it, I knew that I must share it. Enjoy.
The Charcoal Fire
Spark and sputter, charcoal fire,
Ember witness of naked desire.
The shame I cannot bear to tell,
The shame that hastens me to hell.
Not the brave emboldened one,
Thrice denied:
“Never knew him,” leave me alone!
Spark and sputter, charcoal fire,
Ember witness of naked desire.How I hate what I have done,
Remote dream;
The Chosen One!
Cruel sarcasm to my soul,
Broken vessel can’t be made whole.
O the dream what I might be,
Only serves to torment me.
Spark and sputter, charcoal fire.
Ember witness of naked desire.“Caught any fish?” The stranger called.
Days and weeks my labor is spent.
Ashes my bread, my back is bent.
“Try the other side,” he said.
(I’ll try anything, I’m good as dead).
Spark and sputter, charcoal fire.
Ember witness of naked desire.Familiar Stranger, questions me,
“Love me thou?” (this times three).
O get this over, screams my head,
Pronounce the words I’ve come to dread.
Scold me as I ought to be,
Drown me in my misery.
Spark and sputter, charcoal fire.
Ember witness of naked desire.Slowly dawns the rising sun,
Slowly dawns what has been done.
Roasted fish; a meal so humble.
On Mercy feasted, so I tremble!
“As sparks fly upward,”
Now I see. Homeward bound,
My soul is free.
Spark and sputter, charcoal fire.
Ember witness of His desire.A. Littletree
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“Return to your first Love”
Bishop Zubik Announces Year of Repentance
“Year of Repentance” Bishop Zubik will inaugurate the year Sunday, Sept. 23, and will lead a related prayer that afternoon.”
We all have reason to join and repent.
Pure JOY Through Suffering
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Regarding the article today:
Cupich on scandal: ‘We have a bigger agenda than to be distracted by all of this’
He is correct, so to speak. We can not let it drag us all down or hold us back from doing the work we have all been assigned by our Lord. We move forward, without allowing it to be forgotten, nor overlooked. But rather address it as we have been assigned to along with it. It moves with us, but does not tie us down. “Get behind me Satan”. Trusting in our LORD.
See: A Solemn Promise
We see the dragon. And that is what this is. The dragon is chained already through the merits and glory of our Risen Lord. It just needs to be killed by each and every one of us. It can not hurt anyone, nor us, unless we allow it to. All are called to slay the dragon. How? BE HOLY so it can no longer hurt you or others. Cast aside the notion that everyone is already holy and BECOME Holy. Go and sin no more… Overcome it, do not be overcome by it. We have a choice to be chained with it, or drag it behind in Victory in Christ.
On the beatitudes…
“Even the most intimate bonds of friendship and the closest affinity of minds cannot truly lay claim to this peace if they are not in agreement with the will of God. Alliances based on evil desires, covenants of crime and pacts of vice—all lie outside the scope of this peace. Love of the world cannot be reconciled with love of God, and the man who does not separate himself from the children of this generation cannot join the company of the sons of God.” St. Leo the Great, Pope
Today’s first reading:
1 COR 5:1-8
Brothers and sisters:
It is widely reported that there is immorality among you,
and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans–
a man living with his father’s wife.
And you are inflated with pride.
Should you not rather have been sorrowful?
The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst.
I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit,
have already, as if present,
pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed,
in the name of our Lord Jesus:
when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit
with the power of the Lord Jesus,
you are to deliver this man to Satan
for the destruction of his flesh,
so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.Your boasting is not appropriate.
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our Paschal Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.Today’s Gospel:
LK 6:6-11
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Yesterday
Today
Silence is Christ’s response to lies, divisiveness, pope says at Mass
Always
The pope, sex abuse, and the story no one is talking about
In Christ Jesus, our LORD
Please, in your charity, also read:
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The 21’st of September, 1996, was the day I realized I was about to lose my dad to lung cancer, and he entered eternal life on the feast of St. Padre Pio, two days later.
It was the day I would come to realized, I was adopted by our Lord. Suffering brings JOY.At his side, on his bed, I said out loud, I need to change my life. The life I was living, to quote our Holy Father, was “kaka”.
Anyway, someone had posted this tweet and it stirred in me. I remember. I remember it well. From death, to new life. Today, I sing.
Notice the picture in this post: A Leopard In The Well and reflect on what our LORD has done.
Repent and believe
Ephesians 2
St. Padre Pio, pray for us.
The song? The song? “September” is a song by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire. It was recorded during the sessions for their album I Am
“Do you remember
The 21st night of September?
Love was changin’ the minds of pretenders
While chasin’ the clouds away
Our hearts were ringin’
In the key that our souls were singin’
As we danced in the night, remember
How the stars stole the night away, oh, yeah yeah yeah”St. Matthew Prayer
O Glorious St. Matthew, in your Gospel you portray Jesus as the longed-for Messiah who fulfilled the Prophets of the Old Covenant and as the new Lawgiver who founded a Church of the New Covenant.
Obtain for us the grace to see Jesus living in his Church and to follow his teachings in our lives on earth so that we may live forever with him in heaven.Edit to add:
As I was heading to bed just now, I heard music coming from outside… Someone finally gets it… The echo of September, somehow, somewhere. Thank you Lord.
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A thing about broken trust & silence – The entire thing with broken trust, is that when the trust is broken, it doesn’t matter what one says, but rather what one does (actions) to fix the trust. When trust is broken, do we believe what we are hearing from the one who has broken the trust? Or, do we respond better over time with the actions they have taken? We can demand an answer, BUT if the answer is silence? Will we be satisfied? Or do we demand an answer that WE want to hear?
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ – “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” Matt 11:18-19
Because often times, we don’t like to hear things that may hurt and react in ways that are NOT the fruits of righteous anger.
What is the fruit of righteous anger?
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When trust is broken, as a wife, I come to understand that the LORD is in this Marriage Trinity, and it is He who is the Spouse of our souls, the Bridegroom who NEVER breaks the trust. Who does not stray. As my husband may through temptation, I adhere to the Lord even when my husband may stray, praying for his repentance! Praying for his return.
Such as it is the same, for the shepherds who stray.
I ponder Psalms, chapter 116
I kept faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted!”
I said in my alarm,
“All men are liars!”
How can I repay the LORD
for all the great good done for me?
I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
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‘Make straight the way of the Lord‘” (John 1:23)
When we think of solitude, we often have fear of some desolate confinement as in a prison, or state of bleak and dismal emptiness. When we are separated from our Lord, it is, but when we are not, and trust in Him, it becomes a wonder filled place of extreme joy. The interior of the soul can be a beat up dirty place, but our Lord is there to help you clean it up, and decorate your life with all that good.
The very meaning of blessed “solitude” is that of peace. “O blessed solitude,” exclaims St. Jerome, “in which God with loving condescension deals familiarly with chosen souls!” It is in this place, the soul leans on humility and not pride, coming to grips with that which is not right and just, is cast out, if we respond as our Holy Mother, and her humility, “let it be done to me according to your word”. It is the place which we learn as St. John the Baptist, how to let the me, step aside and allow Him to complete. ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Solitude is a place for which I have come to enjoy, in which all the excitement within my soul, good and bad, becomes still, (Psalm 46:10) and places a firm Trust, in our Lord. Heeding to His Way, Life and Truth, casting aside what may be my own diversions and disorders. It is the heart of pure contemplation in which the pure heart, most certainly sees her Lord.
When trust is broken among family, friends, co-workers, religious leaders, presidents, children and even spouses, we can take courage in knowing that when we place our trust FIRMLY in our Lord, it is only He who has never broken the trust. We find Him always where we left Him. Waiting for us.
“I don’t trust you” has become a chant in every day life to which I can say in love, Good! Don’t trust me. Look to our Lord and remember His Word, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God, trust also in me”.
`Come away with me. Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest for a while.’ “Our Hearts are Restless Until They Rest in You” From the Confessions Saint Augustine of Hippo. “Pray without ceasing.”
In the midst of chaos and troubles, He is there to quiet the storm within the soul.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” – Proverbs 3:5-6
In all the times we find ourselves “feeling” so alone and no one is there to help. Call on our Lord, He is with you always.
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I couldn’t sleep. So I found a moment, spending time with one of my favorites, on his feast day. We were walking through how St. Augustine Florida got its name. And of course, our Lord brings me His peace, in teaching me that rivals and political fighting have always been things of worldly souls.
Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was sent by Spain (Catholic) to protect Spanish interests as international rivalries began to play out across the Atlantic. France (Huguenots) were to be expelled. In finding this, quite interesting by the way, it brought me comfort in the way in how when we look at our past, in Truth, the more things change, the more our Lord stays the same.
“In retrospect, the decision to name the town St. Augustine seems to have been a fitting one. During its history of over 450 years, the town, like its namesake, has experienced its share of struggles. St. Augustine has been burned and looted on several occasions by pirates, hostile natives and rival Europeans. It has changed hands from country to country four times(!). During the civil rights movement, it was the location of numerous protests and counter attacks.”
And yet, remained named St. Augustine. How many attacks have we, the Church faced over the 2000 year history? How many struggles? And yet, she remains because our Lord remains.
“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.”
St. Augustine of Hippo, pray for us
And now, rest.
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In hearing the cries from so many, about how hard it is to live the faith we are called to live, I have the answer.
But what about those who have been married and divorced and married again?
Trust in our Lord – Not just sweet words that sound good. Its a call to do it. Repent and believe in the Gospel. Not just sweet words. Its a call to do it.
But what about those with same sex attraction?
Trust in our Lord – Not just sweet words that sound good. Its a call to do it. Repent and believe in the Gospel. Not just sweet words. Its a call to do it.
But what about those who ________________________________.
Trust in our Lord – Not just sweet words that sound good. Its a call to do it. Repent and believe in the Gospel. Not just sweet words. Its a call to do it.
When we separate ourselves from our Lord, we must repent, turn away from what we have clung to in place of our Lord, and go back to what is right and just.
Love God FIRST. Place Him FIRST. Not just sweet words that sound good. Its a call to do it. Its a Command.
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As a Church, as a society, as a community, in our own family’s, we need to learn how to forgive again.
“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
“Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.”
― St. Thérèse de LisieuThe image above, please click on it as it is from the blog, Truth for Today. The post is called – The Cop Who Forgave His Killer via Derrick McCarson
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Acquired Via
Originally from Fr. Paul Pecchie
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 balme of the Holy Mother, help Mother Church to save Human Dignity. AmenI 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.
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A most blessed Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary to all.
Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we turn to thee,
O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. To thee we come, before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, do not despise our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Below you will find the link to the declaration, of this splendid and beautiful day, which is not only thought provoking, but timeless.
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION OF
POPE PIUS XII -
As all the news is breaking today, some of it old, some new, a friend posted a link on my Facebook page and asked me if I had heard about it…
“Lay woman’s saga illustrates clerical sexual abuse of adults”
Yes. Lived through it not only as a rape survivor, but as seeing the fallout from when it takes place in the church. I do share in this woman’s sufferings. The hardest part is trying to explain it all to my children who knew him, who also received the sacraments from him. I didn’t and still don’t need to know the details. He was removed and our LORD remains.
The days that followed after we met our FORMER pastor, my daughters handed him a gift. It was a gift of Sacred Heart purificators and a corporal. I told him, it was a gift to my children’s Shepherd.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, as I was helping our Sacristan, I had noticed they were still there, in the Sacristy, feet away from the Tabernacle to be used. As I ponder this gift, I come to understand that it was and is, a gift to our true Shepherd. Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lets go deeper. My parish, my priest. No matter the location, no matter the Priest, we are all in this together, as you parish, is my parish. Your Priest is my priest. That is our Lord. “Persona Christi”. The Church is our spiritual home.
I forgave him a long time ago in my heart, but some who have never heard, don’t know that the exposing of all this, is best for all of us. Its truly a cleansing we must not be embarrassed about, but rather take and understand that as our Lord said, unless a gran of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. Change for the better comes through death of the old self, and rebirth of the new. No fears of what will the neighbors say. But rather understanding that the neighbors too, one day will have to come to grips with it also. This exposing of abuse is GOOD NEWS.
No matter what may come, our Lord has already prevailed. Cling to Him.
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My heart takes rest in our Lord, and His Word. I pray for the perseverance of all.
All the abuse, in general, is all the ugliness of a hideous wound that NEEDS to heal. The only way to heal a wound, is to expose it (uncover it completely) to get the proper Medicine in to replace it.
As Catholics, we must not place another bandage over it, or anything which causes us harm, and hope it just goes away. It needs serious care. A wound as this, requires “nulla per os”, but requires strict action taken with fasting, praying, repenting, time in Adoraiton with our Lord, confession and total focus on our Lord. In other words, 24 hours a day, living our faith with Christ our Lord as the Shepherd of the entirety of our lives. Word and deeds.
John 6:68 – Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Repent and believe. -
This morning, I had seen a post on Facebook by a wonderful priest, with a hashtag’s #Confession #IGotNervousToo
I felt compelled to write about my return to the Sacrament of Confession after not having gone for 30 years, with a photo of the Church I had attended, which was Sts. Peter and Paul, Cary IL. I will share the story below:
My first time going to confession after years, I didn’t know I was even going to confession. Something in my heart told me go to the church. SO I did. It had been about 30 years. I walked into an empty Church. No one there but a woman turning off the lights. I began to cry sitting there thinking about how miserable of a life I had been living and would never even be accepted here. I got a tap on the shoulder and it was a Priest. He sat with me for about a good hour. 20 minutes of which we just talked. Then he asked me if I would like to confess my sins. I didn’t even know what I was doing. I said yes. July 1998. It was a rocky road at first, but now? I make sure to go at least every other week. #IGotNervousToo#Confession
Tonight as I was pondering my Carmelite Lectio Divina, I was struck with awe. From the time I had returned, I had always thought that my old Parish, looked very similar to a tent on the inside. I loved that Parish and the Priest who heard my confession. It was a welcome home that I would never forget. I have written a lot in this blog about the struggles and suffering I have faced for the past 20 years, which drew me to leave there and head out on a journey, in which ever day, brought me through many sufferings but into the arms of our Lord, in a way I could never deny.
I had to go back to my post on Facebook to add:
Oh my goodness! I had always thought that this Church looked like a tent! As I pondered my Lectio Divina tonight – “Peter wants to build three tents, because it was the sixth day of the feast of tents. This was a very popular feast of six days that celebrated the gift of the Law of God and the forty years spent in the desert. ” – How I wish I could have stayed in this parish! I loved it so! But our Lord was not finished with me!
Praise be to our LORD Back then, I couldn’t yet, understand the Cross.
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Is your house built on sand? Or is your house built on Rock?
All through my blog, I have mentioned that, my children, I have been given by our Lord, are not mine to keep. They will one day, also be called back to our Lord. Therefore, they belong to Him. I am but a steward and must raise them with our faith in knowing this fact. Life is a gift.
Also, tanking into account, the 50 anniversary of the release Humanae Vitae was yesterday, I feel a deep need to share again, a fact of my conversion back home to our Lord and our Catholic faith, being in the form of a question that was asked yesterday via twitter to #AskTheQuestion
Along with the sex abuse scandal again making the news, this time in the form of one of our Cardinals (SEE HERE), its a good time to build. Build up souls again to understand our faith in not in the beauty of the buildings, the members of the Church, the Priests, the Nuns, or anyone else. Our faith is in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Who is the High Priest of all of us. When we place our faith in anyone but our Lord, we fail and collapse.
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Ps 118:22).
“He is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone’”. (Acts 4:11).
“Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; whoever puts faith in it will not waver.” (Is 28:18)
“…as it is written: ‘Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion that will make people stumble and a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him shall not be put to shame.’” (Rom 9:33)There is an excellent video that I must share… Please take time to watch, and listen.
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Look at yourself. Are you gnashing your teeth? Foaming at the mouth at everything? Snarling and growling. Lashing out at everyone, even those close to you? Feel a need to destroy everyone who doesn’t agree with you? Do you accuse others of every phobia known to man? Do you thirst for vengeance and retribution?
It seems our nation and many others have a bad case of Rabid Politics. Political Hydrophobia. Its very contagious and knows no boundaries. All suffer for it.
The cure is simple. Return to your first Love and drink again from the streams of eternal life.
Repent and believe.
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7/12/14 I was received into Carmel, back then being the Feast of Saint Veronica and the Holy Face, and yesterday, July 12th was the Feast day chosen by the Church for Louis and Zelie Martin parents of St. Therese. Thank you for the roses Little Flower. Thank you my Sister and my Mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, for the protection of your beautiful Mantle.
Only now can I see, the religious calling going way back into my childhood. On the road back home to our Lord, we encounter many devious voices which discourage us. Most of which fill us with doubt about our calling. This has been no different from what I have encountered. I never thought I was good enough and had a very skewed idea of what a Religious Calling was. A Nun? Right. They would toss me out quicker than the morning trash. Back in the 90’s, I heard that call again and I had actually looked deeper this time, and contacted a Monastery about what was required of me. Of course, Nuns and Sisters didn’t have biological children, so once again, I thought like the worldly in thinking this was just another voice pushing me to do something that was not the voice of our Lord. But this time, I longed to be one. I longed to be good. I didn’t want to be what I was living, as a very sinful worldly woman. I was in pain and the way I was living, was causing pain to others. On this date in 2001, I became a rape survivor. The spiritual war is real. Every deterrent known in hell, is thrown at a soul seeking our Lord and our Lord overcomes them all.
That seed in my heart, planted by our Lord at baptism, was beginning to sprout. Over the years, that sprout kept growing without much attention by me. Until it became so big, it could no longer be ignored. I heard the call in my heart from our Lord in a voice I became familiar with. And over time, His voice became the only one I could hear and I longed to be with Him always. He is the Light in the darkness. He lead me to healing, serving, repenting, and loving. Going even so far as to renounce my secular marriage and bring my husband into the Sacrament of Marriage. See HERE
I looked again at what I thought was a Religious Vocation during that time of deep repentance, and realized almost twenty years later, there is the Third Order of Carmel. As a wife and a mother, the Third Order became the gateway for Living Water, that my soul so deeply longed for to live in. There are no coincidences, as today we celebrate the Sainthood of these beautiful parents, who inspire many, to reach their own children, through “Little Ways”.
I am eternally grateful to our Lord! And the journey has only just begun.
St. Louis and St. Zelie Martin, along with St. Therese, the “Little Flower”, pray for who are parents, in need of healing, in need of growing close to our Lord, so as to bring His peace to us all.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Thank you Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you Abba Father. Thank you most kind and loving Holy Spirit. I love You too. Have mercy on us all.
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Yesterday, I noticed a strange looking bud on one of the cactus I have. I wasn’t aware of what species the cactus was, nor was I even curious as to its species, until something different began to happen.
How we creatures take so much for granted every day, as we become accustom to the way things are. Until something is no longer the same. Something becomes different.
I had not been able to do much with this latest bout of back and neck issues. Least of all, pay attention to my plants. This particular one, has sat on my front stoop for about 8 months. As I would walk by it, any water from my water bottle I had, I would dump in the pot, on my way up to the door after a day of work. I didn’t admire it. I didn’t spend any time caring for it. It just existed as it was. Much as our faith life does the same way.
At the very least, that occasional watering, lead to a beautiful discovery. This cactus, is a Night Blooming Cereus, Queen of The Night. The flowers are very short lived, and some only bloom for one night and are gone before the next morning. I hear this is a highly celebrated plant in some circles, and a very rare sight to see, actually open and blooming. Please see the article below:
One Night a Year, This Cactus Flower May Surprise You
The night progressed, and the beauty of the cactus, abounded, unnoticed by most, but I. I found myself deeply moved to share the photos of this beautiful flower on social media as it was opening. In the dark she blooms, as only our Lord can see.
In the dark she blooms
for only our Lord can seeThis morning, she is still in bloom, for all to see.
As the story of yesterdays discovery progressed, I find myself deeply pondering this beautiful opening, in correlation with the words of St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul…
STANZAS OF THE SOUL
1. One dark night,
fired with love’s urgent longings
— ah, the sheer grace! —
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.2. In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
— ah, the sheer grace! —
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.3. On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.4. This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
— him I knew so well —
there in a place where no one appeared.5. O guiding night!
O night more lovely than the dawn!
O night that has united
the Lover with his beloved,
transforming the beloved in her Lover.6. Upon my flowering breast
which I kept wholly for him alone,
there he lay sleeping,
and I caressing him
there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.7. When the breeze blew from the turret,
as I parted his hair,
it wounded my neck
with its gentle hand,
suspending all my senses.8. I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies. -
I may be preaching to the choir with this post, but I’m going to say it anyway.
The more faith in our Lord blooms, into adulthood, the more the soul desires just Him.
Where you are, is where He has called you to follow Him. I have shared many posts in regards to how I have felt that our Lord originally called me to religious life, as a Nun, as my desire in youth was strongly headed in that direction, but, with a well formed conscious, the soul comes to realize the fact that if our Lord wanted me in that Vocation, I would be there today. Can I justify leaving my husband and children behind to peruse a Religious Vocation, in which I “feel” our Lord is call me to? No. That would be a serious error and a giving into a spiritual attack by the enemy. Fortitude is an important key in all Vocations. A Religious Vocation does not destroy the family. It nurtures the Family. The Vocation of Marriage, with Christ as the Spouse, the Head of the Church, is also the Head of the Household in the Vocation of Marriage. There is no difference in that He is the Spouse of the Home. He provides for, leads and strengthens the family.
Can I then say how sad it is when a Priest or Sister, leaves his or her Spouse, being the entire Church, to pursue a different Vocation, after they have taken a Vow as Priest or Nun, Sister, etc.? These souls who are under serious spiritual attack, I pray for. Just as I pray for the strengthening the Vocation of the bonds of Marriage.
From the USCCB:
The purpose of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations is to publicly fulfill the Lord’s instruction to, “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). As a climax to a prayer that is continually offered throughout the Church, it affirms the primacy of faith and grace in all that concerns vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. While appreciating all vocations, the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the ordained ministries(priesthood and diaconate), to the Religious life in all its forms (male and female, contemplative and apostolic), to societies of apostolic life, to secular institutes in their diversity of services and membership, and to the missionary life, in the particular sense of mission “ad gentes”.
2018 marks the 55th Anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Resources for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations
World Day of Prayer will be observed on Sunday, April 22nd, Good Shepard Sunday. I pray for family’s to allow their children to grow in our Catholic faith, and not be discouraged by the world in which we are only here for a short time. I pray for parents to grow in faith, and teach their Children to love and worship our Lord, to grow in reverence for all things holy. I pray for parents that they may not put out the fire of our Lord growing larger in their children, His children, due to the parents desire for a different life that they want for them, full of material things that can not fill the desire within the heart. I pray for Parents, to grow in faith, to share the bond of our Lord with the entire family, in love, for Love.
Encourage Vocations, not discourage. Build up, not tear down. Never bite the Hand that feeds you.
“The family that prays together stays together” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace“. – Venerable Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.
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I read a beautiful article this morning which added more meaning to the words our Lord spoke at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me”.
Its an article that speaks about the significance of THAT Passover feast in which our Lord gave all of Himself to us. The shear difference of this last supper, as compared to all the others before. “Why were there no women at the Last Supper?”
I have never been a supporter of women priests or deacons, and after having read this article, I am more in support of this position, for not ever having them. You see, when our Lord said: “do this in memory of me.” He meant it. It meant all of it. There wasn’t any women there. This feast was very different. And it has remained, very different. It is the very difference our Lord made, with His sacrifice, that changed everything. As it still does today.
Prayers for all our Lords priests today, and always.
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While everyone stands, sits, kneels, shouts, boycotts, fights with this man or that, or this group or that one….
We must never forget what we have been called to be first…
“For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”
Peace
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You can’t simply delete history by trying to destroy it. All you do by trying is add to its lunacy.
Repent and proclaim the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ, by LIVING it
LIVE the faith. Live in Him
“Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace. Peace will be the last word of history” – St. Pope John Paul II
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The many, many “news” story’s I see today, written by whomever, saying Catholics must love and accept LGBT, or this group, or that group and so on, has caused me to ask our Lord in prayer, and I pray you ask Him also: Who is my accuser that assumes the Church does not love them?
The Catholic Church has always been open to all, as a Father and Mother loves all their children, always open to welcoming life to the family of faith. The disconnect comes when we assume that Love is acceptance of insubordination or defiance. It is not. Love corrects the defiant or insubordinate child and does not allow the child to be disruptive, for the benefit of the child. Love does have rules. When the rules of Love are broken, it is not Love, but less than Love.
“Many gave false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree.” Mark 14:56
Peg Pondering Again 