St. Joseph seeks lodging…. May we all make room in our hearts for our Lord and our Holy Mother in this Year of St. Joseph. Through the intercession of St. Joseph. Amen.
Tag: Repent
-
My birthday is December 7th, the feast of St. Ambrose. On some social media sites, they have an app to have money donated for a specific cause that one has. Well, I have one, but it’s up to you to do it. I will leave this here until that day. Remember, we are entering into the Season of Advent. Be the Light.
For my birthday this year, I am asking that everyone donate what you can to your Catholic Parish, to be honest with everyone in your life, to see the good in others and when the bad is seen, that you see it within yourself first, knowing that our Lord can heal it if you ask Him, because He healed it in you and place yourself last. I pray it brings you face to Face with our Lord and you recognize Him.
-
After morning prayers this morning, I sat and watched the series, The Chosen. About ten minutes into it, the phone rang. I looked to see who it was, and I did not answer the phone. There was no need to. As I seen the name, I was flooded with Light. There was no need to answer the phone, as I had already answered the “call”. I did not know who was on the other end of the phone, but I do know Him, who called me long ago.
It is said of St. Mary Magdalene, that our Lord had expelled seven demons from her. (see Mk 16:9; Lk 8:2). She is a deeply penitent women of our Lord’s. She had given herself completely to our Lord, in the way of service to the Apostles. Giving up herself, for Him, which is The highest form of gratitude to our Lord. It’s not a simple thank you, but a life of thanksgiving. A life lived full in Love with Him. In choosing to do what is right and just, and doing His will.
I will never forget the day He called me. It is an unforgettable moment, that dictates every action that I take now, still. It was a day that I truly was given hope. It was a day that my soul cried and was answered by the One who created me. It can never be forgotten nor understood in words in which I try to write or say. It can only be understood in the mystery of faith.
Again I say, I did not answer the phone today, but the call long ago and carry the message with me always. The call from our Lord to repent and believe in Him. Today, I ask you too, for the glory of our Lord, repent and believe in the Gospel, before the day that phone rings. To allow yourself to be purged of all that is not Him. Of all that is evil. Of all that tarnishes the soul.
Today is the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels.
“God is strong”, “God heals”, “Who is like God!”
Repent and believe in the Gospel!
-
Although the PUBLIC Holy Mass has been canceled, Palm Sunday goes on. We must look deep into our hearts and see with faith, that nothing can take away the fact that our Lord has come into His Kingdom, and is seated at the right hand of our Father. Although we may not receive our free palms to make those beautiful crosses and to adorn our crucifix in our homes, we have received the greatest gift, that being our Lord, Himself.
We must still welcome Him, into the temple of our bodies spiritually. To rid us of our pride, our self contentedness, our sins, and so we to, can join Him freely, on the Via Dolorosa, as we carry our crosses, with Him, to be crucified with Him.
In all of this, I pray souls come to realize how much we all NEED the Sacraments. I pray souls come to a deep state of repentance. I pray souls throw themselves with desire into the Sacrament of Confession when it is available, often. I pray souls come to realize our Lord needs to be placed FIRST before ANYTHING else in our lives and return in droves to Him, our First Love. I pray souls learn how to forgive one another, as our Lord has forgiven us. And I pray that we never lose the importance of Him, ever again.
Yes God loves us, do we love Him? “If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15
May we die to self, and rise in our Lord. My Lord Jesus Christ, graciously hear us.
-
REPENT!
Where have I not? What is missing? Where am I struggling, Lord?
Continuing on the journey to our Lord, as one’s sight is restored in the spiritual, its easy to see that as the days quickly pass, its not one day which passes, but that one day becomes a string of all days, and then becomes all time. Contemplating this Sundays Gospel, I continue with last weeks message of I must decrees and He must increase.
How? By allowing God to be God and accepting I am not Him. I am however, trying to be Him. Where the message becomes foggy is in our own interior spiritual pride. We often forget that even our Lord did not deem equality with Him something to be grasped at, but became a servant to all. Where then must I begin to be best like Him? By not assuming to be loved or understood by anyone in the world. The world is at enmity with God. Why would they love you? Why would they understand you? They reject Him, they will reject you.
One of the heaviest positions in our Lords cross, is being alone among many whom we love, who do not know Him nor love Him, but we love anyway. This position, sees much suffering. Suffering that belongs completely to our Lord, in which He shares it all with you. Why are they not listening? Why do they continue to ignore? How can they do this to one another? Do they not know that all this pain, all these sins are directed at our Lord to hurt Him? Like a soul in a pit of vipers, being bit time and time again. No. They do not see this, because they do not know Him. Just as you did not know Him before you loved Him in return for His love for you on the cross. And the bites of these snakes, are not poison to the virtuous soul because they do not act nor react to the poison with poison. But with love.
Repent! Know that you are not here to be loved, but to love. That was the message received to my heart in contemplation of this second Sunday of Advent. Pride demands acceptance of all that I am, as it seeks something that it does not have. It looks for anything to place on the interior thrown where our Lord should be seated. Even taking the seat for oneself.
Humility, where as, is acceptance of all that is I AM. The good, the bad, the unknown. Trusting completely in His Sovereignty. Thus, He is able to increase, and you decrease. Allowing the soul to then become one in Him. He Is. He simply Is. He is all and everything. The mother of all virtues is humility. When we look at the virtues of the Virgin, it is she whom we must mirror in interior and exterior image, to which we can be sure that our Lord who came to her, should come to us. As He Is, she is blessed for all time, all eternity as the one the Way comes to stay. Why is this? Because of the timeless beautiful virtues which let Him in to be Him, accepting Him and all that which may come. This is the peace of our Lord. To know that all the strife and suffering we undergo, is nothing compared to the love and promise of our Lord. So prepare! Decrease!
Come Lord Jesus!
-
If you find yourself looking for a particular “camp” inside the Catholic church, be it left, right, trad, liberal, it is only because you are in the “wrong someplace” within yourself and can not stand ALONE with our Lord. It is you and Him. No one else to grab out for. No one else to blame. No one else but yourself and Him. His tent.
ONE Body in Christ. I am Roman Catholic. Some say I am not Catholic enough. Some say I am way too Catholic. The only thing that matters, is our Lord calls me by name to Him and I listen to Him, following Him.
I was lost, now I am found.
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
-
When I first started to turn back to our Lord, I tossed out many things that reminded me of something bad that I did, and things in general that others had given to me. Why? Because I didn’t want to remember those things or those people. Tossing them out did not stop the memories. What did happen, was when I placed my faith and trust in our Lord, the memories didn’t hurt anymore, because our Lord changed my mind.
He took away my “broken mind”, and taught me how to think correctly, trusting His Mind. Nothing in this world has power unless we allow it to and thus when we do give it power, we take that power away from our Lord and give into sin.
What takes place, when we lose control, without allowing God all control, is devastating to a soul. Peace is gone, terror of everything grabs hold and the souls begin to believe in themselves and not in our Lord. Scrupulosity takes hold. We forget that each soul has “free will” to choose our Lord, and we watch everyone and everything with scrutiny and not Love, knowing that our Lord loved us also, when we were train wrecks.
No matter what takes place, as our Lord has told us, we must remain with hope, faith and LOVE in our Lord, keeping our eyes fixed on what is above, and not on what is below. When we keep our eyes on what is below, we look down on everything. When we keep our eyes fixed on what is above, we realize we are all on a level playing field of sinners in need of our Lords redemption. That takes humility. Pray more, worry less. When we worry, we act on internal illusions that seek to drag us down as misery loves company.
Although our Lord Himself took a whip and knocked over tables, we must always remember, we are not Him. The disciples did not join Him in doing this. The righteousness of our Lord far surpasses ours. I pray for the conversions of the souls who took the statues, and I pray for all who are trying to justify theft in this case. It was a statue. Not an idol. Things (anything) becomes an idol when man makes them idols by “worshiping” them (letting them have any power) and not our Lord. Such in the same way when souls fear them, rather than our Lord. Properly destroying idols also includes destroying the ones in the intellect.
Justifying theft is not good. Fear of anything but our Lord, is misplaced Trust. Repent and believe in the Gospel.
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.Beautiful post by Elijah’s Breeze
“I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.” – St. Teresa of Avila
-
When our Lord said He would send us an Advocate, one must first ask, what is an Advocate?
ad·vo·cate
noun
/ˈadvəkət/
a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.If I was a criminal, which we all truly are in the spiritual sense, as we are all guilty sinners, I am granted the right to an Attorney. When our Lord told us He would send an Advocate, this is in fact the Holy Spirit. What does this mean to us? He is here to guide, and help us in the many internal and external struggles we face, to stay on the right path and not to be lead astray by what we are lacking. If I were to represent myself in a court of law, without ANY knowledge or understanding of the Law, where would I be sent for many years by the Judge who knows all? If I chose to represent myself, am I not doing what our Lord told us not to do? Would I therefore be pleading “Innocent” when in fact I am guilty? Would I look to be insane by the Judge and then would I not actually BE insane by NOT taking the advise and direction of the Advocate our Lord has appointed to me?
The very moment we do something wrong, we know it to be wrong, because our “conscious” tells us it is wrong. In the deep chambers of this conscious, resides the Advocate. As we act on the wrong decision and sin, we are convicted. This is a moment of grace. A moment to be CONVERTED. A moment in which our stone hearts, can be changed to flesh. When we continue on that wrong path, we are walking away from the Advocate there to help, and we begin to build a mountain of guilt. What is a soul to do with guilt? How does one get rid of it? We can try to repress or suppress it, but over years, it becomes something that consumes and rots us from the inside out. By the time it manifests externally, which mind you, does not take very long as others can see guilt a mile away, even when we choose not to and think we have wonderfully hidden it, it becomes a burden that eats away at our relations with others through depression, anxiety and anger. Left very long or not very long at all, depending on the sensitivity of the soul, it shows itself as mania, hysteria, psychosis, and many times takes us into suicide and or murder.
How then is a soul to rid ones self of its own guilt? By embracing the guilt. Embracing it and you take it to the dumpster and walk away from it. If I am appointed an Attorney for a trial, am I not to tell my Attorney everything that has taken place to ensure a “Light” sentence? Our Lord knows our guilt. No one gets away with murder. No one gets away with anything. Sin is sin and the wages of all sin is death. Guilt and holding on to the guilt of our sins, is that millstone around our necks. How is that millstone shattered? By taking the Counsel that has been appointed to us by our Lord. Do everything He tells you. Beginning with a great Confession. The act of confessing, is the beginning of cleaning up the guilt we have accumulated or if you would hoarding guilt, for years and years. You know that our Lord has told us that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. When our interiors are packed with sin and guilt, it makes it very difficult to find anything, let alone that room where the Advocate is located. Confessing our sins and turning away from them, is how we clean up that interior in order to find that hidden room under the exorbitant amount of guilt we buried Him under.
What to do while we are being convicted? Silence, contemplation and prayer. Have you ever been told to shut up and listen for your own good? This is the time to do just that. Speak when He directs you to. Say what He is advising you to say. Act, as He is directing you to act. He is here to help you. It is mercy He seeks for you. Even when the worst most horrific things about you are being revealed. The horror of it all, is no horror to Him who already knows. The horror of it all, is to YOU who thought you had hidden it and thought it would just all go away. Like a parent who catches their child with their hand in the cookie jar, you are so busted. And He still loves you. Like a rat in a trap, squirming to be released, in everything you have ever done. And He loves all His creatures. The Advocate will NOT release you. The question remains, “Do you love me?”.
The Advocate will advise you to plead GUILTY and not to continue in the guilt, but to keep clean, live a model life until your court case is heard. His advice is always to REPENT and believe in the Gospel. Not yourself. It is the Judge who will do the releasing and sentencing, and we hope it might just be for time served, if you begin to serve the sentence before you stand in front of the Judge.
Welcome the Advocate with open arms. Don’t do what you know is not good. Do not push Him away. Pray for Him to come to you, and help you to make it through it all.
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.
Here is a wonderful video by Venerable Bishop Fulton John Sheen. For some reason, it will not play from the beginning. Please, watch it from the start, not half way through.
-
As I am pondering this coming Sunday’s Gospel in Lectio Divina: ” “Master, it is good for us to be here!” And they do not want to get off the mountain any more! When it is question of the cross, whether on the Mount of the Transfiguration or on the Mount of Olives (Lk 22:45), they sleep! They prefer the glory to the cross! ” – I have been struggling with the subject of allowing children of same sex couples seeking admittance into Catholic schools, from the moment I first heard it.
First, let me say that the very fact these children have been robbed of the natural right to a home with their biological mother and a father, is the first thing that concerned me. If parenting didn’t require the attributes of both man and woman, natural creation would in fact be very different. Each of us, has that natural right of God at the moment of conception. When our natural rights are stripped away, its always due to the selfishness of others, who seek to legitimize their own “idea” of Love and compassion, with regard for legitimizing their own sin to make it look more acceptable not only to themselves, but to others.
The sin of the parents, can not be held against the child. Someone brought up the point of how others, heterosexual parents and single parents are allowed to place their children in Catholic Schools. I would like to address one point here again which comes to mind regarding same sex parents: The sin of the parents, can not be held against the child.
I want to add to the discussion, why I have struggled with this. Someone made a point in saying it, (Allowing children of same sex marriages into Catholic Schools) would drive souls away from sending their children to Catholic School. What no one is addressing is the amount of children from Practicing Catholics who are Home schooled now, due to the problems we already have in our Catholic Schools. That problem being over population of Non-Practicing Catholics who falsely believe its the schools job to teach the faith. Its a false hope many have. Catholic home schooling is growing in large numbers. Very pious Catholic family’s who either can not afford Catholic Education, or Catholic family’s who have already seen, what can and has taken place in Catholic Schools, in which parents do not practice the faith, and their children not living the faith, becoming a “stumbling block” for placing their children into the system, which peer pressure becomes an added cross placed into the “nest” and seriously threatens the faith of the entire family.
There is a large group here in San Diego who would rather teach their own children and socialize with the Home School’s family’s then to place their children into the Catholic School system. Mainly due to the issues all mentioned here. For the LONGEST time, I felt a need to make sure my children, although we are completely broke, attend Catholic School. Its only now that my daughter is in 8th grade and about to graduate, that I have come to find out, NONE of her close friends attend Mass every Sunday nor do they regularly receive the sacraments, nor are even trying to live the Catholic Faith. I started to notice how my daughter didn’t want to join the Catholic Youth Group, because her friends were not joining. Not wanting to hang out with any of the clubs that often do community service, because her close friends were not. I understand it now, why the home school groups are a tight nit group. Its a matter of protecting the “Nest”. What happened or is happening with my daughter? We can always chalk it up to peer pressure, but when the peer pressure is coming from the Catholic School to NOT participate in the faith, its already a failed system in which many are trying to figure out this exact question. The Catholic School is not the teacher of the faith. Parents are responsible for teaching the faith to their children and in fact, living it with them. Think of our faith in regards to it being like a different language. If you seek to learn a new language, but no one at home speaks this language, what becomes of all you are learning? What becomes of the soul who does not practice, does not put it to use? It is tossed aside and forgotten. A Catholic School is ONLY as good as the parents living the faith within it. The Catholic School is there to REINFORCE the faith of the Church.
Another question that comes up is why would a same sex parent even want to place a child they have taken in, into a Catholic School that does not teach what they believe? Is it for attention? Is it spite? Is it to prove a point? Is it because they truly seek to have the child live a faith filled life in which they themselves are struggling with? Here again is the issue of assuming the Catholic School is there to teach the children the faith. Its not. Again, the Catholic School is there to reinforce the faith of the Church. The children and the parents are a Pastoral issue. No different than nonpracticing Catholics who have placed themselves out of communion.
Why have I personally been struggling with this, when its not even an issue with me? Because I love. Not only do my sins effect me, but they effect everyone, not just who I am around, but everyone. Although the sin may be forgiven, the residual effects of that sin can not be taken away. When we sin, it is against our Lord and every soul in Christ.
Why have I been struggling at all? Because I have become “comfortable” with the suffering I already have. Like St. Peter at the Transfiguration, I wanted to stay there in “my comfort” with the Glorious Messiah, and not continue on back down the mountain to finish this journey with the Servant Messiah. How can I not allow more suffering, if it is for the glory of our Lord? If my suffering is joined to our Lord’s, it is in fact no longer my suffering. My suffering is not even mine, but His, and to this I my heart demands that I let our Lord lead the way and continue on to the cross with Him. This is the struggle I believe we all face, in regards to something “different” entering in our “normal” lives. The more we struggle with it, the more painful it becomes as we fight between God’s will and our will. “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!”. My wants for others to be holy and great Catholics, living the faith daily, placing our Lord first, loving and serving Him, although good, does not mean that others want it. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
If our faith is placed in our Lord, we can not be overcome by the world. Mercy is the answer, as the Son of Justice will come to us all. To not receive a child in His name, (anti-life- not open to receive another life, the life of another who is sick with sin and suffering) would not benefit any of us. And we would simply be clinging to our fears of sin, and our fears of “sinners”, over our fear of the Lord. This does not mean we skew the Truth as we take on those who do not Believe. We adhere to the Truth of our Lord, teaching as it is, Truth, in love and mercy, allowing others to use their free will to accept it, or reject it. Just my two cents. I surrender to our Lord. His will be done.
-
FINALLY! Lent in upon us! I have been longing for this season since Christmas ended. My favorite Liturgical Season, outside of Easter!
I pray for my readers for a joyful end of a beautiful penitent season this lent and I hope we all turn back to our Lord with a deeper devotion than we have in past seasons.
Repent and believe in the Gospel
-
Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 called for the conversion of Russia, or else Russia would spread Her errors. In 1920, Russian Soviet Republic became the first country in the world to allow abortion in all circumstances.
REPENT REPENT REPENT
End abortion. End the Holocaust.
PARDON PRAYER
My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee. Amen.
Delivered by the Angel of Peace during the First Apparition of the Angel to the three shepherd children of Fatima in spring of 1916.
-
Day of wrath! O day of mourning!
See fulfilled the prophets’ warning,
Heaven and earth in ashes burning!Oh what fear man’s bosom rendeth,
when from heaven the Judge descendeth,
on whose sentence all dependeth.Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
through earth’s sepulchers it ringeth;
all before the throne it bringeth.Death is struck, and nature quaking,
all creation is awaking,
to its Judge an answer making.Lo! the book, exactly worded,
wherein all hath been recorded:
thence shall judgment be awarded.When the Judge his seat attaineth,
and each hidden deed arraigneth,
nothing unavenged remaineth.What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceding,
when the just are mercy needing?King of Majesty tremendous,
who dost free salvation send us,
Fount of pity, then befriend us!Think, good Jesus, my salvation
cost thy wondrous Incarnation;
leave me not to reprobation!Faint and weary, thou hast sought me,
on the cross of suffering bought me.
shall such grace be vainly brought me?Righteous Judge! for sin’s pollution
grant thy gift of absolution,
ere the day of retribution.Guilty, now I pour my moaning,
all my shame with anguish owning;
spare, O God, thy suppliant groaning!Thou the sinful woman savedst;
thou the dying thief forgavest;
and to me a hope vouchsafest.Worthless are my prayers and sighing,
yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
rescue me from fires undying!With thy favored sheep O place me;
nor among the goats abase me;
but to thy right hand upraise me.While the wicked are confounded,
doomed to flames of woe unbounded
call me with thy saints surrounded.Low I kneel, with heart submission,
see, like ashes, my contrition;
help me in my last condition.Ah! that day of tears and mourning!
From the dust of earth returning
man for judgment must prepare him;
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him!Lord, all pitying, Jesus blest,
grant them thine eternal rest. Amen.
-
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
-
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.
-
Napoleon on His Death Bed, by Horace Vernet, 1826 1821: Napoleon Bonaparte Dies after Confession and Communion
“During an argument with a Roman Catholic cardinal, Napoleon Bonaparte supposedly burst out: “Your eminence, are you not aware that I have the power to destroy the Catholic Church?” The cardinal responded ruefully: “Your majesty, we, the Catholic clergy, have done our best to destroy the church for the last 1,800 years. We have not succeeded, and neither will you.”
Napoleon Bonaparte failed miserably, as do all who place “politics” above and faith below. When I ponder “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”, I know in my heart, everything belongs to God.
I bring you this…
Also, not enough to destroy our Lords Church, nor the Truth. REPENT.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Adam and Eve banished from the Garden of Eden by an angel, Illustration Gustave Doré That moment you see.
Banished to where? Exile. Why? To save you because I love you.
As I was reading tweets tonight, one came across from Mark Heart:
“So many of us are so ashamed of what we we’ve done that we hide our face from God.”
Without hesitation, I responded: “And He asks still: Where are you? Not to condemn, but to help us fix the problem.”
I therefore, found myself being pulled in to ponder the scripture of Genesis 3. As I read and pondered the text, although read it thousands of time, what jumped out to me was verse 22.
22 Then the LORD God said: See! The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil! Now, what if he also reaches out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life, and eats of it and lives forever?
It was in that moment, the love our Lord has for us peaked in my heart. If Adam and Eve were allowed to stay, in the state they were in, having already disobeyed our Lord, and had eaten the fruit from the tree of Life, disobeying again, would it then have made them unsaveable? I am reminded of the words, I’m doing this for your own good.
You can read the same Scripture passage a 1000 times, and only in His time, are you able to see what He has been saying and doing, all along. It was after the fall of Adam and Eve, after our Lord asks, “Where are you” and before Adam & Eve are banished. He protected them from eating of the tree of Life in the fallen, out of grace state they were in. And the plan of Salvation was spoken. The plan of Salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as John wrote:
– “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” –John 1:1
Going further to verse 14:
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.As I continue to ponder this and pray, 1 Corinthians 11 – Tradition of the Institution becomes even more paramount for us all, taking into consideration, we have the gifts of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is detrimental, to use, to repent and to use, as so not to receive in a manner unworthy, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which if we did so, would keep us hiding and ashamed. So when our Father asks us: “Where are you?”, He already knows where we are. He wants to know if we know where we are, as we are not where we belong. That being with Him.
Be not afraid to answer Him, do not continue to hide from Him, or to bring all your shame from sin to Him. He is there for you to help you fix it all because He loves you so.
“Go and announce the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand”.
-
Pondering…
At Passover: Exodus 12 “For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every firstborn in the land, human being and beast alike, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD! But for you the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thereby, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. This day will be a day of remembrance for you, which your future generations will celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD; you will celebrate it as a statute forever.”
Last Supper: Mark 14 “While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, 1 Corinthians 11 – “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
“Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself,and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying.“
The Blood of the Lamb… Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Shouldn’t our Lord’s precious blood always cover the doorposts to our temple, just as the doorposts were covered in the blood of a lamb during Passover. Ensuring that the angel of death pass us by? Where is this Precious Blood to be found but in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Where redemption is found to the soul who seeks repenting.
How do we receive our Lord in the Eucharist? Is it in a clean temple? Do we prepare to receive Him by examination of our conscious? Do we look deep into how we are living and ask if it is the way we were called to live by our Lord or is it a sinful life we called ourselves to live? Do we repent and seek reconciliation first? If the door posts are not covered in His Precious Blood, are we inviting death instead of Life?
Our Lord is the First Born from the dead. He is the First and the Last. He is the only begotten Son, sacrificed for us on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.. No other Sacrifice has covered our sins.
Repent.
Cohabitation And Holy Communion
-
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
GAUDETE ET EXSULTATE
OF THE HOLY FATHER
FRANCIS
ON THE CALL TO HOLINESS
IN TODAY’S WORLDGo directly to the Vatican Website and read (click) HERE
-
This coming Monday, April 9, the Holy See Press Office will release Pope Francis’s “Gaudete et Exsultate” (Rejoice and be glad) which is his Apostolic Exhortation on holiness, at noon. News came today HERE, via the Holy See.
I ask those who subscribe to my blog to read Gaudete et Exsultate themselves in detail. Ponder it. Pray before, during and after reading it. Do not be conformed to reading it from anyplace other than the original source. Do not feel comfortable reading it from anyone’s point of view, other than your own. Meaning, don’t allow the media to tell you what they think it says and means. Read it from where you are in life. If you are disturbed internally by reading it, ask our Lord in prayer, why. Seek a remedy that is in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Ask how you can grow to not be disturbed and accept the things you need to change within. Knock on our Lords door through prayer without ceasing, but we must repent. The word repent is a verb, which describes action needed on our part. ““Do whatever he tells you.”, becomes very clear.
The birth pains of holiness within a soul begin with the interior desire for Truth. ” “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”. Matt 7:7
Repent and believe in the gospel.
-
‘Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?’
Anamnesis at the supper at Emmaus
-
Today, the tomb is empty. Do not stay within it, nor with what remains in the cold and darkness. Do not linger in the dust of mortal sin and misery. Leave the tomb of emptiness and live life in Christ our Lord and Redeemer, “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Rise above from what is below. Be converted. Be holy.
He is not here; He has risen, just as He said!
-
The picture above, was taken by me at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, in Lemon grove, CA, on Thursday, September 8, 2011. It was the day of the great Southwest Blackout and the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was visiting my parish at the time. It was the most beautiful event I had attended.
The church was lit as we set up for the Pilgrim Statues arrival, and had a procession of our Lady of Fatima scheduled along with Exposition of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament all day and praying the Holy Rosary on the hour, every hour, by different ministry’s in our Parish, from the time of its arrival, to the time of its departure, concluding with benediction.
You can see in this photo, at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, we have a huge stained glass window in the back of the church of all the Archangels. As you can see, it is reflecting on our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. To see this in person was spectacular!
At 3;38 PM, the lights went out due to the largest power outage in California history and we began to light the Church by candlelight, as the sun began to set.
Thanks to a few souls, we had two flashlights provided also, to help others for the Liturgy and to place more light on the statue of our Holy Mother.
The procession was lovely and the moon became big and bright this night, as it became the light to guide us on our way.
I will never forget this day. So many beautiful things occurred to bring many souls together under the most complex circumstances, to make this day and evening, one of the more beautiful days of our lives in prayer.
On this Saturday, May 13, 2017, it marks 100 years since the first Apparition of our Lady to the shepherd children in Fatima Portugal. I will be attending a special meeting with my Carmelite Brothers and Sisters for Holy Mass, a renewal of our Carmelite Promises and listening to a talk given by our former Spiritual Director. Later Saturday Night, my husband and I will be attending “Date Night” at our Parish, in which Married couples come together to reflect on the love they have for one another through the Sacrament of Marriage. I mention this, for this reason:
Thank you Our Lady of Fatima, for prayers answered. I pray again, through you Most Beautiful Flower, Our Lady of Fatima, intercede for us still, and for the entire world, for the conversion of sinners, for the intentions of our Holy Father Pope Francis and for all the intentions of the Sacred Heart of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen
Repent, and believe.
Pope Francis has granted a plenary indulgence opportunity for the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions throughout the centennial year, from the 27th of November 2016 till the 26th of November 2017.
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us!
Our Father:
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.The Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Please see the link below
Jubilee Year of Fatima Indulgence
-
How can one make this Holy Week, truly Holy?
Welcome our Lord into your heart and keep Him there for this upcoming week, and strive to keep Him there forever. Grow in faith. Hold on to the conversion of heart He is offering you.
Receive the Sacrament of Confession which returns your soul to the state it was in the day you were baptized. A clean and beautiful temple to receive our Lord.
Attend Holy Mass and pay attention. Listen to every word, participate when you are to participate. Sing when you are to sing. Listen intently to what is being read. Follow with your heart as the Priest speaks. Forget distractions seeing to pull you away from our Lord.
Receive our Lord in the Eucharist. Speak to Him when you do receive Him.
Pray more this week. Try praying the entire Rosary daily, or add praying Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours). Just speak to our Lord in all ways, in all instances, at every moment you are awake. Be aware at all times that He is truly with you in what you are doing and INVITE Him in to your activities, like you would invite your best friend. Try Lectio Divina, “Divine Reading” – Lectio Divina”, a Latin term, means “divine reading” and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us.
You can also pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Reflect on the Gospels of this week. Stations of the Cross is a beautiful reflection on how great our Lord suffered for us. Try to attend Daily Mass every day this week. Especially during the Easter Triduum, “The Easter Vigil is the “Mother of All Vigils.” If you can’t attend daily Holy Mass, look for it on EWTN, or any other Catholic TV station via the internet. You can find it online, for rebroadcasts any time of day.
The Easter Triduum:
- Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday)
- Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
- Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord
Don’t forget that Easter does not end after you have your family meal together Sunday after attending Holy Mass. Easter has just begun. Come Monday, while everyone returns back to work, and lent done, Easter has just begun and is not over until the coming of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost Sunday. We often forget that after our Lords Resurrection, many things took place and Easter lasts for FIFTY days after Easter Sunday.
Divine Mercy Sunday is the Sunday following Easter Sunday. The Divine Mercy Novena begins on Good Friday at 3:00 PM, the hour our Lord gave Him self for us.
This is the season we are to look forward to. The great celebration that comes from repenting, turning away from the old self and putting on the new man, working with our Lord to live as He has called us. Let Him into your heart. Let Him roll away the stone in your heart and live with Him in His peace and joy. Leave the tomb of self behind. Allow yourself this week, to be crucified with Him and therefore, rise with Him.
Keeping you all in my prayers, praying you “Be not afraid” and “Follow Him”. “Be holy”.
-
When you spill your heart of all its contents in love and humility, all that desire and complete confidence, and those you hoped would hear and be moved, simply trample through the blood and contents like nothing… He knows that pain too.
Many times we confide in others our deepest longings for unity and peace from our hearts and they fall only to be trampled beneath the feet of one who has yet to understand.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” – Matthew 23:37
Mocked and ignored while on the cross and still, He was pouring out everything to who was waiting.
How many parents today, myself included, have children who no longer practice any faith, who share in His wounded heart. Who long to be heard by those who refuse to listen because they believe they know better. Or how many today have brothers and sisters, parents or cousins who do this also. There is an eminence longing, a deep pain in the family today, from many who do not even understand they are sharing in His pain. Sharing His wounded Sacred Heart.
How do we fix this? We follow Him. Not fighting the life we have been given by Him, but embracing this life of suffering, falling more deeply in love with Him. Living more deeply in the spiritual life and less in the material life. Rather than being possessed by the pain and suffering we have received, we must allow ourselves to be possessed by His pain, as it comes with His glory in joy.
If we are possessed by our own pain and sorrow, it is empty and becomes so bitter it can no longer do any good because it is born in pride. Suffering and pain coming from pride opens the door and brings with it wrath which leads to various other vices, some which lead to the destruction of others and self. Which, possesses us to do things that hurt others, self and our Lord.
If one is not possessed by God alone, (God alone being the Holy Trinity), then by what or who, is one possessed by? It is this total possession in thoughts, works, deeds, of our Lord, being completely consumed with Him, which leads a soul to do that which he ought, and not what he feels because he is compelled by Love. To do what is right and just, and not what is diabolical.
Great quote:
If we are united in His suffering, we will be united in His joy. However, we must also be united in Spirit. If we allow the possessions of this world to take over the areas of that which He is to possess within us, the areas of our lives, that which He should already possess, how then can we truly say, we are teaching our children the faith, or, we are sharing our faith with our neighbors, if we are not truly practicing our faith? I say this as its my own guilt of not practicing the faith as it should have been lived before I turned back to Him. When we live our faith, faith in every aspect of our lives, we truly can be a beacon of His light in the dark. Hope, however, needs to be reinforced by working our faith in all aspects of our daily life. Be not afraid. Live the faith.
Lets go back to the opening of my post. When we didn’t listen. When we trampled through His blood. When we mocked Him by refusing to believe. When we were not moved by His words to change, to move closer to Him, to repent and believe. When we refused to quench His thirst for our love for Him. We were covered in His blood. He loved us during every one of those moments. As we should love those who do not yet hear our cries as we are attached to Him, on and from His cross.
EDIT to Add today: 3/23/17
“But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you..” –LK 11:14-23
-
Leaving the bucket behind, for me, is leaving everything I had and wanted, and accepting all of Him. Following Him. His Truth. As my testimony, leaves me thirsty for more of Him. His, is Life giving water, which one never thirsts again. Its not what I do, but what He continues to do.
The question for me is no longer, do you believe because of what our Lord has done for me, rather, will you believe because of what He says and does, and are you willing to allow Him to do everything for you? There must be a willingness in the soul, to answer as our Holy Mother did so, to our Lord, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”. A moment for the soul to surrender to the will of God.
“Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.” – John 4:41-42
-
As I ponder today’s gospel reading, and all the ways the evil one tried to tempt our Lord, so brazen as to offer our Lord everything He already has. Everything, in all creation, belongs to our Lord. This is how empty the so called promises are.
Imagine the evil one as a door to door salesman, coming to your home, knocking on your door, forcing himself in and trying to sell you everything within your home that you already own. Imagine him pointing to the photos of your family & children, or placing his arms around them, and telling you, if you follow him, you can have them too. This is the insolence of evil. That same evil so full of himself, to approach our Lord and offer Him all that He had already created. What the evil one didn’t take into account, was our Lord’s mission to regain from the evil ones hands, what he thought he had stripped away from Him, was already done.
Like a hamster on a treadmill, we chase after all these empty promises as if we just go around one more time, we will be filled with them all, when that big break comes! The big break comes, when we are no longer alive and we see the life we lead was full of emptiness and it can no longer be filled with hope, love and faith in our Lord, complete with eternal joy.
I also remember, that our Lord, had us first, through the sacrament of Baptism when we rejected Satan and all his empty promises. Lent is the opportune time to turn back to Him, inviting Him back into our “homes”, to rid them of that door to door snake oil salesman.
Kudos to My Catholic Faith Ministrys for the above photo
-
What shall I do? I will do as our Holy Mother Mary told us at the very start.
If we are to be His servants, and we are to serve, what must we do?? Do what our beautiful Mama Mary told us :
“His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” John 2:5
And what was the first thing our Lord told us to do?:
“Repent and believe in the gospel”
Praying the Gospel. Gnawing on it. Reading, pondering, over and over. Letting Him soak into the deep within. God willing.
Please listen to this wonderful homily from Fr. Anthony this morning on EWTN.
(If the video does not play from the beginning, you will have to fix that manually. as for some technical reason, its not playing the full Gospel & homily)
Peg Pondering Again 