Trust In The Lord

Trust in the Lord. Wait patiently for Him and He shall reveal the goodness of His soul. There are times in our lives when we are impatient. When we want what we want when we want it. We feel keenly the sense of lack of a particular person or event or thing that we think will restore balance to our lives and make us feel better.

We must always remember that feelings aren’t facts and our faith and our lives can not be based in our feelings. This doesn’t mean that feelings are bad or that we are to ignore them. No, they are the barometer of where we are in our lives. We are the sum total of our consciousness at any given time. The reason why we want some “thing” that we have set our minds to acquiring is because, often we are medicating ourselves spiritually and we do need to get back on an even keel. The problem is that keel might be unbalanced to begin with and we need the Lord to reset it, to remake the bark of our life. This can be difficult because we don’t like the work needed to do it. It can be very messy indeed and takes faith in something outside of ourselves. As Catholics, we know that something is God. It all comes down to surrender. The more we surrender the easier it is.

However, surrender is not an easy thing. It takes practice. Start with something small. One day at a time. Maybe even an hour at a time. Maybe even five minutes at a time. Perform an experiment and give it to the Lord and see what happens. He will surprise you at how good He is. He will surprise you with nothing less than joy.

O Christ Jesus, when all around us is darkness and we feel our weakness and helplessness, give us the sense of Thy presence, Thy love and Thy strength. Help us to have perfect trust in Thy protecting love and strengthening power, so that nothing may frighten or worry us, for living close to Thee, we shall see Thy hand, Thy purpose, Thy will through all things. Amen.
-St. Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556

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Private Revelation

Dear Beloved in Christ,

It is so very important that we understand the teaching of Holy Mother Church regarding private revelations and their place in the life of the Faithful. Private revelations show us that Christ is still active in His Church. It is His Will that certain souls receive revelations, always for the good of others and the edification of souls. They bring us to the imminent reality that is Jesus, through whatever means He takes, (the use of His Most Blessed Mother, His saints, Himself.) Private revelations are approved by the Church when it is deemed necessary for the good of souls.

HOWEVER… Only Holy Mother Church, through the Petrine Office, (the pope) and the Magisterium united to the pope can say definitively if a private revelation is worthy of belief- AND EVEN THEN it is not necessary for salvation! Only Public Revelation, (Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition) is necessary for salvation. Private revelations are NEVER on a par with what we must believe in order to be saved.

Also, because of the situation in the Church today, we must always downplay any current, so-called private revelations, because there is no proper Authority extant, (above the catacombs) that we can follow with certainty in these matters. Stick to those private revelations that have been approved by Holy Mother Church before the False Council, i.e: Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, etc…

There are so many good people who are being led astray by these so-called private revelations. I have a close relative that is enamored of one of these and she does not recognize that all it takes is ONE non Catholic statement by the “apparition” to invalidate the entire phenomenon. It doesn’t matter if the sick are being cured, if you “feel” and “just KNOW” that this is true! Even if the seer was to levitate and fly through the clouds to Rome, if they speak heresy- that’s it! It’s over. Walk away.

In these times, so many good intentioned folk gravitate to private revelations because they are sad, depressed and in need of validation. I understand. Still, the emphasis on private revelations can be a great deterrent to evangelism and to the basic sharing of the Holy Gospel with our family, friends and neighbors. People have stopped listening to me and to many priests because we do not give approbation to their personal, pet revelations. Even if a revelation is true, it should be received in humility and in these days, again, SILENCE. Pride can masquerade as private revelation so many times. The saints who did receive valid, personal revelations NEVER WANTED THEM! It became a great source of penance and were approved only after their deaths with complete certainty by the Church.

Please, let go of these things and read the gospels, pray your rosary and go to Holy Mass, if possible. If you do this you will have peace. Many a soul has been led into heresy by so-called private revelations.

As always, I remember all of you before the altar of the Lord and send my priestly blessing to you and those you love+

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Death In Colorado

I was just reading a news story on the internet about a dear, elderly lady who lost her life when her house was inundated by flooding. Here was a woman who was as safe as she could make herself and the Angel of Death visited her very house and her safety was an illusion. May God have mercy upon her immortal soul and all those who have died in Colorado and everywhere by whatever means.

WE MUST ALL BE PREPARED TO DIE AT ANY MOMENT, because only the Almighty and Ever Living God knows when He will call us to judgement. He alone holds the keys of life and death. I hope with all my heart that the dear lady was prepared for her final hour. I hope all of you are prepared for your final hour- and I hope that I am prepared for my final hour.

O God of Light and Love, remember how small and frightened I am. Have mercy on me and give me all the grace I need to be free from fear and anxiety and to welcome the moment when You call me to Yourself. Through Our Lord and Saviour Jesus, the Only Christ, He Who Himself suffered death for me, so that I may not suffer eternal death; with Mary, His Most Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, patron of departing souls. Amen.

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Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

WE ADORE THEE, O CHRIST AND WE BLESS THEE,
BECAUSE BY THY HOLY CROSS, THOU HAST REDEEMED THE WORLD!

May Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ have mercy upon you and all those you love. May He protect and defend you and give you all you need at all times, especially those graces of which you are most in need.

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Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

“O Name of Mary! Joy in the heart; honey in the mouth, melody to the ear of her devout clients!”

In Hebrew, the name Mary is Miryam. In Our Lady’s time, Aramaic was the spoken language, and the form of the name then in use was Mariam, from the root, merur, the name signifies “bitterness.”

Miryam was the name of the sister of Moses; and the ancient rabbinical scholars perceiving in it a symbol of the slavery of the Hebrews at the hands of the Egyptians, held that Miryam was given this name because she was born during the time of the oppression of her people. We must remember that the Old Testament was filled with “types,” or foreshadowings of people and events which would be made manifest when the redemption of the Lord came. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the sacraments, Calvary, everything was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, but we view them there as “through a glass darkly,” being explained by the guidance of the Holy Ghost through the Catholic Church, Which alone possesses the authority to interpret Holy Writ.

Miryam was a “type” of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Moses was a “type” of Christ. She was a prophetess who sang a canticle of thanksgiving after the safe crossing of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharhao’s army. The Blessed Mother Mary prophesied in her Magnificat that “all generations shall call me blessed!,” and she sang how God would topple the mighty from their thrones and exalt the lowly. Miryam supported her brother, the liberator of his people, as Blessed Mary is united to the sufferings of her Son upon the Cross of Calvary, He Who is our One Mediator. She laboured next to Him, the true Liberator of all His people.

“Mary means enlightener, because she brought forth the Light of the world. In the Syriac tongue, Mary signifies Lady.”- St. Isidore of Seville.

“Mary means Star of the Sea.”- St. Bernard.

“As mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain the Port of Christ through Mary’s maternal intercession.”- St. Thomas Aquinas.

“This most holy and worthy name was ’eminently fitted to so holy, sweet and worthy a virgin.’- St. Boneventure.

We could go on and on, but let us end with Holy Scripture that tells us “and the Virgin’s name was Mary,” which in latin means seas. Ave Maris Stella, this title goes all the way back to St. Jerome in the 400’s. He used the metaphor of the sea to be God and Our Lady as the guide through whom we find HIM. It is the Will of God that we have devotion to the Mother of the Son.

HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF GOD, PRAY FOR US SINNERS, NOW AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH. AMEN.

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St. Augustine

“Too late have I known Thee;
Too little have I loved Thee!”

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Look Not Back

Look not back-
Keep your face toward the sunshine,
For I shall rise fresh daily in thy soul
with healing on My wings.

-Francis Roberts

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Novena Prayer to Great Saint Joseph

O glorious St. Joseph, faithful guardian of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Heart of Jesus all the help and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death and the special favors we now implore… (here make your petitions known to dear St. Joseph.)

O Guardian of the Word Incarnate and chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, we are animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard before the Throne of God. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Great St. Joseph and All Saints and Angels, pray for us to the Lord Our God. Amen.

O Lord of Love and Light, receive into Your kingdom the suffering souls in purgatory. Have mercy on them and admit them, through the suffering of Christ upon the Cross of Calvary, into heavenly glory. Thank You for all things. Amen.

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Persecution In Egypt and Elsewhere

The Mohammedans are again killing, raping and torturing Christians in Egypt, whose Christian population has suffered for so long with persecution by these Islamists. They are burning ancient churches to the ground and there is no one to help them.

All over the Middle East and in Islamic countries everywhere Catholics and other Christians are suffering terribly at the hand of Islam. In Iraq terrible persecutions- the murder of priests by mobs and the taking of Christians into slavery in the Sudan; all over those who love Christ are paying dearly for their faith, while we hear virtually nothing of this from our government, which lifts not a finger to help the persecuted! Is it any wonder?

O God of the persecuted, the tortured and the forgotten, bless and have mercy on those who suffer for Thy Name and for Thy Church. Give them many miracles of grace, escape and prosperity. Shield them under Thy Wings of healing and send them Thy Holy Angels to minister to them and grant them surcease from their troubles. Dear Mother of God, wrap them in Thy mantle of Love and protection. Make us aware of their sufferings and raise our consciousness to help those who are in need of our prayers and good efforts. Amen.

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Something I Have Learned The Hard Way

There is something that I have learned the hard way. It took me many years to discover and at the age of fifty seven I can say with certainty that it is a universal truth: We are defined more by what we do NOT do, than by what we do. Our renunciations are more important than our affirmations. In fact, renunciation is itself an action.

One can go to daily Mass and receive Holy Communion, pray rosary after rosary and visit many churches on a regular basis. You can read all about visionaries and the apparitions of the Blessed Mother. I know many people that do these exact things, including relatives and including myself!, but I tell you that I know a person that does none of these things and he is one of the most honorable and Christian acting people I have ever met. It is because he has integrity and kindness in everything he does; he makes no promises he doesn’t keep and he does more for the poor and suffering than any religious person I know, and he never talks about it.

You see, it is what we say no to that shows what we value. It is what we say no to that deepens our eternal yes. It is better not to profess holy things if you betray the Lord of the holy. It will go better for the Roman soldiers that crucified Our Lord on the Day of Judgement than for the pious Catholic that drives by the homeless and who castigates and judges others, who does not fulfill the implicit vows they make in every prayer they say. Often it is ignorance that saves. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. For some people I would also pray- Father forgive them, for they know exactly what they do!

What do you say no to? Know yourself and choose your renunciations wisely.

O God, give me the grace to say no to that which is unhealthy and unloving. Help me not to be a hypocrite and especially give me the grace not to judge others; Let me leave all the judging to You, for you are the only One qualified to judge, O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Amen.

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