Pages

Monday, October 31, 2016

A Blog Post Can Be a Series about The Women of My Church: Maureen of Kato, Prayer Warrior

I've written about Maureen before.
(Maureen before.  This is not her real name.)
Maureen, like St. Joan of Arc, is a warrior, a prayer warrior.
Maureen leads the battle to defeat 
satan and his wiles,
through prayer.

There are those of us,
which is most of the population of the world,
who are in her daily prayers.
There are those of us, who, when difficulties and challenges arise,
and, we ask Maureen for prayers,
she tells us,
"I've already got you covered."




Our priests are covered in her prayers, daily, if not hourly.
Prayers for the sick and the dying are daily.
I can only guess how many souls Maureen has helped to release from Purgatory.
There is no need, great or small, that is not covered in her daily prayers.

Maureen spends many blessed hours in adoration before Our Lord interceding  for her loved ones and the rest of the world.
God smiles when Maureen whispers His Holy Name.

St. Joan once said of her mission in life,
"I am not afraid.  I was born to do this."

 Maureen once told me, "We all have our jobs.  Prayer is my job, and this is why I was born."

Sound familiar?
I told you Maureen was a warrior.

St. Joan of Arc, protect and defend God's blessing to us,
Maureen, our prayer warrior.
 

Saturday, October 29, 2016

A Blog Post Can be a Prayer

Lord, Even a thistle bears fruit.  
When I am a thistle, sharp with others and stuck on something unkind,
forgive me and remind me that 
I am not the center of the world.
Remind me that I must love my neighbor as I love myself.
In spite of my shortcomings,
let me bear fruit.
I give myself to You.
Do with me as You choose.

Friday, October 28, 2016

A Blog Post Can be : Ending the Week with Thanksgiving and Praise

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."
John 1: 16 

1) We can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.  The double digit number of days until our election are almost over!
(I wish that our candidates would get along a well as Marvin and Pixie do)

2) Autumn has settled into our area.  Leaves are being picked up by the city.  One of our trees still has leaves.  I don't know when those leaves will fall.  That's okay.  They will protect the grass from the snow.

3) We have had a very warm autumn.
That has been nice.

"Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God all my life long."
Psalm 146:1-2
 

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Message to Marija for the World on October 25, 2016

Message, 25. October 2016
 
“Dear children! Today I am calling you: pray for peace. Leave selfishness and live the messages which I am giving you. Without them, you cannot change your life. By living prayer, you will have peace. By living in peace, you will feel the need to witness, because you will discover God whom you now feel to be far away. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray and permit God to enter into your hearts. Return to fasting and confession so as to overcome the evil in you and around you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Harken to Our Lady's request and 


Pray
for 
Peace.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Worth Repeating: Imagine

Imagine a place you’ve never seen before, a place you might not have believed was real.  A place covered in a mist so thick that you cannot see your hands or your feet, yet, it’s solid and real.  Imagine a place of great suffering, filled with the cries of longing, moaning, and groaning, but a place of incredible joy!  Imagine a place where, before you entered,  you had seen the Face of God, and now, your longing for God causes such great pain, you fear your heart will break.  Imagine a place where the pain is so great, you know that if the skin was burned off your body, leaving only raw nerves exposed to the air, you would feel less pain.  Imagine a place where a fire burns so coldly that the pain caused to your body by a hot flame would be a welcome respite.

The time for merit is over when we die.  We know that God is a God of great Mercy.  What we often forget is that God is a God of Justice, too.  Justice must be met by each of us in our judgment.  One of the gifts of God’s Mercy, in the expiation of our sins, is Purgatory.  Purgatory is a place of final cleansing for our souls, so that one day, when we have paid our debt to our merciful and loving God, we will meet Him face to face, never again fearing Hell, but knowing that we are safe and in Paradise.  satan is no longer a threat to our immortal souls.  We rejoice!

The souls in Purgatory cannot help themselves.  They are completely dependent on the mercy of God and on our prayers and sacrifices on their behalf.  Masses said for the souls bring them great relief.  The Mass can also shorten the time of the souls in Purgatory, and it can bring about their release.  The souls have no recourse except to stay in Purgatory until their debt is paid or to depend on us, the living, for relief and release. 

While in Purgatory the souls can pray for their loved ones (which are all people) on earth.  They can pray for their intentions.  They cannot pray for themselves.  The souls become wonderful intercessors while they are cleansed of their sins in Purgatory, and they do so with great joy!  They are saved.  They know this, but they also know that they must make up for what evil they did on earth.  (Sin is evil.)

Their pain is nearly unbearable, but the pain must be borne by the souls who were not purified on earth.  The souls rejoice because they have been saved from hell.  They know that because of God’s love for all, they are in Purgatory.  They know that the pain they feel is great, but it will lead to great joy when they see God in His Glory!

The souls also pray for those who intercede for them on earth.  They do this with great joy, in spite of their great pain.  The souls in Purgatory can be your intercessors while they are there.  When they reach heaven, they do not forget you.  They continue to pray and intercede for you.  In heaven, they are more powerful than they were on earth.  Ask the souls for help.  Trust them. They will do their best for you.  They will love you with incredible love because you helped them.

The souls in Purgatory are so dear to me.  They have helped me.  They have prayed for me.  They have brought about great spiritual healing for me.  Pray for them daily.  They can only love now.  They are full of love, but they suffer in ways greater than we can imagine, and they do so with great love and joy. 

Help them. 
Have masses said for them.
Offer your masses for them.
Pray the St. Gertrude prayer daily.  It is said to release 1,000 souls each time it is prayed.  Yes, there are a lot of souls in Purgatory!

Eternal Father,
I offer you the Most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with all the Masses offered today,
for the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the Universal Church,
those within my own home and within my family.
Amen.

Pray a rosary, daily, for the souls.
Offer a fast up for them.
Give up that candy bar for the souls.
Give up that immoral TV show for the souls.

Continue to pray for your loved ones who have gone before you.  They might not be out of Purgatory yet. 

As Our Lady says, “Pray, Pray, Pray.”

The Souls will love you for it.  One day, if you aren’t ready to enter heaven yet, and you aren’t hell bound, then you will find yourself in the mist of purgatory suffering willingly for your sins.  Joy will fill your heart!  You will welcome any help you can get from the souls on earth.  Pray now!  You will have intercessors in heaven to help you reach Paradise! They will greet you at the door of heaven, and join you at the Throne of God when you behold His face.  

As St. Paul says,
“Pray without ceasing.”
Remember the Souls when you do!

Monday, October 24, 2016

A Blog Post Can Be an Important Question?

The bigger question is:
Is this Good for Your Soul?
You have to make that decision.
God gave us the gift of free Will.
We can choose to sin or not.
The phrase
"Nasty Woman"
is currently a popular and, supposedly,
empowering phrase in this election.
Certain women would like for us to be 
Nasty Women
with pride.  
What would Jesus want us to do?
How would the Mother of God act in this situation?





Proverbs 31: 25-31 tells us:

Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come. 
 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 
 She looks well to the ways of her household,
    and does not eat the bread of idleness. 
 Her children rise up and call her happy;
    her husband too, and he praises her: 
 “Many women have done excellently,
    but you surpass them all.” 
 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 
 Give her a share in the fruit of her hands,
    and let her works praise her in the city gates.

The eyes of the Lord are more important.
Stand before the Cross of the Crucified.
Will you be the
Nasty Woman
or
the Woman who laughs at things to come?
 
 

A Blog Post can be: A website You Might Not Know Exists

I had forgotten about this site until a friend asked me about praying for the souls of non Catholics.
Of course, Purgatory is a gift to both Catholic and non-Catholics alike from God.
Our choices are Heaven, hell, and Purgatory.

In hell, there is no hope.

In heaven there is the fulfillment of hope and love.

In Purgatory, 
there is hope.
When a soul is judged and found to be imperfect,
the soul is sent to Purgatory for cleansing.
The soul is saved.

Mystics of the Church have told us that there is great suffering in Purgatory, but the souls cannot help themselves.  They can only pray for others.  Then cannot pray for themselves.  Only we can pray for their release.    Our time on earth is a time of merit for us.  We can pray for ourselves and ask others to pray for us.  In Purgatory, especially many of our non Catholic brethren whose faith does not understand Purgatory, are many forgotten souls.  There is no one to pray for them.  However,  there is a site where you can enter the names of the living and dead, and they will receive the benefits of the adorers and Perpetual Masses that are offered by the site owner.
It's called

You can enter the names of anyone living or dead, and they will received the benefit of great prayers.
Enter your name.
That is important, especially, in our day and age when so many have not yet come to know the love of God.
We always want prayers, especially if there is great suffering involved.
Enter names.
You can do this anonymously or register your entry with your name.
The choice is yours.
When you think of a name, write that name down, and enter more than one at a time, or enter only one at a time.
It is so easy.
The souls need us.
Pray for them!
Pray!

Eternal Father, I offer You the Most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with all of the Masses said throughout the world.  In reparation for sins, for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those within my own home and within my family.  Amen.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Ending (And Beginning) the Week with Praise

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."
John 1: 16 

1) The words, "No Greater Love" bring me to tears.

2) The colors hidden in the leaves are peaking now as the the trees' cycle of life slows down.

3) The closer we get to the election, the more grateful I am.

"Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God all my life long."
Psalm 146:1-2
 

Friday, October 21, 2016

A Blog Can be A Testimony of Truth and Life

I am one of those mothers whose life was at risk during my last pregnancy. I was told the longer I carried, the higher the risk of losing my  life. If a woman learned of a risk late term, the solution is delivery of a viable baby, not abortion. I carried my baby to 30 weeks, and he and I survived. Who is to say my life was any more valuable than his? If anything the argument could be made as his mother, it would fall on my shoulders to protect him, even with my life. It seem backwards for a child to sacrifice for the parent.

I struggled to have my children, and losing my twin preemies makes one understand how precious life is.  This topic gets me riled up because we didn't know if I could have a child.  I have a friend who actually asked me to take her to an abortion clinic.  I was outraged. I tried so hard to have a baby, and we looked at adoption. With my child,  the doctors told me I had to have him to save myself.  I fought with them, insisted on steroid shots to help mature his lungs.  I was in ICU with Hellp syndrome and was told the only cure was to have the baby.  I denied consent.  I ended up having an emergency c-section. On my way into surgery,  I prayed for God to take me and save my son. I felt this warm feeling engulf me and knew God was taking control.  I cry when I tell the story.  I have felt God bless me and my son.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

A Blog can be a Phrase...

God will NEVER stop loving YOU!

Friday, October 7, 2016

Enfing the Week With Thanksgiving and Praise

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."
John 1: 16 

1) There was a crack of lightning and the boom of thunder.  I didn't know we had a storm on the way, but this is a way to say good bye to fall.

2) Making soap has been a blessing to me.  I'm getting ready for winter by making soap rich in emollients.
Making soap is a gift from God.
 
3) Pixie had a great birthday.  She had a taco and a cupcake.  She was very happy!
 
 
 
 
"Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God all my life long."
Psalm 146:1-2
 

Thursday, October 6, 2016

God Shows His Sense of Humor Again


I've always had a thing about angels.
I've prayed to God.
"Lord, I'd love to see an angel, a real angel.  How about it?  Will you let me see an angel?"
Today, I was driving home from morning Mass.
I saw a strange looking cloud hanging down.  It was the only one in the sky.
I took pictures of it when I came to a stop sign.
In the first photo,
do you see the angel beginning to form?
The second photo shows the angel,
wings and all.
At the bottom of the cloud, I see a dove.
Is that the Holy Spirit?
The angel seems to be riding on the dove's back.
Yes, I think God has a fun sense of humor, 
but
I'd still rather see a real angel,
a beautiful being of light.
I guess I'll have to wait.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Worth Repeating: My Feet Are Cold!!!!!

My Feet Are Cold!

Offer it up.

My shoes are uncomfortable.

Offer it up.

The old lady right in front of me just did something she can’t hear, and it smells.

Offer it up.

The homily is too long.

Offer it up.

The songs are too high to sing at Mass.

Offer it up.

My kids feet stink!

Offer it up.

It’s too hot outside.

Offer it up.

I ordered a choco-mocha latte and got a diet coke instead.

Offer it up.

I’ve waited over half and hour for the doctor.

Offer it up.

The sun is too bright.

Offer it up.

I’m so hungry!

Offer it up.

I’m too cold.

Offer it up.

My Heart is broken.

Offer it up.

I have a fever.

Offer it up.

That car cut me off.

Offer it up.

(See a trend here?)

Offer it up.


Why do we “offer it up?”

We offer our sufferings to God because our suffering is never wasted or meaningless when we join our sufferings to those of the Jesus on the cross for the salvation of sinners, the atonement of sins, or the forgiveness of sins.
We may also offer our sufferings for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for the sick and suffering, or for  special intentions.
You may also offer up your sufferings and ask Jesus to do with our sufferings as He chooses.

So, the next time you stub your toe, run late for a meeting,

OFFER IT UP!
Your prayers and offerings are never wasted.


Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Taste and See: Experiencing God with Our Senses: The Sense of Sight

One night, I woke up, and I couldn't see.  I don't know what happened, but for a few minutes I had no sense of sight.
The room was dark, of course, but there were night lights in the hall.
I couldn't see.
Then, as quickly as it happened, my vision returned.
My breathing returned to normal and the panic subsided.
4 AM is early, but I was awake.
As I lay there, aware that today would be a very long day,
I pondered this God given gift of sight.

Other than those few minutes, I have never been without sight.
I've never had to use a cane to find my way across the street.

I've never had to hide my eyes because they were disfigured. 
I've never had to wonder if I would trip on something I couldn't see.
Sight has been a gift.
I am able to read by sight.
I am able to make crafts using my sight.
I can cook and read recipes because I have the gift of sight.
I might need glasses, but my sight is corrected to 20/20.

If I use my sight, I can see a flower blooming in a garden.
If I use my sight, I can see the rain falling.
If I use my sight, I can see a tomato that is ripe.
If I use my sight, I can see the priest as he consecrates the Host.
If I use my sight, I can drive to Church without having to ask someone to take me.

Of course, we cannot see God with our earthly eyes, 
but
we can experience Him through our senses.

With my gift of sight, I can see the sun rise or set.
With my gift of sight, I can see my children.
With my gift of sight, I can see a smile on an aging face.
With my gift of sight, I can see my home.
With my gift of sight, I can experience God in what I see.
 

Monday, October 3, 2016

God's Love Language In My Garden


God found me in the garden, and He spoke to me in His Language of Love.
How does God speak to you?

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to Mirjana: 10/2/16

Dear children, the Holy Spirit, according to the Heavenly Father, made me the mother – the mother of Jesus – and by this alone, also your mother.

That is why I am coming to hear you, that I may open my motherly arms to you; to give you my heart and to call you to remain with me, because from the top of the cross my Son entrusted you to me. 

Unfortunately, many of my children have not come to know the love of my Son; many of them do not want to come to know Him.
Oh, my children, how much bad is done by those who must see or interpret in order to come to believe. That is why, you, my children, my apostles, in the silence of your heart, listen to the voice of my Son, so that your heart may be His home, that it may not be dark and sad, but that it may be illuminated with the light of my Son.

Seek hope with faith, because faith is the life of the soul. Anew I am calling you: pray, pray to live faith in humility, in spiritual peace, and illuminated by the light. My children, do not strive to comprehend everything immediately, because I also did not comprehend everything immediately; but I loved, and I believed in the divine words which my Son spoke – He who was the first light and the beginning of redemption.

Apostles of my love – you who pray, sacrifice yourselves, love and do not judge – you go and spread the truth, the words of my Son, the Gospel, because you are the living Gospel; you are the rays of the light of my Son. My Son and I will be with you to encourage you and to test you. My children, always implore the blessing of those, and only of those whose hands have been blessed by my Son, of your shepherds. Thank you.”


Say Hello to your Mother. Pray the Rosary today!

A single Rosary takes only 
20 minutes to pray.
If you don't have time for a full
Rosary,
say a decade.
Here's a link on how to say the Rosary.

Click
for more information on the Rosary.

I'd write more, but it's time for my rosary.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Confession: God's Balm for the Soul...5 Reasons to go today

It's good for you.

You feel better when you confess.

Through the priest, God forgives you your sins.

Your sins are forgotten.

God rejoices when you return.

Oh, My God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because they have offended You, My God,
Who are all good and worthy of all my love.
I firmly resolve with the help of Your grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.
Amen.