The Feast of the Epiphany-The end of the Christmas Season

I attended Mass on the Vigil of the Epiphany.  Fr. Richard was the celebrant.  Below are my words summarizing his excellent homily.

 Father Richard compared and contrasted the search for the Child Jesus by the Magi and Herod. He remarked that the Magi went where the Lord led them and their reward was to be able to worship the Child Jesus as gentiles. 

Herod, on the other hand, was seeking the Child Jesus to hold on to his earthly power. He feared the Child and sought to keep his power by doing it his way and not God's way. 

Father Richard reminded  us that when we follow God's way, listen to Him, give Him all we are, and Trust Him, we will grow closer to God. 

The trick is to follow the Way of the Lord. What God wants us to do is not easy. It is, often, not what we want to do, but in the end, His way should be our way.

Thanks, Padre!  Your words are most appreciated and loved!

The year, the month, the day doesn't matter, the souls need our prayers

Amidst the old tombstones I walk,
Lichen infecting the stones,
Moss covering names, and
Grass covered markers with names erased
Because they are so old.
They lay here silent.
Their bodies decomposing in the grave.
Dust to dust.
No one moves,
No one speaks,
Only the living who walk these well trod paths.
We live beyond this world,
But we are still near.
Pray!  Pray! Pray for us buried here.

Monuments, markers,
Unmarked graves,
What's left of our lives,
Our stories untold.
No one remembers.
Life has past,
Eternity is where I rest.
I walk inside these walls.
Purgatory!
Pray for me.
Only you can help me now.
I suffer.

Do you hear my whispers?
I beg your prayers.
Never have I suffered before.
I cannot help myself.
Pray!  More than in life,
I need you!
Pray for me!
Pray for us!
When I ran these paths, I didn't hear.
I didn't listen when I lived,
Now, I know.
Pray!
We are grateful.

Message from Our Lady of Medjugorje to Mirana Soldo on December 2, 2017

Our Lady's message to Mirjana Soldo of December 2nd, 2016
 

Dear children, my motherly heart is crying as I am looking at what my children are doing. Sins are multiplying, the purity of soul is all the less important; my Son is being forgotten - honored all the less; and my children are being persecuted. That is why, you my children, apostles of my love, with soul and heart invoke the name of my Son. He will have the words of light for you. He manifests Himself to you, He breaks the bread with you and gives you the words of love so that you may transform them into merciful acts and, thus, be witnesses of truth. That is why, my children, do not be afraid. Permit my Son to be in you. He will make use of you to care for the wounded and to convert lost souls. Therefore, my children, return to the prayer of the Rosary. Pray it with feelings of goodness, sacrifice and mercy. Pray, not only with words, but with merciful acts. Pray with love for all people. My Son, by His sacrifice, exalted love. Therefore, live with Him so that you may have strength and hope; that you may have the love which is life and which leads to eternal life. Through God's love, I am also with you, and will lead you with motherly love. Thank you.
 

Mirjana said that Our Lady was very sad.

Worth Repeating: Looking Forward to 2014

Lord, 
Knowing that nothing good is accomplished without Your Love and Your Help, I ask You to bless us, to bless me, as we look forward to the year 2014.  Father, You are the God of all creation.  It was a gift of Your Love, that Jesus came to earth as a tiny babe.  As a Man, Jesus would come to save our world from sin.  Holy Spirit, You were sent to us by  the Father and Jesus to guide us in our earthly sojourn.  You fill us with Your gifts and graces that will lead us to the Father, the Son, and to You, Mighty Spirit of God who live and reign forever and ever.  Amen.

Praise be to You, Mighty God and Father.
Praise be to You, Jesus, the Son of God and our brother.
Praise be to You, Holy Spirit, giver of gifts and graces, Counselor.

In 2014, I ask for these graces.

I ask for the gift of reverence for Jesus in the Eucharist.  I ask this for me and for all.  I ask that we learn to adore and worship Jesus as He should be worshiped.  He is Our King of Kings!  The great High Priest.

 The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be God, my savior! Psalm 18:47

"You who fear the LORD, give praise! All descendants of Jacob, give honor; show reverence, all descendants of Israel!" Psalm 22:24

All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. Psalm 22:30

Give to the LORD the glory due God's name. Bow down before the LORD'S holy splendor! Psalm 29:2

I ask for the gift of prayer. 

“Beloved, pray for us.”  1Thessalonians 5: 25

“Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-17


I ask for the gift of a closer relationship with our God!

“O God, you are my God, I seek you,
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1


I ask for the gift of kindness, not only to others, but to myself.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”  Matthew 7:12
I ask for the gift of patience, not only to others, but to myself.

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3: 12-14

I ask for the gift of love, not only for others, but for myself.

“Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13: 9

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12

I ask that I learn to be less, and, You, Sweetest Lord, be more.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. “ Jeremiah 29:11

I ask for the gift of selflessness.

“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.”  Luke 6:35

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 15: 12-14


I ask for the gift of trust in You.

“My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63: 8

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.”  Proverbs 3: 5-6

Thank You, Father.  Thank You, brother Jesus.  Thank You, Holy Spirit.

Amen.

My Word for 2017

I had knee replacement surgery on 

November 14th of last year.

I expected to have some pain, but I felt that by Christmas,

I'd be up and going at my usual pace.

Because of my very slow and painful recovery with any complications,

I have only been able to attend Mass at Christmas,

and that was with great difficulty and pain.

At least I got to go then, right?

Sometimes, it's hard to be grateful for our blessings,

especially when they aren't the blessings we would like to receive!

Back to the story.

So, when I attended Mass at Christmas, I picked up a calendar and

brought it home.

Our parish has a large Hispanic population.

I am also Hispanic, but English is my first language. (I can barely speak Spanish, though, I wish I could.)

Of course, the calendars and books  were laid out for both cultures and free for taking.

I picked up my calendar and drove home feeling very sorry for myself.

The calendar sat on my desk without being opened for two days.

At this point I was down in the proverbial dumps.

Time to get to work.

I picked up my gift and realized that I had picked up the Spanish version of the calendar!

I had to chuckle because I realized that God was clearly telling me to let it go.

It's His Will,

not mine.

Yes, I was in pain and very frustrated, but, there were things I needed to learn and He was bringing me to

Him

and to the truths of His Love.

TRUST ME.

TRUST ME.

I had to laugh.

Of course.  I've had a difficult time with trust.

I put the calendar in my "to go" bag so that when I could go back to Church, I will remember to take the calendar and exchange it for an English version.

It's going to be a long time before I can attend daily Mass again.

It's going to be a bit more time before I can regularly attend Sunday Mass.

For now, I'm relaxing.

This is in God's Hands, not mine.

TRUST.

My word for 2017.

TRUST!

 

 

It's Still Christmas

If you wonder why the hymns at 

Mass yesterday were Christmas,

well,

it's because the Church's 

Christmas doesn't end until the

Feast of the Epiphany.

This year,

the date is 

Friday, January 6, 2017.

That is when our Christmas season ends.

The four weeks preceding Christmas is called Advent

because we are preparing for the birth of Jesus.

When Christmas arrives, 

we celebrate His birth.

So, if you didn't feel that you had much time to celebrate Christmas,

REJOICE!

It's still Christmas!

“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”
--Saint Maximilian Kolbe
 

 

2017!