Psalm 100

Exodus 15:2

Ending The Week in Praise and Thanksgiving

"Rejoice always,  pray constantly,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

1) Lord, there were some rough days this week, I mean they were rough.

I know Your Graces are enough for me,

I did get through this week.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your help.

 I praise You! I bless You!!  I adore You!!!

2) I learned a very important lesson today, and I have to admit, I probably should have learned this before, and that lesson is that when I step out of the way, and I let God be God, things happen, and they happen in the most creative of ways, and with a slight touch of humor!

Lord, You brought joy into my life today!  Thank You!  I'm working to stay out of Your way, but that doesn't always happen.  Forgive me, but help me to learn to surrender to You in all things.

3) You know how it is when you ask and ask and ask God for something.  It's been hours!  It's been days!  It's been weeks!  It's been months!! Well, you get the idea.  Like a small child you are persistent.  Remembering that Paul tells us to pray constantly, you ask and ask and ask.

Then, we have an answer to our prayer, but it is clearly not in the way we hoped it would be.

Disappointed?  Well, maybe not.  This is an interesting turn of events.  Thinking back to what we wanted, we realize that what we wanted might have backfired, and all of our plans and preparation might have been a waste of time and talent.

Ooooops!  Looks like God had my back on that one.

Thank You, Jesus!  You held me in the palm of Your Blessed Crucified Hands.  I am safe, in spite of myself!

Praise to You, Father God, Creator!

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ!

Praise to You, Holy Spirit!  

Thy Kingdom come.  Thy Will be done!

On earth, as it is in Heaven!

 

 

Honestly, Does it Matter? 5 ways to be ready for the "end of times."

If you look at this picture, you might see something that, at first glance, seems mystic.

I took this photo myself.

If you look at the leaves and branches of the trees, you see what seems like ice dripping from the trees, yet, the trees are in full with green leaves.  I took this photo on June 22, so, the trees should be full of leaves, but not full of ice. The ice is the rain pounding on my windows.

Oh. My. Goodness!

In the middle of the photo, you see what appears to be candles burning  in the tree tops with a bird flying above them.

Yes, they do look like candles, but they are really the chandelier in my dining room with the cover for the wires, hanging loose.

The cover looks like a bird.

To the left you see what appears to be a home with the lights in the windows turned on.

That is the reflection of of my kitchen lights.

As you look further down, you see what appears to be a reflection in the water of the trees.

I don't even have a swimming pool or pond to cause that.  This reflection comes from the glass in the windows and the time of day.

Each "aspect" that I have pointed out is not miraculous or mystic.  This is a photo I took, and there is nothing mystical, nothing predictive, nor is there anything that could be called a sign of the times.

Things happen.

That's the way of life.

A flare of the sun does not mean that this is an omen from God.

A "blood moon" only means that this is a blood moon.

Many people are now obsessed with the end of times.  Events, even of the most ordinary, become predictive of the "end of times."

Many people live in fear because these "prophets" of our time say that everything will change.  Millions upon millions of people will die.

I've seen this happen in my church where a group of fervent women pray, but they live in fear.

Whereas prayer is good, fear is not from God.

I'm not saying that things won't happen, they might.  If they do,  God will use events to bring people to Him.

That might be part of His Plan, but I don't know.

Neither do these "prophets" who so willingly engage in speculation.

Even some of the great saints and mystics of the Church have been wrong in their prophesies,

and they had God on their side.

Jesus said, "“But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come."

Mark 13:32 

And we don't know when the time will come.  People in the early Church believed that Jesus would return before they died.   They died without seeing His return.

Today, thousands of people around the world died, and this became their "end of times."

When we live in fear, we are not living fully, nor are we aligning ourselves to the Will of God which is to 

TRUST HIM, TO KNOW HIM, AND TO LIVE A LIFE WHICH GLORIFIES HIM.

So, speculating that we are living in the end of times, and we might be because we are all surely going to die one day,

how can we prepare for the end of times, just in case.

1) Follow the advice of St. Padre Pio:

"Pray. Hope. Don't Worry."

Hope is a fruit of the Holy Spirit gifted to us through prayer.

Peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes when we cease to worry.

2) Trust God.  Surrender to His Holy Will. 

These events may or may not be the Holy Will of God.

When you don't trust God and step aside to let Him work, fear becomes the fruit and fear is not of God.

Trust that our God who created the heavens and the earth, knows what he's doing.

Pray, but don't pray out of fear.

Pray because you love God and you Trust Him above all else.

Give Yourself to Him, and let Him guide you.

Forget the fear mongers.  They might have good intentions, but trust and obedience to the Will of God is far more important than one's good intentions.

3) Invoke the Holy Spirit often during your day.  Ask Him to guide your prayer.  Ask Him to help you surrender your fears to Jesus who has said:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

Matthew 28: 19-20 

I am with you...

It doesn't matter.

Jesus will be with us always.

4) Read and meditate on Sacred Scripture daily.

Trust that this is the 

Word of God 

and through sacred scripture,

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit

have left us with the Words of True life.

In these words we find love, trust, consolation, and courage.

We just don't know when we will die.

We don't know when the world will end.

We don't know! 

5) Practice humility and use common sense.

Think objectively of those who seem to "know and propagate" their "knowledge" of the end of times.

Pray for them.

Love the sinner and hate the sin.

Fear is the food of satan.  Through fear, he preys upon God's children.  satan is not humble.

he does not exalt God.  he wants you to be anxious.  he wants you to be unhappy.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.  Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world."

1 Peter 5: 6-9

In the end, we are all going to die.  When, where, and how are up to God.

Honor God through your love of God.

Let others walk away from you knowing more about God and seeing His Love in action through you.

 Be His Hands, His Feet, His Mouth, His Eyes,  and His Most Sacred Heart.

We are only promised this second that we are living and nothing more.

 

God has promised that He will be with us always.

God cannot lie, and if we can't trust our God who keeps the world going, keeps us from flying off into space with gravity, then whom can we trust? 

Just like the photo I took, satan is deceptive.  he wants us to be fearful and frightened.  he doesn't want us to trust God.  

If you want peace in this world, no matter what happens, 

TRUST GOD.

 

 

Worth Revisiting:: We need to pray Daily for the Souls in Purgatory

Someone I know died yesterday. She wasn’t a close friend, but she was a friend. The last time I saw her, she was the picture of health. That was in April. We attended the same retired teacher’s breakfast that is held monthly. She was happy and talking about traveling. She was scheduled to go to an event that focused on her specialty, English.

I don’t know what happened. In the month and a half since I had seen her last, she was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer. She was not a smoker, nor had she been a smoker. She was a good woman and touched many lives.
We received the email about two weeks ago that she was very ill and in the hospital. Visits were not encouraged. Text messages and emails were not encouraged since she was too weak. However, we were asked, if we liked, to send cards. There were 50 cards sent in one week. She couldn’t talk, but she gave the thumbs up for each one that was read to her.
Her suffering seems to have been great but for a limited time. My hope is that, as she crossed the threshold of eternity, Jesus was there to welcome her home.

We don’t know. She might be in Purgatory now. This is why we need to pray daily for the Souls.
I’m at the age now where I read the obituaries, daily. There are people younger than I am who die daily. We need to pray for them. We need to pray for everyone, just in case. We might get up that morning, pray for the souls, and then we might die. We don’t know. Life is so short.
Pray for the souls daily.

St. Gertrude Prayer

Eternal Father, I offer you the most Precious Blood of Your divine Son, Jesus, in union with all Masses said daily, 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.

All Praise and Honor be to the Precious Blood of Jesus, for it wrought our salvation and redemption. Amen.

This prayer is said to release 1,000 souls from Purgatory everytime it is prayed.

Forgiveness in South Carolina: An example to everyone Everywhere

Nadine Collier, daughter of 70 year old shooting victim, Ethyl Lance, spoke directly to Dylann Roof at his bond hearing.

She said, "I forgive you.  You took something very precious from me. I will never talk to her again.  I will never, ever hold her again.  But I forgive you..."

God has a special place for Nadine in heaven. 

In a situation of such unprovoked, violence caused by a dangerous young man filled with hate, 

I question whether I could follow the example of Nadine

who forgave the man who, in cold blood, murdered her mother.

I heard her say later,
"We are a house built on love.  What else could I do?

LOVE.

This is what life is all about.

Life is not for whimps.

Forgiveness is not for whimps.

Strength in LOVE.

Strength in life.

This is what our sojourn on earth comes down to being:

LOVE.

God bless you, Nadine!

Letter from my younger self to Me, Now...

George Goodwin Kilburne

Hi!

It's been a long time hasn't it?  Have you thought much about me as the years have gone by?  You're older now, and you've had a lot of experiences in your life.  Have you thought much about me?  Do you wish you could go back to a time when things hadn't changed so much?

Yes, your life has been very difficult at times.  Some of your problems were due to the fact that you did make some very poor life choices.  These choices did change you.  For a long time you were bitter and angry.  You were angry with God, too.  You wanted nothing to do with Him!

What you didn't know, at the time, was that God was using everything for your sanctification.  God loves you now, as much as, He did then.  You were so busy blocking His love and trying to make things happen the way you wanted them to happen, that He couldn't get close to You.  

Yes, some awful things happened to you.  They scarred you, and they changed you, but life is a journey, and you are much wiser now.   You do carry a lot of old baggage, but you are beginning to let go and let God.  You are learning to trust Him.  

He's been there with you, even in your worst moments, but you didn't know it.  You were in a great deal of pain.  I wish I could have seen these things, to warn you, but I couldn't.  Now, looking back, you can finally see some of the reasons.   Yes, you did waste a lot of time in your anger, but God will bring you up to speed as you mature spiritually.  Healing has begun.  This is a grace. 

You have finally given up!  God has won this race!  He is pouring His graces into You as He wanted to do way back when.  It's not easy, but you have begun to accept your cross.  You are now carrying it with joy instead of cries of pain.  You have begun to trust God, to say "Yes," to God.    Again, this is a grace.  You are, at last, beginning to bloom.  

You, at last, realize that:  God does love you and always has loved you,

                                         God has tried you and, for a while, found you lacking, but now, He sees 

                                         you've changed,

                                         There is so much peace in giving your most difficult moments to God,

                                         Aligning your will to the Will of God is what gives you peace,

                                         No one, and nothing, can love you more than God can.

Isn't our God AMAZING!!!!!!

I wish I could have prayed for you back then, but someone has been praying for you.  Don't worry, you'll find out one day in eternity.  Until then, I just have to say, I'm glad you've come to believe that you are worthy of God's love and your love.  God wants you to love yourself, too.  No matter what we do in our lives, if we do it without love, well, we've missed out on the best part of life:: Love!

Until we meet again,

Love, 

Me

 

 

                      

 

St. Teresa of Avila - Happy Father's Day

St. Ignatius

Ending the Week with Praise and Thanksgiving

1) God's love is everywhere!

When you look at the sky,

you see the birds, the sun, the clouds.

These are all a part of His love for us.

Praise you, Father, for You have given us the beauty of the sky!

2) Look down at your feet.

Praise God for the gift of your feet.

Praise God for the ground on which you stand.

Praise God for the streets.

Praise God for the open roads.

Praise God!

Praise God!

and

Thank Him, too!

3) Look at the bodies of water.

They might reflect the blue of the sky!

Wow! God!  You are great!

The water might appear brown and muddy.

Praise God!  At least you can drink the water.

Look at the water that comes out of your tap.

In many regions of the world, there is no clean water!

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of the water You give us to drink!

Praise God!

Praise God!

Praise God!

30 Words: In Prayer

Silence

Before God.

Prayer of Praise to God.

Rest in the Spirit.

God is with us.

Give Him Your Cares.

Surrender all to Him. 

He loves.

Worth Revisiting: I AM here.

Who is Jesus?

My Prayer Box

My Prayer Box

My son gave me this box for Christmas, 

along with a beautiful necklace.

I love the necklace,

and

I have repurposed the box.

This box has become

My Prayer Box.

Life in this world seems 

to be more difficult with each year.

My list of prayer requests grows each day.

At my age, it's easy to forget

that for which we have been asked to pray.

I keep a list on my Ipad, but I have been known to delete the entire list,

accidentally.

When I try to rebuild the list, well, that job becomes hit or miss.

Sometimes I get it right.  Many times, I don't.

I do say a general prayer that goes like this:

For all those who have asked me to pray for them, all those for whom I have forgotten to pray.

Lord, You know who they are. 

Please grant them Peace, Salvation, and Respite from their cares.

 Amen.

Now that I have my Prayer Box,

I can write down each prayer request.

Unless I dump the box,

I will always have the request.

I can continue to pray until I have heard that the request has been granted by God.

Knowing that God always answers our prayer requests,

I have faith, that even if I pray for someone or something  that has been asked of God,

and it's been answered,

then the graces given for the request will go to someone else in need.

Yes, God always answers our prayer requests, 

Always.

The answer might be a NO, but God has a plan and a reason.

The answer might be silence

which means that God is giving us the graces to figure it out ourselves.

Kind of neat, huh?

 Then there is the definite

YES!

I love those!

Right now, in my prayer box, I have requests for 

medical needs,

job needs,

a homeless young man,

for his parents,

for a young woman who is very ill,

for some newly ordained priests.

God's graces flow freely from His Hands,

and He always answers our prayers.

God is very creative.

We might not even recognize His answers unless we pray to the Holy Spirit.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 

 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts. "

Isaiah 55: 8-9

Matthew 6:34

The Broken Hearted

Ending the Week in Praise and Thanksgiving: Even God Rested...

At the start of the night,

are you ready to let go of the day?

Leave your day at work at the door.

Sleep in undisturbed slumber.

Thank you, Lord, for this gift of sleep.

You are our Creator, the Father,

and we accept this gift of love 

with great thanksgiving and praise!

God, the Creator, had made so many things for His children to enjoy, 

but,

even God took the time to 

rest.

Rest is important. 

Make sure you get enough rest each night.

Thank God for all He does for you each day.

Whisper His Holy Name and offer Him 

Praise and Thanksgiving

for all He has done for you!

Thank You,

Lord, 

for the Gift of Life!

Thank You for the gift of Work.

Let me sleep peacefully under the protection of Your Wings.

Praise God from Whom all Blessings flow!

Praise and Honor to You.

AMEN>

30 Words: Angel of God

Angel of God,

My Guardian Dear,

to whom God's love

entrusts me here.

Ever this day/night be at my side,

to light,

to guard,

to rule,

to guide.

Amen.

Worth Repeating: If you could, would you?

If you could,
Would you?

If you could be told the date, time, place and method of your death, would you want to know?
Would you want to know if you would face death alone or be held in the warm embrace of your family?
Would this knowledge impact your life?  Would you seek to change?  Would you look for
God or live with abandonment, not caring what you did, only seeking worldly pleasures before you died?
If you knew that, as you walked out the door that morning,  you would never return home again, would you walk out that door?  If you knew that tomorrow you would die, what would you do?

Other than this moment, this second, we are not guaranteed another moment of life.  Do you praise God and thank Him for His great gift  of life?  As I have aged, I have come to realize what an amazing gift life is.  I have been given so many chances to right the wrongs.  Each day gives me that gift.  Each day I am granted the opportunity to grow closer to God, to live in His ways and in His truths. 

When I visit with young couples today, especially those who are pregnant, I am always amazed when I ask if they know the sex of their child and they answer, "No, we want it to be a surprise."
If I could have known the sex of my children before they were born, there would have been no yellow walls, no yellow clothing.  I would have celebrated their births with appropriate themes and colors.  So, I am surprised at this response, but this is birth, not death.

The truth is we are all born to die, but we are also born to love God and live to the fullest extent that we can.  We must navigate our way through the hurdles and challenges of each day as we seek to fulfill what most people don't realize is an inborn longing for God and a return to Him.  Is that statement a surprise?  We are all born with a desire to return to our Creator. 

When a child is conceived, that tiny infant has a craving for God imprinted on its soul.  At that stage of development, the child is not aware of this, but it is there.   As we age, we have that same desire for God.  Too often the desires of the world, presented by satan and his minions, block out the desire for God and God becomes an imaginary creature, a fairy tale.  Yet, even in a soul enthralled with the world, this spark, this desire for God is there.  In the end, most souls look for what they missed during their lives. 

In the movie, "Gravity," the character that Sandra Bullock plays is convinced she is going to die.
She is talking to a monitor that has just died in her space craft and she says, "I'd say a prayer for myself, but no one taught me how."  That inborn longing for God, though weak, is still there. 

Would you want to know the what, when, where,why and how of your death?  I'm not sure, but I'm more inclined, like so many perspective parents today, to be surprised.  I hope to make course corrections, to walk back in God's ways even when I fall off the path and into grave sin.  Each new day is a gift.  However, if I knew that this moment, this hour would be my last, I would want to hug my children and to thank God for the gift of them to me.  Do I want to know everything about my future?  I'm not sure.  How do you feel about this?

"Come Follow Me," Jesus said. Use the Internet to Evangelize. Pinterest:: 5 ways to use your boards!

Jesus said it many times,

"Follow Me."

 "He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
Matthew 8:34

 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
Matthew 4:19

Pope Francis, on the other hand, continues to exhort us 

"Avanti,"

which means "Go forth."

"The need for the church to go out into the world with the Gospel also was the central theme of this first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium ("The Joy of the Gospel"), published in November, 2014.)

In the document, the pope called on Catholics to go out into the world, sharing their faith "with enthusiasm and vitality" by being living examples of joy, love and charity."

(National Catholic Reporter.)  

Pope Francis is also quoted as saying, "The Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity."

Blumberg Business

So, how do we use the internet for the purpose of evangelization?

We can literally ask people to

"Follow Me."

Here's the link to my Pinterest Page.

Click 

HERE

Follow Me.

When you get to my boards, you will see that I have 49 different boards.  

Not all of them relate to my Catholicism,

but the first ones you see will relate.

My blogs are the first boards you see.

I have one blog that is dedicated to beads, my family, my dog, etc.

Even there, I do try to sneak in a bit of Catholicity.

My other blogs are featured there.

They are Catholic.  If you click on the photo, they will take you to the unique post of that blog.

Feel free to PIN my posts.  This gets the post out there again.

The first 9 boards on my page are all Catholic related.

"The Good Sisters," "Pope Francis," "Per Cor Dei/Religious Art," "Prayer" and "Words of Wisdom."

When people click on these boards, or when they follow these boards, they are seeing what my Catholicism means to me.

After these first 9 boards, I have a variety of boards, none of which are Catholic, but they are fun and interesting.

 People follow these boards, too.

If you're on Pinterest already, you understand what I mean.

People follow you because they are interested in what you PIN.

They also repin your Pins, so THE WORD, literally keeps going out to believers and non-believers.

 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being  in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."

John 1: 1-5

They might not like my first 9 boards, but they have other choices.

They might check the Catholic boards again, just to see...

That might be the way that Jesus is saying,

FOLLOW ME.

There might be better, more attractive ways to arrange my boards, and I do keep working on them.

1) Remember that your cover photo is very important for each board.

Choose one that will attract other people and spike their interest in your boards.

2) Before you make a board public make sure you have at least 12 items on the board.

You want to someone to spend a little time on your board clicking away and repinning your pins.

3) Names are also important for your boards.

It might take a lot of inspiration from the Holy Spirit, but you will find a name.

Renaming my religious art board was done with the help of friends on Facebook.

(Social Media at work again.)

I renamed my board,

Per Cor Dei/Religious Art.

Per Cor Dei translated from Latin means,

From the Heart of God.

I like that one!

4) Arrange your boards so that your Catholic boards are the first ones that a follower might see.

5) Keep editing your boards until you are satisfied with them.  I'm rarely satisfied with my boards, but that's my problem.   Pinterest is a visual pin board that you can use digitally.  Carry it with you on your phone.  Use it on your tablet.  Social media is the way to go in most of our lives right now.  So,

 Use Social Media!

Evangelize!

Don't be Afraid!

You Follow Him!

Help Others to do the Same.

Remember, we are all

Per Cor Dei

or from the Heart of God!

PS:  One other suggestion, Pope Francis boards get a lot of PINS and RePINS!

 

 

Pray in the Holy Name of Jesus

Jesus, Lamb of God.
Jesus, Son of the Father.
Jesus, our Lord.
Jesus, the Promised One.
Jesus, our Savior.
Jesus, the Messiah.
Jesus, our King.
Jesus, Lord God.
Jesus, King of Heaven.
Jesus, King of the Universe.
Jesus, Triumphant King.
Jesus, Redeemer King.
Jesus, Son of God.
Jesus, King of Angels.
Jesus, One with the Father.
Jesus, our Brother.
Jesus. King of angels.
Jesus, Son of Mary.
Jesus, Risen One.
Jesus, our King.
Jesus, Divine Healer.
Jesus, Divine Physician.
Jesus, the great I AM.
Jesus, Eternal God.
Jesus, Promised by prophets.
Jesus, Son of David.
Jesus, Maker of all good things.
Jesus, our protector.
Jesus, my Lord and My God.
Jesus, the Triumphant One.
Jesus, King of Heaven.
Jesus, Light of heaven.
Jesus, the Great High Priest.
Jesus, Who is, Who was, and ever will be.
Jesus, Eternal King.
Jesus, the Crucified One.
Jesus, the Sacred Heart.
Jesus, Source of all Goodness.
Jesus, King of Mercy.
Jesus, Savior of the World.
Jesus, God Eternal.
Jesus, Heavenly King.
Jesus, Source of all Graces.
Jesus, in Whom the world Rejoices.
Jesus, who is Love.
Jesus, who is the way.
Jesus, Source of living waters.

The Power of Prayer

Laugh

Ending the Week with Thanksgiving and Praise!

When I wake up each morning I say,

"Thank You, Lord, for this new day."

Each day is a gift, and no matter what happens on that day,

it is the will of God for us

since he brings all things for our good.

There are days when the best thing about the day is that the day is over and you are tired and ready for bed.

Thank God!

He gave you that day for your benefit.

Maybe there was a lesson for you to learn so that you could be closer to Him.

Maybe God had to bring you to your knees so that you would talk to Him.

Maybe, even as you wept, He held your hand.

Maybe you were able to understand something.

Each day brings a new beginning.

We have another chance to get it right.

Someone will die each day.

Actually, many people die each day,

but

if you're still alive,

You live in a time of merit so that what you do will bring you closer to God.

Thank God for a good day.

Thank God for a bad day.

Simply 

Thank God.

When you wake, praise and bless His Holy Name.

When you end your day, praise and bless His Holy Name.

He takes delight in you and your thanksgiving.

He takes delight when you show love.

Thank God!

Thank God!

Praise Him!

Bless His Name!

Sing with joy to Him.

Allelujia!

Allelujia!

Allelujia!

Everything has a Season:: Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 

 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 

 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 

 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

Everything has its place. 

There is a time for everything.

Worth Repeating:: Healing and Forgiveness

Forgive and You Shall be Forgiven
Forgive us our trespasses AS WE FORGIVE those who trespass against us

"Seek and you shall find,
Ask and it shall be given to you." Matthew 7:7

Forgiveness is not for wimps.  Forgiveness takes courage and strength.  Forgiveness means letting go of a pain, an injury, or a hurt and allowing God to heal your brokenness. 

Forgiveness begins in the mind.  In order to forgive, we must make a conscious decision to forgive.    We must say, "Lord, God, I forgive."  With this decision, we begin the process of healing.   Each act of forgiveness begins with a decision to let go of the pain, and allow God room to work in our souls so that we might be healed.  The decision to forgive is an open invitation to God to work with us to being us peace and healing.  We still might be angry when we make the decision to forgive, but as we let go of each layer of pain, we begin to feel the love of God growing in our souls and peace becomes a flower bud ready to burst from within.

Healing is a process, and each layer of pain must be peeled away for healing to be complete.  Think of how you healed as a child when you skinned your knee.  The pain was very sharp in the beginning, especially when the injury was exposed to the fresh, clean air.  The nerves are raw because they are not protected.  The pain is sharp and the knee is tender.  Ointments are poured over the wound to help the healing process.  Then as healing takes place, there is less pain and tenderness.  One day we realize that a protective scab has been formed over the wound, but now it is gone and the wound is healed.  There is no more pain. 

The wounds in our souls are the same.  Often, a wound has been nursed for a long time so an infection has grown in the wound.  As with every infection, there is pus in the wound.  That pus (the anger) must be released. This is painful because the wound must be lanced.  (When we make the decision to forgive, we are lancing the wound.)  As the pus drains, we feel relief in the wound.  Then the healing ointment of God's love is applied to the infection.  On our part, we need to ask for these healing graces through prayer and repentance.  The layers must be peeled off from the wound, and raw nerves are exposed to the fresh air.  Sometimes, there are only a few layers to peel off.  Often times, there are many layers to peel.  Eventually, as scabs form and fall off the wound, the pain is gone.  The anger we used to feel does not exist.  This process all began with the decision to forgive.  The graces of God flowed from our minds to our hearts.  Forgiveness manifested itself in the healing of our pain. 

Many times, we think that it will be impossible to forgive a grievous hurt.  We know that we must forgive to heal our souls, but the pain is throbbing.  We must make the decision to forgive, then let God take over.  Once we have made room in our souls for him to work, then we have begun the process of forgiveness.  God, the divine healer, will do the rest. 

Lord Jesus, Son of the Father and Mary, I am sorry because I have not forgiven.  I know that we when we pray the Our Father we ask the Father to forgive us AS WE FORGIVE others.  I am having a difficult time forgiving this injury.  I ask You, Jesus, the Divine Healer, to work in my soul.  I make the decision now to forgive the person who inflicted this grievous hurt on me.  I ask You to forgive them.  I ask You to help me forgive them.  I am weak, Lord, but You are strong.  You are My God, My Lord, and my Savior.  Thank You for Your help.  I want to forgive, and I ask to be forgiven.  Praise You, Heavenly Father.  Praise You, Divine Son.  Praise You, Holy Spirit. 
Amen.

God's Garden, Where Weeds and Flowers Grow:: 5 reasons I would Want to be a Weed in God's Garden of Flowers

“I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden.”  

St. Therese of Lisieux 

 

  I want to be a weed in God's Garden.

Huh?

Why would I want to be a weed in God's garden?

1) Weeds are tough.  Have you ever tried to kill weeds?  Many times, weed killers simply don't work on weeds.  They've adapted and adjusted and weeds can take over a garden.  You can pull and pull, and you'll still have weeds.

2)  Weeds hold top soil in place.  That means that while other plants that are more delicate, and in many cases, more beautiful, weeds hold the soil in place so that these flowers can grow and thrive.  Without top soil, a delicate plant could not grow.  Weeds are the protectors of flowers.

3) Because weeds are not appreciated so much by the gardener, they have to do a lot of the work of survival for themselves.  Without the culturing of weeds by gardeners, they send out tap roots down into the soil, sometimes as long as 15 feet, to bring up water and nutrients.  

4) Weeds know how to survive.  They are more tolerant of drought conditions, wet conditions, and inhuman conditions than most plants.  Their seeds can stay dormant for years, and when the right growing conditions develop, so do the weeds!  Their seeds and shoots germinate quickly.

5) Many plants, considered weeds, are used in herbal medicines.  Dandelion tea is good for reducing inflammation.  The root is often dried and used for coffee.  The Stinging Nettle is used as a laxative.

I knew there were reasons God made me so tough.  

I'm a weed in His Garden, and He loves me just the way I am!

 

Why We Need to Pray Daily for the Souls in Purgatory

Someone I know died yesterday. She wasn’t a close friend, but she was a friend. The last time I saw her, she was the picture of health. That was in April. We attended the same retired teacher’s breakfast that is held monthly. She was happy and talking about traveling. She was scheduled to go to an event that focused on her specialty, English.

I don’t know what happened. In the month and a half since I had seen her last, she was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer. She was not a smoker, nor had she been a smoker. She was a good woman and touched many lives.
We received the email about two weeks ago that she was very ill and in the hospital. Visits were not encouraged. Text messages and emails were not encouraged since she was too weak. However, we were asked, if we liked, to send cards. There were 50 cards sent in one week. She couldn’t talk, but she gave the thumbs up for each one that was read to her.
Her suffering seems to have been great but for a limited time. My hope is that, as she crossed the threshold of eternity, Jesus was there to welcome her home.

We don’t know. She might be in Purgatory now. This is why we need to pray daily for the Souls.
I’m at the age now where I read the obituaries, daily. There are people younger than I am who die daily. We need to pray for them. We need to pray for everyone, just in case. We might get up that morning, pray for the souls, and then we might die. We don’t know. Life is so short.
Pray for the souls daily.

St. Gertrude Prayer

Eternal Father, I offer you the most Precious Blood of Your divine Son, Jesus, in union with all Masses said daily, 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.

All Praise and Honor be to the Precious Blood of Jesus, for it wrought our salvation and redemption. Amen.

This prayer is said to release 1,000 souls from Purgatory everytime it is prayed.