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Tuesday, 14 October 2014

Timely Repost

Thursday, 30 January 2014


How small is the remnant? Perfection II:viii

The Babylonian Captivity
The question of community and remnant go together in people's conversation.

The idea of community connects with the idea that a remnant would need support in order to survive.

This is true. But, for a moment, let me write about what a remnant really is.

And, how big is a remnant?

First of all, two New Testament passages refer to the remnant. In the second passage, the "seed" is the remnant.

Second, the remnant is saved by grace, by election, that is chosen by God, and are those who have kept the Ten Commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is baptism.

Third, the remnant is those who persevere. And, are purified. Remember, that purification begins with orthodoxy.

Fourth, the remnant is the Church Militant, not the Church Mushy.

Fifth, the remnant has always really been small, contrary to romantic history of the Church.

Sixth, the one, true Faith is the faith of the remnant.

Seventh, the remnant may or may not have the sacraments or priests, therefore, the habit of prayer and holiness must be part of the members' daily lives.

Eighth, the remnant will be separated and not in great groups. Think about this. The remnant will be surrounded by pagans.

Ninth, the remnant will be and is now, responsible for passing down the Faith to the next generation.

Tenth, the remnant will be mostly hidden.



Romans 11:5

Douay-Rheims 
5 Even so then at this present time also, there is a remnant saved according to the election of grace.


Revelation 12:17

Douay-Rheims 
17 And the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Some people have been thinking out loud that few as 5,000 people in the future in Europe could be practicing, faithful Catholics. Does this shock you? This is not prophesy, but an idea which is extrapolated from numbers, events, observations. Be Catholic, be part of the remnant.

Monday, 13 October 2014

To All Named Edward

An almost belated happy name day for the Feast of St. Edward, Confessor, of England.

This day is a feast is England and Wales.

God bless all Edwards....
from Wiki-Edward on the throne on the Bayeux Tapestry

Hey, Readers, There Is NO Reason To Be Confused

Humanae Vitae is an infallible document.

Period.

Christ, Who is GOD, told us that divorce is not allowed.

Follow the Teaching Magisterium of the Church and you will not be confused.

Period.

This Synod is at a discussion stage and all the discussion may be and most likely will be thrown out.

Peter cannot ordain error.

That is the promise Christ has given to His Church-us.


God Is Love

One of my spiritual directors said to me one time that if a relationship improves my spiritual life, that relationship is a good thing. He also wisely said that if the relationship is not good for my spiritual life, move out of it.

Not too long ago, in another universe, I had a friend who made me a better Catholic. This happened not because of lectures or talks, not because of long philosophical discussions, which did occur regularly, but just because that person was that person.

God worked in my life directly through this person in a way I had not experienced before, except in my immediate little family. Every encounter was an encounter with God in some way. 

However, that person and I did not continue in a relationship for many reasons, and I had to stand back and examine what God was doing in my life.

I learned many things, in reflection, getting over the loss of this important friendship in my life.

One, God chooses our friends if we are open to Him doing that. God has a purpose in every thing and every one we meet. Nothing and no one is an "accident", but a "God incident". So, even a temporary or ended friendship had a purpose.

People make mistakes in relationships is the second thing I learned. One can miss the mystery of the other and let things slide. Or, one can be so intense as to scare away a timid soul. Either way, our imperfections get in the way of friendships. However, God is in charge of healing us and He can use both the presence and absence of friends in order to do this. God is in charge if we left Him be.

Another thing I learned was that we can be so attached to someone that they become a barrier to our relationship with God. God is, indeed, a jealous God and He wants, rightly so, to be the first love.

We can be reminded in failures of friendship that God is our first love, not another person.

God puts people in our lives, and we can choose how to relate. But, we must do this with prayer, and not merely in emotional knee-jerk reactions.

Lastly, I learned that to be open to love is to be open to rejection. There is no other way around that fact.  The old saying, "It is better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all" is completely true.

Love is the life of the soul. God is love and His desire is that we share His love, purified of our own selfishness and neediness, with whomever He puts in our path.


I celebrate love, both found and lost. As St. John tells us,

1 John 4:7-21Douay-Rheims 

7 Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for charity is of God. And every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is charity.
9 By this hath the charity of God appeared towards us, because God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by him.
10 In this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because he hath first loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.
11 My dearest, if God hath so loved us; we also ought to love one another.
12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abideth in us, and his charity is perfected in us.
13 In this we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he hath given us of his spirit.
14 And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father hath sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world.
15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known, and have believed the charity, which God hath to us. God is charity: and he that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him.
17 In this is the charity of God perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because as he is, we also are in this world.
18 Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain. And he that feareth, is not perfected in charity.
19 Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us.
20 If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not?
21 And this commandment we have from God, that he, who loveth God, love also his brother.
People who have successful marriages know well that love involves suffering, sometimes great suffering. So, too, with some friendships. And, the greatest love is sacrificial love, love which sacrifices for the other's welfare. Such is the love of Christ in us. Sacrificial love is the love of the Cross. There is none higher. When one goes through the purification of the Dark Night, it is exactly love that is being purified of all selfishness. God only wants us to love Him and others with real love, His love.
And, to be very honest, we cannot even love without God loving us first. We learn to love in and with God. 
Once we are loving with God's love, things happen. Before that, we are still mired down in self-seeking love.
So, if you have experienced either the end of a friendship or unrequited romantic love, look and see if God is telling you something about the way you love. Is your love pure? If not, rejoice in the opportunity for love to be made holy. Rejoice that God is showing you how to love without any thought of having love returned. 
That is the kind of love which will be in heaven, but rewarded with God's eternal love. 
Imagine, God is giving us all chances to love with heavenly love now.
My God is Love and His Love is most evident when I see His image on the Cross. 
Stay near Golgotha, stay underneath the Cross, and you will learn to love freely and in Christ. To be Christ in this world means to love without expectation, freely, willingly, strongly.
One should not talk one's self out of love as all love, if it is good, is from God for His purposes.
As for me, once I love someone, I love them forever. I keep love in my heart even for those I have not seen for years. Love to me is something of the eternal, of holiness. I cannot love without God, so if I do love, it is from God and not myself, as I am incapable of love as a gross sinner.
Standing at the foot of the Cross is the place to be if you are suffering in a relationship which seems unloving. Until one gets into the Illumination State, this is our station, number twelve.
From St. Alphonsus:

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider how thy Jesus, after three hours' Agony on the Cross, consumed at length with anguish, abandons Himself to the weight of His body, bows His head, and dies.

O my dying Jesus, I kiss devoutly the Cross on which Thou didst die for love of me. I have merited by my sins to die a miserable death; but Thy death is my hope. Ah, by the merits of Thy death, give me grace to die, embracing Thy feet, and burning with love for Thee. I yield my soul into Thy hands. I love Thee with my whole heart; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc.




Get Ready for Outward Schism

Many bishops and priests have been in schism for a long time-at least fifty years, and especially since Humanae Vitae. The problem is that now it is becoming obvious.

I pray for those Catholics who will be confused as to the real teaching of the Catholic Church and who will go along with any bishop, archbishop or cardinal who rejects the ancient teachings of Christ.

We may see huge split, which has been hidden for years, but now is clearly to be seen. It will take several years for the Synod's final draft on marriage and the family.

Here are my predictions.
  • Some bishops, archbishops and cardinals will draft their own findings after the one, true, holy and apostolic Church changes nothing. This second or separate draft will look real but will not be.
  • Some will declare official documents null and void
  • Those bishops, archbishops, cardinals who stay with Rome will be THE REMNANT.
  • Americans will split like the Germans quickly and clearly-so will some Great Britain clerics
  • Get it?
  • Jesus will guide the remnant, which will be VERY SMALL.
  • As to the Pope, no pope has ever said from the Chair of Peter anything contrary to the teaching of Christ. This is impossible, as the Holy Spirit runs the Church.
I spoke with a FSSP priest about this schism in 2000, as it was already obvious to me. He replied that it was inevitable, but that God was giving people a time of mercy to get their heads turned the right way around. THE TIME OF MERCY IS OVER.

And, confusion can exist in Rome and spill out over the entire world. But not from the true Church.

This confusion is already happening.

Pray daily for this pope, please. Pray for your bishops not to become schismatic.

Pray for the laity not to fall away from the Church in confusion. Schismatics most likely, as Dante notes, go to hell for disobedience and recalcitrance. This is not new, sadly, in the history of the Church.

And DO NOT TRUST THE MEDIA.

The secular world hates Rome, the only true Church and Christ.

This is warfare, pure and not so simple...........................


Thoughts from The Dark Night

Humility is the key to holiness. All the saints state this but most of us do not take this seriously. Even those great saints who did not seem prideful, like St. Alphonsus, the seitheraint of love, and St. Bernard, another saint of love, asked for and received humility.

Humility is not just the absence of pride. Of course, all pride must be destroyed, including pride of name, place, status, accomplishments and so forth. Even pride of family can be and is a huge obstacle to God's love.

Humility is knowing one's complete abjection in the sight of God. We are nothing but we think we are something.

Too many of us have not grown up with realistic views of ourselves. We either think we are better and more than we are or we think we are worse, but in a way not realistic with God's view of things and people.

God loves us, but His love is so beyond what we can imagine that we need to study the Gospels constantly, learning, believing that Christ shows us the Father.

Humility is knowing we are creatures and that we have no grace, no gifts, not even love , without God.

Total dependence, total realization of our inability to do or be anything but "damned".

Ask for and expect humility.


Thinking of Fatima

In three years, we shall celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fatima. Our Lady of Fatima remains one of the most popular of all apparitions in the world.

What I have been ruminating on today is the world then and the world now of Portugal. Portugal has a Catholic "membership" of 81% of the entire population, but only 19% or so attend Sunday Mass. Same sex marriage and abortion are legal in Portugal. The government is socialist. The apparitions are being forgotten in the very place where Mary appeared.

I have thought for a very long time that Medjugorje takes attention away from Fatima, which is the key set of apparitions for our time. The revelations from Mary are not "nice",  not "comforting". 


The discussion on purgatory and who is in it and for how long bothers many modern Catholics.

But, Fatima haunts our collective consciousness, especially in Europe and America, where more and more people are returning to prayer, fasting, mortification, all asked for by Mary Our Mother.

At Fatima, we hear clearly the voice of Authority, of the Theotokos challenging us to get ready for tribulations, some of which have already occurred and some of which are to come.



Today, stop and think of Fatima, of Portugal, the apostate nation, of the youth who no longer pay attention, as did Blessed Jacinta and Francisco, to the voice of Our Lady.

Fatima remains a sign for these times.

If I could, I would be considering one of these

http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house-for-sale/grid-ready-tiny-houses/

When We Think We Cannot Go On

God gave me tremendous will-power. This meant that during my life, I could choose to go on in the face of trial and suffering. I had to, as I was a single mum contra mundum, without help.

But, God wants more than for any of us to use our natural gifts. He wants us to rely totally on Him.

This total reliance is the trusting in Divine Providence. One cannot be a saint without this total leaning on God.

In the lives of the saints, many ways have been described concerning this total dependency on God. For some, like St. Therese, or Blessed Jacinta, illness made these two young saints rely totally on God.

Part of the Dark Night is the taking away of natural gifts and the ability to do things on one's own, so that one is forced, and invited to "lean on Jesus".

But, the leaning takes place at the foot of the Cross.


In the movie The Passion of the Christ, one of the most poignant scenes occurred when Mary kissed the bloody feet of Christ. She begged Him to let her die with Him. This cry from her heart came from the most profound love any woman ever experienced for God.

Our Blessed, Sorrowful Mother shows us the way when we think we cannot go on anymore in the face of suffering. We can beg God to take us, or lean on Him, kissing His feet, smearing our faces with the Blood of the Lamb.

Therein lies our strength and the Dark Night teaches us this essential lesson.

helpful reminder of an unfortunate truth...

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/09/7-things-need-know-co-existing-narcissists.html

Sunday, 12 October 2014

We can put people on the moon, but....

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20141012-health-care-worker-at-presbyterian-hospital-in-dallas-tests-positive-for-ebola.ece

October 13th, 1917 MIracle of the Sun

Thanks to Wikimedia

On False Seers And Saints, Again

Blessed Jacinta and the other seers of Fatima have been used by false and disobedient groups. Never in the history of the Church have there been so many groups claiming to have the real stories about Fatima, ignoring what the Church has taught or revealed, written by lay people full of innuendo.

Pride is behind these websites and newspapers. These saints are being used for the agendas of certain groups.

Just stick with the official biographies and avoid groups which have been denounced. Avoid Fatima sites which are sede.

Protect your imagination from serious sin.


Excellent Sermon


Today, a priest of the Canons of St. Augustine, gave a great, short sermon. One of his main points was that one must not get so caught up with what is "urgent" so as not to do what is important.

The important, as the priest explained, must be following Christ and becoming holy. The urgent are the many things which impede our lives of prayer and meditation.

He asked us all to remember that there will always be "the urgent", things which seem important but are not. The only important thing is our relationship with Christ.

Nice....

One Kieran Comment

The news has devolved into gossip.

Let God deal with the priest.

The laity get the leaders we deserve as punishment for our own sins.

A holy laity creates holy priests.

An incomplete list of holy parents who had at least one child as a saint:

Louis and Zelie Martin
Monica
Tescelin of Fountains, and Aleth of Montbard
Emelia
Anne
Elizabeth
Ruth
Margaret Bosco
Non
Rachel
Sarah
Eve
Anna of East Anglia
Birgitta
Margaret Pole, whose son Reginald should be canonized.

There are more....saints produce saints.

Do Not Be Afraid

Do not be afraid of becoming holy.

Do not be afraid of suffering.

At some point, all suffering becomes joy.

God does not use a sledgehammer to purify you.

If you are faithful to stay on the road to perfection. God will see your generous heart.

He will gently lead you to holiness, even if you are suffering.

Humility comes from the recognition of one's failings, sins, tendencies to evil.

God is so patient. But, He does expect one not to be soft on one's self.

You must be hard on yourself, do penance, mortification, fasting.

Then, the doors to renewal open. Be not afraid.

From None today:
Lord God,
  open our hearts to your grace.
Let it go before us and be with us,
  that we may always be intent upon doing your will.
Through Christ our Lord.

Tomorrow and Fatima

Fatima is my favorite apparition. Tomorrow is the memorial of the Miracle of the Sun. That is the day on which Our Dear Lady showed thousands of people that the apparitions were true, and when Jesus, through her intercession, healed many people.

God does not always use magnificent signs in order to convince people something is true and good. But, too many Catholics do not expect miracles, and therefore, do not ask for such.

St. Teresa of Avila states that when we do not ask God for specifics and when we do not believe he will answer, we insult Him.

Recently, I have developed a love and honor of Blessed Jacinta of Fatima. I suggest you read a biography of her, as I did this summer. She experienced horrific pain, both physical and existential. She is one of the modern small saints, who also demonstrates a great capacity for suffering for the souls of others.

Part of my job is to pray for the souls in purgatory, and for some to convert. We need to take intercessory prayer seriously and offer up penances, as well as prayers, for others. Blessed Jacinta was told by Mary, Our Mother, that she would suffer. The little girl accepted this suffering, and it was intense. She was operated on and had ribs removed because of pleurisy and she did not have proper anesthetics.

One cannot imagine pain at this level. Now, she is part of my list of personal patrons. And, for some reason, only God understands why, she intercedes for me.

Choose patrons to pray for you and with you. The three seers of Fatima seem to be good choices for our world. They lived in turbulent times and underwent persecution.

What better patrons can we have today?

God Dealing with The Predominant Fault

When one asks and allows God to enter into one's soul and deal with one's predominant fault or faults, He does. It is hard but once one begins the journey it is not so hard.In fact, one senses the way God breaks up that fault through things which happen in one's life.

It is so interesting. God gently breaks pride, but not harshly. He gently ends anger, by bringing love and forgiveness into one's life. He gently ends doubt and selfishness by creating episodes which break down the ego and replace it with complete trust in Divine Providence.

One senses the love of God in these events and movements of the spirit. God works though other people in love and sometimes, through hate.

However, the triumph of humility over pride is worth all the suffering.

God cannot be put into a box. We cannot determine when and how He will work with us. God is in charge. But, the good angels help us, keep us strong, bring us to pray and thanksgiving.

When one prays for something, one must expect an answer. It will come in God's time.

Praise be to Jesus Christ. Now and forever

God Makes New Doughnuts Every Day


John 5 Douay-Rheims 

5 After these things was a festival day of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is at Jerusalem a pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered; waiting for the moving of the water.
4 And an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was made whole, of whatsoever infirmity he lay under.
5 And there was a certain man there, that had been eight and thirty years under his infirmity.
6 Him when Jesus had seen lying, and knew that he had been now a long time, he saith to him: Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The infirm man answered him: Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pond. For whilst I am coming, another goeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith to him: Arise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole: and he took up his bed, and walked. And it was the sabbath that day.
10 The Jews therefore said to him that was healed: It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed.
11 He answered them: He that made me whole, he said to me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
12 They asked him therefore: Who is that man who said to thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
13 But he who was healed, knew not who it was; for Jesus went aside from the multitude standing in the place.
14 Afterwards, Jesus findeth him in the temple, and saith to him: Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee.
15 The man went his way, and told the Jews, that it was Jesus who had made him whole.
16 Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath.
17 But Jesus answered them: My Father worketh until now; and I work.
18 Hereupon therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the sabbath, but also said God was his Father, making himself equal to God.
19 Then Jesus answered, and said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you, the Son cannot do any thing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doth, these the Son also doth in like manner.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things which himself doth: and greater works than these will he shew him, that you may wonder.
21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and giveth life: so the Son also giveth life to whom he will.
22 For neither doth the Father judge any man, but hath given all judgment to the Son.
23 That all men may honour the Son, as they honour the Father. He who honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father, who hath sent him.
24 Amen, amen I say unto you, that he who heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath life everlasting; and cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death to life.
25 Amen, amen I say unto you, that the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself, so he hath given the Son also to have life in himself:
27 And he hath given him power to do judgment, because he is the Son of man.
28 Wonder not at this; for the hour cometh, wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God.
29 And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.
30 I cannot of myself do any thing. As I hear, so I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of him that sent me.
31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
33 You sent to John, and he gave testimony to the truth.
34 But I receive not testimony from man: but I say these things, that you may be saved.
35 He was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
36 But I have a greater testimony than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to perfect; the works themselves, which I do, give testimony of me, that the Father hath sent me.
37 And the Father himself who hath sent me, hath given testimony of me: neither have you heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38 And you have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him you believe not.
39 Search the scriptures, for you think in them to have life everlasting; and the same are they that give testimony of me.
40 And you will not come to me that you may have life.
41 I receive glory not from men.
42 But I know you, that you have not the love of God in you.
43 I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.
44 How can you believe, who receive glory one from another: and the glory which is from God alone, you do not seek?
45 Think not that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuseth you, Moses, in whom you trust.
46 For if you did believe Moses, you would perhaps believe me also; for he wrote of me.
47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

Never give up on prayer. A person I know for whom I have been praying to God for years has been healed of an illness experienced for exactly 38 years.
With Christ, all things are possible. All.

Tissot's Magnificat




Magnificat anima mea Dominum;
Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo,
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae; ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus, Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum. 
Fecit potentiam brachio suo; 
Dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles.
Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes. 
Sucepit Israel, puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae, Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semeni ejus in saecula.