Category Archives: Catholic

August 19, 2016 · 7:23 pm

God. Not God. These are the Only Choices!

“The strength of the soul consists in its faculties, passions and desires, all of which are governed by the will. Now when these faculties, passions and desires are directed by the will toward God, and turned away from all that is not God, then the strength of the soul is kept for God, and thus the soul is able to love God with all its strength.”

— St. John of the Cross, p. 259 of “Ascent of Mt. Carmel.”

Not everyone is going to heaven.  Let’s get that out of the way.  And, there are probably people who are going to hell who, at this moment, don’t think that it is possible for them.  After all, they were baptized and received their First Holy Communion (especially if they are Catholic) or they have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior (if they are Protestant.)  It’s not enough, though.

We have to make the choice to act like we are baptized or Jesus is our Savior every single minute of our existence on this life.

Dr. Italy likens this to a door.  On one side is Jesus (who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the only way to the Father) and on the other is not-Jesus.  The idea is at the end of our life the door will close and depending upon which side of the door we are standing when it slams shut and locks will determine where we spend eternity.

I don’t know about you, but I tremble when I think about it.  St. Paul told us that we need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  Pretty scary words.  I mean, have you read Matthew, Chapter 5 and 25?  We all fall short of the beatitudes.  Oh, and by the way, the door is narrow that leads to heaven.  More complications.

And, yet, there is so much hope if (and this is a big “if”) we trust Jesus.  Trust Him in everything, everyday.  Put our daily lives into His loving Hands.  Sometimes, I feel like the woman with the hemorrhage and I touch the hem of His garment and hold on for dear life.  Everyday, we make the choice for God because we don’t know when that door is going to shut.

Choose wisely, friends.

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August 12, 2016 · 7:26 pm

God Can’t Stop Himself

Tonight, I’m going to make a short story long.

We own a 21 year old car, a Corolla.  It has 257K miles on it and we are expecting to get another 50K before it dies and we park it on the side of the road with a sign that says “first come, first serve.”  It hasn’t had air-conditioning in almost 10 years.  Ten years ago it didn’t matter so much because we were younger.  Now, it does, so we only go out in the heat before noon or after 7 p.m.  That, too, is okay.  The two back windows haven’t been able to come down in about 4 years.  Now, the driver’s side window doesn’t come down.  It would cost us almost $300 to get it fixed.  That is about what the car is worth.  So we have one window that we can open.

Yesterday, when I was at Adoration, Jesus and I discussed the car.  Charlie and I had had the discussion on Wednesday, when we were talking about whether or not getting another used car was a wise use of our resources right now.  (We pray every night that God will show us how to use our resources wisely.)  I realized that since the heater works quite well on the car, we only have to get through about 2, possibly 2 1/2 months before cooler weather.  I came home from Church and purchased a portable car fan for circulating the air from Amazon.  We decided that we will make a decision in the spring unless a newer used car drops itself in our lap.  I believe in miracles so who knows?

On Friday, we go up into town to run any errands that we need to do.  We left the house about 9:30 a.m. under very cloudy skies.  The clouds kept the sun off of us and the heat down in the car.  We had 6 stops to make.  At the last stop, the sky looked very threatening for a storm.  I told Charlie as we walked into the store that I had a feeling that it wouldn’t start raining until we were home.  When we came out, the sky was still dark and cloudy, and the car, even with only one window open was comfortable.  No rain.

I told Charlie that today, God was blessing us with the clouds to keep us cool.  He replied, “He’s always blessing us.  In fact, I think God can’t stop Himself from blessing us.”

Amen!

The sun came out when we pulled into the driveway and it has been sunny and hot the rest of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

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August 10, 2016 · 7:57 pm

No! We don’t!

I went to the Women’s Club meeting last night at my Church (Catholic, of course.)  Thirteen years ago, I joined.  Stopped going to the meetings about 8 years or so ago.  I always pay my dues though.  (It’s only 20 dollars and then I get a copy of the minutes, etc. and can keep up with what they are doing in case I want to go back.)  Most of the time in the past 8 years, I went to the first meeting of the year and paid my dues in person.  However, last night was the first time I went to a first meeting in two years.  They have all new officers, so I thought it might be different.  So, I went.

And, it started out fine.  One of the past presidents did a wonderful program on why we should and do make the Sign of the Cross.  We all got to read one of the 21 reasons and as we went around the room to read, the whole thing began to fall apart.  So, we are talking about our worship of a Triune God.  (Get it, right?  Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.)  Couldn’t get any plainer.  Then someone, who should know better, reminded us that a wonderful Muslim woman told her that we all pray to the same God.  WOW!  NO WE DON”T.  What doesn’t this good Catholic woman not understand about a Triune God?  Of course, since I wouldn’t be coming back to the meetings the rest of the year, I let it pass.  Someone else can deal with her delusion

That wasn’t all.  They pass a jar around for donations to the Madonna Fund.  This fund used to provide locally for mothers with small children who needed financial help.  Last night, I found out that the Madonna Fund is given to the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for use overseas.  Since 98% of CRS employees give to pro-abortion candidates during an election and CRS also promotes contraception and abortion overseas, I could never give to the Madonna Fund again.

It’s never easy for me to go to a Catholic organization’s meeting, when it espouses positions that aren’t Catholic.  (sigh)

Maybe next year?

 

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August 6, 2016 · 11:06 am

It’s the Feast of the Transfiguration! The Apostles Saw the Face of God and Lived!

Here is the picture and explanation from http://www.morningoffering.com

Transfiguration

Feast of the Transfiguration

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord takes place on August 6th, an event mentioned in all three Synoptic Gospels. After revealing that he would be put to death in Jerusalem, Jesus took the three disciples of his inner circle to the summit of Mount Tabor in order to reveal his glory to them. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigure before them, radiant in the fullness of his glory as he truly was, the Son of God. Next to Jesus were Moses and Elijah as witnesses to Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Testament law and prophets. St. Matthew writes of the event by saying, “He was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow.”

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August 5, 2016 · 10:51 am

What do the Bishops say about this election?

Just heard Father Pavone’s talk on the Catholic responsibility to vote.  He makes a lot of good points and has given me something else to think about.  Thought you’d like to listen.

http://tinyurl.com/h4sgnrw

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July 26, 2016 · 3:45 pm

Rambling Thoughts

I just looked at my most recent blog post on this site and realized that I haven’t posted anything since April.  It’s not as if my life has been so busy that I couldn’t write.  I think I was totally wrapped up in unimportant things like Facebook and just didn’t do what I really like to do which is reading, writing, and art.

I have started creating again.  In fact, I just finished making an Art-Journal for a friend of mine for her birthday.  (BTW, she loved it!) That got the juices flowing again and I’m ready to finish some of the projects that have been hanging around since I retired last October and start some new ones.

I am reading at least a book a week.  That’s a good thing.  Working my way through some series that I had been wanting to read for years.

Now, we have to tackle the writing part of the big three.  Thought I’d begin today with some random thoughts that I have been having.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) my mind is always busy; so much so, that sometimes I can’t quiet it enough at night to get decent sleep.  However, I digress.

So here are my thoughts in an entirely random order.

  • We watched “Superman versus Batman” last night.  Not the worst movie I have ever seen.  I don’t understand the “hype” over it though.  I’m glad that we didn’t pay movie theater prices to see it.
  • This election cycle has me stymied.  How did we get here where our only choices for President are a narcissistic business man and a narcissistic criminal?  Really, the only principled vote for me is to not vote for either.  As I have explained to others, I have been working in the pro-life movement for 40 years.  In all that time, not a single pre-born baby has been protected by law.  The most that our lawmakers have done is “regulate” abortion.  They have never understood that one doesn’t regulate evil and expect to retain one’s soul.  No matter who is in the White House or Congress, my work will continue as I try to save lives (and souls) one at a time.  I’m reminded of what John Adams said.  Only a moral people are able to govern themselves.  We have ceased to be moral as a nation so we have ceased to be great.  Greatness cannot be restored until we turn back to God.
  • I pray for our Pope, Francis.  He has managed to sow confusion where there should be none.  Of course, as a mother of 6, all of whom are in irregular unions, I would love that he would be right and that they aren’t living in a state of objective mortal sin.  However, I believe that Jesus spoke the truth and so I pray continually for them and their spouses that they return to the faith that they were baptized in and get their messes cleaned up before it’s too late.
  • Another mess that has me stymied is gay faux marriage and transgenderism.  Sodom and Gomorrah have nothing on this world that we live in now.  I know that people have been homosexual since the beginning of time; however it wasn’t in my face all the time.  Just like I want to keep my life in the bedroom private, I wish they would, too.  Sodomy is the only sin that has its own parade.  And, make no mistake, it is a sin.  I know that the Church dances around it by calling the act but not the inclination a sin.  Jesus, though, told us that even if we lust in our hearts, we commit sin.  Doesn’t matter who one lusts for, man or women, does it?
  • I was going to say that I don’t understand the whole bathroom thing.  This wouldn’t be totally accurate, though.  This is just another thing to distract us from what is truly going on in our country–total moral decay and the total breakdown of decency and the family.  This has been going on for about 50 years. Fifty-eight million dead babies later. . .is it any wonder that we are sliding to perdition on a highway greased with Pam?  (I think I’m mixing a whole lot of metaphors, but you get the idea.)

I think that’s enough for today.  I plan on writing much, much more in the future.  I’ve given up Facebook, so I will have more time for the things that matter.  I might lurk on FB once a week for a half-hour so I can keep up with what some of my grandchildren are doing.  And, then again, I might not.  They know how to reach me if it’s important.

Can I get a great AMEN!?

 

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February 12, 2016 · 7:49 pm

Have to Get It Right!

Matthew 5:48   “You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Want to know what you need to do (and, if you are anything like me, you’re probably not doing it very well at all.)  Read Matthew Chapter 5.  You know, the one with the beatitudes, plucking out eyes and cutting off hands, and anger, and adultery, and divorce, and swearing, and retaliation, and loving one’s enemies.  One can’t read this Chapter without realizing what little worms we are when it comes to the whole perfection thing.  I read Chapter 5 before and after going to confession.  This and Chapter 25 are all I need to trot myself off to the confessional.  Add the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and I can go all gooey on the inside contemplating my long stay in Purgatory.

And yet. . .

God gives us grace and forgiveness and mercy to help us to prioritize the pursuit of holiness in our lives.  Pursuing holiness begins with having a strong, true, and ardent love for God and for our neighbor.  It means praying and fasting and making each word and act and little daily sacrifice the means of proving our love for our Savior who died on the cross for Love of us.  An effective love can transform a dry, cold heart into a furnace of charity.  Then we can burn with Love of God even while we must live here below.  I hope you, like myself, pursue this ardent charity.

We got to get this right.

“Lord, with your loving care, guide the penance we have begun.  Help us to persevere with love and sincerity.  Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.”  Liturgy of the Hours: Evening Prayer for the Friday after Ash Wednesday.

 

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February 11, 2016 · 7:37 pm

Righteousness – A Word Study

Just finished reading Chapters 3 and 4 of Matthew’s Gospel.  There is so much there that it would take pages to discuss.  It is about His baptism by John and His temptation in the desert.  Satan was tempting Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.  He wants Him to embrace an earthly and political mission and thus subvert from His real mission of suffering and dying for our salvation.

Unlike us, Jesus could not have sinned at any time during His earthly life.  His “temptations” were entirely the suggestions of the devil and had nothing to do with any kind of inner struggle or disordered desire of a fallen nature.  We, of course, experience temptation because of our fallen nature.  However, just because He couldn’t sin, doesn’t mean that He didn’t show us how the devil should be treated when he comes around with his “suggestions.”

According to St. John Chrysostom, Jesus gives us a perfect example of Christian obedience.  Earthly life is our wilderness.  Our goal is to get to the “land” of heaven.  This life is like a probationary period for us.  God wills that we  overcome temptations (from the world, the flesh, and the devil) through the practice of penance and obedience to God’s word.   We must desire Christ’s humility.  And this is how we can increase the gift of righteousness:  penance, obedience, and humility.

Righteousness is a gift from God.  The word itself is used 7 times in Matthew and 85 times in the rest of the New Testament.  Christ first gives us this gift in Baptism when we are restored in our relationship as an adopted son or daughter of God.  It always means (from the Greek) the uprightness and faithfulness of God and His people.  It is part of the unique covenant vocabulary that runs throughout the old and new testaments.  God’s righteousness is because He is holy and is revealed as He takes care of Israel.  Now, He has demonstrated His righteousness through the saving work of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus wants us to be righteous, like He and His Father, are righteous.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.  Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will exalt you.”  Jn 4: 7-8, 10

And, I might add, fill you with righteousness.

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January 15, 2016 · 6:18 pm

Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit of God

Ephesians 4: 29-32 is both invitation and warning.  It invites us to avoid sin and all occasions of sin.  It warns us that the Person of the Holy Spirit will be insulted by our sin.

St. Paul gives us a list to follow especially where it concerns destructive and devisive speech.  He tell us to put away all

  • Bitterness
  • Wrath
  • Anger
  • Malice
  • Clamor
  • and Slander

We are to

  • be Kind to one another
  • be Tenderhearted
  • be Forgiving

Remembering the words of our Savior in the Our Father, we thank God for His mercy towards us by showing mercy to others.  Forgiveness!

St. Paul wants “no evil talk” coming out of our mouths.  Whatever we speak should be “edifying” that “it may impart grace to those who hear.”

He also alludes to Is 63:10 where the Prophet recalls how the Exodus generation of Israel grieved the Holy Spirit by grumbling against the Lord and Moses.

Heaven help us!  When I read what passes for discourse today in the age of Facebook and Twitter, I’m reminded that we, too, are a perverse generation, grumbling against the Lord, and grieving the Holy Spirit by our lack of charity and forgiveness.

We need the Holy Spirit to actually intercede for us.  Pray with me these intercessions from the Liturgy of the Hours’ morning prayer for today.  “Lord, pour out your mercy upon us.”

Christ, Rising Sun, warm us with your rays, and restrain us from every evil impulse.

Keep guard over our thoughts, words, and actions, and make us pleasing in your sight this day.

Turn your gaze from our sinfulness, and cleanse us from our iniquities.

Through your cross and resurrection, fill us with the consolation of the Spirit.

 

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December 9, 2015 · 4:32 pm

Who Did You Go Out to See?

“As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: What did you go out into the wilderness to behold?  A reed shaken by the wind?  Why then did you go out? To see a man dressed in soft robes? Behold, those who wear soft robes are in kings’ houses.  Why then did you go out?  To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.’  Matthew 11: 7-10

St. John is no “reed shaken by the wind.”  He is not diverted from the path of discipline or mindful of earthly pleasures.

He is the greatest and last Old Testament prophet.  Jesus tells us though that even the “least” saint in the New Testament outshines St. John. John bears witness to Christ by his preaching, by his baptism of repentance, and through his martyrdom at the hand of Herod.  Jesus views John as going before Him in “the spirit and power of Elijah.”

Jesus never undermines the saintly life of John because he is more than a prophet.  He completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah.  The Holy Spirit concludes His speaking through the prophets with St. John and completes the careful search of the prophets and fulfills the longing of the angels.  “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. . .Behold, the Lamb of God.”  John 12: 33-36

Do we want to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ coming?  Then, we, like St. John the Baptist, must detach ourselves from earthly goods.  He went into the desert and lead a life of penance.  In so far as we are able, can we retire into the interior of our hearts to await Jesus’ coming in silence, solitude, and deep recollection?  Can we add a greater spirit of penance, generosity, and charity to our daily lives?  Can we give something up or take on something hard in the next two weeks?  The true Joy of Christmas is worth it.

We can’t doubt that Jesus came to save and sanctify us.  We can’t doubt that He is infinitely merciful and we can go to Him with complete confidence.  We can’t doubt that He loves us with an infinite Love; Love that we do not deserve and can never truly reciprocate no matter how we try in our clumsy, sinful way.

During this Advent, we are invited to listen to His voice and prepare ourselves.  I know that it is hard for me to quiet my continual chatter about useless things.  I know that my mind and heart can be like a raging sea of fantasies, thoughts and self love.  I have a hard time turning this off.  It’s hard to be calm during this season with all the distractions of shopping, parties, spending, and eating and drinking too much.

Yet, Jesus can calm the raging sea and quiet the tumultuous mind.  So, pray along with me, “Jesus, help me to quiet the chatter and calm my mind.  Teach me how to fasten my gaze upon you, so that all the rest will fade away.  Draw everything about me to Yourself.”

And, St. John the Baptist, pray for us.

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