In Ireland
«So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes.
When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came
out from a cemetery to meet him. This man lived among the burial caves and
could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into
chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists
and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and
night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting
himself with sharp stones.
When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him,
and bowed low before him. With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering
with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you,
don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the
man, you evil spirit.”
Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside
this man.” Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send
them to some distant place.
There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby.
“Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.”
So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and
entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down
the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.»
(Mark 5: 1-13)
I am at morning Mass, and this is the gospel of today. After having read
it, the old priest says in his homily: «What are the evil spirits?
The evil spirits, they have names.
They are: Fear, Guilt, Shame and Desperation.»
«What an enlightened priest», I said to myself, he is absolutely right,
and one could also add: Un-forgiveness and Bitterness and Critical Spirit
to the list.
But the the evil spirit of fear, seemed to have been almost always present
in my life, and not just my life, but in the lives of so many.
It is insane, this fear, it rules our life, and we often do not even know it.
Fear hampers development and it blocks LIFE itself, we freeze.
We are not talking about what happens to us when we are in a dangerous
situation, that is purely organic and normal.
We are dealing with something that is in our minds, that is crippling.
But I am not afraid any more. I am free. I now know, in the depth of my
heart, that God not only accepts me, He LOVES me!
With a love like that, it is impossible to be afraid.
«I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all
my fears.»
(Psalm 34:4)
«So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right
hand. For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says
to you: Do not fear; I will help you»
(Isaiah 41:10,13)
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with
punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
(1 John 4:18)
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
(2 Timothy 1:7)
The evil spirit of desperation, in it's different manifestations, is the result
from a lack of Hope, essentially it tells you: «it is useless, you are doomed.»
In France:
I am with the parish on a 4 day trip, with the new priest, Father Nicolas.
We are in 2 buses, we visit churches and places, restaurants and museums.
It is not a pilgimage, but a parish visit. I get to know a few people.
Another Village in France:
It is after Mass and I invite 2 of the people that I met on the trip to
Brittany for a cup of coffee in the local café.
The two of them becomes embroiled in an argument. It becomes
heated, and it continues outside after we leave the café.
One of them accuses the other one of
«believing that she knows better than her», and it ends there.
Some time later when I spoke to the one who was accused of
«knowing better», she told me that she had gone straight to the priest
to confess, because she felt that perhaps the woman was right in what
she was saying regarding «her knowing better», which would be the
sin of pride.
But the response of the priest, who did not want to hear her confession,
was: « don't worry at all, that woman who said that, she is just very bitter,
and she takes it out on people»
I thought that was a very strange thing to say to someone who was aware
that she needed to confess, because she was right, she can be very arrogant.
And he told her no! A priest!
And not only that, he was talking bad about another parishioner to her.
I start to realize that maybe he is not such a holy priest after all, not such a
great priest as he led us to believe, every time he was talking about him
being member of the Curé d'Ars community.
It is clear that he does not resemble Curé d'Ars very much, who was famous
for hearing people's confessions for hours and hours on end.
And I am sure that the Curé d'Ars did not blacken the names of his parishioners
either.
«Deepening the Faith»
The Village in France
The evening mass is ready to start, most of us week mass goers are there
already, but then enters Sister Agnes, who sits down next to me. For quite
some time now, she has had a bad cough, it is bronchitis. She coughs
throughout the Mass.
When this mass is over, I say to her: «Sister, I have some Irish seaweeds
at home, I have always found it very useful and efficient against coughs,
I will give you a packet.»
Calling to the house where she lives, together with the other Sisters, I give
her the packet, and she is delighted, asking me how to prepare the liquid
from the seaweeds.
She tells me her age, she is in fact much older than she looks.
She tells me that she was a secondary school teacher in her professional
life, before she retired.
The other Sister gives me a lovely hug, I can feel her maternal heart.
I set up a Lectio Divina group in the village, we need the Word, to
come together in a group, to talk about our lives in relation to others
and to God.
After reading the gospel of the week together, slowly, we meditate on
it a bit in silence, before somebody will take the first word.
I might be something like:
« I felt very touched/annoyed etc... by this sentence or that expression
in the text,...
or: what does this word mean or what did Jesus try to tell us with this
parable etc...
«I don't like this text at all, it makes no sense...etc...
We discover that all the texts are relevant to us, today, in a completely
direct way.
It is the Living Word, the truth, that never changes.
Whether it is in or out of fashion, makes no difference, it remains the
truth. How to manage and balance our everyday life, in order to be
healed, righteous, justified, safe, and to have eternal life?
Eternal life, meaning: Life with the Living God, right Here and Now.
With Him, Through Him and In Him.
The instructions, methods, way, to obtain that, is what the teachings of
Jesus is all about. Through the Church's Sacraments and daily prayers
we have the way that leads to God.
No other person can heal the wounds in your soul, and give you the
strength and motivation to want to change, to forgive and to love.
To start a New Life.
We must be aware that it is Him we are following, and not be led astray
by something that somebody says. To be awake.
Again, the worldly conditioning of people is different to the teachings
of Jesus.
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—
to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around
their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
(Matthew 18, 6)
It makes no difference if something is said out of the best intentions,
if it is not from God, it is from the world.
The person might be on «your side», but the only safe thing to do, is to
follow Jesus.
With Jesus, like in all love relationships, you play an active role, with
the dimension of total trust and confidence in Him. You will be free from
yourself, and at the same time find yourself, your true self.
It is a bit like:
If you want to have a car and drive around in it, there are a whole bunch of
requirements, rules and regulations to follow, both regarding the car, and
regarding the driver.
If you take care of all that, and then you sit into your car, it is with good
reason that you have confidence that the car will obtain for you what it
inherently promises, that is: that it will get
you to your destination safe and sound.
«And lead us not into temptation»
We are around 12 people present for the lectures with the priest in the
parish hall. It is Lent.
We have the text for the day, and each one takes turn to read aloud a
piece.
Then the text is dealt with in detail, and is explained by the priest.
There is a relatively young, blond woman on the other side of the table
who I have never seen before.
She keeps her head down a lot, and when it comes to her turn to read,
she doesn't, it is passed to the next person.
Next week's session is the same, and during all the following meetings,
we never hear her voice.
Easter Sunday
The church is full.
During this Easter ceremony, the priest makes this mysterious blond
woman come forward, she is to be initiated into the Holy Catholic Church.
At the end, she joins the parish priest on the pulpit, where they sing a few
hymns together. It looks intimate, they look like a couple.
Afterwards there were comments.
The following weeks and months, her children are often part of the altar
service, and she herself seems to be doing everything in the church:
singing, taking the collection, taking part in the catechesis, lessons for
children, going on excursions, etc,etc.
Even though she is a newcomer, she seems to be very at home with it all.
She is young, she is pretty, and she has recently left her
husband. For some reason she tells everybody that
«people are saying that my youngest baby is not that of my husband's.....»
According to her, her husband even goes so far as to say that it is the priest's
child. Why is she telling us this?
Now she lives a few houses away from the Presbytery where the priest lives,
and everybody sees how he visits her regularly.
When asked by a concerned parishioner about it, he admits that he goes to
visit her, he says that it is to help her, that they are friends.
He even drives her to Mass in his car a few times, even though she has her
own car, and lots of small children to mind.
I do wonder about the situation, I can see that there is a closeness between
them, which does not seem safe for a Catholic priest, because I know that
he is human too, a man of blood and flesh.
"Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit
is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41)
«The Fall:»
«Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God
had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from
any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of
the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’» (Genesis 3, 1-3)
This priest is a fantastic preacher, and is extremely polished, like all cultivated
french people. But everyone has their weakness.
I hear that there are some patients in the local nursing home who are asking
for him to come and visit them.
When he comes there to celebrate Mass, one of them in particular asks him
to please come and visit her privately, she needs to talk to him, and he
promises to do that.
A few weeks later, he still has not found the time to pop in to her, and she
asks him again, and again, he promises sincerely that he will come to talk
to her. She asks many times, but he never comes.
The poor woman is very disappointed, then becomes angry, as it surely isn't
too much to ask. He is the parish priest!
“I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and
you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a
stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’“And he will answer,
‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and
sisters, you were refusing to help me.’»
(Matthew 25, 43-45)
My friend, who is not catholic, and not even baptized, goes to talk
with the priest a few times with a view of being baptized.
He finds the priest nice, and the teachings of the Church very
interesting.
But then one day when he knocks on his door, the priest says abruptly:
“Do not come back here again.”
He does not offer any explanation, just tells him to not come back.
My friend is shocked and hurt.
Later on the priest says “yes, yes, we will met up again”, when he
sees him at the end of Mass, because he even comes to Mass, and he
still has a bit of hope that there is a logical explanation for what
happened. But to make matters even worse, the priest cancels
every time.
It is really strange, I cannot make any sense of it, because I thought
he was a good priest.
He has lots of time to see his woman friend, but not to fulfill his
duties towards his parishioners?
Although I am very sad for my friend, I can feel his hurt, and I feel
hurt too.
I must try to not get resentful against the priest, but neither do I want
to defend him. I just do not understand because our God is a God of love.
«If could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others,
I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy,
and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and
if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others,
I would be nothing»
(1 Corinthians 13, 1-2)
I recommend that we start praying for him.
As I pray for him, I feel compassion.
Maybe he is experiencing a personal crisis, maybe he is at a point where he
is questioning his choice in life.
A catholic priest renounces personal intimate relationship with a woman,
marriage, having children.
It is in order that they can have MANY spiritual children, hence the title
«Father».
But a real father never abandons his children, and he certainly never tells
them to go away and «not come back».
Our faith says
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others,
you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no
attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank
in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.»
(Matthew 7, 1-5)
But does the priest not care that his credibility and reputation is being
damaged?
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the
law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do
everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not
practice what they preach.”
(Matthew 23, 1-3)
The priest delivers great homilies.
He tells the truth, about human nature, how cunning we are,
how much we hide from each other, and also
he talks about the nature of God.
But what is going on with him?
Is he in love with this woman?
Is it ambition for bigger things?
A secret contempt for “normal” people?
A spiritual arrogance?
Or the knowledge that he is not going to be staying in this little
village for too much longer?
But according to the teachings of the Church, all types of ambition
is wrong.
Ambition to climb the ranks within the hierarchy of the Church is
no exception, that too is a worldly ambition.
I do not know what to think.
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter
came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to
become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on
bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the
highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said,
“throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his
angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so
that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus answered
him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give
you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him,
“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and
attended him.
(Matthew 4:1-11)
The Assumption
The procession to honour Our Lady on the feast day of Her Assumption
is ready to start.
Father has the microphone and the loudspeaker, and the Statue is being
carried by 4 men, it is quite heavy.
We pray The Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries, as we walk through the
streets of the village, up to the Square next to the town Hall, then we pass
in front of the local Café, turn the corner, stop again in front of the tourist
office, and descend the street again to return to the Chapel.
She is beautiful this Statue, She is all white, and She is holding The Child
Jesus in front of Her, who is facing outwards.
Around Her neck, there hangs a big heart, which can be opened up, and
which contains the names of children that has been consecrated to Her.
I know that she is my Mother, she knows all my hopes and needs, and she
brings them to Jesus.
After the Statue has been put back safely and the people start to leave,
Father asks me if I would be interested and available to involve myself
more in the Church.
« Father, I am available, and happy to do so», I answer, as this is exactly
what I wanted.
He then asks me to help with the preparation of Mass, to be a sacristan,
and I am delighted!
Our Lady does not waste any time!
I am on my own this summer, in the village, with no car and practically
no transport system.
But at least I know a few people here and there, and I have made a friend,
Chantal.
This day was roasting, and I was making plans to go to the firework display
later that night, it was the 14.July.
After haven been downstairs in the kitchen eating, I came back up, and
when I picked up my phone that I had left on the bed, I saw that Chantal
had phoned me.
I sent her a text back, asking her what she was up to, and hoping that she
might come and join me.
I didn't get an answer, but I did not think any more about it.
A few days later, as I met her, she told me that she had been very upset
that day, she had felt very let down by her husband and she needed someone
to talk to, someone to support her.
She seemed angry at me for not having answered the phone when she had
phoned.
I told her what happened, and reminded her that I had texted her back.
She left me with the words: «Those who cross me, they will always get
it back, they will live to regret it»
Again, I asked her why she was angry at me, and what I had done to her.
She did not answer, but she appeared friendly.
The power of prayer
Mass is ready to start, and somebody I know comes over to say hello and
change a few words.
He tells me that his daughter who is expecting a baby, has been given the
very worrying news that the baby in her womb has abnormalities;
hydrocephalus; what we call «water on the brain».
He was serving on the altar this day, and at the start of Mass he put a small
statue of Our Lady on the altar. Then the priest told the whole congregation
about it, and we all prayed.
A week later
I was almost ready to go on my journey to Carcasonne, to visit my son, who
I hadn't seen for a long time, and I had everything arranged in order to get
there. On the car pooling-website, which was run like any normal business,
I had found a driver who was doing the same journey as me, and I had already
paid him at the time of reservation.
The accommodation had likewise been booked and paid, the cheapest I could
find was in private lodging with no possibility of refund.
From my village, I would be able to go to the next one, from there I would
get a bus, which would take me to the city where the driver would pick me up.
Two days before, I was checking the bus tables, and realized to my horror, that
on that particular day there was no bus!
What to do?
I decided to phone my driver with a proposition, «it is always worth a try»,
I thought.
I asked him to come and collect me where I was, and that I would of course
pay for the detour he would have to make.
The morning of the day of travel arrives.
I wake up, happy and relaxed, after a good night's sleep,
After my coffee and shower, I finalize the suitcase process, as I go to prepare
something to eat before I leave. The phone rings.
«Hello, it is Jean Michel here, listen, your village is too far away, I cant come
and collect you, sorry about that» he says, «it is just too out of my way»
But why did he just say yes, and why leave it so late to tell me,
I had told him that it was half an hour from the city center.
To him I said that it was a pity that he left it so late, because now I didn't
know if I would find any other way to get into the city in time.
«You can always ask for your money back», he says, completely
unbothered, before he hangs up.
Pretty upset, I phone somebody I know from the church, who is just
eating lunch. «I will drive you in, straight away», she says, «don't worry».
«Thanks Be to God for good people», I say to her, then to myself , and then
I thank Him, for yet again showing me how He always looks after me.
I mean, my life was not in danger, or anything, but it would have been so
sad to miss out on the whole trip of seeing my son, because of this man who
didn't care.
When my friend drops me at the pick up place, in front of the railway station,
I text Jean Michel to let him know that I have after all been able to find my
way to the city, and that he can pick me up at the arranged time.
While waiting, I check the car registration that he had given me, that I had
written on a piece of paper.
I already knew what type of car, and the colour, to look out for.
Finally a car of the right type and colour pulles up, but it is not the right
registration, so I just dismiss it.
But no, he stops, he comes out, he walks over to me, and says, «Hi, yes it is
me all right, I am your driver».
«But this isn't the car registration that you gave me», I say.
« Oh, yeah, that is right, eh, yes, eh, I got a new car», he says.
«Are you really serious», I say to myself, «do you think I am completely
stupid?»
I am considering for a moment whether to go in to the car or not, but
seeing that there is another woman passenger in the car already, I decide
to take the risk.
«How did you manage to get here?», he wants to know.
«What do you care?», I think, as I tell him how I was saved by a friend.
He picks up yet another passenger, now the car is full.
It is an expensive car, very modern, and for us in the back seat, very
uncomfortable, as the front seats are pushed all the way back.
But not for him, he has all the modern equipment one can imagine,
including an electronic voice that tells him every time he exceeds the
speed limit, which is practically all the time.
I am wondering why he has to drive like a lunatic because on the motorway
you are already allowed to drive really fast, why does he have to go even
faster than that?
By now, it is clear to me, that I really do not like this man at all. And not
his wife either, who the other woman passenger turned out to be.
They want to appear friendly, so they chat a lot. About money, which seems
to be all they care about.
On the public commentary section of the carpooling website it is strongly
recommended to the participants to leave a commentary, for the help of
passengers and drivers alike.
There is also a grading.
Michel gave me a «Perfect» one.
I gave him a «Disappointing»one.
The only reason he was taking part in the car pooling was for financial gain.
When people have money and material things as their only values in life,
the perspective is lost, and they lose their humanity as well.
«Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;
or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body
more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or
store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single
hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow.
They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his
splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass
of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he
not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying,
'What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own.»
(Matthew 6, 25-34)
«The Church,The Village and the Love of God»
A Cathedral in France
The ordination of the new bishop! A huge crowd present, 60 priests and
40 bishops. I got a designated seat outside, in front of a large screen.
He is another relatively young man, just 51, with an interesting background:
not religious in his younger days, and with a Law degree.
Then something happened, and this something brought him to become a priest.
And now, a bishop.
Again, he has a link with Lisieux, he was educated there, and also a link with
Aleçon, where St.Thérèse was born.
The village in France
The official launching of the new year in the parish, and the program of the
pilgrimage to Lisieux in 2018.
Mass
«As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set
out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan
village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him,
because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw
this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy
them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to
another village.»
(Luke 9:51-56)
This was the gospel for today, and Mass was celebrated in the little oratory, as it
usually is during the week.
The priest said in his homily this evening:
«When people who are against us Christians, says that we are no better than
anybody else, they are right. We are not.
But when they say that our religion is not any better than any other religion,
they are wrong.
Our religion commands us not to retaliate, not to take revenge, when injustice
or harm is done towards us, like this gospel illustrates.
That is setting the bar very high, it is demanding, and it often seems impossible
to do, but the truth is that nothing is impossible to God.
It's goal is perfection in Jesus Christ.»
Another Mass
Today is the feast of The Rosary. The priest talks in his homily about the
power of the Rosary, and how a military battle in 1571 of Lépante was
won because the soldiers prayed the Rosary.
He then goes on to explain that «today it is about a spiritual battle, against
Islam which is a diabolical religion created by Satan, and also against all
the worldly manifestations of atheism.»
“Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace
of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4: 6-7)
The woman
«Hello there, how are you?»,
I say to the woman friend of the priest, as I see her in the street with her
children.
She seems happy to see me, and we chat as we walk up the hilly street.
«Just hang on a minute», she says, «I just need to check the letter box of
Father Nicolas», she explains as she opens, with the key, the letterbox
situated at the kerb of the street outside the house, takes out the mail and
brings it to the house.
She opens the front door with the key, disappears inside, and comes back
out locking the door behind her.
I know that the priest is gone away for a few day's holiday to visit his
parents. I get that weird feeling again.
Ok, this is the Presbytery, people might have occasions to go there for a
variety of reasons, reasons to with the Church.
This looks different. It is personal.
He has given her the key to his house, for no good reason.
The letterbox is huge, it is locked, nobody can see inside it, surely
it is not urgent to empty it every day.
I remember somebody I knew who put a great significance
on being in the possession of a key to somebody's house.
At the time, the subject of the key was concerning somebody close to me,
but I remember how she spoke about The Key.
I really need to pray more for the priest, and for her too. I will pray that
she will meet somebody, a man that is available, because the priest is not.
I met her another day and she told me that she did not know what to do
for the day, because her children were with their dad, and she was therefore
alone.We were walking home after Mass.
It was a beautiful day, the air was sharp and crispy, the sun was shining and
started to heat the air.
«But I suppose I can catch up on some of the housework, there is plenty to
do there»,she adds.
My friend and I had already decided to go for a walk in the forest.
After saying goodbuy to her, we say to each other that it is a bit sad that she
should be left all alone like that.
«Will we ask her to join us?», we asked each other, and after answering
positively to that, I run after her to ask her.
«Oh, no, that is ok», she says, «Nicolas is going to come to help me to
light the fire, anyway».
I am looking at her.
Did she say «Nicolas», and not even «Father Nicolas»?
So the priest is going to come and visit her to «help her light the fire»
«A man sold me some very bad wood», she adds, «I can't even get it to
light».
Is the priest already hooked and too implicated in her life to
know how to extract himself from her ?
But why did she pretend to be all alone that day, she didn't have to say
anything? She also talked about her ex husband, how bad he is.
So was Father Nicolas her knight in shining armour who came and
rescued her from him, as he still seems to come and help her in her
«distress».
What is going to happen here, is he going to leave the priesthood so
he can be with her?
It would be a terrible loss for the Church, and for us, his parishioners.
It would confirm the opinion of all the people here who are Anti-Clerical
by their conditioning, all those people who got fed that hatred together
with the baby milk.
The terrible things carried out by people belonging to the Catholic Church
in the past has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus.
Normally intelligent people knows that.
But they are hanging on to their prejudices as if it was something precious.
They are unable and unwilling to look beyond it.
One day your life in this world (dimension) will be over.
And then what did it all mean?
«All people are like grass,
and
all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass
withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures
forever.
And this is the word that was preached to you.»
(1 Peter 1:24-25)
We can come back to Him, right now in this moment, and it will make
the whole difference.
«But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed
before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood
this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches
everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except
the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the
thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand
the things freely given us by God.And we impart this in words not taught by
human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those
who are spiritual.
(1 Corinthians 2:7-13)
Maybe you define yourself as a citizen of a country, and or as a
professional:
«this is who I am».
But do you know who you really are, beyond those labels, and beyond
all the conditioning?
The Books in The Holy Bible is the Human Story.
The Mysteries of The Rosary contains the Truth, and shows us
the Way; Jesus.
It is the faith that fuels the desire to commit completely, and the
perseverance to understand.
It takes patience, because the Truth is contrary to this world, and
therefore our mind takes time to recognize it.
«There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a
witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might
believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the
light. Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem
sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess,
but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those
who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one
calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you
baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do
not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals
I am not worthy to untie.”This all happened at Bethany on the other side
of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.»
(John 1:6-8. 19-28 )
Think about the facts:
We are living on a small planet and this round
ball/planet/boat («we are all in the same boat!») rotates on its axis, all the while
continually moving around the sun, without which there would be no life here.
At the same time the moon turns around it.
This is happening in a univers, that we know, is only one univers in an infinite
amount of universes.
When I was very little, «to go to the moon» was a way of saying that
something was impossible.
And then, when I was still little, people arrived on the moon and walked on it.
And since then, there has been a lot of exploration of space.
But does the lives of human beings improve?
«But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s
special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called
you out of darkness into his wonderful light.»
(1 Peter 2:9)
Think of the configurations on your computer, they are set in place
and your computer acts according to them, but as we know, they can also
be re-set, they can be changed.
You would normally have a good reason to re-configure the programs on
your computer, it would be necessary.
We are not so different, we can change, re-configure, our mindset and
our behaviour.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but continuously be transformed by
the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what
God's will is what is proper, pleasing, and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I ask every one of you not to think of yourself
more highly than you should think, rather to think of yourself with sober
judgment on the measure of faith that God has assigned each of you.
For we have many parts in one body, but these parts do not all have the
same function.
(Romans 12: 2-4)
The values in the particular culture that we grow up in, plus our personal
experience with our parents,siblings, family and friends, these are the
elements which forms ideas, concepts and conclusions, about ourselves
and others.
And we believe it to be who we are, that it is the truth about us and the
world.
«You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your
old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made
new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created
to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.Therefore each of you
must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are
all members of one body.»
(Ephesians 4:22-25)
