There are many spirits, but only one Holy Spirit
Human beings are spiritual by nature, our spirit lives within us.
I find artists, for example, very spiritual, and I suppose it is
because they express themselves from inside out.
Children are very spiritual, and very in their nature, too!
If you are "spiritual but not religious", then you probably have a
particular aim, or several; maybe to be happy, feel "connected",
centered, grounded, loving, present, energetic....... etc.
With the Catholic doctrine it is about obedience.
Obedience is a word that is enough to make people flee,
to send shivers down the spine.
One might ask: "what is in it for me", "why would I agree to rules
that does not make sense, and agree to do things that are boring
and that I do not understand?"
And again: "what do I get out of it?"
And then, amongst Christians there are those that are "trying hard"
to come close to God.
They can never succeed, as it is their "trying hard" that blocks God.
It is God that does everything. That does not mean that we do nothing.
So what is required of us?
Obedience. Prayer, Mass, Bible readings.
That our attitude is one of trust, trust in what we cannot see;
acts of faith.
It is not us that are in charge, we are being led by God.
It is a constant work of self emptying; we have to "get out of the way"
in order that God can fill us.
And we need to have the desire. Deep desire.
The desire that never goes away after we have seen and experienced
something that is "not of this world", but that is more real than anything
in this world.
Violation
Abuse is abuse, it is an attack, a violation.
The fact that there has been a massive redefinition of the word abuse;
what was normal and acceptable decades ago, was maybe even classed
as discipline, does not change, reduce or eliminate the damage inflicted
in any way.
The first step is to recognize what happened and then recognize the damage done.
At the same time the historical or cultural context should not be completely
disregarded, since keeping it in context is important for the healing process.
Because when a victim understands that the person(s) that offended them,
in fact did not know what they were doing, the forgiveness process
can begin. Forgiving, letting go, the emotional charge can leave.
The reality as well, that we are all, at some stage in our lives,
in a smaller or a larger degree, both victims and perpetrators of abuse,
even if we are convinced that we are not.
A child who has nobody to support or help it when he/she is being aggressed
in some way, has to rely on itself. But since a young child has not got the capacities
for self help, the child's mind tells the child that the person who is carrying out the
violence, is right.
That provides a temporary solution to the situation, because the mind needs
one, in order to regain some kind of balance and to carry on with life.
The problem is that this risks becoming permanent.
The child can become completely identified with the aggressor, and if the aggressor
is one of the child's parent, it can become complicated in adult life, as it
hampers the autonomy and development of the growing child and adult.
The person shields themselves with denial, in fact internally it is frozen in fear.
The person cling to their fear as a way of protection. (!)
Continual spiritual battle
For someone who does not stop talking about how he absolutely does not
believe in God, the british comedian Ricky Gervais seems all the same to
be pretty obsessed about Him.
Last night I saw a clip of a show he did at the end of last year (Australia?) where he in a
sketch jokes that, obviously mocking Christians who believe in the omnipresence of God,
the premier cause of all things created, that God was in Africa at a certain moment in time
busy "given AIDS to babies".
I assume that he has no christian education, but I have heard this argument several times;
that God must not be good, or He must not exist, since He allows so many terrible things
to happen.
On the most basic level of christian doctrine,
is the recognition of the existence of good (God) and bad (the adversary).
The adversary goes under many names, but it is him that is behind disease,
all misery and even death.
It is not God.
It is important to clarify it.
People are free, free to believe in whatever or whoever they want.
But before rejecting something, people should at least inform themselves about what they
are rejecting.
The adversary is active in the world, because people choose him, instead of God.
It is our cooperation with him, our yes, that allows him to continue his work of corruption.
We are complicit, we are implicit, we are not detached observers.
Us human beings are, generally speaking, not making use of our free will,
which is our greatest "asset", gift from God.
The astonishing power of Saint Therese's intercession
Many years ago, it was at the very beginning of my prayer life, I came upon a novena to
Saint Therese,which I picked up from the table close to the main entrance/exit door of the church.
I had heard about Saint Therese, but as someone who did not grow up in the catholic faith, I had
converted, I did not really understand the role of the saints.
At this particular time, I needed help, help from above, as I found myself in a very uncertain
situation; my 24 year old marriage had broken up due to my ex's alcohol addiction.
I did not know what was going to happen to me and my children, and I was coming up to the day
in court for the legal separation hearing where my future would be decided by a judge.
My ex had furnished himself with a well reputed solicitor and barrister,
I had no income, so I had free legal aid.
In the little leaflet that explained how to pray a novena to Saint Therese, it said at the end that
in praying this novena one would receive flowers as a sign that the supplication would be granted.
I was very sceptical regarding that bit, but I thought it was worth praying the novena anyway.
A week after the 9 day novena, I was hurrying from my house to get to the bus stop in time.
I was getting the bus to town. In passing in front of my neighbours houses, one of them saw
me from her upstairs window, opened the window and shouted out to me to "hang on" a minute.
I was a bit annoyed because I was sure that I would miss the bus.
But as my neighbour was insisting that I wait, I did. She then came out of her front door with a
beautiful bouquet of flowers. I was speechless. In the decades I had lived there, neither her or any other of my neighbours had given me flowers.
They are good neighbours who help each other, but giving flowers just like that,
is not the done thing.
When I looked at her, she just said that she had felt inspired to give me flowers. Her daughter had been with her when she bought them, and she had tried to discourage her from buying flowers, saying that she would be better off buying me chocolates or something, but no, she felt strongly that I needed flowers!
This neighbour is in no way religious, and she obviously did not know anything about my novena.
The day in court went very well for me, but not for my ex.
Another time I had been talking to another member of the prayer group that I belonged to.
She was desperate to become pregnant because she experienced difficulties in this regard.
I had told her a short time previously that I would pray the novena to Saint Therese for her.
One evening, in entering the little side chapel where the prayer meeting was, I noticed
some beautiful lilies in front of the Altar.
At the end of the meeting, the man who was leading, took the beautiful flowers and in an
official kind of way, handed me the flowers, saying they were for me.
The woman who I was praying for, and another woman who also knew about it, were equally
amazed as me. Not long afterwards the woman became pregnant, and shortly after she had
the first child, she was pregnant again with the second.
I actually have a long list of similar episodes, always with flowers!
But once, when I was not even praying the novena, I had gone to Mass without realising that it
was the feast day of Saint Therese (1.October), and as the priest announced it at the start of the
Mass, I was saying to myself that fortunately I had not missed that day's Mass, since it was Saint Therese's feast day, as she was always helping me enormously.
As I went out of the church after Mass, my friend who had waited for me,
handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers!
He was not religious, and had no idea about Saint Therese's feast day either!
Through her I have come to understand the role of the Saints in the catholic doctrine, how important
they are for us, and how they help us. In helping us with real practical or material problems, they
help us to understand that we can also be sanctified.
In learning about Saint Therese; the events of her family and personal life, her personality,
her character, I see that she was not perfect either; in several aspects she reminds me of myself,
and that encourages me!
She suffered the effects of the loss of her mother,
(twice, as her elder sister who had become her mother substitute also left her ),
she had a nervous breakdown as a young girl,
she was the youngest in the family,
she had a very strong willpower, she was hypersensitive, and suffered from "scrupels"
Thank you for the lockdown
The confinement is an opportunity to advance.
From the beginning I saw it as an opportunity to practice being present.
My mind went to people that are incarcerated in prisons for years, and decades,
and amongst whom there are also many innocent people, wrongly imprisoned.
Then I thought of Marthe Robin, who was not only confined to her house,
but bound to her bed for all her adult life.
She was a young, normal, happy, outgoing young woman, who had plans,
who wanted to do things in her life, but because of a medical condition for
which there was no cure, and which also caused terrible physical suffering,
she was to stay confined to her bed until she died as an old woman in 1981,
aged 79.
Out of that hopeless situation, in this one person, has grown a world wide
association of Foyers of Charity (Charity Homes); centres for teachings of
authentic catholic doctrine.
Marthe Robin lied in her bed, unable to get up, in a house on a farm in the
middle of nowhere; even to this very day, it is a place which is not easily accessible.
She needed help with the most basic of things, which caused her additional
suffering, because she knew she was a burden to her already struggling parents.
Out of this desperate situation she drew thousands of people
to her bedroom while she was alive, an estimated 100.000; amongs them hundreds
of priests and many bishops, they flocked from all corners of France and also from
other countries, just to be able to tell her their problems and ask her for help.
Every day, there was a queue outside her bedroom, visitors gathered in the farmyard,
before they were let in to continue waiting in the kitchen, until it was their turn to be
allowed in to spend some time with her, most of the time just chatting about normal
ordinary things.
Since her death, the number of visitors to her bedroom is much higher; reaching
up to 40.000 a year.
How did this happen? What attracted these people, and what is it that continues
to attract people today?
After all, it was difficult to get there and there was no television, internet or
advertising campaign involved.
Looking at it from a worldly point of view, we would say that it is an extremely
unlikely scenario. But the facts are there, they are concrete and manifested.
The confinement as an imposed external reality produces a
feeling of being confined, so there are already at the outset at least two elements present.
As I cannot change this exterior reality, I have two choices;
I can stay with the feelings of annoyance and boredom, in other words
I can internally revolt and resist, thinking thoughts like:
"I do not like this, it deprives me of ..........and when this period is finished,
I will do such and such....." which reveals non acceptance of the situation
as it is, and which I do not have the power to change.
It means that I miss the opportunity present in the situation,
which is the gift of being present.
It is a training program, and should be taken as such.
When I fail, I do not get discouraged, because I believe that I get a little bit
better all the time, but I have to learn to be patient with myself.
Patience is something that is completely new to me,
so I have to accept that I am a beginner.
The opposition, the resistance, is INSIDE me, not outside.
Constraints, difficulties, problems, burdens, pain (crosses) are
the Tools, the Material, The Dough in the making of the bread,
given to us by Jesus to come back to God. If we accept them internally.
Jesus accepted to be chained to the pillar as he was being flogged,
and to be nailed to the cross.
My natural human nature, I recognize it, I am not in denial of it,
but instead of giving glory to it, (paganism), I go much further,
because I do not want it to end there!
I want more, I want God!
He already lives in me and in you!
Here and now.
It can only happen by going inside ourselves.
Hopefully it will produce cracks in our image of ourselves, in our defensive system,
our mentality, our perceptions, and produce true humility, which in turn produces true
love and compassion for others and ourselves.
It is an organic process, which includes every part of our lives, which is why it creates
unity within the person. Things come together.
We are in possession of freedom to choose;in any given situation. FREE WILL.
I have freedom to choose. I am free.
The Litany Of The Blessed Virgin Mary
My May Altar to Our Lady.
We ought to pray The Litany to Her every day for an end to the pandemic.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, Have mercy on us.
God, the Son,
Redeemer of the world: Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us. (repeat at end of each phrase.)
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator, Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of Heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of angels,
Queen of patriarchs,
Queen of prophets,
Queen of apostles,
Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,
Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen of peace.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Grant, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, that we Thy servants may rejoice in continual health of mind and body; and, through the glorious intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, may be freed from present sorrow, and enjoy eternal gladness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
It is good, and comforting to remember when praying the Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary, that, as St. Bernard once put it “Mary has made herself all to all, and opens her merciful heart to all, that all may receive of her fullness: the sick, health; those in affliction, comfort; the sinner, pardon, and God, glory.”
Christ centered life
At Mass Christ nourishes us with his Word and his Body, in the sacrament of Confession
he reconciles us to Himself, in the Church community and in the community in general,
we practice, or at least we try to put into practice, what is expected of us as Catholics.
We must also read the Bible in our homes.
But as there is so much confusion, heresies, earthly views and personal opinions coming
from the heart of many catholic parishes the catholic doctrine can appear very hazy
to many people.
Well, it is not.
The catholic doctrine is spelled out clearly in the catholic catechism.
In our extremely secularized world we also need to stimulate our intellect by reading
takes and views on current events, coming from a catholic point of view.
We need information and clearance, from Catholics who are not afraid to speak the truth
regarding authentic teaching.
Top 100 Catholic Blogs
https://blog.feedspot.com/catholic_blogs/
we find Catholic News Agency, National Catholic Register, EWTN News on top of the list.
Good reading!
The Way of the Cross
Jesus, our Saviour did not rebel, oppose or justify himself, to the false
accusations, torture and death on a cross that his tormentors and enemies
subjected Him to.
When I meditate on the 14 Stations on the Cross every Friday these facts
becomes alive in a here-and-now personal way that opens me up.
To not react when we are being verbally attacked; to not enter into and
participe in a false world of lies that we are so often invited into;
that is really difficult.
To accept that this is the way it is, not to shy away from it, and at the same
time not to participate and fight back, seems impossible, but it isn't.
To not say anything, to keep and remain in the peace of God, seems out of
the reach of human possibility, but it is possible.
In order to unite ourselves with the One who made us, the One who died
for us, it is essential to pray and meditate The Way of the Cross.
We come to realize in a deep and personal way, that this really happened,
and how it came to happen.
We have something to do with it, we are involved.
It is not a commemorative piece, it is active.
It is hard to do, it causes pain. But it liberates, it stabilizes.
To put it into practice in our daily lives is the biggest difficulty, but Jesus
was clear:
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must
deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
(Matthew 16, 24)
To be so close to Jesus that we do not forget this instruction in all
those moments
when we are being falsely accused, verbally attacked , scorned, rejected,
lied to, when we are betrayed by disloyal behaviour, when the one closest
to us unites with our enemies against us, when we realize that we were conned,
when people do all this in an effort to"kill" us, that is what is important.
Even the pain of the confinement, because we are, generally speaking, starting
to rebel now, feeling that "enough is enough, we cant take any more".....
Embrace your cross, relax with it, welcome it, surrender to it.
The ruler of this world
The culture we live in is one of death.
The attitudes to abortion, which is seen as a human right; it is called
health care, and also to euthanasia, are two examples.
Two categories of human beings who are not able to defend themselves.
These two things alone are enough to make me suspicious about the world
wide effort to "save lives" regarding the universal house confinement situation
linked to Covid 19.
How is it that, all of a sudden, most of the world's governments takes severe
measures that causes great damage to their own economy, because they want
to protect lives?
I just do not get it, it does not add up, because most people that catches the
virus, recovers. Yes, people die from it too, but regarding the number of deaths
that they keep churning out, there is something twisted here.
What about the context?
Is it not a reality that people die every day; due to weakness in their
immune system, due to sickness or old age?
I know that many people that has died from this virus falls outside of that
category, but I still think there is something about the way the statistics are
presented to us that is crooked.
Before the Covid 19, the situation was, and has been for as long as I have lived;
that new people come into the world on a daily basis, and thousands of people
also die every single day, even apparently young and healthy people.
How many people die from the flu every year, for the same reasons; because
they are in risk categories due to preexisting conditions?
If the governments were really concerned about protecting the people
most at risk; the old people in nursing homes, they would have assured that
the protective measures would have been put in place there first of all,
but they did not.
Instead they tell the whole world to stay at home, and the majority of
people that die, are the old.
What about all the people that commit suicide,
what are the statistics on that?
Is there even any? Do the governments care?
Because THERE we are DEFINITELY talking about an epidemic.
We are living in a culture of death; it is the intelligence that is affected.
The ability to reason, to come to conclusions from a process of personal
reflection, seems to be severely affected.
The brain washing that has been going on for years which tells people what they
must think, believe and feel about a range of subjects, what has now become the
new correct, and of which there is consequences of non compliance with, is the
reason.
People have become robots, but not completely. There is tremendous fear as well.
The same sex marriage that was forced on almost every nation on earth, how did
that happen? And we have to condone this "marriage", even though it defies the
definition of marriage itself.
Also two people of the same gender demands it as their civil right to have
children, even if it defies the nature of biology, in the same way as women
demands it as their right to kill their unborn babies, although it defies even
civil law, which forbids killing.
If one says anything at all on these subjects, one is assailed with accusations
of being homophobic and extremist. You risk being attacked.
And if you say that you believe in a Loving, Powerful God who sent
His Only Son into the world in order for the human race to be saved
and reconciled to Him, and that this God gives light to the intelligence
and strenght to the people that believe in Him, and
LIFE; LIFE EVERLASTING, they
think that you are stupid or maybe crazy..........
We are confined to our homes, peoples lives are not only being put on hold;
for many people this confinement means an end to their livelihood.
It seems like this crisis is going to last for some time.
Maybe time will tell the whole truth about it, but I would not bank on it.
Life is going to be more difficult for many people.
Prayer really makes a difference, even if you do not believe at the outset.
There is something happening in the world
Christianity is not about tradition for the sake of tradition.
It is about a meeting with a living Person called Jesus,
which enables us to see the Truth.
My generation has been about becoming conscious, looking for peace
and healing, but we looked in all the wrong places.
Only Jesus can heal, and He can heal everything;
He can heal the wounds of our heart, He forgives us,
and He gives light to the intelligence.
Jesus is King of Kings. He is the only one that can save us.
He is Divine Mercy, which we celebrate today.
He is the only One we should put all our trust in,
He will never let us down.
The intellectual snobbery which blinded us before,
is disappearing, the world is waking up.
He is Alive!
Jesus, I surrender myself to you, you hold my life in your hands.
The perfect beauty of the Catholic Faith
The reason why Saint Teresa of Avila founded her first Reformed
Carmelite convent was to minimize the ravages wrought by protestantism
in France, and elsewhere, and to check the passion of a so called "freedom".
She lived in the 16th century.
I have seen for myself that today, in the 21th century, in France,
the infiltration of protestantism and "liberalism" has wreaked havoc
in some parishes.
Even the 10 Commandments seems to be forgotten.
To make matters worse, many masquerades as Catholics; they are active
participants in the Church, while they are in truth fully fledged protestants
in their hearts. This is sad, and very damaging to the Church.
But thankfully, alongside of that, the true Catholic Church is still
alive in France. The priests are good, and many really good prayer
groups provide spiritual nourishment and strength in a community setting.
The french woman Marthe Robin; who was sick and bedridden all her adult
life, and who died in 1981, is still an "active" member of the Catholic Church.
Anyone who has ever been to Châteauneuf-de-Galaure on a silent retreat
can testify to that.
There, the priests and the other members of the Foyers of Charity delivers
conferences and a full week's program with Mass, Confession, and prayers,
which allows the light of perfect intelligence and coherence to penetrate
deeply into the soul of the participants.
Marthe Robin loved her country, her Church, and she lived her life united
to Christ. I pray that she will be canonized soon, and join the long list of
French Saints.
May France be reconverted to the One True Catholic Faith.
The moment is Now
The "COVID" lockdowns provided a perfect opportunity for change.
There was anxiety, stress, frustration, confusion.
Many people lost their livelihood, or risked losing it.
So many catholics have walked away from their faith,
acting as if God does not exist.
Today is Holy Saturday, where we commemorate Jesus buried in the
tomb. Tomorrow we celebrate His resurrection from the tomb.
As Easter is the most important time for us Catholics,
where we enter into the mystery of when the world sentenced God
to death by crucifixion and where He resurrected 3 days after.
To prove that Love cannot die, that no matter how narrow minded
and ignorant we are, no matter how hateful and full of ourselves we are,
Our Creator, The same Creator that created everything in this universe and
all the universes will never change.
He is alive.
I pray that the heavy stone that is closing the opening to the tomb of our dead
souls, will be rolled away, to set us free, and to resurrect us to eternal life.
We have now entered into a new time, it has been forced upon us because
humans refused to listen; because this virus is more than likely linked to
global warming, and it is unlikely to be a once off episode.
The economy itself, despite all the world's governments hard work
at saving it as it is, will change, and
there has never, in my lifetime, been a more favourable moment than now
for the whole world to come back to
The One True, Living, Powerful, Loving Creator.
Time is running out.
"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts:
and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to
our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
(Isaiah 55:6-7 King James Version (KJV))and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to
our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
To help us, Top 100 Catholic Blogs
https://blog.feedspot.com/catholic_blogs/
provides blogs that will orient us and put us on the right track.
I wish all my readers a holy and joyful Easter!
Faithfulness
Betrayal is something that we are unlikely to forget, it leaves strong
feelings and psychic energy that can determine our future decisions and
install in us the same behaviour of what has been done to us, so that we
will potentially do the same to anyone that comes our way in the future.
You that has been married in a christian church has decided to remain
faithful to each other in all things, big and small.
Nothing was to be hidden from each other, no hidden agenda or ulterior
motives.
The sexual faithfulness is just one aspect of faithfulness,
the deep dark recesses of the human mind and soul has a capacity to hide and
trick other people on a daily basis, that might feel completely normal, we live like
that, "all the others are doing it" and we think that we are well balanced.
Until something happens that reveals what was hidden, to the people around us or
the people affected.
To adhere to the promise you made before God and continue to be faithful
with all your being to you spouse, under all circumstances, can seem
unreasonable and unnatural, a bit like the requirement of catholic priests to be
celibate.
How can a normal man or a normal woman for that matter, be celibate, it seems
ludicrous.
In a marriage, to decide to continue to love someone who mistreats you, and who's
behaviour does not show love, seems ludicrous to most people too, a "waste of time".
But that is what we signed up for the day we got married. "In good times and in
bad" because to continue to trust in the goodness and love of God in those times
when you cannot see it or feel it, that is what the catholic faith is demanding us to
do. Our human nature do not understand it, but our divine nature does.
That is why divorce is not allowed for catholics and why priests are celibate.
There is a good reason.
Confinement
Now that we are restricted in our freedom, confined to our homes,
the biggest difficulty in the weeks to come will be boredom, and
the feeling of being imprisoned.
Today that made me think of the people that are in prison,
confined in a cell.
They, like us, still have things to do that brings a shape or a frame
to the day, but still, if we can not go out and be with other people,
we are imprisoned.
So what do we do?
There is a limit to how much television we can watch,
(or at least there should be), and we cannot spend all day in front of
the computer either.
Personally I always say: "if you cannot go out, go in"
Read the Bible, meditate on it, and pray the prayers of the Church.
Look inside yourself.
It is an opportunity for you to get to know yourself better, because there is
a depth to us humans that can only really be discovered by disassociating
ourselves more or less from the outside world.
"Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The Kingdom of God does not come with observation; neither will they say, 'Look, here.' or, 'Look, there.' for the Kingdom of God is within you."
(Luke 17, 20-21 New Heart English Bible)
Some people say that they only believe in things that they can see,
and since they cannot see God they do not believe in His existence.
As an argument it is very weak, since gravity for example, is not
something that we can see either, but it is not advisable to disregard
the reality of it's existence!
To the naked eye a virus is also invisible.
We can affirm that what we can see with our eyes are limited.
But what we can see with the eyes of our soul when we adhere
to the Word of God and put it into practice, is something so beautiful
and so powerful that you know that you can overcome any challenges
that comes your way.
Because you will know without any doubt, that you are not alone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBdG85iIyaE
The unexpected
These days we see that our life does not belong to us,
and that we never know what awaits us in the future.
We make plans, but at any moment, our life can be disrupted,
it can be turned upside down.
Everything can change very fast, one day it might just be the basics that counts; life, health, food.
Earthly life is short.
We are vulnerable on earth, but afterwards; what awaits us?
Our instincts and our intelligence tells us that life goes on after death,
in another state, in another dimension.
It is important to prepare for this departure.
Behind the screen of illusions, lies, denial and sin, is the Truth.
Jesus is the Truth, The Way that leads to Life.
He enlightens us, he forgives us, he loves us. He is God.
He is not far, He is near, always Present.
To heal or not to heal
The effects of family of origin
In my family there was denial, lies, betrayal, harshness, shame, absence of love and security, all of which had serious consequences.
The effects of dysfunction: Sin, is darkness.
It is the intelligence that is affected, also cohesion and natural inner stability.
In this state, how can a person be expected to become truly autonomous,
and to make good decisions?
It is impossible. And this kind of life always ends badly.
Thank God, that in my heart, I always believed that I would be healed.
It was this belief that always drove me to search, to search further and further, until I would find.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
(Matthew 7, 7-8)
and the NLT Bible version:
“Keep
on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and
you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
(Matthew 7, 7)
My faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, is what has healed the wounds of my soul,
restored my life, and filled it with love.
"Our faith life is a grace or a gift that brings us into a personal, loving union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
"Faith seeks understanding and is a friend of reason. Faith as a grace or gift from God makes it possible to gain some understanding of all that he has revealed to us, including the totality of his plan as well as the many mysteries of faith."
"Faith is a free, human act. Faith is a gift of God which enables us to know and love him. Faith is a way of knowing, just as reason is. But living in faith is not possible unless there is action on our part. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to make a decision to respond to divine Revelation, and to follow through in living out our response."
(https://www.catholicstand.com/the-critical-difference-between-faith-and-belief/)
“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen”
(Heb 11:1).
It is often through frightening and challenging situations, where our faith in God is tested.
We might profess that we believe in Him, but do we really trust Him?
We have an active part to play in this, we have to dare to trust in Him in situations when we see clearly that our own capacities are not enough. We surrender to Him.
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 143).
"Man’s faculties make him capable of
coming to a knowledge of the existence of a personal God. But for man to
be able to enter into real intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal
himself to man and to give him the grace of being able to welcome this
revelation in faith.
(https://www.catholicstand.com/the-critical-difference-between-faith-and-belief/)
We were not created for comfort, we were created for greatness!
When we are faced with something that we do not want; a sickness, a loss of any kind, heartbreak, or when we find ourself in a desperate situation where we do not know what to do or how to even get through the day, or maybe when it is more vague, just a slight feeling of miscontent, boredom, emptiness, it is the right moment to try something that maybe we have never tried before.
Almost everybody is conditioned to manage the complexities of life themselves. Sometimes we have to seek professional help, but God, the Source of all life, perfect and powerful, are very often not sought out.
It is the humanity of Jesus that gives us the key.
It is the link between Him and us.
Since He is also God, is it not reasonable to take the risk, to let go of ourselves,
even for a while,
and just TRUST?
It does not render us passive, on the contrary.
To lean on God, to live in a conscious dependency relationship with Him, to surrender in every situation, to live in his presence, translates itself into eternal life, which starts here on earth.
People who live with serious illness, who live in constant incertitude, who do not have frames of references for how to live, because the previous thoughts that motivated their actions are no longer possible, they might find themselves living in a situation that feels like an empty space.
My heart goes out to any person that suffers, and God do not create suffering, but in those conditions, if He is sincerely called upon, He will show his power, and He will fill that empty space with good things.
That is the truth.
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
(Psalm 34:18 New International Version (NIV)
Completely surrender, saying: "I am week and powerless, I need your help;
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!"
TRUST Him, give him everything of yourself.
Crosses, if accepted, are means, proposed to us, to move into close relationship
with God.
Jesus showed us that by his death, freely accepted, on The Cross: the Tree of Life.
Catholics who will always look for an easy way out, who are always relying on their own resources, or who put their full trust in professional people to always know what is best for them, have missed out on the biggest treasure of the Catholic Faith, the Power of the Cross.
Purification, Divinisation
Praying the Rosary regularly enlightens a person as to the mysteries of the Faith.
The Joyful, the Sorrowful, the Glorious mysteries, I pray those 15 decades every day.
In reading the Holy scripture every morning, and praying the Rosary, we do the summing up of
the Catholic catechism, because the Rosary is the entire Gospel in prayer.
Today I saw the link between the 4. Joyful mystery; The Presentation in the Temple, also called the
Purification in the Temple, and the 4.Sorrowfull mystery; the Carrying of the Cross.
In yesterdays second reading we were reminded that we are the temple of God's Holy Spirit.
We need constant purification, by our entire willpower we must be willing to undergo a deep
transformation, to clean ourselves, to rid ourselves of everything that blocks our relationship
with Our Creator, who desires to live in an intimate relationship with every one of us.
In this process, we have to be willing also, to confront every cross, small or big,
a current one or old ones that has not been dealt with.
This is often frightening, or heavy work, and unconsciously we want to avoid doing just that.
And alone, or even with a therapist, it can be risky.
But by truly aligning oneself with Jesus, as He willingly carried His Cross, after having been
tortured and knowing He was going to die an agonizing death, our deepest wounds can be healed.
The crucifixion of Jesus really took place, it is a historical fact. He underwent that, so that you and
me can be free, and find our way back to God.
In the 4. Glorious mystery, the Assumption of our Mother Mary, we consecrate ourselves to her, so
that she will always protect us, guide us, teach us, and correct us while all this is going on.
We are her children, and also her pupils.
What a perfect and beautiful religion!
The adversary
It is the adversary who hampers and obstructs our relationship with God,
it is for that reason really important to be aware and not to live in denial regarding his existence.
How does he operate, what does he look like, what does he feel like, what does he sound like?
He is cunning, but on closer examination we see that he is not intelligent, he is actually stupid.
He is often attractive looking, people fall for him because of it. But in reality he is ugly.
He is a liar, but in the end it is himself who gets caught in his own web of lies.
He thinks only of himself, but in the end it is he that suffers as a result.
He is very often not clear, he contradicts himself, in an effort to confuse.
He biggest weapon is FEAR, because he knows how efficient that is.
To live in a state of constant fear, anxiety, terror, tension, he knows that we will not be able to trust in the goodness and abundance that God has already given us.
For example to be afraid of not having enough, of not being succesfull enough, that is a triumph for him.
Another one is JEALOSY, now there, he is laughing, it is so easy for him..........
HOPELESSNESS, BITTERNESS, SHAME, all come directly from him.
He is completely aware of the existence of God, that is why he tries to block our path to Him,
since he is the opponent.
He is pitiful, we should really feel sorry for him.
But we must be very aware of his existence, because his biggest trick of all is to make us believe that he does not exist!
Conversion: resetting of configurations
Pride, arrogance
Humility
Turning the other cheek
Doing things for oneself
Helping others
Seeking admiration, worldly ambition
A desire for God
Judging, Interpreting, Condemning others
Looking at oneself
Instant gratification of biological needs
Self control
Putting material things and money first
Putting prayer first
Living in fear and anxiety
Always trusting God
Trusting the media, worldly authority
Believing in God
Follow your feelings
Follow the precepts of the Lord
Follow, imitate, others
Follow the straight line that leads to God
Bitterness
Forgive
Always trying to avoid pain
Accepting pain when it presents itself
Putting pressure on others and yourself
Respecting everyone's free will
There is much more...... and it is not complicated, but it is however, often really difficult.......
But it is worth it, because
When we move closer to God, God draws nearer to us.
When we move closer to God, God draws nearer to us.
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