Many times in our lives we suffer from emotional hurts. These hurts can be worse than any of the physical hurts that we suffer from time to time. They can be devastating. When Jesus said to love one another, I believe that He intended us to come to the comfort of others in their times of need when they are hurting emotionally. One cannot pinpoint an emotional hurt. One cannot say, "Touch here and the pain will go away," or "Just say this and the emotional hurt will vanish." Emotional hurts can be so deep that they can scar us for a lifetime. Sometimes time will heal, or new situations will help to heal. God only knows why He allows these hurts to enter our lives. He must have a reason. When we go through these times, we can be assured that Jesus is right there with us, bearing our pain with us, agonizing with us. He is never absent as it so often feels.
We must lean on Him. We must put our trust and faith in the true fact that God knows what is best for us and He will heal the wound and lead us to what is best for us. We have to trust and to keep heading in God's direction for us. It is difficult, but, so was Jesus' agony and death. If we follow Him in all things, our reward will be great. This was His promise. My suggestion if you know someone suffering, is to be there, listen, offer your love and most importantly, pray for that person. God knows they are suffering. And God loves them all the more in their weakness. He came not for the stong, but for the weak.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
The Most Holy Trinity
We celebrated the feast of the Most Holy Trinity yesterday at Mass. I contemplated this again today while I was praying after receiving the Eucharist. What a marvelous God we have; to present Himself to us as One God in Three Persons, such a mystery to behold. We have a Father, mighty and loving, always ready to embrace us with His fatherly love; ready to listen and forgive; waiting for us to approach Him and tell Him all our thoughts, concerns, troubles, cares, and just to talk to Him, our dad. He loves us immensely as any Father would. He loves us so much that He gave us His only begotten Son so that we might live.
We have the Son, given to us out of the Father's love; the one who took upon Himself the transgressions of all of us; the one who willingly and on His own gave His life in a most painful and hideous manner, so that we would gain eternal life. He went in our place. He took the punishment in our place. He sacrificed everything out of His total and unparalelled love for us. I scarcely can imagine this without shedding a tear of gratefulness.
And we have the gift given from the Son, the Holy Spirit; our consolor, the other Advocate, the Paraclete, our helper. He gives us the prayers; He speaks for us; He nudges us and awakens in us the Spirit of Life. He is the one that directs us, leads us, guides us, whispers to us, calls us forth to action in our faith life.
Three in one. One in three. The Holy Trinity. Praised be Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We have the Son, given to us out of the Father's love; the one who took upon Himself the transgressions of all of us; the one who willingly and on His own gave His life in a most painful and hideous manner, so that we would gain eternal life. He went in our place. He took the punishment in our place. He sacrificed everything out of His total and unparalelled love for us. I scarcely can imagine this without shedding a tear of gratefulness.
And we have the gift given from the Son, the Holy Spirit; our consolor, the other Advocate, the Paraclete, our helper. He gives us the prayers; He speaks for us; He nudges us and awakens in us the Spirit of Life. He is the one that directs us, leads us, guides us, whispers to us, calls us forth to action in our faith life.
Three in one. One in three. The Holy Trinity. Praised be Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Tony
My father-in-law's name is Tony. He is 88 years old. All his life he has been known for being the life of the party. He always had a joke to tell. Some of his jokes we heard every year for thirty years, yet they always seemed funny because Tony told them. He was always loud and very talkative, even if he didn't have anything important to say. Sometimes it was annoying, but, we just put up with him because that was his personality. Most people thought he was great fun. He was pleasant and everyone remembered Tony for his outgoing and fun personality.
Tony was recently moved from the assisted living part of his retirement home to the nursing home part because he can no longer take care of himself and is suffering from dimentia. He no longer answers his phone, so we cannot talk to him on the telephone. This past weekend many of us traveled to Iowa to attend our nephew's wedding. My brother-in-law and his wife brought Tony along for the opportunity to visit with family members with whom he doesn't often get to visit, including our family.
I was very saddened to see Tony in his current state. I haven't seen him for more than a year. He looks very frail and skinny. He continually stares blankly into space and does not converse with others unless spoken to first. His dimentia causes him to think that everything that someone says to him they just said previously, so he gets angry when someone speaks to him because he questions why they say what they say when they just said the same thing. It's best not to argue, but, just to agree.
He doesn't watch tv anymore either, because he thinks that what is on tv was just on. He gets very frustrated with that. It is difficult to speak with him. I asked him if I could take his picture and he was irritated because he told me I just took his picture.
Old age is a sad time in life. The body breaks down. The mind breaks down. People go back to a babylike state where they require care like a child. They are confused. They are dependent on others. I am certain that a part of our purgatory is lived on earth at this time in life. I also believe it is purgatory for those who observe their loved ones in this stage of life, for it is a form of suffering.
We must remember always to keep the elderly in our prayers. We must also remember to keep them in our care.
Tony was recently moved from the assisted living part of his retirement home to the nursing home part because he can no longer take care of himself and is suffering from dimentia. He no longer answers his phone, so we cannot talk to him on the telephone. This past weekend many of us traveled to Iowa to attend our nephew's wedding. My brother-in-law and his wife brought Tony along for the opportunity to visit with family members with whom he doesn't often get to visit, including our family.
I was very saddened to see Tony in his current state. I haven't seen him for more than a year. He looks very frail and skinny. He continually stares blankly into space and does not converse with others unless spoken to first. His dimentia causes him to think that everything that someone says to him they just said previously, so he gets angry when someone speaks to him because he questions why they say what they say when they just said the same thing. It's best not to argue, but, just to agree.
He doesn't watch tv anymore either, because he thinks that what is on tv was just on. He gets very frustrated with that. It is difficult to speak with him. I asked him if I could take his picture and he was irritated because he told me I just took his picture.
Old age is a sad time in life. The body breaks down. The mind breaks down. People go back to a babylike state where they require care like a child. They are confused. They are dependent on others. I am certain that a part of our purgatory is lived on earth at this time in life. I also believe it is purgatory for those who observe their loved ones in this stage of life, for it is a form of suffering.
We must remember always to keep the elderly in our prayers. We must also remember to keep them in our care.
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Gift of Healing
God is nourishing my gift of healing. I have been learning from several people blessed with this same holy gift. I listen, I pray, I give myself over to God, and I wait for Him to send those to me whom He wishes me to lay hands on. Recently, two new people have been brought to my attention. I was called by a good Catholic friend who knows of my gift, to pray over a young woman in need of spiritual healing because of a situation in her life. I truly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit when I prayed with her. I do not know the outcome of the prayer, but, I know God heard the prayer, and that whatever the outcome, she knows that God loves her and she is in good hands. I made it perfectly clear to her that He is the divine healer, not me. I told her I am only the vessel through which He chooses to work. I never deserve nor want recognition or praise. God is the one to whom all glory is to be directed.
The second person I was asked to pray over is a young woman who suffered from an accident in Italy that left her unable to walk and in very much pain. I have not gone to pray with her yet, but, if God chooses to use me in this case, then may His holy will be done.
Already one woman was healed of cancer by God, through the prayer and laying on of my hands, and a priest was healed of a nasty illness. Either one would attest to this. But, I do not ask them to shout it out. Only to thank God for His healing. I was only a conduit through which He chose to send healing power. Another woman was healed of very upsetting anxiety she had been suffering for months due to a personal situation in her life. We prayed over the telephone and she immediately felt the burden leave. When she was thanking me, I again reminded her that it was only God who needed the thanks, not me.
Each time I attend Holy Mass I continue to lift in prayer Fr. Antonio, Karim, Charbel, my new friend from Lebanon and a few others who need healing from God. These are the ones whom I desire most to receive God's mercy and love through His spiritual and physical healing. Every time the sacramental gifts are changed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I offer the healing prayers for them at that very moment. This is a powerful time. Christ enters in and becomes one with us, once again, as He did at the Last Supper. He reminds us of His promise to be with us always, until the end of time. This is when I ask Him to heal those who are close to my heart.
The second person I was asked to pray over is a young woman who suffered from an accident in Italy that left her unable to walk and in very much pain. I have not gone to pray with her yet, but, if God chooses to use me in this case, then may His holy will be done.
Already one woman was healed of cancer by God, through the prayer and laying on of my hands, and a priest was healed of a nasty illness. Either one would attest to this. But, I do not ask them to shout it out. Only to thank God for His healing. I was only a conduit through which He chose to send healing power. Another woman was healed of very upsetting anxiety she had been suffering for months due to a personal situation in her life. We prayed over the telephone and she immediately felt the burden leave. When she was thanking me, I again reminded her that it was only God who needed the thanks, not me.
Each time I attend Holy Mass I continue to lift in prayer Fr. Antonio, Karim, Charbel, my new friend from Lebanon and a few others who need healing from God. These are the ones whom I desire most to receive God's mercy and love through His spiritual and physical healing. Every time the sacramental gifts are changed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I offer the healing prayers for them at that very moment. This is a powerful time. Christ enters in and becomes one with us, once again, as He did at the Last Supper. He reminds us of His promise to be with us always, until the end of time. This is when I ask Him to heal those who are close to my heart.
Monday, May 2, 2011
A Baby is Saved
Tonight I attended a baby shower. You might think this is not unusual. However, this baby's mother, Samantha, was originally going to abort her baby. Samantha is only 19 years old. She had a previous abortion. The father of the baby is the same one who fathered the other baby who was aborted. He wants Samantha to abort this one, too. He doesn't love her. He abuses her sexually, verbally and emotionally. He merely uses her for his own sexual pleasure, as is evidenced by the fact that he doesn't want anything to do with the life he has created with Samantha.
Samantha comes from a broken home. Her own mother lives in Wyoming. Sam was living with her sister and her father until two months ago. At that time, when she was considering abortion, my friend Barb found out through someone who knew Samantha's
mother, that this girl needed help. Barb called Samantha and lovingly counseled her about the life growing within her womb. Barb is a sidewalk counselor and has had some success in talking women out of having abortions in the past. Samantha was willing to listen. Barb also got on the phone and called many of her pro-life friends and asked them to get as many people as possible praying for Samantha to change her mind and to carry the baby to term. She lined up a couple of people willing to adopt the baby as well. Samantha agreed to think about it. She was afraid that her father would beat her up if he learned that she was pregnant.
A couple of short weeks later, Samantha moved in with a very loving family who agreed to let her stay with them for awhile while she got her life in order; including cutting it off with her abusive boyfriend and making important decisions for herself and her unborn baby. This family showed her a lot of love and support.
Through many continued prayers and the love and kindness showed by this family and the Catholic community that supported her, including the youth group she joined and made friends with, she decided to move out west to Wyoming and be with her mother for support. She also decided to keep the baby herself and be responsible for the life she is carrying within. She's not yet ready to take the leap of faith and return to her Catholic roots, but, she has now had the example of this wonderful Catholic family to remind her of God's love for the rest of her life.
Tonight they held a baby shower for her. She's been living with them for two months. She received gifts from some people she hardly knew, including myself. She received loving cards and gifts from members, both male and female, of the youth group, from the religious sister from our parish, and from relatives and friends of the family who took her in, and from Barb. We ended the shower by praying a decade of the rosary together, and by offering prayers for Samantha's welfare and safe travels to Wyoming. Not only did she receive material gifts for herself and her baby, but, more importantly, she received gifts of love and prayer, far greater than she would have ever known, had she decided to take the path she originally planned to take when we all first heard of her. Thank you, Jesus, for surrounding Samantha with your love and protecting her with the prayers of the community whom you placed her in.
Samantha comes from a broken home. Her own mother lives in Wyoming. Sam was living with her sister and her father until two months ago. At that time, when she was considering abortion, my friend Barb found out through someone who knew Samantha's
mother, that this girl needed help. Barb called Samantha and lovingly counseled her about the life growing within her womb. Barb is a sidewalk counselor and has had some success in talking women out of having abortions in the past. Samantha was willing to listen. Barb also got on the phone and called many of her pro-life friends and asked them to get as many people as possible praying for Samantha to change her mind and to carry the baby to term. She lined up a couple of people willing to adopt the baby as well. Samantha agreed to think about it. She was afraid that her father would beat her up if he learned that she was pregnant.
A couple of short weeks later, Samantha moved in with a very loving family who agreed to let her stay with them for awhile while she got her life in order; including cutting it off with her abusive boyfriend and making important decisions for herself and her unborn baby. This family showed her a lot of love and support.
Through many continued prayers and the love and kindness showed by this family and the Catholic community that supported her, including the youth group she joined and made friends with, she decided to move out west to Wyoming and be with her mother for support. She also decided to keep the baby herself and be responsible for the life she is carrying within. She's not yet ready to take the leap of faith and return to her Catholic roots, but, she has now had the example of this wonderful Catholic family to remind her of God's love for the rest of her life.
Tonight they held a baby shower for her. She's been living with them for two months. She received gifts from some people she hardly knew, including myself. She received loving cards and gifts from members, both male and female, of the youth group, from the religious sister from our parish, and from relatives and friends of the family who took her in, and from Barb. We ended the shower by praying a decade of the rosary together, and by offering prayers for Samantha's welfare and safe travels to Wyoming. Not only did she receive material gifts for herself and her baby, but, more importantly, she received gifts of love and prayer, far greater than she would have ever known, had she decided to take the path she originally planned to take when we all first heard of her. Thank you, Jesus, for surrounding Samantha with your love and protecting her with the prayers of the community whom you placed her in.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter
Alleluia, the King has Risen from the Dead!! Let us Rejoice and be glad for this is the day that the Lord has made. Christ has conquered sin. He has loosed the bonds of Adam's sin. He has freed us from our bondage. By His stripes we are healed. And they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread. Weren't their hearts burning within as He opened the scriptures to them? Celebrate and rejoice now. Shout it from the housetops. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Let us rejoice!!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Our Spiritual Gifts
When we flaunt our spiritual gifts we are no better than the pharisees who wanted others to see them praying out in the public, or wanted others to see them gloomy because they were fasting. If God gives us special graces and gifts, they are to be used for the building up of the Kingdom on earth; the Church. No one should ever point to themselves with pride and say to others, "Look what God has done for me today. I am so special. He gave me this gift or that gift." Let the one who is gifted use the gift for the glory of God quietly and humbly. This is how God will be glorified and this will be pleasing to God.
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