Sunday, October 31, 2010

From Mark Mallett: The Value of One Soul:

The Value of One Soul

 

WE are all called to sanctity, but we are not all called to the same kind of mission. As a result, some Christians feel insignificant and that their lives have little impact. In this episode, Mark shares a powerful encounter with the Lord that helped him to understand that nothing in the Kingdom is insignificant because of the value of even one soul… 

To watch this moving episode: The Value of One Soulgo to:

www.embracinghope.tv

Recently, someone wrote:

I do hope things are okay with you at present. DO not be afraid to be honest with your listeners if finance is TOO tight at present. We do need to hear.  There are just so many needing at present and we all have to constantly choose, so please let us know.

Yes, there are always needs in this ministry since our family of ten depends entirely upon God’s providence through this ministry to make ends meet. We do not charge subscriptions to the webcasts, and aside from the sale of my music and books, the shortfall comes from donations which have, in fact, dropped off sharply. Our largest donations in the past couple of months came from two priests! So, yes, we are in great need at this point. I am always hesitant to ask, always hoping that our needs are simply anticipated by others, so that I have to do less begging. But perhaps that’s presumptuous.

Thank you for remembering us, and helping us to continue this ministry, which is now reaching thousands throughout the world. 

To support this ministry, click on the button:

 

Thank you!

PUBLISHED IN: | ON OCTOBER 30TH, 2010 | NO COMMENTS »

 

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Saturday, October 30, 2010

Happy Halloween! : The American Catholic

In the spirit of the season, Taylor Marshall (Called to Communion) offers “top ten ways to have a Catholic Halloween:

This time of year introduces several debates. Among conservative Protestants it’s “Halloween or no Halloween?” which sometimes becomes “Halloween vs. Reformation Day,” the latter being the celebration of Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses on Oct 31. Even some Catholics are concerned that Halloween has become “evil.” Well, here are ten ways to keep good ol’ Halloween fun and sacred. …

And speaking of our Protestant brethren, John Mark Reynolds (First Things‘ “Evangel”) asks: Is Reformation Day the new Kwanzaa? ;-)

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 30th, 2010 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Actually, I never liked Halloween because of its "trick or treat" stuff. In New York City, where I was brought up, there was just too much emphasis on "Trick" without the "Treat!" I saw some bad stuff being done to people and their property. One that I hated the most was that egg throwing, some of the delinquents do. They stand off the side of a busy road and hurl eggs at passing cars, splattering the windshield and sometimes, if you have your window down, the driver and passengers too! And that stupid graffiti that they do, marking up your doors and walls with black paint, usually sprayed and hard to get off. Sure, the little kids going house to house getting treats is cute, especially the little ones in their costumes, so innocent, but those older vandals need a good spanking or some other "shock straight" treatment to hopefully convert them. Sorry, but I hate Halloween and will not be answering the door when you knock!

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Trick or Treat: A Sneak Peek of CATHOLICISM!

Fr. Barron on WGN America

Tomorrow morning make sure you watch Father Barron! 

Dear Friends of Word On Fire,

This Sunday, Word on Fire with Father Robert Barron on WGN America features a sneak peek at Episode One of the CATHOLICISM series. The show airs tomorrow morning at 9:30 am EST (9:30 am on the Chicago affiliate, WGN-9).


WGN America Channel Finder
 

Read what Father Barron says about this special preview during "The Year of CATHOLICISM", see a preview posted by Catholic blogger Matthew Warner of FallibleBlogma.com and check out behind-the-scenes pictures from the filming of Episode One in Rome and the Holy Land.

 

If you'd like to support Father Barron's TV show, please consider a donation today.

Thanks, and God bless you!

-The Word On Fire Team

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Zacchaeus responded with a change of heart.

Zachaeus΄s sycarome in Jericho

The Zacchaeus tree in Jericho. Image via Wikipedia

Mission in Scripture


  

October 31, 2010

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Link: http://www.usccb.org/nab/103110.shtml

Wisdom 11:22-12:2 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 Luke 19:1-10

Who can tell what might provoke a spirit of conversion in someone? Jesus was certainly well known by the time he got to Jericho. That’s evidenced by the fact that a large crowd had gathered to see him. Even the local tax collector, Zacchaeus, was interested in this famous man. When Jesus looked up and spoke to him, Zacchaeus responded with a change of heart. As we develop a missionary spirit, we become more aware that each moment of our life has the potential to spread the Good News. It might be a kind word, a generous act, a patient response which opens another’s heart to the message of Christ. We don’t have to look up in a tree to find someone who can be touched by the Gospel. Zacchaeus is around us every day. 


Suggested Mission Activity: Be attentive today to the ways your actions can promote or hinder the proclamation of the Good News.

 

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St Catherine of Siena's Dialogue on Divine Providence:

How good and how delightful is your spirit, Lord, in all men!

The eternal Father, indescribably kind and tender, turned his eye to this soul and spoke to her thus:
  ‘O dearest daughter, I have determined to show my mercy and loving kindness to the world, and I choose to provide for mankind all that is good. But man, ignorant, turns into a death-giving thing what I gave in order to give him life. Not only ignorant, but cruel: cruel to himself. But still I go on providing. For this reason I want you to know: whatever I give to man, I do it out of my great providence.
Perugino, Pietro - God the Creator and Angels ...

Image via Wikipedia

  ‘So it was that when, by my providence, I created man, I looked into myself and fell in love with the beauty of the creature I had made – for it had pleased me, in my providence, to create man in my own image and likeness.
  ‘Moreover, I gave man memory, to be able to remember the good things I had done for him and to be able to share in my own power, the power of the eternal Father.
  ‘Moreover, I gave man intellect, so that, seeing the wisdom of my Son, he could recognise and understand my own will; for I am the giver of all graces and I give them with a burning fatherly love.
  ‘Moreover, I gave man the desire to love, sharing in the tenderness of the Holy Spirit, so that he might love the things that his intellect had understood and seen.
  ‘But my kind providence did all this solely that man might be able to understand me and enjoy me, rejoicing in my vision for all eternity. And as I have told you elsewhere, the disobedience of your first parent Adam closed heaven to you – and from that disobedience came all evil through the whole world.
Adam & Eve, Russian Lubok woodcut 1792

Image via Wikipedia

  ‘To relieve man of the death that his own disobedience had brought, I tenderly and providently gave you my only-begotten Son to heal you and bring satisfaction for your needs. I gave him the task of being supremely obedient, to free the human race of the poison that your first parent’s disobedience had spread throughout the world. F
Crucifixion Grunewald

Image via Wikipedia

alling in love, as it were, with his task, and truly obedient, he hurried to a shameful death on the most holy Cross. By his most holy death he gave you life: not human life this time, but with the strength of his divinity.’
 

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The Peace of Christ

Tell My People

c. 1437-1446

Image via Wikipedia


Jesus: "My beloved priest-companion, tell My beloved people that I am the Divine Giver of peace. I want so much to give My people an even greater sense of peace, but many refuse My offer! They think they know their own way to peace and happiness--a way which is not My way. The further they stray from Me, the more restless they become, and the less true peace they have. My way is the only way to peace.

Sacredheart

Image via Wikipedia

"My people, come each day to My Sacred Heart. Let Mary lead you to My Heart. The more you dwell within My Heart, the more peace will be yours. I am Lord and Master. Please listen to My words! Do not seek your peace and consolation in worldly pursuits. Come within My Heart, and you will be filled with the peace you so much crave. I will press you to My Sacred Heart. I will tell you how much I love you! The more you realize this love, the more My peace will possess your soul!"

Reflection: The chief fruit of love is peace. The more we open ourselves to the burning love of Jesus' Heart, and respond by loving God and neighbor more and more, the more peace we experience.


Copyright © 1996 Shepherds of Christ.
Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted:
May be copied in its entirety, but neither re-typed nor edited. 
Revised: March 19, 1996
URL: http://www.Shepherds-of-Christ.org
 

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Friday, October 29, 2010

The Joy of Christ

Tell My People

Sacred Heart of Jesus with Saint Ignatius of L...

Image via Wikipedia


Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell My people that I am a God of joy. I have come so that My people's joy may be complete. So many of My people seek for joy in the wrong places. So many seek their joy and happiness in material things. Joy can spring from material things only when they are used according to My Father's will. Many use material things against My Father's will. Come to My Heart, My people. Come to My Heart in union with your Mother Mary. She will place you within My Heart, and we will teach you the secret of joy. We will show you that joy is meant to be yours at all times-even in the deepest suffering.

"Come to Me, My people. I am your Lord and Master! I am all-powerful! When I say I will give you joy in abundance, I have the means to fulfill My promise. But you must come to My Heart, and you must trust Me. I ask for your total trust. The more you trust Me, the more you will be filled with My joy!"

Visitation, from Altarpiece of the Virgin (St ...

"My soul dost magnify the Lord, and my spirit hast rejoiced in God, my Savior."  Image via Wikipedia

Reflection: In the Litany of the Blessed Virgin we say, "Cause of our joy, pray for us." Mary is cause of our joy, because, under God, she gives us Jesus, the Source of all joy. Mary is cause of our ever-increasing joy, because she always unites us--if we allow her--more intimately to the Heart of Jesus. And as Jesus tells us above, within His Heart, He and Mary teach us the secret of joy.


Copyright © 1996 Shepherds of Christ.
Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted:
May be copied in its entirety, but neither re-typed nor edited. 
Revised: March 19, 1996
URL: http://www.Shepherds-of-Christ.org
 

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Saint Luke Productions Celebrates 30 Years



VANCOUVER, Wash., Oct. 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- Saint Luke Productions (stlukeproductions.com) and its sister company, Luke Films, are celebrating a major milestone - three decades of evangelizing the North American culture through spiritual and artistic theater and film. Thirty years ago, a young Shakespearean actor who loved the art of theater, decided to step into the genre of religious drama - a subject largely unexplored in our modern age. Founded by actor and film director Leonardo Defilippis, Saint Luke Productions will be commemorating the 30 year mark through the next year. 

The miracle of God's providence began on October 29, 1980, in a theater at the renowned and highly regarded Oregon Shakespeare Festival. That night, a host of professional secular actors and actresses, costumers, technicians, and theater staff came to witness actor Leonardo Defilippis perform The Gospel According to Luke. It was an enormous risk which bore fruit that day. Not only was a new calling born, but so too was a unique art form and an enduring ministry. 

Inspired by his correspondence with the Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her suggestion to "do something beautiful for God," Defilippis has had the gift of performing live for over a million people, and the dramas and films have been encouraging conversions, offering hope, and inspiring a way to deeply reflect on one's life. Audiences have included a wider variety than most actors could imagine - dignitaries, church hierarchy, prisoners, film actors, students, the dying, and concentration camp survivors, to name a few. 

Defilippis is grateful and humbled to have the spent his life bringing sanctity to the performing arts. "I could never have imagined," says Defilippis, "that this vision of creating dramas and films on the greatest lives of the human race, who have changed the course of history, would continue and flourish in a world where religious art is not appreciated, or in many cases, simply ignored. When I think back on how we started and where we are today, I clearly see that God blesses those who step out in trust and take risks for His sake. This is the miracle of faith and creation itself" says Defilippis. 

Saint Luke Productions' works include Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz, Saint Francis: Troubadour of God's Peace, John of the Cross, the Gospels of Luke and John, Song of Songs, The Confessions of Saint Augustine and Thérèse: The Story of a Soul. These films and live dramas have won numerous national and international awards and have been aired on cable and network stations for decades. His feature film THÉRÈSE, was the first major motion picture distributed solely by an independent Catholic film company, and funded entirely by donations. The current Saint Luke Productions project, VIANNEY, (vianneydrama.com) based on the life of St. John Vianney of France (1786 - 1859), recently recognized by Pope Benedict XVI as a model for all priests and laity, is in its second year on a successful nationwide tour. It has become one of the most popular one-person shows in America and continues on tour in the U.S., Canada, and internationally for another year. 

With an eye on the future, Defilippis is hopeful that the pendulum will swing with momentum, toward a culture that hungers for spiritual works of art, offering a personal encounter with Christ and His Saints. 

For information about Saint Luke Productions and their products, including a list of their current, live performance locations for VIANNEY (vianneydrama.com) visitstlukeproductions.com or call 1-800-683-2998.

 

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Pope will go to Croatia : CNS Blog

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican spokesperson, Father Federico Lombardi, confirmed reports that Pope Benedict XVI has accepted an invitation by the Croatian government and the church to visit the Balkan nation.

Priests pray around the glass sarcophagus of Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac in the cathedral of Zagreb. (file photo Oct. 1998)
Although there are no set dates, it’s expected he will travel to the capital, Zagreb, sometime in the spring.
He will also visit the tomb of Blessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac.
The cardinal served as archbishop of Zagreb and metropolitan of Croatia during both World War II and Marshal Tito’s term of dictatorship.
He strongly opposed the communist regime and was convicted in 1946 by the Yugoslavian communist government on charges he was a Nazi supporter. He died in 1960 while under house arrest. Those charges have been consistently denied by Croatian Catholics.
The church has said the cardinal was persecuted because he refused to break the Yugoslavian church’s allegiance to the Vatican by setting up a national Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II declared him a martyr and beatified him in 1998.

This is fantastic news. Now we are wondering if the Holy Father will visit Medjugorje, while he is in Croatia! He does not have to endorse the apparitions of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, but could go as a pilgrim, like the millions of his Catholic children do! Just a thought!
Deacon John

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Mary TV Daily Reflection 10/29/2010

Ivanka 2010

Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez in 2010

 

October 29, 2010

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! May this time be a time of prayer for you. My call, little children, desires to be for you a call to decide to follow the way of conversion; therefore, pray and seek the intercession of all the saints. May they be for you an example, an incentive and a joy towards eternal life. Thank you for having responded to my call."(October 25, 2010)

During the Youth Festival in August, 2010, Ivanka Elez shared with the pilgrims in the little park across from the church.  Ivanka spoke about her experiences with Our Lady, especially about the reality of heaven and the communion of saints.  Here is her brief and beautifully simple witness:

"I would like to greet you all with the most beautiful of greetings: Praised be Jesus and Mary. I am so pleased to be here with you today and even more pleased that you are ready to hear the message of Our Lady.

For 28 years I have been asking God the very same question: Why did you choose me? I know that I was given a great grace and also I know that at the same time I was given a great responsibility. I have accepted this as a gift but at the same time I have been praying all the time that God gives me strength to fulfill all the assignments he has for me.

"I lived with my family at Mostar at that time and as always, after school, I used to come to Medjugorje. This is what happened that day on June 24, 1981 when I saw Our Lady for the first time.  On that day, like every day, I was outside the village with Mirjana and we were waiting for other friends to come. I do not how long we were waiting but we got tired of that and then we started walking towards the houses.

"While we were walking towards the village I was really forced by something to look towards the hill and then I saw Our Lady. I said to Mirjana, 'Mirjana, I see Our Lady on the hill' but Mirjana said, 'Don't tell me these foolish things.'

"I followed Mirjana who was walking back to the village and then we met Milka, the sister of the visionary Marija. Milka saw that something was wrong with me and she asked me what happened, and I told the girls to come back with me, that I had seen Our Lady. We went back and then all three of us saw Our Lady. Vicka also came to us and then two boys, the two Ivans. The apparition kept calling us but none of us dared to climb the hill.

"Our Lady was four or five hundred meters away from us. She kept calling us and the emotions we felt in our hearts were huge. We felt all kinds of emotions in our heart and none of us dared to get closer to her.  Whoever we told that we saw Our Lady that evening, they did not believe us. They told us not to tell such things. That night was the longest night in my life. I was only 15 and I questioned myself the entire night whether what I saw was true or not.

"So the next day at the same hour we went back together to the apparition hill. Before we saw Our Lady we saw the light, three times, and when we finally got to her, I cannot describe that moment of meeting with Our Lady because we felt so much love, felt so secure, so much happiness in our hearts. When we came to her we saw this most beautiful person, maybe 19 or 20 years of age. She had a crown of stars, white veil, gray-ish dress, and she was standing on a cloud She had the most beautiful blue eyes and long black hair.

"I knew that it was the Blessed Mother. You see, two months before that day my mother had passed away. Because I knew in my heart that this was the Blessed Virgin Mary I asked her, 'Mother, where is my mother?' And she said, 'Do not worry, my child, your mother is with me'Our Lady told us, 'Do not worry. I'll pray with you always. I'll come again tomorrow.

"The word spread very quickly so that on the third day people started following us because they saw something was happening with us, so they gave us holy water to bless the apparition. On that third day when Our Lady came, Vicka blessed her and she said, 'If you come from God, stay. But if you do not come from God, please leave us.' And then Our Lady smiled back at us and said, 'I am the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace.'

"On that day Our Lady gave the first public message, which was the message of peace. As the days passed by Our Lady asked us to convert, to fast, to do some penance, to pray and go to confession and attend Holy Mass. These are the main messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje.

"From 1981 until 1985 I received the apparitions on a daily basis. During that period Our Lady dictated to me her biography. I wrote everything down. She also told me the future of the world and the future of our Church. When I have permission from Our Lady, this will be published.

"On the 7th May, 1985, I had the last daily apparition and that was the longest apparition that I have ever had because Our Lady stayed with me one hour. On that day Our Lady gave me the final and tenth secret and I was told that I would not have the apparitions on a daily basis anymore, but Our Lady promised me that she was going to appear to me once a year on June 25.

"From 1985 to today I received the apparition once every year on June 25. But at that last daily apparition I was given the greatest gift, not just for myself but for the entire world. And because every single human being is asking, 'Is there a life after this life on earth?' I am standing before you here today, I am standing before the entire world and I can easily answer that question. Yes, there is a life after this life, because by God and Our Lady I was given this great grace, that I was able to see my late mother during that apparition time and my mom told me: 'My dear child, I'm proud of  you.'   

"For 28 years Our Lady has been telling us which road we need to take in our life. She is showing us the way and we have to decide which road we are going to take in our life.  Our Lady has given a different mission to each one of us visionaries. My mission is to pray for families. So every day I pray for families.

"The last apparition I had was this year on June 25 and that apparition lasted ten minutes and Our Lady spoke to me about the tenth secret and she advised for all of us to become apostles of peace and to pray for peace. Our Lady ended her message with 'Peace, peace, peace.'

"Let us be reminded in prayer. Let us pray for each other. Our Lady wants us to be in peace, not to be afraid, to know that she is there for us all of the time.  Finally, when you leave Medjugorje I would like you to take peace and love from Medjugorje back to your home and to your country. Thank you all for everything."

(You can also read this testimony at http://ministryvalues.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1227&Itemid=125 )

Have a beautiful and restful weekend, and remember that Our Lady is with us!

In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan

 

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[MaryVitamin] Fifth Luminous

 

Mary Vitamin for October 29th
 
Topic: The Fifth Luminous Mystery: The Institution of the Eucharist
 
Quote:
Father John Hardon, S.J.
"Without the Blessed Virgin, we would not have the Holy Eucharist."
http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Mariology/Mariology_010.htm
 
Meditation:
Father Hardon explains the reason God chose to born of a Virgin, born as true man was to have a human body. He desired to freely embrace pain, suffering and death not only to bear our guilt but also that He may remain with us until the end of time in the Holy Sacrament of His Body and Blood.
 
"No tongue is able to declare the greatness of the love that Jesus bears to every soul: and therefore this Spouse, when he would leave this earth, in order that his absence might not cause us to forget him, left us as a memorial this Blessed Sacrament, in which he himself remained; for he would not that there should be any other pledge to keep alive our remembrance of him than he himself."
St. Peter of Alcantara
 
To fulfill the Lord's Passion-ate desire to share in our sufferings and to shoulder our guilt, the Lord required the cooperation of the humble Virgin. As Bl. Teresa of Calcutta says "No Mary No Jesus."
 
What is the difference between the Lord, the Son of Mary, who walked the earth 2000 years ago healing, teaching, performing miracles and the Lord of the Blessed Sacrament? Father Hardon says the only difference resides in us. He is the same.
 
"This Sacrament really contains You, O my God, You whom the Angels adore, in whose presence the Spirits and mighty Powers tremble. Oh! if we could only see You clearly as they do, with what reverence would we approach this Sacrament, with what humility would we receive You."
St. Angela of Foligno
 
Resolution:
If I can make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament today, I will recall the Real Presence of the Lord is no different today than it was 2000 years ago.
 
If I cannot visit, I will call upon the Lord's presence in the Tabernacle and make a Spiritual communion. In prayer, after my spiritual Communion, I will remember the only difference resides in me.
 
Marian Vow:
Father Gabriel Allegra, O.F.M.
"This is an undeniable fact: Marian souls are and become Eucharistic souls and Eucharistic souls are and become Marian souls."
Mary’s Immaculate Heart, A Way to God (Franciscan Herald Press: 1985), 49.
 
I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 
Thanks be to God for graces received.
 

__._,_.___

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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Angels and Demons: Facts, NOT Fiction:

Tribulation Times

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/september.asp?version=63&startmmdd=0101

October 29, 2010 

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

(Heb 12:1-2) And therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us: Looking on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who, having joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and now sitteth on the right hand of the throne of God.



NEWS ARTICLE: A holier 'ween: Some stress saints over sinners at holiday

LINK: Night of Light Campaign

FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Father Corapi:
 Angels and Demons: Facts, NOT Fiction an excerpt from the book, "Ever Ancient Ever New" by Father John Corapi

There have been a number of television shows, movies and various articles on the subject of angels and the demonic in recent years.  Most of this material is pure fiction, yet the part that is not fiction is an acknowledgment that they both exist.

As part of the Church's catechesis on creation it is necessary to speak of both the angels and the devil, Satan, or the demonic.  "The Apostles' Creed professes that God is the 'Creator of heaven and earth.' The Nicene Creed makes it explicit that this profession includes 'all that is, seen and unseen" (Catechism #325).

The profession of faith of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) affirms that God from the beginning of time made at once (simul) out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is, the angelic and the earthly, and then (deinde) the human creature who as it were shares in both orders, being composed of spirit and body." (#327)

The Catechism clearly asserts that "the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls 'angels' is a truth of the faith" (#328), the witness of Scripture being as unanimous as tradition.  In other words, there is no question about it: the angels are real, not the figment of someone's medieval imagination.  It is a truth of the faith.  This quite simply means that for a Catholic, one must accept this as part of God's revelation.  One may not understand it, but one must accept it on faith, and then seek the understanding that faith can ultimately bring.  Although, it being understood, that we'll never understand in this life God and all his mighty works perfectly.  We would have o be God to understand him perfectly.

The angels are creatures, pure spiritual beings whose mission or office is to be messengers and servants of God (#329).  "As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, [with the exception of the Mother of God] as the splendor of their glory bears witness." (#330)

The Lord Jesus Christ is the author, center, and end of all creation including the angelic world.  They are "his angels." As the Catechism teaches, "they belong to him because they were created through and for him...They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan." (#331)

The existence and activity of the angels is more than obvious in both the Old and New Testaments.  To say, by the way, that they are mere "literary figures" in Scripture in the name of so-called biblical scholarship is an affront to and an attack upon true scholarship.  All Scripture has to be read as a totality, in the light of tradition, and applying the analogy of faith.  When this is done it is clear that the Church's teaching s constant in that angels are really beings, not mere literary devices.  They have played a key role in salvation history.

...[E]ach and every person benefits from the ministry of the angels.  The Church has long taught that we have a "guardian angel" to guide and protect us through life.  "From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their (the angels') watchful care and intercession.  Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.

The existence and malevolent activity of the devil or Satan and the fallen angels or demons is likewise a teaching of the church that must be accepted by all.  "The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing." (#391)

Through the misuse of the gifts of intellect and free will the devil (Lucifer) and those who went his way chose irrevocably to reject God and his reign.  Their choice is irrevocable because of their higher nature.  Men get a second chance, and many more than that, but the angels clearly saw what they were doing.  Hence, "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death." (#393)

Christ came to cast out the evil one and his works of lying and death and did so through the humble obedience which led him always to accept the Father's will, even unto the death of the cross.  The essence of the diabolic is that pride and arrogance which leads to disobedience.  This leads to fracturing and division.  Stepping outside of the truth who is God himself results in this division.

Those who are most powerful in christ through his Church, which is called to fight against "the liar and father of lies, the murderer from the beginning" (cf..  Jn 8:2f) (the devil), are those who are most humbly obedient to God's authority working through the church.  The devil can do nothing when he comes up against those who obey most humbly Christ's church and her teachings.  On the other hand, he is most powerful and untiringly active working through those who imagine themselves to be above the Church's teaching authority.  Humility leads to obedience, which leads to life.  Pride leads to disobedience, which leads to death.  This is the lesson of the book of Genesis.  It is the lesson of the cross.

With the angels of the Lord we humbly and obediently praise and give thanks to the Father through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit for all that God's creative and redemptive power has wrought.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

32. As mere hearsay does not provoke violent desire to taste what the eye has not seen, so those who are chaste in body get great relief through their ignorance.       


Prayer request?  Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com

This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.

 

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We Are Called to Proclaim That God Exists:

Medjugorje Witness


 

Fr. William Elder of the Archdiocese of New York gave the following homily in St. James Church in Medjugorje on October 21, 2010:

Welcome to Medjugorje. My name is Father William Elder and I am a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. I have been here, I may have lost count, but over 30 times. And permit me, I just want to savor this moment. It has been about a year and a half since I have been here last. It is so good to be back. I feel, in so many ways, that this is home. In so many ways, this is Our Lady’s intentions, and in so many ways, we experience ourselves here as a family. Now, you don’t know me. Your have just learned my name, that is about it. A good number of you know me because I have heard your confessions, but other than that, we don’t know each other. But yet, there is this tremendous grace, there is the tremendous presence, and it is Our Lady which makes us all one family.

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Fr. William Elder, from New York, celebrating the English Mass in St. James Church on October 21, 2010.

I have to say, on a serious note, as an American priest, speaking for myself, as an American, and for you Irish and for the pilgrims from Canada and elsewhere, we not only share this grace, we share a burden, and we share a sorrow. It has been going on now for a many number of years, and it is very much connected with our celebration today of priests, and you know what it is. Those of you from Ireland have experienced more recently what we in the United States have been going through – this terrible scandal. And, the result of that has been a loss of faith on the part of some. And, the result of that has been, as you and I know, it seems like it is a field day when it comes to attacking the priesthood itself. That is what is under attack, and you and I today need to pray for priests.


What are priests about? Priests carry out what Our Blessed Mother said when She first appeared here. Very early on, the Blessed Mother said very simply, and I have repeated this so many times here and elsewhere in homilies about Medjugorje: “I have come to tell you that God exists.”


Why are there so many attacks on the priesthood, beyond what is justified? Obviously there is a lot of justification, and there is a lot of repentance that needs to take place, but there have been attacks beyond that. Why? Because, the priests proclaim, as the Blessed Mother has, “I have come to tell you that God exists.” The priest, in all his frailty, in all his humanity, is our key to Christ and to God. So, we have all these attacks on priests and others.


One of the reasons our Blessed Mother calls us to Medjugorje is that we need to remember God exists. God is alive. God calls us and God chooses us. Every one of us is called to proclaim that God exists. In a particular way, priest and others are called to proclaim in a very public way that God exists. I brought with me, to this Mass, two visual aides. They don’t want me to talk about them, but I am going to mention a little bit about them. I won’t even mention their names. They are two members of the Community of the Sisters of Life, a religious community founded by John Cardinal O’Connor in the Archdiocese of New York nineteen years ago. They were founded to proclaim the Gospel of Life. The Gospel that proclaims every human life has infinite value to Our Lord. They spend their lives in prayer, in penance, in fasting, and in working to build up life in many different ways. They are here to proclaim publicly that God exists. Why would a young woman choose to give up a life in the world to live a very disciplined life, to spend her life in a very quiet way, usually hidden, a life of self-sacrifice, a life of giving? Why? Because God exists! Because she has experienced God in her own life. Why are all these priests and deacons here in the sanctuary? Because God exists!


We have all been touched by God’s love, and we proclaim to you, and Our Blessed Mother proclaims to you, and you yourselves are called to proclaim that God is not some remote entity. God is very near to us, in our hearts. Christ is very near to us. So we come here to Medjugorje to experience, not just the fact of God’s existence, but to experience something of Who He is. The Incarnate Son of God proclaims, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing. There is a baptism which I must be baptized, and how great is My anguish until it is accomplished.” Those are the words of the Incarnate Son of God. He came to be close to us. He wants to set us on fire. That is why we are here, to receive the grace of God’s forgiveness. It is such a privilege for me and all the priests to hear the confessions of the pilgrims. We priests know, this is where the power is. This is where the fire is. This is where God sets our hearts on fire. The Lord Jesus Christ came to give His life for us, so great is God’s love. The Holy Spirit is the fire of God’s love. That is our God and He calls us to let Him come close to us. So He can set our hearts on fire with His love.


Here in Medjugorje, Our Blessed Mother asks us to open our hearts so God can give us the riches of His gifts: the gift of His forgiveness and healing, the gift of new life. God calls us to open our hearts, through prayer, fasting, and the Rosary, and let God come and gift us with the fullness of His riches. Then He calls all of us to proclaim that God exists! - Fr. William Elder

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From Medjugorje.com: To some, the idea of proclaiming that God exists is a sweet one. However, according to Our Lady's messages from Medjugorje, it is something that should be a change of mentality and a belief that spurs us to action. A Friend of Medjugorje wrote in Look What Happened While You Were Sleeping the following, which is true not only for office holders and people of the United States, but for every person in every nation:
 

Many office holders today publicly profess belief in Christianity, but their actions are atheistic, thereby proving what they truly profess in their heart. In essence, an atheist would not have a proper conscience to be credible in upholding the oaths, testimonies, decisions, and judgements rendered. This shows us that no one needs to be sensitive to an atheist’s belief or accommodate them on a level constitutional playing field. This statement of not accommodating atheists on a “level constitutional playing field” may stun many mentalities. If it does, you must change your mentality, adapting back to the old mentalities that guided this nation right up to a few decades ago. God is God. He exists, and for a professed atheist to believe that He does not exist, does not cause God’s existence to cease. So who do we honor? The atheist or God? Who do we respect? The atheist’s belief that God doesn’t exist or those who believe He does exist? Both cannot be accommodated equally. One will offend; one will be offended. It is one way or the other. So whose way is to win out? Throughout the last decades, it has been the atheist’s mentality. However, it is time to make all things right. An atheist does not have an equal right to prevail in his views or to be accommodated in law. He has the right to excuse himself, nothing more. The Christian attitude toward the atheist or non-believer is to be one of love and respect. The atheist has a free will to choose not to believe. He does not have a right to impose his belief and mentality into our laws or institutions.


On the other hand, as a Christian nation, we have a right to impose Christian principles into our laws and institutions and to expect behavior based on them. It is to the advantage of the atheist, pagan, Christian and those of all other faiths to be governed in all of society by the “principles of Christianity.” It is to the disadvantage of atheists, pagans, Christians, and those of other faiths to be governed in all society by atheistic and pagan beliefs. There is no need for studies and research to examine this truth. In former times, all abided by Christian principles, even those who did not believe or practice a belief, and society was generally safe, wholesome, and righteous. Now many abide by secular atheistic principles and society is unsafe, loathsome, and unrighteous. The situation is now rapidly digressing into a grave crisis for our nation, endangering our continuance.


Taken from the book Look What Happened While You Were Sleeping, by A Friend of Medjugorje, Chapter 8, The Silent Majority Has Been Silent Too Long

 


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Age of the Two Hearts

Tell My People

Medal of the Immaculate Conception (aka Miracu...

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Jesus: "My beloved priest-companion, I have allowed you to experience in extraordinary fashion the riches contained in My Heart and My Mother's Heart. I desire that you tell all My people about these riches. I desire that My people consecrate themselves to My Sacred Heart and to Mary's Immaculate Heart. My people are living in the beginnings of the age of the Two Hearts.

"After the time of the purification is completed, this new era of the Church and the world will become firmly established. This era will be characterized by the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. All those who consecrate themselves to My Heart and to My Mother's Heart will help to establish this glorious new age. I am Lord and Master. Please listen to My urgent request. Within Our Hearts you will experience the love and security, the peace and the joy, which you all desire. I love My people with a tremendous love, and in My love I give them this message!"

Sacred Heart (of Christ) and Immaculate Heart ...

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Reflection: This is the Age of the Two Hearts! The surest road to sanctity in these our times is through consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In making this consecration, and striving with God's grace to live it as best we can each day, we are contributing to the establishment of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and to the arrival of the reign of the Sacred Heart.


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Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted:
May be copied in its entirety, but neither re-typed nor edited. 
Revised: March 19, 1996
URL: http://www.Shepherds-of-Christ.org

 

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[MaryVitamin] The Transfiguration

 

Mary Vitamin for October 28th
 
Topic:  The Fourth Luminous Mystery -- The Transfiguration 
 October the Month of the Rosary

Quote:
John Paul II
"The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration."
Rosarium Virginis Mariae #21
 
Meditation:
It is said in Holy Scripture that the privileged disciples "saw his glory." In the Transfiguration, the veil that hid the Lord's divinity was lifted.This vision was pleasing to St. Peter that he cried out, "Oh please do not let us ever leave this holy and sacred place! Let us build tents so that we may remain in your glorious presence!"
 
Within the walls of a family, there are few secrets, fewer veils to hide behind. Even great men of the world when home are unveiled in the presence of their immediate family.
 
Our Lady lived in the Lord's direct company from the time of the Annunciation. She had (and has) an unmatched relationship with the Trinity from the beginning of Her Immaculate Conception. One would have to suppose, the many veils that hid the glory of the Lord to the ordinary person were peeled away by the length and depth of their relationship. Had Our Lady grown accustomed to seeing past the ordinary veil that hid Him? Does the extraordinary unveiling of the Transfiguration give us a hint into Our Lady's ability to know her Son?
 
Resolution:
Do I recognize the Lord in my family members? Do I try to live in the presence of God? Do I see inconveniences and struggles as a way of uniting myself to the Lord on the Cross? Do I pass my time with my eyes ever toward the tabernacle?
 
Today when I pass my religious image, I will ask Our Lady
"Help me to notice the Divine Presence in my life.
Lift the veil that hides Him from me."
 
Marian Vow:
Today, I will recall the day of my Marian vow as a day of Transfiguration. The words were said on a specific day. Upon the completion of the ceremony, it seems one returns to his ordinary life with nothing changed. The unseen reality is now there is another soul to animate my actions because all belongs to her.
This Marian character is not an act of devotion made or recited in a determined moment but is a soul found in each part of our body and presiding over our every thought, word and deed.Marian Seraphic Pathways, Directory #39
 
I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 
Thanks be to God for graces received.
 
Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate & AirMaria


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Mary TV Daily Reflection 10/28/2010

Vienna

Ivan and Marija in Vienna, 09/23/10

 

October 28, 2010
Saints Simon and Jude

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! May this time be a time of prayer for you. My call, little children, desires to be for you a call to decide to follow the way of conversion; therefore, pray and seek the intercession of all the saints. May they be for you an example, an incentive and a joy towards eternal life. Thank you for having responded to my call."(October 25, 2010)

Our Lady invites us to the way of conversion with such seriousness and perseverance!  She just doesn't give up!  Ivan is well acquainted with the Mother Mary's untiring persistence!  In Vienna he spoke about Our Lady's call to conversion and prayer:

Christian:  "When I came to Medjugorje for the first time, I got a virus from the family I was living with.  It was not a sick virus, but it was a habit that they had.  They fasted on Friday. And it was very easy to fast in Medjugorje.  But when I came home I noticed it wasn't that easy to fast for a day.   And I have a question, dear Ivan.  On the 14th of August, 1984, you received a special message, and extraordinary message, that shows me specifically how seriously Our Lady takes us and how serious it is for Our Lady that we pray and fast.  Can you tell us something about it?"

Ivan:  "Prayer, fasting and penance, forgiveness, those are the key messages through which Our Lady is calling us.  Our Lady says, 'Dear children, may prayer be joy for you. Dear children, he who prays must not be afraid of the future.'  Prayer with joy, that is hard sometimes.  Our Lady knows that we are not perfect.  Our Lady knows that it is hard to concentrate in prayer,  that we have difficulties putting away the thoughts that burden us and problems that crush us.  The Mother knows all that.  But the Mother invites us that we may enter and be enrolled in the school of prayer and that we may learn every day in her school of prayer.  We need to do the homework every day.  We receive homework every day and we need to receive it and fulfill it every day.  For me personally, every day for those 29 years, I received homework every day from Our Lady.  And I need to do it, to do my homework, as well as I can.  I try to do what she asks of my life, of my family, and I must put it into my life and my family.  

But in truth, we need to know how to forgive.  Harmony is a great gift of God.  Without forgiveness there is no healing, neither a spiritual nor a physical healing is possible.  We need to know how to forgive.  That is why Our Lady asks us so much to forgive.  In prayer and through prayer, we become able to forgive.  Our Lady calls us, endlessly she calls us throughout the years, she calls us to pray.  How many times did she repeat, "Pray, pray, pray, my dear children"!  Not like a machine, not with the lips, and not looking at the clock so that we may be finished as soon as possible. She asks us to decide to pray, that we may decide for God, that we may take time apart for God.  May we place Him in the first place in our life and walk with Him into the future.  

"Our Lady says, 'My dear children, may prayer be joy for you.'  Mother calls us to prayer with the heart.  It means to pray in love and with love, pray with our whole being, that our prayer may become an encounter with Jesus, that our prayer becomes a rest with Him, that our prayer of the heart may be full of peace and joy and come out like that from our hearts.  Pray with love.  

"In 1984 as the question already was asked, I prepared myself for Mass in the church and I wanted to go to the Rosary before the apparition.  Our Lady came into my room. I was surprised!  Our Lady said, 'Bring this message to the priests, for the world, that everybody in the world may fast on bread and water on Wednesday and Friday.  And that they may pray the three parts of the Rosary.' Our Lady calls us to fasting and to penance.  What is fasting?  Many think and say, what do we get by fasting?  What good comes from fasting, what does it bring me?  Fasting is not a loss.  Fasting is something to receive. Through fasting we cleanse ourselves, we strengthen our spirits, we strengthen our faith.  We become more secure in our peace.   I can compare fasting with the sentence of the grain of wheat in the Gospel.  That grain we must throw into the earth so it may die.  Then it will bear fruit later.  What does it mean when the grain falls on the hard ground?  No fruit.  Our Lady wishes that the fruit will grow in us.  God asks little of us and gives us 100 fold.  Let us accept fasting and penance with love.  Everything we receive and attempt in love will be much easier for us." (Visionary Ivan in Vienna, Sept. 23, 2010)

We want to be the kind of ground that makes the wheat grow!  Prayer prepares us to receive and fasting makes us soft and nutrient-filled ground!  This is the environment that makes for conversion, as Our Lady asks!  Thank you, Ivan, for your witness!  Thank you, Mother for persistently knocking on our hard heads until we understand!


In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan  

 

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