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Mother Mary said at Fatima: "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the sure way which will lead you to God." St. Thomas Aquinas said: "The things we love tell us who we are!" With that in mind, I will try to post each day something about Our Blessed Lady, items about the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and public domain Catholic books too! I pray you enjoy my ministry! Below are two albums of pictures that I created: 1. Our grand daughter Adrianna. 2. Tears of Mary!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Mary TV Daily Reflection 8/1/2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Mary TV Daily Reflection 7/31/2012
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Purgatory is also a matter of justice.
MARIA SIMMA: COMMUNICATING WITH THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
By: Virginia G Guzman-Manzo, MD
A certain woman by a name of Maria Simma was favored with an extraordinary charism, that of being visited by the souls in Purgatory. She was interviewed by Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje in 1997. At that time Maria was 82 years. She given this rare charism to communicate with the souls in purgatory when she was twenty-five years old and since then had been visited by spirits giving her a lot of information about Purgatory.
The following questions and answers are culled and summarized from a small book about the interview of Sister Emmanuel with Maria Simma and also the comments of Sister Emmanuel about Purgatory.
Who is Maria Simma? Maria Simma was a simple woman who lived alone in her small house in a small village of Sonntag in the mountains of Austria. She was a devout Catholic and lived in poverty and great humility throughout her life.
How did she come about this charism? It was in 1940. One night at about 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, she woke up and saw a male stranger walking slowly back and forth inside her room. She did not feel afraid and asked, “Who are you? What do you want?” There was no reply and he continued to walk back and forth. She shouted, “Go away!” Still there was no reply. So Maria jumped out of bed and tried to grab him but she grasped only air. He continued pacing and then she grabbed him again but she grasped only emptiness. He eventually left. When he came back the next night, Maria asked him “What do you want from me?” He replied, “Have 3 masses celebrated for me and I will be delivered.” So she understood it was a soul from Purgatory.” She had 3 masses offered for him and he never came back. Since then she had been visited by different spirits who would ask her to pray for them. She learned from these souls many things about Purgatory.
What kind of prayers do the spirits usually ask? In most cases, they ask to have Masses celebrated for them. They also ask for prayers in the forms of the rosary and Stations of the Cross. They need our prayers in order that they may shorten their stay in Purgatory and move on to heaven.
What is the most effective means to deliver the souls from Purgatory? It is the Mass because it is Christ who offers himself for love of us. It is the offering of Christ himself to God, the most beautiful offering. Aside from the Mass and prayers already mentioned, other very powerful means are the offering of our sufferings in this earth, our penance, fasting, renunciations and mortifications. They will not only help the souls in Purgatory but they can also take the place of our punishment in Purgatory, thus making us pay our debt in advance so that we can go directly to Heaven or at least lessened our time of purification.
Is the suffering in Purgatory more painful than the greatest suffering on earth? Do the souls in Purgatory, nevertheless, have joy and hope in the midst of their suffering? Yes, the pain is greater than the greatest suffering on earth. In fact, the suffering is similar to that in Hell – the pain of sense and the pain of loss – but unlike in Hell where there is no hope of ever being relieved, the souls in Purgatory know that the time will come when their purification will end and they will eventually move on to heaven. That hope gives them a certain amount of joy and somehow lessens the pain.
Why can’t the soul in Purgatory just pray for themselves instead of asking us to pray for them? The souls in Purgatory can no longer pray for themselves. They should have done that while they were still living. In Purgatory, the time or mercy is over; it is now the time of justice. However, God is so kind and merciful, that he will hear our prayers if we intercede for them. At the same time, the saints in heaven are also praying for the souls in Purgatory.
Why is there need for purgatory? If we die in a state of sanctifying grace and are free of any stain of sin, we can avoid Purgatory and go straight to heaven. Those dying with mortal sin, rejecting to be reconciled with God and refusing to repent up to the last moment of their dying breath will go to hell. Those who die without mortal sin but not purely free of venial sins or attachment to sin will go to heaven but they will need purification first to be fit to see God.
Sister Emmanuel has a good way of explaining Purgatory: Let us suppose that one day a door opens, and a splendid being appears with an overwhelming and fascinating beauty never seen on this earth, full of light and radiance. What is amazing is this being shows that he is madly in love with you with a love you have never known before. And you sense that he has a great desire to draw himself to you. At the same time you also sense a great desire to draw yourself to him and to throw yourself into his arms. But suddenly you realize that you haven’t washed for months and months, that you smell bad, that your hair is matted and greasy and your clothes stained with dirt and mud. Then you say to yourself, “No, I can’t present myself like this to him. I must wash, take a good bath, change my clothes, make myself smell good and then I will come back straight away.”
Purgatory is exactly like this. It is a delay imposed by our impurity, a delay before God’s embrace which causes intense suffering. It is said that at death, your life will be presented to you as if in a film and you will be aghast when you realize your unworthiness. Suddenly, you yourself will be in a hurry to run to Purgatory for purification because you would not want that delay to be one second longer. It is the soul itself upon realizing its unworthiness to want to hurry up his cleansing in Purgatory so that it can embrace its God at the earliest possible time.
Does our Lord Jesus ever visit Purgatory? How about our Blessed Mother and the angels? According to Maria Simma, no soul has told her that Jesus goes to Purgatory. However, it is the Mother of God who comes. The guardian angels of each soul are there, and also St. Michael, to give comfort. However, no saints in heaven go there.
What are the means to take on earth so that we can avoid Purgatory and go straight to heaven? Always be in the state of grace and avoid sin at all times. If we have the misfortune to fall into sin, we hurry to have our sins forgiven at the Sacrament of Confession and to have sincere repentance. We follow the commandments of God and the teachings of the Church especially love of God and neighbor. We avail of the instruments given to us by God for our salvation such as the Sacraments, prayers and mortifications. We must practice the virtues especially the virtues of charity and humility.
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Responding to International Religious Freedom Report, Rep. Smith Calls for Sanctions on Worst Violators
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- In response to the release of the State Department's annual International Religious Freedom Report, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) expressed concern about the administration's failure to prioritize religious freedom in the face of extreme abuse, as well as its refusal to condition aid on improvements in religious freedom.
Covering nearly every country of the world, the International Religious Freedom Report was mandated by Congress to document religious freedom violations so that the U.S. government could defend religious freedom more vigorously and sanction the worst violators. The International Religious Freedom Act enacted in 1998 was authored by Rep. Frank Wolf (VA-10) and cosponsored by Rep. Smith.
"The new report documents deteriorating religious freedom conditions last year in countries like China, Egypt, and Vietnam, and Iran," said Smith. "The real question is, what will the administration do differently than simply dialogue with abusers? Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, it can and should move quickly to designate Countries of Particular Concern and attach appropriate sanctions. Unfortunately, despite Secretary Clinton's words today, this administration has for almost four years shown very little commitment to promoting religious freedom."
Regarding religions freedom violations in China and Egypt, Smith said, "Reusing existing sanctions, as has in the past been done with China, misses the point and fails to achieve results." Previous administration actions had re-designated an already existing sanction instead of applying a new sanction specifically for religious freedom in China. New information in the report confirms what China's religious believers and the human rights community have been telling us about control, harassment, jailings, and persecution -- religious freedom in China has deteriorated. On Egypt, the Report documented the culture of impunity created by the Egyptian government for crimes against the Coptic community. "The administration's dialogue with the Egyptian government on religious freedom has failed to achieve results, and conditions have gotten worse for the Copts," said Smith. "Egypt's failure to take even the most basic action to ensure justice for and protect its Coptic citizens from crimes, including the abduction and forced conversion of Coptic women, should mean a cut in aid dollars," Smith said. Congress attached conditions to the $1.3 billion in aid to Egypt, but they were waived by Secretary Clinton this year.
Rep. Smith is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, as well as the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
Please Excuse My Inquiry... Pride?
Please Excuse My Inquiry... Pride?
July 30, 2012 A.D.
July 30, 2012 A.D.
Our Lady's recent message, given July 25, 2012 sparked a few questions of Our Lady's usage of the word 'pride.'
A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit, lands on the cross above Medjugorje visionary Marija's chapel, The Chapel of the Two Hearts, July 29, 2012. It was in this Chapel that Our Lady gave the recent July 25, 2012 message:
Let us pray to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth to understand Our Lady's words.
A few questions were raised about Our Lady's usage of the word 'pride.'
"Dear Caritas, Thank you for the July 25th message. Please excuse my inquiry In the message, ""Pray that God may give you the strength so that hope and pride may always reign in your heart and life because you are God's children.." the word 'PRIDE" is what it is? We know that there is a healthy pride, like," I am proud to be a Roman Catholic, or I am proud to be an American.." The recent message of Our Lady, " Pride has come to rule." A negative pride, or arrogance .. your humble field angel..."
B.T., Illinois
Also, from Singapore:
"I am greatly confused by the word "Pride" in the message. "Pray that God may give you the strength so that hope and pride may always reign in your heart and life because you are God's children and carriers of His hope to this world that is without joy in the heart,..." How could Our Lady want "pride...to reign in our heart and life..? If I understand correctly, that is NOT her hallmark but that of her enemy, satan!"
J.C., Singapore
And another from the US:
"Regarding the July 25th message, specifically: "Pray that God may give the strength so that hope and pride may always reign in your heart and life...". I do not understand why the word "pride" is used. It has been my understanding that pride is against God, and that is why satan had to leave Heaven. Explain, please, why we should pray for the strength to be carriers of peace and goodness in this world so that hope and pride reign in our hearts and lives... Thank you."
D.G., USA
At first glance, it can be difficult to understand Our Lady's usage of the world 'pride.' A Friend of Medjugorje, the founder of Caritas, has given his entire life to the messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje. It is every breathing moment of his life to not only understand and live Our Lady's words, but to help others understand them. So strongly was his discernment that this was God's will for him, that he stated almost 27 years ago, that he would die before denying Our Lady's apparitions. His trust in Our Lady, that She will never lead us the wrong way, along with prayer and sacrifice, through God's grace, makes the understanding of Our Lady's words more clear. And so we invite you to listen to A Friend of Medjugorje as he dives deep into this message, on a Radio WAVE broadcast, to bring clarity and insight that you may not see until now. Do not let this month go by without going deep into this July 25, 2012 message of Our Lady. It is so rich in wisdom. Click below to listen to the Radio WAVE show titled, "From in the Dumpster to Our Lady."
Copyright SJP Lic. Caritas of Birmingham. Used with permission. All information contained on this site including all text, images, sound tracks, logos, including all matter which may not be viewable to the user, and all matter which, may not be, or is downloadable and/or printable, are protected under international copyright and cannot be used without permission from Caritas of Birmingham, other than non-commercial personal use and/or for positive personal promotional purposes of said material.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Cardinal Burke’s Candid Interview On The Society of St. Pius X
| Cardinal Burke’s Candid Interview On The Society of St. Pius X
Subscriber Note: This is a video, please click HERE to watch. http://www.gloria.tv/?media=315454
Please say a quick prayer right now for the reunification. Thanks and God bless! |
[video] Saint Hildegard of Bingen
http://www.romereports.com/ St. Hildegard of Bingen is known for many things. But this coming October 7th, she'll also be known as a Doctor of the Catholic Church. More |
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Our Lady of America Newsletter
Our Lady of America Newsletter
July, 28 2012
Gratitude & Prayers
Vatican City, 27 July 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, U.S.A., as archbishop of San Francisco (area 6,023, population 1,866,000, Catholics 448,000, priests 408, permanent deacons 78, religious 854), U.S.A. He succeeds Archbishop George H. Niederauer, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
Thank The Holy Trinity, Our Lady of America, and His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, for the appointment of The Most Reverend Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, an experienced Apostle for the Virtue of Purity, as Archbishop of San Francisco. Please pray for Archbishop Cordileone every day!
Archbishop Elect Salvatore Cordileone
Please spread the word to family and friends and encourage them to sign-up for their own copy of this free newsletter by clicking here.
B.V.M. Our Lady of America
C/O Langsenkamp Family Apostolate
9100 Purdue Rd #400
Indianapolis, IN 46268-1180
B.V.M. Our Lady of America is a not-for-profit activity of the BVM Foundation, Inc. Batesville, IN 47006
BVM Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation.
www.OurLadyofAmerica.org
The Divine Indwelling and the Holy Eucharist
Our work in Heaven Josefa will be to teach Souls how to live united to Me
Not as if I were far away.......but in them!
For by grace I do dwell in them.
And in Holy Communion, My Sacred Humanity becomes, so to speak, incarnate in them.
If My chosen ones lived thus united to Me
And really knew Me
How much good they would be able to do to many souls who are far from Me.
Your prayers, your sacrifices can expiate the sins of your brothers and sisters,
And obtain the grace of purification for them that they too
may become fitting sanctuaries for the Indwelling of the Blessed Trinity!
Our Lord to Sister Josefa Menendez from the Masterpiece, "The Way of Divine Love"
You can receive complimentary materials to make your Consecration to God through Mary’s Immaculate Heart (important spiritual protection at this time in salvation history) at myconsecration.org/total-consecration/make-your-consecration.html... where you can also learn about Our Lady of Las Lajas.
You can learn more about our Lady of Fatima at www.wafusa.org.
God Bless you and your work,
Deacon Bob Tony
Deacon Bob Ellis Anthony Mullen
National Coordinator MyConsecration.org
World Apostolate of Fatima, USA visit us at: www.myconsecration.org
A Pontifical Association of the Faithful
visit us at: www.wafusa.org
From Spirit Daily: RETREATS IN AUTUMN FOCUSING ON PROPHECY
RETREATS IN AUTUMN FOCUSING ON PROPHECY, AFTERLIFE ANNOUNCED FOR CHICAGO AND NEW JERSEY-NEW YORK AREAS
Our autumn retreat schedule is being set and will start with two of the nation's largest cities: Chicago and the New York-New Jersey area. (God willing.)
The retreat in Chicago will be in the northern suburb of Mundelein so that it is accessible not only to Chicago Catholics but also those in cities such as Rockford, Milwaukee, and Green Bay. The retreat near New York will be in Saddle Brook, New Jersey (which is accessible not only to much of New Jersey and New York City-Long Island but also Upstate New York, Connecticut, and eastern Pennsylvania and to anyone else who wants to join us as we discuss new issues that have risen of late and that are of particular significance to these regions).
Both events will have as speaker Catholic author Michael H. Brown (who is completing a new book about prophecy). He will be offering anew presentation and new perspectives and information.
Why all the storms in the Midwest and Northeast -- and now, drought (and sometimes quakes)?
Uncanny clouds?
Why all the reports of things that seem like signs in the sky? And has there been an eruption of all sorts of spiritual phenomena? Why all the (alleged) strange sounds across America?
Those matters will be part of our focus -- along, more importantly, with in-depth discussions of matters that are crucial to us at a deep, personal level: spiritual protection as "warfare" ramps up, healing our families, and the afterlife: what happens after we die, as revealed during apparitions of our Blessed Mother and near-death episodes. Do we now have a picture of what Heaven is like? Who gets there? How? Why? (Some new information, here also.)
The Chicago retreat will be on the Feast Day of Saint Michael the Archangel (September 29) and will include as always deep deliverance and family-healing prayers while New Jersey-New York will be on the anniversary of the great Fatima sun miracle, October 13.
Both are Saturdays. Both retreats will, as usual, span the day. God-willing, they will be followed by retreats in Portland, Seattle, and possibly Western New York or Kansas City. We are all in a remarkable time -- witnesses to a huge drought, record rain, storms that are 700 miles wide: tempests that have struck at the heart of the nation's capital; a quake that cracked the very foundation of the Washington Monument (as too the collapse of the World Trade Center also caused crack in another emblem of the U.S., the Federal House at Wall Street, where George Washington was inaugurated).
It was Washington who once supposedly had a vision of three huge threats to the Republic, one of which is yet to come and seemed to imply a menace from abroad or even an invasion. (Did also an apparition of Mary in the 1600s foretell our times?)
How might weather, seismic events, military actions, infrastructure issues, and social upheaval affect our future? Our country? The world? Are there entities attempting to reform the global order? What about genetic manipulation and population control? Did 9/11 have hidden omens?
How should we discern? If necessary, how should we prepare?
Most importantly, how should we prepare spiritually?
We all know the world will end one day -- for each of us.
It's called death -- and it's glorious if we're ready for it.
Links:
Chicago Retreat: http://www.spiritdaily.com/RETREATCHICAGO.htm
New Jersy Retreat: http://www.spiritdaily.com/RETREATNEWJERSEY.htm
Good Versus Bad
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One of the biggest themes in most Superhero movies is the battle between good and evil. What a great and important theme. In terms of bad news, it has been quite a summer. Does evil have the upper hand? It sure feels like it sometimes.
 The truth is that there is a battle between good and evil happening on planet Earth. The reality is that there is a tremendous amount of good happening. If the news wanted to report all of the good things there would not be enough time, paper or gigabytes to cover it all! What will we be doing in eternity? We will ponder and praise the workings of God's good grace in history - especially our own personal history. Goodness has the last word. The victory of the risen Jesus is permeating and echoing throughout the cosmos. Jesus rises! And now so can we no matter what. God bless you, Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR Saint Joseph Friary Harlem, NYC  We need your help! To make a donation click here |
Friday, July 27, 2012
[Video] Promo for Documentary about Persecuted Christians
| http://www.romereports.com A documentary is raising a key question: How is one's faith lived out in different parts of the world? More
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Aid to the Church in Need: Charity in Action
Tribulation Times
HISTORY OF AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED: http://www.churchinneed.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AU_Our_Mission_ACNs_History_Continued NEWS RELEASE (12/11): “Aid to Church in Need” becomes a Pontifical Foundation
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These words from the Holy Father are being lived right now by our fellow faithful in Syria. We have just received an urgent appeal from the Church there for emergency aid to help rescue 500 families from Homs who were forced to flee the violence and chaos now happening in their country. Terrified families fled with only the clothes on their backs—there was no time to pack food or medicine or even children’s toys.
of Marmarita, near the Lebanese border. The Church is their only hope. "Christians are in a desperate situation," said His Beatitude Ignatius Joseph III, Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church. He is doing all he can to provide for these poor men, women and children, who are displaced and dejected, tired and terrified. But the need is great. Please help today.
Thoughts and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Peace- Trust- Abandonment
29. Know that He wishes more love than fear from you. Therefore, abandon yourself to His love, and let him act in you, with you and for you, according to His desire and good pleasure..Prayer request? Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com
This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
From Fr. Z's Blog: Our Lady of Quito and the collapse of the Catholic Church (and its revival)
From the UK’s best Catholic weekly, the Catholic Herald, comes this from William Oddie.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/
Our Lady of Quito prophesied that in the 60s there would be spiritual catastrophe in the Church; then, through the faith of the just, a ‘complete restoration’
But first, there would be a total corruption of morals in society; this would affect the Church, too
By William Oddie
[...]
Early in the morning of January 21, 1610, the Archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael appeared to Mother Mariana. Then Our Lady appeared to her and predicted many things about our own times: this is part of what Mother Mariana afterwards related that she told her:
“…. I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and shortly after the middle of the 20th century…. the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of customs (morals)….
“They will focus principally on the children in order to sustain this general corruption. Woe to the children of these times! It will be difficult to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, and also that of Confirmation…
“As for the Sacrament of Matrimony… it will be attacked and deeply profaned… The Catholic spirit will rapidly decay; the precious light of the Faith will gradually be extinguished… Added to this will be the effects of secular education, which will be one reason for the dearth of priestly and religious vocations.
“The Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed, and despised… The Devil will try to persecute the ministers of the Lord in every possible way; he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation and will corrupt many of them. These depraved priests, who will scandalize the Christian people, will make the hatred of bad Catholics and the enemies of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church fall upon all priests…
“Further, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury, which will ensnare the rest into sin and conquer innumerable frivolous souls, who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, the one who should speak will fall silent.”
In a subsequent apparition, Our Lady told Mother Mariana that these apparitions were not to become generally known until the twentieth century.
[... HERE Fr. Z cuts quite a bit... ]
The most important thing to understand is that it would be just wrong to despair at all this. The fightback is underway. For, in the end, Our Lady of Quito’s prophecies do not end with spiritual catastrophe. In a later apparition she foretold that “In order to free men from bondage to these heresies, those whom the merciful love of My Most Holy Son will destine for that restoration will need great strength of will, constancy, valor and much confidence in God. To test this faith and confidence of the just, there will be occasions when everything will seem to be lost and paralyzed. This, then, will be the happy beginning of the complete restoration.”
I believe we have seen that faith and valour over the last half century, above all in the present Holy Father and his heroic predecessor; and that that complete restoration has indeed happily begun.
[MaryVitamin] St. Anne
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Medjugorje, Message of July 25, 2012
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