TEACHINGS TO LIFT YOU UP "Where Will You Go On the Day of Reckoning?" by RITA RING Post 84, December 5, 1993

Tunnel Vision

Where Will You Go On the Day of Reckoning?  

December 5, 1993 - 5:10a.m.

Jesus speaks: I come, you wait, you are filled.

R. It seems so long since I talked to You, My Lord.

Jesus speaks: Time is so short-here today, gone tomorrow-and your reward awaits you. What glory awaits him who serves the Lord and his life is over? Where will you go on that day of reckoning? How is the state of your soul? Did you spend your life in search of a kingdom, never to find one but an idle pursuit, looking here and there for a kingdom, but never finding what you sought? The kingdom you seek is not of this world. Your life is not its own reward. Your life is being spent for the reward to follow. This life is not the reward in itself. This life is only the batting of an eye, the dropping of a pin, and the life hereafter is at hand. Where are you going, My little one? Did you spend your life in such idle pursuits, only to find that your search was in vain? Your life was empty and now what do you have to show for how you lived? Is all that mattered up like smoke in your face and you say, "Is that all there is?"

And what did you do with your little life here? When I paraded in front of you, you knew there was more to your life but you closed your eyes and told yourself, "Nay, I live for the likes of this world. Crazy are those who speak of a life hereafter." You heard, you were made aware, you had opportunities, you laughed, you sneered, you ran amok and told yourself you were all that mattered. This life was your end. You were going to have it all right here-one, glorious, true life. You were in pursuit of the treasure found in your house, at your job, in your children, in your pocket. You blinded yourself to any other possibility and continued on your willful little way. You were sought after by Him. You were probed, you were pursued, you were shown the light. I loved you your whole life. I followed you and opened My heart to you and you closed yours and spit in My face and you walked away. You walked over your brothers and you hardened your little hearts.

You pursued idle pursuits and you ran around with a worldly-focused gaze. Tunnel vision. You knew you were not in a tunnel. You knew from My pursuit of you that there was much more but you closed yourself off and went full steam ahead down the wrong road. You did not see the birds of the air or the children at play. You saw a world to be gained and a goal to be achieved. You sought an empty treasure in a barren field and when I stopped at each crossing and said, "Oh, that you would come and follow Me," you ignored My prompting and proceeded like a blind dog down the same path toward the barren field. And your heart lacked joy and it became harder and harder as you trod, but at each crossing you say, "Nay, Lord, I will find My reward here and be off."

Oh, you silly fool! To live your life for such emptiness. The only life that is is in Me. You never die. This is but a test. This is a test for you to receive a real reward. I have prodded you and tried to lead you toward Me but you spit in My face and went your willful way. Oh, little ones, eternity is so long. It doesn't end today or tomorrow. It goes on and on and on and never ends. This is a test to see how you will fare in the end. To put all your treasures in this life is to store up nothing. You take not one dime with you. All that remains is the things of the heart, your love of God and your love for your fellow man.

To follow God is to find the real reward, a field brimming with milk and honey. And you will behold the face of God! This and this alone feeds your hungry soul. All else leads the soul to barren lands. Store up a treasure of gold for the life hereafter. When you come to that crossing remove the blinders from your eyes and look at your beloved Jesus, staring right into your heart. Take the hard crust from your chest and let your heart become alive in His love. Do not pursue idle pursuits. Go down the road that leads to Jesus and at the end you will see His face! His road is well marked all through your life. Your sisters and brothers who loved Him looked into your eyes, but you wore blinders and laughed at them.

Oh, silly! A few years? For what? You don't get anything here but heartache, momentary pleasure that leaves you empty, so you numb your hearts with TV or alcohol or food or sex. It lasts only a moment, but you numb the craving in the soul. Oh, poor starved little ones, your soul can only be fed by Me. You are starving yourself to death. Your soul is withering and dying. Your victory is already won by Me Who died a brutal death for love of you! Come to Me. I knock at the door. Will you open or will you run amok down roads that lead to emptiness. On that day of reckoning when I, in all My pursuits of your soul and My saddened heart, finally have to turn you away and say, "I do not know you. I pursued you your whole life. I stood by your side. I walked by you the whole way and you never turned your head. You looked for your glory here and I waited and waited. I sent others to show you the way to the golden reward but you laughed and continued in your willfulness to the barren desert."

Oh, child, I love you. Many have prayed and sacrificed for you but you would not turn your hearts to Me. I am the way, the truth and the life. All other roads lead to destruction of the soul. My ways are not easy, but they are filled with peace, love and joy. My ways are everlasting. Your soul craves this union with Me. You are fighting off that which your soul thirsts after. It doesn't feel good, but you close your eyes and numb your craving. Oh, turn to Me and find rest, My little ones, now before it is too late! I am as close as your breath.

http://www.sofc.org/

FROM MARK MALLETT: ANOTHER GREAT POSTING:

Are You Ready?

Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers… —Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 675

I have quoted this passage several times. Perhaps you have read it several times. But the question is, are you ready for it? Let me ask you again with urgency, "Are you ready for it?"

THE UNPREPARED

As I’ve meditated for months now upon what the Lord is unveiling in my heart, it is becoming clearer—with a sort of chilling horror—that many "good" Catholics are not going to be ready for what’s coming. The reason is because they are still "asleep" in the affairs of the world. They continue to delay spending time in prayer. They put off Confession as though it were another item to be shuffled around on the To Do list. They approach the Sacraments out of duty rather than a divine meeting with the Savior. They operate as permanent citizens of this world rather than pilgrims journeying to their true Home. They may even hear the words of warning such as those presented here, but carelessly set them aside as more "doom and gloom" or another "interesting opinion."

Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you… Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:5-13)

When the Lord asked me to begin this writing apostolate, He spoke in part through words which have been coming back lately:

Go and say to this people: Listen carefully, but you shall not understand! Look intently, but you shall know nothing! You are to make the heart of this people sluggish, to dull their ears and close their eyes; else their eyes will see, their ears hear, their heart understand, and they will turn and be healed. "How long, O Lord" I asked. And he replied: Until the cities are desolate, without inhabitants, houses, without a man, and the earth is a desolate waste. (Isaiah 6:8-11)

That is, those who are resisting this time of grace, shutting out the voice of God, closing their hearts to the obvious signs around them… risk remaining a stiff-necked people, unable to hear and see what God is doing until there is utter desolation, primarily spiritual desolation.

This word came to me before the Blessed Sacrament this week:

Even men who did not go to Mass will sense the loss of God’s presence when the Eucharist is abolished. Part of the coming chastisement will be when the Vine is plucked away, when the fruits which hung often quietly but tangibly in your offices, schools, and organizations are suddenly gone. There will come a famine—a famine for the Word of God. In this desert, the world will suffer its greatest chastisement, for the love of many will grow cold. When all is in tatters, when the earth is like a barren wasteland, when the cold desires of men’s hearts are crushed beneath the power of Satan, then will the Sun of Justice at last Dawn, and the rain of the Spirit fall to renew the face of the earth.

O mankind! Turn away from your present course. Perhaps God will relent and have pity. For no man can thrive in the darkness of death, and spiritual loss is the greatest, most painful death of all.

My colleague, a Catholic missionary with tested gifts in the Lord, had this vision/dream about the same time I was preparing this writing:

I could see land for miles (the world) and it was your normal green landscape. Then I saw someone walking, who I somehow knew was the Antichrist, and with each footstep he took, the land turned into an utter waste land from his footprint and all behind him. I woke up! I felt the Lord showing me the destruction about to come on the world as the Antichrist enters the scene!

It is easier for the earth to be without the sun than without the Mass. —St. Pio

THE FINAL TRIAL

The first signs of a coming schism in the Church are already on the horizon. The first signs of significant changes in our infrastructure are beginning to occur. And the first signs of the coming deception are beginning to manifest. When this three-pronged trial descends in full upon the world, many will be shaken because they do not have enough oil in their lamps, and will scatter in fear to the nearest light… a false light. How will you know what is the truth? How will you know whether or not the Catholic Church is the deception that its enemies will make it out to be? How will you know that Jesus is God, not the prophet they will say He is?

The answer which came to me so clear was that only those who have a relationship with God will know. If someone came to me today and said that my wife is not really my wife but a fraud, I would laugh because I know her. If someone said that my children do not exist, I would think they were crazy because I know them. So too, when the world presents its baseless arguments through such tangled deceptions as The Da Vinci Code, or Zeitgeist, or Oprah Winfrey, or other empty speech saying that Jesus Christ was only a historical figure and perhaps didn’t exist at all, I laugh. Because I know Him. I know Him! My belief in Jesus is not based upon an idea that I grew up with. It is not something I accept because my parents said I should. It is not because I am obligated to go to Sunday Mass. Jesus is a person whom I’ve met, whom I’ve encountered, and whose power has transformed my life! Jesus is alive! He is alive! Do they wish to tell me that I am not breathing? That my hair is not turning grey? That I am really not a man but a woman? You see, the false prophets—despite the evidence of God practically growing on the trees—will turn everything upside down. They will present all their gentle arguments in the most persuasive terms. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing, their tongues forked, their arguments satanic.

And those who do not know Christ, will fall like a star from the heavens.

DO YOU KNOW HIM?

If you are relying on what you know rather than Who you know, then you are in trouble.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not. (Proverbs 3:5)

Why has Our Blessed Mother come to say so very often "Pray, pray, pray"? Is it so that we will rattle off a bunch of Rosaries to feel good about ourselves? No, what our Mother is saying is to "pray from the heart." That is, begin a relationship with her Son. She repeats it three times to tell you that it is urgent. It is urgent, because she knows that relationships take time to build (hence God has given her time to make this appeal). Yes, it takes time, sometimes too much time for the human heart to come around to trusting in the love which God has for each of us. Death can come for us at any moment. Why delay saying yes to Love itself?

Are you out of time? If you’re reading this, the answer is no. Absolutely not. God can quickly fill your heart with the oil of faith and grace if you open your heart wide enough to him. Remember the parable Jesus told where those who came and worked late in the vineyard still received the same pay as those who began working in the morning…. God is generous! He does not want to see any soul lost. But how foolish are those who do not come to the vineyard at all!

Forgive me if I am too bold, but some of you reading these words are risking your eternal salvation by delaying your relationship with God. The hour is so late, it is so late… please, listen to what I’m telling you. Jesus loves you so much. Your sins are like a mist to Him, easily dissolved if you would but allow the flames of His Sacred Heart to enter yours. It is a sweet fire—the kind of fire that does not destroy but rather gives life. I beg you to take these words with all seriousness. Do not be afraid—but do not delay. Open your heart wide to Jesus Christ today!

The Catechism says that this "final trial" will shake the faith of "many" believers. It did not say all. That is, those who have given themselves in sincerity to God, who are praying their Rosaries from the heart, going to Confession, the Holy Eucharist, reading their Bibles, and seeking God as best they can will be safe when the most violent winds of this Great Storm come over the earth. Am I saying anything new to you?

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt 16:24-25)

It is from this spiritual refuge, the upper room of Mary’s heart where the Spirit will be poured out again, that they will fearlessly enter the battle to topple strongholds and draw into the Ark as many souls as possible before the Time of Mercy expires. They are, so to speak, the heel of Our Lady.

Are you ready?

Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD. (Amos 8:11)

FURTHER READING:

• The false light: Image of the Beast

• The Coming Pentecost

Published in: DAILY JOURNAL, TIME OF GRACE | on February 4th, 2009 |

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #479

And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread and blessed and broke and gave to his disciples and said: "Take ye and eat. This is my body." And taking the chalice, he gave thanks and gave to them, saying: "Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father." (Matt. 26:26-29)

THE REAL PRESENCE OF OUR LORD IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT: A year before, our Lord had promised to give to His disciples His Flesh to eat and His Blood to drink; and now, at the Last Supper, He fulfilled His promise. By His almighty and efficacious words: "This is My Body; this is My Blood," Jesus changed the bread into His Body, and the wine into His Blood, and gave them to be partaken by His apostles. The appearances, the shape, color, taste, etc., of the bread and wine remained, therefore our Lord gave His Body and Blood to be received by the apostles under the form of bread and wine. The apostles neither doubted nor questioned His words, for the promise of the Blessed Sacrament made a year before as well as the preceding promise that "He would eat the Paschal lamb new in His kingdom," had already prepared them for the mystery. As Jesus solemnly took bread, raised His Eyes to heaven etc., they said within themselves: "Now the Master is going to perform that which He promised to do, a year ago in the synagogue at Capharnaum." By the words: "Do this in commemoration of Me," our Lord gave to the apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of the Church, the power of changing bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and of distributing them to the faithful; so that to this day, in the holy Mass, bishops and priests change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus when, speaking in His name, they pronounce the words: "This is My Body; this is My Blood." The Sacrament in which the the Body and Blood of our Lord are thus present and received is called the Most Holy Sacrament, because it is more holy than the other Sacraments; Jesus Himself, and not only His grace, being therein received.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)

Fundamentalist Hindus harass and threaten Catholics in India

Rome, Feb 4, 2009 / 03:41 am (CNA).- A number of Catholics from different parishes who were celebrating the priestly ordination of the first priest from the island of Majuli, in the Indian state of Assam, were harassed, threatened, and in some cases beaten, after participating in a Mass celebrated by Bishop Joseph Aind of Dibrugarh.
Continue reading this story here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14975

"The First Apparitions of Our Lady"

Reading "The First Apparitions of Our Lady" 

http://americaneedsfatima.blogspot.com/2009/02/first-apparitions-of-our-lady.html

 Excellent post!

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #478

Before the festival day of the pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And when supper was done (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him), Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands and that he came from God and goeth to God, He riseth from supper and layeth aside his garments and, having taken a towel, girded himself. After that, he putteth water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him: "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him: "What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." Peter saith to him: "Thou shalt never wash my feet," Jesus answered him: "If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me." Simon Peter saith to him: "Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus saith to him: "He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all." For he knew who he was that would betray him; therefore he said: "You are not all clean."
Then after he had washed their feet and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: "Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord. And you say well: for so I am. If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. Amen, amen, I say to you: The servant is not greater than his lord: neither is the apostle greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, you shall be blessed if you do them." (John 13:1-17)

IN COMMEMORATION of the washing of the feet, Bishops wash the feet of twelve poor men on Maundy-Thursday. This ceremony is called Mandatum, i. e. the Commandment.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)

[MaryVitamin] Submission to the BVM + Marian Pious Invocations

Mary Vitamin for February 3rd

 Topic: How to practice submission to the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Quote:

St. Louis de Montfort

"Jesus Christ gave more glory to God the Father by submission to His Mother during those thirty years than He would have given Him in converting the whole world by the working of the most stupendous miracles."

True Devotion to Mary,  par #18

 

Meditation:

Father Stefano Manelli FI, suggests practicing submission to the Blessed Virgin in little things.

"If we are poor and little in the spiritual life, and if our devotion is very little, then let us endeavor to be Jesus for Mary at least in the little things, in the many easy and simple opportunities that arise. Let us try, for example, to be Jesus for Mary at prayer each morning and each night, never failing to greet our Mother at the start and close of each day. We should strive to be Jesus for Mary by avoiding any word of deed that would be disrespectful to Our Lady, and we should cultivate respect and affection instead, with the practice of devout ejaculatory prayer to her."

Devotion to Our Lady (Academy of the Immaculate: 2000)

Thirty five pious invocations are listed in the appendix of the Enchiridion of Indulgences, here are the Marian ones:

16. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.

18. Jesus, Mary, Joseph

19. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, assist me in my last agony.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, may I sleep and rest in peace with you. (Roman Ritual)

23. Mother of Sorrows, pray for us.

24. My Mother, my Hope.

26. May the Virgin Mary together with her loving Child bless us. (Roman Breviary)

29. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. (Roman Ritual)

32. Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us. (Roman Missal)

33. Holy Mother of God, Mary ever Virgin, intercede for us. (Roman Breviary)

34. Holy Mary, pray for us. (Roman Ritual)

 

Resolution:

St. Louis

"Oh, how highly we glorify God when, to please Him, we submit ourselves to Mary, after the example of Jesus Christ, our sole Exemplar!"

Since I can't work physical miracles, I am relieved to know that submission to Mary gives the Lord great glory. Today, I will begin practicing submission to Our Lady in small things by using one of the pious invocations and by greeting my Heavenly Mother first before my morning and evening prayers.

 

Marian Vow:

It is recommended to ask the blessing of the Madonna upon rising and going to sleep. (#25 Directory of the Marian Seraphic Pathways).

Every day, those consecrated with the Marian vow should say we should say at least one time,

 "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to You

and for all who do not have recourse to You, especially for the enemies of Holy Church and for those recommended to you."

 

I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Thanks be to God for graces received.

Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate & AirMaria

 

Visit Your Group

__,_._,___

TEACHINGS TO LIFT YOU UP "Comfort the Weary Soul" by RITA RING Post 83, December 3, 1993

Comfort the Weary Soul

December 3, 1993 - 4:30a.m.

Jesus speaks: Come to Me and I will give you rest. I am the God of Jacob and Joseph and all of your ancestors. I know all things. I know you far better than you know yourself. I wait by day and by night for you to come and be with Me. Will you come or will you continue your lives without the Master? I am the Alpha and Omega. I am all that you need. Why do you remain so far from Me? Some tell themselves they are holy but they hold themselves at arm's length from Me. Open up the gates. Do not be afraid. Let yourself go. I am a person. I am a personal God. I am your best friend. I wait when you are weary and bowed down to comfort you. Will you come, or go to man for your answers? If you miss going to Me you remain without help. Man cannot give your weary soul the rest it needs. Man cannot do for you what God will do for you.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. I have all you need. Others cannot comfort your weary soul. If you receive comfort, it is only momentary. God's comfort is everlasting. Run with open arms to Him Who loves you and waits at the gates to comfort you. Don't go it alone. Come all the time, strength and weaknesses, and I will always be there to light your way! Turn to Me, morning, noon, night, trials and joy. Always come to your best friend.

Only God can fix the things of the soul. That is His territory. When the spirit is weakened, go to Jesus and let Him heal you. He is the doctor for wounded souls. He is all you need. Pour your cares out to Him and He loves you and pours His trust into you.

I am Jesus, Son of the Living God. Harken, I wait and I am here. I love you.

http://www.sofc.org

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #477

Before the festival day of the pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And when supper was done (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him), Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands and that he came from God and goeth to God, He riseth from supper and layeth aside his garments and, having taken a towel, girded himself. After that, he putteth water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him: "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him: "What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." Peter saith to him: "Thou shalt never wash my feet," Jesus answered him: "If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me." Simon Peter saith to him: "Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus saith to him: "He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all." For he knew who he was that would betray him; therefore he said: "You are not all clean." Then after he had washed their feet and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: "Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord. And you say well: for so I am. If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. Amen, amen, I say to you: The servant is not greater than his lord: neither is the apostle greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, you shall be blessed if you do them." (John 13:1-17)

VIRTUES SHOWN BY ST. PETER on this occasion. Humility. Love of our Lord. Obedience.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)

TEACHINGS TO LIFT YOU UP "He Never Leaves Our Side" by RITA RING Post 82, December 2, 1993

He Never Leaves Our Side

December 2, 1993 - 5:30a.m.

Jesus speaks: My dear child, I am truly here. I come to tell you My words. Listen, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, for I will give you rest. Satan is out to stop you. His power is stronger each day. You must realize he is always around trying to trip you up. None of this matters. Yesterday you had such a hard day. You are too tired and he gets to you when you are tired. I am glad when you play with the children and pray with them.

Sit and visit with Me. My time is drawing near. Be attentive and ever holy. Do not get caught up in one event here. Live each day totally unattached, doing your best, but not getting caught up in anything. The events are all passing and of little importance. Focus on the big picture. Focus on Me and My love. Focus on your overall life. Your job is writing these letters, praying and playing with the children, being with them alone each day. Do not go one day without private prayer.

I am the way, the truth and the light. No one goes to the Father except through Me. Make ready a place that I may continually dwell in your hearts. Your trials do not cut you off from Me. Keep praying and casting out Satan. Keep thinking of Me and My love for you. I do the work in your heart. I make your heart experience Me more and more. You remain open and willing. Satan wants you to give up, to get frustrated. You say things you regret. He tries you and tries you with little things and when you are tired he has a greater chance to get to you. He uses innocent people around you to attack you with angry words or looks or gestures. Do not give him any power.

Come and rest in My arms. Find shelter from the scorching sun by abiding in My shade. I am there ready with solace for your troubled and tired soul. See Me in the eyes of all your brothers. See them as My children. Try to get beyond their imperfections to the fact that they reflect Me in their souls, even when it is hard to see it. I am here. You think I move when you are tired and I am mad because you are being tested. I am closest in these trials and I am there to comfort and love you. Run to My arms. I await with the warmest hug. Cast the devil out. He is lurking around. Like a cap, he comes on and won't leave you alone. Only I can help you take him off. Cast him out by My name. Keep saying Jesus and thinking of the Blood I shed for love of you.

Two angels sit by your side. They come in the night to escort Me. I am surrounded by things like this. You do not know and you do not see what is there with you at all times. You are as a player on the stage but you are being watched and guarded by many outside forces. Stay attuned to the good that surrounds you constantly. Angels go with Me wherever I go. Mary is always by My side. You are escorted by a choir of angels. Believe Me. Satan has only limited power. He is just so irritating! He is there. He wants to trip you. I am there too, escorted by a heavenly choir. I surround you with My love and My arms are open. Run to Me and find refuge in My arms.

I love you so. Alleluia, Alleluia.

http://www.sofc.org/

Monday	February 2, 2009

Our Lady Queen of Peace of Medjugorje’s February 2, 2009 Message
Mirjana’s Apparition on the Day for Non-Believers

“Dear children! With a Motherly Heart, today I desire to remind you of, mainly to draw your attention to, God’s immeasurable love and the patience which ensues from it. Your Father is sending me and is waiting. He is waiting for your open hearts to be ready for His works. He is waiting for your hearts to be united in Christian love and mercy in the spirit of my Son. Do not lose time, children, because you are not its masters. Thank you.”

Do You Live As the Master of Your Time?

The boy was out in the countryside playing, never mind he was supposed to be home over an hour ago to do his chores. He was having a good time, such a pleasure with his friends that he disregarded all responsibilities of going home to feed the animals and later milk the family cow. The father waited another hour while he himself proceeded to do his own work. Still his son did not come home. He had a gift he wanted to give his son. The father had waited all year to surprise his three children by taking them on a special trip hours away that he knew would bring great joy to them. By early afternoon, the son still had not returned, while his other two siblings were doing their work. Finally, at the last moment, the father sent the boy’s mother. She found their son busy with his friends and said to him, “Your father sent me and he is waiting.” The boy did not respond. Not wanting to reveal the surprise the father had for him, the mother said to him, “I want to remind you of your father’s love and call attention to how patient he is with you. It is for your own good.” Still the boy ignored her, enmeshed in his own world. The son said that he would do his work later. His mother reminded him again, and then She returned home. The father still patiently waited. Time passed and the father and two other children who faithfully did their work left with the father on a beautiful trip for a once in a lifetime experience. Just after the father left, the boy arrived home, asking the mother where his father and two siblings were. She told him of the wonderful surprise for him that he had lost because his heart listened to his own desires and not his father’s.

Many today are masters of their own destiny. Just as the boy returned home and realized the fool he was, losing time on meaningless things, many today are realizing that the destiny they laid out for themselves, without God, they have gone down a wrong path of meaninglessness. It is Our Lady whose intercession has gained for us more time, more patience from the Father, to allow the message to call us to convert and to come to His work. We do not merit His patience. Patience means to manifest forbearance under provocation or strain. It is without question that the world has a rightful judgment of provocation against it from its Creator. You think not?

Our Lady’s words are incredible. They master negative things in such a positive way that display She is the perfect Mother. Her corrections are so positive that it can lead the unreflective, the unthoughtful, to a mentality of, “Oh how nice,” “Our Lady gave a beautiful message,” “It’s just the same old message,” “Our Lady is just repeating Herself,” or “She is so nice. She has nothing else to say.” This mentality is a destruction of the message. It is Our Lady Herself who said:

October 25, 1988

“…Pray that you may comprehend the greatness of this message…”

Have we provoked God? Pose this question to yourself. If God destroyed all the life on earth with the flood, except what was contained on the Ark, because man’s wickedness deemed its own judgment, then what does today’s wickedness deem in judgment? The wickedness of today makes what led up to the flood as far less guilty. Sodom and Gomorrah was wicked, so wicked God destroyed it. But even Jesus said in His day,

“And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted in heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” Matthew 11:23-24

So ask yourself, how does this relate to our time? How will it relate to us when we wake up to the message and Our Lady too late…when we realize we lost the time…the time we could have been working for Her…in His, the Father’s work…in the Time of Grace because we were busy? We must pause and realize what the Father is offering us in this time, this special time, in which Our Lady says to us, today, three times, the word “waiting.” What is the ‘waiting’ for but to give us time? Why is God giving us this time? What are we to think of this time?

Time…Time…Time…It is a part of everything.
Within its arms, Fathertime never stops.
Life, death, history, joy, tragedy, advances, regrets...all are in constant motion.
No power on earth can slow it, stop it, alter it.
It continues one second at a time, building a foundation into minutes, hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries, to build millenniums.
The ages come and go as falls give way to winters.
Lifetimes turn into mere specs of time.
Lives ancient by our ways who never saw the dawn of modern times haunt us from the past with the question,
“Were they better off having lived in a safer, less complex, time?”
Sin knows no barrier of time for it transcends time.
It was there in the heart of the primitive man and his club, the archer facing the castle for ill gain,
and the munitions expert firing a missile with an ill heart just as it was and is today in the heart
of he who cheats his measurements of goods by scales with the counterweight of rocks,
then iron, and now electronics.
Though there are forbidden fruits today, sin comes from the heart
and as time is built into millenniums by seconds,
the monstrous sins of the present were built one sin at a time.
The accumulation of sin is amassed to the point when in another time
God sealed the door of the Ark.
Oh door of our time…where are you but in the opening of Our Lady’s mantle.
Noah’s ark that saved mankind physically; and afterwards,
the new covenant and the Ark that saved us spiritually, bring us through time, to “another time”,
where the Ark of today will save us “physically” and “spiritually”.
The Ark is Our Lady, and yes, what better time to live than now
in answer to the question from ancient man:
“Were others better off living in a simpler time?”.
All through time, “history” is continually teaching us this:
as for our time; that the more severe the test
the greater will be its reward for the victorious.
It’s a glorious time to live.
We sit in the front row seat of the amphitheater of time.
The age of peace is on the horizon,
the invitation to be under Our Lady’s mantle, our Ark, is the open door.
Time doesn’t exist in Heaven.
How privileged are we to gaze in the face of a visionary where time doesn’t exist,
for while “we” remain in time, “they” are outside of space and time right before our eyes.
Everything stands still.
Existence, minus time, is before us.
No,…voice of ancient man cannot haunt he who stands in the face of time where it doesn’t exist.
If Our Lady tells us by living Her messages we can begin to experience Heaven upon earth even
before we get there, are we then also already beginning to transcend time, beginning to live eternity before this passage from this life to the next? Look at time.
Whose lives, though just mere specs in time, changed the whole world towards good?
Span the centuries.
Who are those who have left and continue to leave the greatest imprint towards good upon the ages?
It is God’s saints.
Even though their lives were brief, compared to a millenium,
it is their witness that lives not only in time,
but outside of time as well.
Everything else passes, yes, even time will die.
Therefore, what you do along the way will make an imprint and when you go,
as the leaves today are green, tomorrow yellowed and gone, what remains is how you lived.
Not the lofty, illustrious and elevated, but the meek and humble will be remembered
throughout eternity, passing love from one heart to another, generation after generation,
until the last man draws his last breath,
touched by you, transcended into eternity.
Do look at time, as ages after ages slide by, oh man, and begin to live eternity now,
Not bound by time, as one is not bound to this world.
As Our Lady said, by living Her messages we will not feel the passage
from this life to the next, so too, we will also begin transcending time
into eternity while still upon the earth by our holy lives and virtues,
all of which are recorded for ages to come,
even if hidden and known only by the angels who record them for forever.
Every virtuous act will be known through eternity by all, when all ages pass.
The passage through time and beyond has only one key to unlock it.
Love.
Yes, Love…Not human love,
rather Love “expressed” by “obedience” to all of God’s Commandments.
For if love saves, obedience preserves, not only in time,
but when time is no longer.
( Time, Time, Time
written September 1999 by A Friend of Medjugorje )

Help Wanted Our Lady’s message today calls us to work on our own conversion, and it is also a call to do the Father’s work. If you have expertise and extensive experience in web programming and design, there is an immediate need at Caritas for this expertise. Requirements are: extensive experience in PHP, MySQL, HTML, Flash, and also able to proficiently work in Adobe Photoshop. Call Caritas at 205-672-2000 and ask for Ray. You can also fax resumes to 205-672-9667, Attn: Ray. There will be no correspondence by email.

Now it is easy to understand Our Lady’s words.

“…your Father is sending me and is waiting….”

“…He is waiting for your hearts to be united in Christian love and mercy in the spirit of my Son…”

“…He is waiting for your open hearts to be ready for His works…”

We must not waste any more time being busy, preoccupied in our own world. Rather, be His work of conversion and holiness, and also, enter into the works of the Father through Our Lady’s messages and build the Kingdom of God.

In the Peace of Our Lady,
A Friend of Medjugorje

Caritas Mission House in Medjugorje In following Our Lady’s messages, the mission of Caritas and the work of the community members is just as Our Lady said today, “…with open hearts..be ready for His works…” The Caritas Mission House in Medjugorje is one example of this. Pilgrims from around the world enter through our doors to find free material waiting for them that will help them in living the messages and maintain their conversion once they return back home. Many pilgrims have relayed to us over the years that visiting the Mission House is one of the highlights of their pilgrimage. The Caritas Community extends an open invitation to all pilgrims in Medjugorje to come by. We have enjoyed meeting many of you in recent years who have come to know us through mej.com.

Prayer for Nonbelievers Come Mary, Come tomorrow again and again. We will pray with You. Bring back our loved ones Who have left the Church, Those who have left God. We will join You on the second of each month. We will pray for greater graces To be attached to Your intention. We will pray that the dam of love, Of God’s mercy, will break forth, That Your new prayer be released soon. We will pray that it will flow out As a river to all the nations, That as the rivers fill the oceans, Your love of God will fill the earth. We wait. We anticipate that great day, And we call You as You have called us, To add our prayers, fasting, and sacrifices To Mirjana’s in order that You may Obtain all Your wishes for the world. O loving Mother, Thank You for the gift That the world is on the brink of receiving! - A Friend of Medjugorje ©SJP Lic. Caritas of Birmingham

Tonight, Monday February 2, 2009

A Radio WAVE^TM broadcast about Our Lady of Medjugorje's 2nd of the month message, with A Friend of Medjugorje tonight, Monday, February 2, at 7:00 PM Central USA, here on mej.com. See chart below for your local time. Please be in prayer.

Click Here to Open the Radio WAVE Player to Listen to Tonight’s Live Show

Radio WAVE^TM Show, Monday, February 2, 2009

Your Time Zone	Online Air Time
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Alaska Time	4:00 PM - Monday
Hawaii Time	3:00 PM - Monday
Brazil Time	10:00 PM - Monday
Sydney, Australia	12:00 PM - Tuesday (February 3)
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MESSAGE FROM JESUS: HIS CALL TO SERVICE

On the first of every month, Our Lord gives Anne a new message about His call to service.
"Anne" has received permission from her local ordinary, Bishop Leo O'Reilly, for the spreading of her messages, as well as his own personal endorsement below, that her writings are "orthodox." Anne has also submitted all her writings to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. We encourage, (as the Church herself permits), the prayerful reading of these messages.
—Ed.

February 1, 2009

Jesus
 Dearest apostles, how lovingly heaven ministers to you in your hard work. If you are moving calmly, from one task to the next, conscious of heaven's presence in your day, then you do not feel overwhelmed. If, on the other hand, you forget that heaven is with you and that you are only one part of a big plan, you may be feeling overwhelmed or feeling that you may not have what you need to fulfil your part of My plan. I have designed your life in such a way that you can live it in each moment with Me. I have all that you need for every moment of time. Your service is important to heaven. It is so important to heaven that heaven would not risk leaving you without the necessary graces for each task we have assigned to you. Are you working hard? Are you carrying a heavy cross? Are you worried about your loved ones? Are you lonely? I have the graces for you. I have what you need both to be holy yourself and to allow others to draw from your holiness. I am here, with you, working through you and alongside you, and I am sturdy. I will not falter, dear apostle. I will not change my mind about you. I love you today and I have loved you for a long time. I know you. I know what you need. You are making progress. Your willingness to sit quietly and read My words, conscious of My love for you, gives Me happiness. Allow My graces to give you happiness. Allow My graces to give you a light heart. Yes, there is work to be done, but not work without joy. Yes, there are crosses to be carried, but not carried without trust. You are concerned for your loved ones but I share your concern and I bless your prayers and efforts on their behalf. You may be lonely, dear apostle, but you are not alone. Rejoice. I am with you.

[MaryVitamin] Presentation of the Lord

Mary Vitamin for February 2nd

 

Topic: The Presentation of the Lord

February 2^nd

 

Quote:

"Others offered [their sons] to God; … Mary really offered her Son to death, and knew for certain that the sacrifice of the life of Jesus which she then made was one day to be actually consummated on the altar of the cross;"

St. Alphonsus di Liguori, The Glories of Mary, (Tan Books: 1978), 357-8.

 

Meditation:

"O God, had we beheld the beauty, the majesty of the countenance of that divine Child, could we have ever had courage to sacrifice His life for our salvation?"

 St. Alphonsus di Liguori, The Glories of Mary, (Tan Books: 1978), 364.

 

Resolution:

Today when I pass the crucifix, I will ask myself,

Would I have the courage of the Blessed Virgin Mary?

Would I offer the beautiful baby knowing:

 

 "But he was wounded for our iniquities,

he was bruised for our sins:

 the chastisement of our peace was upon him,

and by his bruises we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5

 

Marian Vow:

In All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed, Fr. Stefano Manelli quotes from Fr. Laurentin, who gives a precise explanation of the Presentation:

 

"The presentation of Jesus in the Temple is not a standard biblical scene. It was not at all customary to recount the presentation of a hero. The only precedent is in chapter one of the first book of Samuel, and Samuel's presentation is quite different. It is not tied to a prescription of the law. The timing is different: in

I Sam. 1:22-24 it takes place after Samuel is weaned, while in Luke it takes place 40 days after Jesus' birth. Samuel remains there forever (I Sam. 1:22), while Jesus returns to Nazareth (2:39). The significance of the act is quite different, for the presentation of Jesus, according to Luke, has an apocalyptic and theophanic character. He who bears the divine names of Holy, Lord, and Son of God, visits the temple as a poor child, but he is recognized by the witnesses as the 'Salvation' (lystrosis, 2:38) of Israel. The newness shines forth everywhere, and always in the same direction. Across the anecdotal diversity the great themes converge."

(Academy of the Immaculate: 1995), 235

 

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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SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #476

Before the festival day of the pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And when supper was done (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him), Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands and that he came from God and goeth to God, He riseth from supper and layeth aside his garments and, having taken a towel, girded himself. After that, he putteth water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him: "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him: "What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." Peter saith to him: "Thou shalt never wash my feet," Jesus answered him: "If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me." Simon Peter saith to him: "Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus saith to him: "He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all." For he knew who he was that would betray him; therefore he said: "You are not all clean."
Then after he had washed their feet and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: "Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord. And you say well: for so I am. If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. Amen, amen, I say to you: The servant is not greater than his lord: neither is the apostle greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, you shall be blessed if you do them." (John 13:1-17)


THE OBJECT OF THE WASHING OF FEET: Firstly, our Lord wished to cleanse His disciples perfectly from sin, and prepare their souls for the reception of His Body and Blood, teaching us by this ceremony that we must wash our souls in the holy Sacrament of Penance before we receive Holy Communion. Secondly, our Lord desired by this washing of their feet to give to His apostles and to all Christians and example of humility and brotherly love. St. John (13:3) says that Jesus washed the disciples' feet "knowing that the Father had given Him all things into His hands, and that He came from God and goeth to God." It was, therefore, in the full consciousness of His divine power and majesty that our Lord laid aside His upper garment, girded Himself with a towel, poured water into the basin, knelt down on the ground before each of His apostles, and washed their feet, as if He had been their servant! What self-abasement! What love! Let us remember that He gave us this example that we too might be humble and serve one another.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)

[MaryVitamin] Preparing for the Presentation

Mary Vitamin for February 1st

Topic: Preparing for the Presentation of the Lord (Feb 2)

"A Cross is a Crown Begun"

 

Quote:

"A sword shall pierce your heart."

"This first dolor discloses to us one of the most universal supernatural principles, which characterize His dealings with His saints. Earthly sorrows are the roots of heavenly joys. A cross is a crown begun. Suffering is dearer to the Saints than happiness; for similitude of Christ has passed upon them."

Father Faber, The Foot of the Cross, (Tan Books)81.

 

Meditation:

"Yet we never had more than a touch of God's little finger upon us, while both His Hands, heavier than a thousand words, held Mary down in the dust. Nevertheless, no duty saw her absent. No common thing missed at her hands the same degree of zeal and attentiveness which the greatest could require. She seemed busy everywhere, engrossed in everything, with a mind all free and at her own disposal. She went and drew water from the well. She cleaned the house, and prepared the food, and spun the flax.  Every thing was at its right time and in its proper place. But the sword was there, in the very quick of her heart."

Father Faber, The Foot of the Cross, (Tan Books)83.

 

Resolution:

Today, I will repeat "a cross is a crown begun." I will do my work the best that I can today, in imitation of Our Lady, who didn't let the shadow of The Cross and Her sorrows lead her to self-pity. They led Her to God.

 

Marian Vow:

I will see Our Lady as the fulfillment of "a cross is a crown begun." I will think of her as the Immaculate and Sorrowful Mother with seven swords in Her heart and the triumphant Woman of Revelations:

"A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Rev. 12:12

 

I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

Thanks be to God for graces received.

 

Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate & AirMaria

Father Faber wrote the words of the Eucharistic hymn

Jesus My Lord, My God (Sweet Sacrament) and translated St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion to Mary.

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SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #475

And when the hour was come, he sat down: and the twelve apostles with him. And he said to them: "With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you, before I suffer." (Luke 22:14-15)

THE REAL PRESENCE: Our Lord tells His disciples beforehand what is the holy Eucharist which He will presently institute. It is the fulfillment of the Paschal lamb. Therefore the Eucharist must be His own Self, His own Body and Blood, the real Lamb of God, and must be a sacrifice.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)