Noise

This is a noisy world. Noise everywhere. This constant cacophony makes it very hard to listen. Who can hear the soft, quiet voice of the Lord inside with the ruckus going on around us? The Lord would have to shout to make himself heard. He could do this, He can do anything. But that is not his usual way. That is why prayer is so important. Prayer is conversation with God. And the Author of Life stoops down to listen. Amazing.... when you pause to think about it. The thing is: We can't do all the talking. We have to listen, too. God speaks in all of us but we need to be silent sometimes so that we can hear Him more clearly.

" But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you." Mt. 6:6

Even our minds can be noisy and cluttered with many unnecessary things. Through the grace of God we can change these thought patterns. Especially the negative ones. Certain thoughts may come into our heads but we can learn to let them go. Dwell on the Lord instead and soon there won't be room for these other things.

" Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." Rom.12:2

Through the eyes of a child

Last night I babysat my niece and nephew. I asked my niece if she would like to do a post on my blog. She said yes. Her 1st post is about Jesus:

God made everything. He is in Heaven and in our hearts. He sent his son to the earth through Mary. Jesus - obviously he's nice cause he's never mean. He healed lots of people and no matter what he was never afraid. Even if the person had that really bad disease. ("What was that really bad disease called, Aunty Mary?") Yeah, leprosy. He healed anybody who asked him. Jesus doesn't like sin but He forgives easily.

Bad men arrested Jesus. They put Him in a room and took a spiked whip thingy and beat Him with it. He was screaming in pain. Carrying the cross hurt Him very badly. They whipped Him to go faster. The cross was really heavy.

The men laid the cross down and made Him lie on it. His feet were crossed in front of each other and they nailed his feet then his hands.They stood the cross up between two others. One was a thief but he was very, very sorry for what he had done. He went straight to heaven.

Jesus was thirsty. They tried to make Him drink something. Mother Mary was there. Do you have to watch your son getting whipped and nailed to a cross! She was sad and broken-hearted. Mary and another woman were sobbing into their hands. Jesus died.

After that, He got carried and they put a cloth over Him and put Him in a tomb. On the third day He rose. He died to save us from sins so we could go to heaven.

The Enemy at the Gates

I am going to be blunt and straightforward. America, we are in trouble. If we do not turn back, there will be a "correction". Over the past couple years this inner "warning" continues to grow. We can see its outward signs, also. People often think that the Old Testament holds little relevance to our world today. Wrong! History continues to repeat itself. If we would pay attention, we could look back and see what history is teaching, instead. You would think we would have learned this lesson by now. Instead, sin continues to snowball and is gaining speed during its downward roll. God, in his mercy will step in. If He doesn't, too many will be lost .



Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel, for the Lord has a grievance against the inhabitants of the land:
There is no fidelity, no mercy, no knowledge of God in the land.
False swearing, lying, murder, stealing and adultery!
in their lawlessness, bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Therefore the land mourns,
and everything that dwells in it languishes:
The beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and even the fish of the sea perish.


Hosea 4:1-3


Thus says the Lord:
Stand beside the earliest roads,
ask the pathways of old
Which is the way to good, and walk it;
thus you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, "We will not walk it." Jer. 6:16
Utterly Thine, O Lord!

In Him

"Walk in the light of my truth." This was a "word" given to me when I started blogging. Truth can be hard to come by in our days. People tend to live according to what their perception of the truth is and this can change daily. We are a wishy-washy country. The Lord did not ask me to walk in the light of my own truth but in His.



I look at our government - truth is not there.

I look at the press - truth is not there.

I look at our financial institutions - truth is not there.



The list goes on and on. Total truth can be found in one place only....IN HIM. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. [John 14:6]

YES, O LORD. YOU ARE.

One Thing Only

There is a certain flaw that is so prevalent in our society that I don't quite know what to call it. For lack of a better term, I am going to call it the spirit of rushing. This spirit is constantly pushing us to: DO MORE! DO MORE! It leaves us frazzled and overwhelmed. It keeps our minds on little things and off the important thing - Our God. It gives us stomache aches and headaches. We feel stressed.

When we feel this inner pressure, we have no peace. This in itself is a sign from the Lord to back off. The Lord can do his best work in us when we are quiet; quiet on the inside as well as the outside. Yes, most of us have to work and we have many responsibilities. I am not talking about our daily duties. Years ago people also had these duties and yet this spirit of rushing was almost non-existant. The cure for this is to let go and let God. Simplify. Many things in are lives are unnecessary and only add to our inner burden. The Lord does't wish this for us. If we put God first, other things will fall into place. I am going to end this with a familiar Bible quote that says it all:

Dependence on God
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they? Can any of you add a single moment to your life-span?" Mt 6:25-27

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil." Mt : 33-34

Nice?

You know what? In our world being "nice" can be a problem. Being nice can be a catch-all phrase in our society. People used to say to me, "You are so nice." A girl I once worked with as a teenager said, "Mary, I can't picture you yelling." I had to laugh at this one! The truth was: I was not nice...not at all. This niceness was a surface quality only. This facade hid a multitude of sins. It also kept me from seeing them. People thought I was nice...so therefore I must be okay. I was not okay and many others in our world are not okay. The Lord certainly cured me of this misconception about myself!

There is a great rift between niceness and holiness. We aren't called to niceness; we are called to holiness. Jesus was not always "nice". Think of Him driving the money changers out of the Temple. But, he was holy. Truth is not always nice. Niceness can be a false face that someone shows the world. We live in an upside down society these days. Pro-lifers are often looked upon as evil because they are not "nice" enough to allow people the freedom of choice. But the very people who are saying this believe that it is fine to take the life of a baby. They call themselves pro-choice. This is a misnomer because the baby certainly isn't given a choice. The title pro-choice is simply a "nice" name in a politically correct world. This "nice" name covers a major sin.
This sin is called murder.

Beloved

" They will look upon him whom they have pierced." John 19:37



The Beautiful Gate


The Cross beckoned
"Come to me, all who are sorrowful and suffering."
I crawled beneath, gazed at thy Beautiful Face;
the tangled blood-clotted waves of thy hair
streaming in the bitter wind
I peered into eyes filled with love and pain
Like a beacon in the night they rested upon me
Bloody tears rained their sorrow upon this proud head
I kneeled beneath Thy pierced side
Blood and water poured down on me
I drowned in a sea of Mercy
The veil in the Temple split in two
And I, crippled
Entered the Gate
Called....
The Beautiful

Conversion

A couple of people have asked how my conversion began. For ease, so they don't have to search the archives, it began here http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/06/heart-of-jesus-infinite-in-mercy.html

Annie Bananie-This One's For You

I went to a wake today. My friend Ann's father passed away. She is one of my dearest friends and the Lord has tucked her tightly into my heart. She doesn't see herself as I see her... I wish she could. We were talking in the parking lot and Ann said, "Oh, Mary, pray for me. I'm going to hell because all I ever think about is Ann." (She was under tremendous stress and she was also ill. I felt so much sorrow at her words. This is not true. She pours herself out for her daughter and she always listens when I am down or having bad flareups of the polymyalgia.) I hugged her and said "Oh no, Ann, you and I are going to get to heaven by pure grace. That is what your name means and part of my name too." I walked her back to the door of the funeral home and then left in my car. On the way home I was praying and asking the Lord to take good care of my Annie when suddenly a motorcycle roared past me. The license plate read "ANNI". One minute later a car passed me and pulled in front of me. The plate read GRACE. A few minutes later I got off the highway and directly in front of me was a red convertible and the plate read BBLESSD. No way is this a coincidence! What are the odds? This was a definite "God Grin".

Thank you , Lord for loving my Annie so much. Console her in her grief and flood her with your tender Love. I place her trustingly into your hands.

Wake up!

" For Zion's sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet..."

Isaiah 62:1

"When I raised up watchmen for them:

'Hearken to the sound of the trumpet!'

They said, 'We will not hearken.' "

Wake up, America! Take a look around you! Can you not see the signs of the times? How long? How long before you open your eyes and see?

A Last Warning

Give ear, listen humbly

for the Lord speaks

Give glory to the Lord, your God

before it grows dark;

Before the light you look for turns to darkness,

changes into black clouds

If you do not listen to this in your pride,

I will weep in secret many tears;

My eyes will run with tears

for the Lord's flock, led away to exile."

Jer. 13:15-17

I surrender, Lord. I want to write one thing, you want me to write something different. You win.

Fisherman? Or fisher of men?

One night this summer Randy went fishing. When he returned I could not believe the story that he told me. Very strange indeed. Here is his story:

On any given day you can find me at one of my fishing spots. On this particular day, I chose a river close by. When I fish, I draw close to God and am filled with peace. I use this time for prayer, usually intercessory prayer. I drove down to my spot, parked, passed a small building, crossed the railroad tracks and walked down a steep embankment. I had 2 hours to fish. The first hour and a half was filled with Hail Mary's for everyone. The last half hour was prayed fervently for, "1 fish please Holy Mother of God. Just one." When I had no luck hooking one, I headed back up the embankment, crossed the tracks, and leaning on the side of a small building was my fish. A man called out to me,  "Hey! Did you catch anything." I walked over and we started talking. His name was Gregory and he was homeless. I could sense his anxiety and fear and I believe he was mentally ill. He was paranoid and confused and started telling me about his life. He went on and on . He spoke about being separated from his family and friends because he did not " fit in". I asked if he believed in God, if he knew Jesus. He said that he did but did not know much about Him. I spoke about the Lord for a while. I told him if he trusted Jesus, that He would send Him a sign of reassurance. As we spoke, a big white Cadillac with silver trim pulled up to the dead end street, a large man stepped out, raised a trumpet to his lips and blasted out a beautiful tune. After finishing this one song, he jumped back into his car and drove away. I was, to say the least, flabbergasted at what I had just witnessed. It was like an episode out of the twilight zone. NaNaNaNaNaNa. When I asked Gregory if he had heard it, he said yeah that the trumpet player had been in the area. But then again he had named "others" that were in the area. Remember, I had been there for two hours and no one was to be seen. This is a deserted area . When I went home and told this story to Mary, she was amazed and thought it was bizarre.

Mary's note:
When Randy came home and told me about this I thought it was the oddest story I had ever heard. It was the trumpet player that threw me for a loop. I said to Randy,"Maybe you were entertaining an angel unawares." He said, " Trust me, Gregory was no angel!" When I mentioned what had happened to my mother she said, "That's interesting, we ask for St. Gregory's intercession before choir practice each week; he's the patron saint of music."
I still don't know what to make of this story. Why would somebody drive down a road, step out, play one song on a trumpet and then leave. Strange..... very strange.

Randy's conversion story

http://fiat-themysticalrose.blogspot.com/2009/08/randy.html

" Prepare the Way "

After much prayer and thought, I have decided to write this. A couple of months ago, my mother received a "word". The "word" was "Prepare the way". Usually, I get an instant confirmation in the spirit when she gets these. This time, I did not.

That night when I went to bed, I had three dreams:
In the first dream, my mother (I believe this is symbolic of Mother Church) was holding something in her hands and singing the song "Prepare the way". I woke up with a start and heard these words in my head, "Confirm this to your mother." I said, " Lord, I don't know what she was holding in her hands." The Lord spelled out, V-E-L-L-U-M, in my head. So I said, "O.K., Lord, I will tell her." I figured I could just Google VELLUM the next day.
I went back to sleep and had a second dream. In this dream, my mother was holding a pillar and again singing, "Prepare the way". I woke up and heard, "Confirm this to your mother."
I went back to sleep and had a third dream; In this one, my mother was walking down the center aisle of a church. She was holding a banner and again singing, "Prepare the way". I woke up and heard, "Confirm this to your mother." I told Him I would.

The next day I googled the word VELLUM. Vellum is a parchment made out of calf or lambskin. I also confirmed my mothers word.

A couple months later, on a Friday, I was at Mass listening to the Gospel reading. When the priest spoke these words ,"Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom", I felt like a bolt of electricity had struck my body. Why? I don't know. Why the dreams? I don't know.

Thy will be done, Lord.

The cleaners are taking over!

I clean for a living. Offices, stores, a church (this is my parish and I would do it for free but our priest insists on paying us) and other jobs. People often ask me why I do this. I don't have to clean. My husband thinks I should do something else because of the polymyalgia. Here's the thing: I like to clean. It is honest and humble work and it pleases the Lord that I should do this. When I clean, I unite my physical cleaning with the Lord's cleaning of souls. He has shown both my mother and I what a grace this is. I clean with Jesus. When people say to me,"Ugh! How can you stand doing this kind of work?" I think, "Wow! How can I not love it."

This is true of any work done for love of Him. More is accomplished on a spiritual level by abandoning ourselves to Him than all that is done on a worldly level without Him. All of those who live for the Lord do more than the president and his entire cabinet do. We are the Lord's cabinet.

Move over President Obama - the cleaners are taking over!


Utterly Thine, O Lord!

Say hello

One day, while my husband was out fishing, two men walked up to him. They greeted him and then asked him,"Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior?" Randy told them yes, he had. So, they started chatting with him. One of the men asked, "What about your wife?" Randy said,  "Yep, she's Catholic." (This was before Randy entered the Church.) The two men looked shocked. One of them exclaimed,"You do know she's going to hell, don't you?!!" My husband is not one to mince words. Poker faced, he looked at them and replied, "Well then....make sure y'all say hi!"

Amen!

" Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23:43

I think one reason why people are so seldom reformed in feeling is that many who have been reformed in faith do not make a wholehearted effort to grow in grace, or to lead better lives by means of earnest prayer and meditation, and by spiritual and bodily exercises. They think it sufficient to avoid mortal sins, and to continue to live in the same way. They say that it is enough for them to be saved, and they are content with the lowest place in heaven, wanting nothing higher.Walter Hilton

I had to laugh when I read this or I would have cried. How often have you heard these words? "But, I lead a decent life." Or: "Well, I may have to spend some time in purgatory but I'll eventually get to heaven." How about this one: "There is no such thing as hell."

I have heard all the above and more. The first is halfhearted, the second is insulting (to aim for purgatory) and the third is downright foolish.

Our aim is Heaven. Jesus died on the cross to save us! St. Dismas (the good thief) abandoned himself completely to the Lord. He saw what he was and turned to Mercy and said,"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And Jesus did. " Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

For the but-I-lead-a-decent-lifers, I ask: In whose eyes? Your own? Or the Lord's? We have a fallen nature, we cannot judge our own holiness. Decency is great, but we are called to holiness. Only God can do this work in us.

Those who don't believe in hell.....well, I can assure you that it exists, but I doubt you would believe me. Look around you. Evil exists. Human beings are smart but the devil is smarter . If you don't believe he exists, then he has already won half the battle. (Read The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis.)

Divine Mercy

" ...but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out."
John 19:34

From the Diary of St. M. Faustina Kowalska:
299
"The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls...
These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the cross." *


Ever since I was in the presence of The Divine Mercy this book has fascinated me. Though I knew that I was in His presence and that He was flooding me with mercy, I did not understand why the rays that pierced my soul were two different colors. Until I read St. Faustina's Diary.
Then, I knew what a truly precious gift I had been given.


* The Diary Of St. M. Faustina Kowalska
Marian Fathers of The Immaculate Conception
used with permission

A Thank You

I would like to thank The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception for permission to use quotes from The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska-Divine Mercy in My Soul on my blogs. I would also like to thank M. for your kindness and patience in answering my questions.

For those who read my blog:
I highly recommend this book. St. Faustina is a great saint and her words are very timely for a world that is so greatly in need of Our Lord's mercy. My prayer is that all my brothers and sisters in this world will open their hearts to this precious gift.


Utterly Thine, O Lord!

Utterly Thine

" Oh, how well-protected is that soul whom God has gathered beneath his wings. Yes, she can well sit down and rest in utter peace in this shade, for he who fills her with many graces will not allow her to fall. Jesus wants her wholly for himself. Let this precious jewel renew her faith, let her cast herself with sublime abandonment into the arms of God, and he will fulfill the plans he has for her."

                                                                                                                   Padre Pio



It's pure grace. Everything is grace. My life is a miracle of grace.



Utterly Thine, O Lord

Rosary to be prayed on five continents!

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16802

From the mouths of babes

My daughter is on summer vacation, so some days I have to take her to work with me. Today was one of those days. It was a very hot day and the church has no air conditioning. I was vacuuming the church, dripping with sweat, and I started muttering and complaining,"Gee, is it hot in here!" After the third complaint, Michaela looked up at me and said, " But mommy, isn't it better to be hot and blessed than cool and unblessed?

Yes, sweetheart, it is better to be hot and blessed.

" Prepare the Way "

I wrote yesterday's posting for a reason. The Lord is "The Divine Physician" and continually heals us if our hearts are open to Him. As great a blessing as this is, this is nothing new. What is new....is the pace at which the Lord is pouring these graces upon His people. The Lord is "ramping it up" for a reason. Many of you may have felt this inside you. Sometimes this healing comes with a little suffering as the Lord touches areas where we have not yet been healed. He is
" flooding the earth with mercy " and preparing us for the work that He has called us to do.

" Sow for yourselves justice,
reap the fruit of piety;
Break up for yourselves a new field,
for it is time to seek the Lord,
till he come and rain down justice upon you."

Hosea 10:12

Those who choose not to walk in His Mercy, will have to walk through His justice. The Lord longs
for us to turn to His Merciful Heart, but many are walking away from this mercy. The hearts of many are hardened by sin and He wants to heal them but they won't let Him in.

Coincidence? No way!

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem. The meaning of the word Bethlehem is "House of Bread". Jesus was born in a manger, which is a feeding trough. He is the Bread of Life. Even the circumstances of His birth show signs of what He would become. How blessed we are to receive Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist!

I drafted this the other day. I was about to print it but the Lord said, " Not yet." I didn't know why until I went to Mass today and heard the Gospel reading. Much to my surprise it was the " Bread of Life "discourse. Now I know why he wanted me to wait!
The Lord wants us to abandon ourselves completely into His hands. When we do this, we become like finely tuned instruments in a divine orchestra. Holy Communion helps us to do this by making us more attuned to the master conductor, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

" Hound of Heaven"

This is a brief excerpt from the poem, "Hound of Heaven" by Francis Thompson:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears

I hid from Him, and under running laughter.Up vistaed hopes I sped;

And shot, precipitated,

Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,

From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.

But with unhurrying chase,

And unperturbed pace,

Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,

They beat - and a Voice beat

More instant than the Feet -

"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."

This is my alltime favorite poem. The full poem is quite long but very beautiful. I highly recommend it for those who like poetry. Like Francis Thompson , I too, ran from the Lord and hid from Him and everything in my life betrayed me except for Him. He hounded me and eventually caught me and nothing will ever be the same.

Utterly Thine, O Lord

Are you serious, Lord?

In the head of Mary N.


The other week the Lord called me to fast. (Piece a cake, I thought.) Then He said, "From makeup." I said , "Lord , you're kidding.....right?" He wasn't. I said, "Not my mascara, Lord , surely not that. Right?" Mascara too. 3 days. Offer it up in reparation for your vanity and that of the world.

Well, I did it folks. Hardly batted an eyelash either (wink).
On a more serious note: the Lord used these three days to heal a deep hurt from my childhood. Spiritually, He showed me why I started wearing makeup in the first place. When I was thirteen or fourteen (shortly after my confirmation) I was brutally beaten up by a school bully. My face was bruised and my eyes were blackened. I had to go to school like this for weeks while my face healed. I became an object of mockery to a gang of kids in the school. We were also poor and I only had 1 pair of pants, which I would scrub in the sink each night and then dry. My shirts were hand-me-downs from my sister and my cousin (they had slight frames , mine was medium). As you can guess, this gave them more food for the fodder. My maiden name was Dion and kids would yell loudly in the hall,  "Hey Dion, wearing the same pants AGAIN?" or with laughter "Where did you get the black eyes!" And on and on. My poor mother had to look upon her child's face bruised and beaten. This precious mother took ten dollars of our food money, which she really couldn't spare and used it to buy me another pair of pants. I would cry when I got home from school. I thought there was something wrong with ME and the way I looked . Soon after that I started wearing makeup a friend's sister had given me. It was like a mask I wore hiding the real me underneath.
During the 3 days that I fasted from makeup , the Lord healed my self-image and showed me how HE saw me. He made me feel beautiful inside and I could feel Him smiling at me. The makeup was just another fig leaf I used to cover the wounds that I should have brought to Him.
I have nothing against makeup, I still wear a little when I feel like it but I don't need it.

Thank you, Lord for healing me.

Mom's next post

This next segment is very difficult to put into words. It was such a special gift from God that I have only told Mary about it. It happened about 30 years ago.

I was praying in my room - actually I was praising God for all His blessings; and I began to sing. I don't remember what I was singing; but I felt as though God was drawing the praise from every cell in my body. And then I was no longer aware of time or of my surroundings, or even myself. I loved God so much that I felt a part of Him. This experience left me with a great love for God, and a love and concern for others.....a sort of patient kindness that is far greater than I am.

One of the things I do remember is this: I felt as though God was asking me for my son. I remember saying, " Lord I give you my son."  I have two sons. This has been extremely puzzling to me, as I thought I was going to have a priest in our family.  "No priest in our family as yet.)

This brings me back to the birth of two of my children. I remember not experiencing any pain during labor and delivery for my two sons.  (I had a lot of pain with the girls.) My oldest son was born in the hospital with several nurses and the doctor present in the delivery room. After the delivery of my son, the head nurse said, "If I hadn't seen this myself, I would never have believed it."


My youngest son was born at home in my bed with no one present. My husband and I were watching a movie on tv,  (the name of the movie was "Battle Cry") and I told my husband I was tired and went to bed. I got on the bed, rolled over, and my son was born. I called and called my husband to come. Finally, he did come, and I thought he was going to pass out. I told him to call my next door neighbor. She came right over and called an ambulance to take me to the hospital (because my doctor insisted).


What does all this mean? It is as puzzling to me as it will be to anybody reading this - but Mary will attest that I am sound of mind and fully fuctional!


Now, getting back to my greatest happiness -- Our Lord is so kind and loving, and He has given us the holy task of telling others of His love and care. We are here on earth for so short a time. Let's use it to tell others of His greatness and mercy.



Dorothea

" A Snoodles Tale "

For those who have children, I highly recommend the book "A Snoodles Tale " by Phil Vischer. This is one of the most beautiful childrens' book that I have ever read. My daughter loves this book and so do I! What a delightful book! It brought tears to my eyes.

The pruning

When the Lord first turned my face toward Him , it hurt. My house was built on quicksand and it collapsed in the face of Truth Itself. The outside of the house looked beautiful to others, but the inside was filled with rot. Standing in the presence of His Divine Mercy was a great gift indeed, but easy? Not afterward. Facing the truth of my sinfulness shocked me. I still remember the pain of it. I was stripped bare and kept looking for fig leaves to cover myself with. I was full of pride and suffered a lot during the pruning process (which is still going on). But the pain doesn't last forever and I have learned to ease it by abandoning myself to Him . This pruning process happens to all of us. We need this to produce good fruit.


Thank you, Lord for not leaving us sitting in the muck of our sins. Thank you, O Divine Gardener for pruning us for the Divine Garden of Heaven.

Tug of war

Imagine this:

A long chain. The devil and his onions (oops! I meant minions.... though, come to think about it, their odor is quite sulfurous) are at one end, satan is the canker. (Is that correct? I looked it up. Yep, an ulcerous sore, that sounds about right.) Now, on the other end are the saints and Jesus is the anchor. We are in the middle somewhere. Every time people lean on the Lord the chain goes His way and vice (pun intended) versa. Along comes a beautiful Lady. She whispers something in The Lord's ear. The Lord looks thunderous then gives her a nod. She stands behind the weaker ones and gives a mighty tug. The demons collapse in a heap on the other side. What do you think Our lady said to Jesus?

She simply said, " He (satan) cheats." And he does. He attacks us in all our weakest areas. Look around our broken world. But we have the Lord to lean on...... and this makes all the difference.

Pray the Rosary. I was one of those weaker ones and I have received many graces through her intercession. The Lord never refuses her requests because she never refused Him. Like a mother, she simply carries us and brings us to her son.


Thank you, Jesus , for giving us your mother.

Popcorn?

Okay, I'll admit it. If God had not converted me through His Divine Mercy.....I think popcorn would have done it. Corn, I can understand. It is fodder for cattle and other animals. But, popcorn? The only reason that I can see of why He would allow corn to pop is for the utter delight of his children. I imagine the awe on the faces of the people who first realized (by accidentally leaving a dried out ear of corn too close to a fire) that corn popped. I can picture someone gingerly putting it to his mouth, tasting it, and realizing that it was good. A couple of months back, I was flooded with what I call "God Grins" over this. Our Lord has a wonderful sense of humor; to be caught up in love for Him over something as little as popcorn has shown me this. I could feel Him smiling inside me.

" Feeding the sheep "

This post is from my mom:


This is about a very close friend who had been through a divorce (and an annulment). She had come back to the Church and had become very devout. In fact, she was the one I had been praying with when I had the previous experience. (The power of intercessory prayer, pt.2)

A friend of ours had asked if we would pray for a parishioner's wife who was terminally ill. The three of us decided to go to the hospital and pray for this lady. But first our friend asked permission from her husband to visit. He said yes.

The hospital was about an hour away. The three of us prayed all the way to the hospital. I experienced one of the deepest prayer times of my life.... and thought this was a very hopeful sign. Sadly, this lady passed away about a month later, leaving a grief-stricken family. She was only 42 years old.

A few months later, on a Sunday, while I was driving to a nearby store, I was so flooded with love, I almost had to pull over to the curb. I felt I was being told to write down my very good friend,s name (the friend I frequently prayed with) and the name of the husband of the lady who had passed away, on a piece of paper with the date , and to put this paper in my bible and not to discuss it with anyone. These are the most specific instructions I have ever received.

Several weeks later, I was having dinner at a local restaurant with my very good friend. She happened to mention this gentleman's name - that they had met each other a few times at church, and she that she was very drawn to him.

I told her about my experience a few weeks before, and that I had written their names down on a piece of paper, along with the date, and had it in my Bible. She said she wanted to see it.

She came to my house and I showed her the paper with their names on it, as well as the date. She said " Oh, my goodness that was the day the church celebrated World Marriage Day "

They were married later in the year....and it has been 20 years of bliss.

God is good,
Dorothea

Truth

Our world will not be changed by the proud utterances of kings, the long-winded speeches of presidents or the verbiage of those in high places. Our world will be changed through the prayers of the "little ones"; those who have given their hearts completely to the Lord. These are the prayers that pierce the clouds of heaven and land in the lap of Our Lord. These are the prayers that tug at his heart and move Him to rain down graces upon his people. So let us keep our eyes on Him, the God of all creation.



We praise you, Lord, and we adore You!

"O afflicted one, storm battered and unconsoled"

This "word" has left me shaken . I was given this "word" this morning and I have yet to receive a word for someone as powerful as this. I told the Lord that I needed a strong confirmation of this "word" and it keeps coming over me in waves. I know who this is for but I'm going to let this one stand on its own, believing and trusting the Lord that this person will know in her spirit that it is for her.

" O afflicted one, storm battered and unconsoled,
I lay your pavements in carnelians,
and your foundations in sapphires;
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of carbuncles,
and all your walls of precious stones."

I am aware of your interior suffering , my tenderhearted one, and yes, you are bringing me many souls. Do not doubt me nor the works I am doing in you. Trust in my love for you.

"Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken,
My love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken,
says the Lord, who has mercy on you."

Anawim

After the "word" the other day, I decided to google the word anawim. [I had looked it up in the dictionary but it wasn't there.] Anawim is a Hebrew word that means "the poor who depend on the Lord for deliverance." It's not in my bible, but in some versions, Psalm 37:11 says "The anawim will inherit the earth."

Just in case you were wondering.

The power of intercessory prayer, pt.1

Our Lord's mercy is infinite and I am always left awestruck by this mercy. There is a man who lives in our city; I don't want to give his name so I will just call him R. My husband and I both know him. He is deeply depressed, a drug addict and suicidal. He went from being addicted to prescription drugs to heroin. The Lord has called me to deep intercessory prayer for R. This type of prayer is so powerful that it leaves me in tears. I placed R. in the hands of Jesus and Jesus cradled this broken man in His arms. I cried and cried.


R. has had six suicide attempts and all have failed. He has overdosed on pills twice and lived. He held a gun to his head, pulled the trigger and the gun misfired. He sliced his wrists and lived. He hung himself and this failed too! A couple months ago he jumped off a three story building and only got a broken rib. These are serious suicide attempts and all have failed! God hears our prayers and answers them, sometimes miraculously!


R. is homeless now but he is still alive. I ask those who read this to please pray for him. The Lord knows who he is.

The power of intercessory prayer, pt.2

Here is another post from my mother and, yes, this really happened. I also worked for this woman when my mom did. Here is her post:

This is an example of how God can use us to bless others.


I was praying with a very good friend one morning. During the prayer time, I had a very strong impression that this lady I once worked for, was in grave danger. I told my friend I had to leave and warn this lady right away. I drove to her house, and I frantically prayed, " Lord, if this is from you, please protect her life. When I got there, I rang and rang, but no one was home.

I dismissed the mental image I had, thinking I was in error. But I kept praying for her...a burning prayer.

Within a few days, I met a friend of hers and she told me this lady was in the hospital. I went to visit her. She confided to me that she and her husband had split up; and that she was living with this man she had met through friends. They had a quarrel. She was watching tv in her family room. He came to the entrance of the room, pointed a gun at her and fired. [He was about ten feet away.] She remembered putting her hands up to her face. The bullet grazed her finger, entered her jaw and went right through her shoulder. She was going to be okay, her boyfriend was arrested and jailed. He claimed it was an accident. I don't know what happened after that.

Why was I given this very strong message that her life was in danger? I assume God wanted me to warn her and pray for her. Her life was saved by a most merciful God.

Dorothea

"But do you gird your loins; stand up and tell them all that I command you. Jer.1: 17

While I was cleaning an office building with my mom this morning, the Lord gave me a "word". I don't know how to explain how this happens; all I know is that when I get them......He wants me to speak them. So, here it is:

The Lord has gathered his army together. The army of Jesus' and Mary's little ones (actually the word was "anawim" or at least that's what it sounded like) are being put into position even as we speak. Those who have completely given their lives to the Lord , "the anawim" are going to be used in a powerful way to help crush the head of satan. The little ones will be used to utterly confound the proud. He is pouring a treasury of graces upon these little souls; so be prepared to receive them. We shall see signs and wonders upon this earth that have never before been seen.

Okay, Lord, I printed it. May your Divine Will be done.