The Power of the Church Triumphant

As a member of the Church Militant and part of the Mystical Body of Christ one of my greatest blessings is the access I have to the Church Triumphant. And I use it daily. The canonization process of the Catholic Church is very rigorous and the saints are living models of holiness for us. I stress living because they are not dead at all. On the contrary, they are more alive than we are and encompassed by the glory of God.

Everything and everyone can be a stepping stone to God and the saints are the most powerful intercessors of all. Knowing that, I turn to them for help in my daily life, especially in the area of faults, family life and spiritual progression. They love when we ask for their intercession and we can be assured that they are pleading our cause before the throne of God. 

I enjoy reading about saints and how often our prayers are answered through their intercession. Having a close relationship with the "great cloud of witnesses" who have gone before me is a very important aspect of my spiritual life and I pray the Litany of the Saints quite often. Plus, I have my "favorites" and  each has a charge over certain areas of my life; I am not one to refuse a gift that the Church has placed in my lap. 

Here is a quick breakdown of some of saints that "work" with me:

~ St. Faustina has charge of my blog, my own intercessory prayers for others, my understanding of         justice and mercy and other areas.
~ St Pio is my "spiritual father" and is in charge of my spiritual life and progress, along with my patron,
   St Teresa of Avila
~ St. Joseph is in charge of family unity and family matters
~ St. Bernadette is in charge of my growth in humility
~ St Benedict and St. Gemma help with spiritual battles (though I often call on the whole lot of them for this task)
~ Blessed Kateri and St. Tarcisius are in charge of certain areas of my childhood that pop up from time to time. They were my favorite saints as a child.
~ St. Peter and the other apostles have charge over keeping my feet firmly in the Faith.
~ St. Paul has charge over my spiritual gifts and my weaknesses (the thorns in my side)
~ St Dymphna over my propensity toward anxiety
~ St. Therese is in charge of saving a spot on God's lap for me (grin)

The list could go on forever but I'll stop here...lol. I thought I'd post this because I often wonder why people settle for vague "spiritual guides" when God has placed so many holy men and women as models and helpers for those of us still on earth. It's truly a great gift and blessing from the Lord!

And Our Lady?

She is my mother and I am her daughter. This spiritual motherhood is by God's design. Every single word that Jesus spoke on the Cross has infinite meaning because God is eternal.

"Behold thy mother."
                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm very interested in hearing about the saints and their place in the lives of others. I pray with the saints and also use the Saint Calender to ask assistance on a daily basis. I would like to hear how other people incorporate The Church Triumphant into their spiritual lives. Anyone want to share their stories? You can leave a comment on my blog or a link to your post about this subject if you are interested in this too. Thanks!

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.

Fiat!

Everything matters. Every word spoken. Every word left unspoken. Every action and every failure to act. So often I hear the words, "Well, I'm not going to bother voting" or "Why bother speaking up about abortion? One person won't make a difference anyway." WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! One person does make a difference! Every word, every smile, every action DOES make a difference and one person CAN change the world.

Mother Mary simply said "May it be done to me according to your word" and changed the course of history forever.