As we are going through these 50 days of Easter and celebrating the Resurrection, the message I keep hearing is to pray. Always put prayers first. Jesus showed us by example. Whenever he was going to do something, go somewhere he always took the time to say prayers. And if anyone needed prayers, you would think the last person who ever needed them was Jesus. But Jesus knew. We need help. Jesus knew that he needed help to. He couldn’t do it alone. He needs the Father.

Before the way of the Cross, Jesus went to pray. He took his friends, they went to sleep. Jesus knew that the Father is always there, and so he prayed to the Father. Probably more for us, than for himself. Jesus knew the Father was there for him and would help him to do what he needed to do. But the apostles needed help, so Jesus showed them the way, and they learned. The apostles knew they couldn’t do it alone, they needed help, and in every story we hear in the bible after Jesus died, they were praying, praying together. For strength, for direction, for guidance. and God sent the Holy Spirit.

And what did they do after. They gave us their faith, they gave us the word of God, the bible. They showed us how to celebrate the mass. They gave their lives to God many were martyrs, but before they did anything else they prayed. So as we fo through our daily lives, facing our challenges, our difficulties, don’t let ourselves worry to much about what we can’t control. Give those problems,those rewards to God first and say our prayers.

Mary tells us in every one of her messages to pray. Pray to Mary to take us by the hand and show us the way to her Son.   God bless you and have a good day, George

I’ve been thinking of what to share and I started thinking of a message from Medjugorje that I shared with my family a few years ago. It’s a message that has helped fashion my behavior in the time since, and hopefully will be a message that may help you. I finally found my old email, good thing, because my memory of where I got it was faulty. Unfortunately, my memory  isn’t always as good as it once was.

I was on the Medjugorje website and I was watching a video with one of the visionaries in which she was answering some questions about what Mary talks to her about and what they pray for…. and one of the questions was “What is Satan’s best weapon to get us to sin?” TOMORROW.

How simple, yet deadly effective. Tomorrow. The best weapons are the simplest, and how simple is it, to just put it off. You’re still going to do it, just not right now. No hurry, just do it a little later. Enjoy today, plenty of time to do it tomorrow. But….. we all know what happens tomorrow, we have our regular stuff to do, so we put it off till tomorrow again, and again. And than the guilts start, because we didn’t do it right away, didn’t call on time, missed a visit. Put off something we should have done yesterday, and yesterday turned into last week, last month, maybe last year. And it gets worse, we feel guilty, so we avoid the person that we feel guilty about. It’s our fault and we’re taking it out on the person we stiffed the first time. Satan has us figured out.

I’ve done a little better, since I first heard this, but I still have a long way to go. Habits are hard to break, and bad habits are so much harder. When I think of what I have missed out on, relationships that have withered away, because of me putting things off till tomorrow. But Mary has the solution for us, and it’s very simple. PRAY.  Say a prayer, and than do what you’re supposed to do. I know it has helped me, and I pray that I may continue to improve and leave tomorrow for the stuff of tomorrow.

What’s the saying ” Sufficient for the day is it’s own evil”. I’m sure I misquoted it exactly, but isn’t that one of the reasons for the problems of today, what we didn’t take care of yesterday. Think of our national debt, if we had paid our bills when they were due, instead of putting them off? How it has affected our future. How it’s affected our own finances. Credit cards, how easy, enjoy it today, pay for it tomorrow. Our legacy for our kids, is it going to be the bills from yesterday?  Our kids are growing up using credit. Tomorrow is a habit, and how will we ever break this bad habit.

We need to live the message from our Lady from Medjugorje, the message she gives us in every one of her messages, to pray. Pray for strength to do today, not to put off till tomorrow. Let’s take Satan’s weapon away from him. Pray.

And now I pray that this message will find you in good health, filled with God’s love and God’s mercy. God bless and have a good week, George

“To be happy, live a simple humble life… and let yourself be guided by God….”

  Mary gave us these words in one of her early messages from Medjugorje. Seems so simple to do, but yet so hard in practice. Interruptions seem to be the norm nowadays. An example is telephones, telephone calls are bad enough. You used to be able to at least leave the phone calls behind when you left the house, but now the phone goes with you, and text messages seem to control our lives, especially our kids. At least I used to think so, but now it seems that most people can’t go 5 minutes without the lifeline of their telephones. Oh, yeah, pictures too, I forgot that every phone can take pictures now and send them in a instant.

Questions? “Just a minute, I’ll check on the internet” On my phone. Hot? let me check the temperature. Scores  Let me check. Almost makes you forget what the morning paper is for, but I love my morning paper. Starts the day off right, nothing messes up my day worse than my paper not being here for me to read when I’m having breakfast. Feels like my day just starts with me being 2 steps behind.

Anyhow, back to interruptions, (as I interrupted myself). A few years ago, I was trying to have a conversation with my daughter. Since she got out of her teen years, Dad got a little smarter and his thoughts and opinions matter a little more. So we were talking one evening when she came by and every few minutes she would pause, glance down at her phone, type in a few letters with hardly looking at it, than resume the conversation. Each time she would look at her phone, I would stop, wait for her to give me her attention, than we could talk again. After a few times, she said “Oh, you don’t have to stop, I’m used to multi-tasking”. I, on the other hand had a different opinion. But I try to be a gentleman, so I just asked her to turn off her phone for a few minutes so we could just talk. Multi-tasking is just giving partial attention to multiple subjects, which while useful at times. I prefer to have someones attention when I’m talking to them. Makes me feel like at least, I’m as important as the person on the other end of the phone.

We did have a good talk, and she is much more aware nowadays and lets her Dad feel like he’s important too, and puts her phone down when we talk. Such a simple thing, a telephone, so necessary, yet can be so controlling of our lives.. I know that I use mine a lot more than I used to, even sometimes get sucked into texting. It is handy, and fun sometimes. Short and sweet.

“To be happy, live a simple humble life… and let yourself be guided by God…”   To be happy… we spend most of our lives trying to be happy, chasing this and that, buying this, doing that, chasing happiness.  Live a simple life. Be humble. Let yourself be guided by God.

We’re trying, with varying degrees of success. But I have found that when I focus more on prayers, reading the bible, going to church, that I am happier. I feel better about myself and treat other better. I know I have a long way to go. (many say my path is so long, they’re not sure where the end is), but I have found that keeping this saying in my mind and reminding myself now and again, has helped me.

God bless you, wishing you a good day and a happy week, George

Faith, Hope and Love, and the greatest of these was Love. We’ve all heard these words many times and many times we have been guided by these words. Sometimes our Faith lead us, faith in God, faith in self, faith in others. Other times it’s Hope, hope for an answer, hope for a cure, hope for peace. Many times it’s Love, young love, love for someone special, sometimes love for others, love of family, love of a newborn baby, love for those who have done something special or extra for us. Maybe even love of self, after all it does say in the bible to love your neighbor as yourself, so a healthy love of self is necessary.

But on Good Friday, Father was talking about a special kind of Love. A love which rewards ill with good, a lash, a kick with a prayer. We’ve all had bad things happen to us, and were still able to smile, to still look at the bright side, (sometimes). Jesus went through a kind of day, we can’t even imagine. Physical, mental, verbal abuse, his friends ran away when he needed help, the one who was to be the foundation of the church, denied him, again, again and again. No rest, no water to cool his burning throat, beaten down until he can barely move. Yet, every thought, every word is for us, to comfort, to forgive, to still guide us. Think about the last time you stubbed your toe, hallelujah! wake the neighbors, if you didn’t let an term loose, that you didn’t mean.

All that Jesus had for us was Love. Love from his first breath, until his last. Love which held him on the Cross. Let us pray that we may be filled with that Love, that we may share Jesus’ love with others. I would like to share the message that Mary gave us from Medjugorje on March 2, 2012.  ”Dear children; Through the immeasurable love of God I am coming among you and I am persistently calling you into the arms of my Son. With a motherly heart I am imploring you, my children, but I am also repeatedly warning you, that concern for those who have not come to know my Son be in the first place for you. Do not permit that by looking at you and your life, they are not overcome by a desire to come to know Him. Pray to the Holy Spirit for my Son to be impressed within you. Pray that you can be apostles of the divine light in this time of darkness and hopelessness. This is a time of your trial. With a rosary in hand and love in the heart set out with me. I am leading you towards Easter in my Son. Pray for those my Son has chosen that they can always live through Him and in Him-the High Priest. Thank you.”

I know I kind of stumbled around with my thoughts and words, but I have Faith and Hope that you are feeling the Love. God bless and have a good week, George

We started a new service this year on Good Friday. “Tre Ore” which is an old Catholic custom commemorating the three hours that Christ was on the cross. As Father put it, it’s a regular Good Friday service spread over 3 hours. Sounded long, but I had the day off, so I decided to give it a try. Our service featured traditional meditations on the seven last words of Christ, along with a variety of hymns and periods of silent meditations, beginning with the reading of the passion and ending with veneration of the cross and communion service.

I’m so glad I went to this service, it was perfect for preparation for Easter. Sometimes mass can seem long, but at the same time it’s rushed. This was a very peaceful service, Father gave some great homilies and as you listened to the hymn, you have time to reflect and meditate on the message. Then we had veneration of the cross. It’s amazing how well prepared you were for the cross after the homilies. It’s always a solemn moment as you approach the cross, but it really humbling this time as you thought of all that Jesus did for us. Just a holy moment. And than we had Holy Communion and the Holy Eucharist.

Father had scheduled the Stations of the Cross for after the service if anyone wanted to stay, but I don’t think anyone left. It was a very special service and I highly recommend for you to go if you have the opportunity. I know I’m going to be there next year. It was worth every moment and prepared me well for the celebration of Easter.

I wish you all a Happy and Holy Easter Sunday. Enjoy and God bless you, George

I went to church last night, and Father was talking about washing the feet of the apostles, he got me thinking. As I was watching him wash their feet, he was talking to them, making a few jokes, it was interesting to watch their faces. When they walked up, some were proud, some embarrassed, some maybe not sure why they were there, but as their feet were washed, you could see their faces change. Humbling. I could feel the same thing the apostles must have felt. “You shouldn’t be doing this, I don’t deserve you to wash my feet” or as Peter said, “You will never wash my feet” until Jesus told him that he would never share his inheritance, than it was “Not only my feet, but my head and hands as well”.

Father wasn’t embarrassed to wash their feet, he didn’t really want to, didn’t enjoy handling someone else’s feet, but he knew there was a need to. He had the same attitude that Jesus must have, to humble himself, to be the example, to serve others, as you must serve others. Humble. Kind of interesting, a sense of wonder, a little funny, as you watch Jesus wash your fellow apostles feet, and than as he picks up your feet, pours the water over them, washes and takes the towel from around his waist and dries off your feet. What a feeling of wonder, humbleness you must have felt. You can watch the people today as their feet were washed and see the same sense of wonder, of humbleness, and as they walked back to their seats. Quiet, humble, not showing the same sense of pride, but more a sense of the love that Jesus had shown. And often throughout the year, and especially at this time of year, every year, you are reminded and feel that sense of humbleness, and love.

Here’s a simple message from our Lady from Medjugorje on February 27, 1986.  Dear children! Be humble. Live in humility. Thank you for your response to my call.

Humility one of the hardest things we have to do. We think, we’re humble in our lives, but how good it feels when someone compliments us or says something nice about us. Or how hurt or neglected we feel, when we do something extra or something special and we don’t hear anything back. Just feel being taken for granted. I know I do. Humility, give it to Jesus, our thanks, our pride, our need for acceptance and think of the message that Jesus gave us, before his Passion. Humility, Humbleness.

Have a great day, God bless and protect you, George

Good Morning.

We have all heard the Parable of the Sower many times. Have had it explained to us many times, many ways. We know it, know what it means, but I heard it in a different light last year and it changed me, (not enough, perhaps, but made me more aware). It is why it’s my subtitle, a constant reminder.

Last year when driving to work I was listening to Immaculate Heart radio and a priest was talking about how he got into a healing ministry. I apologize for forgetting his name, I’m terrible with names. He didn’t understand it all, not sure how he really got into it, but he performed healings through prayer, belief and saying “Jesus”. He was so amazed and as he kept getting called to other areas, he was called to Ethiopia. He talked of their faith, their belief, of how they had so little. Little or no food, clothing or housing, but they came by the hundreds, by the thousand. Some walking 2 or 3 days to be there. As they had their healing services, they were so alive. You could see that they lived their faith in every fiber of their being, full of love, joy and belief in God. They lived their faith so vibrantly. He was talking with another priest about the amazing experience and wondered why the same miracles didn’t happen here.

We have strong Christians, strong faith, strong beliefs, yet the healing services here aren’t nearly as powerful. So he prayed about it, and one day it was revealed to him in the gospel. He was reading Matthew chapter 13, the parable of the sower and he understood. “America is like the seed sown among the thorns. We are the ones who hear the word, but then worldly anxieties and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit”.

We are so blessed here in America. We have everything we could ever need, or imagine at our fingertips. What we take for granted, most of the rest of the world can’t even imagine. Hunger for most of us, is having dinner a few hours late. I have always thought of myself as being pretty conservative, but as I have been cleaning out the basement, I am amazed and appalled at the stuff I have down there. Lots of it almost new or hardly used, and the clothes? Wow. Anyhow, Goodwill and Big Brothers are getting loaded up.

Stuff, fast food, computer games, cellphones, new movies every few days, entertainment, sports, etc, etc,etc. It’s so easy to let all the stuff in life, take over our lives. The thorns are choking out the seed. How many times I have let stuff interfere with my faith, made time for the thorns instead of the seed. I’m going along great, but there’s always something else coming up, some excuse to put things off. Sometimes I miss the days of my youth, when we didn’t have so much stuff. Things were simpler, not necessarily easier. We have more opportunities today, so use the good ones and don’t let the thorns take over. Especially it’s so hard for our youth.

Here’s a message from Mary from last year to Mirjana, March 2, 2011. Dear children; My motherly heart suffers tremendously as I look at my children who persistently put what is human before what is of God; at my children who despite everything that surrounds them and despite all the signs that are sent to them, think that they can walk without my Son. They cannot!  They are walking to eternal perdition. That is why I am gathering you, who are ready to open your heart to me, you who are ready to be apostles of my love, to help me; so that by living God’s love you may be an example to those who do not know it. May fasting and prayer give you strength in that and I bless you with motherly blessing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Thank you.”

So this last week before Easter, take some time and let the sun shine in, so our seed can grow and produce sixty or a hundredfold. And let us say an extra prayer for our youth, that they may be filled with love of God and not let the thorns in life choke out the seed. Have a great day, God bless and protect you, George

Hello, again

Springtime, sorry I got off track last time, but that’s just like spring weather. You never know what you’re going to get. We were having beautiful weather when I last wrote 3 days ago, and have had 2 snowstorms since, and it’s supposed to be in the 70′s in a few days. You love the weather you’re having, but be prepared for the worst. You might get it. Kind of like life. We’re cruising along everything is going great, and than bam, bam, bam. Your life changes. You have a new direction, a new focus, new priorities, but never lose that faith that God is moving you in the direction that is best for you.

Our bishop had a great message for us for Lent. “Pardon our dust, we’re under construction.”  What a great twist on words, and how appropriate. During Lent we focus more on our weaknesses, our sins and try to atone for them. We say some extra prayers, give up something that we really like or crave. We try to lose some of our focus on self. I’ve noticed it becomes easier after a few weeks, or if you did something last year, if you do it again, it’s simple, because you know you can do it, because you have done it before.

I believe the most important habit we can get into is prayer. Mary constantly tells us in her messages to pray. Make prayer a habit, pray at work, pray in the morning, at meals, before you go to bed at night, and I always thought “Yeah, for you it’s easy , for the saints it’s easy to pray all the time, but for me it’s different.” But it’s not really. Obviously, I’ve got so very long to go, to still be light years behind in prayer habits, but I have found that I do pray more, and that it has become easier, when busy, when taking a walk, at work, especially when driving, instead of getting mad or cussing at someone, who have special driving challenges, I say “Jesus love you, Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you” and I find myself able to smile instead of get mad. I still am not happy about their driving habits, but I’m able to allow myself to let it go. (most of the time). After all “I’m still under construction”.

Here’s a message from Mary, March 29, 1985 Dear children! Today I want to call you to pray, pray, pray! In prayer you will come to know the greatest joy and the way out of every situation that has no way out. Thank you for moving ahead in prayer. Every individual is dear to my heart. And I thank all of you who have rekindled prayer in your families. Thank you for your response to my call.

So these last few weeks as we prepare ourselves for Easter, open your hearts to the joys and blessings that God has given us in our lives. Say a prayer for the stranger you meet, and may God protect you and your family.God bless you and have a good day, George

Good Morning

Springtime. Bulbs are starting to come up, birds are singing and there’s a few flower poking through, and of course, it’s warmer. I guess, I appreciate it a little more this year, because we haven’t had much in the way of spring the last few years. Last year it didn’t get into the 60′s until middle of June. Yes, June. And then the next week it was in the 80′s. Messed up gardening. I have to have my fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. Everything else is good in a garden, but nothing beats a fresh sun warmed tomato that you just picked out of the garden. I’m smiling just thinking about it.

Of course, spring isn’t my favorite season, it’s my wife’s favorite, she loves when it starts getting warmer and her tulip and daffodils start coming up. Fall is my favorite season, always has been. The mountains just come alive with color, and it’s a new landscape every day. I still remember last fall when I driving to work. I drive into the mountains every morning and love to watch the sun rise and the mountains open up before my eyes. I was just getting to the summit and the sun was just coming up, and the sunshine was just hitting on a grove of trees that were a brilliant red. Right at the peak, which I was driving towards. It was like the hills were on fire, just in that spot and just for a moment, and than I was past and the moment was just in my memory. The next morning, I couldn’t wait until I got to the same spot………….. than disappointment, a lot of the leaves had dropped overnight, the sun wasn’t hitting just right and while it was still beautiful, it wasn’t the same. I still enjoyed it, there were still some beautiful vibrant red leaves on the trees for a few more weeks, that I enjoyed, but the “Wow” moment was gone. But I still smile, when I picture it in my mind.

God gives us so many beautiful days, so many beautiful things, but we get so involved in the many ordinary things we have to do everyday in our busy lives. Make sure we take the time to enjoy, when we get that special treat, that wow moment. I can just imagine, the pleasure that God gets when we appreciate those little surprises in our lives. Just like parent, a Father in fact. You know you have something special set up for your children. You did your homework, you know what they like, you’ve got everything set up just so, and just can’t wait until they open it up and see their surprise. You can just imagine it, you’re probably more excited about it than they are.. But, you wonder, will they get it? will they appreciate what I did for them? Understand how special they are to me? Will they love it as much as I did?

And than the moment arrives, it’s perfect, just like you planned, and the look in their eyes, the glow in their face. Yes, yes, they did get it and you glow, your heart is just so full of love for them, you could just burst. And then, your child looks at you, a smile of their face and says “Thank you. I loved it.” Is there anything better? Those special times are in our hearts forever, and the same is true with God, even more so, because he loves us so much more than we could ever love him. God’s immeasurable love for us.  So don’t forget to say thank you.

Sorry, I got off track again, I was planning to write about spring. Oh, well, gives me something to write about in a few days.

Enjoy your day, God bless and protect you, George