I would just like to write about what I think is happening in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Originally I did support Rick Santorum because of his absolutely correct mindset of how and why government needs to work, and the fact that he is truly a FAITHFUL CATHOLIC politician.  Before I knew of Rick Santorum, I didn’t think it was possible for the words faithful Catholic and politician to co-exist. For Rick, CATHOLIC comes first. He truly understands the role of right government, and that is to protect the God-given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but NOT at the expense of abandoning your faith!

Take the likes of Nancy Pelosi,(please!) former speaker of the House of Representatives. Her despicable act of defiance against the church in standing by the Obama Administration and  the HHS mandate of Catholic and other religious Institutions to comply with the laws that require them to cover costs for contraception, the Morning After pill, abortion “services” and sterilization procedures, makes her an automatic enemy of the church. Publicly standing against the teachings of her own church, (for which I pray her bishop swiftly acts to discipline her), she is a stark contrast to Rick Santorum, who stands FOR the teachings of the church.  Catholics and and the world take note;  Nancy Pelosi is not a Catholic.  She is protesting, that makes her not Catholic. A Catholic by definition accepts ALL the truths that the Catholic Church teaches because they have been revealed by God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. (taken from the Act of Faith prayer).

Ok, now that we have the definition of Faithful Catholic put forth, and the example thereof, I will get back to my original story about my support for Rick Santorum for President.  Admittedly, my concern for Rick was that perhaps the American people would not see that Rick is what we need  in a president.  Just the same as what happened in 2008, when Mike Huckabee, a faithful Christian Governor running for president was passed over and overshadowed by the prospect of  having the first black president in Barack Obama.  Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum would be the ideal Conservative Presidential ticket in my mind. Before Rick Santorum surged last night, I liked the idea of Newt Gingrich as our president. A Reagan Conservative, having had experience creating jobs and balancing the budget, and having a strong stance against the enemies of America made him a good candidate in my opinion.  I had migrated to Newt because of what I was hearing from him and I still do like him. I think that all of the candidates are pretty exceptional and much better than Barack Obama.

Now that Rick Santorum has won three states in one week, I am once again hopeful  that Rick is making his message heard with good old-fashioned hard work and talking with people face to face, addressing their modern concerns, offering concrete solutions.

Contrast that with another candidate that prefers to spend his millions in attack ads against the other candidates, basically seeming to “buy” elections through negativity, at the expense of trashing another individual’s character.  I am not naive, I know that in politics there is going to be some mud-slinging, but I think I speak for most Republicans when I say that this race seems to be particularly brutal in this regard.  I want to hear the candidates on the issues, and what their plans are to turn things around. I am immediately turned off by rancor and attacks.  I like gentlemanly behavior thank you!

In Rick Santorum, I see a type of young King David, youngest son of Jesse, the youth that no one expected would be candidate to be king, coming up with his slingshot to defeat Goliath with his ONE smooth stone to deliver that fatal blow between the eyes!  Rick Santorum has the confidence, not in just himself, but in God, to be the Lord of the Battle.  Who dares to come against the Lord of Hosts? David came against Goliath IN THE NAME of the Lord of Hosts and he defeated him!  I am renewed in my support for Rick Santorum, knowing he has the confidence to confront the giant of what faces him and the rest of the country in November, the prospect of another term with Barack Obama.

I believe Rick can do it, but now we must rally the faithful to start coming behind Rick to support him!  Where are all the faithful?  Come forth and get involved, because this is the election of our lifetime, and we cannot take it standing idly by watching and waiting for others to do it!  All it takes for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing!  It is our American civic duty to participate in the political process of our country, and to affect the outcome for the better with the power of our vote.  Catholics come forth, there is power in unity, a power that can overcome the greatest odds. Pray, sacrifice, get involved, and expect to see the miraculous!

St. Andrew the Apostle was one of the first disciples to follow Jesus.  He was first a disciple of John the Baptist. St. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  He said,  “This is he of whom I said, ‘After me there comes one who has been set above me because he was before me.’  And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:20-34).

St. Andrew wasted no time and followed after Jesus, on the word of St. John the Baptist, believing without a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah.  Jesus, aware that he was being followed, turns and asks Andrew and the disciple with him, “What is it you seek?”  Andrew, so persisitent in wanting to know who this magnificent man is asks, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”  “Come and see,” Jesus tells them, and they went with him to where he was staying.  St. Andrew is one of the first to be called/invited to follow Jesus.

St. Andrew also did not waste any time spreading the Good News because he went eagerly to let his brother Simon, a fisherman, know that ”We have found the Messiah!”  He brings Simon to Jesus, who then gives him a new name, “Cephas” which is interpreted, “Peter”.  We know the rest of that story, don’t we?  I am imagining the greatness of the realization of what St. Andrew was feeling at that time.  What wondrousness to think that the long-awaited Christ, the Annointed One , foretold from the scriptures has come at last!

“WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH!”  What a joyful triumph! What feelings of relief, of thankfulness to God that St. Andrew must have had, and the deep desire to share this news far and wide!  I will forever be grateful to St. Andrew for those words he uttered, because they are rich food for meditation and taking in the fullness of this truth to my heart.

I also think about St. John the Baptist, and how he must have LONGED to follow Jesus, to abandon everything and just BE with the one whom the Father had sent to save his people! Jesus was THE ONE he had come to prepare the way for. He even had the undeserved privilege (in his own words, see Matthew 3:14) of baptizing Jesus, after which the Spirit of God descended like a dove and came to rest upon the head of Jesus.  And this was the sign told to John by the Father to look for with His Annointed One.  From that point onward, John would never be the same and his work took on new meaning because now he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Promised Messiah was already here! With what renewed conviction he must have been baptizing all those who came after Jesus. Among the crowds of people coming to be baptized, Jesus went unrecognized, and yet He was WITH THEM!  GOD WITH US!

St. John the Baptist  was then arrested and imprisoned, but his work was still ongoing in that he would give witness with his life to the sanctity of the marriage bond, for which he was imprisoned when he confronted Herod about his unlawful marriage with his brother’s wife.  The blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of Faith.

St. Andrew too suffered martyrdom by crucifixion like Jesus. I found a quote on the EWTN online library, When the apostle saw his cross at a distance, he is said to have cried out,
“Hail, precious cross, that hast been consecrated by the body of my Lord, and
adorned with his limbs as with rich jewels. I come to thee exulting and glad:
receive me with joy into thy arms. O good cross, that hast received beauty from
our Lord’s limbs; I have ardently loved thee; long have I desired and sought
thee: now thou art found by me, and art made ready for my longing soul; receive
me into thy arms, taking me from among men, and present me to my master; that he
who redeemed me on thee, may receive me by thee.”

http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/andrew.htm

What a great saint!  It is my honor to highlight about him in my blog.  There is one other great thing about St. Andrew that I wish to share, and that is his Novena.  It is called a Christmas Novena, though it is not the traditional nine-days.  It goes from today, St. Andrew’s Feast Day, right through to Christmas.  Here is the beautiful prayer:

“Hail and Blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, at midnight in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.  In that hour vouchsafe O My God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior, Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother. Amen!

Tradition has it that if this prayer is prayed 15 times each day in honor of St. Andrew, that the petition prayed for will be granted.  St. Andrew, Apostle and Martyr, Pray for us!

May God Bless us all with a spiritually fruitful Advent Season.

In today’s Gospel, John 6:37-40, a verse jumped out at me. Jesus says, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who SEES the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” Everyone who SEES THE SON. Does that mean that only those who actually saw him, such as his Apostles and disciples who lived at the same time as He did? No. Then how would we all SEE him? We would see Him in the Blessed Sacrament! Jesus knew this from all Eternity and invites us to come and adore Him. Go visit Him today at the nearest Catholic Church. He is “God With Us” and He is waiting for you.

A coffee mug I found at a local drugstore in Rome, that illustrates the Universal Call to Holiness

Happy All Saints Feast Day!  I am joyful today, thinking of how many saints are in Heaven with God loving and praising Him, having reached their goal of Heaven. They are ready to do us good by their prayers and being present to us spiritually as we ask their patronage along the way to holiness and onward toward Heaven.  I LOVE reading about the lives of the saints. It’s exciting to see how the Lord worked in their lives.  It inspires me to be as they were, totally dependent on God for their holiness, and look what He did for them; He fulfilled their desire for Him, strengthened them and sanctified them and now they are in Heaven with him, totally sinless!  The saints DEPENDED ON GOD, NOT THEMSELVES for their sanctification.  They knew that it was useless to do it on their own.  They couldn’t change themselves anymore than a leopard could change its spots.  They let the rays of the SON shine on them, which gradually faded and eventually ERASED their faults and sins.  What a wondrous thing!

Now another thought..does God still perform miracles in our day and age?  You bet! How do I know?  Because with each saint that has been canonized, there are miracles that happened as a result of their intercession that led to their being canonized.  Now think of how many have been canonized by Pope John Paul II AND Pope Benedict.  That’s ALOT of MIRACLES!!

WE are called to be saints brothers and sisters!  YES it’s true. So, we better get on the stick!  The UNIVERSAL call to holiness is there for everyone because our sanctification is the will of the Lord. Why ELSE has He come?  Think of it..Jesus came so that we could live selfishly WITHOUT HIM, living a life of uselessness and then at the end…be abandoned, NOT making it to Heaven?  I think NOT!  Such a thought is dreadful. How can we live a life not considering that Jesus sacrificed for us?  Let us get to the business of our sanctification, because of what Saint Augustine says, “He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.”

I have a special tool to tell you about that I am very excited about.  It is short and sweet and to the point and will allow you to participate in your own and others’ sanctification.  I recieved an e-mail from one of my favorite Apostolates, The Mary Foundation, which I have come to depend on for great resources in living the Catholic life.  They have many wonderful CD’s to listen to, great Catholic literature to read, and now they have unvieled a tool that I think will bring many back to a more fervent practice of the Catholic Faith.  It is a seven-page booklet entitled, “Seven Daily Habits for Faithful Catholics.”  It is written by Father John McCloskey, who has brought many converts to the faith, such luminaries as Dr. Bernard Nathanson, Lawrence Kudlow, Robert Novak, Judge Robert Bork, and Senator (now Governor!) Sam Brownback. (This is on their website, Catholicity.com).  Imagine..bringing a former abortionist, such as Dr. Bernard Nathanson into the church!  By the grace of God has this been done!

I have read this booklet and I just want to highlight a few things that struck me. On the first page Father McCloskey  makes no bones about it..”There are no easy substitutes. Sanctification is a work of a lifetime and it requires our determined effort to cooperate with God’s sanctifying grace through the sacraments.”  Gee, that’s just what the Saints did. They cooperated with God’s grace through the sacraments!  Listen up everyone, this is the school of Heaven; the most important information you will want to read on how to cooperate with God’s grace. This is our only true happiness, to know God in this life and be with Him in the next for all Eternity!

He writes, “Attempting to evangelize others without the sacraments and a solid interior life will be ineffective in the long run.  You can be sure that all the saints incorporated, in one way or another, all of these habits in their daily routine.  Your goal is to be like them.”

First, don’t try to do it all at once or you may fail. It is a gradual work of progress. “Next, with the HELP of the Holy Spirit and your favorite SAINTS, you must make a firm commitment to make the seven daily habits the priority of your life-more important than meals, sleep, work, and recreation”.  Wow, these activities take up a lot of our day, how can we possibly make these seven habits more important than all of these things that we do every day? There again, ask the Holy Spirit for help in knowing how the change is to be made and ask your favorite saints for their prayers and help in showing you how to do this.  You cannot do it on your own. “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be open to you.” (Matthew 7:7) Anyone who sincerely wishes to change and asks God for help will not be disappointed!  It will happen for you, just persevere.

For those of us worrying about losing time, don’t worry, you can only gain time when you put God first!  He always rewards those who do so.   Father McCloskey says he “has never met a person who has lived the seven habits on a daily basis who has become less productive, a worse spouse, or had less time for their friends.  On the contrary, God multiplies your time, as He did with those few loaves and fishes that fed the multitude”.

I won’t write about all of the seven habits because I want you to read the booklet for yourselves and share it with everyone you know.  These points are just a teaser of what wonderful nuggets await you.  The one thing that really got me was what he says must happen before you even pray the Morning Offering.  I have written about the importance of making the Daily Offering in one of my first posts. Father McCloskey says what happens before the Morning Offering is crucial.  He gives a quote from Saint Josemaria Escriva, “Conquer yourself each day from the very first moment, getting up on the dot, at a set time, without granting a single minute to laziness.  If with the help of God, you conquer yourselfin the moment, you have accomplished a great deal for the rest of the day. It’s so discouraging to find yourself beaten in the first skirmish.”  Fr. McCloskey says it’s the “Heroic Minute”.  “Get a full night’s rest and then conquer the Heroic Minute-the very first moment when we wake up- when we will have the physical and  spiritual wherewithal throughout the day to incorporate the seven habits into our routine.”

Let me tell you, I can attest to this truth.  I am often tempted, after burning the candle at both ends, to keep pressing that snooze alarm.  When I do keep pressing it in my half asleep state, I lose precious time that I could be spending with God!  Get rid of the snooze alarm! When I get up on the dot, conquering myself, I am in a much better frame of mind to cope with the day’s activities ahead!  I can give my first fruits of the day to My Lord and God, since he is the Lord of time to begin with.

Now I will conclude with some of his ending comments. ”If you  take an honest account of your day, no matter how busy you are, you will usually find that you have wasted time.  Perhaps you can forgo an hour or more wasted on watching television, fiddling around on the Interent or playing video games.  The point is, if you make loving God your highest priority, the time is already there during your typical day.”  Oh I know I am guilty of wasting time, especially with the Internet.  I am convinced that if we do not limit ourselves on the computer, our entire lives will be wasted!  We must conquer ourselves with the computer as well as in that heroic moment upon waking.

Finally, “A few years from now, your life and the lives of those you love will be dramatically transformed because Jesus wil be able to form you more powerfully several times a day, every day, month after month, year after year.”  This comment at the end gave me that PUSH for desiring to make the Seven Habits a part of my routine NOW, because I want to be transformed into the image and likeness of my Lord and see the lives of my family and friends also transformed.  Giving the wasted time in my life over to God, filling it with Him instead is the single most greatest thing that will no doubt make me into a Saint for His Honor and Glory, one step at a time.

Now, the call to holiness beckons to YOU.  Take action and order this booklet for yourself.  O my Gosh, order as many as you can and hand them out, leave them in church, give them to people you wouldn’t think of giving them to..just order and give them.  The Mary Foundation promises to give you a great price for large quantities.  Take them up on the offer and become part of the Apostolate for much better Catholic living, as opposed to the mentality of just doing the minimum required to get by.  You can’t imagine the graces and treasures you will have.  Go to http://www.catholicity.com/booklets/  or write for it,  Mary Foundation Booklets  P.O. Box 26101 Fairview Park, Ohio  44126. This booklet is already producing fruit in my own life and I simply CANNOT keep quiet about it!  May all the Saints and Angels in Heaven intercede for us for our salvation, that we may be Holy and BLAMELESS before God and gain Heaven!

God’s Abundant Blessings to all!

Jackie Stutmann

Post Script: I am adding this note a day after I posted on the Universal Call to Holiness.  I received an e-mail from Medjugorje with the message from Our Lady for November 2, 2011 and I wanted to include this message because it confirms what I wrote in my blog posting.  Read it prayerfully, along with this posting to see if you detect the common thread.  Here is the message:

November 2, 2011 Message to Mirjana

Today, November 2, 2011, Our Lady appeared to the visionary Mirjana and delivered the following message:

“Dear children, the Father has not left you to yourselves. Immeasurable is His love, the love that is bringing me to you, to help you to come to know Him, so that, through my Son, all of you can call Him ‘Father’ with the fullness of heart; that you can be one people in God’s family. However, my children, do not forget that you are not in this world only for yourselves, and that I am not calling you here only for your sake. Those who follow my Son think of the brother in Christ as of their very selves and they do not know selfishness. That is why I desire that you be the light of my Son, that to all those who have not come to know the Father – to all those who wander in the darkness of sin, despair, pain and loneliness – you may illuminate the way and that, with your life, you may show them the love of God. I am with you. If you open your hearts, I will lead you. Again I am calling you: pray for your shepherds. Thank you.”

Visit http://www.medjugorjelive.org to discuss this message with other believers!

If you see the common thread in both messages, comment and let me know please.

There is a booklet I have come across that I will be writing about from Catholicity called “Seven Daily Habits for Faithful Catholics” which I am very excited about.  Article forthcoming!

Hello everyone, time for a short meditation.  I hope you won’t mind me killing two birds with one stone, for lack of a better example of a metaphor, but I had an assignment to do as part of my Catechist formation certification and I would also like to use the result of my assignment as part of my blog.  I will probably be doing this frequently to save time in being able to both do my studies and my blog.

The assignment was that I had to read some documents on the development of the Bible and how it is a record of the calling of people by God to accomplish His will and how they responded in faith to God in this calling from Abraham to the Apostles and Mary. I had to choose which person to examine and how it relates to my own calling in life, how they responded and how I responded. With Advent coming up, I thought it fitting to include the result of my assignment as a meditation for Advent.  Rather early I realize, but it’s also a Pro-Life message.

I have chosen Mary to examine because of her mission of bringing Jesus to the
world and how it relates to motherhood. Here is a quote by Blessed Pope John
Paul II, “Mary’s womb was the very space and place through which Almighty God
was to gain access to humanity.” I just learned about this quote this month in
fact, at the Family Rosary Crusade, as you know, with Father Wade Menezes. This quote helps me to appreciate that God has called me to motherhood as
well.

Mary’s motherhood, which she accepted in profound humility, was the
miracle that God used to bring His Son into the world. Without her saying “Yes”
to God’s plan for her life, The Way, The Truth and The Life would not have come.
In the same way, if I had not consented to being a mother, the miracle of the
souls of all my children would not have come into being and that includes the
souls of the five children I miscarried.

Mary was humble because scripture
tells us that her response to the greeting of the Angel Gabriel was one of
perplexity. She wondered WHY she was being greeted in this way. Regarding
herself as lowly, and not presuming to think that SHE would be chosen to be the
mother of the Messiah, she wondered what this greeting meant.
The angel tells her not to be afraid because she had found grace with God. She was to bear a son and give him the name Jesus. He would be great and be called “Son of the Most High.”

Mary had taken a vow of perpetual virginity to God and she wondered if
she was to have to forgo this vow to cooperate with God’s plan, so she asks,
“How will this come about, since I do not know man?” The angel tells her that
the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the Power of the Most High will
overshadow her. Mary is in awe that God will accomplish His plan in her without
recourse to the usual way in which babies are concieved.
The angel gives her more reassurance through the news of her cousin Elizabeth having concieved a son in her old age, she who was previously barren. “For NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with God.”

Mary, having been given knowledge of God’s plan and the details of HOW
it will be accomplished, consents, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done
unto me according to your word.” Mary, knowing that God’s plan for her may
include some hardship when she is to tell Joseph, her betrothed about her
pregnancy, nevertheless trusts God’s wisdom and power to fulfill His plan, and goes
forward.

As for myself, I have had several of my own annunciations-each time
I found out I was expecting. Each time I found out, I knew I was being called
again to cooperate in God’s plan of fulfillment in my life as a mother. Many
times I have felt ill-prepared and wondered if I could do it all over again,
when I already doubted myself as a mother. Well, let’s say that God has a sense
of humor and excellent timing when He blessed me with the birth of our sixth
child, Elizabeth Ann right on Mother’s Day! (May 11, 2003)   Elizabeth was
actually due on that very day, and I had never before delivered right on my due
date! Having a baby on Mother’s Day was my own sign from God to me, that,
despite my own misgivings and doubts about myself as a mother, God has
nevertheless chosen me to be a Mother to cooperate with His plan of bringing new
souls into the world.

Only God knows the mystery of each child and who He
created them to be in His plan for the world. Am I to question His plan of
choosing me to bear new life? The womb is holy, God created it to recieve and
bear new life to the world. In saying yes to accepting the gift of our
motherhood, God can do the miraculous. Our part is only to trust and obey, like
Mary did.

Prayer-sharing time again.  The Prayers I am about to share are taken from the book,”Prayers and Heavenly Promises” by Joan Carroll Cruz.  As I have said, the prayers in this book and information on the devotions has transformed my prayer life because of the promises attached to them.

I will touch on the subject of reparation.  What is reparation anyway and why is it necessary?  Just as in the natural world, if we do something wrong, the general idea is that we would try to make up for it by making things right again as best we can.  If a child hits a baseball through the window of a neighbor, he may apologize for that, but it is the parents who usually have to fix things by paying for a new window. If it were our own child who had broken the window, we may take the opportunity as Catholic parents to require him to take part in making things right.  He may not have the money to give to pay for the new window, but he can offer the neighbor his services, such as lawn mowing and performing household chores for the neighbor free of charge for a period of time.  During that time he will not recieve an allowance from his parents to make up for breaking the window.

Now, in the spiritual world we must also do the same.  Making reparation or restitution for our sins is imperative.  If we commit a sin, we must not only be sorry and ask for forgiveness, we must show our sorrow in our actions. Helping to repair the damage our sin has caused is something God expects of us.  We cannot just get away with saying “sorry” without putting our money where our mouth is.  Reparation is part of our penance.

In confession, our priests gives us our penance, or prayers that we are required to say, or something that we must do to make up for our sins.  To me, in thinking about this, just saying some prayers seems so small a price for the kinds of sins we commit. (Praise the Lord for this wonderful sacrament, as it can make us into saints!)  This is where we can think of ways to make up for our own sins and the sins of others even, before God.  You could liken it to a bank account.  Each time you commit a sin, it is a withdrawal.  Making up for our sins ”balances the books”.  If we commit more sins, but do not think to make up for them and repair the damage, we will be spiritually bankrupt, laying ourselves bare and without merit, not to mention the fact that by our sins, we are wounded.  If we do not confess our faults and sins and make restitution, the sin takes root in us and grows and is harder to overcome. An ”attachment” to sin is then established.

Sin wounds the heart of God, because it means that  we purposely turn from the love of God to selfishness and that places the sin in greater importance in that time than God. Now God knows that we are weak human beings, and that we need help.  The sacraments are our help.  Receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation and The Holy Eucharist frequently can aid greatly in helping us to overcome our sins.  Can we be sinless?  I believe we can. In the Mass, after praying the Our Father, the priests says in petition to God, “KEEP US FREE FROM SIN and protect us from all anxiety, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.”  We know that the Saints were sinless, or they wouldn’t be in Heaven with God when they died!  It IS possible to be sinless and that should be our goal.  It takes thoughtfulness and contemplation, knowing Our Lord is with us in every moment of every day.  Remain prayerful, pray always without ceasing, St. Paul says to us, the Church, not just the church of his day, but to US in OUR day  (1 Thessalonians 5:17 ).

Praying for the grace to truly repent is a good practice to get into.  I pray for this grace during the Rosary in the Sorrowful Mysteries, particularly the Agony in the Garden, where Our Lord sees all of us and the sins we have committed (and will commit over and over again), and the suffering He will endure to redeem us from it.  He is filled with repugnance at the thought of those who are lukewarm, and indifferent, not caring that they sin, and not thinking about and caring that our sins have consequences.  In the Divine Mercy Devotion, on the Ninth Day of the Novena, here is what Our Lord told Saint Faustina:

I will tell you that I was one of those lukewarm souls many years ago, and because of my mother’s prayers for me, I had a very powerful conversion experience that I will write about in a future blog posting.  When I look back, I have to marvel at God’s Mercy and how He brought me back from “dead man’s bones”, to RESURRECTION.  All is grace!  I pray that God’s grace sustains me from ever becoming that way again!  Revelation 3:16 tells us that the Lord will spit us out of his mouth because we are not hot or cold, but lukewarm.  Lukewarmness is NOT desirable, as we have seen.

Now, here are the prayers of reparation that I use:  (These are Prayers revealed to the three shepherd children of Fatima)

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee!  I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love Thee!  (When the priest holds up the Host at the Consecration, I pray this prayer.)

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly.  I offer to You the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the World, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and INDIFFERENCE by which He is offended.  And through the Infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners. (I pray this after Holy Communion)

Eternal Father, I offer You all the Wounds of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the pains and agonies of His Most Sacred Heart, and His Most Precious Blood, which gushed forth from all His Wounds, in reparation for my sins, the sins of my family and those of the whole world.  (This is from the Devotion to the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ)

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son Jesus, in union with all the Masses said throughout the world today for all the Holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, for those in my own home and  those in my family.  (This I pray at the Elevation of the Chalice during the Consecration). Each time this prayer is prayed, 1,000 souls are released from Purgatory, according to St. Getrude the Great, (source: The Pieta Prayer Book).

Prayer for Daily Neglects

Eternal Father, I offer You the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all its love, all of its sufferings and all of its merits, first to expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life…pray a Glory Be.

Second, to purify the good I have done poorly this day and during all my life..pray a Glory Be

Third, to supply for the good I ought to have done and that I have neglected this day and during all my life…pray a Glory Be.

This Prayer for Daily Neglects, I pray at bedtime. There is a story about a Poor Clare nun in the history of this prayer.  After she had died, she appeared to her Abbess who was praying for her, and said: “I went straight to Heaven because I paid all my debts by virtue of this prayer.”  I must warn you though, that there is a disclaimer. This prayer does NOT mean that we can exclude the practice of confession, (especially if we have committed mortal sins!) it means that we are offering to God the Heart of Jesus to make up for our sins and omissions.  This is certainly excellent propitiation! Propitiation means to reconcile and make up for us for what we are lacking, which is what the Heart of Jesus does for us with the Father.

Now, the Prayer I referred to in my headline, about making reparation even while we sleep.  This is a prayer requested by Our Lord.  It is wonderful because when we pray this prayer and then go to sleep, we are making reparation to God!  Here are the words:

Eternal Father, I desire to rest in Your Heart this night.  I make the intention of offering to You every beat of my heart, joining to them as many acts of love and devotion. I pray that EVEN WHILE I AM ASLEEP, I may bring back to You souls that offend You.  I ask forgiveness for the whole world, especially for those who know You, yet sin.  I offer to You my EVERY BREATH AND HEARTBEAT AS A PRAYER OF REPARATION. Amen.(emphasis mine). This Prayer is from Our Lord given to Sr. Josefa Menendez.

How simple and profound at the same time, that by our prayers we can do this! This is truly consecrating our lives for the salvation of many, many souls, including our own!

Let us keep in mind that doing penance and making reparation are extremely necessary for our salvation because Our Lord warns us that if we do not do this, we may perish etenally. (Luke 13:3) Our Lady of Lourdes said to St. Bernadette; “Penance, penance, penance!” I don’t think she would have said this were it not an issue and not needed! Our Lord has given us the means “to work out our salvation”. (Phillipians 2:12)  Let us do so with trepidation, because we cannot take our salvation for granted, (we must always be concerned about it), but also with love and confidence in our hearts for God, who loves us and lets us know what we must do to care for the vineyard of our souls!

Blessings to all,

Jackie

I will start off with a quote from an article written by a holy priest (now deceased) from the Passionist Order, Father Killian McGowan, that I just received today and which embodies the whole motto of my blog, therefore confirming my blog name and theme.  I get articles e-mailed to me each day, which are articles designed to spiritually guide the layman.  These articles are extremely useful to me and I have been encouraged by them when I needed it the most.  You can sign up for these articles to be delivered to your e-mail box every day by going here: http://www.cukierski.net/free.shtml  It will be at the top of the page.

Here is the quote, “Holiness grows when we use our freedom of choice to consistently choose God and His Will rather than self.  Such consistency would ultimately destroy selfishness-the only obstacle to the perfect love of God.”  I  LOVE this statement because already it has helped me today.  When something presents itself that I am challenged about doing, like say getting something for one of my kids when I am dead tired,  or when I am pressed for time, my usual response would be to moan and groan and complain.  Now, just after reading this statement, I recognize this tendency as having selfishness at its root, and just simply said “Yes Lord”  and completed the task without complaint or sighing.  I immediately felt a surge of energy as a result of making that decision, whereas before, my own moaning and groaning would make me even more tired because it was negativity that I didn’t need.  I was feeling sorry for myself that I had so much to do and the list never ended.  The Lord is present in my children’s baptized souls, and when they ask me for something, I now try to see it as the Lord calling me to be generous in my response, asking Him for the grace to do it without complaint because HE is calling me to be faithful to what is being asked of me in the present moment.

I also read a story about St. Isadore the Farmer, Patron Saint of married people, and one of his sayings is: “Sanctity consists in the doing of common things uncommonly well.”  I believe this all has to do with an attitude of gratitude.  When we do things well, we do it for the Lord, even though our flesh may be revolting against things which we find disagreeable to do because of our fatigue or even laziness.  “Yes Lord,” is my simple response and it is very effective.  St. Augustine said, “Love God and do what you will.” All of what is asked of us at any given moment is what God is calling us to do.  Responding generously and without complaint is a great expression of love for God.  We do not protest and complain, because that in essence is like an accusation that God is mismanaging our day..whoa…I do NOT want to do that.  I want to live a Eucharistic life-a life of thanksgiving.

This in fact is what our Holy Father wants us to do.  In an article entitled,”Pope Reminds Christians to Thank God For GoodThings,”  the pope says that we tend to focus much on our problems and cares and not enough in thoughts of giving thanks for the presence of blessings in our lives.  I am guilty of that for sure.  There is so much good in our lives if we just train ourselves to see it.  Cultivate the skill of thanksgiving and your life will flow with joy. Yes, MAKE yourself give thanks..come up with a “Litany of Thanksgiving” rather than of complaint, and you will erase constant negativity from your life. Not only that, but you will move the Heart of God to bless you even more abundantly because He loves to be thanked for His favors and blessings.  Remember the story of Jesus curing the ten lepers, but only one of them came back to thank Him? Jesus said, “Is there no one but this foreigner to return to give thanks?  But there were ten.  Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:18)  Thankful hearts are blessed hearts and the love of God flows more freely through grateful hearts.  Selfishness cannot long abide in a grateful heart, because everything that flows from gratitude flows with love-the perfect love of God!

Blessings to all!

Sincerely,

Jackie

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-reminds-christians-to-thank-god-for-good-things/

There have been some snags this week in my getting the article up about Father Wade Menezes’ visit to our area.  Tried to publish some photos to the blog, but ran into difficulty.  This will be my most anticipated article, but unfortunately I haven’t had much quiet time to devote to my writing, so I apologize profusely.  Now we think we have it! Pictures first..article should be up by the weekend so you have something to look forward to!

Father Wade was gracious to pose with us for a family photo! From left to right, My mother and stepdad, Barbara and Marty Martin, left front is my mother-in-law, Lillian Stutmann, right front is my aunt, Linda LeGault, and far-right is yours truly.

Father Wade announcing that it was now time for some physical nourishment-dinnertime!

The wonderful people of Family Rosary Radio who put on the Family Rosary Crusade at Holy Trinity Church in Utica; left to right is Anna Marie Piacentino, (unfortunately I do not know the name of the person next to her), Stacy Owens, and David Piacentino.  It was truly a family affair!

Father Wade’s Message

I was enthralled by Father Wade’s words in his homily during Mass on the day of the Family Rosary Crusade (Oct. 2, 2011), sitting in the second pew, drinking it all in like a sea sponge. As I attempted to write down key points of what he was saying, I fear I may have missed some things, but I will do the best I can to highlight what struck a chord with me and why.  I wish there was a way to  record with my ears with a mechanism that plays back through my mind all that was said, so I could transcribe it in its entirety.  Better yet, I’d love a way I could download the recording from my mind to my computer in a Word document! I think Father Wade was aware of the fact that I was writing down what he was saying because he would repeat key points again slower so I would catch it, for which I do indeed thank him!

Father Wade was just on fire with apostolic zeal and did not hesitate to tell it like it is.  The Gospel for that weekend was about Jesus telling the chief priests and elders the Parable about a landowner planting a vineyard (the landowner representing God) and leasing it to tenants (the Jews).  When harvest time came, the landowner sent His servants (the prophets) to gather the produce.  The tenants treated the servants badly, beating and expelling them from the vineyard and killing them.  Then the landowner decided to send his own son (of course the Son being Jesus) thinking they would respect his son, but they did the same to Him.” The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (Matthew 21:33-43).  Fr. Wade said that in telling this parable, Jesus was foreshadowing His own death.  Now, think of the vineyard as being our own souls, which God entrusts us with to tend in order to bear fruit.  What are WE doing to cut off the Son of God in our vineyard (souls)?

The reality of sin, whether it be venial or mortal, (because we know that venial sins can pre-dispose us to commit mortal sins), is the obstacle we all face.  Unchecked mortal sin, the sins that go on and on without sorrow and confession and repentance, brings death to our souls.  This leads to all sorts of consequences, namely a strong propensity towards anger and addictions of every sort.  There are five main intrinsic evils that plague our society.  Intrinsic means that these things are ALWAYS WRONG IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE; namely, Abortion, Contraception, Gay Marriage, Fornication, and Adultery.  I will always remember Father Wade when he did this.  He put his index finger to his mouth and said “SSSSHHHHHHH…You don’t have to confess THAT, it’s been 27 years and you only did it once and you never did it again.” That is an example of how the devil deceives us into thinking that confessing these mortal sins does not apply if it was a long time ago and it was only done ONCE and never done again.  Think again. It only takes one mortal sin unconfessed and unforgiven to cause you to go to Hell.  These kinds of sins cause death to our souls. For something to be a mortal sin, three conditions must be present; 1. It has to be a grave matter 2. You have to have full knowledge that it is a mortal sin and 3. You have to consent to doing it anyway.  Mortal sin is the ultimate rebellion against God and causes expulsion of His Holy Spirit from our souls.  ( This is why so many experience depression these days in my own opinion, because they have chased the Holy Spirit from their souls with mortal sin. Take the example of the Psalm of David, Psalm 51, when David expresses sorrow at having sinned so grievously, and he begs God not to take His Holy Spirit from him).

Now let us think of the Blessed Mother of God in our fight against sin.  To abandon the Mother is but one step away from abandoning the Son, Father said. “Mary’s Womb”, he continued, “was the very space and place through which Almighty God was to gain access to humanity.  The intrinsic evils mitigate and or militate against the dignity of the womb.  All we need to do is look at the birth of Jesus the Savior to know we have our arguments against contraception, against abortion, against gay marriage, against fornication and against adultery!”

Mary can help us to conquer sin by helping us to stand against it.  She is the model of the church, as Virgin, as Bride, and as Mother.  Through praying the Rosary, we discover that she is the model of effective evangelization because each one of us can imitate her by saying, “Let it be done to me as you have said.”

Praying the Rosary teaches us to pray WITH Mary in contemplation of the mysteries, which she herself LIVED, helping us to promote and proclaim the Gospel.  Father Wade made mention of the document by Pope John Paul II “Rosarium Virginis Mariae” as the source of reference for these points and he recommends that we read it.  It can be found here: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html

Just an insert here..later on before we prayed the Rosary after Mass, Father Wade read the “Fifteen Promises of Mary to Christians who pray the Rosary,” which was certainly a very effective measure to  help us WANT to pray the Rosary!

Imagine the sublimity of the Mystery of Mary when she revealed herself to St. Bernadette of Lourdes as the Immaculate Conception.  Mary herself was in awe of God’s plan because she was now with Him in Heaven and understood all things as He did.  Before she pronounced the title, she paused, moving her hands down and then up very slowly into the position of prayer, looking up to Heaven and saying very slowly, ”I am the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION”.  God’s power, made manifest in her to accomplish His plan of salvation for mankind were in those words describing who she was!  Mary saw her place and took it.  Her profound humility is what Satan hates!  She can help us to defeat sin and Satan through praying the Rosary.  He who fails to honor the Mother truly dishonors the Son!

Father also made brief reference to a devotion called “The Swoon of Mary”, meaning that those who had put forth the devotion asserted that Mary was weak and faint during the Passion of Jesus.  This “devotion” didn’t last because those in the church knew and countered that Mary STOOD at the foot of the cross of Jesus, just as the song says, “At the cross, her station keeping,
Stood the mournful mother weeping..”

“If you are weak, contemplating leaving the priesthood, or leaving your spouse and family, or what God has called you to, Mary is there to STAND with you and get you through it!  Believe in the church and its teachings!  Don’t profess allegiance to the Church, then come up to Holy Communion believing that there is nothing wrong with abortion  and contraception. The Church is commissioned to uphold the Laws of God, you can believe it!  Tend to the vineyard of your soul,   LIVE YOUR CONFIRMATION.  BE EFFECTIVE EVANGELIZERS!  This is TRUE love; self, neighbor, God and church.  Be holy!”

One last thing that I just remembered as I was typing..Father Wade spoke of Saint Maximillian Kolbe, the Saint of Auchwitz, who gave his life for a man who was married with children.  When Saint Maximillian came forward saying that he would go in the man’s place, the Nazi officer said to Him, “What are you, a Catholic priest?!” This sacrifice is what the officer associated with the Catholic priesthood, even though Saint Maximilian Kolbe wasn’t wearing his priestly garb, but the concentration camp uniform.  It was known then that the Catholic priesthood was known for such things..If only it were known for this type of sacrifice NOW in THESE days, Father said!

I hope that I was able to capture the essence of Father’s message.  He stayed on for three more days to preach at a parish mission at Holy Trinity Church in Utica, which I regret that I could not attend. I think I will suggest that the mission be recorded in the future for the benefit of those who need to hear the message but cannot be present. 

At the dinner I approached Father Wade to confirm some of my notes, and he was so cordial and open to discussion that it was like talking with a dear friend, only this dear friend loves to instruct and I am a lifelong student eager to learn all I can, wishing he were here all the time! He explained the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic evils to me, saying that for instance homosexual acts are disordered and always wrong morally.  An example of extrinsic would be stealing. Stealing is wrong, but depending upon the situation.  Say a mother and son were traveling, had no money and were hungry. They passed through a market, taking an apple to eat without paying. Though stealing is wrong per se, they would have a right to that apple because of their hunger. To save themselves from starving,  their taking the apple wasn’t intrinsically evil.

The Family Rosary Crusade is always so wonderful to attend.  We as the people of God trust in Him as we bring our problems, petitions and love to Him and Our Blessed Mother in this single day of unified prayer and spiritual nourishment and fellowship at dinner later on.  We prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, then the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, with the Crowning of Mary, The Holy Rosary, some prayers from the Program book, which I will feature on a future blog, Enrollment in the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Divine Praises, then going forth to serve Our Lord and one another.  Dinner was catered by Cafe Bella Mia, specializing in superb Italian food and owned and operated by Regina Piacentino, daughter to Anna Marie.  I cannot say enough good things.  It was a spiritual and physical banquet that satisfied all around!  My only complaint is that time flew by too fast and I wish that it didn’t!

Furthermore, let me not hesitate to recommend that if Father Wade comes to YOUR area to preach, decide to treat yourself to a very powerful proclamation of the Truths of our faith and GO!  Thank you Father Wade for your priesthood and courage.  I admire it and you are in my daily prayers!

Just a quick note to all..I had promised to bring back Fr. Wade’s message in my blog today, but as you can probably guess, things didn ‘t always work out as planned, so here I am at almost midnight, but I promised you I would write something about his message and I will, it will just be a bit later this week.  Blessings and a good night to all.