Saints: our big brothers and sisters in Heaven

All Saints day is this Saturday!  I love the Saints. I've learned quite a bit through reading books that they had written while on Earth, and I've learned a lot while reading books that were written about them. Sometimes I almost have to avoid picking up a  "Saint book" while going about my daily business  because if I do pick one up, well, say goodbye to at least an hour because I won't be able to put it down! However, when I do have some time to read, my first choice will always be one of these books.

Maybe you have the same "issue" if you will, or perhaps you are wondering why I get so drawn in by them. The reason I love them so much is because I think of them as my older siblings in Heaven, and really they are! We all have been "Born of the Spirit."

I don't have many older siblings on Earth, so I need more people to look up to, to be my role models. Thankfully, God has blessed me with a few on Earth, but He's also blessed me by introducing me to many of the older Brothers and Sisters He's given me in heaven. A few of my "closest Brothers and Sisters" in Heaven are St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Bolonga, St. Alphonsus Ligouri and St. Faustina Kolwalska.

Some people have the sad misunderstanding that we worship the Saints. We don't worship them at all. I'm going to use a familiar scenario to explain this. Perhaps you had siblings here on earth. You might remember a time when you and your brothers or sisters all wanted something, and were deciding who was going to go ask mom or dad. Very often, the oldest  got sent, though perhaps a little unwilling, with the younger ones giving the excuse, "They'll say yes to you!" This scenario is a pretty good illustration of part of our relationship with the saints. We want to get to Heaven, and they want us to get there too! So obviously we would ask our older siblings to ask for graces and favors for us, and they are more than willing to do so!

There also seems to be a misconception that Saints were sort of "holy robots" who were born perfect and that their holiness came naturally, perhaps even automatically. This also is not true. Each of them has a personality just like we do, and all personalities come with strengths and weaknesses that present challenges throughout a person's life. All of them made mistakes, just like us. Some of them actually led pretty bad lives before their conversion! Even after their conversion they had struggles. But they humbly accepted these difficulties and trusted in God to hep them overcome them, and He did.

The Saints really are our big Brother and Sisters. Since All Saints day is in November, maybe sometime this month you could find a book about a Saint or two and get to know them! You'll find that they are more like you than you think. 

PLEASE pray!

You've probably heard about all the terrible things going on in Mosul lately, and in other parts of the world also.Those horrors that seem so unreal, so unlike our picture of humans today. We think that things like beheading people  are a thing of the past, but no, no they are very real in this age.  The brutality is unbelievable, but very very real. We think of Christian persecution as a thing of the past too, you know like Roman times… but no, it's not just the past, persecution is here.

Yes, I believe we are entering a new age of persecutions, and we've  got to stand up. It's true that we can't all travel to Mosul or Korea to fight, but as Christians, we have other ways. We have prayer. We have fasting. We have sacrifice. We have the Mass. We have so many opportunities to do powerful things, and we don't do them!

Even the little things we do, when offered to God in union with Jesus' sacrifice with love, have worth. Remember the St. Therese the little flower's "little way" of doing small things with great love. You could skip a snack, forego putting spices or condiments on your food, take a cold shower, not complain, accept annoyances with joy, give up electronics or a day or even a few hours, read the Bible, help out at a food pantry, work extra hard on something you'd rather not do (like your homework!), Be creative! You can give everything to God. You've got to beseech the Holy Spirit to set you on fire with zeal, and then YOU have to fan that flame!

We are entering a time of great trial. Christianity will NEVER die, because it's heart is Christ, the ever living God. It's also apparent through history that persecution often makes the Church grow. It's like pruning. If you prune a plant, it just gets bigger, more prolific and more beautiful. That doesn't mean it's good in itself, I'm just reminding everyone that God always brings good out of evil, and trying to show how futile their attempts to abolish Christianity are. We shouldn't be afraid, not matter what. . .  .

WAKE UP PEOPLE! Wake up and see what's happening here! Not all of us are in the core of the persecutions right now, but don't think you are safe from it where you are. I won't be surprised if it spreads, I know it will get here eventually. If we don't stand up now, who know how far this will go.

I urge you, I beg you, PLEASE pray for all the people who are being persecuted, and please pray that their persecutors have a change of heart. That's another beautiful thing about Christianity, we always pray for our persecutors, and well, look what happened to Saul. He became St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

I beg you to offer sacrifices, no matter how small, for the end of these persecutions. Pray for the courage and fervency that you need to do this, and pray for the courage that you may need in the future. 

I cannot stress how very important it is for us all to pray our hearts out right now. We need to offer all we can. We've got to stand up in prayer. Honestly, I feel the urge to beg you all to pray, to sacrifice, to offer whatever you can to God... I really am having a hard to finding words to express this importance, this NEED for prayer and sacrifice. If we don't do it, who will?

Let it shine

You know, when some people receive our Lord in Holy Communion, they don't act like they know that it is Him, or maybe they doubt, or maybe they just won't believe it. But then there are others, who show such reverence and love that if I didn't already believe in the True Presence, I would start asking myself some serious questions.

I am very disappointed to admit that there seem to be more of the first group than of then second group. I wish this were not so, and I want to make an effort to change that to the reverse.

If you believe that Jesus is really present in the Holy Eucharist, please, please show it. Not because you want to seem more Holy, but because you want to make others believe. We learn from example more than anything else. Someone can tell me how to do something, or tell me that something is true, but until I see them do it, or profoundly express it, I'm less likely to learn it. Actions always speak louder than words.

What's holding you back? Is it fear of what others will think? Is it pride? Please give me some hope here. Please do not let me believe that there are as few true believers as there are those who express that belief through their actions. I'm holding onto the hope that you're out there, truly believing, but for some reason unable to express it. That's why I'm asking these questions. I want to help you understand the importance of expressing it, and give you the courage to do so.

I know it's hard to express something you believe. It often attracts attention that we really don't want. You have to remember that it's all about your intent. You are not expressing this belief so that you want attention, you are expressing this because you want Jesus to get the attention He so much deserves. So that covers all of you who might be hiding under the blanket of the fear of attention. Remember that true humility consists of doing God' will and quietly accepting whatever comes from that.

Don't ever let the fear of what others will think affect what you do, especially when it comes to Religion. Other people's opinion of you does not matter. God's does, because "...for man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart."(1 Samuel 16:7)
And we can't forget Dr. Seuss, "Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." although I don't think he was specifically referring to this, it's incredibly true. If you're being held back from expressing this truth, with more than just your words, because you don't want people to think you're crazy, or, well I don't know what you think that they would think; you really need to think about this more. What is it that you think they will think? You need to analyze that thought and resolve it. Get rid of it and truly be free, because the fear of what others think is going to imprison you in more than just this issue.

Always remember that Love=Sacrifice. You are going to have to buck up and do it! It takes courage, humility, love and faith to really express it. These are beautiful virtues that everyone should want! I have a hard time believing that one is capable of accepting all the graces that Jesus is trying to give them in Holy Communion if they are not willing to express that belief. That's not to say that they are not capable of accepting some of those graces, but can they get the fullness of those graces? If I am wrong in thinking that way, PLEASE correct me!

You aren't doing it for your own glory, but for God's. I want us, myself included, (because I struggle with this sometimes too) to look and to be so devoted, so amazed, so in awe, so thankful, so consumed by God's love when we receive Communion that anyone in the room who didn't believe would instantly start questioning themselves, just by the look on our faces. Let it shine!

And if you don't believe, why? You believe that God loves you, I hope? You believe that His love is limitless, I hope? Why can't you believe that in His love He would humble Himself again by taking on the appearances of bread and wine, in order to come to us and be with us and in us because He loves us so much? This is so fundamental to the Faith. No one can fully understand this mystery, so if you reject it just because you can't understand it, You're making a huge mistake.

So please guys, if you really truly believe, show it so that others can believe. And if you don't believe, please try. Whatever it is that is preventing you from believing, start questioning it. Get some good solid Catholic who does believe to talk to about it with you, and God bless you both. And God bless you if you already believe, too! ;)

Be careful little mouth

"Oh, be careful little mouth what you say! Oh, be careful little mouth what you say! For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little mouth what you say!" 

Have you ever though about your tongue in relation to your soul? We know that when we speak the right thing at the right time, others can benefit greatly from it. But when we don't speak rightly it often results in some kind of trouble. 

James 3:8-10 "But the tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. By it we bless God and the Father: and by it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."

Why is it that our speech causes so much trouble? When we think about it, we really take speech for granted. The ability to express what we are feeling, what we want, what we are doing, and who we are through our speech is unique. It is true that we also express these thing through our facial expressions and other body language, such as pointing or sighing, but it is our speech that gives the details. 

It's our first reaction to an offense. If Some one says something mean to us, we say something mean back to them. Likewise, it's often or first reaction to a compliment. Speech is so important to us, and we use  and misuse it so often that we forget it is a gift. 

Everytime I think of the mouth in regards to speech and sin, I think of Isaiah's words about his mouth. Isaiah 6:5 "And I said: Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts." 

And then I think of the seraphim's response to that plea for help. 

Isaiah 6:6-7 "And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: Behold this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be cleansed."

Now think about this for a minute. We are a lot like Isaiah in this regard. We are people of unclean lips, living among other people of unclean lips. We abuse speech so often in so many different ways. And guess what else? You know, when you look at the Eucharist, you too are seeing "the King The Lord of Hosts," though under a veil. How clean should be the mouth that receives Him! 

Especially because you have not had a coal from Heaven touch your lips, you have had God Himself touch your lips. Every time you receive the Eucharist, He touches your lips again!

Wow. I don't know when that hit me, but I certainly hope it hits you. We really should have the cleanest and purest speech around, but we don't. We're all humans, we forget all these things as soon as we're tempted against them. And often, we speak so quickly that we don't even have time to remember them anyway. We all need to slow down! 

So be careful little mouth what you say. Because the Father up above is looking down in Love, the Son has touched your lips and been in your soul, and the Holy Spirit has been waiting to inspire you to speak the right words, or stay in holy silence, for quite a while now. Let Him speak through you! 

(Now, somebody, put that to music.) 

Garden of your heart

Have you ever noticed how many references Jesus makes about plants? I can think of quite a few right now. How about the Grain of Wheat in John 12:24-25? The Parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6-9?  Even in last Sunday's Gospel Jesus tells us the parable of the weeds among the wheat; Matthew 13:3-9. Plants seems to be a recurring theme. It's pretty easy to see why. Plants are pretty much the basis of the food chain, so important in the ecosystem, and they are all around us. They bring us food, shelter, clothes, beauty and amazement. A lot of the people in Biblical times had to be farmers, which again, deal with plants. Not to mention the fact that plants are just plain good subjects for parables.

Anyway, the theme keeps coming back to my mind. Imagine your soul as a garden, you heart as a plot of ground. Going back to this week's Gospel, Matthew 13:39, we think about the soil. You decide what type of soil you are. Are you good soil, or are you rocky soil? As we can see from this Parable, and every day life, the kind of sol a garden has really matters. 

Now imagine the most beautiful flowers you can think of. These flowers are virtues. When they grow to their fullness, they produce fruit that nourishes others, which in turn produces seeds which can be planted in the garden of other people's hearts. God plants these beautiful seeds in your heart, sometimes through other people like you parents, teachers, pastor, siblings, friends Etc. Just as flowers can give rise to more flowers, so virtues can give rise to other virtues. So much so, that most virtues depend on one another. when you work on one virtues, you may find yourself lacking in others which are required to help the one.

Now think of the most ugly and vile weeds you can think of. You know those spiky ones? And don't even get me started on poison ivy! These weeds are vices. Bad habits and inclinations to evil. If they aren't weeded while their young, they will be really hard to get when they grow up. Like the virtues, they to can produce fruits, but these produce bad fruits which can feed other people's evils. And those fruits of evil can produce seeds, which can end up in other people's heart gardens. And again, just like the flowers, weeds produce more weeds, and they grow fast.

Now the rain and the sun are God's graces. He pours them out on your garden, and all the plants use them. The good plants use them to grow and flourish. The weeds take the grace and waste it, you can waste graces you know. You know when you feel the urge to do something good, you have the chance to do something nice, and you don't? Well that chance was a grace, and you just fed your weeds by choosing to do wrong, or not to do good anyway.

Every person you meet has the opportunity to plant some kind of seed in your heart, be it good or bad. Even you yourself can plant seeds in other people's gardens. Being around people who are full of virtues often helps us become virtuous because we follow their example. Likewise, hanging around with people who, well, aren't so virtuous can make us less virtuous, and more weedy. Also, we can help others root out their weeds and fix up their soil so that more of that grace can get to the virtues and help them grow.

So you see, you're hear really is like a garden, and you are a gardener. You do have control over what get's planted and what doesn't. You do have control over how good your soil is, and you also have the opportunity to help other people with their gardens. The only thing you don't have control over is the rain and sun, but rest assured that God will always give you what you need in that area. You have what you need, so go and make some beautiful gardens, people!

Maggie Monday

Hewoo! Dis is Maggie. Sorry I has not been saying berry mutch stuf laytly, master has been quyt bizy.

anyway, i is bord today. It is hot owtsyd, so master dosnt want to go for anober walk. We went for a walk dis morning, and dat was reely fun. i wuv walks. i jus wuv dem! and we cant go in da bakyard to play rite now iber, because my peeples is getting a deck bilded onto da back of da howse, and eben dow dey is not werking on it rite now, master dosnt want me to get a nayl in my paw. wat is a nayl?

so, i is just barking at peepls dat im shur is twying to invade our hows who is walking by. i lik to do dat. you shood always bark at peepls just incase day was thinking abowt taking ober your territorie. you never no abowt dees peepls. espesialy is dey has a dog wif dem, den you reely has to look owt! dat uhber dog is probably thinking abowt how he can tak ober your hows and eet all da food in your wefridgeradedor. espesialy if you has stek in dat wefridgeradedor. if you dos have stek in der, den he will reely be after your howse! but you can always solb dat problam by sharing dat stek wif a small dog, lik me, so dat der wil not be anymor stek in der for him to be trying to get.

i lik peenutbuter.

so, dat is all i has to say today.

-Maggie :0)

Yearning

Every now and then I end up in a situation where I inadvertently listen to secular music. I'm not saying all of it is inherently evil, some of the songs are alright, but I'm just not into that type of music. Also, you have to sift through all the weird songs, some of which are quite perverse, to even get to the good ones. Anyway, I've gone entirely off topic now. I didn't pop on just to bash secular music, hang on there for a second!

I'm the kind of person who doesn't just listen to the beat, instruments or voices of a song. I listen to the lyrics. When I get in these situations where I sort of can't get away from the music without making a scene, what do I do? I end up trying to make out the lyrics; which can be both a blessing and a curse. Perhaps I should just make a scene. Anyway. . . .

When I'm listening to most of these songs, I've sensed a pattern. In most of these songs, there is a longing. Either the person is longing for a true love, or some ineffective replacement such as lust, drugs or, well, we won't go there. You get the idea. Sometimes the person ends up trying desperately to do something to fill this hole in the human heart, and it ends up in disaster. In the songs where the person is singing about  the ineffective replacements, the real story line has already taken place. They've already experienced this  yearning, and this is their desperate attempt to fill the hole, though they may not realize it.

What is this yearning? Why do we all yearn for a true, pure love? I'm not just talking about the fairy-tale version of true love, I'm talking real true love. Why do we all have this hole in our hearts that aches so much? How can we fill it?

There is only one remedy for this longing. What we are really longing for is God's Love. Yes, He loves us more than we can fathom, even if we've never connected with Him. But this longing has been put in our hearts to turn us back to Him. In order to fill this hole, we have to love Him. And when we love Him, and submit ourselves to His plans, we just might find more love along the way!

Here's the "kicker", if you want to call it that. You'll never completely get rid of this yearning. The hole s never completely full until we get to Heaven. You see, the more a person loves God, the more they end up yearning for Him in the end. But it's a different feeling than the yearning above, because this person has the remedy, they just can't take the full dose of it yet. It's a hopeful yearning, it brings us more life; whereas the yearning above is often full of despair and doubt. What does this person do when they yearn again for God? They love Him even more! It lifts them up, it helps them see over the clouds of this darkened life, it brings them a joy that can't be explained. Even in the darkest parts of their life, they have Love, they have Hope, they have Faith.

So then, when this person starts filling the hole with love for God, what happens? God is Love. So when we started filling our hearts with a true love of God, we fill our hearts with Him. The result is that if we are truly filling our Hearts with God, our hearts will become more and more like His heart. We will notice ourselves becoming kinder, more compassionate, merciful, pure, honest, joyful, patient, etc., we will start seeing virtues and the fruits of the Holy Spirit start to grow in ourselves all over the place!

So in the end, if we really love God,  our hearts will be so filled with God that we will be united to Him in Heaven. But we must remember; Love = Sacrifice. Jesus told us that if we love Him, we will keep His Commandments. In order to keep these commands, we will face difficulties and have to make sacrifices. Really these Commands set us free from the slavery of sin, but our sinful condition makes it hard to really let go of the shackles that have bound us. It doesn't really make sense that we would want to be bound in them again, but when we sin, we actually bind ourselves u in them! Why? Well, we are humans, and due to original sin we will always struggle to not be attracted to some kind of evil.

So fill your heart with God! It's worth it.



P.S., Aren't you glad you didn't hit the X button when you got bored of my secular music rant?!

Use it wisely.

I've been reading "Confessions" by St. Augustine lately. It is one of the deepest theological books I have ever read. It poses some tough questions, but also helps clarify them. A word of warning though, it is a little hard to understand. You should read it in a nice quiet spot because it is so deep that if you get distracted for one second, you will get lost! One the whole, it's an amazing book. 

I just got to a part in the book where St. Augustine starts really thinking about time. What is time? What happens to time when it is past? How can there have been those who have foretold the future if it does not yet exist? How can we know things of the past if the past no longer exists? It poses some things that you really have to think about. As St. Augustine is musing on these ideas, you get to watch him work on unraveling these issues. It's really inspirational. 

So that got me thinking about time. You know, we waste so much time these days. Between Facebook and Twitter and e-mails and texting and gaming and suntanning and chatting and gossip and drama and movies and selfies and all those other things we do, even if only for a few minutes a day, think of how muh it adds up to. 

I'm not saying that going to the movies with your family is a complete waste of time. I'm not saying that staying connected with your friends is bad. (Although a few of the things I posted above, such as gossip.)  I'm only asking if perhaps we are doing these thing too much. 

Is your Facebook or Twitter feed really going to be that much different than it was ten minutes ago? Do you really need to keep texting smiley faces to your friends as you've been doing for the last twenty minutes? Why not unplug yourself for a few minutes and actually connect with your family or friends face to face? Why not reach out to someone in person who really needs you? Why not try something new?

I've noticed that I waste a lot of time. I am on my electronics waaaay more than I should be. I recently started playing this game that totally sucked me in. I really do waste a lot of time! Why?!

We make all these great inventions like washing machines and computers and dish washers, so that we have more time to do other things. And what do we do with that time we save? We waste it! What a shame. 

Time is such a precious gift that we only have so much of. We can't go back and get more. We can't jump backwards. We can only go forward, and once we get to the end and look back at all we've donewill we be disappointed? Will God be disappointed? He's given you this gift. Use it wisely. 

Speak up for the unborn, disabled and elderly

I recently entered a pro-life essay contest in my area, and took first place. Several people I know have requested to read it, so I thought I would just go ahead and post it. The "theme" was "Why is it important to speak up for the Unborn, Disabled and Elderly?"

Without further ado. . . .

“Why is it important to speak up for the unborn, disabled and elderly?”

One of the very first things that come to my mind when pondering this question is the very beginning. The very beginning of the human race.

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Gen. 1:27

“then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Gen 2:7

Here we find that we have been created by God, for God, and in God’s image. Further more, each one of us possess a living soul. This, is the dignity of human life.  Is this not proof that God cares about us, and loves us each very much? Should we not do likewise, and love each person because God made them and loves them?

In today’s world, we are facing many issues against the dignity of human life. The elderly are disrespected and considered a burden, when they should be respected and treated as gifts. We can learn so much from them. Even if they are too weak or sick to tell us, they teach us with the story of their life. The unborn are objectified and are treated as if they were disposable, when they should be loved and treasured as most  precious gifts from God. The disabled are despised and rejected, even though each one of them is a living testimony of perseverance. Each of them goes through countless struggles each day with things that would be easy for others, but they keep going, often with a smile on their face.

The elderly, unborn and disabled are degraded, shamed and treated as animals or objects that should be disposed of, because our society feels that they have no contribution to the world. But they should be cherished deep in the hearts of all people. They may not be able to contribute to society in a physical way, but, they were created by God, in His image, and each one has a soul. Yes, they may frustrate us or cause us some difficulty at some point, but they have their own share of difficulties in life.

If we judge people as the world does, by what physical contribution they bring, then the unborn, disabled, and elderly will be judged as worthless. But if we look at the heart and soul, as God does, then each person is someone worth loving, someone worth protecting, someone worth more than any sacrifice we may have to make for them. By serving them we are really serving Christ, and we ourselves become more Christ like in return.

We must remember that we were once unborn. Someday, we will be elderly. We never know what may happen to us on the path of life. We may someday be disabled. If we do not speak up for these beautiful people, who will speak up for us when we are demeaned, rejected or taken advantage of?

The unborn, disabled and elderly need us to speak up for them. When the disabled and elderly attempt to speak up for themselves, their voices are quickly stifled by the opinion of the world, and the unborn cannot yet cry out for help. We need to stand by them. We need to see them through God’s eyes, as a human being, a soul worth sacrificing for.

Yes, I'm a female altar server. No, I don't want to become a priest.

I couldn't think of a better title for this post, despite that it sounds generic or cheesy. But anyway. . .

Every now and then someone has the idea that girls being Alter servers makes them want to become Priests, which is against the Church. Women can't be Priests. None of the 12 apostles were women, and that's OK, we have plenty of other ways to help, but that's a whole other blog post!

While it might be true that some girls get this idea, It hasn't happened for me. I do not remember ever having the thought of wishing that women were allowed to be Priests. Really, in the novice ordo Mass, the altar server has a relatively small role compared to the Latin Mass.

Serving at Mass is an incredible privilege that until recent times was reserved for boys only, because we want to encourage boys to be Priests and in the Latin Mass, the server(s) have a much bigger role. I can definitely see why this was reserved, because in the Latin Mass, the servers are like little Priests-In-Training, and could see where they would be encouraged to be Priests through serving the Latin Mass.. (My younger brother serves the Latin Mass at least once a month.)

I have never felt encouraged to somehow try to go against my Faith in this way through serving at Mass. Am I an exception? I doubt it. I understand that Women just simply aren't to be Priests, that's the way God set it up, and that's fine with me. I do enjoy serving the Mass very much, and I do think it helps me become closer to God. It gives me a sense of honor or responsibility. Not only do I want to help out with the Mass in the little ways that we help out as an Alter Server, I also want to serve as an example for other servers and the congregation. If they get distracted and look to us, and see us kneeling or being reverent, perhaps their attention will be drawn back to what is really important, the Holy Sacrifice that is taking place. Since I have this sense or responsibility, I carry it back to the pew with me next Sunday, when I'll be an example to my siblings and those around me.

I believe that over the years, Serving Mass has helped me be more attentive to what's really happening, Jesus coming back down to be with us and offering Himself for us again. And again. And again, every time a Mass is said in any church, anywhere in the World, He is there. And Eternal sacrifice that cannot be drained, because that Sacrifice is Jesus, whose love and merits are infinite.

One of my favorite "jobs" while serving is ringing the Consecration bells. I admit, I get really excited about it! It kinda reminds me of John the Baptist, crying in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord!"
 I hope my siblings (who often serve with me) don't get too upset when I snatch up the job first. LOcL I only have a few years left before I'll finally be able to start following my vocation, so you'll get the bells back eventually guys! Maybe. . .  ;)

Oh, how He loves you.

He really does Love you. You. Right there. yep. you.

God loves you. He loves you with a love that is inexhaustible and unfathomable. You can't imagine how great His love is for you, because our minds do not have the capacity to imagine anything so great. He is love and mercy. All of our human love has conditions, even if we do not think it has. Our purest and most powerful love is but a faint breeze compared to His level 7 time 70 gazillion million bajillion hurricane, a drop compared to His ocean, you get the point. You can't imagine it.

His mercy is so great. I've shared this quote from St. Faustina's diary before, and I'm going to share it again. And probably a whole bunch of times after that because I love it.
"My Daughter, do you think you have written enough about My mercy? What you have Written is but a drop compared to the ocean. I am Love and Mercy itself. There is no misery that could be a match for My mercy, neither will misery exhaust it, because as it is being granted - it increases. The soul that trusts in My mercy is most fortunate, because I myself take care of it."
1273 St. Faustina's diary
Rest there for a moment. Breath it in. Ah. . . . . . . .

Can you imagine that? No. I can't. I can try, and try and try to imagine His unimaginable mercy, but every time I imagine something bigger than I imagined the first time, I realize that His mercy is even bigger than that, and I am left with a great sense of amazement and peace, and am lost in awe.

It's hard for us to understand something that we cannot imagine, see or picture in our minds, because everything we have ever seen, imagined or pictured is just that. It can be seen, imagined or pictured. So when we try to fathom something that is not seen, cannot be pictured in our minds or imagined, we are left in a sense of amazement, that hopefully brings us to praise God, as it should. God is the only one who can create such marvelous things that leave us standing in this kind of awe and amazement.

" On one occasion, I heard these words:My daughter, tell the whole world about My Inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (St. Faustina's Diary 699)

Just so you know, those depths of mercy that are unfathomable are going to be opened this Sunday,  along with the Divine Floodgates through which grace flows. Jesus loves us so much. So, very very much. Will you go to Confession and communion this Sunday? Jesus isn't just offering this Mercy to us, He is inviting us to it. He wants us to come to it! He loves us, and that is the truth.
https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/decree.htm

Blood of the Soul

Hmm. ..  So this morning I got distracted with this sorta odd thought. Love is kinda like the Blood of the Soul.

Without it, the soul really is sick. It is hard and cold, much like a dead body. Because without love, it really is dead. But with love, the soul is full of life. It is warm, soft and bright, just like a live person.

After pondering the though further, I realized that it really is true, but it is a little different from our body's blood.
If we give our love to God, our soul's blood, we do not suffer any want for it. On the contrary, God gives love back to us more than we could imagine. He is the source of all of our Love. Our souls cannot make their own Love, unlike our hearts which can make their own blood. But all of our Love comes from God. Hence, when a soul is separated from God by sin, it dies. Only God can restore it to life, and that is why he gave us the Sacrament of Confession.

But, if we give our Love to objects, we may lose it. The more we are attached to objects, it seems that we might lose more. Objects are not God. So the more Love we give to an object, the worse the situation becomes. It can become like an idol, and that is just spilling out our soul's blood for no reason, and offending God, the source of love, hence we waste our Love and lose it's source, killing our soul.

If we give our Love to immoral activities, such as addictions, or give too much Love to normal activities, such as eating, we get into the same situation. Our soul's blood is wasted, and it is cut off from the source of all Grace and Love.

If we give our love to people in an immoral way, such as when we objectify a person and love them for their Body, the same situation arises.

However, if we give our love to people for the sake of God, because He created them in his image, we do not lose that Love, and God will give us more for that. If we give our Love to activities or objects in a proper way which is in accordance with His will, again, we don't lose it, we gain it.

Of course, there are other ways to lose our Love. If we do not share it with others, if we hide away and reject anyone who comes near it, if we we allow hate into our soul, it will tear the soul from God, and the love will be lost.

Think of a pipe or tube that connects our Soul to God. Every time we commit a venial sin, we stick a pebble in the tube. As you can imagine, we can stick a lot of pebbles in it, but the pebbles will not block it, no matter how many there are. They will slow it, and deprive the Soul of the Love it needs slightly, but the pebbles can be dislodged by a surge of Love from the Soul to God, which is repentance asking for forgiveness, met with a surge of Love from God to the soul, when we forgives us.

 However, when we commit a Mortal sin, we completely block the tube with a huge boulder. Once there, the soul cannot move the boulder, no matter how hard it tries. It is dead, and may eventually ignore the boulder. The only way that the boulder is removed is when God sends a tiny leak of a grace called Repentance into the soul. The soul realizes the boulder there, and cries out to God, and He hears. The soul is moved by the grace to go to confession, and only then does the real action start.Then, God sends a Huge surge of Love down to the soul, smashing the boulder and restoring Life and Love to the poor soul.
The soul is forgiven, and the connection between God and the Soul is restored.

Something interesting to think about.

"My soul magnifies the Lord,.."

The familiar beginning of the Magnificat. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior"
Mary our Mother spoke this wonderful song of praise on a visit to her cousin, Elizabeth. 2000 some odd years later the church still sings this song given to us by our Mother. We use it in the Divine office (it's in the vespers, which is the evening prayer) the prayer which religious and lay people alike say throughout the worlds each day.

In this sublime canticle of praise, our Mother prophesies that "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and Holy is His name"
How true this statement has been throughout the history of the Church. All generations have called her Blessed, and will continue to forever, because God did do great things for her. She was the vessel through which God gave us His son, our salvation. Through her Jesus came into the world, Because she said "Yes" to God. We Honor her because God did.

 God chose her to be the Mother of our Lord, and you can't get much more of an honor than that. She was there with Jesus through His whole life, quietly supporting Him and helping where needed. And after His death and resurrection, God took her whole being, Spirit and Body, right up into Heaven.

 "Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your godly one see the Pit." Psalm 16:9-10

I wonder what other people might have thought of this statement of Love, Faith and Hope in God. I wonder what the rulers of the tie might have thought of the lowly Mary saying "he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree" or "He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty"? I imagine this would have caused contempt and anger. But how true it is!

Throughout all of the Bible we see countless stories of God lifting up lowly people. Noah is chosen to build the ark an save creation because he and hi family are the only goo people left. Jacob (Israel) becomes higher that his first born brother, Esau. His son, Joseph is lifted above all his brothers and becomes second in power only to Pharaoh in Egypt! David, a shepherd boy becomes one of the most famous king in history. These are only a few of the countless times throughout the Bible when God Lifts up His chosen ones, however lowly they may be.

Mary knows that she is blessed, yet, this song of praise is so humble. She acknowledges how great God is, and yet He regards "The low estate of His handmaiden." She recalled how God has continually helped Israel, and how He spoke to their fathers, and how He always shows mercy upon those who fear Him.

She proclaims God's mercy and Love for His people throughout all of time. How powerful and Mighty He is, yet tender and loving towards those who fear Him. How He scatters the proud, puts down the mighty, and sends the rich away empty, yet exalts Humble,fills the hungry and shows mercy to all who fear Him

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, the day when God sent the Angel Gabriel to Mary, to proclaim that she was chosen. Mary could have said no, she had free will. But she said Yes. And that Yes changed the worlds forever.

The Virtue of Religion

Have you ever wondered why we call someone who is very devoted to God "Religious"? I'm not specifically talking about Nuns or Monks, but also ordinary people who live a virtuous life, who you might see and think "That person is very Religious."
When we think of Religion we normally think of a church, or a denomination of religion. One might say "What Religion are you?"
But why don't we say something like "What religion do you belong to?" or "That person has a religion that they are very devoted to." (which would still be valid sayings, and basically mean the same thing as above, but they aren't as common.)

Let's say a person works on a farm and is very motivated in their job, We wouldn't say "That person is very Farmous." or if they worked at a diner we wouldn't say "That person is very dinerous" or it wouldn't make sense!

The reason is because Religion is a virtue, just like Charity or Patience. It's not just a name that we put on ourselves and go to a church with that same name.

The word "Religion" comes from the Latin word "Religare" which means "to bind." So, when a person is a very Religious person, they have bound themselves to God, either in the sense that they have taken vow of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, or in the broader sense (which I am mostly getting at here) when  a person subjects themselves to God and gives Him the Homage and Worship that is due to Him. That's what Religion  as a virtue is,
 "A quality of mind and heart which inclines us to pay to God the worship due to Him."-"Catholic Mortality" by Fr. John Laux

According to the above quoted book (which I am deriving most of this information from, you should read it.)
There are three "elements" to the virtue of Religion.
The first is the "Object" which is God. Secondary objects are the Virgin Mary and the Saints, but we do not Worship them. We Honor them because of their nearness to and relationship to God. They are not God, but they are very close to Him in Heaven, so we can ask them to Pray for us to God just like we would ask any other person to pray for us. That's a whole different article though LOL anyway. . .

The second is "Motive". Our motive is our indebtedness to God, Our love for Him and our dependence on Him.

The third is "Act". The Act of Religion is Worship.

You can probably break any virtue into three elements like this. For instance, Love could be broken into "Object- God or one of His creatures because of Him. Motive- God's Love for us, desire to please Him, indebtedness to Him. Act- Prayer, service etc."


So what does "Worship" really mean? If, by religion we are bound to Worship God, how do we do so?
"That is, the manner in which we acknowledge our indebtedness to God, our dependence on Him, and our Love for Him"-"Catholic Morality" by Fr. John Laux

So how do we do that? Well, think about it.  There are two kinds of worship. Internal and external.
 Internal worship. Internal worship is this acknowledgement inside of us, which we owe to God because we are bound to Him through Religion, and we are His creations, his servants.
Some examples of internal Worship would be meditation and mental prayer.

External Worship is this acknowledgment outside of us, through word or deed.  We owe this kind of Worship to God because He not only created our minds and souls (in which the expression of this acknowledgement would be internal) but He also created our bodies, which we should use for His glory because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Some examples of external Worship would be vocal prayer and good works offered to God.

So then there are two categories within these. There is Direct Worship, and there is Indirect Worship.
Where our Worship is categorized depends on the Object. Our "Object" or worship is always God. Worshiping God directly is Direct Worship. Honoring His Mother and Saints ("Secondary Objects") is Indirect Worship of God. Once again I want to stress the fact that the "Object" of Worship is always GOD. Catholics do not worship Mary or the Saints. We Honor them because in a way, God did. God "Honored"Mary by choosing her to be the Mother of His Son, can you say that this was not an Honor? God "Honored" the Saints by giving us Miracles through them. In order for a Saint to be canonized, Three miracles have to be worked in their name I believe (I think they have to be after their death too, but I'm not sure about that so look it up.) We know that God is the one who preforms these miracles, but in this case, He did them because they asked Him to. He knows that this is required for canonization. So why would he preform Miracles in the Saint's names unless He wanted us to acknowledge them and honor them. Honor is different from worship. Anyway, I've gotten on a whole different topic now.

For instance, If we take 15 minutes to meditate on the Passion of Jesus, we are preforming a Direct internal act of religion. If we put up a statue of Mary in our front yard, we are preforming an external indirect act of religion. If we go to Church on Sunday like we should, We are preforming a Direct external at of Religion. If we say a prayer to St. Joseph honoring him for listening to God and doing his will, and asking him to prey for us to God so that we an do the same, we are preforming an indirect internal act of Religion.

Speaking of St. Joseph, today is his Feast day! Happy feast of St. Joseph!

What's Your Vocation?

Have you ever thought about what your Vocation is? Do you know what a Vocation is in the first place?

A vocation is a Call from God to do something with your life. A vocation is not just a call to religious life or Priesthood. It could be the married life, the chaste single life, or becoming a deacon. God has a plan for each of our lives, so everyone has a vocation. 

So what is yours? Have you ever thought of what God might be calling you too? You should be, no matter what your age. 

Having you ever considered that God may be calling you to the religious life? Lot of people are called to marriage, some to other vocations, but some are also called to religious life. Not everyone who is not called to marriage is called to religious life, but how will you know if you never explore the option? You should always be open to whatever God wants you to do. 

So, what are some things you should be thinking about if you are thinking of the religious life? 

What are yours intentions, or motives? Are you wanting to please God in whatever way he chooses for you, and so please Him in the best way you can? Do you Love God and want to dedicate your entire life to Him? 

How about your ability? Are you pretty physically and mentally healthy? You don't need to have special talents or exceptional gifts or a super High education, but you should be physically and emotionally pretty sound and able to carry out the duties of a religious life, which may differ a little from order to order.

Do you wish to live a virtuous life in every way possible, to "Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect"?

If you think you might have a religious vocation, there are lots of things you should do. It's probably a good idea to talk to your confessor about it. There are also people who specialize in vocation discernment, called "Vocation Directors" who will give you guidance in this matter. Lots of religious order have discernment dinners that you could attend. Some may have discernment retreats, which would be very good.

   Whether you think you have one or not, you should always pray about what God wants you to do. You should take time to not only ask questions, but also to listen for Him. You don't always get a vision telling you to become a religious you know, in fact that's rather uncommon. Remember that God often speaks to us in soft little ways, sometimes even in our everyday experiences, so subtly that we don't even know it's Him.  God's plan for you is so great, who ever you may be. He loves you, and He knows what is best for you. Listen to Him. Sure, its not an easy plan. The road to Heaven isn't easy. But it will be a more than ninety nine gazillionbilliontrillionbajillion, forty five million, eight hundred sixty nine thousand, seven hundred and seventy seven times worth it. 

How do you receive Him?

I am going to share a few little snippets from some revelations of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
(You can find some more here, and here where I am getting the quotes from)

"Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what I feel most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me, that treat Me thus."

 "I thirst with such terrible thirst to be loved by men in the Blessed Sacrament that the thirst consumes me. Yet I find no one trying to quench it according to my desire by some return of my love. Do me the kindness then - you at least - of making up for their ingratitude, as far as you can."

How do you receive Communion? 
Do you receive Him with ingratitude, not even paying attention to who it is that you are about to receive? Or do you thank Him and try to express the gratitude that He deserves, even though it is not possible to thank Him enough? 

Are you ever irreverent? When you are supposed to bow or genuflect, do you do it reverently?

Do you express your Love for Him?

Do you even believe that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist?

Do you dress in a respectful way when you come to Mass, or do you just wear whatever you feel like wearing, be it jeans with holes or an old t-shirt?


I get the privilege of being able to serve at Mass, so I get to witness first hand how some people approach and receive our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Oh my goodness, even in my own parish I see this irreverence and disrespect. Sometimes I have to wonder if people rally do believe that Jesus is truly present.

I see people who come up and instead of bowing or genuflecting, they do some quick little head bob, or even nothing at all.
Sometime people come up and instead of presenting their hands in the proper way, and slowly and reverently pick up the Eucharist and consume it, they don't. I've seen people receive Him in all kinds of odd ways. I wish that people still received on the tongue, because then this particular kind of irreverence would not be possible.
Lots of people don't say Amen, or do the sign of the cross after they receive Him.

I am not telling you this to degrade these people or spread rumors, but to make you aware that disrespect and irreverence are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. We really need to put a stop to this people! If you truly believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, Show It!

He Loves you so much, and He has humbled Himself time and time again to come to you, even under the appearance of bread and wine. Do you realize that? The one whom made Heaven and Earth Loves YOU and humbles Himself for YOU and appears as bread and wine to come to YOU in this Sacrament. It's not bread and wine anymore people, It really is JESUS!

Do you come to Him with reverence and Love?

This Lent, let's take a look at how we come to Jesus to receive Him. Let's try to quench that thirst that Jesus talks about, to be Loved by men in this Sacrament. Can we ever quench it? I don't know. But that should not stop us from trying.

Maggie Monday!

Hewoooo! Dis is maggie, and i bet you probably thinks dat you nos wat i is going to say next. You prbably thinks dat i is going to say "I bet you can't guess wat day it is today!" well, guess wat, you is not rite! HA! i is not going to say dat. I is going to say, IT IS MAGGIE MONDAY! yay!

De weber is reely nice owt today. Me and master went fur a walk dis morning, and it was bery nice. But, master is sik, so we didnt get to go fur a long walk. i wish we coud dough.

i bet dat master didnt tuck in her nos. she probably furgetted to tuck in her nos wen she went to sleep, and den i nos wat happened. wile maste was sleeping, i bet dows reely tiny bugs dat hoomans call "sheerms" saw her nos. and den, dey beeeeeery quietly, and beeeery sneekyly sneeked into her nos, becuz it wasnt tucked in. and den, dey attacked! AH! and now dey is making masters nos be all stuffed up, becuz dere is too many in dere. and dey mak her coff because dey tikles her frowt.

 and dey maks her nos run, but i don't no wat dat meens. becuz masters nos is not running away. it is still dere on her face. i think. let me check. . . . .. . .

yep. her nos is still dere. it did not run away.

well, i think dat is all i is going to say fur today. I has to mak sure dat masters nos doesnt run away, so dat she can still smell da wondurful smell of squirrels owtsid. i wuv dat smell!

- Maggie :0)

Maggie Monday

Hewoo! Guess wat day it is today…. I give you a hint. It starts wif M, and means I gets to say something on dis blog…… it's MAGGIE MONDAY!! YAAAAYYY i wuv Maggie Monday. 

Wel, nothing really exiyting has reely happened laytly. A bunch of ice and a small bit of snow fell from da sky yesterday and last nite, so me and master didn't get to take a walk, or eben roller steak, for yesterday and today! :0( 

So, i is going to show you a comfy spot. 

Heer i is. In my "Maggie bed". Dis is da little bed in masters bed, just for me! It has a blanket and a pillow. And master has a heet blanket in her bed too, so dat maks it reely nice and warm.  I gets to sleep in my little Maggie bed web master is sitting in her bed. Wen she is sleeping, i gets in my crate, were i has a reely fluffy bed day is berry snuggly.

I wuv to sleep in comfy spots. Anober comfy spot it da bak of da couch. I liks to lay on da back of da couch lik a cat, hehehehehehehe. And it is hi enouf day i can see out da window wen i is not sleeping, so i can watch for introoders. Lik does odd guys who run up wif boxes. Who nos wat coold be in Der! Wat is Der is a rouge hotdog, or a rabid squirrel, or a crazy bird, or a poysinus bug, or a dangerous ebil thing in Der. So i always maks sure dat i tell eveybody in da house dat DDR is a suspisios guy wif a dangerous box, running to da door. Dat way i skairs him away, and somebody can go and get da dangerous box, and get dat dangerous who-knows-wat out of Der rite away! 

Well, dat is all fur now. 

-MAGGIE :O) 

Maggie Monday!

Hewooo! Geuss wat day it is today. . . . .  MONDAY! and dat meens Maggie Monday! yay! i wuv maggie monday. cause i is Maggie!

So, a foo days ago, master took me "rollor steaking". I haves no idea wai dey it called "roller steaks", cause i hasn't seen any steak come out or anything lik dat, but anyway, master puts on dees weerd shoos called roller steaks, and dey makes her go faster! so den i get to run, and go faster! I WUV GOING FASTER! I is really fast you no. I is probably almost as fast as a cheetah. but you no, cheetah sounds lik cheeter, so maybe dey cheet to go dat faster, witch wood meen dat i is reely da faster one.

I reely can't figur out wai day is called rollor steaks. I wish dat dey would maybe have steaks dat come out of dem when you get hom. You no, lik the rollor steaks coold say wen you get hom,  "Wow Maggie, you is really fast. You must have used a millon coweries, so you needs some more. Heer, have a steak!" and den a big steak coold come out! DAT WOOD BE AUSSOM!

but, going faster is ok to. I really lik to go faster.
So, me and master has been going rollor steaking instead on walking for a foo days. We just went for a walk today, cause it was reely cold outside, and master had to go someweer. and i had to stay hom :0(


also, I wood lik to say, dat i think i has foond da cure for "insnomnia". Tuck in your nose wen you go to sleep! I almost always tuck in my nose wen i is sleeping. somtimes i tuck in in with my tail, and sometime i put it under my foot. Or somtimes i put it in a little courner of my bead, or under a blanket, or under master's arm. And i doesn't have any truble sleeping! so maybe next time you cant sleep, try tucking in your nose!

Well, maybe i will say somthing else next week.

-Maggie  :0)

With freedom comes responsibility

We are free. Not only do we live in a free country, but we also have free will, and we have been freed from sin. We may fall into the Captivity of sin again and again (and more than likely we will at some point) but when we come to God, He sets us free again! 

Unlike some other religions, when you think about it, we don't really have *that* many "physical restrictions" for instance, dont have to worry about making sure our meat isn't mixed with dairy products. 

Yes, we have to fast sometimes. We have to give up meat on certain days. We have to go to Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation. (there are certain restrictions that keep us from sin like not using contraceptives, not gong to fortune tellers or getting all "new age"y common sense stuff like that)  

But being a Catholic doesn't really put many restrictions on our everyday life. 

However, we have a great responsibility. We need to pick up our cross and follow The Lord. We need to share the Good news of the Gospel, we need to help build each other up, instead of tearing each other down like the world tells us to. We need to think less of ourselves, and more of others. We need to be caring and kind, and help each other up when we fall. 

We are free, but true freedom isn't doing whatever you want, anytime you want to. True freedom does come with responsibilities! True freedom is freedom of the soul. Freedom from sin. It's kinda like a joy that spreads out to others. True freedom makes us want others to have this freedom, and makes us help them to attain it. True freedom is Love. 

Do these responsibilities make this freedom not worth the trouble? By no means. It makes it all the more worth it. The more we Love, the more free we become. The more we Love God, and through Loving Him, love and care for others, the more free we become. We still have that responsibility, but these responsibilities are not restrictions and regulations. They are gifts from God to help us not fall into captivity again, and to help others get out of it. 

Divine Mercy

Well, I was cleaning my room today when I decided to move a book from my dresser/shelf to another shelf closer to my bed, for easier access. And like pretty much every time I decide to put a book away, I opened it to a random page and was absorbed for about. . .  I have no idea how long, but it was probably between 20 and 45 minutes. Yeah.

The book is "Diary: Divine Mercy in my Soul" and it the Diary of St. M Faustina Kowalska.
My Grandma had the book, and gave it to me after I asked her where I might be able to find a copy. (Thanks, Grandma!)

The book is HUGE. Probably 3 inches thick! But it is filled with such inspiration and wonder. I haven't read much of it, but every time I pick it up I get totally lost in it, and cry (or almost cry) every time.

Jesus revealed himself to St. Faustina so many times, and spoke directly to her often. OK, I don't really pay much attention to the dates. However, Jesus' words (speaking to St. Faustina) are on almost every single page that I've read, so I'd say He spoke with her pretty often. It's amazing.

She has many trials and sufferings. She also has an incredible love for Jesus.

Jesus makes His great Mercy known to her. Jesus' mercy is so vast, so great, that no soul could ever comprehend it. And It hurts Him so much when people don't or won't come to Him and accept His mercy. He is ready to let flow the never ending fount of mercy within Him, if we are only willing to receive it.

Jesus wants her to spread devotion to His Mercy every where, and wants her to work toward getting a feast of His Mercy. “This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. Every soul believing and trusting in My mercy will obtain it.”
He said. And also
"The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.”

He also wants a particular image (which He shows her in a vision) to be blessed and venerated on this feast.
 “I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it.” He said.

 She worked toward these thing despite her difficulties, which were many. Now we have the Feast of Divine Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter. We now have the Image of Divine mercy too. Jesus also revealed to her other things that He wanted to be spread, Such as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, The Hour of Great Mercy (3 o'clock) and the novena of Chaplets before Divine Mercy Sunday (starting on Good Friday)

And Jesus tells her that it is the most sinful people, who are most in need of His Mercy, who are, so to speak, first in line, to His Mercy. He wants them to come to Him, no matter what they've done, and He wants to freely give them abundant mercy, and forgive them.
Isn't that one of the most loving, touching, hope-inspiring things you've ever heard??

Jesus is Love and Mercy. His love and mercy are more than overflowing, they NEVER end. It really doesn't. In fact, Jesus said to her "My Daughter, do you think you have written enough about My mercy? What you have Written is but a drop compared to the ocean. I am Love and Mercy itself. There is no misery that could be a match for My mercy, neither will misery exhaust it, because as it is being granted - it increases. The soul that trusts in My mercy is most fortunate, because I myself take care of it." 1273

Jesus Loves us all so much. I think Every one needs to at least read a little bit of this book, and get a little taste of His mercy and love. As Jesus said in the quote above, Everything that she wrote is a drop in the Ocean of His Mercy.

Maggie Monday!

Hewoooooo! Dis is Maggie! I no dat U has bean wayting fur monday furever, because monday means maggie Monday!

I is berry sowwy dat i has not gotted to post berry mutch laytly. I gots a new brofer, and i didn't lik him berry much, so master didn't let me post for a few weeks, till i getted more used to him.

His name is Jerry. He is qwyte annoying sumtyms, but somtyms he is fun. He always wants to eat my treets wen master is teaching me, and dat does not mak me berry happy.

But yesterdey, master and her sister and jerry and me all went out to play in da sno, and it was berry fun. Master was throwning white balls, and me and jeery were chading dem, but we culdent find dem everytime! Dey must has bean madjic balls. dey madjically disapeered every tym dat mater threw dem!

and den me and jerry ran arownd and sniffed stuff and chased eechober wile master and her sister and brofer makd a sno-man. He didnt look berry much like a man to me, but dey calls it a sno-man, so i guess he is a man. but he neber moovs. at all. he's probably still owt der in da cold sno, but i can't no dat because i is too short to reetch da window. but he prbably is. I don't no wai he doesn't find a house to go in, and get warmer, because he is probably berry berry cold now. his nos is probably  a aiscoob by now.

it has bean soooo cold heer dat master hasnt bean taking me fur walks laytly, because she doesn't want me to get to cold. So, we has bean going downstayrs, and den master teeches me tricks and stuff, and i gets treets! and jerry doesn't eat dem because master doesn't let him downsayrs wen she is teeching me stuff. It is berry fun. and we plays wif toys too. I has a badger toy, and a monkey toy, and a raindeer toy named "fetch" because dat is wat master says wen she throws it, so dat must be it's name. and i just got a racoon toy today too! I liks to bite toys. . . hehehehehehehehe

well, i tink dat is all i has to say fur now. maybe i will say somting agin next week!

By-by!!

-Maggie :0)

America, what have we done?

America; that land of the free and home of the brave. The nation that started out with independence, saying "All men are created equal" and that we are entitled to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit  of happiness"  What have we done?

41 years ago today, we made one of the biggest mistakes in our Nation's history. 41 years ago today, it became legal to murder children before they are born, and we call this murder "Abortion." 

Since that fateful day, over 55 million babies have been killed before birth. That's 55 million hurting mothers. 55 million little pairs of eyes that never got to see the world. 55 million pairs of tiny hands that never got to grab their mother's finger. 55 million little pairs of feet that never got to feel the ground. 55 million voices never heard. 55 million people who were denied access to Life (outside the womb), Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 55 million innocent lives Taken. 

What have we done? How could we have let this happen? These children were created by God. God has plans for every human being, whether they grow up with their biological parents, adopted parents, or even foster parents. God had special plans for each and every one of those 55 million. They never got the chance to respond. 

What a sad day this is for our country, and the whole world. How much lower can you get than killing innocence?

Our Country has become very low. Very low.

What are you going to do about it? Cause guess what. It's up to you too. It's up to all of us to step up and speak out! Come on people! Today is as good a time as ever to step up. Yesterday would have been better, and tomorrow is not guaranteed. Today is the day that we say "Stop this Now!" 

Abortion is wrong. It needs to be stopped. And we are the ones who need to stop abortion. 

What do you want?

Hi guys! 

Next week, I'm planning on posting a poll  in the side bar asking a simple question.

"What subjects do you want to see more posts about on this blog?" 

In this poll, i will give you several options of possible subjects. Since this is mainly a Religious and personal blog, the subjects will pertaining to those to things. 

I want every single person who reads this post to answer! I will probably leave it up for a week or two, to give you some time.

However, I'm going to go ahead and go over the possible subjects so that you will have plenty of time to think about it. 

• Apologetics and "Why do Catholics do that?

I love apologetics. The only thing that is sad is that often in order to use them, someone is attacking a belief. However, there are sometimes that they can be used when someone is curious to know something. Maybe you aren't Catholic, but you have always wondered why Catholics make the sign of the cross, go to confession instead of just confessing to God, or why we believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. Whatever the case, i will do my best to answer the question, and if i can't answer it, I'll try to find someone who can, 

•Lesser known Saints.

I also love Saints! Saints are our big brothers and sisters that have walked the path through this life, and made it to God! They aren't always perfect. But the kept going with God's grace and love, and they made it to Heaven. 

I just love to find Saints who are lesser known. It's like finding a hidden treasure that not many other people have found, only better! Did you know about St. Fiacre, patron of Gardeners? How about St. Dymphna, patron of those with Mental illnesses? St Alphonsis? St. Mellangell? There are A LOT of Saint up there that aren't as well known as others like St. Peter, St. Francis, St Cecelia, and St. Agnes. And they can pray for you too! 

• Virtues

Posts about Virtues in general, how they are needed, how they are practiced etc.

•Prolife

I am a flamin' prolifer! I can get very "into" Prolife topics. Defending Life is so very important in this work where a culture o death is promoted everywhere. 

•Sacraments

Sacraments are some of the greatest gifts that God has given us.  They spark flames inside us. They bring us an overflowing wealth of Grace. They help us attain virtues. They bring us Closer to God! 

•Motivation

 If you've read a lot of my posts, you can tell that i really want to motivate and inspire people. I want you to keep going. Whatever it is that you are fighting, keep fighting. Whatever it is that you are struggling with, keep going! Trust in God. Pray. Give yourself to God, He will never leave you, even though everyone else might. I want you i keep fighting the good fight, and get closer and closer to God!

That's it for now. I know that some of you are itching for more Maggie Mondays *Cough Cough* my siblings *cough cough* but due to Maggie's inability to yet get along with her new brother, Jerry, she needs some time. Or else the post would be pretty boring like "Today my brofer Gerry stoled my monkey toy. I is so mad at him! He is always stoleding my toys and trying to eat my treats! He's berry Whiney all da time too!!" LOL 

Anways, think about it, and come back next week to put in your answer!