This is an AI image of what I saw in my prayer at Mass on January 6, 2026. While I really don’t like AI art because it steals from the human artists whose ability to create is heaven given, this was a helpful tool to show what it was that I saw.
While at Mass on January 6, normally the Feast of the Epiphany, I saw an image in my head in prayer that resembles closely the one above that AI created when I described what I saw.
As this image came over me, I seemed to have this understanding that I want to try to relay. The image was relaying to me a truth about Mary and the Church.
There is but one mediator between God and man and that is Christ Jesus. Christ brought forth the perfect satisfaction to atone for our sins, to atone for the fall, which had infinitely offended because God is infinitely good. This infinite gap, this distance between God and man, was reconciled because He is true God – which is what was needed to atone for the sin, and true man – so it atones for all of mankind.
But there was a pathway God chose to take to bring this reconciliation to us and that pathway was through the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was made immaculate by God through the prevenient grace of the Cross. But from the beginning of her existence, she prepared her heart and her soul to be receptive. A long mediation. The first place God came to on earth was the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That is actually where the incarnation took place. The Incarnation was inside of her. He became flesh inside of her. Bone of her bone and flesh of her flesh. God was so in her, both spiritually and physically, she gave birth to Him. God did not give Himself more fully to anyone but her. She mediated for God and man; not the same way Christ did, but she was part of the plan. The plan is all God’s design. The execution of the plan required her free will consent. Her role – to point us to Him and His glory.
We humans look at things through the lens of competition as if when one good thing happens for one person, it takes something away from another. This is a deficient ungodly view. God’s view is very different. It is not a competition for God, who IS love. Because God IS love he shares His love with all His creatures. He elevates. And no one was more elevated by God than the Blessed Virgin Mary, so much so, she is given a share in His mediation. She is the pathway through which God became Man. God shares His gifts. God shares Himself. Even the Saints become mini-mediators when they spread the good news of the Gospel. It isn’t complicated to understand.
And too, the Blessed Virgin Mary represents the Church. The graces of the Sacraments, the graces of the Eucharist, come through the church, so in this sense the Church is mediating between God and man as well. This is the image I saw. I saw grace from God flowing through Mary and flowing through the church. Mary far surpasses any creature, she gave birth to the one who as the second person of the Blessed Trinity holds the universe in existence. The Church, whom she is Mother of, brings the sanctifying grace to God’s people. The Holy Spirit brings Jesus down in the Consecration, but the church is the place where this happens. God wants to share His glory with His people. He isn’t a glory hoarder.
There’s a passage in the book of Zephaniah that says;
The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. Zephaniah 3:17
This is the only passage in the bible where God sings. The passage is about Jerusalem. Mary is the new Jerusalem. She is the City on a Hill. I imagine when she was assumed into heaven God was singing.
God wants to give us a share of her Immaculate Conception, so through the grace the church provides in Christ, one day we will experience the Resurrection of the Body and there will be no more tears. This is why I have repeatedly said, Consecration to Jesus through Mary is a wonderful thing. Consecration to the whole Holy Family is a wonderful thing. We can be mini-mediators and know the glory of God.
In these times of chaos, look up, and believe in the power and glory of God like Mary did.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
I went to the Carmel Center in Liberty TN to give a talk and while I was there we prayed a Patriotic Rosary. I thought I would share it here with you.
THE PATRIOTIC ROSARY FOR THE CONSECRATION OF OUR NATION
Make the Sign of the Cross
For the Conversion of the Nation’s Capital: Apostles Creed
For the Holy Father: Our Father
For Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Religious: Three Hail Mary’s
For the Conversion of our Country: Glory Be
(Mysteries- Joyful on Monday and Saturday, Sorrowful on Friday and Tuesday, Luminous on Thursday and Glorious on Sunday and Wednesday)
The First Mystery
For the Presidency of the United States
Our Father
Before EACH Hail Mary state: “We plead the Blood of Jesus over (name the state) and every soul in that state.”
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
For the Conversion of our Country: Glory Be, O’ My Jesus (Fatima Prayer)
The Second Mystery
For the Supreme Court of the United States of America
Our Father
Before EACH Hail Mary state: “We plead the Blood of Jesus over (name the state) and every soul in that state.”
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
For the Conversion of our Country: Glory Be, O’ My Jesus (Fatima Prayer)
The Third Mystery
For the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America
Before EACH Hail Mary state: “We plead the Blood of Jesus over (name the state) and every soul in that state.”
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
For the Conversion of our Country: Glory Be, O’ My Jesus (Fatima Prayer)
The Fourth Mystery
For the Office of the Governors of the United States of America
Before EACH Hail Mary state: “We plead the Blood of Jesus over (name the state) and every soul in that state.”
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
For the Conversion of our Country: Glory Be, O’ My Jesus (Fatima Prayer)
The Fifth Mystery
For All county, city, board of education and municipal offices of the United States of America
Before EACH Hail Mary state: “We plead the Blood of Jesus over (name the state) and every soul in that state.”
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virgina
Wisconsin
Wyoming
For the Conversion of our Country: Glory Be, O’ My Jesus (Fatima Prayer)
Closing Prayers
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
V. Let us pray,
R. O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And may the Divine Assistance remain always with us and may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
“Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14
I gave a talk today at the Carmel Center in Liberty, TN. Though many of you have heard my story, I do speak about some current events in this talk as well.
Additionally, the Carmel Center prays a Patriotic Rosary. I will be posting that in the next few days. It is a very powerful Rosary for our country.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. Genesis 2:15
The other day I was praying for my children the usual prayers I pray for them. I pray for them to be holy and happy. I pray for them to have transforming union with God. I pray that if their vocation is marriage that they have holy and happy spouses and that if it is religious life it will be made clear to them. And because of the culture we live in I also pray in Jesus’ name against evil spirits coming after them, particularly the spirits of rejection, abandonment, rebellion, addiction, never, murder, anxiety and depression – spirits I see so prevalently in the world.
As I was praying I had the thought, “I wonder if this matters.” A little creep of doubt about whether my daily prayers matter. And as quickly as I had the thought (perhaps a fiery dart), I had an answer, “you are keeping the garden.” And I knew in a most humble and small way I was actually doing what Adam did not. I was praying for our hearts to be guarded against the serpent entering. And it absolutely matters.
I began to think of all the things that Jesus taught and said about prayer.
He taught us to pray with persistence.
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ”And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Luke 18:1-8
That last line always gives me pause – “And yet when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Lord, under no circumstances may I tire of prayer and under no circumstances may I lose faith in your goodness.
He taught us to pray with humility.
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other, for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
Lord, let me see others with your eyes. May I not Lord myself over another.
He taught us to pray in solitude.
Meanwhile, he would slip away to deserted places and pray. Luke 5:16
Lord, may I seek you everyday and may you come into the most hidden places of my heart.
He taught us to pray in faith.
So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24
Lord, you made me for these times, help me in my daily life to love like you love.
He taught us to pray for forgiveness.
Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:25
Lord, help me forgive those who have hurt me. Lord help me to forgive myself. Be merciful on me a sinner.
He taught us to pray for deliverance.
Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done. Luke 22:42
and deliver us from evil Matthew 6:13
Lord, deliver me from evil. Thy will be done.
He taught us to pray for strength and to stand firm.
Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36
Lord, let me keep my eyes on heaven and not let the suffering of this world bring me to despair.
He taught us to pray for help in the mission of the Kingdom.
therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Matthew 9:38
Lord, send us help in the fight for your Kingdom.
He taught us to pray for our enemies and persecutors.
But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you Matthew 5:44
Lord, help me to pray for those who despise me and who have harmed me. May they be converted and come to know you fully.
He taught us to pray in His name.
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me[a] for anything, I will do it. John 14:13-14
Lord Jesus, in your holy name, I ask that you make me a Saint.
He taught us the High Priestly prayer.
Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.[d]14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.”
Father, may I be one with you as Jesus and you are one.
I pray all these things as Jesus taught us, just as he taught us the Our Father in order that I may keep the garden of my heart and help the hearts of those around me. My my sin be taken to the Garden of Gethsemane. May my heart be restored to the Garden of Eden.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
I have told you that God has been relatively silent for awhile, but this day was different. I was praying a Rosary and I received a word in prayer. “Pray it will not be winter.”
That was it. That was all that was said to me in my prayer. I recognized it from scripture.
The whole passage states;
So when you see the desolating sacrilege, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop must not go down to take things from the house; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will gather. Matthew 24:15-28
I don’t really know exactly what all this means, except I feel we must do as Jesus commanded in scripture. And I felt it important enough to tell you.
I am not an eschatologist, nor do I proport to know timelines of events. I only know what I heard in prayer and that it matches something in scripture that Jesus told us to do. So for me, I will pray that our flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. Prayer changes things.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor. Luke 2:52
The other evening Father Augustine Mang taught my OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) class. The topic was the Eucharist and Father Mang informed me that he was teaching what he learned from his Thomistic Classes at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. He told me he would make it easy to understand for all the people in my class.
I have to say, I was fully expecting him to teach John 6 like we do almost every year when we teach on the Eucharist, and while he did mention that he taught some things I am not sure I was ever aware of. Thank God for the wisdom of the Saints like Aquinas. As Father Mang was teaching I started seeing connections I had never seen before and understanding things I had not previously understood well. I will do my best to relay what he taught, as well as what understanding I was seeing.
Father said that in the beginning, in the garden of Eden, God gave a command to Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. This part I knew, as do all of you. He said the Tree of knowledge was Divine knowledge, so that when the serpent said, “you will be like God”, there was a sliver of truth in that statement, but as always when it comes to the devil, it was twisted.
Father went on to say that this Divine knowledge from this tree would have eventually been given to Adam and Eve as a gift, but the test for them was obedience to the command. He said the idea that God would have eventually gifted the tree to them can be inferred in scripture by the nature of who God is, a giver of gifts. We all know that they failed the test. Father Mang explained, they grasped for what had not been given, rather than waiting for God to give it. They grasped at Divine knowledge before it was theirs to have and because of this they knew they were naked. It brought shame. They had gained knowledge that was not natural to what God had given them at that time. They had a moral awareness where they would know right from wrong independently from God.
“Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil….” Genesis 3:22
In doing this their human nature becomes fallen and death comes into the world because they grasped at this Divine knowledge that was not theirs to take. Obedience to God is that path to sharing in God’s life, something that through their disobedience made them become independent of God. Knowledge apart from submission to God brings fear and consequences. Obedience would have brought Divine knowledge and Divine nature. Instead, their human nature falls even as they hold on to this knowledge. God had to expel them from the garden because if they then ate from the Tree of Life at that point they would have eternally been fallen, and God did not want them to remain eternally fallen.
“and now, lest he put forth his hand and also take from the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever – there for God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden” Genesis 3:22-23
It was out of love that God expelled them. He did not want them to live forever in a fallen state. This would have brought not just physical death, but a spiritual death devoid of Divine life. He wanted to give a pathway back to Divine knowledge with Divine life.
It is here I want to pause and relay what understanding came over me while Father Mang was teaching this. The scripture above speaks of Jesus growing in wisdom and knowledge (Luke 2:52) and it started to make more sense to me, along with another scripture;
Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God, a high Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:8-10
It seems that by taking on our limited human nature Jesus walked a path of “being made perfect.” And this being made perfect, meant that he never grasped at what was not given. This would be true for the Blessed Virgin Mary as well. What do I mean by that? I mean that when Jesus was a 4 year old, he didn’t try to be a 10 year old. When he was 18, he didn’t try to be 21. He didn’t use the knowledge to gain what wasn’t given. He was in body, mind and spirit, being exactly what he was supposed to be at the time, and he was not grasping for the more that the Father had not yet given, the way that most of us do every day of our lives. My friend Amanda Bagwell, who is an educational expert on brain development, and wife of my friend Jansen Bagwell, pointed out that his brain development would have been exactly what it should have been. He would have been perfectly accepting of whatever state of life and circumstances he was in developmentally. In other words, he let his human nature suffer in the knowledge while waiting for the gift. He let his human nature suffer even unto death because the gift was worth waiting for; the resurrection and the restoration of man.
I should point out though, that He IS God, so we see glimmers, outside of time, of the gift before it was given.
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. Matthew 17:2
Though he could have remained that way, He didn’t. He was letting Peter, James and John see the gift, the gift they would receive if they waited for it to be given. If they suffered in their human nature like he had. By suffering in our human nature in obedience, God elevates us into his Divine nature. We can become like the Apostles at Pentecost, Divine knowledge and Divine nature poured into us.
Now back to what Father Mang was teaching. Obedience brings harmony with God. He said the disobedience came from eating, so the restoration would come also from eating. Which brings us to the Last Supper where Jesus stated, “this is my body and this is my blood” but in relation to bread and wine.
Jesus is God, whatever he says is accomplished.
And waking up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. Then he said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were terrified and amazed and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?” Luke 8:24-25
If the wind and the storm obey him why would we not think that the bread and the wine wouldn’t also obey him? What he says happens. What he says becomes reality. If he can tell a dead man, Lazurus, to come out of a tomb and he comes out, why in the world would we doubt that he can tell the bread and wine to turn into Himself?
But people will ask, why then does it look like regular bread and wine? This is where Father Mang went on to explain that it is in a Sacramental manner. The Sacrament is a sign that signifies the reality. Jesus Himself in his physical body was both a natural physical human body and sacrament.
He made present his sacrifice of the cross at the last supper outside of time by making the Sacrament of himself present in the bread and wine before the cross happened at the Last Supper. When he spoke the words, it happened. The manner was not that we eat human flesh off of a bone. The manner was that we eat Him in Sacrament in the form of bread and wine, otherwise we would not do it. He is God and He is so good to do this for us.
At the cross, he took on our sins and nailed them to a tree in obedience to the Father. And he rises and becomes the tree of life for us.
This ability for us to receive Jesus’ body, blood, soul and divinity, in sacrament, enables us to be purified. This purification enables us to suffer well. We move forward on a path to who we really are instead of grasping at what we think we should be. We become more human, more fully alive, and our nature is elevated. We share in God’s divine nature.
Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust and may become participants of the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4
I know the devil did everything he could to get Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge so they could fall. I also know he is doing everything he can now to either get us to deny the real presence or to have us partake in a state of mortal sin. We partake in a state of grace because the church asks us to and obedience is key to divine life. By making obedience no big deal we can be in the same state of rebellion as Adam and Eve. The devil also has convinced so many people that Jesus is not present in the Eucharist. It is why the Protestant Reformation is such a travesty. A large portion of Christendom no longer believes or partakes in the real presence. Lord have mercy on us. They don’t believe that Jesus’ words do what they say.
We have used our divine knowledge to make ourselves god. The technology we have created gets more advanced, and we become less human. We dehumanize one another. But to that I say no. Saying no to the world means suffering. Suffering draws you closer to Christ whose promises are true. Let us suffer well as we trust in the Lord and await a new Pentecost.
Saint Anthony Holding the Christ Child – Bernardo Strozzi 1625
For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. Matthew 24:7
For years now I have meditated on the Passion of Christ. I have pictured myself standing at the foot of the cross and handing all of my sin to Him. Meditating on the Passion gives me awe and wonder knowing that the Creator of the Universe atoned for me by dying this way, even before I had repented. Knowing that in time, I would be born into original sin and be cleansed in baptism and I would commit personal sin, and find my way to Him to have His merit applied so as to save me.
But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
You see, for me, meditating on the Passion, is meditating on what I know I deserve and what He took on for me. I see my sin in His wounds. I love Him ever more fiercely and I am grateful, which makes me turn from sin and desire to purify. I want to be immaculate, so as to never do that to His body again.
There is one human person who did not wound Jesus, but rather who walked with Him in His suffering. People often think by honoring Mary something is taken away from God, but nothing could be further from the truth. Mary, rather than taking away from God, shows us the immensity of God. She shows us that God is not one being among many with whom we compare power and status, rather He is All Being, and everything is in Him and her cooperation with Him is a recognition of His all being, His I AM WHO AM.
for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. Col. 1:16
And He chooses to share his glory, his mediation, his redemption, with her, and by extension with us.
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. Col. 1:24
Because God is so great, he shares His greatness with Mary, and with us, whom she is Mother of. The church is now the place where people encounter Christ. We are His Mystical Body and we are participating in cooperation with His salvific work, which is complete in Him, who is everything.
Mary’s participation in this is singular, in that, she as the perfect human person, cooperated in such a way with the Divine Person, that He completed in her His plan for His creation. We can see Jesus’ work through her.
It was through the suffering of the Cross that the Church was birthed. It was through the suffering of the Cross that the Apostles had Pentecost pour down. The Mystical Incarnation for the Saints, which requires purity, requires suffering through many crucifixions. This crucifixion of the Saints takes many forms, for some, like Peter, it is an actual crucifixion for the sake of Christ. For others, like Mother Teresa, it is a complete dying to self so that you do nothing but serve the God who thirsts. But the path is the same, it is a path of suffering with love that births Christ alive in a soul.
For Mary, she was Immaculately conceived and her walk was as close of a walk with Christ as one could possibly be. In fact, Saint John Eudes in his work, The Admirable Heart of Mary, stated that Mary’s Fiat at the Annunciation extended to her entire life, including Jesus asking her consent to the sacrifice at Calvary. She was pure and in the will of the Father for the entire journey. Jesus wants to take us there, to the Divine Will of the Father.
For us, we are purified of original sin at baptism, but our journey out of concupiscence is one of suffering. Suffering by letting go of the world, the flesh and the devil, the things that keep us from purification. When we let go of these things we are led on a path to Mystical Incarnation. A birth of purity of heart.
In realizing this, I thought that it seems harder for me to meditate on the Nativity than on the Passion. I found myself in the position of wondering if I were good enough to be able to hold the infant Jesus. Was I purified enough to hold the small seemingly helpless God in my arms? Would I be struck dead like Uzzah?
I think this is the journey of the birth pains that Jesus speaks about in Matthew 24. Will we, will I, be able to endure the sufferings listed in that passage and still be able to love and will the good of another, especially one who hates me? Can I come out on the other side with the infant Jesus in my arms, with the incarnation in my heart?
I set out to meditate on the Nativity.
I found myself in a cave in Bethlehem and I was standing in front of the Blessed Virgin Mary who was holding the baby Jesus. She was so beautiful and he was glowing in her arms.
I asked her permission to hold him, bracing myself for an answer of no, but to my surprise she said yes. She gently handed me the baby and for a moment my eyes locked with his and I could see the whole earth and universe in his eyes, like translucent water.
Suddenly, in my periphery I could see demons trying to attack me as I held him, they were growling and pushing my head. Still looking at Jesus, I cried out for him to help me, even as he lay helpless in my arms. When I cried out for help Joseph appeared. He wrapped his cloak around me and Mary and the baby Jesus and I felt safe.
Joseph says we have to go and go quickly. In my head I thought, “are we going to Egypt?” And as if he could hear my thoughts he says, “we are going underground”. I wonder if I am hearing correctly, and again he says, “underground”. That is where my meditation ended.
Though I am not sure exactly what this meditation means, as I look around at the world, I can certainly see the signs of the times.
As I pondered all of this I thought of how Joseph is Patron and protector of the Universal Church. I know we live in precarious times. I also know none of us will come out unscathed. We will not be raptured, we will not be in a protective bubble somewhere untouched, we will be in battle against powers and principalities and our goal is perseverance. Perseverance in the belief that God is good. Perseverance in letting go of all that is not of Him. Perseverance in faith, hope and charity, so that charity will reign in our hearts.
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5
With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (NLV)
Today I am posting a piece by my friend Rob Marco who has a knack for explaining what I often feel inside. I hope you’re able to read it as we wanted to show the authenticity of the type.
Father Louis Rojas gets illuminated while lifting the host for Consecration 2024
I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.…John 10:14-18
I have found myself alarmed at the amount of lies in the “shorts” on all these different platforms. From AI, to just plain ignorance and made up things, it is all there to rile you up into a rage or send you into fear. Rage and fear blind. When you are blind, you cannot see truth.
Long ago, back in 2020 I got off of almost all social media. Back then, I didn’t want to box in the digital foray of hatred, prejudgment and division. I wanted to be able to meet people in person, to dance with joy in the dance of life and relationship. I wanted reality. Heaven’s reality because the Kingdom of God is at hand. I still long for this and do my best to have face to face interaction because it doesn’t dehumanize people.
… “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15
I wanted to stand in confidence of the Lord and not the number of likes and subscribers. I still try to make a concerted effort to guard what gets put into my mind. When I went on the silent retreat at Bethany House it became all the more clear, the need to turn off the noise as much as possible.
Turning off the distractions has not isolated me, rather, when I encounter a person, or when I teach class, I am more engaged. I am able to teach the hard things to my OCIA class with more clarity and less fear, even as there is more pushback. I have no courage on my own, but with Christ, all things are possible.
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
This is not to say that everyone out there has to choose the path I have chosen. Know thyself. For me, this is the best way to keep God at the center of things as I see things falling apart around me.
I want to recognize my Master’s voice and not be fooled because of distractions that have me looking somewhere other than the Face of Jesus. Rage or feeling like I have secret knowledge or thinking I know a person’s deepest intentions distract me from the one who loves me. It serves to get me looking at outward issues that cause me to build walls around my heart. When I recess into the depths of my heart, and I hand everything there to my Jesus, then the walls come tumbling down. I become vulnerable – to the Lord – and it is there that I am in His will. I am naked and unashamed because He sees all of me and He chooses to save me and wash away my sin. I don’t have to worry because there is no ulterior motive in my heart except to love Him which enables me to better love others.
As I was pondering all these things, I set off to Mass yesterday, October 29, 2025, and for the first time in a long while, the Lord sent me consolation.
It was the third elevation. Our Priest held up the broken host and said, “Behold the Lamb of God“. I saw in my mind and prayer, Jesus’ broken body on the cross. I saw His blood pour into the chalice. I knew with a deep knowing that the chalice vessel represented the Church that His blood poured into. When the Priest consumed the Body and Blood, I knew that Jesus was glorified by that act. I knew that a Pentecost was happening inside the Priest. I knew that the Priest must protect the chalice, the church. And I knew when He came down off of the altar for us to receive that we were receiving the Glorified Christ and He would purify. I saw all this come through the action of the Priest. Heaven’s bridge. I understood why the Priest should face a crucifix during the consecration prayers and why the chalice needs protecting and to be treated with delicacy, like a bride.
The scene made me cry. Heaven really is colliding with earth on that altar through the Priest. These are things I already knew, but when God brings consolation through a deep and piercing way, it is humbling to witness and makes me want to pray more for the salvation of souls and for the strengthening of the Priesthood.
It makes me want to keep my oil lamp lit. To persevere until the end.
But the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. Matthew 25:4
As I laid down to sleep last night, I was awakened with the words of a song. Come, Jesus Come.
Until then, we wait and we pray. God Bless you all.
William Holman Hunt 1860 – The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
and And his mother kept all these things in her heart. Luke 2:19
This weekend I went to the Bethany Retreat House for a retreat on She said yes: Rediscovering God’s Loving Will, led by Father Arturo Merriman. It was a beautiful weekend and I finally felt like I was entering a new dawn where the aridity and silence of God didn’t seem so desolating. I don’t feel empty anymore.
The retreat weekend was based on Lectio Divina and Father Merriman had us focus on specific situations in the life of Mary from Mary’s perspective. So of course, for me, the reading that stuck out was the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. The reason this stuck out is because Mary, after having lost Jesus, scripture tells us she had great anxiety.
Son, why have you treated us so?Behold, your father and I have been looking for youanxiously. Luke 2:48
Have you ever experienced great anxiety? Especially when it comes to your children? Or perhaps you read the headlines and you lose sleep at night. Maybe a Bishop has taken away your worship and sent you into despair and anxiety over the banning of something good, true and beautiful in a world that has already lost so much of that.
What are we to do when these things happen? We should take a look at Mary and what Jesus taught her that day in the Temple. Can you relate to Mary’s anxiety?
In the translation I have (The Great Adventure Bible RSV), Jesus asks her a question this way;
How is it that you sought me? Luke 2:49
And if you look earlier in the passage it tells us;
they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances. Luke 2:44
It goes on further to state;
and when they did not find him they returned to Jerusalem. Luke 2:45
We know that Mary did not sin, so seeking him by going to the relatives and acquaintances is not a bad thing, but Jesus seems to be directing her elsewhere;
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? Luke 2:49
Mary’s response is to keep all these things in her heart.
As I was reading this I thought about my own life and the times I get anxious. I often run to friends or relatives to talk about my anxiety. Sometimes for me this can cross into gossip and sin. The anxiety ends up growing larger. And while Mary literally found Jesus in the Temple, there is an underlying message Jesus is giving here.
Do you not know that you are God’s Temple? 1 Corinthians 3:16
Have we taken our anxiety to prayer. Have we let the Lord into the deepest recesses of our hearts. I know I sometimes get off track. Prayer is the very first place we should go when we find ourselves anxious. We should let the Lord examine the deepest parts of the heart.
The Priest who led the retreat, Fr Merriman, told us we have to be real with everything we tell the Lord. He said Mary let Jesus know of her desire for her friends not to run out of wine at the wedding at Cana, and then left it to Him to figure out. She didn’t go fretting to her friends in this situation about the lack of wine.
I have often felt like I am not doing God’s will or felt conflicted as to what His will may be in certain situations. Father Merriman told me just to make a list of my desires. Not a list of what I think God desires, but a list of my desires. He said I was then to bring those desires before the Lord and work them out with Him one by one. He assured me that if a desire was bad, the Lord would let me know.
This exercise was very freeing. I wrote down a whopping 5 pages of desires. I realized that even though I have taught everyone to be so open with God, that many of my anxieties, even about my own children, come from a false idea of what I think God wants or how a good Christian should be. When I was able to speak my own desires and own them as my own, the Lord was able to do great work in me because the deepest parts of my soul and heart were laid bare. I could see more clearly how He wants to mold me in love and how best to love my children. I could even hand my children over to God so much more easily when I made myself more vulnerable.
God made Himself vulnerable to us and still does every day in the Eucharist. To be vulnerable is to be childlike. This is how we should seek Him. This is where we will find Him.
God Bless all of you.
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Veil of Veronica 