Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. Ephesians 6:14

I hope everyone had a blessed and happy Easter and Happy Divine Mercy Sunday. I know it has been a while since I have written anything. My prayer of late has been more silent. Though I used to feel heaven pour over me, this past year most of what I hear the Lord speak to me is a single word, “wait“. So I pray, I hope, I wait. The sufferings of the past and present have drawn me closer, but in this time of aridity I feel as if I am in a cocoon, awaiting a day to break free into a butterfly. We are on a precipice of major change. With the passing of Pope Francis, I feel this more than ever. Eternal Rest Grant unto him O Lord.

On the Monday of the Pope’s passing I went to Mass at our Cathedral. During Mass I felt the Lord speak to me about 1 Samuel 8. This is the passage where Israel requests a King like the other nations. It is when they entered into the Body Politic. I felt the Lord say to me at Mass that day, “I will rule over you directly”. Now, I don’t know exactly what this means, and it is not a commentary on the next Pope, or the election of the Pope. It was more like a sword of the Spirit piercing my heart and calling me gird my loins for battle. Hold fast to the belt of truth for we are about to enter into a new epoch. It is an epoch where man will be attempting to glorify himself without glorifying God and without recognizing the Blessed Virgin Mary as God’s ultimate glory of creation. He spoke to me of Mary as the Mediatrix of All Graces and as co-redemptrix and He told me to “make it known”. Making this known speaks of the greatness of God and what He wants for His creatures. She is the pinnacle of creation.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:1-4

Whenever I read this passage of scripture I think of Mary, the first home of God among mortals. But more than that, I see how He wants to dwell in all of us. Mary is the tabernacle of God. She houses the Eucharist within her. Like Mary, we are called to be living sanctuaries in whom the Eucharist dwells.

The powers that be in the secular world and the devil himself would love to banish the Eucharist and woe to those within the church who cooperate with this. This is what I keep a look out for. I look for those who want to remove the Eucharist more than I look at any other of the many storms in the world. And while I think prophecy is a good thing and I believe whole heartedly we should pay attention to it, I sometimes think it can distract us and keep us looking in a wrong direction; a direction that looks to save the body but neglects the soul because fear becomes a focal point. Love should be the focal point.

God is love. 1 John 4:8

The preparation I have felt called to has always been about preparation of the heart, which manifests itself not in the stockpiling of food and water (though I think having food and water on hand can be a prudent thing to do) but in a preparation of my home to be a true domestic church. To have a home with real relationship with God and with my family. A place where hearts are known and seen. A place where people’s gifts are cultivated and not torn down. A home that houses the Bible, and the Rosary in prominent places. A home that has a place for prayer, a Mass kit if the Lord has called you to have one, blessed candles, holy water, and a devoted heart. A place where if worship were gone from our parishes, worship could still take place because the Father would still be honored by meditating on the Life of the Son.

I view life through the lens of Jesus’ life. I ask the Lord to show me how the life of Christ parallels what is happening now. God will reveal it to you if you ask. Our homes should reflect the Life of Christ. For if the world tries to snuff out the light of Christ, we need to be the light of Christ ourselves in the darkness. This is why we gird our loins. To have girded loins means we are steadfast and confident in God no matter what the future brings. It means we have eyes to see and ears to hear but most of all, it means we have purged ourselves of any motivation but love of God. No matter the suffering we must love.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

I truly believe the era we are beginning now will bring down a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit and will reveal the God’s Glory in the Spouse of the Spirit, The Blessed Virgin Mary, even as things around us can look dire. But with our feet shod in the Gospel of Peace, we will stand firm. Have faith. God has won the Victory!

P.S. My husband and I leave for Medjugorje in about a week, please pray for our safe travels.