We are a people of Dementia

Posted on June 28, 2021 by veilofveronica
The beauty of a church that draws eyes to heaven. A visual depiction of the goodness of God

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children. Deuteronomy 4:9

Mom’s diagnosis with dementia came to us after she had her first stroke. We had noticed her memory lapses prior, but she had covered it all up well. After the second stroke there was no hiding anything. Her memory was gone and her world and ours changed drastically.

There is something that the medical world calls “confabulation” that dementia patients do. Confabulation is a type of memory error in which gaps in a person’s memory are unconsciously filled with fabricated, misinterpreted, or distorted information. When this happens it is very difficult. Sometimes the error contains bits of reality, but it is so distorted that it is unrecognizable as true. So for example, my mother did actually live at the beach, but she is convinced we are there now. The stories are often so outlandish that it is key to to keep a sense of humor about things. It is sometimes the only way to get through the pain.

When mom and dad first moved in and mom began telling these stories, it was very difficult. First, I didn’t always know if what she was saying was true. For example, one day mom started talking about meeting the Princess of Wales. I thought it was a lie until I remembered and dad verified that mom did actually meet Princess Diana when she worked closely with the Reagan White House.

Mom and Dad getting ready to go meet Princess Diana

But other stories I know not to be true like when she told me she was a cupcake maker just after watching a Hallmark movie about a cupcake maker. Mom is also, at least in the evening, very convinced she has small babies and she gets anxious looking for them.

When all of this started happening, my first response was to correct her, to tell her the truth. I would say, “no mom, you aren’t a cupcake maker, you are retired and live with me. I am your daughter.” She would become so angry and agitated, like I have never seen before. She would call me a liar and dig her heels in. She would accuse me of conspiring against her. After watching some videos a doctor made on dementia patients we learned the term “confabulation” and that in her mind she is not lying. That because of the damage to her brain from the disease, her brain has found a different reality to help her cope and that reality can change from day to day. Any mention of the truth can throw her into a state of extreme agitation and anger. The advice the doctor gave was to either go along with it or to try to distract her. These are the things that keep the peace. I even went to a Priest to ask whether doing these things put me in a situation of lying or if it was okay to “go along with” the distortion. After pulling out the catechism and reading Saint Augustine about lying, he assured me it was okay to go along with it to keep the peace in my household.

We bought mom a baby doll that she carries with her. It alleviates her anxiety about her “missing babies”

One of the worst parts about confabulation is when your mother accuses you of things that are so very not true. Often in my mom’s eyes, I am keeping her trapped, in prison. If I have to change her or shower her or try to help her she yells at me that she can do it herself and I have no right to do these things. Never mind that she cannot walk or dress herself. In her head she often thinks I am imprisoning her even as I try something as simple as keeping her clean. She has called me a liar more than once and she accuses me of taking her freedom away.

After months of now dealing with this, I began to see that this is how God must feel about us. From my perspective I am caring for and loving her. I give all that I have to her. My home, my physical work of my hands, my things, whatever she needs, what ever I have is hers. But because of the damage to her brain her reality is distorted and she blames me for her problems and rails at me (at least some of the time, not everyday is this way). The more I would try to tell truth, the more she refuses to believe it, so I let her be. I try my best to always respond in love to her no matter what it is she may be saying to me. Some days are harder than others, but thus far I have handled it well with the help of my wonderful husband.

In mom’s case she can’t help it. A disease has ravaged her brain. But when I look at the world I see something that reminds me of dementia. People have had their thoughts so distorted by the enemy that they believe lies. God gives and gives and gives, and people rail at Him, accuse Him of their suffering, accuse Him of taking their freedom, all the while their brains have been shaped by the enemy who is actually the liar. In mom’s case she cannot help it. In our society we have chosen to believe lies and we run away from the very one who can heal us, or even worse we actually stand in pride in front of the healer and tell Him His ways are wrong, stuck in our own pride. Just a sampling of the lies we have chosen as a society to believe and we can see it is no wonder we are in the state we are in;

Politicians believe that they are actually helping women by paving a way for them to easily kill their children.

Parents and educators believe they are helping their child by allowing the purpose of sexuality to be twisted or even worse transitioning them into a sex that they are not.

Scientists and doctors believe they are helping mankind by stopping our fertility with contraception and by making vaccines on the backs of aborted children.

The distortion is displayed out in the open now.

People display Vaccine saves on Christ the Redeemer Statue making a mockery of the actual Savior

And anyone who tries to tell them the truth gets railed at and canceled. They rage at the God they do not know who is only trying to make them clean. God says let me love you. I want to give and give and give blessing to you and to care for you. And society screams “no” making their decisions based on fabrications and distorted information. They see God as the jailer all the while they have handed themselves over to the jailer who comes from the pit of hell.

And so it is here dear brothers and sisters, that those who see the truth must ask ourselves a question. Can we love the individual in front of us anyway?

With my mother it is easy to keep loving her. She is my mom after all, and I see what has happened. I know it is a disease and it is not her fault. I know how well she loved me even when I was a bratty toddler, teenager, and sometimes adult. Mom sacrificed for me, so the sacrifice for her becomes easy.

But with the person you don’t know who is wrapped in lies can you still love?

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:32-36

Mercy and love are the answer. This doesn’t mean “going along with” the lies as you might go along with a dementia patients confabulation. We must stand in the way as Jesus did. But we must also understand the persecution that comes with that. This is because they don’t want just your love, they want the acceptance of their sin. They want you to tell them their sin is good. But we can’t. God alone is good and the sin is destroying them. So we must be ready for what comes when you stand against sin.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” John 15:18

In time I suspect that mom will totally forget who I am. It seems our society has totally forgotten who God is, how good God is. Let those of us who know him not forget and shine light in the darkness for others to see.

Psalm 103, a Psalm of David

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and do not forget all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live[a]
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The Lord works vindication
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
    his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always accuse,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
    so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were made;
    he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for mortals, their days are like grass;
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
    on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments.

19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
    and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    obedient to his spoken word.
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
    his ministers that do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
    in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

The Keeper of the Garden

Posted on June 24, 2021 by veilofveronica

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:12-12

In a previous post, on why the first sin is known as the sin of Adam even though Eve ate first, Mark, a reader commented, “If Adam had actually ‘Kept’ the garden, the serpent wouldn’t have been able to enter to temp Eve. The only things that needed to be “kept at bay” was that opposed to God and perfection, and Adam let it in since the garden wasn’t adequately “Kept”. 

This got me thinking. In Catholic teaching we often read how Jesus reversed the sin of Adam and Mary, the Ave, reversed the sin of Eve. And I realized how correct this teaching is, and how profound what Mark stated also is.

Where Adam stated, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree and I ate”, we could perhaps see Jesus reverse this and picture Him saying, “The woman you gave me Father, she helped me to redeem it.” And we can see how Jesus “kept” Mary from sin. But I think it goes further than that all the way to what Mark was stating Adam should have done. Jesus “kept” Mary from temptation.

Mary was pure and prayerful and Immaculate, perhaps we can glean that God the Son, by the prevenient grace of the crucifixion kept Mary from temptation as Adam should have done for Eve in the garden.

It was Jesus who was led into temptation by the Spirit to take on the devil.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1

We can picture that perhaps Eve was shown food and Kingdoms and putting God to the test, all of the things the devil did to Jesus. It was Adam who was given the command not to touch the tree but he was not keeping his garden. Eve wasn’t there yet when the command was given. She would have learned of the command from Adam.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Genesis 2:16-17

Mary knew evil, just by virtue of being in a fallen world, but the grace which flows through her prevented her from being tempted by it. Jesus took on what Adam should have for the sake of Eve. He had to take on what we take on. He had to feel our weakness. But the prayer of the Our Father was answered for Mary. Her human will remained one with the Divine Will and she was never tempted to anything but love for the other for the sake of the other. Jesus’ human will He handed to the will of the Father in the garden, for her sake and for the sake of the church.

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” Luke 22:42

Mary was surrounded by the whole armor of God. There were no weaknesses in her defenses. Graces flow through her, she was already divinized, and she shared in His redemption of us. Thus it is through the Immaculate Conception, the Incarnation and the Cross that we reach Resurrection. Eve was conceived by God from the side of Adam, the rib of protection, the heart of Adam. He didn’t keep what he was given, but Jesus did. He kept her Immaculate Heart inside of His Sacred Heart. He had taken her into his home. And then He gave her to us at the foot of the Cross through John, through the Priesthood, through the Sacraments, so that we too may one day be divinized.

As another reader, Bob, adeptly pointed out in the comments below, if Jesus “kept” the garden so the Blessed Virgin Mary is not tempted, this explains why Mary Magdalene mistook Him for a gardener when she first sees the Resurrected Christ. She is seeing both the Resurrected Christ and the Keeper of the Garden.

Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” John 20:14-16

I would venture to say that Jesus had invited both Joseph and John into the “keeping” of the garden because those two were asked to take Mary into their homes. They were in a sense, “new Adam’s” also, as nothing is diminshed from Christ by inviting them into this. Christ wants us all to share in his glory. And if this is the case, it says something of both fatherhood and the Priesthood in the plan of God for families and is perhaps the subject for another post.

It seems to me that those who embrace the cross and the Immaculate Conception don’t just have calm in the storm, when we surrender our wills totally to the will of God, we too become keeper’s of what has been gifted to us and Her Immaculate Heart can triumph.

Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Posted on June 19, 2021 by veilofveronica

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, 
as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen

A little while back there was discussion of changing a line in the Lord’s prayer and I actually think it was approved to do, though not all nations have adopted it. The line that was to be changed is “lead us not into temptation.” The thinking is that God does not lead one into temptation.

This is a blog post I did not want to write, but I feel compelled to write it because I have come to understand that the original translation is correct, at least in my life. I am not a theologian, but I completely understand why it was prayed the way it was prayed.

I believe that the reason for the change was thought to be that a Father does not lead you into temptation, a Father helps you get up immediately. But that begs the question, how can a Father help you to get up if you have not first fallen? And does the Father want you to fall? I will try to answer that in a moment.

Since the beginning of the temptation in the garden, we did fall and the Father wants to get us back to his original conception of us, which is purity.

I am going to tell you a story that I am not proud of. I have held it in for months, but it is time.

I have come a long long way in my Spiritual Life. There are things from my past I no longer do and my relationship with God is good. I know that God is love, and God is good, all the time. I also know that suffering doesn’t go away when you know this.

Two years ago I may have boasted to you about how far the Lord had brought me. How I was purging sin from my life. Then, as we all know things in the world got crazy, and a new level of purification was taking place. Suddenly we found ourselves in a pandemic, and the worst part about it for me was not the sickness, I had COVID, with my elderly parents in my home. The worst part of it to me was the judgment we were levying upon others. People asking me, who I got it from, as if to point fingers, or did I do what I was told to do? Who is the evil person we can blame? Then there is the way we segregate from one another based on varying different things, masks, vaccines. The way articles were written calling people murderers, which is something that Satan is. It really is Satan who is to blame. I felt the Lord stretching my comfort. Could I walk into a place and see people without levying harsh judgment upon them? I can be right in my convictions, but it does not give me license to rage at another person or to act like another person is a disease with no dignity.

I plugged along. I had moments. I tried to love the people right in front of me. I do not want to be tempted like that. Tempted to not love. Tempted to harsh judgment. But the devil knows me and my weaknesses. So he hit me in another area. The temptation to judge myself and try to make myself my own Savior.

So here is where we get to the part that I don’t want to speak of. If you have been reading my blog you know that along side of COVID and what it did to all of us, it also catapulted my parents into steep decline. I moved my folks 4 times, mom had two strokes and broke her hip, and dad is on hospice, his heart in AFIB.

Prior to all of this, I was feeling pretty good about myself and the fact that I had “conquered” some of my bigger sins. My first mistake is thinking that I conquered anything. God is the one who conquers. God alone is good.

So in March I found myself in a situation where my comfort was totally stretched. I was constantly worried about mom and dad and my kids. I was trying to figure out how to handle all of this. And I was lead into temptation. And I fell. The devil told me, “you have so much going on. you deserve a break, you should crack open that bottle of wine. You should keep drinking it because you need to relax.”

So the temptation was to turn to an old behavior to comfort me in my distress and to turn away from God. I got drunk ya’ll. Really drunk. I can say that it had actually been years since that had happened. It is not a sin to drink in moderation. But the drunkeness, the kind that many of us have partaken in, yes that is a sin. Many of you may be reading this and think, that’s understandable. It is understandable. But understandable isn’t what we’re called to. We’re called to say no to temptation.

I woke up in the morning sick and ashamed. The devil tried to convince me not to go to confession because you work at a church and the Priest will judge you and people will judge you. I knew enough not to listen. I went to confession. The Priest stopped me when I said, “I got drunk last night.” He asked, “is that a problem for you? do you need rehab or counseling?

Shame overtook me. I relayed to him that I didn’t think so because it had been years. But I left humiliated. And I wanted to tell no one else. I could have been mad at the Priest, but he was actually doing his duty trying to help. I could have justified it to the Priest, everyone can see how hard this all is. But I know Jesus is my justification, when I justify, He can’t. The other thing is that when we are transparent the devil is disarmed. He can no longer accuse you.

So why am I telling you now? Because the Lord isn’t done with me. Does the Father want us to fall? Well, no, but He does want us to be “perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) And by putting you to the test God’s perfection can be accomplished, so that one day, you don’t fall and you learn to overcome temptation, even when your comfort is stretched. He did put me to the test. It was my choice that I failed. He is leading me not into temptation, but into purification. He is actually answering my prayer. The way the spirit thrust Jesus into the desert, I have been thrust into a purification that tempts me to old sins. Suffering tempts us to sin. And I failed. But in my failing I went to the only place I know of to be restored. Confession. And I realized how the one thing we need to rely on to make us perfect is Mercy and Grace, which come to us Sacramentally. We pray not to be led into temptation because we fail often when we are allowed to be tempted, but the next line is “but deliver us from evil,” and that is done through the acceptance of His mercy which raises us to heights we have never known. Sometimes the loving Father knows exactly what you need to accomplish His will. He doesn’t want me to fall, he wants me to recognize where my weakness is and bring it to Him.

Our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41) But if we keep turning all of our failings back to God, He can, layer by layer, perfect us. Because the perfection of God is impossible for us, but with God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

We can see with the Apostles that they too, when tempted, failed. They kept turning back to God, relying on His mercy, getting filled with His grace. And now, now they’re Saints who advocate for us.

Deliver us from evil Lord so your Kingdom can be on earth as it is in heaven.

Posted in Catholic | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Touch My Mouth With Coal

Posted on June 11, 2021 by veilofveronica

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

I can see God purifying me in this process of caring for my parents. Dad is in hospice and Mom is on palliative care. With my parents everyday is something new, something wrong with them. I often wake up in the morning and my first thought is, did they make it through the night? I wonder everyday, is this the day one of them will die? I try to live in the now, but often each new day brings new worry. I pray and I let it go and then the next thing comes. The feeling of security often eludes me.

I say all that to say, I see God is placing me in a situation of unknowing. He is allowing me to be uncomfortable. And each and every day I learn to trust Him more. My security is solely in Him. I become quicker to respond in trust even when it is hard. I realize as my physical body is tired from lifting them, and emotionally tired from the insecurity of it, that God is deeply deeply purifying me. I know I wouldn’t have been able to handle this in years past. It’s how I know that God is so infinitely good.

If you remember my post partum depression, back when I literally wanted to kill myself, I was a mess of a daughter of God. But the Lord healed my daughterhood. And as I sat down this morning a friend pointed out to me that now God is redeeming my Motherhood. I am spiritually working through the same insecurities I had all those years ago, only this time I can discern the voice of Satan and dispel all those lies. This time God has walked me to a place where I am purging those sins that had let the enemy speak to me. This time the parenting is harder, my parents care is harder, but this time I am stronger, only through the Grace of God. He has taken me by the hand and led me where I don’t want to go, but it is for my own purification which is a stunningly beautiful thing.

Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” John 21:18

Dad and me when I was little

None of us really ever want to face death. It is the place we don’t want to go. And I am on the precipice with my mom and dad taking me there. And I see the hand of God so clearly and so beautifully in it. He isn’t taking the suffering away. He gives meaning to it. He is helping me to look up at the cross for through it is the only way to Redemption.

Every night I pray for the Lord to show me my soul and to purify it. Every time he shows me my soul I cry. When you stand before the love and purity of God you see how far away you are from it and you understand the free gift of mercy he gives. It is that mercy that elevates you and I cry for those who won’t accept it.

And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Isaiah 6:5-7

I believe that many souls reject God’s mercy here in this life. They reject extending it and receiving it. And when they come to their judgment they will reject it again because having never known Him, they won’t be able to stand the sight of themselves in light of the Glory of God before them. There is no selfishness in God and there is so much of it in us. I believe this is why Saint after Saint saw souls pour into hell. And why Saint after Saint dedicated themselves to praying for poor sinners. It is our prayer, in the midst of suffering, that helps poor sinners, receive Gods mercy.

Saint Jacinta Marto

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need of thy mercy.

Most people who see the state of their soul before God know they don’t deserve the mercy; thus they blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The prayer of the Communion of Saints for poor sinners can drown out the voice of blasphemy so people don’t reject God’s mercy and they are saved. God is looking for the willing souls, the saints who cooperated with His saving of humanity to be loud enough for the acceptance of His mercy which exudes charity. Throughout time these people have helped hold up humanity so God can elevate us. Be one of these people, the world so desperately needs it right now.

Mom and Dad holding hands in their hospital beds

Please continue to pray for my family.

Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , , , | 43 Comments

The Sin of Adam

Posted on June 8, 2021 by veilofveronica

The man said, “The woman you put here with me–she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12

I was pondering further The Original Unity of Man and Woman by Saint John Paul II.

Saint John Paul states,

The words of Genesis, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (2:18) are a prelude to the narrative of the creation of woman. Together with this narrative, the sense of original solitude becomes part of the meaning of original unity, the key point of which seems to be precisely the words of Genesis 2:24. Christ referred to them in his talk with the Pharisees: “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Mt 19:5). If Christ quoted these words referring to the “beginning,” it is opportune for us to clarify the meaning of that original unity, which has its roots in the fact of the creation of man as male and female.

We see the Saint referencing “original solitude” and that it becomes part of the meaning of “original unity”. The Saint goes on further to state;

If we admit, moreover, a significant difference of vocabulary, we can conclude that the man (‘adam) falls into that “sleep” in order to wake up “male” and “female.”

From this we can glean that everything we are was contained in original solitude in Adam. John Paul states;

Perhaps, therefore, the analogy of sleep indicates here not so much a passing from consciousness to subconsciousness, as a specific return to non-being (sleep contains an element of annihilation of man’s conscious existence). That is, it indicates a return to the moment preceding the creation, that through God’s creative initiative, solitary “man” may emerge from it again in his double unity as male and female.

Therefore when we speak of the original union of which Christ refers to “in the beginning” we are looking at the union of male and female as a completeness of the image of God because it is as if together they go back to original solitude, as one.

We can understand that woman, pulled from the rib of man, really the heart of man, is a desire both physically and spiritually for his completeness and her desire for him too a desire of her heart and body for her completeness. The original solitude.

So it is that in marriage, which Christ Himself defines, that in the sexual union draws us into a kind of unity that is beautiful and of God. When a married couple partakes in this original solitude, God allows them to partake in His creative action and the love between them, in union with the love of God, creates children.

But in our concupiscence we allow our desire for this beauty to be perverted. In deliverance ministry we often recognize that the quickest way to tear apart a person’s soul is through sexual sin. It leaves people in mental, emotional, and often physical anguish. While our world promotes and encourages all kinds of sexual sin, in this ministry we see that this kind of sin creates soul ties, and soul ties allow the devil to speak into your life. Soul ties happen when you give a piece of yourself away in sexual union outside of marriage. And marriage can only be between male and female because that’s the image of God. People are often left feeling worthless. Their view of who they are so distorted by the myriad of sexual sin that deviated from the plan of God.

The reason for this is it is an offense to “original man” created in the image and likeness of God. This perversion thwarts the creative love of God, one in which we are allowed to partake, and therefore the fruit of perversion is infertility. Lifeless sexual union. It promotes contraception, abortion, homosexuality and transgenderism and life abundantly is left dying, separated from the vine.

Satan tries to steal our fertility because in doing so he can take us to his ultimate goal, which is the destruction of our souls. He came to steal, kill and destroy, with destruction being the worst of those things. If we become so twisted in our thinking that we desire what is lifeless, then ultimately we can end up in a place where we blaspheme the Holy Spirit. This is why the Saints took care to stay away from the near occasion of sin. In our pornographic culture, this has become nearly impossible.

While there are many deadly sins, this sin is the easiest doorway to allow Satan to speak into your life, because it is actually borne from the desire of communion, which is a good. But we must take the words of Jesus seriously about what marriage is. So many shrug off sexual sin as no big deal, but I would venture to say that what we see in the streets began in our hearts desire for sexual pleasure, it allowed even bigger deadly sins to follow suit, pride and envy, and here we are left wondering what in the world happened to all of us and why is the world so dark? We have twisted who we are.

So we can learn from looking back at the beginning. The original sin isn’t known as the sin of Eve, even though she ate the fruit first. It is called the sin of Adam because in original solitude they are one, in waking up male and female the two become one. Original sin was an offense against himself and what he was made to be. Man and woman aren’t to be in competition with one another, they are completeness and compliment one another. Things would have been different if Adam had said no to the fruit.

For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy. 1 Corinthians 7:14

So too we the Mystical Body, when we sin, it is an offense against the whole body. It harms the whole church. That is why we go to confession. It isn’t just for our own soul, though that is a huge part, but it is for others, to repair the church. Our repentance is needed for everyone to heal. In our pride we refuse and we justify – “my sin isn’t that bad.” And the world devolves deeper into darkness.

Soul ties are broken when people forgive. When they forgive themselves, when they forgive others who may have harmed them. This forgiveness heals and repairs so we can be in true communion.

Jesus showed great mercy to those in sexual sin. The woman at the well had a life transformed. She recognized who he was and that he had something better for her. She changed. No longer did she look for her completeness in anything but Christ who could heal and repair the wrong she had committed. She is the one in scripture that he reveals directly who He is. He simply states, “I am he….”John 4:26 And she came to believe.

 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” John 4:39

If you have unconfessed sexual sin, go to confession. If you keep failing, keep going to confession. Don’t try to justify, just tell God where you are, and let him pour grace over you to bring you back to life.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24

Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

Litany to the Divine Child Jesus- Adoration of Families

Posted on June 5, 2021 by veilofveronica

We have gained an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat from our Diocese for the Litanies we have written. Hopefully we can publish them in a booklet soon. This Litany is close to my heart as a walk through the Rosary and Divine Mercy – Jesus I trust in you.

veilofveronica's avatarVeil of Veronica

Holy Familyand she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:7

Another prayer for our times. A meditation of the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary. This is a second version that we have rewritten with the approval of Our Diocese.

LITANY OF THE DIVINE CHILD JESUS ADORATION OF FAMILIES

Divine Child Jesus, Adoration of Families,
You are begotten by God the Father, have mercy on us
Divine Child Jesus, Adoration of Families,
You are the Savior of the world, have mercy on us
Divine Child Jesus, Adoration of Families,
You sent us Holy Spirit, have mercy on us

Chosen One, I trust in You
Morning Star, I trust in You
Beloved Son, I trust in You
Grace upon Grace, I trust in You
Divine Physician, I trust in You

View original post 839 more words

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Blessings of the Father

Posted on June 2, 2021 by veilofveronica
My Dad, Michael Kevin Green

“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways.” Proverbs 8:32

My dad is lying in a hospital bed in the front room of my home, my mom is in a hospital bed next to him. The past few months have been difficult. Dad’s heart has gone into Afib this week. He is too frail to operate on. Hospice has been called in. We spent weeks worrying about mom, now we worry over dad, the once strong man who shaped much of who I am.

I don’t think I know a better man than my dad. He was born the 8th of 12 children to Philip and Dolores Green, in Washington, DC. There were 5 boys and 7 girls. He is the last boy living, having only one other sibling, his youngest sister, still living.

Dad loves all things Catholic, Family, and Sports. Especially baseball. These are just some of the things dad taught me over the years;

  1. God comes first, then family, loved ones and then country
  2. Never forsake going to the Sacraments – never leave the Eucharist no matter what
  3. Pray the Rosary everyday
  4. Go to daily Mass if you’re able
  5. Go to confession
  6. Give 100% to the things you choose to do
  7. Try not to sin and live a morally upright life
  8. Keep the commandments and God will take care of you
  9. The greatest gift a Father can give his children is to love their Mother
  10. In marriage divorce belongs no where in your vocabulary
  11. Help those in need
  12. Let your yes be your yes and your no be your no
  13. Be better, don’t just do what everyone else is doing

My dad had his struggles in life too, he isn’t perfect, none of us are, but I can honestly say with sincerity, I don’t know many men like him, men who love God first. Men who had the moral courage like he does. He struggled with anxiety over the years, but the one thing I always saw him do with it, even to this day, was turn to prayer. In his old age, I see him regularly praying the Rosary and the Chaplet of Mercy, even if now he sometimes falls asleep doing it. He offers the pain he is suffering for others, especially Priests.

Dad loves baseball. He played it and coached it. Last night, perhaps in a moment of hallucination, or perhaps in a gift of God to my dad, he told me he was finishing his first game and would be first runner up in heaven. He asked me to pack the Infant of Prague.

Dad, coach of Saint Anthony’s baseball

Dad was a teacher for his career. He taught at several Washington, DC area high schools, including Bishop McNamara, and ArchBishop John Carroll. He also coached all his 4 children in sports. He coached my brother in baseball and myself in basketball. Dad was always present for us growing up.

Our house had pictures hanging on the wall or placed in a photo albums of the things dad loved. I remember reading about Collins, Bender, Combs and Plank as a little child. They were the Oakland A’s. These days he is all about the Washington Nationals. We had the game on last night.

He loved Notre Dame football, at least for years he did. In the past several as he saw the school drift from Catholic Doctrine by honoring pro-abortion politicians he grew sad and stopped watching.

A photo in my house with the 4 horsemen of Notre Dame. The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame comprised a group of American football players at the University of Notre Dame under coach Knute Rockne. The players that made up this group were Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden.

The one thing I remember seeing all over the house was my dad immersed in his Catholicism. Dad loves Latin and still prays in it to this day. My dad made me feel protected.

Dad in boys choir at Saint Matthew’s Cathedral

Mom and Dad met when she was 15 and he was 17. A dog was chasing my mom and she was trying to climb up a backstop at Turkey Thicket in Washington, DC to get away from the dog. Dad swooped in to the rescue and that began their love story.

Mom and Dad at Senior Prom

They were married on October 13, 1962. They had postponed the wedding due to the death of my mom’s dad. We have two Papal Blessings, one dated September 29 which was the original wedding date, and the other dated October 13, their actual wedding date.

My mom and dad did (and still do) bicker with one another, but dad always told me nothing could stop his love for her and that I never ever had to worry about them leaving one another.

In these last days of their lives I pray for them to both have a happy and a holy death. I pray that the Lord will actually take them together because I can’t imagine one without the other.

I don’t know if they have days, or if they have months, or even years. Whatever the Lord gives them I will be grateful for.

When it became apparent that my parents needed extensive care and we were deciding who and where they would be cared for the Lord just whispered in my ear, “it has to be you.” I said okay but you have to work on my husband. My husband called the next day and said “your parents need to come home with us.” God is good and so is my husband.

At Mass during the Feast of the Visitation the Lord expanded upon why it had to be me. As the youngest of 4 children, my parents could be with any one of us, and I know all of my siblings would gladly help (I have very good siblings). But the Lord showed me the wound of mine that he had healed. The one where for years the devil had flung at me that I was not wanted. This because my parents had expressed that I was a “surprise” and that they had planned 3 children and had 4. The Lord showed me that His plans for them were greater. And that their obedience and openess to life, in a world that was closing itself off to life was to be a blessing for them. The fruit of their own obedience. I was born in January of 1972. It would be only a year later that our country would decide that a life like mine, one that wasn’t planned, was okay to kill. Mom and Dad were horrified and fought against that and still do.

As we head into the next few weeks please keep my mom and dad and myself, my husband and my kids in your prayers. And pray that when the good Lord takes them they will hear, “well done Good and faithful Servants.”

Father Dan Reehil comes to give mom and dad Anointing of the Sick
Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Call No Man Father

Posted on June 1, 2021 by veilofveronica

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. John 6:32

I write in my journal the things that pop into my head as if God is speaking to me. If the church says what I have written in wrong then the church is correct and I am wrong.

May 31, 2021 – Feast of the Visitation

Beloved Lily of the Father,

My command to you, be fruitful and multiply.  A command of body and spirit for what I join no man should tear apart.

I AM LOVE.

You shall have no other gods besides ME.

You shall not use MY NAME in vain.

Remember to keep MY DAY holy.

Oh, how hard man is.

October 24, 2019 the culmination of generations of disobedience, strange fire was put on MY ALTAR. 

MY ALTAR, where MY SON lays His sacrifice through His Priests.

A goddess of fertility breaking covenant with me and calling down curse upon my people. 

NO OTHER GODS.

Oh how you have used MY NAME in vain, or refused to speak MY HOLY NAME to those who need to hear it.

Oh how you have DEFILED THE SABBATH.

How hard man is!

Spitting upon MY HOLY FACE in the name of FALSE love.

The curse is called down upon your fertility.

Rachel weeps for her children for they are no more.

A plague indicates how you have turned your backs on my command.

It is a call to repentance.  If only you would heed the call.

You asked for signs, none will be given except the sign of Jonah.  Repent. 

Whoever swears by the altar swears by everything on it.

You choose your own savior.

One birthed through the worshipful master.  No man is master. Call no man father.  That is reserved for my Priests, not for the false gods you prop up for yourselves. 

Science is not your father.  Science belongs to me and is only fruitful so long as all of directed toward ME.  Be fruitful and multiply.

Good is called evil and evil is called good by those who cannot see the past the veil. 

When science is the only means to the end devoid of me, when science destroys what I created, what I have made, WOE TO YOU.

A third of the stars will fall from the sky.

My DNA is replaced with mimicry.

It is an abomination.

Therefore fertility will be taken because you handed it to the one who came to steal, kill and destroy and you placed it on MY ALTAR.

I WILL NOT HAVE IT.  Love has no room for defilement.

WOE TO YOU. 

How hard man is.

Persevere little one. 

I have placed the elect with my Holy Family.  It is marked on your heart.

Sing praise and thanksgiving even when you don’t understand. 

I will bring Glory from on high.

The Blessings of the Father will soon be restored.

Be not afraid.

– God The Father

Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The Deep Sleep of Adam and Joseph

Posted on May 26, 2021 by veilofveronica

The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Acts 17:24

This article was written by my friend Ashley Blackburn and myself. The “I” in the article refers to Ashley who, after reading what Saint John Paul II wrote about the sleep of Adam, had a realization about the sleep of Joseph. Ashley and I often, when we feel the Lord speaking, call one another and both pray about what the Lord may be saying. This article is the fruit of our conversation and prayer after Ashley started asking God questions. As always, if the church says what we have written is wrong then the church is correct and we are wrong. The original article can be found at Steadfast Heart of God.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Deep Sleep of Adam and Joseph By Ashley Blackburn and Susan Skinner

I was recently reading a general audience given by St John Paul II on November 7, 1979 entitled The Original Unity of Man and Woman. This general audience in particular is really incredible to read in its entirety, especially considering our culture today and the extreme confusion of ideology that continues to be on the rise. The Church in her Wisdom has already spoken the Truth of our identity and she has preached it for over 2000 years. Yet we must look to Sacred Scripture in order to discover who we are and why we are here. The story of creation is didactic, so we know it is the Truth and Wisdom of God and answers the questions of who we are and why we were created.

In looking back at what Saint John Paul the Great was teaching over 40 years ago in this general audience, I want to highlight this concept that God looked at Man and realized it was not good for him to be alone. This prompted God to put Adam into a deep sleep. The Saint has some really cool things to say about this:

Man is “male and female” right from the beginning… the meaning of “original solitude,” which can be referred simply to “man,” is substantially prior to the meaning of original unity. The latter is based on masculinity and femininity, as if on two different “incarnations,” that is, on two ways of “being a body” of the same human being created “in the image of God” (Gn 1:27).

The Original Unity of Man and Woman – General Audience of Pope John Paul II – November 7, 1979

What he is saying here is that male and female were one in the first “man” created. This is why when created in the image and likeness of God, the male and female when “the two become one flesh”, in that union, humanity reflects the image and likeness of God. When God said it was not good for “man” to be alone, he was referring to the fact that “man” who was created “male and female” was in solitude with himself. 

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman.

Gn 2:21-22

There is something to be said about union, relationship, the “one flesh” that male and female come together to form. Therefore this union is holy, it has been sanctified by God himself, who took it upon himself to separate male and female within creation in order to make it “very good”. It was made this way, holy, before the fall of man. It is only after the fall we see it defiled.  

So the means by which this happens is by God causing a “deep sleep” to fall upon the “man”, who remember is at the time “male and female”. Saint John Paul the Great contends that this sleep is not like what we think of when we think of sleeping, which is man going from a state of consciousness to a state of subconsciousness. 

He says that this term here for “deep sleep” instead of meaning actual sleep, “indicates a return to the moment preceding the creation, that through God’s creative initiative, solitary “man” may emerge from it again in his double unity as male and female.” He even goes so far as to say, “the circle of the solitude of the man-person is broken, because the first “man” awakens from his sleep as “male and female.” Basically, God takes “man” back into the moment preceding the creation and he separates out male and female into two separate persons. Then God explains that male and female are a perfect union of original “man” who was created in God’s own image and likeness. 

As I read these words, I immediately thought of the sleeping St. Joseph. I have often considered the fact that St Joseph was at some point saved from Original Sin. I have also considered that he is in heaven body and soul with Mary and Jesus which is a topic for another article, as this one will deal with Joseph’s original sin. But it seems to me that if St. Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully man and God found it necessary for Jesus’ mother to be perfect and holy, would he not also find it necessary for Jesus’ earthly father to be perfect? Would not God Himself be raised in a family of perfection?  While Mary was immaculately conceived and saved from Original Sin at her conception, I wonder if God used this “sleep” of Joseph to do what he did to “man” at the beginning of creation.

If God does miraculous things while Adam is sleeping, and gives him bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh as other, so that Adam may know how to love in union, so too could God do something miraculous for Saint Joseph in his sleep?  Except in this instance, rather than bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, Joseph’s sleep begets from God, Spirit of His Spirit, which brings Joseph into intimate union with Mary through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. With Joseph’s sleeping yes from the angel’s visit, he is made immaculate, which is to say, in fullness with the Spirit. Through his yes to taking Mary and the Christ Child into his home, he is recreated. For God would want nothing less for the Father of His own household.  

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 

Matthew 1:20-21

If Joseph is instructed to take Mary as his wife and the child conceived by the Holy Spirit as his own, could not this sleep then have been a return to the beginning?  

Man is “male and female” right from the beginning… the meaning of “original solitude,” which can be referred simply to “man,” is substantially prior to the meaning of original unity. The latter is based on masculinity and femininity, as if on two different “incarnations,” that is, on two ways of “being a body” of the same human being created “in the image of God” (Gn 1:27).

The Original Unity of Man and Woman – General Audience of Pope John Paul II – November 7, 1979

Could not God have, through the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Incarnation, and the prevenient Crucifixion, made Joseph perfected? And rather than his being in solitude with himself in body, he was in union with the Blessed Virgin and the Christ Child, in the Holy Spirit. And so, though he “knew her not” in the bodily sense of the word, he too was made immaculate, through her intercession and the deep sleep of God?  

It is a question we must ask, because we next see the angel give Joseph the right to name the Christ child.

She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.

Matthew 1:21-23

It is Joseph who is given the right to name God. It is Joseph who is given domain over the Kingdom of God, which is held inside the incarnation of the Christ Child.  This is reminiscent of Adam who was given the right to the naming of all in God’s Kingdom which came before God put Adam in a deep sleep. So we can see with Joseph what God is reversing, but it is done through his unity with the Spirit (which in turn means union with heaven).  He is returning Joseph to dominion, something only given to the spotless Adam before the fall that was later stolen by Satan through sin.  

With Joseph’s “yes” from his sleep, we see him “awake” in a new way, one where he no longer wants to dismiss Mary quietly. We perhaps see complete purification of Joseph, head of the Holy Family. It then is revealed to us that through the Holy Family, we get a glimpse of the glory and completeness of God. The sleep of Saint Joseph is powerful because we can see that it is God who restores the family and what we have broken. We see that Mary is the Mother of the Church and Joseph is the protector of the Church. Praise be to God.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

My own personal commentary beyond what Ashley and I wrote is that the angel can give us a clue as to whether this is true.

Genesis 3:24 tells us;

He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.

Thus an angel guards the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life can be seen as the source, the Will of God Himself. The Tree of Life is the cross, on which Jesus did the Will of the Father, conquered death and brought Resurrection.

Perhaps the cherubim, whose name means fullness of wisdom came to Joseph in his dreams. The cherubim handing guardianship of the source of wisdom to Joseph for protection as they had protected.

Joseph himself has 4 dreams in which we could parallel the 4 faces of cherubim seen by Ezekiel in chapter 10 when the Glory of the Lord descends upon the Temple. Perhaps Joseph is the man in linen from chapters 9 and 10 of Ezekiel, who, because he is the Patron of the Universal Church, marks the heads of those in distress for protection. Perhaps that’s why now is the time for Consecration to Saint Joseph. Perhaps a blog post for another time.

Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

It Is Finished

Posted on May 24, 2021 by veilofveronica

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
    and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15

As always I write in my journal what I feel God speaking to me. If the church says I am wrong, then the church is correct and I am wrong. Know that as you discern what I have written.

Beloved Lily of the Father,

I AM the uncreated Immaculate Conception. She is the first thought of creation the created Immaculate Conception.

At the Cross it was pronounced, “it is finished,” and thus the Passover meal was completed. But the Institution of the Priesthood was also completed. My promise made true so all people have access to my Kingdom. The Son’s of Holy Mother, who was given at the cross to the Beloved, bringing my Divine Life to my children marked with the Kingdom because they have endured the Passion and brought her into their home. A surrender to love and to purity.

It is finished. The completion of the access to crush the head of Satan. Prophecy fulfilled. All that is needed to resurrect in purity given through the Priesthood and the church. The Cross and the Immaculate Conception unified. The power to defeat the works of the devil.

Thus through her all graces flow. Mother of the Church, who stood at the Cross as gift is the conduit through which I came upon the Apostles, as she endured the Passion in purity.

Take up your cross and follow me. Those who bear the cross and drink the cup of Passion united in heart with the Immaculate Conception will experience a new Pentecost like never before because of love for me for my own sake. And I WHO AM love glorify what is good and conquer what is evil.

Persevere to the end, even if Holy Mother Church looks dead. She is not. I will not allow it.

Join with Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and pray constantly in prayer. And May the God of Peace, who I AM, crush Satan under your feet.

Acts 1 & 2

The Most Holy Trinity

Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments