The Crowning of Thorns

Posted on March 12, 2020 by veilofveronica

Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, “Behold, the man!” John 19:5

I write what pops in my head as letters from God or the Blessed Mother.  I offer all obedience to Holy Mother Church in all my writings  and do not claim them to be anything other than the result of my prayer. If the church came out and said what I have written is wrong, then the church is correct and I am wrong.  Know that as you discern what I have written.

I wrote this while praying about the effects of the Corona Virus.  Corona means crown and it has been described as having red spikes like a crown.  I have felt like we were in the beginning stages of the Passion of the Church for quite awhile now and I asked God to speak to me about this crown of thorns.  The following is what I wrote in my journal – for your discernment.

March 11, 2020

Beloved Lily of the Father,

The Passion of the Church is underway.  On August 11, 2018 I told you that you were at the second station.  Today I talk to you about your crown of thorns.  Do not worry about what can happen to your body, it is your soul that matters.  Be not afraid.  The pace is about to pick up and come in waves – like dominos falling.

Be like little children.

I have been speaking to you about Saint John the Apostle who is walking with you;  the difference between John and the others.  The others were waiting for the Kingdom of God.  John knew it was already here.  The Kingdom of God is at hand.  He surrendered everything, including his expectations of me, before I died on the cross. So few can claim this.  So few understand.  Enoch, Elijah, Mary, Joseph, John.  Living in the Divine Will.  You were chosen for these times.  Surrender all of who you are, even what you expect.  Now.   

Accept that which you cannot control.  Let no one compel you to sin.  You will see my unfathomable mercy and my justice operating together.  For many their world will be ripped out from under them because of their false expectations of who I AM.  My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts.  Still, even in this, they will be purified by my justice – but they will be saved by my mercy, like Peter and Thomas.  Be like little children open to the grace that is pouring out.  You will be amazed. 

When you are afraid bring yourself to me.  Where you are weak ask me to fill you up.  Pray without ceasing.  I can move mountains.  There is nothing you are going through that if surrendered to me I can not lift up and make beautiful.  I AM the God of your ancestors.  I walked with them in the garden.  I restore the blessings of the Father and bring about restoration.  You are not alone.  You are protected.  You are safe.  Do not fear the explosion; it will be one of grace.

Our Lady of Victory covers you in her mantle.

 

Ephesians 1:3

-Your Divine Spouse

 

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Fear, Worry and False Expectations

Posted on March 9, 2020 by veilofveronica

Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Ear_of_Malchus_(L'oreille_de_Malchus)_-_James_Tissot

This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me. John 18:9

This is an audio talk I gave at Lent By Candlelight for Regnum Christi Nashville.

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Rubrics, Legalism, and Prescriptions of the Law

Posted on March 3, 2020 by veilofveronica

Divine Praises

Father Daniel Reehil kneels before the Blessed Sacrament  for Divine Praises Saturday February 8, 2020 – Saint Edward, Nashville, TN 

 

I WROTE THIS PIECE ON MONDAY MARCH 2, 2020, BELOW I USED AN EXAMPLE OF OUR LOCAL LATIN MASS PARISH AS AN EXAMPLE OF BEAUTY – CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION IN NASHVILLE, TN.  WITHIN 12 HOURS OF POSTING, IN THE EARLY MORNING OF MARCH 3, 2020 ASSUMPTION WAS HIT BY A TORNADO AND SUFFERED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE.  PLEASE KEEP THAT PARISH AND ALL THOSE AFFECTED IN YOUR PRAYERS.

 

….the altar should occupy a place where it is truly the center toward which the attention of the whole congregation of the faithful naturally turns…. (299 – General Instruction of Roman Missal)

I am not a Liturgist, nor am I schooled in knowledge of exactly how architecture in a church should be laid out.  But what I do know is that there is a reason certain things are prescribed in the Mass and in the building.  And I certainly know monstrous architectural, art and liturgical abuses when I see them.

My point in writing this post is not actually to bash any people or to state that I know what their intentions are.  My point is simply to point out what makes sense to me and what I feel the Lord has spoken to me in prayer and it has to do with the law.

We all know the Pharisees were rebuked by Jesus for their legalism.  But we often mistake this rebuke as a total disregard of the law, however, that is not what Jesus was saying.  In fact Jesus said to follow the law.

So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. Matthew 23:3

You see Christ could see their hearts.  The Pharisees did not love the people more than the law.  They idolized the law.  He was trying to teach them the proper order of things.

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.  Mathew 5:17

Jesus was teaching us that love comes first.  Love of God compels love of neighbor.  Love of God also compels following the law.

If you love me, obey my commandments. John 14:15

God sees the intention in our heart, and it is why, even when we sin, He is merciful.  We often have good intention when we commit sin.  He is trying to teach us though that committing sin is not the way to a life of abundance.  But he is always merciful and He always loves us.

Here’s the thing though,  God is not a legalist, but the demons are.  They could care less about your intention.  They are looking for you to open a door to let them in so they can speak to you and you will listen.  This is important to understand because if we disregard rubrics, architecture, beauty, and the law, we are letting the demonic in to gain a stronghold where they can relentlessly attack us.  This is why following the rubric of the Mass is so important.  It isn’t because God won’t love us if we don’t, it is because we aren’t protected if we don’t.  This is why rubrics regarding liturgy and laws of how architecture should be laid out matter.  Once we open that door to the demonic, our perception gets twisted, and our eyes get taken off of Christ.  The demons come to steal, kill and destroy, and they use every means available to them to accomplish this, including means inside of our churches.

When we place things in front of or over the altar that distract from the sacrifice of the Mass we are giving the demonic a foothold.  We miss the importance of the Eucharist and suddenly the demonic speaks to us telling us the Eucharist doesn’t matter.

altar sweater

When our choirs are placed too near the altar or in the front of the church where the people’s eyes get placed on them and they become the center of attention for their concert like music, our eyes are taken off of the sacrifice. The demons sling poison arrows that seem like a good (oh, but the music is so good, it makes you feel good) but suddenly you miss the importance of the Eucharist and your eyes haven’t looked at Him and your heart doesn’t recognize that He is present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity and suddenly the Eucharist doesn’t matter.

rock_show_Mass_810_500_75_s_c1

 

When our artwork is ugly and doesn’t compel us to look to the altar or the heavens, our eyes are taken off of the Eucharist and the demons whisper and suddenly the Eucharist doesn’t matter.

mary ugly art

Beauty should never become our God and the law should never make us be unmerciful but we are gravely putting ourselves in peril when we disregard how things should be done.  Everything we do should be a movement towards our God who is Love and can infuse us with His love when our eyes remain on Him.  We know beauty that lifts us to heaven when we see it.

Assumption church

**Church of the Assumption, Nashville, TN

For our Shepherds out there, be gentle with those who have good intention, but do not be afraid to correct them as to why we have rubrics and prescriptions for how we do things.  It is actually for their protection.  I know I am grateful for the Shepherds who have corrected me along the way.  These acts help make a person holy.  If you are a Shepherd who has allowed these abuses in the name of “love”, I beg of you to reconsider what love actually is.  True love protects the sheep from the guile of the demonic.

Scripture has throughout it God telling people exactly how things should be done.  Christ left us a church to instruct us.  We would do well to listen.  Listening with love ushers in the Kingdom of God.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Matthew 6:33

**Assumption parish was severely damaged in the storms and tornado that hit Nashville March 3, 2020.  This is the church where Latin Mass for the Diocese is held.  All the people are okay, but the church building is not.  From what I understand the sacristy was destroyed, the northern transept partially collapsed, the steeple is leaning, stained glass is destroyed and the rectory lost it’s chimney.  I am sure they will need prayers and please consider a donation.

And please pray for them.

Church of the Assumption

615-256-2729

1227 7th Ave North 

 Nashville, TN  37208

But Hope springs eternal as Father Bede Price, who had rescued the Blessed Sacrament during the storm, celebrates Mass in the wreckage the following evening;

 

 

 

 

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Bury the Dead

Posted on February 29, 2020 by veilofveronica

H_BLESSED-IMELDA-1

Blessed Imelda Lambertini – Patroness of First Communicants

In the days of Shalmaneser I performed many acts of charity to my kindred, those of my tribe.  I would give my food to the hungry and my clothing to the naked; and if I saw the dead body of any of my people thrown out behind the wall of Nineveh, I would bury it. I also buried any whom King Sennacherib put to death when he came fleeing from Judea in those days of judgment that the king of heaven executed upon him because of his blasphemies. For in his anger he put to death many Israelites; but I would secretly remove the bodies and bury them. So when Sennacherib looked for them he could not find them.  Tobit 1:16-18

I read the story of Tobit a few weeks back.  Tobit did righteous things even when no one else did.  The book of Tobit is where we see the angel Raphael appear in Scripture.  Raphael shows Tobiah how to heal his father’s blindness and later applauds Tobit for burying the dead when no one else would.  Saint Raphael the Archangel’s name means, God heals.

I bring this story up because of something that happened to me the other day in prayer. I was praying for the 2,411 aborted babies found in the abortionists home that were buried in South Bend, IN.

In the middle of my prayer I was overcome with tears as God spoke and showed me something.  He simply said, “bury the dead.”  And then he showed me my own miscarriage from an ectopic pregnancy in 2003.  I almost lost my own life and did lose the life of my child.  My child was disposed of by the hospital as medical waste.  I didn’t ask for my child.  They didn’t offer.  My child, Mary Josephine, who died on October 10, 2003 was never given a funeral.  (I believed my child to be a girl, though I did not know for sure.  I named the baby after Mary and Joseph.)

I was taught both the Spiritual and Corporal works of mercy, yet at that point in my life, I had not embraced them.  The Lord showed me this sin;  but it wasn’t in condemnation.  It was a sorrow of His heart, and he was overflowing with love for me and my suffering.  That He can show me both my fault, and His loving mercy all at once, I do not have words to speak what that is.

And I reflected on burying the dead, and what it was that Tobit did.  He was saying, “You have dignity.  I will not let you rot as waste to be devoured by animals or left alone.  I see you.”  

When human beings forget the dignity of others and forget who they are completely, God still says, “I see you.”  And because Tobit knew God and prayed, he too saw what others did not, and was not afraid even in the face of persecution.

Because I was mindful of God with all my heart… Tobit 1:12

A miscarriage is often hidden and people just expect that we carry on.  But there is a life lost and a grief to process and our society can often ignore this.  In fact, we are currently living in a society that denies the dignity of a segment of people.  We don’t see them, and we vote in ways that treat people as trash.

When I realized my own sin in this regard it prompted me to act.  I went to confession to confess the sin;  the corporal work of mercy I had neglected to do, and the unforgiveness I held onto towards the doctors and hospital for not making this an option for grieving mothers.  I confessed not burying the dead.

If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. 1 John 1:9

I then asked our Priest if we could have a memorial Mass for the unborn; a mass for mothers (and fathers) who have miscarried their child and to bring healing that may be needed.  But I also asked if we could include extending it to women (and men) who have had abortions or partaken in them – that they be invited to Confess their sin and reconcile with the church and to have the Mass said for their children as well. He said yes, so we are planning for this to happen.  I do believe there are many who need this healing.

But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD.  Jeremiah 30:17

I remembered too how Our Lady had spoken to me about the soul of the miscarried and aborted child.  The catechism tells us we must rely on the mercy of God since they have not been baptized, but I repost today what I felt Our Lady tell me about this on April 18, 2019;

Beloved Child,

You have asked what happens to the unborn child who dies or is aborted before birth.  They are with me.  Womb means Mercy. I was Immaculately conceived and my womb carried Mercy.  I am the Mother of Mercy.  When human beings turn towards wickedness or a child is lost to miscarriage because death was brought into the world, I am the mediatrix of graces for these personally innocent babies.  I intercede with my own consecrated womb, as the Mother of Mercy, the blood and water in my womb, the same DNA as the blood and water from the side of my Son, baptizes them in my Immaculate Conception, freeing them from Original Sin.  In God’s Divine Providence, my Assumption allows this.  My physical and spiritual womb of mercy extended to them because Baptism is necessary for Salvation. 

Pray for an end to the evil of abortion.

The Immaculate Conception

We live in very tumultuous times.  We have been asleep.  It is time for us to wake up and do the things God has asked us to do.  We must bury our dead and give Glory to God so we can show the world the dignity of each human person.

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Defeating the Devil

Posted on February 14, 2020 by veilofveronica

 

Saint Michael and the dragon

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  Romans 16:20

Recently during Spiritual Direction sessions with people, more and more people are opening up about the thoughts they are having in their heads.  This is actually a wonderful thing.  Fear often keeps us from opening up but we cannot get to the root of an issue if we are not transparent about what is happening.  A good spiritual director can help you navigate this.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

This process of taking captive our thoughts is so vitally important in the battle that is being waged against us by Satan.  This battle is a battle for dominion, authority, and it is waged in our hearts and minds.  Recognition of where thoughts are coming from is the very first step in becoming a warrior.  It requires self examination and humility to recognize where we have sinned.  We must decide whose kingdom we are serving.

I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Psalm 32:5

As a person progresses along this path and begins to purge sin from their life, by examining, confessing and embracing the Eucharistic way of living, the devil gets more and more bold, his attacks become more frantic.  Sometimes they’re even ludicrous.  But to get to this level of recognition, we must know our sins, confess them, and purge them.  As long as we have sin, we have an open door to be attacked.  Because I work in deliverance ministry, I go to confession often to help keep the doors to Satan shut.

I started to notice with both myself and other people that the closer we get to God the more ridiculous the thoughts Satan flung at us became.  We must not feel shame or guilt when the devil starts flinging RIDICULOUS things at our minds.  He wants us to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but I want to eat from the Tree of Life.

Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” Genesis 3:22

These ridiculous thoughts do not belong to us.  I want to mention them because often times we do feel shame and guilt when we have been on a path, purging ourselves, going to confession, and then all of the sudden this vile thought enters.  People have described them as violent, sometimes sexual, and out of know where.   I experienced this kind of vile thought myself on vacation this past summer.

In my case this past summer, there was still something I needed to forgive.  And I found that out by talking to God about it.  That unforgiveness was an open door for the devil to speak into my life, something I hadn’t heard in years.  I examined my conscience, asked the Holy Spirit to convict my heart, and he did.

But there have been a few times, where I have been fresh out of confession, and a vile thought enters.  And I ask the Holy Spirit my sin, and nothing is revealed except how much the devil hates me, he wants me destroyed.  This makes me angry.  This makes me have enmity.  How dare this filthy demon fling this garbage at my mind.  You have no authority over me, Jesus is my Lord!

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18

So what do we do when this happens?  For me, whatever the thought is, I say this –  “I unite the suffering of this temptation to Your Cross Jesus, that you would convert it to grace to rescue 1000 souls who are about to commit this sin the devil is flinging at me, so their souls may be saved.”  And I pray for these souls.  I learned this from my Spiritual Director.

So for example, if it is a vile sexual thought, I offer the suffering for 1000 souls to be saved from the addiction of pornography.  If it is a violent thought, I offer the suffering for 1000 souls to be converted away from violence.  You get the idea.  When I do this, the thoughts immediately cease.  This is because the devil, who is trying to make me despair and feel crazy, does not want my soul and most definitely does not want other souls being saved through cooperation with Christ.  So I say to him, I do not own this thought, it is yours you disgusting wretched entity.  My thoughts belong to Christ.  I walk in the Kingdom of God, it most definitely is at hand.

Satan is relentless at his job.  But do not mistake what is his as something that belongs to you.  Your mind belongs to the Holy Spirit.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 2:12

Satan is cunning and he is looking for the weak link in your fence.  He will come at you from every angle.  The thoughts he flings at me may not necessarily be what he uses against you,  so be awake.

… Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you. Ephesians 5:14

The path to get to this place is not instantaneous.  It is often long and winding, and sometimes we backslide.  But stay in the battle, do not surrender.  God will pour grace over you to lift you up.  Be confident in that.

God wants us to see as he sees.  He wants to show you what is happening behind the veil, so that you can walk in His divine will.  Ultimately it looks like Pentecost.  Miracles happen.  Jesus told us we would do greater things than even he did.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:12-14

Ask yourself why we are not living this way that was promised?  It is through Christ that we live, unafraid.  This allows the Holy Spirit to pour into us and we become who we were meant to be.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  2 Peter 1:3-4

May the Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ pour over all of you.  Onward Christian soldier.

A powerful daily prayer – The Perimeter Prayer

I adjure all you evil spirits, in the name of the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth to depart from here.  I cast you out, every unclean spirit, every phantom , every encroachment of the devil.  Yield then to God!  You are vanquished in your citadel, all you vile demons.  The Most Sovereign Queen of Heaven, the Glorious and Ever Virgin Mary, through her Immaculate purity drives you out; before her countenance you must flee.  Give way, you evil spirits, to the Queen of Heaven.  She is destined by Almighty God to crush your head with her heel.

Lord Jesus Christ, in thy love and mercy establish a perimeter of protection around (Name) and myself and all of our loved ones, those who pray for us and their loved ones.  May the Holy Angels guard (him/her/us) and all our possessions, establishing a perimeter of protection around (Name) rendering (him/her/us) immune from any kind of demonic influence.  I ask that no demonic bondage, door, portron, demonic entity, portal, astral projection, or disembodied spirit may enter the space of 100 yards in all directions of (him/her/us).  I ask that any demons within this vicinity or any that should try to enter here be rendered deaf, dumb and blind; that Thou would strip them of all weapons, armor, power, illusions, and authority; that Thou would bind, rebuke and disable them from communicating or interacting with each other in any way.  Remove them, sending them directly to the foot of Thy Cross.  Jesus, Son of the Most High, I ask this in Thy Glorious and Most Holy Name.  Amen.

 

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The power of Intercessory Prayer

Posted on February 7, 2020 by veilofveronica

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10

I pray with a couple intercessory prayer groups each week.  We pray for many things.  Peace in the World, for our Priests, for our Parish, for Healing in families, and the conversion of sinners.  With one of the groups we pray for specific individuals and intentions and healing that may be needed.

I know a lot of you out there are also praying daily.  Many of you may have been praying for something for a long long time being patient and persevering in prayer.  I just wanted to write this post to encourage you because of a moment I had in prayer the other day;  because sometimes it feels like we have been praying and praying, and yet nothing happens.  One thing I do know for sure is that we need to make sure the prayers are aligned with the will of God.  God desires our sanctification, which often involves suffering.  We can offer this suffering and unite it to his cross.  God wants his children to be saved.

So I was driving to work the other morning talking to God.  I was thanking Him and praising Him for getting a hold of me and my heart.  I was remembering how steeped in sin I had been,  how miserable with panic attacks I had been, how I had relied on medication to function, and how God in His goodness set me free.  But then I questioned Him and asked why Lord?  Why me?  A lot of people are struggling, and a lot of people pray for you to free them, so why me? I know that after Veronica’s murder I started talking to you, but hadn’t I at least tried to a little bit before that?  Why did you talk so clearly to me then?

And y’all, I got the overwhelming feeling of the presence of Michael Fallon.   You may remember that he was the friend who held me hostage in college who later repented and entered seminary.  He had such a love for the Blessed Sacrament that an image of it was placed on his gravestone.

He passed away in 2011 a little over a year after Veronica’s murder.  And here I was in the car, feeling clearly his presence, and the Lord gave me an image in my head.  It was Michael, while he was in seminary, in front of the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration, praying for ME, the girl he had held hostage.  He was praying for me, there with Jesus, long after I had lost contact with him.

I was so overcome I burst into tears.  Though I cannot ever verify this, I know it to be true.  And then I realized the greatest tragedy in the whole world are people who have no one to pray for them.  And I had an even greater understanding of the Mystical Body, and the Mass, why this Corporate communal Mass of worshiping God is so important and beautiful.  When we offer our own intentions in Mass, instead of mindlessly attending, amazing things happen.

Imagine for a second, if you would, that every Priest and every parish, offered Mass for the country.  A Mass, free of political agenda, but with the intention of asking God for what He wants for our country and asking Him to bless it.  I believe the country would look different if we did this.  As it stands, only a few Priests do this – and yet their prayers with ours still have an effect and matter, but the Body is disjointed.   Suddenly, I understand why Our Lady asked the children at Fatima to relay that the Pope and Bishops should consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.

I believe this got done, but it was done the way we humans seem to do many things, not immediately, not joyfully, and not completely.  It was the opposite of the way my Spiritual Director says Saints in heaven do things.

And so though we do see the conversion of Russia happening, it is messy and incomplete.  And she has spread her errors starting in China and moving from there.  We see once free people embrace that ideology.  And our own church barters with the state, leaving faithful lost and abandoned.  The effects of not listening to the way heaven asks us to do things spreads far and wide.

If we could see the entity that caused us fear when heaven asked us to do something, we would obey heaven immediately, knowing that entity only wishes our destruction and heaven wants life and life abundantly.  Our communal prayer could drastically change things if we would simply listen to heaven, and pray together, joyfully, immediately and fully.

I do know and believe that Mary’s Immaculate Heart will triumph.  It’s just going to be a bumpy ride because of our incomplete intercessory prayer and cooperation.

I will leave you with one more story I came across a story awhile back that drove home the point of intercessory prayer to me. It is in a book called The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory, an Interview with Maria Simma.  Maria Simma was a simple country woman who prayed for the souls in purgatory.

In the book Maria relays a story of a man on a train who wouldn’t stop speaking evil of the church, of priests, and of God.  Maria prayed one single prayer for this man, “Lord do not let this soul be lost.”

Years later the man appeared to her after his death.  He told her he had come very close to hell, but was saved by God through HER prayer (and his final cooperation). Without her prayer this man would probably not have received the mercy of purgatory.  Wow.

Do not lost heart with all the things we see going on around us.  Pray, pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, Pray with your friends, have Masses said.  It will unite hearts, and bring healing.  Praying together makes us a fierce force to be reckoned with.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Michael Patrick Fallon, pray for us.  And we will pray for you.

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Audio Talk Sonja Corbitt – Fulfilled

Posted on February 3, 2020 by veilofveronica

Sonja Corbitt

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17

 

Sonja Corbitt came to our parish and spoke about her bible study Fulfilled.  Fulfilled helps Catholics understand Scripture and how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament promises.  You can listen to her talk here, the audio was started about 30 seconds after she opened so pardon that please;

And if you would like to purchase her bible study you can do that here.

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Audio Talk Susan Skinner on Fear and Anxiety – Theology on Tap

Posted on February 3, 2020 by veilofveronica

Jesus-Christ-defeats-Satan

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

I gave a talk on Fear and Anxiety at Theology on Tap.  You can listen to it here;

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The Spirit of Control

Posted on January 22, 2020 by veilofveronica

Jesús_en_casa_de_Anás_Museo_del_Prado_José_de_Madrazo

Behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh.  Is there anything too hard for me? 

Jeremiah 32:27

I was blessed to go to a conference this weekend led by Jansen Bagwell.   During the talks Jansen gave one of the best explanations of the Blessed Trinity that I have ever heard.  I am hoping I can explain it the way he did.

He said that in the beginning there was nothing but God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God the Father had the thought to create.  God the Son the second person of the Blessed Trinity is the spoken thought because HE IS THE WORD.  The Word is the full expression of the thought.  The Incarnation the full expression of God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. John 1:1-3

And God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity enacted the word that was spoken.

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light Genesis 1:1-3

This mighty wind – this shaking violent wind – is the Holy Spirit waiting for the thought to be spoken so he can act.  Light was thought, spoken, and created.  Thought, word, action.  The action of the Holy Spirit is IMMEDIATE and SWIFT.  And the Three are One in creating.

This explanation astonished me because it explains so much of how we were meant to be, but are not yet.  Let me explain.

God is still having a thought and speaking to us through His WORD and sending the Holy Spirit to nudge us (God’s creation) to ACT.  But in the beginning, the Holy Spirit didn’t have to nudge us to act because Adam and Eve POSSESSED the Spirit.  Thus, all action prior to the fall was action of God.  Our free will, after the fall was contaminated by sin and so we do not immediately act in accordance with the will of God.

The action of Salvation History is to restore human will to complete harmony with the divine will.  And it is why Jesus prayed;

I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.  John 17:20-21

After the fall there was a disruption of this harmony.  Our human will choosing to sin and bring evil into the world.  Thus, ensuing action of the Holy Spirit became the nudge to choose good instead of a harmonious action.   The Holy Spirit is calm and convicting, but firm.  He isn’t condemning and doesn’t make blanket statements.  We have the church to help us recognize this voice.   This is why the church stresses obedience so much, because obedience to the law (in love) is an effort to bring us back to harmony with the divine will.  But sadly we still live in a state where God the Father has a thought, God the Son is the full expression of that thought in the Word and God the Holy Spirit comes to us to nudge us into action of that thought and word and we say no.  We argue.  We complain.  We outright reject – a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.  And the world cannot see the creative action of God because we do not cooperate.  And the question becomes why?

Because we want control;  that’s why.  But what we fail to realize is that when we say no to God we don’t actually retain control, we hand it to the demonic because when we sin with our no to God we hand the domain we were given straight to Satan, who came to steal, kill and destroy.  We think we are in control, we turn from God, we sin and we watch our world implode around us.

I recently read a quote from Father Ambrose Dobrosi that stated;

Abortion as population control to combat climate change is literally pagan infant sacrifice, just with a veneer of “science”.  The baby becomes a sacrificial offering so that we can have good weather.  It’s proof that when Christianity fades, we go right back to demon worship.

What a profound statement.  We will not repair the damage done to our environment, which is caused by sin and trying to control things as a god, by continuing to further and further sin and say no to the Holy Spirit – who nudges us to cooperate with the Trinity in the creative LIFE GIVING action.  We will heal the environment when we allow God to heal our souls and lift us out of sin.

One way of living begets death.  One begets life.

We often live on either side of a pendulum.  One where we think we are in control and disregard the law bringing sin after sin.  And the other where we use the law to control others instead of letting God work in them, which is the sin of Pride.  If we try to control and don’t pray and let God work, we too are sinning.

The WORD BECAME FLESH to show us THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

Jesus did not exercise a Spirit of Control.  Jesus loved and converted hearts to love.  But many still said no to love.  It’s why they took him to the Cross.  And because he is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is why he went to the Cross.  He didn’t even try to control the leaders of his own religion.  He walked where they led Him, and surrendered to the will of the Father, because HE IS THE WILL OF GOD and He knew how to save us.

In a later conversation with Jansen we talked about the role of emotion in our lives.  Emotion is so important because secular society divorces emotion from our soul, and doing this brings about confusion.  We learn techniques that teach us to “cope”.  I don’t know about you but I don’t think God came for us to cope.  If we don’t learn what our emotions teach our soul, which is deeper than our emotion, then our emotion can be used against us.   So many of us today allow our emotions to be manipulated by Satan, the Father of Lies.  We accept emotion as truth – and the Spirit of Control attacks us.  It is why the Saints cautioned against doing things based on how you feel.  We must learn from the feeling and allow the Holy Spirit to act by learning what God is trying to tell us through our emotion.

Emotions are not bad things.  The are, in fact, a gift from God.  But emotions are trying to teach us something.  They are trying to teach us where to place control.  An emotion of fear can be a natural thing.  It is something that can protect us and often times lets us know the situation we are in isn’t one we are in control of, so if we learn from that emotion we know to turn to the one who is in control – God.  An emotion of frustration or irritation can let us know that the virtuous standard of God is not being lived up to.  An emotion of anger can alert us to sin and evil, and if we put our enmity on Satan to fight that evil, we give control back to God.  An emotion of shame can teach us what we are hiding from God.  An emotion of sorrow can alert us to injustice or violation to help us turn towards forgiveness and healing.  These emotions are often thought of as bad, but they are not, it is only when we don’t learn from what they’re trying to teach us that they can become bad and open us to sin.  Everything God gives is a gift, and therefore brings redemption when used properly.

Right now because we are still not in harmony with the Trinity, it is a struggle to act on the will of God because we sit in our emotion and don’t turn to God so he can work in our soul.  But if we learn from what the emotion teaches us, we can act in obedience to the nudges of the Holy Spirit.  This is often hard, but is done so by the Grace of God we receive in the Sacraments that draws us closer and closer to the will of God.  Grace that is poured upon us in the Sacramental Life.  The more we repent in Confession of our sins and unforgiveness, the more grace we receive to go and receive the Eucharist and HAVE GOD IN US, so we can act joyfully, immediately and fully.

I have said before, as have many others, that we are moving through the Passion of the Church.

Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh. CCC – 675

I believe the church will come out on the other side looking very different than she does now, having chained up the Spirit of Control, which leads to sin.  God is calling each and every one of us interiorly to give him control so the Spirit can dwell within us.  Surrender.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. Romans 8:9

We need to be asking ourselves if we are responding to the Holy Spirit?  Are we letting go of control when we are asked?  Do we let the emotion of fear invite a spirit of fear or even of Pride that we can fix it?  Do we let the emotion of anger invite a Spirit of wrath?  Are we learning from our emotions, which should be used as redemptive gifts from God?  When I am afraid, and I realize I am out of control, am I surrendering control to the one who actually has it anyway?

When we reflect upon these things, and let God work in us, we can be healed. We can stand with courage when adversity comes.  We can be a light in the darkness, and we can have the power of God in us.  We are called to union with the Trinity as beloved sons and daughters.

O blessed light, O Trinity and first Unity!” God is eternal blessedness, undying life, unfading light. God is love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God freely wills to communicate the glory of his blessed life. Such is the “plan of his loving kindness”, conceived by the Father before the foundation of the world, in his beloved Son: “He destined us in love to be his sons” and “to be conformed to the image of his Son”, through “the spirit of sonship”. This plan is a “grace [which] was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began”, stemming immediately from Trinitarian love. It unfolds in the work of creation, the whole history of salvation after the fall, and the missions of the Son and the Spirit, which are continued in the mission of the Church. CCC 257

 

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Restore the Father’s Blessings

Posted on January 11, 2020 by veilofveronica

Saint Joseph and child Jesus

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  Matthew 1:24

The other day I was perusing social media and I was coming across post after post by Christian women who were wanting to uplift women.  This is a laudable goal.  But I was sad in reading through them because in their effort to uplift women, there was an extreme bitterness towards men.  One even claimed to be emulating the Blessed Mother while at the same time bashing the all male Priesthood.

You all may remember that when I was at the Shrine in Hanceville, Alabama, I heard the Lord say to me, “Restore the Father’s Blessings.”  At the time I was not sure what this actually meant, but I have come to understand that God the Father wants us to be restored to union with his Will, and it is in this that Blessing is poured upon us.

But here’s the thing, we don’t walk in God’s will if we walk in bitterness and resentment.  I don’t believe women get uplifted by putting men down.  This does not mean that I do not recognize the damage that men have done to women over the years.  It simply means that I want for my own salvation and for the salvation of men.  It also doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in punishing bad behavior.  It simply means I do not have to let the bad behavior of someone else torture me with demons of bitterness and resentment.  So hear me now when I say, to all the men who have ever hurt me, I FORGIVE YOU.  And to all the men I have ever hurt, I AM SORRY.   This is meant especially for my own spouse, who is a gift from the Father in Heaven to me.

And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2:23-24

We are not meant to be in competition with one another.  We are meant for cooperation with God.

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20

This restoration of the Father’s blessings that God wants to pour on us begins with the restoration of the Priesthood.  I freely admit that I am one who used to think women should be Priests, until I realized that was a worldly longing for equality, and that God already gave me equality of dignity so that I need not be angry at His design.  We each have a purpose and a destiny, and it is okay that they are different.  Every person’s role is meant to built up the Kingdom of God and the Mystical Body, but it’s when the sin of envy comes in that we begin to tear one another down.  And it is the sin of Pride that makes one Lord themselves over another.  These are the deadliest of sins.

When the Priesthood is properly restored, Sacramental Grace flows straight from heaven down on the altar and into our souls.  Priests need to be serious about their duty to God the Father because they are a conduit of the Father’s Blessing.  Clericalism often gets called out these days, and it is something that is real, but clericalism is a fruit of sin.  Sin that Priests and Bishops do not want to root out, but instead cover up and use the power of their office to do so.

I recently read a book by Kevin Wells, called The Priests we need to save the Church.  This book outlines the formula of what made Priests Saints.  I urge every Priest out there to read it because we need you to be Saints.

But this restoration of the Father’s Blessings doesn’t stop there with the Priesthood.  God the Father wants to restore earthly Fatherhood.  And I believe it is for this reason he is more and more pointing out Saint Joseph.  Remember, Joseph was a righteous man,  but he was a man who wanted to divorce Mary quietly.   We do not see Mary get bitter or resentful towards Joseph.  We can know from who she is that she prayed and trusted God.  And Joseph had a dream and he listened to God.

Here in this small insight that the Gospels give to us of Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary, we see two people who cooperate with the Will of God that leads them to cooperate with one another.  There is no envy, no bitterness, no resentment.  It is two people who did the will of God and together raised the Savior.  And a Savior who subjected Himself to them.

That is why another book I came across is so vitally important right now as well, and that is the Consecration to Saint Joseph by Father Donald Calloway.  I believe that the Spiritual repercussions of doing this Consecration will spread far and wide to help our Christian society receive the grace of the Father’s Blessings.

What many of us women fail to understand, is that when our men are blessed these blessings extend to us as well.  We are not some afterthought of God.  We are part of the completion of the design of God that brings wholeness and healing.  The fruit of our love for one another brings children but it also bears virtue.  What could be a better blessing from God our loving Father?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

1 Corinthians 13:4

So for me I do not say down with the Patriarchy.  I pray the Patriarchy to be properly restored as it was in the beginning; because when it is restored my own life will flourish to it’s fullness.

 

Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us. John 14:6-8

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