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 were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-18
Hello Friends,
I am sorry it has been awhile since I have posted. I have talked much in the past to you about how most of the prepping we need to do is in our hearts. With that in mind, I am happy to tell you that Ashley Blackburn and I have completed another book called, Consecration to the Holy Family.
This book is a 25 day consecration that is designed to pray for growth in virtue for all family members, mom, dad and children. It can be prayed alone or as a family. It came from a labor of love and has the nihil obstat and imprimatur from the Diocese of Nashville. I hope you will consider purchasing it.
I also hope to be writing more soon. God Bless you all,
Susan
P.S. I have also made our previous book, The Queen’s Triumph, more easily accessible, especially for those overseas.
As we enter this season of Lent, it is worth pondering the Doctrines of the Blessed Virgin Mary who did not shy away from suffering for Christ and is known as Mother of the Church. The reason for this is because she is the gateway for us to see the culmination of God’s healing of mankind. She exemplifies the wholeness that was meant for us in the Garden of Eden. While Catholics often get accused of worshiping Mary, the veneration we give to her is because of what God has done for her. She is the pinnacle of humility, hope and holiness, so much so that she is in complete harmony with the Trinity, and it is why she is given the title Queen of Heaven. We honor her because God honors her by gifting her with His glory.
The Doctrine of Mary’s Immaculate Conception teaches us that when the angel Gabriel greeted her as “full of grace”(Luke 1:28) this was a title, a name given to her as who she is. One cannot be full of grace and full of sin. After all, for the Divine to house himself in her womb, no sin could be present, or it likely would have killed her like Uzzah was killed when he touched the ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6). The church teaches us that Mary was saved by the grace of the cross before the cross happened, that is, she was saved at her conception. This is known as prevenient grace. This can happen because our God is that big. He can save outside of time. For us, our God gave us the grace of baptism to restore us to his Kingdom. His cross heals us and restores us to his Kingdom, whether outside of time like it was for Mary or inside of time when we each get baptized.
The church teaches that Mary is an ever-virgin, this is because her body and soul were both reserved for God alone. Joseph respected and knew this. She is a tabernacle of God. He was conceived in her heart before he was conceived in her womb. Though Mary is singular in her purity, we are each called to purity of heart. Our hearts can be purified through the reception of the Eucharist. That is, we can have God in us physically, his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We go to Confession for mortal sin prior to receiving the Eucharist because we want our hearts to be pure when we receive Him. We don’t want to be houses of duplicity, full of sin while trying to receive grace, for this cannot happen. Saint Paul tells us this will bring judgment upon us (1Corintians 11:29). Mary had a pure heart, mind, soul and body. She thought no evil of anyone, spoke no evil of anyone, and acted no evil towards anyone. She was and is a whole and healed human person. We should desire this healing for ourselves. It is why we are asked to keep the commandments because the commandments are about loving God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind (Matthew 22:37) which enables us to love our neighbors as ourselves, something this world desperately needs. When we do this, we conform our minds to God, and we become conformed to Christ and He is so in us that we have peace that surpasses understanding. It is peace in the middle of sorrow and suffering.
The council of Ephesus in 431 defined Mary as the Mother of God. This is because she is the mother of one person, Jesus Christ, who has two natures, both human and divine. Jesus is not two people and did not switch back and forth. We honor Mary’s motherhood because the nature of mother is self-sacrificing. A mother gives totally of herself, in both body and soul to a child. There is nothing closer to the cross of Christ than Motherhood. Mary, as the Mother of God deserves to be honored for the sacrifice she made in the plan of God. Mary is known as the Sorrowful Mother as her heart was pierced with sorrow walking the Passion with her Son, seeing Him crucified and trusting in God anyway. She believed God was good and that God would heal even if she didn’t know exactly how. She believed God’s promises to the core of her being. She united her suffering to her Son; his power made perfect in her weakness, her docility, her humility, her trust. She was rewarded with what is promised to all of us at the end of time, the Resurrection of the Body.
Mary’s glorious assumption is the culmination of God so alive in her that she rose to heaven Body and Soul. The ultimate healing has already happened for her and will happen for us at the end of time if we choose Christ. Our God is so loving and amazing He gave us her to look to and ask for intercession on our pilgrim journey on earth. In Christ we see the triumph of the Resurrection. In Mary we see His glory and willingness to share it.
Though not yet doctrinal, I also believe Mary is the mediatrix of all graces. God wants His grace to flow through His creation. Make no mistake, the grace comes from God, but she, being the crowning pinnacle of creation is the conduit Christ chose to bring Himself and the grace into the world. The grace He gave her comes to us through her. This also makes her co-redemptrix as Christ the redeemer gave her a share in the Redemption of mankind. This is His Mystical Body working in harmony. It takes nothing away from God to say this, in fact it shows how much bigger He is than we think because He shares His gifts with His creation. Love commissions love.
When we pray the Hail Holy Queen we acknowledge all these things. We say of Mary that she is – our life, our sweetness, and our hope. She is all of these things. Mary is the beacon, the lighthouse that guides us to the heart of the Trinity where we have life abundantly, bitterness turned to sweetness, and steadfast hope of in the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Mary stood at the Cross of Christ weeping but trusting. Jesus gave her to John the Apostle; a gesture that signals he gave her to us. He rewarded her yes to living in the will of God by making her, His creature, the crowning glory of His Creation. I believe a New Pentecost will pour out upon us. It will come upon us as the Epoch of the Holy Spirit and His spouse Mary Immaculate. While we will see the crumbling of corruption and sin, which will seem a great suffering, we must, as Mary did, keep our eyes on Christ and be conformed into His image. It will be a great healing. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Salve Regina
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae; vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix. R. Ut digni efficamur promissionibus Christi.
Oremus. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui gloriosae Virginis Matris Mariae corpus et animam, ut dignum Filii tui habitaculum effici mereretur, Spiritu Sancto cooperante, praeparasti, da, ut cuius commemoratione laetamur; eius pia intercessione, ab instantibus malis et a morte perpetua liberemur. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Christ in Glory with Saints and Odoardo Farnese (1598–1600) by Annibale Carracci
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8
A few weeks ago I wrote about being Protected from Deception and the story of Jesus walking on water from the Gospel of Mark. I want to expound on this a bit, this time with the added details that Matthew adds about Peter and his walking on water.
As you know, the Gospel of Mark spoke about their hardened hearts and I explained how being with the miracle worker could actually make them prideful. Being with Jesus, they were “winning”, and winning didn’t make them grow in love, or even rely on the Father more, instead it made them feel courageous and strong of their own accord. They were on a spiritual high that made them feel like they were kings instead of knowing well the King Himself and relying totally on Him. Why do I say this? Let’s take a look at Matthew’s version of the story, and Peter in particular;
Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves for the wind was against them. And he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified saying, “It is a ghost!”And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I, have no fear.”
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:22-33
So the first thing I noticed in this translation is that it said Jesus made them get in the boat to go before him. It struck me that that seems reversed. Shouldn’t the Lord go before us always, the way he did for Joshua? Why would Jesus make them get in a boat that he knew would put them in peril without him?
We know from Mark’s Gospel that their hearts were hardened. We know Jesus does not do anything that the Father does not will. This scary situation needed to happen to soften their hearts and make them to understand Jesus is not here to make us feel good or make us win while others lose. He came for us to have life, and life means to be perfected in charity. This is one of many situations where they do not recognize Jesus. We don’t recognize Jesus when we are hard of heart.
When Peter says the word, “Lord, if it is you, bid me to come to you on the water.” It reminds me of something else in Scripture;
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:3
The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. Jesus didn’t succumb. Here it is Jesus who led Peter out into the boat and when Peter sounds like Satan… if it is really you... the temptation isn’t for Christ, but Peter’s own temptation to be God. Jesus did go before him. He underwent the test first. In His human nature He knows how this feels, but doesn’t fall. But Peter having witnessed all the miracles is puffed up in the glory of his own pride. While He knows Jesus is a miracle worker, He also thinks something of himself may be making these things so. He thought himself special. We all want to feel special. But being special isn’t why God came. He came to share His glory, which is a gift, not something we can grasp. The lack of faith and reliance on himself that Jesus saw in Peter’s heart took place before he even stepped a foot out of the boat. Jesus already knew the wind would distract him because Peter’s heart was not on solid ground. He was still working in his own ego.
Jesus in His might and glory allows Peter to walk on water, but also allows him to fall. This is a God who knows exactly what Peter needs to be purified of self. Peter must cry out, “Lord, save me”, and it is here that the Lord has softened his heart and rightly ordered it. Peter is bold in even knowing walking on water is a possibility for him, and it’s what makes him a great leader because he sees the possibility, but his reliance on himself too often is what makes him fall again and again.
Friends, I tell you all this because this is the temptation for us. We think ourselves Godly, but we don’t always give God the credit, nor do we think big enough of God. We boast when we are winning and we fail to be rightly ordered towards love. God answers a prayer and we gloat rather than giving thanksgiving and keeping our eyes on Jesus. This is more apparent every day in the media. Men in particular fall into this temptation, not that woman don’t, we definitely do, but women are more used to being vulnerable, so they can more readily recognize they are not the Savior. There were many women at the Cross, but only one Apostle. We should pay attention to this. We need to be vulnerable to God. We need to humble ourselves before him.
Our entire walk is a preparation for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Time belongs to God and ego, impatience and imprudence hinder our holiness. We need to learn to wait with an open heart, to suffer well and to grow in charity. God’s glory is a gift, don’t reject the gift by thinking you did something special to earn it. Realize that it is God alone who matters, who loves you, who saves you, and He will go before you always.
Jesus and John at the Last Supper, by Valentin de Boulogne
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:2-3
Last Friday, January 17, 2025, the first reading at Mass was from Hebrews 4. Saint Paul exhorts;
Let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed. For in fact we have received the Good News just as our ancestors did. But the word that they heard did not profit them, for they were not united in faith with those who listened. For we who believed enter into that rest, just as he has said:
“As I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest,”
and yet his works were accomplished at the foundation of the world. For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works; and again, in the previously mentioned place, They shall enter into my rest. Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:1-5, 11
As I pondered this meaning of rest, I thought to myself, that sure sounds nice. And God whispered, “rest is living in the Divine Will.” And it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. While I may be thinking of lying in bed and getting a sound sleep, God is speaking of a time of His work perfected in our souls. It means we have surrendered to His dominion in our souls. Think of the Apostle John, who even though everything is crumbling, rests his head on Christ’s bosom. The number seven indicates the manifestation of the Spirit. God’s work is completed when His Will resides in us. This is a time when we listen only to Him and keep our eyes only on Him. Rest in the Spirit of God. We were made for a time such as this. We await a New Pentecost and an ushering in of an era of Peace.
No, we will not be sleeping. In fact, just the opposite, we will be awake, so as to see the signs and follow the Will of God because of what is about to take place on the earth. But we should not have a disposition of fear, because the Spirit of the Lord will be upon us. Be not afraid.
This past Sunday, January 19, 2025, I was in Mass praying with my eyes closed. In my eyelids I saw illuminated the number 11 and then the word Emergency. I didn’t know and still don’t know exactly what this means. But as I have pondered this, I know a few things. When I see an 11, I always pray because scripturally it means two things, one is that things are falling apart. Think of Judas’ betrayal and the leaving behind 11 Apostles. It means God’s judgment is coming. It means focus on the Passion. But it also means the rising up of great men and women, as happened after the betrayal. It means God is getting ready to pour out so we can rise up. Emergency, to me, means that it is urgent to have your heart right with God. If you do, you have absolutely nothing to fear.
“Keep to the ancient way and custom of the Church, established and confirmed by so many Saints under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And live a new life. Pray, and get others to pray, that God not abandon His Church, but reform it as He pleases, and as He sees best for us, and more to His honor and glory.” —St. Angela Merici
Let us pray together to the whole communion of Saints for God’s Will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Speaking of Great Saints, my friend and blog follower, Mary O’Reagan, has written a book about being a spiritual child of Padre Pio. I hope youwill check it out.
If you would like to purchase the Family Healing prayer book, The Queen’s Triumph, I co-authored with Ashley Blackburn, please click this link.
Jesus walks on water – Julius von Klever 1850-1924
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
I write in my journal as if the Lord is speaking to me. If what I have written is the church says is wrong, then the church is correct and I am wrong. For your discernment.
I wrote this while pondering all that is happening in the world and trying to decipher what is real and what is not. All the information can be overwhelming, anxiety inducing and distracting. When I find myself in this situation, I take all of it to the Lord. He tells me to strip everything down to how best to love in each situation. He tells me I don’t need to know everything. I need to know HIM.
January 6, 2024
Beloved Lily of the Father (redacted),
The state of loving and being loved – this is union.
Pray.
Immerse yourself in the Most Holy Trinity.
The Mystical Body of Christ resides there.
Hearts beating in unison with the Will of the Father.
Look at the Holy Face and know the grace in which you stand.
Let go of all fear and worry.
Be who I made you to be.
(redacted)
I will tell you what you need to know when you need to know it. Pay no attention to the distractions.
Keep your eyes on me. Help bring my people home to me, to the Father’s house.
I AM GLORY.
The Most Holy Trinity
Whenever I get worried about being deceived or I get overwhelmed by all the prophets and all the theories out there, about what to prepare and how to prepare, the Lord shows me Elijah being fed by ravens.
You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi. 1 Kings 17:4-6
So it struck me that the Lord said, “I will tell you what you need to know when you need to know it”. While we can pay attention to prophets and theories, if we pay them more attention than we do to our own prayer life we will actually miss what the Lord wants to tell us personally about our own situation. We are being distracted. If we take in what is “out there” instead of taking in the Lord Jesus Christ, His Word in Scripture, Himself in the Eucharist and speaking to Him in our prayer lives, then we can be deceived through distraction. We will be looking at something other than the one who saves.
I was struck by this recently in the Gospel on January 8. It is the scripture from Mark 6:45-52
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came toward them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. 49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
First, it struck me that Jesus is often going up to the mountain to pray. He does not stop praying, even on the busiest of days with hoards of people coming to see him. Remember prior to this he had performed so many miracles, including the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Prayer is His first priority, not the last. This is how He knows what the Father wants.
The Apostles at this point know Jesus is a miracle worker. Yet in this scene they do not recognize Him and they think He is a ghost. He intends to pass them by – for their hearts were hardened. I wondered what this was about. How had spending time with Him performing miracles hardened their hearts?
The answer is they were thinking in a worldly way. Thinking of the accolades they would get for being with the guy who heals and feeds everyone. How great it feels to be with the healer healing. There is such a pride in this. I am sure dreams of a worldly empire were still entering their heads at this point. Finally, they can be better than the pagans in the Roman empire. Finally, they can be seen and thought of as important. Finally, they can be heard. After years of oppression, it was time for their empire to rise. Do you see the danger in this? Hearts harden looking at worldly accolade instead of growing in charity towards God and others with a disposition such as this. They didn’t know that their entire lives they were seen and heard by God, which is all that really matters. They focus on their suffering and wounds which have been lessened in Jesus’ presence, so they focus on the worldly consequences of this, rather than the heavenly joy Christ came to bring.
This situation requires a humbling. Enter in the straining against the wind. The feeling that you may perish. Thinking you see a ghost. No longer do you feel prideful. No longer do you even worry about the giant empire you want to build with the Messiah, but instead, you see how weak you are and how much you need Him. He can walk on water. He can command storms. He is way more than a worldly empire. He is love Himself. He teaches us how to pray because it is so very important.
Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or “out of the depths” of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer, Only when we humbly acknowledge that “we do not know how to pray as we ought,” are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. “Man is a beggar before God.” CCC 2559
It is in our weakness that God’s power is made perfect. The weak have no one to rely on but God. Humility is the key to prayer which also makes it the key to spotting deception. Pride will devour you like a roaring lion.
I will leave you with another journal entry from December 27, 2024 when I was pondering the temptation of Christ on the Feast of Saint John.
Beloved Lily of the Father,
All creatures must undergo a test. This is because true love is a choice, not a feeling. You must choose love. You think that choosing love means never failing. But how would you know the bounds of My love if you were fully perfected from the start? You would, as Adam and Eve did, attribute power to yourselves, that you could be like God. You can now know the fathomless bounds of My mercy. True love in a creature asks for mercy and gives mercy. It is borne from the font of humility. It knows that I AM good, all the time and does not hide from me weakness or imperfection. If I allow you to be tempted, it is to reveal an area of your heart to you. I reveal to you where you do not trust my goodness, nor do you understand my limitless mercy. Though I AM God, when I became incarnate, I did not deem equality with God something to be grasped, as Adam and Eve did. I emptied Myself. My Mother understands this. The posture of the creature must be meek and humble of heart, it is here that temptation and deception can be resisted. The measure of charity can only grow for the docile of heart. Be not afraid, I work all things for the good of those who love me.
Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14
In the early morning hours this morning, December 19, 2024, I had a very vivid dream. In the dream I was in what looked like an older very traditional mansion. I remember the big windows and the gorgeous hardwood floors. I was in a large living room with a Persian rug and a Christmas tree but not much other furniture except for a Queen Anne looking couch with some side tables.
I was standing on the rug and I was in a circle of people. We were holding hands and singing Christmas Hymns and praising the Incarnation. But I could see something else that no one else saw. I saw giant angels, each one standing behind each person. They had wings that created a shelter over each person. The angels were beautiful. They appeared male to me. They also appeared fierce like you wouldn’t want to mess with them. You could tell they were warriors. They were also singing and illuminated with light. It was heavenly.
The feeling that overcame me was one of safety. The safest I have ever felt. It was so vivid and so real. I didn’t want to wake up.
When I did wake up and I thought of all the turmoil in the world, I thought how each of us would not fear if we could see this warrior sheltering us at the behest of God Almighty.
It all reminded me of Psalm 91, which was my mom’s favorite Psalm, and somehow lets me know on this first Christmas without her, that she actually is here with me.
Psalm 91 – Assurance of God’s Protection
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, 2 will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” 3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; 4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5 You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, 6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, 10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. 15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. 16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
Song of the Angels – By William-Adolphe Bouguereau – Getty Center, Public Domain
If you would like to purchase the Family Healing prayer book, The Queen’s Triumph, I co-authored with Ashley Blackburn, please click this link.
Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Luke 31:31
A few weeks ago Jansen Bagwell taught about the Kingdom of God in my Order of Christian Initiation of Adults class that I am the Director of. When he teaches this class people are always surprised to learn that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of heaven are not exactly the same thing.
You see heaven is the place where we go after we die. It is a place where we there are no more tears and there is no more suffering. But the Kingdom of God is something Jesus tells us is near, or at hand.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2
This does mean that when we pray the Our Father we are asking for this Kingdom here on earth which most of us know. But as I have been delving into scripture lately, I have been focused on the Infancy Narratives. And I realized something. On the night of the Nativity, the Kingdom of God was at hand for some people chosen by God.
Of course, we know Mary and Joseph were two of those people. Mary in her sinlessness and Joseph, the righteous man, were chosen by God to take care of the Divine Child. So in this small cave in Bethlehem, the Kingdom of God came to be in the hands of Our humble Mother and the adoptive Father of Jesus. This cave, this humble beginning, was a place where all who entered trusted God the Father, despite what was going on around them in the world.
But it wasn’t just Mary and Joseph to whom the Kingdom of God came and resided. It was also the Shepherds. These simple men who did ordinary jobs must have had totally open hearts, and loved God because heaven came to earth and revealed itself to them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”Luke 2:812
I imagine these men were simple, they prayed and had deep relationship with the Lord. They had hearts that were open, and they spent time in his creation.
Heaven also revealed itself to the wise men. These men were learned and had intellect. They knew scripture and studied creation by looking at the sky. They left their home to find the Jewish King. They knelt in adoration of Him. They gave Him their wealth. They listened to the angel that warned them.
Two different sets of men that the Kingdom of God was revealed to. They were from different states in life, but they had hearts that were prepared. Because of this, they were able to gaze upon the Face of God, the Christ-child.
Their lives are a lesson for us. All of these people were prepared with open hearts that prayed, knew scripture, and paid attention to the signs. The birth of the Kingdom of God in a person gives way to spiritual path of maturity where a person can endure the worst of crosses.
As I look at the world today, I see their example and I seek to pray without ceasing and to have real face to face relationship. God is all about real relationship. When you have it with Him you are truly able to love others.
One thing we have to be cautious about is thinking that digital relationship is real. The Kingdom of God has never seemed more far away at times than in this digital age when we’re supposedly so connected. I hear more people complain of isolation and loneliness than I ever have before. I have seen so much loss of emotional control in people I come across. I don’t say this as judgment but observation. We make videos of ourselves, and we miss out on the real personal encounter. No doubt COVID added to this. It always amazes me how much more people will say online than we ever had happening when it wasn’t an option to do so.
Why am I saying all this? I am saying all this because I see that technology, though it can be used for good, can also, and more likely, make us feel like we are god. We have knowledge of good and evil and we often choose evil.
Artificial Intelligence can do everything faster and better than humans. But there’s something that is off. You only have to take a look at Christian AI art to see it. I was shopping for art the other day and I saw a surreally beautiful picture of Mary. But something was wrong. It only took me a second to notice she had 6 fingers. Another friend texted me a picture of Jesus;
Do you see it? He is missing His wounds.
Why is it that these super intelligent computers cannot get it exactly right? It is because these computers aren’t human. There is no personal relationship.
AI can even imitate our voices. Imagine the demonic getting a hold of it. And if it’s been so long since we had any real relationship, would we be fooled? It is why prayer from the heart is so necessary and why the Sacraments are so needed.
It’s not hard to imagine, given where we are now, to picture a time in the near future where we will be told that we have to have a chip implanted in our hand to buy and sell.
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom….Revelation 13:16-18
It will be a matter of convenience. We won’t have to worry about losing our wallet or our keys. It will be easier than the old way of doing things. We have been primed for it. We have lost sight of what the Shepherds and the Wise men had daily connection with; a relationship with God, a knowing of Scripture, and an awe of creation. The evil one can’t create but only mimic and mock. AI art shows me this, it doesn’t have the beauty of the hand that took hours to paint for love of God.
I hope none of this happens, but I felt compelled to warn that it might. The Kingdom of God is not a chip in our hand or more technology and connectivity. The Kingdom of God is a space where the Holy Spirit dwells and the person does God’s will. The Kingdom of God is meant to be here now. The Holy Family is where the Kingdom of God was at hand. We can strive to bring that Kingdom to our own families. We should not be afraid. Be prepared to love more which is a harder path.
Throughout His time on earth, Jesus revealed Himself to the lowly, the humble, the sinner who wanted to repent; the ones who knew that they weren’t God, who could admit when they were wrong, and who were open to the Creator. It’s perplexing to know it wasn’t the leaders of the religion at the time who saw who He was. I don’t think it is too much different today. While they didn’t have computers back then, the learned were often not wise like the wise men. They were fools, thinking they were god. Their intellect got in the way of their adoration of God.
This coming Christmas season, turn off the electronics and have some real connection. Pray daily and see your loved one’s face to face. Cooperate with the Lord for the Kingdom to be on earth as it is in heaven and watch the Lord pour out.
If you would like to purchase the Family Healing prayer book, The Queen’s Triumph, I co-authored with Ashley Blackburn, please click this link.
The ornate tabernacle in St Martin’s church, Kortrijk, Belgium
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23
A few months back I read a book by Protestant Pastor, Blake Healy called Profound Good. This Pastor says he can see into the spiritual realm. I don’t doubt that God may allow that, especially in these times. I found him to be completely genuine. I am grateful for the Catholic Church that guides us in discernment of these types of things. I don’t know this Pastor but I found his heart in his writing seems to genuinely love Jesus and on that we have common ground.
I found though, that the book, which is about the profound goodness of God, left me a little sad from the perspective that this Pastor, who has a genuine love for God, lacks the context of the Sacraments to help him understand what He sees. The worship consists mostly of concert like performance. I can see a danger for congregants of faith simply because of good feeling, though I don’t doubt the faith of the believers. I don’t say that to judge, just as an observation that it lacks something. And that something is of course, the Eucharist.
It makes me pray for unity, the kind that comes from heaven.
In one section of the book Blake describes what he sees happening to people in their worship. He sees Jesus coming up to individual people. In one section he describes Jesus looking into a man’s chest. He says;
I noticed that his heart was in a cage. It was small and metal, a little like a bird cage. It was dented, bent and twisted as if a wild animal had been desperately trying to get into it.
With absoluteprecision and gentleness Jesus reached forward, opened the broken cage, and removed it from the man’s chest without the sides touching his heart at all. He handed the cage to an angel standing just behind Him and then He leaned forward and took the man’s heart in His hands. He lifted the heart to His mouth and blew on it. Like coalcatchingoxygen from the wind, the man’s heart heated and began to glow.
Then Jesus did something that surprised me. He reached behind his back and pulled out a golden cage. It was similar in size and shape to the one He had removed, except that it was in perfect condition and much more ornate than the first one had ever been. He places the man’s heart in the golden cage and returned it to his chest. (Profound Good, page 112)
I sat there pondering this description and I realized that Christ had removed a prisoner’s cage and replaced it with a tabernacle. A tabernacle in the Catholic Church is where the Eucharist is kept. It protects what is sacred from abuse.
The heart of the human person can be caged in sin. Jesus took on all of our sin. In the 13th hour of the Passion by Louisa Piccareta, part of the Passion is described by her like this;
…I see that they have put you in prison….I see you with your hands tied behind You to a colum, with your feet immobilized and bound. I see your most holy Face beaten, swollen, and bloodied from the barbaric blows You have received…Your most holy eyes are livid, blackened; your gaze tired and extinguished from the sleepless night; your hair in disorder; your Most Holy Person is totally ravaged, and add to that , because You are bound, You cannot rely on Your own abilities to help or clean Yourself. And I, O my Jesus, crying and embracing your feet, exclaim: ‘O! How they have left You! O Jesus! (13th hour from 5-6am)
sat in the prison of our sins with his own unguarded heart so that he could live in our hearts and guard them from this prison of sin, if only we let Him light His fire there. How do we become a living tabernacle? How to we keep this heart of ours that he wants to make holy from hardness and defilement?
We repent and confess. I suspect that whatever Blake witnessed there, that person, in their own understanding, was confessing and giving their sin to God. The fire of God can then descend, and the heart starts to become holy. Stone turns to flesh. Whether it stays that way is up to each individual and his or her response to God once leaving the worship.
For Catholics, we are so blessed because we can fill ourselves with the Holy Eucharist, which is God Himself, and the fire only grows. When this fire grows, despite the suffering around us and the suffering we go through, we start to be elevated to a higher love, to true charity.
As I sat in Mass with this realization today, I saw that all the suffering that is going on actually gives us the opportunity to love more; to love harder than we ever have, and I began to thank God for the sufferings, both big and small. As I sat there pondering this in Mass, a leaf blower went on full volume outside. Now any of you who know me know how easily I can get annoyed by loud noises when I am trying to pray. But in this moment this morning, I thanked God for the opportunity to focus harder on the sacrifice of the Mass, to love Him more, when I could be easily distracted. I started to see how my suffering made me to come to Him more and more and how this fire burned inside brighter and brighter. And I was thankful. It’s actually a little bit hard to explain, but it was an acknowledgement that in all the suffering, I had come to love more. What a grace for today. I pray it stays.
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. Colossians 1:24
What I have learned through the suffering is that though the devil may assault your mind, and though your body may grow fatigued and tired, the Love of God does not grow tired, ever.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part,but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and -love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
The person who exemplifies a living tabernacle is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She had God in her heart and in her womb. She is a glowing Golden Soul. She became so Christ-like in love that she was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth assumed body and soul into heaven where her heart is an unguarded heart like her Sons, and she advocates for us. She is a conduit of the Lord’s grace to His people down below.
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. ad te clamamus exsules filii Evae, ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
One day her Immaculate heart will triumph and we will be elevated to the glory God has in store for us. Until then, we pray to be a living tabernacle.
If you would like to purchase the Family Healing prayer book, The Queen’s Triumph, I co-authored with Ashley Blackburn, please click this link.
While it has been years and I have made my peace with the people in my community I knew back then as I know today that the battle was never against them, it was against powers and principalities.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12
I never harbored ill will towards anyone, I simply wanted my child’s soul and the souls of the people at the school to make it to heaven. Nothing hinders being heaven bound like luke-warm Catholicism that denies parental rights. It’s a great way to suck the faith right out of your child.
This single incident changed the trajectory of education for my children. We ventured into the public school system, which in an irony, actually partnered with us more. But there was a big national machine in the public school system that pushes ideology that is not of God. Your child either gets stronger in faith or gets sucked into the abyss.
Things took a turn for the worse during and after COVID. All of the bad ideology was heightened. And the national machine was pushing hard. I saw the anxiety and depression raise in my own children. I was at a loss. I was caring for my parents at the time, running my household and I was working at the church, and I didn’t think I could take much more. But because I have one job as a parent, which is to get my children’s souls to heaven, I pulled two of them out and homeschooled. It’s like having a classroom handed to you while you’re in an ocean of waves during a hurricane. I cried and I pleaded with God.
And God responded. He responded by raising up other parents who want to be Saints along with their children. And they started a new Catholic Classical School in our area called Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation. With the blessing of the new Bishop, this non-Diocesan school began 3 years ago.
It is for this reason that I write to you today. This is the most personal for me. My daughter went from anxious and depressed hoodie wearing teenager who was being taught by the nebulous machine, prior to homeschooling, to hate traditional values. Though homeschooling helped, she was lonely and still depressed. When Chesterton became an option, she took the entrance exam and was enrolled. She is now a thriving, happy sometimes hoodie wearing, but also uniform wearing teenager who talks to me and has faith. The change in her is nothing short of a miracle.
Though there are many reasons I love this school, the first and foremost is the strong Catholic identity. They have Mass as part of the school day every day. They have opportunity for regular confession. The faith is woven throughout what they learn. My daughter is being taught the ideology of the Kingdom of God. The added bonus is they are partners with parents and the education is quality. The cost is also less than half of the other Catholic High Schools because they want to support Catholic families. They are also being taught philosophy, which is something I think our world is sorely missing. Hence the naming of the school after the brilliant philosopher, G.K. Chesterton. There are many Chesterton Academies throughout the United States founded by parents who wanted better with the support of clergy and Bishops who see the value of this vision.
But I am writing to you about this one. Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation is fledgling. They don’t have a permanent building yet. That low tuition, well it doesn’t cover the cost of what a student needs but it is kept low to provide an alternative for parents who can’t afford more, especially if they have multiple children.
So yes, I am making a personal plea for money for this school. We need small donations, large donations and recurrent donations. And we need prayer.
The goal for my family is $2,500. The larger goal to keep us going is $100,000. Anything you can do to help keep this school running for my daughter’s future and for all the kids would be appreciated from the bottom of my heart.
When it asks what family please put Skinner. When it asks which House, please put Chrysostom.
If you would rather go old school (like this Classical School) and write a check, please make Check to Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation, put Skinner Family in memo and mail checks to;
Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation
P.O. Box 680992
Franklin, TN 37068
God Bless you all,
Susan Skinner
Adoration at Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation
If you would like to purchase the Family Healing prayer book, The Queen’s Triumph, I co-authored with Ashley Blackburn, please click this link.
Veil of Veronica 