Hope – Flame of Love

Posted on September 21, 2018 by veilofveronica

Tabernacle Monstrance Sanctuary Lamp

 

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

 

Ya’ll, my friend had an amazing miracle happen to her during her religious education class on Wednesday, September 19, 2018.

My friend teaches 5th grade religious education.  She always begins her class with a procession into the classroom with a bible, crucifix and a lit candle.

She and kids placed the items on the table in the classroom and prayed together.  Then they sat down and she began teaching them about prayer.

A little while into the class a boy noticed that the candle on the table had gone out.

My friend went and grabbed it and said, “yes it has.”  She took the opportunity to talk about the Sanctuary Candle that is lit next to the tabernacle in our churches.

She held up the burnt out candle but explained that when you see a lit sanctuary candle it means Jesus is present in the tabernacle and you should always be reverent and not nonchalant or ignore Jesus.

She said you should imagine that Jesus is standing there and that we should acknowledge him with a genuflection, sign of the cross, and prayer.

And you guys…. when she said this…. THE CANDLE RE-LIT INTO A BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT, larger than it had been originally!

The co-teacher and children exclaimed that they had just witnessed a miracle.  7 kids and two adults all saw the candle re-light!  I kid you not!

GOD IS SO GOOD.

I share this with you so that you can all know that in these dark times… THE FLAME OF LOVE IS WITH US.

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Nothing Can Penetrate God’s Grip

Posted on September 11, 2018 by veilofveronica

 

Jesus Loves the Little ChildrenBrothers and sisters:
It is widely reported that there is immorality among you,
and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans–
a man living with his father’s wife.
And you are inflated with pride.
Should you not rather have been sorrowful?
The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst.
I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit,
have already, as if present,
pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed,
in the name of our Lord Jesus:
when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit
with the power of the Lord Jesus,
you are to deliver this man to Satan
for the destruction of his flesh,
so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

Your boasting is not appropriate.
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our Paschal Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  – 1 Corinthians 5:1-8

 

*** This journal entry was written after meditation on the first reading and on the joyful mysteries of the Rosary September 10, 2018.  More than anything God tells me;

  1. Be Not Afraid
  2. Pray without ceasing
  3. Trust God with your entire being
  4. Consecrate yourself to Mary

September 10, 2018

Beloved,

My Apostles, my Priests they are set apart with Authority.  What they bind on earth is bound in heaven.  Saint Paul pronounced judgement on immorality because he was given the Authority to do this.  This was actually a blessing on this man because his spirit was saved for my judgement.  My Shepherds are meant to walk in union with me, they are a conduit to the Divine.  They are meant to have right judgement.  But instead many have become immoral.  An immorality found not even among the pagans and they are inflated with pride.  Because they have violated covenant and abused MY AUTHORITY, I will hand them over myself to the torturers.  Their facade will fall like dominoes.  It feels like my wrath.  It is MY LOVE.  DESTROYING THAT WHICH KEEPS YOU FROM ME.  The church is the center of the world.  I hand her to the pagans and all will fall from there.  The corrupted institution and then the world.  You will be totally blind.  In order not to perish from fright you must totally trust me absolutely.  I AM creating a new heaven and a new earth.  The gates of hell shall not prevail.  This isn’t the end, it is the beginning.  All things moving to union with my will.  There will be 3 days of darkness.  You will search for me with great anxiety.  But you will find me in the temple.  YOU WILL BE THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD.  The sanctuary is those who trust totally.  Like the sorrow of Mary’s heart the searching will be hard, but the fruit of this means is the end goal of JOY.  

I AM breaking the stronghold of sexual deviancy that the father of lies has perpetrated.  It has permeated all areas and when the children are corrupted the HEAVENS CRY OUT, NO MORE!  The Kingdom of God belongs to the little ones, the least of these.  

Fear not.  You will be TOTALLY BLIND.  Totally uncomfortable.  Totally dependent on me.  It is I who hold you in the palm of my hand.  NOTHING CAN PENETRATE MY GRIP.

Pray for the church.

Pray for Nashville.

Pray for Panama.

Pray for the Pope, he has much to suffer.

Pray for the conversion of sinners.

Remember the Youth.  PAY ATTENTION TO THE YOUTH.  

Don’t lose the children.

Everyone is blinded, open your eyes to the children.

– Abba

 

*** I write in my journal as if God is speaking to me, what I believe the Lord is saying to me.  My spiritual director said I can do this as long as it doesn’t stray from Scripture or the Magisterium.  It is obviously filtered through my human intellect.  I cannot know the mind of God, but I do know He is calling us to total and complete trust.

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Betrayal, Deception and the Love of a Mother

Posted on August 24, 2018 by veilofveronica

Mary Queen

“But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.  And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” John 6:64-66

It is said that Judas stopped believing in Jesus during the Bread of Life discourse.  A lot of disciples stopped believing then.  It is interesting to note that it is John 6:66 that states “as a result many of his disciples returned to their former way of living.”  It is this betrayal and rejection of Christ, that is later marked with those same numbers in the Book of Revelation, written by the same author, as the mark of the Beast.  What is interesting to note is that the chapter and verse numbers weren’t added to the bible until the 16th century.  As if God knew what would mark us with the Beast, the betrayal and rejection of the Eucharistic Lord.

And so here were are over two millennia later and betrayal has entered into the church through the sins of our leaders and Shepherds.  I have to ask, did they ever believe in the Eucharistic Lord?  How could they possibly have believed and done what they did?  It is betraying Jesus with their fake kiss as they led souls on the path to destruction.  Marked by the Beast.

“The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.” John 10:10

Note that the worst thing that can happen is not stealing and killing.  The worst thing is destruction.  The devil set his sights on the Priesthood long ago.  He set out to destroy it.  He started with one of the twelve.  He continues today.  The destruction of the Priesthood means that we cannot receive the Eucharistic Lord.  The Bread of Life.  The devil wants nothing more than for you to walk away.   The mark of the beast.

But like Peter, I say, “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68.  I cannot leave Him.

But I find myself in this place of mistrust.  Knowing the betrayal.  And I didn’t know what to do.  I feel it will only get worse as more Dioceses get investigated, and we will experience sting after sting of betrayal.  Knowing there are good Priests, but not knowing who to trust.  Accusations will fly, are they true?  Have we been deceived?  How will we know what to do?

It was here that the Lord spoke to me.  BE NOT AFRAID. 

Jesus is who we are called to be like.  Jesus was willing, in order to do the will of the Father, to be betrayed.  Betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, left by all but one.  Judas’ betrayal didn’t just affect Jesus.  It affected all of them and everything they believed.  They were scared and shaken to the core.  All they had hoped and worked for in their minds was destroyed.  And they all chose a path.  Only one Apostle stood trusting the plan of God.  We have the same choice.

Then Jesus said to them, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written:‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’. Matthew 26:31

We have to ask ourselves, will we be the one, to stand at the foot of the cross?

Christ looked Judas straight in the eye.  He knew he would be betrayed. Yet still walked the Passion when He could have stopped it.  Christ wore that betrayal on the cross as a cloak of forgiveness, thereby extending mercy to all of us.   His forgiveness brings the Kingdom of God.   This path, though horrible and scandalous, brought Resurrection.  Can we walk this Passion and stand with John?

John was not alone.  Mary was with Him.  And he took her into his home.  Resurrection came, even for those who hid.  And she was with them when the Spirit descended.  She is our Mother.  We must look to her and place ourselves under her protection.  It is for this reason, for this time specifically, that our great Saints had forged Marian devotion.  From Saint Louis de Montfort, to Saint Maximilian Kolbe, to Saint John Paul the Great, they knew who would help us stand at the Passion of the Church.  It is why Consecration to Jesus through Mary was given to us.

Last night, my daughter was extremely ill.  She was vomiting and the works.  Everywhere.  I was up all night.  I noticed when she was sick, she cried out for me.  I could not stop her throwing up, but I held her hair back, and hugged her small body.  I noticed she couldn’t sleep unless my arms were around her.  I, as the mother, just had to watch whatever virus had poisoned her system come out.  I couldn’t stop it, but I could stand with her, love her, and somehow, just by my presence, I gave respite to her so she could sleep.  The love of a mother can get you through the darkest of times.  If you haven’t already, consecrate yourself to Mary.  She will be our guide in the days ahead.  She will teach you to forgive like her Son did when you are betrayed.  She will also point out to you who the Good Shepherds are.  Trust that if you can’t trust anything else, trust that.

God must have something different pictured for our church than what we are doing right now.  And one thing I know about God, His dreams for us are bigger than our own.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

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The Other Side of Resurrection

Posted on August 22, 2018 by veilofveronica

Resurrection

 

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me. “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.”  John 12:23-27

As we walk towards this Passion of the Church we must remember Resurrection is on the other side.  My friend Ashley Blackburn wrote this piece before the Scandal broke.  She wrote it as a reflection of her own life.  But I think her reflections are prophetic in that we know the Gates of Hell won’t prevail over the church, and it actually provides a road map of how to navigate this crisis.  Resurrection does await the church, because we the Body of Christ, can live and walk confidently in Christ’s Resurrection.

The Other side of Resurrection

BY: ASHLEY BLACKBURN

I have often meditated on the triumph of Jesus over sin and death in the resurrection.  Contemplating the actual event – the miracle – the power of God – the transformation – the saving graces which became available to all through this most monumental moment in history.  But how often do we think of what happened afterwards? What was life like for the Apostles on the other side of the resurrection? What is life like for us living on the other side of the resurrection?

Through Christ’s resurrection we have been saved. We have been given the gift of new life. To walk as sons and daughters of the loving Father. To live a life of freedom and hope.  Through Christ’s resurrection we are given sanctifying grace, which is offered to all, but only fully accepted and received by few. When we receive the graces of Christ’s resurrection we are freed from the lies of the Accuser and we are able to walk confidently alongside the risen Christ, our Savior and friend.  We are then better able to listen to Christ, to learn from Him, to bring all of our cares and concerns to Him, to lay our very lives at the foot of the cross so that we may be crucified with Him and thus also share in the newness of life with Him through the resurrection. Our share in the resurrection is experienced in and through us to our very core. Our souls are forever marked with the Precious Blood of Christ’s sacrifice and the Waters of mercy which burst forth from His pierced side.  We go forth unafraid. We are able to trust fully in the Father’s plan, His Divine Will, His Kingdom come, His Will be done, both in our own lives and in the world.

On the other side of the resurrection, we experience Divine Charity in which we have all been invited to share. We find this gift to be more precious than anything else and we sell all that we have to keep it – treasuring it in our hearts.  We move forward, strengthened and renewed, living a life of loving obedience to the Father’s Will. We find ourselves asking the Father what HE wishes for our lives and then we respectfully and lovingly follow The Way. Our obedience to the Father is not done out of terrifying fear or meaningless duty, but out of Divine love, in which we have been invited to share.  This obedience will become a threat to others for it will tend to point out their own disobedience. It will stir up contention and lead to various forms of persecution. But the abundant flowering of the fruits of our obedience lead us onward.

Just as the Apostles moved forth unafraid having experienced the resurrected Christ, having been filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit, we too must move forth in courage and fortitude.  On the other side of the resurrection there will no doubt be trials, there will be temptations, there will be persecutions and even martyrdoms. There will be people who try to chain us back up and throw us in prison.  There will be those who mock us and utter untrue words about our intentions and our heart. Jesus warns us that these persecutions may even come from some of our closest family members or friends. But amidst all of this Christ sent us His Spirit and the Spirit is our strength and our hope in the darkness.  For it is only through Christ living within us that we are able to overcome any obstacle. St. Paul tells us that “it is no longer I that lives, but Christ that lives in me”.

On the other side of the resurrection we live out of the abundance of Divine Charity that has been given to us through Christ. We love despite being attacked by our neighbor because we draw from the source of all love – God.  We hold close to the memory of our own experience of the resurrected Christ, our precious pearl. We march on, having been tried and tested, persecuted and insulted, hurt and belittled, and we “shake the dust from our feet”. We step out once again, clothed in Christ, with an army of Angels and Saints behind us, cheering us on and giving us the hope we need to live again!

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The Passion of the Church

Posted on August 20, 2018 by veilofveronica

Brooklyn_Museum_-_Jesus_Wept_(Jésus_pleura)_-_James_Tissot

Jesus Wept.  John 11:35

Jesus is still weeping.

For the wages of sin is death.  Roman’s 6:23

 How long until Jesus says to us, “Lazarus (which means, My God has Helped), COME OUT” John 11:43

Some of our own leaders are walking the church on her Passion.

On Saturday August 11, 2018, on the feast of my namesakes, Saint Susanna and Saint Clare, I went to Mass.  I had been saddened by the news of a Cardinal of the Church who was involved in the abuse of children, and who had not lived out his Priestly celibacy.  As Mass began, they turned on the lights in the church.  I noticed immediately a light flickering on and off.  It sat over top of the Second Station of the Cross.

The Second Station – Jesus Carries His Cross

Jesus Carries his cross

As I looked at the flickering light over the Second Station, God whispered to me “The Church’s Passion.  This is where you are.”

Just then I noticed another light flickering in the back.  I looked back, and there it was flickering over the Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  And God whispered, “she will guide the way, follow her example.”

I pondered what God told me, and I noticed that the lights stopped flickering at the consecration.  I don’t find that coincidental.

By the Feast of the Assumption, the news of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report had come out.    I felt sick.  As Facebook exploded with people asking why, and how anyone could possibly stay in this church, I wept.  We are crucifying him again, just as the leaders did back then.   It is a different sin, but sin none the less.  By the time I got to Mass that evening, my sadness had given way to anger, actually I will call it rage.  I was so enraged I thought perhaps I shouldn’t receive communion.  I felt sick.  I felt betrayed.  And then the cantor sang….

Gentle Woman

And instantly my rage disappeared.  And I knew, she is the example that will guide the way on this Passion of the Church.

By the next day my anger was back, and I had a meeting with our Deliverance Ministry Leader.  He always seems so peaceful.  I asked how, in the midst of all of this, how, how is he so peaceful?

He answered quite quickly and easily.  He said because this is ministry.  The church is sick, she has always dealt with the sick and been sick.  I knew from previous conversations with him that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil  (1 John 3:8), yet here we are and the devil is running rampant.  He runs rampant in government, in Hollywood, in our families, and even and especially in the Church.  He said if I don’t want to know the ick…I shouldn’t be in ministry.   He said the church is filled with ick.  Always has been. That’s why we’re here to help heal the sickness and Christ will come again when we all have the devil under our foot.

“then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
for “he subjected everything under his feet.”

1 Corinthians 15 – from the reading on the Feast of the Assumption

He then started asking me a series of questions about who I could hug.  When he got to “could you hug a pedophile?”  I said no.  He asked me if Jesus would hug a pedophile.  I said yes.  He told me to stop flopping like a fish out of water and get back in the water of God’s grace.

I started reflecting on how I can sit in the deliverance sessions and I can clearly see the demons speaking to the people.  And they can spew horrid sins and I don’t flinch because I can see what has happened to them.  Our sessions walk with them as they forgive others, forgive themselves, and they renounce the devil of their own free will.  There is no yelling or screaming.  Just a recognition of how the devil has lied to them, how they believe the lies, and how forgiveness brings the light of truth.  Forgiveness sets them free. You can actually see their countenance change.  And even though I hear horrid sins,  I have empathy and compassion.  And mercy.   This is because I can see what the devil has done, and it enables me to look at them through the eyes of God.   My holy hatred is aimed at the devil, and I see what God sees in them.

But this situation with the church and her shepherds, this seemed different.  Bigger.  Something I could not fathom, even though I feel like I saw it coming ages ago.  I just didn’t want it to be true.

So I had it out with God.  I told him, some of these people are so attacked by demons from the time they were born, they don’t stand a chance and they cannot even hear him.  How are they supposed to make it when they don’t stand a chance?  I also spewed at him about the pedophiles/ephebophiles too and lamented their victims.  How do we stop this Lord?

And then God spoke to me.  He told me that what I consider to be blessings and curses are not always what He considers blessings and curses because His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.  He talked to me about free will and how He would not take it away because He wants true love to be chosen.  And then he showed me something beautiful.  It was how He looks at each soul.  He knows exactly where they are and what they are culpable for.  He said he always gives them a chance.  Right up until the end.  He shows them their own soul at judgement.  Then He presents Himself to each soul with His arms outstretched and it is up to them.  They choose to reject or accept.  He exacts what they choose.  When they accept…what he showed me was himself covering them over, molding Himself to them, purgatory is this molding.  For some souls the molding is extremely painful because when perfection touches sin it is excruciating.  It’s as if he places one hand on His own heart, and one hand on the heart of the person who accepts His mercy.   And like a doctor removing septic infection from a patient, the process of perfection begins.  The worse the infection, the longer and harder the road to recovery.  But no matter how bad they were, they have the chance.  Many of them reject Him because they can’t stand the sight of their own soul.  These people are different than those who handed themselves over to Satan’s kingdom and have actively worked for Satan.  Those working for Satan know, and they willingly consent to the evil.  They have chosen hell purposefully.  But these other souls, they didn’t know and didn’t actively choose Satan’s Kingdom.  That’s why Jesus said “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”  It’s their total consent that is lacking because they had been conditioned from long ago to believe the lies. The way he showed me this molding, was a thing of beauty, placing his perfect body, his beautiful heart, over top of the ugliness and imperfection of people.  It transformed their ugliness into beauty and you could see Him in them.  You could see their hearts beating with His.  It was so overwhelming to me, of course you know, I cried.  Oceans of mercy.  I cannot fathom loving someone as much as He loves us.  So if a person was conditioned as a child, had ancestral demons, had demons attacking him all his life because of trauma, and was conditioned to believe lies and really didn’t fully know what he was consenting to, even he can receive the mercy of God.   Many of them go to hell though because when they see what they have done, and fully understand it, they reject the mercy because they believe they don’t deserve it.  The light shown on their darkness is too overwhelming for them.

When Christ is molded to us like this, it is an action of the Holy Spirit.  God showing us we are made in His image and likeness, and our acceptance of it.  That is why when we reject this mercy it is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.  The unforgivable sin.

This is what Satan did.  He rejected mercy.  He didn’t want to extend it to us.  His existence was a mercy and he rejected the purpose God made him for.  Satan tries his utmost to get us to do this too, whispering all the way to our judgment in the hopes we reject mercy.  And it is why we pray for so much intercession at our death, because the communion of Saints together can drown out the voice of blasphemy.   God, because He is outside of time can apply these prayers, and this intercession to our judgement, and together we can overcome blasphemy.  This is why it is astronomically sad to have no one praying for you.  We were not meant to be alone.  Isolation begets blasphemy.

But this is also why death is a mercy for some.  The chastisement…it is actually a blessing.  They cannot fight or do not know how to fight the demons here on this earth and this actually gives them a chance.  Still souls pour into hell because they reject the mercy.

This type of forgiveness is hard.  It is also not to be confused with consequence.  I think this has been a failure of our leaders, not understanding that forgiveness does not entail no consequence.  For each sin, there is a consequence, both temporal and corporal.  We cannot allow people to harm children.  They must be stopped.  Prison is a consequence.  It is reparation for the crimes.  God will deal with the souls, and I imagine if they did turn towards Him, the lowest level of purgatory would be appropriate, though I am not God.

We have two choices when it comes to this.  We can choose to be perfected here or we can choose to wait until the afterlife where we know God always extends mercy.  On this earth suffering is painful, but not as painful as purgatory after death.  For the pain of being perfected there is awful, though it is our greatest mercy.  Purgatory is mercy.  That is why they are the church Suffering, and we are the Church Militant.  We must fight the demons here and ask God to walk us to union with Him.  The great Saints knew this.  This is also why we must pray for those in purgatory daily.

I say to the shepherds who have been involved with unchaste behavior, breaking your vow of celibacy (or any of your vows for that matter), and also to those with abusive behavior, or with covering up abuse, REPENT NOW.  The suffering you will endure in reparation on earth will be nothing compared to being shown the state of your soul before God, and even if you choose to accept His mercy, the pain of perfection in the afterlife is harder than here.

If you do not repent, you are walking the whole church on her Passion.  You are inviting the world to persecute us.  And it is a consequence that would be deserved.  If you think you are in control and can cover things up, God will soon show you who is in charge.  He does this to all of us.

For the rest of us on this walk of Passion in the Church, welcome the transparency shedding light on the darkness.  A friend of mine used to say, “these things must come.”  They surely must if we want Resurrection.

“For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.  Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.” Luke 8:17-18

Remember, don’t leave Jesus because of Judas.  You can walk the Passion like Mary and John.  You may even hide a little bit like Peter and the rest of the Apostles, as I imagine this was a time of healing for them.  But never stop praying.  Pray for the good shepherds who will be persecuted, and for those who need to repent.  Never leave the Eucharistic Lord.  God can heal these wounds and bring us to Resurrection.  Mary didn’t stand at the foot of the Cross with a baseball bat swinging at people.  She stood trusting the Lord, and forgiving those who hid.  She, in her perfection, even forgave the leaders who crucified Him, because that’s what her Son did on the cross.

When Christ comes again, it will be when we all have had triumph over the devil, and the earth will be under Christ’s feet because it will be under all of ours.  This will create a new heaven and a new earth, the old passing away, and the restoration of how things were supposed to be in the beginning.  All things moving to restoration and union with God’s will. This crisis is God purifying all of us.   LORD HAVE MERCY ON US AND ON THE WHOLE WORLD.

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Our Lady Healer of Families – Part II

Posted on August 15, 2018 by veilofveronica

Our_Lady_of_Sorrows2

Trust in the Lord in the greatest moments of darkness like Mary did.   She said yes to a pregnancy that would have the world wanting to stone her and later standing at the foot of the cross watching love die, her obedience advocated for Resurrection.   Beacon of Hope interceed for us.

I am sickened at the vile reports of Priests and Bishops who abused and covered up the abuse of children.  I say expose the light on the evil that has been done. Let a light be shown on the evil in the church and let it be eradicated.

Today is the feast of the Assumption, one pure soul who was lifted to heaven Body and Soul.  But all I can think of is Our Lady of Sorrows and how much the church, and the world need healing.

I was waiting to print these prayers because I was waiting for an imprimatur from a Bishop.  I have sent the prayers to multiple Bishops, some over a year ago, and I have yet to hear back.  Some of you may remember my original post about this.

I am printing them today for two reasons, one, if there is a Bishop out there who can read it and tell me if these prayers are without error, that is something I am looking for.  Even in the midst of this crisis, I recognize the authority of the church, and I recognize that Satan wants to bring choas to the authority of the church, hence the reason he attacked Bishops and Priests so hard.  I know there are some good Bishops out there still, and if you are out there and you read this, can you let me know if it is without error?

Second, Our Lady gave me this title in prayer, “Our Lady healer of Families”.  It is so apparent now, that not only are our own domestic families hurting and dying, but so too is the church family.  The church needs to root out evil and heal.  She wants to intercede for us, and heal our church family.   She is the road map to Trust in the Lord.

The Litany was re-written to flow better than what was written before.  We have also added a novena.  I will post both prayers here now.  Our Lady Healer of Families, please heal our Church family.

UPDATE: WE NOW HAVE APPROVAL FROM OUR DIOCESE (May 13, 2021)

Litany of Our Lady Healer of Families

Lord, have mercy on us
Christ, have mercy on us
Lord, have mercy on us
Christ, hear us
Christ, graciously hear us 
God the Father of heaven,
have mercy on us

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy on us
Holy Trinity one God,
have mercy on us

Hail full of grace, Daughter of St. Anne and St. Joachim

Pray for us

Hail full of grace, Daughter of the LORD, the Great I AM

Pray for us

Hail full of grace, Daughter of the Creator of Heaven and Earth

Pray for us

Hail full of grace, Daughter of Adonai, the Lord God Almighty

Pray for us

Hail full of grace, Daughter of Abba, our Heavenly Father

Pray for us

Most devoted daughter
Pray for us
Most peaceful daughter
Pray for us
Most obedient daughter
Pray for us
Most modest daughter
Pray for us
Most pure daughter
Pray for us
Most joyful daughter
Pray for us
Most favored daughter
Pray for us

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you

Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus

Mary, Daughter of God the Father

Pray for us

Blessed are you, Spouse of St. Joseph

Pray for us

Blessed are you, Spouse of the Paraclete

Pray for us

Blessed are you, Spouse of the Consuming Fire

Pray for us

Blessed are you, Spouse of the Peaceful Dove

Pray for us

Blessed are you, Spouse of the Seal of Anointing

Pray for us

Most affectionate spouse
Pray for us                                                                                                                                                    Most humble spouse
Pray for us
Most loyal spouse
Pray for us
Most hopeful spouse
Pray for us
Most dedicated spouse
Pray for us
Most selfless spouse
Pray for us
Most merciful spouse
Pray for us

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you

Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus

Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit

Pray for us

Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus

Pray for us

Holy Mary, Mother of the Light of the World

Pray for us

Holy Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace

Pray for us

Holy Mary, Mother of the Lamb of God

Pray for us

Holy Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

Pray for us

Most prayerful mother
Pray for us
Most gentle mother
Pray for us
Most patient mother
Pray for us
Most gracious mother
Pray for us
Most encouraging mother
Pray for us
Most compassionate mother
Pray for us                                                                                                                  
Most accepting mother                                                                                                            Pray for us

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you

Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ
Pray for us

Our Lady Healer of Families, Daughter of God the Father,

bring an end to all heresies

Our Lady Healer of Families, Spouse of the Holy Spirit,

restore unity among all of humanity

Our Lady Healer of Families, Mother of Jesus Christ,

crush the head of Satan and lead all souls back to your Son

O Most Holy Trinity,

In our efforts to sow peace amongst the unrest

Unite us and heal us

In our efforts to offer forgiveness to those who offend

Unite us and heal us

In our efforts to sacrifice for one another

Unite us and heal us

In our efforts to love beyond measure

Unite us and heal us

In our efforts to trust in the midst of suffering

Unite us and heal us

In our efforts to proclaim the Truth in word and deed

Unite us and heal us

In our efforts to surrender our will to Yours

Unite us and heal us

Let us pray,

O Most Immaculate Virgin, Daughter of God the Father, Spouse of the Holy
Spirit, and Mother of Jesus Christ our Savior, you are the perfect example of
human relationship with the Divine Will. Help us, O Most Holy Mother, to
heal the broken bonds within our families, our friendships, and all our other
relationships. Help us to love others the way that Christ loves us with self-
sacrificing love. In particular, heal my relationship with (state intentions here).
Intercede for us O Holy Daughter, Spouse, and Mother, so that through the
mercy of God, the chains of division will be broken, uniting us once again as
you are ever united to the Most Holy Trinity. 

Our Lady Healer of Families, pray for us
We ask this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
 Amen.

OUR LADY HEALER OF FAMILIES 

NOVENA

Pray the following Our Lady Healer of Families prayer, the Memorare and an
optional Peace Rosary each day, along with the specific meditation for the day.

OUR LADY HEALER OF FAMILIES PRAYER

O Most Immaculate Virgin, Daughter of God the Father, Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
and Mother of Jesus Christ our Savior, you are the perfect example of human
relationship with the Divine Will. Help us, O Most Holy Mother, to heal the
broken bonds within our families, our friendships, and all our other relationships.
Help us to love others the way that Christ loves us with self-sacrificing love. In
particular, heal my relationship with (state intentions here). Intercede for us O
Holy Daughter, Spouse, and Mother, so that through the mercy of God, the chains
of division will be broken, uniting us once again as you are ever united to the Most
Holy Trinity. We ask this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.

DAY 1

DAUGHTER OF PURITY

“And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47)

Mary, you are a glowing light of purity and virtue for us to imitate. During your
life on earth, you remained pure in mind, body and spirit and the Holy Spirit would
find a holy dwelling place in you. Although you were predestined by the Father to
be free from the stain of original sin, you freely chose, in every moment, to live a
life of pure devotion to the Lord. It was love of the Lord that led you to choose
purity, because you knew that remaining in right relationship with the Lord would
allow you to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit in every moment.

Our Lady Healer of Families, we turn to you today to seek guidance for all of those
who are struggling with impurity. Through your immaculate heart, safeguard their
mind, body and spirit and protect them from all degradation, corruption and
temptation.  May their hearts be softened so that they may receive the love of the

Father in such a way that He may enrich their love of charity, chastity and right
belief. Daughter of Purity, it is always your desire to loosen the chains of sin in this
world in order to bring all souls into closer union with our Heavenly Father.
Encourage us now, through the grace of the Holy Trinity, to yearn evermore for
purity in our own lives and intercede for our loved ones in this same way. May we
remain in this grace so that we will turn to prayer in our weakness, avoid occasions
of impurity, be courageous in our practice of modesty, and keep a constant
vigilance over ourselves.
DAY 2

DAUGHTER OF HOLY OBEDIENCE
“For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.” (Luke 1:48a)

Mary, from the moment of your Immaculate Conception, you emulated Holy
Obedience to the Father. Each and every day you emptied yourself, becoming poor
in spirit, in order to fully receive the abundance of gifts that the Lord desired to
give to you. Not rejecting any request of the Father, you faithfully obeyed and
sacrificed your own plans and desires in order to allow the Father’s Will to be done
“on earth as it is in heaven”. In this complete surrender, you found true freedom
and as a result The Word was made flesh in your womb.

Our Lady Healer of Families, today we seek your intercession for all those with
hardened hearts. Where sin and shame have blocked the way to obedience in these
souls, we ask you to gently break down these barriers, soften hearts, and allow
these souls to truly taste the goodness of the Lord. May we too continually choose
to decrease, out of reverence and love of the Lord, so that He may increase in us
and use us to bring about His Kingdom in this broken world. Daughter of Holy
Obedience, let your example of tenderness always be our guide so that we may
more effectively lead others to Jesus.

DAY 3

DAUGHTER OF HUMILITY

“For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:48b)

Mary, O most humble of hearts, through your profound humility, the Lord looked
upon you with favor. You willingly offered all of yourself in humility and as a
result you became the Mother of God and all generations will call you blessed. By
surrendering your will to the Will of God, you allowed God to work through you in

a very powerful way and all of your deeds were done through the glory of His
name. It was through your tremendous humility, that you were exalted.

Our Lady Healer of Families, we seek your intercession for all those who struggle
with pride. We ask you to intercede for them so that they may not run away from
opportunities to exercise humility, but rather have the courage to use every
opportunity to examine themselves and embrace their need for continual
conversion of heart. Daughter of Humility, you know so well that when we attempt
to exalt ourselves, we will be humbled, but when we humble ourselves, we will be
exalted. Mary, pray for us to remain open to the hand of the Master Potter who
wants nothing more than to mold us into a beautiful work of art. May we receive
sufficient graces in order to choose humility each and every time it is being asked
of us.

DAY 4
SPOUSE OF FAITH

“For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1:49)

Mary, within the receptiveness of your heart lay the fertile soil in which the virtue
of faith flourished. Your love of the Father was deeply rooted in the living memory
of His fidelity to His chosen people. When the Angel Gabriel appeared to you, it
was your FIAT that ushered in the full union of your spirit with the Holy Spirit,
which brought about new life. At that moment, you chose to trust in the Will of
God even when the road ahead was unclear. Fidelity to the Holy Spirit does not
come easy; it is nevertheless filled with the same love and heartache, joy and
despair, pleasure and pain of all relationships. Mary, you graciously held onto the
unrest that faith requires, without trying to control or fix things yourself. You
placed your confidence in the Lord and in that complete surrender, your faith never
wavered.

Our Lady Healer of Families, we ask that you intercede for us today on behalf of
those who are struggling to remain faithful in their relationship with the Lord or in
their relationships with one another. As the world looks inward to self gratification
as a means of lasting happiness and peace, the need for fidelity to God and one
another has become scarce in the human heart. Spouse of Faith, remind us of the
salvific value of this virtue so that we may seek it from the Father, be renewed in
it, and live it out in our lives. May we draw strength and fortitude from the Holy
Spirit so that we may remain true to our relationships, always seeking forgiveness
and restoration in the name of unity.

DAY 5
SPOUSE OF UNITY

“And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.” (Luke 1:50)

Mary, your Immaculate Heart was perpetually united to the Holy Spirit in all
things, which allowed you to live in the fullness of the Divine Will. Through a life
devoted to the Lord, you remained united to the Holy Spirit in all things. You drew
others in by your mere presence, for it was Christ in you that they were
encountering in such a real and most profound way. Through your perfect union
with the Holy Spirit, you were able to connect very intimately and deeply with
others, drawing them ever closer to the Lord.

Our Lady Healer of Families, we beseech you today, to intercede on behalf of
those who are experiencing division in their relationships. Rekindle the Flame of
Love in them through the power of the Holy Spirit so that they may turn to the
Lord and experience complete healing of their wounds. Lord we all have been
wounded and you are the Divine Healer who unites and restores us to yourself and
to one another. Pour out your mercy upon us so that we may unselfishly seek the
good of others and begin to restore all of our broken relationships. Spouse of
Unity, you live now in Heaven in perfect union, body and soul, with the Holy
Trinity. Even so, your hand is ever-extended to your children here on earth,
interceding on our behalf, and like a good mother, placing yourself in perpetual
service to us in our need. May our lives become a model of your complete union
with the Holy Trinity.
DAY 6
SPOUSE OF HOPE

“He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.” (Luke 1:51)

Mary, full of the grace of God, you remained hopeful despite the many struggles
you endured. It was your steadfast confidence in God that allowed you to patiently
wait for the promise, in joyful hope, demonstrating your unending trust in the
power of the Holy Spirit. We too are called to this same heroic hope in our own
lives. When we cling to the hope of the resurrection, despite the challenges that
may ensue, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, bringing peace in the storm. It is this
virtuous hope that keeps us on the straight and narrow path, for it enriches our
hearts and leads us into closer union with the Father.

Our Lady Healer of Families, today we seek your intercession for all who are
struggling with despair and those who find it difficult or impossible to remain
hopeful. We pray that they receive the necessary grace to entrust their hearts to the
Lord, so that through each and every act of the will, the Holy Spirit may enliven
their soul with true and lasting peace, love and joy. Spouse of Hope, our human
nature desires immediate resolution, especially in times of struggle. We pray that
our hearts will be strengthened by heavenly hope, and as a result will receive the
gifts of peace and patience.
DAY 7 
MOTHER OF TRUTH

“He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree” (Luke 1:52)

Mary, you received prevenient grace from the Holy Spirit at your Immaculate
Conception. Free from original sin, you were able to see clearly and understand
fully the truth, so much so that the Truth itself became flesh within your womb.
With every thought, word and deed, your life was lived out in the fullness of the
Truth. Your cooperation with the Father in the redemption of the world, through
the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, is what we are all called to in
our own lives. May this truth always remain within us and may it fill our days with
wonder and awe of the Lord.

Our Lady Healer of Families, we ask that you wrap your mantle around all of your
children, leading them along the straight and narrow path of truth and goodness.
May we be surrounded by others whose words and deeds speak and live the
fullness of the truth. May the Holy Spirit pour out the gift of wisdom upon us,
anointing us with the fire of the love of God, so that we may share the truth with all
those we meet. Give us and those whom we lift up to you in prayer, the courage to
walk in the fullness of the truth, allowing the Spirit to renew in them their desire
for healing, holiness and righteousness.

DAY 8

MOTHER OF CHARITY

“He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.” (Luke 1:53)

Mary, you made space for the Spirit of God to live and dwell in you through the
perpetual surrender of your own desires. You lived in a state of hunger and thirst

for the Lord, which allowed you to fully receive the charity of the Father. This gift
of love was never contained by you for your own satisfaction or your own glory,
but instead it overflowed and poured out upon all those you encountered. During
your Son’s passion and death, the Divine Charity you received up until that
moment, you gave back to Jesus in the form of steadfast courageous compassion.
O Sorrowful Mother, you reveal to us what true charity looks like as you stand at
the foot of the cross.

Our Lady Healer of Families, today we seek your intercession for those who are
holding on to feelings of anger and unforgiveness, those whose hearts are
uncharitable. As the world glorifies judgement and revenge, we ask that you give
us an abundance of compassion so that we may reach out to others who are in need
of your mercy. May we turn to the Lord to find peace; the peace that we are so
desperately seeking, but that the world cannot give.  May our hearts be filled with
charity, so that the gifts of the Holy Spirit that the Lord wants to give to us will no
longer be blocked or covered over, but will be generously shared with our neighbor
in perfect harmony.

DAY 9

MOTHER OF MERCY

“He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our
fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.” (Luke 1:54-55)

Mary, you remained in right relationship with the Father throughout the entirety of
your life, humbling yourself before the Father and keeping your eyes fixed on Him
in all things. Your soul, so full of grace, allowed you to see the world and all of
creation, all of humanity, through the merciful eyes of Christ. This free and perfect
sharing of God’s love, brought about harmony and unity in all of your encounters.
Infused with the mercy of God, every choice you made, every thought and act of
your will, was done in union with the Merciful Father, thus it was all done with
great joy and love. Mary, you stand as a perfect witness to the freedom that comes
from being deeply rooted in Divine Mercy.

Our Lady Healer of Families, today we seek your intercession for all the souls who
are turning away from the mercy of God, as well as those who believe themselves
not to be worthy of His mercy.  Mother Mary, intercede for them at this time so
that whatever bitterness or unforgiveness they are carrying in their hearts may be
washed clean through the ocean of mercy that is available to each one of us
through Christ Jesus. Guide also the souls of those who measure their dignity by
the standards of the world. Help them to realize that their worth can only be seen

with full transparency through the eyes of God, who created them, designed them
in His image and likeness, poured out upon them an abundance of spiritual gifts,
and  has given them a purpose and destiny. Mother of Mercy, many of your
children are broken, they are tired, and they have wandered far away from your
Son. They are desperately yearning to feel the love of the Father in a real way.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, pour out Divine Mercy from the Father upon
them and lead them to your Son, who is Love and Mercy. May all of our deepest
desires be quenched by the source of everlasting life, who is Jesus Christ.

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The Accuser, The Advocate, The Just Judge and Mercy

Posted on August 14, 2018 by veilofveronica

Munkacsy_-_Christ_in_front_of_Pilate

My daughter, speak to priests about this inconceivable mercy of Mine. The flames of mercy are burning Me — clamoring to be spent; I want to keep pouring them out upon souls; souls just don’t want to believe in My goodness. 

Diary of Saint Faustina 177

 

I had a new catechist in my RCIA class tonight.  He went through RCIA a couple of years ago and he has kept on attending.  He is a lawyer by trade.  And he has a love for God in his heart.  He offered to help this year and the Holy Spirit told me it was time for him to speak.  The class he would be teaching was actually on the Holy Spirit.  Because that’s how God works.  We were completing a series of classes on the Trinity beginning with God the Father, then God the Son, and finally God the Holy Spirit.

The class was like a usual class.  He pointed out what Scripture and tradition have said and we had discussion in the class.  He was doing a fine job.  But I don’t think I was prepared for his story at the end of class.  It had us all listening intently.

He said in his life when it comes to the fuzziness or mystery of God, he tries to grasp at something tangible in life that he can relate it to.   He wanted to tell us his depiction of the Trinity.  Because he is a lawyer he said he came across many prostitutes and runaways in court.  He said they were not bad people, but just people who had gotten themselves into a bad situation.  He said this had him ponder God as Trinity, and how can God be both Justice and Mercy at the same time.  Then he told his analogy.

He said to picture that you are in a court room in Sinagpore, where caning is a regular punishment for crime.  He said to picture yourself there, as the defendant.   And you actually are guilty, you know you are because you did commit the crime.  Picture yourself in the center of the courtroom crying the ugly cry, the guilty cry.  Across from you is the Prosecutor.  This he said is The Accuser.  The Accuser tells you that you are no good.  You are guilty.  You can never be loved.

On one side of you is your Advocate.  The Advocate whispers in a still small voice in your ear that you are loved.  Remember the Holy Spirit is your Advocate.  Jesus stands on the other side of you, they cry with you.  The Father also cries.  He is the just judge but he cries for you.

You confess.  You are guilty.  You are sorry.  The judge, in order to be just, has to exact the punishment.  In the case of sin, handing you over to the accuser, to be caned.  Justice demands it.  But Mercy steps in.  Jesus covers over your body as the caning begins.  You don’t feel the caning because mercy has stepped in.  Thus God is both Justice and Mercy.  The punishment still exacted, but on the Son, and not you.   Justice and Mercy both at the same time.  The Just judge loves you so much that He sent His only Son to receive the Justice meant for you, and mercy pours over you, the contrite and humbled sinner.

Imagine if you will, that you reject God.  You decide you don’t need an Advocate, you don’t need mercy.  You feel justified in your sin.  You will defend yourself and your rightness.  You stand alone in the Pride of your sin justifying what you have done.  This time the Advocate, the Just Judge, and Mercy wait for your invitation.  They call out to you but you say no, I can do this on my own.  The Just judge will still exact the punishment because you are still guilty.  But this time, because you have rejected mercy of your own free will, you have no one to cover you when the caning begins.  You have left mercy out of your life and you have handed yourself over to the Accuser.  The Just Judge only doing exactly what you asked.

That my friends is what happens when we don’t examine our conscience and turn to God in all humility and ask for Him to help us.  God wants to pour oceans of mercy upon us, we just have to say yes to it.  Admit our failings, and mercy will save us.  This is why we pray, Lord have mercy.

 

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The Tragedy of Scandal

Posted on August 5, 2018 by veilofveronica

jesus-prayer-09

“The road to hell is paved with the skulls of erring priests, with bishops as their signposts.”
St. John Chrysostom attributed

 

I just wanted to say a few words about the breaking scandals in the church.  From the one with Cardinal McCarrick, to the Pennsylvania situation, all I can say is my heart is broken, though I am not surprised.

“Scandal” comes from the Greek word skandalon.  It’s essence is that it is a trap.  Something that causes you to fall down while trying to walk with Jesus.  This is why what church authority has done is SUCH A SCANDAL.  It has caused the flock to fall because it has caused the flock members to leave the church.  It has caused the flock and society to question even good and holy Priests who had nothing to do with abuse.  It is a tragedy.

When I think about it words like “horrified” come to my mind.  An anger rages inside of me.  How can we remain faithful when those whose care we are entrusted to abuse us?  The answer of course lies in Christ Jesus.  He is who we keep our eyes on.

The other day while at work I had a stunning moment with the Lord.  I can only describe it as feeling like I was taken to the Garden of Gethsemane to the precise point where Christ fell on his face and stated;  “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39).   The feeling I was given was that Christ was not imploring the Father to stop His physical pain, but to stop seeing OUR SIN.   Like the moment Christ was shown by the Father that our Shepherds would abuse children and adults, and all of the worlds other sins, THAT WAS TOO MUCH.  Specifically sexually abusive Priests and Bishops were shown to me as ripping people’s souls out.  What I felt I was shown was that it was seeing all of this that prompted him to speak.  That is the cup he wanted to pass.  And he would endure the physical pain to give us victory over these sins.  But here we are 2000 years later in a deep abyss clinging to sin and not having victory over the devil.  Some Church authorities have handed themselves to the devil, and the “smoke of Satan” has entered the church. The sorrow I felt in this moment with the Lord was so immense and intense I broke down crying.  I couldn’t contain the sorrow.  What have we done?  We continue to scourge, spit in His face, and crucify our Lord Jesus Christ.  He has not abandoned us.  Sinful men have abandoned Him.  And just as Christ died for the man who was nailing him to the cross, Christ too died for those abusers.  Let us pray with all of our might that they repent and return to the Gospel.  Let us also pray for complete and total healing of all those abused who have borne the brunt of this tragedy.

For all of us, all I can say is, Keep your eyes on HIM.  Do not be fooled, this is the Passion of the Church.  And just like Jesus exposed the leaders of His time, He is exposing those of our time too.  Justice will be HIS.  We must remember though, don’t leave Jesus because of Judas.  The church with all her flaws contains the bread of everlasting life.  The Eucharist.  It is said that Judas stopped believing when Jesus gave the bread of life discourse.  It is precisely in the Eucharistic Lord that we will find the gates of hell shall not prevail.

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Marriage and the Water Mill

Posted on July 21, 2018 by veilofveronica

Water Mill

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

 

As I was walking this morning and praying, talking to God, as I often do, an image kept popping into my mind.  It was the image of a Water Mill.  As you all know a a water mill uses hydropower.  It uses a water wheel to drive a mechanical process to produce the energy which can create milling, rolling or hammering.   This process enables the water mill to produce material goods like flour, lumber, paper, textiles, etc.  In other words, a water mill can service a great number of people with things they need to live.

In the bible we often hear of living water.  So the mill totally made sense to me as something God would show me.  When he pours living water on us, we are the wheel and we accept and receive it, the wheel produces energy, beautiful energy that services a great many people.  So the living water received in us can make us a light in a dark world.  Conversely, if we fight the living water poured over us, it is like something clogs the wheel.  When we try to do things of our own accord without God the wheel can actually become overwhelmed and feel crushed under the weight of the water.  God can be trying to pour into us, but we are blocking it and it feels like a fight instead of a free flow of beauty.  But God was telling me more than that.

He was talking to me about marriage.  The same analogy is true of marriage.  If I, as a wife, pour life, pour living water, into my husband it can make his wheel churn with great energy.  Conversely if he does the same for me, together we can be fierce in our service of each other, our children, and others.  This is because we accept each other’s strengths and weaknesses and we work together instead of against each other.  My husband is a detail man.  I am a big picture woman, when we pour into each other we accomplish a lot.  When we don’t well….let’s just say things don’t go well.

If I as a wife constantly clog my husbands wheel with criticism or resentment and bitterness, his wheel gets stuck, and the water overwhelms.  This is not what God intended.  In our society we see so much pitting of men against women, and so little cooperation.

I posted the verse above because everyone always thinks it’s controversial.  Telling a wife to be subordinate or submit to her husband.  And throughout history we have seen men abuse women and women bear the brunt of this abuse and trauma.  So much so that the bitterness and resentment has bubbled up and we see a man-hating spirit in women today.  Men have been whispered too as well, there’s a woman-hating spirit that spawned the abuse of women.   That man-hating spirit is whispering lies to women, and the woman hating spirit whispers lies to men because the devil wants nothing more than to break down the family.

But if you read that verse, I mean really read it, it is actually a thing of beauty.  Saint Paul is saying to be subordinate to one another, that means work together.  But he does go on to say that wives should be subordinate to their husbands.  Other translations use the word submit.  So I asked myself, what am I subordinate to?  What is he asking me to submit to by saying submit to my husband?  And the answer lies in what follows.  The husband is to be like Christ.  To love his wife like Christ loves the church.  How did Christ love the church?  He died for her.  Yes, Amen, I will submit to that.  I will be under that mission.  My husband is to love me like this;

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 

My husbands love should sanctify me, help me get to heaven where I am holy and without blemish.  This command was given to the man. Yes! Please!  Absolutely I will be subordinate to that.  And the best way for my husband to be able to do this for me is for me to pour living water into his wheel.  And I can’t pour into him if I am bitter and resentful.  Being a light in the darkness actually starts in our own hearts, spreads to our own family, then to community, then to the nation.  Do you see why the Domestic Church is so important?  If I accept my husbands attention to detail as part of who he is, and help him flourish it, combine that with his pouring into me, accepting that I am a big picture person the way God made me, our wheels can turn with living water together instead of against one another and we become a powerhouse, that lights our own home, and extends to our community.  This is why it is so important for each of us to work on our own interior and examine our own conscience.  We cannot force others to change, but we can let God change us.  We can forgive all debts, especially those committed by our spouse.  This is why the Domestic Church contains Divine Mercy.   Because it is most especially in our marriages that forgiveness is needed.  Forgiveness is the key to permanence.

We must recognize the demons from our past, and from our spouses past that whisper lies to us and don’t allow us to truly live in the light of Christ.  When we believe the lies of the devil we are only able to partially give of ourselves and it isn’t fully what Christ intended.  We become limited by the demons and are unable to receive the gifts God wants to give.  But by forgiving we shut the door on the demons and break down the walls between us and our spouse, and this then extends to others as well.   When people see the light in you, eventually, in God’s time, others will want what you are giving and receiving.  And the world changes one heart at a time.

Lord Jesus, grant that I and my spouse may have a true and understanding love for each other. Grant that we may both be filled with faith and trust. Give us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony. May we always bear with one another’s weaknesses and grow from each other’s strengths. Help us to forgive one another’s failings and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness and the spirit of placing the well-being of one another ahead of self. 

May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year. Bring us both ever closer to You through our love for each other. Let our love grow to perfection. Amen.

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Divorce, Abortion, Divine Mercy and the Womb

Posted on July 20, 2018 by veilofveronica

baby in womb

“The mystery of God’s maternal love is expressed with particular power in the Hebrew word, rahamim.  Etymologically, this word means “womb” but was later used to mean divine compassion for man, God’s mercy.” – Jesus of Nazareth: Part I Pope Benedict XVI

As I sat with my pregnant friend Ashley who is nearing her due date for her baby son, I pondered the baby in utero.  Remembering my own pregnancies, listening to the heartbeat of my children on the sonogram, in which I could also sometimes hear my own heartbeat.  It occurred to me that when the baby’s heart first starts beating, the heart rate is similar to that of the mother. And Jesus showed me my heart beating in unison with his.

Then another image came to me.  The baby in the womb is immersed in blood and water provided by the mother’s body.  And I remembered the words of Pope Benedict above, and how the word womb came to be known as God’s mercy.

The family, the domestic church, is all about God’s Divine mercy.  When a baby enters the world, covered in the blood and water of his mother, and created with the DNA of both his mother and father, he enters with God’s intention of sending him into the loving arms of that mother and father.  A communion that started at conception and was meant to continue all the days of our lives. But Satan brought death and disorder to this union.

Eve was formed from the side of Adam, so from the beginning woman was formed from man.  She was created with the cooperation of Adam and God and given as a gift, body and soul. As with any gift from God, when recognized fully as such, one is moved by immense gratitude, which draws love for the giver.  God the Father, out of love for Adam, gives the gift of Eve. This gift is created out of charity and is the fruit of that love. It is through Adam’s recognition of the gift that he is able to express his love and gratitude to God.

Then God gave the man and woman a role to play in His creative work by giving them the gift of creating new life, from which only God had done on his own previously. This gift is an intimate cooperation with God… man, woman, and God are all needed to create and breathe new life into a child.  This gift was recognized by Adam and Eve and allowed them to express their love and gratitude to God. Thus with each creative and unitive act, man, woman and God are all present.

But listening to the lies of Satan we have distorted, and destroyed what God gave as beautiful.  It started when the gift of this intimate union between man, woman and God ceased to be recognized as gift from the divine giver.  It started at the fall, when they blamed each other.  In our modern culture the sexual revolution coerced men and women to ungratefully take God’s gift and claim it as their own “right”.  Without recognition of the gift or the divine giver, men and women were then unable to express their love to God through this gift. They were unable to be grateful to the giver for this divine union that He has not only given them, but through which he promised to be present within.  

Among other things, this led to the destruction of marriages and the social acceptance of divorce.  Even Moses had laws of divorce, yet look how much more we as a culture have embraced divorce. We have also embraced premarital sex, so a woman may be left alone, not in communion with a spouse when a new life is created within her womb. God does not cease being the giver of new life. He does not cease being fully present in the intimate union between man and woman. No matter if we recognize the gift as such or not, God is the Divine giver.  And His gift is twofold by allowing man and woman a participation in His creative and unitive work, and also through the creation of new life, the new body in the mother’s womb. This is why Christ said; 

He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss [her]?” He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.”        Matthew 19:4-9

The fruit of divorce and pre-marital sex, where a woman is left alone creates a situation where everyone is fending for themselves and not looking out for the other.  It is disunity not unity.  It culminates when a women then, in turn can say today, “this is my body”. But the baby’s body is not her own, for it is distinct and separate from the woman’s body. At the moment of conception the new life begins to grow and develop of its own accord. At first this new life is completely reliant on the mother’s body in order to survive, but over the course of time it develops its own functionality. Then at the time of birth the new life is strong enough to completely separate itself and survive on its own. This reminds me of the parable of the growing seed.

He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” -Mark 4:26-29

Much like the farmer in this parable who scatters seed upon the earth, when man participates with God and woman in the intimate sexual act, the seed he scatters on fertile ground will yield new life. Jesus further explains through this parable that this seed then sprouts and grows on its own, without the farmer having to do anything.  The farmer does not know how the seed grows, but it almost mysteriously does. The gift from God to Adam and Eve was for man and woman to be involved in the intimate and unitive act of God’s work of creating new life. Once this new life is created it becomes its own entity that mysteriously sprouts and grows on its own accord.

Today we hear the argument that the child in the mother’s womb IS the mother’s body. She has the “right” to do what she wishes with her body.  But the new life within the mother’s womb, although required her participation to create, at the moment of conception ceases to be her own possession, but instead becomes its own entity, sprouting and growing on its own. With this, we must recognize that not only are our bodies a gift from God, but so too the baby in the mother’s womb is also a gift from God.  The question then becomes do we recognize this gift? Only when we do are will able to then express our love and gratitude to the divine giver. Without the recognition by man and woman of this gift, the mercy of God continues to be rejected.

God sent his only Son in humility taking on the body we were given.  God in the womb of a human being, the Blessed Mother Mary. Jesus, Divine Mercy Himself, was a fetus that was at the mercy of his Mother, his foster father Joseph, and his society.  A mother, not yet married, trusting the Angel Gabriel. A foster-father, who had mercy on his betrothed and listened to the will of God. A society that would have killed her and her baby if the two of them had not cooperated with God and with each other.  And so Divine Mercy was born.

And he proclaimed, “this is my body given up for you,” showing us how to restore communion.  And from that Divine Mercy, blood and water poured out from his side on the cross, and just as Eve had been created from the side of Adam, the church was created from the side of God on the Cross.  The church, the bride of Christ, and the Mystical Body, brought forth to restore communion. Restore communion with God and with one another. Leaving us His very DNA in the Mass, so we can run into the loving arms of the Father.   He came to show us how to sacrifice for one another and have communion again.  This is why we must defend life. If we cannot recognize life and children as a gift and instead look at them as property rights and commodities, our society will continue to deteriorate because we are not grateful for the gift.  Ungratefulness wreaks destruction.  It rejects Divine Mercy.  Pray for marriage and families.  Pray for the unborn.  This post is not meant as a judgment on those who have committed these sins, but rather a call to turn back to your loving Creator and be grateful.  Remember, no matter your past, He can make all things new.  That’s Divine Mercy.

 

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