Pay Attention to the Dogs

Posted on November 12, 2024 by veilofveronica
Rosie Skinner June 23, 2014 – July 11, 2022

‘The Saints are exceedingly loving and gentle to mankind and even to brute beasts… Surely we ought to show them great kindness and gentleness for many reasons, but above all, because they are the same origin as ourselves.’ – Saint John Chrysostom

Some of you may remember that back in 2018 I went to Medjugorje and heard the Lord tell me to, “Pay attention to the dogs.” The town has dogs that are walking around everywhere and when I heard the Lord say this, I saw a dog and followed it. The dog took me into a large field where I witnessed the sun dance.

Medjugorje 2018 – Miracle of the Sun with dog in field down below

Now I am one of those people who does not like it when people treat animals like children because I think there is a disorder to that, and disorder brings about chaos. I also know scripturally dogs can symbolize something bad or something good, but I think most dog owners know there is a loyalty and companionship a dog can bring to your home. And, like Saint John Chrysostom says we ought to show them great kindness and gentleness because God is their creator.

Many of the great Saints had a love for dogs. Saint Roch had a dog that so loved him when he was banished that the dog brought him bread every day. Saint Bernard kept and trained large dogs to care for pilgrims who were trying to get to Rome and for this reason there is an entire breed of dogs named after him. Saint Dominic is depicted with a dog because of his mother’s dream. The list goes on.

You may also remember that I had an incident with my dog Rosie back in 2019 where she bit my neighbor and how upset I was. The incident actually helped me to realize false expectations that I had and not to put my expectations on God. The incident had upset me so much because I felt that God had picked this dog out for me, and I called her my “God dog” and I couldn’t understand why God would pick a dog for me who would bite someone, so I questioned myself and what I heard. After this we sought further training for our dog, and she got substantially better over the course of the next year. She was a faithful companion to me, always by my side. She was especially good to my mom and dad who lived with me. When dad would pet her, it would bring him a quiet calm.

Mom and Dad and Rosie 2020

In 2021 and 2022 you may recall that there was much suffering happening in my life and in my home (as I am sure many of you have suffered a lot). The summer of 2022 I was at a breaking point, I had not only severely thrown out my back, I got that demonic sickness COVID, which though my family members did too, including my high-risk mother, only I got it multiple times and was very sick and I didn’t think I could take much more. I knew I had prayed to be humbled and to have my concupiscence crushed and that was certainly happening, but I also came to the conclusion that I was being cursed as there were strange things happening that I won’t go into here.

I remember sitting in church and praying curse breaking prayers. I had a Priest come to my home and re-bless it and me and my family. And a funny thing happened, my dog Rosie got really sick really fast and passed away.

At first I thought, “what in the world, another huge suffering”. But the Lord spoke to me with a bible verse that said;

“And he said to them, ‘Go!’ So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters”. Matthew 8:32

And the Lord said, “she is your God dog.” And though I was tremendously sad about losing her, I also felt she helped spare me. And I was grateful. My sweet Rosie was used by God to help to rid my home of what had been plaguing it. Though I don’t always understand Gods ways, I do trust Him and that His promises are true. It is bittersweet, but I am more confident than ever in the goodness of God. She passed away almost one full year after the death of my Father. Hindsight always brings more clarity and in looking back I can see God’s hand in all things, and I know how much He loves me.

The fact that she was born on the eve of the Nativity of John the Baptist and died on the Feast of Saint Benedict was not lost on me. I am forever grateful to have had her. I keep her paw print in my peaceful place as a remembrance of the blessings God sends our way.

Because these loyal creatures have been such a blessing to my family we ventured back into dog ownership during Christmas of 2023. Our new sweet girl was born October 1, 2023 the feast of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. She is vastly different from Rosie but just as sweet (except when she is digging up the yard). She is full of life and is the most excited to see me when I come home. She has brought a lot of much needed joy to our household.

Cocoa Louise Puff Skinner

I know the world has some heavy things going on but let us not forget to enjoy the little things and the creatures God created who are loyal and loving companions. I am once again heading to Medjugorje in May, this time with my husband and I can’t wait to show him the town and all the dogs. And for the rest of you out there remember, “pay attention to the dogs.”

God Bless all of you.

Prayer To St. Benedict

O glorious St. Benedict, 

sublime model of all virtues,

pure vessel of God’s grace! 

Behold me, humbly kneeling at thy feet. 

I implore thy loving heart to pray for me (and my pet N_______) before the throne of God. 

To thee I have recourse in all the dangers which daily surround me. 

Shield me against my enemies, inspire me to imitate thee in all things. 

May thy blessing be with me always, so that I may shun whatever God forbids 

and avoid the occasions of sin.

Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces of which I stand so much in need,  in the trials, miseries and afflictions of life. 

Thy heart was always so full of love, compassion, and mercy 

towards those who were afflicted or troubled in any way. 

Thou didst never dismiss without consolation and assistance any one who had re-course to thee. 

I therefore invoke thy powerful intercession,

 in the confident hope that thou wilt hear my prayers and obtain for me the special grace and favor I so earnestly implore (mention it), if it be for the greater glory of God and the welfare of my soul.

Help me, O great St. Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to be ever submissive to His holy will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen.

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.

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Pantocrator

Posted on November 9, 2024 by veilofveronica
Jesus Christ Pantocrator – Istanbul

…before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice – Diary of Saint Faustina 1146

Before I begin what I want to write about today, I just want to say, pray for a peaceful transition in America. Pray for total conversion of all of our leaders. Pray that the prophecy of the Hermit of Loreto in the 1980’s is true.

Recently I joined a new ladies group to pray with. About two weeks ago the leader led us through a meditation where we were to picture sitting across from Jesus and letting Him love us as we spoke to Him.

When I closed my eyes, rather than seeing myself and Jesus in a picturesque meadow, I instead saw this;

And the Lord called me by a heavenly name and simply said, “Are you ready to enter the tomb?”

I did not know what He meant so I spent the next few days asking Him what He meant.

In addition to asking Him what He meant, I began the 24 hours of the Passion by Louisa Piccareta, a devotion I have prayed many times before, because the image I saw in prayer is the image on the front of the book. Over the course of the weeks, I began to be shown my motivations and reactions to people and events. I was slightly horrified. Though outwardly I don’t display a lot of what I desire, inwardly the Lord showed me these motivations, desires and reactions when I am in specific situations. And He asked me, “is your motivation love?“

I started to see my disordered desires in a much clearer light than I ever had before;

I desired to be seen.

I desired to be loved.

I desired to be consulted.

The list went on. You can basically go down the Litany of Humility and though I have prayed it 1000 times, when the Lord shows you the core of your soul and what is really going on, it stops you in your tracks and redirects you. I told the Lord I want my motivation, my desires, and my reactions, both interiorly and exteriorly, to come solely from the Love of God. I told Him this is my deepest desire.

“Are you ready to enter the tomb?”

It made more sense in light of what I had been shown. I must let these things die in me.

Carravagio – The Entombment of Christ

I wanted all my sin and imperfections to enter into that tomb so I can be transformed into love. I went to adoration and the Lord spoke to me. I will share here what I wrote in my journal. As always, if what I have written the church says is wrong, then the church is correct and I am wrong.

November 8, 2024

Beloved Lily of the Father (redacted),

I want to speak to you about detachment.  Have no investment in the things of this world even if they may seem spiritual.

I seek for you to walk in love, unoffended, confident in your own identity in ME. A temple of my glory.  It does not look the way the world looks. My house is in you.  Become a house of prayer, so fortified that all thieves are tossed out.  I love you, you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

Col. 2

– Your Divine Spouse

God wants me unoffended. Can you imagine what it would be like to live unoffended? Especially in today’s day and age? My desires, motivations and reactions, not just my outward ones, but my inward ones need to change. It is to the human mind, an irrational peace, a confident identity, and it surpasses understanding.

So, as I pondered all of this last night, I read the 7th hour of the Passion and I went to bed. And then, I had a dream.

In the dream I was in a church that had Christ the Pantocrator in it. I started out in Mass but I was kicked outside. I missed the readings. I was then ushered by someone around the side of the church and there was a line of people and a lay Eucharistic Minister who was holding the chalice of the Precious Blood. I was last in line, I went to receive and I heard a voice tell me to drink all of it. It was white wine that had be transubstantiated which I found strange. I know this can be used, but where I go to Mass it usually isn’t. I also don’t usually receive from the chalice because I don’t want to abuse Christ and I have seen it spilled so many times. So all of this was very unusual in the dream. But in the dream I drank all of the Precious Blood in the chalice. I then heard the word “Pantocrator” and I woke up and I woke up just knowing – this is all about the Illumination of Conscience and possibly the 3 days of darkness.

Because in the Roman Church Pantocrator is not something we speak about often, I had to look it up when I woke up. I found out that it is on the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the tomb of Jesus is.

Dome in Church of Holy Sepulchre

I also found out that the term is used 9 times in the book of Revelation and that it is translated as Almighty or All Powerful and is considered a representation of the Judge of Humanity. And it is here that I realized how hard an Illumination of Conscience would be and that I should write this to help prepare for it. When I saw all my disordered motivations, reactions and desires, I saw just how far away I was, and we all are, from the perfect charity God desires.

God desires love in everything, exteriorly and interiorly. I felt like when I went to Mass and heard today’s readings that God was confirming what I was being shown. I even noticed that my Magnificat daily readings booklet had the Pantocrator in the back of it.

Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). When an illumination of Conscience happens, we will be shocked at how far away we are from God, but don’t hold on to that; Look up and be grateful and receive God’s mercy. God desires to give us unfathomable mercy. I know in the core of my soul that God desires to elevate us and fill us with Himself. We are to become mini-Christ’s. ICXC

May God Bless you all.

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On Election Day… please remember

Posted on November 5, 2024 by veilofveronica
The Body Politic
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Catholic Art Institute

Posted on October 24, 2024 by veilofveronica

Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God” Saint John Paul II

You all have heard me talk before about my cousin, Kathleen Carr. She is the President of the Catholic Art Institute. She is the one that taught me about truth, goodness and beauty. She works to restore the sacred in our art and in our churches.

She just held a very successful conference in Washington, DC that highlighted why beauty is so needed.

Now you all know that I don’t ask for money usually on this blog. I don’t even have advertising on the blog. But I would like to make a plea to you. The Institute is about $12,000 shy of their fundraising goal to do the work that needs to be done. I know you are probably sick of people asking for money, and art is not at the top of everyone’s list, but I am asking because I believe it is important. And I believe in the work of the Catholic Art Institute. If everyone who read this blog donated $5, it would help tremendously. If anyone out there has a heart for Sacred Art and would like to see it brought back, please consider donating.

You can donate by clicking here.

If you can’t donate, please pray for the success of the Institute. I appreciate all of you and God Bless you.

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An Interview with Susan Skinner

Posted on October 23, 2024 by veilofveronica
Altobello Melone – The Road to Emmaus, c. 1516–17

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30

Andrew Jacoby from Good Shepherd Staffing interviewed me for his podcast. Many of you have heard my story before, but for those who haven’t I hope this gives you hope.

Pardon my shaky camera, the computer was on my lap. Also, When speaking of Mother Teresa, I misspoke and said most Saints don’t go through darkness – I meant for as long as Mother Teresa had. The Saints definitely go through darkness.

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.

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Transubstantiation

Posted on October 10, 2024 by veilofveronica

Almighty ever living God, who in the abundance of your kindness surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you, pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreds and to give what prayer does not dare to ask. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Mass Thursday, October 10, 2024

I want to relay to you my prayer for the past few days. On Monday, October 7, 2024, which also happened to be my 24th wedding anniversary, I went to Mass like I usually try to do daily. During the Eucharistic prayers as I closed my eyes to pray and the Lord led me to envision Pentecost. I could see the Apostles, the women, and Mary in the Upper Room. Mary is rapt in light. This is the exact same way I pictured her at the Nativity of Our Lord. She is again about to give birth, but this time, as a mediatrix of all graces, to a Mystical Union. Filled with total grace without hinderance, having stood at the cross, and witnessed the Resurrection, she is elevated in perfect union with the Holy Spirit, her spouse, so the grace can flow through her to be born fully in the Apostles and women in the room. I saw waves of light from Mary, and there was the driving wind. Tongues as of fire come down as if to speak of the full FIAT of all present in the room. The FIAT that while once spoken in spiritual youth that says yes in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, to love and cherish in long life or short, in success or failure, crucifixion or resurrection, is brought to the fruition of a mature and unbreakable love. It truly is a movement from the wedding feast to the first born Mystical Incarnation which carries on the love of the actual Incarnation. And God’s Will is done on earth through these first Apostles of the Church. It was stunningly beautiful to see and as often happens to me in Mass, tears rolled down my face.

I know with a deep knowing that God wants this for all of us. But the Spiritual journey is just that, a journey, and so God is patient with us as we mature. Too often, we don’t mature, and the world spins out of control, so for those of us with eyes to see and ears to hear, I want to speak in a moment of what today’s Collect said we dare not ask.

On October 8, I was praying with Mark 10:46-52. It is the story of Bartimaeus the blind man. Jesus asks him a question;

“What do you want me to do for you?”

I stopped at this question because recently in my prayer I have felt God tell me that I expect too much of people and not enough of Him and I needed to reset my expectations and ask big of him. It was then that another prayer I pray almost daily for reparation came into my mind;

In union with the whole church, by the hearts of Mary and of Joseph all burning with love, and in the name of all men, I salute Thee, I adore Thee, and I love Thee, O Jesus of Nazareth! King of the Jews, full of meekness and humility, of grace and of truth. Mercy and Justice are with Thee; love is thy substance; Thou are the Christ, the only Son of the living God, and the blessed fruit of the womb of the glorious Virgin Mary.

O Jesus! Good Shepherd, who has given Thy life for Thy sheep, by all Thy sacred wounds, Thy precious blood, Thy divine tears and beloved sweat, by all the sighs, the groans, the sorrows, the love, the merit of the 33 years of Thy holy life, enclosed in the ineffable sanctuary of Thy most loving Heart, have pity on us poor and miserable sinners; convert all the blasphemers and profaners of the holy day of Sunday, and give us a share in Thy Divine merits, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (by Venerable Leon Papin Dupont, the Holy Man of Tours – Pray 3 times to honor His Divine Life, His Glorious Life, and His Mortal Life.)

So while I was pondering the question of what I wanted Christ to do for me, I remembered the line from this prayer – love is Thy substance. And I said, “Lord, I want you to make love my substance, transubstantiate me.”

As the words came out of my mouth, I almost gasped. This is something I dare not ask. I was asking to have what happens on the altar at Mass to happen to me (albeit in a different way). I was asking to make my will the same as the Will of the Father and to transubstantiate me, that is to say, change my substance to love. I paused and I told the Lord, I meant it. I wondered if this was okay to do. I know that I will actually become more of who I am supposed to be if this were to happen and I operated in the Will of God always – it would be a huge outpouring.

Fast forward to today and I was in adoration reading, An Introduction to Living in the Divine Will by Daniel O’Connor, and imagine my surprise when I came across this quote from Saint Faustina;

I said, “Do with me as you please. I subject myself to Your will. As of today your holy will shall be my nourishment”… I was then extraordinarily fused with God…. A great mystery took place during that adoration, a mystery between the Lord and myself… At that moment I felt transconsecrated. My earthly body was the same, but my soul was different; God was now living in it with the totality of His delight. This is not a feeling, but a conscious reality that nothing can obscure (136-137) {O’Connor page 26}

I actually sat there stunned. Though the word she used, transconsecrate, was not exactly the same as mine, transubstantiate, they essentially mean the same thing. We want love to be our substance.

I actually didn’t want to write this post, but I am telling you this because perhaps we should dare to pray for big things. I think we don’t dare because we know we don’t deserve it. We know we don’t deserve to be restored with all the sin we have committed, but God wills our restoration. Jesus said we would do greater things than even Him (John 14:12). I do believe that God wants the fulfillment of the prayer Jesus taught us. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God gives generously but we should know this happens in His time not ours.

We live in a world where there is an abject lack of Spiritual maturity, but I believe God will illuminate us, and I pray for Him to do so. The Lord desires for us to live as they lived at Pentecost, without fear and with full love of God and neighbor, knowing always the goodness of God.

As we navigate the world of wars, hurricanes, lies and confusion, remember to always keep your eyes on Jesus, consecrate yourself to Mary through whom all graces flow, and ask big of God because He is bigger than you can fathom.

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.

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Of Dreams and Preparedness and Prophecy

Posted on October 6, 2024 by veilofveronica
Church of Sout Wingfield, Derbyshire, flooded in December 22, 2012

In the night on September 19, 2024, I had a dream. In the dream I was in a sparsely attended church. It was as if almost all, save a few, parishioners had left. The Priest was saying Mass and suddenly the church began to flood. As the flood waters rose, he just kept saying Mass. A few more people left but some stayed including myself. I did not feel scared. This is unusual for me. But I had a feeling of complete peace, and I knew I needed to stay even as others left. As I waded through the water which was up to my chest and rising, I was the last to receive communion. There were a lot of Eucharistic hosts left, as the amount consecrated was for the people who used to be there but had gone. The Priest put all of them in my mouth. My mouth was filled. (Keep in mind this is a dream and I know it wouldn’t actually be allowed for me to receive all of those, this was a spiritual message). As I received, the Priest pointed to the chalice and asked me to rescue it as at this point the altar was almost covered. I was up to my neck in water and began to wade towards the altar to get the chalice. Then I woke up.

I realized this dream actually seems like what is happening in the world and the church today. As storms seem to surround us, the message was clear. Keep your eyes, your hunger, your thirst, your heart, on Jesus, and you will be filled with overflowing grace.

Imagine my surprise when Hurricane Helene hit just 8 days after my dream and just a few short hours from where I live. In August I had traveled to East Tennessee near the border of Western North Carolina, the very place that was hit so hard and is experiencing a desolation that has been predicted for our entire country.

It is here that I want to pause and speak about some uncomfortable things, about prophecy and also conspiracy theories. Now first let me say that I realize that prophecy is valuable and that conspiracy theories can and have been actually true. But there’s a phenomenon I see that is distracting people from their purpose. It’s as if when we think we “know” something it fills us with a measure of seeming control.

For those of us who have been paying attention to the signs of the times, we “know” something is coming. Many of us have prepared our homes. But the danger comes in when we think we can control things and we let our prepping and our “knowledge” of prophecy blind us to our first priority, which is love of God and love of neighbor.

I can say having spent time in the mountains nobody is more “prepped” than people who live there and know how to live off grid. But when those flood waters came, no matter how much you had prepped and stocked up, it was all washed away in an instant.

There was a small child though who was prepped in the way that God asks us to be. His name was Micah. When the flood waters came for Micah and swept him away, Micah called out for Jesus and asked to be saved. The Jesus I know came through, even as his lifeless body was found later. He was prepared to enter the Kingdom. It is fitting that today’s Gospel speaks of Jesus calling the little children.

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16

Similarly one of my close friends had her 11 year old son come to her one morning and ask her for a purple scapular. My friend had never heard of this but looked it up and saw that it was for protection from storms. Typically, it is placed on the wall of your home but her son wanted to wear it to his music conservatory. He was adamant that he do so. His mother agreed to let him wear it. That same day a tornado came through and seemed to skip over the conservatory where her son wore his purple scapular. It touched down less than a mile away.

Though in these stories one boy lived and one boy passed away, both boys were prepared with faith. The purple scapular was not a magic talisman, but it was an item that God allowed grace to flow through because of the belief of a child and the promises God makes. The other boy, though it’s tragically sad for us, was trained to know who his Savior is and I have no doubt he is in happiness that we cannot fathom.

The point I am trying to make is that we really have very little control when it comes to the big things we are facing. If we think we “know” the mind of God and we set ourselves up to save ourselves with our vast “knowledge” then we really know nothing. We would do well to follow the example of these children and just trust God. Whether we live or whether we die in this world is not what is important. What is important is whether we live in love and die in love and make it to his Kingdom in heaven.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t be aware of things, or be prudent in planning, for God may be asking us to do that. It is just to say, don’t think we will save ourselves. And don’t get so distracted by what we think we know because that is what makes us sink when we are made to walk on water.

May God bless and heal North Carolina and Florida and the other areas affected by Helene. And may Micah rest in peace. God Bless you all.

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.

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For the Sake of the Angels

Posted on September 20, 2024 by veilofveronica

For this reason a woman ought to have authority over her head, because of the angels 1 Corinthians 11:10

I came across this video from our Orthodox brother Priest. I found it to be beautiful and profound and it reminded me of what the Venerable Fulton Sheen once said;

“To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.”

What I didn’t understand is that the level of woman stretches far beyond the earthly realm and into heaven, for the sake of the angels, let woman be glorified;


Mary has the authority over the angels and the blessed in Heaven. As a reward for her great humility, God gave her the power and mission of assigning the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels who fell away through pride. Such is the will of the almighty God who exalts the humble, that the powers of Heaven, earth, and hell, willingly or unwillingly, must obey the commands of the humble Virgin Mary. For God has made her Queen of Heaven and earth, leader of his armies, keeper of his treasure, dispenser of his graces, mediatrix on behalf of men, destroyer of his enemies, and faithful associate in his great works and triumphs. – Saint Louis Marie de Monfort

Regina Angelorum – William-Adolphe Bouguereau

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.

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Are We All Loved Equally?

Posted on September 14, 2024 by veilofveronica
Sebastiano Mainardi

My soul magnifies the Lord,  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; Luke 1:46-49

Recently I heard a homily about how God loves us all equally. While the sentiment of that sounds nice, I wondered if it were true.

I know that God is love;

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

I also know that all goodness comes from God, and by extension, anything that is good is loving.

Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. Mark 10:18

So, I had to ask myself this question. If God is all love, and everything he does is loving, then does that mean the existence of hell is because of love?

The answer, of course, is yes. If God stopped loving us, we wouldn’t end up in heaven or in hell. We would simply cease to be. His love is what brought us into creation. His love sustains us, no matter what we choose to do with the love and where our choices lead us in the end.

This brings me back to the original question. Are we all loved equally? Well, we can say with certainty that we are all loved, created by love, for love. But one would think, just by observation that Saints are more loved by God than others are. What differentiates the Saint from others is the amount of God’s love they were willing to receive and be filled with, so that, in turn, they could love like Christ did. To the extent that we are filled with God’s love, is the measure of how much we are loved. And some are more filled than others.

God the Father made an assemblage of all the waters and He named it the sea (mare). He made an assemblage of all His graces and he called it Mary – Saint Louis de Montfort

In other words, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the most loved by God. This made Satan angry. We can all agree that God does not love Mary and Satan equally. This is because Mary is filled with all of God’s grace, which makes her the most loving, while Satan is filled with none of it, which makes him an enemy of God, and thereby an enemy of love.

What does this mean for us? It means we merit God’s love. To the extent that we are willing to submit to the Will of God and let His grace fill us, is the measure to which we become worthy and will be glorified. Some actually do have more Glory than others. And this Glory, it isn’t an achievement to be earned. It is a conforming of our will to the Will of God, so His Will can be done on earth as it is in heaven. And it means things could look different for each of us. It means, I will never surpass the Glory of Mary. The church teaches us that she is singular, and it is seen in her bodily Assumption. This does not make me upset, it makes me grateful for her willingness to bear the Son of God. There is a place for me and for all of us in Glory if we let God do what God does.

In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:2

I just want a room in the house. For some reason many of us are wounded by the fact that someone else may have a better room than we do. This woundedness is really a type of unforgiveness. It blocks us from being invited into the King or Queen’s quarters; a place where they would give us great honor because we magnified God. Isn’t it enough to be invited?

 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”  But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:39-43

As one commentor, Finnian-John, pointed out, the most remorseful sinner receives the greatest amount of love. If Saint Dismas teaches us anything, it is that we should never despair of our place in heaven. In one instant he went from thief to his full glory. This is something Jesus corrects James and John about;

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”  And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”  They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Mark 10:35-40

Here, even Jesus is deferring to the Will of the Father. He further corrects the other disciples who have become angry at the request of James and John;

 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.  So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Mark 10:41-44

Why do we insist on being equal, or first? Isn’t that just Lording ourselves over another? Isn’t that making it about us and our ego? Isn’t paradise enough? This kind of mentality is why in Matthew’s Gospel we also hear;

 … the last will be first, and the first will be last. Matthew 20:16

Ego is what we need to be stripped of. Envy has no place in the Kingdom. Equitable distribution is not the measure of what we should be looking for. We should be looking for and praising God’s Glory, the Glory God wants to share with us that makes us shine like a city on a hill.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

There is only one way to the Kingdom, and it is through Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, by being baptized as He requested (Matthew 28:19-20) and by denying self and taking up your cross and following Him (Matthew 16:24-26). This is how we transform into love. No other pathway leads there. In fact, other pathways lead you away from there;

What do I imply, then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 1 Corinthians 10:19-21

It is not proselytizing to bring the love of Christ into the world. It is imperative to say so, in love, for the sake of love.

My job is to inform, not convince. – Saint Bernadette

We leave the rest to the Holy Spirit;

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:  about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, and you will see me no longer;  about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. John 16:7-11

So, the answer to the question, are we loved equally, is we don’t know the mind of God. I think it is more accurate to say that God loves each of us fully. I wrote this article to make you think. We tend to get sentimental and think what we do or what religion we practice doesn’t matter because God loves us equally. But it actually does matter and it matter’s a lot. All paths don’t lead the same way.

“Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.  For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14

We do know Mary is the highest of all creatures and we should treat her as such. What we also know is He loves infinitely, which is something we can’t really quantify or express adequately and using the word “equally” seems to put God inside the measurement box that Jesus told his disciples to avoid. All religions and all paths aren’t equal. What matters is the extent that we embrace Christ, His Sacraments, and our crosses, because when we do this, we will become love and thereby be loved more. And in knowing this we serve; we do not look down on others, we instead desire this goodness and love for them and evangelize as Jesus told us to. Our desire should simply be to be everything God made us to be and let him fill us. How this all takes place is not a competition, it is up to the Will of God who can fill all different kinds of people to the most glorified they are meant to be. May God grant me all the love He desires to pour into me and may I receive it with all my heart.

That others may be loved more than I…Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. (From the Litany of Humility)

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.

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Mystical Incarnation

Posted on August 27, 2024 by veilofveronica
Saint Monica and Saint Augustine by Ary Scheffer – 1846

 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. John 19:27

The other night I was talking with a group of ladies in a study group about how Mary is the example of the contemplative life, and the Holy Spirit is charismatic and because they are spouses these things are meant to fit together. It was then that my friend Leah said, “yes, and if you invite the Blessed Mother into your heart, the Holy Spirit comes with her, and they will help you conceive Jesus within you.” It is the way to union with the Lord.

Leah later went further and told me, this is in essence a “Mystical Incarnation”, if you will. Spiritually we are meant to conceive Jesus within us and Mary and the Holy Spirit guide us along this path to birth Him completely within us.

Mary with the Holy Spirit literally conceived Jesus. In her perfection, she knew the Father. She trusted the Father. Her trust led to her espousal. Her espousal led to Jesus’ conception. But that is not the end of the story. The Father wants all of us to conceive Him spiritually in our hearts, through the help of Mary and the Holy Spirit. Further, we must spiritually mature to where He is fully birthed inside of us and we resemble Him becoming mini-Christs.

This is a journey we can see that the Apostles took and it is a journey for us. Jesus knows us and He knows what we need. He asks some of the Apostles, and by extension He asks us;

…What are you looking for?… John 1:38

And further he tells them and us;

…Come and See… John 1:39

We are born into a broken and suffering world. Most of us are restless and we know that how we are living is not satisfactory but many of us don’t know why or what the major issue is. We may think we want fame or money, but those things do not calm our hearts. Sometimes it is when we experience a major suffering that we respond to the call to, “come and see” because we have found ourselves in that place of longing for more and we feel powerless.

Those of us who have reached that point, the point of a suffering or a longing for more, we usually sit with Him for a while and when we do, we conclude;

We have found the Messiah….John 1:41

We know that the message He shares is different and we find our hearts burning to know Him more.

It is here Jesus invites us;

Come follow me…Matthew 4:19

This decision changes everything. This is like the conception of the pregnancy. Your whole life changes. It can be scary, but it is also exciting and miraculous.

Many of us have chosen this path. It is often sweet and healing. We feel the love of God. We see miracles. We know this is the way. We falter, though, in thinking that because we have followed, we are done and nothing more is necessary. For this is a way of perfection and for those who fail to grasp that, it is where Apostasy happens.

We want, in essence, to stay in the place of middle pregnancy, feeling the sweet closeness of the Lord, feeling the intimacy of the miracles kicking inside of our lives. But we fight the birth, knowing that the separation towards growth is painful. It is a journey that makes us have to love even more and sacrifice even more. We think, isn’t it enough that I followed you? Can’t you just stay close? What else will I have to lose before enough is enough? We fail to see the glory that lies ahead if we let God move us towards perfection detaching us completely from earthly things.

For many moving into the place of discomfort and extreme hardship is enough to make them walk away. They say to themselves, do not ask me to do something that will change the status quo of the comfort I have.

And Jesus says;

Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? Matthew 20:22

Can you stay on the journey? If you stay on the path the birth becomes imminent. Comfort is removed as any woman at the end of a pregnancy can attest to. Sometimes the suffering is so great it is hard to breathe. It can feel like a crumbling rather than a birth. You may writhe in pain. But His grace is sufficient for you even if you cannot feel it.

For the Apostles this would look like their time of healing and performing miracles was coming to an end. The leaders of their religion wanted Jesus dead. The government was closing in. All the beauty and miracles and closeness couldn’t stop the trajectory of pain they would go through. All that was not of God was being removed. It is hard to go through this, no matter the time period you live in.

Most of the Apostles ran away. But John came back. The women stayed. And Mary was there.

She was there at the Nativity, and she was there at the Cross.

Jesus left John to Mary. But he didn’t just become her son. He became a true Father. A Priestly Father who could feed His flock because he made it through the Cross. His worldview became heavenly.

The birth of the Church came at what seems for some, too painful price. But it is in that pain that the new beginning happens.

Pentecost came to them all with Mary in the room as the Holy Spirit reigned down, fully birthing Christ inside of them.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Acts 2:1-4

And suddenly, all that they had lost was nothing compared to all that they gained. The Holy Face of God was reflected in their own faces and greater miracles came about, but only after they were stripped of all their attachments that were not of God.

Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”  So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:38-42

Mary is there for us at the beginning, and she is there for us as we mature. Rapt in the Holy Spirit, ready to bring forth new life in us. It is essential that we invite her in our hearts for a new Pentecost to pour out upon us like it did for the Apostles.

Today is the feast of Saint Monica. She birthed Augustine into the world. And through prayer, heavy crosses and perseverance, her intercession birthed him into the Kingdom of God. She did not walk away when it got difficult and when it took a long time by our standards. In his Confessions, Augustine says his mom was ready to die after He converted fully. That is when her work was done. When we think more of the Salvation of others than of our own comfort or power we are well on our way to heaven.

We too need to stay on the path of perfection – even if all of our comforts are removed. We must trust God that He loves us more than we know, and He wants more than anything for us to be a part of the Mystical Body of Christ forever.

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.

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