Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Luke 31:31
A few weeks ago Jansen Bagwell taught about the Kingdom of God in my Order of Christian Initiation of Adults class that I am the Director of. When he teaches this class people are always surprised to learn that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of heaven are not exactly the same thing.
You see heaven is the place where we go after we die. It is a place where we there are no more tears and there is no more suffering. But the Kingdom of God is something Jesus tells us is near, or at hand.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2
This does mean that when we pray the Our Father we are asking for this Kingdom here on earth which most of us know. But as I have been delving into scripture lately, I have been focused on the Infancy Narratives. And I realized something. On the night of the Nativity, the Kingdom of God was at hand for some people chosen by God.
Of course, we know Mary and Joseph were two of those people. Mary in her sinlessness and Joseph, the righteous man, were chosen by God to take care of the Divine Child. So in this small cave in Bethlehem, the Kingdom of God came to be in the hands of Our humble Mother and the adoptive Father of Jesus. This cave, this humble beginning, was a place where all who entered trusted God the Father, despite what was going on around them in the world.
But it wasn’t just Mary and Joseph to whom the Kingdom of God came and resided. It was also the Shepherds. These simple men who did ordinary jobs must have had totally open hearts, and loved God because heaven came to earth and revealed itself to them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”Luke 2:812
I imagine these men were simple, they prayed and had deep relationship with the Lord. They had hearts that were open, and they spent time in his creation.
Heaven also revealed itself to the wise men. These men were learned and had intellect. They knew scripture and studied creation by looking at the sky. They left their home to find the Jewish King. They knelt in adoration of Him. They gave Him their wealth. They listened to the angel that warned them.
Two different sets of men that the Kingdom of God was revealed to. They were from different states in life, but they had hearts that were prepared. Because of this, they were able to gaze upon the Face of God, the Christ-child.
Their lives are a lesson for us. All of these people were prepared with open hearts that prayed, knew scripture, and paid attention to the signs. The birth of the Kingdom of God in a person gives way to spiritual path of maturity where a person can endure the worst of crosses.
As I look at the world today, I see their example and I seek to pray without ceasing and to have real face to face relationship. God is all about real relationship. When you have it with Him you are truly able to love others.
One thing we have to be cautious about is thinking that digital relationship is real. The Kingdom of God has never seemed more far away at times than in this digital age when we’re supposedly so connected. I hear more people complain of isolation and loneliness than I ever have before. I have seen so much loss of emotional control in people I come across. I don’t say this as judgment but observation. We make videos of ourselves, and we miss out on the real personal encounter. No doubt COVID added to this. It always amazes me how much more people will say online than we ever had happening when it wasn’t an option to do so.
Why am I saying all this? I am saying all this because I see that technology, though it can be used for good, can also, and more likely, make us feel like we are god. We have knowledge of good and evil and we often choose evil.
Artificial Intelligence can do everything faster and better than humans. But there’s something that is off. You only have to take a look at Christian AI art to see it. I was shopping for art the other day and I saw a surreally beautiful picture of Mary. But something was wrong. It only took me a second to notice she had 6 fingers. Another friend texted me a picture of Jesus;
Do you see it? He is missing His wounds.
Why is it that these super intelligent computers cannot get it exactly right? It is because these computers aren’t human. There is no personal relationship.
AI can even imitate our voices. Imagine the demonic getting a hold of it. And if it’s been so long since we had any real relationship, would we be fooled? It is why prayer from the heart is so necessary and why the Sacraments are so needed.
It’s not hard to imagine, given where we are now, to picture a time in the near future where we will be told that we have to have a chip implanted in our hand to buy and sell.
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom….Revelation 13:16-18
It will be a matter of convenience. We won’t have to worry about losing our wallet or our keys. It will be easier than the old way of doing things. We have been primed for it. We have lost sight of what the Shepherds and the Wise men had daily connection with; a relationship with God, a knowing of Scripture, and an awe of creation. The evil one can’t create but only mimic and mock. AI art shows me this, it doesn’t have the beauty of the hand that took hours to paint for love of God.
I hope none of this happens, but I felt compelled to warn that it might. The Kingdom of God is not a chip in our hand or more technology and connectivity. The Kingdom of God is a space where the Holy Spirit dwells and the person does God’s will. The Kingdom of God is meant to be here now. The Holy Family is where the Kingdom of God was at hand. We can strive to bring that Kingdom to our own families. We should not be afraid. Be prepared to love more which is a harder path.
Throughout His time on earth, Jesus revealed Himself to the lowly, the humble, the sinner who wanted to repent; the ones who knew that they weren’t God, who could admit when they were wrong, and who were open to the Creator. It’s perplexing to know it wasn’t the leaders of the religion at the time who saw who He was. I don’t think it is too much different today. While they didn’t have computers back then, the learned were often not wise like the wise men. They were fools, thinking they were god. Their intellect got in the way of their adoration of God.
This coming Christmas season, turn off the electronics and have some real connection. Pray daily and see your loved one’s face to face. Cooperate with the Lord for the Kingdom to be on earth as it is in heaven and watch the Lord pour out.
If you would like to purchase the Family Healing prayer book, The Queen’s Triumph, I co-authored with Ashley Blackburn, please click this link.
The ornate tabernacle in St Martin’s church, Kortrijk, Belgium
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23
A few months back I read a book by Protestant Pastor, Blake Healy called Profound Good. This Pastor says he can see into the spiritual realm. I don’t doubt that God may allow that, especially in these times. I found him to be completely genuine. I am grateful for the Catholic Church that guides us in discernment of these types of things. I don’t know this Pastor but I found his heart in his writing seems to genuinely love Jesus and on that we have common ground.
I found though, that the book, which is about the profound goodness of God, left me a little sad from the perspective that this Pastor, who has a genuine love for God, lacks the context of the Sacraments to help him understand what He sees. The worship consists mostly of concert like performance. I can see a danger for congregants of faith simply because of good feeling, though I don’t doubt the faith of the believers. I don’t say that to judge, just as an observation that it lacks something. And that something is of course, the Eucharist.
It makes me pray for unity, the kind that comes from heaven.
In one section of the book Blake describes what he sees happening to people in their worship. He sees Jesus coming up to individual people. In one section he describes Jesus looking into a man’s chest. He says;
I noticed that his heart was in a cage. It was small and metal, a little like a bird cage. It was dented, bent and twisted as if a wild animal had been desperately trying to get into it.
With absoluteprecision and gentleness Jesus reached forward, opened the broken cage, and removed it from the man’s chest without the sides touching his heart at all. He handed the cage to an angel standing just behind Him and then He leaned forward and took the man’s heart in His hands. He lifted the heart to His mouth and blew on it. Like coalcatchingoxygen from the wind, the man’s heart heated and began to glow.
Then Jesus did something that surprised me. He reached behind his back and pulled out a golden cage. It was similar in size and shape to the one He had removed, except that it was in perfect condition and much more ornate than the first one had ever been. He places the man’s heart in the golden cage and returned it to his chest. (Profound Good, page 112)
I sat there pondering this description and I realized that Christ had removed a prisoner’s cage and replaced it with a tabernacle. A tabernacle in the Catholic Church is where the Eucharist is kept. It protects what is sacred from abuse.
The heart of the human person can be caged in sin. Jesus took on all of our sin. In the 13th hour of the Passion by Louisa Piccareta, part of the Passion is described by her like this;
…I see that they have put you in prison….I see you with your hands tied behind You to a colum, with your feet immobilized and bound. I see your most holy Face beaten, swollen, and bloodied from the barbaric blows You have received…Your most holy eyes are livid, blackened; your gaze tired and extinguished from the sleepless night; your hair in disorder; your Most Holy Person is totally ravaged, and add to that , because You are bound, You cannot rely on Your own abilities to help or clean Yourself. And I, O my Jesus, crying and embracing your feet, exclaim: ‘O! How they have left You! O Jesus! (13th hour from 5-6am)
sat in the prison of our sins with his own unguarded heart so that he could live in our hearts and guard them from this prison of sin, if only we let Him light His fire there. How do we become a living tabernacle? How to we keep this heart of ours that he wants to make holy from hardness and defilement?
We repent and confess. I suspect that whatever Blake witnessed there, that person, in their own understanding, was confessing and giving their sin to God. The fire of God can then descend, and the heart starts to become holy. Stone turns to flesh. Whether it stays that way is up to each individual and his or her response to God once leaving the worship.
For Catholics, we are so blessed because we can fill ourselves with the Holy Eucharist, which is God Himself, and the fire only grows. When this fire grows, despite the suffering around us and the suffering we go through, we start to be elevated to a higher love, to true charity.
As I sat in Mass with this realization today, I saw that all the suffering that is going on actually gives us the opportunity to love more; to love harder than we ever have, and I began to thank God for the sufferings, both big and small. As I sat there pondering this in Mass, a leaf blower went on full volume outside. Now any of you who know me know how easily I can get annoyed by loud noises when I am trying to pray. But in this moment this morning, I thanked God for the opportunity to focus harder on the sacrifice of the Mass, to love Him more, when I could be easily distracted. I started to see how my suffering made me to come to Him more and more and how this fire burned inside brighter and brighter. And I was thankful. It’s actually a little bit hard to explain, but it was an acknowledgement that in all the suffering, I had come to love more. What a grace for today. I pray it stays.
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. Colossians 1:24
What I have learned through the suffering is that though the devil may assault your mind, and though your body may grow fatigued and tired, the Love of God does not grow tired, ever.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part,but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and -love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
The person who exemplifies a living tabernacle is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She had God in her heart and in her womb. She is a glowing Golden Soul. She became so Christ-like in love that she was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth assumed body and soul into heaven where her heart is an unguarded heart like her Sons, and she advocates for us. She is a conduit of the Lord’s grace to His people down below.
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. ad te clamamus exsules filii Evae, ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
One day her Immaculate heart will triumph and we will be elevated to the glory God has in store for us. Until then, we pray to be a living tabernacle.
If you would like to purchase the Family Healing prayer book, The Queen’s Triumph, I co-authored with Ashley Blackburn, please click this link.
While it has been years and I have made my peace with the people in my community I knew back then as I know today that the battle was never against them, it was against powers and principalities.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12
I never harbored ill will towards anyone, I simply wanted my child’s soul and the souls of the people at the school to make it to heaven. Nothing hinders being heaven bound like luke-warm Catholicism that denies parental rights. It’s a great way to suck the faith right out of your child.
This single incident changed the trajectory of education for my children. We ventured into the public school system, which in an irony, actually partnered with us more. But there was a big national machine in the public school system that pushes ideology that is not of God. Your child either gets stronger in faith or gets sucked into the abyss.
Things took a turn for the worse during and after COVID. All of the bad ideology was heightened. And the national machine was pushing hard. I saw the anxiety and depression raise in my own children. I was at a loss. I was caring for my parents at the time, running my household and I was working at the church, and I didn’t think I could take much more. But because I have one job as a parent, which is to get my children’s souls to heaven, I pulled two of them out and homeschooled. It’s like having a classroom handed to you while you’re in an ocean of waves during a hurricane. I cried and I pleaded with God.
And God responded. He responded by raising up other parents who want to be Saints along with their children. And they started a new Catholic Classical School in our area called Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation. With the blessing of the new Bishop, this non-Diocesan school began 3 years ago.
It is for this reason that I write to you today. This is the most personal for me. My daughter went from anxious and depressed hoodie wearing teenager who was being taught by the nebulous machine, prior to homeschooling, to hate traditional values. Though homeschooling helped, she was lonely and still depressed. When Chesterton became an option, she took the entrance exam and was enrolled. She is now a thriving, happy sometimes hoodie wearing, but also uniform wearing teenager who talks to me and has faith. The change in her is nothing short of a miracle.
Though there are many reasons I love this school, the first and foremost is the strong Catholic identity. They have Mass as part of the school day every day. They have opportunity for regular confession. The faith is woven throughout what they learn. My daughter is being taught the ideology of the Kingdom of God. The added bonus is they are partners with parents and the education is quality. The cost is also less than half of the other Catholic High Schools because they want to support Catholic families. They are also being taught philosophy, which is something I think our world is sorely missing. Hence the naming of the school after the brilliant philosopher, G.K. Chesterton. There are many Chesterton Academies throughout the United States founded by parents who wanted better with the support of clergy and Bishops who see the value of this vision.
But I am writing to you about this one. Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation is fledgling. They don’t have a permanent building yet. That low tuition, well it doesn’t cover the cost of what a student needs but it is kept low to provide an alternative for parents who can’t afford more, especially if they have multiple children.
So yes, I am making a personal plea for money for this school. We need small donations, large donations and recurrent donations. And we need prayer.
The goal for my family is $2,500. The larger goal to keep us going is $100,000. Anything you can do to help keep this school running for my daughter’s future and for all the kids would be appreciated from the bottom of my heart.
When it asks what family please put Skinner. When it asks which House, please put Chrysostom.
If you would rather go old school (like this Classical School) and write a check, please make Check to Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation, put Skinner Family in memo and mail checks to;
Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation
P.O. Box 680992
Franklin, TN 37068
God Bless you all,
Susan Skinner
Adoration at Chesterton Academy of the Incarnation
If you would like to purchase the Family Healing prayer book, The Queen’s Triumph, I co-authored with Ashley Blackburn, please click this link.
‘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.
…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
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.
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.
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 askbigof 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.
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.
Veil of Veronica 