Saints

http://www.catholic-convert.com/blog/2014/09/04/where-does-the-bible-say-we-should-pray-to-dead-saints/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Litany to sanctify work

Litany-to-sanctify-work.html

Jesus is really present in the Eucharist.

Mary was assumed into heaven.

http://www.catholic-convert.com/blog/2014/08/13/why-do-you-catholics-believe-mary-ascended-into-heaven/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

The veneration of relics

http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/is-veneration-of-relics-condemned-by-the-bible

The Kingdom of God is Like Buried Treasure

The first of these parables tells us that the Kingdom is not always obvious.  It’s like “treasure buried.”  There’s no billboard saying, “TRUE CHURCH, EXIT LEFT 1 MILE.”  In fact, those speeding by on the highway of life will never find it.  You have to be digging.  Digging in the vineyard, perhaps.  Suddenly you hit something with your spade.  Can it be?  Is it?  Yes!


http://www.thesacredpage.com/2014/07/getting-wisdom-17th-sunday-of-ot.html

Te Diem Prayer

Canticle
Te Deum

You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
    Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
    heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
    Father, of majesty unbounded,
    your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
    and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.

When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

The final part of the hymn may be omitted:

Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
    govern and uphold them, now and always.
Day by day we bless you;
    we praise your name for ever.
Keep us today, Lord, from all sin;
    have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy;
    for we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope;
    and we shall never hope in vain.

Rich Mullins

Rich Mullins conversion.

Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament

So had a good message today.  The Lord tells Moses to "set the bread of the Presence on the table before me always". For the Israelites, bread was a sign of what the Lord had done for them both when he freed them from the Egyptians and when he gave them "bread from heaven" for forty years in the desert.  In the giving of the pattern, the Lord also tells Moses "There [in the ark of the covenant] I will meet with you ....and I will speak with you" Ex. 25:22.  

So, then King David "had it in his heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord" (1 Chr 28:2), but it is actually his son that the Lord chose "to build a house for the name of the Lord," the first Temple, which was built according to the same pattern as was given to Moses, except that the temple was stationary. After Solomon had built the Temple, moved the Ark of the Covenant and the Bread of the Presence inside, and prayed a prayer of dedication, "fire came down from heaven....and the glory of the Lord filled the temple" (2 Chr 7:1).  "When all the children of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the earth on the pavement, and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, "for his is good, for his steadfast love endures forever" (2 Chr 7:3).

    Then the Lord appeared to Solomon and said: "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice....if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there for ever: (2 Chr 7:12-16)

    Let our adoration never cease!!

    Pope Paul VI taught that to visit the Blessed Sacrament is "a proof of gratitude and a pledge of love, and a display of the adoration that is owed to Christ the Lord who is present there" (Mysterium Fidei).

Catholic examination of conscience

Examination-of-conscience

What does the word Catholic mean? By Steve Ray

What does the word Catholic mean? By Steve Ray

Do you know Christ?

Do you know Christ?  Knowing....what does that really mean? I have read in Genesis, the first book of the bible, Chapter 4 Verse 1 that, "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain", so for me this "knowing" is pretty intimate. They have a child.

So, my understanding of knowing Christ would correlate to this type of knowing in a sense.  I receive and take in my Lord as often as I can. Literally and figuratively.  Literally because when the host is consecrated by a priest in the person of Christ, the host is changed into the body and blood of Christ.  I consume this Word made flesh that dwells among us and I am being made new.  That's knowing.

Christ said ask and it shall be given. Of course the priest is part of the succession of the Apostles and has this authority and so I believe fully that what he prays happens.  Christ said that this is his body.  His Words. Christ's words that change reality.  "Lazareth come forth" and a dead man walked. "Little girl get up" and a dead girl got up. God created through speech alone and the earth was formed.

Christ still speaks through his Church and things change. Miracles happen every day! We do not have to believe that it does, but it still is going to happen because He is God in the flesh. His reality doesn't rely on our belief or on our comprehension of God's reality. 

To know Him...Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. What are you waiting for? To truly know Him you must receive Him fully!

Life started in a garden. Death occured by the fruit of a tree.  Humanity waited for redemption. Sacrifices were offered time and time again. Then an ultimate sacrifice occured. Death of humanity by representation of God in the flesh on a tree created the door back to the garden, where the fruit of the tree that once killed humanity has given us eternal life. BUT.... we MUST eat of the fruit of the tree of eternal life, which is Christ in the flesh. It is the risen Lord that we must consume! Divinity! Glory! His glorified body, risen to eternal life that we might parttake of this divine nature! Taste and see that the Lord is good. His love endures forever.

John the Baptizer

Jeremiah 1:5
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”


Second Reading
From a sermon by Saint Augustine (Nov. 13, 384 - Aug. 28, 430 A.D.)
The voice of one crying in the wilderness

The Church observes the birth of John as in some way sacred; and you will not find any other of the great men of old whose birth we celebrate officially. We celebrate John’s, as we celebrate Christ’s. This point cannot be passed over in silence, and if I may not perhaps be able to explain it in the way that such an important matter deserves, it is still worth thinking about it a little more deeply and fruitfully than usual.
    John is born of an old woman who is barren; Christ is born of a young woman who is a virgin. That John will be born is not believed, and his father is struck dumb; that Christ will be born is believed, and he is conceived by faith.
    I have proposed some matters for inquiry, and listed in advance some things that need to be discussed. I have introduced these points even if we are not up to examining all the twists and turns of such a great mystery, either for lack of capacity or for lack of time. You will be taught much better by the one who speaks in you even when I am not here; the one about whom you think loving thoughts, the one whom you have taken into your hearts and whose temple you have become.
    John, it seems, has been inserted as a kind of boundary between the two Testaments, the Old and the New. That he is somehow or other a boundary is something that the Lord himself indicates when he says, The Law and the prophets were until John. So he represents the old and heralds the new. Because he represents the old, he is born of an elderly couple; because he represents the new, he is revealed as a prophet in his mother’s womb. You will remember that, before he was born, at Mary’s arrival he leapt in his mother’s womb. Already he had been marked out there, designated before he was born; it was already shown whose forerunner he would be, even before he saw him. These are divine matters, and exceed the measure of human frailty. Finally, he is born, he receives a name, and his father’s tongue is loosed.
    Zachary is struck dumb and loses his voice, until John, the Lord’s forerunner, is born and releases his voice for him. What does Zachary’s silence mean, but that prophecy was obscure and, before the proclamation of Christ, somehow concealed and shut up? It is released and opened up by his arrival, it becomes clear when the one who was being prophesied is about to come. The releasing of Zachary’s voice at the birth of John has the same significance as the tearing of the veil of the Temple at the crucifixion of Christ. If John were meant to proclaim himself, he would not be opening Zachary’s mouth. The tongue is released because a voice is being born – for when John was already heralding the Lord, he was asked, Who are you and he replied I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
    John is the voice, but the Lord in the beginning was the Word. John is a voice for a time, but Christ is the eternal Word from the beginning.

St. Aloyius Gonzaga

Today is Saint Aloyius Gonzaga Day! He was born in 1568 and died in 1591 at the age of 23.
A little U.S. history....Gonzaga University was named after him. The university was established by a Jesuit Priest who purchased a plot of land with 936 Silver Dollars.

Here is a letter from St. Gonzaga to his mother at the time of his death. He speaks of the land of the living and how powerful his prayers will be for her when he is in God's presence.

Second Reading
A letter from St Aloysius Gonzaga to his mother
God's mercies shall be my song for ever

May the comfort and grace of the Holy Spirit be yours for ever, most honoured lady. Your letter found me lingering still in this region of the dead, but now I must rouse myself to make my way on to heaven at last and to praise God for ever in the land of the living; indeed I had hoped that before this time my journey there would have been over. If charity, as Saint Paul says, means to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who are glad, then, dearest mother, you shall rejoice exceedingly that God in his grace and his love for you is showing me the path to true happiness, and assuring me that I shall never lose him.
    The divine goodness, most honoured lady, is a fathomless and shoreless ocean, and I confess that when I plunge my mind into thought of this it is carried away by the immensity and feels quite lost and bewildered there. In return for my short and feeble labours, God is calling me to eternal rest; his voice from heaven invites me to the infinite bliss I have sought so languidly, and promises me this reward for the tears I have so seldom shed.
    Take care above all things, most honoured lady, not to insult God’s boundless loving kindness; you would certainly do this if you mourned as dead one living face to face with God, one whose prayers can bring you in your troubles more powerful aid than they ever could on earth. And our parting will not be for long; we shall see each other again in heaven; we shall be united with our Saviour; there we shall praise him with heart and soul, sing of his mercies for ever, and enjoy eternal happiness. When he takes away what he once lent us, his purpose is to store our treasure elsewhere more safely and bestow on us those very blessings that we ourselves would most choose to have.
    I write all this with the one desire that you and all my family may consider my departure a joy and favour and that you especially may speed with a mother’s blessing my passage across the waters till I reach the shore to which all hopes belong. I write the more willingly because I have no clearer way of expressing the love and respect I owe you as your son.

Mark 4:10-12

 Mark 4:10 And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; 12 so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand....

What we believe.....A summary of the history of the church and the Eucharist.

What We Believe (link to teachings of Catholic Church)
When I started listening to the Cathecism three years ago I was in disbelief because what I thought the Church believed was much much different than what I had been told the Church believed.  I believed for forty years a false truth about the Catholic Church.  To my amazement the Catholic Church believed more in the way of Christ than I had even known.  I always wanted these things for my life that the bible teaches but they seemed out of reach.  Like actually an impossiblity in today's society to grasp for all the things that we written in God's word.

Now that it has been three years since I first started discovering the truth of God's word I am relieved.  There is true peace in Christ in the Eucharist.  When Jesus came he taught THE WAY.  He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." "No one comes to the Father, but through me."  So he taught THE WAY to the disciples and they have passed in on. Peter was the first Pope, "and on this rock I will build my church...." Jesus called Peter "Rock".  {The wiseman built his house upon the Rock. The wiseman here was probably Solomon because he built is temple on the Holy Mountain of God.}
So Jesus created this WAY and there were instructions given to the Apostles and those that followed them.  This is called Apostolic Succession http://www.catholic.com/tracts/apostolic-succession and it is a line stemming from the apostles to the present day.  The Church still teaches the same way. And when you discover it for yourself you will know without a doubt that this is the truth.

The second part of the passage that I quoted was "No one comes to the Father, but through me." The apostles and their students or disciples of the apostles believed all that Christ said.  The apostles had seen the risen Lord and all the miracles that he performed and ultimately died for Christ and his Church.  Coming to the Father through Christ consisted then of fulling believing all the Christ said and did.  In the gospel of John chapter 6:48-51 Christ says: 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” THE Bread THAT I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. This is literal! Not in a way that means we are to become cannibals but in an unfamiliar way. A way that is heavenly or spiritual.  Christ becomes literally present when the ordained priest says the words of consecration over the bread or wafers.  And Christ's literal presence here is spiritual. It is not that we see him standing there with us.  It becomes a faith like a child.  Christ says that anything you ask for in my name it shall be given when speaking to the apostles.  Jesus ordained the apostles to do his work on earth and to pass it on.

HISTORY OF THE EUCHARIST
The Eucharist is the communion table that Christ implemented in the Last Supper.  But it all started in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve were right with God in communion with him in the garden. You could say that Adam was the first priest. He tilled that garden, named the animals, and God gave him authority over everything on earth.  They feasted together in the garden (The Sacred Banquet) and it was all good until the fall.  Eve grasped for the forbidden fruit.  God had told them that they could not eat of it, of this tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Ultimately this created a chasm between them and God and they were no longer in a state of grace. It interrupted the flow of grace. And instead of living forever and being fed, the sacred banquet was disrupted and death was now a part of the human condition.
Eventually God raises up Isreal to be the light for all the nations that will draw the world to them and to God.  God frees them through the way of the Passover. In the passover they are to spread the blood of the lamb on the door post and eat all of the sacrifical lamb. Hence, another meal and this one includes unblemished lambs. So if they do all that is required of them they will escape God's wrath as the Angel of Death passover.  These lambs represent the Bread of Life.

In the desert, Isreal is fed the Bread from heaven, the bread from heaven that Jesus talks about in John chapter 6.  But he states that He is the bread that comes down from heaven. Let's read it again: John 6:48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 

I am believing Christ and his statement.

MORE HISTORY OF THE EUCHARIST. THE SACRED MEAL.THE WAY OF THE LORD.

Isaiah 2:1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” 

This is the same mountain in which Jesus speaks from and feeds the 5000, teaching the beatitudes, speaking with Moses and Elijah and giving the Great Commission.  Speaking on feeding the 5000....there were 12 loaves remaining which are said to represent the 12 tribes of Judah and symbolize Jesus feeding the world.  Other symbols of this is the fact that Jesus was born in a manger in the town of Bethlehem.  Bethlehem means "House of Bread". And what was a manger but a feeding trough for sheep.  

Unworthy

I step into Your Church.

A new sense of something.

My senses are aroused.

What is this that draws me?

Unknowingly I visit You again.

I recognize You.

I am awe struck.

So unworthy!

You come to me Lord in the Eucharist.

My mind is overwhelmed by Your holiness.

I reverently bow before you.

I am drawn to my knees.

I consume you.

I receive discernment.

You begin to reveal my unholiness.

Confession reluctantly follows.

I kneel before you.

I receive graces.

I pray reverently and sorrowfully.

You tenderly console me.

Grace abounds.

I am stronger.

I am receiving the Sacraments.

You consume me from the inside out.

I am being made new. 

I am One with Christ and his Body.

Confession....Ughhh, a convert's view.

Sometimes I think that this might have been a lot easier had I always known about confession.  As I stand in line for confession I begin to sweat.  I see little kids going in. They come out kneel before Christ and pray.  What a witness! I am so impressed. My stomach has butterflies, see because I confessed this same sin before.  Get out of me! I think to myself as I wish there was something else I had to confess.  But as a great apologist said when he went for confession and told the priest that it was the same old list of sins, the priest replied, "You want new ones?"

So of course we don't want new sins, but it seems like Christ is working to get the world out of me by reminding me of my sins and I keep slipping.  Then finally I get rid of one and another one comes!  I think, "Where did that come from?" "I hadn't cursed like that in twenty years!" Then I'm reminded that even though I hadn't done that in a while it was still there and needs to be purged. So Jesus is making me aware of things that are still in me.

I reflect on this for a while and realize that in this process of reconcilation and regeneration that I AM becoming new.  Christ is coming in, as I consume him in the Eucharist and then He is pushing these sins out of me to make more room for Himself and make me clean from the inside out. It is a process.  I am very thankful for this process.  Discernment is a gift and grace of the Holy Spirit. When I start to   recognize Christ within me my attitude is adjusted.  I am unworthy of His presence within me, but he calls me as I am.

My spouse has said that our mouth is the alter when we accept this gift of Christ in the Eucharist. I want this alter to be clean. I must come to Him as a pure spotless bride. This involves contrition and then confession, because I do not want to profane Christ's Holy body. [ 1 Corinthians 11:27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.] Christ's body is received by many others that are also becoming part of His body.  I should not receive it if it in any way might affect the other parts. [1 Corinthians 1:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.]  

I want to be Holy as He is Holy. 

I made it through confession but to my suprise, I was called out by Christ (or rather his servant being used by Christ ie. the priest) on some things that I left out of my confession, things that I considered not as important but Christ thought otherwise. With my head hanging low I said a final prayer or act of contrition in the presence of the priest and added in general terms the things that Jesus and I knew that I should have confessed in the first place. I was glad I made it through with only a little bit of perspiration and shame. And maybe some leg cramps but that could have been due to the gardening I had done the day before. I'm not sure.  

The priest pronounced the words of absolution in Persona Christi (in the person of Christ) and told me to go say an "Our Father" and that was it.  It had been a month since my last confession and I was relieved and so thankful that I can now once again take of the Eucharist, of course the only ones that knew I was not taking it was my husband, me, and God, but just to be able to have the sacrament of confession is a real gift. There is grace that flows from humbly coming before our Lord and speaking of the wrong I have done. This sacrament makes me want to work on my forgiveness towards others. Am I so easy to forgive others and to forgive them of less than maybe what I have just confessed? That's a real examination right there! Can I do that? I must do that for I am called to that! Otherwise I cannot even sincerely say the "Our Father". Which states "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." I am still a work in progress. 

Thank you Christ Jesus for not turning me away and for being patient with me. 

 

A new pair of eyes.

This has been on my mind all day. I thought how I used to spend time on Sunday's singing, talking, and hearing about Jesus, but now I get to spend actual time with Jesus. I get to be in his presence any time I choose to go to the church and kneel before him in the blessed sacrament. If you love someone you don't just talk about them and never go be with them. If you love them you want to be with them all the time.  I can do that any day of the week.  Christ's presence is real in the Eucharist.  Once I received this holy and divine presence of Christ's resurrected body in the form of the bread (Bread of the Presence in the Old Testament or Bread of the Face) I received a supernatural substance, an awareness of something greater was happening within me and outside of me, it was all around me, they were all around me. There was an awareness of the presence of the Saints that have gone before us.  Revelation 5:8 says that they lift up our prayers to God. So fascinating. Reading the Bible for the first time with a new pair of eyes, no Baptist glasses or Methodist glasses or Non-Denominational glasses (which is a denomination by-the-way) and things that were once unexplainable or seemed confusing that no one would give me a straight answer about are now understandable and making sense. How does that happen? Only by the Grace of God! I once was blind but now I see.

1 Timothy 3:15 The church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.

..if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.

Are you living for Christ?

If you are living a truly Christian life you will want to spend time with Christ on a daily basis. It's a great privilege to be with the whole body of Christ, Here on earth and in heaven. It's also an honor to be in communion with those that have gone before me. See we all have partaken of and are partaking in the same body of our Lord Jesus Christ. That makes us connected and one in the Body of Christ. Since I've started consuming the Word(Christ) I have felt the persecution of Christ. I have also began to understand His mother's pains at the foot of the cross. Having learned to experience the way of the cross that Jesus took along with his mother, his brother in the faith, John, Mary Magdalen, Veronica, and others has led me to a deeper devotion for my Savior. The Church has given me learning tools and instruction and guidance into this great mystery. I have more appreciation than EVER before for the love of my God and Savior. And on top of that I receive a multitude of free graces that happen unexpectedly. It's a great peace and joy like never before. Thank you Lord Jesus for dying on the cross but also for leaving us with guidance and leaders such as Peter and Paul and John and their students, Ignatius, Polycarp,  Clement, and many others. Their guidance through the Holy Spirit and your church has led me in all truth and the true peace that passes all understanding. God has not left us unguided or misguided. There is a plumb line. A line of successors from the Apostles to today. Read the history of the church on catholic.com. You won't regret it! All your questions answered. Things that you have not even questioned because we were taught to walk blindly along and didn't know any different. So many things we just did not talk about or bring up like Mary. Oh my goodness! Don't make her out to be anybody special, she was just a human like us. Well she might have been human but she was set apart like others in history but God chose her to house his son. God was literally within her! Literally, not figuratively. There's a difference. Speaking to the saints....well.. Christ spoke to Moses and Elijah who had been dead for centuries. All these and other questions are addressed on this website, also on satellite radio 129 and 130. Check these out. You are missing the mark. Missing the mark. Speaking of the mark... There are four marks of the church. They are One, Holy, Apostolic, and Catholic or Universal. These are what you need to look for when discerning Christ's church. The church that has been here on this earth since Christ was here. It has not changed because God doesn't change. Amen?!?! Amen. Christ said be one as I and the Father are one. Do the research and pray for truth! Love in Christ Jesus.

On what authority?

So what your pastor speaks about is not probably exactly the same as the pastor that is down the street or around the corner. Huh? So who is correct? Because someone has to be.  God is a God of truth and absolutes. God is not vague. Where do these people get their information? The Bible says that the Spirit will guide you into all truth, but everyone has different truths, so that cannot possibly be right. Right? I'm glad to know that there is a structure in place already that is guiding me. Through the Holy Spirit of course and it does not contradict itself.

What kind of member are you?

How do you feel when you attent your place of worship? Do you feel like you are a member of a club? Or do you identify yourself as a part of Christ? Members have privileges, Christians have an obligation.

Christ didn't casually die for us.
It was brutal!

To say its a privilege to go to church is like saying to Christ, "well, thanks for dying for me, that was nice of you to do Lord." But if you believe it is an obligation you will be on your knees saying, "Lord, I am so unworthy."

The Rosary is a Weapon, the Graces received are Armor for the Battle.

You can accept the Graces of Christ's mother now or later.  For me, I would rather have the full armor of God now in the battle field than later at the supper table.

Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

John 4:22-24
22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

Salvation is from the Jews.

Apostolic Tradition

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/apostolic-tradition

Psalm 135

Psalm 135 (136)

Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise to the end of the earth.

The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,

for his love endures for ever.

He brought Israel out from their midst,

for his love endures for ever;

arm outstretched, with power in his hand,

for his love endures for ever.

He divided the Red Sea in two,

for his love endures for ever;

he made Israel pass through the midst,

for his love endures for ever;

he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea,

for his love endures for ever.

Through the desert his people he led,

for his love endures for ever.

Nations in their greatness he struck,

for his love endures for ever.

Kings in their splendour he slew,

for his love endures for ever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his love endures for ever;

and Og, the king of Bashan,

for his love endures for ever.

He let Israel inherit their land,

for his love endures for ever.

On his servant their land he bestowed,

for his love endures for ever.

He remembered us in our distress,

for his love endures for ever.

And he snatched us away from our foes,

for his love endures for ever.

He gives food to all living things,

for his love endures for ever.

To the God of heaven give thanks,

for his love endures for ever.

***********************************

Glory to the Father and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now,

and will be for ever. Amen.

Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise to the end of the earth.

HISTORY CLASS POST

Why we must learn history.

History helps us learn from past societies. History helps us to make the best judgements about building our communities and nations. History serves as a laboratory of evidence. It helps us to avoid mistakes by providing us with evidence of past failures, past cultural interactions, and past successes. Failure is not a bad thing.  Edison failed one thousand times before getting the light bulb right.  Augustine was a drunk and a womanizer, before he found God and became a great theologian.  Failure can be a great teaching tool with great successes that inspire us. They inspire us to make a difference in our world. It only takes one person to make a difference and taking a look at history reminds us of those people such as, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The study of history helps us develope critical thinking skills. The questions of "How did that come about?" or "What led to such destruction?"  or "When was that invented?" or "Where did that term or that phrase come from?" or "Who might have contributed to the building of a social class?" and so on. Critical thinking also helps us develope writing effectiveness. In writing effectively we can convey the message or point we are trying to make so that the reader can understand what we want them to understand.  This is turn teaches us to speak more effectively as well.

Speaking and writing are our two main forms  of communication today.   We cannot effectively communicate history without good writing skills and thinking skills and we cannot effectively communicate with each other and our world without these skills.  History helps us think critically about other cultures, other peoples, and other professional groups.  History helps us to interact well with others of different faiths and other moral standards. So the study of history developes our thinking abilities so that we can better respond to daily living in a vastly diverse culture. You must have history to be well educated, to be able to adapt to changes in our culture, to learn from past mistakes and successes, and to be inspired to make changes to our world today.

Side Note - Recent Service Learning Project - My thoughts

My service learning journey began with a rather easy and short hour and a few minutes of helping five elderly ladies wheel their way to the Bistro where these ladies had drinks and saw some of their other friends and former neighbors from the nearby apartments.  I introduced myself and then I started asking each one of them to tell about what they had done in their life for a living.  There were teachers, a banker, and a house wife and part-time advertising agent.  I helped wheel them all to their next activity for that day, which was lunch. There I helped with tying on bibs mostly and my time was up for that day.  I did not learn much as of yet, other than getting to know some neat ladies. I also wondered if they would remember me the next time I was there.

            The next time I volunteered for the care home was a few days later and as I arrived I saw that the workers were disorganized and the place was a little bit chaotic.  The music therapy lady had not shown up yet. I sat down at the piano and began playing hymns.  The elderly joined in by singing along with the songs and I was very amazed at how alert some of them became.  They may have appeared to be sleeping in their wheelchairs prior to the music, but they slowly were aroused and awakened and even joyous.  I decided right then and there that music really was a very wonderful thing.

            The music therapy lady arrived and we did aerobics and then I helped wheel the regular ladies to the Bistro for drinks and visiting with friends.  As I had expected, these ladies did not remember me. So strange to think about the deterioration of the mind and how in some ways these ladies were fine and by delving into their minds just even a little you could understand that their mental capacities were failing them. 

            Again, I helped wheel them to lunch and apply bibs.  Bibs are a must for this age group.  Just as bibs are needed for infants and toddlers, so it is for the elderly in nursing homes.  I became very sad from time-to-time as I tried to help some order food and others with spills or with drink refills.  One older gentleman had spilled his hot cocoa on his lap and no one had noticed.  I helped him with it a little bit until someone was available to take him to get cleaned up. 

            Some of the other things that helped with included playing games, such as, 20 questions.  It was very neat to see how some were a walking history book, or one might be a walking encyclopedia. Then others were lost in their own thoughts.  I read the newspaper to some that had poor eyesight and some that needed to be distracted so that they would not leave their seats or want to leave and go back to their rooms.  It was very hard not to get a little teary-eyed at times.  One lady just needed to use the restroom, but there was not enough actual employees to help, so I wheeled her to back to her room and sat with her until the nurse was able to get to her.  Another lady was busy putting her arms under her shirt, so asked her if she was cold.  I did not get much of a response out of the resident, so I went to the employee to ask about this woman. The employee just casually said, “Oh, she does that all the time.”  I thought that she might be cold, so I asked for a blanket. My previous experience with this one resident in particular was all garbally-gook or broken speech. She had previously been completely dumb-founded in the lunch room and no clear speech, so I assumed she had had a stroke and could not communicate properly anymore. So, as I walked over with the blanket to put in on her and see if she would accept my gesture she clearly said, “Thank you.” Another moment of holding back tears.

            What I learned from this experience is that I dread getting old for sure and that nursing facilities, just like preschools and elementary schools will always need volunteers. Not just volunteers, I say these people need advocates.  Advocates to help with the seemingly small things, but are a tremendous help for all involved.  In one sense these people are neglected but in another sense the facilities are doing a great deal with and for them and their families.  The employees of these facilities also sometimes grow immune to the needs of these people and fail to see the needs of the patients, but not in the way one might think.  These employees are doing their jobs to full capacity, but just like young children, the elderly need care in the same way.  It might be getting a tissue for wiping a nose or recognizing that someone is cold and just wants a blanket.

            There is a great need for an advocacy program for these wonderful people that have lived interesting and hard lives. I wish that each facility would make it a requirement that each person had a family member or friend come in to be their advocate at least a minimum of hours a week for the sake of all the people involved.  There would be less guilt on the part of the family and the employees.

I believe that all involved will be much more at ease in helping these poor beautiful souls live out their last days.

From Methodist Protestant to Catholicism

The desire of Christ is for ALL Christian to be one in Him! And the Church is praying for that diligently! Many Catholics that are born and raised in the Church do not even realize what they have and they do not know what is taught in other churches.  The first thing that opened my eyes was Jeff, my husband. My husband's love for scripture, his love for prayer, and his love for Jesus. This truly changed me. This changed my way of thinking. I was living but a shadow of a so-called Christian life in comparison to his way of living as a Christian. Reluctantly though, I started going with him to the Catholic Church.  He didn't push me.  And he was gracious and would attend an Evangelical church with me.

After I had gone to the Catholic Church or Mass, as the church service is called, for about 10 to 15 times I started to realize that there was something more going on than just the typical Sunday morning worship. I could feel it! When I would leave that place I could tell that I wanted to go back. Something was drawing me back. We continued to go to each church and we were even active in the Evangelical church but it wasn't growing us anymore. On a Sunday afternoon, at the exact same time we both said that we needed to talk about church and agreed that we needed to be because we wanted to be one in mind and spirit.  We decided that it was the Catholic Church because I knew there was more to learn about it and I was willing to try. I was still uneasy about the Mass but I knew I was getting something spiritual and new.

That's when I started reading more about Mass and the doctrine of the Church.  Once I knew a little more about the order of Mass, it all started coming together. Why they did this and that. I read Scott Hahn's book The Lamb's Supper. It explained the Mass of the early Christians and how the book of Revelation mirrors the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

I knew that I felt something different in the Catholic Church. They also read much more scripture during Mass than any other church I had ever been in and they prayed more than any other church I had ever been in and they took Christ more seriously than I have ever experienced!  I was raised Baptist and Methodist. Then later went to the Christian church.  I taught kids and adult Sunday School and played in the praise team and directored the choir.  Everything seemed great. But just like a breeze blowing, the Spirit lead me in the direction of the Church.

We had to move for a job change and so we started going to a new church.  Everything was strange again, but the love of the people was like nothing I had ever felt.  One day after the sacrifice of the Mass or Eucharist, they passed by me with the communion cup or the Blessed Sacrament, which I could not yet take or participate in, I had a thought, an inner shouting, "WHAT IF IT REALLY IS HIS BODY IN THE EUCHARIST!!!" It takes my breath right now and draws me to tears again. I HAD to bow before my Saviour and Lord!

Just think, if God can heal my hands that were burned so quickly than he can change that bread into his body and blood.  I realized then if I could believe that He made creation, parted the Red Sea, healed the lame, raised people from the dead, rose from the dead himself, than he could easily change bread and wine into his body and blood!  Oh me of little faith!! I HAD PUT GOD IN A BOX ALL THESE YEARS!!! Like I could tell him what he could and couldn't do! Silly me.

So, my first confession truly freed me! I truly knew freedom in a way I had never before known it.  I went to an Adoration Chapel for the first time and almost tripped over the people that were on their faces before my Lord! Tears streamed down my face as I entered to talk with Christ. I had many times asked forgiveness for my sins but not until I confessed them out loud did it really do anything.  I talked with Christ in the adoration chapel and he told me the name of a daughter I had aborted 20 years earlier.  Her name was Bethany. Which was also the place that Jesus was annointed and where he ascended into Heaven. Prior to leaving Christ said that he was real flesh and blood and proved it by eating fish before the disciples. Luke 24:39 (NIV) He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." The he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  He told them, "This is what is written:  The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:44-47 (NIV)   I walked out of the adoration chapel knowing without any doubts that Jesus was truly present and that my daughter, Bethany was with The Lord and had been praying me home all this time!

More of my story. Written earlier last week to an agnostic.

There is proof of Christianity.  I have personal proof of miracles, and the Church has proof of an infinite number of miracles, such as, The Incorruptibles.  The Incorruptibles are people whose bodies have not decayed. They have done scientific studies on these bodies and the skin cells are still alive!  In my personal life I have been in an explosion and burned. My burns healed faster than the burn-unit nurse had ever seen and she asked me many questions about what I might have been using on my burns.  It was the same ointment as the other burn victims were given. I have heard what I believe was the Holy Spirit or an angel tell me that I would not have to have skin graphs and another time I was told that I would have to tell someone it was okay to go home who was on his death bed.  I have heard angels and saints saying the Unending Hymn that is in Revelation, the last book in the Bible, and at the time I was not really that familiar with this hymn. There are other proofs of the writers of the Bible that were with Jesus during his miracles and in fact we have the bones of many of the Apostles who wrote some of the New Testament scriptures.  In fact, my church has a sliver of St. John the Apostle's bones!  This has been a recent discovery of mine, so I am really excited!! Just this week the Pope displayed the bones of Peter. And this one probably seems minimal, but they have the actual chair that Peter sat in and used! It is covered in Bronze and hangs in the Cathedral in Rome.  There are many proofs and evidence.  The miracles from relics of saints happen often. In fact before I believed in relics I had a friend let me see a Rosary from Rome that had been blessed by the Pope.   I did not think much of it but the next morning my joints and my skin felt warm and soft. Like I was laying on a cloud when I woke up.  I wondered what was going on because for 10 years I had fibromyalgia pain and was always suffering with pain even when laying in bed. The pain was gone!!!

In my own life I have had events that altered what I ever thought possible! They are somewhat unexplainable and miraculous!

One of my first experiences was when I went to visit my grandfather who was on hospice care about 11 years ago.  I had been reading a book by Charles Swindoll called, "Flying Closer to the Flame." The book talked about being in touch with the Holy Spirit. 

The hospice nurse told us that grandpa had a few weeks left to live and I thought I had better go see him.  On the way there I was listening to music on the radio when above the noise of the radio I heard, "You are going to have to tell him it's ok to go home." It was one of those moments of, "things that make you go..hmmmm". "What's that all about?" I wondered. I mean, they had told us that grandpa had a few weeks yet. "Weird."

So when I arrived at grandpa's house I told my aunt what I had heard and she proceeded to tell me that grandpa had a good day. He had gotten out of bed and ate and joked around a bit. So I was still not expecting grandpa to pass away.  See my aunt had worked in a nursing home or care home and had experienced people in their last days.  What I did not know was that some people near death may have "one last good day".  I feel as if maybe that is a kind of grace for the loved ones.  I did not have any idea what her intent was when she told me this about grandpa. So I went in to see grandpa periodically that evening. I was hoping that he might wake up so that I might get to visit with him.  But he did not ever wake up again.  His breathing became shallow and after a while it was very faint. My aunt said, "You better tell him what you came to tell him." I grasped his very warm and soft hand and told him that it was okay to go home, and he took his last breath. 

For me it was an extraordinary moment of joy and grief all at once. I knew that for some reason grandpa had needed that reassurance to step into the arms of God and I knew that God had used me to be that reassurance. 

There is much more to this story see because I am a Christian.  I have witnessed a few miracles in my lifetime, but not like this one.  I have experienced things that are hard to explain.  

Let me go back a couple of days before grandpa's death. You see, grandpa was not a Christian, in other words he had never professed a belief in Jesus Christ.  (Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.") My mother had prayed for him for 35 years or so. A couple days before grandpa's death it was a Sunday afternoon and I felt a deep pounding in my chest and a profound experience that I can only explain as if angels were tugging on my arms and pushing my back to get me off of the couch where I was resting, thinking, and praying for grandpa. I thought maybe I should call my aunt to see how he was doing and ask her if she would talk to him about Jesus again.  See, I did not want grandpa to suffer in this death because he had emphysema and lung cancer.  And, of course, I wanted him to go to heaven. Almost instantly I felt a tugging, of sorts, to go call. As my aunt picked up the phone she was crying and I thought that it was too late.  I asked her what was wrong and she hollered, "Daddy just accepted Christ!" I was full of joy and exclaimed, "The angels are rejoicing!"  Which took me by suprise that I had said that and then remembered the verse in the Bible that says that the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10 RSVCE) 

See grandpa knew he needed a doctor and not an earthly doctor.  He had asked to speak to the lady down the street, the widow of the preacher.  Grandpa told her that he needed her doctor.  And they prayed.  That was the moment when I called.  God works in mysterious ways.

The next year I wrote out my story of grandpa and mailed out letters to all of his kids, and grandkids.   It was closing time at work.  I had mailed the letters just a couple of hours before.  With my Bible in hand I headed out the back door of the Cheney Pharmacy. As I flipped the toggle switch there was a mighty spark and everything went into slow motion.  I could here the WOOSH sound as the natural gas explosion lit!   

The next thing I remember, I was outside under some rubble with the darkest red pouring from my head!  I was screaming at the top of my lungs and getting to my hands and knees; shaking the rubble to make someone aware of where I was located.  I saw flames around me and vehicle tires that I thought might ignite at any moment.  A few farmers patronizing the local bar across the street miraculously lifted a concrete cinderblock beam, a metal door and frame, and miscellaneous concrete debris freeing me from the rubble and helping me to my feet and out of danger.  I escaped with second degree burns to my face, hands, and neck, a giant cut across my forehead and numerous head wounds.  I was so thankful to be alive that I did truly believe at that point that an angel had protected me from death! And I got a helicopter ride out of the deal too!

This was absolutely the most horrifying experience I have ever experienced and hope to ever experience.  The next day the burn unit doctor was in to look over my burns. He said it was possible that I may need a skin graft on my hand.  I was once again horrified! As the doctor and assistant left my room, I sat up in bed, mortified! Thinking how much more pain could I take? At that instant I heard this, "You are not going to have to have that." And I felt such relief and peace come over me. I did not even question where those words came from. Just peace. True peace.  Assurance.  Probably because my head was the size of a basketball my parents did not believe me when I told them that I was not going to need a skin graft. The doctors and nurses would come in and look at my hands and look for "skin buds".  (The red little dots that indicate nerves forming and thus the growth of skin.)  I was in the hospital for eight days and then they released me to home health care.  I still had to visit the hospital so that they could check my wounds for infection and for healing.  On my last visit my parents and I sat down with the burn unit wound care nurse for a final check of my burns and to remove the suctures from my forehead.  The nurse asked me several times what I was doing for my burns.  Was I using a special ointment? I said, "No". And proceeded to tell her about all the people that were praying for me in at least five different states. She said, "No, no." "I don't mean....I mean really...what are you using on your burns?" I said, "Just the ointment that they gave me." And we varified the name and she was just in disbelief that my burns had healed so fast. It was about three weeks. Miracle? I think so. In fact, I have heard more recently of how our prayers are heard but heard in a way outside of time because our time and heaven's time are different.  Heaven's time is not time as we know it.  It is a unending realm. Our prayers are heard and answered unendingly.  That's why I believe my hands still heal fast when I get a cut. They seem to heal faster than before my burns. It's a miracle.

The next time that I heard directly from heaven was in 2007. I was saying a fast and short prayer before heading off to work.  I was sitting at the dining room table, which I rarely did at that time in my life. I always thought I was too busy. I got up to leave for work and before I could stand I heard this: "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Power and Might. Heaven and Earth are full of your Glory. Hosanna in the Highest. Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest." But not only did I hear this but I felt as if I was "caught-up" in saying it with them.  I had never resighted this before in my life! I thought it was ending but then I heard it again! "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Power and Might. Heaven and Earth are full of your Glory. Hosanna in the Highest. Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest." I said it again with them. Then I thought, "Ok, now I can go to work." But I heard it once more and then it faded away.  Wow! What an experience!  I really didn't know what I had just experienced!  It was amazing and strange. 

It has been six years since I heard the "Holy, Holy, Holy".  It is November 2013.  I have since joined the Catholic Church.  I was confirmed at Easter of this year.  Last year around this time I realized that I was hearing the "Holy, Holy, Holy" again, but not in my head in some extraordinary form, but in church.  The Church had recently changed their wording a bit to better fit to the original language so I had not recognized it at first. They recite, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Host...". I had been going to the Catholic Church and reading about the Church for a year prior. I also located the phrases in two parts of the Bible.  The Church recites this phrase every hour somewhere in the world and it is known as the Unending Hymn in the Bible.  I heard that Unending Hymn that day.  I believe it was the Saints and the Angels reciting it in Heaven glorifying our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Why I have been given such gifts from God, I do not know. I do know that scripture says this:  His ways are not our ways, .....

I also know that I must tell everyone about this because it was given to me.  We, as Christians, are to tell of the good and great things that the Holy Spirit teaches us so that it edifies others.   That is why I am writing this book, so that all may know what God has revealed to me through the study of scripture, scholarly studies, the hearing of priestly homilies of old and new, and through prayer.  My writing will be just that, mine.  I cannot say that everything I will comment on will be in line with every last piece of Catholic Doctrine, but I do hope to stay as close to the Church's beliefs as far as I know for now. 

That said, I am a new convert to the Catholic faith and have been very grateful for being allowed this opportunity. God opened my eyes to see that truth of the gospel.  I prayed for the truth, and this truth has set me free.

Stepping Out in Faith.

candice.thimesch@facebook.com

Stepping out in faith today and everyday.  As we stepped into our home church for one of the last times we gave the service over to God and asked that he show us what we were supposed to do.  As we began to read that mornings readings before the service started we had our answer!


We have been back in our "home" state for seven months and it has been a trial. Trial after trial after trial.  We could not find jobs and that was the reason we had moved away in the first place was for a job. Now here we were searching for jobs.  We stayed with family.  We were needed as mom started a  new job and they needed a baby sitter, so I helped out. I would get the kids ready in the morning and take them to school and daycare.  Then I found a job, but became very ill.  I got better over the next few weeks and then finally my husband had a contract job for a while in aircraft.  Then a few weeks ago the most awful thing happened! Our niece at the age of five was killed in a car wreck.  What else Lord?  I ask. But I do hope that there is no more! My niece was so cute with her curly blonde hair.
This is her here with her brothers and step-cousins.