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Can We Have This Discussion?

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wontlisten

 

SEVERAL weeks ago, I wrote that it is time for me ‘to speak directly, boldly, and without apology to the “remnant” who are listening. It is only a remnant of readers now, not because they are special, but chosen; it is a remnant, not because all are not invited, but few respond.’ [1]cf. The Convergence and the Blessing That is, I have spent ten years writing about the times we live in, constantly referencing Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium so as to bring balance to a discussion that perhaps too frequently relies only on private revelation. Nonetheless, there are some who simply feel any discussion of the “end times” or the crises we face is too gloomy, negative, or fanatical—and so they simply delete and unsubscribe. So be it. Pope Benedict was pretty straightforward about such souls:

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Footnotes

The Tiger in the Cage

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The following meditation is based on today’s second Mass reading of the first day of Advent 2016. In order to be an effective player in the Counter-Revolution, we must first have a real revolution of the heart… 

 

I am like a tiger in a cage.

Through Baptism, Jesus has thrown open the door of my prison and set me free… and yet, I find myself pacing back and forth in the same rut of sin. The door is open, but I do not run headlong into the Wilderness of Freedom… the plains of joy, the mountains of wisdom, the waters of refreshment… I can see them in the distance, and yet I remain a prisoner of my own accord. Why? Why don’t I run? Why am I hesitating? Why do I stay in this shallow rut of sin, of dirt, bones, and waste, pacing back and forth, back and forth?

Why?

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The Counter-Revolution

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St. Maximillian Kolbe

 

I concluded Trajectory saying that we are being prepared for a new evangelization. This is what we must pre-occupy ourselves with—not building bunkers and storing food. There is a “restoration” coming. Our Lady speaks of it, as well as the popes (see The Popes, and the Dawning Era). So do not dwell on the labour pains, but the birth to come. The purification of the world is but a small part of the masterplan unfolding, even if it is to emerge from the blood of martyrs…

 

IT is the hour of the Counter-Revolution to begin. The hour when each of us, according to the graces, faith, and gifts accorded us by the Holy Spirit are being called forth into this present darkness as flames of love and light. For, as Pope Benedict once said:

We cannot calmly accept the rest of humanity falling back again into paganism. —Cardinal Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI), The New Evangelization, Building the Civilization of Love; Address to Catechists and Religion Teachers, December 12, 2000

…you shall not stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake. (cf. Lev 19:16)

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Trajectory

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DO you have plans, dreams, and desires for the future unfolding before you? And yet, do you sense that “something” is near? That the signs of the times point toward great changes in the world, and that to move forward with your plans would be a contradiction?

 

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Is It Too Late for Me?

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pfcloses2Pope Francis Closes the “Door of Mercy”, Rome, Nov. 20th, 2016,
Photo by Tiziana Fabi/ AFP POOL / AFP

 

THE “Door of Mercy” has closed. All across the world, the special plenary indulgence offered at cathedrals, basilicas and other designated places, has expired. But what about the mercy of God in this “time of mercy” in which we are living? Is it too late? A reader put it this way:

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Powerful Notes and Letters

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mailbag

 

SOME powerful and moving notes and letters from readers over the past couple of days. We want to thank everyone who has responded to our appeal with your generosity and prayers. So far, about 1% of our readers have responded… so if you are able, please pray about supporting this full-time ministry dedicated to listening and proclaiming the “now word” to the Church at this hour. Know, brothers and sisters, that when you donate to this ministry, you are essentially donating to readers like Andrea…

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The Great Dance

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Friday, November 18th, 2016
Memorial of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne

Liturgical texts here

ballet

 

I want to tell you a secret. But it’s really not a secret at all because it’s in the wide open. And it is this: the source and wellspring of your happiness is the will of God. Would you agree that, if God’s Kingdom reigned in your home and your heart, you would be happy, that there would be peace and harmony? The coming of God’s Kingdom, dear reader, is synonymous with the welcoming of His will. In truth, we pray for it every day:

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Toward 2017

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markleaWith my wife Léa outside the “Door of Mercy” at St. Joseph’s Cathedral Basilica in San Jose, CA, October 2016, on our 25th Wedding Anniversary

 

THERE’s been a whole lot of thinkin’, a whole lot of prayin’ goin’ on these past couple of months. I have had a sense of anticipation followed by a curious “unknowing” as to what my role will be in these times. I have really been living day to day not knowing what God wants of me as we enter into winter. But the past couple of days, I sensed Our Lord simply saying, “Stay where you are and be My voice crying out in the wilderness…”

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Come Down Quickly!

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Tuesday, November 15th, 2016
Memorial of St. Albert the Great

Liturgical texts here

 

WHEN Jesus passes by Zacchaeus, He not only tells him to come down from his tree, but Jesus says: Come down quickly! Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, one that few of us exercise perfectly. But when it comes to pursuing God, we should be impatient! We should never hesitate to follow Him, to run toward Him, to assail Him with a thousand tears and prayers. After all, this is what lovers do…

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Unless the Lord Build It

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fallingdown

 

I received a number of letters and comments over the weekend from my American friends, nearly all of them cordial and hopeful. I get the sense that some feel I am a bit of a “wet rag” in suggesting that the revolutionary spirit afoot in our world today has not nearly run its course, and that America is still facing a great upheaval, as is every nation in the world. This, at least, is the “prophetic consensus” spanning centuries, and frankly, a simple viewing of the “signs of the times”, if not the headlines. But I will also say that, beyond the hard labor pains, a new era of true justice and peace awaits us. There is always hope… but God help me should I offer you a false hope.

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This Revolutionary Spirit

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revolutionspirit1

trump-protestPhoto by John Blanding courtesy of The Boston Globe/Getty Images

 

This wasn’t an election. It was a revolution… Midnight has passed. A new day has come. And everything is about to change.
—Daniel Greenfield from “America Rising”, November 9th, 2016; Israelrisiing.com

 

OR is it about to change, and for the better?

Many Christians in the United States are celebrating today, celebrating as if the “midnight has passed” and a new day has come. I pray with all my heart that, in America at least, this would be true. That the Christian roots of that nation would have a chance to flourish once again. That all women will be respected, including those in the womb. That religious freedom will be restored, and that peace will fill her borders.

But without Jesus Christ and His Gospel as the source of the country’s liberty, it will be but a false peace and a false security.

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In This Vigil

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vigil3a

 

A word that has given me strength for many years now came from Our Lady in the famed apparitions of Medjugorje. Mirroring the urging of Vatican II and the contemporary popes, she also called us to look at the “signs of the times”, as she implored in 2006:

My children, do you not recognize the signs of the times? Do you not speak of them? —April 2nd, 2006, quoted in My Heart Will Triumph by Mirjana Soldo, p. 299

It was in this same year that the Lord called me in a powerful experience to begin speaking of the signs of the times. [1]see Words and Warnings I was terrified because, at that time, I was being awakened to the possibility that the Church was entering the “end times”—not the end of the world, but that period that would eventually usher in the final things. To speak of the “end times”, though, immediately opens one to rejection, misunderstanding, and ridicule. However, the Lord was asking me to be nailed to this cross.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 see Words and Warnings

The Fate of the World is Teetering

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earthdark33

 

“THE fate of the world is teetering,” claimed U.S. President Barack Obama,  as he actively campaigned recently for presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. [1]cf. Business Insider, Nov. 2nd, 2016  He was referring to the possible election of Donald Trump—an anti-establishment candidate—and suggested that the world’s fate is hanging in the balance, were the real estate magnate to be elected.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Business Insider, Nov. 2nd, 2016

The Last Grace

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purgatoryangelAn Angel, Freeing the Souls from Purgatory by Ludovico Carracci, c1612

 

ALL SOULS’ DAY

 

Having been away from home for most of the past two months, I am still catching up on many things, and so am out of a rhythm with my writing. I hope to be on a better track by next week.

I am watching and praying with all of you, especially my American friends as a painful election looms…

 

HEAVEN is only for the perfect. It is true!

But then one might ask, “How can I get to Heaven, then, for I am far from perfect?” Another might answer saying, “The Blood of Jesus will wash you clean!” And this too is true whenever we sincerely ask forgiveness: Jesus’ Blood takes away our sins. But does that suddenly make me perfectly selfless, humble, and charitable—ie. fully restored to the image of God in whom I am created? The honest person knows that this is rarely the case. Usually, even after Confession, there are still remnants of the “old self”—a need for deeper healing of sinful wounds and cleansing of intention and desires. In a word, few of us truly love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength, as we are commanded to.

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Mama!

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mamanursingFrancisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664)

 

HER presence was tangible, her voice clear as she spoke in my heart after I received the Blessed Sacrament at Mass. It was the next day after the Flame of Love conference in Philadelphia where I spoke to a packed room about the need to entrust oneself totally to Mary. But as I knelt after Communion, contemplating the Crucifix hanging over the sanctuary, I pondered about the meaning of “consecrating” oneself to Mary. “What does it mean to give myself totally to Mary? How does one consecrate all his goods, past and present, to the Mother? What does it really mean? What are the right words when I feel so helpless?”

It was at that moment I sensed an inaudible voice speak in my heart.

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With All Prayer

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Thursday, October 27th, 2016

Liturgical texts here

arturo-mariSt. John Paul II on a prayer walk near Edmonton, Alberta
(Arturo Mari; The Canadian Press)

 

IT came to me a few years ago, as clear as a flash of lightning: it will only be by God’s grace that His children will pass through this valley of the shadow of death. It is only through prayer, which draws down these graces, that the Church will safely navigate the treacherous seas that are swelling all around her. That is to say that all our own scheming, survivalist instincts, ingenuity and preparations—if undertaken without the guidance of divine wisdom—will fall tragically short in the days to come. For God is stripping His Church at this hour, stripping her of her self-assurance and those pillars of complacency and false security upon which she has been leaning.

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On Medjugorje

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This week, I have been reflecting on the past three decades since Our Lady reportedly began appearing in Medjugorje. I have been pondering the incredible persecution and danger that the seers endured, never knowing from day to day if the Communists would dispatch them as the Yugoslavian government was known to do with “resistors” (since the six seers would not, under threat, say that the apparitions were false). I am thinking of the countless apostolates that I have encountered in my travels, men and women who found their conversion and calling on that mountainside… most especially the priests I have met whom Our Lady called on pilgrimage there. I am thinking too that, not too long from now, the entire world will be drawn “into” Medjugorje as the so-called “secrets” that the seers have faithfully kept are revealed (they have not even discussed them with each other, save for the one that is common to them all—a permanent “miracle” that will be left behind on Apparition Hill.)

I am thinking too of those who have resisted the countless graces and fruits of this place that often read like the Acts of the Apostles on steroids. It is not my place to declare Medjugorje true or false—something the Vatican continues to discern. But neither do I ignore this phenomenon, invoking that common objection that “It’s private revelation, so I don’t have to believe it”—as if what God has to say outside the Catechism or Bible is unimportant. What God has spoken through Jesus in Public Revelation is necessary for salvation; but what God has to say to us through prophetic revelation is necessary at times for our ongoing sanctification. And thus, I wish to blow the trumpet—at the risk of being called all the usual names of my detractors—at what seems utterly obvious: that Mary, Mother of Jesus, has been coming to this place for over thirty years in order to prepare us for Her Triumph—whose climax we seem to be rapidly approaching. And so, since I have so many new readers of late, I wish to republish the following with this caveat: though I have written relatively little about Medjugorje over the years, nothing gives me more joy… why is that?

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On the Eve

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One of the central functions of this writing apostolate is to show how Our Lady and the Church are truly mirrors of one another—that is, how authentic so-called “private revelation” mirrors the prophetic voice of the Church, most especially that of the popes. In fact, it has been a great eye-opener for me to see how the pontiffs, for over a century, have been paralleling the Blessed Mother’s message such that her more personalized warnings are essentially the “other side of the coin” of the institutional warnings of the Church. This is most evident in my writing Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?

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Raise Your Sails (Preparing for Chastisement)

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Sails

 

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. (Acts 2:1-2)


THROUGHOUT salvation history, God has not only used the wind in his divine action, but He Himself comes like the wind (cf. Jn 3:8). The Greek word pneuma as well as the Hebrew ruah means both “wind” and “spirit.” God comes as a wind to empower, purify, or procure judgment (see The Winds of Change).

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Is Jesus Really Coming?

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majesticloud.jpgPhoto by Janice Matuch

 

A friend connected to the underground Church in China told me of this incident not long ago:

Two mountain villagers descended into a Chinese city looking for a specific female leader of the underground Church there. This elderly husband and wife were not Christians. But in a vision, they were given the name of a woman they were to look for and deliver a message.

When they found this woman, the couple said, “A bearded man appeared to us in the sky and said we were to come tell you that ‘Jesus is returning.’

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New Holiness… or New Heresy?

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red-rose

 

FROM a reader in response to my writing on The Coming New and Divine Holiness:

Jesus Christ is the greatest Gift of all, and the good news is He is with us right now in all His fullness and power through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is now within the hearts of those who have been born again… now is the day of salvation. Right now, we, the redeemed are the sons of God and will be made manifest at the appointed time… we don’t need to wait on any so called secrets of some alleged apparition to be fulfilled or Luisa Piccarreta’s understanding of Living in the Divine Will in order for us to be made perfect…

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The Coming New and Divine Holiness

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spring-blossom_Fotor_Fotor

 

GOD wishes to do something in mankind that He has never done before, save for a few individuals, and that is to give the gift of Himself so completely to His Bride, that she begins to live and move and have her being in a completely new mode.

He wishes to give the Church the “sanctity of sanctities.”

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The Rising Morning Star

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Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world” (Jn 18:36). Why, then, are many Christians today looking to politicians to restore all things in Christ? Only through Christ’s coming will His kingdom be established in the hearts of those who are waiting, and they in turn, will renew humanity through the power of the Holy Spirit. Look to the East, dear brothers and sisters, and no where else…. for He is coming. 

 

MISSING from nearly all Protestant prophecy is what we Catholics call the “Triumph of the Immaculate Heart.” That’s because Evangelical Christians almost universally omit the intrinsic role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in salvation history beyond Christ’s birth—something Scripture itself does not even do. Her role, designated from the very beginning of creation, is closely linked to that of the Church, and like the Church, is oriented entirely toward the glorification of Jesus in the Holy Trinity.

As you will read, the “Flame of Love” of her Immaculate Heart is the rising morning star that will have the dual purpose of crushing Satan and establishing the reign of Christ on earth, as it is in Heaven…

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Where Heaven Touches Earth

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PART VII

steeple

 

IT was to be our last Mass at the Monastery before my daughter and I would fly back to Canada. I opened my missalette to August 29th, the Memorial of The Passion of Saint John the Baptist. My thoughts drifted back to several years ago when, while praying before the Blessed Sacrament in my spiritual director’s chapel, I heard in my heart the words, “I am giving you the ministry of John the Baptist.” (Perhaps this is why I sensed Our Lady call me by the strange nickname “Juanito” during this trip. But let’s remember what happened to John the Baptist in the end…)

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Where Heaven Touches Earth

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PART VI

img_1525Our Lady on Mount Tabor, Mexico

 

God reveals Himself to those who wait for that revelation,
and who don’t try to tear at the hem of a mystery, forcing disclosure.
—Servant of God, Catherine de Hueck Doherty

 

MY days on Mount Tabor were drawing to a close, and yet, I knew there was more “light” to come.Continue reading →

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Where Heaven Touches Earth

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PART V

agnesadorationSr. Agnes praying before Jesus on Mount Tabor, Mexico.
She would receive her white veil two weeks later.

 

IT was a Saturday afternoon Mass, and “interior lights” and graces continued to fall like a gentle rain. That’s when I caught her out of the corner of my eye: Mother Lillie. She had driven in from San Diego to meet these Canadians who had come to build The Table of Mercy—the soup kitchen.

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Be Merciful to Yourself

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BEFORE I continue my series on Where Heaven Touches Earth, there is a serious question that must be asked. How can you love others “to the last drop” if you have not encountered Jesus loving you in this way? The answer is that it is nearly impossible. It is precisely the encounter of Jesus’ mercy and unconditional love for you, in your brokenness and sin, that teaches you how to love not only your neighbour, but yourself. So many have trained themselves to instinctively self-loathe. Continue reading →

Where Heaven Touches Earth

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PART III

morningprayer1

 

IT was 6am when the first bells for morning prayer rang out over the valley. After slipping into my work clothes and grabbing a bit of breakfast, I walked up to the main chapel for the first time. There, a little sea of white veils capping blue garments greeted me with their ethereal morning chant. Turning to my left, there He was… Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament in a large Host mounted in a huge monstrance. And, as though seated at His feet (as she surely was many times when she accompanied Him in His mission in life), was an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe carved into the stem.Continue reading →

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Where Heaven Touches Earth

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PART II
michael2St. Michael in the foreground of the Monastery at Mount Tabor, Tecate, Mexico

 

WE arrived in the early evening at the monastery just before sunset, the words “Mount Tabor” emblazoned on the side of the mountain in white rock. My daughter and I could sense immediately that we were on holy ground. As I unpacked my things in my little room at the novitiate house, I looked up to see an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on one wall, and Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart above my head (the same image used on the cover of the “Flame of Love” book.) I had a feeling that there would be no coincidences on this trip…

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Where Heaven Touches Earth

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PART I
mounttabortecateThe Monastery of the Trinitarians of Mary, Tecate, Mexico

 

ONE might be forgiven for thinking that Tecate, Mexico is the “armpit of Hell.” By day, temperatures can reach nearly 40 degrees Celsius in the summer. The land is pocked with massive rocks making agriculture nearly impossible. Even so, rain rarely visits the region, except in the winter, as distant thunderclouds often tease on the horizon. As a result, most everything is covered in a relentless fine reddish dust. And at night, the air is saturated with the toxic stench of smoldering plastic as industrial plants burn off their by-products.

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Schism? Not On My Watch

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Friday, September 1st – 2nd, 2016

Liturgical texts here


Associated Press

I have returned from Mexico, and am eager to share with you the powerful experience and words that came to me in prayer. But first, to address the concerns noted in a few letters this past month…

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In the Land of Guadalupe

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soupkitchen1

 

A rather unexpected invitation to build a soup kitchen, followed by several remarkable confirmations, came rolling my way earlier this week. And so, with that, my daughter and I have abruptly left for Mexico to help complete a little “diner for Christ.” As such, I won’t be in communication with my readers until I get back.

The thought came to me to repost the following writing from April 6th, 2008… God bless you, pray for our safety, and know that you are always in my prayers. You are loved. 

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Pray for Your Shepherds

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday, August 17th, 2016

Liturgical texts here

mother-of-priestsOur Lady of Grace and the Masters of the Order of Montesa
Spanish School (15th century)


I AM so blessed, in many ways, by the present mission Jesus has given me in writing you. One day, over tens years ago, the Lord nudged my heart saying, “Put your thoughts from your journal online.” And so I did… and now there are tens of thousands of you reading these words from all over the world. How mysterious are God’s ways! But not only that… as a result, I have been able to read your words in countless letters, emails, and notes. I hold every letter I get as precious, and feel very sad that I haven’t been able to respond to all of you. But every letter is read; every word is noted; every intention is lifted up daily in prayer.

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The Welcoming Church

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odoors3Pope Francis opening “doors of mercy”, December 8th, 2015, St. Peter’s, Rome
Photo: Maurizio Brambatti/European Pressphoto Agency

 

FROM the very beginning of his pontificate, when he refused the pomp that often accompanies the papal office, Francis has not failed to stir controversy. With deliberation, the Holy Father has purposely tried to model a different kind of priesthood to both the Church and the world: a priesthood that is more pastoral, compassionate, and unafraid to walk among the fringes of society to find the lost sheep. In so doing, he has not hesitated to sharply rebuke his confréres and threaten the comfort zones of “conservative” Catholics. And this to the glee of modernist clergy and the liberal media who intoned that Pope Francis was “changing” the Church to become more “welcoming” to gays and lesbians, divorcées, Protestants, etc. [1]eg. Vanity Fair, April 8th, 2016 The rebukes of the Pope toward the right, coupled with the assumptions of the left, has led to a cascade of downright anger and accusations toward the Vicar of Christ that he is attempting to alter 2000 years of Sacred Tradition. Orthodox media, such as LifeSiteNews and EWTN, have openly questioned the Holy Father’s judgment and rationale in certain statements. And many are the letters I’ve received from laymen and clergy alike who are exasperated with the Pope’s soft approach in the culture war.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 eg. Vanity Fair, April 8th, 2016

The Sacredness of Marriage

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Friday, August 12th, 2016
Opt. Memorial of St. Frances de Chantal

Liturgical texts here

 

SEVERAL years ago during the pontificate of St. John Paul II, Cardinal Carlo Caffara (Archbishop of Bologna) received a letter from Fatima visionary, Sr. Lucia. In it, she described what the “Final Confrontation” would be over:

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The Crisis of the Refugee Crisis

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refugeeopp.jpg 

 

IT is a refugee crisis unseen in magnitude since World War II. It comes at a time when many Western nations have been or are in the midst of elections. That is to say, there is nothing like political rhetoric to cloud the real issues surrounding this crisis. That sounds cynical, but it is a sad reality, and a dangerous one at that. For this is no ordinary migration…

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Keeping One's Eyes on the Kingdom

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Thursday, August 4th, 2016
Memorial of St. Jean Vianney, Priest

Liturgical texts here

 

EVERY day, I receive an email from someone who is upset by something Pope Francis has recently said. Every day. People aren’t sure how to cope with the constant flow of papal statements and perspectives that seem at odds with his predecessors, comments that are incomplete, or in need of greater qualification or context. [1]see That Pope Francis! Part II

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Footnotes

The Great Context

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clarawithgrandpaMy first grandchild, Clara Marian, born July 27th, 2016

 

IT was a long labor, but at last the ping of a text broke the silence. “It’s a girl!” And with that the long wait, and all the tension and worry that accompanies child birth, was over. My first grandchild was born.

My sons (the uncles) and I stood in the waiting room of the hospital as the nurses wrapped up their duties. In the room next to us, we could hear the wailing and cries of another mother in the throws of hard labor. “It hurts!” she exclaimed. “Why isn’t it coming out??” The young mother was in complete distress, her voice ringing with desperation. Then at last, after several more cries and groans, the sound of new life filled the corridor. Suddenly, all the pain of the previous moment evaporated… and I thought of the Gospel of St. John:

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Love Waits

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday, July 25th, 2016
Feast of St. James

Liturgical texts here

magdalene tomb

 

Love waits. When we truly love someone, or some thing, we will wait for the object of our love. But when it comes to God, to waiting for His grace, His help, His peace… for Him… most of us do not wait. We take matters into our own hands, or we despair, or become angry and impatient, or we begin to medicate our internal pain and anxiety with busyness, noise, food, alcohol, shopping… and yet, it never lasts because there is only one medication for the human heart, and that is the Lord for whom we are made.

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The Christian Martyr-Witness

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saint-stephen-the-martyrSt. Stephen the Martyr, Bernardo Cavallino (d. 1656)

 

I am at the beginning of hay season for the next week or so, which leaves me little time to write. However, this week, I have sensed Our Lady urging me to republish several writings, including this one… 

 

WRITTEN ON THE FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN THE MARTYR

 

THIS past year has seen what Pope Francis has rightly called the “brutal persecution” of Christians, particularly in Syria, Iraq, and Nigeria by Islamic jihadists. [1]cf. nbcnews.com; December 24th, Christmas Message

In light of the “red” martyrdom occurring this very minute of our brothers and sisters in the East and elsewhere, and the frequent “white” martyrdom of the faithful in the West, something beautiful is coming to light from this evil: the contrast of the witness of the Christian martyrs to that of the so-called “martyrdom” of religious extremists.

In fact, in Christianity, the word martyr means “witness”…

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. nbcnews.com; December 24th, Christmas Message