What did she know?

 

It’s amazing how sometimes a chance remark or a word spoken in jest can lead one to think something anew or with a fresh point of view.

Father Ignatius was helping with the dismantling of the Nativity scene in church and putting away the various statues safely for use the following Christmas. One of the helpers lifted the statue of the Virgin Mary and remarked: “Look at her face. She looks sad. It’s as if she knew what was to happen to Jesus when He grew up.”

“She’s probably tired after giving birth,” replied another helper.

“No … she looks sad, not tired. Do you think she knew that Jesus would be crucified Father?”

Father Ignatius sat down on a nearby chair.

Read the rest fo this story HERE.

Jesus Mary and Joseph

“The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.

"Murillo, The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities, about 1675-1682 Photo © The National Gallery, London”.

Not much is known about Jesus’ childhood. The Bible records the story of His birth in Bethlehem and the early days of His life but not much more.

We are left to wonder what He was like as a baby. Crawling on the ground and then taking His first hesitant steps. I wonder what His first words were when He spoke.

One thing for sure though. He was much loved by His earthly parents, who devoted themselves to His up-bringing, until He was ready to start His work on earth as His Father willed.

Like most parents, they must have wished many good things for Him as He grew up, even though they knew who He really was and what His mission in this world was to be.

Mary, however, carried an additional burden in her heart. She knew from those early days what was to happen. Simeon in the temple had told her: “… sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart”. Luke 2:35. Joseph was there to witness it all.

Can you imagine what they went through as parents? Knowing of the torture and Crucifixion which Christ would suffer.

And Mary, endured that pain even more as she followed her Son on the way to Calvary.

Yet … despite all that. Despite knowing well ahead what was to happen, despite witnessing the Crucifixion for herself, one thing must have sustained Mary and encouraged her throughout her ordeal: the sure knowledge that Jesus was/is the Son of God and that He will rise again from the dead.

That thought alone should help us when we too go through difficult times. No matter how difficult our situation we should hold on to the fact that our Lord, the one we profess to love and follow, is the Son of God. By His death and Resurrection He has conquered evil once and for all.

And no matter what our situation may be, we can assuredly turn to Mary, and seek her help in bearing the difficulties we go through.

More Time for Reflections HERE.

Jesus? Never heard of Him?

I was watching a quiz show on TV. I remember reading somewhere that on quiz shows they always make the questions rather easy so that the viewers at home can feel good when they get a question right; also it is much more entertaining as a show, especially if the contestant gets the answer wrong and you got it right. High-brow type quiz programs are educational of course, but they get much fewer audiences. There's no point in asking a contestant to name the 92 elements in as many seconds. Not many viewers would watch that show or be able to take part at home.

Anyway ... there I was watching this low-brow almost elementary quiz show and the question was: "Who did the three wise men from the East came to Bethlehem to worship?"

The contestant thought for a while and then said; "Moses".

On another occasion, days earlier, on a different show, the questioner gave three possible answers - two were obscure Saints that I'll admit I had not heard of, and the third was Saint Peter. The question was: "Who out of these three Saints is said to hold the keys to Heaven and was a loyal follower of Christ.?"

The contestant chose one of the other Saints.

Now then ... this is a Christian website and its contributors also manage their own Christian websites. This is good.

It is good because we do not know, unless we have sophisticated software, who visits our websites without leaving a comment. People from all over the world could be visiting us either deliberately or by accident (God-incident) when they enter certain words on a search engine. And for many, when they visit us, it could very well be that this is the first time they have ever heard of Christ.

We must not assume that every one out there has heard of God or Christ or all the truths we have come to learn in our walk with Him.

There are many people out there for whom the only contact with Our Lord may be our Blogs.

"Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples." Matthew 28:19

In Truth, Jesus is the Son of God!

Jesus was nailed to the cross at 9 a.m.

From 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. there was darkness all over the land. Jesus was on the cross not for 3 hours, but for 6 hours, after being brutally scourged, and after being beaten and abused by the Temple guards, leaders, and people before being handed over to the Romans.

Some meditations say that from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. was when Jesus experienced the soul torments of hell that come from sin.

These meditations teach us to flee from sin as all sin contributed to the suffering and death of Christ from the original sin to the sins before the Incarnation, to the sins of all those living with the knowledge and understanding of Salvation History. These meditations also teach us to flee from hell by not turning our eyes, understanding and hearts to the right or to the left, but instead everyday, under the guidance, sanctifying grace, and coaching of the Holy Spirit, remaining faithful in prayer, reading and studying the Bible, and taking God's and Jesus's commandments as musts, not guidelines or recommendations for how to live our lives.

Why did Jesus yell out "My God, My God, why have you deserted me?"

I have heard this explained as similar to when a father needs to hold down a son for a necessary but painful medical treatment. He keeps his son from moving through act of will, because he knows it is for his good, but he tends to avert his eyes from looking at the face of his child, because it is more than his father's heart can take.

Maybe God the Father, who did not spare his Son for our salvation, averted his inward gaze away from his Son during this time because while he willed for this atoning sacrifice of his beloved Son so that we might have eternal life, joy, love, and communion with him forever, in this moment where his son was nailed to the cross, abandoning his divine power to escape the agony, and suffering the internal soul torment due to our sins, he looked away as his Father's heart was so pained to see the one he loved so much suffering internally, in addition to his external torments, what no one before or since has suffered. Jesus had never experienced this before, and now here in his worst suffering he doesn't feel the gaze of his father.

It was also Jesus invoking the prophetic words of Psalm 22 written 1000 years earlier by King David.

"But Jesus gave out a loud cry and breathed his last. And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, 'In truth, this man was the Son of God.'" Mark 15:37-39

Fr. John Bartunek in The Better Part in meditations on Mark 15:21-29 reminds us,
The souls of those faithful men and women who had trusted in God, and in God's promise during the centuries before the Incarnation were not yet in heaven. They had died in friendship with God, but the gates of heaven were still closed, because no one had yet atoned for the sin of mankind that had closed them in the first place. Now Jesus comes and achieves the atonement. And the first thing he does is go and announce the good news to the souls who were waiting their redemption. . . . Now the mystery of God's saving love is revealed to them in the piercing, loving gaze of their Savior. Now they can experience what they longed for with vibrant faith and faithful hope, the full presence of God as they await the resurrection of their bodies and the final judgment. . . .

Christ's self-sacrifice on the cross reveals that God's love for weak and selfish sinners has absolutely no limit. . . . Love is self-giving for the good of the beloved. . . . His love has no limits . . . .

Paraphrasing Fr. Bartunek . . . Jesus loved us so much that He:

• Left the Heavenly Glory to become one of us
• He lived among us
• He worked and suffered the grind of ordinary life
• He taught and healed and revealed God's heart
• He founded the Church to extend his presence and grace throughout all time
• He let himself be betrayed, humiliated, condemned, mocked
• He subjected himself to excruciating physical torments
• He hung helpless on the cross in our place
• He took upon himself our sins, suffering internal torments, also in our place
• He the Creator and Lord of all, did not have his life taken from him, he laid it down for us his friends
• His love was completely self-giving
• His love has no bounds

Truly, Jesus is the the Son of God. Truly, Jesus is one of the three persons in one God, one of the Glorious and Holy Trinity.

You need to know:

• Jesus is always with you
• Jesus understands you completely
• Jesus's compassion toward you is more perfect than you can imagine
• Jesus knows that you don't know this
• Jesus longs for you to know this because . . .
• Jesus yearns for you to trust him. He knows this isn't easy for you. It may be easy in a given moment, but how constant are we in this trust?

He has done so much for us.

Lord, please give me the grace to more faithfully pray:

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

Jesus, Son of God, I trust in you.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

"You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same." (Colossians 3:12-13)

Have you heard the one about ...

The comedian stood on the stage and shouted "12".

And the audience laughed in unison.

He then said "15" and they laughed even louder.

He cried out "23" and they stamped their feet with delight as they laughed and applauded.

He continued with his repertoire "24 ... 33 ... 39 ..." and the audience were in tears with laughter as he kept calling out various numbers.

After about fifteen minutes or so on stage I asked him afterwards in his room what all that was about.

He explained, "This is a very loyal audience who follow me everywhere wherever I do a show. Over the years they got to know all my jokes and they enjoy hearing them over and again. In order to make the show go faster, and so that I can pack in more jokes, I have printed them all out and numbered them. The audience have memorised all the jokes. Now all I have to do is call out the number, they remember the joke, and laugh at it!"

I was amazed at what he had just said. "Why ..." I asked hesitantly, "why did they not laugh when you said 42?"

"They had not heard that joke before!" he answered.

Over the passed few days we have heard the story of Christmas read out in church several times.

A pregnant Virgin and her husband go to Bethlehem on a donkey. There is no room in the inn. They go to the stable where a baby is born and placed in a manger. An Angel appears to shepherds and announces the Birth; and a star guides three Kings from the East to the stable.

We've all heard the story many times before and no doubt we will hear it again next Christmas and beyond.

Is it yet another old story from folklore which tradition repeats every twelve months and, like that comedian's audience, we remember once again and smile silently as we celebrate with family and friends?

Or is it perhaps something more important than that? In fact, the most important event that has ever happened in the history of the world.

God, the Creator of the whole Universe and what is in it and beyond it, loved us so much that He decided to make Himself flesh and visit us on earth as a human being.

I wonder how many people, as they celebrate the "12" days of Christmas from the 25th to the 6th, stop for a moment and really and seriously think about the awesomeness that this event really means?  

1? ... 3? ... 7? ... 100? ... More?

About the Author

Sacred Heart of Jesus Novena

O, my Jesus, you have said : "Truly I say to you, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you."  Behold, I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of (insert your request).
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be to the Father.
"Sacred Heart of Jesus I place all my trust in you."

O, my Jesus, you have said:  "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, He will give it to you."  Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of (insert your request).
Our Father.  Hail Mary. Glory Be to the Father.
"Sacred Heart of Jesus I place all my trust in you."

O, my Jesus, you have said:  "Truly I say to you, Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away."  Encouraged by your infallible words I know ask for the grace of (insert your request).
Our Father.  Hail Mary.  Glory Be to the Father.
"Sacred Heart of Jesus I place all my trust in you."


O SAcred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender mother and ours.

Say the Hail Holy Queen and add "St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us."

St. Padre Pio prayed this novena every day.  Please come and join us for the Sacred Heart of Jesus link up Here.

Blessings,
Noreen

Beautiful Reasons for Praying the Rosary Even More Often

Copied from Fr. John Hampsch, C.M.F.'s blog where he provided the following encouragement to pray the rosary.  All of this with this exception of the quotes from Father Amorth was written by Fr. John Hampsch. I didn't want to put the whole thing in italics as a distraction.

Father Gabriel Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican writes:

One day a colleague of mine heard the devil say during an exorcism, “Every Hall Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end.”

The secret that makes this prayer so effective is that the Rosary is both prayer and meditation. It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the Holy Trinity, and is a meditation centered on Christ.”

I write in addition to the above:

Please enunciate each word of the Rosary clearly and distinctly. Do not trample on the heels of the words of anyone with your words. Do not speak over the leader if you are following or the respondent if you are leading the Rosary. Remember that they also are having a conversation With Mary Our Mother and it is not polite to speak when someone else is speaking.

In the case of the public Rosary there are only two people speaking: the Leader and the respondents. Each is speaking to the Blessed Mother and listening carefully to her response within their hearts as they meditate on the scene before them in their consideration of the mystery being spoken of and interpreted and translated into their lives.

Spread this powerful prayer of exorcism, the Rosary, which contains the Our Father, the Perfect Prayer, prayed five times in the recitation of each set of the Rosary’s Mysteries, backed up by the powerful prayers of Our Mother who prays with us as we pray 53 Hail Mary’s.

The Eternal Father described to a group of us, through a Visionary Friend of mine, what happens when we pray the Rosary, saying, “When you pray Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now ….. , the Blessed Mother comes instantly to your side to pray with you. And she does not come alone. She brings angels with her. And not just one or two for she is the Queen of Angels, so choirs of angels come with her. And she and Jesus are joined at the heart and cannot be separated so she brings Jesus with her. And Jesus cannot be separated from the Trinity so He brings the Father and the Holy Spirit with Him. And where the Holy Trinity is, all of creation is, and you are surrounded by such beauty and light as you cannot imagine in this life.

Your Mother comes as Our Lady of Grace with her hands outstretched. Rays of light emit from her hands piercing your body, healing you and filling you with graces. This is your inheritance, which was poured out from the heart of Jesus on the Cross, when the centurion pierced His Heart with the spear, into the only pure vessel ready to receive such graces at that time, Your Mother.

Now as you pray the Rosary, or even just recite one Hail Mary, you receive your portion of these graces.

He also said at this time, “Anyone who goes to Mary and prays the Rosary cannot be touched by Satan.” Is it any wonder that anyone who prays the Rosary from the heart is so blessed and protected and powerful in their prayers for others?

Christ Was

*This beautiful poem is posted by guest author, Isaac.

Christ was a simple man.

He traveled the countryside in a tattered cloak and worn out sandals.

His beard and hair grew long and rough.

He was a simple man, but He was also the Son of God.

Christ was the Son of God.

He was born of a holy mother, Mary, who submitted to the Will of God.

His earthly-father was the town carpenter who furnished the village with tables and chairs.

He was the Son of the Eternal God, and therefore, was destined to die.

Christ died for the sins of all men.

He died and gave His life in order that we may live, in the culmination of His earthly mission.

He hung on the cross in agony and pain amidst a world filled with suffering.

Christ died on the cross, but rose to life again.

Christ rose from the grave.

He triumphed over all sin and death, strife and pain.

He uprooted all evil by by His Resurrection for our sake.

Christ, the simple man, is the Savior of the human race.    

Quick Bytes #3: Happy and Sad

One of the happiest days of my life was when I decided to make sure I thank Jesus every single day for dying for me.

One of the saddest days of my life was when I realized that was nowhere near enough ...



God Bless you.

Among Us

This beautiful reflection comes from our guest author Isaac.

Among us…

I remember that day,

The day on which the man from Nazareth walked among us.

He was the son of Joseph and Mary;

A carpenter, just like His father.

Now this man walked with us.

Along the sea road He trod.

This very path He traveled.

On His quiet journey.

He taught and spoke while we listened.

We hung on every word.

His gentle words of wisdom enveloped us,

While His peacefulness settled the crowd.

Then on that day in the Holy City,

He was led through the stone streets.

Led to His death,

Oh the horrible fate.

The soldiers whipped Him.

But we knew not why.

There I was, witnessing the fate of an innocent man.

Little did I know Who He was.

But through it all He remained calm,

As serene as those days of past,

The days when He walked among us,

Christ the Savior of the World.