God Works Through the Most High Motherhood of Mary

Jesus Christ elevates His Mother Mary to a most high place in His Life and ours.  For from her flesh and from her motherhood, He came into this world to heal us and to give us the Light of Love.  Also, in a way similar to how He gives us Himself from the Father, He gives us Himself through His Mother, Mary.  And so, in Mary we recognize the pure goodness of Jesus Christ ever so clearly.

In drawing close to Mary, we draw close to Jesus the Christ.  In becoming as a child of Mary, we recognize that we have already become adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ in His glorified humanity where Love rules every aspect of our lives.  We find rest in her pure, joyful and grace-filled compassion and mercy.  In her smile, we see the Love and Mercy of God shining through, for she is very near to Him.  He calls us through His Mother to Himself. She says, “I take you as my baby child, for the love of God works through me, and I am all “Yes” to Him who is all Love for you and for me. I love you so very much.”But, the unfathomable Love and Beauty of God is far beyond even that which we are able to see in our Mother Mary.  Oh Loving Lord – you are the ultimate Essence of Beauty.  For you, may our hearts also resonate like Mary’s “Yes!” and be filled with JOY.

At the Vigil Mass: A Bit of Ecstasy in Beauty

Yesterday evening, at the Vigil Mass, I sat alone in the middle of the next to last pew; my good wife was away taking care of her sister who was recovering from surgery. I wanted to avoid blocking anyone from getting in, and I wanted not to interfere with the normal sitting routine since I usually go to the Sunday morning Mass: you know – new people come in early to a heavily attended Mass, sit in your usual spot, and then you sit in someone else’s usual spot, and then they have to sit in someone else’s usual spot, and on and on the disruption goes. Well, I was not going to do that. Not today.

As I sat there by myself, I opened a dialogue with God (or He opened one with me). All of a sudden, I found it easy to be encouraged by the truth that everything was good and beautiful and a reflection of the immense kindness, forbearance, and love of our great Creator.

The beauty of people, art, candleabra and candle flames, a smile, glimmering sunlight, the peace of quiet, an enthusiastic and faithful and dutiful priest, meditation and contemplation, the Real Christ intentionally present out of total love for us. Everything was gift at that moment – a sheer contradiction to all that is evil in our day. And then I considered the beauty of nature outside the parish church – how beautiful and how directly docile it is for us compared to how bad it could be.

It was all a gift to allow me to praise God from the heart – to love Him with all of my heart, soul and mind.

And, coincidentally, that’s what the Gospel readings were about: “

“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.”

I give you thanks, dear Lord, for encouraging me and moving me to praise and love. May I always love you fully. Amen.

New Waking Dreams – Peace of Heaven

Over the last several weeks, I have been having short waking dreams of real people who I have never met — little children looking up at me and smiling, full of peace and happiness; a mother with her child on her lap in a state of peace and comfort lounging and looking out into the distance in complete wonder. Who are these people?

They are all beautiful, healthy and happy. These souls are in familiar surroundings – homes with all of their needs met, whether clothing or furniture or shelter or environment. The primary difference from what is normal is that I can know the peace that they are experiencing. I have known this peace in my own rare and fleeting gifts of temporary visions which, for me, must represent what I will know if I make it to Heaven. This must be the true peace of Christ that we read and hear about. This is a peace which is like the fullness of spiritual life Itself – full of whatever is right and good and wholesome and completely satisfying. This is the reality of where the soul is completely filled with the Life and Peace of God, and as a result of the soul’s condition, the body also experiences this fulness of health and completeness.

“For the Kingdom of God is… righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” –St. Paul, Letter to the Romans, 14:17

For the last year or two, I have been studying what really is “the life of the world to come” which we say we beleive in the Nicene Creed. There really isn’t a whole lot of detail from either Sacred Scripture or Sacred Tradition on what that life will be like – whether in Hell, Purgatory, or Heaven or the new Earth and new Heaven. I continue to pray and develop theories about it, and I believe that God our Heavenly Father is listening and helping me to see. Perhaps I will post some imagery in the future to describe what I have developed thus far.

Magnitude of Sin

That God’s Son, Jesus Christ had to die for our sins then feed us of His own substance in order for us to survive and live eternally provides us with the Father’s view of our disobedience and the harm that disobedience does to our own persons. Sin is very serious business.

A Dream of Mary Appearing

Last night, I dreamed that I was participating in a Marian Apparition. I and another were bringing gifts to lay at her feet and I was apologizing for not praying the Rosary more often. When she spoke to me, I could not understand her words, but her tone was consoling. I was not the recipient of the apparition, but I could see her faint image, and I could faintly grasp her Rosary which was translucent and made of clear, pink, polished jewels.

I have been in a long, spiritual dry spell, and for good reasons. Maybe it is beginning to lift!

Mystical Marriage in Light of Jesus as Vine and Disciples as Branches on the Vine

Many of you (okay, a small minority of you) already know what is meant by a “mystical marriage.” Master Catholic Apologist, Mr. Jimmy Akin recently re-published an article about St. Catherine of Sienna who said she had this kind of marriage with Jesus Christ. You can read about it here.

My question is this: How does the Church promote the Lord’s mystical marriage with a female saint, but when it comes to male saints, they don’t really discuss it? Wouldn’t it look like a same-sex marriage if the Church did promote it? I have the same question for ladies who become nuns and take vows which are intended to be like vows of marriage with the Lord, but men just don’t do that. Would it make sense for the male saints to be in Heaven as brothers or wards of the Lord, but a few select female saints as his mystical bride. No. It wouldn’t, and I don’t think the mystical marriage agreement is kept beyond earthly death of the saint. For, at the resurrection, we are neither married nor given in marriage; we are like the angels of God [Matthew 22:23-28].

Now, let’s review some of the things which may lead us to believe that we really are going to marry the Lord. Jesus Christ reaffirmed what the greatest commandment is. He said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” [Matthew 22:37]

Let’s match the Lord’s command also with the announcement that the Church is Christ’s holy Bride. Now, we’re thinking about real marriage, but the dogma is still not very clear, especially in light of the fact that female saints and religious talk about being married to Jesus in a rather direct way (but short of natural marriage), but male saints and religious don’t really “go there.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph number 796 summarizes the dogma in this way:

“The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the distinction of the two within a personal relationship. This aspect is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist.²³⁴ The Lord referred to himself as the “bridegroom.”²³⁵ The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful, members of his Body, as a bride “betrothed” to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him.²³⁶ The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb.²³⁷ “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.”²³⁸ He has joined her with himself in an everlasting covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body:²³⁹This is the whole Christ, head and body, one formed from many . . . whether the head or members speak, it is Christ who speaks. He speaks in his role as the head (ex persona capitis) and in his role as body (ex persona corporis). What does this mean? “The two will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the Church.”²⁴⁰ And the Lord himself says in the Gospel: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh.”²⁴¹ They are, in fact, two different persons, yet they are one in the conjugal union, . . . as head, he calls himself the bridegroom, as body, he calls himself “bride.”²⁴²

We are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind. And “each of the faithful” are considered “as a bride ‘betrothed’ to Christ the Lord. We are each to become “one spirit with him.” Okay, something is getting more clear here: we are not joining our bodies with him (the Body is actually the whole Church); we are joining our spirits with his. That makes more sense. So, this is definitely not a natural marriage by any sense of the word.

Recap: mystical marriage looks like a man giving a woman a wedding ring – one man and one woman, and it’s imagery seems to be close to natural marriage because no one ever talks about a male saint or religious getting married to Jesus – that would be like same-sex marriage. The Church’s dogma is quite different: there is one Bridegroom but many Faithful betrothed together to him – their spirits joined, made one with his. This is spiritual, not physical. And, this is a sort of divine, spiritual polygamy (not in the positive, natural sense), and not monogamy (which mystical marriages seem to be like).

We can see how this spiritual marriage plays out in the parable of the Vine (Jesus) and the Branches (each of the Faithful) [John 15:5]. There is one Vine (Bridegroom) and many branches (each betrothed as if each were a separate bride). If we abide in [love] the Lord, we bear a lot of fruit! But, that is spiritual fruit we are bearing. Contrast that with having a lot of children in obedience to the will of God to be fruitful and multiply – naturally. Now, on a grape vine, it is not usually the vine itself that is directly involved in reproduction which leads to fruit. Remember: Christ is the Vine and we are branches. What comes from our own branches? Flowers bud from our branches if we are healthy. And what do our flowers do? Our flowers might cross-pollinate. But, that doesn’t mean that the Faithful are pollinating each other’s spiritual flowers. Grape flowers can be male, female, and hermaphroditic (many cultured vines have these). So, let’s say that since we are not given in marriage at the resurrection, but are like the angels of God, I’m thinking our spiritual flowers are hermaphroditic and it is Christ, the Vine, who is providing all of the life substance necessary for us to be healthy and bearing fruit – real fruit which lasts for eternity. As well, He is a bit far removed from the activity of the pollination which leads to germination and fruit,

So, we are all joined to Christ in one spirit. This is the true marriage with the Lord. We bear fruit from this marriage, but in a way which is a step or two removed from the direct interaction of the Lord (i.e., he’s not involved in the pollination, germination, maturing of the fruit – that’s our job).

Okay, it’s clearer to me now. And, I must say that I think that mystical marriages are GREAT, and have a truly good purpose, but I don’t think they are meant to last beyond our earthly lives.

What do YOU think?

Waking Dream: Little Girl Extern

This morning, in a waking dream, I was in a dark place looking at a delightful little girl through a grid. She had dark curly long hair and a sort of freckled face. She was wearing what looked like medieval attire – a white bonnet on her head and a dress with an apron. She was sitting behind a grate smiling at me; the grate was large enough for me to see her person only – like one might have seen at a ticket booth. The only light was coming from me or my direction. There were no words. I am reminded of how an extern nun might greet a person like that – through a screen or grate.

Well, that’s what I saw. It seemed real to me. Who is she and why did I see her? Why was it dark, and why was she behind a grate and the light coming from me? Why is she wearing attire from an older time? I think of places like purgatory or neutral zones between mortal and immortal dwellings. I think of a daughter who miscarried, yet is somehow living elsewhere in spiritual dwellings. I can only speculate.

Nevertheless, she was smiling, and that is probably the most important clue.

Trinitarian Metaphysical Art, Mary and the Father

I have been trying to make sense of how the Hypostatic Union can be present in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Forgive me if this is too abstract.

Consider that the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Only Begotten Son of God,  born of the Father before all ages” according to our Creed. But, then again, “For us men and for our salvation  he came down from heaven,  and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,  and became man.” Yes, the Word took his flesh from Mary and she gave birth to him. God the Son, who was born of the Father, came down and took on flesh only from Mary’s pure, sinless flesh, and was born of Mary in the child Jesus. The parallels between Mary the Mother and God the Father are interesting. That Jesus says “the Father and I are one” is also interesting in the sense that the Son is born only of the one Parent, the Father. And, we see this again in Mary where Jesus is born only of the one parent, Mary. I see some mirroring here of the Imago Dei, not in the traditional Thomistic sense, but in another.

Note in the image, Mary with Child, I show the concentric circle of the Son closest to the concentric circle of Infant Jesus resting in His mother’s womb because this is where the bond is strongest; it is the Word or Son of God who took flesh in Mary while also bringing the full divine nature with Him.

A Dream of Healing and Blessing

This morning, I dreamed that I received the power of the Holy Spirit with two primary effects: 1) a surge of spiritual and physical healing in my own person like someone pouring pure, clean Water into my soul; and 2) the power to bring healing to others.

The Setting: I was with my Bishop, and a few others were present. It was just us. He asked me if I was sure that I wanted to do this, as if he was asking me to make a statement of faith and also make a promise. I was sure because I had foreknowledge that my whole person would be healed completely of all ailments or woes of aging, like being regenerated. I also knew that I would be expected to serve as a healer of others. That part worried me a little because I knew that I had no control over, would not be the cause of the power to heal others. While I would be a conduit of God’s power, I was concerned that my own weakness would somehow lessen the effects i would be able to bring to others. So, that is a vice i need to get over.

When I said yes to the Bishop, it was like he ordained me, and at that moment, my whole person felt an exhilarating wave of cleansing refreshment and energy. And now here I am writing this for your inspiration.

Last night, and on many nights, as I lay in bed waiting to fall asleep, I have prayed “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.” I am praying for healing, safety, security, protection, all needs, while also thanking Him for all of these things He already provides. But, yesterday I recall wondering, “With God, one day is like a thousand years. How long will it be before I get His attention? Will He not hear and act until after I am already dead?” And, then I had this dream. I thank God for this.

A Nun, a Book, a Dream, and a Hearing

Recently, I read a novel for the first time in decades. I have always found it difficult to discipline my thoughts enough to stay focused on a single book for 400 pages, or even 10, but I did it this time. A talented and precious religious sister recommended it to me. Coming from this particular nun and believing there was a message to be found in the reading, how could I resist reading it to its completion?

The story followed a man’s life from early childhood to a peaceful death. It was about Heaven. As I read it, I was reminded of how this nun brought back an early childhood memory for me. You see, she reminds me of a little girl with whom I had an infatuation when I was in the 1st grade. It was my first ever infatuation like that – where a boy looks at a girl’s pretty face and knows that he wants to be closer to her; it was one of those situations where a little boy has feelings and has no idea how to express them.

Unfortunately for me, there seemed to have been a mass awakening of similar feelings by other boys in my class because it seemed that everyone of them wanted to show their affection to her as they went back into the classroom after playing outside. She was holding open the classroom door as we entered, and in competition for her love, several of the boys were kissing her on her right cheek – big slobbery kisses – as they re-entered the classroom. I think she knew she had some kind of power over us, and maybe she didn’t quite understand or know what to do about the situation.

As I approached her, I started regretting the whole situation – firstly that I, having not been noticed by her, would have to compete for her heart; secondly, it certainly would be awkward to try to kiss her after not ever having said one word to her; thirdly, I would have to kiss her slobbery face after all the other 1st grade boys made their attempt to woo her – yuck! Well, I made an attempt to kiss her, but I don’t think I quite did; I think she drew away her face (embarrassing for me, of course).

I have always remembered her and had just a tiny wound in my heart because I didn’t quite measure up, and I could not have her as my girlfriend. I wonder how that has affected my personality over all of these years. Well, I’m certainly blessed to have my wife.

Anyway, it was a great book with an intriguing story. I completed it over a 2 week period. Now, I will state that it caused me to reflect on some of my own sinful inclinations in addition to my own trials and tribulations in life. You know, we sometimes are tempted by the perfection we desire but don’t have, and so we might be tempted to covet things and people and situations which, by our own vows, we should not. Those thoughts were coming to the surface, and it was a battle to keep them under control – like I was under spiritual assault. But, I kept reading and struggling.

I suppose it might have been like when Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and gave up the protection of the Spirit that He might have to struggle under temptation and show that He could win nevertheless. The struggle was real because, when I am struggling with serious temptation, my heart physically hurts – and it was hurting. It’s like Jesus is undergoing His Passion, except that it is happening in some way in my own heart. I don’t wish any pain on Him, but that’s what I think about. Of course, I was moved to undergo a thorough examination of conscience after reading the book, and I decided, yesterday, that I had sufficiently kept myself from falling into a mortal snare. The good thing is that the Spirit sort of convinced me to trust Him that I did nothing wrong in how my mind wondered out from and back to the Path.

Last night, I had a related nightmare. I can’t really recall the full set of circumstances, but I do know it involved me grabbing and throwing a deadly, colorfully-ringed snake, like Satan, away from me, watching it quickly coil for a strike, and then me scrambling to avoid it’s bites. It extended its body fully toward my feet and flared it’s venom pouches in readiness for a deadly strike, but it could move no closer to me. It was at my feet on the ground, which was all white, and extended its body toward me but fell short. I thought of smashing its head, but then I woke up. I’m not sure I would have actually smashed its head; it seemed too pitiful.

At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass this morning, after the Liturgy of the Word, and not long into the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I began to hear the Lord speak to me. He said:

“You know me.”

There were other words, too. Of course, as I’m sitting there in my natural anxiety, I’m thinking this is the Lord judging me. Right? I know Him? Does that mean that I know that He was hurting in my heart? Or, does it mean that because I know that, I can regret it and do whatever I can to console Him and prevent Him anymore pain? This must be the pain of True Love which the Lord always endures. Yet, how do we stop it and console the Lord? How do we return love and care like a soothing salve on a festering wound? That’s what I want to do.

“You know me.”

I know He loves me, and I can do nothing without Him. But, I can choose to love Him, and I try and am able the more closely I succumb to his virtuous, meek and humble Way.

Where Two or Three are Gathered in My Name: New or Old Order of the Mass?

Today, in the Gospel readings, we heard the Lord Jesus Christ say,

“…Again, amen, I say to you,
if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. 
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.” [cf, Matt 18:15-20]

The Haydock Bible Commentary on verses 19 and 20 states:

Ver. 19. That if two of you. From these words, we learn how superior is public to private prayer. The efficacy of the former is attributed to the presence of Christ in those assemblies. The Father, for his Son’s sake, will grant petitions thus offered. Jans. — The fervour of one will supply for the weakness and distractions of the other.

Ver. 20. There am I in the midst of them. This is understood of such assemblies only, as are gathered in the name and authority of Christ; and in unity of the Church of Christ.—S. Cyprian, de Unitate Ecclesiæ. Ch. — S. Chrysostom, Theophylactus, and Euthymius explain the words in his name, thus, assembled by authority received from Christ, in the manner appointed by him, or for his sake, and seeking nothing by his glory. Hence we may see what confidence we may place in an œcumenical council lawfully assembled. T.— S. Greg. lib. vii. Regist. Epist. cxii.

So, let’s bring this Church teaching into the confusion brought on by the motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum in light of the express liturgical reform requirements of the constitution, Sacrosanctum Concilium…

On the surface, it appears that there is quite a dichotomy between those of the Faithful who docilly adhere to the Novus Ordo Missae (New Order of the Mass) and those others who adhere to the Vetus Ordo Missae (Old Order of the Mass).

Novus Ordo Missae Adherents: These choose Substance (the Real Presence of the Lord re-presented) over form (of the Mass) and orient their personal wills in an attitude of docile obedience to the Holy Spirit which guides the Church, i.e., toward a new form of the Mass – one which reformed the Vetus Ordo. These truly do respond to the authority of Jesus Christ in the Church in the most direct and pure way.

Vetus Ordo Missae Adherents: These choose form over Substance, demanding the original, pre-Ecumenical Council, non-reformed Vetus Ordo over the Substance of the Mass. These are not so concerned about docilly obeying the Holy Spirit and find it easy to doubt or reject the Lord’s direction to reform the liturgy during an Ecumenical Council. These doubt the authority of Jesus Christ in the Church in the most direct and pure way.

So, then, who are really gathered in the Name of Jesus Christ? Those who obey the teaching of an Ecumenical Council and prioritize the Lord’s own Person as more important than liturgical form? Or, those who disobey the teaching of an Ecumenical Council and prioritize the old form more than the Lord Himself – who don’t regard His presence during an Ecumenical Council to be of any bearing on their choices?

Isn’t being “in the Name” of Jesus fervently a) being obedient; b) being responsive to authority established by the Lord Himself, and c) loving God (Substance of the Mass, not form of the Mass) above all else? So, you figure it out. Who are really, with full intent, actually gathering in the Name of Jesus Christ? Who is being heard?

Dream: Seeing My Girl Again

In a waking dream this morning, I saw a little girl looking toward me through a window. She had short-cut brown hair with golden highlights and sparkling greenish-blue eyes. I wonder if she is our only girl, Maddie in Heaven?

It would be no wonder, since yesterday I wrote to one of my two sponsored girls a letter about my prayers for her future life as a wife and mother. I prayed the Joyful Mysteries for her and explained my intentions and blessing for her in each Mystery. She turned 18 in June.

Thanks be to God for revealing sweet things such as these. Amen.

God Comes as Smile to Sophia

At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass today, during the Sanctus, the Lord came to us as a Divine Smile. I could sense the joy as the Divine Smile flooded my soul. This was a special Mass because Sophia, a little girl, would receive First Holy Communion this morning.

Indeed, at “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” the Divine Smile penetrated my soul. He said, “I am here.”

There was something very special today – Peace was in the nave and sanctuary. I could tell that the priest was at peace and, for the first time in years, he gave a homily which I could tell was coming from his heart – with real heart-felt passion – inspired breath. I was impressed.

Sophia, dressed in a tiny white wedding gown with white veil, timidly approached the Pastor to receive the Lord. She approached, did not bow and held the throne of her hands out. The Pastor placed the Lord on her little throne, and she looked up and asked what to do.

The Pastor gestured and she received Him. She paused. Then, in what seemed like unusual contemplation, she initiated a deep and profound bow slowly and tenderly in adoration. It was beautiful – what I saw happening in that little child. She returned to the pew with her parents and remained in prayer with her hands piously folded. Her mother was also in great peace.

How beautiful it all was. It was Divine Healing and Divine Life-giving. Amen.

Eucharist: “Melt Into Me”

At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass today (Sunday), I imagined the Lord Jesus Christ standing behind the Altar, smiling and speaking this with outstretched arms, “My peace I leave you, my peace I give you.”

After receiving Him in Holy Communion, I heard, “Melt into me.” This is an invitation to become one with the Lord, to let one’s self become saturated with Life, Health and Holiness.

When people marry, it takes them years to figure out that they must compromise in order to truly become one body together. With the Lord, He has no need to compromise; it is us who need to compromise our own selfish and often faithless ways. And so, to become one Body in Christ, *we* must compromise and melt into the Way of the Lord.

Holy Spirit – Special Intimacy

This morning at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, three things happened which were extraordinary [and I don’t mean the form of the Mass 🙂 ].

Firstly, I could see Jesus processing in and blessing us with His wounded hands behind the Altar. Secondly, I could see Who I believe to be the image of the Holy Spirit during the Creed. Thirdly, after the dismissal and during our Hail Mary prayer for vocations, I could see the Blessed Virgin Mary. I will cover the second two here.

Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life: We state our belief in the Holy Spirit this way when we recite the Creed each Sunday:

“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.”

When I was reciting this part, I remembered many locutions in the past to “romance me.” This essentially means to “love me” in a special way which is appropriate to Divinity. I attribute this call to the Holy Spirit. And I envisioned our Personal God to be youthful, fresh, full of life, full of virtue, attractive and desirous of intimacy to the point that I felt like I was being refreshed in that moment, nearly to the point of sort of floating away – feeling very light and happy. But, I had full control and did not drift away. Thank you dear Lord for this blessing of grace.

Holy Mother of God, Mary Most Holy: After Sunday Mass, we always make two prayers – one to St. Michael the Archangel (to protect us from Satan – I often see from the vantage point of thrusting demons through a hatch into Hell using a very long battle lance – very effective, and they cannot come back in) and also to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Most Holy Mother of God for more vocations. I saw her, too. And, praying to her, she said “touch me,” (something I am averse to doing), but when I did, my heart leapt or skipped a beat, and I felt that something like the weight of sin had been taken from me. I think that because when I do begin to have sinful thoughts, my heart hurts like pressure is being forced on it. But, when I reached out to touch Mother Mary, my heart felt relieved or healed. I had been recollecting prior sinful thoughts and asking God for forgiveness, to which he replied as in a locution, “I have forgiven you.” But, Mother Mary gave me some sort of grace today which I do not recall receiving before.

This all gave me great hope in the Kingdom of God, Who is Love, Who Mercifully Heals.

How is this Possible? Now, one might ask, “How is it that one person in 2.5 billion Christians sees these Persons and Saint? Does that mean he is the only one? Or, how can these Persons and this Saint be present to one and many simultaneously?” Well, we can answer that question by the example of the Prophets. All Christians are called to be like prophets, but do we acknowledge, listen and respond to the Lord? No! Most do not! Most do not love the Lord our God as He asks. We stray, we get distracted, we don’t pray (we don’t speak to God), we put other gods before our Loving God. Who would make friends with you if you don’t think one important enough to talk to or listen to? I also fail in these ways, but I have taken the grace to repent when I do, and I return to be healed and love again and am always forgiven. Also, why do we try to limit the capability of God as if He were only a limited creation? When we do, we show our ignorance and lack of attention to knowing God.

Remember today’s Gospel message. We are all called to be like fertile soil in light of the “seed” which the Lord plants in us, that it might take root and bear much fruit. How do we become that fertile soil? Think about that. Are you the soil on the path, the rocky ground, or amongst thorns? Or are you the rich, fertile soil like that in a flood plain? What floods and is absorbed into your soil? Is it the pollution of sloth, violence, pornography, hatred, calumnious intention, financial wealth, career advancement, or personal power? Or is it the clean life-giving, cool Water of the Lord?

Waking Dream: Is Patricia in Purgatory?

This morning, as I was having a waking dream, I saw in my mind an image of an older lady. The image was like a still photo. The lady had glasses, was probably in her 60’s, wearing a hair net. Her hair was hard to see – probably gray. She was standing in the back of what looked like a large kitchen, perhaps one like that for a school cafeteria. She was behind what looked like a cage; perhaps it was a prison kitchen. My perspective was as one looking at her from about 25 feet away.

I asked, “Who is she?” I heard, “Patricia.”

I have no recollection of this picture or this lady other than in this image in my waking dream. My thoughts took me to concerns about Purgatory.

At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, I prayed for Patricia, whoever she is, that God may bless her in whatever way is necessary. I think that is what this was about. I mentioned this to my wife, and I think she agrees.

May Patricia receive healing, mercy, and peace. Amen.

Receiving Jesus, Again

Jesus in My Eye and I in His Eye

Yesterday, my wife and I both went to the Sacrament of Reconciliation in anticipation of receiving, once again, the Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

Today was our first day back to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass since the middle of March. Nave seating was limited to 50% capacity, and all were required to wear masks. Every other pew was cordoned off and tape was carefully laid on the floor to help us keep 6 feet apart as we processed up to receive the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

I was a little confused during Holy Communion. I was wearing a mask and trying to obey the instructions to let the mask dangle by one ear as I went forward to receive either in the hand or on the tongue. Why do I have to make this decision? My mind said, “I better receive in the altar of my hand” but then my body did the opposite and I received on the tongue. Grabbing the dangling loop of my mask, I reattached it and went back to the pew to pray and contemplate.

As I knelt, I started to see only Jesus behind the Altar wearing golden liturgical attire unlike that of the priests. He was looking at me with admiring or loving eyes, and I felt sort of bashful; my heart sort of burned in a delightful way. This happened three times. His hair was golden brown, perhaps from the sunlight from above, and His eyes seemed translucent – like honey with blue tones.

What does all of this mean? One day we will know. Something more wonderful than we know will happen on that Day when time is no longer relevant, and reveling in the heavenly experiences of the present will be all that matters.

I Envision Jesus at Pandemic Holy Mass

I’ve been wanting to share with you that I have been consoled these past Pandemic Sundays while watching the televised Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

I envision the Lord Jesus standing between me and the TV inviting me to a communion of friendship.  He has shoulder-length wavy and coarse golden brown hair, blue or translucent eyes, a golden brown beard,  fair tan complexion, and he is wearing a liturgical robe, off-white with red straps running from each shoulder to a point near the bottom center of His chest, like a downward pointing triangle.  He also seems relatively small in stature – a mature but young man.  Today, there was an embrace and I was comforted by His soft, warm beard on my face and the secure hug like that of a father for a son or a brother for a brother.

Early in the morning, too, I pray sometimes, “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.”  I do this knowing my dependency on Him for everything  – for our health, our safety and security.  I usually have a couple of drinks before going to bed – and sometimes three – and I worry for my health because of that; I get dehydrated.  And I pray to Him to give me more temperance that I may not somehow accidentally poison myself.  I think I am a hypochondriac of sorts – very sensitive to any unusual feeling in my body, and this happens more as I age.  And, so I pray to the Lord to help me with that.

Sometimes in prayer I hear, “Marry me” and that is a call which I do not yet fully understand.  I think that I have blogged about it before.  I figure that there is a love which the Father has for the Son, and a love which the Son has for each of us which is much stronger and longer lasting than Earthly, marital love.  He has a father’s love in that He is like a shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.  He has a mother’s love in that He desires to pull us all under His wings like a hen does for its brood.  But, this inaudible whisper, “Marry me” is a call to an even deeper level of intimacy – a call to exclusivity and purpose.  I say, “Yes Lord, I will marry you, but how can this be?”  There is no answer.  I remember St. John, who calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved, and I remember St. Peter who told Jesus three times that he loved Him, after Jesus directly prompted him three times. Of course, Jesus prompted St. Peter in order to heal him of his guilty conscience after rejecting Jesus three times.  He will let me know when I need to know.

And so, He comes to console, heal, give hope, inspire wonder.  Thank You, Lord.

 

There is No “Old Mass” nor “New Mass”

Let’s make something very clear here:  what we Roman Rite Catholics today call the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or Mass is neither new nor old.  How could it be unless Jesus Christ came back to Earth and instituted a whole new Eucharist or perhaps changed the mode of His Sacrifice or His act of Redemption?  He has not done that; the primary substance of what truly defines the Mass has not changed – not ever – in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

GOD HISTORICALLY DIRECTS LITURGICAL CHANGE, AND HAS AGAIN…

The form of the liturgy can and has changed.  There are older forms and newer forms and forms within rites and forms varying between rites.  In recent Catholic Church history, the Holy Spirit formally called for reform of the Church’s central liturgical form at the Second Vatican Council (ecumenical) via the Constitution, Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC).

A NEW ROMAN MISSAL CAME OUT OF VATICAN II COUNCIL…

After SC was promulgated, the Church enthusiastically moved forward in happy obedience, beginning with the  MIssal of 1962 (what some correctly call the Missal of John XXIII, but some others more vulgarly call the Traditional Latin Mass) as the basis for reform and ordered 3 April 1969 that the revised Missale Romanum, a New Roman Missal, go into effect by 30 November 1969.  Why is it vulgar to call the Missal of John XXIII the Traditional Latin Mass?  Because, of two things:  1) The Mass is traditional no matter what form we use and 2) the Mass does not change; the form of the liturgy or missal we use at the Mass changes.

HOW WE OUGHT TO DESCRIBE THE CURRENT AND PRIOR ROMAN MISSALS…

Vetus Ordo Missae, 1962

The New Roman Missale is well-known as the Novus Ordo Missae or New Order of the Mass.  In contrast, the older Roman Missale should be referred to as the Vetus Ordo Missae or Old Order of the Mass.  But, no one should call the Mass new nor old.  The substance of what the Mass is never changes; only the form of the liturgy used changes.

Novus Ordo Missae, 2002

Later, because of a desire to bring the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and their adherents into the Church after their very lengthy protest of changes brought via the Second Vatican Council (this is due in part to a vicious doubt and rebellion against authority), Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI issued a motu proprio Summorum Pontificum where he relaxed restrictions on the use of the Missal of John XXIII and referred to the form of that missal as an “extraordinary form”  and the form of our new missal as the ordinary form of the liturgy.  The word “extraordinary” is from the Latin “extraordinarius, from extra ordinem ‘outside the normal course of events.'” The word can also mean “very unusual or remarkable,” or not to be used under normal circumstances.  Afterall, the whole Church has been directed to worship under a new form!  But, Summorum Pontificum has been interpreted much more loosely, and with ill effect such as liturgical idolatry, but I digress…

AVOID HERETICAL THINKING AND EXPRESSION

If we say the Mass has changed, then we enter into heresy.  Why?  Because there is one Christ, one Sacrifice and one Eucharist for all salvific intents and purposes.  There is no new Christ, no new Sacrifice, and no new Eucharist.  Period.  Unless, of course, we think we are Anglicans, Lutherans, or another form of Protestant who change or “protest the Mass.”  (My friends of these separated groups, I do not judge you if you belong to these groups; you are innocent and do not yet know or understand.  We love you and desire communion with you.  You are not “bad” because you belong to these groups.)

REHASH

There is no “Old Mass,” and there is no “New Mass.” There is the same Mass using different forms of the liturgy.

There is:

1. the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass using the Novus Ordo Missae;
2. the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass using the Ordinary Form of the Liturgy;
3.  the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass using the New Missal;
4. the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass using the Vetus Ordo Missae;
5. the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass using the Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy;
6.  the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass using the Old Missal.

IN CONCLUSION

Let us not harbor passive-aggressive feelings which lead us to sarcastically call the Mass “old” or “new” as if what came out of a holy ecumenical council could ever change our central dogma – it can’t and would never do that.  The Mass does not change; the form can and does change.  Try to find joy in accepting the New Missal knowing that you are doing exactly what God desires, and focus more on understanding the form and knowing the Lord’s Presence in the Mass, and finding joy in obedience.

 

 

 

 

We Cannot Feign Holy

Holiness is a journey.  We cannot stop where we are and say, “I have found myself to be holy.  I will stop now and rest.”  No.  If we do that, we will be quickly uncloaked and our hidden shortcomings revealed.

One test of holiness is that of the degree to which one has humility.  Humility does not feign holy.  Humility seeks holy, desires to have more holy, and listens in order to know and understand holy, accepting itself to always be lacking in necessary holiness.

Another test of holiness is that of the degree to which one has a spirit of obedience.  Obedience does not feign holy.  Obedience responds to holy like a soldier dutifully responds to a commander.  Obedience measures its progress by the standard set by holy and then, when the deficiencies are determined, works hard to grow closer to the standard for holy.

Are you holy?

Pharisee, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people!” Publican, ” ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

 

 

Image of Jesus This Morning

Over the last several days, I have been restless beginning around 2:45 AM. When I wake up like at these times, I reflect on my ineptness and pray to the Lord, “Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.” and I give Him praise by reciting the Gloria (the 2002 version) as best I can from memory. I stay in a sort of half sleep at these times.

This morning, though, without any willing of my own, I saw Him in my mind. He was lying down on His side with face towards me and gazing at me. His hair was long and basically straight but wavy; His eyes were transparent brown like honey, and his complexion was fair. He was wearing an off-white garment. I think He was grinning at me. The message was like, “It’s okay, Taylor. I have you. Don’t worry.”

In Sacred Scripture, we know that Jesus made several appearances after His Resurrection. We also know that He was not always recognized initially, but then He does something which causes the eyes of His beholders to recognize Him. I wonder why this is.

Divining Revelation: The Christian Response to Authority

Today after praying prior to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, having a Bible in the pew book rack before me, I prayed the Lord to guide my fingers to a good place in that Bible in order to instruct me on what His Will is today.  Of course, I was seeking His guidance for me personally, not for anyone else.

I sat back in the pew, grabbed the Bible, sort of let my thumb grab a random spot on the pages, opened, and looked down at this, the first heading I saw:

Obedience to Authority

Here is what St. Paul had to say in his Letter to the Romans on Obedience to Authority:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval;  for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority[a] does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.  For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing.  Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. [Romans 13:1-7 NRSVCE]

Oh yes!  It’s About the Impeachment of Pres. Donald Trump!

The first thing which came to mind was the Impeachment of President Trump, that the good Lord is *with* President Trump, his appointed authority, and not with the politicians who do injustice by twisting contexts and implying what is not true because their real intention is simply to dismiss the 2016 Presidential Elections by Act of Congress and to interfere in the 2020 Presidential Elections…because they would rather have won.  We could say that many of the opponents of President Donald Trump work for their spiritual father, Satan, the “Father of Lies.”

Is President Trump hard to like?  Well, yes, he can be coarse and misunderstood by the unforgiving and proud soul.  Is President Trump easy to like?  Yes, he can certainly be liked when one agrees to his truly good intentions and deeds.  The Scripture says, “Then do what is good and you will receive its approval…do what is wrong and you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain!”  His opponents have almost never done what is good and just toward President Trump; they have egged him on – provoked him – set his own people against him, and so on.  They have been unrelenting in what appears to me to be criminal bullying to a high degree.

I fully expect Pres. Trump to be exonerated and for some Members of Congress to be investigated and maybe even politically punished for their outrageous conduct toward President Trump.  If he is convicted, then I expect God to make Pres. Trump into the Great Swamp Plug which, when pulled, exposes many, many improprieties leading to many more investigations of Elected Members, past and present.

Ah, But Maybe It’s About Me and My Parish Leadership?

Now, in this sitting, I have also considered another context:  my own.  If the reader will go back a few posts, there is a post I made about the slothful servant.  I have been very angry about the conduct of some of my parish leadership and staff over a period of several years for various valid reasons.  When the straw finally broke under constant strain of serial disappointments (which I have tried to explain tactfully to leadership but with sometimes uncaring, arrogant and rude responses – except for responses from one good priest), I and my wife have simply decided to dramatically reduce our annual giving (aside from our promise for the Capital Campaign, all of which we paid fully and in advance for the good of those after us who will benefit from better facilities), resign from parish ministries, and begin attending another parish.  Recently, we even halved our lowered monthly donation to our assigned parish and began giving half to the other parish which we are routinely attending now.

For me, it is a sincere act of justice.  Am I being disobedient?  I don’t think so.  I feel like I am serving the Lord in helping to wake up a slothful staff to their condition which really needs improvement.  Is this hard on us?  Yes, we are disconnected now while we wait to move to another State in the next year or two – that will be like The Promised Land for us.  I will continue to think it over and pray about it, but my conscience is clear.

And The Last Pastor Resigned for Cause

Something which has caused me to lose confidence in our clerical leadership is that the previous pastor before the current one, after my wife and I had developed a years-long good relationship of trust with him, resigned because of an unreported and uninvestigated sexual impropriety he had years earlier.  OF his own volition, he admitted his mistake and then just up and quit, and no one saw it coming.  We had a great relationship with him and both my and my wife’s ministry involvement slowly increased under his good stewardship.

So What Is It?  Trump or Me?

It could be both because there is a Principle here.  But, Trump’s destiny is being decided right now while the world watches, and mark my word:  God is watching, too!

 

Warning to Methodists on Gay Marriage

This morning, I had a spiritual inspiration while preparing for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass this morning at St. Louis parish.  The recent news about the United Methodist Church splitting over LGBTQ issues was weighing heavily on my mind.  But before I go into detail…

The latest news about the United Methodist Church can be found here: United Methodist Church Announces Proposal to Split Over Gay Marriage. Essentially, they propose to send traditionalists packing with $25 million to form a new Christian denomination. [Perhaps the Catholic Church will admit them as a new ordinariate – speculation on my part.] This means that the United Methodist Church will have formally become corrupted.

UMC Logo with Gay Theme

I personally feel compassion for persons who have decided to submit to living a gay lifestyle or who chronically suffer from same-sex attraction, and the Catholic Church formally welcomes and prays for these who struggle to master these challenges.  I am not a homophobic person.   Love the sinner; hate the sin.  I’m a sinner, and I love me, too.

So what happened at Mass?  What happened was, during my initial prayers after I arrived the pew in the parish, I noticed a Bible in the hymnal rack.  I grabbed the Bible and asked the Lord, “Lord, guide my hands to turn to the page which you select for me to read, that I might know your message for me today.”  In doing so, I opened it immediately and directly to the 2nd Letter of Peter, Chapter 2.  It was in part about sexual licentiousness and the punishment due those who lead people into this error!  It mentions Sodom and Gomorrah!  I was amazed!  Here’s what it says :

False Prophets and Their Punishment

2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Even so, many will follow their licentious ways, and because of these teachers^[a] the way of truth will be maligned. ³ And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell^[b] and committed them to chains^[c] of deepest darkness to be kept until the judgment; ⁵ and if he did not spare the ancient world, even though he saved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood on a world of the ungodly; ⁶ and if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction^[d] and made them an example of what is coming to the ungodly;^{[e] 7} and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by their lawless deeds that he saw and heard), ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment ¹⁰ —especially those who indulge their flesh in depraved lust, and who despise authority.

Bold and willful, they are not afraid to slander the glorious ones,^{[f] 11} whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not bring against them a slanderous judgment from the Lord.^{[g] 12} These people, however, are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed. They slander what they do not understand, and when those creatures are destroyed,^[h] they also will be destroyed, ¹³ suffering^[i] the penalty for doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their dissipation^[j] while they feast with you. ¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! ¹⁵ They have left the straight road and have gone astray, following the road of Balaam son of Bosor,^[k] who loved the wages of doing wrong, ¹⁶ but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹⁷ These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the deepest darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For they speak bombastic nonsense, and with licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who have just^[l] escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them. ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them. ²² It has happened to them according to the true proverb,

“The dog turns back to its own vomit,”

and,

“The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.”

 

[Source:  2nd Letter of St. Peter, 2:1-22, NRSVCE Bible]

In faith, this was a VERY CLEAR message about where the Lord sits on this issue.  He is not with the LGBTQ plan.  He loves everyone, but everyone has a choice to make.  When Christianity, above all, preaches the existence of temptation, the wrong choice of sin, repentance for sins, healing from the injuries of sinful choices, growing in holiness and closeness to and love for God in this life and then eternal salvation for those who love and serve God, then a choice which is expressly counter to Divine Revelation and Natural Law is a seriously selfish and potentially spiritually deadly choice.  I do not wish any of my gay brothers and sisters to be misled and chained down by the weight of their sins forever.

While the State can provide a license of marriage to a gay couple (e.g., for the sake of giving politically demanding, enamored, monogamous homosexual couples property rights which a validly married couple would have under the law and allowing the use of the term “marriage” for simple administrative convenience), there can be no same-sex Holy Matrimony in a valid Christian setting.  God has already defined human marriage in Natural Law and in Divine Revelation.  Jesus the Lord has expressed this clearly in Sacred Scripture.  There can be no acceptable willful corruption of what God has established to be held.  As well, there can be no person placed in a position of responsibility who secretly intends to undermine Christian doctrine as regards moral sexuality, and that means that a person who is a committed, practicing LGBTQ should not be an ordained pastor in a valid Christian denomination.  In fact, as long as they preach a doctrine opposed to the Lord, they shouldn’t be preaching at all…at least for the good of their own salvation.

Read, understand, and obey Sacred Scripture.  Let no one be offended.  This is a warning for those who are not too learned in the ways of God, and who desire that God be someone who does not recognize sin or value obedience in sexual design.  Everyone naturally has sexual urges, but humans are the only ones who can willfully abuse the treatment of those urges.  Orient them on reproducing beloved life by being a mom and wife or a father and husband.  This is your only chance.

 

 

 

Our Sacrifice with Christ’s? What is It?

What is your sacrifice, your oblation which is joined to that of Jesus Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?  Do you offer it?

I was inspired to consider this question.  I have been wandering whether I am getting through to the Lord at Mass.  Am I being heard?  What should I be offering?  What can I possibly offer here which is not already annihilated by Christ’s own inexhaustible Gift for the eternal salvation of our souls?

It came to me.

It’s not just our praise.  Men brown-nose their bosses with praise daily.  No, it is not simply praise since praise by itself is empty…empty of what it is the Lord is seeking.

What is the Lord our God seeking?  He is seeking…

FAITH. He wants us to walk in to Him truly believing in our hearts that He is real and really loves us.

HOPE. He wants us to walk in to Him truly hoping in our hearts that He has a plan for us, a plan so wonderful and fulfilling that we would nearly die of joy if we knew it in its fullness now.

LOVE.  He wants us to walk in to Him truly desiring to obey every one of His words, whether through Scripture or through Tradition, knowing that to obey Him is to do everything which is exactly right for each and every one of us.  You know, the true obedience of love takes faith and hope.

SURSUM CORDA…ET GRATES.  So, when we are at Mass, and you hear “Sursum corda!” or “Lift up your hearts!” then exclaim in your hearts, “I believe you!  I hope in your plan!  I desire to do whatever you say, Father, Son and Holy Spirit!  Speak to me!  Guide me!  Be with me!  Heal me! Refresh me in my suffering for you!  I am yours and You are Mine!  I am nothing without you. Thank you for what you are doing for me!”

Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;
 to those who go the right way
I will show the salvation of God. [Psalm 50:23]

SMILE. Because we are so tempted and injured and so stressed by the world, this is our sacrifice, a sacrifice of the spirit which enjoys in us and brings our bodies along with it in a great big smile. 🙂

This is all summed up in St. Paul’s exhortation,

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. [Romans 12:1-2]

And after our sacrifice to and with the Lord, in the Mass, a sacrifice of joy!

…This day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. [Nehemiah 8:10]

I love You my Lord.  Why would I not? Thank You forever and ever. Amen.

 

 

You Are My Husband

This evening as I was working on my laptop, I caught myself drifting into a half-sleep very briefly and I heard a lady say to me, in a distinct and inaudible locution:

You are my husband.

My wife had not yet come home from work. But, this was a very comforting thing to hear. Why did I hear it?

The Lazy Servant Who Squandered Talent

Today, I’m writing about a personal situation which weighs heavily on me, because even when I pray to God in the Rosary, trying to think of Heavenly realities, He will not let me forget it.  He wants me to take action, after His own mind.

One of my parish priests has a problem with accepting responsibility for errors and mistakes which occur in the administration of the Sacraments and normal parish administration.  I have brought four serious concerns to his attention during as many years, and each time he has attempted to deflect responsibility for them, resorting to excuses in order to protect the unmanaged conditions surrounding the errors.  He has failed as a leader on all 4 occasions, being first and foremost concerned about avoiding any requirement to work in order to resolve real issues.  My conclusion?  He has just a little talent, he is selfish, and he is lazy.

His actions are directly reflected in this segment in the Good Lord’s “Parable of the Talents” where he teaches,

The talent shall be taken away from the lazy slave.

Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’  But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?  Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.  So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.  For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.  As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ [Matthew 25:24-30]

So, I am taking the talents that the Good Lord gave me to give through him, and I will be giving them through other priests at another parish where the priests, regardless of their talents, are not lazy and are not selfish.  There will my and my wife’s spirituality blossom again in a pure Sanctuary where the servants are diligent and inspired, and in Christ

It’s God’s holy will that I do this, and it is my hope that the lazy slave, this priest, will reflect on what has happened and will seek self-improvement opportunities and will grow in grace and in good works so to avoid the sentence:

‘…As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ [Matthew 25:30]