It’s Sunday…Were you there?…

Χριστός αυξάνεται! (Cristo Anasti) …

That is, CHRIST IS RISEN!  YES! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Were YOU there…?

Simply Breathtaking!

Monday, April 2, 2017

This is it! The FINAL week before the week that literally changed the world!

All the Links are now FIXED!

[Brothers and Sisters], realize that you were delivered from the futile way of life your fathers handed on to you, not by any diminishable sum of silver or gold, but by Christ’s blood beyond all price: the blood of a spotless, unblemished lamb [cf Exod 12:5a] chosen before the world’s foundation and revealed for your sake in these last days.  It is through Him that you are believers in God, the God who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory.  Your faith and hope, then, are CENTERED IN GOD. ~1 Peter 1: 18-21, Evening Prayer, 5th Sunday of Lent.

Our FAITH is CENTERED IN GOD, bought at the price of the “spotless [and] unblemished lamb”, He that IS the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world”, He has GREAT MERCY on us!

Can you hear the trumpet blast?

But for how long?  How long will lawlessness run rampant?  How long will the great Hand of God be held back before justice begins?  We do not know.  But the current world situation seems to indicate that the door of mercy might soon be closed, at least for a time…

Jesus’ words to St. Faustina,

“Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My Mercy… before I come as a Just Judge, I first open wide the door of My Mercy.  He who refuses to pass through the door of My Mercy must pass through the door of My Justice.” ~Diary of St. Faustina, §1146.

Thus it is IMPERATIVE that we come to Jesus in ALL HUMILITY, seeking His Great Mercy, crying out to Him for His GREAT LOVE.  For Jesus also said to St. Faustina,

“Souls that make and appeal to My Mercy delight Me.  To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy…” ~ Ibid.

DO NOT DELAY, brothers and sisters! For we do not know how much longer we have for this time of mercy.  In a “blink of an eye”, your life could be demanded of you!

You fool! Tonight your life is required of you!

Jesus tells us this parable,

“The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones’ and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul you have ample good laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry!’

But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?“ ~Lk 12: 16-20

So many have been caught “unaware” in recent natural disasters.  Good and evil alike.  No one was spared.  You MUST have your heart CENTERED IN GOD, that, if your soul should “be required of you”, you will not be unprepared to meet your Heavenly Father.

But here is the GOOD NEWS!  RIGHT NOW we have a GREAT TIME OF GRACE.  It’s Lent!  Forty (40) Days of fasting and prayer, of wrestling with temptation and the great tempter, himself!  Yet, NOT WITHOUT HELP, not without a Heavenly example to guide AND guard us on our way.

We have been given so much, a GREAT EXAMPLE of Obedience, Humility, Wisdom, and LOVE…

There is nothing we have to “invent”, all has been done before, all is before us on HOW TO GET IT DONE.  So, why do we resist?

“I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will not walk in darkness.” [ Jn 8:12] What a magnificent promise.  We walk in the light, a light that enlightens every human being who comes into the world, and that light is perhaps the most precious possession that we have.  Lent is a time to ‘burnish that light, to trim the wicks, to put new oil in our lamps’ [cf Mt 25: 7-9], and begin to glimpse something of the wonder and the magnitude of God.” ~Fr Clifford Stevens, Homily, Monday of the 5th Week of Lent, emphasis added.

God’s Mercy, especially at this time, is unprecedented and should not be taken lightly.  With our world steeped in the Culture of Death, it is a wonder we are all here to “talk about it”.  I thank God DAILY, that I am not He.  You should too!  If I were God, my patience would have worn thin long ago with mankind…and that would include myself…Oh the irony!

“Jesus looked at me and said, ‘Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion.  I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy.  If they will not adore My Mercy, they will perish for all eternity…tell souls about this great Mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My Justice, is near.”  ~Diary§965

God prunes His Church like a good vinedresser does his vineyard…

Back in 2009, a PROFOUND REFLECTION came upon me as I trimmed a tree that belonged to a friend of mine.  As I trimmed I was impressed with a sense of God and the trimming in His Church and among His people, that, as the vine-dresser (cf John 15:1), He has every right to do.  I highly recommend reading that reflection,  as I have re-read it myself, and made a few aesthetical changes, and noticed how it REALLY REFLECTS today’s world and the work God is doing in it.

As I trimmed I noticed:

Plants are not quite as simple as they seem.  They need water the same as we do but they have something different about parts of the plant that no longer bear any fruit, or in this case, any leaves.

That is, water will continue to be directed to all parts of the plant whether or not they contain leaves or not.  Good water will be sent to dead limbs at the expense of the rest of the plant that have healthy limbs.

This is partly why it is necessary to trim branches from bushes and small trees, to prevent the plant from dehydrating itself.  I immediately set to work to cut free those dead and useless branches that were no longer bearing fruit that is leaves.

As I reflected on this further, a situation came to mind involving a man I know.  He desires holiness, but he cannot obtain it.  He goes through all the motions of piety and prayer, but he remains “dead” inside.  This is proven by the “fruits” his piety bares.  Hardly fit to “eat”, as his behaviors remain the same, bringing stress and heartache to his family.

So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus you will know them by their fruits. ~Mt 7:17-20

Forgiven!

It’s that taking of the first steps that are the hardest.  Letting go of oneself and the PRIDE that stands in the way of God POURING OUT HIS LOVE on all that will COME TO HIM IN HUMILITY.

No life is easy or without strife, and I know, dear apostles, that you experience your share of difficulty. These difficulties are important for you because through the suffering of them you gain mastery over yourself.

When you conquer a difficulty, using the holiness you have received from Me, you become stronger spiritually and then when the next difficulty comes, you both view it differently and treat it differently…

You treat it differently because you know that I am with you today as I have been with you in the past. ~Monthly Message, April 2011, excerpts.

Well then, IF God is FOR US – and I do believe He IS – then who can be against us?  Why should we fear or live in fear when it comes to desiring and accepting the change we know needs to happen?  We should not fear BECAUSE FEAR IS NOT OF GOD.  GOD IS LOVE.

“God is worshiped in silence – not that we can think or say nothing about Him, but that we should appreciate how far He surpasses our comprehension.” ~St. Thomas Aquinas, quoted by Fr Clifford Stevens, Homily, Ibid, emphasis added.

God IS ALSO MERCY.  This week our focus is: Crying out, relying on, the DIVINE MERCY OF GOD.

Week 5 of Lent, Day 35 of 40 Days of Lent:

This is it, folks!  Last item on THE LIST.  Can you believe it?  It has gone so fast!  But I am confident that YOU ARE READY!  From the beginning of this time of prayer and fasting, you have (hopefully) been practicing your new habits of OBEDIENCE, HUMILITY, WISDOM.  Good for you for every attempt and success that you made!  If you haven’t tried, do not despair, you still have this week to TRY with God’s Help.

This week you are to DEPEND ENTIRELY on the DIVINE MERCY OF GOD.  How? An excellent question.  This is HOW: When your FIFTH (5th) thing presents itself, close your eyes and see Christ in His Divine Image:

Jesus I TRUST in YOU!

Yes, the head of the dragon is poised to leap out and “devour the child” (cf. Rev 12:4c), for those who notice the head clearly at the ray of Christ’s blood.  But as Revelation continues, “but [the] child was caught up to God and to His throne” telling us that GOD’S VICTORY is SET!  So HAVE NO FEAR!  Speak with WORDs of Love and, cry out:

JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!  YOU ARE LOVE!

NOT MINE, BUT YOUR WILL BE DONE,

FOR I CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT YOU!

BLESS ME, AND MAKE ME HOLY!

Your path will be SET, TRUST IN HIM, and in ALL THINGS give GOD THE GLORY!

Courtesy of : www.simplecatholicliving.com Thanks, Carol!