Love And Mercy

Hello friends!
Heavenly Father, thank you for your many blessings on our lives! Special prayers for those who "commend themselves to my poor prayers." In Jesus' name. Amen.
I do not believe in coincidences, so when my mom gave me a pamphlet entitled, "Live...The Holy Mass, The Testimony of Catalina." I knew God was talking to me. I didn't read it right away though, since I 'couldn't find the time,' but when I made it to Adoration recently, I did study it.

Catalina Rivas

First of all, the compilation was dictated to Catalina Rivas by Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
You might want to re-read that sentence again. *wink*
I had no idea what I thought when I realized Catalina was the vessel through which Christ and His Mother decided to impart these very important thoughts on the mass. I kept reading, though, because I knew the Holy Spirit was at work.

In the second paragraph of the document, Catalina states, and I'm paraphrasing, "...that they [priestly souls and religious souls] may break loose of the habit of receiving Him as a 'routine practice' [ie going to mass] and relive the amazement of the every day encounter with Love. And it is given so that my lay brothers and sisters the world over may live the greatest of Miracles, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with their hearts." Parenthesis added, but the bolded and italicized words are directly from the publication, and this will be true throughout the blog entry.

The Blessed Mother gives Catalina a look into the mass from a physical as well as a spiritual vantage point. Catalina is a willing student and offers some profound thoughts on what she's learning. "What great ignorance about our Church and the Sacraments [we lay people have]! How much waste in trying to educate ourselves and becoming cultured about the things of the world, things which can disappear in one moment leaving us nothing, do not even serve us to prolong our existence by one single minute! And yet know nothing of what will obtain for us a little bit of Heaven on earth and eventually, eternal life. And we call ourselves cultured men and women...!"
As Catalina is watching the mass unfold, she is allowed to see some of the spiritual goings-on: "It was as if from the side of each person present in the Cathedral another person emerged, and soon the Cathedral became full of young beautiful beings. They were dressed in very white robes and started to move into the central isle, on their way to the Altar."

The Blessed Mother said, "Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of each one of the persons who are here. This is the moment in which your guardian angel carries your offerings and petitions before the Altar of the Lord."
[Catalina speaks again] "At that point I was completely astonished because these being had such beautiful faces, so radiant as one is unable to imagine. Their countenance was very beautiful, they had almost feminine faces; however, the structure of their body, their hands, their height were masculine. Their naked feet did not touch the floor, but rather they went as if gliding. That procession was very beautiful.

Some of them were carrying something like a golden bowl with something [inside] that shone a great deal with a golden white light. The Virgin Mary said: "Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of the people, who are offering this Holy Mass for many intentions, those who are conscious of the significance of this celebration, those who have something to offer to the Lord...[talking to Catalina, the Blessed Mother tells her], "Make your offering at this moment...Offer up your sorrows, your pains, your dreams, your sadness, your joys. Offer your petitions. Remember that the Mass has infinite value. Therefore, be generous in your offering and in your asking."

Behind the first Angels came others who had nothing in their hands; they were going empty handed. The Virgin Mary said, "Those are the angels of the people, who, in spite of being here, never offer anything. They have no interest in living every liturgical moment of the Mass, and their Angels have no offerings to carry before the Altar of the Lord."
At the end of the procession came other Angels who were rather sad, with their hands together in prayer, but with their eyes downcast. "These are the Guardian Angels of the people who are here, yet they are not here. That is to say, they are the people who have seen themselves forced to come, who have come here out of obligation but without any desire to participate in the Holy Mass. Their Angels go forth in sadness because they have nothing to carry to the Altar, except for their own prayers.

"Do not sadden your Guardian Angels...Ask for much. Ask for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world, for your relatives, your neighbors, for those who commend themselves to your prayers. Ask for much, not only for yourselves, but also for all the others.
Remember that the offering which most pleases the Lord, is when you offer yourselves as a holocaust so that Jesus, upon His descent may transform you by His own merits. What do you have to offer the Father by yourselves? Nothingness and sin, but the offering of yourselves united to the merits of Jesus, is pleasing to the Father."

There is much more, of course, but you'll check out the website, won't you? *cute smile*
 Love and Mercy
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

Jesus cartoons

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your undying love for each and every one of us! Special intention prayers for those who have asked me to pray for them, esp: OC, CN, and NB, and for their families, and a prayer for you as well, dear reader. God is interested in Your life, and in all that you do. Thank you, Jesus, for your many blessings in our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen.
The following pictures were first sent to me in an email, but I wanted to google them and give credit to the person who created them; the name that is associated with these cartoons is Gregory (no last name or anything).
Well Gregory, thank you for drawing these images; they are a great inspiration to me. My wish is that they help others who need them as well.

We say: It seems like GOD is too far away from me.
I can’t see anything. He is too far away.
(Jesus is standing so close to us)

And then my other fav -

We pray: God, please protect me.
A stone hits us. (stone = problems)
We say: Why God? Why?
We turnback and see Jesus protecting us from a shower of stones.
Jesus to us: I’m sorry, did I miss one? Are you alright?

This one helps me remember to be thankful for my cross, and I continue asking Jesus to help me carry it...

We carry our cross.
We complain: Lord, it’s too heavy! Please cut it down a little…
We shorten our cross.
We again complain: Lord, please cut it down a little more…I’ll be able to carry it better…
We cut down our cross again and says: Lord, thank you so much
A great obstacle arrives in our path of life.
Others: Let’s use this as a bridge and 'cross' over!
We are unable to cross over as we had cut down the cross we carry.

My apologies for the small images; if you'd like to see larger images, please visit Gregory's website: http://www.turnbacktogod.com/jesus-christ-cartoons/

God bless you, my friends, today and always! :) Feel the Love.







"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

Lent 2012

Hello friends,
Heavenly Father, thank you for blessing us with your Son, Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, many of us would remain lost, seeking only the pleasures of this world to fill the longing for you in our souls. Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

After many, many, many years of only 'giving things up,' for Lent, this year, finally, I feel like I understand what Lent means.

Lent isn't so much about 'giving things up,' as it is about 'in place of.'
'In place of' watching my favorite television show, I'm going to watch EWTN, the Catholic t.v. channel, more often.
'In place of' playing my favorite game on my phone, I'm going to surf the web for Catholic prayers, and in those moments I'm 'bored,' I'm going to pray and thank God for the blessings in my life.
'In place of' being a gossip at work, I am going to do my best to be kind to the person who seems to constantly receive ridicule.

'In place of' eating sweets, I'm going to contemplate Christ's forty days in the desert of fasting, and join in His sacrifice.
'In place of' buying Starbucks, I'm going to give that money to the Church, or my favorite charity.
God willing, and I pray for this most fervently during these forty days, some of these 'in place ofs,' will have changed me to become permanent habits in my everyday life by the time we celebrate Easter.

I thought about this the other day: there are enough Catholic prayers written to fulfill every living, breathing moment of life with prayer. It is possible to follow Paul's recommendation, 1Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing."

God already blesses us, even in our muted, unaware state of how much He loves us and cares for us...can you imagine how much more blessed and cared for we will be when we do our best to stay in a constant state of prayer? A consistent 'looking for Him,' in our everyday comings and goings? WOW.

A good friend said something interesting to me yesterday, after mass. She said, "I don't know why I'm amazed at all the wonderful blessings in my life, or in my daughter's life, my mother prays for me earnestly since the day I was born; just as I have prayed ardently for my daughter since the day she was born..."

One last 'in place of'...in place of gripping about a bad day, or being frustrated with a work situation, I pray sweetly to my Lord, Jesus Christ, "I love you, Jesus; I adore you Lord. Thank you for my life, for my job..." My days have become pleasant and peaceful.

Enjoy Lent. It is a time of renewal; a time to get back to 'what's Real and True' in our lives: God's love for us. Amen.
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa