Retribution

 

Sometimes I wonder how anything can get so tangled up as my life. It is partly my own doing because I am determined and persistent, and the rest of the world around me is not; it keeps slogging ahead in its own pace regardless of what needs to happen.

It is strange to see how tangled up the world is, as if caught in a fishing net up to the knees, and no matter how fast they move, they can't escape the net, and the result is weariness , frustration and sometimes despair.

I have slept on the bed I have now, for twenty years, by my calculation. I was my mother's live-in caregiver for three years before she died. One day part of my bed came disconnected, and I thought I might be able to tie things together, but mom decided to buy a brand new bed and would not be dissuaded. The people came and delivered the new bed. unboxed and assembled it for free, and took away the old bed, though I don't know if they charged her for that.

Fast forward to now; I looked online at Amazon.com and found a bed that looked like it might serve my need. It has a simple metal frame and metal slats and wheels beneath, with a mattress. Delivery was free, and I will have to assemble it, but the company that runs the apartment complex charges for removing the bed, the frame and the box springs. That might not be so bad, but the new bed cost $54, and the removal will cost me $105. I tried to cancel the order, but since it was to be delivered today, it was not possible to cancel the order. I will have to wait until the delivery person arrives with the new bed so I can talk to him (IF I can talk to him; he might not bring the bed up to my apartment  but might leave it in the package area off the lobby).

It seems the solution I need is to return the new bed, then I don't need to pay for the removal of the old bed. But that ignores the fact that my back has been demanding a change for some time now, and often the result has been a muscle spasm that was so ferocious that I could not stand up straight for several days.

Besides that, I fail to see how the managers of this place think it is fair to charge so much to remove  an old bed. The elderly people who live here are at their mercy and the mercy of anybody else that is looking for victims to victimize. To me, they are fellow residents and friends. 

On the other hand, there was one manager who is no longer here, who thought it was funny when one resident, called "Dottie", who gets around on an electric wheelchair, ran afoul of the door somehow, and cut herself seriously. She had managed to get into the "Bistro", a little cafe the runs a catering service on the side, and left an alarming trail of blood to the point where she ended up stopping and was bleeding profusely. That manager came by and was laughing at Dottie. I was appalled; I called 911, and several other people did so as well, but the manager was not concerned.

Dottie scoots around pretty fast in her electric wheel chair and didn't clear the door very well. She required surgery to repair her injury but made a full recovery. The manager is no longer here and I hope she one day discovers for her self, how it feels to have had a accident and been injured as seriously as Dottie and to sit in the wheel chair passed out from loss of blood.

It is strange to contemplate the way managers of businesses will nickle and dime people for trivial things; the light went out in my bathroom and I reported the fact to maintenance who came by and replace the bulb, a special fluorescent thing. Next day, it died as well. It seems the maintenance buy got a used bulb from elsewhere to replace the light rather than getting a new one, and then I was charged money for the "new" bulb that was not new in the first place. I reported it to management and was reimbursed, but it was pretty puny in my estimation that they thought charging for bulbs was a bright thing to do in the first place since the bulb is part of the apartment and not my property to dispose as I please; it is policy that residents do not replace bulbs or repair other infrastructure, so why should they pay for a new light bulb in the first place?

We are in a time in which victimizing helpless people is the order of the day. Besides incurring the wrath of God, they do not consider that taking advantage of people causes victims to become angry and retaliate when an opportunity arises. 

Some of those victims, instead of retaliating, raise up prayers in defense of the helpless, because they see Christ in the helplessness. Nailed to a cross, scourged nearly to death, and crowned with thorns, Jesus took on all helplessness, victimhood and despair and put it to death for good, for all time, for all people, so that He may shine forth in great glory, His love for all people.

Those who are the opposite, are in a precarious situation, because God sees, and acts in due course to restore what He created because He created it out of His own limitless, divine love. 

It is a terrifying thing to be in the hands of the Living God, so be warned; cease wrongdoing and sin, because they bring retribution.

Confession

He knew people's hearts
and knew where they were
in Christ. 

Padre Pio's stigmata are an outward manifestation of the spiritual life of a man found suitable for Christ to impart life and suffering - His life and His suffering, and I can tell you, that if you desire to be anything consequential in the spiritual realm, there are parameters that must define your life and being, for the man into whom Christ imparted His wounds in a visible, painful and humiliatingly obvious way was  making him one with His Spirit and His Body in a consequnetial union of Body and Spiirt.

A writer who dedicated himself to presenting Padre Pio spoke of the stigmata as something he wore like a coat, yet it was more; as I said, he was united to Christ. On Golgotha, where He was nailed to the cross, and where His side was lanced open in a brutal effort to kill him; if He were already dead, He certainly had been rendered incapable of returning, and if He were not already dead, then He had to embrace yet one more agony before it was enough, and was finished.

And yet, Padre Pio's life was testimony that it was not enough and could never be enough, except and only because Jesus extended Padre to be more than what ordinary human eyes could see.

It is said he could be in two different places simultaneously through "an extension of the personality" as Padre Pio once explained to someone who asked how he could be in two places at once. The simplest and most direct answer is because God wanted Padre Pio to be in two places at the same time, and we might wonder if he could be in different times as well.

If we try to form our soul into what He wants us to be, we may find ourselves confronted with our own weakness and inability to live up to the reality of what He desires.  

He must cause us to grow, and deepen our spirit to match His own being. 

The world and the depths of our own heart will challenge us to forsake our desires in order to thirst as Jesus thirsted. There were many times He said that He was thirsty or used our thirst in speaking allegories capable to illustrating His meaning to those around Him. Certainly He must have reached out to take the drink offered Him when those around found out He needed a drink. Certainly, y the end of the day, those who had heard Him also knew the depth of what He really meant, the unquenchable drought in the soul that longs well beyonf thirst for our selves and our lives, given in the most sacred love imaginable.

And yet, people yearn to participate in His cross all the time, but they do not participate in that manifestation He wills.

A few, like Padre Pio were spiritually and physically capable and disposed by love to desire nothing more than His love. One arrives at such a sublime moment by His sheer grace, and in an incomparable moment, suddenly find their soul and bdoy united to Christ and the wounds of His crucifixion, and so it comes to pass, that the conditions necessary for stigmatization are fulfilled, and from the wounds imparted, blood flows for as long as He wants, and until the souls for whom He longs to be united are indeed made one by an irresisitible impetus of wounds and bleeding and a disposition to be satsified only with Him, His love and His Will, crucified and made holy for our sake and to be spared rejection and eternal suffering resulting form sin.

Padre Pio scarcely thought nothing of the condition of His being, united to Christ and marked with shocking manifestations of the britality inflicted Jesus and His children.

Padre Pio particiapted in what Jesus was doing while He was alive - calling souls to Himself to be transformed to belong to Him forever configured in being and mind to be useful to Him in a saving act.

All of us are made useful to him; that is His gift to us in prayer. He wants to lift us up to Him matured and made more profound, so that whatever we might be engaged in expands us into greater potentialities.

There is no way to shrug off the "coat" we have worn; we wear our beign at His Will, and the conformity of our beings to His Will determines what He can do to us. The deeper our maturity the deeper we can enter in to Him on the cross. Some of us may suffer very little on that account and He knows it so that we accomplish more modest things. Some may suffer deep aridity and longing, to the point of being spiritually crucified, participating in that salvific thirst which penetrated the Father's Heart.

Blessed are all people who suffer and participate in His suffering in addition to their own. We owe them more than we are aware. I cannot help but wonder at this late hour of existence, if there will ever be another Padre Pio. Such men come in atraordianry times, to save countless souls who would otherwise be lost. They come to help us realize our responsibility, because he cannot save everyone he might want to because so many foolishly dismiss him and the Lord He served.

Those who enter into His passion are aware of His deepest longings because our participation contains the reason why made plainly painful beyond the ordinary.

In my humanity, I am capable of desiring many things, and of seeing much fulfilled because I look for any sign of Him. Little wonder then, that, in my own selfishness, I somehow thought it possible that the Lord could let my hands and feet and side bleed, but at that time, I was unaware how silly it might be considering the person I was then. Perhaps out of my embrassment I might be saved by being closer to Him and to His will so that I have become equipped to do things I could scarcely imagine. The stigmara of St. Padre Pio happened in time at a certain point; certainly I am closer to my own point of configuration in which His wish and my own might be fuffilled to His joy and mine when I can respond in an ordinary way with tears and hope to being closer to Him for a moment before the hdarkness descends again. Without the sublime uplifting of my soul, I can respond to the cries of the forgotten and forsaken who in despair and agony stand a chance of being lifted up to His presence to be with Him forever. Padre Pio was filled with deep joy and love that was constant and unwavering, and which were the unction Christ imparts to those He makes worthy as He made Padre Pio worthy and makes all of US WORTHY. May we bless His Name when that worthiness becomes union with Him, on the cross or otherwise.

Remember

Tranquility.

I'm sure God is aware of my  pain as much as I am; it is such a common circumstance that I forget to make my offering, but then, it is part of aging. The young have no conception of little pains being so pervasive and all encompassing. In any case, I can mention it because it is not that intense, and you brace yourself for the next wave when you try to stand up to go do something. Other than mentioning it, and chiding myself for not making a conscious offering,  it blends into the continuum of awareness.

Then there are the times when I have to turn down a friend; not because I couldn't do it, but because I am not disposed to acquiesce. There is someone else available to water his plants in his absence, and I was not that happy the last time I did it and he complained that one of the plants died because i did not give it  enough water.

He has a habit of ignoring people or taking them for granted, and this is my way of combatting that a little.
On the other hand, I have made a point of checking on him and offering treatment advice when he has been sick or indisposed because of a side effect of a new medication.

Even cats and dogs will correct misbehavior. 

There are others in the bright light of public life that I would love to correct, but they are insulated from the harsh realities of life and are never touched with the moments ordinary people encounter. I am sure that the Lord disappoints them as He does the rest of us. Too bad the evil they do so blithely can't be held against them. Time and circumstance  put things into perspective for all.

It was more than just a bad day when Jesus tortured and beaten with Roman scourges and crowned with thorns as a wry statement to the Jews, though I wonder if they caught the innuendo. Jesus was unmercifully tormented until the moment He died. He underwent that final moment and did not beg off.

Perhaps we can remember that when we see people around us. We do not know what they are feeling or just how deeply they are tried by sickness and suffering they can't even mention because it hurts too much and they are too weary with it all.

There are times I wish I could mention them to the Lord and be sure my friends the suffering  ones could be instantly freed of the pain and weariness, but that isn't how it works, and often times, in order to obtain a favor for a friend, a lot must be borne. If you are free of pain and weariness, do not forget those who are not. Those who will take the time to remember are the ones who comfort Christ on His journey up Golgotha's hill.

+

You might ask what penance I do. Modified fasting is the one thing I can do on my own that is truly penitential. I take medication for diabetes that curbs the appetite, but still, does not take it away altogether, and if I get too carried away fasting, I suffer the consequences. 

Not so  much in my control is sleep. Typically I go to bed around 5pm unless I am not feeling really sleepy. I may then wake up around midnite. Some nights i get up then, and other times just get up because I can't sleep. It is difficult doing without sleep. Then reading come to mind and after a while go to bed again.

Either way, I am in God's hands to control.

Energy

 

Earthly energy is surpassed by spirtual joy and love.

Time must end at some point, and we know the end will be horrific. While there is time we should prepare, and part of the preparation must be prayer to praise God and ask for mercy and forgive our sins.

I don't know which is more significant, that He yearns for our requests, or that people refuse to believe in Him or that all things are meant to come to an end - so that something eternally new can arise which involves us, rising to meet the Lord and enter into that which He has been preparing.

It is possible that we have been living in a human-friendly time, and that the old benign regime of climate is ceasing. Speculate all you want, but the truth is, things will take place over which we have no control, and from the looks of it, we might not survive. We know that God's mercy is abroad in the world, and those who grasp the supernaturality of existence no longer concern themselves over special epochs or favorable if astounding events. It won't matter to anyone absorbed in the immersion of our being into Christ. Why worry about bleeding and weeping statues when Jesus and His Mother reach out so fervently to us to embrace and love them as He is enabling us now?

Why would they insist so stenuously that we try to grow spiritually to be able to perceive them in our ordinary mortal existence? It can only be because they love us, and that loving them in return is more important than anything else.

We shhoudl not live for consolations, but neither should we turn our back on them if they are the agent of our maturation? Certainly chastising cataclsysms do not matter more? 

When Ezekiel did what he was told and entered a cave to watch the world convulse, he knew God was not in the upset and tumult, but recognised Him in a tiny whisper. The wind had blown so bad the rocks werre broken by it. Yet the wind was not what was important, the whisper was.

Is the Lord reaching out to you, straining to touch you, and speaking comforts and love to you? Perhaps you  do not know because you did not listen hard enough and did not grow so that you might be capable. Nevermind, for He is able to appear to you and to reach out and touch you so you are changed.

God knows what you need, which is why He provides what you need. Where is the gratitude? Gratitude more than anything else attracts the Lord, and if He sees you are willing and paying attention to a certain extent, you may come to know Him in His presence in your prayers, and the joy that inexplicably overflows from deep within you to confer the certainty you need.

If you entered a monastery and applied yourself to your utmost, it would be worth it to live through the final  moment of existane, buoyed up by joy and His embrace carrying you heaven to be with Him. yet do not give up anticipating that He could visit you palpably at some point and in some moment when He is particulalry near. They have been touched by God who go out of their way to be kind to others when all around you cruelty and violent hatred reign. That the  joy and kindness are present because of  you will make His Heart swell with love.

Retibution

How beautiful the feet of those who come in
the Name of the Lord.

 It may be tempting to see continual floods in China as some sort of condemnation, we must all remember that we are all sinners, guilty of trepasses we are not shocked at. We might also keep in mind that He is merciful and metes out only what we can stand, and evidently China can stand a lot; it has been enduring what has floored many others, including ourselves.

Last night we had strong thunderstorms until about midnight, and near continuous lightening and thunder as the storm roared through; all in all, exciting, but then we suffered no damages. The rain was good too; it has been so dry that the moisture will do wonders for our environment.

By the same token, we may not be guilty of what we think we are, and though the enemy is fondof pointing out our sins, they aare not so grivous as we may think, so that we should never run away from the Lord because of our sins. He took more than our stripes on Himself when He was condemned unjustly and crucified for his crimes agains Rome and the Jews. On a stormy day in spring He laid down on the cross so the Romans could nail Him to it with two other people. They did their best to erase their humanity, but the death of Jesus laid open the gates of heaven for us, and we need the sight to see past lies, and accept the truth. We must be as ready to atone as we are to eat supper with Him in paradise.

If He offers  us to participate in His cros, will we be as ready as we should be? How grreat is His mercy in not giving us what we deserve. Out of that realization must spring love and a forgetfulness of self, since He already preceded us.

The storms are over, and in the midst of tumutl and threats let us listen to His whispering love in the Garden.

Force

The force of mere wind can move

boulders and bend us down.

 It pays to be humble, even though we may not appreciate humiliation at the time. I remember reading St. Teresa of Avils' complaint when she fell off a coach and into a mud puddle. Her remark was, "It is no wonder you have so few friends." referring to Jesus.

One benefit of humility is that we see things as they are, and not as deception might desire us to see things. We might think we have plumbed the depths of all ramifications of a point, when In fact, we don't see with the proper perspective. We might think we have everything in view, only to realize later that we saw only the tip of the iceberg, and are standing, in fact, in a most dangerous position.

One might think that having mystical experiences, we know it all, when in fact, we need to clean the mud off our faces in order to be able to even open our eyes. 

I get nervous around people who are so certain of things that delusion and error could never creep into their field of view.

Myriad souls have gone to hell, certain they had led a virtuous life, beyond any error. Bless the Lord for humiliations and trials because it is a great gift from God to see the truth so we might realize His mercy toward us and His great love. This entails realizing how we have been spared judgement and condemnation; surely from such encounters flows great love toward us if we
love Him for who He is.

If we have even grasped the teachings of the Church sufficiently to have grown into holiness, we honor Him who has labored do for us that He might save us.

For sin, there is punishment, because it offends the Lord who never sinned and wishes us to be the same.  We should avoid too grave a view of our position, but also have a view of His mercy emcouraging us to do better before we fall off the path.

We should seek to see things plainly and in proper perspective. Children of God can be in error, and might think they are thinking correctly as far as they can see. To be seeing things childishly can lead us to think immaturely when God is looking to find some growth. Hiding behind rigourous rules and regulations can kill us quickly by failing to clear our vision.

Humility grows out of love. and love transforms lagality into affection which is blinded by His light. Let us not think we have attained great heights and light, when in fact we are ignorant of our true position before God.

Nothings touches the soul like a clear view of how other people are. We could never bear the weight of the cross they carry, and we owe them our love and compassion. Citing rules by which we can deny other people their place in the estimation of others is deadly wrong. God is the great exception. He is capable of anything, and frequently reveals the truth to us so we may know for whom to pray, and for whom to suffer.

Hearts

 Day's Saints
John Berchmans, Jesuit
Anastasius, Monk, Martyr
Ez 2:8—3:4
The Lord GOD said to me:
As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you:
be not rebellious like this house of rebellion,
but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.
It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me,
in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me.
It was covered with writing front and back,
and written on it was:
Lamentation and wailing and woe!
He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you;
eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.
So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Son of man, he then said to me,
feed your belly and fill your stomach
with this scroll I am giving you.
I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel,
and speak my words to them.

Gospel Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

The disciples approached Jesus and said,

“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”

He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,

“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,

you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Whoever becomes humble like this child

is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.

And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,

for I say to you that their angels in heaven

always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.

What is your opinion?

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,

will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills

and go in search of the stray?

And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it

than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.

In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father

that one of these little ones be lost.”

+

Look, my heart appears before you;
be ready to comfort me.

I was despised, and in the process hurt a lot. The scroll indeed might have been heavenly sweet, but my rejection was bitter. I forgave, and there was enough fault to go around, but the very nature of the rejection made it impossible to forget. I have eaten of the sweetness of the Lord, and from time to time have shared in His passion, but it was not my place to ask to suffer for the souls He loved; I simply suffered, and it is the same today.

I can thank God I had a body in which to suffer, and with which to feel the pain He longed to feel in me, though my heart could hardly move; He made it possible, and I can give thanks that souls did not have to suffer for my fearfulness.

You might consider your reaction, seeing the terror of the painful cross and the flowing of so much blood, that the apostle John remarked about it, like a spring pent up within, burst forth fully when the lance released the treasure from His chest.

You who suffer without release, will not endure it longer than it takes to satisfy His Heart for so much abuse.  How anyone can thrust a sharp lance into a person's side without quivering at the sight of all the blood I will never know, but I know how angry I was on the day the Lord acted to grant what I could never have imagined. Nor did I see my recovery years afterward, nor was it accomplished without many prayers and explanations, lest I falter altogether, anguish throbbing in my chest without relief. But He did what was impossible for me, and He preserved me through the long slow journey of the lance into my heart. From time to time it hurts physically, and often I can scarcely move.

The day when all things are accomplished will be the day when souls are gathered into paradise to satisfy the desire of the Sacred Heart for all to be gathered into one within His Heart. That day will be the beginning of great joys for His Mother too, and She will accompany all blessed souls to their undending reward.

Comfort His Heart and the Heart of His Mother for all the sins of men which have become so great a burden to forgive. Many will suffer in terror so that those Hearts might be consoled. Blessed is he who comes to comfort them from the storehourse house grace within themselves.

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My recertification papers arrived by email this evening. I can live in my apartment for another year, and the rent only went up $8. I am one very happy camper, and I give thanks to those who prayed for me in this matter, and all the saints and angels I implored to intercede for me :)+

Content in non-functioning Pages widget.

 Because of quirks in teh Blogger system, at this time, my Pages are not working, so I am putting them into this post for your convenience, There are lots of strange  glitches in Blogger, but none of my queries
have ever been answered because Google chooses not to get back to me. I don't think I am the only person this happens to, but I have been living with the quirks for a long time now, I don't have to write HTML code to post my thoughts.

Rule and Vows

RULE
Rule for Life January 12th, 2014

Rule for Life 

Preamble

For those who find themselves called by God to seek Him out in solitude , not belonging to a community,  yet otherwise free to be dedicated to God while not totally withdrawn from the life of the world:

Not everyone is called to live in a monastic community; but those called to seek God and be apart from the world to seek Him in contemplation, seek to know how to live the life to which He calls.  If you are called, then you already believe there is a God and that He involves himself in your life, and you have faith, hope and charity sufficient to obey Him. Likewise, you are present at Mass as often as possible, and are in obedience to the Holy Church, receiving the Sacraments by which you will be strong to succeed.

 St. Benedict has said, “We must hasten to do today what will profit us for eternity.”

God exists and He has a right to ask anything of us by virtue of having created us and keeping us in existence.  Let us resolve to seek counsel.

 In the Name of Jesus and the Name of Mary His Most Holy Mother Queen of Peace, in order to answer the insistent call of God to follow the path of those who have gone before me and enter into the way of perfection and self-emptying, I commit myself to surrender to His will unconditionally, and abandon myself into His Divine Providence.

 I commit myself to live a life of stricter separation from the world as a lay hermit, under this Rule and vows in the silence of solitude, in assiduous prayer, penance, and praise and to faithfully observe this rule.

The Rule is not greater than the needs of charity. 

 I set out to follow these precepts as a rule by which to guide my conduct as a lay hermit consecrated in the heart of Jesus Himself.

To commemorate His holy passion by my life, and desire to comfort Him, desiring to participate as He wishes, console Him in His desolation, and to comfort His brothers and sisters in the world by participating in their suffering. Offer devout and humble prayers to recommend His children to His Heart that they might know comfort of spirit. Offer prayers and sacrifices to the Lord to win conversion of sinners and unbelievers that they may know His love. Offer prayers and penance for atonement and reparation of sins. Accept and offer suffering for the souls in purgatory and those spiritually most in need, especially those near death.

Dedicate my life and sufferings to the spiritual support of priests and religious, and missionaries.

Remember that Jesus freely lay down on the cross and allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross for love; to enter into His will.

Renew my vows on December 8th, in order to be reminded of my obligations and commitment to Jesus, reminding myself to whom I have pledged my word and given my life and love.

To prefer that which is contrary to my preferences or against my will or discomforts or displeases me in order to empty myself so as to be full of my Lord instead.

Use the things of the world in order to make known the love of the Lord to His children, without claiming anything as my own.

Acquiesce to the will of God by accepting correction; acknowledge my faults and sins and endeavor to correct them.

Wear the habit where acceptable, representing myself as one whom Jesus has consecrated, acting as one loved by God, and to remind that it is necessary to do penance. It is permissible to take off the habit for work and cooking, mealtime and cleanup afterward to avoid unnecessarily soiling the habit. Let the habit be plain, consisting of a woolen Tunic, and Scapular of black cloth with hood and sandals. If desired, wear a ring to remind that I belong to God and to commemorate and give thanks for our joining.

In the case that it is not permissible or inappropriate to wear the habit, wearing the cross and the ring will constitute being clothed in the habit.

Refrain from eating meat more than once a day; Refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and Fridays in Ordinary time, and refrain from eating meat or more than two meals on Thursdays as well during Lent and Advent; and refrain from eating much, as a participation in the passion of Jesus and to offer Him a gift of love. Never eat from dinner the night before until after Mass each day except in case of illness. If a solemn feast day is to be observed on Tuesday, Thursday during Lent and Advent and Friday throughout the year, observe the feast and suspend fasting. In case of illness, it is permissible to eat meat once a day on a day of fasting. It is more beneficial to have the humility to accept disability than to insist on observing ascesis to the point of becoming ill and unable to render service to God in the observance of charity and the Rule.

Attend Mass as often as possible, and confess my sins and faults as often as  possible. Pray all of the decades and mysteries of the Rosary daily in accordance with the wishes of Our Lady at Medjugorje if possible; pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at three o’clock daily but say it at bedtime if it was not possible at the appointed time. Be present to God in prayer whenever possible.

In accordance with the necessity of exercising charity, if a call is received to render assistance during prayer time, it is permissible to interrupt prayer to render aid to one in need, since it must be regarded as the voice of God and an expression of His will to perform charitable works in His Name. The kindly attitude towards others constitutes a prayer in itself of a higher order than the mere enjoyment of personal comfort to be had in solitary prayer. If one conducts oneself in a charitable way, prayer has not been interrupted.

Pray Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer of the Divine Office.  Practice Lectio Divina and do spiritual reading.

Write down thoughts, poems, prayers and inspirations of the Lord, either in a handwritten log book or digital log or both.

Give thanks for all things to Jesus and His Mother and never cease imploring them for the strength and grace to be their holy child.

Review and revise this rule as Jesus inspires and directs so that it may benefit my soul.The Rule is to be observed with love, as the Will of God, to the best of my ability. In case I have not, to confess the deficiency when it is possible and amend my life to more closely observe the Rule, approaching my life as the means of pleasing God.

Amen

Schedule

5:00am                        Rise        

5:00am-6:00am         Breakfast

6:00am-7:00am          Weblog or Lectio Divina

7:00am-8:00am          Rosary or prayer, go to Mass
    
8:00am-9:00am          Spiritual Reading
    
9:00am-10:00am        Free time

11:00am-12:00am      Rosary

12:00am-15:00pm     Work (cleaning,  shopping other necessary business)

15:00pm-16:00pm      Chaplet of Divine Mercy

16:00pm-18:00pm      Dinner

18:00pm-19:00pm      Rosary or prayer

19:00                           Retire


VOWS

I Michael Miller,for one year's time,

In order to make my life holy, vow to my Lord Jesus Christ and to His Holy Mother Mary Queen of Peace, to live my life in poverty of spirit, in need of Him, living on His Divine Providence for all my needs spiritual and secular;

I vow to live my life as one promised to Jesus given in purity and as His sole possession and to no other;

I vow to live my life by the will of Jesus as far as I can know it preferring His will to mine as much as I am able;

I promise simply and personally to live by these vows with the help of Jesus and Mary and the Holy Catholic Church.

As His servant, and as much as I can be a servant of the Church, I beg my Lord’s blessing, and the blessing of the Church to fulfill these vows.

Amen.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

New Seeds of Contemplation Thomas Merton New Directions Book  Abbey of Gethsemane 2007

Das Weinachts –Oratorium 2004 edel CLASSICS GMBH Hamburg Germany

The Little Flowers of Saint Francis Dover Thrift Editions Dover Publications

St. Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle Study Edition ICS Publications 2010

The Imitation of Christ Thomas A Kempis Dover Thrift Publications

The Cloud of Unknowing edited by Evelyn Underhill

Abandonment fo Divine Providence Jean Pierre de Coussade

The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition Catholic Book Publishing

The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross ICS Publications 1991

The Rule of St. Benedict Liturgical Press Collegville Minnesota 1981

The Way of Perfection Kieran Kavanugh Study edition ICS Publications 2000

The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila Volume Three Kieran Kavanaugh OCD ICS Publications 1985

Padre Pio the Stigmatist rev. Charles Carty tan Books 1963

Conjectures of an guilty Bystander Thomas Merton Image 2014

The Philokalia The Complete Text Volume Two GFH Palmer 1981

Thomas Merton The Seven Story Mountain Harvest Books Harcourt Inc. 1998

Toward God Michael casey Liguori 1996

Behold the Pierced One Joseph Ratzinger Ignatius Press 1984

Mother Theresa IN My Own Words Grammercy Books New York 1996

St. Therese of Lisieux Story of a Soul Marc Foley OCD ICS Publication 2005

A Holy Life St. Bernadette of Lourdes Ignatius Press 2005

The Magnificent Prayers of Saint Bridget of Sweden Tan Books 1940

Therese Neumann Adalbert vogl 1987 Tan Books

Autobiography & Diary of Saint Gemma Galgani

Sister Wendy’s Book of Saints Dorling Kindersly 1998

Journey of Faith The Story of the Archdiocese  Editions du Signe Ersel, Laughlin 2013

 

Lamentation

Day's Saints
Albert of Sicilly, Carmelite

Donato of Imola

Gospel MT 15:21-28

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed from that hour.

+

Jesus, love me, and I will be well, and all my tormentors will fall back on themselves.

I am your servant, and not a hired hand. Do justice for me that I may carry  out my
duties in praise to You.

Lamentation

Day's Saints
Albert of Sicilly, Carmelite

Donato of Imola

Gospel MT 15:21-28

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed from that hour.

+

Jesus, love me, and I will be well, and all my tormentors will fall back on themselves.

I am your servant, and not a hired hand. Do justice for me that I may carry  out my
duties in praise to You.

Aware

 We should be aware, that the marks of the passion are not pretty boo-boos that don't mean much. They mean the salvation of every human being that ever was or will be.

Jesus endured all His wounds publicly and with compassion for the human race, mercy and peace.

We as Christians can participate in His sufferings by offering our sufferings to Him and to His Mother whose Heart is pierced like Her Son Jesus Heart. He has become fond of suddenly overwhelming me in consolation, even as I suffer other ways that nevertheless affect me deeply. I give thanks for the consolations, and offer all my little sufferings for His Love and the Love of Mary Our Mother.

I am glad that He accepts my small troubles, and is grateful for them, and I am glad I may console His Mother's Heart. Perhaps you could express your love as well ?

Aware

 We should be aware, that the marks of the passion are not pretty boo-boos that don't mean much. They mean the salvation of every human being that ever was or will be.

Jesus endured all His wounds publicly and with compassion for the human race, mercy and peace.

We as Christians can participate in His sufferings by offering our sufferings to Him and to His Mother whose Heart is pierced like Her Son Jesus Heart. He has become fond of suddenly overwhelming me in consolation, even as I suffer other ways that nevertheless affect me deeply. I give thanks for the consolations, and offer all my little sufferings for His Love and the Love of Mary Our Mother.

I am glad that He accepts my small troubles, and is grateful for them, and I am glad I may console His Mother's Heart. Perhaps you could express your love as well ?

Consolation

 Day's Saints

John Viannay

John of the Cross

Gospel 

Jn 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
So they said to him,
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
So Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world."

So they said to him,
"Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

He blesses all you do.

+

Anna, a saint

The Lord God made Manna for the Isrealites raining it down for them to collect. Then He sent His Only Son, and they nailed Him to the cross. Sometimes, joining Him, I am pierced by sudden pains, origins unknown, and I am left hurting and wondering what has happened to me. Then, it passes away, and the Lord remains, and I am able to function again. I give thanks to Him for providing something to offer Him to atone for sins and to console the Heart of the Mother of God.

Whatever He does to me, I am unworthy, and I can only do what He enables me to do, and others are given enviable talents that heal the sick and the desolated children of the Lord God.

One ought to cultivate a gratitude within themselves for all the Lord provides, and all He does. The Israelites lacked that piety which makes humility spring up in the garden of the soul and refreshes and consoles the weary and hard-pressed.

He leads us into the wilderness, and withdrawing for a time, He watches over us lest we lose faith and despair. Then He shows Himself, when, stripped of everything that could blind, He reveals Himself in His consolation to the weary one, tired of the battle and sleepless in countless nights of darkness.

I am old, and my hand trembles and I become dizzy and I wonder how I got this way. Then I show Him my hands, with holes in them which can hold nothing securely, and in response to His urging, I offer what seems so useless to Him, and He blesses me for my gift. We may think we need to be punished, but the Lord sees what we truly deserve, and what He has hidden away for us so it may be safe and not subject to evil or  malevolence.

Peace comes at the hand of the Lord, in the confession of our sins, and our efforts to do His Will. He gave us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink, and His blood makes us live. Let us given thanks, and pray that He bless priests and those consolers of the people of God in exile and surrounded by the shrieks of the afflicted. He reassures them that all is well, and soon they rest in His arms like a child and they dream a dreamless sleep.

Consolation

 Day's Saints

John Viannay

John of the Cross

Gospel 

Jn 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
So they said to him,
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
So Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world."

So they said to him,
"Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

He blesses all you do.

+

Anna, a saint

The Lord God made Manna for the Isrealites raining it down for them to collect. Then He sent His Only Son, and they nailed Him to the cross. Sometimes, joining Him, I am pierced by sudden pains, origins unknown, and I am left hurting and wondering what has happened to me. Then, it passes away, and the Lord remains, and I am able to function again. I give thanks to Him for providing something to offer Him to atone for sins and to console the Heart of the Mother of God.

Whatever He does to me, I am unworthy, and I can only do what He enables me to do, and others are given enviable talents that heal the sick and the desolated children of the Lord God.

One ought to cultivate a gratitude within themselves for all the Lord provides, and all He does. The Israelites lacked that piety which makes humility spring up in the garden of the soul and refreshes and consoles the weary and hard-pressed.

He leads us into the wilderness, and withdrawing for a time, He watches over us lest we lose faith and despair. Then He shows Himself, when, stripped of everything that could blind, He reveals Himself in His consolation to the weary one, tired of the battle and sleepless in countless nights of darkness.

I am old, and my hand trembles and I become dizzy and I wonder how I got this way. Then I show Him my hands, with holes in them which can hold nothing securely, and in response to His urging, I offer what seems so useless to Him, and He blesses me for my gift. We may think we need to be punished, but the Lord sees what we truly deserve, and what He has hidden away for us so it may be safe and not subject to evil or  malevolence.

Peace comes at the hand of the Lord, in the confession of our sins, and our efforts to do His Will. He gave us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink, and His blood makes us live. Let us given thanks, and pray that He bless priests and those consolers of the people of God in exile and surrounded by the shrieks of the afflicted. He reassures them that all is well, and soon they rest in His arms like a child and they dream a dreamless sleep.

The Scribe

Day's Saints

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Jer 18:1-6

This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

Rise up, be off to the potter’s house;

there I will give you my message.

I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, 

working at the wheel.

Whenever the object of clay which he was making

turned out badly in his hand, 

he tried again,

making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.

Then the word of the LORD came to me:

Can I not do to you, house of Israel,

as this potter has done? says the LORD.

Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,

so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

Gospel Mt13:47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:

“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,

which collects fish of every kind.

When it is full they haul it ashore

and sit down to put what is good into buckets.

What is bad they throw away.

Thus it will be at the end of the age.

The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous

and throw them into the fiery furnace,

where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

“Do you understand all these things?”

They answered, “Yes.”

And he replied,

“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven

is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom

both the new and the old.”

When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

+

Jesus is the good scribe who is master of his task; He knows where everything is, and the nature of all things, so that He may gather the wise and the holy to Himself, relegating the sinful and evil to punishment, the purification which never ends because it cannot. Hell exists because the inhabitants rejected Love and rejected God.

The Lord speaks to us when it is necessary, and says the things we must know so we may act prudently and decisively when such things are called for.

The human race has had much to suffer at the hands of evil, but the day is coming when he will repudiated and rejected by those who are the Lord's. Then there will be the just and the holy and there will be a great joy in the instant Heaven is free of evil.

Jesus acts impartially, and in a way that heals and delivers. He makes sure that those in need are provided for, and those who have not reached out in prayer of love will be provided the opportunity to see and know God. Woe to those to whom He reaches out to save them, for they will be beyond rescue if they do not accept Him. There is but one Savior, and one opportunity to be saved. 

Jesus has mourned and tasted death like all men, therefore He knows how to save and to comfort and to set free those in bondage. Lies will be revealed for what they are, and evil deeds as well, but God will rescue those who cry out to Him.

One cannot err putting  one's trust in God. Neither will His Mother turn Her back on us. Reach out to Her in prayer and live in holiness.