Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Light


Gospel Mt 20:20-28
The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
"What do you wish?"
She answered him,
"Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom."
Jesus said in reply,
"You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"
They said to him, "We can."
He replied,
"My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. 
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

+
His light is warm.


Just as Jesus did not come to attend to every little pain we suffer, neither did He intend to prolong our suffering beyond what is reasonable, so that it is just that we ask for what we need in order to serve Him in our brothers and sisters. Ask, and you will receive, and if you were healed, be sure to give thanks and tell others so their faith might be strengthened as well.

There is humility in asking without demanding. Today is Tuesday and Tuesday, along with Friday, is a day of penance and fasting. Fasting, for a diabetic can be carried out without harm so long as it does not become obssessive. A good penance is to not mind that what you ask for was not granted, so long as you don't become a sourpuss.

I frequently have need of being reminded of His passion, and He bestows pain upon me as a gift for the sake of souls. There is little time in this world, and all eternity in Heaven, so that spending some time on others suffering for them, or suffering in their place (intercession) for the sake of the grace of salvation for our companions in life is a good thing.

Another penance is to pray the Rosary for the souls in purgatory. They will know it, and one day will repay your consideration with the blessings of the Lord.

As for the Lord, why should one not recall His sufferings? You cannot be sinning at the same time as your are penetrating the mystery of His passon sufferings. How could He not become more affectionate for your consideration in remembering him? As well as the souls in purgatory, we should remember one another, and call on one another for prayers to help our temptations and those moments which press us to the earth like the cross of Jesus when He fell the third time. Remember that He fell because of the magnitude of the wounds and condemnation He suffered on the way to the cross. Sink into every wound and be surrounded by them to lift the cross a little from His Body while He struggled to live until He died. Not one moment was omitted  until  He had suffered all the moments required by His agreement for our salvation through the passion-life He bore.

He has attended countless hours of our tedium and labor, all illnesses and disappointments, and the dire misery of those who have nothing but contempt for anyone who loves the Lord. Pray for them, because it will be difficult for them to be saved unless someone sticks up for them, no matter how contemptuous and indifferent they might have been. Jesus bore the cross for our sake, for all of us, good or bad. What others do with blessings offered them is hidden in the mystery of His merciful love. Let it not be said that we had no mercy in our hearts or did not care that He suffered grievous anguish until it was over. The day we are together with Him will engulf all our sorrows in His love until there is nothing more but love.

Light


Gospel Mt 20:20-28
The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
"What do you wish?"
She answered him,
"Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom."
Jesus said in reply,
"You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"
They said to him, "We can."
He replied,
"My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. 
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

+
His light is warm.


Just as Jesus did not come to attend to every little pain we suffer, neither did He intend to prolong our suffering beyond what is reasonable, so that it is just that we ask for what we need in order to serve Him in our brothers and sisters. Ask, and you will receive, and if you were healed, be sure to give thanks and tell others so their faith might be strengthened as well.

There is humility in asking without demanding. Today is Tuesday and Tuesday, along with Friday, is a day of penance and fasting. Fasting, for a diabetic can be carried out without harm so long as it does not become obssessive. A good penance is to not mind that what you ask for was not granted, so long as you don't become a sourpuss.

I frequently have need of being reminded of His passion, and He bestows pain upon me as a gift for the sake of souls. There is little time in this world, and all eternity in Heaven, so that spending some time on others suffering for them, or suffering in their place (intercession) for the sake of the grace of salvation for our companions in life is a good thing.

Another penance is to pray the Rosary for the souls in purgatory. They will know it, and one day will repay your consideration with the blessings of the Lord.

As for the Lord, why should one not recall His sufferings? You cannot be sinning at the same time as your are penetrating the mystery of His passon sufferings. How could He not become more affectionate for your consideration in remembering him? As well as the souls in purgatory, we should remember one another, and call on one another for prayers to help our temptations and those moments which press us to the earth like the cross of Jesus when He fell the third time. Remember that He fell because of the magnitude of the wounds and condemnation He suffered on the way to the cross. Sink into every wound and be surrounded by them to lift the cross a little from His Body while He struggled to live until He died. Not one moment was omitted  until  He had suffered all the moments required by His agreement for our salvation through the passion-life He bore.

He has attended countless hours of our tedium and labor, all illnesses and disappointments, and the dire misery of those who have nothing but contempt for anyone who loves the Lord. Pray for them, because it will be difficult for them to be saved unless someone sticks up for them, no matter how contemptuous and indifferent they might have been. Jesus bore the cross for our sake, for all of us, good or bad. What others do with blessings offered them is hidden in the mystery of His merciful love. Let it not be said that we had no mercy in our hearts or did not care that He suffered grievous anguish until it was over. The day we are together with Him will engulf all our sorrows in His love until there is nothing more but love.

Sunday, July 23, 2023

The Harvest

Day's Saints
Bridget of Sweden, Franciscan

Gospel Mt 13:24-43
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
His slaves said to him,
'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

He proposed another parable to them.
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'"

He spoke to them another parable.
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.


Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."

+
Even in the belly of the whale, God safeguards
His beloved.


Let us rather not dwell on the evil done by the wicked, but remember the good done by the just, who will shine like the sun one day, and who did the Will of God and so built up the land and the people of God.

Let your patience be your defining attribute, so your love will shine out to dispel darkness. Be like the Lord who worked obscurely in the midst of His people, so that He could bring them into the light some day to shine like heaven itself.

God brings healing out of suffering and darkness so that all that is left is the strong patience of the holy, who imitating God, gladden the hearts of his brothers.

God causes your suffering and despair to be healing and salvation; the burning of the damned will be all the more striking beside the bliss of those who loved God and his brothers and sisters.

Jesus drank from the sponge dipped into common wine, and having drunk, commended His soul to God and died. He rose again in due time and ascended back to God to return to His side to judge and to bless, for the good men do reflects His glory so that He may gether them to His side.

The bitterness of our pain reflects the passion of Our Lord, and sweetness is tasted by the faithful who love God and act for the salvation of the children of God.

Will not the just man cry out for the man for whom he suffers so the Lord may be moved to save them? You must know that he will, and the just Lord will reward appropriately, all those who displayed their love of God through their good deeds. God does not punish us for the good we were prevented from doing by evil, but for the love we fail to do willfully, so that the relief cannot come until God acts to requite all.

The Lord's rest will come as surely as dawn follows nightfall, and those who labored so the Lord may rest, will never lack rest for themselves. Neither will despair overcome the just man who labors to love the children of God and bring them good things.

You who wish you could say something comforting to your brothers and sisters will not lack the encouragement of the man consecrated and approved by God, but will speak His holy words to heal and comfort all. For God did not create us for suffering and death, but for the life of Jesus which He proposes to share with everyone who will dispose himself appropriately.

Though it was brief, I woke from my sleep rested for the journey ahead, where I laid down for Him who fixed me to the cross out of my desire placed there burning in my heart like desire itself.

Great things are being done, great things burst out like joy that cannot be constrained. Men are lifted up to God to know Him by the fire of His love in their hearts, warming and purifying and buoying up all who are fastened to the bottom of the sea, stayed like an anchor in God Himself.

It is the nature of fire that the air around it becomes light and bouyant to rise until it cools. I have burned greatly in my youth, and now I settle back down to wait on His pleasure who lavished so much of Himself on me who did not deserve it and and was not grateful to please Him enough. He kindles me, and He will kindle you, for He alone knows if you sinned or fell short of the mark, but He will still be glad we are near Him, and we will rise again, our hearts wafted up in the warmth of the fire of His love.

Trim your lamps and carry oil with you, for out of the night, the Bridegroom comes to enter His home and welcome into it all who kept His vigil in their hearts, eagerly awaiting His coming.

The Harvest

Day's Saints
Bridget of Sweden, Franciscan

Gospel Mt 13:24-43
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
His slaves said to him,
'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

He proposed another parable to them.
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'"

He spoke to them another parable.
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.


Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."

+
Even in the belly of the whale, God safeguards
His beloved.


Let us rather not dwell on the evil done by the wicked, but remember the good done by the just, who will shine like the sun one day, and who did the Will of God and so built up the land and the people of God.

Let your patience be your defining attribute, so your love will shine out to dispel darkness. Be like the Lord who worked obscurely in the midst of His people, so that He could bring them into the light some day to shine like heaven itself.

God brings healing out of suffering and darkness so that all that is left is the strong patience of the holy, who imitating God, gladden the hearts of his brothers.

God causes your suffering and despair to be healing and salvation; the burning of the damned will be all the more striking beside the bliss of those who loved God and his brothers and sisters.

Jesus drank from the sponge dipped into common wine, and having drunk, commended His soul to God and died. He rose again in due time and ascended back to God to return to His side to judge and to bless, for the good men do reflects His glory so that He may gether them to His side.

The bitterness of our pain reflects the passion of Our Lord, and sweetness is tasted by the faithful who love God and act for the salvation of the children of God.

Will not the just man cry out for the man for whom he suffers so the Lord may be moved to save them? You must know that he will, and the just Lord will reward appropriately, all those who displayed their love of God through their good deeds. God does not punish us for the good we were prevented from doing by evil, but for the love we fail to do willfully, so that the relief cannot come until God acts to requite all.

The Lord's rest will come as surely as dawn follows nightfall, and those who labored so the Lord may rest, will never lack rest for themselves. Neither will despair overcome the just man who labors to love the children of God and bring them good things.

You who wish you could say something comforting to your brothers and sisters will not lack the encouragement of the man consecrated and approved by God, but will speak His holy words to heal and comfort all. For God did not create us for suffering and death, but for the life of Jesus which He proposes to share with everyone who will dispose himself appropriately.

Though it was brief, I woke from my sleep rested for the journey ahead, where I laid down for Him who fixed me to the cross out of my desire placed there burning in my heart like desire itself.

Great things are being done, great things burst out like joy that cannot be constrained. Men are lifted up to God to know Him by the fire of His love in their hearts, warming and purifying and buoying up all who are fastened to the bottom of the sea, stayed like an anchor in God Himself.

It is the nature of fire that the air around it becomes light and bouyant to rise until it cools. I have burned greatly in my youth, and now I settle back down to wait on His pleasure who lavished so much of Himself on me who did not deserve it and and was not grateful to please Him enough. He kindles me, and He will kindle you, for He alone knows if you sinned or fell short of the mark, but He will still be glad we are near Him, and we will rise again, our hearts wafted up in the warmth of the fire of His love.

Trim your lamps and carry oil with you, for out of the night, the Bridegroom comes to enter His home and welcome into it all who kept His vigil in their hearts, eagerly awaiting His coming.

Friday, July 21, 2023

Fire

DAY'S SAINTS
Daniel, Prophet
Alberic Crescitelli, Martyr

Gospel Mt 12:1-8
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."
He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."

+

The Lord is gracious and generous toward us His children, and looks for our love and affection with longing. Purification of hearts is the watchword of our days.



We can participate in His passon-life, and in so doing, strengthen the fires of His love in His Sacred Heart, from which He shed His Precious Blood. If we participate in that, at the very least we will be purified so His love may cleanse our deficits, and at the most, atone for sins arrogant men presume are not held to account for.

How may we so participate? Loving one another, and serving one another as brothers and sisters, and forgiving sins against ourselves or other people. It is plain that if we desire to live in peace, we will need to desire even more to  be absolutely pure for the Lord.

But what is it to live in peace? Is it simply that no war has broken out and men are not exceeding the limit of transgressions against others?  is it that while we wait on this earth, we are elevated to the embrace of the ecstatic and holy Lord? He holds out to us that participation in Himself and His happiness He desires us to have. The key to obtaining that is that He is all our desire. Might He not wish us to participate in the sorrows and disappointments of others so they may be free of them? Should we be so inclined to pray for others and we find ourselves going beyond that point, we might very well suffer their suffering just when we were hoping to rest ourselves. But if the Lord sees they have succumbed to their cross, would He trouble us to suffer instead of them? Yes. Consider it. At the very least, your disappointments can save souls, and if that is all He asks, are we big enough of heart not to mind?

In the movie (on Youtube), "Shoes of the Fisherman", ( https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=in+the+shoes+of+the+fisherman), 
the pope proposes to the Chinese that they forsake invasion and war and that the Church will provide money to feed the Chineses by selling all the worldly possessions and treasures and properties of the entire Catholic Church. Such a real event would be apropos and timely in these days, and also absolutely stunning.

Ordinary people throughout time have done exactly that, stirring controvery when they did, by challenging their contemporaries to live the virtues Jesus extolled in His thrity years of life. Jesus warned those who were listening to Him that He would be accused falsely, taken into custody to be tried unfairly and in such a way that He would be guilty of what they considered blasphemy, with the result, that He was crucified with two criminals by the Romans.

His disciples were holed-up together in a building fearful of the same people who crucified Jesus, when He appeared in their midst and gave them the Holy Spirit and told them to go forth into the whole world to spread the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God.

How we  might do the same requires vision and purpose, and the more vision we have and the more purposeful we became, the more we would see what Jesus always sees in Heaven, and the closer this world would get to being ready for the last day.

No one need wait for some tremendous vision or revelation in the sky; children are being canonized as saints for the simple love they held in their hearts and manifested to others, appearing like great lights in their midst.

Do not decry the darkness if you have not at least lit a candle to shed some light, praying a Rosary with others, or attending the celebration of the Mass with devotion. If He finds devotion in your midst, He will fan the flames of His love to enkindle everyone nearby, and the earth can start enjoying Heaven now instead of thirty years from now.

Who knows how many souls such illumination might save out of darkness seeking God; those seeking with all their heart and more will be blessed. The excess of love will inflame an indifferent world.

Fire

DAY'S SAINTS
Daniel, Prophet
Alberic Crescitelli, Martyr

Gospel Mt 12:1-8
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."
He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."

+

The Lord is gracious and generous toward us His children, and looks for our love and affection with longing. Purification of hearts is the watchword of our days.



We can participate in His passon-life, and in so doing, strengthen the fires of His love in His Sacred Heart, from which He shed His Precious Blood. If we participate in that, at the very least we will be purified so His love may cleanse our deficits, and at the most, atone for sins arrogant men presume are not held to account for.

How may we so participate? Loving one another, and serving one another as brothers and sisters, and forgiving sins against ourselves or other people. It is plain that if we desire to live in peace, we will need to desire even more to  be absolutely pure for the Lord.

But what is it to live in peace? Is it simply that no war has broken out and men are not exceeding the limit of transgressions against others?  is it that while we wait on this earth, we are elevated to the embrace of the ecstatic and holy Lord? He holds out to us that participation in Himself and His happiness He desires us to have. The key to obtaining that is that He is all our desire. Might He not wish us to participate in the sorrows and disappointments of others so they may be free of them? Should we be so inclined to pray for others and we find ourselves going beyond that point, we might very well suffer their suffering just when we were hoping to rest ourselves. But if the Lord sees they have succumbed to their cross, would He trouble us to suffer instead of them? Yes. Consider it. At the very least, your disappointments can save souls, and if that is all He asks, are we big enough of heart not to mind?

In the movie (on Youtube), "Shoes of the Fisherman", ( https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=in+the+shoes+of+the+fisherman), 
the pope proposes to the Chinese that they forsake invasion and war and that the Church will provide money to feed the Chineses by selling all the worldly possessions and treasures and properties of the entire Catholic Church. Such a real event would be apropos and timely in these days, and also absolutely stunning.

Ordinary people throughout time have done exactly that, stirring controvery when they did, by challenging their contemporaries to live the virtues Jesus extolled in His thrity years of life. Jesus warned those who were listening to Him that He would be accused falsely, taken into custody to be tried unfairly and in such a way that He would be guilty of what they considered blasphemy, with the result, that He was crucified with two criminals by the Romans.

His disciples were holed-up together in a building fearful of the same people who crucified Jesus, when He appeared in their midst and gave them the Holy Spirit and told them to go forth into the whole world to spread the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God.

How we  might do the same requires vision and purpose, and the more vision we have and the more purposeful we became, the more we would see what Jesus always sees in Heaven, and the closer this world would get to being ready for the last day.

No one need wait for some tremendous vision or revelation in the sky; children are being canonized as saints for the simple love they held in their hearts and manifested to others, appearing like great lights in their midst.

Do not decry the darkness if you have not at least lit a candle to shed some light, praying a Rosary with others, or attending the celebration of the Mass with devotion. If He finds devotion in your midst, He will fan the flames of His love to enkindle everyone nearby, and the earth can start enjoying Heaven now instead of thirty years from now.

Who knows how many souls such illumination might save out of darkness seeking God; those seeking with all their heart and more will be blessed. The excess of love will inflame an indifferent world.

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Saints

 


A saint whose life spanned so many years and so difficult to live ought to be examined and celebrated  as much as possible. Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina was one such saint. His life is full of significance, and it is being revealed more and more every day. He never hid his meaning in clever riddles, but was plain for all to see, and easy to understand; you either love the Lord or not, and His representitvrd are either loved or not, and the age reflects the light that we have been allowed to see.

I say that "we have been allowed to see" because evil is busy obfuscating and operating against God and the love He has for us and our love of Him.

This age particularly has need of the light of Christ and to love Jesus as He deserves. The age is dark to begin with, but with so much turmoil dimming the light of God, we are left few choices for seeing the truth and clinging to it come what may. Doubt casts a pall over truth and divine realities which God Himself has made plain to us, which is to say revealed to us so there may be no ambiguity, because on the last day, there will be no ambiguity before the judgement seat of God. Either you love God or not. But if you feel the foundations of your existence crumbling, reach out to God to restore your faith so you may respond to Him and categorically choose Him as Lord and love of your life. He knows those who really do love Him, there is no ambiguity, and as He said, by their fruits you will know them.

Do not be afraid of this age; things happen for a reason, and one part of the reason they happen as they do is that suffering with the ambiguities is necessary in order to see the truth, but as the truth is seen, so too is the evil made obvious, so that we have need of the light of God all the more, the longer we live.

You can find no peace in evil, it exists only in God. So much is this so, that one attribute of the divine is an obvious peace. A mature soul quells the longings in it, so it cannot be disturbed and caused to deviate from a course which leads securely to God and salvation. Do not reach out to evil for salvation because it is dedicated to destroying faith and love of God, of one's self and of other people.

The Blessed Mother requested the consecration of Russia and the nations of the world for a reason; it is not an arbitrary request. If the world wants peace, then it must want the consecration and to do everything possible to make it happen. The liars that have sprung up in the world are there to mislead God's children and separate them from God. All the more should the children of God trust and love God and one another, sparing nothing, spiritually and corporally to advance the cause of the loving Immaculate Heart of Mary the Mother of God.

The lives of the saints are plain signs and show the ways we may individually and corporately live so that we are saved and do not lose the salvation brought about by Jesus. Each one sacrificed their life to foster love of God and belief in Him and to be strong against evil so that little by little, the Kingdom is made ready for its debut.

We know there will be wars and calamities whose aim is to destroy our faith in God and one another. By separating individuals one by one, evil desires to weaken and destroy all of us and the Church. I reiterate that by prayer, we cement our relationship to God and foster the building of the Kingdom of God so it is sound and splendid to see.

The number of souls dedicated to living the passion-life of Jesus is great, and the building of the Church and the Kingdom of God continues and grows stronger and there is no greater weapon against evil than that some souls might surrender themselves without defense, to the Will of God through the suffering with Jesus of His passion-life.

The orginal sin happened and the calamitous effects of its happening remain to this day through all the long ages of time until now. That sin was destroyed by the salavation of Jesus and His crucifixion and death. He gave us Baptism, and through the ministry of the Church, Jesus prolongs and intensifies its effects so that a Kingdom will soon be completed and revealed to replace all that has gone before. There is still a day set to arrive, when Jesus will reveal Himself to everyone all at the same time so that chasms that exist in the Faith can be reduced into the necessary unity in which all human beings will be inducted. What remains after that will continue to follow the Will of God so that all things are brought to completion, for the world suffers greatly from not knowing and not seeing the light of God.

Evil can produce nothing that truly resembles or rivals the truth and light of God, which is His presence and His love penetrating everywhere to drive out evil away from God and so the children of God might be drawn infinitely close the the love of His Sacred Heart.

Lift up your hearts and know your freedom, and flight given to holy souls through love. God wishes freedom for all people, and He is perfectly willing to wait until it is revealed and gathered together in Him forever, where nothing will surpass it or touch it or enjoy or possess it that does not love God.

Such a light waits for us to be ready to gaze upon it as no one has gazed before, and it will eradicate evil so that no trace persists. This is what drew saints to their sainthood long before they were even pronounced to be saints. Heaven exists to provide us a place to live in God free of distraction or suffering and without the dangers that exist in the world as it is today. Be at peace and give thanks to God for it; use it to draw closer to God and to prepare to be lovers of God who will not be unable to love Him infinitely as He intended. 

Apppreciation

Dear Padre Pio, I come to you for refuge from my troubles, humbling myself in the dirt at the foot of the cross where i belong  because of m...