I love watching EWTN'S , 'The Journey home' and have been watching it for amny years now with great pleasure and many graces. The programme is basically the Faith story of people who have converted and come home to our Catholic Faith. The host is MArcus Grodi a former Presbyterian Minister. To night as I listened to him I just had this great sense of how far down the road to ture holiness he had come. As Iw atched different episodes of the series I had this strong feeling of him growing closer and closer to Christ. In a similiar way in watching the visionaries of MEdugorje since 1981 I was watched them grow in the Lord , some of them frankly to become before my very eyes saints. Michael Brown over at Spirit Daily is another example. I read his books right from the start and have been following his website for so long I can't count and see in him recntly abundant fruits of holiness. But on the other hand I often sense in others a lack of this working of grace..a lack of prayer in their life/ For instance I was in a pharmacy today when a mother and her daughter came in. To me there was a great restlessness about them, an intense suprficiality , I think of it like and aridity a dryness the lack of roots I associate with those who are far from God. I moved away from them instinctively and as I did so I noticed mother and daughter begin to quarrell with each other with pitched voices. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this intheir lives that they can kinda see the holiness or the lack of rpayer on others. I don't mean this in a judgemental way, it is just something I experience in my own spiritual life.
Family life does have it moments. I have often wondered what it would be like to be single directing only my own thoughts and actions 24/7. Being a family man, I rarely get opportunities to be in silence, accept when I get to spend my noon hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I suppose when I am with my kids, people see another side of me. Kids do wear on you and sometimes in public places where you are not always saintly in appearance. That's why God gave us confession. I have been around large families all my life and yes, whether it is in sports, working around the house (or in many cases raising your voice to get them off their dead butts) or the tiredness of it all we do seem less than Christian at times. However Padraig, you are right. All one has to do is visit your local Wal Mart and you will see all kinds of weird behaviors of people who are lost in this confusing immoral world, clueless about God and life.
Sadly, USA anyway, we have two generations of mostly un-churched people and many that go to church are getting the mealy mouthed PC version of Faith. The Flock is, simply, not being fed and I'm guessing The Father, Jesus and The Holy Ghost are not happy about it .... and it will get much worse, USA, with the latest SCOTUS rulings. ObamaCare = Abortions. Paid by YOU like it or not. Gay Marriage = Christian Persecution .... thus The Storm!! GOD SAVE US .... EVERYONE!!
I have to agree that here in the US it is a very watered down Catholism. I don't think it has always been that way. I was born after Vatican II. I know my mother has told me that the Church has bent over backwards trying to get along with Protestants. I think maybe they went to far with that. Many Catholic churches look more Protestant than Catholic. And there really isn't much talk about the Blessed Mother. And you can't talk about God in public without people looking at you like you're a weirdo. If you even comment on gay lifestyles you get berated by those around you. I am very much alone in my opinion on that at work. Everyone around me has bought into the whole gay thing.
Maybe Loretta at this time our vocationlike that of Mother Angelica is to be queit and suffer and pray. To be living sacrifices. I was touched watching old reruns of EWTN to see Mother Angelica making little announcements that she was not well. In hindsite it was obvious she had been chosen to climb her very own Calvary for the Truth. But I don;t know if at the time she realised this, she was an old war horse racing off in one direction. Jessus said if we go into one town and are not accepted to shake the dust off our feet and head else where. We live in a world at the moment which is turning from Christs message. But one night , on the first day of Vatican 2 young people from all over Rome and Italy came to St Peters with cnadles to greet St John 23rd. There was a full moon that night and his famous talk became a legend because it was so full of hope, perhaps we need to hear that message again...
Ewtn is a beacon of light in the darkness. I believe Mother Angelica will be canonized a saint at some point in future.
I am sure she will Loretta. But maybe not only her. I suspect there are a whole nest of saints at EWTN. Bob and Penny Lord were another two. They had the most interesting spriitual pilgrimage. Their son died of an over dose and they both turned from God. But in the end returned to the Faith. One priest commented that no ne had done as much to encourage devotion to the saints in the last 50 years as these two. ...and of course there are others....
There appears to be one golden thread thorugh the lives of all these people and the rest of God's saints... the Cross writ large.
Not only this statement, but in the same sentence Jesus said it would be worse than Sodom for those that rejected the prophets of God.
I sometimes do not know what to do or say, when faced with the idolatries, beliefs, statements or the general sleep walking of acceptance of ungodliness, that most people I work with seem to display. I decided a long time ago to just be quiet and suffer and pray. However, interestingly there are times when I have been personally questioned and out of the blue normally. Its then that I know, I have been asked to stand for the truth. Example, about two weeks ago I was working night shift at the hospital, I'm an RN and was in charge for this night shift on the medical ward, I was working with 2 other nurses who seemed really agitated and very hostile at the start of the shift. Out of the blue one of the nurses looked at me and stated very matter of factly, that she just hoped that euthanasia would soon be legal here in Australia because the suffering of so many of the elderly was just so inhumane. I had no choice, [I really wished I could have remained silent], but I had to reply and just hope that the Holy Spirit would give me the right words to rebuke her opinion. I don't know why she put that statement to me, however, when confronted personally these are the times when we must stand for the truth no matter how worldly humilating it may be.
It was strange that and kind of spookey. I have noticed this myself. I don't think things like that are an accident I would consider it to be diabolical. In case folks think I am seeing demons under every rock..well..there are demons under every rock , they are everywhere. There was a Protestant writer, very spiritual called Frank Peretti..Iread several of his novels. The cnetral theme to his stries is the war between angels and demons in our lives. They are very instructive to the war going on around us.
I know what you mean. I work in a nursing home in the US. I've not heard to much about euthanasia in the work place as much as support of the whole homosexual agenda. Its weird. The people who live at the nursing home are elderly and that generation does not support LGBT. And some people are so flagrant about it. I too have been put on the spot with questions and comments.
Years ago I was in a prayer group with Father Mark in Alabama before he decided to become a priest. He was a very holy young man.
They used to say about the Martin Family in Liseaux, France that they were a , 'Nest of Saints', God has honoured us in Alabama in the USA with a very, very big nest of saints.... Well goodness me, what else has He got in store for us, praise His Holy Name!!
Years before I met Father Mark I remember his Mom at very early morning Mass in Huntsville. Holy Mother - holy son!
Mother: Blessed Marie-Azelie Guerin Martin; Father: Blessed Louis Martin are expected to be canonized by Pope Francis during the world Synod of Bishops on the family in October (2015). A case for St. Therese sister, Leonie Martin - canonization has also been opened. There is in-part a reason for so many Saints in this beautiful family; that I will present to these forums and the world at a later date. God bless!
Yes, you are wrong. I consider myself very small and insignificant. Quite humble.. trying to be. But if your intentions are to hurt me then you have done a good job. To my mind I have said noting wrong. Old nick is at it again!
