We met him at the ripe age of two. Aaron was a precocious kid who would break away and run from you. He was our dear friends Anthony and Lorrie’s oldest son. As parents they sought out the best for their sons. Aaron attended St. John Neuman Catholic School and then transferred to St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Colorado Springs. The commute from Pueblo to Colorado Springs is 45 minutes; this was a sacrifice his parents made for him.  That’s what we parents do; we provide and we keep trying to guide our children in the right direction. Through the years Aaron grew to become a charming young man. He never outgrew that sweetness of an innocent child; it was part of his nature. I have always felt his heart was special because he could laugh at anything or turn bad situations into something positive. He was exposed to the finer things in life but never sought after them. The only thing that brought him joy was to be surrounded by people he loved.

His Name

His parents, Lorrie and Anthony named him Aaron because they loved the name, but God had a big part in naming him too. Aaron is a strong Biblical name; he was the older brother of Moses. All Jewish high priests come from the bloodline of Aaron. His name means “high mountain, exalted.” When Moses could not speak, God put the words in Aaron’s mouth. When Moses could no longer hold up his hands, Aaron came alongside him and held them up for his brother. This is how Aaron was to his family and friends; he was their support through any trial.

Aaron was true to his name; he was highly exalted. Aaron was the first-born son, and the Bible speaks of this as being a blessing. From his birth he was a blessing to his family. He was consecrated to the Lord on the day of his baptism.

Luke 2:23 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

²³ just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,”

Long Suffering

According to the coroner’s report Aaron’s cause of death was a ruptured lower intestine. This type of illness does not come on suddenly; it takes years for this condition to become life-threatening. Aaron never once complained about his condition. His suffering was discreet because he did not want anyone to worry about him. Though he lived with his father and brother, neither of them had any idea about his illness. Both Anthony and Marcus were with Aaron when the Lord took him home. This, too, was part of God’s plan.

Why He Died

Only God can answer this looming question. When someone is taken from us unexpectedly, God wants to get our attention. If the average life expectancy of a man in the United States is 76 years, Aaron lived only half of his life, but his life had a purpose, and his death has meaning. In Aaron’s 38 short years he made a difference. Aaron will be used by God in his passing because it is part of the Lord’s plan. It’s a wake-up call to help us understand the fragility of life. We are to cherish every moment.

Though Aaron’s parents were divorced, he never chose sides; he loved them both equally. Not a day would pass without Aaron calling his mother. They cooked and spent endless hours together, talking about what mattered to them.  Aaron lived with Anthony, his father, and Marcus, his younger brother. Aaron got the best traits from both of his parents; he was gifted with a combination of both of their personalities. He was hospitable and social, and oozed of love for his family. His relationship with his aunts was that of extended mothers, and he had many. Aaron visited Vicky, Carolyn, Elsie, and Penny on a regular basis.

Aaron left the world like an artist with his canvas half-painted. The vision I get of his finished work is that of a road well traveled by many, lined with myrtle trees blooming in shades of white, soft pink, and deep purple. These trees will always remind me of Aaron because they were in full bloom on the day he took his last journey. The myrtle tree is a symbol of God’s blessing.

Zechariah 1:11 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

¹¹ And they answered the angel of the Lord, who was standing among the myrtle trees: “We have been patrolling the earth, and now the whole earth rests quietly.”

Catholic Doctrine 

For 12 years Aaron was being engrafted into the Word of God through his Catholic teachings. Every year during Lent he gave up alcohol; he did this faithfully. He learned how to use the teachings of God to apply them to his life. He honored his mother and father and loved his younger brother Marcus beyond measure. He understood the “Golden Rule” and lived a life of loving his neighbor. He will make a difference in his passing because those who knew him will remember the loving times spent with him. Their memories of Aaron will be sweet.

My Prayer:

Dear Lord, Lorrie, Anthony and Marcus are in great pain; their hearts are shattered with the loss of Aaron. I pray that in Your Divine Mercy, You will grant them special graces to get through this trial. They love You Lord, let them know that Aaron is resting in Your arms. Lord, give them a sign that Aaron is now at peace and no longer in pain. Allow them to be at peace about their great loss. Lord, allow other friends and family members to come alongside them and lift them up in prayer. Bring those who have lost their way back into Your kingdom. The world, as we see it today is darkness, but with, God, comes light. Allow Aaron’s passing to become that beacon of light to guide others toward the right path. Jesus We Trust In You!

I will continue to pray and offer my communion on behalf of my friends until the Lord releases me from this obligation. Good night sweet boy.

Remember when the world shut down? How we were held captive by the phantom coronavirus? How fear was what we woke up to and went to bed with? The COVID-19 is still something we need  to be cognizant of. My niece Maggie, a social worker from Arizona, came down with the virus; she has since recovered. During nightly prayers our group prayed for over eighty persons, including ten persons with the virus. Five of those persons died as the result of the deadly coronavirus. There are still cases being reported in our community, so, yes, we are still being careful.

Most of us were home  and during the first week we lived in our pajamas. I was getting up at 10 a.m. because I felt helpless in this battle. Both my husband and I are in good health, but because of our age  we refrained from even essential shopping. We ordered groceries from Target and paid twice the price, our son Mikos and his wife Jenny Costco runs for us, and our daughter Sonja brought us meals. Remember the panic buying? This was also during the daily briefings of Dr.Fauci and Dr. Birx  that kept us posted on all the dismal statistics. All I got from this was stay in bed and shut all your windows and doors until this passes over.

Disinfecting

Then started all the strange information circulating  via Messenger. Do not use ibuprofen or you will surely escalate your imminent death. Or the crazy ways of disinfecting your groceries (I did that for about a week). The messages were coming from all over the world on what to do and what not to do. The dreaded face mask, to wear or not to wear; I’m still not clear on this because it’s ever changing. When we’d hear the mail drop into the slot, Mike and I would look at each other in fear, and  in unison say, “It’s your turn!”  We handled the mail like a bomb was about to go off, washing our hands immediately afterwards, waiting until all the coronavirus germs fell off. Who knows when that was going to be! We operated in fear because we were glued to the news of when and how we were going to get exposed. Everything we touched , we disinfected. Then the announcement of the scariest week: we were told that the virus would peak and if you are older or have underlying heath issues, do not go out at all! The media put so much fear in us that people were scared to look out their windows. Then on May 22nd the Centers for Disease Control made a stunning announcement: the coronavirus does not spread easily on surfaces. I could have told them that!

Shut-in Tension

This was taking a toll on people like us, who followed the guidelines and stayed home. At first we were told that it may last as long as two weeks; that was quickly raised to 30 days, and so on. This modern-day pandemic was new to everyone, the changes were being made day to day. In the meantime my venial sins were stacking up. I was upset about so many things: not being able to see my grandchildren, our governor telling us to stay home while he vacationed in Wyoming, and the fact that he placed church openings in one of the last phases. I wanted to attend Mass, I needed to go to confession, and I needed a pedicure. The problem with all this was that Mike and I were each other’s only sounding boards, and many times we did not see eye-to-eye.

June 14th

Finally, after almost 90 days, our church was opening. There were rigid restrictions; confessions were no longer going to be held in the confessional. The parish had purchased some room dividers to allow for safe distancing.  I was scheduled to serve at the 10 a.m. Mass. It was a bitter sweet moment because we had to register for the service. But the saddest part was seeing our church more than half-empty. I registered for daily Mass and was elated to hear that confessions were going to take place after every daily Mass. On Monday I unloaded all my unwanted burdens at confession. I was absolved of my sins  and given a penance; it truly was a weight off my conscience. Our parish is going through many changes, not only due to the coronavirus but because one of our priests is being transferred to another parish.

Two Confessions

I do not want to use the real names of the priests involved, so I will refer to them as Father A and Father B. On Monday I went to Father A for confession, but my normal confessor is Father B, who will soon be leaving our parish. I wanted to be sure to say my goodbyes and to thank Father B for all the effort he put into our parish. You can’t call the parish office because the workers are still on furlough. So I came up with an ingenious idea: I would go to Father B for confession. The following day Father B did the homily, and at the end of the service announced that he would be hearing confessions after Mass. He pointed to the Adoration Chapel. After Mass we were instructed to leave unless we were going to confession. I exited the church and came back in for confession, closed my eyes and prayed. I waited and noticed that no one was in line, so I got in line where I thought Father B was.

I was nervous because part of the opening prayer is: “Bless me, father, for I have sinned. My last confession was…” I had to tell the truth,  “One day ago.” I said the prayer and the priest was surprised when I said one day ago.”One day ago!” he exclaimed. “Yes, Father,” I answered, but it did not sound like Father B. I tried to peek through the tiny slats of the partitions and I discovered it was Father A! When I confessed the same sins as the day before, Father A called me out. “But you confessed that yesterday.” “I know, but I can’t get past it,” I lied. At this point I was in too deep, and it all went south from there. The more I tried to explain, the worst the situation became. I told Father A that I do not normally come to confession everyday. “I hardly come.” Another lie. By this time all credibility was out the window. Father A graciously absolved me of the same sins from the day before. This incident will go down as one of the many embarrassing moments of my life.

It is so important to go to confession on a regular basis, but most Catholics do not take advantage of this Sacrament. Confession helps us to rely on God to rid us of our sins. The Sacrament of Confession helps us to fight our faults and shortcomings; it helps us break the bad habits. Going to confession removes all guilt from sin and cleanses our soul. The sins no longer have power over us. Reconciliation helps us to become more like Jesus, giving us the spirit of  humility, generosity, patience, and, most importantly, love. Every time we go to confession we are being strengthened to fight temptation. When was your last confession?

Walk the Talk

There have been evil spirits unleashed in the atmosphere. Oppression is its name. It is a  type of pollution with an assignment from Hell to bring you down spiritually. This type of oppression is designed to muffle our voices so that we can no longer speak the truth. God gave me a voice, and I will use it until my dying day. I will spread the Word of God without restraints. I will move mountains in my lifetime because I have been called to make a difference. I am moving ranks in the Army of God, and with each battle comes another attack. Please come alongside me in praying that the Truth will set the world free.

John 14:6 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

On Sunday I was able to say a proper good-by to Father B, he will be greatly missed.

Don’t follow the crowd, follow the leader. This leader has never voted, has always judged justly, and will always be the Chairman of the Board of the World. I am talking about the Triune God. He appoints leaders, and takes down nations. He will come to judge the living and the dead. (2 Timothy 4:1)

Gone With the Wind

All meaningful discussions are gone with the wind. Unless you agree with the mindset of liberals, you are considered a racist. I understand that change is needed, but it takes time to do it justly. You can’t be a newborn and expect to walk on the same day; that’s not how it works. The changes are long overdue, but if they are done with prayer and good leadership much can be accomplished. Destruction of public property, like toppling  the statue of Christopher Columbus, engenders misunderstanding for those of us looking from the outside. All I see is years of pent up anger. Christopher Columbus is a part of American history; whether you agree with it or not, he will always be a part of our history.

My favorite movie is “Gone With the Wind.” It’s a novel made into a timeless movie that I will always watch. Hattie McDaniel was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was the first African American woman to win an Oscar. She attended the awards show and was praised for her great talent. The people in the audience did not protest her win; rather they celebrated in her victory. Are you going to take this award from her as well? She portrayed a fictional character; the language and demeanor of  “Mammy” though now considered an offensive racial stereotype, was an acceptable narrative of the Antebellum South. I will always love this movie because of its powerful message of perseverance, and redemption.

I will continue to support what is right in the eyes of my Leader Jesus Christ. When you serve a just God, He will see the matters through. I have prayed for years for certain things to change. With age comes wisdom. Now I fully understand why I had to wait for the answers. The Lord was teaching me patience and perseverance before I got the response. More importantly, He was teaching me to trust Him. Trusting God has been one of my greatest challenges  during trials because when I didn’t see change immediately, I would revert to disbelief. I’d ask why? I’d cry out to Him in anger, and felt no relief. Then one day it happened: I prayed about a situation and waited. I saw things in the supernatural change for the better, little changes that made a huge difference. The anger that once turned into pain was being lifted from me. It was durning this epiphany that trusting God was finally cemented in my spirit.

Defunding the Police

This is an extreme measure that is going to create a culture of disrespect for authority. Before you know it, police will be required to ask, “Excuse me, but you broke the law. Do I have your permission to arrest you?” There are other ways to fix this problem. Leave it to the Police Unions, there will be changes, and we will all be informed. Stop demonizing all police officers. For the most part they are decent human beings who took an oath to protect us, and they deserve our respect.

Social Media

God created all of us in His image; this means we are all His children. A father only wants the best for His children.  No one will ever hold a gun to your head and force you to think as he does, right? But if you don’t agree with these demanding absurdities on Social Media, you are opening doors to great criticism. You will never win with the critics on Social Media; they rule the airwaves. The diabolical attacks are relentless because their arguments are loaded with half-truths. Half-truths are what the media thrives on, twisting and turning the truth to make it appear favorable to the  listening public. They feed the lies to the ravenous wolves; this is the meat they crave.

I took my grandchildren to help with an outreach, in South Gate, which is located in Los Angeles County. They wanted to listen to “their” music, I could not believe the comments of political propaganda playing out before and after every song. These messages are no longer subliminal; they are in your face, and it’s always what they want you to believe.

In the words of the President of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast:

Racism permeates every structure in our society. As our nation confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, which is disproportionately ravaging Black communities, we must address the public health crisis that racism presents. Public health by definition is built on the principle of saving lives.

There has been no greater threat to Black lives than violence being inflicted at the hands of the state — through the blatant violence inflicted by police and through centuries of policy that have systematically oppressed Black people since before the founding of our country.

PPGC pledges to lift our voices and to work alongside our partner organizations to demand justice for the victims and their families, and to fight racism.

In solidarity,

Melaney A. Linton
President & CEO
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast

The blatant lies of supporting Black Lives Matter is almost comical. African Americans represent only 13.3% of the American population; yet more black babies are aborted than any other race. 36% of all abortions are by black women. The number one killer of black lives in the United States is  Planned Parenthood through its legally sanctioned abortions. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state that abortions kill more black people than HIV, homicide, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. So why is Black Lives Matter aligning themselves with Plannned Parenthood?

Jesus On the Cross

When the Jews and the Romans joined forces, their unity was hatred of Jesus. We as Catholics will never take Jesus off the Cross because this is our reminder that His Crucifixion  was the price he paid for our atonement! We believe in the crucified Christ because we want that image to be sealed in our hearts. It depicts God’s love, and what He sacrificed for us. We can’t change history because it will aways be a life lesson. Sometimes it’s painful.

Antifa

The mainstream media introduced this organization as an ideology, but ask the citizens of Seattle.  Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ ) has taken over six city blocks. Some of their demands include to abolish the court system, and release all non-white prisoners so that they can be retried. How can you do that if there is no court system? If you do not believe these radical leftist really exist, google Gabriel Nadales, a former member of Antifa.

I know the God I serve, even with all this craziness, God will see us through.

Ecclesiastes 3:15 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

¹⁵ What now is has already been; what is to be, already is: God retrieves what has gone by.