January, 2024 - My Catholic Roots are showing

The Conversion Of Lynda

January 29, 2024 No Comments

52 two years of receiving beautiful roses from Mike

On January 25, 2024, we celebrated 52 years of marriage.

St. Paul’s conversion is celebrated on the same day.

St. Paul’s Conversion

St. Paul is one of my favorite Christian writers. Formerly known as Saul, he was well-bred; he came from a family of means. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. In addition his father was a Roman citizen, which afforded Paul both Roman and Hebrew citizenship. He was the prized student of the esteemed Rabbi Gamaliel. Gamaliel, a highly regarded Pharisee, was also a member of the Sanhedrin, an assembly of elders appointed to adjudicate disputes in ancient Israel. Saul was also a Pharisee who fought for the beliefs of the Torah.

Saul apposed Jesus as a false Messiah and terrorized and imprisioned His followers as a threat to Judaism . Saul’s background makes for a perfect convergence where fate meets divine wisdom.

I can compare myself to St. Paul who discovered the truth on his journey. Filled with zeal, he tried to destroy every Christian in his path. On the road to Damascus, he met Jesus. In my ignorance, my search for truth led me down a winding road of self-absorbance. As a result I’d become a holier than thou know-it-all. If you did not believe as I did, in my mind there was little time for salvation and to turn your life to God.

My understanding of the fire of God was me taking a torch and burning all the dross. I was, after all, clearing a pathway to heaven. I was sorely wrong.

If you met me during this transition, I was going to use any sensationalized information to sway you into my beliefs.

This past Thursday, we when to dinner in Costa Mesa to celebrate our anniversary. This restaurant is located on Anton Boulevard and, as we made the turn, my mind was flooded with vivid memories of when I first became a Born-Again Christian.

The Demonic Hotel

I cannot recall the name of the pastor or the church that stated that a hotel in this area was demonic. Explicitly this was because Anton was the name of the high priest of the Satanic Temple and this hotel is surrounded by five black banks. In addition 666 was the address to the hotel! This was the onset of convincing others that almost everything had an attachment to the dark side, so they needed to follow the Light.

This hotel is surrounded by banks but does not have the dreaded numbers 666 for an address.

The Holy Pilot

Another rumored belief was that Delta Airlines always flew their planes with a Christian and a nonbeliever as co-pilots. This was in preparation for the Rapture of the Church. As the Christian pilot left the plane to meet his Maker, the nonbelieving co-pilot would guide the plane to a safe landing. I felt privileged to know this private information. To think that an American airline would go through this length was most impressive. I shared this information with only trusted individuals, including my son Mikos. This, too, proved to be false information.

The Truth

Not long ago Mikos reminded me of the Delta story. I answered, “I was a baby Christian, I’ve grown since then.” How could I have been so gullible? I was all over the board, attending different churches, listening to pastors, some of whom received their credentials from the Internet. Hungry for the truth, I devoured everything that was put on my spiritual plate.

Saving The World

When you have the mindset of a know-it-all, nothing and no one can stop the fast-moving train. Besides, I made it my job to tell the world in all boldness about Christ. Through all the whistle-stops and crude outreaches, with no real covering I was doomed and quickly fading into the persona of another Bible-beating bully.

God was with me the entire trip. He watched me fall on my face so many times. He must have had a good laugh, watching me go from one church meeting to the next, gleaning what worked for my resume.

The Lord taught me to re-examine the commitment I made in my conversion. He took me, a lump of discarded play dough, and made me who I am today: filled with fire and the zeal to minister to others in His love.

The Zeal

Having a complete understanding of zeal has brought me a new meaning of God’s mercy. In His mercy Jesus sees us all the same: we belong to one family. In His mercy God displays His compassion by teaching us that no one is greater than the other. He chooses to patiently wait for us to convert. And if you are truly seeking, the Lord will give you the desires of your heart.

Spiritual Direction

Jesus was St. Paul’s spiritual director. Before St. Paul could be guided into one of the greatest of all Christians, he needed to die to his old ways. Jesus caused St. Paul’s blindness in order to get his attention.

My Heart of the Matter

Proverbs 31

January 22, 2024 No Comments

Proverbs 31 is the last chapter in the Book of Proverbs.

Asking God

Asking God for direction in every area of your life will take discipline. I always ask God to give me a dream, a prophetic dream before going to bed. As much as I desire this, most of the time I sleep right through my dreams. But last Friday night, with all the interruptions by my cat wanting a drink of water, one part of a dream stuck. I distinctly heard “Proverbs 31.” During my slumber I kept repeating Proverbs 31 over and over again so that I’d remember it when I woke up.

Proverbs 31

This is a popular proverb, mostly known for portraying an ideal woman as virtuous, strong and selfless. Equally important to this proverb is verse eight.

^{Proverbs 31:8 New Catholic Bible}

⁸Speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves,
and defend the rights of the destitute.

This past Friday at the “March For Life” in Washington D.C., they did speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. This organization has been marching for 50 years. The estimate of those participating was between 50,000 and 100,000. Regardless of the many years or the people attending, no major news media thought it newsworthy.

Thank you, EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), for your wonderful coverage of the March For Life.

The New Army

I talked to my friend, Brother Leo from EWTN, who was at the march and he shared with me that bus loads of high school and college students made up a large number of the participants. God is training a new army of millennials to stand up for the sanctity of life. These young people will not be swayed by false doctrine. A well-trained soldier knows where to stand on the battlefield.

In freezing weather March For Life participants endured the snow and walked peacefully from the State Capital to the steps of the Supreme Court. With peace comes love, and this was projected throughout the march. The Lord led the way.

God’s Confirmation

If you ever doubt if a message is from God or not, He usually confirms it. When I was searching for images of the March for Life, I came upon signage quoting the Scripture the Lord gave me in the dream! This was after I had written the Blog. Honestly, I can’t stop praising His name!

Proverbs 31:22-23 New Catholic Bible

My Heart of the Matter

Opening Doors To Demons

January 15, 2024 No Comments

On January 8th we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord.

Baptism

The simple way to explain baptism is to understand that Adam was born of the flesh and Jesus was born of the Spirit. Because of Adam’s original sin, we all need to be baptized. By this sacrament one receives the Holy Spirit and is forgiven of all sins that were committed before baptism. This makes the baptized person a new creature. Through this rite we become adopted as a child of God and a member of the Catholic Church. In the case of an infant, the water is poured over the baby’s forehead; in an adult, the body is immersed in water. This is a holy sacrament to protect us from evil.

The Lord’s baptism was the beginning of His ministry. The Book of Mark is filled with vivid stories of Jesus casting out demons. There is a connection here because in order for Jesus to cast out these demons, He had to be baptized first. In His baptism Jesus was anointed for His ministry.

I remember my baptism because I was a four-year-old child. My younger sister Norma was a year old, and my sister Jo was seven. We were all baptized on the same day. Looking back on that day, I have a sense of great gratitude that our mother took on this spiritual commitment for us. Whether I realized it or not, it was part of my journey and baby steps into who I have become today.

If your children are not baptized, it is your responsibility before God to do this. Please do not become one of those parents who say, “This is their personal choice, and when they get older they will decide.” No they won’t! And the longer you wait, the more problematic it will become. The Sacrament of Baptism helps us fight demons in our life because we belong to God.

Two Movies

Over the weekend I watched two movies: Leave The World Behind and Nefarious. This is my personal critique:

Leave The World Behind

This movie is entertaining but offers no hope. The characters are forced to figure out life after losing contact with the rest of the world. They have no television, no Internet, no cell phones, and no explanation for all the bizarre things that are happening around them.

This forces two families to live together in an attempt to understand what has become of their world. No one knows what to do; they are all baffled and attempt to remedy the situation by escaping. In their world they feel that they have the intellect to solve the mystery. No one cries out to God, because in their world God does not exist. The story line had Kierkegaard’s signature philosophy of existentialism in plain view, so this movie will be popular with the general public.

Nefarious

Nefarious, on the other hand, teaches us how to rebuke demons. The story line is about an atheist who has to evaluate a prisoner. The prisoner is filled with demons; he shows the audience the source of evil, and that demons have power over people who are weak in their beliefs. The demons manifest themselves by knowing specific characteristics about the atheist. This movie offers the Christian believers an opportunity to reflect on their lives and to make sure that no doors are opened for the Enemy to enter.

Ports of Entry

Horoscopes/Astroology

In Hindu culture the positions and movements of planets and stars are believed to provide guidance and auspicious timing for upcoming events based on their position at the time of a person’s birth. They are believed to give insight into personality traits, marriage, careers and human relationships. But the Bible tells us to trust in God and warned against these beliefs. (Isaiah 8:19-22)

The Enemy loves to trick us into believing that horoscopes are innocent and just for fun. They may start off like that, but the deeper you enter into astrology the greater the possibility you have opened a door for the Enemy. All Satan needs is a cracked door to come in.

Yoga

Yoga is another entry to the occult. Yes, stretching is good for the body, but all the poses have names of deities, since some of the poses offers worship to Hindu Gods. Now you have invited more demons and after a while the party of demons will take over.

Ouija Boards

I remember as a young teen we bought a Ouija Board for fun, but it was not so much fun when the board communicates with you! I threw that demonic game board in the trash! Stay away from Ouija Boards! As an adult I had to renounce using it. This definitely has an evil spirit attached to it.

Tarot Cards

When I was a novice Christian, I thought that it would be a good idea to walk around Jackson Square in New Orleans quietly renouncing the evil spirits of the Tarot card readers. When I returned home I developed the most unusual cold/flu symptoms that lasted more than three weeks! The evil spirit got the best of me because I did not pray before doing this.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

Fortune tellers/Mediums

Years ago when my son’s friend was killed in an accident, his mother was desperate to find some comfort or explanation for his death. We both went to see a woman who used crystals. I knew as soon as I walked into the living room that there was something very dark about this person. When you are gripped with fear, it is not of God. I wanted to leave as soon as we arrived, but I was polite and stayed with my friend. I never went back and had to renounce ever being there. This is witchcraft! (Lev 19:31;20:6)

Remember fortune tellers and mediums get their dysfunctional gifts from the Enemy. Yes, they have knowledge and will use it to win you over. Their readings captivate young people who have no knowledge of God or those who have never been baptized.

New Age/Crystals

Calling on Mother Earth and believing that you yourself are a demigod open so many portals to the Enemy. Satan loves it when your free spirit is about you and takes advantage of the fact that you have no spiritual covering.

When I was in the hospital with COVID I had a dream that someone had placed different sized crystals around my body to cause me harm. In my weak state of mind I had to cry out to God to cancel any assignment the Enemy had to hinder my recovery.

Crystals are another means of opening the doors to demonic activity. Some people believe crystals have healing properties for physical and emotional benefits; they believe that they promote good energy to help rid our bodies and minds of negative energy. Do not get caught up in the snares of the Enemy! The world will try to convince you, but believe God instead!

My Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for giving me discernment on how to keep the doors closed to the Enemy. Lord, I pray for all who are dabbling into the occult by practicing any of these sinful behaviors. Father, open their eyes to Your truth, and deliver them from all evil. Amen.