The Lord has given me the grace to remain neutral when it comes to political views on my Blog. If you truly follow God and believe in His word, your heart will lead you to a more conservative point of view. But when President Biden proclaimed Easter (the highest of The High Holy days of all Judeo-Christianity) as Transgender Visibility Day, was a clear message from the pit of hell. Please remember this proclamation when it’s time to cast your vote.
He Is Risen
Despite the fact that the Enemy would attempt to rob us of our Easter celebration by these atrocious, offensive words spoken by our president, this will never change the fact that Our Lord gloriously rose from the dead! Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God, watching all the sinful behavior of the president and his ill-advised cabinet members while they make these disgraceful proclamations. So as much as I do not want to pray for our current president, I will pray for God’s will to be done in his life. Lord have mercy! I will say no more on this disgusting matter.
Mass
I attended Holy Saturday Mass and stayed to pray the second day of the Divine Mercy Novena (more on that later). As I was about to make the great escape, Helen, the Divine Mercy leader, asked me to stay and help set up the flowers for Easter Sunday. It has been 40 days since flowers have adorned our sanctuary; the scent of the flowers filled that altar. We did our best to organize the white Easter lilies, pink hydrangeas and pink Kalanchoe lican flowers symmetrically. Despite our humble effort, someone with a better eye for floral design will most likely change them around. We did our best.
The Miracle Of The Red Egg
As I research about religious holidays, in most cases it will always lead me to a historical action of a saint. In this case it is Mary Magdalene. She was the first person to see our Resurrected Christ. When she ran to tell the disciples about her encounter, they did not believe her. This did not hinder her faith because she had her own ministry of reaching out to others. She was, after all, a woman of wealth and that opened many doors for her, including a trip to meet Emperor Tiberius in Rome.
St. Mary Magdalen had much to share with the Emperor. She denounced Pilot’s treatment of Jesus during His trial. More importantly she wanted to proclaim Our Lord’s Resurrection.
The Red Egg
According to tradition Mary Magdalene held out an egg and said to the Emperor, “Christ is Risen!” With this announcement the Emperor mocked her claim and, like the disciples of Jesus, he did not believe her. Right before his eyes the egg turned red!
St. Mary Magdalene showed boldness before powerful men, and she understood her role as a woman in the times of Jesus. She spoke truth, and that is one of the most important roles we have when people of power do not believe. It is no surprise that she is called “Apostle of the Apostles.”
Why The Egg?
Another tradition is that Mary Magdalene brought a basket of boiled eggs with her to the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning. This may have been a meal for herself and her companions. While at the tomb she noticed that the eggs changed to bright colors. some red. This may be the reason she presented the egg to the Emperor, expecting that Jesus would perform the same miracle.
The Easter Egg
Whether you choose to believe these traditions or not, the symbol of the Easter egg originated from the Christians in Apostolic times. The Easter egg symbolizes “Christ’s Resurrection” and the rebirth of all mankind. It offers us hope in these troubled times.
Divine Mercy Novena
Since visiting the shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland, I’ve had a special devotion to St. Faustina. To add to this wonderful experience, Mike and I were in Rome and witnessed her canonization. Believe me when I say I had no idea that she would be canonized that day, but for the providence of God, we were there!
This novena is different from any others because Jesus dictated this prayer to St. Faustina. These are Our Lord’s words! I will be praying this novena for nine days, ending on Divine Mercy Sunday, which is the first Sunday after Easter. Of course anyone can find this novena on the internet, but allow me to review the prayers.
Day One
On the first day of the novena we are to pray for all mankind, especially all sinners. I added several people who fit this description and prayed for them throughout the day.
Day Two
We are to pray for the souls of priests and religious. Those who have dedicated their lives in service to God are always in the line of fire from the Evil One. They need to be constantly saturated in prayer .
Day Three
On this day we are to pray for all devout and faithful souls. I fall into this category but I also fall from the grace of God. Yes, we need prayer to stay on the right path and to win others by our example. Pray for me!
Day Four
On this day we are to pray for pagans and those who do not know God. We associate with these precious individuals who have not yet found their way. During this novena I will shed light for them to follow in the footsteps of Our Lord.
Day Five
On this day we are to pray for heretics and schismatics. A heretic is someone who does not want to conform or rejects the doctrines presented by the church. A schismatic is someone who causes division within the church. We are experiencing this within our Catholic church right now.
Day Six
On this day we are to pray for the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children.
Day Seven
We are to pray for the souls who especially venerate and glorify My mercy. We know who these special saints in the making are, they spend hours in a day in prayer. They are immersed in God and their gift is perpetual prayer.
Day Eight
On this day we are to pray for those who are in the prison of Purgatory. We pray for the repose of their souls. We do this because when you die, you must be cleansed of all your transgressions before you enter the Pearly Gates.
Day Nine
On this day we pray for those who have become lukewarm.