My flight was delayed for over an hour, so I missed the connecting flight to New Orleans.

Adoration

Sometimes, by the providence of God, He allows these things to occur. Torie was on his way from his long commute into town. The timing was perfect,  so he picked me up at the airport. An important part of the plan was for us to attend Adoration. We arrived a few minutes before Adoration started, but the beauty of this evening was that most of Jo’s family attended the service. Unity before God always sets the stage for a great visit. The hour-long service went by quickly. It was time for dinner. I pray the the world know You through Adoration.

Dinner

In her usual hospitable manner, Jo had cooked up a feast: potato soup, crawfish étouffée over white rice, and for dessert a homemade apple pie. Around Jo’s small kitchen we savored  the flavors of southern cooking and reminisced.

Years ago we were more accustomed to eating out at famous high-end restaurants, but not anymore. Nothing satisfies the palate more that a good-home cooked meal. We frequented restaurants in the French Quarters  like K-Paul’s, Nola’s, Commander’s Palace, but Jo no longer feels safe taking her guests across the river.

I was not going to leave town without my shrimp po’ boys. We had to cross the Mississippi for that, and the Parkside Po’ Boys did not disappoint. As we were eating our po’ boys guess who graced us with her unpleasant appearance? Non other than LaToya Cantrell, the outgoing mayor of New Orleans. To many locals LaToya is affectionately known as “LaToya, the Destroyer.”

Breakfast Burritos

The following morning we drove to Belle Chase for the best burritos in town, and, may I add and, the most expensive! As soon as we were done Jo’s CRV Honda died on us. Torie charged it enough for us to get to a place where Jo could purchase a new battery.

The Rental Property

My sister not only owns and runs a business but she is also renovating an old home that she inherited. She wanted me to see the progress when, much to our surprise, there was a big red notification from the city to stop all work immediately! We are riding on the same boat: having to comply with city permits and finding out that a secondary home has stricter laws. One day we will both breathe a breath of fresh air when our projects are complete.

Rocky and Angela

Rocky and Angela invited us over for a steak dinner with delicious squash and smash potatoes (courtesy of me). I love their quaint home, within walking distance of local businesses and their church. The Christmas decorations on their street are going to be spectacular!

North Shore

After all these years of visiting my family, it never occurred to me that Nick and his family lived in Mandeville, not Metairie! Crossing over the longest bridge in the world,  this bridge is 24 miles long. As Jo drove over the placid waters of Lake Ponchartrain, for miles all you saw was water on both sides; it took over 35 minutes for us to finally make it to dry land.

Mandeville

Our nephew Nick and his family live  in Mandeville. Although their home is located on a quiet country road, they are surrounded by a beautiful wooded area that is only about a mile from town. Mandeville is a charming city with beautiful old southern homes facing Lake Ponchartrain. These homes have massive yards with views that go on for miles. I was so busy taking in the beauty that I forgot to take photos. I will definitely make my way back to Mandeville.

Nick mentioned that Mandeville had a wonderful Christmas store and I needed to pick up some special gifts for my friends. This store was so well stocked with Christmas items that it was difficult for me to decide what to purchase. The prices were  less expensive than those we pay for here in California. I love kitchen towels that actually say “Merry Christmas,” so I was elated with the prices and the find.

Bible Study

As Jo and I drove back I was planning a Bible study. Since Jo moved into her new home she has downsized and could not find her Bibles because they were still in storage. I was not going to be denied the Bible study, so we used Nick’s daughter Sophie’s cell phone as I read from Ephesians. It was a powerful message that we all grew from. St. Paul’s writings are some of the most prolific, and the fact that we can still use his message today reveals the amazing grace of God.

We were a total of seven siblings. Jo is the fifth in our birth order. Our phone conversations are frequent; calling her on the way to Mass has become a routine for us. We catch up on our daily activities and share personal stories. We encourage each other and pray for one another.

Sons

Jo has four sons; all are grown and married. After her divorce she made sure that her sons attended Catholic schools all the way through high school. She is the link to the stability of her family. When things do not go as expected, she calls on God. Jo, like the rest of us, wants peace in the family. But the way she oversees any conflict is to remain quiet and wait on God.

When we are not in agreement with our loved ones, some parents will intervene by taking sides or by giving strong personal opinions. Jo is an example of steadfast love; she keeps her head by never taking sides. She has taught me how to navigate troublesome family matters by staying silent.

Cats

Jo is the Jane Goodall of cats. She has four cats living with her in her two-bedroom home. Along with that she feeds nine feral cats at her business. These lucky felines get both dry and wet food. Although the feral cats suffer from social awkwardness, they love my sister. Two of these cats developed a trust for Jo; they both come into her office while she completes her paperwork.

My Prayer

Lord, I thank You for my siblings: George, Mike, Jo and Norma. May You continually guide them and give them good health. Protect our spouses and our children.  May we never draw apart from one another. Lord, teach us to love as You love. Amen.

The last thing in the world that I wanted to do was to volunteer for another Confirmation class.

Patty

I met this beautiful young lady about two years ago. She was the assistant to the Confirmation and Youth Ministry head. When we learned that the leader of the group was moving on to a new career, Patty took on the position as head of that department. Patty is gifted in so many areas of her life, but her calling now is to lead the youth closer to Christ.  When she called me to ask if I was willing to take on another Confirmation class I told her that I would pray about it.

Answering the Call

Two weeks passed before I finally received an answer from the Lord. My “yes” brought much relief to both Patty and me. When you answer “yes” to doing God’s work, He gives you special graces to accomplish the task. Now I am joyfully teaching three classes. And since our diocese requires two years for both Holy Communion and Confirmation, I’m locked in for two more years.

We are now well into two months of the program and, finally, I am getting to know all 17 of the  students by name. There are three sets of siblings who always sit together. I have students from four different high schools so at first it was a challenge for me to get them to participate in the group discussions.

Ice Breakers

We use ice breakers as a attempt to get the students familiar with each other. Unlike others, the retreat ice breakers required physical contact. Knowing well that some students do not like to have physical contact with people they are not familiar with was a big step for them to take. This ice breaker required them to sit on the ground and lock arms while attempting to get up. Finally, a breakthrough for one of  my introverted students. He was having fun with a genuine smile on his face. And when he answered questions the entire class supported him by clapping in approval. Truly it was a beautiful sight.

The Testimonials

Eddie, who teaches Confirmation Two, gave a wonderful testimonial. He was a tagger who ran the streets of East Los Angeles with a local gang. He never joined the gang, but his parents were not pleased with the direction he was going. Thank the good Lord that his parents made the sacrifice to send Eddie to a Catholic high school.

Two other precious young ladies gave their testimonials. One, in particular, spoke of something deep and personal that she experienced as a child. The beauty of this story is that it has a happy ending; she is on the road to recovery and is learning to trust God in a deeper way.

Adoration

Catholics practice Eucharistic Adoration to draw closer to Jesus. Where Jesus is, Mary is also there. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, but our Lord received his flesh from Mary. Because He was born of Mary His outward appearance resembled hers. Mary was immaculately conceived; she could not have any stain of original sin because she was divinely chosen to be the Mother of God. She has been compared to the Ark of the Covenant, carrying Jesus in her womb because God was within her.

Eucharistic Adoration draws you closer to Jesus. The Lord is doing something through this nonverbal communication: He is reaching out to us. The fruit of Eucharistic Adoration gives you peace; you become more like Jesus.

To me  Adoration is one of the highest forms of worship. To spend time with God in this manner is experience a deeper level of holiness. Before COVID La Purisima Catholic Church, had exposition of the Holy Eucharist on a daily basis. I spent many hours in silence unable to move because I did not want to disturb the emotions I was experiencing.

Preparing For Adoration

The session before Adoration was to prepare them by guiding them with different scenarios of what to expect. For instance, they were told to be still before the Eucharist. I told them to speak to the Lord and ask Him any question they wanted.

The praise music brought us all to our knees as we worshipped before the Blessed Sacrament.

In the end some of the students definitely had a holy experience. Personally, I believe the fact that the students were there was so pleasing to the Lord.

The Rainbow

It rarely rains in Southern California, so we were all perplexed and didn’t really know what to do with ourselves. We had to leave the comfort of the gymnasium and venture to the ministry center.

As we were leaving to attend the next session, a beautiful, full rainbow appeared. Some of the students were upset because they did not have their phones to capture the rainbow, but they understood it was a good sign from God.

In this session the girls were separated from the boys. Young ladies need to know their value in the Kingdom of God, and young men need to respect themselves in order to respect girls. My motto is: “If you want to be treated like a queen, then you must treat your significant other like a king.” God made us different for a reason. When God removed the rib from Adam, He did not create from her many different sexes. No, He created a man and a woman. Although the world gets this twisted, we who serve God know the truth.

Mass

We ended with a beautiful Mass. Though the reading were a bit heavy (Luke 21:5-19), Father Eliardo gave a wonderful homily explaining that since we do not know when the Lord is going to take us home, we should always be prepared.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I pray for all the students who attended this retreat. May they continue to ask questions about Your holy existence. Lord, guide them in the right direction and may they always seek truth. Amen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ULLIE!

The overflowing water of life is free for the asking

The Water Of  Life

The Lord has provided this living water to wash us clean. This water is purified by His love. Specifically, God wants nothing more than for us live a life filled with hope. The prophet Ezekiel experienced this when an angel  brought him to the entrance of the Temple. The angel led Ezekiel to where the water was flowing. Everywhere the water flowed it brought blessings; it turned the salt water into fresh water, ” on each side of the banks fruit trees of every kind shall grow, their leaves shall not fade”.

The Revelation

Recently I experienced the most wonderful freedom. Undoubtedly, I have an addiction to Tik Tok and other Social Media platforms that were making me crazy. These Social Media clicks were about how bad the world is and how in particular political parties were at fault. Anything that was not legitimate was due to the failure of our current government.

As a result of  my addiction, I became deeply offended by all these accusations against the party I support. Explicitly, I wanted so badly to set these people straight but for fear of backlash, my fingers froze before I could type out a clear answer. Besides, opening the door to criticism is another avenue to become a victim of your own circumstances. My days have too much value than to be use up in controversy with strangers.

Saint Teresa Of Avila

In reality what I experienced was a beautiful life lesson. Like St. Teresa of Avila the words that she spoke were sealed into my heart. “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, All things pass: God never changes.”

So if New York, the financial capital of the world, has elected a Muslim as mayor, there is a clear reason why God allowed this. This is what offered me so much hope. I will not celebrate this win nor will I make negative remarks because I know God is in control.

Stay With The Flow

Living water not only cleanses us: it leads us to a better place, a place of peace. Being around  people who do not share my political views is not going to make me like them any less. But before this revelation, in the past this was a big problem for me. Thinking that there was something wrong with their way of thinking was evil.

To be freed of this bigotry came only through prayer. Truly, I can now attest with all confidence that only God can be the Judge. I had failed miserably, I needed to calm down and allow God to do His work. This battle was a great distraction in my spiritual growth. Recognizing the plot of the Enemy and exposing it to free my mind has added more time for contemplative prayer.

Reasons For Division

Today, even an innocent conversation about politics can go south very quickly. Contentious opinions on Social Media have made enemies of many; this is the reason for the great divide. This divide is so deep, that each side stands at the edge of a gorge, not willing to build a bridge or cross it once it’s built. Hatred is the underlining cause of this division. The mastermind of this is none other than Satan himself! He loves what is happening to our country.

The Father Of Lies

We all know Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44).  Fear and lies are always associated with hatred because that is what causes division. Hatred is the reason our country is so divided. On both sides of the spectrum there is fear; conservatives fear that the liberals will take control of politics, and liberals fear the unknown because of the current administration’s political conservatives. How much more clear can it be?  Satan is pulling the strings of those who cannot step out of the ring of hatred. Some people are masterring leaders. Hatred and anger are brothers, and we all know where anger leads us: frustration, irritability, and inability to overlook offenses or consider opposing view points.

The Holy Water

Water is our life source; we cannot live without it. This is also true of the living waters that God has for us (Isaiah 44:3). We drink of this holy water to replenish what needs nurturing in our spirits.

Love Vs. Hate

Operating in love is the simple answer to the problems we are facing, but this love must come from Christ. With the love of Christ we can love ourselves. Once you have accomplished this you can love your enemies! Love covers all.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for this revelation and for opening my eyes to Your holy truth. Take us deeper into Your living water, that we may be immersed in Your Holy presence. Amen.