My Heart of the Matter

Habemus Papam

May 12, 2025 No Comments

Habemus Papam

We have a new Pope!

EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) had the best coverage on the Conclave. I watched it while on the phone with my friend Sarah. EWTN, a worldwide Catholic media organization, was ahead of the major news outlets by a few seconds.. So when the new pope was announced, I was in a state of shock. One, because the Cardinals elected an American, and secondly because I had never heard of the newly elected Pope.

I quickly googled whatever I could find about Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, and I panicked when I read that he had recently been appointed as a Cardinal by Pope Francis. Saying to myself, “This can’t be good! He’s going to be progressive!” I quickly texted my spiritual director and called my friend Sylvia in Madrid. At the same time Mike was talking me off the ledge.

The Ledge

I am notorious for reading only part of what is written, and it’s usually the subtitles that get me in trouble. For example, if someone sends me a group text I will not open the text. First of all I hate group texts. Second because I have wrongly texted groups of people when the message was intended for only one person. Like Lucy Ricardo, I had a lot of explaining to do.

Mike was quick to say, “What’s wrong with you? This is great news! He’s an American for God’s sake.” Mike has never failed me in words of godly wisdom.

My spiritual director quickly sent me information on Leo XIV, explaining that the new pope is an Augustinian friar, the Minister General of the Augustinians for 10 years, a canon lawyer, then became bishop. He had a high ranking position in the Curia. He also mentioned that he wore the papal regalia; Pope Francis did not wear these vestments when he was announced as pope.

My friend Sylvia from Madrid reiterated what my spiritual director had sent me. She was pleased with the choice because of his Augustinian background. She also mentioned that it was good that he was an American. My mind turned to total submission in trusting God’s judgment. I pray that Pope Leo XIV will be a great Vicar of Christ.

Augustinian Charism

The foundation and characteristic of Augustinian life is life in common, in which friars seek to construct a path that is directed to God in service to others. We do this not only through the sharing of ideals and values, but also in communion of all material and spiritual goods. In this way we strive to grow through the gift of God’s grace, and so give witness to the mystery of the Trinity and of the church, anticipating now on earth and the reality we hope for in the future in the Father’s house.

The opening words of St. Augustine’s Rule give us direction: we are to be of one mind and heart on the way to God. We are travelers on pilgrimage together, wherein Christ is our constant companion, as well as our way and our goal.

The activity of our journey is shaped by Augustine’s own experience and counsel, and is characterized by three essential elements: the constant search for God by means of a deep interior life; the practical love of neighbor; and the constant pursuit of truth.

Adapted from the Order’s Constitutions and Plan of Formation

Pope Leo XIII

On October 13, 1886, Pope Leo XIII had a diabolical vision. After celebrating Mass in a private Vatican Chapel, attended by members of the Vatican staff and a few Cardinals, Pope Leo stopped at the foot of the altar and fell into a trance. He heard the voice of Satan speaking to Christ about destroying the Church. After the vision Pope Leo went immediately to his office and composed the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. This prayer is to be recited after every low Mass.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
Cast into Hell Satan
and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world,
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

St. Michael is the Guardian of the Church, the Enemy of Satan and the fallen angels and the Christian Angel of Death at the hour of death. He is patron saint of soldiers, police officers, bankers, grocers, mariners, sickness and doctors.

We recite this prayer after every daily Mass. Our Parish, St. Norbert is thriving with so many more believers attending daily Mass.

Submission

The fundamental reasons for my submission were the fact that Pope Leo is an Augustinian and that he took the name of Pope Leo XIII. Never would I turn against the Holy Catholic Church because we are, and always will be, the Church that Christ founded. We represent over 1.4 billion people and growing!

The World Is Watching

The world was eager to find out who would be the next pope, including the biased mainstream media.

Our church has been around for over 2,000 years and the gates of Hell will never prevail! We are aligned with the teaching of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Please stop putting out negative press about the largest, most organized religion in the world. Yes, there are sinners in the hierarchy, but believe me when I say, “They will be exposed, and God will judge them for any sin they have committed against man but mostly against God.”

¹⁸And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

My Prayer

Dear Lord, forgive me for my careless initial reaction to the election of Pope Leo XIV. May we all in unison join together in prayer for the new pontiff. Lord, guide Pope Leo XIV with holy wisdom and bring unity into this fallen world.

I pray for all who are discerning to come into the Catholic Church. Guide them with Your holy truth, remove the scales from their eyes and bring clarity to their hearts and mind. Amen.

My Heart of the Matter

Tenth Prison Visit

May 5, 2025 No Comments

The choice of Bibles at this facility are either the King James or the Good News Bible.

The Good News Bible

This Bible differs from a Catholic Bible which has deuterocanonical books like 1 and 2 Esdras. It falls in the category of the Greek Orthodox Bible and is an extension of the Book of Ezra. I use this Bible because it does include all the Catholic books that Martin Luther and the Protestant reformers removed. Both Mario and I were intrigued by 2 Esdra. This book concentrates on eschatology. It was definitely an interesting read.

The Book of Acts

Biola University was my first encounter with the Book of Acts. I had left the Catholic Church for a season (about 15 years). One of my classes was based on reading and interpreting The Book of Acts. I had no idea who these Bible characters were and the entire Book of Acts was one of my biggest challenges. Through the grace of God, I finally began to understand this book’s full meaning. Today this is one of my favorite books in the New Testament.

Third Week of Easter

We are in the third week of Easter. We Catholics celebrate Easter until Pentecost, which will fall on June 8th this year. During this time part of the readings are from the Book of Acts. In Acts 5:34-42 Gamaliel, who is a Pharisee and a leading authority in the Sanhedrin, speaks to the other members and warns them:

Gamaliel also mentioned another example of a failed uprising. But when Gamaliel spoke these profound words it changed the destiny of the Apostles.

Black Lives Matter

I told Mario that this is exactly what happened to Black Lives Matter, because of its corrupt leaders, it was not of God. And just as Gamaliel said it came of nothing. I whispered this to Mario because we were surrounded by many black men, and in no way was he going to disrespect them.

According to an article in the New York Post, May 28, 2023, of the $90 million in donations, only 30% actually helped charitable foundations. Remember all the crazy snowflakes that gave millions of dollars to this organization? How corporate American rallied for this debunked movement? Praise the Lord that the truth will always be revealed and that nothing will be left unturned.

The Word of God is real and powerful, not to be taken lightly. After much studying, being properly catechized with revelations from God, I can finally say I understand this book.

Philippians

We moved on to Philippians, a great example of what one can accomplish while in prison. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to encourage his friends and to continue to spread the Gospel. Imagine that, having the joy of the Lord while in prison. The more I visit Mario, I can see that truly he wants to become the man God created him to be. I see joy on his face, and he loves to study the Bible. Philippians captures the true essence of Christianity in the sense of community.

St. Paul continues to encourage them by telling them:

The first thing I do when I wake up is to thank the Lord for another day, but it’s always followed by grumbling about my aches and pains. Mike constantly reminds me, “One day you will wake up and not complain.”

Mario’s Goals

July 15, 2025, is the release date given, so that means that soon Mario will be a free man. He has goals and wants nothing more than to become a productive member of society. I wrote down his goals and tucked them in my back pocket. I didn’t want to cause an uproar by smuggling something out of the facility.

The first thing Mario wants to do is get a job. The second thing on his list is to get his driver’s license. This falls second because he needs to complete DUI classes to get this in order. This matter has been hanging over him for years. He wants to find a good church. Mario wants to complete his AA degree; he lacks only two classes. And he wants to spend time with his family. I am asking, if you read my Blog, please add Mario to your prayers. Pray that God will grant him the desires of his heart.

Early Mother’s Day Celebration

We celebrated Mother’s Day a week early because Mikos and Jenny will be out of town. My family always asks me, “What do you want for Mother’s Day?” My favorite gift is getting together with a shared meal with my family. I praise the Good Lord that most of the time we all get along. This time was extra special because Maddie was home from college. I love my family!

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for the work You are doing in Mario’s life. Give Mario special graces to succeed after his release. Help him to find a good-paying job so that he can support himself. Surround him with godly friends, and help him find a church filled with Your Holy Spirit. Jesus, guide his steps and allow him to live without being judged because of his prison background. Amen.

My Heart of the Matter

He Is Risen

April 21, 2025 No Comments

Jacob, Wil. me, Mike and Lucas. Maddie will be home from college next week

We truly are the Easter people.

The Abbey

An announcement was made at our parish that during the week of Holy Week there would be no confessions. It had been a month since my last confession, so I felt that before Easter I needed to be purged of my transgressions. My friend Susan and I made plans to go to St. Michael’s Abbey because they were still hearing confessions.

When we arrived the line was wrapped around the building with more than 50 people waiting. We arrived at 1:15 p.m.

I had an appointment with my optometrist at 3:30 p.m. that I had to cancel because I knew this was going to take longer. With four priests hearing confessions, we were done by 3;00 p.m.

Small Talk

Small talk has always been my gift, so I started a conversation with a lady behind us. She had driven from Dana Point, which was a 45-minute drive. As our conversation continued she mentioned that on Good Friday Santiago Retreat Center opens to hikers to go through the Stations of the Cross. “Is it a hard climb?” “Could someone like me do it?” I asked. She was an outdoorsy-type of person who hikes on a regular basis. She answered, “I’m sure you could do it!” This was a challenge, but I did not want to do this alone.

The No Planning Debacle

If you know anything about me, even if I plan things, something always goes wrong. I called Russ ( my son-in-law) and asked if he would like to join me on this hike. I could hear Sonja in the background, “Why are you planning things with my husband?” Russ added that Sonja was off on Good Friday. So between the two of them, the message was clear that they were not interested. But on Thursday, while Mike and I were at dinner, I received a text from Russ saying that they wanted to go on the hike.

On Good Friday I woke up in a panic. “I needed to be at Sonja’s at 7:45 a.m.. “Are you coming with us?” I asked Mike. “Going where? What are you talking about?” The hike, I answered. Of course I forgot to mention all the specifics to Mike but, thank God, he decided to join us.

I had an unscheduled appointment to see Mario, so I wanted to make sure that we finished on time for me to drive to Norco.

Blessed Mother Mary watching over the pilgrims

Being unaware that we needed to register online was just one small hurdle. I forgot to bring water, so Sonja supplied us. “Do you have the directions?” I asked as we were driving. Sonja looked puzzled, “I thought you took care of this.” No, just pull it up on your phone,” I answered. “What is the name of the place?” she asked. “Silverado Retreat Center,”I replied. “Mom, there is no such place! I found Santiago Retreat Center.” “Oh, I forgot, that’s it!”

The Stations of the Cross

This experience was both beautiful and challenging. As I looked in the distance I could see the iron cross. I thought to myself, “We’re not going that high, are we?” We were, and it took an hour to hike up to the summit. Some of the terrain was rocky and steep; with each station the walk became more arduous.

When we reached the Forth Station of the Cross, it became more of a spiritual challenge. I knew the Lord was with us at every station. I felt safe. When reaching the summit, I looked at the path below us and thanked God for allowing us to experience this holy adventure. It was around 11:15 a.m. by the time we finished our hike, two hours total. I was in a bit of a rush because I needed to drive to Norco.

The Visit

A quick breakfast of fried eggs and avocado toast, and then I was off to visit Mario. When I arrived at the facility there were two new guards at the check-in station. I arrived a little before 1:00 p.m. I remembered the time that I did not have an appointment I was made to wait until 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. For as many times as I tried to make an appointment, the prison system was blocking me. In frustration, I gave up. To this day their system is still unable to get this problem resolved.

Two Rude Officers

“Do you have an appointment?” asked the first woman officer. “No, your system is down and I was unable to get one scheduled,” I answered. “Well, we’ve changed the time for walk -in appointment visits to 4:00 p.m. Didn’t you read the website?” she smugly answered. “When was it changed?” I asked. “Two weeks ago, you should have read the website.” We went back and forth, with me trying to explain that not only did I not know about this, but that Mario was unaware of this change as well.

I pleaded with both of these rude women, but they would not give in. I explained that I was the only one there, that it was Good Friday, and all I wanted was to minister to my nephew. One with a tight bun looked at me and told me to stop arguing with them. I was not in anyway arguing but only trying to explain that I could not get an appointment because of their faulty system.

I asked to speak to their supervisor but to no avail. “We’re not going to do that because the answer is going to be NO!” “How do you know if the answer is going to be no if you don’t ask?” I responded.

When I reminded them that it was Good Friday, one of them said, “It’s just a another Friday.” I could not wait three and a half hours, so I left. I cried part of the way home, thinking I let Mario down. By the time Mario called I was more composed; we were both saddened by this rude outcome.

One thing I will never understand about visiting someone in prison is that the visitor is treated like a prisoner.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for allowing us to walk the Stations of Your glorious Cross. I pray for every pilgrim who took this hike to come to the knowledged of how very difficult each station was for You, Lord. Please touch the hearts of these prison employees. Teach them empathy and to treat all visitors with respect. Amen.