My Heart of the Matter – Page 43 – My Catholic Roots are showing

The Corporal Acts of Mercy

February 12, 2024 No Comments

As a catechist part of my service is to volunteer with my students helping with the Christian Food Distribution. St. Norbert has a regular group of volunteers who lovingly pack the food for those in need. We have all experienced the high cost of food, and our church program does a great service by extending a helping hand. This work is orchestrated by the beautiful, petite Michelle Navarro. Her husband, Paul, two of their four children and two of Paul’s sisters were there to help as well. Twice I have had the honor in helping with this ministry. Michelle’s kind and quiet demeanor brings joy to the laborers. She is an angel sent from heaven with wings sprinkled in gold. For this reason people return to help with this outreach.

Prepping

Upon my arrival I was sent to the bean and rice station. These sage women have been doing this for years. They joyfully pack and wrap the beans and rice. For these older woman, it was a social gathering with friends with fringe benefits of helping others. It was a pleasure to work with them.

I dare not ask their ages, but it was apparent that several were in their 80’s.

92 year-0ld Zenaida Arcos, credit Carlos Aviles/Diocese of Orange

A recent article in the Orange County Catholic featured a story about our oldest volunteer, Zenailda Arcos. She is 92-years-old! This is proof that volunteering keeps us young!

Training The Youth

Part of this service is training the catechumens to serve. Isiah 58:6-7 speaks of the corporal acts of kindness. For these students to give up a Saturday morning from 9:oo to 12 noon is a clear indication that they are willing to sacrifice their time for the needs of others.

When the rest of the young volunteers arrived. Like well-trained soldiers, they knew what to do. In quick succession over 200 grocery bags were filled with food. The next station was the produce and, depending on what was donated, a family could receive a pretty sizable bag of fresh fruits and vegetables.

God Will Provide

We have all experienced the high cost of food. For instance our last visit to McDonald’s cost us over $34 for just two meals. It was as if I’d purchased the meals at the airport! Grocery shopping has become an unpleasant weekly fight for savings. I am always looking for the best deals; if my favorite brand is not on sale, I purchase the generic label. Some way, somehow, God will provide for all of our needs.

The Students

It takes a good heart to volunteer, and I was so filled with joy that most of my students were available. not one of them complained and because they were so busy their phones quietly snoozed during the labor. There were students from Villa Park, Servite, Rosary, Mater Dei, Troy, Canyon, and Santa Margarita High Schools. We also had several students from St. Norbert. Together they completed part of God’s great family of servants.

Abraham

Abraham is our youth minister and coordinator for Confirmation. He has not only a calling to serve the youth but is inspired by the Holy Spirit to bring special blessings to them. I marvel at his natural way of speaking to the students because he uses the Word of God in a practical way of reaching out. His words are seasoned with wisdom and love. I personally have seen his growth in this program. We need people like him to tug at the hearts of these beautiful souls. None of our students will leave without knowing how much God loves them and how very important they are to the future of mankind. These students will make a difference in this crazy world.

Thank you, Abraham, for planting a seed with your short teaching on the Corporal Acts of Mercy.

My Role

Above all I will pray for my students to fully understand the teachings of Christ. We have covered many lessons throughout the last two years, and I have grown fond of their unique personalities and the way they interact with one another. Moreover, the maturity they have developed in understanding deep things of God that will see them through life.

They have touched my spirit and I see a glimpse through the windows of their eyes, filled with the yearning to draw closer to God.

Sometimes it’s difficult to hear God speaking with the distractions of the world. But one day these students’ calling will remain steadfast.

Lent

What a beautiful manner to usher in Lent. Though at times I feel inadequate during this holy season, I am so overjoyed that it started with helping the Christian Food Distribution at St. Norbert. To think that our parish provides this service every weekend is amazing!

Corporal Acts Of Mercy

With Lent at our doorstep, I want to re-examine the definition of Corporal Acts of Mercy.

Matthew 25:34-37 New American Bible (Revised Edition)

34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

In lay terms:

The Corporal Works of Mercy

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Welcome the stranger
Heal the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching us how to express our love to others. I pray for all those who continually volunteer by helping with the Christian Food Distribution. Lord, I pray for all the students who helped with this ministry. May they walk away with hearts filled with joy after helping those in need. Jesus, continue to guide them and use them in all of their giftings.

I lift up Michelle and Paul Navarro’s family, and all volunteers who work tirelessly to make this program a great success.

Lord, help us to serve in several of these Corporal Acts of Mercy, especially during Lent. Amen.

My Heart of the Matter

God Imparts Dreams

February 5, 2024 2 Comments

The Dream

The setting was a college classroom. Seated in the front row, the assignment was to write a story. As the writing began, a sister — Norma — entered the scene. Her appearance brought a sense of disorientation. Returning to class, a purse and the written assignment could not be found anywhere.

The clothing in the dream was vivid: a white top, white pants, and a beautiful yellow shawl with a single white stripe.

The search continued down the hallway, where an instructor attempted to make an introduction to a woman named Sherry — who responded with hostility. “We have already met,” she said sharply, with unmistakable anger.

Upon returning to the room, everything had been recovered. A husband, Mike, was quietly gathering all the personal belongings — the backpack, everything — looking out and providing care without being asked.

Then another sister, Jo, appeared. Following her lead into a deserted area, the path led into an abandoned building. Inside, an Asian man attacked. An attempt to cry out for help was made — and the dream ended there.

My Interpretation

Symbol	Meaning
College	A place of higher learning — spiritual and godly growth
Front row	Eagerness to learn; being a good and attentive student
Assignment	A commission from God
Write a story	Creativity; a calling to communicate
Norma	A sister; a close family member
Disoriented	Having lost my way
Go back	The need to recover and return
Purse and assignment missing	Loss of identity; a commission left unfulfilled
Wearing white	Purity and holiness
Yellow shawl	A dual symbol — warning, fear, or cowardice on one hand; hope on the other
One white stripe	A measure of holiness present, though not yet fully expressed
Hall	A passageway; a transition
Instructor	A teacher; a guide
Sherry	In real life, an acquaintance who practices astrology — representing a spiritual counterfeit or a source of opposition
Things recovered	Restoration; what was lost is brought back
Mike (my husband)	My husband; also a figure of Christ — the one who gathers, protects, and looks out for me
Backpack	God has my back
Sister Jo	A sister; a family member
Deserted area	A place of isolation; being left alone
Abandoned building	Desolation; a place of spiritual emptiness
Asian man	A foreign evil spirit; an attack from an unfamiliar source

This dream was about my spiritual growth in the Lord. I received an assignment — a commission — to write a story, but I became distracted by Norma, a family member. Recognizing that I had lost my way, I went back — only to find that my personal belongings were missing. The white I was wearing represents righteousness and holiness. The yellow shawl tells a different story: my outer self — what I was projecting on the outside — was not right. Yellow is a warning color. Yet the one white stripe offered something important: a sign that restoration was still possible.

Passing through the hall — a spiritual passageway — my instructor attempted to introduce me to a woman who practices astrology. Sherry does not agree with my beliefs, and her hostility showed it. But when she said, “We have already met,” the meaning cut deeper than the surface: there was a time when I read my horoscope. That was the meeting she remembered. When I returned, everything that had been lost was recovered and restored. Mike — my husband, and in this dream a figure of Christ — had gathered my belongings and was looking out for me. He had my back, just as the backpack symbolized.

My concern for Jo, another family member, led me to follow her — even into a deserted, abandoned place. She wanted to be left alone. And it was there that the attack came: an Asian man, representing a foreign evil spirit, one entirely unfamiliar to me.

The two sisters in this dream point to the same underlying burden: a deep concern for family. For one, I dropped everything I was doing. For the other, I followed her into danger. Both responses carried a cost. The warning was clear — do not become so consumed by personal family matters that steadfastness and holiness are set aside.

Do not take dreams lightly

A prophetic message from God may be waiting in the night — and most prophetic dreams come in the early morning hours, right before waking.

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”

This promise of the Spirit — given first in the Old Testament as the gift of God bestowed on those acting as His agents — was quoted by St. Peter in Acts 2:17–21 as fulfilled in an eminent way by the gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed on the Apostles at Pentecost. The promise did not end there. It extends to every generation of the faithful.

Most Recent Dream — January 11, 2024

Kevin McCarthy, then Speaker of the House, had produced a documentary. Before releasing it to the world, he brought it first to a friend’s church service — sharing it privately with a pastor. Afterward, that pastor took it further: carrying the message to a national audience through the news. Standing apart from all of this was the pastor’s mother, seen in prayer — interceding quietly on her son’s behalf.

My Interpretation

Kevin McCarthy – Represents God

The document – A message from God

The document is scriptural

God sharing it with the pastor – It is a private message from God

Sharing it on national news – With the help of God, the message will reach many

His mother praying – His mother is interceding on behalf of her son from heaven

The Speaker of the House represents God, and whatever the documentary is, my friend, a pastor who runs an international ministry, will know about it first. Before the message gets out, the Speaker of the House gives my friend favor. The last part of the dream is about his mother, who is in heaven praying for him.

Sharing Your Dreams

When the author called her friend with the news of the dream, his reaction was immediate and unmistakable — he was overjoyed. He had been studying the Book of Habakkuk and had been actively asking God for a word. There was more: his mother had recently passed away. He had been waiting for a sign from heaven, hoping to know that she was interceding for him from the other side.

The dream answered that waiting.

God’s Outreach

Through dreams, God reaches souls that nothing else can reach. Lost souls find direction. Confused minds receive clarity. Even practical problems — a damaged relationship, a difficult repair, an equation that will not resolve — can find their answer in the night, when the Lord speaks freely to a heart that is finally still. God wants His people to rest, and He wants that rest to be productive in ways they could not manufacture on their own.

When a dream returns — when the same image or scene comes a second time — it may not be coincidence. It may be a confirmation. God has been known to repeat Himself when something is important enough not to miss. In those moments, the right response is prayer: ask for the interpretation, trust that it will come, and know that He will see the dreamer through whatever the dream is pointing toward.

My Prayer

Lord, thank You for the gift of dreams. Pour out Your Spirit on those who do not yet know You. Speak to them in the night. Wake them from their spiritual slumber. Lead them to reach out and touch the tassel of Your cloak. Amen.

My Heart of the Matter

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.

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