Remember when the world shut down? How we were held captive by the phantom coronavirus? How fear was what we woke up to and went to bed with? The COVID-19 is still something we need  to be cognizant of. My niece Maggie, a social worker from Arizona, came down with the virus; she has since recovered. During nightly prayers our group prayed for over eighty persons, including ten persons with the virus. Five of those persons died as the result of the deadly coronavirus. There are still cases being reported in our community, so, yes, we are still being careful.

Most of us were home  and during the first week we lived in our pajamas. I was getting up at 10 a.m. because I felt helpless in this battle. Both my husband and I are in good health, but because of our age  we refrained from even essential shopping. We ordered groceries from Target and paid twice the price, our son Mikos and his wife Jenny Costco runs for us, and our daughter Sonja brought us meals. Remember the panic buying? This was also during the daily briefings of Dr.Fauci and Dr. Birx  that kept us posted on all the dismal statistics. All I got from this was stay in bed and shut all your windows and doors until this passes over.

Disinfecting

Then started all the strange information circulating  via Messenger. Do not use ibuprofen or you will surely escalate your imminent death. Or the crazy ways of disinfecting your groceries (I did that for about a week). The messages were coming from all over the world on what to do and what not to do. The dreaded face mask, to wear or not to wear; I’m still not clear on this because it’s ever changing. When we’d hear the mail drop into the slot, Mike and I would look at each other in fear, and  in unison say, “It’s your turn!”  We handled the mail like a bomb was about to go off, washing our hands immediately afterwards, waiting until all the coronavirus germs fell off. Who knows when that was going to be! We operated in fear because we were glued to the news of when and how we were going to get exposed. Everything we touched , we disinfected. Then the announcement of the scariest week: we were told that the virus would peak and if you are older or have underlying heath issues, do not go out at all! The media put so much fear in us that people were scared to look out their windows. Then on May 22nd the Centers for Disease Control made a stunning announcement: the coronavirus does not spread easily on surfaces. I could have told them that!

Shut-in Tension

This was taking a toll on people like us, who followed the guidelines and stayed home. At first we were told that it may last as long as two weeks; that was quickly raised to 30 days, and so on. This modern-day pandemic was new to everyone, the changes were being made day to day. In the meantime my venial sins were stacking up. I was upset about so many things: not being able to see my grandchildren, our governor telling us to stay home while he vacationed in Wyoming, and the fact that he placed church openings in one of the last phases. I wanted to attend Mass, I needed to go to confession, and I needed a pedicure. The problem with all this was that Mike and I were each other’s only sounding boards, and many times we did not see eye-to-eye.

June 14th

Finally, after almost 90 days, our church was opening. There were rigid restrictions; confessions were no longer going to be held in the confessional. The parish had purchased some room dividers to allow for safe distancing.  I was scheduled to serve at the 10 a.m. Mass. It was a bitter sweet moment because we had to register for the service. But the saddest part was seeing our church more than half-empty. I registered for daily Mass and was elated to hear that confessions were going to take place after every daily Mass. On Monday I unloaded all my unwanted burdens at confession. I was absolved of my sins  and given a penance; it truly was a weight off my conscience. Our parish is going through many changes, not only due to the coronavirus but because one of our priests is being transferred to another parish.

Two Confessions

I do not want to use the real names of the priests involved, so I will refer to them as Father A and Father B. On Monday I went to Father A for confession, but my normal confessor is Father B, who will soon be leaving our parish. I wanted to be sure to say my goodbyes and to thank Father B for all the effort he put into our parish. You can’t call the parish office because the workers are still on furlough. So I came up with an ingenious idea: I would go to Father B for confession. The following day Father B did the homily, and at the end of the service announced that he would be hearing confessions after Mass. He pointed to the Adoration Chapel. After Mass we were instructed to leave unless we were going to confession. I exited the church and came back in for confession, closed my eyes and prayed. I waited and noticed that no one was in line, so I got in line where I thought Father B was.

I was nervous because part of the opening prayer is: “Bless me, father, for I have sinned. My last confession was…” I had to tell the truth,  “One day ago.” I said the prayer and the priest was surprised when I said one day ago.”One day ago!” he exclaimed. “Yes, Father,” I answered, but it did not sound like Father B. I tried to peek through the tiny slats of the partitions and I discovered it was Father A! When I confessed the same sins as the day before, Father A called me out. “But you confessed that yesterday.” “I know, but I can’t get past it,” I lied. At this point I was in too deep, and it all went south from there. The more I tried to explain, the worst the situation became. I told Father A that I do not normally come to confession everyday. “I hardly come.” Another lie. By this time all credibility was out the window. Father A graciously absolved me of the same sins from the day before. This incident will go down as one of the many embarrassing moments of my life.

It is so important to go to confession on a regular basis, but most Catholics do not take advantage of this Sacrament. Confession helps us to rely on God to rid us of our sins. The Sacrament of Confession helps us to fight our faults and shortcomings; it helps us break the bad habits. Going to confession removes all guilt from sin and cleanses our soul. The sins no longer have power over us. Reconciliation helps us to become more like Jesus, giving us the spirit of  humility, generosity, patience, and, most importantly, love. Every time we go to confession we are being strengthened to fight temptation. When was your last confession?

Walk the Talk

There have been evil spirits unleashed in the atmosphere. Oppression is its name. It is a  type of pollution with an assignment from Hell to bring you down spiritually. This type of oppression is designed to muffle our voices so that we can no longer speak the truth. God gave me a voice, and I will use it until my dying day. I will spread the Word of God without restraints. I will move mountains in my lifetime because I have been called to make a difference. I am moving ranks in the Army of God, and with each battle comes another attack. Please come alongside me in praying that the Truth will set the world free.

John 14:6 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

On Sunday I was able to say a proper good-by to Father B, he will be greatly missed.

Don’t follow the crowd, follow the leader. This leader has never voted, has always judged justly, and will always be the Chairman of the Board of the World. I am talking about the Triune God. He appoints leaders, and takes down nations. He will come to judge the living and the dead. (2 Timothy 4:1)

Gone With the Wind

All meaningful discussions are gone with the wind. Unless you agree with the mindset of liberals, you are considered a racist. I understand that change is needed, but it takes time to do it justly. You can’t be a newborn and expect to walk on the same day; that’s not how it works. The changes are long overdue, but if they are done with prayer and good leadership much can be accomplished. Destruction of public property, like toppling  the statue of Christopher Columbus, engenders misunderstanding for those of us looking from the outside. All I see is years of pent up anger. Christopher Columbus is a part of American history; whether you agree with it or not, he will always be a part of our history.

My favorite movie is “Gone With the Wind.” It’s a novel made into a timeless movie that I will always watch. Hattie McDaniel was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was the first African American woman to win an Oscar. She attended the awards show and was praised for her great talent. The people in the audience did not protest her win; rather they celebrated in her victory. Are you going to take this award from her as well? She portrayed a fictional character; the language and demeanor of  “Mammy” though now considered an offensive racial stereotype, was an acceptable narrative of the Antebellum South. I will always love this movie because of its powerful message of perseverance, and redemption.

I will continue to support what is right in the eyes of my Leader Jesus Christ. When you serve a just God, He will see the matters through. I have prayed for years for certain things to change. With age comes wisdom. Now I fully understand why I had to wait for the answers. The Lord was teaching me patience and perseverance before I got the response. More importantly, He was teaching me to trust Him. Trusting God has been one of my greatest challenges  during trials because when I didn’t see change immediately, I would revert to disbelief. I’d ask why? I’d cry out to Him in anger, and felt no relief. Then one day it happened: I prayed about a situation and waited. I saw things in the supernatural change for the better, little changes that made a huge difference. The anger that once turned into pain was being lifted from me. It was durning this epiphany that trusting God was finally cemented in my spirit.

Defunding the Police

This is an extreme measure that is going to create a culture of disrespect for authority. Before you know it, police will be required to ask, “Excuse me, but you broke the law. Do I have your permission to arrest you?” There are other ways to fix this problem. Leave it to the Police Unions, there will be changes, and we will all be informed. Stop demonizing all police officers. For the most part they are decent human beings who took an oath to protect us, and they deserve our respect.

Social Media

God created all of us in His image; this means we are all His children. A father only wants the best for His children.  No one will ever hold a gun to your head and force you to think as he does, right? But if you don’t agree with these demanding absurdities on Social Media, you are opening doors to great criticism. You will never win with the critics on Social Media; they rule the airwaves. The diabolical attacks are relentless because their arguments are loaded with half-truths. Half-truths are what the media thrives on, twisting and turning the truth to make it appear favorable to the  listening public. They feed the lies to the ravenous wolves; this is the meat they crave.

I took my grandchildren to help with an outreach, in South Gate, which is located in Los Angeles County. They wanted to listen to “their” music, I could not believe the comments of political propaganda playing out before and after every song. These messages are no longer subliminal; they are in your face, and it’s always what they want you to believe.

In the words of the President of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast:

Racism permeates every structure in our society. As our nation confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, which is disproportionately ravaging Black communities, we must address the public health crisis that racism presents. Public health by definition is built on the principle of saving lives.

There has been no greater threat to Black lives than violence being inflicted at the hands of the state — through the blatant violence inflicted by police and through centuries of policy that have systematically oppressed Black people since before the founding of our country.

PPGC pledges to lift our voices and to work alongside our partner organizations to demand justice for the victims and their families, and to fight racism.

In solidarity,

Melaney A. Linton
President & CEO
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast

The blatant lies of supporting Black Lives Matter is almost comical. African Americans represent only 13.3% of the American population; yet more black babies are aborted than any other race. 36% of all abortions are by black women. The number one killer of black lives in the United States is  Planned Parenthood through its legally sanctioned abortions. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state that abortions kill more black people than HIV, homicide, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. So why is Black Lives Matter aligning themselves with Plannned Parenthood?

Jesus On the Cross

When the Jews and the Romans joined forces, their unity was hatred of Jesus. We as Catholics will never take Jesus off the Cross because this is our reminder that His Crucifixion  was the price he paid for our atonement! We believe in the crucified Christ because we want that image to be sealed in our hearts. It depicts God’s love, and what He sacrificed for us. We can’t change history because it will aways be a life lesson. Sometimes it’s painful.

Antifa

The mainstream media introduced this organization as an ideology, but ask the citizens of Seattle.  Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ ) has taken over six city blocks. Some of their demands include to abolish the court system, and release all non-white prisoners so that they can be retried. How can you do that if there is no court system? If you do not believe these radical leftist really exist, google Gabriel Nadales, a former member of Antifa.

I know the God I serve, even with all this craziness, God will see us through.

Ecclesiastes 3:15 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

¹⁵ What now is has already been; what is to be, already is: God retrieves what has gone by.

We have all suffered these past few weeks, I’m brokenhearted that we cannot get this under control. I can’t stop thinking of all the lives that were lost, including George Floyd. I often wonder, in this unbalanced world we live in, if we are ever going to get it right. I can’t watch the news any longer. I wanted to hear the names of the innocent lives that were lost during the protest/riots but the media disregarded them. In my opinion, they are the sacrificial lambs. I give honor to those whose lives matter just as much any other human being. I spent severals hour searching for their names on the internet: David Dorn, David Patrick Underwood, Chris Beaty, Italia Kelly, Calvin L. Horton, Jr., James Scurlock, David McAtee, and Dorian Murrel. These were the only names I could find; the others who lost their lives were simply listed as persons shot and killed. Forgive me for not being able to find their names. Please say their names and pray for their families. Pray for the police officer Shay K. Mikalonis, who was shot in the head in Las Vegas; he is on life support. Please pray for his recovery. All I have in me is prayer, and I’m struggling with that as well. I want to make sure that we all realize that these Black Lives Matter too!

Saving My Sanity

We are still spending most of our time at home. So I decided to take up birdwatching to clear my head of all the unavoidable anguish.

Mike first spotted the hummingbird’s nest on April 22nd. I cannot express our excitement with this discovery, so I immediately went outside to take a few photos. Each day we both carefully watched the mini bird’s nest. Since I am a novice at birdwatching, I watched a few YouTube videos and instantly elevated myself to an expert. I learned that soon two tiny hummingbirds would be hatched. Both Mike and I did everything in our power to keep our grandsons away from the little family.

Memorial Day

We had already put off the house painting but we were hesitant to invite the family over for a barbecue because of the nesting hummingbird. The two chicks hatched on May 20th, so we warned the boys to stay clear of the nest. Instead the boys found a lizard to occupy their time. Before torturing the poor thing, they baptized it in the St. Francis fountain. They also lathered it with sunscreen so that the creature could breathe better. I watched as they performed the baptism and thought that I could rescue the lizard, but by that time their actions were irreversible. Even though they freed the little guy, I doubt that it survived their impish hands. The boys swam, and, thank God, they never disturbed the nest.

The Birder

I named the bird Hadassah because it is the Hebrew name of Queen Esther. Malachi and Judith were the names I gave the chicks. I became a birder, a term used for a serious bird watcher. Hadassah knew my every move and was annoyed to see me; she would fly to a nearby bottlebrush tree and watch me from a distance as I took one shot after another of her adorable chicks.

Three O’Clock Prayer

Ever since the pandemic I’ve been praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet with my grandchildren. I have also, on a daily basis since March 13th,  been posting a prayer reminder  on both Facebook and Instagram. I asked the Lord for a sign on how much longer I had to do these postings. I prayed about the situation and guess what? The Lord answered me. He said that as soon as I see the bird leave the nest, I could stop reminding everyone to pray the 3 o’clock prayer. For eighty-three (83) days I posted reminders for everyone to pray.

Malachi

Malachi was the only bird left in the nest. I never doubt God, but I questioned how in the world was I actually going to see Malachi fly away. Any birder knows the signs of the hummingbirds; as soon as they are perched on the edge of the nest, they are ready to fly. I never saw Judith leave but Malachi was hesitant; he was uncertain what his future would be like after leaving the nest. Who could blame him? On Tuesday I noticed that he was flapping his tiny wings more than usual. I told Mike that I was going to witness this event. A serious birder has to work around the bird watching. I took several photos of him striking a commanding pose. I prayed that I would witness the blessed event. On Wednesday, Lucas and Jacob stayed with us while Sonja got a much-needed hair cut. After lunch I felt that this was the day Malachi would leave. His mother, Hadassah, came to feed him on four different occasions. She was fueling him up for the flight. Sonja and the entire family thought I was overdoing my birdwatching, but I didn’t care. They stayed for dinner but after they left I took one of  the kitchen chairs, sat on the small porch and observed, taking over 20 videos. When I got the notification that the battery on my phone was low I ran inside to get a portable charger. Mike came by and, nodding his head in doubt, called me “Lindooties  (my nickname) why?’ A birder is never distracted, so I gave Mike a broad smile and continued the watch. I checked to see when the sun would set and felt certain that he would take off right before sunset. I went back inside to clean the kitchen, but I had my phone ready to film this historic event. At 7:54  p.m. I grabbed my cell phone one last time and I captured Malachi flying toward the bottlebrush tree. It was a miracle. You can watch the flight of Malachi by clicking here: IMG_4001

The Small Miracle

All week long I have been praying for a miracle – that all this violence would stop in our country, for people to respect each other, and that they would walk in the love of God. The Lord used the smallest bird to reassure me that He is in control. I also asked the Lord to reveal truth in every situation in our lives. The change has to start from within; only then can we make our country just. The Lord allowed me to see Malachi flying away; this represented that nothing is impossible for Him.  God is always giving us direction. We need to pray with expectation that He will answer our plea. Never give up, because He is still the miracle worker.

The following day Mike carefully took down the nest before the tree people arrived. We cut back all the branches of the bougainvillea to prepare for the painters. We all could use a new coat of paint, not only to cover-up the old but to start afresh.

Micah 6:8 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?

To do justice has to do with our human behavior toward others; treat everyone fairly. To love kindness is to be gentle, sympathetic, and gracious toward others. To walk humbly is to listen to the revealed will of God.