There is something unusual about my gardening. Mike does all the planting and most of the watering, but  I love to weed. I can get lost in this task because it’s therapeutic for me.

When Mike is too busy to water, I step in. As I was watering the other day, I noticed crabgrass taking over our beautiful Bermuda lawn. Maybe because of my ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), I stopped watering and started pulling out the militant grass. Crabgrass has a powerful undergound support system because when it spreads, its roots go in all directions. The roots from crabgrass have  finger- like extensions, taking hold of the ground with a strong grip. Digitaria is the proper terminology for crabgrass; digitus is the Latin word for “finger.” In order for this type of grass to be eradicated, the roots must be pulled out.

As I was bent over struggling to get the main part of one the roots, my index finger was hooked to a long root; but because the root was too strong to be yanked out, I had to get a screwdriver to help pull it out!   My fingernails were embedded with  dirt, but I did manage to clear a small patch in ridding the grass of the intruder.  I noticed an area of exposed dirt in  place of the crabgrass and thought that soon the good grass would fill the void.

Crabgrass and Bermuda grass are the same shade of green; after it’s mowed it all blends in together. But it’s when it starts to grow, that’s when the crabgrass is most noticeable. If the crabgrass is not controlled, it will eventually take over the lawn.

It came to me in prayer that this is what we need to do with our Church. We need to weed out all that is taking over and destroying Her. The weeding is a Parable: the good grass are the holy priests, and the gardeners are the intercessors. The crabgrass represents the sinners.

We must be a united force against all evils, and the fact that the Vatican  has chosen to remain silent is another insult to all of us as believers.

2  Chronicles 7:14  If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

We are the intercessors for the Church. Together we can rid ourselves of these damaging weeds that are an assignment from Satan to bring down the Catholic Church.

Matthew 7:25 And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

I praise God for the investigation of the New York Attorney General. Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and New Mexico have also called for investigations .  I pray that all states follow suit, and that all evil perpetrators fall like dominoes.  The faithful Catholics in the United States are not going to let this scandal be swept under the rug like the Vatican in Rome. We are the protectors of the Eucharist, and the Holy Catholic Church is our covering.

I follow the newsfeeds from the Vatican on Instagram and am amazed at all the distraction from the truth. But what surprises me most is the blindness of some of  the flock eager to dismiss this abuse by saying “Amen” to all of the Pope’s pronouncements. Are they living under rocks that they would be so passive about these atrocious sins?  I will say “Amen” when all the sin is exposed, and I will not back down because I care for all the innocent victims and want them to have their day of justice.

My Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You with a broken spirit and ask Your intervention to clean up your Temple. Dear Lord, expose all sin and reclaim our Church. With the help of Your Blessed Mother, remove all ungodliness from the Church. We pray for the protection of the good holy priests as they continue to do their work for Your kingdom. Lord, speak to Pope Francis to do what is right in Your eyes, and order an investigation. Only You, Lord, can come to our aid, strengthen Your lay people and prepare us for this battle, for the victory is Yours.  Amen.

With Archbishop Viganò’s recent allegations of the hierarchy of the Church, we the lay people demand answers. Archbishop Viganò’s letter has disclosed  incriminating information about sexual misconduct, including homosexuality and pedophilia. This sin will not only lead the offenders to Hell, but the fact that their trasgressions have been consistently covered up is what creates this culture of evil within the Catholic Church.

These unspeakable offenses that have been brought to light for the world to see. God will no longer tolerate these heinous acts to take place. I am discouraged with the words of Pope Francis, when he stated, “I will not say a single word on that.” Pope Francis also said, “Read the statement carefully and make your own judgement.”  That is not an acceptable answer from the leader of the Church.

The Church’s teachings are infallible, but it is man that continues to corrupt the true meaning of what Jesus Christ gave us when he instituted the House of God.

^{Matthew 16:18}  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The enemy is alive and well, and living in the crevices of the Church. The pain of these sins goes back many generations because of the cover-up. The children whose lives have been robbed of their innocence and purity, they are a true sacrifice of these evil devils like McCarrick, who never deserved the title of Cardinal, let alone priest. I pray for all victims to get their justice, and that they see God’s hand on the judgement of these criminals. I pray that the statute of limitations be lifted so that every person who sinned against the innocent pays for their egregious fall from grace, even if the offenders are elderly. I also pray for all good and holy priests to be protected, so that they can continue to lead our flock in the example of Jesus, the greatest of  shepherds.

I have written to the bishop of the Orange Diocese with my great disappointment and confusion. I am a catechist at St. Norbert in the city of Orange, and have signed a petition for the Pope to come forth with an explanation of this big mess that the hierarchy has for years covered up. I thank God that every hidden sin will be uncovered once and for all. I remain a steadfast Catholic, believing God’s judgement will prevail.

Matthew 10:26 “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.”

My letter to Pope Francis:

Your Holiness Pope Francis,

This correspondence is in regards to the allegations of Archbishop Viganò. For years I have admired you and what you have stood for. I was one of those persons that waited in line outside the Vatican for hours to see you, to take a picture of you. I was caught up by your charismatic spirit and was very excited to hear what you had to say.

Now I can only say how confused I am in your response to this matter. We need a directive from you, our Holy Father, and where you stand with all these accusations. Your Holiness, in all due respect, are you going to come forth in the defense of the victims? Where is the mercy that you often speak of? Can you not hear the cries of those in emotional pain cause by men under your leadership?

It takes a lifetime for some of these victims to come to terms with the heinous violations inflicted on them. Your Holiness, you are the chosen of God, and our Lord expects you to do what is right in the eyes of the world. When the Church needs you most, we feel abandoned by your indifference, and how you have avoided the elephant standing in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Though I am just a lay person, I have a voice that can transcend to many because I am a Blogger as well. I pray that our Church rid itself of all malice, and that every offender to be exposed. The victims cry out for justice, and we wait for you to speak on their defense. Save our Church from these evildoers and clean up the house of God once and for all. I implore you to order an independent investigation in this matter so that the truth may be revealed.

In highest respect for your service,

Lynda Ciriza

www.mycatholicrootsareshowing.com

For the past year I have been teaching a group of catechumens. Catechumens are persons receiving religious training before coming into the Catholic Church. When I receive the lesson plan, I do not take it lightly. I study, and I review it until I feel confident to teach the new potential members. I explain the Scripture, give history about the Scripture, and share personal stories. I fear, for my accountability is to God, and want to make certain that what comes from me is from the Lord.

This Sunday, one of the Mass readings was on the multiplication of the loaves and fish from John 6:1-14. In this Scripture many of Jesus’s holy attributes are revealed.  He’s testing his disciples when He asks them how are they going to feed so many. Jesus was training His disciples on the process of miracles. He was teaching them to operate in the supernatural. How do you explain a miracle? We don’t! We believe that it was from God. We learn to trust that all that we have is because He has entrusted us with this. All of our giftings are from Him, and our calling is from Him. That still small voice that tells you to do what’s right is from Him. We cannot take credit, or we might get all puffed up and think we did it on our own. Sorry, it was not you but our Lord that allowed these blessings. The Word of God says that He fed 5,000, but in reality it was more, because the women and children were not included. With 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread everyone ate, with 12 baskets left over. This miracle is the only one that is mentioned in all four Gospels. Why? Because we need it pounded in our brains that God will supply and multiply our every need.

The second reading was from  Ephesians 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

This is a recipe for living. The first part of the instruction is to be humble. I asked the students in class, “What is humility?” The answer that came from one of the students was filled with godly wisdom. He said, “Every day I pray for humility, because I want to excel in my job.”  It the second ingredient is  gentleness, and you must first be humble to be gentle. Then the third part of the recipe is patience. How do we attain patience? Patience is what builds our character. As grown as I am in the Lord, I still have a long way to master patience. The last part of the recipe is love. We will never fully succeed in our calling without the love of God. When we love we have peace.

I love to sleep, but in order for me to attend daily Mass, I must be up by 5:45 AM to make the 6:15 AM service. Breakfast is my favorite meal, but I put it off for another hour so that I can stay after Mass for Adoration. Adoration is being in the presence of God. I pray, I write my Blog, and I pray more. It is through this training that I am moving up in the ranks of His mighty army. Experiencing the powerful move of God in my life has left me yearning for more, I can’t get enough. I hunger for His presence, and when I miss Mass, I feel a void.

Our minds are more alert when we are learning and teaching.  Why? Because the Lord is entrusting us with more classified information. We need this type of tactical training to teach God’s truth and shine His light in the darkness that covers this world.