We all, at one time or another, question our faith. The desire to become holier has made me aware of how tangled I have become with the things of this world. I had a short, interesting dream Sunday morning that helped me discern why.

I have mentioned in past blogs how the Lord instructs me in dreams. In this particular dream I was boarding a large, convertible bus. I yelled for one of my friends to join me, “Come on, jump on!” My friend was uncertain and said, “No, I can’t.” Again I extended my hand and repeated, “Come on, I’ll help you!” But it was too late, the bus was moving. On the bus was a prophet who was going to give me a prophetic word. As she approached me, she placed her hands over my head and said, “You are filled with faith, but you have an infection that is keeping you from getting closer to God.”

That is all I can remember about this dream. I was distressed because I knew it was a warning dream.

The Interpretation Of The Dream

I am going in the right direction with the right people, but something is holding me back. It’s my dreaded cell phone! This has become a hindrance to my spiritual  growth. And this dream was a short reminder to redirect me onto the right path.

Padre Pio (Saint Pio of Pietrelcina)

I was listening to the Hallow app about Padre Pio. He was a Capuchin priest who lived in San Giovanni Rotondo.  This priest exuded holiness; his Masses would last more than two hours. After Mass he heard confessions for 16 hours, with only a short break for lunch. If you were brave enough to confess your sins to this saint, you had  better not leave any sin out because  Padre Pio was also given the gift to discern  souls. If you did not want to or forgot to mention a particular sin, he would remind you of it. This saint was given the stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. He also had the gift of bilocation.

I will never achieve even one ounce of  Padre Pio’s holiness, but I do want to develop my gifts as God would will.

The Rosary

I pray the rosary with special intentions. For example, I could offer the First Decade to someone in my family who needs special prayer.   On another decade I will pray for our country, etc.  Needless to say, my rosary can last more than an hour. I was up early Saturday morning, but as I started to pray the rosary, I found myself completely out of the spirit, thinking of worldly matters. A strong spirit of conviction came over me, but I did not finish the rosary. I’m going to change that!

The Phone And The Computer

The phone is not my only distraction. I get distracted by looking up mindless information on the computer. Usually when this happens, things unrelated to  the search pop up.  All of our electronics are collecting personal information that is programmed to capture our scattered attention span. Hours later we end up in a deep rabbit hole, wondering how we got there in the first place. Besides this I suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and dyslexia!

Another distraction is online shopping. I may not purchase the items,  but my cart is filled with things I can live without. Again, it’s the wasteful hours that take me away from my prayer life that plague me with guilt.

The Plan

Knowing fully well that change is a process,  I’m going to start with spiritual baby steps to rid myself of the infections from the world. First I’m going to time myself on social media. I’ll start by setting an alarm for 10 minutes at a time and also keeping the phone at a distance if I’m occupied with something else. Listening to the rosary via an app will help me finish praying the five full decades. Please pray for me!

“Be content to progress in slow steps until you have legs to run and wings to fly.”  Saint Padre Pio of Pietreicina

Spiritual Discipline

The Lord wants us whole. We can’t fully serve God if we have one foot steeped into the world of electronics. In everything in life there must exist a balance. We are dependent on our phones; both of my grown children know where I am 24-7. I  keep tabs on them as well with the “Find My” app. These apps simplify our lives and give us a better perspective and appreciation for technology, especially if we have younger children. But God, too, has an app.

The God App

You cannot download this app because it’s supernatural. However, you can download it in your heart.  God knows exactly where we are physically, emotionally and the path we are on. We need to clear away  all the debris to reach holiness. The God app speaks to our conscience, but many cannot hear anymore because they have deleted it from their hearts. Some have chosen to block the God app because it’s become too intrusive. Some will keep the app but never use it, while others will gladly share the app.

Download The God App

God sees all the destruction of those who have deleted His app. They have unknowingly become slaves to the world; their god Satan  prevents them from seeing the true light. It’s never too late to download the God app, because He is with you during your darkest days and wants to shed His light into your wounded heart.

My Prayer

Lord, forgive me for allowing all the worldly distractions to come between You and me. I humbly ask that You give me another opportunity to serve You as I should. Lord, teach us all to download Your app, so that we can live the life we have been called to. Father, bring us all to a greater of  level of holiness. Amen.

“Revealed” was the title of the retreat for the catechists in 2024.

Preparing

For the past two years I’ve had the pleasure of teaching teens ranging from ages 15 through 18, preparing them for their sacred Sacrament of Confirmation. This particular class represents students from six Orange County high schools. Half of the students attend private Catholic high schools; the other half attend three different public schools.

I was blessed to have well-behaved students, but many of them were not responding to questions I presented on the subject we were reviewing. My worst experience as a teacher is to ask questions and for half of the class to stare at you blankly. I wanted them all to engage and understand what was being taught to them, so I came up with a plan.

The Plan

Throughout my missionary trips I have accumulated a variety of souvenirs, from rosaries to praying cards, so I decided to give some of my treasures to the students who participated in class by simply answering a few questions. At first this was a great idea, but they soon lost interest. Several of the students eagerly raised their hands and sometimes shouted out the answers, but the dormant students remained quiet. I knew that they could respond, but they did not want to participate.

I prayed about it and came up with an idea that would motivate the entire class. Purchasing raffle tickets and a few gift cards to Chick-fil-A  and In-N-Out did the trick. The students would receive one ticket for showing up for class, and any time that they participated with the class discussions they received another ticket.  With every response to a question came another ticket. By the time the class was over some students could have as many as five tickets, increasing their chances to win. I’m happy to report that even the most reserved students started to open up  because of this little plan.

The Diversity

As I mentioned earlier I have an equally diverse group of students representing different cultures. This is one beautiful aspect that California has to offer: we love and accept our West Coast melting pot. It was the same for the students; they respected one another with the love of Christ. I understand that once this class is over many of these students will go their separate ways, some, however, made new friendships with common interests in music and sports. I pray they keep in touch.

The Retreat

The retreat was held at Irvine Retreat Center, which is a stone’s throw away from my home. Since Mother Nature took a sabbatical, our normally sunny California has been colder than usual. This bad- spirited weather followed us, giving us cold weather during the first part of our retreat. It was cold.

This retreat was a no-phone zone, so many of the students were complaining as soon as their parents dropped them off. For them, the time moved at a snail’s pace. After the first night the complaining did not get any better.  I was concerned because this was my first overnight retreat with the students, and I wanted them to feel the presence of God. After breakfast on the second day one student asked me for the time. It was 10:30 a.m.! He walked away saying, “We have 90 more hours of this!”

Finally the sun peaked through in time for the outdoor adventures, which included a scavenger hunt, making  words with their bodies, and other games to release any pent-up energy. During this segment one of my students asked me, “What is the purpose for these games? Why are we doing this?” I answered., “This is fun and plus we’re bonding.”  It was evident that many of the kids were spiritually absent. But God would soon change that.

Adoration

To Catholics, Eucharistic Adoration is being in the presence of God. We guard this sacred time as oneness with our Creator. Saturday night was set aside for Adoration and confessions. One of the requirements to be confirmed is that you must go to confession before the Confirmation. We had three priests hearing confessions, including our parish priest Fr. Eliardo.

This  night was similar to the Upper Room, when the fire of the Holy Spirit came down. Every doubt, including my own, was lifted. The anointed music helped usher in the Spirit of God,  and the aroma from the incense filled the room. It took hours of preparation to get these busy minds to a calm state of mind. The title of the retreat was “Revealed,” and truly the Holy Spirit was revealed to all of us.

As I prayed with many of the students, I could feel the Spirit of God present in their yielded bodies. Many were brought to tears.

The Letters

After Adoration each student received a letter from their parents. Some students received several letters, including from siblings. These letters of affirmation supported and affirmed their spiritual journey. And I played a small part in directing their path to sainthood.

The Mass

On Sunday we celebrated Mass, but this time it was different for the students because they had experienced a deeper understanding of who they are in Christ. During the homliy Fr. Eliardo shared his personal, relatable story about how he questioned his Confirmation.

Behind the Scenes 

Abraham, our youth director, and his assistant, Patty, must have worked endless hours to  prepare this retreat. All this hard work upset the Enemy, so poor Abraham was in the ER with kidney stones the week before the start of the retreat. He pressed  through (with the help of meds) and made it through the entire retreat. Thank you, Abraham, for the special accommodations for us older ladies who needed to be well rested to fulfill our roles as catechists. All of the speakers were gracious in sharing heartfelt stories about their lives. It is difficult to speak to a group of teens, let alone keep their attention. Abraham, Patty, Becca and our MC, Tanner, put on a jacket of humility to reach these kids.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I pray for all the catechists who participated in this retreat. May the Spirit of God follow them for the rest of their lives. You “Revealed” Yourself to each of them in a special way. Grant them special graces to continue their walk. Amen