The reason Jesus spoke in parables was to make certain that the Kingdom of God would be understood by all . There are over 46 parables in the New Testament. My favorite is The Parable of the Sower.
Matthew 3:3-9 NRSVC
3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil,
and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root,
they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 Let anyone with ears listen!”
My question to all who are serving the Lord: Where did your seed fall? If you are supporting a party that does not believe in Judeo-Christian values, your seed has fallen on rocky ground. We have two distinct choices, and their positions could not be made any clearer. Kamala Harris has stated that she supports killing a baby that has been delivered full term. What part of that narrative needs interpretation? She would murder a baby, and have no qualms about it. Joe Biden, on the other hand, claims to be Catholic, but does not follow the teachings of the Catholic Church. He is in one accord with his running mate about killing full-term babies. Last week in his Town Hall meeting, Biden stated that he would defend the rights of eight-year-old transgender children. This is the most alarming statement yet! What does an eight-year-old child know about transgender identity and gender reassignment surgery? Is is not the parents of these innocent children who should be protecting their children against this indoctrination? There is no doubt that Joe and Kamala’s seeds fell on the path; the birds came and devoured them because they have no sense of morality.
Now 45% of this countrys’ Catholics are listlessly meandering, looking for their seed that landed among the thorns. They are going to get cut up attempting to retrieve their seeds. They will watch their seeds get choked by making hasty, refutable choices. We all need to understand this parable to give us a lesson on the outcome of our country’s future. It’s is never too late to prepare for the good harvest. Use the tools that the Lord has so graciously handed you to seek the truth. We need justice to prevail, and for this election not to change our form of government. We need to once and for all rid ourselves of this hatred and polarization.
My Parable
Two old men wanted to live in the same White House. They were both familiar with this house; one man still lives in the house, while the other man worked there years ago. Each of these men had pets. One man had an elephant with a loud trunk. This elephant was opinionated and let the world know what he was thinking. The other man had a donkey. This stubborn donkey kicked and hee-hawed when it did not get its way. So the two old men planned a contest between their pets; whichever animal made the loudest and longest noise would win the race. There is one problem, the donkey is favored by the liberal press. This race will take place on November 3rd. The moral of the story is we must make a prayerful, conscious choice in casting our ballots.
Pray, Then Vote
My urgent prayer is not just for one group but for all of us to live in harmony. We cannot allow militant organizations who seek to overthrow our government, and to infiltrate the minds of our youth. The white supremacists, Antifa, and Black Lives Matter agendas cannot be allowed to sway this election. Black lives do matter, but our government does not have to radically adopt their Marxist ideologies in order to protect them. Sorry, LGBTQ, and trans people, feminists, and Planned Parenthood, this is not about you. It’s about the Blacks who have been treated unjustly by police. We need to keep the subject matter separate and not allow every socialist group to ride on the shirt tails of Black people who have been affected by police brutality. I can guarantee that these groups came together because of their hatred of the founding principles for our democratic constitutional republic. That’s what they did to Jesus before His Crucifixion. The Jews hated the Romans but, for the sake of malevolence, they joined forces.
Mug shots of white privileged, New York Post
White Privilege
To the radical, leftist student demonstrators: you’re nothing more than wanna be revolutionaries. Your liberal parents have spoon fed you lies and sent you to elite colleges. For what? To get arrested for rioting and tagging? Wow! I wonder what the future has in store for you. According to an article in the New York Post, all these privileged white kids come from affluent backgrounds. Their parents have rescued them but failed miserably at disciplining them. The outcome of there upbringing have produced spoiled, willful anarchists who will stop at nothing to get their way because that is how they where raised. You can read the story for yourself. New York Post “Inside the Privileged Lives of Protesters Busted for Rioting in Manhattan.”
My Prayer:
Dear Lord, I pray for all those who are caught up in the confusion of this election. I pray that before they mark their ballots, You would speak to their conscience. I ask for a peaceful outcome in this election. Lord, extend Your Holy Hands and reach down to protect us from any backlash from any angry mods. May we who truly serve you do what is right in Your eyes. Amen
Even though we are still in the midst of the pandemic, I feel blessed. I thank the good Lord for my health and that of my family. We are blessed in so many other ways as well. We live in a country where we are free to worship the god of our choice. The Word of God says if you follow God’s Commandments, your blessings will overflow.
Deuteronomy 28: 3-6 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
3 May you be blessed in the city,
and blessed in the country!
4 Blessed be the fruit of your womb,
the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock,
the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks!
5 Blessed be your grain basket and your kneading bowl!
6 May you be blessed in your coming in,
and blessed in your going out!
These blessings are for all of us, God never excludes anyone. These are the material blessings of peace, prosperity, a fruitful land, children, victory in war and, above all, God will make you His people. We struggle with asking for what He has already set aside for us. God wants to bless your comings and your goings; this means the beginning and end of every action. He is our Provider and when we are blessed, we, in turn, will bless others. If you want victory at work, you need God on your side; if you want victory with children who have fallen away, God will honor your petitions if you follow His Commandments. We can never do this alone. We need the help of our Creator.
Become The Head and Not the Tail
The Lord will give you victory and prosperity; that means He will put your enemies in place and make them scatter in seven different directions. God wants to bless the work of your hands. We do everything with our hands. He wants to bless what flows through our fingers: our work, our creativity, our touch, and how we lift our hands in praise.
Deuteronomy 28:12-13 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 The Lord will open up for you his rich storehouse, the heavens,
to give your land rain in due season and to bless all the works of your hands.
You will lend to many nations but borrow from none.
13 The Lord will make you the head not the tail, the top not the bottom,
if you obey the commandments of the Lord,
your God, which I am giving you today, observing them carefully,
I want the rain in due season because sometimes I’m spiritually dry and need the soft sprinkles of heavenly mist to rejuvenate my prayer life.
Being the head and not the tail means that you understand who you are in the Kingdom of God. This does not mean that we are to push others aside to reach the top; rather, we are to treat others as the head. This lack of respect is one of the missing elements in our society today. We cannot control what is being displayed by the vast majority of the media, but we can choose to walk away from this incivility. We have allowed evil to not only prevail in our land, we are being made to believe that this is a justified action on the part of the perpetrators. You will always be the tail if you disrespect others.
Our Crosses
The more you serve the Lord, the more crosses you are given. I will never be able to take the COVID-19 immunization because I suffer from an autoimmune disorder. This disorder was brought on by getting the flu shot. There is no cure for this unsightly condition, no medication to keep it at bay either. In April it will be two years that I have suffered with lichen plantus; the only relief is that the lesions are fewer than before. So if I developed an autoimmune deficiency with the flu shot, I can only imagine the disaster of a new, unsafely tested vaccine. Most likely it will wreak havoc on my already weakened immune system. My allergies have escalated to a new high, so now I double up on the doses. I always forget to include myself in prayer, but my sweet husband tells me that he prays for my healing daily. We learn to carry our crosses with grace by not complaining (I’m still working on that one).
It does not matter where you are in you relationship with God, you could be a holy roller, someone who just attends church once a year, or a non-believer. The Holy Spirit is always available, ask Him to help you.
COVID-19
This demonic pandemic has affected all of us. When it first started back in March, our Bible study group prayed for strangers with COVID-19. As time passed more and more people that I know personally have contracted coronavirus: two nieces, a nephew, an ex-brother-in-law and his brother and several cousins. The virus has taken a toll on two of these mentioned. One of my cousins, Ricky, is still in the hospital after four weeks following his diagnosis. What we do not understand about virus will be a lesson for all doctors and nurses treating patients. Why some react worse than others is still partly a mystery. My cousin did not have any underlying health issues, yet at one point he was fighting for his life. His mother, my Tia Maria, who is 95 years old suffered from fever and headaches but pretty much breezed through the virus with only a few days of hospitalization. Thanks be to God and the prayer chain, my cousin’s health has improved and he may soon be released from the hospital. According to the specialist, Ricky will have several months of recovery ahead of him, but through the grace of God we will continue to pray for a speedy recovery.
My Cousin Ricky loves to cycle, on his birthday two years ago he cycled 100 miles
Blessing Others
If you need a financial blessing, start tithing to God’s work. Offer your services to the needs of others. If you want to be great in God’s Kingdom, you must first become a servant. We give out of our necessity, because the more you give from your heart the more will be returned to you. This is God’s rule of reciprocity.
Luke 6:38 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
38 Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure,
packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.
My Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for all the blessings You have bestowed on us. Thank you for good health and for keeping us safe during this pandemic. Lord, give us victory in every area of our lives. Teach us to operate in humility and to fully understand that You will bless our comings and our goings. Lord, I pray for all those who are suffering with coronavirus, especially my cousin Ricky. Bring total restoration to their bodies and bless them with Your healing touch. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to live in this great land, a place where we can freely praise You!
On my way to Mass this morning, October 1st, a car passing on the opposite side of the road hit a two-by-four. With great speed it bounced in front of my car. There was no time for me to react; it was as if this sizable piece of wood flew over my windshield in slow motion. From the corner of my eyes I saw as it landed on the side of the road. My first thought was that today is a good day for confession.
While waiting for confession I scrolled through my phone for the “Act of Contrition,” because after all these years I’ve yet to memorize this prayer. I was praying and asking God to bring to mind all my venial sins.
The avocado seed, just like the one in my dream
I Pray
I really do spend a lot of time in prayer. I pray while driving, I pray the Rosary – throughout the day my prayers are constant. But how effectual are my prayers? I’m not going to publicly confess my sins, but anger was the main purpose of the confession. I am angry: angry about the pandemic, angry about politics … You name it and I will find a reason for anger. My precious confessor asked me how my prayer life was. Explaining my prayer life mixed with anger did not sound so good. The priest did not put these words in my head but he asked me, “How can you have anger with prayer?” Then he asked me if I set aside a time especially for prayer. “Yes, I’m always praying,” I answered. He gave me a look of concern and replied, “You’re too busy, and you are not setting aside special time to be with God.” He looked at me with eyes of love when he spoke these words. He went on to say that if I was truly in deep prayer, there would be no room for anger. He was so right. I get so easily distracted with the things of the world. Our confessionals have not been opened yet so this confession was taking place while sitting on the steps leading to the entrance of the church. In my mind I was thinking, “How am I going to get up from here?” This precious, holy priest took 15 minutes of his day to set me straight. We muffle God’s voice when we get too busy. God wants us to listen to Him.
The Warning Dream
On this same day the Lord gave me an early morning dream. This is the dream:
I was in charge of a beautiful mansion. I knew the couple who owned the house. They entrusted their home to me for a few days. I don’t recall who was staying with me, but there was a young child. I had to put toys out for the child, so I moved other, larger toys around so the child could freely jump on the trampoline. I moved a rocking horse near the bed in the master bedroom. The couple arrived earlier than expected. The house was in a shambles; everything was out of order. I had forgotten to water two plants. These plants were seeds of avocados with toothpicks holding them in a jar. The owners of the home lovingly brought this to my attention. I had laundry on the kitchen counter that needed folding; nothing was in place. Then I realized that I forgot to feed their dog. When I woke up, I knew exactly what the dream meant.
The Dream’s Interpretation
The beautiful mansion represents God’s church;
The child was under my guardianship;
The couple represents those that God has entrusted to me in prayer
The master bedroom represents intimate time with God in my prayer room;
The rocking horse represents the clutter getting in the way of prayer;
The couple arriving early was a warning to me to be prepared in prayer;
The seeds of avocados symbolizes fruit or prosperity;
The laundry represents cleaning/prayer but not doing it in the correct way;
The dog represents unbelievers.
Proverbs 26:11 New International Version
11 As a dog returns to its vomit,so fools repeat their folly.
The small child was under my guardianship. I paid attention to taking care of the child but failed to have reverence for the master bedroom because I placed a rocking horse next to the bed. The master bedroom is a holy place where you meet God. The couple arriving early helped me see the errors of my way. The avocado seeds represent the lack of attention I was giving to not setting aside special time in prayer; they were dried up because of my neglect. These were big seeds that symbolized fruit or prosperity. God has entrusted me with big things that need a lot of nurturing before they can grow. The dog was symbolic of unbelievers, which means that I was not feeding them either.
Roses for Our LadyRoses from my garden
Through this dream I pieced together what was needed to train me in prayer. My gentle confessor took me by the hand and brought me off my holy soap box. He explained to me that you cannot drive and pray at the same time because attention must be given when driving. This attention takes your focus away from prayer. He introduced me to Lectio Divina and reminded me about St. Therese of Lisieux, and how she, too, suffered from anger.
St. Therese’s garden Lisieux, FranceStatue of St. Therese asking her father’s permission to become a nun at age 15St. Therese’s childhood home Lisieux, France
St. Therese of Lisieux
October 1st is the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux. This saint was the youngest person ever elevated to Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997. I started by ordering the autobiography The Story of a Soul by this great saint who is also known as the “The Little Flower.” If you know me you know my love of flowers. My home is always adorned with fresh flowers, especially roses. This was my first connection to her. Also at a very young age she showed great maturity. I was that child too; and just like St. Therese I remember stories from my childhood as if they happened yesterday. At the age of 15 she entered the Carmelite community in the Lisieux convent because she knew all along what God had called her to become. St. Therese died at the age of 24 of tuberculosis, but what she gave in her writings were golden secrets from Heaven to draw us closer to God.
Fr. Leonard celebrating Mass in Liseiux, France
Lisieux
Lisieux is a small village in Normandy, France. In October of 2017 I planned a Marian journey. A Marian journey involves visiting different locations where our Blessed Mother appeared. Lisieux was one of our destinations. This was the trip where my wallet was stolen on the very first day. It was a trip without money because I could not have Mike wire money due to our one-night stays at each holy site. Fr. Leonard Mary was our chaplain, which meant we celebrated daily Mass. For this reason it was one of the most magnificent spiritual trips I have ever experienced.
I remember walking up the hill to Les Buissonnets (St. Therese’s childhood home) and being surrounded by beautiful flowers. Only recently did I make the connection as to why the Lord allowed me to visit Lisieux. I needed to bond with St. Therese in a spiritual manner.
My Prayer
Dear Lord, thank You that You came to me in confession. Thank You for loving me enough to show my confessor what adjustments need to take place in my prayer life. Lord, draw me closer and closer to You. Show me Your beautiful sacred wounds and place them on my heart so that I never forget what You have sacrificed for us. Teach me to be patient, and allow Your Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart always. My desire is to always hear Your still, small voice. Lord, I pray for the mantle of St. Therese to truly love and understand Your love. Amen.
The reason Jesus spoke in parables was to make certain that the Kingdom of God would be understood by all . There are over 46 parables in the New Testament. My favorite is The Parable of the Sower.
