When you educate students it’s important to understand the truth and to teach history with the facts. A good teacher makes great leaders. I’ve had good teachers but I’ve also had teachers who put too much emphasis on their own opinions. History teachers have a huge responsibility to teach the truth. The problem with our current society is the fact that some teachers and leaders want the pain from the past to be erased. That’s an impossible task. The truth is that we were all created for great things. Some of will attain them because we’ve learned from our past mistakes. To some it comes naturally, but a few others get stuck in the past.  We are not only capable of learning from our past mistakes, but also learning a lesson from our forefathers. Many of our leaders failed to get that memo on love; they ran with the idea of “conquer and destroy.” If that is the truth, then let it be told. We are all teachers; a good teacher teaches with the heart to achieve clear learning. These life lessons must be instilled for the good of all. Nothing can be accomplished through violence. The louder the voice, the more deafening it is for others. You cannot force your thinking on others unless they are weak in spirit. When you put your trust in God, no man will be able to silence the truth. God is always in control, but if you believe for one minute that He is not, you will fall for any wind of doctrine.

Indoctrination In Higher Learning

If your child got accepted into college, you have a lot more to worry about than frat parties and drugs. There is an evil spirit on most college campuses. These influences hover over the students; they are out to get the future generation by indoctrination. These kids, who were raised by normal, God-fearing parents, are robbed not only by the astronomical tuition, but by the ideological restrictions on the students way of thinking. The protesters from the 70’s have now infiltrated most colleges and are teaching them how to become Marxists.

Our country will remain one nation under God. Any groups or organizations that attempt to come against our God-given beliefs will be held accountable by God, not man. What the enemy is doing to us today is called anarchy. Those of us who do not agree to the demands of these anarchists, are made to appear as indifferent, or without love for our Black brothers and sisters. This is how Satan sets the stage: by pitting  Blacks against Whites. As Christians we stand together to defend the human race. God does not see color; neither should we. The division is inevitable because  the line has been drawn for us to take sides. The hearts of many have waxed cold because without a vision we perish. The vision needs to have a directive that will ultimately end racism, and it must  be done in a peaceful manner.

Proverbs 29:18 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Juan Junipero Serra

On July 1st we celebrated the feast day of  Saint Juan Junipero Serra.  So why were his statues violently removed? These displays of anger were brought on by inaccurate characterization in the history textbooks, written by people who knew nothing of this great saint’s history. Juan Junipero Serra was a missionary who established the first nine missions in California. He never came against the Native Americans; rather it was the Spanish soldiers who exploited them. Juan Junipero Serra was a holy man of God who went out of his way to protect the Native Americans. He made the long trip from Northern California to Mexico City to settle the differences between the Spanish commanders. This trip nearly cost him his life, but the outcome produced great fruit. “Regulation” was the first significant legislation in California to protect the Native Americans. This was a “Bill of Rights” written especially to protect the Native Americans and the missions. Please do not leave these critical facts out of your history lessons. The Franciscan friars were made legal guardians of the Native Americans to protect them. Junipero was a contemplative prayer warrior. His motto was: “Always look forward, never back.” It breaks the hearts of those of us who understand to what extent Juan Junipero Serra suffered to protect the lives of others to see his legacy and statue treated with such great disrespect. This leaves us no other choice but to fight for what we believe in and to protect the history of this great saint.

We’re All In This Together

How many times have you heard this? We can use this same phrase for the evil that lies ahead. History will repeat itself  and these reactions to diabolical events will attempt to tear our country apart. As His Mother cries out for peace, God will be watching our actions. We are in this together and the only way out is through prayer. Our country is now soliciting prayer warriors.

We need strong-minded individuals who willing to fight the wiles of the Evil One. This army is taking applications from any age, any race; disabled, wounded veterans are welcomed. We need all the elderly, all the youth, to come to the high office of God.  Get your weapons: the sword of the Spirit in one hand and the Bible in the other. All sinners are welcomed! Basic training is now taking place, and  it’s never too late to join.

We have hard times ahead of us because this is an election year. You’ll need more than food and toilet paper to get through this one. People are arming themselves with an arsenal of weapons (real guns). Yes, prepare yourselves but ,most importantly, get right with God. Get on the team that will protect your salvation.

Matthew 12:25-26 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

²⁵ But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand?

My Prayer

Dear Lord, only you can repair our nation. We cry out to you, to touch those with hardened hearts and lead them to You. We pray for the gift of discernment to allow us to recognize and defend truth. Give us special graces to walk in boldness without fear of retaliation. Remove the mountains of hate and replace them with Your solid foundation of love. Amen.

We met him at the ripe age of two. Aaron was a precocious kid who would break away and run from you. He was our dear friends Anthony and Lorrie’s oldest son. As parents they sought out the best for their sons. Aaron attended St. John Neuman Catholic School and then transferred to St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Colorado Springs. The commute from Pueblo to Colorado Springs is 45 minutes; this was a sacrifice his parents made for him.  That’s what we parents do; we provide and we keep trying to guide our children in the right direction. Through the years Aaron grew to become a charming young man. He never outgrew that sweetness of an innocent child; it was part of his nature. I have always felt his heart was special because he could laugh at anything or turn bad situations into something positive. He was exposed to the finer things in life but never sought after them. The only thing that brought him joy was to be surrounded by people he loved.

His Name

His parents, Lorrie and Anthony named him Aaron because they loved the name, but God had a big part in naming him too. Aaron is a strong Biblical name; he was the older brother of Moses. All Jewish high priests come from the bloodline of Aaron. His name means “high mountain, exalted.” When Moses could not speak, God put the words in Aaron’s mouth. When Moses could no longer hold up his hands, Aaron came alongside him and held them up for his brother. This is how Aaron was to his family and friends; he was their support through any trial.

Aaron was true to his name; he was highly exalted. Aaron was the first-born son, and the Bible speaks of this as being a blessing. From his birth he was a blessing to his family. He was consecrated to the Lord on the day of his baptism.

Luke 2:23 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

²³ just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,”

Long Suffering

According to the coroner’s report Aaron’s cause of death was a ruptured lower intestine. This type of illness does not come on suddenly; it takes years for this condition to become life-threatening. Aaron never once complained about his condition. His suffering was discreet because he did not want anyone to worry about him. Though he lived with his father and brother, neither of them had any idea about his illness. Both Anthony and Marcus were with Aaron when the Lord took him home. This, too, was part of God’s plan.

Why He Died

Only God can answer this looming question. When someone is taken from us unexpectedly, God wants to get our attention. If the average life expectancy of a man in the United States is 76 years, Aaron lived only half of his life, but his life had a purpose, and his death has meaning. In Aaron’s 38 short years he made a difference. Aaron will be used by God in his passing because it is part of the Lord’s plan. It’s a wake-up call to help us understand the fragility of life. We are to cherish every moment.

Though Aaron’s parents were divorced, he never chose sides; he loved them both equally. Not a day would pass without Aaron calling his mother. They cooked and spent endless hours together, talking about what mattered to them.  Aaron lived with Anthony, his father, and Marcus, his younger brother. Aaron got the best traits from both of his parents; he was gifted with a combination of both of their personalities. He was hospitable and social, and oozed of love for his family. His relationship with his aunts was that of extended mothers, and he had many. Aaron visited Vicky, Carolyn, Elsie, and Penny on a regular basis.

Aaron left the world like an artist with his canvas half-painted. The vision I get of his finished work is that of a road well traveled by many, lined with myrtle trees blooming in shades of white, soft pink, and deep purple. These trees will always remind me of Aaron because they were in full bloom on the day he took his last journey. The myrtle tree is a symbol of God’s blessing.

Zechariah 1:11 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

¹¹ And they answered the angel of the Lord, who was standing among the myrtle trees: “We have been patrolling the earth, and now the whole earth rests quietly.”

Catholic Doctrine 

For 12 years Aaron was being engrafted into the Word of God through his Catholic teachings. Every year during Lent he gave up alcohol; he did this faithfully. He learned how to use the teachings of God to apply them to his life. He honored his mother and father and loved his younger brother Marcus beyond measure. He understood the “Golden Rule” and lived a life of loving his neighbor. He will make a difference in his passing because those who knew him will remember the loving times spent with him. Their memories of Aaron will be sweet.

My Prayer:

Dear Lord, Lorrie, Anthony and Marcus are in great pain; their hearts are shattered with the loss of Aaron. I pray that in Your Divine Mercy, You will grant them special graces to get through this trial. They love You Lord, let them know that Aaron is resting in Your arms. Lord, give them a sign that Aaron is now at peace and no longer in pain. Allow them to be at peace about their great loss. Lord, allow other friends and family members to come alongside them and lift them up in prayer. Bring those who have lost their way back into Your kingdom. The world, as we see it today is darkness, but with, God, comes light. Allow Aaron’s passing to become that beacon of light to guide others toward the right path. Jesus We Trust In You!

I will continue to pray and offer my communion on behalf of my friends until the Lord releases me from this obligation. Good night sweet boy.

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.