My Heart of the Matter

Life Changing Water

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The overflowing water of life is free for the asking

The Water Of  Life

The Lord has provided this living water to wash us clean. This water is purified by His love. Specifically, God wants nothing more than for us live a life filled with hope. The prophet Ezekiel experienced this when an angel  brought him to the entrance of the Temple. The angel led Ezekiel to where the water was flowing. Everywhere the water flowed it brought blessings; it turned the salt water into fresh water, ” on each side of the banks fruit trees of every kind shall grow, their leaves shall not fade”.

8 He said to me, “This water flows east and goes down into the Arabah and empties into the sea, whose salt waters it makes fresh.

9 “Wherever the river flows, swarms of living creatures will live there and multiply. 

This verse is speaking of us when we drink of the living water. Nothing will faze us because our resilience through prayer will produce great fruit. No trial can keep us from the living water. No national elections that oppose the principles of the Kingdom of God will keep us from serving the Lord.

 

The calm Pacific Ocean

The Revelation

Recently I experienced the most wonderful freedom. Undoubtedly, I have an addiction to Tik Tok and other Social Media platforms that were making me crazy. These Social Media clicks were about how bad the world is and how in particular political parties were at fault. Anything that was not legitimate was due to the failure of our current government.

As a result of  my addiction, I became deeply offended by all these accusations against the party I support. Explicitly, I wanted so badly to set these people straight but for fear of backlash, my fingers froze before I could type out a clear answer. Besides, opening the door to criticism is another avenue to become a victim of your own circumstances. My days have too much value than to be use up in controversy with strangers.

Saint Teresa Of Avila

In reality what I experienced was a beautiful life lesson. Like St. Teresa of Avila the words that she spoke were sealed into my heart. “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, All things pass: God never changes.”

So if New York, the financial capital of the world, has elected a Muslim as mayor, there is a clear reason why God allowed this. This is what offered me so much hope. I will not celebrate this win nor will I make negative remarks because I know God is in control.

Stay With The Flow

Living water not only cleanses us: it leads us to a better place, a place of peace. Being around  people who do not share my political views is not going to make me like them any less. But before this revelation, in the past this was a big problem for me. Thinking that there was something wrong with their way of thinking was evil.

To be freed of this bigotry came only through prayer. Truly, I can now attest with all confidence that only God can be the Judge. I had failed miserably, I needed to calm down and allow God to do His work. This battle was a great distraction in my spiritual growth. Recognizing the plot of the Enemy and exposing it to free my mind has added more time for contemplative prayer.

Reasons For Division

Today, even an innocent conversation about politics can go south very quickly. Contentious opinions on Social Media have made enemies of many; this is the reason for the great divide. This divide is so deep, that each side stands at the edge of a gorge, not willing to build a bridge or cross it once it’s built. Hatred is the underlining cause of this division. The mastermind of this is none other than Satan himself! He loves what is happening to our country.

The Father Of Lies

We all know Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44).  Fear and lies are always associated with hatred because that is what causes division. Hatred is the reason our country is so divided. On both sides of the spectrum there is fear; conservatives fear that the liberals will take control of politics, and liberals fear the unknown because of the current administration’s political conservatives. How much more clear can it be?  Satan is pulling the strings of those who cannot step out of the ring of hatred. Some people are masterring leaders. Hatred and anger are brothers, and we all know where anger leads us: frustration, irritability, and inability to overlook offenses or consider opposing view points.

The Holy Water

Water is our life source; we cannot live without it. This is also true of the living waters that God has for us (Isaiah 44:3). We drink of this holy water to replenish what needs nurturing in our spirits.

Our bodies are a temple of God. We are constantly being tested, but as long as we remain steadfast nothing can break us.
This cruel world may at times become cold, but like all seasons it will all soon pass. God sees all of our hurts and needs. All we need to do is to step into the healing waters.

16 You Belong to Christ. Do you not realize that you are God’s temple, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple.

Love Vs. Hate

Operating in love is the simple answer to the problems we are facing, but this love must come from Christ. With the love of Christ we can love ourselves. Once you have accomplished this you can love your enemies! Love covers all.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for this revelation and for opening my eyes to Your holy truth. Take us deeper into Your living water, that we may be immersed in Your Holy presence. Amen.

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My Heart of the Matter

Warning on New Age

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Obsidian stones with St. Benedict medal, Lapis stone with Miraculous Medal

On a recent shopping trip to Hobby Lobby a young man at the cash wrap noticed my bracelets . He asked “Obsidian, those stones bring calm, right?” I showed him the blessed saints medal and answered, “No, these bring blessings.” This young man, and many like him is dabbling into New Age.

1 John 4:1 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Chapter 4

Testing the Spirits. 1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

As a teen ager I looked forward to reading my horoscope. I was born in early August, which meant I am a Leo on the astrological calendar.  I liked astrology and what it revealed; those born under the sign of Leo are outgoing, loyal, and  natural-born leaders. As I got older and wiser, I started to outgrow the desire for astrology.

I married young and was too preoccupied to seek  advice from the stars, but it was still very much with me. From time to time, out of curiosity, I would dabble back into reading my horoscope. I read my husband Mike’s as well. I remember reading in Mike’s horoscope one day that he would lose something of value. On that same day Mike lost his wedding band. Even though it was a coincidence, it opened wide the door to horoscopes.

The Open Door

This was the mid-70’s and Cosmopolitan Magazine had an entire page dedicated to astrology. Although I was intrigued by the readings, I never really took it to heart; nevertheless, the excitement of what was in store for me that month held me hostage.

In my 15-year sabbatical from the Catholic church I found a new, non,denominational fellowship. Unaware that I was serving two gods, I was told very firmly by fellow Christians that horoscopes were demonic. At first I believed that these people were overreacting, and I continued to read my horoscope. After all it was just for fun. But astrology was an open door to Satan and a personal invitation to allow Him access to my opened spirit.

Deuteronomy 18:10 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

10 Let there not be found among you anyone who causes their son or daughter to pass through the fire, or practices divination, or is a soothsayer, augur, or sorcerer,

Baby Christian (me), St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, New Orleans

Seeing The Light

I was growing by  leaps and bounds in my new-found “Born Again” religion; the closer I came to understanding  Scripture, the more evident the dangers of believing in astrology were revealed. We are all searching for God and some type of meaning for our existence, but some of us take different directions to reach our destination. The highway I traveled included this “New Age” passage.

The Company You Keep

When you stay and visit, you become familiar with the company you keep and want to stay longer or return for another visit. That’s how it was with astrology and me. I thank God that I made a clean break. This seemingly innocent practice is treacherous because it leads to other occult practices. Palm reading, fortune telling, psychic readings, mediums, and many other avenues also lead to the occult.

Fighting the Demons

During that time, I took a  short trip to New Orleans to see family. Also I wanted to visit St. Louis Cathedral, which is located in Jackson Square. There were so many obstacles in the way before I could reach the doors to the church. Tarot card readers were stationed in several different locations. I decided to fight against these demonic forces.  As I passed each card reader, I was silently  praying against their evil spirits. I felt great victory and thought myself a valiant warrior for doing God’s work against these demons. I walked into the church with great pride, and continued to pray. As a baby Christian I felt that the battle was over.

The Demonic Illness 

When I returned from the trip, I became deathly ill. I had never been so sick! I was bedridden for a week before I decided to seek  medical attention. It took an entire month for me to finally recover from this mysterious illness.

After making the connection ,I realized that this illness was caused by praying against the evil spirits of all those tarot card readers. These demonic forces had strength in numbers, and I fell into their boiling pot because I was ill-equipped to fight these minions  on my own.

New Age

New Age spirituality has been disguised as a feel-good religion. You are your own demi-god who lives in a world of confused people. This type of belief system leads to relativism. Nothing can go wrong in your world because you control your own destiny. Since many religions fall under this New Age banner,  many are being led astray, including many well-meaning Christians. New Agers engage in meditation techniques, Zen, Hinduism, Sufism, and Native American religions. These New Agers mix philosophy with their own beliefs. To reach an altered state of mind, they use crystals, hallucinogenic drugs, yoga, and breathing exercises.

The following information is from Father Mitch Pacwa’s book, Catholics and the New Age: Psychology, the Enneagram and the Age of Aquarius:

1. Monism. Everything in the universe is one. This includes all forms of life–material things and even angels. “There is no difference between us and the air, us and the rocks, and so on.”

2. Everything is God. God is in everything. God is everything. This is pantheism, the belief that everything is in the one divine nature. “We are God, the lights are God, the chair I sit in is God.”

3. We need to be enlightened through humanistic psychology. We must be made aware of our oneness and spiritual power. This is where many Catholics veer off course with things like the enneagram, a system of numerology intended to make a person perfect, better and whole by understanding personality types. “The way it is taught,” says Father Pacwa, “people try to save themselves instead of depending on the grace of Christ. People go from enneagrams to Eastern meditation to get out of their “personality types.”

4. Expect a New Age to dawn. It will rise “out of the ashes of the Western world view” (cosmic evolutionary optimism). They wish to displace Christianity with a great “collective unconsciousness,” where all “archetypes” dwell (that’s what New Agers perceive angels to be).

Social Media Influencers

Social Media is influencing an entire generation  with New Age. You are just one click away from opening doors to the occult. The Enemy is targeting the youth who do not have a clue about who God is. This is why it is so important to Baptize and raise your children by teaching them about God. This is pleasing to God and you will reap great rewards for teaching your children the way to holiness.

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, clear a path for those dabbling into the occult to make their way back to You. Lord, convict all influencers to check their hearts before spreading half-truths. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on those who are seeking truth and bring them home.  Amen.

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My Heart of the Matter

The Reality Of Purgatory

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My Dia De Los Muertos Pumpkin

November 2nd is All Souls’ Day.

All Souls’ Day

This observances began in a monastery in the sixth century; by the tenth century, it had spread to other dioceses. The date selected to celebrate All Souls’ Day on November 2nd was established by Saint Odilo of Cluny,
France in 998 A.D.  By the 13th century this standardized date was adopted by Rome.

What The Bible Says About Purgatory

Purgatory is a theological concept. If you attend Mass you are familiar with the prayers of the faithful. We offer Masses for individuals who have departed. Personally, I have offered Masses for those who have passed. It is also important to continue to pray for the repose of their souls. Taking this practice to heart, my prayers continue for those for whom I am interceding for until the Lord releases me.

“Oh you Catholics and your beliefs, show me where Purgatory is in the Bible.” Since the word Purgatory does not appear in the Scriptures,  this concept is not easily understood.

Purgatory is a place of final purification. This process is painful and may involve discomfort. We on earth can assist those going through this final testing.

Jesus Paid The Price 

Understanding that our Lord Jesus Christ paid the price in life, death and resurrection is crucial. But we, by nature, are sinners and, even if we are in the state of grace, our temporal sins hover over our spirits. The process of God extending His grace to those who are in the state of grace has attachments. Anger, sin  and the lack of charity are all temporal acts for which we will suffer consequences. We cannot be so arrogant as to believe that we are going directly to heaven without first being purified.

A few years ago a sweet family moved into our neighborhood. Both parents were on the police force, so this made my heart glad and I felt safer. At the time this couple had two sons but when they settled into their newly remodeled home, strange things started to happen.

Old Neighbors

We have been in our home for almost 40 years; we are the second owners. In our neighbors’ home this family had a grandmother living with them. Later their grandmother drowned in the family’s backyard pool.

Then this family sold their home to a couple with a young son. This couple was eccentric and many of the neighbors had reservations about them because they were doing all this work around their home yet it showed no improvement.  They occupied the home for 15 years until this new family moved in.

The Unsettled Spirit

When this new couple moved in, they remodeled the entire home. They made their home like new. Imagine all the finances they had invested only to find out that something was not right. The boys shared a room together and many times they would wake up screaming in fear. The ceiling fans ran wildly at high speed in several rooms of the home. The couple reached out to our neighbor, so when she shared their story I gave them holy water from Lourdes. That spirit did not leave until Father Leonard Mary prayed over their home.

The Prayer

Father Leonard asked me if I wanted to go upstairs to pray, but we all know the answer to that: “No, thank you.” As Father Leonard and the owner of the home went upstairs, he said that there was something definitely there. Father Leonard felt that the grandmother’s spirit was in Purgatory and she needed prayers to be released into heaven. Since the prayers this family now lives in peace.

Our family visiting brother Robert’s gravesite

12 Now if anyone builds on that foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and straw, 13 the work of each person will come to light. For the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the worth of each person’s work 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will be rewarded. 15 If it burns down, that person will suffer loss. The person will be saved, though only by passing through fire.

Visiting Our Loved Ones

So the next time you pass a cemetery, pray for the souls who have no one to pray for them. Mike and I are planning to visit the gravesites of both of his parents and also my brother Robert. We will pray for the repose of their souls and leave flowers.

Eternal Rest Prayer

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace. Amen.

 

My Prayer

Dear Jesus, We will never forget those who have departed. Lord, open heaven’s gates to receive these souls. Lord, purify us and prepare us for our homecoming. Amen.

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