Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Holy Innocents ... THEN & NOW

Today we mark the first martyrs of the Church .. the Holy Innocents that were ripped from their mother's arms and slaughtered for a king's pride. Certainly we know that satan was at the core of the pride that angered Herod to the point of murder from the fear of losing his place and prestige. I have never given birth, but I cannot IMAGINE what a horror it would be to have my child either killed in my arms or torn from my grasp and slaughtered. GOD HAVE MERCY! These Little Ones ... these precious little souls snuffed out in a most cruel and unjust manner. And not just the newborns were enough for Herod ... to be SURE, he decreed that all be murdered up to 2 years! These are the first martyrs of our Faith.

They, of course, didn't know they would be glorifying the Real King. And I am sure that for all this time they have been serving, praising and adoring our Triune God. Another thing that seems so obvious is the terror and lamenting of the mothers. Especially because they suffered in vain. They knew not that the Messiah was among them. They didn't even have hope of once again seeing their beloved children and their pain wasn't united to the Passion of the Cross. The suffering that is not united to the Passion of Jesus and offered for the Intentions of the Trinity and souls, must be the most horrific suffering of all ... maybe that's why hell is so horrific.

All this terror from a selfish, prideful tyrant that was afraid of losing his authority. All from ambition came this cruelty and horror. Not wanting anything changed from the way it was. Not letting anything get in the way of his way of life or how he lived and what he did. Is this so unlike today really? Do we not sacrifice the Holy Innocents all over again by the MILLIONS in ABORTIONS EVERY DAY? Yes we have made some strides in closing the mills down, through rigorous efforts, minds and hearts are being changed .. but so much more needs to be done. At the very least .. THE VERY LEAST ... we can all offer a rosary daily to end this massacre once and for all.

Is abortion all that much different than what was done by Herod? Were the little ones not hacked and torn then as well? I cannot NOT think of the millions of aborted BABIES when I think of the Holy Innocents .. but in my eyes and my heart they are ALL HOLY INNOCENTS, none of which had a choice to live, to grow in holiness or bring others to Jesus by their example. Please pray in a special way today for ALL the Holy Innnocents, then and NOW and those yet to be. Please make an effort to pray daily to end abortions and do what you can physically and financially to further the effort!
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
"Holy little precious souls
you who's blood the Savior owns
torn from life in arms or wombs
pray for us left here in gloom."

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Wishes 2011

"... For unto us a Child is born ... unto us a Son is given .... "
You all are in my daliy 3pm's for your needs and the needs of those your loved ones. I just wanted to take a moment to say how very grateful I am for all that's been shared among us this past year and all that will continue to be shared. The support, prayers, encouragements, smiles, laughter and tears!

My wish for us all is that when our eyes fall on the image of that little Babe in the manger, our most Loving Father, in the Holy Name of Jesus and by the Power of the Holy Spirit will set our hearts on fire anew with the most precious Gifts of Faith, Hope and Love.
May we live each day for HIM, helping each other advance in holiness as we consciously make an effort to set aside the things of the world that are passing away anyway. Let us look at each other with the same love and affection as we do the Christ Child ... remembering whatsoever we do to the least of our brethren, we do unto Him!

I would ask 3 things of all who's eyes
fall on this message:
1. When you awaken in the morning, let your first thought be to offer everything that day in union with His Holy Passion for the Intentions of the Trinity and all of heaven. (Thoughts, words, deeds, breaths, heartbeats, steps, utterances, joys, sorrows, tears, actions, reactions, blinks of your eyes and even failings, God can make ANYTHING good!)
2. At 3pm if you can't pray the little Chaplet of Divine Mercy, just hold the intention in your heart asking God to have mercy on yourself and the whole world and beg Him to EMPTY PURGATORY INTO HEAVEN DAILY by merit of the Perfect Passion of Jesus during this Divine Mercy Hour.

3. When you go to sleep at night (and whenever you think of it actually), ask God in His mercy and goodness, to please grant the grace of perfect contrition to all those that step into eternity .. that they may, with their last conscious thought or dying breath, beg His mercy and embrace His Love! (That all be saved and none be lost!)
This is what I challenge you to do ... I BEG of you to do this! 

I wish you all the most blessed and significant Christmastime ever. May almighty God shower you with His most choice blessings. May our humble, compassionate and blessed Mother take your concerns to her beloved Son and tuck them near His Sacred Heart interceding for our temporal needs and our spiritual necessities. And may the patient and tireless angels shelter, comfort and guide you, keeping your feet firmly planted on the path that leads to heaven and our Glorious Triune God!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & MAY THE NEW YEAR BE ESPECIALLY KIND TO US ALL!

Merry Christmas

Solemnity of Christmas
On December 25, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christmas, a holy day of obligation. Of all the Christian feasts, Christmas is perhaps the most beloved and the most popular. On Christmas we celebrate the temporal birth of the Lord Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. We celebrate his eternal birth from the Father in the splendors of the Godhead. But we celebrate also a third birth of Our Lord, the birth for which Advent has been particularly preparing us, the birth which occurs every Christmas- it is the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Church, his birth in those who are the members of the Body of Christ, so his birth in the souls of each of us here, and in the souls of all throughout the world, who receive him on this day having confessed their sins and opened their hearts in faith and love.

On Christmas, let us adore Jesus in the Eucharist. Let us adore Him through frequent visits to Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament in our tabernacles (ALL YEAR LONG). Let us adore Him at that real mystical Bethlehem which is His Eucharistic Presence. So as with the ears of our spirit we hear the angels’ voices on Christmas, let our voices, in the joy of our hearts, blend with theirs:
Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas Messages & Blessings

A blessed Christmas to you. Here is a video that FatherJason Worthley produced with some of his priest friends, sharing their Christmas greetings and blessings. 
Please share this with your friends. God bless you all!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

A Christmas Prayer

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Loving Father,
Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
That we may share in the song of the angels,
The gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
May the Christmas morning
make us happy to be Thy children,
And Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus’ sake.
Amen.

Investigation concludes on alleged Fulton Sheen miracle

A Dec. 11 Mass in Peoria, Ill. marked the official conclusion of an investigation tribunal into an alleged miracle that many attribute to the intercession of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Since Sept. 7, the tribunal has looked into the alleged miraculous healing of James Fulton Engstrom – a one-year-old born without a pulse last year – whose parents credit his survival to the late archbishop.

The Mass, open to members of the public, was held at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, where Archbishop Sheen was as an altar server when he as a boy.
Official tribunal documents were sealed at the Mass by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria and Monsignor Stanley Deptula. Msgr. Deptula is the executive director of the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation, which is the official promoter of the archbishop’s cause for sainthood.
The documents will now be shipped to the Vatican for consideration.

If the alleged miracle is approved by the Pope, U.S. Catholics could witness the first ever beatification on American soil in the Diocese of Peoria, said the foundation.
On Sept. 16, 2010, Bonnie Engstrom and her husband Travis prayed fervently to Archbishop Sheen after she delivered a stillborn son.

The baby, whom they named James Fulton after the archbishop, had no pulse for 61 minutes after he was born.

As doctors prepared to declare the time of death, however, his heart started beating. Although the physicians predicted serious medical problems, James Fulton is now a happy, healthy one-year-old.

In addition to serving as an auxiliary bishop of New York and bishop of Rochester, Archbishop Sheen was best known for his weekly radio broadcast, “The Catholic Hour,” and his later weekly television program, “Life is Worth Living.”

The archbishop died in 1979 and his cause for sainthood was opened in 2002.
A second approved miracle will be necessary before Archbishop Sheen – currently called a Servant of God – will be declared a saint.

By Michelle Bauman (EWTN News/CNA)

Friday, December 16, 2011

ST. ADELAIDE

Born in 931, St. Adelaide was the daughter of Rudolph of Burgundy. Still a child she was betrothed for political reasons to Lothair of Provence, heir of King Hugh of Italy. Hugh married Adelaide's widowed mother. At the age of sixteen she married Lothair, now Icing of Italy, and a daughter, Emma, was born of the marriage. It was an unhappy union but a short one, for in 950 Lothair died. His successor, Berengar, imprisoned her when Adelaide refused to marry his son. After four months' confinement she escaped in August 951, and when that same year the German Emperor Otto appeared in Italy and proposed marriage, she accepted. Four children were born to them, the future Otto II and three daughters, two of whom became nuns. A revolt led by Ludolf, Otto's son by his first marriage, was crushed. It would appear to have been Adelaide's influence which encouraged, if it did not inspire, Otto's policy of close collaboration with the church. During a sojourn of six years in Italy Otto and Adelaide received the imperial crown from John XII. When her husband was succeeded in 973 by their son Otto II, Adelaide for some years exercised a powerful influence. Later, however, her daughter-in-law, the Byzantine princess Theophano, turned her husband against his mother, and she was driven from court. Finally a reconciliation was effected, and in 983 Otto appointed her his viceroy in Italy.

He died the same year, and the new emperor, Otto III, still a minor, was entrusted to the joint regency of his mother and grandmother. Theophano was able once again to oust Adelaide from power and the court. Her death in 991 restored the regency to Adelaide. She was assisted by St. Willigis, bishop of Mainz. In 995 Otto came of age, and Adelaide was free to devote herself exclusively to pious works, notably the foundation or restoration of religious houses. She had long entertained close relations with Cluny, then the center of the movement for ecclesiastical reform and in particular with its abbots St. Majolus and St. Odilo. On her way to Burgundy to support her nephew Rudolph III against rebellion, she died at a monastery she had founded at Seltz. She had constantly devoted herself to the service of the church and peace, and to the empire as guardian of both; she also interested herself in the conversion of the Slavs. She was thus a principal agent—almost an embodiment—of the work of the Catholic church during the dark ages in the construction of the religion-culture of western Europe. Her feast is kept in many German dioceses.

Feastday: December 16

Monday, December 12, 2011

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe


MIRACLES OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

On December 12 we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Virgin Mary appeared to humble native American,Juan Diego, on December 9, 1531 in Tepeyac Hill, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City. She identified herself as the Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth. The signs -- of the roses, of the uncle miraculously cured of a deadly illness, and especially of her beautiful image called tilma on Juan's mantle -- convinced the people there was something to be considered in Christianity. Within a short time, six million Native Mexicans had themselves baptized as Christians. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe which was imprinted on the tima, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years shows no sign of decay 475 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is God's very special gift to America at the very beginning of the New World. It was a very special way through which Divine Providence started the incarnation of the gospel in the New World. God would not allow the gospel to become an instrument of colonization and through Guadalupe would assure that the gospel would continue to heal, liberate and unite all peoples of this hemisphere. This new unity of peoples will be America's true gift toward the formation of a real world community.
below


Please pray a special rosary today for
the protection of the unborn!

Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for the Unborn
Prayer for Husbands and Wives
Memorare
Prayer for Our Lady of Guadalupe
Morning Offering
Short Prayer for Our Lady of Guadalupe

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Battlebeads Updates & Gift Giving Ideas

Hi folks, I know I don't write much here for sales stuff .. I like to keep it mostly world news, eschatology and building up the Faith. But every now and again, I like to call your attention to gift giving ideas that include the much needed prayer for the Country, the USA Chaplet.
This is an easy chaplet and the long version takes about 11 minutes, but there's also a short version with just one group rather than the 5 for just $5! It's Christmastime once again and I'm hoping some of you consider gifts that will keep on giving throughout the year and bringing souls closer to the Two Hearts!

You can look over to the right on the slide show to get an idea of my work. Please keep in mind that special custom orders are my specialty! ;) Rosaries, Chaplets, religious jewelry and now even secular/regular jewelry is available.

I have some very nice necklaces and sets available ... I have crystals, precious gems and stones, quartz, Czech druks, corals, aventurine, onyx, lapis ... just about anything you can want! There's keyrings, beverage markers, pocket decades, peace wheels, rosary trees, bracelets, rings, necklaces, eye glass leashes, zipper pulls, lanyards for cell phones or any of your devices ... just SO MUCH to choose from! :)

I received some very nicely tumbled semi precious stones that are ready to be made into necklaces already set w/sterling silver bales. Your choice of chain, cord, voil, leather or what have you!

After a long search, I also have located the mystery bars that incorporate all 20 mysteries of the Holy Rosary. These are placed as Pater's or Our Father beads and they tell what set of mysteries are to be said on any given day and also names the mysteries for that particular group. These are not plastic, they are engraved metal and will not wear out easily at all! They work with any beads of course, but I've fond many folks like the Job's Tears beads with these bars.

So, if you have an inclination to help hearts grow nearer to the Two Hearts, please give Battlebeads a try, whether you purchase something already made or would like to design something spectacular together .. just let me know! "I always do my best to accommodate requests!" And I just LOVE to put smiles on faces!
My warmest and sincerest wishes for a Blessed, joyous and peaceful Christmastime to you and all you hold dear ... and may the New Year be especially kind to us all!

Just can't help m'self here folks ....... 
"GOD BLESS US, EVERYONE!"

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Immaculate Conception and The Divine Mercy

Mary

The Divine Mercy devotion is one of the fastest growing “spiritualities” among Catholics today. With the canonization of St. Faustina and the establishment of the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church officially recognized the urgent need in the world to practice the core elements of the devotion: imploring mercy, trusting Jesus, and being merciful through the practice of both the corporal and the spiritual works of mercy. This is undeniably a great gift for our times!

Jesus Christ is The Divine Mercy; the Immaculate Conception is the created masterpiece of The Divine Mercy. Outside of the gift of the Savior Himself, both in the Incarnation and in the Eucharist, the greatest manifestation of Divine Mercy that God has given to the world is the Immaculate Conception. How can this be? This is so due to the fact that the privilege of the Immaculate Conception is a pure gift flowing from God’s goodness.

For example, in all the other aspects of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Divine Motherhood, Perpetual Virginity, Queenship, etc) she fully participated in the acquisition of the graces required for that particular role. From her virginal motherhood to her assumption into heaven, she fully participated with God’s saving plan. However, the Immaculate Conception is the sole gift that she neither merited nor acquired by participation. Thus, this gift is solely dependent upon Divine Mercy.

The Immaculate Conception is the prevenient grace that explains why we call Mary the “cause of our salvation”. The causal dimension of the Immaculate Conception can be seen when we consider that this unique act of mercy given to Mary both prepares the way for, and will make her able to cooperate with, Jesus, The Divine Mercy Incarnate, who has come to save mankind.

In a similar way, the Immaculate Conception can also be understood as the “cause of creation”. God initiated creation, allowing for its fall, because He planned to spiritually renew and elevate all creation according to the pattern of the Immaculate Conception; thus, the Immaculate Conception is not an after-thought but, rather, the instrument through which God sees the world. It is as though the Immaculate Conception were a set of bifocals given to us by Divine Mercy so that we can come to see both creation and salvation as God sees them.

Saints such as Maximilian Kolbe have pondered the intimate relationship between the Divine Mercy and the Immaculate Conception and concluded that the relationship is so mysterious that its brightness overwhelms the intellect. These two mysteries are so intimately connected that it will take a whole host of saintly theologians, mystics and scholars to unveil the wonder. Just as the mystery of the Trinity is that which sheds light on all things, so the mystery of the Immaculate Conception is that which sheds light on the mystery of both creation and redemption.

by Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Archbishop Wenski: “The President Should Honor His Pledge”

Archbishop Wenski: Reveals Long List of How President
Obama’s “Promises Are Not Being Kept”

This is a “frontal assault”

“This is Unacceptable”
Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Miami Archdiocese

In May 2009, President Obama gave the commencement address at Notre Dame University and received an honorary degree. That Notre Dame would confer an honorary degree on an elected official who advances abortion rights in contradiction to Catholic teaching caused no small controversy among many Catholics throughout the United States.

Those who supported Notre Dame felt vindicated, however, when in his speech the president promised to “honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion,” stating that his administration would provide “sensible” protections for those who wanted no involvement in the procedure. This would presumably include healthcare providers, social-service providers, and consumers who might otherwise have to pay through their healthcare plans for other people’s abortions.

Obama later reiterated this position to Catholic newspaper editors, stating that he would make such protections “robust.”

Fast forward to late 2011, and the record shows that the president’s promises are not being kept. In fact, it seems that pro-life Catholics such as Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak and the Catholic Health Association’s Sister Carol Keenan — who trusted the administration’s position that abortion was not part of the healthcare bill — along with Notre Dame’s leadership have been played by the president.

His administration is running roughshod over conscience protection provisions long part of the law that find their justification in the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion, a foundational human right. It is one thing for an administration to support and promote an agenda; it is quite another to force those who disagree with it to violate their moral and religious principles.

The long line of evidence is disturbing. As a first step, the administration reversed earlier regulations enforcing federal conscience laws, stating instead that it would pursue the same goals by educational outreach on rights of conscience.

In the final healthcare bill passed in March 2010, traditional protections for conscience rights were omitted; instead, a provision was included that would subjugate conscience rights to federal and state “emergency” service laws. In other words, any abortion declared an “emergency” (broadly defined) by a government requires a health-care provider’s full cooperation, regardless of his or her views on the matter.

Moreover, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a rule which will require almost all health plans to include coverage for sterilization and contraception — including abortifacient drugs. This will force almost all employers — including Catholic organizations — to pay for such procedures, regardless of any moral objections. HHS seemingly wants to regard fertility as a disease — and elective abortion subsidized by the taxpayer as healthcare.

The most recent frontal assault on conscience rights has come in the form of federal contracts and grant announcements, which have begun to require grantees to help provide all legally permissible family planning and obstetric/gynecological services, regardless of the provider. A large number of grants under the State Department’s AIDS program, for example, now require “integration” with family planning and “reproductive health” services, ignoring the conscience clause the program’s authorizing statute passed by Congress.

When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently said it could not meet a similar requirement inserted into an HHS grant announcement for services to human trafficking victims, and pointed out that the requirement violates existing federal conscience laws, its funding was discontinued — hurting victims of human trafficking since few if any other entities have the track record and nationwide capacity to serve them.

Catholic social and healthcare providers — the largest private network in the nation — are at risk of being left out of all federal programs, despite their well-earned reputation for providing superlative service to the American public. In effect, the Obama administration is telling these Catholic providers to surrender their conscience rights and their Catholic ethos or shut their doors.

Regardless of one’s position on the morality of abortion, we — and elected officials on both sides of the aisle — should be concerned with these developments. If religious and conscience rights of some Americans can be violated by the government, everyone else’s rights are also in jeopardy.

This is unacceptable, for it undermines our nation’s promise of “freedom and justice for all.” The president should honor his pledges to U.S. Catholics — and other Americans — and instruct his agencies to reverse course and protect conscience rights.

BY Archbishop Thomas Wenski
www.miamiarch.org