Author: Faith

“Sometimes one forgets that before you can have the Peace Of God, you must have Peace WITH God. The problem IS this: If we don’t believe IN and surrender TO Jesus, we’re effectively the enemy of God. We are at war with God because of our sin, which separates us from Him. We are either FOR Him or AGAINST Him. You don’t want to be at war with God, SO repent and put your faith in Jesus. Feel that HUGE weight being lifted off your shoulders. Find and accept the Peace that God Promises. He Loves you. Share Him. Amen.”

Anonymous

Our Lady of Lourdes was celebrated yesterday (Feb. 11). In 1858, Our Blessed Mother Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in France.

“I raised my head and looked towards the grotto. I saw a Lady dressed in white, wearing a white dress, a blue girdle and a yellow rose on each foot, the same color as the chain of her Rosary.”  

St. Bernadette

Mary asked St. Bernadette to pray for the conversion of sinners and to build a chapel. Mary showed her a spring of water that was Blessed, and Healed so many through the years.

St. Bernadette was attacked, detained and questioned by many and many of us would be afraid. The times in which she lived were also a time where many did not believe in God. Just like the time of Our Lady of Fatima (1917) and just like our time now. But she persevered:

“There was something in me that enabled me to rise above everything.  I was tackled from all sides, but nothing mattered and I was not afraid.”

St. Bernadette

A day is coming when we also will be attacked from all sides, but we can also ask Mary, Our Blessed Mother, to pray for us so that we will be unafraid as we keep following Jesus 🙂

Today is the Feast of Lourdes. At the height of WWI and a week after the Pope prayed for Peace, she appeared to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta Marto . It was a time where many were atheist and agnostic, similar to the world in which we live. She appeared to them from May 13 – October 13, 1917. And today is simply the day we remember Our Blessed Mother Mary’s message to us.

Our Blessed Mother Mary warned us what would happen if we failed to repentand She warned us that the world was in great need of Repentence. And She warned us that we had “offended” God too much! Have we repented? Has our world truly changed?

Lucia saw the horrors of Hell and Mary warned us that if we did not Repent and cease offending God, that is where we would go. Have we?

Mary once again reminded us of the importance of Prayer and the Rosary.  “She asked the children to pray the Rosary daily for world peace, and to offer their daily sufferings and sacrifices in reparation for sins and the conversion of sinners”.  But how much time do we really devote to Prayer and the Rosary?

Mary also warned us that if Russia did not become consecrated to Mary (by the Pope and all of the Bishops), Russia would spread her “errors” throughout the world andthere would be more wars and persecution of the church“. Despite the fact that St. Lucia kept trying, Russia was never fully consecrated to Mary. Because Russia was not, there have been more wars. We have only to look at WWII, Russia and Ukraine…

And those who believe in Jesus and truly Follow Him have been greatly persecuted.

Mary, Our Blessed Mother, warned us because She loves us so much. She wanted to prevent our suffering. Just as we do when we warn our children not to touch a hot stove or run in front of a car. We don’t warn our children to be mean. We warn them because we love them and don’t want them to suffer!

Mary did the same for us. She warned us because She loves us and did not want us to suffer!

Thank you Mary!

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii^[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”-Luke: 10:25-37

We need to treat everyone with Mercy 🙂

“ For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy” – James 2:13

So often we pass by someone in need of Mercy without stopping. And yet, we depend on Jesus to have Mercy on us. But if we want Mercy from Jesus, than we must also give it to others.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:7

“Peace Be Upon This House” is what Jesus told the Apostles to say to homes that truly received them and Christ. And Peace there was 🙂

Our Father God wants to give us Peace. He loves us. And His Peace can help us rise above our fears and our pain. And His Peace can help us rise above our worries and troubles.

All we have to do is ask our Father for His Peace in Jesus’s Name 🙂

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” – Luke 6:32-36

It’s hard sometimes to stop and help a complete stranger or someone we truly dislike. Especially these days. But that does not mean we shouldn’t.

So many are homeless, so many are hungry. So many are hurting, so many are weak. So many need to be encouraged and hugged.

So many need loved.

This is what Jesus calls us to do. “Love our neighbor as ourselves”, and in doing so we love God 🙂

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” -Psalm 51:10

“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation” – Psalm 51:12

We tend to think of the verse “Create in me a clean heart….” as meaning we do not want any sinful thoughts or feelings in our heart. And it does. But it also has another meaning. It means that we need to let go of our worries and our pain. Jesus loves us and wants us to have peace; and the Holy Spirit wants to give us peace. But in order to have that peace, we need to change our focus to God alone :). Trust me, He will take care of us 🙂

There is another verse, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation” – Psalm 51:12. Sometimes life on earth can be hard. And busy! But it’s okay to ask God for joy! He loves us and wants us to have joy!

We can be the Light in the darkness. When we go the grocery, when we go to work, when we go to church. When we take a walk in our neighborhoods, when we walk in the park, when we eat out. We can always shine Jesus’s Light and Love.

For we can always smile and hug someone. Just as we can greet a friend, greet a stranger, greet someone we love. We can even greet our enemy

With Christ’s Love and with our own 🙂

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

In the vision of King Nebuchadnezza, God told us there would be only 4 kingdoms until the “latter days”. The Romans are the 4th Kingdom. And are not the Romans divided?

How many kingdoms are forming now?

And are they not all divided?