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The Assumption Of Mary

On August 15th, the Catholic church celebrates the Assumption of Mary. The Orthodox church celebrates Mary’s Assumption later in August. It is also celebrated by the Anglican church and by many Lutheran churches.

The Assumption of Mary is a public holiday in these countries: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, France, parts of Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland.

Mary our Blessed Mother’s died in Ephesus, which was originally a Greek settlement and later became part of modern day Turkey. She died and was placed in the Grotto. Her Soul went first to Heaven and then Her body was Assumed into Heaven as well.

It’s hard to imagine how happy God must have been to see Her! She had suffered so much. And yet, She was always Willing. Especially close to the Holy Spirit, Mary was always Willing to do as our Father, Her Son Jesus or the Holy Spirit Willed. She helped Jesus’ Apostles and the early church so much and made a very real difference!

And even though She missed her Son Jesus so very much, She constantly loved His people and gave Her love and Help to all of them with unceasing Grace!

Today, Mary, our Blessed Mother, can help us in so many ways. One very important way is that She points the way to Her Son, and She can help to enrich our Faith in Jesus so very much 🙂

Never be afraid to call on Mary. She is Jesus’s Mother. She is our Mother. She loves us all as only a Mother can. And She will help us on our journey as we Follow Jesus Home.

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Going Home To Heaven :)

We are so grateful that Jesus came and that we can go to Home to Heaven. But what is Heaven really like? We don’t talk about Heaven nearly enough in church, or anywhere else for that matter. But we should. We need too!

First of all, Heaven is much closer than we think :). If we could see those who went to Heaven before us; we could reach out and touch them. For those who are still on earth, we can talk to those in Heaven. You see when God said not to talk to the dead, He meant the dead in spirit. Those in Heaven are very much ALIVE!

And when we go to Heaven, we don’t stop loving those we love. And even better, we can keep praying for them!

But what is Heaven like for those who are there? Do you remember the Garden of Eden. We may have first learned of it as children. The Garden was filled with all kind of trees. These trees grew many types of food that were good for eating. Heaven has this same Garden, plus many other things.

Flowers so fragrant that they create great happiness for all those who walk among them. A great river, so long and wide that there is plenty of room for all of us. And a river so clean, we can drink right from it! Mountains, animals, beautiful fields and flowers…There will be great adventures, deep friendships and hugs beyond belief…

And most of all, we will live with God. His Light will shine on us, lighting our days , for there will be no more night. There will be no more fear or worry. Only Happiness and Peace for all eternity.

So when the going gets tough, just remember that your place in Heaven is assured. For all those who accept Jesus and Follow Him will spend eternity in Heaven. God’s Great Gift to us 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

God’s Grace

““My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.””- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Have you ever been in a position where you prayed for a particular outcome and it just didn’t happen?

Perhaps you or someone you love is sick. And even after all your sincere prayers, the suffering continues. Perhaps the person even leaves for Heaven, leaving you alone and lonely.

That is what one of the situations “My Grace is sufficient” is for. Sometimes the suffering seems too much . But God is there and He will not allow you to have more than you can handle-with His Help :).

And God will only let us suffer so much. And although we sometimes feel that it is too much, it never is. Because God WILL provide the Comfort and Strength that we need, if we only ask Him for it in Jesus’ Name 🙂

So if today is the day that you are suffering in any way, hang in there. God’s Grace IS sufficient.

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

The Sparrow :)

“²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”-Matthew 10:29-31

While praying the Rosary for those who are suffering in Ukraine, I saw a Sparrow and was reminded of these verses. We suffer no hurt, no loss that Jesus does not see.

“Whenever good comes in contact with evil-there is suffering.” – Father Benedict, The Rosary Is A Place

We need not fear 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

God Loves Us More Than We Can Imagine!

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.'” – Isaiah 53:5

How much Jesus suffered! How much our Father and the Holy Spirit suffered. Can you imagine watching your only son suffering in that way? Or how much Mary must have suffered watching Her only Son suffer so! And yet, they loved us more!

Mary knew that Her Son would suffer for our sins. This was our Father’s Plan, so He knew. And Jesus knew, and came Willingly. And the Holy Spirit knew. God loved us that much! They were willing to suffer so, so that we would not have too.

We are healed and at peace, because Jesus was willing to endure our punishment. And because Jesus endured our punishment, not only do we get to go home to Heaven, but He created a Bridge between us and our Father! Heaven may be in the future, but the Bridge is now 🙂

The Father, Jesus & the Holy Spirit, and Mary, love us more than we can imagine!

St. Bernadette of Lourdes once said, “we are nothing, but to God we are everything!” She was right.

Prepare, Pray and Be Ready!

God Loved Us More :)

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” – Isaiah 53:3

It’s hard to imagine how difficult this really was for God our Father, to watch His Only Son suffer so! The closest I can come is to think about just how much I suffer when either one of my children suffer even a little. And if they suffer a lot, I am in panic mode, lol, and on my knees :).

I can only imagine how much God loved His Son! And how much He suffered for Him.

And yet, God loved us more!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Please Holy Spirit, Open Our Eyes

Please open our eyes Holy Spirit. Help us to see the Truth, God’s Truth. Amen 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Believe!

Shades Of Gray

The world may try to convince us that there is no true “right and wrong”. Some in our government and media may indeed believe that all actions are justified; that there are many shades of gray. But this is not true!

One has only to pick up God’s Word and read it, to understand that there are indeed absolute “right and wrongs”. And Jesus was absolutely clear in all that He said and taught us. Our God is not a God of confusion.

We can, and should, have compassion for those who fall short of God’s Commands. In fact, we should have that same compassion for ourselves. But we don’t get to deny that we have fallen short.

There is something we can do though. We can ask God to forgive us in the Name of Jesus Christ. Jesus suffered on the Cross so that we might be forgiven. Other than blaspheming the Holy Spirit, while we are alive, there is no sin that Jesus will not forgive.

But when we die, our time will be ended and we will be Judged. Our name will be in the Book of Life, or it won’t. We will go to Heaven, or we won’t.

“^‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” – Jesus speaking in Matthew 7:21-23

“But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”-Revelation 21:27

I am so grateful that Jesus came so that our sins might be forgiven. So that our sins might be as “far as the east is from the west”. Jesus gave us a great Gift, but that Gift needs to be accepted. If we want Jesus to forgive us our sins so that we might go to Heaven, then we need to Accept Jesus and Follow Jesus home 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

I Just Want You Jesus

This video takes a moment to load, but it is so worth it! It is an incredible prayer!

Be The Light!

Darkness!

“For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you.” – Isaiah 60:2

What is darkness really? Is is so many things: war, poverty, persuading others to hate one another, manipulating the people to do wrong, the media reporting that which they know not to be true, it’s the government ignoring its own laws, it’s lawlessness, it’s the rise of transgenderism and gay marriage, it’s abortion, it’s teachers and parents who not only fail to protect the innocence of our youth, but pervert it! It’s the rise of the occult and witchcraft. And that names just a few!

Where evil flourishes, darkness grows.

And make no mistake, we are either pursuing good or we are pursuing evil. We are growing in our relationship with Jesus, or we are falling away.

However, no matter where we are, the only way to protect ourselves and our families, is to ask God for Help. And God will Help us, because He loves us

Life may not be easy, but it will be worth it!

Be The Light

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!