Advent

Advent

Here we are in the third week of Advent. Here in NH we have snow on the ground and it’s freezing cold. 8 degrees right now and -7 this morning. We love the snow because it’s a Christmas tradition the “White Christmas”.

The other day I was watching an EWTN show “Conversations with Cardinal Dolan” and Elizabeth Ficocelli was a guest author and speaker who talked about the season of Advent. Elizabeth talked about her Six Tips to keep the Advent Season Holy. She uses the word Advent as an acronym for her tips.

A= Adoration, spend time with God in the presence of the Eucharist.

D= Divine Word, spend time with the holy scripture.

V= Virgin Mary, remember who is the model of virtue and Christian discipline and our intercessor with Jesus. 

E= Examination of the conscious, be sure to get to confession before Christmas

N= Neighborly, what can you do for others this Advent season? Give to the poor, charity etc. We are the hands, feet and heart of Jesus.

T=Traditions, celebrate through participating in Advent traditions, Jesse tree, advent wreath, special foods, music, lights on your house or window sills, etc.

Merry Christmas

Paula

Sacraments

After experiencing chest pain again, and progressively worse, I got checked into the emergency room of our local hospital. I went through the standard protocol of EKG, heart monitor, blood work etc. At 59 years of age and having several risk factors, they kept me overnight and I stayed hooked up to a heart monitor. This was actually comforting, knowing that care was only a few steps away. While resting in my hospital room, my blood pressure readings were normal for the rest of the night. They were the lowest numbers I can ever remember. The next day I was scheduled for a stress test. The next morning, Dec. 12^th , the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I was so happy to have a visit from one of my parish priests who also has the hospital ministry. Father Maurice prayed over me and with me. He also presented me with the sacrament of Communion (the Eucharist) and the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. I was so much filled with joy and feeling fearless in the palm of God’s hand. After having that 1:1 time with the priest who is in the role of Jesus and receiving the sacraments at my bedside, I felt I could not have been more ready to let go of this life and meet God. Now the day before, prior to the chest pain and going to the ER, I attended mass, received Communion and went to Confession after mass (total 3 Sacraments). I was ready to meet God, but He was not ready for me, so here I am writing about it, still on the potters wheel. 

Thank you God that I passed the stress test, quite pitifully, but good enough to get released from the hospital. Thank you for the "taste of heaven" in receiving Your sacraments and TLC.

The Bible tells us to always be ready to meet God. Matthew 42-44,

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

 Whether it is Jesus’s second coming or your death, we will all face God. I certainly want to be ready, just as I felt ready Monday morning. More than anything I want to hang on to that feeling of readiness, that closeness to God and stay fortified though the Eucharist and repentance. How does one keep that feeling of readiness day in and day out, when faced with all kinds of trials? One thing I know is to keep your eyes and mind on God.

God has blessed me so much in this past week with friends who have prayed with me and for and sending Father Maurice to bless me in the hospital. I truly feel like a beloved daughter of the King of the Universe.

I find Saint Paul’s letter to the Corinthian Church, a source of strength and wisdom. The church at Corinth was struggling and St. Paul’s words helped to set them on the right track and unify their church.

2 Corinthians 4:7-11 and 16-18

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 

16 Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

God Bless and Merry Christmas

Paula

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a sacrament is “an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit”. 

Holy Communion

This morning I am reading Saint Faustina’s Diary, page 494 (1395), and I here is what the Lord shared with Saint Faustina about Holy Communion:

“I desire to unite Myself with human souls; My great delight is to unite Myself with souls. Know, My daughter, that when I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay any attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things. Oh, how sad I am that souls do not recognize Love! They treat me as a dead object. “

One cannot help but feel convicted of the times they receive Holy Communion in a distracted state of mind. Just yesterday I was talking with a fellow parishioner after mass about this, and we both shared our struggles in trying to get into a right state of mind and heart to reverently receive Holy Communion. We both shared that we sit up front in church to minimize the distractions of the other parishioners and how people are such a big distraction. If I sat in the back of the church, I would spend the whole mass looking at people. People captivate my attention and my weak spirit struggles with shutting out the world and focusing on the spirit of God. In addition, I need to close my eyes after receiving Holy Communion, because again, I will be distracted by the people coming up to the front of the church and receiving Holy Communion. It seems, no matter how hard I try to focus on the beauty of the mass and the great gift that we receive (body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus), I am still battling with my flesh and the world. I find I do better at week day masses when it’s much quieter and less people to be distracted by.

I like to get to church early, when I am in a more focused state and have some time for personal prayer. Once the first hymn is sung, it is a struggle. Thank goodness we have the cloistered religious to pray for this world. I am sure that the isolation from the world and frequent moments of prayer throughout the day is the best way to be in a position to receive all of the graces that God wants to give the soul.

I know that beating yourself up about this problem is not the answer. Even the religious (people who belong to faith communities: priests, nuns, monks, etc.), have issues similar to mine and they advise us to just keep pulling yourself back when you recognize that you are getting sidetracked.

Anyone who is reading this and is not a Roman Catholic, may have no idea what I am talking about. Jesus wants ALL people to come to Him and receive this gift of His divinity. Holy Communion is a mystery to all of us, because it is supernatural. So much about being a Catholic relies on our faith and belief in the Word of God (the Bible). Holy Communion is central to being a Catholic. If you read Saint Faustina’s diary, you will begin to understand the relationship of Jesus, Holy Communion and souls (that would us, souls).

God Bless

Paula

Dairy, Divine Mercy in My Soul, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, original Polish Diary copyright 1981 Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy

Saint Faustina's Poetry

In the Catholic world, we are in the year of Mercy. God’s mercy is evident through the bible, however, in the 1930’s sister Faustina, under the counsel of the Lord, Jesus, wrote the Divine Mercy Chaplet. At that time, Sister Faustina (now Saint Faustina Kowalska) was a young Polish woman with very little formal education. You would never know that from reading her diary, Divine Mercy of My Soul, which is packed with incredible wisdom, discernment and poetry. All things are possible when God is the directing your life.

About 12+ years ago I was introduced to Saint Faustina and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, at a presentation at my church. I felt blessed with this new knowledge of God’s mercy and the way God has reached out to the world through Saint Faustina. I purchased the diary and read about half of the diary. For whatever reason that I don’t remember, I put the book back on my bookshelf. Fast forward to 2016, the Year of Mercy. On several recent occasions, I have found myself focusing on this book which is on my bookshelf in the living room and wondering why I never finished reading the diary. Last week I looked at the book, got up, took it off the shelf and picked up where I left off 12+ years ago. I have been immersed in this reading since and feel that the Holy Spirit has been nudging me in this direction for some time now. It was during my morning prayer time, when apparently I was open minded enough to the let the Holy Spirit in and responded to God’s will. Following God’s will is a gift, as always and reading this diary is a glimpse of the mercy that God has for us, if we only listen and believe.

Below is one of the many poems that are in this diary. I especially enjoyed this poem and could relate to the feeling of being an exile in this world.

J.M.J.

With longing I gaze into the starlit sky.

Into the sapphire of fathomless firmaments.

There the pure heart leaps out into find You, O God,

And yearns to be free of the bonds of the flesh.

With great longing, I gaze upon you, my homeland,

When will this, my exile, come to an end?

O Jesus, such is the call of Your bride.
Who suffers agony in her thirst for You.

With longing, I gaze at the footprints of the saints.

Who crossed this wilderness on their way to the fatherland.

They left me the example of their virtue and their counsels.

And they say to me, “Patience, Sister, soon the fetters will break.”

But my longing soul hears not these words.

Ardently it yearns for its Lord and its God,

And it understands not human language,

Because it is enamored of Him alone.

My longing soul, wounded with love,

Forces its way through all created things

And unites itself with infinite eternity,

With the Lord whom my heart has espoused.

Allow my longing soul, O God,

To be drowned in Your Divine Three-fold Essence.
Fulfill my desires, for which I humbly bet You,

With a heart brimming with love’s fires. 

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary, Divine Mercy of My Soul, pages 468-469

God Bless

Paula

Boston's Basilica

Recently my husband and I ventured out for a pilgrimage to Boston's Basilica.

In architecture, the term basilica signifies a kingly, and secondarily a beautiful, hall. ( New Advent, Basilica- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02325a.htm)

I enjoy watching documentaries of the holy lands throughout the world and have felt left out of these experiences because of living in New England. One day I was lamenting that these holy places, particularly Marian shrines were out of my reach due to distance, travel, limited vacation time and money. I went online to look for Catholic shrines in New England and was pleasantly surprised that were many day trip or weekend destinations right here in NE. I started my bucket list and since then we have visited three holy destinations.

 On May 22nd, my husband and I visited Boston's Basilica. We left NH and got on the T outside of Boston and rode the orange line to Roxbury Crossing, and there it was, a short walk from the T station. It certainly was a majestic sight from the outside, but that was nothing compared to the beauty of this basilica on the inside. It was breathtaking, and I had a hard time focusing on the mass because I was so overwhelmed with the beauty of the architecture and artwork of the church. This was a historical moment for me as I had never been in a basilica or any church so large and beautiful. To top that off, we were blessed with a visiting choir from Toronto. At the end of the mass, the Alleluia that was sung was the most heavenly Alleluia I have ever heard.

The Boston Basilica is a shrine to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The church is well known for the healings that have happened there and you will see containers of crutches from people that were healed there. While I was there, I filled out a petition to our Lady of Perpetual Help and prayed for my personal and family needs. An older man approached me while I was in that shrine area and told me it "was all true". I must have looked like a tourist. He told me a story that he witnessed in the 1950's, where a person in a wheelchair was cured and walked out of the church.

I have attached a picture that I took that day. Pay close attention to the picture of the altar with a hanging picture of the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Notice the light coming from the altar and above focus on Mary and Jesus in the artwork above the altar. We did not see that light when the picture was taken. The two side areas of the altar that are beaming with light have statues of angels, which can't be seen because of the bright light. When we were sitting at the front of the church, we didn't see this brilliant light that shows up in the photo. I believe this is the presence of God and the presence of His angels that are present at every mass. What a gift it was to later process this photo and see the light.

Psalm 118:26-28New International Version (NIV)

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
    From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
    and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
    up to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
    you are my God, and I will exalt you.

God Bless

Paula

Sleepless in Seattle

Last Saturday night, I decided to tune into the movie, Sleepless in Seattle, the 1993 classic love story. It seemed like a “safe” movie that hopefully would pass my “G” rating preference in movies.

However, very soon into the story I was upset over the story line. The setting is: Tom Hanks (Sam) loses his wife to cancer and he is now a single dad trying to move on with his life with his son Jonah. In this particular scene, Jonah asks his dad what happens to people after they die, and Sam says he doesn’t know. He said he has dreamed about talking to his wife, which makes him think, perhaps there is some afterlife, but then he brushes that off and again says he just doesn’t know. The two look at each other with a look of loss and confusion, end of the scene.

I am thinking this is the worst tragedy of the whole movie and it brings me back to a statement I hear so often in the Christian community when people face trials in their lives, “How do people who don’t know God, deal with these things?” I cannot imagine waking up and thinking that there is nothing but what is in front of me every day and when I die, that’s it, the story is over. How depressing is that thought? I know the truth and I know my family and friends that have gone before me are watching over me right now and I will see them again, when God calls me home. Best of all is to meet Jesus face to face and enter the eternal kingdom that he has ready for each one of us who believe.

I remember watching this movie when it first came out and enjoying it and not noticing all of its secular messages of atheism and the worldly accepted immorality of sex outside of marriage. That was back in the days when I was wrapped up in reading secular novels, watching prime time TV shows, and watching the latest movie. I was all wrapped up in a world that did not have a place for God, except on Sundays to attend mass. After mass, I went right back to my secular life. Things have changed for me since then and I gave up the secular novels and movies and focus on reading God’s Word. The veil of the secular world is being lifted from my sight and I am beginning to see the world for what it really is. It’s quite painful to see how blind I was, and it is necessary every day, to keep turning to God for the truth and the path to eternal life.

The world we live in is difficult at best for many and for those of us that are blessed with all of the earthy comforts of the developed world; we still suffer in many ways due to our fragile human nature. I like to keep in mind that we are exiles of this world and until we reach the eternal kingdom of heaven, we will suffer through many trials, some brought on by our own sinfulness, and some brought on by the sinfulness of others. We know the end of the story and we just have to persevere and pray every day for God’s love, mercy and forgiveness.

Spiritual Marriage

Today I want to share another excerpt from Saint Therese of Lisieux's, autobiography, The Story of a Soul. Saint Therese entered a Carmelite Monastery when she was only 15 years old. She is known for her simple and humble personality, and is referred to  as the “little flower”. The religious community that she joined, along with several of her biological sisters, is a cloistered community, which means they participate in contemplative prayer and do not interact with the outside community. This story of hers shows the creativity of her youth and devotion and love for God.

The story begins when Therese’s newly married cousin visits Therese at the monastery (of course, people could visit them, but they do not go out into the world). Her cousin is filled with the excitement of being newly married and shares stories of her husband and her joy in her marriage. It seems this encounter sparked Therese to think about her recent spiritual union/marriage and devotion to serving God (by joining the community). Women who join religious communities devote their lives to praise, worship and service to God, and they are considered to be “spouses of Jesus”, in a spiritual sense as opposed to an “earthy” marriage between men and women.

Therese “amused herself” by creating this endearing wedding invitation and shared it with her community to “bring home to them: the glory of earthy unions cannot compare with the glory of being the Spouse of Jesus:

ALMIGHTY GOD

The Creator of Heaven and Earth,

And Ruler of the World

And

THE MOST GLORIOUS VIRGIN MARY

Queen of the Court of Heaven

Invite you to the Spiritual Marriage of the August

Son

JESUS, KING OF KINGS, and LORD OF LORDS

With

Little Therese Martin

Now Lady and Princess of the Kingdoms of the Childhood and Passion of Jesus, given in dowry by her Divine Spouse from whom she holds her titles of nobility OF THE CHILD JESUS and OF THE HOLY FACE.

It was not possible to invite you to the Wedding Feast celebrated on Mount Carmel on the 8^th September, 1890, only the Celestial Choir being admitted.

You are nevertheless invited to the Bride’s AT HOME, tomorrow, the Day of Eternity, when Jesus, the Son of God, will come in splendor on the clouds of Heaven to Judge the Living and the Dead.

The hour being uncertain, please hold yourself in readiness and watch."

(The Story of  Soul, page 119)

God Bless,

Paula

The Story of a Soul

I am reading, for the second time this week, "The Story of a Soul", an autobiography by St. Therese of Lisieux. St. Therese's story is in my opinion, different from so many of the other stories of saints who did amazing things in the lives. Recently, I was watching a documentary on St. Catherine of Siena and found it overwhelming to comprehend how anyone could have such an influence on so many people and accomplish so many great things, including getting the pope to return to Rome, within a short period of her life. Catherine died at the age of 33, an age where I was just beginning to become enlightened with some spiritual sense. St. Therese's story is very different. Her life is a story of simplicity and humility. St. Therese sees herself as a perpetual child and she talks about her thoughts and feelings about simple things in life that we all struggle with. She has a way of connecting basic day to day life events and feelings to a spiritual level that is very accessible to any reader, at any point in their spiritual life. Throughout this story, I found myself smiling inside and relating to what she is talking about and embracing her attitude of acceptance of our personal flaws. She strived to be a saint from a young age, yet she accepts her shortcomings and finds simple ways to work on the virtues. She particularly speaks to her imperfections of oversensitivity, having scruples, worry and anxiety. In spite of her imperfections she is confident that she will be a great saint,

"I am not relying on my own merits, because I haven't any. I hope in Him who is Virtue and Sanctity itself: He alone, content with my frail efforts, will lift me up to Himself, clothe me with his Own merits , and make me a saint." (Saint Therese, Story of a Soul, pg. 48)

Later in story St. Therese talks about doing penance for God.

"I do not mean the sort of penance the Saints undertake. I was not like those grand souls who practice all kinds of penances from childhood. My mortification consists in checking my self-will, keeping back an impatient word, doing little things for those around me without their knowing, and countless things like that." (Saint Therese, Story of a Soul, pg. 100)

I find her story both down to earth and spiritually refreshing. In this world, there is so much pressure for achievement, status, and to accomplish "important things. As St. Therese's sister told her, "Because you have an extremely simple soul; however, it will be even more simple when you become perfect. The closer we come to God, the more simple we become." (pg105).
My advice to you my brothers and sisters is to let go of the world and let God in.

God Bless

Paula

Praying the Rosary with Mother Angelica

I want to share with you an excerpt from Mother Angelica's recently published book, "Praying with Mother Angelica Meditations on the Rosary, the Way of the Cross, and other Prayers". I have most of Mother Angelica's books and ordered this book, the day after Easter. On Easter Sunday, Mother finally got to go home to God, after a very long time of suffering. I have been listening to Mother on EWTN for at least the past decade and she has been a huge influence in my life in so many ways. Mother has the ability to bring the Word of God to you in a simple yet deep way through her stories and the life she led and shared with us through her TV show and in her writings. She takes the truths of the bible that are often difficult to understand and talks about them using humor, stories, examples of her life, and through the everyday life and struggles of her viewers and audience. When you watch Mother Angelica Live you hear stories from people that often have the same struggles and crosses in their lives that you and I have. Mother will pray for them and offer her advice, or even just acknowledge their pain, which in itself is consoling. Many times I have heard stories on Mother's show that made me realize that I am not alone in my struggles and Mothers advice and prayers have been a comfort in dealing with my woundedness.

I love Mother Angelica's books because I can hear her voice in the text which rings clear after so many years of listening to her on TV. Fortunately EWTN continues to run her previous episodes so we can still watch her shows. I think Mother Angelica is going to be the new Bishop Fulton Sheen of the 21st century. Of course, nobody can replace Bishop Fulton Sheen, an amazing and captivating man of God who produced the first award winning Catholic TV shows in the 1950's. I still watch reruns of Bishop Fulton Sheen on EWTN and YouTube. The messages Mother Angelica and Bishop Fulton Sheen have for the world, are priceless and timeless.

Back to the Rosary. For decades I have heard and read about the importance of praying the rosary. I believed in the meaning of the rosary, but I had a really hard time getting myself to actually pray the rosary. I didn't grow up with the rosary and only discovered this gem later in my adult life. It was a struggle in the beginning and my time trying to pray the rosary felt so empty and boring. I tried just praying one decade a day and that really didn't help. I felt bad that I eventually didn't want to pray the rosary. Finally, I prayed to God to help me with this problem. Eventually, a friend gave me a list of scripture passages corresponding to the mysteries of each decade. That helped immensely and the richness of this prayer finally began to sink in. Now I look forward to this prayer time.

Since then I have acquired several meditations on the rosary, with Mother's Angelica’s being the most recent. This week I read Mother's meditation on the Luminous Mysteries and was in awe of her meditations on the fifth mystery, the institution of the Eucharist. Here it is:

" I live because of the Eucharist. There's no prayer so high; there's no ecstasy so sublime; no work so great; there's no suffering so severe; there's nothing to compare with that moment when I and the Trinity- Almighty God through Jesus, Your Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit- are one. It is the greatest gift You could ever give us.

And yet in the moments before you instituted the most previous gift, Your apostles disputed who was the greatest. Lord God, help me to abandon the preoccupations that seem so important to me as I approach You in the Eucharist, as on Calvary.

You humbled Yourself by becoming man, by permitting Yourself to suffer, and now by masking Your unparalleled glory in the form of a small piece of bread- all so that I can have You inside of me.

Lord God, if I truly appreciate the majestic humility of the Eucharist, if I fully grasped the opportunity to participate in Your very nature, it would change my life forever. Strengthen my love and my gratitude for this tremendous gift. Give me the faith to understand that the Eucharist makes everything possible."
(Mother Mary Angelica, 2016, pages 52-53)

God Bless,

Paula

Happy Solemnity of the Annunciation

May we, like Mary, find joy in saying "yes" to God.

Happy Solemnity of the Annunciation, Apostles of Prayer! pic.twitter.com/zdDj5UWw3A

— ApostleshipOfPrayer (@aposprayer) April 4, 2016

The ABC’s of Divine Mercy

Yesterday I participated in a Divine Mercy service at the Carmelite Monastery, in Concord, NH. The Carmelite Monastery is the designated “Holy Door” in the Capital Deanery. The Holy Door pilgrimage is part of the Jubilee Year of Mercy and Catholics are encouraged to pass through the Holy Door. The number one Holy Door is in Rome and the significance of the Holy Door is the passage from this world into the presence of God and profession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Lord, and the Savior who suffered, died and rose for our salvation. “With great courage, a person freely decides to cross the threshold, leaving behind the kingdom of this world so as to enter the new life of grace of the Kingdom of God.” (Catholic Straight Answers). For those who probably won’t make it to Rome this year, contact your deanery to find out where the appointed “Holy Door” is located.

The church was full to capacity and the service was beautiful. One thing I would like to share here is the simple message that was repeated, “the ABC’s of Divine Mercy”. From a teacher's perspective, this struck a familiar chord. In education, we are always looking for ways to scaffold learning and using the ABC’s is a type of mnemonic, memory aid to improve learning.

ASK for his mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.

BE merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others as He does to us.

COMPLETELY trust. God wants us to know that the graces of HIS mercy are dependent on our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.

God Bless,

Paula

Risen

Last Saturday we saw the new epic bible story “Risen”, which takes place during holy week and ends with Jesus’s Ascension. The movie starts out with Roman soldiers in a brutal battle with the Judeans. The movie depicts life in the holy land similar to the Bible series A.D, with the extreme violence of the Romans and the persecution of Jesus's followers by the Pharisees. Jesus and his disciple were constantly on the move and had no safe haven. The movie focused on a Roman solider, Clavius, who experienced a conversion when he was put to the task to find the missing Jesus. I thought the whole theme of the movie, and the conversion story was just perfect for today. Clavius worshiped the Roman gods, but he was intelligent, or perhaps it was the Holy Spirit working in him, and he began to think outside the box and believe in the possibility of the resurrected Christ. The evidence was unfolding for Clavius and then he meets the resurrected Jesus.
I won’t tell the whole story, but I did enjoy the movie and the ending and how they depicted the ascension of Jesus. Jesus, his disciples, and Clavius were on a mountain together when they noticed that Jesus was walking away from them. Jesus turns around and waves to them and then continues to walk away. Light begins to circle around Him and it gets brighter and covers the horizon. You can still see Jesus at the center of the light for awhile, and then a blast of light fills the sky and the He is gone. 

http://www.risen-movie.com/ 

The next morning was Palm Sunday, and the mass readings came to life in a new way for me. As a teacher, I know that emotional learning is resilient and lasting. This new and dramatic story of Jesus’s life, meshed with the teachings of the church, reinforces God’s mercy and for all people.

The Media

I have recently discovered a new Catholic television station that broadcasts out of Boston, MA, CatholicTV. Now I am toggling between my all-time favorite EWTN and CatholicTV. This week I watched a couple of awesome Lenten specials, the last seven words and the Stations of the Cross. I am so thankful for Catholic media and happy that they are branching out to TV, radio, apps, Twitter, Facebook, and email. Basically Catholic media are now competing for our attention in the same places as the world. Who doesn’t want to sit back and relax at the end of the day or anytime, and tune in to something inspiring. One of my biggest regrets in life is that EWTN was broadcasting for about 10 years before I discovered them.

About three years ago I read a book “I See Far” ,which had a profound and lasting effect on my view of the media. The book is heavy with prophecy and claims messages from the Blessed Mother. I do encourage you to read this book that you can download for free: “I See Far” at http://www.medjugorje.com/download/books/141-I+See+Far.html . It is well worth getting over the prophetic claims that may a challenge to believe and focus on the evidence that the author presents. The bottom line is the author has a vast amount of information about how the media/TV affects the way we live, think, feel and act.

Did you know that in 1986 Pope John Paul ll called for a fast from TV. From his balcony, he announced. “In families the television seems to substitute rather than facilitated dialogue among people.” After reading “I See Far” in the fall of 2013, I discussed with my husband Paul, the possibility of us fasting from TV. Miraculously, he agreed with me. He hadn’t read the book and he’s not a Catholic. That had to be divine intervention. So for the entire winter we didn’t watch TV. I think Paul put the news/weather on a few times because he is a snowmobile rider, and the sport is dependent on the weather.
It was so quiet at night. We read a lot, I took up knitting and we went to bed a lot earlier. By early spring I was really missing ETWN and we discussed just watching EWTN and he could watch his car shows. Being away from TV brought us back to a normal moral position and now if we think about the shows that we once thought were OK, we now know they are not OK. They are full of immorality. Mainstream TV desensitizes you to all that is good and moral and from God. You have to get away from it for a significant period of time to see it for what it really is. Occasionally, Paul will be watching a car show and a commercial will come on advertising a series program. I am continually shocked at the depravity that seems to be building at an exponential rate, in the short number of years since we stopped watching mainstream TV. My only exposure is through commercials and the ads that get thrown at me from my internet and email provider and other places on the internet where web hosts stoop to earning money by selling ad space on the web. It’s very difficult to avoid 100%.

Please turn away from the evil that is on TV, that is trying to convince you that what is from satan is the new normal. Either turn it off completely or strictly censor what you and your family expose themselves to.

 PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD and Fast from secular TV.

Ephesians 6:10-18

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

God Bless

Paula

Examen App

Father Michael J. Denk, a Jesuit priest has developed an app to help you pray more effectively by walking you through the 5 main steps of the The Examination of Consciousness prayer which is based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. I learned of this app while watching EWTN on Friday this week. Father Michael was on a show talking about this app. I had it downloaded onto my iPhone and then iPad before the talk was over. I just love it. It is very easy to use and you can set a reminder for a convenient  morning and evening time to remind you to pray. Remember, prayer is just talking to God. The app walks you through the 5 parts of the examen prayer with prompts and beautiful backgrounds and scripture. There is a build in journal for you to record your reflections within each of the 5 sections of the prayer. I have only been doing this for a couple of days and already I can see how this reflective prayer is helping me to seek the Lords presence throughout the day. The prayer contains these five sections.

1. Gratitude- remember all of the blessings of the day.
2. Petition- ask God for the grace to see whatever He wants you to see.
3. Discernment- ask the Father to help you realize when you were with Him and when you were moving away- and other things.
4. Forgiveness- admit anything you are sorry for and experience His mercy.
5. Resolution-make some practical, concrete, and doable resolutions for the day. I like this one day at-a-time focus. 

The idea is brilliant and perfect for people like me who are very much connect to our devices. Bravo Father Michael for developing this simple, yet powerful way to draw me close to God, using a tool that I work and live with. 

You can find the app at the iTunes store- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/examen-prayer/id899720088?mt=8
It's FREE :-)
You can go to http://www.theprodigalfatherproductions.org/app/ and watch a video overview of the app.

God Bless, Paula