That was a quote from a family member last night "you are mad totally bonkers" was the exact quote.. I think all of us have been in the same position and receive the same abuse when we speak out and when we can no longer hold our tongue after listening to a family member tell a story at a family gathering, I was in that position last night when I listened to my sister tell how she had went to a clairvoyant etc etc, I felt the anger boil in me and then I couldn't sit quiet, I am the youngest in my family so sitting quiet is something I learned to do well I stopped her in mid flow of her story as we sat at the restaurant table it was a mic dropping moment when I said to her " you do realise that you will have to see a priest now " a giggle went round the table which infuriated me more, So I ranted a little bit on the dangers of clairvoyance and of course eyes rolled and a few tut tut's, She went to continue with her story and at that point I politely excused myself from the table saying that when she had finished spouting satan's lies that I would gladly return to finish dinner.. So yes I am totally bonkers, absolutely 100% mad and insanely proud to walk with Jesus..
You have my sympathy. I think I am referred to as the 'religious' one in the family and that is the polite term goodness knows what is said behind my back. We are bonkers for opposing almost all of societies liberal values. Soon we will be a minority within a minority. The Church is becoming more secularized so to many priests and parishoners our views are also bonkers!!
Mark 3:21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." View attachment 6043
To Padraig: two questions please: I created 4 threads "to start a conversation" and 6 people are involved, me including: is 6 the maximum ? I also would like to merge all those 4 threads into 1 thread. Is that possible ? I know I should not have created 4 but only 1, bit I did not know at that moment how to proceed. Thank you very much for your "light" !
No Elisa you can have as many involved as yu want, thousands if you like. I do not know a way to , merge threads of conversations, if there is one. The only thing I can suggest is to start a new thread or conversation as you like.
Quis-ut-deus: regarding your thread here: yes it is terrible when you see your own family trapped in lies. When people are talking about "mediums", I first explain to them what I experienced when I met a possessed person to make them realize that the devil exists. Then I explain how the devil proceeds through mediums etc.: how he tells the truth mixed with lies etc and then only at the very end of my story, I explain them why only a priest can "close the door". When you say to them: "Satan lies", they do not understand it, because they think that the devil does not exist. They really need explanations as if they were kids... I think you got irritated and emotional because it is your sister. I understand, I understand.... But do not worry, new opportunities will be given. And then, you will HIT a score and leave the rest to GOD. Padraig, it also really helps when you ask Jesus to send your sister armies of Angels of Love and Spiritual Understanding. Persist in this and do it several times a day. God bless you.
I think all our saints were pretty well thought to be head cases in one way or another and at one time or another. Though it has to be said some saints had a special charism of being fools for Christ. In this regard St Benedict Joseph Labre , the Patron Saint of Tramps and pilgrims springs to mind.. 1 Corinthians 4:10 Fools for Christ …9For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men. 10We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. 11To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.…
If you go to the head of the thread Elisa you will see that it was not me but John who had this conversation with his family.
Strange, I do not see the bottom "invite others" anymore. I will see tomorrow again. Thanks for the help !
O Good Heaven, I am getting old. Sorry for that. Well I corrected the name. You can now delete your warning and I will delete then this one, so I will not look stupid anymore...
I understand your pain. I still struggle with that fact that I'm not a deacon or at least in the program. I thought it was "teach by example" so I followed church teaching. When I turned around and thought my family was following, they were all gone... I asked for a sign and the answer was... if you don't take care of your own sheep, God will take them away. ( ironic that my last name is Shepard? I took that their not following was that God wanted me to be the best father I could possibly be. Is this a correct thought or am I being deceived by satan? I have stopped moving forward with the deaconite program but still do a lot of God's work at church, parish council, Eucharistic minister, nursing home, & altar server at funerals. My family is closer and sometimes with me at church events but there are many times I'm alone. I actually had a parishioner come up to me and say that they thought I was always alone because my family wasn't Catholic. It's all offered up to the cross but I don't know what to do some days... My wife as a nurse sees horrific events and wonders why the Trinity would let this all continue... but I don't have an answer.
Oh boy, I've been there too. They have no idea the danger that they have exposed themselves to. When they refuse to listen, then praying for them ....and sacrificing for them , might be the only answer. It's amazing to me how anyone can laugh at occult practices. Maybe you could provide her with a good book on this. She needs her eyes opened!
Last year a couple who are friends of my husband invited us to their mass of Christian iniation. They were in their mid forties and had been lifelong atheist. It was the father of the young man who gave him his first communion...as his father has been a Deacon in that same church for years . Soooo, you never know heyshepard
God bless you Quis ut Deus! You did the right thing. The occult is NOTHING to play with--I speak from experience. I won't go into the gory details but seriously, you had to warn her. I have a cousin who is deep into Reiki and I warned her but she was like teflon. Nothing "stuck" of what I said. But I did warn and that's what you did. That's all you can do. And pray of course. And this might make you feel a little better. St. Anthony of Egypt was asked by his followers "What will the latter days be like?" and he answered, "In that time, men will be utterly insane and they will say to you 'you are MAD (bonkers?)! You are not like us.'"
Ah, heyshepherd--I do know what you are speaking of. I've lost my family too and although I didn't receive the word you received, I did "fall asleep at the wheel" at a very important time of their lives--through sinful selfishness. I lost my way for a couple of years, and so they lost theirs. I came back, but so far...I am very very alone in my family these many years. I beg Jesus to "give back the years the locust has eaten" and I pray and hope and try not to worry. I do blame myself, but I took it to the Lord in confession, and I offer up the spiritual anguish of it and I keep praying Rosaries and having Masses said. Just don't lose hope or confidence in yourself because God is always "making all things new" and He can use what we've learned down the road in ways we could never imagine. God bless you.
I love the Russian word for "fool-for-Christ" or "holy fool": yurodivy (юродивый). My favorite saint who was yurodivy was Saint Xenia (or Ksenia) of St. Petersburg. She was the young wife of a military officer who became widowed when her husband died during a Christmas party. Given that the Russian Orthodox consider Advent to be a time of fasting and penance like Lent, this made his death especially scandalous. She had family members take care of her children and went away to a monastery she never identified, and spent several years in spiritual study and growth. When she returned, she gave away all her possessions except her late husband's military great coat and spent the rest of her life praying and performing penances for the repose of her husband's soul. She would spend nights in all sorts of weather outside praying. Late in her life, she was given messages to show that her husband had reached heaven thanks to her actions. She was known as a miracle worker and prophetess during her life. She is the patroness of happy marriages and her devotion to the Theotokos is legendary. Her popularity is such that during the Communist years, hers was the one church that they could not completely close or destroy. ST. XENIA, ORA PRO NOBIS!
So I was at a family party with all of my"catholic" family. My nephew who is in college was sitting next to me drinking a beer (who is underage and wants to become a police officer) right in the midst of his parents. I was a little dumb struck at first, then I turned to him and said, what going on, you're not legal? He responded "oh my parents don't care, I drink at school, its no big deal." I said to him, "but you want to be a police officer, what will you do when someday you come across an underage drinker while on patrol." His response, "I take away the booze away and say have a nice rest of the night." I responded but what if they say you use to drink underage, and he just gave me a weird stupid facial expression like you're out of touch. I don't dare say anything to his parents as I will get the same. its no big deal you're tooo strict. Our kids and adults for that matter don't respect our laws or put themselves above the laws, how can we even hold a conversation in regards to morality and the true teachings of the church with people of this mentality. I remember when I was his age, you were embarrassed and scared to death to get caught for something like that.
so if I pronounced that right it sounds like euro divy ??? well lol Im glad to be a euro divy too Yes and thanks elisa I would take that approach if I thought I was dealing with the uneducated but believe me my sister and co should know better than to involve themselves with clairvoyants, that's what angered me, unfortunately like many many people, she is taking an "oh my religion is so old fashioned approach" God help her and I pray that he will, in fact I think we all need to remember to pray very hard and do penance for our families.
Oh my goodness we are hitting all my issues... My kids will ask me why does God have to hold onto his anger and not forgive satan. He was his favorite Angel...I told them that God would forgive satan if he would ask for forgiveness and Actually change his ways... but he won't. Same with Judas... he wouldn't ask for forgiveness.
