I am always curious when people hear the prodigal son parable and see themselves as the older brother. We, the banished children of Eve, ARE the prodigal son. We who need to be redeemed. It is a parable about nothing less than the fall, and God rushing out to meet us IS the plan of salvation, and ultimately is Jesus Christ who became man to bring us back. All are wicked, none are righteous, and pride has no place. I think Pope Francis is manifesting Mercy, not Justice at this time. That is the call that Jesus made to the world before the time of Mercy ends. I know from personal experience that understanding His Mercy is exactly what brought me back to confession and the Eucharist. We need to make sure we then, filled with the Holy Spirit, become instruments of the Father's Love and Mercy. We cannot fail to forgive our debtors when we have been forgiven so much. That is the nature of the parable of the debtors: which is another parable that is about nothing less than the fall, and our need for redemption. In that parable we are the one forgiven our debt, who in turn must choose to forgive (not to exact justice on others, in turn).[/quote] I was wondering who was gonna bust my halo bubble! I think we all think to some degree we're the older son because at least we are trying to save our souls and do good. But I also realize we're the prodigal son in other ways who God is constantly wanting to return home from all our transgressions. I also liken myself to the story where Jesus is speaking to Mary and Martha gets upset because she's doing all the work while Mary chooses the better part. I often think I'm very much like Martha who always thinks "no fair!" because I get stuck with all the work. Thanks for putting me in my place. God Bless!
Another important part of Marks blog is his much needed plea for support. http://www.markmallett.com/blog/ I have thought for a while now that Pope Francis is the Divine Mercy pope by his actions. EWTN mentions the ABC of Divine Mercy. Francis is living the B part. B — 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 just as He does to us.
It's cool. You can do it for me next time I loved the Sacred Heart quote Padraig posted also. You can always recognize the genuine personality of Jesus when it is true. Padraig, where exactly did those words come from? Also, had anyone read "The Way of Divine Love" - Sister Josefa Menendez? It literally blew me away (life changing), and seems to me to be a predecessor to "Divine Mercy In My Soul" - Saint Faustina. Kind of a bridge from the Sacred Heart to the Divine Mercy, yet all of which exhibit a very consistent record of Christ and His personality. The depth of Mercy we are shown, and that which we are called to, jumps off the pages of both.
I believe 'Catholics' who accept things like homosexuality and abortion and yes, social injustice will be going to hell unless they repent. What do you mean by "accept" these things?
I have a hard time not being too loving but then again I think about Jesus when he was here. Was he too loving or a rule follower. I think he was all love and seemed to have a problem with many of the rules or rather the law.
Just a thought, maybe somebody has already brought up , maybe the pope is trying to get the church ready for "the warning"? Mark Mallett wrote a beautiful piece.
I was walking the dogs tonight praying about this and the words, 'Tu es Petrus' came into my head {you are Peter} I believe the Holy Father has been called in a very special way down this road by the Holy Spirit. It as a final miraculous outpouring of God's Mercy to the world. The dam before the deluge,so to speak. I recall the words of the wonderful Saint Alphonsus Ligouri , about God, 'You are mad with love'. Well He certainly is!! Who would have expected this at this late stage? But he is indeed Peter and I follow him loyally. He is the shepherd, we the sheep. God's ways are not ours. Thankfully.
Mark Mallett has done it again: http://www.markmallett.com/blog/misunderstanding-francis/ It is true that Francis’ remarks are not always contextualized and that he frequently leaves his pre-written texts to speak from the heart. But that does not mean that the Pope is, therefore, speaking in the flesh! The Holy Spirit is spontaneous, blowing where he wills. The prophets were such people, and for this, they were stoned by their own people. If it’s getting the Pope into hot water, then I’m sure he’ll hear about it. And if he says something that does in fact appear to be doctrinally unclear, he will be required to clarify it, as millions of faithful, including fellow bishops, will make certain. But in 2000 years, no pope has every pronounced ex cathedra a doctrine contrary to the faith. We need to trust in the Holy Spirit, who continues to guide us “into all truth.”6 It is not the Pope, but the media who are leaving elephant sized droppings in his path. And Catholics are to blame as well. There is a somewhat significant group of otherwise faithful people in the Church who are more intent on following certain private revelations and even false prophecies that say this Pope (irregardless of the facts) is an anti-pope.7 As such, they are casting great doubt and suspicion on the papacy generating confusion and paranoia in undiscerning souls. But there are also Catholics—faithful conservative Catholics—who have read the Pope’s words and understood them, precisely because they too are immersed in “contemplation and adoration.” If Catholics spent more time in prayer and listening to the Spirit, in taking the time to digest entire texts and encyclicals rather than sound bytes and headlines, then they would in fact hear the voice of the Shepherd speaking. No, Jesus has not ceased speaking to or guiding His Church. Our Lord is still in the boat, even if He seems to be sleeping. And He is calling us to wake up. Bravo!!!
One thing the pope gets little credit for, his calling for a day of prayer and fasting which may have saved the world, albeit perhaps temporarily, from WW3. Faith as a child !
"The Way of Divine Love" beautiful! Message of the mercy of Jesus for all, especially those living a sinful life -Some excerpts from the book "The Way of Divine Love" by Josefa Menendez: "The world does not know the mercy of My Heart. I intend to enlighten them through you.… I want you to be the apostle of My love and mercy. " “I would like these [those living with sin] to understand that it is not the fact of being in sin that ought to keep them from Me. They must never think that there is no remedy for them, nor that they have forfeited for ever the love that once was theirs.... No, poor souls, the God who has shed all His Blood for you has no such feelings for you!” “Come all of you to Me and fear not, for I Love you all... I will wash you in My Blood and you shall be made whiter than snow. All of your offences will be submerged in the waters in which I myself shall wash you, nor shall anything whatsoever be able to tear from My Heart its Love for you." "Oh, all you who are steeped in sin, and who for a time more or less long have lived as wanderers and fugitives because of your crimes ... if the offences of which you have been guilty have hardened and blinded your hearts . . . if to grant satisfaction to one or other of your passions you have sunk into evil ways ... Ah! when the motives or accomplices of your sin have forsaken you, and you realize the state of your soul, oh then, do not yield to despair! For as long as a breath of life remains a man may have recourse to mercy and ask for pardon. "If you are still young, if already the scandals of your life have lowered you in the eyes of the world, do not be afraid. . . . Even if there is reason to treat you as a criminal, to insult and cast you off . . . your God has no wish to see you fall into the flames of hell. ... On the contrary He ardently desires you to come to Him so that He may forgive you. If you dare not speak to Him, at least look at Him and let the sighs of your heart reach Him, and at once you will find His kind and fatherly hand stretched out to lead you to the springs of pardon and life. "Should it happen that you have spent the greater part of your life in impiety and indifference, and that the sudden approach of the hour of death fills you with blinding despair . . . Oh! do not let yourself be deceived, for there is still time for pardon. If only one second of life remains to you, in that one second you can buy back eternal life! "If your whole life has been spent in ignorance and error . . . if you have been a cause of great evil to other men, to society at large, or to religion, and if through some set of circumstances you have come to realize that you have been deceived ... do not allow yourself to be crushed by the weight of your sins and of the evil of which you have been the instrument; but with a soul penetrated with deep contrition throw yourself into an abyss of confidence, and hasten to Him who awaits your return only to pardon you. "The case is the same for a soul that has been faithful to the observance of My law from childhood, but who has gradually cooled off into the tepid and unspiritual ways of an easy life. She has so to say forgotten her soul and its higher aspirations. God was asking of her greater efforts, but blinded by habitual failings, she has fallen into tepidity worse than actual sin, for her deaf and drowsy conscience neither feels remorse nor hears the voice of God. " "Then, perhaps, that soul awakens with a shock of realization: life appears to have been a failure, empty and useless for her salvation .... She has lost innumerable graces, and the evil one, loath to lose her, makes the most of her distress, plunges her into discouragement, sadness and dejection ... and finally casts her into fear and despair." "Oh soul whom I love, pay no heed to this ruthless enemy ... but as soon as possible have recourse to Me, and filled with deepest contrition implore My mercy and have no fear. I will forgive you. Take up again your life of fervour, and you will have back your lost merits, and My grace will never fail you. " "Finally, shall I speak to My chosen souls? Supposing that one has spent long years in the constant practice of the Rule and of her religious duties......a soul that I have favoured with My grace and instructed by My counsels . . , a soul long faithful to My voice and to the inspirations of grace . . . and now this soul has cooled in her fervour on account of some petty passion . . . occasions of faults not avoided ... some yielding to the claims of nature and a general relaxation of effort . . . and in consequence has fallen to a lower level . . . to a commonplace kind of life ... then lastly, to give it its true name, tepidity." "If, for one cause or another, you awake from this torpid state, the devil will instantly attack you in every way, jealous of a soul he. hopes to claim. He will try to persuade you that it is too late, and that my effort is useless, he will accentuate your repugnance to make an avowal of your state of soul ... he will, so to speak, throttle you to prevent you from speaking and accepting the light he will do his best to stifle trust and confidence in your soul." "But listen rather to My voice, and let Me tell you how to act: As soon as your soul is touched by grace, and before the struggle has even begun, hasten to My Heart; beg of Me to let a drop of My Blood fall on your soul. . . . Ah! hasten to My Heart . . . and be without fear for the past; all has been swallowed up in the abyss of My mercy, and My love is preparing new graces for you. The memory of your lapses will be an incentive to humility and a source of merit, and you cannot give Me a greater proof of affection than to count on My full pardon and to believe that your sins will never be as great as My mercy, which is infinite. "Remain hidden, Josefa, in the abyss of My love, praying that souls may be filled with the same sentiments." http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2009/12/sister-josefa-menendez-way-of-divine.html
I still keep thinking back to the dream I had after Pope Benedict announced he was stepping down, which I posted here on a dream thread at the time, about being on a ship at night in stormy seas. The detail that keeps coming back to me is that I was being told that the ship's sails needed to be reconfigured so that they could catch the wind properly, and hence turn the ship in a new direction. At the time I saw this as being the change of pope. Now I see it goes deeper than that, it is a change of disposition (if that's the right word) so that the Holy Spirit (the wind) can work more effectively in the Church (the ship). As I recall, with this change of disposition the wind caught hold of the sails and the direction of the ship changed suddenly and dramatically (in a good way!). I guess that's what we could be looking at with Pope Francis now at the helm.
Born in 1890, Josefa died at 33 years old (1890-1923), like St. Faustina (1905-1938). Very interesting how similar to the Divine Mercy revelation these messages were, and they were just 15 years before. From the same site I found these quotes from Josefa's "Way of Divine Love", which to me, show the personality of Jesus, and help me to identify it (or not) in any modern locutions and revelations. This account is very consistent with the identifiable personality of Christ in other authentic private revelations (like Saints Faustina and Gemma Galgani): A Beggar for love On Saturday,the 20th of November, He came to her, as a beggar, destitute and asking for love. He appeared with all His wounds... "Many little wounds were lacerating His Heart," she wrote. 'Tell Me, would you not attempt the impossible to comfort Me, Josefa? . . . Share with Me for a moment the bitterness of My Heart.' 'Listen,' He said, 'I want you to give Me souls. Only love in all you do is required. Suffer because you love, work because you love, and above all abandon yourself to love. When I let you feel anguish of spirit and great loneliness, suffer in love. I want to make use of you as a tired man uses a stick to lean upon. . . . I want to possess you, to consume you entirely, but all in great sweetness, so that enduring a martyrdom of love, you thirst to suffer more.' 'I come to rest in you, for I am so little loved,' He said. 'I am in search of love and meet only with thankless neglect. Rare are the souls that truly love Me.'Then to console Him, I offered Him the love of Our Lady, of the Saints, of all faithful souls, and even mine. "'Yes, Josefa, love Me and never tire of telling Me of your love.' " "I tried," she wrote next day, "to say over and over again 'My Jesus I love Thee.' " 'And so do I love you,' she heard Him answer during her prayer. "He came with no radiance round Him, looking like a beggar; I was silent. But as He continued to gaze sadly at me I ventured to speak, and I told Him how much I longed to comfort Him. " 'Yes, do comfort Me, today; I will stay beside you all the time, so that you may not forget.' "At the end of my prayer, as He did not go away, I said to Him: 'Lord, it is time for me to go to my sweeping, but Thou knowest that I love Thee, and that all I do is done solely to please Thee.' "Twice in the course of my work He asked me again whether I loved Him. 'Say it often, to make up for the forgetfulness of so many.' " That day, Monday, and of November, she spent entirely in that divine company. "He stayed all the time," wrote Josefa; "we were not separated a single instant. From time to time He stopped me in my work, and once while I was sweeping the old cloister of Les Feuillants, with its primitive tiled pavement, He asked: 'Why are you doing that?' "He seemed to take delight in the answer He forecast: 'Lord, I do it because I love Thee. See all the tiles of this corridor?-as many as there are is as many times I say: 'I love Thee, Lord!.' " Later on she had to go and fetch some coal from the garden: , "What are you going to do?' our Lord asked her. "I am going to try and prove my love for Thee by all these little things." she replied. "Josefa, all I ask of souls is their love, but they give me only ingratitude. I would like to fill their souls with grace, but they pierce my Heart through and through. I call them, and they turn away from Me. If you accept, I will give you charge of souls, and by your sacrifices and love you will win them for Me." He said to me: 'Souls are crucifying Me anew; comfort Me, Josefa. My Heart is steeped in woe . . . sinners despise Me and trample Me under their feet....there is nothing of less value in their eyes than their Creator.' He left me His Cross and disappeared. " "That night, at about ten o'clock, He returned, a heavy Cross on His shoulders; He was crowned with thorns and His face was streaming with blood. 'See the state I am reduced to. . . .How many sins are committed,' He said, 'how many souls are lost . . . that is why I come to obtain relief from those who live only to comfort Me.' "He remained a moment in silence and with joined hands. He looked so sad and at the same time so beautifull His eyes spoke more than His lips. "After a while, He said to me: 'Souls run to perdition, and My Blood is lost for them. But souls that love Me are sacrificing and consuming themselves as victims of reparation, and they draw down God's mercy, and that is what saves the world.' "He vanished. I think it must have been about one o'clock, and I kept His Cross till a little after four." __________________________________________________ Sister Josefa Menedez feast day is December 29. The diocese of Poitiers, France opened the diocesan process for the cause of canonization of Sister Josefa Menendez del Moral on November 30, 1948.
I hope it is now quickly going to those two pillars so it can safely tie off between the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Take us quickly there Oh Mighty Holy Wind!
