Heaven and Battlefield (Part III)

The Offertory,  (Battle of Tears)

Now is the time to fight.  Not with weapons or words, but with tears, the tears of a Mother pleading for her children.  

Some time ago I prayed the words of Rachel during the stations, I said, "Give me children or I shall die."  I meant spiritual children that I can pray for.  God in His goodness gives me children that I cannot see or touch, that are somewhere in the world and in need of a Mother's tears for them.  At this moment in the Holy Mass He not only gives me these children but also fills my heart with love for them at the same moment.  My heart is pierced and tears flow for the children I love, although I do not know them, I love them no less.   

The tears of a Mother pleading for her children before the throne of God is very powerful.  A Mother's heart willing to be pierced for her children to lead them to God can pluck those with the darkest of hearts directly from the demons grasp. 

The heavens are opened and what is most Holy is being offered to the Father as a perfect oblation for us.   This is the moment when we have access to the Throne of God for the petition of the salvation of others.  Don't include yourself at this moment, this is the moment of laying down for another.  God gives you other times to seek your own purification, this is the time to plead to God for those who are most lost, those with the blackest of hearts.  

How can I describe this moment?  The opportunity of offering ourselves to God for another is presented to us, but not required of us.  At this moment we may be presented with a cup like what our Lord was presented with in the Garden of Gethsemane.  We must choose to accept it or not.  Only those that love are offered the cup, and our cup is never the same as anyone else's.   We can only see the cup that is offered to us, and with trust in God, we accept it, without seeing what is in the cup.  

After acceptance of the cup, we live the rest of our lives, trusting in God in complete peace that the will of God is perfect.  No matter what happens to us, or befalls us, we offer it all up to God with the prayer, "I trust you." and also "The will of God is perfect, the justice of God is perfect.  Praise be the will and the justice of God." 

Purgatory.

At Most Blessed Sacrament, during Holy Mass, Father Jeff Gatlin was praying for the souls in Purgatory.  I was in the front row.  At this moment in the Holy Mass, the floor opened up before me and I saw the souls in Purgatory. I SAW THEM.  There was no movement, they were all looking at me and their eyes...I can't forget their eyes.  Their eyes where pleading.  I knew that they can do nothing for themselves.  I immediately begged God for them.

If you saw someone hanging from a cliff, knowing they didn't have the strength to pull them self out, wouldn't you want to help?   Sometime later God tugged at my Mother's heart for them, not to just pray for them, but to take some of them as my children.  I understood I was to ask God to give me children that where in Purgatory.   

It is true that souls are released from Purgatory at each and every Holy Mass by the mercy of God.   Do not just pray for them, but take them as your own children in your heart. 

Breaking of the Bread

"Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us."
"Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us."
"Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace."

At this moment I am on my knees.  The reason is that as God allows, sometimes I am not fully there in Church.  Sometimes my body is there, but I am before the throne of God pleading for a soul that is before the judgement.  Sometimes I can see them, most of the time I cannot.  What I do know is that the soul that is before that judgement is facing an eternity of suffering in hell.  "Lord, give them to me as their Mother."   Then I offer to God my Mother's heart for my children and ask His mercy upon them.

The thing is, I never know what the results are of my prayers, and I don't want to.  I know if I knew what God was doing, I might take pride in something I had nothing to do with, so I am glad I am left in the dark.  So I never know if the soul I just pleaded for was spared, I just trust God.  One day, I will meet all my children, and know what God did for them.

Behold the Lamb of God

This is a moment of great defeat for the devil, to have the man that he would not serve hold the God that he must bow to.   

After Holy Mass
After Holy Mass, many times I am exhausted, I am spent.  It is a good exhaustion, and one that does not deter me from getting up and doing it all over again.

The fight for the lost is a great battle, join the fight!

Heaven and Battlefield (Part II)

The Consecration: (The Battle Begins) 

"This is my body..."

This is when I am usually attacked.  When I know the consecration is near, I prepare myself, steel myself, get ready.   I do not know exactly why this is when I am attacked, but I think it is because I know what is coming and how to effectively utilize the gift God has given us in the Holy Mass for others. 

The Catholic at the Holy Mass is for the other.  We should rarely be there for ourselves, but we should be there for the rest of the world that is NOT there.   

The demons do not want you to fully understand what is really happening in the Holy Mass, and will do everything in their power to distract you from the work that God is doing on the Earth. 

"This is my blood..."

This is hard to explain but I will try.  This is truly Jesus's blood now present in the cup, although we may perceive it differently, we may perceive it as wine.    

You see, everything Jesus said was true, and the Holy Crucifixion of our Lord is not a moment in time that is static.  How can one that is eternal and flesh, leave a moment in time in the past, He cannot.  Jesus is God.  The Crucifixion is not in the past, it is happening right now.    The Chalice of His precious blood is raised above the altar at the moment that the chalice of the cross is raised up for our salvation.  His blood is eternal, and the blood that flows from the Cross, is the same blood that we take at Holy Mass.  They are the same. Although He died once, for all, somehow He is still pouring Himself out for us, even now, on the Altar of the Holy Mass.  The crucifixion is made 'present', but not in a way that surpasses what Jesus did at Calvary. 

The Priest is a singularity at this moment for the whole world.  For if the Priest is Holy and pours himself out for others, the greater the number of souls that are brought to salvation, not just here, but among all the peoples of the Earth.  

God needs nothing, so He does not need man, but by His word He created and Honors the Priesthood. Because His word is perfect, He will NEVER go back on His word, so the Priesthood will exist until the end of time.  As a result, we will always have the Holy Mass, even if it must be a hidden one.  

The Holy Mass offered in hiding in fear of those who wish to destroy it, can still affect the whole world, and may a Priest always remember what he does, not for himself, not even for just those present, but for the whole world. 

The offering at the Holy Mass is always accepted by God at the hands of the Priest, no matter the state of the Priest's soul.  (This does not give the Priest an 'out' to be in sin, because if God honors the Priesthood for all time, those that celebrate this holy mystery will be called to give an account to God of their sins, especially if they had the opportunity to resolve their sinfulness but did not.  But that is another blog post.)  

God deems to take this offering of the Priest and use it for the salvation of souls.  The Holy Mass is the best method for a Priest to become holy, and become a Saint.  

The heavens are fully opened, Jesus is truly present on the altar.  

Memorial Acclamation:
Priest:  Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:

All:  A - Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
    or B - Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.
    or C - When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.
    or D - Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Savior of the World.

Notice the Cross, or Jesus' death in each one of them.  OK, we are definitely standing on Calvary now.

With love I see Him on the Cross, and I think, "Where is my Calvary?"  "Where am I to be poured out for others?" Our Calvary is every day, every small suffering that we meet, and sometimes, as God wills, even greater suffering at the end.  For when we suffer in our death, it is either for our purification so that we may attain heaven, or so that we may offer ourselves, and our suffering for others.

Where can I die to self and lay it down for someone else.  Attendance at every Holy Mass strengthens us for our own Calvary yet to come, whether great or small.
.....................................

Coming soon:  Heaven and Battlefield (Part III): The Battle of Tears.