The Purgatory Trap

St. Michael the Archangel and the Souls in Purgatory

 The trap of Purgatory is too many souls rely on Purgatory as the destination of their soul after death, and slap God in the face by not trusting in His mercy, and do not seek Heaven.  They use Purgatory as their "backup plan" and as a result lead lukewarm lives, saying to themselves that in an exchange for just doing the "minimum" faith requirement, thinking that when they die they will just have to spend a few years in Purgatory and then eventually end up in Heaven.

Whether we spend time in Purgatory is at God's discretion, not ours.  

The greatest misuse of Purgatory is that many Catholics do not fear God because of Purgatory.

Those that hang their hopes on Purgatory are already among the lukewarm and possibly among those heading to the second death. Jesus will spit those out of His mouth that have failed to make every effort to follow Jesus and heaven, NOT Purgatory.  

Catholics that rely on the sacraments to get them into Purgatory are greatly misusing those sacraments, even the last sacrament, the Anointing of the Sick.   Yes, the sacraments are for our purification and strengthening, but we are then to use this strengthening to take the gift we are given in the Holy Eucharist to the world that never receives it.  We become a walking talking Monstrance for the world.  This is for all non- Catholics, former Catholics, Atheists, etc.  

Monstrance with Eucharist

Story of Two Catholics:

The First:  
One Catholic, had not practiced the Catholic faith very often, and had many sins.   By God's grace a Catholic Priest came and gave this person Extreme Unction before death.  God will always honor the hands of the Priest and the sacraments he administers, so by the power of God, through the sacrament, the persons sins where forgiven.  However, because this person died soon after the sacrament was administered, there was not the opportunity for the person to repair the damaging affects of their sin.  The damaging affects of the sin would be carried by those this person sinned against.  God is perfect and just.  He will use the burden carried by those who are affected by this persons sin for that person's purification and to lead them to heaven.  

So is it right that the person who died, leaving behind heavy burdens for others to carry, be allowed to come into heaven?  It is totally at God's mercy and discretion, and by His justice, a soul might still enter heaven, but God will require us to pay every farthing.  By His perfect justice the soul might need to undergo purification at God's discretion, ergo the flames of purification, Purgatory. 

"...two thirds of them will be cut off and perish, and one third will be left. I will bring the one third through the fire; I will refine them as one refines silver, and I will test them as one tests gold."  Zechariah 13:8-9. 

The greatest mistake people make when they read scripture is to think that the Old Testament is in the past and no longer relevant.    If Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament, and He is eternal, then what is said in the Old Testament still testifies to truth, but a truth of eternity and heaven, so if it testifies of eternity, God is teaching us of our eternal destination.  

The Second:  
The second Catholic went to Church every Easter and Christmas and went to Confession once a year.  There was no charity in this person's heart of anyone but themselves and the minimum requirement they thought they needed to do to get into Purgatory.   Because this person does not use the gifts of the Sacraments to keep him from being worldly, this person skirts mortal sin, and eventually falls into it.  This person is then deceived thinking they can wait till the Easter requirement for Confession.   God sends many warnings to this person through people around him to repent, but if this person dies in their sin they will face eternal suffering.  If they were able to receive the last Sacrament before death, God WILL honor the hands of the Priest and forgive this person's sin, but this person will be in the lowest part of Purgatory, suffering the same fires as those in Hell possibly till the end of time.  

Read the scripture above..."...two thirds of them will be cut off and perish, and one third will be left."  This should put fear in all of our hearts... 2/3 will go to eternal punishment!  

“Enter through the narrow gate;for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."  
Matthew, 7: 13-14. 

Anointing of the Sick

I tell you the truth:  There are many souls in Purgatory, that without the grace of God given through the Anointing of the Sick before their death would be in eternal damnation now.  

We must not think our sin is small, but see that even the smallest sin can totally separate us from God as God's justice decides.  If you think your sin is small, then you are constantly slapping God in the face as He is suffering on the Cross.  If we truly love God we should fear ALL sin as hurting the one we love.  If we slap someone and then say, "Oh, forgive me." the person may well forgive us, but if we slap them 10,000 times and say, "Oh forgive me.", with no intention in our hearts to really stop slapping them, then we do not fully love the one to whom we are seeking forgiveness.  

Is Purgatory real?  Yes.  When we deny Purgatory we call Jesus a liar.   " But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this world or the next."  Matthew 12:32.  There IS a place of purification as God deems to use it for souls that have not been perfected for heaven.  

However, do not hope for Purgatory, but rather fear Hell and strive diligently by pouring your life out for others so that you may enter Heaven. 

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This blog post was inspired by a Protestant Minister and is dedicated to him:  Larry Conley. 

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.

Heaven and Battlefield (Part I)

The other day, a friend of mine at OLPH came up to me and said, "I just wanted to say that at Mass, you just light up!  You glow. It makes my heart leap to see you.  I don't know if you know, but I wanted to tell you."   My first thought was, I don't want her looking at me!  I in no way want to be a distraction from what is REALLY happening at Holy Mass.  

Do I know? Yes, in a way I do.  

After Holy Mass, I prayed and sought an answer of the Lord.  I know how important the Holy Mass is for not just those in attendance but for the whole world, and I in no way want to be a stumbling block from those coming to this gift from God.  

"Lord, I don't want to be a distraction, I don't want people looking at me.  What do you want me to do, I can go somewhere else to Mass, (then I thought, it's going to happen their too!) or I can sit in the back or I can cover my face."  At that last suggestion I could feel that Lord did not want that...at all.  I almost felt like I had made him angry at that suggestion.  

Then He spoke to me and said, "You are a witness to what is truly happening at the Mass."  "Ok," I thought, "If I'm a witness, then I'm going to witness and explain everything I experience in the Holy Mass."  

The Holy Mass is both Heaven and Battlefield. 

The Sign of the Cross.
Before Holy Mass begins, I have said my act of contrition (always! I'm a sinner, and I fail Him daily), but when we begin with the Sign of the Cross it feels like I am being embraced by God.  The sign of the Cross centers me to what has begun, and it's seriousness.

The Gloria
The Holy Mass is the moment on the Earth when we can access Heaven and worship God without the distractions of the world.   When we pray or sing the Gloria, I'm praying it directly to God because I love Him.  The love in my heart for Him makes me happy, because I feel His return of this love.  I do not do this expecting anything, but pour this prayer to Him just for the sake of love for Him.   

I love my OLPH family, but at this moment, it's all about HIM, and my eyes are on heaven.
"Glory to God in the highest..."

Heaven! feeling the Glory of God in this prayer is Heaven!  In this prayer is access to heaven and victory! "....You Who take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You Who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are holy. You alone are the Lord. You alone, O Jesus Christ, are most high. Together with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen"

Victory!  Christ at the right hand of the Father is our Victory!!

My smile is because I have seen the victory of the Lord.  No matter the sin, the evil in the world, God is victorious. The victory is great and eternal, and we can experience the victory now in the prayers of the Holy Mass.  

Liturgy of the Word
How can I describe this.  My heart melts by His word. Every words is a whisper of love, that increases my love for Him.    In the Word of God, we are spoken to not only about our own lives, but about the lives of others.  Where is God speaking to me and where is speaking to me about others?  Our lives should be about others, and everything God gives us is either about our purification, salvation, or the salvation of others.  

We cannot seek the salvation of others until we ourselves are purified and in a state of grace. That is the "getting the beam out of our eye first."

Psalms:  When the Psalms are sung, it can be such joy, or so touching that the tears have to flow.  

Gospel:  The Gospel...Alleluia! I get to hear HIS words!

Prayer over the Gifts
The Heavens are opening more, the Priest is becoming our connection to Heaven.  Father is standing in the breach between heaven and Earth for us, bringing us Heaven.  The way a Priest can be our conduit to heaven is if he has offered himself to God for us.  The Priest becomes an oblation for you, and you do not know it. 

Eucharistic Prayer
"Lift up your hearts!"  My heart is His.  "Lord, I am dust, take this heart of dust that loves you so.  Not just for me but for my children, those I have now, and those you will give me."  
And so, with Angels and Archangels, 
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory, 
as without end we acclaim:

The heavens are open, we have access to the throne of God! If we have eyes of purity, in our heart we see the throngs of angels and Saints around the throne, giving praise for all eternity!  God will always honor the Priesthood, and no matter the state of the Priest, the heavens will open, God will come down from heaven to be among us, and we have access to the Throne of God for Praise as the Saints do!   This IS HEAVEN ON EARTH!

Holy, Holy (Sanctus) 
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

At this moment, I have great joy, because we should feel how those felt who welcomed the Lord into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  We have the joy of Palm Sunday at every Holy Mass. Hosanna! We are the Holy City, and Jesus is coming to us!

The Rest of the Holy Mass in Heaven and Battlefield (Part II) 

Catholics and Protestants

There is no room in the new economy of God for Arrogant Catholics.

We are arrogant about our faith with Protestants, and even arrogant among our selves as we have the Latin Mass click who thinks there's is the only Holy Mass.  Somehow their Mass is 'better' than any other.  

Catholics who are arrogant have no clue what it means to truly be a Catholic.  

The demon LOVES to see these squabbles!    

The Catholic is for the OTHER, not for themselves, that mean's everyone.  There is no Holy Mass greater than another, for it is the same Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and the same Jesus offered to God.    Is the Latin Mass beautiful, yes.  Is it awesome to kneel and receive Holy Communion, yes, but these are gifts, we have no "rights" to them. 

I had a friend of mine see that I wear a chapel veil to Holy Mass, (New Mass, not in Latin), and she said, "Oh, I wear one of those when I go to Latin Mass."   I truly wondered if she knew why a woman wore a chapel veil.  A woman in this life has been given so many graces by God, sometimes a chapel veil is needed to place over the head in submission and say to God, "I submit to you my God and my King."  The chapel veil is not a uniform, it is an act of love and submission before God, no matter if the Holy Mass is in Latin or in the vernacular. 

The Holy Mass, Latin or New, is an opportunity for the Catholic to plead before the throne of God for the salvation of our brethren.   Also, this is a unique opportunity to even take Holy Communion for those who are not in attendance.  

If our hearts truly love, than we know what wonderful gift we have in the Holy Eucharist, and want to share it with others.  But how do we share this with our Protestant brethren?  

The answer is Mary.  Like the Virgin Mary, the graces that a Catholic has are to pass through them to those who would never receive such graces in this life.  

If we receive the Holy Eucharist, the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ at Mass, then the piece of the Sacred Heart we have received longs to not only purify us but to be poured out through us for others.  

I have been to many Churches of my Protestant brethren,  and at all of them I felt unwelcome, or somehow 'dirty' for being Catholic.  Some of this is obvious demeaning statements, sometimes it is a look or other subtle means of communication.   In all of these Churches the message was obvious, that I needed conversion from my faith to theirs and quick.  I kept silent and endured this, but I came to realize that in very few Protestant Churches is the overt Catholic (I wear a Rosary and a Miraculous Medal) going to be welcomed.  

We should go anyway.  

A Catholic, confessed, having gone to Holy Mass and taken Holy Communion for the Protestants they are visiting are then called to take the Jesus they received to the midst of their Protestant brethren.  Not in competition, but in love and service.   

We are Catholic, we are responsible for our brothers, and we are called to go get them.  Not even overtly, but sometimes silently.  Sometimes wearing the Rosary and Miraculous Medal is all I needed to do to be the witness that He wanted me to be.  

Now is the time for them to come home.  

The Greatest Victory on the Earth

He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover* with you before I suffer."

Why. Why did He desire it, and for how long? He is God, how long can God desire one Passover? I'll tell you how long, since the fall of Adam and Eve. Before there was a Passover, God desired this one. Why this one? Because it is a sacrifice offered that would NEVER be rejected by God.

If you read the Old Testament, there were sacrifices offered to God that were rejected by God. Many times He says he will not accept their burnt offerings because of their sin. Many hear an angry God, I hear a God hurt by our sin because He is so much in love with us. Did God have to reject the burnt offerings of the Jews because of their sin? Yes. If God is perfectly just, by God's own word, there were times when God did not accept the offerings from the altar at the temple.

So what did God desire? God desires a heart offered to Him for the people He loves. A heart so great, so poured out that their was no human heart on the earth that could offer such a perfect heart to God. So God fashioned His own heart through the lineage of Jesus through thousands of years until the perfect heart was conceived in the womb of a Virgin. Birthed of flesh, God's own heart, the Sacred Heart, beat and began to be poured out to God for those He loves.

Now we are here, at the Passover, the moment God had waited for for so long. Although Jesus must suffer, it was not His suffering He was anxious for, .....it was this, the first Mass. Yes He knew of His suffering, and predicted it many times, but did not express eagerness for it. (Who would?) Yet He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.." 

God through this Passover was transforming the Passover to a perfect oblation that would always be accepted by God, and NEVER rejected. By God's true and real presence, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Holy Eucharist, offered to the Father for all people on the Earth, a perfect, spotless oblation that would never be rejected by God was put in place.  God is perfect, and He will never go against His word. We must remember God said that "...cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree." An oblation would need to be offered to God to overcome this so that the cross would be our salvation and not our condemnation. 

If we think logically, we can see this is true. If God's word is true, then there would have to be an oblation offered to God that was perfect, pure, and holy, that God would never reject. This would have to be the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, mere bread and wine would not have done it. In the past, offerings were rejected, but the body and blood of our Lord Jesus would never be rejected. Jesus's body and blood are so precious to the Father, otherwise He would not have formed them as He did in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

God in the Old Testament did not desire to reject the burnt offerings of the Jews He loves, but because God is perfect, His justice is perfect and in relation to the gravity of their sin, God's perfect justice demanded it. It is the same as the souls in Purgatory. God does not desire to see the suffering of those He loves so much, but His perfect justice demands it.

This is the Passover, the Last Supper. This is our High Priest, Jesus offering His Body and Blood to the Father so that the cross can be not our condemnation but our salvation. 

 After the sin of Adam and Eve, the heavens where closed. Jesus was opening the Heavens at the Last Supper, but they would not be able to stay permanently opened until after His final oblation, the cross.

Soon, the flesh would be flogged, and painfully nailed to a Cross.  Think about that.  God in the flesh would pour all out in suffering for us.  God is perfectly just, and by His love of the Son, if the Holy Mass had not been offered to the Father first, then at His Crucifixion, by God's perfect justice, we would have been destroyed. 

The greatest witness of God's perfect love and mercy for us is that humanity continued after this moment.....  

God can do anything He wants.  If He gives us the Holy Mass before the Cross, there is a reason for it.    God requires nothing, He is God, so if God does something on the Earth, it is for our benefit.  

The Holy Mass is not greater than the cross, but provides us a path to the cross, and a union with the crucifixion of our Lord like no where else on the Earth. 

Now you know how great the Holy Mass is that God gives us.  

Jesus is not re-crucified, but in the Holy Mass we re-present God with the oblation of His son, and say, "God remember the Cross and be merciful to us."  And by the real presence of God in the Eucharist offered to God, an perfect oblation is offered to God that God will never reject.  No matter the sins of either the Priest or the people, God will always accept the body and blood of  His son in the Holy Eucharist as an oblation for our sins.  Not just Catholics, but all people on the Earth benefit from each and every Holy Mass.

The Holy Mass IS THE GREATEST VICTORY UPON THE EARTH.

Go to Holy Mass! 
  

St. Stephen and the Holy Mass

A man that takes the role of a Deacon is showing by his submission, sacrifice and love to extol all the gifts that are given to him by God.    Donning vestments, whether Priest or Deacon is the ultimate witness of manliness. 

It is no coincidence that the first Christian Martyr was a Deacon.  By God’s grace, through a Deacon, God let open the heavens to let St. Stephen see the rewards of all those who die for the faith.  The grace of martyrdom is a joy of the will of God being fulfilled, for if we love God, we love Him and those He loves to our last breath and our last drop of blood. 

Those that are chosen for this gift are very few, and it is only by the love in their heart for others that they are chosen.  The martyr is prepared for death by the knowledge that their blood feeds the Church, and by the shedding of their blood, within God's will, they are given the greatest gift while still in the flesh; the assurance of heaven.

Is there any suffering that we cannot endure if we know we shall have heaven for all eternity?  St. Stephen saw what he most desired, and it’s fulfillment is so great that anything he would suffer caused him no ill will to those who were killing him, and by asking mercy he was praying that they should be in the same heaven as he was about to attain.   He lived a life poured out for others with no thought for himself.

St. Stephen is the first witness of what happens at each and every Holy Mass.  At each Holy Mass, the heavens open and we have access to the throne of God, just what St. Stephen's saw.  He, saw Jesus in the face, we see Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.  During Mass we can plead before God's throne for mercy for ourselves and for our brethren, whether they can see what we see or not.  St Stephen saw the heavens open and saw the judgement seat of God and pleaded for those killing him.  We have access to the judgement seat of God when the Body and Blood of Jesus is offered to the Father, and we too should plead for those around us.    

St. Stephen saw the wounds of our Lord in his hands as he looked into heaven, and was given fortification to accept the will of the Father.  In the wounds of Christ are the perfection desired of every martyr of the Catholic Church, for in them is the perfect will of God.  

Deacon Jeff Powell, and Father Eric Johnson, OLPH

The Holy Mass is truly heaven on Earth!  How I wish people understood what this truly is.   What would you give to attain heaven?  What would you lay down to see God in the face?  The Catholic has the gift of heaven at every Holy Mass.  For at each Mass the angels and the Saints are in attendance, happy that such a grace is given to us.    But we with our dim eyes do not see what is really happening.  If we truly understood how the heavens open and how the throne of God is available to us at each and every Holy Mass, we would be willing to give up everything we have to go to just one.  

What joy is to go to Holy Mass, the prelude of heaven!

And if you love others, knowing the heavens are open to you as they are at each Holy Mass, what would you plead before the throne of God for those around you?  If you love as the Sacred Heart loves, there is no part of your heart that you will deny God to lay on the altar for someone else. 

Only the Priest can give us Jesus, but it was a Deacon who gave us the first glimpse of what truly happens in the Mass.    

St. Stephen pray for us!

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The Mark

Every Catholic Priest that walks the Earth had a mark placed on him at his conception for the Priesthood.   This is a gift by God as a reflection for what God did for Mary in her womb, because every Priest is her son.  The Priest is not immaculate, but only marked as one chosen for the Priesthood.  This is not a guarantee that he will become a Priest, it is up to God whether or not he is called later.

I am sure that there are a few Priests walking the earth that were not called, although they are very few.  But the Priest, whether called or not will always carry this mark as being chosen to the Priesthood from conception.

Some of us are chosen to be the protector, parent and instructor of such children, and what you see is amazing.  How can you tell them what you know?  They don't understand why people, complete strangers want to engage him, talk to him, get to know him.  But I know.  Eternity truly is in our hearts, and somewhere deep inside, these people know that the young man they want so much to speak can provide them a path to heaven.  They don't understand how, but somewhere deep inside, they know.

I have also seen the look of hatred on a face looking at my son.  I knew what this was too.  There is a look of evil on the face of one that is either pure evil or possessed by the same that can not be duplicated in human form.  They hate him for what damage he could potentially do to them, but they are not allowed to touch him.

As always, I am curious.  "God why did you let me see that?"  Knowledge is always given for a reason.  I was made aware of the real danger that we both face, and by God's grace are protected from.  

This is not the first time I had encountered this either.  I met with a young sweet faced Deacon who was soon to be a Priest in the church at OLPH.  (Now Father Doug Marcotte at Sacred Heart, Jeffersonville, IN) I gave him a copy of the vision of the Eucharist, I'll never forget the smile on his face!  He talked about his journey to the Priesthood and how much he had to study, etc.  I told him, "Oh don't worry, you will be a Priest, it is imprinted on your soul."  (My Mother always said I told everything I knew...so what I know I will say.)

I also encountered another young man about my son's age, that has this gift from God.  I also gave him a copy of the picture of the Eucharist saying, "You know only a Priest can do that!"  (Hint, Hint!) But the most memorable was being with my son and for just a moment feeling the power of God come from his hands.  

Will my son be a Priest? I don't know, whatever path he takes is between him and God.   I love him no matter what he becomes.  Whether he is called or not, I am thankful to be be his Mother and pray that I teach and guide him well.  

Joseph and Mary's House: A Modern Mini Play

Time:  1970's 
Location: Midwest farm...the Kitchen.

A young boy of the age of 12 with brown hair sat at a kitchen table, writing something on a paper, possibly a homework assignment.  Into the kitchen comes a woman with brown hair, tied in a bun in a blue dress with a baby on the hip.  There are two small children trailing behind her, and she is carrying a bag of groceries.

"Jesus..."

She didn't even have to finish His name, the young boy at the table had turned when she came in the room and was already rising from his chair, taking the grocery bag from her and digging into the bag to put the food away.

Jesus, looking puzzled at the child his Mother was carrying, touched the baby of about 11 months on the cheek and said, "Who is this?"

The young Jesus then noticed the two children hiding behind his Mother.  He knelt down as His Mother moved out of the way and spoke to the newcomers.

"Well, hello."  He looked at the child closest to him, "What is your name?"

The children looked shy and scared, unsure of their new environment, unsure if they should divulge any information.  

Mother Mary then gently touched the head of the tallest, blond headed boy as she said, "This is James, he is 8, and that is his little brother Joseph who is 5."    Mother then spoke directly to the boys.  "Boys, this is your new brother Jesus."  She then turned to the little girl she was holding, brushing the hair out of her eyes.  "And this is Miriam their little sister."  

Jesus took the baby from His Mother's arms, leaving her free to begin to prepare the food she had brought.

"Come on," Jesus said, "Let me show you the house and the workshop where Dad is."

"They are probably hungry, so tell your Dad we are going to eat a little early."

"I will."

"Jesus, don't take Miriam to the workshop, please put her in the playpen, she is crying because she is hungry now.  I'm going to warm up some milk and feed her "

Jesus did as His Mother requested, but looked questioning at her wondering if she needed help.  She looked back with the look of, "It's ok, I've got this."

Jesus led the boys through the house, showing them the different rooms.  He showed them their rooms, and the beds they would sleep on.    He then took them to an outbuilding/barn near the animal pens where sawing could be heard.

The older man looked up from his work to the door and saw a shadow of a young boy, with the sun shining bright behind him.  His heart leaped at the sight of the form of his son.  Jesus stepped into the workshop and two smaller boys where revealed to be behind him. 

Seeing the new children, Joseph looked questioningly at his son.  

Jesus looked back at him as if to say, "You know who did this."  

Joseph nodded slightly for he knew indeed who had brought these children into the household.  His wife was always bringing some new child into their home as either a permanent or temporary addition.  Sweet Mother that she is, if she was out and saw or heard of a child being mistreated, hungry or abandoned, she would say, "Give the child to me, I will be it's Mother."    As a result, the Joseph and Mary house was always full of children. 

Joseph never questioned any of this, he would just thank God that as a carpenter he could provide whatever the new child or children needed.  He knew his wife's faith was completely unshakable and as a result, the family had lacked nothing, no matter it's size.  

Once when Joseph had questioned Mary about how they were to feed all the children that she had brought into the house, Mary didn't even look distressed.  Mary sat down at the kitchen table, next to Jesus, looked Jesus in the eye and said, "I'm sure that God will provide for us whatever we need."  Mary's eyes never wavered from her son's face as she then added, ".....Isn't that right, Jesus."  

Jesus looked to his stepfather Joseph for help, but Joseph just looked silently at his son, as if to say, "She's got you there son. You know how hard it is to say 'no' to her."   

Jesus gently looked back at his Mother and smiled as He said, "Yes Mother, I am sure God will provide whatever we need."   

And so it was. 



Back in the barn Jesus turned to his stepfather and said, "This is James, and his younger brother Joseph."  

Joseph said, "James and Joseph, welcome to the family!  We will have a great time and if you like I will teach you what I am doing."  

Little James spoke up, "What are you doing?"  

"Well, do you see these chairs here?  God put it on my heart to make them a couple of weeks ago, and I am just finishing them, just in time for your arrival!  You see God knows everything, and He knew I would need these chairs for you."

"Oh, Mother said we are going to eat early, so we should probably go to the house."

"Alright, let's grab the chairs."

Joseph and Jesus each grabbed a chair, and they each took the hand of a child and began to walk back to the house.  

As they neared the house, Joseph could hear the cry of an infant.  Joseph stopped  and looked at Jesus.  Jesus put down the chair he was carrying, and held up three fingers.  

Joseph smiled as he said softly, "Of course there is three, I wouldn't have it any other way. "

"OK boys, let's get in and get washed up before supper."