8-23-20
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Our ways are not His ways and His ways are not our ways. Who would ever have thought that the Catholic Church would still be going with all the scandals, and having some obedient Popes and some disobedient ones leading the Church? It just goes to show you that we are all sinners in need of His all wise judgements. Just as God took Shebna, master of the palace out of office, He has taken those who disobey His Word out and replaced them with another who obeys His Word. He places His Spirit within them, and they teach, heal and deliver His people who are in bondage to sin which is selfishness and pride. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgements and how unsearchable His ways. We have gone from Pope Peter to Pope Francis and survived the storms through the power of the Holy Spirit who has and is teaching us and reminding us of all Jesus said and did. Let us put on the mind of Christ this week and be obedient to His Word and His Church and do as He did. Pope Francis has the keys given him by God. Let us hold him up in prayer and all leaders in our Church. If there is someone in the Church that drove you away forgive them and ask God to forgive them and get rid of the anger and bitterness you have been holding onto. Forgive as God has forgiven you and you will set them free and free yourself of anger which has been so destructive to you.
In Jesus’ love,
Marie
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July 19th, 2020 – Reflection on the Weeds among the Wheat – Matthew 13:24-43…
Good Morning to my brothers and sisters who love the Lord.
Who are the weeds and the wheat? Those who bring life to themselves and their neighbor through love, kindness, gentleness, goodness, they are the wheat. Those who humble themselves for the good of others are the wheat. The weeds are those who destroy, kill, and slaughter and are following the devil’s lead. They do this through selfishness, hate, envy, etc. of their neighbor. They are thieves who steel, slaughter, and destroy. Those who are followers of Jesus who came to bring life, life to the full are the wheat (John 10:10.
Thank you, Lord, for your Spirit who intercedes for us and comes to the aid of our weakness. Thank you. For searching our hearts and knowing everything about us and filling our hearts with your loving kindness. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for interceding for us in accordance to God’s will which is to know, love, and serve Him.
“There is no god besides you who have the care of all, ….” Thank you, Lord, for watching over us and not condemning us for our sins but giving us the Sacrament of Reconciliation and leaders who stand in for you and forgive us. That is where you separate the wheat from the weeds. You rebuke temerity, that is rashness and make us humble through the goodness of others. You judge us with clemency. Thank you, Lord, for being so lenient with us through the kindness of those you put in our lives.
I thank God for all of you in my life. You have helped me through this time of COVID-19.
In Jesus’ love,
Marie
PENTECOST
Marie’s Reflcetion – May 19, 2013,
Acts 2:1-11, Psalm 104, 1 Cor. 12:3-7, 12-13, Romans 8:8-17, John 20:19-23, John 14:15-16, 23-26
Good morning Lord, It is good to be here. Thank you Holy Spirit for teaching me as I read the readings of the day. This first reading shows me that you came down upon your disciples with wind and fire. You breathed into them and covered them with the fire of your love. That’s what you did to me when you baptized me in your Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for choosing me and coming upon me. I had to repent before you could do that with me. Is that the wonderful loving gift of the free will that you have given me before I was born? You did that out of love for me. You wanted to allow me to freely choose to love you and follow your plan of life or freely choose to love myself and follow my plan for life. That required for me to die to myself and my will and live to do your will and obey your word. Those who love you obey your word. I love you, Lord, and love your word and will follow you wherever you choose to take me. You have given me a wonderful life and I thank you for it. You have baptized me with your Holy Spirit and fire of your love. You are always with me teaching me and counseling me. Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, you are great indeed. Let people hear me speaking in my own tongue of the mighty acts of God.
There is only one Spirit and you unite the body of Christ. We who are one can say, “Jesus is Lord.” By saying that we make you Lord of our lives by listening to your Spirit as He teaches us the truth of life lived in cooperation with your Spirit we become one body. We can only make you Lord by listening to your Spirit and following His lead. If we are in the flesh we cannot please you. But I am not in the flesh I am in the Spirit and He in me. You, Jesus, the Christ, is in me as you told me in your Word, John 17:21, “..so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” I have received a spirit of adoption. Thank you, Lord, for adopting me and loving me. Your love has conquered the world.
You have taken all fear away from me. I fear nothing other than offend you. Your Spirit keeps close tabs on me and prevents me from offending you in any way. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Those who love you keep your word. How could I do otherwise? Your word is perfect and true, my word is imperfect. You have established a beautiful way to live and be at peace if I just follow it. I will follow you as you are the Word made flesh. Help me to love you today as I go to the tea for COLFS. Help the weather be beautiful and perfect. Help me to think of others needs and not think about myself. Help me to listen to the speakers and hear you speaking to me through them. Thank you for being here with me this morning. Your Word truly is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I love you with all my heart. Help me to love Ken the way you love me, and that is unconditionally. Help me to speak only when you tell me and help me never to accuse him of anything but to speak your word because I know your word is what will convict him if he is not walking according to your word. I love you Lord.
Come Holy Spirt
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. V. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created. R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Jesus in Prison~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ash Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
My scripture verse for this Lent is to memorize and live, John 15:13.
“There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
I am going to live by John 15:9-17.
How can I not get up on that cross with my Lord and Savior after all He has done for me.
In Jesus’ love,
Marie
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October 8, 2018
This morning I wake to my husband, my mentor, my Lord, Jesus Christ. Where will you lead me this day Lord?
Thank you for being at my side. You tell me to not to look back nor look to the left or the right but keep my eyes on you. Yes, your Word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path. You say, Come, follow me. My Spirit will speak to your heart.
I miss not sharing the Word of God with others. I hope to start it up again for the new year using Cycle C.
In Jesus’ love,
Marie
“Love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12
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October 7, 2018
This is the eve of the 58th wedding anniversary of Ken and me. I think back to the beginning and how in love we were with each other and how that love grew from day one. I have a picture of Ken and I kneeling at the altar rail and I am receiving communion on my tongue by Fr. Barry, the only priest I ever knew in my childhood.
I really didn’t know what I was getting into when he swept me off my feet with beautiful romantic poems he made up. We wanted a family so bad but no babies were coming for those first five years then through adoption came three making us a family of five. I was the center of Ken’s life and he included me in the evangelizing he did from day one. The name of our parish was Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Saugus. Ken got right involved in trying to make things right between the blacks and the whites and established a group called Friends and Neighbors along with the associate Pastor. Always a pioneer and my spiritual leader he went from Friends and Neighbors, to CFM, to Cursillo, to Marriage Encounter, to the Charismatic Movement to the Diaconate, to St. Dismas Guild. He would initiate these different things and I would be there with him at his side. When he went into the Diaconate, I was there for him. He was in the Knights of Columbus, Chaplain at the prisons, and together we formed Benedictus and he was Chaplain in the prison. We had our difficulties but God always brought us through them.
If you were to ask me what helped us to grow in love I would say receiving that first Eucharist at our wedding together and making God and the church the center of our marriage along with getting to know Him through the Word of God, the bible. We truly became one flesh, one mind, one heart by putting on the mind of Christ and having the attitude of Christ. The scripture we lived was 1 Corinthians 11:3, “The head of the man is Christ, the head of the woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is the Father.” Even Jesus was under headship. Why are marriages falling apart out there today? I am not going to speculate but all I know is what I have lived and the power of The Holy Spirit to transform my mind by teaching me the Word of God.
I do the Bread of Life Catholic Bible study every week even though I am not in a group right now. I love it when the Lord speaks to me though His all-powerful word. How hard it is for me to explain the Love of God that I experience for me personally, but Isaiah 54:5 says, “For He who has become your husband is your Maker; His name is the Lord of hosts; Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth.”
Thank you for listening to me reminisce. October 8, 1960 was a special day for me. The day when two became one and lived in union with Jesus Christ.
In Jesus’ love,
Marie
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It is much easier to hear God when I am quiet and listening and waiting for Him. It takes time for me to do that so I have designated early morning when I awake. God speaks to me loud and clear then and it is usually as I am reading the reading of the day.
The simple message of today for me is to be quiet long enough to hear Him and know that Jesus is right there to help me in the storms of my life.
Deacon Ken says, “God speaks to all of us, and the challenge for us is tobe quiet and listen.” (Commentary Bread of Life)
If you didn’t begin your day with Jesus on your lips begin tomorrow morning the minute you wake up saying His Name, the Name above all names, Jesus. He will immediately respond to your cry.
“Lord, my heart is not proud; nor are my eyes haughty. I do not busy myself with great matters, with things too sublime for me. Rather, I have stilled my soul, like a weaned child to its mother, weaned is my soul.” Psalm 131:1-2
In Jesus’ love,
Marie
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#Psalm 141:3 “Set a guard, Lord, before my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips.”
Someone recently told me I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I looked it up on google and I was so distressed over this. I kept calling on Jesus but it stayed with me, then when I woke up and read this #scripture in the morning #prayer the distress went away.
This scripture is a good reminder for me to watch what comes out of my mouth and ask Jesus to put an angel at the door of my lips outside my mouth. I think if I remember He has that guard on the outside He will help me close the mouth before it comes out. I realized too that the only OCD I have is knowing God’s word and obeying it.
In Jesus’ love,
Marie
Image in use with Creative Commons agreement –
https://flic.kr/p/JJ99jY
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“……everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,…” James 1:19
The Lord is teaching me to do just that. I am becoming a woman of fewer words and listening more to what God is telling me through His Beloved Son, Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. I took the hearing aids out and love the quiet.
Half day seminar coming up November 11th at St. Mary’s called “Encountering Jesus.” It will help you to quiet your mind and listen to Jesus speak through His precious Word the bible.
Have a blessed day.
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“You shall not have other gods besides me.” Exodus 20:3
(from July 28th first reading, Exodus 20:1-17)
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072817.cfm
I have come to realize if I keep God’s commandments I am telling Jesus I Love Him. In so doing I have to be on guard against idolatry. In my enthusiasm to do what is right I sometimes get ahead of God and try to do His work by telling others what they need to do. His word always convicts me of doing that. He tells me all the time to keep it simple and look after myself, He will take care of others.
What a relief when I realize He will take care of them, I just have to be still and know that He is God.
In Jesus’ love,
Marie
