A time for grief

At the present moment and into some time in the future I will be away grieving the loss of a family member.

Peace

Deacon Mitch

With the help of Mother Mary, a Blue Nun, the hint finally took root!

It's something that I had been doing almost daily as a child but in time it slowly faded away, but obviously never disappeared. The Rosary and pondering the meditations.

 Yes, I have done it regularly but it never took a strong root into my heart until now.

For quite some time now I have been getting some very gentle hints that I should be praying the rosary. I would say it began in earnest when I rejoined the Knights of Columbus and received a gift, a rosary. At the time I said, it's beautiful, it's nice, I'll hand it at the side of my bed. There it stayed for quite some time. I happened to lose it once in my garden when I attempted to pray irregularly. I shared that with my Dad and he gave me his. Another hint that never took root.

A few months ago my mother gave me her father's rosary, wow! My Pepere was a very faithful man. Like in the past I had the perfect place for it, hanging it in one of the shrine areas of the house I have. I thought to myself it looks good.

A few weeks ago I received a gift from my sister in Illinois. My Mom called to tell me to quickly come over to see. A huge rosary with large beads. Wow! What did I do? The same, I had a great place to hang it around the framed charge to a Deacon! It looks great.

A week ago I'm serving Mass and my little niece was there and we had a long talk, and then she shared that Sister Rouen a Blue Nun and a friend gave her a rosary and invited her to pray everyday. I was moved to say to her, let's make a pact that together before Jesus, we will both pray the rosary daily.

The little nudge, or hint, finally took root. I really needed help in something I must work on in my life and I need to tell you that the power of the rosary is immense. I've learned to change my life in so many ways, simply by praying the rosary and meditating on the life of Christ, and Mary.

I also brought out a book I've had since ordination "Ordained to Serve...Prayers and Blessings for Permanent Deacons." In there I discovered a treasure! Meditations that are set for a Deacon to help them in service to Christ and His Church!

I pray that this little story, this little hint, maybe all the nudge you need to pray!

On this feast day of St. Monica, through her intercession we pray for the conversion of all our loved ones who have gone astray. Never lose hope, never stop praying.

Peace,

Deacon Mitch

Unless you become like a child...

I'm sharing today words from Michael Phelps after las nights win....."I feel like a kid again, and that's the difference, Phelps said. I feel like I did when I was 18. That was the only way I was going to get back and race at this level consistently."

Today and everyday lets make it our life to be a kid again in order to run the good race!

Peace

Deacon Mitch 

How far would you go???

Good afternoon! I'm finally having my first vacation for the year. My wife would remind me that it's about time. This morning I'm listening to the Patrick Madrid Show on Immaculate Heart Radio and the discussion turned to abortion. I must have been fired up listening to the discussion that I had to share the thoughts discussed during break time with her. She reminded me that we had just talked about how I've struggled with coming up with something to share on this blog,  she said...."you have what you are looking for, go ahead and do it." So here it is...A response was given that abortion is okay, after all "it's the law, the Supreme Court said so!"

Patrick then shared "well, slavery at one time was deemed the law of the land and upheld by the Supreme Court, would you agree or disagree that it was a bad law and stand up with Abolitionists?"

The caller struggled to answer the question knowing quite well where this was going. If a law is immoral and Abortion is, shouldn't we work to repeal this law?

The discussion moved on a very slippery slope for many. What about if a gay gene was identified, by the way there isn't, but if there was one how would you answer that question on abortion, or a mother wanting a daughter with dark hair realizing that her next child would be born with red hair.  How far would you go?

Unfortunately all things that are evil that have been introduced with so called good intentions eventually move on to be more and more.

As we approach the canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa let us reflect on her wisdom about Abortion:

"It is poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

"I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is 'Abortion' , because it a war against the child....A direct killing of the innocent child, 'Murder' by the mother herself....And if we can accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love....And we remind ourselves that loves means to be willing to give until it hurts...." 

"The right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts....a child.....as a competitor, an intrusion and an inconvenience. It has nominally  accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the dependent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands form their husbands or other sexual partners."

and lastly.....

"If a mother can kill her own child.....what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me....there is nothing in between."


How far would you go?


Peace,

Deacon Mitch