Welcome, Lord!

By rosebud101 -
To invite God into our hearts to love and heal us is an act of Mercy, a gift from God, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The invitiation is ours, but the gift is from God. This offer to come into our beings is not a request that God will refuse. He seeks us, but waits until we are ready, if ever. 

Read more at Prayerfully Yours

Comments

  1. http://peacefulheartopenmind.blogspot.com/11:41 am, April 21, 2016

    I had given up going to church for awhile for a number of (what I felt) were very good reasons...The priest I liked so much had been transferred to another parish, a fellow parishioner that I admired had a bad experience in another church, etc. All of these were convenient excuses not to go to church. I never felt I had given up on my faith. I still prayed each day, read the Bible, shared my faith with others, etc....I just didn't attend Mass weekly. I wasn't angry at God, I was disappointed in my church. Did I think my abscence was a way to punish my church? The church did not do things the way I wanted them to so I picked up my marbles and went home in a huff never to return? A few months ago, a friend and neighbor passed away and my husband and I went to the wake and funeral to express our condolences at the family's loss. As I walked into the church, I noticed that although everything looked the same something was different. The church had gone on without me. There were posters and notices of meetings, children's catechism classes, bake sales, retreats and sign up sheets for various events. The church had not stopped because I was not there, it had gone on as always. That was disappointing. I secretly wanted to be missed so much that someone would come up to me and say something like, "Where have you been? We have missed you." But that didn't happen. My husband and I went in and sat in the pew. I bowed my head, made the sign of the cross and began my prayers. Then a feeling came over me, someone was looking at me. I looked around and saw no one paying anything but the slightest attention to me until I saw His face. He was staring at me from His place on the cross and I could swear I saw the beginnings of a smile on His lips. I smiled at Him and at that moment, in my heart, I heard Him say, "Where have you been? I have missed you." Right then and there I knew it was time to come home.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

By -
Image
This is the image most often associated with the writings of the Belgian mystic Berthe Petit. She promoted devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. During my preparation for the retreat I am giving at the end of the month in Pantasaph, North Wales, I began reading a book by the late John Haffert (once the lay leader of the Blue Army of Fatima). His theory in the book, which speaks of God's "last effort" to convert the world before the coming chastisement, is that we are now living in the third or fourth "day" of the Fatima week. At this time, according to Haffert, we should be promoting devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. I also consulted another book by Dr. Courtnay Bartholomew (whom I have been privileged to meet) which also speaks of the importance of this devotion, linking it with the writings and visions of the mystic Berthe Petit, and the importance of the full title of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. These things will feature in
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more