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Showing posts with the label Confession

'Your faith has saved you; go in peace.' Sunday Reflections, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

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Feast in the House of Simon (detail) , Paolo Veronese, 1567-70 Gospel Luke 7:36 – 8:3 or 7:36-50 NRSV, Catholic Ed , One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled

'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.' Sunday Reflections, Pentecost, Year C

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Pentecost , El Greco, 1596-160 Gospel John 20:19-23 ( NRSV, Catholic Ed ., Can.) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Or Gospel John 14:15-16, 23b-26( NRSV,Catholic Ed ., Can) Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, an

'If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.' Sunday Reflections, Second Sunday of Easter (or of Divine Mercy)

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The Incredulity of St Thomas , Rembrandt, 1634 Pushkin Museum, Moscow [ Web Gallery of Art ] Gospel John 20:19-31 ( NRSV, Catholic Ed ,Can) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in t

'From now on do not sin again.' Sunday Reflections, 5th Sunday of Lent, Year C

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From The Gospel of John (2003) directed by Philip Saville Gospel John 8:1-11 (NRSV, Catholic Edition, Canada)  Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus

Mathematics and Mysticism

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St. Francis Adoring the Crucifix The Catholic Church calls those that have extra-ordinary revelation, "mystics."  I do not like this term, The mystical is shunned and looked down on in our society because some people look on the mystic as someone unbalanced, or if their revelations are believed, then they are looked upon as a person who has attained a friendship with God to which no one else can attain. There is nothing farther from the truth... TO READ MORE CLICK HERE.

"They Fear You."

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Recently I was contacted by a young man who said he was very scared because he was experiencing demonic oppression.  He sounded terrified and didn't understand what was happening or what to do about it.   Now, normally we are called to be sceptical and not see the devil under every bush, but something about this young man's genuine fear pulled me more to belief than not.  I know that he could have had mental issues, or been just someone craving attention, but what he told me he was experiencing would dispel both of those theories.  TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!

The Last Age Before the Messiah Comes: The Age of WAR.

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In all history of God there have been three ages and we are in the  last  of the three ages. The first age was the  Age of the Prophets ,  ....to find out what the other two ages are... CLICK HERE!

Connecting To Heaven

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As a Mathematician I have a great hunger for knowledge.  I seek knowledge in Mathematics like a bulldog would, I dig in, latch on, and don't let go until I have what I want.  Because this is the method I have used to acquire knowledge, it was no surprise that I would employ these same techniques when it came to seeking after God.     It is written,  "there is no one who seeks God" , well I did.   I went after God, and sought Him diligently  and by God's grace I will tell what I found.  ..... TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!

The Art of War. (Part I)

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Virgin with Jesus giving Holy Rosary to St. Dominic The most treacherous path you will ever take is the Warrior's Path You do not choose to be a Warrior,  God  chooses you , and His choice is quite terrifying.    When God chooses the Warrior, there is no false humility.  When God says to you,  "You ARE a Warrior,"  you don't say, "Oh no God...not me."  On the contrary, you say,  "Yes sir!"  and then you tremble  at what being a Warrior for God could truly mean.    The fear at being called as a Warrior, is to shake so violently before the Lord that you think every bone in your body will break.    The fear comes on the realization that a warrior will be given souls to fight for, and  will be asked to account  for them. When you are called to the path of the Warrior, it is a responsibility to be pure, obey,  and seek only the good of the other ,  never  thinking that you are doing anything for God. TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!

The Purgatory Trap

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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. To READ MORE: CLICK HERE!

My Confession and Penance

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  YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE IT MY CONFESSION AND MY PENANCE READ HERE    PASS IT ON AS A WARNING TO OTHERS

Do you go to confession?

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Do you go to  confession ?  Do you still go to a priest one on one?  Or do you just do the Communal Confession at Mass? To read the rest of the article and to respond to my very scientific poll (!), go to Being Catholic ... Really .

‘Go . . . and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Sunday Reflections, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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The Inspiration of St Matthew , Caravaggio, 1602 Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Matthew 22:1-14 [or 22:1-10]  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition : Canada)  Jesus said to the chief priest and the elders of the people:  “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.   He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.   Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’   But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business,   while the rest seized

Preparing for Eternity

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One of the greatest gifts that God gives us in the Holy Mass, and the Holy Eucharist is to prepare us for Eternity.  There is no where you can go on the planet and prepare for your own Judgement and Eternity like you can by going to Holy Mass, Holy Confession and taking the Blessed Sacrament.   There is no Preacher or Church service in the world that prepares you for heaven like what happens every day at Holy Mass.   To Read More CLICK HERE.

"Are Their Souls Not Worth $200?"

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Some time ago on Facebook, I got a message from (what I thought was...) my Bishop.  He was very kind and ministering to me, asking about my walk, quoting scripture, and even giving me the link to his blog to read.  These messages happened over several days, and I was rather enjoying our little private conversations....  CLICK HERE FOR MORE

'Let both of them grow together until the harvest . . .' Sunday Reflections, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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The Sower , November 1888, Arles; Vincent van Gogh   Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings  (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Gospel  Matthew 13:24-43 (or 13:24-30)   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;   but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.   So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.   And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’   He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slave

"Don't Turn Around."

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Another time praying the Stations.... I was at the 6th Station, offering the Station to God, asking the Father that one drop of blood that just one drop of our Lord's precious blood cover what I was praying for.  At this station, I am all the way at the back of the Church, with my back to the Altar.  I hear the Lord say to me,  "Don't Turn Around."  ....  To find out why I was told that. . . CLICK HERE . 

What is Your God "Relationship Status"?

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In this age of social media, we all have to have a status, whether it is what we ate for lunch, where we are, or the old nemesis... the relationship status .   We have all seen it multiple times, and we all have those family members or friends that should have a limit on how many times they are allowed to change their relationship status.   I've had friends that their relationship status changed in hours...not days.   So, if we were to post our relationship status with God and His Church...what would it be? TO FIND OUT WHAT RELATIONSHIP STATUS YOU ARE.. .CLICK HERE!!

'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.' Sunday Reflections, Pentecost, Year A

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Pentecost  Juan de Flandes Museo del Prado [ Web Gallery of Art ] Pentecost Sunday, at the Vigil Mass (Saturday evening) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Pentecost Sunday, Mass During the Day Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)    [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Gospel   John 20:19-23   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace

What Really Happens at Holy Mass.

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What Really Happens at the Holy Mass. This is where I am happiest, at the Holy Mass.  Now I will tell you what really happens at Holy Mass. The Lord told me some time ago, "I want you to go to Holy Mass everyday."  I thought, "O.k., I can do that."   At the time I was only going to Holy Mass once a week, an occasional day Mass but I mostly just prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  I didn't understand, but I obeyed.  Going to Holy Mass everyday required some coordination, I would have to get up earlier and find a Mass along the way to work.  Also, the Mass would have to be close enough to work that when it was finished I could still get to work on time.  I found several different permanent options, and a few back up plans if for some reason I couldn't get to my regular daily Mass. It took about a year of going to Holy Mass daily, but then things started to change.   This was no longer an obligation, but a joy!    God started to open my eyes t