Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Just like gravity affects us whether we understand it or not, the Communion of Saints, the fellowship between the living and the dead, affects us whether we believe in it or not. There is a spiritual solidarity which literally binds us together. Even though most of us are oblivious to these invisible relationships, we  are  connected to those who have died in the Mystical Body of Christ and we can communicate with each other. When most Catholics recite the Apostles' Creed, we often rush through the final list of dogmas as we say, "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church,  the communion of Saints , the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen". We rarely consider how this fellowship affects us personally. Yet, the unity between the members of the Church on earth, in Purgatory and in Heaven is not some esoteric doctrine which has nothing to do with our day to day lives. These dynamic relationships can influence our...

Today we celebrate All Souls Day. Yes, I said “celebrate.” This day is set aside for us to remember and celebrate God’s mercy. This day is meant for remembering all souls who have departed this life and now reside in Purgatory, where they are in the process of having their venial sins cleansed, as well as experience the temporal punishment for confessed mortal sins. As Catholics, we know that to see the face of God, we must first be purified by the fires of Purgatory, where we are cleansed of our sins; refined like fine gold – Only then may we enter the gates of Heaven and see the face of God. Praying for all souls, on this dedicated day, can only help them. Need some proof that your prayers actually help those in Purgatory? Okay, here is an excerpt from... Read more...

Unresolved grief is a relatively new concept in mental health circles. Secular doctors are beginning to realize it is the root cause of many emotional problems.  In Catholic terminology, unresolved grief occurs when we cling to those we who have died, refusing to surrender their souls to God or embrace our new relationship to them in the Mystical Body of Christ. A Catholic psychiatrist facilitates a group of faith-filled men and women who are learning how to grieve and release their forgotten ancestors to God, as well as miscarried and aborted souls in their family background. The change in these people, some who have been in therapy for decades, is miraculous.  Even ‘Normal’ Catholics Need therapy Tragically, few Catholis discover the root of their spiritual malaise because often it means seeking psychological help continue reading

There is no excel spreadsheet in heaven of all the prayers or good works that you must do to be granted access to heaven.   We can do no action that benefits God in any way, because He is God, He is eternal, already complete and if we could do an action that benefited Him, then in some way He would be found to be lacking in something.   This is why the gift of the sacrifice of God's son, Jesus is completely, free and unmerited, because if all the human beings that have ever lived prayed constantly from their conception to their death could still not open the gates of Heaven and save us from the eternal suffering of hell they way that the blood of Jesus did.   Yet, God gives us an 'action' plan of salvation.  We are not to just stay in our... TO READ MORE CLICK HERE!

Q.  "Are there Legions of Angels?"  Yes, there are Legions of Angels.  Jesus spoke of twelve Legions of Angels that were available to Him. And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.  Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:52-53) But never forget, the Demon has also Legions also.   Remember when Jesus went to exorcise the man of the demon that dwelt among the tombs that could not be contained with a chain? TO READ MORE....CLICK HERE!!  

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! ...

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....

Is Purgatory like a car wash? CLICK HERE

Before we discuss St. Therese of Lisieux’s teaching on Purgatory, I want to put that teaching into context. Her teaching is daring. Some of the nuns she lived with in the Carmelite monastery were scandalized by it, thinking it presumptuous. The last thing St. Therese (or I) would want is for people to interpret her teaching in such a way that they thought they could be spiritually lax and still go straight to Heaven. So, As you read about her teaching, keep these things in mind: Therese is a doctor of the Church. The Church has only 35 doctors, four of them women. Now, being a doctor of the Church doesn’t mean she was infallible. But it does mean that the Church especially recommends her spirituality for Christians in any age. Therese is the Doctor of the Little Way of Spiritual Childhood, and her teaching on Purgatory was part of that Little Way. St. Therese was completely orthodox . This follows from #1. What she taught about Purgatory must never be taken to ...

Our hearts stop beating.  Our lungs no longer fill with air.  Our bodies cease to function.  Our immortal souls are released from our bodies.  We enter into eternal life, and our souls leave our physical bodies.  We only take with us, that which we are.   Reports from those who have returned include tunnels through which the soul flies at speeds unknown on earth.  Lights are brighter than any here.  Colors are vibrant and living.  Colors that have never been seen are visible to the soul who has left the body. Read more at "His Unending Love."

 S hort Version:  For Private Use Only. The just shall be in everlasting remembrance; He shall not fear the evil hearing.   V. Absolve, O Lord, the souls of the faithful departed from every bond of sin,   R. And by the help of Thy grace may they be enabled to escape  the avenging judgment, and to enjoy the happiness of eternal life.  Because in Thy mercy are deposited the souls that   departed in an inferior degree of grace, Lord, have mercy.  Because their present suffering is greatest in the knowledge   of the pain that their separation from Thee is causing Thee, Lord, have mercy.  Because of their present inability to add to Thy accidental glory,  etc.  Not for our consolation, O Lord; not for their release from purgative pain, O God;   but for Thy joy and the greater accidental honor of Thy throne, O Christ the King, For the souls of our departed friends, relations an...

Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin. ~2 Maccabees 12:46 November 2 nd marks the Commemoration of All Souls; the day in which the earthly faithful are called to pray for the faithful departed in Purgatory. Often considered connected to Pagan or other ritualistic ceremonies, All Souls Day is, in fact, a practice with roots in the early Church where the names of the faithful departed would often be posted so that church members could pray for each soul by name. All Souls Day follows on the heels of All Saints Day, November 1 st ; which itself is traced back to origins as early as the fourth century when St. Basil of Caesarea invited neighboring dioceses to share relics of martyrs and to join in celebrating those whose lives had been given for the Church. Eventually Pope Urban IV instituted the practice of using All Saints Day as a way to honor all saints, known and unknown, thus acknowledging our limited knowledge of how each person ha...

I was skimming the channels and happened upon some of those "Ghost" shows where they talk to the dead. The only problem is that they  DO NOT KNOW  who or  WHAT  they are talking to.  DEMONS DO NOT CARRY IDENTITY CARDS!  The 'spirit' took on attributes of a person's mother that had recently passed.  The 'spirit' even knew the Mother and Daughter's 'secret' word that they had chosen in advance of the Mother's passing.  Well that must be proof that was the Mother, right?   NO.   Let me explain.  Demons are constantly around us trying to trip us up so that we lose our salvation, they will  DO ANYTHING , let me repeat : ANYTHING  including taking on the shape, voice, smell, and even provide secret code words in order that you will seek the paranormal (their playing field) and as a result putting you at risk of losing your salvation.  How did the 'spirit' know the code word? Simple, the demon assigned to the Moth...

Father was a no show at the 8 a.m. Holy Mass today.  The old man stood at the back door waiting for him, he said he had talked to Father and that he had said he would be there.  At 8:02, we decided to have a communion service.  Jim, wonderful servant of God, did the service for us.  One of the men came up to me and a woman that I was speaking to after the service.  You never saw this man without his rosary in his hand.  It gave me such hope to see one so faithful every day to the Rosary of our Blessed Mother.  He came over and speaking to the woman spewed a derogatory comment about Father.  My heart dropped.  The woman agreed and joined in the bashing.  This isn't the first I had heard of this, and every time I hear it, it broke my heart.   They invited me to McDonald's for breakfast, I declined and said I would stay and pray.  The woman said to me, "Well he needs it!" (Meaning Father.)  What she didn't know was...

In our prayer God gives us usually only three answers when we pray. 1.  Yes  - your prayer is answered. 2.  No.  - your prayer is refused by God.  Don't loose heart - this is not a bad thing - this is a good thing!  A no from God is a time to reflect on what you were asking for, if it was asked in the right heart.  Was it a selfish desire? If you have asked in the right mindset then know that this is your personal lesson that the will and justice of God, for the will of God and the justice of God is always perfect.  You may even never know why the answer is no.  But if you go forth and submit to the will of God then you usually find the answer for the "No" was because if He had said yes it would have diminished or cancelled a grace or gift He wished to give you later.   3.  Not yet.   God's timing is not our timing and we have to understand this, we will wait patiently for what He said He wil...

June is the month devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Margaret Mary Alocoque, after being shown the Sacred Heart, was asked to spread devotion to it. St. Margaret Mary was often visited by souls in purgatory and would recommend to families who had recently lost loved ones to pray Novenas to the Sacred heart for the release of their loved ones from purgatory. There's a beautiful site called Daily Pilgrimage to Purgatory where you can read more about St. Margaret Mary and her love for the souls in purgatory. We live in a day and age where many people don't believe in God and, if they do, many of them believe that everyone goes straight to heaven. They focus completely on God's mercy - not understanding that justice and mercy walk hand in hand. Without justice pure chaos would reign both now and in the afterlife!  There are also those who offer a Mass and a prayer or two for their loved ones and then assume that is sufficient and do no more. Meanwhile, there are souls...