UNITY BY GOD ALONE

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Be Holy

UNITY BY GOD ALONE

From an Easter letter by Saint Athanasius, bishop
The paschal sacrament brings together in unity of faith those physically separated from each other

Brethren, how fine a thing it is to move from festival to festival, from prayer to prayer, from holy day to holy day. The time is now at hand when we enter on a new beginning: the proclamation of the blessed Passover, in which the Lord was sacrificed. We feed as on the food of life, we constantly refresh our souls with his precious blood, as from a fountain. Yet we are always thirsting, burning to be satisfied. But he himself is present for those who thirst and in his goodness invites them to the feast day. Our Savior repeats his words: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

He quenched the thirst not only of those who came to him then. Whenever anyone seeks him he is freely admitted to the presence of the Savior. The grace of the feast is not restricted to one occasion. Its rays of glory never set. It is always at hand to enlighten the mind of those who desire it. Its power is always there for those whose minds have been enlightened and who meditate day and night on the holy Scriptures, like the one who is called blessed in the holy psalm: Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or stood where sinners stand, or sat in the seat of the scornful, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Moreover, my friends, the God who first established this feast for us allows us to celebrate it each year. He who gave up his Son to death for our salvation, from the same motive gives us this feast, which is commemorated every year. This feast guides us through the trials that meet us in this world. God now gives us the joy of salvation that shines out from this feast, as he brings us together to form one assembly, uniting us all in spirit in every place, allowing us to pray together and to offer common thanksgiving, as is our duty on the feast. Such is the wonder of his love: he gathers to this feast those who are far apart, and brings together in unity of faith those who may be physically separated from each other.

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will ack

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Be Holy

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven.”

Answer Me This

When did you last speak His Name?
Of what do you usually speak?
What occupies your thoughts and rules your moments?
Whose name shall be on your lips as life slips away?
Who will carry you home?

Looking at the Sun

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Be Holy

Looking at the Sun

Last evening, I saw the sun in a surprising way. Looking at the sun directly, it appeared to have a silvery and ” cool” disc over its center, which would normally be ” hot”and bright and would force my eyes to instinctively close or my eyes to look away. I watched it for some time in wonder and amazement, seeing soft red rays around its silvery core.

To me, it is mysterious. I mean, I do not know how I could gaze at it quite comfortably, watching the rays seem to spread out around it’s cool center.. I watched it for some time wondering at the occurrence, the ability to look upon it, and wondering why I was seeing it. I have seen this at other times in the past, often on a Church feast day, like the Feast of the Transfiguration, or the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

I write about it because I don’t know what it means but accept it as a gift, a grace. I have been wanting to write about grace and supernatural grace but I can’t seem to put what I understand of them into words, at least, into my words. So, like looking at the sun, I shall simply gaze on them a while more.

Here I am

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Be Holy

Here I am,
Asleep in Your arms.
I forgot to be afraid.

Who Notices?

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Be Holy

Who Notices?

How many moments in the day
Pass into a supposed oblivion?
“Just another day,” they say.

Another runny nose,
Another cranky cry,
Another, and another, and another.

Cloudy horizons,
Dreams caught off guard
By the mundane of reality,

Where is the “anything”,
They said I could be?
No time in the day just for me.

How many selfless moments,
Written in timeless sands,
Seemingly, lost with yesterday?

Hidden moments,
Stripped of vain glory.
Only God notices.

One Holy Night

Posted on March 25, 2017 by Be Holy

One Holy Night

Holy Infant of the stable
You shattered my darkness
In one Holy Night.

Though, tyrants and terrors
Threaten and pursue
Peace shines forth in Your angelic Light.

I, too, shiver in the cold,
As enemies draw near,
Simply trusting, in my plight.

Taking heart that angels ring me ’round.
Trusting that You will be ever near,
Hallowed, Holy, God of Might.

Two Images, One Lamb

Posted on March 25, 2017 by Be Holy

Two Images, One Lamb

Agnus Dei,
Lamb of God,
Meek, perfect, humble,
Oblation, acceptable and sacrificial.

Arnion,
The Lamb, standing, as if slain,
Conquering , and at Sabbath Rest,
Resurrected!

Seeming

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Be Holy

Seeming

Lord, you pass by.
A sea of hands reach for You.
Straining to its end,
Determined, one hand, truly, seems all Heart.

You pass, seeming out of reach.
From Heaven the Father sees,
And satisfies the soul’s desire.
“Who touched me?”, says the Son.

Major Apparitions of St. Joseph

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Be Holy

via ncregister.com

Help with Today’s Problems

St. Joseph focused on life’s difficulties and offered consolation. “My Son Jesus, through my Heart, wishes to impart to all men his divine blessings. I know many of you suffer many great difficulties because, in these last times, men no longer love or help one another but live with their hearts full of pride, falsehood, lies, intrigue, ambition, backbiting, pettiness, and many wrong things that are the consequences of living far from God.”

St. Joseph said to all who honor his Heart and trust in him and his intercession, “I promise they will not be abandoned in their difficulties and in the trials of life. I will ask Our Lord to help them with his Divine Providence in their material and spiritual problems.”

To mothers and fathers consecrating themselves and their families to his Heart, St. Joseph assured help in afflictions and problems, and assistance with raising up their children.
Sin: Consequences & His Protection
The spouse of Mary did not ignore the current world situation which in 1998 was still 18 years from the multitude of today’s multiplying spiritual chaos.
He emphasized, “[M]y Son Jesus is very indignant with the sins of humanity.

“He desires to pour his divine justice upon all men that do not want to repent and continue obstinately in their sins. Look, my son, I hold his right hand, preventing Him from pouring out his justice upon all humanity. I ask Him, through the graces of my Heart and for being worthy to live by his side, taking care of him with the love of a father in this world, and for Him having loved me with the love of a son, to not chastise the world for its crimes, but for all my little ones who honor and will honor this Chaste Heart of mine, should pour out his mercy upon the world.”
The world’s many sins call humanity to repent and do penance, he said, “because God receives continued offenses from ungrateful men. Today there are so many outrages, the sacrilege and indifference by all men. It is because of this that so many calamities like war, hunger and disease occur and so many other sad things man has suffered because of man’s rebellion against God.”
St. Joseph made clear rebellion’s consequences. “God lets men follow their own paths to show them all, without him, they will never be happy. He lets men go through so much suffering, to also show them the consequences sin brings to their lives and so then the divine justice punishes humanity because of their obstinance in not being obedient to God’s Will.

He pointed out humanity is “increasingly obstinate in their crimes” because of concern for worldly pleasures “rather than the love of God and his Commandments. But God’s justice is close at hand in a way never seen before and will come about suddenly upon the whole world.”
That should shake us, yet this most powerful saint extends a hope-filled solution. All those who honor his Chaste Heart “will receive the grace of my protection from all evils and dangers. For those who surrender to me will not be slaughtered by misfortunes, by wars, hunger, by diseases and other calamities, they will have my Heart as a refuge for their protection. Here, in my Heart, all will be protected against the divine justice in the days that will come. All who consecrate themselves to my Heart, honoring it, they will be looked upon by my Son Jesus with eyes of mercy, Jesus will pour out his love and will take to the glory of his Kingdom all those I put in my Heart.”

“make America a socialist country?”

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Be Holy

“make America a socialist country?” by Dick Roberts

“A New Zealander who has studied the radical LEFT for some 30 years, says he is watching an escalating number of radicals foment hate, violence and chaos by any means necessary to destroy the American constitutional way of life. These “ain’t college students; they’re professionals.” He hopes more Americans are connecting the dots and paying attention.

Trevor Loudon, the author of “.” The film is about who was behind the inaugural protests against President Donald Trump. They found organizations and professionals like Teresa Gutierrez of the Workers World Party, who proclaims in the film, “this is the revolution that will take Donald Trump down and make America a socialist country.”

Music to his ears, Loudon commented on a poll by John McLaughlin in February for Secure America Now, showing growing bipartisan weariness with the manufactured outrage by the left.

Did you notice the cultural pressures against any criticism of President Barack Obama as the first black president advanced a progressive agenda to fundamentally transform the nation? On the other hand no criticism of Trump is off limits in the LEFT’s orthodoxy that treats this president wholly different than the last one. Impeachment, violence, boycotts, mental instability and slurs are leveled against Trump without any apparent awareness of a double standard — a double standard apparent to the Trump voters – and one that smacks of mental illness.

Charges do not have to be true. Anything that helps discredit President Trump in the eyes of the public, weaken him, or delegitimize him is seen by the LEFT as okay. You might recall Lenin ‘s quote : “we must vilify and incite hatred against those with which we disagree.” (Marxist – Leninism 101)

For more on Trevor Loudon, see his documentary, “The Enemies Within” that lay out the Members of Congress who couldn’t pass a security clearance based on their ties to neo-communists and the Muslim Brotherhood, the documentary created by Capital Research Center. You can also browse a resource he created on the hard left.

Good reading!

Truth be told, I write for those closest to my ❤️

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Be Holy

Truth be told, I write for those closest to my heart, who, truth be told, are probably the least likely to read it. So, in truth, I write for the stranger who happens this way, and so enters my heart to become family and friend.❤️

I have been praying this prayer nightly

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Be Holy

I have been praying this prayer nightly because it touches my heart deeply. It leads me to promise and resolve that for the future I will do what I have neglected to do through my forgetfulness, negligence and hardness of heart.

I met Fr. Groschel at a conference. He joined my friend, Laura, and I for breakfast one morning, crashing it with great charm and humor. That was his way. Later he signed his book for me, which I now treasure, all the more, as he has since died and, I believe, now delights in the heart of the Holy Trinity ❤️.

The Way of the Cross for the Holy Souls https://lionessblog.com/the-way-of-the-cross-for-the-holy-souls/ via @wordpressdotcom

I have been praying this prayer nightly

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Be Holy

The Way of the Cross for the Holy Souls https://lionessblog.com/the-way-of-the-cross-for-the-holy-souls/ via @wordpressdotcom

Of Myself and of Thee

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Be Holy

Of Myself and of Thee

I know so little of myself.
I perceive myself to be
Only because
You think of me.

I spin about like elemental sprites,
Really nothing without You,
Yet dancing as the orbs
Upon the stage
Of Time and Space.

I know so little of my heart,
How it can beat and bow,
And even break.
That I am free to move,
In opposition to Your dreams for me.

You are the spirit and stuff
Of my many moments,
The thought I hold dear,
And the music I hear.

I know so little of myself,
But You speak me and here I be,
Living and dreaming,
Praying and waiting,
To see all You have thought of me.

Of Myself and of Thee

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Be Holy

Of Myself and of Thee

I know so little of myself.
I perceive myself to be
Only because
You think of me.

I spin about like elemental sprites,
Really nothing without You,
Yet dancing as the orbs
Upon the stage
Of Time and Space.

I know so little of my heart,
How it can beat and bow,
And even break.
That I am free to move,
In opposition to Your dreams for me.

You are the spirit and stuff
Of my many moments,
The thought I hold dear,
And the music I hear.

I know so little of myself,
But You speak me and here I be,
Living and dreaming,
Praying and waiting,
To see all You have thought of me.

Rome Sweet Home

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Be Holy

Song of My Heart

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Be Holy

Song of My Heart

I sing my song of love to Thee,
My God, in Persons, Holy Three,
My Three, as You desire to be,
Have come to earth to succor me.

I, who pine, wanting Thee to please,
Lift heart and hands upon my knees,
Hoping, True God, for Thee to live,
For Your Heart beats but to forgive.

I was Irish once…

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Be Holy

I was Irish once…

I was Irish for brief moments,
As they danced on makeshift stage.
Three sisters donned in green and white,
With ribbons in curled hair.

I was Irish for brief moments,
As locks bounced to rhythms tapped,
By jigging, flying feet,
Flitting blithely through the air.

I was Irish for brief moments,
Of merriment sublime,
Happy, joyful leaping,
Knees high, and lifted, kicking.

I was Irish for brief moments
Minstrels played their magic tunes,
And young girls moved in rocking fashion
Erin’s reveries impassioned.

I was Irish for brief moments.
Sweetly skirted colleens,
Poised on pointed toes.
Sent hearts a-skipping, happy legs a-lifting,

I was Irish for brief moments,
As fairies with green ribbons
In coiffed and flaming hair,
Spun a golden space in memory’s place.

I was Irish for brief moments,
And see again in dreaming,
Gladsome spinning, hopping, prancing,
Three sisters on stage dancing.

Yes, I was Irish once.

Lifting the Veil

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Be Holy

Lifting the Veil

Lift the veil in this morass of Sin,
That faith may blossom and hope enter in.
Let the Sun of Justice shine
Upon a people in decline,
That looking up from the tyranny of power and things
Your face may captivate and solace bring.

Pour down torrents of Thy Grace
To cleanse this dry and brutal place ,
Uproot to plant anew
A Day of peace like settled dew,
That minds be bright and intellects sublime
And our only glory may be Thine.

Daily Prayers: During the Day

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Be Holy

Daily Prayers: During the Day

WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES

O MOST sweet Jesus; I commend to Thy Divine Heart all that I have done in the hour that is gone; to be cleansed and purified, and offered to God the Father for His eternal praise. And whatsoever I shall do in the hour that is beginning; I resolve to do simply and purely for the glory of God and for the salvation of all mankind; in union with Thy Passion. Amen.

PRAYER BEFORE WORK

Our Lord directed St. Gertrude to tell a certain person to form the following intention before beginning any work:

O LORD Jesus; in union with Thy most perfect actions I commend to Thee this my work; to be directed according to Thine adorable will; for the salvation of all mankind. Amen.

AFTER WORK

O LORD Jesus; in union with Thy most perfect actions I offer Thee this my work; to be amended and cleansed; and presented as is fit to God the Father; to His eternal praise. Amen.

BEFORE EATING

Our Lord said to St. Gertrude: He who takes care to eat and drink; etc.; with the intention expressed in the following prayer; holds as it were a buckler before Me; to defend Me from the insults and injuries of the worldly.

O LORD Jesus, I take this food in that same love wherewith Thou hast sanctified it, when in Thy most holy Humanity Thou didst deign to eat and to drink to the glory of God the Father, and for the salvation of all the whole human race; beseeching Thee that, in union with Thy Divine love, it may tend to the increase of glory, and salvation of all Thine elect in Heaven, on earth, or in Purgatory.

WHILE TAKING SUSTENANCE

St. Gertrude was accustomed to say frequently while eating:

MAY the virtue of Thy Divine love incorporate me wholly into Thee, O my most loving Jesus!

And while drinking:

O MOST loving Jesus, pour into my heart and preserve within me the energy of Thine Own most glowing charity; may it pervade all my substance, and flow ever more through every faculty of my body and soul, to Thine eternal praise and glory. Amen.

She asked our Lord whether He would accept a like devotion from all who might offer it to Him, and received this reply: Whenever anyone eats or drinks with this intention and devotion, I will acknowledge in presence of My Father that I have eaten with Him, and that he has given Me to drink, and I will show to him in due time the utmost tenderness of My love.

AFTER FALLING INTO SIN

St. Gertrude said to our Lord: Teach me, O best of Teachers, how to efface the stains of sin which I contract from time to time. She received this answer: Never allow these stains to remain upon thy conscience; but as soon as thou feelest thyself defiled by any fault, say to Me with a devout heart:

O CHRIST Jesus, my only Salvation and Hope, grant that all my transgressions may be blotted out by Thine most efficacious death. Amen.

VIA http://www.catholictradition.org/Gertrude/prayer-book2.htm#CLOCK

ASPIRATION TO JESUS

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Be Holy

ASPIRATION TO JESUS

Jesus said to St. Mechtilde: Whoever shall breathe a sigh towards Me from the bottom of his heart when he awakes in the morning, and shall ask Me to work all his works in him throughout the day, he will draw Me to him; so that his soul shall have life from Me even as his body has life from his soul, and he shall do all things through Me and by Me. For never does a man breathe a sigh of longing aspiration towards Me without drawing Me nearer to him than I was before.

O MOST loving Jesus, I breathe towards Thee this sigh, drawn from the depth of my heart, beseeching Thee with all my might that Thou wouldst deign Thyself to work in me all my works, whether of body or of soul, to cleanse them all in thy sweetest Heart, and to offer them, in union with Thine Own most perfect works, to God the Father as an eternal thanksgiving. Amen.

COVENANT WITH GOD

O ALMIGHTY God, I sanctify, dedicate, and consecrate to Thee every beating of my heart, and every pulsation of my blood; and I desire to make this compact with Thee, that their every beating shall say to Thee: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; and I beseech Thee to impute this meaning to them, so that they may be before Thy Divine Majesty as the unceasing echo of that heavenly canticle, which seraphims sing without ceasing unto Thee. Amen. Amen.

Spirit

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Be Holy

Spirit

“The man, who knows of the universe’s spirit, walks upright. The materialist hugs the earth.” (Frank Sheed, Theology for Beginners)

Jesus the Lover of Souls

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Be Holy

Jesus the Lover of Souls – Meditation by St. John Henry Newman

THE inspired writer says, “Thou hast mercy upon all, because Thou canst do all things, and overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance. For Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast made … And how could anything endure, if Thou wouldst not? or be preserved, if not called by Thee? But Thou sparest all, because they are Thine, O Lord, who lovest souls” (Wisdom xi. 24-27). This is what brought Him from Heaven, and gave Him the Name of Jesus—for the Angel said to St. Joseph about Mary, “She shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His Name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. i. 21). It was His great love for souls and compassion for sinners which drew Him from Heaven. Why did He consent to veil His glory in mortal flesh, except that He desired so much to save those who had gone astray and lost all hope of salvation.” Hence He says Himself, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Matt. xvii. 11, Luke xix. 10). Rather than that we should perish, He did all that even omnipotence could do consistently with its holy Attributes, for He gave Himself. And He loves each of us so much that He has died for each one as fully and absolutely as if there were no one else for Him to die for. He is our best friend, our True Father, the only real Lover of our souls—He takes all means to make us love Him in return, and He refuses us nothing if we do.

Let us pray for the conversion of all sinners.

O Lord, “who didst give Thyself for us, that Thou mightest redeem us from all iniquity, and mightest cleanse to Thyself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works,” look upon Thy baptized, look on the multitude of those who once were Thine and have gone from Thee. Ah, for how short a time do they keep Thy grace in their hearts, how soon do they fall off from Thee, with what difficulty do they return; and even, though they repent and come to penance, yet how soon, in the words of Scripture, doth the dog return to his vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. O my God, save us all from the seven deadly sins, and rescue those who have been made captive by them. Convert all sinners—bring judgments down upon them, if there is no other way of reclaiming them. Touch the hearts of all proud men, wrathful, revengeful men; of the obstinate, of the self-relying, of the envious, of the slanderer, of the hater of goodness and truth; of the slothful and torpid; of all gluttons and drunkards; of the covetous and unmerciful; of all licentious talkers; of all who indulge in impure thoughts, words, or deeds. Make them understand that they are going straight to hell, and save them from themselves and from Satan.

Candles on Altars

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Be Holy

Candles on Altars

All men are candles,
Burning on some altar.
Some disappear into nothingness,
Before worldly idols,
Unable to sustain their spark
Beyond the veil,
Into eternity.

Others light the heavens
As they are consumed
On the altar of Love,
Merging imperceptibly,
Creature with Creator.

When my wax is spent,
I pray I am not distracted
By my sin.
When I melt
Into the arms of God,
May it be that Love,
That lit my flame,
Outshines my imperfections
In holy consummation.

Burn candle, all alight
Warming with mercy rays the night,
To Penetrate hearts of friend and foe,
To soothe and mend wounds,
Dispelling darkness
With the Uncreated Light
That set creation into being.

Now and forever,
I cast myself
Into the flame,
The furnace of His Sacred Heart.
Passing through pierced side,
One with the Virgin,
Holy angels and expurgated saints of ole,
Melted in union,
I am formed anew in Christ,
With the Father and Spirit,
Candle, altar and Salvation might.

Love Sweeter Than

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Be Holy

Love Sweeter Than

Your love is sweeter than the honey dripping upon the lover’s tongue,
Sweeter than wine that wakens the palate to new delight.
Your love is aroma and taste penetrating the heart.
It is the roof growing higher,
And foundation of my world,
Glimpsing heaven and begging it near.

Your love is sweeter than my life.
It is invitation and enticement,
Known and unknowing,
Higher than happiness,
Straining to the Holy.

Your Love is the beginning and end of Life.
Falling on the world,
Drop by drop,
Yet, like a river in flood,
Endless and eternal,
The crossing of Now and Forever
Meeting in my bossom,
Drawing me free from myself,
Into You.

In Your thirst
You are all poverty,
Hungry,
And yet all supplying,
Giving and spent,
Still full in Your Emptiness.

Your Love is sweeter than this life,
Holy with promise,
You ring my heart with longing
And satisfy my depths and queries.
With Truth, You show me the heaven of Your Heart,
And bid me “Come.”

Isn’t It Aaronic? John Keisling Parody Video

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Be Holy

Communion

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Be Holy

Communion

Come, my Lord, to this poor dwelling,
You are Lord of all, and heaven is at hand as You approach.
Come in Spirit to my humble abode.
At your coming, the angels make ready.
They spread their wings over Your Mercy Seat.

Come be enthroned here in my heart.
Allow the splendor of heaven
To scatter flowers along Your Way,
As You incline, Your Heart
To one in misery for want of You.

I rejoice for You are here,
And in my embrace.
Your are Now.
You are mine,
O my Beloved.

Heaven finds a home in my soul,
As You reign in my heart.
A river of Life pours forth,
As You water this garden,
And provide rich food and fruit,
For all who will partake.

Communion

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Be Holy

Communion

Come be enthroned here in my heart.
Allow the splendor of heaven
To scatter flowers along Your Way,
As You incline, Your Heart
To one in misery for want of You.

I rejoice for You are here,
And in my embrace.
Your are Now.
You are mine,
O my Beloved.

Heaven finds a home in my soul,
As You reign in my heart.
A river of Life pours forth,
As You water this garden,
And provide rich food and fruit,
For all who will partake.