"Keep our hearts in all diligence"

Lord Jesus,
You lived in obedience to your Father in working out our salvation in silence of heart. Let us then guard our hearts, let us guard our mouths.
May we receive from the Father a pure heart like David
“to build a temple for My name.” (I Kings 8:18)

Give us the fortitude of Soloman to,
“Keep our hearts in all diligence.” (Proverbs 4:23)
We cry out to You as Isaiah did,
“Woe is me, for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6:5)
In Your Divine Mercy, “Hedge thy possession about with thorns,
(Hosea 2:6) and bind up thy silver and gold, (Exodus 20:23) and make a door and a bar for thy mouth, (Nehemiah 7:3) and a yoke and a balance for thy words.” “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me,
and His word was on my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:2)
Amen
Francis Ambrose of Divine Mercy T

Yea, the Lord Himself in the Gospel worked out in silence the salvation of
men.45 David rightly therefore enjoined on himself not constant silence, but watchfulness.
10. Let us then guard our hearts, let us guard our mouths. Both have been written about. In this
place we are bidden to take heed to our mouth; in another place thou art told: “Keep thy heart with
3
all diligence.”46 If David took heed, wilt thou not take heed? If Isaiah had unclean lips—who said:
“Woe is me, for I am undone, for I am a man, and have unclean lips”47
“Hedge thy possession about
with thorns, and bind up thy silver and gold, and make a door and a bar for thy mouth, and a yoke
and a balance for thy words”?48 Thy possession is thy mind, thy gold thy heart, thy silver thy speech:
“The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the fire.”


A good mind is also a good
possession. And, further, a pure inner life is a valuable possession. Hedge in, then, this possession
of thine, enclose it with thought, guard it with thorns, that is, with pious care, lest the fierce passions
of the flesh should rush upon it and lead it captive, lest strong emotions should assault it, and,
overstepping their bounds, carry off its vintage. Guard thy inner self. Do not neglect or contemn it
as though it were worthless, for it is a valuable possession; truly valuable indeed, for its fruit is not
perishable and only for a time, but is lasting and of use for eternal salvation. Cultivate, therefore,
thy possession, and let it be thy tilling ground.

"What good can a protestant convert do?"

Thank you for this open dialog to comment on what good can a protestant convert do in the Church. I agree with your example of the cradle Catholics being much like us 3rd and 4th generation Americans taking much of the freedoms and blessings for granted. But I don't see that true with all cradle Catholics! I too am a new convert totally excited with my relationship in Christ Jesus now lived out in the one true Catholic and Apostolic Church. Earlier today, I was blessed to be in a Catholic men’s fellowship group where we pray together and review the readings for Sunday Mass. During our time together the group leader Dan who is cradle catholic expressed how he was praying with a friend that has a view that his life won’t change till he gets to heaven. Dan discussed with his friend that he believed that he could experience heaven now, and that it’s not a place. I then spoke up and shared with the group that Dan’s perspective comes directly from his Catholic upbringing and my Protestant upbringing had that heaven after we die mentality for real change to take place. So I believe this blessing goes both ways leaving the Protestant ways of thinking and embracing the sacramental culture traditionally kept in the Catholic Church but taken for granted needs to be encouraged in our brothers and sisters life of faith in Christ when we see it manifest. So when I see my Catholic brother or sister who may seem to have no clue as to what they are here for during Mass, it gives me the opportunity to pray that they may receive the fullness of the grace that their baptism as offered them in Christ Jesus. Steve I agree that the time is now and “Cradle Catholics are coming alive and the Church is like a sleeping giant awakening”. God Bless your efforts by His grace!

Cultivate my heart Oh God!

Cultivate my heart Oh God
Turn me not unto my own ways of self-indulgence
for spiritual prosperity.
Keep me as your child crying out as
a beggar for your mercy and grace.

Make my heart unto your own in vocation
to carry out your will.
May the eyes of my new heart be always
fixed on your face Lord Jesus.
Transform my vision to see through Your
eyes of Love for Your Children:
Who are starving, even though they may appear full;
who are in poverty, even though they may have riches;
and are dead, even though they act fully alive.

I ask Mother Mary to help me consecrate my self
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be His vessel;
to help feed the hungry, and help care for the poor,
and bring the dead back to the true Life in Him.

Amen
Francis Ambrose of Divine Mercy T

Experiancing the Seven Joys of Mary

To follow through with my blog statement on May 26th, 2007; “I hope to explain in an upcoming article my journey that brought me to start praying the Franciscan Crown thanks to Saint Francis of Assisi.” The following is my attempt by sporadic means of communication to fulfilling that promise.
Finding the crown on the Franciscan website and the rosary on John Michael Talbot website both on December 24th,2005 was providence on God’s timing to break me out of shooting from the hip type prayers. I was undisciplined and unfocused in my prayer life, and still am at times, but I have no excuse for not having the tools of devotion in front of me. These tools have been past down to us in the Church by beloved Fathers like Saint Francis of Assisi, and Saint Bonaventure who had a great impact on Marian devotion.

In addition to developing this Marian devotion, the Franciscans are credited with adding the final words to the Hail Mary, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. In 1263, Saint Bonaventure, Minister General of the Order, encouraged liturgical devotion honoring the mystery of the Visitation. Saint Bonaventure also popularized the daily triple recitation of the Angelus which it is believed Saint Francis initiated after visiting the Holy Land. Francis was deeply impressed by the Muslim practice of stopping to pray several times a day, and desired to Christianize this pious custom. A Franciscan pope, Sixtur IV (1471-1485), introduced the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the feast of Saint Joseph as husband of Mary. He also issued the first papal pronouncement encouraging the rosary as in invaluable instrument of personal and societal conversion.
Taken from The Franciscan Crown a beautiful booklet available in most Catholic Book stores
Courtesy of The Franciscan Friars of Marytown

A Franciscan master brought the devotion into the Church as a discipline among the Franciscan monks, but a young boy devotee of Mary was
the initial receiver of the devotion.

The Franciscan Crown, or the Rosary of the Seven Joys of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an ancient sacramental
treasured by the Franciscan order. Father Luke Wadding,
a well-known Franciscan historian, dates the inception of
this chaplet to 1422, the entrance date into the novitiate
of the order of an unnamed pious young man. This young
devotee of Mary had been accustomed, before his entrance,
to decorate a statue of the Virgin with crowns of fresh
flowers. This practice was forbidden to him in the
novitiate, and fearing a lack of devotion to his Queen,
he determined to leave the order. In a vision, Our Lady
appeared to him and told him, "Do not be sad and cast
down, my son, because you are no longer permitted to
place wreaths of flowers on my statue. I will teach you
to change this pious practice into one that will be far
more pleasing to me and far more meritorious to your
soul. In place of the flowers that soon wither and
cannot always be found, you can weave for me a crown
from the flowers of your prayers that will always remain
fresh."Thereupon, Our Lady requested the young friar to
say one Our Father and ten Hail Mary's in honor of seven
joyous occasions in her life:
(1) the Annunciation, (2) the Visitation, (3) the birth
of Christ, (4) the adoration of the Magi, (5) the finding
of Jesus in the Temple, (6) the resurrection of Our Lord,
and (7) the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin into Heaven.
As the vision faded, the overjoyed novice began to recite the
prayers as she had instructed him to do. While he was
devoutly praying, the novice master passed by and saw an
angel weaving a wreath of roses. After every tenth rose, he
inserted a golden lily. When the wreath was finished, the
angel placed it on the head of the praying novice.The novice
master demanded under holy obedience that the novice
explain to him the meaning of the vision. The novice
complied, and the novice master was so impressed with what
he had heard that he immediately told his brother friars.
The practice of reciting the Crown of the Seven Joys soon
spread to the entire Order.
Taken from "A Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals" by Ann Ball,
published by Our Sunday Visitor.

Experiencing the Franciscan Crown as devotion to Christ has opened the door for the Holy Spirit to teach me a greater respect and reverence of the work of God reflected in the gospel. In stating the sentence above it may sound correct, but on a deeper level the Holy Spirit is bringing me to a place of a personal communion of relationship with Jesus’ family with heart-felt interaction.


· The Holy Spirit spoke to me about letting go of my previous thoughts about Mary and receiving her for whom she really is.
· Mother of our Lord who gave her body as the Holy of Holies, the tabernacle of God in her whom, and raising Him out of complete obedience to His Father.
· She is full of grace… full of the Holy Spirit with all purity and love for all that God bestows upon her.
· When a casual friend wants you to be a close friend they invite you to meet their family. Jesus makes clear in during His ministry that all those that are His disciples are His Mothers, and Brothers, and Sisters(Matthew 12:46-50). “ Friendship with Jesus fellowship Divine O’ what blessed sweet communion Jesus is a friend of mine.”
· Mary finding Jesus in the Temple became to me a real vocal point of relationship with the real Jesus. I can see the picture now Mary and
Joesph running back into Jerusalem where they had left Him three days prior, not knowing where He may be. Jesus is twelve, the age of Jewish rite of passage for a boy entering into manhood, now illegible to converse with other men. We find Him inside conversing with Canon lawyers and doctors of the law about Holy Scripture. When questioned by His Mother He answer's;"Did you not know that I would be found in my Fathers house?" I believe that the joy that filled Mary's heart was that she found her son Jesus after anxious searching. But Mary and Joesph totally missed Jesus point stated in His rhetorical question. How many times do we run around thinking we lost Jesus when His same rhetorical question is spoken into our busy, narcissistic, relativistic, instant gratification, high tech, information overload, and cynical age?
The gospel according to Luke makes clear that they didn't understand His statement, even though Mary witnessed the depth of that relationship with the Father in her son(Luke 2:40-52). The perfect preadolescence of Jesus childhood shared in the Holy family was already aligning with the Fathers plan of salvation birthed in their hearts at the time the angel spoke His name"Jesus"(Luke 1:26-33). They continued to listen to the Father by living dependent on the Word of God in their hearts(Luke 2:4-19).
· All seven joys give me a deeper heart felt appreciation to be in the family of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the blessings of our Mother Mary. She welcomes me to experience the joys of her Son Jesus by taking me to the very moment of life experience in devotion with Him, in Him , and by Him. Thanks be to God for the riches of devotion past to us through our Holy Mother and ever Virgin Mary!

"The Loss of the Sacred"

Most Reverend Arthur J. Serratelli,

I applaud you for your article “The loss of the Sacred”.
I was baptized, confirmed, and received holy Eucharist this past Easter Vigil.
Being raised in the protestant church all my life I felt something missing deep in my heart for a more tangible faith with historical roots in Christ that has respect for the sacred. I have visited many parishes and find your comment about a social hour prior to mass seems to be the norm. I was expecting to find a parish somewhere that expresses a reverence of the holy presence of God, which invites us to a holy hush of atmosphere prior to mass. I cry during the mass on most occasions hearing the pain in God’s heart for His people. Times of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament is very special to me in experiencing that holy hush prior to mass as our Holy Father encourages us. It would be wonderful to walk into a parish where the whole body is experiencing the sacred together. We don’t have to wait to get to heaven for this to happen. I agree we can make this change in our own lives to bring a respect for the sacred back into our parishes. God bless your efforts!

In His Mercy and Grace,

Wade Marsh
+Francis Ambrose

The Fire of God ignites us.

The fire of God ignites us.
He purifies our soul,
from the chafe and the stubble,
that keeps us from being whole.
He takes the coals off His alter,
by the Angle of God,
to place them on our lips,
where only saints have trod.
He is the Lamb placed on the alter,
for you and me.
The Fathers Love is the consuming Fire,
that ignites the Lamb who sets us free,
by His passion for you and me.
Now the Angle of God stands before
us in Christ Church today,
beckoning us to receive from
off the alter the coal that ignites
by fire of God’s Spirit in you and me.
Will we receive the Body of the Lamb
from off the Alter today?
The same Body that rose from the dead,
And gives a new life to you and me.
Will we allow the fire of God to burn
away all the chafe of our rebellion,
and stubble from lack of Love that
causes a world of decay?
With the Virgin Mary our Mother
let Christ Church say; Yes!
Amen, be it unto us according to Your Word!

By Francis Ambrose of Divine Mercy

Inspired by 2 Samuel chapter 22 David’s Hymn of Victory and Isaiah Chapter 6 Vision of the Alter in Heaven.

COMING TO THE END OF MYSELF

The dangerous road of coming to the end of my self had started with a fight I had with my best friend. I had never hit anybody in the face before hitting him that day at the top of the staircase at my home in Pontiac, Michigan. It all started when, I called my friend from work to pick me up, because I had loaned him my car to drive that day. He did’t know it, but I had a long hard confrontational day at work, and I was’t ready to wait around on going home. We had made planes to head off for Chicago that weekend of Memorial Day celebrations for 2005. He was running over 30 minutes late, so I started walking home with my cell phone in one hand calling him to find out where he was at. My anger was explosive by time he reached me for I had walked at least over a mile thinking he was’t going to show up. My friend finally called, he was around the corner looking for me, so I told him my location and he picked me up. After we had returned to my place, I aired my dispute of anger onto him with the force of all my frustrations for that day. I was yelling from the top of the stairs so he came up the stairs and I started hitting him in the face. To stop me from hitting him he picked me up off my feet and fell on top of me to the floor. My backside of the pelvic bone hit the large mop board at the corner wall and broke open my hip socket. I cried out for him to get off me but I knew it was too late I felt this numbing sensation flow below my waist down my right leg. I knew something was wrong. I tried to get up but I could not, my femoral head was out of the hip socket.

My friend put me in his car and took me into the St Joseph Hospital where I spent the whole night laying there in pain, crying out to God why me? Twelve hours later Doctors in the ER tell me they could’t do anything but give me pain medicine and find a specialist in town to take my case. May 25^th 2005 at 6am I was then transported to William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Jeffery Balazsy, M.D. a specialist in orthopedic trauma took me in as his patient. The Doctor asked me how this all happened without it caused by an automobile accident. I told him about the fight I started with my friend. He could hardly believe what I told him. He said it does happen to Athletes from tackles during football games and in extreme sports but not at home. With hindsight I can truly say, Thanks to our God for His Mercy!

The Doctor and his team surgically cut open the side of my hip 15” in order to do the extensive reconstruction surgery. The procedure was to fix the damage by placing a round donut shaped stainless steel plate that had long screws going up into the pelvic bone area to restore the hip socket. The socket now holding the femoral head looks like a bright shining crown of thorns on the x-ray taken. Well you can imagine how the Lord spoke loudly to me that day when the Doctor asked me if I wanted to see what my hip socket looks like. I looked with my mouth open and saw the crown of thorns that reminded me of Jesus sacrifice. I was sent home with in a few days to recover after being trained on how to use a walker and crutches. My friend stayed with me while I needed assistance recovering. The first week I was strictly confine to my upper level of my home because it was too difficult to use the staircase. I cried out to the Lord during those days asking for His mercy to heal me thus consecrating the rest of my days in full obedience to His will. I was heading toward a new way of living life, but my journey home was still only beginning.

I went back to work after being away for two full weeks with no real vacation except being in the hospital and I grew bitter toward my friend blaming him for hurting me and causing this to happen. Oh how quickly I let go of seeing God’s mercy in what had happened. I was back making money at work and ignored the prayer of following after God’s will.

My friend and I were out on the town the night of the big Woodward Cruse here in Southeastern Michigan. People from all over bring there Hot Rods to show off and just enjoy the time with family and friends looking at the cars cruse the famous Woodward avenue. Well my friend was driving my car down Woodward after leaving a bar and was caught swerving by the Bloomfield Police. I was still on crutches so he agreed to drive that night. My friend took full responsibility so the police only took him into jail, and put my car on a flat bed to the impound yard. The police allowed me to take a cab home. This was my friend’s third offence for driving under the influence. The police station released him on bond and gave him a court appearance. I helped bail my friend out of jail but I was still full of anger and bitterness toward him even through he had helped me during my recovery from the surgery. On May 30^th 2006 my friend was taken into the Oakland County jail to serve his time for the charges set by Judge Warren of Oakland County Circuit Court. I was present during the sentencing and felt responsible to see him though this time in his life. I visited him during his 9 months in the county jail and made sure he had monies in his account.

It was during those 9 months I started praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet every night remembering my friend in the jail and seeing more how my life needed to change but not sure how it was going to take place. I had to let go of tons of bitterness in my heart that was starring me in the face every time I went up to the jail to visit my friend. Seeing the hurt on the faces of other family members coming to visit their friends and relatives in jail was also an eye opener. I was praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and receiving Divine Mercy for myself and asking for others but knowing my heart was split by a false religious spirit. I was praying for others but not living out Divine Mercy toward others. Making choices to act on what I was praying had not come to fruition. I needed to forgive my friend and stop the bitter hatred of blaming him for the fight I had started that led to my hip socket breaking.

The other big issue, I had to face was my Mother and Brother had decided to move away from the family here in Michigan to start their lives over in Kentucky. Mom decides to leave her husband of over 25 years of marriage prior to her husband’s retirement from General motors. My sister, and I, along with her family have felt robbed of having a family to share our life events with. We have recently found our local Churchs to be our family because of all that is happening. My Mother’s ex-husband is holding on to the house we all grew up in, and he continues to visit his grandchildren which he feels responsible in loving regardless of my Mother’s choices.
The explosive arguments and bitterness between my Mother, her Husband, and my Brother had been so heated, the next step could only be physical harm. My time of prayer was not only for my friend in jail, but also for my whole family.

On top of all this, the Charismatic Episcopal Church I was attending was facing a huge change because of unresolved conflicts between the Bishops. Two of the Bishops were close friends of mine who put a lot of work into the Churches of the CEC. Along with my friend, family relational upsets; I was faced with the same inside the Church I was attending. My heart was very heavy and could only see darkness in my life and in everyone I came in contact with.

Thanks to the Divine Mercy of God, He allowed me to make a move to enter into a class for adults looking at the faith within the Roman Catholic Church. This allowed me new relationships where I was free from attached bitterness. The grace of people praying for me in the midst of what I was facing, allowed me to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet with more confidence that God’s will in my life is to unfold. My relationships were becoming transformed as my old way of life was coming to an end. This allowed me to keep the lines of communication open with people and friends who cared for me in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. Specially the two Bishops who are my brothers in Christ, that have seen me through other rough places in my journey, I still pray for them daily.

The big day was yet to happen for me when on March 16^th 2007.

I prayed this prayer; Praying for Freedom

Lord, I so wish to prepare well for this time.
I so want to make all of me ready and attentive
and available to you.Please help me to clarify
and purify my intentions. I have so many
contradictory desires. I get preoccupied with
things that don't really matter or last. I know
that if I give you my heart, whatever I do will
follow my new heart. In all that I am today,
all that I try to do, all my encounters, reflections
- even the frustrations and failings and especially
in this time of prayer, in all of this may
I place my life in your hands.
Lord, I am yours. Make of me what you will.

Amen.

St Ignatius describes this 'Preparatory prayer' as asking for the grace that all my intentions, actions and operations may be directed purely to the praise and service of the Divine Majesty. (The Spiritual Exercises, no. 46)

I came across this prayer at work in the morning because it was a very slow day at work. I also typed out and read my birth verse I found online the week prior. The verse reads;
And Say on that day:
Give Thanks to the Lord,
Acclaim His Name:
Among the Nations Make Known His Deeds,
Proclaim how exalted is His Name.
(ISAIAH 12:4)

At 4:50pm that day my Boss pages me into his office and starts explaining to me that:“It was time to part ways.” After he was repeating himself of finding reasons to let me go I had to stop him and tell him it’s OK to let me go. I said: I had prayed about letting go of my job to what ever the Lord wants. Then the tension just left the room like a ton of bricks had fallen. God’s mercy was made evident at that moment and we were both relieved. My employment ended at Acorn Kitchen and Bath 21 days before being baptized, confirmed, and receiving communion into the Roman Catholic Church. This is just the beginning of coming to the end of myself and facing a whole new path in life to follow. Thanks to the Divine Mercy, Jesus Christ, He came knocking at the door of my heart, and I am ready to let Him come in daily!

Chastity and Homosexuality

Chastity and Homosexuality
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

"Divine Mercy comes as a New Pentecost"

To answer a friend's questions about the impact Divine Mercy has on me:

1.How did you receive the Divine Mercy chaplet as your daily devotion?

· First it took me time to embrace Mary as my Mother. I came with a lot of resistance because of the warnings taught me being raised and schooled by Pentecostalism. I was taught speaking in tongues is the most important part of my prayer life. Being taught that the experiences I was receiving “from the Holy Spirit” during the times of manifestations is more important then the Truth of the Gospel and how we have received the Truth. Please understand I am not saying speaking in tongues are wrong or over. Thank God by His grace He still allows me to pray in the Spirit, and with understanding. This "Truth","Divine Mercy","Jesus Christ Himself"; is marked in His-Story and pasted down to us from the actual Apostles and early Church Fathers. Study for yourself and see, that the Virgin Mary, spouse of the Holy Spirit, Mother of the Truth, is totally interwoven in their writings of the Gospel story past down to us. Man has so commercialized the Christmas story of the Jesus birth and Virgin Mary by limiting her to the “Christmas only Mary” making God’s love to the world out to be tawdry.
·Conversion is a process and every born again Christian who knows the message of the Gospel is in the midst of ongoing change in life as a transformation, and planted in the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus through baptism. The fact is our Mother Mary who gave birth to Jesus was on the earth as a witness during each event of his journey. She is not the only witness, but in all reality, she is his Mother, with all her emotions and memories attached to Him as any God fearing, loving mother would. Are you born again in the same Christ Jesus? When the Holy Spirit asked me that question I had to answer yes, from my heart. I believe that started the beginning to the uprooting of false doctrine taught me over the years that kept me away from hearing the gospel from Mary’s perspective. To begin a journey were letting go of doctrines that have hardened my heart from a closer relationship with Jesus Christ through His Mother, and now my Mother Mary. Thanks be to God! No wonder the Holy Spirit wants to speak in us about those events and make them real in our lives today. He can revile those events to us through the experiences that Mary encountered as the Mother of Christ Jesus and the birth of His Church at Pentecost.
· The Franciscan Crown became a vocal point for me during prayer. While meditating on each seven joys of Mary I experienced the Holy Spirit teach me through our Holy Mother to say “YES” when God speaks to me, because she obeyed the Word of God and He became flesh in her. We too are called “Blessed” by Jesus for obeying His word in us. Luke 11:27-28. This is how the whole Church is birthed into existence “Word made Flesh” through her son Jesus.
· That same day I found the seven joys of Mary online, I found the Franciscan crown rosary on John Michael Talbot’s website with the seven decades to pray the seven joys as devotion. The rosary has the same San Damiano crucifix that Saint Francis received his call from the Holy Spirit to restore Christ Church in a dark period in time when he was on earth. This all happened about the same time I went back to the Charismatic Episcopal Church in the winter of 2006.
· When I came across the Divine Mercy on a prayer card I just ordered it because the Image of Christ as our Divine Mercy caught my eye. I ordered a dozen cards not knowing the devotion was going to be used to receive Divine Mercy to break open my hardened heart. The Holy Spirit asked me to receive this devotion of Divine Mercy after praying the Franciscan Crown, and having Him teach me a new way of hearing the Word of the Gospel in the eyes of Mary. Just an added note, I hope to explain in an upcoming article my journey that brought me to start praying the Franciscan Crown thanks to Saint Francis of Assisi.
· This humbles me to not rely on my own eyes in front of a crucifix or Icon but that now reflections come to my heart by the Holy Spirit in connection to my family in heaven when I am willing to listen to the heart of God through their experiences as pilgrims on this earth. Learning from the Saints in heaven was a teaching pass down from the Apostles themselves written clearly directed to the church's through the early Church documents found in the "Didache"."

1. My child, him that speaks to you the word of God remember night and day; and you shall honor him as the Lord; for in the place whence lordly rule is uttered, there is the Lord. 2. And you shall seek out day by day the faces of the saints, in order that you may rest upon their words."

2.Why did the Divine Mercy Chaplet play such and important role in bringing you back to God?
· It is changing my heart of knowing the “Love of God” is not tawdry meaning cheap and gaudy in appearance or quality.
· Dietrich Bonhoeffer a German Minister who was imprisoned during the Holocaust in one of the killing camps talked about warned about the gospel being preached as a cheap grace. The true gospel of Christ Jesus is costly he reminded his students in his text "The Cost of Discipleship".

"Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheap jacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?"
"Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian "conception" of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins. The Church which holds the correct doctrine of grace has, it is supposed, ipso facto a part in that grace. In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God."

I would go to even say it is beyond human reasoning yet it is reasonable as the Holy Spirit communicates the mystery of that costly Love of God that will risk everything to win us back to Himself. This beyond all comparative reasoning by the expense of all creation or monetary wealth: man can never win that favor of Love that is lavished on the Whole world inclusive of all that is created and ever will be. Yet the cost is opening our heart to a radical change from a life giving source not of this world!
· I n asking the Lord for His direction He showed me I needed discipline (not to earn favor with Him) but, to quiet myself so I could hear His heart of Costly Love that exposes my pride. He humbles me and I respond Thank you Father!
· The Chaplet of Divine Mercy asks me to Pray to the “Eternal Father” I was fine with that part of it until the prayer goes on and states “ I offer to You the “Body and Blood” That’s what a priest would say during mass. Arguing in my head, Wow, wait a minute, this is a Catholic thing why are you having me pray this? The answer was, you want to stay in your darkness and suffering? I said No. The answer was, keep praying until you get it! Wow, God always wins arguments with me if I don’t ignore Him.
· A costly Love that is Divine Mercy is for the whole of humanity not just me.
We all learned as kids John 3:16. I have to say this but it’s like Kleenex is to facial tissue. This is the most advertise scripture on earth, so much so you see the address during Football games but not the Words. When the Saint John wrote those inspired words in his letter, do we presuppose we know what he meant? Do those words from God recorded inspire us to hear with our hearts today? Do I really believe God’s Love in the simplicity and depth is found in Jesus? Am I agreeing with those who have twisted or distorted God's Love to reinvent a gospel palatable to embrace disordered lifestyle or of the context for someone’s personal agenda or ego? I have been there and done that, Lord have Mercy on us for grieving your precious Holy Spirit by believing lies that perpetuates apostasy. Divine Mercy is here to bring and end to this deadly cheap and tawdry love that leads to apostasy. Lord Jesus You can begin with me!
· “For the atonement of our sins and those of the whole world” so I reasoned with this perspective that Universal atonement doctrine that as a Protestant I was told was wrong. So after studying the Early Church Apostles and the Scriptures them self’s teach us Jesus being all God and all Man is the Seed of Abraham, the New Adam, the Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the World. End of argument. It is what it is no reasoning out that fact could ever change that reality of a Universal atonement."The apostles further appointed: At the conclusion of all the Scriptures other let the Gospel be read, as being the seal of all the Scriptures; and let the people listen to it standing upon their feet: because it is the Gospel of the redemption of all men."
.The very posture of standing when the Gospel is read declares my agreement with the Apostles teaching that this is "the seal of all Scriptures..and the redemption of all men." I hear the Lord speak to us all, "Do you believe in My costly Love passed down to you in the Gospel? If not, why are you standing?
· But even knowing the facts won’t change me. Even demons know those facts and they continue in spreading their lies to keep man in darkness.
· Jesus Christ Himself comes as the Divine Mercy breaking into the darkness of my heart and quietly asks me to let myself inflected punishment go and that relational punishment of bitterness I have dumped on others through gossip or accusations end.
· Brother Vance a Sunday school teacher at Open Bible Church told me way before I headed to Bible School that the strongest weapon of our warfare is the “Blood of Christ”. He meant it in a way of speaking it as a confession of faith, which is true but only in part.
Jesus specifically put His Blood in the Face of all His disciples that night of celebrating Passover with them.
“Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.
If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two door posts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole, with its head and shanks and inner organs. None of it must be kept beyond the next morning; whatever is left over in the morning shall be burned up.
"This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD. For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first--born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt-I, the LORD! But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. "This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution. Exodus 12:3-14 New American Bible

· Wow now that connects you all the way back to The deliverance of the Children of Israel the night when the Angel of Death came upon the households without the Blood put upon the Mantle and Door post outside as the protection from the curse.
· Jesus said this is "My Blood" of the New Covenant we understand “New” as not meaning that the old has passed away but that it is fulfilled by His resurrection Life this makes the Covenant ever-living meaning more than just sacrifice but a partaking of the Divine One,"as a perpetual institution"!
The Real Presence! The Word Become Flesh! Sharing in the Life of God as a Human Being. Father Joesph makes this point clear. The Holy Spirit being the breath of God. So much so that “Jesus is my Brother” and I too am called a son of God. Saint Ambrose of Milan says;"62. The Holy Spirit is not, then, of the substance of things corporeal, for He sheds incorporeal grace on corporeal things; nor, again, is He of the substance of invisible creatures, for they receive His sanctification, and through Him are superior to the other works of the universe. Whether you speak of Angels, or Dominions, or Powers, every creature waits for the grace of the Holy Spirit. For as we are children through the Spirit, because "God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father; so that you are now not a servant but a son;" Galatians 4:6-7 in like manner, also, every creature is waiting for the revelation of the sons of God, whom in truth the grace of the Holy Spirit made sons of God. Therefore, also, every creature itself shall be changed by the revelation of the grace of the Spirit, "and shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God." Then comes the other part of the Divine Mercy Prayer offered to the Father,"soul and divinity"of your dearly beloved Son for the atonement of our sins and those of the whole world. This prayer brings me to call on this present moment my baptismal covenant from the soul and divinity of Jesus Christ who is Love and Mercy.
· My deliverance today is to have mercy toward my brother and all who I come into contact with throughout my day as Christ Himself in me displaying His mercy through me to the glory of God the Father.

Divine Mercy calls us to the Father

Divine Mercy flows out like rays from the heart of our Lord Jesus shines on the whole world in full agreement to Our Mother's intersession. She has draw me into the arms of His eternal Love. The same arms His Mother Mary witnessed once stretched out upon the cross for the sins of the whole world.
This picture speaks volumes to me, because the first time I came across it was over seven years ago online attached to some one's profile. My life was full of darkness then, and self-righteous deception. Oh, I thought, I had life figured out, and I didn't need to be apart of a Church to be told otherwise, because I thought, I knew things the average person setting in the pew didn't have a clue about. Woe is me a man undone! Pride sure goes before a fall. How true, because I fell hard and tried to end my life though immorality and drugs. My heart was hardening at a fast pace with anger, hatred, and bitterness toward myself, family, and friends. I started having sleepless nights fearing for my life, knowing I was living in hypocrisy, and to die in that state I would face extreme torment. Each morning after being in and out of restless sleep, I would put everything I had into my work. I was a workaholic believing that the increase of wealth would take away my pain and loneliness. I could prove to the world by its standards, I was living the good life. Greed and materialism had a big hold on my life goals. Life was all about pleasing myself and worshiping the creation.

The picture came to my attention one day after I saw one
like it on a prayer card that could be purchased
from a Catholic website. Suddenly the picture caught my
attention, so I ordered about a dozen cards not knowing
at the time a prayer written on the back of it would be
used to help me cry out for Divine Mercy. Once the cards
arrived in the mail I started praying the Divine Mercy
chaplet. In the January of 2006 I started returning to the
Charismatic Episcopal Church where I had left off on my
journey in Christ over 8 years ago. I heard the Lord direct
me to thank many brothers and sisters who been praying
for me over the years.

Yet, I continued praying the Divine Mercy chaplet and
hearing the Lord direct me to study the Church Fathers
and Saints though out the ages. Reading their letters
and documented teaching I began to question the type
of Church I was in. I was hearing about their life
stories of faith grounded in the Catholic Church where
courage to face even death was not an obstacle for
being a Christian.
I had to ask myself the following questions:
Why don't I embrace the Virgin Mary as my Mother
like these saints have throughout the ages?
Was not Mary who listened to Gabriel announcing that
she would conceive of the Holy Spirit and bring
forth a Son who's name is "Jesus"?
Was not Mary who carried Jesus nine months in
her womb while being reticulated for immoral
relations with a man prior to marriage?
Do you see how Mary never abandoned Jesus
even all the way to the cross? Did she not fully embrace
Divine Mercy through out her whole life?
All my stubborned arguments failed me after answering
those questions. Now my heart responds with a continual
"Yes Lord" as He responds back in asking;" Will you pray
daily the chaplet?" I accepted with celebrated joy to
embrace His request.

The Divine Mercy chaplet was birthed out of devotion to
Mary In 1931 by Sister Faustina who received the
devotion through hearing His voice and seeing visions of
the image of Jesus. " On the 22nd of February,
1931,she had a vision of Jesus while she
was in Plock, Poland. Jesus appeared to
her and said,"paint an image according
tothe pattern you see with the signature:
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU.
I promise that the soul that will venerate
this image will not perish. I also promise
victory over (its) enemies already here on
earth, especially at the hour of death.
I Myself will defend it as My own glory"
(Diary 47,48)."
My heart began to change more and more everyday
as conviction of conscience to love and put away
judgmental attitudes towards people in the world
and the Church. In October of 2006 I called Sacred
Heart Catholic Parish to ask what steps I needed to
take to become a practicing Christian Roman Catholic?
I was told about their class for adults interested in
learning more about the Catholic Church with no
pressure in joining. I agreed to take the class and was
quickly surrounded by other people hungry to embrace
our Lord Jesus in the historical roots of the Catholic faith.

The hunger to embrace devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus seen through the eyes of Mary and all the Saints
throughout history has opened up my heart as a flood
gate to receive Divine Mercy without fear.
My hostile view of God to hold back mercy was ending.
The covering like a veil over my heart is suddenly taken
away by His Mercy, so I sense His heart for others.
The stubbornness of heart effecting my relationships like
a wall separating heaven from earth soon vanished like
an unreal deception. Thank you Lord for giving me this
continual devotion of praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

You are opening my heart to bring healing like a specialist
doing major open heart surgery. When the Holy Spirit
exposed my heart, I cried out to the Lord for His mercy
and He heard the cry of my heart and I began to hear
His voice. Thank God for the witness of Saints in heaven
who interact with us as we ask for their continual prayers
on our behalf, as described in Revelation 19 and the
Church Fathers. This mercy encouraged a
transformation of heart knowing my Father in heaven
encourages me to interact by asking intersession from
Virgin Mary, our Mother and all the Saints in Heaven.
I'm free to pray with all the Saints on earth and in
heaven, what a wonderful joy it is to be in this Holy Family.

Thank you Eternal Father,
for calling me into a new life
of virtue and chastity sharing
in Your Loving Kindness through
the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
I bow my heart in amazement
and wonder with all your children
on earth and in heaven birthed into
Your Divine Mercy.
Now to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
I give you praise, glory, and dominion
with the Virgin Mary our Mother,
Saint Ambrose Bishop of Milan,
Saint Francis of Assisi,
and all the Saints and Martyrs
in intersession with your Divine Mercy
for the whole world.
AMEN

The Adventure of Daily Office Reading

The reading of the office is important for the Church
gives us direction on which scriptures to read on a daily
basis. She is like a movie director for the reading keeps
the whole Church on point to produce the same universal
message of scripture for the time of year.

The Church year is staged into different seasons like
different scenes in a movie, these themes display the
redemptive work of God the author of history.
The year of grace 2007 started with Advent.
This season starts on the eve of December 1st and runs
up to the nativity of the Lord Jesus. The ever celebrated
Christmas season begins that evening of December 24th
and runs to the Baptism of the Lord according to the
Church year. Then the season of Ordinary Time, which
runs before the forty days of Lent a time of fasting and
soul searching unto repentance. Lent prepares the
Church for the most important feast of celebration called
the Triduum. The Triduum is the three most important
days of the year for all Christains. This begins on Holy
Thursday the celebration of the last supper Jesus had
with His Disciples before His Death on the cross, note
this is also the celebration of Passover. Then Good Friday
we celebrate the stations of the cross to His death at 3pm.
Then Holy Saturday that evening is the"Easter Vigil" the
celebration begins with Baptism, Confirmation, and First
Communion for the Elect being birthed into the Church.

This day the year of 2007 April 7th marks my Birthday
into the Universal Holy Church. The evening begins our
Easter celebration and runs all night into the next day
Easter Sunday. Now that is what I call real celebration
WOW! What a party, the real celebration of the
Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!
After those big feast days brings the season of Easter
Time which takes us right up to the day of Pentecost.
Fifty days after the Resurrection is the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit upon the Church. Then the rest of the year is
Ordinary time again taking us through the summer right
back to the next year beginning in Advent. The cycle of
the Holy Spirit making real the fullness of Salvation in
the Church on the earth in history till the end of time.

Important !
Click on the Icon below to access todays Office readings.

My Journey Home

My journey home to Mother Church has been a long and dangerous road. Now after being fully received into the Catholic Church I find a wrangling about political agendas going on between the conservative vs. the liberal camps of thought. Both sides try to display their points of view with experiential argumentation, which raises a big red flag in my face. WOW! Many people are still on a journey trying to find the true Church and may have one foot in the door and ready to leave what they thought was the Church. Is anyone listening to the heart of the Lord Christ in all this? I chose to leave behind all the protestant accusations toward the Roman Catholic Church that had filled my heart with poisonous lies. The self made man approach to Christianity once had a hold on me causing a distorted view in thinking through Scripture alone based on conjecture rather then tradition. The tradition passed down from the Apostles. Holy Church is brought into being by the Father of the universe Himself through Jesus to bring Love to establish Holy relationships based on His Kingship.

"He confirms what has been already said, by the parable of the rich man who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom; and shows that when the Son delivers up the kingdom to the Father, we must not regard the fact that the Father is said to put all things in subjection under Him, in a disparaging way. Here we are the kingdom of Christ, and in Christ's kingdom. Hereafter we shall be in the kingdom of God, where the Trinity will reign together." Exposition of the Christian Faith; St. Amborse of Milan

Saint Ambrose uses the words "in a disparaging way" pointing towards Christ suffering, and crucifixion on the cross. This obedient heart toward the Father found in Jesus brought Him to the place to lay down His Life. We are all now called into this same obedience of Christ in us His Church.
A kingdom would not be a kingdom without establish order to relationships on earth as it is in heaven. I am learning that the Roman Catholic Church is truly a reflection of that order in heaven through Jesus Christ Himself. She is the only recipient of apostolic secession passed down through Peter by our Lord Jesus Christ.

My embrace of our Mother Mary and all the Saints who are all apart of this Holy Communion called “Holy Church” have encouraged my heart. Now with all these passed down blessings, I am receiving a faith to embrace the cross shared by all the saints and martyrs by letting go of my selfish arguments that separated me from the fullness found in Holy Church passed down through the ages.

Let us not forget that the Church Fathers around the throne (are in the very presence of the “I Am”) have an active voice with their mark on history in all that is taking place now. I am saying this in all due respect and thanks to God our Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ as He prayed for Unity in His Church on earth. This same One-ness He shares with the Father is His desire for us here and now! Note the Gospel according to John chapter 17 specifically verse 11.

“ And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.” NAB

As a Neophyte, I come into this Blessed communion in need of the Divine Mercy!

His mercy that Mary our Holy Mother witnessed at the cross has captivated my heart and soul to trust in Jesus from the heart not just head knowledge. A real transformation is taking place in my life, and a new found respect for my fellow man, because of the real presence found in the Holy Eucharist. This is the mystery Pope John Paul II spoke about which keeps Holy Church Universally held together by Jesus authority at the right hand of the Father. In his letter called “ The mystery and worship of the Eucharist” to all the Bishops of the Church, the Great Pope John Paul II writes; “It is directed, in the Holy Spirit, to the incarnated Son, in the economy of salvation, especially at that moment of supreme dedication and total abandonment of Himself to which the words uttered in the Upper Room refer: “This is the cup of my blood shed for you….” The liturgical acclamation: “We proclaim your death, Lord Jesus” takes us back to that moment; and with the proclamation of His resurrection we embrace in the same act of veneration Christ risen and glorified “at the right hand of the Father,” as also the expectation of His “coming in glory.” Yet it is the voluntary emptying of Himself, accepted by the Father and glorified with the resurrection, which, sacramentally celebrated together with the resurrection, brings us to adore the Redeemer who “became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (11 footnote Phil.2:8) Vatican Translation Copyright @ 1980, Daughters of St. Paul

We are totally admonished by the Holy Spirit to receive His Divine Mercy that flows from the heart of Jesus in full obedience to the Father. This Divine Mercy was first made know in the "yes" of our Mother, the Virgin Mary in full obedience, consummating the Promise of the Father by the Holy Spirit spoken of the Prophets through out the ages. May this same"yes" be made consummated in our hearts, so the formation of Christ in us manifest obedience to the Father. May we all make glad the Father's heart by total dependency upon His Son made know in our lives by the Holy Spirit. May we continue the proclamation that Jesus spoke while on earth , and is still speaking through His Church; "Behold the Kingdom is at hand!". Thank you Father for bringing me home through your Son Jesus by the continued work of the Holy Spirit's grace.

In need of His mercy and grace, much prayers in agreement with Jesus concerning His Church.

Agreement with the Holy Spirit

Eternal Father, I come to You in the Most Holy name;

You’re Son, our Savior “Jesus”.

In agreement with the promptings of

the Holy Spirit,

I ask for continued self-emptying of my life for Your purposes on earth as it is in heaven.

May Your Son, Jesus have complete authority over my thoughts, desires, and will.

Continue Your work of Divine Mercy and Grace in my life;

through baptism into Your Son’s

death, burial, and resurrection.

Keep me in obedience to His command of receiving Life found in the body and blood of Jesus through the Holy Eucharist.

May I also have the privilege to

share in His suffering.

Give to me a heart united with the Holy Spirit for Your Church.

Use me to be the servant of Your "Loving Kindness". May You receive all the glory for the "Life", "You", are now giving me.

AMEN.