"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!