St. Bernadette's "Sign"

St. Bernadette's "Sign" -- by Dr. Rosalie A. Turton http://www.101foundation.com/

If then one reads about the life of St. Bernadette, one becomes fascinated by her direct and decisive answers. She was a simple, uneducated, sickly young person, often unable to attend school, and barely able to learn her catechism, but she answered the piercing questions put before her with ease, simplicity, and great wisdom.

I feel that it was the Holy Spirit working though her, as a great gift from God. She confounded many people, even brilliant ones, by her tremendous logic.

When they criticized her for eating "grass" at the Grotto, she quickly responded, "You eat salad, don't you?" When they asked, "Bernadette, pray for me," she sweetly responded, "pray for yourself," well knowing that that person was not praying enough.

It should be very clear to us that when we pray, God always answers. Sometimes, however, His answer is "No." But, even with that answer, we can be sure that He is giving us something better than what we "asked for (Romans 8:28).

He knows what is best for us, and just as any parent does, He gives His child what is best at that moment, even if it was not exactly what was requested. A saintly nun once asked Jesus, "Do You always give us what we pray for?" He responded with a laugh, "I make you pray for what I want to give you!"

Her "Sign"

But what is the sign to which I am referring in the title of this article? Remember that when Our Lady first appeared to Bernadette in the Grotto, at that instant fear of the unknown struck her, and she attempted to make the Sign of the Cross as a protection from all evil. However, strangely, she was unable to move her arm.

Then Bernadette intently watched this most extraordinarily beautiful female Image make the most beautiful Sign of the Cross that she had ever seen! It was breathtaking and in that single instant, those motions burned deeply into Bernadette's memory.

Bernadette fell in love with the Lady, never to recover from that love-"sickness and joy." She was stricken with love-sickness and until her death, at the age of 35, no other love could surpass it.

Because of that great love, she was happy, but later Our Lady told her, "You will not be happy in this life, but in the next." But she was happy, in spite of poor living conditions, treatment by others, and terrible illnesses. The first sight of this Image in the Grotto never left her mind and her heart. Forever, she could only be a joyful victim of love.

That first moment in the Grotto, the Lady had Rosary beads in Her hands. Bernadette took out her own beads from her pocket. So captivated had been Bernadette by the loveliness and charm of the movements of the Image, she herself then began making the Sign of the Cross, trying to copy the exact lovely movements, that the Image had just made.

Some 18 apparitions of Our Lady then occurred, and all the while, and in the interim, Bernadette, was practising making the beautiful Sign. It reminded her of the Image, of her love, of the hope to see Her again, and doubtlessly, of Heaven itself.

When Bernadette joined the convent in Nevers, after one talk, and one question and answer period, the nuns were never again allowed to speak about the apparitions. However, whenever possible, they would look at Bernadette to watch her make the impressive Sign of the Cross, and that movement spoke to them about Our Lady. If you would ask them what holiness, what stood out, what was special about Bernadette, they would answer in one voice, her Sign of the Cross.

How Did She Make It?

Many of us bless ourselves quickly, with some motions that may look like we are wringing our hands, or brushing away a fly. Sometimes we do not even touch our foreheads or bodies at each point of prayer, nor clasp our hands in a reverent finish.

Both Our Lady's and Bernadette's movements were slow, ample, and prayerful. The fingertips of the right hand slowly touched the forehead, (In the name of the Father) probably thinking about the Father... then touched the waist, not the center of the chest (And of the Son), thinking about Jesus... then touching the farthest side of the left shoulder (And of the Holy), then touching the farthest side of the right shoulder (Spirit), and then clasping the hands closed, fingers upward, (Amen).

Holiness and sincerity become obvious. All movements are done in grace, and grace is returned from God. The movements themselves become a prayer in action.

One of the Sisters at Nevers asked Bernadette, "What should one do to be sure to go to Heaven?"

Immediately, Bernadette said, "To make a proper Sign of the Cross is already a good start."

Bernadette's life is an inspiration to us, not so much because she was favored with apparitions, and her body is now beautifully incorrupt, but because she heard and heeded the words and actions of Christ's Mother.

Now look at yourself in the mirror and practice it a little bit. We should always be working for the next life, which is for all eternity, and not only for this one, which could be over in a flash. Think about it. +++

Cardinal in Medjugorje

by Dr. Rosalie Ann Turton

Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn of Vienna, Austria, is personable brilliant, young, decisive, was a former student of Pope Benedict XVI, and presently is in close collaboration with the Holy Father, both as a friend and as a colleague. He is considered by many to be eminent and papabile.

Titles and Responsibilities

To name a few of his responsibilities, the Cardinal is a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Director of the team that wrote the Catechism of the Catholic Church. He is a dogmatist, an expert in Church Teaching, and was a professor of Theological Dogma.

His impressive credentials include "curial membership" in the Congregations for the Oriental Churches and Catholic Education. He is a member of the Pontifical Council on Culture, the commission on the Cultural Heritage of the Church, as well as the Special Council for Europe of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

He serves as the Ordinary for the Faithful of the Byzantine Rite in Austria. With Archbishops of Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, and Budapest, Schoenborn is deeply involved in the re-evangelization of Europe.

He is active in bringing about cooperation between new movements (such as Charismatic Renewal) and the Church's hierarchical structure, and is recognized for his sensitivity to Eastern Christian and Orthodox spiritualities. Within Austria and Europe, Schoenborn has led the way in reconciling Christians and Jews.

Papabile

Cardinal Schoenborn is a prominent voice in a wide variety of contemporary discussions and is considered by many as "papabile, " that is, a prelate with a significant chance of some day being elected Pope.

30 Million Pilgrims

The Medjugorje apparitions have been disputed since 1981, when six young people said that they had regularly seen visions of the Virgin there.

Neither Rome nor the local diocese had formally approved Medjugorje as an official shrine site, but the lack of official recognition has not stopped the remote village, 70 miles southwest of Sarajevo, from thriving. More than 30 million faithful religious and lay persons have visited the area since 1981.

Committee Of Yugoslav Bishops

There are some who think that Rome has spoken definitively, and, since the local bishop of Mostar and of Medjugorje, Bishop Ratko Peric, is against the apparitions, that no one should go there. However, in this particular case, the local bishop is not the sole authority regarding the supernatural nature of the events, since Rome has ruled otherwise.

Long ago, Rome appointed a committee of some Yugoslavian bishops, to discern the spiritual nature of the events, and in 1991, they declared it non constat de supernatualitatae, meaning that thus far, the supernaturality of the event has not been confirmed.

However, although Bishop Peric is no longer in charge of discernment, as far as mystical claims, the bishop still retains the authority over sacramental practices in Medjugorje, and should be respected in this role.

Of late, he has used his authority to restrict the activities of pilgrims and seers, despite a powerful rebuke from Rome. For the time being, the debate seems not likely to end.

In March of 2010, while in Medjugorje with some pilgrims, I heard that he is ill and a new bishop is being considered, in the event that it might be necessary.

In Rome in 1996, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, wrote that official pilgrimages to Medjugorje were not to be organized at parish or diocesan levels, since bishops from the former Yugoslavia had affirmed in 1991 that the evidence is not sufficient to declare with certainty that supernatural appari¬tions and revelations had taken place.

No One Knows The Outcome

Cardinal Schoenborn pointed out that the Church has not yet ruled upon Medjugorje. He stated that no one knows what the final decision will be. But, instead of being a rejection, this leaves open the possibility that it is, indeed, a supernatural event.

The cardinal said that pilgrims and priests are allowed to go there, while reiterating the Rome ruling of 1996, as long as such a pilgrimage is not an official parish event.

He Needed To Know

He wanted to see the place from which so many positive fruits had come. Thus, he made a private visit to Medjugorje in late December, 2009, through January 1, 2010. The cardinal felt that he needed to know more about Medjugorje. And considering his eminent position, HE DID NEED TO KNOW!

He had heard the detractions, but he had also seen the number of priestly vocations coming to his seminary in Vienna, attributed to Medjugorje.

He knew of a number of personal conversions, physical and moral healings, new prayer groups, a heard Fr. Rene Laurentin, one of the world's leading Mariologists, describe the site of Medjugorje as: the "Confessional of the World."

He had heard both sides of the story, and now wanted to be more clearly informed by "seeing for himself."

What Did He Do There?

The cardinal spent his time concelebrating Mass at St. James Church, hearing confessions, praying in silent Eucharistic Adoration, and (with visionary, Marija Lunelti, and thousands of other pilgrims), he climbed Apparition Hill.


A Special Favor

On the evening of December 31, 2009, the visionary, Marija, asked the Blessed Mother for a special favor, explaining that the next day, the Feast of the Mother of God, and the first day of the year, many pilgrims were requesting permission to attend the apparition at her home the following afternoon.

Because her chapel is very small, she was sad not to be able to offer this opportunity to all who wanted it. Therefore, she asked the Blessed Mother for a change in location to make it easier for more people to be able to attend.

Marija suggested that instead of coming at 5:40 p.m. to Marija's chapel, that Our Lady would appear on Apparition Hill at that time, so that everyone could attend. The Gospa replied that She would do both on the first of the year: "come to the chapel at 5:40 p.m., and come to Apparition Hill at 10:40 p.m.!"

Word of it got around fast, and the crowds were elated! On the evening of January 1st, 2010 thousands of people climbed Mt. Podbro, praying their Rosaries in the cold and pouring rain! Their feet were full of mud... but their hearts were full of joy!

The apparition of Our Lady lasted quite a while, and Marija told everyone, "The Gospa was very happy today, and She came with legions of angels!

"She looked at us, and said, 'You are My joy; you are My hope!' Then She urged us again to live the messages that She has been giving to us."

My Own Thoughts

This is how they started the year 2010 in Medjugorje, with Our Lady and Her heavenly army of Angels.

I have been to Medjugorje many times since 1986, and I have personally seen many conversions, healings, and various phenomena... but especially conversions.

I could tell you stories of people who had not gone to confession for years, and somehow they become
inspired to go to confession there, and they leave the confessional spiritually healed!


Many people, find that after confession there... to ordinary priests... the Holy Spirit worked in such a powerful way, that their lives have been forever changed.

I have seen physical healings almost every time I go there, and there is a plethora, a profusion of phenomena, especially to people who go for the first time.

To me, it seems to be mostly a place of spiritual healing and spiritual rejuvenation. It seems to bring comfort to the mind, soul, and body of the pilgrims. Many people go there often to obtain their spiritual "shot in the arm," the needed "spiritual vitamins and nourishment," thus enabling them to cope better with the problems of life that all of us encounter at various times.

Of all apparition sites, it seems to me, to be the one to which most people want to return. Also, at other apparition sites where confession is available, confession does not seem to be the main priority of the pilgrims that it most certainly has become in Medjugorje.

Our Lady's Joy

I feel that Our Lady may also have been joyful to have that loved cardinal present for Her apparitions twice on that special day, and I believe that Her joy made him very happy as well. It may have been Our Lady's gift to him for going there. In my mind, the many angels present that day in the apparitions to Marija, may also have been an indication of Heaven's joy regarding the Feast of the Mother of God, the many devotees of God present, and of Cardinal Schoenborn's openness (to either positive or negative findings) with a desire to "see for himself." Yes, he needed to know... and so do many others.

What Was His Personal Opinion?

At one point after his arrival, he asked, "Who could make these things up?"
"Who could invent this thing? Man? No, this is not a human act."

He went on to say, "When you look at a place like Medjugorje, you can see a superpower of mercy. Many merciful deeds were born here or they are supported here... something that is impossible from a human point of view."

No Official Declaration

Added Cardinal Schoenborn, "There is no official declaration, either way. I would advise for patience. The Mother of God is so patient with us, that for almost 30 years here, in a very direct way, She is showing Her closeness and care for the parish of Medjugorje and the numerous pilgrims.

We can peacefully wait and have patience! This number of years is a long period of time for us, but not such a long period to Our God."

Cardinal Schoenborn's comments prompted Bishop Peric to write him a letter on January 2, 2010, sharply criticizing his visit and stressing to him that his presence there was by no means a formal recognition of the apparitions.

Cardinal Schoenborn met with the Pope on January 15, 2010, after which he wrote to Bishop Peric, saying that he regretted "if you have the impression that my pilgrimage to Medjugorje did a disservice to peace. Rest assured that this was not my intention."

New Vatican Studies

A Vatican spokesman, Rev. Federico Lombardi, said that the Vatican has decided to launch the investigation based on a request from Bosnian bishops.

Therefore, on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, the Vatican released a statement that an international commission of inquiry, headed by Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini, a top adviser to the late Pope John Paul II, has been formed to study the case and report back to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith... (and later to us). +++

Our Lady of Medjugorje message May 25, 2010 for the world

Message of May 25, 2010

"Dear children! God gave you the grace to live and to defend all the good that is in you and around you, and to inspire others to be better and holier; but Satan, too, does not sleep and through modernism diverts you and leads you to his way. Therefore, little children, in the love for my Immaculate Heart, love God above everything and live His commandments. In this way, your life will have meaning and peace will rule on earth. Thank you for having responded to my call."

St. Philomena, Powerful with God--May 25,1802--found her holy remains

http://www.philomena.us/
http://www.miraclerosarymission.org/philo.htm
St. Philomena is a lesser known saint in the Church. In fact, her feast day, August 11th, is not even on the liturgical calendar. Nevertheless, do not underestimate the power bestowed upon her, and it is no coincidence that her name is coming to the forefront of modern times in obtaining incredible results through her powerful intercession.


She spent 40 days suffering in her final 13 years of life in defense of her purity and her faith. Some of the sufferings inflicted upon her include a physical scourging, an attempted drowning, and an array of arrows launched upon her. Finally, she was decapitated, but she never wavered from the faith. She is the Patroness of the Children of Mary and of the Living Rosary. Our Lady has said, "To Philomena, nothing is refused."


Little is known of her life; the little information we have about her came from her private revelation to her devotees. Martyred at the age 14, she enjoyed fame 1800 years after her death.

On May 25, 1802 the remains of a young woman were found in the catacomb of St. Priscilla at the Via Salaria, Italy. It was covered by stones, the symbols on which indicated that the body was a martyr named St. Philomena. The vial containing dry blood (as it was custom to bury a sample of the blood of the martyrs) and the bones were exhumed, catalogued, and effectively forgotten since there was so little known about the person. (The sample of her blood made her the intercessors of those with blood related problems).

In 1805 Canon Francis de Lucia of Mugnano, Italy was in the Treasury of the Rare Collection of Christian Antiquity (Treasury of Relics) in the Vatican. When he reached the relics of St. Philomena he was suddenly struck with a spiritual joy, and requested that he be allowed to enshrine them in a chapel in Mugnano. After some disagreements, settled by the cure of Canon Francis following prayers to Philomena, he was allowed to transfer the relics to Mugnano. Miracles began to be reported at the shrine including cures of cancer and healing of wounds. Philomena became the only person recognized as a saint solely on the basis of miraculous intercession as nothing historical was known of her except her name and the evidence of her martyrdom.

Pope Leo XII granted permission for the erection of altars and churches in her honor. Pope Gregory XVI authorized her public veneration, and named her patroness of the Living Rosary. The cure of Pope Pius IX, while archbishop of Imola, was attributed to Philomena; in 1849, the Pope named her patroness of the Children of Mary. Pope Leo XIII approved the Confraternity of St. Philomena. Pope Pius X named St. John Vianney as the patron of this Confraternity because this saint had a strong and well-known devotion to her. Others with known devotion to her include St. Anthony Mary Claret, St. Euphrasia Pelletier, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, St. John Nepomucene Neumann, St. Madeline Sophie Barat, St. Peter Chanel, St. Peter Julian Eymard, Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, and Venerable Pauline Jaricot who received a healing of her sickness from her.

"To Philomena Nothing Is Refused"

One night, Mother Mary Louisa had a vision in which she saw Our Lady and St. Philomena. The latter confided her to the protection of the Mother of God saying: "Stand firm beneath the protection of Mary." Again, she saw Saint Philomena laying he crown before Mary's throne saying: "Lady of Heaven I am come to ask grace." Whereupon she solicited more than thirty graces for different persons. Our Lady replied: "To Philomena nothing is refused." St Gabriel wrote down the concessions with a golden pen. Then the saint turned to Mother Mary Louisa and asked: "Have you seen how this was done? I asked the graces from Mary, and through Mary they were granted to me."

These revelations have received the Imprimatur of the Holy Office, which means simply that the Church has pronounced them free from anything contrary to the Faith. It does not pronounce further. Everyone is left quite free to accept them at their worth or reject them. But surely the speedy and marvelous answers everywhere to prayers which have been offered in her honor, and by all classes of persons, seem to verify the words: To Philomena nothing is refused!

"My children, St. Philomena, has great power with God. Her virginity and generosity in embracing her heroic martyrdom has rendered her so agreeable to God that He will never refuse her anything that she asks for us." St. John Vianney (Cure of Ars)

"Philomena is a great Saint." Pope Leo XII

"Have full confidence in this great Saint, she will obtain for you all that you ask." Ven. Pauline Jaricot

"Our accursed enemy is this great Virgin and Martyr, St. Philomena. Devotion to her is a new and terrible warfare to hell." (devils during exorcism)

St. Philomena also explained the wonderful power of her intercession when asked what was the difference between the essential glory of the saints and their accidental glory. "We realize", said Philomena, "that we are before God as so many vases of honor, some larger, some smaller. The vases of our souls dilate according to the desire to love God that we had when we were on earth. As soon as we are brought into the presence of God, each vase is filled to the brim with knowledge and love of Him. This plenitude is what is called essential glory, and this, through all eternity, cannot be enlarged or diminished. God Himself can put in the hearts of the faithful to pray to Him through His saints; and then graces descend from Him like limpid water, falling on our vases. But being already full, they cannot contain it, wherefore the water splashes from them and falls down on the earth and on you who are pilgrims. This glory is called accidental, and can increase or diminish. But in either case we lose nothing. Always we give glory


NOVENA PRAYER TO SAINT PHILOMENA

We beseech Thee, O Lord, to grant us the pardon of our sins by the intercession of Saint , virgin and martyr, who was always pleasing in Thy sight by her eminent chastity and by the profession of every virtue. Amen.
Illustrious virgin and martyr, Saint Philomena, behold me prostrate before the throne whereupon it has pleased the Most Holy Trinity to place thee. Full of confidence in thy protection, I entreat thee to intercede for me with God, from the heights of Heaven deign to cast a glance upon thy humble client! Spouse of Christ, sustain me in suffering, fortify me in temptation, protect me in the dangers surrounding me, obtain for me the graces necessary to me, and in particular
(Here specify your petition).
Above all, assist me at the hour of my death. Saint Philomena, powerful with God, pray for us. Amen.

O God, Most Holy Trinity, we thank Thee for the graces Thou didst bestow upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, and upon Thy handmaid Philomena, through whose intercession we implore Thy Mercy. Amen.

Christmas Eucharistic Elevation

Recived this from a friend today---
This is the picture that I mentioned to you. That’s Bishop Ricard (Pensacola-Tallahassee) elevating the host. Bishop Martin Holley is on the left in the photo. The person who sent it to me says that the picture was not touched up.

Back on Uncle Sam's Plantation

Back on Uncle Sam's Plantation -- Star Parker -- Monday, February 09, 2009

http://townhall.com/columnists/StarParker/2009/02/09/back_on_uncle_sams_plantation?page=full

Six years ago I wrote a book called "Uncle Sam's Plantation." I wrote the book to tell my own story of what I saw living inside the welfare state and my own transformation out of it.

I said in that book that indeed there are two Americas. A poor America on socialism and a wealthy America on capitalism.

I talked about government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children (EANF), Section 8 Housing, and Food Stamps.

A vast sea of perhaps well intentioned government programs, all initially set into motion in the 1960's, that were going to lift the nation's poor out of poverty.

A benevolent Uncle Sam welcomed mostly poor black Americans onto the government plantation. Those who accepted the invitation switched mindsets from "How do I take care of myself?" to "What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?"

Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems. The kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others.

The legacy of American socialism is our blighted inner cities, dysfunctional inner city schools, and broken black families.

Through God's grace, I found my way out. It was then that I understood what freedom meant and how great this country is.

I had the privilege of working on welfare reform in 1996, passed by a Republican congress and signed into law by a Democrat president. A few years after enactment, welfare roles were down fifty percent.

I thought we were on the road to moving socialism out of our poor black communities and replacing it with wealth producing American capitalism.

But, incredibly, we are going in the opposite direction.

Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich American on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism.

Uncle Sam has welcomed our banks onto the plantation and they have said, "Thank you, Suh."

Now, instead of thinking about what creative things need to be done to serve customers, they are thinking about what they have to tell Massah in order to get their cash.

There is some kind of irony that this is all happening under our first black president on the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.

Worse, socialism seems to be the element of our new young president. And maybe even more troubling, our corporate executives seem happy to move onto the plantation.

In an op-ed on the opinion page of the Washington Post, Mr. Obama is clear that the goal of his trillion dollar spending plan is much more than short term economic stimulus.

"This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending-it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care, and education."

Perhaps more incredibly, Obama seems to think that government taking over an economy is a new idea. Or that massive growth in government can take place "with unprecedented transparency and accountability."

Yes, sir, we heard it from Jimmy Carter when he created the Department of Energy, the Synfuels Corporation, and the Department of Education.

Or how about the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 -- The War on Poverty -- which President Johnson said "...does not merely expand old programs or improve what is already being done. It charts a new course. It strikes at the causes, not just the consequences of poverty."

Trillions of dollars later, black poverty is the same. But black families are not, with triple the incidence of single parent homes and out of wedlock births.

It's not complicated. Americans can accept Barack Obama's invitation to move onto the plantation. Or they can choose personal responsibility and freedom.

Does anyone really need to think about what the choice should be?

McNeil Island -- costs taxpayer $160,000 per year per person

Monday, March 15, 2010  -  Last updated 6:23 p.m. PT
Sex, drugs and child porn at McNeil Island
full text  http://www.seattlepi.com/local/416372_predatorporn15.html
Internal documents show staff-offender relationships, drug smuggling
By LEVI PULKKINEN  -  SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

That Donald Gamer would want photos of child sex is no surprise.

A convicted sex offender, the wheelchair-bound old man was locked away with 291 others at the state's Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island. There they were in September, Gamer and six other offenders, when FBI agents arrived to take them into federal custody. Five of the seven men have since admitted to obtaining digital copies of photos and films showing children being raped or put on display.

That men inside the facility would do so was also no surprise. It had happened before and, apparently, has happened since.

How they managed to sneak child porn into a semi-secure facility, though, remains a mystery.

Internal reports show the facility -- an un-prison designed to house sex criminals who've served their prison but are deemed too dangerous to be released -- has suffered from contraband problems often associated with penal institutions.

Documents obtained by seattlepi.com show should that in the past five years child pornography has been found at the center on at least 16 occasions. The total number of incidents is likely higher, due in part to redactions of information related to ongoing criminal investigations.

Beyond the residents' behavior, disciplinary files show that several Department of Social and Health Services employees hired to manage the facility apparently broke or bent rules of conduct.

In one case, an ex-employee attempted to smuggle a package to a sex predator residing at the center. In another, a female employee was found, her clothing in disarray, at a private home in the company of an offender she was supposed to be escorting.

Another former employee is under federal indictment following allegations he conspired with a Special Commitment Center resident to smuggle crack cocaine into the facility. The pair were handed over to federal authorities by the sex offender's girlfriend, a former nurse at the center.

Not prison, not hospital  http://www.seattlepi.com/local/416372_predatorporn15.html

A Man and His Rosary

Years ago, a student in Paris, on his way to the university, hopped on the train and found an empty seat next to an elderly man. As the train moved off, the student noticed that the old man was praying the rosary. Watching him for a while out of the corner of his eye, he finally blurted out, "Excuse me, sir, but I couldn't help but notice what you are doing, and I wonder if you are aware how superstitious and old-fashioned it is." "Oh, really?" replied the old man, "Tell me more." "I have to get off at the next stop," replied the student, "but just give me your name and address, and I will send you some books that will explain what I mean." As the train came to a halt, the man wrote his name and address on a scrap of paper and handed it to the student, who stuffed it in his pocket and hurried off. Later in the day, the student remembered the scrap of paper, took it from his pocket, and opened it. Reading the name scribbled on it, he was dumbfounded: "Louis Pasteur." To his dismay, he realized that he had been talking to a famous scientist, known the world over for his achievements in the field of bacteriology.

Like that student, many people today have the mistaken idea that praying the rosary cannot be reconciled with a modern outlook. Yet the fact is that peole everywhere are depressed and in despair, their lives seemingly out of focus. Having lost a sense of the meaning of life, they have not found true happiness and satisfaction in all the material blessings available to them. Why?

The answer may lie in the well-known prayer of St. Augustine: "Our hearts were made for Thee; and they will be forever restless 'till they find their rest in Thee." It is in opening our hearts to the Lord who created us that we discover true peace and happiness. And that is why prayer is often compared to rest. Who can continue working and living from day to day without rest? Likewise, it is prayer that gives us new strength to continue to face life from day to day with the fullness of determination and courage.

There are many kinds of prayer. Sunday mass, for example, is communal prayer, a kind of prayer with which most of us are familiar. Another kind is individual prayer. It can be spontaneous, where we simiply talk to the Lord as we would speak to any friend. It can also take the form of what is called "meditation". The rosary is an example of meditation, and one reason why many people do not appreciate it is because they do not know how to meditate. Meditation means focusing one's thoughts on one particular subject. The rosary focuses our thoughts on what are called "mysteries," that is, fifteen events in the life of Jesus and his mother Mary.

Franz Joseph Haydn

The great composer Franz Haydn loved Our Lady and the Rosary. Once, when discussing mental fatigue, he shared his secret. "I always carry a rosary with me. After a few decades I am sure to feel refreshed, both in mind and body."

Joseph Haydn once set out to write a religious oratorio. In order to do so he became practically a hermit. For thirteen months the composer remained in seclusion praying, studying and working. Some days were filled with success, others with anguish. Often he went for days without an idea. "Then I would pick up my rosary," he later said, "and, as the beads slipped through my fingers, I would relax, gather new strength and collect my thoughts. I would return to my piano and once again hammer away!"

THE POOR WILL ALWAYS BE WITH US

The poor should be helped through acts of charity, not by demands based on human rights

Few errors have so firmly entrenched themselves for so long a time as has the Error of Liberalism. Few sins have been so misunderstood as has been the Sin of Liberalism. In reprinting this timely book, first printed in English in 1899, we hope to enlighten Catholics as to the causes and effect of and remedies for Liberalism.


http://www.liberalismisasin.com/

Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory
http://www.romereports.com/palio/modules.php?t=Museum-of-the-souls-of-purgatory--a-place-between-heaven-and-earth&name=News&file=article&newlang=english&sid=869

A collection of objects supposedly singed by the hands of souls in purgatory

Located in the back of the Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio on the banks of the Tiber, the tiny century-old Piccolo Museo Del Purgatorio, or "Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory," holds a collection of bibles, prayer books, tabletops, and articles of clothing said to have been singed by the hands of souls in purgatory.

According to Catholic belief, the soul is stranded in purgatory until it atones for its sins, but can hasten its ascent to heaven through the prayers of loved ones still on earth. The scorched handprints and other burn-marks collected in this museum are believed to be the product of souls begging their earth-bound loved ones to pray harder.

Though not mentioned in the Bible, the idea of purgatory is a very old part of the Catholic faith, dating back to at least the 11th century. The notion that trapped souls might need to be freed comes from a story allegedly told to the Abbott Odilo of Cluny by a monk returning from the Holy Land. He told the Abbott how his ship had been wrecked, and he had been cast ashore on a mysterious island. A hermit who lived on the island related his own story of a mysterious chasm, from which burst forth demonic flames and the agonized screams of trapped souls. He pointed out that the demons were always complaining about losing souls when the living prayed or gave alms to the poor on their behalf.

The freeing of these trapped souls became a priority for the Church, and for family members grieving dead loved ones. November 2 was established as All Soul's Day, whereon it was believed that prayers by the living could intercede on behalf of the faithful dead who had died without absolution, or babies who had died before baptism, thus freeing them for Heaven. (According to Catholic doctrine, one cannot go to hell from purgatory.)

Victor Jouet, the collector and French missionary, was supposedly inspired to build this purgatorial museum after a fire destroyed a portion of the original Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio, leaving behind the scorched image of a face that he believed to be a trapped soul.
The museum's tiny collection of objects is contained in one glass case.

Church to celebrate feast of long-time prostitute turned hermit

Church to celebrate feast of long-time prostitute turned hermit


CNA STAFF, March 28 (CNA) .- Thursday, April 1, is the feast of a little-known saint whose story demonstrates the power of the Church as the home of forgiveness, redemption and mercy. St. Mary of Egypt was a prostitute for 17 years before she received the Eucharist and chose the life of a hermit.

Born in 344 A.D., Mary of Egypt moved to the city of Alexandria when she was 12 years old and worked as a prostitute for 17 years. With the intention of continuing her trade, she joined a large group that was making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

On the feast day itself, she joined the crowd as it was headed to the church in order to venerate the relic of the True Cross, again with the intention of luring others into sin. When she got to the door of the church, she was unable to enter. A miraculous force propelled her away from the door each time she approached. After trying to get in three or four times, Mary of Egypt moved to a corner of the churchyard and began to cry tears of remorse.

Then she saw a statue of the Blessed Virgin. She prayed to the Holy Mother for permission to enter the church for the purposes of venerating the relic. She promised the Virgin Mother that if she were allowed to enter the church, she would renounce the world and its ways.

Mary of Egypt entered the church, venerated the relic and returned to the statue outside to pray for guidance. She heard a voice telling her to cross the Jordan River and find rest. She set out and in the evening, she arrived at the Jordan and received communion in a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

The next day, she crossed the river and went into the desert, where she lived alone for 47 years. Then, while making his Lenten retreat, a priest named Zosimus found the hermitess. She asked him to return to the banks of the Jordan on Holy Thursday of the following year and to bring her Communion. The priest was true to his word and returned bearing the Eucharist. Mary told him to come back again the next year, but to the place where he had originally met her.

When Zosimus returned in a year's time, he found Mary's corpse. On the ground beside it was a written request that she be buried accompanied by a statement that she had died one year ago, in 421 A.D., on the very night she had received Holy Communion.

Our Lady of Medjugorje

---COME TO MEDJUGORJE---

CHAR VANCE - After a startling vision of Jesus on the cross, comedian turned into a Catholic

http://www.visionsofjesuschrist.com/weeping360.htm Written by Michael H. Brown

Reported in Spirit Daily.com online newspaper. When life seems to be closing in on us, in a world that so often seems upside-down, there one way to exit, and that's through humor. A sure cure for our ills is found in laughter! Usually, we should be laughing at ourselves. And one thing that should make us smile is how silly it is to worry when we have God. In the Light of His eternity and angels and watchfulness, there is nothing to fear but lack of prayer. We can even pray for a good sense of humor!

Many of you have heard the experts talk about how laughter can help us recover from serious illnesses. That's because humor is a spiritual release and when we release something on that level, it goes to both our emotions and bodies.

A great example of this -- of both healing and laughter -- is Char Vance, the television producer and comedian from New Orleans who is often out there speaking at conferences and causing people to roll in the aisles. Char had been in the radio business when she suffered a horrendous accident. It was on Halloween night at a farm she owned back in the 1980s. She and a group were riding on a tractor-pulled wagon when suddenly they caught sight of the barn on fire. Char jumped off in hopes of running to the blaze but got caught underneath, injured so badly it looked like part of her leg would have to be amputated. The ankle was severely damaged.

Just crushed. No bone support at all. It looked like a lifelong handicap. At the time, Char Vance was not a Catholic, but a friend got her to go to the apparition site of Medjugorje -- much besmirched these days by the devil. And for good reason: this is a place of enormous conversion. Ask Char. Her recounting of her trip and her conversion to the Catholic faith -- more importantly, to faith in Jesus -- is a hilarious excursion into deep spirituality. Finally, it has been captured on videotape.

At Medjugorje, where Char hobbled in a huge, lumbering cast, the Louisiana woman climbed the holy highland of Mount Krizevac despite those who thought it was crazy and despite her own skepticism. "I wondered why [after Apparition Hill], they wanted us to go up the mountain," she jokes. "I said, why do you have us climbing two hills, two mountains in one day? It's not like we're going to run out of fun things to do here!" Here she was in a place with no TV and no hotels and no pools, drinking beer while everyone else was praying the Rosary in a way she saw as strange and obsessive. But Char went up the "hill." As she walked a dirt road on the outskirts of the village, something had said to her, "You know, it will be just your luck if something big happens up there and you're gonna miss it." That's what had finally convinced her to go up. She and her companions caught a cab. When they got to the mountain, many others were doing the same.

"I didn't know a lot of prayers," says Char, who was not a Catholic at the time. "I knew 'Now I lay me down to sleep' and the Lord's Prayer, but that's the most wonderful thing you Catholics have: you have prayers for everything," she jokes. "You know, you got department heads. You lost something, you got St. Anthony. You got bad eyes you got St. Lucy..." Heading up the mountain and praying at the Fourth Station of the Cross, Char propped up her cast on a boulder and here comes a monk -- a very unusual monk. "He had on this white robe and the hood up and he's carrying a tripod with nothing on it, no camera. And he's looking directly at me," says Char. "And coming to me. And he says, 'You know, when I was in Germany, I had the good fortune of meeting Theresa Neumann.' To me it was like saying, 'I met John Jones.' He said, 'You know who that is, don't you?' I said, 'No.' And he said, 'Well, she was a stigmatist.'" Got me again, said Char. "Don't you know what a stigmatist is?" the man asked.

Uh uh, replied Char.
He explained what a stigmatic was (someone who had received the wounds of Christ) and pulling out a rosary told her that he had put it on her stigmatic wounds and that it had since healed people of many problems, including cancer. "Here I am with this big cast on the rock, and he says, 'I would like your permission to put this on your head!'"It's hard to convey how Char tells this story. Her inflections, her timing, her side comments are hilarious. The tape shows an audience in constant stitches. But she was telling a serious story. "When something like this happens, you think 'somebody has tapped into your thoughts' -- and you better start thinking some holy pious thoughts QUICK!"

The mysterious stranger told Char to say seven Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes, and when she got to the top, the Creed. "When he left he would talk to others," she recounts. "If they were French he would begin talking in French. If you were Spanish he would start speaking Spanish. It was like he knew what you were before he got there."At the seventh Station, the comedian noticed the "monk" was kind of winded. Char offered him a canteen of water. "He smiled a smile that went all the way through me," she says.

Medjugorje is famous for the reports of mysterious strangers -- including monks or nuns in white. When Char got to the top, the seers were ready to have an apparition. Char didn't want to see anything -- afraid there would be hysteria and she would fall off the mountain! They were at the large cross there. "All of a sudden it's gets quiet, quiet, quiet. All of a sudden, that cross lit up, and it lit up, best I can describe it, like those old strobe lights, quick, and I see Jesus on the cross. I saw him like I have never seen a person before or since. He looked horrible -- horrible -- his nose was laying over, and He had this enormous crown, not this little crown like you see. This thing was like a big bird's nest. That quickly it lit up again and I saw it again."

Vance wasn't alone. Others in her group were astonished to witness the same thing. The mountain is known for a wide array of phenomena -- although this particular type we had not previously encountered. It is the cross where the Blessed Mother says she prays each day.

A woman next to Char said, "Did you just see Christ on that cross?" Char felt "totally zapped." She now knew without a doubt that God and the Blessed Mother existed. When she got back, she had to go to the doctor for x-rays. She went in the waiting room "and all of a sudden the technician comes out with all these x-rays and he says [in a loud voice], 'Charlene Vance, you've been healed, you've been healed!'" "You should have seen the people in there with their People magazines!" she jokes.

But it was true: the nurse ran in too, and then the doctor arrived -- gracing them with his "presence." "When's the last time you saw a doctor come into the waiting room!" she recalls with a roll of her eyes. "The nurse said, 'Did you hear about?'" The doctor said he had to take a look at it. It looked like there was bone growth! He asked Char to slowly try to see if she could move her toes. She could do more than that. She could rotate her whole ankle! She was with her mother. "I started dancing around and saying, 'Ma, ma, I can walk, praise God I can walk!' He runs out and brings out another doctor and they look at the x-rays and my mother says, 'Doctor, doctor, what is it,' and he says -- direct quote -- 'There's absolutely no correlation in her x-rays before she went and when she got back. There's total bone growth everywhere.'"

Jesus is the same as He was 2,000 years ago, she tells those who see her. "Miracles do happen. Believe in miracles. Expect a miracle. Miracles do happen," says Char, who now helps produce videos for Focus International, headed by retired Archbishop Phillip Hannan. "The real miracle was when God healed my head with the gift of faith. Miracles do happen, but they happen in God's time and in His way."

Char had some medals from Medjugorje and started walking all around and passing them out to the people in the waiting room. "Have a medal! Have a medal!" She walked out of that office and never needed crutches like they said she would need crutches and never received a day of therapy. And of yes: Charlene Vance became a Catholic six months to the day that she had climbed the mountain. [Footnote: she also was to learn that Theresa Neumann, the stigmatic, had been born on Friday, April 8, which is Char's birthday -- in fact she too was born on a Friday -- and was injured trying to put out a fire in a barn. It was her ankle that was injured, and the mystic was healed a year later!]

Rosary - Incredible Photo

An amazing picture became a message of faith in Spain . This was taken at the baptism of Valentino Mora, son of Erica, a single mom of 21 who asked the photographer to take a picture of her son for free.

The photo of the baptism of Valentino Mora is sweeping the Internet, because at the time the priest pours the Holy water over his head, the water flows in the shape of a rosary (see photo above).

This story began at the Parish of the Assumption of Our Lady in Cordova , Spain , where the baptism of a one month baby took place. At the time that Valentino came to the baptismal font for the sacrament of baptism, Erica asked the photographer Maria Silvana Salles, who was hired by other parents baptizing their babies, to take a photo of her son as a favor, since the young mother had no way of paying for it. The photographer, moved by Erica's request, agreed to take a photo of Valentino.

Maria Silvana works with a traditional camera and had to send the film to be developed to a shop in Cordova. When she received the photos, she noticed with surprise that the water poured from the head of Valentino was a perfect rosary.

The photo of the baptism of Valentino has awakened faith in the people of Cordova who come to the humble home of Erica and Valentino Mora to touch him.

The truth is that this sign of faith has mobilized this town in Cordova, whose neighbors go to Maria Silvana's store to buy the picture as if it were a prayer card.

Colleen Willard Medjugorje Testimony of Healing

Medical Report: Women was healed of cancer and other illnesses at Medjugorje


We report the recent appearent healing of a woman from Chicago that might inspire some of us for God's presence in our lives.

When a woman from the western suburbs of Chicago named Colleen Willard who apparently experienced a remarkable healing at the famous apparition site of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina went to her doctor in Chicago, a pulmonary specialist, she walked right up to the reception desk and said, “I’m Colleen Willard”. Everyone in the office knew her by sight and said, “No, you’re not”. Shocked, she said, “Yes, I am!” They screamed running through the office yelling, “Dr. Duggan, Dr. Duggan, come here!” Baffled by the excitement in his office he walked into the room quickly. He saw Colleen and, as if struck by lightening, his entire perspective on life changed. He said, “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!”

We first heard Colleen's story in September from long-time Medjugorje resident Patrick Latta. Immediately we called Gail and Jack Boos and heard the following story from Gail:

"Colleen suffered from an inoperable brain tumor that affected her pituitary gland and all of her fine and gross motor skills. She had rickets, her thyroid had completely dried up to the size of a raisin, she had lupus, fibromyalgia and nine other painful and deadly illnesses. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota (top research clinic in the United States for spinal cord injuries and brain tumors) reminded Colleen often that just to be alive was a miracle, even without the brain tumor. We first met Colleen when she asked us, despite her pain, if she could volunteer for our organization, St. Clare Helper of the Poor, Inc. She became one of our biggest fund raisers for refugees and the poor in Bosnia, utilizing the telephone when her voice permitted.

In the last stages of cancer, Colleen’s suffering became so extreme that prayer was her only recourse. She could no longer climb the stairs to her bedroom or prayer room, she could not go to the bathroom without assistance, and to only touch her skin caused unimaginable pain. Colleen’s husband, John, continued to work while their 21 year old son agreed to stay home and take care of Colleen. One day I shared with Colleen about our many trips to Medjugorje. Colleen felt inspired to go but she knew she couldn’t go in her present physical state. And with medical bills from Mayo Clinic piling up, her family simply did not have the money. Still, Colleen said, “I don’t want to go for a healing, I only want to go and experience Blessed Mother and this holy place”. That was in April. In August Colleen called us and said, “John and I are praying about going on this trip.” I said, “Colleen, it would only be by the grace of God that you could make it across the ocean in your condition.” And she said, “No Gail, we’ve been praying with our hearts and I said to the Lord, ‘Lord, if you really want me to go, I need a confirmation. Let Fr. Agniello call me tomorrow and I will know that I am supposed to go.’ The next morning at 9:00, Fr. Agniello called and said, “Colleen, I don’t know why but I’m supposed to call you this morning.” So she knew that she and John were meant to go. That was her confirmation.

We were down to the last couple of weeks of getting everything ready to go to Medjugorje. John paid their fare and we were all to meet in Chicago. I talked to John and told him that I thought it was really important that he take out a second insurance policy on Colleen because if she were to get really sick in Medjugorje, she might die and the cost to get her back home might be six or seven figures.

Just a week before leaving, she was in the hospital. She was supposed to be on oxygen in order to survive. This was last year. She could hardly speak for more than several minutes at a time. "It wasn't actually confirmed as cancer, because they could not even do a biopsy," Colleen said later. "It was an inoperable brain tumor that sat right in front of the hypothalamus gland next to the major blood vessel in the brain".

Getting onto the plane, Colleen and John were miraculously upgraded to business class. Colleen was given medication every two hours to control the pain. In Split airport, John and Jack took Colleen’s feet and lifted them one at a time, step by step onto the bus. But in all of her pain she was joyful, always smiling, always praising God that she had made it that far.

The next morning, Vicka was speaking. (ed.: Vicka is one of the visionaries in Medjugorje, shown left on the picture that was taken in the middle of an apparition.) Colleen was pushed in her wheel chair as far as she could go in order to get a glimpse of Vicka. But all of the people around were pushing her, leaning on her, mothers were bringing their children in and passing them over her head--I thought, ‘I made a horrible mistake by bringing her up here. Please Lord forgive me. This is too much for her!' Just then her head dropped and I thought Colleen had died because she had told me that she could die at any moment if the pituitary gland gave way or her head was hit too hard. Her husband was way in back so he pushed his way through the crowd, lifted her head back, put some morphine mixed with another medicine under her tongue and we waited. It took her quite some time to revive.

When Vicka finished speaking she pushed her way through the crowd and approached Colleen. Her first words to her in English were “Praise God! Praise God!” Vicka opened her arms, reached inside Colleen’s wheelchair and pulled her into her chest hugging and kissing her, holding Colleen's body. Then she put her left hand on Colleen’s head and as she went to put her right hand also, pilgrims literally pulled her hand away and stuffed prayer petitions, rosaries and pictures into her hand. But Vicka, with her beautiful heavenly presence and her smile, continued to pray over Colleen and several of us saw this: It looked like a golden globe came from Vicka’s hand. Vicka had her hand on Colleen for a long time and Colleen kept saying, “My head is like coals! My head is burning! It’s like a spiral going through my body!.” When Vicka finished praying over Colleen--about 10 minutes--she bent over and hugged Colleen again and kissed her again. Colleen was crying. (Vicka is on the right with an unusual light.)

So we got Colleen into a taxi and back to church and John rolled her to the very front. Jack and I stayed at the back. Later, Colleen shared with us that when the priest began to consecrate the host, she heard the Blessed Mother say, “My daughter, will you surrender to God the Father? Will you surrender to my Spouse, the Holy Spirit? Will you surrender to my Son, Jesus?” and Colleen heard Blessed Mother say, “Will you surrender now?” And Colleen said, “Yes I will surrender now, all for the glory of heaven, all for the glory of God”. At that moment, her legs began to tingle.

As Vicka prayed, Colleen was taken into a different realm. One observer said it looked like "a golden globe came from Vicka’s hand. Vicka had her hand on Colleen for a long time and Colleen kept saying, 'My head is like coals! My head is burning! It’s like a spiral going through my body!'" Adds Colleen herself: "There was total silence. I'll tell you this: I'm not afraid of dying any more. There wasn't even light. The moment she placed her hand on my head, all outside sound stopped, totally. I was so immersed in the Presence of God, nothing else existed but Him and His Presence."

It also occurred during Mass. Colleen feels that the Blessed Mother spoke to her. "God does not give you a disease and leave you abandoned," is the way she summarizes the lesson. And He brought that message all the way to Bosnia. "He was still there, the whole time, and it was right before the consecration at Mass that Our Lady had said this. And when I heard her, never having heard her before, as God is my witness, I heard her as if it went through my entire self. And when she spoke I couldn't hear any other words that were being said. When the Eucharist was placed on my tongue, immediately at that point I was aware of heat leaving, and when the heat was leaving, the pain that I had 24 hours a day started to go. It was at that point, after Holy Communion, that my husband looked at me and never said a word. He saw on my face what was happening, and got down on his knees next to the wheelchair. I said, 'John, please get me out of this wheelchair. It feels cumbersome. I can move my hands. I can move my arms. Look: there's no pain!" To the shock of observers, she was able to get out of the chair.

It was a total shock. John was behind her pushing the empty wheelchair and there stood Colleen. She walked right out of church. We went to Viktor’s restaurant and people were running to her. They had heard of the healing and even seen it. She walked back to the pansion where she played with her husband, pushing him in the wheelchair. The next day she climbed Apparition Hill on her own. Then she made it to the sixth station of Krizevac, even though she had the strength to make it to the top—at the request of a priest—she prayed instead of continuing.

Upon her return to the team of doctors in the United States who were looking after her health, Colleen was completely tested and all tests came back normal. She now has a working thyroid, the brain tumor has disappeared and all illnesses are eradicated from her body. But, Colleen and John wondered how they would explain her healing to the doctor at the Mayo Clinic. When she opened the door for her appointment, the doctor pushed his chair away from his desk, smiled at her and said, "So, you have been to Medjugorje! You are our third major unexplainable healing coming from there!" The problem was solved. There was nothing to explain.

Colleen's healing has joined hundreds of others in St James parish records which closely resemble those from Lourdes. But Colleen's story is far from being over! As she was courageously serving Jesus and the poor before her healing, offering up the terrible and continuous pain she endured, she now offers her health to answer Jesus' call. The key words of Colleen's life and of all the incredible blessings which are flowing from it, are indeed, "Yes, I surrender!"

The healing process was at full throttle. God had intervened. Most of the ailments had disappeared. And now it is up to the experts at the parish and even at the Vatican to discern if this is a recognizable miracle -- one of hundreds reported at the apparition site. As for Colleen, her advice to the infirm: remember that when we are sick, there are many blessings available.

EXCELLENT 20 MIN - YOU TUBE of Colleen Willlard Testimony

VIDEO OF COLLEEN TESTIFYING

THE ILLUMINATION OF THE SOUL - A MEDJUGORJE SECRET? - BY WAYNE WEIBLE

http://www.medjugorjeweible.com/
During the season of Lent, a time to renew our spiritual life and to offer up gifts of love to our God, there is no better gift than to reflect on our souls as to where we presently stand in the light of God's judgment. For surely, with so many prophesized warnings given by saints, seers and prophets throughout the ages of an exact time when every living being will see their souls exactly as God sees it-that is, all the good and all the bad accumulated in a lifetime up to that point-it will occur.

According to many related and recorded near-death experiences, this same grace happens at the moment of death or near-death; and, for those of us alive at the time when it occurs throughout the world to every living being, it will come without warning and we will experience the exact same grace. The difference is, we will have full, undeniable knowledge of the reality of God, and the free will choice to do something about it.

This holy grace of revelation as to where we stand in the judgment of God has generally been called "The Warning" or "The Illumination of the soul." Whatever one wishes to call it, it only makes sense that it is also one of the ten secrets the Blessed Virgin Mary has given to the visionaries of Medjugorje. It can be further stated that it is conceivably one of the three warnings that will be given at Medjugorje after the apparitions cease to occur, to let the world know that this event is from God and that He is real. The first three secrets are in fact the warnings. Since it has been revealed by way of personal messages received by the visionaries in the early days of the apparitions what two of the warnings are-even if purposely ambiguous-this could conceivably be the other.

The Illumination of the Soul will be like a spiritual x-ray that will reveal to each individual which path they are on: the path to damnation or the path to salvation. Man-kind will then have the free will to decide to follow the path to God or the path to Satan. Sadly, as the Blessed Virgin Mary has stated in her messages to various seers, some will still follow the path to damnation, even though they will know without doubt that God exists and that He loves every creature.

The credibility of the Illumination of the Soul (or The Warning) comes from a number of supernatural events. It was foretold to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 (at Rue du BAC in Paris, France place of the Miraculous medal), to St. Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s (Divine Mercy Kracow, Poland), and to the four young seers of Garabandal, Spain, to whom Our Lady appeared many times from 1961-1965. Other visionaries have since spoken of it and there is general agreement that, as a result of this happening, millions of sinners will repent and be restored to grace. With the nearly 29 years of daily apparitions at Medjugorje and the thousands of messages of calling for repentance now, the battle lines between good and evil are more clearly drawn than ever before.

According to the visionaries of Garabandal, within one year of the Warning, or Illumination, a great miracle will occur in the skies over Garabandal involving a sign that they say can be seen and photographed but cannot be touched. The same has been related by the visionaries of Medjugorje. A permanent sign is to be left on Podbrdo Hill (Apparition Hill as we call it) where the apparitions of Medjugorje began. As at Garabandal, it can not be touched; does that mean it physically can not be touched or that it is forbidden to be touched? We do not know.

This permanent sign, they say, is the third warning, or the third secret of Medjugorje. They go a step further to report that the Virgin stated that the first warning, or secret, will be a great upheaval somewhere in the world. Again, there is no revelation as to whether it will be geographic, political or something else. Regardless, if a soul is not converted to God by this time, it will be too late.

With such knowledge given and verified so many times, our reaction based on faith and the confirmation of Medjugorje's messages, should be one of repentance. Repentance loosely defined is acknowledgment of not following the way of God as best we can. It can be interchanged with the words contriteness, regret and remorse.

Thus, Lent is our time to closely reflect as to where we stand with God now, not waiting for that fearsome event of Illumination of the soul; and then, of course, to do something about it.

According to a wide number of souls who have experienced near-death and have come so close to actual death, what they saw in their own judgments was so many little slights to others by word, thought and deed. These acts toward others appear to have great weight. Some of what we might consider to be the most trivial of things. As one woman who experienced near-death put it, she saw how every nice word or action created light that circled the world while each negative one did the opposite.

A great Catholic theologian named Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange once wrote that "at the moment of separation the soul knows itself without medium, on all its merits and demerits. It sees its state without possibility of error, sees all that it has thought, desired, said, and done, both in good and evil." The entire past, he said, is seen "in a glance." That is precisely what those who have been declared dead but then miraculously revived have reported.

As Our Lady has said so many times in her messages to us through Medjugorje, don't wait for the secrets before deciding to change and follow God. Do it now.

Lent is the time to begin the change.
May the peace, grace and love of Jesus be with each of us.

The Deceiver by LIVIO FANZAGA***

Satan seduces, but you are the one who decides. Even though his seduction is very powerful, he can not bend your will to do evil. Even though the tempest of thoughts, desires, resentment, and hatred he stirs in your heart is overwhelming, there is no sin without your free and conscious consent. Eve sinned because she wanted to sin. God has put our will exclusively in our hands.

The Corruption**

There are apostles of evil. They are people who besides ruining themselves drag along other souls also. They have perverted themselves into becoming demons, as Saint Catherine of Siena asserted, and thus "fulfill the office of the demons," inducing others to sin. It is truly said that one never sins alone. Our sin is negatively reflected in our neighbors. If we do not repent quickly and return to God the heart is hardened and, almost to reassure ourselves, we drag others along the way of ruin.

Eve was so possessed by evil that she did not hesitate to entice Adam also. "She also gave some to her husband, and he ate" (Gen 3:6). When you examine your life, remember all the times that by your words, evil example, and complicity you have pushed your neighbor into the arms of the evil one. Think of all those souls that are lost in sin because of you. Repent before God, repair the damages you have caused, and make yourself an apostle of good.

The corruptors of souls are the great strength of the demon. In the contemporary world, they occupy very significant and visible positions in various fields such as culture, science, politics or economics, including the realm of the mass media. They have learned the vernacular of flattery and lies from their teacher. Despising truth and exalting error, they disparage good and virtue while exalting evil and vice. They are the faithful servants of Satan, and they will go with him to his kingdom of death in recompense.

Watch out for such people, even if they are very close to you and united to you by bonds of affection. You show your worthiness as a human being by saying no to evil, even if the one who proposes it is most dear to you. If Adam had said no to Eve, he would have undoubtedly saved himself and perhaps even her. No human respect, no bond of friendship, no reason of human nature, nor any interest must ever cause you stay with anyone who proposes evil. It is much better to lose a friend or family member than to lose God for all of eternity.

Nevertheless, Adam took the fruit Eve offered him without argument, and he ate it. He blindly followed his wife, even when fell into the abyss. How many behave like this! Like leaves in the wind, they are dragged where the world wants, and Satan rejoices over the spoils obtained so cheaply. The law of the herd, public opinion polls, and social brainwashing dominate the modern world. You, however, must be very attentive to the voice of God. Keep your conscience illuminated by the Church and never stray from her, no matter what others think, even if they are those whom you love the most.

From Disillusionment to Illusion**

When man commits evil, he is inevitably degraded. He then opens his eyes and all that before seemed beautiful and desirable, afterwards entirely loses its attractiveness. First evil attracts you, then it poisons you. From the illusion of obtaining much happiness follows both disillusionment and disappointment. Once the fruit was eaten "the eyes of both were opened." Adam and Eve had deluded themselves into thinking that they could become "like God" but found themselves deprived of divinity and its gifts. The conscience begins to feel remorse. That God Whom you have driven from your heart by sinning does not abandon you. In His goodness He makes you hear His voice in the depths of your being. It is a voice that disapproves of the evil you have committed and at the same time is an invitation to return to the straight way.

Consider this great grace that opens the eyes after the satanic temptation. It is the moment in which, if you are honest with yourself, you realize that Satan has deceived you. With all that he has offered you he has succeeded in destroying your dignity, morality and your soul. He has given you something, but he himself has taken your heart. You, like Adam and Eve, realize your nakedness. You have been stripped of sanctifying grace and of the gifts of spiritual beauty and wisdom that adorned you: now you see yourself in your misery.

The disillusionment that comes after every sin, with the verification of the deception, the remorse of conscience, and the consciousness of the damages you have suffered, constitutes a moment of great grace, even though in the context of a spiritual catastrophe. After every sin, the Divine Wisdom opens our eyes so that we see the despicable face of evil. This always happens unless a person, persevering on the way of ruin, suffocates his conscience and hardens his heart.

Adam and Even, having realized the lie of the tempter and the existential catastrophe into which they had fallen, would have been able and should have cried out to God from the depths of their misery. The Creator in His goodness would have listened to them and would have come to their aid. So we, dear friend, have at the moment of the grace of disillusionment the possibility of a ready rehabilitation, if we turn humbly and contritely to that God Whom we have foolishly abandoned.

Unfortunately, this happens all too rarely. More often, man falls again into that satanic deception, desiring to try again the fruit which has proven to be so untrustworthy and poisonous. The disillusionment is followed by a new illusion, and this process continues, so that man enters into a deadly mechanism that crushes the soul, driving it to blindness and to total death.

Many men waste their lives following illusions which are followed immediately by disillusionment. "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again," declare Jesus (Jn 4:13). Only the mercy of God can break this satanic chain which renders us slaves, but you must cooperate with the grace which opens your eyes every time you do evil. Think of the last sin you committed. Were you happy to place your trust in the demon? Didn't you become disillusioned, saddened, and degraded? Why then do you wish to repeat the same experience, believing again and again the allurements of the tempter?

There may come a time in which, having sinned, your eyes are no longer opened. It is a very alarming signal, because it means [ou are entering the spiritual status of impenitence. This happens when you advance unperturbed along the way of perversion and our conscience is finally snuffed out completely. Then the worst crimes can be committed without your feeling remorse. How many souls move in this level of deep darkness, in which they have given their unconditional consent to Satan and to his kingdom of perdition! Only a great grace, with the awakening of conscience, could now save them.

The Transforming Power of Kind Thoughts:

The Hidden Power of Kindness-by LOVASIK

Kind thoughts help you deal successfully with others.
As a mother's love draws the heart of her child like a powerful magnet, so, too, does the genuinely kind person wield the power to influence others for good. Only a kind person is able to judge another justly and to make allowances for his weaknesses. A kind eye, while recognizing defects, sees beyond them. Its gaze is like that of a gentle mother who judges her beloved child more leniently, and at the same time more correctly, than a stranger would.

No one ever saw human weakness more clearly than Jesus saw it in His apostles. Yet how patient He was with their worldliness, their faults! The wellspring of His patience was a kindness of heart that nothing could disturb. His followers clung to Him with an un­shakable confidence. Love radiated from His person and warmed the hearts of those surrounding Him. Nevertheless, on occasion He could show a firmness that nothing could weaken. Never did He waver or compromise when the glory of His Father or the sal­vation of souls was at stake.

Whenever your soul cherishes a gracious thought, it is as if God sees His own Being reflected in a silent, sacred likeness. A kind thought is like the image of the Savior in your soul. God beholds it and rejoices at it and blesses your soul because your thoughts and sentiments are so much after His own Heart.

Character is both formed and influenced in the world of your thoughts. If you are master in your thoughts, you are master... 1 John 3:14...everywhere. If you have learned to control your thoughts, you have yourself completely under control. If you have a kind heart, your words and deeds will also be kind. If you fostered more kind thoughts, you would necessarily be richer also in kind deeds. It must, therefore, be very important to cultivate kind thoughts.

Kind thoughts preserve you from many sins against charity.

The practice of kind thoughts has an effect on your spiritual life. It leads to self-denial. The practice of kind thoughts enables you to overcome criticism and all the influence it may exert on others. You thereby sacrifice successes at the moment they are within your reach. The triumph over a proud heart and a bitter temper is the result of difficult spiritual combat, but it brings its re­ward, for self-denial is a fountain of peace and joy in your soul.

The practice of kind thoughts is your main help to that com­plete control of the tongue without which all religion is vain, as St. James says.130 The interior beauty of your soul through habitual kindness of thought is greater than words can describe.
The practice of kind thoughts helps you to grow in the spiritual life. It opens and smooths the paths of prayer. It sheds a clear, still light over your self-knowledge and enables you to find God easily.Kind thoughts imply a contact with God and have a special power to let in upon you the light of God. They are the scent with which the creature is penetrated through the indwelling of the Creator.
Charity is the deepest view of life, because it is nearest to God's view. This is the reverse of a worldly and superficial view of things. God's view is not merely the truest view, but the only view that is true at all...'"James 1:26....

Thus, uncharitable judgments and prejudices, misun­derstandings and suspicions, envy and jealousy, and uncharitable words and slander will not take root in a soul that thinks kind thoughts. Aversions and bitterness disappear, strained relations are smoothed out, and petty arguments end of themselves.

If you were to make it a practice to begin each day with benev­olent thoughts in your heart, instead of selfish ambition, you would not be inclined to deny a helping hand or ignore a favor rendered you.

You would certainly be disposed to spare the feelings of oversensitive persons, to sympathize with the suffering, and to help others in the solution of vexing problems confronting them. If, instead of harsh thoughts and bitter resentment, you fostered in your heart a readiness to forgive and forget, you would not find it too difficult to adopt a friendly attitude toward those who are ha­bitually cold and hostile toward you.

To keep firmly to supernatural principles in your daily conduct is not easy. It takes great willpower to master thoughts of hatred, selfishness, and mistrust that rush in upon you and to turn them into gracious and kind thoughts. You need God's grace and much self-discipline to realize the ideal expressed in the words of St. Paul: "Put on, then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, com­passion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience."13
Get into the habit of putting a kind interpretation on all you see and hear, and of having kind thoughts of everyone of whom you think. This will enable you to live a new life in a new world.

Compare it to your state in Heaven someday. One very impor­tant feature of Heaven will be the absence of all bitterness and criticism and the possession of thoughts of the most tender kind­ness. Thus, by cultivating kind thoughts, you are in a very special way preparing for Heaven. You are actually earning Heaven. By God's grace, you are imitating in your own mind that upon which, in the Divine Mind, you rest all your hopes — merciful judg­ments, favorable interpretations, thoughts of kindness, and tolerant compassion.

Kind thoughts imply a great deal of thinking about others ac­cording to a divine ideal — the ideal of charity. By sweetening the fountains of your thoughts, you destroy the bitterness of your judg­ments. And if you are habitually kind in thought through super­natural motives, you are far on the way to becoming a saint....Col. 3:12. 132 Phil. 4:7. 133 Matt. 5:9.

LEUKEMIA

I felt quite well for a person who had been sentenced to death.Testimonial #990------ www.hacres.com
Submitted By: Darlene
My name is Darlene and I was diagnosed with a rare form of LEUKEMIA in 2002. My doctors told me that I had about 5-years to live and that, unfortunately, there was no effective treatment for my leukemia. After two years had gone by, still no effective treatment had become available for me, and I was feeling sicker and weaker by the day. As a devout Christian, I prayed to the Lord to guide me. In March 2004, during one of the many on-line searches to understand the progression of my rare leukemia; I came across the Hallelujah Acres web page. I didn't find anything on leukemia, although I did read about other types of cancers that were helped by The Hallelujah Diet. I read about the importance of eating live food because our bodies where made up of live cells. It seemed so right, so I immediately embraced The Hallelujah Diet. I made certain modifications to it. However, that is, I virtually eliminated all sugars, including those found in fruits and their juices. I began juicing twice a day, primarily dark leafy-green organic vegetables mixed with organic carrots. WITHIN FOUR MONTHS I FELT UNUSUALLY HEALTHY. I DIDN'T FEEL WEAK OR FATIGUED. MY DEPRESSION DISAPPEARED. I told my husband, who is an ordained minister, that I felt quite well for a person who had been sentenced to death.

When I went to the doctor that week, he told me that there was something odd in my blood test/flow cytometry. I was concerned! He then told me that he COULDN'T FIND THE LEUKEMIA! He wanted me to have another bone marrow biopsy,but I wasn't ready. (I had already had two in the past, and the results of the second were worse than the first.) I told him that I wanted to wait a little longer. He agreed. Four months later he insisted that I have the biopsy, because again, MY BLOOD SHOWED NO SIGNS OF CANCER. This time I said 'yes.' Two weeks later I had my third bone marrow biopsy. A week later the doctor called me to his office and told me THAT THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF LEUKEMIA IN MY BONE MARROW! TEARY EYED I PRAISED GOD! He added, that in all of his years practicing medicine, he had never seen a patient go into remission without treatment!
I told him about this blessed Hallelujah Diet, and this is what he responded: 'Whatever you're doing, keep doing it!'

P.S. My Husband John is cancer free after living this vegan diet since Feb. 2001.
THE RECOVERY DIET COPY AND PASTE - http://www.hacres.com/hallelujah-diet/recovery-diet


Testimonies on the Hallelujah Acres website have been submitted voluntarily without promise of compensation or publication. Claims expressed are solely those of the individual; these claims have not been verified, nor are they intended to represent typical results of making a diet change.