March 6, 2016

                R. Come to me Lord and possess
                my soul.

                    Help me to dress my thoughts
                with positive thoughts to
                be prepared to meet the bridegroom
                of my soul.
 

Matthew 22: 1-14

Parable of the wedding feast

Jesus began to speak to them in parables once again, 'The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants with the words, "Tell those who have been invited: Look, my banquet is all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding." But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He dispatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the main crossroads and invite everyone you can find to come to the wedding. So these servants went out onto the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, "How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?" And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and throw him into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth." For many are invited but not all are chosen."

                R. A person can dress their mind
                in a garment of negativity
                and angry thoughts, jealous
                thoughts they ponder toward
                their brothers. A person can
                give into deadly sins towards
                others in their thoughts. How
                is their garment then?

                    We are to be prepared for
                the bridegroom of our soul –
                We are to discipline our
                wills – the foolish virgins
                did not prepare and had no
                oil for their lamps when
                the bridegroom came – they
                were unprepared –

                R. Discipline your thoughts –
                seek purity – like dressing
                for the wedding

                    Give love to God – God
                wants our love – An attitude
                of gratitude.

                    We have a free will – Why
                listen to satan – he is a devil
                he wants souls to be
                down-hearted, ungrateful,
                devious, jealous, prideful,
                malicious, punishing –

                    "Bend the stubborn heart
                and will, melt the frozen
                warm the chill –
                guide the steps that go
                astray"

                    Discipline the will –
                A person of weak will can
                become enslaved – for they
                will choose to give into
                deadly sins –

                    In this Holy Spirit Prayer –

                From the Prayer Manual

Holy Spirit Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, almighty Sanctifier, God of love, who filled the Virgin Mary with grace, who wonderfully changed the hearts of the apostles, who endowed all Your martyrs with miraculous courage, come and sanctify us. Enlighten our minds, strengthen our wills, purify our consciences, rectify our judgment, set our hearts on fire, and preserve us from the misfortunes of resisting Your inspirations. Amen.
 

                R. We pray for a strong will –
                A person of weak will, will
                choose those actions that
                can be evil very easily –
                and live in more and more
                darkness –

                One must pray for the grace
                of a strong will –

                Satan comes at the most in
                opportune time, when work
                for Jesus is to be done
                especially –

                A person of weak will can
                easily give into passions
                of anger, pleasures of the
                senses that influence their
                actions when satan tempts
                them with anger, pride,
                gluttony, lust, jealousies –
                being angry at your brother
                when they are innocent
                because of deep anger inside
                oneself and nursing anger
                for days, can be because
                of past abuse – this is
                wrong. The person of weak
                will can give in and hold onto
                the impure dress – when
                Jesus comes, day after day –
                they have the impure garment
                of anger and darkness they
                wear because they are an
                angry person.

                    Deception is a big thing –
                Then they can tell themselves
                they have no anger. The
                Merry-Go-Round of Denial
                goes on – Satan uses the timing
                for his end –

                    He comes like a thief in the
                night – so the person of weak
                will – diseased will – gives
                in at his first prompting
                and he is unpredictable –
                washing out the days –
                God has given to them for
                love as days of ugly venom
                wearing anger like a dirty,
                impure dress to the wedding
                of their soul to Jesus –

                    Jesus deserves love – What
                we do to others we do to Jesus –
                wearing a pure and beautiful
                dress – dressed with love –
                an attitude of gratitude,
                but the person who has
                anger from the past inside
                projects their anger on innocent
                others and deceives themselves
                in blaming others for their
                sins.

                    The will can become
                so weak and from giving
                in, diseased – they rob
                themselves of the purity –
                Jesus wants them to have –
                to do the work in union
                with Him, in love as He
                commands us to do –

                Anger that is repressed and
                nursed and held onto is
                a loaded gun satan uses.

                Fr. Joe says when we are
                angry like this we are
                to pray for grace to let
                go.

                The man nursing anger is
                holding on and doesn't
                want to let go – he just
                wants to be angry and nobody
                could be able to get rid
                of his anger toward them –
                he can use an innocent
                other for a victim of his
                anger – it grows greater
                and the anger becomes
                a menace to keep him in
                the state he chooses –
                anger – no one could work
                through for peace –
                "Bend the stubborn heart
                and will, melt the frozen
                warm the chill – guide
                the steps that go astray"

                Love is constant –

                Love - hate relationships are
                    not like Jesus wants –

                Love is committed –
                Love is full of fire and
                    gives.

                Jesus loves and showed
                    us how to love –

                Song: A Song from Jesus

                March 5, 2016

                R. The Blessed Sacrament is always
                to be respected. The Exposed Eucharist
                is for adoration and prayer.

                    The truth is God has given us a
                great gift in allowing us to have
                the exposed Eucharist.

                    God intends us to adore Him
                before the Blessed Sacrament and
                to be very reverent at all times
                as we conduct ourselves in
                loving honor and prayer.

                    God has given us a great gift.   

                    Jesus is truly present in His
                Divinity and humanity in the Blessed
                Sacrament.

                    Man is gifted with the ability to
                contemplate the truths. God is alive
                and dwells in our graced, baptized
                soul. We cannot do the work of God
                without constant dependency on Him.
                We must be united to the Holy Spirit to
                be guided in the right steps.

                    Respect and adoration is to
                be given to the Blessed Sacrament
                always. God allows us to contemplate
                His truths and to know on a
                supernatural level, but we must
                be disposed totally to Him in love
                and reverence according to His will.

                    Man has a free will. Man is to know
                and love Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament –
                to know and love Him deeply.

                    We pray in contemplation of Our
                Divine Savior because we love Him
                so very much. We love the truth,
                we stand before God and ask God
                to help us to know Him so deeply.
                We want to know and understand
                the truth. We never want to offend
                Our Beloved God.

                    The man must be disciplined
                in order to reach a level of
                contemplation. The devil can use
                this time for the man to give into
                sensations and pleasures.
                Spreading the Blood of Jesus, begging
                the Holy Spirit to help us can help us
                focus on Jesus, not some sensuous
                pleasure, food or other pleasures.

                    In contemplation man must be
                well disciplined to turn his heart
                to God. We seek so deeply the
                truth of God. We seek so deeply
                the vision as never to offend
                God by our actions.

                    We contemplate God – to know
                Him, to love Him, to arrive at
                knowledge of Him.

                    This gift of contemplation is a most
                satisfying gift that God has given to
                man. We seek to know the truth –
                the vision of God.

                    God is always the object of our
                love in contemplation – we seek
                the vision of God –

                    Contemplation leads to action
                in our spiritual life.

                    Dear God, help us to serve You
                as You desire, with our lives.
                When You call us to service, help
                us to never offend You with our
                ways but to serve You with
                great reverence. Help our prayer be
                inspired by the Holy Spirit and our
                actions to be regulated by
                prudence, justice, temperance
                and fortitude. In justice we see
                you as our Loving God: Father, Son and
                Holy Spirit and we wish to give love to You
                always in all we do. Forgive
                us for our failings to show the
                respect that You deserve in
                all our actions in our lives.
                Help us to have strong wills against
                temptations where we would have
                given into anger and pride and
                jealousy and envy and lust,
                gluttony and slothfulness.

                    Help us to never steer away because
                of slothfulness to our calling in
                life and the responsibility You
                have given to us in our vocation.

                    A vocation is a calling by God
                how we are to live and answer
                His call to know, love and serve
                Him and answer the commission
                in baptism to go out and spread
                the Good News.

                    Such a call is to be taken with
                serious action on our part
                for God calls us to a certain
                vocation and He has a plan
                for us.

                    We must give our free will to the
                service of God as He desires. The
                devil puts before us a good thing
                then he comes in like a woodpecker
                trying to push a hole in the wood.
                He can aggressively attack like
                a big drill bit if the person's
                will is weak and is prone to
                yielding to temptation and giving
                into the deadly sins.

                    The spiritual life is a constant
                desire on the part of the individual
                to be improved, to be more and
                more open to grow in the image
                and likeness of God.

                    A person of pride and jealousy and
                envy – prone to this enslavement will
                react differently to any kind of correction,
                from the Holy Spirit or a spiritual director.
                The life of an individual is to be, to
                wear the wedding dress for the
                Bridegroom of our soul to Jesus and
                likewise to be ready when He comes –
                not like the foolish virgins who
                had no oil for their lamp.

                    We ask the Holy Spirit to form us more
                and more in the image and
                likeness of God in the pure and
                holy and loving Heart of our
                Mother Mary – that means
                a commitment to allow ourselves
                to die to those ways that need to
                change and grow in greater perfection.
                But a person with a weak will, having
                developed enslavement in the
                deadly sins to pride and anger
                and jealousy and envy, slothfulness,
                lust and gluttony – when tempted
                by satan gives in easily to anger,
                easily to pride and steers away
                from control of his passions to
                anger, pride, envy, jealousy,
                slothfulness etc.

                    It takes the desire on the
                part of the person to live in
                the virtues of justice and prudence,
                temperance and fortitude. It takes
                God to give to him the strength of
                a strong will, the seeking of
                purity to live a more perfected
                life.

                    If a person never played basketball
                they would not have the strength
                and the ability to be a good
                basketball player. It takes
                exercises and practice to know
                any sport.

                    With regard to our whole life
                God has given us a free will to choose
                Him and His rules above all the
                desires and pleasures of our lives,
                but this takes discipline and practice
                and love on our part to choose
                God and virtue above the inordinate
                desires of the unruly will that wants
                to give into pride and anger and
                jealousy and envy and slothfulness
                and lust and gluttony.

                    The more one never exercises
                control of their passions, the more
                they become enslaved to the
                inordinate desires and they
                can become enslaved to them.

                    The spiritual life can grow,
                but there must be the moral
                virtues one seeks to develop through
                the power of the Holy Spirit and with
                discipline and control of one's
                passions.

                    A person who has deep-seated anger
                from their entire life and neglects
                to recognize they have such anger,
                can easily find a sounding
                board for why this hidden anger
                exists – anger is a passion within
                that does not become abated by
                one suppressing it. A person can
                have a lifetime of controlling
                hidden anger by suppressing
                it and acting out such anger
                by blaming others for their sorry
                state. How can a person focus on a
                vocation of loving and serving
                God when their enslavement is
                controlling life-long-anger and
                darkness and refusing any
                help from God or others to change
                such enslavement.

                    We have each precious day to
                live and empty out the trap
                door of garbage that needs
                to be discarded. We need God's
                grace and our desire should be
                to seek goodness and happiness
                in our goal of eternal happiness
                in heaven.

                Life is like playing a violin. A person
                who is untrained if they tried to
                play can make screeching sounds
                that can pierce the sound barrier –
                We are to practice the music
                and fine tune the instrument,
                we need instruction and practice
                what we have been told to do –
                We do not resist the teacher and
                instructor and we need the God
                given talent to help us achieve
                greater perfection.

                    God has a plan for us to be
                His well sounding, well trained
                loving spouse –
                To grow in the life of perfection
                according to His will. We have
                a wounded human nature and
                tendencies toward the deadly
                sins. We need His grace to
                help us control unruly passions
                of anger and pride, envy,
                jealousy, slothfulness, gluttony
                and lust.

                    A person who never plays
                the violin will probably not
                do so good.

                    If discipline is not practiced
                the will is very weak and when
                temptation to the deadly sins comes –
                it is easy to give in and choose
                to give into the passions, then
                it can become enslavement to
                these vices, bad habits.

                    God has called us like a
                beautiful piece of marble to
                be made into a beautiful image
                of Jesus, but work must be
                done with the chisel and tools
                to form the beautiful art.

                    Life is to live as we are
                being molded by the Holy Spirit in
                the image of Jesus in the
                spiritual womb of our Mother Mary –

                    God the Father created us and has
                a plan for us to be more and more
                perfected in the spiritual life –
                but we have a free will

                    Sadness to some, is a way of
                life, but they don't want anyone
                telling them they are sad or
                angry or jealous so they can
                live defensively ready to
                prove they are already perfectly
                happy and no one better
                mess with them. They can
                guard their faults and weaknesses
                like guarding gold at Fort Knox.

                    Guarding imperfections is
                enslavement.

                    Knowing God is knowing what
                God wants us to be. The Holy Spirit gives
                us the gifts if we work with Him
                and seek Him and ask for the
                gifts. The gift of knowledge
                of the Holy Spirit includes knowing
                oneself – seeing what we need
                to die to – to grow in that
                greater image and likeness
                that God wants us to be.
                Discipline and hard work is
                necessary. Taking out the
                garbage in the house is
                very important.

                    God is the Creator and in studying
                Him and His creation we learn about
                God.

                    We see we eat food and drink
                water for our physical health
                and we must discard waste.

                    Why does the prideful, angry
                man not see that a life of
                negativity, anger, pride
                needs to be discarded and
                filled up with love and
                joy and peace.

                    We need each other. We need
                the ability to do the building of the
                Kingdom of God with pure
                hearts or satan can work
                in a life enslaved to pride,
                anger, jealousy etc. and
                good work that should
                get done is not done –
                the person can fill their house
                with garbage that never
                goes out.

                    Pain from the past, living
                opposed to God's will can
                be eased by using something to
                numb the pain. Drugs,
                alcohol, cigarettes, food, work,
                excitement, drama, attention –
                can all be addictions that
                keep people stuck numbing
                the pain and not dealing
                with what is under the pain.

                    There is a small pamphlet
                put out by Hazelden called
                Alcoholism – A Merry-Go-Round
                Named Denial –

                    In it we see the human drama
                acted out like a stage play
                that can occur in families,
                communities of this dysfunctional
                way of life –

                    It is senseless to hold onto dysfunction
                and try through measures of punishment
                to make others put up with dysfunctional
                dances that just go around and
                around like a merry-go-round
                and get worse and worse.

                    Life is so good – Life is to
                be lived so we advance in the
                image and likeness of God and
                go to our true home in heaven
                and meet God face-to-face.

                    To see more the vision of God, we must
                first walk by faith. We cannot fully
                understand the divine mysteries on
                earth – we must walk by faith –
                actually believe that which we can't
                yet understand to have more the vision
                of God. To grow in having the vision of God
                we must have faith – believe in that
                which we do not completely understand.
                We must seek God, want to know
                Him, believe He exists to have
                more the vision of God.

                    We have the mystery of the
                Trinity. We believe that Christ
                became man through the power
                of the Holy Spirit in the womb
                of the Virgin Mary.