Purgatory – Is it real?

I’ve been taught all my life that Purgatory is a place somewhere between our death here on Earth and our arrival in Heaven.  A place where believers who die with sin on their souls are cleansed before entering into the Glory of Heaven. My priest spoke of it today during his Homily.

Here’s a link from the Catholic Encylopedia with its explanation –>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm

and here’s an opposing view –> http://video.christianpost.com/dr-bobby-conway-is-purgatory-biblical-2520/

Here’s what I think, I think Jesus died for our sins.  We Are Forgiven.  So why do we need a Purging Place?  If one can be forgiven of the most heineous sin in a confessional, why does a soul need days, weeks, months, who knows how long to be cleansed of sin before entrance into Heaven is granted?  Granted, we need to ask for forgiveness first.  So if, when we die, we have sins that we haven’t asked forgiveness for, are we given a chance for that last confession?  And maybe some time before hand to go to the videotape of our lives first?  Sounds like I just have a lot of unanswered questions.

I offer this…does it matter?  We are told by Christ himself, Love God first, more than anything, then Love your neighbor as yourself.  Do these things, ask forgiveness when you mess up, admit when you’re wrong, always strive to do better and avoid sin as much as humanly possible, ask God for His Grace to help you through those tough times, and IF there is a Purgatory, your time should be short, if you need to spend any time there at all.  Regardless of whether there is a Purgatory or not, you are required, by Jesus the Lord Himself, to do the two commands listed above.  The talking heads can argue the point until Kingdom Come.  The truth is, no man knows for sure.  So just live the way Christ taught us. Simple enough.

Keep praying!

Deneen

The New Catholic Mass prayers…WHAT were they thinking?

A little over a year ago, the Catholic Church instituted new, ‘updated’,  prayers for the Mass in all English speaking countries. To make them more meaningful supposedly. Huh? Please tell me how the word ‘consubstantial’ has more meaning than ‘one in being with’. For those of you who go to Mass regularly, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s been since November 2011 and even the priests are still making mistakes regularly.

Here’s a quote from the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), “The richness of these seemingly subtle changes not only brings our prayer closer in line with our brothers and sisters who speak other languages, but also invites us to enter more fully into the mystery of the Mass,” the bishops wrote. “Our participation in the liturgy is an essential part of our worship.”  “The closer translation seeks to preserve the rich imagery and language in the original Latin,” said Father Paul deLadurantaye, diocesan secretary for catechetics and sacred liturgy for the Diocese of Arlington, VA.   Huh?  I thought the original scriptures were written in Greek.

Subtle? Is that why 15 months later we are ALL still making mistakes regularly? Rich imagery? I don’t know about you, but when I talk to God, I like it to be a conversation.  Me putting it all out there in front of the Lord so that he can wipe it away.  I don’t speak Latin, never have. I want to know what I’m saying when I’m praying, otherwise it’s just a lot of memorized gobbledegook. Means nothing.

This is what it looks like to me.  The Vatican has much heartburn over American Catholics.  They think we are too free-thinking, open-minded, independent.  (But keep sending us your money Americans.) What better way to bring us back into line and flex those Vatican muscles than to change our prayers, make us conform, make us bend. It’s a well-known fact that an American bishop/cardinal will never be Pope.  We’re not holy enough, I guess. So much for heart-felt prayer with God, opening their minds as to who should really lead the Church.  It’s all politics.  Prayer my foot.  Just keep drinking the Kool-Aid and do what we say.

But who is going to listen to me? After all, I’m an American Catholic and a female to boot.  No one in Rome cares what I think or have to say.

Disgruntled in Virginia, but still praying.  Stay holy everyone, keep praying that the Lord will shed His light on what REALLY matters.

Deneen

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The London Olympic Stadium is 53 meters high. This blog had about 330 visitors in 2012. If every visitor were a meter, this blog would be 6 times taller than the Olympic Stadium – not too shabby.

Click here to see the complete report.

Angry at God?

Are you ever angry at God? Sometimes I am. I was angry at God when I lost my daughter because I couldn’t understand why He even let me get pregnant, when I was going through a divorce, when I lost my father because I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, and when I had a scare when my mammogram came back positive. All four of these huge, life-changing events happened within 9 months of one another. When I got the call from the nurse, I looked up to heaven and said, ‘You just have to move on to someone else. I just can’t do ONE more huge thing like this’. I’m also a single mother and my remaining children were only 8 at the time (they’re twins) and I wasn’t sure they could make it easily without me. The mammogram proved to be a false positive!

Too much. Sometimes life is just so over-whelming. Work as well as a home-based business, kids’ school, sports, boy’s club activities, girl’s club activities, and keeping a household running wears me down. Jesus says His load is light, but sometimes, I just want to know, ‘When?’. I don’t seem to be alone in this. When you talk to folks, everyone has their burdens, everyone has their crosses and some seem much larger than anything I’ve ever had to deal with. ‘Why?’ Why must we all go through this Hell on Earth? Or is life the real Purgatory and not some nebulous place between Heaven and Earth? Why the game?

Ever read the Book of Job? The way God allowed the devil to play with Job is beyond me. It was a game, a bet. Could Job stand loosing all his wealth, health, children, everything he held dear and still be faithful to God? I believe he passed the test and the riches bestowed upon him after ‘The Test’ was beyond Job’s wildest dreams. I would suppose there is a lesson in that story. Stay the Course. Keep the Faith. Semper Fi.

Well, despite everything, I Believe! I believe I will be rewarded, if not in this life, then in the life after. I also believe Our Father has broad shoulders and that He can take it when you’re angry with Him. This means He matters to you if you care enough to be angry with Him! Otherwise, a person would just be completely indifferent, I suppose. I also remember to say ‘Thank You’ to Him when something good comes my way as well.

So Semper Fi everyone because you are not alone. When you get angry with The Lord, remember the ‘Footprints’ poem. He’s there and He’s carrying you. Stay the course, because indeed, the reward is great.

Blessings to you and may your burden today be light.

Deneen

Footprints poem link: http://homeschoolblogger.com/godsgurl93/?p=783144

Dealing with Traveling?

After a tooooo long absence from writing in my blog, I’ve decided to ask my readers a question.  How do you deal with seemingly impossible situations when you are traveling? 

Do you scream at the other driver(s)?  Do you give them one-fingered salutes?  Do you get right up on their back bumper and intimidate them?  Do you listen to traffic reports hoping to miss the latest fender-bender?  Do you say insane things like, ‘There had better be blood or a body on the road to justify this kind of backup!’?  Come on – it’s embarrassing to admit, but we’ve all been there.

So, who do we ask to intercede for us when travelling?  Looks like the patron saint for this activity is St. Christopher.  St. Chris has a lot of bases covered; athletes, ferrymen, lightning, pestilence, archers, bachelors, boatmen, bookbinders, epilepsy, floods, fruit dealers, fullers, gardeners, for a holy death, market carriers, motorists and drivers, sailors (same as a mariner, I would assume), storms, surfers, toothache, mountaineering, and transportation workers as well as things related to travel and travelers.  Busy Saint! 

St. Christopher

His story seems a bit fantastic.  He was supposedly a 7′ 6″ Canaanite.  (I guess he could have been that tall – some people are.  Wasn’t Samson and Goliath guys from Canaan too?  Must be some ‘BIG’ genes in the Middle East!)  From what I read in Wikipedia, he seemed a bit of a lost individual, like he couldn’t find his path in life.  Sound familiar to anyone?  I know I was looking for a good long time too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Christopher  While Jesus didn’t actually sit on my shoulders like in the story of St. Christopher, he was there euphemistically and yes, the load was heavy until I saw the truth.  Jesus says His burden is light, but yeesh!, the road to get there is terribly long and up-hill.  I have to admit though, the view from the top is amazing!  🙂

So I get the picture.  Traffic isn’t forever.  You eventually reach your destination. You may have a couple more wrinkles or gray hairs, but all-in-all, you’re still in good health.  I’m still saying the Rosary in traffic and many times in church on Sunday. I think I’ll be asking St. Christopher to pray the Rosary with me on those especially trying traffic days too.

I hope each of you have a light and easy journey to your next destination wherever that may be.  And remember to take along St. Christopher and your Rosary.  With a team like that, how can you go wrong!!!

Blessings,

Deneen

Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson)

Passion of the Christ

Have you ever seen the movie directed by Mel Gibson called ‘The Passion of the Christ’?  If you haven’t yet, you should.  Like ‘Schindler’s List’, it’s one you only need to see once, or at least once in a great while.  Say what you want about Mr. Gibson’s private life; he’s a great movie maker.    The movie is rated ‘R’ and with good reason.  The insanity and barbaric gruesomeness of what Jesus went through is without equal.  Mr. Gibson stays true to Scripture and when you see the torture, first-hand, of what Christ endured, it sickens you.  It is VERY hard to watch and I challenge you to watch it without becoming emotional.  This is a truly inspired film.  Why God required this walk of Jesus, I’m not sure I’ll ever understand, but it has helped me to try and not complain so much when life’s trivial headaches come my way.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the movie –> http://www.thepassionofchrist.com/v2/index.html

Watch it.  See what Jesus did for you and for me.  No greater love can man have for his friends than to lay down his life for them.  Jesus claims all people of all walks of life as his friends.  You will leave a changed person.

Blessings,

Deneen

St. Aloysius Gonzaga

 

St. Aloysius Gonzaga – Washington, DC

 Since it’s Holy Week, I thought I’d like to do daily Mass all week.  It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for years but never had the chance.  This is the lucky year! 

In the District of Columbia, there is a high school with the same name as the well-known university, Gonzaga.  It’s an all-boys school; college prep, I believe.  Theirs is a huge, old church there (founded in 1859) that has daily mass at noon.  The parishioners fondly call it St. Al’s.  It’s old, it’s beautiful and it got me wondering, just who was St. Aloysius Gonzaga.

St. Aloysius – Washington, DC

Well, turns out St. Al was the eldest son of a wealthy family in Castiglione near Mantua, Italy.  He was born in 1568.  His father’s name was Ferrante.  How about that, my maiden name!  And they were part of the court of the Medici’s.  My nephew married a Medici.  So maybe I’m related to St. Aloysius!

Anyhow, when Aloysius, then know as Luigi (Aloysius is the Latin form of Luigi), was around 16, he decided he didn’t want to be a Marquis.  He wanted that right to go to his brother so that he could enter the seminary.  Ferrante wasn’t pleased and apparently there was a disagreement.  Now, I come from an Italian home and I can assure you, there is either peace or war but there are no ‘disagreements’.  I’m sure the Gonzaga household was a war zone.  Luigi won out and began to study under a newly founded religious order, The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.  (The Jesuits have founded both Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA and Georgetown University in Washington, DC.) 

He studied for the priesthood in Rome.  It was there that he would go out into the streets of the city to care for victims of the plague. and where he contracted the disease himself.  He died on June 21, 1591, at the age of twenty-three, six years short of his ordination.  Pope Benedict XIII canonized Aloysius a saint in 1726, and three years later declared him to be the patron of youth in the Catholic Church.  His feast day is June 21.

Now when I attend daily Mass at that beautiful church in downtown DC, the painting behind the altar will mean much more to me! 

You can read more detailed information about St. Aloysius Gonzaga on Wikipedia –> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloysius_Gonzaga

Happy Easter!

Deneen

Distractions

I’ve been very distracted of late.  I haven’t posted here in over 2 weeks.  😦  Things haven’t been getting done on the home front – other than keeping up with payment on those never-ending bills.  Work has been ‘blah’.  The only thing of note is our wet, wet, wet spring and how the rain has made everything outside turn all shades of green.  All the flowering trees are in bloom, bulbs have burst through the wet dirt threatening to open their beautiful blossoms at the mere hint of a warm ray of sunshine.

So why am I so much in the dumps?  And more importantly, how does one shake that heaviness?  Today is Palm Sunday.  We are heading into one of the heaviest and saddest weeks of the year in our Christian faith.  The main focus is the pending crucifixion of our Lord.  I’ve been praying the Sorrowful Mysteries while saying the rosary. Granted, the payoff at the end is the most magnificent miracle known to man; Easter morning and Christ’s Resurrection.  It also happens to be tax weekend.  Taxes are due on Monday to that man-made debacle, the US government.

So I’m reaching out to all you who may be reading this blog.  Can you send me suggestions?  How do I shake these doldrums? 

-Deneen

St. Patrick – a pagan?

Since March is the month noted for the celebration of St. Patrick, before the month was over, I thought it would be nice to find out some trivia about the popular saint.

St. Patrick

Yep, St. Patrick dabbled with paganism while he was a teenager.  I’m sure his parents weren’t thrilled since they were Christians.  Just goes to show you that teenagers drove their parents nuts 2,000 years ago too.  Not sure if that makes anyone feel better, but at least you parents of teenagers can know that your misery has been shared by parents just like you for many, many years.  Of course, he could blame the people to whom he was a slave for introducing the practice to him.  [All said tongue-in-cheek!]

Here’s what I found out:  Patrick was born of fairly high rank in the land now known as Scotland around the year 387.  His parents, were considered Britons because of where they lived, but were also Roman citizens.  His father’s family name was Calphurnius and his mother was called Conchessa.  Some stories say she was niece to St. Martin of Tours. When he was about 14 or 16, he was captured from his home by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland to herd and tend sheep and cattle.  Ireland at that time was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him, probably not voluntarily.  There are a couple of St. Patrick’s original writings that have survivied the centuries.  At some point during his captivity, he turned  back to God.  He wrote,

“The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same.” “I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.”

He existed there for six years before gaining his freedom.  He escaped after having a dream in which he was told, he believed by God, to leave Ireland by going to the coast.  There he found some sailors who took him back to Britian, where he reunited with his family.  So, I’m sure, that when his family saw him again, they really didn’t care what he had done while being held in Ireland!  I’m sure they were just ecstatic that he was home.  After six years of hell though, he probably wasn’t the same person inside as the boy that was taken all those years ago.

He studied to become a priest, was ordained a bishop and returned to Ireland to preach to and convert the pagan people there.  Saint Patrick’s day is observed on March 17, the date of Patrick’s death.  He is believed to have died around the year 493, but have would have made him a mighty old man.

I’ll post more later on his life during his preaching days in Ireland.  There are so many interesting facts about Patrick it’s too much to put into one post!

Blessings!

Deneen

The Birdcage

My sister sent me this little story and since it’s Lent, I thought the point especially well-made:

God’s Grace

There once was a man named George Thomas , pastor in a small New
England town . One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying
a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were
raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak….

“I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming
toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were
three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.

I stopped the lad and asked, “What do you have there, son?”

“Just some old birds,” came the reply.

   “What are you going to do with them?” I asked.

    “Take ’em home and have fun with ’em,” he answered. “I’m gonna tease
’em and pull out their feathers to make ’em fight. I’m gonna have a
real good time.”

“But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you
do then?”

“Oh, I got some cats,” said the little boy. “They like birds. I’ll
take ’em to them.”

The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those
birds, son?”

“Huh?? !!! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister.

They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing. They ain’t even
pretty!”

“How much?” the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, “$10?”

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He
placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor
picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where
there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened
the
door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting
them free. Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and
then the pastor began to tell this story:

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just
come from the Garden of Eden , and he was gloating and boasting. “Yes,
sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap,
used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ’em all!”

“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked.

Satan replied, “Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna teach them how to
marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to
drink and smoke and curse. I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns and
bombs and kill each other. I’m really gonna have fun!”

“And what will you do when you are done with them?”

Jesus asked. “Oh, I’ll kill ’em,” Satan glared proudly.

“How much do you want for them?” Jesus asked.

“Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take
them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and
kill you. You don’t want those people!!”

“How much? He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All your blood, tears and your
life.”

Jesus said, “DONE!” Then He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.

I thank God everyday for my blessed life. I’m not rich, don’t live in a mansion and don’t have the nicest of material things, but, I’m healthy (maybe a matter of opinion!) , have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food on my table, a family that loves me and lifelong friends and new ones too, to get me through the bad times.

I’d say I have a lot to be thankful for.

Blessings,

Deneen

Life without God is like an un-sharpened pencil – it has no point.