Years ago due to a difficult time in my life, I found my way to a lay group called Disciples of Jesus and Mary. The focus was to determine one’s plan of life and followed the program of a Catholic priest from India, Father Santan Pinto. There were tapes and books to use as Guides along with a local leader who became a good friend. Each of us was to write a letter to Fr Pinto concerning what we had determined was our plan of life. It was quite involved and I struggled with the task. I did my best and sent it.
But I was uncertain if I really knew what this plan was for me. One night I lay awake and thought about the letter and finally asked, Dear God tell me: What is your plan for my life? We had a clock radio back then and I awoke the very next morning to the voice of a minister on a Christian station saying: This is my plan for you: that you should be sanctified. It came to me that God would be the one to show me how this would happen and I felt at peace with my own efforts imperfect as they were.
Looking back I now see how all along there was a plan through events, people, trials, good things etc. Somewhere in the Gospels Jesus told his disciples: now you know in part but then you will know everything. In short, his plan for each of us is to become a saint through living our unique life and keeping our faith in Him.
Since my last blog a month ago I have opened the page to write a new post many times and … nothing. No inspiration, just a series of unconnected thoughts. This morning after deleting emails and sending one, I tried once more. A friend who just lost her husband suggested I write about my family for the grandchildren; something to remember about their heritage.
My mother was someone I want them to remember. She stayed with us about a year before she passed on. While she was here people thought something was wrong with my land line because of the constant busy signal. It wasn’t the phone; it was my mother. So many calls in and out for her. But she also received a call from one particular friend occasionally who also wrote her letters; you know with actual pen and paper. The point is, the inspiration for this blog came remembering the ending of one of those ‘ancient writings’. It was simply a question she asked: What’s It All About Alfie?
This friend of my mom was about ninety years old. A widow who lived alone and had two grown children. Their stories were not something I should tell. But just know they were sad ones. She wrote beautiful letters in both the penmanship and content. I looked up the words written by Burt Bacharach and sung by Dionne Warwick in a movie by that name. The answer is revealed toward the end speaking of heaven and that well known four letter word LOVE.
This made me think of my friend who lived that word caring for her beloved husband for about a decade. Love is patient, love is kind… love never ends and that forever part is in heaven! And I believe my mother’s pen pal also lived the word in continuing to love her children. That is what it’s all about, Alfie.
When you hear or read the adjectives pro and anti their meanings are clear. simply for and against. Some years ago I remember hearing the term pro choice used referring to a woman’s ‘right to choose’ in regard to abortion. And along with that came anti abortion replacing pro life. The interesting thing is that today people who on the side of the right to life use pro life. You do not hear anti life from either side. Instead the pro choice advocates refer to the opposing side as anti abortion. But they never use the term anti life.
I remember some years after the 1973 decision when the term pro choice replace pro abortion and it was quite obviously a smart tactical move on their part. The same people use anti abortion to replace pro life. It worked quite well. So well in fact that a new more positive term has come into use, reproductive rights. Interestingly enough our present culture are pushing to eliminate the word, mother.
In the late 1960’s I read a book by George Orwell written in 1949. In the prophetic novel mainstream society who were thought controlled by The Party mothers were not able to mother their children and many did not know how. The children became violent and vicious. I recently asked the local library for the book and the librarian said they actually had several copies but they were all out. The other day I received an email to pick up a copy and I did. I skimmed much of the book and also did that with another Farenheit 451. Words matter and when used to manipulate and control can wreak havoc.
(If you din’t read Parts 1&2 scroll down and read them first)
What a night it was so far. Still dark and foggy outside as we opened the church door and walked into the foyer and went through the door into the sanctuary, I felt as if it was a movie set. The lights were on and Father was kneeling in front of the altar in gold vestments. The the gold monstrance was on top of the altar holding the Eucharist. The Christmas poinsettias, red, white, gold and blue, formed a grand display at the base of the altar along with the other Christmas decorations on the aisles and on the side ledges.
Our lost friend was sitting in a pew toward the back and we tapped her on the shoulder and sat in the pew behind her. She turned and smiled and we smiled back. Another friend of ours and her daughter sitting near the front were the only other people in the church. We came at the ending of Adoration in time to say the last prayers and sing the closing song while our pastor put the Eucharist in the tabernacle. After the blessing he said that it was exactly midnight and wished us Happy New Year.
As we left this heavenly place, we began telling our ‘found friend’ our story. She explained on her way home she remembered reading in the Flocknotes on-line earlier that day there would be Adoration from 9 pm to midnight and took the route passing the church on the way home. She went in and stayed to the end.
She said how sorry she was that we went through all the worry for her. I said, “Don’t apologize. It was wonderful to be here and find you in the best of all places in the New Year. Should we call you when we get home?”
“I’m only a mile from the church and you are several miles away, I’ll call you!”
This was a Holy Moment gifted to us from the Lord himself. We will always remember the New Year’s Eve of 2023. And also hope to heed the prompting of the Holy Spirit – to go and do likewise.
This Christmas we received a book from our priest titled Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly. You might say the author writes to encourage his readers to put into action the daily exercise of living their faith. It isn’t rocket science just the idea that every day of our lives these holy moments come to us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Most everyone experiences them when thoughts come into our mind of some kindness we can do for someone. For example letting another driver in when it will help him pulling onto a busy road Or it might be a thank you to someone checking you out in a store who seems particularly busy and upset.
This past New Years Eve I had one of these moments when I called a friend to have dinner with us. We enjoyed a meal as she brought appetizer, Prosecco wine, and desert in addition to our main meal. It really benefited myself and my husband as well because we had a wonderful meal and conversation. We said good-by at 10:30 pm. She lived alone on an unpaved road with several other homes; she lived a few miles away.
Around 11pm I called to make sure she arrived home as I had done before when it was late. I left a message on her home phone and waited for a call. None came so I tried a second time and left another message. Now my husband was worried about her and after some minutes I called her cell. No answer. At that point we became concerned because there was nowhere she would normally go that time of night and had told us she was going home.
We waited a while and decided to go to her house just to make sure everything was all right. When we went to our car, we noticed it was extremely foggy and as we drove it got worse. My husband took the most direct route to her house and as we drove I kept a lookout for her car on either side worried that she might have gone off the road. It was difficult to see our way and no other cars were around..
He said, “We are going to her house. If she isn’t there we have to call the police.”That scared me and I also hoped the fog was not too thick for us on her road. It was foggy when we turned onto the bumpy dirt road but we could see our way. As we passed the other houses I wondered if we’d find her home.
Part 2
As we approached her house and noticed there were lights on the floor above the basement. I felt relieved. But when we turned into the driveway my husband said, “She isn’t home. Her car isn’t here.”
I said, “She must be home. The lights are on. Go around the back and up the on deck to the door.”
He went to look and I heard her dog barking. He came back.. “She isn’t home. We have to call.”
Let’s go back the other way.”
“OK but I don’t think she’d go that way. It it has so many curves but we’ll try it.”
We sat silently looking through the fog for some sign of her. Now I feared the worst. After less than a mile My husband asked, “What’s that?” He pointed to a number of lights ahead we did not recognize.
Coming down the hill, I said, “It’s the church! But why is it lit up so late? There must be twenty light posts in the parking light.”
He said, “I don’t know but I think she must be there.”
The lights of the church shown through the stained glass windows. It was dark and foggy outside but we saw her car parked in ahead of us in front of the church.. We were relieved. But it was still a mystery to us. Why was she there and why were all the lights on?
Is there anything more lovable than a newborn baby? That is what we will be celebrating on December 25th. God knew that, and desired we would love His Son when He sent Him down to mankind. Most mothers and fathers recall the birth of a child with great love and also forgetfulness of the discomfort of pregnancy, the pain of delivery, the sleepless nights and worry.
Certainly, Mary and Joseph experienced the same. Why is it that today although the baby can be viewed at various stages of development, still some choose to abort even up to delivery. It is nothing new in human history, which corroborates the fact when this becomes accepted and common in a nation, even and especially in a great one, that country will fall into ruin.
It happened in Mexico when babies and adults were sacrificed to their ‘gods’ in great numbers by the natives. You cannot sacrifice one human being for another. It is not your choice to do that. But this has been happening in these United States since 1973. under the guise of freedom, certainly not the freedom of the baby who is a completely different person than the mother with his own/her own DNA. .
I truly believe our country, as we know it, will not survive unless this is abolished. It won’t matter if inflation, hunger, poverty, etc cease, There will be no peace. As Mother Theresa stated : The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion, because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me, there is nothing in between. And we call that WAR.
But love came to Mexico through Our lady of Guadalupe and the miracle of the roses and her Image on the Tilma (cloak) of a poor native convert to Christianity. She is the patroness of the Americas : our life, our sweetness and our hope. She is our Mother of Mercy. Millions were converted in Mexico at her coming and we pray that will reoccur here in our beloved country. Merry Christmas!
I’ve finished reading a book by Boris Pasternak titled Doctor Zhivago, not that easy to read and understand unless you have some knowledge of Russian history and an understanding of the multiple names the characters have; for instance the protagonist goes by Zhivago, as well as Yuri Andreievich and Yurochka. There is a list of the names of the various characters preceding Part One of the story but it is still confusing remembering who is who throughout the 500 page book.
The first thing that impressed me was the description throughout, and secondly, the hardship of the people, the divisiveness of the warring factions: the Whites, the Reds and the Partisans, the struggle for freedom and the desire for control of the opposing forces. I am not fond of most writing that uses a great deal of description but the author uses it so well to reveal feelings and landscape by this poetic and poignant means.
The story of human suffering, including hunger, lack of fuel and transportation, the beauty of the landscape and the ruination of a former once glorious, prosperous era is told through the eyes of a sincere man aware of his own personal guilt in loving two women and his ongoing desire to write about himself and his beloved country.
While reading this story, the fate of our own glorious country was undeniably brought to mind and the warnings of its founders ever before me. Founded on faith, may we keep both faith and freedom.
Reminds me of a warning issued by many before the winter of the pandemic that it would be a long, dark, cold winter ahead reminiscent of that in this book. And here we go again due to possible shortages of fuel, food and every other necessity..
Remember the drink some of our mothers gave us as kids? We guzzled it down on hot summer days and ingested gallons of the sugar filled, artificially colored liquid, with various other ‘nefarious’ ingredients.
Unfortunately the ‘Kool Aid Drinkers’ I am writing about here are ingesting a much more detrimental substance and they, while buying organic foods, reading labels, avoiding at all costs that comparably innocent Kool Aid of our childhood days, are ingesting ideas thrust upon them over and over until lies become good and true.
It is no joke and I for one am not laughing. Well, maybe once in a while, when our fearless leader claims that wind is more reliable than coal or that the high price of gas & heating oil is due to the war in the Ukraine when our own country has enough natural resources to save ourselves and all of Europe from freezing and starving this ‘cold, dark winter’ but we will be doomed if we use them.
Or sadly the worst lie of all that the child a woman is carrying is not a person but a part of her body which she has a perfect right to rip out and throw away or even use for experimental reasons to save millions of victims through ‘preventive vacines’ or perhaps use a liver or kidney to save a life.
And do you really think all that happened since January 2020 is the result of what is visible? Or what, instead, is hidden in a great lie yet to see the light of day.
Sorry, I have to leave you now to add some logs to my fireplace and drink some hot coffee!
Luke 17: 20 ”The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” 24 “…For as the lightening flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will the son of man be in his day.”
When the Light Comes
Just nodding off a piercing brightness intrudes
Sound of a million choirs reverberate the eardrums
Roses of another world fall to precede the Holy One
Their scent is delicate and all enticing.
Trumpets sound pure in pitch and clear in note
They announce the Master’s return to His beloved.
All is revealed in the twinkling of an eye
And all former knowledge pales when the light comes.
Nov.13, 2003
Note: I don’t know how the numbers got ther on the left side of the poem or how to get rid of them. The author.
It is evil, so much of it is just that. There is a verse in the bible that states Satan is the father of lies and it seems they cover up what daily stares us in the face. Each morning at this point in my life I am thankful to be able to stand on my feet, do daily chores, and enjoy the simple things in life as well as the glorious which right now, in this season, includes the autumn leaves.
Are things really as good as they say.: inflation dropping, wind mills and solar panels free energy & plenty of it, global organizations looking after us, the common people, free food, free money,etc etc…. Do we want free or freedom? Free to choose to kill our own children at full term, to choose our sex: male, female, animal, vegetable, xyz, or all of the above?
In talking with a friend of mine recently I realized she had no idea as to the extent our society has plunged into the depths of insanity. For instance transgender surgeries she claimed are necessary & rare, abortion is up to the ‘mother’, and a saying we’ve heard from someone you might recall: Who am I to judge?
We are just pilgrims in this world on our way to eternity or would we rather go on a trip to Mars and live confined in a space suit or bubble? We are living in a time where good is bad and bad is good and freedom is meant only for those intelligent and wealthy enough to deserve it. For myself, seeing the evil, I choose to endeavor to believe good will triumph and life is worth the fight for the remedy, which is TRUTH!
So look past your nose and see the glorious colors of the season and fight the good fight daily.
DJ Pasternak, Author 