33 Days to Merciful Love

Dear Friends, The Marians of the Immaculate Conception will broadcast on EWTN TV a Consecration to Divine Mercy on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 3, noon Eastern time, in the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Father Chris Alar received an inspiration while he was elevating the Host at Mass that this Consecration needed to be made. Father Michael Gaitley wrote a book to help us to make this Consecration. The book explains how to make the Consecration over a period of 33 days. While there is less than 33 days to Divine Mercy Sunday, you can still make the Consecration by reading more pages per day. However, it's not even necessary to read the book or to make the preparation, but it's very important to make the Consecration as best that you are able. You may make the Consecration using St. Thérèse's Self Offering to Merciful Love that you will find here. Please click here to obtain Father Gaitley’s book, his posts for preparation for the Consecration and for more information.   Sincerely in the Divine Mercy, Dan Lynch

Dan Lynch is the Director of Dan Lynch Apostolates promoting devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Jesus King of All Nations, Our Lady of America and St. John Paul II. He is an author, public speaker and a former judge and lawyer in Vermont. He has appeared many times on radio and television and has spoken at conferences throughout the world. You may learn more about Dan here.

No Drama in Heaven…

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful…” (1 Cor 13:4-6) 

 

One day while at prayer, the following phrase popped into my mind: “There is no drama in heaven.” Such a cryptic and unexpected thought, I felt, was worth pondering.
Life is full of drama. There is a natural drama to life that flows from the struggle to survive and to get along with the other members of fallen humanity. But increasingly there is a more unnatural drama that has sin and vice as its source and sustenance. I think we have all met people who are addicted to the latter form of drama. It almost seems epidemic. The culture that idolizes entertainment and obsesses over celebrity certainly fosters and feeds this phenomenon. The more drama there is, the more frenzy and chaos abound.

“There is no drama in heaven.” What meaning can be taken from this simple sentence? Certainly, in heaven, the natural drama of the struggle to survive and get along with others is eliminated. All our needs are met in super-abundance, and the perfect unity of love between saints, angels, and the Blessed Trinity precludes all dis-harmony, as the scripture passage above so eloquently describes.
Needless to say all the frenzy and chaos of a world addicted to the drama of sin is completely obliterated in heaven—probably even from the memory of those who have participated in it, those holy souls having been purged of it before passing through the heavenly gates. The drama that we sometimes think makes life on earth “interesting”, is replaced by the surpassing joy and constant wonder of heaven. I have heard the wonder of heaven described as eternally feeling as if we have only just arrived.

“There is no drama in heaven.” What can this mean to us now? And what can it mean to those striving to live the life of penance? As I have reflected on this simple message, I have come to understand that is above all a call to detachment. Certainly all the Baptized are called to detachment from sin, from the glamour of evil, from the frenzy and chaos that are the fruits of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy, and pride. All the Baptized are called to reject the unnatural drama of the culture of death. But are we not also called to go further? To detach ourselves from the natural drama of life by surrendering our every moment, our every relationship to God?

St. Francis is a perfect example of the life of detachment. In his relationships he subjected himself to everyone as to Christ. Certainly if one is in a position of authority one cannot allow the students to run the classroom, for example. But one can serve their ultimate good as if one were serving Christ. We can try to let go of our worries and place all our trust in God’s loving providence. This is not a call to inaction, but a call to do what God puts in front of us each day without worrying about the results.

Perhaps we might consider living heaven on earth by detaching from the drama in which we are daily immersed. For example, watching TV is not sinful, but perhaps we are annoyed when we are interrupted when watching our favorite show. That’s drama. In the spirit of detachment, we would accept the interruption as God’s holy will for us in that moment. Perhaps we are drawn into conversation that is dramatic in nature; someone else’s life issue is discussed in far too much detail. We should consider how to detach from that conversation, or at least from full participation in it if we can’t get away from it entirely.

These are just examples, and certainly as sinful sojourners in a fallen world avoiding drama altogether would be difficult to accomplish perfectly. However, spending, for example what is left of Lent trying to detach from drama, could be a useful exercise in the spiritual life of a penitent. Certainly the saints were strong promoters of detachment.

“In detachment, the spirit finds quiet and repose for coveting nothing. Nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the center of its own humility.” –St. John of the Cross

“Give me ten truly detached men. and I will convert the world with them.” –St. Philip Neri
Lord Jesus, grant us a spirit of detachment. Outside of grace it is impossible for us, but by your grace and mercy all things are possible. Holy saints and angels, pray for us.

 by Janet Klasson

Prayer and Fasting: The Friday Lenten Mercy Challenge

Prayer and fasting are our most powerful weapons in the fight against evil. In the midst of the evils of our worldwide culture of death and terrorism, we need to employ these weapons.

St. John Paul II said, "Jesus Himself has shown us by His own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil (cf. Mt 4:1-11). As He taught His disciples, some demons cannot be driven out except in this way (cf. Mk 9:29)" (Gospel of Life, 100).

In response to his call, MyConsecration.org is promoting the Friday Lenten Mercy Challenge to encourage both prayer and fasting together to defeat evil and to grow closer to Christ. It’s very easy to do, but by joining together with thousands of others doing the same thing, we will be multiplying our spiritual power.

This Lenten project consists of praying only one decade of the Rosary and simply fasting on bread and water at lunch on Fridays during the six weeks of Lent. You may also offer that sacrifice to God for a specific intention as an act of mercy during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

I encourage you to join me and many others who are responding to the Lenten Mercy Challenge.

PLEASE help to spread the word! See their Social Media Tips and get more information here: LentenMercyChallenge.org.

"Be a Tugboat"

tugboat - noun (tʌɡˌboʊt/ (short form tug,  /tʌɡ/ )
a ​boat with a ​powerful ​engine which can ​change ​direction ​easily
and is used to ​pull ​large ​ships into and out of ​port

Finally it is the first Sunday of lent, St. Valentine's Day. A day to celebrate love. A day in the year of Mercy that many of us are still pining and longing for our loved ones to return to the beloved Catholic Church. The church founded by the Son of man, The Son of God, Jesus Christ.

I have been silent on this blog for several weeks as I keep going deeper into the mystery of the mercy this Son of man has for His beloved friends. Yes we are His friends and He does love us very very much.

I have been meditating and reading and listening to mothers and family members. Listening for the Heart of Jesus to speak to me and to them about how much we are loved by Him Who is the great, " I AM."

So often I hear that, "All we can do is pray." I have  been for a long time a person who prays and takes action according to what  I believe to be God's will in any given situation. There is however a  difference between single people who have no children and the way they  are able to more directly evangelize in the world than a parent looking at  a child who seems to be doing ok, just left Jesus out of his or her life. Or a  child or sibling who has really taken a harmful direction. How do  we approach these situations with our loved ones?

This morning I asked Jesus, "how do you answer this  question?" His immediate answer was, "Be a Tugboat". Now that  makes sense to me, we are being asked to not only pray but to guide, push and pull  theses ships through  the murky waters and  deceptions of this  world in order to bring them to the freedom of the open sea. The truth is in all  of us, yet we have been so deceived by the world. Our spouses, our  children, our grandchildren deceived by the good guys. Those  who are suppose to be honest and educate us as to the right and wrong way  to conduct a well rounded life.

The necessary purification of the world is in progress,  many have come once again to the truth and been humbled by the loving way  in which Jesus and His Mother turned them around. Thirty years ago my  ship was sinking and with the help of many seriously loving and kind women  I was bailed, patched and set afloat again. Once  heading in the right  direction I found myself before the Tabernacle of St. Mary's church in my home  town. I was so happy I thought I had found Jesus. I was so full of love I  couldn't wait to tell Him. As I knelt before the tabernacle I heard these  words, "You did not pursue me, I pursued you." I was shocked, yet  happy and so loved.

Jesus is calling every soul on this earth to come running  and say, I found You!! He can say, "You never lost Me!!" "I was there all  the time!!"

I have learned a lot about his Mercy and his love over  the last several weeks as well as the course of my life. He wants us to  stop dying from our own sins and come home to his Body and Blood given  for you!!

Jesus has filled me with insight and understanding, I  hope to be sharing once again.

Sincerely,
Margaret of Souls for Jesus