Is this [described in the message below] happening? YES! Is this occurring in your parish? Probably, as it is in most. I have a devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, but don't know very much about Our Lady of Akita. Reading this gave me pause, as I just visited Pro Sanctity Retreat Center in Elkhorn, asking permission to "build" a Shrine to Our Mother (Lady) of Sorrows! Teresa Monaghen was on the 'same page' and gave me her 'blessing' to do this, and said it will help priests to be able to come and pray, making a small "pilgrimage" to the Pro Sanctity Center and pray especially to their Mother. I told her, "Our priests must NOT NEGLECT their Mother. They HAVE to 'fly to her' and CLING to her for she is their (our) life, our sweetness and OUR HOPE! I was reading the Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguouri after Mass last Friday morning. On reading these words on the Chapter of Mary's dolors (sorrows) I was impressed "loudly" in my heart to FIND A TREE somewhere near Omaha, outside of the city, and make a Shrine to Our Lady of Sorrows! I felt compelled that very moment to call a friend about "finding a tree" and she suggested we go to Pro Sanctity to talk to Teresa and we did..and now it's "in the making!" We are planning on having a path incorporating the Holy Wounds of Christ, and the Seven Sorrows to contemplate and meditate upon. Another friend and her daughter are also going to help with this small Shrine.I say this to encourage any of you, who like me, might have been going through a "desert" and feeling you aren't accomplishing all that God has for you to do; ASK. SEEK. KNOCK...and the door WILL BE OPENED! From reading a few words in a book, especially a book like the Glories of Mary, if you are "listening" to God speak, and also to Our Blessed Mother, things will happen!
There are two trees (evergreens) that are about 6 feet apart, near the retreat house and one can actually walk between them and find themselves under the canopy created by the long branches, which to me was like Mary's "mantle" and that is where we both "knew" it should be! So, with another friend or two, we're going to make a little Shrine to Our Lady's most Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. That is the title most dear to her, because it is the one given her by Christ her Son! Will keep you posted on it's progress, but I am over-joyed at the prospect that has buoyed my spirit since last Friday! I've digressed but here is more that is on my heart:
IF priests neglect so great a HELP as found in her sorrowful and immaculate heart, then it is NO WONDER they find themselves gasping for breath, burning out, falling into temptation and even leaving the Church, breaking their VOWS! This is a scandal! This is so sad and such scandalous behavior we've recently seen by Fr. Cutie all over the media for two weeks. It's scandalized the Episcopal church, too, which is and has been in such turmoil and tumult with its own sins. To begin the Year of the Priest with this TV Scandal is the work of the Evil One to be sure. How many more souls will be lost because of this terrible episode in our Church? How many young men were looking up to Fr. C. and now what?
Dear Priest, let us, the laity know how to help you. Laity ASK your priest how you can help him. PRAY PRAY PRAY for your priests! And dear priest, please RUN AND FLY to MARY, your MOTHER! When trials and temptations assail you, please Do NOT ignore her. Do NOT neglect her. IF you do, it is at the peril of your very soul and the many souls you have in your flock and beyond. How Father Cutie thinks he can break his vows, marry and leave the Catholic Church to become an Episcopal priest is beyond me! I can't fathom the confused thinking that has made this "ok" in his mind.
Our Lady of Sorrows, our Mother of Sorrows has yet another sword piercing her heart by this heart-wrenching betrayal. I pray for Fr. C. I pray for Fr. Francis Mary (LOTR) who as far as I know never left the CC at least. I pray for our priests at our parish, and the seminarians at IPF, who will one day be shepherds. I hope soon they will have a little Shrine to Our Lady of Sorrows to visit, about 20 minutes west of Creighton, in Elkhorn, and I pray many will devote their entire lives to Mary, and NEVER turn away from her, for if they do, temptations will flood them, and without the 'motherly graces' she gives, only sin and apostacy remains and this breaks my heart...how much more does it break Our Lady's?
On October 13, the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, 1973, Sr. Agnes heard the beautiful voice speaking from the statue once more:
"The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against other bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres, churches and altars will be sacked. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the devil will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord. The demon would be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer any pardon for them."
She continued, "As I told you, if people do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the Flood, such as one will never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary pray for the Pope, the bishops and the priests."
1 comment:
The Catholic Church bases her mandate of priestly celibacy on the example of Jesus Christ in His own life. Catholic men are not forced to be priests in the Catholic Church. It is a choice one makes for the love of God. It is a calling or vocation. “Many are called but few are chosen” Those chosen to the priesthood, willingly and lovingly sacrifice having a wife and biological children and worldly possessions so that they can fully give themselves to God in the service of His Church and God’s people.
The duty of a husband is firstly to his wife and children. If husbands and wives are faithful and mutually love and sacrifice for each other there would not be so many divorces. The duty of a Catholic priest is to give God to the world and to take the world up to God by his life of sacrificial prayer and works. He is called to be a spiritual father of many and faithful to his spouse the Church.
Ordained priests are chosen from among men of faith who live and intend to remain celibate "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Called to consecrate themselves for life, with an undivided and joyous heart to God and his ministry, they sacrifice that which is good, choosing celibacy as a sign of new life to serve God’s people. There is a direct connection that exists between Christ and the priest. A priest’s chaste celibate love for the church is a sign of Christ’s presence to the faithful. He makes Christ present through his sacramental ministry at the altar and in the confessional and is acting, not simply in the name of Christ, but in the person of Christ…he is “another Christ”, whose total gift of self to the church as spouse, is an integral part of his priestly life making him a spiritual father to countless souls.
Father Cutie’s problems started when he forgot that he is firstly a priest and not when he met a woman. Had he been faithful to his priestly calling, by a steadfast life of prayer, sacrifice and obedience for the love of God and souls he would not have thrown away the gift of his Catholic Priesthood. Again, no man is forced to become a Catholic Priest.
Post a Comment