Our Lady of Guadalupe

When my phone alarm went off this morning at 2:30 am I was disorientated thinking that someone was calling me with an emergency. Waking from the fog of sleep, I soon realized that I set the alarm to go to church this morning at 4 am. When driving to the church, the roads were wet and it was pouring rain, my car being the only one on the road. I thought what am I doing who is going to be there so early, no one is even up yet! When I got closer to the church, I started to see people walking in the rain, many without umbrellas. Soon I arrived at the church and found that the parking was limited, there were many cars there. After parking I walked into the church. As soon as I opened the doors the sound of trumpets , guitars and singing filled the air. I saw that the pews were filled with people, young people, babies, families, old people. The church was filled with a "presence", the presence of love you could reach out and touch it.

This was the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Being that I have gone to this church prior and worked with a group of Spanish speaking people in this church, I recognized that most of the people were of Mexican decent and many not, "documented". Now the usual word one hears on the radio or super conservative TV shows is these are the "illegals"... The ones, the predominate "talking heads of the media", call the blight of this country. These same "talking heads" also usually call themselves God fearing and believing people, yet they rip into a whole nation of people with their hatred and fear mongering that these "illegals" are taking away jobs and menacing society with crimes committed. Now granted, I am sure there is a percentage of those coming into the Country in this manner that are undesirable, as there is a percentage of "Americans" that are undesirable and living here.

Yet to call someone illegal, denotes criminal activities. I upon working with these people have heard many stories as to why they come to the United States, from poverty, to finding hope in a land that their own Country cannot offer them. I never heard them say anything against America or its native people, they so much want to be like the "Americans". When someone wants to be like you it is not a threat, it is a compliment, that you are a goal to be reached, not something to destroy. No, I choose to call these people "undocumented" not "illegals", for they are not coming as criminals, they are coming to be better, to have better, they are coming with hope and faith that life can offer, more then that, which they leave. In essence they are saying to each and everyone of us, please help me, for you are looked upon as being good and honorable by us, in you we see hope. Yet many instead of reaching out a hand to help another; choose to smack it down and call them names. In doing so they, those who are doing the name calling, the smacking down, they are the "illegals" for they are breaking the law of God and that is love. You are to love your neighbor as yourself, you cannot say you love God and hate your neighbor, for if you do so you are a liar. Not only are you an "illegal" in breaking the law of love, you, bear false witness to God by saying you love him and worship him, when you hate your neighbor at the same time.

So on this day, early in the morning I am treated by God to spend time with my brothers and sisters from Mexico as they show their love of God and his mother in song and praise. I sit in the back of the church and I watch these people of faith and my eyes fill with tears and I say a silent prayer for forgiveness for all the times in my life I was a "talking head" judging others who were not like me, shooting them down verbally, diminishing them in my thoughts , words and deeds. I am feeling deep sorrow and pain, for when I did these things to the least of my brothers and sisters, I did so to God and how ashamed I am. With these thoughts a little child dressed in Native Mexican clothing smiles at me, as if to say I know what you are thinking and I love you, sing with me now and forget the past and lets move forward with love. I smile back at her and start to sing and I am humbled to be in a church filled with those labeled "illegals" ... These are the people that may not be the "rightful heirs" to the country I call mine, but they are the "rightful heirs" to the Kingdom of God, by their love. Maybe one day they will be in heaven and those who condemn them now will be asked to leave the Kingdom of God, for they are truly "illegals" not knowing how to love and this is an offense in heaven that will bar you for all eternity in the Native land of God.

Facts about the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Many know of the amazing and mysterious facts surrounding the Shroud of Turin, but not many know of the ones surrounding the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.. The image is on the tilma of the man who saw her Juan Diego. A few facts are:

1) the tilma is made of woven grass fibers, having a life expectancy of 75 years, yet the tilma is over 460 years old and still in good condition. To this day there is and was no protective covering placed upon the tilma itself.

2) During the turmoil in Mexico in the 1930's someone placed a bomb in a vase of flowers before the tilma. It exploded, the force of the bomb was so great that 6 foot brass candlesticks and a 6 foot crucifix on the altar melted completely backwards, yet the tilma was not harmed in any manner.

3) the eyes on the tilma, in the the 1970's, an opthamologist testified that when he looks into the eyes of the image on the tilma with his instruments, he sees what he would normally see looking into human eyes of a living person. Just as what a "live" person is looking at it is reflected in their eyes, reflected in the eye of the image on the tilma, are those who have been identified as the people the Virgin would have been looking at in the room at the moment the tilma was unfolded and the image appeared.

4)the veil and the crown.... Computer studies of the arrangement of stars on the veil show they are in the exact configurations of the constellations that were visible in the night sky of what is now Mexico City the day of the apparition. The entire geographical topography of Mexico has been identified in the shadow of her garments. Another significance of the stars on the veil has to do with the Indians worship of the stars. By wearing them , she signals to them that she is more powerful than the many stars they worship. The golden flowers on her garment are signs and symbols of her special election in God, the golden flowers symbolizing grace.

5)the one she worships... The beautiful lady on the image is not God. Her hands are folded in prayer and her head is bowed in reverence to the One greater than she, the invisible Lord and God and Creator of the world.

6) the rays she stands before.... There are 144 rays. She appears surrounded by rays of the sun while hiding the sun itself. This told the Indians who worshipped the sun that she was more powerful than the sun.....Could the 144 rays, have a connection to the number 144,000, referred to in the Apocalypse?

7) the facial features on the face... The face of the Virgin Mary's on the tilma is a composition of all races. Each of the races can find something of their own in her image. She is for all races all people.

.....................the list of such facts as the above are numerous I give you just a sampling here, there have been books written about the tilma, some even calling the tilma a "Gospel" of sorts for contained within it is an entire message of the mighty works of God.

So remember, you "talking heads" that criticize the people who walked in the rain on this day to give praise to God through the woman whose image is on the tilma, remember who her Son is, and when you judge others and refuse to help them and love them... just remember the power of the Son of this woman, who appears in the tilma, he who could do such marvels.... Remember and repent, learn to love and act in love....

Prayer and fasting

There is great power in prayer and fasting. First to pray is to show faith in God, you cannot pray if you do not believe you are communicating with God. To fast is to choose the things of spirit instead of the things of the flesh.

There is reference upon reference to the power of fasting in the Bible, when the apostles complained to Jesus that they could not cast out a demon, Jesus responded you need to pray and fast to do such. It is not just Christianity that knows of the power of fasting our brothers and sisters of other faiths know this as well, such as the Jews. Even stories of Gandhi when he wanted England to leave India he fasted for this intention and history shows what Gandhi was able to do with the power of fasting. I have met a couple of exorcists for the Catholic church and when they do an exorcism they fast for a period of time before hand, to add to the power of their prayers. Prophets in the old testament were called to tell people to repent of their sins, to pray and fast that God might spare them.

There are many "apparitions" going on throughout the world today some I believe some not so much.. but this is not for me to decide, for as Jesus said if they are not against us, they are for us ... so I say what ever produces fruit and brings people back to God is a good thing. There is one active apparition site that I do believe and that is Medugorje, for there the call to prayer and fasting is a constant, as is the call not to judge other faiths...that division among faiths and people is not a thing of God but of men, that we are all, no matter what we are called, children of God these things I believe to be true.

Fasting can stop a natural occurrence from happening, change a situation, prayer is heightened by fasting, prayers are answered faster, and the consciousness of a person is elevated to things of God. These things I know for I have witnessed them first hand...

We must all pray more and fast and offer up to God things that are not pleasant to us.

As corny as this may sound we need to be like the movie, "Oh God" the George Burns movie, where the little girl makes a poster with the saying..."Think God"... that is what we all need to do... think God... prayer will help you do this... fasting will help you do this... and when you do this God can help you... he can help us all.

Hope and Faith

Life is hard, really hard. Many are in a dark tunnel, financially, emotionally and health wise. It seems over the last few days that I have been receiving more telephone calls and hearing more stories of those who just do not know how they are going to make it through their problems. They are worried about keeping their homes, they are worried about meeting their bills, they are worried about their children, their marriages are in trouble... it goes on and on. And this is just in my locale, globally the issues are bigger. There are people starving throughout the world, there is social injustice throughout the world, there is pain and suffering in mass within this Country I call my own and in all other countries.

And here I am writing on this blog saying to you, hang on, have faith, have hope. I can imagine that many of you are thinking, what a Pollyanna, she needs to get her head out of the sand and get into the real world. Is faith going to keep a roof over my head, is hope going to feed my family or cure my disease... I say to you my head is in the real world for I too wonder, if I will be homeless, if I will be without basic needs met, will I be able to have health care. For you see, I do not have a home, I too am without employment and I am without medical insurance. So I am just like many of you, not knowing what will happen to me. I am not walking in assurance that things will be okay , I am walking in faith and hope that God knows where I am and that he will provide. I need to supply God with the faith and hope in him that no matter what, I am going to trust him, no matter how dark it seems, I need to remember God is the light that can get me through. I do have examples of God being able to do amazing things with people, I will share some of my personal experiences of the power of God.

On May 6, 1990, a 30 month fast began for me, eating nothing just drinking water, juice and coffee in the morning. Since I am a Catholic people think this was a "Eucharist fast" ...it was not, it was not that lofty. Yet on some level it was more profound. For a "Eucharist fast", is an isolating concept, saying that only the Catholic through receiving the Eucharist can be given such a grace. Although I have great devotion to the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. God is bigger then any thought process of man, and God works in and through all people. We need to stop placing God in a box and believing he can only act in a manner acceptable within our own belief system or thought processes. No the nature of the word, God, denotes Almighty power not subject to the will of man or the thoughts of man. The fast that I was placed on so many years ago was to show me on a personal level that God can do anything, maintain life in any manner he sees fit even allowing a body (a carbon based unit such as myself to survive without substance)...

What I was taught on a spiritual level at that time, was that there is much in the way of greed in this world, there is not a fair and equitable distribution of that, which is conducive to life for all. That this greed is what is causing famine, and mass suffering and pain in the world. That in the hearts and minds of those who are in "power" on earth and I mean on earth for their power is but smoke and mirrors to the real power that exists that created us and this planet. Commodities, services and other resources are being held back by those who want personal wealth and power.

My fast of years ago taught me on a personal level that a lot less is needed for people to survive and live; that the expression, live simply so others may simply live is true. Does a person really need two , three or more houses when there are so many that are homeless. Does a person need to have three gourmet meals or more a day,(my fasting for nearly three years without any food, showed me the answer to that is no), when there are people starving, going through garbage dumps looking for food. Those who say they are pro-life, do they not understand that this includes, making sure that people are fed, clothed and housed, do these same people understand that health care should not be a privilege, but a right, by the mere fact that people have worth within life itself, not in the ability to pay to be cared for. Also do we really need to build bigger and better buildings of worship in any faith, when we are allowing the temples of God, "people" to go without. How does this make sense to any faith? To raise high a structure of wood and steel and not help the structure of life itself, the struggling individual. For the Christian who believes that Jesus died for us, how can they not see, he died for people not structures or personal wealth. For those outside of Christianity who say they believe in God, can they not see, that God does not need a building or "real estate" to demonstrate his Power, he is of endless capacity not in need of us making things for him or claiming land in his name. He is in need of us loving each other, nothing more.

I have also been "given" other times when I was placed upon a fast, as to why these things are given to me and how I survive them I do not know, other then God is in charge. When the powerful think their deeds are going unnoticed, they are wrong, what is done in the shadows of mankind are being seen by the Divine for in him there is no darkness all is revealed. Such people are like wild horses that God is allowing to run for now, but there will come a time that God will throw the rope around them and they will be brought before him.

What I urge all to do is to pray, no matter your faith or lack thereof, pray not just for your needs but for the needs of us all. We are sorely lacking in love, mercy, hope and faith. I would ask that everyone at least one day a week fast... This can be from food or anything that you like or want to do, just do it for one day a week, instead of satisfying your personal want or desire such as food or whatever, offer it to God as a prayer that he helps us all and this planet. For times are really bad, they truly are, but we as children of one God can go as a "family" to our God and ask him to help us... the choice is yours/ours... Especially for those who are not affected by the stresses and pains in the world now, at the end of the day, (the end of our lives or within our lifetime), we will all be placed on the scales of justice. Try to even out the scale by being merciful and helping those in need, to whom much is given much will be expected...

Language

I never had the "facility" to learn a foreign language, a trait most in my family have, they picking up languages easily and completely. For me, English seems my one and only means of verbal communication and with this I struggle.

Several months ago I pondered language and its variations throughout the world, I did this pondering in church and I "heard", Jesus speak to me... My first reaction to this "voice"was in "real time", when Jesus walked upon earth he spoke Aramaic...yet I "hear" him not in that language... then I thought what language am I hearing him in? And then I realized that I am not "hearing" him in a language per say... I am translating the "language Jesus speaks to me", in my mind into English and this is what I understand... now I know that sounds confusing.... But when Jesus, "speaks" to me I am not hearing with my ears I am hearing in my whole being... Then my mind in a split second translates this "bodily communication" into thought; words that I speak and that is English. I once asked Jesus what language are you speaking to me in? For I do not hear with my ears, yet I am perceiving a voice , words, hence I am understanding your communication to me in my native language... As if I were listening to a foreign language and I had the instant capacity to translate what was said to me within in my mind. That I actually was "thinking" that foreign language, even though I did not know it.

Yet the communication from Jesus is so rapid, there really is no time in the mind to translate, it just is and I understand it... So again I asked Jesus what language are you speaking to me in?

Jesus responded to this question with the following... "I am speaking to you in the language of love".... That made me even more curious, for I thought that love was or is a feeling not a language a communication.... Then I thought of the locutions there is joy, there is quickening of spirit, happiness, and overwhelming feeling of lightness and taking all of that into consideration, I would call that love. There is also a stillness in the mind, where you blank out everything around you, yet your are aware of the nosies around you, like background music during the main event, which, is the locution, yet you are totally focused on the locution. There have been times though that no sound other then the locution can be heard, nothing as if the locution originated within a vacuum.

On one occasion Jesus, asked if I wanted to learn the language of love. I said yes and he taught me on a very small scale for a brief time. The language of love is spoken from the heart and the mind, the "feeling" is from the heart, the "unconditional" comes from the mind, (thoughts), that no matter what I am going to love from the heart... No matter what I am thinking about with a certain situation or event I am going to love from the heart and not place negative or harmful thoughts on anyone or anything I am going to rise above "me" and lay down my personal opinions/will and choose to love...Choose to extend mercy instead of judgement... The language of love is very hard to master... To master it you have to think in the language, you can not translate it first, it has to be fluent and natural. Even if you do not speak the native tongue of someone, they will understand if you speak to them in the language of love. Jesus comes to people in love, we live in the time of salvation, salvation being the highest form of the language of love.

This past weekend I was gifted to be able to speak the language of love... I spoke for three nights during a nine day novena honoring, Our Lady Of Guadalupe. There were only Spanish speaking people there, I do not speak Spanish. Yet on each night with the help of a translator and the love these people have for God. I was able through the works of the Holy Spirit reach the people on a level I usually cannot even do in my native tongue. There was a river of grace flowing back and forth between these beautiful people and myself... And I remembered the lessons Jesus taught me in the past, reach out to everyone in love, no matter their language, their race, their faith, their gender, speak to all in the language of love and then you will be communicating as a child of God. So I thank God, for letting me "speak" to my brothers and sisters in a manner not of the voice, but of the heart... To let them know I love them, I may not understand you , but that is okay, I love you and with love we will come to understand each other. Fear not differences, that other people have, love enough, care enough to reach out to them where ever they are in life. Fear is useless, fear causes division seek to understand, lay down your own preferences in life, extent and expand your heart. "Exercise" your heart with love, build that muscle, that virtue, by exercising it everyday, every moment with love. Pump yourself up with mercy, understanding and compassion.

Santa Claus

Santa Claus, not his "real name", did you know he was a real guy, not like the one who is envisioned now to all. His real name is Nickolas and he lived in real time. He being a very generous man with a big heart for children. I mention him today for it is his feast day. St. Nickolas' first miracle was for a family whose daughter wanted to get married but there was no dowry to pay for her to be married. St. Nickolas in his kindness and generosity, gave the money to the family so this woman could have her wedding. Doing so in secret, legend being that he saw an open window in the house and he threw a bag of coins into the house, through this opened window. So not only did St. Nickolas give from his heart to help another he did so in secret, not taking credit nor getting puffed up within himself that he helped another. No the humble, ever kind man called Nickolas, gave from the heart without wanting recognition or even a thank you, he knew that the real thank you, was for God. For although it was Nickolas throwing the bag of gold coins into the window of that house, it was God who provided the gold for Nickolas, you see all things are of God.

The lesson here if you are in the position to help another, do so with generosity and do not think, how good you are to share your wealth, it is not your wealth, it is God's grace to you. It is also God's test to you, for to whom much is given, much is expected, one day you will have to account for all you have been given in life. This world is not a place to collect and store personal wealth, power and position, this world is a place to be tested in how much you love, share and show compassion. I refer you to the story in the Bible about the three men that were given money and the one who did not invest it wisely. This is also a story of where your heart is; is where your treasure will be. Your "personal wealth" cannot get you into heaven, you cannot pay for entry there. But there is a price, a free will offering from the heart, it is called love...

Nickolas knew this, so his life was dedicated to helping others and sharing his wealth... and of course our God will never be outdone, so in Nickolas doing this for others, he was never without abundance himself all the more for him to share with others.

........Sorry... but I have to go now, I am going to see "Santa Claus" this morning with a 2 year old family member and his 3 month old brother. We are looking forward to this meeting, I am very much so for the spirit of St. Nickolas will be there, the love and laughter of children as well, which, is the presence of God...

God's advisor

Yesterday while power walking, (something I try to do everyday), I thought about my prayer life. Upon thinking of this I thought for the most part I have tried to be God's advisor. With such prayers as, well God if you do this, then this will happen, and God if you only did it this way things would be better. Or my 'regular" prayer, so God if you only would do this for me, I can do this, and if you do this for so and so their life would be better.

So you see I have been God's advisor for sometime, constantly telling him, how and why he should be doing things, with myself, others and all creation.

That is until this evening I listened to a tape about the universe, the number of known galaxies, the number of stars known, etc.... they being in the billions... then I heard how fast light speed is and how far away light years are. Then I thought, in the beginning, God called light out of darkness, just by calling it... so in essence God spoke faster then"light speed"....

For upon his saying "light" all was lit so there was no travel time; it just was. Then I thought of our planet, just this planet never mind all the other galaxies, etc., and we only know a limited amount of these, yet God created it all..... So I am thinking that I need to resign my position as "advisor of God", for I am not qualified to even speak in his presence never mind try to advise him on what he should be doing with my life or any others..... So they next time you think you should be giving God advice ... think of Creation and think to yourself am I qualified to advise such an awesome God ... we all need to allow God to advise us and guide us, not the other way around..

And hey, you want to talk about power walking... the ultimate power walker is Jesus, doing so on his walk to Calvary, now that was the POWER WALK of a lifetime. One that gave us all back our "life" and we are now in the "time" of "salvation" because of this God/man's "exercising" his might and power to redeem and save all of us...

A willingness to be misunderstood, maybe even disliked

In all of the writings presented on this blog, there is a representation of two things, my spirituality and my personality. God is working through us all, each and every one of us has a purpose in being here on this planet or we would not be in existence. I believe that every day is a struggle for us all or at least it should be to try and determine, why are we here... The greatest among us to the smallest, within you there is a Divine plan. We see each other and the world through human eyes, so what we think the plan is, many times is not. The best plans ever created are the simplest, this I believe to be so with God, it is the simplest among us that glorify God the most. This has logic to me, when I think of God..... For, when I stand outside in the evening and stare at the sky, I see the lights of the stars, planets and moon above, I realize that within my vision is only the smallest fraction of what is "out there". That there is so much more I cannot see. I realize that one Creator did all of this and he is still creating in parts unknown to us, and those known, as in a child in the womb.

I see that I have been given a sense of awe and faith in the Creator, a relationship with him in a manner that I can relate too.

I also see that as a personality I can be a snit, I can be short tempered and lacking in tolerance on some issues.... that is the me part of who I am.... not the God part of me and who he wants me to be...

We all have a me part inside and a God part inside... these "two within" are in struggle. When we are able to control the me in us and show the God in us to others, we are loving, we are walking in the Divine design for our lives.

So I apologize to all, for all the times I showed my, me side, in these writings... you do not need to know me, you need to know God. He will never fail you, he will never hurt you, he will always love you... Rise above human thought and perceptions and just love, through all things love. As a human, love is not easy, we have been given the wrong definition of it and we get confused as to what love is. Love is a choice and it not an easy one for the most part. To love is to be a servant to the needs of others. I will use here a twist on words spoken by President John F. Kennedy... when he said.. "Ask not what your Country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your Country"... love is... "Love is not what someone can do for you, but what you can do for someone"....

So with my words I take the chance of being misunderstood or disliked... that is okay, as long as I brought it home to you that you are loved by a God who never misunderstands you and never dislikes you.