I was christened Zenaida by my parents. My sisters were named Elvira, Flaviana, Ma. Estrella, all names of saints.
During those days parents named their children after the saints posted in calendars. Supposedly, the children would take their characters after the saints they were named.
In recent years, especially in the advent of television, parents tend to name their children after their favorite celebrities, like Susan (from Susan Roces), Tita (from Tita Duran), Lucinda (from a character in a telenovel).
My own children were named Michael(from a baby book of names with meaning of illustrious), Russel (from a favorite superior) and Harold Irwin (named after book authors).
What about you, how do you name your children?
Below is a reflection from the Kerygma Family by Fr. Bobby Titco.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
What is your name? What is your shape? These days, most of our names do not say anything anymore about who we are and what we are like. The ancient Romans would rise in protest against the way we choose names for our children. They believed that “nomen est omen,” i. e., “the name is the destiny” or better yet “the destiny is in the name.”
There was a young Jew from the island of Cyprus who belonged to the first Christian community. His name was Joseph but the apostles gave him the name Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” St. Luke describes Barnabas as a “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” He encouraged many believers to persevere in their faith. He did this by living according to the teachings of the Lord in word and in deed.
When Saul was converted and became Paul, he presented himself to the apostles and received a rather cold reception, if not suspicion, because he had been the unrivaled persecutor of Christians. To avoid any harm coming to Paul, the leaders made sure that Paul was soon deported to Tarsus.
But Barnabas believed in Paul and encouraged him in his new life. And when he was commissioned by the apostles to oversee the Church in Antioch, he sought out Paul and requested him to be his “auxiliary bishop.” For one full year, Barnabas and Paul ministered there. The fraternal bond between Barnabas and Paul, however, did not end in Antioch. They also went together in various missionary journeys, encouraging others to persevere in the faith. When Paul pursued other missionary frontiers alone, he extended to others the encouragement he himself received from Barnabas.
Encouragement gives shape to anyone’s life. It promotes the best in the other. It sees beyond faces into the other’s heart. Encouragement is investing time, talent and treasure in the person of the other. In this way, encouragement’s other name is love — and we are called to mirror this to others to help them into the shape of their names, to become who they are meant to be. Fr. Bobby Titco
Reflection Question:
Is there a person around you who needs encouragement? Be a “Barnabas” to him.
Lord, heal my brokenness and put me together again each time I fall so that, with You, I may help others into the shape of their human dignity. Amen.
St. Zoe, pray for us.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
let God wipe away your tears
Life is like a pendulum, there are ups and downs. During the ups it seem a never-ending happiness, and during the downs, tears are shed. To me, there were more downs, when I did not have the connection with the Lord.
I would like to share the reflection of Alvin Barcelona of the Kerygma Family, a very inspiring one:
… God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. – Revelation 7: 17
A lot of things that happened to my life only made sense when I found God.
Before, they just seemed to be unexplainable, unwanted and undesirable events.
My parents separated when I was just a kid. I was sick of epilepsy when I was in high school. My father died when he and my mom were about to reconcile. And a host of painful, traumatic events happened one after the other. The heaviest was when I almost died of a possible incurable disease.
Yet, now I always proclaim, “I have a great life!”
I really do.
Because when I found God, my life changed — from seeing only the sad, ugly and painful things to noticing the happy, beautiful and victorious events that were also happening to me. I just didn’t see it until God wiped away my tears.
With God in your life, the tears from your eyes will be tears of hope, peace and joy! Alvin Barcelona (alvinbarcelona@gmail.com)
REFLECTION:
Are you shedding tears of sorrow and pain, anger and bitterness? Let God wipe them away. Today.
Lord God, I offer to You my past. Let me live in the present in Your Presence! And let me be excited about the glorious future You have for me forever. Amen.
When you are down, try to read a story like this to lift you up!
I would like to share the reflection of Alvin Barcelona of the Kerygma Family, a very inspiring one:
… God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. – Revelation 7: 17
A lot of things that happened to my life only made sense when I found God.
Before, they just seemed to be unexplainable, unwanted and undesirable events.
My parents separated when I was just a kid. I was sick of epilepsy when I was in high school. My father died when he and my mom were about to reconcile. And a host of painful, traumatic events happened one after the other. The heaviest was when I almost died of a possible incurable disease.
Yet, now I always proclaim, “I have a great life!”
I really do.
Because when I found God, my life changed — from seeing only the sad, ugly and painful things to noticing the happy, beautiful and victorious events that were also happening to me. I just didn’t see it until God wiped away my tears.
With God in your life, the tears from your eyes will be tears of hope, peace and joy! Alvin Barcelona (alvinbarcelona@gmail.com)
REFLECTION:
Are you shedding tears of sorrow and pain, anger and bitterness? Let God wipe them away. Today.
Lord God, I offer to You my past. Let me live in the present in Your Presence! And let me be excited about the glorious future You have for me forever. Amen.
When you are down, try to read a story like this to lift you up!
Monday, April 26, 2010
:Don't ignore the signs of the times before it's too late
This is an excerpt from the messages of Vassula Ryden of tlig:
Iceland Volcano, Meteor in USA and Prophecy Update & Explanation
From Vassula:
On the 14th April 2010, the Eyjafjällajokull volcano erupted producing as we all heard an ash cloud. The region around that volcano was evacuated. Some people took videos nearby and one could not see properly a few meters ahead as clouds of ashes were in the atmosphere. Everything was grayish and covered with ash. The economy of the air-traffic was tragic as many plane cancellations were done and millions of dollars were lost daily. Fruits, fish and other products were rotting in the warehouses. Travelers were stranded all over the world.
This particular volcano years back when it erupted it never stopped spitting its ashes for one and a half year. As I’m writing this article, we are still waiting to see when this will come to its end.
However, worse will befall on this earth if people still, like Pharaoh, will ignore the signs of the times and it will be too late.
On the 14th April 2010 a bright ‘star’ was seen in the horizon in the Midwest of the USA. It was spectacular! Many videos were taken and in youtube one can watch them (see links above- editor).
God knew about this meteorite heading close to earth. One should ask ‘why has God given to us in November 28, 2009 a prayer that mentions the ‘star at the horizon?’ I think it was so that if we prayed this prayer, (and we did) it would spare us from disaster. I have learnt with time that God has a measuring rod and that He is a God that listens to bargains. Just like Abraham (an expert of bargaining) and the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. God said to Abraham that He would be ready to spare these two cities even if there were only 10 good people in it; but there were none, except Lot and his family. God measures with his measuring rod everything: He measures our love, our faith, our prayers, our behavior; our sincerity, our compassion for others, our charity, He measures his time of mercy with us; He measures our time for conversion, etc. and what He knows for sure: is that we are not like Abraham who knew how to bargain with Him. That’s a fact. As He knows we are like wet noodles and limp, in our blurred mind we don’t even try to bargain with Him; He even puts the bargaining words in our mouth to say them! This is in the prayer He gave us on the 28th November 2009! Otherwise who says that the meteor was not intended to hit the earth and cover us with ashes if it did? He had put in our mouths the words: “lash not on us Your wrath” twice, otherwise if His wrath was lashed out, “the waters will run dry and nature will wither.” Yes, if that meteor hit the earth that night it would have done this sort of damage. As it said in the prayer, “the flames would turn the earth into a waste.” It could have hit by night anywhere, even any major city like Chicago , in the Midwest United States , as the prayer said, “and ashes will fall as snow in winter covering Your people like ghosts.”
In the prayer that was asked by God, God puts in our incapable mouths the pleas, “take Mercy on us God and do not assess us harshly.” Then, reminding Him of the faithful and those who love Him, to take in consideration at least these ones. This prayer was given to us to use it and bargain with God. We did; this prayer was prayed all over the world as we have prayer groups all over the world. It was a ‘bargaining’ prayer I would say. That’s what God wanted to hear from us, and with this, I believe, He diminished His wrath and in His mercy the impact of such a meteorite. Everything was diminished and the volcano of Iceland started to blast out its ashes in all the European skies paralyzing all aircrafts to fly for over a week. The companies lost millions of dollars a day. People as it was the beginning of holidays were stranded by the thousands, sleeping at airports, taking land transport taking days to reach destinations. It was not a small issue. This week they allowed just a few to fly, but we do not know yet how long this volcano can go on spitting dust and ashes and what will happen.
As I previously said: perhaps too that this was just a small ‘aperitif’ of what can really happen to us, a prelude, if we don’t shape up. The ‘main course’ is for later on. Many people, for sure, around the world are living in apathy and in a spirit of lethargy without God. They have put God in a drawer and made sure they locked it up and swallowed the key. No chance of opening it. Many ecclesiastics are forbidding God to speak to His people as He does now, and advise the faithful not to listen either, forbidding them to attend to meetings of TLIG and thus preventing them from knowing God’s Will. They are not better than Jesus’ disciples in their disbelief. When Christ resurrected and “appeared to the Eleven,” the Bible says, (Lk 16: 14,15) “while they were at table, He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
What do you think Jesus will do again to their hardened hearts and to their disbelief? Will He congratulate them for their disbelief under the pretext of being prudent: ‘Good, you’ve done so well in keeping my faithful away from listening to Me!” No, He would reproach them, yes indeed, as He did then to His own disciples.
On the 18th February 1993, God is warning us saying:
"The sixth seal is about to be broken and you will all be plunged into darkness and there will be no illumination for the smoke poured up out of the Abyss will be like the smoke from a huge furnace so that the sun and the sky will be darkened by it; and out of My Cup of Justice I will make you resemble snakes; vipers. I will make you crawl on your belly and eat dust in these days of darkness; I will crush you to the ground to remind you that you are not better than vipers... you will suffocate and stifle in your sins; in My anger I will tread you down, trample you in My wrath! (...) When the hour of Darkness comes, I will show you your insides; I will turn your soul inside out and when you will see your soul as black as coal, not only will you experience a distress like never before, but you will beat your breast with agony that your own darkness is far worse than the darkness surrounding you. I will make human life scarcer than ever before; then when My wrath will be appeased, I will set My Throne in each one of you and together with one voice and one heart and one language you will praise Me, the Lamb."
We are given time, once again, to repent before the wrath of God falls on us. In Fatima apparently and in Akita’s messages our Lady was warning us about a Chastisement of fire to come on us if we do not change our heart and truly follow God. God’s wrath will be shown with fire. This will be the Chastisement explained in the True Life in God messages. Why would God, so loving, some people would say, do this to us? The Lord Jesus replied when this question was put to Him by me, “If you die, it is because of your apostasy.” Yes, Apostasy provokes God’s Justice and although He gives us time, one day, Jesus said, the Father will cry out: “Enough!”
This prophecy or warning if you want to call it that way, about the chastisement of fire, cannot be taken away anymore, the Father said, "nothing can be subtracted from it". It is too late to withdraw it entirely, but what we can do is to diminish the power of this scourge by prayer, repentance and change of life to live holy. We are called to lead a True life in God. God can relent, just like He did with Nineveh.
The True Life in God messages are not prophecies of doom and gloom. God gives them to us in these times of mercy to shape us up; they are a call out of the sublime Love of God. God will not allow us forever to offend His Holy Name and live godless. This is the reason why He comes, in His mercy, to give us many warnings.
In Christ,
Vassula
+++
Pease forward this to everybody you know and get these words spread as far as possible .
TLIG e-news editor
visit our website at: www.tlig.org
Have you signed the One date for Easter Petition?
How about 10 or more friends of yours?
"...today any delicacy from the part of My creatures to restore My tottering House touches Me profoundly; any step towards Unity, all heaven rejoices; any prayer offered for the restoration of My Body, My Father’s wrath diminishes; any gathering in My Name for Unity, My blessings are poured out on those sharing these meetings " October 5, 1994.
www.onedate.org
Iceland Volcano, Meteor in USA and Prophecy Update & Explanation
From Vassula:
On the 14th April 2010, the Eyjafjällajokull volcano erupted producing as we all heard an ash cloud. The region around that volcano was evacuated. Some people took videos nearby and one could not see properly a few meters ahead as clouds of ashes were in the atmosphere. Everything was grayish and covered with ash. The economy of the air-traffic was tragic as many plane cancellations were done and millions of dollars were lost daily. Fruits, fish and other products were rotting in the warehouses. Travelers were stranded all over the world.
This particular volcano years back when it erupted it never stopped spitting its ashes for one and a half year. As I’m writing this article, we are still waiting to see when this will come to its end.
However, worse will befall on this earth if people still, like Pharaoh, will ignore the signs of the times and it will be too late.
On the 14th April 2010 a bright ‘star’ was seen in the horizon in the Midwest of the USA. It was spectacular! Many videos were taken and in youtube one can watch them (see links above- editor).
God knew about this meteorite heading close to earth. One should ask ‘why has God given to us in November 28, 2009 a prayer that mentions the ‘star at the horizon?’ I think it was so that if we prayed this prayer, (and we did) it would spare us from disaster. I have learnt with time that God has a measuring rod and that He is a God that listens to bargains. Just like Abraham (an expert of bargaining) and the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. God said to Abraham that He would be ready to spare these two cities even if there were only 10 good people in it; but there were none, except Lot and his family. God measures with his measuring rod everything: He measures our love, our faith, our prayers, our behavior; our sincerity, our compassion for others, our charity, He measures his time of mercy with us; He measures our time for conversion, etc. and what He knows for sure: is that we are not like Abraham who knew how to bargain with Him. That’s a fact. As He knows we are like wet noodles and limp, in our blurred mind we don’t even try to bargain with Him; He even puts the bargaining words in our mouth to say them! This is in the prayer He gave us on the 28th November 2009! Otherwise who says that the meteor was not intended to hit the earth and cover us with ashes if it did? He had put in our mouths the words: “lash not on us Your wrath” twice, otherwise if His wrath was lashed out, “the waters will run dry and nature will wither.” Yes, if that meteor hit the earth that night it would have done this sort of damage. As it said in the prayer, “the flames would turn the earth into a waste.” It could have hit by night anywhere, even any major city like Chicago , in the Midwest United States , as the prayer said, “and ashes will fall as snow in winter covering Your people like ghosts.”
In the prayer that was asked by God, God puts in our incapable mouths the pleas, “take Mercy on us God and do not assess us harshly.” Then, reminding Him of the faithful and those who love Him, to take in consideration at least these ones. This prayer was given to us to use it and bargain with God. We did; this prayer was prayed all over the world as we have prayer groups all over the world. It was a ‘bargaining’ prayer I would say. That’s what God wanted to hear from us, and with this, I believe, He diminished His wrath and in His mercy the impact of such a meteorite. Everything was diminished and the volcano of Iceland started to blast out its ashes in all the European skies paralyzing all aircrafts to fly for over a week. The companies lost millions of dollars a day. People as it was the beginning of holidays were stranded by the thousands, sleeping at airports, taking land transport taking days to reach destinations. It was not a small issue. This week they allowed just a few to fly, but we do not know yet how long this volcano can go on spitting dust and ashes and what will happen.
As I previously said: perhaps too that this was just a small ‘aperitif’ of what can really happen to us, a prelude, if we don’t shape up. The ‘main course’ is for later on. Many people, for sure, around the world are living in apathy and in a spirit of lethargy without God. They have put God in a drawer and made sure they locked it up and swallowed the key. No chance of opening it. Many ecclesiastics are forbidding God to speak to His people as He does now, and advise the faithful not to listen either, forbidding them to attend to meetings of TLIG and thus preventing them from knowing God’s Will. They are not better than Jesus’ disciples in their disbelief. When Christ resurrected and “appeared to the Eleven,” the Bible says, (Lk 16: 14,15) “while they were at table, He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
What do you think Jesus will do again to their hardened hearts and to their disbelief? Will He congratulate them for their disbelief under the pretext of being prudent: ‘Good, you’ve done so well in keeping my faithful away from listening to Me!” No, He would reproach them, yes indeed, as He did then to His own disciples.
On the 18th February 1993, God is warning us saying:
"The sixth seal is about to be broken and you will all be plunged into darkness and there will be no illumination for the smoke poured up out of the Abyss will be like the smoke from a huge furnace so that the sun and the sky will be darkened by it; and out of My Cup of Justice I will make you resemble snakes; vipers. I will make you crawl on your belly and eat dust in these days of darkness; I will crush you to the ground to remind you that you are not better than vipers... you will suffocate and stifle in your sins; in My anger I will tread you down, trample you in My wrath! (...) When the hour of Darkness comes, I will show you your insides; I will turn your soul inside out and when you will see your soul as black as coal, not only will you experience a distress like never before, but you will beat your breast with agony that your own darkness is far worse than the darkness surrounding you. I will make human life scarcer than ever before; then when My wrath will be appeased, I will set My Throne in each one of you and together with one voice and one heart and one language you will praise Me, the Lamb."
We are given time, once again, to repent before the wrath of God falls on us. In Fatima apparently and in Akita’s messages our Lady was warning us about a Chastisement of fire to come on us if we do not change our heart and truly follow God. God’s wrath will be shown with fire. This will be the Chastisement explained in the True Life in God messages. Why would God, so loving, some people would say, do this to us? The Lord Jesus replied when this question was put to Him by me, “If you die, it is because of your apostasy.” Yes, Apostasy provokes God’s Justice and although He gives us time, one day, Jesus said, the Father will cry out: “Enough!”
This prophecy or warning if you want to call it that way, about the chastisement of fire, cannot be taken away anymore, the Father said, "nothing can be subtracted from it". It is too late to withdraw it entirely, but what we can do is to diminish the power of this scourge by prayer, repentance and change of life to live holy. We are called to lead a True life in God. God can relent, just like He did with Nineveh.
The True Life in God messages are not prophecies of doom and gloom. God gives them to us in these times of mercy to shape us up; they are a call out of the sublime Love of God. God will not allow us forever to offend His Holy Name and live godless. This is the reason why He comes, in His mercy, to give us many warnings.
In Christ,
Vassula
+++
Pease forward this to everybody you know and get these words spread as far as possible .
TLIG e-news editor
visit our website at: www.tlig.org
Have you signed the One date for Easter Petition?
How about 10 or more friends of yours?
"...today any delicacy from the part of My creatures to restore My tottering House touches Me profoundly; any step towards Unity, all heaven rejoices; any prayer offered for the restoration of My Body, My Father’s wrath diminishes; any gathering in My Name for Unity, My blessings are poured out on those sharing these meetings " October 5, 1994.
www.onedate.org
Friday, April 23, 2010
Are you an atheist or an agnostic?
If you are an atheist or an agnostic, please read this reflection from Fr. Steve Tynan,MGL, from beginning to end.
LORD, TO WHOM WILL WE GO?
The question with which Peter responds to Jesus’ own question if they, His apostles, would stay or leave, is one that we would do well to ponder every time we think about abandoning our faith for anything else. It is the most sobering of all questions as the answer is frighteningly stark. If Jesus is not the answer, then God help us, if there is a God. To abandon faith in Christ is really to abandon the understanding that there is a God because if Jesus, the one sent by the Father to redeem humanity, is not worthy of being followed and obeyed, it is impossible to conceive of a better option!
Yes, people reject belief in God all the time these days but I tend to think that a lot of them are rejecting a particular concept of God they have constructed that is not worthy of belief in the first place. To have full knowledge of God, of who He is and what He offers us, and then reject Him, is virtually inconceivable to me. There are people who seem to walk this path as well, but they are very few and their salvation is in grave doubt. It is not a path to be recommended to or by anyone.
Peter’s answer tells us that deep down, he and the other disciples have realized that there is something in their faith in Jesus that has become irrefutable to them and they are willing to stake their lives on it. And they will, as the opportunity for martyrdom arises in all of their lives except John. We capture here something of the essence of faith — that it is a relationship with a living person, God. It is neither an abstract concept nor an optional extra for our lives. Faith is essential to our humanity and until we discover it personally there will always be a type of restlessness within. It is quite easy to see this restlessness within the lives of so-called atheists; how I wish it were just as easy to be able to reveal it to them and show them the solution. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
Reflection Question:
What part does faith play in my life? Have I really given over everything I am to my faith response to God or do I still seek to control certain aspects of my life?
Father, You have created us to be in relationship with You and we will be restless until we respond in faith to Your love.
St. Egbert, pray for us.
My eldest son and middle son are an atheist and an agnostic. I pray unceasingly for them, that they may see the light of Jesus before the Lord's second coming.
Here is the message of our Lord Jesus through Vassula Ryden of tlig.org:
LORD, TO WHOM WILL WE GO?
The question with which Peter responds to Jesus’ own question if they, His apostles, would stay or leave, is one that we would do well to ponder every time we think about abandoning our faith for anything else. It is the most sobering of all questions as the answer is frighteningly stark. If Jesus is not the answer, then God help us, if there is a God. To abandon faith in Christ is really to abandon the understanding that there is a God because if Jesus, the one sent by the Father to redeem humanity, is not worthy of being followed and obeyed, it is impossible to conceive of a better option!
Yes, people reject belief in God all the time these days but I tend to think that a lot of them are rejecting a particular concept of God they have constructed that is not worthy of belief in the first place. To have full knowledge of God, of who He is and what He offers us, and then reject Him, is virtually inconceivable to me. There are people who seem to walk this path as well, but they are very few and their salvation is in grave doubt. It is not a path to be recommended to or by anyone.
Peter’s answer tells us that deep down, he and the other disciples have realized that there is something in their faith in Jesus that has become irrefutable to them and they are willing to stake their lives on it. And they will, as the opportunity for martyrdom arises in all of their lives except John. We capture here something of the essence of faith — that it is a relationship with a living person, God. It is neither an abstract concept nor an optional extra for our lives. Faith is essential to our humanity and until we discover it personally there will always be a type of restlessness within. It is quite easy to see this restlessness within the lives of so-called atheists; how I wish it were just as easy to be able to reveal it to them and show them the solution. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
Reflection Question:
What part does faith play in my life? Have I really given over everything I am to my faith response to God or do I still seek to control certain aspects of my life?
Father, You have created us to be in relationship with You and we will be restless until we respond in faith to Your love.
St. Egbert, pray for us.
My eldest son and middle son are an atheist and an agnostic. I pray unceasingly for them, that they may see the light of Jesus before the Lord's second coming.
Here is the message of our Lord Jesus through Vassula Ryden of tlig.org:
Vassula write the word aids,
AIDS?
Yes, replace it by the word Justice; 2 My Chalice of Mercy has brimmed over, and My Chalice of Justice is full, do not let It brim over! I have told you before that the world is offending Me, I am a God of Love but I am also known to be a God of Justice; I loathe atheism!
Our sins can be forgiven, ask for mercy.
St. Paul was a Christian persecutor, but he eventually turned his ways and turned to God!
We could be like St. Paul. We might be sinners now, but God is waiting for His prodigal children. Ask for His loving mercy.
Below is a re-production of Tina Matanggihan's Bible reflection on St. Peter & St. Paul at The Kerygma Family.
PETER AND PAUL
St. Paul is considered as one of the Fathers of the Church, next to St. Peter, but they’re very different. While Peter had been with Jesus from the start of His ministry, Paul came after. Peter was devoted to Jesus’ teachings while Paul was dedicated to persecuting Christians. In the end, God worked through Paul and he became a saint.
People can be classified as Peters and Pauls today, too. There are the Peters, who have always been a believer, have always known God, have been trying to be good ever since they were young. These are the people who grew up knowing Jesus early in life, so following Him is the natural thing to do. And then there are the Pauls, who start out knowing Jesus but in a different and a bit negative way. They’re the ones who couldn’t grasp who Jesus was, and in turn either persecute the Peters, or just plain ignore them. But when God reveals Himself to them, they’re just as devoted to Him as the Peters are.
I think that’s why God chose the two saints to be the Fathers of the Church, to show that whatever your background, God works in you and through you.Tina Matanguihan (tina.matanguihan@ gmail.com)
REFLECTION:
Regardless of whether you’re a Peter or a Paul, God loves you just the same.
As I have said before, reforming relying on our own strength is difficult. Ask God's help.
Our Lord Jesus' message through Vassula Ryden on sins
We could be like St. Paul. We might be sinners now, but God is waiting for His prodigal children. Ask for His loving mercy.
Below is a re-production of Tina Matanggihan's Bible reflection on St. Peter & St. Paul at The Kerygma Family.
PETER AND PAUL
“This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.”– Acts 9:15
St. Paul is considered as one of the Fathers of the Church, next to St. Peter, but they’re very different. While Peter had been with Jesus from the start of His ministry, Paul came after. Peter was devoted to Jesus’ teachings while Paul was dedicated to persecuting Christians. In the end, God worked through Paul and he became a saint.
People can be classified as Peters and Pauls today, too. There are the Peters, who have always been a believer, have always known God, have been trying to be good ever since they were young. These are the people who grew up knowing Jesus early in life, so following Him is the natural thing to do. And then there are the Pauls, who start out knowing Jesus but in a different and a bit negative way. They’re the ones who couldn’t grasp who Jesus was, and in turn either persecute the Peters, or just plain ignore them. But when God reveals Himself to them, they’re just as devoted to Him as the Peters are.
I think that’s why God chose the two saints to be the Fathers of the Church, to show that whatever your background, God works in you and through you.Tina Matanguihan (tina.matanguihan@ gmail.com)
REFLECTION:
Regardless of whether you’re a Peter or a Paul, God loves you just the same.
As I have said before, reforming relying on our own strength is difficult. Ask God's help.
Our Lord Jesus' message through Vassula Ryden on sins
Many indeed ask what sins? sins that I have mentioned and sins of your blasphemy against My Holy Spirit, sins of your rebellion and of your division, sins of perversion that are an abomination in My Eyes, sins of prejudice, sins of contempt, of corruption, of haughtiness, of pride, sins of degradation and of lethargy, the world is polluted with sin; understand now how My Sacred Heart is offended and is in pain; master your thoughts and sin no more; never forget Me, Vassula, and let My people know of My warnings; I am here; ictlig
Thursday, April 22, 2010
What have been prophesied have been happening.
..."we are very near the events that have been foretold that are facing humanity and that they are outside our door; events that are drawn by the world’s wickedness, selfishness, lack of love, events that result from the world’s rejection of God’s Word, their spite, hypocrisy, and godlessness."This is the warning of our Lady. Please heed the call of our Lord Jesus!
Please read the complete message of our Lord Jesus and the Virgin Mary through Prophecies from the messages of True Life in God
by Vassula Ryden
April 2010
One of many examples in Scriptures of how God reacts in times of rebellion and apostasy is from Jeremiah 4: 23-28. Jeremiah says:
"I looked to the earth, to see a formless waste; to the heavens, and their light had gone. I looked to the mountains, to see them quaking, and all the heights astir. I looked, to see no man at all, the very birds of heaven had fled. I looked, to see the wooded country a wilderness, all its towns in ruins, at the presence of Yahweh, at the presence of His burning anger. Yes, thus speaks Yahweh, "the whole land shall be laid waste, I will make an end of it once for all; at which the earth will go into mourning, and the heavens above grow dark.."God had been warning us unceasingly to return to Him and reconcile with Him and with one another. Christ has been pleading with His church to reconcile and unite. He has been asking the shepherds now for over 25 years in the messages of ‘True Life in God’ to repent and reconcile, bringing forth unity by unifying the dates of Easter. The whole world is decaying in its evil and its apostasy, transgressing not only God's Law, but all that is Holy, unceasingly offending God. Why, then, is anyone surprised when the grace of the Holy Spirit increases in these times of darkness to help us? But Darkness is persecuting the Light once more. Obstacles, persecutions, accusations, mockery, slander, prohibitions and calumnies were pouring out from several people, all these years, as I was trying to testify and pass on to the world the Word of God, making it an extremely difficult mission. Many of these people thought they were doing a holy duty to God...
It is written in Scriptures that: "
In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God." (Jn1:1) "The Word was the true Light that enlightens all men; and He was coming into the world. He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own domain and His own people did not accept Him."(Jn1:9-11).
Through all these years, Our Lord has tried to awaken a true understanding in all of us by repeatedly giving us reminders: recalling what was said in the past by the holy prophets and His own commandments. His calls, as well as our Blessed Mother's, were calls to repentance, peace, love, unity and a life of prayer. Our Lord came and still comes in this manner into the world to enlighten all those who have gone astray, but to this day very few recognized His graceful presence and fewer still accepted His call. He did not neglect to come first to His own domain, among His own, but flesh in its hardness of heart and incredulity rejected Love once more. To this day, very few are those who accepted Him entirely in His merciful call of repentance, not only diminishing His mercy but rejecting it as well and not allowing Him to reign in their hearts.
The world today has an attitude, just like Pharaoh's, of rejecting, in their stubbornness and disbelief, all that is Holy. Of others, our Lord says their behavior is worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
In the year 1991, 11 September, exactly 10 years before the great disaster of the two towers in the USA, our Lord, looking at the earth with displeasure, warned us in these words:
"
And I, for My part, My Eyes look down at the world of today, searching nation after nation scanning soul after soul for some warmth, for some generosity and for some love but very few enjoy My favor. Very few bother to live a holy life and the days are fleeing and the hours are now counted before the great retribution (...) (Jesus suddenly changed tone and after waiting a few seconds, with a tone very grave that left me in awe said: "The earth will shiver and shake and every evil built into Towers (like the towers of Babel) will collapse into a heap of rubble and be buried in the dust of sin! Above the heavens will shake and the foundations of the earth will rock! The islands, the sea and the continents will be visited by Me unexpectedly with thunder and by flame. Listen to My last words of warning, listen now that there is still time. Read our Messages and stop being scornful or deaf when Heaven speaks (...) Soon, very soon now, the Heavens will open and I shall make you see the Judge."(September 11, 1991)
On the 11th September 2001 the world was scarred with the fall of the two towers, taking away so many lives, among them many innocent people. Horrific apocalyptic scenes were shown to the world, and despite this horror that came upon us, instead of truly turning to God and repenting, the world became worse than before and was set for war. Instead of understanding that this happened because of our own faults, sins, guilt, apostasy and the world's rejection of God, we continued to listen to Satan and go on his way rather than the way God was showing us.
Then, before that, several times Christ again was warning us about the tsunami. The first one is as early as 1987, September 10th:
I wrote in my notebook: "Suddenly Jesus reminded me of a dream I had last night and had forgotten. It was the vision I saw lately, but it appeared worse in my dream". The Lord then said:
"Listen, I have let you see the vision in your sleep, to make you feel it. No, there is no escape!"I wrote: "I remember when I saw it coming like a giant wave. I tried to run and hide, knowing it's impossible." Then I asked our Lord: "But why do this, if you love us? Why?" He answered:
"I am known as a God of Love, as well as a God of Justice." I asked: "What can we do to stop this?" God answered: "tremendous amendments are required now from all of you. Uniting and being one. Loving one another, believing in My Heavenly Works, for I am among you always."The tsunami news shocked and dismayed all of us, but no one can say that God did not send us warnings. When warnings were sent by those He chose as mouthpieces, many were saying: "We have no need of these warnings; we have the consolation of the holy books of the Fathers and the Holy Bible in our possession. We never lack to offer sacrifices and prayers either, so what has Christ to tell us more than what He has given us?" And they shut their ears.
On the 24th December 1991, on the eve of Christ's birth another message was given to us by Christ who was very offended:
"I come today and offer all mankind My Peace, but very few listen. Today I come with peace-terms and a message of Love, but the peace I am offering is blasphemed by the earth, and the Love I am giving them is mocked and jeered in this Eve of My Birth. Mankind is celebrating these days without My Holy Name. My Holy Name has been abolished and they take the day of My Birth as a great holiday of leisure, worshipping idols. Satan has entered into the hearts of My children, finding them weak and asleep. I have warned the world..."(December 24, 1991)Christ is showing us that He is very offended when we celebrate Christmas as a mere holiday without His Holy Name and without remembering the real cause; Christ's Birth.
At Christmas every Christian is asked to celebrate Christ's birth by rejoicing and going to Church and celebrating the Holy Name of our Saviour and Redeemer. Many, in their apostasy, celebrate and worship the Christmas tree instead, exchanging gifts, eating until sick, and amusing themselves to folly.
After that date there were several warnings.
Another warning was given to us on the 18th February 1993:
"See the days are coming when I am going to come by thunder and fire but I will find, to My distress, many of you unaware and in deep sleep! I am sending you creation, messenger after messenger to break through your deafness, but I am weary now of your resistance and your apathy. I am ever so weary of your coldness; I am weary of your arrogance and your inflexibility when it comes to assemble for unity - you filled and overflowed now the Cup of Stupor. Intoxicated by your own voice you have opposed My Voice but it shall not be forever - soon you shall fall for you have opposed My Voice by your voice, misleading nonsense; naturally My Church is in ruin because of your division (...) the earth will shake and like a shooting star will reel from its place, extirpating mountains and islands out of their places. Entire nations will be annihilated; the sky will disappear like a scroll rolling up as you saw it in your vision daughter. A great agony will befall on all the citizens, and woe to the unbeliever! Hear Me: and should men say to you today: "ah, but the Living One will have Mercy upon us, your prophecy is not from God but from your own spirit", tell them: although you are reputed to be alive, you are dead; your incredulity condemns you, because you refused to believe in My time of Mercy and prohibited My Voice to spread through My mouthpieces to warn and save My creatures...(February 18, 1993)According to the scientists, when the earthquake happened under the sea, the whole earth shook, stopped for a split second and went out of its normal axis. The island of Sumatra and other islands too, moved several meters from their original place. One of them was thought to have disappeared altogether, but was then rediscovered in another place.
Then on the 7th February 2002 again a last warning came from God; here is an excerpt:
"My Imperial Reign is at your very doors, but are you ready to receive Me?Our Lord is warning us that, because of our apostasy, we are endangering the cosmos - not only the earth, but the entire cosmos, provoking nature to rebel against us.
With largesse and with royal prodigality I laid out a banquet of spiritual food to revive your spirit; when I was there, waiting for you to feed you by My Own Hand to save you from death, you refused to come forward; considering therefore, your reluctance to a true (repentance) metanoia, and how you have shown hostility instead towards My warnings, what former scenes of wailing took place (on the 11th September 2001) are nothing in comparison to the sorrowful mornings that lie ahead of you; sorrowful mornings that will be drawn by your own hand (...) (you are) endangering not only the earth but the stability as well of the whole cosmos;" (...) I see from above how your designs will turn against yourselves; the world already is tasting the fruits of its own course, provoking to rebel with convulsions, drawing upon yourselves natural catastrophes choking itself with your own scheming.
But this is not all, our Lord is warning us of a still worse events to come if we do not change our hearts and return to God. The Lord says;
"You see daughter, I will soon reveal My Justice too. My Plan has a determined time. My Merciful calls have also a determined time. Once this time is over, I will show everyone, good and evil that My severity is as great as My mercy, that My wrath is as powerful as My forgiveness. All things predicted by Me will pass swiftly now - nothing can be subtracted from them..." (February 19, 1993)Our Lady said that the earth is in danger and will suffer with fire. God’s wrath cannot be sustained any longer and it will fall on them because man refuses to break with sin. That God’s Mercy all of these years were to draw as many as possible to Him, extending His Arm to save them but few only understood and listened. That His time of Mercy will not hold much longer and the time is coming where everybody will be tested and the earth will spew out from within it rivers of fire and the people of the world will understand their worthlessness and their helplessness without having had God in their hearts. God is firm and true to His Word. The time has come where the household of God will be tested and those who refused His Mercy will taste God’s Fire. (I asked here about the people of the Church who persecute us and are blind to His Works of Mercy) Our Lady said that these too will undergo what they deserve.
January 7th, 2008, our Lady woke me up around 3.10 am and made me understand that at this time Christ was being attacked. The message of our Lady was that we are very near the events that have been foretold that are facing humanity and that they are outside our door; events that are drawn by the world’s wickedness, selfishness, lack of love, events that result from the world’s rejection of God’s Word, their spite, hypocrisy, and godlessness.
Our Lady continued to speak about sacrifice. She has asked me to remind everyone that God our Creator asks us to commit ourselves more to Him and that to be converted is not enough without sacrifice and steady prayers; that if one says they are converted and found God through "True Life in God" they should offer more sacrifice as an act of immolation. There are various ways of showing God their love and generosity; that no one can say "we are true life in God people" without offering sacrificial love; that those who truly love God are blessed and should not fear in those days. Our Blessed Mother said that those who persevere through hardships are blessed; that She is pleased with all the priests (the clergy) who share and promote those Works of God (as those of True Life in God and who are open to the Spirit) and should remain confident because they received special graces from the Spirit of God and that through the Spirit they grew stronger in the Lord and to His plan of salvation. That Christ grants them His peace.
If any one serves and immolates himself as an offering, the judgment that is to come by fire will not be so severe upon them for in their spirit they will be enjoying the call of God that brought them to life.
Our Lady said that many have fallen away but many will be raised. Many have failed to keep the Word of God secured in their hearts and transgressed the Word given to them not only through the messages of True Life in God but through the Word given to them in the Scriptures as well. 28th November 2009 the Lord called me and gave me a prayer that I had to distribute, asking us to pray it and ask His mercy. This is what our Lord said: Address Me Vassula in this way:
"Tender Father, lash not Your wrath on this generation, lest they perish altogether; Lash not on Your flock distress and anguish, for the waters will run dry and nature will wither; all will succumb at Your wrath leaving no trace behind them; the heat of Your Breath will put aflame the earth turning it into a waste! From the horizon a star will be seen; the night will be ravaged and ashes will fall as snow in winter, covering Your people like ghosts; take Mercy on us, God, and do not assess us harshly; remember the hearts that rejoice in You and You in them! Remember Your faithful and let not Your Hand fall on us with force, but, rather in Your Mercy lift us and place Your precepts in every heart. Amen"On the 14th March 2010, the Eyjafjällajokull volcano erupted producing as we all heard an ash cloud. The region around that volcano was evacuated. Some people took videos nearby and one could not see properly a few meters ahead as clouds of ashes were in the atmosphere. Everything was grayish and covered with ash. The economy of the air-traffic was tragic as many plane cancellations were done and millions of dollars were lost daily. Fruits, fish and other products were rotting in the warehouses. Travelers were stranded all over the world.
This particular volcano years back when it erupted it never stopped spitting its ashes for one and a half year. As I’m writing this article, we are still waiting to see when this will come to its end.
However, worse will befall on this earth if people still, like Pharaoh, will ignore the signs of the times and it will be too late. On the 18th February 1993, God is warning us saying:
"The sixth seal is about to be broken and you will all be plunged into darkness and there will be no illumination for the smoke poured up out of the Abyss will be like the smoke from a huge furnace so that the sun and the sky will be darkened by it; and out of My Cup of Justice I will make you resemble snakes; vipers. I will make you crawl on your belly and eat dust in these days of darkness; I will crush you to the ground to remind you that you are not better than vipers... you will suffocate and stifle in your sins; in My anger I will tread you down, trample you in My wrath! (...) When the hour of Darkness comes, I will show you your insides; I will turn your soul inside out and when you will see your soul as black as coal, not only will you experience a distress like never before, but you will beat your breast with agony that your own darkness is far worse than the darkness surrounding you. I will make human life scarcer than ever before; then when My wrath will be appeased, I will set My Throne in each one of you and together with one voice and one heart and one language you will praise Me, the Lamb."We are given time, once again, to repent before this prophecy comes on us. Although God says, "nothing can be subtracted from it", we can still diminish the power of this scourge by prayer, repentance and change of life to live holy. We are called to lead a True life in God. God can relent, just like He did with Nineveh.
The True Life in God messages are not prophecies of doom and gloom. God gives them to us in these times of mercy to shape us up; they are a call out of the sublime Love of God. God will not allow us forever to offend His Holy Name and live godless. This is the reason why He comes, in His mercy, to give us many warnings.
Vassula Ryden.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Drug & Cameron Douglas
Five years in jail for Michael Douglas's son for selling drugs
Judge handed out the term, which was less than the expected minimum sentence, after a series of heartfelt pleas from members of the Douglas family
Paul Harris in New York
guardian.co.uk
Cameron Douglas, the 31-year-old son of movie star Michael Douglas and the grandson of screen legend Kirk Douglas, was yesterday handed a five-year jail sentence for drug dealing. New York judge Richard Berman handed out the term, which was less than the expected minimum sentence, after a series of heartfelt pleas from members of the Douglas family. Berman said the sentence was Cameron Douglas's "last chance to make it".
His father was in court to watch sentence being passed after details of a letter he wrote to the judge were released to the public. In the five-page handwritten missive, Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar for his role as Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street, described his son's struggle with addiction and blamed the pressure of living with a celebrity name. As the son of Spartacus star Kirk Douglas, Michael wrote, he was painfully aware of the weight of familial fame. "I have some idea of the pressure of finding your own identity with a famous father. I'm not sure I can comprehend it with two generations to deal with," he wrote.
The letter provided a rare glimpse into the private life of a family who have carried a Hollywood A-list name for two generations. In his missive, he blamed his "bad marriage", his parenting skills and his film career for making him an absentee father. That led Cameron Douglas to abuse drugs from an early age. "I don't want to burden you with a litany of my son, Cameron's, rehab history, beginning at 13 … We do know, however, that genes, family and peer pressure are all a strong influence on a substance abuser," the letter said.
In one touching segment, Michael Douglas said that spending time in jail had left Cameron clean of drugs and allowed father and son to connect. "For the past eight months I have cherished my two hours a week in-person conversation with Cameron [at the jail]. He's sober! I get to witness the wonderful young man he can be," he wrote.
Other members of the family also wrote letters of support. His stepmother, British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, praised his behaviour in the family. "What is wrong is wrong, but may all these positive attitudes prevail," she wrote. Kirk Douglas, now 93, said it was his dying wish to see his grandson turn his life around. "I am convinced that Cameron could be a fine actor and a person that cares for others. I hope I can see that happen before I die," he said.
Cameron Douglas, a part-time actor and DJ, had admitted selling cocaine and methamphetamine at a hotel in New York's Meatpacking district. The offence usually carries a minimum of 10 years in jail, unless the judge decides on leniency. Cameron Douglas's lawyers had argued he had only been dealing drugs in order to finance his crippling heroin habit.
In addition to the jail time, Cameron Douglas must also pay a $25,000 fine and do 450 hours' community service. Once out of jail, he also faces a five years in a supervised release programme.
Chemical Drug is addicting, and so is cigarette, and so is lust, and so is food, and so is medicne.
If we are far from God, we cannot do it alone (overpower the addicting lure of the devil on us). I sympathize with people who need the love of their family and the loving mercy of God. CALL on JESUS and you will be reborn!
Judge handed out the term, which was less than the expected minimum sentence, after a series of heartfelt pleas from members of the Douglas family
Paul Harris in New York
guardian.co.uk
Cameron Douglas, the 31-year-old son of movie star Michael Douglas and the grandson of screen legend Kirk Douglas, was yesterday handed a five-year jail sentence for drug dealing. New York judge Richard Berman handed out the term, which was less than the expected minimum sentence, after a series of heartfelt pleas from members of the Douglas family. Berman said the sentence was Cameron Douglas's "last chance to make it".
His father was in court to watch sentence being passed after details of a letter he wrote to the judge were released to the public. In the five-page handwritten missive, Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar for his role as Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street, described his son's struggle with addiction and blamed the pressure of living with a celebrity name. As the son of Spartacus star Kirk Douglas, Michael wrote, he was painfully aware of the weight of familial fame. "I have some idea of the pressure of finding your own identity with a famous father. I'm not sure I can comprehend it with two generations to deal with," he wrote.
The letter provided a rare glimpse into the private life of a family who have carried a Hollywood A-list name for two generations. In his missive, he blamed his "bad marriage", his parenting skills and his film career for making him an absentee father. That led Cameron Douglas to abuse drugs from an early age. "I don't want to burden you with a litany of my son, Cameron's, rehab history, beginning at 13 … We do know, however, that genes, family and peer pressure are all a strong influence on a substance abuser," the letter said.
In one touching segment, Michael Douglas said that spending time in jail had left Cameron clean of drugs and allowed father and son to connect. "For the past eight months I have cherished my two hours a week in-person conversation with Cameron [at the jail]. He's sober! I get to witness the wonderful young man he can be," he wrote.
Other members of the family also wrote letters of support. His stepmother, British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, praised his behaviour in the family. "What is wrong is wrong, but may all these positive attitudes prevail," she wrote. Kirk Douglas, now 93, said it was his dying wish to see his grandson turn his life around. "I am convinced that Cameron could be a fine actor and a person that cares for others. I hope I can see that happen before I die," he said.
Cameron Douglas, a part-time actor and DJ, had admitted selling cocaine and methamphetamine at a hotel in New York's Meatpacking district. The offence usually carries a minimum of 10 years in jail, unless the judge decides on leniency. Cameron Douglas's lawyers had argued he had only been dealing drugs in order to finance his crippling heroin habit.
In addition to the jail time, Cameron Douglas must also pay a $25,000 fine and do 450 hours' community service. Once out of jail, he also faces a five years in a supervised release programme.
Chemical Drug is addicting, and so is cigarette, and so is lust, and so is food, and so is medicne.
If we are far from God, we cannot do it alone (overpower the addicting lure of the devil on us). I sympathize with people who need the love of their family and the loving mercy of God. CALL on JESUS and you will be reborn!
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