Month: October 2018

Just read about building my spiritual army, an army of saints and holy souls to accompany my on this journey of spiritual warfare called life. I forgot to bring pen and paper so I will start here.

It’s hard to imagine that my loved ones who have died are not in Heaven but it may very well be the case that they are suffering in Purgatory – I do know we are not perfect beings – and so need my, our, prayers. And if they have reached Heaven than those prayers for them are magnified by them for another poor soul suffering Purgatory. So I begin my army with my dad, Paul. It is truly hard to imagine he may not have been a saint right away with how he lived everyday as a gift from God. So what a soldier to have march with me and the saint we know to accompany him – Bernard of Clairvox (sp?).

My sister Kathy, along with her baby, who died 33 years ago. Wow! Time flies! And her partner is Saint Anne, the mother of Mary, grandmother of Jesus.

My little sister, Theresa, who taught us all so much about the beauty of suffering and she needs a very playful, humorous partner and that will be Teresa of Avila. One of her famous quotes, after a fall is “If this is how You treat Your friends, no wonder why You have so few of them!”

That’s my start as I pray my rosary this morning, I offer it for Dad, Kathy and Thersa and ask Bernard, Anne and Teresa to pray with me. For them

On our way to Pittsburgh I wanted to see if I could find an adoration chapel to pray on Saturday and as big as Pittsburgh is – I only found one that is perpetual! But, what a gem!

Skip and I started our Saturday morning there and were in such awe of the beauty, reverence and number of young people kneeling in adoration. So we decided to attend Sunday Mass there before we left Pittsburgh.

What an experience! Such a reverent worship! No one putting on a show. No one drawing attention to themselves – all attention was drawn to the One who offered Himself as the very first Sacrifice!

http://www.thepittsburghoratory.org/

We met Brother Reed after Mass who is on fall break from studying for the priesthood. He told us they were preparing for 60 seminarians to come in that day who would spend the week evangelizing at Pitt and CMU. How cool is that!?

Now it’s time to learn about oratories, and the Oratarions of Saint Philip Neri. Here is a link to their blog.

http://oratorianvocations.blogspot.com/p/theoratorian-vocation-you-may-say_18.html?m=1

I think this will be a quest – to visit an oratory where ever I travel.

And then a quote from my meditation that struck me today…..

“There is no doubt about it: a person who loves pleasure, who seeks comfort, who flies from anything that might spell suffering, who is over-anxious, who complains, who blames, and who becomes impatient at the least little thing which does not go his way – a person like that is a Christian only in name; he is only a dishonor to his religion, for Jesus Christ has said so: ‘Anyone who wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross every day of his life, and follow Me.'” Saint John Vianney

Angels of God, our guardians dear, of all my friends, family, associates, and all who have lit candles here and those lit for, to whom God’s love commits us here. Ever this day be at our sides, to light, to guard, to rule and guide.

Angels, please let us feel your presence walking with us. Shelter us. Laugh with us. Cry with us. Pray with us. Show us the only way to fill our hearts and that is with the love of God.

My Angel, as you pray with me today, please help my pray be efficacious for all those intentions I hold in my heart, for poor souls in Purgatory and especially for those intentions that our Blessed Mother has.

Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!

‘We have no alternative,’ St. Josemaria Escriva teaches, ‘there are only two possible ways of living on this earth: either we live a supernatural life, or we live an animal life. And you and I can only live the life of God, a supernatural life’