Draw Your Strength From the Lord

Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.

 Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. 

 Ephesians 6 10:13

"Dear children! God gave you the grace to live and to defend all the good that is in you and around you, and to inspire others to be better and holier; but Satan, too, does not sleep and through modernism diverts you and leads you to his way. Therefore, little children, in the love for my Immaculate Heart, love God above everything and live His commandments. In this way, your life will have meaning and peace will rule on earth. Thank you for having responded to my call." 
BVM May 25, 2010  

Lord, you have told us that the greatest commandment of all is to love the Lord, our God, 
with all are hearts, 
with all our soul and all our mind;

            May this be our prayer.

            And may we love our neighbor as ourselves,

            Growing in holiness everyday and leading others to you.  Amen

The Advocate

And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind and it filled the entire house in which they were.

Acts 2: 1-2

The days were absolutely gorgeous while we were in Medjugorje, nothing but blue sky and sunshine. Each day my daughter and I would walk from the home where we were staying to the downtown village where St. James Parish is located. We would walk alongside of vineyards, huge vegetable gardens and watch the children climbing fruit trees. The village women gathered on the paths to sell rosary beads, linen tablecloths and local honey.  Occasionally we would encounter the neighborhood peacock that proudly guarded his own yard. It was a walk we looked forward to each day.

But this particular morning we gathered into small vans with the other pilgrims in our tour group. We were going to visit a group of Franciscan nuns that had relocated their convent to the Medjugorje area after their original convent had been bombed by the communists.

Sister Janja (pronounced YAN ya), one of the original people to help the visionaries while they were still children, spoke with us about the broken crucifix that hung on the chapel wall. This crucifix, which the nuns had brought with them, had hung in their previous chapel. Sister told us that though the communists had broken this cross, she and her Franciscan community took it here with them to symbolize that we all have broken Christ in our lives.

After Sister Janja spoke, Fr. Patrick Crowley, SS.CC., our spiritual director while in Medjugorje, held mass for us in the nuns chapel. As he was praying for an increase or outpouring of the Holy Spirit among us , a strong wind shook the chapel walls and stained glass windows. The doors blew open and slammed shut with unbelievable force and the crowd inside began to praise God loudly, some of them sang praises in tongues. It was truly amazing.

Father, a very humble man, smiled and stated that the Lord had let us witness a small version of Pentecost. Ask and you shall receive!

The good Lord always wants to share His gifts with His children. And just as Christ gave us the Advocate which is the Holy Spirit, we, too, are called to be advocates for Christ Jesus in the world today. May we continue to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. Ps 104

He Abandoned Himself Completely to Mary.

I came across the most inspiring article today regarding Pope John Paul II and  I just wanted to share it with you. 

God bless you.

By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist   for Living His Life Abundantly, Women of Grace

The physician who treated Pope John Paul II throughout his life said the dying pontiff refused all pain medication and, at the end of his life, abandoned himself completely to Mary.

The Catholic News Agency (CNA) is reporting that Italian physician Renato Buzzonetti, who served as Pope John Paul II’s personal physiciam from 1978 until his death, described the pope’s heroic suffering during a recent interview with L’Osservatore Romano.
When he was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, Buzzonetti said he reassured the pope that “no one ever died” from a shaky hand. But as the world watched, the disease gradually worsened.
“The Pope’s life was more complicated later because of the painful joint symptoms that were particularly intense in his right knee, which prevented John Paul II from standing up and walking briskly,” Buzzonetti said. “These were two symptoms that, put together and intertwined, made it necessary for him to use a cane and later a wheelchair.”
Despite the pain, the Holy Father “never asked for sedatives, not even in his final stages,” he said. “It was above all the pain of a man who was enclosed, prostrate on a bed or in a chair, who had lost physical autonomy. He couldn’t do anything by himself, and eventually he was completely physically disabled: he could not walk, he couldn’t speak other than with a weak voice, his breathing was labored and short, he ate with increasing difficulty.”
Buzzonetti spoke about the final days of the pope’s life, when he was forced to perform a tracheotomy that would take away his ability to speak.
“Upon getting himself up after the anesthesia, after having given his consent, he realized he could no longer speak,” Buzzonetti said. “Suddenly he found himself facing an extremely difficult reality. On a little chalkboard he wrote, ‘What have you done to me. Totus tuus (totally yours)’.  It was the realization of the new state in which he had fallen, suddenly exalted by the act of trust in Mary.”
Buzzonetti said the last few days with John Paul II were especially intense. “I felt extremely tense because of the great responsibility that was on my shoulders … My colleagues and I were aware that the disease was … in its final phase. Our battle had been waged with patience, humility and prudence, which was extremely difficult because we knew it would end in defeat.”
The death of Pope John Paul II “was the death of man divested of everything, who had lived through times of struggle and of glory and who was interiorly stripped of everything to meet the Lord and return the keys of the Kingdom,” Buzzonetti said. “At that hour of pain and astonishment, I had the sensation of being on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The story was reset, as Christ was preparing to call the new Peter.”
  http://www.womenofgrace.com