W. Somerset Maugham who lived from 1874 to 1965, said that writers should write not for praise or censure but to write to unburden one's heart. He said that writing was its own reward. I know what he is saying intellectually and experiencially. I know in my heart and in my writing exactly what he is saying. It is very freeing to understand his words. If a writer does not believe and practice them, he will be doomed to unhappiness.
Here a few of my favorite quotes from W. Somerset Maugham written in his "Of Human Bondage", 1915,
"It is a funny thing about life: if you refuse anything but the best, you very often get it."
"People ask for criticsm; but they only want praise."
"There are only three rules for writing a novel. Unfortionately, no one knows what they are."
"We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to."
"When you have loved as she has loved; you grow old gracefully."
"I dare say one profits more by the mistakes one makes off one's own bat thant by doing the right thing on somebody's else advice."
"When things are at the worst, I find something always happens."
"Life wouldn't be worth living if I worried over the future as well as the present."
"The important thing was to lvoe rather than be loved."
"When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me."
Writing for me is to express the feelings of the heart. You feel in ways that no one has ever felt in the universe and will never feel. Your feeling are absolutely unique to you. That is why your prayers to God are so welcoming to His ears. No one like you has ever talked to Him before and never will. Only you have the special feelings you have. Therefore, God just loves hearing from you and is greatly pleased with absolutely every word you share with Him. Actually, God who is all knowing knows all of what you will ever say to Him for all eternity. That means that He knows the sums of all your sharing with Him on this earth and all the sharing with Him for all eternity. He knows the complete sum of it all. But He finds each one of your words that you share with Him very precious. So, you are writing love letters to God with your prayers. He loves getting mail from you. Write Him every day.
My greatest desire as a writer is to touch the hearts of every living human being on this earth. To do that I have written 4 children storiest in a book called "Letters to Isabelle". Then I wrote a historical novel that focuses on Europe so that people of Europe will read it. I have written a book for the US readers called: "Life IS a Gift." And of course I am writing for you to touch your heart. This desire is a gentle one. I cannot accomplish myself. But the Psalmist has said: "Delight in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." Ps 37: 3-7 So, get touch all hearts, all I need to is to "Delight in the Lord" and He will give me the desires of my heart. If I try to reach everyone, it just will not happen. But if I delight in the Lord, it will surely happen. I do not write for praise or money. I write to love. To love everyone who takes the time to let me into their heart.
Much love for you,
Pio
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Pio's Proverb 59: "Be happy. Don't worry!"
You have heard that song haven't you? I loved it. I still do; and I wish it were on the air more. Fr Doug at Mass said today that he decided to google Amazon.com to see how many books they had on the subject of simply "Being Happy". Guess how many books are availble on that subject? 473,398 different books. Seems that happiness is elusive.
What is happiness? It is realizing that we are created not only to have life but to have it abundantly. St. Irenaeus said: "The glory of God is a man [woman] fully alive!" So Being Alive and Happiness are like hand in a glove. They fit together. What good is a glove without a hand? God made us to be ALIVE! Unhappiness is from not be fully alive. Being fully alive means to have the Holy Spirit living inside you. If the Holy Spirit is not living inside you, you cannot possibly be happy. "God is Love. And wherever there is Love, there is God." But the Love of God IS the Holy Spirit. We are made to be ALIVE in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Joy - which is a deep happiness. So, acquiring things or becoming famous may bring you some mega dollars....but not necesarally happiness. In today's Gospel, it says: "What can separate us from the love of Christ? Famine, or persecution or sickness ......no, NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the love of Christ in us. Jesus does personally love us; but He shows this love by sending us the LOVE of God: the Holy Spirit. Now, not even our sins can separate us from the Love of Christ. Let me explain that a little by example: say a very loving and faithful wife is totally devoted to her husband and always has and always will be. She loves her husband unconditionally. One day, he comes home her after having been unfaithful. He has separated himself from her but she has not separated herself from him. She senses the barrier he has put up between them. It is palpable and think. He has cut himself off from her. Sensing all this she doubles her efforts to make him happy. She tries with all her might to get him to see the wrong he has done and to repent of it. She sends him love notes. She cooks his favorite meals. She tries to look her best and be encourageing to him. Well, that is what is like when we sin seriously against Jesus and His Father. The Holy Spirit does leave when serious sin is committed because the Holy Spirit cannot live in a dead soul. Still the Holy Spirit calls out to the soul to repent and be reconciled to Jesus and the Father. Even while the soul is in mortal sin, Jesus' love is still there like a devoted wife. Therefore nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ even if we separate ourself by not loving Christ.
Lord, Jesus thank you for being faithful to us even when we are not faithful to You. Thank you for sending Your Holy Spirit to reconcile us and forgive us. Thanks for giving us the Holy Eucharist after we have confessed our sins to nourish us and sustain us in grace and to help us not to fall into serious sin again.
Let nothing separate us from Your love....not ever. In Your Name, we pray. Amen.
love, Pio
What is happiness? It is realizing that we are created not only to have life but to have it abundantly. St. Irenaeus said: "The glory of God is a man [woman] fully alive!" So Being Alive and Happiness are like hand in a glove. They fit together. What good is a glove without a hand? God made us to be ALIVE! Unhappiness is from not be fully alive. Being fully alive means to have the Holy Spirit living inside you. If the Holy Spirit is not living inside you, you cannot possibly be happy. "God is Love. And wherever there is Love, there is God." But the Love of God IS the Holy Spirit. We are made to be ALIVE in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Joy - which is a deep happiness. So, acquiring things or becoming famous may bring you some mega dollars....but not necesarally happiness. In today's Gospel, it says: "What can separate us from the love of Christ? Famine, or persecution or sickness ......no, NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the love of Christ in us. Jesus does personally love us; but He shows this love by sending us the LOVE of God: the Holy Spirit. Now, not even our sins can separate us from the Love of Christ. Let me explain that a little by example: say a very loving and faithful wife is totally devoted to her husband and always has and always will be. She loves her husband unconditionally. One day, he comes home her after having been unfaithful. He has separated himself from her but she has not separated herself from him. She senses the barrier he has put up between them. It is palpable and think. He has cut himself off from her. Sensing all this she doubles her efforts to make him happy. She tries with all her might to get him to see the wrong he has done and to repent of it. She sends him love notes. She cooks his favorite meals. She tries to look her best and be encourageing to him. Well, that is what is like when we sin seriously against Jesus and His Father. The Holy Spirit does leave when serious sin is committed because the Holy Spirit cannot live in a dead soul. Still the Holy Spirit calls out to the soul to repent and be reconciled to Jesus and the Father. Even while the soul is in mortal sin, Jesus' love is still there like a devoted wife. Therefore nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ even if we separate ourself by not loving Christ.
Lord, Jesus thank you for being faithful to us even when we are not faithful to You. Thank you for sending Your Holy Spirit to reconcile us and forgive us. Thanks for giving us the Holy Eucharist after we have confessed our sins to nourish us and sustain us in grace and to help us not to fall into serious sin again.
Let nothing separate us from Your love....not ever. In Your Name, we pray. Amen.
love, Pio
Pio's Proverb 58: Perspective is everything.
A woman on her farm ran to her nearest neighbor of an ajoining farm. Puffing, she came into his house and cried: "Come quick! My son has fallen into the mud vat!" Calmly the farmer said: "How deep has he sunken?" She said frantically: "Up to his ankles!" The farmer said: "Well, then we have time. Sit down for a cup of coffee!" She even more frantially: "He is up to his ankles upside down!" Perspective is everything.
A baby is about to aborted: mother comforts herself by saying: "I am pro-choice [and choose to kill my baby] and am free to do what I want with my body". Baby thinks to him/herself: "It is not her body but my body she is doing what she wants with. I choose to live." Doctor-abortionist says: "It is not my problem. Just give me my fee." Perspective is everything.
A person says: "I am really free; I am free to do whatever I want - good or bad." God says: "You are truely free if you freely choose to do whatever is right and good." Perspective is everything.
Love, Pio
A baby is about to aborted: mother comforts herself by saying: "I am pro-choice [and choose to kill my baby] and am free to do what I want with my body". Baby thinks to him/herself: "It is not her body but my body she is doing what she wants with. I choose to live." Doctor-abortionist says: "It is not my problem. Just give me my fee." Perspective is everything.
A person says: "I am really free; I am free to do whatever I want - good or bad." God says: "You are truely free if you freely choose to do whatever is right and good." Perspective is everything.
Love, Pio
Pio's Proverb 57: "Worst sole surviving air disaster in aviation history."
I remember where I was [in Ann Arbor visiting a dear friend Charlotte] on August 16, 1987 when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed at 8:49 p.m., killing all the crew and all passengers except one 4-year old girl, Cecelia Cichan, who did sustain serious injuries. The mother, Paula Cichan, of this little girl saved her daughter's life by placing her own body over her daughter to protect little Cecilia from injuries. The mother was successful. The seat containing Cecelia was found clear of the wreckage face up with Cecelia alive in it. Her mom gave her life to save her daughter's life. The news of this crash came immdiately over the TV, and I heard it all live. It was stunning, a cut to the very heart. The plane crashed into the an overpass of I-94. Many local volunteers went to the scene. One man needed to get therapy when helping to bring the dead into a hanger. The crash was so violent one passenger's head could be seen without brains. That was more than some volunteers could handle. That would be hard for any of us. This was the "worse sole surviving air disaster in aviation history even to this day.
This crash should never have happened. I did not happen because of pilot error but partly because of equiptment failure due to maintence negligence. You won't find these thoughts expressed on the news. How do I know about them? I had occasion to talk to another Northwest Pilot after the crash. How he opened up to me so much is hard to know now after these 24 years. But he trusted me with this information as if I were a fellow pilot. Here is what he said: There is a rule that no one can talk to the pilot on take off. He goes through a check list, of at least 11 items. But a crew member was telling the pilot a joke [caught on tape] that distracted the pilot who had to take off at the set time just before he could check out the near last item: "flaps down". So, the plane began take off with this critical item not checked. The pilot cannot see if the flaps are down or not out his window. So, the crew member is directly the cause of critical pilot interference at take off. How critical are "flaps down". Well, when flaps are normal there still is lift for a plane. But not when a plan is filled to the max: Jet fuel, baggage, and full passengers. Flaps MUST be down in take off to give the plane a boost in life. You know that wings of planes are curved so that air passing over the wing on top moves faster that the air on the bottom of a wing. Where the ait velocity is the greatest, the pressure is is the least. So, air a plane races down the runway, air flowing on top of the wing is flowing much faster than the wind under the wing. Air pressure is 14lbs per square inch on any surface. But when the air flows faster on top of the wing, the air pressure per inch becomes less; thus the air pressure under the wing lifts the plane in the air. The flaps being down helps this greater velocity of air over the surface of the top of the wing.
Flight 255 took off without the flaps down, and the pilot did not know it. He would have known it if her were not distracted by the crew member. The plane took off rolled to the left and hit a pole at the end of the runway servering part of the wing and spilling jet fuel; then it rolled 90 degrees to the right causing the right wing to tear through the roof of the Avis car rental building. Uncontrolled the plane crashed inverted unto Middlebelt Road hitting vehicles. The plane broke apart and burst into flames as it hit a railroad overpass and the overpass of Estbound Intersatate 94.
Secondly, there is an electronic device on board that if take off is attempted with flaps up, the computer of the plane shuts down the take off. That electrical device failed.
Just writing about this great tragedy is heart wrenching and causes me to re-live that night. I pray that God has received all those souls of Flight 255 into His arms to keep them safe forever.
What lessons do we learn? The same as we learned from the Space Shuttle Challenger's disaster. On January 28, 1986, just a year and a half before the Flight 255 disaster, the U.S. Shuttle Challenger exploded during takeoff/launch. Why? Because of executive human caupable error and because of equiptment error. Are not those the two very errors that caused Flight 255 to crash? Let's look at NASA's errors and the equiptment failure: For Ford I did risk assessments on all components in the vehicle. A Major Risk is one that will hold up Job 1, that is the vehicle cannot go into production. The NASA engineer in a memo wrote to an executive that the O- Rings were tested at 50 degrees and above. But launch was at a temperature or 38 degrees. So, therefore, the shuttle launch would be taking place in 38 degrees with essentially an untested part. The engineers also verbally told the executive of this problem; and the executive told the engineer he would bring it up in a meeting with all the other executive team. BUT HE DID NOT. He wanted the launch to go up because millions of dollars were riding on it. To delay would cost money and lose money. The launch went up with an untested part - O-Rings - and they FAILED, killing all the crew. Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher, was warned just before take off - by a would be prophet. He little daughter said to her mom: "Mommy, do not go up in space. It is not safe in space." Now that prophetic message was not taken seriously by her mom. But had Christa McAuilffe thought it over....why her daughter would say such an adult thing and such a critical time....if McAuliffe would have seen in her daughter a prophet speaking for God, then McAuliffe would have saved the whole mission. If she were to have backed out - which she was perfectly free to do - the whole mission would have been saved because the lauch go not go without her. It would have been cancelled. One man who was watching the Chellenger explode heard a little girl screa,omg: "Mommy!" He said: "which broke my heart into millions of pieces like the challenger."
So, now what are the lessons that seem to me to are self evident: Greed kills people. Caulpable human errors kills people. Breaking aviation cockpit rules kills people. Mechanic erros kill people. Not listening to engineers kills people. Not listening to our kids when they speak for God kills people.
Dearest Father in Heaven, it is not You who cause disasters in the world. You try to prevent them. When we break Your Commandments, we hurt ourselves. You did not punish the Prodigal son when he came home to You. You gave him full reistatement into the family and a home-coming pardy. I am sorry that some people blame you because You could have stopped it. But You do things to stop disaster: You sent an engineer and a little girl to stop the Challenger from exploding. You gave common sense to the Flight 255 pilor to stop the crew member from talking to him. The Pilor could have delayed take off and began the check list again once he knew that is was incomplete. You have given us a mind to use in safeguarding life.
Please take to Your bosom, Father, all those who died in Flight 255 and in Challenger. I offer You the Precious Bood of Jesus in attonement for all their sins and the sins of those who caused these disasters. Pardon any and all sins of those who lost their lives and give them the joy of heaven. Give them a great and joyous home-coming party and blissful eternal life with you. Reunite all of them with their families one day in Heaven. All this we ask in Jesus' Name.
Love, Pio
This crash should never have happened. I did not happen because of pilot error but partly because of equiptment failure due to maintence negligence. You won't find these thoughts expressed on the news. How do I know about them? I had occasion to talk to another Northwest Pilot after the crash. How he opened up to me so much is hard to know now after these 24 years. But he trusted me with this information as if I were a fellow pilot. Here is what he said: There is a rule that no one can talk to the pilot on take off. He goes through a check list, of at least 11 items. But a crew member was telling the pilot a joke [caught on tape] that distracted the pilot who had to take off at the set time just before he could check out the near last item: "flaps down". So, the plane began take off with this critical item not checked. The pilot cannot see if the flaps are down or not out his window. So, the crew member is directly the cause of critical pilot interference at take off. How critical are "flaps down". Well, when flaps are normal there still is lift for a plane. But not when a plan is filled to the max: Jet fuel, baggage, and full passengers. Flaps MUST be down in take off to give the plane a boost in life. You know that wings of planes are curved so that air passing over the wing on top moves faster that the air on the bottom of a wing. Where the ait velocity is the greatest, the pressure is is the least. So, air a plane races down the runway, air flowing on top of the wing is flowing much faster than the wind under the wing. Air pressure is 14lbs per square inch on any surface. But when the air flows faster on top of the wing, the air pressure per inch becomes less; thus the air pressure under the wing lifts the plane in the air. The flaps being down helps this greater velocity of air over the surface of the top of the wing.
Flight 255 took off without the flaps down, and the pilot did not know it. He would have known it if her were not distracted by the crew member. The plane took off rolled to the left and hit a pole at the end of the runway servering part of the wing and spilling jet fuel; then it rolled 90 degrees to the right causing the right wing to tear through the roof of the Avis car rental building. Uncontrolled the plane crashed inverted unto Middlebelt Road hitting vehicles. The plane broke apart and burst into flames as it hit a railroad overpass and the overpass of Estbound Intersatate 94.
Secondly, there is an electronic device on board that if take off is attempted with flaps up, the computer of the plane shuts down the take off. That electrical device failed.
Just writing about this great tragedy is heart wrenching and causes me to re-live that night. I pray that God has received all those souls of Flight 255 into His arms to keep them safe forever.
What lessons do we learn? The same as we learned from the Space Shuttle Challenger's disaster. On January 28, 1986, just a year and a half before the Flight 255 disaster, the U.S. Shuttle Challenger exploded during takeoff/launch. Why? Because of executive human caupable error and because of equiptment error. Are not those the two very errors that caused Flight 255 to crash? Let's look at NASA's errors and the equiptment failure: For Ford I did risk assessments on all components in the vehicle. A Major Risk is one that will hold up Job 1, that is the vehicle cannot go into production. The NASA engineer in a memo wrote to an executive that the O- Rings were tested at 50 degrees and above. But launch was at a temperature or 38 degrees. So, therefore, the shuttle launch would be taking place in 38 degrees with essentially an untested part. The engineers also verbally told the executive of this problem; and the executive told the engineer he would bring it up in a meeting with all the other executive team. BUT HE DID NOT. He wanted the launch to go up because millions of dollars were riding on it. To delay would cost money and lose money. The launch went up with an untested part - O-Rings - and they FAILED, killing all the crew. Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher, was warned just before take off - by a would be prophet. He little daughter said to her mom: "Mommy, do not go up in space. It is not safe in space." Now that prophetic message was not taken seriously by her mom. But had Christa McAuilffe thought it over....why her daughter would say such an adult thing and such a critical time....if McAuliffe would have seen in her daughter a prophet speaking for God, then McAuliffe would have saved the whole mission. If she were to have backed out - which she was perfectly free to do - the whole mission would have been saved because the lauch go not go without her. It would have been cancelled. One man who was watching the Chellenger explode heard a little girl screa,omg: "Mommy!" He said: "which broke my heart into millions of pieces like the challenger."
So, now what are the lessons that seem to me to are self evident: Greed kills people. Caulpable human errors kills people. Breaking aviation cockpit rules kills people. Mechanic erros kill people. Not listening to engineers kills people. Not listening to our kids when they speak for God kills people.
Dearest Father in Heaven, it is not You who cause disasters in the world. You try to prevent them. When we break Your Commandments, we hurt ourselves. You did not punish the Prodigal son when he came home to You. You gave him full reistatement into the family and a home-coming pardy. I am sorry that some people blame you because You could have stopped it. But You do things to stop disaster: You sent an engineer and a little girl to stop the Challenger from exploding. You gave common sense to the Flight 255 pilor to stop the crew member from talking to him. The Pilor could have delayed take off and began the check list again once he knew that is was incomplete. You have given us a mind to use in safeguarding life.
Please take to Your bosom, Father, all those who died in Flight 255 and in Challenger. I offer You the Precious Bood of Jesus in attonement for all their sins and the sins of those who caused these disasters. Pardon any and all sins of those who lost their lives and give them the joy of heaven. Give them a great and joyous home-coming party and blissful eternal life with you. Reunite all of them with their families one day in Heaven. All this we ask in Jesus' Name.
Love, Pio
Pio's Proverb 56: Are you a good cook? "Tutti alla favola a mangare!"
In Malta, an island off the boot of Sicily, to cook is to love. "Cooking" and "loving" are synonymous. For example: I was studying for a exam for my Masters in Psychology. I assigned 1 minute and 50 seconds for each page of my text to cover all the ground needed to be prepared for the big exam. For 4 hours I did not move. My dad down stairs was concerned. I heard him coming up the steps carrying a tray of food. He had earned the money that bought this food, he prepared it and now he was serving it to me. He placed it b efore me and said; "It is time to eat, my son." Before I could say anything he disappeared down the steps. He had on the tray: a glass of milk, a beautiful steak, kernal corn, a peach half with cottage cheese, and a napkin. I took out the 4 minutes it took to devour this feast. My dad is an excellent cook. He won prizes when he was at age 11. I can cook as well as he did. I am a good cook because I saw that it could be done. He was a painter; so I am a painter. He was a cook; so I am a cook. Actually, these abilities are related because painting is cooking with colors. So, for the Maltese, cooking is loving.
How good a cook are you; and how did you become so? A grandma was such a great cook that her grandchildren came prepared to take down all her main recipes. They asked her to show them her recipes. She smiled and showed them all her two hands. She was saying with this great gesture that "experience" is all the recipe she would be handing down to them. That is how I learned to cook. I just saw my dad do it.
Jesus was a cook. After the resurrection, he was on the beach with a fish cooking on a charcoal fire. He asked His disciples to bring some of the fish they had caught so as to have a feast for breakfast. Hard to imagine Jesus with an apron on; but at Nazareth He probably cooked a many a meal for his parents. He was there till age 30. Well, He learned well how to cook. Even at the Last Supper preparations, He seems to know what to get and how to prepare it. He even gave Himself as Bread of Life, His Body and Blood to nurish His disciples. He seems to know about food. He also knows about wine. He changed 7 stone water jars into choice wine for the wedding feas of Cana. Food was important to Jesus and for the Kingdom of God.
It was getting toward evening time, and the deciples asked Jesus to dismiss the crowds so that the people could go into the nearbye villages and get something to eat. Jesus said for them, themselves, to cook up something - to give the people something to eat. The desciples said we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus blest and broke the loaves and gave them to the deciples to give to the people. "5,000 men not counting women and children ate their fill." "It is all about sharingd, "says Fr. Saji. "God cannot do anything with us unless we share." And there were 12 wicker baskets were filled of the leftover fragments. A great, great miracle. But Jesus has compassion for the people. He said: "The people do not have to go away; you, yourself, give them something to eat. " So, Jesus' love to feed people is passed on to His deciples. He makes cooks up something for them all! There were about 10,000 people there. Not even the today's best caterors in existence could have handled that crowd without notice. These fish were cooked; He did not give out raw fish. Jesus gave out cooked fish. He is the Master Cook of all times. He is the Master Lover of all times. Can you not hear Jesus saying this Italian phrases in Hebrew: "Tutti alla favola a mangare." - "Everyone come to the table to eat."
Love,
Pio
How good a cook are you; and how did you become so? A grandma was such a great cook that her grandchildren came prepared to take down all her main recipes. They asked her to show them her recipes. She smiled and showed them all her two hands. She was saying with this great gesture that "experience" is all the recipe she would be handing down to them. That is how I learned to cook. I just saw my dad do it.
Jesus was a cook. After the resurrection, he was on the beach with a fish cooking on a charcoal fire. He asked His disciples to bring some of the fish they had caught so as to have a feast for breakfast. Hard to imagine Jesus with an apron on; but at Nazareth He probably cooked a many a meal for his parents. He was there till age 30. Well, He learned well how to cook. Even at the Last Supper preparations, He seems to know what to get and how to prepare it. He even gave Himself as Bread of Life, His Body and Blood to nurish His disciples. He seems to know about food. He also knows about wine. He changed 7 stone water jars into choice wine for the wedding feas of Cana. Food was important to Jesus and for the Kingdom of God.
It was getting toward evening time, and the deciples asked Jesus to dismiss the crowds so that the people could go into the nearbye villages and get something to eat. Jesus said for them, themselves, to cook up something - to give the people something to eat. The desciples said we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus blest and broke the loaves and gave them to the deciples to give to the people. "5,000 men not counting women and children ate their fill." "It is all about sharingd, "says Fr. Saji. "God cannot do anything with us unless we share." And there were 12 wicker baskets were filled of the leftover fragments. A great, great miracle. But Jesus has compassion for the people. He said: "The people do not have to go away; you, yourself, give them something to eat. " So, Jesus' love to feed people is passed on to His deciples. He makes cooks up something for them all! There were about 10,000 people there. Not even the today's best caterors in existence could have handled that crowd without notice. These fish were cooked; He did not give out raw fish. Jesus gave out cooked fish. He is the Master Cook of all times. He is the Master Lover of all times. Can you not hear Jesus saying this Italian phrases in Hebrew: "Tutti alla favola a mangare." - "Everyone come to the table to eat."
Love,
Pio
Friday, July 29, 2011
Pio's Proverb 55: "Where your treasure is, there is your heart also." Words of Jesus.
Let's see where the treasure and heart were for many:
1) Francis of Assissi - Jesus.
2) Joan of Arc - Jesus.
3) Thomas More - Jesus.
4) Paul of Tarsus - Jesus.
5) John Paul II - Jesus.
6) Napoleon - to rule the world for his own glory.
6) Hitler - to rule the world and make it Godless.
7) Alexander the Great - to rule the world.
8) Caesar - to rule the world.
9) Aristotle - wisdom.
10) Damian of Molokai - cure lepers for Jesus.
11) Kateri Takawatha - Jesus.
12) Bernadette of Lourdes - Jesus and Mary.
13) Nixon - to be re-elected.
14) John Kennedy - Peace Core.
15) Anthony of Padua - Jesus.
16) Linberg - fly the Atlantic.
17) Beatrice Potter - stories for children.
18) Hugh Heffner - sex for its own sake.
19) Pres. Obama - to rule the U.S. without God.
20) Mother Teresa of Calcutta - to love the poor for Jesus.
21 Pio - God the Father.
22 You -
If your name were added to this list, what would Jesus write after your name in just 3 or 4 words? What is your greatest treasure. There is your heart as well!
Love, Pio
1) Francis of Assissi - Jesus.
2) Joan of Arc - Jesus.
3) Thomas More - Jesus.
4) Paul of Tarsus - Jesus.
5) John Paul II - Jesus.
6) Napoleon - to rule the world for his own glory.
6) Hitler - to rule the world and make it Godless.
7) Alexander the Great - to rule the world.
8) Caesar - to rule the world.
9) Aristotle - wisdom.
10) Damian of Molokai - cure lepers for Jesus.
11) Kateri Takawatha - Jesus.
12) Bernadette of Lourdes - Jesus and Mary.
13) Nixon - to be re-elected.
14) John Kennedy - Peace Core.
15) Anthony of Padua - Jesus.
16) Linberg - fly the Atlantic.
17) Beatrice Potter - stories for children.
18) Hugh Heffner - sex for its own sake.
19) Pres. Obama - to rule the U.S. without God.
20) Mother Teresa of Calcutta - to love the poor for Jesus.
21 Pio - God the Father.
22 You -
If your name were added to this list, what would Jesus write after your name in just 3 or 4 words? What is your greatest treasure. There is your heart as well!
Love, Pio
Pio's Proverb 54: Why be Catholic? See RCIABlog.com
Why become Catholic? Here are a few reasons:
1) It is the Truth because Jesus is the Truth and the Church is Jesus' Body on earth.
2) History tells us that not only did Jesus live but that he established His Church.
3) Jesus said: "Thou are Peter and upon this rock I will build My church." These same words are written in very large letters around the inside of the dome of St. Peter's in Rome: "Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam mean."
4) The Saints are the Heroes of the Church. From St. Stephen, the first martyr to St. Gianna Bolla, surgeon and Saint who gave her life to bring her child into the world. Her child is now a surgeon like her saintly mom. St. Gianna would not take the medicine to save her own life because it would kill her baby in her womb. Her daughter and husband were present at St.Gianna's cannonization in Rome by Blessed John Paul II.
5) Only the Catholic Church has the true Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist. [John 6: 51-71].
6) Only the Catholic Church teaches all the is true as to Faith and Moral. She cannot error. Jesus promised He would be with her till the end of time.
7) The Catholic Chursh fulfills all the basic needs of the human heart.
8) You cannot go to another religion to find more of the truth. The Catholic Church is the repository of all truth and holiness throughout the ages. Despite the sins of some in the Church, the Church has never ever taught those sins to others but has deplored them. The Catholic Church is Divine established by Jesus Christ, Himself. But those who are in the Church are human and may have sinned and have to repent and be saved by Jesus. But the Catholic Church, herself, is One, Holy, Catholic in its foundations and in its dogmas. It is impossible for the Church to teach error in Faith and Morals. The Pope and the Magisterium of the Church of Jesus Christ is infallible only as to Faith and Morals. It is fallible in astronomy or music. Although the man who formulated the first proposal of the "Big Band Theory" was a Catholic priest. Also, Antonio Vivaldi, composer of the "Four Season" received his inspiration during holy Mass that he was celebrating. Yes, Vivalvi was a red-beard Catholic Priest. He left the altar to write down all the he was inspired to write.
9) Jesus Christ Himself has said about all peoples: "Father, that they would be one just as You and I are one that they may be one in us." Jesus wants all in His Holy Catholic Church - all to be One with Him. He wants true worshippers "In Spirit and Truth."
10) I have been Catholic all my life. I never have gotten full of liturgy...but am always hugry for more. The Liturgy is so incredibly rich. The Mass reads all the Scriptures in three years. The lives of the Saints are commoraded. The Church teaches us in the Liturgy how to best worship and love God. The Liturgy we celebrate is the mirror of the Lamb's Supper as written to us by John in the book of Revelation. At Mass, Jesus is offered to the Father for the sins of all humankind. He does not die over and over again as some Prostestants believe; but when we gather at Mass, we ARE at the foot of Calvary and Present at the once death of Christ for all humankind. Every Mass transports us to the One Sacrifice on the Cross.
Therefore, if you wish to become Roman Catholic to please the Lord, please know you can join any RCIA class at the nearest Catholic Church to you. RCIA means "Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults." It is for non-Catholics to "come and see". It is for Catholics who may have been away for some time. It is for Catholics who have not made their first Holy Communion or Confirmation or who just want a refresher course. There is a bond of those in class with Christ and with each other. The Holy Spirit is there. Google RCIABlog.com or just RCIA which will give you Rite of Christian Initiaon for Adutls Catholic Inquiry.
I asked a Lutheran who was in my class at Immaculate Conception who was so kind as to invite him to RCIA. He said that no one had invited him. I asked how did he learn about RCIA. He answered with this brief story that tells us much about the Holy Spirit's call to RCIA. He said: "I was flying my two-seater airplane and made a big mistake while making a left turn. I lost lift and went into a dive. [There are two ways to make a left turn: the right way and the wrong way. The right way is to use the wing ailerons in order to bank into the turn. The wrong way is to use the rudder which would just cause the plane to turn keeping the plane horizontal and thus skimming the air and causing the plane to lose lift.] I knew I could not pull out of this dive as the ailerons would not work. I knew I was going to die. So, I prayed to God. God answered immediately since I only had seconds to live. God sent an incredibly strong wind that flipped my plane upside down a couple of times and then put me perfect into the turn I wanted to go. The turn was perfect by the book as if God were flying my plane. When I got down. I was out of breath. I sat there and said to myself. 'For the rest of my life, I am going DIRECTLY TO GOD. And that is the CATHOLIC CHURCH!'"
The RCIA class he and I were attending was at the church of the Immaculate Conception in Anchorville. If you wish to attend that RCIA, call Jane Petitpren on 585-725-1762 or email her on mailto:janepetitpren@comast.net
I met Christine at the Court House in Mt. Clemens as I do legal work. She was in a double-wide wheel chair. She looked to be about 35 years old and weighed 470 lbs. She looked sad to me; so I thought I would go and cheer her up. I got close to her face so she would not have to bend her head too much and said to her: "You are beautiful!" She responded with: "I don't think so!" I said: "Of course you are and I can prove it to you." She said: "How can you prove that I am beautiful?" I said: "I am an artist. I will sketch you and prove you are beautiful." I thus sketch her in about 12 minutes from a side view as to not show her weight. I gave her the picture to keep. She took in her hand and looked at it and said: "Maybe I am beautiful!" I said: "Of course you are!" I talked to her about the Catholic Church and invited her to become Catholic. She said: "I am a happy Babtist. Why should I become Catholic?" I said: "Why don't you go to RCIA and see." I was inviting her to "Come and see!" She said she would to preach the Word of God to get those Catholics saved. She did that. She pinned those priests to the wall and told them what their vocation really was in Biblical terms. They were kind of afraid of her; but grew to love and respect this woman of God. She did become Catholic because as she said: "I go where the love is!" After receiving her first Holy Communion on Easter Saturday Vigil Mass, she said she was so overjoyed that she wanted to go down the street running waving her arms!" She said: "I have gone to comunion in the Baptist church many times but never felt anything. But I have never experienced this much joy in my life." Jesus in the Holy Eucharist did something I did not anticipate. He healed her eating habit. She no longer needed 3 pizzas a day. She had Jesus in the Eucharist and did not need pizza-comfort. Christine is now 220 lbs and looks beautiful. I just saw her a few days ago when she brought over her friend Carolyn who also because of Christine has become Catholic. Actually, Christine has made an evangelist out of me and told me to ask everyone I meet to go to RCIA. She said: "Even if only one goes to RCIA out of a hundren. That is one!"
Because I needed to wait for my car to be repaired at Midas, they told me to go to MacDonald next door and wait there. I did and was there for five hours. While there a woman about 60 was having lunch. We began to talk over the distance of a few tables. She invited me over and then so enjoyed my conversation that she asked me to lunch. She was buying and I was eating: sounds good to me. Of course after she told me all about her life, all about her marriages and about her scary experiences in the church of the Jehovah Witnesses [She was threatened bodily harm when she wanted to leave.], I then invited her to RCIA. Then after she told me she was an FBI agent and probably carrying a gun, I thought that she would need absolute perfect details of how to get to the RCIA at Immaculate Conception, in Anchorville. I gave her such a detailed perfect map that she would know the location of the building on campus. She would know what door to enter, what hall to go down and what room to enter and where to sit. She said she did not feel worth to be accepted into the Catholic Church because of her many marriages. I told her that those marriages were annulled and have no bearing on her worthiness. Besides, I told her St. Paul killed St. Stephen and became a chosen vessel of the Lord to bring the Good News to the Gentiles. I told her that this feelling of unworthiness was probably a temptation of the devil. He always accuses. Jesus always forgives. So, she went and I told her to see Jane Petitpren, the director of RCIA. Jane's RCIA class is the best RCIA in the whole archdioces.
Well, Vi did go and entered RCIA with all her heart. In three months, she was a full Catholic. She called me a few weeks after Easter and told me she had a profound peace and joy.
So can you! Come and see! Come to RCIA! The Holy Spirit is calling you!
Love,
Pio
1) It is the Truth because Jesus is the Truth and the Church is Jesus' Body on earth.
2) History tells us that not only did Jesus live but that he established His Church.
3) Jesus said: "Thou are Peter and upon this rock I will build My church." These same words are written in very large letters around the inside of the dome of St. Peter's in Rome: "Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam mean."
4) The Saints are the Heroes of the Church. From St. Stephen, the first martyr to St. Gianna Bolla, surgeon and Saint who gave her life to bring her child into the world. Her child is now a surgeon like her saintly mom. St. Gianna would not take the medicine to save her own life because it would kill her baby in her womb. Her daughter and husband were present at St.Gianna's cannonization in Rome by Blessed John Paul II.
5) Only the Catholic Church has the true Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist. [John 6: 51-71].
6) Only the Catholic Church teaches all the is true as to Faith and Moral. She cannot error. Jesus promised He would be with her till the end of time.
7) The Catholic Chursh fulfills all the basic needs of the human heart.
8) You cannot go to another religion to find more of the truth. The Catholic Church is the repository of all truth and holiness throughout the ages. Despite the sins of some in the Church, the Church has never ever taught those sins to others but has deplored them. The Catholic Church is Divine established by Jesus Christ, Himself. But those who are in the Church are human and may have sinned and have to repent and be saved by Jesus. But the Catholic Church, herself, is One, Holy, Catholic in its foundations and in its dogmas. It is impossible for the Church to teach error in Faith and Morals. The Pope and the Magisterium of the Church of Jesus Christ is infallible only as to Faith and Morals. It is fallible in astronomy or music. Although the man who formulated the first proposal of the "Big Band Theory" was a Catholic priest. Also, Antonio Vivaldi, composer of the "Four Season" received his inspiration during holy Mass that he was celebrating. Yes, Vivalvi was a red-beard Catholic Priest. He left the altar to write down all the he was inspired to write.
9) Jesus Christ Himself has said about all peoples: "Father, that they would be one just as You and I are one that they may be one in us." Jesus wants all in His Holy Catholic Church - all to be One with Him. He wants true worshippers "In Spirit and Truth."
10) I have been Catholic all my life. I never have gotten full of liturgy...but am always hugry for more. The Liturgy is so incredibly rich. The Mass reads all the Scriptures in three years. The lives of the Saints are commoraded. The Church teaches us in the Liturgy how to best worship and love God. The Liturgy we celebrate is the mirror of the Lamb's Supper as written to us by John in the book of Revelation. At Mass, Jesus is offered to the Father for the sins of all humankind. He does not die over and over again as some Prostestants believe; but when we gather at Mass, we ARE at the foot of Calvary and Present at the once death of Christ for all humankind. Every Mass transports us to the One Sacrifice on the Cross.
Therefore, if you wish to become Roman Catholic to please the Lord, please know you can join any RCIA class at the nearest Catholic Church to you. RCIA means "Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults." It is for non-Catholics to "come and see". It is for Catholics who may have been away for some time. It is for Catholics who have not made their first Holy Communion or Confirmation or who just want a refresher course. There is a bond of those in class with Christ and with each other. The Holy Spirit is there. Google RCIABlog.com or just RCIA which will give you Rite of Christian Initiaon for Adutls Catholic Inquiry.
I asked a Lutheran who was in my class at Immaculate Conception who was so kind as to invite him to RCIA. He said that no one had invited him. I asked how did he learn about RCIA. He answered with this brief story that tells us much about the Holy Spirit's call to RCIA. He said: "I was flying my two-seater airplane and made a big mistake while making a left turn. I lost lift and went into a dive. [There are two ways to make a left turn: the right way and the wrong way. The right way is to use the wing ailerons in order to bank into the turn. The wrong way is to use the rudder which would just cause the plane to turn keeping the plane horizontal and thus skimming the air and causing the plane to lose lift.] I knew I could not pull out of this dive as the ailerons would not work. I knew I was going to die. So, I prayed to God. God answered immediately since I only had seconds to live. God sent an incredibly strong wind that flipped my plane upside down a couple of times and then put me perfect into the turn I wanted to go. The turn was perfect by the book as if God were flying my plane. When I got down. I was out of breath. I sat there and said to myself. 'For the rest of my life, I am going DIRECTLY TO GOD. And that is the CATHOLIC CHURCH!'"
The RCIA class he and I were attending was at the church of the Immaculate Conception in Anchorville. If you wish to attend that RCIA, call Jane Petitpren on 585-725-1762 or email her on mailto:janepetitpren@comast.net
I met Christine at the Court House in Mt. Clemens as I do legal work. She was in a double-wide wheel chair. She looked to be about 35 years old and weighed 470 lbs. She looked sad to me; so I thought I would go and cheer her up. I got close to her face so she would not have to bend her head too much and said to her: "You are beautiful!" She responded with: "I don't think so!" I said: "Of course you are and I can prove it to you." She said: "How can you prove that I am beautiful?" I said: "I am an artist. I will sketch you and prove you are beautiful." I thus sketch her in about 12 minutes from a side view as to not show her weight. I gave her the picture to keep. She took in her hand and looked at it and said: "Maybe I am beautiful!" I said: "Of course you are!" I talked to her about the Catholic Church and invited her to become Catholic. She said: "I am a happy Babtist. Why should I become Catholic?" I said: "Why don't you go to RCIA and see." I was inviting her to "Come and see!" She said she would to preach the Word of God to get those Catholics saved. She did that. She pinned those priests to the wall and told them what their vocation really was in Biblical terms. They were kind of afraid of her; but grew to love and respect this woman of God. She did become Catholic because as she said: "I go where the love is!" After receiving her first Holy Communion on Easter Saturday Vigil Mass, she said she was so overjoyed that she wanted to go down the street running waving her arms!" She said: "I have gone to comunion in the Baptist church many times but never felt anything. But I have never experienced this much joy in my life." Jesus in the Holy Eucharist did something I did not anticipate. He healed her eating habit. She no longer needed 3 pizzas a day. She had Jesus in the Eucharist and did not need pizza-comfort. Christine is now 220 lbs and looks beautiful. I just saw her a few days ago when she brought over her friend Carolyn who also because of Christine has become Catholic. Actually, Christine has made an evangelist out of me and told me to ask everyone I meet to go to RCIA. She said: "Even if only one goes to RCIA out of a hundren. That is one!"
Because I needed to wait for my car to be repaired at Midas, they told me to go to MacDonald next door and wait there. I did and was there for five hours. While there a woman about 60 was having lunch. We began to talk over the distance of a few tables. She invited me over and then so enjoyed my conversation that she asked me to lunch. She was buying and I was eating: sounds good to me. Of course after she told me all about her life, all about her marriages and about her scary experiences in the church of the Jehovah Witnesses [She was threatened bodily harm when she wanted to leave.], I then invited her to RCIA. Then after she told me she was an FBI agent and probably carrying a gun, I thought that she would need absolute perfect details of how to get to the RCIA at Immaculate Conception, in Anchorville. I gave her such a detailed perfect map that she would know the location of the building on campus. She would know what door to enter, what hall to go down and what room to enter and where to sit. She said she did not feel worth to be accepted into the Catholic Church because of her many marriages. I told her that those marriages were annulled and have no bearing on her worthiness. Besides, I told her St. Paul killed St. Stephen and became a chosen vessel of the Lord to bring the Good News to the Gentiles. I told her that this feelling of unworthiness was probably a temptation of the devil. He always accuses. Jesus always forgives. So, she went and I told her to see Jane Petitpren, the director of RCIA. Jane's RCIA class is the best RCIA in the whole archdioces.
Well, Vi did go and entered RCIA with all her heart. In three months, she was a full Catholic. She called me a few weeks after Easter and told me she had a profound peace and joy.
So can you! Come and see! Come to RCIA! The Holy Spirit is calling you!
Love,
Pio
Pio's Proverb 53: Letters saved a life and future lives.
Waiting for a bus in Dearborn, Michigan, I noticed the letters carried by a young woman who looked to be about 21 years old. The handwriting caught my eye because I had studied hand writing. Actually, a signature is a mini-drawing, a portrait of the person who writes it. Being an artist I knew the meaning of line. In art school, the teacher said to follow the feeling of the line of the object we were drawing. He said if it goes swiftly, then draw it swiftly. If it is slow and winding, draw that with the feeling of what you are seeing. Of course the lines of the curves of the human body are the most beautiful and mystical of anything on earth. In a sense, the human body's lines ARE the signature of God.
As I kept looking at the handwriting of the lady next to me, she may have noticed; I am not sure. But I did have the courage to ask her a personal question. I asked: "Excuse me. I do not wish to be too forward; but have you ever attempted suicide?" She was silent and did not answer except to slowing raise her left hand and show me her wrists that had three large scares perpendicular to her veins. That was her silent answer. My response was immediate: "I will give you therapy for six months for free!" To my surprise, she agreed!
That began a friendship that would not only save her life but future lives.
For the first three months of therapy, she just coughed up the phlegm of her life. She was a writer, poet and intellectual; but the language she expressed the early years of her life and the present was like of a sailor. I did not correct her in any way. I just listened without judgment only with unconditional acceptance and caring. By the fifth month, she entered into a great calm and peace. I believed she was no longer in danger of killing herself. She felt very grateful and free of much inner oppression. She invited me for dinner with her parents in Dearbon. I thought that seemed appropriate and would be good to see how she related to her parents and how they related to her. Her father, though kind, was not really mentally here on this earth. Where he lived was pleasant enough, however. I suspect he contributed unwittingly to her misperceptions of herself and of life in general. He mom was fine. Dinner was pleasant and peaceful. All got along very well.
Then Glory said to me: "I have some poetry I wish to show you down stairs [in her finished basement]. I thought nothing of it since she was a very good writer. As I was going down the steps, I heard Gloria lock the basement door from our side. It was a big click. So, I said: "Why are you locking the door, Gloria?"
She said: "You have been most kind to me in giving me therapy; now I am going to repay you. I am going to give you my whole self!" I gently told her: "Thank you for wanting to thank me; but I cannot do that because it will bring you back to square one. You are much more than the gift of yourself in this way. Besides, were I to do that, you will never know if that were my motive from the start and that I was only willing to wait. But if I do not do this, then you can be utterly sure of my sincerity and that that was not my motive." She said: "I know that that was not your motive for the start. I just want to give myself to you. I must. You must let me."
Well, now I was in a little dilemma. I could not do this but I also could not smash her true feelings to give of herself in some way. But giving of herself is not the same as giving herself sexually. I wanted to teach her the difference and had the opportunity to teach her now. I knew also that what she was showing me was a classic case of "transference". Tranference in therapy happens when the client seems to fall in love witt the therapist because the therapist represents the dad she never had or a beloved spouse she never had. The unconditional love of the therapist evokes this response in the client. It is a serious condition if the therapist has transference, too. That is serious because in the case of double transference, the client can leave worse than she was before she came. I did not have transference. But I needed to use this opportunity to do her one last therapy session lesson:
I told her: "If you promise to make a promise that I give you, then I will take care of you." She said: "What is the promise?" I said: "You have to promise to make the promise without know what the promise is.?" She said: "If I make this promise, will you really take care of me?" I said: "Yes, I will take care of you." [Of course I did not disclose what this "care" would be.] She was so anxious to love me, so ardent, that she promised to promise what ever I asked of her. I said: "Promise me that you will never make love to anyman unless you are married to him." She protested in kind of a plea and said: "I cannot be celibate!" I did believe her concern; but still I said to her: "If you make the promise, I will take care of you." She made the promise: "I promise to not make love to any man unless I am married to him!" Now giving her word for Gloria is like giving herself. Words were sacred to her. Then she said with great fervor and expectation: "Now take care of me!" To which I made this seriouis reply: "You have just now giving me your word that you will never make love to any man unless you are married to him. Are you married to me? Are you going to break you word within a minute of making your profound promise that God has heard?"
"You have tricked me!!", Gloria pleaded. [This was true. I did. But my motive was true-blue. I knew that she would find a good man with that attitude the promised would cause her to have into her future. ] I told her I did "care" for her and always would care for her. She realized I would NOT do as she hoped for and that even if she wished to, she could not because of her promise. She gave up. She took me upstairs and opened the door. We talked a while in her living room. She gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. That was ok. We both said our good-bye and thanks. I was proud of her. I knew the therapy was over. I never saw Gloria again in my life time.
Fifteen years later while I was at work at Ford Engineering, I got a call at my desk. A woman was on the line and said: "This is Gloria!" Honestly, I did not know who she was and asked: "Gloria who?" Then she immitated the voice of Gloria I heard in the first month of therapy. I said: "O! That Gloria! How are you and How did you get my number?" [Just hearing her voice told me the therapy was a success!] Gloria said that she had a nurse at UM Hospital who had a name tag of "Cynthia Zammit, RN" She asked the nurse if she knew a Peter Zammit [Peter is my middle name.] Cynthia said: "I should know him. He is my dad!" Gloria had some nice things to say to Cynthia about me; but just imagine how catastrophic it would have been if I had given in to Gloria's disires. I would have lost both Gloria and Cynthia. I thank God for giving me the grace to say "no". It led to many "yeses" So, Cynthia gave Gloria my number at work and her Gloria was on the line after fifteen years of silence.
Gloria said: "I only have three things to say to you: First, I kept that...that...promise!" [Seems that keeping that promise was not easy and caused her some human suffering. But it paid off. Secondly, I am married and have three children." [Well, now this man could not have her unless he married her. Great! That was my hope!] Thirdly, if I had not met you at the bus stop, I would have eventually been sucessful in killing myself." That is all she wanted to say. She said it with emphasis and closure. She was grateful. I am was grateful.
God was grateful for her life and for the lives of her children. Had she taken her life, she would not have these children. Now those children have children.
Gloria's letters in her arms saved her own life and all the future lives that have and will come from her.
God bless you, Gloria and your children! God so love you, my dear Gloria!
Love, Pio
wthat
As I kept looking at the handwriting of the lady next to me, she may have noticed; I am not sure. But I did have the courage to ask her a personal question. I asked: "Excuse me. I do not wish to be too forward; but have you ever attempted suicide?" She was silent and did not answer except to slowing raise her left hand and show me her wrists that had three large scares perpendicular to her veins. That was her silent answer. My response was immediate: "I will give you therapy for six months for free!" To my surprise, she agreed!
That began a friendship that would not only save her life but future lives.
For the first three months of therapy, she just coughed up the phlegm of her life. She was a writer, poet and intellectual; but the language she expressed the early years of her life and the present was like of a sailor. I did not correct her in any way. I just listened without judgment only with unconditional acceptance and caring. By the fifth month, she entered into a great calm and peace. I believed she was no longer in danger of killing herself. She felt very grateful and free of much inner oppression. She invited me for dinner with her parents in Dearbon. I thought that seemed appropriate and would be good to see how she related to her parents and how they related to her. Her father, though kind, was not really mentally here on this earth. Where he lived was pleasant enough, however. I suspect he contributed unwittingly to her misperceptions of herself and of life in general. He mom was fine. Dinner was pleasant and peaceful. All got along very well.
Then Glory said to me: "I have some poetry I wish to show you down stairs [in her finished basement]. I thought nothing of it since she was a very good writer. As I was going down the steps, I heard Gloria lock the basement door from our side. It was a big click. So, I said: "Why are you locking the door, Gloria?"
She said: "You have been most kind to me in giving me therapy; now I am going to repay you. I am going to give you my whole self!" I gently told her: "Thank you for wanting to thank me; but I cannot do that because it will bring you back to square one. You are much more than the gift of yourself in this way. Besides, were I to do that, you will never know if that were my motive from the start and that I was only willing to wait. But if I do not do this, then you can be utterly sure of my sincerity and that that was not my motive." She said: "I know that that was not your motive for the start. I just want to give myself to you. I must. You must let me."
Well, now I was in a little dilemma. I could not do this but I also could not smash her true feelings to give of herself in some way. But giving of herself is not the same as giving herself sexually. I wanted to teach her the difference and had the opportunity to teach her now. I knew also that what she was showing me was a classic case of "transference". Tranference in therapy happens when the client seems to fall in love witt the therapist because the therapist represents the dad she never had or a beloved spouse she never had. The unconditional love of the therapist evokes this response in the client. It is a serious condition if the therapist has transference, too. That is serious because in the case of double transference, the client can leave worse than she was before she came. I did not have transference. But I needed to use this opportunity to do her one last therapy session lesson:
I told her: "If you promise to make a promise that I give you, then I will take care of you." She said: "What is the promise?" I said: "You have to promise to make the promise without know what the promise is.?" She said: "If I make this promise, will you really take care of me?" I said: "Yes, I will take care of you." [Of course I did not disclose what this "care" would be.] She was so anxious to love me, so ardent, that she promised to promise what ever I asked of her. I said: "Promise me that you will never make love to anyman unless you are married to him." She protested in kind of a plea and said: "I cannot be celibate!" I did believe her concern; but still I said to her: "If you make the promise, I will take care of you." She made the promise: "I promise to not make love to any man unless I am married to him!" Now giving her word for Gloria is like giving herself. Words were sacred to her. Then she said with great fervor and expectation: "Now take care of me!" To which I made this seriouis reply: "You have just now giving me your word that you will never make love to any man unless you are married to him. Are you married to me? Are you going to break you word within a minute of making your profound promise that God has heard?"
"You have tricked me!!", Gloria pleaded. [This was true. I did. But my motive was true-blue. I knew that she would find a good man with that attitude the promised would cause her to have into her future. ] I told her I did "care" for her and always would care for her. She realized I would NOT do as she hoped for and that even if she wished to, she could not because of her promise. She gave up. She took me upstairs and opened the door. We talked a while in her living room. She gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. That was ok. We both said our good-bye and thanks. I was proud of her. I knew the therapy was over. I never saw Gloria again in my life time.
Fifteen years later while I was at work at Ford Engineering, I got a call at my desk. A woman was on the line and said: "This is Gloria!" Honestly, I did not know who she was and asked: "Gloria who?" Then she immitated the voice of Gloria I heard in the first month of therapy. I said: "O! That Gloria! How are you and How did you get my number?" [Just hearing her voice told me the therapy was a success!] Gloria said that she had a nurse at UM Hospital who had a name tag of "Cynthia Zammit, RN" She asked the nurse if she knew a Peter Zammit [Peter is my middle name.] Cynthia said: "I should know him. He is my dad!" Gloria had some nice things to say to Cynthia about me; but just imagine how catastrophic it would have been if I had given in to Gloria's disires. I would have lost both Gloria and Cynthia. I thank God for giving me the grace to say "no". It led to many "yeses" So, Cynthia gave Gloria my number at work and her Gloria was on the line after fifteen years of silence.
Gloria said: "I only have three things to say to you: First, I kept that...that...promise!" [Seems that keeping that promise was not easy and caused her some human suffering. But it paid off. Secondly, I am married and have three children." [Well, now this man could not have her unless he married her. Great! That was my hope!] Thirdly, if I had not met you at the bus stop, I would have eventually been sucessful in killing myself." That is all she wanted to say. She said it with emphasis and closure. She was grateful. I am was grateful.
God was grateful for her life and for the lives of her children. Had she taken her life, she would not have these children. Now those children have children.
Gloria's letters in her arms saved her own life and all the future lives that have and will come from her.
God bless you, Gloria and your children! God so love you, my dear Gloria!
Love, Pio
wthat
Pio's Proverb 52: Dearest Keith/Kathy, parents of Nicholas A. Willey: How to visit our deceased love ones.
I dedicate this blog to Keith and Kathy, parents of Nicholas Willey, age 26, whose funeral Mass was this morning by Fr. Nick at St. Mary's Queen of Creation.
Nicholas only was seeking peace and serenity in his life. He was going to Oakland University and had ambitions to be a designer and a certified physical trainer. He died -- by accident -- while seeking inner peace and sereniity. Fr. Nick read the whole serenity prayer in honor of Nicholas so that the spirit of Nicholas could hear it, too: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will makes all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremenly happy with Him forever in the next. Amen."
Fr. Nick said we do not have the right to judge anyone since only God sees into the depth of the human spirit. In asking God "Why", we need to understand that God does give us the freedom to choose what we wish to do and what our behaviors will be; but that the consequences of our choices and behaviors are not of our choosing. We cannot choose how our choices and behaviors will effect others. [This Fr. Nick got from a letter given to him about dear Nicholas.]
I have been offering the Precious Blood of Jesus to be poured upon Nicholas now and at the very moment of his death; so that God would receive Nicholas immediately to His Bosom at the very instant that his soul left his body. "Out of the body; present to the Lord!" May angels come to bring him into paradise. May all the love Nicholas ever gave and received follow him into paradise...Amen .Amen.." May Nicholas now have his heart's desires fulfilled! "Trust in the Lord that you may dwell in the last and enjoy security. Delight in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37: 3-7.
So, when the dearest parents of Nicholas Willey received Holy Communion from the hands of Fr. Nick, little Nicholas was present also - alive and well - inside the Eucharist because all who die in the Lord ARE present in the Eucharist with Jesus. They can visit Nicholas everytime they visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament because Nicholas is present IN Jesus - both are really present in the Blessed Sacrament.
And may this prayer be in Nicholas' heart as he sees Jesus -- the Resurrection and the Life -- rising as beautiful and bright as the brilliant new day's dawn:
"Dearest Lord, Dearest Life, You are the Morning to me: be it windy or cold or bright, You are still always the Warm Light that awakens me! You are the Morning to me: my inner glow that surrounds a Treasure: Your Beautiful Presence with me! You are the Morning to me; and how I love the Morning that is You that creates this beautiful dawn within me. I must hasten therefore and run..to meet the Beautiful Morning that is You!"
O Dearest Jesus, may all the love that Nicholas ever gave or received...and all the love his parents and family and friendds have for him now -- follow him -- into paradise....amen!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------
And for all of us, let us consider these most consoling words of Jesus that He says to you and to me today: (John 14: 1-14)
"Let not your heart's be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In my Father's house there are many mansions. Were it not so, I should have told you, because I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again, and I will take you to myself; that where I am, there you also will be."
[Jesus' above words -- so true and consoling -- for sure apply to how we all will be with Him in heaven; but these words of Jesus also apply how our loved ones are now present with Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament: All of us -- even the living -- are with Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament; but in a most special way, all our loved one who have died in the Lord are truly and really present with him in Most Blessed Sacrament: Did Jesus not clearly say: "where I am, there you also will be!"]
So we know for sure where all our loved ones are who have passed into eternal life: they are PRESENT with JESUS in the MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT!! If we want to visit Nicholas ..or if I want to visit my mom and dad who have gone to heaven...they are ALL present in the Most Blessed Sacrament because Jesus said: "where I am, there you also will be!"
Sometimes we will surely feel their presence - if we truly have faith. Sometimes we can feel their love. Yes, we can go to their graves of those we love but they are not really there. Their graves are merely a shrine of our love and respect for them. But where they are really there and we can really visit them is in the Blessed Sacrament. Everytime, I go into the chapel at St. Mary's, I kiss the tabernacle...as I give my mom and dad a kiss. Sometimes if I forget to do this, my mom - there present - reminds me to give her a kiss. You see, she looks forward to my visits to Jesus and to HER!
How did I discover this profound truth in my experience? I found the answer to this profound mystery by accident. I came into the church of Immaculate Conception two years back to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar. I love doing this because I can see the Consecrated Host and look into the eyes of Jesus, so to speak. He is really there in the Blessed Sacrament [John 6: 51-71]. So, as I came into the church, I made a double genuflection [on both knees] to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on the altar. Father David Bougart was in the sacristy. As I was genuflecting, I heard distinctly coming from the Sacred Host on the altar these words in the voice of Fr. Joe Chircop, my dearest friend, who had died just a year before. I heard: "Hello, Peter!" So, startled, I got up immediately and went directly into the sacristy to tell Fr. David. I told him that I just heard Fr. Joe talk to me from the Blessed Sacrament and how was that possible? Father David seemed not at all surprised and said: "All the dead are in the Holy Eucharist. We are there, too, but not those who have passed on." Now this was some theology I had never heard before...even after 11 years of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. This was wonderful news! I now often when I visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in any church, I greet Fr. Joe and my mom and dad and even give them a kiss. I don't have to go to the cemetery. My parents and Fr. Joe are as close as the nearest church. It is true that I did experience the presence of my dad's spirit after receiving Holy Communion a few weeks after after he died. His soul was so sweet. But, I felt that was a one-time thing to console me. I also felt his intense presence just two days after he died. I had to go outside to walk with him. I felt his presence in my soul just like as if I had gone to holy communion with him. He was wonderful and consoling and even told me some of my consoling future, which parent-saints do know. It is one thing to learn in the Creed: "We believe in the Communion of Saints" and its another thing to experience the saints. The experience is better than the abstract idea of the Communion of Saints. We Catholics believe in the Communion of Saints and have believed since childhood - especially that we could commune with our guardian angel. But that was seemingly a one-way communication. But when angels and saints talk back to us; well, that is another wondrous thing.
So, if you have lost a mom or dad, a little girl or little boy, -- like your dearest and sweet Nicholas -- or even a baby in the womb through miscarriage or abortion, a grandma or grandpa, a co-worker, a beloved spouse, a girl firend or boy friend, a soldier, a police officer, a priest or brother or nun, then just -- be you Catholic or non-Catholic -- go to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at your nearest Catholic church and talk to these beloved ones. They all will HEAR you and see you there. Go and visit them! Love them! They will give you their love for you there with Jesus!
The tabernacle is the House of the Lord; and all His family are with Him!
Even Mary [We should talk to her because she knows what it is to lose a son in the prime of His life] and St. Joseph...and all our favorite saints are with Him, too. Most of all, your love ones are there...these now are your favorite saint, too, whom you can visit and love so tenderly and gratefully...and REALLY!
Let us go and kiss them today! They are so close to us!
Love,
Pio
Nicholas only was seeking peace and serenity in his life. He was going to Oakland University and had ambitions to be a designer and a certified physical trainer. He died -- by accident -- while seeking inner peace and sereniity. Fr. Nick read the whole serenity prayer in honor of Nicholas so that the spirit of Nicholas could hear it, too: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will makes all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremenly happy with Him forever in the next. Amen."
Fr. Nick said we do not have the right to judge anyone since only God sees into the depth of the human spirit. In asking God "Why", we need to understand that God does give us the freedom to choose what we wish to do and what our behaviors will be; but that the consequences of our choices and behaviors are not of our choosing. We cannot choose how our choices and behaviors will effect others. [This Fr. Nick got from a letter given to him about dear Nicholas.]
I have been offering the Precious Blood of Jesus to be poured upon Nicholas now and at the very moment of his death; so that God would receive Nicholas immediately to His Bosom at the very instant that his soul left his body. "Out of the body; present to the Lord!" May angels come to bring him into paradise. May all the love Nicholas ever gave and received follow him into paradise...Amen .Amen.." May Nicholas now have his heart's desires fulfilled! "Trust in the Lord that you may dwell in the last and enjoy security. Delight in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37: 3-7.
So, when the dearest parents of Nicholas Willey received Holy Communion from the hands of Fr. Nick, little Nicholas was present also - alive and well - inside the Eucharist because all who die in the Lord ARE present in the Eucharist with Jesus. They can visit Nicholas everytime they visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament because Nicholas is present IN Jesus - both are really present in the Blessed Sacrament.
And may this prayer be in Nicholas' heart as he sees Jesus -- the Resurrection and the Life -- rising as beautiful and bright as the brilliant new day's dawn:
"Dearest Lord, Dearest Life, You are the Morning to me: be it windy or cold or bright, You are still always the Warm Light that awakens me! You are the Morning to me: my inner glow that surrounds a Treasure: Your Beautiful Presence with me! You are the Morning to me; and how I love the Morning that is You that creates this beautiful dawn within me. I must hasten therefore and run..to meet the Beautiful Morning that is You!"
O Dearest Jesus, may all the love that Nicholas ever gave or received...and all the love his parents and family and friendds have for him now -- follow him -- into paradise....amen!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------
And for all of us, let us consider these most consoling words of Jesus that He says to you and to me today: (John 14: 1-14)
"Let not your heart's be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In my Father's house there are many mansions. Were it not so, I should have told you, because I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again, and I will take you to myself; that where I am, there you also will be."
[Jesus' above words -- so true and consoling -- for sure apply to how we all will be with Him in heaven; but these words of Jesus also apply how our loved ones are now present with Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament: All of us -- even the living -- are with Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament; but in a most special way, all our loved one who have died in the Lord are truly and really present with him in Most Blessed Sacrament: Did Jesus not clearly say: "where I am, there you also will be!"]
So we know for sure where all our loved ones are who have passed into eternal life: they are PRESENT with JESUS in the MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT!! If we want to visit Nicholas ..or if I want to visit my mom and dad who have gone to heaven...they are ALL present in the Most Blessed Sacrament because Jesus said: "where I am, there you also will be!"
Sometimes we will surely feel their presence - if we truly have faith. Sometimes we can feel their love. Yes, we can go to their graves of those we love but they are not really there. Their graves are merely a shrine of our love and respect for them. But where they are really there and we can really visit them is in the Blessed Sacrament. Everytime, I go into the chapel at St. Mary's, I kiss the tabernacle...as I give my mom and dad a kiss. Sometimes if I forget to do this, my mom - there present - reminds me to give her a kiss. You see, she looks forward to my visits to Jesus and to HER!
How did I discover this profound truth in my experience? I found the answer to this profound mystery by accident. I came into the church of Immaculate Conception two years back to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar. I love doing this because I can see the Consecrated Host and look into the eyes of Jesus, so to speak. He is really there in the Blessed Sacrament [John 6: 51-71]. So, as I came into the church, I made a double genuflection [on both knees] to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on the altar. Father David Bougart was in the sacristy. As I was genuflecting, I heard distinctly coming from the Sacred Host on the altar these words in the voice of Fr. Joe Chircop, my dearest friend, who had died just a year before. I heard: "Hello, Peter!" So, startled, I got up immediately and went directly into the sacristy to tell Fr. David. I told him that I just heard Fr. Joe talk to me from the Blessed Sacrament and how was that possible? Father David seemed not at all surprised and said: "All the dead are in the Holy Eucharist. We are there, too, but not those who have passed on." Now this was some theology I had never heard before...even after 11 years of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. This was wonderful news! I now often when I visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in any church, I greet Fr. Joe and my mom and dad and even give them a kiss. I don't have to go to the cemetery. My parents and Fr. Joe are as close as the nearest church. It is true that I did experience the presence of my dad's spirit after receiving Holy Communion a few weeks after after he died. His soul was so sweet. But, I felt that was a one-time thing to console me. I also felt his intense presence just two days after he died. I had to go outside to walk with him. I felt his presence in my soul just like as if I had gone to holy communion with him. He was wonderful and consoling and even told me some of my consoling future, which parent-saints do know. It is one thing to learn in the Creed: "We believe in the Communion of Saints" and its another thing to experience the saints. The experience is better than the abstract idea of the Communion of Saints. We Catholics believe in the Communion of Saints and have believed since childhood - especially that we could commune with our guardian angel. But that was seemingly a one-way communication. But when angels and saints talk back to us; well, that is another wondrous thing.
So, if you have lost a mom or dad, a little girl or little boy, -- like your dearest and sweet Nicholas -- or even a baby in the womb through miscarriage or abortion, a grandma or grandpa, a co-worker, a beloved spouse, a girl firend or boy friend, a soldier, a police officer, a priest or brother or nun, then just -- be you Catholic or non-Catholic -- go to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at your nearest Catholic church and talk to these beloved ones. They all will HEAR you and see you there. Go and visit them! Love them! They will give you their love for you there with Jesus!
The tabernacle is the House of the Lord; and all His family are with Him!
Even Mary [We should talk to her because she knows what it is to lose a son in the prime of His life] and St. Joseph...and all our favorite saints are with Him, too. Most of all, your love ones are there...these now are your favorite saint, too, whom you can visit and love so tenderly and gratefully...and REALLY!
Let us go and kiss them today! They are so close to us!
Love,
Pio
PIo's Proverb 51: Peace and calm.
Today is a cool, wet but beautiful day in July. I can see the lake from my window as I write this to you. I can hear a plane overhead because I live near Selfrig Air Base. The sun nust peeked out. The waves on Lake St. Clair are abut an inch or so. The trees are waving "hello" as they usually do. I can hear on the TV, Mother Angelica saying the rosary with her nuns. I hear a bluejay singing its unmelodious song; but to him, it is beautiful. My cat, Leo, crawled up into my arms after getting he fresh bowl of milk. My cardiologist yesterday at my annual check up said my heart was perfect. I feel great. I see the bush of flowers waving in the wind. My geraniums are doing great. All seems right and peaceful with the world. War seems so distant, yet is close to many. May God protect them. But, here 100 feet from the Lake where I pray every morning and night, all is so utterly peaceful. I went to Mas this morning which is my daily must, where I learned about how to love one another from Fr. Saji from India. We talked after Mass about how hard it is on people when Jesus seems absent. Martha said: "Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." She was speaking for all of us when we think Jesus is far away. But He is never far away. He only seems to be far away sometimes. But He is close. He listens to all. Just as he seemed to be late and did not come right away to the sick Lazarus' bedside, He still came perfectly on time. He came and called to Lazarus: "Lazarus, come out!" That dramatic raising of Lazarus was to prove that Jesus IS the RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.
All seems to well. Jesus IS here right now. He sees you and me. If he is here what can go wrong. He was asleep in the boat on a cushion while a storm was going on. His disciples woke Him up and said: "Do you not care that we are parishing." Jesus rebuked the wind and sea. A calm ensued - peace and calm - because He was there. Once those same disciples saw Jesus walking on the water. There were afraid and thought it was a ghost. But Jesus said: "Do not be afraid. It is I." Jesus said before: "Fear is useless; what is needed is trust." Let us trust that Jesus IS very NEAR. He says to you and me: "Peace be with you!"
Love, Pio
All seems to well. Jesus IS here right now. He sees you and me. If he is here what can go wrong. He was asleep in the boat on a cushion while a storm was going on. His disciples woke Him up and said: "Do you not care that we are parishing." Jesus rebuked the wind and sea. A calm ensued - peace and calm - because He was there. Once those same disciples saw Jesus walking on the water. There were afraid and thought it was a ghost. But Jesus said: "Do not be afraid. It is I." Jesus said before: "Fear is useless; what is needed is trust." Let us trust that Jesus IS very NEAR. He says to you and me: "Peace be with you!"
Love, Pio
Pio's Proverb 50: "Do you love?"
"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God. Everone who loves is begotten by God. Whoever does not love does not know God; for God is love. If we love one another, we reamain in God. Who acknowledges Jesus is the Son of God, remains in God." [taken from St. John's (the "beloved disciple") letter read at today's Mass.]
How interesting that St. John who was the "beloved disciple" starts his letter with "Beloved." Without question, St. John's favorite subject is "Love". In a sense that is all he ever talks about. I do believe that someone of his day did complain to him that he only talks about love and asked why St. John did this? John's reply was: "When the people begin to really love, then I will cease to write about it."
The question is "Do you and I love?" Is our day devoted to loving others. Jesus said: "What ever you do for the least of my brethren, you do to Me." And He said: "What ever you neglected to do to the least of my brethren, you neglected to do to Me." He also said: "Love one another as I have loved you!" So, everything we do today is grounded in "the love of God and love of neighbor,"
When we take our last breath and appear before Jesus, He will ask each one of us: "Whom did you love?"
How we answer that question will determine where we spend the rest of our eternity.
So, "Let us love one another, because love is of God."
Love, Pio
How interesting that St. John who was the "beloved disciple" starts his letter with "Beloved." Without question, St. John's favorite subject is "Love". In a sense that is all he ever talks about. I do believe that someone of his day did complain to him that he only talks about love and asked why St. John did this? John's reply was: "When the people begin to really love, then I will cease to write about it."
The question is "Do you and I love?" Is our day devoted to loving others. Jesus said: "What ever you do for the least of my brethren, you do to Me." And He said: "What ever you neglected to do to the least of my brethren, you neglected to do to Me." He also said: "Love one another as I have loved you!" So, everything we do today is grounded in "the love of God and love of neighbor,"
When we take our last breath and appear before Jesus, He will ask each one of us: "Whom did you love?"
How we answer that question will determine where we spend the rest of our eternity.
So, "Let us love one another, because love is of God."
Love, Pio
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Pio's Proverb 49: Fr. John's memories in the womb!
Few of us even have memories that go back to when we were one year old. Do you remember your first Birthday party? I can't. But while my mom was giving birth to me at home, she could hear my sister Catherine singing to herself: "Happy Birthday to me..." That is a precocious child. My sister Catherine was born on April 10 the year before, and I was being born on this day, April 11. My sister and I always call each other on our birthdays because they are only one day and one year apart. At age one, I do remember drawing the back end of a car because out the window I could see cars passing by. I have been drawing ever since. I just complete two drawings today of a lovely lady. I took poetic licence and drew her face to look like her photo when she was 28 eventhough she is 55. Lines are poetry in the hands of an artist.
It is hard for us to remember the first months oflife on this earth, so for someone to remember events and thoughts in the womb seems impossible and unheard of before this following story:
I was sitting outside on a bench with Fr. John, a holy Trappist priest monk of the monastery of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Piffard, New York. He started to tell me of his memories he had when he was in the womb at about 3 or 4 months gestation. I politely interruped him and asked a psychological question since that was my field of study. I said: "Father, such a memory would have to have been triggered by some "present" event." He wholeheardedly agreed and began to tell me of the present even that flashed him back to the time of being in the womb. He said that he happened to see the front cover of Life magazine that had a large full color photo of a fetus in the womb at a very early development. What was so unique about this photo for him was that the spine of the fetus at that early stage has sharp bumps on it at perfect intevals. That did it for him! Flash! He was back in the womb and remebered these thoughts and feeling: He said he was sitting in the womb and touched the side walls of the uterus and thought to himself: "That is not me." Then he touched the top of his legs and thought to himself: "That is me." He then touched his face with both hands and thought to himself: "That is me." Then he reached around to his back and touched his spine. He felt the sharp bumps on his spine. He knew it was him but he was very frightened by what he felt with his hands. He had thoughts like: "I am not normal, ugly and not fully formed." He was convinced that there was something very wrong with him. He became more worried with every passing moment. He could not think of anything else. As he was stewing and worrying, suddenly God broke into his consciousness [which today Fr. John would call "infused contemplation"]. God's presence was all pervasive and filled the baby's entire being with love, comfort and assurance: God said:You are all right!" Fr. John's anxiety in the womb vanished. Even at such a young age or 3 or 4 months in the womb, he could experience the presence of God, total peace and healing of all worry. God was listening to his thoughts and reached down from heaven and touched His baby in the womb!
If all of the above is true, how must God the Father feel when the anxious thoughts and fears and pain is felt by the unborm during abortion? Their fears are beyond anything you and I have ever felt. We have not face being torn to peices. Baby's don't submit easily. They kick and fight back as the instruments of abortion touch them. They run from side to side in the womb. They kick the probes. They try to get out of the way of death. What goes though their minds and their bodies are all heard and seen by God. He is a DAD and these are His precious ones.
These little ones [60,000,000 of them] are true martyrs for the Faith. These are innocent Saints.
While praying before Womancare on Southfield Rd. in Lathrup Village, Michigan, I deeply felt that something deep, tearful, and awesome was going on at that moment in the clinic. I was feeling the actual death throes of a traumatized girl child in the womb inside this clinic. In a few moments, the spirit of that little girl came and was suspended just over my head slilghtly to the right. I could almost touch her. I sensed that she was still tear-faced from a great trauma. The trauma was so great eventhough it was all over, the violent trauma was still on her face and body - like a spiritual residue. She was carrying the aftermath of those sufferings with her for a few moments after the event. She came over to me....because I was the only family she had. I was there before the death and praying for her, and now I was there at her wake. She then came close to me, and I could feel her tremendous holiness and brightness of soul. I could feel and sense her glory as a martyred Saint. She was one of the Holy Innocents that joined those that Herod had killed in Bethlehem.
Then she spoke these word to me which I will never forget as long as I live. She said: "Thank you for praying for me." Then there was a pause. Then she said: "I love you!" She lingered for a few more moments above me...a little higher...to get her last look at earth. And then she departed slowing toward heaven. I stood motionless, stunned, awed, inspired, because I met a true Saint - up close and personal who spoke to me. We Catholics believe in the "communion of saints; and I have known this truth by experience. Still the sense of her traumatization lingered for a long while. I was consoled that she was in heaven; but her pain still stayed with me and does to this day. Seeing the residue of her pain and martyrdom will never leave me. You see, I am a dad. I cannot stand a baby to be in pain. I had 6 babies and protected them and loved them. So, you can understand why I cannot stand a baby in pain. We should not stand for it either. Abortion is a million times more evil than we ever knew. Let us fight to save babies's lives in the womb. "Pro-choice" totally discards babies, traumatizes them, kills them. We must become "dad" and "mom" to all the unborn in the womb by our praying at the clinics, at our family prayer times, by our voting out of office all pro-choice politicians, by our volunteering to counsel women to keep and give birth to their children, by our compassionate help to young pregnant mothers who are scared. If every one of us saves one baby, that means millions of babies will be saved and born.
Father, give us the Holy Spirit to know how to save lives of babies in the womb. You hear all the thoughts of babies in the womb. Help us to rescue them because they our own childrne - brothers and sisters in the Lord. Father, please defund all Planned Parenthood clinics. Please convert to pro-life all doctors and nurses who do abortions. Let them see that these are little babies who wish to live and grow and enjoy life just as we do. All this we ask in Jesus' Name, Amen.
Love, Pio
It is hard for us to remember the first months oflife on this earth, so for someone to remember events and thoughts in the womb seems impossible and unheard of before this following story:
I was sitting outside on a bench with Fr. John, a holy Trappist priest monk of the monastery of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Piffard, New York. He started to tell me of his memories he had when he was in the womb at about 3 or 4 months gestation. I politely interruped him and asked a psychological question since that was my field of study. I said: "Father, such a memory would have to have been triggered by some "present" event." He wholeheardedly agreed and began to tell me of the present even that flashed him back to the time of being in the womb. He said that he happened to see the front cover of Life magazine that had a large full color photo of a fetus in the womb at a very early development. What was so unique about this photo for him was that the spine of the fetus at that early stage has sharp bumps on it at perfect intevals. That did it for him! Flash! He was back in the womb and remebered these thoughts and feeling: He said he was sitting in the womb and touched the side walls of the uterus and thought to himself: "That is not me." Then he touched the top of his legs and thought to himself: "That is me." He then touched his face with both hands and thought to himself: "That is me." Then he reached around to his back and touched his spine. He felt the sharp bumps on his spine. He knew it was him but he was very frightened by what he felt with his hands. He had thoughts like: "I am not normal, ugly and not fully formed." He was convinced that there was something very wrong with him. He became more worried with every passing moment. He could not think of anything else. As he was stewing and worrying, suddenly God broke into his consciousness [which today Fr. John would call "infused contemplation"]. God's presence was all pervasive and filled the baby's entire being with love, comfort and assurance: God said:You are all right!" Fr. John's anxiety in the womb vanished. Even at such a young age or 3 or 4 months in the womb, he could experience the presence of God, total peace and healing of all worry. God was listening to his thoughts and reached down from heaven and touched His baby in the womb!
If all of the above is true, how must God the Father feel when the anxious thoughts and fears and pain is felt by the unborm during abortion? Their fears are beyond anything you and I have ever felt. We have not face being torn to peices. Baby's don't submit easily. They kick and fight back as the instruments of abortion touch them. They run from side to side in the womb. They kick the probes. They try to get out of the way of death. What goes though their minds and their bodies are all heard and seen by God. He is a DAD and these are His precious ones.
These little ones [60,000,000 of them] are true martyrs for the Faith. These are innocent Saints.
While praying before Womancare on Southfield Rd. in Lathrup Village, Michigan, I deeply felt that something deep, tearful, and awesome was going on at that moment in the clinic. I was feeling the actual death throes of a traumatized girl child in the womb inside this clinic. In a few moments, the spirit of that little girl came and was suspended just over my head slilghtly to the right. I could almost touch her. I sensed that she was still tear-faced from a great trauma. The trauma was so great eventhough it was all over, the violent trauma was still on her face and body - like a spiritual residue. She was carrying the aftermath of those sufferings with her for a few moments after the event. She came over to me....because I was the only family she had. I was there before the death and praying for her, and now I was there at her wake. She then came close to me, and I could feel her tremendous holiness and brightness of soul. I could feel and sense her glory as a martyred Saint. She was one of the Holy Innocents that joined those that Herod had killed in Bethlehem.
Then she spoke these word to me which I will never forget as long as I live. She said: "Thank you for praying for me." Then there was a pause. Then she said: "I love you!" She lingered for a few more moments above me...a little higher...to get her last look at earth. And then she departed slowing toward heaven. I stood motionless, stunned, awed, inspired, because I met a true Saint - up close and personal who spoke to me. We Catholics believe in the "communion of saints; and I have known this truth by experience. Still the sense of her traumatization lingered for a long while. I was consoled that she was in heaven; but her pain still stayed with me and does to this day. Seeing the residue of her pain and martyrdom will never leave me. You see, I am a dad. I cannot stand a baby to be in pain. I had 6 babies and protected them and loved them. So, you can understand why I cannot stand a baby in pain. We should not stand for it either. Abortion is a million times more evil than we ever knew. Let us fight to save babies's lives in the womb. "Pro-choice" totally discards babies, traumatizes them, kills them. We must become "dad" and "mom" to all the unborn in the womb by our praying at the clinics, at our family prayer times, by our voting out of office all pro-choice politicians, by our volunteering to counsel women to keep and give birth to their children, by our compassionate help to young pregnant mothers who are scared. If every one of us saves one baby, that means millions of babies will be saved and born.
Father, give us the Holy Spirit to know how to save lives of babies in the womb. You hear all the thoughts of babies in the womb. Help us to rescue them because they our own childrne - brothers and sisters in the Lord. Father, please defund all Planned Parenthood clinics. Please convert to pro-life all doctors and nurses who do abortions. Let them see that these are little babies who wish to live and grow and enjoy life just as we do. All this we ask in Jesus' Name, Amen.
Love, Pio
Pio's Proverb 48: Hannah - Who was she?
Samuel was one of the greatest prophets of Israel. His mother was Hannah. The word, "hannah" means "grace." Interestingly enough, Samuel in his first book tells of his own birth and his mother's prayer. In her prayer she tells God: "The bareen has borne seven..." She is barren, and she knows God knows it. She promises God that if He were to give her a son, she would dedicate him entirely to the Lord. She keeps her promise and gives her son at a very early age to the priests of God to be educated and taught by them in the ways of God. When Samuel grows up, he saves the life of Susanna who was accused of adutlery by judges who themselves wanted to lay with her. But she refused them and screamed. They told a tall tale about a man who came and lay with her. Since they were known and honored judges, they were believed over her protests. As they were about to execute Susanna, Samuel said: "How can you condemn a daughter of Israel without a proper trial. Separate these two judges and let me question them." He asked the first judge, "under what tree did you see them?" And the judge answered: "Under the oak." Samuel said that "fine lie will cost you your head." He asked the second judge, "Under what tree did you see them?" The judge answered, "Under the mastic tree." Samuel said, "The angel of death is waiting to cut you in two." Everyone marveled at Samuel's wisdom. The Judges were executed by decapitation. They suffered the fate they wished upon Susanna. So Samuel is a great prophet; and his mother won the favor of God by giving her Samuel as an answer to her prayers. She prayed preseveringing, consitently and kept her promise. She gave him up before she could really enjoy him. But she was content that God had away her shame of barreness and made her a mother of a saintly child.
If you take away the first and last letters of the name, Hannah, you can see the name: Anna. This significant name is fitting parallel story to Hannah's prayer. Today, July 26, 2011, is the Feast Day of St. Anne and St. Joachim, her husband. Anne was childless and barren. But like Hannah of old, Anne prayed and prayed to have a child even when she was older than women who bear children. But God heard Anne's prayer; and she conceived a child who would play a great role in the salvation of the world. She gave birth to Mary who became the virgin Mother of Jesus. Anne's name means "Grace"; and Mary heard these world spoken to her from the Angel Gabriel: "Hail Mary, full of grace....."full of grace". To be full of grace means that there is no room for sin. Mary was redeemed by the pre-merits of Christ's Blood in the womb at the very moment of her conception. Thus, at Lourdes in France, the visionary, Bernadette asked the Lady: "Who are you?" And Mary answered: "I am the Immaculate Conception." That was just within 2 years after the Holy Father had declared as a dogma of the Faith in 1850 that Mary was immacutlately conceived. So, Mary was a great grace for Anne and Joachim and for the world. Mary said: "All generations will call me blessed." The Greek word that St.Jerome translated was the world: "Fully graced" as spoken by the angel. St. Jerome translated that word into the Latin: "gratia plena" that is "full of grace." This is the whole basis of the dogma Immaculate Conception. This was the greatest gift of grace ever given to any human being in history or ever will be.
What does grace mean for you and me? Grace is God's life within us. God gives us a share in His own Divine Life by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. God's grace in us is called "Sanctifying Grace." God is living in us and sancityfing us each moment of our life. When we are called to heaven, this grace will become eternal and permanent and never can be lost. So what does all this mean in the daily practical sense of our lives? Fr. Doug put it this way: "The essence is for us to be open to God's grace and to be attentive to what God asks of us."
Jesus made a comment about this, too: "Not those who say, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of God; but those who do the will of My Father in heaven." So, the essence of grace and our response to it is that we would do the will of God in heaven. To do that we must be attentive to what God is asking us to do. Well, the 10 Commandments are His explicit expressed will. Doing the will of God is obeying Him in His 10 Commandments. 5000 times a day in the country alone, the 5th Commandment of "Thou shalt not kill" is transgressed by abortionists. Keeping of God's Commandments is really for our own happiness here and in heaven. Our salvation is His will: "I will that all be save and none be lost." Every human being ever to have lived or will live - all - God gave and will give the grace to be saved. The 1st Commandment is to "Love God with all one's heart, mind, soul and strength" becasue that will bring us happiness. God didn't need to create angels and people. He was contented as God and needed nothing to be happy. God was and is infinitely happy. Why did He create us? Because: "Bonum est diffusivum sui." "Goodness has a tendency to go out of itself." God created us for our happiness, to share His life. Sharing in His life is called "grace." Living in grace is called holiness. Living in holiness is called sanctity. We are all called to be saints. Mother Teresa told us that and told the newman who interviewed her the same thing. He said to her: "Are you a saint?" She replied: "All of us are called to be saints. You are called to be a saint!" That blasted him good for asking such an insensitive question. But she used it for good. She gave him what he deserved: a call to sainthood. So, you and I are called to be saints. This is the reason why we were conceived and born: "to be happy on this earth and happy with god the Father in heaven for all eternity. Do we "wanna" go to heaven? Well, loivng God now IS heaven. God will one day make our "now" of loving Him to be an eternal "now" in heaven. Dying in Sanctifying grace is dying in His arms. For all eternity, we will be in His embrace, and He will never let us go!
Love, Pio
If you take away the first and last letters of the name, Hannah, you can see the name: Anna. This significant name is fitting parallel story to Hannah's prayer. Today, July 26, 2011, is the Feast Day of St. Anne and St. Joachim, her husband. Anne was childless and barren. But like Hannah of old, Anne prayed and prayed to have a child even when she was older than women who bear children. But God heard Anne's prayer; and she conceived a child who would play a great role in the salvation of the world. She gave birth to Mary who became the virgin Mother of Jesus. Anne's name means "Grace"; and Mary heard these world spoken to her from the Angel Gabriel: "Hail Mary, full of grace....."full of grace". To be full of grace means that there is no room for sin. Mary was redeemed by the pre-merits of Christ's Blood in the womb at the very moment of her conception. Thus, at Lourdes in France, the visionary, Bernadette asked the Lady: "Who are you?" And Mary answered: "I am the Immaculate Conception." That was just within 2 years after the Holy Father had declared as a dogma of the Faith in 1850 that Mary was immacutlately conceived. So, Mary was a great grace for Anne and Joachim and for the world. Mary said: "All generations will call me blessed." The Greek word that St.Jerome translated was the world: "Fully graced" as spoken by the angel. St. Jerome translated that word into the Latin: "gratia plena" that is "full of grace." This is the whole basis of the dogma Immaculate Conception. This was the greatest gift of grace ever given to any human being in history or ever will be.
What does grace mean for you and me? Grace is God's life within us. God gives us a share in His own Divine Life by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. God's grace in us is called "Sanctifying Grace." God is living in us and sancityfing us each moment of our life. When we are called to heaven, this grace will become eternal and permanent and never can be lost. So what does all this mean in the daily practical sense of our lives? Fr. Doug put it this way: "The essence is for us to be open to God's grace and to be attentive to what God asks of us."
Jesus made a comment about this, too: "Not those who say, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of God; but those who do the will of My Father in heaven." So, the essence of grace and our response to it is that we would do the will of God in heaven. To do that we must be attentive to what God is asking us to do. Well, the 10 Commandments are His explicit expressed will. Doing the will of God is obeying Him in His 10 Commandments. 5000 times a day in the country alone, the 5th Commandment of "Thou shalt not kill" is transgressed by abortionists. Keeping of God's Commandments is really for our own happiness here and in heaven. Our salvation is His will: "I will that all be save and none be lost." Every human being ever to have lived or will live - all - God gave and will give the grace to be saved. The 1st Commandment is to "Love God with all one's heart, mind, soul and strength" becasue that will bring us happiness. God didn't need to create angels and people. He was contented as God and needed nothing to be happy. God was and is infinitely happy. Why did He create us? Because: "Bonum est diffusivum sui." "Goodness has a tendency to go out of itself." God created us for our happiness, to share His life. Sharing in His life is called "grace." Living in grace is called holiness. Living in holiness is called sanctity. We are all called to be saints. Mother Teresa told us that and told the newman who interviewed her the same thing. He said to her: "Are you a saint?" She replied: "All of us are called to be saints. You are called to be a saint!" That blasted him good for asking such an insensitive question. But she used it for good. She gave him what he deserved: a call to sainthood. So, you and I are called to be saints. This is the reason why we were conceived and born: "to be happy on this earth and happy with god the Father in heaven for all eternity. Do we "wanna" go to heaven? Well, loivng God now IS heaven. God will one day make our "now" of loving Him to be an eternal "now" in heaven. Dying in Sanctifying grace is dying in His arms. For all eternity, we will be in His embrace, and He will never let us go!
Love, Pio
Pio's Proverb 47: Venus - Napoleon's Heart's Desire.
Although Napoleon has been considered by many as one of the major anti-Christs along in the same breath with Hitler and Stalin, his ambitions included resurrecting Venus, as goddess of love for all of France. True that Napoleon's desire to become Emporer of all of Europe by his might was perfectly echoed in the next century in Hitler's desire to rule all or Europe by force of his armies. Both men wished to crown themselves: one as Divine Emperor and the other as Supreme Furer. Both men used their war machines to serve their own personal desires for total European mastery and domination.
Intereting that Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth if Jesus would only to worship Satan. Jesus refused and said: "You are to worship God alone." But Napoleon and Hitler accepted Satan's offer with open arms and full might. Of course you and I know that Satan was lying through his teeth and would not deliver. But Satan still got what he wanted from Napoleon and Hitler: to kill as many human being [made in the image and likeness of God] as possible. Hundreds of thousands were killed in the Napoleonic wars. 40 million were killed by Hitler (including Jews, Poles, Russian, Chinese, Italians, Germans, Britains, Catholics of all nationalities, Americans, and Japanese) as well as those who died after the war from injuries and atomic fallout. All that was started by Hitler. Without Hitler all those people would have lived. Hitler accepted the devils's help. Hitler is known to have commented to a high-ranking member of his cabinet: "I have seen the devil, and he is frightening!" How interesting that both Napoleon and Hitler tried unsuccessfully to take the capital of Russia: I believe St. Petersburn for Napoleon and Moscow for Hitler. In both attempts, the armies would be starved out and frozen to death. The Russians were able to survive the Russian winters because they dressed for the weather and had food supplies within the City gates. But both Napoleon and Hitler had to depend on supplies to come from their homeland. Comparison of German troops winter garb and Russian winter garp showed that the Russian garb was absolutely superior. You have seen photos of German troops frozen in the snows of Russia. But in all this Satan could care less which side lost the most lives: thousands of the French and German invaders died in trying to kill Russians. And thousands of Russians died in trying to kill the French and Germans invaders. Satan was happy, and like Hitler's little dance [captured on film], so Satan had his little victory dance. Satan is a liar and a murderer. He started with lying to Eve and by stimulating Cain's imagination to kill Abel. Satan's tactics have changed very little - actually not at all: he still lies and kills. In our day, his greatest lie is just this short phrase: "Pro-choice!" With that Satanic lie, he has been able to kill 60,000,000 babies in the womb since 1973. That is more than all the American casualties of war since the Revolutionary War to the present. And Satan is not satisfied. He wants more babies to die: he has inspired some in Washington to propose the Freedom of Choice Act that would allow babies to be aborted after birth even if born after 9 full months in the Womb. Actually President Clinton did the same thing with an executive order on his last day in office: to allow an abortion of a baby after birth if no one wanted the baby. That executive order only lasted a few hours because President Bush's first act was to write an executive order to cancer President Clinton's order. But still the proposal in on the books today to kill babies after birth. But the Freedom of Conception Act proposed by pro-life legislators gives the protection of the Constitution to babies as having the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from the moment of conception because at the moment of conception a human being is present with full rights to life. How is it possible even when our Constitution says: "Inalienable rights endowned by the Creator to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" that a U.S. Supreme Court based on the right of privacy can strike down our Constitution in the Roe v Wade decision at opened the flood gates to millions of babies' death?
Just as Hitler and Napoleon were at war, we now are at war, the great war between Pro-life and Pro-death, between Pro-God and Pro- ego, between Pro-baby and Pro-my convenience, between Pro-God's plan and Pro-our plan. Who will win? "The anti-christ and his prophet will be cast down into the everlasting lake of fire!" Revelation has told us so. With every anti-Christ, Satan rewards them to be with him forever in the lake of fire - unless of course one repents. On the death bed of Napoleon and Hitler, Christ will have come with mercy if they would repent. But the final anti-Christ will swim in the lake of fire forever. Regarding this lake of fire, Satan has neglected to mention his anti-christ and prophet that the lake of fire would be an eternal, forever swim.
Napoleon and Hitler both liked nude sculptures of women. Hitler encouraged these sculptures of strong Germanic women for his museum which he toured because he hoped that these goddess like amazons would be erotic and thus stimulate German Arian males to beget more German Arians. Hitler created mating camps and made men and women to swim together in the nude so as to entice them to beget children for the Furer. In one girl camp, out of 48 girls, 43 became pregnant. In all over 800 babies were born from these mating camps. Likewise, Napoleon's heart's desire was a nude statue of Venus to which re requested to be carved by the then known great sculptor, Johann Heinrich Dannecker [1758-1841]. This request would have been around 7 years before the fall of Napoleon in 1815. The sculptor would have been at that time 50 years old. What Napoleon did not know was that the sculptor had become very religious as demonstrated by this true story of him. Dannecker had worked on a statue of Christ for years. When completed, he brought an innocent child, a little girl of 8 to view it and give her comments. He asked the little girl: "Who is this?" And she replied, "A great man!" He was cut to the heart because she failed to recognized Jesus in his work. Crushed, he abandoned that statue and started on another with all his heart. He took 6 years to complete it. Then he brought that same little girl who was now 14 years old and asked her: "Who is this?" She replied with a quote from scripture: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me." Dannecker was overjoyed. She immediately saw Jesus in his work. He was greatly pleased for he had devoted all his art to God and God's glory. This is the man that Napoleon urged with the command as Emperor to carve for him an exquisite statue of Venus, the goddess of love. But Dannecker refused while saying: "When an artist has devoted all his work to God, he cannot scuopt a pagan goddess!"
All of Dannecker work was devoted to God's honor and glory. He knew that to use our intelligence and talents for god is the greatest way to thank God for our being, our talents, our joy of life. Dannecker refused to give his talents to the goddess Venus or to lead others to Venus. He wanted to use his talents to lead others to God. Napoleon leaned his lesson that not in serving beauty but in serving God does our true happiness lie.
A prayer: Father - Creator of all - thank you so much for making us creative, too. We offer You all our art: be it cooking for our family, tending our garden, painting a room or pictures, sculpting in marble or clay, singing or dancing, building a house - even a play house - , sketching our children or our beloved spouse, writing or speaking, caring for the sick, making money to feed our families, working for world peace, making peace and love not war, especially our bringing children into this world, educating them to go out and to beautify this world and to save the lives of the unborn babies in the womb. We offer all we do, all we write and say, all our creativity to You, Father, with all our hearts [Psalm 138]. We belong to You, Father, and all we make belongs to You as well!
In Jesus's Name we pray, amen.
Love, Pio.
Intereting that Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth if Jesus would only to worship Satan. Jesus refused and said: "You are to worship God alone." But Napoleon and Hitler accepted Satan's offer with open arms and full might. Of course you and I know that Satan was lying through his teeth and would not deliver. But Satan still got what he wanted from Napoleon and Hitler: to kill as many human being [made in the image and likeness of God] as possible. Hundreds of thousands were killed in the Napoleonic wars. 40 million were killed by Hitler (including Jews, Poles, Russian, Chinese, Italians, Germans, Britains, Catholics of all nationalities, Americans, and Japanese) as well as those who died after the war from injuries and atomic fallout. All that was started by Hitler. Without Hitler all those people would have lived. Hitler accepted the devils's help. Hitler is known to have commented to a high-ranking member of his cabinet: "I have seen the devil, and he is frightening!" How interesting that both Napoleon and Hitler tried unsuccessfully to take the capital of Russia: I believe St. Petersburn for Napoleon and Moscow for Hitler. In both attempts, the armies would be starved out and frozen to death. The Russians were able to survive the Russian winters because they dressed for the weather and had food supplies within the City gates. But both Napoleon and Hitler had to depend on supplies to come from their homeland. Comparison of German troops winter garb and Russian winter garp showed that the Russian garb was absolutely superior. You have seen photos of German troops frozen in the snows of Russia. But in all this Satan could care less which side lost the most lives: thousands of the French and German invaders died in trying to kill Russians. And thousands of Russians died in trying to kill the French and Germans invaders. Satan was happy, and like Hitler's little dance [captured on film], so Satan had his little victory dance. Satan is a liar and a murderer. He started with lying to Eve and by stimulating Cain's imagination to kill Abel. Satan's tactics have changed very little - actually not at all: he still lies and kills. In our day, his greatest lie is just this short phrase: "Pro-choice!" With that Satanic lie, he has been able to kill 60,000,000 babies in the womb since 1973. That is more than all the American casualties of war since the Revolutionary War to the present. And Satan is not satisfied. He wants more babies to die: he has inspired some in Washington to propose the Freedom of Choice Act that would allow babies to be aborted after birth even if born after 9 full months in the Womb. Actually President Clinton did the same thing with an executive order on his last day in office: to allow an abortion of a baby after birth if no one wanted the baby. That executive order only lasted a few hours because President Bush's first act was to write an executive order to cancer President Clinton's order. But still the proposal in on the books today to kill babies after birth. But the Freedom of Conception Act proposed by pro-life legislators gives the protection of the Constitution to babies as having the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from the moment of conception because at the moment of conception a human being is present with full rights to life. How is it possible even when our Constitution says: "Inalienable rights endowned by the Creator to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" that a U.S. Supreme Court based on the right of privacy can strike down our Constitution in the Roe v Wade decision at opened the flood gates to millions of babies' death?
Just as Hitler and Napoleon were at war, we now are at war, the great war between Pro-life and Pro-death, between Pro-God and Pro- ego, between Pro-baby and Pro-my convenience, between Pro-God's plan and Pro-our plan. Who will win? "The anti-christ and his prophet will be cast down into the everlasting lake of fire!" Revelation has told us so. With every anti-Christ, Satan rewards them to be with him forever in the lake of fire - unless of course one repents. On the death bed of Napoleon and Hitler, Christ will have come with mercy if they would repent. But the final anti-Christ will swim in the lake of fire forever. Regarding this lake of fire, Satan has neglected to mention his anti-christ and prophet that the lake of fire would be an eternal, forever swim.
Napoleon and Hitler both liked nude sculptures of women. Hitler encouraged these sculptures of strong Germanic women for his museum which he toured because he hoped that these goddess like amazons would be erotic and thus stimulate German Arian males to beget more German Arians. Hitler created mating camps and made men and women to swim together in the nude so as to entice them to beget children for the Furer. In one girl camp, out of 48 girls, 43 became pregnant. In all over 800 babies were born from these mating camps. Likewise, Napoleon's heart's desire was a nude statue of Venus to which re requested to be carved by the then known great sculptor, Johann Heinrich Dannecker [1758-1841]. This request would have been around 7 years before the fall of Napoleon in 1815. The sculptor would have been at that time 50 years old. What Napoleon did not know was that the sculptor had become very religious as demonstrated by this true story of him. Dannecker had worked on a statue of Christ for years. When completed, he brought an innocent child, a little girl of 8 to view it and give her comments. He asked the little girl: "Who is this?" And she replied, "A great man!" He was cut to the heart because she failed to recognized Jesus in his work. Crushed, he abandoned that statue and started on another with all his heart. He took 6 years to complete it. Then he brought that same little girl who was now 14 years old and asked her: "Who is this?" She replied with a quote from scripture: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me." Dannecker was overjoyed. She immediately saw Jesus in his work. He was greatly pleased for he had devoted all his art to God and God's glory. This is the man that Napoleon urged with the command as Emperor to carve for him an exquisite statue of Venus, the goddess of love. But Dannecker refused while saying: "When an artist has devoted all his work to God, he cannot scuopt a pagan goddess!"
All of Dannecker work was devoted to God's honor and glory. He knew that to use our intelligence and talents for god is the greatest way to thank God for our being, our talents, our joy of life. Dannecker refused to give his talents to the goddess Venus or to lead others to Venus. He wanted to use his talents to lead others to God. Napoleon leaned his lesson that not in serving beauty but in serving God does our true happiness lie.
A prayer: Father - Creator of all - thank you so much for making us creative, too. We offer You all our art: be it cooking for our family, tending our garden, painting a room or pictures, sculpting in marble or clay, singing or dancing, building a house - even a play house - , sketching our children or our beloved spouse, writing or speaking, caring for the sick, making money to feed our families, working for world peace, making peace and love not war, especially our bringing children into this world, educating them to go out and to beautify this world and to save the lives of the unborn babies in the womb. We offer all we do, all we write and say, all our creativity to You, Father, with all our hearts [Psalm 138]. We belong to You, Father, and all we make belongs to You as well!
In Jesus's Name we pray, amen.
Love, Pio.
Pio's Proverb 46: "Pearl of Great Price"
We have all heard the Gospel that says "The Kingdom of God is like a man in search of fine pearls. When he finds one really fine pearl, he gives all his has and buys that pearl." But let us consider that YOU are the "Pearl of Great Price." Jesus gives up ALL He had - His life, His throne in heaven to reign from a cross, His love for life that caused Him to sweat blood with fear of losing it, His disciples who scattered, even His mother - to buy our redemption. He saw us as the Pearl of Great Price. He paid that price and laid down His life. Since we have been purchased, we should belong to Him and give up all we have to follow Him.
Love, Pio
Love, Pio
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Pio's Proverb 45: President Obama's ABOMINATIONS!
"Politics" are one of the realities of life, just as people are. If there are people, there will be politics. Even Jesus had to deal with it even if He were not political at all. As He said to Pilot, "My Kingdom is not of this world." But He did have some political views. He spoke of Herod to His Disciples: "Go and tell that fox!" Now that is a political statement in a sense. At least it addresses Herod based on how Herod dealt with the people. But in talking to Pilot, He was silent. But when Pilot asked Jesus a political question: "Are you a king?", then Jesus finally answered because Jesus is the Truth and said: "I am a King. My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were of this world, my subjects would have prevented me from being captured. But My Kingdom is not of this world....This is why I have come: to witness to the Truth." Pilot answered with another political question: "What is truth!" Now TRUTH is the very essence of Jesus' sojourn on this earth and is the very platform for politics today: truth or untruth! Both are the platforms of toda's Politics. Furer Hitler had a Propaganda Minister to assure that lies were presented as undisputable truths.
But we have a little Hitler here in our own day: President Obama's platform is to pretend to give the Truth while in fact giving lies like giving "free bread and circus to the people" as was given to Rome before it fell. A political platform of lies will crack, crumble and fall. For example, Blessed Pope John Paul II was asked by the News Media men how he, the Pope, was able single handedly to bring down Communism in Russia. The Pope's modest but significant answer was as follows: "It was easy: when the tree is rotten, it falls!" Now, that is so tremendously true: Communism was based on lies about the rights of human beings: rights that came from our Creator not from the State.
With that small introduction, let us look at the politics of Pres. Obama. What exactly are Obama's Abominations? To make sure we are on the same page, let us just read the definition of Abomination in our dictionary because the author of my dictionary seems to unwittingly have Obama in mind when he wrote his definition: "Abomination, n, 1 anything that arouses strong discust or loathing; a revolting thing: Lying lips are abomination to the Lord )Proverbs 12:22). 2 a feeling of disgust; loathing: Many people consider smoking with abomination. syn: hate, detestation. 3 a shamefully wicked action: If we are going to revive the abomination of expurgatory oaths, why stop at one profession and one kind of objectional behavior. (Atlantic). 4 anything strongly disliked." That definition fits President Obama like a woman's dress gloves fit her hands - snug and perfect. Here are only some of the Obominations of Pres. Obama, some of which you may not know about. Well, you will know about them now:
1) His ommision of God from his politics: Before I give an example of the President's ommision of God, do you remember that recently a Judge ruled in favor that the words: "under God" not be dropped from the Pledge Allegiance of the Flag. Despite this decision, an TV editor, in his own response to that decision, edited out the words "under God" in a nationally televisized important sport's event. I saw the video. There was silence for the time it took for those words to be spoken. The rest of the Pledge Allegiance went as usual. There was quite a furor over this editor whimsical decision that purposely deleted "under God" as was spoken by youths a the event. The hiatus in the broadcase was because being live, the editor could not bleep and cut it. No, he just silenced it. Well, with that example, let us look at Pres. Obama who does the same thing CONCISTENTLY. In five speeches by the President, he was quoting from the most famous lines: "Inalianable rights endowed by the Creator of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." But when the President made this quote five times in five different speeches, he said this: ""Inalianable rights...of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." When taken to task by media reps, his excuse was that he misread the monitor. The President lies like water off a duck's back - easily and naturally. It is not possible to make this mistake five times in a row without having fully intented to do so. President Obama is in my personal opinion "the father of lies." Why does he omit "by the Creator"? Muslims, Jews and Christians believe in the Creator. So, who is the President trying to not offend by skipping the word "Creator". Perhaps he does not wish to offend atheists. But atheists are not to be bowed down to at the expense of 95% of the Believers in the U.S.A. Yes, atheists wish to take off our money: "In God we trust." If aethists founded this country, then maybe they should have a say. But the framers of our Constitutions BELIEVED IN GOD. But our President Obama just skipped our Christian Heritage by dropping out the word: "Creator." Is President Obama the anti-Christ? I do not think so; but I do believe our President is a general in the Anti-Christ's army. For sure, our President is anti-God. He believes in "rights" but not as "endowed by the Creator". No, President Obama want our rights to be defined not by God but by the State. Hitler did the very same thing. Jews had no rights because Hitler said so. They had no rights to life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. Hitler also made that same proclamations for Poles as well. Six millions Poles died in Nazy occupied Polant. More that six million Jews were exterminated by the "Final Solution". Once God is out of the picture, Satan is in! Let us see how the President deletes the Constitutional words of "right to life"!
2 To pass his Obama Care package, President Obama promised to NOT use federal taxpayers monies to fund abortion. He said that from the podium. After the Obama Care Bill was passed, he wrote an executive order to use millions of federal taxpayer funds to fund Planned Parenthood, the larges abortion provider in the US.[Planned Parenthood was founded by Margaret Sanger whose program of eugenics tried to curb the births of Black Americans. Even now, Planned Parenthood Clinics are largely located in low-inclome Black communities. Black abortions are twice those of white abortions.] There are 878 Planned Parenthood clinics in the US. I have written to every one of them...so I know. Therefore, the President when he made his promise to not use these funds, knew what he would do when His Bill would be passed. Lying to the American people is what brought Pres. Nixion down. Our President is on that slipperly sloop and is close to the bottom. 1.3 million babies are aborted per year in the US. There have been 60,000,000 babies aborted since Roe v Wade. NO where in the Constitution, does it give women the right to abortion. The Constitution says the VERY opposite. Every one has the "right to life". President Abraham Lincoln freed the Black slaves where President Obama, a Black man, funds Planned Parenthood who kill Black children in the womb. Martin Luther King's family advertise these words on signs: "Defund Planned Parenthood! How can we live the dream if we kill our children!" That is the truth; why can't the President see it! The "right to privacy" in the Supreme Court's decision in no way give anyone "abortion rights". Those are contradiction in terms that are mutually exclusive. But President Obama ran his campaign on women's "abortion rights." He made a speech on the anniverary of Roe v Wade to safeguard women's right to abort their own child. But the Constitution says the totally opposite. Our President is interested in votes not the lives of million of babies. Nixon pulled back troops from Viet Nam just as the election year began. But what of all those men who died while Nixon was waiting for the perfect opportunity to get votes. President Nixon and President Obama consider lives expendable for their own ends. Human lives - precious human lives - expendable. President Obama is taking to himself God-like powers: to decide who lives in dies in this Country. Let us see more how this plays out:
3) President Obama has followed President Clinton in a very infamous act. An abomination beyond belief:
On President Clinton's last day in office, he signed an executive order to allow abortion of babies AFTER birth if no one wanted them. Now this is infanticide signed into law by the President of the United States of America. Of course President Bush on the next day, he first day in office, he wrote an executive order to rescind Pres. Clinton's execute order. But President Obama is more clever: He has the Freedom of Choice Act that would allow the killing of a baby after birth. There are many, many, many babies that survive an abortion; these are left to die without any one being allowed to touch them. All watch as the baby kicks and fights for it life. All watch is get more and more weak and die. I know. I have friends who had worked in abortion clinics. But this bill would allow the killing of any baby up to and after birth if the parents do not want it. That means that a baby born at 9 month gestation could be killled by the doctor upon delivery. Freedom of Act is deadly. But Pro-Lifers have a bill out, too: Freedom of Conception Act. This by law says that at conception a human being is present and has the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I praise those who have proposed this law; but you wonder even why do we need such an act. Even an atheist doctor or scientist will tell you that at conception a human being is present. Here is Michigan, I have read the by laws of abortion clinic as stated by the State of Michigan Department of Health. It reads that "homo sapiens" is in the womb. That means a human being. It says this human fetus "is Killed!" The Michigan Department of Health does not mince words. The baby is "killed". Then how is it that these abortion clinics are called "Health clinics or Womancare." It is not too healthy for babies at these clinics. Also at Womancare, 3 women died after abortion,. I read their cases with tears in my eyes. There was a 25 year, a 30 year old and a 15 year old. They die from perforated uterus.
So this is the kind President we have. His Abominations are: lying, using tax payer's money to kill babies, and trying to give power to kill babies after birth. Obamas' ABOMINATIONS are those that are above the surface of the water. The iceberg goes deeper.
When Obama was up for election, I told my 6 educated children not whom to vote for. But I did tell them this: "If you vote for Obama, you may not go to Holy Communion." They go the message, not one of my children voted for Obama. I see a perfect parallel between Obama and Hitler. They are cut from the same cloth: smooth talkers, prolific liars, merciless killers, promisors of prosperity at expense of classes of people [Hitler killed Jews] and [Obama kills children], and both having an erotic relationship with power.
Pio
But we have a little Hitler here in our own day: President Obama's platform is to pretend to give the Truth while in fact giving lies like giving "free bread and circus to the people" as was given to Rome before it fell. A political platform of lies will crack, crumble and fall. For example, Blessed Pope John Paul II was asked by the News Media men how he, the Pope, was able single handedly to bring down Communism in Russia. The Pope's modest but significant answer was as follows: "It was easy: when the tree is rotten, it falls!" Now, that is so tremendously true: Communism was based on lies about the rights of human beings: rights that came from our Creator not from the State.
With that small introduction, let us look at the politics of Pres. Obama. What exactly are Obama's Abominations? To make sure we are on the same page, let us just read the definition of Abomination in our dictionary because the author of my dictionary seems to unwittingly have Obama in mind when he wrote his definition: "Abomination, n, 1 anything that arouses strong discust or loathing; a revolting thing: Lying lips are abomination to the Lord )Proverbs 12:22). 2 a feeling of disgust; loathing: Many people consider smoking with abomination. syn: hate, detestation. 3 a shamefully wicked action: If we are going to revive the abomination of expurgatory oaths, why stop at one profession and one kind of objectional behavior. (Atlantic). 4 anything strongly disliked." That definition fits President Obama like a woman's dress gloves fit her hands - snug and perfect. Here are only some of the Obominations of Pres. Obama, some of which you may not know about. Well, you will know about them now:
1) His ommision of God from his politics: Before I give an example of the President's ommision of God, do you remember that recently a Judge ruled in favor that the words: "under God" not be dropped from the Pledge Allegiance of the Flag. Despite this decision, an TV editor, in his own response to that decision, edited out the words "under God" in a nationally televisized important sport's event. I saw the video. There was silence for the time it took for those words to be spoken. The rest of the Pledge Allegiance went as usual. There was quite a furor over this editor whimsical decision that purposely deleted "under God" as was spoken by youths a the event. The hiatus in the broadcase was because being live, the editor could not bleep and cut it. No, he just silenced it. Well, with that example, let us look at Pres. Obama who does the same thing CONCISTENTLY. In five speeches by the President, he was quoting from the most famous lines: "Inalianable rights endowed by the Creator of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." But when the President made this quote five times in five different speeches, he said this: ""Inalianable rights...of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." When taken to task by media reps, his excuse was that he misread the monitor. The President lies like water off a duck's back - easily and naturally. It is not possible to make this mistake five times in a row without having fully intented to do so. President Obama is in my personal opinion "the father of lies." Why does he omit "by the Creator"? Muslims, Jews and Christians believe in the Creator. So, who is the President trying to not offend by skipping the word "Creator". Perhaps he does not wish to offend atheists. But atheists are not to be bowed down to at the expense of 95% of the Believers in the U.S.A. Yes, atheists wish to take off our money: "In God we trust." If aethists founded this country, then maybe they should have a say. But the framers of our Constitutions BELIEVED IN GOD. But our President Obama just skipped our Christian Heritage by dropping out the word: "Creator." Is President Obama the anti-Christ? I do not think so; but I do believe our President is a general in the Anti-Christ's army. For sure, our President is anti-God. He believes in "rights" but not as "endowed by the Creator". No, President Obama want our rights to be defined not by God but by the State. Hitler did the very same thing. Jews had no rights because Hitler said so. They had no rights to life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. Hitler also made that same proclamations for Poles as well. Six millions Poles died in Nazy occupied Polant. More that six million Jews were exterminated by the "Final Solution". Once God is out of the picture, Satan is in! Let us see how the President deletes the Constitutional words of "right to life"!
2 To pass his Obama Care package, President Obama promised to NOT use federal taxpayers monies to fund abortion. He said that from the podium. After the Obama Care Bill was passed, he wrote an executive order to use millions of federal taxpayer funds to fund Planned Parenthood, the larges abortion provider in the US.[Planned Parenthood was founded by Margaret Sanger whose program of eugenics tried to curb the births of Black Americans. Even now, Planned Parenthood Clinics are largely located in low-inclome Black communities. Black abortions are twice those of white abortions.] There are 878 Planned Parenthood clinics in the US. I have written to every one of them...so I know. Therefore, the President when he made his promise to not use these funds, knew what he would do when His Bill would be passed. Lying to the American people is what brought Pres. Nixion down. Our President is on that slipperly sloop and is close to the bottom. 1.3 million babies are aborted per year in the US. There have been 60,000,000 babies aborted since Roe v Wade. NO where in the Constitution, does it give women the right to abortion. The Constitution says the VERY opposite. Every one has the "right to life". President Abraham Lincoln freed the Black slaves where President Obama, a Black man, funds Planned Parenthood who kill Black children in the womb. Martin Luther King's family advertise these words on signs: "Defund Planned Parenthood! How can we live the dream if we kill our children!" That is the truth; why can't the President see it! The "right to privacy" in the Supreme Court's decision in no way give anyone "abortion rights". Those are contradiction in terms that are mutually exclusive. But President Obama ran his campaign on women's "abortion rights." He made a speech on the anniverary of Roe v Wade to safeguard women's right to abort their own child. But the Constitution says the totally opposite. Our President is interested in votes not the lives of million of babies. Nixon pulled back troops from Viet Nam just as the election year began. But what of all those men who died while Nixon was waiting for the perfect opportunity to get votes. President Nixon and President Obama consider lives expendable for their own ends. Human lives - precious human lives - expendable. President Obama is taking to himself God-like powers: to decide who lives in dies in this Country. Let us see more how this plays out:
3) President Obama has followed President Clinton in a very infamous act. An abomination beyond belief:
On President Clinton's last day in office, he signed an executive order to allow abortion of babies AFTER birth if no one wanted them. Now this is infanticide signed into law by the President of the United States of America. Of course President Bush on the next day, he first day in office, he wrote an executive order to rescind Pres. Clinton's execute order. But President Obama is more clever: He has the Freedom of Choice Act that would allow the killing of a baby after birth. There are many, many, many babies that survive an abortion; these are left to die without any one being allowed to touch them. All watch as the baby kicks and fights for it life. All watch is get more and more weak and die. I know. I have friends who had worked in abortion clinics. But this bill would allow the killing of any baby up to and after birth if the parents do not want it. That means that a baby born at 9 month gestation could be killled by the doctor upon delivery. Freedom of Act is deadly. But Pro-Lifers have a bill out, too: Freedom of Conception Act. This by law says that at conception a human being is present and has the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I praise those who have proposed this law; but you wonder even why do we need such an act. Even an atheist doctor or scientist will tell you that at conception a human being is present. Here is Michigan, I have read the by laws of abortion clinic as stated by the State of Michigan Department of Health. It reads that "homo sapiens" is in the womb. That means a human being. It says this human fetus "is Killed!" The Michigan Department of Health does not mince words. The baby is "killed". Then how is it that these abortion clinics are called "Health clinics or Womancare." It is not too healthy for babies at these clinics. Also at Womancare, 3 women died after abortion,. I read their cases with tears in my eyes. There was a 25 year, a 30 year old and a 15 year old. They die from perforated uterus.
So this is the kind President we have. His Abominations are: lying, using tax payer's money to kill babies, and trying to give power to kill babies after birth. Obamas' ABOMINATIONS are those that are above the surface of the water. The iceberg goes deeper.
When Obama was up for election, I told my 6 educated children not whom to vote for. But I did tell them this: "If you vote for Obama, you may not go to Holy Communion." They go the message, not one of my children voted for Obama. I see a perfect parallel between Obama and Hitler. They are cut from the same cloth: smooth talkers, prolific liars, merciless killers, promisors of prosperity at expense of classes of people [Hitler killed Jews] and [Obama kills children], and both having an erotic relationship with power.
Pio
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Pio's Proverb 44: St. Archangel Raphael saved my life! - Angels: Who are they?
The word "angel" comes from the Greek: "agglos" - messenger. Angels have two functions: to illuminate us and to guard us. Christians, Jews, Muslims, even pagans - Aristotle, Virgil, Plutach - believed in angels. Jews believe that St. Michael the Archangel is the Protector of Israel. I believe that is true. Aristotle said that every person has a guardian angel. The Greeks believed that angels governed the universe. The Greeks came to the belief in the existance of angels from nature's hierarchy. If we go from plants to insects to animals to man and jump to God, there is something wrong with that progression of logic. And the Greeks were very logical. They are the ones who reasoned to the existence of the immortal soul and to atoms (atomos). So, they concluded that between man and God, there had to be a creature that was pure spirit, intelligent and good. They were right. They called these beings "angels". If mere man could come to the conclusion that there had to be creatures between man and God, then you can be sure that God, of Infinite Intelligence, would conclude the same. But angels came before man was created. When angels were told that God was going to humble Himself and become a man, the angels objected. They felt that if God was going to humble Himself, He should become as they are - an angel. Many, many angels refused to adore God as a man. They made an irrevocable decision. They said that they would not serve. Now, when this decision was made by many angels, they were looking at the face of God. They were created good; but they were not admitted into glory right away. They had this one test: to adore God as a man. These angels became bad angels because they made an irrovocable decision. It was perfectly clear what they were doing. There was no changing of their minds. Once they decided, that was it. Michael drove them out of heaven. Where did they go? I believe there is a passage in scripture that says they were thrown down to earth. Jesus said: "I saw Lucifer falling from heaven like lightning." Interesting: Lucifer which means "light bearer" as he was falling from heaven made a streak like a lightnight. That tells me that Lucifer retained some light as he fell. His glory was not put out like a light switch. He fell while he was glorious. By the time he landed, however, there was no light in him. He is the Prince of Darkness. When Judas left the table of the last supper, "Satan entered him. He went out; and it was night!" Night - darkness - is the domain of Satan. These bad angels can suggest bad things to us; but they cannot penetrate our wills. They can dominate our imagination but not our will. And of course, not all temptation comes from the devil. Some come from our fallen nature and our concupiscense. But if men allow their imaginations to be filled with porn and sadistic movies, then they are letting the devil dominate their imaginations because he is the driving force behind the porn industry and abortion. He presents to the young mothers the fear of birth and the fear of what a child will do to the mothers' lives. The devil can stimulate our senses and imagination to create fear - palpable fear. Jesus had it right when He said: "Fear is useless; what is needed is trust!" But we have the power to rebuke and tell devils where to go. Sometimes, the devil can share his own despair with you and make you think it is your own. I feel that was Satan's joker with Judas. Why did Judas feel so guilty and devastated instead of repentant? Remember, "Satan entered him." Judas felt the total despair of Satan, himself. The devil did not tie a noose around Judas' neck; but Satan tied a noose around Judas' heart that did not allow Judas to just cast himself on to Jesus' mercy. When I feel tempted by the devil, I respond kindly, actually. Remember Jesus granted the devils' request to go into the swine. Jesus never seems to uprade the devils. He commands them to leave; but He never insults them as they leave. He has some compassion of these damned creatures who were once good. So, when I get a clear temptation from the devil, I respond with trying to tempt the devil to repent. I just say, "Why are you bothering me with this. Why don't just repent, yourself. God will forgive you." Now, I know devils have made their decision, but I also know that God's mercy and grace are not barrred from anywhere. My temptation to the devil to repent either will make him think or actually burn him like holy water would. Maybe he will think twice about coming back. That is my hope. Actually, God's mercy does reach hell. Those who are in hell deserve great punishment for their lack of love for God. Not loving God is a bad sin because God is all kind and loving and good and generous. To not love Him, is an eternal sin. But God's mercy reached down into the dephs of hell by not giving the full punishment of their sins. They are punished greatly; but if God gave them what they really deserve, that would be the hell of hells. Not seeing God is hell, itself.
But what about angels? We said they were given to us to guard us and to illuminate us.
How do they do that? They put good thoughts into our head. When we do wrong, they stress us to seek God. They help us to accomplish good and to love God. The scripture says about children: "Their angels behold the face of God." So, these angels are Saints who are ever ready to help us to get to heaven.
How do they guard us? Look at all the chidren who are preserved from serious accidents every day. Also, in the war, there was a Jewish man who was in a shell hole with 4 other soldiers. He got a persistent thought that he must move. He went on his belly to the next shell hole. As soon as he left, the shell hole with the 4 soldier was blown up. The men were blown in the arms of God. The Jewish man after a little while, got the same thought again. He left and went to another shell hole. As soon as he did, another shell landed in the shell hole he just left. This happened 5 times in the exact same way. He absolutely concluded that his angel was telling what to do. They angel cannot force him to move. He can only suggest with urgency. Bishop Sheen said he prayed every day to St. Raphael, patron of travelers. Bishop Sheen said that TWA meant "Traveling With Angels".
I, myself, have had a real, direct and immediate encounter with St. Raphael the Archangel. I owe my life and those of my children and grandchildren to St. Raphael. Without him I would never have lived to get married and have my 6 children. Here is my grateful story which I tell in his honor:
The year was 1959; I was in Louisville, Kentucky. I had given catechism to a Baptist man over a period of time, and he was being received into the Church as a Catholic. He made his First Holy Communion. I attended both as his only family because his own family disowned him for becoming Catholic. I was the only one there to welcome him and who loved him as my spiritual brother in Christ. After the ceremony, he gave me a Christopher medal and told me something. He said in reference to the Holy Eucharist. I remember his exact words: "I do not believe that is God." And I said, "You don't?" And he said: "I KNOW THAT IS GOD!" He related to me that he had never had such an incredible experience in his life. He said he wished to become a monk! [Monks were part of the landscape because the Trappist Monastery, Gethsemani, was known to all Kentuckians.] But I said to Mr. Timason: "You can't. You are married with children!" He accepted my spiritual counsel with the same faith as he took all his catechism lessons. We departed lovingly as brothers. But as I reached the bottom of the church steps, I was meet by Betty, a tall woman. I was 6' 1", and she was as tall and heavier than myself. She asked me for a ride home from church she had attended. I disregarded the fact that she was pursuing me over some time. I just kindly agreed to take her home in my blue 1958 Volkeswagon Beetle. Her head was closer to the windshield that I was because she sat taller in her seat than I did. While driving on the Freeway, we were both talking, and I missed the interchange to go on another freeway that was to her house. She did not notice; but I quickly did and told her we had to get off to find an overpass and down ramp to go back to the interchange. The first exist we came to was the one I took. I went drove over the overpass bridge and looked for the down ramp to return to the interchange. I was surprised; but there was no down ramp at all. I stopped and told Betty: "We have two choices here. We can return to the freeway and go up for another 4 miles and find an exit, overpass and down ramp OR we can continue to take this road we are on now and keep making left turns which will take us back to the freeway in the direction we want to go. What would you like to do?" She said: "Let's continue on this road and keep making left turns till we reach the freeway." So, I agreed. We started going down this road at about 40 mph and looked for our first left turn opportunity. None came. The sun was setting quickly, and the paved road became a dirt road. That should have sent me back to the overpass, but I hoped to see a left turn soon. Now it was getting dark and the dirt road had no street lights in "them thar hills". It was now dark with no lights at all except my head lights.
Then suddenly, my rear wheels made a loud "ZZINNG!" I have never heard that sound before. What happened next was even far more puzzeling: my head lights instead of shining forward shined directly heaven ward. I was no longer looking out my windsheild at the road. I was now looking at my hood and had to bend my nect to see my headlight beams going upward instead of outward. I could not figure it out...until..the car by itself turned to the right by the weight of my passenger, Betty. Then I instantly knew that we were not on the road at all. We were in the air! I grow calm in emergencies. So, realizing the we were falling on Betty's side and that she would be fatally slammed against her door, I grabbed her around her neck and placed her in a hammer lock. I then anchored her and myself to the steering wheel by placing my arms and wrists and hands around the steering wheel. Upon impact, she and I would at least break our fall by the steering wheel which is a tremendously strong component of a car. I waited for impact. We must have been very high because I had all this time to think and make a human seat belt for her and myself.
As I braced myself for impact, I heard an audible voice. I had never heard one like this one before, and I never ever heard another one since. This was a unique encounter. The voice said: "Turn your wheels to the left!" Now the voice had tremendous authority but was loving as well. Emotions were also communicated telepathically - that is to say: I felt great assurance, goodness, kindness, caring - all that projected into my being while the voice spoke to me. Now, you would think that if there were a heavenly voice, that something profound would be said. No, this being was a very practical person. He was concerned about safety not spirituality. Well, I thought why wouldn't being just turn my wheels to the left instead of asking me to do it since this being was very powerful. Well, then I realized that if my wheels were to have been turned by someone on the outside, the steering wheel would have broke our arms. Guess it was up to me. And for sure this voice was something you could not disobey. It was like the voice of God; but it was not God. It was someone very close to God: one of the seven who stand before the throne of God.
I had to let go of Betty to turn my wheels to the left. She kept her head on my shoulder and eyes shut. Turning my wheels to the left was so easy because there was no road beneath me. It was much easier than power steering. Not a second after completing turning my where as far as they could go, my front wheel landed on something. But the landing was so gentle as to not bottom out my shocks. We were like a small 747 landing on a runway but that it was vertical not horizontal. We were rolling backwards just on those two front wheels! But how could that be? We were falling from very high up. We were definitly on a vertical wall of somekind because we were both thrown to the left and right as my front wheels rolled on very rough rocky terrain. I remember my rear wheels then engaging now too. We were now rolling on all four wheels backwards and downwards. The rear wheels had engaged because the wall were were descending now was slooping outward as does the base of mountains do. With centrifical force we were thown into a lake that was about 4' deep. I do not remember the splash; but I do remember my emotions: I felt so utterly relieved that our car was stopped and we were alive! I did not actually become frightened until after my eyes acclamated to the dark, I could see the high ridge of a cliff that we had come from. That was frightening. I am glad God let all this happen without my seeing anything. My engine was off being submerged in 4 foot of water. But my headlights were still on; and I could see the surface of the lake...and the gentle rain falling. No water came into my water-tight Beetle. Betty kept her head still on my shoulder and did not speak a word. I believe she was in shock. Actually, later I saw that as my Bettle drove off the cliff, the windshield hit her head and gave her a black and blue bruise on her forehead. The 500 lbs engine - when we went of the cliff - made the Beetle go vertical and made our headlights to vertical as well. It happened so quickly. Actually, if I had put on my brakes going off the cliff, that would have killed us. But by not knowing, I sailed off the cliff and was actually airborn because of the watertight undercarriage of the Beetle. We were sailing belly first but leaning to the right. So, by turning my wheels to the left, my tires were vertical and 90 degrees to the earth. Had I not turned my wheels to the left, I would have crashed on the opposite was the cliff that was a V shaped gorge. If I were a stunt driver, I could have made it over one cliff edge to the other. But my car only went partly over and missed completing the jump. I was heading for the cliff wall. Had I not obeyed the voice, I would have exploed on the wall instead of landing on it. My engine was on. I had a full tank of gas. I we would have died in a fireball. But the voice saves us so cleverly. I guess God does not use miracles if brains can help first. But it was not my brains. I could not even see. Who was it then?
The police came and were angry at us. First they put a hook on my bumper and pulled us out of the land. The hook was attached to a large crane on top of the cliff. After we were on shore, the policeman said: "Every body out!" As I saw my car lifted up and taken back to the clift, it looked like a little car as it reached the top and disappeared over the top. The angry policeman said: "How did you get down here!" I said: "I drove down here." He said: "It is not possible to go from there to here and be alive." He said: "Two years ago a taxi cab driver did the same as you did and died instantly." And I said: "Then don't you think you should put signs and guardrails up there!" He did not know how to answer me. But just think a man had died doing what happened to me and Betty, and City did nothing about it. Of course everyone in them thar hills knows that there is a cliff there; but no one from out of town knows it. The road as it was just ended no where. It just went off a cliff. I hope to God that now there is a guard rail there. But someone was GURADING Betty and me. God saw what was happening. Our angels probably alerted God. God probably pointed His finder at the nearest Archangel to Him and said: "Handle it!" And Mighty Archangel Raphael DID!
The police made us both go the hospital to get treated and released. Betty wound was looked after; I had nothing to show...not even a scratch. By the way, my Bettle did not have a scratch on it either. But the bumper (that had the hook) had been pulled out because of an collapsed inner reinforcement. Beetled are not built to be hoisted in the air by their bumpers. I took Betty home. She never said a word to me. She was silent the whole time. I think she was in emotional shock for sure.
When I got home, I fell on my knees to thank God for sparing my life. The next moring - which was God's total gift - I got up early and went to the Cathedral on Broadway in Downtown Louisville. When I entered the church, I again fell on my knees and would not even look at the tabernacle - so abashed was I that God had saved me. I thanked God with all myheart as Psalm 138 says: "I thank You Lord with all my heart because You have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of ANGELS I give you thanks because of your kindness and truth and LOVE which was greater than we ever knew of You!" I especially thanked God that my Mom, mother of 8, did not have to get a telegram from the police to inform her of my fatal accident due to their fault. It would have been wrongful death for sure as it was for the taxi cab driver. God rest his soul. I do pray for him.
My eyes were still down when I saw on the seat in front of me a pamphlet with a color picture on it. So, I picked it up. It was a picture of St. Raphael and had a prayer to him and addressing him as Patron of Travelers. It said: "St. Raphael, Patron of Travelers, pray for us." [Later editions of this pamphlet said: "St. Raphal, Patron of Travelers, land, air, or sea, pray for me."] Well, now, St. Raphael was the voice and he wanted me to know it. He even left me his calling card! Even if I have a little drive to Ann Arbor and back, I ask St. Raphael to get me there and back safely. I love this angel. He is still following me around because I went to Ann Arbor and back which is a 3 hours plus trip on the road. As I was coming back, I felt I should get off the express way early. I could take Jefferson hom instead of going on for two more miles on the express way. Now I was on Jefferson doing only 25 mph when I heard a big noise in my right rear wheel. The car would not go. The engine was fine but something keep the car from going. I got out. The rear right wheel was askew and off the axel. Someone from my parish recognized me took me home. I called the wrecker and we both went to my car the next day in the daylight. He said to me: "It is a good thing this did not happen while you were on the express way. The car would have gone in to an uncontrolable spin and you would have been killed." Now, just imagine. St. Raphael knew all the while that this was going to happen. He told me to get off the express way and it happened when I was going very slowly. "O St. Raphael, I thank you, dearest Angel; but not only save me from all dangers on the road; save me from all spiritual dangers, too, and get me safely to heaven where you and I can sing God's praises ogether. Promise me that you will join me in singing Psalm 138 together!" Yes, "in the presence of the angels".......
What great company that will be! Right, St.Raphael!
Love, Pio
I
But what about angels? We said they were given to us to guard us and to illuminate us.
How do they do that? They put good thoughts into our head. When we do wrong, they stress us to seek God. They help us to accomplish good and to love God. The scripture says about children: "Their angels behold the face of God." So, these angels are Saints who are ever ready to help us to get to heaven.
How do they guard us? Look at all the chidren who are preserved from serious accidents every day. Also, in the war, there was a Jewish man who was in a shell hole with 4 other soldiers. He got a persistent thought that he must move. He went on his belly to the next shell hole. As soon as he left, the shell hole with the 4 soldier was blown up. The men were blown in the arms of God. The Jewish man after a little while, got the same thought again. He left and went to another shell hole. As soon as he did, another shell landed in the shell hole he just left. This happened 5 times in the exact same way. He absolutely concluded that his angel was telling what to do. They angel cannot force him to move. He can only suggest with urgency. Bishop Sheen said he prayed every day to St. Raphael, patron of travelers. Bishop Sheen said that TWA meant "Traveling With Angels".
I, myself, have had a real, direct and immediate encounter with St. Raphael the Archangel. I owe my life and those of my children and grandchildren to St. Raphael. Without him I would never have lived to get married and have my 6 children. Here is my grateful story which I tell in his honor:
The year was 1959; I was in Louisville, Kentucky. I had given catechism to a Baptist man over a period of time, and he was being received into the Church as a Catholic. He made his First Holy Communion. I attended both as his only family because his own family disowned him for becoming Catholic. I was the only one there to welcome him and who loved him as my spiritual brother in Christ. After the ceremony, he gave me a Christopher medal and told me something. He said in reference to the Holy Eucharist. I remember his exact words: "I do not believe that is God." And I said, "You don't?" And he said: "I KNOW THAT IS GOD!" He related to me that he had never had such an incredible experience in his life. He said he wished to become a monk! [Monks were part of the landscape because the Trappist Monastery, Gethsemani, was known to all Kentuckians.] But I said to Mr. Timason: "You can't. You are married with children!" He accepted my spiritual counsel with the same faith as he took all his catechism lessons. We departed lovingly as brothers. But as I reached the bottom of the church steps, I was meet by Betty, a tall woman. I was 6' 1", and she was as tall and heavier than myself. She asked me for a ride home from church she had attended. I disregarded the fact that she was pursuing me over some time. I just kindly agreed to take her home in my blue 1958 Volkeswagon Beetle. Her head was closer to the windshield that I was because she sat taller in her seat than I did. While driving on the Freeway, we were both talking, and I missed the interchange to go on another freeway that was to her house. She did not notice; but I quickly did and told her we had to get off to find an overpass and down ramp to go back to the interchange. The first exist we came to was the one I took. I went drove over the overpass bridge and looked for the down ramp to return to the interchange. I was surprised; but there was no down ramp at all. I stopped and told Betty: "We have two choices here. We can return to the freeway and go up for another 4 miles and find an exit, overpass and down ramp OR we can continue to take this road we are on now and keep making left turns which will take us back to the freeway in the direction we want to go. What would you like to do?" She said: "Let's continue on this road and keep making left turns till we reach the freeway." So, I agreed. We started going down this road at about 40 mph and looked for our first left turn opportunity. None came. The sun was setting quickly, and the paved road became a dirt road. That should have sent me back to the overpass, but I hoped to see a left turn soon. Now it was getting dark and the dirt road had no street lights in "them thar hills". It was now dark with no lights at all except my head lights.
Then suddenly, my rear wheels made a loud "ZZINNG!" I have never heard that sound before. What happened next was even far more puzzeling: my head lights instead of shining forward shined directly heaven ward. I was no longer looking out my windsheild at the road. I was now looking at my hood and had to bend my nect to see my headlight beams going upward instead of outward. I could not figure it out...until..the car by itself turned to the right by the weight of my passenger, Betty. Then I instantly knew that we were not on the road at all. We were in the air! I grow calm in emergencies. So, realizing the we were falling on Betty's side and that she would be fatally slammed against her door, I grabbed her around her neck and placed her in a hammer lock. I then anchored her and myself to the steering wheel by placing my arms and wrists and hands around the steering wheel. Upon impact, she and I would at least break our fall by the steering wheel which is a tremendously strong component of a car. I waited for impact. We must have been very high because I had all this time to think and make a human seat belt for her and myself.
As I braced myself for impact, I heard an audible voice. I had never heard one like this one before, and I never ever heard another one since. This was a unique encounter. The voice said: "Turn your wheels to the left!" Now the voice had tremendous authority but was loving as well. Emotions were also communicated telepathically - that is to say: I felt great assurance, goodness, kindness, caring - all that projected into my being while the voice spoke to me. Now, you would think that if there were a heavenly voice, that something profound would be said. No, this being was a very practical person. He was concerned about safety not spirituality. Well, I thought why wouldn't being just turn my wheels to the left instead of asking me to do it since this being was very powerful. Well, then I realized that if my wheels were to have been turned by someone on the outside, the steering wheel would have broke our arms. Guess it was up to me. And for sure this voice was something you could not disobey. It was like the voice of God; but it was not God. It was someone very close to God: one of the seven who stand before the throne of God.
I had to let go of Betty to turn my wheels to the left. She kept her head on my shoulder and eyes shut. Turning my wheels to the left was so easy because there was no road beneath me. It was much easier than power steering. Not a second after completing turning my where as far as they could go, my front wheel landed on something. But the landing was so gentle as to not bottom out my shocks. We were like a small 747 landing on a runway but that it was vertical not horizontal. We were rolling backwards just on those two front wheels! But how could that be? We were falling from very high up. We were definitly on a vertical wall of somekind because we were both thrown to the left and right as my front wheels rolled on very rough rocky terrain. I remember my rear wheels then engaging now too. We were now rolling on all four wheels backwards and downwards. The rear wheels had engaged because the wall were were descending now was slooping outward as does the base of mountains do. With centrifical force we were thown into a lake that was about 4' deep. I do not remember the splash; but I do remember my emotions: I felt so utterly relieved that our car was stopped and we were alive! I did not actually become frightened until after my eyes acclamated to the dark, I could see the high ridge of a cliff that we had come from. That was frightening. I am glad God let all this happen without my seeing anything. My engine was off being submerged in 4 foot of water. But my headlights were still on; and I could see the surface of the lake...and the gentle rain falling. No water came into my water-tight Beetle. Betty kept her head still on my shoulder and did not speak a word. I believe she was in shock. Actually, later I saw that as my Bettle drove off the cliff, the windshield hit her head and gave her a black and blue bruise on her forehead. The 500 lbs engine - when we went of the cliff - made the Beetle go vertical and made our headlights to vertical as well. It happened so quickly. Actually, if I had put on my brakes going off the cliff, that would have killed us. But by not knowing, I sailed off the cliff and was actually airborn because of the watertight undercarriage of the Beetle. We were sailing belly first but leaning to the right. So, by turning my wheels to the left, my tires were vertical and 90 degrees to the earth. Had I not turned my wheels to the left, I would have crashed on the opposite was the cliff that was a V shaped gorge. If I were a stunt driver, I could have made it over one cliff edge to the other. But my car only went partly over and missed completing the jump. I was heading for the cliff wall. Had I not obeyed the voice, I would have exploed on the wall instead of landing on it. My engine was on. I had a full tank of gas. I we would have died in a fireball. But the voice saves us so cleverly. I guess God does not use miracles if brains can help first. But it was not my brains. I could not even see. Who was it then?
The police came and were angry at us. First they put a hook on my bumper and pulled us out of the land. The hook was attached to a large crane on top of the cliff. After we were on shore, the policeman said: "Every body out!" As I saw my car lifted up and taken back to the clift, it looked like a little car as it reached the top and disappeared over the top. The angry policeman said: "How did you get down here!" I said: "I drove down here." He said: "It is not possible to go from there to here and be alive." He said: "Two years ago a taxi cab driver did the same as you did and died instantly." And I said: "Then don't you think you should put signs and guardrails up there!" He did not know how to answer me. But just think a man had died doing what happened to me and Betty, and City did nothing about it. Of course everyone in them thar hills knows that there is a cliff there; but no one from out of town knows it. The road as it was just ended no where. It just went off a cliff. I hope to God that now there is a guard rail there. But someone was GURADING Betty and me. God saw what was happening. Our angels probably alerted God. God probably pointed His finder at the nearest Archangel to Him and said: "Handle it!" And Mighty Archangel Raphael DID!
The police made us both go the hospital to get treated and released. Betty wound was looked after; I had nothing to show...not even a scratch. By the way, my Bettle did not have a scratch on it either. But the bumper (that had the hook) had been pulled out because of an collapsed inner reinforcement. Beetled are not built to be hoisted in the air by their bumpers. I took Betty home. She never said a word to me. She was silent the whole time. I think she was in emotional shock for sure.
When I got home, I fell on my knees to thank God for sparing my life. The next moring - which was God's total gift - I got up early and went to the Cathedral on Broadway in Downtown Louisville. When I entered the church, I again fell on my knees and would not even look at the tabernacle - so abashed was I that God had saved me. I thanked God with all myheart as Psalm 138 says: "I thank You Lord with all my heart because You have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of ANGELS I give you thanks because of your kindness and truth and LOVE which was greater than we ever knew of You!" I especially thanked God that my Mom, mother of 8, did not have to get a telegram from the police to inform her of my fatal accident due to their fault. It would have been wrongful death for sure as it was for the taxi cab driver. God rest his soul. I do pray for him.
My eyes were still down when I saw on the seat in front of me a pamphlet with a color picture on it. So, I picked it up. It was a picture of St. Raphael and had a prayer to him and addressing him as Patron of Travelers. It said: "St. Raphael, Patron of Travelers, pray for us." [Later editions of this pamphlet said: "St. Raphal, Patron of Travelers, land, air, or sea, pray for me."] Well, now, St. Raphael was the voice and he wanted me to know it. He even left me his calling card! Even if I have a little drive to Ann Arbor and back, I ask St. Raphael to get me there and back safely. I love this angel. He is still following me around because I went to Ann Arbor and back which is a 3 hours plus trip on the road. As I was coming back, I felt I should get off the express way early. I could take Jefferson hom instead of going on for two more miles on the express way. Now I was on Jefferson doing only 25 mph when I heard a big noise in my right rear wheel. The car would not go. The engine was fine but something keep the car from going. I got out. The rear right wheel was askew and off the axel. Someone from my parish recognized me took me home. I called the wrecker and we both went to my car the next day in the daylight. He said to me: "It is a good thing this did not happen while you were on the express way. The car would have gone in to an uncontrolable spin and you would have been killed." Now, just imagine. St. Raphael knew all the while that this was going to happen. He told me to get off the express way and it happened when I was going very slowly. "O St. Raphael, I thank you, dearest Angel; but not only save me from all dangers on the road; save me from all spiritual dangers, too, and get me safely to heaven where you and I can sing God's praises ogether. Promise me that you will join me in singing Psalm 138 together!" Yes, "in the presence of the angels".......
What great company that will be! Right, St.Raphael!
Love, Pio
I
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)