Chaplaincy at Fauquier Hospital

Ok, so I went to volunteer at Fauquier Hospital to help others out (since I spent a significant amount in the hospital as a child) and I think I found my calling for now. I am going to interview tomorrow with the Chaplain to see if I can be a volunteer Chaplain and help others find God as well as comfort them in their sickness and sorrow.

Please pray that if this is God's will, then it will be done accordingly.

Purgatory Part II - The Early Church Fathers

From my earlier post last night on purgatory, I wanted to write somemore on the subject as far as what the early Church Fathers believed regarding purgatory. The early church fathers were the men who followed in the footsteps of the apostles and many of them knew the first apostles and then trained other people according to their teachings and sermons.

Let us take a look at what these Church fathers actually believed and taught on the existence of purgatory - I would also like to remind people that the bible was not even a book until the year 367-404AD when it was finished by St. Jerome. If you have a bible today - thank a Catholic. =)

Clement of Alexandria

The believer through discipline divests himself of his passions and passes to the mansion which is better than the former one, passes to the greatest torment, taking with him the characteristic of repentance for the faults he may have committed after baptism. He is tortured then still more, not yet attaining what he sees others have acquired. The greatest torments are assigned to the believer, for God's righteousness is good, and His goodness righteous, and though these punishments cease in the course of the expiation and purification of each one, "yet" etc. (Patres Groeci. IX, col. 332 [A.D. 150-215])

The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity

"[T]hat very night, this was shown to me in a vision: I [Perpetua] saw Dinocrates going out from a gloomy place, where also there were several others, and he was parched and very thirsty, with a filthy countenance and pallid color, and the wound on his face which he had when he died. This Dinocrates had been my brother after the flesh, seven years of age, who died miserably with disease. . . . For him I had made my prayer, and between him and me there was a large interval, so that neither of us could approach to the other . . . and [I] knew that my brother was in suffering. But I trusted that my prayer would bring help to his suffering; and I prayed for him every day until we passed over into the prison of the camp, for we were to fight in the camp-show. Then . . . I made my prayer for my brother day and night, groaning and weeping that he might be granted to me. Then, on the day on which we remained in fetters, this was shown to me: I saw that the place which I had formerly observed to be in gloom was now bright; and Dinocrates, with a clean body well clad, was finding refreshment. . . . [And] he went away from the water to play joyously, after the manner of children, and I awoke. Then I understood that he was translated from the place of punishment" (The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity 2:3–4 [A.D. 202]).

Cyprian

It is one thing to stand for pardon, another thing to attain to glory; it is one thing, when cast into prison, not to go out thence until one has paid the uttermost farthing; another thing at once to receive the wages of faith and courage. It is one thing, tortured by long suffering for sins, to be cleansed and long purged by fire; another to have purged all sins by suffering. It is one thing, in fine, to be in suspense till the sentence of God at the Day of Judgment; another to be at once crowned by the Lord (Letters 51[55]:20 [A.D. 253]).

Cyril of Jerusalem

Then we make mention also of those who have already fallen asleep: first, the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, that through their prayers and supplications God would receive our petition, next, we make mention also of the holy fathers and bishops who have already fallen asleep, and, to put it simply, of all among us who have already fallen asleep. For we believe that it will be of very great benefit to the souls of those for whom the petition is carried up, while this holy and most solemn sacrifice is laid out (Catechetical Lectures 23:5:9 [A.D. 350]).
--------------------------------

What is also interesting to note: In In 2 Timothy 1:18, St. Paul prays for Onesiphorus, who has died. Why would St. Paul pray for the dead if Purgatory did not exist?

Did Purgatory End When Christ was Resurrected?

I believe this is a question that many people ask themselves. Using the idea of the good thief on the cross and how Jesus said to him "Amen, I say to you, today you will be in paradise with me". Many non-Catholics use this verse to say that Purgatory does not exist and that Jesus took the thief immediately to heaven. My question to this theory is this, how could Jesus take the man to heaven that day when in fact Christ didn't open the gates of heaven until he was resurrected. In fact, when he died he didn't go up to a party in heaven, instead he went down into the "Prisons" to preach the good news to those that were waiting for him. Jesus also said that a day to him is like a thousands years to us, therefore saying "Today" could have meant that the thief wouldn't have been in heaven for a very long time or it could have been a very short time before he made it. However the fact still remains that Christ waited 3 days before the gates were opened by him.. and it was those 3 days that the theif had to wait for in the least bit.

I have heard a few people say that when Christ died his sacrifice finished everything and that there was no longer any need for purgatory and so Christ ended it. How can this be when the New Testament points to many different verses at the teaching of purgatory:

In (Matthew 12:23-36) Jesus speaks of sins to be forgiven in the life to come. If we are in heaven then there is no need to have forgivess and if we are in hell, we cannot be forgiven.. therefore what did Jesus mean by this? Only one answer; Purgatory.

Take a look at (Corinthians 3:13-15), St. Paul speaks about those that are saved through the next life through fire. Heaven will not have fire.. Hell you cannot be saved in.. so what is left? Purgatory.

Again in (Peter 3:18-20), St. Peter speakes upon Jesus speaking to the spirits in prison and of the gospel preached to the dead in (1 Peter 4:6).

The bible also affirms it again that we are to pray for the dead in (2 Maccabees 12:44-46) which is only in the Catholic bible since Luthers teaching would not have worked if he hadn't removed the 7 books of the bible to take out those books that would have challenged his new ideology.

Did Purgatory End When Christ was Resurrected?

No, I think not. How could it be when the bible has so many numerous verses that continually point to its very existence. The bible says we must be cleanes through fire before we can be pure enough for heaven, therefore.. how many of us die pure like God? None. How many people make it straight to heaven after they die? Very few.

USCCB - Over 150K New Catholics 2009

I read a report this week from the USCCB that over 150,000 new Catholics came into the church during the easter vigil in the United States. Last year, there was around 87K new converts which means that it nearly doubled for this years total! That is indeed great news, amid the anti-Catholic media we still have a decent number of converts coming into the church.

http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2009/09-071.shtml

The Rite: Makings of a Modern Exorcist

I recently bought the book called 'The Rite' which is about Fr. Gary who is a Priest from California and was chosen by his Bishop to go to Rome to train as an exorcist. The book starts out with a prologue of a woman who is being exorcised and apparently has a very powerful demon within her that the Priest is struggling to release her from. The story then goes on to tell about the Fr. Gary's background and how it came that he was chosen to go take the exorcism course in Italy. I am now about two thirds of the way through the book and I have read some pretty fantastic stuff thus far regarding exorcism and the ways that people have been infested, oppressed, and possessed. Most if not all of the people who truly are experiencing some time of demonic influence in their lives have dabbled in the occult and thereby opened themselves up to the devil. There are a few cases however of people that were cursed by their parents or other family members and they are the ones that really suffer the most terrible pains and aggrevations through this demonic force that is presenting itself through them.

I know that not many people believe in Exorcism today or really even believe in demons. However, that being said, I know for a fact that there is a devil and that this type of stuff happens all the time. I remember watching a movie called Constatine a few years ago about a man who once served evil and then began to fight evil and he had a friend who didn't believe that the things he had told her was real, until one day he introduced her to it and it was as if a veil was lifted and she saw another world open up before her very eyes. I think that this is how the spirit would is derived. It is right in front of our faces, many people just brush by it and have no idea that it is there or that it even exists. And then there are those people that find themselves delving into this spirit world and they are then infected as though they caught a virus and they are not able to be freed of it until they visit someone just like Fr. Gary - an exorcist.

This world is real people, it is out there, and we need to guard ourselves against it. This is not a fantasy playground, it is not for jokes or playing around it, this is a very serious place and it seems that more and more people are getting caught up in the new age worldliness and are slowly being sucked into this ethereal battlefield designed to seal their doom.

To anyone who is interested in learning more about spiritual warfare, how to protect and guard yourself, or if you are an unbeliever and think that your living in a safe haven.. I recommend that you take a moment and buy this book - it is well worth the 15 bucks on ebay or half.com

God Bless,

Michael

Easter Vigil

How good it is of us to be here!

Those were the first words that came into my head as I walked into Church on Saturday night at 7:45pm for the Easter Vigil Mass. All night I had been looking forward to this mass, it is by far my favorite out of all the easter services since this is the mass where you get to watch the converts being recieved into the Church. I was certain that the church was going to be packed and that I wouldn't be able to find a seat. However, much to my dismay and shock, the church was practically empty. There was around 200 people including all the converts and their families and besides us, the church was about 2/3 empty. Since this is the Mass where the converts come in, the service itself usually lasts about 2.5-3hrs and I bet you a pretty penny that is why most of the Catholics didn't show up. We Catholics are notorious for 2 things.. our drinking and leaving church as fast as we can.

I have to say this though, I was quite happy to see 3 young men in their late teens and early 20's that were being baptized and then confirmed. I saw an old man that I thought was a sponsor, but then it turned out to be a convert himself! Later on after mass when we were at the reception for the converts my mom spoke to the older man and learnt that he had been coming to our church for 35 years with his wife who has always been a Catholic and it was just now after all that time that he was given the gift of faith and he wanted to become a Catholic! In all we had around 10-15 new converts this year. I heard a statistic from a local parish priest that in the United States, over 150,000 new converts entered the Catholic Church!!! It is so good to see Christ still working in peoples lives.

I am going to see if I can help out with the RCIA this year, I have been wanting to participate in it for the past 2 years, however things just haven't panned out thus far in my attempts to assist the new converts or those seeking the truth.

God Bless and happy easter!

Michael

Answer from God

Last night during Easter Vigil Mass I prayed that my Grandfather who died last Sept. 07' would be released from purgatory (where I feel he is) and would enter heaven as Christ rose from the dead. I offered up my communion for this intention as well as my other intentions for the souls in Purgatory. Unbeknownst to me, my Mom asked God for a sign last night to let her know where her Father was and if he was saved.

I didn't go to bed until well after 1:30am this morning - I just felt so alive from the evening mass that I wasn't sleepy. I climbed into bed and went to sleep before saying my night prayers (laziness). During the night I had a dream. I was back down on my Grandfathers old property and as I looked around at the mountain landscape I saw my grandfather sitting in his old recliner chair in the middle of an old overgrown logging road. He was doubled over in pain and he looked just as I last saw him, suffering with his emphysema. In my dream I immediately ran over to him and knelt down in front of him, I looked up at him and said "Pops, your going to feel some bad pain in the next few minutes, and then it will be over". He looked at me and grabbed my hand and said "Thanks Mike". He then passed out and fell out of the chair onto the ground. I grabbed him as he fell and laid him down on his back and at this point he was gone, his heart was beating so fast, I remember laying my hand on his chest and telling him that I loved him and that it was soon going to be over. As I sat there and cried I then heard his voice and I turned around and there he was. He looked the same age as when he died (in his 80's), however he seemed to have an aura about him and he told me that he was doing much better, that he was feeling better and was ok. When I awoke this morning, I think I had just finished the dream, it was so fresh on my mind and I had this feeling, this urging that I must go up and tell mom what I dreamt of. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could, it was as if a whip was lashing and driving me to do so. As soon as I told mom, she broke down and cried. I didn't want to cause her any pain, however she then told me that last night she had asked God for a sign that Pops was ok, that he had been saved. We both also took it was a sign that he was not yet in heaven and that he will need many more prayers before he reaches eternity. But the good thing is that he was saved and that I hope he is not suffering much and will soon be released.

Faces in Montana plane crash -vs- Faces in WTC Attack

This image was taken after the plane carrying the fmaily of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp the famous abortionist. The plane crashed into the Tomb of the Unborn - everyone on board died. Is it mere coincidence that he lost 2 daughters, two sons in law, 5 grandchildren, and 4 family friends at the tomb of the very children he was killing?

Ok, I am not one of these people that run around looking for Satan in everthing or imagining seeing him. That being said, I recently read a post on spiritdaily.com that posted a picture of the fire during the Montana plane crash at the cemetary. The spiritdaily post had asked about faces in the fire. It was when I took a closer look at the photo that I saw not only one face, I saw 3 different distince faces which were quite creepy! I then remembered that during the Sept. 11th attacks, there were similiar faces taken by the AP and CNN. I found those pictures and pasted them into the photo of the Montana crash and then outlined the faces with paintbrush. I did not doctor or add to these photographs.

You be the judge.

Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE)

Over Presidents Day weekend I attended a 4 day silent retreat with the IVE in Chillum, MD. There were two things I experienced at the retreat.

1. The retreat centered on St. Ignatius of Loyola's meditations, I took 30 pages of notes which I have now shared with family and friends who can appreciate some of what I learned during my retreat. I arrived at the retreat house experiencing exhaustion within my soul, my body was also weak from the daily struggles in life. During my time I found God again, I was given a chance to see beyond the veil that seperates him and I, and it was a breath of fresh air! I would highly recommend the retreats to anyone who is interested in breaching their knowledge of themselves as well as delving into a greater love for God and all things divine.

2. I have a clearer view of the call to God that I feel. I am more aware of God in my life now and I will be actively searching for my vocation as a Priest through the many channels I have discovered. I feel I may be called to serve in my old Diocese of Charlotte NC and I am contacting the director of vocations there to speak with him about the direction in which I feel I am being led.

Please keep me in your prayers, I will need many as I begin this new journey in my life.

Wakeup Call

Last night a good friend of mine announced that he was getting married. Surprisingly, I was completely shocked. Not for the reason of him getting married, I was able to take a step back and see that life is passing me by and it seems that I am just standing still while everything around me is changing. I am extremely happy for my friend that he has found his true vocation in life and I wish him and his future wife all the joys, blessings, and happiness that a married life centered around God will bring. However, it has shocked me to the core and I believe that God is telling me that it is time to stop kicking the tires, goofing off, and wasting time.

I pray that I find where God wants me to serve him through.

The 5 Day Mass Challenge

So I know that I am a total slacker sometimes and have never been a daily mass person, most mornings I am quite content to lie in my nice warm bed and sleep. However last Sunday I was speaking with Mom and mentioned that I was going to attend mass sometime during the week. She was extremely skeptical and told me that there was no way that I was going to have the self will to make it one day, so I in turn told her I could do it for 5 days straight. I know, I know.. that is really quite sad that we even had to have this discussion. I won the challenge and got Grace as my prize, not only did I do 5 days, I even went today on saturday. What can I say? I am a saint! =D

I can tell you from my 5 daily masses, I recieved some really awesome graces. I will now be going all next week and hopefully attend daily mass from here on out. It is quite beautiful to see the changes we can have in our lives just by going to mass. It was well worth it and I think God had this planned in order to prepare me for some shocking but good news today. I got a major wakeup call from God/Life today and really feel that he is telling me it is time to move on with my life and follow him.

Father Neuhaus, The Knight

As Catholics we all know or have known a Priest that played an important part in our lives and we remember those men as family and count them among out friends. However, ever so often, a Priest comes along that stands out from the rest. He is a man that stands for Christendom, a Captain of an army, a knight we all dream of standing next to. Fr. Neuhaus was one of those men, he was a knight for the Church and he will be greatly missed. I personally hadn't ever met the man, however I have read many of his articles, letters, and have heard him speak. We need more good men in the Church such as he to stand up for what they believe in, protect Holy Mother Church, and guide the Christians of the world to the light of Christ.

"Father Neuhaus was an inspirational leader, admired theologian and accomplished author who devoted his life to the service of the Almighty and to the betterment of our world," Bush said in a Jan. 8 statement. "He was also a dear friend, and I have treasured his wise counsel and guidance."

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0900117.htm

Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican

When I was 15yrs old my mom bought a movie called the Scarlet and the Black. Over the years I fell in love with this movie and was so addicted to it, that I would watch it at least once a 5 times a month or more. The Scarlet and the Black is a TV movie based on the book by J.P. Gallagher called 'The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican'. The book and movie tell the life of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, an irish priest who is credited with saving over 6,500 POWs, Jews, and other people during WWII and the Nazi occupation of Rome. Through a network that he created with his contacts in Rome, this good Irish Priest stowed away Jews in the German College next to Nazi headquarters, The Vatican, Monasteries, Convents, Churches, and even civilian homes that were willing to hide the Jews and POWs and running the risk of being caught and killed for doing so. I am writing my Final Paper in my Holocaust on this very man and his inspiring story, I highly recommend everyone to check out his story, buy the book, and watch the movie!

Pax Tecum!

Senator who Died - Election Story.

And lo and behold, a senator died and went up to the Pearly Gates. You see, God always gives us choices all through life. He permits many things to happen. At any rate, he was at the Pearly Gates and St. Peter said "Well, you know God gives you choice and you can choose between Heaven and Hell. "Well, you mean I can investigate these?" So St. Peter said, well why don't you go down to Hell and see what it looks like and then come up to Heaven and see what choice you want to finally make." So the senator gets on the elevator and goes down, down, down, and down. Wow! He sees all the political parties and everything else, and his old cronies he worked with in the senate and everything else. They’re drinking cocktails and some of them are having fun. There is a swimming pool and they have all sorts of hors d’oeuvres. It's a blast. He starts laugh and joke and talk about the old times with his old buddies. "Man this is Hell? It's a wonderful place. I think I want to stay." St. Peter said "No, you have to go back up and make a choice." St. Peter takes him back up and they look into Heaven. Everybody is at peace. There's no wild parties. There's none of the other stuff. Everybody looks very happy. And he says "Frankly, Peter, I would rather go with buddies, they were having a great time and the devil seemed like a nice guy. I want to go to Hell." He said "Ok, I'll take you back down." And he gets down there and he gets off the elevator and, the stench would curl your nostrils. It's a waste land. It looks terrible and there is trash falling from the sky and his friends are dressed in rags. The Devil is hideous looking and is madly whipping all those who are lax in picking up the trash falling from the sky. The Devil walked up to the Senator and said welcome to hell. The Senator looked at the devil and said "Yesterday it was so wonderful, we had parties and everything was great, what happened?". The devil looked at him with a big smile and said "Yesterday we were campaigning, today you VOTED"!

The Moral of the story... beware who you vote for, it may looking like apple pie, but once you make your choice you may see the trash you just voted for.

Healing Time

It's now been almost a month since my grandfather passed away. It has been really difficult for me over the past month. He left a gaping hole in my heart and will be sorely missed. =( It is funny what an impact one person can have on the life of another. We each need to take more time out of our busy lives to spend it with those that we love, you never know when that time or opportunity is going to pass. I started to have a major conversion experience 2 weeks before my grandfather passed, I didn't know then why I was having it, but I know now. God was building me up, strengthing me for the coming tole that he was about to extract, the sheer shock and loss that I was to feel and experience. However he has been there every step of the way, and the graces that I have received from this has been immense!

God is truely a loving God.

Pax Tecum,

Michael

Another Death in the family

On tuesday the 23rd, I was awakened to the phone ringing. I had this feeling that something was wrong and ran to pick it up. My mom was on the phone and in tears, she told me through sobs that my grandfather Ivan had passed away an hour before at 9am.

Two years ago my grandmother Anita, Ivan's (Pop's) wife passed away with cancer. We knew that she was sick and were able to prepare ourselves for the death that we knew was coming. However when I got news that Pop's had died, it was so unexpected. I feel devestated, and the hole in my heart is aching for him. What is interesting is that he died within 3 weeks to the year when his wife died. Will this hole ever feel? When will I find peace? I weep in sorrow for the loss that I feel, I await the day when I can meet my grandparents again.

Naples hails miracle as saint's blood liquefies!

In Naples Italy twice a year the blood of a St. Gennaro who was martyred in the year 305 A.D. liquifies on September 19th his feast day and on the first Saturday in May. It is said that after he was beheaded a Christian lady went over and sponged up some of his blood, put it into a glass vial and since the first time it was recorded in the year 1389 A.D., the blood has continued to liquify on these two dates. In the history of this miracle the blood has only not liquified 5 times, each time that it didn't a major disaster hit the area. In November 1980 the blood didn't liquify and a major earthquake hit southern Italy and killed over 3,000 ppl. So the people in this town celebrate greatly each time that it does liquify. This is a miracle that can be seen twice a year.. and there are people in this world that say that miracles do not happen. What a shame they are not able to see this one. When I was over in Italy 2 years ago, I went and saw this vial of blood in the Church, it was not liquified, in fact it looked as crusty and hard as dried blood normally looks, it is a pure miracle that this turns to liquid every year.

Awakening in the Spirit

I have had many troubles lately. Both spiritual and in the physical world. I lost my job 6 months ago and have been out of work forking out 400 bucks a month for expensive health insurance, with little to no money left to cover all my costs and I have asked myself. Why? Why me Lord? Why did this happen now? And I have come to the conclusion that it has been a time of trial for me, a time of shedding of my old skin, and through this tribulation I feel that God has been preparing me for something great and a place to serve him in the near future. I submit on average 3-5 resumes a week and get no response. I call people and get voicemails. So what is the deal Lord? And I hear the word, patience.

I have been spiritually dead for the past 2 years. I fell into some bad things a couple of years ago - no not drugs, or alcohol, just some bad habits and bad temptations. As I fell into this dismal hole I soon stopped praying, I stopped everything that had to do with God outside of weekly mass and thought that i was living my life free of all obligations. It is no wonder that things have finally crashed for me, and thank God that they did. I realize now the things that caused me to fall, and the things that I forsaked in order to fall. The real struggle now for me will be to give up those things that I am so used to doing and moving on to Christ. Jesus said "Come follow me".. and this month I am going to do just that. I am going to quit all vices, start praying, and living my life according to the scriptures and Holy Mother Church.. I will give it all to Christ and from there only he knows.

Please pray for me as I begin this journey, I know it will be no easy task in full battle with the enemy and what he will have in store for me in his mission to create another hole for me to fall into.

Apostolic Christians - Roots and Theology

Punk,

I set this up to invite you to a discussion on faith and morals. You seem to be a great guy that has alot of knowledge on your faith and readily available to share and evangelize. I would like to discuss this further with you, if you are open to the dialogue. My email is saint.michael.the.archangel@gmail.com send me any questions you have for me, or any topic that you would like to discuss and I will create a topic about it. I love to blog, and am intrigued by your faith and would like to know more about it first hand from you.

Pax et Lux (Peace and Light),

Smeagol (Michael)

Up for Hire!

God works in mysterious ways, everyone knows that and almost everyone recognizes it when something happens that they cannot explain whether it be for the good or the bad. I started working at an online university over 2.5yrs ago and had been internally promoted 3 times finally to a position that I thought would land me a good place to grow, but in reality it was the worse place I have ever worked in all my life.

I am not accustomed to working with open homosexuals that flaunt their sexuality in such a perverse way, but here is where I met me doom. I tolerated it, b.c I knew that if I said anything about it I was a goner. Well I ended up being a goner anyways, so I should have said or done something about it.

The positive thing is that I got a free Bachelors degree out of it and brought many good experiences with me from that place. I am not actively searching for a strong Catholic organization that adheres to the teachings of the Catholic Church and doesn't tolerate behavioral and psychotic issues. God has a plan for me and I think this is his way of freeing me of the Hell I was working in. Now I just need to listen to him and hopefully I can see where he is pointing me towards.

Pax Christi,

Michael