Wow, some great lessons to catch . . .

:

Section One:

Though there’s no denying the centrality of the sacraments in the spiritual life, we can’t speak of the life of grace without talking about the integral role of Mary. She is, after all, the Mediatrix of all graces.

So let's get into her role in the life of grace and address one of the main arguments against this teaching that I used to hurl against Catholics. Namely, that Scripture declares in 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

I used to think that was a pretty effective argument. I was wrong.

Then we'll discuss why Mary's identity as the Mother of God (Theotokos) puts her in a very unique position.

And by way of note, you'll hear Matthew mention the title of "co-redemptrix" on a few occasions with regard to Mary in these next few videos. Though used by Pope Benedict XV, this title has caused some confusion due to the English translation. "Co" is the English translation of "cum" in Latin, which means "with". So when we say "co-redemptrix" we don't mean Mary is a necessary part of the equation. Our salvation comes through Christ, period. Mary participates with Christ, but is not intrinsic to our salvation. 

WHAT THE SAINTS SAY: “And so you say, O heretic, whoever you may be, who deny that God was born of the Virgin, that Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ ought not to be called Theotókos, i.e., Mother of God, but Christotókos, i.e., only the Mother of Christ, not of God. For no one, you say, brings forth what is anterior in time. And of this utterly foolish argument whereby you think that the birth of God can be understood by carnal minds, and fancy that the mystery of His Majesty can be accounted for by human reasoning, we will, if God permits, say something later on. In the meanwhile we will now prove by Divine testimonies that Christ is God, and that Mary is the Mother of God." St. John Cassian

_{Willis, J. R. (Ed.). (2002). The Teachings of the Church Fathers (pp. 325–326). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.}

LECTIO DIVINA

"In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechari′ah and greeted Elizabeth. 41

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.

45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Luke 1:39-45

MEDITATION

At the sight of Mary, Elizabeth "exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!'"

In Greek, the word for "exclaim" is anaphōneō. Interestingly, this is the only time in the New Testament this term is used.

But it appears five times in the Old Testament.

And every time it occurs, it has to do with the joy of the Israelites and the music played by the Levites in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant, the throne of God.

In other words, Luke is directly drawing a parallel between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant. Why?

He wants us to be moved at the presence of Mary. He want us to "exclaim with a loud cry" in the presence of our Mother.

Like Elizabeth, we need to recognize the incredible dignity of the Theotokos and rejoice in the fact that her life is dedicated to bringing us to her beloved Son.

You can't climb the spiritual mountain without her.

"Before, by yourself, you couldn't," says St. Josemaria Escriva. "Now, you've turned to our Lady, and with her, how easy!"

---

Section Two: 

We said previously that because of her role as the Mother of God, Mary is the Mediatrix of all grace. In other words, she distributes to us the grace that comes from God.

She’s the conduit or pipeline through which they all flow.

Now let’s go a little next level and not only discuss more deeply why we can say all of this, but discover why it's vital we do so.

WHAT THE SAINTS SAY:

“Every grace that is communicated to this world has a threefold course. For by excellent order, it is dispensed from God to Christ, from Christ to the Virgin, from the Virgin to us.”
St. Bernadine of Siena

LECTIO DIVINA

"Listen to me, O coastlands,
and hearken, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name."
Isaiah 49:1

MEDITATION
Mary's entire life is ordered to helping every one of us become a child of God. It's the purpose for which she was created.

And this is even more true now that she is in heaven.

Lumen Gentium, one of the pillar documents from Vatican II, declares that after her Assumption "she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation" (LG 62).

And the graces she bestows upon us aren't intended solely for our personal use.

We are to be reservoirs of grace for others. We are to follow her example and be instruments of salvation, too.

As St. John Paul II said, "Mary in fact constantly points to her Divine Son and she is proposed to all believers as the model of faith which is put into practice" (Tertio Millennio Adveniente).

This is a great reminder that our growth in the Science of Sainthood isn't just about us. It's about the whole world.

We participate in Mary's role as Mediatrix by allowing the light and love of Christ shine through our lives to the rest of the world.

Don't ever stop seeking Our Lady's help in the spiritual life.

Pray your rosary. Recite your Memorare's. Always call on your Mother's assistance.

"Only after the Last Judgment will Mary get any rest," says St. John Vianney. "From now until then, she is much too busy with her children."

---

Section Three: 

Does Christ actually need us to participate in the redemption of the world? Of course not.

Does Christ want us to participate in the redemption of the world? You better believe it. And Mary is the key.

WHAT THE SAINTS SAY:

“Mary is, after Jesus, the mediator par excellence, the mediatrix of the entire world, and that it is through her that we obtain all spiritual goods.” St. Ephrem

LECTIO DIVINA

"When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; 24 so they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.' This was to fulfil the scripture,
'They parted my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.'
25 So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag′dalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!'
27 Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home."
John 19:23-27

MEDITATION

According to Roman law, anything declared by a victim of crucifixion while hanging on the cross was considered legally binding. It was seen as a kind of last will and testament.
And what did Jesus think was important enough to painfully press against the nail that had pierced his feet and raise himself up enough to speak?

"Behold, your mother!"

But notice that even before that, he says to Mary, "Woman, behold, your son!"
Of course, St. John, the only Disciple left at the foot of the Cross, isn't her real son any more than you and I are. 

There's a deeper meaning.
John is an icon of us all. The Cross is all about re-opening the path to divine life in the Divine Family.
John takes Mary into his house, and that's exactly what we're called to, as well.
But bringing Mary into our the home of our hearts means that, like any good child, we're supposed to help our Mother.

WHAT THE SAINTS SAY: “[The spiritual journey is] totally sustained by grace, which nonetheless demands an intense spiritual commitment and is no stranger to painful purifications (the 'dark night'). . . 

And our Mother's job is to help save souls. That's our responsibility, too. That's what saints do.
And while it's a daunting task, it's exactly why our Brother gave us His Mother.
"O Mediatrix of all Graces, pray for us!"

---

Intro to the Three stages:

The backbone of the Science of Sainthood is what many spiritual writers call the Three Stages or Ages of the spiritual life.

All the different facets and parts of Catholic spiritual life fit into these three stages: the Sacraments, Prayer, Sanctifying and Actual Grace, Grace, Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc… They all exist in the framework of these stages laid out for us by the the spiritual masters of the Church.

They are:

1. The Purgative
2. The Illuminative
3. And the Unitive ways

In this video we'll begin to unpack what they are and their absolute importance to progressing in the spiritual life.
(NOTE: This is an edited down version of a video you may have received in an email from Matthew previously, but it certainly doesn't hurt to review since these concepts are vital.) And don't hesitate to leave a comment on this video in the Community! But it leads, in various possible ways, to the ineffable joy experienced by the mystics as 'nuptial union.'”Pope St. John Paul II (Novo Millenio Inuente)

LECTIO DIVINA

9 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:9-11

MEDITATION

Our movement through the spiritual life can be boiled down to this: it is the movement from death to life...period.

And when St. Paul talks about our "bodies" being dead, he doesn't mean our physical bodies, so to speak. Remember, we are embodied persons. We are a union of body and soul.

Christ brings life because we become one with him.

And the more unified with him we are, the more we're alive. As St. Irenaeus declared way back in the second century, "the glory of God is man fully alive."

To grow in the spiritual life - to progress through the stages - is to grow in Christ. And just like Christ, we'll receive new, glorified bodies at the end of time.

The process of deification through which we're now going will be complete. We will be children of God.

As Christ himself said, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:3).

---

Three stages:

While they weren't called the "Three Stages of the Spiritual Life" until later in history, we can certainly find the seeds of the stages in the words of Christ, as well as St. Paul.

Drawing upon Scripture, the Early Church Fathers begin to more precisely identify and describe the stages. In particular, men like Origen, Evagrius, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and Dionysius all helped codify the stages.

They set the stage for giants of the faith like Sts. Thomas Aquinas, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, and Francis de Sales.

WHAT THE SAINTS SAY:

"The first duty which is incumbent on man is to give up sin and resist concupiscence, which are opposed to charity; this belongs to beginners, in whose hearts charity is to be nursed and cherished lest it be corrupted.

The second duty of man is to apply his energies chiefly to advance in virtue; this belongs to those who are making progress and who are principally concerned that charity may be increased and strengthened in them.

The third endeavor and pursuit of man should be to rest in God and enjoy Him; and this belongs to the perfect who desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ."

St. Thomas Aquinas

LECTIO DIVINA

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
13 Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
17 Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
20 But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself."
Philippians 3:12-21

MEDITATION

Notice that Paul keeps using the phrase "press on." He knows the spiritual life is a journey.

In fact, he compares it more to a race.

In 1 Corinthians 9 he uses similar language and encourages us to run so as to attain the prize of heaven (v 24)...which isn't always easy.

We have to forget "what is behind" and "hold true to what we have attained."

Don't dwell on past failures. Strive for virtue. Continue to press forward so as to finish well. The difficulties of life are hard, but the prize is beyond our wildest dreams!

---

Leave a comment about this video and join the discussion in the Science of Sainthood Community!

Return to My Library to view other courses.

_{The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.}

DON'T FORGET THE MOBILE APP

You can access the entire Academy on your phone. And once you download the app and login, you never have to login again.

Here's how to get it:

1. Go to the App Store on your iPhone or Google Play Store on your Android phone. Search for the app named Kajabi. (That's the software platform upon which the Science of Sainthood is built, get Apple version: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1485646310.)

2. Download the Kajabi app and open it.

3. Enter your email address when prompted. (IMPORTANT - Make sure to use the same email you're currently using to login to the Science of Sainthood.)

4. You will receive an email from Kajabi asking you to confirm your email. Click the button in the email and it will take you to the App! That's it!

Now that you have the app, you can simply open it on your phone and you're in

SIGN UP FOR THESE COURSES, to see and comment about this video and join the discussion in the Science of Sainthood Community!

where all the best comes through The Lord

 Lisette, thank you gift with MaryBeth, where we each commit 15 minutes per day.  .

Matthew Leonard Lesson: Overcoming distraction the power of prayer. Contemplation as infused prayer, where God makes it happen. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church ccc2729 about distractions: involuntary and voluntary. . . Let the silly wondering come and go, offer it up to God. Distraction reveal what we are attracted to. . . Offer it up to God to bring clarity. . . Self-examination is safe…


Voluntary distraction are created and engaged in. . . Which are venial-sins that need to be addressed.
Silence on the outside, leads to silence on the inside. We are Made for the silence of GOD see ccc 2717
Silence in prayer leads to just the BEingness. . . 1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray continually,
Are we just hanging out with God. . . Just Be is perfect as is. The quiet gaze of faith and the silent exchange of love is where we all belong.

Wow, the PRAYER Section in the Welcome Team Book is really incredible too . . . Wow!

This prayer is a game changer for you spiritually, and a game changer for every aspect of your life. If every Catholic in America prayed in this way for a few minutes each day the Church would be on the fast track to renewal. If everyone in your parish began to pray using this process your parish would explode with enthusiasm and engagement.

The Prayer Process

1. Gratitude: Begin by thanking God in a personal dialogue for whatever you are most grateful for today.
2. Awareness: Revisit the times in the past twenty-four hours when you were and were not the-best-version-of-yourself. Talk to God about these situations and what you learned from them.
3. Significant Moments: Identify something you experienced today and explore what God might be trying to say to you through that event (or person).
4. Peace: Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or him) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace.
5. Freedom: Speak with God about how he is inviting you to change your life so that you can experience the freedom to be the-best-version-of-yourself.
6. Others: Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless and guide them.
7. Finish by praying the "Our Father."

Each of the first six steps in the process should stimulate a conversation with God. It is easy to fall into the trap of merely thinking about these things. When you find yourself doing that, return to actually speaking with God about whatever it is you are thinking. The goal is to develop the ability to have intimate conversations with God during this time set aside for prayer. The more deeply rooted we become in this daily habit of prayer, the more those conversations with God will spill over into the moments of our daily lives.

If you are just beginning, you may want to start with just one minute of conversation with God each day, adding a minute each week until you reach ten. If that is the case, don't try to race through all seven aspects of the prayer process. Just use the first step. Gratitude. Spend your minute speaking to God about everyone and everything youare grateful for, and then close with an Our Father. As you expand your time of prayer over the coming weeks, adding minutes, I suggest you add one step at a time of the process to your daily prayer. The key is to get the conversation started!  But whether you start with one minute a day or ten minutes a day, I hope this section has left you thinking, "I can do that!" Nothing will change your life more meaningfully than developing a vibrant and sustainable prayer life.

The Prayer Process is infinitely expandable and contractible. If you went away on retreat you could spend hours praying your way through the process, looking not just at the past twenty-four hours, but at the past year-or even your whole lifetime. For example, the first step in the process surrounds gratitude. Imagine how long you could speak to God about everything that has ever happened in your life that you are grateful for. On the other hand, perhaps on a particular day you don't get to pray at your regular time and then the day gets away from you. Rather than going to bed withoutdoing the Prayer Process because you don't have the will or the energy to pray for ten minutes, shorten the experience. Take just a minute, still go through each of the seven steps, but just speak to God briefly about one thing in each step.

The goal of the Prayer Process is to trigger a regular and meaningful conversation with God. Prayerlessness is one of the great torments of modern times. For decades the time we spend in focused prayer has been diminishing as our lives have become busier and busier. We have fallen into the tyranny of the urgent, which demands that we rush from one urgent thing to the next. The problem with this is that the most important things are hardly ever urgent. This can leave us always doing urgent things but never doing important things. It is these most important things that we are never gettingaround to in this cycle. Prayer is one of those important things, and among the highest priority. Prayer helps us to identify what matters most and strengthens our hearts and minds to give priority to those things in our daily lives. What could be more important than prayer?

Prayerlessness also distorts the human person. Without prayer, over time we forget the attitudes and qualities that make us uniquely human (compassion, generosity, humility, fortitude) and we become more and more like mere animals.Prayer leads us to catch a glimpse of the-best-version-of-ourselves, and helps us to develop the virtue necessaryto celebrate our best selves. If you watch your evening news tonight you will discover that the world desperately needs men and women of prayer and virtue. People in your neighborhood need your prayers, your parish needs your prayers, and your colleagues at work need your prayers. And it is painfully obvious at times that the Catholic Church is in desperate need of prayer.

Over the years I have encountered many great families in my travels. A number of years ago I started trying to work out what made these families so steadfast and full of life. Tolstoy begins the epic novel Anna Karenina with these lines: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." What I have discovered is thatall the great families I have encountered have a giant of prayer, a person who covers his or her family with prayer, anchoring the family in God's grace . 

These prayerful giants pray constantly for their families, surrounding them with God's protection. Somewhere in these families' not-too-distant past is a person who was a prayerful giant. Sometimes it is the grandmother or grandfather,the mother or father, an uncle or aunt, and from time to time you have to go back two or three generations, sometimes more. But you always find a prayerful giant in their family tree. Every family needs a cornerstone of prayer to pray for the family, now and in ne future. I suppose if a family gets far enough down the road from that prayerful giant without raising up another, its members begin to lose their way. Does it take a generation or two, or three or four?!?!?

They know they need God and his grace, and they need community. They come to Mass seeking this grace and community. For this reason and others, the Mass is central to their lives. Many of them identifyit as the crown jewel of the spiritual life. Personal prayer is a deepening of your relationship with God, discovering who God is calling you to be for him and for others. The liturgical prayer of Sunday Mass is the prayer of the whole Church gathered for a public proclamation of who we are as Catholics. What you bring to Mass on Sunday is your prayer life, and the deeper it is, the more deeply you can enter into the public expression of the faith of the Church. The Mass is not simply about you; it is the whole Church gathered as a sign of hope to the world. A community at prayer is a beautiful thing. The first sign of a Dynamic Catholic is prayer. Dynamic Catholics are first and foremost men and women of prayer, just as the saints were. Is it enough for us just to pray? No. We have been given the mission to transform the world. But the best action springs forth from a vibrant prayer life. Our efforts to transform society into a more loving and just experience for all must be deeply rooted in our Christianity, and thus deeply rooted in prayer. Otherwise our Christian social efforts can become disconnected from our Christianity, and this quickly diminishes into just another form of social work. Don't get me wrong-social.

It is all about a real relationship with God . . . Maturing spirituality means a shift in the conversation. It always is so powerful. To stop and pray in silence always makes it clearer.  Stepping out to get refocused is so important. . . Silence is fundamental and critical to make life beautiful.  Trying to be silent when there is noise everywhere!  It is so important to “humanize” our relationship with God!  Trying to be the better version of myself. . . 

9:12:22 3/27/2025

Wow, what a busy crazy experience to be in this time and place. Three basics for sound prayer:

1. PRAYER In perseverance; Is a battle, as a child to their father, Luke 11:9-10. . . Progress only comes with efforts: “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.11.9.KJV
2. HUMILITY: works like a magnet, “humus” (Latin) earth, soil, ground that beats pride the deadly sin. Humility is foundation of Prayer. Luke 18:13 “God Be merciful to me a sinner.”
3. CONFIDENCE: confidence is always in Christ, Matt 7:8-11 to move into a real relationship of loving communion. “for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.7.8.KJV “Lord I believe, Help with my unbelief”. . . 

Now, again I’ve been overwhelmed with so much information and insight into the experiences and challenges before us. It’s incredible how I’ve been blessed over and over again while I hear and see so many people around me falling apart.

It's important to examine yourself to determine if you're living a life that God will praise. Consider these areas:

1. Your mind: When you wake up, is your mind bent toward the Lord or toward all you must do over the next few hours?
2. Your desires: Do you want to listen to God, walk in His ways, and let Him accomplish His will for your life?
3. Your deeds: Is obeying God your top priority? He desires for you to be a faithful steward. (See 1 John 2:5-6 . . . “But who so keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.” https://bible.com/bible/1/1jn.2.5.KJV)
4. Your pure heartedness: Do you tolerate sin in your life? A godly person readily confesses wrongdoing before the Lord.
5. Your time: Are you spending your time on worthless things or investing it in the kingdom of God?

Wow. . . So much, so quickly. . . I posted this to my children, the Men’s Group and a few others: 

God makes a promise, Faith believes it, hope anticipates it, and patience waits quietly for it...  https://www.intouch.org/listen/radio/shortcutting-the-will-of-god-pt-2

It's all about Glory for God ... where all the best comes through Him.  The Lord said unto him, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

Matthew 25:21 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.25.21.KJV

And from the Ladies group: https://youtu.be/HueOaeoTfIE

109.1, Week 9 the causes and consequences of Sin

I need to do my SEEL WEEK 109.1, Week 9 the causes and consequences of Sin . . . Beginning with a Colloquy of Mercy - Theological conversations of Mercy . . . Each day has another Colloquy

DAY 1: Luke 7:36-50 Woman with the Alabaster Jar, Colloquy of Mercy 
DAY 2: Psalm 51 Contrition of sin with Bathsheba, Colloquy triple think feel act sincere sorrow
DAY 3: Mark 2:13 - 17  Call forth the sinners, Colloquy for Jesus sacrifice on the cross. 
DAY 4: Matthew 25:31 - 46 Separate the sheep from the goats, in a final Colloquy

I find this an interesting progression and after I spent the last few weeks defining and digging deeper in SIN. I realized more than ever how blessed I am and how much Mercy and Grace I’ve been given having this time and experience with Jesus. My Colloquy with Spirit has been much the same for a very long time. I’ve always had the sense of this party in my head. Not just spirits and angels but also relatives and daemons all vying for my attention and focus. I’ve realized how much this has changed and shifted in my life over time. Like when doing the 33 Days of Glory for the Consecration to Mary, I was filled with the deep realization that my growing up in the woods, was really about sharing and loving Mary. I had deep spiritual moments relived and refreshed inside of me, feeling how Mary had guided me in my childhood as she does again now.

I guess the conception of the “Colloquy” is much the same as Saint Theresa of Avila described as “Contemplative Prayer,” where it is more of a conversation and open discussion with Spirit. What’s stronger and clearer to me now is how my BEING is more focused on the True Deep Perception of Jesus EVERYWHERE, and in EVERYTHING!

What you are learning again, is how to take the next steps from here.These perceptions you have come to understand are something very specific, that you demanded with your death.  If you recall you were not interested in coming back after the motorcycle accident. You understood how you had followed guidance all your life, and knew each challenge and lesson was necessary for the moments you were in. However, to continue, you required more details on the Goals and Results of these random tasks you were given.  You very specifically demanded to see God’ Perspective in the events of your life. You were given the equation that connected everything and then you were able to see how this was enacted in your life day to do. Yes, this request for God’s Perspective on your events and circumstances brought you into a sixth sense. . . . 

Oh, I figured it was a lot more than this, as the concepts of SIN were repeated over and over again in podcasts, prayers, readings, liturgy, radio and all this week. Placing these ideas before me again and again, and then asking that I discuss them with You more than ever. And I know and recognize that it’s always been three or more in conversation. I also get the sense and feeling how bringing Saint Mary and Saint Joseph into the fold is expanding or strengthening this conversation. It’s always been clear and strong, but acknowledging these new players seems to have ‘upped the anty’ a bit. 

Yes to he who is given much, much is expected.  So now again, these deeper perceptions and understandings, bring you closer to what you need to know now. Everything is shifting on Earth, and you are able to hold Jesus in your Daily activities. Now again, in such a clear state of peace and joy, you are writing and sharing deeper than ever before. Yes, even with an Apple reply today  asking about your editing, and challenges in their apps.

Consider your day, or week. Each time you awake and look at the iPhone you have a new start seeing the “00” for the next hour. . . Ready to start your Prayerline, or Exodus 90, then your exercises successfully pushing to twenty on each assignment. You have NEVER done this before, keep it up. Then you showered and dressed for church, adding the Exodus 90 Shrit for the Welcome Meeting tonight as well. You “Slowly Listened and Loved” taking your study guides as you walked next door to Saint Paul’s.

Then you greeted Joseph and Thanked him for the lessons on wearing hats in church. . . You prayfully read your guides and accepted the Clear Focus on Saint Joseph, even recognizing the statue of him as you were walking home. The deeper perspective and insight is clear. You arrived home, watered the gardens made coffee and started here to read and write.

Now this deeper discussion leads you into the next days of Contemplative Prayers or Colloquy. For how much stronger is the calling to those who are lost before the final judgement and the issuing separation of the wheat from the chaff. 

I get how much I’ve shared with my children on this subject of sin in this last week. I mean several Exodus Men commented about what I’ve shared, as I’ve copied my kids posts to them several times. It really felt wonderful to see how clear and focused my words became in these moments that I shared with my children. Often it was really key phrases that I copied directly from the preacher to share. And I admit, Family Focus, Bishop Baron, Charles Stanley and Pastor John have significant disparity between them. Not that one is significantly better or different than the others, but I just don’t see that many people, or ANY people on the Planet could ever string together such lessons like I have, let alone use them all in the explorations of sin as I shared with my children.

We have done a lot more with you than those explorations. You were very clear with your spiritual director about the timing and guidance you received. Expressing the details of this was important, as you step into more each day. Each moment you write and bring deeper clarity to your own growth. Trusting how it is, will make it better and easier for all. What was this big lesson you came to these last weeks.

Ok, I guess that the main point here is that sin is not following the smallest detail, that you share with me. I know I’ve been getting very clear strong guidance for a very long time. And I know I’ve laughed and teased you about doing some task tomorrow, or skipping the assignment for a few hours, or days.  And I recognized how it was Charles Stanley who was so explicit about this as I heard again this morning. Yes, after my morning prayers and podcasts, I went to mass and came home to make some breakfast. As usual I turned on the iPad and opened my blog to click a link to watch while I ate my breakfast. 

Course it was Charles Stanley again…

We were particularly clear to you about BEING, and allowing the Love and Peace to flow through you. You are always trying to plan and understand. It’s more important to trust your experience as you are able to see what Jesus Sees in the works and tasks before you. Allowing this FLOW and experience to envelope you is where we are heading. You have wondered about miracles and witness many. You recognize that the Power of Jesus can flow easily when you are free in joy and love, beyond the questioning and understanding. 

Oh, now I see through your focus on my trust in the truth of my own being. DAY 5 is about seeing all that is NOT the Beingness of God. And I guess I’ve been there before too.  I’ve struggled alone, and wondered where I was going and why. It’s something that we all have seen and experienced before. I recognize how my son has been in this challenge for a while now too. 

I’m not sure why, since he certainly has seen and witnessed how his sister and I have been in Christ Jesus.  You think being so close to us, would reflect and inspire the same. And I know I’ve made the mistake thinking that it has, while apparently he still is choosing something leading to the opposite results. Where does this put me in my Contemplative Prayers and Colloquy with Jesus. DAY 6 is about repeating day 5 where we are instructed to pray and envision hell and how the deceptions and greed speak to me today. 

I’ve often said I was untouchable and fearless about evil. Though the challenges I’ve witnessed in my home and life in Saint Pete has been powerful. DAY 7 Romans 7:14-25 sounds familiar in my life before Saint Pete . . . Now in Saint Pete, alone in my home of love and peace, I really have none of these concerns, but only gratitude for all the blessings that I see and experience each day. I know I’m blessed here, that is why the challenges I’ve witnessed,were only stepping stones to greater peace in my solitude. 

We are clear with you about your experience, and how important it has been for you to stay alone and create real habits that are safe and strong for bringing you into this next phase of life. You are safe and comfortable beyond reason. You are able to share and experience Joy as needed with anyone that crosses your path. This is a great blessing. You easily accept what we send to you and realize it’s all Spirit and nothing else.

I’m very grateful for this. I know you have been preparing me for the next 50 years I have before me. I understand this might be a lot more than I can understand now. And I realize it might bring considerable changes that I’ve not anticipated. I also realize that planning and pressing forward is something that I can release at this time. But now in each step I take and each word I write, I know it’s about preparation. Still as a student, means I’m open for teaching and creating something very much beyond my current experiences. I know this. I’m grateful for this. . . Thank You Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I Love You Dear Lord Jesus Christ!

108.2 DEAR GOD I AM DEEPLY SORRY FOR MISSING YOUR SMALLEST HINT!!!!

This morning again Exodus 90, Charles Stanley and the church liturgy were all aligned. It was really beautiful how aligned they are all together… It even came up in the Learning the Pray Lessons with Matthew 5:48 “to be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect,” always seeking to be with us . . . Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” . . . . 

It is interesting all that God went through to get his people out of Egypt and then when Moses was up in the mountain for forty days getting the 10 Commandments, they built a golden calf to worship.  Course, God was pissed and ready to kick-butt, but Moses talked him out of it. Again, it’s interesting to see how much has been going on and how much things are still the same. God still should kick-butt, but always has mercy and finds a loving way to bring us back to him!

I heard this again when I was biking to church this morning and TheJoyFM.com Prayer was starting: “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we can count on this fact.”

And what was more incredible than anything is how much HE’s gone out to make us His people. It’s all about Love. Bringing Real Love into our experiences and relationships. I mean, “love” is a fancy word we use all the time, but who really loves, or sacrifices ANYTHING? I mean, Jesus ‘sacrificed’ everything, course he knew everything ahead of time, so the “Grin and Bear it” routine was expected, or at least completely understood. But now for us to really sacrifice anything at all seems so far beyond our abilities. Sure, Jesus could sacrifice everything, but he was the son of God. That’s a crackpot excuse. Mankind today doesn’t sacrifice anything at all. We complain about sacrificing a steak dinner or a beer at night for the Exodus 90 Asceticism Routines. 

And now again I come to the same SEEL Week #8 assignment, where is the presence of God?!?! And I want to yell, dance and sing praises about How clear the blessings of Jesus come through to me now again so strongly, in the nearly constant synchronicities, that just knock me over. 

<== this podcast was so on point and powerful. I mean I always have the radio on, or something while I write. (Obviously, with song verses showing up all the time). And now I realized, I am always writing these experiences to somehow “prove” GOD'S Presence, and I finally understand it's really about me, and proving something to me, not to anyone else.The presence of God BEING more original than the sins of Adam and Eve seems pretty obvious. And somehow I still need to accept, justify, or prove something to myself, which is completely ridiculous to me.  It’s like explaining to someone that I stubbed my toe. How crazy and pointless is it to share and explain to someone that God will get my attention by stubbing my toe. I just got tired of God not getting me, and demanded that he get more physical. But then my kids wouldn’t believe me, like it never could happen.`3

But to acknowledge that we are in God’s Image, and witness the incredible opportunities and experiences that impact me almost daily. And now again, my first reaction was to write another feedback note to Apple about upgrades, and improvements . . . . Since of course, they have sent me another upgrade moments ago to interrupt me.

And that image of God is about Being beyond sin, or explicit about us getting beyond sin, since we are destined to live beyond sin. This seems really fundamental too, but clearly is still beyond our understanding. Yes beyond my own even. Yes, I remade this Apple correction graphic 3-4 times. I hit the wrong button and it vanished. Usually, I recognize that the “only things that work” are what Jesus wants me to do. I mean, if I'm going to ask for direction all the time, I must get serious about listening, like never stubbing my toes. . . If I really listen then I never miss a beat . . . lol, could that really ever be possible at all. Like I’ve realized how I need to do Mass every day. Every Mass I have all my sins forgiven and have a clean slate ready to get closer to God. . . . But If I don’t listen “JUST ONCE” then there is another sin to block our closeness. . . .

 Like here above, I tried to post several pictures, and just accepted I wasn't going to get the second in there. I guess I get frustrated, and that's when I start to chant: Thank You Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I Love You Dear Lord Jesus Christ, , , yes it’s “jjj” like the “ttt” for the second phrase as shown in the picture at left here, and I’ve not made others for Saints Mary and Joseph yet. :-/

And I wonder, as this is another sin, where I am not listening to the exact words or phrase from Jesus. And waiting to call for Jesus and my Saints and Angels are really sins too. Jesus wants to share and BE IN this moment and experience with us, not just to be called on when we get into trouble. This is really the challenge. Seeking forgiveness and the Eucharist every day takes all our sins away, so we can be with God, but then I miss the boat not listening to every detail and actively inviting him into our every moment.

Redemption again, comes right to me as the prayers this morning said: In Genesis when Adam and Eve first rebelled against God, when sin first entered the world, and they ate the apple, the first thing they did was make clothing for themselves out of fig leaves. I wonder how much I try to do on my own instead of always asking God!

Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness, because they were ashamed. They were ashamed of what they had done, shame had entered the world along with sin. Up until that point, they were unclothed and innocent, but now shame entered the world so they tried to cover it! 
They tried to cover it with their own acts, and that didn't work. So when God came and asked Adam and Eve where are you? Where are you? 
And when they admitted what they had done, which he already knew, then God made the first sacrifice. God killed a couple of the animals in the garden and made clothing for Adam and Eve. God clothed their nakedness. 

God protected them and covered their shame. Just like with Jesus, God covers all our sins with the Rightousness of Jesus. And again as with Adam and Eve, God will cover all our shame and cloth us with righteousness to redeem our salvation with the free gift of grace and mercy.  They end this discussion on the radio with this prayer:

Father, we are thankful for that free gift of salvation, for the work done on the cross, for the firm foundation that comes from knowing that you are unchanging, that the rules to the game won't change. You were the same yesterday, today, and forever, you were the one who clothes us in your righteousness, who covers our shame, who redeems us from our own sin. You are the one who gave your life in order to give us life and we thank you today for this blessing as we begin Lent together.

Now several times this last week, I was in tears as I accepted how Jesus really loves me. I really have such a blessed life. I can’t imagine having anything else, as I seem to have too much already. I struggle to find ways of sharing and loving my neighbors. It was like pulling teeth to get a few people over for dinner. I made my favorite dishes and we sat and ate for hours. I don’t want anybody to return a favor. What would be great, is if I could sell some food. As it seems to be something realistic for my time and space now. And my daily events and experiences are always filled with the joy and Peace focused on food.

I mean, I recognize how much I love cooking when Maddie was born, and I filled Emily’s Refrigerator. And I always prefer to make great big dishes, to share what I make, it just seems like common sense. But of course, I can’t get anybody else to understand that. So I’ll keep inviting people over and keep cooking lots of food. I’m still perplexed how I always just have the right amount of money to survive, not a penny more, and not a penny less, but just the right amount! 

I decided to fast for Lent. Exodus 90 asceticisms includes fasting Fridays and no meat. This is also part of the practice for Lent. So Friday morning I decided to fast all weekend. This really was kind of a pain as Jim invited me to lunch and then I helped on the Knights of Columbus with the first Friday Fish Fry. No samples, no beer, never ate anything. No food until after Sunday Mass, so I went 3 day and 10 hours, and have to do 4 full days next time.

Once again, DAY 2: Repetition in the prayerful consideration I seem to thank God all the time. I notice, I seem to do the examine out of habit now. Everytime I get into bed, it’s just such a joy to have such a wonderful bed all to myself. I always sing, and praise God whenever I get into my bed, I just can’t help it . . . I never really know what I’m singing or what the words really mean, but it just feels like joy and love bubbling up out of me.

When I consider all that God has done for me, I come back to the SEEL lessons of the using the Colloquy of mercy and adding the Saints and Angels to my prayers . . . Loving Saint Mary and Saint Joseph more and more every moment has gotten to be so powerful for me. . . Saint Mary Loves to be called on with my cooking and gardening, and Saint Joseph loves it as I call him with anything involving tools and construction.

There is less and less of me involved. I really have no other needs and desires except to do what inspires greater good for my neighbors and those I encounter everyday. It’s really interesting to consider how blessed I am and how easy it is to reach out to others and love them.

Like now 8:44pm 3/5/2025. I got home from the garden club where someone was sick so I had to make up lessons for us on the fly. It was fun as we planted some sugarcane. Yes, I essentially chopped down a great big one in my yard and then cut little pieces to have the children plant. They all got to eat some sugarcane too. I was surprised how much they ate. The kids kept coming back for more.

DAY 3: Read Luke 7:36-50 (Jesus forgives us as he forgives the sinful woman who washes his feet). Place yourself in the scene. Notice how Jesus relates to the woman in her need. Notice the sin of the crowd that surrounds her. I’ve been through this a few times already . . . Those who sin much, needs to be forgiven much. It’s like God goes out of His way to take care of those that are in the deepest trouble. I guess that’s why He worked with me for so long. But those who are given much, are expected much. I guess that’s why I’m always trying to find more ways to share. Trying to find more ways to serve. Trying to find more that I can do for Jesus….  It’s not like Jesus really needs anything from us… But the idea of loving our neighbors or loving another is kind of fundamental to the purpose of everything. Like being a branch on the vine, each new grape is there for all of us to share.  I kind of recognize how God seeks to grow more love. And how difficult it is to get real about what love really is. Beyond just the ego and the selfishness that we experience and perceive as love. The divine a Agapi love…. Just seems so far beyond our understanding… Agape (/ɑːˈɡɑːpeɪ, ˈɑːɡəˌpeɪ, ˈæɡə-/;^[1] from Ancient Greek ἀγάπη (agápē)) is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for [human beings] and of [human beings] for God".^[2] This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance.  DAY 4: Read 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25. Prayerfully read the account of David and his sin. What do you learn about sin and its effects in this age-old story? The Jews have considered David their great king, and Jesus was born into the family line of David. What does this tell us about God's abundant mercy? Are there particular parts of this story that you especially relate to?

. . . Yes. I’ve done the court record of my sins. What is remarkable about that was how often I could see the hand of God and the direction throughout everything that happened. It’s not that I never sinned, it was more that I was always learning and growing from it with meticulous planning . . . It’s interesting to recognize how most of my sin was really only affecting me directly. I was very careful not to impact other people. And I guess this is the challenge I have with my family, where they all felt like I impacted them. But of course, none of them will accept any responsibility for forcing me out all the time. You think if I had a real family, I wouldn’t have gotten into any trouble at all.  But of course, all that trouble I got into was my own business not theirs. Even if it was the only way I could avoid getting hurt by them.

Wow, yeah I copied this text from this last journal picture at the right, and only had a few words to correct .... So YES; It was so CLEAR To me How MUCH I NEEDED TO LEARN. IT'S ALL JESUS AND WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS.

Yes, doing the same SEEL week data twice seems to have been really necessary for me as I still am learning and growing in this . . . And I know this has more to do with accepting my own place and responsibility before me . . . And I’m still missing something important from these lessons. . . 

Listening to Family Focus now as I reread here again. She was speaking about Every New Year’s Day, being special with God after one time finding the wedding ring in the snow praying to God. Dear God, I know you do miracles, I’m sure you know where my missing ring is, please let me find my missing wedding ring. And you know she did it again. And the third time her ring was gone. Course the third time she was arrogant and prideful, knowing God does miracles, and taking no responsibility for being careless, but instead putting God to the test . . . Of course, I have done this before praying to find something too. But what is surprising now, is neither John or her could understand why some prayers are answered and some are not. It was really obvious to me, so I posted a comment on YouTube.

What is more stunning than anything. Is that every day, just like now, I have all my answers showing up around me. . I’ve been writing my kids and putting this all together for them. And it’s really interesting because I’m learning more than anything. I’m always feeling for my son, and sharing things with my kids. I made this post to them, and edited and reposted it three times already…

Like what is my Origin story. Where did sin begin? Ask Charlie Stanley! Sin did not begin in the Garden of Eden, it began with satan.  Sin began in heaven, in our hearts. God tells us very clearly that a very powerful angel, with a very responsible position, made a selfish decision. 

And this was satan's decision, because in this confession of satan, here is the heart and core of all sin. Sin in essence is the spirit of independence. I will do what I choose to do, in spite of what God says. "I will act the way I want to act." I will get my needs met, when, and where, and however I want to, in spite of what God thinks. And so here is the first confession of sin, here is where it all began. "I will" is sin to heaven. 

satan said from Isaiah 14:13-14:

I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the Mount of Assembly. In the recesses of the North, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. 

That is the reason satan is a fallen angel, because he chose to act independent of God to be equal with God, or to be superior to God. All sin begins there, just like it began in heaven with satan, when you and I say, "I will."  We sin!

I will meet my needs. I will do what I choose. I will be free of all restraints. I will do what I please to do. That's where sin began.

I am so grateful to have this opportunity to review and rewrite this again. I know I have learned so much. And I realized I had not completed this week, where I left off the last pages of the lessons And now have added these last pages . . . . The Hosea scripture from Day 5 did not register as strongly as my readings and studies that I received from my daily prayers as posted above. The morning podcast and Exodus 90 readings were really on point for me to understand sin more deeply and my responsibility to step into my own place of responsibility. Then the last page of this section DAY 7: started off with Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever..

 to remind me that God will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go; He will counsel me with his loving eye on me . . . 

Wow great preaching today … https://catholicpreaching.com/wp/this-is-how-you-are-to-pray-tuesday-of-the-first-week-of-lent-march-11-2025/

I’ve been surrendering more than ever. I realized how much I’ve been given and how important it is for me to just love my experience and BE. 

Just BE who I am and stop questioning or wanting anything more. I don’t need anything, I’ve always tried to achieve. . . And it’s not about achieving anything more, it’s about accepting what is and BEING in peace and Joy. . . Just Be and Live in this Love and Joy . . . Allowing this power and clarity comes to me so strongly:..

https://www.intouch.org/listen/radio/the-truth-about-sin-part-2-1

It really gets crazy how much power and focus comes through to me. Like now again I'm in Caverly Hall at the church where we have an another men's group meeting at 6pm. I'm only here because there is a welcome team meeting tonight at 6:30pm. So after the garden Club I walked over and made a pot of coffee, to sit and read the welcome book. Pages 70-75 tonight.

Sometimes this Apple magic keyboard works and sometimes not. . . I’m now reading about how God Loves 2nd Chances, fresh starts and new beginnings. I’ve been there almost every year. I was thinking about that today. Walking up to the Garden Club meeting with my Crater Lake hat. At St Pauls’ this morning someone told me that it’s “customary to take off hats in a church.” 

I always wondered about that! I told him I was very grateful for his directions, and immediately took off my hat. No more hats in church, but as I was leaving I realized how much different I look. Like in Grade school I started each year with a new look, so no one recognized me. I wonder now if it was another defensive tool I learned as a child. But each year I would have a new group of friends as child. It was weird walking out, I stayed in the church late, even arrived early before the gates were open outside. But then a teacher asked me to move so they could have a music class. . . . 

Yes, that’s when I left. . . Walking out thinking about my har, barefoot in the grass as kids and parents raced down the sidewalks to get to class. I have never been there as school started so I tried to be discreet and stay out of the way.  As I approached an armed security guard, I told him I was just going home, essentially across the parking lot. He smiled and told me to be careful with the crazy traffic of parents dropping of children. . . Just as I got across I heard “RAFFIE” and turned to see on of the ladies in the class tomorrow.  Yes, I live Nextdoor, she laughed and said she was taking her kids to school . . “See you tomorrow” and we were both off. . . 

Course I realized that the cop who saw a barefoot homeless man, now suddenly respects or admires me. Yes, like starting school again, that one peer recognition suddenly elevates your status on campus . . . So now reading about NEW BEGINNINGS is really the right place for me again. . . Like it’s my favorite place anyway!

“God is always waiting for us” , , , , every culture is the fruit of the ideas and attitudes of its people, while today we have “philosophical poverty.”  We each have our own personal rule of life that is our philosophy and the culture now primarily instituted by satan means:

1. What’s in it for me?   Individualism = freedom to do whatever I want, whenever, and wherever
2. If it feels good do it: Hedonism = lazy, lustful, gluttonous leads to the slavery of addictions 
3. What’s the least I can do? Minimalism = min effort for max benefits

Yes, reading this about the destruction of our culture. It’s been happening for years, and needed for decades. I’m not sure about my place in this, but I’m ready! Sadly, I feel how these are the sickness that my dad tried to instill into everything. It’s like the kool-aid of America that makes everyone so sick. And I still feel like I avoided it, and felt like it was all a lie . . . . I remember how I am always saying and feeling like I always had “beat the machine,” or escaped, or stepped beyond this concept completely. 

Ephesians 5:1-21
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.