Eyes first seen only by His Father and Angles in heaven
these eyes now made flesh and glowed with radiance of light
into the eyes of his mother. She beheld the face of her son full of Love, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths.
She fed Him her finest milk as she kept Him warm against her breast and pondered the promise of His name “Jesus”.
The Father’s Love has come to earth seen in the face of Mary’s son, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Look into the eyes of Love
Look into the eyes of Glory
Look into the eyes of Mercy
Behold the face of the Lord
Behold the face of the Lord
The Lord who turned water into wine for a wedding feast.
The Lord who brought calm to the stormy waters of the sea.
The Lord who made the blind man see real people not trees.
Has come now for you and me.
His eyes of Love shone forth healing to the Leapers and
deliverance to the demon possessed to break down the gates of hell.
His eyes of Glory shone the Father’s radiance of Light with Mosses of the Law and Elijah the Prophet at His side to encourage His Apostles stride in the face of adversity.
Now looking into the eyes of Jesus as He carried the Cross-for you and me placing our sins upon His shoulders all the way to Calvary.
Now looking into the eyes of Love as His Blood flowed down His body
racked in pain for the sins of the whole world. Listen now in silence.
Do you hear Him calling you into a devotion to His most Precious Blood ?
My journey toward salvation by the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ
My journey toward salvation by the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ
The Lord has called me to Communicate my journey towards the salvation He is accomplishing in my life through the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ. Sharing has always been hard for me. Communicating the many times my sins have caused more pain and suffering for others who are dear to me in this journey has not been easy to face, but necessary unto repentance asking forgiveness of those I have hurt. This is the beginning for me to publicly expose myself to the truth about the dark places of my journey and Jesus longsuffering over the whole of my life allowing His light to come forth.
Growing up as a young boy in our household was frightening for me. My Grandmother Martha Marsh was the first one to take notice of my fears of the dark. I remember going to Grandmothers for a couple nights stay. I was only four years old and greatly afraid of sleeping in the dark. Grandmother was so concerned she would ask me what it was that I was afraid of? I would try to think of an answer for my fears but had no words to express them. Grandmother being a God fearing women, had a great love for Jesus, and His word, she would keep a light on for me and say a prayer with me before going to her bedroom.
It wasn’t until I became an adult I began to recall my fears by the help of the Holy Spirit exposing these repressed attitudes and memories. Now as an adult the answer to Grandmother’s question came to me. I had a deep fear of not having my father home to protect me. My Dad was on the road most of the time driving truck for Fleet Carrier and gone most nights out on long trips. My mother would often be up at night worrying for Dad’s safety knowing how dangerous truck driving was during his days on the road. Mom would often ask me to pray with her for Daddy’s safety before heading off to bed. The four year old in me was made to feel like a big boy knowing that mom asked me to pray with her made me feel special but also fearful at the same time.
One weekend when Dad was home we were in the kitchen as a family and Dad heard noise outside in the front yard. Dad quickly turned the lights off in the house to see outside. He picked me up in his arms and held me so I could not see out the window but I peeked anyway, and to my horror I saw a yellow cab out at the road in front of our house. The cab driver was struggling to get away from this man inside his vehicle who had a knife thrusting it into his chest. I remember seeing the blood hit the glass on the inside of the car. My parents called the police and after that night we never talked about this horrifying event ever again as a family. After that night I always had a hard time sleeping through out the night ever since the horrifying night as a young boy. I remember having these nightmares as if that man who stabbed the cab driver could possibly came back to our home and kill us. After seeing this crime take place the fear in my heart was affecting the way I reacted toward relating openly with other children. I remember in kindergarten not wanting to play on the playground with other children so I would stand-alone by myself until the bell would ring.
My favorite day of the week as a boy was always Sundays when we would go to Sunday school and Church, and then up to see Grandma and Grandpa Marsh. At the age of five I remember going to children’s church holding the hand of my brother John who was 18 months younger then I. In children’s Church Brother John Harden would share with us kids about the Love of Jesus and how he wants to be our closest friend. I was so open to his message because I needed a close friend who understood me and loved me, so I asked Jesus to come into my heart and take away my sins. My fearful boyhood suddenly changed at five years of age to playing in the back yard or at school with Jesus always with me, and hearing His voice whisper in my ear. His Love became real to me where ever and whenever, as a boy running and playing, or watching the birds fly from tree to tree. During those early years I made a public confession of my faith in Church at First Open Bible and was baptized by Pastor Arthur Mogglot. Mom and Dad gave me a King James Bible that day and I kept it with me in my bedroom close to my bed and even took it to school. I would underline my favorite verses and I still have my first Bible to this day.
When I reached the ages of 12 and 13 years old I went to Church camp with the other young people of our church. The summers of 1972 and 1973 I experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with a prayer language that I have not always been dependant on during times of weakness and temptation. I remember in the midst of a deep sleep I woke up speaking in tongues so loudly I was very startled. I told Mom what had happed and she called Pastor Mogglot and had me talk with him. I remember his words to this day” Wade, you have been given a prayer language and the Lord wants you to use the gift he has given you. Thank the Lord!” The Love of God became more real to me on a spiritual level of experiences but I don’t think I was very thankful for the gift, and was lacking knowledge of Him from the Holy Scriptures.
During my formative teenage years I started experiencing inner feelings toward other boys in a sexual way. I knew that my inner conscience was telling me how God created me to be, and I would cry out to Him over and over for help but the feelings and temptations got stronger, so I questioned my need to fight them. I was 15 years old when Mom and Dad’s marriage fell apart over infidelity and unforegiviness toward each other. I would cry out to God to restore their marriage and lives but I lost hope seeing them go on meeting other sex partners. The next five years of my life was full of complete rebellion against God and my family when I headed off with my cousin and friends to party at the gay clubs to engage in drugs, sex, and house parties with other hurting people from broken homes. I remember the Lord speaking to my heart in the midst of all this but I gave Him none of my attention or time. All through out High School I worked for my Dad’s company until he closed his business as a Home Builder and Real estate Broker who also did remodeling.
I then took a job working at the Oxford Coop. During that time I hit bottom and went into depression hearing voices telling me lies of torment and how evil I was. I remember calling my Grandma Marsh and telling her what I was experiencing in hearing these voices telling me I was the Anti-Christ and how I was so evil. My Grandmother told me; “your heart is full of fear over what is happening with your Dad and Mom and you are blaming God but your heart is still good in that Jesus will not let you go because he has a work for you and He loves you so much”. Those words from Grandma speak volumes of wisdom to my heart every time I hit bottom and they help me turn my eyes back on Jesus and what he has done for me at the cross, and the people He wants me to touch. I remember my Grandmother telling me many times that her favorite Book in the Bible was Isaiah specially chapter 61. I believe God had far in advance prepared Grandmother to take my call that day.
My Aunt Vicky on my Mothers side saw that I was hurting and suffering so she invited me to come back to the Church and hear the new Pastor Ronald Krantz who had a passion for teaching the scriptures. I returned to First Open Bible and got involved into the choir, and the men’s quartet, and became president of our Overcomers Youth group. I still had temptations and feeling toward same sex relations but I never acted on them after returning to the Church. I remember talking to Pastor Krantz about these feelings and temptations, he told me: “ those feelings may always be there in your life and God will always make a way for you to overcome them”. Our Overcomers young peoples group decided to go to Open Bible Summer Church Camp that year June of 1980. There at Church camp I experienced a dream during the night. The Holy Spirit showed me the hands of Jesus, which then turned to become my hands holding many peoples hands as He surrounded me in great warmth of His Loving-kindness flowing from His hands of Love through mine to these people. This dream was with such a reality of Love and illumination of Peace that I could not explain it let alone comprehend.
I was about to turn 20 years old that fall and always had dreams of going to school to study for the ministry so I talked with my pastor and he was totally behind me going. Ron Krantz took the time off of his busy schedule as pastor to personally drive me to Open Bible College in DesMoines Iowa where I would proceed to get four year accredited degree in Pastoral ministry and Bible.
I was 21 when I entered Bible College and met a wonder girl there named Donna Davis who loved Jesus. Donna was also studying a four-year pastoral degree after she left her Catholic faith shortly after experiencing the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in an Open Bible Church in South Dakota. She was very open to me about her past, and I felt comfortable around her enough to share my past including sexual relationships with other men in my teens. She listened to me without condemning me and shared with me about friends she had in nursing school who had same sex attractions and acted on them. Donna never condoned the sin of her friends with same sex attraction or any of mine for that matter. Donna would never disown them or me of the Love and forgiveness offered her through her Lord Jesus.
Donna and I proceeded to become close friends and quickly moved fore ward after my freshman year to marry in August 1982 before returning to college my sophomore year. We were not financially ready to marry so we had some real struggles making it through our early years of marriage. I graduated with a four-year degree and Donna with an associate because of her health; she was not able to complete her four-year degree. We never went on to pastor a church or to minister together. We both had our own separate devotions, but never together as a married couple. I had never learned to take the servant role as a husband in fear of the Lord in my home. As students in Bible College we spent more time discussing what was wrong with church, and neglecting to pray for the Church. We were full of dangerous head knowledge and pride but very little heart for God’s people. I was more caught up with accusations about the Churches we visited and the people, so Donna and I stopped going to Open Bible Churches and tried different denominations. Our hearts were far from hearing Jesus speak to us and after seven years of marriage I left Donna for a relationship with a man.
That first relationship lasted two years and it fell apart after Donna and her friend invited me to attend a Malcolm Smith seminar on Unconditional Love and I accepted.I was captured by the message of grace through Malcolm ministering how the gospel relates to life’s challenging fears and failures.
Shortly after the seminar I decided to pack up and leave and move back in with Donna. Donna had a Church she was going to that taught spiritual warfare, but I didn’t have a church home and shortly after moving into our old apartment I went into a complete emotional break from reality. Donna and her friend tried spiritual warfare to break up the demonic activity that was thought to be influencing my break down. This happened a couple of times and I then called my Dad and he came to spend some time with me to see what I was experiencing. Dad and I spent that night at a motel six together and I went into another break from reality and Dad called Donna and they then called for medical backup to take me into the County mental hospital. There at Polk County mental hospital I was strapped to the floor, so I wouldn’t hurt myself or others.
The first couple of days I wasn’t sure I was going to make it back to reality. My mind was gone. I could not even have told you my name for over three days I was in some kind of hell of a darkness I cannot explain. After coming out of the state of darkness I remember singing scripture songs in my spirit that was taught to me during those days at Church camp. One song in particular that I remember pulled me completely back to reality was “thy Loving-Kindness is better than life” I sang the song so loud they came to the door and told me to quiet down in there or I wouldn’t receive food. Well I continued to sing and cried out to the Lord and fell asleep.
Donna had me transported to a Christian hospital in Bay Town, Texas were my Doctor told me that I didn’t need to stop being gay to get better. He said; “it is ok to be Gay and God made you that way” and he went on to tell me “you need to accept you’re a Homosexual”. Well in my spirit and my soul it did not make sense to me after all the suffering I have experienced in life because of these feelings wired into my body. I know I needed to seek the Lord Jesus for direction because He was the one that brought me back to reality in that county mental hospital. I remained at the Bay Town Hospital for over a month going through psychiatric group therapy before being released. I was not convinced I could stay with Donna after the hospital so I moved to Michigan back around my parents to restart my life. Donna and I then went through divorce after I moved my things to Michigan.
Under the direction of the Hospital in Texas I was required to receive follow-up counseling, so I went to Exchange Life Ministries which focused on the grace message of the gospel. I was also in touch with Philip Movius who had gone through Exodus International when he decided to make changes in his life, and he invited me to visit his Church in Detroit. I then went to his church at Restoration Christian Fellowship, which was set up like a vineyard Church. I received real help and healing in the small groups I visited weekly and attended men’s prayer groups regularly. I chose not to get evolved with the Exodus group of men who were trying to change from being homosexuals into heterosexuals. That didn’t make since to me to join the Exodus group, because I needed to be around healthy men who did not share the same weakness I suffer. Through the prayers and connections of friends Donna and I began to reconnect and communicate the Lord’s working in our lives. Donna and I worked to rebuild our relationship believing God to receive the victory in leading us to remarry. We married each other the second time in the fall of 1992 at Restoration Christian Fellowship in Detroit.
Donna and I were married in this none denominational Church and started right back to our old ways as a couple complaining what was wrong with the Church and soon became discouraged and left that church before being remarried for one year. As a husband I still never learned to take the role in seeking the Lord in front of my wife and together as a couple. I allowed a spirit of death bringing accusation and criticism rather then the spirit of life bringing prayer and intercession.
One afternoon Donna and I were listing to Malcolm Smith on the radio tell of his new journey into the Charismatic Episcopal Church as a Bishop. He told over the radio of a good friend Fredrick Fick who became a priest during the same time he became Bishop. Father Fred and his new parish where close to where Donna and I were living. We soon called Father Fred and made plans on meeting him and his wife at a local restaurant. We waited a full year before going to visit this new parish because of issues we felt needed to be faced in our own lives. This new Church was a convergence church of three streams: Charismatic, Evangelical, and Catholic. From the start this seemed to be the answer of many years of prayer for Donna and I seeking the ideal Church. Wow we felt we made it home!
Time went on and the newness of the Church settled in and we started teaching in the Sunday school and were a prayer team as a husband and wife during mass from time to time. I started making big money as a Kitchen and Bath designer and purchased a computer for the home along with a cell phone. We then entered on the Internet for the first time with a new amazement over how easy it is to communicate online. Donna and I seemed greatly blessed, but I neglected to bring a real seeking the Lord for direction as a married couple. We could hear the Lord speak to us separately but not together.
I then let greed for money take over working long hours to bring home large commission checks, which we spent, quiet quickly. I then began using the Internet and my cell phone to communicate with other men with same sex attraction having a strong temptation to return, so I went to confession, but the temptations to meet other men increased. Donna recognized the signs and called the Church for help. The church confronted me in a Loving manner by giving me an ultimatum to change and get help. I was told about this retreat house in Lake Orion were it was a quiet atmosphere for prayer and study. I decided to go to this retreat house so Donna and I separated. I never did go back for counseling or to the Church after leaving the house that day. I stayed at the retreat house a few days and then moved in with cousin and started going to a gay club in Royal Oak, Michigan the fall of 1998 I meet a man that I would spend the next seven years. I had put Donna and the Church through so much pain for so long humanly speaking, time was running out for me to return. The pain and suffering my sin has caused in seeking men for love was foolish and wrong.
Donna went on in life, and we divorced for the final end to our marriage in 1999, and she remarried and she is now a grandmother teaching children in the Catholic Church after returning to her childhood faith that her parents handed down to her.
The Church was never the problem my harden heart toward God Himself was getting in the way producing rebellion and death. After going from one relationship into another I began to see a pattern of seeking sex for love. Thanks for some close friends in the Church for their continued prayers, and my sister Ronda who have confronted me to take a real personal inventory of my life.
See Jesus had been calling me all through out this journey to place Him as the only Love, in place of sex, greed of money, those passions hidden in the dark places of my heart. Only God knows and understands how to extend His Divine Mercy through Jesus Christ to flush us out from the lies we tell ourselves.
On this one-year anniversary of being fully received into the one Holy Catholic Church and Apostolic Church I share with you my personal journey through the strength I have received from the sacrament of reconciliation. (You can read more about my journey into the Roman Catholic Church http://francisambrose.blogspot.com/ ). I thank God for this sacrament of Jesus that imparts forgiveness and reparation. The chance to make all things new and became a blessing to others.
I want to dedicate this testimony to those who are out their struggling overtaken by so much failure from an addiction to sex they have no hope. The Church does hold the answer found in the Face of Jesus Christ as your One True Love filling your heart with joy and destroying the emptiness and void brought on by your addictions.
Let us thank God and seek Him as our Father, and ask Mary the ever Virgin to pray for us, so our new heart says; “yes” to her son Jesus in all of life’s journey, to our Lord and only Lover of our soul, and His Holy Spirit be praised fore ever and ever.
"Jesus is calling His Church to a higher place in Love of God and Neighbor!The Holy Father gives a clear message on Almsgiving that speaks forth the gospel in it's fullness of Truth.
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 19, 2007 (l('http://www.zenit.org');">Zenit.org).- The peace of Christ is not "the absence of conflict" but the "struggle against evil," Benedict XVI says.
The Pope said this today to those gathered at the pontifical residence at Castel Gandolfo to pray the Angelus. He added that being instruments of Christ's peace means "defeating evil with good."
Speaking about the words of Jesus from today's Gospel -- "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division" -- the Holy Father clarified that this saying "means the peace that he came to bring is not synonymous with the simple absence of conflict."
"On the contrary, the peace of Jesus is the fruit of a constant struggle against evil. The battle that Jesus has decided to fight is not against men or human powers but against the enemy of God and man, Satan," the Pontiff emphasized.
He continued: "Those who desire to resist this enemy, remaining faithful to God and the good, must necessarily deal with misunderstandings and sometimes very real persecution.
"Thus, those who intend to follow Jesus and commit themselves without compromises to the truth must know that they will face opposition and will become, despite themselves, a sign of division among persons, even within their own families."
Benedict XVI said that love for one's parents is "indeed a sacred commandment," but added that it "cannot be set in opposition to the love of God and Christ."
"In such a way, in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, Christians must become 'instruments of his peace,' according to the celebrated expression of St. Francis of Assisi," the Pope said. "This is not an inconsistent and superficial peace but a real one, pursued with courage and tenacity in the daily commitment to defeat evil with good, paying in person the price that this carries with it."
Speaking in German, he added, "Christ is not looking for tired conformists, but witnesses of courageous faith, those who burn in the fire of his love."
Man Must Learn to Hear Truth, Says Pope, Calls This Capacity the Person's Majesty
AURONZO DI CADORE, Italy, JULY 26, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The task of the Church is to develop the human person's God-given ability to listen to the voice of truth, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this Tuesday during a question-and-answer session with 400 priests of the dioceses of Belluno-Feltre and Treviso, in the Church of St. Justina Martyr in Auronzo di Cadore, near Lorenzago di Cadore, where he is nearing the end of his vacation.
A priest asked the Holy Father about dealing with widespread misconceptions about good and evil, saying that these moral concepts are confused with merely feeling good or feeling bad.
The Pontiff responded that a "world without God becomes a world of arbitrarinessand egoism. But where there is God, there is light and hope. Our life has a meaning that we cannot give it, but which precedes us, and guides us."
He recommended a path of "patient education," guiding people along the paths that "even a secularized conscience today can easily find." And from there, the Pope said, "let us try to guide people toward more profound voices, the true voice of the conscience, which can be heard in the great tradition of prayer, the moral life of the Church."
Reason
Benedict XVI acknowledged that today morality and religion "are almost replaced by reason," and "the only criterion of morality and religion is the subject, the subjective conscience."
"In the end, only the subject, and his feelings, his experiences and the other criteria he has found, are deciding factors," the Pope said. "In this way, however, the subject becomes an isolated reality, and the parameters change day after day."
But, he explained: "In the Christian tradition 'conscience' means 'with-knowledge.' That is to say us, our being is open, it can listen to the voice of being itself, the voice of God.
"The voice, therefore, of great values is written in our being. And the majesty of man is found in the fact that he is not closed within himself; he is not reduced to material things; he is not able to be measured. Instead he has an interior openness to essential things, the possibility to listen.
"In the depth of our being we can listen not only to the needs of the moment, not only to material things, but to the voice of the Creator himself, and in this way we recognize what is good and what is evil."
"Naturally," Benedict XVI affirmed, "this ability to listen must be learned and developed. This is our task in the Church -- to develop this high ability given by God to man to listen to the voice of the truth, the voice of values."
ar·bi·trary Pronunciation: 'är-b&-"trer-E, -"tre-rE Function: adjective 1 : depending on individual discretion (as of a judge) and not fixed by law 2 a : not restrained or limited in the exercise of power : ruling by absolute authority b : marked by or resulting from the unrestrained and often tyrannical exercise of power 3 a : based on or determined by individual preference or convenience rather than by necessity or the intrinsic nature of something b : existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will - ar·bi·trari·ly /"är-b&-'trer-&-lE, -'tre-r&-/ adverb - ar·bi·trar·i·ness /'är-b&-"trer-E-n&s, -"tre-rE-/ noun
ego·ism Pronunciation: 'E-g&-"wi-z&m, -gO-"i- also 'e- Function: noun 1 a : a doctrine that individual self-interest is the actual motive of all conscious action b : a doctrine that individual self-interest is the valid end of all actions 2 : excessive concern for oneself with or without exaggerated feelings of self-importance
Benedict XVI: Human Heart Longs for Christ Speaks Out Against Relativism
VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 2007 (ZENIT.org).- In the midst of secularism and relativism, it is necessary to teach people that "Christ, the human face of God, is our true and only savior," says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this Thursday in an audience with participants at the 57th General Assembly of the Italian bishops' conference, who are holding a meeting in the Vatican on "Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world: the Church in mission 'ad gentes' and among us."
During the meeting with Italy's prelates, the Holy Father said: "I rejoice in the fact that you have placed at the basis of the missionary effort the fundamental truth that Jesus Christ is the only savior of the world.
"The certainty of this truth has given, from the beginning, a decisive impulse to the Christian mission.
"Today too, as the declaration 'Dominus Iesus' reaffirmed, we must be fully aware that from the mystery of Jesus Christ, true God and true man living and present in the Church, comes the unique salvific and universal nature of Christian revelation and, consequently, the essential task of announcing Jesus Christ to everyone."
The answer
Benedict XVI said that amid the challenges of the world today, God is necessary for everyone.
"It seems to me," he said, "that, if we look at the situation of the world today, we can understand -- I would say in a human way, almost without having recourse to faith -- that God who gave himself a human face, the God who was incarnated, who is called Jesus Christ and suffered for us, this God is necessary for everyone, and the only answer to all of the challenges of this age."
While giving "respect to other religions and cultures, with the seeds of truth and goodness they contain and that represent a preparation for the Gospel," the Pope continued, "we cannot diminish the awareness of the originality, fullness and unique nature of the revelation of the true God who in Christ was definitively given to us, nor can we diminish or weaken the Church's missionary vocation."
"The cultural climate of relativism that surrounds us makes it more important and urgent" to instill in the Church "the certainty that Christ, the human face of God, is our true and only Savior," he affirmed.
Benedict XVI mentioned his book "Jesus of Nazareth," calling it "a very personal book, not of the Pope but of this man" written so that "we can see -- with the heart and with reason -- that Christ is really he whom the human heart longs for."
Main Entry: rel·a·tiv·ism Pronunciation: 're-l&-ti-"vi-z&m Function: noun 1 a: a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing b: a view that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them
Main Entry: sec·u·lar·ism Pronunciation: 'se-ky&-l&-"ri-z&m Function: noun : indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations
"Body of Christ needs the two lungs to breath properly"
"Pray for the house of the East and the West to join together. Like a pair of hands when joined in prayer, similar and in beauty when joined together. Let those two hands, belonging to the same body, work together and share their capacity and resources with each other... let those two hands lift me together. Ah, when will those Hands of My Body lift Me over the Altar, holding Me together? O come! I do not want lengthy discourses, anyone who wants to be first and best among you must be slave to all." (Jun 15, 1995)
During the Angelus on the 11th August 1996, the Pope, John Paul II, when he was talking about the Orthodox, he declared: "The things that unite us are far greater than the things that divide us." These were very encouraging words to hear for the Orthodox, because we have heard from one of His prelates who wrote to Alexis II that between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church there were great elements that divided us.
The Pope calls the Orthodox Church, "Sister Church". He also said that the"Body of Christ needs the two lungs to breathe properly",equaling us to the other lung. But his voice reminds me of the voice of John the Baptist's, "a voice crying out in the wilderness", for there is not much of a response to his cries from his very own. I truly wish to hear an echo from the Pope's priests, bishops and cardinals. Why can't we hear more voices echoing what he said from his own prelates?
By not accepting one another and by not reconciling, it only proves to the rest of the world that love is missing within us and that we do not want to bend. Jesus repeatedly says that the key to unity is humility and love. The Lord asks us to bend (our rigid iron necks) in humility and love to obtain the fruit of unity. Jesus says:
"Pray for unity and do not listen to those who do not want unity -the divider keeps them separated and aggressive in their spirit. Anyone who does not work sincerely and with all his heart for unity is seriously grieving My Holy Spirit...It is not the eloquence of speech nor the lengthy discourse that will lead them to unity. It is not their exchange of praise on one another that will lead My Church into one. All these things weary Me... devastation and ruin have penetrated into My Sanctuary, so what praise can they exchange on one another?" (Jun 15, 1995).
The Holy Spirit calls out to His Bride for Unity too:
"Pray that I, the utter fullness of God, the utterance of your spirit, the light in your eyes, descend in your midst to show the world how wrong it was, to show to the Churches their iniquity of their division and how, although they declare daily that there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all, are uncharitable with one another. We cannot say: "You have done everything to preserve the Unity I offered you in the beginning when you were still a child and in My arms.
Today you say: "I am not a child any longer and I can walk by myself." And since then you stepped out of My embrace and accustomed your steps to walk your own way... O child of the Father! Fruit of the Son! My City and My Bride! Your fragrance left you... are there going to be any survivors left in you when I will descend in full force?" (Nov 9, 1994)
Make an Act of Contrition (i.e., pray this prayer earnestly):
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
Pray: Incline unto my aid, O God. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Lord, Thou hast said: "Ask and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you," I seek, I knock, I ask this favor [name your intention].
Incline unto my aid, O God. O Lord, make haste to help me. x10
"Amen, I say unto you, if ye ask the Father anything in My Name it shall be given unto you." It is of the Father and in Thy Name, Lord, I ask this favor.
Incline unto my aid, O God. O Lord, make haste to help me. x10
Lord, Thou hast said: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass away," Thou wilt grant me this favor because Thou hast said it and Thy word is true.
Incline unto my aid, O God. O Lord, make haste to help me. x10
Listen, men! Chastity grows with the practice of mercy.
Looking at pornography and engaging your mind in sexual fantasies is a mental rehearsal of, among other things: — self-centeredness; — selfishness towards others; — using others as servants of your own pleasure and preferences.
Masturbation rewards that mental rehearsal with physical pleasure.
Thus, masturbation is a sin that trains you to sin more and more— not only in actions but also in attitudes.
How might you move in the opposite direction?
First: Stop.
Second: Turn around and MOVE in the opposite direction.
Move?
Yes— start DOING GOOD to others. Cultivate the habit of finding ways to be of authentic service to others.
For example, practice the Corporal and the Spiritual Works of Mercy. Be aware that in Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus teaches that the Corporal Works of Mercy are ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS for those who do not want to be banished forever from the kingdom of God.
The Corporal Works of Mercy
Give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Visit the sick and the imprisoned. Shelter the homeless. Bury the dead.
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
Admonish sinners. Instruct the ignorant. Counsel the doubtful. Comfort the sorrowful. Pray for the living and the dead. Bear wrongs patiently. Forgive all injuries.
In practicing the Spiritual Works of Mercy, you must be careful not to use the first two to dominate other persons.
The last two Spiritual Works of Mercy are valuable in cultivating the habits that lead away from sexual sins.
Bear in mind that chastity comes under the cardinal virtue of temperance (also called “moderation&rdquo. So, you need to be coherent or consistent in practicing temperance (moderation, balance, and proper order) in all matters.
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MANLINESS AND THE CARDINAL VIRTUES
virtue "moral life and conduct, moral excellence," vertu, from Anglo-French and Old French vertu, from Latin virtus "moral strength, manliness, valor, excellence, worth," from vir "man" in the masculine sense.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1805, says:
Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called “cardinal”; all the others are grouped around them.
The word “cardinal” comes from the Latin cardo— “pivot” or “hinge.”
[CCC 1806] PRUDENCE is the virtue that disposes practical reason TO DISCERN OUR TRUE GOOD IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE AND TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT MEANS OF ACHIEVING IT; "the prudent man looks where he is going." .... Prudence is "right reason in action".... It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); IT GUIDES THE OTHER VIRTUES by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.
[CCC 1807] JUSTICE is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor....
[CCC 1808] FORTITUDE is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause....
[CCC 1809] TEMPERANCE is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion.... In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or "sobriety"....
As human virtues, the cardinal virtues are:
... rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature: for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object. [CCC 1812]
. So, you need to be coherent or consistent in practicing temperance (moderation, balance, and proper order) in all matters.
