How do you react when under attack? Are you surprised? Shocked? Angry? Or, are you prepared for whatever comes your way? Spiritual warfare is raging all around us. It comes in many forms . . . some surprising, some expected. In order to overcome attacks, we must remain vigilant as to what is from heaven and what is from the enemy. It's easy to fall into the trap of feeling the victim. But if we believe what we read in the Bible, what the messages from Jesus and all of heaven tell us in the Volumes, how can we react any other way but with love, humility, and trust that God has our back? He says it in today's Gospel (Matthew 24:42-51). Be prepared for anything and everything:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Whispers From the Cross, she explains very clearly . . . if our eyes are diverted from Christ, we become an open door for the enemy's attack:
"Apostles, we must be more vigilant. If we have any ill feeling toward another, we must do battle with it in the presence of Jesus, who loves us all. If we do not do this hard work in our heads, the enemy will keep these feelings ‘on file’ and open them at a given time when we will then become a danger to the divine will through our bitterness. It must be said that it is shocking where the enemy can take us if we are not vigilant. It is as if we are at a train station and there are two trains. If we harbor ill will, envy, jealousy and anger, it is as if we are getting on the train that leads to darkness. We must think about this very carefully. The tracks only go in one direction and once this train leaves the station it becomes more and more difficult to get off. I think that if we were able to see where we were going by looking down the line of the railway tracks, we would immediately offer these things to the Lord for eradication and humble ourselves before Him. We do not want to resemble Cain and Abel. There is a train which goes in another direction and that leads to peace. When we covet the respect that another is given or the attention that is being paid to another then we are not reverencing what has been given to us. We then, if we get on the wrong train, will try to ‘look’ like them, stealing their identity, as it were and offering it to others falsely for the admiration we crave. This is not good modeling. To say we admire the virtues in another and strive to acquire these same virtues is wonderful. To look at the virtues of another and to admire the attention these others may get because they possess these virtues, and to then try to ‘steal’ the virtues by mimicking them but not practicing them, is diabolical in nature. We do not lovingly try to live the same goodness."
Lay apostles, I am still surprised at times by unexpected attacks . . . even expected ones I prayed wouldn't occur. The beauty of being involved in this apostolate is I am prepared for the worst. It may be surprising, but not shocking. I know with every bone in my body Jesus has a plan for me . . . for every one of us. Sometimes that plan doesn't make sense to me, but it does to Him. I know I will understand completely the day I am face to Face with Our Savior. Until then, bring it on!
Thank you, Lord, for loving and protecting me from the enemy invading my life. I don't know how people survive without You!!
God bless,
Bonnie
Showing posts with label enemy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label enemy. Show all posts
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Remain Vigilant
How do you react when under attack? Are you surprised? Shocked? Angry? Or, are you prepared for whatever comes your way? Spiritual warfare is raging all around us. It comes in many forms . . . some surprising, some expected. In order to overcome attacks, we must remain vigilant as to what is from heaven and what is from the enemy. It's easy to fall into the trap of feeling the victim. But if we believe what we read in the Bible, what the messages from Jesus and all of heaven tell us in the Volumes, how can we react any other way but with love, humility and trust that God has our back? He says it in todays Gospel (Matthew 24:42-51). Be prepared for anything and everything:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Whispers From the Cross, she explains very clearly . . . if our eyes are diverted from Christ, we become an open door for the enemy's attack:
"Apostles, we must be more vigilant. If we have any ill feeling toward another, we must do battle with it in the presence of Jesus, who loves us all. If we do not do this hard work in our heads, the enemy will keep these feelings ‘on file’ and open them at a given time when we will then become a danger to the divine will through our bitterness. It must be said that it is shocking where the enemy can take us if we are not vigilant. It is as if we are at a train station and there are two trains. If we harbor ill will, envy, jealousy and anger, it is as if we are getting on the train that leads to darkness. We must think about this very carefully. The tracks only go in one direction and once this train leaves the station it becomes more and more difficult to get off. I think that if we were able to see where we were going by looking down the line of the railway tracks, we would immediately offer these things to the Lord for eradication and humble ourselves before Him. We do not want to resemble Cain and Abel. There is a train which goes in another direction and that leads to peace. When we covet the respect that another is given or the attention that is being paid to another then we are not reverencing what has been given to us. We then, if we get on the wrong train, will try to ‘look’ like them, stealing their identity, as it were and offering it to others falsely for the admiration we crave. This is not good modeling. To say we admire the virtues in another and strive to acquire these same virtues is wonderful. To look at the virtues of another and to admire the attention these others may get because they possess these virtues, and to then try to ‘steal’ the virtues by mimicking them but not practicing them, is diabolical in nature. We do not lovingly try to live the same goodness."
Lay apostles, I am still surprised at times by unexpected attacks . . . even expected ones I prayed wouldn't occur. The beauty of being involved in this apostolate is I am prepared for the worst. It may be surprising, but not shocking. I know with every bone in my body Jesus has a plan for me . . . for every one of us. Sometimes that plan doesn't make sense to me, but it does to Him. I know I will understand completely the day I am face to Face with Our Savior. Until then, bring it on!
Thank you, Lord, for loving me and protecting me from the enemy invading my life. I don't know how people survive without you!!
God bless,
Bonnie
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Whispers From the Cross, she explains very clearly . . . if our eyes are diverted from Christ, we become an open door for the enemy's attack:
"Apostles, we must be more vigilant. If we have any ill feeling toward another, we must do battle with it in the presence of Jesus, who loves us all. If we do not do this hard work in our heads, the enemy will keep these feelings ‘on file’ and open them at a given time when we will then become a danger to the divine will through our bitterness. It must be said that it is shocking where the enemy can take us if we are not vigilant. It is as if we are at a train station and there are two trains. If we harbor ill will, envy, jealousy and anger, it is as if we are getting on the train that leads to darkness. We must think about this very carefully. The tracks only go in one direction and once this train leaves the station it becomes more and more difficult to get off. I think that if we were able to see where we were going by looking down the line of the railway tracks, we would immediately offer these things to the Lord for eradication and humble ourselves before Him. We do not want to resemble Cain and Abel. There is a train which goes in another direction and that leads to peace. When we covet the respect that another is given or the attention that is being paid to another then we are not reverencing what has been given to us. We then, if we get on the wrong train, will try to ‘look’ like them, stealing their identity, as it were and offering it to others falsely for the admiration we crave. This is not good modeling. To say we admire the virtues in another and strive to acquire these same virtues is wonderful. To look at the virtues of another and to admire the attention these others may get because they possess these virtues, and to then try to ‘steal’ the virtues by mimicking them but not practicing them, is diabolical in nature. We do not lovingly try to live the same goodness."
Lay apostles, I am still surprised at times by unexpected attacks . . . even expected ones I prayed wouldn't occur. The beauty of being involved in this apostolate is I am prepared for the worst. It may be surprising, but not shocking. I know with every bone in my body Jesus has a plan for me . . . for every one of us. Sometimes that plan doesn't make sense to me, but it does to Him. I know I will understand completely the day I am face to Face with Our Savior. Until then, bring it on!
Thank you, Lord, for loving me and protecting me from the enemy invading my life. I don't know how people survive without you!!
God bless,
Bonnie
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Quiet Humility
Unethical people never cease to amaze me. They used to anger me . . . now I see them as an opportunity for holiness. Jay and I are reading from Anne a lay apostle's book Climbing the Mountain. The page we read a few mornings ago profoundly affected our entire day . . . let alone how we will always look at any given situation. Here are the insightful words from Anne:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
Lay apostles, have you read Climbing the Mountain yet? I am on my third time reading through this eye-opening book. And I learn more and more each time I read it. There are so many pearls like the quote above. This is profound stuff! The next time you are too angry to pray, remember the words of Jesus, "Fine. Walk with My enemy instead."
Thank you, Lord, for getting to the point very quickly when I face the world and not You. But most importantly, thank you for loving me enough to send this apostolate into my life!
God bless,
Bonnie
"One day I felt the cup of bitterness overflowing. I
was saturated with bitterness and this resulted in anger. Knowing that I
needed to be alone, I obtained a precious period of time and set out for a long,
pounding walk. I passed the Adoration Chapel, trying to move quickly as the
last thing I wanted to do was pray. To be honest, I was angry at Jesus
because I was convinced that heaven was unreasonable in its expectations. I
wanted to walk hard and deal with all that was hurting me. Jesus said, “Come
to Me, Anne.” I said, “No, Lord. Trust me. You do not want me in this condition.
I am too mad.” He replied, “Fine. Walk with My enemy instead.” I made the
sharpest turn you can imagine. I understood that the enemy was gleeful at my
condition and was more than willing to entertain me with all of the wrongs that
had been sent my way and all of the injustices present in the work Jesus had
willed for me. It was the enemy who had whipped me into this condition. My
friends, the enemy had set me up. I went into Adoration and sat down hard
and began to complain. I complained and I complained. I left nothing out. And
Jesus listened. And He listened some more. At the end of thirty minutes of
complaining, I glanced at Him in the Host. He was so pure, so kind, and so
tolerant that my heart melted. He had let me get it all off my chest. What
healed me was His perfect love and charity for me. My love for Him gushed
out of my soul. I was a different person at the end of that hour than I would
have been after a walk with the enemy who wished to encourage me in
rebellion. I left Jesus like a lamb, willing to be hurt in service to Him for the sake of others. We must never underestimate what Jesus can do for us and
we should understand that Jesus will take us in any condition."
Wow, right? How many of us have chosen not to pray because we are too upset or too mad? My hand is raised . . . is yours? Quiet humility, my friends. Once we become quiet in prayer, He can heal the deepest of wounds.
In todays Gospel (Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18), Jesus is asking us to serve Him in humility, without looking for praise in our works:
Wow, right? How many of us have chosen not to pray because we are too upset or too mad? My hand is raised . . . is yours? Quiet humility, my friends. Once we become quiet in prayer, He can heal the deepest of wounds.
In todays Gospel (Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18), Jesus is asking us to serve Him in humility, without looking for praise in our works:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
Lay apostles, have you read Climbing the Mountain yet? I am on my third time reading through this eye-opening book. And I learn more and more each time I read it. There are so many pearls like the quote above. This is profound stuff! The next time you are too angry to pray, remember the words of Jesus, "Fine. Walk with My enemy instead."
Thank you, Lord, for getting to the point very quickly when I face the world and not You. But most importantly, thank you for loving me enough to send this apostolate into my life!
God bless,
Bonnie
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Balancing Act
Tightrope walkers and trapeze artists mesmerized me as a child. My parents loved to take us to the circus. I think my dad was just as excited as I was to watch the gracefulness of the women swinging to and fro on the trapeze, ready to let go mid-air trusting their partner to be there with a solid grip. More impressive were the brave tightrope walkers. This balancing act requires (not that I'm an expert, but I can imagine!) relentless practice, learning to block out distractions and most importantly, no fear of heights! One misstep could have dangerous consequences. I remember straining to see if their shoes were rigged with some kind of "rope guide" allowing them to effortlessly glide. I even imagined myself above the crowd, sliding my way across the rope to the safety of the platform in front of me. Alas, I knew this was not going to be my vocation in life as I could barely keep myself steady on the balance beam in gym class! Every once in a while, I still find myself trying the tightrope walk when passing a curb or a parking lot bumper. My balance hasn't improved much since my younger days. But I'm pretty fearless (ok, for those who know me, I'm not talking about bugs, snakes and frogs here!) and in my head I refuse to think I'm to old to perfect my tightrope walking dream . . .
In todays Gospel (John 12:44-50) Jesus tells us when rejecting Him, we also reject God the Father:
Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”
In Volume Five, Jesus reassures us our souls will remain intact despite what the world tries to tell us:
Lay apostles, we are targets of the enemy. Living our lives in unity with Christ makes us stick out like a sore thumb. Let's all do as Jesus did when faced with adversity . . . pray. The more I pray, the quicker fears cease to exist. What's bothering you today? Pick one thing. Pray about it. And let it go.
Thank you, Lord, for the powerful effects of prayer in my life. Continue to remind me to come to You when I start going "there" losing my balance.
God bless,
Bonnie
In todays Gospel (John 12:44-50) Jesus tells us when rejecting Him, we also reject God the Father:
Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”
In Volume Five, Jesus reassures us our souls will remain intact despite what the world tries to tell us:
"The darkness swirls around My little ones and many suffer in the greatest way from fear because they are targets of the enemy. Children, hear Me. Listen to Me. Man cannot touch your soul. Your soul is your property, of divine origin, and protected by Me. I wish to keep you at a heavenly level of existence during this time so that you will not nourish fears. I felt fear also. What did I do? I prayed. My fears then left Me and I was able to walk the path of your redemption. I assure you, when you need My help, My help will be yours. When you need extraordinary graces, you shall have them. Trust Me in all. Believe in My presence in your life and you will exult, despite the difficulties you encounter."
Lay apostles, we are targets of the enemy. Living our lives in unity with Christ makes us stick out like a sore thumb. Let's all do as Jesus did when faced with adversity . . . pray. The more I pray, the quicker fears cease to exist. What's bothering you today? Pick one thing. Pray about it. And let it go.
Thank you, Lord, for the powerful effects of prayer in my life. Continue to remind me to come to You when I start going "there" losing my balance.
God bless,
Bonnie
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