Do Unto Others

I can hear her voice now . . . "do unto others what you would have them do unto you." My mother probably said that to me a million times growing up.  Nineteen months separate my younger sister and me. Being so close in age, we were together a lot. One thing she was very good at . . . subtly provoking me during play time to react loudly, quickly propelling mother in our direction yelling "Bonnie Ann!" (My middle name was over exaggerated when she yelled, the "n" drawn out as if the longer she kept the "n" going, the closer she was in proximity!) I must have been in trouble at least once a day. By the time I was a struggling rebellious teenager, I took that saying and made it my own . . . "do unto others what they did unto you!" I was pretty rough on my sister in high school.  When we moved from California to Colorado the middle of my junior year (her sophomore year), people would ask me if I had a red-headed younger sister, to which I replied, "nope, I'm the youngest." Eventually word would get back to her of my denial, causing her to react loudly. You will be happy to know we grew up and actually love each other. But, every once in a while over the years, she lovingly recalls the torment I caused her to which I respond with my apologies. I wish I would have known then what I know now . . . the true meaning of my mother's words. My daughters growing up were so much kinder to each other than my sister and me. Hopefully, my grandchildren will be even better.

Todays Gospel (Matthew 7:7-12) gives us easy answers when we are struggling:

Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.  This is the law and the prophets.”

In Volume Seven, St. Damien asks us to remain centered on Christ when we struggle with our ego:

"I watch your difficulties and understand your struggles. You walk with Jesus, though, and if you remain in an awareness of His presence you will feel stronger and more confident. Many of your struggles can be minimized with constant acts of Holy Indifference. Jesus, along with all of His many helpers, needs you to be His hands, His heart, and His representatives. He can get the work done through you quite easily. You are a part of the work but not the whole work. Let me make this even clearer. If you remain small, understanding that without the help of God you are without power, He can do the greatest things through you. When man swells in his heart and feels that it is he himself who is accomplishing these things, the trouble begins. Egos are difficult friends and dreadful rulers. Keep your ego on a very short leash and understand that your merit lies in your obedience to Christ. Do not take credit for what Christ does through you. He cannot entrust great missions to you if your ego swells with each success. When your work is successful, praise God. When your work fails, praise God. When the sun shines, praise God. When the rain falls, praise God. Do you get the idea? You serve Him and He will do great things through you. These great things have nothing to do with you except that you allowed heaven to use you as an instrument."

Lay apostles, how do you react when accused? By yelling and screaming, seeking justice to heal your wounded ego? Or, do you respond calmly with the facts? Sometimes, not reacting is the right answer. Instead of yelling, ask God to open another door.  Ask Him to fight the fight for you. Did you realize He always wins, but in His time, not ours? Make it easy. Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.

Thank you, Lord, for the ability to let go and continue climbing the mountain. 

God bless,

Bonnie

A Mother's Endurance

Note: Wrote this last year and now Whitney is about to have her second child . . . a daughter! God is so good to me! Had to repost!

Teenagers . . . a time you never imagined when holding your precious newborn. A time for hiding the fact you are out in public with your mother. One incident will forever stand out in my mind . . . a Friday night at the local movie theater. My middle daughter Whitney had to have been around 14 or 15 years old. Walking from the parking lot to the crosswalk leading to the theater, she stopped me short. "Mom, OMG! You are not my mom, but my sister Amber home visiting from college." I just looked at her. "What?" I asked (with no attitude whatsoever!).  She had spotted some people from school (she had just started her freshman year of high school) and was horrified should she be spotted with her . . . groan . . . mother!! Always up for a bit of charades, I jumped right into character as her new friends approached! I can't remember if her friends bought it or not, but "Amber" comes up every once in a while. Now that Whitney has a son, I try to prepare her for those teenage years. Her response is usually, "it will be different with Colton. He knows Jesus and Mary from day one and will not be a typical teenager." Uh-huh, I think to myself. You just wait my sweet baby girl. I pray I live long enough to see my girls with teenagers of their own!

Todays Gospel (Luke 8:19-21) made me wonder if Mary knew Jesus' response when told of her presence. But then we remember the great faith and endurance our Blessed Mother had to possess as the Mother of God:

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

In Anne a lay apostle's book Climbing the Mountain, she teaches us the power of endurance:

"But you and I can suffer with Jesus. In fact, we can do something even more remarkable. We can take the suffering for which we have no control over anyway and we can transform it, through our patient and obedient acceptance and endurance, into a supernatural release of grace for our salvation, for someone else’s salvation, and now in preparation for Jesus’ new, dynamic coming into our time, in whatever form that takes."

Lay apostles, it takes a lot of faith, love, patience and endurance to go the distance for Jesus. The end goal is heaven for all eternity. If we stay focused on that goal, our reactions/actions become more Christlike. As parents, we are in it for the long haul. The more humility and endurance we show our children, the better they will be as parents. So if they choose to call you their "sister home from college," smile and remember how you felt about your parents at that age . . . 

Thank you, Lord, for the endurance You blessed me with as a parent of three girls. And for the laughs all the trials and tribulations of their younger years give us now at family gatherings!

God bless,
Bonnie

Lent Day 38 - Anything Can Happen

I believe in every message I've read from Jesus and all of heaven through Anne a lay apostle. As a matter of fact, I hold Jesus to His Words . . . to what He promises us as lay apostles. And, He holds me (and all lay apostles) to helping Him rescue souls through this mission. The graces and blessings I have received in spreading this mission have been beyond anything I could ever have imagined. A few days ago I received a random phone call from a good friend from high school. We keep in touch, but I hadn't talked to her in awhile. She didn't call for any particular reason. As we caught up, I told her I was going to send my book Can You Text Me Directions? to Pope Francis along with a personal letter asking for help and guidance concerning a situation occurring in our diocese. I know it is a long shot the Holy Father would ever receive my book. But I have faith that if Jesus wants it to happen, He will make it happen. So, my friend says one of her consultants went to Rome for her honeymoon. While on a tour of the Vatican, a nun befriended the couple and they have stayed in touch with her since. This nun happens to be close to Pope Francis. I could feel the tears well up when she said she would see if she could get this nun's address. With Jesus, anything can happen . . . 

In todays Gospel (John 10:31-42), Jesus attempts to "educate" again:

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘?  If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?  If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.  Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him.

In the Monthly Message of November 2007, Jesus urges us to be His Light on earth:

"Show constant compassion, never judgement, to those who do not understand what they lack. I am trying to show you, My beloved apostle, that you have begun a journey that must be taken by each person who will spend eternity in the family of God. If others delay the journey, that is their affair. My beloved apostles understand that this journey, the journey to holiness, is the most important journey they will ever take. This is your first priority, My friends. Continue to make your pledge and I will see to it that you become holier."

Lay apostles, I used to try to control everything in my environment . . . which I now see as thinking I knew how to do things better than God. My grip was so tight I finally got to a breaking point . . . I couldn't do it alone anymore. Then along came the Volumes. It's been 8 years since I read Volume One. Christ has shown me time after time that when I let Him have all the control, He can do miraculous things! Boy oh boy, I have seen a few miracles since 2006. So maybe, just maybe, my book will be in the hands of our dear Pope Francis some day . . . if it's His Will, anything can happen!

Thank you, Lord, for knowing what is best for me . . . keeping me humble . . . and allowing so many blessings in my life! 

God bless,
Bonnie

Lent Day Ten - Forgive Quickly

There is a reason I rarely get on Facebook anymore. Negativity abounds and there is no escaping it! I don't mean joking around with a member of my family or close friends. It's acquaintances who I knew in high school over 30 years ago! One of my nieces posted a video of a 3 year old boy negotiating with his mother about a cupcake. It was adorable and I shared it on my Facebook page, tagging my two oldest daughters with almost 2 year old sons. It wasn't intended for anyone else, just my girls. But a woman I knew in high school made a negative comment about how this kid should be taught about respect, and for people not to think it was cute. OK, I am all about teaching children respect . . . ask my daughters! Then I started thinking . . . this woman doesn't have any grandchildren! I guess I was thinking about how smart the little boy was in his negotiating technique . . . nothing other than that. So, it irked me for about 10 seconds and I thought I better start writing my next blog post in advance. (If you want to see the video, please enjoy it as merely a determined 3 year old wanting a cupcake!
http://kfor.com/2014/03/11/toddler-argues-with-mother-over-cupcakes-listen-listen-listen-linda/)

Lo and behold, the Gospel (Matthew 5:20-26) was waiting there for me to read:

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

In Volume Two, Jesus asks us to forgive others as He forgives us:

"Because bitterness often originates from another soul, I want you to examine any bitterness in your heart closely. If indeed you do, and you can identify this person who has caused you harm, I want you to spend this day praying for that individual. My child, ask Me to have mercy on this person. My just wrath is a terrible thing to behold and you would not like it to be directed at you. Therefore, you must also seek to spare others this destiny. Love of neighbor delights Me. Mercy and compassion given freely to others delights Me. Forgiveness? I need not even tell you about the happiness that comes to Me when I see souls offering forgiveness to each other. Understand, little souls, that I place people in your path with an intention and with a hope, a heavenly hope. Do not be quick to run from a soul, simply because he does not please you. Consider My will and be certain to ask Me if I have a heavenly task for you with regard to each person. It is in this way I will bring love to each soul, through love of neighbor." 

Lay apostles, are you spending too much time worrying about what people are posting on social media sites . . . or what they are not posting? I had someone call me one time complaining that certain people hadn't "liked" her post! Yikes! My mother always taught me that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Smart advice, but hard to do. So, what's the alternative? Forgive quickly. It really doesn't matter what others think of you, only what God thinks of you. So next time you feel the urge to bite back, stop and remember todays Gospel and quote from Volume Two above! I know I don't want to miss one heavenly task Jesus sends my way!

Thank you, Lord, for all the challenges in my path. I know You send them my way so I will learn to love and live as You did on this earth. 

God bless,
Bonnie

Persecution

High school . . . happy memory or misery? Mixed emotions arise when my mind ventures back to the late 70's. I had some wonderful friends with whom I am still in touch. And then, there were those who didn't make life very pleasant for me. I was the new girl from California the middle of my junior year when we moved to Colorado. (I was so angry at my father for moving when I was so close to graduating with all my childhood friends, when we crossed the Colorado border all of the sudden I dramatically became very short of breath, stating I couldn't breathe in the high altitude . . . my dad didn't buy it for a second!). Let's just say there were some very mean female jocks who didn't like me right off the bat. When I became friends with one of the cheerleaders, they went out of their way to let me know I didn't belong in their group. People can be so mean. But what it did was prepare me to raise my girls with bullies in mind. Explain to them hurt people hurt people. Years later, I now know Jesus was forming me to have the ability to withstand any persecution coming my way. Instances like this over time have forced me to focus on what is really important. And it has made me into the woman I am today . . . a Lay Apostle of Jesus Christ the Returning King! 

In todays Gospel (John 15:26—16:4A), Jesus prepares His disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit and advises them to remain faithful:

Jesus said to his disciples:  “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”

In Volume Five, St. Philomena asks us to rise above the ways of the world and stay focused on Christ:

"I understand what it is to suffer and I understand the temptation to comply with the desires of the world in order to escape notice and persecution. But that is not the way for us.As soldiers of Christ we must never fear the battle with the world. We will be noticed for our faith and I assure you, fellow suffering souls, that when you arrive in heaven you will be celebrated for any sacrifices you made in the name of Jesus Christ. You live in a time of uprising, so you must rise up. Look up to Jesus and say, “Jesus, notice me. I am here awaiting Your every request. I will carry heaven’s flag for a stretch.” Your offer will not go by the wayside because Jesus needs those who follow Him to do their share. Never fear the enemy’s reaction. The enemy blows hard at you when you serve Jesus but ultimately the enemy has no power."

Lay apostles, I am the last person to say "go ahead, persecute me!" But there is value in preparing to accept it in humility. Jesus gives us everything we need to endure any trial. Look at the Gospel today . . . He is not sugarcoating reality. When we begin to think we don't deserve mistreatment, think again. He may be preparing you for something greater, something you never knew you were capable of achieving . . .

Thank you, Lord, for the graces You have bestowed upon me over my life. I am truly thankful for every persecution as they have lead me closer and closer to You!

God bless,

Bonnie