To Be or Not to Be

I was in the grocery store last week, waiting in the check out line.  A magazine caught my eye.  The words “No Kill Nation” had my attention.  I immediately picked up the magazine, opened it up to the center section, and began to read:  “Long considered by some as an idealistic, unworkable goal, the no-kill effort has now moved into the mainstream. ‘Even just a decade ago the majority of Americans probably believed that a no-kill approach was improbable.’…But today as people see cities, such as Reno, Kansas City and Austin successfully establishing no-kill programming, they increasingly believe the ideal can become a reality.”

I had high hopes upon seeing the words “no-kill” that I was picking up a pro-life magazine.  I had hopes that the idealistic goal of no-kill was one pertaining to humans.  I was wrong, this magazine and article were advocates against euthanizing dogs.

There has been much debate of late with regards to euthanasia and the term brain-dead.  I have watched the news regarding the 13 year old Jahi and her parents’ fight for her chance to prove her doctor’s diagnosis of brain-dead wrong.  I have seen a husband take a hospital to court to remove his pregnant brain-dead wife from life support.  I was sadly disappointed to hear that Belgium has allowed legal euthanasia for people of all ages, including children.

I am glad there are advocates against cruelty to animals.  No creature made by God should be treated as anything less than a Godly creation.  What I do not understand is why are humans treated as less valuable?

The unborn human child is thought of as tissue.  Women are told that pregnancy is a choice and they do not have to stay pregnant if they are not ready to be a mother . The truth is that child from the moment of conception is a child of God; has a soul and a guardian angel.  He or she from the moment of conception has a mother.  That mother will either be the mother of a live baby or a dead baby.  That is the only “choice” being made.  To kill or not to kill.

A child lies in a coma and doctors say she is brain-dead.  Her parents see signs of life and want to see their child continue treatment.  The hospital refuses.  The hospital sees no value in the child’s life and no hope for any recovery of her brain function.  The truth is that the brain is far from being understood.  The book “Proof of Heaven” written by a neurologist who was supposedly “brain-dead”, proves that man cannot know God’s plan.  God can work a miracle any time and any place.  Why should a parent have to fight for a child’s life at a hospital.  To kill or not to kill.

I hope and pray that one day we will be a No Kill Nation.  One that respects the life of all humans – born and unborn.  A nation that respects the Creator and leaves all decisions regarding life and death in His capable hands.

Sirach 18:1 “The Lord, who lives forever created the whole universe and He alone is just.  He has given no one enough power to describe what He has done, and no one can investigate it completely.  Who can measure His majestic power? Who can tell the whole story of His merciful actions? We cannot add to them; we cannot subtract from them. There is no way to comprehend the marvelous things the Lord has done. When we come to the end of that story, we have not even begun; we are simply at a loss for words.”

C’est Bon

Love,

Sherry

Light of my life

Advent (Photo credit: Lawrence OP)

The season of advent is a most glorious season!  With each passing week, one more candle is lit.  One more beacon of light shining bright.  For as we advance in advent, we grow nearer to the coming of Jesus Christ, The Light of the world.  The closer we are to Jesus, the more Light is in our life.

In today’s world we are surrounded by artificial lights.  There are traffic lights, computer and gadget lights, siren lights, room lighting, Christmas tree lights, the list goes on and on…

We know the significance of the green light, the red light, blue light, and so on.  In fact, my grandson is in pre-K and their behavior system is based on the traffic light.  Good behavior means a green light, slightly bad behavior is a yellow light and down right bad is a red light.  My grandson’s first red light was followed by his punishment at home of putting away new birthday toys until he brought home a green light.  My daughter said the following morning, upon awakening,  he raced to his backpack to pull out his behavior folder to check if the “light had changed”!

We spend so much time worrying about these artificial lights and so little time with the one True Light.

Our Lady of Kibeho gave this message: “There are many lights in the world to follow, but there is only one true Light, that of God.  Live with your faith throughout your life.  Don’t wear it like a coat that you put on and off, since this won’t save you when you die.  The one who turns to God in this world, and lives according to God’s will, can, through Divine Mercy, shorten and even avoid his time in purgatory.  I have come to prepare the way for Him for your own good and you do not want to accept, you do not want to understand.  There is so little time remaining, yet you still allow yourselves to be distracted by earthly goods and desires, which will soon pass away.  I see so many of my children going astray, and so I come to plead with them, and to show them the correct way.”

Jesus came to this world through our mother, Mary.  She was filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s grace and gave birth to our Lord.  She nurtured Him, fed Him, bathed Him, loved Him.  She prepared Him for His mission with her motherly love and devotion to God’s will.  Today Mary is preparing us.  Once again our Lord, Jesus, is preparing to enter into this world and rule His kingdom.  Mary is guiding us to accept God’s will for us and follow her son.

Take time this advent season to put away the distractions.  Turn off the TV.  Put the cell phone and games away.  Gather with your family and light the advent wreath.  Sing a song of praise to God.  Read scriptures.  Pray together.  Spend time with the one True Light.  He will give you light in return.  His light is one of Peace and Love.

C’est Bon

Love,

Sherry

I’m a Soul Woman

An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was born on All Souls’ Day, (November 2nd).  This has led to a curiosity with regard to souls and purgatory.

My parents are in their seventies.  I have very early memories of seeing my parents cleaning and painting tombs of loved ones in preparation of All Souls’ Day.  To this day, even though my parents are no longer young and agile, they continue their loving care of the graves of departed family members.  Praying and attending mass for deceased family members was the normal custom of my family and my local community.

As a child, the thought of purgatory was scary.  I knew witches, goblins, and vampires were creations of imagination; however, purgatory was a real and scary place.  A place people went to suffer for sins committed.  A place for “purging”.

As an adult, purgatory still seemed scary.  Jesus seems so loving and forgiving in the Good Book; it did not seem possible that purgatory was part of His plan.

Then I read Sister Faustina’s Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul.  Jesus told Sister Faustina, “You are the secretary of My mercy; I have chosen you for that office in this and the next life.”  The Diary was kept the last four years of her life.  She died in 1938 after filling several notebooks of her divine revelations, visits from poor souls in purgatory, and the gift of the Divine Mercy Chaplet which was dictated by Our Lord Jesus Christ.  It was through this Diary that I finally understood the meaning of Redemptive Suffering and the depth of Our Lord’s Mercy.

Recently I have read another great book.  “Get Us Out of Here“, by NIcky Eltz is a captivating interview with Maria Simma, an Austrian mystic.  Ms. Simma, who passed away in 2004, was visited most of her life by holy souls from purgatory.  She gives a personal account of details the souls have provided her regarding church traditions, child rearing, guardian angels,….I could not put the book down!  Very fascinating to me was the fact that the souls begged for prayers, masses, and for generations to care for their tombs of beloved family members.

I am no longer scared of purgatory.  I want to enter God’s Kingdom clean and worthy.  I think of it as entering a very clean, immaculate house.  If I have trampled in the mud, I will want to hose off my shoes and wipe them clean.  It is a sign of respect for the house I am entering.

And besides, if I end up in purgatory, the next stop is Heaven!

In the meantime, I have scheduled masses for my loved ones who have passed away.  I pray for the souls in purgatory every day.  And I plan on taking over mom and dad’s tomb duties this year.  It is time for the next generation to remind the young ones never to forget those who have passed on – they may need our prayers!

1 John 2:16-17

“If you see your brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray to God, who will give him life.  This applies to those whose sins do not lead to death.  But there is sin which leads to death, and I do not say that you should pray to God about that.”

 

C’est Bon

Love,

Sherry