JUDGMENT

As a Christian, one who follows Christ, I am saddened
to see the large number of Christians who think of it as
a hobby. I am truly a new Christian in the fact that I
have finally had my eyes opened an shown what I need
to improve on in my everyday life. The one sin that I
think I need to get over as soon as possible is that of
Judgment, I don't seem to take the whole story of the
log to heart, it has not seemed to kick in as much as I had hoped.

I sit and think about the fact that we need a little judgment,
not in the way that we only see the bad in others, and only the good in
ourselves, but more of self judgment and a balanced
judgment for others, in other words seeing the good and
the bad at the same time. After all how are we to sharpen
each others faith as Iron sharpens iron, if there is no
judgment, I know that I have no ability to say that anyone
is going to Hell, nor would I want that responsibility, but I
think that if someone is doing something not completely moral
you have a responsibility as a Christian to tell, in a loving way
of course, that someone is not living as good as they could be.
That being said, I should state that at no time is it okay to think
that you are better than another. We are all equals, some of us
with different talents and duties, but equal none the less. I have
finally come to see that we need to look out for one another, we need
to open our minds and hearts to the awesome message Jesus has
given us and live by his example, "it takes a weak mind to live as you
want, but to live as another asks, that takes true strength. My life is
dedicated to becoming strong in mind, body, and spirit, spirit above all
for if I have that then the rest will be easy. Let the Holy Spirit fill your
heart and soul and teach you and give you the gifts you need to be like
Christ.

We don't have to do it alone, in fact it's impossible to do so.
Only Jesus is perfect and the only way that we can do it is
to ask him into your heart to guide you and hold you up as
you stumble along your path to becoming a better Christian.
I pray that we all truly see the glory God has in store for us
and that all of our eyes are opened to his awesome power.

PRAY FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY

Eternal Father I offer thee the Most Precious Blood
of Thy Divine Son Jesus, in union with the masses
said throughout the world today, for all of the holy
souls in purgatory.
"For sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal
church, those in my own home and within my family.
Amen."

(St. Gertrude the Great was told by Our Lord that
the above prayer would release a 1000 souls from
purgatory each time it is said.)

My hope is that all you who see this pray it in hopes
that those in purgatory may be set free to be with Our
Lord in Heaven.
May God bless all those in Purgatory and may they be
with him soon.

PRAYER FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY

O gentle Heart of Jesus, ever present in the Blessed
Sacrament, ever consumed with burning love for
the poor captive souls in Purgatory, have mercy on
them.
Be not severe in Your judgments, but let some drops
of Your Precious Blood fall upon the devouring
flames.
And, Merciful Savior, send Your angels to conduct
them to a place of refreshment, light and peace.
Amen.

FOR POOR SOULS

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them
May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

THE PRAYERS FROM THIS POST COME FROM THE "PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!" PRAYER BOOK
PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! is a Catholic prayer book dedicated to Pope John Paul II, and the
Conversion and evangelization of Russia.

Dieing to Christ

Part of being a Christian means dieing to the old and rising to a new. A new life in Christ. Jesus cannot live in sin, so to be truly Christian you must die to the notion that you are in control and realize that God knows all. Just because God does not answer your prayer with a yes does not mean he's trying to be mean. An example of this is when I was younger I prayed that I could be closer to him, to better understand how to be like Christ. At that time his answer was no, looking back I realize that God knew that I was not fully ready to have that cross placed on my shoulders.

God knows everything, it says he stood at the beginning of time and he stood at the end of time and said it was good. The free will granted to us is the will to choose to except that or not. God knows what choice you are going to make, but lets you make it. The question then is, why did he give me free will, if he knows that I may stray why give me free will? That's simple, if I force you to obey me it's not satisfying, you are not truly obeying because you want to, you are obeying because I made you, which means you are not obeying me with the fullness of your heart. God does not want you to obey him with loathing in your heart but with love.

God has given us the greatest gift of love, by creating us he has given us life, and if that were not enough he gave us his only son as a sacrifice to wipe away the sins we have committed and granted us new life, eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
God has given us so much, who are we to say that what we have is not ours.

Dieing to oneself is the hardest thing to do, at least for me. giving up the things I most enjoy in service for God can be troubling, but the most amazing thing about it it that you don't have to do it alone. God is their for you and will help you through it if you let him, I mean truly let him with your entire heart and soul. Let God show you the way.

Coming close to God is one of the most beautiful things you can do, but do not take it lightly, humble yourself before God and let him shoe you his glory.

Pray that God deepens your faith,

'O God, I firmly believe all the truths that you have
revealed and that you teach us through your Church,
for you are truth itself and you can neither deceive nor be
deceived.'

Remember to not be discouraged if you feel dry-spells it is at that time that God truly appreciates it.
Keep your faith strong and know that God loves you unconditionally.

May the light of God shine the way for you
on your journey of faith with him, may he open your heart
and place in it the warmth of the holy spirit, may you truly know
what it is to feel his love in your life, in Jesus' Most Holy name I pray, amen
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday Morning Christians

SUNDAY MORNING CHRISTIANS. These are those Christians who on Sunday morning sit in church and praise God, and Sunday after noon are doing evil things. I know how it works I used to do it. I know that I still am at fault with this I mess up all the time. I have sinned numerous times in my life and continue to. I am no better than you however I am no worse. I know that it's hard to be good Christians, in fact I know deep inside my being that being Christian is the hardest thing to do in the world.

Being scoffed at and made fun of are scary things which makes standing up for your beliefs hard. But have we truly gotten to a point in life when someones opinion matters more than God the creator of you and I? How sad is it to live in a world that is controlled by peer pressure. Is that not the greatest weakness of all. Think about how much people do because of peer pressure, sex, drugs, and alcohol. The time has come to stop standing in the background and start taking the control you believe you have and handing it over to the one true King God the Father. How sad is it that we are more scared of the people around us then God.

I was in church one day, for my Godson's first Reconciliation, and I was sitting trying to be in silent reverence to the Lord my God and all I could do was get angry. The parents who at that time where supposed to be teaching their kids how to act during this sacrament where talking about things of little importance.

I know that sometimes it is hard for people to truly grasp that God is in church, that may be hard to do, but you should still be silent. Remembering that God is the reason you are their is the only thing that you have to do. There is a time and a place for talking, and there is a time and place to listen, and Being in church during the act of Reconciliation is the time for listening to God.

Religion is not something to be taken lightly, it's not a social group that you join because you have nothing better to do. God is real and true in fact he is the one truth. Once you realize that the only reason you are allowed to talk is because God wills it so you might shut your mouths and listen once in a while.

May God's merciful hand be upon all of you.