The Disappearing Priest

The Disappearing Priest

Saint Elijah's Church

The Disappearing Priest
By Tony Zuniga

Fr. Jozo is considered by many to be a living saint. He went to prison to protect the six visionaries when the communists attempted to jail them. Maime [my wife] and I went to his Mass at St. Elijah’s church, about an hour from Medjugorje. And even though we were told that the Mass would be in Croatian, and that we would not understand it, we were asked to just simply look at Fr. Jozo and listen. God would do the rest. We did, and God did.

At the moment of Consecration, when the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass, Fr. Jozo repeated Jesus’s words, “This is My Body!” As he slowly raised the Sacred Host, I heard two loud thumps to my right. Startled, I turned my head in that direction. Two women who were standing nearby had just dropped hard on their knees, as if hit by a two by four. I found out later that one of them did not believe in Jesus, and the other one did not believe in Mary. Apparently their conversion took place in an instant. tant.

Then my own miracle happened. When I turned back toward the altar to see Fr. Jozo, he disappeared right in front of my eyes. The Sacred Host remained floating in mid air, but Fr. Jozo just wasn’t there. I rubbed my eyes. I looked under and around the altar. All I could see was the Sacred Host, floating and vibrating, about three feet above the altar. My heart was pounding. So I turned to Maime to tell her to look, but could not reach her. The church was packed with people, and Maime had her head down in adoration. So I turned to the left, and saw another woman staring and looking towards the altar, shocked, just like I was.

After Mass, I went directly to this woman. Before I could ask her anything, she asked me, “Are you going to tell me about the disappearing priest?” My heart leaped with joy. For a moment I thought I had imagined things, or I was the only one who had experienced this. But this woman challenged me, “What did this miracle mean to you?”

I answered quickly and without hesitation. “Jesus Christ is above everyone and everything, including His own Mother, more important than the priest, and all of us. He is the center of our existence, the core of our being, the King and Lord of our lives, the Master of our destiny, our friend and personal Savior!” The woman smiled and said, “Good! Now, go out into the world and tell everyone you meet what you saw and experienced here.”

The miracle of Medjugorje, however, is not the outer, incredible manifestations we see with earthly eyes, but the continual transformation, in tremendous numbers, of the lives and souls of people who go there. Many who went to Medjugorje had never been inside their churches in forty or fifty years. Today, they are daily communicants. Marriages are strengthened and blessed. Young people who lived in sin, from drugs, to sex, to hatred, and kids who had abandoned their families and forgotten about Jesus are liberated from all evil, and now feel free and forgiven. Today, after returning from Medjugorje, they go out and preach the Good News wherever they find themselves. The people of God have returned to God and are now rejoicing.

Editor’s note: The above is an excerpt from the book Mother of the Most Beautiful Love in the World, Copyright 1995. 

 Source: Christian Light Ministry

Great Evil Humanity Is Facing

Brother and Sisters,

I am here to write to you of a great evil humanity is facing. No, I am not exaggerating. I am not being an alarmist either. But when there is sin we need to call it a sin because that is what it is. The scripture tells us, that if we see our brother sinning we should be pointing it to him.

Let us see the definition of a sin because many people fail to understand what is a sin. A sin is not doing something “wrong.” A sin is missing the mark with God. You see, two things need to happen for a sin to take place. One, God has to be in the picture and two, our action has to be away, off His will.

We all have heard of the sin of abortion. It is a terrible evil. But I am here to talk to you about an evil that is horribly greater than abortion. It is far more than just missing the mark. Evil is the absence of good. When you face evil, you cannot find good in it. Evil is completely dark.

In all the Bible, the book that I find most fascinating is Genesis. Yes, the New Testament is great. The Gospels are wonderful. But Genesis is the book that gives justification to the Gospels and the New Testament. The salvation brought to us by Jesus Christ was the result of a drama that took place in Genesis. There are some scripture scholars who would like to ignore the book of Genesis, specially Genesis 1-11 because it is in congruent with so-called science. Yet, I believe that by doing so they impoverish the manifestation of God’s love for us.

Let us go to Genesis and see how a tragedy took place. In Genesis 1:24 “And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beast of the earth according to their kind. And it was so.” Now I want to comment there that in that single verse, the expression “according to their kinds” has been used twice . That means God created species.

Let’s go back to Genesis 20:21 “So God created …according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Again here, we see the reference to “according to their kinds”. You see, God created a great number of species, but separated them from each others. He established a biological separation between species.

Again we see in Genesis 1:25 that God made all these different species according to their kinds. “And God saw that it was good.” Just only in that single verse there is reference to “according to their kinds three times. This is here details about the foundation of creation in the earth. God intended to create separate, distinct species on the earth. It would be okay for each of the species to reproduce within their own species. But it is understood that God did not want, intended to blend the species. Thus, God did not intend to blend a goat and a spider. These are two different species intended to be separated and distinct.

This here is crucial. We are talking about the foundational structure of life on earth. This is here where the whole story starts. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Chapter sets up God as the cause, the beginning, the creator of everything, including the earth. There are some scripture scholars who claim that Genesis was not written as a book of science or biology. True, the intension of the writer to write the book of Genesis was not to write an empirical science text book. The book of Genesis is far more sophisticated than that. But it contains information about biology. And in this case, to use the modern word, genetics.

Let us go now to genesis 2:20 “…but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him.” Important passage. God sets Adam as master of the created world who names each animals by their own names, so he got to know them all. But Adam could not find a mate in anyone of them. Why? Because of the separation of species. God had imposed a separation of species. God had imposed a separation of species and Adam who was human could not blend himself with another species.

I have spent a lot of time drilling on the tremendously importance of the separation of species imposed by God. In Genesis 2:17 we find the famous Tree of Knowledge of good and evil that both Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat. What that tells us is that not all knowledge is good. There is good knowledge and there is evil knowledge. It is a very important distinction. Evil knowledge does not necessarily have only to do with the occult, although it is part of it.

Evil is the absence of good. In another word it is possible to have a knowledge that has no goodness in it. Therefore that kind of knowledge is forbidden. What this passage of scripture tells us, is that not all forms of knowledge are good. It is not because you can know something that it is good for you.

A turning point takes place in the coming of the deceiver. Smooth, slick operator. He comes with subtlety. It is always about knowledge. Deception arrives at Genesis 3:4 “You will not die.” This knowledge is really good for you. Advantages. It’s really going to help you. It will solve your problems (did they have any problems?). Watch, Satan only talks about the advantage, the benefits and not the painful consequences.

What Satan used here is a tool called persuasion. This tool is still being applied even now in marketing. You have the right to know. Freedom of knowledge, academic pursuit. The more you get knowledge, the more you will be like God Genesis 3:5. My friends, Genesis is not about ions ago, although it is also that. But it is our own story, right now. We have institutions that claim to have the right to acquire knowledge. Where did they get that right from? Here is the deception, all knowledge is good specially if they are “approved”. Academic freedom, corporate freedom to do research. To develop, to make progress (whatever that means).

The serpent is Lucifer, this once upon the time highest angel of God’s creation. He had and still has great power and knowledge. He is a lier, a deceiver and a con artist. His voice can be heard even now, by promises. He describes to us a world of advantages, of possibilities, of all the conveniences. The speed, the easiness, the health advantages. Almost all the time, we fall victims of these deceptions like Eve in Genesis 3:6 who saw the tree was good, delightful and desirable.

Lucifer, the fallen angel who became an angel against God and therefore Satan, did not show to Eve the terrible consequence of disobeying God. The lost of the tree of life and the ability to live forever Genesis 3:22. We have lost happiness and the ability to live forever because we listened or rather our forefather and mother listened to the deceptive voice of Satan telling us to get the forbidden knowledge and use it to be like God.

We are about to repeat that same mistake right now in the twenty first century. Same voice of Satan, same deception, same story, same promise and same destruction. However, this time there is no way out. The first time, God provided a plan of salvation. But this time around, we make the final ultimate decision. If we mess around again, there is no other salvation plan. Those who refuse to be deceived will be saved. Those who chose to listen to the voice of deception will be lost. 

There are men and women in public and private institutions who have acquired great knowledge about the very fundamental structure of life. DNA is the basic building block of all life on earth. There is a kind of knowledge they have acquired to manipulate the genetic make up of any organism on this planet. This is no hidden knowledge. This is no conspiracy theories or whatever. This is our everyday reality, openly spoken and acted upon. Nothing secret. They are telling it to us in our face and most of us don’t understand. We do not hear the voice of a serpent, what we hear is the voice of people called scientist, experts.

I am talking about big money, billion of dollars. This is something that is going on in a great number of countries. This is something practiced by big, large international corporation with the support of governments. There is a powerful social movement that is already organized and very militant. Scientists have learned to manipulate at will the genetic make up of any animal, plants and human. And their intentions are hellish.

Think about it. Back in 1980 did you ever thought of the world as it is now with the Internet and mobile phones? No. There is a revolution that took place and that changed the world. There is another revolution taking place right now that is 100 times bigger but that will change both humanity and life on this planet forever and it is genetic modification.

These people are talking about re-doing human beings. Remaking human beings based on their conception. Creating a new human being, human being 2.0. We are talking about a very small group of powerful and influential people who want to play around with the genetic make up of life on earth and be god. These are no people who believe in the God that I spoke about in Genesis. These are people who believe they are so smart that they can be god.

Cloning is not something that most of us don’t know. We all have heard of animals in the lab that have been cloned. This is old science. The assumption has been that human beings cannot be cloned because there are laws against cloning human beings. This is a simplistic and naïve and pathetic assumption. For organizations that wields tremendous power, whose assets amount to the sum total of the GNP of many countries and that are basically transnational, there is no accountability to what they do. Their work and research is secret.

Human cloning represents a tremendous financial advantage to those organizations. Cloning for the harvesting of organs, life extension offers powerful motivations. In addition, a great social impact can be presented. Can governments, corporations create human clones for their purpose as slave labor? Laws are obviously not sufficient to deal with this issue. In fact laws are created by the alliance of governments and corporations and would always be written in the light of financial interest. It is a moral issue. I am not talking about ethics. A godless, atheist, even occult practitioner can study and have a job about ethics. I am talking about morality. That is the application of natural laws with God and His revelation as a basis of judgment.

My friends, understand what is going on right now. Very powerful corporations with colossal financial might who employ the best and brightest scientists in the world, play with the fundamental structure of life like little children who play with building blocks or with Lego’s. These people have absolutely no idea what they are doing. They have just learned how to isolate the building blocks of life and they just goof around with them with absolutely no wisdom.

These people have learned to take the genetic make up of one species and mix it with the genetic make up of another species. It’s call splicing and they have great fun doing that. For example, they blended the genes of a cat with the genes of a monkey and the genes from the jellyfish to produce “a cat that glows in the dark”, very cute. Is it amazing? But then where is the temptation? Well they offer the idea of the cat to glow in the dark as a brilliant attempt to figure out the cure for AIDS. Haven’t we heard that before? Yes, in Genesis 3:4-5. This is offered as an advantage, a good thing, to cure AIDS. This is the temptation and it is deadly.

This science is called Transgenic. The mixing of genes from one species with another. Remember we see how God separated species, not allowing the mixing of one species with another. Well, these guys are doing it.

Men are doing away with species separation. These are people who don’t believe in God. They certainly don’t believe in the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. By enlarge these are people who are at best spiritually blind. Their religion is empirical science. They believe in evolution. And they believe that they are so smart that they can do anything they want. But above all, they are just childish. Like children, they are just curious and think that since they know how to do something then they owe to do it, regardless of the consequence.

The people who are heading and developing the science of genetically modified food (GMO), cloning and transhumanism have their allegiance to the serpent, Lucifer. They intend to defile God’s creation and ultimately to destroy it.

In transhumanism, they are mixing genes from different species, creating new forms of life. For example, they blended the genes of a goat with the genes of a spider. The result is a new life form in the form of a goat who produces fibers that are stronger then steel. Of course many advantages are provided with those kind of genetic structures. For one thing, medical benefits are always provided. And again the same pretext are given, better, faster, easiest, more convenient.

Right now, we are living a repeat of the error, of the mistake of the deception that our ancestors Adam and Eve fell into with destructive consequence. The dream of the transhuman is to change humanity. To change human being from a genetic perspective to the point that he will no longer be human, not in the sense that God created him originally. He will be a revised version of human being, human 2.0.

Understand that these people have a design, they have a plan for you and for your descendants if they would allow you to have any. And they are not consulting you in their design. They believe that they are the experts and that they know what is best for you. Their intention is to recreate human being yet to the point that he will no longer be human. Their talk, writing, presentation has always a benevolent face, yet, their intent is malefic.

These are people from governments, corporations, foundations who believe that they have the power to create a new breed of life, Human 2.0 would be the genetic blending of homosapiens with the genetic of animals. Combining human DNA with the DNA of a wolf, an eagle and fish, the result would be what they consider a “superior being.” Here, we see the old dream and aspiration of the mad philosopher Nietzsche who wanted to create a “superman”.

Although Nietzsche died insane, his demonic, Luciferic dream lived on through the Nazi and presently through the Transhumanist. The superman, the super soldier who can accomplish tasks that no ordinary human can do. In Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image and in verse 31 God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. No, the Transhumanist say it was not good. God didn’t do a good job. Him, the Tranhumanist can do a better job than God.

At a deeper level, these are people who have a hatred against God. Their rage is really against God. This is what we as Christians need to understand. These people are not concern about curing cancer or AIDS, or cardiovascular problems or whatever disease there are. Medical benefits are just an excuse because they know that using that pretext will not bring opposition. Therefore they will be left free to do as they will. But these are people who are animated by hatred against God to the point that they want to deface God’s creation.

If cloning, transhumanism, Chimeras is not enough, these people believe that they can blend human beings with machines. Is it possible? They offer a lot of evidence to the effect. But what are they trying to accomplish? They want the end of human beings, period. So they talk about creating a cyborg, part human, part machine. Again the idea of being superior, even immortal.

We can see the theme of Genesis, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. There is good knowledge. Most of the time it is rejected for the knowledge of evil, even if it is presented as a good, beneficial thing. The lie of Genesis is still manifesting itself to us even now. The lie that we can be like God, without Him. That is the deception. Satan is smart and cunning. We have been created in the image of God. We were already like God. We did not need to eat from the Tree of knowledge. The deception of Satan was to make us believe that we were not like God, but we can be like Him without Him, outside of Him.

That option sounded great to Adam and Eve. But Satan didn’t tell them the consequence of that action. No, they wouldn’t be like God, but even worst, they’ll be kick out of Paradise, live in pain and suffering and die. In another word, hell. Satan wants company…

Pesta St. Nikolaus -6 Disember

 

St. Nikolaus

"Memberi itu Indah."

oleh: P. Victor Hoagland, C.P.

 

St. Nikolaus, seorang santo dari abad keempat yang menjadi ilham lahirnya tokoh modern bernama Santa Claus atau Sinterklas, dilahirkan dekat Myra (sekarang Turki). Myra adalah sebuah kota pelabuhan di Laut Mediterania dengan jalur pelayaran yang ramai yang menghubungkan kota-kota pelabuhan laut di Mesir, Yunani dan Roma. Kapal-kapal yang lalu lalang penuh dengan muatan beras serta berbagai macam barang, tiba dengan selamat di pelabuhan, setelah terlepas dari bahaya badai dan bajak laut.

Nikolaus berasal dari salah satu keluarga pedagang kaya di Myra. Namun demikian, ia bukanlah anak yang dimanjakan oleh keluarganya. Ayah dan ibunya mengajarkan kepadanya untuk bersikap murah hati kepada orang lain, terutama kepada mereka yang membutuhkan pertolongan. Dari situ Nikolaus belajar bahwa menolong orang lain menjadikan jiwa bertambah kaya.

Suatu hari, secara kebetulan, Nikolaus mendengar tentang seorang kaya di Myra yang jatuh miskin karena usahanya bangkrut. Bapak itu memiliki tiga orang anak gadis yang cantik, yang sudah cukup usianya untuk menikah. Tetapi ia tidak mempunyai cukup uang untuk menikahkan anak-anak gadisnya. Lagi pula, pikirnya, siapa yang mau menikahi mereka karena ayahnya sudah jatuh miskin? Karena sudah tidak punya uang lagi untuk membeli makanan, ayah yang putus asa itu memutuskan untuk menjual salah seorang anak gadisnya sebagai budak. Setidak-tidaknya anggota keluarga yang lain dapat bertahan hidup, demikian pikirnya.

Malam sebelum anak gadis yang sulung dijual, Nikolaus dengan satu tas kecil berisi emas di tangannya,  mengendap-endap masuk halaman rumah mereka, melemparkan tas yang dibawanya melalui jendela yang terbuka, dan sekejap kemudian menghilang dalam kegelapan malam.   

Keesokan harinya, sang ayah menemukan tas berisi emas tergeletak di lantai dekat tempat tidurnya. Ia tidak tahu dari mana datangnya. “Mungkin ini emas palsu,” pikirnya.Tetapi setelah diujinya, ia tahu bahwa itu sungguh-sungguh emas. Ia meneliti daftar teman serta rekan dagangnya. Tak seorang pun dari mereka yang mungkin memberikan emas itu kepadanya.

Sang ayah jatuh bersimpuh dengan air mata mengalir deras membanjiri pipinya. Ia mengucap syukur kepada Tuhan atas anugerah-Nya yang indah ini. Semangatnya bangkit kembali setelah padam sekian lama, karena seseorang secara tak disangka-sangka berbelas kasih kepadanya. Ia mempersiapkan pernikahan putri sulungnya. Masih tersisa cukup uang bagi mereka semua untuk hidup selama hampir setahun. Seringkali ia bertanya-tanya: siapa gerangan yang memberinya emas?

Dengan berakhirnya tahun, keluarga mereka tidak lagi memiliki apa-apa. Sang ayah, yang sekali lagi putus asa dan tidak menemukan adanya jalan keluar, memutuskan agar anak gadisnya yang kedua harus dijual. Tetapi, Nikolaus mendengar tentang hal ini, ia datang malam hari dekat jendela rumah mereka dan melemparkan satu tas berisi emas seperti yang ia lakukan sebelumnya. Keesokan harinya sang ayah bersukacita dan bersyukur kepada Tuhan serta memohon pengampunan dari-Nya karena telah berputus asa. Namun demikian, siapakah gerangan orang misterius yang memberi mereka hadiah yang luar biasa ini?

Sejak itu, setiap malam sang ayah selalu mengawasi jendela rumahnya. Dengan berakhirnya tahun, berakhir jugalah uang simpanan mereka. Suatu hari, dalam keheningan malam, ia mendengar langkah orang mengendap-endap dekat rumahnya dan tiba-tiba satu tas berisi emas jatuh ke atas lantai. Sang ayah cepat-cepat bangkit dan lari untuk menangkap orang misterius itu. Setelah beberapa saat berlari, ia berhasil menangkap dan mengenali Nikolaus, karena pemuda itu berasal dari keluarga terpandang di kota.

“Mengapa engkau memberikan emas kepada kami?” tanya sang ayah.

“Karena Bapak membutuhkannya,” jawab Nikolaus.

“Tetapi mengapa engkau menyembunyikan diri dari kami?”

“Karena memberi itu indah, jika hanya Tuhan saja yang mengetahuinya.”

Ketika Uskup Myra wafat, para imam, tokoh-tokoh kota, serta para uskup sekitarnya berkumpul bersama di katedral untuk memilih seorang uskup baru. Mereka berdoa serta memohon kepada Tuhan untuk menunjukkan kepada mereka siapakah yang pantas untuk jabatan itu. Dalam suatu mimpi, Tuhan berfirman kepada salah seorang dari mereka bahwa besok pagi haruslah mereka semua berdoa bersama. Sementara mereka berdoa, seseorang akan masuk lewat pintu katedral. Orang itulah yang harus mereka pilih.

Ternyata Nikolaus-lah yang masuk ke dalam katedral. Penduduk kota segera memilihnya menjadi uskup mereka, karena mereka tahu bahwa orang yang sederhana ini, yang perbuatan baiknya telah mereka kenal, telah dipilih Tuhan untuk membimbing mereka.  

Sebagai Uskup Myra, Nikolaus menjadi semakin lebih sadar akan kebutuhan banyak orang. Ia akan menjelajahi seluruh penjuru kota untuk menawarkan pertolongannya kepada siapa saja yang sedang berada dalam kesulitan, dan kemudian pergi diam-diam tanpa menunggu ucapan terima kasih. Ia tidak ingin menjadi terkenal. Namun demikian, nama baiknya sebagai seorang kudus semakin tersebar dan tersebar, bahkan tersebar hingga ke kota-kota yang jauh yang belum pernah dikunjunginya.

Nikolaus secara istimewa memberi perhatian agar keluarga-keluarga mempunyai makanan yang cukup serta tempat tinggal yang layak, anak-anak tumbuh dan berkembang, para lanjut usia menempuh hidup mereka dengan martabat dan hormat. Nikolaus amat suka pada para pelaut yang hidup penuh bahaya di lautan. Tanpa kapal-kapal mereka, orang banyak di belahan dunia ini tidak memiliki makanan serta barang-barang seperti yang mereka bawa dalam perdagangan mereka.

Lebih dari semuanya itu, pada masa kini Nikolaus terutama dikenang karena cintanya kepada anak-anak. Semasa hidupnya, ia biasa membagikan hadiah-hadiah kecil kepada anak-anak yang ia jumpai, seperti permen dan mainan. Kelembutan hatinya, yang biasanya juga mengejutkan mereka, menyentuh hati anak-anak, sehingga mereka dapat belajar dari orang kudus ini betapa indahnya memberi itu.

Dalam sosok Santa Claus, yang nama dan aktivitasnya diilhami dari kisah hidup St. Nikolaus, orang kudus ini tinggal bersama kita sekarang.

Advent 2011

 

 Advent is a word that means "coming." This season is a time of preparation for the second coming of Jesus as well as Jesus' first coming at Christmas. As we hear God's Word and pray, we also open ourselves to Jesus' coming right now. 

 

We are used to preparing for a future job by going to college. We prepare for tests by studying. We prepare for our future by saving money. Similarly, we must also prepare to stand before Jesus on judgment day. God has taught me that all of life now is a preparation for our meeting God. We hear Jesus tell us, "Watch." "Be alert." "Be ready."

There are three main areas where we must prepare. First, we must grow in our relationship with God. As we deepen our relationship with God now, we will be ready to receive the beatific vision then. Second, we must progress in character. Our life now is about growing in virtue. All our secrets will lay bare in the light of God's face. Lastly, we must realize our potential. God has gifted each of us and we must discover and use our talents. Everyone will have to account for what they did with their lives.

Who we are is God's gift to us, who we become is our gift to God.

God isn't interested in perfection, but very interested in our progression.

Advent, then, is a season of hope, expectation, promises fulfilled, patience, waiting and prayer. It is a time to sense God's presence and comfort. It is through God's love that we will be motivated to grow and go forward. This season is a time to look at ourselves and push ourselves to become. We must be ready for our death. If we choose to progress in each area of life, we will be ready to receive Jesus when he comes in Glory. When we die he will receive us. We will also receive him in a fresh new way at Christmas. O Come O Come Emmanuel! Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus!

Prayer of Self-Surrender

Jesus,
You are coming in Glory as King.
I want to be ready.
I surrender my life to you.
Transform me into your image.
I love you Lord.
AMEN!

Surrendering to God is not a one-time prayer. Surrender is a lifestyle that is expressed by prayer and right choices and solid behaviors. It is a lifestyle of seeking God through prayer and action. During Advent, seek Jesus in his Word. Read the daily Mass readings before you participate in the liturgy. Interested in a great Mass/Bible devotional? www.wau.org Spend time in quiet, silent prayer. Reflect on where the Church is inviting you to grow. Journey with Jesus as he teaches us and guides us to new life. The Lord Bless you and Keep you as you seek new life in Christ. Love, Fr. Cedric

Many people open themselves to reconciliation during, this preparation for Christmas. I pray that you will examine your heart, confess your sins and receive the grace of God. 

Here is the examination of conscience sheet I promised you on TV:

RECONCILIATION

A person's conscience is our most secret core and our sanctuary. There we are alone with God whose voice echoes in our depths. (Catechism #1776)

The Spiritual and moral life is about going forward, moving and growing. As you examine your heart, your conscience, are there any areas where you feel stuck or are even going backwards? You must confront and confess these issues in order to move. In addition, you must be honest enough to try to get to the roots. As you open your issues and sins to the Lord, you can trust God for mercy, gentleness and healing.

Some issues to think about:

1)     Anger: Are you angry with others, circumstances, self or God? Is there bitterness, resentment and non-forgiveness in your heart? Do you manage your anger by "exploding" or "imploding"?  Possible roots of anger are: Perfectionism, Grasping for control, unrealistic expectations, family of origin.

2)     Relationships: Is there someone you need to forgive? Can you ask for the courage to pray for them now? Is there someone you need to confront about their behavior? Ask for the courage to do so and to do it in a non-threatening way. Are you striving to love the irritating and "unlovely" people in your life? Or do you just avoid them?

3)     Codependency: Do you allow the behaviors and emotions of others to control and manipulate you? Are you a people pleaser and live in fear of what others think all the time? Do you stand up for yourself? Are you true to yourself? Roots: insecurity, fear of rejection.

4)     Idols: What "catches" your eye in life? Is it out of balance shopping, T.V., excessive Internet, gambling, food, drinking, sex, travel, sports, or work? Are you impulsive, compulsive, obsessive and out of control in any of these areas? What would being in balance mean in these areas? Roots: Low self-image/body image, boredom, lack of control, frustration with life, loneliness, self-sabotage. The need to escape from external and/or internal pain.

5)     Gossip: Do you build relationships with others based on ungodly talk and slander? Control? Manipulation? Possible roots are the need for acceptance and approval from others. Belittling others to make yourself feel more important. Insecurity.

6)     Lust: Do you watch programs on T.V., explore the Internet or read books that are inappropriate? Does this lead unwanted behaviors? Possible roots: Longing for God shifted to lust. Lack of contentment stemming from the need for excitement. Lack of self-control and immaturity. Simple rebelliousness and flippant disregard.

7)     Laziness: Are you lazy in areas of personal health, relationships, work, and seeking God? Roots: Lack of self-control and discipline, immaturity, low self-esteem, selfishness, lack of integrity.

8)     Pride: Are you stubborn, controlling, insensitive, cynical, contentious, opinionated and slow to say you were wrong? Do you judge others harshly simply by appearance? Pride denies and hides issues. It has a need to always be right. Humility admits, confronts and confesses. Roots: "I" Selfishness, negative self-image, fear and insecurity.

9)     Anything else? Is there any other area that you need to confront and look at in order to experience healing, forgiveness and go forward? Look at your relationship with God, others and self. Try to think not just about your issues, but possible roots. God Bless you
as you confront, face your pain, confess and move forward!!

                                                ACT OF CONTRITION

Jesus, I have sinned.

I am sorry.

Have mercy in your kindness.

I want to make a move and change.

I believe in your healing love.

I make the decision to follow you. Amen!

In addition to an act of contrition (sorrow for our sins and for hurting God) we also receive a "penance" when we celebrate reconciliation. A penance is not a "punishment" for our sins. Rather, it is a means to help you to turn from sin and begin afresh with God. Reading the Bible has traditionally been given as a penance to help people to turn to Jesus and experience healing. Please pray as you read slowly this passage from Psalm 51 from the Bible as your penance:

~Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

~Behold, you desire truth in the inward being;

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean;

wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

~Fill me with joy and gladness;

let the bones which you have broken rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquities.

~Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and put a new and right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

~O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For you have no delight in sacrifice;
were I to give you a burnt offering,
you would not be pleased.

~The sacrifice acceptable to God

is a broken spirit;

a broken contrite heart, O God,

you will not despise.  Amen.

***Based on Fr. Cedric's books You Can Change and A Retreat with Fr. Cedric  BOOKS