Posted on 03/31/2017 8:29:47 PM PDT by NYer
As another freeper said, “It’s in God’s time, not man’s time.” Immerse yourself in God’s Word and/or a daily devotional. (I was given Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. It helped me and continues to help me daily talk and hear from/with Jesus!) Also, during the deaths of my mom, grandmother and dad in just over a year, I kept Psalm 23 printed in my wallet. I knew it by heart but some days were so stressful that I would forget verses and at times could not get them to process! So, written form was stress free! Call CBN or another prayer line that is open 24/7 and let blessing fall on you!
God bless all priests and strengthen them.
Your post gave me hope. I’ve been praying for my husband to become Catholic for 35 years. He’s agnostic and lately I’ve become discouraged thinking he refuses to see that he has always been drawn to Catholics. There doesn’t seem to be any movement, nor desire to move toward God.
But I never thought about a message in a dream. That is something sent, not searched for! I will keep pestering!
That is beautiful.
God can and does reach us in dreams. Those kind of dreams aren’t the mind kind of dreams, they’re God communicating with us while our body is asleep. They are remembered always.
I loved that.
God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass;
But I never thought about a message in a dream. That is something sent, not searched for! I will keep pestering!
Dad was born into a non practicing Lutheran family. They never had him baptized. I was 8 y/o when he met and married my mom, a practicing Catholic. She wanted to be married in church. The priest asked dad to promise to raise me Catholic and he agreed. Mom and I would attend mass on Sundays; dad would occasionally accompany us at Christmas and Easter. Neither one of them was very social. Over the course of his working career, a co-worker he liked invited him to become a Baptist. He liked the man but felt no reason to join his church.
Dad is a good man who supported his family through good times and bad. My prayers for dad began when I was still a child. Essentially, I asked that dad be baptized before he died. As noted above, he was quite cynical about all faiths. Sometimes, I would try to coax him into a conversation on faith but he would shut it down quickly, citing something he had obviously read or seen from a secular source. Surprisingly, my mother was quite defensive of his position. Needless to say, on those occasions when we gathered as a family, the topic of religion was off limits. But I never gave up praying. In the Lord's prayer, we say: "Thy will be done." I put my trust in God.
Remember, my prayer was that he be baptized before he died. In January 2015, he was preparing for knee replacement surgery. He had undergone all of the pre-op tests and one of the physicians postponed the surgery until May because of a minor issue he wanted to ensure was corrected. In February, dad woke up one day and told mom he had a dream in which he heard a voice ask "Do you know me?" or words to that effect. Dad immediately recognized him as Jesus and asked mom to call her pastor. She didn't take him seriously. A few days later, he asked her again but she was quite busy making arrangements for his surgery. A few more days and he became insistent at which time she called the church and spoke with the pastor.
Both my parents were in their 80s and neither could drive. To compound matters, dad was confined to a wheelchair. The pastor set a date and agreed to meet with them at their home. When he arrived, he sent me, mom and my daughter to another part of the house so he could spend time alone with dad. He wanted to be certain that this was his decision and not something imposed on him. Their conversation lasted about 30 minutes after which we were recalled. Seated at the dining room table, dad received the 3 sacraments of initiation.
The extraordinary aspect of this is that dad's surgery went well but he came out of anesthesia with dementia. It took 4 months in rehab to recover. Had he not been baptized in March, no priest would have done so under these circumstances!! As a result, he cannot have surgery on the other knee and is still confined to a wheelchair. During his recovery, mom insisted on being with him every day. Advocacy took an emotional and physical toll on her. She got dad home by August but she became ill and passed away one year ago this week. Today, we will be celebrating a 1 year memorial mass for her at my parish.
Over the course of this past year, God tempered the loss with another gift. My daughter became pregnant and would bring mom ultrasound images of the baby that she kept on her desk. She desperately wanted to meet her great grandchild but it was not meant to be. One of the ultrasound images was placed in her hand when she was buried. At her funeral, dad was able to fully participate in the mass and receive communion. When the baby was born, my daughter named her after mom. She has become a lifeline for dad who cradles her and cherishes our weekly visits.
Never give up praying. St. Paul reminds us: "If God is for you, who can be against you." I will add you and your husband to my daily prayers.
Thank you so much for your incredible and beautiful story.
My simple view is that God loves each soul more than anyone can comprehend. He wants us to turn to Him because He knows this is the only way we souls will be happy and safe, and also because our small offering of love gives Him pleasure, since each soul is unique. But love can never, ever be forced, pressured, or demanded.
Yet, He is so kind, He responds to sincere prayers - as you said - in His own time, and His own way. and that is always the best time, and the best way.
Thank you for prayers very much. My two daughters are non-believers and I always pray that they will know God one day, before they leave the world.
Ask our Lady to guide them back to her Son.
All of my cousins have abandoned the faith. They are the victims of higher education that left them "enlightened". This is why our Lord said we must become like little children in order to enter heaven. They are totally trusting and question nothing. My 7 month old granddaughter epitomizes purity of faith. She loves being in church and "coos" with wonder at the windows, light fixtures and music. She smiles at everyone, extending her hand as though she were blessing them. I pray for her immortal soul, knowing that the world is just waiting to rob her of that innocence.
Today in the Maronite Catholic Church, we heard Mark 10,46-52 - the healing of Bartimaeus the Blind man. I receive the daily readings from a web site, Daily Gospel (you can select the gospel corresponding to your rite). Each Sunday, a commentary is posted, as well. Here is the one for this week which seems quite fitting to your situation. Thought I would share it with you.
"Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way"[The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai: “Let me see your glory!” He answered: “I will make all my beauty pass before you... But my face you cannot see” (Ex 33,18f).] Such an experience seems to me to belong to the soul which loves what is beautiful. Hope always draws the soul from the beauty which is seen to what is beyond... And the bold request which goes up the mountains of desire asks this: to enjoy the Beauty not in mirrors and reflections, but face to face. The divine voice granted what was requested in what was denied...: the munificence of God assented to the fulfilment of the desire but did not promise any cessation or satiety of the desire... The true sight of God consists in this, that the one who looks up to God never ceases in that desire. For he says: “You cannot see my face and live”...
But when the Lord who spoke to Moses came to fulfill his own law, he likewise gave a clear explanation to his disciples, laying bare the meaning of what had previously been said in a figure when he said: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine “ (Lk 9,23) and not "If any man will go before me." And to the one asking about eternal life he proposes the same thing, for he says: “Come, follow me” (Lk 18,22). Now, he who follows sees the back. So Moses, who eagerly seeks to behold God, is now taught how he can behold Him: to follow God wherever he might lead is to behold God...
Someone who does not know the way cannot complete his journey safely in any other way than by following behind his guide. He who leads, then, by his guidance shows the way to the one following. He who follows will not turn aside from the right way if he always keeps the back of his leader in view. For he who moves to one side or brings himself to face his guide assumes another direction for himself than the one his guide shows him. Therefore God says to the one who is led: “My face is not to be seen”, that is, “Do not face your guide”. If he does so, his course will certainly be in the opposite direction... You see how it is so great a thing to learn how to follow God... No longer does any offense which comes about through evil withstand the one who thus follows him.
Most insightful and fascinating perspective. Hope it was helpful.
Thanks so much for this uplifting testimony about your parents, God’s love, and your perseverance. It has given me such hope. It has given me new hope.
My husband, Doug’s, story is similar. Never baptized and never cared about religion, but promised our priest to raise our kids Catholic and to never impede their faith. He did more than that, he sent all of them through Catholic grade school and high school! But still, he has never wanted it for himself.
I will also pray for your family on your journey and I thank you so much for your prayers for my husband. Where two or three are gathered...
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