I have been reading a lot about St. Francis lately. He had a special devotion to helping lepers. He even had a little encampment of them and there is a story of him embracing a leper – which initially utterly disgusted him. He is not the only one to do such things, though. St. Francis’s brothers also helped the lepers and St. Clare, with Francis’s help ran a little hospital. St. Damien of Molokai started a colony in Hawaii. Catherine of Siena is said to have drank a bowl of a woman’s wound drainage to allow herself to be less disgusted. Mother Teresa helped all sorts of ill; lepers, no doubt made up some of her group of sick and outcast. When reading the gospels, or even other books of the bible, there are stories such as the ten lepers, the man with the withered hand, Job getting blots on his skin; Naaman was told by the slave girl how to be healed, and Elisha encouraged him to wash in the river. All across our faith – before, during, and after Christ, are lepers or others with skin ailments that are healed.

Before I was a nurse there were people that would speak of these stories; they would soon follow with questions? What happened to these people? Why don’t we hear of this anymore? Some might answer that it is advanced medicine. Others might say leprosy is dying out. Still, there are more people who will say that these issues are of the third world, or of the past. None of these answers are true.

First of all, despite medical advancements, many people have skin ailments; even if not always leprosy, per se, the ailments exist. Some ailments have better treatments than others. Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, still exists. It is true that this is generally not found in advanced societies, but it is in our world (and it is carried by Armadillo’s). Though it is a fact that most true lepers are in the third world, not all are. There are ‘lepers’ of another sort that are not in the third world, but right here in Western society and the modern day.

As a nurse, I see many people with wounds. Some are from pressure. Some are from infection. Some are surgical wounds that won’t heal. Sometimes poor circulation is to blame while in other situations diabetes is at fault. Immobility causes wounds, especially to the sacral/coccyx areas (the butt). All types of wounds can get infected or infection from inside the body can come out in an abscess. We also cannot forget malignant wounds. This is where cancer protrudes through the skin. While technically not a wound, many people have colostomies (or other ostomies) where there is a hole on the abdomen and poop comes out into a bag.

All sorts of wounds are found in society. As a hospice nurse, I see these wounds almost every day I go to work. However, these wounds are almost never true leprosy. While not factually lepers, people with these wounds are often lepers nonetheless. Some people, even those that are not confined to a bed, or even hospice patients, will not head out into society. I have heard people say things like “I stopped going out years ago because I was embarrassed by this”. I have heard, “I didn’t know what a doctor would think so I never went”. I have heard, “The smell is too humiliating. I can’t be seen in public like this.” Does one have to actually have the disease of leprosy to be a leper? Can leprosy be a social status? I think it is one in our world, and it is not just the third world. It is not just the poor countries. Even people with lots of money and advanced medicine face these issues.

Lepers are everywhere. Even where people don’t have a skin disease, people are often outcasts for some reason. Who is a leper in your community? How can you reach out to them? Let us all pray for the social lepers of our world.

Today is the feast day of St. Thomas More – saint by brother chose for confirmation. As my brother is older than me, I paid attention to this and therefore know more about St. Thomas More than I probably would otherwise.

This said was not a churchman. He may have been a secular Franciscan, but he was a married man with children. He served King Henry VIII. He served him well, but he served God more (or More I should say – pun intended)

When the king wanted to divorce his wife, Thomas stuck to his faith and said it was against the church. He did not recognize Henry as head of the church. He could have gone along the side of the deadly king. This would have spared his life and helped his family, but it would have meant he sacrificed his belief. Therefore, Thomas More was executed.

We see people executed for their beliefs. I remember a number of years ago watching a video clip of Christians being beheaded on the beach. We read about martyrs in the first century getting torn apart by lions, bears, and other wild beasts in the arena. We hear about the extraordinary, but Thomas More was not in the typical circumstance of martyrs. He was a lawyer living his life and standing up for what he believed. We don’t typically think of being a Christian lawyer in a Christian country as being life-threatening, but it was.

The coming days, likely tomorrow, will lead us to a a potentially dangerous situation. Roe v Wade will likely be overturned – I pray that it will as I am pro-life. I think of abortion as killing a child. I pray for those children and I pray for the mothers. It is a horrible thing to make that decision. I pray for the staff that work in these centers and for the others affected like would-be fathers, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. While Roe v Wade being overturned will be what I think is best, it will not come without danger. Already, many prolife/crisis pregnancy centers have been targeted. There could be women that will seek out illegal and less safe abortions. There will likely be protests that could turn into dangerous riots.

Like Thomas More, we must stand up for what we believe. We must not be afraid. We must remember to do what we find is right. This does not mean harming others that are against us. Jesus says to turn the other cheek, which essentially means if you get hit, take another hit (he also says if you are pressed into service for a mile, go another mile. This is where the “go the extra mile expression comes from). We cannot be afraid or unwavering. No one, no matter your beliefs, should turn to violence. We are a civilized people. Our nation was founded to be civil. While we have made mistakes as a people, we work to get better and we should not get hung up on being uncivil and acting out dangerously.

So, when the Supreme court makes its decision, and if Roe v Wade is indeed overturned, stand up for your beliefs. It’s okay to protect yourself, but do not strike first. If you can avoid striking, that is what should be done. Peace is what we need. Suffering is unavoidable in this world because this world is not heaven.

Currently I am reading Lady of the Seven Suns by Tinney Sue Heath. This historical fiction novel very closely follows the real events that happened in the lives of Giacoma de Settesoli, Francis of Assisi and Clare of Assisi. Being a hospice nurse and Catholic that grew up in a Franciscan parish, I feel very connected to Lady Giacoma; I even make almond cookies.

Though I am not finished, I can honestly say I love this book. I want to comment on a part I read yesterday. It occurs in chapter 9. In this chapter, Giacoma asks Francis if she can join St. Clare’s new community. She wants to be holy and live a good life. She loves how Francis and his brothers live and is excited there will soon be an opportunity for women. Francis laughs at her and then tells her she is a strong and intelligent woman. She has a good mind and a kind heart. She can act like a man, but has the extra burden of being a woman. Her money is better for the world in her hands than her forsaking it to live the life of poverty. She tells her no, but then honors her by saying rather than be a sister, she can be a “brother” to him and the other brothers.

Many times in my life I have been told I should become a sister or a nun. I love God. I go to daily mass whenever my schedule permits (not so much in my new state, but it used to be two or three times weekly for years). I pray regularly and do good deeds for people. So many in my parish in my old state used to say I should be a sister or say surely I had a religious vocation. Whenever a dating relationship would end, surely at least one or two people would tell me it was meant to because I was not meant for married life. This always troubled me.

The truth is, I don’t want to be a nun or sister. I want to be a wife and mother. I also feel that if I lived in a community with a bunch of other women, I would eventually either end up in jail or a mental institution! I sometimes curse like a sailor. When talking to a priest about it once, he asked if it seems appealing to me. I said that I like the idea of someone else doing the laundry and making dinner. I thought it would be nice to not be responsible to drive all the time, but for the most part not really. He laughed and told me he didn’t think I likely had a religious calling and the reasons that sounded appealing to me were the wrong reasons to join. I said that for me personally, I felt like joining would just be running away from life, not running to something. I feel like running to something is much better than running away. He agreed. I felt more settled, but it always bothers me. In fact, the day before I read this chapter, I opened up my mail and received not one, but two mailings from sisters. Neither were vocations mailings, but fundraising, though I do get apprehensive when sisters mail me things (I buy so many Catholic books that you wouldn’t believe how many religious communities of men and women (and booksellers) mail me in a given year.) Though neither community was encouraging me to discern with them, I still felt like perhaps I was ignoring God’s call in some way. Reading Francis’s words to Giacoma (or Lady Jacoba as we say in the Anglicized world) was comforting to me. I felt like he was talking to me directly.

I am intelligent and courageous like Giacoma. I am committed to God. I am not poor. I like my creature comforts, but I can also turn a patient in a hospital bed like Giacoma shows Clare in a later chapter. I personally can serve God better outside of a convent. I have always sort of thought this to myself though others don’t always think so. I have felt I know my mind and my heart, but reading these words were consolation to me.

As a nurse with a math/statistics degree as well (I pride myself on being the new Florence Nightingale -the only other statistician turned nurse in he history of the world I am aware of), I can serve the world so well. I have great aspirations which could really make a huge difference, but if I took a vow of obedience, I couldn’t do as much as if I were my own agent. I personally feel like I am able to independently live out my personal call to holiness without being in a convent. I can be a child of God, without being a “sister”. I’ve felt this way a lot and it has often been my argument to myself when people say I should be a nun/sister. I can be like Giacoma – (and Florence 😉

Perhaps I can be a “brother” in a way, just like Giacoma. I can be strong like a man and not be a sister, yet still be feminine and live a life for God without being a religious. Though the book is [historical] fiction, it speaks the truth in many ways and that was good for me to read.

I encourage everyone to check out the book Lady of the Seven Suns: A Novel of the Woman Saint Francis Called Brother by Tinney Sue Heath. It has a copyright date of 2019 and the ISBN number is 978-1-7339933-2-6.

Every year, millions of people come up with New Year’s Resolutions. Most people have one and many forget about it before January is over. I used to work for a hospital that had “Pillar Goals” and we would meet quarterly in a “forum” and talk about how we were doing. I also have “Pillar Goals” which are for my New Year’s Resolution, but I have one for each Pillar of Wellness and I start December 1 (or thereabouts) with the first Sunday of advent. That way, I am liturgical (and it started with just a spiritual goal, and evolved into 8 goals. Not only am I liturgical, but I get going before Christmas and get less crazy in advent than when I lose focus completely as is so tempting. By starting early December, my mid-year is actually early June, not early July as it is for the calendar and most people. And yes, as a former statistician, I am that anal that I actually track my progress throughout the year. So, today is my mid-year review.

The 8 Pillars of Wellness are: Spiritual, Intellectual, Occupational, Environmental, Social, Emotional, Financial, Physical.

Spiritual – My goal this year was to live in a Franciscan Spirit. St. Francis embrace the gospel more than anyone else. His charism is poverty and joy. He loved to sing and dance. He cared for the environment and prayed all the time. He believed adhering to the gospel as much as possible was how to live. He felt taking up your cross and following Jesus was a requirement, not a suggestion. He also didn’t like to write a lot of rules or orders, so following Francis is very free and not orderly – this is hard for me, which is partly why I chose it for this year. I have a book – Live Like Francis edited by Diane Houdek, OFS. I have read each weekly meditation on Sunday and I follow each week, but some I do better than others. I try to read the gospel daily which is often, though not always successful. I pray the Angelus once daily which is important to me as Francis believed in keeping the incarnation alive. I also frequently pray the stations of the cross for my patients. Francis is said to have created this method of prayer and it is a way of taking up your cross. It is intercessory prayer and focusing on Christ’s death and service as a hospice nurse are a fruitful pair. I would say I do okay with my spiritual goal. I have areas where I could do better, but I have done poorly.

Intellectual – My goal here was to study more of my Spanish. I do Duolingo. Currently I have a streak of 630 days. My goal was to have 300 crowns by the end of November. I had to decrease that to 250. I just don’t have as much time as I would like to devote to my Spanish right now. However, there are many things I learn for my other goals and it is still good of me to try to learn more Spanish. I have not given up, so I am satisfied with this goal for myself.

Occupational -This goal was quite the goal. One was to become a Case Manager. I have succeeded in this and did so very early on in this year. I want to earn my CHPN (board certification of certified hospice and palliative nurse) I take the test pretty soon. In November I plan to take the test to earn my CT and become a certified thanatologist (someone that studies death, dying, and bereavement). I have over 100 CEUs earned and went to the ADEC international conference in April. I am well on my way. Soon, I play to submit my application and hope to start my MSN in September. The CHPN and the CT will be helpful for my professional portfolio needed. I am doing well in my occupational goals. This area has demanded much attention both inside and outside of work.

Environmental – Initially this goal was to pick up one piece of little daily. That, I realized, wasn’t totally practical as it is dirty and half the ground is covered in snow early in the year. Therefore, I now will go in bursts and get many pieces of litter on different occasions. I really am not doing nearly as much as I would like but hope to do better soon. This is good for the environment and living Franciscan and it’s not that hard, so I feel bad for not doing better with this goal.

Social – I nixed this goal and created a new one. It’s more personal than I wish to share on a blog as my personal and dating life is not something I want the world to read about, but I am satisfied with what I have been doing here.

Emotional – I was told by two individuals, one a doctor and the other a social worker/colleague to read a particular book. Neither knew the other but both recommended this self-help book Attached by Amir Levine MD. It took me a few months to start, but I am about halfway through right now. I believe I will finish this book in two weeks or less. I have done well with this goal.

Financial – for this goal I was supposed to save a lot of money. The saving balance I have is less than I wanted. However, car repairs, unexpected veterinary expenses, etc. got in the way. I am trying not to be too hard on myself.

Physical – I was going to get back to running again and lose more weight. I can’t run still as I have bad plantar fasciitis, but I have gone to a podiatrist. I have put on some weight and am not happy with this, but I have tried so do some things. I need to try harder.

If each goal were a subject in school and I got a report card, I would have As and Fs and everything in between. I guess I am overall a C student. That’s the point of my mid-year review though, to look at where I am, see what is good, what is bad. What can be changed and what can’t. What is unrealistic and what am I just doing poorly. Where (such as occupational) am I take a lot more time and have to slack (such as physical). What is hard to control (financial and the care, vet bills and computer crashing were just nuts!) and what is not super important (intellectual/Duolingo) that can be lessened. I think I know what adjustments to make and what to take more priority than others. I will reassess my goals again later in the year and thoroughly again at year end.

Do you have Goals? How did you do with your New Year’s Resolution? What did you do well with? – Give yourself a pat on the back! What can you improve? – Think on it and make a plan!

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa

Recently I met someone. This person has done some stuff I just cannot agree with. However, this person has been kind to me. I live in a polarized world. My city has lots of people that don’t agree with me on many many many grounds. I feel like all over my city and state are transgender and gay pride flags. Black Lives Matter signs. Pro and anti Trump and Biden bumper stickers. Recently, the Roe v. Wade document was leaked. Madison, Wisconsin, where I live, had a molotov cocktail thrown into a prolife center. In a town nearby, for some reason I don’t know, 40+ homes and cars were vandalized with spray paint and slashed tires. We sport Ukrainian flags, which I agree with, but yet Russia makes nuclear threats which causes me and others, surely to fear. It makes some think twice about doing what they initially believed in. No matter where you look, there seems to be division and strife. How can you be friends with anyone? How can you possibly find someone with the same ideas, opinions, and values you hold? The answer is, you probably can’t!

How can we move on if we can’t find even one person we agree with? How can we look at a person we know and spend time with them, get close to them, learn from them and have them learn from us if we can’t tolerate their actions? After some reckoning, I came to the idea that you can’t judge a person and love them. I kept thinking this in my head. If I judge, I can’t love. I thought about this for days – weeks even. Then, yesterday I googled it as it seemed too brilliant to be my own thought. As soon as I googled it, a quote with a familiar face popped up. It was Mother Teresa. “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Of course! Mother Teresa is right. I can’t judge people and love them, and of course, she was more brilliant than I am. It’s like that old adage, “hate the sin, not the sinner”. There are certain actions that I just cannot tolerate. Certain ideas that I can’t get behind. Some ideologies go against what I personally believe, but if I judge these people, not the ideas, then I can’t love them. Jesus called on us to love everyone. He also told us not to judge anyone.

In Matthew 7:1-3 Jesus says, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in you brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” To me, this message is obvious, you shouldn’t judge other people because you have just as much (or even more!) bad things you are responsible for.

If we back up Matthew two chapters, we will find in Matthew 5:43-44 Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate you enemy’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”

So, taking these verses in light of Mother Teresa’s quote, I think she was paraphrasing Jesus. Though she died when I was just a young child, I remember the saint and if I can be so bold as to think I know what she would say today if I asked her about her quote, I think she would say something like this:

Jesus told us not judge, but to love. Jesus always challenged his disciples to go a step further. Go the extra mile. If we are nonjudgmental, we are being neutral rather than negative (judgment), but we need to go in the other direction entirely. We must love. Judgment blocks loving and we are ordered to love and not to judge.

I am sure Mother Teresa, would say it better than me, but basically, judging and love are opposite ends of a spectrum and we must always choose love. I know that in theory, but I must work on it in practice. I do know, however, I do better than I used to and so I have hope I will continue to move towards the light and away from the darkness. Let’s not judge, because than we cannot love.

It’s been a while since I have written. I have moved, gotten a new job, my dog died and I got a puppy. I have have a lot of things happen. However, my time to renew wordpress came up and I realized that I missed my blog so here I am. I am back. I don’t have many readers, but it’s not about that – though if you read, I am grateful.

So, welcome back to me!

The other day I felt like I was hit with a ton of bricks. I felt like God has set before me a monumental task that seems so huge and will take years and years to complete. It will take more money than I ever dreamed of having in my life and the number of people involved would be too many to even predict at this moment. It makes me wonder, is this just my imagination as I have too much time on my hands, or is this really a call from God. At this time, I can’t know.

The thing is, I can see how this task could be accomplished. I see how this task would be good for so many people, and I can see that it is a dire need in our society. On the other hand, it just sounds crazy.

Maybe there is really nothing that God wants us to do that doesn’t seem crazy. Look at Moses, he had a speech impediment and was sent to lead a group of people he didn’t grow up with and was estranged from. Look at Job, he had to convert a whole city of people he viewed as terrible. He had to even stay in a whale for three days. There was Joseph, son of Jacob. I love his story. He was a slave and ended up being second only to pharaoh. He saved Egypt and his family from the famine. In the New Testament we can look at all the apostles that traveled the world founding churches and baptizing thousands. Our entire church is littered with saints that did amazing things for God.

But surely I am not that great. Surely I am not someone that is newsworthy. Surely I am not meant to do anything that big, or risk that much. Unless, maybe I am?

We are all called to follow God, but how do we know where he is leading us?

In my life, I like to look at Ignatius’ rules for Discernment of the Spirits. I like to feel consolations and desolations. I like to read books explaining more about how to discern God’s will. I talk to trusted friends that are faithful to God. I pray about my decisions. I should also assess my skills. If God is calling me to something, he will give me the skills for it. I must also determine what I desire. A priest once told me that God speaks to us through our desires. If it seems very undesirable, than it’s probably not from God. God speaks to us through others – things they say and do are sometimes the Holy Spirit speaking through them.

Every day the Holy Spirit speaks to us in big ways and small. Soon we celebrate Pentecost and remember how the Spirit acts through us as we live out our lives. We have missions. The bible tells us some speak in tongues and others heal. There are teachers and administrators. We must discern our charisms. We must see what the world needs and we must do what we feel God wants us to do. When in doubt, I find it helpful to pray the serenity prayer. I do not know all that God wants of me right now, but through the various methods, He will surely make it clear in His own time. I will pray for Serenity while I wait, Courage to follow where I am led, and Wisdom to discern. Let us all pray and discern this Pentecost.

It is only days before Christmas and while I would like to be baking cookies or watching holiday movies, I am packing up my books, figuring out what clothes to donate, and wondering if I really need all this furniture. I love my house, perhaps more than you should love an inanimate object, and yet, I am selling it. I am moving away. All Good things must come to an end.

As I think about that sobering fact, that all good things come to an end, I realize the same can be said for all bad things as well. While I love my house, I have not had the best life in the time I have lived in it. There have been deaths and illnesses in my family. I have worked hard and not seen much for that work until very recently when I finally graduated. While my house is a good thing that I am giving up, I also am going to a new life, and some of the bad things in this life will not follow me.

Though people say you cannot leave your problems, they follow you, this is different. I am not saying that I am different, but it is more that the things I leave are already gone. All that I have in my town are reminders of sad things and events, but there is nothing much to hold onto. My dad has passed away. So has my Grandma. A job that was not my calling and just gave me frustration is no longer my job. It hasn’t been for over a year now. I have moved on from bad things and good things cannot be brought back. While my house is good, I must say goodbye to it because leaving it behind enables me to find something much better.

Jesus says anyone that loses his life will save it and anyone that tries to save his life will lose it. I think similar logic can be used here. If I hang onto one good thing, I give up the greatest things that I can’t even imagine. If I give up the thing I love, I will get even more than I can imagine. I know this, not because I am amazing or because I always know what I am doing but because I am following Jesus’s will for me. It was His will I go back to nursing school. It was His will for me to do more for people than I was doing. It led me to search far and wide for a new place to call home. I will have a new home, new parish, new workplace, new neighbors, new everything. Jesus invited me to a new life as a nurse. I never imagined it would entail so many new things. I don’t know what all those things will even be yet, but I know that I can trust him.

So, while all good things must come to an end, so do all bad things. New better things will come, if we just trust and believe.

Today is Halloween. While as kid I rather enjoyed this holiday, it is different for me now. For me, Halloween was nothing more than a day to dress up and get as much candy as possible. I was a rather shy child so dressing up always made me feel like to could be more brave because I was not me, but a character. I loved to get candy, and I loved the fall weather. Halloween was a day I just loved. I remember one Halloween, which like this year, fell on a Saturday. All day my dad had to tell me we couldn’t go out until it was dark, but I just couldn’t contain my excitement.

The excitement has gone away now. The cute holiday has not become so commercialized. Rather than green-faced witches and kids with sheets dressed like ghosts, it is all about blood and gore. Too many adults partake in dangerous parties and fears over poisoned candy always create mayhem in planning how to allow kids to have a fun, yet safe holiday. But as I think about it now, I think more about Dia de Los Muertos, the Mexican Catholic Day of the Dead Celebration. I think of kicking off of “All Hallow’s Eve” or basically, the beginning of November, the end of the liturgical year where we remember our dead. All Saints’ and All Souls’ are the two days following Halloween, and this is where the true importance of this weekend should fall, not on candy. It is fine to have a little fun and candy, but halloween is not what is used to be.

But, if I think back into history, Halloween has always been a scary day. It is perhaps the scariest. For a few years now, I believe it really started in 2017 (500 year anniversary), many people have turned Halloween into a new holiday. They call it “Reformation Day” as October 31, 1517, was the day that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of his church. While no institution run by man can be perfect, Jesus founded the church. Peter was told, “On this Rock, I build my church”. Christ warned of leaving that church and told Peter what was loosed or bond on earth by him was loosed or bond in heaven. Furthermore, Jesus warned of many others claiming to come along in his place and lead others astray. 503 years ago today, Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation. There were problems with the selling of indulgences. There were surely wayward clergy as there always will be as no person is perfect, but the breaking of Christ’s church was a scary thing. It did not stop with Luther. Though the man regretted the split in the church he caused, it stayed. The priest had broken off of from the Church given to Peter by Jesus and millions would follow.

Another thing Martin Luther disliked and disagreed with was the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory. Catholics feel a duty to pray for their dead. This is particularly strong in November and kids off with All Saints’ and All Souls (And Dia de Los Muertos). While the thought of purgatory is strange to many of my protestant brothers and sisters, I want to ask you to imagine this. You are in a building, perhaps where you work. Everyone you know is in that building, your family (including nagging in-laws) your neighbors (including the one that leaves those pesky HOA notes), you friends (even the ones that are more like frenemies), the cashier at Walmart that never can get you out in time, the cop that gave you a speeding ticket that caused you to lose your car insurance, the coworker that never does his job and then lies and gets a pay raise for your work, the person at the gym that stays on your favorite machine for far too long, often texting when no machines are open. All these people, and many more, are in this building. They all believe in God. Suddenly, the building is destroyed. Everyone instantly dies. It could be an explosion or a plane crash, or whatever you want. That is not important. What is important is that all these people are facing judgment. They love God. They do good. They are also big pains in the ass! No one is perfect and we all get on each others’ nerves. If we went to heaven like we were in that building, what kind of paradise is that? So, there is purgatory, and we are cleansed. We don’t know how long or exactly how. What we do know is that God is perfect, purgatory is on the pathway to heaven for cleansing, and God is outside of time and therefore, saying the “time” we spend there, doesn’t really compute. All these people, however, can’t possibly be any different just because they suddenly are dead. If we keep our soul, as we believe, then surely we keep our personality. Surely, we must go through some process to not find each other a huge pain in the ass. This process is purgatory. Luther taught against it. To combat it, I pray even harder for the repose of the souls of the dead. Each time I pass a cemetery, especially a protestant one, I pray. I realize that these poor deceased people are not being prayed for. How sad that is to me. Day of the Dead is the start of November and we start to remember and pray for our dead especially at this time.

Remember the dead, and remember Mary will accompany you in your death. Pray to her, the Hail Mary even says, “Now and and at the hour of our death”. Dia de Los Muertos is technically still October – the month of the Rosary. To my Catholic Readers, pray a rosary for the repose of the souls of your protestant friends. To my Protestant readers, answer me this – If you don’t believe we need to pray for the dead, then why do you still have funerals?

At his cross, Jesus gave Mary to John and John to Mary. She is our mother. Whenever we need help, she will help us and having a devotion to her is imperative. Even in our darkest hour, Mary will not abandon us or her son’s church. In 1531, as the Protestant Reformation was underway in Europe, Mary appeared to a man in Mexico. This is Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady told Juan Diego to have a chapel built to her on the hill. At first the bishop was skeptical, but Mary always provides. It was cold during this time of year, but through a miracle, roses appeared and his tilma showed her beautiful image and the bishop built a church on Tepeyac Hill. Before long, 9 million Aztecs, a people that worshipped idols and made many human sacrifices converted to Catholicism. Today, the Mexican culture is a vibrant culture, and it is a Catholic culture. While scary days come, and people are led astray, Mary looks out for her son’s church.

I cannot tell you what church to belong to. I have many protestant friends, but I urge all people to look deeply into their history and their beliefs. Look at what Jesus said. Please, even if you come to decide that you want to be protestant, do not celebrate “Reformation Day”. Even if you come to a different conclusion than me, I think all can agree that breaking up Christ’s church is not something to celebrate. Martin Luther was right in that reforms were necessary, but in my opinion, it went to far and the splitting of the Church started with Saint Peter in 33 AD is a sad thing. Halloween, really is the scariest day, but we can find hope in our Mother Mary and her son’s church. Don’t let this day be of death and let is be one of remembering the goodness of our past. It is Day of the Dead to remember good and pray for souls. I urge you, even if you are protestant, to think if your loved ones were perfect on their deathbed. As no one is perfect, if you are being honest, they were not. Think about going into a perfect place as heaven. You are not worthy to enter the banquet. Like the man thrown out of the feast at Jesus’s parable, they would be thrown out. How much better it is to believe in purgatory than to put all our loved ones in hell? Pray for your dead, remember them, remember to listen to your mother and stay with the church you find to be true.

There once was a man at the pool

He didn’t want to work or use a tool

He came every day

and wasted away

He really acted a fool

Then Jesus asked if he wanted to be made well

but excuses he decided to tell

Jesus told him to pick up his mat

and he was healed just like that

And the 38 year illness Jesus did quell

But the Pharisees were mad

As worked on the Sabbath Jesus had

But he said his Father worked every day

and from the crowd Our Lord slipped away

leaving the man unbound and glad

If you learn anything, it’s don’t hang out at the pool

You deserve better than to be a fool

Don’t be lazy or complain

work through your suffering and pain

Those that pick up their cross will see Him that does rule