The Blessed Mother

I have been going through a dry spell so I have not blogged in a coon's age. I hope I didn't chase away my one reader!?!
Anyhoo, reading some of the saints I found this great verse in Scripture that I had let slip by me. Thought I'd share it. A mother had two sons. One killed the other. She has already lost one and does not want to lose the other too. I cna't believe this went right past me when I read it, but now I see it is clearly about the Blessed Mother. Her other children are guilty of her Son's Death. Yet she begs the King for our lives to be spared. So cool.
1 And Joab the son of Sarvia, understanding that the king's heart was turned to Absalom, 2 Sent to Thecua, and fetched from thence a wise woman: and said to her: Feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, and be not anointed with oil, that thou mayest be as a woman that had a long time been mourning for one dead. 3 And thou shalt go in to the king, and shalt speak to him in this manner. And Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 And when the woman of Thecua was come in to the king, she fell before him upon the ground, and worshipped, and said: Save me, O king. 5 And the king said to her: What is the matter with thee? She answered: Alas, I am a widow woman: for my husband is dead.

6 And thy handmaid had two sons: and they quarrelled with each other in the field, and there was none to part them: and the one struck the other, and slew him. 7 And behold the whole kindred rising against thy handmaid, saith: Deliver him that hath slain his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother, whom he slew, and that we may destroy the heir: and they seek to quench my spark which is left, and will leave my husband no name, nor remainder upon the earth. 8 And the king said to the woman: Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee. 9 And the woman of Thecua said to the king: Upon me, my lord, be the iniquity, and upon the house of my father: but may the king and his throne be guiltless. 10 And the king said: If any one shall say ought against thee, bring him to me, and be shall not touch thee any more.

11 And she said: Let the king remember the Lord his God, that the next of kin be not multiplied to take revenge, and that they may not kill my son. And he said: As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. 12 Then the woman said: Let thy handmaid speak one word to my lord the king. And he said: Speak. 13 And the woman said: Why hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God, and why hath the king spoken this word, to sin, and not bring home again his own exile? 14 We all die, and like waters that return no more, we fall down into the earth: neither will God have a soul to perish, but recalleth, meaning that he that is cast off should not altogether perish. 15 Now therefore I am come, to speak this word to my lord the king before the people. And thy handmaid said: I will speak to the king, it maybe the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

16 And the king hath hearkened to me to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of all that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. 17 Then let thy handmaid say, that the word of the Lord the king be made as a sacrifice. For even as an angel of God, so is my lord the king, that he is neither moved with blessing nor cursing: wherefore the Lord thy God is also with thee. 18 And the king answering, said to the woman: Hide not from me the thing that I ask thee. And the woman said to him: Speak, my lord the king. 19 And the king said: Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? The woman answered, and said: By the health of thy soul, my lord, O king, it is neither on the left hand, nor on the right, in all these things which my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he commanded me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy handmaid. 20 That I should come about with this form of speech, thy servant Joab, commanded this: but thou, my lord, O king, art wise, according to the wisdom of ail angel of God, to understand all things upon earth.

21 And the king said to Joab: Behold I am appeased and have granted thy request: Go therefore and fetch back the boy Absalom. 22 And Joab falling down to the ground upon his face, adored, and blessed the king: and Joab said: This day thy servant hath understood, that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king: for thou hast fulfilled the request of thy servant. 23 Then Joab arose and went to Gessur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said: Let him return into his house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned into his house, and saw not the king's face. 25 But in all Israel there was not a man so comely, and so exceedingly beautiful as Absalom: from the sole of the foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

Yikes

The Cone of Silence

So I went to Exposition yesterday. I spent about an hour. It was really great. Very glad I went. My day after that went pretty normal. I went out to dinner with a few friends and a few of my friends' friends.
Anyhoo, two women sat across from me and continued to talk about me in a not so quiet voice. They did have their hands over their mouths when they did this, so I guess that means I couldn't hear them. No, I am the type of person who takes great offense to this. I mean, what reason could anyone have to not love me(let alone dislike me). Seriously, I had done nothing to elicit this from them...unless you count me talking about travis the monkey?
I'm pretty sensitive and fairly mean. I'm the type, that when that kind of thing happens, I will hop on my broomstick(no need to pop on a prosthetic witch nose with wart, as my nose will suffice) and start hurling the insults. However, this time, after I got over being offended, I remained calm. I thought to myself. I haven't done anything wrong. These women have no reason to be so mean. Therefore I do not need to defend myself nor do I need to stoop to their level. Christ did everything right and people talked bad about Him. Even while He was doing good, people said He was possessed and told lies about Him. So I sat there and took it. It was not easy. But the more I meditated on it and united it with Christ's suffering, the easier it got. But the end of dinner, I was wanting them to be meaner to me. I am stunned!!!!!!!!! This can only be because I spent time in Adoration and received Grace. Clearly this is not from me, I'm a nasty beast. I wait for people to say something snotty so I can say something ignoble back. Now here I am waiting for people to say something snarky just so I can suffer silently.
Next time at Adoration I will ask for a pot of gold ;)
I will definitely be going back as often as possible.

Unbelievable

How come the news is not reporting THIS:
MEDIA ADVISORY, Mar. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Some of you may have seen the major news story of the private plane that crashed into a Montana cemetery, killing 7 children and 7 adults.

But what the news sources fail to mention is that the Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery owned by Resurrection Cemetery Association in Butte - contains a memorial for local residents to pray the rosary, at the 'Tomb of the Unborn'. This memorial, located a short distance west of the church, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion.

What else is the mainstream news not telling you? The family who died in the crash near the location of the abortion victim's memorial, is the family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, owner of the largest for-profit abortion chain in the nation.

Family Planning Associates was purchased four years ago by Irving Moore "Bud" Feldkamp III, owner of Allcare and Hospitality Dental Associates and CEO of Glen Helen Raceway Park in San Bernardino. The 17 California Family Planning clinics perform more abortions in the state than any other abortion provider - Planned Parenthood included - and they perform abortions through the first five months of pregnancy.

Although Feldkamp is not an abortionist, he reaps profits of blood money from the tens of thousands of babies that are killed through abortions performed every year at the clinics he owns. His business in the abortion industry was what enabled him to afford the private plane that was carrying his family to their week-long vacation at The Yellowstone Club, a millionaires-only ski resort.

The plane went down on Sunday, killing two of Feldkamp's daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren along with the pilot and four family friends. The plane, a single-engine turboprop flown by Bud Summerfield of Highland, crashed into the Catholic cemetery and burst into flames, only 500 ft. From its landing destination. All aboard were killed.

The cause of the crash is a mystery. The pilot, who was a former military flier who logged over 2,000 miles, gave no indication to air traffic controllers that the aircraft was experiencing difficulty when he asked to divert to an airport in Butte. Witnesses report that the plane suddenly nosedived toward the ground with no apparent signs of a struggle. There was neither a cockpit voice recorder nor a flight data recorder onboard, and no radar clues into the planes final moments because the Butte airport is not equipped with a radar facility. Some speculate that the crash was due to ice on the wings, but this particular plane model has been tested for icy weather and experts have stated that ice being the cause is unlikely.

In my time working for Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, I helped organize and conduct a weekly campaign where youth activists stood outside of Feldkamp's mini-mansion in Redlands holding fetal development signs and raising community awareness regarding Feldkamp's dealings in child murder for profit. Every Thursday afternoon we called upon Bud and his wife Pam to repent, seek God's blessing and separate themselves from the practice of child killing.

We warned him, for his children's sake, to wash his hands of the innocent blood he assisted in spilling because, as Scripture warns, if "you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you". (Ezekiel 35:6)

A news source states that Bud Feldkamp visited the site of the crash with his wife and their two surviving children on Monday. As they stood near the twisted and charred debris talking with investigators, light snow fell on the tarps that covered the remains of their children.

I don't want to turn this tragic event into some creepy spiritual 'I told you so' moment, but I think of the time spent outside of Feldkamp's - Pam Feldkamp laughing at the fetal development signs, Bud Feldkamp trying not to make eye contact as he got into his car with a small child in tow - and I think of the haunting words, 'Think of your children.' I wonder if those words were haunting Feldkamp as well as he stood in the snow among the remains of loved ones, just feet from the 'Tomb of the Unborn'?

I only hope and pray that in the face of this tragedy, Feldkamp recognizes his need for repentance and reformation. I pray that God will use this unfortunate catastrophe to soften the hearts of Bud and Pam and that they will draw close to the Lord and wash their hands of the blood of thousands of innocent children, each as precious and irreplaceable as their own.

"I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then." (Deut. 30:19)

Gingi Edmonds is a freelance pro-life activist, writer and photographer based out of Hanford, California. Gingi writes a bi-monthly ProLife Opinion Column and is available for pro-life presentations and speaking engagements. Visit www.gingiedmonds.com for more information.

Pray and Sign

Please sign this Petition! And pray for Fr. John Jenkin, President of Notre Dame. St. John Chrysostom said, “the floor of hell is carpeted with the skulls of priests.” I have also heard another saint(whose name escapes me) say that all of hell cringes when a priest commits mortal sin. Even though they incite the sin, the demons still have angelic intelligence and they know how repulsive a mortal sin from a consecrated soul is. Please pray for this priest. Even if it is one Hail Mary. Another saint(whose name also escapes me) said that saying one Hail Mary avails so much that it is worth 1,000 years of torments just to pray it.
Sorry tat I can never recall the names of saints. I have a photographic memory, but nothing ever develops;)

Article from Lifesitenews:
MANASSAS, Virginia, March 24, 2009 - As of Tuesday afternoon, over 75,000 signatures have poured into an online petition launched this past Friday by the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS). The petition opposes Notre Dame's honoring President Obama with an invitation to offer the commencement address and receive an honorary law degree on May 17.

CNS introduced the petition on a new website dedicated to the scandal, http://www.notredamescandal.com, almost immediately after the White House and Notre Dame's website simultaneously broke the news on Friday afternoon that Obama had accepted the invitation. Since then, the petition has gathered signatures at lightning speed, averaging 1,000 new signatures every 15 minutes.

"People are outraged, and the alumni of Notre Dame in particular are communicating to each other," CNS president Patrick J. Reilly said in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com today. Reilly noted that he recently spoke with a Notre Dame alumnus who said he "barely slept because all day yesterday, and much of the night, he was on email and on the phone with other alumni."

"It's amazing the outrage that we're seeing," he added.

Reilly said he did not expect such a large response. "We see outrages all the time, and I think this for many people was the last straw," he said. "The president has been waging a campaign of human destruction with his policies, and abortion, and stem-cell research, and now trying to eliminate conscience protections for healthcare workers.

"And in the meantime, Catholic institutions - in particular Catholic universities - have been very quick to abandon their Catholic mission for the sake of prestige. And this is probably the most prominent Catholic University hosting the most prominent leader of the Culture of Death."

Responding to Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkin's statement that the invitation would stand, and was intended to recognize Obama's "accomplishments and leadership," Reilly referred to Notre Dame Bishop John D'Arcy's condemnation of the invite, which invoked a 2004 directive by U.S. bishops not to honor pro-abortion politicians. (To see the bishop's full statement, go to: http://www.diocesefwsb.org/COMMUNICATIONS/statements.htm)

Sister Jerk, The Little Weed

The local parishes take turns having Mass at an area nursing home. I go around the home and help bring the residents to Mass. Anyhoo, one man another person was helping to Mass has dementia. As someone wheeled him out of his room and onto the elevator he says, "I'm cold." I'm wearing a shawl and I did not offer it to him. I could not even give the man my shawl to drape over his shoulders during Mass. What a jerk I am! Here I am valuing a piece of fabric over a human in God's Image.
I can't believe how happy these people are to have me hold their hand or even just smile at them. All they want is a little company and a little love. All I can think about is not getting drool or snot on me.
One saint, I can't recall which, said that the Gospel can be summed up in five words, "YOU DID IT TO ME!"
I will get another chance to be charitable. I pray that God grants me the grace to overcome my weaknesses. But for the rest of my life I have to KNOW that I heard Our Lord say to me "I'm cold," and I clutched my shawl and walked away. I wasn't even cold, I didn't need to wear the darn shawl at that moment.
I have heard this story about His Excellency Archbishop which has given me a little comfort that many have struggled with this(not that that makes it right!):

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, in his autobiography TREASURE IN CLAY, recounts a visit he made to a leper colony in Buluba, Africa. He intended to give a silver crucifix to each of the 500 lepers residing in Buluba.
The first person who came forward, however, was a man so disfigured by the ravages of leprosy that Sheen was repulsed by the sight. The man's left arm was eaten off at the elbow by the disease; so he extended his right hand. This hand, too, was unspeakably corrupted by this awful disease.

Unable to bear the leper's presence, Sheen held the crucifix above the man's palm and dropped it, where it was immediately swallowed up in the decaying flesh. Instantly, Sheen was aware of his unrighteous act. He had taken the crucifix--God's sign of identification with humanity--and refused to associate himself with one of God's children. Overcome with remorse, Sheen dug his fingers into the man's leprosy and removed the crucifix. This time, he gently placed the crucifix in the man's hand. Sheen respectfully handed a crucifix to each of the remaining 499 lepers and, in the exchange, learned to love them.

St. Joseph

Next to the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph is my favorite saint. He has helped me out big time. I said the Novena to St. Joseph a few years ago and his help was quick and enduring. The shorter Novena is also good, although not nearly as beautiful. Please take time to honor him today. This is a good place for help in doing so.


Pray for us, O holy Joseph,

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.