Correctional Facility Retreat Conclusion May 2024
May 9, 2024
Correctional Facility Retreat Conclusion May 2024
Prison Retreat Program (Residents Encounter Christ)
Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The three day retreat was very fruitful and challenging. Although myself and the Holy Priest who volunteered his time for this prison ministry were only there for the first two days of the retreat, the rest of the volunteers who stayed for the third day were able to successfully bring this event to its conclusion with much success.
Immediately upon entering through security, we had to give up our written speeches (not all, but most of us) and some of our equipment for the retreat due to a frustrating paperwork error that was unexplainable and beyond our control, as some of our important items were not allowed to pass through the gates. When this occurred, I quickly recalled why Dominican Friars and Nuns take the time to memorize their speeches. Looks like myself and the other guys were going to have to “wing it.” However, Father provided a great insight and comfort with his words:
“Sometimes, before Christ wishes to fill us, He strips us bare!”
This reduced my anxiety greatly.
Weird roadblocks were occurring in more ways than one and the frustration was being felt among the group. Noticing this, I had mentioned to one of our volunteers that “satan does not want us to give this retreat, because obviously someone is going to come to Christ!”
When I walked through the metal detector, I kept setting it off, even though I removed everything that would have set it off. This has not happened to me before for the past year I have been entering the prison. It began to frustrate me after repeated failed attempts. When I removed my Dominican Scapular, then the metal detector allowed me through (it's just white cloth - no metal). Father attempted to enter through the metal detector after me, but he too kept setting it off mysteriously. Not until he began to walk sideways through the metal detector, did it allow him through as cleared. When he did this, I declared out loud in a deep confident voice (jokingly), “The narrow gate.” The REC volunteers got the joke and laughed, but the guards didn’t.
Throughout the retreat, the residents were assigned mixed seating with the REC volunteers and this is where we had our discussions and connections. Much fruit bore from these encounters, as we were able to connect with these residents on a personal level so as to understand where they are coming from and where they are on their spiritual journeys in a conversational format. Resident A who sat across from me was on fire for Lord Jesus Christ, and he expressed this to me immediately within the first moments of our interaction together. One of the first tasks of the retreat was for us to name our tables as a group and to write or draw our table name. This should have meaning and purpose. However, everyone at our table was lost for words and ideas, so I suggested to Resident A that he open up the bible we put in front of him and place his finger upon a random page. Here is the scriptural passage his finger landed on at random:
Proverbs 19:12
The king’s wrath is like the roar of a lion, but his favor, like dew on the grass.
Resident A was speechless and quickly attributed this passage to Christ when I explained to him Jacob’s blessing of Judah from Genesis 49 in reference to the lion. I also explained to Resident A how the prophet Daniel was thrown in the lion’s den in babylon but was not eaten. The Lord delivered him, and reserved this fate for his enemies who falsely accused him, as justice demands. Resident A then decided to call our table, “The Lion’s Den,” and he drew a picture of a lion on our name card. Resident A also had me explain to him the different heresies the Church warns against such as universalism and the arian heresy. I also explained to him some of the Saints and their stories, along with how some of their bodies today are still uncorrupted and viewable to anyone who wishes to travel to their displays. I also mentioned the miracles of Fatima, Lourdes, and Medjugorje. I also explained the basic precepts of the faith to him, and got into detail about how miracles are confirmed and recognized in the Church, and how the process and investigations are heavily scrutinized and examined by outside experts who are not Catholic as well, only to arrive at conclusions that are unexplainable. This is the careful process the Church takes before it recognizes these things as legitimate. Resident A began to open up to me more and mentioned to me the spiritual affliction of his mother, something I too am dealing with in my own life. Please pray for Resident A to enter the Catholic Church and for the spiritual protection of his mother.
Resident B who sat next to Resident A took issue with confession. He believed that since he prayed to God all the time, and confessed his sins to Him directly, that he did not need to utilize the sacrament of reconciliation. He also did not understand why he needed a mediator between him and God. I explained to Resident B the scriptural justification for confession from the gospel and old testament, with the example of Christ giving the authority to forgive or retain sins to the apostles before He ascended into Heaven, and further scriptural proof of how the Priests and Bishops today of the Holy One Catholic Roman Apostolic Church are the successors to the apostles with that authority. I also lightly explained how the Israelites in the wilderness also needed a mediator between God, and that was Moses, because the congregation could not come close to God like Moses did, lest they die. So, in the same way, the Lord utilizes mediators He chooses for the people in every generation. Resident B considered this thought but did not budge on his position. Please pray for Resident B to consider utilizing the sacrament of reconciliation as the Lord commanded him.
Other residents who have not considered their Catholic faith for sometime were reconsidering their involvement, especially when Father offered the sacrament of reconciliation. I was very lucky to be assigned a speech on “forgiveness” because this speech would have to be given right before Father was going to hear confessions, so I needed to give a good speech that would convince them to utilize this unique opportunity for them to return to their original purity of baptism. Although I could not give the full speech the way I wrote it, because I had to speak it from memory, by the grace of God Almighty I said what was on my heart and the message I needed to say, which was my own confession to everyone else in the room. Even though it still hurt me greatly, I did this because in order to receive you must give, and in order to preach you must also be an example, and words alone can only take you so far. So, I had to give up a piece of myself, and even though it hurt greatly, I think it was worth it because even if one soul considered being reconciled with God then it would be worth every second of humiliation and pain. You can read my speeches attached to this summary at the end if you are interested. Keep in mind, the speech on forgiveness was the speech that was not allowed in. I am sure satan doesn’t want you to read it either. However, the peace talk I gave on the second day was granted entry.
Resident C, who sat next to Resident B at my table, was very much open to everything the REC had to offer. Upon getting to know him better, he explained to me that the last time he saw his three year old son was when he put him on the bus to school and waved him goodbye. His baby’s mother, who is his girlfriend, is also a good friend to him, but he does not consider marriage. When I asked him more questions about what he thought about marriage, what his preconceived notions were, and why he chose not to marry, it became kind of clear what Resident C was truly seeking. You see my friends, I recognize that the God of Everything is also the God of Numbers and the God of Reason and Logic. I also realize that in order for a man and woman to be in a successful marriage, which is a supernatural covenant between God for the purpose of new life and the creation of Holy souls that shall serve in Heaven someday, that the imagery of a triangle (The Holy Trinity) should be drawn. Furthermore, God is at the top of this triangle, while man is at the bottom left tip of the triangle, and the woman is located on the bottom right tip of the triangle. The further the man and the woman are away from God, the more separated they become, and the further they both are away from each other, located at the base on their own respective sides, as the image of a triangle will show you, the more distant and unloving to one another (and others) they will become. However, when the man and woman draw closer to God together, who is at the top of the triangle, they too will draw closer to one another in Him, as they rise up the triangle on their respective sides to the top, as the two shall become like one flesh, as the Lord proclaimed to all of us.
Now, in another way, I wrote down a math formula with pen and paper to Resident C in this form:
5 + (variable) = 10
-10 represents children Resident C knows he wants in the future. It also represents the joy and happiness he receives from his son and his girlfriend now.
-5 represents his being.
-The symbol + means what is added to his being.
-The symbol = means what comes as a result of his being and the variable he so chooses to enter.
-(variable) represents what he chooses to enter into the equation that is his life.
Now, if Resident C enters a 3 into the equation, it will look like this:
5 + 3 = 10
-3 represents something that cannot give him a 10 (which is his joy, and happiness found in his girlfriend and son). This is probably another woman that is not his girlfriend and the mother of his child.
Logically, this makes no sense, so Resident C should avoid this variable, because it will not bring him to the calculated solution to the problem.
Finally, if Resident C enters a 5 into the equation, it will be a logical statement:
5 + (5) = 10
-5 also represents his wife.
After explaining this, Resident C looked at me as if he came to the realization of something beautiful and he was silent for a while after he thanked me. Please pray for Resident C and his family.
Throughout the time in the prison, many outside volunteers and inside residents gave compelling and heart wrenching speeches about their personal lives and encounters with the Lord. We learned just how important forgiveness is, as Resident D explained to us in a speech how he forgave his brother who was sick in the hospital many years after an affair with his wife. For a long time, Resident D did not care about his brother, and did not care if he were dead. Until one day he felt God weigh on his heart as he passed a hospital he knew his brother was in, and the spirit led him to his brother’s room. When he entered, his brother got up from his bed attached to wires and cables and hugged him. Resident D, with teary eyes and a smile on his face proclaimed to all of us, “I have my brother back now.” Considering this, I realized that Resident D evangelized me, in that his story drove me to reconcile with my in-laws and my parents, and to reach out to them to apologize and to forgive them as well. Please give a prayer of thanksgiving to God for Resident D’s efforts in spreading the good news no matter what situation he may be in at the moment.
Resident E gave a compelling speech about a time when he had more money than he knew what to do with. Like the prodigal son, he squandered it on useless things that never made him happy. His father died when he was 12 and he had to make it out on his own. Through his success, obviously the Lord blessed the orphan, but he quickly lost sight of the Lord through idols and greed. Now, in prison, Resident E realizes what truly matters after being stripped of everything that made him feel worth it. He explained to us that God saved him and made him better, even by being in this place and going through what he is going through. In this speech, I also thought of Father Jaya’s comment from earlier as well! Please pray for the soul of Resident E’s father.
One of the REC volunteers, who is a Vietnam war veteran, gave an amazing speech about his encounter with Christ personally. Now, I have met him on multiple occasions, and I have heard this encounter before, but in my mind, I never fully grasped what he was telling me. In fact, I might have thought it was a metaphor, until he plainly told us what he was saying. He recalled a time when he was on a one man boat by himself rowing in the water desperately trying to get back to land. The more he tried, the more the tide kept preventing him from getting there. Every time he would row and begin to make progress, a wave would come and seize his progress at the top so as to bring him back to where he started. After some time, he began to grow tired and thought of giving up. Then suddenly, Lord Jesus Christ appeared in front of him standing in the boat. He looked at him and said, “You row, I’ll steer.” Then He vanished.
When he told everyone this, it did not sink in fully with me. After the speech, and further consideration in my own mind, I walked up to him and asked him if it was a metaphor. He said “no,” and that it was in the “literal sense.” I then asked him what Lord Jesus Christ looked like. He told me, “It was what you would expect, long hair, beard, white robe, and middle eastern tan.” Later that day, I asked for his autograph on a pen and paper and he gave it to me. When I got home, I placed it in my prayer corner. He explained to me that we must put in the effort and allow Christ to steer us where He wishes because that is the best outcome for us.
Throughout the retreat, we also were lucky enough to participate in a Holy Mass and witness a confirmation of one of the residents.
At a different time, symbolically, we also wrote a symbol representing our sins on a piece of paper, and burned it in a pot outside after Father Jaya prayed with us for healing, while concluding:
“Every Saint has a past, and every sinner has a future!”
Later on, three Residents expressed interest in wanting to enter the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults), as they proclaimed to us that the spirit of the Living God has been weighing on their hearts, and even more so upon participating in the program. Two wish to receive baptism while the third seeks confirmation and full communion. As one of them put it, “God is radiating off of all of you and I can feel it, because I never felt like this before, and after the first day in some time I got the best sleep I ever had!”
Please pray for these residents to draw closer to the Lord and for them to be reunited with their families some day. Also, please pray for our Priest, a foreign missionary who is dedicated to future prison retreats with us, to remain in his parish in Watertown, NY, because immigration is wanting to send him back to India earlier than expected this year. Of course, satan doesn’t want this Holy Priest bringing our brothers to Christ, so please consider his good work and pray for his successful ministry here in America so he can evangelize us, as we need him more than he needs us.
In the name of Christ Jesus, amen!
Speech: Forgiveness
Sign of the cross (+)
Please close your eyes and concentrate:
Let us pray,
A - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we love you very much and adore your might.
C - We acknowledge our offenses against you, our hatred, our malice, our lies, our deceit, and our awful thoughts against our brothers and sisters whom we have wronged in the past.
T - We give you thanks for creating us when you did not have to, and we give you greater thanks for being patient with us so we come to repentance. We thank you for setting the measures of the universe in nature, and establishing the heavenly luminaries which can be observed in the skies by your children which give honor to your craftsmanship that mark the times and seasons. We thank you for the variety of all of your land, air, and sea dwelling creatures that provide us abundant food for our work.
S - We now ask that you bring down a spirit of Penance into the hearts of all of us, to make us aware in this moment all the sins we have ever committed that we have not owned up to and confessed both to you, man whom we wronged, and the successors to the Apostles who are the Bishops and Priests.
In the name of Christ Jesus, amen!
Sign of the cross (+)
I am a worm of a man. No, seriously, I am. I am not righteous and I am not good. Don’t believe me? You may see that I have a Holy Rosary dangling from my hip and say, “oh no, this man is good and he knows God.” Well my friend, I tell you plainly again, I am a worm, a liar, a murderer, and a hypocrite.
Let me show you the way:
There is blood on my hands. Actually, I belong right where you are sitting and with the uniforms you all are wearing. Many years ago when I was an atheist before my conversion into Lord Jesus Christ, I was an active duty Infantryman in the United States Army, I defiled myself with many women. I preferred married women and group sex. Furthermore, I pursued strange women even when I belonged to another and after I was done with them I never talked to them again. To make it worse, there was one woman I had a one night stand with that I met in a bar. After some time later, she reached out to me that she was pregnant. Coldly, I had a calculated prepared response for this type of potential situation, telling her that “this is impossible because I had a vasectomy many years ago.” The woman was caught off guard and was upset. We did not talk for awhile, until one day later on she contacted me and told me that she was traveling to California to have an abortion. Still with my hardened heart and a cold stare, I told her plainly; “Good luck, it's still not mine because I had a vasectomy!”
I lied to her because I never had a vasectomy. I still chose to stick to my lies and to avoid accountability and responsibility for my actions. Because of this, I was complicit in murder of a child. Because of this, I deserved death, for the same measure that I applied to another ought to have been applied to me. For this is true justice, is it not?
But thanks be to God, for His mercy is more powerful than His justice for those who choose to accept it. Take it from me brothers; sin is an abomination, a travesty, an offense against all things good and true, non-being, and death. I broke God’s law in so many ways and did not deserve forgiveness, but even as an awful worm of a man who deserved the fiery furnace for my words and my deeds, He poured out His grace upon me in the dead of the night in 2020 when He Himself converted me.
My friends, what am I trying to tell you? There is forgiveness, even right now, for me, for the one sitting next to you and behind you, and especially even for you - even though you may think you cannot be forgiven. The burden of sin is too great to bear, for it is too hard to keep to yourself for it to dwell within the stained walls of your heart. Over time, without a confession and true repentance, this weight and burden will disfigure your soul and make you into an image that is other than the Living God for which you were fashioned from in His likeness, both sealed and marked for on the day of redemption. Like the demons, their disfigured state opposed to their nature has made them ugly and foul, as if lumps of rotting cancerous flesh have protruded through the sides of their heads so as to weigh them down heavily as they walk throughout the earth enticing men to commit atrocities. You were not made for such an awful torment.
Be reconciled to God while you still have the time, for the sins we do not address in the body, shall be addressed in the spirit, and if even in the material principle you cannot hold your hand up to a temporal flame for long without removing it before your flesh bubbles and begins to darken, how would you be able to endure the spiritual fire, a kind of spiritual flame that is much hotter and never dies out?
The sacrament of reconciliation provided by the Church is scriptural, and Christ gave this authority to His apostles and His Church when He had given them the power to forgive and retain the sins of men before He ascended into Heaven. In reconciliation, we restore our friendship to God so as to approach His unapproachable light with a clean conscience; free of the guilt which enslaves us and destroys so many.
Your enemy hates the sacrament of reconciliation, as a Holy man once said - “The best exorcism is a good confession,” for all of the works of the enemy amount to nothing when you approach that confessional to face the truth and receive a penance. My friends, one might ask, how do I confess my sins and all of the guilt that is weighing on my heart? Well look no further, because right here in this place you will have the opportunity to do such a thing and become clean, if being clean is what you desire.
Once you do this great thing so as to bring yourself to confession and repentance, the lights will come on in the basement. You will then lift up your head and climb up that staircase so as to shut the door behind you. Once you get out of that dark basement of your self-loathing, your guilt, your despair, and your regrets - you will become a child of the Living God not only in name but in being as well. There is still much for all of you to do, for there is literally a war going on outside. As you know, it is also going on in here, and anyone who competes in the arena with the demon and their wicked servants who carry out their will and teachings, this person will need to put on the full armor of God. The shield will not fit your forearm unless it is suited for it. Your breastplate armor will not fit your chest unless it is tailored to you. Your helmet will not fit unless that too is fitted to your cranium for size. Everyone starts with a dull sword which needs to be sharpened so as to effectively penetrate and stab into enemy armor and flesh. These things are your confession and your penances which fit you to wear the true armor of God.
(pause)
Turn on the lights.
Walk up the stairs.
Get out of the basement.
Shut the door behind you.
Put on the full armor of God.
Pickup the sword of your tongue and be ready to march on orders for the Lord whenever and wherever He leads you.
My friends, you won’t be disappointed.
As for the guilt and memories of sin and those we hurt and the lives we destroyed, what has been done cannot be undone, but we can move forward, even though we still feel it. Re-establishing your friendship with the Living God, who is Your First and Last, is the way to our peace and our freedom, for He alone breaks every yoke which binds and chains us to the devil. It is why at every corner, the devil will try to stop you or convince you not to confess your sins - because once you do this you no longer belong to him. Make no mistake, he keeps account of his property. Do not remain as his property through your sins that remain.
When that property destroys itself, you then become his trophy, an object of his great boasting. Why become the trophy of a fallen angel coward who hates you? Why trade gold for copper? And why turn in real food for dirt?
The Lord forgives and He has given us a way to be forgiven. Let’s not keep Him waiting, for we don’t know what tomorrow shall bring, for everyday of our life He gives us is allotted for us to come to repentance and is not reserved for our plans that will fail, our lower pleasures or our lustful desires. If we remain in the flesh after we have been reconciled to Him, then He assigns us a mission, just like the angel messengers in Heaven who serve their purpose. There is much for you to do my friends, as I have stated earlier, for your true life has not even yet begun!
The Priest will die before he discloses what was said between you and him in the confessional, as this is part of the vow he is sworn to. Examine your conscience before approaching the confessional, and ask the Priest for assistance if you are not sure on how to say what needs to be said.
Now, let us close with a prayer,
Sign of the cross (+)
St Michael the Archangel prayer….
Speech: Peace Talk
Sign of the cross (+)
Let us pray,
A - Lord Jesus Christ, you have been merciful to us, even when we did not deserve it. We praise your glory and great love for us and the whole world.
C - We acknowledge our offenses against you, and all the times we yelled “crucify Him,” through our actions, our words, and our evil thoughts throughout our own lives.
T - We thank you for being patient with us and becoming our Divine Teacher showing us the way throughout our lives in increments we can tolerate, understand, and learn to accept at their appointed times and season.
S- We ask now that you bring peace into our hearts, to put our minds at ease and to be willing to receive the burnt sacrifice offering of our anxiety and pain, to remove our hatred, our worries, and our fears - to receive our deep regret and hurt we hold in our hearts as a soothing aroma, pleasing and acceptable in your sight.
In the Name of Christ Jesus, amen!
(sign of the cross +)
So what is peace anyway? Nothing I was familiar with most of my life. In fact, I still struggle with it often. So, I left the dominion of despair, excessive self-love and hatred for my neighbor that was my narcissistic atheism, for a Holy Truth that stirs me at night and keeps me up often. Yes, I worry about the souls of other people who are not in the faith, those who are living in mortal sin, and those who have turned from the Living God who is The Truth, and they too keep me up at night. This was not the “peace” I envisioned my friends. Now honestly, I ask all of you today, am I doing something wrong?
(Short pause – look around the room in confusion)
I was lost but now I am found. So why can’t I just lay my head down and relax and enjoy the peace that comes with Christ?
Now let's stop and think for a second, is the word “peace” something that is relative, or is it an absolute?
What truly is “peace?” So I found the Lord God Almighty (sign of the cross +), El Shaddai if you will, but why am I still rumbling and groaning, tossing and turning at night, why do I continue to open my phone at 3:00 AM to see what is being said in the digital areopagus, that is social media, and why do I walk the streets to witness what people are saying about the Lord My God, the evil things they are proclaiming, and the false heresies they are peddling?
Why are so many evangelists to the gospel of death, the belief in the unbelief, and the pseudo-cult of the worm, going out into the world to lead Holy Souls astray to spiritual death?
Why are they encouraging kids to mutilate their genitals?
Why is man now woman?
Why is woman now man?
Why do we honor serial killers, make toys out of them and their victims for sorted gain?
Why do we make hollywood movies about mass murderers, and entertain the prospect of demonic possession and haunted houses for entertainment purposes, but could care less about what the Author of Life told us?
Why are so many people in the world openly displaying satanic flags and honoring the names of demons?
Why are people worshiping their careers and their wealth and many useless possessions?
Why are fathers leaving their wives and children and negating their responsibilities?
Why are mothers turning their Holy wombs into tombs of the innocent, and sacrificing their children to demons upon the altar of prosperity and convenience?
Why has evil and warfare increased in the world?
Why are swathes and multitudes of people proclaiming a different gospel, a false gospel that has no power to save, and succumbing to the worship and honor of demons?
Why do people now view their orgasm, lower pleasures and desires, as the source of their salvation, and why do they believe that Christ Jesus approves of their ways, and affirms their actions?
As you can see, in babylon, there is no peace for anyone completely, for even though satan may not be able to touch a faithful Christian directly, we are still subjected to his ordinary actions through other people whose souls are compromised.
Must Christ repent and follow these people, or did He not say, “you too must repent before something worse happens to you,” and “for whoever wishes to follow after me, this one must take up their cross.”
This perplexes me my friends, and in this way, I find no peace for myself, even though my soul is at rest in Him. But the flesh has more things to do! So, it must confront and tackle evil, and in this you do not find peace in the world, for when you go out into the world to proclaim Him and to live or walk in His ways, those around you will give you no peace.
But woe to me and all of you if we do not proclaim the gospel, right? I know for myself, my body would fail if I stopped doing this and my bones would give out and my heart would stop pumping blood!
And this is the reality; there is only PEACE in Him, not in anything else. He is our fortress and amidst the storm. Everything is supposed to get worse, for it is written. We cannot become our own light by our own hand, but by His alone. Sure, I still stir and I grumble in my chair in the dark at night, but it is a Holy grumbling, a thirst for souls who were once like me, lost and still needing to be found! My peace is trying to find them; the atheist, the satanist, the witch, the pagan, and members of the occult. There are still souls in these groups who belong to Lord Jesus Christ, they just do not know it yet!
For I was one myself, a lost sheep who was led out into the wilderness alone by shiny false objects, and the Lord was patient with me so I came to repentance when He found me strolling about. So, if He can be patient with me, the worst of sinners, He can be patient with all of you as well and those whom you hold dear to your heart.
For as long as we are alive, there is still hope, even until the last breath we can repent and find our salvation.
So, His existence is our hope, and His patience is also our salvation, for if He wasn’t patient with the likes of me so I came to my senses, then I would have been destroyed long ago and I would have deserved it for the things I have done!
There are so many people today out there in despair who forgot the Lord their God. I see it on the streets, I can see the hurt and pain in their eyes, I see it in the hospital in the sick and dying who have not considered the Lord their entire lives when they were healthy, and I see it in your eyes too.
So, who is coming for them? Anyone? If you can handle the abuse, the name calling, the demonic rites they put over you, your car breaking down constantly, the growling, and the awful nightmares - you will see, that the Lord still thirsts for them, and they still belong to Him in a way even though they do not show it yet or have not been able to get there yet.
The Lord wants to use you to bring His peace to others in a world where there is no peace, no hope, and only blood and despair. In this you also find your peace, which becomes a greater and more potent union with Him, a tie that cannot be severed by anyone else unless you will it!
So the Lord sends messengers and today I proclaim to you all that YOUR PEACE is in Him alone, and this does not mean you should always be comfortable, or on some serene white sanded beach drinking a mike’s hard lemonade while some lady dressed in white rubs your feet while you listen to the bible on audiobook, so as to keep the Lord all to yourself in peaceful contemplation. No, the Lord calls us for better things than that!
You must share what you know of Him with others, so as not to keep Him all to yourself, because you were made for love and Holy charity, and the highest charity is to bring a soul to salvation so as to know their Creator who gives them eternal life. When you do this, you also find salvation for your soul as well, because even pulling one sinner back from the fire can cover a multitude of your own sins, as the apostle proclaimed to you!
So, in saving others, we save ourselves.
In being weak, we become strong.
In being afraid, we become brave.
In being put in danger and threat, we become safe and secure.
In losing our lives, we actually find our true life.
So, in despair and tribulation, we find PEACE that is only from Him.
Be like the Apostles, be like the Martyrs, be like the Holy Ones, for it is written also, that they are dressed in white, and when they call out to the Lord to avenge their blood, He dresses them Himself in pure white garments and speaks kind words to them so as to be patient until the fullness of their brothers and sisters who are killed for His Name are gathered in, just like they were!
In other words, my friend, WHY BE AFRAID? You proclaim and snatch souls from the devil, and nothing happens to you, a win. Do the same and you suffer, more of a win, because great is your reward in Heaven - a WIN WIN.
So, the object of my despair is actually my peace, and my peace that I thought was my peace is actually not my peace but His peace which He graciously poured out upon me and all of you who believe in truth, as the Holy Apostle said when he boldly proclaimed that:
“God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.”
Who can understand this Word unless you actually live it? Who can actually understand what is being said unless you feel the hurt and the suffering, the helplessness and the vulnerability of the tragedy that is our lives?
Our hope is not in this place, but only in Him. That is our peace and our rock.
Not news cycles.
Not our secular overlords who lord it over us for their own purposes.
Not our wealth.
Not our reputations.
Not our pride.
Not our knockout records.
Not the opinions of other men and their false approvals.
We only have to impress The One God in Three Persons, He who will make us complete at the end of the age, when we reap the harvest in joy that we sowed in tears.
That is our peace and our reward.
Thank you.
Now we close in prayer,
Sign of the cross (+)
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires….
Sign of the cross (+)