The Shining Glory Cloud

 

The Shining Glory Cloud 

(Kavod: כָּבוֹד)

 

 

by

 

Damien F. Mackey

 

 

 

 

“It stopped” (Matthew 2:9).

Heavenly bodies do not stop.

The Glory Cloud did (Numbers 9:17).

 

 

 

 

It is commonly (though not biblically) known as the Shekinah.

 

One might say that, wherever the Lamb went, the Glory Cloud was sure to be there.

 

It manifested itself in the Book of Exodus, as Barry Setterfield said:

 

Barry Setterfield partly correct about Christ’s Star in Matthew

 

(3) Barry Setterfield partly correct about Christ’s Star in Matthew

 

as a: 'Pillar of cloud by day, and a Pillar of fire by night' (see Ex.13:21.22 etc), and, in Matthew 2, as the “Star” of the Magi.

 

Also, as a Burning Bush (Exodus 3).

 

The Magi called it “his Star” (Matthew 2:2) because they knew that it was inseparable from Him.

 

“It stopped” (2:9). Heavenly bodies do not stop. The Glory Cloud did (Numbers 9:17): “When the cloud moved from its place over the Tent, the Israelites moved, and wherever the cloud stopped, the Israelites camped”.

 

The Bible interprets itself.

 

The Magi and the Star that Stopped

 

(3) The Magi and the Star that Stopped

 

In far more recent times, when the resplendent Christ Child accompanied his Mother, Our Lady of the Rosary, to Pontevedra, Spain, on 10^th December, 1925, He stood upon the same Glory Cloud.

 

Vatican grants a Jubilee Year to the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pontevedra for the centenary of Our Lady’s Apparition to Sister Lucia.

 

The Vatican has granted the Convent-Shrine of Pontevedra, in Spain, the privilege of celebrating a Marian Jubilee Year from December 10, 2025 to December 10, 2026, on the occasion of the centenary of the apparition of Our Lady and the Child Jesus to Sister Lucia. It was during this apparition, on December 10, 1925, that the devotion of the First Five Saturdays of the month was requested by Our Lady. The devotion consists in going for Confessing, receiving Holy Communion, reciting five decades of the rosary, and keep Our Lady’s company for 15 minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Her Immaculate Heart. 

 

The commemoration will begin on December 10, 2025, date of the apparition and will be extended to December 2026. In granting this Jubilee Year, the Holy See is offering a special period of spiritual graces to all those who shall make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Pontevedra and fulfill the required precepts to obtain the indulgences of the jubilee.

 

The World Apostolate of Fatima has launched an International Congress in Fatima and a pilgrimage to Pontevedra and Santiago of Compostela from December 5 to 12, 2025, with the purpose to grow in knowledge and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to join the solemn celebrations of the centenary of the apparitions in Pontevedra, reinforcing the importance of the First Saturdays request.

 

Registrations are still open! If you have not registered yet, please rush to do it and do not miss this unique opportunity. For more information and registration click here: https://congress.worldfatima.com/#info

 

 A Helpful Guide to the First Saturday Devotion

 

In order to obtain the promise of Our Lady, this devotion must be properly understood and duly performed. The requirements stipulated by Our Lady are as follows:

 

(1)    Confession, (2) Communion, (3) five Decades of the Rosary (4) meditation on one or more of the Rosary Mysteries for fifteen minutes, (5) to do all of these things in the spirit of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and (6) to observe these practices on the First Saturday of five consecutive months.

 

 

1. Confession

 

A confession of reparation means that the confession should not only be a worthy confession (valid and licit), but also be offered in the spirit of reparation, in this case, to Mary's Immaculate Heart. There is no need to formulate this offering in words, nor is there any need to inform one's confessor; but the intention to offer it in reparation must be made at least before receiving absolution; it also may be made when going to confession or even when deciding to go a few days earlier.

This confession may be made on the First Saturday itself, or eight days before or after the First Saturday, and it also may be associated with another devotion. Thus the confession made in connection with First Friday devotion may likewise be offered in reparation to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart in connection with the First Saturday devotion. The doubts that had risen in Sister Lucia's mind on this matter were resolved by the Child Jesus in His apparition to her of Feb. 15, 1926. She explained to Him the difficulties some experience in getting to confession on Saturdays, and asked whether confession made within the preceding eight days would suffice, the Child Jesus replied:

"Yes, the confession could precede, even for a longer period of time, provided when they receive Me, they be in the state of grace, and the confession is made with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of My Mother."

"But if the person forgets to make the intention of reparation at that confession?" asked Lucia. Our Lord told her, "Let him make the intention in the next confession, taking the earliest possible opportunity to confess."

 

2. Holy Communion

 

The Communion of reparation must be sacramental (actual reception of the sacred Species), duly received with the intention of making reparation. This offering, like the confession, is an interior act, and so no external action to express the intention is needed. The communion must be made within twenty-four hours of the First Saturday. For good reason, approved by our Pastor, we may receive the Communion on the next day, the Sunday following the First Saturday (a concession granted by the Child Jesus Himself).

 

3. The Rosary

 

The Rosary mentioned here was indicated by the Portuguese word "terzo", which is commonly employed to denote a Rosary of five decades, since it forms a third of the full Rosary of fifteen decades. This, too, must be recited in the spirit of reparation. It is customary on Saturdays to meditate on the Glorious Mysteries, but there is nothing to prevent one from meditating on either the Joyful or Sorrowful Mysteries. In our apostolate it is customary (but not obligatory) to arrange the meditations as follows:

 

Joyful Mysteries:	First Saturdays of December, January, February, and July
Sorrowful Mysteries:	First Saturdays of March, April, and September
Glorious Mysteries:	First Saturdays of May, June, August, October, and November

 

But the important thing is to say the Rosary well by doing one's best to be attentive and to meditate on the Mystery as we offer each decade. As in the other cases, one should make the intention to offer the Rosary in reparation to the Immaculate Heart at least at the beginning of the Rosary.

 

4. Meditation for Fifteen Minutes

 

This meditation on one or more Mysteries of the Rosary is to be made without simultaneous recitation of the decade of Hail Mary's. As indicated above, the meditation may be either on one Mystery alone for fifteen minutes; or on all fifteen Mysteries, spending about one minute on each mystery; or again, meditation on the Mysteries of a five decade Rosary, which can be made before each decade, spending three minutes or more in considering the mystery of that particular decade. This latter is the custom in our own apostolate.

This meditation, likewise, has to be made in the spirit of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and a mere intention suffices. But we should take care to truly meditate. Meditation consists in thinking over the events as if we were actually present at the scenes mentioned in the Mystery, or in considering what we would have done had we been present. Finally, meditation concludes with a determination or resolution of some sort to amend our life, according to the lesson taught in the Mystery, in our behavior at home, at work, in our dealings with others, etc.

 

Many find it difficult to meditate because they have never made the attempt to do so. But a start could be made by using holy pictures depicting the different Mysteries, or by reading slowly and devoutly appropriate meditations prepared for our use, or even by reading the Gospel narratives containing the Mysteries, with or without commentaries. Those who are unable to read could be counseled to spend fifteen minutes in recalling to mind all that they know about the Birth, Infancy and Childhood of Jesus (Joyful Mysteries); about the sufferings of Jesus represented in Lent, Holy Week, and the Stations of the Cross (Sorrowful Mysteries); and about Easter, the Ascension, the Coming of the Holy Ghost and its effects upon the Apostles and the world. Consider also the life of Our Lady from Pentecost until her death and her glorious Assumption into Heaven, where she exercises her privilege as the Mother of God in order to obtain from her Divine Son graces for her children on earth, even coming down bodily to earth at times, in order to warn us of the great dangers ahead and to give us timely aid to combat them.

There have been many apparitions of Our Lady, but those at Fatima are the first where meditation on the Mysteries of the Rosary is specifically requested. It is obvious that this request is to teach us how to recite the Rosary properly, and to derive many aids for the amendment of our lives and for our sanctification. If many do not say the Rosary properly, or consider themselves incapable of doing so, it is because they are unfamiliar with the events connected with each of the Mysteries, and their immense significance to each of us. This fifteen minute meditation, as requested by Our Lady, will help us to concentrate on each of the Gospel scenes in the Mystery, and to recall to mind the lessons they contain. What a beautiful, simple way to grow in our knowledge, love, and service of God!

 

5. The Spirit of Reparation

 

All these acts, as said above, must be done with the intention of offering reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the offenses committed against her. Every one who offends her, commits, so to speak, a two-fold offense, for these sins also offend her Divine Son, Jesus Christ, and so endanger our salvation. They give bad example to others and weaken the strength of society to withstand immoral onslaughts. The acts of our devotions, therefore, force us to consider not only the enormity of the offense against God, but also the effect of sins on human society, as well as the critical need for undoing these social evils, even if the offender repents and is converted. Further, this reparation emphasizes our enormous responsibility towards sinners who, by themselves, will not pray and make reparation for their sins. In the words of Our Lady so well remembered by little Jacinta, "So many, many souls go to Hell, because there is no one to pray and sacrifice for them!"

 

In short, this devotion brings before us our obligations to our neighbor, and reminds us that a true love of God overflows into a genuine love of our neighbor, above all by endeavoring to help him save his soul. An excellent way of doing this is through the example of our own spirit of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our living and effective devotion to Our Lady leads us to elevate our moral and religious standards, and so works to raise the standards of the family, community, and country in which we live.

 

 

Presidential Message on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

The White House December 8, 2025 Today, I recognize every American celebrating December 8 as a Holy Day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Catholics celebrate what they believe to be Mary’s freedom from original sin as the mother of God. She first entered recorded history as a young woman when, according to Holy Scripture, the Angel Gabriel greeted her in the village of Nazareth with news of a miracle: “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you,” announcing that “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” In one of the most profound and consequential acts of history, Mary heroically accepted God’s will with trust and humility: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Mary’s decision forever altered the course of humanity. Nine months later, God became man when Mary gave birth to a son, Jesus, who would go on to offer his life on the Cross for the redemption of sins and the salvation of the world. For nearly 250 years, Mary has played a distinct role in our great American story. In 1792, less than a decade after the end of the Revolutionary War, Bishop John Carroll—the first Catholic bishop in the United States and cousin of signer of the Declaration of Independence Charles Carroll—consecrated our young Nation to the mother of Christ. Less than a quarter-century later, Catholics attributed General Andrew Jackson’s stunning victory over the British in the climactic Battle of New Orleans to Mary. Every year, Catholics celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in New Orleans on January 8 in memory of Mary’s assistance in saving the city. Over the ages, American legends like Elizabeth Ann Seton, Frances Xavier Cabrini, and Fulton Sheen, who spent their lives glorifying God in service to others, have held a deep devotion to Mary. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, located in the heart of our Nation’s Capital, honors Mary as the largest church in North America. The timeless hymn “Ave Maria” remains beloved by countless citizens. She has inspired the establishment of countless churches, hospitals, and schools. Nearly 50 American colleges and universities bear Mary’s name. …. As we approach 250 years of glorious American Independence, we acknowledge and give thanks, with total gratitude, for Mary’s role in advancing peace, hope, and love in America and beyond our shores. More than a century ago, in the midst of World War I, Pope Benedict XV, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, commissioned and dedicated a majestic statue of Mary, Queen of Peace, bearing the infant Christ with an olive branch so that the Christian faithful would be encouraged to look to her example of peace by praying for a stop to the horrific slaughter. Just a few months later, World War I ended. Today, we look to Mary once again for inspiration and encouragement as we pray for an end to war and for a new and lasting era of peace, prosperity, and harmony in Europe and throughout the world. In her honor, and on a day so special to our Catholic citizens, we remember the sacred words that have brought aid, comfort, and support to generations of American believers in times of need: Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Jesus according to Josephus

“[A] gripping read and triumph of careful philology that will change views of the importance and reliability of this long-debated passage. It certainly changed mine”. —Jack Tannous, Associate Professor of History and Hellenic Studies at Princeton University Home - Josephus & Jesus Josephus & Jesus. New Evidence for the One Called Christ …. This book brings to light an extraordinary connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Jewish historian Josephus. Writing in 93/94 CE, Josephus composed an account of Jesus known as the Testimonium Flavianum. Despite this being the oldest description of Jesus by a non-Christian, scholars have long doubted its authenticity due to the alleged pro-Christian claims it contains. The present book, however, authenticates Josephus’s authorship of the Testimonium Flavianum and then reveals a startling observation: Josephus was directly familiar with those who put Jesus on trial. Consequently, Josephus would have had access to highly reliable information about the man from Nazareth. The book concludes by describing what Josephus tells us about the Jesus of history, his miracles, and his resurrection. —T. C. Schmidt (PhD, Yale University) Visiting Fellow, Princeton University, James Madison Program (2025-2026) Associate Professor, Fairfield University What Scholars Are Saying ________________________________________ An astonishingly new intervention into what had seemed to be a settled consensus…[an] erudite study — Annette Yoshiko Reed, Professor of Divinity and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Harvard Divinity School An extraordinary scholarly achievement… impressive philological acumen — Tobias Hägerland, Senior Lecturer at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden “[A] gripping read and triumph of careful philology that will change views of the importance and reliability of this long-debated passage. It certainly changed mine. —Jack Tannous, Associate Professor of History and Hellenic Studies at Princeton University Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ T C Schmidt Published: 5 May 2025 Abstract This book brings to light an extraordinary connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Jewish historian Josephus. Writing in 93/4 ce, Josephus composed an account of Jesus known as the Testimonium Flavianum. Despite this being the oldest description of Jesus written by a non-Christian, scholars have long doubted its authenticity due to the alleged pro-Christian claims it contains. The present book, however, authenticates Josephus’ authorship and then reveals a startling discovery. First, the opening chapters demonstrate that ancient Christians read the Testimonium Flavianum quite differently from modern scholars, considering it to be basically mundane or even vaguely negative, and hence far from the pro-Christian rendering that most scholars have interpreted it to be. This suggests that the Testimonium Flavianum was indeed written by a non-Christian. The book then employs stylometric analysis to demonstrate that the Testimonium Flavianum closely matches Josephus’ style. The Testimonium Flavianum appears, therefore, to be genuinely authored by Josephus. The final chapters explore Josephus’ sources of information about Jesus, revealing a remarkable discovery: Josephus was directly familiar with those who attended the trials of Jesus’ apostles and even those who attended the trial of Jesus himself. The book concludes by describing what Josephus tells us about the Jesus of history, particularly regarding how the stories of Jesus’ miracles and his resurrection developed.

The power of the Miraculous Medal

‘Is it possible that our enemies should display such activity and gain superior strength, while we remain idle, without getting down to work? Do we not have even stronger weapons, namely the protec¬tion of heaven and of the Immaculate Virgin?’ Saint Maximilian Kolbe We read in the following article: Maximilian Kolbe and the Miraculous Medal | Militia Immaculatae Maximilian Kolbe and the Miraculous Medal (Excerpt of the book “The Immaculate, our ideal”) As an outward sign of membership in the [Militia Immaculatæ), the Knight of the Immaculata wears her Miraculous Medal. We human beings are not only spirit, but also body. Our interior life, our ideal and mentality must be perceptible from outside, must be expressed in our external life. Therefore outward signs are necessary in order to bring the interior disposition to light. The Savior willed to grant His graces to people pre¬cisely through such “sacred signs”, namely the Sacraments. In a similar manner the Knight of the Immaculata must also make an outward pro¬fession. The Miraculous Medal is the outward sign of the interior Total Consecration to the Immaculata. Furthermore, as a weapon in the battle for souls he distributes these medals wherever he can. The Miraculous Medal should be the weapon, the bullet, which the Knight of the Immaculata makes use of. Even if someone is as wicked as can be, if he agrees to wear the Miraculous Medal, give it to him and pray for him, and occasionally try with a kind word to bring him to the point where he begins to love the Mother of God and to fly to her in all his difficulties and temptations. But anyone who sincerely begins to pray to the Immaculata will soon be con¬vinced to go to Confession as well. There is much evil in the world, yet let us consider that the Immaculata is even more powerful: “She will crush the head of the infernal serpent.” Isn’t such a practice somewhat exaggerated? How is it that the founder of the M.I. places so much trust in such an external thing? We should reply, first, that the very origin of the M.I. is closely related to a great miracle that was worked through the Miraculous Medal, namely the conversion of a Jewish man, Alphonse de Ratisbonne. In the year in which the M.I. was founded (1917), the seventy-fifth anniversary of this great miracle was being celebrated in Rome. Young Brother Maximil¬ian had already asked himself the question long before that: Is it possible that our enemies should display such activity and gain superior strength, while we remain idle, without getting down to work? Do we not have even stronger weapons, namely the protec¬tion of heaven and of the Immaculate Virgin? He found out the answer on that memorable twentieth of January, when the superior of the house presented to them the story of the impenitent Jew’s conversion as a theme for meditation. In that medita¬tion, as Father Pal, his friend and co-founder of the M.I. attests, the Saint received the inspiration to found a knighthood in honor of the Immaculata, which chose the Miraculous Medal as its emblem and shield for the future Knights. From that day on, Brother Maximilian often visited the church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte in order to pray before the altar where Alphonse de Ratisbonne had converted. He also chose that altar as the one upon which he would offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the first time after his priestly ordination. Furthermore Fr. Maximilian often used to tell his friars about truly extraordinary incidents that he himself had experienced with the Mirac¬ulous Medal. For example, one time while he was recuperating in Zako¬pane he tried to convert a young Freethinker who proudly called him¬self “the Heretic”. All arguments were in vain. Nevertheless, out of courtesy he accept¬ed the Miraculous Medal. Immediately afterwards I suggested that he make a confession. “I am not prepared. By no means,” was his reply. But … at that very moment he fell on his knees, as though impelled by a higher power. The confession began; the young man wept like a child. The Immaculata had won. …. \Naturally, the cause of this miraculous change in a human heart was not the medal itself as a physical object, but rather the Immaculata, who attaches her special graces to the wearing of the Miraculous Medal. And there were many, many such incidents in the life of St. Maximilian. Therefore: Distribute her Medal, wherever there is an opportunity: to chil¬dren, so that they will always wear it around their necks; to the elderly and the youth, so that they, under her protection, might have enough strength to resist the temptations and falls that par¬ticularly beset them in our times. And also to those who do not go to Church, or who are afraid to go to Confession, who make fun of religious practices, who laugh at the truths of the faith, who are mired in a moral swamp or are living outside the Church in heresy – to all of these people you absolutely must offer the Medal of the Immaculata and ask them to wear it, but then fervently beg the Immaculata also for their conversion. Many people make use of another expedient when someone is reluctant to accept the Miracu¬lous Medal. They just sew it secretly into his or her clothing and pray for that person, and sooner or later the Immaculata will show what she is capable of. The Miraculous Medal is the ammunition of the M.I.

St. Joseph of Arimathea wrongly tied to Britain

“Meanwhile, in the West a scribal insert began Joseph’s new career, which ultimately transported him to “Britain”—really Britio Edessenorum, place of the shroud icon—with an object known as the Holy Grail”. Daniel Scavone In his perceptive article, “Joseph of Arimathea, the Holy Grail and the Edessa Icon” (http://www.shroud.it/SCAVONE1.PDF’), author Daniel Scavone will arrive at the following reasonable conclusion: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The links of my hypothesis are in place. Edessa possessed from the fourth century a cloth icon of Jesus' face (attested by artists' copies), later verified as a life-sized icon of his body. It had been folded and encased so as to reveal only his face, in essence disguised, and later hidden away. Lucius Abgar VIII (177-212), first Christian king of Edessa and in touch with Rome, may have received it (I won't insist on this), along with the missionaries he himself requested (letter of King Lucius to Pope Eleutherus). In the fourth century it was given a fabricated aetiology as a face-only icon that had arrived in Edessa in the first century (Teaching of Addai). From the sixth century on, it was suggested, then eye-witnessed, as larger and gradually documented as Jesus' burial cloth. The burial cloth of Good Friday was intimately associated with Joseph of Arimathea. The object in question at the time the Grail romances were written was somehow known to be associated with Joseph. Meanwhile, in the West a scribal insert began Joseph's new career, which ultimately transported him to "Britain"—really Britio Edessenorum, place of the shroud icon—with an object known as the Holy Grail. The two objects share significant virtually identical properties. The cloth is unique among Byzantine icons as the Holy Grail is unique. All the links would indicate that the key elements of the Grail romances derive from Byzantine sources, particularly those that relate to Edessa’s icon, the Mandylion. Let us consider the Grail's secret from the point of view of a medieval Christian. As cup of the Last Supper and container of the blood of Jesus, believed to be God incarnate, it is already so awesome as not to require the embellishment of some further, anticlimactic secret. So why a secret in the first place? It only makes sense if the Grail, alias the Mandylion, truly contained a further mystery in the revelation of its real contents: the gradually appearing body of crucified Jesus of the Mandylion’s ritual. Finally, that eighth-century Georgian manuscript--it antedates by centuries every Christian Grail narrative--may alone contain the truth: Par. 16 says , "I [Joseph] climbed Holy Golgotha, where the Lord's Cross stood, and I collected in . . . the large shroud the precious blood that had flowed from His holy side." …. Please see again Robert de Boron's version of this event, which simply substitutes the Grail for the shroud. In the apocryphal tradition about Joseph of Arimathea, then, before Joseph's Holy Grail as cup of Jesus' blood, there was Joseph's cloth in which he had captured the blood of Golgotha. Britium's face icon (Mandylion) was over time identified as a burial shroud icon of the body of crucified Jesus. The mysterious tenth-century ritual in Britium/Edessa and the new twelfth-century Byzantine Melismos service, inspired respectively by the presence of this reputed burial wrap, portrayed the infant Jesus becoming the adult Jesus, sacrificial victim of the Last Supper and Passion. The romance Holy Grail also revealed the mystery of the infant Jesus changing to the body of crucified Jesus. Was this the secret of the Holy Grail? Was the Grail's secret the Mandylion's secret?

Hope after suicide – the Divine Mercy

“We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. … God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives”. Catechism of the Catholic Church We read at: Divine Mercy: A Catholic Response to Suicide — Joy In Truth this consoling article by Victoria Gisondi (2019): Divine Mercy: A Catholic Response to Suicide Photo by Claudia Aracama. …. After my brother’s suicide, I spent Lent crying before the Blessed Sacrament. Everything was thrown into disorder. Was there hope? The Catholic response to these life-shattering events is Divine Mercy. Yes, there’s always hope. …. My brother took his life. It happened in January. His death was an earthquake, uprooting any sense of safety and stability I formerly had. I have not gone through the stages of grief in order. There is no order to disorder. And suicide is so terribly disordered. It creates complicated grief in the casualties it leaves behind. It wasn’t at all like my father’s death by cancer five years before. This death was violent and shocking. It was mysterious and horrible in that it was deliberate and self-imposed. Families are often torn asunder and scattered after death. The secondary wounds can be more painful than the original one. Suicide compounds that. Thoughts and dreams are invaded with manic ruminations and rescue fantasies. Those thoughts spill over into conversation and conversation turns into blame. We were seven siblings. I was between the two boys. Three sisters stopped talking to two sisters. The last living brother kept himself far removed. A narcissistic ex spouse pushed the right buttons from the sidelines, enjoying the show. The fault lines in our fragile foundation cracked irreversibly. Our mother immediately sought refuge in the sacraments. She spent hours in adoration and at daily mass. As for me, I wanted to escape the present moment. The reality that I could not rewind time was too painful. I drank a lot in those days. A priest at confession told me to enter the desert with Jesus. I was a bitter swamp of sorrow, alcohol and rejection. A desert with Jesus sounded like a welcome oasis from a swamp—clean and dry. So, lent was spent crying before the Blessed Sacrament. At mass was where I felt closest to my father and brother. The passion, death and resurrection of Christ no longer separate the body. I was now putting my faith into practice. If we believe these things, then my brother and father were with me together with the whole communion of saints. Do souls in purgatory join us at mass? Do they pray with us and for us? Are they remorseful? I think so. Although I have wept bitterly, I have not despaired for my brother’s salvation. I have offered the words, “Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell, especially those in most need of thy mercy.” Nobody needed God’s mercy more than my brother did right before he pulled the trigger. I offered those words and the words of every chaplet thereafter begging Christ’s mercy and Our Lady’s comfort to my brother in his time of need. He was not a believer. Somewhere along the way he had lost his purpose and his faith. Yet, my mother and I prayed too damned hard for him to be lost. We put our trust in Divine Mercy. My mother reminded me that Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (He said even as they divided His garments.) My brother did not know what he was doing. He was out of his mind with anxiety and fear. The Catechism of The Catholic Church states: 2282 …Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide. 2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives. Only God knows how culpable my brother was in his desperation. My brother was a self-sacrificing father. He loved deeply and generously. What he lacked in faith he made up for in love. It is therefore fitting that after lent comes Easter. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection. There was no body in the tomb because Christ was occupying it once again—and it wasn’t just his old body patched together, but the glorified version. The Apostles Creed reminds us that we “believe in the resurrection of the body.” We talk about heaven as an abstract thing forgetting that we will be reunited with our own flesh and blood one day. This is so comforting. I will see my brother in the flesh again. And I trust I will because of Christ’s Divine Mercy. In His Divine Mercy, we can pray for people after they die. If every consecration at every mass opens a window to an ever-present moment in salvation history, then my brother’s fatal moment is not limited to a human timeline. It is not out of God’s reach. God is outside of time. My prayer today can retroactively reach my brother yesterday. And because of this, I have hope. Jesus, I trust in you …

Purgatory – a bit like being stuck in a lift

“Being stuck in an elevator is like purgatory, you hope you are going up to heaven but …”. Pope Francis Many of us would know that being stuck in a lift is no fun. Nor would being stuck in Purgatory be any fun. Pope Stuck in Elevator—Now Understands Purgatory | The Spoof Amiko Aventurista 2 September, 2019 At an impromptu news conference, Vatican Spokesperson Alessandro Gisotti explained to an overflow crowd of reporters that Pope Francis was late to celebrate Sunday mass due to an elevator malfunction. Gisotti went to great length to say the Pope was fine. But, after answering several tough questions, it was apparent Gisotti was irritated, and at one point snapped, “Da Papa, he is ok, whats ser mater fo you …”. Apparently, Pope Francis was stuck between floors for 25 minutes, until workers were able to restore power and pry, the praying, pontiff. “Whoa, da was a close one!” were the first words heard from the Pope upon release. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was on his way to mass when the power failed at the Vatican. The Vatican does not have a backup generator, because, according to Gisotti, “…for wha we need da, whats ser mater fo you.” During mass the Pope joked with the faithful that his special pope powers did not work in the elevator. “I had no wifi bars on my God mobile, ha ha.” Francis went on to laugh about it with the congregation. “God did not recognize me; he thought it was another … Jorge from Buenos Aires asking for yet another favor. Being stuck in an elevator is like purgatory, you hope you are going up to heaven but …......” A reminder this month of November, particularly, to pray and make sacrifices for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.