Obedience , A hard Act to Follow
In Today's Society
On the front cover of our Newsletter, Jesus is taking our hearts and giving His Heart to us. This is
the Statue of the El Nino or the Child Jesus in the center of the court yard at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama. Jesus appeared and still appears to Mother Angelica many times. He told her that He comes to take our hearts, and grants us His Heart in return. We can receive Him in the Eucharist or through a Spiritual Communion. Such a direct union, should always make us a better person.
In today society everyone wants to do their own thing. Many people know that their way of life is not acceptable to God, they break all the commandments in reference to marriage, living common law, being involved with same sex partners, abortion, pornography and many other immoral actions. A more common occurrence is that faithful members of the Church who attend Mass and receive Communion, chose to be disobedient to the Church. This really causes confusion to other members, as well as those that witness this behavior. Obedience today, I think if one of the virtues that requires a lot of humility, prayer and discipline.
Pride, power and greed are great obstacles for obedience. Through the media and television society at large is told to do what feels good, and not to fallow God’s laws. I cannot stress enough how important it is for us today to be obedient to our Superiors in the Church, and the teaching of our Lord and Savior. We need not only to save our own souls, but the souls of our neighbors. The ultimate example of obedience came from the Lord, "And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the 
point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8). Reflect on the bitter and painful Passion and the obedience of Christ to the will of the Father. Imagine His deep sorrow when He prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want " (Mt 26:39).Many of today's children are very confused by the double messages that at bombarding there minds. Obedience to their parents or people of authority, is shrugged off as not important. This is not what scripture teaches us. Even as a child, Jesus was obedient to Joseph and Mary. "And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them" (Lk 2:51). Scripture is filled with beautiful passages on the necessity of obedience to parents. In Sirach 3:1-9 it is written, "Listen to Me your Father, O children; and act accordingly, that you may be kept in safety.Whoever glorifies his father will have long life, and whoever obeys the Lord will refresh his mother; he will serve his parents as his masters.
Obedience to Holy Mother Church is necessary, even if we disagree with a particular church teaching. In that situation, we should pray for the grace of understanding and acceptance. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7). In the times of today, as in the pass 2000 years the Church is very cautious, slow to accept revelations. Many people today look for excitement and want to know the future, so they search out visionaries and devotions that tickle their ears. Our Lord said that this would happen, so we should not be surprised, however, we must be aware and obedient to Holy Mother Church in all things.
We should ask our Lord to take the scales off our eyes so we can believe, for "In the path of righteousness there is life, in walking its path there is no death" (Prov 12:28). by Shirley Oleskiw
Mother of the Eucharist
The Blessed Mother is the Mother of Mercy and Mother of the Merciful Savior. Mary is also the
Mother of Jesus, present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist. She leads us to Him and gives us an example of pure humility and obedience — ardent love of God and complete trust in His will.
Mary’s life was full of contradictions. She carried the Son of God in Her womb and had many joys, but also many sorrows. Reflecting on Her sorrows, we recall the prophecy of Simeon (Lk 2:34-35); the flight into Egypt (Matt 2:13-14); the loss of Jesus in the temple (Lk 2:43-45); the meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross; the Crucifixion (Jn 19:25-27); the taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross; and the burial of Jesus. Each of these must have pierced Her Heart like a sharp sword and inflicted pain that only a loving mother could understand.
As we struggle today with our own trials, let us reflect on Our Lady’s heroic faith and trust in God. Let us be witnesses to the beauty of life and the gift of our Faith to those we encounter. Let us have the 
perseverance and love of God in our hearts as we proclaim the Good News! And may Our Lady help instill in our hearts a deeper love of Jesus in the Eucharist.
The mission statement of the Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy calls us to pray for the sick and the dying, for priests, for vocations, an end to abortion, and to help others to become sensitive to the gift and beauty of all life. We want groups to do small acts of mercy with a focus on the marginalized of today — the rejected, the lonely, the disabled, the elderly, and the dying. With Her help and example, we can overcome even the most difficult of tasks. by Shirley Oleskiw
Mary: A Masterpiece of Mercy
The masterpiece of the Father’s mercy, is Mary. We shall attempt to examine carefully the principle acts of His mercy, and those which characterize it, in order to understand better where mercy is to be found, so that we, in our Christian life, might penetrate it more deeply.
The first act of the Father’s mercy with respect to Mary is an act of absolute gratuitousness. Hence, we see in this act the Father’s mercy in all its purity. This first act is the Father’s prevenient mercy for Mary as a tiny child in the womb, regarding the first movement of her soul: the mystery of the Immaculate Conception.
We must try to understand the mystery of the Immaculate Conception not only in itself, but in its source which is the mystery of the Father’s mercy. There can be no mercy more absolute or more complete. Thomas Aquinas speaks of prevenient mercy as a particular act of mercy. Prevenience is, in fact, what characterizes mercy (from the Latin prae venire: to come before).
If we want to understand what prevenient mercy is and what it means for us, we must consider the mystery of the Immaculate Conception: the first fruit of prevenient mercy, it fruit par excellence. Thus, the Immaculate Conception must enable us to penetrate this special abode of the Father’s mercy.
Because He is merciful, the Father takes the initiative - He always takes the initiative. He is always “before”, “ahead of” us. Because of the Father’s infinite solicitude, and because the light of His mercy is His eternal gaze, mercy prepares and envelops everything.
As the Creator, He created the world, He created our loving Mother, He created us. He is all loving and caring. He took the initiative to show us how much He loves us. In Scripture it is stated thus, and in song, we acknowledge this love as we sing, “I will never forget you, My people, I have carved you in the palm of My hands. I will never forget you, I will not leave you orphaned, I will never forget My own.”
Let us mediate upon this prevenient love of our God, and return it with an unselfish, sacrificing, and obedient response. by Shirley Oleskiw
Our Hevenly Mother
Our Heavenly Mother is calling us in a very special way. The Church has given ecclesiastical approbation to many of the more well known apparitions. Others are still being studied, and no decisions have been made. Our Blessed Mother Mary is a concerned Mother trying every possible means to get her children’s attention. It is evident that all the various apparitions and devotions harmonize coherently, even though each one has a distinctive emphasis. The purpose is not to turn our prayer life into a burdensome litany of special devotions, but instead to use them as a focal point.
The messages call us to conversion, prayer and penance. Our Lady has brought healing and encouragement, warnings of danger, and an awareness of her Immaculate Heart as a refuge. Thus we are brought closer to God and His Heavenly Mother.
Mary has appeared throughout history, as recorded many times. However, in the last several years I have had the privilege of visiting and praying at most of the very Holy Shrines and apparition sites in the world.
In a short story, I will try to share with you my journey of blessings to each of these holy places. May the reading of this Newsletter motivate you to additional prayers and penance for our sinful and suffering humanity.
by Shirley Oleskiw
Christian Contemplation and Maternal Service;
Poverty of a Servant
Mary a little child of God, accepts to be mother, to be servant of God. Her motherhood, which is to become the form of her contemplation, implies littleness and the state of a useless servant. Her contemplation implies a very intimate gift of herself. It implies the divine exercise of faith, hope and love which captivates her intellect and will and place her interiorly at the service of God.
When God Himself wished to plant the contemplative life on earth, He did not chose a philosopher. He planted it in the heart of a mother. He took the heart of a little child and made it the heart of a mother. Mary’s whole life was seized. The peaks of her intellect accepted to be silent so that love could take everything. Indeed, love took all her vital forces: those of her heart, her faculties, her sensitivity. Mary’s whole life was, as it were “assumed” and placed at the service of the Father.
The service of God is part of the contemplative life. One cannot be contemplative here on earth without mobilizing his strength for the service of God. As in the mystery of the Annunciation precisely teaches us that the attitude of the useless, little servant allows unity between contemplation and the service of God. The mystery of the Presentation is, the foundation of this attitude. Mary surrenders completely to God as His little child, at the service of others. In the Nativity, Mary is given the role of Divine motherhood. Everything in Mary is turned towards God. Her Child is her God, and the more her Child is rooted in her, the more He takes hold of her vital forces, and the more Mary is turned towards God.
We can easily say, “It is impossible for me to live the contemplative life, to live an interior life. I have too much to do. I have too much work and it diminishes the intensity of my Christian life.” Such reasoning is very human. It is true that much work renders the contemplative life difficult, but the question does not lie there. The real question is whether or not God wants us to do the work and how He wants it done. Through work humbly and generously accepted, God Himself can take hold of our vital energy, and use it for His Glory. Work accomplishes a spirit of poverty. Poverty is a hinge that maintains unity. Unity leads to prayer, in which we can experience a great intimacy with our God. The deep and voluntary adherence to God’s good will and pleasure remains and intensifies, demanding increasing spiritual poverty. This adherence truly stabilizes us in God, in His love and in His Will. by Shirley Oleskiw Reference: Mary, Mystery of Mercy
The Fruits of the Sacraments
To profit from the Sacraments was something natural for the saints. The fruits of sanctification were constant and abundant because the purity of soul with which each saint welcomed into himself Jesus.
St. Anthony Mary Claret illustrates this fact very well: “When we go to Holy communion, all of us receive the same Lord Jesus, but not all receive the same grace nor are the same effects produced in all. This comes from our greater or lesser disposition. To explain this fact, I will take an example from nature. Consider the process of grafting, the more similar the one plant is to the other, the better the graft will succeed. Likewise, the more resemblance there is between the one that goes to Communion and Jesus, so much the better will the fruits of Holy Communion be.” The Sacrament of Confession is in fact the excellent means whereby the similarity between the soul and Jesus is restored.
For this reason St. Francis De Sales taught his spiritual children, “Go to Confession with humility and devotion...if it is possible, every time that you go to Holy Communion, even though you do not feel in your conscience any remorse of mortal sin.”
In this regard it is well to recall the teaching of the Church. Holy Communion must be received only while one is in the grace of God. Therefore, when one has committed a mortal sin, even if one has repented of it and has a great desire to receive holy Communion, it is necessary and indispensable to confess oneself first before receiving Holy Communion, otherwise one commits a most grave sin of sacrilege. “Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for this sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us.” (CCC)
On the other hand, Confession made before Holy Communion to render a soul already in the state of Sanctifying Grace more pure and more beautiful, is something precious even though not required. It is precious because it clothes the soul with a more beautiful “wedding garment” (Matt. 22:12) with which it may take its place at the table of angels. For this reason the most conscientious souls have always made frequent use of the sacramental cleansing of absolution, even for venial sins. If you want great purity of soul in order to receive Jesus, make a good confession and render a repentant soul. by Shirley Oleskiw
“Listen, and Harden not Your Hearts”
The word “listen” is found many, many times in Sacred Scripture. To listen, has various synonyms like hearken, attend, pay attention, open your ears, hear, and others. This fact is significant because it tells us how important it is for us to listen to God’s Word as handed down in the Bible. God’s Word is creative, powerful, encouraging, instructive, cleansing and comforting.
The palmist does not want us to take the Word of God lightly. He pleads, “Oh, that today you would hear His voice, ‘Harden not your hearts” (Palm 95: 7-8).
In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in Sacred Scripture. New translations have made the reading and praying of God’s Word easy and enjoyable. There are many courses, study guides and study groups which offer to help us understand the Bible a little easier. It is very essential to read and reflect on God’s word, as it has been handed down to us through the ages. Sacred Scripture is God’s personal message to you and to me.
Do you find it difficult to understand that God is speaking to you? It is not easy for us to comprehend, that the Creator of the entire universe, wishes to talk to us. But it is true. God is universal, but He loves us! He wants to talk to us ! That is why He gave us Sacred Scripture, so that we could hear Him between the lines. As we get to know our friends better when we hear them speak, so it is with God. The more He talks, the better we get to know Him, as He reveals Himself through His Word. St. Jerome puts it very bluntly: “Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
We learn that He is a God of power and might, but that He is also very concerned about every moment in our lives. As stated in the following passage: “You are precious in my eyes and glorious, and… I love You”( Isaiah 43:4).
We know in our minds that God loves us. This is a basic truth for our spiritual growth; but we must also be convinced in our hearts so that we can respond to His great love. This conviction will be ours when we listen or hear God, Himself. by Shirley Oleskiw
Pray for Simplicity and Humility
Jesus said to St. Faustina, "Sister, let simplicity and humility be the characteristic traits of your soul. Go through life like a little child, always trusting, always full of simplicity and humility, content with everything, happy in every circumstance. There, where others fear, you will pass calmly along, thanks to this simplicity and humility. Remember this, Sister, for your whole life: as waters flow from the mountains down into the valleys, so, too, do God's graces flow only into humble souls. " (Diary, 55)
Humiliation is my daily food. I understand that the bride must herself share in everything that is the groom's; and so His cloak of mockery must cover me, too.
Not of this World!
We need to be aware of the materialistic world we live in, also a materialistic attitude is a gross obstacle to prayer. The philosophy of materialism makes man a little god. Its criteria of success are fame and fortune. A man is esteemed or respected only by what he has accomplished or by the fortune he has amassed. There is no place for God in this mentality.
It is obvious that this attitude is not conducive to genuine prayer. Jesus says: “Seek first His kingship over you, His way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Matthew 6:33). Jesus is assuring us that as we strive to grow in holiness everything else will be given to us without our asking.
Jesus also warns us about only seeking material success and possessions. “For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Those who are imbued with a materialistic way of thinking soon become enslaved by it. All their time and talents, their energy and their every waking hour, are consumed in pursuit of these standards, which are opposed to the standards given by Jesus. He gave us the Magna Carta of Christen living when He taught us the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are a ladder to intimacy with Christ and the ladder to heaven. Poverty of Spirit leads to meekness, which leads to holiness, which leads us to being merciful, which leads us to being a peace maker and through persecution leads to heaven our final destination. However there are many barriers on the way.
The most common barriers are: sin, ignorance of faith, prejudice, bad Catholics, content Catholics, indifference, fear, attachment to tradition, attachment to persons, attachment to ourselves, refusing to forgive, inability to forgive, unable to change, unwilling to change and the refusal to change.
We can ask ourselves what can we do to overcome these barriers? Here are some solutions in a very brief way: First we must pray. Then we must dislike the sin, but love the sinner., love these people and nurture them. The third is we must know our faith. You cannot defend something that you do not know. We must always learn. The fourth is be patient. Don’t give up, God’s time is not ours. The fifth is give your children or the person you are concerned with to God. Place them at His mercy, and do not be afraid to tell them what Jesus means to you. by Shirley Oleskiw
Strengthened at Every Eucharist
We do not walk the way of spiritual childhood by our own strength. Jesus, Himself is living in us and through us, if we let Him. Jesus comes to make our hearts His dwelling place at every Holy Eucharist. In a sense the Christ Child is born anew in our hearts at every Eucharist.
Many times, the Child Jesus revealed to St. Faustina His Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist. She writes of a Mass celebrated by her spiritual director, Fr. Joseph Andrasz, “...I saw the Infant Jesus who, with hands outstretched towards us, was sitting in the chalice being used at Holy Mass. After gazing at me penetratingly, He spoke these words: ‘As you see Me in this chalice, so I dwell in your heart’” (Diary 1346). The little Jesus is instructing St. Faustina that, through His Eucharistic Presence, He dwells in her heart as the source of her strength.
Even as the Infant Jesus strengthened her in the Eucharist, His abiding presence also filled her heart with great joy. Her desire grew for Him alone as the greatest treasure of all. She writes on February 2, 1936, “…when Mass began, a strange silence and joy filled my heart. Just then I saw Our Lady with the Infant Jesus… The most holy Mother said to me, ‘Take my Dearest Treasure,’ and she handed me the Infant Jesus. When I took the Infant Jesus in my arms, the Mother of God and Saint Joseph disappeared. I was left alone with the Infant Jesus” (Diary, 608).
As Saint Faustina attended Mass and received Jesus in Holy Communion, the little Jesus became everything to her. May we, too, grow to appreciate the Christ Child as our dearest treasure at Holy Mass this Christmas and throughout the rest of the year, for He is truly Emmanuel, God with Us, the gift beyond all telling. by Shirley Oleskiw
Reference: Marians of the Immaculate Conception
The Way of Spiritual Childhood
From the Christ Child, St. Faustina learned the way of spiritual childhood. Several times the Infant Jesus appeared to her and taught her this lesson. For instance, she writes about what happened during Mass one day: “...I saw the Infant Jesus near my kneeler. He appeared to be about one year old, and He asked me to take Him in my arms. When I did take Him in my arms, He cuddled up close to my bosom and said, “It is good for me to be close to your heart. Because I want to teach you spiritual childhood. I want you to be very little, because when you are little, I carry you close to My heart, just as you are holding Me close to your heart right now” (Diary, 1481).
In another appearance to St. Faustina, the Christ Child told her, “I keep company with you as a child to teach you humility and simplicity” (Diary 184). He revealed to her the key virtue of the way of spiritual childhood, that of being childlike in surrender, the way of a child who sleeps, afraid of nothing. The way of spiritual childhood, however, is not, childish. It is not excessively sentimental or naïve. Rather, it involves a total surrender to our Father’s providential care, total abandonment of our own plans, opinions, and self-will and of radical trust in God.
Saint Faustina knew that in times of trouble and sorrow, she had to rely on Jesus rather than on herself every step of the way. One time, while adoring the Blessed Sacrament, she described a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the Baby Jesus in her arms. Mary told her “to accept all that God asked of (you) like a little child, without questioning.” Saint Faustina prayed to the Lord in response: “Do with me as You please; I am ready for everything, but You O Lord, must not abandon me even for a moment’ (Diary 529).
Can we, too, ask God to give us the grace to accept, like a little child, all that He asks of us in this life? We learn to trust Him, more and more, and the Lord will not abandon us ‘even for a moment’. by Shirley Oleskiw
Joy and Wonder in His Presence
We usually associate St. Faustina with the risen and glorified Christ depicted in the Divine Mercy Image. Yet St. Faustina was very devoted to the Child Jesus. While she especially encountered Him at Christmastime, He was a living presence that she grew to appreciate throughout the year.
He appeared to her many times as a Child to express His love for her. On Christmas Eve in 1937, St. Faustina writes of her encounter, “When I arrived at Midnight Mass, from the very beginning I steeped myself in deep recollection, during which time I saw the stable of Bethlehem filled with great radiance. The Blessed Virgin, all lost in the deepest of love, was wrapping Jesus in swaddling clothes, but Saint Joseph was still asleep. Only after the Mother of God put Jesus in the manger did the light of God awaken Joseph, who also prayed. But after a while I was left alone with the infant Jesus who stretched out His little hands to me, and I understood that I was to take Him in my arms. Jesus pressed His head against my heart and gave me to know, by His profound gaze, how good He found it to be next to my heart…” (Diary, 1442).
Tender moments in prayer such as this one filled St. Faustina with wonder at the mystery of the Incarnation. God loved us so much that He came among us and was born in a lowly manger to win our hearts for His own.
In this way, St. Faustina reminds each of us of the value of slowing down and simply basking in the holy presence of the Christ Child. May we adore Him as the Word made flesh for our salvation. by Shirley Oleskiw
Let Jesus Be Your Shepherd
Let Jesus be our guide, Our Shepherd, who calls us and leads us. If we stay with Him, He will show us many things. Let us join Jesus to work with Him for the salvation of all the people of the world. We can teach others by good examples and by our good works. We should also be ready to give an account of why we believe in God and in His Son, Jesus We can all be apostles by helping others. We are to be kind and welcoming to everyone. Let us be ready to give anyone in need a hand. In this way, we will witness to our faith and bring many to Jesus. Let us help the sick, the elderly, the handicapped and those who are housebound. Our good works will be seen by many and they will give thanks to God. Pray every day for those who do not believe and for those who live in sin. Pray for their conversion so that they may be saved one day. Jesus wants all of us closer to Him, He loves us dearly. by Shirley Oleskiw
While reflecting on simplicity and humility, I was thinking about why we sometimes do the things we do? 
