Its a bird, no! its a plane! No! its a..

Caterpillar dog? :D Good fix it job they did on this photo:D

Christ the King, the Judge of all mankind.


A reminder for us all of Christ's words, "judge not lest ye be judged".

Heart and Lung Association

This Christmas, I am going to make a donation to the Heart and Lung Association in memory of my mother who suffered from emphysema, and she had a heart condition. I think it would be a nice thing to do. This year, make a donation to a reputable charity in honor of or memory of someone you know that has or is suffering from an illness or other condition. Please remember to be charitable this year and make this year end on a good note. Do something positive for others. Remember, what you do good for others is remembered by your Father in heaven. :)

All things come to those who are patient

Patience is a virtue. One thing I am not is incredibly patient. I have had to learn how to be patient, and its hard trust me. Its definitely worth working on though. One thing we all should learn is the fruits of the Spirit. Look those up in the Bible if you don't know what they are, and practice them daily. We also must avoid the 7 Capitol Sins. They can lead you to hell. Hell is not a place where any of us want to be.

If you want to go to heaven, start by learning patience. For me, once accomplished, its going to be one more thing that puts me on the road to everlasting life.

Remarkable things take time

Recall I told you last week or so that Frank said he wanted to meet Jesus? Well, yesterday at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Frank stood when everyone else did, and he also talked a bit about Purgatory. I think the thing with him is is that he doesn't want to outwardly admit he loves God, but he does. I know he does. My mother's passing was exceptionally hard on him as it reminded him of the loss of his dearly loved grandfather, and the bad experience he had when he was told after the fact that his beloved grandpa had passed and was already cremated. It took a lot for him to come to peace with that. His grandfather raised him, and they were very close.

But since my mother passed, I saw a few remarkable things come to light in my dear spouse. I think he is clinging to God, and he is coming out of his shell very slowly.
Things take time with Frank, he does not just jump in whole heartedly. He had a very bad time earlier this year, and he lost all his faith, or so it would seem. I am not so sure he did entirely because of how he talks about God.


He does not believe mother is in Purgatory, and neither do I. I know in my heart that she went straight to heaven when she died. She was a very very holy woman, and very devout in her faith, and in her struggles in life. Frank loved her dearly like his own mother. He is very close to my parents, especially my dad. He adores my father immensely.

When we talk about family, and faith, Frank does not run from God. He struggles yes, but he does not run. The fact that he picked up his rosary last week and said the Divine Mercy for my mother was a sight that I never thought I'd see again. I was almost convinced his loss of the faith was permanent, but never under estimate the power of God. Never! One of my mother's favorite quotes was her own, " God works in mysterious ways". He does indeed mom, He does indeed.

God will save Frank's soul, and I will continue to pray for his soul. I'll never give up hope because to do so is to give in to the devil. God will send satan packing and when He does, it'll be a glorious day indeed, and all honor and glory goes to God forever and ever. Amen.

Life, or eternal suffering? Chose wisely!

I sometimes wonder what life would be like if we lived longer, no illnesses, no problems, etc. If Adam had not sinned, what would life have been like? Peaceful. Enduring, and full of love for God. Unlike the Godless generations that have lived and gone for thousands of years, it would not have been like that if Adam had not done what he did. We would have known everlasting peace and harmony, and perfect health.

What we need is Christ. Without Him in our lives, we are nothing. When we have God, we have peace and we have assurance that we will live forever with Him. When we deliberately turn our back on Him, and we do not repent, we have the assurance of everlasting hellfire.

What do you want? Eternal life with Christ, or everlasting suffering in hell with satan? Chose wisely, because chosing satan over God is a bad choice.

A happier thought

I thought I'd make a post that would make me smile. This picture definitely does. I also posted a sweet picture over at Canine Felinity. Check it out! Funny, dogs and cats always make me smile when things are a bit rough. Especially dogs. There is just something about a dog that can really make you feel good about things.

Acceptance in grief

Jesus wants to welcome us all to heaven

If there is anything I have learned about grieving, is that it is definitely hard. My family has had time to prepare and they knew this day was coming, but I never saw mom since last Christmas, I never got to see her in the hospital as Brooke said last night when we were visiting, and I had no mental time to prepare myself. Yes, we are definitely grieving, but for me its doubly hard because I never had time to prepare myself for the loss of my mother.

I am a little better today, but when I see pictures of her the sadness becomes a little to much and it makes me cry. I know sooner or later, I will come to accept the fact that she is gone, but it doesn't seem real to me. yes, I am sad, but she is no longer suffering with cancer and emphysema and heart troubles, and swollen legs.

Its hard to look beyond the sadness to be relieved that she is not suffering to take a breath everyday. Grief takes a long time to get over and to digest. When I lost my brother, the grief was over whelming, and it took a long time for me to accept the fact that he was gone. With my mother passing, its going to take doubly long because her and I have always been very very close. The closer they are, the harder the grief.

Everyone goes through their grieving period differently, for some, acceptance doesn't take as long, and they can bounce back sooner than others, but with me, its going to take an undetermined amount of time to feel normal again. I still feel like phoning her and expecting her to answer and then tell me like she did at the end of the phone call 3 times, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you.

My heart is completely broken, but God never gives us more than we can bear. And it will heal in time. but for now, the sadness remains.

My good friend at Dymphna's Well wrote this lovely comment to me, and my friend, i love you for posting it because it is so true!

"Dymphna said... "I pray that God gives you peace, Marilena and that your mother is in the arms of her Savior."

Zora Anderson 1930-2009

My mother is the lovely lady in the middle. On her right is my auntie Pat, and on her left, My auntie Zelda.

After a long battle with emphysema and cancer, my beloved mother passed away earlier this morning at 1:54 am. I prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with my husband last night for her. I knew God was going to call her. I knew it in my heart.

Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her, and may she rest in peace. Amen.

Mom, I love you.