Snakes and Poison and the Holy Spirit

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

At that very moment, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."

Snake handling and poison drinking are two activities that I have a healthy aversion to. In the case of deadly snakes, I have to say that their venom is designed to kill their prey and that they do serve a useful purpose on earth because they eat varmints that quickly would get out of control if they were not there.  It would be kind of like the episode from  Trek (the original version) "Trouble With Tribbles."

Without the services of snakes, we would be awash in not cute and cuddly tribbles but snarling long tooth rats. So I am not against snakes.  I thank the Father that He has provided this method of keeping a species that we find to be a nuisance in check.  I also want to say that I am not saying anything bad about the people who practice snake handling as part of their faith.  I do not agree that it is necessary for salvation to handle a dumb a creature that would inject you with venom in response to its fear of being injured or killed in an effort to attain freedom.  As a matter of fact, I watched a video on YouTube (not the one that is attached at the end of today's reflection) where one preacher said that his father and brother, both preachers in the same church where this man was now the preacher, were bitten and killed by a snake and that he was proud that they had been chosen by God.  I also observed a preacher mix himself a poison cocktail and drink it down and he did keep dancing.  I have to commend these preachers for having such a great faith that they will do such things but think that God must shake His head when he sees them tempting the laws of the natural world. 

What Jesus was telling His disciples was that they need not fear Satan and that they would be protected from the power of the devil and the power of evil men.  He also told them that they would have their name written in the book of life.

Our salvation does not depend on handling snakes or drinking poison. Our salvation is a gift bought with the blood of Jesus.  Our salvation depends on being ambassadors of Christ, sharing what we have and who we are and to be ready to explain to all comers why we have hope in the Ressurection.  Our faith in Christ is what we need to back up our good deeds and our good deeds without Christ being the reason for them are worthless.   We believe but we do not have to prove our belief by handling snakes or drinking poison. We are called to be Christ to all those around us and that at times can be as dangerous as handling a cobra or sipping a cyanide frappe. Think of those Christians that lived under the thumb of ISIS, they did not desert their faith, they allowed the serpent, ISIS to bite them and they were martyred for their love of Jesus.  This is what we are called to be prepared to do, to go to the cross, whatever form it takes, and to remain faithful to Jesus no matter what.  This can be just as tricky as what our snake handling friends do at their services and just as deadly. 

I have included two videos from YouTube, the first one are scenes taken from a snake handlers worship service, it is intense so be warned.  The second video is an old selection called "The Witch's Invitation."  It will speak for itself.  

Snake Handling Christians 

The Witches Invitation

Angels Everywhere - Even Right Next to YOU!

The disciples approached Jesus and said,                                            
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."


Have you ever considered that you were given a companion on the day you were born whose job it is to guard you and help you find your way to heaven?  Your Guardian Angel is there watching over you 24 X 7!   Leave it up to the Father to take such special care of a special person such as yourself. Now, your Guardian Angel cannot and will not interfere with your use of the gift of free will.  The ultimate decision on the direction of your life and all of the little steps that make up life are your responsibility alone. He will suggest, maybe you have heard that little voice inside your head and wrote it off to your own thoughts while it was your angel suggesting a better, more holy way of doing things. There are stories of guardian angels intervening in life situations. Here is a story about Mother Angelica, the founder of EWTN:

As a teenager, walking downtown and immersed in thoughts of problems at homes, she crossed a busy street without looking. She heard a woman scream. Young Rita looked back and a car was coming at her at great speed. No time to move. She closed her eyes and waited to be hit. Instantly, as if two strong hands lifted her to safety, she found herself standing on the sidewalk. What would God do with young Rita?

So, your guardian angel can help in dire circumstances if it is God's will and will contribute to your salvation.  Do not be quick to write off the notion of a guardian angel.  Embrace the thought.  I have even given my guardian angel a name, I call him Michalito - Little Mike and I know I keep him busy and he will be glad once his tour of duty is over and I arrive in heaven.  

So think about this today and name the angel that is like a shadow to you.  He follows you everywhere, he knows you better than you know yourself and he wants nothing but the best for you.  God Bless. 

Oh, Remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory...they need your help. 

What If You Lost Everything?

One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD,
Satan also came among them.
And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?"
Then Satan answered the LORD and said,
"From roaming the earth and patrolling it." 
And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job,
and that there is no one on earth like him,
blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?"
But Satan answered the LORD and said,
"Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing?
Have you not surrounded him and his family
and all that he has with your protection?
You have blessed the work of his hands,
and his livestock are spread over the land.
But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has,
and surely he will blaspheme you to your face."
And the LORD said to Satan,
"Behold, all that he has is in your power;
only do not lay a hand upon his person."
So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

And so one day, while his sons and his daughters
were eating and drinking wine
in the house of their eldest brother,
a messenger came to Job and said,
"The oxen were plowing and the asses grazing beside them,
and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid.
They put the herdsmen to the sword,
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another came and said,
"Lightning has fallen from heaven
and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them;
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another messenger came and said,
"The Chaldeans formed three columns,
seized the camels, carried them off,
and put those tending them to the sword,
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another came and said,
"Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine
in the house of their eldest brother,
when suddenly a great wind came across the desert
and smote the four corners of the house.
It fell upon the young people and they are dead;
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair.
He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said,

"Naked I came forth from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I go back again.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD!"

In all this Job did not sin,
nor did he say anything disrespectful of God.


As we see from the reading, God recognizes Job as a righteous man.  He also happens to be quite a wealthy man. So, it is possible for a person to be wealthy and to be just.   In our story Satan is shown to be speaking with God and points out that it is very easy for Job to be just, he has everything that he needs and if You change his situation just a little he will curse God.  Now, Job is presented with a day that we can literally call, "A day from hell."  Little things did not go wrong, everything went wrong.  He woke up in the morning happy and praising God and by afternoon he had lost everything.  Job takes things with a grain of salt.  He knows that he can replace the things that were stolen but then he is told the worst thing of all, his children were all killed.  This he does not take will, he rips his garments and casts himself on the ground but instead of blaspheming against God he simply acknowledges that everything he had came from God and that God could take it away if He willed.  Instead of using the word damn he says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I go back again.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."  The writer then points out that in all of this Job did not sin nor did he say anything bad about God.  If you lost everything, how would you complete this sentence?  "God..."

How would you react if all of these sorts of things happened to you?  How do you react when things do not want to go your way? How do you behave when you are sick or in pain?  Do you lash out or do you use what has happened to you for good and offer the suffering up for your sins or for the Poor Souls in purgatory.  Suffering is a fact of life. Some of us get more than others. Some of us are in a position from time to time to alleviate the suffering of others.  Do we help where we can, using the resources at our command?   Which set of your eyes has the better vision?  Do your eyes see more clearly the things that affect you or those that affect others?  

I don't want to spoil the story of Job but even more happens to our hero, Job.  To top it off, three "friends" come to console him in the situation he finds himself in and they do their best to convince him that what has happened was a punishment for some sin he had committed.  With friends like these, who needs enemies?   Read the Book of Job, the first time as you would read a novel and later read it and meditate on what it says.  Job's story in a way is the story of every man or woman.  Good comes into our lives and we enjoy it and then something bad happens.  How we react to both situations will tell us a lot about our love for God and the state of our soul.  Blessed be the name of the Lord! 

Being Rich Is A Temporary Thing

From the Letter of James 

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;  you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.

Happy Sunday to you.  Let me begin by saying that I do not have anything against rich people.  As a matter of fact, being in America means that our poorest are richer than many other people in the world, so since I have a place to live, clothes on my back, and can actually choose what I am going to eat today, well, I am a rich person so what I am writing here today applies to me as well. 

Everything we have, every dollar in our bank account, every stick of furniture in our homes, every designer shirt or dress in our closets, the shoes on our feet, everything, has its source in God's love for us.  He gives us opportunities to earn the things we need to live.  Sometimes, He just gives them to us as part of the package we call the world.  But we own none of it. The land that people make payments to the bank for every month, do they really think that they own it?  They have the exclusive use of it but it will not follow them into the grave even if they are buried on it.  Have you ever seen an abandoned cemetery?  If not, google the term and you will be surprised at how many there are.  We own nothing.  In the words of Job:  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."  It is so sad that we sometimes forget this saying.

On YouTube, you can see videos of "urban explorers" finding and entering abandoned homes that have everything left in them that the person who resided there owned.  The home itself once was a source of pride and the things inside of it, they were all worked for and accumulated over a lifetime and now they are fodder for people look at on the internet. 

I know we need things to live and as I said Our Heavenly Father provides them to us as He sees fit.  But some of us go off of the deep end when it comes to ownership of things.  We make it our focus in life and forget that there are those around us with less and that they are our brothers and sisters because we have the same Father.   Some business owners refuse to pay a living wage.  I have read about a man in the area where I live who has been working at a very popular pancake house who has been working there for twenty years and still is only making minimum wage. As an aside, he travels an hour and a half via public transportation to get to this grease pit every day. This restaurant is very successful charges big for their pancakes, has multiple locations so I have removed it from my list of possible places to go. 

Look around you. How much of the stuff that you own will fit in the coffin with you?  Not much, and that which would fit would do you no good anyway.  It is okay to be rich as long as you do not lose focus as to who really owns what you have.  St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is coming up soon, had to restrained under his vow of obedience from giving away his only tunic in the winter time.  He believed that if there was someone less well off than he was, well, then the tunic was theirs.  Be generous to those less fortunate than you are. God knows how hard you have worked to get the things that you have and He will be pleased if you share what you can with those that need it.  God will never be outdone in generosity, never. 

One gift God gives us is time. Please, on this Sunday, use some of your time to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. They need your prayers.  Pray especially for your relatives by name and for those that have no one to pray for them.  Consider the millions of faithful Protestants who find themselves in Purgatory.  They do not get prayed for by their loved ones because they do not believe in purgatory.  

Here is an idea, look at the death notices in your local paper. Pick one of the deceased at random and pray specifically him or her. If they are in purgatory and need your prayers they will be so very grateful, if not, well, then the prayers will help another deserving soul.  If you do not get the newspaper,  find your local funeral home's website and pray for one (or more) of the people listed there.   God will be so pleased that you have taken part of your day and sacrificed it for the Poor Souls.  

A Final idea: Pray The Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great for the poor souls.  Every time the prayer is devoutly recited, Jesus told her that one-thousand souls are released from Purgatory.   Here is this powerful prayer and wonderful gift from the Lord. 

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Read more at https://www.praymorenovenas.com/prayer-st-gertrude-great-souls-purgatory

Do We Need a Hero to Save The Church ?

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them." Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.

In a few days, the Church will be celebrating the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi.  I want to bring him up early because the Church needs a man with his devotion, his trust, his love, and his disdain for himself now.  He was born into a rich merchant family and he was, in his early days, what we would call a playboy and quite a party person.  There was not a goblet of wine that could defeat him and he lived for himself and his amusement and counted the hours spent in debauchery as time that was wisely spent.  As a young man, he did not bridle his passions, he lived for them!  Yet, for all of the outward appearances, inside this young man burned a question. That question was, "Is this all there is to life?"  He buried his worry beneath pleasure and self-seeking.  One day he approached a ruined church and he gazed at the cross hanging there and especially at the corpus of Christ portrayed on it. 

The image of the savior on the cross spoke to Francis and told him, "Francis, repair my church which is falling down."  Francis was a changed man from this moment on.  He set to work repairing the broken down the church of San Damiano, brick by brick.  When he ran out of bricks he obtained a donation of money from his father.  It would have been better if his father had known about it at the time, but Francis had his job to do and was ready to weather the coming storm when his father found a significant amount of money had gone astray.  In the end, his father was paid back and in front of the bishop, Francis removed all of his costly garments and told his startled father, "Up until today I called you my Father. Now I call God my father."  He returned the finery to his dad and the bishop who was shielding Francis' nakedness with his robe gave him a rough-hewn habit to wear.  Francis went back to rebuilding the church.  He endured a lot of ill-treatment from former friends, but he kept begging and soon had a supply of bricks to continue his repair of the church.  Most of his friends laughed at Francis and thought that he had gone crazy.  Children would throw rocks and donkey exhaust at the mendicant as he wandered the town in search of his supplies or a bit of food.  One day he attained his first follower and at mass that day they decided to engage in a practice at the time by opening the Bible to see what word God had for them that day.  They opened the Bible at the same place we are viewing today.  From that moment on, Francis and his followers began to court Lady Poverty and there was no one more faithful to her than Francis. 

Today in our Church a crisis is blazing.  Those in charge of it have forgotten sacred principles that are supposed to guide them in managing the Church.  They have relied too much on their own understanding and their own passions while what they need is a healthy dose of trust in God.  I do not know how far up the ladder the corruption of our Church goes.  I fear that it goes straight to the top, to the holy father himself but I pray not. I pray that someone, somewhere, in the Magisterium there is a man that will be able to lead us out of the desert that we have created.  Our current pontiff, while a good example, does not seem to have the wherewithal to be able to pull people together.  I pray to God that he gives our Pope the power to mend the Church and the courage to wield the sword and cut out the cancer or I pray that God gives us one who can do the job and get the Church back on the right path again. 

Is this an impossible job?  In the words of Francis: 

"Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."  One more quote before you go.  Francis, by the end of his life, had built a great and holy order of men, caused a great many reforms in the Church, was the inspiration of St. Clare to form her order or nuns, established an order for lay people who could not leave the world, received the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ in his body because he prayed to feel the suffering of Jesus.  All of this and more he had done while embracing Lady Poverty as he called her.  He said to his brothers shortly before his death, "Let us begin now, brothers, for until now we have done nothing."

Remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory today. 

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

Mother and Brothers

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you."
He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."            

The family was very important in the time of Christ.  The family is the centerpiece of  God's creation, it is important to Him so it has to be important to us. Look at the Old Testament.  In its many stories, it speaks about the family of Adam, the family of Abraham, the family of Moses and so on.  Very seldom will you find a person in the Bible where their families do not form an integral part of the story.  Look at the story of Job.  It is when his family, his sons, and his daughters are killed that he takes to the sack-cloth and ashes. So, if the family is so important, then why does it seem that Jesus is being rude to his and keeping them outside and away from Him? 

Jesus was not being rude.  He was using those he loved the most as a tool to teach his audience that while relationships here on earth are important indeed, they pale when it comes to the relationship we should cultivate between ourselves and God.  We should love our family but our love for God, when compared to this love, should pale by comparison.  Jesus did not disown his Mother, at the cross while in the midst of his death by the worst way known to humans at that time, he took tender care of Mary by placing her into the care of John who took her into his home from that point on. 

For heaven's sake, love your family.  Those of us without families envy you and I pray that you and your family remain together through the years, that there be no "black sheep" that is not ignored and sent outside the pasture, and that love and forgiveness are always there for the errant one.  But I also remind you to tend to your relationship with God and His kingdom for in doing so you will help bring about joy for all of the people in the world.  You can do it. Start today - I mean right now.  

Pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory today for tomorrow you might find yourself among them and needing prayers yourself.  Be generous to the Poor Souls and pray devoutly for them.  It will always be remembered by them and they will be your friend forever.  Remember especially those that have no one to pray for them, those who have been forgotten by their relatives, Protestants whose relatives do not believe in Purgatory, and those souls who have been in Purgatory the longest.  Praying for the dead is a spiritual act of mercy and it pleases God greatly when you take time to do it.  Please remember them today and pray for them, if only for a minute.  Bring the refreshment of your love for them as a cool drink of water to moisten their lips.  

Hidden By Darkness - Revealed By Light

Jesus said to the crowd:
"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.
Take care, then, how you hear.
To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,

even what he seems to have will be taken away."

What if Einstein was wrong about the theory of special relativity?  I mean, he tells us that light travels at a speed of 

186,000 miles per second and that no object can go faster than light. What if he is wrong?  What if he is focusing on the wrong thing?  If the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, what if there is no light?  Is the speed of darkness the same as the speed of light or is it faster?  Look up at the sky some night.  The visible universe contains much more darkness than it does light but our eyes and our minds are conditioned to search out the light and find it because we need the light to see and consider the light a friend.  Our primitive ancestors considered fire a great friend because it not only chased away the cold of night, it also illuminated the area, chasing away the darkness so that hazards could more readily be seen and guarded against.  

There is power in darkness. The dark of the night conceals the burglar, the murderer, the prostitute, and her customer, the renegade priest who sullies his vows with corrupt contact of others, your sins, my sins are all concealed by the dark. Darkness, no matter if it is physical darkness or a darkness that is embedded in your character has a power, but that power is limited and those that use darkness as a friend should tremble in fear because it is a scary thing to consider what Jesus has said in today's reading; "For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light."

Are there things in your life that you would rather not come to light? I think most of us have things that we would prefer that the darkness conceals for all time but alas, even the darkness of the grave will be penetrated and wiped out by the power of Jesus when He returns. The things that were concealed the deepest, the evil in men's hearts, will glow with the power of the sun as it is revealed to all. 

Pity those that chose darkness for their friend.  For their friend is a coward and will flee when the Light of Christ, which is irresistible, is turned full force upon their misdeeds.  Those who live in the light, who do not befriend the darkness in their conscience will be vindicated on that day as those who have concealed their misdeeds will be shown for who and what they are.  Be the light for someone today.  Show them the way by your example.  The torch you carry illuminates the part of the world you live in.  Let it be a bright spot in a world that loves the darkness. 

Please pray for the Poor Souls in purgatory. Who knows, you may be joining them later in the day...