But Moses was not in a good mood. His followers were complaining about the quality of their lives and were not at all sure they wanted to continue following Moses' instructions even if they did come from the Supreme Being of the Universe. And Moses had a nagging feeling coming to mind that something else was yet to go wrong on this day that got off to a bad start.

He finally arrived at the little flat clearing on the mountain where the burning bush sat at the ready. He came to discuss a report that a fire breathing dragon was raiding the camps and, according to rumor, had taken one of the higher ranking young ladies into, yes, you guessed it, captivity. Would the people never be free? What else could go wrong. Moses was about to give it all up himself.

No sooner did Moses remove his sandals as required before stepping on holy ground that he heard a loud flapping of dragon wings and felt a wind rush his back and disturb his robes. He turned to see the dragon alight on the ground near by him. The dragon was gigantic and awful in all its aspects but Moses had never been a man of feint heart. This is going to be interesting, he thought.

"Greetings to you, Moses, leader of a chosen people and the messenger of God. Please grant me audience," said the dragon.

"Yes, it is I," replied Moses.

"As you have heard, I abducted a choice young lady and hold her captive in my lair for dinner, as dragons are meant to do according to the law of nature, but she is not cooperating. When I offer her meats and other foods in order to fatten her up for slaughter she refuses to eat because my offering are not lawful for her to eat. No matter how I threaten her she rejects the fare. How in the world can I complete a dragon's lot in a situation like this?"

"It is good to hear of a young lady who keeps the law under dire circumstances. Perhaps this project is not lost after all. No, she will not eat anything that is unlawful according to our standard, but perhaps there is something you can do about that. See that small bush over there. It is lawful for her to consider. Perhaps you can pull it out and offer it too her. That is my advice."

"That was quick and easy," said the dragon with a smirk. "Thanks." Then he slowly walked toward the bush. He put his paw around the thin trunk and gave a pull with his mighty arm, but the bush remained rooted.

"Hey, Moses. What is this? Never have I failed in any feat of strength. This bush is rooted deep."

"Try it again," said Moses.

The dragon took a deep breath and gave the bush another slow steady pull. He pulled so hard the veins stood up on his neck. But the bush did not budge.

"Moses, this is embarrassing. Never before have I failed."

"Wrap your tail around it. Make sure you get a real good grip. It is a sacred plant, suitable for the maiden."

The dragon did as instructed. He wrapped his tail around the bush, got a real good grip, and pulled with all his might. Moses tapped on a stone with his staff. The bush erupted in flames and the dragon screamed out in pain. The flames licked his tender under belly near the joint of his tale and his impulse was to flee the burning bush. But he couldn't. The leaves attached themselves to his tail and would not release him as the flames shot up his back. He started cursing and threatening. The bush moved and spun the dragon in the air and slammed him down on the ground. Then it spun him and slammed him down again, and again and again. He shrieked and howled in horror and pain and cried out for mercy. Moses tapped the stone with his staff again and the flames abated. The dragon lay on the ground badly burnt and exhausted. After regaining his composure just a little he looked up at Moses with a question in his eyes.

"Yes," said Moses. "You may go. When you get back to your lair release the girl. And never attack any of our people again. I mean it."

The dragon was too weak to speak. But after awhile he was able to make his way back to his lair. He released his captive and never bothered the chosen people again.

About the Author

Wrath Warbone is a casual writer with an interest in Creative Writing. Althugh not related to this article, he would like you to download a free copy of Surrealistic Haiku by Martin Kloess Thank you.

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For those of you who do not know our story, Bob was born in the Bronx and I in Brooklyn. We were city children who lived in a small town called a neighborhood. Customs from different parts of the world filled and permeated our little world. Often a neighborhood became like a little country unto itself, as members of families and friends from the "old country" moved close to each other. My family was originally from Sicily, Italy, as were most the people on our block. Many of our neighbors did not even know the English language, so out of necessity we were a multi-lingual society. But we were more like a big family, our traditions making us one.

Christmas, like all holidays and Feast Days was a neighborhood thing, a shared experience, what with doors open, the fragrance of sauce and pizza filling the air, the freshly baked Italian cookies on a plate by an open door for one to bring home to share with the family. We were all poor, but I never felt poor. I always felt like a princess in wonderful wonderland. Christmas in my life was filled with, you might say, two days of gift giving and receiving. I opened gifts on the morning of Christmas and again on the Feast of the Epiphany. My parents striving to be American, adopted all the customs of their new land and gifts were placed under the tree, Christmas Eve. But my grandmother, clinging to the customs of her people, exchanged gifts on the Feast of the Epiphany.

Early in the evening, Christmas Eve, we were told we had to go to sleep or Santa Claus would not stop at our apartment and bring us gifts. I never questioned why the Santa who visited us, early in the evening, looked different each year. I believed in Santa Claus and that was enough for me. Now, one of my brothers, a sophisticated giant, who was tall while I was petite, with six years on me, decided he would burst my balloon and expose Santa Claus as a myth. Needless to say, this brough about much wailing and torrents of tears in its wake. My mother, who plainly adored him, gently challenged him, "Oh, you don't believe in Santa Claus. Well let's see what he brings you!" Now, although there was no question about my mother's open affection and preference toward her little boy, a lesson had to be given and brother received coal in his stocking and nothing else. Needless to say, the subject of Santa was never brought up again.

I never questioned why my Nana (grandmother) brought gifts on the twelfth day of Christmas, the sixth day of January, rather than on Christmas Day. No one told me about th Magi; they got shoved out of the way by Christmas Trees and Santa Claus coming down the chimney bearing gifts in his sack. Although in our cold-water flat, we had only a coal stove in the kitchen to warm us in the daytime and a kerosene space heater in the front room to provide heat in the bedrooms in the evening, I never questioned which chimney he was going to climb down.

To those of us who grew up in the North, Christmas and snow were synonymous. When I think about it now, how awesome and wonderful is our Father, to place that Bundle of Joy in our midst amid the gloom of winter. We speak of Spring as new beginnings and it is, especially with the new hope of Easter. But the new beginnings began at Christmas with the Baby Jesus. Our Hope was born into the world. Do you ever meditate on why God chose to come as a Little Baby into the world? Why not a grown Man? What was God trying to tell us? Was the Omnipotent God showing us the way, through His Son Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, that the way to know eternal happiness is in becoming as innocent and vulnerable as a little child fully dependent on the Father's Will?

About the Author

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information about their ministries go here.

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Family, researching and writing about Visions of the Saints has been one of the most emotional experiences we've ever had. It has been exciting, inspiring, frightening, uplifting. It has called us to new commitment! We've been brought back to some of the values of our childhood, long forgotten.

We learned most of the teachings on Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, sometime in our early Catholic School training, granted, not with as much depth as in this book. But the Souls in Purgatory were always in the recesses of our minds and hearts during our formative years. The good sisters encouraged us to pray for the release of the Poor Souls from Purgatory. And hand in hand, we also prayed very often and fervently for the conversion of sinners, so that there would be fewer Souls in Purgatory, and hopefully none going to Hell. On the Feast of All Souls, we wrote on little envelopes, we received in church, all the names of loved ones who had died. During the month of November, our pastor kept those envelopes on the Altar, so that the Poor Souls would be remembered, during the Sacrifice of the Mass.

But what has happened? We're twenty, thirty, forty years older. We've forgotten the devotions to the Poor Souls in Purgatory, which were so important to us when we were young. When we should have been offering Masses and sacrifices for their release from Purgatory, instead we have regressed to the pagan ways of our ancestors, supplanting the life-saving rituals of the Church with the fancy caskets and expensive floral arrangements which will get no one into Heaven. An ironic thing, now that we're older, we know more and more people who have died; yet say fewer prayers, have fewer Masses said, and make fewer sacrifices than we did when we knew fewer people who had died. Brother Joseph's daddy is 82 years old, and he says he's a stranger in his hometown; everyone his age is dead. Well, they may all be in Purgatory, Willie! Pray for them, so that someday they will be praying for you in Heaven.

We always wonder why the Lord has us do, whatever He assigns us, at a given time in the history of the world. What is there that He knows that we don't know, and should know? Is it He Who is bringing this book to us about Heaven, Hell and Purgatory? Is He saying, we should be willing, no, anxious to spend our Purgatory on earth? Is He through this book, imploring us to not do the things that will land us in Purgatory, no less Hell? Is He not saying that He and His Most Precious Mother are waiting for us in Heaven?

We said in this book that there have been so many indicators that we're in the Latter Days, we should take very seriously the mandates that Our Lord Jesus gave to St. Gertrude the Great, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and in the Twentieth Century, St. Faustina, to pray, pray constantly to His Sacred Heart for His Mercy.

Why did the Lord inspire us to write this book, at this time? Could it be that our deceased relatives, whether they be mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, and descendants going back five and ten generations, are begging us to pray for their release from Purgatory? Are Our Lord and Mother Mary trying to warn of us of something that will happen in the final days of this Millennium? We are on a crash course of destruction, and our Holy Family doesn't want us to be caught up in the devastation. Our greatest weapons have never changed, the Mass, the Rosary, sacrifices for the Souls in Purgatory and the conversion of sinners. Use them! Take to heart St. Paul's command to the Ephesians:

"Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the Principalities and the Powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness on high.(Eph 6:11-12)

About the Author

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information about these Saints go toVisions of the Saints

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Saint Peter Julian Eymard came by his love of the Eucharist from his father, who belonged to a Eucharistic association. The father was a strong Catholic and a good father. He was a victim of Jansenism, a stern religious belief, fostered by Bishop Cornelius Jansen, which taught that man was corrupt, and not worthy of redemption. Only the elect would see Heaven. Many people of that time, were caught up in an aspect of Jansenism called Scrupulosity, which is on the other end of the spectrum of laxity. Those who suffered from Scrupulosity, for instance, our little St. Therese of Lisieux, felt they were in sin, where no sin existed. They were extremely hard on themselves. But it was part of the excessive nature of Jansenism.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard's father was a hard worker. Things did not come easy for him. He lost his first wife and six children, as well as three children from his second wife, before Peter Julian was born. There was a daughter from the first marriage, Marianne, and an adopted daughter, Nanette. All these, plus the father and mother made up the family of the Eymards.

If there was one phrase which would typify the life of Peter Julian Eymard, I believe it would "an uphill fight." He felt that he had a vocation to the priesthood as a young man. He had to learn Latin to be eligible to study for the priesthood. Peter was taken out of school at thirteen, to work at his father's business. The entire family was shocked by Mr. Eymard's decision, but no one dared question it, not Peter's mother, not the parish priest. Mr. Eymard's word was final in all things. Peter always said that the Receiving of Holy Communion was a turning point in his life. After receiving First Holy Communion, he asked his father permission to follow his calling and study for the priesthood.. He thought for sure the father would understand his sincere desire to follow his vocation. Just the opposite happened. The father was absolute in his refusal to consider such a thing. Although he was a good Catholic, Mr. Eymard was adamant that Peter was to take his place beside him in their small business, which supported the family.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard was completely crushed. He couldn't believe that this was happening to him. He walked a distance of thirty miles to the Shrine of Our Lady of Laus. He wanted to unload all his sorrow and disappointment at the feet of Our Lady, and quite honestly, ask her :how he could follow his dream of being a priest. He actually spoke to Our Lady at her altar at the Shrine of Laus, and she answered him, through the words of a priest who was in the chapel at the time, a Fr. Touche, who became a lifelong friend and mentor for young Peter. He asked Peter to repeat his tale of grief and frustration and what he could do about it. The priest encouraged him to stay the course of his determination to become a priest. He recommended Peter begin receiving Communion every week, and insisted that he learn Latin.

More easily said than done, thought young Saint Peter Julian Eymard. But he had received such affirmation from Our Lady through the hands of this priest, that he went back to La Mure, more resolute in his unwavering commitment to follow his dream. He continued his work for his father, but in his free time, he bought a second-hand Latin grammar book, and learned Latin. This went on for two years. When Peter thought it was safe to ask his father to allow him to go to college, the elder Eymard reacted predictably. He exploded. There was no way that they were going to spend hard-earned money for Peter to go to college. What would he need it for, any way? In the business that he would inherit from his father, he didn't need college.

Down but not out, Saint Peter Julian Eymard found a way to go to college through a scholarship program offered by the city. The only drawback was that the program was designed for the poor and needy, and while Peter's family was not well-to-do, they didn't fall into the category of poor and needy. The principal of the school was upset with Peter being there on scholarship, and made his life miserable all the time he was there. Years later, in recollecting on his years in school, he said "It cost me dearly. I was treated with contempt and often humiliated. The principal made me pay in so many ways for that education…He wouldn't let me recreate with the others. Instead, he had me light his fireplace, sweep his office and his classroom, and had me do a hundred other chores."

About the Author

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information go to Saint n

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The precious children of Fatima, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, have captured our hearts, as the brave trio who fought against all secular odds to keep a promise to Our Lady. She asked them to come to her on the 13th of each month for six months, in the year 1917; and against overwhelming odds, they said Yes!

Our Lady gave them important messages during that period of time, many of which they couldn't begin to understand. Some of the profound things she said to them were for them alone; others were for the world. But the drama of the Miracle of the Sun on October 13, 1917, witnessed by more than 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria, and as far off as the Azores mountains, overshadowed for a time many of the messages she gave these little people.

Over the years, we have had an opportunity to go through all the occurrences of that six month period which would change the world forever. Everything was important to them, but some things burned an impression on their hearts and minds, more than others. One of these events was a vision, rather than a message from our Lady.

We have to preface this with some things, the children shared with one another. Most of this came to the world, years later from Lucia, when, under obedience to her bishop, she wrote on those early years. The messages connected with Hell played an important part in the Apparitions of Our Lady in 1917, as well as in those of the Archangel Michael in 1916. Just think about some of the things which were said to the children. One of the most forceful references to Hell was when Our Lady said to the children, "Many souls go to Hell because no one prays for them."

This was the beginning of her plea to us to pray for the conversion of sinners. Much of the thrust of the Fatima message had to do with praying for sinners in an attempt to keep them from plunging into the eternal flames of Hell.

This accounts for the prayer, Mary gave to the children and to us through them, which we say at the end of each decade of the Rosary,

"Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls into Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy Mercy."

After this, Mary opened her hands and pointed down to the earth. The brilliant light opened the earth, burrowing deep into the bowels of the Underworld. The children were given a vision of Hell. In Lucia's third memoir, she describes it as follows:

"Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, (fire, blaze) now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant." ("Fatima in Lucia's own Words", Third Memoir, the Vision of Hell)

They spoke about a sea of fire, filled with devils and the souls of people, black or bronzed, burning fiercely, ghastly screams of indescribable pain coming out of them, being sucked into a river of fire, like molten lava, embers of burnt skin flying off their charred bodies. The demons could be distinguished from the people in that they looked like ghoulish, deformed animals. The grotesque vision would have bristled the hair on the necks of the strongest adults. These innocent little children were petrified. Mary spoke to Lucia.

"You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war will end, but if men do not cease to offend God, another worse one will begin.

"When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, (This prophecy by Our Lady was fulfilled on the nights of January 25 & 26, 1938, when a great light, which was attributed by science to an Aurora Borealis, was seen by most of the world.) know that it is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, famine and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father."

This vision of Hell, and Our Lady's words, had a devastating effect on the children, especially Jacinta, who was extremely sensitive and only seven years old. Actually, these were all little people, Lucia ten, Francisco eight, and Jacinta seven years old. Jacinta was upset by the vision of Hell. Really, she was disturbed by the whole idea of Hell.

When the apparitions first began, she would ponder on Hell. She was happy that the Lady had said she would go to Heaven. However, she was concerned about all those who would not go to Heaven, but to Hell. She stopped playing; she sat and prayed and meditated. This was before they had the vision of Hell. Lucia asked her once what was wrong.

"That Lady said that many souls go to Hell. What is Hell, then?"

Lucia answered, "It's like a big deep pit of wild beasts, with an enormous fire in it - that's how my mother used to explain it to me - and that's where people go who commit sins and don't confess them. They stay there and burn for ever!" "And they never get out of there again?" "No!" "Not even after many many years?" "No! Hell never ends!"

About the Author

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information about this Saint go to Visions of Heaven Hell and Purgatoryn

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The boys wolfed their food down, so that they could run back outside to see if the Lady was still there. As soon as the last mouthful had been finished, they ran outside the door again. She was still there. The mother asked them to describe how tall she was. "She's about the same size as Sister Vitaline."

This gave the mother an inspiration. She called the nun, asked her to look up into the sky, to see if she could see anything. Sr. Vitaline could not. The boys were becoming frustrated.

"How can you not see it?" Eugene cried out. "She is so brilliant. Can you see a triangle of bright stars?" Everyone agreed that they could see three bright stars, which they had never seen before, and never saw again, except for that night. "Well, the top of the triangle is where her head is, and the two stars at the bottom are at a level with her shoulders. Can you see that?" No one but Eugene and Joseph could see the lady.

Mrs. Barbedette had heard the stories which had made their way up from the south of France about the two children from La Salette, and the little girl at Lourdes, who had claimed to have seen the Blessed Virgin. Perhaps this was the same, and only children could see the apparition. She took the nun with her, and together, they went back to Sr. Vitaline's school. There were three children there. The nun asked them to come along with her and Mrs. Barbedette, to see if they could make out anything unusual in the sky. As they walked towards the home of the Barbedette's, one of the children, Francoise Richer, age 11, pointed up into the sky.

"There's something very bright above Monsieur Guidecog's barn", she exclaimed. Mrs. Barbedette and the nun looked at each other. As they got closer, both Francoise and a younger girl, Jean-Marie Lebosse, age 9, cried out, "Oh, the beautiful lady, with the blue dress and the golden stars". No one had said anything to these two. They had no idea of what they were supposed to be looking for. They had not spoken to the Barbedette boys as yet. But they saw the same thing that Eugene and Joseph had seen. The third child, however, saw nothing. Word of the event spread through the little village rapidly. Soon, just about every resident of Pontmain was at the Barbedette barn, looking up into the clear winter sky, praying for a glimpse of the Lady. She became enclosed in a blue, almond shaped frame, from which protruded four candles, two at the level of her neck, and two at the level of her knees. On her heart, a tiny red cross appeared. The gathering took on the semblance of organization as the local priest, Fr. Guerin came upon the scene. The children reported that the expression on the face of the Lady had fallen into sadness. The priest ordered everyone on their knees in prayer. They began to recite the Rosary, the favorite prayer of Mary. The first of 5 changes began to take place. As she listened to the earnest prayers of the people for peace, and for the safe return of their children, the visionaries saw her begin to swell in size. She grew to almost double her original size. The triangle of stars grew with her, but the rest of the stars made way for the magnificent visitor, queen of all the stars in the heavens. Some of the stars became enmeshed in her gown, while others positioned themselves at her feet.

A Sister Marie-Edouard, who was well known as a leader, began to lead the people in singing the Magnificat. The children shouted out as a new development took place. A banner formed at the feet of the Lady, between her and the top of the barn. It was about the size of the roof of the barn, and as they sang, a word was formed on the top of the banner. It was MAIS, which means "BUT". As the hymn came to the end, the sentence was formed. MAIS, PRIEZ MES ENFANTS - BUT PRAY, MY CHIILDREN

The children called out the sentence as it appeared. A shout of joy was sounded among the people. They began to pray the Litany of Mary. Another sentence appeared. DIEU VOUS EXAUCERA EN PEU DE TEMPS - GOD WILL SOON ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS

As the children read out this sentence, the people began to weep tears of joy. It is Mary. She's there to help them. Praise Jesus! He allowed her to come again. As the assemblage wept and praised God and His magnificent mother, the Lady began laughing. The children shouted, "Look, she's laughing.....Look, she's laughing!!" Soon, the people were affected by the laughter of the Lady. Everyone laughed with her. They began to sing another hymn to Our Lady. Under the first sentence, a much larger letter began to be formed. It came to them in three stages. The first was MON FILS - MY SON

It stayed like this until they began to sing the Salve Regina, at which point the next two words were formed. SE LAISSE - ALLOWS HIMSELF

At the very end of the Salve Regina, the last word of the sentence was formed. TOUCHER - TO BE TOUCHED

The entire sentence was Mon Fils Se Laisse Toucher - My Son Allows Himself To Be Touched

Another translation of the sentence is MY SON IS WILLING TO HEAR YOU

In a small village in the middle of nowhere, at the very darkest hour, Mary, the giving Mary, the loving Mary, began a precedent which has stayed with us from that time until this. We can change His mind through His Mother. Tribulation and chastisement can be lessened, minimized, and very possibly done away with, through the intercession of the beautiful Lady who was given to us at the foot of the Cross.

About the Author

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith." For more information click here Our Lady of Pontmainn

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The first way that people limit God is by not accepting or believing that He is able and willing to do what He said He would do. The Bible contains many clear promises from God. Each of us has free will to believe or not believe and If you don't believe that He can or that He will, you will not receive from Him.

If you don't want to limit God in your life, then start by accepting that His promises in the Bible are true. He is very willing and very able to perform what He said. We receive His promises when we believe His promises.

Another way of limiting God is by telling Him exactly what He needs to do and how He needs to do it. Some people don't even realize just how arrogant and irreverent they are. They say things like, "God, you just have to do this right now", or "God I need you to give me this amount of money by midnight tonight.

Imagine going to the dentist and telling him exactly what he needs to do for you, how he should do it, and how much time it should take for him to complete the job. Just walk in, give him his orders, and never allowing the dentist to have the freedom to do what he is an expert at. Wouldn't that be arrogant of you?

Now I understand that when we pray we need to give God our specifics requests. I also know that the Bible teaches us to go to God holding nothing back; to tell Him all that is on our heart, even if it is negative. But we still need to show reverence to God Almighty, don't we?

If we really believe that He can and will help us, then we do our part, which is to ask and believe. We may at times go to God in prayer, upset and discouraged, pouring our heart out to Him, But then we need to let Him do His part, which is to provide, however He sees fit to do it.

Too many times people put God in a box and tell Him exactly how and when He needs to do something. The Bible says, "Let your requests be made known unto God". It doesn't say anything telling God how He is supposed to do it!

The third way we can limit God in our lives is by feeling unworthy. Countless Christians, because of guilt and condemnation, do not feel worthy to let God know their requests. They do not believe that God would do anything for them because of their past sins, and thus, they limit God in their lives.

Let's get honest for just a moment. Who in and of themselves is really worthy to receive blessings and favor from God Almighty? Who has lived such a perfect life that they are worthy of receiving the promises from the Creator of the heavens and the earth?

None of us are perfect; we all fall short and we all sin. But Jesus Christ has paid the price for all sins. Because of his accomplished work, and since God has raised him from the dead, we have forgiveness of our sins.

Far too many Christians limit God in their lives because they do not see or understand what Jesus Christ accomplished. Because of Christ's accomplishments, we now stand righteous before God. We no longer need to carry the sin, shame, guilt and condemnation. Jesus Christ paid the price and we have been cleansed.

We can avoid limiting God in our lives by remembering that we are now dear children of God, made righteous in His eyes by Christ's work. We can go to our Father with confidence, pouring out our heart to Him, confident that He will bring His promises to pass for us. And we can be absolutely confident that all His promises are true, and that He is able and willing to bring them to pass for us.

We need to remember that God has unlimited resources. He has ideas and ways of answering our prayers that we have never even thought of. We pray and then look for and expect His answer.

When we believe God we trust Him. We are relying on Him to help and to take care of things. And He is really good at it! He's been doing it for a long, long time for those who trust and believe Him.

Ask Him for His help, and ask reverently, acknowledging Who He is. Don't put any limits on Him by telling Him what you think He ought to do. And see yourself as His dear child, knowing it is His desire to bless your life.

About the Author

Michael A. Verdicchio offers a FREE eBook, "9 Keys to Answered Prayer!" for signing up for his FREE weekly news letter, "The Pep Letter," at:nhttp://www.ConfidenceAndJoy.com nMichael is a husband, father, minister, author, broadcaster and the voice on numerous projects and productions, Get a FREE Lifetime Membership to EnrichingYourLifeNow.com when you subscribe for FREE to his inspiring blog.

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Some say that if you do not receive, then for some reason God does not want to answer your prayer. "Maybe it is because you are not good enough," they say, or, "You're petition is too selfish or greedy." But scriptures do not support that kind of rationalization.

There is a parable in the gospel of Luke that sheds some great understanding on the topic of prayer. It is important to understand that the purpose of a parable is to focus on one point. In other words, there may be a number of details to the story, but the parable makes one important point.

Jesus spoke many things in parables and their meanings were hidden to those who did not believe. But those who had eyes to see could understand his parables. At times the disciples would ask Jesus to explain the meaning of a parable, and, in the case of the parable in the gospel of Luke 18, we are told the meaning of the parable even before we read it.

I was talking to someone once who was adamant about a certain parable, saying that it was a true story. I tried to reason with him that a parable is a figure of speech, and that the story was told to make a point, but that the story itself was not true. He would not be persuaded.

The story in Luke 18 about a widow woman who was treated unfairly is told to make a very important point. The point of the parable is that we ought to always pray, and not faint. In other words, continue in prayer and be persistent. Seeing and understanding that one point can change your prayer life.

In the story, the widow woman was relentless in petitioning an unjust judge, who didn't care about people or God, but finally got tired of her bugging him. He then, to get her out of his hair, granted her petition. Jesus said that if an unjust judge who didn't regard people or God could grant a petition, what about God, Who hears the cries of His people?

Now God is certainly not an unjust judge, not regarding people. Prayers do not have to be only for an injustice. Those are elements in the story, but not for comparison; they are not the point of the parable.

The point of the parable is very easy to see and understand, because we are told of its meaning before we even read it. We ought to always pray and not faint. In other words, continue to be persistent.

George Muller, who lived in England in the 1800's, kept a journal of all of his answered prayers. His life, and what he did for the orphans, was a real testimony of praying and believing God. He really tried to show people that you could pray and ask God and God would answer you.

He said, "I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk, when I lie down and when I rise. And the answers are always coming. Tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. When once I am persuaded that a thing is right, I go on praying for it.

The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God's glory, they should pray until they get it."

That quote sounds a lot like the parable in Luke 18 doesn't it? There are times in our lives when an answer to prayer does not seem to be lining up with our timetable. In those times, we ought to remain persistent in our prayer.

There are those who just pray once and if they don't get an answer that moment, or, right away, they just forget about it. Some even go so far as to say, "Well God must not want to answer that prayer." I wonder if those who say that have actually heard God telling them that He didn't want to answer that prayer; if not, how do they know?

The Bible is full of exhortation to us to pray. The Bible also states that God's ears are open to our prayers. If God did not want to answer our prayers, why is there so much ink about it in the Scriptures, and why would God want us to waste our time asking?

We can see documented in both the scriptures as well as other people's lives that God does indeed answer our prayers. If we are persuaded that a thing is right, we ought to go on praying for it. We ought to continue and persevere in our prayers to God, expecting an answer.

About the Author

Michael A. Verdicchio offers a FREE eBook, "9 Keys to Answered Prayer!" for signing up for his FREE weekly news letter, "The Pep Letter," at:nhttp://www.ConfidenceAndJoy.com nMichael is a husband, father, minister, author, broadcaster and the voice on numerous projects and productions, Get a FREE Lifetime Membership to EnrichingYourLifeNow.com when you subscribe for FREE to his inspiring blog.

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Family, we usually sign off our programs, articles, and chapters in our books with, We love you! And very often we sign off this column that way! But we are so filled with love for you, and from you in your letters, it is difficult to keep from saying over and over again, We love you!

Today, as we write about our Popes down through the 2000 plus years of the history of our beloved Church, we find ourselves praising God for the gifts He has left us in our Princes of our Church. We realize how very intertwined the world's history has been with the history of our Church.

Lately, we hear over and over again, the words of the First Amendment - "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; …"

That has been interpreted incorrectly as separation of church and state. So let us clear up something which has been distorted to mean, Church is not to interfere with the governing of our country. Rather our founding fathers never meant the restriction of religion, in matters of our country, but that of restrictions of the government in the matters of religion. To quote George Washington, first president of the United States "True religion affords to government its surest support." And then John Adams, second president of the United States "Religion and virtue are the only foundations…of republicanism and of all free governments."

There has been a concerted bombardment of attacks down through the annals of our Faith and that of all members of Christianity, to wipe out the Name of Jesus in our lives, in our history.

At a National Day of Prayer breakfast on February 3, 1994, Mother Teresa told the Congress of the United States, "…if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?" and "..Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want."

What does God have to do to get our attention?

We are the only country that I know of that has been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of our Mother Mary, Jesus' Mother. We are the only country founded under God! We hear on Television that our country is a leader in the world. It is said, when fault has to be made, "As goes the United States, so goes the world." We see the deadly, destructive agenda of men and women who would rob us of our inalienable rights, the greatest of which being the right to believe in God.

From the very beginning of our country, just a little country at that time, where immigrants fled to have religious freedom, to believe in the one true God, they went through hell, suffering unbelievable deprivations to live in a land where they were free to worship! Our courts covet our First Amendment rights for the protection of pornographers, but not for our freedom of religion.

What do we say to them now!!

We want to share a thought we had about three years ago, when we saw the complexion of our country changing, the god of money and selfishness stealthily choking our nation of all moral values we and our ancestors treasured. One day, frustrated by the blaringly apparent, insidious agenda of chasing God out of the mainstream of our life, we turned to the Old Testiment, when Moses came down from the mountain and found Aaron and the rest of the Israelites worshiping a golden calf. We didn't know when or how it would come to pass, but we knew it could be the way our Lord would try to reach His children.

What golden calf? Well, it's not a calf but a bull! We must ask ourselves, have we been worshipping the stock market with its bull? You say you do not invest in the stock market. Well, I don't know about you, but it seems this mania of spending money faster than we could earn it, buying houses that we could not afford, the biggest, most expensive cars trading them in for the next year's model has taken over our society.

I really cannot share the blame, not because of my thrifty nature, but because I am a dispression baby and I saw how hard it was for my parents to bring in enough money to feed us children. Dinner time, they always passed on eating meat, saying they'd had a big lunch. I thought they did not like meat as they always put potatoes or pasta, crowded with vegetables on their plates at dinner. But years later when times got better, and their plates took on a different raiment of color and assortment, I realized they had sacrificed for us children. Till today I have a problem throwing out leftovers we have failed to use fast enough.

We were poor, as most of our neighbors were; but I never felt poor! My father was out of work six years; my father, with a college education was one of the first to be laid off. Always partners, Mama went to work in a sweat shop, being paid pitifully little for piece work. I remember at the end of the Depression, going to visit my mother, for the first time, at the factory where she worked. I could hardly keep from crying! My mother and father never cried, never argued, never complained, blaming the government for the state of affairs. We and our neighbors never marched, except to honor our Lord and/or His Mother. Our summers were suffocatingly hot; (there was no air conditioning in those days) we and our neighbors sat on our porches, singing until the wee hours when it cooled down, following the passion and joy of the mandolins and the banjos plucking away.

We were poor; but no one spoke of it, or better yet complained. We were considered a minority - we were of Itallian descent. O.K. we worked harder, our parents insisted we go to school and earn honorary diplomas. We felt we had to work harder to be part of this great society's family. And we did! Why do I tell you of our time during the depression? So that anyone who thinks they can rob us of the freedoms we worked and scraped and suffered for, it aint gonna happen(brooklyneze).

We, Christians and Jews alike who grew up side by side, may look fat and contented like so many fat cows; but we are all turning to God and not only welcoming Him back, we are worshipping Him as He deserves. Each evening after we say our evening prayers, we find ourselves begging our Father in Heaven to forgive us our sins and give us back our Nation founded under God. Do not let godless elements who have taken over our state and federal government take away your freedoms. Fight for what you believe in. Vote them out of office. Pray to God to give us good, moral people to bring our country back to where we were when it all began. God bless you. We love you!

About the Author

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information go to Our Home Pagen

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Two weeks before his death, Bishop Oscar Romero gave a telephone interview to a Mexican newspaper. He made the following statement: "I have often been threatened with death. I must tell you, as a Christian, I do not believe in death without Resurrection. If I am killed, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people. I say so without boasting, with the greatest humility.

"As a shepherd, I am obliged by Divine Mandate to give my life for those I love - for all Salvadorans, even for those who may be going to kill me. If the threats are carried out, from this moment I offer my blood to God for the redemption and for the resurrection of El Salvador.

"Martyrdom is a grace of God that I do not believe I deserve. But if God accepts the sacrifice of my life, let my blood be a seed of freedom and the sign that hope will soon be reality. Let my death, if it is accepted by God, be for my people's liberation and as a witness of hope in the future.

"You may say, if they succeed in killing me, that I pardon and bless those who do it. Would, indeed, that they might be convinced that they will waste their time. A Bishop will die, but God's Church, which is the people, will never perish."

Funerals had become an everyday affair in El Salvador, and especially for the Archbishop. Every time someone was killed who was close to him, he felt it a duty as well as an honor to pay tribute to the brother or sister who had died for the liberty of the country. On Monday, March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was celebrating an Anniversary Mass for the mother of Jorge Pinto, whose newspaper had been bombed two weeks before. Romero chose the hospital chapel, where he lived a simple life, since he became Archbishop. It was evening. It had been a busy day for Oscar Romero.

The readings and the homily would have been considered prophetic, except for the fact that he was celebrating a funeral Mass. "Christ is indeed raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep..."

A red Volkswagen pulled up outside the open door of the Chapel. Two men sat in the darkness inside the car.

"The Lord is my Shepherd...though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil."

One man leaned over the steering wheel, as if to fix something, while the other sat in the back seat, looking directly into the chapel through the open door.

"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains only a grain. But if it dies, it bears much fruit..."

The man inside the car pulled out a small rifle, and aimed it towards the open door of the chapel.

Romero ended his homily as follows: "May this Body immolated and this Blood sacrificed for humans nourish us also, so that we may give our body and blood to suffering and to pain - like Christ, not for self, but to teach justice and peace to our people. So let us join together intimately in faith and hope at this moment of prayer for Dona Sarita and ourselves."

A blast was heard outside, and a bright spark lit up the inside of the car. Oscar Romero may have been able to see the spark of light in the distance, just before he heard the cracking sound of the discharge, and felt a searing hot bullet rip through his chest, and explode inside of him. The red Volkswagen slowly drove away out of sight. Archbishop Oscar Romero lay on the floor of the chapel, in front of the altar, drowning in his own blood. He died within minutes of the assault.

Oscar Romero is a Martyr in the truest sense of the word. He died during the celebration of the Mass. He was a willing victim. "Before He was given up to death, a death He freely accepted..." There was an extraordinary parallel between the destiny of Our Lord Jesus and that of Oscar Romero, successor to the Apostles of Jesus. He died for his people, many of whom were yelling "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!". There are those on both sides of the political coin, who believe Romero was a pawn of the other side.

There are the conservatives who believe he died because he took on the cloak and banner of the Marxist-Communist theology, under the heading of Liberation Theology, and became a militant leader of the people in their quest to free themselves from the shackles of a super-corrupt, animalistic, inhuman government, or series of governments. These conservatives believe he left himself no other option but to be gunned down somewhere along the line, because he lost his way in his ministry. He should have remained a Priest, who took care of the spiritual needs of his people, and left the physical problems, the starving, the murders, the atrocities, all of that up to the political and military men. But how can you just sit back when those dead people have faces, when they're brothers and sisters, fellow Priests?

Then there are the super-liberals, who finally liked him, finally accepted him, on their terms. He died, espousing their cause, or so they think, and so he was okay. They still don't know, twenty years later. They talk about how he was converted, how he went from being one of them to one of us. The fact that he died in that role makes him respectable for them. They still criticize the early years, or actually most of the years of his life and his Priesthood, as being counter-productive to the movement, (revolution?) to Vatican II and the Medell¡n Conference. He died before his time, of unnatural causes at age 62, and yet he was considered an old-timer.

We believe he forgave his murderers, and those who ordered his murder, as well as the slaughter of all the innocents of El Salvador, as you would forgive a child, or a dog who had messed on the floor. They didn't have the intelligence to know what they were doing. They didn't have a conscience or a soul, because they were animals. He also forgave his fellow Priests who put him in the impossible position he was in as Archbishop. They fanned the flames of war. They were intelligent. They knew better than to become militants. They were told by their Church to stay out of politics. But they chose the way of the guerrillas. They were overpowered by Marxist philosophies, and became pawns of the powerful. They gave the government and the military the excuses they needed, if indeed they needed any excuse, to attack the people and the Church. They were frustrated at their inability to make a difference. They had forgotten the power of prayer. They traded their Bibles and Rosaries for machine guns.

About the Author

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information about this Saint go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/70132

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