It is times like these that I so appreciate my Catholic brother-in-Christ, JRR Tolkien and his masterpiece saga, The Lord of the Rings especially this clip from The Two Towers.
Oh how I long for the return of Jesus Christ, for the final judgment. Day after day, I wonder how much longer is He going to allow all this evil to continue? Being an immature baby, I just wanna go to Heaven already and avoid dealing with all this crap. Yet, I always go back to the story of St. Peter's few seconds walking on water -- that passage is one that speaks strongly to me. I'm so like Peter where there are times when I'm like "Look Jesus! I'm doing so well, I can do this, woo hoo, go me!" but then I get so caught up in the moment or so caught up with all that plagues me and like Peter, I take my eyes off Christ and begin to sink. I -- we -- have got to stay focused on Jesus and not allow the darkness and evil to distract us or discourage us; that's what Satan wants and I for one refuse to give him any kind of victory. Plus, well, *spoiler alert* Christ wins in the end, all He asks of us is for us to stay faithful and trust Him. Easier said than done, I know. It's been on my heart to continuously ask Christ for the grace to embrace whatever Crosses He sends me, instead of reluctantly dragging them while muttering complaints under my breath (as if I can hide anything from Jesus?!? Silly Margo!)
In conclusion to these rambling thoughts, I've got some prayer intentions (and please let me know how I can pray for YOU!):
- For the Catholic Answers apostolate, for their continued growth and especially as they strive to find someone to succeed my dear friend, Patrick Coffin, as host of Catholic Answers Live (I'm praying for Venerable Sheen's intercession!)
- For my friend's newborn niece, "Avila Moreno suffering from many complications, mostly involving her brain. An hour after she was born, she started having seizures they thought to have been caused by a stroke. They also found some bleeding in her brain. Now they have found another problem with immune deficiency which can lead to a very short life in some cases."
- For my seemingly perpetual search for full time employment as an Administrative Assistant/Receptionist/data entry preferably for a Catholic parish or Catholic organization or any small business.
- For my friend, Anna Marie, who should be giving birth to her first child any day now.
- For the repose of the soul of Sam R., sister of a college friend, who died recently of a brain aneurism
- For an end to all violence and acknowledgment of the dignity of EVERY human life
- For the Cause of Canonization of Venerable Fulton Sheen
- For the conversion of my brother, cousins, and a dear friend, D.I.
