MORE THAN WHAT WE THOUGHT!

 

GOD, OUR LORD, SELECTED JESUS CHRIST AS OUR PROPHET AND MESSENGER IN ORDER TO ENTRUST US WITH CELEBRATING MASS. OUR FATHER WANTS US TO HEAR MASS SO THAT WE CAN LISTEN TO GOD´S WORDS, HEAL OUR HEART, AND THEREFORE OUR HEART CAN BE READY TO LOVE.

“IT IS IN OUR OWN INTERESTS TO GET TO CHURCH BEFORE MASS STARTS, SO THAT WE CAN PRAY AND BEG OUR LORD TO SEND US HIS HOLY SPIRIT. GOD´S HOLY SPIRIT WILL HAVE THE POWER TO EXPEL OUR WORRIES, DISTRACTIONS AND THAT WAY WE WILL FEEL THIS SACRED MOMENT”.

IT IS ADVISABLE TO GO TO MASS NOT ONLY ON SUNDAYS BUT ALSO ANY OTHER DAY OF THE WEEK, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, OUT OF A NECESSITY TO FEEL OUR LORD´S LOVE. WE HAVE TO ENJOY MASS, PAYING ATTENTION TO IT”.

BEFORE MASS STARTS WE SHOULD START TALKING TO GOD THIS WAY: “ I AM RIGHT HERE, FATHER, TO LISTEN TO WHAT YOU WANT TO TELL  MY HEART”.

“WE SHOULD ALL LISTEN ATTEMPTIVELY TO THE BIBLE WORDS. IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO STICK TO A PHRASE OR WORD AND SAVOR IT ALL DAY LONG. THIS IS THE WAY OUR LORD´S WORDS WILL BE ABLE TO TRANSFORM US”.

“ WHILE WE ARE PRAYING, BEFORE OUR PETITIONS, GOD EXPECTS US TO TELL HIM THAT WE LOVE HIM AND TO THANK HIM. OUR FATHER NEEDS LOVE. CONSEQUENTLY, WE COULD CONTINUE AS FOLLOWS: “FATHER, I LOVE YOU. THANK YOU. SEND ME YOUR PEACE. HOLY SPIRIT, HELP ME BE A BETTER PERSON. GUIDE ME, BLESS ME WITH THE GIFTS I NEED TO SERVE YOU BEST”.

“WE HAVE TO OBSERVE FEAST DAYS SAYING THE GLORY PRAYER: “WE PRAISE YOU, BLESS YOU, WORSHIP YOU, GLORIFY YOU, THANK YOU, OUR LORD. GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST”. MASS IS THE GREATEST MIRACLE, THE MOST PRECIOUS MOMENT GIVEN TO US BY OUR LORD. IT IS OUR PRIVILEGE TO BE ABLE TO GO TO MASS”.

“MASS HAS SUCH INFINITE VALUE THAT WE HAVE TO BE GENEROUS WITH OUR OFFERINGS AND PRAYERS. DURING THE OFFERTORY THE VIRGIN MARY WANTS US TO PRAY SAYING THESE WORDS: “FATHER, I OFFER YOU ALL OF MYSELF, EVERYTHING I HAVE, MY SORROWS, PAINS, DREAMS, JOYS AND MY PETITIONS: MAY MY FAMILY, FRIENDS, ACQUAINTANCES, BELIEVERS AND NONBELIEVERS BE PROTECTED FROM EVIL. I LEAVE EVERYTHING IN YOUR HANDS. FOR JESUS CHRIST´S LOVE, TRANSFORM ME, MY LORD. THIS IS HOW SAINTS WOULD PRAY, AND THESE ARE THE WORDS THE BLESSED MARY WANTS US TO USE DURING THE OFFERTORY. OUR GUARDIAN ANGELS, DRESSED IN WHITE ROBES, ARE IN CHARGE OF TAKING OUR OFFERINGS AND PETITIONS TO OUR LORD´S ALTAR”.

“THE HOLY MASS IS THE PLACE WHERE THE BLESSED MARY SPENDS THE LONGEST TIME. THE VIRGIN MARY ALWAYS STANDS NEXT TO OUR LORD´S ALTAR, TOGETHER WITH SOME ANGELS, WHILE THE EUCHARIST IS CELEBRATED”.

“JUST BEFORE WE START PRAYING THE LORD´S PRAYER IT IS IN OUR OWN INTEREST TO PRAY PROFOUNDLY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HURT US AS FOLLOWS:”IN JESUS CHRIST´S NAME, I FORGIVE THE ONES WHO HURT ME AND I WISH THEM PEACE”. THOSE ARE GOD´S REAL WORDS”.

BEFORE RECEIVING COMMUNION WE SHOULD SAY A PRAYER FOR ALL PRIESTS AND FOR THE PRIEST WHO IS CELEBRATING MASS THAT VERY DAY. THE PRAYER COULD BE THIS ONE: ”FATHER, BLESS ALL PRIESTS AND THIS ONE TOO, SANCTIFY THEM, HELP THEM, PURIFY THEM, LOVE THEM, TAKE CARE OF THEM AND KEEP HOLD OF THEM WITH YOUR LOVE“. WHEN A PURE HEART INDIVIDUAL IS TAKING COMMUNION GOD EMBRACES THAT SOUL BY MEANS OF A GOLDEN-WHITE LIGHT GOING THROUGH HIS BACK FIRST, AND THEN HIS SHOULDERS AND HEAD. THIS HAPPENS JUST WHEN THE PRIEST IS PUTTING THE SACRED PIECE OF BREAD ON HIS TONGUE”.

ONCE MASS IS OVER IT IS ADVISABLE TO STAY IN CHURCH FOR ABOUT FIVE TO TEN MINUTES. IT IS APPROXIMATELY THIS LONG THAT JESUS CHRIST STAYS WITHIN US. JESUS CHRIST WANTS TO ENJOY OUR COMPANY AND ALSO WANTS US TO ENJOY HIS”.

THE FOLLOWING THREE SAINTS SAW JESUS CHRIST AS A NEWBORN BABY IN THE SACRED PIECE OF BREAD: SAINT BERNARDINO SIENNA, SAINT INES MONCADA AND SAINT FELIX CANTALICIO”.

WE VERY OFTEN HEAR PEOPLE SAY: “I WANT TO CHANGE THE WAY I AM BUT I DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO START!”. WHAT BETTER PLACE TO GET BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD BUT OUR LORD´S PLACE? UNDOUBTEDLY, WE WILL ALWAYS BE WELCOMED THERE. HE WILL ALWAYS BE WAITING FOR US. IS THERE ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT IN LIFE  THAN  DOING GOD´S WILL? LET US GO FOR IT!

 

THE QUOTES I HAVE SHARED WITH ALL OF YOU ARE FROM CIELO E INFIERNO: VERDADES DE DIOS BY MARÍA VALLEJO-NÁGERA.

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Julia Martinez

Julia Martínez was born in The Basque Country, Spain in 1965. She went to Las Carmelitas School in Santurtzi, where she completed her elementary and secondary education, except her senior year. She decided to go to the United States as an exchange student for her senior year. She lived with an American family in California for that school year. After coming back from the US she started her undergraduate studies at Deusto University. By this time she had already lived in Santurtzi for seventeen years. It was 1983 when she and her family moved to Getxo. At Deusto University she studied English Linguistics for five years. She was twenty three years old when she got her undergraduate degree. She spent about three months during three different summers in England. During two of those summers she was an exchange student, and another summer she was working as an au pair, living with an English family. She also spent about two months during two different summers in Dublin. She was an exchange student living with an Irish family for a month, and another summer she was living in a student residence. In 1988 she was granted a scholarship to do her graduate studies at Indiana University, in the U.S..She completed a double master on English and Spanish Applied Linguistics in 1990. During that year and a half that she was studying over there she was also working as an Associate Professor giving Spanish classes at Indiana University. After working on the double master, She decided to go back to Spain and work as an English teacher at an English school in Galdakao for a year. At the same time that she was working, she was studying in order to sit a competitive exam. She went to Madrid to take it, and got the job she wanted. She became a civil servant, and she started working as an English teacher at a high school in 1991. By the year 2004 she had already been teaching for thirteen years in four different high schools, giving lessons to secondary students. In 2004 she decided to quit teaching and start painting as a self-made painter. She has got thirty six original oil paintings on canvas, and all of them share bright, lively, warm colors which invite you to smile and chill out. You see them all together and you see a real celebration of life, of what life should be, of happiness and love. Apart from painting, she is very keen on music and photography. About music, it must be said that she was very much into it during some years in the past, specially when she was taking Classical and electric guitar lessons and writing her own songs. She has got four demos with songs sung, both in English and Spanish. She performed as a singer in some places in the year 2000 after recording all her original songs. She is a hard-working person and a very good listener. She is one of those really positive people that finds solutions to almost anything you can think of. She enjoys creative work, either in painting, photography, dancing, singing, writing or cooking. She also enjoys herself with those little things in life like going out for a stroll in the country, listening to all kinds of music, good company, a good book, helping people in need, taking a nap, or just watching a funny movie. She is really interested in the protection of animals rights.

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