That They May Be One

Posted on by Beckita

I’m excited to share a wonderful sign of hope with you, Friends. At the start of this month, I attended the 2020 Encounter Conference in Toledo, Ohio where the gathered crowd spanned the generations from babies to grandparents. About 2600 predominantly Catholic attendees were joined by some brothers and sisters from other denominations while the lineup of speakers included two evangelical spiritual leaders. The theme of Christian unity ran through the days of the conference and Randy Clark, a non-Catholic Christian brother and overseer of Global Awakening, said in his presentation that revival in the US will come through the Catholic Church, yet, a joyful reunion it shall be with respect for all. It’s clear to me that many today are seeing what Charlie was shown so long ago.

Many of the happenings at the conference are described in Luke 7:22, “And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.’”  Those weary of the battles in families, the workplace, the Church, our country and world were refreshed, encouraged and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus healed all manner of human illnesses, pains and inner turmoil. Just two examples: lay people ministered Christ’s healing to Bishop David Ricken’s knee. He was totally tickled to demonstrate how he can now genuflect – something he hasn’t been able to do for a long while. Little children, involved in their separate age track, prayed over a middle-aged woman with stage 4 esophageal cancer whom Jesus completely healed.

The speakers shared powerful testimonies – heartening and hope-filled – about what God is doing in the world NOW, smack dab in the midst of the messiness. They ignited contemplation and further discussion while pointing attendees to apostolates designed to equip them with understanding and skills as they answer the call to evangelize and manifest the Father’s Love through Christ’s healing touch, bringing comfort to His people while wielding the weapons of His Mercy, thus, becoming a human bridge for those around them to embark on a deeper relationship – or sometimes a totally new one – with the Lord.

Below, I’ll highlight some of the speakers and link you to their sites where you can discover more if you’re interested. We have acknowledged in this community – and attending this conference has firmly cemented this reality for me – that Aslan IS on the move.  God is, in human terms, desperate to reclaim His children and set them free, for He loves each one with love beyond all telling.

I counted 70 (others report 90) priests attending the conference and Friday’s Mass was con-celebrated with Bishop Ricken of the Green Bay Diocese in Wisconsin. He was animated in his homily with full support for calling down the Holy Spirit that the work involving the wood we need to chop is accomplished with vigor and joy. All present shared an ardent desire to renew and rebuild the Church, to see their parishes come alive, to reach inside and outside parish walls to bring Christ to all the places where they live, work and play, and to better tend to the suffering ones around us, thus bringing God’s Kingdom more fully to earth.

Priests and Bishop Ricken receiving directions before Mass

All were invited to tap into an inner place, a place of fully acknowledging how helpless we are without Christ. Self-reliance doesn’t work for building God’s Kingdom and, so, we all looked to the Holy Spirit to fill us with more of Jesus. Essentially, we were asking – and continue to ask – for a New Pentecost. In surrendering to God, we proclaimed: “Whatever You want Lord, we want.” And God did not disappoint. The greater the hunger for Him, the more the Holy Spirit poured forth His abundance during the entire event and, in a special way, at the last event on Saturday evening.

International Itinerant Minister Randy Clark prays over Catholic Priests who are slain in the Spirit

Speaker Highlights with Links:

Three leaders from Encounter Ministries, Fr. Mathias Thelen, Patrick Reis and Dr. Mary Healy, addressed the assembly. Mary, in particular, spoke to change breaking forth in this decade we have now entered and she reminded us of the story of Blessed Elena Guerra who was instrumental in convincing Pope Leo XIII – the Pope who composed the St. Michael the Archangel Prayer – to write about the Holy Spirit which he did in the late 1800’s in several Papal documents. As well, he kicked off the last century by singing the Veni Creator Spiritus in the name of the whole Church. Catholics at that time seemed not ready to receive what went out from Heaven that day and here you can read what did transpire on that very first day of the 20th Century.

 Neal Lozano, who developed the Unbound Ministry as an approach to deliverance and healing prayer, also emphasizes the need to deepen the connection with the Heart of the Father that we may shed the lies of the enemy about our true identity and walk in the inheritance of our Baptismal call.

Dr. Bob Schuchts, author and founder of the John Paul II Healing Center in Florida, spoke on healing the whole person and gave testimony to the number of physical healings which spontaneously occur when people forgive – others and themselves.

Steve Dawson, President of St. Paul Street Evangelization, presented. When you visit the site, you can see opportunities for online studies for gaining evangelization skills.

The Anointed Life Acceleration:

When I first discovered Encounter Ministries, I was afire with desire to delve into its offerings. There is a school of training in Brighton, Michigan and leaders have established satellite schools in other regions of the country in addition to holding conferences in cities both nationally and internationally. In my desire to develop in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I contacted Encounter Ministries and asked if they might consider creating an online opportunity for distance learning.  Their plate was too full to begin such a venture.  All I could do was surrender my disappointment and simply pray to God that, perhaps, He would make another way.

To my surprise and delight last August, Michael Sullivan, the executive producer of the documentary, Fearless, which brought initial widespread attention to Encounter Ministries, launched an opportunity for online study and activation.  Enter The Anointed Life Acceleration! It has been a mighty blessing where people immerse in spirited and dynamic prayer as well as study and activation with the support of a beautiful community comprised of others interested in reaching out to BE Christ in this world. Michael – a gifted man of great vision – with his wife, Kelly – a gifted woman who shared in developing the vision – designed the program and chose leadership people to be guides who mentor community members. When you visit the site, the videos, information and testimonies well describe the purpose and activities. And I heartily invite you to take a look!

Some of The Anointed Life Family attended the Conference
(Alas! Beckita missed the meet up time for the photo.)

I love the interaction within the group and am especially grateful for the gift of greater confidence in taking the next right steps to which I’m nudged, day by day. There is a monthly – or you can opt for the annual – fee for membership and I attest it has been worth every penny. In fact, it’s a pittance compared to what I have received. I often think back to the times when we’ve mentioned here that we need new strategies for rebuilding our families, our Church and our culture. Whereas previously I was confounded in trying to imagine the how of it, I’m now certain God has strategies and keys to present if we but ask then look and listen for the answers. A young man from The Anointed Life gave testimony during Friday’s Morning Prayer call which shows this to be so.

When Brian, fresh out of college, was starting a new job at a major corporation in early fall, we prayed for him to be like leaven in his workplace… that when he walked into the company, his division would flourish, that projects would be done under budget and accomplished before deadline… that he would have Kingdom connections where he would find other people of faith in the company and that they would get together to pray for one another and the company. Brian reported that it all came together in ways that he knows God was working… that the big group Brian is in is flourishing as the most valued producing part of the organization right now – and this at a time when there’s budget cutting in many areas… that through conversations, some simple things that Brian was able to do are being used across the company… that in the “diversity training” sessions one manager said they want all employees to bring their whole selves to work so Brian decided he’d bring Jesus rather than feeling like he had to hide himself so he told the manager he (Brian) was there because God wants him to be there so Brian is happy to be working there… then one day a co-worker opened up to Brian about his dream which brought him to Christ and this man conveyed he’s to share about Christ with others at work when prompted to do so… then a co-worker complained about back pain so a few guys asked if the hurting one wanted them to pray for him and he agreed so they went to a private room, prayed over the man and the man was healed, pain-free… there’s a prayer group that’s formed as well; they meet every other week and pray for the company, for the leadership, and for the building of the Kingdom of God in their workplace. Can you imagine how culture-building change would come if every workplace had some human spiritual leaven such as this fermenting within its ranks?!

The members of The Anointed Life are a broad and diverse range of ordinary people, coming from many places with many stories and thanks to technology we see each other, face to face, in the virtual room as we pour out love via prayer and encouragement. It is utterly vivifying. Among us, there is a convert from Judaism who has a call to evangelize Christ to Jewish people; a former Muslim wants to introduce Jesus to those of Muslim faith; a sister has established the Loreto House, a home modeled on the first home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, a place of encouragement, formation and encounter where mothers and families can receive the healing graces of Mary’s love.  Each one of us is unique with a particular mission entrusted by God… just as it is so for each of us at ASOH. The prayer and activities of The Anointed Life integrate beautifully with what we’re about here at A Sign of Hope. In The Anointed Life, each one, no matter the call on that one’s life, receives prayer wherein concrete next right steps emerge. The ongoing testimonies give glory to God and build us all up to keep chopping, chopping, chopping, giving evidence that a New Beginning IS rising.

A few more stories…

***Our Anointed Life guide for prophecy is a wonderfully gifted and wise woman named Maria. Raised Catholic, she journeyed into another walk of faith in her adult life and is a pastor at her Christian church. As we were being mentored by Maria in the study of prophecy, her interest in reclaiming her roots of Catholicism grew and it was at the Encounter Conference when she decided to return to the sacraments. As you can imagine, preparing to go to confession after many years started to feel somewhat overwhelming. When the priest approached her, she had an open vision of Jesus walking toward her. Maria, not yet aware of the teaching that the priest is an alter Christus, was given instant catechesis by the Lord. After Mass, the confessor introduced her to Encounter Ministries Leader, Fr. Mathias, and when he hugged her to welcome her home, she went down in the Spirit in such a way that she brushed against her confessor who went down in the Spirit and every priest touched even lightly by the confessor went down in the Spirit too.  When I laughed with Maria about this event, her brown eyes danced with joy as she remarked that she had never considered herself a holy roller. Maria is now a bridge between Catholics and those of other Christian faiths in her city and she’s been hired by her Archdiocese to teach a School of the Spirit for young people.

***I have recently met a new holy one, Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, who was a Trappist nun and belonged to a convent which had caught the fervor for Christian unity that was sweeping the European continent in the early 1900’s. During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 1938, Sister Maria Gabriella asked permission from her superior to offer up her life as a sacrifice for Christian unity. Mother Superior agreed and, soon afterward, Maria Gabriella fell ill and was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She suffered for eighteen months before she died in the evening between April 22 and April 23, 1939.

Maria Gabriella was recognized by John Paul II in his encyclical on Christian Unity, Ut Unum Sint (“That they may be one”) as a model of concern for Christian unity. Christian unity is not a cause for “special times” John Paul II wrote, rather it is a cause for “everyone, always, and everywhere.”

During the conference days, I walked back and forth between the hotel and conference center with my friends who I first met in The Anointed Life community. They are relatives of Blessed Maria Gabriella, Valerie Sagheddu and her daughter Maria Gabriella Sagheddu – namesake of the Blessed one.

A midnight selfie with Beckita, Valerie and Maria Gabriella

Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, pray for us

169 thoughts on “That They May Be One”

    1. Great words from Father, Joyful. Thanks for sharing this homily. Of course, he’s exactly right. All healing prayers must keep the spotlight on Christ. We bless whatever HE is doing in the life of the one over whom we pray. All power is His and He deserves the glory, gratitude and praise.

      Liked by 6 people

  2. My goodness, such positive and uplifting news on your Anointed Life Ministry. Thank you as it gives me such hope for good things to come. There are many people living inspired lives and projecting the Spirit into others as you witness. I see little things happening in my life that I have prayed over that make me do a double take and realize the little miracles that occur each day through prayer and trying to live a Christ-centered life. (I do still struggle with fasting I have to admit) I just finished reading “The Warning” by Christine Watkins and have ordered three more copies to give to my sisters. Thanks to those who referenced it a few months ago….very powerful.
    God Bless us all.

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  4. This is exciting. Sometimes I’ve wondered if the Life in the Spirit Seminars were on their way out as I had gone through one in 1975 and it changed my whole life. What seems to have changed is that the Bishops are involved. That is the way it should be. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit take on a lot of credibility and guidance when our Bishops, our Shepherds, lend their incredible talents and clerical gifts to the movement much like the Apostles after Pentecost going out and guiding the new Church.

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    1. There’s been a lot of discussion about how the Charismatic Renewal took a major pause for a while, Jeanne. Neither Encounter Ministries nor The Anointed Life leaders use the Life in the Spirit Seminars. The current model for drawing closer to Holy Spirit and using the gifts involves teachings – and the teachings are rooted in solid orthodoxy – and activations which involve taking the risk of employing the gifts of the Spirit.

      It’s a risk every time I pray over someone to be healed. Jesus has brought some awesome healings through these hands and I know who I am as a conduit and Who He is as the Healer. Sometimes, for His reasons rooted in Pure Love, He doesn’t bring a physical healing or He waits for a while before He heals physically or He heals gradually. God is sovereign and only Goodness pours forth from Him.

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      1. Thanks for your post today and all you do! I have a lot of friends from the old Renewal days who support EM! Hope to get to Brighton myself this year for some of their events! The Spirit is a moving all over, all over this land! Thanks be to God!

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  6. Oh, Beckita – thank you so much for sharing this info. My current parish is embarking on a stewardship campaign to increase participation & bring others to the faith. As I sat in the informational meeting, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. (Though, in retrospect, perhaps nothing lacked in their approach, rather the Holy Spirit was simply leading me to a slightly different perspective.) I fully believe that sharing our time, treasure, & talent goes hand & hand with being disciples of Jesus. I sense, though, that a sincere dedication to this way of life stems from an authentic encounter with God… and that, these days, such encounters will likely involve bringing Jesus’ love to those who are hurting in some way. Mercy driven. I perused The Annointed Life Acceleration Community, and it deeply spoke to my heart on many levels. Just wanted to share my appreciation for being led to this source. Going back now to explore further 😊 Will then discuss with my husband to see what he thinks about me becoming involved in this type of community. Please say a quick prayer for me – that I’m obedient to whatever God wills for my state of life.

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      1. Thanks for the suggestion & prayer, Beckita. My husband’s a little hesistant – cautious – about me getting involved. Being newer to the faith, I think Holy Spirit gifts & charisms make him a little uncomfortable, and that’s what jumped out to him when looking at the info. I’m actually interested in how God is using this ministry to bring about long sought healing and an infusion of courage. If the Holy Spirit wants to give more than that, I’m certainly open to it (with extended arms!) but finding a path to becoming whole & fearless would already be a priceless gift. I think identifying & overcoming obstacles in order to serve those who are hurting would flow naturally from this, especially given the strong community component, . Will share your suggestion with my husband. I think he’d be open to that.

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        1. Your husband’s hesitation is understandable, Jill. I think that month of participation will help with discerning if this is for you. There’s been some misguided, yet with well-meaning intention, exercising of the Charisms of the Holy Spirit. Misunderstandings and mischaracterizations have ensued. Here’s a great piece by Fr. Mathias which he wrote after being challenged by a colleague at the seminary where he teaches. I’ve been pleased with how The Anointed Life leadership operates from orthodox Catholic teaching.

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          1. That is a great piece, Beckita. I will share with my husband. God’s pulling me in a direction that has always resonated with me but that I’d never really imagined as a possible path (introvert = bold evangelization hesitation!). This “what if” from the article kind of explains why I feel I should make more of an intentional effort to discern what God is putting on my heart.

            “Maybe instead of asking what could happen to a Christian who seeks the charisms, we should be asking another pressing question: what will happen to the Church and unconverted world if we do not seek these graces? After all, it was through these graces that Jesus built up the Church in the first place.”

            Hoping Holy Spirit gives my dear hubby a nudge toward approval even if just for a month… but if not, I’ll continue to pray to be used however God desires, all in His time. Will also share this ministry with others. Perhaps that’s my role – more of a “connector.”😉

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  7. Oh wow, Beckita! Just, wow! Thank you for sharing. This one will be good to read and reread. Yes, there is a desire, actually an ache in the heart for true unity. But how? This post is so hopeful as to the “how” of unity. Thank you very much! Blessings to you and yours,

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  8. This sounds great, Beckita! I have been doing with the diocese of Buffalo father Michael Gaitley’s 33 Days to Morning Glory.” It is superb.

    Remember, when I spoke of the library I was moved to build? Since things did not go the bbc way we thought back in 2016, I have been able to add a lot more. The library will be a great blessing to my local community after the Lord renews the earth. The great book of Origen’s homilies on the psalms comes out this fall in Catholic University of America Press’ Fathers of the church series as #141. I was given to understand that these lost works were found by the grace of the Holy Spirit specifically for our times.

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  9. I too attended the Encounter Conference in Toledo with my husband. It was a very powerful event. On Friday morning I had a doctor’s appointment at which I was diagnosed with diabetes (fasting glucose of 170) after a decade of being pre-diabetic . I drove to the conference that afternoon feeling a bit down, knowing I had a lot of dietary changes to make in my life. Friday night with Randy Clark was so inspiring. Hundreds of people were being healed. The high school girl sitting next to me was healed of a skin disease.

    Since I am in relatively good health, I told the Lord that I wasn’t going to ask for prayer unless someone had a word of knowledge that he wanted to heal people of diabetes. Two different people had that sense that God wanted to heal diabetics. So I got in line and received prayer. Unlike most physical infirmities, you can’t tell if you have been healed until you check your fasting blood sugar. The following morning I checked and it was 128! Every morning now I stick my finger and thank God for healing. Every reading has been below 130. (The value I need to stay below to be considered pre-diabetic). I have also received renewed will to “be good” about what I eat.

    I would like to ask for prayers as my husband and I are taking a group on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Egypt for two weeks. We are leaving tomorrow. I would also like to ask for prayers for Fr. Matthias’ step-father who just passed away.

    Blessings to you all!

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    1. How wonderful that you, too, experienced good things at the conference, Janet. Praying for safe travel for you and for blessings on your pilgrimage. Praying, too, for the repose of the soul of Fr. Mathias’ step-father and for all those who love him.

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    3. So happy for you, Janet! I will pray for the repose of Father’s stepdad, and for Father’s entire family during this sad time.

      By the way, are you the Janet that occasionally attends the “Storm lunches” in the Lansing/Jackson area?

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      1. That’s me. Thanks for all the prayers! I am here in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee with my son, Fr Peter and my husband, daughter, and 18 other pilgrims.

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  10. I had finished sending angels for Chuck Schumer last week, this week I am sending angels for Adam Schiff. May the holy Spirit come to us soon in the new Pentecost as He renews the face of the earth. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and protect us, lead us to all holiness and truth. Watch and pray, pray and watch TRUST in the Lord. jas

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  12. I have a theological question to ponder, “are we indispensable to God’s plan”. I know God can do anything, but as I reflect on a Fatima message (may be paraphrased a bit), “souls perish for lack of our prayers”. Are we indispensable given our unique calling? In your article Becks, I see a statement, which, to me, rings true, “Each one of us is unique with a particular mission entrusted by God”. I am not looking for a simple pat answer, but some deep reflection on this as Lambzie and I are having an interesting discussion on this. God bless all here!

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      1. Phillip, I see it as two things.  There is the essence of God’s bigger plan which will not be thwarted, but then there is the individual part we all play or have a role in.  It is God’s plan that all be saved, but we know all will not be saved.  In the Gospel, it says people (little ones) will sin, but woe to those who cause those to sin.  By our life, we can lead others to mortal sin and also by our life, we can lead others to salvation.  If we live a life true to the faith and lead others to Salvation, would those others have not been saved if we did not live our calling?  In other words, if I caused others to live in mortal sin, the converse is also true leading to others salvation.  Does this make me indispensable to that other person’s salvation, thus making me indispensable to God’s plan.  Would I would be indispensable because soul or souls would be lost if i do not do my part.  I would think that from the saved soul’s perspective, I would be indispensable.  I fall back on Fatima.  Souls perish due to lack of folks praying.  I need to look up the exact message.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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        1. On July 13, 1917, Our Lady further said, “Pray, pray a great deal and make many sacrifices, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and to pray for them. “

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          2. Even before that time, St. Therese of Lisieux had a penchant for praying for sinners transformations. In Story of a Soul, she recounted a personal testimony of offering sacrifices/prayers for the conversion of a notorious and unrepentant killer in 1887. “The day after his execution I hastily opened the paper…and what did I see? Tears betrayed my emotion; I was obliged to run out of the room. Pranzini had mounted the scaffold without confessing or receiving absolution, and…turned round, seized the crucifix which the Priest was offering to him, and kissed Our Lord’s Sacred Wounds three times. …I had obtained the sign I asked for, and to me it was especially sweet. My prayer was granted to the letter.”

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      2. But Phillip, I believe God’s plan does rely on us in the context that he gives us a role to play in his “greater” will.  Souls are at stake.  He does not have to rely on us, but by his great love he wills it.  It underscores our dignity.  Our role in that plan is indispensable.  He has chosen us.  Yes.  If we do not play our part, he can select someone else, but that may not be as efficacious as if we stepped up to our calling.  Romans 11:29 “for the gifts and God’s calling are irrevocable”—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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        2. I was taught early on that God is sufficient unto Himself and that Himself is the Holy Trinity eternally. When I asked if there’s a word for that earlier (Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you), I was thinking of “relationship.” God the Father, we as His children. Holy Spirit bears witness, as The Love. The Son gives us the perfect example of how to be in relationship with the Father.

          That there is Father and His children makes relationship indispensable to my way of thinking. No doubt some treat that relationship as dispensable of their own free will.

          I know this: God wants relationship and it springs forth from an incomprehensible excess of Love. If we’re to love in kind, it’s as simple as doing whatever He tells us to do. Cooperating with His Will to the extent we are able. Wanting and trying definitely count.

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    2. Interesting question, Doug. We are not indispensable to God, but with His determination not to interfere with our free will, He made us indispensable to His plan – for it cannot fully be accomplished without our free will acceptance and advocacy for it. Thus, part of His plan is both predicated AND dependent on our embracing Him and each other – a contingency He cannot accomplish without violating that commitment to free will. Thus, the question becomes, “Why is free will so important to God – so important He allows evil rather than to revoke it?” I suspect that goes to His determination to create us in His own image…and without free will (moral agency, that is) we are not in His image.

      That is just an insight, but I think this question is worthy of deep and extended contemplation.

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      1. @Charlie, thank you for re-phrasing Doug’s question. Perhaps including Bekita’s insight about creativity brings a fuller (but never complete) answer to that question.

        If I might weigh in: As you say, it is not we as mere creatures who are indispensable in the ordering of God’s plan so much as it is free will that is indispensable. At the same time free-will acts are creatively coupled in time with the unique and individual means and ways of living and being that we as unique creatures bring to God’s master plan–for good or evil. Every thought, word, and action in accord with His Divine Will or not, He already knows how every minutiae plays out; we do not.

        As Doug notes, God can and will use another human instrument to complete His plan if /when the original instrument should choose curse instead of blessing. For the sake of each of His creatures, His infinite justice and mercy will never be offended; each of us will receive our due. He will use evil, which He permits, to fulfill that same master plan. In the end, He works His will to the good for those who love Him.

        Two “servant scriptures” come to mind that seem to relate to this mystery of Who God is and what and how we are in response to Him. There are two “servant scriptures” that seem at odds but I think relate to this mystery we are contemplating. The first is, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” And the second, “So you also, when you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do.”

        They seem at odds when I look at them from a human “it’s-all-about-me” perspective, but when I try to look at them from an eternal perspective, I think that I get a glimpse of the real reality: It’s always and in all times and places about Him. As it should be: “But with Thee is forgiveness of sins that men might serve Thee with reverence.” (Psalm 129) So, yeah, He forgives my sins but not so much for me as for Him, as it should be.

        In other words, I am dispensable and that He does not dispense with me is not so much for my sake as it is for His, “that I will serve Him with reverence”. Thank you again, Charlie, for revising Doug’s question.

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        1. Islam,  I am being misquoted.  “As Doug notes, God can and “WILL” use another human instrument to complete His plan if /when the original instrument should choose curse instead of blessing. I am saying just the opposite.  I did say that God can find alternate means.  To describe it another way, it is making the best of a bad situation.  I will give an analogy.  An ocean liner captain ignores sound advice to slow the ship down in iceberge infested waters.  The ship is on it’s way and for better or worse, the captain is the final authority on the ship and will not be replaced at that point.  He hits an iceberge and the ship sinks.  2/3 of the passengers die.  Good news is miraculous help arrives and 1/3 of the passengers are saved.  Good news.  Right?  Good news, yes, but due to the Captain not doing what he should have done, 2/3 that should not have perished did perish.  That Captain was given a great responsibility and used it incorrectly and people died.  Had he done what should have been done, he would not have hit the iceberge and no one would have perished.  Thus, he was indispensable to the lives of every person on board due to him doing his proper duty.  Maybe I am miss using the term indispensable.  I am not sure.  But I see it like the Captain in that we have been given an indispensable role and we have the free will to live up to our responsibility or not live up to it and if we do not live up to it, souls will perish due to our choices because we did not love or inspire or deliver the truth as we should have and thus, these souls gave up hope and there was no one else to come along and save them.  I think Mary’s message from Fatima, as Beckita articulates, shows this.  We are indispensable to God’s plans to save souls.  This is an awesome responsibility.  It shows us how important each one of us is in fulfilling God’s plan.  I find this very humbling, but also as a great measure of our worth and purpose.  Every soul must take part based on each soil’s given talents.  It may be as simple as an old grandma praying the rosary every day or a great evangelist.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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        2. Just to clarify, once the ship sets sail, the captain is not going to be replaced.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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        3. Islam,  I will try and Express this in terms of us here.  No one can replace Charlie and be as effective as him.  He has been given a great responsibility and charge along with talents to go with it.  If Charlie were replaced, the person replacing him would not be nearly as effective and less people would be reached. If I were Charlie, I would be terrified.  I think he has expressed this in the past.  Charlie’s role is indispensable here.  Good news is God will give him what he needs to fulfill his role as long as he remains faithful to him.  The same applies to your role as a mom and my role as a dad.  God has placed us in these roles as natural parents.  We each have an awesome responsibility to raise our kids and transfer the faith to the best of our ability.  When thinking about it, it can be terrifying for us too as our kids soul us at stake.  No one can replace us and be as effective as us if we were doing our part properly.  Our role as natural parents isindispensable.  In many instances, due to divorce, abuse, neglect, many a childrens soul may perish from the wounds due to anger, bitterness,  unforgiveness.  How many souls are crushed today due to the destruction of the family?  How do you replace this?  God may break through to some by other means, but a great many will also be lost.  Good news is God is with us and as long as we remain faithful, he will give us the grace we need.  Of course, there is still no guarantee due to free will, but if we, as parents do our best, we would see a much better overall outcome in our families and culture.  Thus, we are indispensable.  Does this make sense?—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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          1. I have a habit of reading the comments from the bottom up, so entered here, then quickly doubled back to the original framing and contemplation of the word “indispensable,” which I thought from the outset was a bit like trying to force a square peg into a round hole. But that’s not entirely it. “Indispensable” is as good as any place to start in this worthy contemplation. That not only had me ‘holding’ that peg in my hand and looking at it keenly, but also looking at the whole framework from multiple perspectives. You being an engineer, certainly know more than many others how indispensable pegs are to holding together a ship’s framework.

            I mention “ship,” because you used the reference… certainly helpful as familiar imagery to contemplate the various relationships among all the essential components. There’s that word again: “relationships.”

            Don Bosco gave us the imagery of a ship as The Church, and before that we see it in the Gospels out on the water with the fishermen and other passengers. Sometimes out on a simple mission of fishing, at other times serving other functions such as transport to the other side of the lake.

            Body of water; boat; willing boat makers, captain, crew; purpose; mission (and all the elements that make that mission viable… fish, for example); the gear necessary for a successful mission… these are the things that are indispensable I think in the order of things. Of course none of this is even possible without God.

            In that vein, you have me mostly contemplating all those things in right, healthy relationship. Or, more specifically, that whole process of growing toward right, healthy relationship. Here I’m thinking of all those instances from the Gospel, most especially involving a boat. Jesus, the sea, the boat, Peter, the Apostles, fish, nets. What conversations had! What stories to tell! And we’re participating in this great story to this very day! Oh, sorry… now I find myself carried away on that current.

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            1. You might say we are part of God’s tool kit to help reach humanity.  We have been commissioned through baptism as priest prophet and king.  Jesus has commanded humans to preach the gospel.  So this makes us vital in this task and it is done according to the talents we have received.  I have been thinking lately that it is somewhat of a deception when we think God will find another way if we fail to live up to our calling.  I agree that God can do that and in cases will make a way as his love and mercy are great, but there is also free will to consider and when we “think” we are not vital to the task, we sell ourselves short of our value.  I express this in humility.  When I think of the great task we all have, I am terrified, but as I learn more, I see it as a great and humble gift to be “chosen” for a great purpose and this humbles me more.  It shows the great dignity we all have.  We all have wood to chop and if we don’t chop, the house will get cold when winter comes.  Ok.  I think I am finished pondering this for now.  So I move on.  I have to chop some wood…..—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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      2. It is nice to see some great responses to this from many folks.  I agree except that we may be indispensable to God in that he sent his son to die in order to rescue us as he dies not want us to perish.  Now, why dies he allow evil?  He has to in order to save us because the first time we sin, he would have to immediately obliterate us if he did not allow it to exist for a time.  Allowing it to exist allows time for redemption.  This is where I think the fallen angels can’t be redeemed.  They do not exist in time.  So a single act of disobedience was dealt with instantaneously.  Jesus said “I saw Satan fall like lightening”.  It was sudden and immediate.  Thanks be to God for living in time and sending his son for our redemption!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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      1. Beautiful article Joyful!  The context is somewhat, “are we selling ourselves short?”.  Is it too easy to think of ourselves as unimportant in our roles we have been called to?  Is it the kind of thing the evil one uses to niggle at our self worth?  Think of this, “God does not need you.  He can use anyone.”  Does this sound like something God would say?  Could this also be a temptation to not live up to our calling?—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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        1. You are probably right about the evil one’s temptations, however I am at the time in my life where I am on a new path. I retired two years ago and I realize that I want to make the most of what time I have left to do God’s will; only as He wills, when He wills and in the way He wills. I just need to be sure of my discernment. I want what He wants.
          I think that the article resonated with me because of a perceived criticism from a family member. I hadn’t seen things the way they had. So I am like everyone else–taking a step and hoping it is the right one. Also, need to be careful about God’s will being served up in front of me and my wanting to do something else. 🙂

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      2. God never compares us to others and neither should we. We are judged on our own actions and thoughts for which we alone are responsible. “To those who are given much, much is expected.” It reminds me also of the saying, “When ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise.” The burden of power is the responsibility which always comes along with it. We are not given gifts purely for our own benefit. All glory and honor be to God who is the source of all good.
        May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and bless all here, lead us to all holiness and truth. jas

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        1. I get your point and it is valid, but you overstated a bit. When I read your comment, the first thing that popped into my head was a direct quote from the Bible of God comparing some people to another: “You have not spoken rightly of Me as has My servant, Job…” There are actually quite a few other examples. But the point I think you are making is correct: God has unique standards for each of us based on His commands AND the unique gifts He has given each of us. Thus, I will not be judged for how well I do your mission – except to the extent that I should stick to my own.

          No real objection…but I think this year we need to try to be very precise in how we think of these things and how we express them. On the other hand, I have always been a bit of a stickler on such things in discussion. When I was in radio, a woman once sincerely repeated a silly bit of drivel going around at the time. “Man is the only animal who kills for the fun of it,” she told me. “You have never had a housecat, have you?” I responded.

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          1. I like that response to your caller, because it’s memorable and simply gets the job done. The Book of Job even gives us such examples: “Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.” (Job 39:18, where God is speaking of the ostrich) But if we’re going to be sticklers for accuracy, it gets real murky applying human traits to animals literally. That’s not to say that it’s not possible there may be some very rough equivalent to “fun” in animals, but there the instinct to survive dominates in what we observe.

            Who with a cat hasn’t had a little carcass dropped at their feet at some point Oh, look at you, we think. How proud and pleased with yourself you are (to put it into human terms). Yet, it is really nothing of the sort as we interpret it, just part of their survival instincts and habits.

            Heading out the front door a couple of days ago, I crossed paths with a ‘neighborhood’ cat by my car. This little guy:

            Later I showed my wife while she was babying our two cats and I know she’s convinced they love her. “You know,” says I, “if those two house cats of ours were the size of that bobcat or a mountain lion, it would only be a matter of time before they tried to eat us.”

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            1. Of course we are human and thinking as one, we can’t help but anthropormophise animal behavior. Young predators use “play” to sharpen their skills and strengthen themselves for survival. I’ve seen many a dolphin “play” with a fish they caught by flipping them up out of the water over and over again. Our cats constantly play cat-n-mouse with the yard lizards. Even horses can try to “kill” their rider at times by running into a bush or low tree limb! (For Fun?). I think play in animals creates a dopamine dump just like “thrill seekers” get when they cause an adrenaline rush. So it is more a pleasure than a fun as we see fun to be (or is it the same?). Of course “good fun” and “extreme sports” are on two different levels of “fun”. I don’t expect an animal will ever bungie- jump just for a thrill? I think they have way too much “common sense” for that.

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              1. I can’t remember the news feed that I saw it on recently, but a pig was forced to bungie jump off a 70 meter platform at a theme park in China. Web outrage ensued of course. Certainly the people involved didn’t have the slightest bit of common sense.

                I’m fond of pigs. Two days prior to that cat encounter, there was a large javelina rustling out front as well (not a pig, but sure looks the part). I went to grab my iphone from the house, realized it was still down in the car, so opened the front door to head back that way. To my surprise, the javelina was waiting for me right outside the door, and he was a whopper. I said something to him, but can’t recall what it was. Certainly it wasn’t an invitation to supper. Their smell, especially when that close, is almost impossible to put into words… and it ain’t the fresh scent of hickory smoked bacon sizzling in the pan.

                If he got a good whiff of me, it was old leather and a cigar. All God’s creatures.

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                1. What you needed was an indispensable back pack on you with a camera primed and ready.  😎—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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          2. I know I sometimes use too few words. Some of my comments are aimed at causing some to think and that can be valuable in and of itself. If there is value in what I say, take it, if not, let it go.as scripture says, take what is valuable and leave the rest, unless of course what I say is blatantly wrong or misleading. Perhaps sometimes things are not as obvious as I would like to think. For example, the statement, “Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise.” cannot be taken seriously, it is facetious at best. Ignorance can never be bliss really. It would be basedon self delusion and can only bring one harm. The foolish distain wisdom to their own destruction. I hope this helps. jas

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            1. Hi JAS, where in scripture does it say “take what is valuable and leave the rest”?  I don’t mean to be smug, but I don’t recall that being there.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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              1. It’s a variation/paraphrasing from 1 Thessalonians 5:

                “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (KJV)

                Keep what’s good, ditch the rest.

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                1. Aahh!  Yes.  I recognize that verse.  Good wisdom to store in my back pack.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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              2. I do not even attempt to remember chapter and verse but to basically remember what scripture says. I admit I was surprised to see I had said ‘value’ when I clearly remember that scripture says, “Take what is good and leave the rest.” Same meaning but slightly different words. Look for it if you have a need. I merely offer, I do not argue or defend. May God continue to guide and bless all here. jas

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                1. Thanks JAS.  It kinda does show it is a good thing to have daily scripture devotion.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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                  1. I have been continually reading scripture each day for years. It takes me about a year to read through both the old and new testament. I find fewer new things each of my later years but it does serve to continually renew my commitment to follow Christ ever closer and appreciate the catholic religion ever more. I pray daily to know the will of God for me and to listen more closely to the small still voice that inspires and gives me insights. Such a great time to be alive. May God continue to bless and guide all here. jas

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        4. I should have said, “God never compares us to others in judging us.” I did not reference “judging” until the next sentence and did not clearly tie the two together. I will have to add clarity of thought more intently to my prove reading. jas

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    4. I don’t think we’re indispensable, Doug, in the sense that the work of the mission God intends for us in His Plan could be accomplished by another or others.

      I do think we’re invited into an intimate collaboration of creating with Him and because each person is a one-of-a-kind human, you could say the work to which God invites us most likely would not be completed in just the way we’d do it… maybe similar but not in exactly the same ways. 🤔

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      1. Becks, but I think we are indispensable to his plan and in general because he choses us and needs us for his purpose.  As Charlie noted, the free will aspect is an important piece of this.  There is only one of each of us and yes, God may have a backup plan, but that may not be as effective.  As father and husband, I am indispensable to the stability and spiritual growth of my family as is Lambzie as mother and wife.  If something were to happen to either of us to remove us, it would be less than ideal and add risk to our offspring.  God can still make things right, but it is less than ideal.  Think of all the disintigrating families in our culture and all who are led astray due to this.  Again, I think it underscores our value and dignity before God.  It also gives worth to an individual in knowing that he has an important role in God’s salvation plan.  This does not mean we puff up our chest and say, “look at me, I am important.”  To me, I find it very humbling that me, a little peon, means so much to God.  It makes me grateful to participate with him.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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        1. I readily agree with your points made through these fine examples and your summation thoughts, Doug. AND, at the same time, I know that for all those examples you name Romans 8:28 applies. I know wounds that are caused such as those what would be inherent in your examples can become not only healed, but also transformed for mega good. For example, if a spouse dies, the changes that ensue can lead to a new stability and the transformed wounds can be a source of wisdom and mercy as the living spouse, perhaps, accompanies newly widowed ones still mourning.

          Thinking of God and the ways He’s almighty – and I don’t even know all the theological terms and understandings which Holy Spirit has granted scholars throughout the ages to describe His Awesomeness, this Great God Who said so simply: I AM – it seems from this lens that no way are we indispensable. He really doesn’t need us. But the thing is, God cannot by fully defined in human terms, yet, we see a lot of Who He is when we reflect on His Presence throughout salvation history and one unending dimension of His Being is that God is Love. His Son’s proclamation of the two great commandments reveals the preeminence of LOVE in His Plan for Life. And He – from Love and in a great mystery – chooses to make us indispensable by inviting us into His work.

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          1. Beckita This exchange reminds me of a Rabbi who wrote a book containing the position that God is not all powerful. In his supporting arguments he missed the very important element that God is infinitely all powerful but in respecting our free will, He limits Himself. I can see how you work this into the subject of our sense of indispensability. Well done. jas

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          2. Beautiful Becks.  It is all embedded in his divine love for us.  It is unfathomable and humbling.  I would note that there is a caveat to Romans 8:28. I would term it as, not all things work for good in and of itself, but as the scripture says, “All things work for good to those WHO LOVE HIM and are called according to his purpose.  Our love must reciprocate God’s love in the form of what has been given us.  However,  even then, when we do not reciprocate, I believe there is a divine conspiracy working behind the scenes gently working towards our salvation.  It is working even when we are far from him.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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    5. Is Doug’s backpack indispensable… or how ’bout that worn Field and Stream job hanging with the tack? Hm. That word has me thinking more in terms of utility than anything else, and even in that vein you’d be hard pressed to convince me to swap packs. Two packs tantamount in function, but try telling that to the packers.

      Are our kids indispensable to us? Heck, I’d say “yes” without even having to think about it, but even then that word doesn’t really get the job done. Where are the word smiths when you need them?

      “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Is there a word for that?

      All I know is we’re going to have to dump those packs out some day and make a good accounting. Not sure what’s in your pack, but expect some desert dirt, dry flakes of cigar leaf, maybe the scent of bologna sandwiches, and certainly an odd collection of small stones to come spilling out of mine.

      Guess we’ll have to wait to see if there’s a good story in there or not. I’d tell you about those stones, and you could tell me about your stuff, but I think we’re both really intent on getting the real story from Him.

      BTW, the word “tantamount” comes from an old Anglo-French phrase tant amunter.
      Tant meaning to “amount to as much.” And amounter, meaning “to ascend.” Words continue to be interesting.

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      1. Love the way you ponder this MP and especially your analogy.  I do not see my kids as expendable.  Does God, our perfect father think less than this? Think rhetorically, heck, if I lose one, I can just replace him with another.  Right?  Of course, I would have to convince Lambzie to have another first.  Too late for me now though.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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        1. Being omnipresent, God has, does, and always will know and love us so in this reality we have always been a “present” part of His mind and therefore, His plan of love. We just don’t get how big this love really is being finite and on the wrong side of the veil. He has done EVERYTHING in a great, profound, magnificent way just to be the Love only a God can be towards us. Charlie mentions the “dynamic tension” of the universe and how it all orders towards our existence so we CAN BE. Now, that’s Love! Then He condesends to become one of us and SHOWS us how much He loves us by dying on a cross after healing every form of human failure imaginable- including original sin. After this He sets up His Kingdom on earth to further the relationship for all time.
          So the “plan” has always been and will always be a part of the omnipresent of God. Our free will within this plan allows us movement but by knowing the outcome, God has seen its fruition and outcome. His ability to use even the demons in His service gives us a hint of how, through good or “bad”, His will is done. The concept of His “perfect” or “permissive” or our will gives a mix of potential outcomes in real time but does not hinder His mission which is already accomplished in Him.

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    6. Doug: I think Charlie has the essence of the answer to your question. In the grand scheme of the universe we are not indispensable to God. Every person’s salvation is ultimately and completely found in the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. Yet in His great love for us and, to Charlie’s point, to honor our free will, God makes us an indispensable part of Jesus’ work. We each have a role to play in the salvation of those who God puts in our path. At the same time, God sets out straight paths with crooked lines. If our individual sin causes us to fall short in completing our task of bringing others to God, God has contingency plans to use others to accomplish His purposes.

      This discussion brings to mind several lines from the Exsultet sung in the Easter Vigil Mass:

      O truly necessary sin of Adam,
      destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!
      O happy fault
      that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!

      For many years those words puzzled me. How could sin be happy? It seemed certain to me that God did not will Adam and Eve to sin. However, once the sin had occurred, God had a contingency plan. I finally came to understand the Exsultet proclaims our wonder at the fact that in many ways the contingency plan was more mysterious, wonderful and glorious than the original plan.

      While we will be called to account for our actions or inactions in assisting those around us in their journey, I don’t think any person’s salvation is ultimately dependent on the action or non-action of some other single individual. God always has a contingency plan.

      I think our Lady’s words are a call to do all we can to intercede and thereby open as many paths, or opportunities, as possible for each person to encounter the good news and turn to Jesus to be saved.

      Just my personal thoughts. I am no theologian and surely have only a partial glimpse of a possible answer to your question.

      JT

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      2. JT, I am not sure I agree.  I think that in the grand scheme of the universe, we are indispensable to God.  I have heard that if we were the only soul to exist, God would have still sent his son to rescue us.  He does not want to lose us!  However, that does not mean we will not necessarily be lost as we do have free will to reject him (scares the pants off if me sometimes).  It has to break God’s heart dearly for every lost soul.  I can imagine an infinite amount of pain given his divine nature.  Oh what can I do to bring salve to God’s wounds through Christ?—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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        1. Doug: I think the difference lies in where we are placing the indispensability. I was referring to any one of us being indispensable to the salvation of another one of us. It is my belief that, if one messenger does not fulfill the role they are called to play in someone’s coming to the faith, God will raise up someone else to carry out the work. (Not that this excuses in any way the one who was first called to act.)
          On a much greater scale and completely other level, I agree with you. We, as individuals, and as a people, are so beloved by God that, in our unclear human understanding, it appears that God almost needs us to be there to love. We are, in some profound way, indispensable to Him and He would have sent his Son to save even one of us. (My training and education by the Dominicans, makes me uncomfortable with saying that God is somehow needy, or needful. On a human level however, I think that may be the closest analogy we can use from our limited experience to explain the profound depth of God’s love for us.)

          JT

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          1. Hi JT,I hear what you are saying about God needing our love, but when Jesus, God become man, is put into the equation, he has all the human needs we have.  So he needs our love as we need others love.  Yet when we do not receive the love needed, we suffer.  It is then that we endeaver to align our sufferings to Christ as he understands this need because he was abandoned when he needed us most.I agree that God can find alternate needs for one truly searching.  However, I still fall back on what the blessed Mother said at Fatima that souls perish due to not praying and making sacrifice for them.  Thus, we are indispensable to these souls.  Not only do our sins of commission have a ripple effect, but our sins of omission also have a ripple effect.  We have wood to chop to use our talents to bring souls to Christ.  We water and God makes them grow.  However,  if we don’t water, it will be hard to grow and maybe a few of the more robust will survive.  God bless you!—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

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  13. Happy MLK Day 😉
    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-woke-left-vs-martin-luther-king-jr

    https://cnsnews.com/article/washington/michael-w-chapman/hhs-there-no-international-human-right-abortion

    https://cnsnews.com/article/national/bruce-truax/va-abortion-plan-would-legalize-greatest-human-rights-abuse-our-time

    https://cnsnews.com/commentary/l-brent-bozell-iii/stop-silly-centrist-labels-democrats

    https://videos.whatfinger.com/2020/01/18/lou-dobbs-how-can-any-christian-with-any-conscience-ever-vote-for-a-democrat-again-fast-clip-245/

    https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/not-a-single-democrat-voted-to-protect-womens-sports-from-transgender-cheats/

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/01/a_century_of_democrat_socialism.html

    https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-impeachment-doug-collins-mark-levin-steny-hoyer-innocence

    https://cnsnews.com/commentary/allen-west/who-decides-what-abuse-power

    https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/red_flag_nation_anti_gun_laws_sanctuary_cities_and_the_second_amendment

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/2nd_amendment_supporters_are_worried_about_mondays_rally_in_virginia.html#ixzz6BYzcEduL

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/trump-rips-mini-mike-bloomberg-over-his-remarks-trashing-texas-church-hero-jack-wilson/

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/womens-march-goes-hundreds-thousands-hundreds-daniel-greenfield/

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!

    Liked by 5 people

  14. Beckita thanks for sharing this. To think you were only 50 miless away from me & Mike makes me happy. We were home and sick during that time frame and offering up our sufferings to the Almighty as imperfect as we are…lol..what a wonderful thing that is going on. Sounds like the 2nd Pentecost. Fr Gobbi used to speak of it often. I am seeing signs of it myself. They are small signs, but I believe people know something is up and making has been duped for a long long time. Time for a reset??? Ut Unim Sint…wow…wouldn’t that be awesome. ..thanks for this Piece Beckita. .I’ll be reading re-reading and lots of posting🤗😇😘

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  15. I too attended the Conference, and I was healed of constant foot pain by a man sitting in front of me who said God told him to pray for me. Very humbling!

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    1. Praise God for your healing, Linda! I’m thinking I should have had a sign mounted on a tall stick with these words: “Hello Sign of Hope Friends! Let’s meet.” 🙂

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      1. Beckita that would have been grand! I too was at the conference. I am a first year student this year in Brighton and it has been absolutely amazing! The first quarter was entitled ‘Renewal of the mind’. I found that my prayer life deepened tremendously. One of the little ways used was to bring everything to Jesus and ask him ‘Jesus, what do you think about this situation? ‘. After speaking for two minutes to Him, you listen for 6 minutes and record anything He tells you. I cannot tell you strongly enough how this has changed my ability to hear from God. The healing quarter was also amazing and helped me step out of my comfort zone. The biggest healing was not only seeing a friend healed from vertigo, but her return to the church and our new conversations about God and what he is doing. I love that the school is completely orthodox and we get solid scripture, church documents and are under the authority of the bishop. We have also learned about criticism (critical thought) and how to deliver in love for the building up of the church and each other. This quarter is on Prophecy.

        If anyone is interested in a short course, they are having a intensive weekend March 12-14, 2020 on Prophecy. This is all about hearing God speak.

        https://encounterministries.us/encounter-school-of-prophetic-ministry/

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  17. I was there with my wife and 3 friends (us from Canada and 1 from Ireland). It was an amazing experience. I would have liked to shake your hand.

    God bless, Peter

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      1. Hi Beckita,
        Thank you so much for your post. It is incredible to have this Hopeful update to encourage us. I found your reports really touching my heart. I will check out their online material. God’s blessings, graces and gifts to all here. Holy Spirit, please fill us with your gifts, and help us to recognize your call to use them in serving your people. Jesus, thank you for this community, and the ability to discern your will.

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    2. They have ongoing ministry training related to the charisms of the Holy Spirit. Something that your readers may want to check out.

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      1. Yes, Peter. I provided a link to Encounter Ministries. However, the big drawback is that you have to physically get there or be so blessed to have occasional weekend training in your local area. I found The Anointed Life provides that training related to the charisms in an outstanding way within a community of others hungry for this and it’s done from the convenience of each one’s home.

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  22. B, sounds like the conference was a little slice of Heaven for you and others. Tailor made I would say.

    Used to think how nice it would be to experience some of these things firsthand, but so glad you were there to experience it for us and share.

    Maybe my favorite thing was the midnight walk. There’s just something about wandering around outdoors at all hours, energized and immersed in something you love.

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  23. Beckita,

    I would add one more thing that reinforces what you wrote. An article of father Z’s, “A Diocese smells the coffee: starts planning for decline of the novus ordo and growth of the TLM” The article carries a point Father Z has reiterated over the yers: the future fusion of the TLM and charismatic communities in the Church.

    I have seen signs of the reintegration of the Jews, God bless them, as well of evangelicals.

    I was at a very grace filled funeral for my great aunt who died at the age of 99. Grace upon grace with my Jewish family.

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      2. Thank you, Mick. I have Father Dana in my prayers

        Miraculous cures of ALS do happen . . . My cousin was healed of his ALS. He is a doctor and stated unequivocally that his cure was a miracle. Praise the Lord!!!

        Liked by 5 people

  24. Dear Beckita ~ Your beautiful account of the Holy Spirit’s powerful movement to heal the wounds of division is a balm to my spirit. I think many of us have loved ones with whom religious divisions cause pain. Thank you for your intensive care in this area.

    ❤

    Liked by 6 people

  25. Thank you Beckita, for this wonderful piece that fills us with so much hope! I was so happy to see that Bishop Ricken was there too and had healing take place. What an awesome conference, made even better because you were there too! Thanks so much for sharing.

    Liked by 6 people

        1. Beckita and Doug, I’m just muddling along trying to get used to my new way of life. Very depressed some days….not so bad other days. The Ostomy Nurse says to give it a year….so I’m taking it one day at a time and trusting in God. I’m sleeping pretty poorly but praying that will improve with time too. Thank you for caring. I can’t get the little messages up in the right hand corner by the bell, that I used to be able to read. I can’t “like” anything here anymore either. But I can leave a message, so I will at least do that to let you wonderful people know I am still around and loving all of you and this ASOH Blog. This is a great place to be. God Bless everyone here.

          Liked by 11 people

          3. Yup.  Good days and bad days.  One of our learning experiences was the pressure drop at 30,000 feet in a plane.  When outside pressure drops, ballons expand.  Thus, my Lambzie’s ostemy blew at 30,000 feet while napping.  It must have been comical looking to the passengers to see us both go into the bathroom to deal with it.  I was in and out about 3 times getting stuff out of her back pack.  Worse part was it was active.  So it took several tries before getting it sealed.  We were on the edge of running out of supplies.  It was stressful, but we made it.  God is good to us.—- Sent from Doug’s Back Pack

            Liked by 1 person

  26. Did some research … Encounter been around for a few years now. Amazing group!
    Beckita did Anointed Life Accelerated global start only a couple of months ago around August? I tried to find how to contact Sullivan’s sounds like mainly Americans involved at this stage.
    Hopefully it will explode.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Encounter Ministries has steadily grown as a source of teaching and encouraging people to rise up with Christ to bring renewal in the Church and, from the beginning, they have had the vision to promote unity among Christian churches. Two years ago, they began answering the call to go international and there were people from Spain and France at the conference this month.

      Yes, Michael and Kelly Sullivan launched The Anointed Life Acceleration in August. Their vision is for a Catholic awakening both in the Church and in culture. I was among the first ones to jump on board for the adventure and it’s so good. Yes, Anne, there are Americans from coast to coast who participate. We also have European members. Perhaps the biggest challenge for international members is the variance in time zones. All the prayer sessions, teachings and interactive sessions are recorded and available to view at each one’s convenience.

      Liked by 3 people

        1. Maggie, there is a closed FB group – not open to the public – where news, messages and videos are posted. You can still participate without FB because Morning Prayer and all the interactive teachings, trainings and activations happen via software developed for meetings and codes to get in are emailed to members each week.

          Liked by 1 person

            1. Maggie was asking about The Anointed Life group which I mentioned in the article above, Linda. When a person joins the community by following directions included in the link, they are also invited, then, to join the closed group on FB.

              Liked by 1 person

  28. Thanks for highlighting this Beckita. I absolutely love this ministry. It was so refreshing to be able to take my Protestant friends to a Catholic environment that speaks their language without apologizing for being Catholic when Encounter had a healing service at our parish. That is a hard balance to strike and felt supernaturally graced to me.

    Liked by 3 people

  29. With the always sad memory of Roe Vs. Wade this week and with the obvious division in our country may I suggest we all take time this week for more prayer and for less obsession and disquiet on these things. Perhaps begin by reading Daniel Chapter 9 to see how he prayed in sorrowful and sinful times in his history.

    Liked by 3 people

  31. Merry Senate Clown Show Day #2!! …. ;-(

    https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/way-pro-life-protesters-think/

    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/587392/SAUDI-ARABIA/MWL-Italian-Catholic-university-sign-cooperation-agreement

    https://apnews.com/d6020dfe0bff8190df069a4e4cd7d3b7

    How much Ya wanna bet that the places where Pro-Lifers March and the 2nd Amend. Patriots protest was NOT cleaner after they left then before they arived?
    Have Ya noticed the trashy aftermath of Lefty-Fringe Events?
    https://dailycaller.com/2020/01/21/tucker-carlson-march-for-life-richmond/

    https://stream.org/citizens-defending-gun-rights-in-virginia-won-by-turning-the-other-cheek/

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2020/01/20/cbs-claims-week-violence-occurred-virginia-gun-rally

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/kristine-marsh/2020/01/20/irony-nbc-reporter-deletes-tweet-warning-media-avoid-made-stuff

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2020/01/20/abc-nbc-invoke-charlottesville-violence-peaceful-gun-protest

    http://www.floppingaces.net/2020/01/20/pelosis-pens-not-mightier-than-trumps-sword/

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/mark-finkelstein/2020/01/21/chuck-schumers-line-o-day-mcconnell-hook-line-and-sinker

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/01/democrats_seek_civil_war_but_will_get_revolution.html

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!

    Liked by 2 people

  32. Today at Mass we are again reminded of that famous battle between David and Goliath. Let us remember that, if we ask, God has ultimate power over every Goliath in our lives, but like David we each need to do our little part, even if sometimes that little part is only to offer our prayers.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Dr. Jeffress, Pastor of 1st. Baptist Church in Dallas and friend and spiritual adviser to President Trump, says that President Trump will be the first President to participate in the March For Life in D.C. on Friday; P.P. is spending $54 million to defeat President Trump.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I was about to post this, too, Mary Anne ~ that President Trump has announced that he will attend the rally in person. Wow ~ first President to attend since Roe v. Wade in 1973. He’s the first in 47 years.

      Liked by 4 people

  35. This is great information Beckita.
    I don’t know much about cursillo and the rest, though I thought it odd we didn’t have the charisms of healing in the church though it was established by christ.

    Side: there is a four year old child with stage 4 brain cancer in Tallahassee FL. Is there a way to send someone to lay hands on her to heal her? Ironically her father is a cancer researcher. They come from a Catholic family though I don’t know if they practice. Appreciate any input in order to help them. We need more miracles for the great conversion!

    Liked by 2 people

  36. Thanks Beckita. Wonderful article. The Catholic church is so in need of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I would love to bring this kind of information to my parish. I’m not even sure where to start or how it would be received. I’m just praying that God can use me and we see a revival in the church and really see a move of God. I think It is going to take miracles and a belief in God’s ability to create miracles in the name of Jesus to move people.
    Last week we found out that the Franciscan priests are leaving our very large parish. We don’t know who will replace them as the bishop has three very large churches that soon will have no priests. So we need miracles and a refreshing so that young people are called back to God and to be prophets, priests and kings we are all called to be.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Amen, Maureen. For anyone who feels a yearning to operate in the gifts with greater understanding and support, The Anointed Life community is a great way to begin. All it takes is one person to ignite the fire in your parish – although what we do each day in our virtual room is not fashioned as a parish program. It simply takes one person willing to study and take risks – while asking God to connect you with people who are also interested in this work – to step out in faith and, in fruitful ways, carry the message that God IS alive and He wants to reclaim us all, and to proclaim that we have a Father Who loves us and wants to meet our needs and grant us those things – He deems good for us – for which we pray.

      My own story is evolving in such a way that people in this smallish city are talking and last week I was called, asking if I would go out to pray for the former secretary of the Bethel Community Church here. I also went to the Presbyterian Church as a young man had been suffering terribly, both in mind and body. It’s a joy to be part of unity happening on a micro level, knowing this love and beauty surely ripples round the world.

      Liked by 2 people

  37. Pray for the Safety & Success of the Pro-Life Marchers

    https://newmansociety.org/faithful-catholic-colleges-march-to-defend-innocent-life/

    https://www.ncregister.com/blog/reilly/students-make-history-at-march-for-life

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/01/march-for-life-abortion-is-anti-woman/

    https://www.catholicleague.org/trumps-religious-liberty-reforms/

    https://stream.org/christian-unity-in-the-trump-era-can-we-recover-it/

    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/two-crises-one-thing-necessary

    https://dwightlongenecker.com/its-war-get-used-to-it/

    https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/01/23/va-proposes-end-obama-era-policy-faith-based-groups.html

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/pence-world-must-confront-and-expose-the-vile-tide-of-anti-semitism

    https://freebeacon.com/issues/soros-group-spends-record-48-million-on-lobbying-in-2019/

    https://stream.org/this-schiff-sham-trial-now-we-know-how-it-all-started/

    https://townhall.com/columnists/brentbozellandtimgraham/2020/01/24/adam-schiffs-avalanche-of-accolades-n2560026

    https://bigleaguepolitics.com/virginia-democrats-push-legislation-to-make-criticism-of-government-officials-a-criminal-offense/

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/01/only_trial_witnesses_can_expose_the_evil_antitrump_coup.html

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!

    Liked by 1 person

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Published by Beckita

Beckita, widow, mother and grandmother, lives in Missoula, Montana. After more than thirty years of service, she retired from two careers: elementary school educator and director of liturgical music ministry in a local parish. Serving the Catholic Church in many capacities since early childhood, she now provides care for a nearly 90 year old priest of Chinese origin and collaborates with him in evangelizing the Chinese people. For more than twenty-five years, she has welcomed words from heaven concerning these sobering times in which we live and, like so many, takes seriously Our Lord and Our Lady’s call to intercede for the return of souls to God. Responding to heaven’s call for prayer, for her, included making pilgrimages to shrines in Europe, Asia and South America. She says these travels, added to her years as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa in the mid-seventies, have expanded her heart to hold dear all peoples of the world. She is a longtime member of TNRS community and when she began reading Charlie’s posts, immediately, she found that his mission and message harmonize well with Church approved private revelation of our times. In September 2015, she accepted an invitation to become part of TNRS Answers Team. As events of the Storm evolved, last fall (2016), she accepted Charlie’s invitation to become managing editor of TNRS should he need to leave the site. With great gratitude to and for Charlie, founder of TNRS, and with great respect and admiration for the lifelong experiences and God-given gifts he brought to bear on his work at this site - she knows we all know he’s irreplaceable – still, she considers it a great privilege to serve the TNRS community.