GHOSTS OFTEN APPEAR AT FOOT OF BED
EACH morning, we wake up to an ego ready to assert itself thru the day, even if we are not aware of this. Even acts that we think are good can turn out to be nothing but selfishness, if we take selflessness to mean anything in which none is left for one to relish but as an offering to God as He would dispose of it.
That's why one of my favorite saints has been St. Therese of the Little Flower. I keep two photos of her on the family altar: one as she knelt as a nun beside a cross, and another her close up, with her penetrating eyes and kindest smile. This, to fire me up against my ego.
That's why one of my favorite saints has been St. Therese of the Little Flower. I keep two photos of her on the family altar: one as she knelt as a nun beside a cross, and another her close up, with her penetrating eyes and kindest smile. This, to fire me up against my ego.
St. Therese's greatest gospel for me is that each has the opportunity to be saintly (if this desire is selfishness, so gladly be it) even in doing little things, in coping with the smallest irritations in life. Why, she had admitted being irked by the rattling of the rosary of another nun in her convent, but she held that feeling as mortification offered to God.
On humility, St. Therese had this to say: "To come to possession of everything, desire the possession of nothing. To arrive at being all, desire to be nothing."
Her thoughts which she put on writing in obedience to her superiors, have become known as her "little way." In humility, she realized she could never match the heroic levels of many saints; yet she is now regarded one of the Church's greatest, a Doctor of the Church.
On humility, St. Therese had this to say: "To come to possession of everything, desire the possession of nothing. To arrive at being all, desire to be nothing."
Her thoughts which she put on writing in obedience to her superiors, have become known as her "little way." In humility, she realized she could never match the heroic levels of many saints; yet she is now regarded one of the Church's greatest, a Doctor of the Church.
For a time when a largely wooden apartment, a very old one that was virtual tinderbox, stood by our home in Mabalacat City, I stationed one of St. Therese's photo at a window facing the apartment, asking her to make sure the building does not catch fire. Afterall before she died, St. Therese said: "I will spend my Heaven doing good on Earth!"
The apartment has been replaced by a concrete building. St. Therese's photo has been returned to its decent place at the family altar.
AND SO TO GO ON with our series on Austrian mystic Maria Simma (1915-2004) who spend most of her life with ghosts from Purgatory as guests. More on her interview with Catholic writer Nicky Eltz, to give us on idea of afterlife where each one of us, without any doubt, is heading:
The apartment has been replaced by a concrete building. St. Therese's photo has been returned to its decent place at the family altar.
AND SO TO GO ON with our series on Austrian mystic Maria Simma (1915-2004) who spend most of her life with ghosts from Purgatory as guests. More on her interview with Catholic writer Nicky Eltz, to give us on idea of afterlife where each one of us, without any doubt, is heading:
Q: Has one (ghost) been here lately during the day?
Simma: Yes, and recently something unusual happened in this regard. I was sitting here writing and when I looked up; one was sitting right there in that chair. That I had never seen before and I must say it did surprise me a little.
Q: How many Poor Souls come to you during the night as compared to those who come to you during the day?
Simma: Yes, and recently something unusual happened in this regard. I was sitting here writing and when I looked up; one was sitting right there in that chair. That I had never seen before and I must say it did surprise me a little.
Q: How many Poor Souls come to you during the night as compared to those who come to you during the day?
Simma: In the beginning they only came during the night but starting in the Marian year of 1954 they also began coming during the day. These days I would say that almost as many come during the day as do at night.
Q: Maria, can you tell me of another case, other than your own, when deceased souls have been seen in broad daylight?
Simma: Yes, it happens often. Two men here in our valley were guiding a horse-drawn cart full of wood and, for some reason, the horses bolted briefly and a lot of wood fell off and onto the dirt road. And as they started to re-stack the wood one of them said, 'Goodness, I wish someone would come along and help us, so that we do not end up blocking any other traffic!' Suddenly two other men appeared and started to help them, and within minutes it had all been cleared away, lifted up into the cart and secured. When it was done, the first two said 'thank you' and the other two left. Soon thereafter, one of these latter two appeared to me and told me that, had the owners of the wood said 'Thanks be to God' rather than merely 'Thank you,' the second two would have gone to Heaven instantly. Now I needed to pray a little for them to be delivered. As you know, love here between us on earth is most often based on the smallest of acts, gestures and words. This also holds true for the Poor Souls. Even washing the kitchen floor when one really doesn't feel like it, but one does it anyway out of love for the Poor Souls in general or out of love for a particular Poor Soul, will greatly help them to go on their way. In the case of the kitchen floor, it will help someone who during life neglected to keep the house in good order for the family.
Q: When a Poor Soul visits you, is it conscious of its surroundings or only conscious of you? Is there any evidence that it is conscious of the room and its objects?
Simma: Yes, they must be, because when they walk around the room, they do not just walk through a table; and they must know of the chair's existence if one of them, as I've already mentioned, sat down in that chair recently.
Q: When they appear at first, do they walk through the wall and in your direction?
Simma: No, they simply appear or they come in through the door closing it again behind them. It varies but they normally awaken me with a knocking or calling; and when I awaken, there they stand at the foot of the bed. That's the most common.
Q: Maria, can you tell me of another case, other than your own, when deceased souls have been seen in broad daylight?
Simma: Yes, it happens often. Two men here in our valley were guiding a horse-drawn cart full of wood and, for some reason, the horses bolted briefly and a lot of wood fell off and onto the dirt road. And as they started to re-stack the wood one of them said, 'Goodness, I wish someone would come along and help us, so that we do not end up blocking any other traffic!' Suddenly two other men appeared and started to help them, and within minutes it had all been cleared away, lifted up into the cart and secured. When it was done, the first two said 'thank you' and the other two left. Soon thereafter, one of these latter two appeared to me and told me that, had the owners of the wood said 'Thanks be to God' rather than merely 'Thank you,' the second two would have gone to Heaven instantly. Now I needed to pray a little for them to be delivered. As you know, love here between us on earth is most often based on the smallest of acts, gestures and words. This also holds true for the Poor Souls. Even washing the kitchen floor when one really doesn't feel like it, but one does it anyway out of love for the Poor Souls in general or out of love for a particular Poor Soul, will greatly help them to go on their way. In the case of the kitchen floor, it will help someone who during life neglected to keep the house in good order for the family.
Q: When a Poor Soul visits you, is it conscious of its surroundings or only conscious of you? Is there any evidence that it is conscious of the room and its objects?
Simma: Yes, they must be, because when they walk around the room, they do not just walk through a table; and they must know of the chair's existence if one of them, as I've already mentioned, sat down in that chair recently.
Q: When they appear at first, do they walk through the wall and in your direction?
Simma: No, they simply appear or they come in through the door closing it again behind them. It varies but they normally awaken me with a knocking or calling; and when I awaken, there they stand at the foot of the bed. That's the most common.
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