God bless you...that’s the mercy that is within you... Wow...Padre Pio announced that king George was standing before the throne of God.........Just think of that....literally! Oh how powerful!
You show a most humble and courageous heart that is surely inspired by the Holy Spirit. You are blessed.
Yes....we are commanded to forgive and we should...if it can only be done as a act of will as opposed to from the heart. For most I believe this comment you cited is probably the majority of folks, “Even if we have to carry the painful memories to the grave.”.... If this is the case, it’s just one more suffering to offer God before we stand before Him at our own judgment. During this week of the Divine Mercy novena, I pray that all of us who are living with these wounds of painful memories can lift them up to God and lay them at the cross of His Son Jesus for the salvation of our sins, and those of the whole world.
Oh how to be in the very presence of the Holy Spirit would be incredible.. On a separate note I mentioned my friend and neighbour Philip. I have a deep sense that I actually met his killer I have no way of proving it but I know in my heart I did, he was speaking to me and mentioned something at that moment a chill went through me and I knew.. a few years later it was confirmed to me this person was firing bullets one of the bullets struck Phillip's headstone? I felt then that Philip was telling me.. My job now like Therese is to make sure his killer gets to heaven.. I have often pondered meeting him and confronting him but I know for sure he would deny it..
Yes it is scary ,somewhat. Just think of it, someday we shall all of us stand before the Throne of God, right after death and see ourselves as we really are in the Light of the Holy Spirit, the Light of Truth. The very first thing sin does is blind us, so we do not know. It reminds me of what St Paul said. Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, http://thepathlesstaken7.blogspot.com/2011/04/padre-pio-and-british-royal-family.html April 29, 2011 Padre Pio and the British Royal Family During the evening of January 20th, 1936, Padre Pio received visitors in his cell. The visitors were Dr Guglielmo Sanguinetti, and two other lay people. Suddenly Padre Pio took to his knees and urged them to pray; “for a soul that is soon to appear before the tribunal of God.” When they finished their prayers, Padre Pio asked of them; “do you know for whom you prayed?” Padre Pio then told them that “it was for the King of England.” Dr Sanguinetti, who was a dear friend of Padre Pio’s, was surprised that Padre Pio had said that King George was approaching the last judgment. The newspapers had reported that King George only had a touch of flu. Around midnight, Padre Pio went to the room of Padre Aurelio, and asked him to pray with him for the king of England, who Padre Pio described as “a soul which at this moment is about to appear at the tribunal of God.” The two padres prayed for a time, and then Padre Pio returned to his cell. The next day, the Italian newspapers announced the death of King George. Padre Pio is not known to have had any contact with the British Royal Family. Many are curious as to why St Pio showed such concern for King George. King George was religious in the sense that he read a chapter of the Bible each day of his adult life, but was prone to remark; “there are some very queer things in it.” But when he became king in 1910, he broke with a 200 year tradition. It had been the custom that a new sovereign, when addressing Parliament for the first time, would condemn the Roman Catholic Mass and the invocation of Our Lady. But King George refused to declare the sacrifice of the Mass and veneration of the Virgin Mary as ‘superstitious and idolatrous’. An Anglican and the son of the future King Edward VII, George was baptized on July 7, 1865 in the private chapel of Windsor Castle. Upon accession to the throne in 1910, the new king swore the following required oath: “I, N., do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God, profess, testify and declare that I am a faithful Protestant, and that I will, according to the true intent of the enactments to secure the Protestant Succession to the Throne of my realm, uphold and maintain such enactments to the best of my power.” See a previous post on Padre Pio and King George and central issue of salvation outside Mother Church.
http://thepathlesstaken7.blogspot.com/2010/11/padre-pio-on-salvation-outside-church_09.html Padre Pio on Salvation Outside the Church Part Two King George V of England, a Baptized Protestant “Let us pray for a soul . . .” A picture of Padre Pio in his cell One evening in 1936 Padre Pio was conversing with some dear friends in his cell. Among those present were Dr. Guglielmo Sanguinetti and Angelo Lupi, who would respectively become the medical director and the builder of Padre Pio’s hospital years later. In the middle of their conversation, Padre Pio suddenly interrupted the discourse with the words, “Let us pray for a soul soon to appear before the tribunal of God.” With that he bowed his head, and his guests, although astonished, kneeled and joined him in prayer. When they had finished, Padre Pio announced that they had been praying for the king of England. The next morning, the news blared forth on the friary radio of the unexpected death of King George V of England the previous evening.14 Two of the sources for this story 15, 16 report that Padre Aurelio was also present in the room, while another source states that Padre Pio went to the friary cell of Padre Aurelio at midnight that evening and asked him to join him in prayers for the king of England who “at that moment” was to appear before God.17 An Anglican and the son of the future King Edward VII, George was baptized on July 7, 1865 in the private chapel of Windsor Castle. Upon accession to the throne in 1910, the new king swore the following required oath: “I, N., do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God, profess, testify and declare that I am a faithful Protestant, and that I will, according to the true intent of the enactments to secure the Protestant Succession to the Throne of my realm, uphold and maintain such enactments to the best of my power.”18 In all likelihood, the king was in his final agony or had already died when Padre Pio requested prayers for him, since he was “at that moment” to appear before God. If he believed that the soul of this Protestant were doomed to the everlasting fire, why would he pray for him, and also ask others including another priest to do likewise, other than to ask for his conversion. However, it is not recorded or implied that he asked his confreres to pray for the deathbed conversion of the king – an important intention that Padre Pio in all likelihood would have explicitly stated, if such were his purpose. Although he mentioned the king to his priest colleague, he did not tell the friends in his room that they were praying for a non-Catholic until they had finished their prayers. One cannot therefore say that it is to be assumed that as Catholics they were praying for the king’s conversion. Since as far as is known they were not specifically asked to pray for his deathbed conversion, there are two alternatives. The first is that they were simply praying for the salvation of a Protestant whom Padre Pio did not consider doomed because of his non-Catholic religion.... This is from an exceptionally important article by Frank M. Rega, S.F.O. It was found here with a full set of references.
You know there are reports that several members of the British Royal Family converted either on their death beds or just before it. Naturally these have been covered up, if they are true. The first and most notable was King Henry the VIII
John, You have nothing to apologise for. I totally understand the deep hurt and wounds that people carry who have lived through all the years of violence and the lack of justice. It will take the grace of God to get over these things. God bless & be at peace
QutD, Have just read up on this thread and was very moved, sickened to hear how your friend was taken so cruelly from you. I see you must have suffered a similar scar in your heart and mind like what Padraig described when he was still very young at hearing how his own young brother was subjected to wicked men abusing their authority and strength at the expense of a boy. In your friends case it was fatal, God bless us and save us. I would like to share two relevant experiences, and there were more, I have had in life in the hope of helping you come to realise God is always there and will see that full justice is done. That has been my experience in life. Trust God with this, don't carry such a heavy burden yourself. Many years ago when all the troubles were going on in Ireland, because I always identified as an Irish Roman Catholic, I came under abuse as if I was part of the problem in Ireland. This sounds ludicrous, but it is true. One day at work an English woman, co worker, insulted me and told me all us Irish Catholics should be shot because of what we!!!! were doing in NI. It was said with a lot of anger and hatred, and I was shocked and to be honest scared at the hatred in this womans voice. But I did not say anything, Just left it to God. That same woman who brought such hatred to the work place had an accident at home, very shortly after. Her gas cooker exploded, and she was seriously burned and took months and months to recover. She never came back to work. To tell you the truth I had to exercise charity and not take pleasure in hearing what happened to her after such cruel treatment against me. The second incident, I may have shared on the Forum in the past. I certainly shared it at work and it involved a British soldier. One evening after work, we decided to get an Indian take away instead of coming home and cooking. My husband went into the take away place and I waited outside having a smoke. I was reading their menu's advertised on the window, minding my own business, when a man came out and spoke to me. He was telling me how much he loved Indian food, and of course I replied to him. As soon as I opened my gob, he immediately heard my Irish accent, and went into full attack mode. He hated the Irish, wanted us all dead, and he said if he had a gun there and then he would kill me. He ranted on, and there was I waiting for my husband to come out of the take away. I kept my calm and if you remember back about ten years ago there was a spell of everyone being told we have to apologise to black people for the slave trade. Well I though maybe I will apologise to the soldier for the Irish troubles, and all he had suffered as a result. He had told me in the rant that he had been a soldier in NI and it had ruined his life, and his family. And the Irish deserved to die. You will realise by now, I was talking to a man who had mental issues. I was aware there were many British soldiers mentally ruined by their duties in the army, from working with women who had been married to such soldiers, and had to be moved for their own safety because these men can and do injure or kill their own partners as a result of the trauma these very soldiers have witnessed. I know it is hard to sympathise at this point. But this is a fact. Anyway, I suddenly thought get a miraculous medal and give it to him. I gave him the medal and said I am so sorry for all that has happened to you, just talk to Blessed Mother and tell her all your troubles, and she will help you. With that he broke down and cried like a baby. He then went on to tell me how his life had been ruined and how the British army kicked him out and left him to deal with all that had gone wrong in his life. My husband arrived after this had all happened and things had calmed down, thank God. My reason for sharing this encounter with you is so you realise, the soldiers on the ground are sent out under orders, and I know from women married to soldiers some of these men are mental wrecks for the rest of their lives. They suffer, their families suffer. No one gets off scot free. There is a strong chance those who killed your friend suffered later, and you will only know when you meet your God how your friends death was not in vain, in the grand scheme of things. Sorry I am not very good at sharing things. Just want to give you an insight to help you hand over your pain to our Beloved Lord, He will reward you for your trust. God bless.
Thank you for these amazing stories! I’ve never heard these before! This was such a lesson for all of us!
I understand how you feel. Mr Windsor was married to the head of the schismatic body that was responsible for the Penal Laws in Ireland and indirectly, through their legal banning of primogeniture for Catholics, the consequent Great Famine. Almost air-brushed from history has been their treatment of Catholics in England itself and in the remainder of Great Britain. These persecutorial attitudes continue until the present day, even as the British bend over backwards to facilitate their other former colonies. Even now, no Catholic can become head of state. Nevertheless, this man is just a soul now, princedom is now of no importance. He will be judged by his thoughts and actions and his failures to act in the various situations with which he was presented. His mother was a very good woman, perhaps some of this rubbed off on him. May he Rest In Peace.
Yes Julia what you had a horrible glimpse of was the everyday normal for the most part of my 30 years growing up, every day had its challenge of danger and hatred far too many stories to tell but thank God my children don't witness what me and the rest of my generation have went through. That evil still exists but most certainly not on an everyday scale.. My first introduction to hatred was at the age of 5 being chased by British soldiers in a Land rover being pinned against a fence and having a riffle put to my forehead. My crime was I was playing in the street, wrong place wrong time.. I still have reoccurring nightmares of being chased. I went to London at the age of 20 in some way to escape the hatred but alas it was as just as much evident as soon as I opened my mouth.. Since I was a child I have always scratched my head wondering why people have soo much hatred towards me. Strange world.
It’s completely understandable why you feel as you do! Praise God that you have the faith to live your faith in spite of your history! May Gods merciful grace continue to lead you.
Could the atavastic hatred of some Protestants for Catholics reflect an unconcious rage and outwardly projected self-loathing towards those who, unlike them, did not give up The Faith for what was fundamentally nothing more than thirty pieces of silver? The history of Protestantism, in these islands at least, is principally one of theft-stealing the property of The Church and the 'plantation' of much of the land of our own island.
Who knows? One thing for sure demons at work... We all hurt the same, We all bleed the same and before the throne of God we will all be judged the same..
Yes, demons at work. You're a good family man. Satan wants you all in Hell - a slam dunk for him. Your praying for their salvation is the only way to defeat him. I'll say an extra prayer for all on this important feast day.
The people in NI were fighting apartheid. It is believed this only happened in Africa, but it also happened in NI, until the people finally snapped. Most people are not even aware Catholics had no vote I was told. Catholics could not own a house, Catholics would not get a job if there was a protestant interested in the job regardless of qualifications. They were like second class citizens in their own country as late as the 1970's and how can anyone wonder why after generations they finally snapped. Please God things will continue to improve and time will heal the scars.
I have a feeling this may happen in the U.S. against Conservatives. Democrats are closing the doors already to many of its own citizens.
'In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, to contribute something to solving overpopulation.”' The prince’s notorious quote in 1988, when he told this to an interviewer from Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Ironic since it may very well be the virus that killed him.
