I keep telling people our country is not as "based" as everyone seems to think. Today in Warsaw, Poland, at the Basilica of the Holy Cross, a few activists profaned the statue of Jesus Christ carrying the cross. Stand firm when facing persecution. When you pray tonight, pray for the provocateurs to turn from their evil ways and to find salvation in Christ.
This was the church in my home town before it burned in a fire. Just a little tribute I wanted to pay, there was something beautiful and subtle about that small wooden church, though unfortunately I never got to see it. The current design is quite modern. It is now much bigger and has a built-in parsonage, while its old parsonage a few buildings away became a library. The innoscription on the old parsonage (and now the library) is in German and it says:
"God protect this house from misfortune,
and all those who come in and out of it."
"God protect this house from misfortune,
and all those who come in and out of it."
I do not usually ask for prayer publicly but this intention is quite personal. I am fairly certain most of us enjoy a drink here and there and that is more than fine. At the beginning of the year however my father became very sick. Later he lost his office job due to the pandemic. He gave in to alcohol abuse, in fact he became heavily addicted. He skipped Masses. In recent months he became really aggressive. It impacted our family tremendously. That, together with my own problems (some of them also work-related), contributed greatly to my constant feeling of anger. In times like these remember not to give up and to give all your troubles to Christ. A few weeks back my father finally built up the courage to face his addiction and today he was taken to detox in order to go to rehab. I would like to ask you to pray for the families torn apart by alcohol abuse as well as those who suffer because of the pandemic. Most of all please pray for my father on his road to recovery.
The most Christian thing I ever did was realizing I am nowhere near as good as I would like to be. The Lord paid a heavy price for us - sinners. He knew the sin would not stop there, and yet he still chose to suffer. He chose to rescue us anyway. His perfect compassion for the imperfect creation is the single greatest expression of love in all of history.
https://youtu.be/G_YjxgjjC6c
Watch over me
Inspect my mistakes
Like a beacon, necessitate my regret
In an orbit unrelenting
It will all just be
I said let it be
I wish you didn't have to see me like this
Watch over me
Inspect my mistakes
Like a beacon, necessitate my regret
In an orbit unrelenting
It will all just be
I said let it be
I wish you didn't have to see me like this
On Thursday my father came back from rehab and he's back to being his good old self. We've spent a lot of time together since then and we're back to normal.
First - I wanted to thank you all for the support I received back at the beginning, when my father was still fighting his addiction. Especially for all the prayers.
Second - A bit of a testimony of mine. This ability of God to bring good out of the darkest hours of our lives is simply astonishing. My father struggled with his addiction for a few months to the point where we stopped talking because it would always end with aggression, verbal for the most part, though it almost got out of hand on more than one occasion. I used to pray back then but I wasn't exceptionally good at it, it usually took about 5 to 10 minutes a day. Sometimes, having exhausted all the other options there is nothing you can do but pray. And so I did. When we stopped talking, I took to praying. I prayed both to God and to the Holy Mother. And my father saw what was wrong. And so I asked you to pray for him and he finally made his decision. He now prays every day as well and reflects on what he has learned so far.
As for me - It helped me build a strong prayer routine, from 40 minutes to an hour a day even. I've noticed the effects as well, I am much more motivated, feel like working harder, lost the extra weight through fasting here and there and simply being more active. I am much healthier mentally and physically than I was at the beginning of the year. And to think I would have probably given up if not for our Lord just scares me.
Don't ever give up and stop trusting in the Lord. Pray and meditate and you will make it. In times of great difficulty remember that our Lord is greater. And remember your brothers and sisters in faith who will be there for you if you simply reach out.
First - I wanted to thank you all for the support I received back at the beginning, when my father was still fighting his addiction. Especially for all the prayers.
Second - A bit of a testimony of mine. This ability of God to bring good out of the darkest hours of our lives is simply astonishing. My father struggled with his addiction for a few months to the point where we stopped talking because it would always end with aggression, verbal for the most part, though it almost got out of hand on more than one occasion. I used to pray back then but I wasn't exceptionally good at it, it usually took about 5 to 10 minutes a day. Sometimes, having exhausted all the other options there is nothing you can do but pray. And so I did. When we stopped talking, I took to praying. I prayed both to God and to the Holy Mother. And my father saw what was wrong. And so I asked you to pray for him and he finally made his decision. He now prays every day as well and reflects on what he has learned so far.
As for me - It helped me build a strong prayer routine, from 40 minutes to an hour a day even. I've noticed the effects as well, I am much more motivated, feel like working harder, lost the extra weight through fasting here and there and simply being more active. I am much healthier mentally and physically than I was at the beginning of the year. And to think I would have probably given up if not for our Lord just scares me.
Don't ever give up and stop trusting in the Lord. Pray and meditate and you will make it. In times of great difficulty remember that our Lord is greater. And remember your brothers and sisters in faith who will be there for you if you simply reach out.