My Answer to Comments on The Luminous Mysteries From August 18th

The Transfiguration
by Theophanes the Greek, 15th Century

The original post is HERE. Before I begin I want to say that no one commented on what was in the post itself. Did they read it? 

In addition, at the Transfiguration, Christ made Peter, James and John's faith stronger so that they might not lose their belief in Him during His Passion and death. "He confirmed them in their faith"...made their faith stronger, not by Confirmation of the Holy Spirit Who was to come at Pentecost, but by enabling them to see Him as the Savior who was prefigured by the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) of the Old Testament. 

Because of the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John did not lose their faith in Him. Just as there's more than one reference to the Holy Eucharist in the entire Bible, both OT and NT - several, in fact - there's also more than one reference for Confirmation and all the rest of the Seven Sacraments.

The following is my response:

Fourteen years before I became a Catholic I hadn’t been to the protestant church of my youth in years, and hadn’t spoken to God in over a decade. One night, in complete desperation, I breathed a prayer to Him. I breathed that prayer – just one line – and He heard me. I didn’t know anything about the Trinity or the Blessed Mother or much of anything. I just knew God was our Father so I prayed to Him.

The next day the trajectory of my life changed forever. The phone rang and it was a friend asking if I wanted to gallop race horses for Clay Camp (back in the day when Union-Camp was a big company). I told him yes, but I rode hunters and jumpers, not race horses. He said, “Well, let me put Clay on the phone. He’s right here.” Mr Camp asked if I’d be at his barn the next morning. Again, I said that I’d never ridden a race horse. He said, “That’s OK. We’ll teach you.” And they did.

The years went by. I was 34, had children and was divorced, still living in Virginia. At the time I was very sick, had to have an operation and thought I was going to die. One night after the children were asleep I sat crying in the living room and told God I was terrified at what would happen to my children if I died. Who would take care of them? Who would love them, educate them?

Again, God heard me. The Rosary entered my life, sent by God. A racing friend who was a doctor gave me a Rosary a few days after that prayer. It had been blessed by Pope Pius XII. My friend had bought it when he was a teenager visiting Italy with his family.

He told me to say an Our Father on the large beads and a Hail Mary on the smaller ones. I asked what an Our Father was because I had only heard of it as the Lord’s Prayer. Then I asked what a Hail Mary was. The children and I started saying the Rosary although I had no idea what a “mystery” was until a few friends gave me pamphlets on the Rosary.

These actions disturbed Lucifer very much. He thought he’d have me in his clutches when I died but apparently my children and I learning the Rosary was too much. It infuriated him. Things happened that I never tell anyone because they wouldn’t believe me (years later I told a priest and he definitely believed me), but just let’s say that I had never been so completely terrified in my life.

Finally it dawned on me – the Rosary…blessed by a pope. It was the answer to make all this stop. So I took the Rosary one night, held it in my hands and – in the name of Jesus – demanded the devil or evil spirits leave me alone. I held the Rosary toward the manifestation(s) and could literally hear them scream in terror as they flew in a wave out the bedroom window. They never came back. They left me alone and didn’t bother me anymore.

So I know the power of the Rosary. Also, I know God and the Blessed Mother heard every prayer, and helped me in my complete ignorance. I know the Blessed Mother understood that we were trying to pray the Rosary even though we didn’t do it right. I didn’t say the prayers of exorcism right but it worked. I didn’t make the “approved motions or actions” of exorcism, but what I did worked. Saying the name of Jesus and showing the Rosary worked and I wasn’t even a Catholic at the time.

I’ll continue to say the Luminous Mysteries. There’s no Church law saying I’ll go straight to hell for praying them. These days everyone is arguing about everything. One person says one thing, another person says another. The SSPX says one thing, Opus Dei says another. Prior popes said one thing, Francis says another, so at this point no one knows what to do, who’s right and who isn’t. What’s a Catholic to do? Who should we believe?

As a result, I’ve come to the conclusion that other people can do what they want and I’ll do what I think is best for me. I’m certainly not going to listen to anonymous’ heated statements about JPII, even if he (anonymous) is SSPX priest Fr Pezzutti. I loved JPII.

Of course I’d like to be able to pray the Rosary perfectly…never stumble over the words or forget that it’s Tuesday and I pray a few Glorious Mysteries before remembering I need to be saying the Sorrowful.

All I know is that I’m more mature than when I was 34 and prayed the Rosary all wrong. Now I more understand the proper way to say it, however believe it’s the intention in our hearts that count…the love we have for God and the Blessed Mother.

At the end of his life St John said that love is all that matters…just love. His own disciples tried to get him to stop saying the same thing over and over but he wouldn’t. Anonymous can tell me over and over how terrible it is to say the Luminous Mysteries but he won’t change my mind.

He won’t change my mind because I love the Luminous Mysteries and I can send God and the Blessed Mother all the love in my being while I pray them, and right or wrong, they will hear me.