Spiritual jealously and show me the money
Spiritual jealous is alive and well in the church and in the
laity … ugh I remember when the Our Lady
of Fatima statue … became “famous” one woman stepped forward and said “I
donated money to pay for that statue hence the miracle is hers”… hmmm who owns a “miracle” ??? Who can pay for
a miracle???
Such thinking is what ticked Martin Luther off… the selling
of “graces” in the church … Yet the woman above went after all things “miraculous”
at OLP as being hers because she donated $30 …
I also remember a money basket being placed in front of the tabernacle
at one point to collect money from those praying in front of it … this was one of the
only times I really cut it up with Fr. Martin … telling him remove the basket
or I leave ….. Saying to Fr. Martin …… Did
you ask for a miracle ….. Did you pray before
the tabernacle for 3 years for countless hours every day … did you fast for 30
months asking for graces… if you did keep your “money basket in front of the tabernacle
… if you did not remove the basket or I will remove myself from this church and
pray somewhere else … do not make a whore out of me for the financial gain of
this parish … the grace from the tabernacle is free …
Fr. Martin did remove the basket from in front of the tabernacle
and from that day forward his parish received even more money … I mean a lot of
money Fr. Martin was able to lay new carpet in the church… build a handicap ramp
… people were writing me checks in my name and I would always endorse those
checks over the OLP parish … never kept a nickel…… not mine to keep… God gave me grace freely and I was to give it away freely …
Because I was looked upon by some to be “magical” a rare
find (never was) … I was also offered plane tickets to shrines around the world
(always said no thank you, same Jesus in this tabernacle as the ones in the
shrines) ….. I was offered vacations in summer houses in the Hampton's (because it
was a “rich" thing to do, have a mystic stay in your house)… never went….. I do know many priests
who would and do take such offers and also many other “visionaries” who did and do …
me never … I knew I was not a rock star or special … just loved Jesus in the Tabernacle
and I wanted to be with him … not in a fancy house …
Then I was offered Broadway tickets and back stage passes to
meet stars … never took them …
All I wanted to do was pray in front of the tabernacle ……
still do …
Then there came a time in OLP ….. A member of the parish (I
was never a member of the parish, I don’t
do memberships in any parishes, I go where I am called to pray that is all) … Well this member thought wouldn’t it be
great to sell “Holy Water” in the church… so holy water bottles were produced
with a logo on the bottle (the place of
miracles) … wow freak’n wow … I went bananas on Fr. Martin … this time Fr. Martin
stood firm and said … “at every shrine holy water is sold and it will be sold
here”… whoa … I ripped back to him … in every Catholic Church there is a shrine called
the tabernacle … should we set up tables to sell holy water
in all the churches …
why wouldn’t that
be the Catholic thing to do Fr. … I was pissed off …… Poor Jesus being whored
out for money ……
I get it you need money in life, I do not have two nickels to
rub together so I am always “in need”…… but grace is free and equally applied
to the poor and the wealthy … it is man and their greed that causes the poor to
suffer not God …
