It started with a radio interview that Radio Alianza de Amor did to Father Angel Strada of the Schoenstatt Movement. In that interview he told us that the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires told the Schoenstatt fathers that we needed shepherds that smell like sheep.

That interview received 5759 hits on our Facebook page and was downloaded hundreds of times on the Internet.

Then came Zenit that took our interview and wrote it,  from the Vatican it went around the world with thousands of readers and hundreds of "likes".

Now our beloved Pope Francis persists in using the phrase to tell everyone what he told our Schoenstatt priests, and in the Holy Week, he insisted that we need shepherds that smell like sheep.

We love having started and being part of something that has become the most repeated phrase of our Pope.

The miracle of money

I will tell this story, not as I heard it, but as I felt it, because it really impressed me.

It is the story of a friend, and it is full of wonder and faith.

There is nothing better than being happy for the good that someone else lives. I don’t know if you have noticed it, but when we are happy for someone else’s wellbeing, when we do not envy their good fortune, then we are given countless blessings, we are happy with them and we feel close to God.

My friend was married, worked and apparently was doing well,. But in reality he was not. He worked away from home and could only visit his wife every fortnight.

I imagine these meetings, at first, full of passion and joy.

“Hello my love, it is so good that you came - and then, hugs, kisses, meals; and before leaving, more hugs and passionate kisses.

But distance and time were becoming a burden and gradually came boredom and discomfort.

“What's this?” - Asked my friend, in one of his visits.

“What do you mean what´s this?” said his wife, “of course they are fried eggs.”

“But I do not like eggs fried, I like them scrambled.”

To which followed a discussion that included topics such as I am not your slave. I break my back working for you and similar things.

In short, the marriage died for mutual remoteness and neglect.

But my friend did not overcome that so easily. He is very spiritual and always believed that marriage was forever. One might wonder if what he had was a marriage. They married very young, had no maturity, training or experience for it, and in the end did not share together.

So, after that experience, my friend became a missionary in a distant country.

And you know what? He felt happy for the first time in his life.

The daily presence of God in his life, the prayers, the contact with nature in a remote location added to his spiritual and mental health, something that he thought he had lost.

For a while he thought he had found the solution in his life, so he told his family.

“I am going to stay here” he told them “ I am going to work as a missionary and spread the word of God.”

Well no. His family was crumbling and needed him, they asked him to return.

Being a missionary is not something that leaves you a lot of money. My friend did not have a penny, only faith.

“What do I do Lord?”  he asked, but there was no answer.

Until one day he decided to be bold. And he spoke to God thus:

“Lord, I am happy here, but I do not know which your final designs are. If you want me to do something different, please let me know. Let me put it this way. I have no money to make the trip back to my family. But if you want me back, give me the money.

My friend made this request in a persistent daily prayer. He accepted the words of Jesus who said we should ask and ask tirelessly.

“I have no money to make the trip back to my family home. But if you want me back, give me the money.”

Day after day, again and again, he asked and asked.

He was almost convinced that God wanted him as a missionary, because the money did not come.

Until one day, in a communal prayer of the members of the mission, the leader, stood at the end of the service and asked:

“Is there anyone among you who is praying for money?”

There was silence in the room, but after a while, my friend raised his hand and accepted that he was the one doing such thing. When asked why, he explained the situation.

And then came the extraordinary.

The group leader said:

“A few days ago a lady was here and asked to see me. She said that in recent days she had felt that someone was praying here in the mission, because he needed to go home. I know you have no money, so I came to give it to you.”

So without any conditions for its use, without restrictions, just like a miracle, the money my friend was asking for, appeared.

And my friend returned home and went back to a job where he did well, convinced this time that he was in the right direction, because that is what God had told him.

Remember, if you want God and the Virgin to respond to your prayers, pray without weariness.

And if you want to read more about miracles:

http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Mary-Miracle-Miracles-ebook/dp/B00A2ZVY7Q

An active spirit

When we are spiritually active, our lives are better and it shows; it is as if we radiate a light that says that we feel more complete and closer to the real source of happiness that is God.

We find many examples of that truth in the church through our saints. Recently, with the election of a new pope and his selection of the name Francis, we were reminded of the life and works of St. Francis of Asisi, a man who made simplicity a virtue. His ideas and example went beyond the borders of our Catholic church and maybe involuntarily, but certainly, he became an icon for the whole world, regardless of their beliefs. Francis was a very spiritual man, whose closeness to Jesus has inspired millions of people throughout the ages, and he is only of of many.

This is what happens when we get close to our God, we reach heights that surpass our views and expectations.

I am not saying it is easy, not at the beginning, because we are too attached to our reality and our material world; changing that requires an effort, but once it is done, we will find that what we obtain is far more valuable than what we had before. Our lives in that stage become simpler, we are only satisfied with God and he exceeds any physical need.

I wish I could reach that stage, however I am not there. I know people who were though. Father Kentenich is one of them, the founder of our beautiful Schoenstatt movement, he was able to get there and with his example inspire millions.

It is not about not having money or possessions, it is about placing the right importance to them. They are part of our world and we can ask God to provide them for us through our dilligent work and efforts, and He will listen and respond.

He will respond in accordance to our faith and the we can dedicate our attention to what is really important: God and the Virgin Mary.

What I think of the new Pope

All News, commentators and people in general, are talking about the new Pope Francis I, of course, he is a public figure and the leader of all Catholics.

And that's where my thoughts begin on this subject. The cardinals who chose him, priests, religious men and women have to obey and accept his leadership.

What I have heard so far is favorable, but now the new pope has to be known by his words and, above all, by his actions, so that the leadership appointed to him turns into one he earns and the people around him, the Catholic people who do not know him and also the rest of the world, look at, accept and respect the authority entrusted to him.

The work that awaits him is not easy and therefore he did well to ask the people in St. Peter's Square to pray for him. God'a guidance is the only one that counts iin his new and difficult position.

Besides that, I have to congratulate him for his gesture in asking the help of someone I love deeply, our Holy Virgin Mary, the Mater who cares, guides and loves us without restriction. That's one of the actions that makes me feel that his choice was well directed.

Dear father, as you liked to be called, I hope that Jesus and the Blessed Mother guide the work that awaits you, leading the church and keeping the faith in a modern and different world that God has allowed to continue to change and evolve as we must do.

We wish you well and we trust you will do your best

Move the mountain today

I recommend this book that tells you of the Miracles our Mother is capable of doing in your life

http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Mary-Miracle-Miracles-ebook/dp/B00A2ZVY7Q

Jesus said it:

I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

I recently met a friend, pastor of an evangelical church. We talked of Jesus, the same Lord we both love. Then we fell into the same issue as always.

He thinks that Catholics are not given to believe that Gospel, we are fatalistic and conformist, that we dare not believe, really, that we can overcome and move those mountains.

This issue is too complicated to solve in just a few words, but as I told my pastor friend, we do believe and trust God with the help of Maria.

I told my pastor friend words that I remembered from the book Heavenwards by Father Kentenich:

with a strong heart and a cheerful countenance,
trusting you, during our journey,
to care for our health and livelihoods.

Was that what Jesus advised us: in words
and facts, seek first the Kingdom of God;
the rest will be given to us,
and we must ask him daily for our needs.

In other words, the mountain moves because God desires it and because we ask for it.
Exercise the muscle of faith.
Tell the mountain, in the name of God and of Our Blessed Virgin Mary to move away!

Try it, say it now.
You can achieve the miracle.

Love yourself

God loves me. If God loves me, logic leads me to believe that the Virgin loves me, and of course, Jesus loves me.

What is missing in this sentence? That I must love myself.

It is not absurd, God said to love our neighbor as ourselves, that is to love others, we must first love ourselves.

I just attended a seminar on personal improvement, called Creating my life, with a great friend and motivator. And I left it increasingly convinced that God and the Virgin guide my way and lead me to where I want to go and to get where I put my mind, I just need to let them take me by the hand.

Yes, the Virgin wants me to decide where I'm going and then she lovingly guides me on the best way to get where I want.

Thank the Lord for allowing me to hear new and fresh ideas that encourage me to love them more

The Miracle of a man in love with God

He was a man in lovewith God.

THE PHYSICIAN OF THE POOR

By Gustavo Mendez

This doctor was a well educated man in his time. His name was Jose Gregorio Hernandez. But rather than write his biography, I will tell a story that will show who was this Servant of God,known in his homeland as the doctor of the poor.

He graduated at the Central University ofVenezuela, he moved to Paris to continue his studies of histology, pathology and bacteriology. Later he traveled to Germany to study Anatomical Pathology.

He returned to Venezuela to teach and practice his profession, but in 1907 something happened in his heart, and after discussing it with the Archbishop of Caracas, he moved to Italy where he tried to become a monk of the Carthusian Order. However, after a year he had to go back, because the rigors of the order affected his health.

He kept practicing medicine and teaching. He became a famous doctor in the Venezuelan capital. The most distinguished families called him and he answered his requests, with a feature that made him popular in the city. The money he earned from the richest people, never more than was right, he used to buy medicines and care for the poorest people, so that he seldom had anything for himself.

I will tell you a story, and let us not forget that the biggest miracles are sometimes made of small stories. This is a true story, it really happened. I had an aunt, a very loved aunt, who was born in Caracas in 1890. She was a humble and hardworking woman, who could not read or write, but she had a heart of gold.

For her qualities, she was hired as a companion to one of the richest families in the city at that time. Agustina, my aunt became the companion of Ms. Ayala, wife of the then governor of Miranda State in Venezuela.

In 1918, the Spanish flu came to Venezuela.That disease killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide in a single year. And Mrs. Ayala fell ill. They called Dr. Hernandez, to attend her and as she was his patient, he did not mind to help her.

In one of his visits, the doctor who was a friend of the family, asked:

“Where is Agustina? I have not seen her for some time and she is always accompanying Mrs. Ayala.”

The woman said:

“Agustina came down with the flu a few days ago.”

“And why didn´t you say anything?” claimed the doctor gently. And he immediately went to the service area of the house to see the patient.

When he got to the room, he found the18-year old girl very sick, in bed, with the windows closed and she looked as if she was dying.

He immediately began to treat her. He opened the windows, administered medicines for the fever, ordered her to rest and drink fluids.

“Do not close the windows even if you are cold, Agustina, you have to breathe clean air.”

The doctor visited her for several more days, until she recovered and was again the same strong woman as before.

“Doctor” she said “I do not know how to thank you, I don´t have the money to pay for your treatment.”

The doctor smiled as he did every day in his office.

“Agustina, you do not owe me anything, I already have more than enough. My fees were covered by the Lord.”

“Thank you doctor”, the woman's eyes were filled with tears.

A year later she would cry more, when one of the few motor cars circulating in the city of Caracas in 1919, hit he doctor who had cured her, and he was carried to heaven. He is a man who has not yet been declared a saint, but he fulfills all the requirements. We only have to wait.

Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez, the physician of the poor in Venezuela, is still caring for his people since he went to God in June of 1919.

Agustina lived many more years, she died at 104 years old, surrounded by the love of her family, mine, among others.

And what I remember most is that when people talked about her doctor and called him just José Gregorio, she would say:"His name was Dr. Hernandez, have respect for him, I knew and met him and you did not."

The church takes its time to declare people saints, is a process, but still, God allows us to have those special people in our hearts.