Yup that is me. I admit it; I get sucked into the computer, all the blogs that I have, Facebook, the website, ebay and that darn AARP game site that draws me, beckons me, like a fly into a spider web. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have looked at the time on the computer and said no! No way is it that time. Time has a way of moving so quickly that you do not even realize it and things you wanted to accomplish, places you planned on going to and those plans to reconnect with people that you wanted to reconnect with just never seems to materialize. Time has a way of healing too I suppose. Like today is May 10th. Just a normal day of the year that rolls around every year at the same time. But, it is also the day that 28 years ago my niece, Stephanie, came into the world. Steph was a great kid, truly in every sense of the word. She was a straight A student, involved in her school, a leader in her youth ministry at church, fun, pretty, and had the biggest heart you could ever imagine. You know how kids hit that awkward age when hugging a parent is forbidden and they become your worst nightmare, well since you were a teenager anyway? She was never like that. Mother's Day, 8 years ago is when we found out she had cancer. Thanksgiving weekend is when we said goodbye to her. I love you Steph. I miss you too and God willing I will see you again.
I am reading a great book about St. Gertrude. My friend Diane gave it to me and told me to just put it in the adoration bookshelf when I was done with it, unless I wanted to keep it. Of course, it has started to get marked up now with my trusty green highlighter so it will remain on my bookshelf. But just as I am drawn to the darn game site, I am still being drawn back to the book The Boy Who Met Jesus about that little Segatashya who lived in Kibeho in the early 80s but had conversations with Jesus for 8 years and was eventually killed in the Rwandan genocides in 1994. When I read the book for the first time I highlighted what Jesus said to the boy. The boy asked Jesus about all kinds of things, including the end of the world. Jesus told him that the end was coming very soon. He sent this little 12-year old pagan boy on an evangelical mission to spread his word. Tell people to repent, to read his words in the Bible, to pray and convert their hearts because the time is at hand. The page that I keep reading and re-reading though has to do with judgment. Segatashya asked him if everyone had to be Catholic in order to go to heaven. Here is an excerpt from the book:
Segatashya: When I asked Jesus what to tell those doubtful people, he said to me:
Jesus: My child, tell all those who don't believe in the messages being delivered into Kibeho that they should worry only about believing and following what is in the Bible......they must believe and follow what is in the Bible with all of their hearts.
Segatashya: But what do I say to people who tell me that because Jesus appears most often to visionaries who are Catholic, that they will be forced to read the Catholic Bible?
Jesus: I will find the hearts of everyone who believes in me and follows my commandments - no matter which Bible they read or which religion they belong to.
When I come looking for my children, I will not only look in the Catholic Church for good Christians who do good deeds and acts of love and devotion. I will look across the entire world for those who honor my commandments and love me with an open and sincere heart.... It is their love, not their religion, that makes them true children of God. Tell this one truth to all those to whom you speak to in my name. Believe in me, and in whatever you do in life, do it with faith and love.
Those who do know of God, who have been taught of God's ways, will be held to a higher standard....for to those who have been given, much will be expected. No one is forced to believe in God, but still, God lives in every person's heart.....just follow your heart to God's love. Those who live in love will hear God's voice, because God's voice is a voice of love.
Peace!
Mare
Excerpt from: The Boy Who Met Jesus, Segatashya of Kibeho, by Immaculee Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin
Segatashya: When I asked Jesus what to tell those doubtful people, he said to me:
Jesus: My child, tell all those who don't believe in the messages being delivered into Kibeho that they should worry only about believing and following what is in the Bible......they must believe and follow what is in the Bible with all of their hearts.
Segatashya: But what do I say to people who tell me that because Jesus appears most often to visionaries who are Catholic, that they will be forced to read the Catholic Bible?
Jesus: I will find the hearts of everyone who believes in me and follows my commandments - no matter which Bible they read or which religion they belong to.
When I come looking for my children, I will not only look in the Catholic Church for good Christians who do good deeds and acts of love and devotion. I will look across the entire world for those who honor my commandments and love me with an open and sincere heart.... It is their love, not their religion, that makes them true children of God. Tell this one truth to all those to whom you speak to in my name. Believe in me, and in whatever you do in life, do it with faith and love.
Those who do know of God, who have been taught of God's ways, will be held to a higher standard....for to those who have been given, much will be expected. No one is forced to believe in God, but still, God lives in every person's heart.....just follow your heart to God's love. Those who live in love will hear God's voice, because God's voice is a voice of love.
Peace!
Mare
Excerpt from: The Boy Who Met Jesus, Segatashya of Kibeho, by Immaculee Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin
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