Dora And Phil


are you still checking in ?
Yes Bob. I check in every day. Thanks for your concern.

Phil
Glad to hear you are, Phil. Hope you're doing ok. God bless!

Love,
Susan
Thanks Susan. I appreciate. I just don't have a lot to say lately but I still monitor the board and provide help, where I can.

Phil
Hey Phil,
Is it that you don't have a lot to say lately or that you might be kinda in a bummed state to make the effort? Either way glad to see you on the charts again and hope you and yours are doing okay these days.....me i am kinda bummed these days and it concerns that old devil 'you know who' and i find myself shakin my head and askin David and my late brother at times if God is paying attention these days and blessing the righteous while condemning the wicked....cause it seems like He might be getting the two mixed up now and then...
MARY

alias, God is always with us. he's never against any of us. and he's always there for us when we turn to him. he never turns away. he's really not against the wicked either. he's there for us and with us whether we are wicked or saints. always there. many times, just waiting for us to turn to him. he loves us. he is full of foregiveness. he is love and he loves us.

he has a will for us. and when we seek his will and perfectly unite our will to his will -- which is always good -- well that's happiness. that's contentment. that's peace. that's real serenity. we are calm. we are not anxious. we are not upset. we are not worried. we are content. we are happy. we possess all the virtues. we are alive.
phil, good to hear from you. thanks for answering.

i'm sure you are still dealing with that hollow feeling.

all things considered, i hope you are taking good care of your spiritual life.
Bob/Mary,

I am bummed. Today is March 11th. 7 months since my son died. I have good days and bad days. My wife is very depressed. Going to see the psychiatrist to renew medication on Monday. Probably different stuff. My son really hurt us when he died of heroin addiction. This is like a condition one would have with ones heart, or diabetes. Grief is something you have to learn to live with. I hate drugs. My younger son Matt seems to be doing ok.

Bob-how is your son.

Mary-Its good to hear from you. Are you still battling depression? Staying away from the boyfriend?

God Bless,

Phil
That was beautiful, Bob! I agree 100%!

Dear Phil,

I know I've said it before but I just don't know how I would be able to live through the death of one of my children! I admire your strength and the way you reach out to help others in your grief. I would hope I would do the same, but I don't know....it seems so overwhelming. My son being in prison detoxing took all the joy out of me for 4 or 5 days. I wasn't able to function.

Please keep in touch. We miss your presence here! God bless!

Love,
Susan
Bob B.


Sorry, Bob, i guess i am still filled with too many resentments to be able to embrace your wisdom of forgiveness and serenity. The wicked still weave their webs of wickedness and deceit...the innocent as usual being their continued targets despite our concerted efforts of 'turning the other cheek'...praying for our transgressors only to fall victim to their feral preying.

My ex bf...currently on probation...is still a junky without the junk...indulging in junky malignant mentality....already working on his next scheme to schmooze and use me before i can forgive him for his last transgression...kinda like this endless queue of dominoes of bad deeds....myself being incessantly hurt by their thundering toppling...

Yeah i am bitter Bob...and as usual i will pose the question or complaint really....why is this 5 time drug dealing/using felon...still kicking at 52 yrs of age while young kids like my late brother and Phil's son David get nipped in the bud of life? I dunno....i guess God's got His reasons....or treasons..

Nothing personal Bob...i really love reading your posts...they get me thru another day and being a recovering alcoholic myself....today is all i got

MARY




Hey Phil,
Yeah i am quite bummed these days and bitter as you can tell by my reply post to Bob B. who in reality is a very kind and inspirational individual.
The anniversary of my late brother's death is the 28th of March and i oft time wonder if he hovers a bit nearer to the earth around this time as his suicide somehow trapped him in a limbo-like state 'twixt the dead and the living.

Now i am being a bummer, Phil, and probably not helping your mood much...life can be a bit sucky at times....just gotta leave it to the Big Guy in Celestial Central....to help us sort it out and maintain

MARY

MARY

If resentments are a source of distress and agony for you, i would invite you to take a look at the thread "Resentments -- Justified ?"

if they (your resentments) are the source, as you indicate they are, consider taking some affirmative and concrete steps to remove them.

you will feel better. and think better. and live better.

it all starts with a decison.
Bob B.
Yeah gotta let go of these resentments and concentrating on their source as i am getting stuck in neutral and can't move on. I have been going to that website by Father Pat and checking out the Crisis Novenas daily..
Let go and let God,
MARY

MARY

thanks for writing. i'm glad that you found the website helpful. it's a good one and has a lot of information and spiritual resources there. i just know that you will find the prayer novenas fruitful. for others interested, here is the link to the website regarding the identification and removal of resentments. i've found it helpful. there's much more on the site that may be helpful to those looking for answers: http://frpat.com/resentments.htm

part of the site deals with grief issues and may be helpful for some : http://frpat.com/subdeaddying.htm

mary, you have been through a lot of trauma. just know that healing will come with perserverance. your namesake, Mary, is very powerful and full of grace. don't be afraid to turn to her for consolation.

For Phil. You have said you are Catholic.
You may find comfort in this quote from the Catechism:

The Communion of Saints

"In the communion of saints, a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things. In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others....

"We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints the Churchs treasury....In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission of the Father entrusted to them." (Catechism, #1475-77)


Dear Bob, Thank you for enquiring.... I appreciate your reaching out.... Today was the last day of visiting my Mom, and return home, which I have mixed feelings about.It's been nice to spend time with my Mom as she is an amazing support, and is also my best friend, though vacations are vacations for a good reason, back to reality tomorow. Today was the third month since my late bf passed away. I went to a church yesterday a light 2 candles, one for him, his soul, our love and the other for stretgh, to help me get through this. He was the biggest love of my life and my best friend. Some days are better than others. As you know we were almost together for 6 years, I feel grateful that I had him in my life, as we shared a lot of love, though he struggled tremendously this last year. I am still struggling with letting go and accepting my new reakity, guesse I'm sort of doing it in increments....

I hope you are doing well, as well as your son. I will keep in touch, how is your cat? LOL Dora
its nice to see fellow Catholics here. It makes me feel right at home. :)
I am a devout Catholic.
hi 4integrity. as it turns out, there are several Catholics posting here.

i hope all goes well with you and the children. gotta take care of them and yourself first. hopefully he will get the help he needs.

peace be with you.

dora, thanks for writing. i'm sure you are struggling. i remember you talking about your mother. and your sister, as i recall. i'm glad your mother is there for you. with the trauma that you've been thru it's good you have family, especially a mother who is your best friend.

my son seems to be doing ok with his sobriety. almost 90 days clean. he went back to work with a group that he worked for earlier last year. the boss called him and asked him to come back, which was good. he's teaching him new things. but he's trying to get a better job -- has applied at a couple of places. hopefully one of them will come thru. he called friday, and he and i went fishing yesterday. had a nice afternoon out on the water in a little fishing boat. thanks for asking, you and phil both.

brownie the cat is doing just fine. no trouble and he comes twice a day to the back door for chow. and he still sits around the backyard birdfeeder, lurking, trying to catch the little birds that come. yesterday morning he came very close to ambushing a mourning dove that was strolling around the back yard. another 5 yards closer and the dove would have been history. but, it managed to escape. he does keep the squirrels out of the yard.

glad to see you back.
Ditto on being a Roman Catholic..
.in fact growing up under the influence of my Uncle who was a Jesuit priest and his sister my Aunt a Dominican nun....i use to love it in the old days when churches were open 24/7 and when the mood grabbed you...you could go in and light a candle or dip your hand in the marble basin of chilled Holy Water.....or just sit in a pew...mesmerized by the flickering red votive candles and the pungent smell of incense and have your own private talk with God in the dimly lit solitary silence...

I drew comfort from gazing into the beautiful chisled face of the statue of the Virgin Mary with the sad Mona Lisa like smile...the Mothers of all mothers

I still am not too old to become a child again and renew my
faith again...
MARY