News Item: : Lisa Burns - A Walking Miracle of Divine Mercy
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
Posted by admin
Tuesday 19 October 2010 - 13:34:00
Please share this with your children, grandchildren and God-children
A couple of years ago we met a marvellous young lady called Lisa Burns in Walsingham. Her story underscores the urgent need for a reform in Catholic education in these isles. It also reminds us of the mystery of Grace which can overcome all obstacles in order to draw souls to God.Â
We were delighted recently to see Lisa's story recounted in a copy of the magazine The Angels - Messengers from a Loving God which is printed by The Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel (Michaelite Fathers) in Poland.
Lisa explains that she received poor quality religious education both from her family and her school. Sadly, this is the experience of many thousands of young people today and it explains the 90% lapsation rate of British Catholic teens upon leaving school.
Lisa adds that her situation was exacerbated by the fact that she grew up in a diocese that, 'rushes through catechesis to get the first sacraments over within one year.' This model is now being introduced in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, under the tutelage of the dissenting American speaker/writer Bill Huebsch; a fact which is causing serious concern to orthodox families there.Â
Unfortunately Lisa experienced bullying at school and felt herself powerless. She recalls;
Â
'In this powerlessness, I craved some form of control in my life, but my faith in Jesus was virtually non-existent, so I began to look for consolations elsewhere.'
This bears out the comments we made in our recent news-post on Virtue and the Young, regarding the tragic issue of young people being denied the true content of the Faith. Many thus end up walking away from the Church in order to find meaning.Â
One day Lisa saw a girl reading a book of spells (ironically during an RE class). This included a spell to beat bullies and increase one's popularity. Lisa notes that some magazines aimed at 12-15 year old girls regularly include whole sections devoted to such spells. Let parents beware! This phenomenon is also prevalent in many of the books and movies aimed at domesticating the Occult for teens, such as the vastly popular Harry Potter or the Twilight series.Â
From buying magazines containing spells, Lisa progressed to buying actual spell books and continued on into Wicca (Witchcraft). She reminds us that such books are often tailored to teens and their desire for answers and power. From such books Lisa learnt many falsehoods and prejudices against the Catholic Church. These books included the lie that Satan was a creation of the Church which obscured Lucifer as angel of light... At this stage Lisa's reading material became increasingly sinister as it headed to outright satanism.
As Lisa cautions,
'To teach anyone, let alone a 13-year-old that satan is fiction, is the most dangerous thing that can be done, because once you don't acknowledge him to be real then he can whisper all kinds of lies into your ear and you will believe them because you no longer have a clear distinction between darkness, right and wrong.'
Thankfully none of the spells she tried worked. She gradually drifted into agnosticism and relativism prior to a gradual descent into atheism.
Poor Lisa experienced a grave darkness in which she trusted no-one and hated everyone. She became bitter and angry. This caused her to begin to lose weight. She wondered what suicide would be like.
In the midst of this darkness she cried out to God, 'Do you exist? Jesus are you real? Will I just die and then that's the end of me?'Â
And then, in 2005, Pope John Paul IIÂ began to die. Lisa knew nothing about him, other than he was the leader of a Church which she now despised and thought to be sexist and outdated. She could not understand why so many young people flocked to Rome to be near him in his final suffering. As a result she laughed at them.
When, after the Vigil Mass for the Feast of Divine Mercy and the praying of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, His Holiness died, Lisa felt that her heart had been touched.
Â
In the days surrounding his funeral, Lisa was struck by the news coverage which showed Pope John Paul II as a man 'who was gentle, strong yet compassionate, kind, faithful, and most of all - full of LOVE.'Â
Lisa adds, 'What I saw in him was a reflection of Christ - he was another Christ to me... He was an instrument of God's mercy.'
Lisa watched the Pope's funeral with awe, trying desperately to hold back the tears. When Cardinal Ratzinger began the homily with the words 'Follow Me!' and repeated them throughout the homily Lisa heard these words as though addressed personally to her.
When he entrusted the Pope's soul to Our Blessed Lady, Lisa's heart broke;
Â
'I felt as though God had shot an arrow right into my heart, He had waited for just the right moment and now He had me... It was as though God had shone a great light into my heart, and I saw the truth so clearly! I grabbed hold of some rosary beads and clutched the crucifix in my hand, sobbing and kissing the image of Christ, as it dawned on me that I loved Jesus and that I missed Him.'
The next morning Lisa went to Confession for the first time in years. She entered the confessional feeling full of sorrow for rejecting the Truth - Christ Himself. She emerged with the burden she had carried so long having been taken away from her shoulders.
Lisa looked at the tabernacle and felt as though a voice said, 'You've come home Lisa.' The next day at Holy Mass the readings included the Good Shepherd who goes in search of His lost sheep. Lisa was full of joy - all the darkness had left her and she was now living in a great light.Â
Lisa is a miracle of Divine Mercy.Â
Her story reminds us that Catholic education is in urgent need of reform. As Lisa said after her conversion; 'Why didn't anyone ever tell me about all of this?' Lisa's conversion also reminds us that God's Grace can work miracles to save us - no matter what the obstacles.
Let us keep both these truths in our hearts and minds to encourage us in the ongoing battle to restore authentic evangelisation and catechesis in our country. For to be sure it is often a battle with those who should know better...Â
This news item is from Torch of The Faith
( http://www.torchofthefaith.com/news.php?extend.307 )
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
Posted by admin
Tuesday 19 October 2010 - 13:34:00
Please share this with your children, grandchildren and God-children
A couple of years ago we met a marvellous young lady called Lisa Burns in Walsingham. Her story underscores the urgent need for a reform in Catholic education in these isles. It also reminds us of the mystery of Grace which can overcome all obstacles in order to draw souls to God.Â
We were delighted recently to see Lisa's story recounted in a copy of the magazine The Angels - Messengers from a Loving God which is printed by The Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel (Michaelite Fathers) in Poland.
Lisa explains that she received poor quality religious education both from her family and her school. Sadly, this is the experience of many thousands of young people today and it explains the 90% lapsation rate of British Catholic teens upon leaving school.
Lisa adds that her situation was exacerbated by the fact that she grew up in a diocese that, 'rushes through catechesis to get the first sacraments over within one year.' This model is now being introduced in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, under the tutelage of the dissenting American speaker/writer Bill Huebsch; a fact which is causing serious concern to orthodox families there.Â
Unfortunately Lisa experienced bullying at school and felt herself powerless. She recalls;
Â
'In this powerlessness, I craved some form of control in my life, but my faith in Jesus was virtually non-existent, so I began to look for consolations elsewhere.'
This bears out the comments we made in our recent news-post on Virtue and the Young, regarding the tragic issue of young people being denied the true content of the Faith. Many thus end up walking away from the Church in order to find meaning.Â
One day Lisa saw a girl reading a book of spells (ironically during an RE class). This included a spell to beat bullies and increase one's popularity. Lisa notes that some magazines aimed at 12-15 year old girls regularly include whole sections devoted to such spells. Let parents beware! This phenomenon is also prevalent in many of the books and movies aimed at domesticating the Occult for teens, such as the vastly popular Harry Potter or the Twilight series.Â
From buying magazines containing spells, Lisa progressed to buying actual spell books and continued on into Wicca (Witchcraft). She reminds us that such books are often tailored to teens and their desire for answers and power. From such books Lisa learnt many falsehoods and prejudices against the Catholic Church. These books included the lie that Satan was a creation of the Church which obscured Lucifer as angel of light... At this stage Lisa's reading material became increasingly sinister as it headed to outright satanism.
As Lisa cautions,
'To teach anyone, let alone a 13-year-old that satan is fiction, is the most dangerous thing that can be done, because once you don't acknowledge him to be real then he can whisper all kinds of lies into your ear and you will believe them because you no longer have a clear distinction between darkness, right and wrong.'
Thankfully none of the spells she tried worked. She gradually drifted into agnosticism and relativism prior to a gradual descent into atheism.
Poor Lisa experienced a grave darkness in which she trusted no-one and hated everyone. She became bitter and angry. This caused her to begin to lose weight. She wondered what suicide would be like.
In the midst of this darkness she cried out to God, 'Do you exist? Jesus are you real? Will I just die and then that's the end of me?'Â
And then, in 2005, Pope John Paul IIÂ began to die. Lisa knew nothing about him, other than he was the leader of a Church which she now despised and thought to be sexist and outdated. She could not understand why so many young people flocked to Rome to be near him in his final suffering. As a result she laughed at them.
When, after the Vigil Mass for the Feast of Divine Mercy and the praying of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, His Holiness died, Lisa felt that her heart had been touched.
Â
In the days surrounding his funeral, Lisa was struck by the news coverage which showed Pope John Paul II as a man 'who was gentle, strong yet compassionate, kind, faithful, and most of all - full of LOVE.'Â
Lisa adds, 'What I saw in him was a reflection of Christ - he was another Christ to me... He was an instrument of God's mercy.'
Lisa watched the Pope's funeral with awe, trying desperately to hold back the tears. When Cardinal Ratzinger began the homily with the words 'Follow Me!' and repeated them throughout the homily Lisa heard these words as though addressed personally to her.
When he entrusted the Pope's soul to Our Blessed Lady, Lisa's heart broke;
Â
'I felt as though God had shot an arrow right into my heart, He had waited for just the right moment and now He had me... It was as though God had shone a great light into my heart, and I saw the truth so clearly! I grabbed hold of some rosary beads and clutched the crucifix in my hand, sobbing and kissing the image of Christ, as it dawned on me that I loved Jesus and that I missed Him.'
The next morning Lisa went to Confession for the first time in years. She entered the confessional feeling full of sorrow for rejecting the Truth - Christ Himself. She emerged with the burden she had carried so long having been taken away from her shoulders.
Lisa looked at the tabernacle and felt as though a voice said, 'You've come home Lisa.' The next day at Holy Mass the readings included the Good Shepherd who goes in search of His lost sheep. Lisa was full of joy - all the darkness had left her and she was now living in a great light.Â
Lisa is a miracle of Divine Mercy.Â
Her story reminds us that Catholic education is in urgent need of reform. As Lisa said after her conversion; 'Why didn't anyone ever tell me about all of this?' Lisa's conversion also reminds us that God's Grace can work miracles to save us - no matter what the obstacles.
Let us keep both these truths in our hearts and minds to encourage us in the ongoing battle to restore authentic evangelisation and catechesis in our country. For to be sure it is often a battle with those who should know better...Â
This news item is from Torch of The Faith
( http://www.torchofthefaith.com/news.php?extend.307 )