When Heaven Comes Down, Epiphanies Happen!

Intercessory Prayer is the trigger that releases the effects of Joel 2 (28-32); Acts 2 (17-21; 22-28)

Almost every night for 17 months, I prayed for my dear sweet Mother, Betty Jean. There is quite a backstory that perhaps I will share one day, but for now: A miracle this week.

I started doing daily, evening prayer walks June 6, 2015 and as I got stronger after my open heart surgery in March 2016, I took to the road on my red, .church flea market purchased, $20 Huffy, 'Good Vibrations' bicycle.

The odd thing about these prayer walks and bike rides was that I started praying the Roman Catholic Rosary! After 44 years of daily prayer  and study of prayer; intercession with international, national and local focuses everything changed. I grew up, even before I was born again saying The Lord's Prayer once a day. I was a committed stuudent of prayer and evangelism,

But, I had honestly never seen so much direct answer to prayer until I started praying the Rosary a year and a half ago. Uniting with Holy Mother Mary in prayer has a tremndous impact on the effectiveness of personal prayer to Jesus. Some misconceive, as did I, that the RC Rosary is worship of Mary. It is not prayer to Mary or in any form worship of Mary, but prayer with Mary and the Holy Spirit as our advocates or prayer partners in praying to Jesus -our intercessor. Mary too is by virtue or her position as Queen of Heaven and our Heavenly Mother the best co-intercessor to Jesus because she is Jesus physical and Heavenly Mother. (More on that at another time).  But Jesus' Mother has a role to point us to Jesus, to do as He says but keep in mind she was with Him step by step for 33 years and for nine months was the Ark of the New Covenant. Mary gav.e Jesus her flesh in the womb. In effect, she was the way God chose to become flesh. She knew Him ten times longer, plus nine months within her, than any other person on earth! In Jewish culture the Queen was alwys the mother, not the wife. When the time came Mary becae the Mother of the Church and the Queen of Heaven after Jesus filled the throne of David. 

Most of those who are reading this may understand the 5 decades and 5 mysteries of each of 4 mysteries of The Rosary, of but for those who don't know - The Rosary is a prayer that joins us to the Holy Mother of God, We hold hands with the "Theotokos" Mother of God, ever Virgin Mary and with the Saints in heaven as well as to those billion earthbound Roman Catholics around the world who, at one place of other, at any time day or night are praying the same prayer called The Rosary. this has been going on in the church for over a thousand years.  

The Rosary is about our meditation and reflection on the 4 Mysteries of Jesus: as Suffering Savior, Joyful Word made Flesh, Glorious Redeemer and Luminous Lord and King. Other aspects of prayer includes 7 repetitions of the Lord's Prayer within each full Rosary each day, The Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and prayer of dependence upon Jesus, "O My Jesus, forgive us our sins"

Each Rosary begins with The Sign of The Cross, "In the name of The Father, The Son and Holy Spirit" (puting on the whole armour of God) and then the declaration to all power in heaven and earth of The Apostle's Creed. "I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of He,aven and Earth, etc....

Each of the four Mysteries has five parts about Jesus and Mary. Between each meditation or reflection are 10 Hail Mary Prayers for a total of 5 decades (ten) for each  Mystery.  

My way of doing this was to pause and pray between each of ten "Hail Mary" prayers with a prayer or (intention) for 1 of 50 different people, family members, friends, people groups and various targets as directed by the Holy Spirit. Now the way I prayed was, again as the Holy Spirit led.

For example: 1st of fifty Hail Marys each night might include:

Hail Mary full of grace
The Lord is with you
Blessed are you among women and
Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.   
Holy Mary Mother of God
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death

(Then as The Holy Spirit led, I would insert specific intentions; for exammple: "Lord I pray for all who travel tonight, that you protect and grant them safe passage wherever they are going" or for example "Mary please pray for (insert specific name of someone)'.

Then I would pray the next Hail Mary and so on.

My Mom Betty Jean, My Sister Sarah and My Wife Camille

​Now when I got to praying for my Mother, Betty Jean - (now almost 90 years young) I would pray the following every night:

"Mother Mary please ask Jesus for me, to send divine intervention to my Mom (on earth); to restore her faith and if necessary, even to awaken her in the middle of the night or visit her in her dreams and let her know how much you love her."



​​It was like this every night for almost 17 months! During that time I also had open heart surgery and even then I managed to pray when I was cognizant.

.This past monday evening my mom called. She announced from her "nursing home hacienda" - in Georgia, "Bobby I have good news! She told mme about some healing going on fo one of my amily members!" That particular situation was an answer to prayer and part of my evening Rosary prayer walks. But its what she told e next that was a blockuster moment for me..

I said, "Mom that is answered prayer and I will keep praying for them."

Then she said, "I also have some other news and I just had to call you! Last night I heard from heaven. Jesus wants me to write a book for children about how much He loves them and how they don't have to be afraid of Him. He wants the story to be about His friends to see He was a real boy who had to grow up just like all His friends. I think I want it to start with Matthew and then Mark and Luke and john! Do you think you could help me?" 

"Wow Mom! Thats wonderful, of course I'll do anything I can to help... "

Mary, Jesus and all of heaven must have been involved. Mom was so excited and she said her faith, that had become cold and distant for much of her life, had been restored in one dream and she said it with a sense of mission as well. As my Pastor in California, Rick Warren said, "She had found purpose that allowed Jesus to take the drivers seat in her heart." Just like that, prayer had been answered, Mom was restored in faith and the Lord gave her new purpose. 

St. Padre Pio said that the Rosary is the power of the Church in the last days. I think he may be on to something.

Please note, I am not Roman Catholic per se, I grew up Methodist, born-again through the witness of Campus Crusade for Christ, was baptized in the Chesapeake bay by Dr. John Pepper of Furnace Branch Baptist church, then became a street Christian, evangelical and charismatic. for 40 years. I did all the stuff that various chuurches, groups, movements, authors and teachers told me. But almost 5 years ago, Camille, my wife and I started having Communion at home together every morning.

It was in CommunionFire one morning that I saw Mary with her Son for the first time. Then months later she spoke to me for the first time, just three words, "Bob, Be Bold." thus the name of this blogsite! So, with heaven's help, their prayers and yours, I am going to document the writing of this book with my earthly Mother and the assistance of my Heavenly Mother as part of my Bob Be Bold postings. I hope you can follow along with us and watch as Heavn reveals another part of its tresuries! 

Scripture Notes on The Rosary see:

#Bob Be Bold - Part 1 - Theotokos
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/theotokos-the-mother-of-god-orthodoxy
#BobBeBold- Part 2 - Full of Grace
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/full-of-grace
​#Bob Be Bold - Part 3 - The Rosary
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/bbb-part-three-the-rosary
#BobBeBold - Part 4 - The Sign of the Cross
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/the-sign-of-the-cross-the-armor-of-god

Blessed: Part One - Elizabeth
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/blessed-part-one-prophetic-word-from-elizabeth
Blessed: Part Two - Mary's Prophecy
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/blessed-part-two-mother-marys-prophetic-song
Blessed: Part Three - Gabriel's Greeting
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/blessed-part-three-gabriels-message
Blessed: Part Four - Gabriel's Visitation to Zechariah
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/blessed-part-four-gabriel-zechariah
Blessed: Part Five - The Witness of Simeon and Anna
http://www.bobbebold.com/bob-be-bold/blessed-part-five-simeon-annas-witness


Thank you also to the prayers of St. Pio who I have great regard for  along with St. Francis.

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Here are a few comments from St. Pio with regard to His love for His and our heavenly Mother Mary.

With the feast day of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) coming up this Tuesday, September 23, I found it fitting to provide you 10 quotes of his speaking about the Blessed Virgin Mary. Like many of the saints before him, Padre Pio had a great devotion to the Blessed Mother, particularly though the Holy Rosary. Padre Pio knew the importance Our Lady plays in the life of every Christian and knew the importance the Rosary plays in the hands of us Christians. For him, the Rosary is the weapon against Satan.

​For us who face many trials these days in our world, St. Pio of Pietrelcina is one of the saints we must turn to for prayers and guidance. He faced his trials and sufferings head on through prayer, the Holy Eucharist, and the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Always remember these words from him – “Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry.”
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It is my hope that you will share this blog post with your family and friends as well as use some of these quotes on your social media sites as a way to evangelize for Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother through the divine inspired words of the great 20thcentury Franciscan saint, Padre Pio –

1. “Let us bind ourselves tightly to the Sorrowful Heart of our Heavenly Mother and reflect on its boundless grief and how precious is our soul.”

2. “May the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, always smile on your spirit, obtaining for it, from her Most Holy Son, every heavenly blessing.”

3. “Go and keep company with Jesus in His Passion, and with His Sorrowful Mother.”

4. “…It is enough for you to know that Mary is the Mother of Jesus…She loves us so much that she offered to God the Father His only natural Son to save His adopted sons…She is a great and inestimable treasure who encloses in herself an infinite treasure, the Son of God.”

5. “…If we do what we have always done, what our fathers did before us, we cannot go wrong. Satan wants to destroy this prayer, but in this he will never succeed. The Rosary is the prayer of those who triumph over everything and everyone. It was Our Lady who taught us this prayer, just as it was Jesus who taught us the Our Father.”

6. “Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother.”

7. [When asked if the Blessed Virgin is present during the Holy Mass], “Yes, she places herself at a side, but I can see her, what a joy. She isalways present. How can it be that the Mother of Jesus, present in Calvary at the foot of the Cross, who offered her Son as a victim for the salvation of our souls, not be present in the mystical Calvary of the altar?”

8. “Let us endeavor, like so many elect souls, to follow this blessed Mother, to walk always close to Her, not following any other path that leads to life, except the one trod by our Mother.”

9. “Always stay close to this Heavenly Mother, because she is the sea to be crossed to reach the shores of Eternal Splendor.”

10. “Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.”

St. Pio of Pietrelcina…Pray for us.

Posted by Kresta in the Afternoon on September 23rd, 2014
Comments Off on 10 Quotes from Padre Pio on the Blessed Virgin Mary

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