Deeper Truth

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez “Greater Glory of God”10/30/2023
Alphonsus is the patron saint of Jesuit brothers. Today Jesuit brothers serve alongside Jesuit priests in a variety of ministries in over 112 countries on six continents. The brothers offer who they are and what they have for the “Greater Glory of God”.
At the very heart of the spirituality of St. Alphonsus is love: God's love for us and our love for God in re- sponse. Saint Alphonsus was overwhelmed by God's love for him and for all of us, and for Alphonsus, this was especially manifest in Jesus. Jesus is the unshake- able sign and proof that God loves us.
Alphonsus Rodriguez, SJ. Born in Segovia, Spain, in 1532, he is the patron saint of the lay brothers of the Company of Jesus (the Jesuits). Jesuit lay brothers are men who are called to the religious life as Jesuits but who are not called to priestly ministry.
Tragedy and challenge beset today’s saint early in life, but Alphonsus Rodriguez found happiness and contentment through simple service and prayer.
Born in Spain in 1533, Alphonsus inherited the family textile business at 23. Within the space of three years, his wife, daughter, and mother died; meanwhile, business was poor. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. He sold the business, and with his young son, moved into his sister’s home. There he learned the discipline of prayer and meditation.

”Our Lady of La Vang, Vietnam”

Join John Carpenter and Donald Hartley as the Deeper Truth team examines another Marian apparition in 1798.
In 1798, the Nguyen Dynasty which ruled the entire country of Vietnam, declared that Catholicism was a foreign religious sect, and that it’s followers were leading a revolution against the ruling family. Within a short time, the country’s 37 parishes were under attack and thousands of Catholics were martyred.
Catholics had lived in Vietnam since priests first arrived in 1593. By the time of the persecutions, there were an estimated 320,000 faithful, 131 Vietnamese priests, fifty-five missionary priests, and three bishops. As the Dynasty moved forward with its plans for extermination, many Catholics took to the jungles to hide and await martyrdom.
In the late 18th century, the Vietnamese emperor was afraid the fast increasing number of Catholics in the kingdom would threaten his throne. He then started persecuting Catholic Vietnamese and the Catholic priests who were mainly foreigners. All 37 parishes in Dinh Cat were destroyed – the churches were burnt down and over 100,000 Vietnamese Catholics died as martyrs.
A good number of Catholic Vietnamese hid in the rainforest in La Vang. Many died from bitter cold, being attacked by wild animals, starvation and sickness but every night they all gathered around a tree, saying their rosary.
One night up in the branches of the tree, they saw a lady wearing the traditional Vietnamese ao dai dress with a child in her arms and two angels beside her. They believed it was the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. They said she comforted them and told them to boil the yellow striped leaves called la vang from the trees and drink it to cure them of their illness. Which they did and they were.

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem

 Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem 10/29/2023
Narcissus lived to a very old age, and he is the patron saint against insect bites.
The holy Bishop Narcissus performed many miracles, one being that during the Easter Vigil, the saintly Bishop changed water into oil to supply all the lamps of the Church. He wrought many miracles during his long reign as Bishop of Jerusalem, and remained in constant prayer for unity and peace.
Details of his life are sketchy, but there are many reports of his miracles. The miracle for which Narcissus is most remembered was turning water into oil for use in the church lamps on Holy Saturday when the deacons had forgotten to provide any.
Life in second- and third-century Jerusalem couldn’t have been easy, but Saint Narcissus managed to live well beyond 100. Some even speculate he lived to 160.
Details of his life are sketchy, but there are many reports of his miracles. The miracle for which Narcissus is most remembered was turning water into oil for use in the church lamps on Holy Saturday when the deacons had forgotten to provide any.
We do know that Narcissus became bishop of Jerusalem in the late second century. He was known for his holiness, but there are hints that many people found him harsh and rigid in his efforts to impose Church discipline. One of his many detractors accused Narcissus of a serious crime at one point. Though the charges against him did not hold up, he used the occasion to retire from his role as bishop and live in solitude. His disappearance was so sudden and convincing that many people assumed he had actually died.
 

Deepertruth: Father Calloway Conversion Story and his Medjugorje Testamony

Father Calloway Conversion Story and his Medjugorje Testamony
Father Donald Calloway’s Conversion Story – From Drug Addicted Pagan To A Priest Of Mercy
Heroine, cocaine, opium, marijuana, excessive alcohol, not to mention hallucinogenic drugs like mushrooms (psilocybin) and LSD – he consumed most of these before the age of 18, many before he turned 14, the addictions growing stronger as the existential emptiness deepened. What sounds like an introduction to a Hunter S. Thompson novel actually constitutes the autobiography of a Catholic priest. Fr. Donald Calloway of the Virgin Marians of the Immaculate Conception retells his dramatic and heart-wrenching life story in No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy.
As a destructive youth, Calloway spent his adolescence succumbing to temptations large and small, from sins of the flesh with constant promiscuity, to crimes against the law with thousands of dollars of grand theft in stolen merchandise, as well as nightly partying with friends consuming all forms of drugs and addictives while listening to heavy-metal music.
At one point, Calloway became a follower of the rock band the Grateful Dead, inspiring entrance into a psychedelic culture which—among other things—left him with a big Grateful Dead tattoo on his arm. To this day he has it, as a remembrance of the past he lived. The past he left. To this day he doesn’t have a clue how that tattoo got there, being stoned to oblivion during the night of its implementation.

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saints Simon and Jude

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saints Simon and Jude 10282023
At the time of Christ Israel was dominated by Rome, the Jews were heavily suppressed and over taxed and the burden among the people unbearable.
Roman law made life difficult throughout the Roman Empire. Among the Jews were attempts to organize revolt and St. Simon was part of a group known as the "Zealot's". Sometimes St. Simon is called Simon the Zealot (Luke 6:15), while other times he was called the surname Canaanean or Canaanite (Matthew 10:4, Mark 3:18).
St. Jude (according to Scripture) was born under the House of Clopus, son of Alpheus and Mary, a close relative of the Virgin Mary. St. Jude was a brother of St. James the younger (Less) from Galilee and a close relative of Jesus.
St. Jude’s Mother, Mary, the wife of Clopas (Mark 15:40, John 19:25) was at the crucifixion scene and also a close relative of the Virgin Mary.
Cousins were close relatives that were regarded as brothers in the New Testament. Tradition also says that Clopas was a brother of St. Joseph.
Tradition has it that Jude's father, Clopas, was martyred because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ.
St. James, one of the Apostles, Joses, and Simon were brothers of St. Jude. The name Jude means to be a giver of joy, Thaddeus is a name associated with St. Jude means generous and kind.

Deepertruth: Father Jim Blount speaking from Medjugorje

Father Jim Blount speaking from Medjugorje
Friends, we were made for greatness.
"The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness." –Pope Benedict XVI
We are equipped by our baptisms and confirmations to proclaim the Gospel and bring the Glorious Reign of Christ the King to earth. So that He truly reigns in ALL hearts. So that every single person on earth will become a baptized Catholic, just as Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta was told will happen (and her writings have been fully approved by the Church)!
But the devil is scared of us. He doesn't want us to know how powerful we are, and he doesn't want us to use our power to help God usher in the promised Era of Peace. He is using every trick in the book to tear us down and keep us there.
So if there is any miracle you need in your life... if there is anything holding you back (or holding your loved ones back) from being the "Joan of Arc" or "John the Baptist" that God is calling you to be... then receive the blessings that Father Jim gives you through these videos, do exactly as Father says, and see how God starts to work greater and greater miracles in your life!

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza

Stand In The Gap With Us And Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza 10/27/2023
Bartholomew was born in Vicenza around 1200. At 20, he entered the Dominicans. Following his ordination, he served in various leadership positions. As a young priest, he founded a military order whose purpose was to keep civil peace in towns throughout Italy.
St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of tanners, tailors, plasterers, and leatherworkers. He is also associated with bookbinders, farmers, house painters, butchers, and glove makers due to the manner of his death.
Bartholomew was born in Vicenza around 1200. At 20, he entered the Dominicans. Following his ordination, he served in various leadership positions. As a young priest, he founded a military order whose purpose was to keep civil peace in towns throughout Italy.
In 1246, Pope Innocent IV appointed Blessed Bartholomew as Bishop of Cyprus, were he served for two years. He was then sent as Papal Legate to King Louis IX of France, who was then carrying on the Crusade against the infidels. The two saints became good friends and St. Louis chose Blessed Bartholomew as his confessor. When the King returned to France in 1252, Blessed Bartholomew returned to his diocese, where he remained for four more years, when Pope Alexander IV assigned him to be Bishop of Vicenza.
O God, who made Blessed Bartholomew, Your Confessor and Bishop, wonderful in leading the enemies of the faith from the darkness of error to the light of truth, and in bringing back multitudes to peace and concord, grant, through his intercession, that Your peace, which surpasses all understanding, may keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, forever and ever. Amen.
 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Peter of Alcantara

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Peter of Alcantara 10/26/2023
Born at Alcántara, Spain, 1499; died 18 Oct., 1562. His father, Peter Garavita, was the governor of the place, and his mother was of the noble family of Sanabia. After a course of grammar and philosophy in his native town, he was sent, at the age of fourteen, to the University of Salamanca.
Peter of Alcantara is the patron saint of nocturnal adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1826, he was named patron saint of Brazil, and in 1962 (the fourth centenary of his death), of the Spanish region of Extremadura.
Saint Peter of Alcántara, Spanish San Pedro de Alcántara, original name Pedro Garavito, (born 1499, Alcántara, Spain—died October 18, 1562, Arenas; canonized 1669; feast day October 19), Franciscan mystic who founded an austere form of Franciscan life known as the Alcantarines or Discalced (i.e., barefooted) Friars ...
Many miracles, including the raising of six dead persons to life, occurred in answer to prayers addressed to him. Pope Clement IX enrolled him among the saints.
Peter was a contemporary of well-known 16th-century Spanish saints, including Ignatius of Loyola and John of the Cross. He served as confessor to Saint Teresa of Avila. Church reform was a major issue in Peter’s day, and he directed most of his energies toward that end. His death came one year before the Council of Trent ended.
Born into a noble family—his father was the governor of Alcantara in Spain—Peter studied law at Salamanca University, and at 16 he joined the so-called Observant Franciscans, also known as the discalced friars.
 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Antônio de Sant’Anna Galvão

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Antônio de Sant’Anna Galvão 10/25/2023
May 13, 1739 – December 23, 1822), was a Brazilian friar of the Franciscan Order. One of the best-known religious figures in colonial Brazil, renowned for his healing powers.
God’s plan in a person’s life often takes unexpected turns which become life-giving through cooperation with God’s grace.
Born in Guarantingueta near São Paulo, Antônio attended the Jesuit seminary in Belem, but later decided to become a Franciscan friar. Invested in 1760, he made final profession the following year and was ordained in 1762.
Galvão was a man of great and intense prayer, and mystic phenomena attributed to him include telepathy, premonitio,and levitation.He was reportedly  biolocation in order to take care of sick or dying people who had asked for his help
In São Paulo, he served as preacher, confessor, and porter. Within a few years, Antônio was appointed confessor to the Recollects of Saint Teresa, a group of nuns in that city. He and Sister Helena Maria of the Holy Spirit founded a new community of sisters under the patronage of Our Lady of the Conception of Divine Providence. Sister Helena Maria’s premature death the next year left Father Antônio responsible for the new congregation, especially for building a convent and church adequate for their growing numbers.
 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Anthony Mary Claret

Stand In The Gap With Us And   Saint Anthony Mary Claret “There goes a true saint.”10/24/2023
The “spiritual father of Cuba” was a missionary, religious founder, social reformer, queen's chaplain, writer and publisher, archbishop, and refugee. He was a Spaniard whose work took him to the Canary Islands, Cuba, Madrid, Paris, and to the First Vatican Council.
During his 6 years in Cuba he visited the extensive Archdiocese three times… town by town. In the first years, records show, he confirmed 100,000 people and performed 9,000 sacramental marriages.
The “spiritual father of Cuba” was a missionary, religious founder, social reformer, queen’s chaplain, writer and publisher, archbishop, and refugee. He was a Spaniard whose work took him to the Canary Islands, Cuba, Madrid, Paris, and to the First Vatican Council.
In his spare time as weaver and designer in the textile mills of Barcelona, Anthony learned Latin and printing: The future priest and publisher was preparing. Ordained at 28, he was prevented by ill health from entering religious life as a Carthusian or as a Jesuit, but went on to become one of Spain’s most popular preachers.
Anthony spent 10 years giving popular missions and retreats, always placing great emphasis on the Eucharist and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was said that his rosary was never out of his hand. At age 42, he founded a religious institute of missionaries beginning with five young priests, known today as the Claretians.
Anthony was appointed to head the much-neglected archdiocese of Santiago in Cuba.