Catholic and Enjoying It!
A reader writes:
It would appear that the place where I have been living for a number of years will likely be sold by the end of summer. Therefore, I am in need of a new place to live out my eremitic vocation. What I have quickly learned is that I simply do not enjoy the level of income necessary to afford the average price of a rental in this day and age. (If I’ve done nothing else right re: my vocation, I’ve got a real good grip on the whole evangelical poverty thing!)
Please join me in praying that God will lead me to the right place at the right time. Pray, too, that God will give me the grace to want only for myself what He wants for me. God’s will not mine be done.
Be assured of my prayers for you.
Thank you for your prayers! Father, hear his prayer for a new place at the right time and help him to live out his vocation to the glory of your Name. Mother Mary and St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for him! We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Another reader writes:
I am really sorry to disturb but I must bed urgent and sustained prayer if I may from your readers. We have an urgent situation here in Indonesia. Sorry about long message but please hear me out as people’s lives are at stake.
On the 9th of July there will be the Presidential election. There are only two candidates – Jokowi and Prabowo. You could not find two more clear opposites. Jokowi is known as a man of the people, honest, uncorruptable and a firm believer in human rights and democracy. Opposing him is Prabowo, a known murderer and born dictator who has made no secret of the fact he intend to rule Indonesia with an iron fist. He has gone on record many times as saying that democracy does not fit the needs of Asia. He actively wants to undo the democratic reforms from 1998. It’s even in his manifesto! Indonesia would become like Putin’s Russia but with the added delights of unfettered Islamic violence.
http://theconversation.com/will-indonesia-see-a-return-of-the-strongman-28257
We all thought a Jokowi victory was assured but Prabowo, in his quest for power, has done deals with every power mad, corrupt official going, every Islamic hardliner and loony in the country and, as a result, has been given the reins of power already including domination of the media. It is now, suddenly, widely accepted that Prabowo cannot lose the election. He has it now! Prabowo just has too much power and the uneducated public have swallowed the propaganda wholesale and Jokowi is now seen as unelectable by the general public. This is a 180 degree reversal in just three months!
The consequences of a Prabowo presidency for Indonesia will be devastating. Prabowo has made it clear he will rule in the mold of the dictator Surharto including carrying out the same economic policies that causes the great crash of 1998 (borrow and built for his majesty and ego.) Islamic hardliners know they will be untouchable under Prabowo and are already physically attacking Christians in their private homes. This was not the case three months ago. Prabowo has stated he wants to ‘purify’ religion in the country. In addition, he has built up a collation of the mad, the corrupt and criminal. The country will be stripped bare by vultures and the rule of law will wither… and that will only be the beginning.
Indonesia is about to vote for a return to the military style dictatorship of Surharto but with someone even worse in power! If Prabowo becomes president then there will be blood. Christians and nonconformists will be physically attacked, dissenters will disappear, the police will exhort money from the masses and there could be riots in the future as in 1998. People’s lives hang in the balance of this election. The ethnic Chinese are already frightened.
I am sure you will need to edit my long message but I am trying to explain the situation to you. The turn around in the polls is like nothing I have ever seen. We all though Jokowi was a certainty. But now it is a cert Prabowo will win. Jokowi cannot match Prabowo’s sheer, raw muscle, especially when it comes to vote buying.
The only way to prevent a return to dictatorship in Indonesia is prayer. But the Indonesians are confused and I do not think are organising mass prayer. As a foreigner I am forbidden from direct involvement in politics and immigrasi are hard on any foreigner who even gets noticed by the public. (We kinda have to be ‘invisible’ so we are not seen to be here ‘stealing’ jobs.) But I am praying and fasting HARD. There are 12 days to go and every day Prabowo gains and at an accelerating rate. I beg people to pray and fast for less than two weeks for this election to turn this around – that God, and not a corrupt media – will influence people’s hearts. “No prayer – no hope”. And that’s from a Jokowi campaigner. Please note that Indonesians are converting to Christianity and it is the Christians and the Chinese who will be the first under fire.
I do believe that if there is sustained prayer and fasting God may yet be able to turn the situation around even in the 11th hour but prayer has to be now. This is not a situation like in, say, Iraq where the people do not understand democracy and want Sharia law… the public here are just really badly educated. They are not even taught about the Surharto ‘New Order’ period in school so the young think it was a ‘golden age’ and Prabowo has used propaganda ruthlessly and effectively to play to that. They do not know Prabowo’s agenda even though he has published it! They would not understand it anyway. I swear, there is no education here worth it its salt here unless you pay through the nose.
Yes, this is a long message. It’ll need editing, I know, but I beg for prayer on this. It’s just a short time and the Indonesians are voting in ignorance. They have no idea who Prabowo really is. Many cannot read. Many will vote for their own oppression. (They honestly believe Prabowo is a man of the people! They have no idea what he represents!)
Can I beg for a prayer request here? Sorry about the rambling message. I’m a bit desperate here. The turn around has been weird.
Father, hear our prayer that you who are Justice will prevail over injustice and that you who are Love will prevail over the hatred and corruption of man. Grant your peace to Indonesia and your protection to the innocents there, Christian and Muslim, who will suffer if evil men come to power. St Michael, fight for them against the powers and principalities who seek to harm innocents and destroy Christ’s holy Church. Mother Mary, pray for them. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Finally, please pray for and help the people of Sudan, how are at the lowest point in their history.
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