CCAirwaves

Messages from Heaven- Cardinals

• The Catholic Cemeteries Association

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This episode explores stories with cardinals - those red-feathered messengers from Heaven. 

These stories go beyond simple bird sightings, reaching into the realm of profound messages and significant comfort drawn from these divine encounters in times of grief and loss. Get ready to be moved by these tales, and always remember, love transcends our physical world and heavenly messages can be found even in the most unanticipated corners of our lives.


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Speaker 1:

Of, of, of, of, of, of, of Of. Hello everyone and welcome back to CC Airwaves. My name is Paige Matillo and I'm here with my co-host, joel Hansel.

Speaker 2:

How's it going Paige?

Speaker 1:

It's going good. I do have to tell our listeners that Joel is wearing a very bright yellow shirt.

Speaker 2:

Very, bright yellow.

Speaker 1:

And it has brightened up my day, so I thought that I would share that with them. How was your day going, joel? It's going.

Speaker 2:

alright, I can't complain.

Speaker 1:

Neither can I. I mean, besides that storm that we had a few days ago that knocked out a lot of people's power.

Speaker 2:

That was really unfortunate, pretty frightening.

Speaker 1:

I just I was lucky, my power stayed on and I didn't happen to you know, experience that crazy wind that was going on. So I'm very grateful and hopefully, by the time you're listening to this, if you didn't have power, you do have power again. So today we're going to be doing another episode of Messages from Heaven, but we're going to be focusing on messages that involve cardinals, and if you haven't listened to one of these segments before, the cardinal has been used to represent a loved one who has passed away and as a messenger from heaven. So that's why a lot of people have these stories that involve cardinals. So we will jump right into our first story that was submitted by Jamie G.

Speaker 1:

Every year on my birthday, a cardinal comes to my window. As a child, I would rush to see it, always finding it waiting for me. My father initially thought it was a random occurrence, often saying birds are unpredictable, which is true. However, the cardinals consistent visits on my birthday couldn't be ignored. The true meaning behind these visits became clear on my 16th birthday. While exploring old family albums, I discovered photos of my grandmother, whom I had never met, surrounded by cardinal figurines. Intrigued, my mother shared a story that I had never heard. She explained that my grandmother believed her late husband, my grandfather, would revisit her in the form of a cardinal. This belief sparked her love for cardinal figurines and my mother felt certain that the yearly cardinal visits were from my grandmother, ensuring she remained a presence in my life. Together, we retrieved one of her cherished figurines from the attic, which I have kept in my room ever since. Now in my 50s. It remains a treasured keepsake, a symbol of love and connection. And, yes, I still get a visit from a cardinal every year.

Speaker 2:

That's an amazing story. I like that. I mean every year, no matter where he's at a cardinal visits on his birthday.

Speaker 1:

See, after the first, like the first two years, you're like, oh, maybe if you live by the woods, but then after that, after about five years, six years of that, I'd be like, yep, this is, this is something bigger.

Speaker 2:

I would think so Absolutely, and the fact that you were kind of able to even put that connection together, that, oh wait, this bird visited me. A bird visited me last year and the year before, and to be able to kind of see that and put that together is quite amazing, because I don't know a lot of kids that would kind of put all that together.

Speaker 1:

I wouldn't Right, but it sounds like they didn't put it together until they were older, so it became clear on the 16th birthday.

Speaker 2:

But even like the dad was like kind of blew it off originally, like birds are unpredictable. This second story is submitted by Donna P. Donna writes I had planned for a straightforward hike following a loop on the map. However, I strayed off the path. I've done that many times myself, paige.

Speaker 1:

Especially in the metro parks. That happens to me a lot.

Speaker 2:

A lot. As the sun began to set, I started to get nervous. I was lost in facing the reality of spending the night outdoors. After hours of walking, I stopped to think about the next steps. Just then, a cardinal landed nearby, persistently looking at me and hopping in a specific direction. Despite my initial skepticism, after 15 minutes I decided to follow its lead. Remarkably, the birds seemed to guide me, occasionally checking if I was trailing. Eventually, I spotted the trail I'd left. Once I was back on track, the cardinal departed. After listening to your podcast, I couldn't help believe that a departed loved one sent that bird to ensure my safety.

Speaker 1:

That's very nice, Donna. I'm really glad that you were able to find your way home. Spending the night outside sounds very scary. I'm sure it probably was a loved one who led you back to the path.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. That's a lot better than the alternative, right.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but that's very sweet. I wouldn't doubt it if someone could sense that she was in trouble Absolutely and wanted to help her find her way back home. So our next story was submitted by Lewis L. The first thing you need to understand about me is that music was my everything. It was my channel that allowed me to pour out my emotions, fears and dreams. But when my wife passed away, I felt like a part of me died too. I couldn't play the piano anymore. Every time I tried, my fingers felt cold and unresponsive.

Speaker 1:

Mornings were the hardest, waking up to a world without her laughter, her wisdom, her presence. It was one particularly silent morning that I began to hear a sweet, unfamiliar tune. I rushed to the window and saw a cardinal perched on the branch, its song filling the air with the melody. Something inside me stirred. I was captivated, not just by the bird's tune, but by the feeling that this moment helped significance beyond my understanding. I rushed over to my piano. I let my fingers dance over the keys, trying to capture the essence of the song. Hours passed and it felt like a part of me was brought back to life. I believe with every fiber of my being that the song was a gift, a message from my wife letting me know that, while she might be gone, her love would always find a way to reach me. That, cardinal, reignited my passion, reminding me that inspiration could be found even in the depths of our greatest sorrows. That's very sweet, oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:

That is a very sweet story.

Speaker 1:

See, some of these just make me want to cry and I could see it in my head, just him having probably the lowest of low mornings and then just hearing this song and it, you know, touching his heart so much.

Speaker 2:

Well, I'm glad he's playing the piano again and finding inspiration.

Speaker 1:

It brought music back to his life.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. His final story was submitted by Jessica. She writes the days after my dad's funeral were some of the hardest I've ever lived through. My mom was completely devastated, and we did our best to support each other. One morning, I was determined to keep myself busy, so I decided to tackle the disastrous garage. It was a complete mess, which was quite usual for my dad. Somehow we always knew where everything was, isn't that true?

Speaker 1:

That is really true.

Speaker 2:

Don't, don't put that away.

Speaker 1:

I know where. I know where it's at. I know exactly where it goes. Sometimes there's order amongst the chaos.

Speaker 2:

Right, but it needed to be organized for my mom. As I started to sort through old boxes, I saw something fly into the garage. When I looked up, it was a cardinal. I've always been terrified of birds, so I panicked. I grabbed a broom and began to swing it as I waved it around.

Speaker 2:

I knocked over an old box that was hidden in the corner. The bird flew away, which gave me a chance to examine what was inside. I opened it and found a sealed envelope addressed to my mom. I went inside the house and gave it to her. She opened it and I could tell she was about to cry. I asked her what it was and she told me it was a letter from my dad. She had never seen it before. He must have written it when they had first started dating and never sent it to her.

Speaker 2:

She gave me the letter. It spoke of his admiration for her, his dreams of their future together and how he felt like the luckiest man to have her by his side. He spoke about their future children and how he would love them with every fiber of his being. I started to cry too, as I imagined my dad, so full of hope and love, writing this letter. A few weeks later, my mom framed the letter and put it by her bedside. This lets her read it whenever she wants to remember him. I truly believe the cardinal was a sign from him which reminds me. I would like to formally apologize to my dad for attacking the bird he sent for us.

Speaker 1:

See, that's why I started laughing, because can you imagine? It's this beautiful sign from heaven and you start attacking it with a broom.

Speaker 2:

I mean, I think that bird was her dad, sent by her dad like hey, I need you to look in here. This is for your mom Give it to her.

Speaker 1:

She needs it.

Speaker 2:

You need it because apparently it also helped her in a way.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely so it was something they both needed and, yeah, I think I'm maybe attacking. It was the original plan. Maybe he knew that she was scared of birds and that was the only way to find the box. But you know what Everything happens for a reason.

Speaker 2:

Exactly.

Speaker 1:

And that's just exactly as God had planned that encounter to go. So that is all that we have for you guys today. Thank you so much for listening and please remember, if you have received a message from heaven and you would like us to share it, you can email us at podcast at CLE C-E-M dot org, or you can send us a message on our social media.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for listening today and we hope you join us next time. Until then, take care everyone.