Jeremiah,
Chapter 42, Verse 11-16
11 Do not fear the
king of Babylon, as you do now. Do not fear
him—oracle of the LORD—for I am with you to save you, to rescue you from his
power. 12 I will take pity on you, so that he will have pity on you
and let you return to your land. 13 But if you keep saying, “We
will not stay in this land,” thus disobeying the voice of the LORD, your God, 14 and saying, “No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we
will not see war, nor hear the trumpet alarm, nor hunger for bread. There we
will live!” 15 then listen to the word of the LORD, remnant of Judah: Thus
says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you are set on going to Egypt and
settling down there once you arrive, 16 the sword you fear
shall overtake you in the land of Egypt; the hunger you dread shall pursue you
to Egypt and there you shall die.
Faith is always a great
multiplier in overcoming odds take the story of Glen Cunningham who beat the
odds to go on to compete at the Olympics.
Glenn Verniss Cunningham (August 4, 1909 – March
10, 1988) was an American distance runner and athlete considered by many the
greatest American miler of all time. Cunningham was nicknamed the "Kansas
Flyer", the "Elkhart Express" and the "Iron Horse of
Kansas".
Cunningham's legs were very badly burned in an explosion
caused when someone accidentally put gasoline instead of kerosene in the can at
his schoolhouse when he was eight and his brother Floyd was thirteen. Floyd
died in the fire. When the doctors
recommended amputating Glenn's legs, he was so distressed his parents would
not allow it. The doctors predicted he might never walk normally again. He had
lost all the flesh on his knees and shins and all the toes on his left foot.
Also, his transverse arch was practically destroyed. However, his great
determination, coupled with hours upon hours of a new type of therapy, enabled
him to gradually regain the ability to walk and to proceed to run. It was in
the early summer of 1919 when he first tried to walk again, roughly two years
after the accident. He had a positive attitude as well as a strong religious
faith. His favorite Bible verse was Isaiah 40:31: "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall
walk and not faint."
He competed in both the 1932 Summer Olympics as well as
the 1936 Summer Olympics. While on the ship traveling from the U.S. to Germany,
he was voted "Most Popular Athlete" by his fellow Olympians.
In 1934, he set the world record for the mile run at
4:06.8, which stood for three years.[1]
Holy Saturday[2]
We should have during the morning and afternoon, a mournful remembrance of our
Lord in the tomb.
Why is this day called Holy Saturday? Because Jesus Christ,
the Holy of holies, on this day rested in the grave, and because on this day the
new fire and the baptismal water are blessed.
What is the new fire? It is the fire caught
from the sparks of a flint, and then blessed by the priest, from which afterwards
the candles and lamps in the church are lighted.
Why is this done, and what does it signify?
The
fire is first caught from a flint to indicate that Christ, the light of the
world, though rejected by the Jews, is the real corner-stone, and, though seemingly
extinguished in the grave, arose gloriously and sheds the beams of His blessed
light on the world.
What is signified by the three candles,
or triple candlestick? The Most Holy Trinity, one in the divine nature, but
three in person.
Why are all the candles of the church lighted
from the triple candle? To signify that all enlightening comes from the Most
Holy Trinity.
What does the paschal or Easter candle signify?
It
represents Jesus Christ, Who died, but rose again, and now lives forever, the light
of the world, giving light to all, and delivering us from the darkness of sin. The
wax signifies His body, the wick His soul, the light His divinity. The five holes
in the Easter candle, in the form of a cross, represent the five holy wounds which
Christ retains for our consolation. The five grains of incense inserted therein
signify the spices used in embalming the corpse of Our Savior.
What is the signification of the ceremonies
used in blessing the baptismal water? They signify the different effects of Baptism.
Why does the priest pour out the
baptismal water towards each of the four quarters of the globe? To indicate
that as the four streams went forth from paradise to water the earth, so also, according
to the command of Christ, shall the stream of grace, through holy Baptism, flow
to all parts of the world for the washing away of sin.
What does it mean when the priest breathes
three times upon the water? The breathing upon the water denotes the communication
of the Holy Ghost.
What does it mean when the priest dips
the Easter candle thrice into the baptismal water? The immersion and
withdrawal of the candle from the water denote that it is sanctified by Christ to
be a means through which the baptized are drawn out of the abyss of sin.
What is the meaning of the mixing of the
holy oils with the consecrated water? The holy oils are mixed with the
consecrated water partly to indicate the union of Christ with His people, and partly
also to denote that the grace of the Holy Ghost, of which the holy oil and chrism
are figures, together with faith, hope, and charity, is infused into the heart of
the catechumen. ~No Christian should forget to-day to revisit the holy sepulcher,
to thank Jesus for His passion and death, and to venerate the sorrowful Mother Mary.
Holy Water[3]
We
begin in water; our human form in the amniotic sac, “bag of waters”, in the
womb. In the order of nature birth begins when a mothers “water breaks.” So
with water we begin our visits to church and we dip a hand into the holy water
font and bless ourselves. When the world was lost to sin and needed cleansing
and rebirth, God sent a great flood, and from the flood the family of Noah
found new life. When Israel emerged from slavery as a unified nation, it first
had to pass through the waters of the Red Sea. Though babies had always been
born through “water,” now grown men and women could be “born of water and the
Holy Spirit.” The Church Fathers taught that Jesus, by descending into the
waters of the River Jordan, had sanctified the waters of the world, He made
them living and life-giving, He made them a source of supernatural
regeneration, refreshment and cleansing. St. Teresa of Avila wrote that “there
is nothing the devils flee from more—without returning—than holy water.”
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