Saturday, March 12, 2016
Jeremiah, Chapter 2, Verse 19
Your own wickedness chastises you, your
own infidelities punish you. Know then, and see, how evil and bitter is your
forsaking the LORD, your God, and your showing no fear of me, oracle of
the Lord, the GOD of hosts.
Fear begets fear and
Faith begets faith.
Do not fear and continue in faith with our fathers
knowing that St. Michael, the archangel, is the guardian angel and protector of
the Catholic Church.
Some people believe we are on the
cusp of the end times. Pope Leo XIII[1]
by divine enlightenment was revealed the struggles of the Church against the
powers of hell and it was opened to him that hell would be conquered by the
intervention of God led by St. Michael the warrior angel. Pope Leo instituted
the prayer of St. Michael after Mass.
Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend
us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell, Satan and all the
other evil spirits, who prowl throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
Yet,
do not fear the end times or the
devil and his cohorts for each time you receive communion you are empowered
more then they! Napoleon Hill uses an imaginary conversation with the
devil in his manuscript “Outwitting the devil”[2]
to
enlighten us on the tactics that he uses to enslave us to sin:
Q. Tell me of the most common habits by
which you control the minds of people.
A. That is one of my cleverest tricks: I
enter the minds of people through thoughts which they believe to be their own. Those
most useful to me are fear, superstition,
avarice, greed, lust, revenge, anger, vanity, and plain laziness. Through one or
more of these I can enter any mind, at any age, but I get my best results when I
take charge of a mind while it is young, before its owner has learned how to close
any of these nine doors. Then I can set up habits which keep the doors ajar forever.
In order to keep these
doors closed to the devil we must develop self-control and discipline by the
use of fasting and mortification.
Fasting and Mortification[3]
Modern man and the media
often portray persons that fast as deranged, passé or even ignorant. However, fasting
and bodily discipline are truly the marks of a man or woman of mature intellect
which has mastery over not only the mind but also the body and spirit. St. Paul
put it in stronger terms, “put to death therefore what is earthly in you (Col.
3:5).” Jesus has also said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny
himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Christ knew we become attached to
created things and to the pleasure they bring us. St. Augustine said that sin
begins as a turning away from God and a turning toward lesser goods. When we
sin, we don’t choose evil. We choose something less than God and His will. Our
bodies want more than they need, so we must
give them less than they want. Our bodies must
be subject to our reason—or our reason will soon be subjected to our bodies.
St. Paul went even further. “I pommel my body and subdue it” (1 Cor. 9:27). Nevertheless
our goal should be to let our reason/soul cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Chassidic philosophy demonstrates three
ways in which the body and soul can interact:
·
The soul can try and mitigate the urges of the
body. Things that look good, taste good and feel good are stimulating and
addictive. Most of us live life with our body in the driver’s seat. The soul
just can’t compete. And so the soul tries to negotiate reasonably, and
encourages moderation.
·
Or, the soul can choose to reject the body and
abhor anything associated with materialism. The soul-driven person would then
rebel against society’s shallow and false veneers. Simplicity and ascetism
become the ultimate goals of the soul.
·
The third scenario is not a compromise between
the first two. It is an entirely new approach, where the body and soul learn to
work together. The soul neither leans towards the body nor rejects it. It does not react; it pro-acts. In a
proactive position, the soul directs and channels the body’s inclination in a
constructive way.
In this last approach, instead of
repressing the body’s needs, the soul views them as an opportunity to serve God in a whole new way. [4]
Using the third approach
we should fast with a purpose like Moses or Elijah for example before going
into God’s presence or to strengthen us or for the benefit of others. Jesus
fasted not because He needed to, but as a model for us. We should make self-sacrifices
in an effort to make others happy or out of love for our God to share in his plan
of salvation. By dying to self, daily, we prepare ourselves for our own moment
of death.
Some Fasting Ideas
X
Refrain from complaining, gossiping and
grumbling.
X
Abstain from your favorite foods.
X
Eat 1/3 less on fast days and no more than 1/3
more on feast day.
X
Fast extra days and always must accompany
increased prayer and almsgiving.
X
No animal flesh, dairy, oil, or wine-fish OK.
X
No sex.
X
Good times to fast:
o
Ember days.
o
Tuesdays or Wednesdays & Fridays.
o
Rogation Days
o
Vigils before Feasts
o
Holy Week (Mon-Sat)
o
Christmas Eve
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