Sunday, April 2, 2017 Passion Sunday
Judges, Chapter 4, Verse 18
Jael went out to meet Sisera
and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside with me; do not be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and
she covered him with a rug.
This story doesn’t turn out well for Mr. Evil “Sisera”
as god protects Israel from their enemies via women. We are now in the final
stages of God’s covenant that is going to be completed via another woman, the
mother of Christ.
Girl
Power[1]
·
Israel turns away from God again. This time
they're conquered by Jabin, the king of Canaan.
·
Israel cries unto the Lord. Wait—haven't we seen
this episode before?
·
Luckily for them, God raises up an awesome
judge: Deborah, a prophetess and the only female judge in the book. Girl power!
·
Deborah tells Barak, an Israelite general, that
God commands him to take 10,000 soldiers from the tribes of Naphtali and
Zebulun and attack Jabin's army. She promises that God will give them victory.
·
Barak says he'll only go to battle if Deborah
comes, and she does, but lets him know that it won't be him who kills Sisera,
the captain of Jabin's army—it'll be a woman!
·
Barak leads his 10,000 men against Sisera's
army, including 900 chariots of iron.
·
Barak's army kills every last one of Sisera's
men—except for Sisera. He's hiding at his friend Heber's tent. Looks like things
are about to get really in-tents.
·
Heber's wife, Jael, goes out to meet Sisera,
"and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not" (KJV
4:18). If your friend's wife ever says these words to you, run away.
·
Sisera tells Jael not to tell anyone he's in the
tent. "Sure, Siss. No problem," she says, tucking him into bed with
some milk.
·
After he drifts off to sleep, Jael "took a
nail of the tent, and took a hammer
in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and
fastened it into the ground" (KJV 4:21).
·
And with that, Jabin was defeated. Ladies for
the win!
Aids
in Battle [2] Tent pegging the Devil
·
The Devil and I do struggle [God said to St.
Bridget], in that we both desire souls as bridegrooms desire their brides. For
I desire souls in order to give them eternal joy and honor.
·
The Devil desires souls to give them eternal
horror and sorrow.
·
Great courage is required in spiritual warfare.
ST. TERESA OF ÁVILA
·
Draw near to God, and Satan will flee from you.
ST. EPHRAEM THE SYRIAN
·
To sin is human, but to persist in sin is
devilish. ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
·
Repentance is returning from the unnatural to
the natural state, from the Devil to God, through discipline and effort. ST.
JOHN THE DAMASCENE
·
Hence the Lord has said that he who has faith
the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain by a word of command; that is,
he can destroy the Devil’s dominion over us and remove it from its foundation.
ST. MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR
·
Do not oppose head-on the thoughts that the
Enemy sows in your mind. Instead, cut off all conversation with them by prayer
to God. ST. ISAAK OF SYRIA
Passiontide Customs[2] The main custom for
Passiontide is the veiling of all sacred images in home and church with purple
cloth. This custom originated in ancient times, when the images in the papal
chapel of the Vatican were covered after the words of the Passion Sunday
Gospel, "Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple" (Jn 8.59),
were pronounced. The Jews' growing hatred
of Christ recorded in today's Gospel makes plain His imminent death.
Today
is world autism day.[3]
Wear blue in order to support World Autism Day. The color blue is
internationally recognized as a symbol of support for World Autism Day and it
is accompanied by the catchphrase wear blue, April 2.
·
Watch a movie about autism such as Fly Away, Sounding
the Alarm and The Story of Luke.
·
Light up your home or your business in blue like
many famous buildings or monuments worldwide. There are many ways you can do
this. It can be as simple as putting blue plastic over floodlights to project
the color blue on your home. You can also use a blue Phillips light bulb, which
can be bought at Home Depot.
·
Get active on social media by taking a picture
of yourself wearing blue and posting it using the hashtags #LIUB (Light
it up Blue), #WorldAutismAwarenessDay. You can also turn your profile photo
blue on social media by putting a blue frame over it.
·
Take part in an Autism Speaks Walk that raises
money for the cause. You can gather a team and walk in support of someone you
know with autism or simply donate, walk and enjoy the day with thousands of
others.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
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