This blog is based on references in the Bible to fear. God wills that we “BE NOT AFRAID”. Many theologians state that the eighth deadly sin is fear. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. By “the power of the Holy Spirit” we can be witnesses and “communicators” of a new and redeemed humanity “even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7 8). This blog is dedicated to Mary the Mother of God.
Wildlife fills our life
with joy and refreshment. Songbirds and birds of prey, squirrels and rabbits,
butterflies and lightning bugs all carry a message worth discovering in early
summer. Do we see and hear them, or do we overlook them, even despise them? Are
they simply an annoyance, or do we come to know, love, and even serve these
fellow creatures by providing protection and habitat?
Nehemiah, Chapter 4, Verse 8
I made an inspection, then
addressed these words to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the
people: “Do not fear them! Keep in
mind the LORD, who is great and to be feared, and fight for your kindred, your
sons and daughters, your wives and your homes.”
The final battle for the
kingdom; like here in Nehemiah and the secular resistance to the rebuilding of
a people dedicated to God will be through the family. Families must not live in
fear. Do not let fear take hold of your families and communities. The enemies’
threats and attacks are imminent. Do not let your spirit be broken. Take
concrete measures to protect your family. You must challenge your fears and
only fear God. Depend on God and fight for yourselves. HE will free you from
the grip of hopelessness.
Joyous Preparation for Pentecost[1]
Our hearts need to be fixed within the Liturgical Year. We can find rest and
consolation and direction with and from the liturgy of the Church.
Ascension--We
Are Filled with Joy
Last week (or this past Sunday) the Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension. Formerly in the
liturgy, the Paschal Candle would be snuffed and removed from the
sanctuary after the Gospel, indicating how Jesus had left us. This practice has
changed because it's important to show that the Easter season continues through
Pentecost. The feast of the Ascension does mark the end of the Paschal Mystery,
which includes the Passion, Death, Resurrection, Ascension of Jesus into
heaven and Pentecost, but not an end to Easter.
Every year I find myself with mixed emotions contemplating the Ascension. I
always think the Apostles would have felt some sadness and they would have
missed Jesus. They thought they had lost Him completely in His death
on the cross, only to have the impossible and unthinkable of Him rising from
the dead. Jesus was alive! For forty days Jesus appeared to them at
various times. His presence wasn't the same as before, as He didn't eat and
sleep and live with them anymore, but His resurrection and presence was even
more of a gift. And then He gives them His final commission and ascends to
the Father, not to return in an appearance with His glorified body.
Did
the Apostles sometimes hope He would appear, or did they know that this
was the last time they would see Him? It feels like it should be a sad day,
with the Apostles missing the human presence of Jesus.
They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were
continually in the temple praising God (Luke 24:53).The whole Ascension
liturgy is filled with reference to joy and rejoicing. The Collect opens with Gladden
us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout
thanksgiving....The Responsorial Psalm from Psalm 47 is full of
rejoicing:
God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
What is this joy we are to have, when it seems bittersweet for Jesus to
leave us? The answer lies in the words of the Solemn Blessing:
And may you, who believe he is seated with the Father in his majesty, know with joy the fulfillment of his promise to stay with you until the end of time.
He is gone physically, but remains with us until the end of time. And that
is the secret of our joy.
Preparing for
the Departure
Starting in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel
of John, Jesus is with His Apostles at His Last Supper. There He is giving His
final instructions, His most important teachings before His death. Instead of
the liturgy unfolding these during Lent, we begin to hear them in the
middle of the Fourth Week of Easter. The final weeks of the Easter season the
liturgy has been preparing us for this final departure and coming of the
Paraclete: "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have
loved you, so you also should love one another." "I am the True
Vine, you are the branches, remain in Me." We hear the words of
Jesus, His final instructions, but this time we hear them knowing in the
fullness of the Faith; we hear them in the comfort of knowing the truth of
the Paschal Mystery and Pentecost. And the week or nine days between
Ascension and Pentecost we hear the promise of the Advocate or the Holy Spirit.
We await the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. All through Easter we hear
in the Preface how we are "overcome with paschal joy." That is how we
can look at these final instructions and anticipation for Pentecost, with the
joy of knowing that He will remain with us always and we have the Advocate sent
to us on Pentecost. Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
================
We are preparing our hearts and homes (and atrium) for this great feast.
I've written a few posts the provide more specifics in celebrating this feast:
We prayed to our God and
posted a watch against them day and night for fear of what they might do.
Here this references the
Jewish people as they attempt to rebuild their great nation and the enemies of Judah
encircle them and poise to launch an attack against them.Sounds like the battle cry
of the unbelieving secular media against the current administration in DC and
those who are carrying their guns and their bibles who resist them. One wonders
what the god of a secular media is.
False Gods[1]
The media view themselves as their own
gods—masters of their own fates. Many of these self-made gods control our
media. As gods, they want no competition. They reject the truth that God is God
alone and that He will hold them accountable for mocking Him and His followers.
Thus, the truth is hell to them, even before they get there. They express their
hatred for God’s truth by heaping venom on anyone who declares the truth. They
are rewriting American history, to fit their desire for self-worship, want to
silence truth. Thus, whenever a Christian lovingly and thoughtfully points them
to the truth of history, they hound them down, accusing them of “racism,” “hate
speech” and “bigotry.” Why? Because truth to them is hell, so they want to
muzzle their message. To them these truths are hell, so they respond by
likening Christians to the Taliban and the Jihadis … can you imagine?
·The Christians who
founded the hospital movement.
·The Christians who
founded the library movement.
·The Christians who
founded the orphanage movement.
·The Christians who
founded education.
·The Christians, who
have and continue to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and care for the needy.
·The Christians who
sacrificed and continue to sacrifice in following the role model of their
Savior who gave His all on a cross to save them. How can they say that
Christians are likened to the Taliban?
·The Taliban who shoot
women in the head at close range in soccer stadiums.
·The Taliban who bury
people alive for their sins and misdemeanors.
·The Taliban who stone
women to death for mere accusations.
My concern is that the very truth that can set
them free is the truth they attack. I know why they attack it—because it feels
like hell to them. It is condemning. However, my heart is not to condemn them
but to pray to God to open their blind eyes, just like He opened mine, so that
they may see the truth before it is too late for them.
Dr. Michael Youssef's expertise on the Islamic culture
and the Middle East in today's post-modern world is actively sought by hundreds
of thousands of followers around the globe. With a Ph.D. from Emory University
in social anthropology, his Egyptian heritage gives him particular insight into
the cultural and religious entanglements of international affairs. It is
estimated that over 10 million viewers/listeners around the world are tuned in
every week through an international Christian media ministry founded by
Youssef, www.leadingtheway.org.
It broadcasts via radio and television to over 200 countries and in over 20
languages. Follow Youssef, a common sense intellectual and renowned author of
24 books, on twitter @michaelayoussef and through his news blog, www.michaelyoussef.com.
This day is called the
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because on it Mary visited her cousin
Elizabeth, whom, as the angel had told her, God had blessed with a son in her
old age.
I have always thought
that on this occasion the reason Elizabeth was so enlivened at the leaping of
John in her womb was because as an older pregnant woman she may have feared
that John was stillborn? Is it possible that John the Baptist was Jesus’s first
miracle? It is an interesting thought.
The Canticle of Mary
My soul
proclaims the greatness of the Lord, My Spirit rejoices in God my Savior For He
has looked with favor on His lowly servant. From this day all generations will
call me blessed: The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His
Name. He has mercy on those who fear Him, in every generation. He has shown the
strength of His arm, He has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast
down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled
the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has come
to the help of His servant Israel for He has remembered His promise of mercy, the
promise He made to our fathers, To Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was
in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
EXPLANATION OF THE CANTICLE
In this hymn Mary with
joy praises God, the Lord, that He has regarded her humility, and made her to
be the Mother of His only-begotten Son, wherefore she should be called blessed by
all generations; and she declares the truths and mysteries which the
incarnation brought to light. The mercy of God, namely, reaches from generation
to generation to them that fear Him. He scatters the thoughts of the proud, and
puts down from their seats the mighty; but He exalts the humble. He fills those
who hunger for justice with good things, but those who think themselves rich He
sends away empty. He receives all true Israelites, and performs in them the
promises which He gave to the fathers. This hymn is repeated by the Church
every day at Vespers, in praise of the work of redemption, begun by the
incarnation of the Son of God in Mary. Would that every Christian, since he
becomes one only by Christ being, as it were, born in him, might share those
feelings which the Blessed Virgin and Mother has expressed in this hymn of
praise, and, with the Church, daily praise God for the mystery of the
incarnation
Wisdom empowers a person “to judge and order all things in accordance with
divine norms and with a connaturality that flows from a loving union with God.”
So while knowledge and understanding enable a person to know and to penetrate
the divine truths, wisdom moves us to “fall in love” with them. The Holy Spirit
aids the contemplation of divine things, enabling the person to grow in union
with God. This gift unites us to the heart of Jesus. Father Adolphe Tanquerey
taught, “This, then, is the difference between the gift of wisdom and that of
understanding, the latter is a view taken by the mind, while the former is an
experience undergone by the heart; one is light, the other love, and so they
united and complete one another. Wisdom, withal, remains the more perfect gift;
for the heart outranges the intellect, it sounds greater depths, and grasps or
divines what reason fails to reach. This is particularly the case with the
saints, in whom love often surpasses knowledge” (The Spiritual Life, p.
630). For example, St. Therese of Lisieux (declared a doctor of the church),
had no formal education in theology, and yet was wise to the ways of the Lord,
a wisdom gained through prayer and simple acts of love offered to God. While
this gift contemplates the divine, it also is a practical wisdom. It applies
God’s ideas to judge both created and divine matter, thereby directing human
acts according to divine wisdom. Therefore, a person will see and evaluate all
things — both joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, success and failure — from
God’s point of view, and accept them with equanimity. With wisdom, all things,
even the worst, are seen as having a supernatural value — for example, giving
value to martyrdom. Here a person arises above the wisdom of this world, and
lives in the love of God. St. Paul captured well this gift of wisdom: “What we
utter is God’s wisdom: a mysterious, a hidden wisdom. God planned it before all
ages for our glory. …Yet God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit.
…The Spirit we have received is not the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit,
helping us to recognize the gifts He has given us. We speak of these, not in
words of human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, thus interpreting
spiritual things in spiritual terms. The natural man does not accept what is
taught by the spirit of God. For him, that is absurdity. He cannot come to know
such teaching because it must be appraised in a spiritual way. The spiritual
man, on the other hand, can appraise everything. We have the mind of Christ” (I
Cor 2:6ff). Or consider St. John’s first epistle: “God is love. Everyone who
loves is begotten of God and has knowledge of God. …He who abides in love,
abides in God, and God in him. Our love is brought to perfection in this, that
we should have confidence on the Day of Judgment; for our relation to this
world is just like His. Love has no room for fear; rather, perfect love casts
out all fear” (I Jn 4:7, 17-18).
Nehemiah's a Hebrew cup-bearer to Artaxerxes, who allows him to return to
Jerusalem to help set things in order and rebuild the city. Gentile leaders
from different provinces (specifically, leaders of the Ammonites, Samaritans,
and Arabs) try to derail the rebuilding project, but thanks to some military
readiness, Nehemiah and his workers successfully speed-build the walls of the
city. After this, Nehemiah reads the riot act to Israelite officials and nobles
who have been oppressing the poor, charging ridiculous interest on loans, and
forcing the people to pawn their land in order to eat. He successfully evades
charges of rebellion against the Persian king drummed up by his enemies, and
has Ezra give everyone a crash course on the Laws of Moses. The surviving Jews
return from exile to repopulate Jerusalem, and Nehemiah—who's come back from a
trip to the Persian capital in Susa—shapes up the backsliding Jews, breaks up
more interfaith marriages, and saves the day. And he's the first to admit it.
MAY 30
SHAVUOT—FEAST OF ST.
JOAN OF ARC
Nehemiah, Chapter
2, Verse 1-3
1 In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of
King Artaxerxes, when the wine was in my charge, I took some and offered it to
the king. Because I had never before been sad in his presence, 2 the king
asked me, “Why do you look sad? If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart.”
Though I was seized with great fear, 3
I answered the king: “May the king
live forever! How could I not look sad when the city where my ancestors are
buried lies in ruins, and its gates consumed by fire?”
Here the God of God’s
moves the heart of a great and powerful King toward Nehemiah like He did with
Joseph the many years before when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. Our
God is a God of love and life and desires only to nurture our souls.
Shavuot is one of the three major
Jewish festivals and comes exactly fifty days after Passover. After being
redeemed from Egyptian slavery, the Jews arrived on Mount Sinai and received
the Torah from God. This wonderful event took place 3,317 years ago. The word
Shavuot means “weeks.” It marks the completion of the seven weeks, 49 days,
between Passover and Shavuot during which the Jewish people prepared themselves
for the giving of the Torah. During this time period they prepared themselves
spiritually and entered into an eternal covenant with God with the giving of
the Torah. Shavuot also means “oaths.” With the giving of the Torah, the Jewish
people and God exchanged oaths, forming an everlasting covenant, not to forsake
one another. Every year on this day we celebrate and renew our acceptance of
God’s gift and our eternal bond with Him. There are several interesting customs
associated with this holiday. We stay up all night learning Torah, read the Ten
Commandments and the book of Ruth, and eat milk products, especially
cheesecake. The custom of learning is especially fitting for the holiday that
commemorates the giving of the Torah. The custom of dairy products seems
surprising. Among the different explanations given for this custom, one points
out that the Hebrew word for milk is chalav. When the numerical value of the
letters in this word are added together – 8; 30; 2 – the total is forty. Forty
hints to the number of days Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Torah. I
would like to present another, perhaps more personal and spiritual reason for
this custom. Unlike meat that nourishes the flesh, milk is full of calcium
which nourishes the bones. The Hebrew for bones is “Atzmot תמוצע ” which is
also the word that means “essence.” This custom hints to the fact that on this
holiday we absorb the Torah which nourishes our essence. Additionally, milk is
the most basic of foods that a nursing mother shares with her infant. The mother
literally gives of her essence and nurtures the essence of the baby. This
relationship parallels the personal bond and love that a mother shares with her
child. On Shavuot we celebrate the personal relationship that we have with God,
when He gives over His essence, the Torah, and we absorb it into the essence of
our soul.
·On
Shavuot, it is customary to adorn the Synagogue and home with flowers and green
plants. This is in memory of the foliage around Mount Sinai
·On
Shavuot, it is customary to eat milk products. Many Jewish houses,
replace the normal meat/chicken dinners with a festivity of milk products,
including cheese cake, blintzes, cheeses and ice cream. This custom
commemorates the acts of the children of Israel at Sinai. Having received
the Law, they understood that their dishes were no longer Kosher, having been
used for milk and meat together. They also were in need of teaching on
the intricate details of ritual slaughter (Shechitah). Lacking these,
they opted to eat only milk products.
·It
is customary in Orthodox and some traditional communities to partake in
Bible/Jewish Law lessons throughout the eve and night of Shavuot. This is
in order to accept the Torah for their generation. In Jerusalem, many
people learn the whole night through until dawn and then walk to the Western
Wall at sunrise and pray the morning and festival prayer from around 5-8 am.
Thereafter, they go home for a hearty festive breakfast and then sleep
the rest of the morning.
·The
Book of Ruth is read in the Synagogue in the Morning of Shavuot. Ruth
converted to Judaism and it is her descendant, David, who became King in
Israel. The book of Ruth demonstrates that achieving a high level in
Judaism, is neither ethnic nor genetic.
·It
is customary to wear new clothes on Shavuot. In the seven weeks (the
Omer) preceding Shavuot, people refrain from purchasing major clothing items.
John McCain notes in his
study of leadership that Saint Joan of Arc was an example of leadership that
was characterized by authenticity. At the command of voices that only she could
hear, she rode to battle and saved her country. SHE COULD NOT READ OR WRITE,
BUT SAINTS AND ANGELS SPOKE TO HER. Michael the Archangel, and Catherine and
Margaret, the patron saints of France, commanded the thirteen-year-old peasant
girl to pray vigilantly and attend Mass regularly. She is remembered as very
beautiful, a slight seventeen-year-old girl with black hair who could ride for
long hours in heavy armor without any sign of discomfort. She kept silent for
long periods, but could be roused to great anger at men swearing or behaving in
some other sinful manner. She prayed and fasted often, and seemed most
comfortable in the company of poor priests. Before they embarked, she had
dictated to a priest a letter for the English commanders in Orléans, warning
them to “go away back to England . . . or I will drive you out of France.” This
is the first the English had ever heard of Joan of Arc. To the French, and
their dauphin, who now placed their trust in her, she was becoming a saint. As
they marched to Orléans, she saw to the spiritual needs of her soldiers,
ordering them to abandon their vices, to refrain from looting and harming
civilians, to confess their sins and attend Mass regularly, which they did. Men
who had refused to serve Charles in what they believed was a losing cause now
rushed to her standard, and prepared for battle. A few days later, the rest of
her army began to arrive with much needed supplies, just as word was received
that another English army was marching to the aid of her enemies. She went to
sleep that night happy in the knowledge that the moment was at hand when she
would accomplish what her saints had commanded her to do. She awoke in the
middle of the night, and stirred her generals with the news that they must
attack immediately. In fact, a battle had already begun at the nearest English
fortification. Joan commanded her page to bring her horse, as she dressed in
her armor, and then raced to join the fight carrying her banner. When she reached
her soldiers, she saw that they were losing the battle, but her presence
inspired them, and they rallied to take the fort. After the battle Joan wept
for the fallen, French and English alike. On the next day they took another
English fort, and the day after one more. But the fighting during the third
battle had been ferocious. Joan was wounded by an arrow through her shoulder as
she attempted to scale one of the fort’s walls, and was carried to safety.
Seeing her hurt and carried from the field, her troops lost courage, and the
assault was suspended. Some witnesses say she removed the arrow herself. Others
remembered her soldiers treating the wound. Whatever the case, legend has it
that she responded to her soldiers’ fears
by telling them to rally to her when they saw her banner strike the fort’s
wall. And when they did see it, they recovered their courage and took the fort.
The next day the English abandoned the siege. Orléans was saved. Both English
and French generals gave the credit to Joan. She gave it to God. Then she rode
to meet Charles. When they met, she bowed to him, and urged him to hasten to
Reims, where his crown awaited him. But Charles hesitated. His will was weak,
for he was not a man of great courage, and his advisors at court, some of whom resented
Joan’s interference, cautioned him to proceed slowly, for there were still many
powerful English armies in France that had to be destroyed. Joan, as always,
rode in the front, carrying her banner, urging her soldiers to victory.
Inspired by her courage, and by the obvious favor of God that protected her,
they carried the day, routing the English and opening the road to Reims. The
English and all the French, those loyal to the dauphin and those who fought for
Henry, recognized that this strange young girl, now known as the Maid of
Orléans, must be in the service of a sovereign more powerful than any earthly
king. Joan in the end like the eternal King she served was abandoned by her
earthly King and was captured by the Burundians. John of Luxembourg took her to
his castle, where, she twice tried to escape, once by jumping from a castle
tower into the moat below. Attempts to ransom her were refused, as were French
attempts to liberate her by force. After several months, Luxembourg handed Joan
over to the English, and she was taken to the city of Rouen, where a corrupt
bishop, Pierre Cauchon, was instructed to put her on trial for heresy. The
rules of war did not permit the English to condemn Joan for opposing them in
battle. So they sought her death by falsely accusing her of witchcraft. Cauchon
tried for weeks to compel her to confess, but despite threats of torture and
execution, she steadfastly refused to divulge her conversations with Charles or
to concede that the saints who spoke to her were demons or merely inventions of
her own blasphemy. She was denied permission to attend Mass and receive the
sacraments. She was often kept in chains and became very ill. Yet she stayed
true to herself, and to her saints. She wore a dress when they brought her to a
church cemetery to hear her sentence read, condemning her to be burned at the
stake. She asked that her conviction be appealed to the pope. Her persecutors
refused her. And then, Joan of Arc, for the first and only time in her brief
life, tried to be someone she was not. Fearing
the flames, she confessed to being a heretic and recanted her claim to have
heard and obeyed her saints, and begged her enemies for mercy. Mercy they had
little of, but having taken from her what their armies could not, they no longer
thought her life such a great thing that it could not be spared. She was now
nothing more than a confessed imposter. They had wanted to destroy her truth,
that she was God’s messenger. Having done so, it mattered little whether she
died or suffered long imprisonment. Their work done, they left her in her cell,
to the taunts and abuses of the guards, and commanded her to dress only in
women’s clothes. When they next saw her, a few days later, she was attired in
the clothes of a boy. She had recovered her courage and her truth. Her saints
had reproached her for denying them, and she had begged their forgiveness. She
had become her true self again. She was the Maid of Orléans, a pretty, pious
nineteen-year-old girl who had left her father’s house and taken up arms for
more than a year, as heaven had commanded her. And with heaven’s encouragement
she had defeated France’s enemies in battle after battle, frightened and awed the bravest English heart, rallied a nation to
her banner, and made a weak, defeated man a king. God’s messenger went bravely
to her death, forgiving her accusers and asking only that a priest hold high a
crucifix for her to see it above the flames. She raised her voice to heaven,
calling out to her saints and her Savior. Even her enemies wept at the sight.
Her executioner was shaken with remorse, and an anguished English soldier who
witnessed the crime feared for his soul. “God forgive us,” he cried, “We have
burned a saint.”
Understanding is a gift
“to give a deeper insight and penetration of divine truths held by faith, not
as a transitory enlightenment but as a permanent intuition.” Illuminating the
mind to truth, the Holy Spirit aids a person to grasp the truths of faith
easily and to penetrate the depths of those truths. Such illumination,
grasping, and penetration allows one to enter a divine intimacy with the Lord.
This gift also assists in understanding natural truths and the use of created
things but through a lens of faith. While enjoying created things, a person
understands that they not only attest to His majesty as the Creator but also
are gifts from God to be used wisely. As such, a person understands that all of
creation is passing and has a sense of detachment. Therefore, creation does not
become an end in itself, or created things idols, but one understands they are
gifts from Almighty God. Understanding, then, moves a person always to be
mindful to place God first in life, to be generous in helping others in need,
and to reject what is useless.
King Cyrus of Persia has just defeated the Babylonians. Inspired by God's
spirit, he tells the Israelites that they can head home and rebuild their
temple. He returns the sacred temple vessels stolen by the Babylonians and
personally bankrolls the whole building project from his treasury. Zerubbabel
and Jeshua the High Priest lead the people back and start laying down the
foundations for a new Temple. But Israel's enemies are able to frustrate the
building plans by getting the new Persian king Artaxerxes to order construction
to a halt. Things stay that way until Darius comes to power in Persia. Two
prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, urge the Israelites to start building, so
naturally the enemies of Israel again complain to the king and demand he check
the records to see if Cyrus actually gave permission to build. But—when Darius
finds Cyrus's original decree, he lets them start rebuilding. Ezra (earlier in
time but not in the narrative) is sent by Artaxerxes to help the Israelites get
their religious observance back on track. A big part of this involves Ezra
breaking up marriages between Israelites and non-Israelites. He has a major
meltdown when he hears about all the intermarriage, and manages to convince the
men to send away their foreign wives and children.
MONDAY May 29
MEMORIAL DAY
Ezra, Chapter 3, Verse 3
They set the altar on its foundations, for they lived in fear of the peoples of the lands, and
offered burnt offerings to the LORD on it, both morning and evening.
Today is Memorial Day
and we honor those who have paid the supreme sacrifice of devotion watching our
nation. Yet let us not forget that these men by their devotion have set this
nation aright and secured our religious liberties. Lord we ask that you help us
to set the altar of true faith and devotion on its foundation in this nation.
Pray today for the souls
of those taken in battle. In the communion of saints it is our duty; no our
honor to pray for the souls of those in our company who have died; especially
those who have passed through the valley of fear in the heat of battle.
One thing is certain:
There are no atheists in foxholes.
Memorial Day
Memorial Day, first
established in 1866 to honor Union soldiers of the Civil War, is now a day set
aside to remember all of the American soldiers who have died in war in
the subsequent 15 decades -- about 1.2 million in all. This number, while
representing a tremendous loss, pales in comparison to the number of
war-related deaths globally for the same time period. Estimates run from 60 to
85 million for the number of lives lost during World War II alone.[2]
While
I was stationed with the US Army in Mons, Belgium there is the legend of the Angels
of Mons, where it was reported the British soldiers were saved by heavenly
forces.
One
thing is certain: There are no atheists in foxholes.
To honor our fallen let us
stop what we are doing at 1500 hrs. (3 pm) and offer the Divine Mercy Prayer
for those who have fallen in service of our nation.
God of power and mercy,
you destroy war and put down earthly pride.
Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears,
that we may all deserve to be called your sons
and daughters.
Keep in your mercy those men and women
who have died in the cause of freedom
and bring them safely
into your kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/. Amen[3]
·There have been over 2.7 million US military
deaths since 1775.
·The deadliest US War was the Civil War with
about 600,000 US deaths.
·It is customary to fly a US flag at half-staff
till noon on Memorial Day.
·U.S. Army accounts 158 installations around the
world. It includes over 132,000 miles of infrastructure for gas, water,
electric and sewer, and more than 1 billion square feet of office space.
·It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who
died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. - George S.
Patton
Memorial Day Top Events and
Things to Do
·Attend a Memorial Day parade. One popular parade
is the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC.
·All Americans are encouraged to pause for one
minute at 3:00 pm (local time). Think of the sacrifices made by U.S. soldiers
to provide freedom for all.
Are we willing to
fight for the souls of our children even when the battles seem increasingly
difficult and unpractical in our eyes? Think what St. Joseph would he do if he
were alive today? The technology we bring into our home is just one example. In
what other scenarios do we need to stand strong? Warriors don’t fret or
complain because they understand there is a monumental battle at
hand; they are fighting against something bigger than themselves. Mary and
Joseph resisted the lure to complain when they had nowhere to sleep the night
of the birth of Jesus. How unpractical to take Mary into the middle of nowhere
precisely when she was about to go into labor; but that is exactly what Joseph
did!
·Are you prepared to
fight for the souls of each and every member of your family?
·Are you willing to
make spiritual sacrifices for them?
·Are you poised to be
there for them in the toughest of times?
The gift of counsel is
“to render the individual docile and receptive to the counsel of God regarding
one’s actions in view of sanctification and salvation.” Primarily, this gift
enables a person to judge individual acts as good and ought to be done, or as
evil and ought to be avoided. Aiding the virtue of prudence, the Holy Spirit
not only makes our heart docile to search for the truth (as taught by the
church) and to accept it, but also helps us to remember and learn from past
events. The counsel given pertains to one’s own personal sanctification and
ultimate supernatural end. Therefore, this gift prompts the person to ask
himself, “Is this act true to Christ and the teachings of this church? Does
this act lead to or strengthen holiness? Will this act lead to heaven?”
Therefore, the gift of counsel enlightens a person to know what must be done at
this particular time, place and circumstance; it also enlightens us to counsel
others who ask for advice and direction. To cultivate this gift, a person
should pray for the help of the Holy Spirit (in particular for the gifts of
knowledge and understanding). Also, continued study of sacred Scripture and the
teachings of the church, especially in the moral issues of the day, provide
fuel for this gift.
“Be strong and steadfast; do
not be afraid or dismayed because of
the king of Assyria and all the horde coming with him, for there is more with
us than with him.
Of course the more of us
is the power of the angels of God.
·King
Hezekiah immediately gets to work building up defenses in all the most
important cities in Judah. He's a good strategic thinker, but he also has one
thing that the Assyrians don't—God is on his side.
·He
tells the people of Judah not to worry because God will help them out. Sure, he
didn't help Israel or any of the other countless nations the Assyrians have
smashed to bits, but he's totally going to help Judah.
·King
Sennacherib sends his people to Jerusalem to give the city a message—you're
going down.
·He
throws some shade at Hezekiah, too. Their king is lying to them about God being
able to protect them. Seriously, Hezekiah is so bad at ruling that he actually
took down all the altars in Judah and just left this one in Jerusalem.
·Look,
King Sennacherib tells them, we've conquered a lot of nations. No god has ever
been able to hold us back. What makes you think your God is different?
·So
King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah start to pray and God listens.
·He
sends an angel to kill a lot of people in the Assyrian camp. With his army
depleted, King Sennacherib is forced to head back home. Later, his own sons
kill him.
·Hezekiah
gets deathly sick and successfully prays to God for healing. He gets into some
minor trouble with God, but repents and goes on to do all kinds of successful
things as king.
·God
blesses him with immense wealth. Gold, gems, spices, weapons, food, wine, oil,
and livestock—you name it, the guy has a whole warehouse full of it.
·Finally,
after a lifetime of righteousness, King Hezekiah dies. Everyone mourns him.
The gift of fortitude enables a person “to overcome difficulties or to
endure pain and suffering with the strength and power infused by God.” Through
fortitude, the Holy Spirit inspires and energizes a person to undertake great
things joyfully and without fear
despite obstacles. Fortitude operates under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, so
it perfects it, charging it with energy, endurance, perseverance and
promptness. It strengthens a person to resist evil, to overcome Luke warmness
and persevere to everlasting life. Moreover, it brings a confidence of success
and certain hope, despite the most difficult circumstances. The gift of
fortitude enables the individual to live the other virtues heroically. So, a
person can cultivate this virtue by recognizing one’s own weaknesses and
limitations, begging for the gift of fortitude, and relying on the strength of
Our Lord Jesus Himself. Through fortitude we recognize the need for the
strength and nourishment of the holy Eucharist. St. John Chrysostom said, upon
receiving holy Communion, “Let us return from that table as lions breathing
fire, terrible to the devil,” meaning to go forth not with fear, but with
hearts afire with the love of the Lord Himself. We can foster the gift of
fortitude by keeping to a spiritual regimen: taking time to pray throughout the
day, including 15 minutes devoted to prayer and studying or doing spiritual
reading for 15 minutes; making a confession monthly; attending Sunday Mass, and
even daily Mass once a week; and making a regular, even daily, examination of
conscience. Another part of this spiritual regimen would be to make a
purposeful sacrifice daily (e.g. giving up a dessert or a drink or doing an act
of charity), for a special intention, like the poor souls in purgatory or the
Christians suffering persecution. If we can be faithful and do our duty in
“little things,” more likely we will do the same in “big things.”
In Central Europe the Feast of the Ascension is a popular time
for mountain climbing or picnicking on hilltops. No doubt this is in
commemoration of the summit of the Mount of Olives from which Christ ascended
and the heights to which he soared. A similarly inspired tradition is eating
some kind of bird for the Feast since on this day Christ "flew" to
Heaven.
Ascension commemorates the day that Jesus ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:1-11)
after spending 40 days appearing to his disciples after his resurrection.
The disciples thought Jesus was going to restore the earth to the Kingdom
of Heaven, but instead, as he promised to send the Holy Spirit to give them
power, he ascended into Heaven and disappeared in a cloud. Ascension is
the 40th day after Easter, celebrated on the sixth Sunday of the Easter season
in Protestant churches and on the 40th day after Easter in Roman Catholic
churches.
Ascension Facts & Quotes
·The Apostle's Creed, one of the statements of
faith in the Christian Church, mentions Jesus' ascension:
oI believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. The third day he rose from the
dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the
Father Almighty.
·An ancient custom in England, called the Beating
of the Bounds, is often performed on or near Ascension. Before maps, this
was the day that people would mark the boundaries of their property with stones
marked with chalk. Some English churches still perform the custom, led by
the vicar. Church members carry sticks to wick at weeds as they process.
·In the Orthodox tradition, celebration of the
Jesus' Ascension starts with an all-night vigil or vespers (evening) service
beginning on Saturday.
·Jesus' ascension into heaven does not mean his
absence, but that he is alive among us in a new way, close to each one of us.
- Pope Francis via Twitter on 4/17/2013
·Go bird watching. A custom in Sweden, is
to get up early in the morning of Ascension and venture out into the woods to
listen for the call of a cuckoo. It is considered good luck to hear one
on this holiday.
·Go to church and learn about why Jesus'
ascension is important to the Christian faith. Jesus is considered to be
both human and divine, and the ascension is an illustration of Christ's divine
nature.
·View paintings that depict the ascension.
One of the most famous works is The Ascension Of Christ by
Rembrandt Van Rijn.
