Friday, July 28, 2017

The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true,

all of them just.

2 Maccabees, Chapter 14, Verse 22

Judas had posted armed men in readiness at strategic points for fear that the enemy might suddenly commit some treachery. But the conference was held in the proper way.

During are last episode we see that our Hero Judas with the help of the All Seeing Almighty vanquishes the enemy. Judas wants peace and returns home but the enemy the devil never sleeps and snip snap the Syrians invade again. This time under the leadership of a gangster called Nicanor; a crafty little snake who want a peace treaty. In this verse we see Judas is being ready and prepared for any trouble; and his fear is justified.

Making and Breaking Treaties[1]

"When the Jews heard of Nicanor's coming, and that the Gentiles were rallying to him, they sprinkled themselves with earth and prayed to Him Who established His people forever, and Who always comes to the aid of His heritage." —2 Maccabees 14:15

Nicanor was sent again to fight Judas (8:9). Instead of fighting, he made a peace treaty and became a good friend of Judas. But this didn't last long. Soon Nicanor was hunting down Judas, blaspheming the Temple, and murdering the faithful Jewish elders. "Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh" (Jer 17:5). "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord" (Jer 17:7).

Prayer: Father, may I make a peace treaty with You by repenting of sin and surrendering my life to You.
Promise: "Therefore, O Holy One, Lord of all holiness, preserve forever undefiled this house, which has been so recently purified." —14:36

Lesson: When you play with snakes they often bite; don’t make treaties with the Devils children. Forgetting this can be worse than Hepatitis B.

Novena in Honor of Saint John Marie Vianney[2]

Complete Trust in God

Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney, what confidence the people had in your prayers! You could not leave your old rectory or your humble church without being surrounded by imploring souls, who appealed to you as they would have appealed to Jesus Himself during His earthly life. And you, O good Saint, gave them hope by your words, which were full of love for God. You, who had always counted entirely on the heart of God, obtain for me a deep filial trust in His Providence. As the hope of divine goods fills my heart, give me courage and help me to always obey the Commandments of God. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

World Hepatitis Day[3]

World Hepatitis Day seeks to raise awareness for the spectrum of Hepatitis diseases. Hepatitis diseases cause inflammation of the liver cells. There are five main types of hepatitis, A, B, C, D and E. It is estimated that around 250 million people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C and 300 million people are Hepatitis B carriers.

World Hepatitis Day was proclaimed by the World Health Organization. It is celebrated annually on July 28th.

World Hepatitis Day Facts

Hepatitis A is usually transmitted by consuming contaminated food or water or coming into contact with an infected person's feces.
Hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted disease. It is transmitted through exposure to infected blood or body fluids.
Hepatitis B is spread via blood of an infected person.
Hepatitis can also be caused by alcohol and other toxins and infections.

Life Matters: Embryo Research[4]

The Nuremberg Code (1947) was prompted by the horrific and often deadly experimentation on human beings in Nazi concentration camps that came to light during the “Doctors’ Trials” before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals. The main principles of the Nuremberg Code require that experiments involving human subjects cause no unnecessary risk, be undertaken with the full and informed consent of the subjects, and must never knowingly cause serious injury or death. Nazi doctors were not the first, nor the last, to perform inhumane and sometimes disabling research on unsuspecting human subjects living in poverty, in prisons, mental health institutions, and orphanages. The Tuskegee syphilis experiments, the Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study, and the Willowbrook (Long Island) State School experiments—in which children with mental disabilities were intentionally infected with viral hepatitis—are just a few examples of cases in which doctors put the pursuit of knowledge and “cures” ahead of the lives and well-being of individual human beings. The Nuremberg Code inspired other declarations of medical and research ethics. In 1948, the World Medical Association approved a statement addressing the ethics of physicians, the Declaration of Geneva. As originally adopted, it read in part: “I will maintain the utmost respect for human life, from the time of conception; even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.”

Fitness Friday