NATIONAL SISTERS DAY-FULL
STURGEON MOON
Job, Chapter 6, Verse 14
A friend owes kindness to one in despair, though he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty.
Job now speaks and goes
on to chide his frienemies for not giving kindness to him when he is destitute.
Even the ungodly treat their friend with respect. I can imagine that when Job
was at his height of power and prestige before the devils attack; his friends
were sucking up to him and fondling his ego to great extremes but now they have
nothing but contempt for him. True friends are faithful to the end. Job longs
for a true friend. We should reflect on this that Job longed for what we have
received by the grace of God; an intimate relationship with Him via the Holy
Spirit and the action of the Son of God; Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ is our
true friend and our closest ally he will never abandon us let us not wait until
the end to discover this; trying to make a death-bed repentance.
Lessons upon Death-Bed Repentance[1]
Can the sinner rely upon being converted at the end of his life? By
no means; for this would be to sin against the mercy of God, which is much the same
as the sin against the Holy Ghost. “God” says St. Augustine, “usually punishes such
sinners by allowing them at the last to forget themselves, who in the days of their
health and strength have allowed themselves to forget Him.” God Himself also says:
“They have turned their back to Me and not their face, and in the time of their
affliction they will say, Arise and deliver us. Where are thy gods whom thou hast
made thee? Let them arise and deliver thee in the time of thy affliction”. It is
true we have a consoling example of conversion at the moment of death in the
penitent thief, but, as St. Augustine further says, while this one example is given
so that no sinner may despair, it is the only one, so that no sinner may defer
repentance through presumption.
What may we hope of those who are converted at the close of life? Everything
that is good, if they be really converted; but this is a most rare thing. Of the
hundreds of thousands whose lives have been wicked,” writes St. Jerome, “hardly
one will be converted at the hour of death, and obtain forgiveness of his sins.”
And St. Vincent Ferrer says it would be a greater miracle for a person who has lived
wickedly to die well than for one who is dead to be restored to life. And no wonder;
for repentance at the hour of death is generally but an extorted repentance. It
is not so much that the sinner forsakes his sins as that his sins forsake him ;
and the resolution of amendment is one which he would hardly make, were he not
driven to it by the agonies of death.
What is there to expect from such a repentance? When, therefore, ought we
to do penance? While we are in possession of our reason and strength; for, as
St. Augustine says, the repentance of the sick is a sickly repentance. In time of
sickness, as experience teaches, the pains of disease, the hope of recovery,
the fear of death, the torments of conscience, the temptations of the devil, and
the care of all depending on him, so continually distract a man that he can
hardly collect his thoughts at all, much less bestow them upon a work of a true
repentance. If to many it is so difficult to do penance while they are yet in health,
and hindered by nothing from raising their thoughts to God, how much more difficult
will it be when the body has already become weak! We have heard a number of
persons who had been sick admit after their recovery that they had no knowledge
of what happened to them during their illness, and even had no recollection of having
received the holy sacraments. Accordingly, Isaias admonishes us: “Seek ye the Lord
while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. And Christ says: You shall
seek Me and shall not find Me, and you shall die in your sin” (John vii. 34 ; viii.
21). If, therefore, you have committed mortal sin, delay not to return to God, by
perfect contrition and a good confession. Put it not off from one day to another;
for repentance thereby becomes more and more difficult; for, as St. Gregory says,
one unrepented sin by its own weight impels a man to still further sins, and all
the while makes him the weaker, and his adversary, the devil, the stronger; so
that at last he cannot be converted without the extraordinary grace of God. But
how can the presumptuous sinner expect such grace? God will laugh in his destruction,
in like manner as he has despised His instruction, counsel, and reproof (Prov. i.
26-28). “Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good” (Gal. vi. 10), for who
knows whether we may not be suddenly prevented, by severe sickness, from working
out our salvation!
National Sister Day[2]
National
Sister Day Facts & Quotes
·
Studies form Brigham Young University show that
sisters give siblings better mental health.
·
According to the Journal of Politics, boys with
sisters are more likely to become republican. Young men who were raised with
sisters are more typically more likely to express social conservative views on
attitudes about gender roles.
·
Men with sisters are more likely to have
involved interactions and be liked significantly more by their female
acquaintances than those who did not have a sister. In short, brother benefit
from having sisters by having a higher likelihood of getting a date.
·
There is nobody in this world that knows me
better than my sister. – Tia Mowry, American actress and model.
·
Sister is probably the most competitive
relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the
strongest relationship. – Margaret Mead, American Cultural Anthropologist.
Full Sturgeon Moon
According to the almanac
today we are having a Full Sturgeon Moon; plan to spend some time fishing or
visit an aquarium with your children or grandchildren.
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