October
Trees
declare their own sermon in brief autumn's painted landscape. We note their
size and type and variety and beauty. Trees serve as symbols of the gift-giving
aspects of our lives. Trees provide fruit, wood, climatic modification, wind
and sun protection, prevention of soil erosion, and a host of other benefits.
This is the time to plant trees and to prepare them for winter. Should we not
give more attention to how our lives can bear fruit in Christ and in the
protection of our forests?
OCTOBER 1
17TH SUNDAY
AFTER PENTECOST (26th S. in Ord. Time)
SAINT THÉRÈSE OF THE
CHILD JESUS
“Everything
that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will
never drive away”-John 6:37
Psalm 103, Verse 13
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has
compassion on those who fear him.
Does God derive anything from having us fear Him?
His only wish is to see us truly growing and
fruitful. He made us and as a loving
father knows our needs both physical and spiritual. If we have a loving fear of
our father we are compelled by the Holy Spirit into spiritual leadership
avoiding sloth which often comes as a result of being stuck in a victim
mentality or not letting go of rage by forgiving the offender.
Today seek the Father’s compassion by going to
confession then arise and grow in spiritual leadership.
As we grow in our spiritual leadership[1]
we tend to be:
- Confident in God
- Know God
- Seek God’s will
- Self-sacrifice
- Serve all
- Motivated by love
- Trust the Holy Spirit
- Lead others
VATICAN CITY
(CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI called St. Therese of Lisieux's autobiography,
"The Story of a Soul," a wonderful authentic "treasure" and
invited everyone to read it. The 19th-century Carmelite saint's teaching of
"the 'little way" of holiness has been so influential in our time."
His catechesis was a continuation of a series of talks dedicated to the
"doctors of the church," men and women who made important contributions to Catholic theological understanding. St.
Therese, who was born in 1873 in France, died at the age of 24 of hemoptysis,
or bleeding of the lungs. Her spirituality "centered on the contemplation
of God's love revealed in the mysteries of the incarnation and
redemption," the pope said. The saint "sought to be little in all
things and to seek the salvation of the world," he said. Her autobiography
was published a year after her death and was enormously successful in many
parts of the world, he said. "I would like to invite all of you to
rediscover this great little treasure, this glowing commentary on the Gospel fully
lived," the pope said. The book is "a wonderful story of love, told with such authenticity,
simplicity and freshness that the reader will be nothing but captivated,"
he said. "Therese shows all of us that Christian life is fully living the
grace of baptism," by fully giving oneself over to God and by living like
Christ, he said. The pope said "her example and prayers help us to follow
'the little way of trust and love' in spiritual childhood, abandoning ourselves
completely to the love of God and the
good of souls." A childlike faith in God entails giving oneself fully to
him and putting one's life completely in his hands, the pope said. Such faith
is "inseparable from true love,"
which is a total giving of self, he said. The pope said the faithful need to
tell God every day that "we want to live out our love for him and others." St. Therese's life and teachings are
"a guide for everyone" especially for theologians, he said, because
she approached the sacred Scriptures with "humility and charity, faith and
hope."
Feast of the holy Rosary[3]
This
feast was fixed for the first Sunday in October by Pope Clement XI; in
perpetual commemoration of a celebrated feast was fixed for the first Sunday in
October by him due to the double victory gained by the Christians at Lepanto,
in 1571, under Pope St. Pius V. , and at Belgrade, under Pope Clement XI.,
through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, who had been invoked by saying the
Holy Rosary. It is at the same time the principal feast of the
Arch-confraternity of the Holy Rosary. In 1885 Pope Leo XIII., ordered the Rosary
to be recited every day during the month of October in every parish church and
cathedral throughout the world, and those of the faithful who cannot be present
at this recital he exhorted to say it with their families or in private. The
Holy Rosary is a form of prayer in which there is first said the Apostles
Creed, and then fifteen decades, each one of which consists of ten Hail Mary’s.
Each decade has one Our Father to be said before it, and is followed by a
meditation upon one mystery of our redemption. It is called the Rosary, or
Wreath of Roses, because the joyful, the sorrowful, and the glorious mysteries,
aptly symbolized by the leaves, the thorns, the flower, of which the rose
consists with the prayers and praises that are blended together compose, as it
were, a wreath or crown. It is also called the Psalter, because it contains a hundred
and fifty Hail Mary’s, as the Psalter of David contains a hundred and fifty
psalms, and because it is used in place of the singing of psalms, as practiced
in former times. There are three parts in the Rosary the joyful, the sorrowful,
the glorious. The joyful part consists of the five first decades, to which are
attached five mysteries of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, through which, full
of joy, we speak to Mary of Him: 1. Whom she conceived while a virgin. 2. Whom
she bore to Elizabeth. 3. Whom she brought forth while a virgin. 4. Whom she
offered to God in the temple. 5. Whom she found Him in the temple. (This is
said particularly in Advent.) The sorrowful part, in like manner, contains five
decades, in connection with which there are presented for our meditation five mysteries
of the passion and death of Jesus: 1. Who for us sweat blood. 2. Who for us was
scourged. 3. Who for us was crowned with thorns. 4. Who for us bore the heavy
cross. 5. Who for us was crucified. (This is said particularly in Lent.) The
glorious part, consisting of the last five decades, reminds us of the glory of
Christ and of the Blessed Virgin by five mysteries in which we commemorate Him:
1. Who rose from the dead. 2. Who ascended into heaven. 3. Who sent to us the
Holy Ghost. 4. Who received thee, O Virgin, into heaven. 5. Who crowned thee, O
Virgin, in heaven. (This part is said particularly at Eastertide.)
How was this
prayer introduced into the Church? St. Dominic had for many years preached
against the errors of the Albigenses and other heretics, with such zeal and
profound ability that they were often convinced. But nevertheless the results were
unimportant; but few returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church. In this
discouraging state of things St. Dominic redoubled his prayers and works of
penance, and in particular besought Mary for support and assistance. One day
Mary appeared to him and taught him the Rosary. He zealously labored to
introduce everywhere this manner of prayer, and from that time preached with
such success that in a short period more than one hundred thousand heretics and
sinners were converted. The divine origin of the Rosary is testified to by the
bull of Gregory XIII of the year 1577.
Is the Rosary a profitable method of
prayer? Yes;
for by bringing before the eyes of the spirit the fundamental mysteries of
Christianity it supplies us with the strongest motives to love God, to hate
sin, to subdue the passions, to condemn the world and its vanity, and to strive
after Christian perfection, in order that we may gain those happy mansions
which Jesus prepares for us. The Rosary, besides, brings before us living
examples Jesus and Mary whom we must follow, and encourages us to good works by
pointing to the all-powerful grace procured for us by Jesus, and the
all-prevailing intercession of the gracious Mother of God. Let us not be
ashamed to carry the beads with us, for otherwise we might be ashamed of being
Catholics; let us say the Rosary often every evening as was the custom with
Catholics in former times, and we shall find that, as in St. Dominic’s day it
was a wholesome check to error, so too in our times it will be, if said aright,
a powerful weapon against heresy and unbelief, and will increase faith, piety,
and virtue.
International Coffee
Day Facts & Quotes
·
Based
on the Food Regulation Standing Committee and Caffeine Working Group, Red bull
has an average caffeine content of 32.0 mg/100ml, compared to a cappuccino
which has caffeine content of 101.9 mg/100ml. Espresso style coffee made
from ground coffee beans has 194.0 mg/ml of caffeine content. According
to the Mayo Clinic, up to 400mg of caffeine is the safe limit for most adults
One wonders why we go to such lengths for a good cup of cat poop coffee that we have so much trouble protection innocent life!
·
Kopi
Luwak is one of the most expensive coffees brewed in the world. Kopi
Luwak it is made with digested coffee beans that had been eaten and defecated
by an Asian toddy cat (Asian palm civet). This rare coffee can cost
between $35-80 US dollars for a single cup.
·
Long-term
caffeine intake can lead to a caffeine addiction/dependence, which has been
medically recognized as a disorder. When individuals with a caffeine
addiction abstain from caffeine, they may experience withdrawal symptoms
including headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and mood changes.
·
According
to the Coffee Organization, 143 million 60kg bags of coffee were produced in
2015 and Brazil was the leading exporter of coffee, with more than 18,953 60kg
bags of coffee exported between August 2015 and January 2016.
·
I
am a coffee fanatic. Once you go to proper coffee, you can't go back. You
cannot go back. - Hugh Laurie, Dr. House actor
The
idea of this book is to seek friendship with God through Christ, the Holy
Spirit and His mother-Mary. Prayer is, in its purest sense, a personal journey
or intimacy with Our Lord. There is no greater help in our life’s journey in
this world than through friendship with Jesus Christ and His mother. The
imaginary premise of this book is to have a regular “Coffee Clutch” with Christ
and gather for coffee and conversation through the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit. Ideally this book will serve as encouragement for you to enter into
your own “coffee clutch” with Christ. Having a regular or daily set time or
appointment to meet and discuss with Him your hopes, dreams, plans and goals.
To bear your heart to Him. To just sit down with Christ and talk, laugh, and
enjoy each others company, over a cup of coffee. The goal is to make the common
Holy and grow in the love and likeness to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
17th Sunday after Pentecoste
This Sunday recognizes the double love
of God and neighbor.
On these two (loves) depend
the whole code and creed. Each time we walk in (this) law (Introit), we not only avoid. . .contact with the devil
(Prayer), but we answer the question: What
do you think of. . .Christ? By deeds we profess our faith that He is My Lord (Gospel). We bear with one another in love, because
through Baptism God becomes the Father
of all (Epistle).[6]
”Brothers
and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any
compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one
thing.” (Phil 2:1-2)
If
we love God we will care for the most vulnerable of our neighbors. Are women
who out of desperation destroy their own unborn children our neighbors? God is
the author of life and of this all those in Christ should be of the same mind,
same love, heart and thinking.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
·
Total
Consecration Day 21
