SHEMINI ATZERET-TRADITIONAL COLUMBUS DAY
Psalm 119, Verse 63
I am the friend of all who fear
you, of all who observe your precepts.
Those that love the Lord's service,
naturally associate with kindred spirits—with those that fear him, and keep his
precepts.
·
These two features identify the same character:
as cheerful obedience is always the fruit of filial fear. These then are the
Lord's people; and union with Him is
in fact union with them.
·
Sometimes the society of the refined and the intelligent
(Elitists) of this world may be more agreeable to our natural taste.
o
But ought there
not to be a restraint here?
o
Ought not the Christian to say —"Surely the fear of God is not in this
place"?
o
"Should I love them that hate the Lord?"
·
Let those of us, who must live in close, and to a certain degree necessary, contact with
the world, subject their hearts to an evening scrutiny on this subject.
o
Has the
society of this day refreshed my soul, or raised my heart to spiritual things?
o
Has it
promoted a watchful temper?
o
Or has it not rather "quenched the spirit" of prayer, and restrained my intercourse
with God?
·
To meet the Christian in ordinary courtesy, not
in unity of heart, is a sign of an unspiritual walk with God. Fellowship with God
is "walking in the light." "Fellowship one with another" is
the natural flow. "The communion of saints" is the fruit and effect
of communion with God.
·
The calls of duty, or the leadings of
Providence, may indeed unavoidably connect us with those, who "have no fear
of God before their eyes."
·
Nor should we repel them, by religiously
affecting a sullen or uncourteous habit. But such men, whatever be their
attractions, will not be the companions of our choice.
·
Fellowship with them is to "remove the ancient
landmark"; to forget the broad line of separation between us and them; and
to venture into the most hazardous atmosphere. If indeed our hearts were
ascending, like a flame of fire, with a natural motion heavenwards, and
carrying with them all in their way, the choice of the companions of our pilgrimage
would be a matter of little importance.
·
But so deadening to our spirit is the
conversation of the men of this world (however commanding their talents, or
interesting their topics), that even if we have been just before enlivened by
the high privilege of communion with God, the free and self-indulgent
interchange of their society will benumb our spiritual powers, and quickly
freeze them again. To underrate therefore the privileged association with them
that fear God, is to incur—not only a most awful responsibility in the sight of
God; but also a most serious hazard to our own souls.
·
If then we are not ashamed to confess ourselves
Christ-fans, let us not shrink from walking in fellowship with Christians.
·
Even if they should exhibit some repulsive features
of character, they bear the image of him, whom we profess to love inexpressibly
and incomparably above all.
·
They will be our companions in our eternal home;
they ought therefore to be our brothers now. How sweet, and holy, and heavenly,
is this near relation with them in our common Lord!
·
Shall we not readily consent to his judgment,
who pronounced "the righteous to be more excellent than his neighbour?"
"Iron sharpeneth iron." If then "the iron be blunt," this
will be one of the best means of "whetting the edge." The most
established servants of God gladly acknowledge the sensible refreshment of this
union of heart.
·
It is marked in the word of God as the channel
of the communication of heavenly wisdom—as a feature in the character of the
citizens of Zion, and especially as that disposition, which is distinguished
with manifest tokens of the Saviour's presence; and which the great day will
crown with the special seal of his remembrance. "They that feared the Lord
spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it"and a
book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and
that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in
that day when I make up my jewels."[1]
Coming of the Lord and the Last Judgment[2]
As Catholics, we are mindful and profess in our Creed that Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. The Second Vatican Council's "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church" states, "Already the final age of the world is with us and the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect" (No. 48). To try to grasp the when, what and how of this Second Coming and last judgment, we really need to glean the various passages in Sacred Scripture to see how our Church has interpreted them. They are united in one drama. Our Lord in the Gospel spoke of His second coming. He indicated that various signs would mark the event.
1.
Mankind would suffer from famine, pestilence and
natural disasters.
2.
False prophets who claim to be the Messiah will deceive
and mislead people.
3.
Nations will wage war against each other.
4.
The Church will endure persecution.
5.
Worse yet, the faith of many will grow cold and they
will abandon the faith, even betraying and hating one another.
6.
St. Paul describes a "mass apostasy" before
the Second Coming, which will be led by the "son of perdition," the
"Man of Lawlessness," the "adversary who exalts himself above
every so-called god proposed for worship." This "lawless one" is
part of the work of Satan, and with power, signs, wonders and seductions will
bring to ruin those who have turned from the truth.
7.
However, "the Lord Jesus will destroy him with the
breath of His mouth and annihilate him by manifesting His own presence." The
Catechism affirms, "God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the
form of the last judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing
world" (No. 667).
8.
Our Lord will come suddenly. "The Son of Man in
His day will be like the lightening that flashes from one end of the sky to the
other" St. Peter predicts, "The day of the Lord will come like a
thief and on that day the heavens will vanish with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire and the earth and all its deeds will be made manifest"
(2 Pt 3:10).
9.
Death will be no more. The dead shall rise and those
souls who have died will be united again to their bodies. All will have a
glorious, transformed, spiritualized body as St. Paul said, "He will give
a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of
His glorified body...".
10. At
this time, the final, or general judgment will occur. Jesus said, "Those
who have done right shall rise to life; the evildoers shall rise to be
damned". Our Lord described this judgment as follows: "When the Son
of Man comes in His glory, escorted by all the angels of heaven, He will sit
upon His royal throne and all the nations will be assembled before Him. Then He
will separate them into two groups, as a shepherd separated sheep from
goats" Here each person will have to account for his conduct and the
deepest secrets of his soul will come to light. How well each person has
responded to the prompting of God's grace will be made clear. Our attitude and
actions toward our neighbor will reflect how well we have loved our Lord.
"As often as you did it for one of My least brothers, you did it for
Me". Our Lord will judge us accordingly. For those who have died and
already have faced the particular judgment, their judgment will stand. Those
living at the time of the Second Coming will receive judgment.
a.
Those who have rejected the Lord in this life, who have
sinned mortally, who have no remorse for sin and do not seek forgiveness, will
have condemned themselves to hell for all eternity.
b.
"By rejecting grace in this life, one already
judges oneself, receives according to one's works and can even condemn oneself
for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love (Catechism, No. 678).
c.
The souls of the righteous will enter heavenly glory
and enjoy the beatific vision and those who need purification will undergo it.
Shemini Atzeret[3]
Shemini Atzeret (Hebrew: שמיני עצרת), means 'The eighth day break' or 'the eighth day of assembly'. It is celebrated preceding Simchat Torah and in some regions celebrated together with it. Services for this holiday often include a Geshem, prayer for rain.
Shemini
Atzeret Facts
Shemini
Atzeret Top Events and Things to Do
·
Pray for Rain. Shemini Azeret and Simchat
Torah is often accompanied by prayers for the rain. The holidays are in
the autumn, which is a
critical period in Israel for harvests.
·
On Shmini Atzeret, it is customary for
Orthodox Jews to spend an 'extra day with God' and postpone their return to
work and to mundane tasks.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
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