MARTYRS OF NORTH AMERICA
Psalm
147, Verse 10-11
10 He takes no
delight in the strength of horses, no pleasure in the runner’s stride.
11Rather the
LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, those who put their hope in
his mercy.
This verse actually means that person full of
hubris and pride of life has a hard time acknowledging their dependence upon
God. They may feel they have strength and speed however those who have Holy
fear God delights in.
This psalm divided into three sections and calls for praise. The
first section praises the powerful creator who restores exiled Judah the second
section, the creator who provides food to animals and human beings; the third
and climactic section exhorts the holy city to recognize it has been re-created
and made the place of disclosure for God’s word, a word as life-giving as water.
God clothes the fields and feeds the birds. God is the author of life. The wise
person is full of activity that acknowledges one’s dependence upon God rather
than claiming self-sufficiency that displeases God. God speaks through the
thunder of nature and the word of revealed law. The weather phenomena are well
known in Jerusalem: a blizzard of snow and hail followed by a thunderstorm that
melts the ice.[1]
Today in the dioceses of the
United States the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Sts. Issac Jogues
and John de Brébeuf (priests and martyrs) and their companions (martyrs). They
were Jesuit missionaries who died as martyrs in North America where they preached
the Gospel.
·
Pray
to the Holy Spirit to renew the evangelization of distant countries as well as
the re-evangelization of our own nation.
·
More
Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than in the previous nineteen
centuries combined. For example, pastors are being arrested and sometimes shot
in China and Cuba. Believers are forbidden to buy goods or own property in
Somalia. Christians who testify to their faith in Iran or Saudi Arabia may be
put to death for blasphemy. Mobs have wiped out whole villages of Christians in
Pakistan. Pray for courageous and zealous missionaries in these countries where
the Church is persecuted.
·
Support
the Indian Missions in the
USA.
·
Visit
the National
Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York. This site
offers a wonderful gallery of pictures of the shrine.
·
Learn more
about each of the martyrs. You might also like to read this definitive
scholarly biography, Saint Among Savages: The Life of St. Isaac Jogues, by Francis
Talbot, S.J.
·
Learn
for Christmas the Indian Christmas Carol, the first American Christmas carol
John de Brébeuf wrote to teach the Christmas story to the Huron Indians.
1173 When the Church
keeps the memorials of martyrs and other saints during the annual cycle, she
proclaims the Paschal mystery in those "who have suffered and have been
glorified with Christ. She proposes them to the faithful as examples who draw
all men to the Father through Christ, and through their merits she begs for
God's favors."
·
If
obedience doesn’t give you peace, it’s because you’re proud.
·
You’ve
been told to do something that seems difficult and useless. Do it. And you’ll
see that it’s easy and fruitful.
·
Right
now, when you are finding it hard to obey, remember your Lord, factus obediens
usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis—“obedient unto death, even to death on the
cross!”
·
Oh,
the power of obedience! The Lake of Genesareth had denied its fishes to Peter’s
nets. A whole night in vain. Then, obedient, he lowered his net again into the
water and they caught piscium multitudinem copiosam—“a great number of fishes.”
Believe me, the miracle is repeated every day.
·
How
well you understand obedience when you write: “Always to obey is to be a martyr
without dying!”
·
Temper
your will. Strengthen your will. With God’s grace, let it be like a sword of
steel. Only by being strong-willed can you know how not to be so in order to
obey.
The Hindu’s in India celebrate
its festival of lights today. Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival of lights,
which represents the eternal triumph of light over darkness or the victory of
good over evil. Diwali, which literally means row of lights in Hindi, is
primarily celebrated in India. This celebration of light is India's most
important holiday and marks the start of the New Year.
Seek
the light of the adoration candle and visit Christ is the adoration chapel
today and ask for the coversion of the world.
Daily Devotions
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