FEAST OF ST. FAUSTINA FULL
HARVEST MOON
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring
forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just.
Psalm 111, verse 10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who
practice it. His praise endures forever.
Fear of the Lord is reverence
for God. Is there any reverence for anything left in America?
The sixth chapter of St. John’s gospel takes us to the core of our Church. Everything and anything Catholic flows from the Real Presence of Jesus Christ here in the Blessed Sacrament. Christ’s Presence among us in the Blessed Sacrament is the summit and source of our lives together in the Church. It is the heart of the matter. I can remember as a boy participating in Forty Hours Devotions, Eucharistic Adorations, Corpus Christi Processions, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, reciting prayers of thanksgiving after Mass, genuflection to the Presence, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, fasting from midnight prior to receiving Holy Communion the next morning, and other practices – all built up from and pointing toward our contact with Jesus Christ truly and really present in the Blessed Sacrament. We were careful always to refer to the consecrated host as the Body of Christ; we never spoke of it simply as “the bread”. We referred to the consecrated wine as the Precious Blood, never “the wine”. In those days, when Catholic men passed by a Catholic church they tipped their hats (in those days men wore hats) to acknowledge and reverence the Presence of Christ in the tabernacle. Women covered their heads with hats, shawls, babushkas and even hankies while in church.
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In recent years I’ve seen both boys, and men as
well, wearing baseball caps in church, oblivious to the irreverence.
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And certainly when I was young everyone — man,
woman and child — dressed up to attend Mass. Attending Mass in, T-shirts, tank
tops, blue jeans, cutoffs, and what have you was UNTHINKABLE. Church was
special, not ordinary. Church was supposed to be extra-ordinary. The inside of
a Catholic Church was holy space; it was sacred space. God in His holiness
dwelled therein — and people dressed accordingly.
Isaac victim of Abraham’s Reverence for God[2]
Genesis
22:9-10 “When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built
the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him
on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took
the knife to slaughter his son.”
Just as the knife was being hurled downward, the
angel of the Lord said “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him,
for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your
only son, from me” (Gen 22:12), and “because you have done this and have not
withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely
multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the
seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your
offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have
obeyed my voice” (Gen 22:16-18).
Feast of St. Faustina[3] Saint
Faustina was born in the 20th century, and canonized in the year 2000. Jesus
chose her to deliver to the modern world a message as old as eternity. It is
the message of his love for all
people, especially sinners. Jesus said to Faustina, "Today I am sending
you with my mercy to the people of the whole world." It is his desire to heal
the aching world, to draw all people into his merciful heart of love. On February 22, 1931, Jesus
appeared to Faustina as the King of Divine Mercy. He asked her to have a
picture painted of him as she saw him — clothed in white, with red and white
rays of light streaming from his heart. The rays represent the blood and water
that flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross. Under the image are the words,
"Jesus, I trust in you." Many people did not believe Faustina at
first. The sisters in her own convent thought that Jesus could not possibly
have selected her for this great favor. After all, she was an uneducated
peasant girl. Her superiors often refused to give her permission to carry out
Jesus' requests. Church theologians, too, doubted her word. Jesus told Faustina
that he loved her obedience and that his will would be done in the end.
Faustina was canonized by the first Polish pope, John Paul II, on April 30,
2000. The first Sunday after Easter was declared Divine Mercy Sunday.
Divine Mercy Hikes[4]
Hiking is a popular
activity but it is also an excellent way to mediate and talk with God. This was
the original method of prayer used by Abraham. Sedona, Arizona is the backdrop
for this series of prayer hikes; however, the meditations could be used with
any hike.
Full Harvest Moon
According to the almanac
today is a Full Harvest Moon; take your children/grandchildren for a hay ride
or a hike and camping trip and review this year’s harvests.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
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Total
Consecration Day 25
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