sT. eLIZABETH ANN SETON-11TH DAY OF
CHRISTMAS
Sirach,
Chapter 7, Verse 6
Do
not seek to become a judge if you do not have the strength to root out crime,
Lest you show fear in the presence of the prominent and mar your
integrity.
Basically do not start something
you cannot finish or you will damage your honor. Our Lord said something
similar to this in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind
is fit for the kingdom of God.”
(Lk. 9:62)
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
II. THE VOCATION TO CHASTITY cont.
The various forms of chastity
2348 All the baptized are
called to chastity. The Christian has "put on Christ," the model
for all chastity. All Christ's faithful are called to lead a chaste life in
keeping with their particular states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the
Christian is pledged to lead his affective life in chastity.
2349 "People should
cultivate [chastity] in the way that is suited to their state of life. Some
profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves
to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner. Others live in the
way prescribed for all by the moral law, whether they are married or
single." Married people are called to live conjugal chastity; others
practice chastity in continence: There are three forms of the virtue of
chastity: the first is that of spouses, the second that of widows and the third
that of virgins. We do not praise any one of them to the exclusion of the
others. This is what makes for the richness of the discipline of the Church.
2350 Those who are engaged to
marry are called to live chastity in continence. They should see in this
time of testing a discovery of mutual respect, an apprenticeship in fidelity,
and the hope of receiving one another from God. They should reserve for
marriage the expressions of affection that belong to married love. They will
help each other grow in chastity.
Read: Today we
remember the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized as
a saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Reflect: Only if people
change will the world change; and in order to change, people need the light that
comes from God, the light which so unexpectedly [on the night of Christmas]
entered into our night.
Pray: Pray one of these three prayers to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton today.
Act: Aim to put
these practices of building a domestic
Church into action.
Widow Saint[1]
Elizabeth Ann Seton
This
wife, mother and foundress of a religious congregation was born Elizabeth Ann
Bayley on August 28, 1774 in New York City, the daughter of an eminent
physician and professor at what is now Columbia University. Brought up as an
Episcopalian, she received an excellent education, and from her early years she
manifested an unusual concern for the poor. In 1794 Elizabeth married William
Seton, with whom she had five children. The loss of their fortune so affected
William's health that in 1803 Elizabeth and William went to stay with Catholic
friends at Livorno, Italy. William died six weeks after their arrival, and when
Elizabeth returned to New York City some six months later, she was already a convinced
Catholic. She met with stern opposition from her Episcopalian friends but was
received into full communion with the Catholic Church on March 4, 1805.
Abandoned by her friends and relatives, Elizabeth was invited by the superior
of the Sulpicians in Baltimore to found a school for girls in that city. The
school prospered, and eventually the Sulpician superior, with the approval of
Bishop Carroll, gave Elizabeth and her assistants a rule of life. They were
also permitted to make religious profession and to wear a religious habit. In
1809 Elizabeth moved her young community to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she
adopted as a rule of life an adaptation of the rule observed by the Sisters of
Charity, founded by St. Vincent de Paul. Although she did not neglect the
ministry to the poor, and especially to Negroes, she actually laid the
foundation for what became the American parochial school system. She trained
teachers and prepared textbooks for use in the schools; she also opened
orphanages in Philadelphia and New York City. She died at Emmitsburg on January
4, 1821, was beatified by Pope John XXIII in 1963, and was canonized by Pope
Paul VI in 1975.
11th day of Christmas the
11 pipers piping is a sign for the eleven faithful apostles. It is
interesting to note that Judas’ sin was due to fear, greed, pride and
envy. Today would be a good day to read about the remaining 11 pipers and
their courage to create a Kingdom of God that changed the world.
49
Godly Character Traits[2]
During
this Christmas season let us take up the nature of God by reflecting on these
traits that make us a model for our children and our sisters and brothers in
Christ. Today reflect on:
Responsibility vs.
Unreliability
Knowing and doing what both God and others are expecting from me (Romans 14:12)
596 The
religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what stance to take
towards Jesus. The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his followers. To
those who feared that "everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will
come and destroy both our holy place and our nation", the high priest
Caiaphas replied by prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man
should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish."
The Sanhedrin, having declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but
having lost the right to put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans,
accusing him of political revolt, a charge that puts him in the same category
as Barabbas who had been accused of sedition. The chief priests also threatened
Pilate politically so that he would condemn Jesus to death.
2223
Parents have the first
responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this
responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness,
respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well
suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in
self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery - the preconditions of all true
freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the "material
and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones." Parents have a
grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to
acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able
to guide and correct them:
He who loves his son will not spare the rod. . . .
He who disciplines his son will profit by him.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring
them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
2431 The responsibility
of the state. "Economic activity, especially the
activity of a market economy, cannot be conducted in an institutional,
juridical, or political vacuum. On the contrary, it presupposes sure guarantees
of individual freedom and private property, as well as a stable currency and
efficient public services. Hence the principal task of the state is to
guarantee this security, so that those who work and produce can enjoy the
fruits of their labors and thus feel encouraged to work efficiently and
honestly. . . . Another task of the state is that of overseeing and
directing the exercise of human rights in the economic sector. However, primary
responsibility in this area belongs not to the state but to individuals and to
the various groups and associations which make up society."
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