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St. Ignatius Universal Man Plan

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Here are some ways you can reflect on the theme “You are my high castle” during a spiritual hike at Montezuma Castle—rich with metaphor, scr...

The Wolff of the Ardennes

The Wolff of the Ardennes
on-call to fight any time, anywhere

Thursday, March 1, 2018


MARCH

The winds of March point to the power of God's Spirit working in us. We need to listen and respond to the gentle breezes of the Spirit; but will we, or will we be too distracted? The rebirth of spring reminds us of the energy of nature so that we ask ourselves whether we waste or wisely use energy –electricity, oil, gas, etc. Can we and should we continue to use nonrenewable fossil fuels, often with accompanying air pollution, at the rate we do? Or will the environmental ills we cause today call us in the future as a society to use wind and solar energy?

Overview of the Month of March[1]

The month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph. This patronage must be invoked as ever necessary for the Church, not only as a defense against all dangers, but also, and indeed primarily, as an impetus for her renewed commitment to evangelization in the world and to re-evangelization,” wrote St. John Paul II in Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer).

John Paul II further said, “Because St. Joseph is the protector of the Church, he is the guardian of the Eucharist and the Christian family. Therefore, we must turn to St. Joseph today to ward off attacks upon the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and upon the family. We must plead with St. Joseph to guard the Eucharistic Lord and the Christian family during this time of peril.”

As we continue our journey "up to Jerusalem" during the month of March, three prominent ideas are proposed for our contemplation by the liturgy of Lent: the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, baptism, and penance. The Solemnity of St. Joseph is a special landmark this month in which we will celebrate the great honor bestowed upon the foster father of Jesus. And if you are Irish (who isn't), St. Patrick's feast is another cause for a joyful celebration. The feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25.

The entire month falls during the liturgical season of Lent which is represented by the liturgical color purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart.


A Time of Penance and Promise

Here and there in the stark March landscape, a few plants and trees are beginning to give evidence of the new life that winter’s frost and chill had concealed from our eyes. The Church’s vibrant new life has been obscured, too, by the austerity of the penitential season of Lent. But that life is indisputable, and it will burgeon forth on Easter as Christ coming forth from his tomb! During this month we will continue our journey to the cross with our acts of penitence. We will reflect on our mortality ("Remember man thou art dust") and the shortness of life ("and to dust thou shall return"). We will heed the call, "Now is the acceptable time, now is “the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).” Just like Our Lord's earthly life every moment of our lives is leading up to the last moment—when for eternity we will either go to God or suffer the fires of hell. During this month we will go from the suffering of Good Friday to the joy of Easter Sunday. We will trade the purple of penance for the white of victory and resurrection. The feast of the Annunciation, normally celebrated on March 25, has been transferred to April 9 since it falls on Palm Sunday. Let us not tire of doing our good works and penance, but continue with the enthusiasm of the catechumens on their way to Easter and Baptism. May our Lenten observance be a joyful journey — and not a forced march.

MARCH 1 Thursday
FULL WORM MOON

Isaiah, Chapter 54, verse 14:
In justice shall you be established, far from oppression, you shall not fear, from destruction, it cannot come near.

Isaiah in this chapter states that God will create a new Zion, which He has in the State of Israel and God gives assurances of love for Israel and of safety from various possible threats; the phrase sums up both the positive aspects of shalom, which implies a fullness of blessing, and protection from all that might harm and a perpetual promise of peace-shalom.

If we wish to have peace or Shalom, we must develop a holy fear, that is wonder and awe at God, in ourselves to do so, we should read the bible every day. Perhaps today would be a good day to shut off the TV and read a chapter a day for every day of your life or read the daily readings for the Mass. Perhaps doing this along with a family dinner where you pray together over the meal and then read the bible together would help strengthen families.

A good resource to peruse to strengthen the family is:

            http://www.catholicfamilyfaith.org/

Preparing for Battle[2]

Know Your Enemy

Be sober, be watchful! For your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith. (1 Peter 5: 8– 9)
Like it or not, you are at war. No matter who you are— whether or not you know it— you have a mortal enemy who wants to destroy you, not just in this life, but in the next. No matter where you live on this planet— whether or not you can see it— you live on a hotly contested battlefield, and you can’t escape the conflict. It’s a spiritual war with crucial consequences in your everyday life. And the outcome of that war will determine your eternal destiny. The first rule of any type of warfare is to know your enemy.

·         Your adversary is the Devil, with his army of demons. Your battle with him rages not only all around you, but also within you, a fierce conflict for control of your mind, your heart, and your ultimate destiny.
·         Those who deny the devils existence are easy prey.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.

Lenten Calendar[3]-The Third Servant Song- In the third song, we learn of the abuse and derision the Servant endured at the hands of his enemies.

Salvation through the Lord’s Servant

Thus says the LORD: Where is the bill of divorce with which I dismissed your mother? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you? It was for your sins you were sold, for your rebellions your mother was dismissed. Why was no one there when I came? Why did no one answer when I called? Is my hand too short to ransom? Have I not the strength to deliver? See, with my rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into wilderness; their fish rot for lack of water, and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens in black, and make sackcloth their covering. The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to answer the weary a word that will waken them. Morning after morning he wakens my ear to hear as disciples do; the Lord GOD opened my ear; I did not refuse, did not turn away. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; my face I did not hide from insults and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help; therefore I am not disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He who declares my innocence is near. Who will oppose me? Let us appear together. Who will dispute my right? Let them confront me. See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will declare me guilty? See, they will all wear out like a garment, consumed by moths. Who among you fears the LORD, heeds his servant’s voice? Whoever walk in darkness, without any light, yet trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon their God! All you who kindle flames and set flares alight walk by the light of your own fire and by the flares you have burnt! This is your fate from my hand: you shall lie down in a place of torment.

Full Worm Moon

According to the almanac we are having a Full Worm Moon-plan to take your family or grandchildren fishing!

Daily Devotions
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood
·         Nineveh 90 Day 60
·         Manhood of the Master-Day 5 week 5
·         Lenten Calendar Day 16
·         Day 9 Devotion to the Holy Face
·         Do 20 min. in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
·         In honor of Purim—fast Thursday-Friday and Saturday evening/Sunday have a feast.
·         Please pray for me and this ministry


[2]Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare (Kindle Locations 115-124). TAN Books. Kindle Edition.
[3]http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/march-1.cfm

Wednesday, February 28, 2018


PURIM



Isaiah, Chapter 54, verse 4
Do not fear, you shall not be put to shame; do not be discouraged, you shall not be disgraced. For the shame of your youth you shall forget, the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember.

Isaiah here is speaking of the Eternal Covenant of Peace from God. Our shame was that we as a people by our transgressions killed Christ, who was the messiah and our spiritual spouse, thus becoming widows, as a people. Isaiah tells us in advance that God in his love will no longer remember our reproaches. He will make us free, He will give us peace. The next verse of Isaiah makes this clear, “For your husband is your Maker; the LORD of hosts is his name, Your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth.”

Does our nation not realize that if we are the spouse of the God of all the earth, that we are committing murder of God’s own spiritual children through the legalization of abortion?

Our Holy Father states that peace can only come when we confront the truth.[1]  

Jesus declared “I am the truth” (John 14: 6) and told Pontius Pilate “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18: 37). Because he is the Son of God, Jesus is the truth about who God is, and, because he is fully human, he is the truth about the human person.



What is that truth?
·         First, that God is Love, love that is willing to give all, even life itself, for the good of the beloved.
·         Second that the human person is precious to God, precious enough to die for.

When this truth is denied, the human person becomes subhuman, a problem, an object, or a threat. It becomes easy to destroy a mass of cells viewed as a threat. The human person may seem like a cancer on humanity and be treated as such, rather than as an individual for whom Jesus suffered and died.

Purim[2] begins at sundown

A Jewish Holiday which commemorates Jewish people being saved from extermination in Persia.  The story of Purim comes from the Biblical book of Esther.  In it, Haman a high ranking advisor to King Ahasuerus sought to kill all Jews in ancient Persia. He is motivated by an incident in which Mordechai, a Jewish leader, defied the king's orders and refused to bow to Haman. Haman is stopped through the actions of Mordechai and his niece Esther, a beautiful and courageous Jewish woman. Esther initially disguises her Jewish Identity and eventually becomes Queen. Through their actions the King becomes aware of Haman's plot and is persuaded to have him hanged.

Purim Facts & Quotes

·         Purim is considered to be a joyous Holiday often accompanied by celebrations, plays, festive food and costume parties.
·         Purim holiday is often preceded by fast, referred to as the Fast of Esther.  This fast commemorates Esther's three days of fasting in preparation for her meeting with the king.  The fast is observed from dawn until dusk on the eve of Purim.
·         The story of Purim is told in the book of Esther, which is also known as "the Scroll" (Megillah in Hebrew).
·         If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life - this is my petition, and the life of my people - this is my request. (Esther 7:3)

Purim Top Events and Things to Do

·         Make a Mishloach Manot (also known as mishloach manos or shalach manos).  This is a gift of at least two kinds of food that are ready to eat.  Give them out to neighbors, friends and associates.
·         Make Hamantaschen cookies.  These are pocket triangle shaped cookies that are often made with fruit, poppy seed or cheese filling.
·         Attend a Purim Carnival or Festival.  Some of the more popular ones are the Carnival at Mamilla (Jerusalem) and Cirque Du Purim in Minneapolis.
·         Donate to the poor.  It is customary and part of tradition to give at least two gifts to two poor people on Purim.
·         Visit a Jewish Museum.  Many put on special activities for kids such as plays, performances, and costume parties

Biblical Partying[3]

The Bible, it turns out, is filled with fabulous parties. Think of the parable of the prodigal son. When he returns to his father’s home with a contrite heart after living the high life, he is not given broth and sent to bed. No, his father says, "bring hither the fatted calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son," as if to show that home is where the high life actually is. St. Clement of Alexandria wrote: "The repentant son came to the pitying father, never hoping for these things—the best robe, and the ring, and the shoes—or to taste the fatted calf, or to share in gladness, or enjoy music and dances; he would have been contented with obtaining what in his own estimation he deemed himself worthy." Instead, he got it all. That’s a party.
Given this spirit of liberality in one of Jesus’ own parables, a good Catholic should be prepared to throw a great party whenever the opportunity arises. Now, it’s true that merrymaking cannot be the sum total of the way we live. The ever-stern St. Francis de Sales, in his Introduction to the Devout Life, warns against excessive frivolity. But he does affirm that balls and festivities are not evil in themselves and can even be used for good. "It is lawful to amuse yourself, to dance, dress, feast, and see seemly plays," he affirms. The proviso is that the good times must not hinder, but help, devotion. Indeed they can and do.

Lenten Calendar[4]-The Second Servant Song- The second song, spoken in the Servant’s own voice, tells of being selected from the womb to become God’s mouthpiece and help renew the nation

The Servant of the Lord

Hear me, coastlands, listen, distant peoples. Before birth the LORD called me, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword, concealed me, shielded by his hand. He made me a sharpened arrow, in his quiver he hid me. He said to me, You are my servant, in you, Israel, I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain, for nothing and for naught spent my strength, yet my right is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Thus says the LORD, the redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, To the one despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers: When kings see you, they shall stand up, and princes shall bow down Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.

Guardian Angels[5]

Our lives always are better if we work with God rather than against him. To this end God has assigned an angel to protect churches and persons for indeed we are the true temples of God. We should be particularly attentive to our own guardian angels, since they are specifically assigned to our care. Our guardian angels want to help us cooperate with the will of God, and they want to keep us from sin. They help us to comfort others-and they want to keep us safe and from causing harm to others. They are our best friend in that they always want what’s best for us even if it does not coincide with the things we desire the most and they will undoubtedly help us, especially when we ask them. Learn to ask for what you need. Our angel helps us to answer Gods call for holiness. As we are the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit our angel is charged with protecting our temples and keeping us pure for the presence of God. We must learn to speak to the angels.

No evil shall befall you, no affliction come near your tent for he commands his angels with regard to you, to guard you wherever you go. With their hands they shall support you, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You can tread upon the asp and the viper, trample the lion and the dragon. 

Daily Devotions
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood
·         Nineveh 90 Day 59
·         Manhood of the Master-Day 4 week 5
·         Lenten Calendar Day 15
·         Day 8 Devotion to the Holy Face
·         Do 20 min. in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
·         In honor of Purim—fast Thursday-Friday and Saturday evening/Sunday have a feast.
·         Please pray for me and this ministry



[3]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=5306
[4]http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/february-28.cfm
[5] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 5. Guardian Angels

Tuesday, February 27, 2018


Isaiah, Chapter 51, verse 12-13
12 I, it is I who comfort you. Can you then fear mortals who die, human beings who are just grass, 13 and forget the LORD, your maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of earth? All the day you are in constant dread of the fury of the oppressor when he prepares himself to destroy; but where is the oppressor’s fury?

Imagine the joy of the Apostles when at the resurrection of Christ they finally realized this. That they could no longer be controlled by powerful men who would die just like the grass and that they were already on the winning side. Imagine the peace they must have felt when they knew evil was conquered. Imagine the comfort they felt for they knew the presence of God.

Mere Mortals; why fear ye, Sons of God?[1]

·         Our speaker invites everyone to turn their attention back to God, "the rock from which you were hewn," the same God of their ancestors. He says that God will make the wilderness and the desert surrounding Zion into a garden as nice as Eden.
·         God's voice breaks in, saying that he will save the people swiftly. Heaven and earth will both vanish, but his salvation will endure forever. With a little sprinkling of ultimate justice and righteousness. Righteous people shouldn't worry about the naysayers who make fun of them—they're just going to be devoured like wool getting munched on by moths.
·         The speaker calls on God to awake and reveal his strength again, since he was the same person who killed the evil sea serpent Rahab and dried up the sea so that Israel could cross and return to Zion and salvation.
·         Now, God's voice comes back into the prophetic monologue. He is the one who comforts Israel, and he's confused as to why they would be afraid of mere mortals (like the Babylonians). After all, if they get into any trouble, they should know that they're going to get released from oppression right away.
·         That said, Israel has drunk from the bowl of God's wrath, making it stagger around like someone totally deluded. Its children are all caught by God's wrath, too. So who can save Israel? God will give the cup of wrath to Israel's enemies instead, and Israel will receive mercy from now on. Probably one of the few times that someone was pleased to have their beverage confiscated.

Lenten Calendar[2]-The First Servant Song

The Servant of the Lord

Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased. Upon him I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out, nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow dim or be bruised until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its produce, who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it:  the LORD, have called you for justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. I am the LORD, LORD is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the earlier things have come to pass, new ones I now declare; before they spring forth I announce them to you.

Daily Devotions
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood
·         Nineveh 90 Day 58
·         Manhood of the Master-Day 3 week 5
·         Lenten Calendar Day 14
·         Day 7 Devotion to the Holy Face
·         Do 1 hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament now till Easter.
·         Please pray for me and this ministry



Monday, February 26, 2018


Isaiah, Chapter 51, verse 7
Hear me, you who know justice, you people who have my teaching at heart: Do not fear the reproach of others; remain firm at their reviling’s.

What is God’s justice and what teaching should we have at heart?

The Old Testament established the seven laws of Noah, or the Noahide Laws which were given by God as binding on all of humanity. Any person who adheres to these is regarded as righteous and is assured a place in the world to come.


These laws are:

1.      Don’t Deny God
2.      Don’t Blaspheme God
3.      Don’t Murder
4.      Don’t Engage in Incest, Adultery or Homosexuality.
5.      Don’t Steal
6.      Don’t Eat of a Live Animal
7.       Do establish Functioning Courts of Law

Jesus said to his disciples; “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Mt. 5:17)

Good Works[1]

Lent is traditionally considered a particularly good time for performing corporal works of mercy (e.g., almsgiving, peacemaking, etc.). The importance of supplementing ascetical denial with active virtues is underscored in the Gospel (Luke 11.14-28), in which a man who has had a demon exorcized from him later becomes repossessed by the demon and seven other unclean spirits. Christ's point seems to be that holy practices such as fasting do indeed remove bad things from one's soul, but this is ultimately to no avail if the soul is not then filled with good things. This understanding is also operative in the Collect for the First Sunday of Lent:

O God, who by the yearly Lenten observance dost purify Thy Church, grant to Thy household that what they strive to obtain from Thee by abstinence, they may achieve by good works.

Baptism[2]

 

Supernatural Life begins at baptism. Jesus himself spoke of baptism in terms of a strict obligation: “unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” When new believers asked St. Peter, the first pope, what they should do, he declared: “Repent, and be baptized”. It is easy for us to take God’s fatherhood for granted. We say easily, “God is our Father” yet we forget that that during Christ’s time to say that could get you killed. This was why the Jews sought to kill Jesus because he called God his Father. When we are born anew in baptism we are born not of human parentage but heavenly by what theologians call the “marvelous exchange.” In Jesus, God became what we are so that we might become what HE is. This is why God became man and this is why he gave us baptism. “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in you mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:11-14).

Grace Compels Us to Service[3]

What is meant by serving God? Doing the will of God in all things which He requires of us, in whatever state of life we may be placed, and doing this with fidelity, with unwearied zeal, and out of love for Him.

Who are the two masters whom we cannot serve at the same time? God and an inordinate desire for worldly gain. One cannot serve both, because they demand things that are contradictory.

Who are they that serve mammon, or worldly wealth? The avaricious, who, impelled by their longing for riches, offend God by manifold transgressions of His commandments,

Why does Christ refer us to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field? To awaken in us confidence in Divine Providence. If God feeds the young ravens (Ps. cxlvi. 9) and the birds of the air if He decks so beautifully the flowers of the field, how much more will He not care for men, whom He has created after His own image, and adopted as His children.

Are we, then, to use no care or labor? That by no means follows from what has been said. The Savior forbids only that anxiety, proceeding from little faith, which, in striving for maintenance, neglects God’s honor and commandments, and the good of one’s soul. For the rest, God Himself has commanded man to labor (Gen. iii. 17-19); and St. Paul says, “If any man will not work, neither let him eat” (n. Thess. iii. 10).

What should preserve us from excessive anxiety? A firm and living faith that God can and will help us. That He can is clear, because He is almighty; that He will is certain, for the reason that He is love that He has promised it to us, more than once, most expressly, and that He is faithful in keep ing His promises.

Let us, then, trust in God, and daily renew our confidence in Him, particularly when we say the Creed, or when, in the Our Father, we pray, i i Give us this day our daily bread.

Consolation in Poverty

In your misery and poverty, say often, with Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; as it hath pleased the Lord so it is done; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job i. 21). Or seek comfort in these words: “We lead indeed a poor life, but we shall have many good things if we fear God and depart from all sin, and do that which is good” (Job iv. 23).

Warning against Usury

Usury is that mortal sin which takes advantage of our neighbor’s poverty and need to extort from him what is justly his own. Would that usurers might bear in mind what the Lord says: “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?” (Matt. xvi. 26.)

The Devil and Temptations[4]


There are many and varied ways in which sin and evil are presented to us in an attractive way.

Freeing My Own Self from the Power of Evil

·         Through his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus has broken the power of the Evil One. When the influence of evil is perceived in one's own life, it most frequently comes about from personal sin. Family members suffer because of the sin of an individual member of the family. It is through the sacred power that the Lord has placed in his Church that the evil of sin is conquered.
·         Through medicine, psychology and other human means, suffering can often be alleviated. But Jesus in his Church, has given us basic helps that are often neglected.
·         In our day the Sacrament of Reconciliation has fallen into disuse. There exists a power in this sacrament to break the power of the Evil One and sin that is not possible otherwise.
·         Our faith in the Eucharist is weakened. In this sacrament is the power and presence of Jesus Himself. Persons who have actually needed exorcism from the power of the Evil One have been cured by sitting in church in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, an hour each day, for one or two months. These were very difficult cases.
·         Our Blessed Mother has been designated by God as the one who crushes the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:1s). The Rosary is a very powerful means of protection and salvation. Many sons and daughters have been saved from the power of sin and the loss of faith through the perseverance of their parents in saying the Holy Rosary.

Daily Devotions
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood
·         Nineveh 90 Day 57
·         Manhood of the Master-Day 2 week 5
·         Lenten Calendar Day 13
·         Day 6 Devotion to the Holy Face
·         Do 1 hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament now till Easter.
·         Please pray for me and this ministry



[2] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 3. Baptism.
[3]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.