NATIONAL MARRIAGE WEEK/CARNIVAL
12 Do not call conspiracy what this people
calls conspiracy, nor fear what they fear, nor feel dread. 13 But conspire with the LORD of hosts; he
shall be your fear, he shall be your
dread.
Because
Isaiah and his followers resisted the official policy of seeking help from
Assyria they were labeled “conspirators”; Isaiah uses the term to express what
is really the case, cooperating with the Lord. When we see the
word “conspire” we think of spies and covert operations; yet if we check the
synonyms of the word it takes on a whole different meaning: combine, unite, collaborate, collude,
contrive, devise, machinate and work together. The greatest of our church
is that we when we are troubled and don’t know what to do we can always
approach Him in prayer and seek the advice of his elders (Mary and the Saints)
anywhere we are. If we desire we may also approach our Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament Chapel and bring any case that is too difficult; for Him to hear, and
He will answer us. Likewise we may approach a priest in confession or connect
with a local parish spiritual director. How great is our God that He does not
abandon us. Furthermore there is a multitude of great Catholic websites where
there are elders of the church who can assist us in our difficult moments.
Seek solace for your fears in
faith; be not troubled by fear mongers of the news media and if all else fails
you can get candid facts from www.billo’reilly.com.
God
created man in his image in the divine image he created him; male and female he
created them. (Gn 1:27) The two creation stories in the book of Genesis
communicate two important truths about the identity of man and woman and the
relationship between them. In the first account, God creates both male and
female at the same time and in the divine image. This act completes creation, and
God judges it to be ―very good (Gn 1:31). In this way, Sacred Scripture affirms
the fundamental equality and dignity of man and woman as persons created in
God‘s image. The second creation account emphasizes that both sexes are
necessary for God‘s plan. Having created Adam, God says, ―It is not good for
the man to be alone (Gn 2:18). So God creates a helpmate who is suitable for
him and matches him.―Helpmate (ezer) is a word reserved in the Bible not for
inferiors but most often for God himself, who is Israel‘s ―helper. Indeed,
after God creates all of the animals and brings them to Adam to name, it
becomes clear that none of them is―the suitable partner for the man (Gn
2:20).Then God puts Adam under a deep sleep and, using one of his ribs, builds
up a woman for him as a suitable partner or helpmate. When he sees the woman,
Adam cries out in wondrous joy: This one, at last, is bone of my bones and
flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called―woman, for out of ―her man this one
has been taken. (Gn 2:23)Adam and Eve were literally made for each other. Man
and woman have been made to come together in the union of marriage. The text of
Genesis continues: That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to
his wife, and the two of them become one body [flesh] (Gn 2:24). Marriage, this
clinging together of husband and wife as one flesh, is based on the fact that
man and woman are both different and the same. They are different as male and
female, but the same as human persons who are uniquely suited to be partners or
helpmates for each other. The difference between man and woman, however, cannot
be restricted to their bodies, as if the body could be separated from the rest
of the human person. The human person is a union of body and soul as a single
being. Man and woman are two different ways of being a human person. While man
and woman are different, their differences serve to relate them to each other. They
are not different in a parallel way, as two lines that never meet. Man and
woman do not have separate destinies. They are related to each other precisely
in their differences. The differences between male and female are
complementary. Male and female are distinct bodily ways of being human, of
being open to God and to one another—two distinct yet harmonizing ways of
responding to the vocation to love. While human persons are more than
biological organisms, the roots of marriage can be seen in the biological fact
that a man and a woman can come together as male and female in a union that has
the potential for bringing forth another human person. This kind of union fills
the need for the continuation of the human race. Since human beings exist at
more than a biological level, however, this union has further personal and
spiritual dimensions. Marriage does not exist solely for the reproduction of
another member of the species, but for the creation of a communion of persons. To
form a communion of persons is the vocation of everyone. As Pope John Paul II
teaches, all human persons are created in the image of God, who is a communion
of love of three persons, and thus all are called to live in a communion of
self-giving love: ―to say that man is created in the image and likeness of God
means that man is called to exist ̳for ‘others, to become a gift. Marriage, however,
is a unique communion of persons. In their intimate union as male and female,
the spouses are called to exist for each other. Just as Genesis describes Eve
as a helper for Adam, we can see that in marriage, a husband and wife are meant
to help each other through self-giving.―In the ̳unity of the two, ‘man and
woman are called from the beginning not only to exist side by side ‘or together,
‘but they are also called to exist mutually one for the other. ‟This communion
of persons has the potential to bring forth human life and thus to produce the
family, which is itself another kind of communion of persons and which is the
origin and foundation of all human society. It is precisely the difference
between man and woman that makes possible this unique communion of persons, the
unique partnership of life and love that is marriage. A man and woman united in
marriage as husband and wife serve as a symbol of both life and love in a way
that no other relationship of human persons can.
At
the height of Rio’s summer, beginning at least a week before the official
event, which runs from the Friday before Ash Wednesday until Shrove (Fat)
Tuesday. Rio’s more than 70 samba “schools” (neighborhood social groups, not
educational institutions) spend the entire year preparing for this moment, and
many open to visitors beginning in September for those who come outside of Carnival
season. For those who come for the Carnaval itself, though, the centerpiece is
the samba parades, made up of lavishly costumed troupes and over-the-top floats
from Grupo Especial (the 12 top-tier schools)— each accompanied by a pounding,
150-member-strong drum corps— who perform and compete on the Sunday and Monday
before Ash Wednesday. The parades are televised from 9 P.M. to dawn, at the
filled-to-capacity, 75,000-seat Sambódromo (a stadium built specifically for
this purpose). Here, the flamboyantly— often scantily— dressed teams fill the
air with music, passion, and unbridled frenzy as they compete for the year’s
coveted championship. Indoor samba balls (often attended by guests in full
costume) are held in nightclubs, bars, and some hotels around town. But the
most authentic experience of all is to join the open-air concerts and tag-along
bands that snake through the beachside neighborhoods of Copacabana, Ipanema,
and Leblon and the hilltop Bohemian district of Santa Teresa, forming a kind of
citywide street party. A glitzy and outrageous bacchanal of flesh and fantasy,
Rio’s Carnival is not for the prudish or crowd-fearing. For those who want to
escape the chaos of Carnaval, there’s the grand Belmond Copacabana Palace,
which hosts the most exclusive black-tie ball in Rio. Built in 1923, “The
Palace” overlooks the famous beach from which it takes its name, and its
elegant pool makes a beautiful setting for a dip or an afternoon caipirinha,
while its top-rated restaurants serve excellent meals. This was the backdrop
for Flying Down to Rio, the 1933 film that first paired Fred Astaire and Ginger
Rogers; the movie made the Palace a Hollywood favorite. The myth of yesteryear
lives on in the ornate Golden Room; its famous glass dance floor, lit from
below, is where the famous Magic Ball takes place during Carnival.
NOVENA TO THE HOLY FACE
DAILY PREPARATORY PRAYER
We now implore all the Angels and Saints to intercede for us as we pray this Holy Novena to the Most Holy Face of Jesus and for the glory of the most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sixth Day
A pure heart create for us O God, put a steadfast spirit within us. Do not cast us away from your presence nor deprive us of your Holy Spirit.
May our hearts be cleansed, O Lord, by the inpouring of the Holy Spirit, and may He render them fruitful by watering them with His heavenly dew, Mary, the most chaste spouse of the Holy Spirit, intercede for us, Saint Joseph pray for us.
Through the merits of your precious blood and your Holy Face, O Jesus, grant us our petition, Pardon and Mercy.
Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel
O Victorious Prince, most humble guardian of the Church of God and of faithful souls, who with such charity and zeal took part in so many conflicts and gained such great victories over the enemy, for the conservation and protection of the honor and glory we all owe to God, as well as for the promotion of our salvation, come, we pray Thee, to our assistance, for we are continually besieged with such great perils by our enemies, the flesh, the world and the devil; and as Thou was a leader for the people of God through the desert, so also be our faithful leader, and companion through the desert of this world, until Thou conduct us safely into the happy land of the living, in that blessed fatherland from which we are all exiles. Amen. (St. Aloysius)
Pray one (1) Our Father, (3) Hail
Mary’s, (1) Glory Be.
Daily
Devotions
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