Carnival Monday
Lincoln’s Birthday/novena to
the holy face (Day 9)
Isaiah,
Chapter 25, verse 3
Therefore
a strong people will honor you, ruthless nations will fear you.
Pope
Emiratis Benedict XVI wrote in his Theology
of the Covenant that we are a people of many faiths with one covenant with
God. Therefore it is reasonable that strong people will honor us in our faith
as we have the same covenant with the living God but may worship in a different
way.
What
are some of the traits we and our cousins in the covenant may have as strong
people? According to the daily elite-the voice of generation Y there are 20
things that strong people DON’T do[1]:
What Strong people DON’T do.
1.
Dwell
on the past (but stay in the present).
2.
Stay
in their comfort zone.
3.
Refuse
to listen to the opinion of others.
4.
Avoid
change.
5.
Keep
a closed mind (but are open to new ideas).
6.
Let
others make decisions for them.
7.
Get
jealous over the success of others.
8.
Dwell
on the possibility of failure (they keep a positive perspective).
9.
Feel
sorry for their selves.
10.
Focus
on their weaknesses.
11.
Try
to please people.
12.
Blame
themselves for things outside their control.
13.
Be
impatient.
14.
Let
misunderstandings continue.
15.
Feel
they are entitled or privileged.
16.
Repeat
mistakes.
17.
Give
into their fears.
18.
Act
without using prudence.
19.
Refuse
to help.
20.
Quit.
However,
on the other hand, we must realize that ruthless nations will fear a covenant people because ruthless
nations are made up of ruthless people and ruthless people fear what they cannot control.
These
are 6 assumptions that the ruthless people make according to Askmen.com.
·
Emotion
is to be avoided in all decision making.
·
No
tolerance for incompetence.
·
Never
forgive.
·
Punish
quickly and brutally.
·
Instill
fear in others.
·
Stay
focused and determined.
To be
a people of the covenant we must remember the urgings of Christ that “This is the time of fulfillment.
The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent,
and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark
1:15). “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law
of the prophets.” (Mt. 7:12)
Carnival
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago[2]
You can’t really
understand Trinidad unless you come for Carnival, or mas (for masquerade), as
it’s locally known. Trinidad is a melting pot of West African, East Indian,
Chinese, South American, and European, which has influenced both its music and
Carnival itself. The country’s West African roots gave birth to the steel pan
(or steel drum, originally made from empty oil barrels), calypso music, and its
more recent souped-up version, soca (“ soul-calypso”), which makes this
Carnival the loudest and wildest in all the Caribbean. It’s the national
obsession, with Port of Spain at its heart. Bands and masqueraders begin their
preparations a year in advance. Things start to hum after Christmas, gradually
building to a crescendo of rehearsals, concerts, open-air fêtes, and calypso
duels. The final 2-day explosion of color, music, and unbridled excess
officially kicks off at 4 A.M. on Carnival Monday
with the “opening day” parade called J’Ouvert (pronounced joo-VAY). Fueled by
copious amounts of beer, revelers covered in mud, grease, body paint, and
chocolate form a mass of happy humanity as they follow trucks blasting soca and
“chip” (dance) until sunrise. Monday
(“old mas”) continues with bands and dancers along a 6-mile parade route. The
glitter and glamorous costumes of “pretty mas” are saved for Shrove Tuesday
(Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. Tens of thousands take to the
streets in costume (often sequined bikinis and feather headdresses), with
groups as large as 3,000 in identical costume following flatbed trucks carrying
steel bands competing for the title of “Masquerade Band of the Year.” Getups
are at their most extravagant for the Kings and Queens Costume Competition—
some can weigh up to 200 pounds (and are attached to wheels for mobility) and
incorporate fog, fireworks, and other special effects. “Pan” bands with as many
as 100 musicians perform nonstop in a riotous celebration of King Carnival.
Lincoln's
Birthday celebrates the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most popular
presidents in United States history. It is a state holiday in some states on or
around February 12. It's also known as Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, Abraham
Lincoln Day or Lincoln Day.
“Character
is Destiny” [4] is
a book written by John McCain in it he highlights the 16th
President, Abraham Lincoln, of the United States as an example of a man who
demonstrates for us the characteristic of RESILIENCE. Resilience is the ability
to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.
Abraham
Lincoln had known loss and grief all his life yet rather that than succumb to
defeat; he somehow, always found a way to rise back up. He was inarguably a man
of action. Although he was known to have chronic depression he never yielded
and in some way resurrected from his melancholic states thinking, “To remain as
I am is impossible; I must die or be better.” Lincoln rose to the highest
office in the land after surviving a hard and poor childhood in the Indiana
wilderness, a harsh father, little education, and deep loneliness. He survived
the death of his brother, a sister, his mother, his first sweetheart, and his
own children and his marriage to Mary Todd was troubled. As president he was
considered dismal by most. How did Lincoln persist? He willed it. He was
neither swift nor brilliant at work but he was exhaustive; he continued. His
resilience sprang from his deep conviction that America was, “the last, best
hope of earth.” In the end he paid for his devotion with his life; so that the
government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish
from the earth.
NOVENA TO THE HOLY FACE
DAILY PREPARATORY PRAYER
O Most Holy and
Blessed Trinity, through the intercession of Holy Mary, whose soul was pierced
through by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of her Divine Son, we
ask your help in making a perfect Novena of reparation with Jesus, united with
all His sorrows, love and total abandonment. 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.
Ninth Day
Psalm
51, 18-21.
For
in sacrifice you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse, my
sacrifice a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn. In
your goodness, show favor to Zion; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem Then you will
be pleased with lawful sacrifice, holocausts offered on your altar.
Sacred Face of our Lord and our God, what words can we do to express our
gratitude? How can we speak of our joy? That you have deigned to hear us, that
you have chosen to answer us in our hour of need. We say this because we know
that our prayers will be granted. We know that you, in your loving kindness,
listened to our pleading hearts, and will give, out of your fullness, the
answer to our problems. Mary, our Mother, thank you for your intercession on
our behalf. Saint Joseph, thank you for your prayers. Through the merits of your precious blood and your Holy Face, O Jesus, grant us our petition, Pardon and Mercy.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity
Most Holy Trinity, Godhead indivisible, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, our first beginning and our last end. Since you have made us after your own image and likeness, grant that all the thoughts of our minds, all the words of our tongues, all the affections of our hearts and all our actions may be always conformed to your most Holy Will, so that after having seen you here on earth in appearances and in a dark manner by the means of faith, we may come at last to contemplate you face to face, in the perfect possession of you forever in paradise. Amen.
Pray one (1) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary’s, (1) Glory Be.
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine. (Three times)
Seek
good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you. (Am. 5:14)
Daily
Devotions
·
Please pray for me and this ministry
Comments
Post a Comment