Isaiah,
chapter 35, verse 3-4
3 Strengthen hands that are feeble, make firm knees
that are weak, 4
Say to the fearful of
heart: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God, he comes with
vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you.
Isaiah in this chapter is
proclaiming the deliverance of Israel specifically but upon examining the
wording in this verse it is referring to the day of our death. On that day our
hands will be feeble but our hearts must remain strong. Will you be vindicated
and what recompense will be due you. Honestly few will be due recompense but
our Lords love is such that he wishes to save us at this final hour with the
sacrament which was formerly called the “Last Rites”.
1524 In addition to
the Anointing of the Sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this
life the Eucharist as viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ,
received at this moment of "passing over" to the Father, has a
particular significance and importance. It is the seed of eternal life and the
power of resurrection, according to the words of the Lord: "He who eats my
flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day." The sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is
here the sacrament of passing over from death to life, from this world to the
Father.
1525 Thus, just as
the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist form a unity called
"the sacraments of Christian initiation," so too it can be said that
Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at
the end of Christian life "the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly
homeland" or the sacraments that complete the earthly pilgrimage.
Such is the Love of our Lord that
we should be delivered. His love is such that by receiving our Lord in the
viaticum he delivers us to the Father saying here is blood of my blood and He
transfers His recompense; His vindication to us. There is no greater love then
this!
The
Last Blessing
Let us pray.
Most gracious God, Father of mercies and God of all consolation, Thou wish none
to perish that believes and hopes in Thee, according to Thy many mercies look
down favourably upon Thy servant (handmaid) N.____ whom true faith and
Christian hope commend to Thee. Visit him (her) in Thy saving mercy, and by the
passion and death of Thy only-begotten Son, graciously grant to him (her)
forgiveness and pardon of all his (her) sins that his (her) soul in the hour of
its leaving the earth may find Thee as a Judge appeased, and being washed from
all stain in the Blood of Thy same Son may deserve to pass to everlasting life.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me
to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost…to labor and not
to ask for reward, except to know that I am doing your will. (Saint Ignatius,
Prayer for Generosity)
Lord, let me not fear death with an empty fear, but with a wise and holy fear. An empty fear does not make men any better, but a wise and holy fear urges them to improve their
lives. I will prepare for death by trying today to please you more and more in
my thoughts, desires, words and actions. If I live this day as You desire, I
shall be ready at any moment, and death will be nothing worse than Your loving
call. Amen[1]
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom
should I be afraid? (Ps. 27:1)
Darkness and Forbidden Knowledge
·
"Do not go to mediums or consult fortune
tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the Lord, am your God" (Lev.
19:31).
·
"Should anyone turn to mediums and fortune
tellers and follow their wanton ways, I will turn against such a one and cut
him off from his people" (Lev. 20:6).
Astrology, Horoscopes, Pagan Customs
·
Fortune tellers try to predict the future
through the use of occult, magic, or superstition. It is forbidden to seek
knowledge of the future by using playing cards, tarot cards, the crystal ball,
the study of the hand, the stars, examining the liver of dead animals, shooting
arrows, the Ouija board, or any other superstitious means.
·
A medium is a person who has immediate or secret
knowledge either by some questionable power of his own or through the power of
an evil spirit that works through him. In l Samuel chapter 3, read how King
Saul consulted a medium and died the next day. I Chronicles 10:13 says that
Saul died because of this.
·
Jeremiah 10:2--"Thus says the Lord: Learn not
the customs of the pagans and have no fear of the signs of the heavens, though
the pagans fear them." By studying the stars and planets an astrologer
casts a horoscope on the basis of the month and the day of an individual's
birth. The horoscope is a prediction of events likely to occur in a person's
life based upon the movement of the stars and planets. Even though millions of
people follow horoscopes with greater or lesser interest, this is still a type
of fortune telling. Even if you say you do not believe in horoscopes, and only
read your own for fun, you should abandon this practice. The daily horoscope
can easily influence us from time to time. It is a way in which we open
ourselves to the occult.
·
If you want to live in the Kingdom of God,
renounce horoscopes and all other means of fortune telling. Any playing cards,
Ouija boards, or other things used for fortune telling should be destroyed.
Daily
Devotions
·
Please pray for me and this ministry
- http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/february-15.cfm
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