march 9
Jeremiah,
Chapter 5, Verse 22-24
22 Should you not fear me—oracle of the
LORD—should you not tremble before me? I made the sandy shore the sea’s limit,
which by eternal decree it may not overstep. Toss though it may, it is to no
avail; though its billows roar, they cannot overstep.
23
But this people’s heart is
stubborn and rebellious; they turn and go away, 24 and do not say in their hearts, “Let us fear
the LORD, our God, Who gives us rain early and late, in its time; who watches
for us over the appointed weeks of harvest.”
This stubborn and rebellious nature of people is
what led to Christ’s death on the cross. His death was the fulfillment of the
proclaiming of God’s name to all the peoples of the world; for over His head
was placed a notice: King of the Jews.
It is thought-provoking to contemplate that Pilates
notice was printed in three languages Hebrew, Latin and Greek. These three
cultures in a sense represented the characteristics of God. The Hebrew’s were
Gods people and represented the good
of man and brought the idea that the person was created by God and is more
valuable than the universe. Latin the language of the Romans brought the idea
that truth is the highest value and
the Greeks culture brought the idea of beauty
being the greatest value. In Christ’s death is represented all three values.
That a good God died for man; true to the end; and His shame was turned by love
to beauty.
The Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, also
represent these three values Michael the truth that angels and men are willing
to fight for; Raphael the good and Gabriel the beauty. On further reflection I
can see these same three attributes reflected the preamble of the US
constitution: Life (good); Liberty (truth); and pursuit of happiness (beauty).
We can also recognize that the Name of God which is
goodness; truth and beauty is feared
by evil men and women when they are inspired by Satan and the demons to take
away our life, liberty or our pursuit of happiness.
Surely,
it is time for Christians to "rise from sleep," and to offer vigorous
resistance to the enemies of salvation. The weapons in this conflict are not
the arms of civil warfare, but the spiritual weapons of prayer and penance,
increased fidelity to the Commandments of God, and frequent reception of the
Sacraments. And surely we can choose no better leader in this conflict than the
powerful captain who led the faithful Angels to victory. Let us, then, with
confident trust, invoke the aid and the protection of this mighty Archangel
whose shield bears the inscription: "Michael-Quis ut Deus-Who is like unto
God?"[1]
Part
and parcel of the breakdown of a family begins when the family no longer shares
a communal meal. The strongest families are those who meet daily for the
breaking of the bread and have an established time of the day when everyone is
expected to eat together whether that meal is a breakfast, lunch or supper.
When we “say grace” before (or after) our meals, we transform our family or
lone meals into “sacraments” of God’s banquet. A meal shared in this manner is
shared with God himself. In this way every meal, then, is a celebration of
God’s creation and his providence.
Traditional
Grace before meals
“Bless
us, O Lord, and these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy
bounty. Through Christ, our Lord, Amen
The weapon of Sacred Scripture
·
Each
time the Devil attacked with the temptation to doubt or disobey God, Jesus
quoted Scripture to throw him back.
·
Scripture
is our sword against Satan!
·
We
must listen carefully to the scriptural readings in Mass and meditate on them
deeply.
·
We
must read Scripture on our own.
·
We
must also memorize scriptural texts that we can use against temptation. Then,
when the Enemy assaults us, we can imitate Our Lord by the effective
counter assault of quoting the word of God.
31“When the Son of
Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his
glorious throne,32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he
will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats.33 He will place the sheep on his
right and the goats on his left.34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are
blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world.35 For
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a
stranger and you welcomed me,36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and
you visited me.’37 Then the
righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and
clothe you? 39 When
did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say
to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for
me.’41 Then
he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.42 For
I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no
clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’44 Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not
minister to your needs?’45 He will answer
them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you
did not do for me.’46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life.”
Daily Devotions
·
Manhood of
the Master-Day 6 week 6
·
Do
30 min. in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
[2] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 14. Grace at Meals.
[3]Thigpen,
Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare. TAN Books.
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