MAY 9 Rogation
Wednesday
Malachi, Chapter 3, verse 16
16 Then those who fear the LORD spoke with one
another, and the LORD listened attentively; a record book was written before
him of those who fear the LORD and esteem his name.
The
people during the time of the prophet Malachi were perplexed. Why is it that
evildoers prosper and even mock God and escape? The prophet is reassuring those
who loved the Lord that nothing escapes God and if we have Holy fear and
love the Lord we will be taken care of.
Many
of the behaviors of evil people lead directly to success; the biggest liar and
manipulator on the sales team will usually be the top salesperson, for example.
The evil person develops skill in seeing how to get the optimal outcome in
every situation, and is willing to take whatever the actions are to get that
most desirable outcome… which is why they so often get there. These people are
NOT being blessed, they are reaping the “rewards” of their evil in the same way
that a child cheating on a test gets a higher score… this is NOT the work of
God, as He NEVER rewards evil.[1]
No we should not envy
evil doers for whatever they gain it is never enough. Nor do they find peace in
their hearts for their needs are never satisfied nor their thirst for more ever
quenched.
According
to the author Michael H. Brown[2]
we are in the midst of a war between the forces of good and evil and right now
it may seem that they are winning the battle, but they have already lost the
war-the war for our souls; which Christ purchase with his death on the
cross. Hallelujah!
Today
would be a good day to reflect on what we want to harvest this fall; so like
farmers we must till the soil of our soul reflecting this day on our use of our
TREASURE (yes money/tithe) and look at in what ways we may offer our money to
Christ to help build a harvest for His Kingdom. It has been said that money is
the root of all evil. Yet, this is not exactly true for the real root of all
evil is not money but the LOVE of money. Those who fear the Lord know
that money is a gift from God. It is not to be buried but sown. This is the
correction that God wishes us to accept. We are all sowers and we are to spread
the seeds or gifts that God gives us out. Does God need a tithe from us? Or
Does God need our hearts free from the love of money? Do not make my house a
marketplace. For love of money or the lust for money is what corrupts men not
the money itself.
Pastoral
Letter by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops
November 15, 1968
November 15, 1968
At
this tense moment in our history, when external wars and internal violence make
us so conscious of death, an affirmation of the sanctity of human life by
renewed attention to the family is imperative. Let society always be on the
side of life. Let it never dictate, directly or indirectly, recourse to the
prevention of life or to its destruction in any of its phases; neither let it
require as a condition of economic assistance that any family yield
conscientious determination of the number of its children to the decision of
persons or agencies outside the family. Stepped-up pressures for moral and
legal acceptance of directly procured abortion make necessary pointed reference
to this threat to the right to life. Reverence for life demands freedom from
direct interruption of life once it is conceived. Conception initiates a
process whose purpose is the realization of human personality. A human person,
nothing more and nothing less, is always at issue once conception has taken
place. We expressly repudiate any contradictory suggestion as contrary to
Judaeo-Christian traditions inspired by love for life, and Anglo-Saxon legal
traditions protective of life and the person. Abortion brings to an end with
irreversible finality both the existence and the destiny of the developing
human person. Conscious of the inviolability of life, the Second Vatican
Council teaches: God, the Lord of life, has conferred on man the surpassing
ministry of safeguarding life, a ministry which must be fulfilled in a manner
that is worthy of man. Therefore, from the moment of its conception life must
be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are
unspeakable crimes (Gaudium et Spes, 51). The judgment of the Church on the
evil of terminating life derives from the Christian awareness that men are not
the masters but the ministers of life. Hence, the Council declares: Whatever is
opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion,
euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the
human person...all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed.
They poison human society but they do more harm to those who practice them than
those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the
Creator" (Gaudium et Spes, 27).
Daily Devotions
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Please
pray for me and this ministry
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