First Saturday
Acts, Chapter 10, verse 1-4
1 Now
in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Cohort called
the Italica, 2 devout and God-fearing along with his
whole household, who used to give alms generously to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, he saw plainly in a vision an angel
of God come in to him and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 He looked intently at him and, seized with fear, said, “What is
it, sir?” He said to him, “Your prayers and almsgiving have ascended as a
memorial offering before God.
Cornelius’
Cohort was an auxiliary unit of archers, men who are expert at hitting a mark
or target.
Sin is the act of
violating God's will. Sin can also be viewed as anything that
violates the ideal relationship between an individual and God; or as any
diversion from the ideal order for human living. To sin has been defined as
"to miss the mark" to have a hardened
heart, a loss of love for God, a disposition of the heart to depart from God
because of inordinate self-love
Cornelius
walked with God because he lived the Shema Israel. Every day, every action
of his was metaphorically target practice aiming to love God as he understood
Him with his whole heart, mind, soul and strength. Cornelius exemplifies the
proper attitude toward wealth and was completely occupied with good deeds and
almsgiving.
Cornelius
was a non-Jew who would have been regarded as a righteous gentile and is
assured a place in the world to come if he knowingly or even unknowingly
followed the seven Noahide laws[1]
as traditionally enumerated which are:
1.
Do not deny God.
2.
Do not blaspheme
God.
3.
Do not murder.
4.
Do not engage in
incestuous, adulterous or homosexual relationships.
5.
Do not steal.
6.
Do not eat of a
live animal.
7.
Establish
courts/legal system to ensure law and obedience.
Near indeed is his
salvation for those who fear him; glory will dwell in our land.
1. Confession: This confession can be
made before the First Saturday or afterward, provided that Holy Communion be
received in the state of grace. In 1926, Christ in a vision explained to Lucia
(Fatima) that this confession could be made a week before or even more, and
that it should be offered in reparation.
2. Holy Communion: Before receiving
Holy Communion, it is likewise necessary to offer it in reparation to Our Lady.
Our Lord told Lucia in 1930, “This Communion will be accepted on the following
Sunday for just reasons, if my priests allow it so.” So if work or school,
sickness, or another just reason prevents the Communion on a First Saturday,
with this permission it may be received the following Sunday. If Communion is
transferred, any or all of the other acts of the devotion may also be performed
on Sunday if the person so desires.
3. Rosary: The Rosary is a vocal
prayer said while meditating upon the mysteries of Our Lord’s life and Passion and Our Lady’s life. To comply
with the request of our Blessed Mother, it must be offered in reparation and
said properly while meditating.
4. 15-minute meditation: Also offered
in reparation, the meditation may embrace one or more mysteries; it may include
all, taken together or separately. This meditation should be the richest of any
meditation, because Our Lady promised to be present when she said “...those who
keep me company....”
This devotion is so necessary in our days
The
culture of vice and sin remains unabated even as one reads this. Abortion,
blasphemy, drug abuse, pornography, divorce and bad marriages, religious
indifference, the advances of the homosexual agenda and others are just some of
society’s many plagues that cut deeply into the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We
must console Our Lady amidst all these insults and injuries to her and her
Divine Son. She asks for reparation, she pleads for our prayers, she hopes for
our amendment of life. Let us listen to her maternal pleas and atone for the
ingratitude of men. The First Five Saturdays devotion stimulates the spirit of
reparation; it instills a tender love for the Holy Sacraments of Confession and
the Blessed Eucharist. It nurtures a holy affection for the Immaculate Heart of
Mary and the Rosary. Above all, it is an excellent means to maintain one in the
state of grace while immersed in the daily spiritual battles and prosaic
existence in the neo-pagan world that we live in. Let us not delay in observing
this devotion for it too gives us hope for eternal salvation.
Papal Teaching
·
Responsibility
likewise falls on the legislators who have promoted and approved abortion laws,
and, to the extent that they have a say in the matter, on the administrators of
the health-care centers where abortions are performed. ... In this sense abortion
goes beyond the responsibility of individuals and beyond the harm done to them
and takes on a distinctly social dimension. It is a most serious wound
inflicted on society and its culture by the very people who ought to be
society's promoters and defenders.
·
When
a parliamentary or social majority decrees that it is legal, at least under
certain conditions, to kill unborn human life, is it not really making a
'tyrannical' decision with regard to the weakest and most defenseless of human
beings?....While public authority can sometimes choose not to put a stop to
something which – were it prohibited – would cause more serious harm, it can
never presume to legitimize as a right of individuals – even if they are the
majority of the members of society – an offense against other persons caused by
the disregard of so fundamental a right as the right to life.
·
Laws
which legitimize the direct killing of innocent human beings through abortion
or euthanasia are in complete opposition to the inviolable right to life proper
to every individual; they thus deny the equality of everyone before the law.
·
Utilitarianism
is a civilization of production and of use, a civilization of
"things" and not of "persons", a civilization in which
persons are used in the same way as things are used. In the context of a
civilization of use, woman can become an object for man, children a hindrance
to parents, the family an institution obstructing the freedom of its members.
To be convinced that this is the case, one need only look at certain sexual
education programmes introduced into the schools, often notwithstanding the
disagreement and even the protests of many parents; or pro-abortion tendencies
which vainly try to hide behind the so-called "right to choose"
("pro-choice") on the part of both spouses, and in particular on the
part of the woman.
·
On
"social sin": Also social is every sin against the rights of the
human person, beginning with the right to life and including the life of the
unborn or against a person's physical integrity...The term social can be
applied to sins of commission or omission-on the part of political, economic or
trade union leaders, who though in a position to do so, do not work diligently
and wisely for the improvement and transformation of society according to the
requirements and potential of the given historic moment...Whenever the church
speaks of situations of sin or when the condemns as social sins certain
situations or the collective behavior of certain social groups, big or small,
or even of whole nations and blocs of nations, she knows and she proclaims that
such cases of social sin are the result of the accumulation and concentration
of many personal sins. It is a case of the very personal sins of those who
cause or support evil or who exploit it; of those who are in a position to
avoid, eliminate or at least limit certain social evils but who fail to do so
out of laziness, fear or the conspiracy of silence, through secret complicity
or indifference; of those who take refuge in the supposed impossibility of
changing the world and also of those who sidestep the effort and sacrifice
required, producing specious reasons of a higher order. The real
responsibility, then, lies with individuals.
National Chocolate Day celebrates chocolate and promotes its health benefits. Chocolate is a confection made from cacao seeds, which grow on cacao trees in the tropics. Seeds are removed from their pods and then dried, roasted and ground into cocoa powder or paste, which is then mixed with other ingredients such as butters, oils, sweeteners, milk and flour to produce chocolate. Chocolate is a staple in the American diet, with sales of over 21 billion dollars in 2014. National Chocolate Day is not an official celebration however, it was created by the National Confectioners Association. According to the Association's webpage, there are actually 3 National Chocolate Days throughout the year, on July 7th, October 28th and December 28th.
National Chocolate Day Facts &
Quotes
·
There
are approximately 1.5 million cocoa farms in West Africa, producing nearly 70%
of the world's cocoa.
·
Cote
D'Ivoire, a country in West Africa, produces the most cocoa. The small nation
supplies nearly 40% of the world's cocoa.
·
It
takes between 2 and 4 days to make one chocolate bar.
·
All
you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. -
·
My
momma always said, life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what
you're gonna get. - Forrest Gump
National Chocolate
Day Top Events and Things to Do
·
Watch
a movie about chocolate or a documentary about chocolate. Our favorites are: The
Dark Side of Chocolate, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Nothing
Like Chocolate and Coca-nomics.
·
Try
a healthy recipe to make your favorite chocolate bar at home. Chocolate bars sold
on the shelves are full of artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils, preservatives
and tons of added sugars. Try recipes that offer alternatives such as gluten
free flours or cookies, unsweetened coconut flakes or dark chocolate dips.
·
Attend
a chocolate and wine pairing to learn more about how to bring out the best
chocolates for which occasion.
·
Ride
the free chocolate tour at the one of the largest chocolate factories in the
world located in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Take a moment and shop at Hershey's
Chocolate World and visit HersheyPark to ride the roller coasters.
·
Try
a new variety of chocolate. Milk, dark, white, or sweet chocolate are some of
the more popular varieties sold. In addition, you can purchase those chocolate
varieties with an infinite number of toppings or fillings.
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
11. Get
rid of those useless thoughts which, at best, are but a waste of time.
SCUD Day
stands for Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama Day, and encourages those
of us whose lives might have a touch too much drama to step back, relax, and
enjoy the funnier side of life. Relaxation and humour are good for your
physical and mental wellbeing, so turn the drama down a notch and enjoy a good
laugh instead. #ScudDay
Daily Devotions
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
·
Please
Pray for Senator
McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to
intercede.
[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Laws_of_Noah#Ger_toshav_.28resident_alien.29
[3]www.usccb.org
[5]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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