Tuesday, July 24, 2018


1 Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 10
If Timothy comes, see that he is without fear in your company, for he is doing the work of the Lord just as I am.

Sometimes God chooses a person to do his work that is not a winner of the popularity contest. Timothy seems to be one of these. Even Christ Himself was disdained when only the 12 remained. Therefore, have courage if you are doing the work of the Lord and you are not winning everyone’s BFF.


National Tequila Day[1]

Another Hedonistic progressive holiday--Note: Humility and its source is where all goodness comes from; the Spirit of God, and not this spirit.

National Tequila Day is dedicated to recognizing Tequila, a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the blue agave plant and the main alcohol in a margarita.  Blue agave plants produce sugars such as fructose, which are ideal for preparing tequila.  The plant only grows in the rich and sandy soil of Jalisco, Mexico at altitudes of 1,500 meters.

To make tequila, the heart or piña of the plant is removed when the plant is approximately 12 years old and weighs around 40-90kg.  The heart is then heated to extract sap which is fermented and distilled into tequila.  According to history, the Aztecs created fermented beverages from the agave plant prior to arrival of Spaniards in 1521.  The origins of National Tequila Day are not well understood; however, it appears that National Tequila Day began to emerge around the late 1990s. This holiday is celebrated every year on July 24.

National Tequila Day Facts & Quotes
·         During prohibition, tequila became more popular because smuggling liquor into the country was easiest from Mexico.
·         Hollywood celebrities have ventured into the tequila industry.  Here are some celebrities who have created their own tequila brands:
Justin Timberlake: 901 Silver Tequila
Carlos Santana: Casa Noble Tequila (Sold ownership in 2014)
Vince Neil: Tres Rios Tequila
Sammy Hagar: Cabo Wabo Tequila
George Clooney: Casamigos Tequila
·         According to Guinness World Records, the most expensive bottle of tequila was worth $225,000 in 2006.  The Platinum & White Gold Tequila bottle was sold by Tequila Ley .925 to a private collector.  The tequila was harvested from 100% blue agave plants that had been aged 6 years.
·         As per the Official Mexican Standard for Tequila (NOM-006-SCFI-2005), the alcohol content of tequila ranges from 35-55%.
·         As per the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (Tequila Regulatory Council), Mexico produced 118.9 million liters of 100% pure agave tequila, of which 77.9 million liters were exported.
·         I wanted to do my part to help preserve that golden age of travel… I step aboard the Patron Tequila Express railcar, and I go back in time to the days when a long journey was something fun and very special. - Billionaire John Paul DeJoria, Owner of the Patron Spirits Company
National Tequila Day Top Events and Things to Do
·         Try the World's Best Tequila.  Winner of the World's Best Tequila Award 2015, 1800 Anejo is produced by La Rojena.
·         Attend a tequila festival.  Here are some popular ones to consider:
1) Day of the Dead Tequila Festival
2) South Florida Tequila Festival
3) Northwest Tequila Fest
4) Texas Tequila and Margarita Festival
·         Tour tequila distilleries along the tequila trail in Jalisco, Mexico. The distilleries offer insight into the production process and offer ample opportunity to sample a variety of tequilas.
·         Try different categories of tequila.  These include:
1) Blanco (white) tequila which is unaged or has been aged for less than two months.
2) Joven (gold) tequila which is unaged silver tequila that is flavored with either caramel coloring or sugar-derived syrups, etc.
3) Resposado tequila which has been aged for a minimum of two months but less than 1 year in oak barrels.
4) Anejo tequila which has been aged for at least 1 year, but less than 3 years in oak barrels.
5) Extra Anejo tequila which has been aged for at least 3 years.
·         Try a tequila twist in your favorite recipes.  Many recipes can be infused with tequila, for example:
1) Citrus and tequila infused cupcakes.  Add some citrus zest and sprinkles of tequila to the cupcake frosting.
2) Tequila glazed chicken.  Just add a few spoons of tequila to your favorite chicken glaze recipe.
3) Barbecued tequila and lime pork spareribs.  Add lime and tequila to an overnight sparerib marinade.

Today is my millennial daughter Nicole Patience’s (Victorious Patience) birthday; hopefully she is eating cake and not slamming shots! I ask your prayers.

"Vaya con Dios, mi amor"


Marriage: The Gift of Love and Life[2]

C.S. Lewis once wisely observed: “When everyone is rushing headlong towards the precipice, anyone going in the opposite direction would appear to be mad.” In July of 1968, the world at large thought Pope Paul VI had lost his mind. For in that month he issued his long-awaited encyclical Humanae Vitae, which reiterated the Church’s ageold ban on every form of contraception. A tidal wave of angry dissent erupted over the pope’s decision. Catholic and non-Catholic alike berated “the celibate old man in the Vatican” for hindering the Church’s full entry into the modern era. As we approach the fortieth anniversary of that historic document, I wish to emphasize its importance for our times.  As a backdrop for my remarks, I would like to place it in the context of its time. In the same year that Pope Paul issued Humanae Vitae, another Paul—Paul Ehrlich— published a book entitled, The Population Bomb. In that 1968 bestseller, Ehrlich made some stark predictions. For example: 
·         “The battle to feed humanity is over.  In the 1970s the world will undergo famines …hundreds of millions of people (including Americans) are going to starve to death…”  Fact: Food production worldwide is well ahead of population growth, and obesity now kills 300,000 Americans a year.
·         “India couldn’t possibly feed two hundred million more people by 1980.”  Fact: Since 1968 India has doubled its population by half a billion and is still self-sufficient in food.
·         Comparing population explosion to a cancerous tumor, Ehrlich prescribed “cutting out the cancer [too many people]” as the only remedy to save humanity. Fact: Today Europe is dying, with most countries fluctuating around the 60% replacement level.    

Against this foreboding background, the reaction to Pope Paul’s encyclical came as no surprise, even though it only restated what the Church has taught for 2,000 years. Namely:

“There is an inseparable link between the two meanings of the marriage act: the unitive meaning [making love] and the procreative meaning [making babies].  This connection was established by God himself, and man is not permitted to break it on his own initiative.” (H.V, no. 12)      In Deuteronomy 18:21 we learn how to tell an authentic prophet from a false one: Has the prophecy materialized or not? Judged by that benchmark, Paul Ehrlich is a false prophet.  What about Paul VI?
Pope Paul predicted four dire consequences if the use of contraception escalated:
1) increased marital infidelity;
2) a general lowering of morality, especially among the young;
3) husbands viewing their wives as mere sex objects; and
4) governments forcing massive birth control programs on their people.

Forty years later the moral landscape is strewn with the following stark reality:

1) The divorce rate has more than tripled. 
2) Sexually transmitted diseases have increased from six to fifty.
3) Pornography—especially on the Internet—is a plague, addicting millions annually. 
4) Sterilization is forced on women in third world countries, with China’s one-child policy in the vanguard.

In the waning years of his life, St. Augustine wrote his mammoth work, The City of God. According to Augustine, the whole world is comprised of two communities: The City of God and the City of Man. Citizens of each city are determined not by one’s birthplace or residence, but rather by the object of one’s love: placing the love of God above self, or the love of self above God. The two cities are still with us. Paul Ehrlich and Paul VI could well serve as icons of each city. In one case, death and darkness prevail—in the other, life and light. Death or life? The choice is ours!  

Novena of St. Ann[3]

Daily Prayer to Saint Ann

O glorious St. Ann, you are filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer! Heavily burdened with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present intention which I recommend to you in your special care.

Please recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and place it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted. But, above all, obtain for me the grace one day to see my God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints to praise and bless Him for all eternity. Amen.

Our Father, . . . Hail Mary . . .

O Jesus, Holy Mary, St. Ann, help me now and at the hour of my death. Good St. Ann, intercede for me.

EIGHTH DAY

Hail, St. Ann! I rejoice at your exalted glory. You gave birth to Mary, whose divine Son brought salvation to our lost world by conquering death and restoring life and hope to sinners. Pray to Him who, for love of us, clothed Himself with human flesh in the chaste womb of your daughter.

Glorious St. Ann, with your blessed daughter, deliver me from everything that is displeasing in the sight of God. Pray to your gentle and powerful Grandson that He may cleanse my soul in His precious blood, that He may send His Holy Spirit to enlighten and direct me in all that I do, always obedient to His holy inspirations.

Good mother keep a watchful eye on me. Help me bear all my crosses. Give me the fullness of your bounty and sustain me with courage.

The Way[4]

"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."

29.  You are too calculating. Don't tell me you are young. Youth gives all it can: it gives itself without reserve.

Daily Devotions
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood
·         Please pray for me and this ministry
·         Please Pray for Senator McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to intercede.
·         Peace Through Strength

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