RUM DAY
Hebrews, Chapter 13,
Verse 6
Thus we may say with
confidence: “The Lord is my helper, [and] I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”
Most of us at times have a lack of confidence. Unlike
the Fonz on “Happy Days” we just lack that childlike confidence that we can do
it all. Yet, in reality we can be much more like the Fonz when we know that the
Lord has our back and we respond by living a moral and upright life giving Him True
and laudable service as we run to attain the eternal promises.
1. Falsehood and deceit.
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2482
"A lie consists
in speaking a falsehood with the
intention of deceiving." The Lord denounces lying as the work of the
devil: "You are of your father the devil, . . . there is no
truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a
liar and the father of lies."
- 1809 Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction
of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures
the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of
what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites
toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not
follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of
your heart." Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament:
"Do not follow your base desires but restrain your appetites."
In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or
"sobriety." We ought "to live sober, upright, and godly
lives in this world."
To live well is
nothing other than to love God with all one's heart, with all one's soul and
with all one's efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and
uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is
fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in
discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).
2. Exploitation of the land.
- 2405 Goods of
production - material or immaterial - such as land, factories, practical
or artistic skills, oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that
will benefit the greatest number. Those who hold goods for use and
consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for
guests, for the sick and the poor.
3. Lust and Adultery.
- 2351
Lust
is
disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual
pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its
procreative and unitive purposes.
- 2380
Adultery
refers
to marital infidelity. When two partners, of whom at least one is married
to another party, have sexual relations - even transient ones - they
commit adultery. Christ condemns even adultery of mere desire. The sixth
commandment and the New Testament forbid adultery absolutely. The prophets
denounce the gravity of adultery; they see it as an image of the sin of
idolatry.
4. Rights of servants (We are all made
in the image of God)
- 2238 Those
subject to authority should regard those in authority as representatives
of God, who has made them stewards of his gifts: "Be subject for the
Lord's sake to every human institution. . . . Live as free men,
yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants
of God." Their loyal collaboration includes the right, and at times
the duty, to voice their just criticisms of that which seems harmful to
the dignity of persons and to the good of the community.
5. Hardness toward the poor and needy.
- 2444 "The
Church's love for the poor. . . is a part of her constant
tradition." This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of
the poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor. Love for the poor
is even one of the motives for the duty of working so as to "be able
to give to those in need." It extends not only to material poverty
but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty.
6. Idolatry. Social injustice is the
reverse side of idolatry.
- 2317 Injustice,
excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride
raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars.
Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes to building up peace
and avoiding war:
Insofar as men are
sinners, the threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until Christ
comes again; but insofar as they can vanquish sin by coming together in
charity, violence itself will be vanquished and these words will be fulfilled:
"they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more."
7. Hatred of enemies. Don’t curse.
Repay evil with good.
- 1933
This
same duty extends to those who think or act differently from us. The
teaching of Christ goes so far as to require the forgiveness of offenses.
He extends the commandment of love, which is that of the New Law, to all
enemies. Liberation in the spirit of the Gospel is incompatible with
hatred of one's enemy as a person, but not with hatred of the evil that he
does as an enemy.
8. Hospitality. In ancient society
without police you have a duty to protect and help.
- 1971 To the
Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of
the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians
12-13, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc. This doctrine
hands on the Lord's teaching with the authority of the apostles,
particularly in the presentation of the virtues that flow from faith in
Christ and are animated by charity, the principal gift of the Holy Spirit.
"Let charity be genuine. . . . Love one another with
brotherly affection. . . . Rejoice in your hope, be patient in
tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints,
practice hospitality." This catechesis also teaches us to deal with
cases of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the
Church.
9. Hypocrisy. Integrity between mind,
body and actions.
- 2468
Truth
as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness,
sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists
in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding
against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.
“The only way that I could figure they
could improve upon Coca-Cola, one of life’s most delightful elixirs, which
studies prove will heal the sick and occasionally raise the dead, is to put rum
or bourbon in it.” ~ Lewis Grizzard
Rum is a fantastic drink, one that has
served as the stuff of legends for pirates of every walk of life. Rum also
appears in everything from dinners to desserts, with rum balls being one of our
particular favorites. Of course, as the great Lewis Grizzard said, it also is
an amazing mixer, and one of the only ones capable of improving Coca-Cola. So,
we all know that pirates like rum and that rum is an alcoholic beverage but
many of us are less than clear on what, exactly, makes rum RUM. Let’s start
with the basics, shall we? Rum is a distilled alcohol, specifically distilled
from byproducts of sugarcane. Some varieties are made from molasses, others
from sugarcane juice but all rum, when its finished being distilled, is clear.
The color you see in rum is from additives or seasonings and are not in any way
a bad thing. Rum first was created in the Caribbean after it was discovered
that molasses could be fermented into alcohol. Ironically, it was the slaves
who made this discovery, but it was the Colonials who discovered how to distil
it into true rum. So important did rum become in the years to follow that it
played a major role in the political system of the colonies. How? By being
offered as a bribe to those the candidates wished to curry favor with. The
people thus coerced were no fools, however. They would attend multiple hustings
to determine which of their patrons might provide them with the largest
quantity of rum. Thus, it can be fairly said that rum was of such note that it
literally decided elections.
How to Celebrate Rum Day
Yo ho ho matey! The best way to celebrate
Rum Day is to indulge in this most ignoble and distinguished of drinks. A
contradiction? Not at all! Rum has long had a reputation for being the devil’s
drink by dint of the ease of production, the delicious flavor, and the powerful
kick it carried. Rum Day is your opportunity to sample as many varieties as you
like and decide which one will be coming aboard your vessel for the next
pillage.
Being
a pirate does not lead to an upright life and often results in getting a wooden
stump for a leg or parrot shit on your shoulder or one hell of a hangover-be
cautious with rum!
"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."
40. That critical spirit — I admit that there are no unworthy motives
behind it — should not be exercised upon your apostolate, nor upon your
brothers. I will speak plainly: that critical spirit is a great hindrance to
the supernatural undertaking in which you are all engaged, for while you
examine the work of the others — with the highest possible motives, I admit —
without there being any reason why you should do so, you are not doing anything
constructive, and furthermore by being negative you are holding up the progress
of all. 'Then', you ask uneasily, 'that critical spirit which is the keynote my
character...?' Listen, I'll set your mind at ease. Take a pen and a sheet of
paper. Write down simply and frankly — ah! and briefly — what is worrying you,
hand the note to the person in charge, and think no more about it. He has the
grace of state. He will file the note or he will throw it into the waste-paper
basket. And, since the motives behind your criticism are not unworthy, since
they are of the highest, it is all the same to you.
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Please
Pray for Senator
McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to
intercede.
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