Ember Wednesday
ST.
JANUARIUS
Romans,
Chapter 16, Verse 19-20
19
For
while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to
be wise as to what is good, and simple as to what is evil; 20 then the God of peace
will quickly crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Not fear but
revere! This is Holy fear which
acknowledges, He that is, and that we exist in and through Him by the saving
grace of Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit. The opposite of revere is to
despise. There are many in our country and world who despise the Lord. How did this
come about? According to the US Army Leadership manual[1]
followers tend to ask two questions: 1)
Is the leader powerful? 2) Does he care about me?
To get to Holy fear we must know that God has power
(thus acting accordingly by following his commandments) and know that He cares
about us. To not do this we will fear, tolerate or despise our Lord but if we
acknowledge His power and His love we will have reverence and according to the
second part of this verse, “Glory will dwell in our land.”
When we know that in truth that God
does care about us and that He has real power over us we trust and respect Him
and are at peace!
Does He care about me?
|
|||
Does He
have power?
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
Trusted and Respected
|
Feared
|
||
No
|
Tolerated
|
Despised
|
|
The term “Ember Days” is derived from the
Latin term Quatuor Tempora,
which literally means “four times.” There are four sets of Ember Days each
calendar year; three days each – Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Ember Days
fall at the start of a new season and they are ordered as days of fast and
abstinence. The significance of the days of the week are that Wednesday was the
day Christ was betrayed, Friday was the day He was crucified, and Saturday was
the day He was entombed. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the purpose of Ember Days, “besides the general one intended
by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach
men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.”
The Four
Occurrences of Ember Days are as Follows:
·
Winter:
the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the Feast of St. Lucy.
·
Spring:
the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Ash Wednesday.
·
Summer:
the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Pentecost.
·
Fall:
the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the Feast of the Holy Cross.
Little is known about St. Januarius. He
was Bishop of Benevento in Campania. He died near Naples, about the year 305,
martyred under the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. Around the year 400 the
relics of St. Januarius were moved to Naples, which honors Januarius as a
patron saint. He supposedly protected Naples from a threatened eruption of the
volcano Mt. Vesuvius. The "miracle of Januarius" has world-wide fame.
At least three times a year—on his feast day, December 16 and the first Sunday
of May—the sealed vial with congealed blood of the saint liquifies, froths and
bubbles up. This miraculous event has occurred every year, with rare
exceptions. Popular tradition holds that the liquefaction is a sign that the
year will be preserved from disasters. (In 1939, the beginning of World War II,
the blood did not bubble up.)
Things
to Do:
·
Find
out more about this "miracle of Januarius", including pictures.
·
Have
an Italian dinner.
·
If
you live close to New York city you can participate in The Feast of San Gennaro celebrated in lower
Manhattan.
·
Read
more about St. Januarius at EWTN.
Saint
Raphael is one of the three archangels mentioned in the bible in the book of
Tobit. He is the angel of peace, health and joy. We should call upon his help
in conquering the devils influence and overcoming the flesh. He is the angel
sent by God to guide and guard, to heal and save. He is forever watchful, and
tender and helpful along with our own guardian angel. When tempted call upon
the help of Saint Raphael; he is more powerful than a ninja turtle.
On 3 August 1992 during the
morning prayers I received the following message from the Holy Angel Raphael.
The Holy Raphael spoke:
"Coming in the Name of my Lord and Master Jesus Christ, to bring you
the following message destined for all the youth of the earth.
I bring a special blessing from my Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus
Christ. His love goes out to them and all who are true to Him. He calls all
youth to unite into a large army at the helm my Master, the Lord Jesus Christ
and his beloved mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who together will lead them to
victory.
Therefore, everyone who joins this army shall carry with them a
medallion, with on one side hereof the image of my Lord and Master, dressed as
King, with in his left hand the sceptre and in the other hand the staff with
the cross. Thereby the following writing: “Christus Vincit, Christus regnat,
Christus imperat.” On the other side thereof must be the image of the mother of
my Master, with on her arm my Master, depicted as a child. In the hand of my
Master is the globe with above that the cross and the hand of the Blessed
Virgin. Hereby the three titles that belong to her: “Queen of Peace, Queen of
the Universe and Queen, Our Lady of All Peoples.”
This is your assignment: let these shields or medallions be made
according to the description given above. After that these shields or medals
must be blessed by a God-anointed. Spread them over all the earth. Of everyone
who joins this army, the following is expected: with conviction of faith, pray
the rosary every day and carry this rosary always with you. Attached to this
rosary shall be the above described shield or medallion, so that everyone knows
that my Master, the Lord Jesus Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary
stand behind them and protect them.
All who wish, can join this army under the same conditions, so that they
can form a mighty army together with the youth, and so call a halt to the
needless slaughter of the unborn children in the mother’s womb. They shall
avoid the places where sin is openly committed against purity, and also
occasions were Satanic music plays to
please their ears, because in this way is the message spread of hatred and
loveless behaviour. They shall divert their eyes from all immoral depictions of
the human body. All of you, join, and so stop the evil in this world.
Place this message for affirmation before the supreme shepherd of the
Church of my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, so that he can give his blessing to
this task. Urge also your near relatives to give their full support in
fulfilling this task.
Pax Domini sit semper
vobiscum.”
“Even though I walk through the darkest
valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort
me.”
-Ps 23:4
-Ps 23:4
"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."
55. 'Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God', said our Lord. Bread and word! Host and prayer. Otherwise,
you will not live a supernatural life.
[1]
Military Leadership, Field Manuel 22-100
[4] St. Michael and the Angels, Tan Books,
1983.
[6]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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