march 4 Carnival Monday
Psalm 15, Verse 1-5
1 LORD, who may
abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain? 2 Whoever
walks without blame, doing what is right, speaking truth from the
heart; 3 Who does not
slander with his tongue, does no harm to a friend, never defames a neighbor; 4
Who disdains the wicked, but
honors those who fear the LORD; Who
keeps an oath despite the cost, 5 lends no money at interest, [1] accepts no bribe against the innocent.
In life we are
always moving toward the future. Our destination is life eternal with our
creator. In our little sailboat of life, we tend to be either moving toward God
by taking advantage of His graces which provide the wind for our sails or we do
nothing but drift.
Napoleon Hill
noted in his manuscript on a book he never published entitled “Outwitting the
devil” stated drifting was one of the tools the devil uses to keep us off tack
and not sailing towards God’s mountain.
A Protection
against drifting lies within easy reach of every human being who has a normal
body and a sound mind. The self-defense can be applied through these simple
methods:
1.
Do your own thinking on all
occasions. The fact that human beings are given complete control over nothing
save the power to think their own thoughts is laden with significance.
2.
Decide definitely what you
want from life; then create a plan for attaining it and be willing to sacrifice
everything rather than accept permanent defeat.
3.
Analyze temporary defeat, no
matter of what nature or cause, and extract from it the seed of an equivalent
advantage.
4.
Be willing to render useful
service equivalent to the value of all material things you demand of life and
render the service first.
5.
Recognize that your brain is
a receiving set that can be attuned to receive communications from the
universal storehouse of Infinite Intelligence, to help you transmute your
desires into their physical equivalent.
6.
Recognize that your greatest
asset is time, the only thing except the power of thought which you own
outright, and the one thing which can be shaped into whatever material things
you want. Budget your time so none of it is wasted.
7.
Recognize the truth that
fear generally is a filler with which the Devil occupies the unused portion of
your mind. It is only a state of mind which you can control by filling the
space it occupies with faith in your ability to make life provide you with
whatever you demand of it.
8.
When you pray, do not beg!
Demand what you want and insist upon getting exactly that, with no substitutes.
9.
Recognize that life is a
cruel taskmaster and that either you master it or it masters you. There is no
half-way or compromising point. Never accept from life anything you do not
want. lf that which you do not want is temporarily forced upon you, you can
refuse, in your own mind, to accept it and it will make way for the thing you
do want.
10. Lastly, remember that your dominating thoughts
attract, through a definite law of nature, by the shortest and most convenient
route, their physical counterpart. Be careful what your thoughts dwell upon.
A simple formula combining
all the ten points:
Be definite in everything you do and
never leave unfinished thoughts in the mind. Form the habit of reaching definite
decisions on all subjects.
Can the habit of drifting be
broken, or does it become permanent once it has been fanned?
The habit can be broken if
the victim has enough willpower, providing it is done in time. There is a point
beyond which the habit can never be broken. Beyond that point the victim is
mine. He resembles a fly that has been caught in a spider’s web. He may
struggle, but he cannot get out. Each move he makes entangles him more
securely. The web in which I entangle my victims permanently is a law of nature
not yet isolated by, or understood by, men of science.
More from Kamil: KamilsView on YouTube and http://www.kamilsview.com/
You
can’t really understand Trinidad unless you come for Carnival, or mas (for
masquerade), as it’s locally known. Trinidad is a melting pot of West African,
East Indian, Chinese, South American, and European, which has influenced both
its music and Carnival itself. The country’s West African roots gave birth to
the steel pan (or steel drum, originally made from empty oil barrels), calypso
music, and its more recent souped-up version, soca (“soul-calypso”), which
makes this Carnival the loudest and wildest in all the Caribbean. It’s the
national obsession, with Port of Spain at its heart. Bands and masqueraders
begin their preparations a year in advance. Things start to hum after
Christmas, gradually building to a crescendo of rehearsals, concerts, open-air
fêtes, and calypso duels. The final 2-day explosion of color, music, and
unbridled excess officially kicks off at 4 A.M. on Carnival Monday with the “opening day” parade
called J’Ouvert (pronounced joo-VAY). Fueled by copious amounts of beer,
revelers covered in mud, grease, body paint, and chocolate form a mass of happy
humanity as they follow trucks blasting soca and “chip” (dance) until sunrise. Monday (“old mas”) continues with bands
and dancers along a 6-mile parade route. The glitter and glamorous costumes of
“pretty mas” are saved for Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), the day before Ash
Wednesday. Tens of thousands take to the streets in costume (often sequined
bikinis and feather headdresses), with groups as large as 3,000 in identical
costume following flatbed trucks carrying steel bands competing for the title
of “Masquerade Band of the Year.” Getups are at their most extravagant for the
Kings and Queens Costume Competition— some can weigh up to 200 pounds (and are
attached to wheels for mobility) and incorporate fog, fireworks, and other
special effects. “Pan” bands with as many as 100 musicians perform nonstop in a
riotous celebration of King Carnival.
NOVENA TO THE HOLY FACE
DAILY PREPARATORY PRAYER
We now implore all the Angels and Saints to intercede for us as we pray this Holy Novena to the Most Holy Face of Jesus and for the glory of the most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ninth Day
Psalm 51, 18-21.
For in sacrifice you take no
delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse, my sacrifice a contrite
spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn. In your goodness, show
favor to Zion; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem Then you will be pleased with
lawful sacrifice, holocausts offered on your altar.
Through the merits of your precious blood and your Holy Face, O Jesus, grant us our petition, Pardon and Mercy.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity
Most Holy Trinity, Godhead indivisible, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, our first beginning and our last end. Since you have made us after your own image and likeness, grant that all the thoughts of our minds, all the words of our tongues, all the affections of our hearts and all our actions may be always conformed to your most Holy Will, so that after having seen you here on earth in appearances and in a dark manner by the means of faith, we may come at last to contemplate you face to face, in the perfect possession of you forever in paradise. Amen.
Pray one (1) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary’s, (1) Glory Be.
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine. (Three times)
Know Your Commander and Comrades
Our Commander, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Conqueror of hell and death, calls us to battle alongside Him
against the Enemy so that we can have a share in His victory. To fight the good
fight, however, we must know not only our adversary and his strategies; we must
also know the comrades that our great Commander has given to us. Our comrades
in arms are our Lady and the Saints. Just as Eve’s yes to the Enemy’s
temptation brought death and the Devil’s domination into the world, so Mary’s
yes to God opened the door for the ultimate victory of her Son over Satan.
Whenever the Enemy’s assaults on us seem to multiply, we should call on Mary
not just as our Blessed Mother, but as a mighty warrior before whom the demons
tremble. St. Bonaventure once put it: “Men do not fear a powerful, hostile army
as much as the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary.” We also
have the aid of St. Michael and the Angels. “The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear Him and delivers them” (Ps 34: 7). We also have our
fellow Christians. We must not focus so much on heavenly warriors that we
forget our earthly comrades-in-arms. Our brother and sister soldiers in the
battles of this life need our support, and we need theirs. We should be praying
daily with them and for them, spiritual soldiers “vigilant in all perseverance
and supplication for all” our fellow combatants (Eph 6: 18). We should be
offering them encouragement and counsel when we find them weary or confused,
tempted by the Devil’s lies, accusations, doubts, enticements, and
provocations. Roman soldiers were taught to fight alongside comrades with their
backs toward one another. That way, as they battled the enemy, they were
protecting one another’s backs. One man’s sword was another man’s shield. If
they didn’t fight in this way, they were exposed to mortal danger. The same is
true in spiritual warfare. Wherever a fellow soldier is vulnerable to the
Enemy’s onslaught, we must make up the difference with the shield of our faith.
This is one important reason why Our Lord established the Church. His grace to
conquer the Enemy comes to us through her worship, her sacraments, and her
teaching.
"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."
Your particular examination should be directed towards the
acquisition of a definite virtue or the rooting out of your predominant defect.
Daily Devotions
·
Hike and Meditate on the Divine
Mercy Novena Day 6 and pray for the souls of the meek and humble and of
children especially those who are to be born.
[2]Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See
Before You Die
[3]Thigpen,
Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare. TAN Books.
[4]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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