Thursday first week of Lent
PI DAY
Deuteronomy,
Chapter 28, Verse 10
All
the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the LORD is proclaimed over
you, and they will be afraid of you.
Christ death on the cross was the fulfillment of the
proclaiming of God’s name to all the peoples of the world; for over His head
was placed a notice: King of the Jews.
It is thought-provoking to contemplate that Pilate’s
notice was printed in three languages Hebrew, Latin and Greek. These three
cultures in a sense represented the characteristics of God. The Hebrew’s were
Gods people and represented the good
of man and brought the idea that the person was created by God and is more
valuable than the universe. Latin the language of the Romans brought the idea
that truth is the
highest value and the Greeks culture brought the idea of beauty being the greatest value. In Christ’s death is
represented all three values. That a good God died for man; true to the end;
and His shame was turned by love to beauty.
The Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, also
represent these three values Michael the truth that angels and men are willing
to fight for; Raphael the good and Gabriel the beauty. On further reflection I
can see these same three attributes reflected in the preamble of the US
constitution: Life (good); Liberty (truth); and pursuit of happiness (beauty).
We can also recognize that the Name of God which is
goodness; truth and beauty is feared
by evil men and women when they are inspired by Satan and the demons to take
away our life, liberty or our pursuit of happiness.
Surely,
it is time for Christians to "rise from sleep," and to offer vigorous
resistance to the enemies of salvation. The weapons in this conflict are not
the arms of civil warfare, but the spiritual weapons of prayer and penance,
increased fidelity to the Commandments of God, and frequent reception of the
Sacraments. And surely we can choose no better leader in this conflict than the
powerful captain who led the faithful Angels to victory.
Let
us, then, with confident trust, invoke the aid and the protection of this
mighty Archangel whose shield bears the inscription:
"Michael----Quis
ut Deus----Who is like unto God?"[1]
EPISTLE. Ezech, xviii. 1-9.
IN those days:
The word of the Lord came to me, saying: What is the meaning, that you use
among you this parable as a proverb in the land of Israel, saying: The fathers
have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge? As I
live, saith the Lord God, this parable shall be more to you a proverb in
Israel. Behold all souls are Mine: as the soul of the father, so also the soul
of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, the same shall die. And if a man be
just, and do judgment and justice, and hath not eaten upon the mountains, nor
lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel: and hath not defiled
his neighbor’s wife, nor come near to a menstruous woman: and hath not wronged
any man: but hath restored the pledge to the debtor, hath taken nothing away by
violence: hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a
garment: hath not lent upon usury, nor taken any increase: hath withdrawn his
hand from iniquity, and hath executed true judgment between man and man: hath
walked in My commandments, and kept My judgments, to do according to truth : he
is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord Almighty.
GOSPEL. Matt. xv. 21-28.
At that time: Jesus went from thence and retired
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold a woman of Canaan who came out of
those coasts, crying out, said to Him: Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David:
my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil. Who answered her not a word. And
His disciples came and besought Him, saying: Send her away, for she crieth
after us. And He answering, said: I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost
of the house of Israel. But she came and adored Him, saying: Lord, help me. Who
answering, said: It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast
it to the dogs. But she said: Yea, Lord, for the whelps also eat of the crumbs
that fall from the table of their masters. Then Jesus answering, said to her: O
woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt: and her daughter
was cured from that hour.
Prayer.
Look, O Lord, upon the devotion of Thy people, that
we, who are afflicted in body by abstinence, may be refreshed in mind by the
fruit of good works.
Lenten Calendar[3]
Read: In the Sacrament
of Penance and Reconciliation, also called confession, we meet the Lord, who
wants to grant forgiveness and the grace to live a renewed life in him. In this
sacrament, he prepares us to receive him free from serious sin, with a lively
faith, earnest hope, and sacrificial love in the Eucharist. The Church sees
confession as so important that she requires that every Catholic go at least
once a year.
Reflect: “To pray for those
with whom we are angry is a beautiful step toward that law of love.” (Pope
Francis, June 12, 2013)
Pray: If you have anger
in your heart towards someone, say a prayer for him or her today as a step
towards healing.
Act: Make going to
confession a priority during Lent this year.
Prayer and fasting are extraordinary means
(we may call them violent means) when other simpler ways are of no avail
against the powers of hell. Look into the earthly life of our Savior. He is our
model. He dwelt with us in order to teach us how to form our lives inwardly and
outwardly. Christ Himself fasted often and accorded it high praise in His
teaching. Recall how He fasted forty days before entering upon His work of
teaching. At the beginning of Lent the Church wishes to stamp this fact deep in
our hearts: our fasting must be in union with and in imitation of Christ's.
Recall when the disciples were unable to cure a possessed boy, asked, "Why
could we not cast him out?" and Jesus answered, "This kind can be
driven out in no way except by prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:29). Now
another saying of Jesus comes to mind. When John's disciples began to reproach
Him, "Why do Your disciples not fast?" He replied: "Can you make
the wedding guests fast as long as the bridegroom is with them? As long as they
have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when
the bridegroom will be taken away from them; in those days they will fast"
(Luke 5:35). There is a hidden depth of meaning in these words. The coming of
Christ among men was a wedding feast. Fasting had no place. But it is most
proper to fast when the divine Bridegroom is taken away. Fasting on Fridays and
during Holy Week, then, is in accord with Christ's own wishes. Once our Savior
compared Himself with the Baptist in these words, "John came neither
eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a devil!’ The Son of Man came eating
and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold a glutton and a wine drinker.’" John
was a man devoted to penance, an ascetic, who fasted throughout his life. Not
so Christ. His way of living was not based exclusively upon self-denial and
mortification, but upon an ordered enjoyment of life. So, we learn from the
Savior that fasting should be the exception, not the rule, in Christian
morality. Let us consider the passage in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus
speaks of the three important pious exercises of fasting, prayer, and
almsgiving. He highly recommends all three but warns against practicing these
virtues in a pharisaical manner.
The main points in Jesus' doctrine on
fasting, then, are:
- Fasting is an
extremely important means of resisting the inroads of hell (hence Lent).
- Fasting
should be practiced as a memorial of Christ's death (Friday, Holy Week).
- Fast days
occur by way of exception in Christian life, they are not the normal
practice.
- Fasting holds
a place alongside prayer and almsgiving as a pious exercise.
So, let us worship God in His tabernacle for His
goodness, truth and beauty. When we talk about the tabernacle of the Lord, we
are talking about the Bless Sacrament were Jesus is really present—body, blood,
soul and divinity. Yet, there is another tabernacle which we do not recognize
easily. That is our very bodies and those of others when we receive the
Eucharist. We need to acknowledge Christ is in others just as we genuflect
before the tabernacle. He must be worshipped! According to Church law, the
tabernacle, which keeps the consecrated Eucharistic hosts, should be
“immoveable, made of solid or opaque material, locked so that the danger of
profanation may be entirely avoided.” We also as a tabernacle should be
immoveable in our faith, give others solid support and lock our hearts from the
love of the world. We should, apart from making our regular attendance at Mass,
drop by the church and make a short “visit” to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The visit needn’t be long, just a few minutes to greet Jesus and offer a silent
prayer.
Pi Day celebrates the mathematical
constant π (pi) or 3.141592653... . Pi is the ratio between the
circumference (the distance around the circle) and diameter (the distance
through the center of the circle). Pi is a constant, therefore it will be the
same for circles of all sizes. Pi is a special number due to its infinite and
patternless nature, meaning that the digits after the decimal point never
repeat themselves in a specific order. Pi Day celebrations originated in 1988
at the San Francisco Exploratorium when Larry Shaw, a physicist at the
Exploratorium, organized the first Pi Day. It was held on March14th
(3/14), given that the first digits of Pi are 3.14. Celebrations at the
Exploratorium included taking young museum visitors on a parade to the Pi
Shrine, which is a round brass plaque fixed on the floor of the museum and
serving fruit pies to visitors. Since then, Pi Day celebrations have spread
both nationally and globally. On March 12, 2009, the U.S. House of
Representatives recognized March 14, 2009 as National Pi Day.
Pi
Day Facts & Quotes
·
In
2015 at 9:26:53 (AM and PM), all of the first ten digits of Pi (3.141592653)
were present in the date and time.
·
Pi
is an irrational number, meaning it cannot be expressed properly as a fraction.
·
Albert
Einstein, widely referred to as the father of modern physics, was born on March
14, 1879. Therefore, Pi Day also recognizes Einstein's birthday.
·
According
to the Guinness World Records, Rajveer Meena from India holds the record for
memorizing the most decimal places of Pi. On March 21, 2015, Meena wore a
blindfold and recalled 70,000 decimal places of Pi over a period of 10 hours.
·
Pi
is not just a collection of random digits, pi is a journey; an experience;
unless you try to see the natural poetry that exists in pi, you will find it
very difficult to learn. – Dr. Antranig Basman, Mathematician and Software
Developer
Pi
Day Top Events and Things to Do
·
Memorize
as many digits of Pi as you can (remember, the World Record Holder was able to
memorize 70,000 decimal places of pi).
·
Eat
a pie to celebrate Pi day and earn bonus points if your can calculate Pi for
your pie's circumference! Here are some twists on traditional pies that
you can try:
1) Avocado and cream cheese pie
2) Cheeseburger and pickle pie made from ground beef, cheese, and chopped dill pickles
3) Mac and Cheese Pie topped with bacon
4) Hot dog pie covered with a layer of cheese
5) Twinkie pie topped with whipped cream
1) Avocado and cream cheese pie
2) Cheeseburger and pickle pie made from ground beef, cheese, and chopped dill pickles
3) Mac and Cheese Pie topped with bacon
4) Hot dog pie covered with a layer of cheese
5) Twinkie pie topped with whipped cream
·
Practice
your geometry and algebra equations that contain the constant Pi. Here are some
useful formulas to help you:
Circumference of a circle = 2 πr
Area of a Circle = π r^2
Volume of a Cylinder = π r^2h
where r=radius and h=height
Circumference of a circle = 2 πr
Area of a Circle = π r^2
Volume of a Cylinder = π r^2h
where r=radius and h=height
·
Go
for a 3.14km walk to celebrate Pi Day.
·
Watch
movies about mathematics:
1) Good Will Hunting (1997)
2) A Beautiful Mind (2001)
3) The Number 23 (2007)
4) Rain Man (1988)
5) The Theory of Everything (2014)
1) Good Will Hunting (1997)
2) A Beautiful Mind (2001)
3) The Number 23 (2007)
4) Rain Man (1988)
5) The Theory of Everything (2014)
Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to save you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy. DEUTERONOMY 23: 14. The last principle of spiritual warfare must be emphasized: Don’t invite the Enemy into your camp. Look out for Trojan Horses, poisonous reptiles and be prepared to fight.
·
Trojan
Horses. Sin is always wrapped in attractive packages. The simple pleasure of
satisfying curiosity could be a Pandora’s Box. Stay away from all things of the
occult; such as Ouija boards and fortunetelling; séances, channeling, and other
forms of necromancy (attempts to contact the dead); substance abuse; sexual
sin; and abortion. Seeking the attractive “gift” of pleasure, power, secret
knowledge, or (in the case of abortion) even escape from responsibility. In
addition, forgiveness is crucial to deliverance from the Evil One, because a
bitter heart gives him a foothold in our lives. “Take heed lest anyone be
lacking in the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause
trouble, and by it, many be defiled” (Heb 12: 15). Those especially who have
suffered a grave injustice must seek
the grace to let go of the offense and pray for the offender, so that
resentment doesn’t ferment into malicious bitterness. If we’re ever tempted to
invite the Enemy into our “camp” in any of these ways, we must recognize the Adversary’s deception and reject his offer
firmly and immediately.
·
“Poisonous
Reptiles” are the “little” sins that find their way into our hearts. We may
ignore them or think them of no consequence as we try to stand guard over the
carefully constructed fortifications of our spiritual life. To resist the
temptations of ordinary demonic activity, we must guard our thoughts closely and reject immediately any thought that leads to sin. We must also carefully examine our thoughts to seek out assumptions or
conclusions that may be false and contrary to faith, so that they lead us
astray. Above all, we must engage in
a frequent examination of conscience and then go regularly to Confession.
"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."
'To-morrow':
sometimes it is prudence; very often it is the adverb of the defeated.
Daily Devotions
·
comment on your “Coffee with
Christ”
[2]
Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
[5] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 38. Reverence for the Tabernacle.
[6]https://www.wincalendar.com/Pi-Day
[7]Thigpen,
Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare. TAN Books.
[8]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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