Nehemiah's a Hebrew cup-bearer to Artaxerxes, who allows him to return to Jerusalem to help set things in order and rebuild the city. Gentile leaders from different provinces (specifically, leaders of the Ammonites, Samaritans, and Arabs) try to derail the rebuilding project, but thanks to some military readiness, Nehemiah and his workers successfully speed-build the walls of the city. After this, Nehemiah reads the riot act to Israelite officials and nobles who have been oppressing the poor, charging ridiculous interest on loans, and forcing the people to pawn their land in order to eat. He successfully evades charges of rebellion against the Persian king drummed up by his enemies, and has Ezra give everyone a crash course on the Laws of Moses. The surviving Jews return from exile to repopulate Jerusalem, and Nehemiah—who's come back from a trip to the Persian capital in Susa—shapes up the backsliding Jews, breaks up more interfaith marriages, and saves the day. And he's the first to admit it.
Nehemiah, Chapter 2, Verse 1-3
1 In the month Nisan of the twentieth
year of King Artaxerxes, when the wine was in my charge, I took some and
offered it to the king. Because I had never before been sad in his presence, 2
the king asked me,
“Why do you look sad? If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart.” Though I
was seized with great fear, 3
I answered the king: “May the king live forever! How
could I not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates consumed by fire?”
Here the God of God’s moves the heart of a great and
powerful King toward Nehemiah like He did with Joseph the many years before
when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. Our God is a God of love and
life and desires only to nurture our souls.
SCUD Day
stands for Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama Day, and encourages those
of us whose lives might have a touch too much drama to step back, relax, and
enjoy the funnier side of life. Relaxation and humour are good for your
physical and mental wellbeing, so turn the drama down a notch and enjoy a good
laugh instead. #ScudDay
Christ greets me an tells me that
the coffee is god, He laughs and says I mean GOOD but He then says sincerely
that it is most importantly for me to stop my worrying. Enjoy your life it is my gift to you. Love and be loved. Give without reservation and share yourself
with others. Take care of yourself
physically. Eat wholesome foods, exercise and sleep. He says that he made us and knows our
needs. He states that even when the
crowds gathered, he knew the body supported the mind which supports the
spirit. That is why; he multiplied the
loafs for the 5000. He said that I must
do likewise nurture others; be aware of their needs make sure that others have
their physical needs met first, that they are safe and feel like they are
welcomed. Then go on to their spiritual
needs. He asks me to start a nine-day
prayer and devotion to His Holy Face for the sake of others physically,
mentally, emotionally and of course spiritually.
Here are five habits St. Padre Pio believed all Catholics
should practice, based on advice he gave to his spiritual children.
I. Weekly Confession
“Confession is the soul’s bath. You
must go at least once a week. I do not want souls to stay away from confession
more than a week. Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a
week and you will see that it needs dusting again!”
II. Daily Communion
“It is quite true; we are not worthy
of such a gift. However, to approach the Blessed Sacrament in a state of mortal
sin is one thing, and to be unworthy is quite another. All of us are unworthy,
but it is He who invites us. It is He who desires it. Let us humble ourselves
and receive Him with a heart contrite and full of love.”
III. Examination of Conscience Every
Evening
Someone once told Padre Pio
that he thought a nightly examination of conscience was pointless
because he knew what was sin as it was committed. To this, Padre Pio
replied, “That is true enough. But every experienced merchant in this world not
only keeps track throughout the day of whether he has lost or gained on each
sale. In the evening, he does the bookkeeping for the day to determine what he
should do on the morrow. It follows that it is indispensable to make a rigorous
examination of conscience, brief but lucid, every night.”
IV. Daily Spiritual Reading
“The harm that comes to souls from
the lack of reading holy books makes me shudder…. What power spiritual reading
has to lead to a change of course, and to make even worldly people enter into
the way of perfection.”
V. Mental Prayer Twice Daily
“If you do not succeed in meditating
well, do not give up doing your duty. If the distractions are numerous, do not
be discouraged; do the meditation of patience, and you will still profit.
Decide upon the length of your meditation, and do not leave your place before
finishing, even if you have to be crucified. Why do you worry so much because
you do not know how to meditate as you would like? Meditation is a means to
attaining God, but it is not a goal in itself. Meditation aims at the love of
God and neighbor. Love God with all your soul without reserve, and love your
neighbor as yourself, and you will have accomplished half of your meditation.”
Daily Devotions
Dear Lord, through the Sorrowful and
Immaculate Heart of Mary, I (we) offer Thee these prayers in reparation for the
sins which offend God the most in these modern times – the sins of Blasphemy
and the Profanation of Sunday and Thy Holy Days of Obligation:
One Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory
Be to The Father
May the most holy, most sacred, most
adorable, most incomprehensible and unutterable Name of God be always praised,
blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth,
by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.
Litany of The Holy Face of Jesus
I
salute Thee, I adore Thee and I love Thee, O adorable Face of Jesus, my
Beloved, noble Seal of the Divinity! outraged anew by blasphemers. I offer
Thee, through the heart of Thy blessed Mother, the worship of all the Angels
and Saints, most humbly beseeching Thee to repair and renew in me and in all
men Thine Image disfigured by sin.
O
adorable Face which was adored, with profound respect, by Mary and Joseph when
they saw Thee for the first time, have mercy on us.
O
adorable Face which ravished with joy, in the stable of Bethlehem, the Angels,
the shepherds and the magi, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which transpierced with a dart of love in the Temple, the saintly
old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which filled with admiration the Doctors of the Law when Thou
appeared in the Temple at the age of twelve years, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which possesses beauty always ancient and always new, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which is the masterpiece of the Holy Ghost, in which the Eternal
Father is well pleased, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which is the ineffable mirror of the divine perfections, have
mercy…
Adorable
Face of Jesus which was so mercifully bowed down on the Cross, on the day of
Thy Passion, for the salvation of the world! Once more today in pity bend down
towards us poor sinners. Cast upon us a glance of compassion and give us Thy
peace.
O
adorable Face which became brilliant like the sun and radiant with glory, on
the Mountain of Thabor, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which wept and was troubled at the tomb of Lazarus, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which was rendered sad at the sight of Jerusalem, and shed tears
on that ungrateful city, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which was bowed down to the ground in the Garden of Olives, and
covered with confusion for our sins, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which was covered with the sweat of blood, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which was struck by a vile servant, covered with a veil of shame,
and profaned by the sacrilegious hands of Thine enemies, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which by Its divine glance, wounded the heart of St. Peter with a
dart of sorrow and love, have mercy…Be merciful to us, O my God! Do not reject
our prayers, when in the midst of our afflictions, we call upon Thy Holy Name
and seek with love and confidence Thine adorable Face.
O
adorable Face which was washed and anointed by Mary and the holy women and
covered with a shroud, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which was all resplendent with glory and beauty on the day of the
Resurrection, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which is hidden in the Eucharist, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which will appear at the end of time in the clouds with great
power and great majesty, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which will make sinners tremble, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which will fill the just with joy for all eternity, have mercy…
O
adorable Face which merits all our reverence, our homage and our adoration,
have mercy…
O
Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved! O Lord, show us Thy Face, and we
shall be saved! O Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved!
[1]https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Christ-Richard-Henry-Havermale/dp/1489516042
[2]https://www.catholicgentleman.net/2014/08/st-padre-pios-5-point-rule-life/
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