Friday, September 6, 2019


FIGHT PROCASTINATION DAY

1 Maccabees, Chapter 7, Verse 18
Then fear and dread of them came upon all the people, who said: “There is no truth or justice among them; they violated the agreement and the oath that they swore.”

This verse is referring to Alcimus who was a descendant of the Biblical Aaron, brother of Moses, but not in the high-priestly line; and being ambitious for the office of high priest, he traveled to Antioch to secure the assistance of the Seleucid king Demetrius I Soter, who had just overthrown Antiochus. Alcimus was of the Hellenizing party, and therefore bitterly opposed by the Maccabees. Demetrius sent an army under Bacchides to establish Alcimus in the high priesthood at Jerusalem. The favor with which Alcimus was received by the Jews at Jerusalem on account of his Aaronic descent was soon turned to hate by his cruelties. When Bacchides and his army returned to Antioch, the Hasmonean Judah Maccabee attacked and overcame Alcimus, and drove him also to Syria. There he secured from Demetrius another army, led by Nicanor, who, failing to overcome Judah by treachery, attacked him directly, but was defeated and killed. A third and greater army, under Bacchides again, was dispatched to reinstall Alcimus. Judah was defeated and killed, Alcimus established as high priest and a strong garrison left in Jerusalem to maintain him. But he did not long enjoy his triumph, since he died soon after, while he was pulling down the wall of the temple that divided the court of the Gentiles from that of the Israelites.[1]

Strife breeds Strife-Love breed’s love therefore; be always open to forgiving injuries.

Christ tells us to love our enemy which is much easier to say than to do. Yet as much as possible we are to not fear them but strive to love them. Often, we find it difficult to love even our family and neighbors let alone our enemies. In fact, the opposite of fear is not courage but love. Paul illustrates for us the following ways of living to demonstrate true love or charity. (Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verse’ 1-6)

·         In all that you do be an agent of hospitality. That is to be generous. Even the poor can be rich in their praise and love of others. Share not only your time, talent and treasure but truly give of yourself to others of your intellect, emotional support, and physical presence. A good guide is the spiritual works of mercy: instruct the ignorant; counsel the doubtful; admonish sinners; bear wrongs patiently; forgive offences willingly; comfort the afflicted; pray for the living and the dead.

·         Do what you can to free others of their prisons whether these are self-imposed i.e. addictions or through ignorance. A good guide is the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; harbor the harbor-less; visit the sick; ransom the captive; bury the dead.

·         Marriage is the physical reality of our souls marriage to God through the Holy Spirit; therefore. If married love and honor your wife; be chase in spirit whether married or single knowing that marriage is the physical sign of your union with God. Disdain any kind of sexual defilement.

·         Avoid the love of money. Seek simplicity and contentment. Treat all the wealth you have as if it were Gods; on loan to you to build the Kingdom; which it is. You can do this if you know and trust God will never forsake you or abandon you.

The proper meaning of love is to seek the good of the other as other.


Not Holding a Grudge[2]


St. John Gualbert was the son of a noble Florentine, who had only one other and older son, Hugh. When Hugh was murdered by a man supposed to be his friend, John swore vengeance and, in spite of the warnings and sorrow of his father, he set out to destroy him. Well might his father sorrow more over John than over his murdered son, for the motive of revenge is not excusable even in the punishment of a murderer. Still less is it acceptable before God to try to right one injury with another or one murder with another. By chance one day John met his enemy in a very narrow passage and, having the advantage, drew his sword to run him through. The enemy, knowing he had no chance to save himself, fell to his knees, crossed his hands over his breast (let us hope he made a good act of contrition) and awaited the death blow. John advanced in a fury — halted and remembered Christ had prayed for His murderers as He hung on the cross. He put up his sword, gave his enemy his hand and, drawing him to his feet, embraced him. They parted in peace.

As he went down the road, filled with contrition for the terrible deed he had intended to do, he came to the monastery of San Miniato, entered it, and kneeling before the Crucifix he poured out his heart in contrition. As he prayed, the Crucifix miraculously bowed its head as though to bless John's victory over revenge and John was filled with the desire to serve only Christ. He went to the abbot to ask permission to wear the habit, and, when the abbot hesitated for several days for fear of the displeasure of John's father, John hacked off his hair and put on a borrowed habit. This convinced Father Abbot that the young penitent was a serious prospect and he received him into the community.

First Friday-Sacred Heart of Jesus[3]


ALTHOUGH many pious souls had been accustomed, in the silence of their secluded lives, to venerate the sacred Heart of Jesus with great devotion, still our divine Savior desired that the boundless love of His Heart might be known by all men, and that a new fire of love should thereby be kindled in the cold hearts of Christians. For this purpose, He made use of a frail and little-known instrument in the person of Margaret Mary Alacoque, a nun of the Order of the Visitation, at Parayle-Monial, France. One day, when, according to her custom during the octave of Corpus Christi, she was deeply engaged in devotions before the Blessed Sacrament, the divine Savior appeared to her, showed her His Heart burning with love, and said: “Behold this Heart, which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this sacrament of love. And what is most painful to Me is that they are hearts consecrated to Me. It is for this reason I ask thee that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be appropriated to a special feast to honor My Heart by communicating on that day and making reparation for the indignity that it has received. And I promise that My Heart shall dilate to pour out abundantly the influences of its love on all that will render it this honor or procure its being rendered. Margaret obeyed, but met everywhere the greatest opposition, until finally, when she became mistress of novices, she succeeded, by the help of her divine Spouse, in animating her young charges to venerate the sacred Heart of Jesus. But this was not sufficient for her zeal. She persevered until she softened the opposition of the nuns and kindled in all an equal devotion towards the most sacred Heart. Thence the devotion spread to the adjoining dioceses, where confraternities in honor of the most sacred Heart of Jesus soon sprung up. Pope Clement XIII., after having instituted a most rigorous examination of the whole affair, commanded that the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus should be solemnly celebrated throughout the whole Catholic Church every year, on the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi.

The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Object of this Devotion

In the divine Heart of Our Savior we must not imagine an inanimate heart, separated from the person of Christ, but the living heart of the God-Man, the center of all His affections, the fountain of all His virtues, the most touching emblem of His infinite love to man. The Church venerates the cross, the blood, and the wounds of the divine Savior, by feasts which have their proper masses and lessons, in order, by meditation upon these objects, to awaken in us a more fervent devotion to the Redeemer. How much more worthy, then, of our devotion is the sacred Heart of Our Savior, since all its thoughts, movements, and affections aim at our salvation, and it is always ready to receive truly penitent sinners, to pardon them, to restore them again to God s favor, and make them partakers of eternal happiness!

Excellence of this Devotion

It is, writes the venerable P. Simon Gourdan:

·         A holy devotion, for therein men venerate in Christ those affections and motions of His Heart by which He sanctified the Church, glorified His Heavenly Father, and showed Himself to men as a perfect example of the most sublime holiness.
·         An ancient devotion of the Catholic Church, which, instructed by St. Paul, the great apostle, has at all times acknowledged the great beneficence of the divine and sacred Heart of Jesus.
·         An approved devotion, for the Holy Scriptures everywhere admonish us to renew the heart, by changing our lives; to penetrate it with true sorrow, to inflame it with divine love, and to adorn it by the practice of all virtues. When, therefore, a new heart is promised us, by which to direct our lives, that can be no other than the Heart of Jesus, which is to us the pattern of all excellence, and which we must follow if we would be saved.
·         A perfect devotion, as being the origin of all other devotions. For the Heart of Jesus is the inexhaustible treasury from which the blessed Mother of God, and all other saints have derived their graces, their virtues, their life, their spiritual goods. Filled first with treasures from this source, different servants of God have instituted and established other devotions.
·         A profitable devotion, for thereby we have brought before our eyes the very fountain of life and grace, and can draw directly from it, increasing in ourselves all virtues, by adoring this divine Heart, meditating on its holy affections, and endeavoring to imitate them.
·         A devotion pleasing to God, for thus we adore God, as Christ requires, in spirit and in truth, serving Him inwardly in our hearts, and endeavoring to please Him. Finally, it is:
·         A useful devotion, since its whole object is to unite us most intimately with Christ as members of Him, her head, to make us live by and according to His spirit, to have one heart and soul with Him, and through grace finally to become one with Him, which is and must be the object of all devotions.

As this devotion is, then, so excellent, we cannot sufficiently recommend it to all who are anxious for their salvation. While everyone can practice this devotion, and adore the sacred Heart of Jesus, by himself, there is a greater blessing when pious souls unite and form a confraternity for practicing the devotion. Of such confraternities there were in the year 1726 more than three hundred, and they are now established throughout all Catholic countries. Hesitate not, Christian soul, to engage in this devotion, and to join in the adoration of that sacred Heart of Jesus in which all men find propitiation, the pious, confidence; sinners, hope; the afflicted, consolation; the sick, support; the dying, refuge; the elect, joy and delight.

An Offering to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Whoever says the following prayer before the image of the most sacred Heart of Jesus, with sincere sorrow for his sins, gains each time an indulgence of one hundred days; and by saying it daily for a month, he can on any one day gain a plenary indulgence, if he makes his confession, receives communion, and prays according to the intention of the Church:

“My loving Jesus, I (N.N.) give Thee my heart; and I consecrate myself wholly to Thee, out of the grateful love I bear Thee, and as reparation for all my unfaithfulness; and with Thy aid I purpose never to sin again.”

Fight Procastination Day[4]

I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do — the day after.” ― Oscar Wilde
Procrastination can really be the bane of our existence, with another day coming around the corner, there’s no real reason that we can’t put it off till tomorrow is there? Of course not, and tomorrow has another tomorrow, so let’s do it again! It is by this way of thinking that absolutely nothing gets done, and we know good and well that procrastination is us out to get ourselves. But what can we do? Fight Procrastination Day reminds us that it’s up to us to beat this monster, and only we can decide to get up and get done today what was supposed to be done.

History of Fight Procrastination Day

Fight Procrastination Day tells us to get up in arms and start battling the age-old beast that is “putting things off”. There are a million techniques to battle it, but procrastination is decidedly an epic level raid monster, and sometimes it seems like a concerted effort of us and our most efficient friends is the only thing that will put it down. The fight against procrastination has been going on a long time, and there have been some really creative methods created to fight it, all to varying success. What kind of crazy techniques? How about Victor Hugo and James Riley choosing to write naked so it wasn’t a simple matter to head out to drink with the boys at the local pub? Not necessarily a universally practical method, but it definitely has its high points. Then there are modern versions that are truly remarkable, programs that you download onto your computer that act as a filter according to the rules you set up… Ya know, like if you work at home and want to use it to control your behavior during work hours?

How to celebrate Fight Procrastination Day

You celebrate Procrastination day by getting ready to fight putting things off all day long. You can do this by starting with precommitment the night before, you set yourself an alarm, get rid of your distractions, set up your workspace, and be ready to hit the ground running when you get up. If you’re trying to make sure you’re ready for work, set your breakfast, coffee, and towels for the morning shower up the night before. Everything to streamline your way out the door and prevent you from dawdling.

Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.

Fitness Friday

Recognizing that God the Father created man on Friday the 6th day I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and renew yourself in strength; mind, soul and heart.

Be smart when sunbathing

·         Everyone knows that a nice tan gives a healthy glow, so as soon as summer comes we rush to enjoy sunbathing. However, the researches show that excessive and irresposible sunbathing can cause skin problems including skin cancer. Despite all potential threats to enjoy the sun, sunbathing can be healthy if you take all measures to protect your skin from harmful sun rays. Here are some tips for you when and how to enjoy the sun in order to get a healthy tan without any trouble.
·         Everytime when you face the sun use a sunscreen with SPF protection. Apply a sunscreen all over your body and face at least 30 minutes before sunbathing so that your skin could absorb the cream. When you are in the sun reapply sunscreen every 30 minutes. Also, don’t forget a sunscreen to your lips as the yare very sensitive to the sun.
·         First time you shouldn’t stay in the sun for more than 15 minutes. Let your skin to get used to the sun. Then you can gradually increase the time you spend in the sun for 5-10 minutes every time.
·         Stay in the sun before the noon or just after 3 p.m. Time from 12 a.m. to 3 p.m. is the most dangerous because the sun causes the most damage at this time.
·         Don’t forget to drink lots of water to avoid dehydration. Make sure to wear sunglasses as the sun can violate your retina.
·         Moisturize your skin after sunbathing. The best moisturizers contain aloe vera which has soothing properties and helps to restore moisture balance of skin cells.

35 Promises of God[5] cont.
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
-Matt 6:31-33

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