Start of Happiness at Work Week
PADRE
PIO-AUTUMNAL EQUINOX-BISEXUAL
DAY
2 Maccabees, Chapter 7, Verse 29
Do
not be afraid of this executioner,
but be worthy of your brothers and accept death, so that in the time of mercy I
may receive you again with your brothers.”
HANNAH AND HER SEVEN SONS,
a story told in II Maccabees, Chapter 7, of seven brothers who were seized
along with their mother by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, presumably shortly after the
beginning of the religious persecutions in 167/166 B.C.E., and commanded to prove
their obedience to the king by partaking of swine's flesh. The brothers
defiantly refused to do so. Encouraged in their resolve by their mother, they
were executed after being put to frightful tortures. When the mother was
appealed to by the king to spare the youngest child's life by prevailing upon
him to comply, she urged the child instead to follow in the path of his brothers,
and she herself died shortly thereafter. [1]
People of virtue are often a stumbling block for the
rich and the powerful yet know that they, the rich and the powerful, are only
the physical workers of the devil and his cohort, while we are the children of
God. Take courage therefore and wrap yourself in the virtues our Lord may give
you. For some are martyrs and some are priests and religious and some are holy hermits,
and some are holy spouses and parents. In Maccabees the progressives now push
for the abolition of Judaism. Today we also realize the same push from the
progressive tools of the devil. Will there ever come a time when in our society
where virtuous people are treated like the mother with her seven martyred sons.
We report—you decide!
The general opinion about work is this: no one wants to do it. However, have you ever heard of a week-long holiday that encourages happiness at work? International Week of Happiness at Work is a holiday that’s all about bringing happiness back into the workplace. If work is part of our daily lives, then one of the best ways to live a happier life is through being happy at work. Whether you work in a big corporation or at a small company, you can find happiness. Check out what International Week of Happiness is all about here! International Week of Happiness at Work was started by Maartje Wolff and Fennande van der Meulen, two Dutch women who started the company Happy Office in 2015. Happy Office offers a program that allows you to incorporate happiness into the workplace so that you can have happier employees all around. Happy Office incorporates studies made from professors at some of the top universities throughout Europe and combines them with certified professionals with certificates and degrees, so they can help every organization they meet and help assess the problems, so each worker can do their job without losing happiness in their lives. The holiday itself became an initiative towards bringing people from all over the world together to be happier at the workplace. Happy Office’s main website for the holiday allows you to sign a manifesto to pledge towards making the changes needed for people to have happier lives in the workplace. By signing the manifesto, Happy Office hopes to help people be happier overall. Happy Office believes that by transforming the workplace, people can be happier in every aspect of their lives, including healthier relationships, exciting homelife, and great life experiences.
How
to Celebrate International Week of Happiness at Work
Feast
of St. Pio
Prayer
Gracious
God, you generously blessed Your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the
Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a
powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son, and as a stirring
inspiration to many people of Your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.
In
the confessional, Padre Pio labored endlessly for the salvation of souls.
Through his prayerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness
and disease. Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people's
hearts. From the blood of his wounds came a perfumed fragrance, a special sign
of Your Holy Presence. With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily
Mass, inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ, in
the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Through
the intercession of Saint Pio, I confidently beseech You to grant me the grace
of (here state your petition).
Help me to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion, so that I,
too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord, and one day rejoice in the Kingdom,
where You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Fall begins in the Northern Hemisphere
when the Sun is perpendicular to the equator. This day has equal hours of
day and night. The first day of Fall is also called the Autumnal Equinox.
In many areas it coincides with harvests. The first day of Fall
happens between each year between September 22 and 24.
Fall begins (Northern H.) Facts & Quotes
·
The Harvest Moon is the full moon which occurs closest to the
autumnal equinox.
·
The Fall Equinox is also known as: Alban Elfed, Cornucopia,
Feast of Avilon, Festival of Dionysus, Harvest Tide, Mabon, Night of the
Hunter, Second Harvest Festival, and Wine Harvest.
·
The Earth takes 365.25 days to make one complete revolution
around the Sun. This results in the first day of Fall beginning 6 hours
later each year and moving a full day backwards on Leap Years.
·
During the fall, the leaves on many trees die and fall to the
ground. 500 years ago, expressions like fall of the leaf and fall of the year
were quite common in the English-speaking world. The term fall as the
name for this season comes from these early expressions.
·
How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and
color are their last days - John Burroughs
Fall begins (Northern H.) Top Events and Things to Do
·
Take a hike and enjoy the colorful leaves.
·
Visit a Nature Center or Nature Museum near you.
·
Rake leaves into piles and then jump in them.
·
Visit an apple orchard and pick some fresh apples. Use some of
them to make a delicious apple pie or apple crisp for dinner.
Celebrate
Bisexuality Day was established by Wendy Curry, Michael Page, and Gigi Raven
Wilbur to raise awareness of the challenges faced by bisexuals all over the
world. “Ever since the Stonewall rebellion, the gay and lesbian community has
grown in strength and visibility.” observed Wilbur, “The bisexual community
also has grown in strength but in many ways are invisible.” It was this vision
and experiences of marginalization and prejudice experienced from both the
straight and LGBTQ community, that inspired them to create this new holiday.
Inspired by Freddy Mercury of Queen, they decided that his birthday would be
the perfect day to establish Celebrate Bisexuality Day. This served two
purposes, the first being to establish a day that was dedicated to raising
awareness of bisexuals everywhere, the second being to help reduce the
prejudice faced by bisexuals and work to legitimize it as a sexual orientation.
Since then it has been celebrated every year with teach-ins, poetry reading, parties,
picnics, and festivals.
Catechism of the
Catholic Church
2332
Sexuality affects
all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It
especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in
a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others.
2336
Jesus
came to restore creation to the purity of its origins. In the Sermon on the
Mount, he interprets God's plan strictly: "You have heard that it was
said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks
at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his
heart." What God has joined together, let not man put asunder. The
tradition of the Church has understood the sixth commandment as encompassing
the whole of human sexuality.
2337
Chastity
means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the
inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man's
belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and
truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to
another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman. The
virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the
integrality of the gift.
2353
Fornication is
carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely
contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally
ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children.
Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young.
2357
Homosexuality refers to relations between men or
between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction
toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through
the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains
largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents
homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual
acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law.
They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a
genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they
be approved.
2358
The number of men and women who have deep-seated
homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively
disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with
respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in
their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will
in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the
Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359
Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the
virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support
of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and
should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
2360
Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and
woman. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and
pledge of spiritual communion. Marriage bonds between baptized persons are
sanctified by the sacrament.
2361
"Sexuality,
by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts
which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is not something simply biological,
but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in
a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and
woman commit themselves totally to one another until death."
Tobias got out of
bed and said to Sarah, "Sister, get up, and let us pray and implore our
Lord that he grant us mercy and safety." So, she got up, and they began to
pray and implore that they might be kept safe. Tobias began by saying,
"Blessed are you, O God of our fathers.. . . You made Adam, and
for him you made his wife Eve as a helper and support. From the two of them the
race of mankind has sprung. You said, 'It is not good that the man should be
alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.' I now am taking this
kinswoman of mine, not because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that she and
I may find mercy and that we may grow old together." And they both said,
"Amen, Amen." Then they went to sleep for the night.
2362
"The
acts in marriage by which the intimate and chaste union of the spouses takes
place are noble and honorable; the truly human performance of these acts
fosters the self-giving they signify and enriches the spouses in joy and
gratitude." Sexuality is a source of joy and pleasure:
The Creator
himself. . . established that in the [generative] function, spouses
should experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit. Therefore, the
spouses do nothing evil in seeking this pleasure and enjoyment. They accept
what the Creator has intended for them. At the same time, spouses should know
how to keep themselves within the limits of just moderation.
2370
Periodic
continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation
and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria
of morality. These methods respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness
between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom. In contrast,
"every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in
its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences,
proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible"
is intrinsically evil:
Thus, the innate
language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is
overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language,
namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other. This leads not only to
a positive refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the inner
truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to give itself in personal
totality. . . The difference, both anthropological and moral, between
contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle.. . involves in the
final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of human
sexuality.
2395
Chastity means the integration of sexuality within the
person. It includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery.
2396
Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are
masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices.
“I
will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the
Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. If you love me, you
will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you
another Advocate, to be with you forever.”-John 14:13-16
Daily Devotions
[1]http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hannah-and-her-seven-sons
[3]http://www.wincalendar.com/Fall-Begins
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