COLUMBUS DAY (Observed)
Romans,
Chapter 1, Verse 5-8
5 Through him we have received the
grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, 6 among whom are
you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7 to all the
beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. 8 First, I give thanks
to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is heralded throughout the
world.
Christ has called all of us as Paul states to holiness and apostleship.
"The apostolate of the laity derives from their Christian vocation
and the Church can never be without it." These words come from the opening
lines of the “Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity” (Apostolicam Actuositatem). This
particular document on the laity shows that the Church is dependent on the
apostolate of all people. But the term “apostolate” seems so daunting; clearly
the word is rooted in the idea of being an apostle. I tend to think back to the
Twelve Apostles, which creates a certain amount of anxiety. How can I even
think about living up to the great examples of these twelve? Yet they are
our example, and our apostleship is essential to the life of the Church. In the
Church we tend to use the word apostle quite a bit and in many different ways.
It appears in terms such as: apostolic, apostolate, and apostleship. To find a
secular answer, I looked up the word “apostle” in a Merriam-Webster dictionary.
In using a dictionary, my hope was that I might come to a better understanding
of what it means to be an apostle. The first definition that I came
across for apostle was "one sent on
a mission." This first meaning really helps expand the idea of the New
Evangelization in simple terms. The discovery of this definition led me to
formulate the following question: "What is our mission as baptized
Catholics?" This is a very important
question that has been the subject of major debate. A simple answer is that we
are called to go out into the world around us and proclaim the Good News of our
Lord, Jesus Christ. How this is accomplished is a decision that must be made by each one of us. We must find our own niche in the greater
mission of Christ. We have been given a divine mission that we must go out and complete.
Columbus
Day Facts & Quotes
·
Colorado
was the first state to officially recognize and celebrate Columbus Day in 1906.
·
Christopher
Columbus' first settlement on Hispaniola Island was called Villa de Navidad
(Christmas Town)
·
In
1971, the official holiday was moved to the second Monday in October in order
to give workers in the US a long weekend. This was part of the Uniform Monday
Holiday Act.
·
Only
those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. - Robert F. Kennedy
·
You
can never cross the ocean
unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. - Christopher Columbus
Columbus
Day Top Events and Things To Do
·
Attend
a Columbus Day Parade. The parade in New York City is one of the largest.
·
Eat
some good Italian food.
·
Watch
a parade.
·
Visit
the Library of Congress's online exhibit 1492: An Ongoing Voyage.
·
Host
a scavenger hunt for the neighborhood kids and let them become Explorers for
the afternoon.
Visit from Isaac[4] (part of the 7-day feast of Sukkot)
·
Three
years after he had sent Ishmael away, Abraham went to visit his son, swearing
to Sarah that he would not dismount his camel in Ishmael’s vicinity. Abraham
arrived at midday and met Ishmael’s wife, a Moabite woman. He asked her, “Where
is Ishmael?”
·
She
replied, “He and his mother went to bring fruits and dates from the
wilderness.”
·
“Give
me some bread and water,” Abraham asked of her, “for I am tired from the rigors
of the journey through the wilderness.”
·
“I
have neither water nor bread,” she answered
·
He
told her, “When Ishmael comes, say to him, ‘An old man came from the land of
Canaan to see you, and he said that you should change the threshold of your
house, which is not good for you.’”
·
When
Ishmael returned from the wilderness, she told him what had happened. Ishmael
understood his father’s message, and he sent his mother to find a wife for him
from his father’s house.
·
Three
years later, Abraham again went to visit his son, and again he swore to Sarah
that he would not get off his camel while there. Abraham arrived at midday and
found Ishmael’s new wife, Fatimah. He asked her, “Where is Ishmael?”
·
She
replied, “He and his mother went to herd camels in the wilderness.”
·
“Please
give me some bread and water,” he asked of her, “for I am tired from the rigors
of the journey through the wilderness.”
·
She
brought forth bread and water and gave them to him.
·
Abraham
stood and prayed to G‑d, and Ishmael’s house was filled with bounty and
blessing. When Ishmael came back, his wife told him what had happened, and he
understood that his father still loved him, even though he was a bandit.
·
From
then on, Abraham and Ishmael continued to visit each other.
Ishmael
and Isaac Debate Circumcision
·
Once,
when Ishmael was visiting Abraham, he got into an altercation with his brother
Isaac. Ishmael said to Isaac, "I am more beloved to G‑d than you, since I
[agreed to be] circumcised at the age of 13, but you were circumcised as a baby
and could not refuse."
·
Abraham and
Ishmael continued to visit each other
·
Isaac retorted, "All that you have
sacrificed to G‑d was three drops of blood. But I am now 37 years old, yet if G‑d
desired that I be slaughtered, I would not refuse."
·
Said
the Holy One, blessed be He, "This is the moment!"
·
G‑d
then commanded Abraham, “Please take your son, your only one, whom you love,
Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for an offering
on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you."
·
The
next morning, Abraham and Isaac, accompanied by Ishmael and Abraham’s servant Eliezer, set out for what was to be Abraham’s tenth
and final test, the Akeidah.
·
Eventually,
Ishmael repented and made up with his brother Isaac, and when it came time to
bury their father Abraham, Ishmael honored his brother by letting Isaac go
first.
Ishmael
and Isaac—Rational and Suprarational
·
The
mystics explain that the key difference between Isaac and Ishmael can be found
in the debate the two had over circumcision. Ishmael initially claimed that his
connection to G‑d was greater, for he was circumcised when he was 13 years old,
fully cognizant of what would happen. Isaac, on the other hand, claimed a
superior connection due to his being circumcised when he was eight days old, an
age at which the child is not aware of what is going on.
·
This
difference can also be discerned in the circumstances of their births. Ishmael
was born in a natural manner, while Isaac was miraculously born to Sarah, who
was originally barren.
·
Thus,
Ishmael signifies a thoughtful and rational relationship with G‑d, while Isaac
expresses the dimension beyond reason, the willingness to accept even that
which cannot be understood. This is why Isaac was chosen to father the Nation
of Israel, for the relationship between G‑d and His people is one that
transcends the natural and the rational.
Coming of the Lord and the Last Judgment[5]
As Catholics, we are mindful
and profess in our Creed that Christ will come again to judge the living and
the dead. The Second Vatican Council's "Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church" states, "Already the final age of the world is with us and
the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated
in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a
sanctity that is real though imperfect" (No. 48). To try to grasp the
when, what and how of this Second Coming and last judgment, we really need to
glean the various passages in Sacred Scripture to see how our Church has
interpreted them. They are united in one drama. Our Lord in the Gospel spoke of
His second coming. He indicated that various signs would mark the event.
1. Mankind would suffer from famine,
pestilence and natural disasters.
2. False prophets who claim to be the
Messiah will deceive and mislead people.
3. Nations will wage war against each
other.
4. The Church will endure persecution.
5. Worse yet, the faith of many will
grow cold and they will abandon the faith, even betraying and hating one
another.
6. St. Paul describes a "mass
apostasy" before the Second Coming, which will be led by the "son of
perdition," the "Man of Lawlessness," the "adversary who
exalts himself above every so-called god proposed for worship." This
"lawless one" is part of the work of Satan, and with power, signs,
wonders and seductions will bring to ruin those who have turned from the truth.
7. However, "the Lord Jesus will
destroy him with the breath of His mouth and annihilate him by manifesting His
own presence." The Catechism affirms, "God's triumph over the revolt
of evil will take the form of the last judgment after the final cosmic upheaval
of this passing world" (No. 667).
8. Our Lord will come suddenly.
"The Son of Man in His day will be like the lightening that flashes from
one end of the sky to the other" St. Peter predicts, "The day of the
Lord will come like a thief and on that day the heavens will vanish with a
roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and all its deeds
will be made manifest" (2 Pt 3:10).
9. Death will be no more. The dead
shall rise and those souls who have died will be united again to their bodies.
All will have a glorious, transformed, spiritualized body as St. Paul said,
"He will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it
according to the pattern of His glorified body...".
10. At this time, the final, or general
judgment will occur. Jesus said, "Those who have done right shall rise to
life; the evildoers shall rise to be damned". Our Lord described this
judgment as follows: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, escorted by
all the angels of heaven, He will sit upon His royal throne and all the nations
will be assembled before Him. Then He will separate them into two groups, as a
shepherd separated sheep from goats" Here each person will have to account
for his conduct and the deepest secrets of his soul will come to light. How
well each person has responded to the prompting of God's grace will be made
clear. Our attitude and actions toward our neighbor will reflect how well we
have loved our Lord. "As often as you did it for one of My least brothers,
you did it for Me". Our Lord will judge us accordingly. For those who have
died and already have faced the particular judgment, their judgment will stand.
Those living at the time of the Second Coming will receive judgment.
a. Those who have rejected the Lord in
this life, who have sinned mortally, who have no remorse for sin and do not
seek forgiveness, will have condemned themselves to hell for all eternity.
b. "By rejecting grace in this
life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one's works and can
even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love
(Catechism, No. 678).
c. The souls of the righteous will
enter heavenly glory and enjoy the beatific vision and those who need
purification will undergo it.
Daily Devotions
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