DIWALI
2 Timothy, Chapter 4, Verse 6-8
6
For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my
departure is at hand. 7
I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.
8 From now
on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will
award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his
appearance.
The apostle
recognizes his death through martyrdom to be imminent. He regards it as an act of
worship in which his blood will be poured out in sacrifice. At the close of his
life Paul could testify to the accomplishment of what Christ himself foretold
concerning him at the time of his conversion, “I will show him what he will have
to suffer for my name “When
the world is judged at the Parousia, all who have eagerly looked for the Lord’s appearing and have sought to live
according to his teachings will be rewarded. The crown is a reference to the
laurel wreath placed on the heads of victorious athletes and conquerors in war.[1]
Under the traditional
calendar the Church focuses on making our hearts ready through faith as we
"redeem the times".
THE Introit of the Mass is a humble prayer by which we confess that
we are punished for our disobedience. “All that Thou hast done to us, O Lord,
Thou hast done in true judgment, because we have sinned against Thee, and we
have not obeyed Thy commandments ; but give glory to Thy name, and deal with us
according to the multitude of Thy mercy (Dan. iii.). “Blessed are the undefiled
in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.”
Prayer.
Be appeased, O Lord, we beseech Thee, and grant to Thy faithful
pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their offences, and serve
Thee with secure mind.
EPISTLE. Eph. v. 15-21.
See, brethren, how you
walk circumspectly: not as unwise, but as wise: redeeming the time, because the
days are evil. Wherefore become not unwise, but understanding what is the will
of God. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury, but be ye filled with
the Holy Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual
canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord: giving thanks
always for all things in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father:
being subject one to another in the fear of Christ.
GOSPEL. John vi. 46-53
At that time there was a certain ruler whose son was sick at
Capharnaum. He having heard that Jesus was - come from Judea into Galilee, went
to Him, and prayed Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point
of death. Jesus therefore said to him: Unless you see signs and wonders, you
believe not. The ruler saith to him: Lord, come down before that my son dies.
Jesus saith to him: Go thy way, thy son liveth. The man believed the word which
Jesus said to him and went his way. And as he was going down, his servants met
him: and they brought word, saying that his son lived. He asked therefore of
them the hour wherein he grew better. And they said to him: Yesterday at the
seventh hour the fever left him. The father therefore knew that it was at the
same hour that Jesus said to him, thy son liveth; and himself believed, and his
whole house.
Consolation in Sickness
To console ourselves in sickness, let us bethink ourselves that
God has sent us sickness for the good of our souls; that we may thereby attain
a knowledge of our sins, and make satisfaction for them; or, if we suffer
innocently, we may exercise ourselves in patience, charity, humility, and such
like virtues, and so increase our merits. When ill let us employ a competent
physician and use the remedies he may prescribe. But before all else, let us
betake ourselves to God, give ourselves up unreservedly to His will, pray Him
to enlighten the physician, and bless the means employed for our recovery, and
subdue our inclinations if the prescription of the physician does violence to
our former habits. For how otherwise should medicine have its proper effect?
O Lord, here burn, here
wound, only spare me in eternity!
St. Augustine
ON THE CARE OF THE SICK
All who have charge of the sick should before all think of the
soul, and to that end call upon Jesus to come in the Blessed Sacrament, before
the sick person is past the point of receiving Him with devotion. Therefore,
parents, children, relatives, and friends, if they truly love the sick, should
seek to induce him to receive the Blessed Sacrament in time. At the beginning,
and during the progress of the sickness, we should endeavor to encourage the
patient to resignation and childlike confidence in God; should place before him
the Savior, suffering and glorified, as a pattern and consolation, should pray
with him, to strengthen him against desponding thoughts and the temptations of
the devil; should sign him with the sign of the cross, sprinkle him with holy
water, and, before all, pray for a happy death. But in caring for the soul the
body is not to be neglected. We must call in time a skillful physician, give
the sick person his medicines at the appointed times, keep everything clean,
observe particularly the prescribed limit as to eating and drinking, and not
permit the patient to have his own will, for he might often desire what would
be hurtful to him. In general, we should do what, in like case, we would wish
to have done for ourselves, for there is no greater work of charity than to
attend a sick person, and particularly to assist him to a happy death.
The Feast of Christ the King (last Sunday of October)[3]
Pope Pius XI instituted
this feast in 1929 as a solemn affirmation of our Lord's kingship over every
human society. Pius saw the proliferation of secularism, particularly in
government, as one of the greatest heresies of our time, a heresy that leads not
only to an atrophy of faith but to a decay of civilization. Pius' intention in
combatting this pernicious error is aptly summed up in the stanzas of the
Vespers hymn for today, Te saeculorum Principem:
May heads of nations fear Thy name
And spread Thy honor through their lands,
Our nation's laws, our arts proclaim
The beauty of Thy just commands.
And spread Thy honor through their lands,
Our nation's laws, our arts proclaim
The beauty of Thy just commands.
Let kings the crown and scepter hold
As pledge of Thy supremacy;
And Thou all lands, all tribes enfold
In one fair realm of charity.
As pledge of Thy supremacy;
And Thou all lands, all tribes enfold
In one fair realm of charity.
The Feast of Christ the
King is therefore an important holyday that bears poignantly on our
contemporary political world (it is also, as we mentioned elsewhere,
a significant part of this eschatological time of year.) The chief practice
Pius XI wished to be observed on this day was making an Act of Dedication of
the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a prayer which can be found in old
editions of the Raccolta and in the current Enchiridion of indulgences (the
Church continues to grant a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, for
the devout recitation of this prayer on the Feast).
However, because the
feast is less than a hundred years old, no other distinctive customs or rituals
have yet accrued to its observance. This leaves a vacuum into which we can
offer only the most unauthoritative suggestions. In our opinion, for example, wreath
customs similar to those from the Feast of Corpus
Christi would be a good way of observing the day, as a wreath
betokens the supreme symbol of kingship, the crown. Likewise, a lamb dinner would
hearken to the vision given in today's Introit (there is even a blessing for lamb
from the Roman ritual that could be used). In any case, the Feast should be
used as an occasion for solemnly affirming Christ as the King of our heart and
of our country.
The Hindu’s in India celebrate its
festival of lights today. Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival of lights, which
represents the eternal triumph of light over darkness or the victory of good
over evil. Diwali, which literally means row of lights in Hindi, is primarily
celebrated in India. This celebration of light is India's most important
holiday and marks the start of the New Year.
Seek
the light of the adoration candle and visit Christ in the adoration chapel
today and ask for the conversion of the world.
Daily Devotions
·
Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving
your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after SUNSET ON SATURDAY till
Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
[1]
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/2timothy/4:6#63004006-1
[2]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896
[3]http://www.holytrinitygerman.org/postpentecostcustoms.htm#Feast_of_Christ_the_King
Comments
Post a Comment