Proverbs, Chapter 3, Verse 24-26
24 When
you lie down, you will not be afraid,
when you rest, your sleep will be sweet. 25 Do
not be afraid of sudden terror, of
the ruin of the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your
confidence, and will keep your foot from the snare.
Where does your
confidence come from? In whom do you trust?
The enemy wants
to steal our peace and keep us stirred up, anxious, fearful, upset, and always
in a stance of waiting for something terrible to happen at any minute. The
enemy wants us unable to forget the terrible things that occurred in the past
and instead remember them as though they happened yesterday. God has healing
for upsetting memories. It’s not that He gives us amnesia. We still remember
that it happened, but not incessantly and not with the same pain and torture.
Peace is more than just having a good night’s sleep— although many people would
think even that to be a miracle— but it is peace in every part of your being
all the time. It is a place you live because of the One who lives in you. Jesus
made it possible for us to have the peace that passes all understanding— the
kind that carries us, stabilizes us, grounds us, and keeps us from slipping.[1]
Be aware of the small
things and people who enter your life: It may be from the Lord.
A LION was
awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up angrily, he
caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated,
saying: “If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your
kindness.” The Lion laughed and let him go. It happened shortly after this that
the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the
ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came and gnawed the rope with his
teeth, and set him free, exclaiming: “You ridiculed the idea of my ever being
able to help you, not expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favor;
now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a
Lion.”[2]
Feast of Our
Lady of Guadalupe
"Celebrating
Mary is, first and foremost, remembering our mother, remembering that we are
not and never will be an orphaned people. We have a Mother! And where there is
a mother, there is always the presence and flavor of home. Where there is a
mother, brothers and sisters may fight, but the sense of unity will always
prevail. Where there is a mother, the struggle for fraternity will not be
lacking. It has always impressed me to see, in different Latin American peoples,
those struggling mothers who, often alone, manage to support their children.
This is how Mary is. Mary is this way with us: we are her children: a woman who
fights against the society of distrust and blindness, the society of apathy and
dispersion; a woman who fights to strengthen the joy of the Gospel, who fights
to give 'flesh' to the Gospel." (Pope Francis, homily on Monday, Dec. 12,
2016)[3]
Mary had no fear of the world or man, yet, when the
angel appeared, she was immersed in holy fear. Let us follow Mary’s example and
bravely face the day saying YES to God.
Listen to Mary’s words of encouragement as she
appeared to Saint Juan Diego.
"Hear me and
understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you.
Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other
sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my
protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else
do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything."
One wonders if Mary thought of these same
affirmations during the angel’s visit of God the Father. Are you not happily
within my fold! Are you not under my protection!
Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego just 12 years after
the defeat of the Aztec empire by Hernan Cortes. Documents from that period
indicate that the Aztec leadership was hatching a plot to reestablish
themselves and renew the taking of human hearts as a sacrifice to their gods.
Our Lady stopped that with her appearance to Juan Diego. In the space of 10
years after her appearance over 9 million Aztecs converted to the faith.[4]
·
Start
a novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
·
If
you live close to La Crosse, WI visit the beautiful Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe; if not make a
virtual visit.
·
Make
a sacrifice, say a prayer or visit the Blessed Sacrament for an end to
abortion.
·
If
your parish is having a pro-life Mass or holy hour try to attend.
·
Have
a party, which includes a procession and a special Mexican dinner to celebrate
the feast.
In 1910 Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared Patroness of Latin
America, and in 1945 Pope Pius XII declared Her to be the Empress of all the
Americas. "Rejoice: the Lord is nigh." As Christmas draws near, the
Church emphasizes the joy which should be in our hearts over all that the birth
of our Savior means for us. The great joy of Christians is to see the day
drawing nigh when the Lord will come again in His glory to lead them into His
kingdom. The oft-repeated Veni ("Come") of Advent is an echo
not only of the prophets but also of the conclusion of the Apocalypse of St.
John: "Come, Lord Jesus," the last words of the New Testament.
Our
Lady came to offer faith, hope and consolation to the oppressed natives of
Mexico and to reconcile them with their Spanish rulers. She put an end to the
bloody human sacrifice of the Aztecs and converted ten million natives in the
next 10 years! After the conquest, the Spanish rule of the natives was so
severe that a bloody revolt was imminent. Bishop Zummaraga prayed for Our Lady
to intervene to prevent an uprising, to reconcile the Spanish and the natives
and to bring peace. He asked that he receive roses native to his homeland of
Castile Spain as a sign that his prayer would be answered. On December 9, 1531,
Our Lady appeared to Blessed Juan Diego who was a recently converted Aztec. She
asked him to go to the Bishop and request him to build a church for her on the
barren hill of Tepeyac which part of Mexico City is now. Our Lady wanted to
show her merciful love to all of her children. The prudent Bishop asked Juan to
ask the Lady for a sign. Juan did so, and Our Lady promised to give him the
sign. On December 12, Our Lady again appeared to Juan on Tepeyac Hill and told
him to pick the Castilian roses which miraculously appeared there and bring
them to the Bishop as a sign for him to believe her request. Juan gathered the
roses into his tilma and brought them to the Bishop. He opened the tilma to
show them and, to everyone's astonishment, the Image of Our Lady appeared on
it. The Bishop then built the church as Our Lady had requested and ten million
natives were converted and baptized to the one, true faith within the next 10
years. Human sacrifice ended in Mexico forever. Our Lady of Guadalupe, which
means Crusher of the serpent's head, brought the light of the true faith,
crushed the false gods of Mexico, and established an era of peace.
The Image as Pictograph
The
Image of Our Lady is actually an Aztec Pictograph which was read and understood
quickly by the Aztec Indians.
- THE LADY
STOOD IN FRONT OF THE SUN - She was greater than their dreaded sun-god
"Huitzilopochtli".
- HER FOOT
RESTED ON THE CRESCENT MOON - She had clearly vanquished their foremost
deity, the feather serpent "Quetzalcoatl".
- THE STARS
STREWN ACROSS THE MANTLE - She was greater than the stars of heaven which
they worshipped. She was a virgin and the Queen of the heavens for Virgo
rests over her womb and the northern crown upon her head. She appeared on
December 12, 1531, for the stars that she wore are the constellation of
stars that appeared in the sky that day!
- THE
BLUEâGREEN HUE OF HER MANTLE - She was a Queen for she wears the color of
royalty.
- THE BLACK
CROSS ON THE BROOCH AT HER NECK - Her God was that of the Spanish
Missionaries, Jesus Christ her son.
- THE BLACK
BELT - She was with child for she wore the Aztec Maternity Belt.
- THE
FOUR-PETAL FLOWER OVER THE WOMB - She was the "Mother of God."
The flower was a special symbol of life, movement and deity - the center
of the universe.
- HER HANDS ARE
JOINED IN PRAYER - She was not God but clearly there was one greater than
Her and she pointed her finger to the cross on her brooch.
- THE DESIGN ON
HER ROSE-COLORED GARMENT - She is the "Queen of the Earth," for
she is wearing a map of Mexico telling the Indians exactly where the
apparition took place.
The Image and Science
- The image to
this date, cannot be explained by science.
- The image
shows no sign of deterioration after 450 years! The tilma or cloak of Juan
Diego on which the image of Our Lady has been imprinted, is a coarse
fabric made from the threads of the maguey cactus. This fiber
disintegrates within 20-60 years!
- There is no
under-sketch, no sizing and no protective over-varnish on the image.
- Microscopic
examination revealed that there were no brush strokes.
- The image
seems to increase in size and change colors due to an unknown property of
the surface and substance of which it is made.
- According to
Kodak of Mexico, the image is smooth and feels like a modern-day
photograph. (It was produced 300 years before the invention of
photography.)
- The image has
consistently defied exact reproduction, whether by brush or camera.
- Several
images can be seen reflected in the eyes of the Virgin. It is believed to
be the images of Juan Diego, Bishop Juan de Zummaraga, Juan Gonzales, the
interpreter and others.
- The
distortion and place of the images are identical to what is produced in
the normal eye which is impossible to obtain on a flat surface.
- The stars on
Our Lady's Mantle coincide with the constellation in the sky on December
12, 1531. All who have scientifically examined the image of Our Lady over
the centuries confess that its properties are absolutely unique and so
inexplicable in human terms that the image can only be supernatural!
It is interesting
to note that our Lady Mary manifested herself to the new world on or around the
traditional Jewish feast of Hanukkah which she must have celebrated with Joseph
and her son Christ.
“Conversely, the red plant itself burns a
brighter red when set off by the green than when it grows among its peers. In
the bed I always reserved for poinsettia seedlings, there was little to
distinguish one plant from its neighbors. My poinsettia did not turn scarlet
until I planted it in new surroundings. Color is not something one has, color
is bestowed on one by others.”
― Arthur Japin
― Arthur Japin
Poinsettia Day, a day to celebrate the ever-popular
red flower used around the Christmas holiday season. When looking at a
Poinsettia, all we can think of is “The Poinsettia is to Christmas like a
pumpkin is to Halloween” But where is the Poinsettia from, and how did it
become a Christmas staple? That’s why we’re here to find out what Poinsettia
Day is all about! To find out where the Poinsettia flower originated from, we
have to take a look in the past. In 1480 to his death, Aztec King Montezuma
adorned his palace with Poinsettia or Cuetlaxochitl as it was known by the Aztecs,
having his people cultivate the flower as a gift from the Gods. Poinsettia was
served as a reminder of the sacrifice that the Aztec gods had made to create
the universe and that the debt would be repaid in human sacrifices. The Aztecs
used the Poinsettia’s sap to cure fevers and the leaves make a dye. Then, in
the 17th century after the Conquistadors invaded Mexico, the blood red wild
flower became a part of Christian ceremony for the first time when it was used
in the nativity procession, the Fiesta of Santa Pesebre. It’s around this time
that many legends originated, attempting to explain why the plant, beginning to
be called “La flor de Nochebuena,” or Holy Night had acquired its bright and
beautiful red color. After being discovered in 1828 by Joel Roberts Poinsett,
the poinsettia became a popular specimen among botanists. One Botanist in
particular by the name of Wilenow, in 1833 he named the Poinsettia “Euporbia
pulcherrima.” But after only four years another botanist by the name of William
Hickling Prescott renamed the flower to “Poinsettia pulcherrima” in honor of
the man who brought the flower back to be studied, Joel Poinsett.
How to Celebrate Poinsettia Day
To celebrate
Poinsettia Day, the Poinsettia is displayed on the Dia de le Virgen, or Virgin’s
Day on December 12th in Mexico. In the United States, there are parades that
include Poinsettias to commemorate Joel Poinsett’s discovery of the plant in
the month of December.
Spiritual Crib[9]
A special devotion that can be performed during Advent to
prepare for the coming of the Infant Savior. It can be adapted for adults
and/or children and applied as is appropriate to your state in life.
·
2nd Day, December 12th: THE FOUNDATION—Humility We lay the foundation of our little Stable
by practicing the virtue of humility. Therefore, we may not excuse ourselves,
either good or evil; make frequent acts of humility and perform at least one
humble task. Clean the toilets
Full Cold Moon
According to the
almanac today is a Full Cold Moon; today would be a good day to take the
children/grandchildren out in the cold and enjoy hot chocolate afterward.
Daily
Devotions
·
Attend
Mass: During the Octave of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
[1]Omartian,
Stormie. The 7-Day Prayer Warrior Experience
[2]George
Fyler Townsend. Aesop's Fables
[4]
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the civilization of love. Carl Anderson & Msgr. Eduardo
Chavez. http://www.secretsoftheimage.org/en/index.html
[8]https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/poinsettia-day/
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