Friday
after Ash Wednesday
NO MEAT
Sirach, Chapter 26, Verse 23-25
23
A godless wife will be given to the lawless man as his portion, but a godly
wife will be given to the man who fears the Lord. 24
A shameless woman wears out reproach, but a virtuous daughter will be modest
even before her husband. 25 A headstrong wife
is regarded as a bitch, but the one with a sense of shame fears the
Lord.
Well I never thought I would hear the word “bitch” in
the bible. I guess God calls it as He sees it.
Yet, as a man who has lived with four sisters (no
brothers) and also has five daughters I still have to admit I have no clue into
the psyche of the feminine sex. Therefore, I think the issue is more
physiological then psychological. There may be a reason God has commanded men
to stay away from women at certain times of the month. (Lv. 15:19-30) Solomon,
the wisest of men advises, “It is better
to dwell in a corner of the housetop than in a mansion with a quarrelsome
wife.” As men we are naturally drawn to women and we should use this time
of separation from them to draw ourselves closer to our true spouse the Holy
Spirit. When we are poor in spirit it is a good time to draw ourselves nearer
to the Lord.
Men should be aware of the seasons of a woman’s life
and plan ahead. Perhaps this is the beauty of the camping trip or the spiritual
retreat. Be mindful of what is going on with the physiology of your wife. If
you do you will most likely be psychologically & perhaps physiologically in
a better place.
Smart men get themselves informed on women’s issues
and act accordantly. There are many books out there on women’s issues. One interesting
series is the “The Bible Cure” by Don Colbert, M.D.
Be
Safe!
Friday after Ash
Wednesday-Fast Day
EPISTLE. Isaias
Iviii. 1-9.
THUS,
saith the Lord God: Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice - like a trumpet, and
show My people their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins. For they
seek Me from day to day, and desire to know My ways, as a nation that hath done
justice, and hath not forsaken the judgment of their God: they ask of Me the
judgments of justice: they are willing to approach to God. Why have we fasted,
and Thou hast not regarded: why have we humbled our souls, and Thou hast not
taken notice? Behold in the day of your fast your own will is found, and you
exact of all your debtors. Behold you fast for debates and strife, and strike with
the fist wickedly. Do not fast as you have done until this day, to make your
cry to be heard on high. Is this such a fast as I have chosen: for a man to
afflict his soul for a day? is this it, to wind his head about like a circle,
and to spread sack-cloth and ashes? wilt thou call this a fast, and a day
accept able to the Lord? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen?
Loose
the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are
broken go free, and break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the hungry
and bring the needy and the harborless into thy house: when thou shalt see one
naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh. Then shall thy light break
forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall
go before thy face, and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up. Then shalt
thou call, and the Lord shall hear thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.
Because I thy Lord God am merciful.
GOSPEL. Matt. v. 43,
vi. 1-4.
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: You have
heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy:
but I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray
for them that persecute and calumniate you: that you may be the children of
your Father Who is in heaven, Who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad,
and raineth upon the just and the unjust. For if you love them that love you,
what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this? And if you salute
your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this? Be you
therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect. Take heed, that you
do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not
have a reward of your Father Who is in heaven. Therefore, when thou dost an
alms deed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to
you, they have received their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left
hand know what thy right hand doth. That thy alms may be in secret, and thy
Father Who seeth in secret, will repay thee.
Posture
and Prayer[1]
We are composed of body and soul, “every part of the
body is an expressive instrument of the soul. The soul does not inhabit the
body as a man inhabits a house, it lives and works in each member, each fiber,
and reveals itself in the body’s every line, contour and movement.” Our bodies
communicate respect or contempt. By our gestures and the way, we comport
ourselves we confirm his presence. We are “ensouled” bodies as much as we are
embodied souls. We should always move as the Church directs us: sit, stand,
bow, kneel, strike the breast, make the Sign of the Cross, all in due time. The
scriptures speak of several postures of prayer: 1) Standing 2) Kneeling 3)
bowing 4) prostrating.
Standing gives the expression to the
prayers of our heart. Standing is a sign of vigilance and action acknowledging
that we are the warriors of God, as a soldier on duty. A Knight always stood in
the presence of the King or Judge. Standing was a sign of deference and trust.
We acknowledge that none of our weapons or self-defenses can repel Him for He
alone is all powerful and all knowing. We are vulnerable in His presence.
Military officers know that comportment has serious consequences. Soldiers tend
to live up, or down to the way they carry themselves. That’s why there are
strict rules about how a soldier should stand when at attention. Bad posture is
bad for the spine and communicates disrespect for us and others. Standing
expresses the filial liberty given us by the risen Christ, who has freed us
from the slavery to sin.
Bowing or
genuflecting is an
act of showing recognition of our God. It is adoration. In bowing or genuflecting
we show our faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the
altar. To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Kneeling is the prayer posture of mothers,
rulers, lepers, and Jesus himself. Kneeling is the side of worship that is at
rest and is quiet; “I bow my knees before the Father”. (Eph. 3:14) Kneeling
expresses the recognition of our humility before the Almighty Lord (Phil 2:10).
Kneeling is associated with reverence, submission and obeisance. Kneeling
renders a person defenseless and unable to flee and shows a trust in a power
beyond the merely human.
Sitting-We spend a lot of time in church
sitting; by this position we show our receptiveness and our willingness to
listen and take the Word of God.
In prostration a person lies face down upon the
ground. We are connected to the earth from which we came. Prostrations are
reserved for most solemn moments, such as the ordination of a bishop or priest.
Remember our Lord prostrated Himself in the garden of Gethsemane. The posture
indicates the candidate’s inadequacy for the task to which he has been called.
Recall our Lord asking the Father to take to cup…but not my will but thine. Our
body expresses self-emptying.
Worship Him and give Him all your heart, mind, soul
and will!
Grace at Meals[2]
Part
and parcel of the breakdown of a family begins when the family no longer shares
a communal meal. The strongest families are those who meet daily for the
breaking of the bread and have an established time of the day when everyone is
expected to eat together whether that meal is a breakfast, lunch or supper.
When we “say grace” before (or after) our meals, we transform our family or
lone meals into “sacraments” of God’s banquet. A meal shared in this manner is
shared with God himself. In this way every meal, then, is a celebration of
God’s creation and his providence.
Traditional
Grace before meals
“Bless
us, O Lord, and these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy
bounty. Through Christ, our Lord, Amen
Lament
of Christ
X
My
friends and My neighbors have drawn near and stood against Me.
X
I
was delivered up and came not forth; My eyes languished through poverty.
X
And
my sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down and upon the ground.
X
For
many dogs have encompassed Me the council of the malignant hath besieged Me.
X
I
have given My body to the strikers and My cheeks to them that plucked them.
X
I
have not turned away My face from them that rebuked Me and spit upon Me.
X
For
I am ready for scourges, and My sorrow is continually before Me.
X
The
soldiers, plaiting a crown of thorns, placed it upon My head.
X
They
have dug My hands and feet; they have numbered all My bones.
X
And
they gave Me gall for My food; and in My thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
X
All
they that saw Me laughed Me to scorn; they have spoken with lips and wagged
their heads.
X
They
have looked and stared upon Me; they parted My garments among them and upon My
vesture they cast lots.
X
Into
Thy hands I commend My spirit; Thou has redeemed me, O God of truth.
X
Be
mindful, O Lord, of Thy servants, when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom.
X
And
Jesus having cried out with a loud voice gave up the ghost.
V. Have mercy on us, O benign Jesus. R. Who in Thy clemency didst suffer for us.
Look down, we beseech Thee, O Lord, on this Thy family for which Our Lord Jesus Christ did not hesitate to be delivered into the hands of the wicked and suffer the torments of the Cross.
Get Ready for Spring in Dallas
Starting February 29
Can’t
wait for spring? Head to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden to see the largest
floral festival in the Southwest. Themed "A World of Flowers," this
year's festival features an explosion of color from more than 500,000
spring-blooming blossoms, thousands of azaleas and hundreds of Japanese cherry
trees.
Daily
Devotions
·
Manhood of the Master-Day 19
[1] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 10. Posture.
[2] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 14. Grace at Meals.
Comments
Post a Comment