Thursday after Sexagesima-Carnival
holy face (Day 5) FRANCISCO AND JACINTA
MARTO
Sirach,
Chapter 22, Verse 16
A wooden beam firmly
bonded into a building is not loosened by an earthquake; So the mind firmly
resolved after careful deliberation will not be afraid at any time.
A prudent mind firmly resolved is undisturbed by
violent and conflicting thoughts. Sometimes we all have senseless thoughts and
feelings which shake us, but faith is a firm anchor for our thoughts. We indeed
do have the power within ourselves to choose not to react to impulsive
thoughts.
·
Holiness
consists in friendship with God. If we would be in any sense the friends of
God, we must have at least that
desire for holiness without which such friendship would be impossible; growth
in the knowledge of God is the deepening of this friendship.
·
To
know God is to know self and if we know ourselves well, we know we have one or
two prominent sins that have dogged our life’s path for years, and against
these we struggle bravely and are conscious that God is helping us.
·
Sin
and sanctity reveal us to ourselves; therefore, if there is to be any spiritual
growth, there must be a growth in
self-knowledge. We cannot make any serious attempt to conquer our sins until we
know what who we are and who’s we are.
·
The
greatest advancement we make is when we learn to examine ourselves in the light
of Christ.
·
To
examine ourselves in the light of Christ a good place to begin is with the
seven heavenly virtues: Humility, Charity, Chastity, Patience, Temperance,
Diligence, and kindness.
It might sound
odd that during the period of "Carnival" there occurs some of the
most decadent feasting of the liturgical year. There is, however, a pious (if
not somewhat convoluted) logic behind this consumption. Because not only meat
but lacticinia (dairy products) were originally prohibited during Lent,
Christians knew
that they had to eat these foods before Ash Wednesday, or they would spoil. The
last days before Lent were thus spent in eating copious amounts of fat dishes.
From this necessity comes England's famous Shrove Tuesday Pancakes and northern
England's Collop Monday (a collop is made of sliced meat and eggs fried in
butter). This also gave rise to the most famous (or infamous, depending on your
point of view) Christian party of all:
Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday," is the French
celebration of the final day before Lent. In this country it is associated
mostly with the Cajun and Creole cuisine of New Orleans, two culinary
traditions that provide a myriad of spicy, delicious dishes. One of the more
interesting customs of the New Orleans Mardi Gras is the baking of a King's
Cake, in which is placed a small doll of the Infant Jesus. The person whose
piece of cake has the doll must provide the cake for next year's party.
Postmodern man—and postmodern woman—don’t
know how to give a good party. It’s up to us Catholics to reclaim this lost art
and share it with the world.
Why? Because good parties are intrinsic to
our Catholic faith. The liturgical year is punctuated with a wide array of
feast days and celebrations, many of which are Christianized versions of
holidays that once closely tracked the agricultural calendar of planting and
harvesting. The two largest and best-known feasts are, of course, Christmas and
Easter, but there are also the two Christmas and Easter spin-offs, Epiphany and
Pentecost. In addition, there’s the feast of Mary, Mother of God (New Year’s
Day); Ascension Thursday; Corpus Christi; the feast of the Immaculate Conception;
All Saints Day (with Halloween and the Day of the Dead); and, the most famous
party of all, Mardi Gras, which has strayed far from its Catholic origin as the
last celebration before the Lenten fast but still embodies a certain Catholic
sensibility. Above all, every Sunday for Catholics is a feast day on which we
celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Only in Lent and the mini-Lent of Advent is it
not party time, but even in these two seasons, there are exceptions for St.
Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, St. Nicholas’s Day, and other feasts.
Of course, as the Church wisely realizes,
feasts are more fun if preceded by fasts. The stricter the fast, the merrier
the feast. Truly the Catholic tradition has mastered the art of well-timed,
heavily scheduled, carefully orchestrated good times.
The occasion of a sacrament—baptism,
confirmation, or matrimony—is the best possible opportunity for a good party.
In fact, many Catholics take it for granted that a wedding should be marked by
a grand feast. The bigger and more elaborate the feast, the more it conforms to
the biblical model in John 2:1-11 of the wedding feast at Cana. Mary, Jesus,
and His disciples all attend. In the middle of the party, the wine runs out.
Mary explains this difficult situation to her son; after all, the gospel
implies, it won’t be much of a party without wine. After an exchange with His
mother, Jesus asks those in charge to fill six stone pots with water. "And
they filled them to the brim," John says. When the host tastes the water,
he is startled to discover that Jesus has changed it to wine, and not just any
wine but the best they will have all night. Hence, Jesus’ first miracle was not
a solemn occasion, as one might expect, but a celebration.
Party Poopers
You might expect that such a remarkable
story as this, one that recounts Jesus’ first public display of divine power,
would be standard fare in evangelical Protestant pulpits, where the words of
the Bible take precedence over any liturgical design. Not so. If you have ever
attended a Southern Baptist wedding, for example, you know why: There is no
feast. The ceremony lasts perhaps 20 minutes at most, and then the entire crowd
descends to the social hall under the church to eat pastel butter mints and
cake and sip a tiny cup of fizzy, pink, nonalcoholic punch. Wine is forbidden
by tradition, so no one is looking for any. The whole affair is over in less
than an hour. Baptists may be people of the Book, but they certainly are not
people of the party. So much for living the words of Scripture.
How did the wedding feast, so joyously
celebrated at Cana, come to be the dreary occasion that it is in the Baptist
tradition? Like members of other non-liturgical faiths, Southern Baptists tend
to reject regularly scheduled intervals of joy, sadness, celebration, and
suffering, less for explicit doctrinal reasons than because it all just seems
too, well, Catholic.
Protestants have traditionally found the
Catholicity of Christian holidays deeply problematic. During the colonial
period, Massachusetts actually outlawed Christmas, and the controversy about
whether to put up a lighted tree in church still erupts in evangelical
congregations. If Protestant Americans had been left to their own devices, we
would celebrate only Thanksgiving (which is actually a version of St. Martin’s
Day, November 11) and the Fourth of July.
This aspect of the Catholic faith is as
conspicuous to outsiders as it is taken for granted by us: One day we are
eating pancakes and throwing parties for Fat Tuesday, and the next day, Ash
Wednesday, we are walking around with ashes on our foreheads repenting for our
sins. What is it about us Romanists and our ways?
Biblical Partying
The
Bible, it turns out, is filled with fabulous parties. Think of the parable of
the prodigal son. When he returns to his father’s home with a contrite heart
after living the high life, he is not given broth and sent to bed. No, his
father says, "bring hither the fatted calf, kill it, and let us eat and be
merry; for this my son," as if to show that home is where the high life
actually is. St. Clement of Alexandria wrote: "The repentant son came to
the pitying father, never hoping for these things—the best robe, and the ring,
and the shoes—or to taste the fatted calf, or to share in gladness, or enjoy
music and dances; he would have been contented with obtaining what in his own
estimation he deemed himself worthy." Instead, he got it all. Given this
spirit of liberality in one of Jesus’ own parables, a good Catholic should be
prepared to throw a great party whenever the opportunity arises. Now, it’s true
that merrymaking cannot be the sum total of the way we live. The ever-stern St.
Francis de Sales, in his Introduction to the Devout Life, warns against
excessive frivolity. But he does affirm that balls and festivities are not evil
in themselves and can even be used for good. "It is lawful to amuse
yourself, to dance, dress, feast, and see seemly plays," he affirms. The
proviso is that the good times must not hinder, but help, devotion.
Boring Parties
·
What
is striking about modern life is how dull our attempts at frivolity often turn
out to be, not only because they are not interrupted by fasting and prayer, as
they should be, but also because we have lost the art of how to throw a good
party.
·
We’ve
all had the experience of walking into a party where we know only a few people,
and all the rest are talking among themselves. We find someone we know and hope
he doesn’t mind if we talk exclusively to him for, oh, the entire length of the
party.
·
We
know we are supposed to mingle with the others, but no matter how many tips on
that we’ve heard or read, mingling never seems to work. Some people resent
intrusions into their conversations, and in any case, there usually doesn’t
seem to be much to talk about. The most we can hope for is a good opportunity
to make an inconspicuous exit.
·
Thousands
of parties like this come and go without leaving any impression on the guests.
The host is left with a huge mess and not much else to show for it. It’s no
wonder that many people are disinclined to hold parties, or that they do it
only when they have to, or that they invite only the in-crowd when they can get
away with it, or that they never attempt much in the way of food and drink
beyond chips and beer.
Find a Reason to Party
It doesn’t have to be this way. All
parties should have an ostensible reason for being. This is what makes them
communal occasions and provides a reason why all these people should be
together in one spot at the same time. With a theme, people have a mental hook,
so that they can later think: "I loved that St. Cecilia party"
Fortunately, our liturgical calendar provides plenty of ideas for themes.
Saints’ days are the perfect excuses for celebrations, and it helps that these
days rarely step on the more conventional party excuses of everyone else.
Here’s why theme parties are out of
fashion: We live in a culture obsessed with the fear of violating someone else’s
conscience. We don’t impose our values on others, and we never assert the
superiority of our own or point out problems with others’ points of view. If we
happen to have values, that’s fine, but we dare not suggest that others should
adopt them. That would be bad form. A theme party is typically seen as an
imposition on the conscience. For example, say you invite guests to your house
to celebrate the feast of St. Blaise on February 3. What if they don’t like
this saint, or they think saints are generally weird? What if they aren’t in
the mood? Why should your priorities trump theirs? Isn’t it manipulative to
tell people how they should feel? These are the kinds of deconstructionist
fears that tacitly haunt us and keep us from setting a theme for an evening.
The Catholic liturgy, however, assigns themes to practically every day. We are
supposed to mourn on Good Friday and then two days later shout,
"Alleluia" Is this manipulative? Not at all. Theologian Michael Foley
of Boston College points out that the purpose of gathering together is to
experience something together. He writes in his online liturgy manual (www.holytrinitygerman.org):
"From the exilic pining of Septuagesima to the austerity of Lent, from the
grief of Passiontide to the jubilance of the Pasch, the Church, by staggering
its feasts and observances in a particular order, enables the faithful to
experience a number of holy feelings as one. Indeed, the emotional range of the
traditional Roman rite is perhaps the most variegated in all of Christendom."
Liturgical themes for parties are great, especially if they involve a
sacrament. But the theme doesn’t have to be solemn and liturgical. It can be a
mere excuse: to celebrate the opening of a great bottle of wine, to commemorate
the hanging of a new painting, to mark the first day of summer, to eat an
unusual food, to blow off steam after final exams. It takes very little
creativity to come up with a good idea for a party. Even foolish themes are
fun, like the "white elephant" parties of the 1950s, to which guests
brought worthless gifts.
The Big Moment
·
Even
more important than the theme of the party is the central moment of the party:
Someone clinks a glass and makes an announcement that unifies the guests as a
group. Ninety-nine percent of parties do not include this crucial feature,
which is why most are unsatisfying. A group event of some sort underscores the
reason for the party and gives people something to remember about it besides a
few isolated conversations.
·
Toasts
are invaluable for this purpose. When making a toast, don’t worry about being
eloquent. Something as simple as "To St. Joseph the Worker" is
enough.
Lose the Chips and Dips
Whatever happened to dinner parties? They
are becoming ever rarer. Today, food at parties mostly consists of snacky
things you can pick up with your fingers, the better to stay on the move with.
But the whole premise of moving around a party is wrong. It’s important that
people be able to sit, so they can listen and share a group moment. Try having
a dinner party and see what happens. You don’t have to have a huge dining
table. Even if everyone is sitting on folding chairs eating chili, it is far
better than yet another round of chips, dips, and existential isolation. And by
the way, today’s emphasis on the quality of food at parties is wildly
misplaced. You can hire the best catering service in town or knock yourself out
cooking for days, but if you have no theme, no central moment, and no place for
your guests to sit, the best snacks on the planet are not going to save your
party.
Pick Your Poison
It happens all the time. You walk into
your friends’ house for a party. They ask you what you want to drink and then
run through a list of options: orange juice, diet and regular Coke and Sprite,
Miller Lite, Bud Lite, sparkling water, V8, cran-apple juice, Fresca, coffee,
ten more unappealing liquids, and, finally, water. You suddenly get this vague
sense that maybe the V8 has been around awhile, or the Sprite may be flat, or
the coffee not made, or the Fresca—do they even make that anymore? In the end,
someone finally says, "Oh, I’ll just have a glass of water." Someone
else concurs. Folks, when that happens, the party is over before it begins.
The way to avoid this catastrophe is to
have one official drink of the evening. "Tonight," you announce,
"I am serving champagne cocktails" Who wouldn’t cheer? Serve them
with a cherry or an orange slice, and you have created a memorable drink.
Alternatively, you could serve martinis, or mint juleps, or some slushy, fruity
concoction from the freezer. Whatever it is, stick to it. If someone doesn’t
drink, he’ll say so. You should always have some fancy water available for
nondrinkers and throw in a slice of lemon or lime for good measure.
What to Wear?
What people should wear to a party is a
tricky subject. This much is an incontrovertible fact: The best parties feature
people dressing up, or at least not wearing torn cutoffs and worn sneakers. But
if you tell your guests to come casual, cutoffs and sneakers is what you will
get. Such is the nature of the times. Just look at what people wear to Mass
these days! You can hardly expect them to show up at your party dressed any
better.
People act nicer and smarter, however,
when they wear nice clothes. They sit straighter and generally feel as though
something special is taking place. Grubby clothes and truly memorable times
just don’t mix, unless you are at the lake or repairing a house or in some
other situation that specifically calls for casual attire.
Dress codes can seem like an imposition to
some these days. I handle it by telling guests, "Feel free to dress
up" or, "I’ll be in a coat and tie." It’s a way of leaving their
options open while delivering a strong hint. Finally, don’t rule out telling
your guests that the dress is black tie. If it’s New Year’s Eve, this can make
the evening even more joyful.
Setting the Mood
Can we have a break from rock music,
please? Classical music is perfectly festive. Try Schubert’s Trout Quintet,
Mozart’s string quintets, Bach’s orchestral works, or even light operas.
Chamber music works better at parties than symphonies. Pre-World War II jazz
has an endless capacity to charm. Old and new movie soundtracks are always fun.
How about bluegrass? The idea is to play something that is not too intrusive
but isn’t boringly familiar either.
Catholic liturgical music is great, but it
should be reserved for Mass and Vespers, not parties. Always remember Pope St.
Clement’s dictum from the first century: no pagan music at liturgy and no
liturgical music at minstrel shows or other non-sacred occasions. That doesn’t
mean you shouldn’t listen to and enjoy Machaut and Byrd at home, but parties
aren’t the right times to push this repertoire.
My final musical note: If someone in the
group can play the piano and there’s one in your home, it should be compulsory
that he play.
It’s Party Time
More important than the specifics of a
party are the spirit. The spirit of a good party is a variant of the spirit of
good liturgy: a work of a community of people that follows a plan. "Every
religion has its feasts," the Catholic Encyclopedia says, "but
none has such a rich and judiciously constructed system of festive seasons as
the Catholic Church."
It’s time we lived up to our religious
tradition by putting some effort and thought into our parties. Given the
generally dull tenor of the times, you will suddenly become a famous and
much-heralded host or hostess by making a little effort at being
countercultural. And you will also help demonstrate to others, in the tradition
of Cana, that we Catholics are not always dour and penitent, but also, at the
right time, fun and hospitable people who display our hope that someday we will
join the heavenly banquet, the most wonderful party of all. It’s part of our
heritage and our faith.
5 Best Mardi Gras
Celebrations Not in New Orleans[4]
With
over-the-top parades, festive music and delicious king cake, it’s easy to see
why New Orleans is synonymous with Mardi Gras. You may be surprised to learn,
however, that Fat Tuesday, the French translation of Mardi Gras, is actually
just one day in a much longer celebration known as Carnival, which spans from
the Epiphany (January 6) to Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent).
New
Orleans has hosted an official Mardi Gras parade nearly every year since 1837,
with only 13 cancellations due mostly to war. With a yearly attendance around
1.4 million, it’s the largest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States. Size
isn’t everything though. Cities around the globe celebrate Carnival in their
own special way and we’ve highlighted five of the most unique below.
1:
Mobile, Alabama
If you
head two hours east from New Orleans you’ll land in Mobile, Alabama, the
original home of Mardi Gras in the United States. Mobile’s first Fat Tuesday
celebration took place in 1703 and the first masked ball began the following
year. At that time, Mobile was the capital of French Louisiana but due to fear
of hurricane damage, the capital was moved to New Orleans along with the Mardi
Gras tradition in 1718. Nearly 150 years later, the Mardi Gras celebration
returned to Mobile and it’s now the second largest Fat Tuesday gathering in the
country.
2:
Venice, Italy
Estimated
to have originated in the 12th century, Venetian Carnival draws millions of
visitors each year. The festival is perhaps best known for the elaborate masks
worn and sold on the streets of Venice. The expressive masks were worn during
Carnival as early as the 13th century and they remain a symbol of the city to
this day. The highlight of the Venetian Carnival is the Maschera piu Bella
contest, which takes place in Saint Mark’s Square. In the weeks leading up to
Mardi Gras, masked contestants dressed head-to-toe in decorative costumes are
judged by a panel of experts and the winner is chosen on Fat Tuesday.
3:
Nice, France
With a
history that dates back to 1294, the original Carnival celebration is located
in sun-soaked Nice, France. Nice Carnival is the premiere winter event on the
French Riviera and draws over a million people each year. The celebration,
which has a different theme every year, lasts for 15 days and visitors are
treated to an array of floats and over 1,000 musicians and dancers from around
the world. Not to be missed are the flower battles in which mimosas, gerberas
and lilies are tossed to spectators from decorated floats.
4:
Binche, Belgium
The
Carnival of Binche is one of Europe’s oldest surviving street carnivals (dating
back to the 14th century) and in 2003, it was recognized as an “Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO. The town begins celebrating several
weeks before Ash Wednesday, but the carnival officially begins on the Sunday
before and culminates on Mardi Gras when masked men known as Gilles parade
through town in their traditional costumes consisting of wooden clogs, wax
masks and ostrich-feather hats. After the dressing ceremony in the early hours
of Mardi Gras, the Gilles lead a procession through town with musicians,
dancers and other costumed participants in tow. The highlight of the day,
though, is in the evening when the Gilles head to Binche’s Grand Place to dance
under a fireworks display.
5:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Known as
the Carnival capital of the world, Rio de Janeiro welcomes approximately
500,000 visitors every year looking to experience one of the most colorful and
artistic celebrations in the world. Rio Carnival is a five-day celebration that
begins with the Rio mayor handing an oversized key to the city to someone
dressed as King Momo (a mythical character based off Greek mythology and
Brazilian folklore). The party takes over the city and eventually culminates
with the Samba Parade at the Sambodromo, a stadium specifically built in 1984
for this event. The parade is essentially a competition between samba schools
(social clubs with their own colors, flag and supporters) that involves months
of preparation. The highly orchestrated events takes place over the span of a
few days and schools are judged in 10 categories with the results being
revealed on Ash Wednesday.
NOVENA
TO THE HOLY FACE
DAILY
PREPARATORY PRAYER
We now implore all the Angels and Saints to intercede for us as we pray this Holy Novena to the Most Holy Face of Jesus and for the glory of the most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Fifth
Day
Psalm 5 1, 10-11.
Make me hear rejoicing and gladness, that the bones you have crushed may revive. From my sins turn away your Face and blot out all my guilt.
Through the merits of your precious blood and your Holy Face, O Jesus, grant us our petition, Pardon and Mercy.
Prayer to Saint Joseph
Dear Saint Joseph! Adopt us as thy children, take charge of our salvation; watch over us day and night; preserve us from occasions of sin; obtain for us purity of body and soul, and the spirit of prayer, through thy intercession with Jesus, grant us a spirit of sacrifice, of humility and self-denial; obtain for us a burning love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and a sweet, tender love for Mary, our Mother.
Saint Joseph, be with us in life, be with us in death and obtain for us a favorable judgment from Jesus, our merciful Savior. Amen.
Pray
one (1) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary’s, (1) Glory Be.
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine. (Three times)
Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three
children, Portuguese shepherds from Aljustrel, received apparitions of Our Lady
at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time,
Europe was involved in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was in
political turmoil, having overthrown its monarchy in 1910; the government
disbanded religious organizations soon after. At the first appearance, Mary
asked the children to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for
the next six months. She also asked them to learn to read and write and to pray
the rosary “to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” They were to
pray for sinners and for the conversion of Russia, which had recently
overthrown Czar Nicholas II and was soon to fall under communism. Up to 90,000
people gathered for Mary’s final apparition on October 13, 1917. Less than two
years later, Francisco died of influenza in his family home. He was
buried in the parish cemetery and then re-buried in the Fatima basilica in
1952. Jacinta died of influenza in Lisbon, offering her suffering for
the conversion of sinners, peace in the world and the Holy Father. She was
re-buried in the Fatima basilica in 1951. Their cousin, Lucia dos Santos,
became a Carmelite nun and was still living when Jacinta and Francisco were
beatified in 2000. Sister Lucia died five years later. The shrine of Our Lady
of Fatima is visited by up to 20 million people a year.
This prayer was given by the Angel of
Fatima to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta.
Prayer:
Oh Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
I adore Thee profoundly.
I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world,
in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and
indifferences by which He is offended.
By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
Amen.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
I adore Thee profoundly.
I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world,
in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and
indifferences by which He is offended.
By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
Amen.
In light of the fact that both Francisco
and Jacinta died of influenza let us pray for our lady’s intercession in the
coronavirus.
Their joint statement follows:
·
“As
communities and public health officials respond to the outbreak of novel
coronavirus (COVID-19) in China and closely monitor its presence and
progression in other parts of the world, we join in solidarity and prayer for
those impacted or working to treat those infected by the disease. The U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Relief Services, and the Catholic
Health Association of the United States hope that governments will work
together in partnership to improve all nations’ capacity to prevent, detect,
and respond to this virus.
·
“The
Catholic Church in the United States stands in solidarity with those affected
by the coronavirus and their families, health workers who are valiantly trying
to diagnose and treat patients, and those under quarantine awaiting results of
their screening for the virus. We offer our prayers for healing and support
those organizations, both domestic and international, working to provide
medical supplies and assistance to address this serious risk to public health.
·
“In
early February, the Holy See sent 700,000 respiratory masks to China to help
prevent the spread of the disease. Within the United States, Catholic
healthcare providers are at the front line of providing treatment and care to
those impacted by the virus.
·
“We
also commend the U.S. government for transporting more than 17 tons of donated
medical supplies to China. This response to the novel coronavirus demonstrates
the critical importance of the need to work together and to invest in crucial
health care systems here and in other countries, thus preventing and responding
to community-wide emergencies. We urge the U.S. Congress to support these
efforts by protecting access to domestic health care safety net programs and by
providing additional emergency international assistance to areas impacted by
the virus.
·
“We
also urge individuals to stay informed as information becomes available by
going to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. . . .”
There are many and varied ways in which sin
and evil are presented to us in an attractive way.
Curing
Sickness by Superstition ("Curanderos" And "Santeros")
·
It
doesn't matter if there are statues, holy water, crucifixes, prayers to Jesus,
Mary and the saints, if there is any superstitious practice it is evil. These
are some examples:
o
using
charms or a tomato to wash one's body, putting the remainder under the bed,
o
cleaning
one's body with eggs or lemons and burning the materials with charcoal,
o
Using
rose water and alcohol for healing. (In one case this was prepared by placing a
skeleton in the water for six hours, followed by singing and praying over the
water.)
·
Sometimes
a "curandero" gives a special vitamin to take or even prescribes
"Catholic" prayers to be said. None of these "prayers"
should be said in these circumstances because they were prepared under the
influence of evil. Other examples include:
o
Taking
a special bath prepared with wine, flowers, bread, cinnamon, black sugar, and
water from a river.
o
Wrapping
a person in a special bandage, cutting off piece by piece, and burying it in a
recent grave in the cemetery.
·
Sometimes
people pray to God and to the saints and then go off seeking relief through the
kingdom of darkness. Many times, God does not heal through prayer or doctors
because He wants the soul to be healed first of hatred, jealousy, or some other
sin. God knows what He is doing. We have to choose either the power of God or
the power of evil. If you have any objects used in these false cures, destroy
them. Renounce Satan, renounce this sin, ask God's forgiveness and confess your
sin to a priest.
Daily
Devotions
[1] Maturin, Basil
W. Christian Self-Sophia Institute
Press.
[4]https://www.travelchannel.com/roam-blog/food-culture/best-mardi-gras-celebrations-not-in-new-orleans
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