Friday in the Octave
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
ST. JOSE ESCRIVA-GET OFF DRUGS DAY-CANOE DAY
9 “I
am a Hebrew,” he replied; “I FEAR the LORD, the God of heaven, who made
the sea and the dry land.”
10Now the men were seized with great FEAR and said to him, “How
could you do such a thing!”—They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD,
because he had told them.
In the night and the day that followed the Last Supper,
Jesus was betrayed by one of his own. He was delivered over to the authorities
in such humiliating powerlessness that even those who thought they loved him
fled. He who came to reveal to us the God who is Love, fell into the hands of
loveless men. Then, before the eyes of John, the only apostle who was present
at the Lord’s execution, and his mother Mary, he died an appalling death. Here
at the center of the mystery of our redemption, the full measure of the
“marvelous exchange” begins to be unveiled. The Son of God not only became the
Son of Man, fulfilling beyond expectation the great hope contained in the
psalms and the prophets. Jesus came to be the purifying flame of Love in our
midst, unsettling a world that had become comfortable in its estrangement from
God. He came to pour his Spirit on us and reconcile us to the Father. When St.
Paul tells us that the Son of God “emptied himself”, he does not mention only
Jesus’ birth. When the Son of God took on our humanity, his “exchange” with us
goes all the way to the end: “Being found in human form, he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even death on a cross”. Elsewhere, St. Paul points
to the same unfathomable mystery of solidarity with sinners that John the
Baptist had glimpsed at the Jordan: “For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. When we
gaze with Mary and John on Christ, who “died for our sins in accordance with
the Scriptures”, we come face to face with all the consequences of the
Incarnation. In joining himself to his creation, the Son of God took on all our
fate. He took on even the thirst of a world suffering its self-inflicted
estrangement from God. Even death. For centuries, the faithful people of Israel
thirsted for God like the dry earth. They prayed, “My throat is parched. My
eyes grow dim with waiting for my God”. All of humanity thirsted, for by
sinning, we had rejected the source of our life. We had defended ourselves
against the God who is Love. Yet our suffering in “this time of God’s absence”
was as nothing before the terrible cry Mary and John heard at the foot of the
cross. “Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the
scripture), ‘I thirst!’. The tortured, dying man thirsted for water – but also
for love. He thirsted for our love, for he had come to espouse mankind to
himself. And although he was “true God from true God … consubstantial with the
Father,” he thirsted even for God. John could not have imagined such a use – or
fulfillment – of the words of the psalms as when the Son of God cried out his
thirst to his Father: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When John
heard this, he somehow understood. Those words were written for this day. They
were prayed through the centuries so that Jesus might sum up all human thirst
for God, all suffering and forsakenness, in himself. These words were handed
down from generation to generation so that when the Son used them to express
his own thirst, suffering, and forsakenness to his Father, our words would
become divine words of unbreakable, unsurpassable love. “Father, into your
hands I commend my spirit,” Jesus cried. Finally, “he bowed his head” and
handed over the Spirit that bound Father and Son. He made even his death a
revelation of the unbreakable communion of Love that is God. When a Roman
centurion pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, John, Mary, and the centurion
himself saw blood and water – a sign of Christ’s divinity and humanity – gush
forth over the parched earth. The covenant was established. It would never be
broken. The divine bridegroom had truly loved us “to the end”. Even the
centurion, an unbeliever who knew neither the psalms nor the prophets,
recognized this radiant humility and saw the glory of this love: “When the
centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said,
‘Truly, this man was the Son of God!’”
St. Josemaria Escriva[2] was born in 1902 at Barbastro
Spain. He was ordained in Saragossa in 1925 and by divine inspiration founded
Opus Dei which opened a new way for the faithful to sanctify themselves in the
midst of the world. He died on June 26, 1975 and was canonized a saint on
October 6, 2002.
Things to Do:
·
Read
a longer biography of St. Josemaria.
·
Visit
these sites to find out more about Opus Dei,
St. Josemaria Escriva and his writings.
·
Visit
Opus Dei's official US website.
·
St.
Josemaria Escriva’s teachings stressed the universal call to holiness; in fact,
this is the root of his teaching. Vatican II echoed this in the Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium: “It is therefore quite clear that
all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of
Christian life and to the perfection of love, and by this holiness a more human
manner of life is fostered also in earthly society” (no. 40). In a document as
far back as 1930, for example, St. Josemaria wrote: “Holiness is not something
for some privileged few. God calls everyone; from everyone He waits for Love:
from everyone, wherever they may be; from everyone, whatever may be their state
in life, profession, or occupation.” See the marble structure of the Universal Call to Holiness at the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Read Francis Cardinal George's comments on this teaching.
Opus Dei[3]
Work, family life, and the
ordinary events of each day are opportunities for drawing close to Christ and
making Him known to others. As the Second Vatican Council taught, every
baptized person is called to follow Christ closely, by living according to the Gospel
and making its teachings known to others. The aim of Opus Dei is to contribute
to that evangelizing mission of the Church, by fostering among Christians of
all social classes a life fully consistent with their faith, in the middle of
the ordinary circumstances of their lives and especially through the
sanctification of their work. The following are some of the main features of
the spirit of Opus Dei:
·
“Divine filiation is the foundation of
the spirit of Opus Dei,” said its founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá. A Christian
is a child of God by virtue of baptism. Thus, the formation provided by the
Prelature seeks to foster among the Christian faithful a deep awareness of
their being children of God, and helps them act accordingly. It fosters
confidence in divine providence, simplicity in their dialogue with God, a deep
awareness of the dignity of each human being and of the need for fraternity
among all people, a truly Christian love for the world and for all human
realities created by God, and a sense of calm and optimism.
·
Ordinary life. “It is in the midst of the most
material things of the earth that we must
sanctify ourselves, serving God and all mankind,” said Saint Josemaría. The
family, marriage, work – all of our activities – are opportunities for drawing
close to and imitating Jesus, trying to practice charity, patience, humility,
diligence, integrity, cheerfulness, and all the other human and Christian
virtues.
·
Sanctifying work means to work with the spirit of
Christ, to work competently and ethically, with the aim of loving God and
serving others, and thus to sanctify the world from within, making the Gospel
present in all activities whether they be outstanding or humble and hidden. In
the eyes of God what matters is the love that is put into work, not its human
success.
·
Prayer and sacrifice. The formation given by Opus Dei
encourages prayer and sacrifice in order to sustain the effort to sanctify
one’s ordinary occupations. Thus, members strive to incorporate into their life’s
certain practices of Christian piety, such as prayer, daily Mass, sacramental
confession, and reading and meditating on the Gospel. Devotion to our Lady
occupies an important place in their
hearts. Also, in striving to imitate Christ, they try to acquire a spirit of
penance by offering up small sacrifices, particularly those that help them
fulfill their duties faithfully and make life more pleasant for others, such as
renouncing small pleasures, fasting, almsgiving, etc.
·
Unity of life. Saint Josemaría explained that
Christians working in the world should not live “a kind of double life. On the
one hand, an interior life, a life of union with God; and on the other, a
separate and distinct professional, social and family life.” On the contrary:
“There is just one life, made of flesh and spirit. And it is this life which
has to become, in both soul and body, holy and filled with God.”
·
Freedom. The members of Opus Dei are
ordinary citizens who enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same
obligations as any other citizen. In their professional, family, political,
financial or cultural activities, they act with freedom and personal
responsibility, not involving the Church or Opus Dei in their decisions, nor
presenting those decisions as the only Catholic solutions. This implies
respecting the freedom and the opinions of others.
·
Charity. To meet Christ is to find a
treasure that one cannot stop sharing. Christians are witnesses to Jesus and
spread his message of hope among their companions, with their example and their
words. “Side by side with our colleagues, friends and relatives and sharing
their interests, we can help them come closer to Christ,” wrote Saint
Josemaría. The wish to make others know Christ, which is a direct consequence
of charity (that is, love of God above all things and of one’s neighbor as
oneself), cannot be separated from the desire to contribute to finding
solutions to the material needs and social problems of one’s surroundings.
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit
Trafficking[4]
Today serves to draw awareness to the need for action and cooperation in order to achieve a drug-free world. Illicit drugs and their trafficking pose a large health threat to humanity. Drug problems and dependencies put a great deal of pressure on health care systems and constitute a threat to the safety and well-being of humans all around the globe. Long-term drug abuse has been linked to poor general health, contraction of diseases through needle sharing, trouble with the law, poor self-hygiene and alienation from loved ones, psychological illnesses and death from overdose. In December 1987, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was designated by the United Nations. It is celebrated annually on June 26, a symbolic day that commemorates the dismantling of the opium trade in Guangdong. The day also serves as an opportunity for Member Nations to reaffirm their support for UN Conventions that attempt to control the world's drug supply.
Facts & Quotes
·
The
UN estimates that in 2007, the value of the illegal drug trade is 322 billion
dollars per year.
·
Approximately
51 billion dollars is spent on the war on drugs in the US every year.
·
No
one is immune from addiction; it afflicts people of all ages, races, classes,
and professions. – Patrick J. Kennedy, American democratic politician and
former US representative for Rhode Island.
Top Events and Things to Do
·
Watch
a movie on the perils of the war on drugs on society, government and the
citizens involved. Some suggestions are Dallas Buyers Club (2013), Sicario
(2015), Requiem for a Dream (2000), Christiane F (1981) and Blow (2001).
·
Spread
awareness by using the hashtags
#InternationalDayAgainstDrugAbuseandIllicitTrafficking, #saynotodrugs and
#warondrugs on social media.
·
Read
a book on the dangers of drug use and the problems with the war on drugs. Some
suggestions are: Smoke and Mirrors, Chasing the Scream, and Drug Wars.
Canoe
Day[5]
There
is magic in the feel of a paddle and the movement of a canoe, a magic
compounded of distance, adventure, solitude, and peace. Sigurd F. Olson
There
is a special day for just about every hobby nowadays, and canoeing doesn’t miss out on the fun, with its
very own day of aquatic paddling celebration. Canoeing is a fantastic hobby,
and along with being environmentally friendly and relaxing, it is also a great
form of outdoor exercise that’s
suitable for all ages. It is
no surprise that canoeing gets its own day of celebration, with so many fans
around the world. Canoeing is an easy activity to learn, and with some basic
safety gear anyone can hit the water and enjoy this healthy hobby.
The
way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, and of a freedom almost forgotten.
It is an antidote to insecurity, the open door to waterways of ages past, and a
way of life with profound and abiding satisfaction. Sigurd F. Olson
Despite
the huge popularity of paddling a canoe, Canoe Day began in
2007. Since that time, it has become the highlight of every canoe loving fan
each year, and you can find activities in all regions of the world to enjoy
paddling with new friends. Canoes have been part of cultures all over the
world, from the deep South Pacific to the Pacific Northwest of the United
States. Used for commerce and hunting, fishing and recreation, the role they’ve played in the cultures of the
past and in the world of today cannot be understated. Even better, it’s a great way to get healthy and
stay in shape while getting out in to the wild. Going out to sea in a canoe is
another unique experience, one that has you above the water, but right down on
it where you can enjoy visits from critters like otters and seals.
How to Celebrate
Celebrating
Canoe Day is easy! You get out there and become one with your canoe! Explore
the great wide open and find adventure and freedom in the steady rhythm of your
paddles pushing you along. There are places you can’t get with roads or on foot, only
the river will take you there. Get out there and find what the world has to
offer, and come back with a sense of wonder and profound peace in your soul.
When a
man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known. Sigurd F. Olson
Daily
Devotions
·
Know that you are on a great stage
where all heaven and earth are watching you. What message is our life giving?
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1]http://www.kofc.org/en/resources/cis/cis403.pdf?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiT0RSaU16TmxNemM0T0RFeSIsInQiOiJQWHBpQmtXaHI1dEVzTVhTQWV4TzFLZU9pR0ZiNXMwRGcyU2l3b1J2cERXRkVsTGhXME01S20rZ1g3RVQ3ZEJSTkQ5TXdMRjFmc0RiV3I3ZVRGQ0lwdnRUWXBEWFUrc2QzWlk2dU1zeTFcLzF4blUwY1dOVkFqQkcxMDZXQ09rYWgifQ%3D%3D
[2]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-06-26
[5] https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/canoe-day/
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