Day 35-Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Childishness
We have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts toward fearfully allowing the spread of childishness throughout our culture and our Catholic Church.
We have fallen into this widespread childishness when we have not lived up to the call of our Baptism to, day-by-day, deepen our love and faith in You.
We have been too easily swayed by the poor example of childishness, in churches everywhere, and have not encouraged a deeper sense of supernatural faith.
In our weakness, we have allowed the ancient foe to advance.
We turn to You Lord, in our sorrow and guilt, and beg Your forgiveness for any of our own childishness or our lack of resolve to lift souls out of this lack of spiritual maturity.
We beg for the grace of Your goodness to build up within us the strength and endurance be this visible light of fervent faith in You.
We know, Lord, if You will it, it will be done.
Trusting in You, we offer our prayer to You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
In Your power and goodness, You created all things.
You set a path for us to walk on and a way to an eternal relationship.
By the strength of Your arm and Word of Your mouth
Cast from Your Holy Church every fearful deceit of the Devil
Drive from us manifestations of the demonic that oppress us and beckon us to fear and childishness.
Still the lying tongue of the devil and his forces so that we may act freely and faithfully to do Your will.
Send Your holy angels to cast out all influence that the demonic entities in charge of childishness have planted in Your Church.
Free us, our families, our parish, our diocese, and our country from all trickery and deceit perpetrated by the Devil and his hellish legions.
Trusting in Your goodness Lord,
We know if You will it, it will be done in unity with Your Son and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.
Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, etc.
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase
and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
FEAST
OF ST. LAWRENCE
Psalm 112, Verse 7-8
7 He shall not fear an ill report; his heart is
steadfast, trusting the LORD. 8 His heart is tranquil, without fear,
till at last he looks down on his foes.
This
is the blessed state of the righteous. Yes, we are in a battle and yes in our
modern world the news cycles are all in league with the unholy secularized
world. Do not fear the ill reporters or the Facebook fanatics. Remember God
tests those he loves yet during the trial those that are faithful can still
hear the whisper of encouragement.
Leaders are not paralyzed by problems[1]
Joseph
was the 11th son of Jacob’s 12 sons and he was despised by his
brothers because of jealousy over Jacobs favor. Yet, in the face of many
troubles he accomplished much because he had:
1. Vision because he knew God had something
special in mind for him.
2.
Love of God and he walked in the spirit and God
was with him.
3.
Strong Character with each trial Joseph grew
stronger.
4.
Practical with his abilities and experience
in all his trials.
5.
Used his giftedness in interpreting dreams to make a
difference in many lives.
6.
Faith in the Blessing of God and whatever he did, the Lord made
it prosper.
Friendship: key to sharing your spiritual gifts[2]
Our
triune God shares His truth, beauty and wisdom or personhood with each of us.
God’s desire for us is that we thrive, and He takes action to ensure that we
do. We can tap into God’s grace and power if we do His will for us and listen
to Him. Matthew Kelly in his book “Rediscovering Catholicism” recommends that
in order to share our spiritual gifts we need to have a real practical plan.
Here is his Plan for evangelization via friendship:
1.
It
first starts with prayer taking time in the “classroom of silence” and ask God
to point out two to five people in your life who would most benefit from a
greater knowledge and appreciation of Christ and the church. Write down the
names of those people. Mentally attach one of their names to a finger of your
right hand and think what life would be like without those fingers.
2.
Pray
for those people every day for the next month, by name, every day. Make
yourself available to God for them. Tell God that you would like to help them
discover the benefits of living a life of virtue and the adventure of walking
with Him.
3.
After
you have prayed for them for a month, contact each of them and arrange to spend
an hour or two with each of them personally. No agenda or preaching; just be
present with each other. Take them to lunch, walk, golf, coffee make it fun and
enjoy. Talk with them what is going on in their lives-listen.
4.
Do
this once a month with each person individually for three to six months; don’t
talk about God, religion, or the Church, unless they bring it up.
5.
After
six months invite them to a local homeless shelter, soup kitchen or some other
good work the Lord leads you to and after having formed a friendship; now would
be a good time to discuss the place of God in our lives.
6.
Over
time if they seem to have an interest in drawing closer to God; give them a
good book on the spiritual life that will challenge them to think, change,
grow; become the best version of their self.
7.
When
you get together each month talk about the book ideas. What did they like about
the book? Or didn’t like. What parts is a challenge? What parts is a comfort?
How does it make you want to live differently?
8.
When
they are ready invite them to one of your church programs or outreaches.
Afterward, invite them for a meal or coffee and talk.
9.
Continue
the five friendships and then invite them to do the same with five. Now go back
to the Lord and ask for five more. This is how we bring about the new
evangelization and build a Kingdom of God.
St. Lawrence[3]
is the patron of cooks-today, have a BBQ in honor of his death for the faith.
This young deacon and heroic
martyr are numbered among those saints who were most highly venerated by the
ancient Roman Church. Even though we have no genuine account of St. Lawrence's
martyrdom, we do possess considerable evidence from most ancient times
regarding the particulars of his passion. Legendary Acts tell how
Lawrence was a disciple of Pope Sixtus II (257-258), who dearly loved him
because of his special talents, but principally because of his innocence; in
spite of his youth, the Pope numbered him among the seven deacons of Rome and
raised him to the position of archdeacon. As such, Lawrence had the immediate
care of the altar and was at the side of the saintly Pope whenever he offered
the holy Sacrifice; to him also was confided the administration of the goods of
the Church and the responsibility of caring for the poor. During the
persecution of Emperor Valerian (253-260), Sixtus II and his four deacons were
martyred. Lawrence was dispersing items in the house of a certain Narcissus, a
blind man named Crescentius asked for healing help by the imposition of hands.
The holy deacon made the Sign of the Cross over him and the man began to see.
From his relations with Pope Sixtus, it was known that he acted as the steward
over the Church's property. He was arrested and while in prison Lawrence cured
the blind Lucillus and several other blind persons. Ordered by the authorities
to surrender the treasures of the Church, Lawrence asked for two days’ time
during which to gather them. The request was granted, and he brought together
the poor and the sick that he had supported. These he led to the judge.
"Here are the treasures of the Church!" Lawrence was tortured,
scourged, and scorched with glowing plates, in
other words, Barbequed alive. In the midst of excruciating pain, he prayed:
"Lord Jesus Christ, God from God, have mercy on Your servant!" And he
besought the grace of faith for the bystanders. At a certain point the soldier
Romanus exclaimed: "I see before you an incomparably beautiful youth.
Hasten and baptize me." He had observed how an angel dried the wounds of
Lawrence with a linen cloth during his passion. Again, during the night, he was
dragged before the judge and threatened with immediate death. But he replied:
"My God I honor and Him alone I serve. Therefore, I do not fear your torments; this night shall
become as brightest day and as light without any darkness." When placed
upon the glowing gridiron, he jested with his executioners and the cruel
tyrant. "Now you may turn me over,
my body is roasted enough on this side." Shortly after this had been done,
he cried again: "At last I am finished; you may now take from me and
eat." Then turning to God in prayer: "I thank You, O Lord, that I am
permitted to enter Your portals." To comfort him during his torments God
said to him: "My servant, do not be afraid.
I am with you." He was put to death upon the Viminal Hill and buried on
the Tiburtinian Way.
Total Consecration
to St. Joseph-Day 22[4]
On Day 22 Father Calloway confirms Joseph was a man of patience.
Lord,
have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God,
the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God
the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God
the Holy Spirit have mercy on us.
Holy
Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy
Mary, pray for us.
Saint
Joseph, Pray for Us.
Noble
offspring of David, Pray for Us.
Light
of Patriarchs, Pray for Us.
Spouse
of the Mother of God, Pray for Us.
Chaste
Guardian of the Virgin, Pray for Us.
Foster
Father of the Son of God, Pray for Us.
Zealous
Defender of Christ, Pray for Us.
Head
of the Holy family, Pray for Us.
Joseph
Most Just, Pray for Us.
Joseph
Most Chaste, Pray for Us
Joseph Most Prudent, Pray for Us.
Joseph Most Courageous, Pray for Us.
Joseph Most Obedient, Pray for Us.
Joseph Most Faithful, Pray for Us.
Joseph shows us patience in the midst of trouble. In the military we would say it was always, “Hurry up and then wait”. Time is a commodity being patient means trusting and being in the present. At Bethlehem Joseph was patient. Being patient is an act of trust in God and Joseph knew that. Life is never easy, and God asks us to trust and be patient. Father Calloway conveys that:
·
Saint
Joseph is a model of Patience.
·
Saint
Joseph will increase your Patience.
The Roman Canon[5]
In the Roman Rite Catholic
Latin Mass, the center of the Holy Mass is the Canon or Eucharistic
Prayer. In this very sacred part of the Holy Mass, it is introduced by
the Preface and Trice prayed ‘Holy Holy Holy’, ‘Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus’. At this point of the Holy Mass, the
bells are rung, and everyone falls on their knees in humble preparation and
adoration. Everyone humbly gets down on their knees for what they know
will soon to take place; Jesus will truly be made present, by the words of
the priest who is in Persona Christi. He exactly
repeats Jesus’ words; “This is My Body”, “This is My Blood”. At
this moment, Jesus, the Lamb of God, offers His eternal Sacrifice of His Body
and Blood on the cross, in an un-bloody manner, to Our Father the remission of
our sins.
Although different readings and saints’ feasts were
added in the Roman Missal, the exact words of the Roman Canon were never
changed since the slight change Pope St. Gregory the Great made in 600 AD, when
he added a few words to it. The Roman Canon was unchanged for 1362 years.
It was not altered at all until 1962 when Pope John XXIII permitted
the name of St. Joseph to be inserted. Although St. Joseph is
such a wonderful powerful saint for the Catholic Church, the Church carefully
guarded the integrity of the Roman Canon from any alteration. In 1815,
hundreds of thousands of signatures of clergy and laity were gathered to have
his name inserted in the Canon. But the Church would not dare change it.
What is so
very very interesting to me, is that the leverage that finally changed the
Roman Canon, after all those years, came from my own pastor, Monsignor Joseph
Phelan at St. Joseph’s in Capitola California. He collected over 150,000
signatures to put St. Joseph in the Canon. I was baptized by him in the
traditional Latin Rite when I was only 2 days old. We lived closed to
Capitola, in Aptos California. It was not until later that they built
Resurrection Parish where I attended for the next 20 years.
From this minute change, this small crack in the Roman Canon,
Bugnini and his Concilium were able to dismantle the whole Roman Missal.
The Roman
Canon was the only Canon in the Holy Latin Mass for 1369 years. The New Mass of
Pope Paul VI has 4 Eucharistic Prayers (Canons) in the main part of the missal
and many other optional Eucharistic Prayers in another part of the missal.
We are so
blessed to be traditional Catholics and to be able to pray and work for the
preservation of the Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus of the Holy Latin Mass.
o
Pray the Litany of St. Joseph.
Daily Devotions
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance
of the Angels
·
Monday:
Litany of Humility
· Rosary
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