Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Day 30-Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Secularism
We have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts toward secularism.
Countless times we have cowered to the prevailing leftist sentiment to imagine no religion, not just in public life, but even in private life.
We are so immersed in temporal pleasures that we are blinded to our purpose in life, which is to know, love and serve God in this world so we can be with Him in the next.
We intentionally justify leaving God out of our public lives because, after all, "Freedom from Religion" and their ilk have successfully inculcated us with the Big Lie of their false interpretation of the Constitution's Establishment Clause and insistence upon "separation of Church and State."
We fail to attribute the current chaos and anarchy of our times to the seeds of Godlessness sown way back in the 60's when prayer was taken out of our taxpayer-funded schools.
Ever since we have wittingly or unwittingly joined the side of the Godless through our open or tacit acceptance of the Big Lie of secularism.
We turn to You Lord, in our weakness, and beg Your forgiveness for our own secular attitudes - especially for our cowardice about speaking up and speaking out in the public square.
We love You, Lord, and we beg for the wisdom and strength to love You more.
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 faithlessness and fear.
Still the lying tongue of the devil and his forces so that we may act freely and faithfully to Your will.
Send Your holy angels to cast out all influence that the demonic entities in charge of fear 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.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
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.
Illustrious son of David, etc.
Light of the patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
Foster-father of the Son of God,
Watchful defender of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,
Joseph most just,
Joseph most chaste,
Joseph most prudent,
Joseph most valiant,
Joseph most obedient,
Joseph most faithful,
Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of workmen ,
Glory of domestic life,
Guardian of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Solace of the afflicted,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of demons,
Protector of Holy Church,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
And prince over all His possessions.
O God, Who in Thine ineffable providence didst choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most Holy Mother, grant that as we venerate him as our protector on earth, we may deserve to have him as our intercessor in Heaven, Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. R. Amen.
5 On entering the tomb they saw a
young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were
utterly amazed. 6 He said to them, “Do not be
amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is
not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his disciples and
Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told
you.’” 8 Then they went out and fled from the tomb,
seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said nothing to
anyone, for they were AFRAID.
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. They were doing an act of mercy to clean Christ’s corpse and properly bury him. When they experienced the power of God raising from the dead, they were shocked to silence.
The Law of Victory: Jesus’ Resurrection[1]
The disciples had lost the teacher and Lord. The
Jewish leaders had silenced their opposition. The people had lost their hope of
a revolution against Rome. Even the devil thought he had finally stopped this
divine leader and brought about the abandonment of the Gospel. What a surprise
awaited that first Resurrection Sunday morning! When Jesus rose from the dead,
He gave His followers a potent hope to end every doubt about His kingdom.
The Wisdom of the Cross
The world can never recognize the wisdom of the cross.
The other day while sitting in my church for mass it was revealed to me the
wisdom of the cross.
·
As
the Eucharistic celebration was being conducted, I was admiring our church and
as I gazed on the altar, I notice we had the cross which represented Christ
dead for our sins.
·
Behind
the cross lit up with the sun waning was the stained glass of Christ ascending
to the Father. I asked interiorly where the representation of Christ
resurrected is? Then almost immediately an interior voice stated,
·
“You
are the representation of Christ resurrected.” At first, I withdrew from the
idea, sinner that I am.
Then I knew that this was the divine wisdom that we,
by the frequent reception of the Blessed Sacrament the Holy Body of Christ,
become physically and spiritually the resurrected Christ to our families,
neighbors, our friends and even dare I say our enemies. May God’s will and
wisdom be done!
Total Consecration to St. Joseph-Day 17[2]
On
Day 17 Father Calloway points out that Joseph was a virgin just as Mary was
herself. Joseph desired to love the Lord his God with his entire heart for
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. Keeping your heart
true to something is being chaste. Saint Joseph has three treasures: Jesus,
Mary and you. As his children we have a father with a heart that is strong,
protective, and gentle. He is a father, king, warrior and chaste man of God.
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
Father Calloway emphasizes
·
Saint
Joseph will help you have a chaste heart.
Father Calloway states that lust is the predominant vice at work in the hearts of men and women today. Indeed, Mary warned St. Jacinta that many souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh. We are at war with the World, the flesh and the devil. Our sexuality is part of the objective in this battle. It is a double-edged sword that if used via the will of God will cut for us; but if used improperly will cut against us. Joseph as your mentor will help you to be victorious in this battle to be pure in mind, heart, and soul. Seek the protection of the cloak of St. Joseph. If men were to reverence their wives as holy temples, families will be renewed and the devil’s attacks on the dignity of the human person will be overcome.
Jewish
Sexuality
Judaism
regards sex as a "divine gift" from God, for the purpose of
procreation, as well as for the purpose of companionship and happiness. The
core belief is that sexuality is good, and healthy for human beings. This gift
from God is a strong drive that Judaism affirms must be under control because
it is not just a mere physical act, solely for procreation, but an encounter
that involves the whole being. Judaism regards sex as the cord that secures the
union of two lovers for life: for shared strength, joy, and ease, and for the
rearing of children". In this way, sex becomes a "mitzvah,"
which is a good deed or meritorious act. One of the most notable attitudes in
Judaism is the fact that while it regards sex as a healthy and necessary part
of a couple's life, it also asserts that the purpose of the sexual relationship
within the bounds of a marriage is to satisfy the needs of the woman first of
all.[2]
Santo Anello
In an interview by “Our Sunday Visitor” Father Calloway
explains the need to go along with St. Joseph.
Our Sunday Visitor: What
were some of the more interesting things you learned about St. Joseph?
Father
Calloway: A lot of awesome stuff. I discovered the ring that St.
Joseph gave to the Virgin Mary on their wedding day is still in existence. It’s
known as the Santo Anello, “The Holy Ring,” and it’s housed in the
cathedral, in a gigantic reliquary, in Perugia, Italy, which is really close to
Assisi. And it’s exposed every year for the faithful to venerate. Married
couples and those who are engaged are given the privilege of going up and
touching their wedding ring to the Santo Anello. That was just mind-blowing to
me. And then, the Holy House of Loreto, the home of the Holy Family in
Nazareth, which was transported by angels to Italy in the 13th century. It’s
been in Loreto, Italy, ever since. It’s one of the greatest relics on the
planet, and I have in my book all the saints who visited it and what they said
about it. That stuff was just awesome.
Our
Sunday Visitor: It’s fair to say that St. Joseph is often overlooked.
Why do you think that is?
Father
Calloway: I think part of it is that we don’t have one word from him
in the New Testament. For him, actions speak louder than words. Unfortunately,
in the early Church, there were a lot of false documents circulating about
different things associated with the life of the Holy Family. They’re not
approved or inspired writings, they’re apocrypha, but they unfortunately
set in motion an image of St. Joseph that he was old, widowed from a previous
marriage with children. All that stuff is a legend; it’s never been the
teaching of the Church, but all that stuff got into art, and people just looked
at St. Joseph like, “Well, he’s not really important. He didn’t say anything,
and he was old, and was just there as kind of a fill-in.” People didn’t really
pay much attention to him. But now, especially in the last 150 years, the
Church has done more to promote St. Joseph than in the previous 1,800 years of
Christianity. It’s really building, and I think it’s crescendoing now with this
movement of consecration to St. Joseph.
Our
Sunday Visitor: That he is not even quoted in Scripture, did that make
it difficult for you to do research on him?
Father
Calloway: When it comes to a primary source, yes. But it wasn’t too
difficult, because you can unpack his actions, his obedience, his faith from
the things that he did. Even though he didn’t say anything, his actions speak really
loudly. And then you can just look at what was required of a first-century
Jewish husband and father with the working and the incredible amount of
walking. What would have been going on with him when he had to take his family
and flee to Egypt and be there for many years? And then you fill it in with
what popes have said, with what saints have said, what mystics have said in the
Catholic tradition. After a while, you get a really good picture of who this guy
was.
Our
Sunday Visitor: What is the image like of St. Joseph that began to
emerge as you studied his life?
Father
Calloway: You get an image of a guy
who was not old. If you do the math, he was required by Jewish law to walk to
Jerusalem three times a year to fulfill certain rites of the Jewish religion.
If he had to do that three times a year, for let’s say 30 years, if you add up
the distance, St. Joseph walked around the planet. There’s no way an old man
could do this. You had to be young. So as the model of manhood for his son, our
Savior, he had to be young and strong. We call him the Model of Workmen, the
Pillar of Families, the Glory of Domestic Life, the Terror of Demons — those
are not the titles of an old man who’s taking afternoon naps and forgetting
things. You get an image of St. Joseph that he was strong, a worker, really in
a certain sense the first knight of the Virgin Mary. He’s the first one who
called her “My Lady.” He’s the first one to give his life for Jesus and Mary
and sacrifice himself. We’re talking about extraordinary holiness here.
Our
Sunday Visitor: You’ve mentioned elsewhere that you encountered
difficulties in writing this book, even of a supernatural kind. What do you
mean by that?
Father
Calloway: Some of it, I can’t go into that much, but the devil did not
want the book published. There was resistance. The devil was really trying to
destroy the book and not let it get into the hands of people, because the devil
knows the power St. Joseph has in his intercession with God. There were some
really difficult things in trying to get the book published.
Our
Sunday Visitor: What are the spiritual fruits of consecrating oneself
to St. Joseph?
Father
Calloway: The greatest thing is for us to be drawn closer to Jesus
through this. Ultimately, it’s all about Jesus, just like Marian consecration
helps us to draw closer to Jesus. The second thing would be, if we are
spiritual sons and daughters of St. Joseph, all children are called to resemble
their parents. He’s not a biological father, of course, but we can resemble him
in his virtues. That litany unpacks many of his virtues. He’s patient, he’s
courageous, obedient, faithful. So, if we want to be like him, we have to
imitate him. That’s a key fruit of seeking to imitate him in our lives. Some
people have asked, “Can you really consecrate yourself to St. Joseph if you’ve
already consecrated yourself to Mary?” Yes. We’re not members of a one-parent
spiritual family.
o
Pray the Litany of St. Joseph.
Every Wednesday is
Dedicated to St. Joseph
The Italian culture has
always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make Wednesdays
centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or spaghetti
after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass. You could
even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous you could do the
Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family night perhaps
it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.
·
Do the St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan.
Daily Devotions
·
Litany
of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
·
The necessity of being
faithful to the end
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1] John Maxwell, The Maxwell
Leadership Bible.
[2]https://catholicexchange.com/now-is-the-time-to-consecrate-yourself-to-saint-joseph
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