DAY 44 - MARY, QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS, PRAY FOR US
"CAN'T QUIT - WON'T FALL - PUT ME IN THE FIGHT!"
- I will always place the mission first.
- I will never accept defeat.
- I will never quit.
- I will never leave a fallen comrade.
PRAY A ROSARY
- Rosary of the Day: Glorious Mysteries
- Traditional 54 Day Rotation: Sorrowful Mysteries
St. Michael the Archangel, we honor you as a powerful protector of the Church and guardian of our souls. Inspire us with your humility, courage and strength that we may reject sin and perfect our love for our Heavenly Father.In your strength and humility, slay the evil and pride in our hearts so that nothing will keep us from God.St. Michael the Archangel, pray that we may be blessed by God with the zeal to live our lives in accordance with Christ's teachings.St. Michael the Archangel, you are the prince of angels but in your humility, you recognized that God is God and you are but His servant. Unlike Satan, you were not overcome with pride but were steadfast in humility. Pray that we will have this same humility.It is in the spirit of that humility that we ask for your intercession for our petitions... (Petition: Protect our nation from unGodly liberals gaining power and control)Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Those who would like to pray with others via The Telephone Rosary, call 1-951-799-9866 daily at 6 pm Eastern.
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (26th S. Ord. Time)
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
Galatians,
chapter 4, verse 11
I am AFRAID on your account that perhaps I
have labored for you in vain.
Have you ever when you have sinned and failed, asked Christ, please do not let me suffer the loss of your sacrifice for me. Has your fear been that Christ has labored for you in vain? This is what Paul was saying to the Galatians; he was crying for them not to throw the freedom that Christ had earned for them away by living in worldly ways. Our call is to be in the world but not of the world.
This
is the message of the gospel.
Jesus
said to his disciples:
“You
are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be
seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot. You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then
put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before
others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
(Mt 5:13-15)
Thank God there is a cure for our failures it is the Sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist; seek use of them and never stop praying.
Seventeenth
Sunday after Pentecost[1]
IN
the Introit of the Mass, the justice and mercy of God are praised. Thou are
just, O Lord, and Thy judgment is right. Deal with Thy servant according to Thy
mercy. Blessed are the undefiled who walk in the law of the Lord (Ps. cxviii.).
Prayer.
Grant to Thy people, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to avoid
the contagion of the devil, and with a pure mind to seek Thee, the only God.
EPISTLE. Eph. iv. 1-6.
Brethren:
I, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in
which you are called, with all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting
one another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of
peace. One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is above all,
and through all, and in us all, Who is blessed forever and ever. Amen.
Practice.
The
words, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, confound
those who assert that a man may be saved in any belief. There can be but one
true religion; they who profess it should be united by the bond of
charity, and their lives be worthy of their vocation to the true faith.
GOSPEL. Matt. xxii. 35-46.
At that time
the Pharisees came nigh to Jesus, and one of them, a doctor of the law, asked
Him, tempting Him: Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus
said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with
thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind; This is the greatest and the first
commandment. And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself. On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.
And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying: What think
you of Christ? Whose son is He? They say to Him: David’s. He saith to them: How
then doth David in spirit call Him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit
on My right hand, until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool? If David then call
Him Lord, how is He his son? And no man was able to answer Him a word: neither
durst any man from that day forth ask Him any more questions.
Why is this
commandment to love God and our neighbor called the great commandment? Because in these two are contained
all the others, so that he who fulfils these fulfils the whole law. For whoever
loves God with his whole heart does not murmur against God; does not dishonor
His name by cursing and swearing; does not desecrate the Sabbath-day, because
he knows that all this is offensive to God. On the contrary, he hopes in God;
gives thanks and praise to God; sanctifies the Sundays and holy-days, because
he knows this to be pleasing to God; observes the precepts of the Church,
because he knows it to be the will of God that he should hear the Church; honors
his parents; does no injury to his neighbor; does not commit adultery; does not
steal; slanders no one; bears no false witness; pronounces no unjust judgment;
is not envious, malicious, unmerciful, but rather practices towards every one
the corporal and spiritual works of mercy; and all this because, out of love to
God, he loves his neighbor as himself. Thus, love fulfils all the
commandments.
What is the
meaning of the question, “What think you of Christ?” Christ put this question to the
Pharisees in order that, by their own answer, He might convince them that He
was not merely a lineal son of David, but that He was the Son of God, begotten
from eternity, on which account He called Himself David’s Lord. That Christ is
the Son of God, our Lord, our Teacher, our Lawgiver, our Redeemer and Saviour,
we Christians know well, for we daily profess it; but how many of us, in deeds,
deny it, since we do not follow His teaching nor observe His commandments!
What, then, will Christ one day be to such? What but a judge to condemn, and a
God to punish?
Why must we
love our neighbor? Because
we are all, not merely by descent from Adam, but much more through the grace of
Jesus, children of God and members of one family. As children of God, we bear
in us the likeness of God. But God loved and still loves all men; for the
salvation of all He has given up His only Son, that all may be saved; shall we
then love one and hate another, and yet think to be like God? Through the grace
of Jesus, we are all redeemed, made members of His body, yes, partakers of His
body and blood. Therefore St. Paul admonishes us: “You are all one in Christ”
(Gal. iii. 28), be therefore careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the
bond of peace” (Ephes. iv. 3). How natural is it for the members of one body
not to wound each other! Jesus, our Redeemer, gave His life for us when we were
His enemies (Bom. v. 10), and even on the cross prayed for His murderers. We
are His disciples. But can we be allowed to call ourselves so without possessing
this mark of His discipleship? (John xiii. 15.) Thus, everything incites us to
love: the law of nature and of revelation, the example of Christ, all the promises
and hopes that we have. In truth, how, without love, could we hope to enter the
kingdom of love? There can be no answer to this reasoning: “Would you be a
disciple of Jesus, an heir of His kingdom? then love like Him; and He has shed
His blood for His mortal enemies.
Feast of St.
Vincent de Paul[2]
Having lived and worked in Belgium
it is interesting to note the little “d” from “de Paul” normally denotes that
Vincent was of a royal blood line.
St. Vincent de Paul was a
great apostle of charity and brought a great revival of the priesthood in the
17th century. He was born near Dax in the Landes (France) in 1581. As a young
priest he was captured by Moorish pirates who carried him to Africa. He was
sold into slavery but freed in 1607 when he converted his owner. Having
returned to France, he became successively a parish priest and chaplain to the
galley-slaves. He founded a religious Congregation under the title of Priests
of the Mission or Lazarists (now known as Vincentians), and he bound them by a
special way to undertake the apostolic work of charity; he sent them to preach
missions, especially to the ignorant peasants of that time, and to establish
seminaries. In order to help poor girls, invalids, and the insane, sick and
unemployed, he and St. Louise de Marillac founded the Congregation of the
Daughters of Charity, now better known as the Sisters of St. Vincent. St.
Vincent worked tirelessly to help those in need: the impoverished, the sick,
the enslaved, the abandoned, the ignored. He died in 1660 at St. Lazarus's
house, Paris. His motto: "Let us love God; but at the price of our hands
and sweat of our face."
Things to Do:[3]
- Find
out more about the Vincent de Paul Society near you, see if you can
participate.
- Find
out more about the two orders founded by St. Vincent.
- Other
people to find out more about: St.
Louise de Marillac, Bl. Frederic Ozanam and St.
Francis de Sales.
- Learn
what France was like during St. Vincent's life. At that war-torn time, the
lives of peasants were far removed from those of the nobility.
- Make
a banner or poster with St. Vincent's motto to remind us of God's
presence.
Remembering that, "God sees you"
Yom
Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the last day to atone our sins of the Ten Days
of Repentance, which start on the New Year (Rosh Hashanah). This is a fast mentioned
in the Bible and the punishment mentioned for not keeping this fast is
excommunication. Jews seek to 'purify their souls' on this day, by abstaining
from common pleasures. Yom Kippur is celebrated by most all Jewish
denominations. It is a fast day from the eve until the next day nightfall
(twenty-five hours). No food or drink is permissible. It is a day
on which Jews 'afflict the soul', which includes wearing only non-leather
shoes, not combing one's hair and no marital relations. For many Orthodox Jews,
most of Yom Kippur is spent in prayer in the Synagogue. Five prayer
services are held (as opposed to the normal three daily prayers).
Yom Kippur Facts
·
It is customary to eat a festive meal on the Eve
of Yom Kippur with round challah bread, a meat meal and sustaining foods. One
is not allowed to risk one's life and thus anyone in danger of life from
fasting, including the young and sick are not allowed to fast. Yom Kippur is
the only Jewish fast observed on a Sabbath, due to its importance.
·
It is customary to wear white on the holiday,
which symbolizes purity and calls to mind the promise that our sins shall be
made as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Some people wear a Kittel, the white robe
in which the dead are buried.
·
Yom Kippur Liturgy in Orthodox and most
Traditional communities include Kol Nidre prayer in which Jews
annul all their vows and Avinu Malkeinu, 'Our father our King'.
·
The last of the Orthodox and traditional five
Synagogue services for Yom Kippur is the Neilah service (final 'closing
of the gates'). It is considered particularly heart-rendering and people
often cry during the service. At the end of the service, a Shofar (ram's
horn) is blown and the end of the day is pronounced.
·
Jews ask the Lord to be considered both as a
child and as a servant. They request from God that as a father of a
child, God have mercy as a father does over his child.
Rest
On
Yom
Kippur, I’ll skip my physical workout for
a spiritual one instead. In fact, Yom Kippur is all about getting beyond our
physical selves, so we can focus solely on doing the difficult, sacred work the
High Holidays demand of us, free from the distractions of our bodies and their
needs. “When we refrain from indulging our physical appetites for a limited
period, in order to devote ourselves for a time more exclusively to demands
that rank higher in our hierarchy of values, we are not denying the physical
appetites their just place in life; we are simply recognizing the need of
putting them in their place.” Although many Jews expect to fast on Yom Kippur,
to help ensure we devote ourselves to a most accurate cheshbon hanefesh
(accounting of the soul), it is customary to refrain from five specific
activities related to our bodies throughout the holiest day of the Jewish year:
1.
Eating and drinking:
The majority of our lives take place in our physical selves, which require
sustenance to function optimally. In an effort to get beyond our corporeal body
on this day, we forego food and drink. Of course, you should only do what your body
can manage in a healthy way. Those who are sick, pregnant, elderly, or
otherwise unable to fast should not do so or should do so only in a modified way.
2.
Wearing leather: In an
earlier era, leather shoes often were among our most comfortable. If we’re
focused on our personal comfort, we can’t also be fully attentive to our
spiritual selves. For this reason, you may notice clergy or other worshippers
sporting canvas sneakers in lieu of leather shoes on Yom Kippur.
3.
Bathing and shaving:
Because we are engaging with our souls on this day, cleaning and grooming our
bodies can take a backseat on Yom Kippur.
4.
Anointing ourselves with oil,
cream, cologne, perfume, or other balms and salves for physical pleasure
diverts our attention from the spiritual reckoning for which Yom Kippur is
intended. Thus using lotions and the like also is an activity from which we
abstain on this sacred day.
5.
Sexual relations: For all
the reasons noted above, refraining from sexual relations on Yom Kippur turns
our attention away from our bodies, centering it instead on our actions and
misdeeds of the past year.
By
abstaining from these activities for the day, we set ourselves up to truly
examine our innermost, intimate beings in a most meaningful way, giving
ourselves an opportunity to explore what we can do differently in the coming
year to tip the balance toward good. When the sun sets on the Sabbath of
Sabbaths, we slowly ease back into our physical selves – returned, revived,
refreshed. Mishkan HaNefesh, the new Reform machzor (High
Holiday prayer book), eloquently petitions:
May this long day
of fasting and self-denial
inspire acts of creativity, generosity, and joy.
May we go from strength to strength.
Yes,
throughout the coming year and beyond, may it be our bodies that feed the
hungry, comfort the bereaved, clothe the naked, and bring justice and humanity
to the places they are needed most.
“Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church
and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and
anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.”-James 5:14-15
Daily Devotions
·
Today in honor of the
Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no
shopping after 3pm till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
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