DAY 52 - OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, PRAY FOR US
POWER OF PRAYER
- The Morning Offering
- Mental Prayer (at least 15 minutes)
- Spiritual Reading (at least 15 minutes)
- Holy Mass and Communion
- The Angelus (at 6 AM, noon, 6 PM)
- The Holy Rosary
- Brief Examination of Conscience (at night)
PRAY A ROSARY
- Rosary of the Day: Joyful Mysteries
- Traditional 54 Day Rotation: Joyful Mysteries
Introduction to Hebrews[1]
As early as the second
century, this treatise, which is of great rhetorical power and force in its
admonition to faithful pilgrimage under Christ’s leadership, bore the title “To
the Hebrews.” It was assumed to be directed to Jewish Christians. Usually
Hebrews was attached in Greek manuscripts to the collection of letters by Paul.
The main theme is the priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus as a means of restoring
their lost fervor and strengthening them in their faith. Another important
theme of the letter is that of the pilgrimage of the people of God to the
heavenly Jerusalem. This theme is intimately connected with that of Jesus’
ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. This work is a “message of encouragement”. Hebrews
is probably therefore a written homily, to which the author gave an epistolary
ending.
The author begins with a
reminder of the preexistence, incarnation, and exaltation of Jesus that
proclaimed him the climax of God’s word to humanity. He dwells upon the dignity
of the person of Christ, superior to the angels. Christ is God’s final word of
salvation communicated not merely by word but through his suffering in the humanity
common to him and to all others. This enactment of salvation went beyond the
pattern known to Moses, faithful prophet of God’s word though he was, for Jesus
as high priest expiated sin and was faithful to God with the faithfulness of
God’s own Son. Just as the infidelity of the people thwarted Moses’ efforts to
save them, so the infidelity of any Christian may thwart God’s plan in Christ.
Christians are to reflect that it is their humanity that Jesus took upon
himself, with all its defects save sinfulness, and that he bore the burden of
it until death out of obedience to God. God declared this work of his Son to be
the cause of salvation for all. Although Christians recognize this fundamental
teaching, they may grow weary of it and of its implications, and therefore
require other reflections to stimulate their faith.
Therefore, the author
presents to the readers for their reflection the everlasting priesthood of
Christ, a priesthood that fulfills the promise of the Old Testament. It also
provides the meaning God ultimately intended in the sacrifices of the Old
Testament: these pointed to the unique sacrifice of Christ, which alone obtains
forgiveness of sins. The trial of faith experienced by the readers should
resolve itself through their consideration of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly
sanctuary and his perpetual intercession there on their behalf. They should
also be strengthened by the assurance of his foreordained parousia, and by the
fruits of faith that they have already enjoyed. It is in the nature of faith to
recognize the reality of what is not yet seen and is the object of hope, and
the saints of the Old Testament give striking example of that faith. The
perseverance to which the author exhorts the readers is shown forth in the
earthly life of Jesus. Despite the afflictions of his ministry and the supreme
trial of his suffering and death, he remained confident of the triumph that God
would bring him. The difficulties of human life have meaning when they are
accepted as God’s discipline, and if Christians persevere in fidelity to the
word in which they have believed, they are assured of possessing forever the
unshakable kingdom of God.
The letter concludes with
specific moral commandments, in the course of which the author recalls again
his central theme of the sacrifice of Jesus and the courage needed to associate
oneself with it in faith.
OCTOBER 5 Monday
FEAST
OF ST. FAUSTINA
Hebrews, Chapter 10,
Verse 26-27
26 If we sin
deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains
sacrifice for sins 27 but a FEARFUL prospect of
judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries.
Do
you have habitual sins that plague you? Have you lost hope after having full
knowledge of the truth? Do not abandon hope in the promises of Christ. There
will be a second coming. Turn around for here is a very solemn warning about
deliberate sin. If you turn your back on the sacrifice of Christ, there is no
other sacrifice for sin to appeal to. Do not reject salvation that comes from
the Son of God. Only His blood can save us from the inescapable judgment of
God.[2]
Therefore go to confession attend Mass weekly and increase in faith, hope, and
love.
Getting
Saved?[3]
How
do you “get saved” as a Catholic? This is something I’ve had on the burner for
a long time and have started writing more than once before. Now my dearest
reader asks the question and I’m motivated to come up with a concise response.
“Getting saved,” in the parlance of Evangelical Protestants, refers to the
experience of salvation by faith, being regenerated and justified by God’s
grace, receiving the Holy Spirit, and becoming a Christian. It’s not a term
that Catholics generally talk about: In the Catholic
understanding, as
I’ve discussed before, salvation is not a singular, one-time event, but a journey and a process, an
ongoing series of events and encounters with God’s grace, especially through the Sacraments. The reader will know from my blog
how one already a Christian becomes a Catholic; but how does one who
has no relationship with God at all, the unchurched sinner, become a Christian in the Catholic Church? Does one pray a
“sinner’s prayer”?
I
was taken aback by the question; I’d never really thought about it. The
“sinner’s prayer,” in the Evangelical tradition, is a simple acknowledgement to
God that one is a sinner in need of His grace and salvation, repenting of those
sins and asking Him to come into one’s life and heart. In the traditions my
reader and I grew up in, “praying the sinner’s prayer” is shorthand for
salvation, after which one is “saved”; and while many even in those traditions
would admit that God continues to work in our lives through sanctification, that
is generally understood to be “it,” all there is to “getting saved.”
(Interestingly, even in the Southern Baptist Convention there has been a recent turn away from this
attitude.)
Generally speaking, no, Catholics do not believe that praying a “sinner’s
prayer,” by itself, will “get one saved.” So, if, in the Catholic
understanding, salvation is a journey, how does one take her first steps?
Sacramentally speaking, Baptism is the entrance into the Christian life of
grace and into the Church, one’s initial justification and when one can
rightly say to be “getting saved.”
But
generally, one must go through months of classes as a catechumen in RCIA
before one can even be baptized — which seems to the Evangelical mind to be the
very antithesis of evangelism and outreach, making it positively difficult,
apparently, for sinners to come into the kingdom. (The critic would raise, and he
would be right, that the earliest Christians in Acts
2 didn’t have to endure through months of a catechumenate before
they could receive Baptism. But St. Justin Martyr attests that by the mid–second
century, some period of preparation and instruction in Christian doctrine was
required. There are exceptions: Any priest can expedite the process of
initiation if there is a good reason to, e.g. the catechumen demonstrates a
thorough understanding of what she’s getting herself into; and in fact anyone,
even a layperson, can baptize in cases of dire need, e.g. the sinner is in
danger of death.
Since
the earliest times, the Church has understood that for the catechumen
awaiting Baptism who dies in that desire, God works that saving grace anyway.) What is the sinner supposed to do,
then, who longs to know God and partake of His grace, but is told she has to
wait and first be instructed? The Evangelical mode, at least, serves that
immediate moment and desire — though there is then the danger of considering
salvation “over and done.” And certainly, there is that desire, and
it can start with a moment, and in that moment and even
before, God’s grace is working in the sinner’s life, calling her to repentance
and faith. I think one reason Evangelical Protestants so easily misunderstand
the Catholic view of salvation, calling it salvation by works in contrast to salvation by faith,
is because faith is immediate and cannot be put off. Saying that salvation begins with Baptism
seems to dismiss the role of faith and place emphasis on what
seems to be a work. But just as the Catholic understanding of salvation is that of a journey, the preparation for that journey is itself a journey, the journey to the
baptismal font: and in those initial steps God’s grace is already working,
cultivating the sinner’s faith. Marriage begins with a wedding: a pledge of faith, commitment, covenant,
and espousal; but generally, one does not choose to be married unless one
already has faith in one’s betrothed: one’s relationship with the Bridegroom has already
been building for some time. Catholics take a long and
patient view of salvation; and we should: we’ve been ushering sinners down that
road for 2,000 years!
I
would say, now that I’ve thought about it, that something like a “sinner’s
prayer” is a good first step, even for embarking on the
Catholic road: not that the formulaic words themselves are efficacious or “get
one saved,” but that the confession that one is a sinner and wants to make Jesus Christ Lord of one’s life
is an appropriate response to what is surely the grace of God already working
in one’s life and bringing one to repentance and faith. Pray a
“sinner’s prayer”; better yet, make that confession out loud to God and to
others. Begin reading the Bible and the Catechism and
attending Mass. Talk to a priest and enroll in RCIA. Through all this, God is
working in your life, building you in faith, drawing you nearer to Him; and
when it does come time for you to receive the graces of Baptism and the
Sacraments, you will be saved by faith.
Feast of St. Faustina[4]
Saint
Faustina was born in the 20th century and canonized in the year 2000. Jesus
chose her to deliver to the modern world a message as old as eternity. It is
the message of his love for all
people, especially sinners. Jesus said to Faustina, "Today I am sending
you with my mercy to the people of the whole world." It is his desire to
heal the aching world, to draw all people into his merciful heart of love. On February 22, 1931, Jesus
appeared to Faustina as the King of Divine Mercy. He asked her to have a
picture painted of him as she saw him — clothed in white, with red and white
rays of light streaming from his heart. The rays represent the blood and water
that flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross. Under the image are the words,
"Jesus, I trust in you." Many people did not believe Faustina at
first. The sisters in her own convent thought that Jesus could not possibly
have selected her for this great favor. After all, she was an uneducated
peasant girl. Her superiors often refused to give her permission to carry out
Jesus' requests. Church theologians, too, doubted her word. Jesus told Faustina
that he loved her obedience and that his will would be done in the end.
Faustina was canonized by the first Polish pope, John Paul II, on April 30,
2000. The first Sunday after Easter was declared Divine Mercy Sunday.
Things to
Do[5]
·
Read a short biography of Sr. Mary Faustina Kowalska from the
Vatican.
·
Read the Holy Father's April 30, 2000 Homily at the solemn Mass
celebrated for the canonization of Sr. Mary Faustina Kowalska.
·
From the Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy:
Devotion to the Divine Mercy
·
In connection with the octave of Easter, recent
years have witnessed the development and diffusion of a special devotion to the
Divine Mercy based on the writings of Sr. Faustina Kowalska who was canonized
30 April 2000. It concentrates on the mercy poured forth in Christ's death and
resurrection, fount of the Holy Spirit who forgives sins and restores joy at
having been redeemed. Since the liturgy of the Second Sunday of Easter or
Divine Mercy Sunday — as it is now called — is the natural locus in which to
express man's acceptance of the Redeemer's mercy, the faithful should be taught
to understand this devotion in the light of the liturgical celebrations of
these Easter days. Indeed, "the paschal Christ is the definitive
incarnation of mercy, his living sign which is both historico-salvific and eschatological.
At the same time, the Easter liturgy places the words of the psalm on our lips:
"I shall sing forever of the Lord's mercy" (Ps 89[88]: 2).
·
Read more from our Catholic Culture library
about the Divine Mercy devotion, in particular, a short description of The Divine Mercy devotion
·
St. Faustina came from Poland. John Paul II was
also Polish and had a great devotion to the Divine Mercy. He made it a feast
day on the second Sunday after Easter. Find out more about Poland and its
customs. It's a very Catholic country, with deep devotion to Our Lady. A
wonderful book that gives a wonderful understanding of the culture is the
Pope's biography A Witness to Hope by George Wiegel.
·
Try your hand at a Polish dish or two. Perhaps
practice making some of the favorite foods for the Polish Wigilia (Christmas
Eve Dinner) Pierogi (or Pirohi) is one of the most popular Polish foods but do
some research to find other recipes.
Divine
Mercy Hikes[6]
·
Hiking
is a popular activity, but it is also an excellent way to mediate and talk with
God. This was the original method of prayer used by Abraham. Sedona, Arizona is
the backdrop for this series of prayer hikes; however, the meditations could be
used with any hike.
Truly
you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
Feast Day Livestream Plans
On Oct. 5, the Feast of St. Faustina, the Marian Fathers at
the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy will livestream a program of prayer and
reflection beginning at 3 p.m. (EST). The Shrine itself remains closed to the
public. A related public ZOOM event will begin at 2:30 p.m. with commentary by
Dave and Joan Maroney of Mother of Mercy Messengers (MOMM), an
apostolate of the Marian Fathers.
·
Read more
about online events
·
What's new
about this year’s feast?
35 Promises
of God[7]
cont.
·
“And this is the boldness we have
in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”-1 John
5:14
Daily Devotions
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance
of the Angels
·
Monday:
Litany of Humility
·
Rosary
[1]http://usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Hebrews&ch=
[2] The Collegeville Bible
Commentary
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