This blog is based on references in the Bible to fear. God wills that we “BE NOT AFRAID”. Many theologians state that the eighth deadly sin is fear. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. By “the power of the Holy Spirit” we can be witnesses and “communicators” of a new and redeemed humanity “even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7 8). This blog is dedicated to Mary the Mother of God.
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Monday, December 14, 2020
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DAY 36 - MARY, COMFORTER OF THE AFFLICTED, PRAY FOR US
SUPERIOR IDEAL
Among the ways we have just let Coach Vince Lombardi inspire us, let's focus on the most important one: He went to Mass and received Communion every day of his life. Pope John Paul II said the Holy Eucharist "contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth: Christ Himself."
Precisely during a time when our culture was becoming disconnected from their True Source, Vince Lombardi remained firmly and wholly connected to his. No matter what Lombardi dedicated himself to, he never abandoned his true self as a child of God and devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. More than anything, he understood the necessity of receiving God's Divine Life, as he brought himself, daily, to the altar of our Lord to receive him - body, blood, soul, and divinity - as the real source of power in his life. This was where his energy, his very life came from. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said, "As a man must be born before he can begin to lead his physical life, so he must be born to lead a Divine Life. That birth occurs in the Sacrament of Baptism. To survive, he must be nourished by Divine Life; that is done in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist."
There is no other authentic way to strive for perfection. Lombardi recognized this as the superior ideal that must never be abandoned, but interwoven into all of our pursuits, whether it is as a businessman or parent or professor or coach.
Vince Lombardi lived profoundly by God at the exact time our culture was unraveling and when it was all too easy to abandon God (as it continues to be today). How easy it was (and is) for so many to follow the crowd through the wide gate (Mt 7:13) of the many fads and trends of immorality, self-gratification, and anti-authority in the 1960s and up to today. Lombardi is yet another reminder that the real heroes of every age are those brave souls who courageously accept the challenge of integrity by ignoring the trends of their times while remaining true to themselves, even if it means being a signum cui contradicetur, a sign of contradiction, in the world (Lk 2:34). (Excerpt from Church Militant Field Manual).
PRAY A ROSARY
Choose either:
Rosary of the Day: Joyful Mysteries
Traditional 54 Day Rotation: Glorious Mysteries
PRAYERS FOR TRADITIONAL 54 DAY NOVENA
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES OF THE HOLY ROSARY
Prayer before the recitation: Sign of the cross. Hail Mary.
In petition (first 27 days): Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses, full-blown white roses, tinged with the red of the passion, to remind thee of thy glories, fruits of the sufferings of thy Son and thee, each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery, each 10 bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!
In thanksgiving (last 27 days):Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses full blown white roses, tinged with the red of the passion, to remind thee of thy glories, fruits of the sufferings of thy Son and thee each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God s graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou bast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Say: The Apostles' Creed, Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
For each of the following Mysteries, say: Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
The Resurrection - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of faith and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Ascension - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of hope and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of charity and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Assumption of Mary - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of union with Christ and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Coronation of the Blessed Mother - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of union with thee and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
Say: The Hail Holy Queen.
Spiritual Communion: My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
In petition (first 27 days): Sweet Mother Mary, I offer thee this spiritual communion to bind my bouquets in a wreath to place upon thy brow. O my Mother! Look with favor upon my gift, and in thy love obtain for me (specify request, see below). Hail Mary ...
In thanksgiving (last 27 days): Sweet Mother Mary, I offer thee this Spiritual Communion to bind my bouquets in a wreath to place upon thy brow in thanksgiving for (specify request, see below) which thou in thy love hast obtained for me. Hail, Mary, etc.
PETITION: May truth be revealed, and may America and the Catholic Church become strong in God's power. - Ephesians 6:10
Please consider adding these prayers, until the election is called (more information HERE):
Fr. Ripperger's Recommended Prayers for
Breaking Oppression and Sending Back Evil
Until the Election is Called
Consecration of One's Exterior Goods to the Blessed Virgin Mary
(This prayer is particularly useful for breaking various forms of oppression. By relinquishing what belongs to us into the hands of the Blessed Virgin, Satan cannot touch them. This is a strong prayer of protection on you and yours):
I; (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee, O Mary, this day for my Mother and Mistress. Knowing that I have received rights over all my exterior goods by the promulgation of the Natural Law by the Divine Author, I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, all of my exterior goods, past, present and future; I relinquish into thy hands, my Heavenly Mother, all rights over my exterior goods, including our President, the fairness, honesty and accuracy of the outcome of the election, and our country and I retain for myself no right of disposing the goods that come to me but leave to thee the entire and full right of disposing of all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity. As I now interiorly relinquish what belongs to me exteriorly into thy hands, I entrust to thee the protection of those exterior goods against the evil one, so that, knowing that they now belong to thee, he cannot touch them. Receive, O good and pious Virgin, this little offering of what little is, in honor of, and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to Thy maternity; in homage to the power which both of You have over this poor sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favored thee. Trusting in the providential care of God the Father and thy maternal care, I have full confidence that thou wilst take care of me as to the necessities of this life and will not leave me forsaken. God the Father, increase my trust in Thy Son's Mother; Our Lady of Fair Love, give me perfect confidence in the providence of Thy Son. Amen.
Sending Evil Back
(Fr. Chad Ripperger comments that the following prayer may appear harsh, in that it seems to seek evil befall on another, yet it is meant to expose evil and to teach that evil does not win. And, in fact, choosing evil will, eventually, lead to bad repercussions)
Jesus and Mary, I ask that if it be Your Holy Will, that any curses or evil sent against the President or the election process be sent back from whence they came.
All of the daily Novena Prayers and Reflections are also posted at usgraceforce.com
Those who would like to pray with others via The Telephone Rosary, call 1-951-799-9866 daily at 6 pm Eastern.
Monday of the Third Week in Advent
St. john of the
cross-roast chestnuts day
1
Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verse 9-10
9 But as it is written:
“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the
human heart, what God has prepared for those who LOVE him,”10 this God has revealed to us through
the Spirit.
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 physically and spiritually
become the resurrected Christ to our families, neighbors, our friends and even
dare I say our enemies. May God’s will and wisdom be done!
Amoris Lætitia[1]Passionate love, God loves the joy of his children (147-149)
Pope Benedict
XVI summed up joy of the church which families conformed in love should mirror “Doesn’t
the Church, with all her commandments and prohibitions, turn to bitterness the
most precious thing in life? Doesn’t she blow the whistle just when the joy
which is the Creator’s gift offers us a happiness which is itself a certain
foretaste of the Divine?” He responded that, although there have been
exaggerations and deviant forms of asceticism in Christianity, the Church’s
official teaching, in fidelity to the Scriptures, did not reject “eros as
such, but rather declared war on a warped and destructive form of it, because
this counterfeit divinization of eros… actually strips it of divine
dignity and dehumanizes it.”
Training
in the areas of emotion and instinct is necessary, and at times this requires
setting limits. Excess, lack of control or obsession with a single form of
pleasure can end up weakening and tainting that very pleasure and damaging
family life. A person can certainly channel his passions in a beautiful and
healthy way, increasingly pointing them towards altruism and an integrated self-fulfillment
that can only enrich interpersonal relationships in the heart of the family.
This does not mean renouncing moments of intense enjoyment, but rather
integrating them with other moments of generous commitment, patient hope, inevitable
weariness and struggle to achieve an ideal. Family life is all this and it
deserves to be lived to the fullest. Some currents of spirituality teach that
desire has to be eliminated as a path to liberation from pain. Yet we believe
that God loves the enjoyment felt by
human beings: he created us and “richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy”
(1 Tim 6:17). Let us be glad when with great love he tells us: “My son,
treat yourself well…Do not deprive yourself of a happy day” (Sir 14:11-14).
Married couples likewise respond to God’s will when they take up the biblical
injunction: “Be joyful in the day of prosperity” (Ec 7:14). What is important is to have the freedom to
realize that pleasure can find different expressions at different times of
life, in accordance with the needs of mutual love. In this sense, we can
appreciate the teachings of some Eastern masters who urge us to expand our
consciousness, lest we be imprisoned by one limited experience that can blind
us. This expansion of consciousness is not the denial or destruction of desire
so much as it’s broadening and perfection.
Read: St.
John of the Cross, who we honor today, was known for his deep spirituality
and compassion.
Reflect: "We
must dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing
treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit.
Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all
sides." —St. John of the Cross
Act: Brainstorm
ideas for how you can live out your call to "imbue every area of social
life with the spirit of the Gospel" as an active citizen. For ideas, visit
the Faithful Citizenship website.
In the chill of December,
there’s one warming treat that is especially popular across the world to keep
the cold away. Roasted chestnuts are often seen this time of year being cooked
by street vendors, and the earthy, spicy scent is more than enough to get
anyone into the Christmas spirit. On the 14th of December, it’s time to honor
the humble chestnut. Or specifically, mark the time-honored tradition of
roasting chestnuts round about the season of good cheer. Roast Chestnut’s day
is a relatively new day in the calendar, but the practice of roasting chestnuts
has been around for donkey’s years. Although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when
they started to become so popular, historians pencil the 16th century in as
being a turning point, when the nuts would be sold by street vendors to anyone
wanting a quick and warming snack. It has also long been a tradition in
Portugal to eat them roasted on Saint Martin’s Day, and in Tuscany on Saint
Simon’s Day. When chestnuts are carefully roasted, the natural sweetness of the
nut is revealed. This makes them an ideal snack if you want something to stave
off a sweet tooth that also happens to be quite nutritious, chestnuts being
comparatively low in calories and being a good source of fibre. They are also
very rich in vitamin C, which may come as a surprise to you. Although they are
technically nuts, they taste very unlike other nuts – the sweet, earthy
taste is certainly worth a try if you’ve never had one before – and Roast
Chestnuts Day is the perfect time to try that first one. Chestnuts are often
roasted on a grill, which helps to remove their bitter, shiny skins, but you
can make them at home using your conventional kitchen oven. All you need to do
is cut a cross into each nut, put them on a roasting tin and bake them until
the skins open. They are eaten after peeling away that tough, shiny skin.
How to Celebrate Roast Chestnuts
Day
·It’s
so, so easy to make roast chestnuts, so why not roast up a batch for yourself
on the 14th December? Have them as a snack on their own, add them to stuffing
or pair them with roasted beef.
·And
you’ll be able to find them in most supermarkets during the festive season, so
you won’t have to go foraging for them in the woods!
From LatinAlcyone, daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx. When her
husband died in a shipwreck, Alcyone threw herself into the sea
whereupon the gods transformed them both into halcyon birds (kingfishers). When Alcyone made her nest on the beach, waves threatened to
destroy it. Aeolus restrained his winds and kept them calm during seven
days in each year, so she could lay her eggs. These became known as the
"halcyon days," when storms do not occur. Today, the term is used to
denote a past period that is being remembered for being happy and/or
successful.
Today reflect on seven successes or happy times of the
year then pick one to thank Our Lord for and offer to Our Lord an appropriate
gift for it for his birth!
A special devotion that can be performed during Advent to
prepare for the coming of the Infant Savior. It can be adapted for adults
and/or children and applied as is appropriate to your state in life.
·4th day, December 14th: THE ROOF—Self-denial
Today we must practice self-denial in everything great or small. We must
therefore do the very things from which nature shrinks, and if opportunity permits,
abstain from some amusement in whatever way it presents itself. No TV today
Ash Wednesday Deuteronomy, Chapter 18, Verse 21-22 21 Should you say to yourselves, “How can we recognize that a word is one the LORD has not spoken?”, 22 if a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD but the word does not come true, it is a word the LORD did not speak. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not fear him. Even saints at times may have spoken presumptuously. Let us meditate on the words of Padre Pio, “Love and fear must go united together, fear without love becomes cowardice. Love without fear becomes presumption. When there is love without fear, love runs without prudence and without restraint, without taking care where it is going.” This is the great beauty of the Holy Spirit for it tells us when even a very holy person speaks not every word they speak comes from God. We error sometimes in this way, making men into gods; but a heart that is filled with the spirit of God is filled with quiet joy and even if the person were to be impriso
Judith, Chapter 10, Verse 16 When you stand before him, have no fear in your heart; give him the report you have given us, and he will treat you well.” Judith prepares for war with prayer and by the enhancement of her beauty. She is so strikingly beautiful that in this verse one of the guards of the Assyrian camp advises her to be confident in the presence of Holofernes. Beauty and the Beast [1] After bathing (during a drought) she uses all the human arts available to her to make herself beautiful and captivating: perfumed ointment, hair, clothing and jewelry. She understands the goodness of her body. She knows physical beauty is good and comes from God. She also knows that the power of her beauty comes from within her, from her holiness, from her faithfulness to God. Since both her exterior and interior beauty come from God, her beauty must be devoted to the service of God. God intends to use her beauty as a weapon to liberate the people. She will wield the weapon t
Wednesday after laetare Sunday: end of mid-lent [1] Jeremiah, Chapter 26, verse 19 Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah condemn him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, so that the LORD had a change of heart regarding the evil he had spoken against them? We, however, are about to do great evil against ourselves.” Have you ever been around people who cannot handle the truth! Speaking the truth got Jeremiah in dire straits. Unmoving, the temple officials and elders trashed Jeremiah nonetheless they were too afraid to kill him. Dire Straits [2] · At the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, God tells Jeremiah to stand in the court of the temple and speak to all the people and cities of Judah. They're getting another chance to repent. Maybe they'll actually listen this time. · If the people don't finally come to their senses, God's going to do the same thing to Jerusalem that he did to Shiloh up
Full Worm Moon According to the almanac we are having a Full Worm Moon-plan to take your family or grandchildren fishing! Hummingbirds are migrating North now; look for them. Monday 2 nd Week in Lent PURIM-MEATBALLDAY-HOLI Proverbs, Chapter 31, Verse 30 Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Woman is the key to the salvation of the world. It is the miracle of God that the salvation of mankind was deposited in the care of the Virgin Mary and likewise in the physical sense the material world through the modern woman who is faithful to the precepts of the Lord. Such a woman knows the secret to raising children to be happy and successful is to do it in a home overflowing with love. A woman of faith truly knows: God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken, and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea. A woman of Influence
Romans, Chapter 8, verse 14-15 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear , but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” By the sacrifice of Christ, we are the adopted children of God, who feared none, and by whose sufferings and glory we share; by reason of the Holy Spirits presence within us. We are thus giving us a new life and relationship with God. ( Novena to the Holy Spirit ) To some is giving the gift of tongues. To which many years ago (40 to be exact February 1975) at the birth of my first born daughter I had gone to the Gunpowder Inn, in Bermuda, to celebrate her birth, with a couple of Native American friends. At the time I was in the Navy Seabees and we worked together. When I had got there, all of the sudden, I got an overwhelming feeling that I needed to speak in tongues to P. Graves and I did. I felt stupid an
Plough Monday ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS-DISTAFF DAY Psalm 2, verse 11 Serve the LORD with fear ; exult with trembling , accept correction lest he become angry and you perish along the way when his anger suddenly blazes up. Blessed are all who take refuge in him! To fully understand this verse, we must know who the writer is referring to. In verse 10 the writer states “ Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear. Our God is a just God and to “those who have been given much; much is required”; to quote the spider man movie. Kings (and the 1 percent’ers) to be wise must humble themselves. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle then for a rich man to get into heaven. The "Eye of the Needle" has been claimed to be a gate in Jerusalem, which opened after the main gate was closed at night. A camel could only pass through this smaller gate if it was stooped and had its baggage removed. [1] I a
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter ST MATTHIAS-Novena St. Rita-Chicken Dance Day Jeremiah, Chapter 42, Verse 11-16 11 Do not FEAR the king of Babylon, as you do now. Do not FEAR him—oracle of the LORD—for I am with you to save you, to rescue you from his power. 12 I will take pity on you, so that he will have pity on you and let you return to your land. 13 But if you keep saying, “We will not stay in this land,” thus disobeying the voice of the LORD, your God, 14 and saying, “No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, nor hear the trumpet alarm, nor hunger for bread. There we will live!” 15 then listen to the word of the LORD, remnant of Judah: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you are set on going to Egypt and settling down there once you arrive, 16 the sword you FEAR shall overtake you in the land of Egypt; the hunger you dread shall pursue you to Egypt and there you shall die. Faith is always a great multiplier in overcom
Leviticus, Chapter 25, Verse 17 Do not deal unfairly with one another, then; but stand in fear of your God. I, the LORD, am your God. Our loving God wants us free and He demands that we out of love treat each other with love and fairness. In the Jewish calendar God specified that we are to rest one out of seven days but it goes further with a rest after seven weeks ending in a year of Jubilee after the 49 th year called a Shemitah. The Shemitah Year is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel and still observed in contemporary Judaism. When Moses received the Levitical law, God gave the commandment to rest on the seventh day… the Sabbath. Moses also applied the cycles of "seven" to weeks and years . A cycle of seven weeks points to the 50th day, called Pentecost. And a cycle of seven sets of seven years points to the 50th year, the year of Jubilee. The year of Jubilee is based on letting the land rest
LABOR DAY John 20, Verse 26 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “ Peace be with you.” Are the doors of you heart locked? Are you without faith? Perhaps Christ will stand someday in your midst as he did Thomas. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. Doubt [1] Preachers have called Thomas the "Doubter." Few have touched upon his cynicism. Over and over, Thomas heard the witness of the followers. But, Thomas wanted more than proof positive. ("Inspect and touch," literally meant "to see and thrust.") He stepped beyond skepticism into cynicism. A week later, Jesus again appear with the greeting of
DAY 7 - MOTHER MOST CHASTE, PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE GIFT OF COURAGE! GOD'S WORD "Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD." (Psalm 27:14) HEROES' WORDS "Fortitude is the disposition of soul which enables us to despise all inconveniences and the loss of things not in our power." -St. Augustine "I know well that the greater and more beautiful the work is, the more terrible will be the storms that rage against it." -St. Faustina "Moreover, Christians are born for combat, whereof the greater the vehemence, the more assured, God willing, the triumph: 'Have confidence; I have overcome the world' (Jn 16:33)." -Pope Leo XIII "Though the path is plain and smooth for men of good will, he who walks it will not travel far, and will do so only with difficulty, if he does not have good feet: that is, courage and a persevering spirit." -St. John of the Cross MEDITATION Fortitude is the mor
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