ICEMANforChrist: Saturday, December 5, 2020

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.

Friday, December 4, 2020

Saturday, December 5, 2020

ATTENTION! Operation Overlord 2.0: November 30 - December 8

OPERATION OVERLORD 2.0

If God is calling you, I am asking that you add this "Operation Overlord 2.0" (see HERE) to your daily prayers, knowing December 8 could be our "make or break" moment in time. Here's how it works ...

Starting Monday, November 30, we will enter into the St. Maximillian Kolbe Nine-Day Preparation for Total Consecration
Be in a State of Grace = Go to Confession
Add whatever intense fasting, penance and mortification God is calling you to during these nine days. Renew fitness goals
On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we will all make our Marian Consecration (or renew it)
Dedicate yourself to wear the Miraculous Medal every day (or carry it. The Combat Rosary has the Miraculous Medal)
We call upon the intercession of the Blessed Mother, St. Michael, St. Maximillian Kolbe, Pope St. John Paul II and Mother Angelica
PETITION: May truth be revealed, and may America and the Catholic Church become strong in God's power. - Ephesians 6:10

Today is Day 6 of Operation Overlord. Prayers and Reflections found HERE.

DAY 27 - MARY, MYSTICAL ROSE, PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE FRUIT OF CHASTITY!

GOD'S WORD

"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light." (Matthew 6:22)

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are." (1 Corinthians 3:16)

HEROES' WORDS

"Do not say that you have chaste minds if you have unchaste eyes, because an unchaste eye is the messenger of an unchaste heart." -St. Augustine

"Now, though the era of persecution is gone, yet our peace has its martyrdom, because though we bend not the neck to the sword, yet with a spiritual weapon we slay fleshly desires in our hearts." -Pope St. Gregory I

MEDITATION

Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman. The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift. (CCC 2337)

The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates neither a double life nor duplicity in speech. (CCC 2338)

Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery, which is training in human freedom. The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy. (CCC 2339)

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

Spanish language Novena prayers and reflections are available at https://rosarycoasttocoast.com/nfon-espanol/.

Those who would like to pray with others via The Telephone Rosary, call 1-951-799-9866 daily at 6 pm Eastern.

First Saturday

saint Nicholas eve

John, Chapter 14, Verse 21-24

²¹ Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who LOVES me. And whoever LOVES me will be LOVED by my Father, and I will LOVE him and reveal myself to him.” ²²Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever LOVES me will keep my word, and my Father will LOVE him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

This is the indwelling of the Father and the Son, when we have this, we reflect our own perfected beauty. Think of a beauty queen and compare it to the face of Mother Teresa; which portraits beauty more? When we have the indwelling, the truth is never far from us; think of Thomas More and when we have the indwelling, we have joy, and our earthly work is not a burden but light. If you are not happy perhaps you should reflect are you observing Christ' commandments? First seek the kingdom and all grace will be added to you. When we have the indwelling, the spirit compels us to acts of mercy. The traditional enumeration of the corporal works of mercy is as follows:

· To feed the hungry.

· To give drink to the thirsty.

· To clothe the naked.

· To harbor the harbor less.

· To visit the sick.

· To ransom the captive.

· To bury the dead.

The spiritual works of mercy are:

· To instruct the ignorant.

· To counsel the doubtful.

· To admonish sinners.

· To bear wrongs patiently.

· To forgive offences willingly.

· To comfort the afflicted.

· To pray for the living and the dead.

In a sense when we have the indwelling, we are like Mary the great mother of God and are compelled to acts of mercy; they are not just a list but a way of being.

First Saturday[1]

How are we to practice the First Saturday Devotion if there are no Masses on the first Saturday?

· This presents no obstacle to the praying of the rosary and spending fifteen minutes keeping Our Lady company.

· Since Jesus told Lucia that the confession could be within eight days or even longer still, our confessions can be made whenever possible as long as we make the intention.

· Actual reception of Holy Communion will, of course, be impossible. Since heaven never demands what is impossible for us, a Spiritual Communion will be accepted until such time as Masses resume.

There are four elements of a Spiritual Communion:

1. Make an act of faith. The key here is to express to the Lord our faith in His merciful love and His Real Presence in the Eucharist.

2. Make an act of love. O Lord God, I love you above all things.

3. Express our desire to receive Him.

4. Invite Jesus to come into our hearts spiritually.

Saint Nicolas Eve

Today traditionally is the Eve of the Feast of Saint Nicholas and is celebrated throughout much of Europe with sweets and gifts to children. Legend tells us that Nicholas was a man of action and used his abundance that the Lord provided him to give special protection to children and unmarried young women. Let us find some way today to practice both the spiritual and temporal works of mercy. Today would be a good day to do something that helps children or young unmarried women from the abundance that God has provided us. For those who cannot share it is suggested to fast twice this week as was the practice of Saint Nicholas and give the cost of the food you would normally spend to help those in need. From the store house of your spiritual abundance your prayers can make a difference: pray especially for women who are enslaved in addictions and/or the sex slave trade. Thousands of men from over 80 countries consistently pray for women led by an online organization called “e5 men”[2]. Perhaps the Lord is calling you to this.

Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, and the Angels[3]

As is well-known, "Santa Claus" comes from the Dutch rendering of Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop famous for giving gifts anonymously to children and the needy. However, as Father Francis Weiser argues in his Handbook of Christian Customs (p. 113), the various legends surrounding Santa Claus actually come from the god of Norse and Germanic mythology, Thor (after whom Thursday is named). Thor was portrayed as a large, jovial old man with a long white beard whose symbolic color was red (owing to his association with fire). Thunder was said to have been caused by the rolling of his chariot (drawn by two white goats) across the clouds, and his home was said to have been "Northland," somewhere among the icebergs. The fireplace was also considered sacred to Thor because it was through it that he came into his element, the fire. We owe this odd metamorphosis of a Christian saint into a pagan god to New York City. When the Dutch founded the city in the seventeenth century, they observed the Catholic custom of "Saint Nicholas' visit" on the saint's feast day (December 5). This the Dutch did even though they were Protestant. When English Protestants later commandeered the city, they were offended by the practice, but their children very much liked it. The compromise that was eventually made was to transfer the giving of gifts from the 5th of December to the 25th and to add so many pagan elements to the story that the figure of the saintly Catholic bishop (who, incidentally, was notoriously intolerant of heretics) would no longer be recognizable.

The older Christian custom is that on the night of December 5 (the vigil of Saint Nicholas Day), children write notes addressed to the Child Jesus and put them on their windowsill, whence St. Nicholas carries them to heaven. A variation of this custom, prevalent in South America, is to write notes sometime between December 16 to 24 and to put them in front of the crib, from which point Angels carry the requests to heaven. Though the value of bringing children up on these stories is open to debate, at least the older customs explicitly tie the reception of gifts to the advent of Christ and portray the other figures (Nicholas or the angels) as His assistants. There was also a charming custom of "St. Nicholas" (a man dressed as a bishop) bringing gifts to children in person on his feast day.

Tonight, candy for the kids and… for Mom & Dad?

Prohibition Repeal Day[4]

If you like a drink, then Repeal Day is all about you. On the 5th of December, it’s time to raise a glass to all thing’s cocktails, beer and spirit, and celebrate your right to have a cheeky little (or large!) tipple now and then. Whether you enjoy a sip of sophistication with a swish cocktail or simple G and T, or even if you’re happy to sit back with a bottle of beer, this day celebrates kicking back with a drink or two whether at home, with friends or at the pub.

Between January 5th, 1919 and December 5th, 1933, America was dry. And we don’t mean it didn’t get much rainfall – during these years, the consumption of alcohol was banned. This was supposed to end drunkenness and put a stop to crime – but if anything, it just made problems with lawbreaking even worse.

Simply enough, even though it had been banned, there was still a demand for alcohol – and some shady characters made it their business to help America get a swig of the sweet stuff. Soon enough, organized crime would become a key driver of the liquor trade.

Bootlegging, or rum running as it might also be known, became of especial favor with crime lords. Sneaking liquor around the country became a big business in 1920s USA, and despite the best effort of authorities, the big wigs of the underworld were soon reveling in the money it brought them.

Realizing perhaps keeping beer away from the people was causing more trouble than it was worth, a number of repeal organizations were born and eventually, after much consideration, the 18th Amendment was lifted. And so, on the back of all that, we celebrate repeal day.

How to celebrate Repeal Day

This day is an easy one to celebrate, especially if you are partial to a cheeky drink or two. There’s no need to get dressed up – although if you choose to go to a posh wine bar, you could always pop on something sparkly; Celebrate repeal day by grabbing yourself a quick drink on the 5th, or perhaps you could make some swanky cocktails at home.

If you’re feeling sociable after a day at work, why not get the gang together and go down to your local pub for a few? And if you don’t drink alcohol, you can always get involved with alcohol-free beer, or some tasty virgin cocktails. Cheers!

Jesse Tree[5]

The Jesse Tree dates back to the middle ages and came from Europe. Even some ancient cathedrals have Jesse Tree designs in their stained-glass windows. The "tree" is usually a branch or sapling and is decorated with various symbols that remind us of the purpose and promises of God from Creation to the Birth of Jesus Christ. Jesse was the father of King David and God promised David that his Kingdom would last forever. Two centuries after the death of King David, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2) Each Jesse Tree ornament usually consists of a handmade symbol or drawing that represents one of the major stories of the Old Testament along with a brief verse of Scripture from that story.

Jesse Tree Ornaments

If you decide to use one symbol each day during December, there are 24 symbolic ornaments to make for your Jesse Tree, so each family member will need to make several. Making the ornaments is a good project for Sunday afternoons during Advent. To make an ornament, first read the Scripture verses for the day. Then pick out one or two short verses that give the main idea. Copy these verses on the back of the ornament. By this time, you will probably be thinking of various ways to illustrate your Scripture verses. Use lots of creativity in making your ornament! You can use pictures from magazines or old greeting cards. Or draw pictures or symbols yourself. Color them with crayons, pencils, markers or paint. Look around the house for bits and pieces that will make your design beautiful! If you prefer to have a pattern already made, Caryn Talty, at Organic Living for a Healthy Family, has created 26 excellent ornaments which she graciously offers free – both full color and black and white.

Jesse Tree Scriptures (The Symbols Are Only Suggestions)

December 1 Creation: Gen. 1:1-31; 2:1-4 Symbols: sun, moon, stars, animals, earth

December 2 Adam and Eve: Gen. 2:7-9, 18-24 Symbols: tree, man, woman

December 3 Fall of Man: Gen. 3:1-7 and 23-24 Symbols: tree, serpent, apple with bite

December 4 Noah: Gen. 6:5-8, 13-22; 7:17, 23, 24; 8:1, 6-22 Symbols: ark, animals, dove, rainbow

December 5 Abraham: Gen. 12:1-3 Symbols: torch, sword, mountain