FEBRUARY
Soil under our feet goes unnoticed, though this first foot of soil is where most living organisms’ dwell. The health of the fragile skin of our earth is of utmost importance. Humility comes from the Latin word for soil, "humus." From and unto dust is the humbling message to each of us. Soil is rich and fertile but also prone to erosion and pollution.
Overview of February[1]
The month of February is dedicated to the Holy Family. This year the first 16 days of February fall during the liturgical season known as Ordinary Time which is represented by the liturgical color green. Green, the symbol of hope, is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. The remaining days of February are the beginning of Lent. The liturgical color changes to purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart.
Though the shortest month of the year, February is rich in Liturgical activity. It contains a feast (Presentation of our Lord) that bridges two other seasons (Christmas and Easter)! In addition, the faithful may receive in February two of the four major public sacramentals that the Church confers during the liturgical year: blessed candles and the blessing of throats.
The Solemnity of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd harkens back to the Christmas mystery of Light except that now, Christ, the helpless babe, is “the Light of Revelation to the Gentiles who will save his people from their sins.” Candles, symbolizing Christ our Light, will be carried in procession this day, as will be the Paschal candle during the Easter Vigil Liturgy.
"The Light of Revelation" shines more brightly with each successive Sunday of Ordinary Time, until its magnificence – exposing our sinfulness and need for conversion – propels us into the penitential Season of Lent. We prepare to accept the cross of blessed ashes on Ash Wednesday (February 17) and plunge ourselves into anticipating the major exercises of Lent – fasting, prayer, almsgiving – laying our thoughts and prayers on the heart of our Mother Mary. She, who offered her Son in the temple and on the Cross, will teach us how to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow after her Son.
February Travel?[2]
·
Take a Horse-Drawn Sleigh Ride (All Month)
Enjoy a gorgeous winter
wonderland in Yellowstone and the surrounding areas. National Elk Refuge is
closed to vehicle traffic but not to horse-drawn sleighs. The open-air rides
offer a unique and amazing way to see elk, bison, eagles, foxes and other
wildlife species. Yellowstone
and the Jackson Hole
area offer a variety of other family activities including snow tubing, skiing,
snowmobiles and a year-round roller coaster.
FEBRUARY
1 Monday
FEAST
OF ST. BRIGID
Psalm 31, Verse 20:
How great is your goodness, Lord,
stored up for those who FEAR you? You
display it for those who trust you, in the sight of the children of Adam.
Reviewing this verse, one wonders, what
exactly does “stored up mean”. A little research reveals that stored up means
to gather or amass something. King
David is professing here that just as in the natural world there are laws that
if followed lead to exponential growth, so it follows that if a believer but
trust in the Lord and retain a Godly fear versus the fear of man; there will be
a great abundance in spiritual growth. This growth will be so great that it
will be accompanied by physical abundance, so that all may see, as stated in
the verse “in the sight of the children of Adam” that God has blessed those who
love and trust him. Fear not, for God is with you! Trust in Him as you would a
mighty fortress in adversity.
Feast of St. Bridget, Abbess, and patroness of Ireland
BRIDGETT
was born about the year 453 at Fochard, in Ulster. When about twenty years old
she received the veil from St. Mel, the nephew and disciple of St. Patrick. So
many sought the religious life under her direction that a convent, the first in
Ireland, was erected for her and she was made superior. From this parent stem
branched forth other convents in different parts of Ireland, all which
acknowledged her as their mother and foundress. Several churches in England and
Scotland are dedicated to God under her name, and some also in Germany and in
France.
After
seventy years devoted to the practice of the most sublime virtues, corporal
infirmities admonished our saint that the time of her dissolution was nigh. For
half a century she had irrevocably consecrated herself to God, and during that
period great results had been attained. The day on which our abbess was to quit
this life, February 1, 523, having arrived, she received the blessed body and
blood of her Lord in the Blessed Eucharist, and, as it would seem, immediately
after her spirit passed forth, and went to possess Him in that heavenly country
where He is seen face to face and enjoyed without danger of ever losing Him.
Her
body was interred in the church adjoining her convent, but was some time after
exhumed, and deposited in a splendid shrine near the high altar. In the ninth
century, the country being desolated by the Danes, the remains of St. Bridget
were removed to Down-Patrick, where they were deposited in the same grave with
those of St. Patrick. Their bodies, together with that of St. Columba, were
translated after wards to the cathedral of the same city, but their monument
was destroyed in the reign of King Henry VIII. The head of St, Bridget is now
kept in the church of the Jesuits at Lisbon.
The
Introit of the Mass is as follows: Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity;
therefore, O God, Thy God hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy
fellows. My heart hath uttered a good word. I speak my works to the King."
Prayer.
Give
ear to us, O God our Savior, that, as we celebrate with joy the solemnity of
blessed Bridget Thy virgin, so we may improve in the affection of piety. Amen
EPISTLE, ii. Cor. x 17, 18; xi. 1, 2.
Brethren:
He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he who commendeth himself
is approved, but he whom God commendeth. "Would to God you could bear with
some little of my folly, but do bear with me. For I am jealous of you with the
jealousy of God. For I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you
as a chaste virgin to Christ.
GOSPEL. Matt. xxv. 1-13.
At that
time Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable: Then shall the kingdom of
heaven be like to ten virgins, who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the
bridegroom and the bride. And five of them were foolish, and five wise: but the
five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them: but the
wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying,
they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the
bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and
trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil: for
our lamps are gone out. The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not
enough for us and for you, go you rather to them that sell, and buy for
yourselves. Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that
were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last
came also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. But He answering said:
Amen I say to you, I know you not. Watch ye therefore because you know not the
day nor the hour.
Feast Day of St Brigid of Ireland
Bridget (Brigid, Bride, Bridey) of Kildare was born around 450 into a Druid
family, being the daughter of Dubhthach, court poet to King Loeghaire. At an
early age, Brigid decided to become a Christian, and she eventually took vows
as a nun. Together with a group of other women, she established a nunnery at
Kildare. She was later joined by a community of monks led by Conlaed. Kildare
had formerly been a pagan shrine where a sacred fire was kept perpetually
burning. Rather than stamping out this pagan flame, Brigid and her nuns kept it
burning as a Christian symbol. (This was in keeping with the general process
whereby Druidism in Ireland gave way to Christianity with very little
opposition, the Druids for the most part saying that their own beliefs were a
partial and tentative insight into the nature of God, and that they recognized
in Christianity what they had been looking for.) As an abbess, Brigid
participated in several Irish councils, and her influence on the policies of
the Church in Ireland was considerable.\
Things to
Do
- Read
Amy Steedman's biography of Saint Brigid of Ireland to gain a greater
appreciation and devotion for this holy woman, who had a great tenderness
for mothers and their children.
- Read
Saint Brigit: The Mary of the Gael (Catholic Culture
Library) or go to this fascinating page St. Brigit - The Giveaway where you will find some
folklore and recipes.
- Saint
Brigid always recognized Christ in the sick and the poor. Visit Christ in
a nursing home or hospital today, and pray for the grace of clear vision,
even when you encounter Him in a distressing disguise.
- Meditate
on 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13. Is this the kind of love you share with your
family? Pray to Saint Brigid for the grace to be patient, kind, and gentle
with those entrusted to your care.
- For
more recipes and for a craft go to Brigid's Day
Foods and How to Make a Traditional St. Brigid's Cross.
BEWARE: Tonight, the
night before feast of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple begins the black
mass of magic spring-say your rosary.
The Black Mass[4]
The black mass is a parody of [the Catholic]
Mass, in which one adores and exalts Satan. Usually it is officiated at night,
because the darkness permits greater secrecy and because during the night fewer
people are found at prayer, which disturbs the ritual. During the celebration,
the words and the external signs of the Eucharistic liturgy are used, but
always in a contrary sense, in order to manifest opposition to God. There is
always a satanic priest officiating who wears blasphemous vestments, an altar
represented by a nude woman, possibly a virgin, on whom very serious acts of
profanity of the Eucharist (usually stolen from a church), are performed, with
words of consecration proclaimed in a contrary sense and an overturned
crucifix. Only members of the satanic sect, who are sworn to secrecy, may
participate. Nonmembers are never permitted to attend unless it is hoped that,
having already been seduced by the perversions and the illusion of power, they
may decide to enter the sect.
In general, the black masses are celebrated
by small groups of ten or at most fifteen of the “faithful.” Once the ritual is
concluded, the woman who functions as the altar is raped in turn by all the
participants: first by the one who exercised the “rites” of the priest, then by
all the others. This woman may have freely accepted that role, or she may have
been led there against her will; and aside from the physical violence, she
often suffers the terrible consequences of the ritual: [diabolical] possession.
As in the Church, some of the official rites
are required and are tied to particular feast days.
·
The most important is Halloween, which falls on
the night between October 31 and November 1 of each year: it is considered the
magic New Year. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the extreme danger for
our children and youth who participate in the feast of Halloween on that date.
·
The second precedes our feast of the
presentation of Jesus in the Temple on February 2. The night before, in fact,
begins the magic spring.
·
The summer magic is the third satanic
“solemnity” and occurs on the night between April 30 and May 1. During the year
[Satanists] often choose nights when the new moon is inaugurated, because it is
particularly dark.
The officiator of these rites is usually
someone who is consecrated to Satan, and although it is not stated, this person
is also usually possessed by the devil. Often during these rituals, the
Eucharistic hosts are profaned, [having been] stolen from tabernacles or taken
by some of the faithful at Communion during Mass and not consumed.
More pagan worship: Serpent Day[5]
Serpent Day is a day
of reflection and coming to grips with our fears. It’s dedicated to
pondering our reactions to the prime material behind that expensive
high-fashion snake-skin handbag. Its unique, slithering form has long been
associated with wisdom and power, used for either good or evil. Serpents have
been both feared and revered, at times simultaneously, in many different
periods of human history. Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity, the
worship of which was first known documented in Teotihuacan in the first century
BCE or first century CE. Veneration of the figure appears spread throughout
Mesoamerica between 600–900 AD.
Quetzalcoatl, also called
“the Plumed Serpent,” played a dominant role as a god, model, myth, historical
figure and symbol in Aztec culture. According to legend, he was incarnated
on earth and founded the fabulous capital of the Toltecs,
Tollan. Quetzalcoatl represented the universal quest for meaning in
life, and was the guardian of water and rain, a precious resource of the Aztecs.
In the Hindu regions of
Asia the serpent, or naga, is
considered a nature spirit. As in the Aztec belief system, Naga is the
protector of springs, wells and rivers, and so serpents bring rain, and
fertility. The serpent is also a fascinating biblical symbol. Perhaps
the most common is the portrayal of the serpent as an enemy in general, or as
Satan in particular.
However,
a serpent is later used to foreshadow Jesus’ death on the cross and the
salvation it makes possible when a bronze serpent appears on a cross that the
severely ill Israelites looked upon to recover, which can be found in John
3:14-15. Anthropologists have argued that the serpent as a symbol of death
is built into our unconscious minds because of evolutionary history, as for
millions of years, snakes were mainly just predators of
primates. Nowadays, a snake wrapped around the Rod of Asclepius is on the
Star of Life, the worldwide symbol of medical aid.
Daily
Devotions/Activities
·
30 Days (day 15) with St. Joseph (End on Feast of St. Joseph)
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Monday: Litany of
Humility
·
Rosary
[1]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/months/02.cfm
[2]https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/travels-best/photos/fun-things-to-see-and-do-in-february
[4]Amorth, Fr. Gabriele. An Exorcist
Explains the Demonic: The Antics of Satan and His Army of Fallen Angels
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