Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Cowardice
At a word from You the devil and his minions flee in terror.
You are the source of all truth. You are the source of all strength.
By the power of your Cross and Resurrection, we beseech You, O Lord
To extend Your saving arm and to send Your holy angels
To defend us as we do battle with Satan and his demonic forces.
Exorcise, we pray, that which oppresses Your Bride, The Church,
So that within ourselves, our families, our parishes, our dioceses, and our nation
We may turn fully back to You in all fidelity and trust.
Lord, we know if You will it, it will be done.
Give us the perseverance for this mission, we pray.
Amen
St. Joseph...pray for us
St. Michael the Archangel...pray for us
(the patron of your parish )... pray for us
(your confirmation saint)...pray for us
Christ, have mercy. R. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. R. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, R. have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, R. have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, R. have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, Divine Victim on the Altar for our salvation, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, hidden under the appearance of bread, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, dwelling in the tabernacles of the world, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, really, truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, abiding in Your fulness, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, Bread of Life, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, Bread of Angels, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, with us always until the end of the world, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, sign and cause of the unity of the Church, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, adored by countless angels, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, spiritual food, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, Sacrament of love, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, bond of charity, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, greatest aid to holiness, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, gift and glory of the priesthood, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which we partake of Christ, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which the soul is filled with grace, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which we are given a pledge of future glory, R. have mercy on us.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
For those who are indifferent to the Sacrament of Your love, R. have mercy on us.
For those who have offended You in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, R. have mercy on us.
That we may make suitable preparation before approaching the Altar, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may receive You frequently in Holy Communion with real devotion and true humility, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may never neglect to thank You for so wonderful a blessing, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may cherish time spent in silent prayer before You, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may grow in knowledge of this Sacrament of sacraments, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That all priests may have a profound love of the Holy Eucharist, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That they may celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in accordance with its sublime dignity, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may be comforted and sanctified with Holy Viaticum at the hour of our death, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may see You one day face to face in Heaven, R. we beseech You, hear us.
spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, O Lord.
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Most merciful Father, You continue to draw us to Yourself through the Eucharistic Mystery. Grant us fervent faith in this Sacrament of love, in which Christ the Lord Himself is contained, offered and received. We make this prayer through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
__ Daily reflection and prayers
__ Litany of the day
__ Pray a Rosary
__ Divine Mercy Chaplet
__ Spiritual or corporal work of mercy
__ Fast/abstain (according to level)
__ Exercise (according to level/ability)
__ Refrain from conventional media (only 1 hr. of social)
__ Examination of conscience (confession 1x this week)
First Sunday of Lent
Do
not exact interest in advance or accrued interest,
but out of FEAR
of God let your kindred live with you.
Everyone
serves something. Some serve gain, some serve pleasure, some serve others, but
the wise person serves the Lord not out of servile fear but Holy fear; that is
out of love.
Can
we say with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Jos.
24:15) If we serve the Lord our own house should be open to our own kindred. If
everyone did this would we have any who are homeless? Search your hearts; do
you have kindred who are in need?
Sustain
them especially widows and orphans; by the way the divorced are the same as
widows and orphans.
Real
charity is looking after widows and orphans.
ON KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[1]
DIES DOMINI
To
"keep holy" by "remembering"
16.
The commandment of the Decalogue by which God decrees the Sabbath observance is
formulated in the Book of Exodus in a distinctive way: "Remember the
Sabbath day in order to keep it holy" (20:8). And the inspired text goes
on to give the reason for this, recalling as it does the work of God: "For
in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and
made it holy" (v. 11). Before decreeing that something be done, the
commandment urges that something be remembered. It is a call to awaken
remembrance of the grand and fundamental work of God, which is creation, a
remembrance which must inspire the entire religious life of man and then fill
the day on which man is called to rest. Rest therefore acquires a sacred
value: the faithful are called to rest not only as God rested, but to
rest in the Lord, bringing the entire creation to him, in praise and
thanksgiving, intimate as a child and friendly as a spouse.
First Sunday of Lent, Called
“Invocabit”. [2]
THIS,
Sunday is called Invocabit from the first word of the Introit. All the Sundays
of Lent and those from Easter to Pentecost take their names from the Introits
of the Mass. In the Introit of this day, we are told: He shall cry to Me, and I
will hear him; I will deliver him and glorify him; I will fill him with length
of days. He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High shall abide under the
protection of the God of heaven (Ps. xc. 15, 16, 1).
Prayer of the Church
O God, Who dost purify Thy Church by the yearly
observance of Lent, grant to Thy servants that what they endeavor to obtain of
Thee by abstinence they may secure by good works.
EPISTLE, Cor. vi.
1-10.
Brethren:
We do exhort you, that you receive not the grace of God in vain: for He saith:
In an accepted time have I heard thee: and in the day of salvation have I
helped thee. Behold now is the acceptable time: behold now is the day of
salvation; giving no offence to any man, that our ministry be not blamed: but
in all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much
patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in
prisons, in seditions, in labors, in watching’s, in fasting’s, in chastity, in
knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity
unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God, by the armor of justice
on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and
good report: as deceivers, and yet true: as unknown, and yet known: as dying,
and behold we live: as chastised, and not killed: as sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing: as needy, yet enriching many: as having nothing, and possessing all
things. By this epistle the Church admonishes us to profit by Lent as a season
of grace, to spend it in earnestly combating sin and in the diligent
performance of good works.
GOSPEL. Matt. iv.
1-11.
At that time: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be
tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights,
afterwards He was hungry. And the tempter coming, said to Him: If Thou be the
Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Who answered and said: It
is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth
from the mouth of God. Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and
set Him upon a pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him: If Thou be the Son of
God, cast Thy self-down; for it is written that He hath given His angels charge
over Thee, and in their hands shall they bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash
Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said to him: It is written again:
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil took Him up into a very high
mountain: and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,
and said to Him: All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore
me. Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan: for it is written:
The Lord thy God shalt thou adore and Him only shalt thou serve. Then
the devil left Him: and behold angels came and ministered to Him.
Our
Savior was led by the Holy Ghost into the desert there to prepare by fasting
forty days and nights for His holy ministry. Here the tempter approaches and
seeks to betray Him. After He had overcome the Evil One angels came and
ministered to Him: by which we learn that they who overcome temptations enjoy
the consolation and assistance of the angels. This should encourage us to
combat joyfully to the end.
What is temptation? Temptation is an inducement to
transgress the commandments of God. Temptation comes from our own concupiscence
(James i. 14) for the flesh lusteth against the spirit (Gal. v.17.)
How does the devil tempt us? He moves the natural concupiscence
to such sins as he sees men particularly inclined to, and then deceives and
confuses the man’s mind, that he may not see clearly either the temporal loss,
or the dishonor and danger of sin. He can, however, do nothing but what God
permits. St. Augustine therefore compares him to a chained dog that can hurt
only those who put themselves within his reach.
Does God also tempt us? St. James says (i. 13), Let no
man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God; for God is not a
tempter of evils, and He tempteth no man; But He allows us to be tempted,
sending us manifold trials.
Does God permit us to be tempted beyond our strength? No; for He combats with us and
gives you always as much strength as is required to conquer temptations, and
even to gain advantage from them (i. Cor. x. 13).
When do we consent to temptation? When we decide of our own free
will to do the evil proposed; as long as we resist, however little, we do not
consent.
What are the best means to overcome temptation?
1. Humility and
prayer.
2. The
consideration of the suffering which follows sin, and of the happiness which
awaits those who resist temptation.
3. Invoking the
aid of the Blessed Virgin, our guardian angel, and all the saints.
4. Praying
devoutly, lead us not into temptation, and calling on the holy name of Jesus.
Lenten Calendar[3]
Read: Today’s Gospel tells
the story of Jesus’s
journey into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Reflect: Every day, but particularly in
Lent, Christians must face a struggle, like the one that Christ underwent in
the desert of Judea, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil, and then
in Gethsemane, when he rejected the most sever temptation, accepting the Father’s will to the very end.
It
is a spiritual battle waged against sin and finally, against Satan. It is a
struggle that involves the whole of the person and demands attentive and
constant watchfulness.”
(Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, March 1, 2006)
Pray: Say something from your heart.
Act: With
Jesus’s response of “One does not live on bread alone” in mind, think of what ways you
can feed your spiritual life this Lent. Decide to do something during this
Lenten season that will nurture your relationship with God. Consider reading
one of the Psalms on Saturdays, challenge yourself to fast from speaking any
negative or critical word on Fridays, or do an act of generosity on
Mondays.
Christ is the
model for our fasting
Christ in the
desert, and the kinds of temptations we can expect to encounter.
"Not
by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth
of God".
1.
The devil tries to tempt us with the bread of fleshly desire. "Now
is the acceptable time" to "ration" our self-indulgence, our
worship of physical culture, and to feed our souls with the Divine Word. This
temptation calls for the mortification of self.
2.
The "pinnacle of the temple", recalls the pride of usurping God's
power, of trying to live beyond His reach. We must topple ourselves from
the pinnacle of pride and lift ourselves up by prayer to the pinnacle of
God Himself.
3.
The "kingdoms of the world," are those who covet mere earthly
"glory." To offset this temptation there must be almsgiving or
devoting one's talents to the service of one's neighbor.
The
Epistle exhorts us not to receive "in vain" this plan of personal
reformation, first by warning, then by encouraging us in the eternal struggle
between Christ and Antichrist.
Excerpted from My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of
the Precious Blood
Take Someone Out to the Ballpark
Starting
February 21
One of the first signs that spring is on the way is the beginning of Major
League Baseball’s spring training camps. Spring training games are a great way to see up-and-coming players
as well as the seasoned veterans up close in smaller stadiums; plus, the ticket
prices are more affordable than the regular season. The Grapefruit League
(Florida) and the Cactus League (Arizona) both start in late February and
continue through opening day in early April.
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 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
Devotion
of the Seven Sundays: St Joseph-4th Sunday
·
Manhood of
the Master-week 1 day 5
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
[2] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
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