Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Stinginess/Miserliness
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)
Second Sunday Of Lent, Called
“Reminiscere”
Deuteronomy,
Chapter 1, Verse 19
Then we set out from Horeb and journeyed through that whole vast and FEARFUL wilderness that you have seen, in the direction of the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD, our God, had commanded; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
Kadesh-barnea means “The holy place of
the desert of wandering”[1]
Sometimes the Lord asks us to go out into the desert for it is in the desert
that we can; like Abraham and Moses, have an encounter with the living God.
Deserts are fearful places and are full of rocks, pointy things, snakes,
spiders and the indescribable beauty of God’s creation. By encountering God in
the desert, we learn that the very same stones that somehow get in our shoes
and make progress impossible are the very same stones that lay foundations,
bridges and roads.
In the desert we can search for God;
avoid of our distractions and find Him. In the desert we can write out our sins
and confess them to God. In the desert we can shed our old lives like the snake
sheds its skin and find a new perspective for life. It is during this time
alone with; He that IS; we make a spiritual change of clothes. In the desert we
can make an all-night vigil and with the coming of the new day we can proclaim
as in the Negro spiritual: When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising
sun, O Lord, have mercy on me. For it is in the desert that we can quit
deluding ourselves and be doers of the word and not hearers only. For it is in
the desert with can find the strength to keep ourselves unstained by the world
and find that pure and undefiled religion is to care for others in their
afflictions.
Chapel of the Holy Cross[2]
The chapel was inspired and
commissioned by local rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude, who had
been inspired in 1932 by the newly constructed Empire State Building to build
such a church. After an attempt to do so in Budapest, Hungary (with the help of
Lloyd Wright, son of noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright) was aborted due to the outbreak of
World War II, she decided to build the church in her native region. The chapel
is built on Coconino National Forest land; the late Senator Barry Goldwater assisted Staude in obtaining a special-use permit. The construction
supervisor was Fred Courkos, who built the chapel in 18 months at a cost of
US$300,000. The chapel was completed in 1956. The American Institute of
Architects gave the Chapel its Award of Honor in 1957. In the sculptor's words,
“Though Catholic in faith, as a work of art the Chapel has a universal appeal.
Its doors will ever be open to one and all, regardless of creed, that God may
come to life in the souls of all men (and women) and be a living reality.” In
2007, Arizonans voted the Chapel to be one of the Seven Man-Made Wonders of
Arizona, and it is also the site of one of the so-called Sedona vortices (New Age Pagan stuff).
ON KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[3]
CHAPTER I
DIES DOMINI
To
"keep holy" by "remembering"
17. The connection between Sabbath rest
and the theme of "remembering" God's wonders is found also in the
Book of Deuteronomy (5:12-15), where the precept is grounded less in the work
of creation than in the work of liberation accomplished by God in the Exodus:
"You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the
Lord your God brought you out from there with mighty hand and outstretched arm;
therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day" (Dt
5:15).
This formulation complements the one
we have already seen; and taken together, the two reveal the meaning of
"the Lord's Day" within a single theological vision which fuses
creation and salvation. Therefore, the main point of the precept is not just
any kind of interruption of work, but the celebration of the
marvels which God has wrought.
Insofar as this
"remembrance" is alive, full of thanksgiving and of the praise of
God, human rest on the Lord's Day takes on its full meaning. It is then
that man enters the depths of God's "rest" and can experience a tremor
of the Creator's joy when, after the creation, he saw that all he had made
"was very good" (Gn 1:31).
Second Sunday of Lent, Called “Reminiscere”[4]
AT the Introit to-day the Church asks of God the grace to fall -no more into sin: Remember, O God, Thy bowels of compassion, and Thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world, lest at any time our enemies rule over us; deliver us, O God, from all our tribulations. To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In Thee, O God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed; (Ps. xxiv.).
Prayer.
O God, Who beholdest us destitute of every virtue, preserve us both inwardly and outwardly, that we may be defended from all adversities in body, and purified from all evil thoughts in mind.
EPISTLE, i. Thess. iv. 1-7.
Brethren: We pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk, and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more. For you know what precepts I have given to you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor: not in the passion of lust, like the gentiles that know not God: and that no man overreach, nor circumvent his brother in business: because the Lord is the avenger of all these things, as we have told you before, and have testified: for God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification.
Explanation. St. Paul exhorts all Christians to live chastely and honestly, and continually to aspire to higher perfection. Such is the will of God, Who has called us to holiness, and will punish severely all impurity and injustice.
Prayer. Grant, O Lord, that, according to my vocation, I may never be addicted to earthly and fleshly lusts like the heathen, who know Thee not, but may live in modesty, chastity, and holiness, and adorn my name as a Christian with good works. Amen.
Traditionally for this Sunday Paul exhorts us to keep up our progress and we hear the story of the Transfiguration as a heartening foretaste of Christ's ultimate triumph.
GOSPEL. Matt. xvii. 1-9.
At that time:
Jesus taketh unto Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them
up into a high mountain apart: and He was transfigured before them. And His
face did shine as the sun: and His garments became white as snow. And behold
there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with Him. And Peter, answering,
said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make
here three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And
as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo a voice
out of the cloud saying: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased:
hear ye Him. And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face: and were very
much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them: Arise, and fear
not. And they lifting up their eyes saw no one, but only Jesus. And as they
came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no
man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.
Why was Jesus transfigured before His disciples on Mount Tabor?
1.
To give them a manifest proof of His divinity.
2.
To prevent all doubt on their part when they should see Him on Mount Calvary.
3.
To encourage all the faithful to patience under agony and suffering.
4.
To show us how our glorified bodies shall rise from the dead (i. Cor. xv. 52).
Why did Moses and Elias appear with
Our Lord? To
testify that Jesus was the Savior of the word spoken of by the law and the
prophets.
Lenten
Calendar[5]
Read: Today’s Gospel shares the story of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Reflect: “The Transfiguration reminds us that the joys sown by God in life are not finishing lines; rather they are the lights he gives us during our earthly pilgrimage in order that “Jesus alone” may be our Law and his word the criterion that directs our existence.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, February 28, 2010)
Pray: Pray for strength today to continue your Lenten promises and fasting with this prayer from Catholic Relief Services. . . .
Act: It’s the second Sunday of Lent, but there are three more to go. Rededicate yourself to your Lenten promises today and enter the week ready to tackle what’s ahead.
Get Ready for Spring in Dallas
Starting February 21-April 11
COVID update: must make
reservations and masks must be worn
Can’t
wait for spring? Head to the Dallas
Arboretum and Botanical Garden
to see the largest floral festival in the Southwest which features an explosion
of color from more than 500,000 spring-blooming blossoms, thousands of azaleas
and hundreds of Japanese cherry trees.
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-5th Sunday
·
Manhood of
the Master-week 2 day 5
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
MARCH
The winds of March point to the power of God's Spirit working in us. We need to listen and respond to the gentle breezes of the Spirit; but will we, or will we be too distracted? The rebirth of spring reminds us of the energy of nature so that we ask ourselves whether we waste or wisely use energy –electricity, oil, gas, etc. Can we and should we continue to use nonrenewable fossil fuels, often with accompanying air pollution, at the rate we do? Or will the environmental ills we cause today call us in the future as a society to use wind and solar energy?
Overview of the Month of March[6]
The month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph. The entire month falls during the liturgical season of Lent which is represented by the liturgical color purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart. John Paul II further said, “Because St. Joseph is the protector of the Church, he is the guardian of the Eucharist and the Christian family. Therefore, we must turn to St. Joseph today to ward off attacks upon the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and upon the family. We must plead with St. Joseph to guard the Eucharistic Lord and the Christian family during this time of peril.”
As we continue our journey "up to Jerusalem" during the month of March, three prominent ideas are proposed for our contemplation by the liturgy of Lent: The Passion and Resurrection of Christ, baptism, and penance.
The Solemnity of St. Joseph is a special landmark this month in which we will celebrate the great honor bestowed upon the foster father of Jesus. And if you are Irish (who isn't), St. Patrick's feast is another cause for a joyful celebration. The feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25.
The saints that we will focus on this month and try to imitate are St. Katharine Drexel (March 3), St. Casimir (March 4), Sts. Perpetua and Felicity (March 7), St. John of God (March 8), St. Frances of Rome (March 9), St. Patrick (March 17), St. Cyril of Jerusalem (March 18), St. Joseph (March 19) and St. Toribio de Mogrovejo (March 23).
A Time of Penance and
Promise
Here
and there in the stark March landscape, a few plants and trees are beginning to
give evidence of the new life that winter’s frost and chill had concealed from
our eyes. The Church’s vibrant new life has been obscured, too, by the
austerity of the penitential season of Lent. But that life is indisputable, and
it will burgeon forth on Easter as Christ coming forth from his tomb!
During
this month we will continue our journey to the cross with our acts of
penitence. We will reflect on our mortality ("Remember man thou art dust")
and the shortness of life ("and to dust thou shall return"). We will
heed the call, "Now is the acceptable time, now is “the day of salvation
(2 Corinthians 6:2).” Just like Our Lord's earthly life every moment of our
lives is leading up to the last moment—when for eternity we will either go to
God or suffer the fires of hell. During this month we will go from the
suffering of Good Friday to the joy of Easter Sunday. We will trade the purple
of penance for the white of victory and resurrection. The feast of the
Annunciation, normally celebrated on March 25, has been transferred to April 4
since it falls on Good Friday.
Let us
not tire of doing our good works and penance, but continue with the enthusiasm
of the catechumens on their way to Easter and Baptism. May our Lenten
observance be a joyful journey — and not a forced march.
As the
weeks of Lent progress let us not tire of doing our good works and penance, but
continue with the enthusiasm of the catechumens on their way to Easter and
Baptism. May our Lenten observance be a joyful journey — and not a forced
march.
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