Monday in the Octave of Easter
Charlton Heston rip
Deuteronomy, Chapter 31, Verse 6
Be strong and steadfast; have NO FEAR or dread of them, for it is the Lord,
your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you.
“Lord, thank you for helping me see more clearly than
ever that “what I am” is your gift to me and “what I become” is my gift back to
you.” (Poem by Melvin Banggollay)
He did not
create us out of necessity; He did not need us. He did not create us out of
justice; He owed us nothing. No, it is to His sheer love that we owe our
existence. Therefore, we must strive to be humble in accepting our mistakes, to
know how to say, “I was wrong.” You have good qualities—great qualities. Are you
not a marvel of creation, made in the image of God? You are a masterpiece of
His love, wounded, disfigured by sin, but remade by the Redeemer, more
beautiful than before—and at what a price! Be not overcome by evil, but
overcome evil by good. One drowns very quickly in gall. Keep watch, therefore,
over your soul; swallow the bitterness, as Jesus swallowed the vinegar on
Calvary, and know how to smile at those who cause you pain. Poverty, austerity,
fasting, prayer, and the gift of miracles, without love of our brothers, all
are pure illusion. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, give me Your Heart to love
my neighbor. The doctrine of abandonment, which sees God in everything, will
make you marvelously available for this work. This is one of its richest
secrets, for it obliges us to renounce, when necessary, our own views and our
little personal plans, even our plans for sanctification. This total
abandonment is the pinnacle of holiness and love, because it identifies us more
perfectly with Jesus, who lived only to do the will of His Father.[1]
A
WARRIOR’S BREASTPLATE[2]
I bind unto
myself today the power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, his might to
stay, His ear to hearken to my need; the wisdom of my God to teach, his hand to
guide, his shield to ward; the word of God to give me speech, his heavenly host
to be my guard. Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ
before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore
me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ
in the hearts of all that love me, Christ in the mouth of friend and
stranger. Amen
Monday
in the Octave of Easter[3]
IN the Introit of the Mass of this day the Church brings before our eyes the entrance of the Israelites into the promised land, which is a type of the kingdom of heaven, under Josue, who is a type of Christ. The Lord hath brought you into a land flowing with milk and honey, alleluia: and that the law of the Lord may be ever in your mouth, alleluia, alleluia. Give glory to the Lord and call upon His name, declare His deeds among the gentiles.
Prayer. O God, Who hast bestowed remedies on the world in the paschal solemnities, grant to Thy people heavenly gifts, we beseech Thee, that they may both deserve to obtain perfect liberty, and arrive at life everlasting.
EPISTLE. Acts x. 37-43.
In those days: Peter standing in the midst of the people, said: Men, brethren, you know the word which hath been published through all Judea: for it began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached, Jesus of Nazareth: how God anointed Him with the Holy Ghost, and with power, Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things that He did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, Whom they killed, hanging Him upon a tree. Him God raised up the third day, and gave Him to be made manifest, not to all the people, but to witnesses preordained by God, even to us, who did eat and drink with Him after He arose again from the dead: and He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He Who was appointed by God to be judge of the living and of the dead. To Him all the prophets give testimony, that by His name all receive remission of sins, who believe in Him.
Explanation. Through Jesus sent from God, and through Him alone, forgiveness of sins and salvation are promised to all who truly and firmly believe in Him and show their belief by deeds. Have such a lively faith, and thou shalt receive forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
GOSPEL. Luke xxiv. 13-35.
At that time: two of the disciples of Jesus went the same day to a town, which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, named Emmaus. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that while they talked and reasoned with themselves, Jesus Himself also drawing near went with them. But their eyes were held that they should not know Him. And He said to them: What are these discourses that you hold one with another as you walk, and are sad?
And the one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answering, said to Him: Art Thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and hast not known the things that have been done there in these days? To whom He said: What things?
And they said: Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, Who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and princes delivered Him to be condemned to death and crucified Him. But we hoped that it was He that should have redeemed Israel: and now besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company, affrighted us, who before it was light were at the sepulcher. And not finding His body, came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that He is alive. And some of our people went to the sepulcher: and found it so as the women had said, but Him they found not. Then He said to them: O foolish, and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into His glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things that were concerning Him. And they drew nigh to the town whither they were going, and He made as though He would go farther. But they constrained Him, saying: Stay with us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent. And He went in with them. And it came to pass, whilst He was at table with them, He took bread, and blessed, and broke, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him: and He vanished out of their sight. And they said one to the other: Was not our heart burning within us, whilst He spoke in the way, and opened to us the Scriptures?
And rising up the same hour they went back to Jerusalem: and they found the eleven gathered together, and those that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way: and how they knew Him in the breaking of bread.
Why did
Jesus appear as a stranger to the two disciples? He appeared to them as a stranger, says St. Gregory, because He meant
to deal with them according to their dispositions, and according to the firmness
of their faith. They seemed not to have believed in Him as the Son of God, but
to have expected a hero or prince who should deliver them from their subjection
to the Romans. Thus, Christ was, indeed, yet a stranger in their hearts, and
chose to appear to them as such, to free those who loved Him from their false
notions, to convince them of the necessity of His passion, and to reveal
Himself to them, as soon as their understandings should be enlightened, and
their hearts filled with desire. Thus, God orders the disposal of His graces
according to our dispositions; according to our faith and trust; according to
our love and fidelity.
Easter Monday[4] was reserved as a special day for rest and relaxation. Its most distinctive feature is the Emmaus walk, a leisurely constitution inspired by the Gospel of the day (Luke 24.13-35). This can take the form of a stroll through field or forest or, as in French Canada, a visit to one's grandparents.
·
Games
of mischief dating to pre-Christian times also take place on Easter
Monday and Tuesday. Chief among them are drenching customs,
where boys surprise girls with buckets of water, and vice versa, or switching
customs, where switches are gently used on each other.
Visiting Day[5]
In Paschal tide joy,
perform works of mercy toward the sick and elderly on Easter Monday. For Easter
Monday there is an old custom, still very much alive in the old country, which
might well be duplicated here, even though Easter Monday is not generally a
holiday, as it is in Europe? In honor of the Gospel of the day, which tells of
the two disciples who went to Emmaus and met Our Lord on the way, Easter Monday
became a visiting day. Wherever there are old or sick people, they are visited
by young and old.
Lent and Easter[6]
571 The Paschal mystery of Christ's cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God's saving plan was accomplished "once for all" by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ.
1171 In the liturgical year the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfold. This is also the case with the cycle of feasts surrounding the mystery of the incarnation (Annunciation, Christmas, Epiphany). They commemorate the beginning of our salvation and communicate to us the first fruits of the Paschal mystery of Christ.
It is the same Paschal
Mystery that we celebrate every Sunday at every Mass. This mystery should evoke
the ancient Passover of the Jews when the firstborn children of Israel were
spared, and they were liberated from slavery. Their delivery began in each
household with the sacrifice of the lamb and the smearing of the lamb’s
blood on the doorposts which delivered the Jews out of vice into virtue and the
worship of God in sincerity and truth. In the Last Supper Christ became the
lamb that transformed his execution into a once for all sacrifice. During Lent
we mirror the Jews 40 years of purification when God purged them of the residual
effects of generations of interaction with Egyptian Idolatry. Christ in His own
life fasted for 40 days in the wilderness as a model, like His baptism for His
disciples to imitate. So, every year, we prepare like Him for our Easter where
we will offer our sacrifice, small as it may be to Him. Lent is the season of
fasting that begins today and ends on Holy Saturday (except for Sundays;
ancient Fathers forbade fasting on Sundays). This is our tithe or a tenth part
of our year for the Lord. We fast from “good” things; for in our fast we give
them to God, so that we learn not to put anything before Him. We pray that by
this movement of purification we may be illuminated and finally
come to union with Him. In a sense during Lent we “pass over” from sin
through penance to communion.
Divine Mercy Novena[7]
Fourth Day - Today Bring Me the Pagans and
Those Who Do Not Know Me.
Most
Compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the
abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of pagans who as yet do not
know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together
with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the
abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.
Eternal
Father turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of pagans and of those who as yet
do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus.
Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great
happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of
Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.
Charlton Heston[8] died 2008
Heston
was an actor who portrait many films of faith. Here is a list of the Iceman’s
favorites:
1.
The Ten Commandments (1956) The Egyptian Prince, Moses,
learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer
of his people.
2.
Ben-Hur
(1959) When a
Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains
his freedom and comes back for revenge.
3.
El Cid
(1961) The fabled
Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court
intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.
4. The Greatest Story
Ever Told (1965) An all-star, large scale epic film
that chronicles the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
5. The Agony and the
Ecstasy (1965) The biographical story of
Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope
Julius II.
6. Soylent Green (1973) In the world ravaged by the greenhouse effect and overpopulation, an NYPD detective investigates the murder of a big company CEO.
Daily
Devotions/Activities
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Manhood of
the Master-week 7 day 6
·
Monday: Litany of
Humility
·
Rosary
[1] d'Elbée, Jean C.J. (2013-12-10). I
Believe in Love: A Personal Retreat Based on the Teaching of St. Therese of
Lisieux
[2] St. Patrick
[3] Goffines Devout Instructions, 1896
[6] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40
Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 7. Lent and Easter.
[7]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=1032
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