APRIL 18 Third Sunday of Easter
Joshua, Chapter 8, Verse 1
The Lord then said to
Joshua: Do not be AFRAID or dismayed.
Take all the army with you and prepare to attack Ai. I have
delivered the king of Ai into your power, with his people, city, and land.
Joshua
was afraid and demoralized because on the Israelites first attempt at taking Ai
they were defeated. God here tells Joshua to be cheerful and be filled with
calm; be reassured.
John
Maxwell noted author of The 21 Irrefutable
Laws of Leadership Series states that all Christian leaders need to learn the
proper balance between faith and preparation or planning. Joshua is told by God
what to do but not how to do it.[1] Joshua planned the particulars of
the campaign against the Ai.
Law#4-The Law of Navigation: Anyone can steer the ship, but it
takes a leader to chart the course. To make it happen, you have to
take action. You must do what you know needs doing. You must do it when it
needs to be done. Don’t wait. You can make it happen. Knowing how is not the
key but Taking action is.
Where
should you start?
1.
Follow
your conscience. What do you feel you should do?
What do you want to do?
2.
Consider
your passion. What do you get excited about?
What do you need to do?
3.
Consider
your natural talents. What are you naturally good at
without much effort? What hobbies do you have? What interests do you have?
4.
Consider
what society needs and values. What do you love to do so much you
would do it for free, but people are willing to pay others to do? What do you
see others doing that you would like to do?
If you want
to find your purpose, you must get on the seldom traveled road to significance
filled with setbacks, roadblocks, obstacles, and detours. This road leads to
your purpose. You must develop the vision in order to see where you want to be
next. Then, you must take the steps to move from where you are to where you
want to be. You should always be grateful for where you are and what you have,
but you should never be satisfied.[2]
ON KEEPING THE LORDS DAY HOLY[3]
CHAPTER II
DIES CHRISTI
The Day of the Risen Lord
and of the Gift
of the Holy Spirit
The day of the new creation
24. A comparison of the Christian
Sunday with the Old Testament vision of the Sabbath prompted theological
insights of great interest. In particular, there emerged the unique connection
between the Resurrection and Creation. Christian thought spontaneously linked
the Resurrection, which took place on "the first day of the week",
with the first day of that cosmic week (cf. Gn 1:1 - 2:4) which shapes the
creation story in the Book of Genesis: the day of the creation of light (cf.
1:3-5). This link invited an understanding of the Resurrection as the beginning
of a new creation, the first fruits of which is the glorious Christ, "the
first born of all creation" (Col 1:15) and "the first born from the
dead" (Col 1:18).
Third Sunday of Easter[4]An exhortation on how Christ's
flock is to conduct itself and an oblique allusion to the Ascension.
Easter Patronage of St. Joseph
EPISTLE. Gen. xlix.
23-26.
JOSEPH
is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold: the daughters run to and
fro upon the wall. But they that held darts provoked him, and quarreled with him,
and envied him. His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and
his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came
forth a pastor, the stone of Israel. The God of thy father shall be thy helper,
and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the
blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and
of the womb. The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings of
his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come; may they be
upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
GOSPEL. Luke iii.
21-23.
At that time:
It came to pass when all the people was baptized, that Jesus also being
baptized and praying, heaven was opened: and the Holy Ghost descended in a
bodily shape as a dove upon Him: and a voice came from heaven: Thou art My beloved
Son, in Thee I am well pleased. And Jesus Himself was beginning about the age
of thirty years, being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph.
WHAT WE ARE TO BELIEVE CONCERNING THE
EVANGELICAL COUNSELS
In what does the perfection of the Christian life
consist?
In the
perfection of love (Col. iii. 14). The more a man separates himself from the
world, and unites himself with God, the more perfect he will be. We can attain
to the perfection of the Christian life by means of certain excellent practices
known as the evangelical counsels which Jesus Christ lays before us, and to
which He calls us, without directly commanding us to adopt them. So that the
difference between the commandments and the evangelical counsels consists in
this: that the commandments bind us by an indispensable obligation, but the
evangelical counsels do not. The evangelical counsels are:
1. Voluntary poverty. By voluntary
poverty is understood a free-will renunciation of the riches and goods of this
world in order to follow Jesus Christ in His poverty.
2. Perpetual chastity. By perpetual
chastity we understand a free-will, life-long abstinence, not only from
everything that is contrary to purity, but also abstinence from marriage, in
order to live only for God and His holy service in virginal purity.
3. Entire obedience under a spiritual
director. By entire obedience we are to understand a voluntary renunciation of
one’s own will in order to follow the will and command of a superior whom one
chooses for himself.
In
practicing the evangelical counsels there are three points to be observed, in
order that they may serve, or help to eternal salvation:
·
They
must be practiced with a pure intention, seeking thereby nothing else than to
please God and to praise His holy name.
·
With
great humility, in no way giving ourselves preference over others.
·
By
great fidelity in observing not only what one has vowed, but also what is commanded. Also, one should live diligently
and strictly according to the commandments, otherwise the practicing of the
evangelical counsels will be of no avail.
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.
·
Total Consecration to
St. Joseph Day 20
·
Manhood of
the Master-week 9 day 5
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
[1] John Maxwell, The Maxwell Leadership
Bible.
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