THIRD DAY (7th Sunday of Easter)
O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit on Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord with the sign of Your true disciples, and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.
Sunday within the Octave of Ascension
ST. SIMON STOCK
1 Samuel, Chapter 15, Verse 24
Saul admitted to
Samuel: “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the command of the LORD and
your instructions. I FEARED the
people and obeyed them.
There
are three lessons we can learn from the life of King Saul.
First,
obey the Lord and seek to do His will. From the very start of his reign,
Saul had the perfect opportunity to be the benchmark by which all future kings
could be measured. All he had to do was to seek the Lord wholeheartedly, obey
His commandments and align his will with that of God’s, and his rule would have
been a God-honoring one. However, like so many others, Saul chose a different
path and strayed away from God. We find a perfect example of his disobedience
in the incident where God commanded him to kill all the Amalekites, but Saul
kept the king and some of the spoils of war. Saul compounded his troubles by
lying to Samuel over the incident. He claimed that it was the people that saved
all of the animals (1 Samuel 15). This act, plus many others over the course of
his rule, emphasized the fact that he could not be trusted to be an instrument
of God’s will.
The second lesson we learn is not to misuse
the power given to us.
There is no question that King Saul abused the power God had entrusted to him.
The over-riding reason for this is the pride often creeps into our hearts when
people are serving and honoring us. In time, this type of “star treatment” can
make us believe that we really are something special and worthy of praise. When
this happens, we forget that God is the one who is really in control and that
He alone rules over all. God may have chosen Saul because he was humble, but
over time that humility was replaced by a self-serving and destructive pride
that destroyed his rule.
The third lesson for us is to lead the way
God wants us to lead.
First Peter 5:2-10 is the ultimate guide for leading the people that God has
placed in our charge: “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care,
serving as overseers—not because you must,
but because you are willing, as God wants you to be not greedy for money, but
eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples
to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown
of glory that will never fade away. Young men, in the same way be submissive to
those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one
another, because ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble
yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due
time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled
and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know
that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after
you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong,
firm and steadfast.” How much different Saul’s life would have turned out had
he obeyed these principles. King Saul would have had no shortage of wise
counsel available to him. By ignoring God and His wise counsel, Saul allowed
the spiritual health of his people to deteriorate further, alienating them from
God.[1]
ON KEEPING THE LORDS DAY HOLY[2]
CHAPTER II
DIES CHRISTI
The Day of the Risen Lord
and of the Gift of the Holy Spirit
The day of the gift of the Spirit
28. Sunday, the day of light, could
also be called the day of "fire", in reference to the Holy Spirit.
The light of Christ is intimately linked to the "fire" of the Spirit,
and the two images together reveal the meaning of the Christian Sunday. When he
appeared to the Apostles on the evening of Easter, Jesus breathed upon them and
said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained". The
outpouring of the Spirit was the great gift of the Risen Lord to his disciples
on Easter Sunday. It was again Sunday when, fifty days after the Resurrection,
the Spirit descended in power, as "a mighty wind" and
"fire" (Acts 2:2-3), upon the Apostles gathered with Mary. Pentecost
is not only the founding event of the Church, but is also the mystery which forever
gives life to the Church. Such an event has its own powerful liturgical moment
in the annual celebration which concludes "the great Sunday", but it
also remains a part of the deep meaning of every Sunday, because of its
intimate bond with the Paschal Mystery. The "weekly Easter" thus
becomes, in a sense, the "weekly Pentecost", when Christians relive
the Apostles' joyful encounter with the Risen Lord and receive the life-giving
breath of his Spirit.
The Sunday within the Octave of the
Ascension[3]
This Sunday is a joyous preparation
for Pentecost. Because this Sunday eagerly awaits the coming of the Holy Spirit
(see the Mass proper’s), it is not surprising that there was once a special
papal ceremony to foreshadow the Pentecost event. On this day the Pope would
celebrate Mass in the church of Santa Maria Rotonda, the former Pantheon in
Rome with its large opening in the ceiling. After his sermon, roses were thrown
from the opening as a symbol of the Paraclete's imminent arrival. From this
custom comes the original name of the Sunday: Dominica de Rosa.
Sunday within the Octave of Ascension[4]
"When. . .the Spirit of truth. .
.has come, He will bear witness concerning Me. And you also bear witness. .
.The hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering
worship to God" (Gospel).
The Apostles make the first Novena,
recommended by Christ Himself, in preparation for the coming of the Holy
Spirit. The Introit presents their Novena prayer, and ours, too.
In the background St. Stephen is shown
being stoned to death. The cross upside down, indicates how St. Peter was
crucified. We are to "bear witness" to Christ and His Church against
a world that will condemn us to death. thinking that they are "offering
worship to God" (Gospel).
A witness! Yes, interiorly, to
"be watchful in prayers;" exteriorly, by "mutual charity among
yourselves" (Epistle). For this we now offer "this. .
.sacrifice" (Secret), to "purify us' from past disloyalties and to "strengthen"
us for future testimony.
Excerpted
from My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood
Goffine’s Devout
Instructions, 1896.
At the Introit of the Mass, the Church sings: " Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to Thee, alleluia. My heart hath said to Thee, I have sought Thy face; Thy face, Lord, will I seek; turn not away Thy face from me, alleluia, alleluia. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall, I fear?"
Prayer.
O almighty and everlasting God grant us ever to entertain a devout affection towards Thee, and to serve Thy majesty with a sincere heart.
EPISTLE, i. Peter iv. 7-11.
Dearly Beloved: Be prudent, and watch in prayers. But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves; for charity covereth a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one towards another without murmuring. As every man hath received grace, ministering the same to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speaks, let him speak as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the power which God administereth: that in all things God may be honored through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Practice.
The virtues here recommended are excellent preparatives for receiving the Holy Ghost, for nothing makes us more worthy of His grace than temperance, prayer, charity, unity, and hospitality towards our neighbors. Endeavor, therefore, to exercise these virtues, and every day during the following week pray fervently to the Holy Ghost for help in your endeavors.
GOSPEL. John xv. 26, 27; xvi. 1-4.
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: When the Paraclete cometh Whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, Who proceedeth from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me: and you shall give testimony, because you are with Me from the beginning. These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you.
What kind of sin is scandal?
It is a frightful sin. By it countless sins are occasioned, thousands of souls are carried to perdition, while the loving design of God for the salvation of men is frustrated.
How,
in general, is scandal given?
When do parents give scandal?
When they set a bad example to their children. When they do not correct them for doing wrong, or neglect to keep them from what is bad and to teach them that which is good.
How do employers give scandal?
In much the same way that parents
give scandal to their children: when, by bad example or by command, they keep
their servants or other employees from divine service, or neglect to make them
attend it. When they themselves use, or give to others, flesh-meat on days of
abstinence. When they order the commission of sin.
Parting Words
of Christ[5]
A custom has survived in some parts
of this country of opening the New Testament at random on this day, considering
that in the page chosen there may be, as it were, some final message from Jesus
as he makes his way back into heaven. Each one in turn opens the New Testament
and reads the whole chapter he has lighted on, while the rest of the family or
group help him to make that chapter practical for himself.
St. Simon Stock[6]
Saint Simon Stock was born to a very illustrious family in Kent County, England (c. 1165), of which his father was governor. His mother was devoted to the Virgin Mary, and Simon was not yet one year old when he was heard clearly articulating the Angelic salutation several times. When he was twelve, Simon began to live as a hermit in the hollow of a trunk of an oak, where he got the nickname “stock” or “trunk”. Within this wilderness retreat, his continual prayers ascended to heaven and he spent twenty years in the most complete solitude, feeding his soul with the celestial delights of contemplation.
Having
voluntarily chosen to deprive himself of human conversation, he was favored
with that of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the angels who urged him to persevere
in his life of sacrifice and love. The Queen of Heaven told him that some
hermits from Palestine would soon land in England, adding that he should join
those men whom she considered as her servants.
Indeed, Lord
John Vesoy and Lord Richard Gray of Codnor returned from the Holy Land,
bringing with them several hermits from Mount Carmel. Simon Stock joined them
in 1212 and was elected Vicar General of the Carmelite Order in 1215. He begged
the Virgin Mary by fervent prayers and tears to defend this Order, which was
devoted to her, and she appeared in a dream to Pope Honorius III, so the pope
finally confirmed the Rule of Carmelites in 1226.
Another time
the Mother of God appeared to Simon, surrounded by a dazzling light and
accompanied by a large number of blessed spirits, with the scapular of the
order in her hand. This scapular she gave him with the words: “Hoc erit tibi et cunctis Carmelitis
privilegium, in hoc habitu moriens salvabitur” – This shall be the privilege for you and for all the
Carmelites, that anyone wearing this habit shall be saved.
Through Saint
Simon Stock the devotion of the scapular spread throughout the world, not only
among the people, but also among kings and princes who found themselves very honored
to wear the sign of the servants of the Blessed Virgin. Stock breathed his last
in the city of Bordeaux while visiting monasteries, in the 20th year of his
office as Vicar General. The Church added his last words to the Angelic
salutation: “Holy Mary,
Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.”
Mary’s
Promise to Those Who Wear the Scapular
Our Lady gave St. Simon a scapular
for the Carmelites with the following promise, saying: Receive, My beloved son,
this habit of thy order: this shall be to thee and to all Carmelites a
privilege, that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire
…. It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of
peace.
Another important aspect of wearing
the Scapular is the Sabbatine Privilege. This concerns a promise made by Our
Lady to Pope John XXII. In a papal letter he issued, he recounted a vision that
he had had. He stated that the Blessed Virgin had said to him in this vision,
concerning those who wear the Brown Scapular: “I, the Mother of Grace, shall
descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in
Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life
everlasting.”
Conditions and Rituals Attached to The Scapular
According to Church tradition, there
are three conditions necessary to participate in this Privilege and share in
the other spiritual benefits of the Scapular: wear the Brown Scapular, observe
chastity according to your state in life, and pray the Rosary. In addition to
the Sabbatine Privilege, enrollment in the Brown Scapular also makes a person
part of the Carmelite family throughout the world. They therefore share in all
of the prayers and good works of the Carmelite Orders. Participation in the
Carmelite family also, of course, places you in a special relationship with the
Carmelite saints, especially St. Elijah, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the
Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, and, most importantly, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
In order to receive the spiritual
blessings associated with the Scapular, it is necessary to be formally enrolled
in the Brown Scapular by either a priest or a lay person who has been given
this faculty. Once enrolled, the enrollment is for life and need not be
repeated. Anyone, adult or infant, who has not previously been enrolled may be
enrolled in the Brown Scapular.
Value and Meaning of The Scapular
Many popes and saints have strongly
recommended wearing, the Brown Scapular to the Catholic Faithful, including St.
Robert Bellarmine, Pope John XXII, Pope Pius Xl, and Pope Benedict XV. For
example, St. Alphonsus said: “Just as men take pride in having others wear
their livery, so the Most Holy Mary is pleased when Her servants wear Her
Scapular as a mark that they have dedicated themselves to Her service, and are
members of the Family of the Mother of God.”
Pope Pius XII went so far as to say:
“The Scapular is a practice of piety which by its very simplicity is suited to
everyone, and has spread widely among the faithful of Christ to their spiritual
profit.” In our own times, Pope Paul VI said: “Let the faithful hold in high
esteem the practices and devotions to the Blessed Virgin … the Rosary and the
Scapular of Carmel” and in another place referred to the Scapular as: “so
highly recommended by our illustrious predecessors.”
Joan of Arc,
canonized[7]
Patron Saint of Soldiers
Joan sets us an example of a laywoman
who refuses to be cowed by threats and intimidations from 'authority,' even
legitimate authority abusing its powers. May 14, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — On May 16, 1920, in a ceremony attended by over 30,000 people
— including over a hundred descendants of her family — Pope Benedict XV
canonized St. Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431), the Maid of Orléans.
St. Joan of Arc is remarkable in so
many ways. I would like to draw attention to a few aspects of her life and
character that hold pointed lessons for us today.
First, as a young woman,
Joan practiced a deep, humble, and serious piety. The age-old practices of the
Catholic faith were enough to take her to the heights of sanctity and the gift
of herself for her country and her Lord. She listened to the Lord’s voice as He
spoke to her through the saints and through circumstances, and she obeyed His
will unflinchingly. St. Michael the Archangel addressed her as “Jehanne the
Maid, Child of God,” for this is what she was and always remained. Instead of
allowing herself to be distracted by worldly motivations, she followed the path
God set for her, in spite of its difficulty. She is, in other words, the exact
antithesis of churchmen today who would water down the demands of God’s law,
the necessity of self-denial in adhering to it, and the supernatural motives
that should sustain us.
Second, Joan boldly
stepped into a public role at God’s behest, but without losing her femininity.
She did not wage war with the soldiers, but simply led them in formation. She
would not, in principle, kill or wound anyone. There is not the remotest chance
that she would ever condone women fighting in the military and being trained to
kill — the absurdity of actual or potential nurturers of life taking it
voluntarily. In this, she is an example of true Christian womanhood: strong and
courageous, willing to stick her neck out, willing to lead (as she herself was
willing to be led by her Master), but not stupidly trying to be a man. She did
not think equality with maleness as something to be grasped, but emptied
herself and became a servant. In this way she provided an example of being true
to her identity and vocation that is resoundingly necessary for both women and
men to heed in a world that has become confused about how many sexes there
are and who belongs to which “division” of the human race. (And it is indeed a
division — but it need not be an opposition or antagonism, in the way that both
male chauvinism and feminism imagine it to be, each feeding off the other. Real
difference makes possible a deeper communion and cooperation than uniformity
and replaceability, even as, in the Church, the priest’s role as mediator is
seen to be essentially different from that of the laity, since he acts on their
behalf in persona Christi capitis, in the person of Christ the Head of
the Church. In a similar way, the husband in a family has the calling to
imitate and represent the headship of Christ. As St. Paul explained so well,
one cannot have a functional organic body if it’s made up only of arms or hands
or eyes or, for that matter, heads. Real difference and distinction, when
embraced in a spirit of servanthood, confer a mutual benefit that far exceeds
what one could obtain independently. Hierarchy and unity are correlative, not
opposed, as democracy falsely assumes.)
Third, Joan is a model of
the virtues of chastity and purity. Feminists like to point out that she donned
a man’s clothing at a time when this was considered immoral. Yet all historians
are agreed that the reason Joan wore a man’s clothing during her public
service, and later in prison, was to protect herself against the danger of rape
from the soldiers and enemies among whom she had to dwell. The ordinary women’s
clothing of the time offered no such defense, and she would not have had the
leisure or the talent to create a new and better fashion de novo. She
complained to the tribunal that an English lord had attempted to violate her in
prison. Like St. Maria Goretti, St. Joan prized the gift of her virginity and
defended it. She knew her worth and her dignity as a woman and a human being.
Fourth, Joan was condemned
by an ecclesiastical kangaroo court presided over by a corrupt bishop, Pierre
Cauchon, with the complicity of corrupt clergy. As everyone knows who has read
Joan’s life, she was falsely charged with heresy and condemned to be burnt at
the stake. The trial was later re-evaluated by the Church and found to be
gravely defective and irregular on numerous counts — indeed, not to mince
words, it was a wicked sham, an excuse for murdering an inconvenient and too
popular figure who could not be readily controlled by those in power. We live
today in a world in which most of episcopacy is corrupt on several levels —
doctrinally, through failing to teach the Catholic Faith in its integrity, if
not positively adhering to modernist views, or morally, due to practicing
sexual abuse, or covering it up, or tolerating its existence, or liturgically,
by refusing to model right worship or to correct impious deviations, or,
indeed, all three at once. Joan sets us an example of a laywoman who refuses to
be cowed by threats and intimidations from “authority,” even legitimate
authority abusing its powers, and who would rather die for a right conscience
than falsely admit to wrongdoing. She ought to be recognized as the patron
saint of those who have been victimized by the Church’s hierarchy.
St. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans,
patroness of France,
pray for us.
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.
·
Offering
to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make reparations to the Holy Face
·
Drops
of Christ’s Blood
·
Rosary
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