Thursday, May 20, 2021

Make America Holy Again!

Dear Family,

Please, please, please consider joining us every Thursday, now until October 7, 6-7pm at St. Mary of Pine Bluff for a Holy Hour of Adoration to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the USA! The Sacrament of Confession will be available.

More information can be found at healourlandholyhour.com

These will be followed by "family fellowship" on the church lawn at what we are calling "Gracie's Café." You are encouraged to bring a dish to pass.

If you cannot physically be present, please pray with us from wherever you are. These 
"Heal Our Land Holy Hours"will be live-streamed at healourlandholyhour/live-stream.com

Your Shepherd (me) is begging you all to make these "Hour of Power" Thursday Holy Hours a high priority as we joyfully work hard to grow in our supernatural strength and Christian unity.

I believe God will richly bless all of those who join in this historic call for a Holy Spirit revival in our land. Come and get blessed and filled with the Holy Spirit!

I love you with all my heart!

Fr. Rick

P.S. If you are dismissing these Thursday evenings to join together and pray for our country, please read (below) why you may have been conditioned/trained to do so. PLEASE JOIN US!!

 
Understanding the Enemy

Recon (reconnaissance) is a military term used to determine the enemy force's disposition and intention, gathering information (or intelligence) about an enemy's composition and capabilities. Dr. Peter Kreeft wrote: "You cannot win a war if you are unwilling to admit we are even at war or you don't know who your enemy is or you don't know what strategy your enemy is using."

We have all witnessed how the dry wind of the enemy's militant secular propaganda campaign has hardened the hearts of so many of our family members, friends, and neighbors. Spiritually speaking, many have crossed into the dry and lifeless valley of the dry bones prophesied in Ezekiel 37. Dead in their sins, with the rigor mortis of indifference hardening their hearts, they are without the breath of the Spirit, destined for eternal damnation, unless some campaign of search and rescue is launched.

So why has the devil been so effective? What is his strategy? To better understand the tactics of the devil, it is important to understand his names: "diabolos" means "he who places division or separation," and "daio," the root of "demon," means "to divide." These names identify the two great tactical campaigns the enemy has deployed, especially in recent decades: 1) Cut us off from our (supernatural) supply lines and 2) Divide and conquer.

 
Conquering Lukewarmness

In the Book of Revelation, we see the Lord has some rather severe words about the lukewarm: "I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:16). Pope St. Pius V went so far as to say,"All the evil in the world is due to lukewarm Catholics." Pope St. Pius X showed no less disdain with, "All the strength of Satan's reign is due to the easygoing weakness of Catholics."

You can go ahead and give your own diagnosis as to the spiritual disease that has inflicted our Church and, therefore, our world, but I am going with the Book of Revelation and these two holy popes. I'll add this from Ronald Reagan: "We maintain the peace through our strength; weakness only invites aggression."

We are spiritual lukewarm; we are WEAK! Evil knows this and has decided "this is their time." This is their time to move in and take control, and they have!!

From this position of weakness, a radical secular religion has emerged. And, this radical secular religion has never been more aggressive. In the midst of this historic level of indoctrination, any threat to the radical secular dogma is receiving censorship and punishment.

It's Time to Fight Back! - It's Time to Get Supernaturally Strong!

 
Conquering Division 

Satan knows we are easier to defeat if we are divided. His minions have spent the past 15 months keeping us "distanced" from Our Lord and each other. They have used every weapon they could find, including stoking fear, quarantines, masking, stoking racial division, virtue signaling, censorship, gas-lighting, etc., etc., etc. You name it, they used it.

Our strength is in our UNITY!! And, that's what these Thursday "Heal Our Land Holy Hours" are seeking to accomplish. It's time COME TOGETHER and to be a FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH!!

At this writing, today's Gospel saw Jesus Christ praying that we may be one ..
I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
 
Evil is Powerless if the Good are Unafraid

I'm a fighter, and I pray you are too!! President Ronald Reagan put it best ...
Do you and I have the courage to say there is a price we will not pay, there is a point beyond which evil must not advance?
 
Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid.
 
Well, you and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness. We're at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars. And it's been said, if we lose this war, and in so doing, lose this great way of freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment that those that had the most to lose did the least to prevent it from happening. Well, I think it's high time now that we ask ourselves if we still even know the freedoms that were intended for us by our founding fathers. Every generation of Americans needs to know that freedom exists, not to do what you like, but having the right to do what you ought, and that is the freedom that I wish for you. Set yourselves apart from this corrupt generation. Be Saints. You weren't made to fit in, you were born to stand out.
 

Let's Get Strong & United and Let's 

MAKE AMERICA HOLY AGAIN!



Fr. Richard Heilman's Sermon for Thursday May 20, 2021



SEVENTH DAY (Thursday, 7th Week of Easter)

Heal our wounds--our strength renews; On our dryness pour Thy dew, Wash the stains of guilt away.

The Gift of Counsel

The gift of Counsel endows the soul with supernatural prudence, enabling it to judge promptly and rightly what must done, especially in difficult circumstances. Counsel applies the principles furnished by Knowledge and Understanding to the innumerable concrete cases that confront us in the course of our daily duty as parents, teachers, public servants, and Christian citizens. Counsel is supernatural common sense, a priceless treasure in the quest of salvation. "Above all these things, pray to the Most High, that He may direct thy way in truth."

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Counsel, help and guide me in all my ways, that I may always do Thy holy will. Incline my heart to that which is good; turn it away from all that is evil, and direct me by the straight path of Thy commandments to that goal of eternal life for which I long.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

On my knees I before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, "Speak Lord for Your servant heareth." Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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. 


Bishop Olmsted to lead Eucharistic Procession in Downtown Phoenix

Bishop Thomas Olmsted will be leading a Eucharistic Procession through the streets of downtown Phoenix on Corpus Christi Sunday, June 6, beginning at 6 a.m. at Virginia G. Piper Plaza, 400 E. Monroe St., Phoenix.

The Eucharistic Procession, in combination with the recent release of Bishop Olmsted's Apostolic Exhortation "Veneremur Cernui," continues the celebration of the Year of St. Joseph.

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

 

1 Samuel, Chapter 20, Verse 21

I will then send my attendant to recover the arrows. If in fact I say to him, ‘Look, the arrow is this side of you; pick it up,’ come, for you are safe. As the Lord lives, there will be nothing to FEAR.

 

"The sages characterized the relationship between Jonathan and David in the following Mishnah: “Whenever love depends on some selfish end, when the end passes away, the love passes away; but if it does not depend on some selfish end, it will never pass away. Which love depended on a selfish end? This was the love of Amnon and Tamar. And which did not depend on a selfish end? This was the love of David and Jonathan. (Avot 5:15)" Rabbi Shimon ben Tzemach Duran (Spain, North Africa 14th-15th century) delineated the significance of this mishnah: “Anyone who establishes a friendship for access to power, money, or sexual relations; when these ends are not attainable, the friendship ceases…love that is not dependent on selfish ends is true love of the other person since there is no intended end.” (Magen Avot – abridged and adapted translation)[1]

 

Apostolic Exhortation[2]

Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling

of The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist

My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

7. Like the People of Israel, we too are heading into difficult waters. Today we find ourselves in a crisis; many anxieties, uncertainties and doubts assail us from every side. As I said in my pastoral letter O Sacred Feast,” the Church at large is experiencing a grave crisis of faith in the Eucharist. This crisis has inflicted additional significant implications for authentic Christian discipleship; namely, abysmal Mass attendance, declining vocations to marriage, priesthood, and religious life, waning Catholic influence in society. As a nation we are experiencing a torrent of assaults upon the truth. The Gospel message has been watered down or replaced with ambiguous worldly values. Many Christians have abandoned Christ and His Gospel and turned to a secular culture for meaning that it cannot provide and to satiate a hunger that it can never satisfy.

8. In such troubled waters, our greatest anchor in these storms is Christ Himself, found in the Holy Eucharist. Though the instruction of Joshua was intended for the People of Israel facing formidable enemies as they crossed into the Promised Land, his words remain crucial for us: “Follow the Ark of the Lord, for we have never been this way before”.

9. As God’s People today, we are also on a journey to a promised inheritance, a journey also filled with dangers, challenges, and suffering. We do not have a column of cloud by day nor a pillar of fire by night reminding us of God’s presence ever guiding and protecting us as He did for the People of Israel. We do not have the Ark of the Covenant in our midst. Instead, we have not something but Someone much greater! Someone greater than the Ark who goes before us and is always with us. We have Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist to guide, comfort, and strengthen us. In times like these, echoing the instruction of Joshua, we must fix our gaze on the Lord and draw near to Him more than ever in the Eucharist. The more the Lord in the Eucharist is our central focus, the more surely, He will bring us through these dark and turbulent waters. On this day when we commemorate the Institution of the Eucharist, I as your shepherd implore each of you to seek out Jesus in the Eucharist to be strengthened and renewed in your faith.

“Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”

To be continued…

Go Gourmet in Miami[3]

May 20-23

Hosted by Food Network and the Cooking Channel, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEFEST) is a five-day, star-studded event showcasing the world’s most renowned wine and spirits, chefs and culinary personalities from Alton Brown to Action Bronson. A tent city on the beach known as the Grand Tasting Village is filled with hundreds of wineries, restaurants, and spirits makers giving away samples and providing culinary demonstrations. If you want to hob-knob with some of the renowned chefs, tickets are available for special dinners, parties, and seminars that take place all over Miami.

Daily Devotions

·         do a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Universal Man Plan

·         Rosary



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