Monday in the Octave of the Sacred Heart

FLAG DAY

2 Kings, Chapter 25, Verse 26

Then all the people, great and small, left with the army commanders and went to Egypt for FEAR of the Chaldeans.

In view of the modern world, I wonder: Are we still hiding in the fleshpots of Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans? Mary daughter of David help us!

Here we see the last remnants of David’s Kingdom in shambles. Now the Jews finally realize that Israel’s hope is gone. Yet, God has not totally snuffed out the line of David and through David’s line will come the Christ. Oh, that Israel would recognize Him.

The Fall

· In the ninth year of his reign, Zedekiah rebels and Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem for two whole years.

· The famine grows extremely severe in a short period of time

· Zedekiah tries to escape at night with his soldiers, but he gets captured by the Babylonians (Chaldeans) before they make it very far.

· The Chaldeans kill Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, stab his eyes out, and take him in chains to Babylon.

· Nebuchadnezzar's captain of the bodyguard, Nebuzaradan, comes to Jerusalem and burns down the Temple, the King's palace, and all the houses of the city.

· The Babylonian army tears down the city walls. Nebuzaradan takes all the remaining people to Babylon—except for the very poorest, who still remain to be vinedressers and do farm work.

Brunch with the King

· The Chaldeans break the bronze pillars that were in the Temple and carry them to Babylon.

· They completely loot all the remaining silver and gold from the Temple, stripping away all the treasures and bringing them to Babylon.

· Nebuzaradan sends the two highest priests of the Temple and the three guardians of the Temple's threshold to Babylon, where Nebuchadnezzar has them put to death.

· Shaphan's grandson, Gedaliah, becomes the new governor of Judah, which has been virtually emptied out and put in exile.

· Gedaliah tells some of the remaining warriors of Judah to put down their weapons and live peacefully under Babylon's rule.

· They do this for a while, but then a warrior named Ishmael leads ten men to kill Gedaliah.

· The remaining people then run away to Egypt, afraid of what the Babylonians will do to them as punishment.

· After thirty-seven years of exile and imprisonment, Jehoiachin is freed by King Evil-merodoch of Babylon. The king lets Jehoiachin eat at his own table in luxury and also gives him a generous, regular allowance.

In fact, Jehoiachin eats daily at the Babylonian table is an assertion that there is hope and after the gospel of Matthew, for instance is quick to name Jesus as “son of David”.

Apostolic Exhortation[1]

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,

Part III

Loving and Adoring the Eucharistic Lord

IV. Invite a friend to join you in adoration.

89. The Apostle Andrew gives a direct, personal invitation to his brother Peter to accompany him to see the Lord. He declares to his younger brother that “we have found the Messiah” and then walks with him into the presence of Jesus (Jn 1:42). Are there not a host of persons who are one confident, loving invitation away from engaging (or re-engaging) the Lord through His Eucharistic body? What a blessing for so many of our closest loved ones and friends if we were to have Andrew’s courage to say, “I’ve found a treasure in the Eucharistic presence of Christ. Would you like to join me there?”.

90. Faith-filled intercession for others plays a key role, especially when neither testimony nor invitation is sufficient to draw a person into Christ’s presence. A man was so incapacitated that he could not even walk to where Christ was. So, his friends picked him up and they “were trying to bring him in and set him in His [Jesus’] presence”. Unable to carry him into the crowded house, they lowered him on a stretcher through an opening in the roof. Jesus saw their faith, forgave and healed the man, who “went home glorifying God” (Lk 5:17-26). We should never despair when someone we love is unable or unwilling to accompany us to the Eucharist. With deep faith, we can still lower them on the stretcher of our intercessory prayer into the Lord’s presence.

91. These three events remind us that Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is meant to be shared. They also remind us that there is no single method of drawing others into the Lord’s presence. Sometimes honest testimony is enough for those to seek Him out on their own, as with the people of Samaria. For others like Peter, it requires a direct, friendly invitation to come with us into Christ’s presence. For still others who may be spiritually “paralyzed” and for whom direct access to Eucharistic adoration is not yet a possibility, we can carry them on the stretcher of our intercessory prayers, lowered before Christ in His presence despite their immobilized condition.

To be continued…

Flag Day[2]

National Flag Day is when Americans celebrate the meaning of their nation's flag, honor the traditions associated with its care, and educate those around them to its significance. The Flag of the United States is to be honored and carries with it both history and tradition. On June 14, 1777, the Flag Resolution was signed, making the current stars and stripes the National Flag of the United States of America. On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson called for the nation-wide observance of Flag Day. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed congress' decree, making June 14th of each year National Flag Day.

Flag Day Facts & Quotes

· Worn out flags may be given to the American Legion or Boy/Girl Scouts of America where they will burn the flags in a formal ceremony on June 14th.

· The Flag should never touch the ground when being taken down. It should be folded neatly and stored ceremoniously.

· You should fly the American Flag only between sunrise and sunset. If left hanging around the clock, it must be illuminated during the dark hours.

· The First Flag Act was signed by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777... Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.

Flag Day Top Events and Things to Do

· Fly the American Flag.

· Recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

· Visit a National Monument or National celebration.

· Attend a Flag retirement ceremony.

Who’s Flag are you under?

We are created in the image and likeness of God and we have a choice: To do good or to do evil. Daily we must decide if we are for ourselves and pursue the things of the world or are we going to follow Christ by picking up our cross daily and freely live under the flag of Christ.

Father John Parks [3] states that the flag we choose to live under determines everything. He asks, “Whose flag are you under? Do we consciously choose to serve, or do we just let it happen? We have a choice here and indecision is a decision itself. Whose flag will you follow Christ’s or Satan’s. True freedom comes not from doing what you want but doing the things you were created to do. Father John recommends we follow the flag of Christ (poverty, chastity, obedience) and not that of Satan (greed, lust, pride) by having a battle plan.

1. Be in the state of grace at all times-Go to Mass if you fall get up go to confession.

2. Pray-we know who we are by knowing who’s we are. Remember Saint Joseph is known as the terror of demons.

3. Do your daily duty; there is great heroism in finishing the daily tasks.

4. Be Humble and obey. When you break a commandment, you do not break it as much as it breaks you.

5. Seek a community there is strength in numbers “Iron sharpens iron”. Remember the Holy Spirit is what sets us free.

Epistle of Barnabas[4]

CHAP. III. — THE FASTS OF THE JEWS ARE NOT TRUE FASTS, NOR ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.

He says then to them again concerning these things, "Why do ye fast to Me as on this day, saith the Lord, that your voice should be heard with a cry? I have not chosen this fast, saith the Lord, that a man should humble his soul. Nor, though ye bend your neck like a ring, and put upon you sackcloth and ashes, will ye call it an acceptable fast." To us He saith, "Behold, this is the fast that I have chosen, saith the Lord, not that a man should humble his soul, but that he should loose every band of iniquity, untie the fastenings of harsh agreements, restore to liberty them that are bruised, tear in pieces every unjust engagement, feed the hungry with thy bread, clothe the naked when thou seest him, bring the homeless into thy house, not despise the humble if thou behold him, and not [turn away] from the members of thine own family. Then shall thy dawn break forth, and thy healing shall quickly spring up, and righteousness shall go forth before thee, and the glory of God shall encompass thee; and then thou shalt call, and God shall hear thee; whilst thou art yet speaking, He shall say, Behold, I am with thee; if thou take away from thee the chain [binding others], and the stretching forth of the hands [to sweat falsely], and words of murmuring, and give cheerfully thy bread to the hungry, and show compassion to the soul that has been humbled." To this end, therefore, brethren, He is long-suffering, foreseeing how the people whom He has prepared shall with guilelessness believe in His Beloved. For He revealed all these things to us beforehand, that we should not rush forward as rash acceptors of their laws.

Daily Devotions

· Do not pour out your feelings. A talkative soul will more easily be attacked by the devil. Pour out your feelings to the Lord only. Remember, the good and evil spirits hear what you say aloud. Feelings are fleeting. Truth is the compass. Interior recollection is a spiritual armor.

· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels

· Monday: Litany of Humility

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan

· Bourbon Day

· Rosary