At a word from You the devil and his minions flee in terror.
You are the source of all truth. You are the source of all strength.
By the power of your Cross and Resurrection, we beseech You, O Lord
To extend Your saving arm and to send Your holy angels
To defend us as we do battle with Satan and his demonic forces.
Exorcise, we pray, that which oppresses Your Bride, The Church,
So that within ourselves, our families, our parishes, our dioceses, and our nation
We may turn fully back to You in all fidelity and trust.
Lord, we know if You will it, it will be done.
Give us the perseverance for this mission, we pray.
Amen
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception...pray for us
St. Joseph...pray for us
St. Michael the Archangel...pray for us
(the patron of your parish )... pray for us
(your confirmation saint)...pray for us
"Freedom from Vengeance" by Fr. James Altman
Dear family, vengeance sounds a whole lot like revenge to me, both of which we know in our hearts are not good things. One site tried to explain the difference: "the difference between revenge and vengeance is that revenge is any form of personal retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some perceived harm or injustice while vengeance is revenge taken for an insult, injury, or other wrong." Well, that was no help! They still sound like the same thing. Sure enough, another site called the words synonyms.
In any event, this we know: "Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord" (Deuteronomy 32:35). The truth in Deuteronomy is found in the words of St. Paul, "Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19). When the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us, He confirmed it all, teaching: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well" (Matthew 5:38-39).
What does "offer no resistance to one who is evil" mean exactly? In our day and age, this is an important question that is, unfortunately, too often answered with a glib and meaningless recitation of "turn the other cheek." This response though is a disconnected scriptural verse, taken out of context, out of culture, and out of text written about 2,000 years ago in a language that few people understand.
Let us begin with what Matthew 5:38-39 really means. The biblical notes to those two verses state: "The Old Testament commandment was meant to moderate vengeance; the punishment should not exceed the injury done. Jesus forbids even this proportionate retaliation." Right away then, we see this only pertains to the concept of retaliation. It did not mean then, and it does not mean now, that we simply lay down and play "doormat" for any evil doer.
This "I'm not a doormat" principle may be explained best by considering self-defense. We are entitled to protect our own lives and the lives of others. This right is not negated by Jesus' teachings, and in fact, it stands in contrast to the scriptural admonition against retaliation. The warning against retaliation may be understood by pondering one of its consequences: escalation. For example, one bad actor "A" incites retaliation from "B", which incites retaliation from "A", which incites more retaliation from "B", etc. This vengeance cycle can escalate to the point where others end up getting caught in the crossfire. In the real world this results in bodies in the streets of our cities, and innocent victims (too often little children) reaping the repercussions.
In a larger sense, who can deny that the current culture of violence, rioting, looting, and burning is nothing other than vengeance and retaliation? The anarchists set themselves up against Christian truth, truth found in the words of the great prophet Jeremiah: "To whom shall I speak? Whom shall I warn and be heard? ... See, the word of the LORD has become for them an object of scorn, for which they have no taste" (Jeremiah 6:10). It explains why the Seattle mayor's absurd response to CHOP (the Capitol Hill Organized Protest) seems to prevail everywhere - remember she called it "the summer of love." We saw the "love" in the murders and violent crimes. Her perverse twisting of truth also is found in the words of Jeremiah: "They have treated lightly the injury to my people: 'Peace, peace!' they say, though there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14).
In a more personal sense, all that we are seeing is nothing other than a reflection of people's hearts devoid of the tempering grace of Divine Love. Divine Love did not rain down lightning bolts upon the Roman centurions who drove the nails into His sacred body. Rather, Jesus sought to show Divine Love when He asked our Father to forgive them, for they knew not what they did (cf. Luke 23:34).
Let us realize, though, that Jesus did not paint with a broad brush of forgiveness to include those who knew what they were doing, or those who should have known. That is why Jesus said the members of the Sanhedrin who condemned Him would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 5:20). That is why God's justice will have its day when the lack of love drives so many to act in a vengeful way.
Again, the opposite of vengeance is love. But love is not demonstrated by playing "doormat." In the face of evil, genuine love is known as "tough love." True love speaks up and speaks out with courage, in the face of grave error that threatens real peace. True love is enshrined in the spiritual works of mercy that teach us to instruct the ignorant and admonish the sinner. Instruction and admonishment are correction, they are not the same as vengeance or retaliation.
In these dark times, let us not fall into the trap of a false mercy, some twisted interpretation of "turning the other cheek." Rather let us be a Light of Christ and an example of genuine love that instructs the ignorant and admonishes the sinner. Amidst all the vengeance we see in the streets, and in the personal hurts in our own lives, we will have plenty of opportunity to do that. So, any time we find ourselves struggling with thoughts of vengeance instead of mercy, let us make haste to spend more time before the Blessed Sacrament, meditating upon the Holy Cross, where the Light of Christ enlightens the darkest thoughts of our own souls.
Prayer of Reparation
My Lord and my God, we have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts toward vengeance. We have allowed works of evil to foment within us a heart of retaliation. Worse, through our own sins of omission, we have not come to a fuller understanding of Your truth about the difference between a heart dark with the spirit of vengeance, that expresses itself in acts of evil against others, and the heart enlightened by love and mercy, that expresses itself in instruction and admonishment of others. By allowing our hearts to move toward darkness and not toward the Light, we have allowed the ancient foe to advance in our streets and in ourselves. We turn to You Lord, in our shame, and beg Your forgiveness for any heart of dark vengeance and any failure to be the light of love. We beg for the grace of Your strength and power to grant us the resolve to turn back the falsehoods of the enemy by freely and openly speaking Your truth with love to a waiting world. We know, Lord, if You will it, it will be done. Trusting in You, we offer our prayer to You, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer of Exorcism
Lord God of heaven and earth, in Your power and goodness, You created all things. You set a path for us to walk on and a way to an eternal relationship. By the strength of Your arm and Word of Your mouth, cast from Your Holy Church every fearful deceit of the devil. Drive from us manifestations of the demonic that oppress us and beckon us to revenge and retaliation. Still the lying tongue of the devil and his forces so that we may act freely and faithfully in imitation of You. Send Your holy angels to cast out all influence that the demonic entities in charge of vengeance have planted in Your Church. Free us, our families, our parish, our diocese, and our country from all trickery and deceit perpetrated by the devil and his hellish legions. Trusting in Your goodness Lord, we know if You will it, it will be done, in unity with Your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Litany of Humility
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, etc.
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase
and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
Develop an understanding heart that knows the power of forgiveness
ST.
VERONICA
Nehemiah, Chapter 7, Verse 2
Over Jerusalem I placed Hanani, my
brother, and Hananiah, the commander of the citadel, who was more trustworthy
and GOD-FEARING than most.
If you want the job done
right always select a God-fearing person for the job. So,
we begin with the gift of fear of the Lord. This gift enables a person “to
avoid sin and attachment to created things out of reverence and love of God.”
Primarily, this gift entails a profound respect for the majesty of God who is
the supreme being. Here, a person realizes his “creatureliness” and dependency
upon God, has a true “poverty of spirit,” and never would want to be separated
from God, who is love. As such, this gift arouses in the soul a vibrant sense
of adoration and reverence for God and a sense of horror and sorrow for sin. This
gift of fear of the Lord is sometimes misunderstood because of the word “fear.”
“Fear of the Lord” is not a servile fear whereby a person serves God simply
because he fears punishment, whether some sort of temporal punishment in this
life or the eternal punishment of hell. A genuine relationship with God is
based on love, not fear.[1]
Every moment of every day is an
opportunity for blessing. Each encounter wherever it occurs is an opportunity
for grace. You and I are meant to be channels, instruments through which the
blessings of God pour out into the lives of others. Yet so often we let fear
get in the way, we prevent those blessings from ever occurring for the tiniest
of fears. I think of so many occasions on which I wanted to reach out and
embrace someone, but out of fear of how they would react, I didn’t. I marvel at
the myriad instances in which I had felt an urge to bless somebody or to pray
over them, yet out of fear for what they might think, I held back. I am
realizing today that this fear, this tiny fear, has held back so many
blessings, has kept me from being the vessel of God’s grace that I know He
created me to be.[2]
According
to Tradition, when St. Veronica saw Jesus fall beneath the weight of the cross
He carried to his pending crucifixion, she was so moved with pity she pushed
through the crowd past the Roman Soldiers to reach Jesus. She used her veil to
wipe the blood and sweat from His face. The soldiers forced her away from Jesus
even as He peered at her with gratitude. She bundled her veil and did not look
at it again until she returned home. When she finally unfolded the
veil--history does not clarify exactly what kind of material the veil was made
from--it was imprinted with an image of Christ's face.
Some stories have
alluded to St. Veronica being present at the beheading of St. John the Baptist.
Others claim Veronica (Bernice) was a woman whom Jesus cured from a blood issue
before His arrest in Jerusalem. There is no reference to the biography of St.
Veronica in the canonical Gospels. Her act of kindness and charity is
represented in the Sixth of the Fourteen Stations of the Cross. St. Veronica is
believed to be buried in the tomb in Soulac or in the church of St. Seurin at
Bordeaux, France. Her veil (the Veronica) is kept at St. Peter's Basilica in
the Vatican at Rome
” In character, in manner, in
style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
We live in a complicated world; with
taxes and devices and every imaginable complication the world can provide.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just take some time to keep things simple? To
winnow life down to the bare essentials and hold onto it like the precious
thing it is? Simplicity Day encourages you to do just that, to let go of all of
life’s complications and live a day… simple. Simplicity Day was born out of a
need to be free from the complications of the world and to allow ourselves to
just be simple. Celebrate life through simplicity by turning off your devices,
getting rid of complicated things and just let life be about living for a day. One
of the great conundrums of the modern world is that the more opportunities and
options you have the less happy you’re going to be. Some of the happiest people
in the world have been determined to be those who live in uncivilized areas concerning
themselves only with what they’re going to eat that day and where a good place
to sleep is. We can learn much from them, though few of us would want to go to
such extremes. However, we can all benefit from just cutting out the things
that make our lives difficult. Simplicity Day is about getting rid of these
complications and culling from your life what doesn’t bring you joy.
How to Celebrate Simplicity Day
·Step away from the computer and find a sunny
nook with a cup of tea and a book to pass the time.
·Walk in the forests or through fields and just
feel the sun on your skin and the sounds of birds and insects. These moments
will be the ones that can truly set you free. During these long moments take
the time to relax and consider how you want to proceed in your life.
·What can you cut out that buries you under
complications that bring no benefits? Are there people or things you can remove
that will make your life a little happier each day by the removal of these
complications?
·These questions can lead you to a simpler,
happier life. Wouldn’t it be nice to have peace of mind? Simplicity Day can
lead the way.
Daily Devotions
·Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
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