Wednesday, July 28, 2021

 

Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Narcissism

(See Character is Destiny for opposing virtue: RESPECT)

My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
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 Narcissism" by Fr. Bill Peckman

In Greek mythology, we find the rather tragic figure of Narcissus. As the story goes, he is an extraordinary young man in every possible way, but he is aloof and rather full of himself. Anyone who falls in love with him pays a steep price because he will not love them back. Eventually, while hunting, Narcissus stoops down to the water to get a drink. He sees his own reflection and falls madly in love with it. He reaches out to grab the reflection and drowns, suffering the abysmal fate others who tried to love him did. In psychology, narcissism is described as "selfishness, involving a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and a need for admiration, as characterizing a personality type." My brothers and sisters, does this word not describe our society "to a T"?

Narcissism arises out of several converging storms: First, the self-centeredness of the individual as almighty. Reality and morality are subjectivistic and only are there to confirm the feelings of the narcissist. Second, with no empathy, the means justify the ends for the narcissist. The narcissist simply makes pronouncements without care as to how it affects others and only cares about how he or she is affected. Third, while the narcissist is free to judge and condemn the actions and words of others AND presume the absolute worst in other people's motivations, he or she will see any judgment and condemnation of their actions as defamation of character, to which they will respond with great vengeance. Fourth, the sense of absolute entitlement endemic of narcissism, stretches to the insane. Every word and action must be to the benefit of that narcissist. No demand is too unreasonable and any failure to provide is seen as a personal attack.

Certainly, within our society, we see narcissism run amuck. Social media has laced this stick of dynamite. We now are seeing a wholesale rejection of any objective truth; consequently, there cannot be a God who judges. The new mantra of society is, "It is okay to terrorize anyone we want, as long as we feel justified in our actions." According to this logic, we should be able to despoil whoever we want if our feelings tell us it's okay. It has even gotten to the point where some are demanding the acceptance of pedophilia as a mere sexual orientation, using the familiar path of others who want universal acceptance of their choices. For our narcissistic society, all things must be remade in the narcissist's image: Entertainment, sports, law, and morality must be adjusted so that the narcissist's predilections are approved at worst and ignored at best.

Even within our Church we see narcissism in several ways. We have seen it in how Mass went from a transcendent focus to a place where the transcendent is ignored. This is not anything asked for by Vatican II or present in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. We see it in the constant push to revise the sexual moral teachings of the Church to be as accommodating and permissive as society, in everything from homosexuality to artificial birth control to transgenderism, and so on. The Church just becomes another place where the mirror of narcissism can be held and only able to see its world visage. So much of the financial and sexual scandal, ensuing cover-up, and regular abuse of power finds its roots in a narcissism that allows the preying on of the flock to satiate one's needs. The reach of narcissism in our society and Church is wide.

The antidote to narcissism is the very essence of God: love. Specifically, divine love (agape) is what is needed. In agape, we completely empty ourselves for the good of others. We allow ourselves, as St. Paul says, to be poured out as a libation. Love forces us to look beyond ourselves and weigh how our actions and words affect our relationships with God and each other. Love leads us to humility, a frank honesty which allows us to avoid demanding that the world convert to suit us, but instead enables us to convert to suit Christ. Because love is a theological virtue, it needs that constant relationship with God to thrive. It is no wonder that the more narcissism has grown in our society, the shorter our confession lines have become and the less we see of people at Mass. We need that sacramental presence in our lives to bolster our immunity to the constant virus-like ferocity of narcissism.

For if we love as God loves, the abuse of our neighbor is no longer justifiable. If we love as God loves, our own wants no longer become our focus. If we love as God loves, we can no longer justify our harm and sin inflicted on others. I am asking you dear reader to have what I call a "Darth Vader moment." I am referring to the scene in Return of the Jedi where the emperor is killing Luke for his unwillingness to convert to the dark side. In that scene, Darth Vader keeps looking at the begging face of his son and the evil cackling face of the emperor ... he is making a choice. He can either go with the status quo and allow his son to die, or lose everything, including his life, and kill the emperor (or so we thought). I am asking you to look at the Cross of Christ and then look at the fury we see in the media day after day. Choose between the great love displayed on the Cross and the insatiable fury of narcissism. We can't have both. Choose wisely, for the Cross of Christ is the path to heaven and the fury of narcissism is the superhighway to hell.

 

Prayer of Reparation

My Lord and my God, we have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts to not see fulfillment in Your goodness. We have stilled our tongues in the face of evil. We have been too self-involved to notice the damage our sins have wreaked on our neighbor and broken faith with You. We have expected You to be pleased with our duplicitous and selfish hearts. We have, at times, been a source of scandal for those searching through our sinfulness and rebellion to You. In our fear, we have allowed the ancient foe to advance. We turn to You Lord, in our sorrow and guilt, and beg Your forgiveness for our narcissism and lack of sorrow. We beg for the grace of Your goodness to build up within us what You sought to build up in Your apostles in that tempest-tossed boat. 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. 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 narcissism and entitlement. Still the lying tongue of the devil and his forces so that we may act freely and faithfully to Your will. Send Your holy angels to cast out all influence that the demonic entities in charge of narcissism 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 St. Joseph

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Illustrious son of David, etc.
Light of the patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
Foster-father of the Son of God,
Watchful defender of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,
Joseph most just,
Joseph most chaste,
Joseph most prudent,
Joseph most valiant,
Joseph most obedient,
Joseph most faithful,
Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of workmen ,
Glory of domestic life,
Guardian of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Solace of the afflicted,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of demons,
Protector of Holy Church,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

He made him the lord of His household,
And prince over all His possessions.

Let Us Pray.
O God, Who in Thine ineffable providence didst choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most Holy Mother, grant that as we venerate him as our protector on earth, we may deserve to have him as our intercessor in Heaven, Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. R. Amen.

 

Daily Checklist

__ Prayer for Freedom from the Devil
__ Daily reflection and prayers
__ Litany of the day
__ Pray a Rosary
__ Divine Mercy Chaplet
__ Spiritual or corporal work of mercy
__ Fast/abstain (according to level)
__ Exercise (according to level/ability)
__ Refrain from conventional media (only 1 hr. of social)
__ Examination of conscience (confession 1x this week)

 

HEPATITIS DAY 

Judith, Chapter 8, Verse 8

No one had a bad word to say about her, for she FEARED God greatly.

 

Think what it would be like if you could hear what others say about you? Would no one have a bad word to say about you? How is Judith described?

 

Judith

 

·         She was a widow of a successful man “Mannasseh” who died of heat stroke during a barley harvest.

·         During the war she had been a widow for 3 years and 4 months choosing not to remarry.

·         She lived in a tent on the roof of her house and mourned her husband and worshipped.

·         She fasted except for the Holy Days.

·         She was beautiful and very lovely to behold.

·         She maintained her husband’s property which she owned.

 

·         Judith, Instrument of Yahwah

 

·         War had been declared between God and Nebuchadnezzar, god against God. Each divinity has an acting human representative. Judith and Holofernes. Judith is a model of Jewish observance. She is a widow whom all knows that she is under the protection of God. She is a strong woman, with the fear of God. Judith counsels the elders of the city Bethulia, that is a mountain stronghold that prevents Holofernes from marching on Jerusalem. The people are thirsty the cisterns are empty all is hopeless, and the elders want to quit. Judith challenges their resolve. She scolds the elders for limiting God to human understanding. "You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or grasp the workings of the human mind; how then can you fathom God, who has made all these things, or discern his mind, or understand his plan?” Judith prepares for war with prayer. Her call for action has 3 parts.

 

1.      They must set an example because the fate of the nation, the temple, and the people depend on them.

2.      They must be grateful to God for this test their affliction is a proof of God’s love for them.

3.      They must remember that God tests those He loves and never doubt his fidelity in the midst of their sufferings.

 

Judith’s prayer illustrates three principles of Holy War

 

·         Trust in God. Do not trust in horses or chariots. Trust in armament is the same as trusting in another god-it is idolatry.

·         Power comes from God. Frequently the power of God comes from a chosen person, Moses, David, Jesus, Peter and Judith or Mary Mother of God. The weapons of God are not the same as man. God’s chosen instrument is sometimes weak.

·         Victory belongs to the lowly and vulnerable. The weak have no hope except in the power of God. Judith calls on God to win the victory.

14^th Amendment to US Constitution ratified, 1868[1]

This amendment to the Constitution granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed.

Under current law, U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants are automatically considered U.S. citizens. Select states and certain Federal lawmakers are hoping to change that. In an effort to end birthright citizenship – which has its origins in English common law – for children of unauthorized immigrants born in the United States, state and federal lawmakers have proposed everything from state-level legislation to a constitutional amendment. They claim that by repealing birthright citizenship, the United States will deter immigrants from coming to the United States and giving birth to what they term "anchor babies" through whom unauthorized family members allegedly then obtain legal status. Proponents for a repeal of birthright citizenship are drafting state-level legislation to deny privileges of U.S. citizenship to the U.S.-born children of unauthorized aliens. Because citizenship is within the purview of the federal government, and not the states, the proponents hope that doing so will ultimately trigger a Supreme Court review of the law.

Position of the Catholic Church

To address legitimate concerns surrounding immigration law enforcement in the United States, the Catholic Church believes that our country must pass immigration reform laws to ensure the rule of law, while simultaneously ensuring that the laws that rule are rooted in the reunification of family and respectful of the human dignity of the immigrants in our midst. The Church opposes the repeal of birthright citizenship because it would render innocent children stateless, depriving them of the ability to thrive in their communities and reach their full potential. The Church believes that a repeal of birthright citizenship would create a permanent underclass in U.S. society, contravening U.S. democratic tradition; undermining the human dignity of innocent children who would be punished though they did nothing wrong; and ultimately weakening the family. Because of this, the Church opposes efforts underway for its repeal.

World Hepatitis Day[2] 

World Hepatitis Day seeks to raise awareness for the spectrum of Hepatitis diseases. Hepatitis diseases cause inflammation of the liver cells. There are five main types of hepatitis, A, B, C, D and E. It is estimated that around 250 million people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C and 300 million people are Hepatitis B carriers.

World Hepatitis Day was proclaimed by the World Health Organization. It is celebrated annually on July 28th. 

World Hepatitis Day Facts 

Hepatitis A is usually transmitted by consuming contaminated food or water or coming into contact with an infected person's feces. 

Hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted disease. It is transmitted through exposure to infected blood or body fluids. 

Hepatitis B is spread via blood of an infected person. 

Hepatitis can also be caused by alcohol and other toxins and infections. 

Life Matters: Embryo Research[3] 

The Nuremberg Code (1947) was prompted by the horrific and often deadly experimentation on human beings in Nazi concentration camps that came to light during the “Doctors’ Trials” before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals. The main principles of the Nuremberg Code require that experiments involving human subjects cause no unnecessary risk, be undertaken with the full and informed consent of the subjects and must never knowingly cause serious injury or death. Nazi doctors were not the first, nor the last, to perform inhumane and sometimes disabling research on unsuspecting human subjects living in poverty, in prisons, mental health institutions, and orphanages. The Tuskegee syphilis experiments, the Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study, and the Willowbrook (Long Island) State School experiments—in which children with mental disabilities were intentionally infected with viral hepatitis—are just a few examples of cases in which doctors put the pursuit of knowledge and “cures” ahead of the lives and well-being of individual human beings. The Nuremberg Code inspired other declarations of medical and research ethics. In 1948, the World Medical Association approved a statement addressing the ethics of physicians, the Declaration of Geneva. As originally adopted, it read in part: “I will maintain the utmost respect for human life, from the time of conception; even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.” 

Novena in Honor of Saint John Marie Vianney[4]

Complete Trust in God

Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney, what confidence the people had in your prayers! You could not leave your old rectory or your humble church without being surrounded by imploring souls, who appealed to you as they would have appealed to Jesus Himself during His earthly life. And you, O good Saint, gave them hope by your words, which were full of love for God. You, who had always counted entirely on the heart of God, obtain for me a deep filial trust in His Providence. As the hope of divine goods fills my heart, give me courage and help me to always obey the Commandments of God. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Every Wednesday is Dedicated to St. Joseph

The Italian culture has always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass. You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous, you could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family night perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.

·         Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph

·         Do the St. Joseph Universal Man Plan.

·         The Year of St. Joseph

 

Daily Devotions

·         Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

·         Total Consecration to St. Joseph Day 13

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Universal Man Plan

·         Rosary

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[1]http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/catholicchurchandbirthrightcitizenship.cfm

[2] http://www.wincalendar.com/World-Hepatitis-Day

[3]http://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/respect-life-program/2011/upload/life-matters-embryo-research-bulletin-insert.pdf

[4]http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=1129