Monday
FEAST
DIVINE MATERNITY-COLUMBUS DAY (Observed)
Psalm 5, Verse 8
But I, through the abundance of your mercy[1],
will enter into your house. I will bow down toward your holy sanctuary out of FEAR of you.
Psalm five is a lament contrasting the security of the house
of God with the danger of the company of evildoers. The psalmist therefore
prays that God will hear and grant the protection and joy of the Temple. We as
Catholics have more than a temple, we have our Lord present to us in the
tabernacle. His mercy is never ending.
Purgatory[2]
A widow, desperate because her husband had committed suicide by throwing himself into a river, came to Ars and met the Curé upon leaving the church. He bent toward her and told her, “He is saved.” As she made a gesture of incredulity, the saint repeated emphatically, “I tell you that he is saved. He is in Purgatory, and you must pray for him. Between the parapet of the bridge and the water he had time to make an act of repentance. It is the Blessed Virgin who obtained this grace for him. Remember the shrine to Mary in your room? Sometimes your husband, although irreligious, united himself to your prayer. That merited repentance and the supreme pardon for him.” Before leaving, she confided to M. Guillaumet, superior of the College of St. Dizier, a witness to the scene, “I was in a dreadful state of despair, imagining the tragic end of my husband. He was an unbeliever, and I lived only for the thought of leading him back to God. Then he drowned himself by a voluntary suicide! I could only believe he was damned! Oh! never to see him again! Yet you heard what the Curé of Ars told me repeatedly: ‘He is saved!’ I shall see him again in Heaven after all!” See the delicacy of Jesus and of the Blessed Virgin! A person did some good which he had forgotten, but they had not forgotten, and at the right moment they made use of it, if I may put it that way. Jesus makes use of everything to save us. How astonished we will be in Heaven when we see that! Some make Him a judge who strikes men down and seeks revenge, whereas in fact He seeks to save us by all possible means.
Nothing is irreparable
for Jesus and for Mary
According to the New York Times, suicide rates are at their highest
level in 30 years. I have rarely come across a person these days who
has not been touched by a friend or a family member who has committed suicide.
How are we as Catholics to deal with these tragedies? Many of us wonder
where the soul of our loved one ends up. Is there hope for our
loved ones who took their own lives?
Lessons from the
Catechism
The Catechism of the
Catholic Church states;
·
Suicide contradicts the natural inclination
of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary
to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it
unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human
societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love
for the living God. ccc 2281
But the Catechism goes on to say.
·
Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or
grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility
of the one committing suicide. ccc 2282
·
We should not despair of the eternal
salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him
alone, God can provide salutary repentance. The church prays for persons
who have taken their own lives. ccc 2283
This means there is hope. If God can provide salutary
repentance, then there is definitely hope.
Suicide Hits Home
I was 17 when my friend
Patrick took his own life. I was devastated. I wondered about his
soul since I knew suicide was a grave matter. It wasn’t long after his
death that I began to dream about him. My mother told me if I was
dreaming about him that he was probably in purgatory, and I needed to pray for
him. I have had dreams of him on and off into adulthood. As an
adult I got very serious about praying for him.
Additionally, earlier this year my friends and my community
were touched by four suicides of people of varying ages. It
was no coincidence then that I had come across Divine
Mercy 101 with Father Chris Alar. As I sat and pondered these
suicides, feeling helpless and worried for souls, I remembered that Fr. Alar
had said (paraphrasing),
if you say a Divine Mercy Chaplet today for someone who has died in the past, the graces from your prayer today, because God is outside of time, are taken to your loved one at the time of their judgement. In other words, God could for see that you would say the prayer for the loved one and then apply that grace for them when they die.
Our God is that merciful. Unfathomable mercy. Pray the
chaplet, our prayers do have power.
Gregorian Masses
It was around this time
that my cousin had also introduced me to Gregorian Masses. This is a series of
30 Masses that is said for a soul in purgatory. Tradition tells us that
Pope St. Gregory the Great offered these Masses for the soul of one of his monks
that visited him from purgatory. When Pope Gregory had finished the
Masses, the monk appeared to thank him for releasing him. The Masses are
offered for one deceased soul (not multiple people) for 30 consecutive days.
Now, please understand, we offer a stipend for a Mass. These
stipends are to take care of the Priest who says the Mass, and in poorer
countries, in particular, this means a lot. Plus, the stipend is
also a sacrificial offering made by us. Canon 946 tells us how the
stipend is for the good of the Church. Typically in today’s day and age,
a Mass stipend is about $10,
although I have found some for $5
a Mass. So Gregorian Masses aren’t always in the realm of what
someone can afford, but they are very efficacious if you are able to,
especially in a case of suicide. If 30 Masses isn’t a possibility, then one
Mass is also a good thing. The Mass is heaven on earth, and our prayers
help souls in purgatory. So, if you are suffering the loss of someone to
suicide, do not despair. Our God is a God of Mercy. Pray a Divine
Mercy Chaplet for them and perhaps have Gregorian Masses said for them, or a single
Mass. Our prayers mean something, and you may be able to help your loved
one get to heaven.
Feast of the Divine
Maternity[3]
“On this occasion the heavenly Lady
was full of the Holy Ghost and moreover bore within Her, as His Mother, the
Divine Word, who proceeds from the Father and the Holy Ghost. Saint Joseph
received special enlightenment and the plenitude of divine graces, and
altogether renewed in fervor of spirit he said:
“Blessed art Thou, Lady, among all women,
fortunate and preferred before all nations and generations. May the Creator of
heaven and earth be extolled with eternal praise, since from his exalted kingly
throne He has looked upon Thee and chosen Thee for his dwelling place and in
Thee alone has fulfilled the ancient promises made to the Patriarchs and
Prophets. Let all generations bless Him: for in no one has He magnified his
name as He has done in thy humility; and me, the most insignificant of the
living, He has in his divine condescension selected for thy servant.” In these
words of praise and benediction Saint Joseph was enlightened by the Holy Ghost,
in the same manner as Saint Elizabeth, when she responded to the salutation of
Our Queen and Mistress. The light and inspiration received by the most holy
spouse was wonderfully adapted to his dignity and office. The heavenly Lady,
upon hearing the words of the holy man, answered in the words of the
Magnificat, as She had done on her visit to Saint Elizabeth, and She added
other canticles. She was all aflame in ecstasy and was raised from the earth in
a globe of light, which surrounded Her and transfigured Her with the gifts of
glory. At this heavenly vision Saint Joseph was filled with admiration and
unspeakable delight; for never had he seen his most blessed Spouse in such
eminence of glory and perfection. Now he beheld Her with a full and clear
understanding, since all the integrity and purity of the Princess of heaven and
mystery of her dignity manifested themselves to him. He saw and recognized in
her virginal womb the humanity of the infant God and the union of the two
natures of the Word. With profound humility and reverence, he adored Him and
recognized Him as his Redeemer, offering himself to his majesty. The Lord
looked upon him in benevolence and kindness as upon no other man, for He
accepted him as his foster-father and conferred upon him that title. In
accordance with this dignity, He gifted him with that plenitude of science and
heavenly gifts which Christian piety can and must acknowledge.
Columbus
Day[4]
Columbus Day is the
celebration of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on October
12, 1492. Christopher Columbus was an Italian-born explorer who discovered the
Americas for the Spanish King Ferdinand of Spain. Columbus set off into the Atlantic
with three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Two months later he
would set foot on the Bahamas and establish settlements on Hispanola Island
(now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Upon his return to Spain, he spoke of
gold in the New World and thus the Americas were opened up for European
colonization. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared October 12th
every year as Columbus Day. In the US, Columbus Day is celebrated by all US
states except for Hawaii, South Dakota and Alaska. Columbus Day now
occurs on the second Monday in October each year.
Columbus Day Facts & Quotes
·
Colorado was the first state to officially
recognize and celebrate Columbus Day in 1906.
·
Christopher Columbus' first settlement on
Hispaniola Island was called Villa de Navidad (Christmas Town)
·
In 1971, the official holiday was moved to the
second Monday in October in order to give workers in the US a long weekend.
This was part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
·
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever
achieve greatly. - Robert F. Kennedy
·
You can never cross the ocean unless you have the
courage to lose sight of the shore. - Christopher Columbus
Columbus Day Top Events and Things to
Do
·
Attend a Columbus Day Parade. The parade
in New York City is one of the largest.
·
Eat some good Italian food.
·
Watch a parade.
·
Visit the Library of Congress's online exhibit 1492:
An Ongoing Voyage.
·
Host a scavenger hunt for the neighborhood kids
and let them become Explorers for the afternoon.
Thanks to the efforts of Father Michael J. McGivney,
assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven and some of his
parishioners, the Connecticut state legislature on March 29, 1882, officially
chartered the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefit society. The Order is
still true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity. The
Knights was formed to render financial aid to members and their families.
Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and
their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members
and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare,
war relief and public relief works. The history of the Order shows how the
foresight of Father Michael J. McGivney, whose cause for sainthood is being
investigated by the Vatican, brought about what has become the world's foremost
Catholic fraternal benefit society. The Order has helped families obtain
economic security and stability through its life insurance, annuity and
long-term care programs, and has contributed time and energy worldwide to
service in communities. The Knights of Columbus has grown from several members
in one council to 15,342 councils and 1.9 million members throughout the
United States, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Poland, the Dominican Republic,
Puerto Rico, Panama, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, Guatemala, Guam,
Saipan, Lithuania, Ukraine, and South Korea
International
Day of the Girl
International Day of the
Girl aims to recognize girls' rights and the unique challenges that they face
around the world. Every day, young girls everywhere face challenges
involving their rights, access to education, inequality, discrimination, domestic violence and child
marriage. Gender inequality is so prevalent in the world that the United
Nations introduced a Gender Inequality Index (GII) to measure gender disparity
in countries.
Day of the Girl Facts & Quotes
·
It is estimated that over 100 million women from
the world are missing. Female infanticide and selective abortion are still
commonly practiced in Asia and have led to uneven ratios of men and women all
over Asia.
·
In India, there are laws that prevent expecting
mothers from finding out the sex of the baby due to selective abortions and
discrimination against baby girls.
·
One-third of girls in the developing world are
married before the age of 18, increasing the risk of HIV, unwanted pregnancy
and discontinued education.
·
To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is
man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed,
is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman
is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more
self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater
courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being,
the future is with woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart
than woman? - Mahatma Ghandi
Day of the Girl Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Get active for girls on social media. Use one of
UNICEF's recommended social networking hashtags: #dayofthe girl,
#mylifeat15, #girl4president and #girlhero!
·
Take out a girl in your life (your daughter,
niece, granddaughter, family friend). Take her out to do her favorite activity
on her special day.
·
Watch movies that empower young girls and
portray strong female characters.
1) Brave (2012)
2) Bend it like Beckham (2002)
3) Anne of Green Gables (1985)
4) Mulan (1998)
·
Attend one of many events held nationally and
internationally. Look for an event organized in your local community by schools
and girl clubs, if not attend the online event. The online event involves
sharing baby photos of yourself (if you're a girl), or daughters, sisters and
other girl family members and discuss your/their dreams while growing up.
Words of Wisdom from a Superman[6]
Although he never planned
it that way, Christopher Reeve[7]
became a hero for our time. His legacy of determination, commitment, compassion
and courage continues to inspire men and women across the globe. Playing the
role of Superman in the movies he became, to many of us, “The Man of Steel.”
When a riding accident changed his life forever, we cried, and we worried… but
somehow knew the super man within would prevail. And he did. The way he lived,
and the amazing way he spoke about living, became a powerful source of
motivation and inspiration for people living with paralysis and
disabilities. His words have touched all our hearts. We share some of our
favorite Christopher Reeve quotes.
·
What is a Hero? "I think a hero is an
ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of
overwhelming obstacles."
·
Once
you choose hope anything is possible.
·
"Either
you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool, or you go out in the
ocean."
·
"If
I can laugh, I can live."
·
"You've
got to give more than you take."
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: End
Sex Trafficking, Slavery
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Iceman’s Total
Consecration to Mary-Day 31
·
Total Consecration
to St. Joseph Day 13
·
Monday: Litany of
Humility
·
Go
to Mass
·
Rosary
[1]Mercy: used to
translate the Hebrew word, hesed. This term speaks to a relationship between
persons. It is manifested in concrete actions to persons with some need or
desire. The one who offers hesed has the ability to respond to that need of the
other person. Other possible ways to translate hesed include “steadfast love”
and “loving kindness.”
[2][1]d'Elbée, Jean C.J.. I Believe in Love
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