SAINT JOHN BOSCO
Psalm 3, Verse 7
I do not FEAR,
then, thousands of people arrayed against me on every side.
In the verse before this David is surrounded by
those who deny God and yet he asks for God’s help; trusts and then sleeps. Do
you have trouble sleeping? Trust.
Trust -
Completely Trust in Jesus[1]
Trust in Jesus is the essence of the message of
mercy. When we go to a public fountain, we can draw water from it as long as we
have a vessel or container of some kind to put the water in. If our vessel is
small, we can only bring back a little water; if it’s large, we can bring back
a lot. And anyone with a vessel can draw water from the fountain. The water is
there for us, and no one is excluded. All we need is a vessel.
So, it is with God’s mercy. In repeated revelations
to St. Faustina, Our Divine Savior makes it clear that the fountain is His
Heart, the water is His mercy, and the vessel is trust.
I have opened My Heart as a living fountain of
mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy
with great trust (Diary, 1520). On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was
opened wide by the lance for all souls — no one have I excluded! (1182).
I am offering people a vessel with which they are to
keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with
the signature: "Jesus, I trust in You" (327). The graces of My mercy
are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is — trust. The more a soul
trusts, the more it will receive (1578).
In the Diary of St. Faustina, we hear Our Lord
reminding us that we can depend upon His love … that He alone is worthy of our
trust: I never reject a contrite heart (1485). Sooner would heaven and earth
turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul (1777).
But there is more to trust than just believing that
God is trustworthy. We have to act upon that belief. Trust involves a turning
back to God, a real conversion of our whole lives to God, repenting of our sins
and forgiving others. Trust is a living faith.
Trust means that we agree to let God be God, instead
of trying to be God ourselves. (Trust is the antidote to the first sin of
Adam!) It means that we agree that God can write the script of our lives,
instead of insisting on our own script. It means that we agree with the great
pledge we make in the Our Father: “Your will [not mine] be done on earth as it
is in heaven.” It means that even in our moments of agony we agree with the cry
of Jesus in the Garden, “Not my will, but Yours be done” (Lk 22:42).
God is Mercy itself, and we are called to practice
the ABCs of mercy (Ask for His Mercy, Be merciful to others, Completely trust
in Jesus). As we do, our trust in Jesus is the vital ingredient. We don’t
simply ask for mercy, nor do we simply try to be good to other people. We ask
with complete trust, and Our Lord fills us with grace so that we can be
merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful.
I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself but radiates them to other souls (1074).
St.
John Bosco was the founder of the Salesian Society, named in honor of St.
Francis de Sales, and of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians. His
lifework was the welfare of young boys and girls, hence his title,
"Apostle of Youth." He had no formal system or theory of education.
His methods centered on persuasion, authentic religiosity, and love for young
people. He was an enlightened educator and innovator. Don Bosco decided to go
ahead fearlessly with his educational mission stating,” “Timid souls refrained
from making any kind of fresh start for fear of the coming storm.”
Things to
Do
- St.
John Bosco at a young age learned how to juggle and do other tricks to
attract children to him. This provided opportunities for him to give
catechesis to these children. Think of different activities that you could
do to attract children—perhaps juggling, putting on puppet shows,
storybook time—and use that opportunity to teach a virtue, catechism
lesson, or just to be a good example. Good clean fun or a wholesome activity
is a lesson in itself in a world where there is so much corruption.
- If
you feel brave, try cooking the stuffed raw peppers suggested for today.
Mama Margaret probably cooked Peperoni farciti à la Piemontaise
(peppers stuffed with boiled rice), a speciality from Turin, for St. John
Bosco's boys.
- Read
this article from Catholic Culture's library, Don Bosco, Seeker of Souls.
Daily Devotions
· Unite
in the work of the Porters of St.
Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: An End to Addictions
· Monday: Litany of Humility
· Rosary
FEBRUARY
Soil under our feet goes unnoticed, though this first foot of soil is where most living organisms’ dwell. The health of the fragile skin of our earth is of utmost importance. Humility comes from the Latin word for soil, "humus." From and unto dust is the humbling message to each of us. Soil is rich and fertile but also prone to erosion and pollution.
Overview of February[3]
This year the entire month of February falls during the liturgical season known as Tempus per Annum or Ordinary Time (formerly Time After Epiphany), which is represented by the liturgical color green. Green is a symbol of hope, as it is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. The liturgical color green is worn during prayer of Offices and Masses of Ordinary Time.
Though the shortest month of the year, February is rich in Liturgical activity. It contains a feast (Presentation of our Lord) that bridges two other seasons (Christmas and Easter)! In addition, the faithful may receive in February two of the four major public sacramentals that the Church confers during the liturgical year: blessed candles and the blessing of throats.
The Solemnity of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd harkens back to the Christmas mystery of Light except that now, Christ, the helpless babe, is “the Light of Revelation to the Gentiles who will save his people from their sins.” Candles, symbolizing Christ our Light, will be carried in procession this day, as will be the Paschal candle during the Easter Vigil Liturgy.
"The Light of Revelation" shines more brightly with each successive Sunday of Ordinary Time, until its magnificence–exposing our sinfulness and need for conversion–propels us into the penitential Season of Lent. We prepare to accept the cross of blessed ashes on Ash Wednesday (March 2) and plunge ourselves into anticipating the major exercises of Lent–fasting, prayer, almsgiving–laying our thoughts and prayers on the heart of our Mother Mary. She, who offered her Son in the temple and on the Cross, will teach us how to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow after her Son.
February Travel?[4]
·
Take a Horse-Drawn Sleigh Ride (All Month)
Enjoy a gorgeous winter wonderland in Yellowstone and the surrounding areas. National Elk Refuge is closed to vehicle traffic but not to horse-drawn sleighs. The open-air rides offer a unique and amazing way to see elk, bison, eagles, foxes and other wildlife species. Yellowstone and the Jackson Hole area offer a variety of other family activities including snow tubing, skiing, snowmobiles and a year-round roller coaster.
Iceman’s Calendar
·
Feb. 1-St. Brigid.
·
Feb. 2-MASS Candlemas-Ground hog
day-start Novena in preparation of Satanic Convention in Scottsdale, AZ. (Feb
11-13).
· Feb. 3-St. Blasé Blessing of throats
·
Feb 5-St. Agatha.
·
Feb 11-Our Lady of Lourdes-Start of Rosary
12-3 pm against the Satanic Convention in Scottsdale. (Feb 11-13).
·
Feb 13-Septuagesima Sunday
·
Feb 14 St. Valentines
·
Feb 15-Start Total Consecration to St.
Joseph (End Feast of St. Joseph March 19)
·
Feb 16-Full Snow Moon
·
Feb 20-Sexagesima-Start Novena to Holy
Face to end on Shrove Tuesday
·
Feb 21 Presidents Day
·
Feb 22 Washington’s Birthday
·
Feb 24 St. Matthias-Carnival Thursday
·
Feb 25-Carnival Friday
·
Feb 26-Carnival Saturday
·
Feb 27-Quingesima
·
Feb 28-Shrovetide Monday
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