Sirach, Chapter 25, Verse 10-12
10 How great is the one who finds wisdom, but none
is greater than the one who FEARS the
Lord. 11 Fear of the Lord
surpasses all else. To whom can we compare the one who has it? 12 Fear of the Lord is the beginning of
loving him, and fidelity is the beginning of clinging to him.
Saint Thomas Aquinas’ thoughts on
fear:[1]
1.
Fear is a shrinking back from evil. Hence, we cannot fear God in himself, for
God is infinite goodness. But one is said to fear God in the sense of
fearing the evil of being separated from God by sin, and in the sense of
fearing to incur his punishments for sin.
2.
Fear is called servile fear when it is the dread of punishment alone. It
is called filial fear or chaste
fear when it is primarily the dread of offending God, our loving father.
Between these two types of fear is initial fear, which is properly the
beginning of filial fear, and differs
from it only as imperfect differs from perfect. There is another type of fear
called worldly fear which is the dread of losing temporal things to
which the heart clings as to the ultimate good.
3. Worldly fear is always evil, for it
discounts God and eternity, and dreads only the loss of creatural goods.
4. Servile fear is not good in point of its
servility, but it is good inasmuch as it recognizes and dreads the evil that
attends upon sin. From such a dread a person may readily rise to the higher and
noble type of fear, and through this, to charity and repentance.
5.
However, servile fear is essentially
different from filial fear. Servile fear dreads punishment; filial fear dreads offending God. These
two types of fear differ in their specific objects, and therefore differ
essentially from each other.
6.
Yet servile fear, as we have seen,
has a good aspect, and, in this respect, it comes from the Holy Ghost; but it
is not the gift of the Holy Ghost that we call fear. Hence, servile fear, in so far as it is good,
can remain in the soul which has charity, that is, which is in the state of
sanctifying or habitual grace, and therefore in the friendship and love of God.
7.
Wisdom is knowledge of God together with the will to serve him and possess him.
Now, the beginning of wisdom itself is faith, for by faith we know God and are
directed to him. But the beginning of wisdom, in the sense of what arouses one
and stirs oneto be wise, is fear. This beginning of wisdom is both servile fear and filial fear; such fear puts spurs to a man, so to speak, and makes
him cultivate wisdom. In this sense, "the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 110).
8. Initial fear is, as we have said, beginning
fear. Both servile fear and filial fear may be, in some way, the
start of fearing the Lord. Yet initial
fear is closer to filial fear than to
servile fear; indeed, it is, properly
speaking, an imperfect form of filial
fear.
9. Filial or chaste fear of the Lord is one of the seven gifts of the Holy
Ghost. By it we revere God and avoid what separates us from him.
10.
Filial fear increases with charity,
for the more one loves God, the more one fears to offend him. Servile fear loses its servility as
charity increases, and then, as the non servile dread of deserved punishments,
it decreases in the glow of charity. For charity fixes the soul more and more
on God, and thus the thought of self, and even of deserved punishment of
oneself, becomes less and less. Besides, the greater one's charity is, the more
confident is one's soul of escape from punishment. And thus, finally, the only
fear in the charity-filled soul is filial
fear.
11.
Filial fear will exist in a perfected
state in heaven. It cannot be the same as it is during earthly life, for in
heaven all possibility of losing or offending God will be taken away. Servile fear will not exist at all in
heaven.
12.
The first beatitude, "Blessed are the poor inspirit," corresponds to
the gift of fear. For if a man fears God perfectly, as he may do by the gift,
he does not pridefully seek to be rich or honored but is humble and poor
inspirit.
Is
a Satanic Conference-coming
to a city near you[2]
The
Satanic Temple has announced that Scottsdale has been selected as the site for
the group’s first religious convention. They call it “SatanCon.com”
a three-day event that will take place February 11-13, 2022. Scottsdale
officials made clear that they are, in fact, accepting and inclusive regarding
Satanists. Lucien Greaves (co-founder of the Satanic Temple) stated: “We heard
you, Scottsdale, and we accepted that as an invitation to turn Scottsdale into
the Happy Satanic Fun Capital of the World.” Satanic Temple To Host Satanic Convention, “We’re To Bring
Satan To Scottsdale – Arizona Daily Independent
Their website
says: ‘Lupercalia in Scottsdale'
What
does ‘lupercalia’ in Scottsdale mean? Lupercalia is a Roman
festival held on Feb. 15 in honor of Lupercus, regarded as the god of
fertility, in the celebration of which dogs and goats were sacrificed and their
skins cut up into thongs, with which the pagan priests ran through the city
striking everyone, particularly women… https://www.definitions.net/definition/lupercali
What Is the
Catholic Response from the Laity?
·
February
11th (Friday) Noon to 3 pm Rosary and Prayer in front of hotel.
·
February
12th (Saturday) Noon to 3 pm Rosary and Prayer in front of hotel.
·
February
13th (Sunday) Noon to 3 pm Rosary and Prayer in front
of hotel.
Why Is the Rosary So Powerful Against Satan?
The
Secret of the Rosary,
Saint Louis de Montfort said: “Public prayer is far more powerful than
private prayer to appease the anger of God and call down His Mercy, and Holy
Mother Church, guided by the Holy Ghost, has always advocated public prayer in
times of public tragedy and suffering.” Through our prayers we will call
the grace of God down upon us and the city of Scottsdale. We will have a Marian
consecration done for the city of Scottsdale. Catholics must confront this evil
cult in every city they seek to consecrate to satan. Every square inch on
planet earth belongs to Our Lord Jesus Christ, He purchased it with his blood.
This is a rallying cry for Catholic men to stand up and non-Catholic men of
good will.
Click
the button below to view the prayers we will pray during the protest
“Why
Protest”? Below are the FAQs that will help you understand why we should take a
stand in this fight
Why Are We Protesting? Click Here FAQs
PREPARATION for the Protest
It
is important to be SPIRTUALLY PREPARED for this event. We STRONGLY
recommend that you are in a STATE of GRACE:
·
Go
to CONFESSION within 7-Days before the event and receive the Holy Eucharist as
often as possible
·
Start
a 9-Day Rosary Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patron Saint of the Diocese
of Phoenix, AZ on Wednesday, 02-02-22
·
PRAY:
at least 3 times-a-DAY as Daniel did in Daniel 6:10-11
·
PENANCE:
(Rosary & Divine Mercy on your knees) and Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays
·
BRING:
your Rosary, Sacramentals, and Holy Images
Our
Church is under attack! It is the laity’s time to rise up and “step into the
breach.” We need “boots on the ground” and show the strength of our Catholic
Faith. Make a prayerful discernment on how YOU are going to participate in this
battle for Mother Church!
“I begin
this letter with a clarion call and clear charge to you, my sons and brothers
in Christ: Men, do not hesitate to engage in the battle that is raging
around you, the battle that is wounding our children and families, the battle
that is distorting the dignity of both women and men.” – First words
of Bishop Thomas J Olmsted’s 2015 Apostolic Exhortation, ‘Into the Breach’
Four
things that Conservative Americans Must Do[3]
·
First,
we must put our faith in God, not men. We need a conservative movement that is
profoundly Christian, and that defends natural law and the Ten Commandments
before all else. Our crisis today is, deep down, a religious one. Only a return
to God and His order will make a defeat of the left possible. We must defend
traditional morality and the traditional family, especially against the culture
of death and the LGBT revolution. We must restore the notion of good and evil
that has almost disappeared in our relativistic age. This must start in our
personal lives.
·
Second,
we must recognize that the “progressive” left is not advocating progress, nor
even a revolt, but a revolution. Critical race theory, the Green New Deal,
LGBT tyranny (especially transgenderism), unrestricted abortion, Modern
Monetary Theory, illegal immigration, and Medicare for All are weapons in the
same army that wants to burn what remains of Christian civilization to the
ground. Conservative Americans must understand that they are in a titanic
struggle for civilization itself. We must study and understand the nature of
this revolution, its characteristics, tactics, and driving forces. And if the
enemy is waging a revolution, the only proper response is
a counter-revolution. The book Revolution and
Counter-Revolution by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira is a good place to start.
·
Third,
we must resolve not only to elect godly statesmen to office but also to act
directly on public opinion through a cultural counter-revolution. Politics, it
is often said, is downstream from culture. The left has subverted America and
especially our youth through culture: music, fashions, movies, television,
schools, technology and many others. Like the early Christians, we must fight a
counter-cultural crusade against the perverse society in which we live. We need
to act on public opinion, one person, one family, one neighborhood at a time.
We need to be more dedicated to our cause than the revolutionaries have been to
theirs, to prevail in the battle for public opinion inch by inch. Only culture
imbued with Christian principles and defended by men and women of strong
religious convictions is capable of resisting and defeating the cultural
steamroller of our times. The future belongs to those who fight.
·
Finally,
we need to pray to Our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of His Holy
Mother Mary, for graces of repentance, wisdom and fortitude. God sent His
Mother Mary to the world at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, to warn about the errors
of Russia and the future chastisements that would come. If mankind did not
convert, she said, many nations would be annihilated. We are now witnessing the
final fulfillment of those prophecies. It is not too late for America and the
world to turn back to God with a humble and contrite heart.
Attitudes
on Confession[4]
You must
emphasize the importance of the sacraments, especially Confession, and give
your child ample opportunity to receive this sacrament, but never force or
ridicule him in this matter. These are suggestions on maintaining the balance
between privacy and following the parental role of making the sacraments
readily available for your children. Most Catholic parents fully respect their
child's right to privacy in regard to confession. Of course, you should not
question him about what he told the priest, or what the priest told him. To do
so would be depriving him of the right to privacy in confessional matters which
is his. His decision to receive or not receive the sacraments of Penance and
the Holy Eucharist also must be his to make.
While you
must stand guard over your child's spiritual welfare, never place him in a
position where his failure to confess or receive Communion will make him
conspicuous. The reason for this warning is that a child who is unworthy to
receive Communion or fears to confess his sins may be tempted to partake of the
Holy Eucharist sacrilegiously if his failure to receive will make him stand out
in the crowd. Before the rule for the Eucharistic Fast was relaxed, a person
who did not wish to receive Communion might create an excuse by saying that he
had inadvertently swallowed water. Since beverages one hour before Communion
are now permitted, and water is permitted at any time, such an excuse is no
longer valid. The person who does not wish to receive may find it more
difficult to hide the fact that he may not be in a state of grace. Be doubly
cautious, therefore, that you do not use pressure upon your child so that he
receives unworthily to hide the existence of another sin.
Parents
should be alert for opportunities to suggest the reception of Penance and the
Holy Eucharist, however. If a child consistently resists the sacraments, they
may fairly assume that he is troubled by some moral problem. Without mentioning
the matter directly, a parent might tell him anew that God will forgive any sin
and that any problems brought to the priest in the confessional will receive
sympathetic consideration. Children may need to be reassured that they have
nothing to fear in confessing their sins and that their secrets will be kept
from all mankind. If your own attempts to encourage your child to frequent the
sacraments prove unsuccessful, you should discuss the subject with your pastor.
Toto We are not
in Kansas anymore[5]
Kansas Day Facts
- Kansas
was the first state to ratify the 15th amendment, thus allowing African
American men the right to vote. The 15th amendment reads, the right
of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude.
- Kansas
is one of the highest producing agricultural states in the U.S. It is
believed that they produce enough wheat in one year to provide everyone in
the world with several loaves of bread.
- The
state of Kansas gets its name from the Kansa people, a Native tribe of
Siouan who lived along the Kansas and Saline rivers. The name comes from
the Siouan-language phrase meaning, people of the south wind.
Kansas Day Top Events and
Things to Do
- Visit
the Old Cowtown Museum
in Wichita, Kansas. It is one of the U.S's oldest history museums and is
home to more than 50 historic and re-created buildings.
- Visit
the Strataca Underground Salt Museum Museum
in Hutchinson, Kansas. It is a popular museum built within one of the
world's largest deposits of rock salt. It lets visitors explore tunnels
and travel 650 feet underground.
- Watch
a movie representative of Kansas and its notable figures. Here are our
suggestions:
Amelia (2009)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
- The Texans (1938)
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: The
Sick, afflicted, and infirmed.
· Saturday Litany of the Hours
Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
·
Offering to the
sacred heart of Jesus
·
Don’t be a Curmudgeon
· Rosary
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