Wednesday after Epiphany
TWELFTH NIGHT
Mark, Chapter
6, Verse 49-50
49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. 50 They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be AFRAID!”
Christ compels us to be not afraid. Bravery, Nerve, Pluck, Valor, Daring, Audacity, Mettle and lastly resolution are all synonyms for courage. Which word strikes your heart? For me it is resolution. For I am determined not to invalidate Christ sacrifice for me, I will not stop trying to become the vision He has for me; I am resolute. No matter how many times I fall I will get up; I will not stop. I will remember that the journey before a man tries the measure of his heart long before it tests the strength of his legs. I will remember that a man’s life is likening unto a lake with no outlet in which no life will come. Life giving water is always moving and giving of itself. Man to be truly a creature of God must give of his essence and run to the sound of battle.
Virtue
of the Month[1]
Integrity is defined as the adherence to moral principles. Congruence in thought, spoken word, and deed. Honesty or trustworthiness. It comes from the Latin word integrare, which means to make whole; to present something in its entirety. Integrity is the virtue of practicing what one preaches. Or more importantly, practicing what one believes is right. “Actions speak louder than words. Let your words teach and your actions speak.” -Anthony of Padua. A ‘person of principle’ is not a person who understands a principle, but rather one who understands, accepts, and lives by a principle.
The first and most important reason to practice one’s beliefs is that if they are right, you will be benefiting your own life. To understand other virtues or principles, and not act by them, is destructive. It is an act against your own best interest. Another reason to practice integrity is in dealing with others. Trust can develop, since others will come to realize you are consistently virtuous. To act without integrity, even occasionally, will leave others distrustful. This can negatively impact one’s life in a number of ways. People won’t allow themselves to become emotionally close to you. They won’t trust that you’ll pay back debts. They’ll always fear your betrayal.
In the
bible, Jesus encountered a dishonest man who did not practice what he preached.
This man, Zacchaeus was dishonest and shady and stole from people but his
encounter with Jesus changed him. From that moment on, he knew he had to be a
person of integrity and honest with God and others. He started to put into
practice what he knew was right. There was no middle ground in the truth for
Jesus. He gives this lesson on integrity to his apostles because life is made
up of little decisions which make up the bigger picture of who we are. Honesty
and integrity go hand in hand. If someone is dishonest, you don’t trust them,
and Jesus needed to trust his apostles for the missions they had. Christ shows
us that integrity was something he thought was very important for his apostles
to live and learn. He knew it would be hard to tell the truth always.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
II.
THE VOCATION TO CHASTITY
2337
Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and
thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in
which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes
personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one
person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a
woman. The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person
and the integrality of the gift.
The
integrity of the person
2338 The chaste person maintains the integrity of the
powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the
person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates
neither a double life nor duplicity in speech.
2339 Chastity includes an apprenticeship in
self-mastery which is a training in human freedom. The alternative is clear:
either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be
dominated by them and becomes unhappy. "Man's dignity therefore requires
him to act out of conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal
way from within, and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external
constraint. Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the
passions, he presses forward to his goal by freely choosing what is good and,
by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to
this end."
2340 Whoever wants to remain faithful to his baptismal
promises and resist temptations will want to adopt the means for doing so:
self-knowledge, practice of an ascetic adapted to the situations that confront
him, obedience to God's commandments, exercise of the moral virtues, and
fidelity to prayer. "Indeed it is through chastity that we are gathered
together and led back to the unity from which we were fragmented into
multiplicity."
2341 The virtue of chastity comes under the cardinal
virtue of temperance, which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the
senses with reason.
2342 Self-mastery is a long and exacting work. One can
never consider it acquired once and for all. It presupposes renewed effort at
all stages of life. The effort required can be more intense in certain periods,
such as when the personality is being formed during childhood and adolescence.
2343 Chastity has laws of growth which progress through
stages marked by imperfection and too often by sin. "Man day by day builds
himself up through his many free decisions; and so he knows, loves, and
accomplishes moral good by stages of growth."
2344 Chastity represents an eminently personal task; it
also involves a cultural effort, for there is interdependence between personal
betterment and the improvement of society." Chastity presupposes respect
for the rights of the person, in particular the right to receive information
and an education that respect the moral and spiritual dimensions of human life.
2345 Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from
God, a grace, a fruit of spiritual effort. The Holy Spirit enables one whom the
water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ.
The Twelfth Night[2]
But what exactly are the Twelve
Days of Christmas? They are the days between Christmas and the Feast
of the Epiphany that constitute an unbroken period of joy and celebration.
Epiphany is considered the twelfth day of Christmas (in fact it is sometimes
called "Twelfth Day") while the Eve of Epiphany is called
"Twelfth Night." Shakespeare's play, "Twelfth Night,"
takes its name from the Vigil because during this period festivals (such as the
Feast
of Fools or the Feast of the Ass) used to be held
in which everything was turned upside-down -- a little like the reversed
identities of the characters in the play. These "preposterous"
observances, incidentally, were a joyful mimicry of the inversion of
almighty God becoming a lowly man, of the King appearing as a humble infant.
The twelve nights of
Christmas were primarily a time of rest from unnecessary labor and joyful prayer. On each of these
nights the Christmas tree lights and the Christmas candle would be lit, while the family
would gather around the manger to recite prayers and sing carols
and hymns. Similar services are held in some churches during these nights as
well.
Twelfth day
of Christmas is represented by the Twelve Drummers drumming in the song which
of course represents the twelve points of the Apostles Creed. It is
interesting to note that these 12 points are indeed pointing to the abode of
God and that our Lord is the gate of heaven.
1.
I
believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
2.
I
believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
3.
He
was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
4.
He
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
5.
He
descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.
6.
He
ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty.
7.
He
will come again to judge the living and the dead.
8.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
9.
the
holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
10. the forgiveness of sins,
11. the resurrection of the body,
12. and the life everlasting.
Additionally,
the 12th Station of the Cross Jesus dies. Today would be a good day
to do the Eucharistic Stations of the Cross.
Activities for the Twelfth Day of
Christmas[3]
At the time of St. John
Neumann's episcopate there was a strong anti-Catholic sentiment in Philadelphia
and having had two churches burned and another barely saved, priests were
advising the Bishop, not to proceed with introducing the 40 Hours of
continual adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, believing it would
somehow increase the hostility already directed against the Church. The Bishop
had a decision to make and then something happened to make up his mind to
proceed with the devotion of the 40 Hours of Adoration:
One night, he was
working very late at his desk and fell asleep in his chair. The candle on the
desk burnt down and charred some of the papers, but they were still readable.
He awoke, surprised and thankful that a fire had not ignited. He fell on his
knees to give thanks to God for protection, and heard His voice saying,
"As the flames are burning here without consuming or injuring the writing,
so shall I pour out my grace in the Blessed Sacrament without prejudice to My
honor. Fear no profanation, therefore; hesitate no longer to carry out your
design for my glory." He introduced the practice of 40 Hours Devotion at
the first diocesan synod in April 1853, and the first devotions began at St.
Philip Neri Parish, an appropriate place since that St. Philip had begun that
very devotion in the city of Rome. The holy Bishop then introduced the program
for the whole diocese, so that each parish would have Forty Hours Devotion
during the course of the year. He wrote a booklet for the devotions and
obtained special indulgences for the faithful attending them. The Forty Hours
Devotion was so successful it spread to other dioceses. At the Plenary Council
of Baltimore in 1866, the Forty Hours Devotion was approved for all Dioceses of
the United States. Excerpted from St. John Neumann and the 40 Hours Devotion
by Joseph Mary
We suggest that today
would be an excellent time to make a family holy hour (or holy half hour) at an
adoration chapel or in your parish church. If you can't make a visit to the
Blessed Sacrament your family can pray this litany at home. The activity can by
brought to conclusion by singing Christmas carols and enjoying Christmas
cookies and the Christmas bread, Vanocka.
St. John Neumann - Day
Twelve[4]
John
Neumann was born in Bohemia on March 20, 1811. Since he had a great desire to
dedicate himself to the American missions, he came to the United States as a
cleric and was ordained in New York in 1836 by Bishop Dubois. In 1840, John
Neumann entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). He
labored in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1852, he was consecrated bishop
of Philadelphia. There he worked hard for the establishment of parish schools
and for the erection of many parishes for the numerous immigrants. Bishop
Neumann died on January 5, 1860; he was beatified in 1963.
·
Day Twelve activity (Visit to the Blessed Sacrament)
·
Day Twelve recipe (Vanocka)
First Wednesday[5]
Our Heavenly Father desires all three hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to be honored. And so along with devotion to Jesus on First Fridays, and to Mary on First Saturdays, Our Father longs for us to add devotion to St. Joseph on each First Wednesday of the month.
"The Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have been chosen by the Most Holy Trinity to bring peace to the world." It is at God's request that "special love and honor be given to them" to help us "imitate" their love and their lives, as well as "offer reparation" for the sins committed against them and their love.
The St. Joseph First Wednesday devotion is:
1. Pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary - remembering St. Joseph's love, his life, his role and his sufferings
2. Receive Holy Communion - in union with the love St. Joseph had for Jesus the first time and each time he held him - his son, his God and Savior - in his arms.
In the approved
apparitions of Our Lady of America, St. Joseph revealed:
· "I am the protector of the Church and
the home, as I was the protector of Christ and his Mother while I lived upon
earth. Jesus and Mary desire that my pure heart, so long hidden and unknown, be
now honored in a special way.
· Let my children honor my most pure heart in a
special manner on the First Wednesday of the month by reciting the Joyful
Mysteries of the Rosary in memory of my life with Jesus and Mary and the love I
bore them, the sorrow I suffered with them.
· Let them receive Holy Communion in union with
the love with which I received the Savior for the first time and each time I
held Him in my arms.
· Those who honor me in this way will be
consoled by my presence at their death, and I myself will conduct them safely into
the presence of Jesus and Mary."
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.
·
Do the St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan.
· Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St.
Joseph
Daily
Devotions/Practices
·
Today's Fast: Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: True
Masculinity
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Total Consecration
to St. Joseph Day 10
· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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