Friday, February 4, 2022

First Friday

Mark, Chapter 6, Verse 20

Herod FEARED John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak, he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:10)

Christ asks us to not be afraid; remember that those who are controlled by the devil are always deathly afraid. Therefore, trust in Him and remember that according to the Talmud God says to us: With thy very wounds I will heal thee. If you are unhappy, it is because of sin, therefore seek the healing that Christ gives in the sacrament of confession and receive joyfully the Holy Eucharist.

First Friday and the Sacred Heart of Jesus[1]

ALTHOUGH many pious souls had been accustomed, in the silence of their secluded lives, to venerate the sacred Heart of Jesus with great devotion, still our divine Savior desired that the boundless love of His Heart might be known by all men, and that a new fire of love should thereby be kindled in the cold hearts of Christians. For this purpose, He made use of a frail and little-known instrument in the person of Margaret Mary Alacoque, a nun of the Order of the Visitation, at Parayle-Monial, France. One day, when, according to her custom during the octave of Corpus Christi, she was deeply engaged in devotions before the Blessed Sacrament, the divine Savior appeared to her, showed her His Heart burning with love, and said: “Behold this Heart, which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this sacrament of love. And what is most painful to Me is that they are hearts consecrated to Me. It is for this reason I ask thee that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be appropriated to a special feast to honor My Heart by communicating on that day and making reparation for the indignity that it has received. And I promise that My Heart shall dilate to pour out abundantly the influences of its love on all that will render it this honor or procure its being rendered. Margaret obeyed, but met everywhere the greatest opposition, until finally, when she became mistress of novices, she succeeded, by the help of her divine Spouse, in animating her young charges to venerate the sacred Heart of Jesus. But this was not sufficient for her zeal. She persevered until she softened the opposition of the nuns and kindled in all an equal devotion towards the most sacred Heart. Thence the devotion spread to the adjoining dioceses, where confraternities in honor of the most sacred Heart of Jesus soon sprung up. Pope Clement XIII., after having instituted a most rigorous examination of the whole affair, commanded that the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus should be solemnly celebrated throughout the whole Catholic Church every year, on the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi.

The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

1. Object of this Devotion.

In the divine Heart of Our Savior we must not imagine an inanimate heart, separated from the person of Christ, but the living heart of the God-Man, the center of all His affections, the fountain of all His virtues, the most touching emblem of His infinite love to man. The Church venerates the cross, the blood, and the wounds of the divine Savior, by feasts which have their proper masses and lessons, in order, by meditation upon these objects, to awaken in us a more fervent devotion to the Redeemer. How much more worthy, then, of our devotion is the sacred Heart of Our Savior, since all its thoughts, movements, and affections aim at our salvation, and it is always ready to receive truly penitent sinners, to pardon them, to restore them again to God s favor, and make them partakers of eternal happiness!

2. Excellence of this Devotion.

It is, writes the venerable P. Simon Gourdan:

a. A holy devotion, for therein men venerate in Christ those affections and motions of His Heart by which He sanctified the Church, glorified His Heavenly Father, and showed Himself to men as a perfect example of the most sublime holiness.

b. An ancient devotion of the Catholic Church, which, instructed by St. Paul, the great apostle, has at all times acknowledged the great beneficence of the divine and sacred Heart of Jesus.

c. An approved devotion, for the Holy Scriptures everywhere admonish us to renew the heart, by changing our lives; to penetrate it with true sorrow, to inflame it with divine love, and to adorn it by the practice of all virtues. When, therefore, a new heart is promised us, by which to direct our lives, that can be no other than the Heart of Jesus, which is to us the pattern of all excellence, and which we must follow if we would be saved.

d. A perfect devotion, as being the origin of all other devotions. For the Heart of Jesus is the inexhaustible treasury from which the blessed Mother of God, and all other saints have derived their graces, their virtues, their life, their spiritual goods. Filled first with treasures from this source, different servants of God have instituted and established other devotions.

e. A profitable devotion, for thereby we have brought before our eyes the very fountain of life and grace, and can draw directly from it, increasing in ourselves all virtues, by adoring this divine Heart, meditating on its holy affections, and endeavoring to imitate them.

f. A devotion pleasing to God, for thus we adore God, as Christ requires, in spirit and in truth, serving Him inwardly in our hearts, and endeavoring to please Him. Finally, it is:

g. A useful devotion, since its whole object is to unite us most intimately with Christ as members of Him, her head, to make us live by and according to His spirit, to have one heart and soul with Him, and through grace finally to become one with Him, which is and must be the object of all devotions.

As this devotion is, then, so excellent, we cannot sufficiently recommend it to all who are anxious for their salvation. While everyone can practice this devotion, and adore the sacred Heart of Jesus, by himself, there is a greater blessing when pious souls unite and form a confraternity for practicing the devotion. Hesitate not, Christian soul, to engage in this devotion, and to join in the adoration of that sacred Heart of Jesus in which all men find propitiation, the pious, confidence; sinners, hope; the afflicted, consolation; the sick, support; the dying, refuge; the elect, joy and delight.

An Offering to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Whoever says the following prayer before the image of the most sacred Heart of Jesus, with sincere sorrow for his sins, gains each time an indulgence of one hundred days; and by saying it daily for a month, he can on any one day gain a plenary indulgence, if he makes his confession, receives communion, and prays according to the intention of the Church:

“My loving Jesus, I (N.N.) give Thee my heart; and I consecrate myself wholly to Thee, out of the grateful love I bear Thee, and as reparation for all my unfaithfulness; and with Thy aid I purpose never to sin again.”

World Cancer Day^{^[2]}

World Cancer Day aims to save lives by raising awareness and educating the population about cancer. The day also serves to pressure governments and individuals to take action in order to prevent, treat and control cancers. Cancer is a heterogeneous group of diseases that result from abnormal cell growth and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. On February 4, 2000, World Cancer Day was officially established by the Paris Charter at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium in Paris. The Paris Charter sought to promote research for a cure, prevention, services for patients and support from the global community.

World Cancer Day Facts & Quotes

· Breast, lung and prostate cancer are the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States. Approximately 70% of patients with lung cancer die, while only 16% and 14% of patients with breast and prostate cancer suffer the same fate.

· Childhood cancers are not common. Less than 1% of all cancer diagnoses in a given year will be for a child under the age of 15.

· Lifestyle changes such as, not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, keeping active and eating right can prevent certain types of cancer.

· Since cancer knows no boundaries, and individual countries cannot address the challenges of cancer in isolation, a new cooperative approach to research, advocacy, prevention and treatment must be established. - Paris Charter

World Cancer Day Top Events and Things to Do

· Watch a documentary about cancer and cancer related topics. Some of our favorites are: Understanding Cancer: The Enemy Within, Cancer: The Forbidden Cures and The Quest for the Cures: Cancer.

· Understand the risks of smoking and urge those that you know to quit smoking. Smoking is the cause of 22% of the cancers every year.

· Donate to cancer research organizations. The American Cancer Society accepts donations that help with patient treatment and exhaustive research in the hopes of curing cancer someday.

· Join the fundraising activities to support cancer victims, their families and the continued research efforts to find a cure. Many communities offer Walks for the Cure and other types of fundraising events that can support cancer survivors or those currently in treatment.

· Learn to recognize some of the general signs and symptoms of cancer. Although the signs and symptoms differ from cancer type, these are some of the American Cancer Society's general signs and symptoms:
1) the presence of an obvious mass (a bump)
2) unexplained weight loss
3) loss of appetite
4) frequent fevers

Homemade Soup Day[3]

When the cold winter winds are blowing and snow falls around your feet, nothing takes the chill away like a bowl of homemade soup! You may think that to make a pot of simmering heaven you would need to be highly skilled in the kitchen and have all day free. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! With some well used short cuts and easy, beginner-friendly recipes all over the internet, there is no reason why you can’t impress family and friends alike with a wonderful creation to celebrate Homemade Soup Day! Soup has been warming the stomachs of the masses for nearly 9000 years! It’s about time there was a day devoted to it! Not just any soup mind you. Do not even think about opening a boring, bland can of soup on Homemade Soup Day. It’s all about the fresh, easy, homemade kind of soup! It’s a good thing that it falls in one of the coldest months of the year, near the end of winter (or so we hope the end is near!). Meals and snacks can get a little boring and repetitive when there isn’t the abundance of fresh offerings. Taking some time to put together a pot of soup is a great way to break up the monotony. What are your favorite flavors? There are many easy recipes out there. Make some chicken soup, or tomato, or maybe something more adventurous? That is what today is all about. Experiment and try something new.

How to celebrate Homemade Soup Day

You would think that the how to celebrate part of this day would be simple – just pour a bowl and tuck on in, right? Well, that is part of it but not all of it. If you are new to creating culinary masterpieces you can use this day as a motivation to try something new. Already a kitchen wizard? Use today to gather up some friends and have a tasting of several different homemade soups. Or better yet have a cook off! Each friend shows up with their own homemade masterpiece and you and your friends have a lively night of fun to see whose soup is crowned the winner

Looking for some inspiration? Try this recipe on for size!

Ingredients

· 32 oz Chicken Broth

· 4 c water

· 3 cups bite-size chicken

· 2 t seasoning

· 1/2 of a 12 oz. bag egg-white noodles

· 2c frozen vegetables (corn, peas, etc)

· Salt and pepper

Directions

· In large stock pot, add broth, water, chicken, and seasonings. (Add more seasoning to taste, if desired.) Bring to a boil.

· Add egg noodles and continue boiling to cook noodles as directed on package. Soup is ready to serve when noodles are done. Season with salt and pepper to taste, or allow your guests to season their own.

· Set this on the table with a loaf of dark bread and you have a meal worthy of being part of the celebration for Homemade Soup Day!

Fitness Friday

Recognizing that God the Father created man on Friday the 6^th day I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and renew yourself in strength; mind, soul and heart.

Your Posture says a lot about you-stand tall have an erect bearing