Thursday First Week of Lent
NOVENA ST. JOSEPH--BAGPIPE
DAY
Isaiah, Chapter 41, Verse 10
Do not FEAR: I am with
you; do not be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Those
that fear the Lord have a great
love for Him. “If you love me, you will
keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15)
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are
earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is
idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. By
these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now
you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language
out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old
self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed,
for knowledge, in the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew,
circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ
is all and in all. (Col. 3:5-11)
Thursday
First Week of Lent[1]
EPISTLE. Ezech, xviii. 1-9.
IN those days: The word of the Lord came to me, saying: What is the
meaning, that you use among you this parable as a proverb in the land of
Israel, saying: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the
children are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord God, this parable shall be
more to you a proverb in Israel. Behold all souls are Mine: as the soul of the
father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, the same
shall die. And if a man be just, and do judgment and justice, and hath not
eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of
Israel: and hath not defiled his neighbor’s wife, nor come near to a menstruous
woman: and hath not wronged any man: but hath restored the pledge to the
debtor, hath taken nothing away by violence: hath given his bread to the
hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment: hath not lent upon usury,
nor taken any increase: hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, and hath
executed true judgment between man and man: hath walked in My commandments, and
kept My judgments, to do according to truth : he is just, he shall surely live,
saith the Lord Almighty.
GOSPEL. Matt. xv. 21-28.
At that time: Jesus
went from thence and retired into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold a
woman of Canaan who came out of those coasts, crying out, said to Him: Have
mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David: my daughter is grievously troubled by a
devil. Who answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him,
saying: Send her away, for she crieth after us. And He answering, said: I was
not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel. But she came
and adored Him, saying: Lord, help me. Who answering, said: It is not good to
take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs. But she said: Yea,
Lord, for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their
masters. Then Jesus answering, said to her: O woman, great is thy faith: be it
done to thee as thou wilt: and her daughter was cured from that hour.
Prayer. Look, O Lord, upon the devotion of Thy
people, that we, who are afflicted in body by abstinence, may be refreshed in
mind by the fruit of good works.
Lenten Calendar[2]
Read:
In the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, also called confession, we
meet the Lord, who wants to grant forgiveness and the grace to live a renewed
life in him. In this sacrament, he prepares us to receive him free from serious
sin, with a lively faith, earnest hope, and sacrificial love in the Eucharist.
The Church sees confession as so important that she requires that every
Catholic go at least once a year.
Reflect:
“To pray for those with whom we are angry is a beautiful step toward that
law of love.” (Pope Francis, June 12, 2013)
Pray:
If you have anger in your heart towards someone, say a prayer for him or
her today as a step towards healing.
Act:
Make going to confession a priority during Lent this year.
Novena of St. Joseph[3]
This novena prayer, although
short is sufficient. It would be better of course to add, if time permits,
three Hail Mary’s or say five times the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to
the Father, or to use some of the many well-loved novena prayers from other
sources. Remember that prayers must be said with the lips in order to gain the
indulgences. This novena begins on March 10 and ends on March 19.
Prayer
O dear and good St. Joseph
who so lovingly cared for your little family at Nazareth, pray for all
workingmen and their families. Help us all to enjoy a happy Christian family
life. Be a father to us all and watch over us even as you cherished the Blessed
Virgin Mary and her Holy Child. Patron of the Universal Church pray for us.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I
give you my heart and soul.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may
I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.
7 years for each invocation. Plenary, under usual conditions,
if any one of three is said daily for a month. S. Pen., Oct. 12, 1936.
Bagpipe Day[4]
The sound of bagpipes filling the air as day dawns is enough to bring joy to the hearts of many. Others, they may not feel quite the same. It seems that one either loves the pipes or not at all. There is not very much middle ground. International Bagpipe Day is the time to find out where you stand and join those who love them! The Bagpipe Society has been sponsoring the celebration of International Bagpipe Day since 2012. They have helped to bring the bagpipe to new players since 1986. It is important to them that the history and playing of the bagpipes is not lost. Putting this day together was with the hope of bringing awareness of the over 130 different types of bagpipe throughout the world. For the first International Bagpipe Day in 2012, there were reports of events held in some unique places. In South Africa, pipers gathered and played in an underground canyon. In Greece, they played on Athenian hill. The Society even heard of events in countries where previously it was thought that there were not many pipers or any at all! If you aren’t familiar with this ancient instrument, bagpipe is a term that means a wind instrument that uses enclosed reeds to produce sound. Air feeds the reeds with a constant flow of air from a reservoir in the form of a bag. In each area that it is found, the bagpipe may change in sound and shape. This is an ancient instrument and is claimed to be represented on a Hittite slab dated to 1000 BC!
How to Celebrate International Bagpipe Day
·
Celebrating the bagpipe when this holiday rolls
around can take many forms. If you have ever wanted to try your hand at it,
don’t wait! This is the time for you to find your local provider of the pipes
and take a lesson. You could be the next great Piper! It could happen, you
never know, right?
·
There is a multitude of information available
about this instrument. A great idea to celebrate is to learn more about it. A
quick internet search will bring up resources like The Bagpipe Society. You can
follow the history of this unique instrument through the millennia to present
day and from country to country! There is much more information than you could
learn in just one day, but it’s a great time to start.
·
Another way to celebrate is to find out if there
are any events planned in your local area. Grab the family or friends and go
check it out! You may just find that you were missing out on all the fun. If
you ask, it may even be possible to try it out and see if you can make a sound
with it!
·
Bagpipes have a long history that spans the ages
and spans many regions. It is an instrument that has weathered the test of time
and surely deserves to be honored on International Bagpipe Day!
Preparing for Battle[5] Know Your Weapons
The weapon of prayer
The Scripture tells us
that the fervent prayer of righteous believers has great power in its effects
(see Jas 5: 16). Prayer is the indispensable weapon in our battle with Satan.
Prayer in the name of Jesus is especially powerful against the Devil. “In my
name,” Jesus said of His followers, “they shall cast out devils” (Mk 16: 17).
At “the name that is above every name,” St. Paul thundered, “at the name of
Jesus, every knee” must bow, “in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (see
Phil 2: 9– 10).
We can
see how much the Devil fears those
who pray, since there’s not a moment of the day when he tempts us more than
when we’re at prayer. He does everything he possibly can to prevent us from
praying. When the Devil wants to make someone lose his soul, he starts out by
inspiring in him a profound distaste for prayer. However good a Christian he
may be, if the Devil succeeds in making him either say his prayers badly or
neglect them altogether, he’s certain to have that person for himself. (St.
John Vianney)
The Angelus[6]
The traditional Catholic midday
prayer is called the Angelus. Christians have always paused for prayer at the
noon. In apostolic times, it was called the prayer of the “sixth hour”,
counting from sunrise. It was also at the sixth hour that Jesus was crucified.
Though Catholics most commonly recite the Angelus at noon, some pray it at six
in the morning and six in the evening. For those who wish to make personal
change this is a good time to examine our day so far and offer ourselves us to
our God. It is at the turning point of our day that we recall the turning point
of history: the moment when the angel appeared to a young woman named Mary.
The Angelus[7]
The
Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail
Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us
sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Behold
the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. Hail Mary…
And
the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. Hail Mary…
Pray
for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of
Christ.
Let us pray:
Pour
forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the
incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may
by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through
the same Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
·
Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St.
Joseph
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Part One: The Profession of Faith
14 Those who by faith and Baptism
belong to Christ must confess their baptismal faith before men
(cf. Mt 10,32; Rom 10,9). For this, the catechism
exposes in the first place what the Revelation consists of, by which God
addresses and gives himself to man, and faith, by which man responds to God
(first section). The Symbol of Faith summarizes the gifts that God gives
to man as Author of all good, as Redeemer, as Sanctifier, and articulates them
around the "three chapters" of our Baptism — faith in one God: the Almighty
Father, the creator; and Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord and
Savior; and the Holy Spirit, in the Holy Church (second section).
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Restoring
the Constitution
·
54 Day Rosary
for Priest’s and Religious Day 19
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Total Consecration
to St. Joseph Day 23
· Manhood of the Master-week 3 day 5
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Make reparations to the Holy Face
[1] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
[3]Prayer
Source: All Day with God by Blanche Jennings Thompson
[4]https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/international-bagpipe-day/
[5]Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual
Warfare. TAN Books.
[6] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40
Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 13. The Angelus
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