Tuesday Of the Fourth Week of Lent
“If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
-Rom 10:9
Psalm 46, Verse 3-4
3 Thus
we do not FEAR, though earth be
shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea, 4 though
its waters rage and foam and mountains totter at its surging.
The Roman soldiers guarding His tomb did not fear
God even though the earth did shake and having witnessed His resurrection for
they did not confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord; yet they did fear the
Jews and took their money which they died with. Today confess Him with your
lips knowing that Christ is the conqueror of the Nations for He is our refuge
and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Come and see the works of the LORD, who has done fearsome deeds on
earth; Who stops wars to the ends of the earth, breaks the bow, splinters the
spear, and burns the shields with fire; “Be still and know that I am God!
(Psalm 46:9-11)[1]
World Missionary Rosary[2]
For an increase in Faith, Hope and Love in the world
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was a universally popular
evangelist, radio/TV personality, writer and missionary. He is most known for
his television series, “Life is Worth Living” which had a viewing audience of
over 30 million people. Archbishop
Fulton J. Sheen was also national director of the Society for the Propagation
of the Faith from 1950 to 1966. In February 1951, he inaugurated a World Mission
Rosary during
his radio address, The Catholic Hour. “We must pray, and not for ourselves, but
for the world,” he exhorted. “To this end, I have designed the World Mission
Rosary.” Praying this Rosary, Archbishop Sheen said, would “aid the Holy Father
and his Society for the Propagation of the Faith by supplying him with
practical support, as well as prayers, for the poor mission territories of the
world.” Each decade of that World Mission Rosary calls to mind an area where
the Church continues her evangelizing mission: green for the forests and
grasslands of Africa; blue for the ocean surrounding the islands of the
Pacific; white symbolizing
Europe, the seat of the Holy Father, shepherd of the world; red calling
to mind the fire of faith that brought missionaries to the Americas, and yellow, the
morning light of the east, for Asia. Archbishop Sheen said, “Peace will
come only when the hearts of the world have changed. When the World Mission
Rosary is completed, one has embraced all continents, all people in prayer.”
RULES for
parents[3]
Note:
I wonder if this would be an effective strategy in dealing with the tantrums of
Satan, Russia, China and Iran?
Bear in mind the following:
- A
little child kicks and screams because he thinks, —or perhaps because he
knows from experience, —that in order to avoid a scene you will give in to
him and let him have what he wants. You must prove to him that this is a
mistaken idea of his. You are not going to give in.
- Do
not get angry. Do not slap.
- Say
firmly, "No; when you stop screaming, I will speak to you." Then
leave the child alone in a safe room. Or, if he must be in the room with
you, do not notice him. Keep busy with something or other.
- After
a while, say quietly, "Little Jesus does not like screaming and
kicking. He loves you and He does not want you to do that."
- Stop.
Keep quiet. Be patient.
- If
the child slows down at times, waits to see if you will give in, and then
starts up again, do not worry. He is showing that he begins to understand.
Ignore him. Finally he will yield. He may fall asleep.
- Two
or three performances like this will end the bad habit and establish a
good one
- Remember:
Be gentle; but be firm and consistent. Remain very calm and silent.
Tuesday Of the Fourth Week of Lent[4]
Prayer.
WE beseech Thee, O Lord, that the fasts of this holy observance may procure us
an increase of piety in our lives, and the continual help of Thy mercy.
EPISTLE.
Exodus xxxii. 7-14.
In those days the Lord spoke to
Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of
the land of Egypt, hath sinned. They have quickly strayed from the way which
thou didst show them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have
adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O
Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. And again, the Lord
said to Moses: I see that this people are stiff-necked: let Me alone, that My
wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make
of thee a great nation. But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why, O
Lord, is Thy indignation enkindled against Thy people, whom Thou hast brought
out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Let not the Egyptians say, I
beseech Thee: He craftily brought them out, that He might kill them in the
mountains, and destroy them from the earth: let Thy anger cease, and be
appeased upon the wickedness of Thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and
Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou sworest by Thy own self, saying: I will
multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have
spoken of, I will give to your seed, and you shall possess it forever. And the
Lord was appeased from doing the evil which He had spoken against His people.
GOSPEL.
John vii. 14-31.
At
that time: About the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple, and
taught. And the Jews wondered, saying: How doth this man know letters, having never
learned?
Jesus
answered them and said: My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any
man will do the will of Him: he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of
God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own
glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true, and
there is no injustice in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of
you keepeth the law? Why seek you to kill Me? The multitude answered, and said:
Thou hast a devil; who seeketh to kill Thee?
Jesus
answered and said to them: One work I have done; and you all wonder: therefore,
Moses gave you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers);
and on the Sabbath-day you circumcise a man. If a man receive circumcision on
the Sabbath-day, that the law of Moses may not be broken; are you angry at Me
because I have healed the whole man on the Sabbath-day?
Judge
not according to the appearance, but judge just judgment. Some therefore of
Jerusalem said: Is not this He Whom they seek to kill?
And
behold He speaketh openly, and they say nothing to Him. Have the rulers known
for a truth that this is the Christ?
But
we know this man whence He is but when the Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence
He is. Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying: You both
know Me, and you know whence I am, and I am not come of Myself; but He that
sent Me is true, Whom you know not. I know Him, because I am from Him, and He
hath sent Me. They sought therefore to apprehend Him: and no man laid hands on
Him, because His hour was not yet come. But of the people many believed in Him.
Lenten
Calendar[5]
Read:
The Seven Penitential Psalms, Day Seven:
(During times when we wish to express repentance and especially during
Lent, it is customary to pray the seven penitential psalms. The penitential
designation of these psalms dates from the seventh century. Prayerfully
reciting these psalms will help us to recognize our sinfulness, express our
sorrow and ask for God’s forgiveness.)
Today
we will focus on Psalm 143.
Reflect:
Read a reflection of Psalm 143—A Prayer
in Distress.
Pray: “Hasten to answer me, LORD; for my
spirit fails me. Do not hide your face from me, lest I become like those
descending to the pit. In the morning let me hear of your mercy, for in
you I trust. Show me the path I should walk, for I entrust my life to you.” (Ps 143:7-8)
Act:
The psalmist pleads his case before the Lord: he is
surrounded by enemies, his spirit is faint, and he has nothing left to
withstand them. And so, he begs for mercy, that the Lord would show his face
and be his refuge in his time of great need.
May the Lord help
us conquer our fear
“In these days there's so much suffering. There's a lot of fear.” Pope Francis’ …
“The
fear of the elderly who are alone in nursing homes, or hospitals, or in their
own homes, and don't know what will happen. The fear of those who don’t have
regular jobs and are thinking about how to feed their children. They foresee
they may go hungry. The fear of many civil servants. At this moment they're
working to keep society functioning and they might get sick. There’s also the
fear, the fears, of each one of us. Each one knows what their own fears are. We
pray to the Lord that He might help us to trust, and to tolerate and conquer
these fears.”
He
based his thoughts on the first reading from Exodus 32:7-14.
From the Living God to idols
Pope
Francis explained how the chosen people turned into idolaters. They lose
patience waiting for Moses to return from the mountain. They “get bored”, the
Pope said. A “nostalgia for idolatry” overtakes them.
“It
was a true apostasy. From the Living God to idolatry not knowing how to wait
for the Living God. This nostalgia is an illness, which is ours. We begin to
walk enthusiastically toward freedom, but then the complaining begins: ‘This is
really difficult. It's a desert. I’m thirsty. I want water. I want meat… In
Egypt we ate good things. There's nothing here’.
Idolatry is selective
The
Pope then described how idolatry is “selective”. “It makes you think of
the good things that it gives you. But it doesn't allow you to see the bad
things”, he said. The chosen people remembered all the good things that were on
their tables when they were in Egypt. “But they forgot that it was the table of
slavery”, Pope Francis pointed out.
Idolatry takes everything
Idolaters
lose everything, the Pope continued. The chosen people handed over all of their
gold and silver to make the golden calf. They constructed the golden calf with
gifts God had given to them. It was He who had to ask the Egyptians for their
gold before they took flight.
“This
mechanism also happens to us. When we do things that lead us to idolatry, we
become attached to things that distance us from God. We make another god with
the gifts that the Lord has given us: with our intelligence, our will, our
love, our heart. We use God’s very gifts to make idols.”
Idols in our hearts
The
crucifixes or images of Our Lady that we have in our houses are not our idols.
“They are in our hearts”, the Pope said. Each of us should ask ourselves what
idols we have hidden in our hearts. Idolatry can even affect our prayer. After
all, the chosen people wanted to worship the idol they made. One way we do this
is by changing “the celebration of a sacrament into a secular celebration”, the
Pope suggested.
The question today
“What
are my idols?” “Where do I hide them?” These are the questions to ask we today,
the Pope said, concluding his homily.
“May
the Lord not find us at the end of our lives and say to us: ‘You apostatized.
You deviated from the way that I marked out. You prostrated yourself before an
idol’. We ask the Lord for the grace of recognizing our own idols.”
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART ONE:
THE PROFESSION OF
FAITH
SECTION
ONE
"I
BELIEVE" - "WE BELIEVE"
CHAPTER TWO
GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
II. The
Stages of Revelation
In the beginning God makes himself known
54 "God, who creates and conserves all things by his
Word, provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities. and
furthermore, wishing to open up the way to heavenly salvation - he manifested
himself to our first parents from the very beginning." He invited
them to intimate communion with himself and clothed them with resplendent grace
and justice.
55 This revelation was not broken off by our first parents'
sin. "After the fall, (God) buoyed them up with the hope of salvation, by
promising redemption; and he has never ceased to show his solicitude for the
human race. For he wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation
by patience in well-doing."
Even when he disobeyed you and lost your friendship you did
not abandon him to the power of death. . . Again and again, you offered a
covenant to man.
The covenant with Noah
56 After the unity of the human race was shattered by sin God
at once sought to save humanity part by part. the covenant with Noah after the
flood gives expression to the principle of the divine economy toward the
"nations", in other words, towards men grouped "in their lands,
each with (its) own language, by their families, in their nations".
57 This state of division into many nations, each entrusted
by divine providence to the guardianship of angels, is at once cosmic, social
and religious. It is intended to limit the pride of fallen humanity united
only in its perverse ambition to forge its own unity as at Babel. But,
because of sin, both polytheism and the idolatry of the nation and of its
rulers constantly threaten this provisional economy with the perversion of
paganism.
58 The covenant with Noah remains in force during the times
of the Gentiles, until the universal proclamation of the Gospel. The Bible
venerates several great figures among the Gentiles: Abel the just, the
king-priest Melchisedek - a figure of Christ - and the upright "Noah,
Daniel, and Job". Scripture thus expresses the heights of sanctity
that can be reached by those who live according to the covenant of Noah,
waiting for Christ to "gather into one the children of God who are
scattered abroad".
God chooses Abraham
59 In order to gather together scattered humanity God calls
Abram from his country, his kindred and his father's house, and makes him
Abraham, that is, "the father of a multitude of nations". "In
you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed."
60 The people descended from Abraham would be the trustee of
the promise made to the patriarchs, the chosen people, called to prepare for
that day when God would gather all his children into the unity of the Church. They
would be the root on to which the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to
believe.
61 The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old Testament
figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the Church's
liturgical traditions.
God forms his people Israel
62 After the patriarchs, God formed Israel as his people by
freeing them from slavery in Egypt. He established with them the covenant of
Mount Sinai and, through Moses, gave them his law so that they would recognize
him and serve him as the one living and true God, the provident Father and just
judge, and so that they would look for the promised Savior.
63 Israel is the priestly people of God, "called by the
name of the LORD", and "the first to hear the word of God", The
people of "elder brethren" in the faith of Abraham.
64 Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of
salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for
all, to be written on their hearts. The prophets proclaim a radical
redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a
salvation which will include all the nations. Above all, the poor and
humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca,
Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith and Esther kept alive the hope of
Israel's salvation. the purest figure among them is Mary.
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.
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday
Devotion
·
54 Day Rosary
for Priest’s and Religious Day 37
·
Tuesday: Litany
of St. Michael the Archangel
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Manhood of
the Master-week 6 day 3
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Make reparations to the Holy Face
·
30Days with St. Joseph Day 10
[1]Notice 9-11 patriot day
[2]https://www.hbgdiocese.org/evangelization/the-diocesan-office-of-the-missions/world-mission-rosary/
[4]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
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