Friday, June 17, 2022

- June 15, 2022

Zephaniah, Chapter 3, Verse 15-16

¹⁵ The LORD has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to FEAR. ¹⁶On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, Zion, do not be discouraged!

Zephaniah like many prophets closes by offering the Israelites a plan for repentance that invites the people to walk in it. He navigates the path back to God, outlining it this way.[1]

1. Wait for God to remove the cancerous population. (vv. 8-11)

2. Trust God to restore a remnant of humble, obedient men and women. (vv. 12-13)

3. Look to God and rejoice that he has taken away your guilt. (vv. 14-15)

4. Hope in God to renew your peace and strength (vv. 16-17)

5. Allow God to recover the appointed feasts and the lost people (vv. 18-20)

Apostolic Exhortation[2]

Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling

of The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist

My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Part III

Loving and Adoring the Eucharistic Lord

VI. Pastors, have one Eucharistic procession each year in your parish.

98. Consider what is communicated non-verbally to both those who participate and those who witness it: that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist; that He personally leads His people through space and time; that the faithful are linked to Him as His body-members; that the bishop and priests are configured to Him as the head; that everyone has a place in His body; that the Church has a place and role in public, not just in private; that the Church is not afraid of the world but confidently bears the light of Christ to it; that the Church is filled with joy, peace, and confidence in Christ.

99. One need only consider any year or even every month in our age to see that the people take their passions to the streets to be seen and heard. Riots, protests, marches, and demonstrations in the streets are common, but too often they are fueled by narrow ideologies and enflamed by bitterness, resentment, anger, and a cramped secularist perspective. Imagine the witness in our neighborhoods, towns, and cities for people of all backgrounds to see that the Church has a message to bring to the streets – that of Christ’s Eucharistic presence, His victory over all evil, sin, and death – and she is enflamed with the attractive witness of love, joy, and peace.

100. Therefore, I invite our pastors, along with their closest collaborators, to consider planning one Eucharistic procession each year in your parish boundary. Imagine how one beautiful Eucharistic procession would imprint the memories of children and families with the Eucharistic mystery.

To be continued…

Which are the fruits of the Holy Ghost? They are the twelve following:

1. Charity.

2. Joy.

3. Peace.

4. Patience.

5. Benignity.

6. Goodness.

7. Longsuffering.

8. Mildness.

9. Faith.

10. Modesty.

11. Continency.

12. Chastity.

These fruits should be visible in the Christian, for thereby men shall know that the Holy Ghost dwells in him, as the tree is known by its fruit.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

SECTION TWO I. THE CREEDS

CHAPTER THREE-I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

Article 12 "I BELIEVE IN LIFE EVERLASTING"

III. The Final Purification, or Purgatory

1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. the tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.

1032 This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin." From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:

Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.

Fitness Friday

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