Introduction
to Zephaniah
Zephaniah’s
prophecy of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem emphasizes, perhaps more than any
other prophecy, the devastation and death that divine judgment will bring.
Described as the day of the Lord, the Day of Judgment is pictured as a time of
darkness, of anguish and distress, of destruction and plunder of cities, and of
threat to all life, human and animal alike. The major sins motivating this
judgment, in Zephaniah’s view, are Judah’s worship of other deities and its
unjust and abusive leadership.[1]
JUNE 16 Thursday
TRADITIONAL FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI
Zephaniah,
Chapter 3, verse 7
7I said, “Surely now you will FEAR
me, you will accept correction; They cannot fail to see all I have brought upon
them.” Yet the more eagerly they have done all their corrupt deeds.
Zephaniah writes of
the wickedness of Jerusalem and God’s desire for its leaders to accept His
correction in the end it takes the act of God to set the world right. The
prophet calls for the people of Judah to change their hearts for real change
begins in the heart. Transformation happens from the inside out. John Maxwell[2]
recommends we practice the following to enhance our own leadership:
1. Work in the areas of your strength.
We are most intuitive in the areas of our gifts and interests.
2. Explore the opportunities in front
of you. Our intuition comes most alive
when we size up the options near us.
3. Discern root causes for the issues
you face. Work to get past superficial
answers and solve root issues.
4. Analyze past successes.
Study your victories and see if you find a pattern that reveals how you won
them.
5. Listen to your gut.
Effective leaders lead from their soul. Both your heart and your head have
answers.
Thursdays
are Special[3]
Traditional Feast of Corpus Christi
The Feast
of Corpus Christi (Ecclesiastical Latin: Dies Sanctissimi Corporis et Sanguinis
Domini Iesu Christi, lit. 'Day of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
the Lord'), also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of
Christ, is a Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Western Orthodox liturgical
solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and
Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of the Eucharist. Two months earlier,
the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper is observed on Maundy
Thursday in a sombre atmosphere leading to Good Friday. The liturgy on that day
also commemorates Christ's washing of the disciples' feet, the institution of
the priesthood and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The feast
of Corpus Christi was proposed by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church,
to Pope Urban IV, in order to create a feast focused solely on the Holy
Eucharist, emphasizing the joy of the Eucharist being the Body and Blood, Soul
and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Having recognized the authenticity of the
Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena on input of Aquinas, in 1264, the pontiff, then
living in Orvieto, established the feast of Corpus Christi as a Solemnity and
extended it to the whole Roman Catholic Church.
The feast
is liturgically celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, "where
the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is not a holy day of
obligation, it is assigned to the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity as its
proper day".
At the
end of Holy Mass, there is often a procession of the Blessed Sacrament,
generally displayed in a monstrance. The procession is followed by Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament. A notable Eucharistic procession is that presided
over by the Pope each year in Rome, where it begins at the Archbasilica of St.
John Lateran and passes to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where it concludes
with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
The celebration of the feast was suppressed in Protestant churches during
the Reformation for theological reasons: outside Lutheranism, which maintained
the confession of the Real Presence, many Protestants denied the real presence
of Christ in the Eucharist other than as a merely symbolic or spiritual
presence. Today, most Protestant denominations do not recognize the feast day.
The Church of England abolished it in 1548 as the English Reformation
progressed, but later reintroduced it. Most Anglican churches now observe
Corpus Christi, sometimes under the name "Thanksgiving for Holy Communion".
A Eucharistic miracle inspired the Feast of Corpus Christi[4]
Q: I
recently learned that the feast of Corpus Christi was inspired by a Eucharistic
miracle. Can you please give more details about this? — A reader in Springfield
A: In the
year 1263, a German priest, Peter of Prague, stopped at the town of Bolsena,
north of Rome, while he was on a pilgrimage to Rome. Records indicate that
Peter was a good, pious priest who strived for holiness. He was troubled by the
apathy of many of the faithful; clerical immorality and laxity; and a lack of
reverence at Mass. Worse, he was afflicted with doubt about the holy Eucharist.
Like those in the Gospel, he asked himself, “How could this be? How can Jesus
share with us His Body and Blood?” He agonized over whether at the words of
consecration the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Our Savior and
whether Christ actually was present in the consecrated host. He knew well that
the church believed and taught that the bread and wine were transformed into
the Body and Blood of Our Lord at the consecration during the holy sacrifice of
the Mass. Moreover, the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 had solemnly used the
word “transubstantiation.” Yet, he had trouble believing and prayed that the Lord
would increase his faith.
Father
Peter placed the host in the corporal and then wrapped both in another linen.
Arriving at Orvieto, Peter told the Holy Father what had happened. Urban IV
then ordered an investigation. After all of the facts had been ascertained, the
Holy Father declared a miracle had occurred. He ordered the relics to be
brought to the Cathedral of Orvieto, which they were with a procession of great
pomp and ceremony. The pope met the procession, and the relics were placed in
the cathedral, where they are still be venerated today.
One year
later, in1264, Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of Corpus Christi, a special
feast day to recognize and to promote the great gift of the Blessed Sacrament.
He commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to compose a Mass and an office for the
Liturgy of the Hours honoring the holy Eucharist. St. Thomas Aquinas also
composed the beautiful Eucharistic hymns “Panis Angelicus,” “Pange Lingua,” “O
Salutaris Hostia” and “Tantum Ergo.”
Today, at
the Church of St. Christina in Bolsena, one finds the altar where the miracle
took place, and the blood-stained stones of the miracle are preserved. The
Cathedral of Orvieto possesses the blood-stained corporal as well as fragments
of the miraculous host.
In 1964,
to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the institution of the feast of Corpus
Christi, Pope Paul VI celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Mass at the altar
where the holy corporal is kept in the Cathedral of Orvieto. Then in 1976, Pope
Paul VI visited Bolsena and spoke from there via television to the 41st
International Eucharistic Congress meeting in Philadelphia, whose theme was
“Jesus the Bread of Life.” In his address, the Holy Father said the holy
Eucharist is “a mystery, great and inexhaustible.” How true, indeed.
Apostolic
Exhortation[5]
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
V.
Brother priests, make the Eucharist the source of all your priestly
fruitfulness.
95. My beloved brother priests,
let us make the Eucharist the source and beating heart of our priestly
ministry, our refuge, our consolation, and our only reward!
96. So, I invite each priest to
consider how he might be able to renew and deepen his priestly commitment to
make the Eucharist the true source of his life and ministry. Here are some
simple ways to consider:
- Set
aside time before the Blessed Sacrament each morning before engaging in
pastoral work.
- Do
a Eucharistic Holy Hour daily.
- Spend
30 minutes or more in adoration with fellow priests weekly or monthly.
- Start
or join a Jesus Caritas group to provide fraternal love and support
ordered around Jesus’ Eucharistic love for His priests.
- Celebrate
the Mass each day, including days-off and vacations.
VI. Pastors, have one
Eucharistic procession each year in your parish.
97. The well-known American
author Willa Cather was not a Catholic. Nevertheless, she wrote of the impact
of experiencing a Eucharistic procession. It awakened in her a deep longing for
what they had. The sensual beauty and sheer public display of Catholic faith in
the Eucharist made a deep impression on her imagination and her soul. Though
Eucharistic processions have waxed and waned in popularity, we should consider
the special opportunity provided today by this form of Eucharistic piety.
It is true that the “native environment” of the Eucharist is the Mass offered
in churches. At the same time, centuries of Catholic practice suggest that
there is indeed something uniquely enchanting, affective, and symbolic when a
procession happens.
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.
Notice I have placed the Fruits of the
Holy Spirit in stairstep fashion so we may reflect on them seeing that by
concentrating on each step of our growth in the spirit we may progress closer
and closer to our heavenly Father. Today we will be focusing on the Tenth step
which is Joy. To
be continued…
Epistle of Barnabas[6]
CHAP. IV. — ANTICHRIST IS AT HAND: LET US THEREFORE AVOID JEWISH ERRORS.
It therefore behooves us, who inquire much
concerning events at hand, to search diligently into those things which are
able to save us. Let us then utterly flee from all the works of iniquity, lest
these should take hold of us; and let us hate the error of the present time,
that we may set our love on the world to come let us not give loose reins to
our soul, that it should have power to run with sinners and the wicked, lest we
become like them. The final stumbling-block (or source of danger) approaches,
concerning which it is written, as Enoch says, "For for this end the Lord
has cut short the times and the days, that His Beloved may hasten; and He will
come to the inheritance." And the prophet also speaks thus: "Ten
kingdoms shall reign upon the earth, and a little king shall rise up after
them, who shall subdue under one three of the kings. In like manner Daniel says
concerning the same, "And I beheld the fourth beast, wicked and powerful,
and more savage than all the beasts of the earth, and how from it sprang up ten
horns, and out of them a little budding horn, and how it subdued under one
three of the great horns." Ye ought therefore to understand. And this also
I further beg of you, as being one of you, and loving you both individually and
collectively more than my own soul, to take heed now to yourselves, and not to
be like some, adding largely to your sins, and saying, "The covenant is
both theirs and ours." But they thus finally lost it, after Moses had
already received it. For the Scripture saith, "And Moses was fasting in
the mount forty days and forty nights, and received the covenant from the Lord,
tables of stone written with the finger of the hand of the Lord;" but
turning away to idols, they lost it. For the Lord speaks thus to Moses:
"Moses go down quickly; for the people whom thou hast brought out of the
land of Egypt have transgressed." And Moses understood [the meaning of
God], and cast the two tables out of his hands; and their covenant was broken,
in order that the covenant of the beloved Jesus might be sealed upon our heart,
in the hope which flows from believing in Him. Now, being desirous to write
many things to you, not as your teacher, but as becometh one who loves you, I
have taken care not to fail to write to you from what I myself possess, with a
view to your purification. We take earnest heed in these last days; for the
whole [past] time of your faith will profit you nothing, unless now in this
wicked time we also withstand coming sources of danger, as becometh the sons of
God. That the Black One may find no means of entrance, let us flee from every
vanity, let us utterly hate the works of the way of wickedness. Do not, by
retiring apart, live a solitary life, as if you were already [fully] justified;
but coming together in one place, make common inquiry concerning what tends to
your general welfare. For the Scripture saith, "Woe to them who are wise
to themselves, and prudent in their own sight!" Let us be spiritually
minded: let us be a perfect temple to God. As much as in us lies, let us
meditate upon the fear of God, and let us keep His commandments, that we may
rejoice in His ordinances. The Lord will judge the world without respect of persons.
Each will receive as he has done: if he is righteous, his righteousness will
precede him; if he is wicked, the reward of wickedness is before him. Take
heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are the called [of God], we should
fall asleep in our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should
thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord. And all the more attend to this,
my brethren, when ye reflect and behold, that after so great signs and wonders
were wrought in Israel, they were thus [at length] abandoned. Let us beware
lest we be found [fulfilling that saying], as it is written, "Many are
called, but few are chosen."
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"
II.
Heaven
1023 Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are
perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for
they "see him as he is," face to face:
By virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the
following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the
saints . . . and other faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy Baptism
(provided they were not in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if
they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified
after death, . . .) already before they take up their bodies again and before
the general judgment - and this since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ into heaven - have been, are and will be in heaven, in the
heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of
the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these
souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and
even face to face, without the mediation of any creature.
1024 This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity - this communion
of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the
blessed - is called "heaven." Heaven is the ultimate end and
fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive
happiness.
1025 To live in heaven is "to be with Christ." the
elect live "in Christ," but they retain, or rather find, their
true identity, their own name.
For life is to be with Christ; where Christ is, there is
life, there is the kingdom.
1026 By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has
"opened" heaven to us. the life of the blessed consists in the full
and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ.
He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have believed in him
and remained faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who
are perfectly incorporated into Christ.
1027 This mystery of blessed communion with God and all who are
in Christ is beyond all understanding and description. Scripture speaks of it
in images: life, light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father's
house, the heavenly Jerusalem, paradise: "no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love
him."
1028 Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is,
unless he himself opens up his mystery to man's immediate contemplation and
gives him the capacity for it. the Church calls this contemplation of God in
his heavenly glory "the beatific vision":
How great will your glory and happiness be, to be allowed
to see God, to be honored with sharing the joy of salvation and eternal light
with Christ your Lord and God, . . . to delight in the joy of immortality in
the Kingdom of heaven with the righteous and God's friends.
1029 In the glory of heaven the blessed continue joyfully to
fulfill God's will in relation to other men and to all creation. Already they
reign with Christ; with him "they shall reign for ever and ever."
The
Week Ahead
·
June 19th Corpus
Christi Sunday
Daily
Devotions
·
Do not ask everyone’s opinion, but
only the opinion of your confessor; be as frank and simple as a child with him.
Simplicity of life can drive out demons. Honesty is a weapon to defeat Satan,
the Liar. When we lie, we put a foot in his camp, and he will try to seduce us
all the more.
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: For
the Poor and Suffering
·
do
a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
·
Eat your vegetables! It is fresh
vegetable day
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[2] John Maxwell, The Maxwell
Leadership Bible.
[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Corpus_Christi#:~:text=The%20celebration%20of%20the%20feast%20was%20suppressed%20in,than%20as%20a%20merely%20symbolic%20or%20spiritual%20presence.
[4]https://catholicstraightanswers.com/what-eucharistic-miracle-inspired-the-feast-of-corpus-christi/
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