Tuesday, June 21, 2022

 


SUMMER SOLSTICE-YOGA DAY

 

Zachariah, Chapter 9, verse 5-6

5Ashkelon will see it and be AFRAID; Gaza too will be in great anguish; Ekron also, for its hope will wither. The king will disappear from Gaza, Ashkelon will not be inhabited, 6 and the illegitimate will rule in Ashdod. 

Ashkelon was a coastal city of the Philistines usually at war with Israel. What God is saying to the Israelite’s is that He has got their backs and is in the process of restoring Israel. God’s mercy is so great that not only does he restore Israel but, God the Father, eventually will restore all those who have Holy Fear. “The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) 

The fact that Jesus suffered for us means that our suffering now has somewhere to go. Our pain, our battle with sin, our struggle to truly believe in him, all of this can be laid within the wounds of Christ and healed. When we carry our scars alone, they blind us. They paralyze us. They prevent us from experiencing joy. But when we unite our own wounds to those of Christ, when we allow ourselves to encounter the wounded but glorified Christ, we are able to move beyond our own.[1]

 

Let us this day say the prayer of Everyman[2] 

Into thy hands, Lord, my soul I commend; receive it, Lord, that it be not lost; and save me from the fiend’s boast, that I may appear with the blessed host that shall be saved at the day of doom. Into thy hands-of might’s most forever-I commend my spirit. 

Here we see God’s mercy is always greater than His justice. Be daring for we are favored and great is His mercy to us. 

Christ shows us the Father in His forgiveness. Christ would not relent for as you read the gospels it is clear Christ teaches forgiveness and tells us to ask for the strength to forgive other people. Christ in his first sermon made it abundantly clear we need forgiveness and in His death His last words were about forgiveness. God shows us in this verse to not keep score. How often we tabulate all the wrongs others have done to us. We hold grudges; we plot and wait for vengeance. Christ shows us the depth of His love by forgiving even his executioners.[3] 

Apostolic Exhortation[4]

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,

Conclusion

110. I wish to conclude this exhortation by turning to Mary, Our Mother, whom Saint John Paul II called “‘a woman of the Eucharist’ in her whole life” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, no. 53). Let us entrust our Eucharistic life of her Son’s gift of Himself to her solicitude and care. She lived her faith at the moment of the Annunciation when she was asked to believe that the One whom she conceived through the Holy Spirit was the Son of God. For us, before the Eucharistic mystery we are also asked to believe that the same Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Mary, becomes present in His full humanity and divinity under the appearances of bread and wine. Her faith-filled consent allowed God to be born in her, making her the Ark of the New Covenant. “With her ‘yes’ she opened the door of our world to God Himself; she became the living Ark of the Covenant, in whom God took flesh, became one of us, and pitched His tent among us” (cf. John 1:14). (Spe Salvi, no. 49). She was the first to receive Jesus in her heart. She became the first tabernacle where God dwells in the fullest possible sense. After Pentecost but before her Assumption into heaven, surely she regularly received the Eucharist from the hands of the Apostles.

111. Who more than Mary is a star of hope for us so that we can see the way to go as followers of Jesus Christ, since we have never been this way before? Who more than Mary can help us renew our faith and fortify our love and devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist? Confident in her maternal care and intercession, let us invoke and imitate Our Lady, woman of the Eucharist:

Blessed Mother, who with your generous “Fiat” unleashed the Fountain of all graces in our world, intercede for us who desire ever greater faith and devotion in your Divine Son that we might cooperate with His work of Redemption.

May the Eucharistic Lord always find in our hearts a welcome dwelling as He did in yours.

Be our refuge and companion on our pilgrim way to the heavenly home where with you and all the Saints we enjoy eternal communion with your Son who is our rock of refuge in all of life’s storms.

Amen.

Promulgated on Holy Thursday of the Lord’s Supper, April 1, 2021.

+Thomas J. Olmsted
Bishop of Phoenix

Summer Solstice[5]

The Summer Solstice marks the beginning of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere.  On this day, the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun at the highest degree of angle. Places in the Northern Hemisphere experience the longest hours of sunlight throughout the year on this day. The history of the Summer Solstice is rooted in both ancient mysticism and nature. This day takes place somewhere around June 20th or 21st each year.

Summer Solstice Facts


·       On the Summer Solstice, the North Pole receives 24 hours of daylight, and the South Pole receives 24 hours of darkness.

·       Solstice comes from the Latin words for "Sun" and "to stop."

·       Many Native American tribes celebrated the Summer Solstice by holding "sun dances".

·       On the summer solstice, the Earth's axis is tilted the most, up to 26°.

Summer Solstice Top Events and Things to Do

·       Host a bonfire to celebrate the arrival of summer.

·       Visit Stonehenge and take the Summer Solstice Tour.

·       Go fishing - it is the longest fishing day of the year.

·       Visit the polar circle and enjoy nearly 24 hours of daylight.

·       Remember at the South Pole it is a day of total darkness,

International Yoga Day[6]


 

International Yoga Day celebrates yoga, an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice. Today, yoga, which originated in India, is one of the world's most popular pastime activities. In September of 2014, Indias Prime Minister proposed the establishment of an International Day of Yoga to promote international peace and cooperation. His request was granted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2014 in an effort to highlight the benefits of yoga to physical well-being and to world peace and development.

In a recent homily, Pope Francis reminded listeners that practices like yoga aren't capable of opening our hearts up to God. "You can take a million catechetical courses, a million courses in spirituality, a million courses in yoga, Zen and all these things. But all of this will never be able to give you. freedom," he explained. While yoga was just one example offered among many, the Holy Father touched on a matter of great debate among faithful Catholics who happen to prefer this kind of exercise.[7]

Can Catholics participate in yoga? The answer is a bit more nuanced than one might think. Catholics should not participate in any of the "spiritual" aspects associated with yoga, but technically can do the actual physical exercises. However, many people who practice yoga caution that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to separate the exercises from the meditations. For example, a common mantra repeated in yoga is "So'ham" that roughly translates to "I am the universal self". This focus on the self is contrary to the focus on God to which we are called. In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: "Christian prayer... flees from impersonal techniques or from concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut, imprisoning the person praying in a spiritual privatism which is incapable of a free openness to the transcendental God" The Pope tells us that only the Holy Spirit can "move the heart" and make it "docile to the Lord, docile to the freedom of love". If we are seeking a zen-like peace from yoga meditation, then we are seeking peace from the wrong source.

But is it possible to combine exercise and prayer? Founders of SoulCore, a core workout that combines isometric exercises with praying the rosary, say that it is. Deanne Miller and Colleen Scariano explained that their new exercise movement is born from the desire to nourish both body and soul through exercise. Miller explained, "in our physical movement, when tied to prayer-strengthening from the inside-out-we are FULLY ALIVE." www.soulcoreproject.com

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"

IN BRIEF

1051 Every man receives his eternal recompense in his immortal soul from the moment of his death in a particular judgment by Christ, the judge of the living and the dead.

1052 "We believe that the souls of all who die in Christ's grace . . . are the People of God beyond death. On the day of resurrection, death will be definitively conquered, when these souls will be reunited with their bodies" (Paul VI, CPG # 28).

1053 "We believe that the multitude of those gathered around Jesus and Mary in Paradise forms the Church of heaven, where in eternal blessedness they see God as he is and where they are also, to various degrees, associated with the holy angels in the divine governance exercised by Christ in glory, by interceding for us and helping our weakness by their fraternal concern" (Paul VI, CPG # 29).

1054 Those who die in God's grace and friendship imperfectly purified, although they are assured of their eternal salvation, undergo a purification after death, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of God.

1055 By virtue of the "communion of saints," the Church commends the dead to God's mercy and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, on their behalf.

1056 Following the example of Christ, the Church warns the faithful of the "sad and lamentable reality of eternal death" (GCD 69), also called "hell."

1057 Hell's principal punishment consists of eternal separation from God in whom alone man can have the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

1058 The Church prays that no one should be lost: "Lord, let me never be parted from you." If it is true that no one can save himself, it is also true that God "desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim 2:4), and that for him "all things are possible" (Mt 19:26).

1059 "The holy Roman Church firmly believes and confesses that on the Day of Judgment all men will appear in their own bodies before Christ's tribunal to render an account of their own deeds" (Council of Lyons II [1274]: DS 859; cf. DS 1549).

1060 At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. Then the just will reign with Christ for ever, glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God will then be "all in all" (1 Cor 15:28), in eternal life.

Daily Devotions

·       Always fight with the deep conviction that I am with you.  Christians are to fight against all demonic tacticsresist!

·       Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: For the intercession of the angels and saints

·       Make reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday Devotion

·       Pray Day 3 of the Novena for our Pope and Bishops

·       Tuesday: Litany of St. Michael the Archangel

·       Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

·       Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·       Drops of Christ’s Blood

·       Universal Man Plan

·       Nineveh 90-Day 67

·       Rosary




[1] Liturgical Publications Inc.

[2] Everyman other Miracle and Morality Plays, Dover Press 1995

[3] Allen R. Hunt, Everybody needs to forgive somebody.

[6]https://www.wincalendar.com/International-Yoga-Day

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