Monday, July 4, 2022

 Monday Night at the Movies


INDEPENDENCE DAY 

Matthew, Chapter 15, verse 32

Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for FEAR they may collapse on the way.” 

This chapter of Matthew records the feeding of the four thousand. Some would say that God has no fear but here we see that Christ was afraid for the welfare of the multitude. He knows our needs and is concerned for them. After all, “I am the good shepherd… I know my sheep, and mine know me.” (John 10:14) 

Christ knows that even if our hearts desires are in the right place and we have perfect self-control we must acknowledge the legitimate needs of the body. We are both spirit and body; the perfection of the creator, which the fallen angels despise. We must care for because both are the gift of God. 

Christ says, “They have been with me now for three days and have had nothing to eat”. I suggest that we follow His advice starting this week if we can participate in Mass sometime during our midweek so we may not collapse along the way. 

I also suggest now would be a good time to look for a retreat of three days in which you can be with the Lord knowing He will not send you away hungry.

Real Men ask God what they should do[1]

The special need for more frequent Communion is on the part of the men and the older boys. No man can afford to "keep his religion in his wife's name." The man is by nature the head of the family, and the family usually ends up where he leads. He can't expect his family to continue to live a very vital Catholic life unless he sets the example. As an Army captain can't hole-up in some rear line trench and cry out, "Onward, Christian soldiers!” neither can the husband and father expect his wife and children to do much in the Church Militant if he is a non-combatant, "too proud to fight." Interesting evidence of the power of example of the adult male in encouraging devout religious practice was had in England during World War II. In a certain Catholic orphanage, the larger boys were refusing to obey the Sisters' directives to approach the Communion rail with folded hands. In the neighborhood of the orphanage was a GI camp whose soldiers soon became heroes to the orphan lads. One day a crowd of the GI's came to Mass in the orphanage and went to Communion, of course with hands devoutly folded as is done in our country. When the orphan boys saw Tex and Bill and Tom properly approaching the Communion rail, the troubles of the Sisters with the boys were over. "Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn in no other way."

Independence Day[2] 

Independence Day commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Independence Day is the most important secular holiday held in the United States. Americans take this day to celebrate all that is American, remembering the great sacrifices of our forefathers as they fought and won our independence from Great Britain. The holiday is also referred to as 4th of July, named after the date on which it is celebrated each year. 

Independence Day Facts & Quotes 

·       In July 1776, there were approximately 2.5 million people living in the new nation.

·       The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence didn't occur until July 8, 1776.  It was sent to the printers on July 4th.

·       The original Declaration of Independence can be viewed by visiting the National Archives, Washington D.C.  The original copy is severely faded and sits under special glass in the Rotunda for the Chambers of Freedom.

·       The Statue of Liberty is a great symbol of American Freedom. It was given to the US by France in 1886.  It was delivered in 214 crates and assembled on what is known as Liberty Island, in New York Harbor.

·       Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. - John F. Kennedy 

Independence Day Top Events and Things to Do 

·       Attend or host a Barbeque.

·       Watch Fireworks. Large cities such as New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles all have large firework displays.

·       Read or recite the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

·       Watch or attend Nathan's famous Hot Dog eating contest in Coney Island.

·       Watch a Parade. Most local cities host parades to celebrate Independence Day.

·       Contribute to the independence of a veteran

Catholic Culture Library Related Articles[3]

·       On Being Catholic American

·       First Centenary of First American Bishops

·       How Birth Control Changed America — For the Worse

·       The Philosophy of American Patriotism in the Present Crisis

·       The Jefferson Bible

·       The Relevance of Thomas Jefferson

·       Thomas Jefferson and Freedom of Religion

·       What Is Patriotism?

·       Sapientiae Christianae—On Christians as Citizens 

Declaration of Independence; 1776. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident:

 

That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.  

Prayer[4] 

Almighty God, Father of all nations, for freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1). We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty, the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties; by your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land. We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness, and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Render unto Caesar[5]

This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.  John F. Kennedy

Have we become a soulless Nation? Have we in the pursuit of happiness; ignored the Gospel of Life. Realizing that if we put success or liberty as greater values than life that we are serving Caesar and not God. To understand this, we need to review the US Bishops “The Gospel of Life”.

 

The Gospel of Life[6] 

Brothers and sisters in the Lord:

At the conclusion of the 1998 ad limina visits of the bishops of the United States, our Holy Father Pope John Paul II spoke these words:

 

Today I believe the Lord is saying to us all: do not hesitate, do not be afraid to engage the good fight of the faith (cf. I Tim 6:12).  When we preach the liberating message of Jesus Christ, we are offering the words of life to the world.  Our prophetic witness is an urgent and essential service not just to the Catholic community but to the whole human family. 

In this statement we attempt to fulfill our role as teachers and pastors in proclaiming the Gospel of Life.  We are confident that the proclamation of the truth in love is an indispensable way for us to exercise our pastoral responsibility.

"Your country stands upon the world scene as a model of a democratic society at an advanced stage of development.  Your power of example carries with it heavy responsibilities.  Use it well, America!"    --Pope John Paul II, Newark, 1995

When Henry Luce published his appeal for an "American century" in 1941, he could not have known how the coming reality would dwarf his dream.  Luce hoped that the "engineers, scientists, doctors . . . builders of roads [and] teachers" of the United States would spread across the globe to promote economic success and American ideals: "a love of freedom, a feeling for the quality of opportunity, a tradition of self-reliance and independence and also cooperation." Exactly this, and much more, has happened in the decades since.  U.S. economic success has reshaped the world.  But the nobility of the American experiment flows from its founding principles, not from its commercial power.  In this century alone, hundreds of thousands of Americans have died defending those principles.  Hundreds of thousands more have lived lives of service to those principles -- both at home and on other continents -- teaching, advising and providing humanitarian assistance to people in need.  As Pope John Paul has observed, "At the center of the moral vision of [the American] founding documents is the recognition of the rights of the human person . . ."  The greatness of the United States lies "especially [in its] respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life in all conditions and at all stages of development."

 

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I consecrated you; a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
--Jeremiah 1:5
 


The Patriotic Rosary[7] is prayed everywhere from within cloistered convents, to inside the Pentagon; from dangerous military fields around the globe to the quietness of the Bedroom of Apparitons and the Field of Apparitions at Caritas, which is the home of the Patriotic Rosary. The Patriotic Rosary quickly captured the hearts and attention of millions when first heard and prayed. Inspired by Our Lady of Medjugorje, the Patriotic Rosary is a powerful prayer for divine protection and mercy for our Nation and its rebirth. The history of the writing of the Patriotic Rosary origins back to 1995 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the first promptings of Our Lady was felt and the impulse to form the Patriotic Rosary was given. The Patriotic Rosary, the Prayer to Heal Our Land, and the “Seven Novenas for the Reconciling of Ourselves, our Families and our Nation Back to God,” all for the rebirth of America, have the grounds at Caritas of Birmingham as their home. It is Caritas of Birmingham, whose founder, known as A Friend of Medjugorje, wrote the Patriotic Rosary, and that also operates the Official Medjugorje Site. It was a surprise in 1988, after many prayers near the Pine Tree for the healing of our Nation that Our Lady began to write a beautiful story, through Her Medjugorje apparitions at Caritas, telling us that a Nation and its healing, represented by the Pine in the Field, would come only through the individual, represented by the family bed. In those first apparitions, Our Lady appeared in the Bedroom over the family bed, then on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1988, She appeared near the Pine, then back to the Bedroom for the remaining two months of daily apparitions. This spoke clearly that our Nation would be healed through strong marriages forming strong holy families raising strong individuals which will heal and make a strong nation. Our Nation’s future depends on the healing of the family. 

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

SECTION ONE THE SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY

CHAPTER ONE THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH

Article 2 THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE CHURCH'S SACRAMENTS

IV. The Sacraments of Salvation

1127 Celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they signify. They are efficacious because in them Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament signifies. the Father always hears the prayer of his Son's Church which, in the epiclesis of each sacrament, expresses her faith in the power of the Spirit. As fire transforms into itself everything it touches, so the Holy Spirit transforms into the divine life whatever is subjected to his power.

1128 This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation that the sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: "by the very fact of the action's being performed"), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows that "the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God." From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.

1129 The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. the Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. the fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior.

Daily Devotions

·       Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: An increase of the faithful

·       Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels

·       Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

·       Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·       Monday: Litany of Humility

·       Drops of Christ’s Blood

·       Universal Man Plan

·       Nineveh 90-Day 80

·       Rosary




[3]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-07-04

[5] Render unto Caesar, Charles J. Chaput

[6]http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/living-the-gospel-of-life.cfm

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