Luke, Chapter 1,
verse 65-75
65 Then FEAR came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. 67 Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: 68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.69 He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant, 70 even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72 to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant 73 and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that,74 rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
In
today’s secular America we also need to have freedom, so we may worship Him
without fear.
I work in
a grocery store, and I often see a Brand Name of spirits called the “Four
Freedoms”. I wondered what the four freedoms are. After a little research I
discovered that the four freedoms are the four essential human freedoms as
proclaimed in a speech to Congress by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941: freedom of
speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from
fear.
I
reflected on this and wondered do we still have these four essential human freedoms.
·
Speech
is now controlled by a cancel culture. We have limited freedom of speech and
expression.
·
We
can no longer celebrate the Mass of our Fathers in Latin. We have limited freedom
to worship as we are told.
·
We
are shaken to our knees in fear from wars, shortages, the cancel culture, and a
legal system that rewards the connected and jails the outspoken. We fear.
· Inflation and the financial systems are out of control, and we have shortages (Baby formula, etc.), and we are in want and the biggest want is for sanity in our government and church. We like the Polish people before the fall of the Berlin Wall proclaim, “We want God.”
World Hepatitis Day[1]
World
Hepatitis Day seeks to raise awareness for the spectrum of Hepatitis diseases.
Hepatitis diseases cause inflammation of the liver cells. There are five main
types of hepatitis, A, B, C, D and E. It is estimated that around 250 million
people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C and 300 million people are
Hepatitis B carriers.
World Hepatitis Day was proclaimed by the World Health Organization. It is
celebrated annually on July 28th.
World
Hepatitis Day Facts
Hepatitis A is usually transmitted by consuming contaminated food or water or coming into contact with an infected person's feces.
Hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted disease. It is transmitted through exposure to infected blood or body fluids.
Hepatitis B is spread via blood of an infected person.
Hepatitis
can also be caused by alcohol and other toxins and infections.
Life Matters: Embryo
Research[2]
The Nuremberg Code (1947) was prompted by the horrific and often deadly experimentation on human beings in Nazi concentration camps that came to light during the “Doctors’ Trials” before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals. The main principles of the Nuremberg Code require that experiments involving human subjects cause no unnecessary risk, be undertaken with the full and informed consent of the subjects and must never knowingly cause serious injury or death. Nazi doctors were not the first, nor the last, to perform inhumane and sometimes disabling research on unsuspecting human subjects living in poverty, in prisons, mental health institutions, and orphanages. The Tuskegee syphilis experiments, the Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study, and the Willowbrook (Long Island) State School experiments—in which children with mental disabilities were intentionally infected with viral hepatitis—are just a few examples of cases in which doctors put the pursuit of knowledge and “cures” ahead of the lives and well-being of individual human beings. The Nuremberg Code inspired other declarations of medical and research ethics. In 1948, the World Medical Association approved a statement addressing the ethics of physicians, the Declaration of Geneva. As originally adopted, it read in part: “I will maintain the utmost respect for human life, from the time of conception; even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.”
Should
we trust these people with COVID?
Novena
in Honor of Saint John Marie Vianney[3]
Complete
Trust in God
Saint John Marie Baptist
Vianney, what confidence the people had in your prayers! You could not leave
your old rectory or your humble church without being surrounded by imploring
souls, who appealed to you as they would have appealed to Jesus Himself during His
earthly life. And you, O good Saint, gave them hope by your words, which were
full of love for God. You, who had always counted entirely on the heart of God,
obtain for me a deep filial trust in His Providence. As the hope of divine
goods fills my heart, give me courage and help me to always obey the
Commandments of God. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your
intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention
silently your special intentions).
Our
Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
SECTION TWO-THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER
ONE-THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION
Article 2 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
I.
Confirmation in the Economy of Salvation
1286 In the
Old Testament the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on
the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission. The descent of the Holy
Spirit on Jesus at his baptism by John was the sign that this was he who was to
come, the Messiah, the Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; his
whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total communion with the
Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him "without measure."
1287 This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the
Messiah's, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people. On
several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, a promise
which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at
Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim
"the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the
Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. Those who believed in the
apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in
their turn.
1288 "From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of
Christ's will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the
gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the
Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of
hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. the imposition
of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the
sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of
Pentecost in the Church."
1289 Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy
Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of
hands. This anointing highlights the name "Christian," which means
"anointed" and derives from that of Christ himself whom God
"anointed with the Holy Spirit." This rite of anointing has
continued ever since, in both East and West. For this reason the Eastern
Churches call this sacrament Chrismation, anointing with chrism, or myron which
means "chrism." In the West, Confirmation suggests both the
ratification of Baptism, thus completing Christian initiation, and the
strengthening of baptismal grace - both fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Two traditions: East and West
1290 In the first centuries Confirmation generally comprised
one single celebration with Baptism, forming with it a "double
sacrament," according to the expression of St. Cyprian. Among other
reasons, the multiplication of infant baptisms all through the year, the
increase of rural parishes, and the growth of dioceses often prevented the
bishop from being present at all baptismal celebrations. In the West the desire
to reserve the completion of Baptism to the bishop caused the temporal
separation of the two sacraments. the East has kept them united, so that
Confirmation is conferred by the priest who baptizes. But he can do so only
with the "myron" consecrated by a bishop.
1291 A custom of the Roman Church facilitated the development
of the Western practice: a double anointing with sacred chrism after Baptism.
the first anointing of the neophyte on coming out of the baptismal bath was
performed by the priest; it was completed by a second anointing on the forehead
of the newly baptized by the bishop. The first anointing with sacred
chrism, by the priest, has remained attached to the baptismal rite; it
signifies the participation of the one baptized in the prophetic, priestly, and
kingly offices of Christ. If Baptism is conferred on an adult, there is only
one post-baptismal anointing, that of Confirmation.
1292 The practice of the Eastern Churches gives greater
emphasis to the unity of Christian initiation. That of the Latin Church more
clearly expresses the communion of the new Christian with the bishop as
guarantor and servant of the unity, catholicity and apostolicity of his Church,
and hence the connection with the apostolic origins of Christ's Church.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Binding
and suppressing the Devils Evil Works
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: July
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Novena to the
Holy Face Day 2
·
Let
Freedom Ring Day 22
·
Rosary
Comments
Post a Comment