SEPTEMBER 9 Friday
1
Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 10
Sometimes God chooses a
person to do his work that is not a winner of the popularity contest. Timothy
seems to be one of these. Even Christ Himself was disdained when only the 12
remained. Therefore, have courage if you are doing the work of the Lord and you
are not winning everyone’s BFF.
Fitness Friday-The 5 Switches
of Manliness: Nature[1]
In this Switches of Manliness series, we’ve been talking about those unique parts of a man’s psyche that have fallen into disuse in the modern world and need to be reactivated. But there’s likely some overlap between the needs of men and the needs of women; for example, primitive women used to be quite physical too, and I think modern women need to have an element of physicality in their lives as well. But with this switch, there’s definitely more than a little overlap. The Switch of Nature is for everyone. Men. Women. Children. Squirrels. Well, I think squirrels have it down pretty well. But it’s for everyone and their mom. Literally—your mom needs it too.
Man’s Separation from Nature: The
Third “Frontier”
With the rest of the switches, there
was a good amount of theorizing going on as we looked back in time and tried to
uncover the life and perspective of primitive man. But with this switch, we
don’t have to speculate—we can say this with 100% certitude: primitive man
spent a lot more time outside in nature than modern man does. Primitive people
were surrounded by nature all day, every day. Their lives revolved around it:
they supped from it; they created with it; they protected themselves from it;
they even worshiped it.
A life that centered on a deep, vital
connection to nature was the norm for humans for tens of thousands of years.
This connection would only fall apart when the rise of settled agriculture and
then the Industrial Revolution made it possible for more and more people to
make a living in a way that did not involve the land.
Nature
and a Man’s Health
Every
organism has an ideal habitat; take it out of its habitat and it could die, or
at least suffer ill-effects.
·
Time spent outdoors is linked with
lower levels of obesity.
·
Nature keeps you mentally sharp.
Cities, with their constant noise, crowds of people, and lack of natural
surroundings, can tax the human brain. In fact, studies have shown a link
between being brought up in the city and the chance of a person developing schizophrenia
and other psychotic illnesses.
·
researchers have found that a walk
in nature, where stimuli makes a much less dramatic play for our involuntary
attention, allows our directed attention to have a rest, leaving it primed and
ready to tackle difficult cognitive tasks once more.
·
Nature promotes calmness and fights
depression. In a study done in Japan, researchers found that after a 20-minute
walk in the forest, participants had “lower concentrations of cortisol, lower
pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and
lower sympathetic nerve activity” than those who spent time in the city
instead.
·
Those with children, especially
boys, should know that studies have also shown that spending time in nature can
alleviate the symptoms of ADHD.
·
Nature boosts your testosterone.
· Nature
fights cancer. In another study done in Japan, researchers had participants
spend 3 days and 2 nights in the woods; the participants took long walks in the
forest during the day and stayed at a hotel near the forest at night. The
participants showed a 50% increase in “natural killer cells” (a component of
the body’s immune system that fights cancerous growths), as well as an increase
in other anti-cancer proteins. This boost in NK activity lasted for a month
after the experience, showing that even if you can only tear out into the woods
once in a while, it is certainly worth it.
Nature
and Man’s Soul
“Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard; [The
Lakota] knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to a lack
of respect for humans too.” –Standing Bear
Cynicism. I personally believe it is one of the biggest, if
not the biggest threat to manliness. Cynicism makes a man jaded and saps his ability to
experience wonder and amazement; nature restores it. Nature gives a man back a
bit of the heart of a boy, a heart that can acknowledge some mystery in the
world.
Nature increases your humility. Some studies have shown that narcissism is on the rise among young people.
Parents coddle their kids and build up their self-esteem to the point they feel
invincible. And technology caters to our every whim, molding itself to our
personal interests and preferences.
Nature is pretty and
soothing….but it can also literally kill you. It’s not just lovely
sunsets and breathtaking canyon views. It’s also grizzly bears and perfect
storms. Out in nature you get a renewed sense of your vulnerability. At the
foot of a mountain, you sense your true smallness in the world. And nature
quickly shatters any notion that the universe revolves around you; it doesn’t
stop raining just because you picked that day to go camping.
Nature heightens your senses. We talk through phones and
computers. We are entertained through our televisions. We get our food through
the grocery store. All of our experiences are mediated through middlemen. When
was the last time you had a direct, primary
experience? Nature lets you take in all the elements in their most
primitive forms, before they’ve been packaged for your consumption.
Nature heightens your creativity. Studies that observed children at
play found that they engaged in more imaginative, explorative, and creative
play when they played in open, green spaces than when they played on asphalt
and in structured spaces. Free of the structure of our daily lives, the lines
and rules that rein us in, the minds of adults too, are free to wander. Nature
allows both your body and mind to explore, which can lead you to fresh insights
about life.
Nature heightens your spirituality. If you’re a religious guy, perhaps
the best way to feel close to the Creator is to wander among His creations. The
experiences I’ve had where I’ve felt closest to God have not happened in a
church pew, but out in the woods.
Nature centers you.
It’s an ineffable feeling that I’ve found nowhere else. The jangled pieces of
my life that have been rattling around inside my head just fall into place. And
I feel a stillness and a peace.
How to
Turn the Switch of Nature
Of all the Switches of Manliness, the Switch of Nature
is perhaps easiest to turn. There are so many small things you can do to get a
bit more of the outdoors inside of yourself. Remember, even looking through a
window at nature helps people (so for goodness’s sake, stop putting those tv’s
in the back of your car for the kids!).
You may live in the country, have a job that keeps you
outside all day, or be lucky enough to know someone with a farm or ranch where
you can go hang out whenever you’d like. But I know there are some men out
there whose only time outside is when they’re walking to and from their car
during the day. For these guys, make it a goal to spend at least an hour
outside every day. It doesn’t seem like much, but it can make a big
difference—remember, small and simple changes add up and can turn the switch to
the on position. Here are a few suggestions to get started:
·
Do
your workout outside. A study found that “compared with
exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with
greater feelings of revitalization and positive engagement, decreases in
tension, confusion, anger, and depression, and increased energy.”
·
Go
to a park to eat your lunch. If there’s no park near your workplace, at least
eat in the car with the windows down.
·
Go
for a nightly after dinner walk.
·
Do
chores like mowing the lawn and raking leaves yourself instead of hiring
someone to do it for you.
·
Read,
surf, or work on the patio or apartment balcony.
·
On
nice days, open your windows at home and in the car. On a cloudless 70 degree
day most of the windows in our apartment complex are closed and everyone is
driving around with the windows up in their cars. It makes me wonder sometimes
if the whole world has gone mad.
·
Go
on a picnic date.
·
Walk
to your errands.
·
Ride
your bike to work.
·
Find
a hobby or sport that requires you to be outside. There are dozens to choose
from: Skiing, skateboarding, surfing, running, gardening, geocaching, hunting,
fishing, and so on and so forth.
·
Go
camping. Talk about a no brainer. But you need to stop thinking about camping
like it has to be a long, elaborately planned trip. Even one night helps.
I know you’ll feel inertia—you’ll feel like getting everything together
and driving to the campsite won’t be worth it. Even one night is worth it. It
will refresh you.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
SECTION TWO-THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
III. The
Three Degrees of the Sacrament of Holy Orders
1554 "The divinely instituted ecclesiastical ministry is
exercised in different degrees by those who even from ancient times have been
called bishops, priests, and deacons." Catholic doctrine, expressed
in the liturgy, the Magisterium, and the constant practice of the Church,
recognizes that there are two degrees of ministerial participation in the
priesthood of Christ: the episcopacy and the presbyterate . the diaconate is
intended to help and serve them. For this reason the term sacerdos in current
usage denotes bishops and priests but not deacons. Yet Catholic doctrine
teaches that the degrees of priestly participation (episcopate and
presbyterate) and the degree of service (diaconate) are all three conferred by
a sacramental act called "ordination," that is, by the sacrament of
Holy Orders:
Let everyone revere the deacons as Jesus Christ, the bishop
as the image of the Father, and the presbyters as the senate of God and the
assembly of the apostles. For without them one cannot speak of the Church.
Episcopal
ordination - fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders
1555 "Amongst those various offices which have been
exercised in the Church from the earliest times the chief place, according to
the witness of tradition, is held by the function of those who, through their
appointment to the dignity and responsibility of bishop, and in virtue
consequently of the unbroken succession going back to the beginning, are
regarded as transmitters of the apostolic line."
1556 To fulfil their exalted mission, "the apostles were
endowed by Christ with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit coming upon
them, and by the imposition of hands they passed on to their auxiliaries the
gift of the Spirit, which is transmitted down to our day through episcopal
consecration."
1557 The Second Vatican Council "teaches . . . that the
fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by episcopal
consecration, that fullness namely which, both in the liturgical tradition of
the Church and the language of the Fathers of the Church, is called the high
priesthood, the acme (summa) of the sacred ministry."
1558 "Episcopal consecration confers, together with the
office of sanctifying, also the offices of teaching and ruling.... In fact ...
by the imposition of hands and through the words of the consecration, the grace
of the Holy Spirit is given, and a sacred character is impressed in such wise
that bishops, in an eminent and visible manner, take the place of Christ
himself, teacher, shepherd, and priest, and act as his representative (in Eius
persona agant)." "By virtue, therefore, of the Holy Spirit who
has been given to them, bishops have been constituted true and authentic
teachers of the faith and have been made pontiffs and pastors."
1559 "One is constituted a member of the episcopal body in
virtue of the sacramental consecration and by the hierarchical communion with
the head and members of the college." The character and collegial
nature of the episcopal order are evidenced among other ways by the Church's
ancient practice which calls for several bishops to participate in the
consecration of a new bishop. In our day, the lawful ordination of a
bishop requires a special intervention of the Bishop of Rome, because he is the
supreme visible bond of the communion of the particular Churches in the one
Church and the guarantor of their freedom.
1560 As Christ's vicar, each bishop has the pastoral care of
the particular Church entrusted to him, but at the same time he bears
collegially with all his brothers in the episcopacy the solicitude for all the
Churches: "Though each bishop is the lawful pastor only of the portion of
the flock entrusted to his care, as a legitimate successor of the apostles he
is, by divine institution and precept, responsible with the other bishops for
the apostolic mission of the Church."
1561 The above considerations explain why the Eucharist
celebrated by the bishop has a quite special significance as an expression of
the Church gathered around the altar, with the one who represents Christ, the
Good Shepherd and Head of his Church, presiding.
The
ordination of priests - co-workers of the bishops
1562 "Christ, whom the Father hallowed and sent into the
world, has, through his apostles, made their successors, the bishops namely,
sharers in his consecration and mission; and these, in their turn, duly
entrusted in varying degrees various members of the Church with the office of
their ministry." "The function of the bishops' ministry was
handed over in a subordinate degree to priests so that they might be appointed
in the order of the priesthood and be co-workers of the episcapal order for the
proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted to it by
Christ."
1563 "Because it is joined with the episcopal order the
office of priests shares in the authority by which Christ himself builds up and
sanctifies and rules his Body. Hence the priesthood of priests, while
presupposing the sacraments of initiation, is nevertheless conferred by its own
particular sacrament. Through that sacrament priests by the anointing of the
Holy Spirit are signed with a special character and so are configured to Christ
the priest in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ the
head."
1564 "Whilst not having the supreme degree of the
pontifical office, and notwithstanding the fact that they depend on the bishops
in the exercise of their own proper power, the priests are for all that
associated with them by reason of their sacerdotal dignity; and in virtue of
the sacrament of Holy Orders, after the image of Christ, the supreme and
eternal priest, they are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel and shepherd
the faithful as well as to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New
Testament."
1565 Through the sacrament of Holy Orders priests share in the
universal dimensions of the mission that Christ entrusted to the apostles. the
spiritual gift they have received in ordination prepares them, not for a
limited and restricted mission, "but for the fullest, in fact the
universal mission of salvation 'to the end of the
earth,"' "prepared in spirit to preach the Gospel everywhere."
1566 "It is in the Eucharistic cult or in the Eucharistic
assembly of the faithful (synaxis) that they exercise in a supreme degree their
sacred office; there, acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming his
mystery, they unite the votive offerings of the faithful to the sacrifice of
Christ their head, and in the sacrifice of the Mass they make present again and
apply, until the coming of the Lord, the unique sacrifice of the New Testament,
that namely of Christ offering himself once for all a spotless victim to the
Father." From this unique sacrifice their whole priestly ministry
draws its strength.
1567 "The priests, prudent cooperators of the episcopal
college and its support and instrument, called to the service of the People of
God, constitute, together with their bishop, a unique sacerdotal college
(presbyterium) dedicated, it is, true to a variety of distinct duties. In each
local assembly of the faithful they represent, in a certain sense, the bishop,
with whom they are associated in all trust and generosity; in part they take
upon themselves his duties and solicitude and in their daily toils discharge
them." priests can exercise their ministry only in dependence on the
bishop and in communion with him. the promise of obedience they make to the
bishop at the moment of ordination and the kiss of peace from him at the end of
the ordination liturgy mean that the bishop considers them his co-workers, his
sons, his brothers and his friends, and that they in return owe him love and
obedience.
1568 "All priests, who are constituted in the order of
priesthood by the sacrament of Order, are bound together by an intimate
sacramental brotherhood, but in a special way they form one priestly body in
the diocese to which they are attached under their own bishop. .
;" The unity of the presbyterium finds liturgical expression in the
custom of the presbyters' imposing hands, after the bishop, during the Ate of
ordination.
The
ordination of deacons - "in order to serve"
1569 "At a lower level of the hierarchy are to be found
deacons, who receive the imposition of hands 'not unto the priesthood, but unto
the ministry."' At an ordination to the diaconate only the bishop
lays hands on the candidate, thus signifying the deacon's special attachment to
the bishop in the tasks of his "diakonia."
1570 Deacons share in Christ's mission and grace in a special
way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint
(“character") which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ,
who made himself the "deacon" or servant of all. Among other
tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop and priests in the
celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the
distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing marriages, in the
proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in
dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity.
1571 Since the Second Vatican Council the Latin Church has
restored the diaconate "as a proper and permanent rank of the
hierarchy," while the Churches of the East had always maintained it.
This permanent diaconate, which can be conferred on married men, constitutes an
important enrichment for the Church's mission. Indeed it is appropriate and
useful that men who carry out a truly diaconal ministry in the Church, whether
in its liturgical and pastoral life or whether in its social and charitable
works, should "be strengthened by the imposition of hands which has come
down from the apostles. They would be more closely bound to the altar and their
ministry would be made more fruitful through the sacramental grace of the
diaconate."
Daily
Devotions
·
30 DAY TRIBUTE TO MARY 26th ROSE: Descent
of the Holy Spirit
o
30
Days of Women and Herbs – Frauendreissiger
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Purity
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: September
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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