ST. HUBERT patron of hunters
Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 5-7
5 Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the
Gentiles, 6 among
whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7 to
all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and PEACE from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
The Romans,
through the Caesars, sought peace among men by the liberal use of the displays
of power and majesty, using fear as a tool for total control and subjugation.
This was the Pax Romana. Christ, the son of God, by His sacrifice showed the
Romans another way; the true way via the church and the Precious Blood to
obtain a far greater peace; peace with God and finally peace with our selves.
This is the triumph of the Cross.
As a parent
we can be more effective if we remember that using fear as a tool to total
control and subjugation is not the way of Christ.
RULES for
parents[1]
Bear in mind the following:
- A little child
kicks and screams because he thinks, —or perhaps because he knows from
experience, —that in order to avoid a scene you will give in to him and
let him have what he wants. You must prove to him that this is a mistaken
idea of his. You are not going to give in.
- Do not get
angry. Do not slap.
- Say firmly,
"No; when you stop screaming, I will speak to you." Then leave
the child alone in a safe room. Or, if he must be in the room with you, do
not notice him. Keep busy with something or other.
- After a while,
say quietly, "Little Jesus does not like screaming and kicking. He
loves you and He does not want you to do that."
- Stop. Keep quiet.
Be patient.
- If the child
slows down at times, waits to see if you will give in, and then starts up
again, do not worry. He is showing that he begins to understand. Ignore
him. Finally, he will yield. He may fall asleep.
- Two or three
performances like this will end the bad habit and establish a good one
- Remember: Be
gentle; but be firm and consistent. Remain very calm and silent.
St. Hubert[2]
Late in the eighth century, so runs the story, a hunter
named Hubert, neither better nor worse than he should have been, was tracking a
stag through the forest of the Ardennes. As he readied himself to shoot the
animal with his arrow, he was startled when the stag turned suddenly in its
flight, and he saw between its antlers a luminous cross. This experience caused
Hubert to change his way of life, and he never hunted again. Yet only a few
centuries later he was known as the patron of hunters, and is a saint greatly
honored in France and Belgium.
Saint Hubert lived a full life. He became bishop of Tongres
and traveled through his huge diocese on horseback and by boat, preaching and
building churches to the glory of God. He was the friend of the great of his
day — Pepin of Heristal and Charles Martel among them — and also of the poor.
In particular his heart went out to prisoners, and he would secretly place food
for them before their dungeon windows. As he died, he said to those about him,
"Stretch the pallium over my mouth for I am now going to give back to God
the soul I received from Him."
In parts of France and Belgium there has long been a custom
of holding stag hunts on Saint Hubert's Day, and the hunters gather before the
chase for Mass and the blessing of men and horses and dogs. After the hunt is
over, those taking part gather for a bountiful breakfast consisting of fish,
meat, salad, cheese, and dessert. Naturally the meat is venison of some sort,
and the salad may well be one of dandelion greens.
Excerpted from Feast Day
Cookbook
Patron: Archers; dog bite; dogs; forest workers;
furriers; hunters; hunting; huntsmen; hydrophobia; liege, Belgium; machinists;
mad dogs; mathematicians; metal workers; precision instrument makers; rabies;
smelters; trappers.
Things to Do:
·
Have roast venison in honor of St. Hubert,
patron of hunters.
·
Have some Jagermeister
Please
pray for the soul of a great priest and friend of mine who I had the pleasure
of knowing while stationed in Belgium-Father Paul Wolff as it was, he who
introduced me to St. Hubert.
The Wolff of the Ardennes
Men are frequently blinded by fear and as a result often
harmed themselves. The grace of God gives confidence to see the right and to
stand when called. Father Paul was called to stand and became General Patton’s
guide during the “Battle of the Bulge” while he was still a teen. Father Paul
Wolff was 15 years old when he first joined the Belgium resistance during the
years of the Nazi occupation of World War II. He was the youngest member of the
Belgium resistance. Unfortunately, he and other members of his group were
captured and at 17 he was tortured, condemned to death and imprison in the Nazi
Prison in Liege, Belgium. There he languished yet his faith would not allow him
to lose all hope and the resistance still worked to get him and the others
(256) out. Part of the plan was to get a radio to the prisoners. To do this the
resistance secreted small parts of a crystal radio inside bars of soap.
Interestingly these were “Lever” brother bars of soap and were large about the
size of a brick. Father Paul related that during the Nazi occupation not all
Jews were in German prisons if they were of use to the Nazi’s. In this case the
soap bars were made by the Lever Jews and the radio parts were easily hidden
inside the soap bars. Father Paul stated that when they received the soap they
then washed their hands raw in wearing away the soap to get to the radio part.
Then after several bars they constructed the radio which was the Morse code
type. Father Paul typed in code in English which he spoke along with German and
French the words over and over “SOS SOS 256 prisoners in Liege prison condemned
to death SOS SOS.” They hoped someone would get the message and somehow, they
would be rescued. All they had was hope.
Father also related that it drove the Nazi’s crazy because
they intercepted the message but never suspected it was coming from the prison.
Father Paul said that in the cell they were in there was only one barred
window, but it was so high that to look out it required a person to stand on
the shoulders of a fellow prisoner. He further relayed that they when they
would see women that were friendly with the guards coming and going, they would
call them the nastiest things they could think of calling them. Yet one day
during an air raid while the guards were hiding as deep as they could go; one
of these young women (secret agent) came and taking the heel of her shoe wrote
on the pavement that during the air raid they are going to be rescued by
commandoes and they were. Father Paul stated neither he nor the others ever
lost hope.
After his escape he went underground. He
was a friend of King Leopold III. He served as General Patton's Belgian guide
during the battle of the bulge.
December 24, 1944
Father Paul communicated to me the tale
about the battle of the bulge that has not been recorded in history. During
WWII the US Army was segregated and black men were not mixed with white men.
Black men mostly served in support roles such as transportation and as cooks,
etc. During the course of the Battle of the Bulge’ Hitler sent in a special
operations team to confuse and destroy the American Army. It was composed of
American NAZI’s and German’s, who spoke perfect American slang, knew the
culture, baseball stuff, etc. These Spec Ops were equipped with American
Uniforms and equipment that was captured by Gen. Rommel from North Africa.
Father Wolff was at a meeting with Gen. Patton, Bradley, Eisenhower and the
English Gen. Montgomery in Luxembourg City on the evening of Dec. 24th, 1944.
The Generals were very excited and afraid because of the effect these NAZI spec
ops were having in the warzone and due to the fact that they had murdered many
men. They did not know what to do. Patton who was a visionary, suddenly stood
up and said, I know exactly what to do. From this time forward nothing in the
American Army will move without a black American in the group. Patton knew
there were no black NAZI’s. As a result, black units were moved forward and
integrated and as far as I know this was the first time in American History
since the Civil War. As a result, the NAZI spec ops team was neutralized.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION ONE-MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE
SPIRIT
CHAPTER ONE THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN
PERSON
Article 8-SIN
IV. The Gravity of Sin: Mortal
and Venial Sin
1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. the
distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in
Scripture, became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated
by human experience.
1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave
violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and
his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.
Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.
1856 Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us -
that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a
conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the
sacrament of reconciliation:
When the
will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the
charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its
very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or
perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery.... But when the
sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but
is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or
immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.
1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be
met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also
committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."
1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments,
corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill,
Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not
defraud, Honor your father and your mother." The gravity of sins is
more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into
account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than
violence against a stranger.
1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent.
It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition
to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a
personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish,
but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the
imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the
principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man.
the promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and
free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological
disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the
gravest.
1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as
is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of
sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by
repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and
the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for
ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in
itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and
mercy of God.
1862 One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he
does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys
the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete
consent.
1863 Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered
affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of
the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment.
Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit
mortal sin. However venial sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will
and friendship of God; it does not break the covenant with God. With God's
grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of
sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."
While he is
in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not
despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light
when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects
makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a
heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.
1864 "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has
forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin." There are no limits to
the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by
repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the
Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and
eternal loss.
Thursday
Feast
Thursday
is the day of the week that our Lord gave himself up for consumption. Thursday
commemorates the last supper. Some theologians believe after Sunday Thursday is
the holiest day of the week. We should then try to make this day special by
making a visit to the blessed sacrament chapel, Mass or even stop by the grave
of a loved one. Why not plan to count the blessing of the week and thank our
Lord. Plan a special meal. Be at Peace.
Feast of the day: Wild
Boar Bolognese Sauce
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: An
increase of the Faithful.
·
do
a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
· Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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