Tuesday, October 18, 2022
FEAST
OF ST. LUKE
5Into whatever house you enter,
first say, ‘PEACE to this household.’ 6If
a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will
return to you.
Fear spreads quicker than Covid 19. To be an apostle of Christ is to be fearless and to be at peace; this peace will conquer fear like a light that enters a dark room.
No Fear[1]
Jesus’ revelations to Luisa Piccarreta are, among many other
things, a full-frontal assault on fear.
This is not because Jesus is playing some sort of
mind game with us, trying to trick us out of fear even when the facts indicate
fear is the proper response. No, rather, it is because fear is not – ever
– the proper response to what stands before us. Jesus tells Luisa:
“My Will
excludes every fear … Therefore, banish every fear, if you do not want to
displease Me.”
(July 29, 1924)
“If you
knew what it means to be looked upon by Me, you would no longer fear anything.”
(December 25, 1927)
“My
daughter, do not fear; fear is the scourge of the poor nothing, in such a way
that the nothing which is beaten by the whips of fear, feels itself lacking
life and losing it.”
(October 12, 1930)
Fear is, essentially, a type of blasphemy: for when
we willfully succumb to it, we are implicitly accusing God of not
having a plan; accusing Him of lacking either Omnipotence or
Goodness. (Fear as a mere emotion – a mere increase of heart rate,
blood pressure, etc., however, is simply a feeling that is not under our direct
control, and thus has no intrinsic moral standing one way or the other; Jesus
neither rebukes us nor praises us for mere feelings)
Do you anticipate some task standing before you in
the future which, upon now pondering, you shudder? Fear not. The grace to
execute the task will come at the moment you must begin the execution. Jesus
tells Luisa:
“Only in
the act in which the creature sets herself to do what I want, then am I drawn
to give her the strength necessary, or rather, superabundant—not before … How
many, before doing an action, feel so helpless, but as soon as they set to work
they feel invested by new strength, by new light. I am the One who invests
them, as I never fail in providing the necessary strength that is needed in
order to do some good.” (May 15, 1938)
Do you fear death itself, or the attacks of the
demons that may exist at that moment, or the possibility of Hell (or at least
Purgatory) after death? Banish those fears as well! Do not misunderstand: we
must never be flippant, lax, or presumptuous; nor must we ever allow our Holy
Fear to diminish (that is, the Seventh Gift of the Holy Spirit which is more
like reverence and a dread at the thought of one we love being in pain because
of our actions, and is not the type of fear I am here admonishing against)
– but there is an infinite difference between fearing chastisements,
death, hell, demons, and Purgatory and simply being zealous and serious
regarding them. The latter is always our duty; the former is always a
temptation.
Jesus tells Luisa:
“The
devil is the most cowardly creature that can exist, and a contrary act, a
contempt, a prayer, are enough to make him flee. … as soon as he sees the soul
resolute in not wanting to pay attention to his cowardice, he flees terrified.”
(March 25, 1908)
Jesus
also speaks the most consoling words imaginable to Luisa about the moment of
death; so much so that anyone who realizes that these words are genuinely from
Our Lord will, upon reading them, lose all fear of that moment. He told her:
“[At the moment of death,] the walls fall down, and she can see with her own
eyes what they had told her before. She sees her God and Father, Who has loved
her with great love…My Goodness is such, wanting everyone to be saved, that I
allow the falling of these walls when the creatures find themselves between
life and death—at the moment in which the soul exits the body to enter
eternity—so that they may make at least one act of contrition and of love for
Me, recognizing my adorable Will over them. I can say that I give them one hour
of truth, in order to rescue them. Oh! if all knew my industries of love, which
I perform in the last moment of their lives, so that they might not escape from
my hands, more than paternal—they would not wait for that moment, but they
would love Me all their lives. (March 22, 1938)
Through
Luisa, Jesus is also begging us not to fear Him:
“I feel
sad when they think that I am severe, and that I make more use of Justice than
of Mercy. They act with Me as if I were to strike them at each circumstance.
Oh! how dishonored I feel by these ones. … by just taking a look at my life,
they can but notice that I did only one act of Justice—when, in order to defend
the house of my Father, I took the ropes and snapped them to the right and to
the left, to drive out the profaners. Everything else, then, was all Mercy:
Mercy my conception, my birth, my words, my works, my steps, the Blood I shed,
my pains—everything in Me was merciful love. Yet, they fear Me, while they should
fear themselves more than Me. (June 9, 1922)
How could you fear Him? He has been closer to you
than your mother, closer to you than your spouse—for your entire life—and, for
the rest of your life, He will remain closer to you than anyone, until the moment
your body is called forth from the depths of the earth at the General Judgment.
Nothing can separate
you from the love of God. Do not fear Him. Jesus also says to Luisa:
“As soon
as a baby is conceived, My Conception goes around the conception of the baby,
to form him and keep him defended. And as he is born, My Birth places itself
around the newborn, to go around him and give him the helps of My Birth, of My
tears, of My wailings; and even My Breath goes around him to warm him. The
newborn does not love Me, though unconsciously, and I Love him to folly; I Love
his innocence, My Image in him, I Love what he must be. My Steps go around his
first vacillating steps in order to strengthen them, and they continue to go
around unto the last step of his life, to keep his steps safe within the round
of My Steps … And I can say that even My Resurrection goes around his
sepulcher, waiting for the propitious time in order to call, by the Empire of
My Resurrection, his Resurrection of the body to Immortal Life.” (March 6,
1932)
So do not fear Jesus. Do not fear the devil. Do not
fear death.
Feast of Saint Luke[2]
This day celebrates the life of St. Luke, one of Jesus' disciples. Luke was thought to be an educated Gentile, or non-Jew, and may have even been a physician. Some biblical historians believe he may have even been a slave. Luke wrote two books in the New Testament -- the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. The Gospel of Luke focuses on converting non-Jews to Christianity.
St Luke Facts
·
Luke
worked with the apostle Paul, and traveled with him throughout Asia Minor,
proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.
·
The
Gospel of Luke describes a popular passage referred to as the 'The Parable of
the Good Samaritan'. In it a traveling man is attacked by robbers who
strip and beat him. A priest and a Levite pass by without helping him.
A Samaritan stops and cares for him, taking him to an inn where the
Samaritan pays for his care. (Luke 10:25-37)
·
What
became of Luke is unclear. Some accounts say he was martyred, while
others say that he lived to an old age and died in Greece.
· The feast Day for St. Luke is held on October 18 in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Church and some Protestant churches. The Orthodox Church refers to this day as the Feast of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke.
St Luke Top Events and Things to Do
·
Read
the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. This is the story that is most
often read at Christmas time about the birth of Jesus Christ.
·
Read
the popular 'Parable of the Good Samaritan'. Use this to inspire you to
go out of your comfort zone to help someone in need.
·
Some
traditions believe that St. Luke, in addition to being a writer and physician,
was a painter. Do a little artwork today to honor the saint.
·
Go
get a checkup. Luke was a physician. Take care of your body in honor
of St. Luke.
·
Pray
for doctors and those who care for the sick through the intercession of St.
Luke, patron of physicians.
·
Foods
this day to honor St. Luke would include some beef dish, as he is known as the
"ox" and is the patron of butchers. For dessert, bake some raisin
Banbury Tarts to evoke the festivals of England on this day, or a cake in the
shape of a book with decorations of a calf or ox for this evangelist.
·
Today
is also known as "Sour Cakes Day" in Scotland, because baked cakes
were eaten with sour cream in Rutherglen.
St. Luke’s
Little Summer
Lovely, summerlike days that occur around October 18 are called
Saint Luke’s Little Summer in honor of the saint’s feast day. Around this time,
Saint Luke’s feast day, there is a period brief period of calm, dry weather. Of
course, it’s difficult to generalize today across the vast continent of North
America, but the temperature is usually mild, and the leaf colors are turning a
gorgeous color. It’s a good time for a brief vacation or visit to a park. In
Venice, Italy, they say: “San Luca, El ton va te la zuca” (Pumpkins go stale on
St Luke’s Day), but here in North America, pumpkins are enjoying their finest
hour. Saint Luke is the patron saint of physicians and surgeons, so it seems
only fitting that the good doctor give us these calm days. In olden days, St.
Luke’s Day did not receive as much attention in the secular world as St. John’s
Day (June 24) and Michaelmas (September 29), so it was to keep from being
forgotten that St. Luke presented us with some golden days to cherish before
the coming of winter, or so the story goes. Some folks call this Indian Summer,
but that officially occurs between November 11 and November 20.
Cyprus’s Painted Churches[3]
Above seaside Lemosos and on the eastern flank of
6,500-foot Mt. Olympus, you’ll also find ten magnificent medieval churches and
monasteries, whose modest exteriors stand in contrast to their rich interiors,
embellished with some of the finest Byzantine frescoes and icons in the
Mediterranean. At the ornate 11th-century Kykkos Monastery, even the cloisters
are richly frescoed, and a golden icon of the Virgin ascribed to St. Luke is said to work miracles. Agios
Nikolaos tis Stegis (St. Nicholas of the Roof) is covered entirely in wall
paintings. The monks who lived here were not only gifted artists but also
master vintners, following a 5,500-year-old wine-making tradition in Cyprus.
Stop at Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery for a visit to the region’s oldest
wine-making site. The dark amber– colored Commandaria, a sweet wine that was a
favorite elixir of medieval crusaders, is thought to be the world’s oldest
appellation and is made from centuries-old vines in the Troodos foothills. For
something with a little more kick, stop in any village bar for a glass of
zivania, a centuries-old Cypriot beverage produced from the residue of grapes.
With a 45 percent (and up) alcohol content, it is also used to treat wounds and
sore throats.
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 2-OUR VOCATION TO BEATITUDE
Article 5-THE MORALITY OF THE
PASSIONS
IN BRIEF
1771 The term "passions" refers to the affections or
the feelings. By his emotions man intuits the good and suspects evil.
1772 The principal passions are love and hatred, desire and
fear, joy, sadness, and anger.
1773 In the passions, as movements of the sensitive appetite,
there is neither moral good nor evil. But insofar as they engage reason and
will, there is moral good or evil in them.
1774 Emotions and feelings can be taken up in the virtues or
perverted by the vices.
1775 The perfection of the moral good consists in man's being
moved to the good not only by his will but also by his "heart."
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Absent Fathers
(physically & spiritually)
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday
Devotion
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Pray Day 5 of
the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
·
Tuesday:
Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
· Catholic
Recipe: Beef Bourguignon
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· What?
Fasting on a Feast Day?
·
Rosary
[1] https://www.countdowntothekingdom.com/luisa-piccarreta-no-fear/
[3]Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See
Before You Die
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