Wednesday, November 23, 2022

 Total Consecration to St. Joseph Day 12

Chasity preserves the heart and body for authentic self giving.

Chasity a gift 


Chastity is sexual self-control. It means placing sexual intimacy within one relationship and one relationship only: marriage.


Although we've used the word abstinence in this book and have encouraged you to abstain from premarital sex, we actually prefer the term chastity when talking about sexual morality.


Abstinence is about what you cannot do (engage in sexual intimacy). Chastity is about what you can do: lead a positive lifestyle that respects self and others. For centuries, chastity has been an admired moral virtue. Author Pat Driscoll defines chastity as sexual goodness living out the truth, beauty, and goodness of human sexuality. In one of her pamphlets, God's Plan for Sex, Driscoll boldly states Sex is great! and then lists some reasons why it is:


God created sex, and it's wonderful.


God gave us operating instructions for sex (in the Bible).


Only the abuse of sex (through fornication, adultery, masturbation, etc.) is wrong.


Following God's law brings joy.


Disobeying God's law brings unhappiness and problems for ourselves and society.


God has given us many ways to express our sexuality genitally (in marriage) and non-genitally (outside of marriage).


Chastity applies to everybody, unmarried people and married people. How?


For unmarried people (both those planning to marry and those who intend to remain single), chastity means staying pure in thought and deed, refraining from sexual intercourse and other forms of deliberate genital arousal, and expressing one's sexuality in non-genital ways.


For married people, chastity means having sex only with your marriage partner. This form of promised faithfulness between husbands and wives giving themselves sexually only to each other, never to anyone else is also known as fidelity. Chastity in marriage also means keeping sex open to life. 

Celibacy is a special form of chastity. People with a religious vocation for example, priests, brothers, and nuns take a vow of celibacy. As part of their deep commitment to God and sacrificial service to God's people, they promise to lead a life that excludes all forms of genital sexual intimacy.


Operation Purity



MIGUEL PRO-ESPRESSO DAY 

2 Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse 11

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

 

One way to mend your ways and bring love and peace to your organizations and relationships is to use an ideal developed by the late Steven Covey.

 

Emotional Bank Account[1]


 

We all know how our regular bank account works. We make deposits, save up money, and when we need that money later, we withdraw it. An emotional bank account is an account of trust instead of money. It’s an account based on how safe you feel with another person.

 

Covey identifies six ways to make deposits (or reduce withdrawals):

 

1.      Understanding the Individual. This means listening intently to what the other person is saying and empathizing with how they may feel. It’s important to care for others and act with kindness toward them.

2.      Keeping Commitments. How do you feel when someone arrives right on time when you have a meeting? How about when people simply do what they say they will do? You build up an emotional reserve by keeping your commitments.

3.      Clarifying Expectations. We are not mind readers, and yet we consistently expect others to know what we expect of them. Communicating our expectations can help create a higher level of trust. When we ask for what we want, and we get it, we can then trust a little more.

4.      Attending to the Little Things. Don’t you find that the little things tend to become the BIG things when they do not receive our attention? Doing the little things is how we honor and show respect for others. Small kindnesses, a smile, a little extra effort, a hug, doing something you didn’t “have” to: these are the things that build trust.

5.      Showing Personal Integrity. Integrity is the moral floor upon which trusting relationships are built. When we operate with sound moral character, it makes it so easy for others to trust us.

6.      Apologizing When We Make a Withdrawal. We will make mistakes; it’s part of life. But when you see you have violated a trust, sincerely apologizing is how we make a deposit to counteract the damage we have done.

 

When your trust level is high, because you’ve made lots of deposits, communication is almost effortless. You can be yourself, and others understand and appreciate you. Then, when you make mistakes or offend someone unexpectedly, you draw on that reserve and the relationship still maintains a solid level of trust. Conversely, when you are discourteous, disrespect others, interrupt others, speak sarcastically or ignore others, your emotional bank account becomes overdrawn because you have jeopardized the trust level. When the trust level is low, you have to be very careful of what you say; you tend to be more political. Our most precious relationships (with our spouse, kids, friends and boss) require constant deposits, because those relationships continue to grow and change, and with these changes come new expectations. If you have a teenager at home, you may make several withdrawals in just one day! As your marriage evolves, your roles and responsibilities may change, and your work and home lives may change over time because of career changes or kids moving out or back in. These relationships require constant investment. 

To remind ourselves of His love and to prepare our hearts and souls for the reception of His body we should get to Mass early enough to say the Prayer of St. Thomas prior to Mass 

Octave of Christ the King 

·       Meditate on the virtues of Mary (Humility, Generosity, Chastity, Patience, Temperance, Understanding/love and Wisdom. One for each day.

·       attend Mass daily or via EWTN or the internet

·       Fast doing the Daniel fast (Monday-Saturday).

·       Exercise-Universal Man Plan.

The Virtue of Patience[2]

CHRIST tells you:

MY CHILD, I came down from Heaven for your salvation and perfection. Not only did I make reparation for your sins, but I also gave you an example of the virtues which you need in order to gain eternal life. I took upon Myself your daily trials and difficulties, in order to show you how to deal with them.

One of the virtues which you often need in your daily life is patience. I had to practice a great deal of patience with the people around Me during My earthly life. I had to bear the same things which annoy and irritate you. I bore these trials with patience. Meditate on My patience and pray for the wisdom and strength to imitate Me in this holy virtue.

Consider how I treat My loyal followers. I do not send them an easy life, but one which demands great patience, not many earthly joys, but many trials; not honors, but contempt and hatred; not ease, but endless labors. By their unwavering patience they earn a crown of unending glory.

Some are willing to suffer only what they choose to endure. Others can be patient with certain persons, but not with everyone. A truly patient man, however, makes no exceptions and sets no conditions as to when, or with whom he will be patient. One who possesses supernatural patience, does not consider what kind of people cause his trial; whether they are superiors, equals, or inferiors, whether they are well meaning or malicious. He is interested only in taking this trial as though I were handing it to him. As long as the matter does not require him to defend his rights, or to correct the people involved, he is willing to bear his trial for My sake.

THINK: The supernatural virtue of patience is an act of love for God shown by the disregard of one’s own convenience or inconvenience. It is another form of self-giving. Jesus could have saved me with far less inconvenience to Himself. He endured much more for me than He needed to. That was His way of showing His love for me. If I fix my eyes on Him, I shall never again say that I can take anything except this or that. I shall be willing to suffer anything for Jesus. I shall lose sight of the people involved, and see only Jesus.

PRAY: Dear patient Jesus, who can describe the boundless love with which You suffered so many trials in Your daily life? Can I think of this and still refuse to practice greater patience in my own life? Can I see my God and Savior bearing so much aggravation for my sins, and still go on demanding a smoothly running life for myself? You are still practicing patience with me, as You wait for me to come to my senses and start practicing a bit of humility in my daily life. If I were truly humble, I would find it easy to be patient. I deserve far worse than what I now suffer in my daily life. Therefore, I shall be patient with the trials which come along. Someday I may rise to a higher generosity with You. I may even reach the joy which Your saints had in suffering for You. I must, however, begin today. I hope to face my problems and annoyances with patience, for Your sake, my Jesus. Amen.

Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro[3]

Miguel Pro was born January 13, 1891, at Guadalupe Zacatecas, Mexico. From his childhood, high spirits and happiness were the most outstanding characteristics of his personality. The loving and devoted son of a mining engineer and a pious and charitable mother, Miguel had a special affinity for the working classes which he retained all his life. At 20, he became a Jesuit novice and shortly thereafter was exiled because of the Mexican revolution. He traveled to the United States, Spain, Nicaragua and Belgium, where he was ordained in 1925. Father Pro suffered greatly from a severe stomach problem and when, after several operations his health did not improve, in 1926 his superiors allowed him to return to Mexico in spite of the religious persecution in the country. The churches were closed, and priests were in hiding.

Father Pro spent the rest of his life in a secret ministry to the sturdy Mexican Catholics. In addition to fulfilling their spiritual needs, he also carried out the works of mercy by assisting the poor of Mexico City with their temporal needs. He adopted many disguises to carry out his secret ministry. In all that he did, he remained filled with the joy of serving Christ, his King, and obedient to his superiors. Falsely accused in a bombing attempt on the President-elect, Pro became a wanted man. He was betrayed to the police and sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process. On the day of his death, Father Pro forgave his executioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold, and died proclaiming "Viva Cristo Rey!" (Long Live Christ the King).

Things to Do:

Espresso Day[4] The voodoo priest and all his powders were as nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino, and mocha, which are stronger than all the religions of the world combined, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself. Mark Helprin

·        Rich and powerful, espresso is a nitro-boost to your day and a go-to for coffee drinkers looking for a way to get through those long hard days and nights. It is a refinement of coffee, distilled down to its most potent elements and delivered in special cups that should have a warning label that reads “High Vibration and Caffeine Jitters Ahead”. Espresso day celebrates the history of this delicious and powerful solution to an otherwise dreary day.

History Of Espresso Day


·        In Turin, in 1884 an incredible new innovation was developed that would change the way work would be done for all of history. No more would tired laborers have to rely on pure willpower to get them through the day or lean on the watered-down attempt at caffeination that was normal coffee and tea. Instead, thanks to the innovative methods of Angelo Moriondo coffee had seen a new age of enlightenment, as his new machine found a way to separately control the passing of steam and water through the coffee. This innovation made it possible to extract the fullest possible potential from the humble coffee bean.

·        Espresso Day was created to honor this invention and the wonderful man who made it all possible. True, the machine has undergone multiple upgrades and innovations since then, with homemade espresso machines now being available, and the latte is now one of the most popular methods of imbibing this drink. From Turin, Italy this beverage spread throughout the world, earning a place of prominence in Europe, the USA, and eventually the world at large.

How To Celebrate Espresso Day

·        Celebrating Espresso Day is as simple as skipping on down to your local caffeination station, be it a Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, or whatever your local flavor of coffee shop is. Order yourself the strongest drink on the menu, a triple-shot espresso if they have them, and raise a small ceramic glass of high-powered octane the those in attendance. Toast Angelo Moriondo and his works and let all who will listen know that it is he who drives the modern worker and increases production. Then stop on the way home and buy yourself your own personal espresso machine, because weekends need coffee too.

Every Wednesday is Dedicated to St. Joseph

The Italian culture has always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass. You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous, you could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family night perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.

·       Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph

·       Do the St. Joseph Universal Man Plan.

 

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST

SECTION ONE-MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

CHAPTER TWO-THE HUMAN COMMUNION

Article 2-PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE

Article 3-SOCIAL JUSTICE

IN BRIEF

 

1943 Society ensures social justice by providing the conditions that allow associations and individuals to obtain their due.

 

1944 Respect for the human person considers the other "another self." It presupposes respect for the fundamental rights that flow from the dignity intrinsic of the person.

 

1945 The equality of men concerns their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it.

 

1946 The differences among persons belong to God's plan, who wills that we should need one another. These differences should encourage charity.

 

1947 The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic inequalities. It gives urgency to the elimination of sinful inequalities.

 

1948 Solidarity is an eminently Christian virtue. It practices the sharing of spiritual goods even more than material ones.

 

Daily Devotions/Practice


·       Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Increase in the Religious and Consecrated Life.

·       Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·       Drops of Christ’s Blood

·       Universal Man Plan

·       Rosary.



[1]http://integratedleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Your_Emotnal_Bank_Acct.pdf

[2]https://catholic-restoration.com/2019/11/30/the-virtue-of-patience/

[4] https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/espresso-day/


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