Sexagesima
Sexagesima
Sunday
super bowl-LINCOLN-Darwin
Sometime afterward, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: Do not FEAR, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great.
Let us take heart for the word (Christ) appeared to Abram and told him to not to fear the world. Abram was sore afraid because he had just been in battle with four Kings to rescue Lot his nephew and he feared retribution. Christ is our shield against the world (the four kings east, west, north and south) and he has rewarded us the spiritual children of Abram with eternal life. Our shield is our Faith. Do you believe? Do you really believe? Think of a shield it protects the heart from the arrows of the devil-which is doubt. But notice the shield does not protect the eyes and the head unless it is raised. When doubt comes around raise your shield of Faith and after the assault lower the shield and advance using your reason and your head and eyes in faith to make a difference in the world.
Additionally in Proverbs 2 it states that he is a shield to those who walk in integrity; let us resolve to walk resolutely in integrity by using faith and reason in the battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil. True integrity is being willing to lay down your life for what you hold fast as the truth without wavering. Having integrity means avoiding the sins of envy and having a true love for God our creator and to love our neighbor as ourselves and our fellow humans treating them with kindness.
ON KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[1]
CHAPTER
II
DIES
CHRISTI
The
Day of the Risen Lord
and of the Gift
of the Holy Spirit
The
first day of the week
1. In
those early Christian times, the weekly rhythm of days was generally not part
of life in the regions where the Gospel spread, and the festive days of the
Greek and Roman calendars did not coincide with the Christian Sunday. For
Christians, therefore, it was very difficult to observe the Lord's Day on a set
day each week. This explains why the faithful had to gather before sunrise. Yet
fidelity to the weekly rhythm became the norm, since it was based upon the New
Testament and was tied to Old Testament revelation. This is eagerly underscored
by the Apologists and the Fathers of the Church in their writings and preaching
where, in speaking of the Paschal Mystery, they use the same Scriptural texts
which, according to the witness of Saint Luke (cf. 24:27, 44-47), the Risen
Christ himself would have explained to the disciples. In the light of these
texts, the celebration of the day of the Resurrection acquired a doctrinal and
symbolic value capable of expressing the entire Christian mystery in all its
newness.
Sexagesima-The perils of exile (persecution)
and the fruits of asceticism (the Word being sown into our hearts).
Sexagesima literally means "sixtieth,"
though it only falls 56 days before Easter. During these weeks contemplate the
ways you can build up your fear of the Lord remembering that fear of the Lord
is really a deep abiding love for God.
The Introit of the Mass is taken from the forty-third psalm: Arise; why sleepest Thou, O Lord? Arise, and cast us not off to the end; why turnest Thou Thy face away, and forgettest our trouble? for our soul is humbled down to the dust; our belly cleaveth to the earth. Arise, O Lord, help us, and redeem us for Thy name’s sake. We have heard, O God, with our ears; our fathers have declared to us.
Prayer.
O God, Who seest that we confide in no action of
our own, grant, in Thy mercy, that we may be defended from all evils by the
protection of the Doctor of the gentiles. Amen.
EPISTLE, ii. Cor. xi. 19; xii. 9.
Brethren: You gladly suffer the foolish: whereas
yourselves are wise. For you suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man
devour you, if a man take from you, if a man be lifted up, if a man strike you
on the face. I speak according to dishonor, as if we had been weak in this
part. Wherein if any man dare (I speak foolishly) I dare also: they are
Hebrews, so am I: they are Israelites, so am I: they are the seed of Abraham,
so am I: they are the ministers of Christ (I speak as one less wise), I am
more: in many more labors: in prisons more frequently, in stripes above
measure, in deaths often. Of the Jews five times did I receive forty stripes,
save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered
shipwreck, a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea. In journeying
often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own nation,
in perils from the gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the
wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren: in labor and
painfulness, in much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in
cold and nakedness. Besides those things which are without: my daily instance,
the solicitude for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is
scandalized, and I am not on fire? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things
that concern my infirmity. The God and Farther of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is
blessed forever, knoweth that I lie not. At Damascus, the governor of the
nation under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes to apprehend
me: and through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and so escaped
his hands. If I must glory (it is not expedient indeed), but I will come to the
visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ above fourteen
years ago (whether in the body, I know not, or out of the body, I know not, God
knoweth), such an one rapt even to the third heaven. And I know such a man
(whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth) that he
was caught up into paradise: and heard secret words which it is not granted to
man to utter. For such an one I will glory: but for myself I will glory
nothing, but in my infirmities. For though I should have a mind to glory, _
snail- not be foolish: for I will say the truth: but I forbear, lest any man
should think of me above that which he seeth in me, or anything he heareth from
me. And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given
me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me.
For which thing thrice I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me: and
He said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee: for power is made perfect in
infirmity. Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may dwell in me.
By the example of St. Paul, the Church would incite us to work out our salvation by cooperating faithfully with the grace of God. Let us, like this great apostle, be not irritated at temptations, but firmly combat and overcome them by the help of divine grace.
Prayer.
Grant me, O God, Thy grace, that I may in these evil days keep steadily to Thy holy doctrine, and never be seduced from obeying it, either by the allurements of the world, or the reproaches of the wicked. Amen.
GOSPEL. Luke viii. 4-15.
At that time: When a very great multitude was gathered together and hastened out of the cities unto Him, He spoke by a similitude: The sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside and was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And other some fell upon a rock: and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And other some fell among thorns, and the thorns growing up with it, choked it. And other some fell upon good ground: and being sprang up, yielded fruit a hundredfold. Saying these things, He cried out: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And His disciples asked Him what this parable might be. To whom He said: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. And they by the wayside, are they that hear; then the devil cometh, and taketh the word out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved. Now they upon the rock, are they who when they hear, receive the word with joy: and these have no roots: for they believe for a while, and in time of temptation, they fall away. And that which fell among thorns, are they who have heard, and going their way, are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life and yield no fruit. But that on the good ground: are they who in a good and a very good heart, hearing the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit in patience.
Why is the word of God here compared to seed?
Because as good fruits spring from good seed, so do good works from the word of God; and as it is impossible for any soil not sown to produce good fruits, so neither can men produce the fruits of the Spirit without the seed of the divine Word.
Why did Our Savior cry out, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear?”
To declare the necessity of heeding the word of God, since without the instruction in our holy religion which we derive from that word we cannot know what we must do to please God, and save our souls.
How,
then, does it happen that, notwithstanding the excellence of the divine word,
there are so many bad Christians?
The fault is with men, who, though they hear the word of God, hear, read, and meditate superficially. The divine seed finds no moisture or root in their hearts; they are overgrown with the piercing thorns of cares, riches, and sensual lusts, so that the seed of the divine word is choked up, and can neither grow nor bear fruit.
What is the effect of the word of God when heeded?
To wash away sin, implant virtue, and create the world anew. Jeremias says: “Are not My words as a fire” (Jer. xxiii. 29) which bursts out from within, consuming the vapors of sin, drying up the marshes of vice, and killing the deep roots of bad habits? Again, it is “a hammer,” breaking in pieces the rocks of hardened hearts. St. Paul says: “It is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword: reaching into the division of the soul and spirit, of the joints also and the marrow” (Heb. iv. 12) that is, cutting away from the spirit sensual lusts. St. James calls it a mirror, in which a man beholding himself and his sins becomes ashamed, and tries to get free from them (James i. 23). It is, finally, the good seed, which, falling upon good ground, yields fruit a hundredfold.
What must we do BEFORE a sermon?
St. Chrysostom asks, “Who pours a precious liquid into an unclean vessel, before he has washed it?” We should, therefore, cleanse our hearts before a sermon by contrition, for wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul (Wis. i. 4). As the ground to be sown must first be prepared, so must our hearts be cleansed, and made ready by a holy desire of learning what is good.
What must we do DURING a sermon?
We must listen attentively and respectfully, for it is God Who speaks to us through the preacher: “He that heareth you, heareth Me” (Luke x. 16). If an ambassador reading the letters of his king is listened to with great attention, quiet, and respect, says St. Chrysostom, how much greater veneration should we not pay to the minister of God announcing His holy will? Be careful, therefore, not to show contempt for the preacher, for that will reach back to God, Who has said, “He that despiseth you, despiseth Me” (Luke x. 16). Be careful not to apply what is said in the sermon to others, but rather take heed to thyself (i. Tim. iv. 16). If you are free from those sins which the sermon points at, thank God, arid pray that you may not fall into them.
What must we do AFTER a sermon?
We must endeavor
to practice what we have heard; for God justifies, not the hearers of the law,
but only the doers (Rom. ii. 13) of it. In order to practice what we hear in
the sermon it is necessary, in the first place, to keep it in our minds, to
ponder it carefully and remember it. Christ, therefore, blesses those who hear
the word of God and keep it (Luke xi. 28). The seed cannot bring forth fruit if
not well covered with good ground, warmed by the sun, moistened by the rain and
dew, and cared for in other ways. Finally, pray often to God, that He may keep
alive in you the divine truths which you have heard.
Prayer.
O my God, I am
covered with shame, because the seed of Thy divine word, which Thou hast so
abundantly sown in my heart, has brought forth so little fruit. Have mercy, O
Lord, and change my heart, that it may become good ground, in which Thy word
may take root, thrive, grow, and finally bring forth the fruit of salvation,
which Thou requirest of me. Amen.
Novena to the Holy Face
To prepare ourselves for union with God; I recommend we start a Novena to the Holy Face of Christ. I try to do this yearly in preparation for lent.
The
Novena will end on Tuesday before Ash Wednesday which is the day that Judas
went to the Sanhedrin to betray Christ.
NOVENA TO THE HOLY FACE
[2]The Golden Arrow
(as dictated by Our Lord to Sister Marie of St. Peter)
May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and
ineffable Name of God be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified
in Heaven, on Earth, and under the Earth by all the creatures of God and by the
Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the
Altar. Amen. Eternal Father, I offer
Thee the adorable Face of Thy Beloved Son for the honor and glory of Thy Name,
for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of the dying. Amen.
All those who honor My Face in a spirit of
reparation will by so doing perform the office of the pious Veronica. According
to the care they take in making reparation to My Face, disfigured by
blasphemers, so will I take care of their souls which have been disfigured by
sin. My Face is the seal of the Divinity, which has the virtue of reproducing
in souls the image of God.
1. Those who by words, prayers or writing defend My
cause
2.
By offering My
Face to My Eternal Father, nothing will be refused, and the conversion of many
sinners will be obtained.
3. By My Holy Face, they will work wonders, appease the
anger of God, and draw down mercy on sinners.
4. As in a kingdom they can procure all that is desired
with a coin stamped with the King's effigy, so in the Kingdom of Heaven they
will obtain all they desire with the precious coin of My Holy Face.
5. Those who on earth contemplate the wounds of My Face
shall in Heaven behold it radiant with glory.
6. They will receive in their souls a bright and
constant irradiation of My Divinity, that by their likeness to My Face they
shall shine with particular splendor in Heaven.
7. I will defend them, I will preserve them and I
assure them of Final Perseverance.[3]
Novena in Honor
of
the Most Holy Face of Jesus
"I
firmly wish that my face reflecting the intimate pains of my soul, the
suffering and love of my heart, be more honored! Whoever gazes upon me already
consoles me." (Our Lord Jesus Christ to Sister Pierina)
DAILY PREPARATORY PRAYER
O
Most Holy and Blessed Trinity, through the intercession of Holy Mary, whose
soul was pierced through by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of
her Divine Son, we ask your help in making a perfect Novena of reparation with
Jesus, united with all His sorrows, love and total abandonment.
We
now implore all the Angels and Saints to intercede for us as we pray this Holy
Novena to the Most Holy Face of Jesus and for the glory of the most Holy
Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
(Start
novena)
"All
those who, attracted by my love, and venerating my countenance, shall receive,
by virtue of my humanity, a brilliant and vivid impression of my divinity. This
splendor shall enlighten the depths of their souls, so that in eternal glory
the celestial court shall marvel at the marked likeness of their features with
my divine countenance." (Our Lord Jesus Christ to St. Gertrude)
First
Day
(Console Holy Face and recite Daily Preparatory
Prayer)
Psalm
51, 3-4.
Have mercy on me, O God in your goodness,
in your great tenderness wipe away my faults; wash me clean of my guilt, purify
me from my sin.
O
most Holy Face of Jesus, look with tenderness on us who are sinners. You are a
merciful God, full of love and compassion. Keep us pure of heart, so that we
may see Thee always. Mary, our Mother, intercede for us; Saint Joseph, pray for
us.
Through
the merits of your precious blood and your Holy Face, O Jesus, grant us our
petition, Pardon and Mercy.
Prayer
to Our Almighty Father
Almighty Father come into our hearts, and
so fill us with your love that forsaking all evil desires, we may embrace you,
our only good. Show us, O Lord our God, what you are to us. Say to our souls, I
am your salvation, speak so that we may hear. Our hearts are before you; open
our ears; let us hasten after your voice. Hide not your Face from us, we
beseech you, O Lord. Open our hearts so that you may enter in. Repair the
ruined mansions, that you may dwell therein. Hear us, O Heavenly Father, for
the sake of your only Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever Amen.
Pray one (1) Our Father, (3)
Hail Mary’s, (1) Glory Be,
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine. (Three times)[4]
Manhood
of the Master[5]
In 1913 the renowned Harry Emerich Fosdick wrote a 12-week study on the Manhood of Jesus Christ. Fosdick writes, “This work is not a portrait of the life of the Master or a study of his teaching. It is an endeavor to understand and appreciate the quality of his character. Neither this this work an attempted to contribution to the theology; it is an endeavor, rather, to get back behind the thoughts of the centuries about him, and to see the Man Christ Jesus himself as he lives in the pages of the gospels.
During the Lenten period we will utilize the work to come
closer to Christ’s manhood using this source as fruit for a study of Christ.
Hopefully our study will help us rise with Christ and become true sons of Mary
and the Church.
· Manhood of the Master-week 1 day 1
Super Bowl[6]
The Super Bowl is the season final championship game of National Football League (NFL) in the United States of America. The matchup for this game is the winning teams of the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). Super Bowl 1 was held in February of 1967. The 2016 game was Super Bowl 50. The Super Bowl is one of the most watched television events in the United States. Nielsen Media Research, in had over 114.4 million viewers in 2015.
Super Bowl Facts
·
Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest
eating day of the year - after Thanksgiving. According to the National
Chicken Council, in 2015 a total of 1.25 million chicken wings were eaten
during the game.
·
The winner receives the Vince Lombardi
Trophy. Vince Lombardi was the coach for the Green Bay Packers who won
the first two Super Bowls back-to-back.
·
The record for the most points scored by a
single team during a Super Bowl, is held by San Francisco. San Francisco
scored a total of 55 points against Denver in Super Bowl XXIV.
Super Bowl Top Events and Things to Do
·
Attend the Super Bowl. You can
purchase second-hand tickets through various online marketplaces. According to
Seat Geek, the average price for a ticket in 2015 was $2,670.
·
Have a Super Bowl party with friends and
family.
·
Organize or purchase boxes in a football
pool. A football pool is a table that contains all of the score
combinations based on the last digit of each team’s score. The score
numbers are drawn at random after all boxes are assigned. Because of
this, the odds of winning are the same regardless of each participant’s
knowledge of the game.
·
Watch the Super Bowl commercials.
Commercials for the big game are the most expensive on TV and for many,
more entertaining than the game.
·
Make guacamole. This is the
quintessential (and healthy!) super bowl dip.
Lincoln's Birthday (1809) celebrates the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most popular presidents in United States history. It is a state holiday in some states on or around February 12. It's also known as Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, Abraham Lincoln Day or Lincoln Day.
“Character is Destiny” [8] is a book written by John McCain in it he highlights the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, of the United States as an example of a man who demonstrates for us the characteristic of RESILIENCE. Resilience is the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.
Abraham Lincoln had known loss and grief all his life yet rather that than succumb to defeat; he somehow, always found a way to rise back up. He was inarguably a man of action. Although he was known to have chronic depression he never yielded and, in some way, resurrected from his melancholic states thinking, “To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better.” Lincoln rose to the highest office in the land after surviving a hard and poor childhood in the Indiana wilderness, a harsh father, little education, and deep loneliness. He survived the death of his brother, a sister, his mother, his first sweetheart, and his own children and his marriage to Mary Todd was troubled. As president he was considered dismal by most. How did Lincoln persist? He willed it. He was neither swift nor brilliant at work, but he was exhaustive; he continued. His resilience sprang from his deep conviction that America was, “the last, best hope of earth.” In the end he paid for his devotion with his life; so that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.
Darwin Day[9]
Darwin Day commemorates
the achievements and the life of the scientist Charles Darwin. Names like
Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, and Charles Darwin are among
the most historic names in science. Darwin’s most famous achievement is the
development of the Theory of Natural Selection. The celebration occurs every
year on Darwin’s birthday, February 12th.
Character is Destiny[10]
John McCain pointed out in his book entitled,
“Character is Destiny” that an understanding heart must be generous (Oseola
McCarty), forgiving (Nelson Mandela), tolerant (Four Chaplains), full of mercy
(Mother Antonia), faithful (Christian Guard at Hua Lo prison) and compassionate
(Maximilian Kolbe). John now suggests for us that adding to our understanding
heart we must strive to have a creative mind. A creative mind must be built on
a thirst or curiosity in the mysteries of creation. John points out as an
example of curiosity the renowned Charles Darwin.
McCain says of Darwin:
His curiosity and courage helped him to discover the
history of nature and start an argument that has continued for 150 years. A
curious thing about the father of the theory of evolution is that he himself
was an avowed agnostic, keeping
to his scientific methods.
The evolution of all life on earth, including man,
was and still is, in some quarters, considered an affront to the belief that
the progress of the human race over time bears the unmistakable sign of the
divine spark in our nature. But why can we not be content in our faith with the
understanding that God’s divine intelligence, which exists beyond time and
space, and has left us to choose by the exercise of our free will whether to
accept His grace or reject it, could have left nature to work its physical
changes upon us? We have a second nature, a moral nature, that is not
determined by ecological change but by the workings of our conscience. Is not
our conscience and its effect upon our will enough confirmation for the
believer that God, the Creator, has endowed us with the divine spark of His
love to improve, if we so choose, our second nature in service to Him? It is
enough, I believe, for anyone who can see in our struggle to be good a divine
purpose, as we may still glimpse in the wonders of nature the divine
intelligence that created it and set it all in motion.
To believe and follow God is our choice. Not all will follow. Our principal belief is in our salvation not in this life but the next. Man, and nature, even at their cruelest, cannot deny us that, nor the gloriousness of His creation, a gloriousness that human qualities like curiosity have led us to appreciate with humility and awe. Time and the laws of nature do not expose the absence of God, whose proofs are a matter for the heart to contemplate, a matter of faith.
Evolution and the Catholic Church[11]
Early contributions to biology were made by Catholic
scientists such as Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and the
Augustinian friar Gregor Mendel. Since the publication of Charles
Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859,
the attitude of the Catholic
Church on the theory of evolution has slowly been refined.
For nearly a century, the papacy offered
no authoritative pronouncement on Darwin's theories. In the 1950 encyclical Humani
generis, Pope Pius
XII confirmed that there is no intrinsic conflict between Christianity and the
theory of evolution, provided that Christians believe that God created all
things and that the individual soul is a direct creation by God and not the product of purely material forces.
Today, the Church supports theistic evolution(ism), also known as evolutionary
creation, although Catholics are free not to believe in any part of
evolutionary theory.
The Catholic Church holds no official position on
the theory of creation or evolution, leaving the specifics of either theistic
evolution or literal creationism to the individual within certain parameters
established by the Church. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
any believer may accept either literal or special
creation within the period of an actual six-day, twenty-four-hour period, or they
may accept the belief that the earth evolved over time under the guidance of
God. Catholicism holds that God initiated and continued the process
of his evolutionary creation and that all humans, whether specially created or
evolved, have and have always had specially created souls for each individual.
Catholic schools in the United States and
other countries teach evolution as part of their science curriculum. They teach
the fact that evolution occurs and the modern
evolutionary synthesis, which is the scientific
theory that explains how evolution proceeds.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO-THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Chapter 2 “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.
Article 6-THE SIXTH
COMMANDMENT
II.
The Vocation to Chastity
2337 Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality
within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual
being. Sexuality, in which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world
is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the
relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift
of a man and a woman.
The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and
the integrality of the gift.
The integrity of the person
2338 The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of
life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it
is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates neither a double
life nor duplicity in speech.
2339 Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which
is a training in human freedom. the alternative is clear: either man governs
his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and
becomes unhappy. "Man's dignity therefore requires him to act out of
conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within,
and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external constraint. Man gains
such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the passions, he presses
forward to his goal by freely choosing what is good and, by his diligence and
skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to this end."
2340 Whoever wants to remain faithful to his baptismal promises
and resist temptations will want to adopt the means for doing so:
self-knowledge, practice of an ascesis adapted to the situations that confront
him, obedience to God's commandments, exercise of the moral virtues, and
fidelity to prayer. "Indeed it is through chastity that we are gathered together
and led back to the unity from which we were fragmented into
multiplicity."
2341 The virtue of chastity comes under the cardinal virtue of
temperance, which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the senses
with reason.
2342 Self-mastery is a long and exacting work. One can never
consider it acquired once and for all. It presupposes renewed effort at all
stages of life. The effort required can be more intense in certain
periods, such as when the personality is being formed during childhood and adolescence.
2343 Chastity has laws of growth which progress through stages
marked by imperfection and too often by sin. "Man . . . day by day builds
himself up through his many free decisions; and so he knows, loves, and
accomplishes moral good by stages of growth."
2344 Chastity represents an eminently personal task; it also
involves a cultural effort, for there is "an interdependence between
personal betterment and the improvement of society." Chastity
presupposes respect for the rights of the person, in particular the right to
receive information and an education that respect the moral and spiritual
dimensions of human life.
2345 Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from God, a
grace, a fruit of spiritual effort. The Holy Spirit enables one whom the
water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ.
The integrality of the gift of self
2346 Charity is the form of all the virtues. Under its
influence, chastity appears as a school of the gift of the person. Self-mastery
is ordered to the gift of self. Chastity leads him who practices it to become a
witness to his neighbor of God's fidelity and loving kindness.
2347 The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows
the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his
friends, who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate
in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality.
Chastity
is expressed notably in friendship with one's neighbor. Whether it develops
between persons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good
for all. It leads to spiritual communion.
The various forms of chastity
2348 All the baptized are called to chastity. the Christian has
"put on Christ," The model for all chastity. All Christ's
faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular
states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the Christian is pledged to lead
his affective life in chastity.
2349 "People should cultivate [chastity] in the way that
is suited to their state of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated
celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided
heart in a remarkable manner. Others live in the way prescribed for all by the
moral law, whether they are married or single." Married people are
called to live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in continence:
There
are three forms of the virtue of chastity: the first is that of spouses, the
second that of widows, and the third that of virgins. We do not praise any one
of them to the exclusion of the others.... This is what makes for the richness
of the discipline of the Church.
2350 Those who are engaged to marry are called to live chastity
in continence. They should see in this time of testing a discovery of mutual
respect, an apprenticeship in fidelity, and the hope of receiving one another
from God. They should reserve for marriage the expressions of affection that
belong to married love. They will help each other grow in chastity.
Offenses against chastity
2351 Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of
sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself,
isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes.
2352 By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate
stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure.
"Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant
tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have
firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered
action." "The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever
reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose." For
here sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which
is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual
self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is
achieved."
To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to
guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity,
force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or
social factors that lessen or even extenuate moral culpability.
2353 Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and
an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of
human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the
generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when
there is corruption of the young.
2354 Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual
acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately
to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal
act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the
dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one
becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses
all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense.
Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of
pornographic materials.
2355 Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who
engages in it, reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure. the one
who pays sins gravely against himself: he violates the chastity to which his
Baptism pledged him and defiles his body, the temple of the Holy
Spirit. Prostitution is a social scourge. It usually involves women, but
also men, children, and adolescents (The latter two cases involve the added sin
of scandal.). While it is always gravely sinful to engage in prostitution, the
imputability of the offense can be attenuated by destitution, blackmail, or
social pressure.
2356 Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of
another person. It does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply wounds the
respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a
right. It causes grave damage that can mark the victim for life. It is always
an intrinsically evil act. Graver still is the rape of children committed by
parents (incest) or those responsible for the education of the children
entrusted to them.
Chastity and homosexuality
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between
women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward
persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the
centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely
unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts
as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that
"homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are
contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life.
They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under
no circumstances can they be approved.
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated
homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively
disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with
respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in
their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will
in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the
Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues
of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of
disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should
gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
Daily Devotions
·
Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day
to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t
forget the internet.
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy Priests, Consecrated, & Religious
· Devotion
of the Seven Sundays: St Joseph-2nd Sunday
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Rosary
[6]http://www.wincalendar.com/Super-Bowl
[8] McCain, John and Salter, Mark. (2005) Character is destiny. Random
House, New York
[9] https://www.wincalendar.com/Darwin-Day
[10] http://www.icemanforchrist.org/p/character-is-destiny.html
[11]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_and_the_Catholic_Church
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