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Third Sunday of Lent
Genesis, Chapter 50, Verse 16-19
16 So they sent to Joseph and said:
“Before your father died, he gave us these instructions: 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph:
Please forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers, who treated you
harmfully.’ So now please forgive the crime that we, the servants of the God of
your father, committed.” When they said this to him, Joseph broke into tears. 18 Then his brothers also proceeded to
fling themselves down before him and said, “We are your slaves!” 19 But Joseph replied to them: “Do not FEAR. Can I take the place of God?
So, Joseph now had his brothers within his power to crush them and he did not. No, Joseph wept and made peace with his brothers knowing the intent of God is that all men be free in mind, body and spirit. Joseph knew that only free men can sow their gifts before God and that “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor. 9:7-8) You cannot give what you do not own; therefore, each must be free to give back to God; Joseph is the precursor of Christ who fulfills the gospel of abundance proclaim by our loving God. Here Joseph was able to find the peace that only God can give by sincerely wanting God’s will. Joseph found this peace only by trusting and having courage to live entirely by God’s way.
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 day of Christ-Light
27. This Christocentric vision sheds
light upon another symbolism which Christian reflection and pastoral practice
ascribed to the Lord's Day. Wise pastoral intuition suggested to the Church the
christianization of the notion of Sunday as "the day of the sun",
which was the Roman name for the day and which is retained in some modern
languages. This was in order to draw the faithful away from the seduction of
cults which worshipped the sun, and to direct the celebration of the day to
Christ, humanity's true "sun". Writing to the pagans, Saint Justin
uses the language of the time to note that Christians gather together "on
the day named after the sun", but for believers the expression had already
assumed a new meaning which was unmistakeably rooted in the Gospel. Christ is
the light of the world (cf. Jn 9:5; also 1:4-5, 9), and, in the weekly
reckoning of time, the day commemorating his Resurrection is the enduring
reflection of the epiphany of his glory. The theme of Sunday as the day
illuminated by the triumph of the Risen Christ is also found in the Liturgy of
the Hours and is given special emphasis in the Pannichida, the vigil
which in the Eastern liturgies prepares for Sunday. From generation to
generation as she gathers on this day, the Church makes her own the wonderment
of Zechariah as he looked upon Christ, seeing in him the dawn which gives
"light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (Lk
1:78-79), and she echoes the joy of Simeon when he takes in his arms the divine
Child who has come as the "light to enlighten the Gentiles" (Lk
2:32).
Third Sunday of Lent
Prayer.
We
beseech Thee, Almighty God, regard the prayers of Thy humble servants, and
stretch forth in our defense the right hand of Thy majesty.
EPISTLE. Ephesians v. 1-9.
Brethren:
Be ye therefore followers of God, as most dear children. And walk-in love as
Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us, an oblation and a
sacrifice to God for an odor of sweetness. But fornication and all uncleanness,
or covetousness, let it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints:
or obscenity, or foolish talking, or scurrility, which is to no purpose: but
rather giving of thanks. For know ye this and understand that no fornicator,
nor unclean, nor covetous person (which is a serving of idols), hath
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with
vain words. For because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the
children of unbelief. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. For you were
heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. Walk ye as children of the
light: for the fruit of the light is in all goodness, and justice, and truth.
Explanation.
St. Paul here
declares it to be the duty of every Christian, not only to walk in love, but
also to abstain from fornication, impurity, and equivocal and immodest talk. No
one, therefore, who is addicted to these vices can have any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ.
Aspiration. O Lord, free my heart from all
inordinate desires for temporal goods and sensual pleasures. May a childlike
fear of Thee guard my tongue, that I may not speak foolish or sinful words.
GOSPEL. Luke xi. 14-28.
At that time Jesus was
casting out a devil, and the same was dumb; and when He had cast out the devil,
the dumb spoke: and the multitudes were in admiration at it: but some of them
said: He casteth out devils, by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. And others
tempting, asked of Him a sign from heaven. But He seeing their thoughts said to
them: Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation, and
house upon house shall fall. And if Satan also be divided against himself, how
shall his kingdom stand? because you say, that through Beelzebub I cast out
devils. Now if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast
them out?
Therefore, they shall be
your judges. But if I by the finger of God cast out devils, doubtless the
kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his court:
those things are in peace which he possesseth. But if a stronger than he come
upon him and overcome him: he will take away all his armor wherein he trusted
and will distribute his spoils. he that is not with Me is against Me: and he
that gathereth not with Me, scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of
a man, he walketh through places without water, seeking rest: and not finding,
he saith: I will return into my house whence I came out. And when he is come,
he findeth it swept and garnished. Then he goeth and taketh with him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself and entering in they dwell there. And the last
state of that man becometh worse than the first. And it came to pass as He
spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd lifting up her voice said to
Him: Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps that gave Thee suck. But
He said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.
What
are we to understand here by the dumb devil?
The
evil spirit, who so controls those of whom he has possession that they are
dumb, and through a false shame keep away from confession.
By
what power did Christ cast out the devil?
By
His divine power, which worked so suddenly and perfectly that the possessed was
at once freed and able to speak.
How
did Christ show the Jews that He did not cast out devils by Beelzebub?
1.
By the parable in which He explains to them that the kingdom of Satan cannot
stand if one evil spirit is cast out by another.
2.
By pointing to their own children, some of whom were enabled to cast out devils
by the power they had received from God (Mark ix. 37, 38).
3.
By His whole life, and His works, which were in direct opposition to the devil.
Prayer. O Jesus, conqueror of the dumb
devil, strengthen me, that if I should have the misfortune to sin against Thy
holy commandments, I may have courage to overcome my false shame, and confess
my sins in sincerity and humility. O my Savior, be Thou my leader in the fight,
that I may foil those arms of the devil: my evil inclinations, idleness, bad
company, bad books, and human respect, and grant that I may never relapse into
sin, but serve Thee with perseverance. Amen.
Lenten
Calendar[2]
Read: Take time to read the readings
before going to Mass today. You can sign up to receive the daily
readings.
Pray: Pray in solidarity with refugees
around the world.
Act: When confronted with your own
weakness during Lent, don’t
give in to anger, frustration, and self-pity. Be patient and see yourself as
God does, with unconditional love.
Third Sunday of Lent[3]
Christ
again foreshadows His victory (this time over the devil), but as we move closer
to Passiontide, He also hints at the way in which this will be done.
Third Sunday of Lent is
called Oculi, from the first word of the Introit. In the primitive
Church, it was called Scrutiny-Sunday, because it was on this day that
they began to examine the Catechumens, who were to he admitted to Baptism on
Easter night. All the Faithful were invited to assemble in the Church, in order
that they might bear testimony to the good life and morals of the candidates.
At Rome, these examinations, which where called the Scrutinies, were
made on seven different occasions, on account of the great number of the
aspirants to Baptism; but the principal Scrutiny was that held on the
Wednesday of the Fourth Week We will speak of it later on. The Roman
Sacramentary of St. Gelasius gives us the form, in which the Faithful were
convoked to these assemblies. It is as follows. “Dearly beloved Brethren: you
know that the day of Scrutiny, when our elect is to receive the holy
instruction, is at hand. We invite you, therefore, to be zealous and assemble
on N., (here, the day was mentioned,) at the hour of Sext; that so we
may be able, by the divine aid, to achieve without error, the heavenly mystery,
whereby is opened the gate of the kingdom of heaven, and the devil is excluded
with all his pomp’s.” The invitation was repeated, if needed, on each of the
following Sundays. The Scrutiny of this Sunday ended in the admission of
a certain number of candidates: their names were written down, and put on the Diptychs
of the Altar, that they might be mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. The same
also was done with the names of their Sponsors. The Station was, and still is,
in the Basilica of Saint Laurence outside the walls. The name of this,
the most celebrated of the Martyrs of Rome, would remind the Catechumens, that
the Faith they were about to profess, would require them to be ready for many
sacrifices.
·
The
holy Church gave us, as the subject of our meditation for the first Sunday of Lent, the Temptation
which our Lord Jesus Christ deigned to suffer in the Desert. Her object was to
enlighten us with regard to our own temptations and teach us how to conquer
them.
·
Today,
she wishes to complete her instruction on the power and stratagems of our
invisible enemies; and for this she reads to us a passage from the Gospel of
St. Luke. During Lent, the Christian ought to repair the past, and provide for
the future; but he can neither understand how it was he fell, nor defend
himself against a relapse, unless he have correct ideas as to the nature of the
dangers which have hitherto proved fatal, and are again threatening him.
·
Hence,
the ancient Liturgists would have us consider it as a proof of the maternal
watchfulness of the Church, that she should have again proposed such a subject
to us. As we shall find, it is the basis of all today’s instructions.
Assuredly, we should be the blindest and most unhappy of men, if, - surrounded
as we are by enemies, who unceasingly seek to destroy us, and are so superior
to us both in power and knowledge, - we were seldom or never to think of the
existence of these wicked spirits. And yet, such is really the case with
innumerable Christians now-a-days; for, truths are diminished from among the
children of men [Ps. xi. 2].
·
So
common, indeed, is this heedlessness and forgetfulness of truth, which the Holy
Scriptures put before us in almost every page, that it is no rare thing to meet
with persons who ridicule the idea of Devils being permitted to be on this
earth of ours! They call it a prejudice, a popular superstition, of the
Middle-Ages! Of course, they deny that it is a dogma of Faith. When we read the
History of the Church or the Lives of the Saints, they have their own way of
explaining whatever is there related on this subject. To hear them talk, one
would suppose that they look upon Satan as a mere abstract idea, to be
taken as the personification of evil.
·
When
they would account for the origin of their own or others’ sins, they explain
all by the evil inclination of man’s heart, and by the bad use we make
of our free-will.
·
They
never think of what we are taught by Christian doctrine; namely, that we are
also instigated to sin by a wicked being, whose power is as great as is the
hatred he bears us. And yet, they know, they believe, with a firm faith, that
Satan conversed with our First Parents, and persuaded them to commit sin, and
showed himself to them under the form of a serpent. They believe that this same
Satan dared to tempt the Incarnate Son of God, and that he carried him through
the air, and set him first upon a pinnacle of the Temple, and then upon a very
high mountain. Again, they read in the Gospel, and they believe, that one of
the Possessed, who were delivered by our Savior, was tormented by a whole legion
of devils, who, upon being driven out of the man, went, by Jesus’
permission, into a herd of swine, and the whole herd ran violently into the
sea of Genesareth, and perished in the waters. These, and many other
such like facts, are believed, by the persons of whom we speak, with all the
earnestness of faith; yet, notwithstanding, they treat as a figure of speech,
or a fiction, all they hear or read about the existence, the actions, or the
craft of these wicked spirits.
·
Are such people Christians, or have
they lost their senses?
One would scarcely have expected that this species of incredulity could have
found its way into an age like this, when sacrilegious consultations of the
devil have been, we might almost say, - fashionable. Means, which were used in
the days of paganism, have been resorted to for such consultations; and they
who employed them seemed to forget, or ignore, that they were committing what
God in the Old Law, punished with death, and which, for many centuries, was
considered by all Christian nations as a capital crime. But if there be one
Season of the Year more than another in which the Faithful ought to reflect
upon what is taught us both by faith and experience, as to the existence and
workings of the wicked spirits, - it is undoubtedly this of Lent, when it is
our duty to consider what have been the causes of our last sins, what are the
spiritual dangers we have to fear for the future, and what means we should have
recourse to for preventing a relapse. Let us, then, hearken to the Holy Gospel.
Firstly, we are told, that the devil had possessed a man, and that the
effect produced by this possession was dumbness.
·
Our
Savior casts out the devil, and, immediately, the dumb man spoke. So that, the
being possessed by the devil is not only a fact which testifies to God’s
impenetrable justice; it is one which may produce physical effects upon them
that are thus tried or punished. The casting out the devil restores the
use of speech to him that had been possessed.
·
We
say nothing about the obstinate malice of Jesus’ enemies, who would have it,
that his power over the devils, came from his being in league with the prince
of devils: - all we would now do is, to show that the wicked spirits are
sometimes permitted to have power over the body, and to refute, by this passage
from the Gospel, the rationalism of certain Christians.
·
Let
these learn, then, that the power of our spiritual enemies is an awful reality;
and let them take heed not to lay themselves open to their worst attacks, by
persisting in the disdainful haughtiness of their Reason. Ever since the
promulgation of the Gospel, the power of Satan over the human body has been
restricted by the virtue of the Cross, at least in Christian countries; but
this power resumes its sway as often as faith and the practice of Christian
piety lose their influence. And here we have the origin of all those diabolical
practices, which, under certain scientific names, are attempted first in
secret, and then are countenanced by being assisted at by well-meaning Christians.
Was it not that God and his Church intervene, such practices as these would
subvert society? Christians! Remember your baptismal vow! You have renounced
Satan: take care, then, that by a culpable ignorance you are not dragged into
apostacy. It is not a phantom that you renounced at the Font; he is a real and
formidable being, who, as our Lord tells us, was a murderer from the
beginning [St. John, viii. 44].
·
But,
if we ought to dread the power he may be permitted to have over our bodies; if
we ought to shun all intercourse with him, and take no share in practices over
which he presides, and which are the worship he would have men give him;
- we ought, also, to fear the influence he is ever striving to exercise over
our souls. See, what God’s grace has had to do in order to drive him from our
soul! During this holy season, the Church is putting within your reach those
grand means of victory, - Fasting, Prayer, and Alms deeds.
·
True
sweets of peace will soon be yours, and, once more, you will become God’s
temple, for both soul and body will have regained their purity. But be not
deceived; your enemy is not slain. He is irritated; penance has driven him from
you; but he has sworn to return. Therefore, fear a relapse into mortal
sin; and in order to nourish within you this wholesome fear, meditate upon the
concluding part of our Gospel. Our Savior tells it, that when the unclean
spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water. There
he writhes under his humiliation; it has added to the tortures of the hell he
carries everywhere with him and to which he fain would give some alleviation,
by destroying souls that have been redeemed by Christ.
·
We
read in the Old Testament that, sometimes, when the devils have been conquered,
they have been forced to flee into some far-off wilderness: for example. The
holy Archangel Raphael took the devil that had killed Sara’s husbands
and bound him in the desert of Upper Egypt [Tob. viii. 3]. But the enemy
of mankind never despairs of regaining his prey. His hatred is as active now,
as it was at the very beginning of the world, and he says: I will return
into my house, whence I came out.
·
Nor
will he come alone. He is determined to conquer; and therefore, he will, if he
thinks it needed, take with him seven other spirits, even more wicked
than himself. What a terrible assault is this that is being prepared for
the poor soul, unless she be on the watch, and unless the peace, which God
has granted her, be one that is well armed for war! Alas! with many souls the
very contrary is the case, and our Savior describes the situation in which the
devils finds them on his return: they are swept and garnished, and that
is all! No precautions, no defense, no arms. One would suppose that they were
waiting to give the enemy admission.
·
Then
Satan, to make his re-possession sure, comes with a seven-fold force. The
attack is made; - but there is no resistance, and straightway the wicked
spirits entering in, dwell there; so that, the last state becometh
worse than the first; for before, there was but one enemy, - and now
there are many. In order that we may understand the full force of the
warning conveyed to us by the Church in this Gospel, we must keep before us the
great reality, that this is the acceptable time. In every part of the
world, there are conversions being wrought; millions are being
reconciled with God; divine Mercy is lavish of pardon to all that seek it. But
will all persevere? They that are now being delivered from the power of Satan,
- will they all be free from his yoke, when next year’s Lent comes round?
·
A
sad experience tells the Church, that she may not hope so grand a result. Many
will return to their sins, and that too before many weeks are over. And if the
Justice of God overtake them in that state - what an awful thing it is to say
it, yet it is true, - some, perhaps many, of these sinners will be eternally
lost! Let us, then, be on our guard against a relapse; and in order that we may
ensure our Perseverance, without which it would have been too little purpose to
have been for a few days in God’s grace, - let us watch, and pray; let us keep
ourselves under arms; let us ever remember that our whole life is to be a
warfare. Our soldier-like attitude will disconcert the enemy, and he will try to
gain victory elsewhere.
Academy Awards[4]
Sadly, the annual live Oscar is a husk of its former glamorous self. The tired, soap-opera essence of the Academy’ s annual celebration of mediocrity lies in the predictable moral preening of its amoral participants. What used to be a shimmering celebration of widely accepted great films and great stars has degenerated into a cesspool of dirt, sleaze and depravity, made worse by its obvious contempt for the average American. The only mystery and excitement that remains is guessing which Hollywood one-percenters will seize the microphone to dish out some PC political rant, complete with a righteous torrent four-letter words. Worse, this alleged celebration of film entertainment has become all about politics all the time. Each year it reminds those of us still aware of world history that the Long March of Marxism continues to infect every American institution it invades. Hollywood fell to the leftists’ long march a long time ago. More recently, NFL football and the just-concluded Winter Olympics joined the lefty crowd by marching in lockstep to the same seductive tune. Every time this happens in the entertainment industry (which now includes sports), it’s box office death. (Just look at the annually declining numbers.) But the one-percenters who run these entertainment entities apparently don’t care, even as the flow of red ink increases.
Cultural leftism is inevitably cultural suicide. Most viewers who actually watched the phony Hollywood posturing and insincere moralistic bloviating, switched off the TV before the major awards were announced and headed for bed. After all the morning after the gala was a workday for actual Americans, so why watch the tired, predictable crap put on by filthy rich movie stars who actually hate at least half their fans? After Hollywood insults a majority of the night’s dwindling viewership – again – even more of them will solemnly vow never to watch the Academy Awards show ever again.
Best Catholic Films[5]
1.Carl Theodore von Dreyer, The Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928.
2. Cecil B. DeMille, King of Kings, 1927.
3. Frank Capra, Lady for a Day, 1933.
4.John Ford, The Informer, 1935.
5.Frank Borzage, Strange Cargo, 1940
6.Henry King, The Song of Bernadette, 1943.
7.John M. Stahl, The Keys of the Kingdom, 1944.
8.Leo McCarey, Going My Way, 1944.
9.Leo McCarey, The Bells of St. Mary's, 1945.
10.Frank Capra, It's a Wonderful Life, 1946.
11.Robert Bresson, Au Hasard Balthasar, 1966.
12.Michael Powell, Black Narcissus, 1947.
13.John Ford, The Fugitive, 1947.
14.John Ford, Three Godfathers, 1948.
15.Leo McCarey, Make Way for Tomorrow, 1947.
16.Vittorio De Sica, The Bicycle Thieves, 1948.
17.Roberto Rossellini, Stromboli, 1950.
18.Roberto Rossellini, The Flowers of St. Francis, 1950.
19.Gordon Douglas, Come Fill the Cup, 1951.
20.Robert Bresson, The Dairy of a Country Priest, 1951.
21.Akira Kurosawa, Ikiru, 1952.
22.Vittorio De Sica, Umberto D, 1952.
23.Alfred Hitchcock, I Confess, 1953.
24.Elia Kazan, On the Waterfront, 1954.
25.Raffaello Matarazzo, The White Angel, 1955.
26.Carl Theodore von Dreyer, Ordet, 1955.
27.Alfred Hitchcock, The Wrong Man, 1956.
28.Luis Bunuel, Nazarin, 1959.
29.Fred Zinnemann, The Nun's Story, 1959.
30.William Wyler, Ben Hur, 1959.
31.Robert Bresson, Pickpocket, 1959.
32.Mervyn LeRoy, The Devil of 4 O'Clock, 1961.
33.Richard Fleischer, Barabbas, 1961.
34.Nicholas Ray, King of Kings, 1961.
35.Otto Preminger, The Cardinal, 1963.
36.Peter Glenville, Becket, 1964.
37.Pier Paolo Pasolini, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, 1964.
38.Carol Reed, The Agony and the Ecstasy, 1965.
39.Luis Bunuel, Simon of the Desert, 1965.
40.Fred Zinnemann, A Man for All Seasons, 1966.
41.Robert Bresson, Mouchette, 1967.
42.Michael Anderson, The Shoes of the Fisherman, 1968.
43.Franco Zefferelli, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, 1972.
44.William Friedkin, The Exorcist, 1973.
45.Anthony Harvey, The Abdication, 1974.
46.Joseph Hardy, The Lady's Not for Burning, 1974.
47.Franco Zefferelli, Jesus of Nazareth, 1977.
48.Robert Bresson, The Devil Probably, 1977.
49.Ermanno Olmi, Tree of the Wooden Clogs, 1978.
50.John Huston, Wise Blood, 1979.
51.Francesco Rosi, Christ Stopped at Eboli, 1979.
52.Hugh Hudson, Chariots of Fire, 1981.
53.Charles Sturridge & Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Brideshead Revisited, 1981.
54.Ulu Grosbard, True Confessions, 1981.
55.Martin Scorcese, The Age of Innocence, 1982.
56.Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, Night of the Shooting Stars, 1982.
57.Jerry London, The Scarlet and the Black, 1983.
58.Robert Bresson, L'argent, 1983.
59.Norman Stone, Shadowlands, 1885.
60.Alain Cavalier, Therese, 1986.
61.Roland Jaffe, The Mission, 1986.
62.Wim Wenders, Wings of Desire, 1987.
63.Gabriel Axel, Babette's Feast, 1987.
64.Rodney Bennett, Monsignor Quixote, 1987.
65.Maurice Pialat, Under the Star of Satan, 1987.
66.John Huston, The Dead, 1987.
67.Krzysztof Kieslowski, The Decalogue, 1988.
68.Krzysztof Kieslowski, A Short Film About Love, 1988.
69.Ermanno Olmi, Legend of the Holy Drinker, 1988.
70.John Duigan, Romero, 1989.
71.Denys Arcand, Jesus of Montreal, 1989.
72.Bruce Beresford, Black Robe, 1991.
73.Stijn Coninx, Daens, 1992.
74.Nancy Savoca, Household Saints, 1993.
75.Mel Gibson, Braveheart, 1995.
76.Liv Ullmann, Kristin Lavransdatter, 1995.
77.Lee David Slotoff, Spitfire Grill, 1996.
78.Marta Meszaros, The Seventh Room, 1996.
79. M. Knight Shyamalan, Wide Awake, 1998.
80.Joe Johnston, October Sky, 1999.
81.David Lynch, The Straight Story, 1999.
82.Agnieszka Holland, The Third Miracle, 1999.
83.Patrice Leconte, The Widow of Saint-Pierre, 2000.
84.Jim Sheridan, In America, 2002.
85.Alexander Payne, About Schmidt, 2002.
86.Bruce Beresford, Evelyn, 2002.
87.Denys Arcand, Barbarian Invasions, 2003.
88.Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ, 2004.
89.Tommy Lee Jones, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, 2005.
90.Christian Carion, Joyeux Noel, 2005.
91.Pavel Lungin, The Island, 2006
92.Alejandro Monteverde, Bella, 2006.
93.Jean-Pierre Dardenne, L'enfant, 2006.
94.Martin Provost, Seraphine, 2008.
95.Mark Pellington, Henry Poole is Here, 2008.
96.John Patrick Shanley, Doubt, 2008.
97.Klaus Haro, Letters to Father Jaakob, 2009.
98.Xavier Beauvois, Of Gods and Men, 2010.
99.Philip Groning, Into the Great Silence, 2007.
100. Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life, 2011.
Aids
in Battle[6] Demons are not a figment of your imagination.
The Devil and other demons
would like us to believe that they are outdated, unenlightened superstitions,
but the Catholic Church remains firm, clear, and consistent in her teaching
about this reality.
·
Our
heavenly Father has placed over each of us an angel under whose protection and
vigilance we may be enabled to escape the snares secretly prepared by our
enemy, repel the dreadful attacks he makes on us.
·
Never
was anyone, conceived been liberated from the Devil’s dominion except by faith
in our Lord Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and humanity, who was
conceived without sin, was born and died. He alone by His death overthrew the
enemy of the human race, cancelling our sins, and unlocked the entrance to the
heavenly kingdom, which the first man by his sin had locked against himself and
all his posterity. COUNCIL OF FLORENCE (ECUMENICAL, 1431– 1445), SESSION 2
·
Men
are separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly
contends for truth and virtue, the other of those things which are contrary to
virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, namely, the true
Church of Jesus Christ; and those who desire from their heart to be united with
it, so as to gain salvation, must of
necessity serve God and His only begotten Son with their whole mind and with an
entire will. The other is the kingdom of Satan, in whose possession and control
are all who follow the fatal example of their leader and of our first parents,
those who refuse to obey the divine and eternal law, and who have many aims of
their own in contempt of God, and many aims also against God. POPE LEO XIII,
HUMANUM GENUS (PAPAL ENCYCLICAL, 1884), 1
·
Satan
manages to sow in man’s soul the seed of opposition to the one who “from the
beginning” would be considered as man’s enemy— and not as Father. Man is
challenged to become the adversary of God! The analysis of sin in its original
dimension indicates that, through the influence of the “father of lies,”
throughout the history of humanity there will be a constant pressure on man to
reject God, even to the point of hating Him: “Love of self to the point of
contempt for God,” as St. Augustine puts it. POPE JOHN PAUL II, DOMINUM ET
VIVIFICANTEM (PAPAL ENCYCLICAL, 1986), 38
Thanks to Fear of the Lord, there is no Fear
of Evil[7]
History, in fact, is not alone in the hands of dark powers,
chance or human choices. Over the unleashing of evil energies, the vehement
irruption of Satan, and the emergence of so many scourges and evils, the Lord
rises, supreme arbiter of historical events. He leads history wisely towards
the dawn of the new heavens and the new earth, sung in the final part of the
book under the image of the new Jerusalem (cf. Revelation 21-22).
·
It must be reaffirmed, therefore, that God is
not indifferent to human events, but penetrates them realizing his
"ways," namely his plans and his efficacious "deeds."
·
According to our hymn, this divine intervention
has a very specific purpose: to be a sign that invites all the peoples of the
earth to conversion. Nations must learn to "read" in history a
message of God. Humanity's history is not confused and without meaning, nor is
it given over, without appeal, to the malfeasance of the arrogant and perverse.
There is the possibility to recognize divine action hidden in it. In the
pastoral constitution "Gaudium et Spes," Vatican Council II also
invites the believer to scrutinize, in the light of the Gospel, the signs of
the times to see in them the manifestation of the very action of God (cf. n. 4
and 11). This attitude of faith leads man to recognize the power of God
operating in history, and thus to open himself to fear of the name of the Lord.
In biblical language, in fact, this "fear" does not coincide with
dread, but is the recognition of the mystery of the divine transcendence.
Because of this, it is the basis of faith and is joined with love: "the
Lord your God requires of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all
his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul" (cf. Deuteronomy 10:12).
·
Following this line, in our brief hymn, taken
from Revelation, fear and glorification of God are united: "Who will not
fear you, Lord, or glorify your name" (15:4)? Thanks to fear of the Lord
there is no fear of the evil that rages in history and one takes up again with
vigor the journey of life, as the prophet Isaiah declared: "Strengthen the
hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose
hearts are frightened: ‘Be strong, fear not!’" (Isaiah 35: 3-4).
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 9-THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
Article 10-THE
TENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall
not covet ... anything that is your neighbor's....
You shall
not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant,
or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
2534 The tenth commandment unfolds and completes the ninth,
which is concerned with concupiscence of the flesh. It forbids coveting the
goods of another, as the root of theft, robbery, and fraud, which the seventh
commandment forbids. "Lust of the eyes" leads to the violence and
injustice forbidden by the fifth commandment. Avarice, like fornication,
originates in the idolatry prohibited by the first three prescriptions of the
Law. The tenth commandment concerns the intentions of the heart; with the
ninth, it summarizes all the precepts of the Law.
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
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy Priests, Consecrated, & Religious
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Total Consecration
to St. Joseph Day 26
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Make reparations to the Holy Face
[2]http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/march-24.cfm
[4]https://www.commdiginews.com/entertainment/2018-academy-awards-broadcast-99605/
[6]Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual
Warfare. TAN Books.
[7]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-03-12
The nation’s capital comes abloom every spring with the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. See the famed cherry blossom trees, lining the Tidal Basin, while strolling by iconic sites like the Jefferson and Martin Luther King memorials.
Plan ahead for next year:
Skiing- Also known as downhill skiing, Alpine skiing began as a club sport in 1861 at Kiandra in Australia. Today, most alpine skiing occurs at ski resorts with ski lifts that transport skiers up the mountain.
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