Monday, April 17, 2023
Rodney Bennett, Monsignor Quixote, 1987
Double Feature
Monday of the Second Week of Easter
Deuteronomy, Chapter 1, Verse 21
See, the LORD, your God, has given this land over to you. Go up and take possession of it, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Do not FEAR or be dismayed.”
God gave the
land of Israel to the Israelites as an eternal possession; land could be leased
to pay debts, but it always reverted back to the family who owned it. In a
similar way Christ has given the possession of your eternal soul back over to
you after you leased it out to the evil one. Do not fear or be dismayed to take possession of it.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)
As children of God we must take possession our soul just as the Israelites took possession of the land. A man in possession of his soul seeks to live in such a way that he does not lose possession of his soul. He strives to place first things first and he endeavors to follow God’s holy Will in his life. Conversion means turning to God and keeping the four last things in our mind when we are tempted: Death, Judgment, Heaven and hell. Immediately after death we will be judged and our private judgment will be repeated on the Day of Judgment; when all men will know us for what we are. If we have done our best and followed Christ’s commandments (if you love me you will keep my commandments) we will join Him in Heaven but if we have ignored His commandments and refused to make use of His help (via the church sacraments) we shall be condemned to hell. [1]. Therefore; strive to love God in your daily life and make use of His grace. When you fall, immediately make a prayer in honor of the Wound of His Holy Shoulder making use of His grace in the sacrament of confession at the earliest opportunity and receive Holy Communion.
O
Loving Jesus, meek Lamb of God, I miserable sinner, salute and worship the most
Sacred Wound of Thy Shoulder on which Thou didst bear Thy heavy Cross, which so
tore Thy flesh and laid bare Thy Bones as to inflict on Thee an anguish greater
than any other wound of Thy Most Blessed Body. I adore Thee, O Jesus most
sorrowful; I praise and glorify Thee, and give Thee thanks for this most sacred
and painful Wound, beseeching Thee by that exceeding pain, and by the crushing
burden of Thy heavy Cross to be merciful to me, a sinner, to forgive me all my
mortal and venial sins, and to lead me on towards Heaven along the Way of Thy
Cross. Amen.
Imprimatur: Thomas D. Beven, Bishop of Springfield
It is related in the annals of Clairvaux that St. Bernard asked our Lord which was His greatest unrecorded suffering, and Our Lord answered: "I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound, which was more painful than the others, and which is not recorded by men. Honor this wound with thy devotion, and I will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask through its virtue and merit. And in regard to all those who shall venerate this Wound, I will remit to them all their venial sins, and will no longer remember their mortal sins."[2]
Daily Devotions/Prayers
· Drops of Christ’s Blood[3] St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, with St. Matilda and St. Bridget, wishing to know something of the Passion of Jesus Christ, offered fervent and special prayers. Upon which Our Lord revealed to them:
To all the faithful who shall recite for 3 years, each day, 2 Our Fathers, 2 Hail Mary’s and 2 Glory Be’s in honor of the drops of Blood I lost, I will concede the following 5 graces:
1.
The
plenary indulgence and remittance of your sins.
2.
You
will be free from the pains of Purgatory.
3.
If
you should die before completing the said 3 years, for you it will be the same
as if you had completed them.
4.
It
will be upon your death the same as if you had shed all your blood for the Holy
Faith.
5. I will descend from Heaven to take your soul and that of your relatives, until the fourth generation.
Blessed by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII in Rome, April 5, 1890
The
thought of saving souls should always be on our mind. St. John Bosco stated it
well. "There is nothing more holy in this world than to work for the good
of souls, for whose salvation Jesus Christ poured out the last drops of His
blood." St. Vincent de Paul tells us that: "The salvation of men and
our own are so great a good that they merit to be obtained at any
price."
Sad to say, the great majority of Catholics put forth little or no effort in
promoting the greater honor and glory of God and the salvation of souls. Let us
keep in mind that if we manage to save one soul, we also ensure the salvation
of our own. The Holy Ghost reveals this to us in the Holy Bible. [St. James 5:
19-20] This little practice gives us a very easy way to save our own soul as
well as the ones dearest to us------our family.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION ONE-PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
CHAPTER THREE-THE LIFE OF PRAYER
Article 2-THE BATTLE OF PRAYER
IV. Persevering in Love
2742 "Pray
constantly . . . always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." St. Paul adds, "Pray at
all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep
alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the
saints." For "we have not been commanded to work, to keep watch
and to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without
ceasing." This tireless fervor can come only from love. Against our
dullness and laziness, the battle of prayer is that of humble, trusting, and
persevering love. This love opens our hearts to three enlightening and
life-giving facts of faith about prayer.
2743 It is always
possible to pray: the time of the Christian is that of the risen Christ who is
with us always, no matter what tempests may arise. Our time is in the
hands of God:
It is possible to offer fervent
prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone, or seated in your shop,
. . . while buying or selling, . . . or even while cooking.
2744 Prayer is a vital
necessity. Proof from the contrary is no less convincing: if we do not allow
the Spirit to lead us, we fall back into the slavery of sin. How can the
Holy Spirit be our life if our heart is far from him?
Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes
possible, what is difficult, easy.... For it is impossible, utterly impossible,
for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin.
Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray
are certainly damned.
2745 Prayer and
Christian life are inseparable, for they concern the same love and the same
renunciation, proceeding from love; the same filial and loving conformity with
the Father's plan of love; the same transforming union in the Holy Spirit who
conforms us more and more to Christ Jesus; the same love for all men, the love
with which Jesus has loved us. "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he
[will] give it to you. This I command you, to love one another."
He "prays without ceasing"
who unites prayer to works and good works to prayer. Only in this way can we
consider as realizable the principle of praying without ceasing.
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The
Hail Mary[4]
Hail,
Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
from the
Catechism of the Catholic Church; 2761.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Individuals
with Mental Illness note: We pray for
Politian’s separately
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Make reparations to the Holy Face
·
30
Days with St. Joseph Day 30
· Monday: Litany of
Humility
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