Monday Night at the Movies
Monday of the Fifth Week of
Easter
ST. MICHAEL
Deuteronomy, Chapter 6, Verse 24-25
24 The
LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes in FEAR of the LORD, our God, that we may always have as good a life as
we have today. 25 This is our justice before the
LORD, our God: to observe carefully this whole commandment he has enjoined on
us.”
Today
reflect on Christ’s mind given in the gospel.
“To you who
hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who
curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on
one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person, who takes your
cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from
the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you
would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is
that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those
who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If
you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to
you? Even sinners lend to sinners and get back the same amount. But rather,
love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then
your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he
himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also
your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop
condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken
down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which
you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
Apparition of St. Michael[1]
It is evident from Holy Scripture that God is pleased to make frequent use of the ministry of the heavenly spirits in the dispensations of His providence in this world. The Angels are all pure spirits; by a property of their nature, they are immortal, as is every spirit. They have the power of moving or conveying themselves at will from place to place, and such is their activity that it is not easy for us to conceive of it. Among the holy Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are particularly distinguished in the Scriptures. Saint Michael, whose name means Who is like unto God? is the prince of the faithful Angels who opposed Lucifer and his followers in their revolt against God.
Since the devil is the sworn enemy of
God’s holy Church, Saint Michael is given to it by God as its special protector
against the demon’s assaults and stratagems.
Various apparitions of this powerful
Angel have proved the protection of Saint Michael over the Church. We may
mention his apparition in Rome, where Saint Gregory the Great saw him in the
air sheathing his sword, to signal the cessation of a pestilence and the
appeasement of God’s wrath. Another apparition to Saint Ausbert, bishop of
Avranches in France, led to the construction of Mont-Saint-Michel in the sea, a
famous pilgrimage site. May 8th, however, is destined to recall
another no less marvelous apparition, occurring near Monte Gargano in the
Kingdom of Naples.
In the year 492 a man named Gargan was
pasturing his large herds in the countryside. One day a bull fled to the
mountain, where it could not be found. When its refuge in a cave was
discovered, an arrow was shot into the cave, but the arrow returned to wound
the one who had sent it. Faced with this mysterious occurrence, the persons
concerned decided to consult the bishop of the region. He ordered three days of
fasting and prayers. After three days, the Archangel Michael appeared to the
bishop and declared that the cavern where the bull had taken refuge was under
his protection, and that God wanted it to be consecrated under his name and in
honor of all the Holy Angels.
Accompanied by his clergy and people,
the pontiff went to that cavern, which he found already disposed in the form of
a church. The divine mysteries were celebrated there, and there arose in this
same place a magnificent temple where the divine Power has wrought great
miracles. To thank God’s adorable goodness for the protection of the holy
Archangel, the effect of His merciful Providence, this feast day was instituted
by the Church in his honor.
It is said of this special guardian
and protector of the Church that, during the final persecution of Antichrist,
he will powerfully defend it: “At that time shall Michael rise up, the great
prince who protects the children of thy people.”
Judgment Day[2]
How
will the Last Judgment begin?
At the command of
God, the angels, with the sound of the trumpet, shall summon all men to
judgment (i. These, iv. 15). The bodies and souls of the dead shall be again
united, and the wicked shall be separated from the righteous, the just on the right,
the wicked on the left (St. Matt. xxv. 33). The angels and the devils will be
present, and Christ Himself will appear in a bright cloud with such power and
majesty that the wicked, for fear, will not be able to look at Him, but will
say to the mountains, “Fall on us,” and to the hills, “Cover us” (St. Luke
xxiii. 30).
Why
will God hold a general and public judgment?
1. That all may know
how just He has been in the particular judgment of each one.
2. That justice may
at last be rendered to the afflicted and persecuted, while the wicked who have
oppressed the poor, the widow, the orphan, the religious, and yet have often
passed for upright and devout persons, may be known in their real characters
and be forever disgraced.
3. That Jesus Christ
may complete His redemption, and openly triumph over His enemies, who shall see
the glory of the Crucified, and tremble at His power.
How
will the Last Judgment proceed?
The books will be
opened, and from them all men will be judged; all their good and bad thoughts,
words, and deeds, even the most secret, known only to God, will be revealed
before the whole world, and according to their works men will be rewarded or be
damned forever. The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, but the just
into life everlasting (St. Matt. xxv.46).
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART
FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION TWO-THE LORD'S PRAYER
Article 4-THE FINAL
DOXOLOGY
2855 The final doxology, "For the kingdom, the power and
the glory are yours, now and forever," takes up again, by inclusion, the
first three petitions to our Father: the glorification of his name, the coming
of his reign, and the power of his saving will. But these prayers are now
proclaimed as adoration and thanksgiving, as in the liturgy of heaven. The
ruler of this world has mendaciously attributed to himself the three titles of
kingship, power, and glory. Christ, the Lord, restores them to his Father
and our Father, until he hands over the kingdom to him when the mystery of
salvation will be brought to its completion and God will be all in all.
2856 "Then, after the prayer is over you say 'Amen,' which
means 'So be it,' thus ratifying with our 'Amen' what is contained in the
prayer that God has taught us."
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Mass
“Why should I go to Mass
every day?”
The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer! (Pope Paul
VI).
For each Mass we attend with devotion, Our Lord sends a
saint to comfort us at death. (Revelation of Christ to St. Gertrude the Great)
St. Padre Pio, the stigmatic priest, said, “The world could
exist more easily without the sun than without the Mass.”
The Cure d’Ars, St. Jean Vianney, said, “If we knew the
value of the Mass, we would die of joy.”
Once, St. Teresa was overwhelmed with God’s goodness and
asked Our Lord, “How can I thank you?” Our Lord replied, “Attend one Mass.”
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Protection
of Traditional Marriage
· Eat waffles
and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Make reparations to the Holy Face
· Monday: Litany of
Humility
·
Universal Man Plan
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