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The reason this blog is called "Iceman for Christ" is I was a member of Navel Mobile Construction Battalion that complete construction of the South Pole Station in 1974. At that time there was only one priest in Antarctica and I was asked by him to give the eucharistic to my fellow Catholics at a protestant service celebrated by the Battalion Chaplin on Sundays. At that time only priestly consecrated hands could give the eucharist. There were not eucharist ministers at that time. I was given permission by a letter from the bishop to handled our Lord. Years later I was reading the bible and read "and you shall take me to the ends of the earth." I reflected on it for a second and thought Yes, been there done that. Be not afraid and serve Christ King. Greater is HE; than he who is in the world.

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Monday, May 15, 2023

Armed Forces Week

It is more than one day of honor. It’s an entire week! Join us as we celebrate a week of Military Appreciation Days – May 15 through May 19, 2023 – for each branch of the Armed Forces followed by a special lunch on Armed Forces Day on May 20, 2023.

Starting on Monday, May 15, 2023, all active duty service members and veterans can enjoy a Free Sandwich on their designated day. These brave men and women have fought for our freedom, and we are proud to honor them. Please join us in this week long celebration.

The celebration continues on Armed Forces Day. Join us for a special Lunch with Our Heroes on Saturday, May 20 between 11 am and 2 pm. All active duty service members and veterans will receive a Free Sandwich. And we will have a special live performance of our National Anthem at noon. We look forward to celebrating this special day with Our Heroes!

Armed Forces Day Build Up

 

Every day from now to Armed Forces Day I ask your prayers for each service and all of our defenders.

 

US Army[1]

As priest-chaplains of the Archdiocese for the Military Services we invite you to join with us in prayer. In times of joy and difficulty, in times of fear and doubt, in moments of distress and in times of peace, a simple prayer that comes from the heart becomes the place of your encounter with God’s love, mercy and protection.

Prayer for Troops[2]

Let us pray for our brothers and sisters as they go forth with courage and determination to face the forces of violence, weapons of destruction and hearts filled with hate. 

RESPONSE: THROUGH THE DARKNESS BRING US TO THE LIGHT. 

 For our President and Commander-In-Chief, and our political and military leaders that they may tirelessly seek peaceful settlements to international disputes; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That the Lord may preserve the members of our Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force from all harm; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That even in war, we may keep clearly before us the defense of all human rights, especially the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That the families, relatives and friends of our military members may be strengthened in this time of concern and anxiety; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That the Lord may help families with men and women in the armed forces to cope with daily challenges in the absence of their loved ones; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That our homeland will be preserved from violence and terrorism; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That the nations of the world will seek to work together in harmony and peace; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That the hearts of all men and women will be moved to pursue true peace and justice; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That violence may be overcome by peace; that weapons of destruction be transformed into tools of justice, and hate give way to true charity; we pray to the Lord:

Through the Darkness Bring Us to the Light. 

That we may be grateful for and inspired by those veterans who have given their lives for our country and that we may bravely face the challenges ahead; we pray to the Lord: 

Lord God, Almighty Father, creator of mankind and author of peace, as we are ever mindful of the cost paid for the liberty we possess, we ask you to bless the members of our armed forces. Give them courage, hope and strength. May they ever experience your firm support, gentle love and compassionate healing. Be their power and protector, leading them from darkness to light. To you be all glory, honor and praise, now and forever. Amen.

Real Men ask God what they should do[3]

The special need for more frequent Communion is on the part of the men and the older boys. No man can afford to "keep his religion in his wife's name." The man is by nature the head of the family, and the family usually ends up where he leads. He can't expect his family to continue to live a very vital Catholic life unless he sets the example. As an Army captain can't hole-up in some rear line trench and cry out, "Onward, Christian soldiers!” neither can the husband and father expect his wife and children to do much in the Church Militant if he is a non-combatant, "too proud to fight."

An interesting evidence of the power of example of the adult male in encouraging devout religious practice was had in England during World War II. In a certain Catholic orphanage, the larger boys were refusing to obey the Sisters' directives to approach the Communion rail with folded hands. In the neighborhood of the orphanage was a GI camp whose soldiers soon became heroes to the orphan lads. One day a crowd of the GI's came to Mass in the orphanage and went to Communion, of course with hands devoutly folded as is done in our country. When the orphan boys saw Tex and Bill and Tom properly approaching the Communion rail, the troubles of the Sisters with the boys were over. "Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn in no other way."

Patron Saint of Soldiers

 

Joan of Arc, canonized 101 years ago[4]

Joan sets us an example of a laywoman who refuses to be cowed by threats and intimidations from 'authority,' even legitimate authority abusing its powers. May 14, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — On May 16, 1920, in a ceremony attended by over 30,000 people — including over a hundred descendants of her family — Pope Benedict XV canonized St. Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431), the Maid of Orléans.

St. Joan of Arc is remarkable in so many ways. I would like to draw attention to a few aspects of her life and character that hold pointed lessons for us today.

First, as a young woman, Joan practiced a deep, humble, and serious piety. The age-old practices of the Catholic faith were enough to take her to the heights of sanctity and the gift of herself for her country and her Lord. She listened to the Lord’s voice as He spoke to her through the saints and through circumstances, and she obeyed His will unflinchingly. St. Michael the Archangel addressed her as “Jehanne the Maid, Child of God,” for this is what she was and always remained. Instead of allowing herself to be distracted by worldly motivations, she followed the path God set for her, in spite of its difficulty. She is, in other words, the exact antithesis of churchmen today who would water down the demands of God’s law, the necessity of self-denial in adhering to it, and the supernatural motives that should sustain us.

Second, Joan boldly stepped into a public role at God’s behest, but without losing her femininity. She did not wage war with the soldiers, but simply led them in formation. She would not, in principle, kill or wound anyone. There is not the remotest chance that she would ever condone women fighting in the military and being trained to kill — the absurdity of actual or potential nurturers of life taking it voluntarily. In this, she is an example of true Christian womanhood: strong and courageous, willing to stick her neck out, willing to lead (as she herself was willing to be led by her Master), but not stupidly trying to be a man. She did not think equality with maleness as something to be grasped but emptied herself and became a servant. In this way she provided an example of being true to her identity and vocation that is resoundingly necessary for both women and men to heed in a world that has become confused about how many sexes there are and who belongs to which “division” of the human race. (And it is indeed a division — but it need not be an opposition or antagonism, in the way that both male chauvinism and feminism imagine it to be, each feeding off the other. Real difference makes possible a deeper communion and cooperation than uniformity and replaceability, even as, in the Church, the priest’s role as mediator is seen to be essentially different from that of the laity, since he acts on their behalf in persona Christi capitis, in the person of Christ the Head of the Church. In a similar way, the husband in a family has the calling to imitate and represent the headship of Christ. As St. Paul explained so well, one cannot have a functional organic body if it’s made up only of arms or hands or eyes or, for that matter, heads. Real difference and distinction, when embraced in a spirit of servanthood, confer a mutual benefit that far exceeds what one could obtain independently. Hierarchy and unity are correlative, not opposed, as democracy falsely assumes.)

Third, Joan is a model of the virtues of chastity and purity. Feminists like to point out that she donned a man’s clothing at a time when this was considered immoral. Yet all historians are agreed that the reason Joan wore a man’s clothing during her public service, and later in prison, was to protect herself against the danger of rape from the soldiers and enemies among whom she had to dwell. The ordinary women’s clothing of the time offered no such defense, and she would not have had the leisure or the talent to create a new and better fashion de novo. She complained to the tribunal that an English lord had attempted to violate her in prison. Like St. Maria Goretti, St. Joan prized the gift of her virginity and defended it. She knew her worth and her dignity as a woman and a human being.

Fourth, Joan was condemned by an ecclesiastical kangaroo court presided over by a corrupt bishop, Pierre Cauchon, with the complicity of corrupt clergy. As everyone knows who has read Joan’s life, she was falsely charged with heresy and condemned to be burnt at the stake. The trial was later re-evaluated by the Church and found to be gravely defective and irregular on numerous counts — indeed, not to mince words, it was a wicked sham, an excuse for murdering an inconvenient and too popular figure who could not be readily controlled by those in power. We live today in a world in which most of episcopacy is corrupt on several levels — doctrinally, through failing to teach the Catholic Faith in its integrity, if not positively adhering to modernist views, or morally, due to practicing sexual abuse, or covering it up, or tolerating its existence, or liturgically, by refusing to model right worship or to correct impious deviations, or, indeed, all three at once. Joan sets us an example of a laywoman who refuses to be cowed by threats and intimidations from “authority,” even legitimate authority abusing its powers, and who would rather die for a right conscience than falsely admit to wrongdoing. She ought to be recognized as the patron saint of those who have been victimized by the Church’s hierarchy.

St. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans,

patroness of France,

pray for us.



Rogation Monday

ST. ISIDORE the farmer

 

Deuteronomy, Chapter 13, Verse 5

The LORD, your God, shall you follow, and him shall you FEAR; his commandments shall you observe, and to his voice shall you listen; him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast.

 

How do we follow God? First follow Him not because you fear Him but that you revere and have awe for all He has created. Out of this revere with love obey all His commandments of which the two greatest are to love the Lord your God with all you heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

 

What is God’s voice? The self-absorbed are deaf to the voice of God but alive to the voice of the adversary. Therefore, to hear God you must not only listen to the Holy Spirit but also see and hear those who are people of God around us. The above verse states that we are not only to hear God’s voice but to listen.

 

Rogation Days[1]

 

THE Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before the Ascension are observed as days of solemn supplication, and are called Rogation Days. These three Rogation days serve also as a preparation for the feast of the ascension, which reminds us that we have the most powerful intercessor in our savior, who is now enthroned at the right hand of the father. Since 1929 many churches in the United States have observed Rogation Sunday as Rural Life Sunday, or Soil Stewardship Sunday. Services on this day examine the religious aspects of rural life. In 1969 the Roman Catholic Church cancelled the Rogation Days. In their place Church authorities instituted days of prayer for human needs, human works, and the fruits of the earth. Local bishops may now set appropriate dates for these observances in their dioceses.

Things to Do:[2]

 

Rogationtide Monday[3]

 

Rogation Days are a Roman Catholic "baptism" of the Robigalia, a pagan procession to gain favor from the Robigo, the Roman god of grain. Since the Church had no objection to praying for the harvest, it threw out Robigo while keeping the procession and prayers. Today would be a good day to reflect on what we want to harvest this fall; so like farmers we must till the soil of our soul reflecting this day on our use of our TIME and look at in what ways we may offer our time to Christ to help build a harvest for His Kingdom.

 

Time


 

Consider that Christ was on the cross from noon to 3 p.m. Three hours that must have seemed an eternality to literally buy us back from damnation.

 

Reflect today if you in turn can sacrifice 3 hours a week to give back to the Lord. Yes, time is a precious commodity:

 

Consider:

 

·       Sunday Mass is one hour can you give more?

 

·       Each day has 24 hours.

o   Normally you use 8 hours for sleep-offer your sleep to the Lord.

§  If you wake in the middle of night give an hour to prayer and go back to sleep in the Lord.

o   Normally you use 8 hours to earn your daily bread and a place to sleep.

§  Before you eat your bread and place your head on your “my pillow” thank the Lord.

o   Normally you have 8 hours to bake the bread, make your bed; make sure your fed; wash your head. Exercise and make use of your squatty potty, etc.

o   Brother can you spare some time for the Lord

·       The rosary takes 20 minutes.

St. Isidore[4]


 

When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, Isidore entered the service of John de Vergas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on his estate outside the city for the rest of his life. He married a young woman as simple and upright as himself who also became a saint-Maria de la Cabeza. They had one son, who died as a child. Isidore had deep religious instincts. He rose early in the morning to go to church and spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas. All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. His devotion, one might say, became a problem, for his fellow workers sometimes complained that he often showed up late because of lingering in church too long. He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore's supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals.

 

He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known in Spain as "the five saints."

 

Things to Do:

 

·       Learn more about St. Isidore the farmer.

·       Establishing or replenishing a a Mary garden would be an appropriate way to celebrate the combination of the feast of St. Isidore and the month of May, dedicated to Mary.

·       There is also a lovely book on Mary gardens printed by St. Anthony Messenger Press called Mary's Flowers: Gardens, Legends and Meditations by Vincenzina Krymow.

Apostolic Exhortation[5]

Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling

of The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist

My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

7. Like the People of Israel, we too are heading into difficult waters. Today we find ourselves in a crisis; many anxieties, uncertainties and doubts assail us from every side. As I said in my pastoral letter O Sacred Feast,” the Church at large is experiencing a grave crisis of faith in the Eucharist. This crisis has inflicted additional significant implications for authentic Christian discipleship; namely, abysmal Mass attendance, declining vocations to marriage, priesthood, and religious life, waning Catholic influence in society. As a nation we are experiencing a torrent of assaults upon the truth. The Gospel message has been watered down or replaced with ambiguous worldly values. Many Christians have abandoned Christ and His Gospel and turned to a secular culture for meaning that it cannot provide and to satiate a hunger that it can never satisfy.

8. In such troubled waters, our greatest anchor in these storms is Christ Himself, found in the Holy Eucharist. Though the instruction of Joshua was intended for the People of Israel facing formidable enemies as they crossed into the Promised Land, his words remain crucial for us: “Follow the Ark of the Lord, for we have never been this way before”.

9. As God’s People today, we are also on a journey to a promised inheritance, a journey also filled with dangers, challenges, and suffering. We do not have a column of cloud by day nor a pillar of fire by night reminding us of God’s presence ever guiding and protecting us as He did for the People of Israel. We do not have the Ark of the Covenant in our midst. Instead, we have not something but Someone much greater! Someone greater than the Ark who goes before us and is always with us. We have Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist to guide, comfort, and strengthen us. In times like these, echoing the instruction of Joshua, we must fix our gaze on the Lord and draw near to Him more than ever in the Eucharist. The more the Lord in the Eucharist is our central focus, the more surely, He will bring us through these dark and turbulent waters. On this day when we commemorate the Institution of the Eucharist, I as your shepherd implore each of you to seek out Jesus in the Eucharist to be strengthened and renewed in your faith.

“Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”

To be continued…

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PROLOGUE

IV. Structure of this Catechism

13 The plan of this catechism is inspired by the great tradition of catechisms which build catechesis on four pillars: the baptismal profession of faith (the Creed), the sacraments of faith, the life of faith (the Commandments), and the prayer of the believer (the Lord's Prayer).

Part One: the Profession of Faith

14 Those who belong to Christ through faith and Baptism must confess their baptismal faith before men. First therefore the Catechism expounds revelation, by which God addresses and gives himself to man, and the faith by which man responds to God (Section One). the profession of faith summarizes the gifts that God gives man: as the Author of all that is good; as Redeemer; and as Sanctifier. It develops these in the three chapters on our baptismal faith in the one God: the almighty Father, the Creator; his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, in the Holy Church (Section Two).

Part Two: the Sacraments of Faith

15 The second part of the Catechism explains how God's salvation, accomplished once for all through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is made present in the sacred actions of the Church's liturgy (Section One), especially in the seven sacraments (Section Two).

Part Three: the Life of Faith

16 The third part of the Catechism deals with the final end of man created in the image of God: beatitude, and the ways of reaching it - through right conduct freely chosen, with the help of God's law and grace (Section One), and through conduct that fulfils the twofold commandment of charity, specified in God's Ten Commandments (Section Two).

Part Four: Prayer in the Life of Faith

17 The last part of the Catechism deals with the meaning and importance of prayer in the life of believers (Section One). It concludes with a brief commentary on the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer (Section Two), for indeed we find in these the sum of all the good things which we must hope for, and which our heavenly Father wants to grant us.

Daily Devotions

·       Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: The Families of St. Joseph Porters

·       Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

·       Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·       Make reparations to the Holy Face

·       Drops of Christ’s Blood

·       Universal Man Plan

·       Rosary

 Monday Night at the Movies

Krzysztof Kieslowski, A Short Film About Love, 1988.


[2]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2021-05-10

[4]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-05-15


 


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