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.
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.
[4]https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/joan-of-arc-canonized-100-years-ago-consoles-those-victimized-by-church-hierarchy
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
· 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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