Thursday, May 18, 2023
Armed Forces Day Build Up
US Air Force[1]
Fighting at 25,000 feet in
thin, freezing air that no warriors had ever encountered before, bomber crews
battled new kinds of assaults on body and mind. Air combat was deadly but
intermittent: periods of inactivity and anxiety were followed by short bursts
of fire and fear. Unlike infantrymen, bomber boys slept on clean sheets, drank
beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of Glenn Miller’s Air Force
band, which toured U.S. air bases in England. But they had a much greater
chance of dying than ground soldiers. In 1943, an American bomber crewman stood
only a one-in-five chance of surviving his tour of duty, twenty-five missions.
The Eighth Air Force lost more men in the war than the U.S. Marine Corps. The
bomber crews were an elite group of warriors who were a microcosm of America —
white America, anyway. (African Americans could not serve in the Eighth Air
Force except in a support capacity.) The actor Jimmy Stewart was a bomber boy,
and so was the “King of Hollywood,” Clark Gable. And the air war was filmed by
Oscar-winning director William Wyler and covered by reporters like Andy Rooney
and Walter Cronkite, all of whom flew combat missions with the men. The
Anglo-American bombing campaign against Nazi Germany was the longest military
campaign of World War II, a war within a war. Until Allied soldiers crossed
into Germany in the final months of the war, it was the only battle fought
inside the German homeland.
The U.S. Space Force (USSF) is a new
branch of the Armed Forces. It was established on December 20, 2019 with
enactment of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and will
be stood-up over the next 18 months. The USSF was established within the
Department of the Air Force, meaning the Secretary of the Air
Force has overall responsibility for the USSF, under the guidance
and direction of the Secretary of Defense. Additionally, a four-star general
known as the Chief of Space
Operations (CSO) serves as the senior military
member of the USSF. The CSO is a full member of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff.
Mission
The USSF is a military service that
organizes, trains, and equips space forces in order to protect U.S. and allied
interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint force. USSF
responsibilities include developing military space professionals, acquiring
military space systems, maturing the military doctrine for space power, and
organizing space forces to present to our Combatant Commands.
Space
Capabilities
The new, independent U.S. Space Force will maintain and enhance the competitive edge in space while adapting to new strategic challenges. Spacelift operations at the East and West Coast launch bases provide services, facilities and range safety control for the conduct of NASA and commercial space launches. Through the command and control of all defense satellites, satellite operators provide force-multiplying effects – continuous global coverage, low vulnerability and autonomous operations. Satellites provide essential in-theater secure communications, weather and navigational data for ground, air and fleet operations and threat warning. Ground-based and space-based systems monitor ballistic missile launches around the world to guard against a surprise missile attack on North America. A global network of space surveillance sensors provides vital information on the location of satellites and space debris for the nation and the world. Maintaining space superiority is an emerging capability required to protect U.S. space assets from hostile attacks
Thursday
Ascension of the Lord
Deuteronomy, Chapter 14, Verse 22-23
22 Each year you shall tithe all the produce of your seed that grows in the field; 23 then in the place which the LORD, your God, chooses as the dwelling place of his name you shall eat in his presence the tithe of your grain, wine and oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, that you may learn always to FEAR the LORD, your God.
The way I read this is God wants you to celebrate life; you shall eat in his presence the tithe of your produce. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone did this! If we all took time off with a tenth of the money, we made to celebrate with God and our family and friends together. What a different world it would be. Imagine all the celebrations you would attend. Maybe we should all strive to take a 40-day retreat/celebration. Save your money for this! What is on your bucket list; perhaps the Lord wants you and me to cross off some of those things in His presence. If I were young again this is how I would budget: 10% for His Presence (30 to 40 days’ vacation); 10% for charity/church; 10% savings and live off the 70 percent; that is after the government takes their 50%. Imagine if there was a flat tax……. A good resource for financial advice is a book entitled, “The Richest Man in Babylon”[1]
Feast of the Ascension[2]
Forty days after
Easter, our Lord ascends into heaven. The Paschal candle is extinguished.
AT the Introit of the Mass the Church
sings the words spoken by the angels to the apostles when Jesus ascended to
heaven: “Ye men of Galilee, why wonder ye, looking up to heaven? Alleluia. He
shall so come as you have seen Him going up into heaven, alleluia! alleluia!
alleluia! Oh, clap your hands, all ye nations, shout unto God with the voice of
joy.”
Prayer.
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who believe that Thy only
begotten Son, our Redeemer, ascended this day into heaven, may ourselves also,
in mind, dwell in heavenly things.
EPISTLE.
Acts i. 1-11.
The former treatise I made, O
Theophilus, of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach until the day on
which, giving commandments by the Holy Ghost to the apostles whom He had
chosen, He was taken up: to whom also He showed Himself alive after His
passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the
kingdom of God. And eating together with them, He commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the
Father, which you have heard, saith He, by my mouth: for John, indeed, baptized
with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
They therefore who were come together asked Him, saying: Lord, wilt Thou at
this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
But He said to them: It is not for you
to know the times or moments which the Father hath put in His own power. But
you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be
witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the
uttermost part of the earth. And when He had said these things, while they
looked on, He was raised up: and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And
while they were beholding Him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them
in white garments, who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up
to heaven?
This Jesus Who is taken up from you
into heaven, shall so come as you have seen Him going into heaven.
Explanation.
For forty days after His resurrection, Jesus remained with His disciples,
to convince them of the truth of His resurrection, to teach them in regard to
His kingdom, that is, His Church, and their vocation; and as they were still
thinking of an earthly kingdom to be established by Christ, He referred them to
the instruction of the Holy Ghost, and then ascended to heaven, whence He shall
come to be our judge. Rejoice over the instructions which are preserved for you
through the Church; but rejoice especially that Jesus has taken possession of
the glory gained by His most profound humiliations, for now He is there an
intercessor for you; there He prepares for you a mansion; there is now your
home. To-day look up to heaven where Christ is, hope, suffer, love, and pray.
GOSPEL.
Mark xvi. 14-20.
At that time, as the eleven were at table, Jesus appeared
to them and He upbraided them with their incredulity and hardness of heart:
because they did not believe them who had seen Him after He was risen again.
And He said to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that
believeth not shall be condemned. And these signs shall follow them that
believe: In My name they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new
tongues: they shall take up serpents: and if they shall drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they
shall recover. And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up
into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God. But they going forth
preached everywhere, the Lord working withal, and con firming the word with
signs that followed. “Let us ‘says St. Augustine, “in spirit, ascend with
Christ, that when the time comes, we may follow Him in body also. But we must
know, dear brethren, that neither pride, nor avarice, nor impurity can ascend
with Christ, our Lord, for pride does not keep company with the teacher of
humility, nor wickedness with the source of all good, nor impurity with the Son
of the Virgin.”
Aspiration. O King of glory! Who didst
on this day ascend victoriously above the heavens, leave us not orphans, but
send us, from the Father, the Spirit of truth Whom Thou hast promised, and
receive us all into Thy glory.
Why,
on this day, is the Easter-candle extinguished and carried away after the
gospel?
It is done in
remembrance of the hour in which Christ, Who is typified by the Easter-candle,
left this earth.
Ascension Thursday Customs[3]
Ascension Plays
In the early centuries the Church celebrated the Feast of the Ascension with elaborate processions that imitated Christ's conducting His Apostles to Bethany (Lk. 24.50). Eventually, however, these liturgical processions became nonliturgical pageants, and the pageants, in turn, became plays. Ascension Thursday was a day for special effects. This could happen in a dignified way during the Mass, as when in Germany the priest would lift a crucifix during the Gospel at the words, "He was taken up into heaven," or it could happen in a dramatic way after Mass with a theatrical representation of the Ascension event. Statues of the risen Christ would be hoisted by pulleys into the air and then either concealed by white silk representing clouds or pulled through an opening in the ceiling. The audience would then be showered with roses, lilies, and wafers. The flowers symbolized the various gifts of the Holy Spirit promised by Christ before He left, while the wafers reminded all that Jesus is still present to us in the Blessed Sacrament.
· Traditional banquets on this day would gastronomically imitate Christ's ascension by making the main course something that could fly to heaven. Birds of almost every feather - pigeons, pheasants, partridges, and even crows - eventually found their way to the Ascension Day table.
In Central Europe Ascension Thursday is a popular day for mountain climbing or picnicking on hilltops. No doubt this is in commemoration of the summit of the Mount of Olives from which Christ ascended and the heights to which he soared. A similarly inspired tradition is eating some kind of bird for the Feast since on this day Christ "flew" to Heaven.
Rest
Like any other solemnity, Ascension Thursday is supposed to be a day of rest and liberal leisure. For some reason or another, however, traditional folklore treats this observance for today with particular severity. Popular superstitions warned against working in field or garden, and special punishments were purportedly reserved for women who sewed. Any needle, it was thought, that was used for work on Ascension Thursday would soon attract lightning!
Ascension Thursday[4]
Ascension commemorates the day that Jesus ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:1-11) after spending 40 days appearing to his disciples after his resurrection. The disciple’s thought Jesus was going to restore the earth to the Kingdom of Heaven, but instead, as he promised to send the Holy Spirit to give them power, he ascended into Heaven and disappeared in a cloud. Ascension is the 40th day after Easter, celebrated on the sixth Sunday of the Easter season in Protestant churches and on the 40th day after Easter in Roman Catholic churches.
Ascension Facts &
Quotes
·
The Apostle's Creed, one of the statements of
faith in the Christian Church, mentions Jesus' ascension:
·
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. The third day he rose from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty.
·
An ancient custom in England, called the Beating
of the Bounds, is often performed on or near Ascension. Before maps, this
was the day that people would mark the boundaries of their property with stones
marked with chalk. Some English churches still perform the custom, led by
the vicar. Church members carry sticks to wick at weeds as they process.
· In the Orthodox tradition, celebration of the Jesus' Ascension starts with an all-night vigil or vespers (evening) service beginning on Saturday.
Ascension Top Events
and Things to Do
·
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote several pieces
related to both Easter and the Ascension. Listen to Bach's the Ascension Oratorio, Lobet Gott
in seinen Reichen (Praise God in His Kingdoms) on YouTube.
·
Go bird watching. A custom in Sweden, is
to get up early in the morning of Ascension and venture out into the woods to
listen for the call of a cuckoo. It is considered good luck to hear one
on this holiday.
·
Go to church and learn about why Jesus'
ascension is important to the Christian faith. Jesus is considered to be
both human and divine, and the ascension is an illustration of Christ's divine
nature.
·
View paintings that depict the ascension.
One of the most famous works is The Ascension of Christ by
Rembrandt Van Rijn.
· Have a picnic.
Curried
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Chinese Chicken Salad
(It is traditional
to eat some sort of bird since Jesus "flew" to heaven.)
Strawberries
(The fruit
represents Christ, the first fruit of all men.)
Cream Puffs
(Symbolizing the
clouds that were in the sky.)
Sparkling Grape Juice
(Chosen for the
"rising" bubbles.)
Today is World Arak Day try
this Lebanon drink-caution 126 proof
Preparing for
the empowerment of the Holy Spirit[5]
On
Ascension Day the Lumen Christi is taken from the dining room
table to signify that the Lord has ascended. In the days when the Faith was
flourishing, the Sunday after the feast of the Ascension was called "The
Sunday of the Roses," the name given from the custom of strewing the
pavements of the churches with roses, as an homage to Christ who ascended into
heaven when the earth was in the season of flowers. Why cannot we in our day
have roses in our homes, make an offering of flowers to our church, or take
roses from our gardens to one infirm or sick?
Here
are some prayers and meditations to be said in the family between the Ascension
and Pentecost Sunday.
One
of the simplest ways we have found for young children to prepare for Pentecost
is by meditating on the mysteries of the Chaplet of the Holy Spirit. We reflect
on one mystery a day.
Opening Prayer: Sign of the
Cross-Act of Contrition
First Mystery: Jesus is conceived by the Holy
Spirit of the Virgin Mary.
Meditation: The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and
the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. Therefore, the Holy One to be
born shall be called the Son of God (Luke 11:35).
Prayers: One Our Father and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Second Mystery: The Spirit of the Lord rests upon
Jesus.
Meditation: When Jesus was baptized, He immediately
came up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw
the Spirit of God descending as a Dove and coming upon Him (Matthew 3:16).
Prayers: One Our Father and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Third Mystery: Jesus is led by the Spirit into the
desert.
Meditation: Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit about the desert for forty
days, being tempted the while by the devil (Luke 4:11). Prayers: One Our Father
and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Fourth Mystery: The Holy Spirit in the Church.
Meditation: Suddenly there came a sound from heaven,
as of a violent wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were
sitting. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak of
the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:2, 4, 11). Prayers: One Our Father and Hail
Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Fifth Mystery: The Holy Spirit in the souls of the
Just.
Meditation: Or, do you not know that your members are
the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Do not extinguish the Spirit. And
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God in whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption (1 Cor. 6:19; 1 Thess. 5:19; Eph. 4:30).
Prayers: One Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Devotions for Holy Communion[6]
HOW WE
OUGHT TO COMMUNICATE.
PREPARE
yourself for holy communion the evening before by many thoughts of love,
retiring earlier, that you may rise sooner in the morning. Should you awake in
the night, raise your heart to God immediately, and make some ardent
aspirations, in order to prepare your soul for the reception of her Spouse,
Who, being awake whilst you were asleep, prepares a thousand graces and favors
for you, if, on your part, you are disposed to receive them.
In the
morning, rise up with eagerness to enjoy the happiness you hope for; and having
confessed, go with a great but humble confidence to receive this heavenly food,
which nourishes your soul to immortality: and after repeating thrice, “Lord, I
am not worthy,” cease to move your lips to pray, or to sigh, but opening your
mouth gently and moderately, and lifting up your head as much as is necessary,
that the priest may see what he is about, full of faith, hope, and charity,
receive Him, in Whom, by Whom, and for Whom you believe, hope, and Whom you
love. Represent to yourself that as the bee, after gathering from the flowers
the dew of heaven, and the choicest juice of the earth, reducing them into
honey, carries it into her hive, so the priest, having taken from the altar the
Savior of the world, the true Son of God, Who, as the dew, is descended from
heaven, and the true Son of the Virgin, Who, as a flower, is sprung from the
earth of our humanity, puts Him as delicious food into your mouth and body.
Having
received Him in your breast, excite your heart to do homage to the author of
your salvation; treat with Him concerning your internal affairs; consider that
He has taken up His abode within you for your happiness; make Him then as
welcome as you possibly can, and conduct yourself in such a manner as to make it
appear by all your actions that God is with you.
But
when you cannot enjoy the benefit of really communicating at holy Mass, communicate at least spiritually, uniting yourself by an ardent
desire to this life-giving flesh of Our Savior. Your principal intention in
communicating should be to advance in virtue, to strengthen yourself in the
love of God, and to receive comfort from this love; for you must receive
through love that which love alone caused to be given to you. You cannot
consider Our Savior in an action either more full of love, or more tender than
this, in which He annihilates Himself, or, as we may more properly say, changes
Himself into food, that so He may penetrate our souls, and unite Himself most
intimately to the heart, and to the body of His faithful.
If
worldlings ask you why you communicate so often, tell them it is to learn to
love God, to purify yourself from your imperfections, to be delivered from your
miseries, to be comforted in your afflictions, and supported in your
weaknesses.
Tell
them that two sorts of persons ought to communicate frequently: the perfect,
because, being well disposed, they would be greatly to blame not to approach to
the source and fountain of perfection; and the imperfect, to the end that they
may be able to aspire to perfection; the strong, lest they should become weak;
and the weak, that they may become strong; the healthy, lest they should fall
into sickness; and the sick, that they may be restored to health: that for your
part, being imperfect, weak, and sick, you have need to communicate frequently
with Him Who is your perfection, your strength, and your physician.
Tell
them that those who have not many worldly affairs to look after ought to
communicate often, because they have leisure; that those who have much business
on hand should also communicate often, for he who labors much and is loaded
with toil ought to eat solid food, and that frequently.
Tell
them that you receive the Holy Sacrament, to learn to receive it well; because
one can hardly perform an action well which he does not often practice. Communicate
frequently, then, and as frequently as you can, with the advice of your ghostly
father; and, believe me, by approaching to and eating beauty, purity, and
goodness itself, in this divine sacrament, you will become altogether fair,
pure, and virtuous.
Apostolic Exhortation[7]
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,
Part I
I.
The Mass as the new Exodus from Slavery of Sin
16.
Remember the First Passover was offered at the climax of the deliverance of
Israel from slavery to the Egyptians (c.f. Exodus 12). Each household was to
take a male lamb in the prime age of its life, free of defects, and sacrifice
it to God. The blood of the lamb was to be spread on the entrances of their
homes while its flesh was to be eaten. Every home that followed the rites
commanded by God for this sacred meal were spared from the death of their
firstborn sons. The first Passover saved the Israelites from death and led to
their liberation from slavery. At the annual Passover, the head of the
household was to recount the story of how the Lord delivered them from the
oppression of Egypt and spared their lives. Then they were to eat the flesh of
the lamb that they sacrificed.
17.
Jesus brought this first Passover to its ultimate fulfillment at the Last
Supper. At this Passover, Jesus took the position at the head of the household,
the father of the family. Instead of recounting the story of the first exodus
of the Israelites from Egypt, He spoke of His own suffering and death about to
take place.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART ONE:
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION ONE
"I BELIEVE" - "WE BELIEVE"
26 We begin
our profession of faith by saying: "I believe" or "We
believe". Before expounding the Church's faith, as confessed in the Creed,
celebrated in the liturgy and lived in observance of God's commandments and in
prayer, we must first ask what "to believe" means. Faith is man's
response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time
bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of
his life. Thus we shall consider first that search (Chapter One), then the
divine Revelation by which God comes to meet man (Chapter Two), and finally the
response of faith (Chapter Three).
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Conversion
of Sinners
·
do
a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Rosary
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Richest_Man_in_Babylon_%28book%29
[2]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
[6] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
[7]https://dphx.org/veneremur-cernui/
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