Monday, August 21, 2023

Monday Night at the Movies

David Lynch, The Straight Story, 1999.

OUR LADY OF KNOCK

Now the FEAR of the LORD was upon all the kingdoms of the countries surrounding Judah, so that they did not war against Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat was zealous for God and as a result peace comes to the land. Seek first the Kingdom of God.

Making Holy Place and Time with Christ, Our Redeemer[1]

January--Creeks, rivers, and other forms of moving water, including ice, manifest the flow of life itself. A gurgling stream or rushing river, even in midwinter's rest, is the sign that new life is coming forth, even when it is not yet perceptible in a snow-covered landscape. Our life in Christ begins through the saving water of Baptism; since this is so, we have an obligation to protect and save the water. Water pollution is widespread, denying safe drinking water to millions of people.

February--Soil under our feet goes unnoticed, though this first foot of soil is where most living organisms’ dwell. The health of the fragile skin of our earth is of utmost importance. Humility comes from the Latin word for soil, "humus." From and unto dust is the humbling message to each of us touched by the dust of Ash Wednesday. Soil is rich and fertile but also prone to erosion and pollution. •

March--The winds of March point to the power of God's Spirit working in us. We need to listen and respond to the gentle breezes of the Spirit; but will we, or will we be too distracted? The rebirth of spring reminds us of the energy of nature so that we ask ourselves whether we waste or wisely use energy –electricity, oil, gas, etc. Can we and should we continue to use nonrenewable fossil fuels, often with accompanying air pollution, at the rate we do? Or will the environmental ills we cause today call us in the future as a society to use wind and solar energy?

April--Lush and blooming vistas beckon us to take to the road and to explore. As we itch to go out and travel more in springtime, let us reflect on the mixed blessings. Interconnected communities and beautiful scenery are often coupled with air pollution, consumption of scarce petroleum, congestion, excessive mobility, and noise.

May--Flowers in Mary's month tie us closely to the reawakening earth. The time of Resurrection and expectant Pentecost is one of buds, blossoms, wildflowers, and greening of meadows and lawns. Days lengthen and we welcome the warmth of the sun after the long winter. Jesus is risen and is present in our midst, and so we rise and ascend with him.

June--Wildlife fills our life with joy and refreshment. Songbirds and birds of prey, squirrels and rabbits, butterflies and lightning bugs all carry a message worth discovering in early summer. Do we see and hear them, or do we overlook them, even despise them? Are they simply an annoyance, or have we come to know, love, and even serve these fellow creatures by providing protection and habitat?

July--We may be more aware of community relations in this month of Independence Day, visits, festivals, communal celebrations, and family reunions. Do our community and home exude hospitality and welcome? Are we able to welcome strangers into our community and open our social circles wider? Do we see connections between hospitality to people and to other creatures? Is there a connection between community relations and environmental concerns?

August--We may come to appreciate more deeply the various landforms (mountains, deserts, rock formations, valleys, and plains) during vacation time. They give us bearing, direction, and the geological history of our lives. This is the beginning of awareness of the "here" in our lives. The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord shows us the "hereness" of the risen Lord, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary speaks of God's power to the blessed. While we can choose to extend the Savior's redeeming power to our wounded earth, we also can choose to withdraw from this awesome challenge.

September--Our buildings need to be winterized. Now is the time to think of energy conservation measures, adding caulking and painting, completing needed repairs, composting yard waste, and protecting garden plants for late fall and winter. Do we regard our abodes as God's dwelling space, a sacred trust and healthy place? Do we cherish the abundance of space and use it properly as good stewards?

October--Trees declare their own sermon in brief autumn's painted landscape. We note their size and type and variety and beauty. Trees serve as symbols of the gift-giving aspects of our lives. Trees provide fruit, wood, climatic modification, wind and sun protection, prevention of soil erosion, and a host of other benefits. This is the time to plant trees and to prepare them for winter. Should we not give more attention to how our lives can bear fruit in Christ and in the protection of our forests?

November--The Thanksgiving meal is a ritual. Whether we are from rural or urban backgrounds, we know the harvest time passes and the year draws to an end. Giving thanks to God is Eucharist, a heavenly banquet and the foretaste of things to come. We are not worthy receivers of this sacrament without the haunting knowledge of the poor nutrition for many in our country and famine in other countries. How can we respond to homelessness and hunger here in our own land and share our bounty with those who are poor in other countries (lands)?

December--We turn our attention indoors with Advent prayers and preparations for the birth of Christ. For most of us, the indoors makes up the part of our environment in which we spend the most time. It is also the most unregulated and can be the most polluted part of the total environment –due to new home cleaning products and tighter ventilation. Consider a simpler home environment, where houseplants purify the air, where fresh air is plentiful, and where chemical products are limited and controlled. The yearly cycle of twelve months can make us more aware of our human environment and should help us as individuals and as a community to conduct a monthly examination of conscience.

Our Lady of Knock[2]

On August 21, 1879, Margaret Beirne, a resident of Cnoc Mhuire, was sent by her brother to lock up the church for the evening. When she was ready to leave, she noticed a strange brightness hovering over the church. Margaret had other things on her mind, and didn't tell anyone what she saw. Around the same time, another member of the Beirne family, Mary, was leaving from a visit to the church's housekeeper, and stopped with the housekeeper at the gables, where they could see the church. Mary replied:

"Oh, look at the statues! Why didn't you tell me the priest got new statues for the chapel?"

The housekeeper responded that she knew nothing of the priest getting new statues. So, they both went for a closer look, and Mary Beirne said:

"But they are not statues, they're moving. It's the Blessed Virgin!"

Thirteen others also came and saw the beautiful woman, clothed in white garments, wearing a brilliant crown. Her hands were raised as if in prayer. All knew that it was Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Queen of Angels. On the right of Our Lady stood St. Joseph, his head inclined toward her. On her left stood St. John, the Evangelist, dressed as a bishop. To the left of St. John stood an altar which had a lamb and a cross surrounded by angels on it. The vision lasted about two hours. People who were not at the apparition site reported that they saw a bright light illuminating the area where the church was. Many of the sick were healed upon visiting the church at Knock.

Things to Do:

· See the website of the Shrine of the Our Lady of Knock.

· For further information see Catholic Saints Info on Our Lady of Knock.

· In the vision, Mary stood in the middle, wearing a long gown and a crown of pulsating brilliance, with a golden rose over her forehead. A golden rose is often the symbol of this Marian apparition.

· Pope St. John Paul II presented a golden rose to the Shrine on his visit on September 30, 1979. Read his Mass homily.

· Because the 4th Sunday of Lent or Laetare Sunday is often referred as the Golden Rose Sunday, the Simnel Cake could incorporate the Rose tradition. See Laetare, Jerusalem! Rejoice! by Jennifer Gregory Miller for more information.

South Pole Discovery of the Eternal[3]

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The work of researchers who reported detecting the signal left behind by the rapid expansion of space billions of years ago is rooted in the efforts of a Belgian priest whose mathematical computations in the 1920s laid the groundwork for the Big Bang theory. Msgr. George Lemaitre, a mathematician who studied alongside leading scientists of the first half of the 20th century exploring the origins of the universe, suggested that the cosmos began as a super-dense "primeval atom" that underwent some type of reaction that initiated the expansion of the universe which continues today. The priest's conclusions challenged the conventional hypothesis proposed by luminaries such as Albert Einstein and Fred Hoyle that the universe was in a steady state. Researchers in cosmology over the decades refined Msgr. Lemaitre's idea, leading to what became widely known as the Big Bang theory and later ideas that signs of the Big Bang can be detected. The most recent evidence supporting the Big Bang emerged March 17 when a team of scientists announced they detected polarization in light caused by primordial gravitational waves originating from the Big Bang. The measurements were made with the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization experiment, or Biceps2, located near the South Pole.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

SECTION TWO-I. THE CREEDS

CHAPTER THREE-I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

Article 12-"I BELIEVE IN LIFE EVERLASTING"

V. The Last Judgment

1038 The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust," will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man's] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." Then Christ will come "in his glory, and all the angels with him .... Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.... and they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

1039 In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man's relationship with God will be laid bare. The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life:

All that the wicked do is recorded, and they do not know. When "our God comes, he does not keep silence.". . . he will turn towards those at his left hand: . . . "I placed my poor little ones on earth for you. I as their head was seated in heaven at the right hand of my Father - but on earth my members were suffering, my members on earth were in need. If you gave anything to my members, what you gave would reach their Head. Would that you had known that my little ones were in need when I placed them on earth for you and appointed them your stewards to bring your good works into my treasury. But you have placed nothing in their hands; therefore you have found nothing in my presence."

1040 The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory. Only the Father knows the day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its coming. Then through his Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvellous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end. the Last Judgment will reveal that God's justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God's love is stronger than death.

1041 The message of the Last Judgment calls men to conversion while God is still giving them "the acceptable time, . . . the day of salvation." It inspires a holy fear of God and commits them to the justice of the Kingdom of God. It proclaims the "blessed hope" of the Lord's return, when he will come "to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all who have believed."

Events

· August 21-Happy Birthday, Hawaii!

Do your patriotic duty, and honor the Aloha State with a visit this month -- August 21 marks Hawaii?s admittance as the 50th state. Lap up the waves on Oahu's North Shore; and for culinary fare, we've got the inside scoop on 4 ways to eat like a local on Oahu.

MEDICINAL PLANTS Day 6 SKIN DISEASES-Revealed by Heaven to Luz De María

My people, the suffering of humanity will be fiercer for all; disease continues and then the skin will be the nesting-place for another disease. Our Lord Jesus Christ, 07.22.2021

Pray, People of God, pray tirelessly so that the human skin disease would be promptly overcome when treated with Heaven’s medicines. Saint Michael the Archangel, 12.15.2020

ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL OIL

Instructions:

To half a liter of coconut oil, add 5 ml of geranium essential oil and 5 ml of lavender essential oil. Stir and keep in small, preferably amber-colored bottles. If amber-colored bottles are not available, it can be stored in transparent bottles in a cool place, away from direct light. For topical use only: Put on the skin lesion moderately 1 to 2 drops 3 to 4 times a day depending on the severity of the skin lesion. Coconut oil is used as the base oil, adding geranium essential oil and lavender essential oil.

Daily Devotions

· 30 DAY TRIBUTE TO MARY 7^th ROSE: The Extraordinary Preacher, St Louis de Montfort, on the Rosary

o 30 Days of Women and Herbs – Frauendreissiger

§ Watercress (Nasturtium officinalis)

· Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: For the intercession of the angels and saints

· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels

· Religion in the Home for Preschool: August

· Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Monday: Litany of Humility

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan