1 Maccabees, Chapter 3, Verse 55-56
55 After this Judas appointed officers
for the people, over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens. 56 He proclaimed that those who were
building houses, or were just married, or were planting vineyards, and those
who were AFRAID, could each return
home, according to the law.
Judas
is confronted by a large Army so what does he do. He prays, fasts and calls on
God’s mercy. Then he organizes all of the people into squads, platoons,
companies, battalions, and regiments. Then he basically lets anyone who wants
to go home go. To those that remain he says, “Arm yourselves and be brave; in the
morning, be ready to fight these Gentiles who have assembled against us to
destroy us and our sanctuary. It is better for us to die in battle than to witness the evils
befalling our nation and our sanctuary. Whatever is willed in heaven will be done.”
Judas
only wanted real fighters. The mindset of Judas reminds me of the mindset of
the early Antarctic explorers like Ernest Shackleton who wrote this famous
advertisement for men of courage.
Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.
Loyalty-Sir
Ernest Shackleton[1]
Sir Ernest Shackleton like so many of his generation were ultimate adventurers – part hero, part daredevil – fighting the elements and the odds, too far from civilization to call for help – laying it all on the line purely for the love of adventure. Shackleton led a doomed expedition to miraculous survival through the sheer force of his motivational leadership. In 1914, he set out with a crew of twenty-eight men on a quest to be the first to travel across the entire Antarctic continent by way of the South Pole. His ship, Endurance, became caught in ice and was crushed. After abandoning the ship, he and his men faced incredible hardship from a variety of brutal Antarctic conditions – from shifting weather to shifting ice, along with the trials of hunger, illness and discouragement – for more than a year. Yet every man got home safely, when the entire expedition would have perished under weaker leadership. Incredibly, the only casualty was frostbitten toes on one man. He had passion for the adventure of the mission, but he also had passion for the men he led. When he was forced to abandon his doomed ship and realized he would not achieve his goal of reaching the South Pole en route to the other side, he kept his disappointment to himself while he shifted his priorities to the well-being of his men. He said to another leader, F.A. Worsley, “It is a pity [to miss the crossing], but that cannot be helped. It is the men we have to think about. “He put his men above himself. He understood that the survival of them all might well depend on the quality of his leadership. He also realized that he could provide better leadership if he served as well as led. “Shackleton shared the physical labors as well as the watches…[He] would forego his own rations in order to feed the undernourished or the ill. And he often did so without anyone knowing it…Shackleton always put the needs of his men ahead of his personal comfort, and as a result he saved them all.” He realized that in order to survive they would have to stay healthy – mentally as well as physically. When we are trying to survive, having fun is the farthest thing from our minds. It may even be seen as trivializing the suffering. But during harsh tribulation it is more important than ever to find something to enjoy. During hard times we need to find a source of joy in order to maintain a healthy perspective. As a leader, Shackleton accepted responsibility for maintaining the spirits as well as the health of his men. Yes, they were brave adventurers just as Shackleton was, well able to take care of themselves. Still, Shackleton knew that as a leader he could provide a unique kind of influence that would be empowering, energizing and uplifting. He continually sought out ways to boost morale. He set aside time for recreation. They improvised various forms of entertainment. Several of the men had chosen books among the possessions they salvaged, and they read aloud to each other. They played soccer on the ice. “Humor…played a role, with Shackleton telling stories or teasing his men. What Shackleton was doing was keeping his men alive inside; by encouraging them to read or sing, he was keeping their spirits from sagging or dwelling on the inhospitalities that in other circumstances might have overwhelmed them.” He Inspired Loyalty. Shackleton’s passion for his mission and for his men, his passion for leadership, and his passion for motivation were a source of energy and courage during times of severe adversity. These virtues made him a leader that people wanted to follow. Even when his men may not have wanted to do something for themselves, they would do it for him. He inspired this kind of loyalty because he gave it to his men. They respected and trusted him because he respected and trusted them. They took care of him because he took care of them. They put him first because he put them first. He was a wonderful example of what a role model should be.
Shackleton dedicated South, the book he wrote about their
extraordinary exploits, “To My Comrades.” In one especially moving passage he
observed: “In memories we were rich. We had pierced the veneer of outside
things. We had suffered, starved and triumphed, groveled down yet grasped at
glory, grown bigger in the bigness of the whole. We had seen God in His
splendors, heard the text that natures renders. We had reached the naked soul
of man.” Sixty years after they had been rescued, the expedition’s first
officer, Lionel Greenstreet, was asked how they had done it, how had they
survived such a deadly misadventure. Greenstreet gave a one-word response:
“Shackleton.”
Vincent Price-RIP
Oct 25, 1993[2]
Growing up in the 50’s
and 60’s Vincent was a staple of the Halloween season. Trained on the London stage, Price started out as an actor for
mainstream films in the 1940s, and worked for prestigious directors like Joseph
L. Mankiewicz, Otto Preminger and Cecil B. DeMille. But he never really made
his mark in the film business until he segued into the horror genre. Despite
being immensely talented, at 6’4”, Vinnie was just too tall to make it as a
Hollywood leading man, where the ideal male height was around 6’, give or take
an inch or two on either side. (Price’s great friend and fellow horror icon,
Sir Christopher Lee, faced the same problem: at 6’5” he was even taller than
Vinnie.) In addition to the height issue, as the 50s marched on, Vinnie’s
classic, stage-trained acting style would eventually be considered
“old-fashioned,” and pushed aside in favor of the more “naturalistic” acting
styles of younger actors such as Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Paul Newman.
In classic horror, however, a stage-trained
acting style and perfect diction—which Price had in spades—were considered
assets, because so many plots featured evil aristocrats, sinister
industrialists, or cultivated mad scientists. He made so many horror films that
by the time he passed on in 1993 at the age of 82, Price had become
world-famous, beloved by millions.
Catechism of the Catholic
Church
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN
MYSTERY
SECTION TWO-THE SEVEN
SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER TWO-THE SACRAMENTS OF HEALING
Article 4-THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION
X. Indulgences
1471 The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church
are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance.
What is an indulgence?
"An indulgence is a remission before God of the
temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which
the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed
conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of
redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the
satisfactions of Christ and the saints."
"An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part
or all of the temporal punishment due to sin." Indulgences may be
applied to the living or the dead.
The punishments of sin
1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the
Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave
sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of
eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal
punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an
unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth,
or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from
what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two
punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God
from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which
proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the
sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.
1473 The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion
with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment
of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and,
when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept
this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy
and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put
off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man."
In the Communion of Saints
1474 The Christian who seeks to purify himself of his sin
and to become holy with the help of God's grace is not alone. "The life of
each of God's children is joined in Christ and through Christ in a wonderful
way to the life of all the other Christian brethren in the supernatural unity
of the Mystical Body of Christ, as in a single mystical person."
1475 In the communion of saints, "a perennial link of
charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly
home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still
pilgrims on earth. between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good
things." In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits
others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus
recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly
and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.
1476 We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of
saints the Church's treasury, which is "not the sum total of the material
goods which have accumulated during the course of the centuries. On the contrary
the 'treasury of the Church' is the infinite value, which can never be
exhausted, which Christ's merits have before God. They were offered so that the
whole of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the
Father. In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfactions and merits of his
Redemption exist and find their effficacy."
1477 "This treasury includes as well the prayers and
good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable,
and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the
prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the
footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and
carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them. In this way they attained
their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers in
the unity of the Mystical Body."
Obtaining indulgence from God through the Church
1478 An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by
virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus,
intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of
the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the
remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does
not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them
to works of devotion, penance, and charity.
1479 Since the faithful departed now being purified are
also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to
obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their
sins may be remitted.
Every Wednesday is
Dedicated to St. Joseph
The Italian culture has
always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make
Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or
spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass.
You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous you could
do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family night
perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.
·
Do the St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan.
·
Do Day 15 of the
Consecration to St. Joseph.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: The
sanctification of the Church Militant.
·
Carlsbad
Cave National Monument Est. 1923
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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