NINE-MONTH NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

NINE-MONTH NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
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Total Consecration to St. Joseph

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Tuesday in the Octave of Christ the King

CAPE DESIRE-Giving Tuesday-French Toast Day-Blue Christmas

 

Job, Chapter 2, Verse 3

The LORD said to the Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, FEARING God and avoiding evil. He still holds fast to his innocence although you incited me against him to ruin him for nothing.”

 

Satan is indeed our adversary but let us focus on what our Lord tells us.

 

I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. (Luke, Chapter 12, Verse 4-5) 

It would seem that Christ is talking about the Devil here or is He talking about our very selves. 

Christ may have been referring to the rabbinic duality of yetzer hara, the so-called "evil inclination," and the yetzer hatov, the "good inclination,". Yetzer hara is not a demonic force that pushes a person to do evil, but rather a drive toward pleasure or property or security, which if left unlimited, can lead to evil (cf. Genesis Rabbah 9:7). When a person’s will is properly controlled by the yetzer hatov, the yetzer hara leads too many socially desirable results, including marriage, business, and community. In Judaism adults are distinguished from children by the yetzer hatov, which controls and channels the drives that exist unchecked in the child. Thus children may seek pleasure and acquisition, but they are not able to create a sanctified relationship or exercise the responsibility to engage in business. The young adult is not described as someone who has developed a sophisticated moral sense; in fact, the early adolescent may base moral decisions entirely on fear of punishment. Yet by age 13, the child’s moral sense has developed sufficiently to hold the child responsible for his or her actions.[1] 

Another Jewish source states: 



 ha-Satan, the Adversary, was one of the “severe” agents of God. Another such harsh but necessary force in God’s creation is the Yetzer ha-Ra, which is variously translated as the “Evil Impulse,” the “Evil Desire,” the “Selfish Desire” or just “Desire.” It is that aspect of nature, but especially human nature, which drives us to compete, to fight, to possess, but most of all to desire sexual gratification. Though it is counter-balanced by the Yetzer ha-Tov, the “altruistic desire,” it is nonetheless the source of much of the grief in human life – lust, violence, selfishness, vengeance, and ambition. One would think that humanity would be truly better off if we could destroy this impulse. We see evil in ourselves, it offends us, and we think the right thing to do is to totally purge ourselves of it. Yet we don’t truly understand it, for things we so easily characterize as “evil” actually spring out of the very nexus of holiness. Surreal as it is, this maaseh makes an incredible point – it is the strife of the spirit, the very struggle between our impulses that makes the world work. Without the Yetzer ha-Ra, the world as we know would cease – people [and animals] would no longer be driven to build, to create, to have children. In short, life as we know, including not only evil aspects but most of what we regard as beautiful also, would cease. Without Desire, Life itself would slowly wither away, and that would be a sad thing. So, the goal of the spiritual person is not to destroy the selfish-sexual-evil impulse, but rather to sublimate it to God’s purpose. To be truly what God wants us to be, to achieve our fullest human potential, we need to learn to bend both our impulses to godly ends. We should not cease to lust but should direct that urge toward love. We should turn our impulse toward vengeance into the desire for justice, our ambition for acquiring possessions into the creation of true wealth.[2] 

Tuesday in the Octave of Christ the King 

·         Meditate on the virtues of Mary (Humility, Generosity, Chastity, Patience, Temperance, Understanding/love and Wisdom. One for each day

·         attend Mass daily or via EWTN or the internet.

·         Fast doing the Daniel fast (Monday-Saturday).

·         Exercise-Universal Man Plan. 

Chasity a gift[3]


Chastity is sexual self-control. It means placing sexual intimacy within one relationship and one relationship only: marriage.

Although we've used the word abstinence in this book and have encouraged you to abstain from premarital sex, we actually prefer the term chastity when talking about sexual morality.

Abstinence is about what you cannot do (engage in sexual intimacy). Chastity is about what you can do: lead a positive lifestyle that respects self and others. For centuries, chastity has been an admired moral virtue. Author Pat Driscoll defines chastity as sexual goodness living out the truth, beauty, and goodness of human sexuality. In one of her pamphlets, God's Plan for Sex, Driscoll boldly states Sex is great! and then lists some reasons why it is:

  • God created sex, and it's wonderful.
  • God gave us operating instructions for sex (in the Bible).
  • Only the abuse of sex (through fornication, adultery, masturbation, etc.) is wrong.
  • Following God's law brings joy.
  • Disobeying God's law brings unhappiness and problems for ourselves and society.
  • God has given us many ways to express our sexuality genitally (in marriage) and non-genitally (outside of marriage).

Chastity applies to everybody, unmarried people and married people. How?

For unmarried people (both those planning to marry and those who intend to remain single), chastity means staying pure in thought and deed, refraining from sexual intercourse and other forms of deliberate genital arousal, and expressing one's sexuality in non-genital ways.

For married people, chastity means having sex only with your marriage partner. This form of promised faithfulness between husbands and wives giving themselves sexually only to each other, never to anyone else is also known as fidelity. Chastity in marriage also means keeping sex open to life.

Celibacy is a special form of chastity. People with a religious vocation for example, priests, brothers, and nuns take a vow of celibacy. As part of their deep commitment to God and sacrificial service to God's people, they promise to lead a life that excludes all forms of genital sexual intimacy.

Ferdinand Magellan’s[4] three ships reached CAPE DESIRE on November 28, 1520, and crossed from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the straits of Magellan.

The late Senator McCain states Ferdinand Magellan was a man who is the best example of the virtue of Aspiration.

He left the service of one king and won the support of another so that he could pursue an ambition as big as the world he discovered. Ferdinand Magellan claimed the most daunting and marvelous prize. By the greatest feat of seamanship in history, he was the first European to go around the unknown world. At court, the young Magellan received an excellent education in the arts and sciences as well as the martial arts. In 1505, he joined the fleet of the first Portuguese governor of India, and over the course of several years’ service became a skilled navigator and a brave and capable soldier of fortune. Soldiers of fortune were constantly searching for a faster route to the prized Spice Islands. Whether Magellan had indeed reached them while he was in service to the Portuguese crown, there is little doubt that like all adventurers of the age, he held them as the richest prize on earth, and surely dreamed of sharing in the wealth and reputation they offered. Magellan believed that a passage between the Atlantic Ocean and that uncharted sea to the west, and through it a western route to the Spice Islands, existed at the unexplored end of the South American continent. He was determined to locate it. On September 10, 1519, five small ships, the San Antonio, the Concepción, the Victoria, the Santiago, and the Trinidad, carrying 265 men, a sizable arsenal of arms and munitions, and a less-than-adequate store of food and water, left the Spanish port of San Lucar de Barrameda for South America. The ships’ captains were Spaniards. The fleet’s ultimate destination was kept secret from the ships’ crews, who believed that they were sailing for South America, and not for the unknown world beyond its shores. It would not have been possible to find a crew willing to embark on such a perilous, if not impossible, journey. Their Portuguese commander, Ferdinand Magellan, sailed aboard the Trinidad, flying the imperial standard of Spain, the flag of Castile. Only one of the ships would ever return.

Stella Maris Chapel, Cape Horn Island

Next to the lighthouse on Cape Horn Island lies a tiny wooden chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It serves the sacramental needs of the researchers and staff at this station, which lies between South America’s Tierra de Fuego and the Antarctic continent. The first Catholic, let alone human being, to visit the area was Ferdinand Magellan on his round-the-world-trip across the straits that still bear his name. Oddly, the 90 researchers and support staff of the Italian Mario Zucchelli Station at Terra Nova Bay don’t have a permanent chapel, despite lay Italian Catholics offering to build one for free. In fact, a German shipping company offered to transport the prefab chapel to Terra Nova Bay gratis. Despite this, the Italian government is dragging its feet, to the detriment of the devout scientists and staff on the base. The Worldwide Antarctic Program (WAP) is spearheading the construction of a Catholic chapel at the base. So far, the plan is on ice.

Giving Tuesday[5]



Giving Tuesday aims to celebrate and promote charity and generosity. After two of the largest shopping days, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday aims to provide people with a day to give back to the world. Giving back can be through donations, volunteering time or any other form of charitable action. Giving Tuesday was first celebrated in 2012. Since its inception, there has been a 470% increase in online donations for the cause. It is celebrated annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as a reminder of the importance of generosity over consumption.

 

Giving Tuesday Facts & Quotes

 

·         In 2015, there were a total of 1.3 million social media mentions of Giving Tuesday. It officially went viral.

·         In 2015, the mean gift size (meaning the average between everybody who donated) on Giving Tuesday was $107.47.

·         Over 71 countries around the world support and participate in Giving Tuesday.

·         You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There's another day you might want to know about: Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity. – Bill Gates, creator of Microsoft.

 

Giving Tuesday Top Events and Things to Do

 

·         Watch a movie on the joys of gifts and giving. Some suggestions are: Pay it Forward (2000), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and Millions (2004).

·         Spread awareness on social media by using the hashtag #GivingTuesday, #TuesdayGiveawayDay and #TuesdayMeansDonate.

·         Volunteer your time at a local homeless shelter or volunteer organization. Giving can be much more than simply giving your money or things away. Giving your time is equally as valuable and, in some ways, more important.

·         Read a book about the joys of sharing. Some suggestions are: The Giving Book, giving: How Each of Us Change the World and The Giving Tree.

·         Donate to a charity of your choice. Charity Navigator can help you find a charity that suits you.

French Toast Day[6]


There’s a blend that just makes our morning fantastic, and it’s a blending of eggs, milk, and cinnamon with bread dipped in. There’s something about the savory sweet smell of it, and the anticipation of having it painted with butter and drizzled with syrup, with a side of breakfast sausage and a tall glass of orange juice that’ll get us out of bed on even the worst of days. French Toast Day is honoring this amazing breakfast delight and encourages you to enjoy it for breakfast with a few friends. The breakfast favorite French toast goes by many names depending on where it’s being served up – eggy bread, German toast, poor knights’ pudding, Bombay toast – but it’s always made of the same key ingredients. Egg, milk – or cream – and bread. This delicious, sweet snack is often served with sugar or syrup and fruit and consists of bread slices fried in a mixture of milk and egg. In France, its name is ‘pain perdu’, which literally means ‘lost bread’, because it would often be made with stale or old bread. Although we tend to call it French Bread, the dish isn’t known to have come from France. Some ancient Latin recipes from the 4th century mention soaking bread in milk before frying, and in fourteenth Century Germany the term ‘poor knights’ pudding’ was coined for the sweet treat because it was seen as an affordable meal for those without too much money to spend. Today, it’s eaten across the world as a breakfast meal or a sweet snack. In Italy, there’s a savory version, called ‘mozzarella en carrozza’, which sees the egg-soaked bread sandwiching slices of mozzarella cheese before it is fried. Its name literally means ‘mozzarella in a carriage’. So you can have eggy bread for your main meal, and your pudding!

How to Celebrate French Toast Day

So how can you celebrate French Toast Day? If you’ve got any stale bread in the kitchen, this is a great way to use it up. The recipe tends to call for bread that’s at least a day old because older slices will be able to soak up the tasty egg and milk mixture without falling apart. Then, once you’ve fried it up, you can slather on as much jam, syrup, fruit or honey as you like. If you’re feeling extra indulgent, why not pop a swirl of cream on top?

Blue Christmas[7]

Christmas normally is a time for joy. Decorations are set up, parties ensue, presents are given, and laughter commences. Not many people realize that those in law enforcement work tirelessly during the holiday season to keep people safe. Blue Christmas is a holiday dedicated to those who work in that field, giving them an opportunity to be thanked for their services and celebrate Christmas their own way. While Elvis made the term “A Blue Christmas” popular to describe Christmas blues, this holiday is for those who work in law enforcement, such as police, firefighters, EMTs, and 911 dispatchers. For them, it is rough. Long nights in the wet, cold snow or long nights in the office can be particularly dangerous, especially for those who have the potential factor of being shot at, having emotional trauma from an emergency situation, and so forth. Because of their job, they keep people safe and save lives, but it comes at a cost. They miss out on spending time with their families and lose out on enjoying what Christmas is all about. That’s why when it comes to the holiday season, Blue Christmas gives people a chance to give to others by giving gifts and thanking them for their services. While some may be cheerful doing their job, because they know that Christmas is about helping others, Blue Christmas helps raise awareness for the behind-the-scenes action that the people working in law enforcement and the medical field are the ones truly making the holiday seasons special. With the potential dangers involved, they deserved their thanks and gifts the most.

How to celebrate Blue Christmas

To take part in a Blue Christmas, you can easily do so by displaying a blue light throughout the winter holidays. It can be a single porch light, blue candles in the window, or blue Christmas lights as part of the display. If you know someone who works in law enforcement or the medical industry, buy or make them a gift and take the time out to thank them for what they do to keep society and the holidays going. Share this holiday on social media using the hashtag #bluechristmas and let everyone know how important it is to see those who don’t ask for much in return.

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

§  PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

§  SECTION TWO THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

§  CHAPTER FOUR OTHER LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS

§  Article 2-CHRISTIAN FUNERALS

§  I. The Christian's Last Passover

1681 The Christian meaning of death is revealed in the light of the Paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ in whom resides our only hope. the Christian who dies in Christ Jesus is "away from the body and at home with the Lord."

1682 For the Christian the day of death inaugurates, at the end of his sacramental life, the fulfillment of his new birth begun at Baptism, the definitive "conformity" to "the image of the Son" conferred by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and participation in the feast of the Kingdom which was anticipated in the Eucharist - even if final purifications are still necessary for him in order to be clothed with the nuptial garment.

1683 The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey's end, in order to surrender him "into the Father's hands." She offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of his grace, and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in glory. This offering is fully celebrated in the Eucharistic sacrifice; the blessings before and after Mass are sacramentals.

Daily Devotions

·         Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Binding and suppressing the Devils Evil works.

·         Make reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday Devotion

·         Pray Day 3 of the Novena for our Pope and Bishops

·         Tuesday: Litany of St. Michael the Archangel

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Make reparations to the Holy Face

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Go to MASS

·         Rosary






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