Thursday, December 14, 2023

- December 08, 2023

A special invite to join an exclusive event!

We'd like to invite you to a special, free event that we're hosting online: Return to the Father. We’re going live tonight, Dec 14, 8:30 pm EST.

Join our guest speaker, Mike Donovan, Leadership Coach for the Eastern USA, to learn how the Father called him home to the Catholic Church. Learn about his love of Scripture and the Sacraments and how you can employ these powerful instruments of God's grace in your life.

The Heroic Brotherhood is a new community for men to lift up one another in faith and brotherhood. Every month, we are going live with members-only events, and public livestreams.

Bring your questions and ideas. Let's discuss them together. God bless you brother,

Dan Donaldson

Vice President

Catholic Men’s Leadership Alliance

PS: Yes, the replay will be available afterward on HeroicMen. But you’ll miss out on the live chat and breakout rooms!

Thursday of the Second Week in Advent

St. john of the cross-roast chestnuts day

Isaiah, Chapter 41, verse 13-14:

¹³ For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; it is I who say to you, do not FEAR, I will help you. ¹⁴Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you maggot Israel; I will help you—oracle of the LORD; the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.

I picture Christ saying this to Peter in the Sea of Galilee as He pulls Peter up after he walked on the water and feared the waves and began to drown. We must not waiver when we feel covered over by the waters of fear for, He will help us. When in fear if we cry out for his help, He will grab us by the hand and bring us back in to the boat, which is His church.

Let us not be children of fear but children of faith. In fact, the opposite of Faith is fear. Napoleon Hill, author of the bestselling book THINK AND GROW RICH stated in his unpublished manuscript entitled “Outwitting the Devil” that the devil uses fear to manipulate and control us. Hill uses an imaginary conversation with the devil where the devil states: Once I capture the mind of a child, through fear, I weaken that child’s ability to reason and to think for himself, and that weakness goes with the child all through life. According to Hill the secret to freedom and success is to break the chains of fear and realize that failure and defeat are only a temporary experience.

Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first in inaugural address as President of the United States realizing this stating, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” As a new President he realized the power of fear and he also realized the power of courage. Mindful of this let us go forth manfully to face our fears and change ourselves, our families and our nation realizing YES He IS and He grasps our hand—He will help us!

St. John of the Cross-Advent Calendar[1]

Read: St. John of the Cross, who we honor today, was known for his deep spirituality and compassion.

Reflect: "We must dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides." —St. John of the Cross

Pray: Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy today.

Act: Brainstorm ideas for how you can live out your call to "imbue every area of social life with the spirit of the Gospel" as an active citizen. For ideas, visit the Faithful Citizenship website.

Roast Chestnuts Day[2]

In the chill of December, there’s one warming treat that is especially popular across the world to keep the cold away. Roasted chestnuts are often seen this time of year being cooked by street vendors, and the earthy, spicy scent is more than enough to get anyone into the Christmas spirit. On the 14th of December, it’s time to honor the humble chestnut. Or specifically, mark the time-honored tradition of roasting chestnuts round about the season of good cheer. Roast Chestnut’s Day is a relatively new day in the calendar, but the practice of roasting chestnuts has been around for donkey’s years. Although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when they started to become so popular, historians pencil the 16th century in as being a turning point, when the nuts would be sold by street vendors to anyone wanting a quick and warming snack. It has also long been a tradition in Portugal to eat them roasted on Saint Martin’s Day, and in Tuscany on Saint Simon’s Day. When chestnuts are carefully roasted, the natural sweetness of the nut is revealed. This makes them an ideal snack if you want something to stave off a sweet tooth that also happens to be quite nutritious, chestnuts being comparatively low in calories and being a good source of fibre. They are also very rich in vitamin C, which may come as a surprise to you. Although they are technically nuts, they taste very unlike other nuts – the sweet, earthy taste is certainly worth a try if you’ve never had one before – and Roast Chestnuts Day is the perfect time to try that first one. Chestnuts are often roasted on a grill, which helps to remove their bitter, shiny skins, but you can make them at home using your conventional kitchen oven. All you need to do is cut a cross into each nut, put them on a roasting tin and bake them until the skins open. They are eaten after peeling away that tough, shiny skin.

How to Celebrate Roast Chestnuts Day

· It’s so, so easy to make roast chestnuts, so why not roast up a batch for yourself on the 14th of December? Have them as a snack on their own, add them to stuffing or pair them with roasted beef.

· And you’ll be able to find them in most supermarkets during the festive season, so you won’t have to go foraging for them in the woods!

Halcyon Days[3]

From Latin Alcyone, daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx. When her husband died in a shipwreck, Alcyone threw herself into the sea whereupon the gods transformed them both into halcyon birds (kingfishers). When Alcyone made her nest on the beach, waves threatened to destroy it. Aeolus restrained his winds and kept them calm during seven days in each year, so she could lay her eggs. These became known as the "halcyon days," when storms do not occur. Today, the term is used to denote a past period that is being remembered for being happy and/or successful.

Today reflect on seven successes or happy times of the year then pick one to thank Our Lord for and offer to Our Lord an appropriate gift for it for his birth!

Spiritual Crib[4]

A special devotion that can be performed during Advent to prepare for the coming of the Infant Savior. It can be adapted for adults and/or children and applied as is appropriate to your state in life.

· 4th day, December 14th: THE ROOF—Self-denial Today we must practice self-denial in everything great or small. We must therefore do the very things from which nature shrinks, and if opportunity permits, abstain from some amusement in whatever way it presents itself. No TV today

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST

SECTION ONE-MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

CHAPTER ONE-THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

Article 3-MAN'S FREEDOM

IN BRIEF

1743 "God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel (cf Sir 15:14), so that he might of his own accord seek his creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him" (GS 17 # 1).

1744 Freedom is the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one's own. Freedom attains perfection in its acts when directed toward God, the sovereign Good.

1745 Freedom characterizes properly human acts. It makes the human being responsible for acts of which he is the voluntary agent. His deliberate acts properly belong to him.

1746 The imputability or responsibility for an action can be diminished or nullified by ignorance, duress, fear, and other psychological or social factors.

1747 The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in religious and moral matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of man. But the exercise of freedom does not entail the putative right to say or do anything.

1748 "For freedom Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1).

Fast all Day break-fast after sunset for a Thursday Feast

Thursday is the day of the week that our Lord gave himself up for consumption. Thursday commemorates the last supper. Some theologians believe after Sunday Thursday is the holiest day of the week. We should then try to make this day special by making a visit to the blessed sacrament chapel, Mass or even stopping by the grave of a loved one. Why not plan to count the blessing of the week and thank our Lord. Plan a special meal. Be at Peace.

Today’s menu is from the State of Georgia