Friday after Ash Wednesday
Judith, Chapter 8,
Verse 8
No one had a bad word to say about
her, for she FEARED God greatly.
Think
what it would be like if you could hear what others say about you? Would no one
have a bad word to say about you? How is Judith described?
Judith[1]
·
She
was a widow of a successful man “Mannasseh” who died of heat stroke during a
barley harvest.
·
During
the war she had been a widow for 3 years and 4 months choosing not to remarry.
·
She
lived in a tent on the roof of her house and mourned her husband and
worshipped.
·
She
fasted except for the Holy Days.
·
She
was beautiful and very lovely to behold.
·
She
maintained her husband’s property which she owned.
Judith,
Instrument of Yahwah
War
had been declared between God and Nebuchadnezzar, god against God. Each
divinity has an acting human representative. Judith and Holofernes. Judith is a
model of Jewish observance. She is a widow whom all knows that she is under the
protection of God. She is a strong woman, with the fear of God. Judith counsels
the elders of the city Bethulia, that is a mountain stronghold that prevents
Holofernes from marching on Jerusalem. The people are thirsty the cisterns are
empty all is hopeless and the elders want to quit. Judith challenges their
resolve. She scolds the elders for limiting God to human understanding. "You cannot plumb the depths of the
human heart or grasp the workings of the human mind; how then can you fathom
God, who has made all these things, or discern his mind, or understand his
plan?” Judith prepares for war with prayer. Her call for action has 3
parts.
1.
They
must set an example because the fate
of the nation, the temple, and the people depend on them.
2.
They
must be grateful to God for this test
their affliction is a proof of God’s love for them.
3.
They
must remember that God tests those He
loves and never doubt his fidelity in the midst of their sufferings.
Judith’s
prayer illustrates three principles of Holy War
·
Trust
in God. Do not trust in horses or chariots. Trust in armament is the same as
trusting in another god-it is idolatry.
·
Power
comes from God. Frequently the power of God comes from a chosen person, Moses,
David, Jesus, Peter and Judith or Mary Mother of God. The weapons of God are
not the same as man. God’s chosen instrument is sometimes weak.
·
Victory
belongs to the lowly and vulnerable. The weak have no hope except in the power
of God. Judith calls on God to win the victory.
Friday after Ash Wednesday-Fast Day
EPISTLE. Isaias
Iviii. 1-9.
THUS,
saith the Lord God: Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice - like a trumpet, and
show My people their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins. For they
seek Me from day to day, and desire to know My ways, as a nation that hath done
justice, and hath not forsaken the judgment of their God: they ask of Me the
judgments of justice: they are willing to approach to God. Why have we fasted,
and Thou hast not regarded: why have we humbled our souls, and Thou hast not
taken notice? Behold in the day of your fast your own will is found, and you
exact of all your debtors. Behold you fast for debates and strife, and strike
with the fist wickedly. Do not fast as you have done until this day, to make
your cry to be heard on high. Is this such a fast as I have chosen: for a man
to afflict his soul for a day? is this it, to wind his head about like a
circle, and to spread sack-cloth and ashes? wilt thou call this a fast, and a
day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen?
Loose
the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are
broken go free, and break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the hungry
and bring the needy and the harborless into thy house: when thou shalt see one
naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh. Then shall thy light break
forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall
go before thy face, and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up. Then shalt
thou call, and the Lord shall hear thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.
Because I thy Lord God am merciful.
GOSPEL. Matt. 5:44
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy: but I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you: that you may be the children of your Father Who is in heaven, Who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect. Take heed, that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise, you shall not have a reward of your Father Who is in heaven. Therefore, when thou dost an alms deed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth. That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father Who seeth in secret, will repay thee.
Fitness Friday-Suffering[2]
When
I first started training for marathons a little over ten years ago, my coach told me something I’ve never
forgotten: that I would need to learn how to be comfortable with being
uncomfortable. I didn’t know it at the time, but that skill, cultivated
through running, would help me as much, if not more, off the road as it would
on it. It’s not just me, and it’s not just running.
Ask anyone whose day regularly includes a hard bike ride, sprints in the pool,
a complex problem on the climbing wall, or a progressive powerlifting circuit,
and they’ll likely tell you the same: A difficult conversation just doesn’t
seem so difficult anymore. A tight deadline is not so intimidating.
Relationship problems are not so problematic. Maybe it’s that if you’re
regularly working out, you’re simply too tired to care. But that’s probably not
the case. Research shows that, if anything, physical activity boosts short-term
brain function and heightens awareness. And even on days they don’t train —
which rules out fatigue as a factor — those who habitually push their bodies
tend to confront daily stressors with a stoic demeanor. While the traditional
benefits of vigorous exercise — like prevention and treatment of diabetes,
heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and osteoporosis — are well known and
often reported, the most powerful benefit might be the lesson that my coach
imparted to me: In a world where comfort is king, arduous physical activity
provides a rare opportunity to practice suffering.
Few hone this skill better than professional endurance and adventure athletes.
Regardless of sport, the most resounding theme, by far, is that they’ve all
learned how to embrace uncomfortable situations:
†
Olympic
marathoner Des Linden told me that at mile 20 of 26.2, when the inevitable
suffering kicks in, through years of practice she’s learned to stay relaxed and
in the moment. She repeats the mantra: “calm, calm, calm; relax, relax, relax.”
†
World-champion
big-wave surfer Nic Lamb says being uncomfortable, and even afraid, is a
prerequisite to riding four-story waves. But he also knows it’s “the path to
personal development.” He’s learned that while you can pull back, you can
almost always push through. “Pushing through is courage. Pulling back is
regret,” he says.
†
Free-soloist
Alex Honnold explains that, “The only way to deal with [pain] is practice. [I]
get used to it during training so that when it happens on big climbs, it feels normal.”
†
Evelyn
Stevens, the women’s record holder for most miles cycled in an hour (29.81 –
yes, that’s nuts), says that during her hardest training intervals, “instead of
thinking I want these to be over, I try to feel and sit with the pain.
Heck, I even try to embrace it.”
†
Big-mountain
climber Jimmy Chin, the first American to climb up — and then ski down — Mt.
Everest’s South Pillar Route, told me an element of fear is there in everything
he does, but he’s learned how to manage it: “It’s about sorting out perceived
risk from real risk, and then being as rational as possible with what’s left.”
But you don’t need to scale massive vertical pitches or run five-minute miles to reap the benefits. Simply training for your first half marathon or CrossFit competition can also yield huge dividends that carry over into other areas of life. In the words of Kelly Starrett, one of the founding fathers of the CrossFit movement, “Anyone can benefit from cultivating a physical practice.” Science backs him up. A study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that college students who went from not exercising at all to even a modest program (just two to three gym visits per week) reported a decrease in stress, smoking, alcohol and caffeine consumption, an increase in healthy eating and maintenance of household chores, and better spending and study habits. In addition to these real-life improvements, after two months of regular exercise, the students also performed better on laboratory tests of self-control. This led the researchers to speculate that exercise had a powerful impact on the students’ “capacity for self-regulation.” In laypeople’s terms, pushing through the discomfort associated with exercise — saying “yes” when their bodies and minds were telling them to say “no” — taught the students to stay cool, calm, and collected in the face of difficulty, whether that meant better managing stress, drinking less, or studying more. For this reason, the author Charles Duhigg, in his 2012 bestseller The Power of Habit, calls exercise a “keystone habit,” or a change in one area life that brings about positive effects in other areas. Duhigg says keystone habits are powerful because “they change our sense of self and our sense of what is possible.” This explains why the charity Back on My Feet uses running
to help individuals who are experiencing homelessness improve their situations.
Since launching in 2009, Back on My Feet has had over 5,500 runners, 40 percent
of whom have gained employment after starting to run with the group and 25
percent of whom have found permanent housing. This is also likely why it’s so
common to hear about people who started training for a marathon to help them
get over a divorce or even the death of a loved one.
Another study, this one published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology,
evaluated how exercise changes our physiological response to stress.
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, in Germany, divided
students into two groups at the beginning of the semester and instructed half
to run twice a week for 20 weeks. At the end of the 20 weeks, which coincided
with a particularly stressful time for the students — exams — the researchers
had the students wear heart-rate monitors to measure their heart-rate
variability, which is a common indicator of physiological stress (the more
variability, the less stress). As you might guess by now, the students who were
enrolled in the running program showed significantly greater heart-rate
variability. Their bodies literally were not as stressed during exams: They
were more comfortable during a generally uncomfortable time.
What’s remarkable and encouraging about these studies is that the subjects
weren’t exercising at heroic intensities or volumes. They were simply doing
something that was physically challenging for them – going from no exercise to
some exercise; one need not be an elite athlete or fitness nerd to reap the
bulletproofing benefits of exercise. Why does
any of this matter? For one, articles that claim prioritizing big fitness goals
is a waste of time (exhibit A: “Don’t Run a
Marathon”) are
downright wrong. But far more important than internet banter, perhaps a broader
reframing of exercise is in order. Exercise isn’t just about helping out your
health down the road, and it’s certainly not just about vanity. What you do in
the gym (or on the roads, in the ocean, etc.) makes you a better,
higher-performing person outside of it. The truth, cliché as it may sound, is
this: When you develop physical fitness, you’re developing life fitness, too.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO-THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER
ONE-YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR
SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND
Article 1-THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
IN BRIEF
2133
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul and with all your strength" (Deut 6:5).
2134 The
first commandment summons man to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love
him above all else.
2135
"You shall worship the Lord your God" (Mt 4:10). Adoring God, praying
to him, offering him the worship that belongs to him, fulfilling the promises
and vows made to him are acts of the virtue of religion which fall under
obedience to the first commandment.
2136 The
duty to offer God authentic worship concerns man both as an individual and as a
social being.
2137
"Men of the present day want to profess their religion freely in private
and in public" (DH 15).
2138 Superstition
is a departure from the worship that we give to the true God. It is manifested
in idolatry, as well as in various forms of divination and magic.
2139
Tempting God in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony are sins of irreligion
forbidden by the first commandment.
2140
Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the
first commandment.
2141 The
veneration of sacred images is based on the mystery of the Incarnation of the
Word of God. It is not contrary to the first commandment."
Daily
Devotions/Practices
·
Today's Fast: Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: For
the Poor and Suffering
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Rosary
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