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Friday, May 3, 2024


 

May 3

The month of Mary: A Marian Month

Saint of the day:
Saint Philip and Saint James, apostles


Patron Saint of Pastry Chefs (Philip)


First Friday

FEAST ST. PHIILIP and JAMES-Finding of the HOLY CROSS

 

Job, Chapter 32, Verse 6

So Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: I am young and you are very old; therefore I held back and was AFRAID to declare to you my knowledge.

 

A person’s age does not bring wisdom-but wisdom does come to those who are open to the workings of the spirit of God. Think of the college protests going on now; do you think they are from the spirit of God or something more nefarious.

 

Elihu. Eliwho?[1]

·         Elihu comes out of nowhere. 

·         He's only mentioned in these passages, but his speech adds a new layer to Job's friends' words, so pay attention.

·         He starts by stating that he is younger than the other three, and that he is only speaking out of concern for Job. Fair enough.

·         Elihu then tells Job that he (Job) isn't necessarily a sinner, but that his misfortunes are just part of a cycle of divine power that cannot be questioned or understood. It just is. 

·         This guy is clearly very chill. He basically tells Job that he's not necessarily a sinner just because he is being punished, but his reaction to that punishment is an expression of foolishness. 

·         So, yeah…he's calling Job a fool. 

Saints Philip and James[2] 


PHILIP, born at Bethsaida, was one of the first followers of Our Lord. After receiving the Holy Ghost he preached the Gospel in Scythia and Phrygia (Turkey, Syria and Iran), converting great numbers to the faith, and was finally crucified and then stoned at Hierapolis, in Phrygia. 

JAMES, the son of Cleophas, called the Less, and on account of his sanctity surnamed the Just, and for his kinship with Christ known as His brother, was, with his brother Judas Thaddeus, chosen an apostle in the second year of Christ’s ministry. St. James was the first Bishop of Jerusalem. One day, being requested to preach against Christ, he publicly proclaimed Him to be the Messiah, in Whom men were bound to believe, at which the Jewish priests became so enraged that they threw him down from a pinnacle of the temple, cast stones upon him, and finally killed him outright with a fuller’s rod (tool used in wool making) 

The Introit of the Mass is as follows: "In the time of their tribulation they cried to Thee, O Lord, and Thou heardest them from heaven. Rejoice in the Lord, ye just; praise becometh the upright." 

Prayer. 

O God, Who givest us joy by the annual solemnity of Thy apostles Philip and James, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be instructed by the example of those in whose merits we rejoice. Amen 

EPISTLE. Wis. v. 1-5. 

The just shall stand with great constancy against those that have afflicted them and taken away their labors. These seeing it, shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation, saying within themselves, repenting, and groaning for anguish of spirit: These are they whom we had some time in derision, and for a parable of reproach. We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honor. Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints. 

GOSPEL. John xiv. 1-13. 

At that time Jesus said to His disciples: Let not your ear be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you, that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go, and prepare a place for you: I will come again, and will take you to Myself, that where I am, you also may be. And whither I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas saith to Him: 

Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? 

Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me. If you had known Me, you would without doubt have known My Father also: and from henceforth you shall know Him, and you have seen Him. Philip saith to Him: Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus saith to him: 

So long a time have I been with you, and have you not known Me? 

Philip, he that seeth Me seeth the Father also. 

How sayest thou, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? 

The words that I speak to you, I speak not of Myself. But the Father Who abideth in Me, He doth the works. 

Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? 

Otherwise believe for the very works sake. Amen, amen, I say to you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do because I go to the Father. And whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, that will I do. 

Why did Jesus say to His disciples, " Let not your heart be troubled"? 

He said this in order to console them beforehand, so that they might not be downcast, or waver in their faith, in case the predicted tribulations should actually come upon Him and them. Thus, it is that God never fails to comfort those who suffer persecution for His sake. 

What is meant by the words, " I am the way, the truth, and the life"? 

St. Bernard says Christ is the way, in His holy doctrine and example, in following which we cannot go astray. He is the truth, in the fulfilment of the prophecies, in His mysteries, in His promises and threatening’s, in His Gospel, and in His Church, for, as God, He cannot err, neither can He lie or deceive. Finally, He is the life, in that, through His death, He has gained for us the life of grace and glory. 

Why did Christ say to Philip, He that seeth Me seeth the Father also"? 

Because, although different from the Father in person, yet in nature and substance He is equal to Him. Christ accordingly adds that He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. 

Prayer to St. Philip. 

O St. Philip, chosen disciple of the Lord, who brought Nathaniel to Christ, who most zealously preached thy Lord, Jesus Christ, and out of love to Him willingly gave thyself to be nailed to the cross, and put to death, obtain, I beseech thee, for me, and for all men, grace with zeal to bring others to the practice of good works, to have a great desire after God and His truths, and, in hope of the eternal blissful contemplation of God, to bear patiently the adversities and miseries of this life. Amen. 

Prayer to St. James. 

O St. James, who lived so temperately and strictly, who, like thy master, prayed so earnestly and constantly for thy tormentors, I beseech thee that thou wouldst procure us from Jesus’ grace, after thy example, to live sober and penitential lives, and to worship God in spirit and in truth. Obtain for us, therefore, the spirit with which thou didst write thine epistle, that we may follow thy doctrine, be diligent in good works, and, like thee, love and pray for our enemies. Amen.

St James TL / St Philip Facts & Quotes[3]

·         The mother of St James, Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and for that reason, according to Jewish custom, he was sometimes called the brother of Jesus.

·         In the Orthodox Church, St. James is commemorated on October 22.  St. Philip is revered on November 14.

·         The Roman Catholic feast day of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles, is held May 3.  It honors James, traditionally considered to be the brother of Jesus, and Philip, considered by scripture to be one of Jesus' earliest disciples (John: 1:43).

·         Philip teaches us ... to let ourselves be won over by Jesus, to be with him and also to invite others to share in this indispensable company; and in seeing, finding God, to find true life. - St. Benedict XVI

St James TL/St Philip Top Events and Things to Do

·         Read the Epistle of James.  This is a letter that addresses several problems occurring in the early church involving the rich, lack of humility, and other issues.

·         Read the first chapter of the Gospel of John.  Philip invites others to come and see what Jesus was teaching, a common theme in the Gospel of John.

·         Bake a pastry in honor of St. Philip since he is the patron saint of bakers.

·         Say a prayer for the dying in honor of St. James, who is the patron saint of those living their last days of mortal life.

Today’s Menu

            Drink: Summer Herbal Drinks with Mint and Lemon Balm

            Soup:  Minestrone


            Dessert: Grand Marnier Cakes

 

Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross

MAY 3


 

Why is this day so called?

 

Because on this day the Church celebrates the finding by St. Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, of the cross on which Christ died, after it had been for a long time lost.

 

Where had the holy cross been up to the time that it was thus found again?

 

At Jerusalem, near the holy sepulcher, hidden under a mass of rubbish. For the Emperor Adrian endeavored not only to desecrate the holy places of the death and burial of Jesus Christ, but also to hide the very knowledge of them. The cave of the holy sepulcher was filled up, and by the erection of a temple of Venus, built over the spot, came to be quite lost sight of.

 

Prayer.

 

O God, "Who, in the miraculous finding of the saving cross, didst revive the miracles of Thy passion, grant that, by the ransom paid on the wood of life, we may obtain the suffrages of life eternal. Amen

 

Salutation of the Church to the Holy Cross.

 

O glorious and venerable cross! O precious wood! O wonderful sign, by which sin, the devil, and hell were overcome, and the world redeemed through the blood of Christ, thou art exalted above all the cedars of the forest, for on thee hung the life of the world! On thee Christ gained the victory, and by His dying overcame death forever. Alleluia. O Lord Jesus Christ, we adore and bless Thee; for through Thy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

 

ON THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.

 

Why do we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross?

 

1.       To testify that we are Christians and worshippers of the Crucified.

2.       To profess our faith in the Most Holy Trinity.

3.       In honor and thankful remembrance of the sufferings and death of Christ.

4.       In order to overcome the devil and his temptations, inasmuch as he is by nothing more easily driven away than by the sign of the cross.

Is it an old custom to make the sign of the cross?

 

The earliest fathers of the Church make mention of this custom and say that it came to them from the apostles; nay, they charge Christians to make the sign of the cross at eating and drinking, at walking and rising, at sitting and speaking, and, in a word, before every undertaking.

 

Why do the priests at divine service make the sign of the cross over the people?

 

That therewith there may be imparted to Christians the abundant blessing of grace which Christ has obtained for us by His cross, as St. Paul says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. i. 3). This custom is of great antiquity in the Church. The Council of Agde, for example, in the year 506, directed that after prayers the people should be dismissed by the priest with a blessing.

 

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER

SECTION ONE-PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

CHAPTER THREE-THE LIFE OF PRAYER

Article 1-EXPRESSIONS OF PRAYER

II. Meditation

2705 Meditation is above all a quest. the mind seeks to understand the why and how of the Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking. the required attentiveness is difficult to sustain. We are usually helped by books, and Christians do not want for them: the Sacred Scriptures, particularly the Gospels, holy icons, liturgical texts of the day or season, writings of the spiritual fathers, works of spirituality, the great book of creation, and that of history the page on which the "today" of God is written.

2706 To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality. To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light: "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

2707 There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual masters. Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the parable of the sower.5 But a method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus.

2708 Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.

THIS WE BELIEVE

PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Hail Holy Queen[4]

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Lead: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
Response: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Fitness Friday

 

·         Try the St. Peter Universal Man Plan

NIC’s Corner

Dog friendly activity in Lake Havasu

Copper Still Distillery

Fido is welcome to join you for specialty cocktails at the dog-friendly attraction Copper Still Distillery. A small family-owned distillery, you and Fido are invited to the front or rear patios to enjoy a wide selection of flavored moonshine, vodka, whiskey, gin, and rum. Copper Still has a full bar and showcases tasty seasonal signature cocktails which you can remake at home using spirits sold on the premises. Light snacks are available as you sit and relax with a delicious refreshing summer cocktail or whiskey-infused winter warmer.

May 7th is National Cosmo Day

Daily Devotions

·         Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: The Pope

·         Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Make reparations to the Holy Face

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Universal Man Plan

 


[4] https://www.catholicity.com/prayer/hail-holy-queen.html









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