The Dairy of a Country Priest, 1951.
Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
May 13
The month of Mary: A Marian Month
Saint of the day:
Introduction to Exodus[1]
Meet the Bible's freedom-fighting, plague-inducing, show-stopping revolutionaries: Moses, his brother Aaron, and of course, God that's ready to set the Israelites free from the bonds of slavery in Egypt. On the road, it will rain fire, bread, and commandments.
Traditionally, Exodus was thought to have been written by Moses himself, but it is
most likely an amalgamation of texts—like almost everything else in the
Bible—put together between 400 and 600 BCE. Whatever you believe, Exodus is a
pivotal moment; it is about a community trying to redefine itself as the
ancient world underwent huge changes.
Around this time, the Greeks were at
the highest point of their culture, and the Romans were getting started. The
Greeks worshipped Zeus while Exodus was being ready.
Written in Hebrew, Exodus is a
combination of national narrative—the stories that help identify a country—and
straight-up law. The day your people went from slavery or oppression to freedom
is the day that your culture became, well, your culture. For the Israelites,
being freed from Egypt and taking on the covenant with God was huge
politically, socially, economically, and religiously. It is the perfect storm
of big moments.
A quick note about the historical
Exodus. Archaeologically, there is no evidence for a mass migration of people
on the scale the Bible describes. For us (and for you), this is nearly
irrelevant; no matter what happened, the stories in this book have had an
enormous amount of social impact on Western culture. Like it or not, the
stories—not the historicity—are what wield the power.
What is Book of Exodus About and
Why Should I Care?
The Ten Commandments.
The Exodus story shapes the entire rest of the Bible. Because it is such a pivotal moment in Israelite culture, the story, the rules, and the aura reverberate throughout the rest of the book. It is the point at which God and the Israelites—the two biggest characters of the Hebrew Bible—get to know each other.
But what about Genesis?
Isn't that the biggest, most defining book? No-Exodus. Take a minute to think
about what a book like Genesis does; it is a collection of stories, myths, and
legends, right? But Exodus takes those themes and vaults them onto a much
larger stage. God does not help out one family—he helps out a nation. The Ten
Commandments do not apply to just Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob—they apply to all
the Israelites. We are going from family-centered to nation-centered, just like
that.
And the rest of the Hebrew Bible will
be concerned with this issue: how to get God to participate in Israelite life.
This is the crash course on what God is like in the "flesh," what his
rules are, and how he acts in public places. The whole Hebrew Bible is
concerned with God's relationship with the Israelites, and it all starts right
here.
MAY 13 Monday
FATIMA
ANNIVERSARY
Exodus, Chapter 1, Verse 17
The midwives, however, FEARED God; they did not do as the king
of Egypt had ordered them, but let the boys live.
The
book of Exodus retells the story of the leaving of the children of Abraham from
the land of Egypt. God blessed Abraham’s descendants and they prospered and
overpopulated the land. Egyptians then oppressed the Israelites and took action
to control their population by commanding midwives to kill the male children
born to the Israelite’s.
Nothing
ever changes it seems the midwives, were the king of Egypt’s version of our
Planned Parenthood. Yet, they the midwives feared God more than the King and
spared life. I do not think anyone in the Planned Parenthood organization has
any fear of God. The midwives of Egypt were ordered to kill only the male
children of the Israelites. In our modern world I wonder who the equivalent of
the King of Egypt is. I wonder who or what sex and races are the equivalents of
the Israelite children?
Let
us pray that those within the Planned Parenthood organization and those who
support the existence of organizational weapons for the destruction of innocent
unborn life may have an awakening to the voice of conscience and fear God:
thus, preserving life first, then liberty and then the pursuit of happiness.
For is not life more precious than liberty; and is not liberty more precious
than the pursuit of wealth. It can be in no other order. As a people and as a
nation we have dulled our consciences for too long; this is why the soul of
this nation can find no peace. We like the midwives of ancient Egypt must fear God more than Pharaoh. Then
and only then will our consciences as a people become unsullied and we will
have the strength, courage, and loyalty to follow what is right.
Yes,
if we as a people see Christ in the unborn as Paul seen Him at his conversion,
we shall again be a bless nation.
Armed Forces Week
It is more than one day of
honor. It’s an entire week! Join us as we celebrate a week of Military
Appreciation Days – May 15 through May 17, 2024 – for each branch of the Armed
Forces followed by a special lunch on Armed Forces Day on May 18, 2024.
Starting on Monday, May 13,
2024, all active-duty service members, and veterans can enjoy a Free Sandwich
on their designated day. These brave men and women have fought for our freedom,
and we are proud to honor them. Please join us in this weeklong celebration.
The celebration continues
on Armed Forces Day. Join us for a special Lunch with Our Heroes on Saturday,
May 20 between 11 am and 2 pm. All active duty service members and veterans
will receive a Free Sandwich. And we will have a special live performance of
our National Anthem at noon. We look forward to celebrating this special day
with Our Heroes!
Armed Forces Day Build Up
Every
day from now to Armed Forces Day I ask your prayers for each service and all of
our defenders.
US Army[1]
As priest-chaplains of the
Archdiocese for the Military Services we invite you to join with us in prayer.
In times of joy and difficulty, in times of fear and doubt, in moments of
distress and in times of peace, a simple prayer that comes from the heart becomes
the place of your encounter with God’s love, mercy and protection.
Prayer for Troops[2]
Let us pray for our
brothers and sisters as they go forth with courage and determination to face
the forces of violence, weapons of destruction and hearts filled with
hate.
RESPONSE: THROUGH THE DARKNESS BRING US TO
THE LIGHT.
For our President
and Commander-In-Chief, and our political and military leaders that they may
tirelessly seek peaceful settlements to international disputes; we pray to the
Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That the Lord may preserve
the members of our Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force from all
harm; we pray to the Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That even in war, we may
keep clearly before us the defense of all human rights, especially the right to
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; we pray to the Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That the families,
relatives and friends of our military members may be strengthened in this time
of concern and anxiety; we pray to the Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That the Lord may help
families with men and women in the armed forces to cope with daily challenges
in the absence of their loved ones; we pray to the Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That our homeland will be
preserved from violence and terrorism; we pray to the Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That the nations of the
world will seek to work together in harmony and peace; we pray to the Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That the hearts of all men
and women will be moved to pursue true peace and justice; we pray to the Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That violence may be
overcome by peace; that weapons of destruction be transformed into tools of
justice, and hate give way to true charity; we pray to the Lord:
Through the Darkness Bring Us to
the Light.
That we may be grateful
for and inspired by those veterans who have given their lives for our country
and that we may bravely face the challenges ahead; we pray to the Lord:
Lord God, Almighty Father, creator of mankind and author of peace, as
we are ever mindful of the cost paid for the liberty we possess, we ask you to
bless the members of our armed forces. Give them courage, hope and strength.
May they ever experience your firm support, gentle love and compassionate
healing. Be their power and protector, leading them from darkness to light. To
you be all glory, honor and praise, now and forever. Amen.
Real
Men ask God what they should do[3]
The special need for more
frequent Communion is on the part of the men and the older boys. No man can
afford to "keep his religion in his wife's name." The man is by
nature the head of the family, and the family usually ends up where he leads. He
can't expect his family to continue to live a very vital Catholic life unless
he sets the example. As an Army captain can't hole-up in some rear line trench
and cry out, "Onward, Christian soldiers!” neither can the husband and
father expect his wife and children to do much in the Church Militant if he is
a non-combatant, "too proud to fight."
An interesting evidence of
the power of example of the adult male in encouraging devout religious practice
was had in England during World War II. In a certain Catholic orphanage, the
larger boys were refusing to obey the Sisters' directives to approach the
Communion rail with folded hands. In the neighborhood of the orphanage was a GI
camp whose soldiers soon became heroes to the orphan lads. One day a crowd of
the GI's came to Mass in the orphanage and went to Communion, of course with
hands devoutly folded as is done in our country. When the orphan boys saw Tex
and Bill and Tom properly approaching the Communion rail, the troubles of the
Sisters with the boys were over. "Example is the school of mankind, and
they will learn in no other way."
Patron Saint of Soldiers
Joan of Arc, canonized 104 years ago[4]
Joan sets us an example of a laywoman who refuses to be cowed by threats and intimidations from 'authority,' even legitimate authority abusing its powers. May 14, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — On May 16, 1920, in a ceremony attended by over 30,000 people — including over a hundred descendants of her family — Pope Benedict XV canonized St. Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431), the Maid of Orléans.
St. Joan of Arc is
remarkable in so many ways. I would like to draw attention to a few aspects of
her life and character that hold pointed lessons for us today.
First, as a young woman, Joan practiced
a deep, humble, and serious piety. The age-old practices of the Catholic faith
were enough to take her to the heights of sanctity and the gift of herself for
her country and her Lord. She listened to the Lord’s voice as He spoke to her
through the saints and through circumstances, and she obeyed His will
unflinchingly. St. Michael the Archangel addressed her as “Jehanne the Maid,
Child of God,” for this is what she was and always remained. Instead of
allowing herself to be distracted by worldly motivations, she followed the path
God set for her, in spite of its difficulty. She is, in other words, the exact
antithesis of churchmen today who would water down the demands of God’s law,
the necessity of self-denial in adhering to it, and the supernatural motives
that should sustain us.
Second, Joan boldly stepped into a public
role at God’s behest, but without losing her femininity. She did not wage war
with the soldiers, but simply led them in formation. She would not, in
principle, kill or wound anyone. There is not the remotest chance that she
would ever condone women fighting in the military and being trained to kill —
the absurdity of actual or potential nurturers of life taking it voluntarily.
In this, she is an example of true Christian womanhood: strong and courageous,
willing to stick her neck out, willing to lead (as she herself was willing to
be led by her Master), but not stupidly trying to be a man. She did not think
equality with maleness as something to be grasped but emptied herself and
became a servant. In this way she provided an example of being true to her
identity and vocation that is resoundingly necessary for both women and men
to heed in a world that has become confused about how many sexes there are and
who belongs to which “division” of the human race. (And it is indeed a division
— but it need not be an opposition or antagonism, in the way that both male
chauvinism and feminism imagine it to be, each feeding off the other. Real
difference makes possible a deeper communion and cooperation than uniformity
and replaceability, even as, in the Church, the priest’s role as mediator is
seen to be essentially different from that of the laity, since he acts on their
behalf in persona Christi capitis, in the person of Christ the Head of
the Church. In a similar way, the husband in a family has the calling to
imitate and represent the headship of Christ. As St. Paul explained so well,
one cannot have a functional organic body if it’s made up only of arms or hands
or eyes or, for that matter, heads. Real difference and distinction, when
embraced in a spirit of servanthood, confer a mutual benefit that far exceeds
what one could obtain independently. Hierarchy and unity are correlative, not
opposed, as democracy falsely assumes.)
Third, Joan is a model of the virtues of
chastity and purity. Feminists like to point out that she donned a man’s
clothing at a time when this was considered immoral. Yet all historians are
agreed that the reason Joan wore a man’s clothing during her public service,
and later in prison, was to protect herself against the danger of rape from the
soldiers and enemies among whom she had to dwell. The ordinary women’s clothing
of the time offered no such defense, and she would not have had the leisure or
the talent to create a new and better fashion de novo. She complained to
the tribunal that an English lord had attempted to violate her in prison. Like
St. Maria Goretti, St. Joan prized the gift of her virginity and defended it.
She knew her worth and her dignity as a woman and a human being.
Fourth, Joan was condemned by an
ecclesiastical kangaroo court presided over by a corrupt bishop, Pierre
Cauchon, with the complicity of corrupt clergy. As everyone knows who has read
Joan’s life, she was falsely charged with heresy and condemned to be burnt at
the stake. The trial was later re-evaluated by the Church and found to be
gravely defective and irregular on numerous counts — indeed, not to mince
words, it was a wicked sham, an excuse for murdering an inconvenient and too
popular figure who could not be readily controlled by those in power. We live
today in a world in which most of episcopacy is corrupt on several levels —
doctrinally, through failing to teach the Catholic Faith in its integrity, if
not positively adhering to modernist views, or morally, due to practicing
sexual abuse, or covering it up, or tolerating its existence, or liturgically,
by refusing to model right worship or to correct impious deviations, or,
indeed, all three at once. Joan sets us an example of a laywoman who refuses to
be cowed by threats and intimidations from “authority,” even legitimate
authority abusing its powers, and who would rather die for a right conscience
than falsely admit to wrongdoing. She ought to be recognized as the patron
saint of those who have been victimized by the Church’s hierarchy.
St. Joan of Arc, the Maid of
Orléans,
patroness of France,
pray for us.
Fatima[5]
All Saints’ Day
was originally on May 13 in Rome, but the feast day was transferred to November
1, right at the time of harvest to provide food for the pilgrims traveling to
Rome.
May 13 is the anniversary
of the apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children in the small village
of Fatima in Portugal in 1917. She appeared six times to Lucia, 9, and
her cousins Francisco, 8, and his sister Jacinta, 6, between May 13, 1917, and
October 13, 1917. The story of Fatima begins in 1916, when, against the
backdrop of the First World War which had introduced Europe to the most
horrific and powerful forms of warfare yet seen, and a year before the
Communist revolution would plunge Russia and later Eastern Europe into six
decades of oppression under militant atheistic governments, a resplendent
figure appeared to the three children who were in the field tending the family
sheep.
“I am the Angel of Peace,”
said the figure, who appeared to them two more times that year exhorting them
to accept the sufferings that the Lord allowed them to undergo as an act of
reparation for the sins which offend Him, and to pray constantly for the conversion
of sinners.
Then, on the 13th day of
the month of Our Lady, May 1917, an apparition of ‘a woman all in white, more
brilliant than the sun’ presented itself to the three children saying “Please
don’t be afraid of me, I’m not going to harm you.” Lucia asked her where she
came from and she responded, “I come from Heaven.” The woman wore a
white mantle edged with gold and held a rosary in her hand. The woman asked
them to pray and devote themselves to the Holy Trinity and to “say the Rosary
every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war.”
She also revealed that the
children would suffer, especially from the unbelief of their friends and
families, and that the two younger children, Francisco and Jacinta would be
taken to Heaven very soon, but Lucia would live longer in order to spread her message
and devotion to the Immaculate Heart.
In the last apparition the
woman revealed her name in response to Lucia’s question: “I am the Lady of the
Rosary.” That same day, 70,000 people had turned out to witness the apparition,
following a promise by the woman that she would show the people that the
apparitions were true. They saw the sun make three circles and move around the
sky in an incredible zigzag movement in a manner which left no doubt in their
minds about the veracity of the apparitions. By 1930 the Bishop had
approved of the apparitions and they have been approved by the Church as
authentic. The messages Our Lady imparted during the apparitions to the
children concerned the violent trials that would afflict the world by means of
war, starvation, and the persecution of the Church and the Holy Father in the
twentieth century if the world did not make reparation for sins. She exhorted
the Church to pray and offer sacrifices to God in order that peace may come
upon the world, and that the trials may be averted.
Our Lady of Fatima
revealed three prophetic “secrets,” the first two of which were revealed
earlier and refer to the vision of hell and the souls languishing there, the
request for an ardent devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the prediction
of the Second World War, and finally the prediction of the immense damage that
Russia would do to humanity by abandoning the Christian faith and embracing
Communist totalitarianism.
The third “secret” was not
revealed until the year 2000 and referred to the persecutions that humanity
would undergo in the last century: “The good will be martyred; the Holy Father
will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated'”. The
suffering of the popes of the 20th century has been interpreted to include the
assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, which took place on May 13,
the 64th anniversary of the apparitions. The Holy Father attributed his escape
from certain death to the intervention of Our Lady: “... it was a mother's hand
that guided the bullet's path and in his throes the Pope halted at the
threshold of death.” What is the central meaning of the message of Fatima?
Nothing different from
what the Church has always taught: it is, as Cardinal Ratzinger, the former
Pope Benedict the XVI, has put it, “the exhortation to prayer as the path of
“salvation for souls” and, likewise, the summons to penance and conversion.”
Perhaps the most well-known utterance of the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima
was her confident declaration that “My Immaculate Heart will triumph”.
Cardinal Ratzinger has interpreted this utterance as follows: “The Heart open
to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of
every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of
the world, because it brought the Savior into the world—because, thanks to her
Yes, God could become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil
One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power
because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God
himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is
good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time
forth, the word that prevails is this: “In the world you will have tribulation
but take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). The message of Fatima
invites us to trust in this promise.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION TWO-THE LORD'S PRAYER
I. "OUR FATHER!"
2759 Jesus "was
praying at a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to
him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'" In
response to this request the Lord entrusts to his disciples and to his Church
the fundamental Christian prayer. St. Luke presents a brief text of five
petitions, while St. Matthew gives a more developed version of seven
petitions. The liturgical tradition of the Church has retained St.
Matthew's text:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
2760 Very early on,
liturgical usage concluded the Lord's Prayer with a doxology. In the Didache,
we find, "For yours are the power and the glory forever." The
Apostolic Constitutions add to the beginning: "the kingdom," and this
is the formula retained to our day in ecumenical prayer.
The Byzantine tradition adds after "the glory" the words
"Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." the Roman Missal develops the last
petition in the explicit perspective of "awaiting our blessed hope"
and of the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then comes the
assembly's acclamation or the repetition of the doxology from the Apostolic
Constitutions.
Christopher’s Corner-Army Hunklets and Movies
Al Shaheed Park, Kuwait
Escape the city heat for a
couple of hours and wander Al Shaheed Park; an impressive cultural complex and immaculately
kept green space, fringed with Kuwait's signature skyscrapers, it welcomes
rise-and-shine walkers and moonlight strollers all keen to embrace its
tranquility. Conceived by the late emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber
Al-Sabah, to honour those who have died fighting for Kuwait, including in the
Gulf War, the ambitious infrastructure project currently consists of two
complete phases with museums, botanical gardens, cafes and walkways. For an
insight into Kuwait’s heritage, a visit to Phase One is recommended for its
award-winning art, striking architecture, and two noteworthy museums: The
Habitat, an environmental museum and The Memorial Museum.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Victims
of clergy sexual abuse
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Monday: Litany of
Humility
[4]https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/joan-of-arc-canonized-100-years-ago-consoles-those-victimized-by-church-hierarchy
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