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Rogationtide Wednesday
ST. MICHAEL
Job, Chapter 39, Verse 16
She cruelly disowns
her young and her labor is useless; she has no FEAR.
Job is now being
confronted by He that Is.
“The wings of the
ostrich flap away; her plumage is lacking in feathers. When she
abandons her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, she forgets
that a foot may crush them, that the wild beasts may trample them; she cruelly
disowns her young and her labor is useless; she has no fear. For God has
withheld wisdom from her and given her no share in understanding. Yet when she
spreads her wings high, she laughs at a horse and rider.
Discourse of God[1]
·
Enter God. He comes down in a whirlwind and
poses a number of rhetorical questions to Job, all of which are designed
to show Job how small he is in relation to the universe...which, by the way,
God created.
·
God's wisdom isn't like human wisdom. After all,
God is concerned with making waves flow and the architecture of the heavens.
·
This doesn't mean that human affairs don't
concern him; they're just one part of a vast, unknowable whole.
·
Basically, Job's question is answered with a
bunch of equally unanswerable questions. He is completely and totally out of
his league on this one.
·
God talks of natural things in human terms so
that Job can understand them. By doing so, he illustrates how the mortal and
the immortal are so far apart even though they are physically close together
(38:28).
Has the rain a father? Who has
begotten the drops of dew?
Humility at its source is knowing
that all goodness comes from the Spirit, even in the mist of our crosses.
This prayer by Saint Francis de Sales is a great consolation for those
who do not understand the crosses which God has entrusted to them.[2]
Prayer
The
everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now
presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart. This cross He now sends you He
has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind,
tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own
hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for
you. He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His consolation,
taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from
heaven, a special greeting from God to you, alms of the all-merciful love of
God.
Rogationtide
Wednesday[3]
Today would be a good day to reflect on what we want to harvest this fall; so, like farmers we must till the soil of our soul reflecting this day on our use of our TREASURE (yes money/tithe) and look at in what ways we may offer our money to Christ to help build a harvest for His Kingdom. It has been said that money is the root of all evil. Yet, this is not exactly true for the real root of all evil is not money but the LOVE of money. Those who fear the Lord know that money is a gift from God. It is not to be buried but sown. This is the correction that God wishes us to accept. We are all sowers, and we are to spread the seeds or gifts that God gives us out. Does God need a tithe from us? Or Does God need our hearts free from the love of money? Do not make my house a marketplace. For love of money or the lust for money is what corrupts men not the money itself.
Donate a
Day Wages to a Charity Day[4]
We all have causes that we care about,
problems we want to see erased from society, and issues that have affected us
deeply throughout our lives. However, most people are busy and haven’t had the
time or opportunity to dedicate as much as they would want to charities and the
causes of their choice. Donate A Day’s Wages to Charity Day is there to change
that. Whether you have trouble keeping up with charitable donations and you
want to make a difference or you believe that you should make a pledge that
matters once a year, it’s the day to do it.
Your Money or Your Life[5]
At this tense moment in our history, when external wars and internal violence make us so conscious of death, an affirmation of the sanctity of human life by renewed attention to the family is imperative. Let society always be on the side of life. Let it never dictate, directly or indirectly, recourse to the prevention of life or to its destruction in any of its phases; neither let it require as a condition of economic assistance that any family yield conscientious determination of the number of its children to the decision of persons or agencies outside the family. Stepped-up pressures for moral and legal acceptance of directly procured abortion make necessary pointed reference to this threat to the right to life. Reverence for life demands freedom from direct interruption of life once it is conceived. Conception initiates a process whose purpose is the realization of human personality. A human person, nothing more and nothing less, is always at issue once conception has taken place. We expressly repudiate any contradictory suggestion as contrary to Judeo-Christian traditions inspired by love for life, and Anglo-Saxon legal traditions protective of life and the person. Abortion brings to an end with irreversible finality both the existence and the destiny of the developing human person.
·
Conscious
of the inviolability of life, the Second Vatican Council teaches: God, the Lord
of life, has conferred on man the surpassing ministry of safeguarding life, a
ministry which must be fulfilled in a manner that is worthy of man. Therefore,
from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care
while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes (Gaudium et Spes, 51).
· The judgment of the Church on the evil of terminating life derives from the Christian awareness that men are not the masters but the ministers of life. Hence, the Council declares: Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person...all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator" (Gaudium et Spes, 27)
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Are
these words just words highlighted by men during the age of enlightenment or
are they the inspired will of the creator? America is special in that the
founders realized this when they wrote our constitution which was established
to ensure that laws are enacted and enforced that support life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. Much of our misery in this country is caused by laws that
reverse the order ensuring that wealth trumps liberty and liberty trumps life.
No, it must be life first.
The
transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people
collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a
source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties
and hardships.
The
fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the conscience of married
people, but the recent course of human society and the concomitant changes have
provoked new questions. The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they
concern matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of human
beings.
The protection of Life has primacy.
·
If we are the children of the creator, we know
that life must be protected at conception to its natural end.
·
We must seek the dignity of the unborn, the
living and the aged in our laws and traditions.
Are
you into composting?[6]
When Americans die, most are buried or cremated. Washington could soon become the first state to allow another option: human composting. The novel approach, known as “recomposition,” involves placing bodies in a vessel and hastening their decomposition into a nutrient-dense soil that can then be returned to families. The aim is a less expensive way of dealing with human remains that is better for the environment than burial, which can leach chemicals into the ground, or cremation, which releases earth-warming carbon dioxide.
“People
from all over the state who wrote to me are very excited about the prospect of
becoming a tree or having a different alternative for themselves,” said state
Sen. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat, who is sponsoring a bill in Washington’s
Legislature to expand the options for disposing of human remains. The
recomposition bill would also make Washington the 17th state to allow alkaline
hydrolysis, the dissolving of bodies in a pressurized vessel with water and lye
until just liquid and bone remains. Pedersen plans to introduce the bill when
the new legislative session begins next month.
Well,
I guess we wouldn’t have to depend on Russia for fertilizer
This is scary,
sounds like the movie “Soylent Green” was prophetic. Maybe if you are over fifty you need to stay healthy
as possible for as long as you can.
Apparition of St. Michael[7]
It is evident from Holy Scripture that God is pleased to make frequent use of the ministry of the heavenly spirits in the dispensations of His providence in this world. The Angels are all pure spirits; by a property of their nature, they are immortal, as is every spirit. They have the power of moving or conveying themselves at will from place to place, and such is their activity that it is not easy for us to conceive of it. Among the holy Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are particularly distinguished in the Scriptures. Saint Michael, whose name means Who is like unto God? is the prince of the faithful Angels who opposed Lucifer and his followers in their revolt against God.
Since the devil is the sworn enemy of
God’s holy Church, Saint Michael is given to it by God as its special protector
against the demon’s assaults and stratagems.
Various apparitions of this powerful
Angel have proved the protection of Saint Michael over the Church. We may
mention his apparition in Rome, where Saint Gregory the Great saw him in the
air sheathing his sword, to signal the cessation of a pestilence and the
appeasement of God’s wrath. Another apparition to Saint Ausbert, bishop of
Avranches in France, led to the construction of Mont-Saint-Michel in the sea, a
famous pilgrimage site. May 8th, however, is destined to recall
another no less marvelous apparition, occurring near Monte Gargano in the
Kingdom of Naples.
In the year 492 a man named Gargan was
pasturing his large herds in the countryside. One day a bull fled to the
mountain, where it could not be found. When its refuge in a cave was
discovered, an arrow was shot into the cave, but the arrow returned to wound
the one who had sent it. Faced with this mysterious occurrence, the persons
concerned decided to consult the bishop of the region. He ordered three days of
fasting and prayers. After three days, the Archangel Michael appeared to the
bishop and declared that the cavern where the bull had taken refuge was under
his protection, and that God wanted it to be consecrated under his name and in
honor of all the Holy Angels.
Accompanied by his clergy and people,
the pontiff went to that cavern, which he found already disposed in the form of
a church. The divine mysteries were celebrated there, and there arose in this
same place a magnificent temple where the divine Power has wrought great
miracles. To thank God’s adorable goodness for the protection of the holy
Archangel, the effect of His merciful Providence, this feast day was instituted
by the Church in his honor.
It is said of this special guardian
and protector of the Church that, during the final persecution of Antichrist,
he will powerfully defend it: “At that time shall Michael rise up, the great
prince who protects the children of thy people.”
Judgment Day[8]
How
will the Last Judgment begin?
At the command of
God, the angels, with the sound of the trumpet, shall summon all men to
judgment (i. These, iv. 15). The bodies and souls of the dead shall be again
united, and the wicked shall be separated from the righteous, the just on the right,
the wicked on the left (St. Matt. xxv. 33). The angels and the devils will be
present, and Christ Himself will appear in a bright cloud with such power and
majesty that the wicked, for fear, will not be able to look at Him, but will
say to the mountains, “Fall on us,” and to the hills, “Cover us” (St. Luke
xxiii. 30).
Why
will God hold a general and public judgment?
1. That all may know
how just He has been in the particular judgment of each one.
2. That justice may
at last be rendered to the afflicted and persecuted, while the wicked who have
oppressed the poor, the widow, the orphan, the religious, and yet have often
passed for upright and devout persons, may be known in their real characters and
be forever disgraced.
3. That Jesus Christ
may complete His redemption, and openly triumph over His enemies, who shall see
the glory of the Crucified, and tremble at His power.
How
will the Last Judgment proceed?
The books will be
opened, and from them all men will be judged; all their good and bad thoughts,
words, and deeds, even the most secret, known only to God, will be revealed
before the whole world, and according to their works men will be rewarded or be
damned forever. The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, but the just
into life everlasting (St. Matt. xxv.46).
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION ONE-PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
CHAPTER THREE-THE LIFE OF PRAYER
Article 2-THE BATTLE OF PRAYER
II. Humble Vigilance of Heart
Facing difficulties in prayer
2729 The habitual difficulty in
prayer is distraction. It can affect words and their meaning in vocal prayer;
it can concern, more profoundly, him to whom we are praying, in vocal prayer
(liturgical or personal), meditation, and contemplative prayer. To set about
hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is
necessary is to turn back to our heart: for a distraction reveals to us what we
are attached to, and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our
preferential love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be
purified. Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve.
2730 In positive terms, the
battle against the possessive and dominating self requires vigilance, sobriety
of heart. When Jesus insists on vigilance, he always relates it to himself, to
his coming on the last day and every day: today. the bridegroom comes in the
middle of the night; the light that must not be extinguished is that of faith:
"'Come,' my heart says, 'seek his face!'"
2731 Another difficulty,
especially for those who sincerely want to pray, is dryness. Dryness belongs to
contemplative prayer when the heart is separated from God, with no taste for
thoughts, memories, and feelings, even spiritual ones. This is the moment of
sheer faith clinging faithfully to Jesus in his agony and in his tomb.
"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone;
but if dies, it bears much fruit." If dryness is due to the lack of
roots, because the word has fallen on rocky soil, the battle requires
conversion.
Facing temptations in prayer
2732 The most common yet most
hidden temptation is our lack of faith. It expresses itself less by declared
incredulity than by our actual preferences. When we begin to pray, a thousand
labors or cares thought to be urgent vie for priority; once again, it is the
moment of truth for the heart: what is its real love? Sometimes we turn to the
Lord as a last resort, but do we really believe he is? Sometimes we enlist the
Lord as an ally, but our heart remains presumptuous. In each case, our lack of
faith reveals that we do not yet share in the disposition of a humble heart:
"Apart from me, you can do nothing."
2733 Another temptation, to
which presumption opens the gate, is acedia. The spiritual writers understand
by this a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing
vigilance, carelessness of heart. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak." The greater the height, the harder the fall. Painful
as discouragement is, it is the reverse of presumption. The humble are not
surprised by their distress; it leads them to trust more, to hold fast in
constancy.
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Mass
“Why should I go to Mass
every day?”
The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer! (Pope Paul
VI).
For each Mass we attend with devotion, Our Lord sends a
saint to comfort us at death. (Revelation of Christ to St. Gertrude the Great)
St. Padre Pio, the stigmatic priest, said, “The world could
exist more easily without the sun than without the Mass.”
The Cure d’Ars, St. Jean Vianney, said, “If we knew the
value of the Mass, we would die of joy.”
Once, St. Teresa was overwhelmed with God’s goodness and
asked Our Lord, “How can I thank you?” Our Lord replied, “Attend one Mass.”
Every Wednesday is
Dedicated to St. Joseph
The Italian culture has
always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make
Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or
spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass.
You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous, you
could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family
night, perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.
·
Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St.
Joseph
Do the St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan.
Dara’s Corner
Modern populations are increasingly
overfed, malnourished, sedentary, sunlight-deficient, sleep-deprived, and socially
isolated.[9]
6
Common Depression Traps to Avoid-Expert advice on how to sidestep pitfalls that
often accompany depression.[10]
Trap #1: Social Withdrawal
Trap #2: Rumination
Trap #3: Self-Medicating with Alcohol
Trap #4: Skipping Exercise
When Orion
Lyonesse is getting depressed, she turns into a hermit. She doesn't want to
leave the house (not even to pick up the mail), and she cuts off contact with
her friends and family.
"The more
I'm alone, the deeper the depression gets," Lyonesse, an artist and writer
in Lake Stevens, Wash., tells WebMD in an email. "I don't even want to
cuddle my cats!"
Avoiding social
contact is a common pattern you might notice when falling into depression. Some
people skip activities they normally enjoy and isolate themselves from the
world. Others turn to alcohol or junk food to mask their pain and unhappiness.
Depression traps
vary from person to person, but what they have in common is that they can serve
to worsen your mood, perpetuating a vicious cycle. Here are six behavioral
pitfalls that often accompany depression -- and how you can steer clear of them
as you and your doctor and therapist work on getting back on track.
Trap
#1: Social Withdrawal
Social
withdrawal is the most common telltale sign of depression.
"When we're
clinically depressed, there's a very strong urge to pull away from others and
to shut down," says Stephen Ilardi, PhD, author of books including The
Depression Cure and associate professor of psychology at the University of
Kansas. "It turns out to be the exact opposite of what we need."
"In
depression, social isolation typically serves to worsen the illness and how we
feel," Ilardi says. "Social withdrawal amplifies the brain's stress
response. Social contact helps put the brakes on it."
The Fix:
Gradually counteract social withdrawal by reaching out to your friends and
family. Make a list of the people in your life you want to reconnect with and
start by scheduling an activity.
Trap
#2: Rumination
A major
component of depression is rumination, which involves dwelling and brooding
about themes like loss and failure that cause you to feel worse about yourself.
Rumination is a
toxic process that leads to negative self-talk such as, "It's my own
fault. Who would ever want me a friend?"
Related:
Can a Routine Prevent Bipolar Depressive
Episodes?
"There's a
saying, 'When you're in your own mind, you're in enemy territory,'" says
Mark Goulston, MD, psychiatrist and author of Get Out of Your Own Way.
"You leave yourself open to those thoughts and the danger is believing
them."
Rumination can
also cause you to interpret neutral events in a negative fashion. For example,
when you're buying groceries, you may notice that the checkout person smiles at
the person in front of you but doesn't smile at you, so you perceive it as a
slight.
"When
people are clinically depressed, they will typically spend a lot of time and
energy rehearsing negative thoughts, often for long stretches of time,"
Ilardi says.
The Fix:
Redirect your attention to a more absorbing activity, like a social engagement
or reading a book.
Trap
#3: Self-Medicating with Alcohol
Turning to
alcohol or drugs to escape your woes is a pattern that can accompany
depression, and it usually causes your depression to get worse.
Alcohol can
sometimes relieve a little anxiety, especially social anxiety, but it has a
depressing effect on the central nervous system, Goulston says. Plus, it can
screw up your sleep.
"It's like
a lot of things that we do to cope with feeling bad," he says. "They
often make us feel better momentary, but in the long run, they hurt us."
The Fix: Talk to
your doctor or therapist if you notice that your drinking habits are making you
feel worse. Alcohol can interfere with antidepressants and anxiety medications.
Trap
#4: Skipping Exercise
If you're the
type of person who likes to go the gym regularly, dropping a series of workouts
could signal that something's amiss in your life. The same goes for passing on
activities -- such as swimming, yoga, or ballroom dancing -- that you once
enjoyed.
When you're
depressed, it's unlikely that you'll keep up with a regular exercise program,
even though that may be just what the doctor ordered.
Exercise can be
enormously therapeutic and beneficial, Ilardi says. Exercise has a powerful
antidepressant effect because it boosts levels of serotonin and dopamine, two
brain chemicals that often ebb when you're depressed.
Related:
3 Ways to Manage a Major Depressive
Disorder Episode
"It's a
paradoxical situation," Ilardi says. "Your body is capable of
physical activity. The problem is your brain is not capable of initiating and
getting you to do it."
The Fix: Ilardi
recommends finding someone you can trust to help you initiate exercise -- a
personal trainer, coach, or even a loved one. "It has to be someone who
gets it, who is not going to nag you, but actually give you that prompting and
encouragement and accountability," Ilardi says.
Trap
#5: Seeking Sugar Highs
When you're
feeling down, you may find yourself craving sweets or junk food high in carbs
and sugar.
Sugar does have
mild mood-elevating properties, says Ilardi, but it's only temporary. Within
two hours, blood glucose levels crash, which has a mood-depressing effect.
The Fix: Avoid
sugar highs and the inevitable post-sugar crash. It's always wise to eat
healthfully, but now more than ever, your mood can't afford to take the hit.
Trap
#6: Negative Thinking
When you're
depressed, you're prone to negative thinking and talking yourself out of trying
new things.
You might say to
yourself, "Well, even if I did A, B, and C, it probably wouldn't make me
feel any better and it would be a real hassle, so why bother trying at
all?"
"That's a
huge trap," says Goulston. "If you race ahead and anticipate a
negative result, which then causes you to stop trying at all, that is something
that will rapidly accelerate your depression and deepen it."
The Fix: Don't
get too attached to grim expectations. "You have more control over doing
and not doing, than you have over what the result of actions will be,"
Goulston says. "But there is a much greater chance that if you do, then
those results will be positive."
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Protection
of Traditional Marriage
·
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
· Universal Man Plan
[4]https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/donate-a-days-wages-to-charity-day/
[5]http://usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/excerpts-from-human-life-in-our-day.cfm
[6]https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/washington-could-become-first-state-legalize-human-composting-n952421
[8]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
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