Friday, June 14, 2024
Saints, Feast, Family
June 14
Saint of the day:
JUNE 14 Friday
FLAG DAY
Deuteronomy, Chapter
4, Verse 9-10
9 However, be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live, but make them known to your children and to your children’s children, 10 that day you stood before the LORD, your God, at Horeb, when the LORD said to me: Assemble the people for me, that I may let them hear my words, that they may learn to FEAR me as long as they live in the land and may so teach their children.
Moses’ use of the word fear here not in the sense of “be terrified,” but rather “manifest
reverence or awe.” Christ’s mission of love was to move our hearts from
reverence or awe of pure love: A love in which the heart of the beloved longs
to do good works secretly in emulation of the God that is good to saint and
sinner alike. Our church often instructs us to increase in ourselves Faith,
Hope and Charity.
Lord,
teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not
to count the cost…to labor and not to ask for reward, except to know that I am
doing your will. (Saint Ignatius, Prayer for Generosity)
Lord, let me not fear
death with an empty fear, but
with a wise and holy fear. An empty fear does not make men any better, but a
wise and holy fear urges them to
improve their lives. I will prepare for death by trying today to please you
more and more in my thoughts, desires, words and actions. If I live this day as
You desire, I shall be ready at any moment, and death will be nothing worse
than Your loving call. Amen[1]
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART ONE:
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION ONE
"I BELIEVE" - "WE
BELIEVE"
Article 1-THE REVELATION OF GOD
I. God Reveals His "Plan of Loving Goodness"
51 "It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to
reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men
should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the
Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature."
52 God, who "dwells in unapproachable light",
wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order
to adopt them as his sons in his only-begotten Son. By revealing himself
God wishes to make them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him and of
loving him far beyond their own natural capacity.
53 The divine plan of Revelation is realized simultaneously
"by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each
other" and shed light on each another. It involves a specific divine
pedagogy: God communicates himself to man gradually. He prepares him to welcome
by stages the supernatural Revelation that is to culminate in the person and
mission of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons repeatedly
speaks of this divine pedagogy using the image of God and man becoming
accustomed to one another: the Word of God dwelt in man and became the Son of
man in order to accustom man to perceive God and to accustom God to dwell in
man, according to the Father's pleasure.
Apostolic
Exhortation
Veneremur Cernui – Down
in Adoration Falling
of
The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
My beloved
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Conclusion
104. If God were to
offer to do an amazing work to foster faith in the Church and in the world
today, what would we ask? We may like to ask for signs and wonders, lightnings
and fire, like the pillars of cloud and fire as in the Exodus with Moses. Or we
may ask for Eucharistic miracles like bleeding or levitating hosts to deepen
our faith in the Eucharist. Perhaps we would simply ask for cultural
circumstances to be more favorable to religion.
105. None of this
would do any good with respect to faith. Saint John Henry Newman in a sermon
entitled “Miracles No Remedy for Unbelief” recalls the Lord’s
words that the Israelites “refused to believe in me, despite all the
signs I have performed among them” (Numbers 14:11); and that chief
priests and pharisees called a council to put Christ to death because he “is
performing many signs” (Jn 11:47). Newman’s sobering conclusion is
that “nothing is gained by miracles, nothing comes of miracles, as
regards our religious views, principles, and habits”. He knows that
too often we find our ourselves having gone “year after year with the
vain dream of turning to God some future day”.
What should we ask from God, then, to strengthen faith?
106. The answer is not
in looking for outward miracles or improved circumstances. No, look elsewhere.
Newman points to the way forward by saying, “instead of looking for
outward events to change our course of life, be sure of this, that if our
course of life is to be changed, if must be from within. God’s grace moves us
from within, so does our own will”. His point is that if we do not
love God, it is because we have not wanted to love Him, tried to love Him, or
prayed to love Him.
To be continued…
Epistle of Barnabas
CHAP. III.
— THE FASTS OF THE JEWS ARE NOT TRUE FASTS, NOR ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.
He
says then to them again concerning these things,
"Why do ye fast to Me as on this day, saith the Lord, that
your voice should be heard with a cry?
I have not chosen this fast, saith the Lord, that a man should
humble his soul. Nor, though ye bend your neck like a ring, and put upon you
sackcloth and ashes, will ye call it an acceptable fast." To us He saith,
"Behold, this is the fast that I have chosen, saith the Lord, not that a
man should humble his soul, but that he should loose every band of iniquity,
untie the fastenings of harsh agreements, restore to liberty them that are
bruised, tear in pieces every unjust engagement, feed the hungry with thy
bread, clothe the naked when thou seest him, bring the homeless into thy house,
not despise the humble if thou behold him, and not [turn away] from the members
of thine own family. Then shall thy dawn break forth, and thy healing shall
quickly spring up, and righteousness shall go forth before thee, and the glory
of God shall encompass thee; and then thou shalt call, and God shall hear thee;
whilst thou art yet speaking, He shall say, Behold, I am with thee; if thou
take away from thee the chain [binding others], and the stretching forth of the
hands [to sweat falsely], and words of murmuring, and give cheerfully thy bread
to the hungry, and show compassion to the soul that has been humbled." To
this end, therefore, brethren, He is long-suffering, foreseeing how the people
whom He has prepared shall with guilelessness believe in His Beloved. For He
revealed all these things to us beforehand, that we should not rush forward as
rash acceptors of their laws.
Flag Day[2]
National Flag Day is when Americans celebrate the meaning of their
nation's flag, honor the traditions associated with its care, and educate those
around them to its significance. The Flag of the United States is to be honored
and carries with it both history and tradition. On June 14, 1777, the
Flag Resolution was signed,
making the current stars and stripes the National Flag of the
United States of America. On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson called for
the nation-wide observance of Flag Day. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman
signed congress' decree, making June 14th of each year National Flag Day.
Flag Day Facts & Quotes
·
Worn out flags may be given to the American Legion or Boy/Girl
Scouts of America where they will burn the flags in a formal ceremony on June
14th.
·
The Flag should never touch the ground when being taken down.
It should be folded neatly and stored ceremoniously.
·
You should fly the American Flag only between sunrise and sunset.
If left hanging around the clock, it must be illuminated
during the dark hours.
·
The First Flag Act was signed by the Continental Congress on June
14, 1777... Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of
thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars,
white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.
Flag Day Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Fly the American Flag.
·
Recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
·
Visit a National Monument or National celebration.
·
Attend a Flag retirement ceremony.
Whose Flag are you under?
We are created in the image and likeness of God, and we have a
choice: To do good or to do evil. Daily we must decide
if we are for ourselves and pursue the things of the world or are we going to
follow Christ by picking up our cross daily and freely live under the flag of
Christ.
Father John Parks [3] states that the flag we
choose to live under determines everything. He asks,
“Whose flag are you under? Do we
consciously choose to serve, or do we just let it happen?
We have a choice here
and indecision is a decision itself. Whose flag will you follow Christ’s
or Satan’s. True freedom comes not from doing what you want but doing the
things you were created to do. Father John recommends we follow the flag of
Christ (poverty, chastity, obedience) and not that of Satan
(greed, lust, pride) by having a battle plan.
1. Be in the state of grace at all
times-Go to Mass if you fall get up go to confession.
2. Pray-we know who we are by knowing
who’s we are. Remember Saint Joseph is known as the terror of demons.
3. Do your daily duty; there is great
heroism in finishing the daily tasks.
4. Be Humble and obey. When you
break a commandment, you do not break it as much as it breaks you.
5. Seek a community where there is
strength in numbers “Iron sharpens iron”. Remember the Holy Spirit
is what sets us free.
The Hajj starts today
Hajj[4]
The
Hajj starts today. Hajj is a holy pilgrimage to Mecca that is obligatory for
all Muslims who can afford to go. The 3rd chapter of the Quran, Surah
Ale-Imran makes Hajj mandatory. During this pilgrimage, Muslims try
to get closer to God. The Hajj is performed in the last month of the Islamic
calendar, Dhul-Hijjah. All Muslims who can afford to go on the Hajj are
required to do so at least once in their life. Muslims believe that the Prophet
Abraham built the Ka'aba with his son Ismael. Kaaba is a sacred cube-shaped
shrine at the centre Al-Masjid al-Haram mosque, in Mecca (Saudi Arabia).
Muslims walk around the Ka'bah seven times as part of the Hajj.
Muslims face to pray in the direction of the Ka'bah no matter where they
are in the world. It was the first house built solely for the purpose of
worshipping God. To be completed, the Hajj requires a minimum of five
days, during which pilgrim’s travel across Arabia to complete various rituals,
some of which are optional, but considered highly beneficial.
Hajj Facts
·
According
to Sahih Bukhari (one of the six main hadith writings of Sunni Islam), the
Prophet Muhammad once said that those who finish the Hajj without committing
any obscenity or transgression will have their sins completely wiped away.
·
It
is believed that to teach Muslims to remain humble and unified, God mandated
the Hajj. During it, everyone wears the same clothes, prays together, and
goes around the Ka'bah together.
·
According
to the Saudi Arabian Embassy, the Hajj is the largest gathering of human beings
on the Earth.
Hajj Events and Things to Do
·
Visit
the mountains of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah in Mecca. Pilgrims walk between
two hills, Safa and Marwa, seven times during the Hajj because they believe
that Hagar, the wife of Abraham, did the same when looking for water for her
thirsty baby Ismael. As soon as she finished her seventh run, the Zamzam
well sprung out from under baby Ismael's foot. To this day, pilgrims on
the Hajj drink the Zamzam's water, and often take it home with them in large
canisters.
·
Visit
the tower at Jamrat-al-Aqabah (Saudi Arabia). After sunset on the day of
Arafah, as part of the Hajj, pilgrims throw small pebbles at Jamrat-al-Aqabah.
This is the place where it is believed the Devil stood as he tried to
tempt Abraham from carrying out orders from God. This is act commemorates
and symbolizes Abraham's rejecting of the devil.
Understanding Islam: A Guide[5]
Today
we are bombarded with conflicting versions of Muslims and Islamin the media.
This guide is intended to help all people in the Roman Catholic Church to
present Islam accurately and in ways that preserve and promote “together for
the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace
and freedom” (Nostra Aetate3). In spite of the many conflicts and hostilities
that have arisen between Muslims and Christians over the centuries, as
Christians we are called to reject violence and to live in fraternal love with
all human beings. This document intends to identify some of those beliefs and
values that Muslims and Christians have in common, as well as some differences,
so as to assist those whom we are teaching to live harmoniously together with
understanding and respect and to work for peace more effectively. Understanding
Islam and Muslims the name Islam means “submission” and those who submit to God
are Muslims. The terms have the same Arabic root as the word for peace, Salam.
Muslims believe that peace comes through the submission to the one and only
God. Although it is often associated with Muslims alone, the name of God in
Arabic, Allah (al-Lah– “the God”), is the same name used by Christians and
Jews. When saying the name of Allah, Muslims enerally say: “Subhanahu wa
ta’aalaa”, which means “May He be glorified and exalted”. Muslims and
Christians share many common beliefs in their worship of a single Creator God
who loves creation and who commands that His most cherished creations, human
beings, love Him, one another, and His creation. In some ways, however, Muslims
and Christians have profoundly different beliefs. Muslims do not believe in the
Trinitarian nature of God, nor do they accept that Jesus Christ is God
incarnate. They believe, however, that Jesus is one of the five most
distinguished Prophets of God sent to mankind. Christians, on the other hand,
do not recognize Muhammad as a prophet, and do not accept many aspects of the
message he preached, including dietary restrictions, polygamy, and other
teachings. For Muslims, Muhammad is the recipient of God’s final revelation,
the Qur’an, and the model for all human beings, in much the same way as the
Virgin Mary is for many Christians. But Muhammad’s role as prophet, law giver
and military leader is more similar to that of Moses in the Old Testament.
Muhammad is not worshipped by Muslims –he is recognized by them as the final
Prophet, the Seal of the prophets, sent by God and is the object of great
reverence and devotion. Christians do not accord Muhammad the same status as
the biblical prophets but may regard him as aprophetic figure on such issues as
charity and the protection of the poor, widows and orphans.
Fitness
Friday
Knee Exercises[6]
Is It Safe for Me to
Exercise?
Are you
worried that working out could cause more knee damage or pain?
As
long as your doctor says it’s OK, the best thing you can do is to strengthen
the muscles that support your knee and keep them flexible. Start slowly, and
build up over time. Talk to your doctor about which specific exercises are good
for you.
Warm Up First
You can ride a stationary
bike for about 5 minutes, take a brisk 2-minute walk while pumping your arms,
or do 15-20 wall push-ups followed by the same number of calf raises. Doing
this will help you get more out of your workout, prepare you to stretch, and
lower your risk of an injury.
1. Straight Leg Raises
If your knee’s not at its
best, start with a simple strengthening exercise for your quadriceps, the
muscles in the front of the thigh. This move puts little to no strain on the
knee. Lie on your back on the floor or another flat surface. Bend one knee and
place your foot flat on the floor. Keeping the other leg straight, raise it to
the height of the opposite knee. Repeat 10-15 times for three sets.
2. Hamstring Curls
These are the muscles
along the back of your thigh. Lie flat on your stomach. Slowly bring your heels
as close to your butt as you can, and hold that position. Do three sets of 15.
You can also do this exercise standing while you hold onto a chair and lift one
leg at a time. If this becomes easy, you can add ankle weights, slowly
increasing the weight from 1 to 3 to 5 pounds.
3. Prone Straight Leg
Raises
Lie on your stomach with your legs straight. Tighten the muscles in your
bottom and the hamstring of one leg, and lift toward the ceiling. Hold 3-5
seconds, lower, and repeat. Do 10-15 lifts and switch sides. You can add ankle
weights as you gain strength. You shouldn’t
feel back pain. If you do, limit how high you lift up. If it still hurts, stop
and talk to your doctor.
4. Wall Squats
This is a more advanced
move. You’ll keep your feet on the floor. Stand with your back against a wall,
your feet about shoulder-width apart. Slowly bend your knees, and keep your
back and pelvis against the wall. Hold for 5-10 seconds. Don’t bend too deeply.
If you feel pressure or discomfort in your knees, change your position. Repeat
the exercise, and try to hold the sit position a few seconds longer each time.
5. Calf Raises
Stand facing the back of a
sturdy chair, other support such as the back of a couch, or a wall bar at the
gym. You can also do this on the stairs, holding on to the banister with your
heels hanging off the edge of the step. Slowly raise the heels as high as you
can, then lower. Do three sets of 10-15. When it becomes easy, lift one foot
slightly off the floor, with all your weight on the other foot.
6. Step-Ups
Place one foot on a step
bench, platform, or the lowest step on a staircase. Keeping your pelvis
level, bend your knee and slowly lower the opposite foot to the floor. Lightly
touch your toe to the floor, then rise back up. Repeat 10-15 times, then switch
legs.
Too easy?
Use
a higher step or touch your heel instead of your toe.
7. Side Leg Raises
Lie on one side with your
legs stacked. Bend the bottom leg for support. Straighten the top leg and raise
it to 45 degrees. Hold for 5 seconds, lower and relax briefly, then repeat
10-15 times. Switch sides and start over.
Want to try a bit of a
different spin on the move?
Point
the toe of your upper leg slightly toward the floor as you raise it.
8. Leg Presses
Sit on a leg-press machine
with your back and head against the support and your feet flat on the foot
plate. Adjust the seat back so it’s comfortable. Slowly push the plate away
from you until your legs are extended. Bend your knees and return to your starting
position. Do three sets of 10-15 reps. (Ask a gym staff member for help the
first time you do this.)
No-No's for Your Knee
Exercise should never
cause pain or make it worse. Remember: Muscle soreness after a hard workout is
normal. But sharp, shooting, or sudden pain in the muscles or joints means you
should stop and check with your doctor.
Knee-Friendly Cardio
Gentle is good.
So skip high-impact activities such as running or intense aerobics. Notice
what feels right for you. For example, some people love elliptical machines,
but others don’t. Swimming, jogging in water, or water aerobics are often
great! Double-check with your doctor about your exercise plan.
o I’m Riding with Biden but I am CINO (catholic in name only)
o How many catholic’s voted for Biden?
§
None of them
·
I
will have the strawberry shortcake
For I know well the plans
I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for
woe, so as to give you a future of hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
Daily Devotions
·
Do not pour out your feelings. A talkative
soul will more easily be attacked by the devil. Pour out your feelings to the
Lord only. Remember, the good and evil spirits hear what you say aloud.
Feelings are fleeting. Truth is the compass. Interior recollection is a
spiritual armor.
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of
St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Catholic
Politian’s and Leaders
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1] Paone, Anthony J., S.J. My Daily Bread, Confraternity of the Precious Blood.
[3]John Parks, Lecture at Catholic Men’s Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, 3/21/2015.
[4] http://www.wincalendar.com/Hajj
[6]https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/injury-knee-pain-16/slideshow-knee-exercises
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