Friday, June 21, 2024

 

Saints, Feast, Family

- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring  -

June 21 

Summer Solstice​

Saint of the day:

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

Patron Saint of Catholic Youth, Teenagers

FRIDAY Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious

YOGA DAY-Full Strawberry Moon

 

Deuteronomy, Chapter 7, Verse 24-25

¹⁷ If you say to yourselves, “These nations are more numerous than we. How can we dispossess them?” ¹⁸ do not be AFRAID of them. Rather, remember clearly what the LORD, your God, did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: ¹⁹ the great testing’s which your own eyes have seen, the signs and wonders, the strong hand and outstretched arm with which the LORD, your God, brought you out. The same also will he do to all the peoples of whom you are now afraid.

 

We in America have much to be afraid of If we have not been obedient to God’s word but If we have been obedient we also have nothing to fear from those nations and peoples which hate us.

 

We on our own have no power to defeat the devil and his evil forces but with God fighting for us nothing can defeat us. 

Do you believe this?

 

    Then we as a people must be a nation that follows the precepts of the Lord or clearly, we too will be dispossessed of our land. You must know that those who are loyal to God’s commandments will not be in terror. We must be humble before God and confident that His power will save us. On the Day of Judgment, it will be the poor and the humble that will have great confidence and joy, but the proud and powerful lovers of this world who have not repented will be afraid. Let us pray for those who do not know and follow Christ.

 

Under all the false, overloaded, glittering masquerade, there is in every person a noble nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga’s Story[1]

​The Lord can make saints anywhere, even amid the brutality and license of Renaissance life. Florence was the “mother of piety” for Aloysius Gonzaga despite his exposure to a “society of fraud, dagger, poison, and lust.” As a son of a princely family, he grew up in royal courts and army camps. His father wanted Aloysius to be a military hero.

At age 7 Aloysius experienced a profound spiritual quickening. His prayers included the Office of Mary, the psalms, and other devotions. At age 9 he came from his hometown of Castiglione to Florence to be educated; by age 11 he was teaching catechism to poor children, fasting three days a week, and practicing great austerities. When he was 13 years old, he traveled with his parents and the Empress of Austria to Spain and acted as a page in the court of Philip II. The more Aloysius saw of court life, the more disillusioned he became, seeking relief in learning about the lives of saints.

A book about the experience of Jesuit missionaries in India suggested to him the idea of entering the Society of Jesus, and in Spain his decision became final. Now began a four-year contest with his father. Eminent churchmen and laypeople were pressed into service to persuade Aloysius to remain in his “normal” vocation. Finally, he prevailed, was allowed to renounce his right to succession, and was received into the Jesuit novitiate.

Like other seminarians, Aloysius was faced with a new kind of penance—that of accepting different ideas about the exact nature of penance. He was obliged to eat more, and to take recreation with the other students. He was forbidden to pray except at stated times. He spent four years studying philosophy and had Saint Robert Bellarmine as his spiritual adviser.

In 1591, a plague struck Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital of their own. The superior general himself and many other Jesuits rendered personal service. Because he nursed patients, washing them and making their beds, Aloysius caught the disease. A fever persisted after his recovery, and he was so weak he could scarcely rise from bed. Yet, he maintained his great discipline of prayer, knowing that he would die within the octave of Corpus Christi, three months later, at the age of 23.

 

Fitness Friday-International Yoga Day[2]

 

International Yoga Day celebrates yoga, an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice. Today, yoga, which originated in India, is one of the world's most popular pastime activities. In September of 2014, India’s Prime Minister proposed the establishment of an International Day of Yoga to promote international peace and cooperation. His request was granted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2014 in an effort to highlight the benefits of yoga to physical well-being and to world peace and development.

Can Catholics participate in yoga?

The answer is a bit more nuanced than one might think. Catholics should not participate in any of the "spiritual" aspects associated with yoga, but technically can do the actual physical exercises. However, many people who practice yoga caution that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to separate the exercises from the meditations. For example, a common mantra repeated in yoga is "So'ham" that roughly translates to "I am the universal self". This focus on the self is contrary to the focus on God to which we are called. In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: "Christian prayer... flees from impersonal techniques or from concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut, imprisoning the person praying in a spiritual privatism which is incapable of a free openness to the transcendental God" The Pope tells us that only the Holy Spirit can "move the heart" and make it "docile to the Lord, docile to the freedom of love". If we are seeking a zen-like peace from yoga meditation, then we are seeking peace from the wrong source.

But is it possible to combine exercise and prayer?

Founders of SoulCore, a core workout that combines isometric exercises with praying the rosary, say that it is. Deanne Miller and Colleen Scariano explained that their new exercise movement is born from the desire to nourish both body and soul through exercise. Miller explained, "in our physical movement, when tied to prayer-strengthening from the inside-out-we are FULLY ALIVE." www.soulcoreproject.com

There is always the Universal Man Plan

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

SECTION ONE-"I BELIEVE" - "WE BELIEVE"

CHAPTER TWO GOD COMES TO MEET MAN

Article 2-THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith

The heritage of faith entrusted to the whole of the Church

84 The apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the depositum fidei), contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining, practising and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful."

The Magisterium of the Church

85 "The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ." This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

86 "Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith."

87 Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me", The faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

The dogmas of the faith

88 The Church's Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes in a definitive way truths having a necessary connection with them.

89 There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.

90 The mutual connections between dogmas, and their coherence, can be found in the whole of the Revelation of the mystery of Christ. "In Catholic doctrine there exists an order or hierarchy 234 of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of the Christian faith."

The supernatural sense of faith

91 All the faithful share in understanding and handing on revealed truth. They have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, who instructs them and guides them into all truth.

92 "The whole body of the faithful. . . cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus fidei) on the part of the whole people, when, from the bishops to the last of the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals."

93 "By this appreciation of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth, the People of God, guided by the sacred teaching authority (Magisterium),. . . receives. . . the faith, once for all delivered to the saints. . . the People unfailingly adheres to this faith, penetrates it more deeply with right judgment, and applies it more fully in daily life."

Growth in understanding the faith

94 Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of faith is able to grow in the life of the Church:
- "through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts"; it is in particular "theological research [which] deepens knowledge of revealed truth".
- "from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience", The sacred Scriptures "grow with the one who reads them."
- "from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth".

95 "It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls."

Nic’s Corner-Friday have fish or Soup

A Friend Loves at all Times Proverbs 17:17

 

·         Minestrone

 

June is national Accordion Month

June is all about celebrating a special musical gem—it’s National Accordion Awareness Month! This month, the accordion is the focus of the spotlight, a unique and versatile instrument that adds a rich sound to various music styles.

From folk tunes to polka and beyond, the accordion has a special place in the hearts of music enthusiasts.

·         My Mother played the piano and her brother played the accordion.

Party in the Park

My father relayed the following story to me. That my mother’s brother was very good at the accordion and brought it to a park in Fort Huachuca and played 4 hours and people danced and had a great time. Lawrence Welk. 

Bless the LORD, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts, ³Who pardons all your sins, and heals all your ills,⁴Who redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with mercy and compassion, ⁵Who fills your days with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 105: 2-5)

Full Strawberry Moon

 

According to the almanac today we are having a Full Strawberry Moon; plan to make homemade strawberry ice cream and share with your children or grandchildren. Teach them the value of not saying a bad word about others.

Daily Devotions

·         Always fight with the deep conviction that I am with you.  Christians are to fight against all demonic tactics—resist!

·         Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: For the intercession of the angels and saints

·         Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Universal Man Plan

·         Operation Purity

·         Rosary

---

[1] https://www.saintsfeastfamily.com/copy-12-of-new-page-1

[2]https://www.wincalendar.com/International-Yoga-Day