Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
June 10
Saint of the day:
Patron Saint of the Sicilian towns of: Palermo; Monte San Giuliano; Termini Imerese; Alcamo; Pettineo; Cefalù.
JUNE 10 Monday
Monday
Night at the Movies
Vittorio De Sica, Umberto D, 1952.
Deuteronomy, Chapter 2, Verse 4
Command the people: You are now
about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau,
who live in Seir. Though they are AFRAID
of you, be very careful.
Those that are beloved by God are those who revere and
follow His commandments. When we are infused with the Spirit of God others can
see it because the spirit within us is reflected in our physical presence. When
we receive the blessing of God; those who are not in the spirit can become
afraid of you. Our Lord wants to remind us even those who are close to us, even
those who are relatives will be afraid of us and we must be very vigilant and
be able to see in them simultaneously the humanity of Christ; to have peace
while waging a war with evil. This peace comes because while in the presence of
the Holy Spirit we have heard things that cannot be put into words and we have
experienced the truth mystically. By this truth we are compelled to follow
Christ and at times we too must pass
through the territory of our relatives; yet ever continuing our journey with
Him. For in truth those who do His Fathers will are His brothers and sisters.
All I have seen teaches
me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
The
Practices of a Committed Catholic Man[1]
Given
these reflections on Catholic manhood, we move to the practical, that is, how
to live like a Catholic man. What practices can help us to take up our cross
and follow our King?
If
we think of soldiers who do not remain in strong physical and mental shape and
who fail to practice the essential combat arts, we know they will not be ready
for battle and will be a danger to themselves and their comrades in arms. The
same is true for Catholic men; those who do not prepare and strengthen
themselves for spiritual combat are incapable of filling the breach for Christ.
While
there are many habits and devotions that a Catholic man can form, I charge you
with keeping these seven basic practices on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
If these practices are not (yet) part of your life, start now!
Daily
Pray every day. Each Catholic man must start his
day with prayer. It is said, “Until you realize that prayer is the most
important thing in life, you will never have time for prayer.” Without prayer,
a man is like a soldier who lacks food, water, and ammunition. Set aside some
time to speak with God first thing each morning. Pray the three prayers
essential to the Catholic faith: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory
Be. Pray also at every meal. Before food or drink touches your lips, make the
Sign of the Cross, say the “Bless us, O Lord” prayer, and end with the Sign of
the Cross. Do this no matter where you are, with whom or how much you are
eating. Never be shy or ashamed about praying over meals. Never deny Christ the
gratitude that is due to Him. Praying as a Catholic man before every meal is a
simple but powerful way to keep strong and fill the breach.
Examine your conscience before going to sleep. Take a few moments to review the
day, including both your blessings and sins. Give God thanks for blessings and
ask forgiveness for sins. Say an Act of Contrition.
Go to Mass.
Despite the fact that attending weekly Mass is a Precept of the Church, only
about one in three Catholic men attend Sunday Mass. For large numbers of
Catholic men, their neglect to attend Mass is a grave sin, a sin that puts them
in mortal danger. The Mass is a refuge in the Spiritual Battle, where Catholic
men meet their King, hear His commands, and become strengthened with the Bread
of Life. Every Mass is a miracle where Jesus Christ is fully present, a miracle
that is the high point not only of the week, but of our entire lives on Earth.
In the Mass, a man gives thanks to God for his many blessings and hears Christ
send him again into the world to build the Kingdom of God. Fathers who lead
their children to Mass are helping in a very real way to ensure their eternal
salvation.
Read the Bible. As St. Jerome so clearly tells us, “Ignorance of the
Sacred Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” When we read God’s word, Jesus is
present. Married men, read with your wife and your children. If a man’s
children see him read the Scriptures, they are more likely to remain in the
Faith. My brothers in Christ, this I can assure you: men who read the Bible
grow in grace, wisdom, and peace.
Keep the Sabbath. From the creation of Adam and Eve, God the Father
established a weekly cycle ending with the Sabbath. He gave us the Sabbath to
ensure that one day out of seven we will give thanks to God, rest, and be
refreshed. In the Ten Commandments, God asserts anew the importance of keeping
the Sabbath. With today’s constant barrage of buying and selling and the
cacophony of noisy media, the Sabbath is God’s respite from the storm. As
Catholic men, you must begin, or deepen, keeping the holiness of the Sabbath.
If you are married, you must lead your wives and children to do the same.
Dedicate the day to rest and true recreation, and avoid work that is not
necessary. Spend time with family, attend Mass, and enjoy the gift of the day.
Monthly
Go to Confession. At the very start of Christ’s public ministry, Jesus
calls on all men to repent. Without repentance from sin, there can be no
healing or forgiveness, and there will be no Heaven. Large numbers of Catholic
men are in grave mortal danger, particularly given the epidemic levels of
pornography consumption and the sin of masturbation. My brothers, get to
Confession now! Our Lord Jesus Christ is a merciful King who will forgive those
who humbly confess their sins. He will not forgive those who refuse. Open your soul
to the gift of our Lord’s mercy!
Build fraternity with other Catholic men. Catholic friendship among men has
a dramatic impact on their faith lives. Men who have bonds of brotherhood with
other Catholic men pray more, go to Mass and Confession more frequently, read
the Scriptures more often, and are more active in the Faith. Proverbs tells us:
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (27:17). I call on each of
our priests and deacons to draw men together in their parishes and to begin to
rebuild a vibrant and transforming Catholic fraternity. I call on laymen to
form small fellowship groups for mutual support and growth in the faith. There
is no friendship like having a friend in Christ.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART ONE:
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION ONE
"I BELIEVE" - "WE
BELIEVE"
CHAPTER ONE-MAN'S CAPACITY FOR GOD
III. The Knowledge of God According to the Church
36 "Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches
that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with
certainty from the created world by the natural light of human
reason." Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome
God's revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created "in the
image of God".
37 In the historical conditions in which he finds himself,
however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by the light
of reason alone:
Though human reason is, strictly
speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a
true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and
controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our
hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from
the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that
concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of
things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they
call for self-surrender and abnegation. the human mind, in its turn, is
hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses
and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the
consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily
persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at
least doubtful.
38 This is why man stands in need of being enlightened by
God's revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding,
but also "about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are
not beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of
the human race, they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and
with no admixture of error".
Apostolic Exhortation[2]
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,
Part III
Loving and Adoring the
Eucharistic Lord
V. Brother priests, make the
Eucharist the source of all your priestly fruitfulness.
92. Holy Thursday is the day in
which Christ instituted the inseparable Sacraments of the Eucharist and Holy
Orders. As the Church has reminded us in countless ways, Holy Orders, in
particular the Priesthood, is ordered to the Eucharist. For this reason, I
offer this Exhortation on Holy Thursday, not only to all the faithful, but in a
special way to my brother priests.
93. From where does true
priestly fruitfulness spring? Saint John Paul II was a priest who bore much
fruit in his over fifty years of priestly ministry: his teaching, preaching,
missionary trips, social and political impact, and wise shepherding the Church
through many challenges, to name but a few. But his priestly “success” wasn’t
the result of his own natural talents or unaided work ethic. In a
teleconference, he once shared with the young people of Los Angeles that it was
his daily closeness to the Eucharistic mystery from which everything flowed. “I
am deeply grateful to God for my vocation to the priesthood. Nothing means more
to me or gives me greater joy than to celebrate Mass each day and to serve
God’s people in the Church. That has been true ever since the day of my
ordination as a priest. Nothing has ever changed it, not even becoming Pope”
(September 15, 1987). Despite the almost unimaginable demands of his schedule,
he knelt before the Eucharist in private prayer each day.
94. When a priest makes time
each day simply to be in the presence of the Eucharistic Christ, he is tapping
into the deepest source of his priesthood: Jesus himself. Even when prayer
seems dry or challenging, this time “wasted” with the Lord becomes the taproot
for pastoral charity. How the Lord’s words to His chosen Apostles at the Last
Supper penetrate the heart of us priests when we feel discouraged, alone, or a
failure: “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit” (Jn
15:5). When we priests have the courage to spend daily time in the presence of
Christ in the Eucharist, we find ourselves surprised and even overwhelmed,
again and again, in the great mystery that He is truly and personally with us,
that He is bringing life and fruit through even our most painful experiences,
and that before He desires us to work, He wants to be with us like a father,
brother, and friend.
To be continued…
Christopher’s
Corner-
One of the most well-known landmarks in Fairfax County is
the mighty Potomac River, running 405 miles long into the Chesapeake Bay.
There's nothing like feeling the wind in your hair and gliding through miles of
natural scenic landscapes. Whether you're kayaking, paddleboarding, or
canoeing, there are plenty of places to go. Find your picture-perfect paddling
adventure here on our boating page.[3]
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Restoring
the Constitution
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Religion in the Home for
Preschool: June
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Monday: Litany of
Humility
·
Rosary
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