ICEMANforChrist

This blog is based on references in the Bible to fear. God wills that we “BE NOT AFRAID”. Many theologians state that the eighth deadly sin is fear. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. By “the power of the Holy Spirit” we can be witnesses and “communicators” of a new and redeemed humanity “even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7 8). This blog is dedicated to Mary the Mother of God.

Monday, July 22, 2023

Mass & make Jewish Meal-Feast of Mary Magdalene

Why does the Church celebrate Saint Mary Magdalene?

Saints, Feast, Family

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

July 22

Saint of the day:

Saint Mary Magdalene

Was she the Queen Bee?

Christopher’s Corner-Do not be unbelieving

· Let Freedom Ring Day 16 Freedom from Godlessness

o What Is Nihilism?[1]

§ Nihilism is a continental philosophy (a philosophical ideal that originated in Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries) that posits that everything is meaningless. While there are multiple positions and variations on nihilism, they all work around this premise of pervasive pointlessness and no purpose to life. The word “nihilism” comes from the Latin word “nihil,” which means “the absence of anything” or “nothing.” The current version of the term nihilism comes from the German word “nihilismus,” which dates back to the eighteenth century.

o Although there is more than one form of nihilism, all of them discuss the human condition and its existence. Here are a few underlying principles of nihilism:

§ Existence is useless. A nihilist believes there is no purpose to having values or beliefs because everything in existence is unfounded.

§ There is no truth. Everything is unfounded and useless, including the truth, so there are no reasons to uphold moral principles for your own sake or the sake of anyone else.

§ Everything is meaningless. Active nihilism says that since there is nothing and nothing we do matters, all things are therefore meaningless, including the meaning of life.

· National Mango Day

[1] https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-nihilism

Introduction to Joshua[1]

Hail the conquering hero! Beowulf, Alexander the Great, Xerxes, Romulans, Marcus Aurelius, Hannibal, Caesar the Ape... okay, we'll stop here. Needless to say (but you know we're going to anyway), the world is full of conquering heroes. Did you know the Bible has one, too? His name is Joshua. Written in Hebrew during the late 7th century BCE, the Book of Joshua is the first recorded text of the Bible and kicks off what is known as the Historical Books. This doesn't mean that everything is to be taken literally (like our jokes). History was originally meant to teach a community about how to be good citizens and way less concerned with historical accuracy. The Book of Joshua, which reads like a game of Risk, tells the tale of a man named Joshua (didn't see that one coming) and his conquest of the land of Canaan with the Israelite army. Joshua was Moses's replacement to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. The problem? People already lived there. Joshua had the unfortunate job of clearing out the wandering tribes of Canaan so the Israelites could have a home. We think of this like when you go to play in the ball pit, but it's already filled with kids so you kick them all out because it's your turn. Of course that's all hypothetical. We don't do that anymore. We're proud to say we haven't kicked a child out of a ball pit since last week. Like Exodus, the Book of Joshua is about a nation discovering its identity and home in a foreign land, but it's also a very personal story about an ambitious patriot who sees it as his duty to sacrifice everything for his people and God. If that doesn't scream a rockin' good time, we're not sure what does. Maybe if this all took place in a ball pit.

Why Should I Care?

Look, we're going to be honest with you. This book is filled with a lot of bloody battles, human conflict, and pump your fist in the air moments. But that's not why you should care. The Book of Joshua is your history; a story about a foreigner in a strange land with a special talent. To us, that screams freshman year of high school. And college. And work. And the retirement home. It's a tale as old a time, one of those moments where the Bible speaks to some experiences we all share, no matter where we fall on the religious spectrum. Being the new guy is never easy. Or new girl for that matter. The Book of Joshua teaches us about family, commitment, loyalty, and faith—all things we need to survive, to make new histories. Give it a read. We dare you.

JULY 22 Monday-Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

Joshua, Chapter 1, Verse 9

I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not FEAR nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go.

The Lord is patient and kind, yet He is also just. He will right the evil of man. When man goes too far God intervenes.

Is another intervention coming?

Is there a breach in the lines of defense against the forces of darkness?

Have we become fat and gross and gorged with secularism?

Have we forsaken the God who made us and scorned Him? Have we sacrificed to demons, to “no-gods”?

Good men heed the message of St. Faustina and seek the Divine Mercy of God while there is still time and then join the battle of God coming into the breach. Read the online message of the Bishop of Phoenix and be prepared to fight and defend our church.[2]

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, a simple, uneducated, young Polish nun receives a special call. Jesus tells her, "I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My merciful Heart." These words of Jesus are found in the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, which chronicles Sr. Faustina's great experience of Divine Mercy in her soul and her mission to share that mercy with the world.

Though she died in obscurity in 1938, Sr. Faustina was hailed by Pope John Paul II as "the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time." On April 30, 2000, the Pope canonized her as St. Faustina, saying that the message of Divine Mercy she shared is urgently needed at the dawn of the new millennium.[3]

Feast of the Holy Penitent Mary Magdalen[4]

MARY MAGDALEN, a sister of Lazarus and of Martha, of Bethany, was a notorious sinner in Jerusalem. Moved by the preaching of Jesus, she did public penance. She went openly into the house of the Pharisee with whom Jesus was sitting at table, threw herself at His feet, anointed them with precious ointment, washed them with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. Jesus, knowing her contrite heart, forgave her, her sins (Luke vii. 37, 38), and from that time forward she became the most zealous and faithful of the women who were disciples of Our Lord. She followed Him, always ministered unto Him of her substance (Luke viii. 3), and when He died was standing under the cross.

Prayer. We beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may be helped by the intercession of blessed Mary Magdalen, at whose prayers Thou didst raise up again to life her brother Lazarus, who had been dead for four days.

EPISTLE. Cant. iii. 2-5; viii. 6, 7.

I will rise and will go about the city: in the streets and the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and I found him not. The watchmen who keep the city found me: Have you seen him whom my soul loveth? When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loveth. I held him: and I will not let him go till I bring him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that bore me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor awake my beloved till she please. Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death; jealousy as hard as hell; the lamps thereof are fire and flame. Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing. The soul that, following the direction of the watchmen, that is, the priests, teachers, and rulers of the Church, seeks Jesus, He goes to meet, gives Himself up to, takes up His abode in, with all His love, with all His treasures. The soul which has found Christ for delight forgets all outward things, and no longer has love or joy but for and in Christ. How should it be otherwise? What can be wanting to him who truly possesses Christ? This love for Him Who loved us unto death shows itself by outward acts that are heroic. So, Mary Magdalen loved Jesus. Follow her example.

GOSPEL. Luke vii. 36-50.

At that time: One of the Pharisees desired Jesus to eat with him. And He went into the house of the Pharisee, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that He sat at meat in the Pharisee s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and standing behind, at His feet, she began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee, who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: This man, if He were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him, that she is a sinner. And Jesus answering, said to him: Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee. But he said: Master, say it. A certain creditor had two debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which, therefore, of the two loveth him most? Simon answering, said I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said to him: Thou hast judged rightly. And turning to the woman, He said unto Simon: Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet; but she with tears hath washed My feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them. Thou gavest Me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she with ointment hath anointed My feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less. And He said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee. And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves: Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And He said to the woman: Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace.

Magdalen, who had sinned openly, openly did penance. In like manner, he who has given public scandal must seek to make amends for it by public good example. Magdalen confessed her sins, says St. Ambrose, not with words, but with abundant tears of penitence. To tell her sins to Christ, the All-knowing, was not necessary but what a confession was there in the posture of humiliation, and in the tears that flowed from the contrite sinner. Would you obtain forgiveness? Confess with contrition, like Magdalen. The words, “Thy faith hath made thee safe,” denote a faith active as love. Faith and love are in truth never separated, for the only truly believes who also loves; and he only loves according to God’s will who believes in Him. Therefore, believe in truth, love, and show your love by earnest hatred of every sin, by flying from occasions of sin, by fighting against your passions, by change of your life, and by humble confession, and as true as God lives you will be saved, as was Magdalen the peace of God will enter into your heart.

Patron: Apothecaries; Casamicciola, Italy; contemplative life; contemplatives; converts; druggists; glove makers; hairdressers; hairstylists; penitent sinners; penitent women; people ridiculed for their piety; perfumeries; perfumers; pharmacists; reformed prostitutes; sexual temptation; tanners; women.

Highlights and Things to Do[5]

From the Catholic Culture library:

Listen to the Catholic Culture Audiobook St. Robert Southwell—Mary Magdalene’s Complaint at Christ’s Death read by James Majewski.
Read Jennifer Gregory Miller's posts on St. Mary Magdalen's feast:

Read more about St. Mary Magdalen:

Tradition has it that St. Mary Magdalene spent the last 30 years of her life in France. Read Saints in Rome for the location of her relics.
Read the book Witnesses to Calvary: Reflections on the Seven Last Words of Jesus by Fr. Richard C. Antall is an interesting and thoughtful look at St. Mary Magdalene's place at the foot of the cross. He contrasts her deliverance from seven demons with the symmetry of the Seven Words.
Jewish Menu for the feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Jack Daniels
ISRAELI SALAD
MATZOH BALL SOUP
A juicy BRISKET
Jelly-filled SUFGANIYOT

Redeemed Sexuality[6]

As Christians we should be grateful beyond words for the gift of our redemption. We believe that Christ’s action on the cross has changed all things, for all time. We should seek to relate every aspect of our lives to how Christ has redeemed us and our world. When we consider the mystery and contemporary confusion of human sexuality, it is even more urgent for Christians to ask, ―How has Christ redeemed human sexuality?

Today our media features topics that not long ago would have been labeled science fiction, or pornography. Cloning, ―casual sex, getting pregnant by means of reproductive technologies, frozen embryos, adultery — the list goes on.

Does anyone in the public square relate these issues to the spiritual?

When those of us try to bring God into the equation, we are often told that ―individual morality must not be ―imposed on the public. But that should not deter the Christian. Christ’s work on the cross has restored all of human life, even human sexuality. That means that human sexuality is not tinged with sin, nor is it morally neutral. Although we can misuse even the best of God’s gifts, that does not change the fact that sex is God’s gift of life and love to us. Specifically, sexual intercourse was never meant to be directed to the individual. It’s not a sport or game to be enjoyed on its own. Sexual intercourse is a powerful event of interpersonal communion — it is a sacramental event. This makes more sense when we realize that Christian marriage is a sign of Christ’s presence in the world. As Christians we accept on faith that human sexuality is caught up in Christ, uniting a man and woman in a union which reflects God’s love in the world and is directed to others. With that starting point, it makes excellent sense to keep sex in marriage.

The redeemed nature of marriage was understood by the Church from our earliest history. Following up on Jesus’ own words on the indissolubility of marriage, St. Paul likened Christian marriage to Christ’s relationship with His Church. ―As Christ loved the Church . . . so the husband should love and cherish his wife as he cherishes his own body; for husband and wife are one body, as Christ and the Church are one body. This is a great mystery. St. John Chrysostom (347-407) taught that the ―one flesh of the spouses is ―not an empty symbol. ―They have not become the image of anything on earth, but of God Himself‖ (Homily 12).

The love of spouses, says the Catechism, ―requires of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses’ community of persons, which embraces their entire life (#1644). The root of this indissolubility is found in God Himself, who taught us of His fidelity through His covenant with Abraham. It is found finally in Christ, who united Himself with His Church. In this age of continuous assaults on God’s design for life and love, it would do the world good if Christians reclaimed our rich heritage. Before we can do this, we need to return to the mystery of our faith and meditate on who Jesus is, what He did for us, and how this has changed all life for all ages.

Novena of St. Ann[7]

Daily Prayer to Saint Ann

O glorious St. Ann, you are filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer! Heavily burdened with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present intention which I recommend to you in your special care.

Please recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and place it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted. But, above all, obtain for me the grace one day to see my God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints to praise and bless Him for all eternity. Amen.

Our Father, . . . Hail Mary . . .

O Jesus, Holy Mary, St. Ann, help me now and at the hour of my death. Good St. Ann, intercede for me.

SIXTH DAY

Good St. Ann do not allow my soul, a masterpiece of God’s creative power, to be lost forever. Free my heart of pride, vanity, self-love. May I know myself as I really am and learn meekness and simplicity of heart.

God’s great love for me leaves me cold and unresponsive. I must reflect this love through works of mercy and charity toward my neighbor.

In your boundless charity, good St. Ann, help me to merit the glorious crown which is given to those who have fought the good fight against the world, the devil and the flesh. Assist me to preserve purity of heart and body. With Mary and her divine Son, protect me always.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Day 38

IN BRIEF

261 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

262 The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God.

263 The mission of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of the Son (Jn 14:26) and by the Son "from the Father" (Jn 15:26), reveals that, with them, the Spirit is one and the same God. "With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified" (Nicene Creed).

264 "The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father as the first principle and, by the eternal gift of this to the Son, from the communion of both the Father and the Son" (St. Augustine, De Trin. 15, 26, 47: PL 42, 1095).

265 By the grace of Baptism "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", we are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity, here on earth in the obscurity of faith, and after death in eternal light (cf. Paul VI, CPG # 9).

266 "Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal" (Athanasian Creed: DS 75; ND 16).

267 Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Christopher’s Corner-Do not be unbelieving

· Let Freedom Ring Day 16 Freedom from Godlessness

o What Is Nihilism?[8]

o Although there is more than one form of nihilism, all of them discuss the human condition and its existence. Here are a few underlying principles of nihilism:

§ Existence is useless. A nihilist believes there is no purpose to having values or beliefs because everything in existence is unfounded.

§ There is no truth. Everything is unfounded and useless, including the truth, so there are no reasons to uphold moral principles for your own sake or the sake of anyone else.

§ Everything is meaningless. Active nihilism says that since there is nothing and nothing we do matters, all things are therefore meaningless, including the meaning of life.

· National Mango Day

Daily Devotions

· Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Increase of Vocations to the Holy Priesthood.

· Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan

· Rosary