Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
July 9
Saint of the day:
Candaces
Corner-Stop the soul sucking
5
Things to Do When You Are Betrayed by Another Catholic
o Our religious affiliation does not ensure that we act in a saintly manner — which is why confession so readily available.
·
Make a Decision
o You can let this betrayal drag you
down or you can use it to help you find a deeper faith and closer relationship
to Christ.
·
Work Through the Emotional Baggage
o As always, prayer is the best
recourse. It is okay to go to God and tell him why you are seething. Of course,
he already knows, but somehow the act of explaining it to him has a way of
lightening the load.
·
Consider Your Unique Abilities
o Our betrayals can, if we don’t let
them destroy us, be a signal of what types of souls God wants us to help.
·
Remember the Ransom
o In Les Miserables there is the
iconic scene where the saintly old bishop, just after telling the police that
Jean Valjean was actually given the silver he stole, says to the hardened
criminal, “Jean Valjean my brother you no longer belong to evil. With this
silver, I have bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred, and
now I give you back to God.”
Deuteronomy, Chapter 25, Verse 17-18
17 Bear in mind what Amalek did to you on the journey after you left Egypt, 18 how he surprised you along the way, weak and weary as you were, and struck down at the rear all those who lagged behind; he did not FEAR God.
How shall we deal with truly evil
people?
In Judaism, the Amalekites came to represent the archetypal enemy of the Jews. In the Jewish folklore the Amalekites are considered to be the symbol of evil. This concept has been used by some Hassidic rabbis (particularly the Baal Shem Tov) to represent atheism or the rejection of God. Elliot Horowitz and Josef Stern suggest that Amalekites have come to represent an "eternally irreconcilable enemy" that wants to murder Jews, and that Jews in post-biblical times sometimes associate contemporary enemies with Haman or Amalekites, and that some Jews believe that pre-emptive violence is acceptable against such enemies.[1]
The truly wicked are animals as the
bible mentions they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Strong men and women
whether laity or religious have a duty to protect the flock; they are the
shepherds of the church that protect the weaker ones. Who are the Amalekites of
our time; how shall we recognize them.
According to Christian Counselor Lesie Vernick[2]
there are five indicators that you may be dealing with an evil heart rather
than an ordinary sinful heart.
1. Evil
hearts are experts at creating confusion and contention. They twist the facts, mislead, lie, avoid taking
responsibility, deny reality, make up stories, and withhold information.
- Evil hearts are experts at fooling others with their smooth
speech and flattering words. But
if you look at the fruit of their lives or the follow through of their
words, you will find no real evidence of godly growth or change. It’s all
smoke and mirrors.
- Evil hearts crave and demand control, and their highest
authority is their own self-reference. They reject feedback, real
accountability, and make up their own rules to live by. They use Scripture to their own advantage but
ignore and reject passages that might require self-correction and
repentance.
- Evil hearts play on the sympathies of good-willed people,
often trumping the grace card. They demand mercy but give none
themselves. They demand warmth, forgiveness, and intimacy from those they
have harmed with no empathy for the pain they have caused and no real
intention of making amends or working hard to rebuild broken trust.
- Evil hearts have no conscience, no remorse. They do not struggle against sin or evil—they delight in it—all the while masquerading as someone of noble character.
Hmm…sounds like politicians to me?
I would like to finish with some
thoughts of Saint John Paul II on the subject.
I once again address the leaders of
nations and all men and women of good will, who recognize the need to build
peace in the world…
"Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good" (12:21). Evil is never
defeated by evil; once that road is taken, rather than defeating evil, one
will instead be defeated by evil.[3]
Let Freedom Ring-Day 3 “Freedom
from Treason.”
(See Character is Destiny for opposing virtue: LOYALTY)
My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, at
a word from you the devil and his minions flee in terror. You are the source of
all truth. You are the source of all strength. By the power of your Cross and
Resurrection, we beseech you, O Lord To extend your saving arm and to send your
holy angels. To defend us as we do battle with Satan and his demonic forces. Exorcise,
we pray, that which oppresses your Bride, The Church, So that within ourselves,
our families, our parishes, our dioceses, and our nation. We may turn fully
back to you in all fidelity and trust. Lord, we know if you will it, it will be
done. Give us the perseverance for this mission, we pray. Amen
Our
Lady of the Immaculate Conception ... pray for us
St.
Joseph ... pray for us
St.
Michael the Archangel ... pray for us
(the
patron of your parish) ... pray for us
(your
confirmation saint) ... pray for us
"Freedom
from Treason" by Fr. Jim Altman
Dear
family, the very word "treason" stirs a fundamental loathing within
us toward the traitor. Nobody likes a traitor, a betrayer. Indeed, as to the
greatest traitor of all time, the betrayer of the Son of God, Jesus Himself
said "... woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It
would be better for that man if he had never been born." Mt 26:24
The
common understanding or definition of traitor is criminal disloyalty, typically
to the state. It is a crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against
one's nation or sovereign. Perhaps the most ancient figure that exemplifies
treason is Brutus, who betrayed Julius Caesar, through whom Shakespeare had
utter the famous words "et tu Brute?" - "and you, Brutus" -
even you, Brutus, my friend? Remember such similar, chilling words, spoken
2,000 years ago, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a
kiss?" Lk 22:48.
As
Americans - at least before the current historical revisionism - we have known
since schooldays what to think of treason. We were taught what to think through
classic examples that, like every good parable, imparted to us the sense of
right and wrong. On the one hand, we learned of the betrayal by Benedict
Arnold, whose name has become synonymous with treason. Benjamin Franklin wrote
that "Judas sold only one man, Arnold three million." On the other
hand, we learned of the glorious sacrifice of Nathan Hale who, as he stood
before the British gallows, uttered the renowned words "I only regret that
I have but one life to lose for my country."
Who
can forget the brave witness of Faith of Bishop St. John Fisher who refused to
apostatize himself before the malevolent King Henry VIII, whilst the rest of
the cowardly episcopacy bent to the will of a mere human. Who can forget the
more recent brave witnesses of the Mexican clergy-martyrs, like Blessed Miguel
Pro, or the incomprehensibly brave 14-year-old boy, St. José Sánchez del Río.
It
all fits together ... the secular revulsion we have toward the "Benedict
Arnolds" of the world, and the revulsion we have toward the
"Judases" who betrayed us in the Faith. It certainly explains the
revulsion that the faithful had for the grave betrayal of the abuse scandal. It
was bad enough that abuse occurred in the first place; it was immeasurably
worse when certain members of the hierarchy covered it up, it was much worse
than that when others who knew stood by and did nothing, and worst of all when
some of the hierarchy themselves were perpetrators. The grave consequences to
the faith of the faithful is well known.
But
it is easy to blame those we readily identify as Judases. It is a lot easier
to point the finger at other particularly evil traitors, but what about us? Let
us never forget the parable Jesus taught about those who were convinced of
their own righteousness. How often are we like the Pharisee who took up his
position in the Temple "... and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O
God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity-greedy, dishonest,
adulterous-or even like this tax collector." Lk 18:11
The
fact is that we all have been traitors. In fact, we all are traitors, to a
greater or lesser extent, maybe, but traitors nonetheless, every single time we
betray the Sacrifice on Calvary, every time we sin, in what we have done and in
what we have failed to do. We betray the Cross of Christ every time we refuse
to pick up our cross and follow Jesus to our own personal Calvary. For today,
let us look at what might be the most insidious way we betray Jesus in what we
have failed to do.
As
the great Archbishop Charles Chaput once said: "For Pope Benedict, lay
people and priests don't need to publicly renounce their Catholic faith to be
apostates; they simply need to be silent when their baptism demands that they
speak out, to be cowards when Jesus asks them to have courage." So, what
about us? What about our own treason?
Dear
family, in our PC-poisoned culture, we are stigmatized, chastised and
ostracized when we try to live out our Faith publicly. We are hammered by the
proposition that we are being "judgmental" when we stand up for the
Truths of our Faith. Yet, if we speak the unchanged and unchangeable Truth
about sin, and endure the repercussions for speaking up and speaking out,
should we not have the same attitude as Jesus to the temple guard, "If
I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why
do you strike me?" Jn 18:23
Let
us pray this day to be free from treason - from highest treason -
against Jesus our Lord, in what we do, but perhaps even more, in what we have
failed to do, by remaining silent when our baptism calls us to arms, to stand
up and speak out against sin in the world. Indeed, dear family, we will know we
have gone spiritually blind when we can see nothing significantly wrong with
something that God has called sin.
Prayer
of Reparation
My
Lord and my God, we have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts
to move our hearts toward treason. We have fallen into treason when we have not
lived up to the call of our Baptism by not acknowledging You before others. We
fear the persecution in every aspect of our lives, especially those things that
impact on our income, or on our social relationships. In our weakness, we have
been weak in Faith, and betrayed You like Peter in the courtyard, denying You
far many more times. In so many ways, we fear the ill-will of man more than we
fear the loss of Heaven. We turn to You Lord, in our weakness, and beg Your
forgiveness for our countless betrayals. We love You, Lord, and we beg for the
courage to say to others, "yes, I know Him Who is Lord of Heaven and
Earth." We know, Lord, if You will it, it will be done. Trusting in You,
we offer our prayer to You who live and reign forever and ever.
Prayer
of Exorcism
Lord
God of Heaven and Earth, in your power and goodness, you created all things. You
set a path for us to walk on and a way to an eternal relationship. By the
strength of your arm and Word of your mouth Cast from your Holy Church every
fearful deceit of the Devil Drive from us manifestations of the demonic that
oppress us and beckon us to faithlessness and fear. Still the lying tongue of
the devil and his forces so that we may act freely and faithfully to your will.
Send your holy angels to cast out all influence that the demonic entities in
charge of fear have planted in your church. Free us, our families, our parish,
our diocese, and our country from all trickery and deceit perpetrated by the
Devil and his hellish legions. Trusting in your goodness Lord, we know if you
will it, it will be done in unity with Your Son and the Holy Spirit, One God
for ever and ever. Amen.
Litany of the Blessed Sacrament
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
God the Father in heaven, have mercy upon us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Jesus, present with us now in this holy sacrament. We adore
you.
Jesus, who changed water into wine and blessed the wedding
at Cana.
Jesus, who ate with sinners and tax collectors.
Jesus, who blessed the home of Martha and Mary.
Jesus, who sat at table with your friends at the Last
Supper.
Jesus, who offered your body on the Cross for all.
Jesus, who blessed and broke bread for Cleopas and his
companion.
Jesus, throned in the highest at the marriage supper of the
Lamb.
Jesus, have mercy upon us.
Jesus, bread of life.
Jesus, priest of the new covenant.
Jesus, manna from heaven.
Jesus, cup of blessing.
Jesus, food of eternal life.
In the gift of the eucharist,
we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again.
In the gift of the eucharist.
you satisfy our hunger.
In the gift of the eucharist,
you unite us into one body.
In communion,
may we receive you worthily.
In communion,
may we humbly adore you.
In communion,
may we pledge our lives to serve you.
In communion,
may we be strengthened to deeds of love and compassion.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
grant us peace.
Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’
Lord Jesus, Christ
we thank you that in this wonderful sacrament
you have given us the memorial of your passion:
grant us so to reverence the sacred mysteries
of your body and blood
that we may know within ourselves
and show forth in our lives
the fruits of your redemption;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
PART
ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION ONE-"I BELIEVE" - "WE BELIEVE"
CHAPTER THREE-MAN'S RESPONSE TO GOD
Article 2-WE BELIEVE
The Credo
The Apostles
Creed
I believe in
God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary
Under Pontius Pilate He was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
The Nicene
Creed
We believe
in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered died and was
buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
14th Amendment to US
Constitution ratified, July 9, 1868[4]
This amendment to the Constitution granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed.
Under
current law, U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants are automatically
considered U.S. citizens. Select states and certain Federal lawmakers are
hoping to change that. In an effort to end birthright citizenship – which has its origins in English
common law – for
children of unauthorized immigrants born in the United States, state and
federal lawmakers have proposed everything from state-level legislation to a
constitutional amendment. They claim that by repealing birthright citizenship,
the United States will deter immigrants from coming to the United States and
giving birth to what they term "anchor babies" through whom
unauthorized family members allegedly then obtain legal status. Proponents for a
repeal of birthright citizenship are drafting state-level legislation to deny
privileges of U.S. citizenship to the U.S.-born children of unauthorized
aliens. Because citizenship is within the purview of the federal government,
and not the states, the proponents hope that doing so will ultimately trigger a
Supreme Court review of the law.
Position of the Catholic Church
To
address legitimate concerns surrounding immigration law enforcement in the
United States, the Catholic Church believes that our country must pass
immigration reform laws to ensure the rule of law, while simultaneously
ensuring that the laws that rule are rooted in the reunification of family and
respectful of the human dignity of the immigrants in our midst. The Church
opposes the repeal of birthright citizenship because it would render innocent
children stateless, depriving them of the ability to thrive in their
communities and reach their full potential. The Church believes that a repeal
of birthright citizenship would create a permanent underclass in U.S. society,
contravening U.S. democratic tradition; undermining the human dignity of
innocent children who would be punished though they did nothing wrong; and
ultimately weakening the family. Because of this, the Church opposes efforts
underway for its repeal.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Purity
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday
Devotion
·
Pray Day 2 of
the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
·
Tuesday:
Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
·
Novena
to Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Day 3
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[2] http://www.biblestudytools.com/blogs/association-of-biblical-counselors/5-indicators-of-an-evil-and-wicked-heart.html
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