NIC’s Corner
· How to celebrate Sep 13th
· Start your day on a positive note by declaring it National Positive Thinking Day. Challenge yourself to replace any negative thoughts with upbeat affirmations.
o Later, channel your optimistic energy into celebrating National Stand Up to Cancer Day by supporting cancer research or raising awareness.
· Feeling hungry?
o Whip up a batch of chocolate treats in honor of International Chocolate Day. Get creative – even if it means raiding your pantry for ingredients. Once you’ve satisfied your sweet tooth, embrace National Fortune Cookie Day by making your own fortunes and sharing them with friends.
International Chocolate Day
· As the day progresses, let loose and celebrate Supernatural Day. Binge-watch your favorite paranormal TV shows or dive into a spooky book.
· Unleash your inner chef on National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day. Encourage children to experiment with simple recipes or assist you in meal prep.
o Celebrate National Celiac Disease Awareness Day by trying out gluten-free recipes or educating yourself on the condition.
· Wrap up your day with a hug – it’s National Hug Your Boss Day! Spread positivity by showing appreciation for your supervisor or coworkers.
o Finally, pay tribute to the literary world on Roald Dahl Day by reading your favorite Dahl book or watching a film adaptation.
· Honor Uncle Sam Day by learning about American history or engaging in a patriotic activity.
o And don’t forget to indulge in some peanuts, in celebration of National Peanut Day!
· Today is what you make of it, so let your imagination run wild and celebrate each oddity with gusto. Cheers to a day filled with positivity, learning, and unexpected delights!
SEPTEMBER 13 Friday-John
Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor
1
Corinthians, chapter 9, Verse 27
No,
I drive my body and train it, for FEAR that, after having preached to
others, I myself should be disqualified.
Paul is telling us that as Christians we must set the example and be all things to all. We must as it is sometimes attributed to the sayings of St. Francis, “preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.”
This is the first premise of leadership. As leaders, especially Christian leaders, we must demonstrate the Be, Know and Do attitudes of Christ. That is, we must become an “Alter Christus” or another Christ. We must BE to others as Christ would. We must KNOW spiritual principals as Christ does and we must act or DO in the world as Christ would.
Memorial of St. John
Chrysostom (347-407)[1]. St. John was born in Antioch. His
powerful eloquence earned him the surname of Chrysostom, or golden mouthed.
With St. Athanasius, St. Gregory Nazianzen and St. Basil, he forms the group of
the four great doctors of the Eastern Church. As Archbishop of Constantinople,
his courageous stance against the vices of even the wealthy caused him to be
exiled several times. As a result, he died in 407, still in exile. In 1204 his
relics were brought to St. Peter's in Rome. Some of the relics were returned to
the Orthodox on November 27, 2004, by Pope Saint John Paul II. His silver and
jewel-encrusted skull is now kept in the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos in
northern Greece and is credited by Christians with miraculous healings. His
right hand is also preserved on Mount Athos, and numerous smaller relics are
scattered throughout the world.
Our Lady: Continue to pray the Rosary to obtain the end of the war. In October, Our Lord will also come, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus, to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices, but He does not want you to sleep with the ropes; wear them only during the day. (The children were wearing ropes around their waists as a sacrifice for sinners.)
Our Lady: Yes, I will cure some, others not. In October, I will perform a miracle for all to believe.
When looking at the above dialogue
between Our Lady and Lucia, there is not a whole lot of information that is
specific.
Would Lucia or Jacinta, Francisco know who Our Lady of Sorrows would be, or Our Lady of Mount Carmel?
Probably not!
But what does this tell us even though it is 100 years later?
There are some very significant points to gleam from these few words. First, Our Lord will come as the King of kings.
Why is this important?
This shows that what is happening at Fatima has the Lord's full will taking place. Hebrews 4:14-16 states, "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Jesus appearance at Fatima is an important sign of His commitment to Mercy and His intention that we listen to the message which is the Gospel. Fatima is all about the Gospel Message.
Second, Mary will show herself as "Our Lady of Sorrows"! There were seven sorrows that are part of a devotion:
1. The Prophecy of
Simon (Luke 2:29-35)
2. The Escape and
flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
3. Jesus lost for
three days and then found in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)
4. Jesus meets His
Mother (Passion)
5. The Crucifixion
(Matthew 27:32-55), (Mark 15:21-41), (Luke 23:26-49), (John 19:17-37)
6. Piercing of the
side of Jesus (John 19:34-37)
7. Burial of Jesus
(Matthew 27:57-61), (Mark 15:42-47), (Luke 23:50-56), (John 19:38-42)
Through this devotion we walk with the Virgin Mary in these seven sorrows. Suffering has a very important lesson for growing in our faith. As Our Lord suffered, and as a result, Our Lady suffered, we unite our suffering with our Lord. We offer it up.
Third, Mary will show herself again as "Our Lady of Mount Carmel" which I find this one to have deep meaning identifying who this Lady truly is. 1 Kings 18: 20-39 tells the story of Elijah's triumph over the priests of Baal. At this time there had been a serious drought for three years because of the sin of the nation. The drought ends with a very interesting sign.
1 Kings 18:41-45 states, "And Elijah said to Ahab, go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of the rushing of rain. So, Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, there is nothing. And Elijah said, Go again seven times. And at the seventh time, he said, Behold, a little cloud like a man's (foot) hand is rising out of the sea. And Elijah said, go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you. And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain."
You might be wondering what this has to do with anything I am about to tell you! Remember 1 Kings 18:44 specifically here, "Go again seven times. And at the seventh time, he said, Behold, a little cloud like a man's (foot) hand is rising out of the sea." The Douay-Rheims version of the bible says foot while many others say hand, obviously the image of the cloud held the vision of an extremity.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel connects 1 Kings 18:44 with the prophetic sign given to Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young virgin (woman) shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.
Both signs uniquely point to Our Lady identifying her as the Virgin Mary. The cloud rising up from the sea is a symbol relating to Our Lady as Mary is recognized as a fulfillment that the cloud represents rain. But this is not a waterfall rain, but something much more important.
From the Carmel story, the seven
tries of Elijah's servant to go see the sign of Elijah becomes a spiritual
typology representing the seven ages of the world. What are the seven ages of
the world you might be asking:
1. Adam to Noah
2. Noah to Abraham
3. Abraham to David
4. David to the
Babylonian Captivity
5. Return of Israel to
Jesus
6. Jesus to present
7. Present to Parousia.
This is where it gets really
interesting! The seventh age represents the Salvation of the world. Jesus refers to the coming of this age
Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to
the close of the age."
Here we go:
There are four Marian identifiers embodied in the sign of Elijah and revealed by Isaiah.
1. THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION - Because the Virgin would arise as a cloud out of the salty sea water saturated with the guilt of humanity, having the same nature of the water but without it's bitterness. Our Lady was conceived without Original Sin and not marred by sin.
2.
THE VIRGINITY OF MARY - Because Mary arose out of Mount Carmel and like
a man's foot (Douay-Rheims), this means Mary would follow the path of Elijah
who ascended Carmel through voluntary virginity as Elijah and completed the
pure works (hands).
4. THE VIRGINAL MATERNITY - Because in the little cloud, God would come down like a sweet rain, without noise of human collaboration (except Mother Mary), that is, without violating Mary's purity.
The sign of the cloud revealed rain, the sign of the Virgin with child revealed grace.
Do you really think the Children of Fatima understood all this with the Virgin Mary's words?
Not likely,
but does this have relevance for us today, 100 years later?
Most certainly. This is the Gospel message, "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
I recall the Prophet Elisha instructing Namaan to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River and on the seventh try was healed of leprosy. Seven represents wholeness, completeness, and perfection. It represents Christ. We also see this in the seven Sacraments of the Church.
Sometimes Our Lord takes away an affliction, sometimes He shares His suffering with us. It's not because He loves some more than others, His compassion is limitless. We see this more regarding the great miracle of Fatima, October 13, 1917.
Catechism of the
Catholic Church
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION
OF FAITH
SECTION
TWO-I. THE CREEDS
CHAPTER TWO
I
BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD
Article 5-"HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE
AGAIN"
Paragraph 2. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD
Day
91
638 "We bring you the good
news that what God promised to the fathers, this day he has fulfilled to us
their children by raising Jesus." The Resurrection of Jesus is the
crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the
central truth by the first Christian community; handed on as fundamental by
Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as
an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross:
Christ is
risen from the dead!
Dying, he
conquered death;
To the dead,
he has given life.
I. THE HISTORICAL AND
TRANSCENDENT EVENT
639 The mystery of Christ's
resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically
verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about A.D. 56 St. Paul could
already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first importance
what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the
scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in
accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the
Twelve. . ." The Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the
Resurrection which he had learned after his conversion at the gates of
Damascus.
The empty tomb
640 "Why do you seek the
living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." The first
element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb.
In itself it is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ's
body from the tomb could be explained otherwise. Nonetheless the empty
tomb was still an essential sign for all. Its discovery by the disciples was
the first step toward recognizing the very fact of the Resurrection. This was
the case, first with the holy women, and then with Peter. The disciple
"whom Jesus loved" affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and
discovered "the linen cloths lying there", "he saw and
believed". This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb's
condition that the absence of Jesus' body could not have been of human doing
and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case
with Lazarus.
The appearances of the Risen
One
641 Mary Magdalene and the holy
women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus, which had been buried in
haste because the Sabbath began on the evening of Good Friday, were the first
to encounter the Risen One. Thus the women were the first messengers of
Christ's Resurrection for the apostles themselves. They were the next to whom
Jesus appears: first Peter, then the Twelve. Peter had been called to
strengthen the faith of his brothers, and so sees the Risen One before
them; it is on the basis of his testimony that the community exclaims:
"The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
642 Everything that happened
during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in
particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As
witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church.
the faith of the first community of believers is based on the witness of
concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among
them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary "witnesses to his
Resurrection", but they are not the only ones - Paul speaks clearly of
more than five hundred persons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and
also of James and of all the apostles.
643 Given all these
testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside
the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical
fact. It is clear from the facts that the disciples' faith was drastically put
to the test by their master's Passion and death on the cross, which he had
foretold. The shock provoked by the Passion was so great that at least
some of the disciples did not at once believe in the news of the Resurrection.
Far from showing us a community seized by a mystical exaltation, the Gospels
present us with disciples demoralized ("looking sad") and frightened.
For they had not believed the holy women returning from the tomb and had
regarded their words as an "idle tale". When Jesus reveals
himself to the Eleven on Easter evening, "he upbraided them for their
unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him
after he had risen."
644 Even when faced with the
reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful, so impossible did
the thing seem: they thought they were seeing a ghost. "In their joy they
were still disbelieving and still wondering." Thomas will also
experience the test of doubt and St. Matthew relates that during the risen
Lord's last appearance in Galilee "some doubted." Therefore the
hypothesis that the Resurrection was produced by the apostles' faith (or
credulity) will not hold up. On the contrary their faith in the Resurrection
was born, under the action of divine grace, from their direct experience of the
reality of the risen Jesus.
Positive Thinking Day[3]
Positive Thinking Day is a time set aside each year to concentrate on all things positive. An American entrepreneur started this day in 2003 so that people could commemorate the many rewards that can be found in thinking positively.
How to Celebrate Positive Thinking Day
If you are not sure what to do to celebrate, here are a few suggestions. Start the day positively by saying “Today is going to be a good day!” This will set the tone for the day ahead of you.
Say some affirmations. These are positive sentences about you or your circumstances that can give you boldness, confidence and self-esteem.
·
Hang around with positive people.
·
Show gratitude for the simple things in life.
·
Read or watch positive, motivational books and
movies.
·
Be kind to someone today.
·
Finally, the best thing you can do for yourself
and others, today and every day is to simply smile.
Fitness Friday-Soup[4]
Soup is a quick, hot meal that offers plenty of health benefits. You can
throw a variety of ingredients into a slow cooker in the morning before you
leave for work or school and return home to a delicious meal in the evening.
The healthiest soups include fresh, low-fat ingredients and a minimum of salt
and extra fat. You can use up leftovers in a soup pot and create new variations
of favorite recipes, since soup lends itself to experimentation.
Vegetables. The American Heart Association recommends adults consume
eight or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That's 4 ½ cups.
Soups can contribute to that total. Almost any vegetable lends itself to use in
soup, from creamy squash or tomato bisques to vegetable beef or chicken
vegetable soup. Add fresh or frozen vegetables to canned soups to increase the
servings of vegetables and add flavor.
Nutrients. Soups made with beans and lean meats such as fish provide lean
protein. Beans also give you fiber. Tomatoes are a good source of lycopene, an
antioxidant that may help reduce the risk of cancer, particularly prostate
cancer, according to Penn State University. Vegetables in soup contain many
vitamins, such as A and C. Cream soups supply calcium and vitamin D.
Low Fat. Most soups, if made with lean meat, are low in fat, making them a good choice for anyone concerned about fat in his diet. Use fat-free broths and lean meat to reduce the fat content of soups. se skin milk for cream soups; or, instead of milk, you can use pureed white beans to thicken soup. To further reduce the fat content of your soup without sacrificing flavor, chill it and skim off the fat before reheating and serving.
Filling. Because
soup contains so much water it fills you up with fewer calories. When Barbara
Rolls, Ph.D., conducted research at Penn State University, she discovered that
students who ate chicken and rice soup instead of a chicken and rice casserole
consumed fewer calories yet reported being equally satisfied. Rolls is author
of the book, The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan, in which she explains how
eating soup and other high-volume, low-calorie foods can help you lose weight.
Today is also National Gym Day
·
St.
Ignatius Universal Man Plan
·
St.
George Universal Man Plan
·
St.
Peter Universal Man Plan
·
St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Victims
of clergy sexual abuse
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: September
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Rosary
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