Candace’s Day
· How to celebrate Sep 10th
o You wake up and decide to kick off the day by expressing your appreciation for the important people in your life. Reach out and send them heartfelt messages, maybe make a quick video expressing your gratitude. This simple gesture radiates positivity.
o Move on to embracing creativity. Challenge yourself to come up with a new idea, whether it’s for a project at work or a fun DIY craft. Let your imagination run wild and jot down any thoughts that pop into your head.
o Later on, indulge in some self-care. Take a moment to focus on your mental well-being and practice a calming activity like meditation or journaling. Treat yourself to a relaxing bath or spend some time getting lost in a good book.
o As the day progresses, why not celebrate by trying a new recipe for dinner?
§ Whether it’s a fancy dish or a simple TV dinner, the act of cooking can be both fulfilling and delicious. Don’t forget to invite a friend over to share in the experience.
o End your day by watching a movie that uplifts your spirits. Choose one that inspires you or brings a smile to your face. Pop some popcorn, cozy up on the couch, and immerse yourself in the world of film.
o The key to making the most of this day is to embrace the themes of gratitude, creativity, self-care, connection, and relaxation. By incorporating these elements into your day, you’ll find yourself feeling rejuvenated and fulfilled. Cheers to a day well spent!
SEPTEMBER 10 Tuesday
WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION
Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9, Verse 2
Everything is the same for
everybody: the same lot for the just and the wicked, for the good, for the
clean and the unclean, for the one who offers sacrifice and the one who does
not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who
takes an oath, so it is for the one who FEARS
an oath.
God
seems to bestow divine favor or disfavor (love or hatred) indiscriminately on
the just and wicked alike. More ominously, the arbitrariness and inevitability
of death and adversity confront every human being, whether good or bad. Human
reason and experience ends at death with its finality and annihilating power
often cruelly negates the supreme value—life, and with it, all possibilities.
Faith in eternal life has its foundation only in hope and trust in God’s
promise and in God’s love. The author confesses his inability to imprison God
in a fixed and predictable way of acting. Thus, he ponders a practical and
pragmatic solution:
Seize
whatever opportunity one has to find joy, if God grants it.[1]
Be joyful
in the Present[2]
If you want to win friends and influence people, don’t
mention the cross. It is an unlikely enticement to attract us to someone, and
yet, it is precisely what Jesus Christ offered us. “If anyone wishes to come
after me, he must deny himself” (Luke
9:23). Although the prospect of self-denial and suffering is repellent, the
attraction to unite ourselves with Christ helps us to overcome our reluctance
and even choose to deny ourselves in order to draw nearer to Him. Fr. Wayne Sattler,
Missionaries of Charity; points out that we must
put our spiritual lives in perspective by facing that our bodies will one day
die but our souls live on for eternity. Thus, it is important to take good care of our soul by strengthening our internal
spiritual muscles. He identified three ways in which we can do this: prayer,
fasting, and almsgiving.
·
“Prayer
is to the soul as food is to the body,” “If you don’t pray every day, your soul
will get weaker and weaker.” But prayer is only part of what is needed to take
proper care of our soul.
·
Fasting
is not just for Lent but something that should be done at least once a week in
order to develop our interior muscles for doing God’s will. It is through
self-denial that we strengthen our spiritual muscles, which serve to subdue our
passions–much like the taming of a wild horse. As with the wild horse, taming
happens gradually and through persistent work. “But we don’t want to kill the
horse, we just want to tame him,” And so it is with our passions. We are called
to be the master of our passions and self-denial gives us the discipline to do so
but be cautioned in overdoing with severe penances because it is like being so
harsh that the horse bucks back. So begin where we are by simply increasing
whatever we are doing now rather than striving for a drastic life change that
our passions buck back. Acts of self-denial—which can include simply not eating
in-between meals, giving up smoking or abstaining from any pleasure—can often
tempt one to be irritable. In such a case, “If you can’t do it for love, then
don’t do it. If the fast is making you grumpy, then eat something and be kind.”
Don’t give up fasting altogether but work up to it and use it as a vehicle to
holiness rather than endure with resentment and irritability. “It’s not the
sack cloth and ashes and being miserable that is pleasing to God,” fasting is
about healing our will to conform to God’s will, for in God’s will is our
greatest happiness. Fasting ultimately brings us to a fuller enjoyment of life.
Over-indulging in pleasures actually inhibits us from truly enjoying what our
passions desire and we become slaves to them. Self-denial, however, opens a
space for God in our lives, builds discipline, and increases our enjoyment of
life’s pleasures. “By voluntarily denying ourselves pleasures, we also
strengthen ourselves for resisting illegitimate ones, and, through sacrifice
and self-denial, we begin to trust more in God’s Providence, that He will
provide what we need.”
· Almsgiving
should not be considered optional. “We need to be a good steward of God’s gifts”; the early Christians understood how “Everything is from God and is given for the good of all.” “If we neglect alms, we will not be able to enter into the rest from our work that God invites us into and will exhaust ourselves with financial worries.” Fr. Sattler cautions us against giving God our leftovers and suggested instead; to give him our first 10% and to trust he will take care of us. Sattler reminded everyone of the story of Cain and Abel. Both offered sacrifices to God but Abel gave God his first and best while Cain gave his leftovers. God accepted the gift of Abel and rejected Cain’s. Sattler pointed out that ironically, it’s often the case that the more God gives us, and the harder it is for us to be equally as generous. The larger our income, the larger our 10% becomes, and if God has decided to entrust to us more, shouldn’t we be just as eager to return the favor?
“We forget we are not here to stay,” Fr. Sattler said. “The
temptation is to turn outward to the world and only trust what we see but we
need to turn inward and trust the voice that is trying to speak from within.”
Trusting that voice involves clearing space in our lives so that God can speak
to us and we will take the time and be spiritually connected enough to hear his
voice. Through our crosses—both those given to us and those we freely choose—we
can remain with Christ by freely embracing them. For this reason, Sattler said,
in spite of feeling repelled by suffering, we choose to deny our self, take up
our cross daily and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).
World Suicide
Prevention Day[3]
There’s been a rising epidemic in the US, and that
epidemic is suicide. If we don’t know someone who had committed suicide, it’s
almost certain that we know someone who has attempted it. Suicide is a problem
that affects all age groups, genders, and social strata, and it seems sometimes
to be utterly inescapable. World Suicide Prevention Day raises awareness about
this tragic issue and works to prevent it through education and support of
those who struggle with suicidal ideation every day. It’s a tragic situation,
with the death toll coming in at 42,773 people committing suicide each year in
the United States alone, and for each one of those 25 people made the attempt.
Over the world it’s even greater, an estimated 800,000 people commit suicide
each year throughout the world, which is one every 40 seconds. What’s
incredible is that just like the US statistic, it’s estimated that 25 times
that attempt it, 4 million people over the world every year. There’s something
of a ripple down effect that happens as well, those bereaved by the loss of a
loved one to suicide are themselves more likely to commit suicide.
Divine Mercy After Suicide[4]by Chris
Alar
My grandmother, Mary Alar, was a special lady. My father told many stories about her, including how her family removed her from school in the sixth grade so she could work as a maid to help support them. Then, two days before her wedding day, her fiancé́ was killed in an auto accident. Later, she met my grandfather, but her life was still quite difficult. By 1993, she was suffering greatly — emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It became unbearable for her. At the time, I was finishing college and didn’t even know how much pain my grandmother was enduring. In a shock to me, my grandmother committed suicide on Father’s Day. Ten years later, I told my confessor that I was not “there for her” — even at the funeral. I mean, I was there physically, but not emotionally or spiritually. I was so concerned about my degree, my job, my new home, and my girlfriend, that I don’t even remember praying for her. I told him that this bothered me, because my grandmother had already been judged by God, and I missed my opportunity to pray for her and help her. What I really feared most arose from something I’d heard long ago about the Church teaching that if you commit suicide, you automatically go to hell.
Then the priest did
something that changed my life.
He said, “Go home tonight and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the salvation of your grandmother’s soul. This is an incredibly powerful prayer.” I had never heard of the Chaplet. I said, “Huh? Father, she’s already been judged, so it’s too late. She died 10 years ago! She’s in Heaven (I hope) or hell (I hope not). At best, my prayers might relieve some of her time in Purgatory, if she even made it that far, but her eternal fate has already been determined. There is nothing that can be done about that now.” He said, “Look, God is outside of time. There is no past or future for God, but only one big eternal present moment. God sees everything at one instant. From the beginning of time to the end of the world, He sees it all instantaneously without compromising our free will. How do you think that the Virgin Mary was immaculately conceived?” I said, “By the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.” He said, “Yes, but how could Mary be immaculately conceived by these merits when Jesus hadn’t even been born yet? Because God is outside of time. Your prayers are eternal, and the graces given by God from those prayers, because He is not constrained by space or time, can go in any direction: past, present, or future. Christ’s sacrifice is eternally present before the Father, and so are our prayers if we unite them to the Cross of Christ.”
I sat there shaking my head, saying, “Wow, Father, this is amazing.” But I still wasn’t totally getting it. It sounded too good to be true. He continued, “Think of it this way, Chris. God knew back in 1993 that you would be here today, in 2003, and tonight you would pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for your grandmother’s soul. And since God is so merciful, so loving, He will put those prayers into the hands of Mary, the Mediatrix of All Graces, and He will allow those prayers from today to be carried back in Mary’s hands and showered over your grandmother’s soul back in 1993, at the moment of her judgment, to help her.”
He continued, “You see, suicide is a grave sin, and she will need all the help she can get. So, with God’s grace, through your prayers, she may be better able to say ‘yes’ to God.” (That is why John Paul II called each of us “mini co-redeemers” — because we can share in Christ’s act of redemption).
The priest added, “In the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, she records that Jesus visited the despairing soul three times to save it from hell (Diary, 1486), so we can infer that the souls of our loved ones have the chance to repent, say ‘yes’ to Him, and be saved.”
I said, “Father, we’re good here then, because there’s no way my grandmother will not say ‘yes’ to Jesus when she sees Him. This is awesome! Thank you, Father. Have a great day.”
Blinded by sin.
He stopped me: “Hold on — there’s a problem. You said she had fallen away from the Church. Do you know if she received the Sacraments?”
“I don’t know,” I replied.
“The problem,” he said, “is your grandmother, for whatever reason, may have turned her back on God. If this is the case, she may not recognize Jesus when He comes.”
“Oh, man,” I said. “I thought all was good, but now I am worried that she could be lost because she might not recognize Jesus, and therefore be unable to say ‘yes’ to Him!”
“You didn’t let me finish,” he said. “She may not recognize Him without your prayers. But with your prayers, she will be given more grace through intercessory prayer allowed by the mercy of God. That is why Mary said at Fatima that there are many souls lost to hell … because there is nobody to pray for them! Your prayers are like a squadron of dive bombers coming in from 2003, to aid in the war being fought for her soul back in 1993. They are coming in on the hands of Mary, back to your grandmother during her personal judgment (again, because God is outside of time). The graces from these Chaplets you pray for her may be enough grace for her to turn around and say ‘yes’ to God when otherwise she wouldn’t be able to.”
The priest went on, “What happens when we sin and turn our
backs on God? We put a veil between God and ourselves, blurring our vision of
Him. But your prayers can help to lift that veil so that your grandmother may
see God more clearly, and she has a much better chance of recognizing God for
who He is. But remember, she has to say “yes” — you cannot say “yes” for her.
But you can certainly help. This is the whole point of intercessory prayer.”
My confessor continued, “Your grandmother is like a wounded soldier who cannot help herself as she lies on the battlefield, in danger of death. Your prayers come in like a fellow soldier, putting her on your shoulders, and taking her to safety. Now, she still has to cooperate and let you assist her, and she needs to have the will to live. That choice is hers. But your prayers, Chris, can offer her the help at the moment of her judgment to determine if she survives or not — meaning salvation.”
I said, “Father, this is absolutely amazing.”
Hope for those who’ve committed suicide.
I said, “I heard that the Church says that those who commit suicide are condemned to hell and lost forever.” He said, “The Church doesn’t teach that.” What does the Church say about suicide? The Catechism tells us:
Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide. We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives (2282- 2283; emphasis added).
“So, there is hope!” the priest said. “The Church says that we entrust these people to the mercy of God. So, your prayers even now, 10 years later, can make a difference. And the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is one of the most powerful prayers you can offer for someone in dire need of God’s mercy.”
We then talked about a relative who had died after 20 years in which we all prayed for a conversion — and this person never converted, never came back to the Church. I told the priest that my dad said, “Well, there’s 20 years of prayer wasted.”
Is that true? No! Again, he referenced St. Faustina’s Diary, and this added the final straw to the proverbial camel’s back that was my former life. I was now changed forever.
Saint Faustina wrote:
God’s mercy sometimes touches the sinner at the last moment in a wondrous and mysterious way. Outwardly it seems as if everything were lost. [This is what it looked like for my grandmother.] But it is not so. The soul illuminated by a ray of God’s powerful final grace turns to God in the last moment with such a power of love that, in an instant, it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls [at that stage] no longer react to external things. Oh, how beyond comprehension is God’s mercy! … Although a person is at the point of death, the merciful God gives the soul that interior vivid moment, so that if the soul is willing, it has the possibility of returning to God (Diary, 1698).
Share God’s Mercy
I broke down in disbelief. I said, “Father, we have a God
so merciful, so loving, so generous, that He will allow my grandma this chance
for salvation? And He will allow me to still help her even though I missed my
chance so many years ago?”
He said, “Yes, this is the power of the Chaplet, even for
those who have taken their own life or who have died years ago.”
He made it clear that a soul cannot be removed from hell —
this is Church teaching. What he was saying, however, is that as part of
the Mystical Body of Christ, we can aid in each other’s salvation through our
prayers. As Jesus told St. Faustina, “Help
Me, My daughter, to save souls. Join your sufferings to My Passion and offer
them to the heavenly Father for sinners” (Diary, 1032).
I said, “Father, I need to spend the rest of my life spreading this message of God’s Divine Mercy.”
Now, this message is the foundation of my priesthood.
So, if you have ever known someone who appeared to be a lost soul, especially those who committed suicide, don’t give up! There is hope! You can help, and this is all possible because we are members of the Body of Christ.
Pray for the dead!
Therefore, I ask you all to pray for your loved ones who have died, even if they’ve died 10, 20, or 50 years ago. We should never conclude that a soul is definitely lost. As Jesus said to St. Faustina, “There are moments and there are mysteries of the divine mercy over which the heavens are astounded. Let our judgment of souls cease, for God’s mercy upon them is extraordinary” (Diary, 1684).
Jesus, I trust in You!
Catechism of the Catholic
Church
Day 88
Christ's death is the unique
and definitive sacrifice
613 Christ's death is both the
Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through
"the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world", and the
sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by
reconciling him to God through the "blood of the covenant, which was
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins".
614 This sacrifice of Christ is
unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. First, it is a
gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son over to sinners
in order to reconcile us with himself. At the same time it is the offering of
the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father
through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience.
Jesus substitutes his obedience
for our disobedience
615 "For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be
made righteous." By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the
substitution of the suffering Servant, who "makes himself an offering for
sin", when "he bore the sin of many", and who "shall make
many to be accounted righteous", for "he shall bear their
iniquities". Jesus atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for
our sins to the Father.
Jesus consummates his sacrifice
on the cross
616 It is love "to the end" that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he offered his life. Now "the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died." No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all. the existence in Christ of the divine person of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons, and constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all.
617 The Council of Trent
emphasizes the unique character of Christ's sacrifice as "the source of
eternal salvation" and teaches that "his most holy Passion on
the wood of the cross merited justification for us." and the Church
venerates his cross as she sings: "Hail, O Cross, our only hope."
Our participation in Christ's
sacrifice
618 The cross is the unique
sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men". But
because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to
every man, "the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God,
in the paschal mystery" is offered to all men. He calls his disciples
to "take up [their] cross and follow (him)", for "Christ
also suffered for (us), leaving (us) an example so that (we) should follow in
his steps." In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming
sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. This is achieved
supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than
any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering. Apart from
the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.
IN BRIEF
619 "Christ died for
our sins in accordance with the scriptures" (I Cor 15:3).
620 Our salvation flows from
God's initiative of love for us, because "he loved us and sent his Son to
be the expiation for our sins" (I Jn 4:10). "God was in Christ
reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19).
621 Jesus freely offered
himself for our salvation. Beforehand, during the Last Supper, he both
symbolized this offering and made it really present: "This is my body
which is given for you" (Lk 22:19).
622 The redemption won by
Christ consists in this, that he came "to give his life as a ransom for
many" (Mt 20:28), that is, he "loved [his own] to the end" (Jn
13:1), so that they might be "ransomed from the futile ways inherited from
[their] fathers" (I Pt 1:18).
623 By his loving obedience
to the Father, "unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8), Jesus
fulfils the atoning mission (cf Is 53:10) of the suffering Servant, who will
"make many righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities" (Is 53:11;
cf. Rom 5:19).
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Restoring
the Constitution
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday
Devotion
·
Pray Day 9 of
the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: September
·
Tuesday:
Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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