Auguste Rodin died 1917
Claire’s Corner-Let the Christmas Season begin
· November 17-1 The Rockettes Christmas
o Let’s go girls! Those sky-high kicks, those naughty smiles -- oh, it certainly wouldn’t be a notoriously fun November without the Rockettes. During the holiday season, the legendary dance company kicks it into high gear with five shows a day, seven days a week. See the grand show unfold in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, presented at Radio City Music Hall.
· How to celebrate Nov 17th
o Start your day by engaging in some physical activity to embrace freedom, whether it’s with a scenic hike or a brisk walk in your neighborhood.
§ Fuel up with a homemade bread sandwich like a classic Reuben, celebrating the delicious diversity of cuisine.
· Later, share a slice of baklava with a friend to commemorate global unity on International Students’ Day.
o Unleash your creativity in the kitchen by attempting to make your own baklava, embracing the joys of cooking on National Homemade Bread Day.
§ Savor a glass of Zinfandel as you unwind and reflect on the importance of democracy.
· Consider unfriending negative influences in your life and toasting to a fresh start on National Unfriend Day.
o Take a moment to spread happiness by reaching out to a friend on International Happy Gose Day, emphasizing the power of connection.
§ Support premature babies and their families by participating in World Prematurity Day.
· Show solidarity for those who fought for freedom and democracy by exploring different cultures and traditions.
NOVEMBER 17 Twenty-Sixth
Sunday after Pentecost
SAINT
ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY
Isaiah, chapter 35, verse 3-4
3 Strengthen hands that are feeble, make firm knees that are weak, 4 Say to the fearful of heart: Be strong, do not FEAR! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you.
Isaiah in this chapter is proclaiming the deliverance of Israel specifically but upon examining the wording in this verse it is referring to the day of our death. On that day our hands will be feeble, but our hearts must remain strong. Will you be vindicated and what compensation will be due you. Honestly few will be due recompense, but our Lords love is such that he wishes to save us at this final hour with the sacrament which was formerly called the “Last Rites”.
1524 In addition to the Anointing of the Sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this life the Eucharist as viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ, received at this moment of "passing over" to the Father, has a particular significance and importance. It is the seed of eternal life and the power of resurrection, according to the words of the Lord: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." The sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here the sacrament of passing over from death to life, from this world to the Father.
1525 Thus, just as the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist form a unity called "the sacraments of Christian initiation," so too it can be said that Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at the end of Christian life "the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly homeland" or the sacraments that complete the earthly pilgrimage.
Such is the Love of our Lord that we should be delivered. His love is such that by receiving our Lord in the viaticum he delivers us to the Father saying here is blood of my blood and He transfers His recompense; His vindication to us. There is no greater love then this!
The Last Blessing
Let us pray. Most gracious God, Father of mercies and God of all consolation, Thou wish none to perish that believes and hopes in Thee, according to Thy many mercies look down favourably upon Thy servant (handmaid) N.____ whom true faith and Christian hope commend to Thee. Visit him (her) in Thy saving mercy, and by the passion and death of Thy only-begotten Son, graciously grant to him (her) forgiveness and pardon of all his (her) sins that his (her) soul in the hour of its leaving the earth may find Thee as a Judge appeased, and being washed from all stain in the Blood of Thy same Son may deserve to pass to everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to
give and not to count the cost…to labor and not to ask for reward, except to
know that I am doing your will. (Saint Ignatius, Prayer for Generosity)
Lord, let me not fear death with an empty fear, but with a wise and holy fear. An empty fear does not make men any better, but a wise and holy fear urges them to improve their lives. I will prepare for death by trying today to please you more and more in my thoughts, desires, words and actions. If I live this day as You desire, I shall be ready at any moment, and death will be nothing worse than Your loving call. Amen[1]
The LORD is my light and my
salvation; whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? (Ps. 27:1)
ON KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[2]
CHAPTER I
DIES DOMINI
The Celebration of the Creator's
Work
"God blessed the seventh
day and made it holy" (Gn 2:3)
1.
The Sabbath precept, which in the first Covenant
prepares for the Sunday of the new and eternal Covenant, is therefore rooted in
the depths of God's plan. This is why, unlike many other precepts, it is set
not within the context of strictly cultic stipulations but within the
Decalogue, the "ten words" which represent the very pillars of the
moral life inscribed on the human heart. In setting this commandment within the
context of the basic structure of ethics, Israel and then the Church declare
that they consider it not just a matter of community religious discipline but a
defining and indelible expression of our relationship with God, announced
and expounded by biblical revelation. This is the perspective within which
Christians need to rediscover this precept today. Although the precept may
merge naturally with the human need for rest, it is faith alone which gives
access to its deeper meaning and ensures that it will not become banal and
trivialized.
Twenty-Sixth
Sunday after Pentecost
The Church, mixed with good and bad (as in the Parable
of the Sower), prays that "wavering hearts" may be guided by God.
GOSPEL. Matt. xiii. 24-30
At
that time Jesus spoke this parable to the multitude, saying: The kingdom of
heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field: but while men
were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat, and went his
way. And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then
appeared also the cockle. And the servants of the good man of the house coming
said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath
it cockles? And he said to them: An enemy hath done this. And the servants said
to him: Wilt thou that we go and gather it up? And he said: No; lest perhaps
gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it. Suffer
both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest, I will say to
the reapers: Gather up first the cockle and bind it in bundles to burn; but the
wheat gather ye into my barn.
What is to be understood by the
kingdom of heaven?
The Church of God, or the congregation of the faithful
upon earth.
What are we to understand by the
good seed and the cockle?
By the good seed is meant good Christians, children of
God, who bring forth thousandfold fruit of good works; the cockle denotes
heretics, infidels, and bad men. We are also to understand by the good seed the
word of God, and by the cockle false doctrines and principles.
Who are they that are asleep?
1. Those secular and ecclesiastical superiors who
neglect the Obligations of their office, fail to watch over their flock, and to
punish the guilty. In this case it is easy for the devil to corrupt the
congregation by false doctrine, by mockery of religion, by bad example, and
immoral books.
2. Those Christians who cease to use the means of
salvation by absenting themselves from divine service, by omitting to receive
the sacraments, to hear the word of God, or to do good works.
Why does not God gather up the
wicked, who are the cockle, ard destroy them?
1. On account of His long-suffering and patience
towards the sinner, whom He gives the opportunity of doing penance.
2. Out of love for the just and righteous; for should
He exterminate the wicked, the just would lose the opportunity of exercising
many virtues, such as patience, meekness, mercy, purity, and perseverance to
the end, whereby they acquire the merits of eternal life.
Aspiration.
O
Jesus, who hast sown the good seed of Thy divine word in our hearts, grant that
it may bring forth in us, many fold, the fruit of eternal life. Defend us
against the enemy, that he may not sow in us false and wicked doctrines to
destroy our good works; preserve us from the sleep of sin and sloth, that we
may watch against the temptations of the world, the devil, and the flesh, and,
having overcome them, may die happily. Amen.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary[3]
Scrutiny of the Powerful
St. Elizabeth,
Duchess of Thuringia, it is said that the servant of God lost her mother,
Gertrude, Queen of Hungary, about the year 1220. In the spirit of a holy
Christian daughter, she gave abundant alms, redoubled her prayers and
mortifications, exhausted the resources of her charity for the relief of that
dear soul. God revealed to her that she had not done too much. One night the
deceased appeared to her with a sad and emaciated countenance; she placed
herself on her knees next to the bed, and said to her, weeping, “My daughter,
you see at your feet your mother overwhelmed with suffering. I come to implore
you to multiply your suffrages, that Divine Mercy may deliver me from the
frightful torments I endure.
Oh! how much are
those to be pitied who exercise authority over others? I expiate now the faults
that I committed upon the throne. Oh! my daughter, I pray you by the pangs I
endured when bringing you into the world, by the cares and anxieties which your
education cost me, I conjure you to deliver me from my torments.” Elizabeth,
deeply touched, arose immediately, took the discipline to blood, and implored
God, with tears, to have mercy on her mother, Gertrude, declaring that she
would not cease to pray until she had obtained her deliverance. Her prayers
were heard.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary[4]
Elizabeth was the daughter of the Hungarian King Andrew II. At the age of four (b. 1207), she was brought to the court of her future husband, Ludwig, landgrave of Thuringia. After her marriage in 1221, she very conscientiously fulfilled her duties both toward her husband and as a servant of God.
During the night she would rise from bed and spend long
periods in prayer. Zealously she performed all types of charitable acts; she
put herself at the service of widows, orphans, the sick, the needy.
During a famine she generously distributed all the grain
from her stocks, cared for lepers in one of the hospitals she established,
kissed their hands and feet. For the benefit of the indigent, she provided
suitable lodging. After the early death of her husband (in 1227 while on a
crusade led by Emperor Frederick II), Elizabeth laid aside all royal dignities
in order to serve God more freely. She put on simple clothing, became a
tertiary of St. Francis, and showed great patience and humility.
Nor was she spared intense suffering - the goods belonging
to her as a widow were withheld, she was forced to leave Wartburg. In Eisenach
no one dared receive her out of fear of her enemies. Upon much pleading a
shepherd of the landgrave permitted her to use an abandoned pig sty. No one was
allowed to visit or aid her; with her three children, of whom the youngest was
not more than a few months old, she was forced to wander about in the winter's
cold.
In 1228 she took the veil of the Sisters of the Third Order
of St. Francis at Marburg and there built a hospital with some property still
belonging to her. She retained for herself only a small mud house. All her
strength and care were now devoted to the poor and the sick, while she obtained
the few things she needed by spinning. Young in years but rich in good works,
she slept in the Lord in 1231, only twenty-four years old.
Things to
Do
·
Love for the poor is characteristic of every
genuine follower of Christ, those lacking the truth are the poorest of the
poor, spend some time on a regular basis studying your faith (by reading or
taking a home study course) so that you will be prepared to feed those who are
hungry for the truth.
·
Teach your children the Corporal and
Spiritual Works of Mercy and give them practical examples.
·
Have your children help you bake
bread like St. Elizabeth and distribute some to your neighbors.
·
St. Elizabeth is the patroness of the Franciscan
Third Order (tertiary) and of all Catholic Charities. Find out more about what
a third order is, particularly the Franciscan Third Order.
·
See Nameday
Ideas for St. Elizabeth, including dessert and symbols and prayers.
·
Follow these links for some wonderful works of
art of St. Elizabeth:
o Anonymous
Sienese medallion (XIV Century): St.
Elizabeth of Hungary
o Collinson,
James: St. Elizabeth of Hungary
o Martini,
Simone: St. Clare and St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
o Martini,
Simone: St. Elizabeth, St. Margaret and Henry of Hungary
Catechism of the Catholic
Church
Day 158
Holy images
1159 The sacred image, the
liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot represent the
invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of God has
ushered in a new "economy" of images:
Previously
God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by
an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived
with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God . . . and contemplate
the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled.
1160 Christian iconography
expresses in images the same Gospel message that Scripture communicates by
words. Image and word illuminate each other:
We declare
that we preserve intact all the written and unwritten traditions of the Church
which have been entrusted to us. One of these traditions consists in the
production of representational artwork, which accords with the history of the
preaching of the Gospel. For it confirms that the incarnation of the Word of
God was real and not imaginary, and to our benefit as well, for realities that
illustrate each other undoubtedly reflect each other's meaning.
1161 All the signs in the
liturgical celebrations are related to Christ: as are sacred images of the holy
Mother of God and of the saints as well. They truly signify Christ, who is
glorified in them. They make manifest the "cloud of
witnesses" who continue to participate in the salvation of the world
and to whom we are united, above all in sacramental celebrations. Through their
icons, it is man "in the image of God," finally transfigured
"into his likeness," who is revealed to our faith. So too are
the angels, who also are recapitulated in Christ:
Following
the divinely inspired teaching of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the
Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who
dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like
the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of
our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother
of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted
or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy
churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses
and on streets.
1162 "The beauty of the
images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights the eyes and subtly
infuses the soul with the glory of God." Similarly, the contemplation
of sacred icons, united with meditation on the Word of God and the singing of
liturgical hymns, enters into the harmony of the signs of celebration so that
the mystery celebrated is imprinted in the heart's memory and is then expressed
in the new life of the faithful.
National UnFriend a
frenemy[5]
National UnFriend Day (NUD) is an unofficial holiday
designed to promote unfriending other Facebook users that are not true friends.
Social media now provides access to just about anyone, anywhere on the
globe.
However, this easy global access exposes personal
information to theft or misuse and unnecessary cluttering by other's junk
posts. In this digital age, it is imperative that identities remain protected,
and that time spent on social media be reduced and replaced by face-to-face
human interaction. National UnFriend Day was originally conceived and proposed
by TV personality Jimmy Kimmel on November 17, 2010 in an effort to remind
society of the true meaning of friendship.
Kimmel believes that there are many Facebook offenses that can lead to
unfriending someone, some of which include, posting too much, spell-checking
too little, repetitively posting the same kind of material, not googling before
asking questions, being on Facebook all the time and sending in-app Facebook
requests for games. In addition to unfriending irritating offenders, it is
advisable to unfriend those whom you no longer have steady contact with and any
unknown users that may have access to your information and posts.
National
UnFriend Day Facts & Quotes
·
According to a report by Common Sense Media, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to helping navigate the world of media and
technology, teenagers spend about 9 hours a day consuming media, 1.5 hours
of which is spent on social media.
· As of January 2016, compared to other social networks, Facebook is the leading social network with approximately 1.6 billion active monthly users. This is in comparison to WhatsApp (900 million active monthly users), Instagram (400 million active monthly users) and Twitter (320 million active monthly users).
·
The average Facebook user has 338 friends.
27% of young Facebook users have more than 500 friends, compared an
average of 100 friends for 72% of Facebook users who are older than 65 years of
age.
·
36% of Facebook users strongly dislike it when
someone shares too much information or photos about themselves, as well as when
they post photos of others without asking for permission.
·
I encourage you to cut out some of the friend
fat in your life. A friend is someone you have a special relationship
with. It's not someone who asks which Harry Potter character you are. - Jimmy
Kimmel, November 2010
National
UnFriend Day Top Events and Things to Do
·
Go through your privacy settings on Facebook.
Keep in mind that some of the people that you have previously friended may not
be friends at all. Your privacy settings can control who is able to see your
content and whose content will show up on your news feed.
·
Decide who you are going to unfriend on
Facebook. Facebook also offers the possibility of making friends into
acquaintances. Your acquaintance list can then be separated from your friend
list, allowing you to publish and read 'friend-only' content.
·
Review your posting habits. Have you been
posting too much content, or have you been posting photos of your friends,
without receiving permission? Check to see whether you have also violated any
Facebook UnFriend Day Offenses as defined by Jimmy Kimmel.
1) Stand by Me (1986)
2) The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
3) Good Will Hunting (1997)
4) The Intouchables (2011)
5) The Social Network (2010)
6) The Bucket List (2007)
7) As Good as it Gets (1997)
Daily Devotions/Practices
·
Today in honor of the
Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no
shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
Today's Fast: Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Individuals
with Mental Illness
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary.
Introduction to Tobit[6]
Tobit,
a devout and wealthy Israelite living among the captives deported to Nineveh
from the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722/721 B.C., suffers severe reverses
and is finally blinded. Because of his misfortunes he begs the Lord to let him
die. But recalling the large sum he had formerly deposited in far-off Media, he
sends his son Tobiah there to bring back the money. In Media, at this same
time, a young woman, Sarah, also prays for death, because she has lost seven
husbands, each killed in turn on his wedding night by the demon Asmodeus.
God hears the prayers of Tobit and Sarah and sends the angel Raphael in human
form to aid them both.
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