Army Navy Game Today
Vinny’s Corner
· Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
- Jesse Tree ornament: Joseph: Matt. 1:18-25 Symbols: hammer, saw, chisel, angle
· How to celebrate Dec 14th
o You wake up to the sun shining through your window, ready to embark on a day filled with surprising delights. Begin your day by embracing your playful side and celebrating Monkey Day. Visit a nearby zoo or wildlife sanctuary to observe these curious creatures up close. If that’s not an option, spend some time watching funny monkey videos online for a good chuckle.
o Moving on to National Alabama Day, why not explore the culture of the southern state by whipping up a batch of homemade Southern comfort food? Cook up some classic dishes like fried green tomatoes or shrimp and grits to transport your taste buds to the heart of Alabama.
o Next, channel your inner entrepreneur on Sustainable Entrepreneurship Day. Support local businesses by shopping at a farmer’s market or thrift store. Get creative by upcycling old items into new treasures or starting a mini herb garden on your windowsill.
o Spread some positivity on More Good Today Day by performing random acts of kindness. Whether it’s buying a coffee for a stranger or leaving an uplifting note for a loved one, brighten someone’s day with a small gesture of kindness.
33 days to Christmas-Start the 33 days to Eucharistic Glory[5]
Want to start a small group? Download our 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory Study Guide
Day 17
On this 17th day, to have a mind filled with victory through humble obedience to your will.
Copilot:
To cultivate a mind filled with victory through humble obedience to God's will, consider these spiritual practices and reflections:
Daily Spiritual Practices
- Prayer for Guidance: Start your day with a prayer asking God for the wisdom to understand His will and the humility to follow it. Prayers like the Prayer of Surrender or St. Ignatius' Prayer for Generosity can be particularly powerful.
- Meditation on Scriptures: Reflect on passages that emphasize victory through obedience and humility. For example, Philippians 2:5-11 describes Christ's humility and obedience, leading to ultimate victory.
Strengthening Obedience and Humility
- Sacraments: Regular participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, provides grace and strength to follow God's will.
- Spiritual Reflection: Spend time reflecting on areas in your life where you can grow in humility and obedience. Consider keeping a journal to document your thoughts and progress.
Reflecting on Victory through Obedience
- Acts of Service: Engage in acts of service and kindness, seeing them as opportunities to practice humility and obey God's call to love others.
- Gratitude Practices: Cultivate a mindset of gratitude by acknowledging the victories and blessings in your life, both big and small, that come from following God's will.
Example Prayer for Humble Obedience
Here’s a prayer to help you seek victory through humble obedience:
Heavenly Father, Grant me the grace to humbly obey Your will in all things. Fill my mind with the wisdom to understand Your guidance, And the strength to follow it with a humble heart. May Your will be done in my life, Leading me to victory through faith and trust in You. Amen.
DECEMBER 14 Saturday-St. John of
the Cross
Roast Chestnuts Day
1
Corinthians, chapter 2, Verse 3-5
3I came to you in weakness and FEAR and much trembling, 4and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive (words of) wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
It
is God’s desire that we be wise not in the way of the world but in the ways of
eternity.
Human wisdom[1]
Greek tradition of wisdom was based in argumentations. The Greeks lived to argue. Arguments (discussions) & logics were entertainments. Interests in philosophies and rhetoric was based not only what is said, but how it is said. Always looking for something profound (deep meaning)
Jews have their
wisdom tradition which includes the wisdom Literatures.
1. Job – story of a man who did right
& suffers
2. Psalms – classic wisdom, praise,
laments, etc
3. Proverbs – classic wisdom: do right
& no suffering
4. Ecclesiastes – meaning of life
5. Song of Songs – intimate relationship with God
Gnostics tradition of wisdom and knowledge was a heresy in the early church, a bad theology based on “Secret knowledge” that is needed for salvation. All matters are evil, spirit is good. Gnostics denied the humanity of Christ “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel –not with words of (human) wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power (made void)” “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” The Cross – is the Message. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
St. John of the Cross[2]
Juan de Yepes was the Castilian son of a poor silk weaver of Fontiberos, Toledo, Spain and was born in 1542. His father was of noble birth; he had married much beneath him, and for that offense had been entirely cut off by his family. He had taken to silk weaving as a means of livelihood but had never been able to make much of it. Soon after the birth of Juan he died, worn out with the effort to keep his wife and three children. The family was left in direst poverty; the children grew up always underfed, so that to the end of his life Juan remained dwarfed in stature.
Unable to learn a trade, he became the servant of the poor in the hospital of Medina, while still pursuing his sacred studies. In 1563, being then twenty-one, he humbly offered himself as a lay brother to the Carmelite friars, who, however, knowing his talents, had him ordained priest. He would now have exchanged to the severe Carthusian Order, had not St. Teresa of Avila, with the instinct of a saint, persuaded him to remain and help her in the reform of his own Order.
Thus, he became the first prior of the Discalced (meaning "barefoot") Carmelites. His reform, though approved by the general, was rejected by the elder friars, who condemned the saint as a fugitive and an apostrophe, and cast him into prison, whence he only escaped, after nine months' suffering, at the risk of his life. Twice again, before his death, he was shamefully persecuted by his brethren, and publicly disgraced. But his complete abandonment by creatures only deepened his interior peace and devout longing for heaven.
St. John was a great contemplative and spiritual writer. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI on August 24, 1926. He is the patron of contemplative life, mystical theology, mystics, and Spanish poets.
—Excerpted from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints ©1878 and Saints for Sinners by Alban Goodier, S.J.
"With what procrastinations do you wait, since from this very moment you can love God in your heart?"
—Excerpted from Prayer of a Soul Taken with Love — St. John of the Cross
Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage your self in something less or pay heed to the crumbs that fall from your Father's table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart.
—Excerpted from Sayings of Light and Love, 26-27 —St. John of the Cross
Patronage: Contemplative life;
contemplatives; mystical theology; mystics; Spanish poets; Segovia, Spain; Ta’
Xbiex, Malta
Symbols and Representation: eagle; priest in Carmelite robes holding a cross
Highlights and Things to Do:
·
See Celebrating the Feast of St. John of the Cross for ideas.
·
Read more about
St. John of the Cross at the ICS website.
·
Three of his
works, Ascent of Mount Carmel, Dark Night of the Soul and Spiritual
Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ are available online at the Christian
Classics Ethereal Library.
Find
out more about the Discalced Carmelites, which is the Carmelite order St. John
belonged. Discalced simply means "unshod or barefooted" which means
this division of Carmelites either wear sandals or are barefooted.
·
Learn more
about St. John of the Cross:
St. John of the Cross-Advent Calendar[3]
Read: St. John of the Cross, who we honor today, was known for his deep spirituality and compassion.
Reflect: "We must dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides." —St. John of the Cross
Pray: Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy today.
Act: Brainstorm ideas for how you can live out your call to "imbue every area of social life with the spirit of the Gospel" as an active citizen. For ideas, visit the Faithful Citizenship website.
Spiritual Crib[4]
A special devotion that can be performed during Advent to prepare for the coming of the Infant Savior. It can be adapted for adults and/or children and applied as is appropriate to your state in life.
· 4th day, December 14th: THE ROOF—Self-denial Today we must practice self-denial in everything great or small. We must therefore do the very things from which nature shrinks, and if opportunity permits, abstain from some amusement in whatever way it presents itself. No TV today
Catechism of the Catholic
Church
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN
MYSTERY
SECTION TWO-THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS
OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER ONE-THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN
INITIATION
Article 3-THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST
V. The Sacramental Sacrifice Thanksgiving, Memorial, Presence
Day
185
1356 If from
the beginning Christians have celebrated the Eucharist and in a form whose
substance has not changed despite the great diversity of times and liturgies,
it is because we know ourselves to be bound by the command the Lord gave on the
eve of his Passion: "Do this in remembrance of me."
1357 We carry
out this command of the Lord by celebrating the memorial of his sacrifice. In
so doing, we offer to the Father what he has himself given us: the gifts of his
creation, bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the
words of Christ, have become the body and blood of Christ. Christ is thus
really and mysteriously made present.
1358 We must
therefore consider the Eucharist as: - thanksgiving and praise to the Father;
- the sacrificial memorial of Christ and his Body;
- the presence of Christ by the power of his word and of his Spirit.
Thanksgiving and praise to the
Father
1359 The
Eucharist, the sacrament of our salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross,
is also a sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for the work of creation. In the
Eucharistic sacrifice the whole of creation loved by God is presented to the
Father through the death and the Resurrection of Christ. Through Christ the
Church can offer the sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for all that God has
made good, beautiful, and just in creation and in humanity.
1360 The
Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the
Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has
accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means
first of all "thanksgiving."
1361 The
Eucharist is also the sacrifice of praise by which the Church sings the glory
of God in the name of all creation. This sacrifice of praise is possible only
through Christ: he unites the faithful to his person, to his praise, and to his
intercession, so that the sacrifice of praise to the Father is offered through
Christ and with him, to be accepted in him.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Catholic
Politicians & Leaders
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary.
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