Candace’s Corner-Try “St. Emilion Wines”
· Pray Day 7 of the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
· Tuesday: Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
· Carnival Time begins in Catholic Countries.
· National Pass Gas Day careful not to shart
· Bucket List trip: See Great Wall of China
· Nicolas Cage’s birthday 1960
· Plan winter fun:
· Soak in hot springs
· Hit the snow slopes
· Ride a snowmobile
· Go for a dog sled ride
· Ride a hot air balloon
January 7 Tuesday After Epiphany
ST RAYMOND-Orthodox Christmas-Distaff Day
Psalm 103, Verse 11
For as the heavens tower over the earth, so his mercy towers over those who FEAR him.
The earth is indeed blessed among all the planets in our solar system because of our heaven. As the heavens have made the earth a garden rich with life like so is God grace over those who are faithful and love Him.
Never forget our Lord asked Peter if he loves Him three times. One time for each of the times Peter denied our Lord on the eve of His crucifixion thus nullifying Peter’s denials and restoring him. Christ asks Peter with each affirmation to 1) feed His lambs 2) tend His sheep and 3) feed His sheep.
First Christ asked Peter if he loves Him more than the others thus establishing Peters leadership on love. Next Christ tells Peter to feed His lambs to give them a core of strength. If we wish to develop strength in ourselves and others it is imperative that we give hope, confidence, a work ethic, confidence, resilience, self-control, and courage to the lambs in our charge.
Secondly Christ asks Peter to “tend His sheep” or that is to give a firm purpose to direct their efforts to create the Kingdom of God.
Lastly Christ asks Peter to “Feed His sheep” by having an understanding heart and to be compassionate, faithful, merciful, tolerant, forgiving, and generous.
How God Raises a Leader[1] (Psalm 103: 1-5)
1. God pardons (v.3) leaders must push past shame or blame.
2.
God
heals (v.3) they must become
healthy and be liberated from old wounds.
3.
God
redeems (v.4) they see their abilities and personality redeemed.
4.
God
crowns (v.4) they are given gifts and a place to serve.
5.
God
satisfies (v.5) they feel satisfied and fulfilled as they live out their
role.
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Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men." But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying
St. Raymond of Penafort - Day Fourteen[2]
St.
Raymond devoted much of his life to helping the poor. The famous incident which
is recounted in the story of Raymond's life took place when he went with King
James to Majorca. The King dismissed Raymond's request to return home. Relying
on his faith and love of God, Raymond walked on the waves to his ship, spread
his cloak to make a sail, made the sign of the cross then sailed to the distant
harbor of Barcelona.
For
St. Raymond's feast we should remember that "caroling and storytelling
belong to the whole Christmas season. Hospitality and giving to others also
must continue if true Christmas joy is to remain. An outing to which friends
are invited or a party that includes a round of caroling become perhaps even
more appropriate with the approach of Epiphany." — Excerpted from The
Twelve Days of Christmas
·
Day Fourteen activity (Legend of the Little Girl)
·
Day Fourteen recipe (Christstollen)
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day
209
1426
Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and
the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us "holy and
without blemish," just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is
"holy and without blemish." Nevertheless the new life received in
Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human
nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence, which
remains in the baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ they may
prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life. This is the struggle
of conversion directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never
ceases to call us.
III. The Conversion of the Baptized
1427 Jesus
calls to conversion. This call is an essential part of the proclamation of the
kingdom: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;
repent, and believe in the gospel." In the Church's preaching this
call is addressed first to those who do not yet know Christ and his Gospel.
Also, Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion.
It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism that one renounces evil and
gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.
1428 Christ's
call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. This second
conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, "clasping
sinners to her bosom, (is) at once holy and always in need of purification,
(and) follows constantly the path of penance and renewal." This
endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a
"contrite heart," drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful
love of God who loved us first.
1429 St.
Peter's conversion after he had denied his master three times bears witness to
this. Jesus' look of infinite mercy drew tears of repentance from Peter and,
after the Lord's resurrection, a threefold affirmation of love for
him. The second conversion also has a communitarian dimension, as is clear
in the Lord's call to a whole Church: "Repent!"
St. Ambrose
says of the two conversions that, in the Church, "there are water and
tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance."
IV. Interior Penance
1430 Jesus'
call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not
aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and
mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without
this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion
urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance.
1431 Interior
repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion
to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with
repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it
entails the desire and resolution to change one's life, with hope in God's
mercy and trust in the help of his grace. This conversion of heart is
accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the Fathers called animi
cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart).
1432 The human
heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart. Conversion is
first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our hearts return to him:
"Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be restored!" God
gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of
God's love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins
to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. The human heart is
converted by looking upon him whom our sins have pierced:
Let us fix
our eyes on Christ's blood and understand how precious it is to his Father,
for, poured out for our salvation it has brought to the whole world the grace
of repentance
Orthodox Christmas[3]
Well,
if you have not got enough of the Christmas Season you can always celebrate
with the Orthodox Catholics.
Some Orthodox Christians celebrate
Christmas on December 25th, but others mark the birth of Jesus on a variety of
dates including January 7th and January 19th. It depends on which calendar the
particular church follows - while western Christendom has adopted the Gregorian
calendar, some Orthodox churches use the older Julian calendar to calculate the
dates for holy feast days. December 25th on the original Julian calendar falls
on January 7th of our calendar. Most Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on
this date; however, some churches, including Armenian orthodox Christians use
the revised Julian calendar and their Christmas falls on January 19th of our
calendar. While Christmas is a very important religious celebration for
Orthodox Christians, it falls second to Easter which they consider to be the
most important date in the religious calendar.
Religious Observance of Orthodox
Christmas
·
Traditionally,
when the first star appears on Christmas Eve Eastern Orthodox Christians will
break their fast with a celebratory meal.
·
Also,
on Christmas Eve, traditionally Orthodox Christians will cut a branch from a
tree and bring it into their home, as a symbol that Jesus is entering their
house and their hearts.
·
A
prayer and blessing will be said before the Christmas Eve feast begins, and the
head of the family will greet each person present with the traditional
Christmas greeting of 'Christ is born'
to which the response is 'Glorify him!'.
Then the bread will be torn by hand and shared with all present. Some families
will have straw scattered around the table, as a reminder of Jesus's birth in
the manger.
·
On
Christmas Day, Orthodox Christians will attend Divine Liturgy, which will
usually be a little longer than usual due to being an exceptional religious
holiday. It is traditional to light candles in honor of Jesus, as light of the
world.
·
Afterwards
people walk in procession to a sea, lake or river. The water will be blessed as
part of an outdoor ceremony, and some people will take the blessed water back
to their homes.
Orthodox Christmas Top Events and
Things to Do[4]
·
Attend
an Orthodox Christmas service. Orthodox Christianity is popular in Greek
and Slavic-language communities, including Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian,
Macedonian communities.
·
Go
on a fast or diet leading up to Orthodox Christmas. Try eliminating meat
and animal foods from your diet.
·
Go
for dinner at the Russian or Greek Restaurant. Many will serve specials
to commemorate this holiday.
Distaff Day[5], also called Roc Day, is 7 January, the day after
the traditional feast of the Epiphany. It is also known as Saint Distaff's Day, one of the many
unofficial holidays in Catholic nations. The distaff, or rock, used in spinning
was the medieval symbol of women's work. In many European cultural traditions,
women resumed their household work after the twelve days of Christmas. Women of
all classes would spend their evenings spinning on the wheel. During the day,
they would carry a drop spindle with them. Spinning was the only means of
turning raw wool, cotton or flax into thread, which could then be woven into
cloth. Men have their own way of celebrating this occasion; this is done
through Plough Monday. It is the first Monday after Epiphany where men are supposed
to get back to work. Every few years, Distaff Day and Plough Monday falls on
the same day. Often the men and women would play pranks on each other during
this celebration, as was written by Robert
Herrick in his
poem "Saint Distaff’s day, or the Morrow After Twelfth Day" which
appears in his Hesperides.
Time
after Epiphany[6]
The central theme of
Advent and Christmastide, the manifestation, or epiphany, of Jesus Christ, also dominates
the Weeks after Epiphany. That manifestation began selectively, first to Mary
(Ember Wednesday, Annunciation), then to Elizabeth and John the Baptist (Ember
Friday, Visitation), and then to Joseph (Vigil of Christmas). Next it grew
stronger with the adoration of the Shepherds (Christmas), the Magi at the
Manger (Epiphany), Simeon, Anna, and the Doctors in the Temple (Sunday after
Christmas, and Holy Family), and even to John the Baptist's disciples (Octave
of Epiphany).
But the epiphanies of
Jesus Christ did not end with these events. On the contrary, everything that
our Lord did and said during His public ministry was designed to manifest His
divine nature. It is the Time after
Epiphany that corresponds to this period of our Lord's life. The Epistle
selections, mostly from Paul's letter to the Romans, stress the calling of both
Jew and Gentile to the new revelations, while the Gospel selections narrate the
words and deeds of our Lord during His adult ministry in Galilee, the northern region of Israel
that was the scene of most of His public life. All of these readings give
witness to the astonishing fact that this itinerant preacher was the coeternal
Word of God, the Word who spoke as only God can speak and who worked miracles
that only the God of heaven and earth can work.
Thus, even though these
weeks, with their green vestments and annum (what is called
"Ordinary Time" in the new rite), they are more properly seen as
continuing the Christmas cycle's focus on "theophany". By helping us
to heed the words of Christ and understand the significance of His miracles,
the Time after Epiphany deepens our meditation on the mystery of the
Incarnation.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Protection
of Traditional Marriage
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1]John Maxwell, The Maxwell Leadership
Bible
[2]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-01-07
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