Rosary Roadmap of Salvation

Friday, February 7, 2025



February 7 First Friday

MARRIAGE WEEK-Ballet

 Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verse 1-8

1 Let mutual love continue. 2Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. 3Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body. 4Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. 5Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” 6Thus we may say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper, [and] I will not be AFRAID. What can anyone do to me?” 7Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verse’ 1-6 show the following ways of living to demonstrate true love or charity.

The true meaning of love is to seek the good of the other as other.

·         In all that you do be an agent of hospitality.


·         That is to be generous. Even the poor can be rich in their praise and love of others. Share not only your time, talent and treasure but truly give of yourself to others of your intellect, emotional support, and physical presence. A good guide is the spiritual works of mercy: instruct the ignorant; counsel the doubtful; admonish sinners; bear wrongs patiently; forgive offences willingly; comfort the afflicted; pray for the living and the dead.

·         Do what you can to free others of their prisons whether these are self-imposed i.e. addictions or through ignorance.

·         A good guide is the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; harbor the harbor-less; visit the sick; ransom the captive; bury the dead.

·         Marriage is the physical reality of our soul’s marriage to God through the Holy Spirit; therefore.

·         If married love and honor your wife; be chase in spirit whether married or single knowing that marriage is the physical sign of your union with God. Disdain any kind of sexual defilement.

·         Avoid the love of money.

·         Seek simplicity and contentment. Treat all the wealth you have as if it were Gods; on loan to you to build the Kingdom; which it is. You can do this if you know and trust God will never forsake you or abandon you.

Render unto Caesar[1]

This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.

 John F. Kennedy

Have we become a soulless Nation? Have we in the pursuit of happiness; ignored the Gospel of Life. Realizing that if we put success or liberty as greater values than life that we are serving Caesar and not God. To understand this, we need to review the US Bishops “The Gospel of Life”.

 

The Gospel of Life[2] 




Brothers and sisters in the Lord:

At the conclusion of the 1998 ad limina visits of the bishops of the United States, our Holy Father Pope John Paul II spoke these words:


Today I believe the Lord is saying to us all: do not hesitate, do not be afraid to engage the good fight of the faith (cf. I Tim 6:12).  When we preach the liberating message of Jesus Christ we are offering the words of life to the world.  Our prophetic witness is an urgent and essential service not just to the Catholic community but to the whole human family. 

In this statement we attempt to fulfill our role as teachers and pastors in proclaiming the Gospel of Life.  We are confident that the proclamation of the truth in love is an indispensable way for us to exercise our pastoral responsibility.

"Your country stands upon the world scene as a model of a democratic society at an advanced stage of development.  Your power of example carries with it heavy responsibilities.  Use it well, America!"    --Pope John Paul II, Newark, 1995

When Henry Luce published his appeal for an "American century" in 1941, he could not have known how the coming reality would dwarf his dream.  Luce hoped that the "engineers, scientists, doctors . . . builders of roads [and] teachers" of the United States would spread across the globe to promote economic success and American ideals: "a love of freedom, a feeling for the quality of opportunity, a tradition of self-reliance and independence and also cooperation." Exactly this, and much more, has happened in the decades since.  U.S. economic success has reshaped the world.  But the nobility of the American experiment flows from its founding principles, not from its commercial power.  In this century alone, hundreds of thousands of Americans have died defending those principles.  Hundreds of thousands more have lived lives of service to those principles -- both at home and on other continents -- teaching, advising and providing humanitarian assistance to people in need.  As Pope John Paul has observed, "At the center of the moral vision of [the American] founding documents is the recognition of the rights of the human person . . ."  The greatness of the United States lies "especially [in its] respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life in all conditions and at all stages of development."

 

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I consecrated you; a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
--Jeremiah 1:5

 

First Friday[3]




Learn about devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the graces that come from observing First Fridays.

It is no wonder, therefore, that our predecessors have constantly defended this most approved form of devotion — the pious devotion of the faithful toward the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus [and] the custom of receiving Holy Communion on the first Friday of every month at the desire of Christ Jesus, a custom which now prevails everywhere.—Pope Pius XI Miserentissimus Redemptor

Whats so special about First Fridays?

Our parents grew up going to church every First Friday of the month and taking part in Sacred Heart devotions, but in recent decades the pious practice has fallen out of practice and is dismissed by some as an old-fashioned anachronism. A main reason for the decline in interest in this devotion is probably rooted in simple ignorance: people dont know what First Fridays all are about; families and parishes may not have adequately passed down their importance to the next generation. Here are five things to know.

How did the First Friday Devotion begin?

While some saints referenced the Heart of Jesus in their writings even centuries earlier, in 1673, a French Visitandine (Visitation) nun named Margaret Mary Alacoque had visions of Jesus, wherein he asked the Church to honor His Most Sacred Heart. In particular, Jesus asked the faithful to receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months. The request was connected to a specific promise made to all who venerated and promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart. After Margaret Marys death, the First Friday practice steadily spread in the Church endorsed by popes and promoted by saints — but it greatly increased in popularity when Margaret Mary was canonized a saint in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

Why nine consecutive months?

The number nine is traditionally associated with a novena and finds its origin in the nine days that the apostles spent in prayer before Pentecost. A novena provides an extended amount of time for preparation and interior renewal.

What am I supposed to do on First Fridays?

Go to Mass and receive Holy Communion with the intention of honoring Christs Sacred Heart. If you are not in a state of grace, and thus unable to receive, you will also need to go to confession.

What are the “promises” connected to this devotion?

Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary, In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who will receive communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour. This means that if a person faithfully receives communion for nine consecutive months on First Fridays, Jesus will grant that person extra graces at the time of their death, making it possible to repent of their sins and receive the last rites (if needed).

This promise is the last of 12 promises connected to the Devotion to the Sacred Heart, particularly attached to the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in ones home:

(1) I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.

(2) I will establish peace in their homes.

(3) I will comfort them in all their afflictions.

(4) I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.

(5) I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

(6) Sinners will find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

(7) Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.

(8) Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.

(9) I will bless every place in which an image of my heart is exposed and honored.

10) I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.

(11) Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.

(12) I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

Are the First Fridays a “ticket” to heaven?

It is not as simple as going to Mass for nine months and then clocking out, never going to Mass again and leading a sinful life! The entire purpose of this devotion is to draw a person closer to the heart of Christ. If a person fulfills these obligations with sincere faith, it is natural for he or she to be closer to God and better prepared for death. The moment that this devotion is observed in a superstitious manner, neglecting the need to live a virtuous life, all bets are off and Jesus promise is null and void. Jesus wants us to rest on his heart, like St. John, and the First Friday devotion is an opportunity for us to encounter him more than just on Sundays and to deepen our love of him. Coming to know, love and trust that we may take rest in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and place our anxieties within, is what the First Fridays are all about.

Marriage Week[4] February 7-14 


Simon Peter and the other fishermen are astonished at the catch that reveals Jesus as Lord. Jesus’ response to Simon Peter is reassuring: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men”. Once again, the fisherman of Galilee places his trust in the words of Jesus and leaves everything to follow Him. James and John also do the same; from now on, they will be ‘fishers of men’. Jesus invites them to share in His mission, the mission of the Church. As baptized, we all partake in the mission of Jesus Christ, priest, prophet, and king. As married men and women, the calling is lived out in a concrete home and family. How does your life as a couple, as parents, as godparents, or in another way, touch the lives of your family? How are you witnesses and bearers of the Gospel?

 

What Is Marriage?[5]

 

Marriage is a lifelong partnership of the whole of life, of mutual and exclusive fidelity, established by mutual consent between a man and a woman, and ordered towards the good of the spouses and the procreation of offspring. As the Second Vatican Council reminds us, marriage is not a purely human institution: the intimate partnership of life and the love which constitutes the married state has been established by the creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. . .. For God himself is the author of marriage. Moreover, God has endowed marriage with certain essential attributes, without which marriage cannot exist as he intends.

 

The Church has taught through the ages that marriage is an exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. This union, once validly entered and consummated, gives rise to a bond that cannot be dissolved by the will of the spouses. Marriage thus created is a faithful, privileged sphere of intimacy between the spouses that lasts until death.

 

Marriage is not merely a private institution, however. It is the foundation for the family, where children learn the values and virtues that will make good Christians as well as good citizens. The importance of marriage for children and for the upbringing of the next generation highlights the importance of marriage for all society.


 

Conjugal love, the love proper to marriage, is present in the commitment to the complete and total gift of self between husband and wife. Conjugal love establishes a unique communion of persons through the relationship of mutual self-giving and receiving between husband and wife, a relationship by which ―a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body [flesh]‖(Gn 2:24).The Second Vatican Council speaks about conjugal love in words of great beauty: The Lord, wishing to bestow special gifts of grace and divine love on married love, has restored, perfected, and elevated it. A love like that, bringing together the human and the divine, leads the partners to a free and mutual self-giving, experienced in tenderness and action, and permeating their entire lives; this love is actually developed and increased by its generous exercise in conjugal love one can see something of how Christ loves his Church (Eph 5:25). 

Resources 

·         On marriages in crisis –For Your Marriage list of ministries that help married couples in difficulty or crisis.

·         On healthy sexuality within marriage –Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae,1968.

·         On divorce –USCCB, Divorce and the Church’s Healing Ministry, 2010.

·         On lust and pornography –USCCB: Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography, 2015 and Clean Heart series of pamphlets, 2016.

·         USCCB, Pastoral Letter Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, 2009.

·         USCCB, For Your Marriage website: foryourmarriage.org.

·         USCCB, Por Tu Matrimonio website: portumatrimonio.org.

Great relationships don’t happen by accident[6]

Just like that sweet little vegetable patch in your backyard, the more you nurture and nourish your relationship the happier you’ll both be. And what does that look like? Quality nourishment requires pausing, listening, and paying attention to your partner. It requires that you learn to love people in ways that are meaningful to them and listen when they tell you what their needs are.

Here are 10 ways you can nudge your relationship into a happier, healthier, more fulfilling version of itself.

1.      Stop pretending to be someone you’re not and just be yourself instead.

When we are who we really truly are – weird hobbies and all – magic happens. Being true to ourselves allows us to navigate life and relationships free of hang-ups, emotional baggage, or expectations. In the beginning stages of relationships, many of us focus on showcasing our best selves in an attempt to garner love and affection. We become ridiculously, painfully focused on making a good impression. But being who you really are and being who you think someone wants you to be – it’s hard to do those two things simultaneously. Take a deep breath, release those shoulders, and stop pretending and polishing yourself. Just be right here, who you are, today.

2.      Smile at your loved one

To the best of your ability, greet your partner with a smile when you see each other for the first time that day. Imagine how good that would feel – after a tough day at work and sitting in traffic, you walk through the door and are greeted with a smile and a kiss from the person you love most. Wouldn’t that be an amazing way to start your evening? This is not to say you’re never allowed to share the low points of your day, but maybe save them for dinner – rather than the first five minutes that you see your sweetie. Other great times to smile at your partner: across a crowded party, before you part ways for the day, when you know they need encouragement.

3.      Realize things change.


We’re living, breathing organisms – subject to the changing tides of emotion and circumstance. It can be emotionally crippling to get too attached to the “status quo” – not just in your romantic relationships but in life. Change is inevitable. Next week your partner might wake up and want to change careers, move to the east coast, or have kids (like, soon). Can you allow space for that? Could you create a new life with him while he pursued something new? And, of course, things will change for you – your passions, your career, your family, your health. When your partner tells you that they’ve got some big changes in mind – a new workout plan, a move to the country, no more dairy – do your best to listen with an open mind and heart.

4.      Work out together.

Exercise gives you energy and is a wonderful way to show your partner that you’re interested in your health and you want to stay healthy for them. Trying new workouts together also helps you bond! Take a couple’s yoga class, a hip-hop dance class, or try rock climbing. Even if you’re terrible, later you’ll be able to laugh together about his terrible downward dog or your total failure to pop ‘n lock.

5.      If you want quality time with your significant other, plan it.

You’ve heard this advice before and that’s because it works! Make time for thrilling exciting things – not just birthdays and anniversaries. As your weekend winds down, take a few minutes to schedule at least one fun date each week – whether that’s trying a new restaurant, going for a hike, or catching a movie at the second-run theater. Fun things happen when you make time and space for them.

6.      Express your needs.

Some people like to text every day. Some people need a lot of alone time. Some people want their partner to plan exciting dates. All of these needs are equally legitimate. But your partner will never know what your needs are if you don’t tell them. You don’t need to open a first date with a checklist, but once things are clicking along, it’s okay to say, “I want you to feel loved and appreciated. How can I do that?” and when you’ve heard their suggestions, you can share yours. When they do what you asked? Offer lots and lots of acknowledgement and appreciation.

7.      Give without any expectations.


I know it’s incredibly tempting (so tempting!) to keep a mental list of all the nice things you’ve done for your sweetie.

·         Picked up a new yoga mat because I saw hers was deteriorating.

·         Made a reservation for dinner Friday.

·         Bought his mom’s birthday present.

This mentality will only end in tears and resentment. We can nourish our relationships by removing the expectation that they to do the same things that we have done for them. Let your partner give to you because they want to, not because they feel as though they owe you.

8.      Don’t stop caring about how you look!

Male or female, we’ve all done this, right? Constantly hanging out in our old gym clothes and dirty hair, eating pizza for dinner three times a week. You want to find your partner attractive and – not surprisingly – they want to find you attractive. Help them do that by keeping up with your workouts and saving sweatpants for alone time.

9.      Cultivate intimacy and independence.

It might sound counterintuitive, but you can connect while also retaining autonomy. Don’t stop doing the things that filled you up now that you’ve found a partner. Keep attending those pottery classes, keep working on your novel – and keep telling your partner all about it and why you love it. Just as important? Give them the space to pursue a few passions without you. You’ll both be that much more excited to come home and tell each other about your adventures.

10.  Inspire your partner by loving yourself fiercely.


The more you love yourself; the more others will follow your lead. We’ve all witnessed it: the confident woman who maintains healthy boundaries always seems to attract amazing partners. Do your best to identify your needs and meet those needs yourself. Need creative inspiration? Rather than trying to date an artist or force your accountant boyfriend to take drawing classes, buy a DSLR and get to shooting. Crave a more active social life? Don’t hassle your introverted girlfriend into house parties and nights out. Call up your most outgoing friends and schedule a night out, complete with cute shoes and cocktails. We teach people how to treat us and when you nourish yourself with love and respect, the world – and your partner – take notice.

Ballet Day[7]Beauty is the Foretaste of Heaven

 

When life takes me on a new journey, I simply remember the smile my first ballet recital put on my face, and I move forward.
– Andrea Thompson

 

There’s something magical about going to ballet. The music, the outfits, the utter passion of the dance as the ballet artists lose themselves to the performance, all of it comes together to create a beautiful, otherworldly experience for those in attendance. There is an almost magical power in their graceful movements across the stage, like flower petals on a stiffening breeze. Ballet Day encourages you to get out and see the ballet again, or for the first time if you haven’t already. Ballet found its origins during the Renaissance throughout Italy and France, though it had yet to evolve into the form we know it today. There were no tutus, no ballet slippers, and the iconic pointe work of ballet were all things to come in the future. It found roots in court dances, and thus incorporated the proper dance dress of women at the time, formal gowns that descended to the ankle. Unlike modern performances, the audience would join the dance as it came to a close. Later, it would come to take influences from the French ballet de cour, a form of performance which were performed strictly by the nobility, and would blend dance with speech, music, verse, song, and a great amount of pageantry. Ballet was beginning to take the shape we know of today, and it was here that it developed into a true art form. Since then, it has spread throughout the world, from Russia to Germany, and is loved everywhere for its intrinsic beauty. Since then, it has been driven to new artistic heights and embraced multiple cultures, and Ballet Day encourages you to get out and experience its beauty for yourself.


 

How to celebrate Ballet Day


Go to the ballet! That’s the first and best way.
World Ballet Day is a yearly organized event that celebrates the beauty of ballet and what it’s become in the world today. Events are held all over the world, and videos are taken, so don’t think you have to miss out on this beautiful expression of the arts simply because you aren’t able to get out to see them. Ballet will come home to you! So, get out there and get yourself some culture!

 Fitness Friday-Recognizing that God the Father created man on Friday the 6th day I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and renew yourself in strength, mind, soul and heart.

 

When the fast is over make some Minestrone di riso.
 

Daily Devotions 

·         Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy Bishops and Cardinals

·         Religion in the Home for Preschool: February

·         Enjoy a hot chocolate today

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Universal Man Plan

·         Make Minestrone

·         Rosary










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