Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Dara’s Corner Try an “Misto Soup breakfast”
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National
Macadamia Nut Month-I was born in Hawaii
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Spirit hour:
Sicilian Wine in honor of St. Agatha
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Bucket List Trip:
Bahama Mon
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How to celebrate
Feb 5th
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Imagine
a day filled with unique activities. Start by checking the weather forecast to
plan outdoor fun in honor of the National Weatherperson’s Day. Hit a local park
for a game of soccer or host a mini Olympics with friends to celebrate National
Girls and Women in Sports Day. For a delicious twist, whip up some
Nutella treats to mark World Nutella
Day. Settle down with a good book and participate in a virtual
read-aloud session for World Read
Aloud Day.
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Indulge your
sweet tooth by melting chocolate for some fondue on National
Chocolate Fondue Day. If you’re into sports, design your own
personalized signing day ceremony to honor National
Signing Day. Get creative and bake some Runeberg cakes in tribute to
Runeberg Day.
Embrace the silly spirit and have a Fart Day contest with your pals for National Fart
Day.
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Unleash your
inner child by spending the day playing games and letting loose for Global School
Play Day. Learn about conservation efforts and monarch butterflies
on Western
Monarch Day. Take a moment to reflect on diplomacy and political
history in honor of Adlai
Stevenson Day. Lastly, wrap up your day by watching classic movies
and Broadway shows in support of the Move Hollywood & Broadway to Lebanon
idea.
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Mix and match
these activities to create a whimsical and enjoyable day full of surprises and
adventures. Remember, it’s all about celebrating the little things in life and
having fun with those around you. Enjoy your motley assortment of festivities!
February 5 First Wednesday
FEAST OF ST. AGATHA
Psalm 103, Verse 17-18
17
But the LORD’s mercy is from age to
age, toward those who FEAR him. His
salvation is for the children’s children 18 of
those who keep his covenant, and remember to carry out his precepts.
God the father wants to extend mercy to his children and their children’s children. God’s covenant is a covenant of love. Consider the gift of Christ to forgive not only a sinner but also his children as noted in the “drops of Christ’s blood devotion. God insists that we see the truth and follow it. He would not force us as our freedom is absolute; but he grieves when we just don’t get it. He invites, encourages, assists, and continues in drawing us to the truth. We must choose daily. God is faithful and offers us spiritual healing for the times we choose poorly through the sacrament of reconciliation. Many sadly do not seek his mercy. When we have our hearts open to and responding to God’s love, we begin to carry out his precepts and we are not alone. For we by the grace of God have the holy spirit and our assigned guardian angel to assist us.
Guardian Angels[1]
According to saint Jerome, the concept of guardian angels is in the "mind of the church". He stated: "how great the dignity of the soul is, since each one has from his birth an angel commissioned to guard it".
The first Christian theologian to outline a specific scheme for guardian angels was Honorius of Autum in the 12th century. He said that every soul was assigned a guardian angel the moment it was put into a body. Scholastic theologians augmented and ordered the taxonomy of angelic guardians. Thomas Aquinas agreed with Honorius and believed that it was the lowest order of angels who served as guardians, and his view was most successful in popular thought, but Duns Scotus said that any angel is bound by duty and obedience to the divine authority to accept the mission to which that angel is assigned. In the 15th century, the feast of the guardian angels was added to the official calendar of catholic holidays.
In his march 31, 1997 Regina Caeli address, Pope John Paul ii referred to the concept of guardian angels and concluded the address with the statement: "let us invoke the queen of angels and saints, that she may grant us, supported by our guardian angels, to be authentic witnesses to the lord's paschal mystery".
In cardinal Newman’s 1865 poem the dream of Gerontius, the departed soul is met by his guardian angel.
According to Aquinas, "on this road man is threatened by many dangers both from within and without, and therefore as guardians are appointed for men who have to pass by an unsafe road, so an angel is assigned to each man as long as he is a wayfarer." by means of an angel, God is said to introduce images and suggestions leading a person to do what is right.
Father Giovan Giuseppe Califano recounted how, one day, a newly appointed bishop confessed to pope john xxiii "that he could not sleep at night due to an anxiety which was caused by the responsibility of his office". "The pope told him, ‘You know, I also thought the same when I was elected pope. But one day, I dreamed about my guardian angel, and it told me not to take everything so seriously.’" pope john attributed the idea of calling second Vatican council to an inspiration from his guardian angel.
Saint Gemma Galgiani, a roman catholic mystic, stated that she had interacted with and spoken with her guardian angel. Saint Pio of Pietrelcina was known to instruct his parishioners to send him their guardian angel to communicate a trouble or issue to him when they could not travel to get to him, or another urgency existed.
First Wednesday[2]
Our Heavenly Father desires all three hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to be honored. And so along with devotion to Jesus on First Fridays, and to Mary on First Saturdays, Our Father longs for us to add devotion to St. Joseph on each First Wednesday of the month.
"The Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have been chosen by the Most Holy Trinity to bring peace to the world." It is at God's request that "special love and honor be given to them" to help us "imitate" their love and their lives, as well as "offer reparation" for the sins committed against them and their love.
The St. Joseph First Wednesday devotion is:
1. Pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary - remembering St. Joseph's love, his life, his role and his sufferings
2. Receive Holy Communion - in union with the love St. Joseph had for Jesus the first time and each time he held him - his son, his God and Savior - in his arms.
In the approved apparitions of Our Lady of America, St. Joseph revealed:
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"I
am the protector of the Church and the home, as I was the protector of Christ
and his Mother while I lived upon earth. Jesus and Mary desire that my pure
heart, so long hidden and unknown, be now honored in a special way.
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Let my
children honor my most pure heart in a special manner on the First Wednesday of
the month by reciting the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary in memory of my life
with Jesus and Mary and the love I bore them, the sorrow I suffered with them.
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Let them
receive Holy Communion in union with the love with which I received the Savior
for the first time and each time I held Him in my arms.
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Those
who honor me in this way will be consoled by my presence at their death, and I
myself will conduct them safely into the presence of Jesus and Mary."
Every Wednesday is
Dedicated to St. Joseph
The Italian culture has
always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make
Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or
spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass.
You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous, you
could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family
night perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.
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Do the St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan.
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Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph
FEAST of Saint AGATHA[3]
Agatha
came from Catania, a city in Sicily. I was stationed there while in the Navy
and lived in the small town of Nicolosi which was situated on the Volcano
(Etna) near the city of Catania. I was impressed and formed as a young man by
the faith and beauty of the people of Sicily.
Agatha
was born in Sicily and died there a martyr. She belonged to a rich, important
family. When she was young, she dedicated her life to God and resisted any men
who wanted to marry her or have sex with her. One of these men, Quintian, was
of a high enough rank that he felt he could force her to acquiesce. Knowing she
was a Christian in a time of persecution, he had her arrested and brought
before the judge - - himself. He expected her to give in to when faced with
torture and possible death, but she simply affirmed her belief in God by
praying: "Jesus Christ, Lord of all,
you see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep:
make me worthy to overcome the devil." Quintian imprisoned her in a
brothel in order to get her to change her mind.
He
brought her back before him after she had suffered a month of assault and
humiliation in the brothel, but Agatha had never wavered, proclaiming that her
freedom came from Jesus. Quintian sent her to prison, instead of back to the
brothel -- a move intended to make her more afraid, but which probably was a
great relief to her. When she continued to profess her faith in Jesus, He had
her tortured. He refused her any medical care, but God gave her all the care
she needed in the form of a vision of St. Peter. When she was tortured again,
she died after saying a final prayer: "Lord,
my Creator, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me
from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my
soul." Because one of the tortures she supposedly suffered was to have
her breasts cut off, she was often depicted carrying her breasts on a plate. It
is thought that blessing of the bread that takes place on her feast may have
come from the mistaken notion that she was carrying loaves of bread. Because
she was asked for help during the eruption of Mount Etna, she is considered a
protector against the outbreak of fire. She is also considered the patroness of
bell makers for an unknown reason -- though some speculate it may have
something to do with the fact that bells were used as fire alarms.
Prayer: Saint Agatha, you suffered sexual assault
and indignity because of your faith. Help heal all those who are survivors of
sexual assault and protect those women who are in danger. Amen
Things to
Do[4]
· Bake an Agatha loaf! On St. Agatha's feast day people would bake loaves attached to a picture of St. Agatha and prayers for protection from fires. The parish priests would bless the loaves, and people would keep them in their homes in case of a poor harvest and famine. The prayers would then be hung above the main door of each home to invoke St. Agatha's guardianship.
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Spanish tradition associates this feast day with
ancient fertility customs. Young men would visit many farms throughout the
countryside, singing songs of praise to St. Agatha and invoking God's blessing
upon people, animals, and fields. However, if they did not receive the
customary gifts of money or food for their services, they would call down a
'quick old age' upon the ungrateful inhabitants of that farm. Although most of
us do not live in such communities where this kind of custom would be practicable
or even understood, we can pray to St. Agatha for a greater openness to the
transmission of new life in our culture, and actively affirm and support young
couples with children whenever possible.
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St. Agatha is the patron saint against fire.
Take this day to establish a fire escape plan for the family and to practice a
family fire drill. Also check the smoke detectors, fire alarms, and carbon
monoxide detectors to see if they are all working. Change the batteries on all
the alarms!
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Day 238 1776-1782
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION ONE-MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
CHAPTER ONE-THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Article 6-MORAL CONSCIENCE
1776 "Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment.... For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God.... His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths."
I. The Judgment of Conscience
1777 Moral conscience, present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil. It bears witness to the authority of truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.
1778 Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law:
Conscience is a law of the mind; yet [Christians] would not grant that it is nothing more; I mean that it was not a dictate, nor conveyed the notion of responsibility, of duty, of a threat and a promise.... [Conscience] is a messenger of him, who, both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by his representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.
1779 It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself in order to hear and follow the voice of his conscience. This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self-examination or introspection:
Return to your conscience, question it.... Turn inward, brethren, and in everything you do, see God as your witness.
1780 The dignity of the human person implies and requires uprightness of moral conscience. Conscience includes the perception of the principles of morality (synderesis); their application in the given circumstances by practical discernment of reasons and goods; and finally, judgment about concrete acts yet to be performed or already performed. The truth about the moral good, stated in the law of reason, is recognized practically and concretely by the prudent judgment of conscience. We call that man prudent who chooses in conformity with this judgment.
1781 Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed. If man commits evil, the just judgment of conscience can remain within him as the witness to the universal truth of the good, at the same time as the evil of his particular choice. The verdict of the judgment of conscience remains a pledge of hope and mercy. In attesting to the fault committed, it calls to mind the forgiveness that must be asked, the good that must still be practiced, and the virtue that must be constantly cultivated with the grace of God:
We shall . . . reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
1782 Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. "He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters."
National Signing Day
National Signing Day marks the start of the college football signing season. From this day forward, high school football players can sign a National Letter of Intent to play football for a university in the National College Athletic Association (NCAA). The National Letter of Intent is a binding agreement between a potential student-athlete and a NLI member institution. Once signed, the agreement requires the athlete to attend and represent the institution for at least two semesters or three quarters, and in return, the institution must provide athletic financial aid for the same duration. National Signing Day marks the start of many football players' careers as they transition into more professional setting. National Signing Day was established in 1981 by the College Football Association in an effort to eliminate separate conference signing dates and force student-athletes to commit to only one NCAA institution. Prior to 1981, NCAA football conferences required recruits to sign separate letters of intent since conference letters only restricted signing within the conference itself.
National Signing Day Top Events and Things to Do
· Get out to your local park and play a game of football with your family and friends to celebrate all those who are committing to playing in NCAA football today.
· Watch the day's events of your favorite conference live. Most are aired live across networks such as ESPN and they can often be found online.
· Review some of the student-athlete rules and criteria in order to gain a better understanding of the players' responsibilities and duties in addition to playing ball. Some basic requirements include:
1) earn at least a 2.3 GPA in core courses
2) earn at least 9 credits per semester
3) adhere to amateurism requirements (limiting agent involvement, prize money, salaries and contracts with professional teams)
· Watch a movie about NCAA Football. Our favorites are Friday Night Lights (2004), The Blind Side (2009), Rudy (1993) and The Express (2008).
· Support a local high school football team. Your financial and time donations can mean the chance to get a scholarship for a high school student to pursue university studies.
Daily Devotions
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Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: True
Masculinity
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Carnival: Part Two, the Final
Countdown
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Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
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Make
reparations to the Holy Face
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Rosary
[2]https://enteringintothemystery.blogspot.com/2018/12/dont-forget-first-wednesday-devotion-to.html
[3] http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=14
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