Saint's Michael's Lent Day 40

Saint's Michael's Lent Day 40
August 15-Sep 29

Wednesday, January 8, 2025


Dara’s Corner

·         Spirit hour: “Busch Bavarian Beer” the choice of Icemen

o   Excerpt from my dad’s book: Havermale, Richard. The Ice is nice and chee-chee is peachy (pp. 24-25). Unknown. Kindle Edition.

§  “Busch” which claims to be especially brewed for “Operation Deep Freeze” was rumored to have just a hint of formaldehyde in it to keep it from freezing and if you drank too much you might experience hallucinations.

o   If you find beer is not to your taste try a “Pina Colada”

·         Bucket List Trip: The Taj Mahal India

·         How to celebrate Jan 8th

o   You wake up and decide to kickstart your day with a rejuvenating bubble bath to celebrate self-care. As you soak, why not indulge in English toffee for breakfast, embracing the joy of indulgence? Next, tackle Earth’s Rotation Day by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, keeping active and enjoying a small victory for sustainable living. For lunch, embrace the spirit of career development on Career Coach Day by setting aside time to update your resume or learn a new skill online.

o   In the afternoon, pamper yourself with some winter skin relief, making a DIY face mask or simply moisturizing your skin. To honor the War on Poverty, consider donating gently used clothes or food to those in need. How about celebrating World Typing Day by writing a heartfelt letter to a friend or family member, keeping the art of handwritten communication alive?

o   Wrap up your day by donning your favorite argyle socks and sharing a fun fact or story with colleagues to mark Show & Tell At Work Day. Each of these holidays offers a chance to infuse your day with variety and purpose, reminding you to embrace the little things that bring joy and meaning to your daily routine.

·         Get your Soup On

·         Hot Tea Month

·         Plan winter fun:

o   Soak in hot springs

o   Hit the snow slopes

o   Ride a snowmobile

o   Go for a dog sled ride

o   Ride a hot air balloon



JANUARY 8 Wednesday after Epiphany

Our Lady of Prompt Succor

 

Mark, Chapter 6, Verse 49-50

49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. 50 They had all seen him and were TERRIFIED. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”

 

Christ compels us to be not afraid. Bravery, Nerve, Pluck, Valor, Daring, Audacity, Mettle and lastly resolution are all synonyms for courage.

 

Which word strikes your heart?

 

For me it is “resolution.” For I am determined not to invalidate Christ sacrifice for me, I will not stop trying to become the vision He has for me; I am resolute. No matter how many times I fall I will get up; I will not stop. I will remember that the journey before a man tries the measure of his heart long before it tests the strength of his legs. I will remember that a man’s life is like a lake with no outlet in which no life will come. Life giving water is always moving and giving of itself. Man, to be truly a creature of God must give of his essence and run to the sound of battle.

 

Our Lady of Prompt Succor[1]


 

Our Lady of Prompt Succor – Feast Day – January 8

Ask our Lady’s intercession for the souls of the victims of the terrorism in the French Quarter. Both the living and the dead.

The national votive shrine of our lady of prompt succor serves God and all God’s people as the center of devotion to the Mother of Jesus under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor—Our Lady of Quick Help.  The Shrine is a place of pilgrimage, worship and prayer.  It welcomes all who try to live in faith and love, with a special commitment to those whose hope and trust in Mary lead them to seek her motherly care and consolation. 

Since 1727, long before her statue arrived on November 10th,1810 and was enshrined in the Ursuline Convent Chapel in the French Quarter, devotion to Notre Dame de Prompt Secours had spread among the Ursuline Sisters, their students and the women and men of New Orleans. Prayers for deliverance from wars, fire, pestilence, disease, storms, despair and hopelessness were made to Our Lady of Prompt Succor. 

In 1815, in gratitude for the miracle of America's victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans, the Ursulines, along with Bishop Louis Du Bourg, made a promise to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving each year on the feast day of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. 

In 1895, the statue, gilded in gold, was crowned by Decree of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII; and in 1928, the Holy See approved and confirmed the naming of Our Lady of Prompt Succor as the Principal Patroness of the City of New Orleans and of the State of Louisiana. Standing in the central niche over the main altar on State Street, she welcomes all who come to honor her, to thank her for intercession, and to pray for her help and protection, not only from global wars and devastating storms, but, also, in overcoming greater enemies…poverty, illness, ignorance, racism and violence.

 

A woman of Influence[2]

 

Taking Mary’s virtues to work


The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of woman is being acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect, and a power never hitherto achieved. That is why, at this moment when the human race is undergoing so deep a transformation, women impregnated with a spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid humanity in not falling.” (Closing speeches Vatican Council II, 12/8/65).

Mother Mary is a perfect role model for all women, of course, but for women who work in particular. According to St. Louis de Montfort, Mary has principal virtues, which when practiced help to lead us to her Son and create a home and world that celebrates the greatness of the Lord.

·         Profound Humility:

o   Are you focused on others more than yourself?

o   Do you recognize the work of the team, or are you taking credit for the work?

o   Do you care who gets the credit?

o   Does this impact the way you treat others? 

·         Ardent Charity: 

o   How can you demonstrate great love at work?

§  This is not the same love as a spousal love, of course.

o   How do you approach your employees?

o   Your supervisors?

o   Your clients?

o   Your customers?

o   Is your approach focused on valuing a relationship more than a material good?

o   Are you able to articulate information and ideas in a mutually respectful way?

·         Angelic Sweetness: 

o   Is your approach nurturing and relational?

o   Do you avoid calumniation of fellow co-workers and supervisors?

o   Even when difficult, do you respond to others at work by extending grace and mercy?

·         Heroic Patience

o   Do you really listen at work?

o   Are you able to rise above a situation in order to assist others as they learn new tasks?

o   Do you hold your temper or judgment about your supervisor when you disagree with them?

o   Are you willing in your attitude to seek understanding of others, even when it is difficult?

·         Divine Wisdom

o   Recalling your baptism, and especially your confirmation, do you recall and use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in your work decisions?

o   Do you pray for guidance?

o   Do you seek Biblical and Church tradition answers and solutions?

o   Do you show gratitude to God when you recognize divine wisdom at work?

Mary’s virtues bring us to a very feminine leadership style: one steeped in relationship building, not shying away from truth or faith, but approaching others in grace. When practiced at work, these virtues of Our Lady can lead us to Holiness and a fulfilled leadership at the job.

Fifteenth Day of Christmas-Candles[3]

Candles are a symbol of Christ, the Light of the World. The wax is regarded as typifying in a most appropriate way the flesh of Jesus Christ born of a virgin mother. From this has sprung the further conception that the wick symbolizes more particularly the soul of Jesus Christ and the flame the Divinity which absorbs and dominates both. Catholic Encyclopedia

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Day 210

1433 Since Easter, the Holy Spirit has proved "the world wrong about sin," i.e., proved that the world has not believed in him whom the Father has sent. But this same Spirit who brings sin to light is also the Consoler who gives the human heart grace for repentance and conversion.

V. The Many Forms of Penance in Christian Life

1434 The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: effort at reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity "which covers a multitude of sins."

1435 Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right, by the admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance.

1436 Eucharist and Penance. Daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. Through the Eucharist those who live from the life of Christ are fed and strengthened. "It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal sins."

1437 Reading Sacred Scripture, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Our Father - every sincere act of worship or devotion revives the spirit of conversion and repentance within us and contributes to the forgiveness of our sins.

1438 The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).

Celebrating Elvis' Birthday[4]

On Jan. 8, 1935, Elvis Presley was born in a two-room house in Tupelo, Miss. Every year, Graceland — Elvis' estate in Memphis — hosts a five-day-long birthday celebration. Rise bright and early for the Elvis Birthday Proclamation Ceremony on Graceland’s North Lawn and stay for the birthday-cake cutting.

Elvis and the Nun[5]

Dolores Hart began her career as an actress when she was only 19 years old, making her screen debut in 1957 as Elvis' sweetheart in Loving You. Dolores became an overnight success story and starred with Elvis again in King Creole the following year in 1958. She then took on Broadway, starring in The Pleasure of His Company in 1959, for which she won a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress. Further movie hits followed, including the hugely popular Where the Boys Are and Lisa, the story of a young Holocaust survivor, which earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe for Best Picture/Drama. By now one of Hollywood's rising stars, she went on to make six more films, among them St. Francis of Assisi, where she portrayed Clare, a woman who gives up everything to follow Saint Francis and founds the Order of Poor Clare’s. Dolores' last film role was opposite Hugh O'Brien in 1963 in Come Fly with Me.

At the height of her career, Dolores stunned the world by making the decision to become a cloistered nun and enter the Abbey of Regina Laudis. "I just knew that this was what God wanted from me," she said years later. Mother Dolores' mission as an actress did not end, but rather took a contemplative turn. "I never felt I was 'walking away from Hollywood'" she said recently. "I felt I was walking into something more significant and by that, I took Hollywood with me."

Daily Devotions

·         Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Purity

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Universal Man Plan

·         Rosary


[5] https://abbeyofreginalaudis.org/community-mdh.html

 




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