February 15 Saturday
Singles Awareness Day
Genesis, Chapter 3, verse 8-10:
8 When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was AFRAID, because I was naked, so I hid.”
The Law of Influence[1]
Eve had no leadership role; no title yet she had influence. Everyone regardless of their roles is important and generates influence either positive or negative. Eve demonstrated the impact of negative influence. Although God commissioned Adam as her spiritual leader, Eve usurped the role of Adam, who followed his wife rather than God and together they led humankind into sin.
Single? So Sad, too bad[2]. Singles Awareness Day
After a Christmas spent
with elderly family members asking when they’re finally going to get married or
at least find a boyfriend or girlfriend to bring home, life does not get any
easier for singles after Christmas, either. No sooner have the Santa Claus and
snowman decorations vanished from the shops than the shelves begin to burst
with cuddly teddy bears, heart-shaped balloons and boxes of cheap chocolates,
all in shades of nauseating neon pinks and reds. Yes, Valentine’s Day has
become one of the world’s most profitable occasions, yet another marketing
scheme that has hit pay dirt more than the original creators of the idea could
have ever dreamed. If you’re not in a relationship Valentine’s Day is bad
enough, what with all the additional pressure to be ‘romantic’, if such rampant
and blatant consumerism and commercialism can be considered romantic at all.
The restaurants are all overpacked with couples trying too hard to impress each
other, and it seems every flower in the whole city has been bought out, just so
someone can say it’s pretty once and then thrown away. Hallmark holidays are
called that for a reason. For singles, on the other hand, Valentine’s Day can
be a simple and cruel reminder that they are alone. No pink stuffed animals for
them, and no tacky heart-shaped boxes of poor-quality chocolate, either though
one does tend to wonder whether that really makes them worse off in the first
place. Singles Awareness Day used to
be an alternate name used for Valentine’s Day among those who found themselves
unattached during the day, but it all became too depressing. So, by
single’s hive-mind consensus, it fell to the day after as a perfect antidote to
all of the neon nonsense.
How to Celebrate Singles Awareness/Appreciation
Day
·
It’s
a humorous holiday to celebrate being single, to share with single friends, to
send each other presents or even order yourself some flowers. On this day many
people wear green, as it is the complementary opposite of red.
·
Another
popular option is an absence of color (black), to symbolize an absence of
celebration.
·
One
increasingly popular activity is to travel to Brazil and witness the
Brazilian Carnival. The trip, coupled with the fact that Brazil doesn’t
celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14, but in June, provides a temporary
getaway from the neon pink of the Valentine’s holiday in the Western culture,
by simply substituting it with another celebration.
·
Some
who celebrate Singles Awareness Day just want to remind romantic couples that
they don’t need to be in a relationship to celebrate life, and that the key to
being happy is being able to be happy with yourself.
·
Contrary
to popular misconceptions, Singles Awareness Day is not about self-pity but
rather a chance to announce to the world that you are single and happy to be
so. Originally, most singles referred to February 14 as Single’s Awareness Day
(acronym: SAD) until it they realized that that was just depressing. Choosing
the next day allowed single people a chance to turn this into a celebration
rather than a festival of self-pity. There is no reason to be miserable that
you are independent and unattached; on the contrary, there are many more people
in relationships than you might think who rather wish they were in your shoes,
with nobody to answer to but themselves. This is the day that all of the
single people can proudly stand up and show that it is okay to be single. Take
that, cupid!
While cleaning out my files the other day I came across this note. I don’t know the source but thought I would share it.
A Note
From Heaven
Dear Beloved, One,
I see your loneliness and fears, your guilt and frustrations. I see your endless search for love and fulfillment. All this must be, in order for you to come the end of your own understanding—then you can hear My voice. Listen carefully amid the noise of the world and you will hear…I love you, I shed My blood for you to make you clean. Give yourself completely to Me. I created you to be just as you are, and you are lovely in My eyes. Do not criticize yourself or become depressed for not being perfect in your own eyes. This leads only to frustrations. I want you to trust Me one step, one second at a time. Dwell in My power and My love and be free, be yourself. Don’t allow other people to control you. I will guide you, if you let Me, but be aware of My presence in everything. I will give you patience, love, joy, and peace. Look to Me for answers for I am your shepherd and will lead you. Follow Me only!! Do not ever forget this. Listen and I will tell you My will.
Let My love flow from you and spill over to all you touch. Be not concerned with yourself—you are My responsibility. I will change you without your ever knowing it. You are to love yourself and love others, simply because I love you. Take your eyes off yourself, look only to Me, I lead, I change, I create, but not when you are striving. You are mine…let Me have the joy of making you like Christ.
Your only command is to look to Me and Me, only—never to yourself and never to others. Do not struggle but relax in My love. I know what is best and will do it in you. Stop trying to become and let me make you what I want.
My will is perfect;
My love is sufficient. I will
Supply all your needs…
Only look to Me.
I love you,
Your
Heavenly Father
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Day
246 1846-1853
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION ONE-MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE
SPIRIT
CHAPTER
ONE-THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Article 8-SIN
I. Mercy and Sin
1846 The
Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's mercy to sinners. The
angel announced to Joseph: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins." The same is true of the Eucharist,
the sacrament of redemption: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
1847 "God
created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us." To
receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. "If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."
1848 As St.
Paul affirms, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the
more." But to do its work grace must uncover sin so as to convert our
hearts and bestow on us "righteousness to eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord." Like a physician who probes the wound before
treating it, God, by his Word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin:
Conversion
requires convincing of sin; it includes the interior judgment of conscience,
and this, being a proof of the action of the Spirit of truth in man's inmost
being, becomes at the same time the start of a new grant of grace and love:
"Receive the Holy Spirit." Thus in this "convincing concerning
sin" we discover a double gift: the gift of the truth of conscience and
the gift of the certainty of redemption. The Spirit of truth is the Consoler.
II. The Definition of Sin
1849 Sin is an
offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine
love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It
wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an
utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."
1850 Sin is an
offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that
which is evil in your sight." Sin sets itself against God's love for
us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a
revolt against God through the will to become "like
gods," knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love
of oneself even to contempt of God." In this proud self-exaltation,
sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our
salvation.
1851 It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate's cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas' betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter's denial, and the disciples' flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.
III.
The Different Kinds of Sins
1852 There are
a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. the
Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the
Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity,
licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger,
selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not
inherit the Kingdom of God."
1853 Sins can
be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or
according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the
commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they
concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and
carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. the root of
sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the
Lord: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery,
fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a
man." But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good
and pure works, which sin wounds.
The
"Depositio" of the Alleluia
The last ceremonial act of
the Time after Epiphany is the bittersweet farewell, or depositio, to
the word "Alleluia," which is suppressed for seventy days in the
traditional Roman rite from Septuagesima Sunday until Holy Saturday night. This
ceremony usually takes after the office of none (i.e., around 3 p.m.) on the
Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday (see Depositio).
Attend a Horse Show
February 15-25
Visit the annual Arabian Horse Show in Scottsdale, Arizona to watch over
2,400 horses compete for a chance at winning the coveted gold title. In between
the competitions, there are plenty of kids’ activities like an ice cream
social, pony painting (ceramic ponies, not real ones), and art contests. And
the best part, kids 17 and under are free.
Daily
Devotions/Activities
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: The Families of St. Joseph
Porters
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
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
·
Rosary.
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