Rosary Roadmap of Salvation

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Vinny’s Day Try Cinnamon

·         Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary

·         Carnival Time begins in Catholic Countries.

  • Spirit hour: Best February Cocktails
  • Free Open-Source Software Month
  • Bucket Item trip: Vienna, Austria
  • Love a Mensch Week
  • Opera Day
  • How to celebrate Feb 8th
    • You wake up and decide to embark on a unique day of celebration. Start by embracing nature with a fun kite flying session. Grab your kite, head to a park, and let the wind carry your troubles away. Breathe in the fresh air and feel the joy of watching your kite dance in the sky.
    • As the day progresses, indulge in some cultural enrichment by attending an opera performance. Check local listings for free or affordable shows. Let the music transport you to another world, immersing yourself in the captivating stories brought to life on stage.
    • Next, channel your inner adventurer by honoring National Boy Scout Day. Explore a nearby hiking trail, learn essential outdoor skills, or simply enjoy a picnic in the great outdoors. Embrace the spirit of camaraderie and teamwork that the Boy Scouts embody.

    • For a dose of entertainment, celebrate Global Movie Day by hosting a movie marathon with friends or family. Choose a theme or genre, pop some popcorn, and settle in for a cinematic escape. Discuss your favorite scenes and characters for a lively post-movie debate.
    • Indulge your taste buds by baking some delicious molasses bars to mark National Molasses Bar Day. Find a simple recipe online and get baking. Share your sweet treats with loved ones or colleagues for a delightful surprise.
    • Laugh And Get Rich Day encourages you to spread joy and positivity. Watch a comedy special, share jokes with friends, or simply laugh out loud. Laughter is contagious and can brighten not only your day but those around you.
    • As the day winds down, embrace the winter season with International Snowmobile Ride Day. If you have access to snow and a snowmobile, take a thrilling ride through snowy landscapes. Alternatively, watch videos of snowmobile adventures and plan a future winter outing.
    • Finally, wrap up your day by celebrating Prešeren Day, a Slovenian cultural holiday honoring poetry and love. Write a heartfelt poem, read a romantic piece of literature, or simply express gratitude to those you care about. Let love and creativity guide you as you bask in the beauty of human connection.
  • Plan winter fun:


Introduction to Ezekiel[1]

Wheels with eyes? Four-faced creatures with wings and human hands? Bones that morph into muscle and flesh? It's an acid trip! It's a David Lynch movie! It's…the Book of Ezekiel! Next to the Book of Revelation, Ezekiel's probably the weirdest and most dramatic book of the Hebrew Bible. It combines far-out visions, judgments of violent destruction and death, and predictions of peace and consolation into a spicy prophetic gumbo. Ezekiel makes the other prophets seem almost tame by comparison, with his mysterious four-faced creatures, strange sexual imagery, and giant wheels in the sky. Like the other Major Prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel lived in turbulent times (around the beginning of the 6th century BCE) and was a witness to the Babylonian exile of the Judeans. His book likely contains many of his authentic prophecies, though there were probably contributions by a school of prophets who followed him as well. This makes him a little different from important prophets like Isaiah and Daniel, whose books are largely compilations created over time. Ezekiel was trying to explain why God was letting this catastrophe happen to his people. His God-of-Wrath version of the Deity is seething with rage over Israel's cheatin' ways. He subjects Ezekiel to all kinds of strange experiences to demonstrate the doom that's going to befall Israel as punishment for idolatry and immorality. Ezekiel's really concerned with observance of the rituals and laws of the Temple. Yet at the same time, he's an intense visionary. His famous vision of God's chariot in Chapter 1 inspired countless mystics and poets in the Jewish and Christian traditions. His trances and behavior were so bizarre that some commentators thought he was psychotic and hallucinating. Even the ancient sages who assembled the final form of the Hebrew Bible almost didn't include Ezekiel. It was just too strange and troubling, and it contradicted some of the rules in Leviticus. But they eventually thought it worth including, so here it is. Can anyone who inspired Quentin Tarantino be completely in his right mind? Make no mistake; this is a pretty disturbing book. Check out Ezekiel's visions and see if you think he's a little crazy or the real deal.

Why Should I Care?

Remember that time when you thought you saw Elvis in the cafeteria? Or that time after pulling an all-nighter that you saw those four-faced flying creatures riding in chariots with strange mystical wheels? Ezekiel will probably help put that experience in perspective. The Book of Ezekiel describes what it's like to suddenly encounter someone or something completely strange and different from everything you've known and experienced up until that point. In Zeke's case, the encounter is with "the glory of God," which appears above that four-faced chariot wheel thing. This encounter might seem bizarre or like nonsense at first, but in studying it, you start to find hidden layers of meaning. Ezekiel might help you confront the strange and uncanny in your own lives. Most of us only experience stuff this strange in our dreams. But unexplainable things and premonitions happen all the time, even if they're not as dramatic as hearing God talking to you or getting magically transported to a different city. Maybe you've just had a strong feeling that you should call a friend you haven't seen in a while. What would you do if something hugely mysterious happened to you or a friend? After you were done freaking out, would you try to understand it? Forget about it? Maybe you'd become more religious because of it. It's human nature to try to make sense out of things that don't make sense.



 February 8 Saturday

Saint Bakhita-Marriage Week

 

Ezekiel, Chapter 2, Verse 6

But as for you, son of man, do not FEAR them or their words. Do not fear, even though there are briers or thorns, and you sit among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or be terrified by their looks for they are a rebellious house.

 

Ezekiel’s name means “God strengthens” and his own people hated him. He was commissioned by God to be a prophet for the Jews exiled to Babylon for their sins. Ezekiel faced opposition at almost every turn. Opposed because he dared to tell it like it is. The people could not handle the hard truth. Ezekiel compelled the Jews to hear him and struggle with the pressing issues. Ezekiel’s work is a fore shadow of the work of Christ; who would ultimately save the people from their sins.

 

Tough Times[2]

 

God sent Ezekiel to a rebellious people who acted like stubborn children and would not listen to the prophet, yet he continued whether they listened or not. How to you lead those who refuse to follow; by staying true to the message and by being persistent. Consider the roles of both God and people:

 

God’s Role

The Human Role

1.        He calls us into service.

1. People confirm our call.

2.       He gives us gifts and graces

2. People cooperate with their gifts.

3.       He provides words of direction.

3. We use our mind and emotions.

4.       He supplies a compelling fire inside us.

4. Others recognize and respect the fire.

5.       He controls the outcome.

5. We are to be faithful to the end.



 Saint Bakhita-Slave to Saint-Quotes[3]

 

·         "If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today... The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone... we must be compassionate!" ~ Josephine Bakhita

·         "Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself, 'Who could be the Master of these beautiful things?' I felt a great desire to see him, to know him and to pay him homage." ~ Josephine Bakhita

·         "The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone...we must be compassionate!" ~ Josephine Bakhita

·         "O Lord, if I could fly to my people and tell them of your goodness at the top of my voice, oh how many souls would be won!" ~ Josephine Bakhita 

Marriage Week-Male-Female Complementarity[4] 

God created man in his image in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. (Gn 1:27) The two creation stories in the book of Genesis communicate two important truths about the identity of man and woman and the relationship between them. In the first account, God creates both male and female at the same time and in the divine image. This act completes creation, and God judges it to be ―very good (Gn 1:31). In this way, Sacred Scripture affirms the fundamental equality and dignity of man and woman as persons created in God ‘s image. The second creation account emphasizes that both sexes are necessary for God ‘s plan. Having created Adam, God says, ―It is not good for the man to be alone (Gn 2:18). 

So, God creates a helpmate who is suitable for him and matches him. ―Helpmate (ezer) is a word reserved in the Bible not for inferiors but most often for God himself, who is Israel ‘s ―helper. 

Indeed, after God creates all of the animals and brings them to Adam to name, it becomes clear that none of them is―the suitable partner for the man (Gn 2:20). Then God puts Adam under a deep sleep and, using one of his ribs, builds up a woman for him as a suitable partner or helpmate. When he sees the woman, Adam cries out in wondrous joy: This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called―woman, for out of ―her man this one has been taken. (Gn 2:23) Adam and Eve were literally made for each other. Man and woman have been made to come together in the union of marriage. The text of Genesis continues: That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body [flesh] (Gn 2:24). 

Marriage, this clinging together of husband and wife as one flesh, is based on the fact that man and woman are both different and the same. They are different as male and female, but the same as human persons who are uniquely suited to be partners or helpmates for each other. The difference between man and woman, however, cannot be restricted to their bodies, as if the body could be separated from the rest of the human person. The human person is a union of body and soul as a single being. Man and woman are two different ways of being a human person. 

While man and woman are different, their differences serve to relate them to each other. They are not different in a parallel way, as two lines that never meet. Man and woman do not have separate destinies. They are related to each other precisely in their differences. The differences between male and female are complementary. Male and female are distinct bodily ways of being human, of being open to God and to one another—two distinct yet harmonizing ways of responding to the vocation to love. 

While human persons are more than biological organisms, the roots of marriage can be seen in the biological fact that a man and a woman can come together as male and female in a union that has the potential for bringing forth another human person. This kind of union fills the need for the continuation of the human race. Since human beings exist at more than a biological level, however, this union has further personal and spiritual dimensions. Marriage does not exist solely for the reproduction of another member of the species, but for the creation of a communion of persons. To form a communion of persons is the vocation of everyone. 

As Pope John Paul II teaches, all human persons are created in the image of God, who is a communion of love of three persons, and thus all are called to live in a communion of self-giving love: ―to say that man is created in the image and likeness of God means that man is called to exist ̳for ‘others, to become a gift. 

Marriage, however, is a unique communion of persons. In their intimate union as male and female, the spouses are called to exist for each other. Just as Genesis describes Eve as a helper for Adam, we can see that in marriage, a husband and wife are meant to help each other through self-giving. ―In the ̳unity of the two, ‘man and woman are called from the beginning not only to exist side by side ‘or together, ‘but they are also called to exist mutually one for the other. ‟This communion of persons has the potential to bring forth human life and thus to produce the family, which is itself another kind of communion of persons and which is the origin and foundation of all human society. It is precisely the difference between man and woman that makes possible this unique communion of persons, the unique partnership of life and love that is marriage. A man and woman united in marriage as husband and wife serve as a symbol of both life and love in a way that no other relationship of human persons can. 

Prayer for Married Couples[5] 

Almighty and eternal God, You blessed the union of married couples so that they might reflect the union of Christ with his Church: look with kindness on them. Renew their marriage covenant, increase your love in them, and strengthen their bond of peace so that, with their children, they may always rejoice in the gift of your blessing. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen


Catechism of the Catholic Church

 

Day 240 1790-1802


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

IV. Erroneous Judgment

1790 A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.

1791 This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin." In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.

1792 Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one's passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct.

1793 If - on the contrary - the ignorance is invincible, or the moral subject is not responsible for his erroneous judgment, the evil committed by the person cannot be imputed to him. It remains no less an evil, a privation, a disorder. One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience.

1794 A good and pure conscience is enlightened by true faith, for charity proceeds at the same time "from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith."

The more a correct conscience prevails, the more do persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and try to be guided by objective standards of moral conduct.

IN BRIEF

1795 "Conscience is man's most secret core, and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths" (GS 16).

1796 Conscience is a judgment of reason by which the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act.

1797 For the man who has committed evil, the verdict of his conscience remains a pledge of conversion and of hope.

1798 A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator. Everyone must avail himself of the means to form his conscience.

1799 Faced with a moral choice, conscience can make either a right judgment in accordance with reason and the divine law or, on the contrary, an erroneous judgment that departs from them.

1800 A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience.

1801 Conscience can remain in ignorance or make erroneous judgments. Such ignorance and errors are not always free of guilt.

1802 The Word of God is a light for our path. We must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. This is how moral conscience is formed.

Daily Devotions/Activities

·         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

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Universal Man Plan

·         Rosary.

[5]http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/upload/Prayer-for-Married-Couples.pdf



 

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