Monday Night at the Movies
The Cardinal
Christopher’s Corner
· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
· Spirit Hour: Liebfraumilch in honor of St. Gabriel's feast the day before the Feast of the Annunciation tomorrow.
· Bucket List trip[7]: Northern Mariana Islands
· Developmental Disability Awareness Month
· Try[8]: Have a Cheesesteak sandwich.
· 30 Days with St. Joseph Day 5
· Monday: Litany of Humility
march 24 Monday of the Third Week of Lent
Ester, Chapter 5,
Verse 9
Change one letter in the name of Haman and it becomes human. How many times have you been in good spirits and happy when bam all of the sudden something upsets you and now you are in the pit of despair. Haman was happy because his pride was enriched, and he saw himself a god and then upon exiting the gate of the palace that Jew Mordecai was sitting at the gate and refused to stand and showed no fear of the great and powerful Haman and reminded him he is mortal. Bam-get even time. Haman goes home and brews telling his perfectly evil mate Zeresh.
Devil
Woman[1]
Together with her husband, Haman,
she plotted to annihilate the entire Jewish nation and to hang Mordecai upon
towering gallows. Thankfully, we know how well her plans worked out in the end…
Every Purim, in the Shoshanat Yaakov poem, we memorialize her wickedness
by gleefully singing, “Cursed be Zeresh, wife of [Haman], who terrorized me.”
Who Was Zeresh?
Zeresh’s name appears twice in
the Book of Esther, both times as an advisor to her husband. She is the one who
suggests that Haman rid himself of Mordechai by hanging him on a gallow 50
cubits tall. In her second appearance, she advises him that he will never be
able to vanquish Mordechai but will instead fall ignobly. Combing through the
classic sources, we can piece together some parts of her personality. Her
father was Tattenai, “the ruler of across the river, who makes an appearance in
the Book of Ezra when he tries (unsuccessfully) to halt the rebuilding of the
Temple in Jerusalem. In the first chapter of the Book of Esther, Queen Vashti
refuses her drunken husband’s order to appear before him at the feast. The king
consults with his wise men, and one Memuchan advises him to dispose of his
rebellious wife and find a better one. Some say that Memuchan is a pseudonym
for Haman, who wished to take revenge against Vashti for not inviting his wife,
Zeresh, to her party for women.
Her Advice. The sources describe Zeresh as a very wise woman who even knew the secrets of sorcery. According to the Midrash, Haman had 365 advisors, but Zeresh’s advice was the best he received. She found an original way to kill Mordechai, one that had never been tried, telling her husband: You must remember that Mordechai is a Jew. If you try to kill him with a sword, know that Pharaoh attempted to decapitate Moses and failed. If you wish to stone him, remember how David slew Goliath with stones. If you try to drown him, remember how G‑d tore the sea before Israel. If you want to exile him to the desert, remember how Israel wandered in the desert for forty years and thrived. Joseph was released from jail and became the viceroy. Chananya, Mishael and Azarya went out from a fiery furnace, and Daniel left the lion’s den. Don’t try to blind him; remember how many people Samson killed whilst sightless. There is one remaining way for you: hang Mordechai on a tree. (We see this done to Christ and see how that worked for the evil forces.) Not satisfied with simply advising, Zeresh went with her husband to find the tallest tree in Shushan, which turned out to be quite a thorny specimen. With the tree chosen, the Book of Esther tells us, Haman ran to the king’s palace to discuss his plans to hang Mordechai upon it. Yet, in a divinely orchestrated twist of events, he soon found himself leading Mordechai through the streets of Shushan shouting, “Thus shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!” Returning home, he meets his wife, who tells him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely fall before him!"
Zeresh’s
Legacy. Scripture is silent regarding the
end of her life. Tradition tells us that after Haman was hanged on the tree
that he had prepared for Mordecai, Zeresh fled in disgrace with his remaining
70 sons. They were reduced to begging from door to door in order to stay alive.
We remember Zeresh every year when we sing the poem Shoshanat Yaakov
after reading the Megillah. Interestingly, some medieval communities would
stamp their feet and make noise when Zeresh’s name was mentioned during the
Megillah reading, just as we do today when we hear the name of her wicked
husband, Haman. In the book Mechir Yayin, Rabbi Moshe Isserles (known as the
Ramah, 1530-1572) describes Zeresh as the embodiment of delusion, whose
fantasies of honor and wealth distract a person from the worthwhile pursuits of
intellectual enlightenment and divine wisdom.
Today let us seek
enlightenment and divine wisdom
from Christ’s mother.
Monday
of the Third Week of Lent[2]
Prayer.
POUR forth,
in Thy mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that, as we
abstain from flesh, we may also restrain our senses from hurtful excesses.
EPISTLE, iv. Kings v. 1 15.
In those
days: Naaman, general of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with
his master, and honorable: for by him the Lord gave deliverance to Syria: and
he was a valiant man and rich, but a leper. Now there had gone out robbers from
Syria and had led away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she
waited upon Naaman’s wife. And she said to her mistress: I wish my master had
been with the prophet, that is in Samaria: he would certainly have healed him
of the leprosy which he hath. Then Naaman went into his lord, and told him,
saying: Thus, and thus said the girl from the land of Israel. And the king of
Syria said to him: Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he
departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of
gold, and ten changes of raiment, and brought the letter to the king of Israel,
in these words: When thou shalt receive this letter, know that I have sent to
thee Naaman my servant, that thou mayest heal him of his leprosy.
And when
the king of Israel had read the letter, he rent his garments, and said: Am I
God, to be able to kill and give life, that this man hath sent to me, to heal a
man of his leprosy?
Mark and see how he seeketh occasions against me.
And when
Eliseus the man of God had heard this, to wit, that the king of Israel had rent
his garments, he sent to him, saying: Why hast thou rent thy garments?
Let him come to me and let him know that there is a
prophet in Israel.
So Naaman
came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of the house of
Eliseus: and Eliseus sent a messenger to him saying: Go, and wash seven times
in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and thou shalt be clean.
Naaman was angry and went away, saying: I thought he would have come out to me,
and standing- would have invoked the name of the Lord his God, and touched with
his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me.
Are not
the Abana and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of
Israel, that I may wash in them, arid be made clean?
So, as he turned, and was going away with
indignation, his servants came to him, and said to him: Father, if the prophet
had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst have done it: how much
rather what he now hath said to thee: Wash, and thou shalt be clean? Then he
went down and washed in the Jordan seven times: according to the word of the
man of God, and his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a little child, and
he was made clean. And returning to the man of God with all his train, he came,
and stood before him, and said: In truth, I know there is no other God in all
the earth, but only in Israel.
GOSPEL. Luke iv. 23-30.
At that
time Jesus said to the Pharisees: Doubtless you will say to Me this similitude:
Physician, heal Thyself: as great things as we have heard done in Capharnaum,
do also here in Thy own country. And He said: Amen I say to you, that no
prophet is accepted in his own country. In truth I say to you, there were many
widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and
six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the earth. And to none
of them was Elias sent, but to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman. And there
were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them
was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, hearing
these things, were filled with anger. And they rose up and thrust Him out of
the city: and they brought Him to the brow of the hill, where on their city was
built, that they might cast Him down headlong. But He passes through the midst
of them, went His way.
Aids
in Battle the Power of the Holy Spirit
In the
Holy Spirit we have from God a mighty Ally and Protector, a great Teacher of
the Church, a mighty Champion on our behalf. We must not be
afraid of the demons, nor of the Devil himself; for more powerful than those is
the One who fights for us. But we must open our doors to Him, for He goes about
seeking those who are worthy and searching for those on whom He may bestow His
gifts. ST. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM
Tutelage
of the Holy Spirit
Being baptized in
Christ is the only requirement for receiving the Holy Spirit, but to grow in
the Spirit there are certain things that are necessary, and these are a few of
them.
§ A genuine desire to be
holy
I always use the word 'holy' to mean living a life pleasing to God
in every possible way, not just in those matters you consider
expedient; and obeying his commandments to the fullest extent that you are
capable of. Holiness has to be your goal and you must be prepared to do
whatever it takes to attain it, which includes a total, unwavering commitment.
The course is grueling and if you aren't committed, you will crash out in no
time.
§ Heartfelt repentance:
You have to be genuinely sorry for your sins. It doesn't matter
that you might be constrained by sin at this point — part of the Holy Spirit's
role is to take away the constraints and free you of sin, which will happen in
time — but what is important at this stage is that you be truly sorry for the
offences that you have committed against God and be determined never to sin
against him anymore.
§ Honesty and courage:
Another requirement is honesty, more with ourselves than with
anybody else, and the courage to face up to who we really are. Most of us put
up facades for public display and have been doing it for so long we have ended
up even fooling ourselves. The Holy Spirit is going to rip the masks apart,
albeit gently, and reveal things about you that you will not like to see. If
you aren't willing to face up to the truth of who you are and be ready to
remedy yourself without justification, you aren't going to make much progress.
§ Love for God:
A vital requirement is a genuine love for God, translatable into
action. Love for God is something that will grow as you grow in him, but what
you need is a basic element of it to begin with, because it is only love for
God that will help you make a lot of the tough decisions that you will be
called to make as you progress through this school. The more love for God that
you have, the more you will be prepared to do for him, which will,
consequently, make it that much easier for you.
Today is the traditional Feast of St. Gabriel[3]
St. Gabriel's name means "God is my strength." Biblically he appears three times as a messenger. He had been sent to Daniel to explain a vision concerning the Messiah. He appeared to Zachary when he was offering incense in the Temple, to foretell the birth of his son, St. John the Baptist. St. Gabriel is most known as the angel chosen by God to be the messenger of the Annunciation, to announce to mankind the mystery of the Incarnation.
The
angel's salutation to our Lady, so simple and yet so full of meaning, Hail
Mary, full of grace, has become the constant and familiar prayer of all
Christian people.
Patron:
Ambassadors; broadcasting; childbirth; clergy; communications; diplomats;
messengers; philatelists; postal workers; public relations; radio workers;
secular clergy; stamp collectors; telecommunications; Portugal; Archdiocese of
Seattle, Washington.
Symbols:
Archangel; sceptre and lily; MR or AM shield; lantern; mirror; olive branch;
scroll with words Ave Maria Gratia Plena; Resurrection trumpet; shield;
spear; lily; symbolic colors, silver or blue.
Menu: March 24th,
Feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel (Trad.)[4]
- Upcoming From Thy Bounty Fair: Angels
(With ideas and suggestions!)
- Angel Curls Cookies
- From Thy Bounty Fair - Feasting with the
Angels!
- Lily Sandwiches
(The Lily is a symbol of St. Gabriel)
- Blessed Mary Mother of God Brownies
(The Fleur-de-lis is a symbol of St. Gabriel)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Day
281 2168-2176
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO-THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER
ONE-YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR
SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND
Article 3 THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
I. The Sabbath Day
2168 The third
commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath: "The
seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD."
2169 In
speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six days the
LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the
seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it."
2170 Scripture
also reveals in the Lord's day a memorial of Israel's liberation from bondage
in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of
Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with mighty hand and
outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath
day."
2171 God
entrusted the sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable
covenant. The sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the praise
of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on behalf of Israel.
2172 God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed." The sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money.
2173 The
Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the sabbath
law. But Jesus never fails to respect the holiness of this day. He gives
this law its authentic and authoritative interpretation: "The sabbath was
made for man, not man for the sabbath." With compassion, Christ
declares the sabbath for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather
than killing. The sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to
honor God. "The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
II.
The Lord's Day
This is
the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
The day of the Resurrection:
the new creation
2174 Jesus
rose from the dead "on the first day of the week." Because it is
the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first
creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the
sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's
Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of
all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:
We all
gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish
sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness,
made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the
dead.
Sunday - fulfillment of the
sabbath
2175 Sunday is
expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every
week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In
Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and
announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the
mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:
Those who
lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer
keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him
and by his death.
2176 The
celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the
human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship
"as a sign of his universal beneficence to all." Sunday worship
fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit
in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.
World
Tuberculosis Day[5]
World
Tuberculosis Day, also known as World TB Day, seeks to raise awareness for
Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a bacterial infectious disease that affects the
lungs. It is estimated that in 2014, 9.6 million people fell ill with
Tuberculosis and 1.5 million died from the disease. World Tuberculosis Day is a
World Health Organization holiday that is observed annually on March 24. The
celebratory date commemorates the discovery of Tuberculosis bacteria by Dr.
Koch in 1882.
World
Tuberculosis Day Facts & Quotes
·
Tuberculosis
is the leading killer of HIV/AIDS-positive people.
·
The
tuberculosis death rate dropped 47% between 1990 and 2015. The disease is
treatable with a six-month course of antibiotics.
·
Tuberculosis
occurs in every part of the world. The largest number of cases in the world
occur in India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, China and South Africa.
· The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted. - Mother Theresa
"Imagination is more important than knowledge..."[6]
Spoken by Albert Einstein but proven by Boyce Luther Gully.
The reality of dying was thrust upon Boyce Gully in his prime. Choosing not to live a life of quiet desperation awaiting the end, he ran away from home, family and friends. Those were sad but wondrous times of soul searching and physical creativity. In his heart was permanently etched the vision of those precious moments when he and his little girl, Mary Lou, built sandcastles on the beach in Seattle. How she would cry when the tide washed them away. “Please, Daddy, build me a big and strong castle someday that I can live in. Maybe you ought to build it on the desert where there is no water.” He would just smile. Perhaps, it wasn’t a coincidence that he migrated to Arizona. He built Mary Lou a native stone castle - eighteen rooms, thirteen fireplaces, parapets and many charming nooks and crannies, then furnished it with southwestern antiques. Boyce Gully died in 1945 before he could send for his family. His “princess” was an adult when she moved into her “castle” and began living her fairy tale, perpetuating her dream. She shared her “home” by giving guided tours of her beloved Mystery Castle until her death in 2010.
The Castle will not be open to tourists. Vandalism and summer storms have taken a toll. We will not reopen until we have a resolution. Thank you for your support for all these years.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Protection
of Life from Conception until natural death.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[2] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
[3]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2022-03-24
[7] Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You
Die: A Traveler's Life List Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
[8] Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (p. 800). Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition. Spirit Hour: Liebfraumilch in honor of St. Gabriel's feast the day before the Feast of the Annunciation tomorrow.
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