God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
(Psalm 46:2)
· desert ridge marketplace is pleased to present villa fleur: a lavish pop-up experience specially crafted to celebrate spring.
o villa fleur will captivate guests transcending them into an eclectic atmosphere of rich prints and bold textures, striking visuals and lush florals. set under romantic lighting, guests will settle into parlor-style seating designed to ignite the senses while enjoying chef-driven fare and elixirs and a state-of-the-art projection show designed exclusively for villa fleur. this rare journey is available for a limited time from March 14 – May 11.
· Catholic Activity: Religion in the Home for Preschool: May
· Bucket List trip: Vallenato Legend Festival-Columbia
· Spirit Hour: Zombie
· Foodie: Asparagus
· Get an indulgence
Fun things to do.
Beware of others’ butts when in the water!
· New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival--April 24-May 4--Love jazz? Join fellow music lovers at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Held every year since 1970, the annual Jazz Fest, as it’s called, showcases nearly every music genre, from blues to R&B, and everything else in between. It’s all performed across 12 stages during the last weekend in April.
1 Maccabees, Chapter 7, Verse 18
This verse is referring to
Alcimus who was a descendant of the Biblical Aaron, brother of Moses, but not
in the high-priestly line; and being ambitious for the office of
high priest, he traveled to Antioch to secure the assistance of the Seleucid
king Demetrius
I Soter, who had
just overthrown Antiochus. Alcimus was of the Hellenizing party, and therefore
bitterly opposed by the Maccabees. Demetrius sent an army under Bacchides to
establish Alcimus in the high priesthood at Jerusalem. The favor with which
Alcimus was received by the Jews at Jerusalem on account of his Aaronic descent
was soon turned to hate by his cruelties. When Bacchides and his army returned
to Antioch, the Hasmonean Judah Maccabee attacked and overcame Alcimus, and
drove him also to Syria. There he secured from Demetrius another army, led by Nicanor, who, failing to overcome Judah by
treachery, attacked him directly, but was defeated and killed. A third and
greater army, under Bacchides again, was dispatched to reinstall Alcimus. Judah
was defeated and killed, Alcimus established as high priest and a strong
garrison left in Jerusalem to maintain him. But he did not long enjoy his
triumph, since he died soon after, while he was pulling down the wall of the
temple that divided the court of the Gentiles from that of the Israelites.[1]
Strife
breeds Strife-Love breed’s love therefore; be always
open to forgiving injuries.
Christ tells us to love our enemy which is much easier to say than to do. Yet as much as possible we are to not fear them but strive to love them. Often, we find it difficult to love even our family and neighbors let alone our enemies. In fact, the opposite of fear is not courage but love. Paul illustrates for us the following ways of living to demonstrate true love or charity. (Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verse’ 1-6)
·
In all that you do be an agent of
hospitality. That is to be generous. Even the poor can be rich in their
praise and love of others. Share not only your time, talent and treasure but
truly give of yourself to others of your intellect, emotional support, and
physical presence. A good guide is the spiritual works of mercy: instruct
the ignorant; counsel the doubtful; admonish sinners; bear wrongs
patiently; forgive offences willingly; comfort the
afflicted; pray for the living and the dead.
·
Do what you can to free others of their
prisons whether these are self-imposed i.e. addictions or through
ignorance. A good guide is the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry; give
drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; harbor the harbor-less; visit the sick;
ransom the captive; bury the dead.
·
Marriage is the physical reality of our
soul’s marriage to God through the Holy Spirit; therefore. If married
love and honor your wife; be chase in spirit whether married or single knowing
that marriage is the physical sign of your union with God. Disdain any kind of
sexual defilement.
· Avoid the love of money. Seek simplicity and contentment. Treat all the wealth you have as if it were Gods; on loan to you to build the Kingdom; which it is. You can do this if you know, and trust God will never forsake you or abandon you.
The proper meaning of love is to seek the good of the other as other.
Not Holding a
Grudge[2]
St. John Gualbert was the son of a noble Florentine, who had only one other and older son, Hugh. When Hugh was murdered by a man supposed to be his friend, John swore vengeance and, in spite of the warnings and sorrow of his father, he set out to destroy him. Well might his father sorrow more over John than over his murdered son, for the motive of revenge is not excusable even in the punishment of a murderer. Still less is it acceptable before God to try to right one injury with another or one murder with another. By chance one day John met his enemy in a very narrow passage and, having the advantage, drew his sword to run him through. The enemy, knowing he had no chance to save himself, fell to his knees, crossed his hands over his breast (let us hope he made a good act of contrition) and awaited the death blow. John advanced in a fury — halted and remembered Christ had prayed for His murderers as He hung on the cross. He put up his sword, gave his enemy his hand and, drawing him to his feet, embraced him. They parted in peace.
As he went down the road,
filled with contrition for the terrible deed he had intended to do, he came to
the monastery of San Miniato, entered it, and kneeling before the Crucifix he
poured out his heart in contrition. As he prayed, the Crucifix miraculously
bowed its head as though to bless John's victory over revenge and John was
filled with the desire to serve only Christ. He went to the abbot to ask
permission to wear the habit, and, when the abbot hesitated for several days
for fear of the displeasure of John's
father, John hacked off his hair and put on a borrowed habit. This convinced
Father Abbot that the young penitent was a serious prospect and he received him
into the community.
First
Friday[3]
“I promise you, in the excessive mercy of my
Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy
Communion on the first Friday for nine consecutive months, the grace of final
repentance; they shall not die in my disgrace nor without receiving the
sacraments; my divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in that last moment.”
— Our Lord to St.
Margaret Mary
How to complete the First Friday’s Devotion
1. Receive
Holy Communion on each First Friday.
2. The
nine Fridays must be consecutive.
3. They
must be made in honor and in reparation to His Sacred Heart.
ACT OF REPARATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF
JESUS
Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the
outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy,
and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee!
·
The more Thy mysteries are blasphemed, the more firmly we shall believe them, O
Sacred Heart of Jesus!
·
The more impiety endeavors to extinguish our
hopes of immortality, the more we shall
trust in Thy Heart, sole hope of mankind!
·
The more hearts resist Thy Divine attractions, the more we shall love Thee, O infinitely
amiable Heart of Jesus!
·
The more unbelief attacks Thy Divinity, the more humbly and profoundly we shall
adore It, O Divine Heart of Jesus!
·
The more Thy holy laws are transgressed and
ignored, the more we shall delight to
observe them, O most holy Heart of Jesus!
·
The more Thy Sacraments are despised and
abandoned, the more frequently we shall
receive them with love and reverence, O most liberal Heart of Jesus!
·
The more the imitation of Thy virtues is
neglected and forgotten, the more we
shall endeavor to practice them, O Heart of Jesus, model of every virtue!
·
The more the devil labors to destroy souls, the more we shall be inflamed with desire to
save them, O Heart of Jesus, zealous Lover of souls!
·
The more sin and impurity destroy the image of
God in man, the more we shall try by
purity of life to be a living temple of the Holy Spirit, O Heart of Jesus!
·
The more Thy Holy Church is despised, the more we shall endeavor to be her
faithful children, O Sweet Heart of Jesus!
·
The more Thy Vicar on earth is persecuted, the more we will honor him as the infallible
head of Thy Holy Church, show our fidelity and pray for him, O kingly Heart of
Jesus!
O Sacred Heart, through Thy powerful grace, may we become
Thy apostles in the midst of a corrupted world, and be Thy crown in the kingdom
of heaven. Amen.
12 Promises of the Sacred Heart to St.
Margaret Mary
1. I will give them all the
graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their
families.
3. I will console them in all
their troubles.
4. I will be their refuge in
life and especially in death.
5. I will abundantly bless
all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my
Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become
fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall rise
speedily to great perfection.
9. I will bless those places
wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
10. I will give to priests the
power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Persons who propagate this
devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
12. In the excess of the mercy of
my heart, I promise you that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who
will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the
grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without
receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last
hour
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day 320 2464-2474
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO-THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER
TWO-YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
Article 8-THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor.
It was said to the men of old,
"You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have
sworn."
2464 The eighth commandment forbids
misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription
flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is
the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or
deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental
infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the
covenant.
I. Living
in the Truth
2465 The Old
Testament attests that God is the source of all truth. His Word is truth. His
Law is truth. His "faithfulness endures to all
generations." Since God is "true," the members of his
people are called to live in the truth.
2466 In Jesus
Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest. "Full of grace
and truth," he came as the "light of the world," he is the
Truth. "Whoever believes in me may not remain in
darkness." The disciple of Jesus continues in his word so as to know
"the truth [that] will make you free" and that sanctifies. To
follow Jesus is to live in "the Spirit of truth," whom the Father
sends in his name and who leads "into all the truth." To his
disciples Jesus teaches the unconditional love of truth: "Let what you say
be simply 'Yes or No.'"
2467 Man tends
by nature toward the truth. He is obliged to honor and bear witness to it:
"It is in accordance with their dignity that all men, because they are
persons . . . are both impelled by their nature and bound by a moral obligation
to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to
the truth once they come to know it and direct their whole lives in accordance
with the demands of truth."
2468 Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness, sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.
2469 "Men
could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they
were being truthful to one another." The virtue of truth gives
another his just due. Truthfulness keeps to the just mean between what ought to
be expressed and what ought to be kept secret: it entails honesty and
discretion. In justice, "as a matter of honor, one man owes it to another
to manifest the truth."
2470 The
disciple of Christ consents to "live in the truth," that is, in the
simplicity of a life in conformity with the Lord's example, abiding in his
truth. "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk
in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth."
II. To Bear Witness
to the Truth
2471 Before
Pilate, Christ proclaims that he "has come into the world, to bear witness
to the truth." The Christian is not to "be ashamed then of
testifying to our Lord." In situations that require witness to the
faith, the Christian must profess it without equivocation, after the example of
St. Paul before his judges. We must keep "a clear conscience toward God
and toward men."
2472 The duty
of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as
witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness
is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of justice
that establishes the truth or makes it known.
All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word,
wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have
put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were
strengthened at Confirmation.
2473 Martyrdom
is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing
witness even unto death. the martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose,
to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and
of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude. "Let
me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to reach
God."
2474 The Church has painstakingly collected the records of those who persevered to the end in witnessing to their faith. These are the acts of the Martyrs. They form the archives of truth written in letters of blood:
Neither the
pleasures of the world nor the kingdoms of this age will be of any use to me.
It is better
for me to die [in order to unite myself] to Christ Jesus than to reign over the
ends of the earth. I seek him who died for us; I desire him who rose for us. My
birth is approaching. . . I bless you for having judged me worthy from
this day and this hour to be counted among your martyrs.... You have kept your
promise, God of faithfulness and truth. For this reason and for everything, I
praise you, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal and heavenly High
Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Through him, who is with you and the
Holy Spirit, may glory be given to you, now and in the ages to come. Amen.
fitness Friday
· Try the St. Joseph Universal Man Plan May 1st is the Feast of St. Joseph the worker.
THIS WE BELIEVE
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Prayer
to Saint Joseph
St. Joseph, you are the chaste and loving spouse of the Virgin Mary, the
foster father of Jesus, the protector and provider of the Holy family and all
families. We have complete confidence in your loving care for new life and in
your fidelity to the family. We commend our efforts to your prayers and
protection. Help us always to defend the gift of human life that it may grow to
the abundance of eternal life promised and bestowed on us by your son, our
brother, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Restoring
the Church
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
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