Monday Night at the Movies
The Song of Bernadette
Christopher’s Corner
· Today is National Gardening Day
o Gardening is a magical escape to a world of color, scents and textures. Planting a seed and watching it grow is a reminder of life's wonders.
§ Vegetable Gardening for Beginners: The Complete Guide
§ Window Garden Ideas for Urban Gardeners
· The name Philip means the “lover of horses”. Know about Equine-Assisted Therapy for Autism.
o Equine therapy and other equine programs for military veterans & families
· Spirit Hour: Beachcomber cocktail in honor the St. Justin
· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
· Developmental Disability Awareness Month
· Bucket List trip[5]: Mount Everest
· 30 Days with St. Joseph Day 26
· Monday: Litany of Humility
· Try Shopska Salad[6]:
APRIL 14 Monday of Holy Week
Psalm
27, Verse 3
Though
an army encamp against me, my heart does not FEAR; Though war be waged
against me, even then do I trust.
Believe and have boundless hope
that God will bring rescue you. Long for the presence of God in the tabernacle.
God will give you protection from all our enemies. Therefore, believe and
trust.
Monday of Holy
Week
Prayer.
GRANT, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who
fail through our infirmity, in so many adversities may be relieved by the
passion of Thy Son, making intercession for us.
EPISTLE. Isaias 1.
5-10.
In
those days Isaias said: The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist I
have not gone back. I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them
that plucked them: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me,
and spit upon me. The Lord God is my helper, therefore am I not confounded:
therefore, have I set my face as a most hard rock, and I know that I shall not
be confounded. He is near that justifieth me, who will contend with me? Let us
stand together, who is my adversary? let him come near to me. Behold the Lord
God is my helper: who is he that shall condemn me?
Lo, they shall
all be destroyed as a garment, the moth shall eat them up. Who is there among
you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of His servant, that hath
walked in darkness, and hath no light? let him hope in the name of the Lord,
and lean upon his God.
GOSPEL. John xii.
1-9.
Six days before
the Pasch Jesus came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus
raised to life. And they made Him a supper there: and Martha served, but
Lazarus was one of them that were at table with Him. Mary therefore took a
pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of
Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor
of the ointment. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about
to betray Him, said:
Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence
and given to the poor?
Now
he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief,
and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein. Jesus therefore
said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of My burial. For the
poor you have always with you: but Me you have not always. A great multitude
therefore of the Jews knew that He was there: and they came, not for Jesus’s
sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
Meditation—Mary and Judas
Today the liturgy presents two noteworthy characters who play dissimilar
roles in the Lord's passion. One fills us with solace and comfort, the other
with uneasiness and wholesome fear. Their juxtaposition produces a powerful
effect by way of contrast. The two characters are Mary of Bethany and Judas.
Jesus is in the house of Lazarus, at
dinner. Mary approaches, anoints the feet of her Savior for His burial and
dries them with her hair. Judas resents her action and resolves upon his evil
course. These two persons typify man's relation to Christ. He gives His Body to
two types of individuals: to Magdalenes to be anointed, to Judases to be
kissed; to good persons who repay Him with love and service, to foes who
crucify Him. How movingly this is expressed in the Lesson: "I gave My body
to those who beat Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked them. I did not turn
away My face from those who cursed and spit upon Me."
The same must hold true of His mystical Body. Down through the ages Christ is enduring an endless round of suffering, giving His body to other Mary’s for anointing and to other Judases to be kissed, beaten, and mistreated. Augustine explains how we can anoint Christ's body:
Anoint Jesus' feet by a life pleasing
to God. Follow in His footsteps; if you have an abundance, give it to the poor.
In this way you can wipe the feet of the Lord.
The poor are, as it were, the feet of
the mystical Christ. By aiding them we can comfort our Lord in His mystical
life, where He receives Judas' kisses on all sides-the sins of Christians.
The Gospel account may be understood
in a very personal way. In everyone's heart, in my own too, there dwell two
souls: a Judas-soul and a Mary-soul. The former is the cause of Jesus'
suffering, it is always ready to apostatize, always ready to give the traitor's
kiss. Are you full master over this Judas-soul within you? Your Magdalen-soul
is a source of comfort to Christ in His sufferings. May the holy season of
Lent, which with God's help we are about to bring to a successful conclusion,
bring victory over the Judas-soul and strengthen the Magdalen-soul within our
breasts.
—Excerpted
from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Monday of Holy Week[1]
The
Gospel for the Mass gives an account of Judas' character, foreshadowing his act
of betrayal.
Spring
Cleaning Just as the Hebrews cleaned and
swept the whole house in preparation for the Pasch (Passover), so too is there
an ancient custom in Christianity that the first three weekdays of Holy Week be
a time for the year's most thorough cleaning. Everything is to be scrubbed and
polished, and all work is to be completed by Wednesday evening (in time for Tenebrae).
Tenebrae consists
of the divine office of Matins and Lauds for Maundy Thursday. It is generally
held on the night of "Spy Wednesday" of Holy Week, so-called because
it is believed to be the night on which Judas Iscariot betrayed our Lord.
Timeline of Holy Week[2]
·
Jesus
curses the fig tree. (Mt 21:18-19; Mk 11:12-14)
·
Jesus
cleanses the temple. (Mt 21:10-17; Mk 11:11; Lk 19:45-46; Jn 2:13-25)
·
Parable
of the wicked tenants (Mt 21:33-46; Mk 12:1-12; Lk 20:9-19)
·
Returns
to Bethany at night.
On Monday[3],
Jesus returned with his disciples to Jerusalem. Along the way, He cursed a
fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit. Some scholars believe this
cursing of the fig tree represented God's judgment on the spiritually dead
religious leaders of Israel. Others believe the symbolism extended to all
believers, demonstrating that genuine faith
is more than just outward religiosity. True, living faith must bear spiritual
fruit in a person's life. When Jesus arrived at the Temple he found the courts
full of corrupt money changers. He began overturning their tables and clearing the
Temple, saying, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of
prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves." (Luke 19:46) On
Monday evening Jesus stayed in Bethany again, probably in the home of his
friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Aids in Battle[4]
The Devil fears those who pray.
My
dear brothers and sisters not only is prayer very powerful; even more, it’s of
the utmost necessity for overcoming the enemies of our salvation. Look at all
the saints: They weren’t content with watching and fighting to overcome the
enemies of their salvation and with keeping well away from all
that could offer them temptation. They passed their whole lives in prayer, not
only the day, but very often the whole night as well. Yes, my dear children, we
watch over ourselves and all the motions of our hearts in vain, and in vain we
avoid temptation, if we don’t pray. If we don’t continually resort to prayer,
all our other ways will be of no use at all to us, and we’ll be overcome. We
won’t find any sinner converted without turning to prayer. We won’t find one
persevering without depending heavily on prayer. Nor will we ever find a
Christian who ends up damned whose downfall didn’t begin with a lack of prayer.
We can see, too, how much the Devil fears those who pray, since there’s not a
moment of the day when he tempts us more than when we’re at prayer. He does
everything he possibly can to prevent us from praying. When the Devil wants to
make someone lose his soul, he starts out by inspiring in him a profound
distaste for prayer. However good a Christian he may be, if the Devil succeeds
in making him either say his prayers badly or neglect them altogether, he’s
certain to have that person for himself. Yes, my dear brothers and sisters,
from the moment that we neglect to pray, we move with big steps towards hell.
We’ll never return to God if we don’t resort to prayer.
ST. JOHN VIANNEY
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day
303 2307-2317
Avoiding war
2307 The fifth commandment forbids the intentional
destruction of human life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany
all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that
the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war.
2308 All citizens and all governments are obliged to work
for the avoidance of war.
However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is no
international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments
cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have
failed."
2309 The strict conditions for legitimate defense by
military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision
makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the
same time:
- the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations
must be lasting, grave, and certain;
- all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be
impractical or ineffective;
- there must be serious prospects of success;
- the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to
be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in
evaluating this condition.
These are
the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war"
doctrine.
The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the
prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.
2310 Public authorities, in this case, have the right and
duty to impose on citizens the obligations necessary for national defense.
Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of
the security and freedom of nations. If they carry out their duty honorably,
they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of
peace.
2311 Public authorities should make equitable provision for
those who for reasons of conscience refuse to bear arms; these are nonetheless
obliged to serve the human community in some other way.
2312 The Church and human reason both assert the permanent
validity of the moral law during armed conflict. "The mere fact that war
has regrettably broken out does not mean that everything becomes licit between
the warring parties."
2313 Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must
be respected and treated humanely.
Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal
principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind
obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the
extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a
mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide.
2314 "Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate
destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime
against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal
condemnation." A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the
opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic,
biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes.
2315 The accumulation of arms strikes many as a
paradoxically suitable way of deterring potential adversaries from war. They
see it as the most effective means of ensuring peace among nations. This method
of deterrence gives rise to strong moral reservations. The arms race does not
ensure peace. Far from eliminating the causes of war, it risks aggravating
them. Spending enormous sums to produce ever new types of weapons impedes
efforts to aid needy populations; it thwarts the development of peoples.
Over-armament multiplies reasons for conflict and increases the danger of
escalation.
2316 The production and the sale of arms affect the common
good of nations and of the international community. Hence public authorities
have the right and duty to regulate them. The short-term pursuit of private or
collective interests cannot legitimate undertakings that promote violence and
conflict among nations and compromise the international juridical order.
2317 Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities,
envy, distrust, and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten
peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes
to building up peace and avoiding war:
Insofar as men are sinners, the threat of war hangs over
them and will so continue until Christ comes again; but insofar as they can
vanquish sin by coming together in charity, violence itself will be vanquished
and these words will be fulfilled: "they shall beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."
THIS WE BELIEVE
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Virtuous politicians and Leaders
o
Can’t think any perhaps you could be the first.
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[2]https://www.catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/Timeline-of-Holy-Week.pdf
[4] Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual
Warfare. TAN Books.
[5] Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You
Die: A Traveler's Life List Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
[6] Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A
Food Lover's Life List (p. 800). Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
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