Vinny’s
Corner
·
The World Day of Prayer for the
Church in China is observed today.
·
Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking
the Aid of Mother Mary
·
Spirit hour: Burgundy Chardonnay
·
Foodie: National Escargot Day
·
Bucket
Item trip: Burgundy
The Code of the West is an unwritten
set of ethical guidelines that shaped cowboy culture and frontier life. While
it was never officially documented in the early days, it emphasized honor,
integrity, and self-reliance. Over time, various authors and historians have
outlined these principles, and in 2010, Wyoming even adopted them as its
official state code of ethics.
Here are some key tenets of the Code
of the West:
- Live each day with courage. Face challenges head-on.
- Take pride in your work. Do your best, no matter the
task.
- Always finish what you start. Commitment is key.
- Do what has to be done. Even when it's tough.
- Be tough, but fair. Strength should be balanced with
justice.
- When you make a promise, keep it. Your word is your
bond.
- Ride for the brand. Loyalty to your people and purpose.
- Talk less, say more. Actions speak louder than words.
- Remember that some things are not for sale. Integrity
matters.
- Know where to draw the line. Stand firm in your values.
These principles reflect the rugged individualism
and camaraderie that defined the Old West. Even today, many people—whether
cowboys or not—find wisdom in these values.
MAY 24 Saturday of
the Fifth Week of Easter
MARY, MARY HELP OF
CHRISTIANS
2 Maccabees, Chapter 15, Verse 8
He urged his men not to FEAR the attack of the Gentiles, but mindful of the help they had received in the past from Heaven, to expect now the victory that would be given them by the Almighty.
As an old, retired military man it was common for us to say while we were loading our magazines with bullets, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. We knew that without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Optimists see steppingstones where pessimists see stumbling blocks.
Heavenly Intercession[1]
"Stretching out his right hand, Jeremiah presented a gold sword to Judas. As he gave it to him, he said 'Accept this holy sword as a gift from God; with it you shall crush your adversaries.' " —2 Maccabees 15:15-16
Nicanor planned to slaughter the Jews on the Sabbath. Because they would not break the Sabbath by fighting, they would be easily killed. "Nevertheless, he did not succeed in carrying out his cruel plan" (15:5). "Maccabeus remained confident, fully convinced that he would receive help from the Lord" (15:7). He had a dream that Onias the high priest and Jeremiah the prophet were interceding in heaven for the Jews. "Nicanor and his men advanced to the sound of trumpets and battle songs. But Judas and his men met the army with supplication and prayers. Fighting with their hands and praying to God with their hearts, they laid low at least thirty-five thousand, and rejoiced greatly over this manifestation of God's power" (15:25-27).
Australia and Our Lady Help of Christians[2]
When Cardinal Patrick Moran of
Sydney wrote his History of the Catholic Church in Australia, he recalled the
laying of the foundation stone of what was to become the first cathedral in
this land. His eminence declared: "Who was the patron selected by the
people and their newly arrived pastor, Father Therry, for the Mother Church?
Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God, under the special invocation of Help of
Christians, was chosen patroness. In choosing Mary, the young Church was
following a sure Catholic instinct. But why the particular title of Help of
Christians?
Events had happened in
Europe only several years earlier, and this no doubt was still fresh in
people's minds. Napoleon Bonaparte had jailed Pope Pius VI who died in goal,
after which Pope Pius VII was elected. Just a short time later, he too was
jailed by Napoleon, who kept him prisoner at Fontainebleau, 35 miles from
Paris. The Holy Father vowed to God that, if he were restored, he would
institute a special feast in honor of Mary. Military reverses forced Napoleon
to release the Pope, and on May 24th, 1814, Pius VII returned in triumph to
Rome. Twelve months later, the Pope decreed that the feast of Mary Help of
Christians, be kept on the 24th of May.
Australia became the first
nation in the world to have, Mary, Help of Christians as Patroness: the first
church to celebrate May 24th on a national scale (elsewhere the feast was
restricted to Rome and specified places); and the first country to have a mother-cathedral
under the same title.
Mary
Help of Christian’s patroness of Australia
and of the Military Ordinariate (Feast: 24th May)
Almighty
God deepen in our hearts our love of Mary Help of Christians. Through her
prayers and under her protection, may the light of Christ shine over our land.
May Australia be granted harmony, justice and peace. Grant wisdom to our
leaders and integrity to our citizens. Bless especially the men and women of
the Australian Defense Force and their families. We ask this through Christ Our
Lord. Amen.
Mary
Help of Christians, pray for us.
·
Make
a virtual visit to the chapel of Our Lady, Help of Christians at the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
·
Read
more about Our Lady, Help of Christians.
· Travel via the Internet to the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians built by St. John Bosco as a monument to the Virgin Mary, with the title Help of Christians, as the mother church and spiritual center of the Salesian Congregation.
Apostolic Exhortation[3]
Veneremur
Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling
of The Most
Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
My beloved Brothers and
Sisters in Christ,
I. The Graces of Holy Communion
i. Holy Communion changes and
transforms us into “Alter Christus”
36. This Eucharistic Christ
gives life to those that receive Him, assimilates them and transforms them into
Himself. Jesus called Himself the “Bread of Life” precisely to make us
understand that He does not nourish us as ordinary food does; rather, as He possesses
life, He gives it to us. Being assimilated by Jesus in Holy Communion makes us
like Him in our sentiments, desires, and our way of thinking. In Holy
Communion, His heart nourishes our hearts; His pure, wise and loving desires
purify our selfish ones, so that we not only know what He wants, but also start
wanting the same more and more. Saint Paul aptly wrote, “I live, no longer
I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Through the Eucharist, we really
become not only an Alter Christus – Another Christ – but indeed Ipse
Christus, Christ Himself. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in a homily on Corpus
Domini speaks of this divine assimilation:
“The
purpose of this communion, of this partaking, is the assimilation of my life
with His, my transformation and conformation into He who is living Love.
Therefore, this communion implies adoration; it implies the will to follow
Christ, to follow the One who goes ahead of us” (Homily, Corpus Domini,
2005).
37. Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose to leave us His presence under the appearance of bread and wine? He reveals the reason in His discourse on the Bread of Life:
“Just
as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the
one who feeds on me will have life because of me” (Jn 6:57).
He wants to be nourishment of higher
order of life within us, a capacity to love and act like Him, even to “be
perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
38. Bread and wine are also
powerful symbols that convey eloquently Jesus’ invitation to walk the same path
of sacrificial love. The grains of wheat that are used for making bread had to
go through a grueling process. They are plucked, thrashed, crushed, and ground
up, kneaded and shaped, and finally, they are thrown to be baked in an oven. In
a similar way, the grapes are plucked and smashed. Their juice is purified and
bottled. Then they are left until maturity. If we look up at the Crucified
Jesus on the Cross, we can see a similar grueling process He went through in
His Passion and Death; this is what true love really means. Every time we come
to the Eucharist; we are invited to imitate this sacrificial love of Christ.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day 342 2663
PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION ONE-PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
CHAPTER TWO-THE TRADITION OF PRAYER
Article 2-THE WAY OF PRAYER
2663 In the
living tradition of prayer, each Church proposes to its faithful, according to
its historic, social, and cultural context, a language for prayer: words,
melodies, gestures, iconography. the Magisterium of the Church has the
task of discerning the fidelity of these ways of praying to the tradition of
apostolic faith; it is for pastors and catechists to explain their meaning,
always in relation to Jesus Christ.
Prayer to the Father
2664 There is
no other way of Christian prayer than Christ. Whether our prayer is communal or
personal, vocal or interior, it has access to the Father only if we pray
"in the name" of Jesus. the sacred humanity of Jesus is therefore the
way by which the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray to God our Father.
Prayer to Jesus
2665 The
prayer of the Church, nourished by the Word of God and the celebration of the
liturgy, teaches us to pray to the Lord Jesus. Even though her prayer is
addressed above all to the Father, it includes in all the liturgical traditions
forms of prayer addressed to Christ. Certain psalms, given their use in the
Prayer of the Church, and the New Testament place on our lips and engrave in
our hearts prayer to Christ in the form of invocations: Son of God, Word of
God, Lord, Savior, Lamb of God, King, Beloved Son, Son of the Virgin, Good
Shepherd, our Life, our Light, our Hope, our Resurrection, Friend of
mankind....
2666 But the
one name that contains everything is the one that the Son of God received in
his incarnation: JESUS. the divine name may not be spoken by human lips, but by
assuming our humanity the Word of God hands it over to us and we can invoke it:
"Jesus," "YHWH saves." The name "Jesus"
contains all: God and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation. To
pray "Jesus" is to invoke him and to call him within us. His name is
the only one that contains the presence it signifies. Jesus is the Risen One,
and whoever invokes the name of Jesus is welcoming the Son of God who loved him
and who gave himself up for him.
2667 This
simple invocation of faith developed in the tradition of prayer under many
forms in East and West. the most usual formulation, transmitted by the
spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is the invocation,
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners." It
combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 with the cry of the
publican and the blind men begging for light. By it the heart is opened to
human wretchedness and the Savior's mercy.
2668 The
invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always.
When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is
not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and
"brings forth fruit with patience." This prayer is possible
"at all times" because it is not one occupation among others but the
only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every
action in Christ Jesus.
2669 The
prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes
his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of
love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to
follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps. the stations from the
Praetorium to Golgotha and the tomb trace the way of Jesus, who by his holy
Cross has redeemed the world.
"Come, Holy Spirit"
2670 "No
one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." Every time we
begin to pray to Jesus it is the Holy Spirit who draws us on the way of prayer
by his prevenient grace. Since he teaches us to pray by recalling Christ, how
could we not pray to the Spirit too? That is why the Church invites us to call
upon the Holy Spirit every day, especially at the beginning and the end of
every important action.
If the Spirit should not be
worshiped, how can he divinize me through Baptism? If he should be worshiped,
should he not be the object of adoration?
2671 The
traditional form of petition to the Holy Spirit is to invoke the Father through
Christ our Lord to give us the Consoler Spirit. Jesus insists on this
petition to be made in his name at the very moment when he promises the gift of
the Spirit of Truth. But the simplest and most direct prayer is also
traditional, "Come, Holy Spirit," and every liturgical tradition has
developed it in antiphons and hymns.
Come, Holy
Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your
love.
Heavenly King, Consoler Spirit, Spirit of Truth, present everywhere and filling
all things, treasure of all good and source of all life, come dwell in us,
cleanse and save us, you who are All Good.
2672 The Holy Spirit, whose anointing permeates our whole being, is the interior Master of Christian prayer. He is the artisan of the living tradition of prayer. To be sure, there are as many paths of prayer as there are persons who pray, but it is the same Spirit acting in all and with all. It is in the communion of the Holy Spirit that Christian prayer is prayer in the Church.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: An end
to the use of contraceptives.
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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