Rachel’s
Corner
After their audience with
the king, they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising
preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. (Matthew 2:9)
See Dinosaurs An Immersive Experience
·
At
Dino Safari you can dig up
fossils, learn about cutting-edge research, take a turn on the Sauropod Slide,
see many varieties of animatronic dinosaurs, and enjoy thrilling virtual
reality and other exciting activities to immerse the whole family in the age of
dinosaurs.
Mary’s Month-Do
a family Rosary
o When I was but a child, I suffered a grand-mal seizure
that nearly killed me. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. My Dad immediately
called Father Paul Wolff who was General Patton's Belgian Guide and asked for
prays at the shrine of our Lady of Beauraing. A
week later the brain tumor disappeared and there was still a small scar left on
a portion of my brain, and I continued to have seizures, but medicine kept it
under control for many years. Eventually through the work of a doctor I
received a world class surgical procedure that completely healed me of
seizures, from the world-famous Barrow Neurological Institute. Today I work
there.
·
do a personal
eucharistic stations of the cross.
Thursday Feast
Thursday
is the day of the week that our Lord gave himself up for consumption. Thursday
commemorates the last supper. Some theologians believe after Sunday Thursday is
the holiest day of the week. We should then try to make this day special by
making a visit to the blessed sacrament chapel, Mass or even stopping by the
grave of a loved one. Why not plan to count the blessing of the week and thank
our Lord. Plan a special meal. Be at Peace. According to Mary Agreda[1]
in her visions it was on a Thursday at six o'clock in the evening and at the
approach of night that the Angel Gabriel approached and announced her as Mother
of God and she gave her fiat.
Dinner Menu
Best Places to Visit in
may
Michigan[2]
is home to a long winter, but when May rolls around, it is the height of the
spring season and considered the start of summer. Tourists and locals alike
emerge to enjoy the climbing temperatures and wealth of events in May
in Michigan.
No matter
what you’re interested in, there is something for everyone to do. Check out one
of these amazing events and activities during your next trip to Michigan in spring.
Attend a Spring Festival
Festivals
of all kinds are held throughout May in Michigan — from the Tulip Time Festival in Holland to the annual Food Truck Festival in Frankenmuth.
As the weather warms up and the flowers begin to bloom, it is the perfect time
to enjoy a community event.
Many of
these festivals take place in the vicinity of the lakes, but you will find spring festivals going on all over
Michigan.
Whether you are interested in local food, cultural events, holiday
celebrations, or musical performances, you can find it all.
Pure
Michigan Dinner Menu[3]
- Wolverinetini
- Michigan Cherry Salad
- Country Ribs Dinner
- Grilled Sweet Corn
- Apple Cranberry Slab Pie
Religion in the Home for Preschool: May
[1] Venerable Mary of Agreda. The
Mystical City of God: Complete Edition Containing all Four Volumes with
Illustrations (p. 770). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition
[3] https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/the-best-recipes-from-michigan/
Introduction
to Second book of Maccabees[1]
The author of this book focuses on
the Maccabean Revolt against Antiochus IV
Epiphanes and
concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of
the hard work. Unlike 1 Maccabees, 2
Maccabees was written in Koine Greek, probably in Alexandria, Egypt, c 124
BC. It presents a revised version of the historical events recounted in
the first seven chapters of 1 Maccabees, adding material from the Pharisaic tradition,
including prayer for the dead and a resurrection on Judgment Day.
Catholics and Eastern Orthodox consider the work to be
canonical and part of the Bible. Protestants and Jews reject
most of the doctrinal issues present in the work. Some Protestants include 2
Maccabees as part of the Biblical Apocrypha, useful for reading in the
church. Unlike 1 Maccabees,
2 Maccabees does not attempt to provide a complete account of the events of the
period. The author seems primarily interested in providing a theological
interpretation of the events; in this book God's interventions direct the
course of events, punishing the wicked and restoring the Temple to
his people. It has been suggested that some events appear to be presented out
of strict chronological order to make theological points, but there seems
little reason to expect a sequential chronology anyway, and little evidence for
demonstrating the point one way or the other. Some of the numbers cited for
sizes of armies may also appear exaggerated, though not all of the manuscripts
of this book agree. The Greek style
of the writer is very educated, and he seems well-informed about Greek customs.
The action follows a very simple plan: after the death of Antiochus IV
Epiphanes,
the Feast of the
Dedication of
the Temple is instituted. The newly dedicated Temple is threatened by Nicanor,
and after his death, the festivities for the dedication are concluded. A
special day is dedicated to commemorate the Jewish victory called
"Adar" and each year it is celebrated two days before "Mordecai
Day". 2 Maccabees demonstrates several points of doctrinal interpretation
deriving from Pharisaic Judaism, and also found in
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox theology. Doctrinal issues that are raised in 2
Maccabees include:
·
Prayer for the dead and sacrificial offerings,
both to free the dead from sin
· Merits of the martyrs
·
Intercession
of the saints (15:11–17)
(at least as seen from a Christian viewpoint); the New American Bible comments
on verse 14 "Jeremiah’s prayer in heaven has been taken in the Roman
Catholic tradition as a biblical witness to the intercession of the
saints"
Specific mention of creation ex
nihilo (II Maccabees 7:28)
In particular, the long
descriptions of the martyrdoms of Eleazar and of a mother with her
seven sons (2
Macc 6:18–7:42) caught the imagination of medieval Christians. Several churches
are dedicated to the "Maccabeean martyrs", and they are among the few
pre-Christian figures to appear on the Catholic calendar of saints' days (that
number is considerably higher in the Eastern Orthodox churches' calendars,
where they also appear). The book is considered the first model of the medieval
stories of the martyrs. Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin examines Hebrews 11:35 ("Some were
tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better
life") and notes that this hope of eternal life after torture is not found
anywhere in the Protocanonicals of the Old Testament, but is found in 2 Maccabees 7.
MAY 15 Thursday
ST. ISIDORE the farmer
2 Maccabees, Chapter 3, Verse 25
A caparisoned horse would be a horse that has its mane and tail decoratively tied and saddle and accoutrements highly decorative with the rider in a golden armor being of kingly or princely rank. This imagery noted shows that God will defend His temple. Heliodorus was on a mission to defraud the temple of its funds when he was struck down by this vision. In many respects it is a shadow of the conversion of Saul when God defends the living temples of His church the new Christians.
The True Temple of God
Some thousand years before the time of Christ, the great Temple of Solomon was built. Previously, the tribes of Israel had worshipped God in sanctuaries housing the ark of the covenant. King David had desired to build a permanent house of God for the ark. But that work was accomplished by his son Solomon, equally famous for his wisdom and his eventual corruption. In the Old Testament, the Temple is often referred to as "the house of the Lord." Sometimes it is called "Zion," as in today's Psalm, a term that also referred to the city of Jerusalem. The Temple was a barometer of sorts for the health of the covenantal relationship between God and the people. Many prophets warned that a failure to uphold the Law and live the covenant would result in the destruction of the Temple. The prophet Jeremiah, for example, warned that having the temple couldn't protect the people from the consequences of their sins: "Put not your trust in these deceitful words: 'This is the Temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord'" (Jer 7:4). In 587 B.C., the Temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, marking the start of the exile. During that time, in the 25th year of exile, the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of a new temple (see Ez 40-48). The description of the temple hearkened back in various ways to the first chapters of Genesis (see 2:10-14), including references to pure water, creatures in abundance and unfading trees producing continuous fresh fruit.
This heavenly temple, it was commonly believed, would descend from heaven and God would then dwell in the midst of mankind. After the exile, the Temple was rebuilt, then damaged and rebuilt again. Finally, not long before the birth of Christ, Herod built a glorious temple. It was there that Jesus was presented by Mary and Joseph and blessed by Simeon (see Lk 2:22-35) and where he, as a youth, spent time talking to the teachers of the Law (Lk 2:43-50). It was also the setting for the scene described in the Gospel -- the cleansing of the Temple and Jesus' shocking prophecy: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." Was Jesus, in cleansing the Temple, attacking the Temple itself? No. And did Jesus, in making his remark, say he would destroy the temple? No. But, paradoxically, the love of the Son for his Father and his Father's house did point toward the demise of the Temple. "This is a prophecy of the Cross," wrote Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in "The Spirit of the Liturgy." "He shows that the destruction of his earthly body will be at the same time the end of the Temple." Why? Because a new and everlasting Temple was established by the death and resurrection of the Son of God. "With his resurrection the new Temple will begin: the living body of Jesus Christ, which will now stand in the sight of God and be the place of all worship. Into this body he incorporates men." The new Temple of God did, in fact, come down from heaven. It dwelt among man (see Jn 1:14). "It" is a man: "Christ is the true temple of God, 'the place where his glory dwells'; by the grace of God, Christians also become temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of which the Church is built" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1197). Through baptism we become joined to the one Body of Christ, and that Body, the Church, is the "one temple of the Holy Spirit" (No. 776). "Come! behold the deeds of the Lord," wrote the Psalmist, "the astounding things he has wrought on earth." Indeed, behold Jesus Christ, the true and astounding temple of God, and worship him in spirit and in truth.
St. Isidore[2]
When
he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, Isidore entered the service of John de
Vergas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on his estate
outside the city for the rest of his life. He married a young woman as simple
and upright as himself who also became a saint-Maria de la Cabeza. They had one
son, who died as a child. Isidore had deep religious instincts. He rose early
in the morning to go to church and spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the
churches of Madrid and surrounding areas. All day long, as he walked behind the
plow, he communed with God. His devotion, one might say, became a problem, for
his fellow workers sometimes complained that he often showed up late because of
lingering in church too long. He was known for his love of the poor, and there
are accounts of Isidore's supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great
concern for the proper treatment of animals.
He
died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius of Loyola,
Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known
in Spain as "the five saints."
Things
to Do:
·
Learn
more about St. Isidore the farmer.
·
Establishing
or replenishing a a Mary garden would be an appropriate way to
celebrate the combination of the feast of St. Isidore and the month of May,
dedicated to Mary.
·
There
is also a lovely book on Mary gardens printed by St. Anthony Messenger Press
called Mary's Flowers: Gardens, Legends and
Meditations by
Vincenzina Krymow.
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,
7. Like the People of Israel,
we too are heading into difficult waters. Today we find ourselves in a crisis;
many anxieties, uncertainties and doubts assail us from every side. As I said
in my pastoral letter “O
Sacred Feast,” the Church at large is experiencing a grave
crisis of faith in the Eucharist. This crisis has inflicted additional
significant implications for authentic Christian discipleship; namely, abysmal
Mass attendance, declining vocations to marriage, priesthood, and religious
life, waning Catholic influence in society. As a nation we are experiencing a
torrent of assaults upon the truth. The Gospel message has been watered down or
replaced with ambiguous worldly values. Many Christians have abandoned Christ and
His Gospel and turned to a secular culture for meaning that it cannot provide
and to satiate a hunger that it can never satisfy.
8. In such troubled waters, our
greatest anchor in these storms is Christ Himself, found in the Holy Eucharist.
Though the instruction of Joshua was intended for the People of Israel facing
formidable enemies as they crossed into the Promised Land, his words remain
crucial for us: “Follow the Ark of the Lord, for we have never been this way
before”.
9. As God’s People today, we
are also on a journey to a promised inheritance, a journey also filled with
dangers, challenges, and suffering. We do not have a column of cloud by day nor
a pillar of fire by night reminding us of God’s presence ever guiding and
protecting us as He did for the People of Israel. We do not have the Ark of the
Covenant in our midst. Instead, we have not something but Someone much greater!
Someone greater than the Ark who goes before us and is always with us. We have
Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist to guide, comfort, and strengthen
us. In times like these, echoing the instruction of Joshua, we must fix our
gaze on the Lord and draw near to Him more than ever in the Eucharist. The more
the Lord in the Eucharist is our central focus, the more surely, He will bring
us through these dark and turbulent waters. On this day when we commemorate the
Institution of the Eucharist, I as your shepherd implore each of you to seek
out Jesus in the Eucharist to be strengthened and renewed in your faith.
“Very truly, I tell you, unless
you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in
you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will
raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true
drink.”
To be continued…
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day 333 2590-2597
PART FOUR: CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION ONE-PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
CHAPTER ONE-THE REVELATION OF PRAYER - THE
UNIVERSAL CALL TO PRAYER
Article 1-IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
IN BRIEF
2590
"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of
good things from God" (St. John Damascene, Defide orth. 3, 24: PG 94,
1089C).
2591 God
tirelessly calls each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself. Prayer
unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between
God and man.
2592 The
prayer of Abraham and Jacob is presented as a battle of faith marked by trust
in God's faithfulness and by certitude in the victory promised to perseverance.
2593 The
prayer of Moses responds to the living God's initiative for the salvation of
his people. It foreshadows the prayer of intercession of the unique mediator,
Christ Jesus.
2594 The
prayer of the People of God flourished in the shadow of the dwelling place of
God's presence on earth, the ark of the covenant and the Temple, under the
guidance of their shepherds, especially King David, and of the prophets.
2595 The
prophets summoned the people to conversion of heart and, while zealously
seeking the face of God, like Elijah, they interceded for the people.
2596 The
Psalms constitute the masterwork of prayer in the Old Testament. They present
two inseparable qualities: the personal, and the communal. They extend to all
dimensions of history, recalling God's promises already fulfilled and looking
for the coming of the Messiah.
2597 Prayed
and fulfilled in Christ, the Psalms are an essential and permanent element of
the prayer of the Church. They are suitable for men of every condition and
time.
Armed Forces Day Build
US Navy[4]
John Barry, an Irish
Catholic, was the "Father of the American Navy." He has been
forgotten by all but a few historians, but he outranks John Paul Jones and was
the official father of the Continental and U.S. Naval forces. He went to sea at
a young age in Ireland and settled in Philadelphia. In October 1775, John was
given command of the Continental Congress vessel, the Leviathan, and his
commission, the first issued, was dated Dec. 7, 1775. When the war began, John
Barry served in a spectacular manner. If his ship was shot out from under him,
he and his crew battled on land. They were with George Washington at Trenton
and Princeton. At the end of the war, Congress enacted on March 27, 1794, a law
establishing the U.S. Navy. The U. S. Senate issued the appointments of
officers made by George Washington, and John Barry's commission reads:
"Captain of the U.S. Navy...to take rank from the 4th day of June, 1784...registered
No. 1." With victory in hand at the end of the Revolutionary War,
Americans in cities, towns and villages chanted a new ditty:
'Irish Commodore'
"There
are gallant hearts whose glory
Columbia
loves to name,
Whose
deeds shall live in story
And
everlasting fame.
But
never yet one braver
Our
starry baner bore,
Then
saucy old Jack Barry,
The
Irish Commodore."
Please pray for the intentions of my dear friend from my South Pole adventure and the Godfather of my daughter Claire, the eminent Navy Chief James Grace.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: The Families of St. Joseph Porters
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
[2]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-05-15
[4]https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/ByIssue/Article/TabId/735/ArtMID/13636/ArticleID/4207/Catholic-Heroes-of-early-America.aspx
[5] Venerable Mary of Agreda. The
Mystical City of God: Complete Edition Containing all Four Volumes with
Illustrations (p. 770). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition
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