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ICEMANforChrist
This blog is based on references in the Bible to fear. God wills that we “BE NOT AFRAID”. Many theologians state that the eighth deadly sin is fear. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. By “the power of the Holy Spirit” we can be witnesses and “communicators” of a new and redeemed humanity “even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7 8). This blog is dedicated to Mary the Mother of God.
Prayers-Devotions-Information
- Daily: Seven Sorrows of Mary
- Prayer for the Troops
- Stations of the Cross: Thursday before First Frida...
- German Rosary
- You Need to Pray for those in Authority
- Iceman's Total Consecration to St. Joseph
- World Peace Rosary
- Character is Destiny
- Long Breastplate of St. Patrick
- The Manhood of the Master
- 54 Day Rosary
- Rosary
- Morning offerings plus four daily prayers(0900/1200/1500/1800 hours) that will change your life.
- Angelus
- Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
- Angelic Examination of Conscience
- 40 Days to Freedom from the Devil
- Liturgy of the Hours
- Prayers of Reparation to the Holy Face
- Universal Man Plan (Phase III) "The St. Peter"
- An Hours Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament
- Universal Man Plan (Phase 2) "The St. George"
- 90 Days to Peace
- INTO THE BREACH
- Explanation of the Traditional Latin Mass
- First Friday
- Divine Mercy Novena
- Shoulder Wound of Christ
- Angelic Choirs Devotion
- Rosary the Roadmap of Salvation
- Universal Man Plan (Phase 4) The "St. Joseph"
- Novena of St. Joseph
- Time is a Gift from God
- Devotion to the Seven Joys and Sorrows of St. Jose...
- Novena to Pray for Strength, Humility and Resolve for Our Bishops
- Eucharistic Stations of the Cross
- Spiritual Warfare
- Iceman's 33 days to Eucharistic Glory
- EVENING DEVOTIONS Goffine's Devout Instructions, 1...
- Quo Vadis (Where are you going?)
- Fitness Fridays
- Chaplet of Divine Mercy
- Nineveh 90
- Peace through Strength
- Iceman's 40 hour devotion
- Our Lady of Sorrows: September Devotion
- Auxilium Christianorum
- Prayers Before and After Mass
- Total Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Patrolman's Fraternity of St. Michael
- PRAYER FOR HEALING THE FAMILY TREE
- Renewal of Baptismal Vow
- Prayer before Mass
- Novena to the Holy Face
- An Offering to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Universal Man Plan (Phase 1) "The St. Ignatius"
- A Method of Hearing Mass Spiritually
- Operation-Purity
- First Saturday Devotion
- Militia of the Immaculata
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Thursday, March 13, 2025
Rachel’s Corner [15] And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Luke...

Devotion to the Drops of Blood
Sunday, March 16, 2025
Claire’s Corner
· Colic Awareness Month-Get some Gripe Water
o I was a Colic baby Mom and Dad found Gripe Water when my parents were in Bermuda as my Day was in the Navy Seabees overlaying the runway where I was born.
· Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
· St. Urho’s Day-He saved the vineyards from Grasshoppers
· Try[4]: Flemish Beef and Beer Stew
· Endometriosis Awareness Month
· Bucket List trip: Maldives
· Spirit Hour: Flemish 75
March 16 Second Sunday of Lent, Called “Reminiscere”
Psalm 27, verse 1:
1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I FEAR? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?
This verse is and should be our declaration of faith. Let us commit it to memorization and repeat it to ourselves daily or when fear and doubt rears its ugly head within our depths. Doing this will help us trust the Lord and develop a true relationship of love with the Trinity through prayer. God will become our sanctuary, and we will be able to put away our fears and rest in the arms of God.
We will no longer have to pretend that we are not afraid for we will trust the Lord with our whole being offering our lives, families, time and treasure with total peace. We will be able to sleep and awaken easily. The old Navajo adage will no longer apply to us; you cannot wake a person who is pretending to be asleep; due to our faith in God.
Through our reliance in Him we will be able to say with King David, “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the LORD.” (Psalm 27:13-14).
ON KEEPING
THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[1]
CHAPTER II
DIES CHRISTI
The Day of the Risen Lord
and of the Gift
of the Holy Spirit
The day of the gift of the
Spirit
28. Sunday, the day of light, could
also be called the day of "fire", in reference to the Holy Spirit.
The light of Christ is intimately linked to the "fire" of the Spirit,
and the two images together reveal the meaning of the Christian Sunday. When he
appeared to the Apostles on the evening of Easter, Jesus breathed upon them and
said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn
20:22-23). The outpouring of the Spirit was the great gift of the Risen Lord to
his disciples on Easter Sunday. It was again Sunday when, fifty days after the
Resurrection, the Spirit descended in power, as "a mighty wind" and
"fire" (Acts 2:2-3), upon the Apostles gathered with Mary.
Pentecost is not only the founding event of the Church but is also the mystery
which forever gives life to the Church. Such an event has its own powerful
liturgical moment in the annual celebration which concludes "the great
Sunday", but it also remains a part of the deep meaning of every Sunday,
because of its intimate bond with the Paschal Mystery. The "weekly
Easter" thus becomes, in a sense, the "weekly Pentecost", when
Christians relive the Apostles' joyful encounter with the Risen Lord and receive
the life-giving breath of his Spirit.
Second Sunday of Lent, Called “Reminiscere”[2]
AT the Introit to-day the Church asks of God the grace to fall -no more into sin: Remember, O God, Thy bowels of compassion, and Thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world, lest at any time our enemies rule over us; deliver us, O God, from all our tribulations. To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In Thee, O God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed; (Ps. xxiv.).
Prayer.
O God, Who beholdest us destitute of every virtue, preserve us both inwardly and outwardly, that we may be defended from all adversities in body, and purified from all evil thoughts in mind.
EPISTLE, i. Thess. iv. 1-7.
Brethren: We pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk, and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more. For you know what precepts I have given to you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor: not in the passion of lust, like the gentiles that know not God: and that no man overreach, nor circumvent his brother in business: because the Lord is the avenger of all these things, as we have told you before, and have testified: for God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification.
Explanation. St. Paul exhorts all Christians to live chastely and honestly, and continually to aspire to higher perfection. Such is the will of God, Who has called us to holiness, and will punish severely all impurity and injustice.
Prayer.
Grant, O Lord, that, according to my vocation, I may never be addicted to earthly and fleshly lusts like the heathen, who know Thee not, but may live in modesty, chastity, and holiness, and adorn my name as a Christian with good works. Amen.
Traditionally for this Sunday Paul exhorts us to keep up our progress and we hear the story of the Transfiguration as a heartening foretaste of Christ's ultimate triumph.
GOSPEL. Matt. xvii. 1-9.
At that time: Jesus taketh unto Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and He was transfigured before them. And His face did shine as the sun: and His garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with Him. And Peter, answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo a voice out of the cloud saying: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him. And the disciples, hearing, fell upon their face: and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them: Arise, and fear not. And they lifting up their eyes saw no one, but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.
Why was Jesus transfigured before His disciples on Mount Tabor?
1. To give
them manifest proof of His divinity.
2. To
prevent all doubt on their part when they should see Him on Mount Calvary.
3. To
encourage all the faithful to patience under agony and suffering.
4. To show us how our glorified bodies shall rise from the dead (i. Cor. xv. 52).
Why did Moses and Elias appear with
Our Lord?
To
testify that Jesus was the Savior of the word spoken of by the law and the
prophets.
Lenten
Calendar[3]
Read: Today’s Gospel shares the story of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
· Devotion of the Seven Sundays: St Joseph-4th Sunday
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day
273 2095-2103
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 1-THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
I. "You Shall Worship the Lord Your God and Him Only
Shall You Serve"
II. "Him Only Shall You Serve"
2095 The
theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity inform and give life to the
moral virtues. Thus charity leads us to render to God what we as creatures owe
him in all justice. The virtue of religion disposes us to have this attitude.
Adoration
2096 Adoration
is the first act of the virtue of religion. To adore God is to acknowledge him
as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that
exists, as infinite and merciful Love. "You shall worship the Lord your
God, and him only shall you serve," says Jesus, citing Deuteronomy.
2097 To adore
God is to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the
"nothingness of the creature" who would not exist but for God. To
adore God is to praise and exalt him and to humble oneself, as Mary did in the
Magnificat, confessing with gratitude that he has done great things and holy is
his name. The worship of the one God sets man free from turning in on
himself, from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.
Prayer
2098 The acts
of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished
in prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our adoration of
God: prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an
indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments. " (We)
ought always to pray and not lose heart."
Sacrifice
2099 It is
right to offer sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude,
supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in
communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice."
2100 Outward
sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice:
"The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit...." The
prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the
heart or not coupled with love of neighbor. Jesus recalls the words of the
prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice." The only
perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total
offering to the Father's love and for our salvation. By uniting ourselves
with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.
Promises and vows
2101 In many
circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and
Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of personal
devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that prayer, this
alms-giving, that pilgrimage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises made to God is
a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of love for a faithful
God.
2102 "A
vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible and
better good which must be fulfilled by reason of the virtue of
religion," A vow is an act of devotion in which the Christian
dedicates himself to God or promises him some good work. By fulfilling his vows
he renders to God what has been promised and consecrated to Him. the Acts of
the Apostles shows us St. Paul concerned to fulfill the vows he had made.
2103 The
Church recognizes an exemplary value in the vows to practice the evangelical
counsels:
Mother Church rejoices that she
has within herself many men and women who pursue the Savior's self-emptying
more closely and show it forth more clearly, by undertaking poverty with the
freedom of the children of God, and renouncing their own will: they submit
themselves to man for the sake of God, thus going beyond what is of precept in
the matter of perfection, so as to conform themselves more fully to the
obedient Christ.
The Church can, in certain cases and for proportionate reasons, dispense from
vows and promises
The social duty of religion and the right to religious freedom
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: For
the Poor and Suffering
Total Consecration
to St. Joseph Day 31
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[2] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
[4] Sheraton, Mimi. 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A
Food Lover's Life List. Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Vinny’s Day Try “Rack of Lamb Persillade”
- Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain March 1-19 Enjoy a high-spirited fiesta in Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city. The annual bash, held in commemoration of Saint Joseph, sees neighborhoods transformed into lively parties over a boisterous five-day period.
· 37th Annual Parade & Festival Sunday March 16 10:30-5:00
o St. Patrick's Day Festival brings the Irish spirit to Tucson in 2025!
· Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
- Spirit hour: Cocktails to Kick the Cold and Flu
- Elderflower tea is great for colds and flu’s
- Bucket Item trip: Ethiopia
Introduction to Zechariah
The prophecies of
First Zechariah can be dated to the late sixth century B.C., contemporary with
those of Haggai; the oracles of Second Zechariah are somewhat later. The most
striking feature of First Zechariah is a series of visions in which the prophet
describes the centrality of Jerusalem, its Temple, and its leaders, who
function both in the politics of the region and of the Persian empire and in
God’s universal rule. These visions clearly relate to the Temple restoration
begun in 520 B.C. The prophet is acutely aware of the devastation that comes
from disobedience to God’s word, as had been spoken by God’s prophetic
emissaries. Yet, it was now clear in this century after the rebuilding of the
Temple and the repatriation of many of the exiles, that Judah would not soon
regain political autonomy and a Davidic king. So the various poems, narratives,
oracles, and parables of Second Zechariah maintain the hope of previous prophets
by depicting a glorious restoration. At that time all nations will recognize Jerusalem’s
centrality and acknowledge God’s universal sovereignty.
MARCH 15 Saturday of The First Week of Lent-Ember
Day
St. Longinus-Ides of March-Lantern Festival-Holi
Zachariah, Chapter 8, Verse 13-15
13 Just as you became a curse among
the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you that you
may be a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands
be strong. 14
Thus says the LORD of hosts: Just as I intended to
harm you when your ancestors angered me—says the LORD of hosts—and I did not
relent, 15 so
again in these days I intend to favor Jerusalem and the house of Judah; do not fear!
As gentiles who are God-fearing, we must accept our salvation by living the Shema Israel daily seeking to love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength (let our hands be strong). This morning as I said the Shema Israel I thought Lord I don’t understand how to love you with my whole soul, but I decided to say the prayer looking in the mirror at myself. I then said, “Hear O Israel that the Lord our God is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, (I touched my heart) and with your whole mind, (I touched the side of my temple) with your whole soul (I instinctively touched my eyes; which are the windows of the soul) and flexed my arms and said with my whole strength.
It
was then that I realized what the Lord had revealed to me. My eyes: with
my eyes I see things as a child of God, or as a selfish clot. With my eyes I
see the good in the world or I see things that I want. With my eyes I see
another human as a beloved or as an object to be used. Yes, indeed with my eyes
my soul does exist and I will now love the Lord my God with my whole eyes which
are the windows of the soul.
Today reflect on how the Rosary meditations show us how Mary, Jesus and the Holy Spirit show us how to love God with our whole Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength.
Saturday of The First Week of Lent-Ember Day
EPISTLE, i. Thess. v. 14-23.
BRETHREN: We beseech you, rebuke the unquiet, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient towards all men. See that none render evil for evil to any man: but ever follow that which is good towards each other, and towards all men. Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concern ing you all. Extinguish not the spirit. Despise not prophecies. But prove all things: hold fast that which is good. From all appearance of evil refrain yourselves. And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you in all things: that your whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless in the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel and Prayer the same as those of to-morrow.
Station "With St. Peter
And the Lord hath chosen thee this day
to be His peculiar people (1st lesson)
It is Ember Saturday. Oremus, flectamus genna! Let us pray, and in spirit kneel at the tomb of St. Peter, the great priest and supreme shepherd of Christ's flock, and let us listen with reverence to the words of his successor Pius XI "On the Priesthood," for on this day, in hundreds of cathedrals, apostolic hands will be laid on young levites, levites "who have chosen the Lord, this day, to be their God, and to walk in His ways and keep His ceremonies, and precepts and judgments, and obey His commands" (epistle).
"The human race has always felt the need of a priesthood: of men who have the official charge to be mediators between God and humanity, men who should consecrate themselves entirely to this mediation as to the very purpose of their lives; men who are set aside to offer to God public prayers and sacrifices in the name of human society. For human society as such is bound to offer to God public and social worship. It is bound to acknowledge in Him its supreme Lord and first beginning, and to strive towards Him as to its last end, to give Him thanks and to offer Him propitiation.
"The Apostle of the Gentiles perfectly sums up what may be said of the greatness, the dignity and the duty of the Christian priesthood: 'Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God.' The priest is the minister of Christ--an instrument, that is to say, in the hands of the divine Redeemer. He continues the work of the redemption in all its world-embracing universality and divine efficacy, that work which wrought so marvelous a transformation in the world. Thus the priest, as is said with good reason, is indeed 'another Christ'; for in some way, he is himself a continuation of Christ. 'As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you,' is spoken to the priest; and hence the priest, like Christ, continue to give 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.'" (From the Encyclical Letter of His His Holiness Pope Pius XI.)
Let us pray, then, for all who in these days will be raised to this high and responsible position "that the God of peace may sanctify them in all things; that their whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (epistle); that the Lord may make them worthy laborers in His vineyard; that the Holy Spirit may fill them with Pentecostal fire and apostolic fortitude for the great work of "incorporating all things in Christ."
St. Peter, rock of the Church, bearer of the keys of God's kingdom, great priest of Jesus Christ, holy shepherd of His flock, bless those who are about to become fishers of men.
Prayer Source: Orate Fratres/Worship: A Review Devoted to the Liturgical Apostolate, The Liturgical Press
St.
Longinus[1] Roman Catholic Church (pre-1969)
St.
Longinus was the Roman centurion who pierced the side of Christ with a lance.
He is said to have converted to Christianity after experiencing the darkness after
Christ's death.
St.
Luke tells us that the centurion "gave praise to God", and exclaimed,
"Truly this was an upright man." (Luke 23:47)
What
was believed to be the Holy Lance of Longinus, was given to Innocent VIII in
1492.
Things to Do:
·
Read more about the statue of
St. Longinus at St. Peter's Basilica.
·
Read the Life of Saint
Longinus from the Golden Legend.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day
272 2083-2094
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 1-THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
I. "You Shall Worship the Lord Your God and Him Only
Shall You Serve"
2083 Jesus
summed up man's duties toward God in this saying: "You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind." This immediately echoes the solemn call: "Hear, O Israel:
the LORD our God is one LORD."
God has loved us first. the love of the One God is recalled in the first of the
"ten words." the commandments then make explicit the response of love
that man is called to give to his God.
2084 God makes
himself known by recalling his all-powerful loving, and liberating action in
the history of the one he addresses: "I brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage." the first word contains the first
commandment of the Law: "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve
him.... You shall not go after other gods." God's first call and just
demand is that man accept him and worship him.
2085 The one
and true God first reveals his glory to Israel. The revelation
of the vocation and truth of man is linked to the revelation of God. Man's
vocation is to make God manifest by acting in conformity with his creation
"in the image and likeness of God":
There will
never be another God, Trypho, and there has been no other since the world began
. . . than he who made and ordered the universe. We do not think that our God
is different from yours. He is the same who brought your fathers out of Egypt
"by his powerful hand and his outstretched arm." We do not place our
hope in some other god, for there is none, but in the same God as you do: the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
2086 "The
first commandment embraces faith, hope, and charity. When we say 'God' we
confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, faithful and just,
without any evil. It follows that we must necessarily accept his words and have
complete faith in him and acknowledge his authority. He is almighty, merciful,
and infinitely beneficent. Who could not place all hope in him? Who could not
love him when contemplating the treasures of goodness and love he has poured
out on us? Hence the formula God employs in the Scripture at the beginning and
end of his commandments: 'I am the LORD.'"
Faith
2087 Our moral
life has its source in faith in God who reveals his love to us. St. Paul speaks
of the "obedience of faith" as our first obligation. He shows
that "ignorance of God" is the principle and explanation of all moral
deviations. Our duty toward God is to believe in him and to bear witness
to him.
2088 The first
commandment requires us to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and
vigilance, and to reject everything that is opposed to it. There are various
ways of sinning against faith:
Voluntary doubt about the faith disregards or refuses to hold as true what God
has revealed and the Church proposes for belief. Involuntary doubt refers to
hesitation in believing, difficulty in overcoming objections connected with the
faith, or also anxiety aroused by its obscurity. If deliberately cultivated doubt
can lead to spiritual blindness.
2089
Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent
to it. "Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which
must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate
doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian
faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion
with the members of the Church subject to him."
Hope
2090 When God
reveals Himself and calls him, man cannot fully respond to the divine love by
his own powers. He must hope that God will give him the capacity to love Him in
return and to act in conformity with the commandments of charity. Hope is the
confident expectation of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God; it is
also the fear of offending God's love and of incurring punishment.
2091 The first
commandment is also concerned with sins against hope, namely, despair and
presumption:
By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in
attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God's
goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is faithful to his promises - and to
his mercy.
2092 There are
two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping
to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon
God's almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without
conversion and glory without merit).
Charity
2093 Faith in
God's love encompasses the call and the obligation to respond with sincere love
to divine charity. The first commandment enjoins us to love God above
everything and all creatures for him and because of him.
2094 One can sin against God's love in various ways:
- indifference neglects
or refuses to reflect on divine charity; it fails to consider its prevenient
goodness and denies its power.
- ingratitude fails or refuses to acknowledge divine charity and to
return him love for love.
- lukewarmness is
hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love; it can imply refusal to
give oneself over to the prompting of charity.
- acedia or spiritual sloth
(I don’t care attitude) goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from
God and to be repelled by divine goodness.
- hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids sins and inflicts punishments.
Ides
of March
In modern times, the Ides
of March is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Caesar
was stabbed to death at a meeting of the Senate. As many as 60 conspirators, led
by Brutus and Cassius, were involved.[2]
Caesar
could garner so much power, but in the end, he was assassinated. No matter how
powerful a person or corporation may be, there will be an end to their reign
and their influence. By way of contrast, the Lord is the everlasting God. Jesus
is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who has the power of an endless life.
Remembering the frailty and fallenness of all men is a crucial part of gaining
wisdom. Solomon captured this so well when he wrote “The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10) but “the fear of man is a snare” (29:25).
Remembering the fact that no matter how powerful a position a man or woman may
hold, God “holds their breath in His hands and owns all their ways” (Dan. 5:23)
and that “death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to
heart” (Eccl. 7:2).[3]
Chinese
Lantern Festival[4]
Also known as the Shang Yuan Festival or the Yuan Xiao Jie
Festival, the Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that falls
during the first month of the lunar calendar, on the fifteenth day. The
festival is a celebration of the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations and
the start of the new year. It’s a time for families to come together and enjoy
food, entertainment, and the lighting of lanterns. One of the fundamental
traditions of the Lantern Festival is the display and appreciation of colorful
lanterns as well as other activities such as fireworks displays, parades, and
traditional dance and music performances. Many people also participate in
cultural activities such as solving riddles written on lanterns or eating sweet
dumplings, called yuanxiao.
History of Lantern
Festival
The origins of the Lantern Festival can be traced back to
the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) in ancient China. According to legend, the
festival was originally a celebration of the deity Taiyi,
who was believed to be responsible for the creation of the universe. Over time,
the festival evolved to become a celebration of the new year and the end of the
winter season.
During the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), the Lantern
Festival became an important cultural event that was celebrated by people from
all walks of life as a time to pay respect to their ancestors and to pray for
good fortune in the new year.
In the modern era, the Lantern Festival is still an
important cultural event in China and is celebrated by millions of people
around the world. It is a time for celebration, reflection, and coming together
with loved ones, and is an integral part of Chinese culture and tradition.
How to Celebrate Lantern Festival
There are many ways in which people celebrate the Lantern
Festival. Some common traditions and activities include:
Displaying and
Appreciating Lanterns
People display lanterns of all shapes and sizes, often in
the form of parades or displays. The lanterns are made from a variety of
materials, including paper, silk, and metal, and come in a wide range of shapes
and sizes. Some lanterns are shaped like animals or objects, while others are
simple round or cylindrical shapes.
Lighting Lanterns
Many people also light lanterns as part of the festival
celebrations. These lanterns can be small handheld lanterns or larger lanterns
that are suspended in the air. In some cases, people release lanterns into the
sky as a symbol of letting go of the past and welcoming the future.
Solving Riddles
Some lanterns may have riddles written on them, and people
try to solve these riddles, which is seen as a fun and interactive way to
celebrate the holiday.
Eating Traditional Foods
The Lantern Festival is also a time for people to enjoy
traditional foods, such as yuanxiao, a type of sweet
dumpling made from glutinous rice flour. Other traditional foods that are often
eaten during the festival include tangyuan (sweet rice
balls) and other sweet treats.
Enjoying Performances
The Lantern Festival is often accompanied by performances
of traditional Chinese music and dance, as well as other forms of entertainment
such as acrobatics and theater.
Fireworks Displays
In some areas, fireworks displays are an important part of
the Lantern Festival celebrations. These displays are often elaborate and
spectacular, and are enjoyed by people of all ages.
· Lyte
Sky Lantern Festival 2025.
o Saturday, March
15th, 2025
o 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: The Families of St. Joseph
Porters
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
[1]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2021-03-15
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