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.
·Today is World Honeybee Day. Here’s a smart tip. If you are going on a trip to another country or some distance, try to get some honey from the area you are going to. It will help you build resistance to the illnesses in the area you are visiting.
Ways to Celebrate and Reflect Spiritually
oPlant a pollinator garden: Lavender, borage, and marjoram are bee favorites. Consider dedicating the garden to St. Francis of Assisi, patron of ecology.
oHost a honey-themed meal: Try honey-roast duck, honey mustard salmon, or honey cake. Pair with a bourbon tasting or Darjeeling tea for a sensory meditation.
oReflect on bees as a symbol of community and sacrifice: Like the Body of Christ, each bee plays a role in sustaining the hive. Their selflessness echoes virtues like diligence, humility, and charity.
oPray for creation: Use Psalm 104 (“You make springs gush forth in the valleys…”) to meditate on God’s providence through pollinators.
MEDICINAL PLANTS Day 2-Revealed by Heaven to Luz De María
RAW GARLIC Bactericide effect. Useful in disease prevention. High Vitamin C content. Contributes to the correct functioning of the thyroid gland, favoring the basic metabolism. Garlic has the following properties: Strengthens immune system. Preventive effect on diseases. Antihistaminic properties. Increases hemoglobin production. Contributes to growth and repair of body tissue. Vitamin C has the following properties: Known as: Ascorbic Acid
GINGER Scientific name: Echinacea purpurea Family: Asteraceae Reinforces immune system. Maintains the defenses of the organism. Fights intestinal bactericide infections. Expectorant and antibiotic.
As mother, I ask you observe, as part of your diet for life, the daily need to ingest VITAMIN C, to ingest raw garlic or ginger daily. Blessed Virgin Mary, 03.12.2017
·Bucket Item trip: Kraków, Poland – Divine Mercy & John Paul II.
oThis is a spiritually rich week, perfectly timed. August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption, and August 16 is the feast day of St. Stephen of Hungary, a saint deeply connected to Central European Catholic identity—making Kraków a fitting location.
oIn Kraków, you can immerse yourself in:
§🕊️Divine Mercy Sanctuary – Home of St. Faustina’s revelations
§🧳John Paul II Center – Pilgrimage site honoring his legacy
§🏰Wawel Cathedral – Burial site of Polish kings and saints
§🖼️Cultural pairings – Pierogi, Polish hymns, and Vistula River walks
A Prayer Before Mass (Saturday) (by Saint Ambrose)
I entreat Thee also, O Lord, by this most holy mystery of Thy Body and Blood, wherewith we are daily fed, and cleansed, and sanctified in Thy Church, and are made partakers of the one Supreme Divinity, grant unto me Thy holy virtues, that filled therewith I may with a good conscience draw near unto Thy holy Altar, so that these heavenly mysteries may be made unto me salvation and life; for Thou hast said with Thy holy and blessed lips: The Bread which I will give is My Flesh, for the life of the world. I am the living Bread which came down from heaven. If any man eats of this Bread, he shall live forever. O most sweet Bread, heal the palate of my heart, that I may taste the sweetness of Thy love. Heal it of all infirmities, that I may find sweetness in nothing out of Thee. O most pure Bread, having all delight and all savor, which ever refreshest us, and never failest, let my heart feed on Thee, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor. The Angels feed on Thee fully; let pilgrim man feed on Thee after his measure, so that, refreshed by this nourishment, he may not faint by the way. Holy Bread! Living Bread! Pure Bread! Who didst come down from heaven, and who givest life to the world, enter into my heart and cleanse me from all impurity of flesh and spirit. Come into my soul; heal and cleanse me within and without; be the protection and continual health of my soul and body. Drive far from me all foes that lie in wait: let them flee afar off at the presence of Thy power; that, strengthened by Thee without and within, I may by a straight way arrive at Thy kingdom, where, not as now in mysteries, but face to face, we shall behold Thee; when Thou shalt have delivered up the kingdom to God Thy Father, and shalt be God All in all. Then shalt Thou satisfy me with Thyself by a wondrous fullness, so that I shall never hunger nor thirst any more forever. Who with the same God the Father, and the Holy Ghost, ever livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
AUGUST 16 Saturday in the Octave of
the Assumption
FEAST
OF ST. JOACHIM-St. Stephen Of Hungary-Rum Day
Joshua, Chapter 24, Verse 14
Now, therefore, FEAR the LORD and serve him completely
and sincerely. Cast out the gods your ancestors served beyond the river and in
Egypt and serve the LORD.
Joshua
was telling the Israelites that it was a day for decision-making, a day for
clarifying what they worship and to what they will give their ultimate
allegiance.
In a sermon by Rev.
Margaret Bullitt-Jonas she states:
“Put away the gods that
your ancestors served...” Joshua declares. Doing that requires an act of
self-examination.
·What
are the gods that I serve?
·What
does my bank statement or my credit card statement say about my values?
·What
does the way I spend my free time say about what matters most to me?
·How
does the way that I treat family-members and co-workers, neighbors and friends
show which gods I serve?
·To
what do I give my best, most focused attention and care?
·What
do I Really care about?
·What
motives really drive me?
·What
goals really draw me forward?
·Are
there compulsive patterns of thought or behavior to which I am excessively
attached?
You and I can go to
church and say very sincerely that we worship God, but in the hurly-burly of
daily life there are all kinds of lesser gods that tug at us and clamor for our
attention and our devotion.[1]
Blessed are the poor
in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:3)
Copilot
This passage from Joshua 24:14,
paired with Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas’s sermon, opens a profound invitation
to spiritual honesty and discernment. It’s not just a call to reject idolatry
in the ancient sense—it’s a summons to examine the subtle allegiances of our
hearts in the modern world.
🔍 A Day of Decision: Joshua’s Call
to Clarity
Joshua’s exhortation is not
gentle—it’s urgent. He stands before the people at Shechem, pressing them to
choose whom they will serve. The context is rich:
·“Fear
the LORD”: Not
terror, but awe, reverence, and surrender.
·“Serve
him completely and sincerely”:
No half-measures, no divided loyalties.
·“Cast
out the gods your ancestors served”:
A radical break from inherited patterns, cultural norms, and internalized
idols.
This is a moment of covenant
renewal, but also of personal reckoning.
🧠 Self-Examination: The Modern Idols
We Serve
Rev. Bullitt-Jonas’s questions
pierce through the veneer of religious routine and ask us to confront the gods
we serve in practice, not just in theory. Here’s how her reflection might be
expanded:
Question
Underlying Idol
Spiritual Counterpoint
What do my financial habits say about me?
Materialism, security, status
Generosity, trust in providence
How do I spend my free time?
Entertainment, distraction, self-indulgence
Rest, renewal, service
How do I treat others?
Control, ego, indifference
Compassion, humility, presence
What gets my best attention?
Productivity, ambition, perfectionism
Worship, love, contemplation
What do I really care about?
Reputation, success, comfort
Justice, mercy, truth
What drives me?
Fear, pride, envy
Faith, hope, love
What compulsions bind me?
Addiction, resentment, anxiety
Freedom in Christ, healing grace
These “lesser gods” are often
socially acceptable, even praised. But they fragment our souls and dilute our
devotion.
🌿 The Beatitude Lens: Poverty of
Spirit
Jesus’
words in Matthew 5:3— “Blessed are the poor in spirit”—offer a counter-cultural
vision. Poverty of spirit is not weakness; it’s the gateway to the Kingdom. It
means:
·Recognizing
our dependence on
God rather than our own strength.
·Letting
go of self-sufficiency
and the illusion of control.
·Opening
space for grace to
enter where idols once ruled.
This
beatitude reframes Joshua’s challenge: to cast out false gods is to become poor
in spirit, and thus rich in divine presence.
✨ A Spiritual Practice: Daily Allegiance Check
You
might consider a simple daily examen inspired by this theme:
1.What did I give my best energy to
today?
2.Did I serve God or a lesser god in
my choices?
3.Where did I feel tugged away from
love, truth, or peace?
4.What do I need to release to serve
God more sincerely tomorrow?
The eldest son of an immigrant Irish family in
Connecticut, young Michael left school at 13 to work in a brass factory making
spoons. At 16 he began studies for the priesthood in Quebec, but was obliged to
leave to help support the family when his father died. Michael completed his
education in Baltimore, Maryland, and was ordained for the diocese of Hartford
in 1877.
Assigned to St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven, Fr. McGivney
was very active in parish and civic affairs, serving as director of public
plays and fairs. He volunteered to become the guardian of Alfred Downes, a
minor whose father had died leaving a large family in poverty. This situation
as well as his own family's circumstances and that of other immigrants
impressed on Fr. McGivney the need for lay Catholic men to establish a mutual
aid society to provide financial assistance for their families if the primary wage
earner died. Protestant fraternal groups already provided this type of life
insurance protection for their members.
In 1882, Fr. McGivney formed the Knights of Columbus
among a small group of St. Mary's parishioners to promote charity, unity, and
fraternity, assisting widows and orphans. Because of the Knights' emphasis on
serving Church, community and family, the organization grew and did not remain
strictly parish-based. Patriotism was added as a founding principle in 1900.
Father McGivney died from pneumonia in 1890 and was
buried in Thomaston, Connecticut. Later his body was moved back to St. Mary’s
in New Haven where it remains today. He was beatified in 2020.
—Excerpted from Franciscan Media
Today is the
Feast of St. Joachim using the traditional Latin Mass calendar. Upon reflection
with yesterday being the feast of the assumption of Mary that the church would
honor Her earthly father.
(LifeSiteNews) –– From time
immemorial the Greeks have celebrated the feast of St. Joachim on the day
following our Lady’s birthday. The Maronites kept it on the
day after the Presentation in November, and the Armenians on the Tuesday after
the Octave of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The Latins at first did not
keep his feast. Later on it was admitted and celebrated sometimes on the day
after the Octave of the Nativity, September 16th, sometimes on the day
following the conception of the Blessed Virgin, December 9th. Thus both East
and West agreed in associating St. Joachim with his illustrious daughter when
they wished to do him honor.
About the year 1510, Julius II placed the feast
of the grandfather of the Messias upon the Roman Calendar with the rank of
double major; and remembering that family, in which the ties of nature and of
grace were in such perfect harmony, he fixed the solemnity on March 20, the day
after that of his son-in-law, St. Joseph. The life of the glorious patriarch
resembled those of the first fathers of the Hebrew people; and it seemed as
though he were destined to imitate their wanderings also, by continually
changing his place upon the sacred cycle.
Hardly fifty years after the Pontificate of Julius II the critical
spirit of the day cast doubts upon the history of St. Joachim, and his name was
erased from the Roman breviary. Gregory XV, however,
re-established his feast in 1622 as a double, and the Church has since
continued to celebrate it. Devotion to our Lady’s father continuing to increase
very much, the Holy See was petitioned to make his feast a holy day of
obligation, as it had already made that of his spouse, St. Anne. In order to
satisfy the devotion of the people without increasing the number of days of
obligation, Clement XII in 1738
transferred the feast of St. Joachim to the Sunday after the Assumption of his
daughter, the Blessed Virgin, and restored it to the rank of double major.
On the 1st August 1879, the sovereign pontiff, Leo XIII, who received the name
of Joachim in baptism, raised both the feast of his glorious patron and that of
St. Anne to the rank of doubles of the second class.
The following is an extract from the decree Urbi et Orbi,
announcing this final decision with regard to the said feasts: “Ecclesiasticus
teaches us that we ought to praise our fathers in their generation; what great
honor and veneration ought we then to render to St. Joachim and St. Anne, who
begot the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and are on that account more
glorious than all others.”
“By your fruits you are known,” says St. John Damascene, “you have given birth
to a daughter who is greater than the Angels and has become their Queen.” (J. Damasc. Oratio I
de V.M. Nativity) Now since, through the divine mercy, in our unhappy times the
honor and worship paid to the Blessed Virgin is increasing in proportion to the
increasing needs of the Christian people, it is only right that the new glory
which surrounds their blessed daughter should redound upon her happy parents.
May this increase of devotion towards them cause the Church to experience still
more their powerful protection.
MASS
Prayer is good with fasting and alms more than to lay up
treasures of gold. (Tobit 12:8) Far better than Tobias, did
Joachim experience the truth of the Archangel’s word. Tradition says that he
divided his income into three parts: one for the Temple, the second for the
poor, and the third for his family. The Church, wishing to honor Mary’s father,
begins by praising this liberality, and also his justice which earned him such
great glory.
He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor: his justice
remaineth for ever and ever: his horn shall be exalted in glory.
Ps. Blessed is the man that feareth the
Lord: he delighteth exceedingly in his commandments. Glory, etc. He
hath.
Mother of God: such is the title
which exalts Mary above all creatures; but Joachim, too, is ennobled by it; he
alone can be called, for all eternity, Grandfather of Jesus. In
heaven, even more than on earth, nobility and power go hand in hand. Let us
then, with the Church, become humble clients of one so great.
Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish: and that
hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures. Who is
he, and we will praise him? for he hath done wonderful things in his life. Who
hath been tried thereby, and made perfect, he shall have glory everlasting. He
that could have transgressed, and hath not transgressed: and could do evil
things, and hath not done them: Therefore are his goods established in the
Lord, and all the church of the saints shall declare his alms.
Joachim’s wealth, like that of the first patriarchs, consisted
chiefly in flocks and herds. The holy use he made of it drew down God’s
blessing upon it. But the greatest of all his desires heaven seemed to refuse
him. His holy spouse Anne was barren. Amongst all the daughters of Israel
expecting the Messias, there was no hope for her. One day the victims Joachim
presented in the temple were contemptuously rejected. Those were not the gifts
the Lord of the temple desired of him; later on, instead of lambs from his
pastures, he was to present the Mother of the Lamb of God, and his offering
would not be rejected.
This day, however, he was filled with sorrow and fled away without
returning to his wife. He hastened to the mountains where his flocks were at
pasture; and living in a tent, he fasted continually, for he said: “I will take
no food till the Lord my God look mercifully upon me; prayer shall be my
nourishment.”
Meanwhile Anne was mourning her widowhood and her barrenness. She
prayed in her garden as Joachim was praying on the mountain. (Epiphanius,
Oratio de laudibus Virgin) Their prayers ascended at the same time to the Most
High, and he granted them their request. An Angel of the Lord appeared to each
of them and bade them meet at the Golden Gate, and soon Anne could say:
“Now I know that the Lord hath greatly blessed me. For I was a widow and I am
one no longer, and I was barren, and lo! I have conceived!” (Protoevang. Jacobi)
The Gradual again proclaims the merit of alms-giving and the value
God sets upon holiness of life. The descendants of Joachim shall be mighty and
blessed in heaven and upon earth. May he deign to exert his influence with his
all holy daughter, and with his grandson Jesus, for our salvation.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the
son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot
Judas and his brethren. And Judas begot Phares and Zara of Thamar. And Phares
begot Esron. And Esron begot Aram. And Aram begot Aminadab. And Aminadab begot
Naasson. And Naasson begot Salmon. And Salmon begot Booz of Rahab.
And Booz begot Obed of Ruth. And Obed begot Jesse. And Jesse begot
David the king. And David the king begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife
of Urias. And Solomon begot Roboam. And Roboam begot Abia. And Abia begot Asa.
And Asa begot Josaphat. And Josaphat begot Joram. And Joram begot Ozias. And
Ozias begot Joatham.
And Joatham begot Achaz. And Achaz begot Ezechias. And Ezechias
begot Manasses. And Manasses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias. And Josias
begot Jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylon. And after
the transmigration of Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. And Salathiel begot
Zorobabel. And Zorobabel begot Abiud. And Abiud begot Eliacim. And Eliacim
begot Azor. And Azor begot Sadoc. And Sadoc begot Achim. And Achim begot Eliud.
And Eliud begot Eleazar. And Eleazar begot Mathan. And Mathan begot Jacob. And
Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called
Christ.
“Rejoice, O Joachim, for of thy daughter a Son is born to
us,” (J. Damasc. Oratio I
de V.M. Nativity ex Isaiah 9:6) exclaims St. John
Damascene. It is in this spirit the Church reads today the list of the royal
ancestors of our Savior. Joseph, the descendant of these illustrious princes,
inherited their rights and passed them on to Jesus, who was his Son according to
the Jewish law, though according to nature He was of the line of His virgin
Mother alone.
St. Luke, Mary’s Evangelist, has preserved the names of the direct
ancestors of the Mother of the Man-God, springing from David in the person of
Nathan, Solomon’s brother. Joseph, the son of Jacob according to St. Matthew,
appears in St. Luke as son of Heli. The reason is that by espousing Mary, the
only daughter of Hili or Heliachim, that is Joachim, he became legally his son
and heir.
This is the now generally received explanation of the two
genealogies of Christ the Son of David. It is not surprising that Rome, the
queen city who has become the Bride of the Son of man in the place of the
repudiated Sion, prefers to use in her Liturgy the genealogy which by its long
line of royal ancestors emphasizes the kingship of the spouse over Jerusalem.
The name of Joachim, which signifies “the preparation of the Lord,” is thus
rendered more majestic, without losing aught of its mystical meaning.
He is himself crowned with wonderful glory. Jesus, his Grandson,
gives him to share in his own authority over every creature. In the Offertory
we celebrate St. Joachim’s dignity and power
St. Stephen of Hungary (969-1038). Vaik, son of Geza, Duke of
Hungary, was baptized about 985 by St. Adalbert of Prague who gave him the name
of Stephen. He was chosen by God to bring his people to the Christian faith.
With the assistance of monks from Burgundy, he established bishoprics, founded
several monasteries and re-organized the whole life of the country. Pope
Silvester II offered him the privilege of being crowned king and the ceremony
took place on December 25, 1000. His great zeal for the spread of the Catholic
faith earned him the title of apostolic king and apostle of Hungary. He died on
August 15, 1038, the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, to whom he had
consecrated his kingdom.
“The only way that I could figure
they could improve upon Coca-Cola, one of life’s most delightful elixirs, which
studies prove will heal the sick and occasionally raise the dead, is to put rum
or bourbon in it.” ~ Lewis Grizzard
Rum is a fantastic drink, one that has
served as the stuff of legends for pirates of every walk of life. Rum also
appears in everything from dinners to desserts, with rum balls being one of our
particular favorites. Of course, as the great Lewis Grizzard said, it also is
an amazing mixer, and one of the only ones capable of improving Coca-Cola. So,
we all know that pirates like rum and that rum is an alcoholic beverage but
many of us are less than clear on what, exactly, makes rum RUM. Let’s start
with the basics, shall we? Rum is a distilled alcohol, specifically distilled
from byproducts of sugarcane. Some varieties are made from molasses, others
from sugarcane juice but all rum, when its finished being distilled, is clear.
The color you see in rum is from additives or seasonings and are not in any way
a bad thing. Rum first was created in the Caribbean after it was discovered
that molasses could be fermented into alcohol. Ironically, it was the slaves
who made this discovery, but it was the Colonials who discovered how to distil
it into true rum. So important did rum become in the years to follow that it
played a major role in the political system of the colonies. How? By being
offered as a bribe to those the candidates wished to curry favor with. The
people thus coerced were no fools, however. They would attend multiple hustings
to determine which of their patrons might provide them with the largest
quantity of rum. Thus, it can be fairly said that rum was of such note that it
literally decided elections.
How to Celebrate Rum Day
Yo ho ho matey! The best way to
celebrate Rum Day is to indulge in this most ignoble and distinguished of
drinks. A contradiction? Not at all! Rum has long had a reputation for being
the devil’s drink by dint of the ease of production, the delicious flavor, and
the powerful kick it carried. Rum Day is your James Cameronto sample as many
varieties as you like and decide which one will be coming aboard your vessel
for the next pillage.
Bible in a Year Day
59 Obligations to God
As we read Numbers 8-9, Deuteronomy 8, and Psalm 93, Fr. Mike reflects on how
the Israelites were expected to celebrate Passover in all circumstances,
learned to trust that God would lead them to where they needed to go, and
needed to remember God in times of abundance as well as darkness.
oMEDICINAL PLANTS Day 1-Revealed by Heaven to Luz De María
oBoiled Water-Humanity has comfortable feeding habits, but which are totally harmful for the human organism, and continually destroys and makes sick. In this instant man’s organism is saturated by bad eating habits, making it a weakening organism and the new diseases causes man a lot of harm. Luz de Maria asks our Mother what we must do to make the organism more resistant against the plagues that are coming. The Blessed Mother responds: My beloved, utilize water that has been previously boiled and start now the detox of the organism drinking as much water as possible, so the organism will start to purify.” Blessed Virgin Mary, 10.13.2014 B
Switzerland ranks among the top 10 countries globally in GDP per capita hovering around $90,000 to $110,000 depending on the source and year. But its wealth isn’t just about numbers—it’s deeply tied to its economic structure, cultural values, and political stability. Let’s break it down, especially with an eye toward Catholic expat life and work opportunities.
🇨🇭 Why Switzerland Ranks So High in Per Capita Wealth
🔑 Key Drivers of Wealth
Robust Financial Sector: Home to global banking giants like UBS and Credit Suisse, with strong banking secrecy laws that attract international capital.
Stable Currency: The Swiss franc (CHF) is one of the world’s strongest currencies, backed by gold reserves and low inflation.
Neutrality & Political Stability: Switzerland’s long-standing neutrality keeps military spending low and investor confidence high.
Innovation & R&D: The country invests heavily in research—about 3.4% of GDP—with strong private sector involvement.
Low Public Debt & Taxes: Public debt is around 38% of GDP, and VAT rates are among the lowest in Europe.
✝️ Quality of Life for a Catholic Expat
🕊️ Spiritual & Cultural Integration
Catholic Heritage: Catholicism is one of Switzerland’s major religions, especially in cantons like Valais, Fribourg, and Ticino. Churches are active, and liturgical life is vibrant.
Freedom of Religion: The Swiss constitution guarantees religious freedom, and Catholic expats can participate fully in parish life, retreats, and community events.
Multilingual Worship: Masses are often available in German, French, Italian, and sometimes English, depending on the region.
🏞️ Lifestyle & Wellbeing
Clean, Safe, and Scenic: Low crime rates, pristine nature, and efficient infrastructure make daily life peaceful and fulfilling.
Work-Life Balance: Average workweek is under 36 hours, with 4–5 weeks of paid vacation. Sundays are culturally reserved for rest and family.
Healthcare & Education: Universal healthcare and excellent international schools support family life and long-term settlement.
💼 Work Opportunities for Expats
📈 In-Demand Sectors
Finance & Banking: Positions in wealth management, compliance, and IT support are common.
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech: Companies like Roche and Novartis offer roles in research, marketing, and production.
Technology & Engineering: Switzerland has a thriving tech startup scene and demand for software developers, AI specialists, and engineers.
Administrative & Executive Roles: Positions like CEO assistants and process managers are available for those with strong organizational skills.
🛂 Work Permits & Residency
EU Citizens: Easier access to work permits and residency.
Non-EU Citizens: Requires a job offer and sponsorship; high-skilled professionals are prioritized.
Catholic Expats: No religious restrictions on employment; cultural integration is smooth, especially in Catholic-majority regions.
Liberia ranks 213th in the world by GDP per capita, with an estimated $846 per person in 2024. This low ranking reflects deep structural challenges, but the country also offers unique opportunities and a vibrant Catholic presence for expats willing to embrace its complexities.
🌍 Why Liberia Ranks So Low in Per Capita Income
⚠️ Key Challenges
Post-Conflict Recovery: Two civil wars (1989–1996 and 1999–2003) devastated infrastructure, institutions, and human capital.
Limited Economic Diversification: The economy relies heavily on raw exports like rubber, iron ore, and gold, with minimal value-added industries.
High Poverty & Informal Employment: Over 26% live in extreme poverty, and most jobs are informal and low-productivity.
Weak Infrastructure: Roads, electricity, and healthcare systems are underdeveloped, especially outside Monrovia.
Aid Dependency & Debt: Liberia has a high current account deficit and limited fiscal space.
✝️ Quality of Life for a Catholic Expat
🕊️ Faith & Community
Christian Majority: About 85% of Liberians identify as Christian, with Catholicism well-established through schools, parishes, and missions.
Missionary Legacy: Catholic institutions have long played a role in education, healthcare, and reconciliation efforts.
Spiritual Richness: Despite material poverty, many expats find the faith life vibrant, communal, and deeply rooted in resilience.
🧭 Daily Life Considerations
Healthcare: Public hospitals are under-resourced; private insurance and evacuation plans are essential.
Safety: Crime is a concern, especially in urban areas. Expats are advised to avoid walking alone at night and to have security plans.
Culture & Hospitality: Liberians are known for their warmth, music, and storytelling traditions. Expats often speak of strong community bonds.
Language: English is the official language, though many speak Liberian Kreyol or tribal dialects.
💼 Work Opportunities for Expats
📈 Sectors with Potential
NGOs & Development: Roles in education, health, agriculture, and governance are common through organizations like WHO, UN Women, and Partners in Health.
Mining & Natural Resources: Jobs in gold, iron ore, and rubber industries exist, though often require technical expertise.
Education & Training: Teaching roles in international schools or vocational programs are available.
Remote & Freelance Work: Some companies hire Liberia-based staff for remote roles in tech, business development, and media.
🛂 Work Permits & Entry
Visa Requirements: Expats need a work visa and residence permit, typically sponsored by an employer or NGO.
Between Switzerland and Liberia, Switzerland is unequivocally the better choice for most Catholic expats seeking a high quality of life, stable work opportunities, and robust infrastructure. Here's a side-by-side comparison to help clarify why:
🧭 Overall Comparison: Switzerland vs Liberia
Category
🇨🇭 Switzerland
🇱🇷 Liberia
GDP per capita (2024)
$104,523
$808
Life expectancy
83.6 years
63.3 years
Political stability
Very high (score: 92)
Low (score: 41)
Corruption index
Excellent (score: 18)
Very poor (score: 75)
Healthcare access
Universal, high quality
Limited, under-resourced
Internet access
96% of population
34% of population
Catholic community
Strong, multilingual, well-integrated
Vibrant but resource-constrained
Work opportunities
High-skilled, diverse sectors
Mostly NGO, education, or mining
Safety & infrastructure
Excellent roads, public transport, low crime
Poor infrastructure, higher crime risk
✝️ Catholic Expat Life
Switzerland offers a refined spiritual and liturgical experience, with access to historic churches, multilingual Masses, and a contemplative rhythm aligned with the seasons and feasts.
Liberia, while spiritually rich and welcoming, presents challenges in terms of healthcare, safety, and infrastructure. Catholic missions play a vital role, but resources are limited.
💼 Work & Vocational Opportunities
In Switzerland, expats can find work in finance, pharmaceuticals, tech, and international organizations. Salaries are high, and work-life balance is respected.
In Liberia, opportunities are concentrated in NGOs, education, and extractive industries. These roles often require a calling toward humanitarian or missionary work, rather than career advancement.
🏁 Verdict: Which Is Better?
If you're seeking:
Material stability, professional growth, and refined spiritual life → Switzerland is the clear choice.
Missionary engagement, cultural immersion, and service to the poor → Liberia offers profound spiritual rewards but demands resilience and sacrifice.
Dear family, most of us - excluding the rioters, looters, burners and shooters - know that we should not steal tangible things. How about for today let us ponder how so many of us steal intangible things - like time - like God's time? As part of our next Confession - how about if we examine our consciences and ask ourselves how much time have we stolen. That is an important examination, dear family, because stealing time makes us thieves. To help with that examination - let us ask ourselves if we have made it a point to do what Jesus told us to do: spend an hour a day with our Lord in this life, so we really can spend an eternity with Him in the next. Then let us, in these troubled, troubled times, resolve to be free from our attachment to time, and start giving back the Lord one hour for every 23 other hours of the day He gives us.
20 Then the other servant came and
said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, 21
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what
you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’
When
I read this verse; I thought of Mathew Kelly’s writing from his book,
“Rediscovering Catholicism.” Kelly speaks about the various attitudes and
philosophies which shape and define the mindset of the modern secular world. He
identifies three key lifestyles: individualism, hedonism and minimalism.
First, what’s individualism? Individualism is an attitude
whereby I come to see myself as the center of the universe. The individualist
will typically go through the course of his or her day asking himself or
herself one question: “What’s in it for me?”
Secondly, what’s hedonism? Essentially, it is an attitude
whereby I come to see the pursuit of my own personal pleasure as my primary
concern in life. The hedonist will typically ask himself or herself this
question: “How can
I maximize the amount of pleasure in my life while minimizing the amount of
pain and inconvenience which I must endure?”
Thirdly, what is minimalism? This is a attitude whereby I look
to put in the minimum amount of effort that I possibly can into life, while
reaping the maximum amount of reward. The minimalist will typically ask himself
or herself questions such as these:
·“What’s the least amount I can possibly
do at the workplace and still keep my job?” Or perhaps:
·“What’s the least amount I can possibly
do at school and still get a good grade?”
There
are many people in the world today who might “self-identify” as being
“Christian”, if not “Catholic”, who are still giving their hearts very much to
the so-called “spirit
of the world”;
whether we’re talking about the spirit of individualism, hedonism or
minimalism. For instance, we can say that there are many Catholics in the world
who go to Mass, say their prayers, and perhaps even occasionally eat fish on
Fridays – who still govern most of their conduct by asking themselves this one
simple question: “What’s in it for me?” Many of these
people might still be very “kind” and “generous” to certain persons that they
happen to know. Who isn’t from time to time? But perhaps, this sense of “kindness”
and “generosity” is still governed by a pervasive sense of selfishness and
self-interest. In other words: “I’ll be kind to you, but only insofar as you’re
being kind back onto me!” And what is that but the spirit of individualism.
Let’s take a different example. Again, we can say that there are many Catholics
in the world today who go to Mass, say their prayers, and perhaps belong to
certain religious clubs or organizations who still govern the bulk of their
conduct by asking: “How can I get through the course of my day while incurring
the least amount of pain or inconvenience to myself?” Many of these people might still
be saying their prayers, perhaps even every day, but what’s often the real substance behind
these prayers? “O Lord give me the things that I want, the things that I
desire, the things that I believe to be essential to my own sense of happiness
and well-being. But Lord, whatever you do: do not make me suffer, do not give
me inconvenience, and do not give me pain! In other words, do not give me the
Cross!” And
that is the spirit of hedonism: the relentless and almost single-minded pursuit
of one’s own personal pleasure as one’s ultimate concern. This takes us to our
third example. Again, there are many Catholics in the world who go to church,
go to confession, and even follow the Commandments who still perhaps ask
themselves this question repeatedly: “How can I get myself into the kingdom of
heaven, while putting the least amount of effort into my relationship with God?” These people might try their very
best to avoid all sorts of serious sin. But, as we know from personal
experience, there is a huge difference between simply trying to avoid “serious sin”, and actually trying our very best
to please the Lord in all things, especially in those little details which
perhaps no one else would ever notice, except Christ Himself! But that’s really
the difference between being a “lukewarm Catholic” (or a “minimalist”) and
being a true disciple of the Lord.[1]
The Woodstock Event of 1969 is the epitome of this.
Copilot
This reflection is piercing in its clarity
and conviction which draws a powerful thread from Luke 19:20–21 to Matthew
Kelly’s critique of modern secular philosophies—and then to the cultural moment
of Woodstock 1969. That juxtaposition between the Solemnity of the Assumption
and the Woodstock festival is especially striking: one celebrates Mary’s total
surrender to God’s will, the other became a symbol of self-expression,
indulgence, and rebellion against traditional moral frameworks.
Let’s unpack that a little further:
🌿 Luke 19:20–21 and the Spirit of Fear
The servant’s fear leads him to bury the coin
rather than invest it. His paralysis stems from a distorted view of the
master—seeing him as harsh and demanding. This fear mirrors the spiritual
stagnation of minimalism: doing the bare minimum to avoid punishment, rather
than embracing the fullness of discipleship.
🔍 Individualism, Hedonism, Minimalism
Matthew Kelly’s framework is a helpful lens:
·Individualism
asks, “What’s in it for me?”—a mindset that resists sacrificial love.
·Hedonism
seeks pleasure and avoids pain—rejecting the Cross.
·Minimalism
settles for spiritual mediocrity—avoiding sin but not pursuing holiness.
Each of these attitudes reflects a refusal to
“invest the coin” of grace entrusted to us.
🌸 The Assumption vs. Woodstock
On August 15, 1969, while Catholics
celebrated Mary’s bodily entrance into heavenly glory—a sign of hope and total
surrender—Woodstock unfolded as a countercultural spectacle. Half a million
people gathered in Bethel, NY, for “3 Days of Peace and Music,” but beneath the
surface lay a deeper hunger: for meaning, transcendence, and community.
Mary’s Magnificat proclaims:
“He has cast down the mighty from their
thrones and has lifted up the lowly…”
Her life was the antithesis of individualism,
hedonism, and minimalism. She gave everything—body and soul—to God. Woodstock,
for all its beauty and chaos, was a cry for something more, yet often sought it
through self-indulgence rather than self-gift.
✨ A
Call to Authentic Discipleship
Your reflection invites us to ask:
·Am I
burying the coin out of fear?
·Do I
live my faith with joyful surrender, or cautious calculation?
·Is my
spiritual life shaped by convenience or by love?
Mary’s Assumption reminds us that the
fullness of redemption includes the body, the soul, and the daily choices we
make. She didn’t ask, “What’s in it for me?”—she said, “Let it be done to me
according to your word.”
On August 15–17, 1969, the Woodstock Music and
Art Fair was held on a 600-acre dairy farm near Bethel, New York. It helped
usher in a period of moral devastation. The event enshrined free love as
acceptable in the national psyche. It created the idea that life should be
dominated by the maxim, “if
it feels good, do it.”
However, the worst part of
Woodstock was its role in creating the spiritual desolation of imagining a
utopian society without religion or the Catholic Faith. Woodstock presented
itself as a mystical experience with its own dark spiritual message. It was almost
a liturgical act of an anti-religion of unbridled passions that denied a moral
law.
Reflection About Another
Field
Reflecting upon Woodstock,
it is hard not to recall another event held on a large field that gathered
together a huge crowd. This gathering also changed history. The two events
could not be more contrary to each other, and yet the parallels and contrasts
are striking. They both happened amid a terrible crisis inside society.
However, each proposed a radically different solution. The second event took
place in a tiny village in the backwater of Portugal called Fatima. The date
was October 13, 1917. What attracted people there was no less than the Queen of
Heaven. Our Lady had appeared to three young shepherd children and promised to
perform a great miracle so that people might have faith and change their lives.
Contrast on the Two Fields
At both events, everything
that could have gone wrong did go wrong. At Woodstock, nearly 400,000 people
appeared at the farm where they crashed the gates and entered the field. The
organizers were overwhelmed by the crowds. The highways were clogged with cars
trying to get to the event. At Fatima, some 80,000 faithfuls came from all over
Portugal. They had heard about the apparitions by word of mouth. There were no
organizers since it was a spontaneous movement of grace that called people to
the site. Nevertheless, they clogged the highways and byways of the small
nation to get to the event. Both events prompted government action. When order
broke down in Woodstock, the government stepped in by sending nearby Air Force
personnel to the concert to prevent chaos and fly in stranded performers. At
Fatima, the secular anti-Catholic government played an opposite role.
It sent
soldiers with fixed bayonets to prevent pilgrims from entering the huge field.
When the masses of pilgrims overwhelmed the small number of soldiers, people
then managed to join the orderly crowd that patiently waited with great
expectation, prayer and faith. Heavy rains came down in torrents at both events
creating seas of mud. At Woodstock, the mud mixed with the nudity, promiscuity
and drugs to the point that the crowd became one with the quagmire of
immorality and muck. Singer John Fogerty described an early morning scene as “sort of like a painting of a Dante
scene, just bodies from hell, all intertwined and asleep, covered with mud.”
At Fatima, the rains
also lashed out against the crowds and turned the field into a great muddy
mess. However, the crowds accepted the rain and mire as part of the suffering
and penance that would mark the Fatima Message. Many knelt in the mud in
prayer.
Historical Contexts
While the circumstances of
the open fields at Fatima and Woodstock are important, the context of these gatherings
must also be considered. The historical context of Fatima was a world in the
process of abandoning the Church and Christian civilization. Europe was engaged
in the bloody World War I, which would soon end. The people still had faith but
were in danger of losing it. Our Lady came to deliver a message of tragedy and
hope, inviting humanity to conversion and amendment of life. Woodstock took
place 52 years later in the context of a Sexual Revolution that would devastate
what remained of Christian morals in society. America was divided, engaged in a
brutal war against communism in Vietnam. The Church was also in a state of
turmoil. Woodstock was an event that would celebrate a world without restraint
that would soon become mainstream.
What Happened in Fatima
The events that took place
in these two fields are what made them so important. At Fatima, the crowd
gathered in an ordered fashion as they awaited the appearance of the Mother of
God. They were to behold a marvelous yet terrifying scene, which was the most
witnessed miracle in modern history. Some 80,000 pilgrims of every age, educational
level and social class were there. Believers and non-believers vied for places
to see the promised miracle. Our Lady provided it. The clouds opened up and the
sun appeared as an immense silver disk. It shone with great intensity yet was
not blinding. The enormous ball then started to “dance” across the sky, spinning rapidly
scattering red flames. The bright light reflected on the ground, trees, bushes,
clothing and faces. After going three times across sky, the globe of fire then
appeared to tremble, shake and plunge toward the terrified crowd who thought
the world was coming to an end. However, the sun soon zigzagged back to its
place and shone benevolently upon the crowd. Many converted and believed. The
people noticed that their sodden clothes were both dry and clean.
What Happened at Woodstock
The events at Woodstock
stand in stark contraposition. There were no miracles there, but there was an
aura that produced an eerie feeling around the event. The bad weather, food
shortages and poor sanitation created a climate of generalized chaos. Witnesses
reported an atmosphere of free love and nudity that shocked many unaccustomed
to seeing such things in public. Drug use was also rampant, especially the use
of marijuana and LSD. Thus, many were out of their minds as the music blared
from the stage throughout the night. Carlos Santana later recalled how he hallucinated throughout his
performance because he was high on the mescaline he obtained from Jerry Garcia.
Meanwhile, backstage, The Who singer Roger Daltrey reported that “Woodstock wasn’t peace and love. There was an
awful lot of shouting and screaming going on. By the time it all ended, the
worst sides of our nature had come out.” The
scenes of partying, chaos and sin created a surreal and bizarre spectacle. It
was a whimsical space without rules or law where you could “do your own thing” without consequence or risk. Some
thought a new age was dawning, both inebriating and terrifying, where the
unbridled passions driven by psychedelic drugs would liberate everyone from the
staid constraints of the establishment. On the trash-littered fields of
Woodstock, a self-centered generation embraced an anything-goes culture of sex,
drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. America would leave the
Woodstock mud fest with sullied innocence.
Two Messages in Conflict
Both fields also produced
messages that are still in conflict today. The Fatima message was very clear
and precise. Our Lady said: “Let
them offend Our Lord no more, for He is already much offended.” Thus, Fatima called upon the world
to repent by having recourse to prayer, sacrifice and amendment of life. If
humanity did not repent, Our Lady spoke of a great chastisement, symbolized by
the Miracle of the Sun. The Fatima message denounced the decadence of the
modern world, the sins of the flesh and the abandonment of God and the Church. Woodstock
proclaimed an anti-Fatima message. It was an invitation to sin, indulge and
offend God. In the name of peace and love, it called upon youth to “imagine” a perfect world where they might
live together in harmony without property, Christian morals or God. Woodstock
projected an empty world without meaning and purpose that seeks only extreme
gratification and pleasures. The clash between Fatima and Woodstock continues.
Many Catholics have remained faithful to the Fatima message despite the great
pressure to conform to the culture. Others have been mugged by the terrible
reality that the Woodstock dream of sexual freedom was an appalling nightmare
that left behind a trail of dead, unborn babies, broken relationships and
shattered communities. It is therefore not fitting to celebrate the concert’s anniversary but rather to reject
all that it symbolizes and represents. Instead, let us embrace Fatima’s saving message of prayer,
repentance and amendment of life as the essential solution to a world gone
awry.
This
feast is so called because on this day, according to a very old and pious
belief, the Blessed Virgin was, in body and soul, taken up into heaven. This
feast is of very great antiquity; it was fixed on the 15th of August at the
request of the Emperor Maurice, and afterwards, by Pope Leo IV, was extended to
the whole Church.
In
the Introit of the Mass the Church invites us to universal joy by singing, “Let
us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating this festival in honor of the most
blessed Virgin Mary, on whose assumption into heaven the angels rejoice and
give praise to the Son of God. My heart hath uttered a good word; I speak my works
to the King.
Pardon, we beseech
Thee, O Lord, the sins of Thy servants, that we, who are not able to please
Thee by our deeds, may be saved by the intercession of the Mother of Thy Son.
Amen
EPISTLE.
Ecclus. xxiv. 11-20.
In
all things I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord.
Then the Creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and He that made me
rested in my tabernacle. And He said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and
thy in heritance in Israel, and take root in My elect. From the beginning, and
before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease
to be, and in the holy dwelling-place I have ministered before Him. And so was
I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was
in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my
God His inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints. I was
exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress-tree on Mount Sion. I was
exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose-plant in Jericho: as a fair
olive-tree in the plains, and as a plane-tree by the water in the streets, was
I exalted. I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon, and aromatical balm: I yielded a
sweet odor like the best myrrh.
GOSPEL.
Luke x. 38-42.
At that time Jesus entered
into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her
house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sitting also at the Lord’s feet, heard
His word. But Martha was busy about much serving. Who stood and said: Lord,
hast Thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? speak to her
therefore, that she help me. And the Lord answering, said to her: Martha, Martha,
thou art careful, and art troubled about many things. But one thing is
necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from
her.
Why does the Church
read this gospel to-day?
Because
it readily admits of being applied to Mary, the Mother of God, since she, far
more worthily and lovingly than Martha, chose the best part, and thereby
obtained the most glorious reward, which no one shall ever take from her.
What is the one thing
necessary?
The
glory of God and the salvation of the soul. Let a man, therefore, fulfil the
duties which are binding upon him; but in so doing let him look only to God,
avoid all uneasiness and distraction, all extravagance and excess, all that is
unjust, and sooner sacrifice everything than suffer injury to his soul.
Assumption
of Mary[4]The day that the mother of God was assumed body and soul into heaven and
crowned Queen.
Traditionally Roman
Catholics believe Mary, the Virgin mother of Jesus, never physically died and
instead ascended into heaven. Mary, as the mother of God, is believed by some
Christian faiths to have lived a life without sin. Some early-church theologians
believed that since she and Christ were both without sin that Mary must have
raised bodily to heaven just as Christ was. This belief began the feast
of the Assumption of Mary.
Assumption
of Mary Facts
·The
Assumption of Mary isn't in the Bible. The theology it is based upon is
from several early church documents and sermons. The Orthodox Church
continued the tradition, but it didn't become doctrine in the Roman Catholic
Church until 1950 when Pope Pius XII declared the belief infallible.
·Thomas
was the only disciple who purportedly saw Mary's ascension into heaven.
In a reversal of his story in scripture, the other disciples didn't
believe him at first. Mary dropped her girdle when she reached heaven,
and Thomas caught it.
·The
Feast of the Assumption of Mary is a high feast Day in the Roman Catholic
Church and the Orthodox Church. The day venerates the assumption into
heaven of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is held on August 15. In
the Orthodox tradition, the feast, called the Dormition of the Theotokos, is
held the same date, although the day may be later for churches that follow the
Gregorian calendar.
Assumption
of Mary Top Events and Things to Do
·Attending
an Orthodox Church during the Feast of the Assumption to see the blessing of
flowers.
·Start
an herb garden or plant some bulbs to bloom in spring in honor of Mary.
·The
Assumption of Mary is a popular subject in Christian art. One of the most
famous is The Assumption of the Virgin, by El Greco and available for viewing
in the Art Institute of Chicago. See if your local art museum has
paintings of the Assumption.
·Sing
or Listen to a rendition of "Ave Maria". One of the more
popular renditions is by Luciano Pavarotti.
·Many
faithful in the Orthodox Church will also be breaking a two-week fast after the
service honoring the Assumption of Mary. If you are fasting, attend a
community meal offered by many Orthodox Churches.
·The Directory on Popular Piety talks about the deep significance
of this feast day. It also refers to the custom of blessing herbs:
oIn
the Germanic countries, the custom of blessing herbs is associated with 15
August. This custom, received into the Rituale Romanum, represents a clear
example of the genuine evangelization of pre-Christian rites and beliefs: one
must turn to God, through whose word "the earth produced vegetation:
plants bearing seeds in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their
seed inside in their several kinds" (Gen 1, 12) in order to obtain what
was formerly obtained by magic rites; to stem the damages deriving from
poisonous herbs, and benefit from the efficacy of curative herbs.
oThis
ancient use came to be associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary, in part because
of the biblical images applied to her such as vine, lavender, cypress and lily,
partly from seeing her in terms of a sweet-smelling flower because of her
virtue, and most of all because of Isaiah 11, 1, and his reference to the
"shoot springing from the side of Jesse", which would bear the
blessed fruit of Jesus.
·In
an age of sensuality and materialism the Assumption points out the dignity and
destiny of our human body, extols the dignity of womanhood, and turns our eyes
to the true life beyond the grave. At Mass today ask Mary for the grace to keep
your mind fixed on things above and to aspire continually to be united with her
and to be brought to the glory of the Resurrection.
Most
likely the oldest and certainly the highest annual feast day of Mary, the Feast
of the Assumption is held in both east and west as a day of great solemnity. Processions would wind their way
either through cities and towns in order to publicly honor Mary or through
fields in order to pray for God's blessing upon the harvest. Marian hymns would
be sung, and statues of the Blessed Virgin carried. In some places there would
even be a dramaticrepresentation
of the mystery of the assumption. The statue of Mary would be carried through
town to an elaborate arch of flowers symbolizing the gate of Heaven. From here
another statue, a statue of Christ, would greet "her" and conduct her
to the church as a symbol of her entrance into eternal glory. The procession
would then conclude with Benediction.
In
pre-Christian times the season from the middle of August to the middle of
September was observed as a period of rejoicing and thanksgiving for the
successful harvest of grains. Many symbolic rites were aimed toward assuring
man of prosperous weather for the reaping of the fall fruits and for winter
planting. Some elements of these ancient cults are now connected with the feast
and season of the Assumption. All through the Middle Ages the days from August
15 to September 15 were called "Our
Lady's Thirty Days" (Frauendreissiger)
in the German-speaking sections of Europe. Many Assumption shrines even today
show Mary clothed in a robe covered with ears of grain. These images (Maria
im Gerteidekleid, Our Lady of Grains) are favored goals of pilgrimages
during August. Popular legends ascribe a character of blessing and goodness to
Our Lady's Thirty Days. Both animals and plants are said to lose their harmful
traits. Poisonous snakes do not strike, poison plants are harmless, wild
animals refrain from attacking humans. All food produced during this period is
especially wholesome and good and will remain fresh much longer than at other
times of the year. The fact that herbs picked in August were considered of
great power in healing occasioned the medieval practice of the "Blessing
of Herbs" on Assumption Day. The Church thus elevated a popular belief of
pre-Christian times into an observance of religious import and gave it the
character of a Christian rite of deep and appropriate meaning. In central
Europe the feast itself was called "Our Lady's Herb Day" (Kräutertag
in German, Matka Boska Zielna in Polish). In the Alpine provinces the
blessing of herbs is still bestowed before the solemn service of the
Assumption. The city of Wurzburg in Bavaria used to be a favored center of
these blessings, and from this fact it seems to have received its very name in
the twelfth century (Würz: spice herb). The Roman Ritual still
provides an official blessing of herbs on Assumption Day which, among other
prayers, contains the petition that God may bless the medicinal powers of these
herbs and make them mercifully efficient against diseases and poisons in humans
and domestic animals. The Eastern Rites have similar blessings. In fact, the
Syrians celebrate a special feast of "Our Lady of Herbs" on May 15.
Among the Armenians, the faithful bring the first grapes from their vineyards
to church on Assumption Day to have them solemnly blessed by the priest. Before
breakfast the father distributes them to his family. No one would dream of
tasting the new harvest before consuming the first blessed grapes on Our Lady's
Day.
Blessing
of Herbs and Fruits[7]for the Feast of the Assumption
The
Church "baptized" an old pre-Christian belief in the great healing
power of herbs picked in August by instituting a ritual for the blessing
of herbs and fruits on the Feast of the Assumption. Since that time,
Christians from both East and West have blessed herbs and fruit on the Feast of
the Assumption in the belief that these sacramentals provide protection against
harm and danger. But this custom also hearkens back to the Hebrew observance of
the harvest, and more importantly, it
teaches us something about our Lady's role in the economy of salvation. Eve
foolishly used herbs (fig leaves) to hide and aggravate her sin, thereby
bringing about a disorder of body and soul (Gen. 3.7). By contrast, Mary, the
new Eve whose soul and body are untouched by sin or the decay of death (as we
celebrate on this day), foreshadows a healing of our corporeal frailties, a
healing represented by herbs.
Likewise, fruits are an appropriate
symbol for the new Eve because she never ate of the forbidden fruit but brought
forth only the fruit of good works and, most importantly, the Fruit of her womb, Jesus Christ. The blessed fruit
thus betokens the fruit of a holy and generous life which we are called to
enjoy by our Lord through the patronage of His mother. In any case the solemn
blessing of herbs and fruits on this day became so popular that in central
Europe August 15 was simply called Our Lady's Herb Day.Usually,
these blessings would take place before Mass and would involve whatever was
brought by the congregation to the church. Afterwards the herbs would be kept
for medicinal use while the fruit would be served at dinner. The following is
one of the special blessings from the Roman ritual that is used for herbs and
fruits on Assumption Day:
O God, who by Moses Thy servant didst command
the children of Israel to carry their sheaves of new fruits to the priests for
a blessing, to take the finest fruits of the orchards, and to make merry before
Thee, the Lord their God: Kindly hear our supplications, and pour forth the
abundance of Thy blessing upon us and upon these sheaves of new grain, new
herbs, and assortment of fruits, which we gratefully present to Thee and which
we bless on this feast in Thy name. And grant that men, cattle, sheep, and beasts
of burden may find in them a remedy against sickness, pestilence, sores,
injuries, spells, the poison of snakes, and the bites of other venomous and
nonvenomous creatures. And may they bring protection against diabolical
illusions, machinations, and deceptions wherever they are kept or carried, or
with whatever arrangement is made of them: that with sheaves of good works and
through the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose Feast of the Assumption we
celebrate, we may deserve to be lifted up to heaven. Through our Lord Jesus
Christ, Thy son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, God unto endless ages. Amen.
The
blessing of herbs and fruits has also led to the lovely custom of giving and
receiving baskets of fruit on the Feast of the Assumption, a custom
which was especially popular in Sicily.
August 15th is the Feast
of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and just as Mary's assumption into
heaven signifies her purity of body and soul, so too does it remind us of her
freedom from the curses of the Fall, such as having to live by the sweat of
one's brow on a land that yields only thorns and thistles (Gen. 3.18,19). It is
perhaps for this reason that the Feast or the Octave of the Assumption was a
favorite time for blessing the scene of man's labors, especially those related
to the production of food. In Western Europe, for example, fields would often
be blessed by the parish priest, while in America and Latin countries
Assumption Day is traditionally the occasion for blessing the fishing fleets of
coastal towns. Also tying into this theme of nature is the German and Austrian
time Mary is invoked for assistance or thanked for the autumn harvest of
grains. This period lasts from Assumption Day until September 15, the Feast of
the Seven custom of Our Lady's Thirty Days(Frauendreissiger), during which Sorrow of the
Blessed Virgin. Legend states that nature is particularly benign during this
time: snakes do not bite, wild animals do not attack, and food picked within
the thirty days is especially wholesome. Finally, parts of England and Ireland
observe Our Lady's Health Bathing, where bathing in rivers, lakes, the
ocean, or any natural body of water is considered particularly good for one's
health.
Saint Francis of Assisi
observed an annual ‘Lent of Saint Michael’, from the Feast of the Assumption of
Mary (August 15) up to the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel (September
29). Francis had a special rapport with Mary and Michael from the early
days of his conversion. He went to them often, for comfort and
consolation, when things got rough (and things are pretty rough right
now). It was on one of these 40-day solitary retreats when, through
meditating on the Passion of our Lord, Francis received the sacred stigmata,
imprints of Jesus’ five wounds on his body.
*During these 40 Days, we are asking
everyone to offer some kind of fasting/abstinence and/or penance, and to pray
the daily deliverance prayers of the Auxilium Christianorum, which are highly recommended by
exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger. Specifically, we are asking for protection and
for reparation, particularly for the sins in our Church and in our culture.
Prayers to be said
every day:
V. Our help is in the
name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and
earth.
Most gracious Virgin
Mary, thou who wouldst crush the head of the serpent, protect us from the
vengeance of the evil one. We offer our prayers, supplications, sufferings and
good works to thee so that thou may purify them, sanctify them and present them
to thy Son as a perfect offering. May this offering be given so that the demons
that influence or seek to influence the members of the Auxilium Christianorum
do not know the source of their expulsion and blindness. Blind them so that
they know not our good works. Blind them so that they know not on whom to take
vengeance. Blind them so that they may receive the just sentence for their
works. Cover us with the Precious Blood of thy Son so that we may enjoy the
protection which flows from His Passion and Death. We ask this through the same
Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Michael Prayer.
Guardian Angel Prayer. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Litany of the Most
Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Christ hear us.
Christ graciously hear
us.
God the Father of
Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer
of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
have mercy on us.
Blood of Christ,
only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, save us.
Blood of Christ,
Incarnate Word of God, save us.
Blood of Christ, of the
New and Eternal Testament, save us.
Blood of Christ,
falling upon the earth in the Agony, save us.
Blood of Christ, shed
profusely in the Scourging, save us.
Blood of Christ,
flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, save us.
Blood of Christ, poured
out on the Cross, save us.
Blood of Christ, price
of our salvation, save us.
Blood of Christ,
without which there is no forgiveness, save us.
Blood of Christ,
Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, save us.
Blood of Christ, stream
of mercy, save us.
Blood of Christ, victor
over demons, save us.
Blood of Christ,
courage of Martyrs, save us.
Blood of Christ,
strength of Confessors, save us.
Blood of Christ,
bringing forth Virgins, save us.
Blood of Christ, help
of those in peril, save us.
Blood of Christ, relief
of the burdened, save us.
Blood of Christ, solace
in sorrow, save us.
Blood of Christ, hope
of the penitent, save us.
Blood of Christ,
consolation of the dying, save us.
Blood of Christ, peace
and tenderness of hearts, save us.
Blood of Christ, pledge
of eternal life, save us.
Blood of Christ,
freeing souls from purgatory, save us.
Blood of Christ, most
worthy of all glory and honor, save us.
Lamb of God, Who takest
away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest
away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest
away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Thou hast redeemed
us with Thy Blood, O Lord.
R. And made of us a
kingdom for our God.
Let us pray.
Almighty, and
everlasting God, Who hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer
of the world, and hast been pleased to be reconciled unto us by His Blood,
grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate with solemn worship the price of our
salvation, that the power thereof may here on earth keep us from all things
hurtful, and the fruit of the same may gladden us for ever hereafter in heaven.
Through the same Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
On
Sundays:
O Glorious Queen of
Heaven and Earth, Virgin Most Powerful, thou who hast the power to crush the
head of the ancient serpent with thy heel, come and exercise this power flowing
from the grace of thine Immaculate Conception. Shield us under the mantle of thy
purity and love, draw us into the sweet abode of thy heart and annihilate and
render impotent the forces bent on destroying us. Come Most Sovereign Mistress
of the Holy Angels and Mistress of the Most Holy Rosary, thou who from the very
beginning hast received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of
Satan. Send forth thy holy legions, we humbly beseech thee, that under thy
command and by thy power they may pursue the evil spirits, counter them on
every side, resist their bold attacks and drive them far from us, harming no
one on the way, binding them to the foot of the Cross to be judged and
sentenced by Jesus Christ Thy Son and to be disposed of by Him as He wills.
St. Joseph, Patron of
the Universal Church, come to our aid in this grave battle against the forces
of darkness, repel the attacks of the devil and free the members of the
Auxilium Christianorum, and those for whom the priests of the Auxilium
Christianorum pray, from the strongholds of the enemy.
St. Michael, summon the
entire heavenly court to engage their forces in this fierce battle against the
powers of hell. Come O Prince of Heaven with thy mighty sword and thrust into
hell Satan and all the other evil spirits. O Guardian Angels, guide and protect
us. Amen.
On
Mondays:
In Thy name, Lord Jesus
Christ, we pray that Thou cover us, our families, and all of our possessions
with Thy love and Thy Most Precious Blood and surround us with Thy Heavenly
Angels, Saints and the mantle of Our Blessed Mother. Amen.
On
Tuesdays:
Lord Jesus Christ, we
beg Thee for the grace to remain guarded beneath the protective mantle of Mary,
surrounded by the holy briar from which was taken the Holy Crown of Thorns, and
saturated with Thy Precious Blood in the power of the Holy Spirit, with our
Guardian Angels, for the greater glory of the Father. Amen.
On
Wednesdays:
In the Name of Jesus
Christ, Our Lord and God, we ask Thee to render all spirits impotent, paralyzed
and ineffective in attempting to take revenge against anyone of the members of
the Auxilium Christianorum, our families, friends, communities, those who pray
for us and their family members, or anyone associated with us and for whom the
priests of the Auxilium Christianorum pray. We ask Thee to bind all evil
spirits, all powers in the air, the water, the ground, the fire, under ground,
or wherever they exercise their powers, any satanic forces in nature and any
and all emissaries of the satanic headquarters. We ask Thee to bind by Thy
Precious Blood all of the attributes, aspects and characteristics,
interactions, communications and deceitful games of the evil spirits. We ask
Thee to break any and all bonds, ties and attachments in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
On
Thursdays:
My Lord, Thou art all
powerful, Thou art God, Thou art our Father. We beg Thee through the
intercession and help of the Archangels Sts. Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel for
the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one.
All Saints of Heaven, come to our aid.
From anxiety, sadness
and obsessions – We implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From hatred,
fornication, and envy – We implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From thoughts of
jealousy, rage, and death – We implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From every thought of
suicide and abortion – We implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From every form of
sinful sexuality – We implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From every division in
our family, and every harmful friendship – We implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From every sort of
spell, malefice, witchcraft, and every form of the occult – We implore Thee,
deliver us, O Lord.
Thou who said,
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." Grant that,
through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every
demonic influence and enjoy Thy peace always. In the Name of Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
On
Fridays:
Litany of Humility
O Jesus, meek and
humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of
being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of
being loved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of
being extolled, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of
being honored, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of
being praised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of
being preferred to others, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of
being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of
being approved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being
humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being
despised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of
suffering rebukes, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being
calumniated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being
forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being
ridiculed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being
wronged, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being
suspected, deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world, others
may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I
unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in
everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I become as holy as I should,Jesus, grant me the grace to desire
it.
On
Saturdays:
O God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name and humbly beseech Thy clemency,
that, through the intercession of the ever immaculate Virgin, our Mother Mary,
and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, thou wouldst vouchsafe to help us
against Satan and all the other unclean spirits that are prowling about the
world to the great peril of the human race and the loss of souls. Amen.
Conclusion
for Every Day
August Queen of the
Heavens, heavenly Sovereign of the Angels, Thou who from the beginning hast
received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, we
humbly beseech Thee to send thy holy legions, so that under Thy command and
through Thy power, they may pursue the demons and combat them everywhere,
suppress their boldness, and drive them back into the abyss. O good and tender
Mother, Thou wilt always be our love and hope! O Divine Mother, send Thy Holy
Angels to defend us and to drive far away from us the cruel enemy. Holy Angels
and Archangels, defend us, guard us. Amen.
Most Sacred Heart of
Jesus, have mercy on us.
Mary, Help of
Christians, pray for us.
Virgin Most Powerful,
pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for
us.
St. Michael the
Archangel, pray for us.
All You Holy Angels,
pray for us.
In the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Bible in a Year Day 57 Hear, O Israel
Fr. Mike explains the significance behind the Nazarite vow and the priestly
blessing in Numbers 6. We also learn why the Great Command revealed in
Deuteronomy 6 is the foundation of all other commandments. Today we pray Psalm
91.
Daily Devotions
·Unite in the work of the Porters
of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: The Families of St. Joseph Porters
