Lesson 4-Prepper Rosary Program

“And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all. And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.”

Mark 12:28

“Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.”

Matthew 6:31

Improve Your Spiritual Life ~ The Presentation of Our Lord

It was the Mosaic Law that every firstborn son must be specially consecrated to God. Mary and Joseph brought Our Lord to the Temple to accomplish this, in what we call “The Presentation.” This was a most extraordinary Presentation, since it was the very Son of God, being presented to the Father. This took place in the very city in which He would secure our Redemption on the Cross and was a foreshadowing of this ultimate Presentation. Just as Our Lady and Saint Joseph gave their greatest Gift to the Father, we must also give our very best to Him.

Our Lord states above, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength.” This is a profound statement-we are told to completely relinquish ourselves to Him. The key is to recognize when these moments occur and push through them, with the help of His grace. When we do this, we change in a substantial way. We grow. We ascend one step higher to the Kingdom of Heaven. We also become that much further from the world. What prepares us for these moments is a proper moral formation, a good examination of conscience and a good confession. Only then, can we have the ability to know when the spiritual challenge is taking place, pray for guidance and strength, and win our triumph over temptation. We must love Christ above all other loves.

Our Lord also intructs us to, “Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God.” We see the just consequence of sin coming upon the world. We can mitigate this and secure mercy for the world, only by making ourselves worthy. We will be given what we need on earth, only after seeking Heaven. The lower order always follows the higher. As Catholic preppers, we are not obsessed with the needs of this life, we simply accept that the natural business of life is survival, which our present culture has forgotten. We try within reason, and place our trust in God for what we cannot control. And of course we recognize that spiritual preparedness is always our priority.

Mary and Joseph went to the House of God with their precious Son and showed fidelity to His law. This is an example for the Catholic life: to attend Holy Mass and observe Catholic moral law, presenting to the Holy Trinity, our best selves, out of love. There are many other great riches of the Catholic Faith which we can draw upon to improve our spiritual lives. Pray and gravitate towards what resonates with you. To strive for spiritual perfection is the most exciting life and is the true purpose of life. To become a saint is not unreachable, it is what we were created for!

Please read EWTN’s The Presentation of Our Lord. This is beautifully written and very insightful.

“Lesson 4-Part 2” will deal further with Matthew 6:31…

+ + +

Pray 1 decade of the Rosary, meditating on the Mystery of The Presentation, for the intention of enlightenment on the issues discussed today…

Our Father + 10 Hail Marys + Glory Be

+ + +

Please fill out #4

“15 Points Preparedness Worksheet”

Thank you for participating ~ spread the word!

Image courtesy fggam.org/2014/07/kellys-word-day-72

Multicultural Byzantine Mass for the "Dormition of Our Lady"

Prayer Before Holy Communion

O Lord, I believe and profess that You are truly Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first.

Accept me today as a partaker of Your mystical Supper, O Son of God, for I will not reveal Your mystery to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas, but like the thief, I profess You.

Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom.

Remember me, O Master, when You come into Your Kingdom.

Remember me, O Holy One, when You come into Your Kingdom.

May the partaking of Your holy mysteries, O Lord, be not for my judgment or condemnation but for the healing of soul and body.

O Lord, I also believe and profess that this, which I am about to receive, is truly Your Most Precious Body and Your Life-Giving Blood, which, I pray, make me worthy to receive for the remission of all my sins and for life everlasting. Amen.

O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

O God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy of me.

Lord, forgive me for I have sinned without number.

My husband and I attended our first Byzantine Mass Saturday night, the celebration of the “Dormition of Our Lady,” which parallels our feast of the Assumption. The celebrant, Fr. Daniel Nash, said we look at the same mystery from a different angle. This was a truly unique, multicultural Mass, as it was Eastern Rite, part in English, part in Spanish, and attended by different segments of the Catholic community of Long Island. It took place at St. Patrick Church in Glen Cove, New York.

I must admit, I was confused through the Mass and cannot explain very much about it. My ability to see was limited since I was all the way in the back. Still, I found it greatly enriching. I am now interested in the Byzantine Mass and would like to go again, to a more standard one, and really get my brain around it.

We can see similarities with the Latin Rite prayers, with some interesting differences. I don’t think anyone can say the above “Prayer Before Holy Communion,” and receive Our Blessed Lord unworthily. This prayer effectively accomplishes 3 things:

1) A profession of faith. This takes away any doubt about the Real Presence.

2) Acknowledgment of one’s unworthiness and contrition for sins. This should hopefully prevent any sacrilege and prepare us to receive with proper humility.

3) An appeal to God’s mercy and acceptance prior to the consummation of Holy Communion. This extends from the spirit of humility. We are asking for His agreement before entering into this most sacred union.

You can see in the first picture a similarity with the Tridentine Rite, in the facing away from the people. Also, much of the Mass is sung. There are several customs which are different, which you can see in the two other photos. The overall feel of the Mass was that something extraordinary and other-worldly was happening. There was a sense that our Creator, the Divine Majesty, was being interacted with…that this was not just a worship service, not just a social event, not something that could take place anywhere out in the world…but something reserved for the Elect, the spiritual royalty of the Body of Christ. There was little room for misinterpretation.

Whichever Mass we attend, Holy Church reminds us that there are two worlds and we must choose only one. As the two worlds continue to divide further apart, the choice becomes more and more obvious, and also more difficult.

August: Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”

~ Our Lady of Fatima ~

In this month of the Immaculate Heart, we begin on the 1st, with the First Saturday, which is a devotion in reparation to this very Heart. What a great time to begin the “Communion of Reparation,” given to us by Our Lady of Fatima. If your church is not doing this, why not help them start it? Otherwise, you can look at: First Saturdays At Home. Regarding Marian-related feasts, we have St. Alphonsus Liguori (famously authored The Glories of Mary) also beginning the month…..St. Dominic, the Assumption, St. Joachim (he is honored together with Our Lady immediately following the Assumption) and a double Marian feast on the 22nd, which includes the trad feast of the Immaculate Heart. We also have another saint devoted to Mary, St. Maximilian Kolbe, who died on the Vigil of the Assumption. He was starved at Auschwitz, but would not die, so he was given a lethal injection. How appropriate a day to die for one who early in life, created a Marian apostolate, “Militia Immaculatae.” I have noticed something in my research that I have not seen mentioned anywhere…he started the apostolate in 1917, just 3 days after the “Miracle of the Sun,” witnessed by thousands at Fatima. I wonder if that great event spurred him on to create his ministry. Let us give honor and reparation to Our Mother’s dear heart this month. There are so many ways to do this-please find something that resonates for you and your family.

This month shows us 3 Doctors of the Church and also the Transfiguration of Our Lord. These are just some highlights of Holy Church’s month of August. Its always good to look at the coming weeks to plan your spiritual life…..

+++

1-First Saturday / St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor, ”Prince of Moralists, Most Zealous Doctor, Patron of Confessors & Moral Theologians” (new)

2-St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor (trad)

4-St. John Vianney (new-I saw his heart once!) / St. Dominic, Seer of the Holy Rosary

6-TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD

7-First Friday

8-St. John Vianney (trad)

11-St. Clare of Assisi, her actual name was Chiara (my name-I am named after my grandmother who was born in Sicily), also known as Clara (new)

12-St. Clare of Assisi (trad)

14-Vigil of Assumption / St. Maximilian Kolbe, Martyr of Charity under Hitler

15-ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (not a holy day of obligation this year in the US)

16-St. Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary

20-St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor, ”The Mellifluous Doctor, Oracle of the 12th Century, Thaumaturgus of the West, Arbiter of Christendom, Last of the Fathers”

22-Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Immaculate Heart of Mary

24-St. Bartholomew, Apostle

28-St. Augustine, Doctor, ”Doctor of Grace, Doctor of Doctors”

This blog gives old and new feasts. The titles of the Doctors of the Church are taken from The 35 Doctors of the Church,TAN Books.

Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Today is the new and old feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In the year 1251, Saint Simon Stock was given the Brown Scapular by Our Lady herself, this great and powerful treasure of our Faith. Our Lady of Fatima requested devotion to this sacramental. Many miracles have been associated with it. Please consider investiture (consecration) in the Brown Scapular. My parish is doing a special Mass with investiture today. Ask your pastor to consider doing this sometime soon. Especially in these difficult times, the scapular is a consoling and important sacramental.

From The New Marian Missal, Veritas Press:

This Feast commemorates the favors granted by our Lady on Mount Carmel [the vision took place in England]. The Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Simon Stock, General of the Order of Carmelites, holding in her hand the form of a scapular, and directed him to institute a pious confraternity, the members of which should consecrate themselves to her service, and wear her livery. She promised that “those who die wearing it, will not suffer hell fire.”

For more info, including the history of this devotion, please see World Apostolate of Fatima, USA.

Image courtesy https://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com

The Catholic Bug-Out Bag?

We’re Catholic preppers here, so why not a Catholic bug-out bag? This is something you should keep in your car or have handy to go at all times, a bag with many of your essentials in the event of an emergency when you are traveling or must leave your home quickly. Basic survival items and first aid should be included. For your Catholic bug-out bag, we will focus on an online store, which is a good resource…

We will look at many items which would do well in your Faith-centered bug-out bag. We know the spiritual life is more important than the physical, so if you’re going to have fire-starters and first aid kits, you should also have those things which support your soul. This is not to necessarily get you to buy from this store, or to buy these specific products. My goal is to get you thinking and give you some ideas. I will choose items I feel are well-priced and that are conducive to travel. These also make great gifts items, stocking stuffers or goody bag gifts for First Holy Communions, etc.

Discount Catholic Store

From their “About” page:

Discount Catholic Store first opened in the year 2000 out of a love for Catholic spirituality. We strive to offer Catholic items that facilitate spiritual growth, healing, comfort, inspiration, wisdom and guidance, and which will ultimately draw each soul closer to God. We hope our products will be “avenues of grace” for everyone who receives them…

One of the main categories of devotional objects one would want in a bug-out bag, would be sacramentals. According to Traditional Catholic Dictionary Online, a sacramental is: “Certain pious practices or objects blessed by the Church. The blessing is attached, that these may serve to increase the devotion of the faithful. Scapulars, holy water, etc., are widely used sacramentals.”

Why would you need sacramentals when “bugging out?” Some can protect from demons, remit venial sin and purgatory time, and grant temporal favors. Our Lady said of the Brown Scapular, to Saint Simon Stock, “WHOSOEVER DIES IN THIS GARMENT SHALL NOT SUFFER ETERNAL FIRE.” (Of course, there are stipulations with such an amazing promise). You should consider having your sacramentals blessed by a priest or deacon, if they have not been blessed. My guess is that they do not have to be blessed to be considered sacramentals, but the blessing increases the spiritual power. Please see Catholic Encyclopedia for more info.

Below are some great Catholic “bug-out” items, many of which are sacramentals:

Saint Joseph Holy Oil & Prayer Card, with medal

Lourdes Water Medal

Holy Land Keepsake Set (water, oil, Crucifix, incense, earth)

Holy Water (water not included) Key Chain

Divine Mercy Relic Medal

Saint Michael Relic Medal

Saint Clare Relic Medal (this is my patron saint-probably good for warding off attackers, if you know her story)

Our Lady of Fatima Relic Medal

Divine Mercy Relic Prayer Card

Saint Clare Relic Prayer Card

Fatima Relic Prayer Card

Saint Gerard Relic Prayer Card (for pregnant women or those seeking pregnancy)

Saint Michael Relic Prayer Card

Fatima Prayer Card with Medal

Saint Christopher Prayer Card with Medal

Jesus Relic Necklace (Crucifix)

Laminated Brown Scapular

Scapular (Sacred Heart & Our Lady of Mt. Carmel)

Mount Carmel Scapular (Brown Scapular)

Green Scapular, Spanish

Brown Leather Scapular (Sacred Heart & Our Lady of Mt. Carmel)

Brown Wool Scapular with Holy Water Bottle

Divine Mercy Scapular with Cross & Medal

Children’s (small) Rosaries

Miraculous Medal-Aluminum

Miraculous Medal-Gold Look

Dog Tag with Saint Michael Prayer

Crucifix Pendant, 1”

Crucifix Pendant, 3/4”

Act of Contrition Pocket Coin

Urgent Prayer to Our Lady Pocket Coin

Cross with Prayer Pocket Coin

Divine Mercy Pocket Coin

Footprints Pocket Coin

Guardian Angel Pocket Coin

Holy Family Pocket Coin

Memorare Pocket Coin

Salve Regina Pocket Coin (Hail Holy Queen)

Serenity Prayer Pocket Coin

Saint Florian (fire protection) Pocket Coin

Saint Michael Pocket Coin

Glow-in-the-Dark Rosary Ring

Silver Tone Rosary Ring

Travel Mass Kit (comes with “Instant Priest” hologram)

Don’t forget your pocket Bible!

Feast of Corpus Christi

Indulgenced prayers praising the greatest of all sacraments:

May our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved, with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time!

O Sacrament most holy! O Sacraments divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

From the traditional Mass:

O God who under a wonderful Sacrament hast left us a memorial of Thy Passion: grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood that we may ever feel within us the fruit of Thy Redemption.

Alleluia, alleluia. My Flesh is meat indeed and My Blood is drink indeed: he that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him.

From the Litany of Reparation to Our Lord in the Eucharist:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who dost deign to remain with us in Thy wonderful Sacrament to the end of the world, in order to give to Thy Father, by the memory of Thy Passion, eternal glory, and to give to us the Bread of Life Everlasting, grant us the grace to mourn, with a heart full of sorrow, over the injuries which Thou hast received in this adorable Mystery, and over the many sacrileges which are committed by the impious, by heretics and by bad Catholics.

Inflame us with an ardent zeal to repair all these insults to which, in Thine infinite mercy, Thou hast preferred to expose Thyself rather than deprive us of Thy Presence on our altars, Who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest one God, world without end. Amen.

How can we celebrate this feast today? Aside from watching or attending Mass, let us pray the litany above for reparation, since many have said sacrilege against this sacrament is one reason why we are experiencing this chastisement. Also, the Sequence in the Mass is quite beautiful. Many blessings to all on this glorious feast!

Image courtesy https://holymassimages.blogspot.com

June is the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

This week, we have talked about “Mary, Mother of the Church” and the Ember Days of Summer in the Octave of Pentecost (prayer and penance for the coming season). What else do we have to look forward to in this Month of June? Let’s look at a sampling, as we normally do….

Trinity Sunday is both an old and new feast. In the old, it marks the end of Eastertide and the beginning of the Season After Pentecost. However, we are still celebrating the Mystery of the Redemption, as we are still in the Easter Cycle, the Second Part of the Liturgical Year. A new Liturgical Year begins at Advent, when we contemplate the Mystery of the Incarnation.

We have several feasts of Our Lord this month and one for Our Lady. I get excited every June, when we celebrate the “back-to-back” feasts of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart. Let’s think in advance how we will honor these feasts together. We can be celebratory, since the Sacred Heart is a Solemnity! We honor 3 Doctors of the Church and several Apostles as well.

What can we do to give glory to the Sacred Heart of Jesus this month? We can educate ourselves about St. Margaret Mary and the Devotion that was given to her. Please see link on our last post and link below. The Sacred & Immaculate Hearts at EWTN, has a variety of wonderful prayers. One of Our Lord’s “12 Promises of the Sacred Heart” to St. Margaret Mary was:  “I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.” If you do not already have this image in a place of honor in your home, that would be a great little project this month!

7-Trinity Sunday

9-St. Ephrem of Syria, Doctor

11-Corpus Christi

13-St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor

14-Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (new version of Corpus Christi), St. Basil the Great, Doctor

18-St. Ephrem of Syria, Doctor (trad)

19-Most Sacred Heart of Jesus-Solemnity, no penance

20-Immaculate Heart of Mary

23-Vigil of St. John the Baptist

24-Nativity of St. John the Baptist (my 25th wedding anniversary:)

26-Sts. John & Paul

27-St. Cyril of Alexandria, Doctor

28-Vigil of Sts. Peter & Paul

29-Sts. Peter & Paul

30-Commemoration of St. Paul

We provide both old and new feasts.

Image courtesy Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in London-please read their page on the Sacred Heart.

Octave of Pentecost / Ember Friday / First Friday

Let us be joyful today in the gift of the Holy Ghost, yet with a spirit of penance, due to the Ember Days and the current state of Holy Church. Beautiful Sequence from the trad Pentecost Mass:

Come, Thou Holy Spirit, come, and from Thy celestial home shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Thou Father of the poor, come, Thou source of all our store, come, within our bosoms shine.

Thou of Comforters the best, Thou the soul’s delightful guest, sweet refreshment here below.

In our labour rest most sweet, pleasant coolness in the heat, solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine, shine within these hearts of Thine, and our inmost being fill.

Where Thou art not, man hath nought, nothing good in deed or thought, nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew, on our dryness pour Thy dew, wash the stains of guilt away.

Bend the stubborn heart and will, melt the frozen, warm the chill, guide the steps that go astray.

On Thy faithful who adore, and confess Thee evermore, in Thy sevenfold gifts descend.

Give them virtue’s sure reward, give them Thy salvation, Lord, give them joys that never end.

Amen. Alleluia!

From Ember Friday Mass (the second line is deeply consoling and appropriate at this time, due to great confusion and deception-please read full Mass with your family and consider a partial abstinence tomorrow):

Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise, alleluia; that I may sing, alleluia; my lips shall rejoice when I shall sing to Thee, alleluia, alleluia!

In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be put to confusion: deliver me in Thy justice, and rescue me.

It is also the First Friday in the month of June. Please see The Nine First Fridays Devotion. If you cannot receive Holy Communion, please make a Spiritual Act of Communion. Also, tomorrow is the First Saturday. If you cannot get to church, please see First Saturdays At Home-Never More Important!

+++ PENTECOST SUNDAY +++

Veni Sancte Spiritus!

+++

From the traditional Masses of the Vigil and of Pentecost Sunday:

When I shall be sanctified in you, I will gather you together out of all the countries and I will pour upon you clean water and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness and I will give you a new spirit, alleluia, alleluia!

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that the splendour of Thy brightness may shine forth upon us, and the light of Thy light may, by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, confirm the hearts of those who have been born again by Thy grace.

Alleluia! Give glory to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever!

The Spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world, alleluia!

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered and let them that hate Him flee from before His face.

Alleluia, alleluia! Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created, and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. Alleluia!

Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love!

Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming where they were sitting, alleluia, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking the wonderful works of God, alleluia, alleluia!

May the infusion of the Holy Spirit, O Lord, cleanse our hearts, and render them fruitful by the inward sprinkling of His dew.

+++

From The Daily Missal:

“The Vigil Mass of Pentecost is a festal Mass, which opens the celebration of the Feast and Octave of Pentecost….the Saturday following begins the liturgical season called Season after Pentecost.”

Our first thought on this Whitsunday should be one of joy! It is easy for forget that when the world is engulfed in suffering. But we must remember we are part of a Body and Holy Church gives us these joyful times for our good. Even in the midst of difficulty, we must raise our eyes to Heaven and remember where our eternal home is and what a great God we have! This coming octave of Pentecost should be celebrated with great happiness, which the fearful world does not understand. Each day this week, let’s return to the wonderful Mass of Pentecost, its beautiful Sequence and Vespers. I will be posting these. Please pray them with your family.

We are reminded in the Vigil Mass: “…you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness and I will give you a new spirit.” What an appropriate sentiment for this time. This is exactly what is happening now in the Church and hopefully in the world. We are being purified through our suffering. May we begin to ascend to greater heights of holiness, as never before! Let us give God our very best so He may show mercy on us and bring us back our sacramental life.

The above words also speak of “illumination of the Holy Spirit.” Never before have we needed this more. Let us pray for this illumination and ability to discern truth, during a very confusing time. Our Church leaders especially need this, so let us continually pray for them and try to trust that the faithful ones are doing the best they can. If we do not like what they are doing, we can write to them, without judgement or divisiveness. Do not let Satan infect your heart with anger-that only plays into his hands. I certainly would not want to be a bishop at this time. Imagine what a terrible burden they bear. We should support them with love and understanding. Understanding is one of the Holy Ghost’s gifts!

In the Gospel of the Vigil Mass, Our Lord tells us, “I will not leave you orphans.” When we are tempted to become despondent, we must remember He is with us. We are all having terrible adversity right now, myself included. But every time one door closes, another opens. This is a cosmic law. We must search for that other door. The Communion verse states: “He that believeth in Me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Imagine that. Rivers of living water! How can we fail to be joyful?

One more suggestion: How can we establish a more personal relationship with the Third Person of the Holy Trinity? A good meditation for the coming octave. Today is also the new feast of the Visitation and the old feast of the Queenship of Mary. A Pentecost graced with a double Marian feast! What more could we want?

+++

Following is our previously posted short meditation on the Third Glorious Mystery of the Rosary….

The Descent of The Holy Ghost

“Descent” is a dramatic word. What does dictionary.com say? Here is an excerpt:

descent: noun
-the act, process, or fact of moving from a higher to a lower position.
-a passage or stairway leading down.
-any passing from higher to lower in degree or state; decline.

Let’s go through this. “Higher to a lower position.” When we contemplated the Ascension, we spoke of Christ traversing from earth to Heaven. Now Heaven descends to earth. “Passage or stairway leading down.” This stairway, leading down from Heaven also helps us to ascend back up to Heaven, through the fruits and gifts of the Holy Ghost. “Passing from higher to lower in degree.” The Higher comes down to the lower, not to degrade Himself, but to uplift us to Himself. How extraordinary. And people think Catholics are negative?

So here we have the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, taking His turn to come to earth, the final great Act in this Story of God’s revelation of Himself to mankind and ultimate redemption. First, the Father came to the Jews, then the Son came to die, then the Holy Ghost came as the “Giver of Life,” as we are told in the Nicene Creed. We received Him in our Sacrament of Confirmation, but how often do we think of this sacrament and its implications in our daily lives? We must study the fruits and gifts we received and make every effort to increase these virtues within ourselves.

Image courtesy http://www.catholictradition.org/Tradition/holy-ghost8.htm

The Second Commandment-What Does it Mean to Us?

I love holy cards and when I see them, I always take….more than my fair share (hey, I’m a prepper-it’s what I do!). I recently came across one explaining the importance of the Second Commandment:

Our Lord revealed to Sr. Marie de Saint-Pierre, a French Carmelite nun, the need for mankind to make reparation for the terrible sin of blasphemy. He told her: “Oh, if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once:

Admirable is the Name of God!

…in the spirit of reparation of blasphemy!”

This card was published by Our Lady of the Rosary Library, based in Prospect, Kentucky. They seem to do good work. You can purchase their holy cards, in addition to books, rosaries, medals, etc., on their site store.

As the name of Nomen Christi Apostolate shows, we are greatly dedicated to the Holy Name of Christ. We are also dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.

What does the Second Commandment mean in our own lives? Obviously, we are not ourselves, going to take His Name in vain, but it is certain, we will be exposed to this sin. We should avoid any entertainment that commits this sin, especially if we have children in the home. The more difficult thing, is responding properly when someone in our presence speaks the Name of Jesus or God in a flippant or even disrespectful way (if they respond badly, maybe you don’t need this person as a friend). This takes a game plan and practice. It is a social skill that we all need to develop. It is not just the Name of God we must defend, but also Catholic moral teaching, when we get into discussions where these issues pop up. Again, a social skill that requires practice. It might be okay to make a mistake once. It is not okay to fail to learn from it and make a plan for the next time it happens. We all must decide for ourselves how we will handle these situations. If you have not developed this skill, rather than tell you how I deal with it, please pray on it and come up with your own way. As I always say, I am not interested in dictating to anyone. I would like to see people creatively use their own minds and hearts to solve problems for themselves.

"But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth."

Apocalypse 3:16

As we can see by the Scripture quote from Apocalypse, God will not look kindly on our generation for this sin. Perhaps this is one reason we see the present chastisement. Let us resolve to more valiantly defend His Holy Name!

Image courtesy https://ryannstyles.blogspot.com