~THE DAY OF THE LORD~
1 THESSALONIANS 5:2,3
"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in
the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction
cometh upon them, as
travail up a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
There are four key days that are proclaimed in the Word of God These days
do not
refer to literal twenty- four days, but rather to varying periods of time.
Let
us take a look at these four days in their proper order.
First of all, THE DAY OF MAN (1 Cor. 4:3)-- This Day began (we believe)
with the
fall of man ~ continues to be in effect even to the present day. It is
marked by
the government of man as it progressively becomes more ripe for judgment.
This
Day will culminate with ....
THE DAY OF CHRIST (1 Cor. 15:51, 52)-- This Day refers to the Rapture or
home-coming of the Body of Christ. The judgment Seat of Christ is also
included
in this Day. The transpiring of this Day will usher in....
THE DAY OF THE LORD (1 THESS. 5:2,3)-- This Day speaks to us of God's
Judgment
and Justice being dispensed, first upon Israel, and then upon the
Gentiles. This
day begins immediately after the Rapture and continues on through the
seventieth
week of Daniel (the Tribulation). During this time we find Jehovah-God
dealing
basically with Israel (Jacob's Trouble) under Judgment until the
Revelation
(Second Coming) of her Messiah.
THE DAY OF THE LORD does not end here but rather continues on through the
Millennium (2 Peter 3:10) as God deals with mankind as a whole, under the
rod of
justice and judgment. With this in mind it would seem that the Day of the
Lord
would also include the "Great White Throne Judgment. "
Finally we come to THE DAY OF GOD (2 Peter 3:12,13) -- This Blessed Day
coincides with the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times (Eph 1:10) and
has to
do
with the New Heavens and the New Earth, or the eternal state.
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March 4th - Bl. Giovanni Antonio Farina, Founder
(1803-1888)
He was born into a religious family in Gambellara, Italy, on 11 January
1803, as
the second of five brothers. After the premature death of his father, Fr
Antonio, his uncle, took the family into his home. This priest was his
spiritual
and intellectual mentor. When he was 15 he entered the diocesan seminary
of
Vicenza where at 21 he was asked to begin teaching. On 15 January 1827, he
was
ordained priest and immediately afterwards earned an elementary school
teacher's
diploma. On account of his pedagogical gifts, he was appointed as teacher
and
spiritual director at the seminary where he served for 18 years. He was
assistant pastor at St Peter's Parish for 10 years and headmaster in
elementary
and secondary schools in Vicenza. In 1831 in Vicenza he founded the first
school
for poor girls and in 1836, the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of St
Dorothy,
Daughters of the Sacred Hearts, to supply suitable teachers. He wanted his
religious also to care for deafmutes, blind girls and the psychologically
handicapped. They nursed the sick and the elderly in hospital and at home.
There
was no form of suffering that this farsighted founder overlooked.
In 1850 Fr Farina was appointed Bishop of Treviso. Here he undertook a
variety
of pastoral initiatives, forming his priests and laity for evangelization
and
catholic action. Throughout his ten-year term, canonical problems with the
Cathedral Chapter caused him constant suffering and setbacks. Here he was
able
to follow the preparation of Giuseppe Sarto (the future St Pius X) for the
priesthood ordaining him in 1858. In 1860 he was transferred to Vicenza.
Despite the turbulent period in Italian history, during his 28 years as
bishop
he embarked on an ambitious pastoral programme that included the spiritual
and
cultural formation of the priests and of the laity for evangelization, the
reform of studies and discipline in the seminary, and the organization of
associations for the care of the poor. He was called the "Bishop of
Charity". In
1889 he was able to hold a diocesan synod. He was devoted to the pastoral
visit
and visited every parish even those that had never seen a bishop. His
strength
ebbed after a serious illness in 1886 and he died from a stroke in Vicenza
on 4
March 1888. His compassionate treatment of the poor and his enlightened
views on
teachers and education make Bishop Farina one of the more outstanding
bishops of
the 19th century. Today, the institute he founded is involved in education
as
well as health care and pastoral assistance in many countries.
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Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself -Matt. 16:24
"The measure of our advancement in the spiritual life should be taken from
the
progress we make in the virtue of mortification; for it should be held as
certain that the greater violence we shall do ourselves in mortification,
the
greater advance we shall make in perfection"
-St. Jerome
When St. Francis Borgia heard it said that anyone was a saint, he used to
answer, "He is, if he is mortified" In this way he himself became so great
a
saint; for he exercised himself in mortification to such a degree that
only that
day seemed to him truly wretched in which he had not undergone some
mortification, either bodily or spiritually.
When a young monk once asked an aged saint why, among so many who aim at
perfection, so few are found perfect, he replied, "Because in order to be
perfect it is necessary to die wholly to one's own inclinations, and there
are
few who arrive at this."
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints" March - Mortification)
Bible Quote:
10. Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan: for it is written, The Lord
thy God
shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10)
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THE HAND IN THE HARVEST
What measure of love is the greatest
To separate wheat from the chaff?
The hand of God in the harvest
Made known by the power of His staff.
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