- Psalm 32:8-10 -
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD's unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.
___________________________________________________________________________
God describes some people as being like horses or mules that have to be
controlled by bits or bridles. Rather than letting God guide them step by
step,
they stubbornly leave God only one option. If God wants to keep them
useful
to
him, he must use discipline and punishment. God longs to guide us with
love
and
wisdom rather than punishment. He offers to teach us the best way to go.
Accept
the advice written in God's Word and don't let your stubbornness keep you
from
obeying God.
<<>><<>><<>>
November 21st - Feast of the Presentation of Mary
Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children
to
God, His divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some
among
the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children,
offered
them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the Temple,
to
be
brought up in quarters attached to the Temple, attending the priests and
Levites
in their sacred ministry. There were special divisions in these lodgings
for
the
women and children dedicated to the divine service. (III Kings 6:5-9) We
have
examples of this special consecration of children in the person of Samuel,
for
example. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple of Jerusalem. It is very probable that
the
holy prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna, who witnessed the
Presentation
of
Jesus in the Temple, as we read in the second chapter of the Gospel of
Saint
Luke (verses 25 ff.) had known His Mother as a little girl in the Temple
and
observed her truly unique sanctity.
It is an ancient and very trustworthy tradition that the Blessed Virgin
was
thus
solemnly offered in the Temple to God at the age of three by Her parents,
Saint
Anne and Saint Joachim. The Gospel tells us nothing of the childhood of
Mary;
Her title Mother of God, eclipses all the rest. Where, better than in the
Temple, could Mary be prepared for Her mission? Twelve years of
recollection
and
prayer, contemplation and sufferings, were the preparation of the chosen
one
of
God. The tender soul of Mary was adorned with the most precious graces and
became an object of astonishment and praise for the holy Angels, as well
as
of
the highest complacency for the adorable Trinity. The Father looked upon
Her
as
His beloved Daughter, the Son as One set apart and prepared to become His
Mother, and the Holy Ghost as His undefiled Spouse.
Here is how Mary's day in the Temple was apportioned, according to Saint
Jerome.
From dawn until nine in the morning, She prayed; from 9:00 until 3:00 She
applied Herself to manual work; then She turned again to prayer. She was
always
the first to undertake night watches, the One most applied to study, the
most
fervent in the chanting of Psalms, the most zealous in works of charity,
the
purest among the virgins, Her companions, the most perfect in the practice
of
every virtue. On this day She appears as the standard-bearer for Christian
virginity: after Her will come countless legions of virgins consecrated to
the
Lord, both in the shadow of the altars or engaged in the charitable
occupations
of the Church in the world. Mary will be their eternal Model, their
dedicated
Patroness, their sure guide on the paths of perfection.
Reflection: The consecration of Mary to God presented all the conditions
of
the
most perfect sacrifice: it was prompt, generous, joyous, unregretted,
without
reservation. How agreeable it must have been to God! May our consecration
of
ourselves to God be made under Her patronage, assisted by Her powerful
intercession and united with Her ineffable merits.
Sources: Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, by Abbé L. Jaud
(Mame:
Tours, 1950); Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on
Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea
(Benziger
Brothers: New York, 1894).
Saint Quote:
"Hail, holy throne of God, divine sanctuary, house of glory, jewel most
fair,
chosen treasure house, and mercy seat for the whole world, heaven showing
forth
the glory of God. Purest Virgin, worthy of all praise, sanctuary dedicated
to
God and raised above all human condition, virgin soil, unplowed field,
flourishing vine, fountain pouring out waters, virgin bearing a child,
mother
without knowing man, hidden treasure of innocence, ornament of sanctity,
by
your
most acceptable prayers, strong with the authority of motherhood, to our
Lord
and God, Creator of all, your Son who was born of you without a father,
steer
the ship of the Church and bring it to a quiet harbor"
- (adapted from a homily by St. Germanus on the Presentation of the Mother
of
God).
Bible Quote:
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,
and
whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So
if
you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust
you
with true riches?" (Luke 16:10-11)
<><><><>
A poem/ hymn by Hillaire Belloc
Pelagius lived at Kardanoel
And taught a doctrine there,
How, whether you went to Heaven or Hell
It was your own affair.
It had nothing to do with the Church, my boy,
But was your own concern.
Oh, he didn't believe
In Adam and Eve
He put no faith therein!
His doubts began
With the Fall of Man
And he laughed at Original Sin.
With my row-ti-tow, ti-oodly-ow,
He laughed at original sin!
Whereat the Bishop of old Auxerre
(Germanus was his name),
He tore great handfuls out of his hair,
And he called Pelagius Shame:
And then with his stout Episcopal staff
So thoroughly thwhacked and banged
The heretics all, both short and tall,
They rather had been hanged.
Oh, he thwhacked them hard, and he banged them long,
Upon each and all occasions,
Till they bellowed in chorus, loud and strong
Their orthodox persuasions!
With my row-ti-tow, ti-oodly-ow,
Their orthodox persu-a-a-sions!
Now the Faith is old and the Devil is bold,
Exceedingly bold indeed;
And the masses of doubt that are floating about
Would smother a mortal creed.
But we that sit in a sturdy youth
And still can drink strong ale
Oh-let us put it away to infallible truth
That always shall prevail.
And thank the Lord
For the temporal sword
And howling heretics too;
And whatever good things
Our Christendom brings,
But especially barley brew!
With my row-ti-tow, Ti-oodly-ow,
Especially barley brew!
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