DAY 32
Saving Grace: (30 Seconds) The greatest Dragon Slayer that ever lived (other than Jesus himself) was the virgin Mary. Satan's pride is no match for the humility of Mary. He doesn't know how to employ it or deal with it... that is why he is always in direct confrontation with the woman. Satan said "I will not serve." Mary said "Do whatever he tells you." Nobody's prayers are more powerful than Mary's. Invoke the power of that intercession with the Memorare.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
Athletics: (30 seconds) We will use the acronym S.P.O.R.T.S to focus on 6 virtues that will keep you focused all 40 days. Virtue of the day: Sportsmanship.....The most important thing in sports is not to have fun. The most important thing is not to score the most points. The most important thing is to "leave it all on the field", to "give everything you have". Fun is important and so is winning, but not because they are the goal.....they are only important because they motivate you to accomplish the goal.
Instructor's Manual: (10 minutes) Prepare for Sunday Mass by reading the readings ahead of time. Palm Sunday http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041314.cfm
Do you have small children at home? It is important that they learn how to prepare for Sunday Mass. Click on the link below...each week they will show a video for the gospel, have a coloring page, and a quiz. Try it!
http://www.holyheroes.com/HolyHeroesFun-com-s/57.htm
Need to Know Him: (2 minutes)
If you want to know the bridegroom, get to know the bride. Who started your Church?
Theology of the Body: (Question of the Day) Will women ever be able to become priests?
This is a good and honest question. The answer is no, women can never be priests. Despite what many people may think, the answer is not because a group of men are making up the rules about who can do what and who can't. No human being has the authority to change this doctrine instituted by Christ, but we need a firm understanding of the Theology of the Body to understand why. There are no arbitrary rules in the Catholic Church, everything has a reason.
In one sense, we are all priests by virtue of our baptism, since a priest is one who offers sacrifice to God. We are all called to "offer our bodies as a living sacrifice" and we are all called to image Christ. However, there is a difference between male and female, despite what our culture tries to imply. Men and women are equal, but very different, and that is a good thing. It is the difference between male and female that makes us created in the image of God. Men and women have different roles. Men, by their very nature initiate the gift. Women, by their very nature "receive" the gift. Remember, the story of salvation history is the story of a marriage between Christ and his Church. Christ came as a man because he is the eternal bridegroom who initiates the gift of eternal life to his bride (the Church) by offering his body for her (Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church). Only a man can be ordained a priest because he acts "in Persona Christi" or in the person of Christ. This doesn't mean men are more Christ like...I think us men have proven that wrong. It is most often women who have had to keep the faith alive in their families and who have sustained our church in recent times. However, Jesus came as a male, and that is important, because without bridegroom and bride there can be no life. The Church is always referred to as "she". She is feminine because she is bride. That is why woman better symbolizes the whole human race, as we are designed to "receive" the gift. A priest administers the sacraments, and in a sacrament the physical reality must properly symbolize the spiritual reality. For example, you can't baptize somebody with motor oil. It has to be water to symbolize the cleansing of sin. The Eucharist is what John Paul II called the "sacrament of the bridegroom and bride". We become one with the bridegroom in the Eucharist. (We must be careful not to try to sexualize the Eucharist. We are made in God's image, he is not made in our image, but the most common way God describes his love for his people is bridegroom and bride.) In the same way, a woman can not act in "Persona Christi" because that would symbolize bride and bride, which can't bring forth life. The form and matter of a sacrament matter (the holiness of the priest does not matter to make a sacrament valid, but the proper ordination does). It must be bridegroom and bride in the sacrament of marriage and in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
There is no world religion that upholds the dignity and genius of woman as much as the Catholic Church. That is not opinion, that is a fact. We actually believe there is a woman's body in heaven right now, and Mary is "our tainted nature's solitary boast", she is our perfect model of humanity. In her humility, she was so open to receiving the gift, she conceived eternal life within her. We too have that opportunity every time we go to Mass.
Want to learn more about Jesus the Bridegroom? I highly recommend this Lighthouse CD by Brant Pitre http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/jesus-the-bridegroom-the-greatest-love-story-ever-told##
SACRIFICE AND SERVICE: (61 Minutes) Watch the final video of Saints in the Making University, Sacrifice and Service. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eQCLxjQD0o
Saving Grace: (30 Seconds) The greatest Dragon Slayer that ever lived (other than Jesus himself) was the virgin Mary. Satan's pride is no match for the humility of Mary. He doesn't know how to employ it or deal with it... that is why he is always in direct confrontation with the woman. Satan said "I will not serve." Mary said "Do whatever he tells you." Nobody's prayers are more powerful than Mary's. Invoke the power of that intercession with the Memorare.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
Athletics: (30 seconds) We will use the acronym S.P.O.R.T.S to focus on 6 virtues that will keep you focused all 40 days. Virtue of the day: Sportsmanship.....The most important thing in sports is not to have fun. The most important thing is not to score the most points. The most important thing is to "leave it all on the field", to "give everything you have". Fun is important and so is winning, but not because they are the goal.....they are only important because they motivate you to accomplish the goal.
Instructor's Manual: (10 minutes) Prepare for Sunday Mass by reading the readings ahead of time. Palm Sunday http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041314.cfm
Do you have small children at home? It is important that they learn how to prepare for Sunday Mass. Click on the link below...each week they will show a video for the gospel, have a coloring page, and a quiz. Try it!
http://www.holyheroes.com/HolyHeroesFun-com-s/57.htm
Need to Know Him: (2 minutes)
If you want to know the bridegroom, get to know the bride. Who started your Church?
- WHO STARTED YOUR CHURCH? (By Matthew Kelly)
"I was praying for Pope Francis this morning, and it occurred to me that one fact got very little attention in the media circus that surrounded the recent Conclave to elect the new Pope. Today, there are officially more than 30,000 different Christian churches, all teaching different doctrines. How did this splintering and division happen?
It all began 400 years ago.
If you are a Lutheran, your religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex-monk of the Catholic Church, in the year 1517. This is the oldest of the Protestant churches and began the splintering process.
The Anabaptist religion splintered from the Lutherans in 1520, founded by Nicholas Storch and Thomas Munzer.
If you are a Mennonite, your religion is an offshoot of the Anabaptist church founded in 1525, which takes its name from Menno Simons, a former Catholic priest.
If you are Anglican, you belong to the Church of England, and your religion was founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the Pope would not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry.
If you are a Presbyterian, your religion was founded by John Knox in Scotland in the year 1560.
If you are a Protestant Episcopalian, your religion was an offshoot of the Church of England, founded by Samuel Seabury in the American colonies in the 17th century.
If you are a Baptist, you owe the tenets of your religion to John Smyth, who launched it in Amsterdam in 1605.
If you are a Congregationalist, your religion was originated by Robert Brown on Holland in 1582.
If you are a Quaker, your religion was founded in 1647 by George Fox in England.
If you are Amish, your church was founded by Jacob Anman in 1693.
If you are a Methodist, your religion was launched by John and Charles Wesley in England in 1744.
If you are a Unitarian, Theophilus Lindley founded your church in London in 1774.
If you are Episcopalian, your religion was founded in 1784 by Samuel Seabury in the American Colonies and is an offshoot of the Church of England.
If you are Mormon, Joseph Smith started your religion in Palmyra, New York in 1829.
If you are of the Dutch Reformed Church, you recognize Michaelis Jones as founder because he originated your religion in New York in 1628.
If you worship with the Salvation Army, your sect began with William Booth in London in 1865.
If you are a Christian Scientist, you look to 1879 as the year in which your religion was born, with Mary Baker Eddy as its founder.
If you are a member of the Assemblies of God, your religion was founded by Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas in 1901.
If you belong to the Church of the Nazarene, your religion was started in 1908.
If you are a Jehovah’s Witness, your religion was founded by Charles Taze Russell in 1931.
If you have stopped attending church, you founded your own religion and appointed yourself as pope.
If you are Catholic, you belong to the Church that was founded around the year 33 by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus appointed the first Pope, Peter, and as Catholics we can trace our apostolic lineage from Peter to Pope Francis.
There is something incredibly beautiful and inspiring about that. For more than 1500 years all Christians were united in one Church... Let us pray for Christian unity." (By Matthew Kelly, Catholic author and speaker. Visit www.DynamicCatholic.com) — with Matthew Kelly.
Theology of the Body: (Question of the Day) Will women ever be able to become priests?
This is a good and honest question. The answer is no, women can never be priests. Despite what many people may think, the answer is not because a group of men are making up the rules about who can do what and who can't. No human being has the authority to change this doctrine instituted by Christ, but we need a firm understanding of the Theology of the Body to understand why. There are no arbitrary rules in the Catholic Church, everything has a reason.
In one sense, we are all priests by virtue of our baptism, since a priest is one who offers sacrifice to God. We are all called to "offer our bodies as a living sacrifice" and we are all called to image Christ. However, there is a difference between male and female, despite what our culture tries to imply. Men and women are equal, but very different, and that is a good thing. It is the difference between male and female that makes us created in the image of God. Men and women have different roles. Men, by their very nature initiate the gift. Women, by their very nature "receive" the gift. Remember, the story of salvation history is the story of a marriage between Christ and his Church. Christ came as a man because he is the eternal bridegroom who initiates the gift of eternal life to his bride (the Church) by offering his body for her (Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church). Only a man can be ordained a priest because he acts "in Persona Christi" or in the person of Christ. This doesn't mean men are more Christ like...I think us men have proven that wrong. It is most often women who have had to keep the faith alive in their families and who have sustained our church in recent times. However, Jesus came as a male, and that is important, because without bridegroom and bride there can be no life. The Church is always referred to as "she". She is feminine because she is bride. That is why woman better symbolizes the whole human race, as we are designed to "receive" the gift. A priest administers the sacraments, and in a sacrament the physical reality must properly symbolize the spiritual reality. For example, you can't baptize somebody with motor oil. It has to be water to symbolize the cleansing of sin. The Eucharist is what John Paul II called the "sacrament of the bridegroom and bride". We become one with the bridegroom in the Eucharist. (We must be careful not to try to sexualize the Eucharist. We are made in God's image, he is not made in our image, but the most common way God describes his love for his people is bridegroom and bride.) In the same way, a woman can not act in "Persona Christi" because that would symbolize bride and bride, which can't bring forth life. The form and matter of a sacrament matter (the holiness of the priest does not matter to make a sacrament valid, but the proper ordination does). It must be bridegroom and bride in the sacrament of marriage and in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
There is no world religion that upholds the dignity and genius of woman as much as the Catholic Church. That is not opinion, that is a fact. We actually believe there is a woman's body in heaven right now, and Mary is "our tainted nature's solitary boast", she is our perfect model of humanity. In her humility, she was so open to receiving the gift, she conceived eternal life within her. We too have that opportunity every time we go to Mass.
Want to learn more about Jesus the Bridegroom? I highly recommend this Lighthouse CD by Brant Pitre http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/jesus-the-bridegroom-the-greatest-love-story-ever-told##
SACRIFICE AND SERVICE: (61 Minutes) Watch the final video of Saints in the Making University, Sacrifice and Service. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eQCLxjQD0o
