Sunday
\nJudges 2\u00a0\u00a011Then the sons of Israel did evil before the Lord and served the Baals. 12They forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they followed other gods from among the gods of the nations all around them, and they bowed down to them. They provoked the Lord to anger. 13They forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14And the Lord was enraged with anger at Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers, who ravaged them and sold them into the hands of their enemies all around. As a result they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15Whenever they went\u00a0\u00a0out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had spoken, and as the Lord had sworn to them. He greatly distressed them. 16Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges and the Lord saved them from the hand of those who plundered them. 17But even so, they would not listen to their judges, but instead they played the harlot with other gods and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. 18And the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved by their groaning because of those who besieged them and harassed them. 19And when the judge was dead, they went back to their former ways and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, serving them, and bowing down to them. They did not reject their pursuits nor their stubborn ways.<\/p>\n
Application:\u00a0 \u00a0Israel is a pattern of sin and repentance.\u00a0 While we are tempted to say ‘they were stupid doing the wrong thing because they knew what had happened in the past they still sinned.\u00a0 \u00a0This is what we and most people do in their lives when we do things contrary to what Christ and the Church teach.\u00a0 \u00a0We may not abandon our belief in God with our minds but we do it in our actions and then we complain when bad things happen as punishment to help us realize what we have done wrong.\u00a0 Oddly modern man instead repenting and accepting his fault get mad at God.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 O my God I firmly believe that Thou art one God in three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; I believe that Thy Divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, who canst neither deceive nor be deceived. (Act of Faith)<\/p>\n
Monday
\nJudges 6\u00a036So Gideon said to God, \u201cIf You save Israel by my hand as You said, 37then look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You said.\u201d 38And it was so. And he rose early the next morning and wrung the fleece and from the fleece dropped enough dew to fill a pan full of water. 39Then Gideon said to God, \u201cIndeed, I pray, do not let Your anger be aroused at me, and I will speak but once; I will yet make one more trial with thefleece. This time, let it be dry on the fleece, but let there be dew all over the ground.\u201d 40And that night God made it so; on the fleece it was completely dry, but there was dew all over the ground.<\/p>\n
Application:\u00a0 It is permissible to ask God for a distinct sign for direction in life.\u00a0 \u00a0Gideon’s was sincere in his faith and wanting to make sure it was god speaking and not a demonic deceiver so God honored his requests.\u00a0 We need to keep this in mind as we need to also be as pure of motive as Gideon is we expect a sign\u00a0 \u00a0(and not ask something as supernaturally dramatic as this).<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Having risen from sleep I hasten to Thee, O Lord, Lover of men, and by Thy loving-kindness I strive to do Thy work, and I pray to Thee:\u00a0 help me at all times, in everything, and deliver me from every evil thing of the world and every attack of the devil, and lead me into Thine eternal Kingdom. For Thou art my Creator, the Giver and Provider of everything good, and all my hope is in Thee, and to Thee I send up glory, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.\u00a0 Amen.
\n*Prayer for the next day\u2019s morning<\/p>\n
Tuesday
\nJudges 11:33When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold his daughter came out to meet him with drums and dances, and she was his only child. He had no other son or daughter. 34And when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, \u201cAh, ah, my daughter! You have troubled me greatly! It is you who are my trouble! For I have opened my mouth against you to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it.\u201d 35So she said to him, \u201cMy father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me as it came from your mouth, because the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, the sons of Ammon.\u201d 36Then she said to her father, \u201cLet my father do this one thing for me. Leave me alone for two months to wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity along with my companions.\u201d 37So he said, \u201cGo.\u201d And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 38And at the end of two months she returned to her father, and he carried out the vow he vowed, and she knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel 39that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.<\/p>\n
Application:\u00a0 \u00a0Christ warned against making vows.\u00a0 While commentators argue whether Jephthah actually killed his daughter\u00a0 (most likely) or gave her as a servant of God as a virgin in some way\u00a0 (which would have been a sacrifice since having children\u00a0 was the greatest honor for an Israelite woman) the lesson here is to not make promises we may not be able to keep or will deeply regret when we do keep them.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears! Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
\nV. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
\nR. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
\n*Salve Regina<\/p>\n
Wednesday
\nJudges 16:\u00a0 And he said to her, \u201cIf you weave the seven locks of my head into a braid, and secure them together with a wall peg, I will be weak like any other man.\u201d 14And so it happened when he was asleep, Delilah braided the seven locks of his head and secured them with a wall peg, and said to him, \u201cSamson, the Philistines are upon you!\u201d And he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the peg. 15Then Delilah said to Samson, \u201cHow can you say, \u2018I love you,\u2019 when your heart is not with me? You deceived me a third time; and you have not yet told me where your great strength lies.\u201d 16And it came to pass, after she pestered him continually with her words and pressured him sorely, that his spirit failed him almost to death. 17Then he told her everything in his heart, and said to her, \u201cNo razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a holy one of\u00a0\u00a0God from my mother\u2019s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like all other men.\u201d 18And Delilah discerned he told her all his heart, and she sent and called for the leaders of the Philistines, saying, \u201cCome up once more, for he told me all his heart.\u201d So the leaders of the foreigners went to her and brought the money in their hands. 19Delilah lulled Samson to sleep on her knees, and called for a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Thus she could finally subdue and control him, for his strength departed from him. 20And Delilah said, \u201cSamson, the Philistines are upon you!\u201d So he awoke from his sleep and said, \u201cI will go out as before, and shake myself free.\u201d But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. 21Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with fetters of bronze; and he was grinding grain in the prison house.<\/p>\n
Application:\u00a0 Delilah was a prostitute who feigned love for Samson to find out his secret.\u00a0 \u00a0He was severely punished.\u00a0 We need to always be very careful who\u00a0 we trust and never trust anyone openly engaged in a sinful occupation.\u00a0 We should also be wary of trusting anyone who doesn’t know Christ as they are more prone to be deceived by Satan and used to harm us through them.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Queen of Heaven rejoice, alleluia: For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia, Has risen as He said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. Because the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.
\nLet us pray : O God, who by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, granted joy to the whole world: grant we beg Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may lay hold of the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
\n*Regina Coeli<\/p>\n
Thursday<\/p>\n
1 Kingdoms 2<\/p>\n
22Now Eli was very, very old and he heard what his sons did to the sons of Israel. 23So he said to them, \u201cWhy are you doing what I hear from the mouth of all the people of the Lord? 24No, my sons! For the report I hear is not good. Do not act in this manner, for the reports I hear are not good, causing the people not to serve God. 25If one man sins against another, they will pray to the Lord for him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?\u201d Nevertheless they did not heed their father\u2019s voice, so the Lord desired to destroy them. 26But the child Samuel led his life and he grew and matured and found favor both with the Lord and with men. 27Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, \u201cThus says the Lord, \u2018I clearly revealed Myself to the house of your father when they were slaves in Egypt in Pharaoh\u2019s house. 28I chose the house of your father out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go to My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me. And I gave to the house of your father, and to the sons of Israel, food from all the offerings of fire. 29Why do you regard My incense and My sacrifice with impudent eyes and honor your sons more than Me; to bless yourselves with the best of all the first fruits of Israel set before Me?\u2019 30Therefore the Lord God of Israel says, \u2018I said indeed that your house and your father\u2019s house would walk before Me forever.\u2019 But now the Lord says, \u2018Far be it from Me, for I will honor those who honor Me, and the one who despises\u00a0\u00a0Me shall be dishonored. 31Behold, the days are coming that I will destroy your seed and the seed of the house of your father. 32And there shall not be an old man descended from you in My house forever. 33But for you\u2014I will not destroy a man from My altar even though his eyes have failed and his life has drained away. But all the descendants of your house shall fall by men\u2019s swords.<\/p>\n
Application:\u00a0 \u00a0those who are placed in positions of responsibility are held to account for the wrong actions of those in their charge.\u00a0 \u00a0Eli was not only the High Priest but the father of the priests who were doing evil.\u00a0 He failed to correct their faults and shared in their fate.\u00a0 \u00a0Those in positions of responsibility are without excuse when those they have authority over do evil.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.\u00a0\u00a0 And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.
\nHail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.<\/p>\n
Friday<\/p>\n
1 Kingdoms 5:\u00a06But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod. He came upon them and in their ships. He brought forth disease among them. He infested their country with mice, and there was a great calamity of death in the city. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, \u201cThe ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh upon us and Dagon our god.\u201d 8Therefore they sent and brought together all the lords of the Philistines in the same place and said, \u201cWhat shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?\u201d And the people of Gath said, \u201cLet the ark of the God of Israel come to us.\u201d So the ark of God came to Gath. 9And it came to be, after it entered Gath, that the hand of the Lord came upon the city. An exceedingly great state of confusion struck the men of the city, both small and great. He struck them in their private parts, and they made for themselves images of these. 10Then they sent away the ark of God to Ashkelon, and it came about, when the ark of God came to Ashkelon, the people of Ashkelon cried out, saying, \u201cWhy did you turn the ark of the God of Israel toward us to kill us and our people?\u201d 11So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, \u201cSend away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its own place, so it does not kill us and our people,\u201d for it came about that a\u00a0widespread panic of death spread throughout the entire city. 12And the living and those not dying were struck in their private parts, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.<\/p>\n
Application:\u00a0 the Philistines captured the Holy Ark in battle with Israel and their trophy turned into tragedy as a variety of curses fell on the cities wherein it was kept.\u00a0 Sometimes God quickly punishes those that dishonor Him as in this case.\u00a0 At other times it takes longer as in the 70 year Bolshevik dictatorship of Soviet Russia.\u00a0 \u00a0As it is with countries so it is with individuals:\u00a0 don’t mistake God’s patience and timetable for indifference.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 \u00a0Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that, we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by His Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.<\/p>\n
Saturday<\/p>\n
1 Kingdoms 8:4Then all the men of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5and said to him, \u201cLook, you have become old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now establish a king for us to judge us like all the rest of the nations.\u201d 6But this was evil in the eyes of Samuel when they said, \u201cGive us a king to judge us.\u201d So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7And the Lord said to Samuel, \u201cHeed the voice of the people in whatever they might say to you, for they have not rejected you, but rather they have rejected Me, to bring to naught My reign over them. 8In everything they did to Me since the day I brought them up from Egypt, even to this day, they have forsaken Me and have served other gods. So too they are doing this to you. 9Now listen to their voice; only you shall testify solemnly to them and announce to them the custom of the king who will reign over them.\u201d 10So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. 11And he said, \u201cThis will be the custom of the king who shall reign over you. He will take your sons and put them in his chariots, and among his horsemen, and running before his chariots; 12and for himself, he will appoint them as captains over his thousands, and captains over his hundreds; and to harvest his crop and gather his vintage; and to make his weapons of war and instruments for his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive\u00a0groves and give them to his servants. 15He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage and give it to his eunuchs and servants. 16And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest cattle, and your donkeys, and take a tenth of them for his work. 17He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18Then in that day you will cry out before your king whom you chose for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in those days, because you chose a king for yourselves.\u201d 19But the people were unwilling to listen to Samuel; and they said to him, \u201cNo, rather it is that we want a king to be over us. 20Then we will be like all the other nations, and our king will judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.\u201d 21And Samuel heard all the words of the people and repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. 22So the Lord said to Samuel, \u201cHeed their voice, and make them a king.\u201d And Samuel said to the men of Israel, \u201cLet every man go to his city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Application:\u00a0 \u00a0the people of Israel were clearly warned about the problem associated with the king they wanted.\u00a0 \u00a0They ignored it so the Lord gave them what they wanted to prove it to them.\u00a0 It is always better to heed the warnings in the New Testament and from the tradition of the Church than have to learn it the hard way.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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