Advent Series - December 6

JMJ

December 6

Happy feast of St. Nicholas!

Jacob (now named Israel) had 12 sons.
These sons would become the fathers of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

Their names were;
1) Ruben 2) Simeon 3) Levi
4) Juda 5) Dan 6) Nephtali
7) Gad 8) Aser 9) Issachar
10) Zabulon 11) Joseph 12) Benjamin

Jacob’s favorite child was Joseph, the first born son of his wife Rachel.
Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors.
The other boys were jealous, and they sold Joseph as a slave to some Egyptian traders.
The boys told their father that a wild animal had killed Joseph. (Poor Jacob. He was deceived again!)

The slave traders sold Joseph to a rich Egyptian. That Egyptian’s wife told lies about Joseph and got him sent to prison because he refused to do wrong. Things looked pretty bad for Joseph, but he trusted in God.

In prison, Joseph met 2 men who had strange dreams. Joseph told them what their dreams meant; one of the men would be hanged and the other would be set free.
Things turned out just as Joseph said. After a time, Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt had a strange dream also. No one could tell him what his dream meant. Then the man who had been freed remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about Joseph and his special gift.

The Pharaoh sent for Joseph and Joseph told him what his dreams meant; the land of Egypt would have 7 years of good crops, followed by 7 years when no food would grow.
Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of storing food to prepare for the famine.
The day came when no crops would grow, but because of Joseph,the people of Egypt were well provided for.

Meanwhile, due to the famine, Joseph’s family had run out of food but they heard it was possible to buy food in Egypt.
The brothers set out for Egypt. When they got there they did not recognize Joseph.
Joseph remembered them, however. He forgave his brothers and invited the whole family to come and live in Egypt where there was plenty of food.

Let’s remember Joseph when we’re having a bad day. Everything fits into God’s plan, and God brings good out of evil. When things are not going as we hoped, that’s when we can show God that we love Him and trust Him.

So Jacob (Israel) and his sons went to live in Egypt. At first things went well, but then the Old Pharaoh died.
The new Pharaoh did not trust the children of Israel.
We read before how God told Abraham that He would give to His people the land of Chanaan, but only after they spent 400 years as slaves in a strange land.(Gen 15)
This marks the beginning of their 400 years of exile.

The children of Israel had many children. They grew to be so many, that after 400 years, the Egyptians were afraid they would take over Egypt. The Pharaoh who ruled then decided to do something about it. He ordered all Hebrew baby boys to be killed.

It was then that Moses was born. Moses, of course was a Hebrew baby boy, so his life was in danger.
Moses’ mother placed him in a basket on the Nile River to escape being killed.
His older sister followed to watch over him. When an Egyptian princess found Moses, she wanted to take care of him. Moses’ sister stepped out of the rushes and offered to find a nurse to take care of the baby. Can you guess who she “found”?

Moses grew up in the palace of the Pharaoh, but he stayed loyal to his own people. One day, he saw an Egyptian being cruel to a Hebrew. Moses got so angry that he killed the Egyptian. After that, Moses knew he had to leave Egypt or be killed as well.
Moses went to live in the desert for many years. One day, he saw a bush that was on fire, yet it did not burn to ashes. God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, telling him to go to Pharaoh and ask that the Hebrews be allowed to go into the desert and make sacrifices to God.

The Israelites worked to build Pharaoh’s cities so Pharaoh was not thrilled with the idea of them leaving to go into the desert. In fact, he thought that the Hebrews must have too much time on their hands to come up with such an idea. To punish them, Pharaoh ordered the Hebrews to make bricks without straw. Anyone not supplying the same number of bricks would be whipped. Now this was not fair at all, since you could not make bricks without straw!

The people of Israel were upset. They told Moses that Pharaoh had used his visit as a reason to persecute them.
And God said to Moses, “I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, wherewith the Egyptians have oppressed them: and I have remembered My covenant. Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord who will bring you out from the work prison of the Egyptians, and will deliver you from bondage” (Ex 6:5-6)

We will read tomorrow about how God fulfilled His promise.

What the heck is a congregation of "Pontifical Right"

+ JMJ In a discussion with a friend the question occurred to me that I didn't actually know was is involved in being a religious order of 'pontifical right'. I had a vague notion that this meant they reported to Rome as opposed to the local diocese. I'm also aware that, according to the accounts I have heard, the Archbishop received 'praise' and the written direction to incardinate priests directly into the SSPX. This is interesting because it implies that the SSPX priests were no longer required to incardinate in the local diocese but in the SSPX. This is something that belongs to an order of 'pontifical right'. Anyway here's some definitions: Di diritto pontificio is the Italian term for “of pontifical right” . It is given to the ecclesiastical institutions (the religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See or approved by it with the formal decree, known by its Latin name, Decretu

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

+ JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them. I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest. This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis? When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due. This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too thin

De Veritate - St. Thomas Aquinas - What is necessary to believe explicitly?

I was recently introduced to a work of St. Thomas De Veritate ( Source ) in the course of an argument concerning the minimum content of explicit faith. When I submitted the following quote as proof: Theological faith, that is, a supernatural faith in Revelation, is necessary, and this is an effect of grace (D 1789); nemini unquam sine ilIa contigit iustificatio (D 1793). As far as the content of this faith is concerned, according to Hebr. 11, 6, at least the existence of God and retribution in the other world must be firmly held, necessitate medii (by the necessity of means) with explicit faith. In regard to the Trinity and the Incarnation, implicit faith suffices. The supernatural faith necessary for justification is attained when God grants to the unbeliever by internal inspiration or external teaching a knowledge of the truths of Revelation, and actual grace to make the supernatural act of faith. Cf. De verite 14, I I.Ott - Fundamentals of Dogma p241 In response my opponent wrot

Thirty Days Prayer to Our Lady -

+ JMJ Providence has cast this prayer in my path twice in the last week. I decided to post it here in order to have a copy handy. P^3 Prayer Penance Patience Source Intro Prayer With the condition of affairs in the cultural, political and physical world in a state of disarray we enter Lent - Ash Wednesday - February 25th - 2004 - more compelled then ever to pursue, diligently and faithfully, our personal road to holiness. It is a long, difficult path each of us treads, however, we do know the journey can be sweeter and more blessed if we travel it with others. Jesus has told us: "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am with you." And there are many other biblical passages, as well, that urge us to love and help one another. A 'Thirty Day Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary ' was said by many Catholics during troubled times in their lives up until Vatican II. While looking through old stored away boxes, I came across a small white prayer b

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Tradicat

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