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My Prayer Box
the
Newsletter of My Catholic Tradition
“You cannot strengthen the
weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the
wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You
cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You
cannot help men permanently by doing for them what
they could and should do for themselves.” -
Abraham Lincoln
To subscribe to the newsletter, please follow this
link. |
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Health Notes |
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The Truth About Carbs |
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To eat or not
to eat? With carbs, well, that is the
question. Figuring out the role carbohydrates
play in a healthy diet is confusing these
days.
All carbs
aren't created equal — some are good and some
are bad. Let's take a closer look at "bad
carbs" and why they got that rap.
"Bad" carbs
are the ones that get broken down in the body
very quickly, triggering insulin release
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and promoting fat
storage. If a food is high in bad carbs, it ranks
high on the glycemic load index (GLI), scoring 15
or higher.
Bad, or simple,
carbs often come in the form of refined sugars and
processed grains. In fact, the reason they break
down so quickly in our bodies is that they have
undergone chemical processes during manufacturing
that are similar to the ones carried out by our
digestive system, so in a way these carbs are
partially digested before we even eat them. Pretty
gross, huh?
Bad carbs are
found in packaged foods such as white bread,
pasta, crackers, baked goods, and other foods that
are made with white flour and contain little or no
fiber.
So, what's the
verdict on simple carbs? Stay away! They can
sabotage you and your weight-loss and fitness
goals. Instead, stick with the "good" carbs...fruits,
vegetables, beans and whole grains. |
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From a Company
Newsletter |
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Who
is |
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Daniel
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(From the Book of Daniel) |
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Now the man
tells Daniel the meaning of the vision. He
says that the three kings of Persia are yet to
come; and a fourth shall acquire the greatest
riches of all. Strengthened by his riches, he
shall rouse all the kingdom of Greece. But a
powerful king shall appear and rule with great
might, doing as he pleases.
No sooner shall he appear than his kingdom
shall be broken and divided in four directions
under heaven; but not among his descendants or
in keeping with his mighty rule, for his
kingdom shall be torn to pieces and belong to
others than they.
The king of the south shall grow strong, but
one of his princes shall grow stronger still
and govern a domain greater than his.
After some years
they shall become allies: the daughter of the
king of the south shall come to the king of
the north in the interest of peace. But her
bid for power shall fail: and her line shall
not be |
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recognized, and she
shall be given up, together with those who brought
her, her son and her husband.
But later a descendant of her line shall succeed
to his rank, and shall come against the rampart
and enter the stronghold of the king of the north,
and conquer them. Even their gods, with their
molten images and their precious vessels of silver
and gold, he shall carry away as booty into Egypt.
For years he shall have nothing to do with the
king of the north.
Then the latter shall invade the land of the king
of the south, and return to his own country.
But his sons shall prepare and assemble a great
armed host, which shall advance like a flood, then
withdraw. When it returns and surges around the
stronghold, the king of the south, provoked, shall
go out to fight against the king of the north,
whose great host shall make a stand but shall be
given into his hand and be carried off. In the
pride of his heart, he shall lay low tens of
thousands, but he shall not triumph. |
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For the king of the
north shall raise another army, greater than
before; after some years he shall attack with
this large army and great resources.
In those times many shall resist the king of
the south, and outlaws of his people shall
rise up in fulfillment of vision, but they
shall fail. When the king of the north comes,
he shall set up siegeworks and take the
fortified city by storm. The power of the
south shall not withstand him, and not even
his picked troops shall have the strength to
resist.
He shall attack him
and do as he pleases, with no one to withstand
him. He shall stop in the glorious land,
dealing destruction. He shall set himself to
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penetrate the
entire strength of his kingdom. He shall conclude
an agreement with him and give him a daughter in
marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but this
shall not succeed in his favor.
He shall turn to the coastland and take many, but
a leader shall put an end to his shameful conduct,
so that he cannot renew it against him. He shall
turn to the strongholds of his own land, but shall
stumble and fall, to be found no more.
In his stead one shall arise who will send a tax
collector through the glorious kingdom, but he
shall soon be destroyed, though not in conflict or
in battle.
There shall rise in his place a despicable person,
to whom the royal insignia shall not be given. By
stealth and fraud he shall seize the kingdom.
Armed might shall be completely overwhelmed by him
and crushed, and even the prince of the covenant.
After allying with him, he shall treacherously
rise to power with a small party.
By stealth he shall enter prosperous provinces and
do that which his fathers or grandfathers never
did; he shall distribute spoil, booty, and riches
among them and devise plots against their
strongholds; but only for a time.
He shall call on his strength and cleverness to
meet the king of the south with a great army; the
king of the south shall prepare for battle with a
very large and strong army, but he shall not
succeed because of the plots devised against him. |
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Even his table
companions shall seek to destroy him, his army
shall be overwhelmed, and many shall fall
slain. The two kings, resolved on evil, shall
sit at table together and exchange lies, but
they shall have no success, because the
appointed end is not yet.
He shall turn back toward his land with great
riches, his mind set against the holy
covenant; he shall arrange matters and return
to his land.
At the time appointed he shall come again to
the south, but this time it shall not be as
before.
When ships of the Kittim confront him, he
shall lose heart and retreat. Then he shall
direct his rage and energy against the holy
covenant; those who forsake it he shall once
more single out.
Armed forces shall move at his command and
defile the sanctuary stronghold, abolishing
the daily sacrifice and setting up the
horrible abomination. By his deceit he shall
make some who were disloyal to the covenant
apostatize; but those who remain loyal to
their God shall take strong action.
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The nation's wise
men shall instruct the many; though for a time
they will become victims of the sword, of flames,
exile, and plunder. When they fall, few people
shall help them, but many shall join them out of
treachery.
Of the wise men, some shall fall, so that the rest
may be tested, refined, and purified, until the
end time which is still appointed to come.
The king shall do as he pleases, exalting himself
and making himself greater than any god; he shall
utter dreadful blasphemies against the God of
gods. He shall prosper only till divine wrath is
ready, for what is determined must take place.
He shall have no regard for the gods of his
ancestors or for the one in whom women delight;
for no god shall he have regard, because he shall
make himself greater than all.
Instead, he shall give glory to the god of
strongholds; a god unknown to his fathers he shall
glorify with gold, silver, precious stones, and
other treasures.
To defend the strongholds he shall station a
people of a foreign god. Whoever acknowledges him
he shall provide with abundant honor; he shall
make them rule over the many and distribute the
land as a reward.
At the appointed time the king of the south shall
come to grips with him, but the king of the north
shall overwhelm him with chariots and horsemen and
a great fleet, passing through the countries like
a flood.
He shall enter the glorious land and many shall
fall, except Edom, Moab, and the chief part of
Ammon, which shall escape from his power. He shall
extend his power over the countries, and not even
the land of Egypt shall escape. He shall control
the riches of gold and silver and all the
treasures of Egypt; Libya and Ethiopia shall be in
his train.
When news from the east and the north terrifies
him, he shall set out with great fury to slay and
to doom many. He shall pitch the tents of his
royal pavilion between the sea and the glorious
holy mountain, but he shall come to his end with
none to help him. |
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To
be continued... |
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"For in one
Spirit we were all baptized into one body; and we
were all given to drink of one Spirit" (I Cor
12:13) |
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How many of
you have heard people from your own generation
or older say something like this: "I believe in
Jesus, but I don't need the Church." Or: "I'm a
spiritual person, but I'm not religious."
Here's the
problem with those statements: Without Jesus,
there's no Church. It's that simple. And it's
also true the other way around: Without the
Church, there's no way we can have a lasting,
personal relationship with the true Jesus
Christ. The original Greek word for the Church
is ekklesia, which means a gathering of those
who are "called out" - called out of the
darkness of the world by God for a new life in
Jesus Christ. The whole reason for Jesus'
incarnation was to bring salvation to all
humanity, not just his contemporaries. So He had
to form a community of believers that would
preserve his mission and continue it for all the
generations to come. This is why He founded the
family of faith we call the Church. He then made
sure that his Church would become God's people
forever, by sending the Holy Spirit on
Pentecost.
No matter how
flawed or sinful individual Catholics may be,
the Holy Spirit dwells in the Church and
guarantees that she will always remain the
sacrament of Salvation. In other words, the
Church is the only certain way by which all men
and women can find the gift of salvation brought
by Jesus.
Today, many
people try to discredit the historical fact of
Jesus in sensational ways. You know some of
these efforts: the Da Vinci Code, the phony
"gospel" of Judas, the bogus discovery of the
"tomb" of Jesus. This has been going on for a
long time. Years ago, when I was a seminarian, a
book about the "lost years of Jesus" was
popular. It claimed that Jesus was actually a
guru who spent most of his youth in Tibet,
learning from other spiritual masters. Like all
the other theories, the book came, sparked some
controversy, made some money for its author and
then disappeared. And during your own lives as
Christians, you'll encounter theories of the
same kind, with the same purpose: to disconnect
Jesus Christ from his Church; to make us believe
that Jesus was a very "wise man," or an
"important teacher," or someone with a "great
message," but not the Son of God, not our
Savior, and certainly not the founder of a
Church - especially not our Catholic Church.
This is
nonsense, and not because "the Church says so,"
but because it's historical fact. Jesus
repeatedly claimed that He was the only way to
salvation, that He was the Son of God, that we
had to eat his flesh and drink his blood to be
saved, and that we had to follow Him and make
disciples of all nations.
So it's false
to say that Jesus was simply a "great master,"
or "a very wise man," or a "good leader." You
can't be a "good man" or a "great master" and a
liar at the same time, and Jesus quite openly
claimed that He was the Son of God who came to
save the world. He was either a complete fraud
or He was the Son of God. Anything in between is
just muddled thinking, inconsistent with
Christ's message.
In fact, as a
believer, I have more respect for someone who
rejects Jesus as an impostor or lunatic, than
for someone who conveniently rearranges the
Christian faith to say that Christ was a "great
ethical teacher."
Of course,
Catholics believe Jesus was neither crazy nor an
impostor, but truly the Son of God who came to
save us and to be with us always. But how is
that possible? How does Jesus Christ remain in
our midst?
Can any one of you see Jesus physically, with
your own eyes, right here and now? No. But when
Christ promised to be with us always, He
specifically referred to the Church. The Church
is the way Jesus fulfills his promise to remain
among us until the end of time. And because we
belong to the family of believers that we call
the Church, we claim the presence of Jesus among
us right here, right now. Why? Because Jesus
said that whenever two or more would be gathered
in his name, He would be present among them. And
in a while, also thanks to the mystery of the
Church, we will ask the Holy Spirit to come to
us at Mass and transform the bread and wine into
the real body and blood of Christ.
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For the original
article of Most Rev. Charles Chaput,
please click here.
For more articles and address of the Most Rev.
Charles Chaput,
please click here. |
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Our
Faith: What you might want to know about |
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The
Sacrament of the Eucharist |
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The Office of Catechism
of the United States Congress of Catholic Bishops
website puts our knowledge of the Catholic
Faith to a test!
This
is just a sample. |
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1. |
Which of these
statements regarding the
Eucharist
are true? |
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In the
Eucharist we unite ourselves with the
heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal
life |
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The
Eucharist is the source and summit of the
Christian life |
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All of the
ministries and sacraments of the Church
are bound up with the Eucharist |
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As the
source of one's spiritual life, the
Eucharist must be the first sacrament to
be received |
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a, b and c |
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The
Sacrament of the
Eucharist
is called the Lord's Supper because |
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of its
connection with the supper which the Lord
took with the disciples on the eve of the
Passion |
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it
anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb
in the heavenly Jerusalem |
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This was
the Latin equivalent of the Jewish term,
"Passover." |
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d. |
a, b and c |
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a and b |
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Which of these is
not another name for the
Eucharist?
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The
Heavenly Liturgy |
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The
Breaking of the Bread |
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The
Eucharistic Assembly |
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The Holy
Sacrifice |
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Holy
Communion |
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4. |
True or False:
The Eucharist is also called Holy Mass because it
concludes with the sending forth of the faithful
to fulfill God's will in their lives. |
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True or False:
Since the Catholic Church teaches that Christ is
really present in the bread and wine, the
sacrifice of the Eucharist is then a re-sacrifice
of Christ on the altar |
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6. |
True or
False:
In the celebration of the Eucharist with the
apostles and his commandment to them to
celebrate it until His return, Jesus
constitutes the apostles as priests of the New
Testament.
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7. |
True or False:
The gospel of John has no counterpart of any kind
to the Last Supper accounts of the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark, and Luke. |
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8. |
True or
False:
There is no instance in the New Testament of a
Eucharistic meal aside from the accounts of
the Last Supper. If you answered true, explain
why this is so. If your answer is false, give
examples. |
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True or
False:
In the Eucharist we raise ourselves above
concern with the material order of creation in
order to maintain a spiritual union with the
Father. |
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We speak of the
Eucharist as a memorial of Christ's sacrifice.
In the sense that Sacred Scripture uses the
term 'memorial'
we mean that |
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we promise
to conform our lives to Christ's as the
events of his life are made present to us. |
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Christ's
unique sacrifice is made real, present and
sacramentally offered. |
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we remember
what Christ has done for us. |
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we are to
recreate visually the historical event as
food for meditation. |
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e. |
a and b. |
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To
learn more about Our Faith, please
click here. |
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Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and
looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds. Matthew
14:19 |
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Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 3,
2008
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First Reading from the Book of Isaiah |
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Is 55:1-3 |
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Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty, come to the water!
You
who have no money, come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine
and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread; your
wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight
in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have
life.
I
will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the
benefits assured to David. |
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Responsorial From the Book of Psalms |
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Ps 145:8-9, 15-16,
17-18 |
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R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all
our needs.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers
all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers
all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers
all our needs. |
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Second Reading from the Letter to the Romans |
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Rom 8:35, 37-39 |
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Brothers and sisters:
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor present
things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord. |
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Reading From the Gospel of Matthew |
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Mt 14:13-21 |
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When Jesus heard of the death of John the
Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by
himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on
foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he
cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached
him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already
late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go
to the villages and buy food for themselves.”
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Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to
go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said,
“Bring them here to me, ”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the
grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and
looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.
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Suggested Readings |
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Happiness Is a Serious
Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual
by Dennis Prager.
In this unique blend of self-help and moral
philosophy, talk-radio host Dennis Prager
asserts that we're actually obligated to be
happy, because it makes us better people.
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Praying With Frederic Ozanam
(Companions for the Journey Series)
-
Paperback, by Ronald Cm Ramson (Author) |
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Praying With Louise De
Marillac (Companions for the Journey Series)
by Audrey Gibson (Author), Kieran Kneaves
(Author) |
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Praying with Vincent de
Paul (Companions for the Journey)
2004, by Thomas McKenna
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The Rise of Christianity:
How the Obscure, Marginal, Jesus Movement Became
the Dominant Religious Force ....
(Paperback) by Rodney Stark
(Author)
From the Publisher
"... this account of Christianity's remarkable
growth within the Roman Empire |
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is already the subject of much fanfare. "Anyone
who has puzzled over Christianity's rise to
dominance... must read it," ...
Read the first page. |
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Living Liturgy:
Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis for
Sundays and Solemnities, Year A,
2008 (Paperback) by C.PP.S. Joyce Ann Zimmerman
(Author), Thomas A. Greisen (Author), S.N.D. de
N. Kathleen Harmon (Author), M.S. Thomas L.
Leclerc (Author) |
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"Perfect for home use or to prepare for weekly
liturgy . . . It includes help for the
celebration, ideas for catechesis on the
particular event, and ways to understand the
readings more deeply. Finally, it includes
sample questions from which priests, deacons,
lay groups, ministers and others can jump off
into deeper discussion." |
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Straight Answers, Answers
to 100 Questions about the Catholic Faith
by Ph.D Rev. William P.
Saunders (Author)
Review by: Reverend William G. Curlin Bishop of
Charlotte
Straight Answers offers Catholics a simple and
direct response to the many questions concerning
the Catholic Church. It spells out profound
truths in very |
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simple language for all who seek a better
understanding of their Faith. I highly recommend
it for Catholics, both young and old. |
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The Power of Intention:
Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way
From Amazon:
After years of spiritual study and reflection,
inspirational speaker and |
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bestselling
author Wayne Dyer has emerged a highly esteemed
teacher. His current message about tapping into
the power of intention may sound like good old
positive thinking: just stay focused on what you
want, rather than focusing on the lack of having
what you want. But the teaching here goes deeper
than just controlling thoughts (although he does
acknowledge that thought control is a
surprisingly challenging and significant
endeavor).
This book might
help readers land a better job, but it's more
relevant for those who are ready to detach from
an ego-driven life filled with quick fixes of
happiness and step into a more authentic,
joyful, and spiritually fulfilling life. His
core teachings speak to tapping into a universal
source of energy that can also be called the
"power of intention." |
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The Chariot of Israel:
Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as it walks you through a pivotal period in
Israel’s history, and illustrative maps will
give you a better picture of the physical
geography of this ancient land. |
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Read
more about the Liturgical Year |
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The Origins of the
Liturgical Year (Pueblo Books)
by Thomas J. Talley (Author) The Rev. Dr.
Thomas J. Talley, Professor of Liturgics
at the General Theological Seminary in New
York, is one of the leading liturgists in
the country. He gives us a fresh
examination of the complex history of the
Liturgical Year. |
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The Cultural World
of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle C.
(Bestseller! the Cultural World of Jesus:
Sunday by Sunday)
by John J. Pilch (Author)
Reader
Review: The book by Pilch provides those
who not only fill the pulpits across this
country but also all interested in the
cultural world in which Jesus lived with a
lot of pertinent information that sheds
light on a lot of areas that have been
"muddled" in the past. Yes, I highly
recommend this book. - James Mauldin |
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Learn
more and read the Old Testament. |
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Preaching from the
Old Testament
by Elizabeth Achtemeier (Author) Reader
Review: The author of these thirty-two
short chapters begins and ends with the
assumption that problems we experience
with the Old Testament are our problem,
not the Bible's. This subordinating of the
Bible reader to the well-weathered book he
holds in his hand opens doors, not to
forced harmonisations of problematic
passages, but to fresh reappraisal of
difficult texts on their own terms. -
David A. Baer |
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The Navarre Bible:
Pentateuch (The Navarre Bible: Old
Testament)
This volume helps you make the first five
books of the Old Testament a vital part of
your spiritual reading and practical
growth in the Christian life. It contains
the full English and Latin texts of these
books, along with extensive and faithfully
Catholic commentaries. Like other volumes
in the world-renowned Navarre Bible
series, these commentaries draw on Church
documents, the exegesis of Fathers
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and Doctors of the Church, and the works of
contemporary spiritual writers — particularly
St. Josemaría Escrivá, who initiated the
Navarre Bible project. |
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Comments and Suggestions are Most Welcome.
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This
volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of the First Book of Kings
follows the pattern of the now well-established series on the Old and New
Testaments. The main divisions of the text are those provided by the New English
Bible itself, but these are further subdivided for the purposes of the
commentary, which is printed in short sections following the relevant portion of
the text.
