Deeper Truth

Deepertruth: Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Day 6 – Shepherd of Souls

 “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
 Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Day 6 – Shepherd of Souls.  07/27/2024.  For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. (1 Cor 4:15)
Intention:
For priests who labor in parishes, apostolates and missions
Virtue: Zeal for the salvation of souls.
After seven years at St. Mary’s Church, Father McGivney was named pastor of St. omas Parish in omaston,
30 miles from New Haven, in the northern hills of Connecticut.
On his nal Sunday at St. Mary’s, people wept openly in the pews as he oered his farewell with tears flling his own eyes. He concluded, “Wherever I go, the memory of the people of St. Mary’s and their great kindness to me will always be uppermost in my heart.”
The local newspaper noted, “Never, it seemed, was a congregation so affected by the parting address of a clergyman as the great audience which filled St. Mary’s.”
Relying on the grace of God, Father McGivney was the image of the Good Shepherd in his six years as pastor of St. omas Church.
His sacramental records show a steady schedule of Mass, baptisms, confessions, anointings, weddings and funerals the daily labor of a parish priest charged with the care of souls. Knowing the hard life of his people, he also planned for them regular periods of respite and recreation.
Soon he was entrusted with a mission church 4 miles away, Immaculate Conception in Terryville. Ever faithful to his daily duties, Father McGivney would oer an early Sunday Mass in omaston, ride in a horse-drawn carriage to Terryville for a mid-morning Mass, and return to St. omas Church for the noon Mass.

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saints Joachim and Anne

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saints Joachim and Anne 7/26/2024.  Sts. Joachim and Anne can intercede for grandparents who seek help and guidance for their grandchildren.
Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of God in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us.
Both received the vision of an angel, who announced that Anne would conceive and bear a most wondrous child. The couple rejoiced at the birth of their daughter, whom Anne named Mary.
Their prayers were heard, and an Angel came to Anne and said, “The Lord has looked upon thy tears; thou shalt conceive and give birth and the fruit of thy womb shall be blessed by all the world”. The Angel made the same promise to Joachim, who returned to his wife.
Images of Saint Joachim are often identified by the presence of his associated symbols. A book or scroll represents linen makers, a shepherd's staff for the Christian word, and a basket of doves represents peace. He is almost always dressed in green, the color of hope.

Deepertruth: Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney Day 5 – A Holy Life

 “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney Day 5 – A Holy Life
Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt 5:48)
Intention:
For the sanctication of clergy and laity in their mutually enriching vocations within the Church.
Virtue: Discernment of God’s will in our lives.
Father McGivney was a man of few yet effective words who drew upon the Word of God for inspiration.
Those who knew him, however, had much to say about his character and manner.
They remarked on the inviting tone of his voice, his firm yet friendly demeanor, his popular personality and the positive and lasting impression he made on others.
According to one contemporary, parishioners “called him a positive saint, and meant it.”
A blind man would come each Sunday to hear “that voice.” A fellow priest observed, “Father McGivney, though a man of unassuming character, was possessed of an indomitable will.”
Another priest said he lived “a life unselfshly given to the service of others, a life spent in the promotion of his neighbors’ welfare, a life redolent of deeds whose motive was the social, moral, intellectual and religious improvement of his fellows. … Coincident with his spiritual labors, he wrought also for the temporal welfare of his brethren …”

Deepertruth: Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Day 4 Founder of K of C

 “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Day 4 – Founder ofthe Knights of Columbus,  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! (Ps 133:1)
Intention: For Catholic men and their families.
Virtue: Charity, unity and fraternity.
The Knights of Columbus grew out of Father McGivney’s personal experience.
He knew frsthand the hardships families faced when the father of a family died young.
He saw Catholic men lured by secret societies that promised brotherhood and financial benefits but whose practices were contrary to the Catholic faith.
Yet he also knew the strength and character of Catholic men who kept their faith and worked hard to support their families.
A priest of deep prayer and practical action, Father McGivney called together the accomplished, “go-ahead” Catholic men of New Haven for a meeting in the basement of St. Mary’s Church.
They were to form a new society that would support men in the faith and assist widows and orphans when a member passed away.
Summing up the mission of the Knights of Columbus, he wrote, “‘Unity and charity’ is our motto. Unity in order to gain strength to be charitable to each other in benevolence whilst we live and in bestowing financial aid to those whom we have to mourn.”
The members of the Order today carry out his vision and mission through a charity that evangelizes, a charity that answers the simple question that lies at the heart of each person:

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Bridget of Sweden

 “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Bridget of Sweden patron saint of Europe 7/23/2024.  The nuns wear crowns made of three metal bands with five red stones representing the five wounds that Jesus suffered on the Cross. Bridget herself, however, almost always wears a white veil on her head rather than the Brigittine crown.
1303, Sweden—died July 23, 1373, Rome [Italy]; canonized October 8, 1391; feast day July 23, formerly October 8), patron saint of Sweden, founder of the Bridgittines (Order of the Most Holy Savior), and a mystic whose revelations were influential during the Middle Ages.
From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors.
she was born of a noble father and a slave mother and was sold along with her mother to a Druid, whom she later converted to Christianity. On being set free, she returned to her father, who tried to marry her to the king of Ulster.
She lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. Mother of eight children—the second eldest was Saint Catherine of Sweden—Bridget lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband’s death.
Saint Bridget of Ireland was a determined, faithful Catholic who was responsible for starting convents and monasteries throughout Ireland. Bridget's Celtic name, Brigid, which means “fiery arrow,” can be traced back to the goddess of the same name with whom Bridget is often conflated.

Deepertruth: Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Day 3 Ministry to the Marginal

 “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Day 3 – Ministry to the Marginalized
Day 3 – Ministry to the Marginalized I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.
I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. (1 Cor 9:22)
Intention:
For all who suffer on the peripheries of society, including immigrants, those persecuted for their Christian faith, and persons who are imprisoned, poor, homeless or addicted.
Virtue:
Perseverance amid adversity and trials.
Father McGivney did not continue himself to the sacristy or rectory.  The needs of his people took him far from the church doors as he served as an advocate for families in court; a friend of those from other Christian faiths; a consoling presence to a prominent Protestant minister whose daughter had died; the director of public plays and fairs; and, of course, the founder of the Knights of Columbus.
In these and many other ways, he was a man ahead of his time, anticipating by nearly a century the Second Vatican Council’s teachings on ecumenical dialogue, a more active and engaged laity, and the “universal call to holiness.”
 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And St. Mary Magdalene

 “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Stand In The Gap With Us And St. Mary Magdalene 7/22/2024.  Except for the mother of Jesus, few women are more honored in the Bible than Mary Magdalene. Yet she could well be the patron of the slandered, since there has been a persistent legend in the Church that she is the unnamed sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50.
St. Mary Magdalene was one of my favorite Saints as a child because of her strong desire to follow Jesus. I remember my Mother having a holy card with her image on it. Her story would become a great example of God's mercy and grace.
Most Scripture scholars today point out that there is no scriptural basis for confusing the two women. Mary Magdalene, that is, “of Magdala,” was the one from whom Christ cast out “seven demons” (Luke 8:2)—an indication at the worst, of extreme demonic possession or possibly, severe illness.
Traditionally she has been identified as a women that lived as a prostitute, but scripture does not reveal such a background. What ever her background, she had serous spiritual issues. Luke 8:1-3 says:
"Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources."

Deepertruth: Blessed Michael McGivney Novena Day 2 – Ordained ‘A Man for Others

 “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Blessed Michael McGivney Novena Day 2 – Ordained ‘A Man for Others’
I will raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them;and they will not be aaid any longer, nor be terri- fieded, nor will any be missing. (Jer 23:4)
 
Intention:
 
For vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life.
Virtue: Courage to respond to God’s call. Young Michael’s desire to be “a man for others” was recognized by his pastor, who encouraged him to enter the seminary at age 16.
Yet Michael’s path to the priesthood was neither smooth nor direct. After gaining his father’s permission to leave his work in a Waterbury factory, Michael traveled far, to Canada and upstate New York, to receive the proper education and spiritual formation.
After his father died, Michael would have been forced to stay home to support the family if not for a scholarship supplied by the bishop of Hartford to continue studies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.
He was ordained Dec. 22, 1877, in America’s first cathedral, and returned to Waterbury to celebrate his first public Mass for Christmas, with his widowed mother and siblings attending.
Assigned to St. Mary’s Church, the rst Catholic parish in New Haven, he served a large, mostly immigrant population and worked without a single day o for more than a year,

Deepertruth: Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, Founder of The KofC Day 1

Novena to Blessed Michael Mcgivney, The Founder of Knights of Columbus. Day 1.  
Day 1 – The Founder’s Family of Faith Behold, children are a gift of the Lord;
(Ps 127:3) Intention:
For the domestic church, the church of the home, seedbed of love and vocation. 
Virtue: Openness to God’s will. Although they lived a century before St. John Paul II, Patrick and Mary McGivney embodied the late pope’s message on the domestic church:
“Family, become what you are”
Formed and blessed by God, the family is the place where parents are privileged to bring forth children and serve as the frst examples of human love, unity and fraternity, amid daily joys, sacrices and suering.
Father McGivney knew the grace of cooperating with God’s will, bringing 13 children into the world, as well as the grief that came when six of those children died as infants.
Patrick and Mary had left Ireland’s potato famine for America and were married in Waterbury, Conn.
Their frst child, Michael Joseph, was born Aug. 12, 1852, and baptized a week later.
Petitions For a deeper appreciation of the importance of family life, that our domestic church may serve as a model of faith, hope and charity.
Grant our prayer, Lord, through the intercession of Blessed Michael McGivney. For holy marriages founded on God’s love, that husbands and wives may have the grace to generously accept the gift of new life. Grant our prayer, Lord, through the intercession of Blessed Michael McGivney
 
 

Deepertruth: The Catholic Defender joins Hulk Hogan for Donald J. Trump

The Catholic Defender joins Hulk Hogan for Donald J. Trump.  I'm Donald T. Hartley Army retired nearly 27 years from the slopes of Texas, the hills of Alabama, and now the plains of Kansas. I'm half-horse, half-alligator, and just a little touch of snapping turtle.
I can wade the Mississippi, leap the Ohio and ride a streak of lightning. I can whip my weight in wild cat, hug a bear too close for comfort, I got the prettiest wife from the great State of Alabama and the ugliest dog from the State of Arkansas and I can beat any man alive opposed to President Donald J. Trump!  
Presedent Trump was graised by a bullet as he was speaking before a large crowd. Campaign Staff Say Trump Is Safe After Assassination Attempt Saturday.
Trump, face bloodied by an apparent nick to the ear, was immediately rushed by Secret Service officers and taken from the stage. He pumped his fist to the audience as he was removed.
Donald Trump’s campaign said in a statement that he was “fine” after being whisked off the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania after apparent gunshots rang through the crowd.
“President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act,” spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow.”