July 1st may be Canada Day for the snow & winter sports lovers - but, for me, it is more - MUCH MORE THAN THAT! I guess it is all a question of scope, discernment and having the proper perspective and outlook on things... eh? According to the wonderfully illustrated ÉVANGELISATION 2000 calendar, July 1st is the day of "La Fête du Précieux Sang de Jésus" - which means the Celebration of the Holy Blood of The Christ. Now even the most blasé shoveler of the white stuff (we're still talking about snow here - not any other type or variety of "white stuff", do not worry! *LOL*) will agree with me when I say that THE HOLY BLOOD OF CHRIST is worthier of celebration than the constitution of the odd country that Canada is... EH? Québec is an historical anomaly - but so is Canada overall! Neither should have existed, logically - back in the day when the greats (Vasco Da Gama, Marco Polo) and not-so greats (Jacques Cartier, Christopher COLOMBU roamed the seas, the object of the entire exercise (and expensive entreprise) was to find the precious passage to INDIA. No Canada here! INDIA - and all of its riches - beckoned! Canada had little or nothing to offer in terms of readily-exploitable riches; what was there around here, other than beaver fur and maybe... ah... moose to hunt down? The French and English were so proud though that they elected to stay here and in the eventual USA - just not to lose face! They couldn't admit that their discoverers fumbled the ball so badly while Portugal's Vasco Da Gama delivered the goods as promised - HE and only HE discovered the coveted sea route that gained access to the Indies. Nonetheless, faced with such a monumental debacle, the French and English acted as though they were proud of what they found here - and happy to exploit and colonize it! What a farce... He who fools himself is the greatest fool of all... They even further made it more pathetic by dubbing the various native American tribes that they found here - whether friendly ones or hostile ones - all under one mantle: that of "indians". Envy is a terrible thing; it drives men to such heights (or lows, really) of absurdism. And of hypocrisy too... but that is another story! The fianl nail in the coffin of these two "sort-of-twin nations that shouldn't have been really" is the fact that OTHER Europeans came here first - and frowned upon both territories once they saw how harsh and severe the winters were here! The Vikings were unquestionably first here; the Portuguese followed and, once they saw the beginnings of permafrost, left as soon as they could (for Brazil!) whilst leaving behind a sign that read something like this: "nesta terra, nem cana dà". Natives saw this, liked the last two words best and apparently started using them as one - "cana-da" - to describe their village! And so it went on until... Such is the legend, and that's the story that I'm sticking to! Canada is, thus, a comedy of errors that started out the vanity of France and that of England too, who picked up the slack soon enough (another lesson history has taught us all: the French can never beat the English. Never. Take that, French frogs! *LOL* Vanity gets you nowhere - now THERE's a lesson worth learning!) The USA, especially with the current administration at the helm of things, is not much better mind you... In fact, I'd say that it is real fitting that the two festive national days (Canada Day and "USA Day" aka the 4th of July) are practically back-to-back - these are two bastard nations that could have easily never been! And both know who's the true economical leader of the western world now too, eh - tis the EURO - as it should be too!
But enough about that! Onwards to the really good stuff about this date hence: (all courtesy of a certain Catholic source, linked here today too!) Saturday, July 1, 2006 of the Liturgical Year B, Cycle II First Saturday of the Month - obviously! Today's Mass is Saturday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time Readings for Mass: First Reading: Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19 (how great is that; I feel like lamenting too!) Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 74:1-2, 3-5, 5-7, 20-21 (what a great adjective "responsorial" is!) Gospel: Matthew 8:5-17 (My man Matt!) Blessed Virgin Mary - Optional Memorial (yes - optional indeed - not everyone "blesses" her equally within Christiandom... evidently...) Today's Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries (more on those a little further down...!)
A few definitions with that? I am happy to oblige... Holy Days of Obligation Holy days of obligation are special feasts on which Catholics who have reached the age of reason are seriously obliged to assist at Mass and avoid unnecessary work. See Sunday Obligation below.
Sunday Obligation One of the precepts of the Church is to keep holy the day of the Lord's Resurrection; to worship God by participating in Mass every Sunday and holy day of obligation; to avoid those activities that would hinder renewal of soul and body, for example, needless work and business activities, unnecessary shopping, and so forth.
Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations and Solemnities These are days which the Church has set aside as having special meaning. There are several types of celebrations. Some are events in the life of Christ. Some are days dedicated to a particular saint. There are three types of feast days. Optional Feasts are not universally celebrated. Holy Days of Obligation are days on which Catholics are required to attend Mass. All other celebrations are celebrated, but Catholics are not obligated to attend.
Fast and Abstinence (not the kind you may think!) Fasting is restricting eating to one full meal and two lighter meals in the course of a single day, and prohibits eating between meals. Adults who have not yet reached their sixtieth year are bound by the Canon Law to fast. Pregnant women and people who are sick are not obligated to fast. Abstinence is refraining from eating meat. People who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the Canon Law to abstain. Anyone who feels that they cannot fulfill the law of abstinence or the law of fasting should consult a parish priest or confessor.
Commons For many celebrations throughout the year, readings are assigned from various Commons. Commons are groups of readings appropriate for a type of celebration. These readings include First Readings, Responsorial Psalms, and Gospel Readings. One reading may be selected from each group for use during the Mass. Often, more than one type of Common is appropriate for a celebration. In these cases, readings may come from any of the appropriate commons. Alternately, the readings from the regular liturgical year or cycle for the current day (the proper of the Season) can normally be used. Easter is a special season for Commons. During Easter, a separate set of readings is assigned for the First Readings. There are also subcategories within the Commons. These are readings which are more appropriate for some celebrations than others. An example of this is the subcategory of Popes within the Common of Pastors. There are seven Commons for the liturgy, as follows:
Common for the Dedication of a Church (each Common has an Outside Easter version - and a During Easter version) Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary Common of Martyrs Common of Pastors Common of Doctors of the Church Common of Virgins Common of Holy Men and Women (Common of Saints)
Proper Many celebrations throughout the year have specific readings assigned. These readings are called the Proper of the celebration. These readings are usually chosen over the Commons, as they are more appropriate for the specific Celebration. Additionally, each day of the year has a set of readings appropriate for the day and season. These readings are called the Proper of the Season.
The Rosary (for those who forgot what it is...) The Rosary is a series of prayers specifically prepared to be used in personal devotion. That is, the Rosary can be prayed alone or in without the guidance of a spiritual leader. This differs from a mass, which is meant to be led by a celebrant. The Rosary has several prayers which are constant, and the Mysteries, which can vary. Prior to October 16, 2002, there were three sets of Mysteries. On October 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II added a fourth set. Although there is no requirement to do so, most people follow the recommended schedule of the Mysteries, which lists a different set of Mysteries for each day. The Mysteries of the Rosary are as follows:
The Joyful Mysteries The Annunciation; The Visitation; The Birth of Jesus; The Presentation; The Finding in the Temple These are the Mysteries of Jesus' birth and early life.
The Luminous Mysteries (added October 16, 2002) The Baptism; The Wedding at Cana; The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God; The Transfiguration; The Institution of the Eucharist These are the Mysteries of Christ's priesthood.
The Sorrowful Mysteries The Agony in the Garden; The Scourging at the Pillar; The Crowning with Thorns; The Bearing of the Cross; The Crucifixion These are the Mysteries of Christ's suffering and death.
The Glorious Mysteries The Resurrection; The Ascension; The Descent of the Holy Spirit; The Assumption; The Coronation
These are the Mysteries of Christ's victory over death and Mary's special place as the Holy Mother. To learn more about the Rosary, including the Luminous Mysteries, visit the Catholic Calendar Rosary Page. To learn more about the traditional Rosary from before the introduction of the Luminous Mysteries, visit the previous Catholic Calendar Rosary Page.
Luminous Mysteries! And they seem to have been qualified as such just as I trademarked this luminous persona of mine - and the blog here - and the network - and the brand! To boot, luminous is followed by sorrowful and then by GLORIOUS - nothing less! I like that crescendo! Such veritably... ah... luminous synchronicity reaffirms the belief in us, true believers, that NOTHING IS RANDOM and everything has significance, a meaning and a purpose. And also... a mission! My mission seems to be to make enemies online! *ROTFL* Kidding... sort-of. At any rate, for every enemy I make, I open the eyes of another kind soul and kindred spirit - who, in turn, will open my eyes about other things as well. It is the way it should be - for we are all on the same boat and the waters are not friendly! However, the Prince of Peace Shall clam the seas soon - even if He Has to do so with a luminous (again) sword in His Hand at first!
Saturday July 1, 2006, 2:22 pm
I'm proud being a Quebecer and speaking FRENCH, I hate Canada and I love Quebec, we are not the same at all with the rest of the Canada. QUÉBEC LIBRE !
Saturday July 1, 2006, 5:25 pm
Je sais... je sais! Je me souviens! ;)
You do mean "VIVE LE QUÉBEC - LIBRE!" do you not? Paraphrasing De Gaulle and quoting De Gaulle are two different things!
French as a language is fine - as Yves Duteil (I believe) sang so well; "c'est une langue belle - avec des mots superbes"
But so are so many other languages!
What I'm saying is - we have to think more GLOBALLY. We're all denizens of the same globe! No matter what languages we speak... Vanity leads to hazardous (and downright... loufoques?) colonial ventures and worse (and there's nothing worse than patriotism gone astray - it leads to inhuman measures such as genocide)
We should not be so prone to seek dichotomy
Anyway - Quebec isn't in the World Cup of Futebol - final four teams are Portugal, Italy, Germany and France! Only they can act up all "nationalist" - only so far as it concerns the game! No more colonialism (Portugal), empirism or fascism (Italy), nazism or napoleonism! *lol*
Blog: Gigantic Luminescence - Sort Of.
(0 comments
|
discussions
)
—
***Giant Tiger*** TM
&
Luminous
(\ô/)
Luciano TM
A Get-Together
That Was Fated
From The Very
Beginning...!
United Way KFL&A -
copyright
2006-2007reproduced with
permission
As a wee-bit lad,
my favori... more
Blog: Meu Deus... Luce - Deuce!
(0 comments
|
discussions
)
—
Some of those I esteem as
my truer, purest friends
have taken to shorten my
name, in a sign of
spontaneous familiarity
and affection. Now, I
usually dislike
abbreviations of any
kind, but this one that I
am talking about right
here is the exception ... more
Blog: 2008 by Leo S.
(0 comments
|
discussions
)
—
LETRA DEL AÑO 2008
DEL PORTAL ORICHAS.COM
Odun
7-1
Ody-OkanaArayeElese Iya
Ara
Testigos
8
7-10
Orichas que gobiernan
este año
YEMAYA, y su Oricha
acompañante es
CHANGO.
Refrán
Na Tobi Eye Ife, N... more
Blog: Help Your Skin Assist Your Liver by Dave K.
(0 comments
|
discussions
)
—
Help Your Skin Assist
Your Liver
Your skin’s
absorption of toxic
chemicals is not the only
way it can make your
liver’s job even
harder. By clogging the
pores, products commonly
advertised to moisturize
the skin may actually
increase t... more
Blog: Rooted by Mark D.
(0 comments
|
discussions
)
—
RootedLarge trees are
deeply rooted. This
rootedness takes time, it
is very slow, can’t
be sped up, so growth is
slow, yet in the end you
get a glorious tree with
luxuriant foliage, giving
shade and coolness in the
summe... more
Aug 27
Blog: Dancing In The Rain by Leo S.
(0 comments
|
discussions
)
—
The happiest people don't
necessarily have the best
of everything; they just
make the best of
everything they have.
'Life isn't about how to
survive the storm, but
how to dance in the
rain."
unknown
more
Blog: 2008 by Leo S.
(0 comments
|
discussions
)
—
LETRA DEL AÑO 2008
DEL PORTAL ORICHAS.COM
Odun
7-1
Ody-OkanaArayeElese Iya
Ara
Testigos
8
7-10
Orichas que gobiernan
este año
YEMAYA, y su Oricha
acompañante es
CHANGO.
Refrán
Na Tobi Eye Ife, N... more
Blog: Sweet Freedom for 1,000+ Puppy Mill Dogs‏ by James H.
(0 comments
|
discussions
)
—
Sweet Freedom for 1,000+
Puppy Mill
DogsFrom:Best
Friends Animal Society
(info@bestfriends.org)Sen
t:Mon 8/25/08 6:49 PMTo:
jamesheater@hotmail.com
To ensure that these
emails go to your inbox,
add us to your safelist.
If you are having tro... more
Blog: A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS...‏ by James H.
(0 comments
|
0 discussions
)
—
Fwd: A PET'S TEN
COMMANDMENTS...From:
NANCY VERNAND
(joandoe@sbcglobal.net)Se
nt:Wed 8/27/08 3:35 AMTo:
C Shumate
<charky38@yahoo.com>
; wrote:
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2008
19:34:17 -0700 (PDT)From:
C Shumate
<charky38@yahoo.com>
;Subjec... more
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.