September Ember Week 2020
Over the years, the September Ember Days have been special to me. And suddenly they are upon us again, starting Wednesday, September 16th and continuing September 18th and 19th on the Friday and Saturday. Some years We have retired to a private retreat, but that is not possible this year. Other years We have made some special considerations, which We have just begun although We did not realize We would this year, but God has other plans.
You may have wondered why you have not heard from Us in a while. When COVID-19 first hit and the recommendation was to shelter in place, we decided this was prudent. Then Mom’s place shut down to visitors, so We thought We would have leisure to pursue spiritual pursuits. That happened only one week, then things came up. We will not burden you with a tale of woe. It is enough to say, that We have been busy.
We did complete one project, a book We wanted to write and finally got together and published earlier this month, only a month and a half behind Our original schedule. This book is entitled ‘Will the Real Catholic Church Stand Up.’ We would like to thank all who assisted Us in this project, especially Almighty God. https://amzn.to/3hxOJTp
Let us proceed to a short consideration:
Dad said: “Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you, you might learn something.”
We have been reading a lot of things lately in order to determine the direction the world economy may go. Some of these are informational sales pitches. We read for the information and write down the key points to compare with other things and build a bigger picture. At the end of one document recently they gave five pieces of advice. The fifth was to surround yourself with rich people. They begin with the following statement:
“You are the average of the five people you spend time with.”
When we read this, we start to think about who is on this list. Are we surrounded by people we want to be like? Soon they state:
“The people you surround yourself with are the biggest influence on your behaviour, attitudes and results.”
Later on they move to a sales pitch for their advice, which will come through a newsletter and videos from some rich people. Let us stop and think, that we are influenced by what we read, listen to and watch as well as the people we interact with personally. What are we surrounding ourselves with?
We do not need to surround ourselves with rich people, but with holy people. We need to immerse ourselves in holy thoughts. And there are several ways we can do this. Sacred Scripture should be a constant companion. The sacred words contained in Scripture should be in our hearts and on our minds constantly. http://www.drbo.org/
“Lay up these my words in your hearts and minds, and hang them for a sign on your hands, and place them between your eyes.” [Deuteronomy 11:18]
The Fathers of the Church and the other saints should also be our companions. Many of their works are available in reprint today. https://amzn.to/2FICohN
Also several of us work together to provide sermons of use for people today.
First we have the Olive Tree, which you should be notified about regularly. https://www.vaticaninexile.com/the_olive_tree.php
Also available are sermons. https://www.sainthelencatholicmission.org/
Check out the other links at the main website. https://www.vaticaninexile.com/links.php
Saint Alphonsus tells us to hear all of the sermons in our power, which is why we run the website Encouragement for Today. https://www.encouragementfortoday.com/
We also have a Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWaduOwfCDVxM9Qz02elAgw
And so We recommend that this Ember Week you start surrounding yourself with good things from reading material to podcasts. May God bless all of this Ember Week as we retire as much as duty will allow to prayer and fasting.
+Michael pp
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Brother Lawrence
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