Hi,
My name is Father. Mark Tiger, creator
of this blog I am an independent Catholic Priest. I runs a private Oratory called Saint
Titus. (Fr. Mark of St. Titus)
I bring this message
for everybody in the world:
Peace, Abundance, and
Protection
For our Earth,
And all it’s
inhabitants."
I call all to
reflection, prayer, and a request, for the improvement of the state of our
Earth.
My desire is to
call all of humankind to reflect on this thought, everyday, preferably at
midday, or first thing in the morning or in the evening. I am calling all Catholics,
Protestants, all Christians, and people of all other religions, as well as
those who don't subscribe to a religion, and those who don't believe in
God. All of us whoever we are, Inhabit
this Earth.
I call upon everybody
to reflect on the state of the Earth for a few seconds, a few minutes or an
hour every day, preferably around midday.
First thing in the morning or in the evening is also OK.
I want us
all to think about the state of our Earth, everyday, and while we are thinking
about the Earth we can use these words, or other words of similar meaning.
"Peace, Abundance, and
Protection
For our Earth,
And all it's
Inhabitants."
There will be occasions when
the dilemma that Our Earth is going through will reach certain thresholds or
breakpoints. On these occasions we will publish a request on this blog to make an extra special effort to
reflect, and pray for our Earth. The
details of the specific Trauma that our earth is passing through will also be
mentioned or detailed.
Think about what each word
will mean for our Earth:
Peace:
The peace, and harmony, and
well being that will result from all of us getting on peacefully with each
other. Think of the joy and well-being,
when we are able to extend peace to all our fellow inhabitants.
Abundance:
Nobody likes to live in want,
although many of us do. As the Earth
starts to become healthy and green again, we will be blessed with the fruits of
the Earth Abundantly.
Protection:
Protection for all the peoples
of the earth. The ability to live in
peace knowing that we are protected from crime, protected from pollution,
protected from cancer causing substances, protected from foods that are
unhealthy. Our plants and animals are
protected from exploitation, and extinction.
Our Earth:
This is not just any planet
spinning around a star somewhere out there in the Universe. This is our planet that is spinning around
our Sun. This is the only planet we have
ever lived on. This is the planet that
gives us life, and good health. If Earth
becomes sick, and is no longer able to support the inhabitants of the Earth,
then we are in big trouble, because there is nowhere else to go.
This is our Earth, lets us all
work together in whatever way we can, to make our Earth healthy. Let us heal our Earth, because we can.
All it’s Inhabitants:
It is not just people, that
live on Earth, but People, Animals and plants.
We need to live in balance with the other inhabitants of Earth, because
we depend upon each other for our survival.
We all need to be in balance with each other. We need more trees to convert Carbon Dioxide
into Oxygen. We need many armies of trees
to turn Global Warming around.
Let us all plant at least one
tree, every year from now on, to the end of our lives. If you have access to any piece of ground,
then plant as many trees as you can, as often as you can. Our Earth needs those trees, do it for our
Earth. If you don’t have access to a
piece of ground, then plant or buy and look after a Bonzai or miniature tree in
a pot. Let's all go around planting
trees, indigenous trees of course, lets not damage our Earth with trees that are
not adapted for the environment, and can potentially become weeds. Let’s turn global warming around.
Let us heal our planet,
starting now, and from now on every day, say these words or similar, and think
about them:
"Peace, Abundance, and
Protection
For our Earth,
And all it's
Inhabitants."
Think about ways to heal our
planet, and tell us about them.
16th Sunday After Pentecost by Fr. Mark:
The theme for this week is
really:
"Peace, Abundance, and
Protection
For our Earth,
And all it's
Inhabitants."
However I have just added some
specifics, to hopefully make it interesting.
If we are thinking in terms of
the Christian tradition, then you would approach this little poem, as a
prayer. You would get yourself into a
state of prayer, and maybe say a few words to set the scene, and then solemnly,
and thinking deeply about the words, say them.
"Peace, Abundance, and
Protection
For our Earth,
And all it's
Inhabitants."
This week, I have looked at
the theme of the religious celebrations from a Christian perspective, for this
specific day on the 16th of September 2012. I intend giving some insights into other
traditions as well, as time goes on.
There are basically six or seven major religions in the world(depending
on how you categorize them), and a number of minor religions. The contrasting themes can be fascinating in
so much as how different they are, but also at how surprisingly similar things
can be at times.
The Feast, Intent and Collect
for the specific Sunday set the tone for the service. This is especially relevant in the Catholic
Tradition. The Church Calendar does have
a much less emphasized place in the Protestant churches, but the main feasts
such as Easter, Christmas, Lent etc; are still typically remembered, and at
least mentioned. There are roughly 2000
years of Christian history, much of which has been fairly well documented; so
my comments are written against an opulent backdrop of information.
In the Catholic tradition the
Altar cloths and the Celebrants(Priests) attire is a specific colour, according
to the specific feast that is being celebrated.
This Sunday the colour is Green, but can be Red as well, because the main
Saint that is remembered on this day was designated the colour Red.
The different Feast days, and
the colours and meanings, may go back hundreds of years, and sometimes
thousands of years. The specifics make
it very interesting and cast a distinct flavour over every service or celebration. For example going to church on Christmas day,
will be a totally different experience to a service on a day like today.
Roman Calendar:
Feast: 24th Sunday of Ordinary time.
Tridentine Roman Calendar: (The Tridentine is the traditional Roman
Catholic, or the pre Vatican II, or pre- 1965.
In this tradition, the celebrant stands mainly with his back to the congregation;
in contrast to the Roman tradition, in which the celebrant now stands facing
the congregation, which is also the case in the Anglican tradition, and most
other protestant traditions.)
Feast: 16th Sunday After Pentecost
Intent: Seeking for the perfection of your Soul
Collect:
"All the faithful in the
Catholic Church, assisted by the grace of God, which they humbly implore,
should always seek the perfection of their souls."
May Thy grace, we beseech
Thee, O Lord, ever go before us and follow us:
and make us continually intent upon Good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Notes:
The Roman Calendar in contrast
to the Traditional Roman Calendar is the 24th Sunday of Ordinary time.
The LCC Feast calls for class
C, and the colour Red.
On this day in A.D. 253, Saint
Cornelius, the successor of St Fabian, Pope and Martyr, and was one of the
greatest Popes of the third century; was beheaded.
On this day in A.D. 258; St
Cyprian, a barrister, and later Bishop of Carthage and Primate of Africa, wrote
works, which are among the most precious documents of the Catholic Church,
Suffered martyrdom.
On this day in A.D. 303; St
Euphemia, a virgin of Chalcedon, was condemned to the wild beasts in the
persecution of Diocletian.
On this day in A.D. 305; St
Lucy, a noble lady, and St Geminian, a layman, were beheaded in the same
persecution of Rome, as St Euphemia.
Also of importance is that the
class for the day is a class B, which means that as many candles and flowers
will be on and around the altar, but not as much as a class “A” feast such as Christmas
Mass for example.
The Colour for the day is
Green, which means that the priest who is the celebrant will be wearing green,
and also the altar cloth will be a Green altar cloth. Green is typically a colour that symbolizes
growth.
However the class for the
Saint Cornelius, who is remembered on this day is a class C, which will have
significantly less candles on the altar, but still not the bare essential
amount of candles. Also the colour for
the Saint is Red. Red sometime
represents the blood of the saints as in this example, or it can also represent
the workings of the Holy Spirit. So the
Celebrant may just as easily have chosen to conduct the service today in the
colour Red instead of Green, with less candles.
Also when it comes to colours,
if the other colours are not available for the alter cloths and other
adornments, and for the Celebrant, then it is always acceptable to conduct the
celebration is White or Gold. So white
becomes the first colours that any community should adopt, because it can be
used in lieu of any of the other colours.
The usual colours that are used are: White, Violet, Red, Green, Rose,
and Black. Rose is only used on two
occasions during the church calendar and Black is also only used on a few occasions;
and some celebrants may opt to use White instead of Black on these occasions. Gold and White are colours that can be used
in place of any other colours. It is
quite interesting to note that many Bishops would opt for attire of White and
Gold, because this is then valid for any occasion.
Of course what also makes
things interesting, is that a Bishop may decide to wear predominantly a certain
colour. Then regardless of the colour of
the specific feast the bishop would then celebrate in his chosen colour. Very often a visiting Bishop would bring
alter cloths, and veils with him to match his specific chosen attire.
Liberal Catholic Calendar:
Feast: 15th Sunday after Trinity
Intent: The Reality of
things Eternal. A day of devotion to the
holy spirit. (Notice the difference
between the Tridentine intent and collect for 16th September 2012,
and the Liberal catholic intent and collect for 16th September 2012)
Collect: (Notice the difference
to the traditional catholic)
"O Holy Spirit, comforter
of all that trust in thee, whithout whom nothing is strong, nothing is
holy; increase and multiply within us
thy heavenly wisdon; that, thou being
our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal as never to lose
sight of the things eternal and may ever live in the service of Christ our holy
Lord, who with thee and the almighty Father liveth and reigneth one God for
evermore. Amen.
Don’t forget to say this
prayer as many times as seems appropriate:
"Peace, Abundance, and
Protection
For our Earth,
And all it's
Inhabitants."
God Bless,
Father Mark Tiger,
Send your Earth healing ideas
to this email, to have them published on this blog.
