Lent 2021: Pray the Healing Rosary #GetUsedToDifferent

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The Chosen creator Dallas Jenkins changed the filmmaking world with the online series about Jesus and its $11 million ground-breaking crowd-funding campaign. “Get used to different” has become the series mantra.

One thing I like about being a Catholic Christian is the fact that it is radically different. Just like Wynton Marsalis’s stylish attire made him radically different in a world of Jazz.

Traditions are important in Catholicism. Change is rare. So rare, we still this consider the Novus Ordo Missae new — and its our Liturgy for over 50 years! In today’s fast-pace, ever-changing world where gratification comes in nanoseconds, that’s radically, radically different! Amen, amen?

So, when I saw the article “Let’s add 5 healing mysteries to the rosary” in U.S. Catholic‘s online magazine, I thought this is radically different in a Wynton Marsalis/Heavenly trumpets sounding different.

Immediately, I emailed it to my pastor.

“Get permission to republish this in the bulletin,” I wrote. “Might be a good Lenten devotional?”

That just might have been my biggest understatement of the year. This would be a great Lenten devotional!

With Lent just around the corner, I didn’t ask for permission to republish this. “Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa,” to quote the legendary Jimmy Buffet.

As a preemptive penance, I’m asking everyone who reads this blog post to Pay It Forward! and click on the author, Alice Camille‘s personal webpage and/or the link to her original article, and #share it!

“Our world needs them,” Alice Camille wrote about 5 healing mysteries to the rosary. “You or I might pray them. Heaven will hear them. It doesn’t matter if Rome never knows about them.”

Well, let’s pray that Rome learns about them.

COVID has wounded us in so many ways. The world needs healing. So does our nation, and many of our friends and family members need to heal from the effects, small and large, of COVID.

Lent is around the corner. Let’s come together as One Body and pray the Rosary for healing!

So here’s Alice Camille‘s five healing mysteries of the rosary.

Get used to different!

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The first healing mystery:

Jesus restores the outcast to community

“Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?” (Luke 17:17)

They were lumped together as “unclean.” Nobody knows what afflictions they suffered. These lepers couldn’t be touched, were thrust from home and family, and were forced to live apart. Whatever infected them couldn’t have been worse than this awful isolation, as we know intimately.

Jesus, heal us from this pandemic. Restore our community to health and wholeness. May we remain grateful for the privilege of human gathering.

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The second healing mystery:

Jesus rewards the woman of courage

“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” (Matt. 9:22)

She wasn’t supposed to be out in public, touching a man’s clothes, or cause a stir that would embarrass her family. But the hemorrhaging woman had suffered too much for too long to behave by social norms that didn’t serve her and couldn’t save her. She trusted Jesus. Good for her!

Jesus, bless the courageous ones who won’t sit quietly by and suffer without taking their destiny in their own hands.

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The third healing mystery:

Jesus frees the imperiled child

“Lord, have mercy on my son, for . . . he suffers terribly.” (Matt. 17:15)

This poor child fell often into fire and into water. He reminds us of all our children now suffering the effects of conditions they did nothing to cause and are powerless to change.

For all the ways in which the world’s children suffer—hunger, domestic abuse, impaired learning conditions, depression, anxiety, shame— Lord, rescue our children and restore their hope.

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The fourth healing mystery:

Jesus heals the person suffering mental distress

“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ ” (Mark 1:25)

Demons haunt us all. But some, like this man who cried out to Jesus, are especially burdened. People who are emotionally fragile, or whose mental health was already compromised, suffer exceptionally from the pandemic conditions of stress, upheaval, and isolation.

Lord, we ask you to keep our vulnerable loved ones in your special care. Hold them in the palm of your hand and let them feel your constant protection.

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The fifth healing mystery:

Jesus heals the Earth’s abundance

“So they cast [the net], and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.” (John 21:6)

Behind the realities of pandemic looms the greater danger of a world enduring the cumulative effects of exploitation, greed, indifference, and ignorance. Climate change is changing the rules of our future survival.

Merciful Lord, this creation is your first and best gift to us. Give us the wisdom and the will to transform our global commitment to the planet that is our home.

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This article also appears in the January issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 86, No. 1, page 47-49). Click here to subscribe to the magazine.

About the author

Alice Camille

Alice Camille is the author of Working Toward Sainthood (Twenty-Third Publications) and other titles available at http://www.alicecamille.com.

James is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, The Christmas Save and two children’s books: The Second Prince and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!  

As a writer, James has been featured on The Inside Success Show, Bob Salter (CBS Radio),  Mike Siegel, Mancow, and more.  

Beyond writing, James worked with At-Risk youth in Southern California for over six years.  His contributions to the classroom — featured on local television and in the LA Daily News and the Los Angeles Times’ Burbank Leader — earned him the honors of “Teacher of the Year”.    James was also twice honored by a CASDA Scholar as the teacher who had the greatest influenced that student.   As an educator, James also appeared twice on America Live with Megyn Kelly. 

Today, James lives in New York where he continues to teach — and write.   Besides his books, you can follow his musing on this blog Corporation You.

To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

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Let’s NOT Get Back to Normal

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Let’s face it.  Things are not good. People are dying.  Fear is at an all-time high — and that includes an odd fear of each other.  

I recently sent this text message to an old friend, a fellow Amazings fan:  What I would do to just be able to watch the Mets blow a six-run lead in the bottom of the ninth! 

Most of us hope and pray for the day when things to get back to normal!  But I don’t.

Yes, I’m saddened by the many, many deaths, especially when I see what’s happening on Long Island, where I was born and raised, and where most of my family and friends still reside.

I want my kids to go outside and play with their friends without fear.  (Although, I would argue that it’s not they who have the fear.) I want to be able to talk to someone less than six-feet away or go food shopping without a damn mask.

I want COVID-19 to go away just as much as everybody.   

But I don’t want things to go back the way they were before the pandemic. 

I’m truly enjoying the extended time I’m spending with my family. I spend more time with my boys than ever before.

Our living room has become a classroom, a gym, a wrestling ring.  Now that it’s warm, our youngest has created an obstacle course outside for our family to exercise daily; and my oldest and I have played catch almost every day.

My wife has started Home Ec classes, so our boys can be self-sufficient, God forbid if they have to.  We take family walks together. Play games together.

My wife and I are communicating more, spending more time together, and growing closer.

People, it appears, are generally becoming more caring.  This week our Church rang its bells at 7 pm in solidarity with the people in NYC who lean out their windows, fire escapes and balconies nightly to celebratethe efforts of healthcare workers across the Big Apple.

As a whole, we are placing more value in the things that are important and putting less value in the things we’ve discovered we can easily live without.

Our police again are being valued!  We no longer take our doctors and nurses for granted.  Teachers have regained the respect of parents, and parents are being valued by teachers more than ever!

Above all, after generations of focusing on youth over wisdom, our seniors are being valued more than ever — beyond the role of babysitter.

This list goes on and on.

Daily, I pray to the Almighty that He spare our home, our town, and our nation.  That He makes this season a true Passover and bless all who have suffered with a true Easter.

I want COVID-19 to go away!  Forever!  

But, I don’t want things to go back to normal.  I want some things to stay exactly the way they are now.

 

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, and two children’s books The Second Prince  and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!   For six years, James taught At-Risk kids in Los Angeles. Today, he lives in New York where he continues to teach and write.  To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman & McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

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COVID-19 and the Theory of Relativity

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As a teacher, one of my many task is to define the word Theory.   The Theory of Relativity is among the list of theories I bring up.

Now, I teach Biology, so there’s really no reason to introduce the The Theory of Relativity to high school freshman.  So then, why do I do it?

Well, I try to convey to my students that the sign of intelligence is having the ability to take something complex and make it simple.

For example,  it was reported that Einstein defined his theory about time with this anecdote:

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute.

I don’t know about you, but I think if Einstein was alive today, he would reconsider his wording to include handwashing.

Until now, I never realized how long 20 seconds takes!

Maybe I’ve been washing my hands wrong all my life, but it never felt that handwashing took this long.

My wife takes advantage of our new pastime by saying an Our Father and a Hail Mary.

Really?  Twenty seconds?  That’s all it takes to say those two prayers?  For me, it always seemed to take longer.   That means a whole Rosary takes less that 30 minutes!

So how could the Theory of Relativity be described today?

Put your hands under a running faucet for 20 seconds and it seems like an hour.  Say an Our Father and a Hail Mary while doing it and that hour seems like 20 seconds.

Apparently, I’m no Einstein.

I’ve never put my hand on a hot stove.  However, as far as spending time with a pretty girl, I have to admit, Einstein could not have chose a better analogy.

Spending lockdown with my beautiful wife has made these last four weeks seem like a few short days!

I hope she feels the same way about spending time with me.

It’s all Relative!

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, and two children’s books The Second Prince  and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!   For six years, James taught At-Risk kids in Los Angeles. Today, he lives in New York where he continues to teach and write.  To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman & McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

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The Crucifixion of Franklin Graham

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If you compare my social media activity before the Coronavirus to after the virus hit, you would notice a sharp decline.

I’m calling and texting friends and family more.  If I want information, I’ll text a friend or relative in the field or I’ll watch a press conference on YouTube.   

The whole press conference!

That doesn’t mean I don’t go on any social media platforms.  

I do — just to see what’s trending.

This week: Franklin Graham was a major trend on Twitter.

As a Catholic Christian, I cringe every time I see a Christian leader in the forefront of news — because it’s usually not good, especially in the Faith I practice.

I clicked on the thread, read some of the comments, and watched the edited online clip.  

In short, Franklin Graham said that mankind has been hit by this pandemic because we, as a whole, have sinned; we have turned our back on God — and that got people angry!

Very, very angry!

Okay, God does not cause death and illness.  I wrote about this in a memorial piece about a dear friend.  God does, however, allow death and illness to come into our lives. 

It’s called God’s Permissive Will.

I’m not going to get into it too deeply, which is why I left the link.

In short, we are a fallen people; and the more we fall away from God, the more bad things happen to us, collectively.  On the other hand, we can individually be as good as Joseph in the Old Testament, and something bad can also happen to us.    

Stuff happens — to bad and good people.

A stray bullet.  A drunk driver.  Cancer.  A virus that leads to a pandemic.

At the time, we may feel terribly forsaken.

It’s tough to understand this kind of Permissive God.

But let’s examine what the people who disagree with Franklin Graham are not showing you.  Let’s examine why Franklin Graham was discussing the Coronavirus at this point and time in the first place.

In the complete interview, Franklin Graham, first spoke of his mobile field hospital in Central Park, supplied by his foundation Samaritan’s Purse to assist New York City’s fight in the COVID-19 epidemic.  

What I saw amazed me and filled my spirit with hope.

The Central Park field hospital has supplied New York with 68 extra beds, 10 extra ICU units, and a team of experienced doctors, nurses, and volunteers.   As of today, 34 beds are already full with five people in ICU.

Samaritan’s Purse is working with the Mount Sinai Health System which has multiple locations throughout the city.  The organization is caring for people regardless of their faith or their beliefs.

In the past, Samaritan’s Purse has sent medical teams to Haiti, Bangladesh, Iraq.   It has gone into Africa to combat Ebola.

That’s what Christians do.   

You don’t have to agree with everything Christians say.  Heck, we all don’t agree with everything we all say.

But, all Christians, regardless of our denomination,  have one thing in common. (Or at least we should.)   Christians, as believers in Christ’s love and grace, are a people of acts and good deeds.

For the majority of Christians throughout the world, this week is Holy Week.  

It starts off with the Jubilee of Palm Sunday and quickly turns dark as Our Lord is led to the cross on Good Friday, almost symbolic of the past four weeks in the United States.

Jesus didn’t get crucified because he did wonderful and miraculous things.  He didn’t get beat, whipped with 40 lashes, and nailed to a cross because he told people to love one another.

Jesus was crucified because of some of the tough things that he said. His words made some people uncomfortable — and all the good He accomplished was ignored.

He was crucified because some people of good will did not understand why He was present at that point in time in history.   He was crucified because He was trying to save people.   He was crucified because he was trying to turn people’s attention back onto God.

His words were twisted, used against Him, and He was publicly flogged and humiliated — much like what is happening right now to Franklin Graham.

The Good News is we know how this story always ends.

As we enter Holy Week, may be all come together and pray for a true Passover and that a true Pascha, a true Easter will soon follow.

 

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, and two children’s books The Second Prince  and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!   For six years, James taught At-Risk kids in Los Angeles. Today, he lives in New York where he continues to teach and write.  To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman & McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

 

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The Return of a TRUE “God, bless you!”

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Maybe I was like the rest of you, but before COVID-19, I took a lot of things for granted.

One of the things I took for granted was the overall health of my family and friends.

When someone sneezed, I would habitually and lackadaisically simple say, “Bless you!”

For some, like a cousin in the family, that was even too much to say.  A simple “Ga’ bla” would do.

Then COVID-19 hit!

Schools closed, then businesses started to shutdown as we all began practicing extreme “social distancing”.

One evening, last week, my 10 year-old had a running nose, a symptom which would have warranted much attention.  In the past, if it got worse, we would just assume it was allergies and would give the kid a benadryl before going to bed.

Well, this time, his temperature rose a bit higher than 98.7.

“His temperature usually runs high,” my wife calmly informed me, knowing my profensity for concern, something I call K.I.D.S.

And then, he sneezed.

“God bless you,” I said with an emphasis on God and you.

There are many legends regarding the coinage of “God, bless you.”

National Geographic reports that during the plague of AD 590, “Pope Gregory I ordered unceasing prayer for divine intercession. Part of his command was that anyone sneezing be blessed immediately (“God bless you”), since sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague.” By AD 750, it became customary to say “God bless you” as a response to one sneezing. ^[1]

Regardless of its origin, it’s time again that we start offering a true “God, bless you” to everyone — everywhere.

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, and two children’s books The Second Prince  and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!   For six years, James taught At-Risk kids in Los Angeles. Today, he lives in New York where he continues to teach and write.  To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman & McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

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