July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

July begins with a celebration of the Most Precious Blood on the 1st, in the trad calendar.  We give thanks for this great Gift of Our Lord at the Last Supper, which becomes present to us at each Holy Mass.  We must not forget the wine which transforms into the Precious Blood, began as grapes in a vineyard…so connected to the land is the practice of our Holy Faith, in accord with God’s will, in accord with an Authentic Life.

So what did we pick out of the plastic cup this time?  The Catholic Encyclopedia.  That means for the Precious Blood of Jesus, we will look at what this famous volume has to say.  The Catholic Encyclopedia was completed in 1914 and has been added to, numerous times since then.  It remains widely used, despite its out-of-date language.  It is at times a tedious read (and quite exhaustive)…but in the case of this month’s theme, the content is brief, though does get into the theological weeds, as is to be expected.  Please see the link above at New Advent, for more info and also for the complete, updated content.  This site is also a great resource for Catholic news and other offerings.

The entry on the “Precious Blood” draws on the writings of Pope Benedict XIV and other well-known theologians.  The first sentence states simply:

“The Blood of Our Divine Saviour.”

That does not leave much to misunderstand, does it?  Here are some excerpts, broken down into readable segments for meditation:

1)      “Jesus, at the Last Supper, ascribes to [His Blood] the same life-giving power that belongs to His flesh.”

2)      “The Apostles, St. Peter…St. John…and above all St. Paul regard it as synonymous with Jesus's Passion and Death, the source of redemption. The Precious Blood is therefore a part of the Sacred Humanity and hypostatically united to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.” 

3)      “Viewed as a part of the Sacred Humanity hypostatically united to the Word, the Precious Blood deserves latreutical [of or pertaining to latria, the highest form of worship*]…adoration. It may also like the Heart or the Wounds from which it flowed, be singled out for special honour, in a way that special honour was rendered it from the beginning by St. Paul and the Fathers who so eloquently praised its redeeming virtue and rested on it the Christian spirit of self-sacrifice.”

4)      “…the lives of the saints are replete with devotion to the Precious Blood. In due course of time the Church gave shape and sanction to the devotion by approving societies like the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; enriching confraternities like that of St. Nicholas…attaching indulgences to prayers and scapulars in honour of the Precious Blood; and establishing commemorative feasts of the Precious Blood…”

The Catholic Encyclopedia gives us food for thought during this month when we give praise to the Most Precious Blood.  May we also seek to make reparation for the sins against this extraordinary Gift.

We pray especially on the 4th for the United States of America…for peace, liberty, restoration of the sanctity of life and the triumph of Holy Church through our Patroness, the Immaculate Conception.

Notable feasts in July, from both calendars…

2nd-VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

3rd-Saint Thomas, Apostle

6th-Saint Maria Goretti, Martyr of Purity

11th-Saint Benedict, Founder of Western Monasticism

14th-Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks (USA)

16th-OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

22nd-Saint Mary Magdelan

25th-Saint James, Apostle

26th-Saint Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin

29th-Saints Martha, Mary & Lazarus

31st-Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits

****** Prepper Challenge for Summer ******

What is My Contribution?  What is My Special Gift?

Your community and the Church are going to need you in the coming days.  What will you specialize in that will be a significant contribution?  Every prepper tends to develop a skill or two that is specialized.  What interests you?  What is a “sustainable” skill that will have value even in a grid-down (no electricity) situation?  Do you already have a skill?  Can you improve it?  Can you learn a new one?  Think and pray about it!

Noah was the Original Prepper ~ Build Your Ark!

*From Wiktionary

Thought for the Day

“Freedom without a backup plan is mostly just a bumper sticker.”

Todd Pitner

Exxon warns oil inventories will hit dangerously low levels in weeks...

…forcing prices to shoot higher

Excerpt from CNBC:

“We’re approaching unheard of inventory levels,” said Exxon Senior Vice President Neil Chapman at a conference hosted by Bernstein in New York.

“I mean really, really low levels,” Chapman warned. “You can debate whether that’s going to hit, those really low levels, in two weeks or three weeks. Once you get to that point, then you’ll see price shoot up.”

…The IEA [International Energy Agency] warned earlier this month that inventories are being depleted at a record pace.

Well, let’s look at that article, also from CNBC:

Oil price spike turmoil far from over

Excerpt:

“More than ten weeks after the war in the Middle East began, mounting supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace,” the IEA wrote. 

…“The petrochemical and aviation sectors are currently most affected, but higher prices, a weaker economic environment and demand-saving measures will increasingly impact fuel use. 

…“That this is the largest oil supply disruption in the history of the oil market is neither an exaggeration nor controversial,” Martijn Rats, commodities strategist at Morgan Stanley, told clients in a Monday note.

Don’t believe the propaganda that there is no oil problem in America, you are being lied to! Continue to prepare for general inflation and supply disruption. That means: STOCK UP NOW.

Thought for the Day

“Oil is THE Master Resource.”

Chris Martenson, Phd

"These Consumer Goods Could be the First to Vanish...

…as Supply Shock Disrupts Asian Factories”

From Zero Hedge.

War with Iran: Oil Shortages in Europe & Asia

[Edited since posting.]

Peter St. Onge on X

Note what Mr. St. Onge does not say: It is true the US is the largest exporter of oil, however, we still import quite a bit. Don’t be lulled into thinking there is no potential problem in America. Don’t believe that propaganda.

Here’s more info from the US Energy Information Administration. This site has tons of material on these topics. I assume it is fairly accurate, but nothing seems to be tainted from propaganda anymore. Interesting excerpt…

“Saudi Arabia is also the greatest source of U.S. petroleum imports from Persian Gulf countries. About 12% of U.S. total petroleum imports and 12% of U.S. crude oil imports were from Persian Gulf countries in 2022.”

Oil and petroleum products explained:

Oil imports and exports

Note: Chris Martenson’s most recent audio presentation, “Wake -Up Call #14” refutes the assertion that the US is a net oil exporter (claimed in the link above). He claims we are actually a net importer, when you take into account all of the complexities involved in the analysis. He’s been doing this research for a long time and has written several books dealing with these topics. It is possible that the link above is technically correct, but it is not simply petroleum that is the important issue, it is the grade and its usage that really matters.

War with Iran: Global Energy Crisis Begins

Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar has been bombed by Iran.  This facility produces nearly 30% of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG).  Qatar has suffered other damage to its LNG in the past several weeks.

Here are some facts from my research:

Europe gets about 20% of its LNG from Qatar.  In particular, Germany, France and Italy all rely on Qatar since cutting off Russian gas.

Japan is already scrambling to find alternative LNG.

Cambodia just started panic-buying fuel from Singapore and Malaysia.

South Korea, India and Pakistan are all massive Qatar LNG buyers.

All of this will result in higher LNG prices, electricity bills, manufacturing costs, food costs, shipping costs, heating and cooling costs…and the list goes on.

There will be an inflation shock that central banks will have to navigate.

This will also result in currency instability and a capital flight to hard assets.

This is a global energy crisis at this point and LNG is only part of the story. Prepare accordingly.

Special thanks to a crypto expert named Chen on X, who works for Binance.

In This Month of Saint Joseph: A (relatively) New Prayer!

…As of 10 years ago, when I posted it on this blog…

O Saint Joseph

O Saint Joseph, Guardian of Our Lord and Our Lady, intercede for us before the Divine Majesty.  O holy and humble carpenter, pray for God's children in all our great need.  We pray this in the Name of the Christ Child, once held in your loving arms. 

Amen.

This prayer has been received well and it is about time for a PDF! Here it is…

“O Saint Joseph” PDF Printable

Here is the original post, where I explain why I wrote it: A New Prayer to Saint Joseph!

BONUS PDF…not too late to start this for the month of March…

THIRTY DAYS PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH

ALERT: Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz

“Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and threatened to fire at any ship passing through it. The narrow waterway is a vital chokepoint for global oil and gas, but also for other commodities such as fertiliser. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks with Noam Raydan, a maritime risk expert at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, about the potential impact of the Strait's closure and how Iran could further escalate the situation.” 

Watch video…

Iran shuts down the Strait of Hormuz. What more could it do?

February is the Month of the Holy Family / Update

UPDATE:  This blog and the work of Nomen Christi Apostolate will be undergoing changes this year.  Please be patient as we work out these changes.  The monthly theme posts will remain similar, including one idea as to how we might celebrate the focus of the month.  The homeschooling suggestions will be replaced by one preparedness task each month.  If you are conducting your children’s Catholic education at home, you might want to look at the “Homeschool Activities” topic to the right>>> to get some fresh ideas, but we will not be dealing with this topic as often.  Please note, we always welcome the thoughts of our readers and may share them!  We also appreciate a first name and city/country.

If you look at the past numerous years I’ve been doing the Catholic monthly dedications, you will see I have always done The Passion of Our Lord for February.  This is because I was working with a certain calendar for many years and this is what it indicated.  The monthly themes are not official, some months have more than one.  These themes have developed over the centuries in different times and places.  The consensus for the month of February is actually the Holy Family, so this will be our first presentation of this theme.

There is no feast of the Holy Family this month, but let us look at when the feasts are, in the post-conciliar and the trad calendars…

Vatican News mentioning both feasts:

The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is normally celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas. This feast developed at the beginning of the 19th century in Canada and then spread to the entire Church in 1920. At first, it was celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany. It is a Feast that seeks to portray the Holy Family of Nazareth as the “true model of life”…from which our families can draw inspiration and know where to find help and comfort.

So in the trad, we celebrate the Holy Family in January and the newer calendar celebrates it in December.   We can see the logic in keeping this triune family close to Baby Jesus’ birth and also near the visit of the Magi to them.  Certainly honoring and meditating upon this most noble and of families, a reflection of the Most Holy Trinity, is greatly worthy…so holy Church in her traditions, has given us this month to do so.  December was concerned with the Divine Infancy and January with the Holy Name of Jesus, both months containing those feasts.  Now we move to Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the environment chosen to bring this Divine Life into our world, to give Him His Name and to raise and nurture Him, until He came into His mission to proclaim the Good News…and to redeem us by His death.  It is quite appropriate to honor the Holy Family in this month which usually closes the Cycle of Christmas (some years, this will be January, if it’s an early Easter).

The one feast this month which relates to the Holy Family is the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Presentation of Our Lord (also known as Candlemas), on the 2nd.  Certainly, Saint Joseph would have been with Our Lord and Our Lady in the Temple on that day, as they rejoiced together, observing the Jewish law. 

One way to give honor to the Holy Family this month is to pray the beautiful…

LITANY OF THE HOLY FAMILY

…perhaps on Candlemas?

Oh, did I mention Septuagesima begins on the 1st?  Every year, my penance begins during Septuagesima because I have to keep typing that word.  That is not a joke, you try it.  Septuagesima.  That’s 3 times.  Someone just got out of Purgatory.

Ash Wednesday is on the 18th, get ready for Lent!  Wow, we also have the Ember Days of Lent, or Spring, on the 25th, 27th and 28th.  See “Ember Days” topic to the right>>>.  Let us pray for mercy and blessings upon the coming season.

Additional notable feasts of February, from both calendars:

3rd-Saint Blaise, Blessing of Throats

7th-First Saturday of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart

8th-Sexagesima Sunday

11th-OUR LADY OF LOURDES

14th-Saint Valentine, let us pray for chastity

15th-Quinquagesima Sunday

24th-Saint Matthias, Apostle

***   PREPPER TASK FOR FEBRUARY   ***

Were you rushing to the store just before this past week’s big storm?  Don’t be that person.  Be the person who is sitting by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate laughing at all the people panicking and running to the store!  Of course as preppers, we are not only concerned about the short term emergency, but also the longer term one, or even permanent societal change.  So having a well-stocked and well-organized pantry is essential.  Here is the task…

Throw out all the expired food in your cupboard.  Arrange food roughly according to expiration date, oldest in the front, newest in the back.  I have a “fast track” spot for almost expired items.  (If you have children, this is a wonderful family activity and also a prepper lesson).  You’ll be able to see what you are lacking, and make a shopping list for these things.  This is your new lifestyle!

First be concerned about getting your everyday pantry organized.  Then you can start on what we call “stocks.”  (As opposed to “stockpiles.”  We are not doing institutional prepping here.)  These will be kept in a cool, dry, mouse-free area of your house (don’t assume mice won’t be able to tear through heavy packaging, believe me they can smell and tear through almost anything.)  These will be food and other essential items that your family needs for longer term storage.  There are many companies now that deal specifically in these types of items, just do a search.  Of course, buying in bulk can be a great option too.  Again, these have to be organized according to expiration date.  One way to do this is to have a separate shelf for each expiration year.

Prepping is a lifestyle that requires work and commitment, there’s no getting around that.  But the peace of mind it provides is more valuable than gold.  Gold.  That’s another topic!  Look into it (but this is not financial advice).

Have a blessed February and a Lent that will bring you closer to the risen Christ.