Day 10 – 90 Days to Liberty

by Fr Richard Heilman | March 8, 2023 12:05 AM

My Morning Prayer Sampler

For me, it starts by clearing the cobwebs. I jump out of bed and I am into the shower, get dressed and pour myself a nice cup of coffee. I want to get up at a time when I don’t feel rushed to meet my daily duties. Mornings (after a shower and my first few sips of coffee) are quality time for me. It’s uninterrupted time with just me and my loving God. After a few minutes of quiet time, I begin my prayer.

5:20am – Morning Offering[1] (30 seconds)

5:21am – Spiritual Reading: “Freedom from Belligerence” (below) by Fr. Bill Peckman (4 minutes)

5:25am – Mental Prayer. Using my Peace Through Strength Journal[2], as I sip my coffee, I pray the Preparatory Prayer found in the journal as I spend the first few minutes speaking to God. This can include what or who you are praying for today. I write this in my journal. Then I just sit quietly, allowing today’s spiritual reading to resonate in my heart, while I listen for anything God wants to speak to my heart, which I can write in my journal. Then I pray the Closing Prayer found in my journal. (15 minutes)

5:40am – Pray the Rosary. During these 90 Days I am so looking forward to the peaceful offering of the rosary by Doug Barry in the video below. (19 minutes)

6:00am – Pray the Angelus (1 minute)

Then I spend some time reflecting on today’s readings for Mass, and I am off for a brisk walk with my dog, Gracie (still reflecting on today’s readings). Then, it’s time to head to Mass.

There you have it, like Jesus spending 40 days in prayer in the desert, defeating the devil, we dedicate ourselves to just 40 minutes of prayer each morning, cultivating our love for our Lord and our Lady, filling the house of our soul with their love and God’s grace, which brings peace. Now I am well-prepared to live my day for God, not for me.

 

Our Daily Prayer for Liberty and for a Holy Spirit Revival 

“Free us from every force of oppression, both internally and externally. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties; by your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land. Heavenly Father, grant a Holy Spirit Revival in our land!” (Based on a prayer by the USCCB)

 

“Freedom from Belligerence” by Fr. Bill Peckman

In the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, there is a scene in which Marc Anthony is alone with the body of the freshly assassinated Julius Caesar. He seeks vengeance on the assassins knowing it will send Rome into a killing frenzy. From this scene we hear the words, “Cry ‘havoc’ and let slip the dogs of war!” (Julius Caesar Act III, Scene I). This refrain plays all too quickly in our society as we fall into hellish nightmares of belligerence and anarchy.

The word belligerence comes from the Latin words bellum (war) and genere (to bear or carry) and means a person engaged in war. In common usage, a belligerent person is one who looks for and pursues reasons to stir trouble and engage in violent revenge. The father of belligerence is none other than he who fomented the first ever revolution against God: the devil.

We live in a horribly belligerent society right now. So many refer to being “triggered,” or easily and frequently offended in such a way that justifies both the tenacity and disproportionate nature of their vengeance. The belligerent see themselves as victims of injustice whose suffering, real or imagined, is sufficient grounds for any destruction and mayhem they may engage in to address the injustice. They wreak havoc in the lives of all who around them. It is as if they look for (even long for) reasons to be angry so that they may act out without regards for consequences.

That belligerence finds itself in our churches as well. There are so many ways in which we find ourselves willfully polarized by everything from music to ritual to leadership. Some of the most hateful things I have seen posted on social media over the years have been Catholics showing a truly hateful belligerence to their fellow Catholics. I have often noted how Satan cackles at our circular firing squads. As in the secular world, belligerence is all about the accrual of power.

There are times we will not be able to avoid the belligerence of others in our defense and propagation of the truth. Jesus Himself refers multiple times to parent being set against child and child against parent as some accept and follow Christ. How do we answer belligerence? How do we stave off the desire to become belligerent against all but Satan and his minions?

The answer, I believe, can be found in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke upon you and learn of me because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is sweet and My burden light.” In this we see that our lives will come with burdens, pains, injustices, and sorrows. We will have that temptation to return belligerence for belligerence. Certainly, Christ carried this reality right up the cross.

The answer lies in our willingness and ability to show meekness. Meekness has a bad reputation as the quality of being mousy, timid, or weak. Meekness is patience, a virtue that St Paul in Galatians 5:22 reminds us is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Patience is anything but weakness; patience takes incredible strength. It is the strength that Jesus demonstrated on the cross. He shows His strength in patience and endurance. The time for judgment will come. It will be just.

Our ability to show meekness in the face of harm neither condones the harm done to us nor allows another to treat us as a doormat. It shows the strength of character that reduces the mocking and ridicule, thus providing a far stronger witness to all. Our war footing should be directed to the devil and his forces; with them we should show nothing but scorn and forcefulness. The devil and his demons have no hope of conversion. They are eternally damned. As for our fellow human beings, if they are on this side of the moment of death, the possibility, however slim, exists for possible conversion. The Church exists for the salvation of souls. Driving belligerence from our hearts and souls helps us endure the yoke of Christ: the ability to selflessly love and show unswerving obedience to the will of the Father in all things. Our only cry to release “havoc and the dogs of war” should be against the devil and his minions. (From “Let Freedom Ring[3]“)

 

 

You can enlist in the United States Grace Force HERE[4] (please recruit family and friends!)

Information on the United States Grace Force can be found HERE[5]

We highly recommend ordering the book “Let Freedom Ring[3]” authored by Fr. Bill Peckman, Fr. James Altman and Fr. Rick Heilman. This amazing book will be a great tool for easy access, highlighting and bookmarking as you traverse through the first 40-days of our 90 Days to Liberty journey with tens of thousands of other special forces prayer warriors!

You can order the book at RomanCatholicGear.com[6].

You may want to consider using the Hallow App for Lent: Hallow.com[7]

 

GET YOUR PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH PRAYER JOURNAL …

HERE[8]

 

[9]

Endnotes:
  1. Morning Offering: https://usgraceforce.com/morning-offering/
  2. Peace Through Strength Journal: https://romancatholicgear.com/collections/grace-force
  3. Let Freedom Ring: https://romancatholicgear.com/collections/books/products/let-freedom-ring-book
  4. HERE: https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001ESuSGaJpYPCG2iUdd4j4bkKwd4gkh2ZUVbam_Ty9rCn6blH6_U3cI2D8UvSLEcSzHnC4eq2UWmK1I0SbEw0SPKqnkZ2j0Z4J4D-_m4dD6CKJU9day-bBa8Qnx4dv7RLDIVlYAjL1JWsjfUTNPH2jQIVY9gbdbz4O4oMIzv5V1dT_upQsD8cX86iq_5Y-x4eLrTVtdOmA24s%3D
  5. HERE: https://usgraceforce.com/god-wants-you-enlist-in-the-grace-force/
  6. RomanCatholicGear.com: https://romancatholicgear.com/collections/grace-force
  7. Hallow.com: https://hallow.com
  8. HERE: https://romancatholicgear.com/collections/peace-through-strength-1
  9. [Image]: https://romancatholicgear.com/collections/peace-through-strength-1

Source URL: https://usgraceforce.com/day-10-90-days-to-liberty/