Thank you all for the strong interest. As soon as I get a saint for those of you who recently asked, I will post it here. Thanks again for the interest.
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Miyerkules, Disyembre 28, 2005
Martes, Disyembre 27, 2005
MyCatholic.com is a great site. It is a customizable Catholic homepage where you can add links, weather, and other features. You can even subscribe to blog feeds like mine and get a preview on that site. Right now Mycatholic.com is hosting a fundraiser to stay running through 2006. If you can, please make a donation there.
To put my blog's feed on Mycatholic.com, click here.
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To put my blog's feed on Mycatholic.com, click here.
It is great news to hear that in 2004 Illinois abortions reached a 31 year low. In 2004, 41,577 abortions were performed, a two percent decrease from the 42,228 that were done in 2003. But, this is still so many little lives slaughtered. Don't be content with just this. Let us continue to stand up for life and fight it no matter what state we may life in.
Source: Life Site News
Christ reign in your hearts. May He guard all of His children, born and unborn. Amen
Thanks to Catholic Fire linking to the story
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Source: Life Site News
Christ reign in your hearts. May He guard all of His children, born and unborn. Amen
Thanks to Catholic Fire linking to the story
Feast (1969 Calendar): December 27
Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): December 27
Besides the 3rd Day in the Octave of Christmas, today is also the Feast Day of St. John. Today in times past was also a Holy Day of Obligation.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Our Lord was taken from us and sentenced to death, all his disciples left him - every last one except one. St. John the Apostle was the only one to return to the Cross. It was there that He saw the love of the Lord - for Jesus Christ willingly gave up His life for us. St. John was given the gift of Mary, Our Lord's Mother, and Mary was given to us then. That day we were redeemed and Mary became Our Mother as well. It was St. John who was there. It was also St. John who wrote the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. John.
St. Jerome (ca. 347 to ca 420) wrote about St. John in his Lives of Illustrious Men. His short biography portrays a man dedicated to bringing the word of God to others despite many obstacles:
"John, the apostle whom Jesus most loved, the son of Zebedee and brother of James…wrote a Gospel, at the request of the bishops of Asia, against Cerinthus and other heretics and especially against the then growing dogma of the Ebionites, who assert that Christ did not exist before Mary. On this account, he was compelled to maintain His divine nativity. But there is said to be yet another reason for this work, in that when he had read Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he approved indeed the substance of the history and declared that the things they said were true, but that they had given the history of only one year, the one, that is, which follows the imprisonment of John and in which he was put to death. So passing by this year the events of which had been set forth by these, he related the events of the earlier period before John was shut up in prison so that it might be manifest to those who should diligently read the volumes of the four Evangelists….
"In the fourteenth year then after Nero, Domitian having raised a second persecution he was banished to the island of Patmos, and wrote the Apocalypse, on which Justin Martyr and Irenaeus afterwards wrote commentaries. But Domitian having been put to death and his acts, on account of his excessive cruelty, having been annulled by the senate, he returned to Ephesus under Pertinax and continuing there until the time of the emperor Trajan, founded and built churches throughout all Asia, and, worn out by old age, died in the sixty-eighth year after our Lord’s passion and was buried near the same city" (Wace and Schaff, eds. 1892. pg. 364-365)
St. John is truly the Apostle of Charity: "The Blessed Evangelist John lived at Ephesus down to an extreme old age, and, at length, when he was with difficulty carried to the Church and was not able to exhort the congregation at length, he was used simply to say at each meeting, My little children, love one another. At last, the disciples and brethren were weary with hearing these words continually, and asked him, Master, wherefore ever sayest thou this only? Whereto he replied to them, It is the commandment of the Lord, and if this only be done, it is enough" (Divinum Officium Website. 1960 rubrics, Matins, December 27. Reading 6)
For more on the lives of all the Apostles, pick up a copy of "The Twelve: Lives and Legends of the Apostles" on paperback or as part of the online course on the Apostles, which includes a Certificate of Completion.
Blessing of Wine
Some people even have traditions on this Feast day of Blessing Wine. For information on this and the prayers, visit the link. Keep this tradition alive.
Octave of St. John
Traditionally, before the 1962 changes, there was an Octave associated with the Feast of St. John. January 3rd was the Octave Day of St. John. Those attached to this older calendar may still pray the Breviary on January 3rd using the prayers for the Octave Day of St. John
Collect:
Of Thy goodness, O Lord, shine upon Thy Church, that, enlightened by the teachings of blessed John, Thine Apostle and Evangelist, she may attain to everlasting gifts. Through our Lord.
Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal
Some people even have traditions on this Feast day of Blessing Wine. For information on this and the prayers, visit the link. Keep this tradition alive.
Octave of St. John
Traditionally, before the 1962 changes, there was an Octave associated with the Feast of St. John. January 3rd was the Octave Day of St. John. Those attached to this older calendar may still pray the Breviary on January 3rd using the prayers for the Octave Day of St. John
Collect:
Of Thy goodness, O Lord, shine upon Thy Church, that, enlightened by the teachings of blessed John, Thine Apostle and Evangelist, she may attain to everlasting gifts. Through our Lord.
Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal
Lunes, Disyembre 26, 2005
Saint Stephen, martyr of Christ, ora pro nobis. Amen
Feast (1969 Calendar): December 26
Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): December 26
Today is the second day in the Octave of Christmas, and today is also the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. What we know about him comes from the Acts of the Apostles. His account is recorded in Chapter 6 and Chapter 7. Today in times past was also a Holy Day of Obligation.
"If you know what witness means, you understand why God brings St. Stephen, St. John, and the Holy Innocents to the crib in the cave as soon as Christ is born liturgically. To be a witness is to be a martyr. Holy Mother Church wishes us to realize that we were born in baptism to become Christ — He who was the world's outstanding Martyr" (Love Does Such Things by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O.)
"We have only just celebrated the birth of our Lord and already the liturgy presents us with the feast of the first person to give his life for this Baby who has been born. Yesterday we wrapped Christ in swaddling clothes; today, he clothes Stephen with the garment of immortality. Yesterday, a narrow manger cradled the baby Christ; today, the infinite heaven has received Stephen in triumph" (St. Fulgentius, Sermon 3)
Today is also the most appropriate day for the hymn Good King Wenceslas.
"The painting is by Blessed Fra Angelico (1400-1455). Saint Peter is ordaining Stephen to the diaconate while Saint John the Beloved (whose feast we will keep tomorrow), holding his Gospel, looks on. The composition is remarkable: the three heads of Peter, John and Stephen form a triangle, a symbol of communion in the Three Divine Persons. Peter is handing over the chalice and paten; they are very large. Fra Angelico makes the Most Holy Eucharist central; he paints what Saint Thomas Aquinas taught, i.e. that the unity of the Church is constituted and held together by participation in the adorable Body and Blood of Christ" (Vultus Christi Blog)
Collect:
Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, so to imitate what we revere, that we may learn to love even our enemies: for we celebrate the heavenly Birthday of him who knew how to pray for his very persecutors to our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth.
Today is the second day in the Octave of Christmas, and today is also the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. What we know about him comes from the Acts of the Apostles. His account is recorded in Chapter 6 and Chapter 7. Today in times past was also a Holy Day of Obligation.
"If you know what witness means, you understand why God brings St. Stephen, St. John, and the Holy Innocents to the crib in the cave as soon as Christ is born liturgically. To be a witness is to be a martyr. Holy Mother Church wishes us to realize that we were born in baptism to become Christ — He who was the world's outstanding Martyr" (Love Does Such Things by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O.)
"We have only just celebrated the birth of our Lord and already the liturgy presents us with the feast of the first person to give his life for this Baby who has been born. Yesterday we wrapped Christ in swaddling clothes; today, he clothes Stephen with the garment of immortality. Yesterday, a narrow manger cradled the baby Christ; today, the infinite heaven has received Stephen in triumph" (St. Fulgentius, Sermon 3)
Today is also the most appropriate day for the hymn Good King Wenceslas.
"The painting is by Blessed Fra Angelico (1400-1455). Saint Peter is ordaining Stephen to the diaconate while Saint John the Beloved (whose feast we will keep tomorrow), holding his Gospel, looks on. The composition is remarkable: the three heads of Peter, John and Stephen form a triangle, a symbol of communion in the Three Divine Persons. Peter is handing over the chalice and paten; they are very large. Fra Angelico makes the Most Holy Eucharist central; he paints what Saint Thomas Aquinas taught, i.e. that the unity of the Church is constituted and held together by participation in the adorable Body and Blood of Christ" (Vultus Christi Blog)Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, so to imitate what we revere, that we may learn to love even our enemies: for we celebrate the heavenly Birthday of him who knew how to pray for his very persecutors to our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth.
Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal
Linggo, Disyembre 25, 2005
I finish my Christmas blogging today with a link to the Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) address by Pope Benedict XVI for Christmas Day. May His words help lead us all closer to Christ, the Lord.Some of his words from his address:
"At Christmas we contemplate God made man, divine glory hidden beneath the poverty of a Child wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger; the Creator of the Universe reduced to the helplessness of an infant. Once we accept this paradox, we discover the Truth that sets us free and the Love that transforms our lives. On Bethlehem Night, the Redeemer becomes one of us, our companion along the precarious paths of history. Let us take the hand which he stretches out to us: it is a hand which seeks to take nothing from us, but only to give.
"With the shepherds let us enter the stable of Bethlehem beneath the loving gaze of Mary, the silent witness of his miraculous birth. May she help us to experience the happiness of Christmas, may she teach us how to treasure in our hearts the mystery of God who for our sake became man; and may she help us to bear witness in our world to his truth, his love and his peace."
Image Source: MSNBC
The above image of Holy Mass is of a Tridentine Catholic Mass for Christmas Mass at Midnight.
As Catholics, we acknowledge Purgatory, a temporary state where those that die with venial sin may be cleansed/purified before entering Heaven. Those in purgatory, however, may be helped by our prayers.
According to private revelation, there are more souls released from Purgatory during the Consecration of the Mass than at any other time. Christmas is the day of the year when most souls are delivered, followed by feast days of Our Lord, Our Lady, and great saints. Souls receive much grace from prayers offered for them on their birthdays, the day of baptism, and the anniversary of death. The more we work for the poor souls now, the more others will pray for us, and the more merciful Christ will be with us if we make it to Purgatory.
Our Lady asked that we pray very much for the poor souls; she asked that we pray:
5 Apostle's Creed
1 Hail Holy Queen
1 Our Father
1 Glory Be
1 Requiem
Our Lady said that if we pray the prayers, "we’ll deliver so many souls, so many souls. The Holy wounds are the treasure of treasurers for the souls in Purgatory." As Scripture states, "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins" (2 Mac 12:46)
In an approved apparition by the Church, Our Savior, Jesus Christ, gave St. Gertrude the Great this prayer. We would do well to say this on Christmas as well:
According to private revelation, there are more souls released from Purgatory during the Consecration of the Mass than at any other time. Christmas is the day of the year when most souls are delivered, followed by feast days of Our Lord, Our Lady, and great saints. Souls receive much grace from prayers offered for them on their birthdays, the day of baptism, and the anniversary of death. The more we work for the poor souls now, the more others will pray for us, and the more merciful Christ will be with us if we make it to Purgatory.
Our Lady asked that we pray very much for the poor souls; she asked that we pray:
5 Apostle's Creed
1 Hail Holy Queen
1 Our Father
1 Glory Be
1 Requiem
Our Lady said that if we pray the prayers, "we’ll deliver so many souls, so many souls. The Holy wounds are the treasure of treasurers for the souls in Purgatory." As Scripture states, "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins" (2 Mac 12:46)
In an approved apparition by the Church, Our Savior, Jesus Christ, gave St. Gertrude the Great this prayer. We would do well to say this on Christmas as well:
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus Christ, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, for those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
"What shall I say? And how shall I describe this birth to you? The Eternal One has become an infant. He who sits upon the sublime and heavenly throne now lies in the manger. For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His word, taking my form He gives me His spirit, and so, He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares me for the treasure of life. He takes my form to sanctify me. He gives me His spirit, that he may save me."
Sabado, Disyembre 24, 2005
Tonight was Pope Benedict XVI's first Christmas Mass as pope. It was a beautiful ceremony in the heart of Vatican City. And, in his homily, our Holy Father offered prayers for the Middle East and for the unborn. Read his homily through the Vatican's website.He reminded those present that the splendor of Christmas "shines on every child, even on those still unborn." It was that moment the Word was made Flesh. Tonight we recall the awesome miracle of Christ being born in Bethlehem in the richest of poverty.
He ended his homily with a prayer to God: "Lord, fulfill your promise! Where there is conflict, give birth to peace. Where there is hatred, make love spring up! Where darkness prevails, let light shine." If you didn't know, the tradition of a midnight Mass goes back to Pope St. Telesphorus in the early 100's AD.
Image Sources: Reuters
Today is the last day of Advent, as at last, we have arrived at the Birth of Christ. Let the joy of this Christmas Season fill your heart and may the joy of our ultimate meeting with our God fill our heart with unceasing splendor.+ Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. +
Merry Christmas to all of my readers. May God Bless you all.
Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown
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