What is Advent?

Advent is the time of preparation leading up to Christ and consisting of four Sundays. While Advent does focus us on preparing for Christmas, its primary focus is on preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. At this time of year we remember the three comings of Christ: 

1. At Bethlehem as a baby
2. Daily in the Holy Eucharist
3. In all-glory at the Second Coming. 

In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and concludes on Christmas Eve at sundown. The typical vestment color during Advent is purple because this is a time of penance as we prepare for the birth of Christ.

A Brief Overview of Advent:

The name Advent is applied, in the Latin Church, to that period of the year, during which the Church requires the faithful to prepare for the celebration of the feast of Christmas, the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. The mystery of that great day had every right to the honour of being prepared for by prayer and works of penance; and, in fact, it is impossible to state, with any certainty, when this season of preparation (which had long been observed before receiving its present name of Advent) was first instituted. It would seem, however, that its observance first began in the west, since it is evident that Advent could not have been looked on as a preparation for the feast of Christmas, until that feast was definitively fixed to the twenty-fifth of December; which was done in the east only towards the close of the fourth century; whereas it is certain that the Church of Rome kept the feast on that day at a much earlier period.

We must look upon Advent in two different lights: first, as a time of preparation, properly so called, for the birth of our Saviour, by works of penance; and secondly, as a series of ecclesiastical Offices drawn up for the same purpose. We find, as far back as the fifth century, the custom of giving exhortations to the people in order to prepare them for the feast of Christmas. We have two sermons of Saint Maximus of Turin on this subject, not to speak of several others which were formerly attributed to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, but which were probably written by St. Cesarius of Arles. If these documents do not tell us what was the duration and what the exercises of this holy season, they at least show us how ancient was the practice of distinguishing the time of Advent by special sermons. Saint Ivo of Chartres, St. Bernard, and several other doctors of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, have left us set sermons de Adventu Domini, quite distinct from their Sunday homilies on the Gospels of that season. In the capitularia of Charles the Bald, in 846, the bishops admonish that prince not to call them away from their Churches during Lent or Advent, under pretext of affairs of the State or the necessities of war, seeing that they have special duties to fulfill, and particularly that of preaching during those sacred times.

Source: Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB, Advent, ca. 1841, Volume 1, The Liturgical Year, translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B., ca. 1867. London: Stanbrook Abbey, 1918.

More in-depth information can be found at Fish Eaters. Please also see the Advent/Christmas Compilation list on this site.

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Advent Season Begins

What a busy day! Today is that day where everyone gets up at incredibly early hours and goes shopping. The stores are so packed, but this is the main shopping day for so many people because of the sales. Today has been the day to put up our Christmas tree for years. It's a tradition in our family. Also, I need to buy an advent wreath today and bless it Sunday for the first day of Advent. I got a new book called, "On the way to Bethlehem" by Hilary McDowell with a small reading and prayer for each day of Advent.

Here's some useful links in this Christmas Season:

1. St. Margaret Mary's Advent Calendar

2. Blessing of a Christmas Tree (a few versions):

Version 1
Version 2

3. Nativity Scene Blessing

Blessings to everyone in this Christmas season. Remember the poor and suffering; I always give to charities at this time. Give to those in poverty during Christmas especially since Christ Himself chose poverty that day in Bethlehem. Pray for unbelievers, heretics, and schismatics. Pray for the salvation of all souls.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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The "Our Father" for the Souls in Purgatory

November is the month for the holy souls in purgatory, and this month is almost over. I would like to share a prayer attributed to St. Mechtilde. This is the "Our Father" for the souls in purgatory. When St. Mechtilde one day offered her Holy Eucharist for the souls, Jesus came to her (he has come to many saints) and told her to pray one "Our Father" for them. After she recited it, she saw many souls rise up to Heaven.

OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, I beseech You, O Heavenly Father, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not love You sufficiently, nor render to You all the honor which is Your due, due to You their Lord and Father, Who, by pure grace, have adopted them as Your children. By their sins, rather, have they driven You from their souls, where You none the less wished always to live. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the love and veneration which Your Incarnate Son showed You all during His earthly life, and I offer all the acts of penance and satisfaction which He performed and by which He effaced and atoned for the sins of men.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME, I beg You, O Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not honor, always and fittingly, Your Holy Name, but often they took It in vain and proved unworthy of the name "Christian", by their lives of sin. In reparation for their faults, I offer to You all the honor which Your Well-Beloved Son rendered to Your Name by His words and deeds.

THY KINGDOM COME; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always seek or adore Your Kingdom with enough fervor and diligence;This Kingdom, the only place where true rest and peace reign. In reparation for their omissions, through indifference to do what is good, I offer You the Most Holy Desire of Your Son, by which He wished that they also might become heirs of His Kingdom.

THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always submit their will to Your Will. In reparation for their disobedience, I offer You the perfect conformity of the Heart, full of love, of Your Divine Son with Your Holy Will and the most profound submission which He showed in obeying You unto death on the Cross.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always receive the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist with enough desire, but often without contemplation, or love, or even unworthily, or they neglected to receive It. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.

FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, all the faults of which they have been guilty through succumbing to the Seven Capital Sins and also in not having wished either to love or pardon their enemies. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, because too often they did not resist temptations and the passions, but they followed the Enemy of all goodness. In reparation for all these sins, in thought, word, and deed. I offer You the glorius victory which Our Lord won against the world, as well as His Most Holy Life, His Work and Sorrows, His Suffering and His Most Cruel Death.

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL; and from all punishments through the Infinite Merits of Your Well-Beloved Son and lead us, as well as the Souls in Purgatory, into Your Kingdom of eternal glory. Amen.

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro

Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): November 23

Today on the United States Calendar of Saints, the Church celebrates the life of Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro. On the Universal Calendar for November 23, the Church remembers St. Clement I

Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro (1891-1927) died from religious persecution by President Plutarco Elías Calles in Mexico in 1927 by firing squad. He refused a blindfold and forgave his killers. And as he died, in an expression of love, he opened his arms and screamed, "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" (Long live Christ the King). Those were his dying words to his executioners.

He is a great example of what to be thankful for. Thank God today for the gift of the Church and its sacraments to lead us to Heaven. Thank Him for the Eucharist, the Bread of angels and delight of all souls. Thank Him for the gift of His Mother He made on the Cross. She stands by us on our journeys to Heaven. Thank the Lord for His merciful Heart pierced on the Cross. Thank the Lord for His wonder and beautfy. After all, the Lord our God is the delight of our hearts.

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Lost Rosary: Final update

This is part three of a story about my Rosary. After Mass on October 16, my Rosary was actually taken from my pew while I was away in the sacristy, and I have never found it. This is the third post on this subject.

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

Well, recently the organist brought in several rosaries for me to look at. He was very kind and told me to take any of the rosaries. Several are from Fatima. One has the medal of Blessed Mother Teresa. All of them are beautiful. I chose, though, a wonderful, leather-bound prayer book to make up for my prayer book also taken. In addition, there was a beautiful picture of the Virgin Mary in the bag and I chose that. My parish's pastor already gave me a beautiful St. Patrick Rosary as a replacement.

I wanted to thank everyone for their prayers. I only hope my Rosary and prayer book were taken by someone that could use them.

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Upcoming Christmas Season

With Advent officially beginning this Sunday a new liturgical year has approached. I will be posting a lot but mark your calendar. The St. Andrew Novena Prayer is a great devotion beginning on Nov. 30th and visit St. Margaret Mary's Parish for their great Advent Calendar. Each day opens as a countdown to Christmas, the birth of Our King.

St. Andrew Novena Prayer to Obtain Favors:

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.

(It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30th November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.)

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Home Enthronement to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Hector recently asked about my home enthronement, so I wanted to explain. This is a devotion that recently developed in my area; I had my home enthroned on the Feast of the Transfiguration this past summer. We even remodeled part of our home and turned the room into a prayer room.

The devotion is based on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Each family receives the two images and places them in a prominent place on the wall a few days before the main ceremony. The priest will recite a series of prayers and bless the images. Then there is the actual Act of Consecration that is read.

Afterward, each member of the family signs a piece of paper pledging to say certain prayers each day. The evening prayers include three Hail Marys, three Glorias, three times: "Sacred Heart of Jesus Have mercy on us" and a few others.

Visit Catholic Tradition for the prayers and ceremonial details. And get your homes enthroned!

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Feast of Christ the King!

Today is the end of the Church's liturgical year and the Feast of Christ the King remembering that Jesus Christ is to be, above all, our King and God. All of our laws and decrees must come under His Most Holy Will. May the Lord reign in our homes and hearts forever!

I recently had a home enthronement where a picture of the Immaculate and Sacred Heart are placed in my home, and I pray everyday to Christ, our King. For more information on the Feast of Christ the King, see my post entitled Solemnity of Christ the King.

Prayer:

Excita, quæsumus, Dominine,tuorum fidelium voluntates: ut divini operis fructum propensius exsequentes, pietatis tuæ remedia maiora percipiant. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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Prayers Please for a Relative

Just a few days ago my great aunt, Lorraine, died. She was a devout Catholic her whole life and was legally blind. Please say a prayer for her soul.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Image Source: Photo of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen believed to be in the Public Domain

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End-of-Life issues

All of us will one day have to encounter end-of-life issues either for our loves ones or ourselves. And for those questioning cremation or wanting to know why euthanasia is wrong, I offer a great post on In Veritate Ambulare.

PS: Remember the value of a Mass for the deceased as well, though the Mass, said before death, is worth far more. "The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime, rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death." (Pope Benedict XV)

Update: Please visit Serious Health Care and End of Life Decisions too for information

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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Why Organized Religion is Necessary

Many people live in the misguided opinion that organized religion is not necessary. They believe in the here and the now while rejecting the calling of God to live as a community of faith, in communion together. Those who think they can be "spiritual but not religious" are living in an illusion.

Christ Established a Visible Church on Earth

Drawing on sound reasoning, Father Stephen Keenan in the often-forgotten work “A Doctrinal Catechism” also logically demonstrates:

To what does Christ compare the Church? To a city on the top of a mountain, visible to all the eyes in the world. What do you conclude from these words (Matthew 28:17:) "If he will not hear them, tell the Church?" That the Church must have been always visible, otherwise there must have been a time during which this command of Christ was impossible on account of the invisibility of the Church; for no one could lay his complaint before an invisible Church. Hence the Catholic is the true Church, since she is the only Church that has been always visible.

Sacred Scripture Affirms Why A Visible Church On Earth Is Necessary

Dr. Ludwig Ott in "Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma" states the following by drawing from Sacred Scripture:

Pius XII, in the Encyclical “Mystici Corporis,’’ confirmed the teaching of Leo XIII, and expressly rejected the view that the Church is “a mere spiritual entity, joining together by an invisible link a number of communities of Christians, in spite of their difference in Faith.” The visibility of the Church was denied by the Spiritualistic Sects of the Middle Ages, by Huss and the Reformers. According to Huss, the Church consists of the communion of the predestinated. Calvin held the same view. Luther taught that the Church is “the assembly of the saints (the faithful), in which the Gospel is properly taught and the Sacraments are properly administered.

 

But without an authoritative teaching office there is no certain norm for the purity of doctrine or for the administration of the Sacraments. The rejection of the hierarchy inevitably led to the doctrine of the invisible Church. The biblical proof of the visibility of the Church springs from the Divine institution or the hierarchy. The teaching office demands from its incumbents the duty of obedience to the faith (Romans 1:5) and the confession of faith (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:10). To the sacerdotal office corresponds, on the part of the faithful, the duty of using the means of grace dispensed by it (John 3:5; 6:54). To the pastoral office corresponds, on the part of those shepherded, the duty of being subject to the Church Authority (Matthew 18:17; Luke 10:16).

The Church Fathers Hold That the Church Must be Visible on Earth

Dr. Ott further cites, in support of this reality, the witness of the Early Church Fathers:

St. Irenaeus holds against the Gnostics that the adherents of the Church throughout the whole world confess the same faith, observe the [same commandments and preserve the same form of Church constitution. He compares the Church, which preaches the same truth everywhere, to a seven-branched candlestick, which, visible to all, bears the light of Christ (Adv. haer. V 20, i). St. Augustine compares the Church to a city on a mountain (Matthew 5:14): “The Church stands clear and visible before all men; for she is the city on the mountain which cannot be hidden.

Dr. Ott further cites, in support of this reality, the witness of the Early Church Fathers:

St. Irenaeus holds against the Gnostics that the adherents of the Church throughout the whole world confess the same faith, observe the [same commandments and preserve the same form of Church constitution. He compares the Church, which preaches the same truth everywhere, to a seven-branched candlestick, which, visible to all, bears the light of Christ (Adv. haer. V 20, i). St. Augustine compares the Church to a city on a mountain (Matthew 5:14): “The Church stands clear and visible before all men; for she is the city on the mountain which cannot be hidden. 

Fr. John Laux, in "Catholic Apologetics Book IV," explains:

The work of Redemption consisted in the discharge of this threefold office (of Priest, Prophet, and King). On the eve of His departure from this world Christ delegated His powers to His Apostles: "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth: going therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20). 

From this commission of Christ, it is evident that His followers form an organized society under the leadership and guidance of the Apostles and their successors, with the right to teach and to command on one side, and the duty to be taught and to obey on the others..

Everything is visible about His great institution: Baptism, which is necessary for membership, the other Sacraments which He commanded His followers to receive, the rulers and lawgivers whom the faithful must obey, the tribunael before which the faithful are judged and to which they have a right to appeal. 

Conclusion

The entire purpose of the Catholic Church is to be the means of salvation for the entire world. The Church was created by Jesus Christ Himself (cf. Matthew 16:18) and founded on St. Peter, the first Pope. In Elements of Religion, Henry Liddon states that: “Morality severed from religious motives is like a branch cut from a tree; it may, from here and there, from accidental causes, retain its greeness for a while, but it’s chance of a vigorous life is a very slender one.” God alone is the source of all morality as all were created by Him and deserving of respect; lack of religion destroys true morality.

While Jesus Christ is the invisible head of the Church, He chose to build His Church on St. Peter. The Church preserves the Faith as taught by the Lord and handed down over the centuries in Her teachings. And She also passes down the ability to confer the Sacraments through Holy Orders. Catholic priests today who are ordained are ordained in the same line of apostolic succession that can be traced back bishop by bishop ultimately to the hand of Christ who ordained the Apostles on Holy Thursday at the Last Supper. Thus who reject this revealed dogma of the Faith are not Christians.

More Information

For those looking to learn about the Catholic faith or the answers to questions such as “Why Organized Religion,” I encourage the book “This Is the Faith” by Canon Francis Ripley as well as the CatechismClass.com Program.

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Upcoming dates

Here are some dates I just wanted to inform others of.

November 27, 2005 - Advent begins

March 1, 2006 - Ash Wednesday, Lent begins

April 16, 2006 - Easter

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St. Gertrude the Great

Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): November 16
Double (1955 Calendar): November 16

Today is the feastday of St. Gertrude, virgin and mystic, who received visions of Christ and a prayer for the souls in purgatory. St. Gertrude also received the stigmata. Our Lord gave her a prayer for the souls in purgatory.

St. Gertrude (1256 - 1302) was raised in the Cistercian abbey of Helfta, Eisleben. She lived devoutly and spoke fluent Latin even though her health was poor. At the age of 25 in 1281 AD, she began to receive visions of Christ, where He disclosed to her the secrets of mystical union. She was extremely intelligent in her studies and a caring person. St. Gertrude helped spread devotion to the Sacred Heart as well. She died in 1302 AD, consumed with burning love for Christ. Some of her writings, such as the following, have been preserved for our edification:

"Each time a person receives Holy Communion, their place in Heaven becomes greater and their stay in purgatory is shortened." While she was meditating on The Blessed Sacrament and wondering how our Lord could bring Himself so low as to live on our altars in the form of bread, Jesus Himself told her this story. A little prince, living in a huge palace filled with toys and games of all kinds, looked out of the window one day and saw some poor children playing in the street. Noticing the little boy looking out, his tutor asked him: "Would you like to stay in the palace today or go out and play with those children in the street?". "I would love to go out and play with them," answered the prince. Permission was granted, the prince put on the oldest clothes he had and played all day with the poor children in the street.It was one of his happiest days.Then our Lord said to St. Gertrude: "I am like that little prince, I like to be with you men and women.Whoever keeps people away from Communion deprives Me of a great joy."

The Liturgical Observance of St. Gertrude:

A liturgical office of prayer, readings, and hymns in her honor was approved by Rome in 1606. The liturgical feast of St. Gertrude has moved around. Dom Gueranger writes:

When Clement XII., as we have seen, established in the entire Church the feast of St. Gertrude the Great, he at first decreed that it should be kept on [November 17th], on which it is still celebrated by the Order of St. Benedict. But as the 17th November had been for long centuries assigned to St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, it seemed unfitting, said Benedict XIV, that he who moved mountains should himself be moved from his place by the holy virgin. Accordingly in 1739, the year following its institution, the feast of St. Gertrude was fixed on the fifteenth of this month. 

Yet her feast did not remain on November 15th. After Pope Pius XI canonized St. Albert the Great in 1931, he fixed the Doctor's feastday on November 15th, moving St. Gertrude to November 16th, where she remains. However, the Traditional Benedictine Calendar keeps St. Gertrude on November 17th

Prayer:

O God, Who in the heart of the holy Virgin Gertrude didst provide for Thyself a pleasant dwelling: through his merits and intercession, so Thou, in Thy mercy, wash all stains from our hearts and grant us joyful fellowship with her. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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The 67th Cure at Lourdes

There are now 67 people who have been officially declared as healed from their visit to Lourdes. This particular woman went there around 50 years ago and was cured from a rheumatic heart disease. Many, many more people have claimed to have been cured even though only 67 have only been investigated and declared as official miracles thus far.

Lourdes is an immensely spiritual place after the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858 and showed her a hidden healing spring in the town. Again, this is not a required belief to be a Catholic but another Testament of the joy of being with the Joy of the World, Our Lord and God, our Healer.

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Charity

Today we celebrate the life of St. Albert the Great, who has given us such wisdom as this:

"It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for 'God is Charity.'" -- St. Albert the Great

Charity is one of the three theological virtues placed upon a soul at baptism along with faith and hope. Charity, however, is lost after a mortal sin is committed. Mortal sin destroys sanctifying grace and only through Confession can we "wash our robes clean in the blood of the Lamb"; by seeking Christ in forgiveneness we put ourselves in the right place again - humbly below God.

"Without the help of grace, men would not know how "to discern the often narrow path between the cowardice which gives in to evil, and the violence which under the illusion of fighting evil only makes it worse." This is the path of charity, that is, of the love of God and of neighbor. Charity is the greatest social commandment. It respects others and their rights. It requires the practice of justice, and it alone makes us capable of it. Charity inspires a life of self-giving: "Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.""(CCC 1889)

I particularly love the last line - in Christ we gain all truly great things. For the Good Shepard laid down his life for His sheep. Ask yourself would you lay down your life for him? For your fellow man? Do you ask yourself "How much do I love"? But more importantly...do you act on it.

Love Christ and preach His Gospel in the Catholic Church for all generations. We live for Christ, Our God. Alleluia.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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"In God Is Our trust"

Update: The Motto is to remain!

In America we have a Freedom to Religion not a Freedom from religion. Atheism is a lie and nothing more!

Just tonight I found out that the same man who has filed suit for "under God" in the pledge of Allegiance to be removed has now filed suit against "In God is our trust" on America's currency. He is expected to win the case in the circuit court and take it to the Supreme Court.

“Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven” Matthew 10:32-33 (Douay Rheims).

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A Beatification Today

Today Pope Benedict XVI will move three people closer to being declared a saint by declaring them blessed. They are Charles de Foucauld, Maria Pia Mastena, and Maria Crocifissa Curcio. Their beatification ceremony is being aired on EWTN tonight. I will post more after their beatification tonight.

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St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

Memorial (1969 Calendar): November 13

Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who shows us another example of today's gospel of living our faith. Born in Lombardi, Italy in 1850, she desired to be a nun by the age of eighteen, but her poor health prevent her. St. Frances helped her parents until their death and afterwards worked on a farm with her brothers and sisters. Following the request of a preach, St. Frances began to teach in a girl's school, and she taught there for 6 years.

Later, at request of her Bishop, St. Frances Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, a religious order to care for poor children in schools and hospitals. At the urging of Pope Leo XIII she came to the United States in 1889 with six nuns to work among the Italian immigrants.
She lived tirelessly for the poor and founded 67 institutions to help the poor and misfortunate in a period of 35 years. At the time of her death, on December 22, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, her institute numbered houses in England, France, Spain, the United States, and even South America. St. Frances became the first US citizen to ever be when Pope Pius XII canonized her in 1946.

Prayer:

"Holy Spirit, when Saint Frances was a child, she pretended she was a missionary to China as she sailed paper boats on a stream. Although You eventually sent her west to America instead of East to the Orient, her childhood games shaped her desire to serve You. I ask her to pray for our children to be protected from the lure of games that are worldly, violent, or occultic. O Lord, prevent society’s influences from blocking their desire to serve You when they grow up. Touch their souls to make them uneasy about games that erode their love for You and teach them to listen to Your guidance. Saint Frances, pray for us. Amen."

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Mary As the Ark of the Covenant

“O Ark of the New Covenant, clad on all sides with purity in place of gold, the one in whom is found the golden vase with true manna that is the flesh in which lies the God-head.” -- St. Anthanasius (295-373)

Back in the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was the holiest of holies in which no mere man could touch and not die. And, when Uzzah touched the Ark he was slain by God because the Ark is undefiled and has no place in sin (cf. 2 Sam. 6:7). Inside contained what, at that time, was the most important objects by God, and no mere man could touch them.

God is completely filled with glory and power, yet He also loves us beyond recollection. In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant contained the most holy objects: The Ten Commandments, manna, and Aaron’s staff. These objects were directly linked with God and were greatly special, but it is further true that these objects were not God. This ark was so holy no one could touch it and not die except the chief priest one day a year, but these objects still are nothing compared with Christ, who is the epitome of holiest. Now, Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, which holds a much more powerful object than manna or a staff – Christ Himself. Mary is the holiest of all humans having carried within her the greatest splendor - Our Lord.

Let us look at Luke 1:35 where the Archangel says to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” This word “overshadow” comes from the Greek word "episkiasei", which refers to a glorious instance. This same Greek term was used previously in Exodus 40:34-35 to describe the Temple; the clear resemble to the Temple and Mary shows again the Mary is to be a great temple for God to come into the world and save us. She is the new Ark that held the greatest gift to the human race, and she must have been pure and sinless to be able to carry the Lord within her. Some say that making Mary into the Ark of the New Covenant shows we worship her, but we do not worship her just as the people of the Old Testament did not worship the ark itself. Instead, what was inside of the Ark was adored just as we adore the treasure inside Mary, who is Our Lord. Let us remember every time we say the Rosary that we recall God’s saving power through her willingness to humble herself.

Luke wrote this parallel under the careful guidance of the Holy Spirit along with his account of the Visitation, which also show reference to Mary being the Ark of the New Covenant.

In Luke 1:39 it states that Mary rose and went to her sister resembling the man, Daniel, rising in 2 Samuel 6:2. Also, further in Luke 1:42, upon Mary’s visit to St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb alluding to 2 Sam 6:16 where King David leap for joy before the Ark of the New Covenant. Finally, St. Elizabeth responded to Mary by asking, “How can the Mother of my Lord come to me," (Luke 1:43) but this, once again, resembles Old Testament writings especially in 2 Sam. 6:9: “How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?"

These instances of the Old Testament mirroring the New Testament show us how many occasions, from the grace of baptism mirroring the Great flood to the Bread of Life first mirrored in the manna in the desert, relate to each other. However, even though the image of Mary as the Ark is resembled very accurately it does not have to mirror it completely. For example, scholars indicate that King David mirrored Christ, but King David did commit sins unlike the Lord; the same finer details can be seen in the Ark where the Old Testament Ark was stolen, but the New Ark is now safely in Heaven.

Just as the Ark of the Old Covenant was worthy of praise, now an even greater Ark has come along with an even greater object in the Ark, Our Lord. We should remember this during the “Hail Mary” when we say, “The Lord is with thee,” because Mary is also deserving of honor, though less than God, but honor nonetheless. In 1 Chron. 15 and 16, the Old Ark is surrounded by hymns, veneration, trumpets, and other glorious actions. During the Hail Mary we take part in a new hymns and trumpets and proclaim Mary is truly blessed to have been made the Immaculate Ark of the New Covenant through whom Our Lord could take flesh.

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Pope St. Leo the Great

Double (1955 Calendar): April 11
Memorial (1969 Calendar): November 10

Today is the feastday of one of the few saints who have the informal title of "great" - St. Leo the Great (c. 400-461), pope and Doctor of the Church. He is a shining example for apologetics. St. Leo was an eloquent writer and homilist. He wrote exceptionally well on St. Peter and the papacy as founded in Matthew 16:18. However, St. Leo also fought extensively against heresies and preserved Church teachings.

He was pope from 440 to 461 AD during the invasion of Attila the Hun. When Attila marched on to Rome, St. Leo went out to meet him and pleaded for him to leave. As Leo spoke, Attila saw a vision of a man in priestly robes, carrying a bare sword, and threatening to kill the invader if he did not obey Pope St. Leo. It is believed that the visionary was St. Peter, to whom St. Leo had a great devotion. Attila the Hun, one of the most brutal barbarians in history, left. St. Leo won without a life being lost.

Prayer:

Look forgivingly on Thy flock, Eternal Shepherd, and keep it in Thy constant protection, by the intercession of Blessed Leo, Thy Sovereign Pontiff, whom Thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Image: Pope St. Leo the Great confronts Atilla the Hun, In the Public Domain

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