Christmas

Christmas

                            Meanings of Christmas 
                                                                         

                                            Fr. Andrew Greeley, Woman’s Day, 12-22-81

  

"It might be easy to run away to a monastery,

away from the commercialization, the hectic hustle,

the demanding family responsibilities of Christmas-time.

Then we would have a holy Christmas.

But we would forget the lesson of the Incarnation,

of the enfleshing of God—the lesson that

we who are followers of Jesus

do not run from the secular;

rather we try to transform it.

It is our mission

 to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas

just as the early Christians baptized 
the Christmas tree.

And we do this by being holy people—
kind, patient,

generous, loving, laughing people—no matter how

maddening is the Christmas rush…"

  http://www.appleseeds.org/christmas-quotes.htm

Moonless darkness 

stands between. 

Past, the Past, 

no more be seen! 

But the Bethlehem star 

may lead me 

To the sight of Him 

Who freed me 

From the self that I have been.

 Make me pure, Lord: 

Thou art Holy; Make me meek, Lord: 

Thou wert lowly; Now beginning, and always, 

Now begin, on Christmas day!!

 

• Isaiah 9:2-7 
• Psalm 96 
• Titus 2:11-14 
• Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Isaiah 9:2-7

 
9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness 

on them light has shined....

9:6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; 

authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named 

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 

Prince of Peace.
9:7 His authority shall grow continually, 

and there shall be endless peace for the 

throne of David and his kingdom. 

He will establish and uphold it with justice 

and with righteousness from this time 

onward and forevermore. 

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. 

4th Sunday of Advent

4th Sunday of Advent

Advent is here. What a marvellous time in which to renew your desire, your nostalgia, your real longing for Christ to come — 
for him to come every day to your soul in the Eucharist. 
The Church encourages us: Ecce veniet! — He is about to arrive!
The Forge, 548 St. Josemaria Escriva

Advent Prayer

Father, all-powerful God, your eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of your plan. Lift our minds in watchful hope to heart the voice which announces his glory and open our minds to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

• Isaiah 7:10-16 
• Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 
• Romans 1:1-7 
• Matthew 1:18-25

 Matthew 1:18-25

1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

1:19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

1:20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, 

for the child conceived in her is from   

the Holy Spirit.

1:21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

1:22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

  

"Look, the virgin shall conceive 

and bear a son, 

and they shall name him Emmanuel," 

which means, "God is with us."

 Matthew 1:23 

3rd Sunday of Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Last Days of Advent .

Pope John Paul II, Dec. 18, 2002

Pope John Paul II in his address on Dec. 18, 2002 said,

"The liturgy of Advent…helps us to understand fully the value and meaning of the mystery of Christmas. 

It is not just about commemorating the historical event, which occurred some 2,000 years ago in a little village of Judea. 

Instead, it is necessary to understand that the whole of our life must be an ‘advent,’ a vigilant awaiting of the final coming of Christ. 

To predispose our mind to welcome the Lord who, as we say in the Creed, one day will come to judge the living and the dead, we must learn to recognize him as present in the events of daily life.

Therefore, Advent is, so to speak, an intense training that directs us decisively toward him who already came, who will come, and who comes continuously."

 

• Isaiah 35:1-10 
• Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:46b-55 
• James 5:7-10 
• Matthew 11:2-11

Advent Prayer 

All-powerful God, increase our strength of will for doing good that Christ may find an eager welcome at His coming and call us to his side in the kingdom of heave, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2nd Sunday of Advent

 

2nd Sunday of Advent

Everyone can hope 

to be saved

“Iesus Christus, Deus homo: Jesus Christ, God-man. This is one of “the mighty works of God,” which we should reflect upon and thank him for. He has come to bring “peace on earth to men of good Will,” to all men who want to unite their wills to the holy will of God — not just the rich, not just the poor, but everyone: all the brethren. We are all brothers in Jesus, children of God, brothers of Christ. His Mother is our mother.”

Christ is Passing By, 13 

Quotation from Saint Josemaria

 http://www.josemariaescriva.info/article/opus-dei-founder-quotations-about-advent

• Isaiah 11:1-10  • 
• Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19  • 
• Romans 15:4-13  • 
• Matthew 3:1-12

 

 

Advent Prayer

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a wonder at the wisdom and power of Your Father and ours. Receive my prayer as part of my service of the Lord who enlists me in God's own work for justice.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a hunger for peace: peace in the world, peace in my home, peace in myself.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a joy responsive to the Father's joy. I seek His will so I can serve with gladness, singing and love.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me the joy and love and peace it is right to bring to the manger of my Lord. Raise in me, too, sober reverence for the God who acted there, hearty gratitude for the life begun there, and spirited resolution to serve the Father and Son.

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, whose advent I hail. Amen.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception December 8

Virgin Mary, All Nature is Blessed in You

A Sermon by Saint Anselm, bishop

Blessed Lady, sky and stars, earth and rivers, day and night—everything that is subject to the power or use of man—rejoice that through you they are in some sense restored to their lost beauty and are endowed with inexpressible new grace.  All creatures were dead, as it were, useless for men or for the praise of God, who made them.  The world, contrary to its true destiny, was corrupted and tainted by the acts of men who served idols.  Now all creation has been restored to life and rejoices that it is controlled and given splendor by mean who believe in God.

The universe rejoices with new and indefinable loveliness.  Not only does it feel the unseen presence of God himself, its Creator, it sees him openly, working and making it holy.  These great blessings spring from the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb.

Through the fullness of the grace that was given you, dead things rejoice in their freedom, and those in heaven are glad to be made new.  Through the Son who was the glorious fruit of your virgin womb, just souls who died before his life-giving death rejoice as they are freed from captivity, and the angels are glad at the restoration of their shattered domain.

Lady, full and overflowing with grace, all creation receives new life from your abundance. Virgin, blessed above all creatures, through your blessing all creation is blessed, not only creation from its Creator, but the Creator himself has been blessed by creation.

To Mary God gave his only-begotten Son, whom he loved as himself.  Through Mary God made himself a Son, not different but the same, by nature Son of God and Son of Mary. The whole universe was created by God and God was born of Mary.  God created all things, and Mary gave birth to God.  The God who made all things gave himself form through Mary, and thus he made his own creation.  He who could create all things from nothing would not remake his ruined creation without Mary.

God, then, is the Father of the created world and Mary the Mother of the re-created world.  God is the Father by whom all things were given life, and Mary the Mother through whom all things were given new life.  For God begot the Son, through whom all things were made, and Mary gave birth to him as the Savior of the world.  Without God’s Son, nothing could exist; without Mary’s Son, nothing could be redeemed. 

Truly the Lord is with you, to whom the Lord granted that all nature should owe as much to you as to himself.

taken from Liturgy of the Hours, Advent Season, December 8 Office of Readings

WHAT is the IMMACUALATE CONCEPTION???

 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION ...

WHAT IS IT???

WOW, there is a lot of misunderstanding about what Immaculate Conception is... so I thought I should address this topic since the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated DECEMBER 8th.

NO, this is not about Jesus being Conceived in Mary's womb...We celebrate that on March 25th called the Annunciation of the Lord.

The Immaculate Conception is the realization that God the Father made Mary perfect without stain of sin... she was "Immaculately Conceived."  How can anyone think that God would allow his true goodness and purity -- His Only Begotten Son -- to enter a sinful body????    In my simple little faith -- I can see this as truth, can't you??

I read somewhere (if I find the text I'll add it), that God the Father, knowing that He would send His Son had Mary Immaculately Conceived through the future merits that Her Son would achieve in His Passion and Death on the Cross.  

 

Church Fathers

Throughout the centuries Church Fathers have professed this as fact, but it wasn't until  Pope Pius IX, on December 8, 1854, would declare it a dogma.

"...We turn to the early Fathers of the Church. First, many, not all of them, make sweeping statements about her holiness. That could imply an Immaculate Conception. Secondly, very many of them speak of her as the New Eve. They could have reasoned: the first Eve had an immaculate start in life--no sin was yet committed. So the New Eve, who was to share in undoing the harm of original sin, should have also an immaculate start. However, none of the Fathers actually followed this line of reasoning. (A few Fathers even tried to find sins she had committed, e.g. St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on John 21. PG 59. 130ff)." 

(for full text go to http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marya2.htm)

 

Pope Pius IX

In the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX wrote that 

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful." 
http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/f/Imm_Concept_FAQ.htm

There are many writings about the Immaculate Conception just 'Google' it...you will find them all there.  and also check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church for further explanations and doctrine.