Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

From Pope Benedict XVI's homily on January 1, 2008:

"The Apostle Paul refers to the mystery of the divine motherhood of Mary, the Theotokos, in his Letter to the Galatians.

"'When the time had fully come', he writes, 'God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law' (4:4).

"We find the mystery of the Incarnation of the Divine Word and the Divine Motherhood of Mary summed up in a few words: the Virgin's great privilege is precisely to be Mother of the Son who is God.

"The most logical and proper place for this Marian feast is therefore eight days after Christmas. Indeed, in the night of Bethlehem, when 'she gave birth to her first-born son' (Lk 2:7), the prophesies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled.

"'The virgin shall be with child and bear a son', Isaiah had foretold (7:14); 'Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son', the Angel Gabriel said to Mary (Lk 1:31); and again, an Angel of the Lord, the Evangelist Matthew recounts, appeared to Joseph in a dream to reassure him and said: 'Do not fear to take Mary for your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son' (Mt 1:20-21).

"The title 'Mother of God', together with the title 'Blessed Virgin', is the oldest on which all the other titles with which Our Lady was venerated are based, and it continues to be invoked from generation to generation in the East and in the West.

"A multitude of hymns and a wealth of prayers of the Christian tradition refer to the mystery of her divine motherhood, such as, for example, a Marian antiphon of the Christmas season, Alma Redemptoris mater, with which we pray in these words: 'Tu quae genuisti, natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem, Virgo prius ac posterius —You, in the wonder of all creation, have brought forth your Creator, Mother ever virgin'.

"Dear brothers and sisters, let us today contemplate Mary, ever-virgin Mother of the Only-Begotten Son of the Father; let us learn from her to welcome the Child who was born for us in Bethlehem. If we recognize in the Child born of her the Eternal Son of God and accept him as our one Saviour, we can be called and we really are children of God: sons in the Son.

"The Apostle writes: 'God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons' (Gal 4:4)."


Today we begin a new year by honoring the Mother of God, Mary. I pray that this year Our Blessed Mother will lead us ever closer to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and continue to pray for and guide His Church.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Feast of the Holy Innocents

In these days after the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord, there are many important feast days. We had the Feast of St. Stephen on the 26th, the Feast of the Holy Family this past Sunday, and of course have the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God to look forward to on January 1st. Today, December 28th, the Church observes the Feast of the Holy Innocents, those children who were slaughter at King Herod's command in an attempt to kill the newborn Christ.

St. Matthew tells the story (2:13-18):

"Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,'Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.' Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son.
"When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
'A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.'"

A very beautiful song about this event is the Coventry Carol, sung from the perspective of a mother saying goodbye to her child. Below is a video with a nice rendition of it with the lyrics following.


Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Herod, the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young to slay.

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever mourn and sigh,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

I have often heard today's practice of abortion mentioned as a modern comparison to the massacre of the Holy Innocents. Innocent children are slaughtered legally everyday through abortions. Today I offer my prayers for all of those Holy Innocents who never had the chance to live and for an end to this terrible practice.

Christmas

I have not been on the blog in the past few days and probably will not be on again for a few days due to the holiday and a very busy schedule. I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a holy and blessed Christmas!

Sunday Inspiration - Fourth Sunday of Advent

On this last Sunday of Advent, as we we prepare for the coming of Our Lord, we hear of Mary, with child, visiting her relative Elizabeth, who is herself pregnant with John the Baptist.

As St. Luke tells us (1:39-45),

"Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

As St. Ambrose points out for us (from the Catena Aurea of St. Thomas Aquinas):

"Elizabeth was the first to hear her voice; but John was the first to be aware of the divine favour. She heard in the natural manner; he leaped for joy because of the Mystery. She sees Mary's coming; he the Coming of the Lord."

Speaking of Mystery, this song was recently posted on the New Liturgical Movement's site. It is so beautiful that I felt that I had to share it. Additionally, I believe it goes perfectly with today's Gospel. I pray that it inspires you to give praise to Our Lord and His Blessed Mother as it did for me.

O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum jacentem in praesepio.
O beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Jesum Christum. Alleluia!

O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament,
that the animals should see the new-born Lord lying in a manger.
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia

Veni Veni Emmanuel

Today begins the O Antiphons during Vespers. Read about them here.

Sunday Inspiration - Gaudete Sunday

Today is Gaudete Sunday, the day during this time of Advent when we joyously look forward to what this whole season is leading to: Christ coming into the world. For this reason, the Priest and Deacon put on Rose colored vestments. As Pius Parsch tells us, "The Church modifies her colors; instead of violet she uses rose, a softened hue of violet and thus a compromise between the colors symbolizing penance and joy." In the Gospel reading we hear St. John the Baptist telling us that one mightier than himself is coming to baptize us with the Holy Spirit.

We also hear from St. Paul today; his words guiding us to joyful preparation for the coming of the Lord (Phil 4:4-7):

"Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

One thing that I believe is something to rejoice about is the Church that Christ created here on earth. With all of the negative things said about the Church, and sometimes done by members of the Church, it is easy for people to have a negative view of it. The tradition of the Church, however, is so rich, so beautiful, and so alive. We need not forget that; in fact, we need to celebrate that.

Over at the blog The Hermeneutic of Continuity, Fr. Tim Finigan recently posted the video I have below. It is a trailer for a film project known as The Catholic Project. Here is the description from their You Tube channel: "Join Fr. Robert Barron on a journey across the planet and deep into the faith. CATHOLICISM is a breakthrough documentary series presenting the true story of Christianity and the Catholic faith." This film is due to be released in 2010. The trailer for this project is truly inspiring.



I pray today that you will be inspired by and rejoice in all of the beauty and tradition that the Church offers us, from the scripture to the liturgy, from the sights to the sounds, by all that Our Lord has blessed us with.

December 12 - Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas. The story of the miraculous image shown above took place in 1531. In that year, near what is now Mexico City, St. Juan Diego was visited by the Blessed Mother who told him to build a church there to lead people closer to her Son. As proof of her visit with him, she left this image imprinted on his cloak.

Today the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe stands near Mexico City at the site of this event. You can see pictures of the church here.

At this time, as we are preparing for the coming of Our Lord, whom the Blessed Virgin Mary aided in bringing us, let us join together in asking for her intercession on our behalf:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.

Vestments

A few weeks ago on the Feast of Christ the King, the priest and deacon at my parish wore a wonderful set of gold vestments made in the 1930's. They were absolutely beautiful and in my opinion enhanced the liturgy by their beauty. This was on my mind recently when I read a few different posts on the New Liturgical Movement about vestments and liturgical colors for Advent. I thought I'd share these with you, as well as a couple of other blogs that focus on vestments. Before checking out these sites, though, I would like to suggest that you read this short comment made by Shawn Tribe of the NLM:

"At times, considerations such as these bring forth a certain subset of people who believe that it is objectionable to ponder these matters -- what they sometimes reduce to being mere "fashion" considerations. Here I would simply make note that vestments are another branch of the sacred arts and we should not be reductionistic and secularize our considerations of them. Their symbolism, their dignity and beauty are equally as pertinent to the matter of the sacred liturgy as the matter of sacred architecture, music, painting or sculpture; they too can be bearers of the sacred, lending to (or, indeed, taking away from) our liturgical worship. We should indeed give them thought then, considering what does and does not lend to the dignity and gravitas of the liturgical rites; the rites in which the Church offers her public worship to God, and where we give our public witness and expression to that divine worship."

With that said, the New Liturgical Movement's posts focused on the liturgical colors of blue and rose, both interesting to consider because of their very limited use. Blue, apparently, is only allowed to be used in certain places, namely Spain. I must say that after viewing the pictures posted on the site, I kind of wish that Blue was accepted everywhere! Here is one of their pictures from Málaga, Spain:

Rose is also a rarely seen liturgical color, as it is only used once each during Advent and Lent. This upcoming Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, the day during Advent when Rose is permitted, so be on the lookout!

Finally, just for fun, here are a couple of sites to check out regarding vestments:

Dappled Photos is a site dedicated to "Catholic ceremonial vesture and objects." I believe I have linked to their site in past posts, but thought it would be appropriate to bring up again.

Last (and maybe least), is a humorous site called Bad Vestments. This site has photos of some strange looking vestments. A bit different than what NLM features, but fun to look at, at least once.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"Today's feast emphasizes primarily the extraordinary fullness of grace granted to Mary in the first moment of her conception. We likewise celebrate her exalted prerogative of being the only person who through the merits of Jesus Christ was preserved from every stain of original sin.

"In its origin and purpose today's feast has no relation to Advent. It was placed on December 8 simply to complete the needed nine month period before September 8, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, the feast redily lends itself to Advent themes. During the time when we are awaiting the Savior, when we are striving to arouse in ourselves a deep consciousness of the need for redemption, when we lovingly look up to Mary as our chiefest model, then indeed does this feast seem like the golden dawn before the rising sun of Christmas. December 8, therefore, is a genuine Advent feast."

-From The Church's Year of Grace by Pius Parsch

Hail Mary,

Full of Grace,

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruitof thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners now,

and at the hour of death.
Amen.

The Week Ahead - Keeping Up With All The Feasts

There are a number of important feast days in the upcoming week. I would like to make posts about each one, but I am predicting that I will not end up having the time due to this being a very busy week for me. I will try, but I figured that, just in case, I would write one quick post here mentioning them and encourage everyone to take some time each day to observe the celebrations of these Holy men and women.

Monday, December 7th is the Feast of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

Tuesday, December 8th is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation in the United States.

Wednesday, December 9th is the Feast of Blessed Juan Diego, the man to whom Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared.

Saturday, December 12th is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas.

A great way to keep up with all of these wonderful feast days is to check out the website Catholic Culture. Visit their site and click the link "Liturgical Year" at the top of the homepage. They have tons of great information about the liturgical celebrations of the Church. One feature I especially like on their site is their "Things To Do" section for some feast days. They give ideas for ways of celebrating the feast days, including cultural traditions, links to websites, and even recipes.

Another great way to keep up with all of these Feasts is to have a book, such as a Lives of the Saints book to read daily. I have been very lucky lately to obtain a couple of great books that have a vast amount of information about the Church's liturgical traditions. Both of the books are pretty old, so they may not be easy to acquire, but if you can get your hands on them, I would highly recommend them.

The first is titled Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs; The Year of the Lord in Liturgy and Folklore by Francis X. Weiser. Originally published in 1952, my copy was printed in 1958. It is filled with historical and cultural facts about the Church's liturgical celebrations.

The second is the first volume of the set of books called The Church's Year of Grace by Dr. Pius Parsch. A good friend recently gave me this book. I haven't read much of it yet, but I can tell you that it has a ton of great information about the Church's liturgical life. The volume I have spans from Advent to Candlemas. Each day has its own entry with information about the prayers and mass for the day. It does, of course, not follow the modern Roman calendar exactly since it was written before the Second Vatican Council, but the information it contains is still wonderful.

I believe that we as Catholics are called to more than just attending mass on Sundays. We need to be a part of the liturgical life of the Church, which will lead us, as St. Paul exhorted us, to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). By observing the feasts of the Church and sharing the traditions of the Church with our families, we will be learning more about our faith and strengthening our relationship with Our Lord.

Have a great week!

Sunday Inspiration - Second Sunday of Advent

In today's Gospel, we hear about St. John the Baptist fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah:

"a voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled: and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight; and the rough ways plain; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

In this time of Avent, as we eagerly await the coming of Our Lord, we need to be the John the Baptists of today, crying out in the wilderness of our modern society, sharing the Gospel and preparing the way of the Lord.

As Pope St. Gregory the Great said, "Everyone that preaches true faith and good works, what does he do but prepare the way of the Lord so that He may come into the hearts of his hearers, and may make straight the path for God, forming right dispositions within them by the words of his exhortations, so that this power of pardon may enter in there, and the light of truth shine there?"

Let us not cease in praying and preaching the Gospel until that day when all flesh knows of the salvation that God offers through His Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Feast of St. Nicholas

December 6th is normally the Feast day of St. Nicholas. Since this year the 6th is actually the Second Sunday of Advent, I believe (someone correct me if I am wrong) that his feast is not actually celebrated. Even so, I still thought I might write a short post about this well-known saint.

St. Nicholas was the bishop of Myra in Asia Minor and died around 350. He is a very popular saint throughout the world, especially in the Eastern Churches.

In his book, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, Francis X. Weiser tells us this about the traditions of the Feast of St. Nicholas:

"In many parts of Europe children still receive his 'visit' on the eve of his feast. Impersonated by a man wearing a long white beard, dressed in the vestments of a bishop, with miter and crozier, he appears in the homes as a heavenly messenger. Coming at the start of Advent, he admonishes the children to prepare their hearts for a blessed and holy Christmas. He examines them on their prayers. After exhorting them to be good, he distributes fruit and candy and departs with a kindly farewell, leaving the little ones filled with holy awe.

"It was this 'visit of Saint Nicholas' on December 5 that the Dutch brought to the New World as an annual cherished custom. From it later developed the American custom of Santa Claus's visit at Christmas."

I must say that I personally prefer the traditional celebration of this feast day in which St. Nicholas helps us to prepare for Christmas, rather than Santa Claus being the most important part of Christmas.

Why not start this tradition of celebrating the Feast of St. Nicholas with your family?

Finally, just for fun, here is a video I recently came across related to St. Nicholas: