Thank You Lord!

Almighty God, I thank and praise you for all the graces, mercies, and blessing that have adorned my path this past year. I also thank you for the events that shook me and made my grasp on you tighter. I thank you for the lessons I’ve learnt and the falls that brought me to my knees before your throne. Thank you for the happy moments that have etched my life’s diary.

Thank you for the relationships that remind me of your everlasting love. Thank you for all the joy and laughter that brightens my world. Thank you for unending hope that keeps my gaze fixed on you. Thank you for the love and support of those dearest to me. Thank you for the love I receive and the love I share.

Lord, thank you for your peace that sustains me amidst all chaos. Yes, Lord for serenity during the raging storms. Thank you for being the hull that keeps me afloat through trouble waters. Thank you for being the rudder at decisive times. Thank you for giving me a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Thank you for the ability to rise above despair and walk in fullness of joy. Thank you for intervening on my behalf and turning curses into blessings. With you O Lord, I am more than a conqueror. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that guides and counsels me. Thank you for sending me people for ministry. Thank you for flooding my mind with thoughts of eternal happiness. Thank you for being the Light in my darkest hour and foggiest days.

I thank you Lord for opening the floodgates of heaven and pouring out abundant blessings. Thank you for my cup of happiness always runs over. Thank you for carrying me onwards when my feet seem too heavy to move. Thank you for always providing all my needs in accordance with your riches in glory. You O Lord have been faithful to me. You have been my closest friend. You let me know you care. And now I rest knowing I’ll never be alone for you have always been there.

Amen


~Olivia

Copyright© 2011 All rights reserved

These Are The Last Days (1 John 2:18)

"We know from this that these are the last days." (1 John 2:18)

Finally we have made it to the last day of the year. In a few hours a New Year will dawn on the dark horizon of a dying 2011. For some this passing year might have been memorable, for others maybe melancholic. It depends on how we spent our days. Maybe this year had moments we would love to cling onto, or traumatic regrets, whatever it maybe, it’s passing away! Yet we don’t know what the coming year will hold. But whatever the future has in store for us, we know that darkness will never overcome the light of Christ! As Scripture says, “The light has come into the world, and the darkness cannot overcome it” (John 1:5).

The first reading starts with a frightful warning, “these are the last days” and again, “we know from this that these are the last days.” Yet the reading affirms that we as a community have the perfect knowledge of the truth. And what is this truth? The answer lies in today’s Gospel passage, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh and He lived among us.” Jesus Christ, the Word of God, has existed since even before the beginning of creation. “Through Him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him” (John 1:3). Stay focused on Christ for he is the eternal constant in our lives, outlasting every evil the world could ever devise. There will be ups and downs in life, sometimes when things are going well, tragedy can strike. However, remember that God has enfolded us in his plan and He is closest to us in moments like these. Have faith, and trust his eternal wisdom to carry you through the challenges that lie ahead.

On this last day of the year, spend time with the Lord. Go to him in adoration. Today’s psalm says, “Bless his name” (Psalm 96:2). So, thank Him for his blessings, graces and mercies. Thank Him for all the good things that happened, and the events that made you stronger. Thank Him for being there through your darkest days. Thank Him for friends, family, and neighbours. Thank Him for good health, employment and all sources of income. Thank Him for always providing for your needs. Thank Him for never letting you down. Thank Him especially for coming to know the One true God. Thank Him for sending his Son Jesus to save us. Now, with a sincere heart ask God for forgiveness of sins of commission and sins of omission, for doubting his presence and not trusting him completely. And as one year ends and another begins, may we always remember that we are children of a loving Father and his Spirit that dwells in us will lead us on the right path.



“Heavenly Father, I can never thank you enough for all your blessings and grace upon grace bestowed on me. Without your good Spirit life itself, would cease to exist. I thank you for your son Jesus, who came into the world to save a sinner like me.”

Litany of the Holy Family

Litany of the Holy Family

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

("Pray for us" is repeated as indicated by "...")

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, ...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, most worthy of our veneration, ...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, called “the Holy Family” from all time, ...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, son, mother, and head of the Holy Family, ...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, divine child, pure spouse, and chaste spouse, ...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, restorers of fallen families, ...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, image of the Blessed Trinity here on earth, ...
Holy Family, tested by the greatest of difficulties, ...
Holy Family, with much suffering on the journey to Bethlehem, ...
Holy Family, without a welcome in Bethlehem, ...
Holy Family, visited by the poor shepherds, ...
Holy Family, obliged to live in a stable, ...
Holy Family, praised by the Angels, ...
Holy Family, venerated by the wise men from the East, ...
Holy Family, greeted by the pious Simeon in the temple, ...
Holy Family, persecuted and exiled to a foreign country, ...
Holy Family, hidden and unknown in Nazareth, ...
Holy Family, faithful in the observance of divine laws, ...
Holy Family, perfect model of the Christian family, ...
Holy Family, center of peace and concord, ...
Holy Family, whose protector is a model of paternal care, ...
Holy Family, whose mother is a model of maternal diligence, ...
Holy Family, whose Divine Child is a model of filial obedience, ...
Holy Family, poor in material goods, but rich in divine blessings, ...
Holy Family, as nothing in the eyes of men, but so great in heaven, ...
Holy Family, our support in life and our hope in death, ...
Holy Family, patron and protector of our Congregation, ...

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

Let us pray.
O God of infinite goodness and kindness, who has deigned to call us to this Congregation, give us the grace to venerate Jesus, Mary and Joseph, so that, imitating them in this life, we may enjoy with them the life to come. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Holy Family Prayer

For the Protection of the Holy Family

Grant unto us, Lord Jesus, ever to follow the example of Thy holy Family, that in the hour of our death Thy glorious Virgin Mother together with blessed Joseph may come to meet us and we may be worthily received by Thee into everlasting dwellings: who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

The Holy Family Prayer

JESUS, Son of God and Son of Mary, bless our family. Graciously inspire in us the unity, peace, and mutual love that you found in your own family in the little town of Nazareth.

MARY, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, nourish our family with your faith and your love. Keep us close to your Son, Jesus, in all our sorrows and joys.

JOSEPH, Foster-father to Jesus, guardian and spouse of Mary, keep our family safe from harm. Help us in all times of discouragement or anxiety.

HOLY FAMILY OF NAZARETH, make our family one with you. Help us to be instruments of peace. Grant that love, strengthened by grace, may prove mightier than all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass. May we always have God at the center of our hearts and homes until we are all one family, happy and at peace in our true home with you. Amen.

Invocation to the Holy Family

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph most kind,
Bless us now and in death's agony.

Consecration to the Holy Family

Consecration to the Holy Family

O Jesus, our most loving Redeemer, who having come to enlighten the world with Thy teaching and example, didst will to pass the greater part of Thy life in humility and subjection to Mary and Joseph in the poor home in Nazareth, thus sanctifying the Family that was to be an example for all Christian families, graciously receive our family as it dedicates and consecrates itself to Thee this day. Do Thou defend us, guard us and establish amongst us Thy holy fear, true peace, and concord in Christian love: in order that, by conforming ourselves to the divine pattern of Thy family, we may be able, all of us without exception, to attain to eternal happiness.

Mary, dear Mother of Jesus and Mother of us, by thy kindly intercession make this our humble offering acceptable in the sight of Jesus, and obtain for us His graces and blessings.

O Saint Joseph, most holy guardian of Jesus and Mary, assist us by thy prayers in all our spiritual and temporal necessities; that so we may be enabled to praise our divine Savior Jesus, together with Mary and thee, for all eternity.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be (three times each)

The Holy Family is a model of life

The Gospel according to Luke recounts that when the shepherds of Bethlehem had received the Angel's announcement of the Messiah’s birth "they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger" (2:16). The first eyewitnesses of Jesus’ birth therefore beheld a family scene: a mother, a father and a newborn son. For this reason the Liturgy has us celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family on the First Sunday after Christmas. This year it occurred the very day after Christmas, and, taking precedence over the Feast of St Stephen, invites us to contemplate this "icon" in which the little Jesus appears at the centre of his parents’ affection and care.

In the poor grotto of Bethlehem — the Fathers of the Church wrote — shines a very bright light, a reflection of the profound mystery which envelopes that Child, which Mary and Joseph cherish in their hearts and which can be seen in their expression, in their actions, and especially in their silence. Indeed, they preserve in their inmost depths the words of the Angel's Annunciation to Mary: "the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God" (Lk 1:35).

Yet every child's birth brings something of this mystery with it! Parents who receive a child as a gift know this well and often speak of it in this way. We have all heard people say to a father and a mother: "this child is a gift, a miracle!". Indeed, human beings do not experience procreation merely as a reproductive act but perceive its richness and intuit that every human creature who is born on earth is the "sign" par excellence of the Creator and Father who is in Heaven.

How important it is, therefore, that every child coming into the world be welcomed by the warmth of a family! External comforts do not matter: Jesus was born in a stable and had a manger as his first cradle, but the love of Mary and of Joseph made him feel the tenderness and beauty of being loved. Children need this: the love of their father and mother. It is this that gives them security and, as they grow, enables them to discover the meaning of life. The Holy Family of Nazareth went through many trials, such as the "massacre of the innocents" — as recounted in the Gospel according to Matthew — which obliged Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt (cf. 2:13-23). Yet, trusting in divine Providence, they found their stability and guaranteed Jesus a serene childhood and a sound upbringing.

The Holy Family is of course unique and unrepeatable, but at the same time it is a "model of life" for every family because Jesus, true man, chose to be born into a human family and thereby blessed and consecrated it. Let us therefore entrust all families to Our Lady and to St. Joseph, so that they do not lose heart in the face of trials and difficulties but always cultivate conjugal love and devote themselves with trust to the service of life and education.

~Pope Benedict XVI
(26 Dec.2010)

Nazareth, the simple yet profound school

The example of Nazareth

Nazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ’s life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God’s Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning. And gradually we may even learn to imitate him.

Here we can learn to realise who Christ really is. And here we can sense and take account of the conditions and circumstances that surrounded and affected his life on earth: the places, the tenor of the times, the culture, the language, religious customs, in brief, everything which Jesus used to make himself known to the world. Here everything speaks to us, everything has meaning. Here we can learn the importance of spiritual discipline for all who wish to follow Christ and to live by the teachings of his Gospel.

How I would like to return to my childhood and attend the simple yet profound school that is Nazareth! How wonderful to be close to Mary, learning again the lesson of the true meaning of life, learning again God’s truths. But here we are only on pilgrimage. Time presses and I must set aside my desire to stay and carry on my education in the Gospel, for that education is never finished. But I cannot leave without recalling, briefly and in passing; some thoughts I take with me from Nazareth.

First, we learn from its silence. If only we could once again appreciate its great value. We need this wonderful state of mind, beset as we are by the cacophony of strident protests and conflicting claims so characteristic of these turbulent times. The silence of Nazareth should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, to reflect on the deeply spiritual, and to be open to the voice of God’s inner wisdom and the counsel of his true teachers. Nazareth can teach us the value of study and preparation, of meditation, of a well-ordered personal spiritual life, and of silent prayer that is known only to God.

Second, we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family’s holy and enduring character and exemplify its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings, in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children – and for this there is no substitute.

Finally, in Nazareth, the home of a craftsman’s son, we learn about work and the discipline it entails. I would especially like to recognise its value – demanding yet redeeming – and to give it proper respect. I would remind everyone that work has its own dignity. On the other hand, it is not an end in itself. Its value and free character, however, derive not only from its place in the economic system, as they say, but rather from the purpose it serves.

In closing, may I express my deep regard for people everywhere who work for a living. To them I would point out their great model, Christ their brother, our Lord and God, who is their prophet in every cause that promotes their well being


~ Pope Paul VI

A Light to enlighten the pagans (Luke 2:32)

"The Holy Spirit was upon him." (Luke 2:25)

Does the way God works ever surprise you? If not, read this pas­sage more closely. No doubt, Simeon was surprised when he came to the Temple that day, saw Jesus, and was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was the unexpected fulfill­ment of a long-awaited prophecy that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. We might be a bit sur­prised too if we realize that Simeon became a “Spirit-filled” believer while Jesus was still an infant, well before the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles at Pentecost.

Simeon certainly wasn't the only figure in the New Testament who was touched by the Spirit outside of normal channels. Cornelius, a centurion from Rome, was an up­right and God-fearing man who had not been baptized nor heard the complete gospel, yet the Spirit fell on him and he began to praise God and speak in tongues (Acts 10:44-46)! There are dozens of Old Testament figures as well whom the Spirit used powerfully: Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, David, and Daniel, not to mention the prophets—all before the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost!

God is not bound by our lim­ited expectations or by our opinion of how he should act. It can be easy to fall into a trap of thinking that he works only in certain ways, or only for those who are spiritually “ma­ture.” Often, however, he is waiting for us to admit our weakness and to cry out: "I can't do it, Lord!" before he will move. Humility is the key, for it is only when we are weak that we are open to his strength. It is only when we see our need that we are able to surrender to his Spirit.

Christmas Day may have passed, but God still wants to bless us— maybe even surprise us with an unexpected outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What do you really need? Maybe you know someone with a serious illness who needs healing. Maybe you've been praying for years that a relative would give his or her heart to the Lord. Or maybe you are hoping for victory over a sinful area that keeps tripping you up. Don't box God in. Instead, expect the un­expected—just as Simeon did.


"Holy Spirit, thank you for showing me your love. I give you my whole heart, and I believe that you can move any mountain in my life!"

The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

When the Magi from the east did not return to Jerusalem from Bethlehem to inform Herod about the newborn King but rather, at the angel's command, returned to their homeland another way, Herod became as enraged as a wild beast and ordered all the children two years old and under in Bethlehem and its surroundings to be killed.

This frightening command of the king was carried out to the letter. His soldiers beheaded some of the children with swords, smashed others against stones, trampled others underfoot, and strangled others with their hands. And the cries and wails of the mothers rose to heaven, lamentation, and bitter weeping; "Rachel weeping for her children" (Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:18), as had been prophesied.

This crime against the multitude of innocent children was carried out a year after the birth of Christ, at the time when Herod was seeking to find the Divine Child. He asked Zacharias about his son John, so that he might kill him, since he naturally thought that John was the new king. As Zacharias did not turn John over, he was slain in the Temple by order of Herod. St. Symeon the God-Receiver would also have been murdered soon after the Presentation in the Temple, had he not already reposed in God.

After murdering the children of Bethlehem, Herod turned against the Jewish elders who had revealed to him where the Messiah would be born. He then killed Hyrcanes, the high priest, and the seventy elders of the Sanhedrin. Thus, they who had agreed with Herod that the new Child-king must be killed came to an evil end. After that, Herod murdered his brother, sister, wife and three sons.

Finally, God's punishment came to him: he began to tremble, his legs became swollen, the lower part of his body became putrid, and worms came out of the sores; his nose became blocked and an unbearable stench emanated from him. Before his last breath, he remembered that there were many captive Jews in prison, and he ordered that they all be killed so that they would not rejoice in his death. Thus, this terrible ruler gave up his inhuman soul and handed it over to the devil for eternal possession.

~ St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Saint John, Apostle, Evangelist

St. John the Apostle was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James the Great. They were originally fishermen. He was first a disciple of John the Baptist before he was called by the Lord to be an Apostle. John and his brother James were often referred to “Boanerges” translated “Sons of thunder” by the Lord.

According to Scripture John was present during most of the recorded miracles of Jesus. He was there at the healing of Peter's mother-in-law (Mark1, 29), and at the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5, 37; Luke 8, 51). He was also present, at the Transfiguration of our Lord, and again, in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26, 37; Mark 14, 33). James and John are specifically mentioned as being present at one of the post-resurrection appearances (John 21, 2), on the lakeshore of Tiberias; and among those gathered in the upper room after the Ascension (Acts 1, 13). He was the so called ‘beloved disciple of the Lord’ who did not forsake Jesus in his Passion, but stood beside Him while he hung on the Cross.

The Church Fathers generally identify him as the author of several New Testament works: the Gospel of John, the Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation. All three are very different in nature from the synoptic gospels. For one, the author of Revelation identifies himself as "John" several times, but the author of the Gospel of John never identifies himself directly. Some scholars state that "vocabulary, grammar, and style make it doubtful that the book could have been put into its present form by the same person(s) responsible for the fourth gospel. Hence there is an on-going scholarly debate.

However, Roman Catholic tradition states that after the Assumption, John went to Ephesus and from there wrote the three epistles traditionally attributed to him. John was allegedly banished by the Roman authorities to the Greek island of Patmos, where some believe that he wrote the Book of Revelation. According to Tertullian (in The Prescription of Heretics) John was banished (presumably to Patmos) after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it. It is said that all in the entire Colosseum audience were converted to Christianity upon witnessing this miracle. This event would have occurred during the reign of Domitian, a Roman emperor who was known for his persecution of Christians in the late 1st century.

Tradition as has it that when John was en route to preach in Asia, his ship was wrecked in a storm; all but John were cast ashore. John was assumed dead, but two weeks later the waves cast him ashore alive at the feet of his disciple Prochoros (the Deacon).

Another story says that when John denounced idol worship as demonic, followers of Artemis stoned him; the rocks turned and hit the throwers.

When John was aged, he trained St. Polycarp who later became Bishop of Smyrna. This was important because Polycarp was able to carry John's message to future generations. Polycarp taught St. Irenaeus, and passed on to him stories about John. In Against Heresies, Irenaeus relates how Polycarp told a story of 'John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, "Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within." '

It is traditionally believed that John survived his contemporary apostles and lived to an extreme old age, dying naturally at Ephesus in about AD 100. John's traditional tomb is thought to be located at Selçuk, a small town in the vicinity of Ephesus (modern day Turkey), where it is believed that once a year his grave gives off a fragrant dust that cures the sick. A church was built over his tomb, but was later converted to a mosque.

In art, John as the presumed author of the Gospel is often depicted with an eagle, which symbolizes the height he rose to in the first chapter of his gospel. In Orthodox icons, he is often depicted looking up into heaven and dictating his Gospel (or the Book of Revelation) to his disciple, traditionally named St. Prochorus (the deacon).

Honored in: - All Christianity

Feast: - December 27 (Western Christianity) September 26 & May 8 (Eastern Christianity)

Attributes: - book, a serpent in a chalice, cauldron, eagle

Patronage: - Authors, burns, poisoning, theologians, publishers, booksellers, editors, friendships, and painters.

"Tomb of St. John the Apostle"

Pope's Message Urbi et Orbi, 2011

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI

CHRISTMAS 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world!

Christ is born for us! Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to the men and women whom he loves. May all people hear an echo of the message of Bethlehem which the Catholic Church repeats in every continent, beyond the confines of every nation, language and culture. The Son of the Virgin Mary is born for everyone; he is the Saviour of all.

This is how Christ is invoked in an ancient liturgical antiphon [The final O Antiphon]: "O Emmanuel, our king and lawgiver, hope and salvation of the peoples: come to save us, O Lord our God". Veni ad salvandum nos! Come to save us! This is the cry raised by men and women in every age, who sense that by themselves they cannot prevail over difficulties and dangers. They need to put their hands in a greater and stronger hand, a hand which reaches out to them from on high. Dear brothers and sisters, this hand is Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. He is the hand that God extends to humanity, to draw us out of the mire of sin and to set us firmly on rock, the secure rock of his Truth and his Love (cf. Ps 40:2).

This is the meaning of the Child's name, the name which, by God’s will, Mary and Joseph gave him: he is named Jesus, which means "Saviour" (cf. Mt 1:21; Lk 1:31). He was sent by God the Father to save us above all from the evil deeply rooted in man and in history: the evil of separation from God, the prideful presumption of being self-sufficient, of trying to compete with God and to take his place, to decide what is good and evil, to be the master of life and death (cf. Gen 3:1-7). This is the great evil, the great sin, from which we human beings cannot save ourselves unless we rely on God’s help, unless we cry out to him: "Veni ad salvandum nos! – Come to save us!"

The very fact that we cry to heaven in this way already sets us aright; it makes us true to ourselves: we are in fact those who cried out to God and were saved (cf. Esth [LXX] 10:3ff.). God is the Saviour; we are those who are in peril. He is the physician; we are the infirm. To realize this is the first step towards salvation, towards emerging from the maze in which we have been locked by our pride. To lift our eyes to heaven, to stretch out our hands and call for help is our means of escape, provided that there is Someone who hears us and can come to our assistance.

Jesus Christ is the proof that God has heard our cry. And not only this! God's love for us is so strong that he cannot remain aloof; he comes out of himself to enter into our midst and to share fully in our human condition (cf. Ex 3:7-12). The answer to our cry which God gave in Jesus infinitely transcends our expectations, achieving a solidarity which cannot be human alone, but divine. Only the God who is love, and the love which is God, could choose to save us in this way, which is certainly the lengthiest way, yet the way which respects the truth about him and about us: the way of reconciliation, dialogue and cooperation.

Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, on this Christmas 2011, let us then turn to the Child of Bethlehem, to the Son of the Virgin Mary, and say: "Come to save us!" Let us repeat these words in spiritual union with the many people who experience particularly difficult situations; let us speak out for those who have no voice.

Together let us ask God’s help for the peoples of the Horn of Africa, who suffer from hunger and food shortages, aggravated at times by a persistent state of insecurity. May the international community not fail to offer assistance to the many displaced persons coming from that region and whose dignity has been sorely tried.

May the Lord grant comfort to the peoples of South-East Asia, particularly Thailand and the Philippines, who are still enduring grave hardships as a result of the recent floods.

May the Lord come to the aid of our world torn by so many conflicts which even today stain the earth with blood. May the Prince of Peace grant peace and stability to that Land where he chose to come into the world, and encourage the resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. May he bring an end to the violence in Syria, where so much blood has already been shed. May he foster full reconciliation and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan. May he grant renewed vigour to all elements of society in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East as they strive to advance the common good.

May the birth of the Saviour support the prospects of dialogue and cooperation in Myanmar, in the pursuit of shared solutions. May the Nativity of the Redeemer ensure political stability to the countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and assist the people of South Sudan in their commitment to safeguarding the rights of all citizens.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us turn our gaze anew to the grotto of Bethlehem. The Child whom we contemplate is our salvation! He has brought to the world a universal message of reconciliation and peace. Let us open our hearts to him; let us receive him into our lives. Once more let us say to him, with joy and confidence: "Veni ad salvandum nos!"

Mad Cow

Saint Stephen, the first Martyr

The armour of love

Yesterday we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal King. Today we celebrate the triumphant suffering of his soldier.

Yesterday our king, clothed in his robe of flesh, left his place in the virgin’s womb and graciously visited the world. Today his soldier leaves the tabernacle of his body and goes triumphantly to heaven.

Our king, despite his exalted majesty, came in humility for our sake; yet he did not come empty-handed. He brought his soldiers a great gift that not only enriched them but also made them unconquerable in battle, for it was the gift of love, which was to bring men to share in his divinity. He gave of his bounty, yet without any loss to himself. In a marvellous way he changed into wealth the poverty of his faithful followers while remaining in full possession of his own inexhaustible riches.

And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth raised Stephen from earth to heaven; shown first in the king, it later shone forth in his soldier. Love was Stephen’s weapon by which he gained every battle, and so won the crown signified by his name. His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob; his love for his neighbour made him pray for those who were stoning him. Love inspired him to reprove those who erred, to make them amend; love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment. Strengthened by the power of his love, he overcame the raging cruelty of Saul and won his persecutor on earth as his companion in heaven. In his holy and tireless love he longed to gain by prayer those whom he could not convert by admonition.

Now at last, Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he delights in the glory of Christ, with Stephen he exalts, with Stephen he reigns. Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul, but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen. This, surely, is the true life, my brothers, a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen’s death, and Stephen delights in Paul’s companionship, for love fills them both with joy. It was Stephen’s love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob, and it was Paul’s love that covered the multitude of his sins; it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of heaven.

Love, indeed, is the source of all good things; it is an impregnable defence,- and the way that leads to heaven. He who walks in love can neither go astray nor be afraid: love guides him, protects him, and brings him to his journey’s end.

My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven. Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it, and by your progress in it, make your ascent together.

~St Fulgentius of Ruspe

Christmas Mass at the Vatican

Christmas Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec.24, 2011. ~Getty Images.

Urbi et Orbi, 2011

Pope Benedict XVI delivers the 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's basilica at the Vatican on December 25, 2011.
~Getty Images

Pope lights the candle, 24 Dec 2011

Pope Benedict XVI lights a candle in his private window, at the end of the unveiling ceremony of the crib at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on December 24, 2011. Later the Pope celebrated the Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica for the nativity of the Lord.
~ Getty Images

Nativity of the Lord, Pope's Homily, Midnight Mass 2011

MIDNIGHT MASS


SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Saint Peter's Basilica
24 December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word “apparuit”, which then comes back again in the reading at the Dawn Mass: apparuit – “there has appeared”.  This is a programmatic word, by which the Church seeks to express synthetically the essence of Christmas.  Formerly, people had spoken of God and formed human images of him in all sorts of different ways.  God himself had spoken in many and various ways to mankind (cf. Heb 1:1 – Mass during the Day).  But now something new has happened: he has appeared.  He has revealed himself.  He has emerged from the inaccessible light in which he dwells.  He himself has come into our midst.  This was the great joy of Christmas for the early Church: God has appeared.  No longer is he merely an idea, no longer do we have to form a picture of him on the basis of mere words.  He has “appeared”.  But now we ask: how has he appeared?  Who is he in reality?  The reading at the Dawn Mass goes on to say: “the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” (Tit 3:4).  For the people of pre-Christian times, whose response to the terrors and contradictions of the world was to fear that God himself might not be good either, that he too might well be cruel and arbitrary, this was a real “epiphany”, the great light that has appeared to us: God is pure goodness.  Today too, people who are no longer able to recognize God through faith are asking whether the ultimate power that underpins and sustains the world is truly good, or whether evil is just as powerful and primordial as the good and the beautiful which we encounter in radiant moments in our world.  “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed”: this is the new, consoling certainty that is granted to us at Christmas.

In all three Christmas Masses, the liturgy quotes a passage from the Prophet Isaiah, which describes the epiphany that took place at Christmas in greater detail: “A child is born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.  Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end” (Is 9:5f.).  Whether the prophet had a particular child in mind, born during his own period of history, we do not know.  But it seems impossible.  This is the only text in the Old Testament in which it is said of a child, of a human being: his name will be Mighty-God, Eternal-Father.  We are presented with a vision that extends far beyond the historical moment into the mysterious, into the future.  A child, in all its weakness, is Mighty God.  A child, in all its neediness and dependence, is Eternal Father.  And his peace “has no end”.  The prophet had previously described the child as “a great light” and had said of the peace he would usher in that the rod of the oppressor, the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood would be burned (Is 9:1, 3-4).

God has appeared – as a child.  It is in this guise that he pits himself against all violence and brings a message that is peace.  At this hour, when the world is continually threatened by violence in so many places and in so many different ways, when over and over again there are oppressors’ rods and bloodstained cloaks, we cry out to the Lord: O mighty God, you have appeared as a child and you have revealed yourself to us as the One who loves us, the One through whom love will triumph.  And you have shown us that we must be peacemakers with you.  We love your childish estate, your powerlessness, but we suffer from the continuing presence of violence in the world, and so we also ask you: manifest your power, O God.  In this time of ours, in this world of ours, cause the oppressors’ rods, the cloaks rolled in blood and the footgear of battle to be burned, so that your peace may triumph in this world of ours.

Christmas is an epiphany – the appearing of God and of his great light in a child that is born for us.  Born in a stable in Bethlehem, not in the palaces of kings.  In 1223, when Saint Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas in Greccio with an ox and an ass and a manger full of hay, a new dimension of the mystery of Christmas came to light.  Saint Francis of Assisi called Christmas “the feast of feasts” – above all other feasts – and he celebrated it with “unutterable devotion” (2 Celano 199; Fonti Francescane, 787).  He kissed images of the Christ-child with great devotion and he stammered tender words such as children say, so Thomas of Celano tells us  (ibid.).  For the early Church, the feast of feasts was Easter: in the Resurrection Christ had flung open the doors of death and in so doing had radically changed the world: he had made a place for man in God himself.  Now, Francis neither changed nor intended to change this objective order of precedence among the feasts, the inner structure of the faith centred on the Paschal Mystery.  And yet through him and the character of his faith, something new took place: Francis discovered Jesus’ humanity in an entirely new depth.  This human existence of God became most visible to him at the moment when God’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.  The Resurrection presupposes the Incarnation.  For God’s Son to take the form of a child, a truly human child, made a profound impression on the heart of the Saint of Assisi, transforming faith into love.  “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” – this phrase of Saint Paul now acquired an entirely new depth.  In the child born in the stable at Bethlehem, we can as it were touch and caress God.  And so the liturgical year acquired a second focus in a feast that is above all a feast of the heart.

This has nothing to do with sentimentality.  It is right here, in this new experience of the reality of Jesus’ humanity that the great mystery of faith is revealed.  Francis loved the child Jesus, because for him it was in this childish estate that God’s humility shone forth.  God became poor.  His Son was born in the poverty of the stable.  In the child Jesus, God made himself dependent, in need of human love, he put himself in the position of asking for human love – our love.  Today Christmas has become a commercial celebration, whose bright lights hide the mystery of God’s humility, which in turn calls us to humility and simplicity.  Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light.

Francis arranged for Mass to be celebrated on the manger that stood between the ox and the ass (cf. 1 Celano 85; Fonti 469).  Later, an altar was built over this manger, so that where animals had once fed on hay, men could now receive the flesh of the spotless lamb Jesus Christ, for the salvation of soul and body, as Thomas of Celano tells us (cf. 1 Celano 87; Fonti 471).  Francis himself, as a deacon, had sung the Christmas Gospel on the holy night in Greccio with resounding voice.  Through the friars’ radiant Christmas singing, the whole celebration seemed to be a great outburst of joy (1 Celano 85.86; Fonti 469, 470).  It was the encounter with God’s humility that caused this joy – his goodness creates the true feast.

Today, anyone wishing to enter the Church of Jesus’ Nativity in Bethlehem will find that the doorway five and a half metres high, through which emperors and caliphs used to enter the building, is now largely walled up.  Only a low opening of one and a half metres has remained.  The intention was probably to provide the church with better protection from attack, but above all to prevent people from entering God’s house on horseback.  Anyone wishing to enter the place of Jesus’ birth has to bend down.  It seems to me that a deeper truth is revealed here, which should touch our hearts on this holy night: if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our “enlightened” reason.  We must set aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which prevents us from recognizing God’s closeness.  We must follow the interior path of Saint Francis – the path leading to that ultimate outward and inward simplicity which enables the heart to see.  We must bend down, spiritually we must as it were go on foot, in order to pass through the portal of faith and encounter the God who is so different from our prejudices and opinions – the God who conceals himself in the humility of  a newborn baby.  In this spirit let us celebrate the liturgy of the holy night, let us strip away our fixation on what is material, on what can be measured and grasped.  Let us allow ourselves to be made simple by the God who reveals himself to the simple of heart.  And let us also pray especially at this hour for all who have to celebrate Christmas in poverty, in suffering, as migrants, that a ray of God’s kindness may shine upon them, that they – and we – may be touched by the kindness that God chose to bring into the world through the birth of his Son in a stable.  Amen.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Christmas Prayer

Loving God, Help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.

Amen.


-- Robert Louis Stevenson

The Star Of Bethlehem

Jesus is the Lord of my life


He is greater than any ruler….
Mightier than any warrior…
Nobler than any king…
Wiser than any sage….
Bigger than any kingdom..
Better than any crown..
Brighter than the daylight..
Lovelier than any word spoken..
Worthy of all worship…
Deserving of praise.


He was born in an obscure village,
to a carpenter and a peasant woman.
He slept in another's manger.
He grew up in still another village,
where he worked until he was thirty.


He cruised the lake in another's boat.
He rode on another man's donkey.
He preached for three years before he was nailed to a Tree.


He never wrote a book,
yet all the libraries of the world cannot hold the books,
that have been written about Him.
He only crossed the boundary of the land once in childhood.
He never wrote a song,
yet He has furnished the theme of more songs
than all the song writers combined.
He never had a family or owned a house,
yet he remains the ruler of everything.
He had no credentials but Himself.


He is the Star of Astronomy,
The Rock of Geology,
The Lion and the Lamb of Zoology,
The Harmoniser of all discords,
And the Healer of all diseases.


He was only thirty-three
when the tide of public opinion turned against him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to his enemies
and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While he was dying,
his executioners gambled for his clothing,
the only possession he had on earth.
He was buried in another man's tomb,
through the pity of a friend.


Death could not destroy Him, the grave could not hold Him.
He spent a weekend in Hell, setting captives free.
He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.
And now sits at the right hand of the Father.


Nineteen centuries have come and gone,
and today he is the central figure of the
human race and the leader of mankind's progress.


All the armies that ever marched,
all the navies that ever sailed,
All the parliaments that ever sat,
all the kings that ever reigned, put together,
Have not affected the life of man on this earth
as much as that one solitary life of Jesus my Lord.






Published by Olivia
Copyright© 2011 All rights reserved

Parallel Scripture verses of Mary's Magnificat

Mary’s Magnificat and Old Testament Parallel Passages

Luke 1:46) My soul glorifies the Lord

1 Samuel 2:1 ~My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high.

Psalm 34:2,3 ~My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 103:1 ~Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

v. 47) and my spirit rejoices in God in my Savior,

Psalm 18:46b ~Exalted be God my Savior!

Isaiah 61:10 ~I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.

v. 48a) for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

Psalm 138:6 ~Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.

v. 48b) From now on all generations will call me blessed, 
v. 49a) for the Mighty One has done great things for me

Psalm 71:19 ~Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you?

v. 49b) holy is his name.

1 Samuel 2:2 ~There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you.

Psalm 22:3 ~You are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.

Psalm 71:22b ~I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 89:18 ~Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 99:3 ~Let them praise your great and awesome name – he is holy.

Psalm 103:1b ~Praise his holy name.

v. 50) His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

Psalm 103:17 ~From everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.

v. 51 a) He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

Psalm 44:3 ~It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.

Psalm 77:14, 15 ~You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

Psalm 98:1 ~Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.15

v. 51b) he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

1 Samuel 2:3 ~Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.

2 Samuel 22:28 ~You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

Psalm 89:10 ~You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

v. 52a) He has brought down rulers from their thrones

1 Samuel 2:4 ~The bows of the warriors are broken (Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, etc.)

v. 52b) but has lifted up the humble.

1 Samuel 2:4b ~but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

1 Samuel 2:8 ~He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. (David, Daniel, Esther, etc.)

v. 53a) He has filled the hungry with good things

1 Samuel 2:5b ~but those who were hungry hunger no more.

Psalm 103:5 ~who satisfies your desires with good things.

Psalm 107:8,9 ~Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

v. 53b) but he has sent the rich away empty.

1 Samuel 2:5 ~Those who were full hire themselves out for food.

vv. 54,55 a) He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,

Psalm 25:6 ~Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Psalm 98:3 ~He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.

Psalm 105:8-11 ~He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

Psalm 136Aff. ~His love [mercy] endures forever.

v. 55b) even as he said to our fathers.

Genesis 12:1ff; 22:15ff.; etc.

Psalm 147:19 ~He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel.

Micah 7:20 ~You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago.

Published by Olivia
Copyright© 2011 All rights reserved

The Magnificat

The Magnificat

And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.

The Lord has exalted me by a gift so great, so unheard of, that language is useless to describe it; and the depths of love in my heart can scarcely grasp it. I offer then all the powers of my soul in praise and thanksgiving. As I contemplate his greatness, which knows no limits, I joyfully surrender my whole life, my senses, my judgement, for my spirit rejoices in the eternal Godhead of that Jesus, that Saviour, whom I have conceived in this world of time.

The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Mary looks back to the beginning of her song, where she said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. Only that soul for whom the Lord in his love does great things can proclaim his greatness with fitting praise and encourage those who share her desire and purpose, saying: Join with me in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord; let us extol his name together.

Those who know the Lord, yet refuse to proclaim his greatness and sanctify his name to the limit of their power, will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven. His name is called holy because in the sublimity of his unique power he surpasses every creature and is far removed from all that he has made.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy.

In a beautiful phrase Mary calls Israel the servant of the Lord. The Lord came to his aid to save him. Israel is an obedient and humble servant, in the words of Hosea: Israel was a servant, and I loved him.

Those who refuse to be humble cannot be saved. They cannot say with the prophet: See, God comes to my aid; the Lord is the helper of my soul. But anyone who makes himself humble like a little child is greater in the kingdom of heaven.

The promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.

This does not refer to the physical descendants of Abraham, but to his spiritual children. These are his descendants, sprung not from the flesh only, but who, whether circumcised or not, have followed him in faith. Circumcised as he was, Abraham believed, and this was credited to him as an act of righteousness.

The coming of the Saviour was promised to Abraham and to his descendants for ever. These are the children of promise, to whom it is said: If you belong to Christ, then you are descendants of Abraham, heirs in accordance with the promise.

But it is right that before the birth of the Lord or of John, their mothers should utter prophecies; for just as sin began with a woman, so too does redemption. Through the deceit of one woman, grace perished; the prophecies of two women announce its return to life

~ Venerable Bede

The infant leapt and the mother was filled with the Spirit

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The angel Gabriel had announced the news of something that was as yet hidden and so, to buttress the Virgin Mary’s faith by means of a real example, he told her also that an old and sterile woman had conceived, showing that everything that God willed was possible to God.

When Mary heard this she did not disbelieve the prophecy, she was not uncertain of the message, she did not doubt the example: but happy because of the promise that had been given, eager to fulfil her duty as a cousin, hurried by her joy, she went up into the hill country.

Where could she hurry to except to the hills, filled with God as she was? The grace of the Holy Spirit does not admit of delays. And Mary’s arrival and the presence of her Son quickly show their effects: As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting her child leapt in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

See the careful distinction in the choice of words. Elizabeth was the first to hear the voice but her son John was the first to feel the effects of grace. She heard as one hears in the natural course of things; he leapt because of the mystery that was there. She sensed the coming of Mary, he the coming of the Lord — the woman knew the woman, the child knew the child. The women speak of grace while inside them grace works on their babies. And by a double miracle the women prophesy under the inspiration of their unborn children.

The infant leapt and the mother was filled with the Spirit. The mother was not filled before her son: her son was filled with the Holy Spirit and in turn filled his mother. John leapt and so did Mary’s spirit. John leapt and filled Elizabeth with the Spirit; but we know that Mary was not filled but her spirit rejoiced. For the Incomprehensible was working incomprehensibly within his mother. Elizabeth had been filled with the Spirit after she conceived, but Mary before, at the moment the angel had come. “Blessed are you,” said Elizabeth, “who believed”.

You too, my people, are blessed, you who have heard and who believe. Every soul that believes — that soul both conceives and gives birth to the Word of God and recognises his works.

Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you, to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one of you, to rejoice in God. According to the flesh only one woman can be the mother of Christ but in the world of faith Christ is the fruit of all of us. For every soul can receive the Word of God if only it is pure and preserves itself in chastity and modesty.

The soul that has been able to reach this state proclaims the greatness of the Lord just as Mary did and rejoices in God its saviour just like her.

The Lord’s greatness is proclaimed, as you have read elsewhere, where it says Join me in magnifying the Lord. This does not mean that anything can be added to the Lord’s greatness by human words, but that he is magnified in us. Christ is the image of God and so any good or religious act that a soul performs magnifies that image of God in that soul, the God in whose likeness the soul itself was made. And thus the soul itself has some share in his greatness and is ennobled.


~ St Ambrose

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! (Luke 1:42)

“Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste.” (Luke 1:39)

Mary, why were you so eager to visit Elizabeth? Wouldn’t it have been better to wait until Joseph was free to travel with you? Wouldn’t the road have been safer, and the journey more enjoyable, with your betrothed?

What was it about Elizabeth that drew you to her side? The angel told you that she too had conceived miraculously. Was it because you wanted to share stories with some­one who understood the excitement and joy you were experiencing? Per­haps it was because you felt you needed to witness the birth of this first miracle baby—both to help you prepare for your own and to see the one who would set the stage for your child’s mission.

Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. (Luke 1:42) With such strange words does your kinswoman greet you! Simply by hearing your voice, she knows that something new and ex­citing has happened to you. Moved by the Spirit, she senses that you too are with child—a child who will be­come her Lord. And she honors you for believing God’s promises and surrendering so fully to his plan.

How could she know all of this? How could she have seen so much grace in you, without having first heard the wonderful news?

Perhaps this is why you were drawn to Elizabeth. Here was a woman of deep faith, a woman whom you knew to be close to God and open to his Spirit. Here was an elder kinswoman whose wisdom, counsel, and insight could prove to be invaluable to you. Here was a woman who knew the pain of being childless and yet did not give in to bitterness or sadness. Perhaps Eliza­beth could offer words to help you face the challenges that lie ahead.

How you must have treasured your relationship with Elizabeth! As you stood at the threshold of a new world—a world of new adventures, personal risk, and uncharted territo­ry—you knew you weren’t standing alone. Elizabeth was your cousin, yes, but even more important, she was your sister in the Lord!


“Mary, teach us all the value of brotherhood and sisterhood. Show us that none of us has to stand alone.”