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Advent Antidote: Mary

25 November 2009 - 12:02pm — joyce

 

 

Advent never comes too soon. This season comes to us at perhaps the busiest time of the year: exams, final projects, and holiday preparations (shopping, cooking, etc.). The days seem to be getting heavier and heavier, that is, darker and drearier. This reality makes the silent and humble spirit of Mary the perfect antidote for what is coming upon us.  Mary knew the desire of her people for freedom and for something new.  Mary’s silent yet eager yearning to see the face of the child who is hidden in her womb, shows us the right path through Advent. 
 
Throughout the year we look for Jesus. We search for him in many different ways. All of creation seems to enter this search in a powerful way as our days get shorter and darker, and our nights get longer. Even the temperatures continue to fall. All of this makes us look for something bright and warm, something new. The baby Jesus himself is God’s answer to this yearning of all creation. Mary felt this longing in a particular way because she carried within herself the Someone whom she knew would bring something totally new into the world, something very good that would warm our hearts and bring new light to the human race.
 

WHY CONFESSION BEFORE COMMUNION? WHY CONFESS TO A PRIEST?

19 November 2009 - 5:53pm — joyce

 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Corinthians 11:26-29)

 
These words of St. Paul call us to integrity. Catholic understanding of preparation for Holy Communion follows this teaching of Paul.  We approach the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ only if we are prepared to receive Him.  We first examine our consciences and if we have any serious sin on our hearts, we need to confess in order to be reconciled to God and His Church.  Our reception of Holy Communion affirms that our lives are in communion with the teachings of Christ and His Church. Confession of grave or mortal sins brings us back into communion with Christ and His Church.
 

PROCESSIONS DURING MASS: MEANING AND PURPOSE

11 November 2009 - 4:42pm — joyce

The Church identifies four main processions during Mass: entrance procession, the procession of the Book of Gospels to the ambo or lectern which can include candle bearers and incense, the offertory procession with the gifts of bread and wine and offerings, and finally, the Holy Communion procession.

 
Why are processions important? Processions are formalized movements from one location to another which usually involve singing. Processions are not a performance and are not for show as a parade. Catholic liturgical processions symbolize the movement of our lives from life to death to eternal life, or from sin to forgiveness and new life. A major biblical image comes from the Exodus procession of the Israelites from Egypt through the Red Sea to the promised land, that is, from the place of slavery to the place of freedom, from the place of oppression and suffering to the ‘land flowing with milk and honey.’  In fact the Exodus gives us the roots of our understanding of Baptism as a washing with water that cleanses us from sin and death (place of slavery) and brings us into the new life of the Resurrection (promised land). Eucharist is described as the “manna from heaven” which was the food for the journey of the Israelites through the desert into the promised land. The Sacraments of the Church ritualize God’s blessings upon our pilgrim journey of faith to the Father’s house.
 

Communion of Saints

5 November 2009 - 5:34pm — joyce

COMMUNION OF SAINTS

 
The Book of Revelation describes the great wedding feast of heaven, the Lamb’s Supper. The Church sees in this book a description of the great heavenly liturgy in which all the saints participate. In Rev. 7:9,11 we read: “I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and …all the angels stood around the throne.” The white robe signifies baptism, where the newly baptized are clothed in a white garment, the garment of Jesus Christ, the garment of salvation. The white signifies the purity of one cleansed by the healing power of God’s grace that comes from the Cross of Jesus Christ. The great multitude are the saints from every land and nation who have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb attending the throne of God. Every Mass is a participation in this heavenly liturgy, where believers come in contact with the Blood of the Lamb offered on the Cross.

The Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist: The Heart of a Saint

30 October 2009 - 2:06pm — joyce

 

The “Real Presence” of Christ in the Holy Eucharist refers to the unique and special way that Christ is present to us in the Most Blessed Sacrament. The using of the term ‘real’ here is not to exclude other ways Christ is present, as if they could not be real too. However, in the Eucharist Christ is “present in the fullest sense: it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] 1374). Christ becomes present in the Holy Eucharist when the bread and wine offered at the Mass are converted into Christ’s body and blood. God makes this conversion happen through the words and gestures of the priest, who speaks the words that Christ himself commanded at the Last Supper. Specifically, these words are called “the words of institution” or “the words of consecration,” namely, “This is my body…this is my blood.”
 

St. John Vianney, the Cure de Ars

23 October 2009 - 3:55pm — joyce

One of the best examples of priesthood is the Cure de Ars, or St. John Vianney, a 19th Century French priest whom Pope Benedict has chosen as patron for this “Year for Priests” (June 2009- June 2010). Pope Benedict said: “This year is meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger witness to the Gospel in today’s world.” Interior renewal always precedes a more effective proclamation of the Gospel. With the Cure de Ars we have an excellent example of the amazing fruitfulness of priestly ministry: the Cure’s ministry made accessible to all the merciful Heart of Jesus. Spending up to sixteen hours a day in the confessional, we see the fruits of the Cure’s ministry in the thousands of people who traveled all over France to confess their sins to him, tasting the merciful love of the Heart of Jesus.

 

Priesthood of Jesus Christ

15 October 2009 - 4:49pm — joyce

 PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS CHRIST

 
The whole Church is called a priestly people because we are all baptized into the three munera or offices of Christ as priest, prophet and king. Lay Catholics participate in the priesthood of Christ, which is called the “common priesthood of the faithful,” by offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to the Father (cf. 1 Peter 2:5, Rom 12:1) and in witnessing to the Good News of Jesus Christ in the world. On the other hand, the “ministerial priesthood” is reserved for those men whom the Church discerns as called by God for priestly service in the Church. The priest shares in the bishop’s ministry of sanctifying, teaching, and governing. The priest never acts according to his own authority, but only by that authority given by God through the hands of the bishop, i.e., the authority of Jesus Christ.
 
The ministerial priesthood finds its roots in the Old Testament (OT). A priest from the OT is one who offers sacrifices to God on behalf of the people to atone for sins against the covenant. The chosen people of Israel are called a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:6; Isa 61:6). But within the people of Israel God chose Levi, one of the twelve tribes, to be set aside for liturgical priestly service. In fact when the angel appeared to Zechariah to tell him that his barren wife Elizabeth would conceive a child (John the Baptist), he was ministering as a priest offering incense (cf. Luke 1:5ff). It was common for those of the tribe of Levi to take turns ministering in the temple as priests.
 

October is Month of the Holy Rosary

8 October 2009 - 9:44am — joyce

 

October is Month of the Holy Rosary
 
Because the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary on October 7, October has become traditionally known as the Month of the Rosary.   While the Church does not prescribe praying the rosary as binding, she certainly encourages all Catholics to pray this wonderful prayer with heart-felt devotion. Praying the rosary does not mean gunning through it to get it over with. Praying the rosary means devoutly meditating on the face of Jesus with Mary, as we contemplate important moments in salvation history. For myself, I will commonly pray the rosary during my morning prayer. I find it intensely peaceful and re-assuring. Remembering the events of Jesus life allows me to pray for a specific virtue as well. For instance, I pray for openness and obedience to the word of God when I pray the Annunciation; I pray for true charity and Christian friendship when praying the Visitation; I pray for conformity to the will of God when praying the Agony in the Garden; I pray for purity when praying the Scourging at the Pillar; I pray for fortitude in bearing witness to Jesus when praying the Crowning with Thorns; I pray for faith when praying the Resurrection of our Lord. These are some of the virtues demonstrated by Mary or Jesus in these moments. These virtues and scenes contemplated are not “nice” examples for us, but rather special gifts that God wants to share with us. He wants us to receive what Jesus was given. When we contemplate them we are seeking them for ourselves, opening ourselves to their power. As Christians, we live off the word of God who becomes flesh for us. Contemplating that word allows it to become real and alive within us.

Respect Life Sunday

30 September 2009 - 4:18pm — joyce

 

Respect Life Sunday
 
October 4 has been designated by the US Bishops to be Respect Life Sunday because it is the first Sunday of October, which is Respect Life Month. October 4th is also the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which is celebrated in Church when it does not fall on a Sunday. 
 
Catholics are for life: we promote faithful man-woman marriage and babies. Sadly, this simple statement is intensely controversial in today’s world. Based on Scripture and Tradition, the Catholic Church promotes life-long marriage between one man and one woman. Holding this basic truth will bring accusations from certain members of our society which commonly include “intolerance” and “hate.” As Christians, our duty is to be faithful to the truth of the Good News and not to cave into current fashions and trends of public opinion or certain interest groups.

The Altar as Center of Worship

29 September 2009 - 9:17am — joyce

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord’s Cross, from which the sacraments of the Paschal Mystery flow” (#1182). In a word, the Paschal Mystery is Jesus’ death and resurrection. All the sacraments flow from the Paschal Mystery, and draw us into it. As a single event, the death and resurrection of Jesus is the central event of our faith. We gather around the altar at Mass to participate in this central event of our faith. The offertory procession with gifts of bread and wine brought to the altar represents the “stuff” of our lives to be offered to God: blessings, weakness, joys, and sufferings. Our lives, represented by the bread and wine, are offered to God on the altar with Jesus to the Father. United to the offering of Jesus we participate in his Paschal Mystery. The Cross and the altar become one in the sacramental offering of bread and wine with the offering of Jesus as sacrificial Lamb. The Mass is first of all a sacrificial offering of Jesus to the Father, in which we participate through sacramental signs of bread and wine: “The altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assembly of the faithful, both as the victim offered for our reconciliation and as food from heaven who is giving himself to us” (#1383).
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