Perhaps you are just returning to the Catholic Church at Christmas time. If you need a refresher on Confession... For a brief, pointed and helpful guide,
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Catholics Come Home
Perhaps you know someone who is contemplating coming back to Church this Christmas season. The How to Book of the Mass by Michael Dubruiel would be a great gift for them.
In this complete guide you get:
- step-by-step guidelines to walk you through the Mass
- the Biblical roots of the various parts of the Mass and the very prayers themselves
- helpful hints and insights from the Tradition of the Church
- aids in overcoming distractions at Mass
- ways to make every Mass a way to grow in your relationship with Jesus
- Bless yourself
- Make the Sign of the Cross
- Genuflect
- Pray before Mass
- Join in Singing the Opening Hymn
- Be penitential
- Listen to the Scriptures
- Hear a Great Homily Everytime
- Intercede for others
- Be a Good Steward
- Give Thanks to God
- Give the Sign of Peace
- Receive the Eucharist
- Receive a Blessing
- Evangelize Others
- Get something Out of Every Mass You Attend
Find more about The How to Book of the Mass here.
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Octave of Christmas--Feast of the Holy Innocents
Octave of Christmas--Feast of the Holy Innocents
Father Aidan Nichols has argued rather convincingly, I think, that a new feast of the holy innocents should be established for the modern day victims of abortion. The feast we celebrate today celebrates the witness of those who died without knowing Christ, but who died because of the jealous rage of a king who wanted nothing to interfere with his lifestyle. So any rival claimant to his throne must be killed.
Joseph is warned in a dream to leave. I imagine that the parents of all the children who died were also warned but perhaps ignored the dream as nothing more than the result of something they ate the day before. Most of us can point to similar experiences of ignoring warnings that were given to us of impending doom or disaster.
The witness that the Holy Innocents give to us is that accepting Christ demands a decision, will we accept His complete lordship over our lives? Or will we like Herod seek to kill whatever will interfere with our pursuit of pleasure.
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Octave of Christmas Meditation
Octave of Christmas
Prayer and fasting are what Anna had been doing for years at the Temple. Now she is rewarded with a visitation of God made man who is at this moment an infant. But because of her life of prayer and fasting she is able to recognize the Christ.
It makes one wonder how often we ourselves have visitations that we miss because we are preoccupied with other things. We can change. Prayer can be done anytime at anyplace--by simply turning our hearts and mind toward God in all circumstances. Prayer necessarily requires fasting, forgoing much of what we think we need and turning instead to what we truly need---God
The Gospels show that the gaze of Mary varied depending upon the circumstances of life. So it will be with us. Each time we pick up the holy beads to recite the Rosary, our gaze at the mystery of Christ will differ depending on where we find ourselves at that moment.
Thereafter Mary’s gaze, ever filled with adoration and wonder, would never leave him. At times it would be a questioning look, as in the episode of the finding in the Temple: “Son, why have you treated us so?” (Lk 2:48); it would always be a penetrating gaze, one capable of deeply understanding Jesus, even to the point of perceiving his hidden feelings and anticipating his decisions, as at Cana (cf. Jn 2:5). At other times it would be a look of sorrow, especially beneath the Cross, where her vision would still be that of mother giving birth, for Mary not only shared the passion and death of her Son, she also received the new son given to her in the beloved disciple (cf. Jn 19:26-27). On the morning of Easter hers would be a gaze radiant with the joy of the Resurrection, and finally, on the day of Pentecost, a gaze afire with the outpouring of the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14) [Rosarium Virginis Mariae, no. 10].
As we pray the Rosary, then, we join with Mary in contemplating Christ. With her, we remember Christ, we proclaim Him, we learn from Him, and, most importantly, as we raise our voices in prayer and our hearts in contemplation of the holy mysteries, this “compendium of the Gospel” itself, we are conformed to Him.
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Feast of the Holy Family
Octave of Christmas--Feast of the Holy Family
Consider the Holy Family. At first the whole marriage is called into question when Joseph finds out the Mary is pregnant. He decides to divorce her. But then when he receives inspiration in a dream he relents. So Jesus being born into a single parent family is averted (although as Mother Teresa once pointed out to Father Benedict Groeschel all children have God as their father--so there really is no such thing as a "single parent" family for the believer).
Next we have the family setting out for the census taking. They haven't made reservations though, and so they end up living a nightmare that I have had the chance to experience myself a few times--no vacancy at any of the hotels. So Our Lord is born in a cave.
Then when Herod seeks the life of the child the family flees into Egypt as political refugees.
Really the holy card image of the Holy Family lacks any of the struggles and hardships that in reality were the lot of the Holy Family. Evidently Joseph died before Jesus was thirty since he is never mentioned later in the Gospels. Of course Mary will endure the death of her son three years later at thirty-three. The joy of the resurrection will be tempered by His absence forty days later at the Ascension. The Holy Family experienced almost any tragedy that we can place in our experience of family life. When we call on Jesus, Mary and Joseph we should be mindful of that...the struggles of life are not ours alone to bear. Heaven lowered itself not into a plush life but into the very sorrowful existence that is ours.
It is important to focus on the reality of the Holy Family so that we can capture the meaning of the prophecy that is made by Simeon today. It is one that sees God's promise fulfilled in the infant Jesus but at the same time predicts hard times. God's blessing is not always what we might expect. It is not the Gospel of wealth and prosperity that is sometime proclaimed by the televangelist--it is one of being misunderstood, contradictions and the piercing of the mother's heart as she witnesses the death of her Son--the Son of God.
May the Holy Family bless us with the sense to find meaning in the events of our daily lives, no matter what they may bring.
Friday, December 24, 2021
Christmas Meditation by Michael Dubruiel
Solemnity of Christmas
A few nights ago we watched a show on one of the cable stations that advertised itself as a program that explored the origins of Christmas. The winter's solstice was mentioned. The origin of Rudolph as an advertising symbol for Montgomery Ward's was mentioned. The transformation of St. Nick to Santa Claus was mentioned. And oh yes, 45 minutes into the program some mention was made of Catholics and a few other main line Protestant churches having special services on Christmas Day to commemorate the birth of Christ. It was all very enlightening.
Today's Gospel points to the origin of all creation--"In the beginning was the Word.." Before anything there was Christ. The Word is responsible for everything that exist. Nothing exist without His willing it.
It is fitting that the season of Christmas is over for those who don't acknowledge Christ and that it is just beginning for those who do. Because when all the gifts that we exchange have rotted and even when this mortal flesh that we hold on to has wasted away in some far off grave--Christ will remain. Hopefully the Word will call us forth on that distant day because of what we celebrate on this day..."the Word became Flesh and pitched His tent in our midst."
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve Meditation
O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
"Blessed is she who believed that the message made her by the Lord would be fulfilled." Here is where most of us fall short. We really don't believe, silently we distrust. In our actions we loudly show our unbelief.
Elizabeth praises Mary for her trust.
What do you and I really trust in?
Today ask the Blessed Virgin to give you a stronger faith, one that looks to God expectantly at every waking moment of your day and sleeps at night with the same assurance.
More from Michael Dubruiel:
How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist gives you nine concrete steps to help you join your own sacrifice to the sacrifice of Christ as you:
- Serve: Obey the command that Jesus gave to his disciples at the first Eucharist.
- Adore: Put aside anything that seems to rival God in importance.
- Confess: Believe in God’s power to make up for your weaknesses.
- Respond" Answer in gesture, word, and song in unity with the Body of Christ.
- Incline: Listen with your whole being to the Word of God.
- Fast: Bring your appetites and desires to the Eucharist.
- Invite: Open yourself to an encounter with Jesus.
- Commune: Accept the gift of Christ in the Eucharist.
- Evangelize :Take him and share the Lord with others.
Filled with true examples, solid prayer-helps, and sound advice, How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist shows you how to properly balance the Mass as a holy banquet with the Mass as a holy sacrifice. With its references to Scripture, quotations from the writings and prayers of the saints, and practical aids for overcoming distractions one can encounter at Mass, this book guides readers to embrace the Mass as if they were attending the Last Supper itself.
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