Olny Srmat Poelpe Can Raed Tihs

Cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

First Encyclical will Carrry Christmas Date

"God is Love" (based on the First Letter of John...which is interesting in and of itself...read it and you'll see why).

From Pope to Publish First Encyclical:

"Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told the ANSA and Apcom news agencies that the encyclical will carry the date of Dec. 25, 2005. It will be called 'Deus, Caritas Est,' and will have the Italian title of 'Dio E' Amore,' ('God is Love'), according to Apcom and other Italian news reports.

'The decision to make it public in January is due to the fact that the pope will release important documents over this period,' Navarro-Valls was quoted as saying by Apcom."

New Bishop of Reno

Fr. Randolph Roque Calvo of the clergy of San Francisco, U.S.A., pastor of the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Redwood City, as bishop of Reno (area 183,506, population 607,459, Catholics 91,973, priests 42, permanent deacons 11, religious 50), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Agana on the island of Guam in 1950 and ordained as a priest in 1977.

O Emmanuel

O EMMANUEL, God with us, Our King and Lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their savior: COME to save us, O Lord our God.

In the build up of the O Antiphons, lost on the hymn based on them, is the revelation of who it is that we expect to come. O Wisdom, O Lord, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Dawn of the East, O King of the Gentiles and today O God with us, Come!

We await the coming not of an emissary, but of God Himself coming to be with us. All of the other titles have hinted that the coming is not necessarily in the way we expect, because they all, even "Adonai" or Lord hint at the coming of a human savior, again "adonai" being the word that the non-priestly person would have referred to God who the High Priest alone spoke the true name YAHWEH.

In our fallen nature we tend to think we rule ourselves, this was the original temptation that humanity acquiested to in the garden, acknowledging that the God who walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden is our King and Lawgiver is already a step toward salvation.

The next step is to remember this every moment of our lives. He is King, it is His law that we obey for our very life depends entirely on Him.

O Emmanuel, Come!

O Rex

O KING OF THE GENTILES and their desired One, the Cornerstone that makes both one: COME, and deliver man, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.

The fallen world is one of divisions, "Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons" (Gen. 3:7). We are apt to immediately think of ourselves as "different" from the rest of men--the very thing that Jesus points out as "unjustified" in the prayer of the Pharisee and Publican. Recall the Pharisee prayed: "God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get."

The modern version is likely to be based on our own ideology, whether liberal or conservative, male or female--however we like to distinguish ourselves from the rest of "fallen" humanity. What can restore the unity of God's creation? What can make us one?

"God, be merciful to me a sinner!"

Read the First Letter of John this Christmas season. Recover a sense of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life -- the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us --that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

In these last days of Advent let us seek fellowship with one another and with the Trinity in humble prayer!

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Let us walk in His light mindful of our sinfulness and darkened intellect.

Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and in it there is no cause for stumbling. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his sake.

Let us pray for one another, when we encounter division pray for unity in the Lord. O King of the Gentiles, Come!

Brother Roger's Last Message

About death and "God is Love"

From Catholic News Service:

Brother Roger's message was centered on the phrase "God is love" from the First Letter of John. The same phrase is the theme of Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, which is expected to be issued soon.

Brother Roger said "God is love" was a dazzling spiritual intuition.

Relax, It is Papal Attire

I thought it was John the XXIII when I first saw it on CNN a few moments ago, I'm not sure if Pope John Paul ever wore it, but Benedict is (partly because they are still having audiences outside due to the large crowds and its cold).

By the way, CNN it is not a "Santa's hat" it is a camauro.



Blessed John XXIII is still wearing one: