Happy Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe - December 12

Happy Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe - December 12

Information from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/our-lady-of-guadalupe:

The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the 16th century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story.

A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower, and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.

Juan was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared, and within it stood an Indian maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.

Eventually the bishop told Juan to have the lady give him a sign. About this same time Juan’s uncle became seriously ill. This led poor Juan to try to avoid the lady. Nevertheless the lady found Juan, assured him that his uncle would recover, and provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma.

On December 12, when Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, the roses fell to the ground, and the bishop sank to his knees. On the tilma where the roses had been appeared an image of Mary exactly as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac.

---

Reflection

Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego as one of his people is a powerful reminder that Mary—and the God who sent her—accept all peoples. In the context of the sometimes rude and cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast significance for the indigenous population. While a number of them had converted before this incident, they now came in droves. According to a contemporary chronicler, nine million Indians became Catholic in a very short time. In these days when we hear so much about God’s preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God’s love for and identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the Gospel itself.

Readings for Saturday, December 12, 2020 in the Catholic Church

Readings for Saturday, December 12, 2020 in the Catholic Church

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Lectionary: 690A

Reading 1

ZEC 2:14-17

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! 

See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.

Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,

and they shall be his people,

and he will dwell among you,

and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land,

and he will again choose Jerusalem.

Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD!

For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

or

Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab

God’s temple in heaven was opened,

and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,

with the moon under her feet,

and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

Then another sign appeared in the sky;

it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,

and on its heads were seven diadems.

Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky

and hurled them down to the earth.

Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,

to devour her child when she gave birth.  

She gave birth to a son, a male child,

destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.

Her child was caught up to God and his throne.

The woman herself fled into the desert

where she had a place prepared by God.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,

and the Kingdom of our God

and the authority of his Anointed.”

Responsorial Psalm

JUDITH 13:18BCDE, 19

R. (15:9d)  You are the highest honor of our race.

Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God,

above all the women on earth;

and blessed be the LORD God, 

the creator of heaven and earth.

R. You are the highest honor of our race.

Your deed of hope will never be forgotten

by those who tell of the might of God.

R. You are the highest honor of our race.

 

Alleluia 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;

from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God

to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,

of the house of David,

and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said,

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

But she was greatly troubled at what was said

and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel,

“How can this be,

since I have no relations with a man?”

And the angel said to her in reply,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore the child to be born

will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,

has also conceived a son in her old age,

and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

or

Lk 1:39-47

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,

“Most 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.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

FROM TAYLOR MARSHALL: Vatican Nativity Scene: Why so UGLY? Is it EVIL?

The Vatican Christmas Tree of 2020 plus the History of the Vatican Christmas Tree from 2012 to 2020!

The Vatican just installed its 2020 Christmas Tree. It is a spruce tree and came from town of Kočevje, Slovenia, which is in the region of Kočevsko where 90% of the area is covered by trees.

Did you know Slovenia is the only country that contains the word LOVE within it?

The tree is placed in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. The tree came from an area of forest that is protected and sustainable.

The Archbishoip of Maribor in Slovenia was on hand and indicated that the region from which the tree came was the site of many Christian martyrs persecuted under communism.

Along with the tree, the Vatican received ceramic figures for the Nativity scene which came from a region in Italy called Castelli, which is in Abruzzo.

The tree itself weighs seven tons, stands 30 meters (or about 100 feet) tall and is 75 years old. It was planted right after the end of World War II.

The tree will remain in St. Peter's Square until January 10, 2021.

Last year in 2019, the Vatican received its 85-foot tree from the Veneto region of Northern Italy

In 2018, the tree came from Friuli Venezia Giulia, more specifically, from Pordenone in Italy, weighed 4.5 tons and was 23 meters tall.

In 2017, the Vatican got its 28-meter high red fir Christmas Tree from Elk, in North-Eastern Poland.

In 2016, the Christmas tree came from the Dolomites, a mountain range in northeastern Italy, and was 82-feet tall.

In 2015, the tree came from Bavaria

In 2014, the 25-meter white spruce Christmas tree came from Catanzaro region of Italy

In 2013, during Pope Francis's first year as Pope, the chosen tree was 25 meters tall and came from Bavaria.

In 2012, during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican Christmas Tree came from Pescopennataro, a small town in the Italian region of Isernia

The first year that the Vatican had a giant Christmas tree was in 1982 and started with Pope John Paul II.

Joe Biden's Catholicism - and the "Psalms" incident.

I have seen a few articles appearing saying that many Catholics are happy that Joe Biden will be president as he is only the second Catholic to hold this office, after John F. Kennedy.

(Before beginning to discuss this it's important to note that the election results are not official yet. Many have jumped to the conclusion that Joe Biden has won, but the electors do not officially choose the winner of the election until December 14. I'm no legal expert, I'm not even American, but I have heard that Trump even has some recourse beyond this date. Anyway, that's just a long side-note and not relevant to our discussion.)

As mentioned, Joe Biden has been declared and declares himself Catholic. But it's not just a statement of fact, but something he brings up from time to time when discussing his faith. Some have gone so far as to say he is a devout Catholic. I can't say whether or not he is, and particularly I cannot say whether or not he considers himself to be such. But there are some strange things that have happened regarding Biden in relation to his faith.

One that came up recently was Mr. Biden was quoting the "Palmist" as he put it. He should have said Psalmist, as in a writer in the Book of Psalms. Psalms are spoken or sung at every Mass, and referred to quite often. For a "practicing" and "devout" Catholic not to know how it is pronounced seems very odd. Of course, the P and not the S are silent in this word.

This is not a matter of personal pronunciation and there are no accepted variations on how to say Psalm or Psalmist. It's not as if some people just pronounce it differently. It would be like someone pronouncing psychologist "pie-chologist".

I once remembering hearing a guy who was about 15-17 years old pronounce Psalm the same way as Joe Biden. These are probably the only two people whom I've ever hear do so. Even at that time I thought it was odd. I wrote it off as just him not knowing the word or being able to pronounce it. He's a teenager, that happens. But for a man who was Vice President of the United States and is over 70 years old, this seems somewhat unbelievable.

However, we must keep in mind that while mispronouncing Psalm or Psalmist is a little odd, it's not really a moral issue. On the other hand, fully supporting and promoting abortion paid for by tax dollars is a grave moral issue. We cannot simply see that stance as as acceptable position. It would be the equivalent of a politician declaring their support for murder. There are not two sides to this issue from a Catholic perspective. There are other moral issues as well that would put Joe Biden on the wrong side of the faith.

Some bishops, but not all, have declared they would not give Joe Biden the Eucharist during Mass, meaning they believe his actions and belief put him outside of "communion" with the Church.

We cannot judge the state of his Joe Biden's soul, that's between him and God. I'm only talking about his outward words and actions.

I look forward to your comments!

P.S. I just looked up the word "palmist" in Google Images when making the headline graphic and found out that there is a word palmist and it seems to be a fortuneteller who reads palms. I have no idea if this means anything about Joe Biden. It would be very unnerving if he was more familiar with palm reading than a book in the Bible, especially since palm reading is prohibited by the Catholic Church and a violation of the First Commandment.

This is my Body - Jesus Christ Meme

 

Happy Feast Day to Pope St. Damasus December 11 in the Catholic Church

Happy Feast Day to Pope St. Damasus who died on this date in 384 AD.

Great biography from Franciscan Media:

From: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-damasus-i

Saint Damasus I’s Story

To his secretary Saint Jerome, Damasus was “an incomparable person, learned in the Scriptures, a virgin doctor of the virgin Church, who loved chastity and heard its praises with pleasure.” Damasus seldom heard such unrestrained praise. Internal political struggles, doctrinal heresies, uneasy relations with his fellow bishops and those of the Eastern Church marred the peace of his pontificate.

The son of a Roman priest, possibly of Spanish extraction, Damasus started as a deacon in his father’s church, and served as a priest in what later became the basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome. He served Pope Liberius (352-366) and followed him into exile.

When Liberius died, Damasus was elected bishop of Rome; but a minority elected and consecrated another deacon, Ursinus, as pope. The controversy between Damasus and the antipope resulted in violent battles in two basilicas, scandalizing the bishops of Italy. At the synod that Damasus called on the occasion of his birthday, he asked them to approve his actions. The bishops’ reply was curt: “We assembled for a birthday, not to condemn a man unheard.” Supporters of the antipope even managed to get Damasus accused of a grave crime—probably sexual—as late as A.D. 378. He had to clear himself before both a civil court and a Church synod.

As pope, his lifestyle was simple in contrast to other ecclesiastics of Rome, and he was fierce in his denunciation of Arianism and other heresies. A misunderstanding of the Trinitarian terminology used by Rome threatened amicable relations with the Eastern Church, and Damasus was only moderately successful in dealing with that challenge.

During his pontificate, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state, and Latin became the principal liturgical language as part of the pope’s reforms. His encouragement of Saint Jerome’s biblical studies led to the Vulgate, the Latin translation of Scripture which 12 centuries later the Council of Trent declared to be “authentic in public readings, disputations, preaching.”

---

Reflection

The history of the papacy and the Church is inextricably mixed with the personal biography of Damasus. In a troubled and pivotal period of Church history, he stands forth as a zealous defender of the faith who knew when to be progressive and when to entrench.

Damasus makes us aware of two qualities of good leadership: alertness to the promptings of the Spirit, and service. His struggles are a reminder that Jesus never promised his Rock protection from hurricane winds nor his followers immunity from difficulties. His only guarantee is final victory.

Readings for Friday, December 11, 2020 in the Catholic Church

Friday of the Second Week of Advent

Lectionary: 185

Reading 1

IS 48:17-19

Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel:

I, the LORD, your God,

teach you what is for your good,

and lead you on the way you should go.

If you would hearken to my commandments,

your prosperity would be like a river,

and your vindication like the waves of the sea;

Your descendants would be like the sand,

and those born of your stock like its grains,

Their name never cut off

or blotted out from my presence.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6

R. (see John 8:12)  Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Blessed the man who follows not

the counsel of the wicked

Nor walks in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the company of the insolent,

But delights in the law of the LORD

and meditates on his law day and night.

R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

He is like a tree

planted near running water,

That yields its fruit in due season,

and whose leaves never fade.

Whatever he does, prospers.

R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Not so the wicked, not so;

they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

For the LORD watches over the way of the just,

but the way of the wicked vanishes.

R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

 

Alleluia  

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Lord will come; go out to meet him!

He is the prince of peace.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

MT 11:16-19

Jesus said to the crowds:

“To what shall I compare this generation? 

It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,

we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ 

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,

‘He is possessed by a demon.’ 

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,

‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 

But wisdom is vindicated by her works.” 

So true... (Passion of the Christ)

 

I found this comment particularly relevant and true:

Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:10

This nun is ready to get to work!

Credit: https://www.facebook.com/TheCatholicMemes/photos/a.622552851121749/1641177979259226/

Prayer to St. Anthony for Something that is Lost

I looked online for a prayer to St. Anthony for help in finding a lost item, or perhaps something else that is lost. I found certain variations. The thing is, some don't really rhyme. I feel like it has to rhyme. Some did rhyme but were irreverent, referring to St. Anthony of Padua as "Tony". I don't think you should show such disrespect for a saint in heaven.

Alright, so in order to incorporate proper etiquette and rhyme, I sort of put together my own version.

Dear St. Anthony
Please come around
Something is lost
And cannot be found.

Let me know what you think of this prayer!

Is anyone impeccable?

I saw something by Jimmy Akin today in which he said many people confuse the ideas of infallibility and impeccability and believe that Catholics are claiming the pope is the latter while in reality we claim the pope, under very specific circumstances, is protected by the former.

Just to be clear: Infallibility is a special charism of the pope which means that he speaks without error in matters of faith and morals when he speaks ex cathedra in his role as Bishop of Rome.

On the other hand, impeccability is the absence of sin. It may also be defined as being incapable of sinning. Is there anyone who is impeccable?

Philosophically speaking, God must be impeccable, as it is logically impossible for him to act against his own nature and will. Jesus is God and therefore is also impeccable.

The Church has also defined that all those in Heaven who experience the beatific vision are impeccable. They are no longer capable of sinning. St. Thomas Aquinas goes further to teach that even the souls in purgatory are impeccable as well.

As Catholics, we believe that Mary was conceived without sin during the Immaculate Conception, which we just celebrated on December 8. This means she was preserved from original and personal sin at the moment of her conception and remained sinless her entire life. Her special gift of sinlessness was achieved by Christ's sacrifice at Calvary pre-emptively.

Does the fact that Mary was preserved from all sin also mean she was impeccable? 

Kenneth Baker, a Jesuit priest, former president of Seattle University, and editor-in-chief of Homiletic and Pastoral Review writes the following:

Two special factors rendered Mary impeccable or unable to sin. The first was her constant awareness of God, living always in His presence, and the second was her reception of special and extraordinary graces. These special graces made it possible for Mary to maintain a perfect harmony in her mind, will and emotions and to recognize always what was the right thing to do and then to do it.

I am not sure if this is the doctrine of the Church or his opinion as a theologian. Regardless, never sinning and being unable to sin are somewhat similar.

Readings for December 10, 2020 in the Catholic Church

Readings for December 10, 2020 in the Catholic Church

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Lectionary: 184

Reading 1

IS 41:13-20

I am the LORD, your God,

who grasp your right hand;

It is I who say to you, “Fear not,

I will help you.”

Fear not, O worm Jacob,

O maggot Israel;

I will help you, says the LORD;

your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

I will make of you a threshing sledge,

sharp, new, and double-edged,

To thresh the mountains and crush them,

to make the hills like chaff.

When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off

and the storm shall scatter them.

But you shall rejoice in the LORD,

and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I, the LORD, will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open up rivers on the bare heights,

and fountains in the broad valleys;

I will turn the desert into a marshland,

and the dry ground into springs of water.

I will plant in the desert the cedar,

acacia, myrtle, and olive;

I will set in the wasteland the cypress,

together with the plane tree and the pine,

That all may see and know,

observe and understand,

That the hand of the LORD has done this,

the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 145:1 AND 9, 10-11, 12-13AB

R. (8)  The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

I will extol you, O my God and King,

and I will bless your name forever and ever.

The LORD is good to all

and compassionate toward all his works.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,

and let your faithful ones bless you.

Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom

and speak of your might.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Let them make known to men your might

and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,

and your dominion endures through all generations.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Alleluia

IS 45:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Let the clouds rain down the Just One,

and the earth bring forth a Savior.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

MT 11:11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:

“Amen, I say to you,

among those born of women

there has been none greater than John the Baptist;

yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

From the days of John the Baptist until now,

the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,

and the violent are taking it by force. 

All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. 

And if you are willing to accept it,

he is Elijah, the one who is to come. 

Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

More proof Jesus Christ was born in December, 1 BC

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/liberato-de-caro-nativity

Ratings for the Catechism of the Catholic Church on Google are completely bonkers.

A few of my friends and I have been studying the catechism for the past year or so. We have been trying to get in a session every Thursday, but things have come up, especially with the pandemic situation, that have prevented us from having a get-together each week.

On top of that, a friend of ours has actually left the province to enter the seminary! Such great and exciting news. I think he would make a fine priest.

I will perhaps get more into what we do as a group in another post. But for now, I just wanted to mention something a little strange that I found when doing some research.

I searched for the Catechism of the Catholic Church to find out when the most recent one was published. I searched for it on Google and it displayed a rating. I noticed it didn't have a great rating, just 3.8 overall. But almost all of the ratings seemed to be either 1 star or 5 stars. Very strange.

Looking a little deeper, I noticed the reason for this. People were giving the strangest reviews for the Catechism. Some would mention that they stopped attending Mass a long time ago. Some just had a grudge against the Church. Some of the comments were from Protestants who were voicing their disagreement with their false conceptions of what the Church teaches.

These people were apparently opposed to the Catholic Church and thus gave the Catechism a low rating. What a strange thing to do. Most of them seemingly didn't even read the Catechism, therefore they weren't even really rating it. They were rating how they personally felt about the Catholic Church. Okay, fine, I get that many people oppose the Church, but it doesn't make any sense to give the Catechism a low rating because of this. It would be like someone who hates BBQ rating a book on BBQ and saying the book was terrible because they dislike that type of food.

Anyway, it was just one of those things that caught my attention. On the other hand, there are hundreds of 5-star reviews, so the score doesn't completely plummet. I hope people realize this when they are looking at this rating.

I find the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great resource, and it's quite a hefty book with over 800 pages, but despite this fact, it really is an introductory book. It goes over the main tenets of the Christian faith. Sometimes it will quote a saint in a sentence of two. However, it may be valuable to read the entire document or book from which the quote is taken.

The most recent Catechism isn't the only one. There are previous versions. For example, one came from the Council of Trent. There is another called the Baltimore Catechism which was quite popular.

So if you are planning on picking up a copy of this widely-available resource, don't let the reviews stop you!

You're not the real St. Nicholas! (Smart Kid) Meme

 

Happy Feast Day of St. Juan Diego December 9

 

Readings for December 9, 2020 in the Catholic Church

Readings in the Catholic Church in Canada and the United States:

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

Lectionary: 183

Reading 1

Is 40:25-31

To whom can you liken me as an equal?

says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high

and see who has created these things:

He leads out their army and numbers them,

calling them all by name.

By his great might and the strength of his power

not one of them is missing!

Why, O Jacob, do you say,

and declare, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the LORD,

and my right is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know

or have you not heard?

The LORD is the eternal God,

creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint nor grow weary,

and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.

He gives strength to the fainting;

for the weak he makes vigor abound.

Though young men faint and grow weary,

and youths stagger and fall,

They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,

they will soar as with eagles’ wings;

They will run and not grow weary,

walk and not grow faint.

Responsorial Psalm

103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10

R.    (1)  O bless the Lord, my soul!

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

and all my being, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits.

R.    O bless the Lord, my soul!

He pardons all your iniquities,

he heals all your ills.

He redeems your life from destruction,

he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

R.    O bless the Lord, my soul!

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,

slow to anger and abounding in kindness.

Not according to our sins does he deal with us,

nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

R.    O bless the Lord, my soul!

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;

blessed are those prepared to meet him.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 11:28-30

Jesus said to the crowds:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”