Advent with Mary

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Advent
Week 1: Friday

Quotation
"Reverential hearing": this attitude was typical of Mary Most Holy, as the icon of the Annunciation symbolically portrays: the Virgin receives the heavenly Messenger while she is intent on meditating upon the Sacred Scriptures, usually shown by a book that Mary holds in her hand, on her lap or on a lectern.....Mary....[is] a humble handmaid of the divine Word."
--Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, November 6, 2005

Reflection
There is an old pious legend that before the Archangel Gabriel visited the Blessed Mother that she was reflecting on the Scriptures and meditating on the goodness of God. Then, 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." (Luke 1: 26-28) And then the Scriptures tell us, "that she was greatly troubled at what was said." But Mary doesn't question, she doesn't run away, the Scripture say that she meditated on what was said and "pondered what sort of greeting this might be." Our Lady never makes rash decisions, she is never disturbed because she is one who meditations and who ponders and whose wisdom comes not from herself, bur from the Holy Spirit Who stirs within her heart a great love for God and a great receptivity for God's Word. Even later on after the birth of Our Lord, when the Shepherds come, Saint Luke tells us that "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." (Luke 2:19) Dear friends, if we truly want to hear God's Word, if we truly want to receive His goodness and wisdom, if we truly desire to do what God will, then we too, like Mary, must be reflective, we too must ponder in our hearts the Word of God.

Prayer
Father, you give us food from heaven. By our sharing in the mystery of the Eucharist, teach us, like you taught Mary, to judge wisely the things of the earth and always treasure in our hearts the good things you teach us. Grant this through Christ Our Lord! Amen.

Advent With Mary

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Advent
Week 1: Thursday

Quotation
"In today's consumer society, this period [of Advent] has unfortunately suffered a sort of commercial 'pollution' that risks changing its authentic spirit, marked by recollection, moderation and joy, which is not external but intimate. It is thus providential that almost as a portal to Christmas there should be the feast of the one who is Mother of Jesus and who, better than anyone else, can lead us to know, love and adore the Son of God made man. Let us therefore allow her to accompany us; may her sentiments prompt us to prepare ourselves with heartfelt sincerity and openness of spirit to recognize in the Child of Bethlehem the Son of God who came into the world for our redemption. Let us walk together with her in prayer and accept the repeated invitation that the Advent liturgy addresses to us to remain in expectation - watchful and joyful expectation - for the Lord will not delay: he comes to set his people free from sin."
-- Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, December 11, 2005.

Reflection
Our Lord chose Mary! He could have come down to us in any way that He wanted, but He freely chose to come to us through Mary and so, the most effective way for us to go to Him, is to follow the pattern that He sets before us. Let us go to Him through Mary! And let us never fear anything in the world, so long as we are her children and she our Mother! There will be many distractions as Christmas draws near, let us cling to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and we will surely find Christ, who seems to get lost in all the secular things that fill what ought to be a most sacred and holy time of the year.

Prayer
Oh Mary, Conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!

Advent With Mary

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Advent

Week 1: Wednesday

Quotation

"The Virgin is the One who continues to listen, always ready to do the Lord's will; she is an example for the believer who lives in search of God.

~ Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 04 December 2005

Reflection
In the first reading from today's Mass (Isaiah 25:6-10a) we hear these words that the Holy Spirit spoke through the Prophet Isaiah,"On that day it will be said: 'Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!" One of the greatest parts of the Advent Season is the reminder that we, like the ancient peoples, might look for the Lord to save us. Those ancient people for generations were looking that the prophecies of old would be fulfilled, they were always looking for the signs of the ancient promise, and they were always preparing for the coming of the Messiah. As we know, the Messiah has already come, but He will come again. Are we looking? Are we preparing? For the Lord will come, whether we are ready or not, He will once again stand upon the earth. Better for us to be prepared and ready to welcome Him when He comes! Let us following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who serves as a bridge between those ancient peoples and the people of the New Covenant of grace. We are these new people, and Our Blessed Lady has laid down for us the way that we should go. Come let us follow Her and open our hearts to the child Jesus.

Prayer
God our Father, grant that we may be ready to receive Christ when he comes in glory, as Mary received Him, and that we may share with Her, in the banquet of Heaven, with You and Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.

Advent With Mary

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Advent
Week 1: Tuesday

Quotation
The first word on which I would like to meditate with you is the Angel's greeting to Mary. IN the Italian translation the Angel says: "Hail Mary." But the Greek word below, "Kaire," means in itself "be glad" or "Rejoice." This is the first word that resounds in the New Testament as such... We can therefore say that the first word of the New Testament is an invitation to joy: "rejoice, be glad!"
~Pope Benedict XVI, Homily at Santa Maria Consolatrice Parish, Rome, 18 December, 2005

Reflection
At first when we read the account in the Gospels about the Archangel Gabriel coming down from God with the message that the Blessed Virgin was truly blest, in that God had chosen her to be the mother of His only Son, at first we often focus on the words of Mary, "how can this be, since I have no relations with a man, " or "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord," and it is very fruitful to reflect on these words, but we ought to look first at the Archangel's greeting. It was this greeting that prompted Mary to say and to ponder these things and it was this greeting that began the unfolding of that secret plan of salvation for which generations had been waiting, watching and preparing. While the Immaculate Conception was essentially "the beginning" it was when the word was spoken by the Archangel that the creative power of God took concrete form in the womb of Mary! And with this tiny whisper spoken by an Archangel to the ears of this chosen Virgin, our salvation began to break upon the world like the sun which slowly rises in the morning conquering the darkness of night as it rises over the horizon. This simple whisper has the immediate affect of a great physical and spiritual joy! Rejoice and be glad, Oh Virgin Mary! Rejoice a Thousand times! And may we rejoice with her!

Prayer
God of mercy and consolation, help us in our weakness and free us from sin. Hear our prayers that we may rejoice with Mary at the coming of your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Click here to pray the Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
http://www.catholictradition.org/Two-Hearts/crown.htm

Advent with Mary

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Advent

Week 1: Monday

Some Preliminary Words
During these days of Advent, these days of waiting for the coming of Christ, both on the spiritual level as we prepare for the coming of Christmas, and on the tangible level as we prepare for the second coming, whenever God wills it, I would like to go with Mary, our Dear and Blessed Mother. Saint Louis DeMontfort begins his classic work, True Devotion to Mary, by telling us this truth: "It was through the most holy Virgin Mary that Jesus came into the world, and it is through her that He has to reign in the world."

Quotation
"At a crucial time in history, Mary ogffered herself, her body and soul, to God as a dwelling place. In her and from her the Son of God took flesh. Through her the Word was made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14). Thus, it is Mary who tells us what Advent is: going forth to meet the Lord who comes to meet us; waiting for him, listening to him, looking at him."
~~ Pope Benedict XVI, Homily at Our Lady Star of Evangelization Parish, Rome
December 10, 2006

Reflection
If we, as followers of Christ, profess to follow His ways and His will, then there is no better way to begin our journey toward Him as He begin His journey toward us, and that was through Mary. He is the All Powerful God, He could have come down in anyway His wished! He desired to dwell among men first while in the womb of Blessed Virgin Mary. His first instance of communion with mankind occured through Mary and in Mary. This communion was something new and something greater than the communion that existed before sin. Before sin entered the world, "God dwelt among men," as man's companion, as we read in the Book of Genesis, but after the Incarnation, "God dwells in man," as man's fulfillment and salvation. There is something greater here! If God chooses to dwell in man first through Mary, than let us, who desire to be in God, desire to be first in Mary. Simply put: if we want to be children of God, we first begin by being children of Mary.

Prayer
God our Father, help us prepare for the coming of Christ your Son. May He find us waiting and eager in joyful prayer, with Mary, our Holy Mother. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today is also the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle. Saint Andrew, pray for us!

For further another wonderful reflection for Advent, please visit EWTN at:
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/Advent/30.html

Sunday Catechesis: Year of the Priest

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Sunday Catechesis
Year of the Priest

The Holy Eucharist

~and~

the Holy Priesthood

Reflections by Father John Hardon, S.J.

The Eternal Presence

We turn to our own day. What Christ did during his visible stay on earth in first century Asia Minor, He has continued doing down the ages by the exercise of His almighty power available in his invisible presence in the Holy Eucharist. It is the same:

•Physically same,
•Historically same,
•Geographically same,
•Really same Jesus Christ who worked miracles at the dawn of Christianity,

Who is now present in the Blessed Sacrament, offering Himself in the Mass, and received by us in the Holy Eucharist.

What do we conclude from this? Obviously, that Catholic priests and bishops be witnesses in our day to Christ’s power in their lives, as were the Christians who were mangled by lions in the Roman Colosseum, or, like St. John Fisher, were beheaded by order of a lecherous king who discarded his wife in sixteenth century England.


Copyright © 1998 Inter Mirifica

2009 Cardinal's Christmas Party

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The Cardinal's Christmas Party

for Children

The faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have a strong tradition of safeguarding the most vulnerable members in the community; our children. Children suffering from poverty, neglect, illness, or disability have long been a focus of the care and concern of our Catholic community. Cardinal Rigali and his predecessors entrust this important work to Catholic Social Services (CSS), which served over 19,500 children and their families last year. The Cardinal’s Christmas Party is a annual fundraising event which supports those efforts. It is also an afternoon of fun for children from various CSS programs who attend a party hosted by the Cardinal.

Catholic Social Services serves children and youth in the community through programs offered after school and on weekends when they need safe and stimulating activities. Programs for young children and adolescents are conducted at CSS Family Service Centers, Catholic elementary schools, and the Cardinal Bevilacqua Community Center. Children at risk for neglect and abuse are served through foster care and in-home support. Family Service Centers offer guidance for new mothers and families with young children. Residential programs of St. Francis-St. Joseph Home for Children, St. Vincent's Home, and St. Gabriel's System - serve children and youth with unique needs.

This year your support for these works of mercy is more crucial than ever. The Cardinal’s Christmas Party is a wonderful way during this most sacred season to demonstrate your support for those works of Catholic Social Services that benefit children. Together we can provide help and create hope for children of all races and creeds who are in need of compassionate care and support.

The above information comes from:
©2009 Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia
222 North 17th Street, 3rd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1299
ph. 215.587.3900

To learn more about the Cardinal's Christmas Party, visit: http://www.cardinalschristmasparty.org

Please consider making a donation. For information on how to contribute visit the above mentioned webpage.

Contributions can also be made online at:
https://www.applyweb.com/public/contribute?s=AOPCCPC

The Kingdom of God

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In the Gospel today there is talk of the Kingdom of God and about reading the signs that tell of its approach, or even, of its presence! See Saint Luke 21:29-33.

Today, I share with you the words of a homily written by Saint Cyprian, a bishop and martyr of the Church from the third century. These touching words give us all something to ponder and reflect on. May God's grace give us the courage and the perseverance always to be ready when the hour comes for the Son of Man to take us home.

"Our obligation is to do God's will, and not our own. We must remember this if the prayer that our Lord commanded us to say daily is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God's will be done, and then not promptly obey it when he calls us from this world! Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord's presence with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure, but constrained by necessity. And yet we expect to be rewarded with heavenly honors by him to whom we come against our will! Why then do we pray for the kingdom of heaven to come if this earthly bondage pleases us? What is the point of praying so often for its early arrival if we should rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ.

The world hates Christians, so why give your love to it instead of following Christ, who loves you and has redeemed you? John is most urgent in his epistle when he tells us not to love the world by yielding to sensual desires. Never give your love to the world, he warns, or to anything in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition. The world and its allurements will pass away, but the man who has done the will of God shall live for ever.

Our part, my dear brothers, is to be single-minded, firm in faith, and steadfast in courage, ready for God's will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life that follows. That will show people that we really live our faith.

We ought never to forget, beloved, that we have renounced the world. We are living here now as aliens and only for a time. When the day of our homecoming puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world, and restores us to paradise and to a kingdom, we should welcome it. What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country as soon as possible? Well, we look upon paradise as our country, and a great crowd of our loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children longs for us to join them. Assured though they are of their own salvation, they are still concerned about ours. What joy both for them and for us to see one another and embrace! O the delight of that heavenly kingdom where there is no fear of death! O the supreme and endless bliss of everlasting life!

There, is the glorious band of apostles, there, the exultant assembly of prophets, there, the innumerable host of martyrs, crowned for their glorious victory in combat and in death. There, in triumph, are the virgins who subdued their passions by the strength of continence. There, the merciful are rewarded, those who fulfilled the demands of justice by providing for the poor. In obedience to the Lord's command, they turned their earthly patrimony into heavenly treasure.

My dear brothers, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve that springs from faith, for he will give the rewards of his love more abundantly to those who have longed for him more fervently."

Source: The Liturgy of the Hours - Office of Readings

Thanksgiving Day (USA)

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A Happy and Blessed

Thanksgiving to All!

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

For He satisfies the longing soul,

And fills the hungry soul with goodness."

-- Psalm 107:8-9

"Praise the Lord!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever. "

-- Psalm 106:1-2

"I will praise God's name

in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."

-- Psalm 69:30

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From the Great Saint Augustine

[It is good for man to ponder] the great things he has received from God,

the great gifts of grace from the Almighty:

God created man,

sought him when he was lost,

pardoned him when he was found,

supported him when he struggled in weakness,

did not abandon him when he was in danger,

crowned him in victory,

and gave himself as the prize.

Reflecting on all this,

man cries out, saying:

What shall I give the Lord for all he has given me?

I shall take up the chalice of salvation

[and call upon the name of the Lord].”

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

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Catherine was a very learned woman of the early fourth century. Because of her ability in the sciences, she is invoked as the patron saint of philosophers. Following her conversion, at the age of 18, she travelled throughout Alexandria in Egypt, preaching the message of Christianity. After converting the Empress and the leader of the armed forces, the Emperor Magnus Maximus ordered that she be put to death. She was attached to a "wheel of torture" (known as "Catherine's wheel"), which somehow broke during her horrible torture and, as history teaches us, angels came down from heaven and carried her body off to Mount Sinai, where they buried her mortal remains. Her body is venerated on this spot even today, where a Church and a Monastery has been built in her honor. The Saints assist us, for by their example they show us how to give God first place in our lives and by their prayers they inspire us and lift us up. Saint Catherine, like so many of the other martyrs, glorified God by the deaths. We, ordinary and regular people, might not be able to glorify God by such a death, but we can offer God our entire lives. This was the practice of the martyrs before they died and this, in truth, is what gave them the courage and the grace to offer themselves even in death to give glory to Almighty God. If we are not given the grace of martyrdom, we can at east give God our entire lives, everything that we are, and everything that we do and say. We can live our lives centered on God and by trying to live lives that are devout, sincere and persevering. Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us!

St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions

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Today we celebrate a group of 117 martyrs and while they died at different times, they were all canonized by Pope John Paul II, on June 19, 1988. The group was composed of 96 Vietnamese, 11 Spaniards, and 10 French. And their ranks included 8 bishops, 50 priests and 59 lay Catholics.

St. Andrew Dung-Lac was born about the 1795 into a poor family that had no religion in Bac-Ninh in North Vietnam. When he was twelve the family moved to Hà-Nôi (Hanoi) because his parents could easily find work in that city. While there he met a catechist (a teacher of the faith) who not only began to teach him about Christ, but who also worked to care for his physical needs by providing food and shelter for him and his family. He received an education in the Christian faith for three years and was baptized with the Christian name Andrew, his name was originally Dung An Trân. He was a smart man and learned Chinese and Latin and he himself became a catechist and he taught catechism in the country. He was chosen to study theology, and on March 15, 1823 he was ordained a priest. As a parish priest in Ke-Dâm he was particularly dedicated to his preaching. He lived a very ascetical life with much fasting and he led a very simple and moral life, he was a good example for the people, and many were baptized. In 1835 he was imprisoned under emperor Minh-Mang's persecutions, but his freedom was purchased by donations from members of the congregation he served. To avoid persecutions he changed his name to Lac and moved to another parish to continue his work. However, on November 10, 1839, while visiting another priest for confession, he was arrested again, the priest names was Father Peter Thi. A second time they were freed because someone bought their freedom, but their freedom lasted only a short time. They were both arrested right away and taken to Hanoi, where they both suffered a terrible degree of torture. They were both beheaded on December 21, 1839.

How frequently we take our faith for granted and we are lax with things that we ought to be very serious about, like going Mass and following the precepts of the Church. It ought to be a sobering thought to know that countless men and women have been martyred for our catholic faith. Indeed even Our Himself died, so that we might have life! Let us never take the great gift of our faith for granted, but let us live it with vigor and conviction. Saint Andrew Dung Lac and Companions, pray for us!

Pope Saint Clement I

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Saint Clement is the third successor of St. Peter, that means he was the fourth Pope and he led the Church from 92 to 102 A.D. and is mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I). Pope St. Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthians, which is one of the most ancient and precious documents surviving from early Christian times. He was a man profoundly and wholly imbued with the mystery of God and the love that united all Christians to the Lord Himself. very little is know about his life. He was martyred for the faith that he loved and his body still reposes to this day in the altar of the Roman Church that was built in his honor.

There is a pious legend that tells us about his death: He had a great zeal for souls, and at the end of his time he was banished to a distant land, while there he found two-thousand other Christians who had received a similar sentence as he. When he found them he comforted them with his preaching. "They all cried with one voice: Pray for us, blessed Clement, that we may become worthy of the promises of Christ. He replied: Without any merit of my own, the Lord sent me to you to share in your crowns." While imprisoned they were made to work and once when they were complaining Clement encouraged them, "Let us all pray to the Lord Jesus Christ that He may open to His witnesses a fountain of water." Then while blessed Clement was praying, history records this miracle: the Lamb of God appeared to him and at His feet a bubbling fountain of fresh water began to flow. Seeing this miracle all of the pagans of the neighborhood began to believe in Christ.

When Trajan heard of these marvels, he ordered Clement to be drowned with an iron anchor about his neck. While he was making his way to the sea, the people cried with a loud voice: "Lord Jesus Christ, save him!" But Clement prayed in tears: "Father, receive my spirit." After his death while still standing on the shore the Christians prayed asking God to give them the body of the Pope. Legend tells us that the sea receded three miles back so that they could walk on dry land and they did, they found the body of the saint in a stone coffin within a small marble chapel, alongside lay the anchor. They said to one another, "You have given a dwelling to Your martyr Clement in the sea, O Lord, a temple of marble built by the hands of angels." His body was buried and was later taken to Rome under Pope Nicholas 1 (858-867) by Sts. Cyril and Methodius and placed in a church dedicated to his honor (San Clemente). This is one of the most venerable and interesting of the churches in Rome because it retains all the liturgical arrangements of ancient times.

Saint Clement I of Rome, Pray for us!