Saturday, December 18, 2010

December 18: O Adonai


O ADONAI, dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extenso.

O Lord (Exodus 6:2, Vulgate), leader of the house of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush (Exodus 3:2) and on Mount Sinai gave him the law (Exodus 20):
come and free us with your powerful arm (Exodus 15:12-13).

Source: Sandro Magister's Advent in Music. Seven Antiphons, All Worth Discovering Again

Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas on EWTN


EWTN Media Missionary


Please join EWTN in celebrating the birth of the Christ Child! The word "Catholic" literally means "universal" and how better to spend this Christmas than being united in prayer with our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, and the entire universal Church. EWTN is proud to bring you LIVE beautiful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses from Rome and the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C., as well as various other inspiring Christmas programs.

Did you know that you can receive the Christmas papal blessing, and the plenary indulgence attached to it, watching and listening live to Pope Benedict deliver his Urbi et Orbi message? Please share the following information with others and insert the announcement below in your parish bulletin.



SOLEMN MASS OF CHRISTMAS EVE WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI
LIVE - Fri 12/24 4 PM ET, ENCORE - Sat 12/25 8:00 AM ET, 12/25 6 PM ET
Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord as he presides over one of the most glorious liturgies of the year. Midnight Mass, live from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

SOLEMN MASS OF CHRISTMAS EVEN FROM BNSIC
LIVE - Fri 12/24 10:30 PM ET
Live from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC, USA


URBI ET ORBI FROM ROME: POPE BENEDICT'S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD
LIVE - 12/25 6:00 AM ET, ENCORE - 12/25 10:00 PM ET, 12/26 10:00 AM ET. 12/31 9:00PM ET
Pope Benedict XVI offers his Christmas Day blessing and message to the city of Rome and to the world. A Plenary indulgence is granted to those who receive the blessing in person or over the airwaves.


Thank you for your kind cooperation and, if I can ever be of assistance to you or your parish with regards to EWTN, please feel free to contact me. Have a blessed Advent and a merry Christmas!


Parish Bulletin Insertion Requested the Weekend of December 18-19


Did you know that you could gain a plenary indulgence attached to Pope Benedict XVI's Christmas Day blessing live over the television, radio, or internet? The Eternal Word Television Network is proud to bring you LIVE Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses from the Vatican and Washington, DC as well as various other inspiring special Christmas programming including Pope Benedict's Urbi Et Orbi - his Christmas Day blessing and message to the world. Visit www.ewtn.com for more information or to locate EWTN in your area.

December 17th: O Sapientia


O SAPIENTIA, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, who come from the mouth of the Most High (Sirach 24:5),
you extend to the ends of the earth, and order all things with power and sweetness (Wisdom 8:1):
come and teach us the way of wisdom (Proverbs 9:6).

Source: Sandro Magister's Advent in Music. Seven Antiphons, All Worth Discovering Again

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Christmas in Hawaii

From Honolulu page on Facebook.

Photos by Esther G.

Interesting article from the Miami Herald of all places! How Christmas Developed in Hawaii.


Also check out from the Orange County Register Christmas, Hawaiian Style.

Santa seemingly squints in the sun, throwing a Hawaiian thumb-and-pinky "hang loose" shaka sign, his white-fur-trimmed red shirt open wide to reveal a big tanned tummy. The statue of a tropical St. Nick sits next to a huge "Tutu Mele" – "Merry Granny," as Mrs. Claus is called – who has hiked up her skirt to catch a cool trade wind.
Sacred Heart Church, Honolulu Christmas Eve 2009

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The Need for Reparation

Picture source
"...I also think something else is desperately needed, something that is often neglected when we think about what we can do to stop legalized abortion in this country. That would be reparation..."

Eric Sammons' The Need for Reparation

Encyclical on the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering

Venerable John Paul II
Salvifici Doloris

It will be added to the side bar.

THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY



H/T to everyone. I have seen this everywhere :-)

Journey Home - Former Protestant Minister - Doug Keck with Marcus Grodi - 12-13-2010


Guest Convert: Marcus Grodi!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

On Priests: Remember the Saying...

Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Picture source

The following is from a prayer card.

If the priest is a saint, his people will be holy.
If the priest is holy, his people will be good.
If the priest is good, his people will be fair.
If the priest is fair, his people will be mediocre.
If the priest is mediocre, his people will be bad.

Pray for your priest.
According to Adoro, this quote is by St. Jean M. Vianney. Thank you!


He who honors a priest, honors Christ.
He who insults a priest, insults Christ.
- St. John Chrysostom


If I saw an angel and a priest,
I would bend my knee;
first to the priest, then to the angel.

- St. Francis of Assisi

Prayer source Catholic Prayer Cards. Please be sure to visit their site. They have the most wonderful prayer cards, etc. at very reasonable prices.

Saint John of the Cross

Picture source

"If you do not learn to deny yourself, you can make no progress in perfection."

Prayer to Saint John of the Cross

O glorious Saint John of the Cross,
great Doctor of the Church,
who, from very longing to be configured to Jesus crucified,
didst desire nothing more ardently,
even to the last moment of thy holy life,
than to suffer and
to be despised and rejected of all men;
and so great was thy thirst for suffering,
that thy generous heart was filled with joy
in the midst of most painful torments and afflictions;
I beseech thee, dear Saint,
by the glory thou didst merit by thy
manifold sufferings,
intercede for me with almighty God and
obtain for me love of suffering, together
with the grace and strength to endure all
tribulations and adversities with dauntless courage;
for these are the sure means of coming
into the possession of that crown of glory
which is prepared for me in heaven.
Ah yes, dear Saint,
from that high and glorious throne where thou
sittest triumphant, hear,
I beseech thee,
my earnest entreaties, that,
following thee,
I may become a lover of the cross and
of suffering and thus may merit to be thy companion in glory.
Amen.

Prayer source: The Prayer Book, Catholic Press Inc.

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"Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing."


Picture source

Prayer that We Will Possess All Things in Christ

My God,
You will not take away what You have given me
in Your only Son, Jesus Christ.
In him, You have given me all that I desire.
You will, therefore, no long delay-
and this is my joy-
provided that I wait for You.

So, my heart, why do you delay?
Why do you procrastinate?
From this moment on you can love your God!

Mine are the heavens,
mine is the earth and mine are the peoples;
mine are the just and mine are the sinners;
mine are the angels;
mine is the mother of God-
God Himself is mine, for me-
for mine is Christ
and everything is for me.

What do you ask, what do you seek, my soul?
Everything is for you and everything is yours!

Do not think of yourself as little
nor pay attention to the scraps that fall
from the table of your Father.

Rise on the great day
and take your glory in His!
Hide yourself in it
and be joyful:
everything which your heart desires
shall be yours.

- St. John of the Cross (1549-1591)
Priest, Mystic and Doctor of the Church

Prayer Source: New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book, Catholic Book Publishing

Picture source

"In detachment, the spirit finds quiet and repose for coveting nothing. Nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the center of its own humility."

"In giving us His Son, His only Word, He spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word -- and He has no more to say ... because what he spoke before to the prophets in parts, he has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son."

Picture source

"I wish I could persuade spiritual persons that the way of perfection does not consist in many devices, nor in much cogitation, but in denying themselves completely and yielding themselves to suffer everything for the love of Christ. And if there is failure in this exercise, all other methods of walking in the spiritual way are merely a beating about the bush, and profitless trifling, although a person should have very high contemplation and communication with God."

Picture source

"Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing."

Picture source

"O you souls who wish to go on with so much safety and consolation, if you knew how pleasing to God is suffering, and how much it helps in acquiring other good things, you would never seek consolation in anything; but you would rather look upon it as a great happiness to bear the Cross of the Lord."


Picture source

"For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ, "In him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God." The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labors, and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses, and has undergone long spiritual training.

The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it."

Source for the St. John of the Cross quotes on self-denial.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Adam, the Little Christian Boy Who Confronted Islamic Terrorists

by Michael Terheyden for Catholic Online

He was small in height and mind (being only three), yet he stood up to the terrorists and gave the world a message that it desperately needs. He showed us what it means to "Be not afraid" in the face of overwhelming evil. In contrast to the utter destruction of evil, he showed us the beauty and goodness of a child - and human life.
The entire article can be found here.

Video on the attack on the Church in Iraq can be seen here.

Shared by Sue Cifelli.