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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 01-03-08, Opt. Most Holy Name of Jesus
USCCB.org/New American Bible ^
| 01-03-08
| New American Bible
Posted on 01/03/2008 8:13:51 AM PST by Salvation
January 3, 2008
1 Jn 2:29–3:6
If you consider that God is righteous,
you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness
is begotten by him.
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness,
for sin is lawlessness.
You know that he was revealed to take away sins,
and in him there is no sin.
No one who remains in him sins;
no one who sins has seen him or known him.
98:1, 3cd-4, 5-6
R. (3cd) All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God. Sing praise to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and melodious song. With trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Jn 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholics; christmas; saints
For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.
1
posted on
01/03/2008 8:13:56 AM PST
by
Salvation
To: nickcarraway; sandyeggo; Lady In Blue; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; Catholicguy; RobbyS; ...
Alleluia Ping!
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2
posted on
01/03/2008 8:15:06 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: Salvation
3
posted on
01/03/2008 8:16:07 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
4
posted on
01/03/2008 8:17:12 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
5
posted on
01/03/2008 8:18:03 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Blessed be the most holy Name of Jesus without end!
January Devotion: The Holy Name of Jesus
The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. This feast is also celebrated on January 3. Here is an explanation of the devotion.
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has associated entire months to special devotions. The devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus has been traditionally associated with the month of January, due to its celebration on January 3. The name Jesus was given to the Holy Child at God's command (Luke 1:31). The Holy Name is all-powerful because of the Person who bears it; we honor it because of the command of Christ, that we should pray in His Name and because it reminds us of all the blessings we receive through our Holy Redeemer. Hence St. Paul was able to write to the Philippians: ". . . at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth" (Phil. 2:10). By means of this devotion we also make amends for improper use of the Holy Name.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
Prayer/Hymn in Honor of the Most Holy Name of Jesus - Iesu, Dulcis Memoria
Iesu, Dulcis Memoria is a celebrated 12th century hymn attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), Doctor Mellifluus. The entire hymn has some 42 to 53 stanzas depending upon the manuscript. Parts of this hymn were used for the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, which was formerly celebrated on the Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany, or failing such a Sunday, on January 2. The part below was used at Vespers. In the liturgical revisions of Vatican II, the feast was deleted, though a votive Mass to the Holy Name of Jesus had been retained for devotional use. With the release of the revised Roman Missal in March 2002, the feast was restored as an optional memorial on January 3.
Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast!
Yet sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy presence rest.
No voice can sing, no heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find,
A sweeter sound than Jesus' name,
The Savior of mankind.
O hope of every contrite heart!
0 joy of all the meek!
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!
But what to those who find? Ah! this
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know.
Jesus! our only hope be Thou,
As Thou our prize shalt be;
In Thee be all our glory now,
And through eternity. Amen.
---Roman Breviary
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
O Divine Jesus, Thou hast promised that anything we ask of the Eternal Father in Thy name shall be granted.
O Eternal Father. In the name of Jesus, for the love of Jesus, in fulfillment of this promise, and because Jesus has said it, grant us our petitions for the sake of Jesus, Thy Divine Son. Amen.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
Devotion to the Holy Name [of Jesus]
The Name of Jesus: Its Power in Our Lives
The Holy Name of Jesus
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus
The Holy Name of Jesus
6
posted on
01/03/2008 8:19:16 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Holy Father's Prayer Intentions For 2008
JANUARY 2008
General:
That the Church may strengthen her commitment to full visible unity in order to manifest ever more clearly her nature as a community of love in which is reflected the communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Mission:
That the Church in Africa, preparing to celebrate the second Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa, may continue to be a sign and channel of reconciliation and justice in a continent still suffering from war, exploitation and poverty.
7
posted on
01/03/2008 8:22:40 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
From: 1 John 2:29-3:6
Not Listening to Heretics (Continuation)
[29] If you know that he is righteous, thou may be sure that every one
who does right is born of him.
We are Children of God
[1] See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called
children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not
know us is that it did not know him. [2] Beloved we are God’s children
now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when
he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
A Child of God Does Not Sin
[3] And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
[4] Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is law-
lessness. [5] You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in
him there is no sin. [6] No one who abides in him sins; no one who
sins has either seen him or known him.
Commentary:
1-24. This entire chapter shows how moved the Apostle is when he
contemplates the marvelous gift of divine filiation. The Holy Spirit, who
is the author of all Sacred Scripture, has desired John to pass on to
us this unique revelation: we are children of God (v. 1).
It is not easy to divide the chapter into sections, because the style
is very cyclic and colloquial and includes many repetitions and further
thoughts which make for great vividness and freshness. However, we
can distinguish an opening proclamation of the central message (vv.
1-2) and emphasis on two requirements of divine filiation—rejection of
sin in any shape or form (vv. 3-10), and brotherly love lived to the full
(vv. 11-24).
1. “We should be called children of God”: the original Hebrew expres-
sion, which reads “we are called...”, is also used by our Lord in the
Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:9): “to be called” means the same as “to be called
by God”; and in the language of the Bible, when God gives someone a
name he is not simply conferring a title but is causing the thing that the
name indicates (cf., e.g., Gen 17:5), for the word of God is efficacious,
it does what it says it will do. Hence St John’s adding: “and so we are”.
Therefore, it is not just a matter of a metaphorical title, or a legal fiction,
or adoption human-style: divine filiation is an essential feature of a Chris-
tian’s life, a marvelous fact whereby God gratuitously gives men a strict-
ly supernatural dignity, an intimacy with God whereby they are “domesti-
ci Dei”, “members of the household of God” (Eph 219). This explains the
tone of amazement and joy with which St John passes on this revelation.
This sense of divine filiation is one of the central points in the spirituality
of Opus Dei. Its founder wrote: “We do not exist in order to pursue just
any happiness. We have been called to penetrate the intimacy of God’s
own life, to know and love God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit, and to love also—in that same love of the one God in three
divine Persons—the angels and all men.
“This is the great boldness of the Christian faith—to proclaim the value
and dignity of human nature and to affirm that we have been created to
obtain the dignity of children of God, through the grace that raises us
up to a supernatural level. An incredible boldness it would be, were it
not founded on the promise of salvation given us by God the Father,
confirmed by the blood of Christ, and reaffirmed and made possible by
the constant action of the Holy Spirit” (”Christ Is Passing By”, 133).
“The world does not know us, (because) it did not know him”: these
words are reminiscent of our Lord’s at the Last Supper: “the hour is
coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me”
(Jn 16:2-3). Divine filiation brings with it communion and a mysterious
identification between Christ and the Christian.
2. The indescribable gift of divine filiation, which the world does not
know (v. 1), is not fully experienced by Christians, because the seeds
of divine life which it contains will only reach their full growth in eternal
life, when we see him “as he is”, “face to face” (1 Cor 13:12); “this is
eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent” (Jn 17:3). In that direct sight of God as he is,
and of all things in God, the life of grace and divine filiation achieve
their full growth. Man is not naturally able to see God face to face; he
needs to be enlightened by a special light, which is given the techni-
cal theological name of “lumen gloriae”, light of glory. This does not
allow him to “take in” all God (no created thing could do that), but it
does allow him to look at God directly.
Commenting on this verse, the “St Pius V Catechism” explains that
“beatitude consists of two things—that we shall behold God such as
he is in his own nature and substance; and that we ourselves shall be-
come, as it were, gods. For those who enjoy God while they retain their
own nature, assume a certain admirable and almost divine form, so as
to seem gods rather than men” (I, 13, 7).
“When he appears”: two interpretations are possible, given that in Greek
the verb has no subject: “when (what we shall be) is revealed we shall
be as he is”; or, as the New Vulgate translates it, “when he (Christ) is
revealed we will be like him (Christ)”. The second interpretation is the
more likely.
3. “Purifies himself”: Christian hope, which is grounded on Christ, is
something active and it moves the Christian to “purify himself”. This
verb is evocative of the ritual purifications required of priests in the Old
Testament prior to engaging in divine service (cf. Ex 19:10; Num 8:21;
Acts 21:24); here and in other places in the New Testament, it means
interior purification from sins, that is, righteousness, holiness (1 Pet
1:22; Jas 4:8). Our model is Jesus Christ, “as he is pure”; he is the
One who has never had sin, the Righteous One (1 Jn 2:29; 3:7); a
Christian has no other model of holiness, as Jesus himself said:
“Learn from me” (Mt 11:29; cf. Jn 14:6). “We have to learn from him,
from Jesus, who is our only model. If you want to go forward without
stumbling or wandering off the path, then all you have to do is walk the
road he walked placing your feet in his footprints and entering into his
humble and patient Heart, there to drink from the wellsprings of his
commandments and of his love. In a word, you must identify yourself
with Jesus Christ and try to become really and truly another Christ
among your fellow men” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 128).
4-5. “Sin is lawlessness”: although this is not strictly speaking a defi-
nition, it does convey a basic idea: every sin is more than a transgres-
sion of a precept of the moral law; it is above all, an offense against
God, the author of that law, a despising and a rejection of his will.
To understand the scope of this assertion, one needs to start from the
fact that man has been created by God and is ever-dependent on him.
So, every sin involves a pretentious desire to be like God (cf. Gen 3:5),
to build one’s life without reference to, or even in opposition to, God.
Everyone who sins severs his allegiance to God and takes the devil’s
side. In this the mystery and “lawlessness” of sin consists. “This ex-
pression,” Pope John Paul II explains, “which echoes what St Paul
writes concerning the mystery of evil (cf. 2 Thess 2:7), helps us to
grasp the obscure and intangible element hidden in sin. Clearly, sin
is a product of man’s freedom. But deep within its human reality there
are factors at work which place it beyond the merely human, in the
border-area where man’s conscience, will and sensitivity are in contact
with the dark forces which, according to St Paul, are active in the
world almost to the point of ruling it (cf. Rom 7:7-24; Eph 2:2; 6:12)”
(”Reconciliatio et Paenitentiae”, 14).
Moreover, now that Christ has brought about our Redemption, every sin
implies an offense to our Redeemer; it means crucifying again the Son
of God (cf. Heb 6:6). So, St John reminds us about the main purpose of
the Incarnation: “he appeared to take away sins” (v. 5). There is an echo
here of the words the Apostle heard the Baptist say: “Behold the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” (Jn 1:29).
Thus, as we profess in the Creed at Mass, “for us men and for our salva-
tion he (the Word) came down from heaven”. Being true God and there-
fore completely exempt from sin (v. 5), he took on our human nature, to
burden himself with our sins and nail them to the Cross. Therefore, the
Christian, ransomed from the power of the devil by the precious blood
of Christ, and intimately united to him by the life of grace, has broken
with sin once for all.
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”.
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University
of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter
Publishers, the U.S. publishers.
8
posted on
01/03/2008 8:33:16 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
From: John 1:29-34
The Witness of John (Continuation)
[29] The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him,
and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world! [30] This is He of whom I said, `After me comes a man who
ranks before me, for He was before me.’ [31] I myself did not know
Him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed
to Israel.” [32] And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a
dove from Heaven, and it remained on Him. [33] I myself did not know
Him; but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `He on
whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is He who baptizes
with the Holy Spirit.’ [34] And I have seen and borne witness that this
is the Son of God.”
Commentary:
29. For the first time in the Gospel Christ is called the “Lamb of God”.
Isaiah had compared the sufferings of the Servant of Yahweh, the Mes-
siah, with the sacrifice of a lamb (cf. Isaiah 53:7); and the blood of the
paschal lamb smeared on the door of houses had served to protect the
firstborn of the Israelites in Egypt (cf. Exodus 12:6-7): all this was a
promise and prefiguring of the true Lamb, Christ, the victim in the sac-
rifice of Calvary on behalf of all mankind. This is why St. Paul will say
that “Christ, our Paschal Lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians
5:7). The expression “Lamb of God” also suggests the spotless inno-
cence of the Redeemer (cf. 1 Peter 1:18-20; 1 John 3:5).
The sacred text says “the sin of the world”, in the singular, to make it
absolutely clear that every kind of sin is taken away: Christ came to
free us from Original Sin, which in Adam affected all men, and from
all personal sins.
The Book of Revelation reveals to us that Jesus is victorious and glo-
rious in Heaven as the slain lamb (cf. Revelation 5:6-14), surrounded
by saints, martyrs and virgins (Revelation 7:9, 14; 14:1-5), who render
Him the praise and glory due Him as God (Revelation 7:10).
Since Holy Communion is a sharing in the sacrifice of Christ, priests
say these words of the Baptist before administering it, to encourage
the faithful to be grateful to our Lord for giving Himself up to death
to save us and for giving Himself to us as nourishment for our souls.
30-31. John the Baptist here asserts Jesus’ superiority by saying that
He existed before him, even though He was born after him. Thereby he
shows us the divinity of Christ, who was generated by the Father from
all eternity and born of the Virgin Mary in time. It is as if the Baptist
were saying: “Although I was born before Him, He is not limited by the
ties of His birth; for although He is born of His mother in time, He was
generated by His Father outside of time” (St. Gregory the Great, “In
Evangelia Homiliae”, VII).
By saying what he says in verse 31, the Precursor does not mean to
deny his personal knowledge of Jesus (cf. Luke 1:36 and Matthew
3:14), but to make it plain that God revealed to him the moment when
he should publicly proclaim Jesus as Messiah and Son of God, and
that he also understood that his own mission as precursor had no
other purpose than to bear witness to Jesus Christ.
32-34. To emphasize the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Evangelist in-
cludes here the Precursor’s testimony regarding Jesus’ Baptism (cf.
the other Gospels, which describe in more detail what happened on
this occasion: Matthew 3:13-17 and paragraph). It is one of the key
points in our Lord’s life, in which the mystery of the Blessed Trinity
is revealed (cf. note on Matthew 3:16).
The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, of whom it is said in Genesis
1:2 that He was moving over the face of the waters. Through this sign
of the dove, the Isaiah prophecies (11:2-5: 42:1-2) are fulfilled which say
that the Messiah will be full of the power of the Holy Spirit. The Baptist
points to the great difference between the baptism he confers and
Christ’s Baptism; in John 3, Jesus will speak about this new Baptism
in water and in the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:5; Titus 3:5).
“The Son of God”: it should be pointed out that in the original text this
expression carries the definite article, which means that John the Bap-
tist confesses before his listeners the supernatural and transcendent
character of Christ’s messiahship—very far removed from the politico-
religious notion which Jewish leaders had forged.
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”.
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University
of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter
Publishers, the U.S. publishers.
9
posted on
01/03/2008 8:34:10 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd
Mass Readings
| First reading |
1 John 2:29 - 3:6 © |
You know that God is righteous –
then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous
has been begotten by him.
Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s children;
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him,
therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God
but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.
Surely everyone who entertains this hope
must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.
Anyone who sins at all
breaks the law,
because to sin is to break the law.
Now you know that he appeared in order to abolish sin,
and that in him there is no sin;
anyone who lives in God does not sin,
and anyone who sins
has never seen him or known him. |
| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 97 |
| Gospel |
John 1:29 - 34 © |
| The next day, seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit”. Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’ |
10
posted on
01/03/2008 8:38:03 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Office of Readings and Invitatory Prayer
Office of Readings
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 17 (18) |
| Thanksgiving |
The Lord’s ways are pure; the words of the Lord are refined in the furnace; the Lord protects all who hope in him.
For what God is there, but our Lord? What help, but in the Lord our God?
God, who has wrapped me in his strength and set me on the perfect path,
who has made my feet like those of the deer, who has set me firm upon the heights,
who trains my hands for battle, teaches my arms to bend a bow of bronze.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. |
| Psalm 17 (18) |
You have given me the shield of your salvation; your right hand holds me up; by answering me, you give me greatness.
You have stretched out the length of my stride, my feet do not weaken.
I pursue my enemies and surround them; I do not turn back until they are no more.
I smash them to pieces, they cannot stand, they fall beneath my feet.
You have wrapped me round with strength for war, and made my attackers fall under me.
You turned my enemies’ backs on me, you destroyed those who hated me.
They cried out, but there was no-one to save them; they cried to the Lord, but he did not hear.
I have ground them up until they are dust in the wind, trodden them down like the mud of the street.
You have delivered me from the murmurings of the people and placed me at the head of the nations.
A people I do not even know serves me – at a mere rumour of my orders, they obey.
The children of strangers beg for my favour; they hide away and tremble where they hide.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. |
| Psalm 17 (18) |
The Lord lives, my blessed Helper. Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
God, you give me my revenge, you subject peoples to my rule, you free me from my enraged enemies.
You raise me up from those who attack me, you snatch me from the grasp of the violent.
And so I will proclaim you among the nations, Lord, and sing to your name.
Time and again you save your king, you show your loving kindness to your anointed, to David and his descendants for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. |
| Reading |
Colossians 3:5 - 16 © |
You must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God. |
| Reading |
St Augustine's tractates on St John |
| The twin commandments of love |
The Lord himself came, the Teacher of love, full of love, shortening the word upon the earth, as it was foretold that he would do. He showed that from the two precepts of love depend the whole of the Law and the prophets.
What are these two commandments? Join me, my brethren, in recollecting them. They ought to be thoroughly familiar to you and not just come into your mind when we recite them: they ought never to be blotted out from your hearts. Always and everywhere, bear in mind that you must love God and your neighbour, love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as you would love yourself.
We must always ponder these words, meditate them, hold them in our minds, practise them and bring them to fruition. As far as teaching is concerned, the love of God comes first; but as far as doing is concerned, the love of our neighbour comes first. Whoever sets out to teach you these two commandments of love must not commend your neighbour to you first, and then God, but God first and then your neighbour. You, on the other hand, do not yet see God, but loving your neighbour will bring you that sight. By loving your neighbour you purify your eyes so that they are ready to see God, as John clearly says: If you do not love your brother, whom you see, how can you love God, whom you do not see?
You are told “Love God”. If you say to me “Show me whom I should love”, what can I say except what John says? No man has ever seen God. But you must not think yourself wholly unsuited to seeing God: God is love, says John, and whoever dwells in love dwells in God. So love whoever is nearest to you and look inside you to see where that love is coming from: thus, as far as you are capable, you will see God.
So start to love your neighbout. Share your bread with the hungry, bring the homeless pauper into your house. Clothe the naked, and do not despise the servants of your kin.
What will you get from doing all this? Your light will break forth like the dawn. Your light is your God, your dawn, because he will come to you to end the night of this world — he who, himself, neither rises nor sets but is eternal.
By loving your neighbour, by having care for your neighbour, you are travelling on a journey. Where are you journeying, except to the Lord God, whom we must love with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind? We have not yet reached the Lord, but our neighbour is with us already. So support your neighbour, who is travelling with you, so that you may reach him with whom you long to dwell. |
| Concluding Prayer |
O God, your Son, born of the Virgin, received a manhood without human failings.
Grant that we who put on the newness of Jesus Christ
may shed the stains of our old state of being.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen. |
11
posted on
01/03/2008 8:40:26 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
American Catholic’s Saint of the Day
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January 3, 2008
Most Holy Name of Jesus
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In a world of fiercely guarded corporate names and logos, it should be easy to understand this feast. The letters IHS are an abbreviation of Jesous, the Greek name for Jesus. Although St. Paul might claim credit for promoting devotion to the Holy Name because Paul wrote in Philippians that God the Father gave Christ Jesus “that name that is above every name” (see 2:9), this devotion became popular because of 12th-century Cistercian monks and nuns but especially through the preaching of St. Bernardine of Siena, a 15th-century Franciscan. Bernardine used devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus as a way of overcoming bitter and often bloody class struggles and family rivalries or vendettas in Italian city-states. The devotion grew, partly because of Franciscan and Dominican preachers. It spread even more widely after the Jesuits began promoting it in the 16th century. In 1530, Pope Clement V approved an Office of the Holy Name for the Franciscans. In 1721, Pope Innocent XIII extended this feast to the entire Church.
Comment:
Jesus died and rose for the sake of all people. No one can trademark or copyright Jesus' name. Jesus is the Son of God and son of Mary. Everything that exists was created in and through the Son of God (see Colossians 1:15-20). The name of Jesus is debased if any Christian uses it as justification for berating non-Christians. Jesus reminds us that because we are all related to him we are, therefore, all related to one another. Quote:
“Glorious name, gracious name, name of love and of power! Through you sins are forgiven, through you enemies are vanquished, through you the sick are freed from their illness, through you those suffering in trials are made strong and cheerful. You bring honor to those who believe, you teach those who preach, you give strength to the toiler, you sustain the weary” (St. Bernardine of Siena).
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12
posted on
01/03/2008 8:49:53 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Holy Name of Jesus (Memorial) |
First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:
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Philippians 2:5-11
Psalm 113:1-8
Matthew 1:18-23
It is impossible for a person who prays regularly to remain in serious sin; because the two are incompatible, one or the other will have to be given up. -- St. Teresa of Avila |
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13
posted on
01/03/2008 8:55:17 AM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: Salvation
| Jn 1:29-34 |
| # |
Douay-Rheims |
Vulgate |
| 29 |
The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him; and he saith: Behold the Lamb of God. Behold him who taketh away the sin of the world. |
altera die videt Iohannes Iesum venientem ad se et ait ecce agnus Dei qui tollit peccatum mundi |
| 30 |
This is he of whom I said: After me there cometh a man, who is preferred before me: because he was before me. |
hic est de quo dixi post me venit vir qui ante me factus est quia prior me erat |
| 31 |
And I knew him not: but that he may be made manifest in Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. |
et ego nesciebam eum sed ut manifestaretur Israhel propterea veni ego in aqua baptizans |
| 32 |
And John gave testimony, saying: I saw the Spirit coming down, as a dove from heaven; and he remained upon him. |
et testimonium perhibuit Iohannes dicens quia vidi Spiritum descendentem quasi columbam de caelo et mansit super eum |
| 33 |
And I knew him not: but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me: He upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, he it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. |
et ego nesciebam eum sed qui misit me baptizare in aqua ille mihi dixit super quem videris Spiritum descendentem et manentem super eum hic est qui baptizat in Spiritu Sancto |
| 34 |
And I saw: and I gave testimony that this is the Son of God. |
et ego vidi et testimonium perhibui quia hic est Filius Dei |
14
posted on
01/03/2008 3:10:07 PM PST
by
annalex
(http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
To: annalex
29. The next day John sees Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.
30. This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
ORIGEN; After this testimony, Jesus is seen coming to John, not only persevering in his confession, but also advanced in goodness: as is intimated by the second day. Wherefore it is said, The next day John sees Jesus coming to him. Long before this, the Mother of Jesus, as soon as she had conceived Him, went to see the mother of John then pregnant; and as soon as the sound of Mary's salutation reached the ears of Elisabeth, John leaped in the womb: but now the Baptist himself after his testimony sees Jesus coming. Men are first prepared by hearing from others, and then see with their own eyes. The example of Mary going to see Elisabeth her interior, and the Son of God going to see the Baptist, should teach us modesty and fervent charity to our inferiors. What place the Savior came from when He came to the Baptist we are not told here; but we find it in Matthew, Then comes Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him.
CHRYS. Or; Matthew relates directly Christ's coming to His baptism, John His coming a second time subsequent to His baptism, as appears from what follows: I saw the Spirit descending, &c. The Evangelists have divided the periods of the history between them; Matthew passing over the part before John's imprisonment, and hastening to that event; John chiefly dwelling on what took place before the imprisonment. Thus he says, The next day John sees Jesus coming to him. But why did He come to him the next day after His baptism? Having been baptized with the multitude, He wished to prevent any from thinking that He came to John for the same reason that others did, viz. to confess His sins, and be washed in the river to repentance.
He comes therefore to give John an opportunity of correcting this mistake; which John accordingly did correct; viz. by those words, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. For He Who was so pure, as to be able to absolve other men's sins, evidently could not have come thither for the sake of confessing His own; but only to give John an opportunity of speaking of Him. He came too the next day, that those who had heard the former testimonies of John, might hear them again more plainly; and other besides. For he said, Behold the Lamb of God, signifying that He was the one of old sought after, and reminding them of the prophecy of Isaiah, and of the shadows of the Mosaic law, in order that through the figure he might the easier lead them to the substance.
AUG. If the Lamb of God is innocent, and John is the lamb, must he not be innocent? But all men come of that stock of which David sings sorrowing, Behold, I was conceived in wickedness. He then alone was the Lamb, who was not thus conceived; for He was not conceived in wickedness, nor in sin did His mother bear Him in her womb, Whom a virgin conceived, a virgin brought forth, because that in faith she conceived, and in faith received.
ORIGEN; But whereas five kinds of animals are offered in the temple, three beasts of the field, a calf, a sheep, and a goat; and two fowls of the air, a turtle dove and a pigeon; and of the sheep kind three are introduced, the ram, the ewe, the lamb; of these three he mentions only the lamb; the lamb, as we know, being offered in the daily sacrifice, one in the morning, and one in the evening. But what other daily offering can there be, that can be meant to be offered by a reasonable nature, except the perfect Word, typically called the Lamb?
This sacrifice, which is offered up as soon as the soul begins to be enlightened, shall be accounted as a morning sacrifice, referring to the frequent exercise of the mind in divine things; for the soul cannot continually apply to the highest objects because of its union with an earthly and gross body. By this Word too, Which is Christ the Lamb, we shall be able to reason on many things, and shall in a manner attain to Him in the evening, while engaged with things of the body. But He Who offered the lamb for a sacrifice, was God hid in human form, the great Priest, He who said below, No man takes it (My life) from Me, but I lay it down of Myself: whence this name, the Lamb of God: for He carrying our sorrows, and taking away the sins of the whole world, has undergone death, as it were baptism. For God suffers no fault to pass uncorrected; but punishes it by the sharpest discipline.
THEOPHYL. He is called the Lamb of God, because God the Father accepted His death for our salvation, or, in other words, because He delivered Him up to death for our sakes. For just as we say, This is the offering of such a man, meaning the offering made by him; in the same sense Christ is called the Lamb of God Who gave His Son to die for our salvation. And whereas that typical lamb did not take away any man's sin, this one has taken away the sin of the whole world, rescuing it from the danger it was in from the wrath of God.
Behold Him Who takes away the sin of the world: he said not, who will take, but, Who takes away the sin of the world; as if He were always doing this. For He did not then only take it away when He suffered, but from that time to the present, He takes it away; not by being always crucified, for He made one sacrifice for sins, but by ever washing it by means of that sacrifice.
GREG. But then only will sin be entirely taken away from the human race, when our corruption has been turned to a glorious incorruption. We cannot be free from sin, so long as we are held in the death of the body.
THEOPHYL. Why does he say the sin of the world, not sins? Because he wished to express sin universally: just as we say commonly, that man was cast out of paradise; meaning the whole human race.
GLOSS; Or by the sin of the world is meant original sin, which is common to the whole world: which original sin, as well as the sins of every one individually, Christ by His grace remits.
AUG. For He Who took not sin from our nature, He it is Who takes away our sin. Some say, We take away the sins of men, because we are holy; for if he, who baptizes, is not holy, how can he take away the other's sin, seeing he himself is full of sin? Against these reasoners let us point to the text; Behold Him Who takes away the sin of the world; in order to do away with such presumption in man towards man.
ORIGEN; As there was a connection between the other sacrifices of the law, and the daily sacrifice of the lamb, in the same way the sacrifice of this Lamb has its reflection in the pouring out of the blood of the Martyrs, by whose patience, confession, and zeal for goodness, the machinations of the ungodly are frustrated.
THEOPHYL. John having said above to those who came from the Pharisees, that there stood one among them whom they knew not, he here points Him out to the persons thus ignorant: This is He of whom I said, After me comes a man which is preferred before me. Our Lord is called a man, in reference to His mature age, being thirty years old when He was baptized: or in a spiritual sense, as the Spouse of the Church; in which sense St. Paul speaks, I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
AUG. He comes after me, because he was born after me: He is made before me, because He is preferred to me.
GREG. He explains the reason of this superiority, in what follows: For He was before me; as if his meaning was; And this is the reason of His being superior to me, though born after me, viz. that He is not circumscribed by the time of His nativity. He Who was born of His mother in time, was begotten of His Father out of time.
THEOPHYL. Attend, O Arius. He said not, He was created before me, but He was before me. Let the false sect of Paul of Samosata attend. They will see that He did not derive His original existence from Mary; for if He derived the beginning of His being from the Virgin, how could He have been before His precursor? it being evident that the precursor preceded Christ by six months, according to the human birth.
CHRYS. That He might not seem however to give His testimony from any motive of friendship or kindred, in consequence of his being related to our Lord according to the flesh, he says, I knew Him not. John could not of course know Him, having lived in the desert. And the miraculous events of Christ's childhood, the journey of the Magi, and such like, were now a long time past; John having been quite an infant, when they happened. And throughout the whole of the interval, He had been absolutely unknown: insomuch that John proceeds, But that He should, be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. (And hence it is clear that the miracles said to have been performed by Christ in His childhood, are false and fictitious.
For if Jesus had performed miracles at this early age, he would not have been unknown to John, nor would the multitude have wanted a teacher to point Him out.) Christ Himself then did not want baptism; nor was that washing for any other reason, than to give a sign beforehand of faith in Christ. For John said not, in order to change men, and deliver from sin, but, that he should be made manifest in Israel, have I come baptizing. But would it not have been lawful for him to preach, and bring crowds together, without baptizing? Yes: but this was the easier way, for he would not have collected such numbers, had he preached without baptizing.
AUG. Now when our Lord became known, it was unnecessary to prepare a way for Him; for to those who knew Him, He became His own way. And therefore John's baptism did not last long, but only so long as to show our Lord's humility. Our Lord received baptism from a servant, in order to give us such a lesson of humility as might prepare us for receiving the grace of baptism, And that the servant's baptism might not be set before the Lord's, others were baptized with it; who after receiving it, had to receive our Lord's baptism: whereas those who first received our Lord's baptism, did not receive the servant's after.
32. And John bore record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptize with the Holy Ghost.
34. And I saw, and bore record that this is the Son of God.
CHRYS. John having made a declaration, so astonishing to all his hearers, viz. that He, whom he pointed out, did of Himself take away the sins of the world, confirms it by a reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. For John might be asked, how did you know Him? Wherefore he replies beforehand, by the descent of the Holy Spirit: And John bore record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
AUG. This was not however the first occasion of Christ's receiving the unction of the Holy Spirit: viz. Its descent upon Him at His baptism; herein He condescended to prefigure His body, the Church, wherein those who are baptized receive preeminently the Holy Spirit. For it would be absurd to suppose that at thirty years old, (which was His age, when He was baptized by John,) He received for the first time the Holy Spirit: and that, when He came to that baptism, as He was without sin, so was He without the Holy Spirit. For if even of His servant and forerunner John it is written, He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from His mother's womb; if He, though sprung from His father's seed, yet received the Holy Ghost, when as yet He was only formed in the womb; what ought we to think and believe of Christ, whose very flesh had not a carnal but spiritual conception?
AUG. We do not attribute to Christ only the possession of a real body, and say that the Holy Spirit assumed a false appearance to men's eyes: for the Holy Spirit could no more, in consistency with His nature, deceive men, than could the Son of God. The Almighty God, Who made every creature out of nothing, could as easily form a real body of a dove, without the instrumentality of other doves, as He made a real body in the womb of the Virgin, without the seed of the male.
AUG. The Holy Ghost was made to appear visibly in two ways: as a dove, upon our Lord at His baptism; and as a flame upon His disciples, when they were met together: the former shape denoting simplicity, the latter fervency. The dove intimates that souls sanctified by the Spirit should have no guile; the fire, that in that simplicity there should not be coldness. Nor let it disturb you, that the tongues are cloven; fear no division; unity is assured to us in the dove. It was meet then that the Holy Spirit should be thus manifested descending upon our Lord; in order that every one who had the Spirit might know, that he ought to be simple as a dove, and be in sincere peace with the brethren. The kisses of doves represent this peace. Ravens kiss, but they tear also; but the nature of the dove is most alien to tearing. Ravens feed on the dead, but the dove eats nothing but the fruits of the earth. If doves moan in their love, marvel not that He Who appeared in the likeness of a dove, the Holy Spirit, makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. The Holy Spirit however groans not in Himself, but in us: He makes us to groan. And he who groans, as knowing that, so long as He is under the burden of this mortality, he is absent from the Lord, groans well: it is the Spirit that has taught him to groan. But many groan because of earthly calamities; because of losses which disquiet them, or bodily sickness which weigh heavily on them: they groan not, as does the dove. What then could more fitly represent the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of unity, than the dove? as He said Himself to His reconciled Church, My dove is one. What could better express humility, than the simplicity and moaning of a dove? Wherefore on this occasion it was that there appeared the very most Holy Trinity, the Father in the voice which said, You are My beloved Son; the Holy Spirit in the likeness of the dove. In that Trinity the Apostles were sent to baptize, i.e. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
GREG. He said, Abode upon Him: for the Holy Spirit visits all the faithful; but on the Mediator alone does He abide for ever in a peculiar manner; never leaving the Son's Humanity, even as He proceeds Himself from the Son's Divinity. But when the disciples are told of the same Spirit, He shall dwell with you, how is the abiding of the Spirit a peculiar sign of Christ? This will appear if we distinguish between the different gifts of the Spirit. As regards those gifts which are necessary for attaining to life, the Holy Spirit ever abides in all the elect; such are gentleness, humility, faith, hope, charity: but with respect to those, which have for their object, not our own salvation, but that of others, he does not always abide, but sometimes withdraws, and ceases to exhibit them; that men may be more humble in the possession of His gifts. But Christ had all the gifts of the Spirit, uninterruptedly always.
CHRYS. Should any however think that Christ really wanted the Holy Spirit, in the way that we do, he corrects this notion also, by informing us that the descent of the Holy Ghost took place only for the purpose of manifesting Christ: And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost.
AUG. But who sent John? If we say the Father, we say true; if we say the Son, we say true. But it would be truer to say, the Father and the Son. How then knew he not Him, by Whom he was sent? For if he knew not Him, by Whom he wished to be baptized, it was rash in him to say, I have need to be baptized by You. So then he knew Him; and why said he, I knew Him not?
CHRYS. When he said, I knew Him not, he is speaking of time past, not of the time of his baptism, when he forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of You.
AUG. Let us turn to the other Evangelists, who relate the matter more clearly, and we shall find most satisfactorily, that the dove descended when our Lord ascended from the water. If then the dove descended after baptism, but John said before the baptism, I have need to be baptized of You, he knew Him before His baptism also. How then said he, I knew him not, but He which sent me to baptize? Was this the first revelation made to John of Christ's person, or was it not rather a fuller disclosure of what had been already revealed? John knew the Lord to be the Son of God, knew that He would baptize with the Holy Ghost: for before Christ came to the river, many having come together to hear John, he said unto them, He that comes after me is mightier than I: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. What then? He did not know that our Lord (lest Paul or Peter might say, my baptism, as we find Paul did say, my Gospel,) would have and retain to Himself the power of baptism, the ministering of it however passing to good and bad indiscriminately. What hindrance is the badness of the minister, when the Lord is good? So then we baptize again after John's baptism; after a homicide's we baptize not: because John gave his own baptism, the homicide gives Christ's; which is so holy a sacrament, that not even a homicide's ministration can pollute it. Our Lord could, had He so willed, have given power to any servant of His to give baptism as it were in His own stead; and to the baptism, thus transferred to the servant, have imparted the same power, that it would have had, when given by Himself. But this He did not choose to do; that the hope of the baptized might be directed to Him, Who had baptized them; He wished not the servant to place hope in the servant. And again, had He given this power to servants, there would have been as many baptisms as servants; as there had been the baptism of John, so should we have had the baptism of Paul and of Peter. It is by this power then, which Christ retains in His own possession exclusively, that the unity of the Church is established; of which it is said, My dove is one. A man may have a baptism besides the dove; but that any besides the dove should profit, is impossible.
CHRYS. The Father having sent forth a voice proclaiming the Son, the Holy Spirit came besides, bringing the voice upon the head of Christ, in order that no one present might think that what was said of Christ, was said of John. But it will be asked: How was it that the Jews believed not, if they saw the Spirit? Such sights however require the mental vision, rather than the bodily. If those who saw Christ working miracles were so drunken with malice, that they denied what their own eyes had seen, how could the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove overcome their incredulity?
Some say however that the sight was not visible to all, but only to John, and the more devotional part. But even if the descent of the Spirit, as a dove, was visible to the outward eye, it does not follow that because all saw it, all understood it. Zacharias himself, Daniel, Ezechiel, and Moses saw many things, appealing to their senses, which no one else saw: and therefore John adds, And I saw and bore record that this is the Son of God. He had called Him the Lamb before, and said that He would baptize with the Spirit; but he had no where called Him the Son before.
AUG. It was necessary that the Only Son of God should baptize, not an adopted son. Adopted sons are ministers of the Only Son: but though they have the ministration, the Only one alone has the power.
Catena Aurea John 1
15
posted on
01/03/2008 3:17:43 PM PST
by
annalex
(http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
To: annalex
Triptych (open)
Master of Saint Veronica
c. 1410
Panel, 70 x 32,5 cm (centre), 70 x 16 cm (each wing)
Heinz Kisters Collection, Kreuzlingen
16
posted on
01/03/2008 3:18:27 PM PST
by
annalex
(http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
To: Salvation
Hope the New Year is starting off well for everyone as we walk forward with faith and trust in the Lord.
17
posted on
01/03/2008 5:04:53 PM PST
by
Ciexyz
To: All
Catholic Culture
Collect: All-powerful and ever-living God, you give us a new vision of your glory in the coming of Christ your Son. He was born of the Virgin Mary and came to share our life. May we come to share His eternal life in the glory of your kingdom, where He lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
« January 03, 2008 »
- RECIPES
- ACTIVITIES
- PRAYERS
Today the Church celebrates the optional memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Before the reform of the Roman Calendar this feast was celebrated on January 2. In the liturgical revisions of Vatican II, the feast was removed, though a votive Mass to the Holy Name of Jesus had been retained for devotional use. With the release of the revised Roman Missal in March 2002, the feast was restored as an optional memorial on January 3.
The Church reveals to us the wonders of the Incarnate Word by singing the glories of His name. The name of Jesus means Savior; it had been shown in a dream to Joseph together with its meaning and to Our Lady at the annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel.
Devotion to the Holy Name is deeply rooted in the Sacred Scriptures, especially in the Acts of the Apostles. It was promoted in a special manner by St. Bernard, St. Bernardine of Siena, St. John Capistrano and by the Franciscan Order. It was extended to the whole Church in 1727 during the pontificate of Innocent XIII. The month of January has traditionally been dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus.
The Tenth Day of Christmas
Holy Name of Jesus
This feast marks no progress in the development of the Church year. It merely embellishes the occasion just observed when the Child received the Name Jesus as had been foretold by the angel. The feast is meant to impress on us Christians the dignity of the Holy Name. It is a relatively new feast, stemming out of devotional piety. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to find in it some liturgical or ancient Christian dogma. What did a name signify originally? The name should express the nature of a thing. Thus Adam in paradise gave the animals names in accordance with their being. Among the Jews God's name expressed His essence, Yahweh, i.e., I (alone) am who am (and cause all else to be). The Jews had the highest respect for the name of God, a reverence that finds continuation in the Our Father: "Hallowed be Thy Name."
Persons who played prominent roles in the history of salvation often received their names from God Himself. Adam — man of the earth; Eve — mother of all the living; Abraham — father of many nations; Peter — the rock. The Savior's precursor was given the name God assigned him. According to divine precedent, then, the name of the Redeemer should not be accidental, of human choosing, but given by God Himself. For His name should express His mission. We read in Sacred Scripture how the angel Gabriel revealed that name to Mary: "You shall call His name Jesus." And to St. Joseph the angel not merely revealed the name but explained its meaning: "You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." The Messiah should not only be the savior, but should be called Savior. With Jesus, therefore, the name actually tells the purpose of His existence. This is why we must esteem His name as sacred. Whenever we pronounce it, we ought to bow our heads; for the very name reminds us of the greatest favor we have ever received, salvation. —The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Things to Do:
18
posted on
01/03/2008 7:16:18 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: Ciexyz
Happy Tenth Day of Christmas to you.
19
posted on
01/03/2008 7:19:00 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
  January 3, Most Holy Name of Jesus The name of Jesus is a name of gladness, a name of hope and a name of love. A name of gladness, because if the remembrance of past transgressions afflicts us, this name comforts us, reminding us that the Son of God became man for this purpose, to make himself our Savior.
A name of hope, because he that prays to the Eternal Father in the name of Jesus may hope for every grace he asks for: If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it you. A name of love. For the name of Jesus brings to our remembrance all the sufferings which Jesus has endured for us in his life and at his death. — Excerpted from St. Alphonsus de Liguori, The Incarnation Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ |
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20
posted on
01/03/2008 7:19:39 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Lauds -- Morning Prayer
Morning Prayer (Lauds)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 56 (57) |
| Morning prayer in time of affliction |
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy. My soul flies to you for refuge.
I will hide in the shelter of your wings until the time of ambush is past.
I will cry to God the Most High, to the God who cares for me.
He will send help from heaven to set me free. He will disgrace those who trample me underfoot. He will send forth his mercy and faithfulness.
My soul lies among lion-cubs that would devour the children of men. Their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues are pointed swords.
May you be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory cover the whole earth.
They prepared a trap for my feet; my soul was bent double under its burden; they dug a pit in front of me – but they fell into it themselves.
My heart is ready, God. My heart is ready. I will offer you music and song.
Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp. I will awaken the dawn.
I will proclaim you among the peoples, Lord, and make music for you among the nations,
for your mercy reaches as high as the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
May you be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory cover the earth.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. |
| Canticle |
Jeremiah 31 |
| The joy of those whom God sets free |
All you nations, listen to the word of the Lord, proclaim it in the farthest islands:
“He who scattered his people Israel has brought them back together. He will care for them as a shepherd tends his flock”.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and freed him from the hand of his conqueror.
They will come and sing praises on Mount Sion, they will flood in to receive the good things of the Lord,
grain, and wine, and oil, and the young of both herd and flock.
Their spirit will be like a richly watered garden, and they will hunger no more.
The young girl will dance for joy, young men and old men too.
“I will turn their weeping into gladness”, says the Lord, “I will comfort them and give them joy after sorrow.
I will overwhelm my priests with rich food, and my good things will fill my people to overflowing”.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. |
| Psalm 47 (48) |
| Thanksgiving for the safety of the people |
The Lord is great and greatly to be praised in the city of our God.
His holy mountain is a beautiful sight, the joy of all the earth.
Mount Sion is at its northernmost edge, the city of the great king.
Here among its palaces, God has shown himself as its refuge.
For the kings assembled, made alliance against it –
but when they saw it, they were amazed. Panic took them and they scattered.
Trembling took hold of them, pain like that of childbirth.
With the east wind you will destroy the ships of Tarshish.
What we had heard, we saw in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God has founded for ever.
We ponder your mercy, O God, as we stand in your temple.
Your name, O Lord, and your praise will reach to the ends of the earth. Your right hand delivers justice.
Let Mount Sion be glad and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements.
Go round Sion, see it all, count every tower.
Feel its strength, visit its palaces, so that you can tell the next generation –
Here is God, our God, here he remains for ever; and for ever he will lead us and guide us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. |
| Short reading |
© |
| Say to the daughter of Zion: Look, your saviour comes, the prize of his victory with him, his trophies before him. They shall be called ‘The Holy People’, ‘The Lord’s Redeemed’. |
| Canticle |
Benedictus |
| The Messiah and his forerunner |
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies –
in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death;
to lead our feet in the path of peace.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. |
| Prayers and Intercessions |
? |
- Let us joyfully call out to our Redeemer, the Son of God, who became man to renew mankind:
- Be with us, Emmanuel.- Jesus, Son of the living God, splendour of the Father, eternal light, king of glory, shining sun of righteousness, son of the Virgin Mary,
- fill this day with the shining light of your incarnation.
- Jesus, wisest of counsellors, God of strength, father of the world to come, prince of peace:
- may the holiness of your human nature guide our paths through life.
- Jesus, omnipotent, patient, obedient, meek, humble of heart,
- let everyone see the power of serving others.
- Jesus, father of the poor, glory of your faithful, good shepherd, true light, infinite wisdom, immeasurable goodness, our way and our life,
- grant your Church true poverty and freedom from material things.
|
|
Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. |
O God, your Son, born of the Virgin, received a manhood without human failings.
Grant that we who put on the newness of Jesus Christ
may shed the stains of our old state of being.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
21
posted on
01/03/2008 7:28:44 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Vultus Christi
« Pope Benedict XVI on Saint Basil the Great | Main
Preacher's Woes
To Preach or Not to Preach
I was sorely tempted not to preach this morning. Preaching seven days a week is a huge investment of time and energy; at the same time it is an inestimable grace. I believe that the Word of God sanctifies the preacher's heart and his lips so often as he delivers it in the grace of the Holy Ghost.
A Necessity Lieth Upon Me
All the same, there are days when everything in me wants to slack off. And then I hear Saint Paul saying, "For if I preach the gospel, it is no glory to me, for a necessity lieth upon me: for woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel" (1 Cor 9:16) — and so I "preach the word, being instant in season, and out of season: reproving, entreating, and rebuking in all patience and doctrine" (cf. 2 Tim 4:2).
The Grace of Holy Preaching
A stellar French Dominican of the last century used to say that the grace of la sainte prédication, holy preaching, was given to the preacher in proportion to the spiritual desire and openness of his hearers. Most priests have experienced this. There are situations in which the grace of the Word seems blocked by an almost perceptible resistance to it in the assembly. There are also situations in which the grace of the Word flows abundantly under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, causing the preacher's heart to "overflow with a goodly theme."
A Cast of Characters
On any given day, I am faced, while I preach, with a poor disgruntled soul who mutters disapproval in a stage whisper or noisily turns pages. That hurts. And it's rude. Another uses the time of the homily to read the commentary in Magnificat. (Shouldn't the editors write something about not reading Magnificat during the homily, at least when one is seated under the priest's nose?) Especially discouraging to me is the defiant sour puss whose entire body is a study in passive aggression. Nearly every day I see one or two dear souls who doze while I speak. That doesn't really annoy me. Sleepiness is a weakness that I fully understand. There are also those who register a benign indifference. I can cope with that. And, thank God, there are a few who listen attentively, giving the occasional indication that something has touched their hearts.
Visited by the Word
This morning I battled with the temptation not to preach. The devil uses all his tricks to silence a preacher of the Word: discouragement, wounded self-love, a sudden onslaught of inexplicable weariness, the fear of rejection, and the insinuation that it is all useless. The power of the Holy Name of Jesus, today's glorious feast, triumphed over my reluctance and fears, and so I preached in spite of myself. As I was walking to my car after Mass, a lady with a lovely smile stopped me and said, "Father, thank you for your words today." By the light shining in her eyes, I knew that the Word had visited her. And I gave thanks.
22
posted on
01/03/2008 7:34:28 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Regnum Christi
| |
|
Be Inspired!
January 3, 2008
Thursday before Epiphany
Father Matthew Green, LC
John 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ´A
man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.´
I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that
he might be made known to Israel.” John testified further, saying, “I
saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did
not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ´On whomever
you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with
the Holy Spirit.´ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
Introductory Prayer:Lord Jesus, I know that all Christians are called to proclaim
you with their lives and to follow the path you have taught. I want to grow
closer to you and to be more the person you want me to be. Transform me with
your grace!
Petition: Father in heaven, strengthen my faith, hope and love. Enlighten my
mind to know your will better as I meditate on this passage of Holy Scripture.
Grant that contemplating the example of St. John the Baptist will help me be
a better apostle of Christ your Son!
1. Trust in the Lord and Let Him Lead You Although
John the Baptist knew that he was sent as the Precursor of the Messiah, he did
not initially know who the Messiah would be. But he did not let uncertainty
about the details stop him. He knew that God had a plan and that he was called
to play a part in it; as soon as he knew what direction to go, he went, regardless
of not knowing his exact destination. Sometimes we can want to have total knowledge
of God’s plan, and we hesitate to go forward until we’re sure we
know exactly what to do. However, God rarely gives us a full view of his plan
before we start out. He wants us to trust in him, to act on what we do know,
and to be confident that God will bring his plan to a good end. Not that we
shouldn’t have all the foresight we can, but we can’t expect God
to let us in on his “master plan.” When God calls us, our response
should be to follow without questioning God’s ways.
2. The Holy Spirit Is Our Guide The fact that we
have to trust in God and allow him to reveal his plan as we go along means that
we have to be very attentive to his work in our life. John the Baptist recognized
Jesus because he was paying total attention to the signs God was giving him:
The Holy Spirit revealed to him that Jesus was the Messiah. God will usually
not speak to us through visions and special signs; however, if we have St. John
the Baptist’s attitude of openness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit
and seeing God’s will in the events around us, we will be able to discern
his plan for our life and fulfill it. The most important time to listen to God
is in prayer, so setting aside time to be with God has to be part of our daily
routine.
3. Dealing with the Unexpected When St. John the
Baptist realized that Jesus was the Messiah, it might have been a surprise.
They were related through their mothers’ families, and they may have known
each other in youth before John went out into the desert. However, John clearly
states that he did not know who the Messiah was until the moment the Holy Spirit
revealed Jesus’ true identity. John may well have shared the common opinion
that Jesus was a man like any other, albeit outstanding in justice and piety.
The important thing is that he doesn’t doubt the divine inspiration. Rather,
he immediately acts on it, proclaiming Jesus to his followers. In our own lives,
God may well ask us to do the unexpected, or we may see his will in places we
least expect it. We need to have St. John the Baptist’s readiness to see
God’s hand and act on it, even if it goes contrary to our expectations.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, knowing your will in my life can be hard
at times. Even when I think I do know what you want from me, it can be difficult
to follow through — especially when it is something that I did not expect
or that requires that I go beyond my “comfort zone.” But, Lord,
I do want to do your will. Grant me the same spirit of docility and dedication
as St. John the Baptist!
Resolution: Today I will renew in prayer my personal commitment to always seek
to know and follow God’s will in my life. I will try to heed the inspirations
that the Holy Spirit gives to guide me on the right path.
|
23
posted on
01/03/2008 8:39:42 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Homily of the Day
January 3, 2008
1 Jn 2:29-3:6 / Jn 1:29-34
There's something in us that can't stop wondering what the next part of life will be like. How old will we be? Will we still like to bridge or basketball or whatever? What will our bodies be like? We have all sorts of questions and even more fantastic speculations about the answers. And none of it matters one whit.
In today's gospel, St. John points us in a more useful direction. "What we shall be later has not yet come to light. But when it comes to light, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is." There's some gold hidden in that line, which we could easily miss. John is saying that the very experience of seeing God face-to-face will transform us into God's likeness. The change will not come by force from the outside, but freely from the inside, from the heart which at the sight of God will instinctively let go of anything less than God and give itself into God's hands to be reshaped.
That brings us squarely back to the present, for the ultimate transformation that John is talking about is simply the final stage of what our life and especially our prayer should have been about all along, namely, being reconfigured into God's image and likeness. The process of making ourselves malleable in the hands of our Father is the essential work of every day and of a lifetime. So don't let another day pass.
24
posted on
01/03/2008 9:18:33 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: All
Vespers -- Evening Prayer
Vespers (Evening Prayer)
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 29 (30) |
| Thanksgiving for rescue from death |
Lord, I will give you all praise, for you have rescued me and not let my foes triumph over me.
My Lord God, I cried to you and you healed me.
Lord, you led my soul out from the underworld, gave me life so that I would not sink into the abyss.
Sing to the Lord, his holy ones, and proclaim the truth of his holiness.
His anger lasts a moment, but his favour for a lifetime.
At night there are tears, but in the morning, joy.
Once I was secure. I said, “I will never be shaken”.
Lord, by your favour you had given me strength, set me high;
but then you turned your face from me and I was shaken.
I cried to you, Lord, and prayed to my God.
“What use is my life, when I sink into decay?
Will dust proclaim you, or make known your faithfulness?”
The Lord heard and took pity on me. The Lord became my helper.
You have turned my weeping into dancing, torn off my sackcloth and clothed me in joy,
It is my glory to sing to you and never cease: Lord, my God, I will proclaim your goodness for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. |
| Psalm 31 (32) |
| The joy of the forgiven |
Blessed is he whose sins are forgiven, whose transgressions are hidden away.
Happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no blame, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
While I kept silent, my bones grew old as I groaned all day long.
While your hand lay heavy on me, by day and by night, my strength was dried up as if by summer heat.
I made my sin known to you, and I did not hide my faults.
I said “I will bear witness against myself before the Lord”, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
This is why every saint will pray to you in due time,
and even in the great flood he will not be touched.
You are my refuge, you will preserve me from trouble, you will surround me with cries of deliverance.
I will give you unders |
