Lent 2015

Here we are again at Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. This journey happens every year around this time and yet some of us are surprised that it has arrived so quickly. This is the day we receive ashes to remind us that we need to turn away from sin and live the Gospel, or that we were dust and unto dust we shall return. This morning at Mass Father talked about the three things we need to be aware of during our Lenten journey, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. When I was trying to decide what to post today for this 1st day of Lent I found some information on those 3 subjects and decided to add a few thoughts on them.

The first thing I discovered was that Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving are called the “three pillars” of not only a Catholic life but of a Christian life. All three of these help us have a full and healthy life. Lent is the time we need to step back and look at how we are doing with these “pillars” can we do better are we spending more time on one and neglecting the others? By following these three disciplines we become stronger and better disciples of Jesus.

Prayer is having a conversation with God. We should be doing this daily, yet I can say that is a very hard thing to “fit” into the rest of the busyness of life. But, if we stop and think about it we can talk with God as we are getting out of bed each morning and as we lay down to sleep each night. If we do this the busyness in between will seem less hectic and our days will be filled with the joy of God rather than the temptations of the devil.

Fasting is denying ourselves of something, traditionally food. I can hear you now (yes I can) fasting is for crazy people it doesn’t have any relevance for the everyday life. Stop and think about it. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness to prepare himself for his life’s work. There are healthy ways to fast from not only food but other things that take over our lives and separate us from those we love. We can fast from unhealthy foods during Lent, as a child I gave up candy. That may seem a bit trite now, but if I look at what I eat on a daily basis there are things I could manage without and in their place eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Or maybe you are a healthy eater what else in your life might take you away from your family or friends? Too much time spent on social media, so connected to work through your smart phone you can’t leave it alone to have dinner with your children and/or spouse? Does the television or radio have to be on constantly for background noise? If you turned off the TV or radio for a half hour before bed you would have a perfect time to have those conversations with God.

Then there is the almsgiving, which means “sharing compassion.” This means we don’t just give things away we don’t need any longer but giving away things that we still may use if someone else is in need of it. A lot of time it means giving until it hurts. Giving until it hurts might not necessarily mean monetary giving, it could mean giving of precious time that we are all short of. By helping at Sojournor House or Beacon House when they need volunteers we would be taking away time spent on personal things and giving to those in need.

“St. Augustine said that fasting and almsgiving are the two ‘wings’ that help our prayers ‘fly to heaven’.” These three go together, they are the ways we ask God to help us get rid of the selfishness in our lives and help Christians live a full life.

(Take Me Home, Too ©1997, LTP)

Epiphany

Epiphany is the day Christ is revealed to the world. The Magi arrive with gifts for the newborn King. This is when the star of Bethlehem drives away the darkness of the night to welcome the Messiah, the Prince of Peace.

Epiphany is considered to be the merriest day of Christmastime. It is a time to make our homes glitter with gold and the burning frankincense and myrrh helps our prayers rise to God as the incense rises. One big part of the Epiphany celebration is the blessing of the home in the new year.

On the eve on Epiphany or on the exact day when family members sit down to eat together have a special cake to serve as dessert. Before the meal cut the cake so each person will have a piece and then hide a dried bean or a coin in one of them. Then when you pass the cake out after the meal is finished the person whose pieces has the dried bean or coin in it will be the queen or king for the night. They will get to lead the blessing of the house. Have a crown for the royal person to wear, a piece of chalk, and evergreen branch with a bowl of water.

Gather at the front door of you home and the royal person will lead your family in saying the Our Father. Then the crowned person will write in chalk over the door (or on a sheet of paper that you can hang over your door): 20 + C + M + B + 15.
The numbers represent the year, the crosses stand for the four seasons and the letters stand for the Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

Then the queen or king will bless the house beginning with the front door and moving through each room of the house, sprinkling each room with water. As you walk through your home you could sing “We Three Kings” or “Joy to the World.” This ritual will help you see how Christ’s blessings will be with you throughout the new year.
(from Take Me Home: ©LTP 1991)

The Twelve Days of Christmas

You are probably thinking why am I reading about the 12 Days of Christmas this week this should have been posted on December 13? Wrong, The 12 Days of Christmas are actually the days following Christmas running December 26 through January 6. That can’t be right you say? Well, actually January 6 is the traditional celebration of the Epiphany which is when the Magi arrived in Bethlehem to worship the “Newborn King.” And if you remember they came baring gifts for Jesus.

Perhaps this year you could find a way to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas and have it become a tradition in your family. One way is to have the Magi move through your house getting a bit closer to your nativity scene each day and on the 12th day they will arrive at the stable. They could be moved throughout the house, moving from room to room…

Another way, that might be a bit late to do this year but can be kept in mind for future years is to have a small gift for each person to open each night, a candy bar one night, a pack of gum another, (the Dollar Tree would be a good place to shop for these small gifts) and maybe ending with a bigger gift on January 6th. Keep the celebration of Jesus’ birth alive throughout the Christmas season which doesn’t end on December 25th, but actually ends on January 11th when we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.

On December 26th we celebrate St. Stephen’s Day which might be a perfect day to sing Christmas Carols especially “Good King Wenceslas,” which is about a saint who fed a poor man on the “feast of Stephen.” In honor of this saint maybe you could remember to bring a donation for the food pantry when you come to church on the weekend of December 27 and 28.

This year on December 28 we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, maybe you could plan a fun family day to just enjoy each other. This is the day we also will remember the “Holy Innocents,” which are the infants that died when King Herod tried to have Jesus killed. Say a prayer for all children this day and thank God for the blessing that they are to our lives.

On New Year’s Eve, you can chase away the old year and welcome in the new year by blowing horns and clanging bells. Then think about having guests for New Year’s Day, remember that a guest in your home is Christ in your home and we surely want to have Christ in our home to celebrate the Christmas season with us.
(from Take Me Home: ©LTP 1991)

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

This is the time we become more and more excited about the coming of Christmas and the coming of Jesus.

During the final days of Advent there are special prayers that can be said each day, asking Jesus to come soon. We know these as the “O Antiphons.” Beginning on December 17th and continuing through December 23rd, each evening, one of the 7 “O Antiphons is said (sung). They begin with the titles for Jesus which were chosen from the Bible.

The Song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a version of the O Antiphons so if you know that song you can choose the correct verse each evening and sing that. Here is a list of the days and the “O Antiphon” that corresponds: December 17 is “O Wisdom”; December 18 is “O Adonai” (which means Lord in Hebrew); December 19 is “O Flower of Jesse” (Jesse was King David’s Father and the Savior was to come from the root of Jesse); December 20 is “O Key of David”, these are quite a few different names for Jesus. Can you think of a reason why he might be called each of these wonderful names? The antiphon for December 21st is “O Daystar” (and since the 21st is the shortest day of the year this is the perfect way to use the old word for the sun); December 22nd is “O King”; and December 23rd is “O Emmanuel” (this means God is with us). Then on December 24th at sundown our Advent waiting is over and Christmas begins.

This might be a good year to start an Advent tradition of using the “O Antiphons” with your family. A wonderful way to end the day and give praise to Jesus at bedtime.
(from Take Me Home: ©LTP 1991)

Waiting for the Lord

This season we call Advent is all about waiting. How can we be expected to be patient and wait when we are bombarded with ads and flyers touting the latest and greatest deals of the “holiday” season? It starts way before Thanksgiving and keeps escalating right up to December 25th and then continues after with all the great deals you can get on items that haven’t sold and stores do not want keep in stock.

We need to be intentional about Advent, since this is the liturgical season that is building toward Christmas. Advent is not Christmas it is the time before December 25. And we need to remember as we build toward this Holy Day that the season of Christmas lasts well into the new year not just one day in the form of December 25. We need to wait with patience to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.

I know this idea is difficult for those of you with children but waiting until as close as possible to decorate your home is one way of anticipating the great celebration. Then you will be able to leave your decorations up for the entire season of Christmas which ends on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is January 11 2015 this year. One way I did this when my children were younger was to start the season with the Advent wreath the first week of Advent. Then the 2nd week add some of the festive decorations that decorate the house, maybe turn on the outside lights that 2nd week, (which I do put up early when the weather is still warm, just because they are up does not mean they need to be turned on.) Another idea is to put your tree up that 2nd week with the lights but hold off on the decorations until the 3rd week of Advent (Gaudete Sunday). You get the idea, when you prolong the decorating the anticipation grows with each thing added.

And of course remember to wait to place Baby Jesus in your manger scene until Christmas Eve. When I had an outdoor nativity scene that would be the last thing to be lit and come to life on Christmas Eve. I would gradually light more of the outdoor lights leading up until that night. The lights around it would become brighter and brighter each week until the figures of Jesus, Mary and Joseph were lit that special night.

Earlier I mentioned that the Christmas Season lasts well into the new year. You could have a 12th night party as part of the celebrations. Did you ever wonder where the carol
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” came from? If you count 12 days from December 25 you will end up on January 6 which is the traditional day to celebrate Epiphany which is day we celebrate the Magi visiting Jesus and giving him the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The things you can adapt as new traditions are endless.

Have a very blessed Advent Season.

July: Month of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord

The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood. The feast of the Precious Blood of our Lord was established in 1849 by Pius IX, but the devotion itself is as old as Christianity. The early Church Fathers say that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood. Popes have confirmed that the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Christ would be celebrated on the 1st Sunday of July.

• Catholic doctrine teaches us that the blood of Jesus Christ is part of His Sacred Humanity and His Divinity united to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

• As such, it is worthy of adoration and veneration properly given which is rendered only to God. In other words, we adore the human nature of Christ because of its intimate and eternal union with the Person of the Divine Word.

• It is for this same reason that we honor the Most Sacred Heart or the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

This passage found in the oldest document, outside of sacred scripture, to be exact, from Pope St. Clement I, dated about 96 A.D. Says Pope Clement: "Let us fix our gaze on the Blood of Christ and realize how truly precious It is, seeing that it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of conversion to the whole world."
To understand the meaning of the Precious Blood we must have some understanding of the seriousness of sin, of the nastiness of hurting God, because it required the Blood of the Son of God to forgive that sin. We are living in an age in which to sin has become fashionable.

During this month of July you might include this prayer in your daily prayer time: “Lord Jesus, You became Man in order by your Passion and Death and the draining of your Blood on the Cross, might prove to us how much You, our God, love us. Protect us, dear Jesus, from ever running away from the sight of blood. Strengthen our weak human wills so that we will not only not run away from the cross, but welcome every opportunity to shed our blood in spirit in union with your Precious Blood, so that, dying to ourselves in time we might live with You in Eternity. Amen”

June – The month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When I ran across this I thought to myself why didn’t I know this? But then the more I thought about it I realized that I did know this from my childhood. Why is it that some things we readily remember and others slip away maybe never to be retrieved or if we do retrieve them it is only with a not so gentle reminder? I don’t expect an answer to that just my mind rambling….

The Feast of the Sacred Heart has been in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar since 1856, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday. This make the feast day a moveable feast, but for the most part it always falls in June so that is why June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This year the date is June 27.

The name Sacred Heart of Jesus expresses what we know about Jesus. It represents the mystery surrounding Him, the sum of His being. We know his is the Son of God, the Word Incarnate and our Savior. Pope Benedict explained it like this: The Sacred Heart is a symbol "of the Christian faith that is especially dear, to ordinary people as well as to mystics and theologians, because it expresses the 'good news' of love in a simple and authentic way, encapsulating the mystery of Incarnation and Redemption." The Sacred Heart reminds us that Jesus is truly man and truly God.

“The heart is the center of a person, the place from which he/she makes the choices which will affect the world within them and around them. Devotion to the Heart of Jesus reminds us that it is in His Sacred Humanity that we find the pattern for becoming fully human ourselves. In His Incarnation, saving life, death and Resurrection, we receive both the pattern - and the means - to become more like Him. The Feast of the Sacred Heart reminds us of our mission in a Culture which has forgotten God. Let us spend the month of June in Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, lifting up our Nation, indeed the whole world, to the One in whom we place all of our trust. He will not disappoint; His Heart still beats with Mercy and Love for the world.” Taken from: http://www.catholic.org/homily/yearoffaith/story.php?id=51278 I found this on Catholic.org and it explains it way better than I can.

Pentecost

What is Pentecost you say? Remember from long ago when you were in religion classes you learned that Pentecost is the day the Holy Spirit came down on the apostles? And you must remember the pictures of the apostles with flames above their heads right? Is there more to it than that?

Of course there is Pentecost is when we celebrate the birth of the Church. The apostles seemed to have instant understanding and use that understanding to proclaim the Good News to all who were within hearing even those who did not speak the language of the apostles. (Remember the last post on the Tower of Babel?)

On Pentecost (June 8 this year) we can celebrate the fire of the Spirit by wearing the bright colors of fire: red, orange, and hot pink. Or by having a Pentecost party and decorating your yard/house with these colors. Have sparklers for everyone to celebrate the fire and to celebrate the wind have wind chimes, wind socks and flags or maybe even have kites to fly.

Invite your family, friends and neighbors for a barbecue. Have a fire theme by renaming your barbecue specialties with a fire oriented name…i.e. flame kissed burgers. And you can make this dessert to serve, Flame Berries, recipe below.

On Saturday, (the day before Pentecost) gather your ingredients for Flame Berries: 30 large strawberries (or however many you need for your party just remember to adjust the rest of the recipe as well), wash them and dry them. You will need a regular box of vanilla pudding, a cup of milk, ½ pint of whipping cream and 1 orange.

On Sunday, before you are going to serve the Flame Berries, mix the pudding and the cup of milk together. Whip the cream and fold it into the pudding. Grate the orange peel onto a sheet of wax paper. Then line the strawberries pointed side up and cut an X half way down. With a spoon fill the X with the pudding, mounding it over the top and then sprinkle each of the berry flames with the grated orange peel and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. (Recipe from “Take Me Home,” “A Fiery Finale”)

Triduum

Did you know that at sundown on Holy Thursday Lent ends? Well it does. At that time the Easter Triduum begins. Triduum, which means the 3 days of Passover, is basically consider one long day beginning at sundown on Holy Thursday and ending at sundown on Easter. What you say, how can that be? It is actually 3 days right? Yes it is actually 3 days but the celebration of Triduum is really one celebration of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

During Lent we are getting ready for the Triduum. We get things ready so we can celebrate Easter in a grand style. We should have everything ready as much as possible for Easter so we can keep Triduum free from distractions if at all possible. If at all possible we should try to attend church on Holy Thursday, and yes plan on having your feet washed. Did you know that the web site Busted Halo did a tournament type ranking to find out what the best moment of Pope Francis’ first year as pope was? They did and it was when on Holy Thursday that Pope Francis washed, dried and kissed the feet of 12 inmates (2 Muslim, 2 women) at Casal del Marmo jail, a juvenile detention center. Remember that this year when you attend Mass and pray for all those who are incarcerated.

Then on Good Friday again attend the service in the afternoon, listen to the Passion and walk the way of the cross with Jesus and then approach the cross with reverence and honor the cross for what it represents. Keep this day holy and remember that is a day of fast and abstinence which will last into Saturday.

At the Easter Vigil we will bless the fire to begin the service and then the Paschal Candle will be lit from the new fire. The procession into the church will be done in the dark with candles being lit from the Paschal Candle. The water in the font will be blessed by dunking the newly lit Paschal Candle will be dipped into the font. We will hear all of the rich scripture readings that show us our heritage. The Elect will be baptized at the Easter Vigil and those adults seeking full Communion with the Catholic Church will receive their 1st Communion and be confirmed along with the newly baptized. Christ has risen and we celebrate in grand style with this rich liturgy of the Church.

Lent

Are you looking for a different way to embrace Lent this year? If you are you might want to check out Busted Halo's Fast, Pray, Give calendar. This Lenten calendar tries to help you find relevant ways to practive your Catholic Faith during Lent. Here is the link to the site: http://bustedhalo.com/features/fast-pray-give-2014

Names of the Candles on the Advent Wreath

"The celebration of Advent is marked by lighting a candle on each of the four Sundays. On the first Sunday of Advent, the purple Prophecy candle is lit, reminding us that Christ's Coming was revealed to us by God through the prophets.

The purple Bethlehem candle is lit on the second Sunday, in addition to the first purple, offering light and guidance through the bright Star of Bethlehem.

On the third Sunday, the pink (Rose) Shepherd's candle is also lit, bearing the joy and glad tidings of the coming birth.
The final purple candle is added to the lighting ceremony on the fourth Sunday. This is the Angel's candle signifying Christ's presence is near.

Finally on Christmas Day, we light a large white Christ Candle to celebrate His arrival, the Light of the World."

(This description was found on a box of candles from Root Candles, Medina, Ohio 44256 and was found on Names of the Advent Candles.

(from NCCL Newsletter, December 8, 2013)

Have Yourself a Holy Little Advent by Caitlin Kennel Kim

Here is a link from Busted Halo with a great blog post about Advent: Copy and paste the link to your browser - http://bustedhalo.com/blogs/have-yourself-a-holy-little-advent-a-converts-guide-to-the-season

Advent

Here is a quick video to watch about Advent. Copy and paste this link into your browser: http://bustedhalo.com/video/advent-in-two-minutes then enjoy.

Pentecost in Two Minutes

Would you like to have a quick review of what Pentecost is for Catholic Christians then check out this video from Buste Halo: Pentecost in Two Minutes - Busted Halo

Which Came First? - Busted Halo

Have you ever wondered about the religious and secular symbols of Easter?  Check out this link from Busted Halo: Which Came First? - Busted Halo

Walking Through the Triduum - Busted Halo

This article from Busted Halo explains, for those unfamiliar with the rituals or who may not be a Catholic Christian, some of the rituals associated with Triduum: Walking Through the Triduum - Busted Halo

Holy Week in Two Minutes - Busted Halo

Check this out: Holy Week in Two Minutes - Busted Halo

Lenten Regulations

The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 13.   Lenten regulations are as follows:
1. Catholics who have celebrated their 14th birthday are to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays in Lent, and Good Friday.
2. In addition to abstaining from meat, Catholics who have celebrated their 18th birthday, until they celebrate their 59th birthday, are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Those who are bound to this regulation may eat only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one’s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted.