DECEMBER 2015: MONTH OF DIVINE INFANCY

December, the month of Divine Infancy, celebrates the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ.  The pairing of words in this title is a reflection of the mystery of Jesus' nature. We each are one person with one nature. However, Jesus is one person with two natures. He is fully God and fully man, that is, He is 100% God and %100 man, not 50/50, or any other percentage.  Jesus' Incarnation is one of the most important moments in history and its memorial is prepared for in the liturgical season of Advent, a four week anticipation. more...

NOVEMBER 2015: MONTH OF SOULS IN PURGATORY

November, the month of Souls in Purgatory, is dedicated to all the souls who have died, but have not yet been admitted into Heaven.  Jesus' Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection, allowed for admittance into Heaven, but because of "free will" every person can chose whether they want to be with God.  Every moment in life is the opportunity to say yes or no to this.  When someone dies, Jesus looks at his/her life and sees how much they loved Him. If they didn't love Him, He lets them continue in that choice and allows them to go to Hell. If they loved Him perfectly, He allows them to abide in Heaven. If they loved Him, but imperfectly, in His Mercy He allows them to enter Purgatory where the imperfect love is made perfect through purging. Purgatory is a tempory state and will pass away. It is a place of Mercy. more...

OCTOBER 2015: MONTH OF THE HOLY ROSARY

October, the month of the Holy Rosary, celebrates the spiritual beauty of the Rosary, emphasizing the need for prayer, fasting and sacrifice. The Rosary is a prayer. The rosary (notice lowercase) is a tool for this specific prayer.  The Rosary is a Christocentric setting for Lectio Divina, that is, a meditation on the Life of Christ, particularly His Ministry, Passion, Death and Resurrection. The Rosary is the prayer of the saints, and has a is easy to pray. It offers hope and healing.

Oct. 1: St. Therese Lisieux 

Oct. 2: St. Leger

Oct. 3: St. Menna

Oct. 4: Twenty - Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Francis of Assisi, more...

SEPTEMBER 2015: MONTH OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS

September, the month of Our Lady of Sorrows, remembers the suffering of Mary, Jesus' Mother. There are seven sorrows, seven afflictions that pierced her heart. Catholics commonly reflect upon each and they say daily one Our Father and seven Hail Mary's for each.

• The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34–35)
• The Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13)
• The loss of the child Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:43–45)
• Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary.
• Jesus dies on the cross. (John 19:25)
• The piercing of the side of Jesus, and Mary's receiving the body of Jesus in her arms. (Matthew 27:57–59)
• The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb. (John 19:40–42)

Imagine that you are on a battlefield. There are men fighting in close combat: sword to sword. As you take in your surroundings, you notice that one man is running into battle swinging his arms around and boldly attacking. He opens his body up in a very vulnerable way, taking no account of his own personal peril. He is stabbed and falls to the ground. You are shocked at the lack of conscious personal preservation.

You also notice another man. He is of a different sort altogether. Hiding behind a massive rock, you see him trembling; he makes no effort to join the battle or to even navigate safely through to advance with his countrymen. He is paralyzed by his own fear and doesn’t notice an enemy sneaking up behind him. He is fatally wounded. His cowardice killed him.

Another man captures your attention. He moves with caution, but every step is confident. He attacks the enemies closest to him, and takes shelter often, moving with his battalion; he is aware of what is going on around him, neither making himself unnecessarily vulnerable, nor abandoning his duty. His actions are wise and his survival more likely. more...

Every year the Catholic Church meditates on the brutal tortures that Jesus Christ underwent on the day that He died; however, it seems ironic that the commemoration of a barbaric trial, and crucifixion would be called “good”. Would it not be more appropriate to call this day, “Horrific Friday”? For this is what happened on that original day: Jesus was arrested and imprisoned; a crown of thorns was pounded into His head; He was mocked, spat upon, and beaten; He was taken to trial; was scourged to the limit on the back, shoulders and legs; He was forced to shoulder one of wooden beams that He was to die on, and He had to carry it publicly through the streets of what is now Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrows); He fell three times; He was stripped of His clothes; He was nailed hand and foot to the cross; vinegar was pressed to His lips; and once He did die, His heart was pierced by a lance. Again, what is good about any of this?

Some consider that it is good because the Passion had three main ends: more...

Holy Thursday is a specific day in the Church’s liturgical calendar commemorating the actions of Jesus Christ on the night before He died. Since, Jesus had foreknowledge of His upcoming death, His last hours particularly show Who He Is and what He wanted to leave behind. These final actions are recorded in the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each sheds light on the final and deliberate moments of Jesus.

St. Luke has no subtlety in expressing what Jesus desired: “I have earnestly wanted to eat the Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:15-16) After the Passover, in the Mount of Olives, the word, earnestly, appears once more: “in agony, He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like drops of great blood falling down upon the ground.” (22:44) This phenomena of sweating blood only happens when one is under great duress. If Jesus acted deliberately, why would the Passover be sought anxiously and what later caused such agony in Jesus? more...

Palm Sunday is a day to honor Jesus as the Christ, that is, the Jewish Messianic King. It commemorates the day when Jesus rode through the streets on a borrowed donkey and the Jewish people spread palm branches and their garments before Him in homage. This signified their acceptance that their long-awaited prophecy was in the process of being fulfilled.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you ; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9) more...