Posted in Religious Reads

Today is the feast day of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.  It is denoted Michaelmas because it is St. Michael's original feast day.

Angels—messengers from God—appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named.

Michael appears in Daniel's vision as "the great prince" who defends Israel against its enemies; in the Book of Revelation, he leads God's armies to final victory over the forces of evil. Devotion to Michael is the oldest angelic devotion, rising in the East in the fourth century. The Church in the West began to observe a feast honoring Michael and the angels in the fifth century.

Gabriel also makes an appearance in Daniel's visions, announcing Michael's role in God's plan. His best-known appearance is an encounter with a young Jewish girl named Mary, who consents to bear the Messiah.

Raphael's activity is confined to the Old Testament story of Tobit. There he appears to guide Tobit's son Tobiah through a series of fantastic adventures which lead to a threefold happy ending: Tobiah's marriage to Sarah, the healing of Tobit's blindness and the restoration of the family fortune.

The memorials of Gabriel (March 24) and Raphael (October 24) were added to the Roman calendar in 1921. The 1970 revision of the calendar joined their feasts to Michael's.

Prayer to St. Michael

St. Michael, the archangel, defend us in battle.  Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits prowling about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen

Posted in Religious Reads

This world that we affectionately call bloggy-land is a pretty special place to visit.  We have the opportunity to connect with people whether near or far, and those people can become as dear to us as people in our immediate lives.

Our 'Friends' lists are the grocery stores, libraries, and kids' practices where we meet, and our cboxes and comment sections the gate we lean over in the backyard.  Like most of you, I surf my Friends' friend's lists, enjoying my brief, sometimes lurky visits.  Occasionally we'll come across someone that we want to add to our Friends list, and a new friendship is born.

Such is the case with a new 'Friend' of mine.  Chrissy, also known as mamasmurf, is a home educating mother of one in the United Kingdom.  She and I have been corresponding for a few months now, and our friendship is an easy one.  Somehow familiar, even though we don't know each other's personalities all that well yet and have never met in real life.

A couple of weeks ago I visited my newer Friend, only to find a post from her husband that she has been taken to hospital and things didn't look good.  Chrissy's friends have held their collective breath and prayed for a few weeks, and we were rewarded when she came home, weak but holding her own.  You see, Chrissy has been living with terminal cancer for the last decade, and a routine flu-bug for us could be fatal for her.

Today I received word from a mutual friend that I should check out the UK blog; an update has been posted.  So, please go read the update and then add Chrissy to your prayer list.  I thank you, and so does her family.  May God bless you all.

Posted in Religious Reads

The Birth of the Virgin Mary, Esteban Murillo (Louvre, Paris)

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of our Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We are told:

The Church has celebrated Mary's birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 (nine months earlier).

Scripture does not give an account of Mary's birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child that will advance God's plan of salvation for the world. Such a story (like many biblical counterparts) stresses the special presence of God in Mary's life from the beginning.

St. Augustine connects Mary's birth with Jesus' saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. "She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed." The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary's Son as the dawn of our salvation and asks for an increase of peace.

Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God,
heralded joy to all the world.
For from thou hast risen the Sun of justice,
Christ our God.

Destroying the curse, He gave blessing;
and ****ing death, He bestowed on us
life everlasting.

Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice,
Christ our God.

­ from The Divine Office - Matins (Morning Prayer)

Posted in Religious Reads

I read such an interesting article today at CatholicOnline.com. It gives the author's opinion on how to rectify a lot of what is missing from our Catholic existences. I have been feeling similar-to-same thoughts as Mr. McNichol lately, and am overjoyed to see that someone with a voice is taking a stand. I proudly stand with him. To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Posted in Religious Reads

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19, 2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the Order she founded in 1950 as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.

Speaking in a strained, weary voice at the beatification Mass, Pope John Paul II declared her blessed, prompting waves of applause before the 300,000 pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. In his homily, read by an aide for the aging pope, the Holy Father called Mother Teresa “one of the most relevant personalities of our age” and “an icon of the Good Samaritan.” Her life, he said, was “a bold proclamation of the gospel.”

Mother Teresa's beatification, just over six years after her death, was part of an expedited process put into effect by Pope John Paul II. Like so many others around the world, he found her love for the Eucharist, for prayer and for the poor a model for all to emulate.

Born to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia (then part of the Ottoman Empire), Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father's construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.

During her years in public school Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age 18 she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was 1928 when she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people.

In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loreto and, instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”

After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new religious community and undertake her new work, she took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals (the ordinary dress of an Indian woman) she soon began getting to know her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs through visits.

The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students, became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Other helped by donating food, clothing, supplies, the use of buildings. In 1952 the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the Order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging and street people.

For the next four decades Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home.

"Love others as
God loves you
Remember
Works of love
are
Works of peace"

God bless you   
 M. Teresa M.C.

information provided courtesy of AmericanCatholic.org

Posted in Religious Reads

I don't list all the Feast Days here because we'd be simply overrun with them, but I do like to post the ocassional one that has personal significance in some way.  So, today, I'd like you all to say 'hello' to St. George.  He is one of Jigger's absolute favorite saints, and the fact that we attend St. George's parish is just frosting. 

As an aside, I apologize for my lack of attention to my blog lately; I know I owe many of you comments and one of you a thank-you, and I will address these issues as soon as I can.  I'm in a state of planning for next school year, you see, and I'm barely getting household things done as well, so feel secure in that my neglect is widespread and not limited to you, my dear friends in cyber-space, lol!

ST. GEORGE

If Mary Magdalene was the victim of misunderstanding, George is the object of a vast amount of imagination. There is every reason to believe that he was a real martyr who suffered at Lydda in Palestine, probably before the time of Constantine. The Church adheres to his memory, but not to the legends surrounding his life.

That he was willing to pay the supreme price to follow Christ is what the Church believes. And it is enough.

The story of George's slaying the dragon, rescuing the king's daughter and converting Libya is a twelfth-century Italian fable. George was a favorite patron saint of crusaders, as well as of Eastern soldiers in earlier times. He is a patron saint of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Genoa and Venice.

Posted in Religious Reads

"Candlemas commemorates the ritual purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of her son Jesus. This day also marks the ritual presentation of the baby Jesus to God in the Temple at Jerusalem.

The Gospel of Luke says that Jesus was met by Anna and Simeon. Simeon held the baby Jesus and called him a Light to the World.

Ritual purification stems back to a Jewish tradition that women were considered unclean after the birth of a child. For 40 days for a boy, and 60 days for a girl, women weren't allowed to worship in the temple. At the end of this time, women were brought to the Temple or Synagogue to be purified. After the ceremony women were allowed to take part in religious services again.

The festival is called Candlemas beacuse this was the day that all the Church's candles for the year were blessed.

On Candlemas night, many people place lighted candles in their windows at home.

Like some other Christian festivals, Candlemas draws some of its elements from Paganism.

In pre-Christian times, it was the festival of light. This ancient festival marked the mid point of winter, half way between the winter solstice (shortest day) and the spring equinox.

Some people lit candles to scare away evil spirits on the dark winter nights.

People believed that Candlemas predicted the weather for the rest of the winter.

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright
Winter will have another fight.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter won't come again.  ~(Traditional)

For some people, different superstitions surround this festival. For instance, if a candle drips on one side when carried in church on Candlemas, this denotes a death of a family member during the year.

If someone brings snowdrops into the house on Candlemas day it symbolises a parting or death.

Any Christmas decorations not taken down by Twelfth Night (January 6th) should be left up until Candlemas Day and then taken down."

This excerpt taken from the BBC website.  To view it there, click here.  For more information on Candlemas, check here.

Posted in Religious Reads

Today is Epiphany, the Feast Day celebrated to mark the arrival of the Three Kings at the Nativity.  They came to pay homage to our Lord and Savior, and their faith-filled journey should be a constant reminder and inspiration to us all.  They travelled purely on faith, and their journey was not an easy or quick one.  It was filled with trials along the way, most certainly, but their unwavering faith and purpose kept them steady.

Epiphany is not celebrated as a common day of observance anymore, and what a disservice we have done to ourselves and our children by letting this day of spirit-filled faith slip by seemingly unnoticed.  Life is too short and much too troubled to ignore a day of spiritual renewance.  Maybe coming so soon after Christmas it's easier to overlook; we got our spiritual fill and are content for the moment.  I say, however, that no matter how you celebrated Christmas, it's simply a shame to let this day of respect, reflection and humility pass by.  No matter how you celebrate it, whether by attending church, baking a Three-Kings Cake, doing crafts, or simply taking five minutes of reflection, this is a day worthy of recognition.

To read a history of Epiphany, click here.

Posted in Religious Reads

Happy St. Nicholas Day, my dear blogging friends!  St. Nicholas paid a visit to our home last night, despite the boys not putting their shoes outside of their doors.  The boys are happily ensconsed in Piper's room right now, enjoying their little gift. 

St. Nicholas Day is a day that is sadly overlooked, in my humble opinion.  Of course, I think many days are sadly overlooked in these modern times, days that bring us comfort with their tradition and long-standing.  Days that connect us with those who came before, and with their hopes and dreams of an unimaginable future.  The time we spend creating traditions for our families has to come first (and I'm speaking to myself, here), because what else is more important than creating a home that everyone loves to come home to?

In the spirit of the day, I thought I'd post a little history on the day.  Enjoy!

The History

St. Nicholas was born in 271 AD and died around December 6, 342 or 343 AD near the Asia Minor (Turkey) town of Myra,. where he later became Bishop. He performed many good deeds and was a friend to the poor and helpless, and upon his death, myths soon sprang up about him all around the Mediterranean Sea. He was reputed to be able to calm the raging seas, rescue desperate sailors, help the poor and downtrodden, and save children. He was soon named as the patron saint of sailors, and when Myra was overthrown, his bones were transported by sailors to Bari, a port in Italy, where a tomb was built over the grave and became the center of honor for St. Nicholas. From here the legend spread on around to the Atlantic Coast of Europe and the North Sea to become a European holiday tradition regardless of religion.

The Holiday Today

In anticipation of St. Nicholas's nightly visits, children in several European countries put their shoes in front of the fire place. They sing traditional songs and provide a carrot or hay for the horse. At night Black Pete puts gifts and candy in the shoes.

In the Netherlands, families celebrate St Nicholas's birthday the night before his feast day (December 6th). At one point during the evening, a loud knock will herald the arrival of Sinterklaas and at the same time candy may be thrown from upstairs; when the door is opened, a bag of gifts will be on the doorstep.

For families with older children and adults, different twists are added to the gift giving and may include gag gifts or the drawing of gift ideas or names, and most times are accompanied by poems with a "personal touch" that poke fun at the recipient in a gentle way (or not, depending on the families ;) ). Wrapping the presents up in odd packages and planting a trail of clues is also part of the general fun, and can sometimes be pretty tricky to get to, depending on the squeamishness of the recipients.

For more information on this lovely day, click here.  For printables and fun activities to do with your children, click here.

How will you celebrate this day?  Whatever you do, may it blessed with the spirit of giving and love.

Posted in Religious Reads

Mom:  So, buddy, what was your reading about?

Jigger:  It was about Jesus and St. Peter!  Did you know that Jesus asked St. Peter to start the Catholic Church?

Mom:  I sure did!  That's why St. Peter is called the 'cornerstone' of the Catholic Church!

Jigger (with a serious, bewildered look):  Which corner is he?