January 1, 2010

The Feast of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God




Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.


Amen.
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The Feast of the Holy Family

When Pope Paul VI was still the Archbishop of Milan, he tells of the day he went on Parish visitation. In the course of the visitation he found an elderly woman who was living alone. "How are you?" he asked her. "Not bad,"she answered, " I have enough food and I'm not suffering from the cold." "You must be reasonably happy,then?" he asked. "No, I'm not," she said. "My son and daughter-in-law never come to see me. I'm dying of loneliness."

Afterwards he was haunted by the phrase "I'm dying of lonliness" and he concluded:

"Food and warmth are not enough in themselves. People need something more. They need our presence, our time, our love. They need to be touched, to be reassured that they are not forgotten."

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"The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't the family."

Morrie Schwartz ( in Tuesdays with Morrie)

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"Not for nothing was it written:
"Your father and I have been searching for you with great anxiety."

The search for Jesus must be neither careless nor indifferent, nor must it be only a transitory affair. Those who seek in this manner will never find Him."

Origen (183-253)

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Can I think of a specific instance where my family nurtured and shaped my faith?"

Am I excluding any member of my family from my life at this time?

Who?

Because ......

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Merry Christmas

When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today?

In 1223 when St. Francis of Assisi used a nearby cave and set up a manger filled with straw and his friend Vellita brought in an ox and a donkey just like at Bethlehem, nobody thought how that novel idea was going to evolve through the centuries.

When (professor) Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today?

It is a long time since 1832, longer since 1223, even longer since 353, longer still since that dark night brightened by a special star during which Jesus was born. Yet, as we come to December 25 again, it gives us yet another opportunity to pause, and in the midst of all excitement, elaborate decorations and expensive commercialization which surround Christmas today, to consider again the events of Christmas and the person Whose birth we celebrate.

Prayers are Requested

For Bishop John Ricard as he recovers from his recent stroke.

Today is Gaudete Sunday

John the Baptist calls the people of Israel to repentence and he announces that there is one to come after him who is mighty God and Prince of peace.

Many years have passed since that proclamation of the Baptist. We are the fortunate ones, of course. We know the "One" John prepared the way for: He is Christ, the Messiah, the utterly unique Savior of the world.

Perhaps we don't always follow Him quite as we could, but we do follow Him:

We worship Him at Mass

We receive His grace in Holy Communion

We receive His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation

We are protected by living under the sign of His cross.

When you and I were baptized, we became not only God's children, but also God's messengers. When we were confirmed, we consciously accepted the mission of being God's ambassadors in this world (which can sometimes be quite dark).

There is no better time then these next two weeks to redouble our efforts at accomplishing that mission. God fills the air of Advent with special graces, but He needs us to be channels through which those graces can flow where they most need to: into the hearts that are far from Christ.

May God give us the courage and the wisdom to invite someone back to Him before this Holy Season ends.

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Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today we recall the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the hill of Tepeyac. She appreared from December 9-12 in the year 1531 to a native Mexican Indian convert to the faith.

The feast of Juan Diego was celebrated this past Wednesday.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the Patroness of all the Americas by Pope Pius XII.

Today is the Feast of Saint Juan Diego

In the year 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared four times to a Mexican Indian native named Juan Diego.
As proof of that visitation to Juan by the Blessed Virgin, she left the imprint of her image on his cloak.

That cloak now hangs inside the Basilica Church in Guadalupe, Mexico. It is a magnificent image and is visited by millions of people each year. I have had the fortune of being one of those many visitors and have taken pictures of the image itself. Being there is a most moving experience.

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Juan Diego was canonized a Saint by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

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And Someone Said:

"Prepare a way for the Lord by living a good life and guard that way by good works. Let the Word of God move in you unhindered and give you a knowledge of His coming and of His mysteries."

Origin (183-253)

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"To wait open-endedly is an enormously radical attitude toward life. So is to trust that something will happen to us that is far beyond our imagining."

Henri J.M. Nouwen (1932-1996)

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A prayer:

Father, in the wilderness of the Jordan You sent a messenger to prepare people's hearts for the coming of Your Son. Help me to hear His words and repent of my sins, so that I may clearly see the way to walk, the truth to speak, and the life to live for Him, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

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Giving a Christmas Present Early

All of us know people who are distant from God and the Church. Maybe they are trapped by their sins; maybe someone else's sins have trapped them; maybe the hard circumstances of life have made them forget that they are remembered by God, their Savior.

Why not reach out to those people in these weeks before Christmas?

Why not offer help to them with their holiday chores?

Why not invite them to have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, to sit in the warmth of your home (or their own) to talk, to invite to come back to Mass?

Why not do something to remind them that God hasn't forgotten about them or given up on them?

If we reach out to others in the name of Christ, He Himself will be with us.

We will give Him the opportunity to rekindle His unique, everlasting hope in a cold and darkened heart.

Is there any better Christmas present than that?

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Added Thoughts for the Second Sunday of Advent

One activity that usually occupies a lot of our time and our mental energy during Advent is buying Christmas presents for our loved ones. That's a good thing to do. It helps us imitate God's generosity which gave uis the light of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the first Christmas.
But sometimes the hassle of shopping can become so tiresome that we forget about that real reason behind gicing gists at Christmas. God doesn't want that to happen.

Advent is meant to be a time of preparation, not frustration. All the decorations and activities, includig the shopping, should stir up in our hearts true Christian hope, which in turn inspires true Christian joy.

What can we do to make sure that that's what really happens in the remaining weeks of Advent?


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The Second Sunday of Advent

Getting ready for Advent:

First we are to "prepare the way", filling in valleys, leveling hills, straightening crooked roads, and smoothing out rough paths.

This imagery comes from a typical scene in the ancient world (before concrete and asphalt highways). When a King or emperor made the rounds, his officials would travel ahead of him, making sure that the roads were safe and in good condition (roads were notoriously unreliable in Isaiah's time, long before the establishment and spread of the Roman Empire).

This assured that the King would not be delayed and would be less vulnerable to enemy ambushes.

Likewise, we are called to examine our souls on a regular basis, especially in the joyful but penitential season of Advent.

We need to take some time to step away from the noise, from the hustle and bustle of our busy world (what frenzy there is in and around the Cordova Mall).

We need to look into hearts, to see where selfishness has put obstacles in our relationships with God and with other people.

We need to see where habits of laziness and self-indulgence have worn away our self-discipline.

All of us need to fill in some spiritual potholes and clear away some unwelcome debris, so that the graces God has in store for us this Advent will be able to stream unhindered into our hearts.

The heart is the road God wants to follow so as to come into and transform our lives: it is up to us to do the necessary repairs to allow that to happen.

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May She Rest in Peace

Our mother, age 93, died on November 25, 2009. Five of us six children were at her bedside.

Her Funeral Mass was celebrated on Dec 1, 2009 here at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Pensacola, FL.

Of all the gifts God has given us, none is better than being the children of Mike and Wink Foley.