Readings for:
Holy (Maundy) Thursday can be found here:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041422.cfm



Good Friday can be found here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041522.cfm




Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil) can be found here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041622.cfm

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Catholic Term

 
Term Review
Passion (Palm) Sunday - - the Sunday before Easter celebrated in commemoration of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem; so called because this begins Holy Week which leads to Christ's Passion, and at which Christ's Passion is proclaimed during the Gospel

 
Sacred Triduum - (Latin, from tri- "three" + -duum  "days";="three days") 
-space of three days beginning the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday
[The Jewish people counted a day from sunset to sunset.  So the Triduum actually begins on sunset of Holy Thursday with the FIRST day ending with sunset on Good Friday.  The SECOND day goes until sunset on Holy Saturday.  Thus, Easter, the THIRD day, begins with sunset on Holy Saturday encompassing the Easter Vigil and Easter.]
 
Easter Sunday (akin to Old English ēast "east" + Old English sunnandæg, trans. of Latin diés sōlis "day of the sun")
- greatest and oldest solemnity at the heart of the liturgical year which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ with joy;
[It is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, as calculated according to tables based in Western churches on the Gregorian calendar and in Orthodox churches on the Julian calendar.]
 
Solemnity (from Latin sollemnis "regularly appointed")
-highest rank of liturgical celebration in the Catholic Church; 
-a marked feast day of great importance and significance
 
Easter  (akin to Old English ēast "east")
- great 50 day season of which the first 8 days are all solemnities commemorating and proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. [Easter is the "feast of feasts," the solemnity of solemnities, the "Great Sunday."]
 
Easter Octave  (possibly eostre meaning "dawn;" from Latin, feminine of octavus "eighth")
- the 8-day expansion of Easter Sunday continuing its unique celebration until Divine Mercy Sunday
 
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 "When Therefore Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the "Feast of feasts," the "Solemnity of solemnities," just as the Eucharist is the "Sacrament of sacraments" (the Great Sacrament). St. Athanasius calls Easter "the Great Sunday" and the Eastern Churches call Holy Week "the Great Week." The mystery of the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time, until all is subjected to him." 
-Catechism of the Catholic Church #1169
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            Dear friends, we are now in Holy Week, the holiest week of the liturgical year.  The week where Christ established the source of the all the Sacraments of the Church, the week where He came up to the holy city Jerusalem to fulfill the Davidic kingship, the week when He suffered, died, and was buried and on the third day he rose.
 
Holy Thursday
            The formal 40 days of Lent end on the evening of Holy Thursday.  The Sacred Triduum begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper.
            Holy Thursday is the day when the Lord shared the Passover meal with His apostles.  He fulfilled the Passover by turning it into the First Holy Mass.  
            The Lord instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the source of all the Sacraments, when He said to His disciples, "This is my Body," and "This is the cup of my Blood."
            The Lord instituted the Priesthood at the Last Supper, when He said to His disciples, "Do this in memory of Me."
 
Good Friday
            This is the day of the Lord's Death on Calvary.  The Gospel writers state that is was at the 3:00 o'clock hour when Jesus died.  Most parishes have a Good Friday Service during the afternoon or evening to hear the Sacred Scriptures, pray in a special way for themselves and the world, Venerate the Holy Cross, and receive Holy Communion.  Holy Mass is never celebrated on Good Friday.
 
Holy Saturday
            Good Friday is a day of fast and abstinence.  Most continue this fast throughout the day-light hours of Holy Saturday.  At night fall on Holy Saturday, the third day of the Sacred Triduum begins which starts with the Easter Vigil, which is the beginning of the 50 days of Easter.
 
Easter Sunday
            The first day of a 50 day season of which the first 8 days are all solemnities.  This means Easter Sunday is extended for 8 days, such as there are 8 days of Sundays so that essentialness of Christ's rising from the dead may be fully celebrated.
 
            Dear brothers and sisters, let us enter deeply into these Sacred Mysteries, so that we might rise to an Easter of unending joy here on earth and forever in heaven! Amen.
 
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Good Friday is Day of Fasting and Abstinence
Abstinence:
All who have reached their 14th birthday are to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, on all Fridays during Lent and on Good Friday.


Fasting:
All those who are 18 and older, until their 59th birthday, are to fast on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 6) and Good Friday (March 21).   Only one full meal is allowed on days of fast.   Light sustenance on two other occasions, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to one's needs.   But together, these two occasions should not equal a full meal.   Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids are allowed.
The obligation does not apply to those whose health or ability to work would be seriously affected.   People in doubt about fast or abstinence should consult a parish priest.   The obligation does not apply to military personnel in deployed or hostile environments in which they have no control over meals.
To completely disregard the law of fast and abstinence is seriously sinful (i.e. mortal sin).
******************************************************REMEMBER**************************
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"Beginning with the Easter Triduum as its source of light, the new age of the Resurrection fills the whole liturgical year with its brilliance. Gradually, on either side of this source, the year is transfigured by the liturgy. It really is a "year of the Lord's favor." The economy of salvation is at work within the framework of time, but since its fulfillment in the Passover of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the culmination of history is anticipated "as a foretaste," and the kingdom of God enters into our time." 
 -Catechism of the Catholic Church #1168
 
from Roman Catholic Good News Holy Week 2007
 
What We Are Celebrating



"What we are celebrating over the coming days," he said, "is the supreme confrontation between Light and Darkness, between Life and Death. We too must place ourselves in this context - aware of our own night, our own sins, our own responsibilities - if we wish to gain spiritual benefit from reliving the Paschal Mystery, which is the heart of our faith."  -Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
 
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 
         I will let the beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explain the significance of the days we are approaching, the Sacred Triduum:
 
(Holy Thursday)--Following Mass "in Cena Domini [Lord's Supper]" the faithful are invited "to adore the Blessed Sacrament, reliving Jesus' agony in Gethsemane. ... Thus they can better understand the mystery of Holy Thursday, which incorporates the supreme triple gift of priestly ministry, the Eucharist and the new Commandment of love."
 
 (Good Friday)--Holy Friday, Pope Benedict continued, "is a day of penance, of fasting and of prayer, of participation in the death of the Lord. ... The community adores the Cross and takes the Eucharist, consuming the sacred species conserved from the Mass 'in Cena Domini' of the preceding day." On Holy Friday, Christian tradition also includes "the Way of the Cross, which offers us the chance ... to imprint the mystery of the Cross ever more deeply in our hearts."
 
 (Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil)--On Holy Saturday, the Pope proceeded, "Christians are called to interior meditation, ... something often difficult to cultivate in our own times, in order to prepare for the Easter vigil" in which "the veil of sadness shrouding the Church for the death and burial of the Lord will be shattered by the cry of victory: Christ is risen and has overcome death forever!"
 
 (Easter Sunday)-"The Paschal Mystery we relive in the Easter Triduum is not just a memory but a current reality. Even today, Christ overcomes sin and death with His love. Evil in all its forms does not have the last word. The final triumph is of Christ, truth, love! If we are prepared to suffer and die with Him, as St. Paul reminds us in the Easter vigil, His life become out life. It is upon this certainty," the Pope concluded, "that our Christian lives are built." (from Vatican Information Service)
 ​

Holy Week is about humility - there is no other way, Pope saysby Elise Harris
Rome, Italy, March (EWTN News/CNA) - Pope Francis on Palm Sunday said that imitating the humility of Jesus is what makes Holy Week "holy," and encouraged attendees to mimic his attitude of humiliation as the week unfolds.


Referring to the day's second reading from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, which recounts how Jesus "humbled himself" by taking on human form, the Pope said that "these words show us God's way and the way of Christians: it is humility."

Humility, he said, is "a way which constantly amazes and disturbs us: we will never get used to a humble God!" 

As the Church sets out on the path of Holy Week that leads us to Easter, "we will take this path of Jesus' own humiliation. Only in this way will this week be holy for us too!" Francis explained.

Pope Francis spoke to the thousands of pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square for his March 29 Palm Sunday Mass, which the Church celebrates in recollection of how the inhabitants of Jerusalem laid palms along the road where Jesus entered on a donkey, hailing him as king the week before he was killed. 

After processing to the altar with his own palm in hand, the Pope blessed those the pilgrims were holding, and participated in the reading of Jesus' entire Passion and death, taken from the Gospel of Mark.

In his homily Francis focused on how Jesus' incarnation and death serve as strong examples of God's humility, which he shows to his people even when they disobey and complain to him.

Despite the shame Jesus faced, "this is God's way, the way of humility. It is the way of Jesus; there is no other. And there can be no humility without humiliation," Francis said.

By taking on the "form of a slave," Jesus shows us that true humility is expressed in service to others, and consists of stripping and emptying oneself of worldliness so as to make room for God, he said.

"This is the greatest humiliation of all," the Pope noted, and warned against taking that path of the world, which tempts us with "vanity, pride, success," just like the devil did with Jesus during his 40 days in the desert.

However, Jesus "immediately rejected" this temptation, he said, explaining that "with him, we too can overcome this temptation, not only at significant moments, but in daily life as well."

He encouraged attendees to follow Jesus on his path of "humiliation" during Holy Week, and noted how throughout the course of the next week, the Church will participate in Jesus' suffering in a concrete way.

"We will feel the contempt of the leaders of his people and their attempts to trip him up. We will be there at the betrayal of Judas, one of the Twelve, who will sell him for thirty pieces of silver. We will see the Lord arrested and carried off like a criminal; abandoned by his disciples, dragged before the Sanhedrin, condemned to death, beaten and insulted," he said.

In addition, we will also hear how Peter, the "rock" among the disciples, denies Jesus three times and will hear how the crowds, urged by their leaders, call for Barabas to be freed and Jesus crucified. 

Jesus will be "mocked by the soldiers, robed in purple and crowned with thorns. And then, as he makes his sorrowful way beneath the cross, we will hear the jeering of the people and their leaders, who scoff at his being King and Son of God," the Pope explained.

He closed his homily by recognizing the many who selflessly give themselves in hidden service to others, and by praying for those who are persecuted "because they are Christians."

Referring to them as the "martyrs of our own time," Francis said these people refuse to deny Jesus and therefore endure "insult and injury with dignity."

He prayed that as the Church sets out on the path of Holy Week, faithful would commit to following Jesus' way of humility with determination and "immense love" for him, saying that it is this love which "will guide us and give us strength."

After Mass the Pope led pilgrims in the recitation of the traditional Angelus prayer, and noted in comments after how Palm Sunday also marked the 30th World Youth Day, which was established by St. John Paul II in 1984. 

This year's theme - the second in a series on the beatitudes - is "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," while last year's was "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Next year's theme for the international gathering in Krakow, Poland, will be "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy."

The Pope also prayed for the 150 victims of the Germanwings Airbus plane crash in the French Alps earlier this week, which included a group of German students, and entrusted them to the intercession of Mary.

Francis' slate of activities for Holy Week includes a Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Holy Thursday, as well as a visit to a Roman prison later that evening, where he will wash the feet of inmates and celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper.

The next day, Good Friday, the Pope will keep in line with papal tradition and celebrate a service for the Passion of Our Lord in St. Peter's Basilica before heading to the Colosseum, where he will lead thousands in the traditional prayer of the Stations of the Cross.

The Roman tradition of holding the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on Good Friday goes back to the pontificate of Benedict XIV, who died in 1758.

On Holy Saturday Francis will preside over the Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica starting at 8:30 p.m., during which he will administer the sacrament of baptism to certain individuals.

Easter morning, April 5, he will celebrate the Mass of Our Lord's Resurrection in St. Peter's Square before giving his 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing - which goes out to the city of Rome and to the world - from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

In 2010 Pope Benedict Spoke to Pilgrims During Holy Week
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EASTER TRIDUUM LEADS US TO CHRIST
 VATICAN CITY, 31 MAR 2010 (VIS) - The Easter Triduum was the central theme of Benedict XVI 's catechesis during his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square.
 
   "We are", the Pope began, "living through the holy days that invite us to meditate upon the central events of our Redemption, the essential nucleus of our faith". In this context, he encouraged everyone "to experience this period intensely, that it may decisively guide everyone's life to a generous and strong adherence to Christ, Who died and rose again for us".
 
   At the Chrism Mass of Holy Thursday, apart from the blessing of the oil used for catechumens, the sick and those being confirmed, priests will renew their vows. "This year the gesture has particular significance because it takes place in the context of the Year for Priests, which I called to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of the holy 'Cure of Ars'. To all priests I would like to reiterate the hope I expressed at the end of my Letter inaugurating the Year: 'In the footsteps of the Cure of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by Christ. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace!'".
 
   On the evening of Holy Thursday "we will celebrate the moment of the institution of the Eucharist" when Christ, "in the species of the bread and the wine, makes Himself truly present with the Body He gave and the Blood He split as a sacrifice of the New Covenant. At the same time He made the Apostles and their successors ministers of this Sacrament, which He consigned to His Church as the supreme proof of His love".
 
   On Good Friday, in memory of the passion and death of the Lord, we will recall how "Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice for the remission of the sins of humankind, choosing the most cruel and humiliating death: crucifixion. There exists an indissoluble link between the Last Supper and the death of Jesus", said Pope Benedict , explaining how in the Upper Room "Jesus offered His Body and Blood (that is, his earthly existence, Himself), anticipating His own death and transforming it into an act of love. And so death, which by its nature is the end, the destruction of all relations, is made by Him an act of communication of Self, an instrument of salvation and a proclamation of the victory of love".
 
   Easter Saturday "is characterised by a great silence. ... At this time of expectation and hope, believers are invited to prayer, reflection and conversion, also through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so that, intimately renewed, they may participate in the celebration of Easter", said the Holy Father.
 
   On the night of Easter Saturday, "that silence will be broken by the cry of Alleluia, which announces the resurrection of Christ and proclaims he victory of light over darkness, of life over death. The Church will joy in the meeting with her Lord, entering the day of Easter which the Lord inaugurated by rising from the dead", the Pope concluded.
 
AG/EASTER TRIDUUM/...                                                             VIS 100331 (530)
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1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and The Apostles Creed.
 
2. Then on the Our Father Beads say the following:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
 
3. On each of the 10 Hail Mary Beads say the following:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
(Repeat step 2 and 3 for all five decades).
 
4. Conclude with (three times):
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
 
Divine Mercy Novena
 
Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday.  He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said: 
"These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.' The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy." 
In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her: 
"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy ... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls." 
The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are: 
DAY 1 (Good Friday)  - All mankind, especially sinners 
DAY  2 (Holy Saturday) - The souls of priests and religious 
DAY 3 (Easter Sunday)  - All devout and faithful souls 
DAY 4 (Easter Monday) - Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him 
DAY  5 (Easter Tuesday) - The souls of separated brethren 
DAY  6 (Easter Wednesday) - The meek and humble souls and the souls of children 
DAY  7 (Easter Thursday) - The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy 
DAY  8 (Easter Friday) - The souls who are detained in purgatory; 
DAY  9 (Easter Saturday) - The souls who have become lukewarm. 
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy may also be offered each day for the day's intention, but is not strictly necessary to the Novena.


First Day
"Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners, 
and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me." 
Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.


Second Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious, 
and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind." 
Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.
* In the original text, Saint Faustina uses the pronoun "us" since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use. 


Third Day
"Today bring to Me all Devout and Faithful Souls, 
and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were a drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness."  
Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.


Fourth Day
"Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God and those who do not know Me,  
I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy."   
Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.
*Our Lord's original words here were "the pagans." Since the pontificate of Pope John XXIII, the Church has seen fit to replace this term with clearer and more appropriate terminology.


Fifth Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls of those who have separated themselves from My Church*, 
and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion."   
Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.
*Our Lord's original words here were "heretics and schismatics," since He spoke to Saint Faustina within the context of her times. As of the Second Vatican Council, Church authorities have seen fit not to use those designations in accordance with the explanation given in the Council's Decree on Ecumenism (n.3). Every pope since the Council has reaffirmed that usage. Saint Faustina herself, her heart always in harmony with the mind of the Church, most certainly would have agreed. When at one time, because of the decisions of her superiors and father confessor, she was not able to execute Our Lord's inspirations and orders, she declared: "I will follow Your will insofar as You will permit me to do so through Your representative. O my Jesus " I give priority to the voice of the Church over the voice with which You speak to me" (497). The Lord confirmed her action and praised her for it.


Sixth Day
Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of  Little Children, 
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.     
Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.


Seventh Day
Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy*, 
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death. 
Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:

Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.
*The text leads one to conclude that in the first prayer directed to Jesus, Who is the Redeemer, it is "victim" souls and contemplatives that are being prayed for; those persons, that is, that voluntarily offered themselves to God for the salvation of their neighbor (see Col 1:24; 2 Cor 4:12). This explains their close union with the Savior and the extraordinary efficacy that their invisible activity has for others. In the second prayer, directed to the Father from whom comes "every worthwhile gift and every genuine benefit,"we recommend the "active" souls, who promote devotion to The Divine Mercy and exercise with it all the other works that lend themselves to the spiritual and material uplifting of their brethren.


Eighth Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, 
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice."    
Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen. 


Ninth Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm, 
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in theGarden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy."  
Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.  
 ​

Hallow is a prayer app that offers guided meditation sessions to help us grow in our faith & spiritual lives and find peace in God. 
“I grew up Catholic, but fell away from my faith and became fascinated with secular meditation. Something, though, was always missing. It felt like I was being pulled towards something spiritual, something more. So I started asking everyone if there was any sort of intersection between meditation and faith, and what I found changed my life.” -Alex Jones, Founder of Hallow 


The Hallow app offers many ways to deepen your prayer life, such as:  
-Pray with the reading from the daily Gospel each morning in just 5, 10, or 15 minutes (you choose the length) 
-Fall asleep with Bible sleep stories from Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jonathan Roumie, or various Scripture readings by guest readers.  
-Meditate with the daily Rosary or many other prayers on your way to work, with your morning coffee, or as you go about your day 
-Try praying with music, hearing the Bible in a Year podcast, and much, much more!  


Some features include: 
-Listen on the way to work, on a plane, in the morning, or at night with downloadable offline sessions and customized lengths anywhere from 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minute options! 
-Personalize your prayer experience. Choose your guide, length, background music like Gregorian chant, set your favorites, journal, and create your own personal prayer plan. ​

Go to this link to set up an account on the Hallow website or use the codes below: 
https://hallow.com/share/AR6RCL 


After you have setup your account, download the app by searching for “Hallow Catholic” in the App Store or Google Play, sign in using the account you just created, and start praying! ​

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 
      Jesus' Name means 'God saves.'  But how does God save us and from what?  Sin of course.  How does He do this?  By becoming Mercy and seeking us.  Is that all?  No, your right, we must confess our sins.  Why?  Not so God can condemn us, so that God can forgive us.  No sin, No Savior!
 
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Hebrews 4:16


 
       Let us go to Confession/Reconciliation/Penance!  Fear and Shame are not awaiting you, comfort and peace are.  You will not meet a yelling priest, you will meet Jesus Christ, Who will forgive you and let you begin again!
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  Sunday was the Fifth Sunday of Lent.  The readings can be found at:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040322-YearC.cfm

P.S.S.  www.RomanCatholicGoodNews.com/  is a website that has the Roman Catholic Good News from previous weeks along with multiple homilies.  Please take a look and pass on if you think others would benefit.
 
Homilies (second one contains the Gospel) from Fifth Sunday of Lent is found below (7 and 9 minutes): 
 
http://www.freewebs.com/godislove333/Fifth%20Sunday%20of%20Lent%203-9-2008-Cycle%20A-St%20Barbara%208am-Receive%20Mercy-Go%20to%20Confession-I%20Go-I%20am%20sorry.wav

http://www.freewebs.com/godislove333/Fifth%20Sunday%20of%20Lent%203-9-2008-Gospel%20and%20Homily-Cycle%20A-St%20Michael-10am-Receive%20Mercy-Go%20to%20Confession-I%20do-I%20am%20sorry.wav
 ​

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​Friday is a Day of Abstinence from meat for Catholics 14 and older
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"Helpful Hints of Life"
 
Beating the Blues
 
-Go for a walk, physical activity such as aerobic exercise like jogging, swimming, or brisk walking, is a great way to perk up a blue mood.  Exercise releases endorphins, a group of proteins produced by the brain that are thought to elevate mood.
-Keep busy by filling up your schedule.  Immerse yourself in a favorite activity, find a new hobby, volunteer, plan a vacation, or take an evening course.

-Don’t isolate yourself from others when you feel blue.  This can make things worse.  Make a date to go out with friends, do some volunteer work, write a letter, or telephone a relative or an old friend.

-Music can have a profound effect on emotions.  Listen to some of your favorite upbeat music.  Sing along at the top of your lungs or dance around the room.  Avoid sad songs or music that reminds you of a loss.
-Express your creativity by painting, sculpting, knitting, embroidery, cooking, or any other art or craft.  Try something new.  This will help you forget your worries.

+JMJ+


HOW CAN I HELP AT THIS TIME?
1) →Check on family and neighbors to make sure everyone is okay and needs are being taken care of.← (Call if you can. If you drop by, make sure you maintain social distance to the degree possible.)
2) →Donate blood.← (This is much needed now as many blood drives at colleges and churches have had to be cancelled and hospitals will have increased need. Blood donation is very safe and they are taking extra precautions with current illness going around.)
3) →Explore ways to help or volunteer virtually.← (So much can be done over the phone and internet today. Search your local community needs.)
4) →Waste not, want not.← (Use the food in your house. Be careful to stay up on item dates. Freeze food you will not use right away. Buy what you will use.)
5) →Make a donation to those serving others.← (Local, national, and international organization exist to serve and help others. Look up one or ask locally what most needs assistance.)
6) →Be a leader and provide good example.← (Be the first to do the right thing. Explain directions that are hard to understand or follow. Encourage others to look toward their neighbor and fellow human being.)
7) →Take care of yourself.← (As they say, secure your own oxygen mask before assisting others. In other words, self-care is incredibly important at a time like this, and ensuring that you’re making safe and smart choices is a civic duty of the utmost importance. Be patient and kind to all, especially yourself!)


WAYS TO COMBAT OR MITIGATE RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES AT THIS TIME:
1) Wash hands often to remove potential viruses or items that might cause illnesses.
2) Social Distance yourself from another at least 3-6 feet to keep micro-droplets from our mouth or nose (even if we are not sneezing or coughing) from coming into contact with the other person.
3) Stay aware of symptoms and check if you have a fever. If you have symptoms, CALL your doctor’s office or an urgent care to get further instruction of how to proceed. You may also be able to receive care on the phone or be diagnosed through what is called Tele-medicine. (Emergency situations should call 911)
4) Clean surfaces such as door handles, counters, and commonly touched surfaces with a disinfectant often so that viruses or items that cause illness may be wiped away and less likely to infect persons.
5) Get plenty of rest, fluids, eat balanced meals as one is able, and exercise limitedly to stay as healthy as possible.


"Finally, through Mary, the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, the objects of God's merciful love, into communion with Christ. And the humble are always the first to accept him: shepherds, magi, Simeon and Anna, the bride and groom at Cana, and the first disciples."  
​-Catechism of the Catholic Church #725

Diocesan News AND BEYOND

Franciscan University’s Austrian Campus Houses Ukrainian Refugees14th-century Carthusian monastery in the foothills of the Alps offers shelter and spiritual solace.

​A group of Ukrainian refugee women and 41 children arrived at the doors of Franciscan University’s Austria campus this week. 
The Steubenville, Ohio, university is providing food and shelter for the next two months, according to Austrian Program Director Tom Wolter, who said that many refugees have little to no contact with people or places outside of Ukraine itself and require assistance with more than just travel plans. 
“The need is acute,” Wolter said in a press release, referencing the millions of refugees escaping into Poland and surrounding European countries. 
Franciscan’s Austrian program staff are collaborating with an Austrian organization, Kleine Herzen (Little Hearts), that provides aid to children affected by the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Kleine Herzen organizer Oksana Nazarchuk met and traveled with the refugees from the Ukrainian border to the campus, Kartause Maria Thronus Iesu (Monastery of Our Lady, Throne of Jesus). The children will be able to go to school in a monastery classroom, and the refugees can pray in the Byzantine Catholic chapel.
“The refugees found not only shelter but also the support and love from Franciscan University,” Nazarchuk said. “Most mothers were crying, seeing such support and readiness to help.” 
Wolter and staff recently returned from the Poland-Ukraine border, where they transported fleeing families to welcoming Viennese homes. Austrian program staff have provided assistance since the beginning of the war, including providing food and additional supplies to refugees. 
Fewer Franciscan students enrolled in the Austrian study-abroad program this semester due to concerns related to COVID-19, which resulted in additional space the campus could make available to refugees. The monastery, “a beautifully restored 14th-century Carthusian monastery in the foothills of the Austrian Alps,” usually hosts about 200 Franciscan students each semester.
Franciscan University currently accepts donations to its newly established Ukrainian Relief Fund, which will aid in covering costs of shelter, food and daily living items for refugees housed at the monastery.
If the amount of funds received exceeds what is necessary, additional monetary support will be contributed to “Austrian organizations that are housing or collecting supplies for refugees.” All donations will be tax deductible.
Wolter emphasized the need the Franciscan campus is meeting: “The initial wave of refugees who left Ukraine had friends or family in Europe and simply needed assistance in their travels. However, as the conflict continues to increase in both intensity and in scope, further migration has occurred with refugees having no family, friends or contacts outside of their home country.”






CULTURE OF LIFE |  APR. 6
Unplanned Opportunity: How a Movie’s Unexpected Success Is Reinvigorating Pro-Lifers
The film based on pro-life advocate Abby Johnson’s book of the same name is performing big at the box office — and in more important ways, as well.
Elisabeth DeffnerWhen the crowd of moviegoers spotted Mark Cavaliere in his blue 40 Days for Life shirt, it was like they’d spotted a movie star on the street.
“Hey, that’s the same shirt from the movie!” he heard some of them exclaim.
“They couldn’t comprehend it,” said the executive director of the Southwest Coalition for Life with a chuckle.
He was just gathering his 40 Days for Life materials from the theater where his organization had hosted a screening of Unplanned, the movie based on pro-life advocate Abby Johnson’s book of the same name. The people awed by his shirt had been in a neighboring theater, watching the same movie.
“I passed out information to people leaving the general showing, as well,” said Cavaliere, whose organization has hosted more than half a dozen screenings of the film.
At each of those screenings, Cavaliere spoke to the audience before and after the film, telling them about the Coalition for Life and the 40 Days for Life campaign. “This 40-day prayer vigil you just saw [depicted in the movie], and the power of that prayer, is happening right now in our own backyard,” he told them. “This could be your story, just by signing up for an hour of prayer.”
And his presentations have been working. Typically, the Southwest Coalition for Life works with more than 600 volunteers during each 40 Days for Life campaign. The group is able to place volunteers in front of three abortion businesses, 7am-7pm, each day of the campaign.
Cavaliere is still working his way through all the cards of interested volunteers submitted to him at the Unplanned screenings his group hosted — but he’s already topped more than 100 new potential vigil participants and expects that number to more than double.
“With all the laws going on recently, with late-term abortion and infanticide laws — people are just fed up,” he said. “It’s finally a wake-up call.
“They want to do something. They just need a little bit of direction.”


By the Numbers
Independently made with a budget of $6 million, Unplanned officially opened March 29 in 1,059 theaters. Disney’s Dumbo, with a budget of $170 million, opened the same day, in roughly four times as many theaters.
The next day, Forbes ran a story headlined “Friday Box Office: ‘Dumbo’ Disappoints, ‘Unplanned’ Surprises and ‘Beach Bum’ Bombs.” On more than 4,000 screens, Dumbobrought in a little more than $15 million on opening day; Unplanned earned $2.72 million.
As of this writing, Unplanned remains No. 4 at the box office and has brought in more than $8.6 million (including nearly $900,000 in ticket sales Tuesday).
“Every single number is off the wall,” said Cary Solomon, who co-wrote and co-directed the film with Chuck Konzelman.
An additional 457 theaters will be showing the film this weekend, but the duo — who are also the team behind God’s Not Dead and God’s Not Dead 2 — don’t expect the phenomenon to stop there.
“I think if we have a good weekend, we’ll do that again. We’ll go over 2,000 [theaters],” said Solomon.
Largely, the film’s early success has been achieved without benefit of coverage in the secular media, which has dismissed the film as merely “a faith-based film” — in other words, one that will not appeal to the general public — and pro-life “propaganda.”
Given the subject matter and a CGI depiction of an abortion, the film was rated R (no one under 17 admitted without a parent or guardian). Many in the pro-life community wondered why an underage girl can, in many states, obtain an abortion without parental consent … and yet would not be allowed to see a movie about abortion without being accompanied by a parent or guardian.
But now that R rating seems like a blessing. “It lent credibility to the movie,” said Konzelman. “It gave credibility to a movie that was being frozen out by mainstream media.”
It was also a big talking point that may have increased the film’s exposure before release.
An open letter signed by evangelical Protestant celebrities, including Alveda King, Mike Huckabee, singer/actor Pat Boone and actor Kevin Sorbo, pointed out that The Passion of the Christ also received an R rating — which, in the writers’ opinions, should in this case stand for “recommended.”
Archbishop Joseph Naumann, the head of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, wrote a commentary for The Wall Street Journal, “Hollywood Admits Abortion Is Violent,” in which he recommends the film “to all people of goodwill.”
“Unplanned wasn’t produced to shame women who have had abortions or to condemn those who perform them. It’s about redemption,” he wrote. “Perhaps Abby Johnson’s courage in coming forward will change our nation from one that embraces violent, R-rated solutions for unplanned pregnancies to one that sees each human life as a gift to be celebrated.” 
When the film’s Twitter account was mysteriously suspended on opening day, and the social-media platform provided no reason for the suspension, that seemingly injurious action may have actually benefited the film, theorize the people behind the project.
Later on opening weekend, the Twitter account was restored … but when Twitter users clicked to follow the account, they were unable to complete the action. Both incidents got significant publicity from people frustrated that they could not follow the account — and ultimately may have resulted in even greater follower numbers.
On Friday, the @UnplannedMovie Twitter account had 7,000 followers. As of this writing, it has 348,698 followers; that’s more than Planned Parenthood, which has slightly over 260,000 Twitter followers.
“There was a passive-aggressive resistance toward any publicity for the film,” said Solomon, referring to — among other things — major networks’ rejection of the film’s ads.  “All [Twitter] did was give us a wonderful story to back up that fact.”


Beyond the Numbers
The film’s real-life protagonist, Abby Johnson, has also been thrust into the spotlight because of the film’s success. Before the film’s release, she had 45,000 Twitter followers — a community she’d grown over a number of years. As of this writing, she has 113,634.
More importantly, she says she’s receiving about 150 messages a day across various platforms — social media, email and so on — from abortion workers seeking assistance from Johnson’s organization And Then There Were None to leave the industry. But, Johnson said, “Ninety percent of those messages are people saying, ‘I’m pro-life, I’ve been pro-life, but I’ve never been active in this movement. What can I do?’”
Before the release of Unplanned, some might have wondered if the film — which portrays Johnson’s journey from a Planned Parenthood employee of the year to one of the pro-life movement’s most vocal advocates — would simply preach to the choir. That is simply not the case, Johnson said.
“It’s awakened the choir!” she said. “It’s not just preaching to the choir: I feel like we’re teaching the choir how to sing.”
Shawn Carney, founder of 40 Days for Life and a key character in the cinematic adaptation, agrees.
“The ‘preaching to the choir’ argument is true if Unplanned makes $2 million opening weekend; but I think that myth was gone by midday Saturday,” he said. “What kind of ‘Christian movie’ makes nearly $1 million on a Tuesday?”
Konzelman and Solomon bought the film rights to Johnson’s book six years ago, and it has been a challenging journey to get funding, to get distribution and to get publicity for the project. But they are not surprised that the timing for the film’s release seems so providential, in the wake of New York’s aggressive late-term abortion legislation and resulting debate about infanticide of babies who have the temerity to survive the procedure.
“The timing of the movie was divine, for sure,” Carney said. “It’s not just bringing us new waves of volunteers. It’s bad for the abortion industry.”
“More than anything, the Unplanned movie has contributed to the desire for more and more people to continue to be out there after 40 Days for Life,” added Cavaliere. “We’ve never had so many people say, ‘We don’t want to stop.’
“If [abortion providers] are doing this, that we saw on the screen, full time, year-round … how can we be out here part time?”


On the Sacrament of Marriage
"Married life is a most beautiful thing and we must guard it always"

VATICAN CITY  (Zenit.org) - Here is a translation of the Holy Father's catechesis on the sacraments today during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Today we conclude the series of catecheses on the Sacraments speaking of Marriage. This Sacrament leads us to the heart of God's plan, which is a covenant plan with His people, with all of us, a plan of communion. At the beginning of the Book of Genesis, the first Book of the Bible, as the crowning of the account of creation, it states: "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them ... Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 1:27; 2:24).

The married couple is the image of God: the man and the woman, not only the man, not only the woman, but both. This is the image of God: the love, the covenant of God with us is represented in that covenant between man and woman. And this is very beautiful! We are created to love, as reflection of God and of His love. And in the conjugal union the man and the woman realize this vocation in the sign of reciprocity and of communion of a full and definitive life.

When a man and a woman celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage, God, so to speak, is "mirrored" in them, He imprints in them His own features and the indelible character of His love. Marriage is the icon of God's love for us. God, in fact, is also communion: the three Persons of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit have lived always and forever in perfect unity. And this is in fact the mystery of Marriage: God makes of the two spouses a single existence. The Bible uses a strong expression and states "one flesh," so intimate is the union between man and woman in marriage. And this is precisely the mystery of marriage: the love of God that is mirrored in the couple that decides to live together. Therefore, man leaves his home, the home of his parents and goes to live with his wife and unites himself so strongly to her that the two become � the Bible states � one flesh.

In the Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul highlights the fact that a very great mystery is reflected in Christian spouses: the relationship established by Christ with the Church, a nuptial relationship (cf. Ephesians 5:21-33). The Church is the Bride of Christ. This is the relationship. This means that Marriage responds to a specific vocation and must be considered as a consecration (cf. Gaudium et spes, 48; Familiaris consortio, 56). It is a consecration: the man and the woman are consecrated in their love. By virtue of the Sacrament, the spouses are invested in fact in a true and proper mission, so that they can render visible, from simple ordinary things, the love with which Christ loves his Church, continuing to give his life for her, in fidelity and in service.

It is truly a stupendous plan that is inherent in the Sacrament of Marriage! And it is acted out in the simplicity and also in the fragility of the human condition. We know well how many difficulties and trials the life of two spouses has. What is important is to keep alive the bond with God, who is the basis of the conjugal bond. And the true bond is always with the Lord. When the family prays, the bond is maintained. When the husband prays for the wife and the wife prays for the husband, the bond becomes strong; one prays for the other.

It is true that in matrimonial life there are many difficulties, many: work, lack of money, children having problems � so many difficulties. And so often the husband and wife become a bit nervous and quarrel between themselves. They quarrel -- it is always so in marriage -- sometimes even plates fly. However, we must not become sad because of this; the human condition is like this. And the secret is that love is stronger from the moment there is quarreling, so I always advise spouses: Never end the day when you quarreled without making peace. Always! And it is not necessary to call the United Nations to come to one's home to make peace. A small gesture, a caress, a hello is sufficient! And until tomorrow -� and tomorrow one begins again. And this is life; it must be carried forward thus, carried forward with the courage of wanting to live it together. And this is great, it is beautiful! Married life is a most beautiful thing and we must guard it always, protect the children.

At other times I have said in this square something that helps marital life a lot. They are three words that must always be said, three words that must be in the home: please, thank you, sorry [permesso, grazie, scusa] -- three magical words.

Please, so as not to be invasive in the life of the spouse. Please, but what does this seem to you? Please, allow me.

Thank you: to thank one's spouse: thank you for what you did for me, thank you for this. The beauty of rendering thanks!

And as we all make mistakes, the other word which is a bit difficult to say, but which must be said: sorry.

Please, thank you, sorry. With these three words, with the prayer of the husband for his wife and vice versa, with making peace always before the day ends, the marriage will go forward -- the three magical words, prayer and always making peace.

May the Lord bless you and pray for me.

* * *

Speaker:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Today we conclude our catechesis on the sacraments with the sacrament of Matrimony, which brings us to the very heart of God's loving plan for the human family. The Triune God created us � men and women � in his image and calls us to mirror the mystery of his love. Married couples carry out this vocation in a full and definitive communion of life. As "one flesh", they become living icons of God's love in our world, building up the Church in unity and fidelity. Christian marriage also reflects the mystery of Christ's own faithful and sacrificial love for his body, the Church. Christian spouses thus receive a special consecration and a special mission. While a noble vocation, marriage is not an easy one: it must constantly be strengthened by a living relationship with the Lord through prayer: mornings and evenings, at meals, in the recitation of the Rosary, and above all through the Sunday Eucharist. Today let us pray for all families, especially those experiencing difficulties, so that by God's mercy they can always be joyful models of faith, love and generous service in our communities.

Holy Father (In Italian):

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims present at today's Audience, including those from England, Wales, Denmark, Norway, Malta, Japan, Canada and the United States. I am pleased to welcome the Catholic Health Care Federation from the United States and the priests of the Institute for Continuing Theological Formation at the Pontifical North American College. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke joy and peace in Christ our Lord.

* * *

I welcome the Italian-speaking pilgrims! I welcome the participants in the Seminar organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family; the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, who are holding their General Chapter, and the other women religious present. I greet the faithful of the parishes and the numerous groups, in particular the representation of the workers of ALCOA of Portovesme. I greet the Multiple-Sclerosis Association; the Association of Artillery Men of Italy and the Professional Soccer League. May this pilgrimage reinforce in everyone faith, hope and charity.

A special thought goes to the Jemo 'Nnanzi group of Aquila, Jemo 'Nnanzi. Five years after the earthquake devastated your city, I join you in prayer for the numerous victims, and I entrust to the protection of Our Lady of Roio all those who still live in hardship. I encourage all to keep hope alive! May the reconstruction of dwellings be accompanied by that of churches, which are houses of prayer for all, and of the artistic patrimony, to which the re-launching of the territory is linked. Jemo 'Nnanzi.

I greet the young people, the sick and the newlyweds, remembering them with the liturgy of Saint Francis of Paola. Dear young people, especially you, of the Village of youngsters of Maddaloni, learn from him that humility is strength and not weakness! Dear sick, do not tire of asking in prayer for the Lord's help. And you, dear newlyweds, compete in esteeming and helping one another.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pope Interviewed by Belgian Youth GroupSpeaks Candidly on Poverty, Throwaway Culture, Personal Experiences

VATICAN CITY  (Zenit.org) - Pope Francis has given a candid interview to five young people from a youth group in Fiandre, Belgium, who interviewed him for a communications project entitled, "Verse Vis.".

The 30 minute video, entitled "Habemus Papam", documents the journey of the young journalists, who come from various backgrounds and beliefs, and culminates with their interview with the Holy Father. Bishop Lucas Van Looy of Ghent arranged the interview with the Pope, which took place on March 31st.

The first question was about the Holy Father's focus on the poor. Pope Francis said that the poor and those affected by poverty are at the heart of the Gospel.

"Two months ago," the Pope recalled, "I heard a person saying, when I spoke about the poor: 'This Pope is a communist.' And no, this is the banner of the Gospel, not of Communism but of the Gospel! It is poverty without ideology and that is why I believe the poor are at the center of the proclaimation of Jesus."

One of the young people, who declared she was an atheist, said she was inspired by the Holy Father's words and asked for a message for believers and nonbelievers alike. The Pope stressed the need for a dialogue spoken with authenticity and a knowledge that "we are all brothers."

While man is at the center of history, he said, in today's world, man has been taken away and replaced with power and money. The Holy Father emphasized the existence of a "throwaway culture" that regards, children and youth as an impediment. Highlighting the plight of the elderly, the Pope also said there is a "hidden euthanasia" that occurs because the elderly are no longer cared for.

However, the Holy Father expressed his hope that young politicians today are recognizing this and will act. These young politicians, he said "are happy because they - whether they are from the left or the right - speak a new 'tune', with a new tune, a new style of politics, and that gives me hope."

When asked a question on what has he learned from past mistakes, the Pope replied laughing: "I have made mistakes and I [continue to] make mistakes." The 77 year old Pontiff regarded mistakes as "the great teachers of life."

"They are great teachers, they teach you so much. I won't say that I have learned from all my mistakes, I haven't because I am (knocks on desk), I'm hard-headed and it is not easy to learn. But I have learned from many mistakes and this has done me well."

The Holy Father spoke candidly during his role as Superior General of the Jesuits, a time where he said he made "many mistakes with authoritarianism."

"I was very authoritarian at 36 years old. And then I learned that you must dialogue, you should hear what others think, But it wasn't learned once and for all. The path is long and I learned from my attitude that was a bit authoritarian as a religious superior to find a path to not be so much [...] but I still make mistakes."

Before concluding their interview, the young journalists asked the Pope if he had a question for them. Pope Francis replied by saying he would ask them something from the Gospel: "Where is your treasure?"

"What treasure does your heart rest in?" he asked. "Because where your treasure is, that is where your life is. The heart is attached to treasure, a treasure that we all have, It can be power, money, pride, there are so many. Or is it goodness, beauty, the will to do good? There are so many treasures we can place our heart in. So where is your heart? That is the question that I will ask but you have to answer to yourselves alone, in your home." (J.A.E.)

--- --- ---

On the NET:

For the video of the interview, go to: http://www.een.be/programmas/koppen/habemus-papam

Note: Video is in Flemish (Belgian Dutch), though questions are asked in English. The Pope responds in Italian.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  "Now - and this is daunting - this outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love, like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see. In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness makes them impervious to the Father's merciful love; but in confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to his grace." -Catechism of the Catholic Church #2840
 

A bit of humor…

Tried and True Method

Flummoxed by his true-false final exam, a student decides to toss a coin up in the air. Heads means true; tails, false. Thirty minutes later, he’s done, well before the rest of the class. But then the student starts flipping the coin again. And soon he’s murmuring and sweating over each question. 
"What’s wrong?" asks the concerned teacher. 
"I’m rechecking my answers," says the student. 

That's It
When my coworker Donsa was promoted, we decided to celebrate. Her boss called the baker and ordered a cake. 
"Two questions," said the baker. "Is Donsa a man or a woman? And what do you want the cake to say?" 
"The cake should read ‘Congratulations’" the boss said. "Oh, and Donsa"s a woman." The next day, the office celebrated with a cake that read "Congratulations—Donsa’s a woman." 



I Have a Question

During our computer class, the teacher chastised one boy for talking to the girl sitting next to him. 
"I was just asking her a question," the boy said. 
"If you have a question, ask me," the teacher tersely replied. 
"Okay," he answered. "Do you want to go out with me Friday night?"

Grannies on the Road

Sitting on the side of the road waiting to catch speeding drivers, a
state trooper sees a car puttering along at 22 mph. He thinks to
himself, "This driver is as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his
lights and pulls the driver over.

Approaching the car, he notices that there are five elderly ladies - two
in the front seat and three in the back, wide-eyed and white as ghosts.
The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't
understand. I was going the exact speed limit. What seems to be the
problem?"

The trooper trying to contain a chuckle, explains to her that 22 was the
route number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned
and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.

"But before you go, Ma'am, I have to ask, is everyone in this car OK?
These women seem awfully shaken."

"Oh, they'll be all right in a minute, officer.. We just got off Route 127 
: )

​
Love the Irish

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place.   Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me.   If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!' 

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'

+JMJ+


PRAYER DURING TIME OF ILLNESS
Holy Virgin of Guadalupe,
Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas.
We fly to you today as your beloved children.
We ask you to intercede for us with your Son, as you did at the wedding in Cana.
Pray for us, loving Mother,
and gain for our nation and world,
and for all our families and loved ones, the protection of your holy angels, that we may be spared the worst of this illness.
For those already afflicted,
we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance.
Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful,
wipe away their tears and help them to trust.
In this time of trial and testing,
teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind. Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts.
We come to you with confidence,
knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother, health of the sick and cause of our joy.
Shelter us under the mantle of your protection, keep us in the embrace of your arms, help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen.


"We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell.""  
​-Catechism of the Catholic Church #1033
 

Is this sacrament called confession, penance or reconciliation? 
Yes! This sacrament involves all three elements and historically has been called by all three names. Today the Church refers to it as the Sacrament of Penance or the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
 
Why do we need a sacrament of Reconciliation? 
"Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reason conversion entails both God's forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church…" (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] 1440). Only God forgives sins. Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole Church should be a sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation (CCC1442). The priest "is not the master of God's forgiveness, but its servant" (CCC 1466).
 
What happens in the Sacrament of Penance? 
"Through the sacrament of penance, we, the faithful, acknowledge the sins we have committed, express our sorrow for them, and, intending to reform our ways, receive God's forgiveness and become reconciled with God and with the Church" (USCCB Committee on Pastoral Practices). "Jesus' call to conversion and penance… does not aim first at outward works… but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion" (CCC 1430). Conversion is first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our hearts return to him.
 
What sins should be confessed?
The Church teaches that "all serious (mortal) sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret… for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly" (CCC 1456). At the same time, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) "is strongly recommended… for it helps us to form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies (patterns of weakness that can lead us to sin), let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father's mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful" (CCC 1458).
 
What are the effects of this sacrament? 
"The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being… He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some way offended and wounded. He is reconciled with the Church. He is reconciled with all creation" (John Paul II). "The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God's grace (which was lost by Adam and Eve and confirmed by our personal sins) and joining us with him in an intimate friendship" (CCC 1468), "for those who receive the sacrament with contrite heart and religious disposition, reconciliation is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation" (CCC 1551) (i.e. you feel good after going to Confession).
Did you know?
• In the early Church, the Sacrament of Penance could be received only once in a lifetime.
The penances assigned were often very long and severe, sometimes lasting several years. During this time penitents usually had special places in church, wore special clothes, and commonly left the Sunday liturgy after the homily, just like the catechumens.
 
• At one time the Church had a two-track system of public Penance and private Penance. 
Public sins required public penance and private sins required private penance.
 
• For centuries penitents were required to do their assigned penance and then return to receive absolution. Practical difficulties with this became apparent when the confessor was a wandering missionary and when the penances sometimes took the penitent on a pilgrimage to foreign lands.
 
HOW TO GO TO CONFESSION
 
Many people have avoided celebrating the Sacrament of Penance, sometimes for years at a time, because they “don’t know what to do.” But confession doesn’t need to be scary or intimidating! The following brief explanation will help you understand how the Sacrament is celebrated individually.
 
1 Preparation
The celebration of this sacrament begins at home, with the private preparation you make. This preparation is called the examination of conscience. “The penitent compares his or her life with the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the example of Christ and then prays to God for forgiveness.” The examination of conscience should take into account your relationship to God and to others. Usually, we know our sins all too well; the examination of conscience will help us to look at them in the light of the Gospel, and be better able to express them in confession.  Also, we are sometimes unaware of how serious some sins are and the effect they have on our lives.  A thorough examination of conscience will help us identify and remove all that is hindering us in our relationship with God, one another, and ourselves.  A doctor needs help to remove all the illness or cancer from a patient, thus we need help to remove all sin so as to have true health and divine life.  (Please pray over attached Examination of Conscience for Adults.)
 
2 Welcome of the Priest
You have the option of confessing your sins face to face, or of confessing anonymously. This is your choice. The priest welcomes you and then both you and he make the sign of the cross, saying, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Then in his own words the priest urges you to have confidence in God. Then you continue, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  It has been (# weeks, months, or years) since my last Confession.”  If you don’t know the priest, you may want to indicate your state of life (i.e. married, single, widowed, divorced), and anything else that may help your confessor.  Be sure to mention how long it has been since your last confession.  The true priest will be glad you are there and not judging you on how long it has been since you lasted came to this Sacrament.
 
3 Confession of Sins
Next the priest invites you to confess your sins. Occasionally, the priest may ask questions to help you in making a full confession. The confession of sins should be as complete as possible. That doesn’t mean it needs to take a long time. The important thing is that the penitent “looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible” (Catechism 1455).  Venial sins and faults may be confessed in general, however, all mortal/serious sins must be confessed by their name and the number of times they were committed since the last Confession.  If you need help confessing your sins, let the priest know.  He can ask you questions or help you examine your life in light of God’s law.
 
4 Advice of the Priest
Sacramental confession is not therapy; the priest will not attempt to solve your problems for you.  What he will do, however, is offer some advice to help you in starting a new life. He will give a “penance,” which may take the form of prayer, self-denial, service to one’s neighbor, or works of mercy.
 
5 Act of Contrition, the Prayer of the Penitent
Next the priest invites you to pray an act of contrition. There are many different options for this prayer. There is one on the Examination of Conscience that you may take with you.  It should also be available for you in the Confessional.
 
6 Prayer of Absolution
Now the priest extends his hands over your head and prays the prayer of absolution, making the sign of the cross over you during the final words: “through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” You respond, Amen.  These are generally considered the sweetest words this side of heaven for those who know anything can be forgiven in this life if we confess it with true sorrow.
 
7 Dismissal
Now the priest dismisses you. You respond, “Thanks be to God.” If you are making your confession as part of a communal celebration, remain in the church for the conclusion of the celebration. If not, ‘go in peace to love and serve the Lord’! 
 
Based on Celebrating the Sacrament of Penance: Questions and Answers, a publication of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.


   
 
Guide for Examination of Conscience for Confession of Sins
 
6 STEPS FOR A GOOD CONFESSION
1)  Examine your conscience - what sins have you committed since your last good confession.
2)  Be sincerely sorry for your sins.
3)  Confess your sins to the priest.
4)  Make certain that you confess all your mortal sins and the number of them.
5)  After your confession, do the penance the priest gives to you.
6)  Pray daily for the strength to avoid the occasion of sin, especially for those sins you were just absolved from.
 
ACT OF CONTRITION
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
Amen. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. You shall not have other gods before Me.
___How have I acted toward God?
___ Do I think of God and speak to Him by
praying to Him every day?
___ Have I made a bad confession (purposely
avoiding to confess a mortal sin)?
___ Have I received Jesus in Holy Communion
unworthily (with mortal sin on my soul)?
2. You shall not take the Name of the
Lord your God in vain.
___ Have I used bad words?
___ Have I jokingly or irreverently spoken about
God or holy things?
___ Have I tried hard to keep the promises and
resolutions which I have made to God?
___ Have I spoken God’s Name in anger?
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
___ Do I go to Mass on Sunday?
___ Do I do all I can to make Sunday a day of rest
and joy for my family?
___ Do I take part in the Mass, or do I distract
others by laughing, talking, or playing?
___ Have I deliberately failed to pay attention at
Mass?
___ Am I generous in helping the Church,
contributing some of my allowance or savings
at collection time to help the Church in her
necessities as much as I can?
___ Have I fulfilled my yearly Easter duty of
receiving Holy Communion (and going to
Confession, if necessary)?
4. Honor your father and your mother.
___ Do I pay attention to my parents, priest, and
teachers, especially when they talk to me about
God?
___ Do I obey my parents and teachers quickly and
cheerfully, or must I be reminded many times?
___Do I tell my parents or those in authority over
me that I am sorry and ask them to forgive me
when I have not obeyed them or have not been
respectful toward them?
___ Have I failed to express my love for my
parents?
___ Do I nurse angry feelings or show resentment
when I am corrected by my parents?
___ Do I obey the rules of my home and school?
___ Do I pray every day for the help I need to be a
holy child, and a holy brother or sister?
5. You shall not kill.
___ Have I treated other people badly?
___ Do I help my brothers, sisters, and classmates
when they need my help?
___ Am I kind to everyone?
___ Did I hurt anyone on purpose?
___ Have I fought with my brothers, sisters, or
friends?
___ Am I willing to talk or play with everyone?
___ Have I forgiven all those who have hurt me,
for love of Jesus?
___ Did I make fun of anyone, put anyone down,
or tease anyone to the point of upsetting
them?
___ Have I hated anyone or nursed bad feelings,
resented, or refused pardon toward any
person?
___ Have I sought pardon of those whom I have
offended?
___ Do I do all my class work and my chores at
home well?
___ Do I take care of my health by eating the
right food, getting enough sleep, and doing
other things that I know are good for me?
6. You shall not commit adultery.
___ Have I kept my mind, heart, and body pure,
as the dwelling, or temple, of God?
___ Have I been impure with touches (by myself
or with another person)?
___ Have I been impure with words or thoughts?
___ Have I watched impure movies or television
programs or listened to music that offended
God?
___ Have I engaged in impure conversations?
Did I begin them?
___ Have I neglected to dress modestly or to
otherwise safeguard purity?
___ Have I willfully looked at immodest pictures?
___ Have I displayed immodest looks or glances at
myself or others?
7. You shall not steal.
___ Did I steal or keep things that are not mine?
___ Am I willing to share my things with others?
___ Did I return things I have borrowed or stolen?
___ Have I seriously entertained temptations to
steal?
___ Have I been greedy?
8. You shall not lie.
___ Did I tell the truth?
___ Have I lied?
___ Did I say things about other people that are not
true?
___ Did I cheat in class or in games?
___ Have I gossiped about another person?
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
___ Do I think mostly about myself and what I
want?
___ How often do I think about other people and
what they would like?
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s
goods.
___ Do I thank God for the things that He has
given me?
___ Do I thank my parents and relatives for the
things they have given me?
___ Do I spend more time thinking about things
that I want than I do talking to God?
Steps to a Good Confession:
1. Carefully examine your conscience.
2. Be sincerely sorry for your sins.
3. Make a firm resolution not to sin again and to
avoid the near occasion of sin.
4. Tell your sins to the priest and receive
absolution.
5. Do the penance the priest gives you.
Suggested Dialogue:
Priest: May the Lord be on your heart, on your
mind, and on your lips so that you may know your
sins, and confess them with true repentance and a
firm purpose of amendment.
Penitent: Bless me Father, for I have sinned.
It has been ________ since my last confession.
Here state your sins.
Priest gives counsel and penance.
Penitent makes Act of Contrition:
Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having
offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because
I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell,
but most of all because they have offended Thee,
my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my
love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend
my life. Amen.
Receive absolution and then respond “Thanks be to God.”
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against the Body and Blood of the Lord. ... He who eats and drinks without recognizing the Body eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Cor 11:27-29) 
 
So, to receive Holy Communion while in the state of mortal sin (having committed a mortal sin which has not been confessed and forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession) is itself a mortal sin - a mortal sin of sacrilege. 
 
"When he celebrates the sacrament of Penance, the priest is fulfilling the ministry of the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep, of the Good Samaritan who binds up wounds, of the Father who awaits the prodigal son and welcomes him on his return, and of the just and impartial judge whose judgment is both just and merciful. The priest is the sign and the instrument of God's merciful love for the sinner." -Catechism of the Catholic Church #1465


+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
Fifth Sunday of Lent – Sunday, April 3rd, 2022
The First Reading- Isaiah 43:16-21
Thus says the LORD, who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters, who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army, till they lie prostrate together, never to rise, snuffed out and quenched like a wick.  Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!  Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers.  Wild beasts honor me, jackals and ostriches, for I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink, the people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise.
Reflection 
The liturgy this Lent has shown us the God of the Exodus. He is a mighty and gracious God, who out of faithfulness to His covenant has done “great things” for His people, as today’s Psalm puts it. But the “things of long ago,” Isaiah tells us in today’s First Reading, are nothing compared to the “something new” that He will do in the future. Today’s First Reading and Psalm look back to the marvelous deeds of the Exodus. Both see in the Exodus a pattern and prophecy of the future, when God will restore the fortunes of His people fallen in sin. The readings today look forward to a still greater Exodus, when God will gather in the exiled tribes of Israel that had been scattered to the four winds, the ends of the earth.
Adults - Are you holding onto something from the past that you need God’s help to resolve?
Teens - Is God preparing to do something new in your life? How is He “making a way” for you?
Kids - How does God take care of you? 
Responsorial- Psalm 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Reflection 
-Look up and reflect on the meaning between joy and happiness.
The Second Reading- Philippians 3: 8-14
Brothers and sisters: I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.  Brothers and sisters, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession.  Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.
Reflection
Saint Paul talks to us of having been “possessed by Christ”; that Jesus lives in his heart and directs him, but it’s not all up to Jesus. Through our baptism, Jesus entered our hearts, too, and it’s up to us to accept direction from him and to take the next steps to living that direction.
Do you ask for guidance from God in all parts of your life?
The Holy Gospel according to John 8:1-11
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.  They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.  Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.  So what do you say?”  They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.  Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.  But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.  And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.  So he was left alone with the woman before him.  Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”    
Reflection
In the Gospel, a woman is brought to Jesus who was caught being unfaithful to her husband. This is often an image that God uses for the people of Israel being unfaithful to God. The men who brought her in front of him claimed to have the right to kill her for what she did. They ask Jesus because they want to trick him into denying what the Law of God says. His response is simple—whoever among them has never sinned has the right to carry out the punishment. None of them can do it, because all of them have sinned.  They have all been unfaithful to God in one way or another, and the only one fit to punish is the one who has never sinned—Jesus. But, the story doesn’t end there—Jesus asks the woman who has condemned her. No one has. He tells her that he doesn’t either, that she is free to go, and that she should, “not sin any more.” She has more steps to take. She has to choose every day to accept the forgiveness that she has been given, and to choose every day to make avoid sin and do good to become more like Jesus. We are all called to the very same thing in our baptism.
Adults - The barbaric practice of stoning thankfully is not something that is acceptable today. We can, however, stone people in our own ways - with our words, actions, resentments, etc. How can we make sure we aren’t guilty of modern day stoning. 
Teens  - How can you reach out to someone who is being treated unfairly?
Kids - Say a special prayer thanking Jesus for His mercy.
LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! –‘See what follows: 'Go and sin no more.' Therefore, the Lord also condemned sin, but not the woman' (St Augustine, In Ioann. Evang., 33, 5-6).  Jesus, who is the just One, does not condemn the woman; whereas these people are sinners, yet they pass sentence of death. God's infinite mercy should move us always to have compassion on those who commit sins, because we ourselves are sinners and in need of God's forgiveness.” —The Navarre Bible—St. John, Year C

​

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 
            A very Blessed and Merry Christmas to you as this holy season continues!
 
Yes, as it begins and continue.  [Look below to see what it all entails]   The TWELVE DAYS of Christmas begin on Christmas Day, not leading up to it.  [The explanations and real meaning of these twelve days are explained further below.]  Christmas Day begins the Octave of Christmas, that is, the 8-day expansion of Dec. 25th, where we are to live as it is Christmas Day until the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Jan. 1st.  As I like to say, no one knows how to party like the Church. :o)


       Finally, FIND BELOW, please enjoy other material gathered for your reading enjoyment and spiritual benefit.
​
-"The 12 Days of Christmas"
-FOUR WAYS TO HAVE A MORE JOYFUL CHRISTMAS
-POPE BENEDICT SPEAKS ON NATIVITY SCENE AND TREE, SYMBOLS OF CHRIST'S NATIVITY
-excerpts from the Diary of St. Faustina on the Infant Jesus
Blessings for a Christmas Tree and Manger Scene
A bit of humor… 
           
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Holy Family .   The readings can be found at:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122919.cfm
December 29 2019
December 29 2019
www.usccb.org

Term Review
Octave of Christmas ( from Latin, feminine of octavus "eighth")
- an 8-day period of observances expanding Christmas Day(Dec. 25th) into an 8-day celebration; the octave begins on Christmas Day and ends on the Solemnity of the Mary, the Mother of God
 ​

​Season of Christmas in the Church

 
SEASON OF CHRISTMAS IN THE CHURCH
Wednesday, December 25. Solemnity of Christmas
December 26. Feast of St. Stephen
December 27. Feast of St. John
December 28. Feast of Holy Innocents
Sunday, December 29. Feast of the Holy Family
December 30. Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
December 31. Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
Wednesday, January 1. OCTAVE DAY Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Holy day of Obligation)
January 2. Memorials of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen
January 3. Opt. Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
January 4. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Sunday, January 5. Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
January 6. Optional Memorial of Blessed Andre Bessette
January 7. Optional Memorial of St. Raymond of Penafort
January 8. Wednesday Christmas Weekday
January 9. Thursday Christmas Weekday; Venerable Pauline-Marie Jaricot
January 10. Friday Christmas Weekday
January 11. Saturday Christmas Weekday
Sunday, January 12. Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord
[Christmas ends and Ordinary Time begins on Monday, January
13th.]




 
Explore the Season of Christmas
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/seasons/Christmas/
 

​"The 12 Days of Christmas"
~ Origins and Religious Meaning ~


C atholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829 were prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private. It was illegal to be Catholic until Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England in 1829.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith. In short, it was a coded-message, a memory aid. Since the song sounded like rhyming nonsense, young Catholics could sing the song without fear of imprisonment. The authorities would not know that it was a religious song.
"The 12 Days of Christmas" is in a sense an allegory. Each of the items in the song represents something significant to the teachings of the Catholic faith. The hidden meaning of each gift was designed to help Catholic children learn their faith. The better acquainted one is with the Bible, the more these interpretations have significance.
T he song goes, "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…"
The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor, but it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. i.e. the Church.

1st Day:
The partridge in a pear tree is Christ Jesus upon the Cross. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge because she would feign injury to decoy a predator away from her nestlings. She was even willing to die for them.
     The tree is the symbol of the fall of the human race through the sin of Adam and Eve. It is also the symbol of its redemption by Jesus Christ on the tree of the Cross.

2nd Day:
The "two turtle doves" refers to the Old and New Testaments.

3rd Day:
The "three French hens" stand for faith, hope and love—the three gifts of the Spirit that abide (1 Corinthians 13).

4th Day:
The "four calling birds" refers to the four evangelists who wrote the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ.

5th Day:
The "five golden rings" represents the first five books of the Bible, also called the Jewish Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

6th Day:
The "six geese a-laying" is the six days of creation.

7th Day:
The "seven swans a-swimming" refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.

8th Day:
The "eight maids a milking " reminded children of the eight beatitudes listed in the Sermon on the Mount.

9th Day:
The "nine ladies dancing" were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

10th Day:
The "ten lords a-leaping" represents the Ten Commandments

11th Day:
The "eleven pipers piping" refers to the eleven faithful apostles.

12th Day:
The 'twelve drummers drumming" were the twelve points of belief expressed in the Apostles' Creed: belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, made man, crucified, died and arose on the third day, that he sits at the right hand of the father and will come again, the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting.

S o the next time you hear "the Twelve Days of Christmas" consider how this otherwise non-religious sounding song had its origins in keeping alive the teaching of the Catholic faith.   
 

FOUR WAYS TO HAVE A MORE JOYFUL CHRISTMAS

1.  STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN:

If you discover yourself becoming dulled to the joys of  the season, STOP!  Slow the pace down and become still, taking time to LOOK and LISTEN.  Take a winter walk, curl up in a favorite chair or before the fireplace. Helen Keller once observed, "The seeing see little."  So feel the comfort of the glow of a candle, or the red of the poinsettias.  Listen with new ears to laughter and bells, and to the expression of love found in the story of the first Christmas.   LOOK UPON THE MANGER, the second home of Love after the womb of His Virgin Mother.

2.  BE WILLING TO BE SURPRISED:
     
Remember that God can come in the least likely ways - a Holy Child born in a village stable, a brightly shining star, an angel song in the night sky. Watch for Him to come in equally surprising ways to you, too.  When we live as if God is going to "surprise" us at any moment, in any way, in any place, then He usually does!

3.  FREE YOUR CHILDLIKE SPIRIT:
     
Jesus held up child-likeness as a quality to be cultivated (Mark 10:15 ).  Children are experts at dreaming up simple things as delights that adults don't, or have forgotten how to do.  Can't you picture a little boy singing "Jingle Bells" to a plastic Jesus in a store?  Christmas often comes in precious moments like this, when we spontaneously show our adoration for the Baby in the manger.

4.  SHARE THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS WITH SOMEONE ELSE:

Nothing multiplies the sense of wonder in your life like giving it away.  The more you share (not just things, but yourself) the brighter Christmas grows.

I hope that these simple steps will help you, or someone you can share these with, keep the wonder and excitement of Christmas alive during this blessed season. 

"Jesus is the reason for the season."
 
 
 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"As He was physically formed in her, so He wills to be spiritually formed in you.  If you knew He was seeing through your eyes, you would see in every fellowman a child of God.  If you knew that He worked through your hands, they would bless all the day through.  If you knew He spoke through your lips, then your speech, like Peter's, would betray that you had been with the Galilean.  If you knew that He wants to use your mind, your will, your fingers, and your heart, how different you would be.  If half the world did this there would be no war!"
(Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen)
  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 

POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT SPEAKS ON NATIVITY SCENE AND TREE, SYMBOLS OF CHRIST'S NATIVITY

VATICAN CITY, (VIS) -  "This ancient fir," said the Pope Emeritus, "cut down without harming the life of the forest, ... will remain standing by the nativity scene until the end of the Christmas festivities. ... It is an important symbol of Christ's Nativity because with its evergreen leaves it recalls the life that does not die. The fir is also a symbol of the popular religiosity in your valleys, which finds particular expression in processions."
 
  "The tree and the nativity scene are elements of that typical Christmas atmosphere which is part of the spiritual heritage of our communities; an atmosphere suffused with religiosity and family intimacy which we must conserve even in our modern societies where the race to consumerism and the search for material goods sometimes seem to prevail.
 
  "Christmas is a Christian feast," added Benedict XVI in conclusion, "and its symbols, especially the nativity scene and the tree hung with gifts, are important references to the great mystery of the Incarnation and the Birth of Jesus, which are constantly evoked by the liturgy of Advent and Christmas."
AC/CHRISTMAS TREE/...                                                             VIS 071214 (240)

Pope Writes Apostolic Letter on the Significance of the Christmas CrèchePope Francis has written an Apostolic Letter on the meaning and importance of the nativity scene. He signed the Letter during his visit on Sunday afternoon to the Italian town of Greccio.By Vatican News
Greccio is the mountain village where Saint Francis of Assisi created the first crib scene in 1223 to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Pope Francis returned to the town on Sunday to deliver his Apostolic Letter entitled, “Admirabile signum”.
An enchanting imageThe Latin title of the Letter refers to the “enchanting image” of the Christmas crèche, one that “never ceases to arouse amazement and wonder”, writes the Pope. “The depiction of Jesus’ birth is itself a simple and joyful proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God”, he says.
A living Gospel“The nativity scene is like a living Gospel rising up from the pages of sacred Scripture”, continues Pope Francis. Contemplating the Christmas story is like setting out on a spiritual journey, “drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman.” So great is His love for us, writes the Pope, “that He became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with Him.”


A family tradition
The Pope hopes this Letter will encourage the family tradition of preparing the nativity scene, “but also the custom of setting it up in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and town squares.” Praising the imagination and creativity that goes into these small masterpieces, Pope Francis says he hopes this custom will never be lost “and that, wherever it has fallen into disuse, it can be rediscovered and revived.”
The Gospel origin of the crèchePope Francis recalls the origin of the Christmas crèche as related in the Gospels. “Coming into this world, the Son of God was laid in the place where animals feed. Hay became the first bed of the One who would reveal Himself as ‘the bread come down from heaven’.” The nativity scene “evokes a number of the mysteries of Jesus’ life and brings them close to our own daily lives”, writes the Pope.
Saint Francis’ crèche in GreccioPope Francis takes us back to the Italian town of Greccio, which Saint Francis visited in the year 1223. The caves he saw there reminded him of the countryside of Bethlehem. On 25 December, friars and local people came together, bringing flowers and torches, writes the Pope. “When Francis arrived, he found a manger full of hay, an ox and a donkey.” A priest celebrated the Eucharist over the manger, “showing the bond between the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist.”
The start of the traditionThis is how our tradition began, continues Pope Francis, “with everyone gathered in joy around the cave, with no distance between the original event and those sharing in its mystery.” With the simplicity of that sign, Saint Francis carried out a great work of evangelization, he writes. His teaching continues today “to offer a simple yet authentic means of portraying the beauty of our faith.”
A sign of God’ tender lovePope Francis explains that the Christmas crèche moves us so deeply because it shows God’s tender love. From the time of its Franciscan origins, “the nativity scene has invited us to ‘feel’ and ‘touch’ the poverty that God’s Son took upon Himself in the Incarnation”, writes the Pope. “It asks us to meet Him and serve Him by showing mercy to those of our brothers and sisters in greatest need.”
The meaning of the crèche elements  Pope Francis reflects on the meaning behind the elements that make up the nativity scene. He begins with the background of “a starry sky wrapped in the darkness and silence of night.” We think of when we have experienced the darkness of night, he says, yet even then, God does not abandon us. “His closeness brings light where there is darkness and shows the way to those dwelling in the shadow of suffering.”
The landscapeThe Pope then writes about the landscapes that often include ancient ruins or buildings. He explains how these ruins are “the visible sign of fallen humanity, of everything that inevitably falls into ruin, decays and disappoints.” This scenic setting tells us that Jesus has come “to heal and rebuild, to restore the world and our lives to their original splendour.”
The shepherdsTurning to the shepherds, Pope Francis writes that, “unlike so many other people, busy about many things, the shepherds become the first to see the most essential thing of all: the gift of salvation. It is the humble and the poor who greet the event of the Incarnation.” The shepherds respond to God “who comes to meet us in the Infant Jesus by setting out to meet Him with love, gratitude and awe”, he adds.  
The poor and the lowlyThe presence of the poor and the lowly, continues the Pope, is a reminder that “God became man for the sake of those who feel most in need of His love and who ask Him to draw near to them.” From the manger, “Jesus proclaims, in a meek yet powerful way, the need for sharing with the poor as the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalized.”
Everyday holinessThen there are the figures that have no apparent connection with the Gospel accounts. Yet, writes Pope Francis, “from the shepherd to the blacksmith, from the baker to the musicians, from the women carrying jugs of water to the children at play: all this speaks of everyday holiness, the joy of doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way.”
Mary and JosephThe Pope then focuses on the figures of Mary and Joseph.
“Mary is a mother who contemplates her child and shows Him to every visitor”, he writes. “In her, we see the Mother of God who does not keep her Son only to herself, but invites everyone to obey His word and to put it into practice. Saint Joseph stands by her side, “protecting the Child and His Mother.” Joseph is the guardian, the just man, who “entrusted himself always to God’s will.”
The Infant JesusBut it is when we place the statue of the Infant Jesus in the manger, that the nativity scene comes alive, says Pope Francis. “It seems impossible, yet it is true: in Jesus, God was a child, and in this way He wished to reveal the greatness of His love: by smiling and opening His arms to all.” The crèche allows us to see and touch this unique and unparalleled event that changed the course of history, “but it also makes us reflect on how our life is part of God’s own life.” 
The Three KingsAs the Feast of Epiphany approaches, we add the Three Kings to the Christmas crèche. Their presence reminds us of every Christian’s responsibility to spread the Gospel, writes Pope Francis. “The Magi teach us that people can come to Christ by a very long route”, but returning home, they tell others of this amazing encounter with the Messiah, “thus initiating the spread of the Gospel among the nations.”
Transmitting the faithThe memories of standing before the Christmas crèche when we were children should remind us “of our duty to share this same experience with our children and our grandchildren”, says Pope Francis. It does not matter how the nativity scene is arranged, “what matters is that it speaks to our lives.”
The Christmas crèche is part of the precious yet demanding process of passing on the faith, concludes Pope Francis. “Beginning in childhood, and at every stage of our lives, it teaches us to contemplate Jesus, to experience God’s love for us, to feel and believe that God is with us and that we are with Him.”

 
 
This is a series of excerpts from the Diary of St. Faustina on the Infant Jesus and the Holy Eucharist:
 
After Holy Communion: "I suddenly saw the Infant Jesus standing by my kneeler and holding on to it with His two little hands. Although He was but a little Child, my soul was filled with awe and fear, for I see in Him my Judge, my Lord, and my Creator, before whose holiness the Angels tremble.  At the same time, my soul was flooded with such unspeakable love that I thought I would die under its influence" (Divine Mercy in My Soul, 566).
 
During Mass, "I saw the Infant Jesus near my kneeler. He appeared to be about one year old, and He asked me to take Him in my arms. When I did take Him in my arms, He cuddled up close to my bosom and said, 'It is good for Me to be close to your heart . . . . Because I want to teach you spiritual childhood. I want you to be very little, because when you are little, I carry you close to My Heart, just as you are holding Me close to your heart right now" (1481).
 
"I saw the Infant Jesus who, with hands outstretched toward us, was sitting in the chalice being used at Holy Mass. After gazing at me penetratingly, He spoke these words: 'As you see Me in this chalice, so I dwell in your heart" (1346). 
 
"When Mass began, a strange silence and joy filled my heart. Just then, I saw Our Lady with the Infant Jesus . . . . The most holy Mother said to me, 'Take my Dearest Treasure,' and she handed me the Infant Jesus. When I took the Infant Jesus in my arms, the Mother of God and Saint Joseph disappeared. I was left alone with the Infant Jesus" (608).
 
 "When I arrived at Midnight Mass, from the very beginning I steeped myself in deep recollection, during which time I saw the stable of Bethlehem filled with great radiance. The Blessed Virgin, all lost in the deepest of love, was wrapping Jesus in swaddling clothes, but Saint Joseph was still asleep. Only after the Mother of God put Jesus in the manger did the light of God awaken Joseph, who also prayed. But after awhile I was left alone with the Infant Jesus who stretched out His little hands to me, and I understood that I was to take Him in my arms. Jesus pressed His head against my heart and gave me to know, by His profound gaze, how good He found it to be next to my heart" (1442).

​

A popular custom is to bless the Christmas tree before lighting. This can be done on Christmas Eve.   It is good to remind our children and ourselves of the part a tree played in the sins of our first parents and of the sacred wood of the Tree (the Cross) on which Jesus Christ, whose birthday we are about to celebrate, wrought our redemption.
 
The origin of the Christmas tree goes back to the medieval German mystery plays. One of the most popular 'mysteries' was the Paradise play, representing the creation of man, the sin of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Paradise. It usually closed with the consoling promise of the coming Savior and with a reference to His incarnation. This made the Paradise play a favorite pageant for Advent, and its closing scenes used to lead directly into the story of Bethlehem.
 
These plays were performed either in the open, or the large squares in front of churches, or inside the house of God. The garden of Eden was indicated by a fir tree hung with apples; it represented both the 'Tree of Life' and the 'Tree of discernment of good and evil' which stood in the center of Paradise.
 
After the suppression of the mystery plays in churches, the Paradise tree, the only symbolic object of the play, found its way into the homes of the faithful, especially since many plays had interpreted it as a symbol of the coming Savior. Following this symbolism, in the fifteenth century the custom developed of decorating the Paradise tree, already bearing apples, with small white wafers representing the Holy Eucharist; thus, in legendary usage, the tree which had borne the fruit of sin for Adam and Eve, now bore the saving fruit of the Sacrament, symbolized by the wafers. These wafers were later replaced by little pieces of pastry cut in the shape of stars, angels, hearts, flowers, and bells.
 
In some homes the tree is blessed on Christmas eve and the crib on Christmas morning. The following form may be used for the Blessing of the Christmas Tree:

 
When the tree has been prepared, the household gathers around it. All make the sign of the cross.
 
The father or leader   begins:
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
 
All respond:
Now and for ever.
 
The leader may use these or similar words to introduce the blessing:
This tree is a blessing to our home. It reminds us of all that is beautiful, all that is filled with the gentleness and the promise of God. It stands in our midst as a tree of light that we might promise such beauty to one another and to our world. It stands like that tree of paradise that God made into the tree of life, the cross of Jesus.
 
FIRST READING :
 
The mother of the family reads:
God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and all kinds of fruit trees that bear fruit containing their seed. And so it was. The earth brought forth vegetation, every kind of seed-bearing plant and all kinds of trees that bear fruit containing their seed. The Lord God made to grow out of the ground all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:10-13)
 
The reader concludes:
The Word of the Lord.
 
All respond:
Thanks be to God.
 (The family's Bible may be used for an alternate reading such as Psalm 96:11-13.)
 
SECOND READING :
 
One of the children reads:
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke:
At that time it came to pass that while Mary and Joseph were at Bethlehem, the days for her to be delivered were fulfilled. And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds in the same district living in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them and the glory of God shone about them and they feared exceedingly. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you news of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there has been born to you today in the town of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
 
All recite:
Glory to God on high, * and on earth peace to men whom God has chosen. * We praise you. * We bless you. * We adore you. * We glorify you. * We worship you for your great glory. * Lord God, heavenly king, * God the Father all-powerful! * Lord Jesus Christ, only-begotten Son! * Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father! * You that take away the sins of the world, * have mercy on us. * You that take away the sins of the world, * receive our prayer. * You that sit at the right hand of the Father, * have mercy on us. * For you alone are the Holy One, * you alone are the Lord. * You alone are the Most High, O Jesus Christ, * with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. * Amen.
 
After a time of silence, all join in prayers of intercession and in the Lord's Prayer (the Our Father).
 
Then the father or leader invites:
Let us now pray for God's blessing upon this tree and all who gather around this tree.
 
After a short silence, the father or leader prays:

Lord our God, we praise you for the light of creation: the sun, the moon, and the stars of the night. We praise you for the light of Israel: the Law, the prophets, and the wisdom of the Scriptures.
 
We praise you for Jesus Christ, your Son: he is Emmanuel, God-with-us, the Prince of Peace, who fills us with the wonder of your love.
 
God of all creation, we praise you for this tree which brings beauty and memories and the promise of life to our home. May the light and cheer it gives be a sign of the joy that fills our hearts. May all who delight in this tree come to the knowledge and joy of salvation.
 
Father, bless this noble tree which we have adorned in honor of the new birth of Your only-begotten Son, and also adorn our souls with the manifold beauties of Your graces that being internally enlightened by the splendor radiating from this tree, we like the Magi may come to adore Him who is eternal Light and Beauty, the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.
 
R. Amen.


 
The lights of the tree are then illuminated.   And then the tree is blessed with Holy Water.
 
The leader says:
Let us bless the Lord.
 
All respond, making the sign of the cross:
Thanks be to God.
 
Another child concludes:
After the fall of our first parents the earth was bare and desolate; the world stood in the darkness of sin. But when the Savior was born our earth shone with a new brightness; the glory of the Almighty had renewed the world, making it more beautiful than before. This tree once stood dark and empty in a cold world. But now resplendent with lights and bright adornments in its new glory, this Christmas tree reflects the new beauty that God brought to earth when "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." By a tree the whole world has been redeemed, and therefore, with great joy we celebrate the glory of this tree.
 ​

The manger scene has a special place near the Christmas tree or in another place where family members can reflect and pray during the Christmas season. It is blessed each year on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.   It is appropriate to have Holy Water available.
 
All make the sign of the cross. The leader begins:
Our help is in the name of the Lord.
 
All respond:
Who made heaven and earth.
 
The leader may use these or similar words to introduce the blessing.
We are at the beginning of the days of Christmas. All through the season we will look on these images of sheep and cattle, of shepherds, of Mary and of Joseph and Jesus.
 
Then the Scripture is read by a reader:
Listen to the words of the holy gospel according to Luke:
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea , to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.—Luke 2:1-7
 
The reader concludes:
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
 
All respond:
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
 
The figures may be placed in the manger. After a time of silence, all join in prayers of intercession and in the Lord's Prayer (the Our Father).
 
Then the leader invites:
Pray now for God's blessing as we look on these figures.
 
After a short silence, the leader prays the blessing:

O God of every nation and people,
from the very beginning of creation
you have made manifest your love:
when our need for a Savior was great
you sent your Son to be born of the Virgin Mary.
To our lives he brings joy and peace,
justice, mercy, and love.
 
Lord,
Bless this manger and all who look upon it.
Through all the days of Christmas
may these figures tell the story
of how humans, angels, and animals
found the Christ in this poor place.
 
Fill our house with hospitality, joy,
gentleness, and thanksgiving
and guide our steps in the way of peace.
May this manger remind us
of the humble birth of Jesus,
and raise our thoughts to him,
who is God-with-us and Savior of all,
and who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
 
R. Amen.

(Then sprinkle Holy Water on the Crèche or Manger.)
 
The leader says:
Let us bless the Lord.
 
All respond, making the sign of the cross:
And give Him thanks.
 
Then Christmas songs and carols are sung such as:

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
 
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold;
"Peace on the earth, good will to men,
From Heaven's all gracious King."
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing.
 
Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains,
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever over its Babel sounds
The blessèd angels sing.
 
Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing.
 
And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!
 
For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet-bards foretold,
When with the ever circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.
Silent Night
 
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "
 
Silent night, holy night
Wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!
​

A bit of humor…




Some Thoughts: 


-Chocolate is the best investment. You buy 100 g – you gain 2 kg!
-It’s all a matter of viewpoint. 250 lbs here on Earth is 94.5 lbs on Mercury. Fat? No. I’m just not on the right planet.


-The trouble with being punctual is that nobody’s there to appreciate it.  
-Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids.  
-If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day, why isn’t anything in the store free yet?  
-Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: Fear of long words.  
-I’m in shape. Round is a shape isn’t it    


Profound Thoughts of Christmas
Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year.” ~Victor Borge
Once again, we come to the Christmas Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes,
in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice.  -Anonymous
Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.  ~Larry Wilde
Nothing's as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas.  ~Kin Hubbard
The office Christmas party is a great opportunity to catch up with people you haven’t seen for 20 minutes.


Office Holiday Memo
To: All Employees
From: Management
Subject: Office conduct during the Christmas season
Effective immediately, employees should keep in mind the following guidelines in compliance with FROLIC (the Federal Revelry Office and Leisure Industry Council).
1. Running aluminum foil through the paper shredder to make tinsel is discouraged.
2. Playing Jingle Bells on the push-button phone is forbidden (it runs up an incredible long distance bill)
3. Work requests are not to be filed under "Bah humbug."
4. Company cars are not to be used to go over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house.
5. All fruitcake is to be eaten BEFORE July 25.
6. Egg nog will NOT be dispensed in vending machines.
In spite of all this, the staff is encouraged to have a Happy Holiday.
 
Christmas Gifts
Some mice enter heaven on Christmas.  St. Peter asks them what they would like for Christmas.   They say some roller skates, so he equips them with some.
 
Next, a cat comes to heaven.  St. Peter asks what the cat would like for Christmas.   The cat looking around seeing the mice enjoying their gifts says, "Meals on wheels."


It is all about Communication

-As a little girl climbed onto Santa's lap, Santa asked the usual, "And what would you like for Christmas?"
The child stared at him open mouthed and horrified for a minute, then gasped: "Didn't you get my text, social media post, and E-mail?"

​

Fourth Sunday of Advent

​

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
         A treasured gift of Christmas for many Catholics is Midnight Mass.  ‘Midnight!?!  Like 12:00AM.  You mean it get’s 12 o’clock twice in one day!’
 
         Yes, midnight.  Why would we celebrate Mass on Christmas at Midnight?  BECAUSE CHRIST WAS BORN IN THE NIGHT.  Some believe right at midnight.  And while so many slept at His birth 2000 years ago, we being awake commemorate His birth at night in the first minutes of the birth-day of His coming forth from the womb of Mary.
 
         There are actually three Masses: at midnight, dawn, and during the day. They were mystically connected with aboriginal, Judaic, and Christian dispensations, or to the triple "birth" of Christ: in Eternity, in Time, and in the Soul.  St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest theologians in the history of the Church, goes into more details:
 
“On Christmas Day, however, several Masses are said on account of Christ's threefold nativity. Of these the first is His eternal birth, which is hidden in our regard. and therefore one Mass is sung in the night, in the "Introit" of which we say: "The Lord said unto Me: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee." The second is His nativity in time, and the spiritual birth, whereby Christ rises "as the day-star in our [Vulg.: 'your'] hearts" (2 Peter 1:19), and on this account the Mass is sung at dawn, and in the "Introit" we say: "The light will shine on us today." The third is Christ's temporal and bodily birth, according as He went forth from the virginal womb, becoming visible to us through being clothed with flesh: and on that account the third Mass is sung in broad daylight, in the "Introit" of which we say: "A child is born to us." Nevertheless, on the other hand, it can be said that His eternal generation, of itself, is in the full light, and on this account in the gospel of the third Mass mention is made of His eternal birth. But regarding His birth in the body, He was literally born during the night, as a sign that He came to the darknesses of our infirmity; hence also in the Midnight Mass we say the gospel of Christ's nativity in the flesh.”  -Summa Theologica III:83:2
 
     This 4th Sunday of Advent gives us 6 days until Christmas Eve and at Midnight transforms into Christmas Day and thus begins the Christmas Season.  May we be ready to receive all that the Lord so desires to give to us.
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  This coming Sunday is the  Fourth Sunday of Advent.  The readings can be found at:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121921.cfm
​

15. To whom is the deposit of faith entrusted? (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 84, 91, 94, 99)
a) the whole Church
b) just the apostles
c) Jesus through the Holy Spirit
d) none of the above

16. To whom is given the task of authentically interpreting the deposit of faith? (CCC 85-90, 100)
a) only the Holy Spirit
b) anyone
c) the living teaching office of the Church alone (Magisterium)
d) all of the above
​
17. What is the relationship between Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium? (CCC 95)
a) there is no relationship
b) there are connected but it hard to see it
c) connected to the way human beings connect them
d) one of them cannot stand without the other
 (Answers at end of e-weekly)

​

Handel's Messiah Performed Unannounced at Food Court
 
You may have heard of Handel's Messiah, but you have probably never heard it fully performed, or never heard it fully performed in a Food Court.  IT IS AMAZING!!!  Here is a professional choir performing it unannounced in a Food Court to the surprise of many.  Read more at website, then scroll down and click to actually see the performance unfold.  (over 45 million hits) (If link does not let you click it, cut and paste it in web address bar.)
 
Go here and scroll to the bottom and click middle video:

https://www.alphabetphotography.com/index.aspx


Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See! - YouTube

​

It perfectly captures the most extraordinary event in all of history: Christ’s sacrifice of Calvary. An endless, continual sacrifice that transcends time and space itself, blending the supernatural world with the natural world.
When we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ’s Sacrifice of the Cross is renewed, and we become present to that very same timeless sacrifice which occurred 2,000 years ago.
Through the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist by the miraculous process of transubstantiation, Christ offers himself for humankind in the same way he offered himself on the Cross as a Spotless Victim, Pure Victim and Holy Victim.
Just as though the Virgin Mary, the beloved disciple St. John, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Mary of Clopas stood by the Cross of Jesus 2,000 years ago to witness the extraordinary moment where Christ conquered death by sacrificing Himself once and for all.
During the consecration of the bread and wine in the Mass, the entire congregation also become spiritually present at the foot of the Cross on Calvary.
Although not visible to us, according to Christian tradition, from the moment of the consecration, heaven opens, and a vast multitude of Angels, saints and the faithful departed are also present during the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar to adore Christ as the Sacrificial Lamb.
St. John Chrysostom said, “When Mass is being celebrated, the sanctuary is filled with countless angels who adore the divine victim immolated on the altar.

'A Call From God' - Why These Catholic Couples Became Foster Parents
By Mary Rezac
Denver, Colo., Dec 21, 2018 / 12:30 pm (EWTN News/CNA)
It was a quiet Thanksgiving for Kerry.  She and her husband had just retired from the military, and they were home in Colorado Springs with Kerry’s mother-in-law, whom they were taking care of at the time. 

But the house, with two extra, empty bedrooms upstairs, felt just a little too quiet.  Kerry had no children of her own, but it was around that time that she felt God calling her to foster parenting.  “I just saw this article in the paper for a foster agency and it really spoke to me and I said ‘Ok God this is what you want me to do? Because I’m a little bit old for this.’ But...I felt I was just really made to do this and God said, you can do this!” 
It’s something that many Catholic foster parents have in common - the feeling that God called them to open their homes and hearts to foster parenting.

Kerry and her husband began fostering through a local Christian agency called Hope and Home, and after meeting the licensing requirements, embarked on a six-year foster care journey, in which they fostered a total of 10 kids, adopted two, and provided respite care for several other “kiddos,” as Kerry affectionately calls them. 
“Foster care is a learning experience, and is probably the hardest yet most rewarding thing I've ever done,” Kerry told CNA. 
For foster care awareness month, CNA spoke with four Catholic foster parents about their stories, and the faith that inspired them along the way. Only first names have been used to protect the children who have been or are still in their care. 
“The greatest of our foster-heartbreaks has become my life's work” - Kerry, Colorado Springs
Kerry’s family learned a lot, the hard way, from their first foster care placement, a two-year-old named Alex. 
“It was hard, as Alex had suffered abuse and neglect and was terrified of all things to do with bedtimes,” Kerry said. 

“We spent the first week sitting outside the door of his bedroom, because he was terrified to have us in there and yet terrified to be alone.” 
About seven months after Alex had been placed in their care, he was returned back to his biological father. Kerry strongly objected to that plan, telling their caseworker that she believed the father was not ready to take his son back.  
Kerry’s objections were overruled, and Alex went home with his biological dad. Nine months later, Kerry learned that Alex had died of severe head trauma while in the care of his dad’s girlfriend. 

It was because of Alex that she began to research and advocate for the prevention of child abuse. 
“The greatest of our foster-heartbreaks has become my life's work,” Kerry said. 

“I am part of our county's Not One More Child Coalition, the secretary for our local Safe Kids Colorado chapter, and the Chair of the Child Abuse Prevention Committee for our local chapter of the Exchange Club,” she said. 
“We are also working to establish a child abuse prevention nonprofit called Kyndra's Hope - named for another local foster girl who actually entered foster care in hospice, as she was not expected to live due to the severe physical abuse by her biological parents. Thanks to the prayers of her adopted mom, Kyndra is now a lively 10-year-old who, despite her disabilities, has beaten the odds.” 
Kerry has adopted two of the 10 of her foster children, and provided respite care for numerous others. 
Kerry said she felt relief and belonging in her local Catholic parish, because several other families have adopted children and blended families, “so to just go and sit and be a normal family with all the other people there was just really wonderful some days,” she said. 
One of the main patron saints she leaned on as a foster parent was St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. 
“I was always praying to him for myself and for my kiddos who were really lost, just to help us all find ourselves,” she said. 


“What do my pro-life duties entail?” - Scott; Lincoln, Nebraska 


Scott and his wife were newlywed “classic, orthodox Catholics” living in Lincoln, Nebraska. 

While they had no known medical issues, they tried for six years to get pregnant, but it just wasn’t happening. 
After mourning the loss possible biological children, the couple began to talk about adoption. While the idea of foster care surfaced at the time, “It scared us a little bit,” Scott told CNA. 


They knew that many of the children they would encounter would come from difficult situations, and as first-time parents, they weren’t sure they would be able to handle that. 
They adopted a son, Anthony, but they still felt the desire for more children. When they considered a second adoption, they were encouraged to look more seriously into foster care. 
They took the foster parent preparation class, but still felt some hesitation, and so they “kicked the can down the road” a little longer. 

But something happened at their city’s annual Walk for Life that stayed with Scott. 
“We go to the Walk for Life every year, and there’s a lady there every year, she had this sign and it basically said ‘Foster, adopt or shut up.’ That was what she was saying as a counter-protest to a pro-life group,” Scott recalled. 
“It’s something that stuck with me because I thought you know, what do my pro-life duties entail?” 
Soon after, he and his wife felt called by God to open up their home to foster children. They told the agency, thinking they would wait another year or two before getting a placement. 


Ten days later, a little two-year-old named Jonathan came to stay with them. Even though he was young, the family has had to work with him on some deep-seated anger issues and speech delay problems.  
“This is really pro-life,” Scott said of foster care and adoption. “This birth mom chose life, but she can’t raise this child, and so my wife and I are going to take the ball and we’re going to do the hard work and we’re going to get through this.” 
“I really feel like God called us to this, and called us to this little boy,” he added. “You can’t ignore the call - or you shouldn’t - it’s similar to a vocational call in my opinion.” 
Something else that struck Scott throughout the process was how much foster parenting is promoted in Evangelical churches, including those sponsoring their family’s agency- and how infrequently he heard it mentioned in Catholic ones. 
“I would say that [Evangelicals] do a fabulous job in their churches as far as promoting foster care and getting lots of families to participate,” Scott said. 

 “And we’ve got the one true faith, so I want our families and couples to learn about this and possibly participate in it,” he added. 

“I know it’s not for everybody, but there’s lots of different things other than taking a child that you can do,” he said, such as mentoring a child or offering support to other foster parents. 
“We’ve always had a special spot in our heart for kids in foster care” - Jami; Omaha, Nebraska
Jami’s family, like Scott’s family, experienced a time of infertility before deciding to look into foster care or adoption as a way to grow their family. 
But they were also drawn to it in other ways. Before they were married, Jami and her husband had volunteered at a summer camp that united foster care kids with siblings living in other foster homes.


“We volunteered for that as camp counselors, so we’ve always had a special spot in our heart for kids in foster care, so we wanted to try it out for that reason also,” Jami told CNA. 


Jami had also grown up in Omaha, Nebraska, the home of Boystown, a temporary home for troubled boys and youth founded in 1917 by Servant of God Father Edward Flanagan. 
“I have a special relationship with him, even when I was younger, I used to think he was so cool,” Jami said. “And all through us fostering, I would pray to him and through him because he knows, he helped these kids in trauma.”  


Jami and her husband took an infant, Bennett, into their home. His older sister was placed in a different foster home while they waited to see if the children could be reunited with their mother. 


It was an “emotional rollercoaster,” Jami said, because she knew she needed to bond with Bennett, while she also had to be prepared to let him go at any moment. 


“I would pray through Fr. Flanagan and tell him just ‘please.’ I trust God and his choice in whether this kid goes home or not, because that was also really hard - I was feeling guilty for wanting to keep the baby, because it’s not yours. We’re there to help the parents,” she said. 
“So I really believe that (Fr. Flanagan) was holding this whole situation, he just took care of it,” she said. 
“The most challenging thing is letting yourself go, letting yourself bond with the child and not trying to protect your own heart,” Jami said, “and then coping with the emotional roller coaster because that can put a lot of stress on yourself, your husband, the whole family.” 
“But the most rewarding part is helping these families, helping the parents have the time they need to overcome whatever challenges they’re facing,” she said. 
“And getting to bond with the (child) is such a gift because literally if you don’t give it who will? And that is such a gift to give a child.” 
“This is hardcore Gospel living” - Michaela; St. Louis, Missouri
Michaela’s foster parent journey differs from many others. She and her husband already had children - four of them, all in grade school or younger - when she felt God was calling her to consider adoption. 
When the topic of adoption was brought up during her bible study, “my heart just started burning for adoption, the Spirit was moving within me, but I knew that was not something I could just impose on my family or my marriage,” Michaela, who lives in St. Louis, Missouri, told CNA. 

She decided to keep the inspiration quiet, and told God that if this is something he really wanted from her family, then her husband would have to voice the same desires first. 

So she never mentioned it to her husband. But one day, some time later, he came to breakfast and said out of the blue: “I think we’re being called to adoption.”
But as their research into adoption continued, they realized that they didn’t feel called to infant or international adoption - two of the most common routes. They realized that God was actually calling them to foster care. 
“It was exactly the desire of our heart, it was where God was calling,” Michaela said.   
The prerequisites for foster care include classes that prepare foster parents for worst-case scenarios - children who come from broken, traumatic situations who will exhibit difficult behaviors. 


But to Michaela’s surprise, “They come and they’re just the most innocent children, this pure innocence comes from a broken life, they don’t resemble the brokenness that they come from.” 
Michaela’s family is relatively new to fostering - in the first six months, they'd already had four children between the ages of one and seven placed with their family.
One of the most rewarding things about foster parenting has been the lessons her biological children are learning from the experience, Michaela said.  
“These aspects of the Gospel we cannot teach our children - I cannot teach you how to lay down your life for someone else. But I can show you with this,” Michaela said. 
“This is Gospel, this is hardcore Gospel living.” 
The hardest part about foster parenting can be letting go - the goal of foster parenting is not to keep the children, but to provide them a temporary home while their biological family can get back on their feet, Michaela said. 
Michaela said that’s a concern about foster parenting that she often hears: “What if I get too attached? Isn’t it too hard?” 


“These children deserve to be attached to, so they deserve us to love them so that it hurts us when they leave,” she said. 

For this reason, she asks case workers to let herself and her children accompany the foster child to their next home - whether that’s with their parents or with another foster or adoptive family. 


“It’s super hard for us, but it’s really good for the kids to see us cry, to know that they are loved that much, that someone would cry over them,” she said. 


Michaela said she found great support as a foster parent through the Catholic Church and also through other Christian denominations. 
“Our own church totally opened their arms to us, and brings over clothes and car seats and was just hugely supportive and welcoming when new kids come to church,” she said. 
“Other churches have provided meals - there’s just such a community within the church, within foster care. They’re all telling us they’re praying for us - so it’s the bigger body of Christ within the foster community,” she said. 


Michaela encouraged couples who are considering becoming foster parents to trust God and lean on their faith, even when it may seem like a difficult or impossible task. 


“When he calls us to those scary, unknown places he provides, he just shows up in ways that we could have never planned for or imagined,” she said. “He does, he makes a way.” 
Adoption and foster care programs for Catholic families can be found through local Catholic Charities or Catholic Social Service branches. This article was originally published on EWTN News May 18, 2018.'A Call From God' - Why These Catholic Couples Became Foster ParentsBy Mary Rezac
Denver, Colo., Dec 21, 2018 / 12:30 pm (EWTN News/CNA)
It was a quiet Thanksgiving for Kerry.  She and her husband had just retired from the military, and they were home in Colorado Springs with Kerry’s mother-in-law, whom they were taking care of at the time. 

But the house, with two extra, empty bedrooms upstairs, felt just a little too quiet.  Kerry had no children of her own, but it was around that time that she felt God calling her to foster parenting.  “I just saw this article in the paper for a foster agency and it really spoke to me and I said ‘Ok God this is what you want me to do? Because I’m a little bit old for this.’ But...I felt I was just really made to do this and God said, you can do this!” 
It’s something that many Catholic foster parents have in common - the feeling that God called them to open their homes and hearts to foster parenting.

Kerry and her husband began fostering through a local Christian agency called Hope and Home, and after meeting the licensing requirements, embarked on a six-year foster care journey, in which they fostered a total of 10 kids, adopted two, and provided respite care for several other “kiddos,” as Kerry affectionately calls them. 
“Foster care is a learning experience, and is probably the hardest yet most rewarding thing I've ever done,” Kerry told CNA. 
For foster care awareness month, CNA spoke with four Catholic foster parents about their stories, and the faith that inspired them along the way. Only first names have been used to protect the children who have been or are still in their care. 
“The greatest of our foster-heartbreaks has become my life's work” - Kerry, Colorado Springs
Kerry’s family learned a lot, the hard way, from their first foster care placement, a two-year-old named Alex. 
“It was hard, as Alex had suffered abuse and neglect and was terrified of all things to do with bedtimes,” Kerry said. 

“We spent the first week sitting outside the door of his bedroom, because he was terrified to have us in there and yet terrified to be alone.” 
About seven months after Alex had been placed in their care, he was returned back to his biological father. Kerry strongly objected to that plan, telling their caseworker that she believed the father was not ready to take his son back.  
Kerry’s objections were overruled, and Alex went home with his biological dad. Nine months later, Kerry learned that Alex had died of severe head trauma while in the care of his dad’s girlfriend. 

It was because of Alex that she began to research and advocate for the prevention of child abuse. 
“The greatest of our foster-heartbreaks has become my life's work,” Kerry said. 

“I am part of our county's Not One More Child Coalition, the secretary for our local Safe Kids Colorado chapter, and the Chair of the Child Abuse Prevention Committee for our local chapter of the Exchange Club,” she said. 
“We are also working to establish a child abuse prevention nonprofit called Kyndra's Hope - named for another local foster girl who actually entered foster care in hospice, as she was not expected to live due to the severe physical abuse by her biological parents. Thanks to the prayers of her adopted mom, Kyndra is now a lively 10-year-old who, despite her disabilities, has beaten the odds.” 
Kerry has adopted two of the 10 of her foster children, and provided respite care for numerous others. 
Kerry said she felt relief and belonging in her local Catholic parish, because several other families have adopted children and blended families, “so to just go and sit and be a normal family with all the other people there was just really wonderful some days,” she said. 
One of the main patron saints she leaned on as a foster parent was St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. 
“I was always praying to him for myself and for my kiddos who were really lost, just to help us all find ourselves,” she said. 


“What do my pro-life duties entail?” - Scott; Lincoln, Nebraska 


Scott and his wife were newlywed “classic, orthodox Catholics” living in Lincoln, Nebraska. 

While they had no known medical issues, they tried for six years to get pregnant, but it just wasn’t happening. 
After mourning the loss possible biological children, the couple began to talk about adoption. While the idea of foster care surfaced at the time, “It scared us a little bit,” Scott told CNA. 


They knew that many of the children they would encounter would come from difficult situations, and as first-time parents, they weren’t sure they would be able to handle that. 
They adopted a son, Anthony, but they still felt the desire for more children. When they considered a second adoption, they were encouraged to look more seriously into foster care. 
They took the foster parent preparation class, but still felt some hesitation, and so they “kicked the can down the road” a little longer. 

But something happened at their city’s annual Walk for Life that stayed with Scott. 
“We go to the Walk for Life every year, and there’s a lady there every year, she had this sign and it basically said ‘Foster, adopt or shut up.’ That was what she was saying as a counter-protest to a pro-life group,” Scott recalled. 
“It’s something that stuck with me because I thought you know, what do my pro-life duties entail?” 
Soon after, he and his wife felt called by God to open up their home to foster children. They told the agency, thinking they would wait another year or two before getting a placement. 


Ten days later, a little two-year-old named Jonathan came to stay with them. Even though he was young, the family has had to work with him on some deep-seated anger issues and speech delay problems.  
“This is really pro-life,” Scott said of foster care and adoption. “This birth mom chose life, but she can’t raise this child, and so my wife and I are going to take the ball and we’re going to do the hard work and we’re going to get through this.” 
“I really feel like God called us to this, and called us to this little boy,” he added. “You can’t ignore the call - or you shouldn’t - it’s similar to a vocational call in my opinion.” 
Something else that struck Scott throughout the process was how much foster parenting is promoted in Evangelical churches, including those sponsoring their family’s agency- and how infrequently he heard it mentioned in Catholic ones. 
“I would say that [Evangelicals] do a fabulous job in their churches as far as promoting foster care and getting lots of families to participate,” Scott said. 

 “And we’ve got the one true faith, so I want our families and couples to learn about this and possibly participate in it,” he added. 

“I know it’s not for everybody, but there’s lots of different things other than taking a child that you can do,” he said, such as mentoring a child or offering support to other foster parents. 
“We’ve always had a special spot in our heart for kids in foster care” - Jami; Omaha, Nebraska
Jami’s family, like Scott’s family, experienced a time of infertility before deciding to look into foster care or adoption as a way to grow their family. 
But they were also drawn to it in other ways. Before they were married, Jami and her husband had volunteered at a summer camp that united foster care kids with siblings living in other foster homes.


“We volunteered for that as camp counselors, so we’ve always had a special spot in our heart for kids in foster care, so we wanted to try it out for that reason also,” Jami told CNA. 


Jami had also grown up in Omaha, Nebraska, the home of Boystown, a temporary home for troubled boys and youth founded in 1917 by Servant of God Father Edward Flanagan. 
“I have a special relationship with him, even when I was younger, I used to think he was so cool,” Jami said. “And all through us fostering, I would pray to him and through him because he knows, he helped these kids in trauma.”  


Jami and her husband took an infant, Bennett, into their home. His older sister was placed in a different foster home while they waited to see if the children could be reunited with their mother. 


It was an “emotional rollercoaster,” Jami said, because she knew she needed to bond with Bennett, while she also had to be prepared to let him go at any moment. 


“I would pray through Fr. Flanagan and tell him just ‘please.’ I trust God and his choice in whether this kid goes home or not, because that was also really hard - I was feeling guilty for wanting to keep the baby, because it’s not yours. We’re there to help the parents,” she said. 
“So I really believe that (Fr. Flanagan) was holding this whole situation, he just took care of it,” she said. 
“The most challenging thing is letting yourself go, letting yourself bond with the child and not trying to protect your own heart,” Jami said, “and then coping with the emotional roller coaster because that can put a lot of stress on yourself, your husband, the whole family.” 
“But the most rewarding part is helping these families, helping the parents have the time they need to overcome whatever challenges they’re facing,” she said. 
“And getting to bond with the (child) is such a gift because literally if you don’t give it who will? And that is such a gift to give a child.” 
“This is hardcore Gospel living” - Michaela; St. Louis, Missouri
Michaela’s foster parent journey differs from many others. She and her husband already had children - four of them, all in grade school or younger - when she felt God was calling her to consider adoption. 
When the topic of adoption was brought up during her bible study, “my heart just started burning for adoption, the Spirit was moving within me, but I knew that was not something I could just impose on my family or my marriage,” Michaela, who lives in St. Louis, Missouri, told CNA. 

She decided to keep the inspiration quiet, and told God that if this is something he really wanted from her family, then her husband would have to voice the same desires first. 

So she never mentioned it to her husband. But one day, some time later, he came to breakfast and said out of the blue: “I think we’re being called to adoption.”
But as their research into adoption continued, they realized that they didn’t feel called to infant or international adoption - two of the most common routes. They realized that God was actually calling them to foster care. 
“It was exactly the desire of our heart, it was where God was calling,” Michaela said.   
The prerequisites for foster care include classes that prepare foster parents for worst-case scenarios - children who come from broken, traumatic situations who will exhibit difficult behaviors. 


But to Michaela’s surprise, “They come and they’re just the most innocent children, this pure innocence comes from a broken life, they don’t resemble the brokenness that they come from.” 
Michaela’s family is relatively new to fostering - in the first six months, they'd already had four children between the ages of one and seven placed with their family.
One of the most rewarding things about foster parenting has been the lessons her biological children are learning from the experience, Michaela said.  
“These aspects of the Gospel we cannot teach our children - I cannot teach you how to lay down your life for someone else. But I can show you with this,” Michaela said. 
“This is Gospel, this is hardcore Gospel living.” 
The hardest part about foster parenting can be letting go - the goal of foster parenting is not to keep the children, but to provide them a temporary home while their biological family can get back on their feet, Michaela said. 
Michaela said that’s a concern about foster parenting that she often hears: “What if I get too attached? Isn’t it too hard?” 


“These children deserve to be attached to, so they deserve us to love them so that it hurts us when they leave,” she said. 

For this reason, she asks case workers to let herself and her children accompany the foster child to their next home - whether that’s with their parents or with another foster or adoptive family. 


“It’s super hard for us, but it’s really good for the kids to see us cry, to know that they are loved that much, that someone would cry over them,” she said. 


Michaela said she found great support as a foster parent through the Catholic Church and also through other Christian denominations. 
“Our own church totally opened their arms to us, and brings over clothes and car seats and was just hugely supportive and welcoming when new kids come to church,” she said. 
“Other churches have provided meals - there’s just such a community within the church, within foster care. They’re all telling us they’re praying for us - so it’s the bigger body of Christ within the foster community,” she said. 


Michaela encouraged couples who are considering becoming foster parents to trust God and lean on their faith, even when it may seem like a difficult or impossible task. 


“When he calls us to those scary, unknown places he provides, he just shows up in ways that we could have never planned for or imagined,” she said. “He does, he makes a way.” 
Adoption and foster care programs for Catholic families can be found through local Catholic Charities or Catholic Social Service branches. 
This article was originally published on EWTN News May 18, 2018.

​
“There will be saints among the children.”
So said St. Pius X, when he lowered the age that children could receive their First Holy Communion. Previously, children had to be 10 or 12, now they are typically in second grade, or about seven or eight years old, though exceptions are made for some who are even younger.


Pope Francis canonized Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the child visionaries of the Fatima Marian apparitions, May 13. These shepherds are the first children who were not martyred to be canonized by the Church. Both died before age 12.
Austin Ruse, Catholic author and president of C-Fam, a family research institute, believes that Pope Francis may have just “opened the floodgates” to scores of saints from the littlest among us.


Several years ago, Ruse was struck by the stories of three children he knew - either personally or peripherally - that all seemed to have a common theme: “little children who died young, suffered greatly, and brought many people to Christ and his Church through their suffering.”


“They were just profound stories and they needed to be told,” he said in an interview with CNA.
In his recent book, “Littlest Suffering Souls,” Ruse tells of the short but significant lives of six children, three of them contemporary children whose families he has met.
 
Suffering, with ‘countless graces’
One of those children was Brendan Kelly, whose family went to Ruse’s parish, and whose funeral Ruse attended. While he had never met Brendan, Ruse had been praying for him.


Brendan was born to a devout Catholic family in Virginia. His parents, Frank and Maura, met while working in the George H.W. Bush White House in 1990.


Brendan was born with Down syndrome, and a seemingly innate love for Jesus. By the age of two, he loved to kiss crucifixes and statues of saints.


It was also at that age that a test confirmed Brendan had leukemia. He began a series of intense and painful treatments that would become an off-and-on part of the rest of his life.


“But along with the suffering would come countless graces,” Ruse noted.


One of the biggest graces was the “mystical” friendship that Brendan would develop with the pope at the time, Pope John Paul II.


Former senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a family friend, personally delivered a photo of Brendan to Pope John Paul II while on a state visit to the Vatican. Once Brendan found out the pope was praying for him personally, he started praying for the pope personally too - every night.


Some time later, Brendan was offered a wish from the Make a Wish Foundation, the group that grants wishes to very sick children - typically a visit to Disneyland, or something along those lines.
But Brendan wanted something different.


“Me meet pope!” the toddler exclaimed. The Make-a-Wish officials were not convinced that this request was coming from the little boy, and so they shooed his parents out of the room. After an hour of questioning, Brendan didn’t waiver.
And so he did meet the pope - at the age of four, Brendan was granted an audience with Pope John Paul II. Not satisfied with the standard brief meeting and shaking of hands, Brendan stood by Pope John Paul II as he greeted everyone in the audience that day. As the pope was leaving, Brendan shouted “Bye, Pope!” and was able to shake hands one last time with the spiritual giant and his personal hero.


Other incredible moments of grace and signs of God’s presence occurred throughout Brendan’s short life. On one occasion, one of Frank’s friends, Peter O’Malley, was in the midst of a terrorist attack at Taj Mahal Palace in 2008.
In his moment of crisis, O’Malley knew who to call for prayers. Brendan prayed, and O’Malley escaped unharmed that night, when 164 people were shot.


His parish priest, Father Drummond, said he was first struck by Brendan’s faith and “absolute joy” as he was preparing him for communion and confession. When Father told him he would get to wear the black and white vestments of an altar boy, “He got a faraway look in his eyes and said quietly, ‘I love those’.”
 
Throughout his short life, Brendan would suffer bouts of leukemia, and grueling treatments. Before each one, his parents would ask him for whom he would offer his suffering - and he always had an intention.


One of his most frequent intentions was Bella Santorum, Rick Santorum’s daughter, who was born with a rare genetic disorder, Trisomy 18. She was only supposed to live a few months, but Brendan offered his suffering for her throughout his entire life. “Bella, I love you,” he would repeat during moments of pain. She is still alive today, some nine years longer than she was expected to live.


“(Brendan) very early on grabbed onto the idea of offering up his suffering, and he always would do it cheerfully, even though it was unbelievably painful, or it made him incredibly sick, he just knew that throwing up for the tenth time, this time is going to be for somebody, and it was useful,” Frank told CNA.


At the same time, he was a normal boy. He didn’t want to be sick, he loved to play with his siblings and be the life of the party. And he could school anyone in trivia from his favorite T.V. show “The Office.” He could name the season and the episode of any quote from Michael Scott or Dwight Schrute that his family could lob at him.


And so, when sick from leukemia and quarantined for a bone marrow transplant as a teenager, Brendan and his family played office trivia through a small, grainy T.V. - the only way they could communicate during the sterile procedure. Soon a crowd of doctors and nurses joined in the fun.


But it was his profound faith and joyful personality that impacted almost everyone he met, and that drew people to him.
“He wasn’t just this always smiley, (disabled) little child,” Frank said. “He would have very profound conversations with people, and say things that would profoundly impact people.”


When he passed away in 2013, at the age of 16, the line at his wake had to be cut short after three hours of people filing past to pay their final respects to Brendan.


“We had to go outside and thank everybody because it was too long, and there was almost an equal number of people at the funeral Mass the next day,” Frank said.


Since that day, they’ve had hundreds of requests for prayer cards of Brendan.


Frank said it has been a “surreal” experience to have a child whose impact is so great that there are people asking for his prayers.


He said he hopes that people who read Brendan’s story and are experiencing suffering themselves understand that they are never alone.


“Brendan never felt alone, and he knew that people were praying for him, starting with Pope John Paul II to the builders who were working on our house, to people he never knew,” Frank said. Even people in other countries who had never met Brendan had offered their prayers. 


A witness amid the ‘culture of death’
Another suffering soul, Margaret Leo, also had a dad who worked in the Washington, D.C. political scene. Leonard Leo is the executive vice president of the Federalist Society - a law organization to which several federal and Supreme Court justices belong. He also worked for President George W. Bush’s administration at one time.


Though Margaret suffered throughout her life from spina bifida and related complications, she bore everything with a cheerful smile and a simple but profound faith. Her photo now sits on the desk of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Ruse names the people impacted by these suffering souls in his book intentionally.


These were not peasant children, like Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto, Ruse noted, and that’s important.


“They were born into influence and affluence, into a modern day (moral) desert, and they have a message for the modern day desert - all lives are worth living, there are no useless lives, even short, painful lives have a great deal of meaning,” Ruse said.
“We live in an age that people call the culture of death, aimed largely at the defenseless: children, the elderly, the disabled, the intellectually disabled, and these children are witnesses to the fact that all lives are worth living, even ones that are judged not to be worth living.”


It’s something that Margaret’s mom, Sally, hopes that people understand as they read her daughter’s story.


“Especially because such a high percentage of children with spina bifida and other disabilities are aborted these days, and we barely even ever see them,” she told CNA.


“If that wasn’t the case, we would see these kids walking around, we would see kids with braces or crutches or Down syndrome all the time, but 80-90 percent of them are killed, they’re not even given the chance.”


But in Sally’s experience, “It was a gift.”


Margaret taught them about faith and love in the simplest of ways. She gently pestered her dad until he became a daily Mass attendee. She would ask people when they were going to baptize their new baby, or if they had been confirmed.


“Her faith would invariably come up in any discussion that was more the perfunctory, and it would have an impact on people,” her father, Leonard, told CNA.


But she wasn’t a mystic, her parents insist. She just had a strong attraction to holy and beautiful things, and an intense but simple joy that was attractive to those around her. She loved coloring, and being involved in her siblings’ antics, and holding babies. 


“In other words, you wouldn’t necessarily go away thinking, ‘Oh wow, I just met a saint.’ But she would say to you, ‘Hi, how are you? How was your day? How was your birthday? When’s your confirmation?’ She wanted to know about you, which was really what touched people most about her, because you don’t necessarily find that among strangers,” Sally said.


“Charity and kindness and friendship, but at its most pure and most intense level,” Leonard added.


Margaret’s spina bifida meant that she had to have titanium rods placed in her back to straighten her spine. But instead, Margaret’s back bent the titanium rods - so much so that they ended up protruding from her neck. Despite it all, Margaret did not complain.


“It’s ok,” she would cheerfully say, even when it was clear that it was not.


Today, Leonard keeps the rods on his desk - “to remind me what a real bad day looks like.” 


After Margaret passed away and her story spread, the Leos were surprised at the impact their simple but faithful little girl was having on the people around them. When Ruse published an article about Margaret, they received hundreds of requests for a prayer card of her. 


What continues to draw people to Margaret is how she suffered with joy and trust in God, Leonard said.


“I think at some level that when we’re faced with adversity and suffering, we wish that we could be filled with joy, and we could be able to confront it in a way that brings us closer to God and closer to other people, and make the very best of it,” he said.


“And so when you saw her, it was impossible not to be reminded of the fact that we should be filled with joy, we should be thankful to God. As her tombstone says, we should be praying and thanking God without ceasing.”


Tears of inspiration
The third contemporary little suffering soul whose story Ruse tells is that of Audrey from France.
Although her parents were lukewarm Catholics when she was born, Audrey was “spiritually precocious” from a young age.


She practiced mortification by carrying home her school pencils in her shoe. She begged to receive Holy Communion at the age of five. Upon examining her, her priest found her ready to do so, because she understood that Holy Communion is Jesus, “And I want to receive Jesus.” She insisted that her family say grace before meals and a prayer for vocations every night.


She was also sure from a young age that she had a Carmelite vocation, “Caramel” as the little girl pronounced it.


This surprising faith scared Lillian, Audrey’s mom, who wasn’t sure where Audrey was getting her ideas.
“Follow her,” a priest told Lillian.


But she was also scared that her daughter’s spiritual maturity meant great trials were ahead - and they were. At a very young age, Audrey was diagnosed with leukemia.


When Lillian broke the news to Audrey, “She got this very wise, very gentle sort of look” and told her mother that they were “going to do what Jesus says. We’re going to be like the birds in the sky, and we’re just going to take one day at a time.”
“I can’t say that without weeping,” Ruse said.


And indeed, “Littlest Suffering Souls” is a book that will make you weep. But not in a sad way.


“We’re not crying out of sadness, we’re crying out of inspiration,” Ruse said.


“They’re neither tears of joy nor sadness, they’re some other kind of tear, that I don’t have the name for, but it’s just being moved by these inspiring stories.”


Audrey battled leukemia for several years, and, like Brendan, made it on the personal prayer list of Pope John Paul II after her dad was able to hand him a photo of her.


Audrey too offered her sufferings for specific intentions, and, like Brendan, people began flooding her with prayer requests. She had a special heart for vocations, and prayed especially for her Uncle Mick - who is now a priest today.


A bone marrow transplant for Audrey eventually proved ineffective. Knowing she was near death, her family took her to Lourdes, and then to Rome, where she was able to meet Pope John Paul II.  


They spoke together for several minutes, captured by a photo of Audrey’s swollen head next to the bent-down head of the now-Saint.


While no one knows what was said between the two of them, for the rest of the day, John Paul II could be heard around the Vatican muttering her name: “Audrey, Audrey, Audrey.”


She also asked to be confirmed, and insisted that the party be an “elegant” event - one of her favorite words, but one that she meant in beautiful simplicity, rather than extravagance.


In her final weeks, which she was able to spend at home, Audrey spent hours in the family’s chapel, where the bishop had allowed them to keep the blessed sacrament. She told her grandma that she spent her days praying and waiting.


She passed away at 3 p.m., the hour of mercy, on August 22, 1991, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. Her father Jerome had prayed she would pass away on a Marian feast day.


Audrey’s cause for canonization has been opened, and her story has spread throughout France and indeed throughout the world. Seminarians pray for her intercession for their vocations. A Carmelite convent in Spain has her First Communion dress on display, with permission of the family.


Lessons learned
The suffering of children is a difficult subject, but one that captures the attention of all, Ruse said.


“It seems to us to be profoundly unfair that children suffer, and that’s a common human reaction,” he reflected.


“Moreover, the reaction of these particular children to their suffering and maladies is confounding to those of us who cannot even handle the simple contradictions of the day very well,” he said.


“The simplest things can vex us, and yet these are kids who had bone marrow transplants and while they had them, Audrey was singing songs to Mary, and Brendan was offering his suffering for others - they’re just astounding.”


At the end of his book, Ruse offers what he believes are several lessons that can be learned from the stories of little suffering souls - forbearance, simplicity, a love for God, particularly in the Eucharist.


Moreover, he said, we learn that each life has dignity.


“Our modern man might see a child suffering from leukemia who has died young and see nothing but a misbegotten tragedy, a life with no meaning,” he wrote.


“In the simplest terms, modern man is wrong. The Littlest Suffering Souls stand as witnesses to the proposition that all human life has meaning and dignity, even and especially those lives we may not fully understand.”


 

A bit of humor…
 Some Thoughts - 
-What is pointless?  To tell a bald guy a hair-raising story. 
- It’s cleaning day today. I’ve already polished off a whole chocolate bar.
-There are two kinds of friends : those who are around when you need them, and those who are around when they need you.  
-A celebrity is someone who works hard all his life to become known and then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized. 
-What is the most important thing to learn in chemistry?  Never lick the spoon.  
-Lite: the new way to spell “Light,” now with 20% fewer letters!  
-I was such an ugly kid. When I played in the sandbox the cat kept covering me up.
An I.Q. Too High To BuyA Thought
I heard a report about a bad outbreak of the tummy bug, apparently 9 out of 10 people there suffered from diarrhea. I can’t stop thinking about that tenth person who apparently enjoyed it.


A scientist tells a pharmacist, “Give me some prepared tablets of acetylsalicylic acid.”
“Do you mean aspirin?” asks the pharmacist.
The scientist slaps his forehead. “That’s it!” he says. “I can never remember the name.”
 
 
The Cost of Vinyl
  Most of our music store customers have a story about their old vinyl collection. Once, a man asked how much a record cost. My coworker quoted him the price, then added, “But there’s a surcharge if we have to listen to how your mother made you throw out all your old vinyl records.”
 
SOME THOUGHTS-My friends tell me that cooking is easy, but it’s not easier than not cooking.
-How can you ever be late for anything in London? They have a huge clock right in the middle of the town.
 
 
Christmas Gifts
Some mice enter heaven on Christmas.  St. Peter asks them what they would like for Christmas.  They say some roller skates, so he equips them with some.
 
Next, a cat comes to heaven.  St. Peter asks what the cat would like for Christmas.  The cat looking around seeing the mice enjoying their gifts says, “Meals on wheels.”


A Sign of the Times
As a little girl climbed onto Santa's lap, Santa asked the usual, "And what would you like for Christmas?"
The child stared at him open mouthed and horrified for a minute, then gasped: "Didn't you get my E-mail?"
 
None of that Allowed Here 
A minister was completing a temperance (no drinking alcohol) sermon. With great emphasis he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." 
 
With even greater emphasis he said, "And if I had 
All the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." 
 
And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he said, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." 
 
Sermon complete, he sat down. 
 
The song Leader stood very cautiously and announced with a smile, nearly laughing, "For our closing song, Let us sing Hymn #365, 'Shall We Gather at the River'."
 

Prayer for the Final Days of Advent
 
O Come, O Come, Emmanual!
 
Holy Mass (Missa), because the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (missio) of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God's will in their daily lives.  Catechism of the Catholic Church 1332
 
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+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
Fourth Sunday of Advent – Sunday, December 19th, 2021

The First Reading- Micah 5:1-4A
Thus says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore, the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.
Reflection
Micah was a prophet in the second half of the 8th century, and this particular oracle is a prophecy of a king to come. Bethlehem is the traditional birth site of Rachel, as well as the hometown of King David. The name means House of Bread, and it is situated just a few miles from Jerusalem. The Hebrew word for “from of old” alludes to divine implications. The coming king will shepherd his flock, his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth, and he shall be peace. These are all Davidic images - David was the great shepherd to whom God promised an everlasting and everlasting kingdom that would bring peace to the nations. This prophecy will ultimately be fulfilled in Christ.
Adults - Spend some time this week in prayer with the O’Antiphons. Information is available online, and if you have the parish app a reflection on them will be available each day from the 17th-23rd.
Teens -Pray this week with the knowledge that Jesus was prophesied for thousands of years. Consider the immense power and knowledge of the Lord, and give thanks.  
Kids - Bethlehem was a very small town in which very big things happened! What little things can you do to make a big difference?

Responsorial- Psalm 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19
R.Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Reflection
-This Psalm is speaking of the Davidic King. It asks God to bless the “son of man” who is the king in the line of David. This is because the people knew that their fate was intertwined with the fate of their king. This remains true today - our fate is tied to the fate of Christ. He has risen from the dead and that is a promise that we will do the same.
-Pray this week about the resurrection, and meditate on what it will be like to be alive in your body, with those you love, and to see God face to face.

The Second Reading- Hebrews 10:5-10
Brothers and sisters: When Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.'" First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in." These are offered according to the law. Then he says, Behold, I come to do your will." He takes away the first to establish the second. By this "will," we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Reflection
This reading largely quotes and explains Psalm 40. The author of Hebrews hears Psalm 40 as the voice of Christ and interpret it as such.  We read that God desires obedience over sacrifice. This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t look upon the sacrifices with favor - after all He is the one who instituted them. It was lack of obedience however, particularly the sin with the Golden Calf, that caused the sacrifices to be instituted. The Second Reading tells us the reason for the incarnation of Christ is to be the definitive sacrifice that will put an end to all of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, and to institute a New Covenant that will be able to change man’s heart through grace.
-Meditate this week of the great love Jesus has for us.  

The Holy Gospel according to Luke 1: 39-45
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
Reflection
In this account we find the first address of Mary as the Queen Mother, as well as the first recorded veneration of her as such. “The Mother of my Lord” was a title for the Queen Mother. In ancient Israel the kings mother, not his wife, reigned as queen. She was a powerful intercessor for the people, taking their requests to the king, and it was well known that the king would not refuse her (see 1 Kings 2:19-20). Why else is Mary particularly venerated by Elizabeth? For her great faith - “blessed is she who believed what was spoken to her by the Lord.” This is a great example for us to follow - are we known for our faith?
Adults - Take some time in silent prayer this week, asking the Lord to speak to your heart. Open the Scriptures and listen to Him speak to you.
Teens  -Did you recognize some of the words that Elizabeth said to Mary? They are part of the Hail Mary. The other few lines come from the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation and the rest is us asking her to pray for us. Read over the words to the Hail Mary. Think about them a bit. What does the prayer mean to you?
Kids - Or have you ever seen a newborn baby? What are some words you would use to describe that experience?

LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! – “The feast of Christmas should draw the hearts of every child of God towards the furnace of divine love. In the manger, the infinite love of God for us miserable sinners is dramatically and forcefully portrayed before our eyes. In that helpless Baby, represented by a statue, we know that the person, and the power, of the omnipotent Creator and sustainer of the universe lie hidden "He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave" for us. He became a creature, like ourselves, so that he would make us sharers in his divine nature. He came on earth to bring us to heaven. He hid his divine nature so that he could cover us with it.  "Unsearchable indeed are the judgements of God, and inscrutable his ways." But though we are unworthy of his infinite love, it nevertheless stands out as clear as the noonday sun in the Incarnation. We realize that we can never make ourselves worthy of this infinite love, but let us imitate Joseph and accept the honor which God is giving us, as we trust that he will continue to make us daily less unworthy.”  --Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.


15. To whom is the deposit of faith entrusted? a) the whole Church
The Apostles entrusted the deposit of faith to the whole of the Church. Thanks to its supernatural sense of faith the people of God as a whole, assisted by the Holy Spirit and guided by the Magisterium of the Church, never ceases to welcome, to penetrate more deeply and to live more fully from the gift of divine revelation.


16. To whom is given the task of authentically interpreting the deposit of faith? c) the living teaching office of the Church alone (Magisterium)
The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the deposit of faith has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone, that is, to the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, and to the bishops in communion with him. To this Magisterium, which in the service of the Word of God enjoys the certain charism of truth, belongs also the task of defining dogmas which are formulations of the truths contained in divine Revelation. This authority of the Magisterium also extends to those truths necessarily connected with Revelation.


17. What is the relationship between Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium? d) one of them cannot stand without the other
Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium are so closely united with each other that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.

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