Christmas Masses

O Holy Child, pray for us!

Out of the Christmas Readings, of the Fathers and Authors, I found the two most challenging from Fr. E. La Verdiere SSS in the Glenstal Bible Mass.

After the very full Christmas Day there will be time to follow Fr. Verdiere.s references.

Christmas Day Dawn Mass

Gospel Luke 2:15-20

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRAYER

Biblical references: Salvation foretold (Is 35; 41:17-20; 43:16-21; 65:17-25); Messianic psalms (Pss 2; 24; 89; 110; 132).

The description of Jesus' actual birth (Luke 2:6-7) must be read in light of 2: 1- 5. Set in the vastness of imperial Rome and in the biblical context of the royal house of David, Jesus' birth is that of a poor man, a simple and humble event which contrasts with the political world about him. Consequently, Jesus' messianic royalty has nothing to do with wordly aspirations and ways of ruling (see 22:24-27).

What is true of Jesus is also true of his disciples and the Church. Clearly affirmed in 22:24-27, this relationship is also inscribed in 2:7, which refers to Mary's 'first-born son' (prototokos). The designation 'first born son', pre­pares the reader for Jesus' presentation to the Lord as the first-born in 2:22-24. However, unlike the term 'only son' (monogenes, 7:12), it also leaves open the possibility and may actually imply that Mary had further children. This possibility may be excluded as a biological fact, but not as a theological statement. Mary would have further children, namely all who would come to be associated with her son after the passion-resurrection. In Lukan terms this is most clearly stated in the narrative of Paul's conversion: 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' (Acts 9:4; 22:7; 26:14). In Acts 1:14, Mary herself is expressly singled out in the community of those who continued to give historical expression to the life of her son. The designation 'first-born son' is thus a statement about Jesus' relationship to his future followers. (E. La Verdiere SSS, Luke, New Testament Message 5, p.31)

Christmas Day Mass During the Day

Gospel John 1:1-18

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRAYER

Biblical references: Ps 19: 1-6; Ps 72; John's teaching on love (1 Jn 4:7-5:4); Paul's teaching on salvation and peace (Rom 5:1-11; Phil 4:4-9; CoI1:13-23).

Jesus had been announced to the shepherds as a: Saviour, Christ the Lord (Luke 2: 10-11). They had been given a sign, namely that they would find the Lord 'wrapped inswaddling clothes and lying in a manger' (2:12; see ,2: 7). This they had verified (2: 16) and the wonderment sprang precisely from the contrast between the Saviour's lordship and the humble circumstances of his birth. For the shepherds, the announcement and the event were truly good news, and they responded by glorifying and praising God (2:20). Christ the Lord was part of their world. Humbly born, he was a Saviour for the humble (see 1 :46-55), those with whom God was pleased (2: 14).

Luke's main point, which links God's glory in the highest with peace on earth for the humble (2: 14) would have been lost had the passage merely raised the matter of Jesus' identity. The narrative called for a manifestation of Jesus' life and mission, a statement which would anticipate the actual unfolding of the implications of his name.

(E. La Verdiere SSS, Luke, New Testament Message 5, p.32)

St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest (1828-1898)

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Friday, 24 December 2010

St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest (1828-1898)

 

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        Joseph Zaroun  Makhluf was born in a small mountain village of Lebanon. Raised by an uncle who opposed the boy's youthful piety, he snuck away at age 23 to join the Baladite monastery of Saint Maron at Annaya where he took the name Charbel in memory of a 2nd century martyr. He was ordained in 1858.   

        Devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he spent the last twenty-three years of his life as a hermit. Despite temptations to wealth and comfort, Sharbel lived as a model monk on the bare minimums of everything. He gained a reputation for holiness, and was much sought for counsel and blessing. He had a great personal devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and was known to levitate during his prayers. He was briefly paralyzed just before his death.

        Several post-mortem miracles were attributed to him, including periods in 1927 and 1950 when a bloody "sweat" flowed from his corpse. His tomb has become a place of pilgrimage for Lebanese and non-Lebanese, Christian and non-Christian alike.

        Sharbel taught the value of poverty, self-sacrifice, and prayer by the way he lived. He was beatified in 1965 and canonized in 9 October 1977 by Pope Paul VI.

        July 24th is the feast day for St. Sharbel Makhluf on the Universal Church. The Maronite Church celebrates him on the 3rd Sunday of July and on December 24th (the day he went to heaven).

Luke 1:39 - Bl Columba Marmion

Hi, William,

Thank you.

The quotation was from the Daily "Walk With Me".

You carry it forward with a greater reach to Bl. Columba Marmion.

Greetings for the eve of the Eve of Christmas.

Donald

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: William J ...
To: Fr Donald ....
Sent: Wed, 22 December, 2010 19:48:31
Subject: Re: [Blog] Luke 1:39 - Bl Columba Marmion

Dear Father Donald,

 

Your beautiful quote from Bl. Columba Marmion set me off reading again his conferences, "Christ in His Mysteries", and even within his preliiminary conferences I came upon a 'complimentary' quote to the one you placed on your Blog:

 

"A deep knowledge of the mysteries of Jesus, the only true God with His Father and their common Spirit, is for us a never failing source of joy. Joy is the sentiment that is born in a soul, conscious of the good it possesses. The good of our intelligence is truth; the more this truth is abundant and luminous, the deeper is our inward joy".

 

Why when it is said that we accumulate knowledge am I not able to access it more readily - it is like an archaelogical dig rediscovering all that I have read and learnt! Thank you for taking me back to an invaluable foundation source.

.. in Our Lord,

William 

Luke 1:39

'Joy is the echo of God's life in us.'  Bl.Columba Marmion

St Ambrose's commentary on St Luke's Gospel The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

O RADIANT DAWN

December 21

Symbols: Sun with Rays   
Come, and shine on those seated in darkness, and in the shadow of death.   
O Dawn, splendor of eternal light, and sun of justice, come, and shine on those seated in      darkness, and in the shadow of death.  
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.  
Just as the natural sun gives light and life to all upon whom its rays fall, so  Christ, the Rising Dawn, dispels darkness and brings eternal life and light.

Reading St Ambrose's commentary on St Luke's Gospel The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary   

Visit of Mary to Elizabeth at Ein Karem

The angel Gabriel had announced the news of something that was as yet hidden and so, to buttress the Virgin Mary’s faith by means of a real example, he told her also that an old and sterile woman had conceived, showing that everything that God willed was possible to God. 


When Mary heard this she did not disbelieve the prophecy, she was not uncertain of the message, she did not doubt the example: but happy because of the promise that had been given, eager to fulfil her duty as a cousin, hurried by her joy, she went up into the hill country. Where could she hurry to except to the hills, filled with God as she was? The grace of the Holy Spirit does not admit of delays. And Mary’s arrival and the presence of her Son quickly show their effects: As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting her child leapt in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. 
 See the careful distinction in the choice of words. Elizabeth was the first to hear the voice but her son John was the first to feel the effects of grace. She heard as one hears in the natural course of things; he leapt because of the mystery that was there. She sensed the coming of Mary, he the coming of the Lord — the woman knew the woman, the child knew the child. The women speak of grace while inside them grace works on their babies. And by a double miracle the women prophesy under the inspiration of their unborn children. 
 The infant leapt and the mother was filled with the Spirit. The mother was not filled before her son: her son was filled with the Holy Spirit and in turn filled his mother. John leapt and so did Mary’s spirit. John leapt and filled Elizabeth with the Spirit; but we know that Mary was not filled but her spirit rejoiced. For the Incomprehensible was working incomprehensibly within his mother. Elizabeth had been filled with the Spirit after she conceived, but Mary before, at the moment the angel had come. “Blessed are you,” said Elizabeth, “who believed”. 


You too, my people, are blessed, you who have heard and who believe. Every soul that believes — that soul both conceives and gives birth to the Word of God and recognises his works. Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you, to proclaim the greatness of the Lord.
Let the spirit of Mary be in each one of you, to rejoice in God. According to the flesh only one woman can be the mother of Christ but in the world of faith Christ is the fruit of all of us. For every soul can receive the Word of God if only it is pure and preserves itself in chastity and modesty. 

  Magnificat set in ceramic in 57 languages

at Basilica in Ein Karem 

The soul that has been able to reach this state proclaims the greatness of the Lord just as Mary did and rejoices in God its saviour just like her.
 The Lord’s greatness is proclaimed, as you have read elsewhere, where it says Join me in magnifying the Lord. This does not mean that anything can be added to the Lord’s greatness by human words, but that he is magnified in us. Christ is the image of God and so any good or religious act that a soul performs magnifies that image of God in that soul, the God in whose likeness the soul itself was made. And thus the soul itself has some share in his greatness and is ennobled. 


Responsory  ’Blessed are you who have believed, because what has been promised to you by the Lord will be fulfilled.’ And Mary said,  
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. Come and hear: I will tell what God has done for my soul.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. 


Let us pray. In your goodness, Lord, listen to your people’s prayer. As we rejoice in the coming of your Son in flesh and blood like ours, grant that when he comes again in glory we may receive the gift of eternal life. 
[We make our prayer] through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen

Mary at the spring in Ein Karem

Late Advent 4th O Antiphon

4th O Antiphon:

And scepter of the house of Israel,
Thou openest and no man dare shut,
Thou shuttest and no man dare open,

COME
Lead from prison, the fettered one,
The dweller in darkness and the shadow of death.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: 
Sent: Sun, 19 December, 2010 19:15:27
Subject: Advent 4 Monday

Mary said, "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me".

The beginning of our Redemption lies in the decree of the Father to send his only Son. In this divine decree was included the free decision of Mary to accept the task of becoming the Mother of the Son of man.

Her word was in a true sense the beginning of the Church. Augustine says that Mary is indeed the Mother of Christ and his members, that is, of ourselves. It is by her work of love that men have been born in the Church, We are faithful men and women who are the body of the head, whose mother she was in the flesh.

We are the men who ‘seek the face of the God of Jacob’. But as we are imprisoned by sin we need the Key of David to open our prison gate. “The maiden is with child”. Mary’s “full of grace”virginity, guarantees our freedom. 

We seek the face of God in Mary.

 

Bidding Prayer:                        

Father, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, May we say ‘Yes’ to all the demands of your love through Christ our Lord.

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24 Commentary of Bede

Night Office Reading

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24

Saint Bede the Venerable (c.673-735), monk, Doctor of the Church
Sermons for Christmas Eve, 5 ; CCL 122, 32-36 (©Friends of Henry Ashworth) 

"You shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."  

Saint Matthew in his gospel presents the birth of our Lord as the initiation of a new era in the history of the human race. With the birth of a child the age of salvation has begun. This is the force of the allusion to the passage from Isaiah 7:14. Through Jesus God became present to his people in an entirely new way. Saint Bede underlines the implications of this presence by pointing to the priestly and royal dignity of Christ and the Christian.

Matthew the evangelist gives us an account of the way in which the eternal Son of God, begotten before the world began, appeared in time as the Son of Man. His description is brief but absolutely true. By tracing the ancestry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the male line he brings it down from Abraham to Joseph, the husband of Mary. It is indeed fitting in every respect that when God decided to become incarnate for the sake of the whole human race none but a virgin should be his mother, and that, since a virgin was privileged to bring him into the world, she should bear no other son but God.

Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, a name which means God-with-us. The name God-with-us, given to our Savior by the prophet, signifies that two natures are united in his one person. Before time began he was God, born of the Father, but in the fullness of time he became Emmanuel, God-with-us, in the womb of his mother, because when the Word was made flesh (Jn 1:14)and lived among us he deigned to unite our frail human nature to his own person. Without ceasingto be what he had always been, he began in a wonderful fashion to be what we are, assuming our nature in such a way that he did not lose his own.

And so Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, the child of her own flesh and blood. She brought forth the God who had been born of God before creation began, and who, in his created humanity, rightfully surpassed the whole of creation. And Scripture says she named him Jesus. (Lc 2,7.21).

Jesus, then, is the name of the Virgin's son. According to the angel's ex­planation, it means one who is to save his people from their sins. In doing so he will also deliver them from any defilement of mind and body they have incurred on account of their sins.

But the title "Christ" implies a priestly or royal dignity. In the Old Testa­ment it was given to both priests and kings on account of the anointing with chrism or holy oil which they received. They prefigured the true king and high priest who, on coming into this world, was anointed with the oil of gladness above all his peers. (Ps 45[44], 8).  
From this anointing or chrismation he received the name of Christ, and those who share in the anointing which he himself bestows, that is the grace of the Spirit, are called Christians.

May Jesus Christ fulfill his saving task by saving us from our sins; may he discharge his priestly office by reconciling us to God the Father, and may he exercise his royal power by admitting us to his Father's kingdom, for he is our Lord and God, who lives and reigns with the Father arid the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Advent David link three Readings

The annunciation to Joseph of the birth of Jesus

O ROOT OF JESSE
December 19 Symbols: Plant with Flower  

Come to deliver us, and tarry not. O Root of Jesse, who stands for an ensign of the people, before whom kings shall keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: Come to deliver us, and tarry not.

Sunday, 19 December 2010  Fourth Sunday of Advent

Not Trivia Pursuits in Bible.

Genealogy: Mt 1:1-23, 1 Tamar, 2 Rehab, 3 Ruth, 4 Betsheba.

I have a picture of the OT women in the mosaic on the shrine of the Dormition of Mary in the Benedictine monastery in Jerusalem.

There is nothing trivial in the Bible.

The Gospel today is repeated from yesterday - Matthew 1:18-24

There is one link in the three Reading, Book of Isaiah 7:10-14, Letter to the Romans 1:1-7, Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 1:18-24
and that is the name of David
The verse, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.”
And in a sense it clicks into the whole mystery of the Incarnation.

As we begin the Mass:

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers and guide us to follow Joseph's example of humble obedience to God's word?

Fourth Sunday of Advent "This Is How ......"

Homily Fr. Raymond 

----- Forwarded Message ----
From:                   
Sent: Sun, 19 December, 2010 15:07:50
Subject: Fourth Sun Advent

THIS IS HOW......                                            

“This is how Jesus Christ came to be  born”.  St Mathew begins his account of the Christmas story with these simple words.  But when we look into the depths of the mystery of the incarnation we find that we can apply this same phrase to the opening of any chapter in the long history of salvation, from the story of the garden of Eden to the last trumpet of judgement itself.  

When God first threw the planets into space it was to support our own insignificant little orb because that was where he intended to make his abode among us.........
“This is how Jesus Christ came to be  born”.
When he first set about making this planet a beautiful garden for Adam and Eve to live in it was to create a human family into which he could be born......... 

“This is how Jesus Christ came to be  born”.

When he directed the lives of the patriarchs down the centuries it was to set aside a suitable lineage from which the messiah could come. .........
“This is how Jesus Christ came to be  born”.

When he led Israel out of Egypt and into Palestine it was to establish a people and a homeland for the Messiah .........
“This is how Jesus Christ came to be  born”.

All of history before the first Christmas was planned to lead up to it and all that has happened since flows from it.

Late Advent 2nd Antiphon O Adonai

Late Advent Weekday O Adonai

Advent: December 18^th 

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Today is the second of the O Antiphons,
O Adonai  (O Almighty God).

MATTHEW 1:18-25
(Jeremiah 23:5-8; Psalm 72)
Luke's nativity narration was told from Mary's perspective.
Matthew's point of view was Joseph to whom she was was betrothed.

The Mass gives us Joseph and the Holy Spirit stage centre of the Gospel.
In Joseph’s dream,
1. Mary conceives the Child
2. By the Holy Spirit Joseph has guidance.
3. By the holy Spirit Joseph was instructed to name Jesus, Yeshua meaning Yahweh Saves.

The Late Advent Liturgy is over crowded with Readings.

The Night Office had Isaiah 40 and commentary by Blessed Newman. His ‘Discourse  to Mixed Congregations’ mesmerized the reader by added commas and semicolons in prolonged sentences.

The weekday Mass is restricted to the two Reading, relating the First Reading to the Gospel.
We can link Jeremiah 23:5-8 with Matt 1:18-25. Jeremiah’s voice, fills with the words of, ‘Behold days are coming, David’s root, Judah, Israel’ carry the message of promise and fulfillment. No Jeremiad here. The essence, the whole purpose of the Prophets, Jeremiah a leading example, is to prepare the way to the Messiah.

The Liturgy ranges from name of ‘O Odonai’ to the name of Jesus- Yahweh Saves.

In our Mass we ask St. Joseph too for the Holy Spirit's guidance in our part in the mystery of the Incarnation

Advent O Antiphons

Catholic Culture org

O WISDOM December 17 Symbols: All-Seeing Eye and the Lamp Come, and teach us the way of prudence. O Wisdom, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly, Come, and teach us the way of prudence. O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae. The "all-seeing eye" represents the all-knowing and ever-present God. During the late Renaissance, the eye was pictured in a triangle with rays of light to represent the infinite holiness of the Trinity. The lamp is a symbol of wisdom taken from the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25. Recommended Readings: Proverbs 8:1-12

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Nivard ...
Sent: Thu, 16 December, 2010 17:12:41
Subject: Advent third Friday  

Today we have the genealogy of Christ, through St Joseph, according to Matthew.

   The key phrase is, "Mary, of whom was born Jesus

”

   Matthew uses three titles for Jesus. 

            He is "Christ." 

            He is "Son of David" and

            he is "Son of Abraham." 

   These show that Jesus was the realization of the Old Testament Messianic hopes.

   Jesus was the faithful "Son of Abraham". Thus He fulfilled the promises that all nations would be blessed through him (Gn 12:3).

   Jesus was the messianic king, the "Son of David." Thus He fulfilled the promise that his kingdom would be everlasting (2 Sm 7:16).

   Jesus' genealogy revealed that he came for the salvation of all people regardless of race, nationality or gender.

Opening Prayer.

   Father, creator and Redeemer of mankind, you decreed, and your Word became man, born of the Virgin Mary. May we come to share the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share our human nature, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever.

Bidding Prayer:                        

Father, in your strong yet tender care, send us your Wisdom and show us the way to salvation,                       

We ask this through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer after Communion,

    God our Father, as you nourish us with the food of life, give us also your Spirit, so that we may be radiant with his light at the coming of Christ you Son, who is Lord for ever.

"O Wisdom . . . . . "   

St. John of the Cross

Tuesday, 14 December 2010 St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church (1542-1591) Intro Mass                                Fr. Mark St John of the Cross’s name conjures up images of the Dark Night of the Soul and of the utter Otherness of God.  Indeed, it seems that he was a very serious type of saint.  But his life was linked with that of St Teresa of Avila, that warm and highly extrovert woman who urged and helped him to reform the Carmelite Order.  Theirs was not just a relationship of opposite sexes but of two different and complementary temperaments which they made to work together for the good of the Church, of the Order and themselves. Penitential Rite 1.      Lord God, you are totally Other and yet in Christ your Son you are very near to us.                           Lord, have mercy. 2.      Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world but you are close to us in our darkness.                            Christ, have mercy. 3.      In the Holy Spirit we find the love and joy of God, now and for ever.                                                     Lord, have mercy. _________________ Conclusion to Prayer of Faithful God our Father, we go to you confident that you hear and help us in our lives through Christ our Lord.