Posted on 12/21/2014 10:30:19 PM PST by Salvation
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
Luke | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Luke 1 |
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46. | And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. | Et ait Maria : Magnificat anima mea Dominum : | και ειπεν μαριαμ μεγαλυνει η ψυχη μου τον κυριον |
47. | And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. | et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. | και ηγαλλιασεν το πνευμα μου επι τω θεω τω σωτηρι μου |
48. | Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. | Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ : ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes, | οτι επεβλεψεν επι την ταπεινωσιν της δουλης αυτου ιδου γαρ απο του νυν μακαριουσιν με πασαι αι γενεαι |
49. | Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. | quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est : et sanctum nomen ejus, | οτι εποιησεν μοι μεγαλεια ο δυνατος και αγιον το ονομα αυτου |
50. | And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. | et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum. | και το ελεος αυτου εις γενεας γενεων τοις φοβουμενοις αυτον |
51. | He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. | Fecit potentiam in brachio suo : dispersit superbos mente cordis sui. | εποιησεν κρατος εν βραχιονι αυτου διεσκορπισεν υπερηφανους διανοια καρδιας αυτων |
52. | He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. | Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles. | καθειλεν δυναστας απο θρονων και υψωσεν ταπεινους |
53. | He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. | Esurientes implevit bonis : et divites dimisit inanes. | πεινωντας ενεπλησεν αγαθων και πλουτουντας εξαπεστειλεν κενους |
54. | He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: | Suscepit Israël puerum suum, recordatus misericordiæ suæ : | αντελαβετο ισραηλ παιδος αυτου μνησθηναι ελεους |
55. | As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever. | sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in sæcula. | καθως ελαλησεν προς τους πατερας ημων τω αβρααμ και τω σπερματι αυτου εις τον αιωνα |
56. | And Mary abode with her about three months; and she returned to her own house. | Mansit autem Maria cum illa quasi mensibus tribus : et reversa est in domum suam. | εμεινεν δε μαριαμ συν αυτη ωσει μηνας τρεις και υπεστρεψεν εις τον οικον αυτης |
St. Chaeremon & St. Ischyrion & Other Martyrs
Feast Day: December 22
Born/Died: (Third century)
In the third century the Romans made Christians suffer terribly for their faith. Today's saints were martyred when Decius was Emperor of Rome.
Many Christians who lived in Egypt were driven out into the desert. There they died or were killed because of hunger, thirst, extreme cold, wild animals or by bad men.
And if the Christians tried to return to their homes, they were killed. The young, healthy Christians were sold as slaves.
St. Chaeremon was a priest and bishop of Nilopolis. He was very old when the torture of Christians became extreme. The elderly bishop and his friend went for shelter to the mountains of Arabia. They were never seen again, nor were their bodies ever found.
St. Ischyrion worked for an official in an Egyptian city and his boss wanted him to offer sacrifice to false gods. Ischyrion refused because this was against God's first commandment. This made his boss very angry and insulted and he ordered Ischyrion to be killed.
Many other martyrs like Chaeremon and Ischyrion gave their lives for Jesus at this time in Egypt.
Today, there are still many people who suffer for their faith in Jesus. Let us pray for them, that they will have the courage they need to be faithful to the Gospel.
Monday, December 22
Liturgical Color: Violet
Nativity scenes are visual reminders of
the true meaning behind Christmas. St.
Francis of Assisi constructed the first
nativity scene in 1223. The hay he used
in the manger was said to possess
miraculous properties, curing area cattle
of diseases.
Advent Day 23 – God Joins Our Dysfunctional Family
by Fr. Robert Barron
The opening lines of Matthew’s Gospel—and hence the first words that one reads in the New Testament—are a listing of the genealogy of Jesus, the 42 generations that stretch from Abraham to Christ. If the Word truly became flesh, then God had, not only a mother, but also a grandmother, cousins, great-aunts, and weird uncles. If the Word truly dwelt among us, then he was part of a family that, like most, was fairly dysfunctional, a mix of the good and bad, the saintly and the sinful, the glorious and the not so glorious. And this is such good news for us.
Let me highlight just a few figures from Jesus’ family tree. Matthew tells us that the Messiah was descended from Jacob, a great patriarch and hero of Israel, and also a man who wrestled with God. In a lyrical passage from the 32nd chapter of the book of Genesis, we hear that Jacob struggled all night with the Lord and was wounded permanently in the process. I imagine that there are some reading these words who have wrestled all their lives with God, questioning, doubting, wondering, struggling mightily with the Lord, perhaps even bearing spiritual wounds as a consequence. Well, the Messiah came forth from Jacob and was pleased to be a relative of this fighter.
Matthew’s genealogy informs us that Ruth was an ancestor of the Lord. Ruth was not an Israelite, but rather a Moabite, a foreigner. I would be willing to bet that there are some reading this who have felt all their lives like outsiders, not part of the “in” crowd, perhaps looked at askance by others. Well, the Messiah came forth from Ruth the foreigner and was pleased to be her relative.
And then there is Rahab. As you recall from the book of Joshua, Rahab was a prostitute living and working in Jericho at the time of the Israelite conquest of the promised land. Are there people reading these words who feel like Rahab? Who think that their whole lives have been sunk in sin, who have become unrecognizable to themselves? Well, the Messiah came forth from Rahab the prostitute, and he was pleased to be her relative.
The good news of Christmas is that God himself pushed into the dysfunctional and ambiguous family of man. And he continues to join us, even though we, like so many of his Israelite ancestors, are unworthy of him. Like them, we are flawed, compromised, half-finished. But God becomes our brother anyway. That’s the amazing grace of the Incarnation.
Daily Readings for:December 22, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, who, seeing the human race fallen into death, willed to redeem it by the coming of your Only Begotten Son, grant, we pray, that those who confess his Incarnation with humble fervor may merit his company as their Redeemer. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Advent Hymn: Veni, Veni, Emmanuel or O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
o Christmas Plays, Los Pastores and Las Posadas
o O Antiphons - December 17 - 24
o Religion in the Home for Elementary School: December
o Religion in the Home for Preschool: December
PRAYERS
o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (2nd Plan)
o December Devotion: The Immaculate Conception
o Christmas Anticipation Prayer
o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (1st Plan)
LIBRARY
o Praise The Lord, King Of All The Earth | Pope John Paul II
· Advent: December 22nd
· Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Old Calendar: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (Trad some places)
"A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return" (Luke 19:12). This nobleman is Christ, the Son of God, King of all nations. His kingdom is over all men and over all things, both material and spiritual. He has everything in His hand as God and man. But another, Satan, has broken into His kingdom and has made himself master of many of Christ's subjects. In the old dispensation only a small part of humanity, the chosen people, remained faithful to the almighty King.
Christ, the Son of God, came into this "far country" in order to become man and, by means of humility, obedience, and poverty, to cast out the usurper who had taken His subjects. He came to reassert His dominion over all those who had left Him, both Jews and Gentiles.
According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today, in some places, is the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Her feast is celebrated on November 13 in the Ordinary Rite.
O Antiphons ~ King of the Gentiles
O King of the Gentiles
"Come and save man, whom Thou hast made out of dust." What is man? He is but a particle of dust, an insignificant creature who has further separated himself from God through sin. He has been cut off from the fountain of truth and banished from God to darkness and misery. Still in the ruins there dwells a spirit that possesses a capacity for truth. In these ashes there is yet a spark that may be fanned to life to burn with the brilliance of divine life. But only God can revive this flame. For this reason the Church cries out, "Come and save man, whom Thou hast made out of dust." Save him who is so weak, so miserable and helpless. Remember his nothingness. Consider the many enemies who lay snares to rob him of divine life and to entice him into sin. Think of his obscured knowledge and his proneness to evil, of his tendency to error, and his weakness in the face of temptation. Guard him from the enticements of the world; shelter him from the poison of erroneous teaching; deliver him from the devil and his angels.
During these days before Christmas, the Church contemplates the overwhelming misery of unregenerated mankind. She cries out, "Come and save man, whom Thou hast made out of dust."
Jesus is King of all nations. "The kings of the earth stood up and the princes met together against the Lord and against His Christ. Let us break their bonds asunder, and let us cast away their yoke from us. He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them, and the Lord shall deride them. Then shall He speak to them in His anger and trouble them in His rage. But I am appointed king by Him over Sion, His holy mountain. ... The Lord hath said to Me; Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession" (Ps. 2:2-8). Well may Herod seek the life of the newborn king. Indeed, many kings and tribes and nations in the course of time shall deprecate the divine King, Christ. But to Him has been given all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28: i8). Before Him every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall confess that He is the Lord (Phil. 2:10f.).
The more the mighty condemn the kingship of Christ, the more shall He be exalted by the Father.
Now He comes to us in the form of a lovely child. One day in the presence of the Roman governor He will assert His right to kingship. But after this one public confession of His royal origin He withdraws again into the obscurity which He had freely chosen. For the present He is satisfied with this manifestation of His royal dignity. The day will come, however, when He will manifest it with power and majesty as He comes again on the clouds of heaven. Before all nations God will declare: "I have anointed Him King of Sion. My holy mountain." All men shall pay Him homage as king; all nations shall acclaim Him the King of Glory.
Excerpted from The Light of the World by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
6th O Antiphon:
And their desired one,
Cornerstone,
Who makest two into one,
COME
Save man,
Whom thou didst fashion out of slime.
Today is Day Seven of the Christmas Novena.
4th Week of Advent
The Almighty has done great things for me! (Luke 1:49)
The Mighty One indeed did great things for Mary! Thus, Mary’s beautiful hymn of praise sprang from a heart filled with awe at God’s greatness and at the greatness of his work in her. This humble daughter of Israel didn’t confuse God’s choice of her to be the mother of God’s Son with any merit of her own. Rather, she recognized that God had “looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant” (Luke 1:48) and gave him all the credit. With all her heart and soul, Mary magnified and glorified the Lord by proclaiming his greatness (1:46). Marveling at the profound mystery being wrought within her, she rejoiced in her Savior (1:47).
In just a few days, we will celebrate the birth of the Word made flesh, the fulfillment of the word the angel spoke to Mary. What could better prepare us and open our hearts to receive this Savior than for us to follow Mary’s example and spend these days magnifying the Lord and rejoicing in him?
Pondering God’s goodness, reading Scripture to recall his promises to us, thinking about him often throughout the day—these are all ways to magnify the Lord, ways to make him bigger and bigger in our hearts and minds. We glorify him when we praise him, recount his blessings to us, and thank him for them. We glorify him when we testify to the work he has done in us and share about him with those around us. Just as the Incarnation of Christ in her womb led Mary to magnify the Lord and rejoice, so God’s great works in our lives lead us to praise God and to delight in his goodness and mercy toward us.
Over the next four days, pray Mary’s Magnificat. Make it your own as you call to mind the particular ways God has “looked with favor” on you and done wonderful things for you. As St. Ambrose, one of the Fathers of the Church, wrote, “Let Mary’s soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each of you to rejoice in the Lord.”
“How great you are, my mighty Savior and Lord! I join my heart and voice with Mary’s to proclaim your praises and to rejoice in your goodness and kindness to me.”
1 Samuel 1:24-28
(Psalm) 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-8
Daily Marriage Tip for December 22, 2014:
As we wait for Christmas, its a good time to develop the virtue of patience. Focus on being patient today, especially with your family members. Offer up the frustrations that come from things not going the way you had planned.
Favor Is the Key | ||
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December 22, 2014. Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
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Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.” Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home. Introductory Prayer: I love you, Lord, for you have loved me first. You have allowed me to see your provident hand in so many events of my life; how can I not believe in you? These days of Advent have slipped away so quickly. You are almost at my doorstep, ready to knock. I want to be ready for your arrival on Christmas Day. Therefore, I pour out my humble plea before you. Petition: Lord Jesus, mark my life with gratitude. 1. The Key Word: The Magnificat, and indeed the entire history of salvation, can be summarized in the word “favor”. This is the true motive of Christmas. God looks with favor (or good will) upon mankind. Many times, we see our spiritual life as the effort we make to become pleasing in God’s eyes, drawing his blessings down upon us. This would mean that in some way we bring about our own growth in holiness. This is not the case: God is never “obliged” to grant us his grace. We do not “deserve” anything from God. Our spiritual life should consist in presenting ourselves before God as we truly are: sinners. By placing our weakness before his omnipotence, we draw down his favor to lift us up from our misery and to adopt us as his children. This is what happened as he “looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant (Mary).” 2. The Gift of Himself: To demonstrate his immense love for us and to give himself to us, God becomes one of us. Love makes us seek to become more like our beloved. How could God become more like his beloved creature? He not only became man, but he shared the lot of the poorest of the poor. Very few humans, even among the paupers, have been born in a stable. How many babies are laid in the feeding trough of a cow or horse? Well, that is exactly what a manger is. Though he was rich (he was God almighty), he became poor, to enrich us with his poverty. We need to ask ourselves what we are doing to become more like our beloved. What are we doing to imitate Christ in his gift of self? Have we learned to put aside our whims and fancies in order to do the things that are pleasing to our spouse, children or parents? These are the ways to prepare ourselves for a grace-filled Christmas. 3. Abundant Blessings: The rest of the Magnificat is a glorification of God, recognizing the favors he bestows upon those who love him. All generations will call us “blessed.” God will show the might of his arm, he will lift up the lowly, and the hungry he will fill with good things…. We truly have so much for which to be thankful. The challenge of our Christian lives is to be mindful of our blessings and mark our actions with the seal of gratitude. We glorify God and we bless God when we try to respond according to all the good he has done in our lives. Then in turn, others will call us blessed, because our filial attitude opens the door for God to enter in and do still more good through us. Do I count my many blessings often? Do I truly seek to “repay” God by cooperating, and am I aware that in return he will bring about still more good and bless me more? Conversation with Christ: Lord, as I prepare my soul for your coming this Christmas, I invite you to enter my humble dwelling. Please do not pass by without bestowing your blessings upon my poor soul. I need your grace. I will not leave your presence today without at least a crumb from your banquet. Allow me to thank and praise you for your infinite mercy as you look upon your lowly servant. Resolution: Today, out of gratitude for the many blessings I have received, I will give something good to someone in need. By Father Barry O’Toole, LC |
December 22, 2014
In today’s first reading, Hannah implored the Lord for a son and a son was granted her. She promptly offered her son to the Lord and she prayed and exalted loud.
We also have Mary whose praise, thanksgiving and exultation of the Lord never ended. Notwithstanding her condition, she immediately traveled to the hill country to help her pregnant cousin. Here is shown the missionary spirit of Mary. Elizabeth, upon hearing Mary’s greeting, was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried. “Why is this that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Lk 1:43-45)
In response to her cousin’s greeting, Mary sang her Magnificat which came forth from her humility, her faith, her hope, her joy, her thanksgiving. Mary was faithful in knowing the teaching of the past before her. Her song echoes the long ago prayer of Hannah: My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices … the almighty has done great things for me and holy is His name.” Mary teaches us how to pray and how to choose what to say to the Lord.
Mary, help us open our hearts and our mind to the Holy One so that we may listen and do His will in all things.
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Openness to life is at the centre of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good. If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away.67 --Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas In Veritate
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