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December 12, 2009                                     Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,and they shall be his people,and he will dwell among you,and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land,and he will again choose Jerusalem.Silence, all mankind,...

Featured Term (selected at random):GYÖR Marian shrine in Hungary, west of Budapest. Its main object of devotion is a picture of the praying Madonna looking at her sleeping Child. In 1649, when Oliver Cromwell went to Ireland, the Bishop of Clonfert, in the diocese of Tuam, was arrested and exiled to the island of Innisboffin. He took with him a picture that had hung in the cathedral. In 1652 he escaped and finally reached Hungary, where he was cordially received. In the city of Györ he was made auxiliary bishop for the Hungarian diocese. After his death he willed the...

December 11, 2009                                     Friday of the Second Week of Advent   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 48:17-19 Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,the Holy One of Israel:I, the LORD, your God,teach you what is for your good,and lead you on the way you should go.If you would hearken to my commandments,your prosperity would be like a river,and your vindication like the waves of the sea;Your descendants would be like the sand,and those born of your stock like its grains,Their name never cut offor blotted out from my presence. Responsorial PsalmPs 1:1-2,...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray Seventh Petition:  “ Deliver Us from Evil. Amen” Table of Contents     The closing petition of the Lord’s Prayer is a compendium of everything from which we want God to deliver us, in this life and in the life to come. St. Cyprian, who wrote the first extensive commentary on the Pater Noster, teaches that we are here praying to be freed from the consequences of sin. The Church follows this teaching, which places our dread of evil into proper perspective.So far, in the Our Father, we have prayed for God’s mercy on our sins,...

Featured Term (selected at random):TOSEFTA Part of the Jewish Talmud, as a kind of supplement, containing passages from various Judaic schools of thought. Some scholars believe that the Tosefta is really the original Mishnah, or legal code assembled in Palestine. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

December 10, 2009                                Thursday of the Second Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 41:13-20 I am the LORD, your God,who grasp your right hand;It is I who say to you, “Fear not,I will help you.”Fear not, O worm Jacob,O maggot Israel;I will help you, says the LORD;your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.I will make of you a threshing sledge,sharp, new, and double-edged,To thresh the mountains and crush them,to make the hills like chaff.When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them offand the storm shall scatter them.But you shall rejoice in the LORD,and...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray Sixth Petition:  “ Lead Us Not into Temptation” Table of Contents     Temptation is an invitation to sin. The source of the temptation may be the attractive, sinful conduct of other people, called the world; or the disorderly desires of our own fallen nature called concupiscence; or the malicious urging of the evil spirit, whom we call the devil. When we pray not to be led into temptation, we are not asking to be freed from the testing of all human beings to prove their loyalty to God. Temptation as a test of our fidelity...

Featured Term (selected at random):OUR LADY PROTECTRESS OF ROME See: SALUS POPULI ROMANI All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. SALUS POPULI ROMANI Shrine of Our Lady Protectress of Rome, also called Santa Maria Maggiore. The original basilica of the Blessed Virgin was built about A.D. 350 and was called Santa Maria ad Nives because of the legend that the location of the church was determined by the appearance of snow on the Esquiline Hill on a summer day. The first treasure of the present church is...

December 9, 2009                                    Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 40:25-31 To whom can you liken me as an equal?says the Holy One.Lift up your eyes on highand see who has created these things:He leads out their army and numbers them,calling them all by name.By his great might and the strength of his powernot one of them is missing!Why, O Jacob, do you say,and declare, O Israel,“My way is hidden from the LORD,and my right is disregarded by my God”? Do you not knowor have you...

Preserved Sinless from the Moment of Humanity December 8th, 2009 by Robert J. Gieb Just after the beginning of the season of Advent, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Church gives us a front row seat both to the tragic story of the pride and disobedience that led to the fall of man and to the story of faith and humble obedience that culminated in our redemption. The readings selected by the Church for this feast set before us the story of man’s sin, and God’s plan to save man from his sin. A plan that includes “the...

Featured Term (selected at random):FEAST OF THE VISITATION Annual commemoration of Mary's visit to her kinswoman Elizabeth. First celebrated by the Franciscans in 1263 at the initiative of St. Bonaventure. Then, during the Western Schism, it wqas extended to the whole Church by Popes Urban VI (reigned 1378-89) and Boniface IX (reigned 1389-1404) to obtain an end to the schism. the feast is now celebrated on May 31. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

December 8, 2009                                 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception                                 of the Blessed Virgin Mary   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Gn 3:9-15, 20 After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”He answered, “I heard you in the garden;but I was afraid, because I was naked,so I hid myself.”Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?You have eaten, then,from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”The man replied,...

A Season of Hope December 7th, 2009 by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. Faith, hope, and love. St. Paul, in I Corinthians 13:13, says these three are the bottom line. They are called the theological virtues, the qualities that make us most like God.We hear plenty about faith and love. But when is the last time you heard a rousing homily on hope? Why is hope important? And what is it precisely?To accomplish great things in life, you need a future goal that is big enough to keep you motivated. The promise of a diploma makes college students stay up late writing...

Featured Term (selected at random):AMICE A short, oblong vestment of white linen worn beneath the alb to cover the shoulders of the priest while celebrating Mass. Now optional in the Latin Rite. When putting on the amice, the priest says, "Put on my head, O Lord, the helmet of salvation in order to repel the assaults of the devil." (Etym. Latin amictus, garment, mantle, cloak; from amicire, to throw around.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

December 7, 2009                                 Monday of the Second Week of Advent   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 35:1-10 The desert and the parched land will exult;the steppe will rejoice and bloom.They will bloom with abundant flowers,and rejoice with joyful song.The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;They will see the glory of the LORD,the splendor of our God.Strengthen the hands that are feeble,make firm the knees that are weak,Say to those whose hearts are frightened:Be strong, fear not!Here is your God,he comes with vindication;With divine recompensehe comes...

Saint Ambrose Pardoning TheodosiusPIERRE SUBLEYRAS1699-1749 St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church December 7 c. 340-97 Born in Trier, Germany, son of Ambrose, the praetorian prefect of Gaul, he was taken back to Rome when a child on the death of his father, he became a lawyer there noted for his oratory and learning. His success led Ancius Probus, praetorian prefect of Italy, to name him his assessor, and Emperor Valentinian appointed him governor of Liguria and Aemilia with his capital at Milan about 372, a position he filled with great ability and justice. In 374 the death of Auxentius, bishop...

December 6, 2009                                      Second Sunday of Advent   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Bar 5:1-9 Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery;put on the splendor of glory from God forever:wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,bear on your head the mitrethat displays the glory of the eternal name.For God will show all the earth your splendor:you will be named by God foreverthe peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship. Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights;look to the east and see your childrengathered from the east and the...

A Silence That Contemplates and Adores The Apologetic Prayers of the "Ordo Missae" ROME, DEC. 4, 2009 (Zenit.org).- In this article, Father Mauro Gagliardi, a consultor of the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, explains the importance and meaning of the "apologetic prayers" said during the celebration of the holy Mass. These "apologetic prayers" are the ones that the priest recites quietly -- in "secret" -- before God, to participate more consciously and worthily in the divine mysteries that he celebrates on behalf of the whole Church. The faithful accompany these prayers with reverent, external silence and...

Featured Term (selected at random):PAENITEMINI Apostolic constitution of Pope Paul VI, issued in 1966, by which the canonical norms of fast and abstinence were changed. While changing the norms, the Pope made it clear that divine law requires all the faithful to do penance. Accordingly the purpose of the new regulations was not to weaken the practice of penance but to make it more effective. The Church, therefore, "while preserving--where it can be more readily observed--the custom (observed for many centuries with canonical norms) of practicing penance also through abstinence from meat and fasting, intends to ratify with her prescriptions...

December 5, 2009                                 Saturday of the First Week of Advent     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 30:19-21, 23-26 Thus says the Lord GOD,the Holy One of Israel:O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,no more will you weep;He will be gracious to you when you cry out,as soon as he hears he will answer you.The Lord will give you the bread you needand the water for which you thirst.No longer will your Teacher hide himself,but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,While from behind, a voice shall sound in...

Featured Term (selected at random):CIBORIUM A covered container used to hold the consecrated small Hosts. It is similar to a chalice but covered and larger, used for small Communion hosts of the faithful. It is made of various precious metals, and the interior is commonly gold or gold-plated. Also synonymous with baldachino as the dome-shaped permanent canopy over a high altar, supported by columns and shaped like an inverted cup. (Etym. Latin ciborium; from Greek kib_rion, cup.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

December 4, 2009                                  Friday of the First Week of Advent   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 29:17-24 Thus says the Lord GOD:But a very little while,and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,and the orchard be regarded as a forest!On that day the deaf shall hearthe words of a book;And out of gloom and darkness,the eyes of the blind shall see.The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.For the tyrant will be no moreand the arrogant will have gone;All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,those whose...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray Fifth Petition:  “ Forgive Us Our Trespasses as We Forgive Those Who Tresspass Against Us” Table of Contents     This is no ordinary petition to God asking for His mercy. We not only ask Him to be merciful to us, but we dare place a condition and a norm on God’s forgiveness. What is this condition and norm? It is the practice and the measure of our forgiveness to others. What are we being told? We are being told that unless we are merciful to others, God will not be merciful to us. We further...

Featured Term (selected at random):ATTRITIONISM The doctrine that imperfect contrition, i.e., sorrow for sin not from perfect love, is sufficient for valid absolution in the sacrament of penance. Luther (1483-1546) attacked it as "repentance of the gallows" out of fear of God. but the Council of Trent declared that attrition is a morally good preparation for the sacrament of penance. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray Fourth Petition:  “ Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” Table of Contents     This is the turning point in the Our Father. Where the first three petitions were directed to the glory of God, from now on they are concerned with our needs. The Church’s tradition finds two levels of request for nourishment in this petition. We ask for the food we need for our souls, and the sustenance we need for our bodies. Spiritual Nourishment When St. Pius X issued his decree on frequent Holy Communion, he explained that frequent means daily reception...

December 3, 2009                                    Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 26:1-6 On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: “A strong city have we;he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.Open up the gatesto let in a nation that is just,one that keeps faith.A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;in peace, for its trust in you.”Trust in the LORD forever!For the LORD is an eternal Rock.He humbles those in high places,and the lofty city he brings down;He tumbles it to the ground,levels it with the dust.It is...

Featured Term (selected at random):ANGLICAN ORDERS The question of the validity of Anglican ordination to the priesthood was decided negatively by Pope Leo XIII in the document Apostolicae Curae (September 13, 1896). They were declared to be "absolutely null and utterly void" on the grounds of defect of form in the rite and defect of intention in the minister. Even if Rome had not made such a declaration, Anglican orders were still considered invalid in practice, since Anglican clergymen were required to be ordained to the priesthood when they entered the Catholic Church. Since Pope Leo XIII's declaration, not a...

December 2, 2009                                   Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hostswill provide for all peoplesA feast of rich food and choice wines,juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.On this mountain he will destroythe veil that veils all peoples,The web that is woven over all nations;he will destroy death forever.The Lord GOD will wipe awaythe tears from all faces;The reproach of his people he will removefrom the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken. On that day it will be said:“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save...

 The Smallest Martyrs In the time of the Magi, the mothers mourned for their children who were murdered; today children mourn for their mothers who have become the murderers. The Colosseum of pagan Rome had nothing on the blood sport made popular today: Human sacrifice in the womb! "Yes, once again crowds of hatred gather for sport to see innocent blood spilt. Once again pathetic authority hides behind popular slogans or distorted claims to justify and consider the validity of atrocity. Once again, we are told that overall, ultimate good may be derived from inherent, naked evil. Once again those...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray Third Petition:  “ Thy Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven” Table of Contents     This petition is an epitome of Christianity and a synthesis of our whole purpose for existence. Why do we have a free will? In order to do the will of God. Unlike the irrational creation that surrounds us, we can choose either to conform our wills to God or refuse to do so.The scope of this petition is the prayer that human beings on earth might do God’s will as the angels and saints are doing in...

Featured Term (selected at random):GREEK RITES The form and arrangement of liturgies originally celebrated in Greek in Antioch and Alexandria. Those in use today at Antioch are the pure and modified Greek St. James, Syriac St. James, Maronite, Chaldean, Malabar, Byzantine, and Armenian Rites. At Alexandria the Coptic Liturgies of Sts. Cyril, Basil, and Gregory Nazianzus, and the Ethiopian Liturgy are used. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

December 1, 2009                                 Tuesday of the First Week of Advent     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 11:1-10 On that day,A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,and from his roots a bud shall blossom.The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,A Spirit of counsel and of strength,a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.Not by appearance shall he judge,nor by hearsay shall he decide,But he shall judge the poor with justice,and decide...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray Second Petition:  “ Thy Kingdom Come” Table of Contents     The kingdom for which we are praying to come is the kingdom of which Christ so constantly spoke in the gospels. The Greek word Basileia (kingdom), which occurs in the Lord’s Prayer is the same term He used throughout His public ministry and, after the Resurrection, up to the time of His ascension into heaven. Jesus intended us to pray that the kingdom He described, in every sense, might come.There are two principal ways in which Jesus spoke of the kingdom. He described it as...

A New Holiday Tradition December 1st, 2009 by Christine Hebert Most of the world will celebrate the New Year on January first. As Catholics, however, we began the new liturgical year this past weekend with the first Sunday of Advent. My family is celebrating this time of preparation and penance with a Jess tree for the first time this year. I had heard of Jesse trees a few years ago, but not until about half way through Advent last year did, I understand the Jesse tree. The Jesse tree provides as series of lessons on Salvation History from creation until...

Featured Term (selected at random):ROMAN MARTYROLOGY The official martyrology of the Roman Catholic Church. Compiled by a group of scholars, it was issued by Pope Gregory XIII in 1584, to replace all other existing martyrologies. Later popes have revised the contents on the basis of historical scholarship and additional canonizations. One of the most radical revisions was made by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

November 30, 2009                                    Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 10:9-18 Brothers and sisters:If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lordand believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,you will be saved.For one believes with the heart and so is justified,and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.The Scripture says,No one who believes in him will be put to shame.There is no distinction between Jew and Greek;the same Lord is Lord of all,enriching all who call upon him.For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will...

November 29, 2009                                         First Sunday of Advent     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Jer 33:14-16 The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.In those days, in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot ; he shall do what is right and just in the land.In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure; this is what they shall call her: “The LORD our justice.” Responsorial PsalmPs 25:4-5, 8-9, 10,...

The Three D's One of the casualties of the Modernist revolution has been Catholic education in this country and throughout the world. As we know this is a part of the strategy the Modernists have used to further their agenda of creating a church within the Church. One of the aspects of the ignorance of most Roman Catholics today is their inability to distinguish between 3 essential elements of the Faith. These 3 elements are discipline, doctrine and dogma. They are related to each other but separate in terms of importance and effect within the structure of the Church....

Featured Term (selected at random):DOGMA Doctrine taught by the Church to be believed by all the faithful as part of divine revelation. All dogmas, therefore, are formally revealed truths and promulgated as such by the Church. they are revealed either in Scripture or tradition, either explicitly (as the Incarnation) or implicitly (as the Assumption). Moreover, their acceptance by the faithful must be proposed as necessary for salvation. they may be taught by the Church in a solemn manner, as with the definition of the Immaculate Conception, or in an ordinary way, as with the constant teaching on the malice of...

Advent: Awaiting God's Justice Pope Benedict XVI Advent watchfulness means living in God's presence and according to his criteria in order to prepare a worthy dwelling-place for the promised SaviourOn Wednesday, 19 December 2007, at the General Audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Auditorium, the Holy Father reflected on the Season of Advent and the justice we await. The following is a translation of his Catechesis, which was given in Italian.Dear Brothers and Sisters, In these days, as we come gradually closer to the great Feast of Christmas, the liturgy impels us to intensify our preparation, placing at our...

November 28, 2009                                 Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week                                 in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Dn 7:15-27 I, Daniel, found my spirit anguished within its covering of flesh,and I was terrified by the visions of my mind.I approached one of those presentand asked him what all this meant in truth;in answer, he made known to me the meaning of the things:“These four great beasts stand for four kingdomswhich shall arise on the earth.But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingship,to...

Part Four:   Lord, Teach Us To Pray First Petition:  “ Hallowed Be Thy Name” Table of Contents     The Latin words of the first petition bring out clearly what we are here asking for: “Sanctificetur Nomen tuum.” What we are asking is that the Name of God may be sanctified. This calls for some explanations. We are not asking that God might become more holy. That would be blasphemy. He is the All-Holy One because He is the Totally Other. He alone is the Necessary One, the Infinite One; there is no other God than He.Our petition is rather that God might...

Featured Term (selected at random):RESPONSORY A psalm or part of one, sung or said between the readings at Mass and in the Divine Office. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

November 27, 2009                                     Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week                                 in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Dn 7:2-14 In a vision I, Daniel, saw during the night,the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea,from which emerged four immense beasts,each different from the others.The first was like a lion, but with eagle’s wings.While I watched, the wings were plucked;it was raised from the ground to stand on two feetlike a man, and given a human mind. The second was like a bear;...

Thanksgiving Day (USA)Fourth Thursday in NovemberJan Davidsz. de HeemEucharist in Fruit Wreath - 1648 - Oil on canvas, 138 x 125,5 cmKunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna History from the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia:A civil holiday observed annually in the United States of America on the last Thursday in November. The president issues a proclamation, calling on the citizens, all Federal officials, and others subject to Federal authority to observe the day as one of national thanksgiving and prayer. The governors of states concur in the president's proclamation and also recommend the citizens to observe the holiday, and all public...

Featured Term (selected at random):LAMB A symbol of Christ. Rendered in many forms as early as the fourth century. Various aspects show the animal balancing a staff by its right front leg, with a wound in its chest pouring blood into a chalice, representing Christ's Blood in the Passion; the staff bearing a flag signifying Christ's victory in the Resurrection; the lamb resting or standing on a closed book with its seven sealed streamers symbolizing Christ as the judge. The lamb is the emblem of docility; "harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly, he never opened his mouth like the...

November 26, 2009                                   Thanksgiving Day                                               (The following readings are selected                                                   from the options for this day.)       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Sir 50:22-24 And now, bless the God of all,who has done wondrous things on earth;Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb,and fashions them according to his will!May he grant you joy of heartand may peace abide among you;May his goodness toward us endure in Israel to deliver us in our days. Responsorial Psalm138:1-2a, 2bc-3, 4-5 R.  (2bc)  Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness and love.I...

Featured Term (selected at random):PRO ARMENIS A dogmatic decree of Pope Eugenius IV (November 22, 1439) addressed to the Armenians on the conditions for union with the Roman Catholic Church. Its most important feature is a lengthy declaration on the seven sacraments in general and on each one of them in particular. Among other provisions are the necessity of integral confession of sins for the sacrament of penance and the indissolubility of marriage. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

November 25, 2009                                     Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week                             in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords,with whom he drank.Under the influence of the wine,he ordered the gold and silver vesselswhich Nebuchadnezzar, his father,had taken from the temple in Jerusalem,to be brought in so that the king, his lords,his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.When the gold and silver vesselstaken from the house of God in...

On Praying for Priests November 25th, 2009 by Br. Innocent Smith, O.P. One of the decisive moments in the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux was when she realized that priests could sin. As a fourteen-year-old girl, Thérèse had a great desire to enter the Carmelite monastery at Lisieux where several of her sisters were already nuns. The local bishop, despite her pleadings, was cautious about allowing such a young girl to enter religious life. Nevertheless, he encouraged her to take part in a pilgrimage to Rome to strengthen her vocation. Near the end of her life, Thérèse reflected on...