Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-12-03, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Reading I
Zec 2:14-17

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, in the presence of the LORD!
For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

or

Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab

God's temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed."

Responsorial Psalm
Judith 13:18bcde, 19

R (15:9d) You are the highest honor of our race.
Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God,
above all the women on earth;
and blessed be the LORD God,
the creator of heaven and earth.
R You are the highest honor of our race.
Your deed of hope will never be forgotten
by those who tell of the might of God.
R You are the highest honor of our race.

Gospel
Lk 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.

or

Lk 1:39-47

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,
"Most 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."

And Mary said:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior."

My favorite feast day. The first time I read the story I cried like a baby and my life was changed.

There are no words to express how much I love Our Lady and how much she continues to do for me even though I don't deserve it.

"Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?"-Our Lady to St. Juan Diego

Thank you Jesus, for giving us your Mother to be our Mother.

Thank you Dearest Mother, my Queen, for all that you have done and continue to do for me, as sinful as I am, I love you!

Through the Year with Bishop Fulton Sheen
Inspirational Selections for Each Day of the Year

Bishop Fulton Sheen - May he rest with God eternally

Building up the Church

December 12 - "Gifts can be transient things. That's why St. Paul says of several of them, 'They will pass.' See how Saul lost his gift, or Samson. Samson had the charism of strength. And Samson one day said, 'I will go out and do as I've done before,' and scripture says that' he knew not that the Lord had left him.' He no longer had the charism.

So the particular gifts can be lost. We therefore have to keep a due balance in the Church, and not be overemphatic about certain gifts, not forming elites, not allowing anyone to say, 'We have a monopoly on the Spirit. You join our group. I am of Paul; I am of Cephas; I am of Apollos.' The test is always: does it build up the Church? If it does not build up the Church, then it is not properly used." - Bishop Sheen

Did a Google.

http://aztlan.net/juandiego.htm

She told Juan Diego to pick the Castilian roses, which do not exist in that climate but were miraculously growing right in front of him. He gathered them using his tilma and approached the church dignitary. Juan Diego unfolded his tilma and the bishop saw that emblazoned on the front was a beautiful olive skin lady and the miraculous blossoms laying at her feet.

The bishop asked Juan Diego who the lady was and he answered Tecuauhtlacuepeuh which in Nahuatl sounds like "guadalupe". The bishop associated the lady with the Muslim Spanish Madonna "Our Lady of Guadalupe" that was venerated high in the Estremadura Mountains of Spain.

One Bread, One Body

<< Friday, December 12, 2003 >>

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Zechariah 2:14-17

Psalm 113

Luke 1:39-47

View Readings

THE MOST AMAZING WOMAN

“Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: ‘Blest are you among women and blest is the Fruit of your womb. But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ ” —Luke 1:41-43

I, Father Al Lauer, am the founder of a religious community, the Brothers and Fathers of Pentecost. One of our principal patrons is Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Presentation Ministries publishes One Bread, One Body. Presentation Ministries’ retreat house, called the Paul Jansen Discipleship Center, has a chapel named after Our Lady of Guadalupe. Presentation Ministries is a network of over thirty small Christian communities. One of our communities is named after Our Lady of Guadalupe. Why did the Holy Spirit lead us to so emphasize Our Lady of Guadalupe?

Mary is the mother of God. Therefore, she has a very important part in God’s plan of salvation. When Jesus hung on the cross, He gave His disciples Mary to be our mother (Jn 19:26-27). Jesus wants us to love His mother, who is our adoptive mother.

Jesus especially worked through His mother at a place that would later be called Guadalupe. There Mary showed herself to be the great evangelizer. In seven years, she led eight million people to commit their lives to her Son Jesus. Also, Our Lady made one of the greatest stands for life ever. She put an end to killing thousands of children as sacrificial offerings.

Today in our secular humanistic culture of death, we need the Lord to continue to work through Our Lady of Guadalupe to protect life and lead millions of people to new life in Christ. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to teach me more about Mary’s part in Your plan.

Promise: “See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord.” —Zec 2:14

Praise: Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke to one obedient man. Now half the Catholic Church’s living members are in the New World.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Mary Got It Exactly Right. Have You?
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Friday, December 12, 2003

Rev 11:19; 12:1-6, 10 / Lk 1:39-47

No matter what the era of history, from the age of the caveman to the era of the hi-tech woman, it's always been a challenge to be a responsible adult. Despite our wishful thinking and occasional appearances to the contrary, there's no free lunch and there never was. We earn our bread by the sweat of our brow; be it physical or mental, it's still sweat! We struggle to do our best at our jobs, to pay our taxes, to feed our families, to be good parents and good citizens. And at times we get tired, so tired!

Some of that tiredness is simple and obvious in its origins: We're doing so much at such a pace. But there's another part of our tiredness whose source may not be so obvious. It's the weariness that can come from walking too long and too far alone, and feeling the oppressive heaviness of the darkness in which we walk.

Mary walked many a hard journey in her life: She was pregnant before she was married; she was widowed very early; she stood by helpless at the unjust execution of her Son. Yet she never walked alone and never walked in the dark, for from the very beginning of her conscious life, she was aware of the Lord's presence, she knew the Lord could be trusted with her life, and she gave thanks.

That is God's invitation to us this day through Jesus' Holy Mother: Know that the Lord is with you, trust Him with your life, and give thanks always!

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