Posted on 01/02/2015 3:46:20 AM PST by NYer
No problem. All information is appreciated. Most especially now that I am a bit past 50. Never hurts to review.
In 721, a young monk named Boniface was sent as a missionary to Germany. Boniface spent the rest of his life evangelizing the areas of modern Germany and parts of the Netherlands. He also became a friend of the Frankish court and helped reform and reorganized the Church in that area. From his missionary travels, Boniface knew that in winter the inhabitants of the village of Geismar gathered around a huge old oak tree (known as the “Thunder Oak”) dedicated to the god Thor. This annual event of worship centered on sacrificing a human, usually a small child, to the pagan god. Boniface desired to convert the village by destroying the Thunder Oak, which the pagans had previously boasted the God of Boniface could not destroy, so he gathered a few companions and journeyed to Geismar.His fellow missionaries were scared and fearful that the Germans might kill them, so they balked when they reached the outskirts of the village on Christmas Eve. Boniface steadied the nerves of his friends and as they approached the pagan gathering he said, “Here is the Thunder Oak; and here the cross of Christ shall break the hammer of the false god Thor.” Boniface and his friends arrived at the time of the sacrifice, which was interrupted by their presence. In a show of great trust in God and born from a desire to enkindle the fire of Christ in the German pagans, Boniface grabbed an axe and chopped down the Thunder Oak of mighty Thor.
The Germans were astounded. The holy bishop preached the Gospel to the people and used a little fir tree that was behind the now felled oak tree as a tool of evangelization. Pointing to it he said,
“This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.”
Awed by the destruction of the oak tree and Boniface’s preaching, the Germans were baptized.
I realize your Hope of Israel ministry is still young, founded in 1979. It might be helpful if you were to share the truth with them so they can correct their erroneous statement.
It’s helpful thanks.
Myself I went off the reservation (so to speak) when I hit my 20’s and early 30’s and not only left the Church but all Christendom for about 10 years so I may just not recall properly. My mother, I don’t know maybe she doesn’t recall well either. I’m not sure.
It would be helpful to know when that particular code went into effect. That is, if it was in 1983 or if it didn’t replace or update the older Code in that paragraph.
In other words, 1983 was just about the time I started to lose my religion (no thanks to R.E.M haha) so it may have become an obligatory day then. Or maybe it was always obligatory and my mother and I are just not recalling well.
I may research this further when I’m not restricted to my iPhone.
My St. Joseph Sunday Missal (c) 1957 lists The Circumcision on Jan. 1 as Holy Day of Obligation.
My mom was pretty surprised when I told her as well...but she wasn’t born here and I think in most countries the Epiphany obliges instead.
BTW, have you gotten rid of your calendar (especially the days of the week) and your wedding ring yet? Unlike the Christmas tree, those really are of pagan origin.
It’s a decoration.
(”Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” - Freud)
AH, ok! Conclusive proof thanks!
I will share this info with my mother too. Odd, it really wasn’t stressed when I was growing up (and I went to a Catholic grade school)!
Thanks again,
You are not alone. Many of us have traveled the same path. God never ceases to call us back. Welcome home, again.
I believe Claud satisfied the question of Holy Day of Obligation pre VCII. As to when the code went into effect, according to the USCCB, On December 13, 1991 the members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States of America made the following general decree concerning holy days of obligation for Latin Rite Catholics.
Blessed Christmas, Campion! :)
You may want to rethink that final decision since Lent begins on Feb. 18.
And a very Merry Christmas to you, defconw!
Thank you.
Thank you.
Fortunately, we have Reconciliation. :)
Your totally rational post will not impress those whose hatred for Catholics burns white-hot.
You’re probably right but you never know. Also, might help some lurker somewhere.
Thanks be to God. (And to the priests He has called). Amen.
In the old Missal, it was the Feast of the Circumcision. In the new Missal (1969), it’s Mary, the Mother of God.
It has always been a Holyday of Obligation.
Some people need it to dawn on them, that similarity does not equal sameness. If it did, then the devil would have achieved his goal.
But if a Christmas tree offends you (the rhetorical you), by reminding you of something evil, by all means do not use it.
Sometimes the self righteousness from “some folks” around here is so thick it needs a Ninja blade to cut through it.
I have met only one person in real life who really, really hates Catholics. She would cut me dead on Main Street, after she married the son of my deacon!
The Catholic-haters are plentiful on FR. Recently, there’s been a rash of them denying the Incarnation, so desperate are they to deny Mary the title “Mother of God.”
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