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A Woman Wrapped in Silence – A Meditation for the Feast of the Annunciation By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn preparation for today’s Feast of the Annunciation I picked up Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. 3 (The Infancy Narratives)  by Pope Emeritus Benedict. I was very moved by a very brief reflection that he made on Mary as the Angel Gabriel left her. His remarks consider her faith in a very touching manner. I must say that I have always been moved, and intrigued, by the faith of the Blessed Mother, for she is “a woman wrapped in silence,” a phrase that forms the...

The popular perception that African-Americans living in New Orleans were disproportionately victimized by the government's botched Hurricane Katrina rescue effort turns out not to be true - at least according to preliminary death statistics released by the state of Louisiana. On Wednesday, Congress heard dramatic testimony from black Katrina survivors, who complained that racism drove the federal rescue efforts and resulted in an unnecessarily high number of African-American deaths. "People were allowed to die," storm survivor Leah Hodges testified, telling a House panel that black residents of New Orleans had been victims of "genocide and ethnic cleansing." But preliminary figures...

September 29, 2005Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels Psalm: Thursday 42 Reading IDn 7:9-10, 13-14 As I watched: Thrones were set upand the Ancient One took his throne.His clothing was bright as snow,and the hair on his head as white as wool;His throne was flames of fire,with wheels of burning fire.A surging stream of fireflowed out from where he sat;Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming,on the clouds of...

PROPER NAMES OF THE ANGELS Pascal P. Parente Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 (no Chapter 5) (Chapter 6 of The Angels) THE THREE ARCHANGELSThe Sacred Scriptures have revealed the proper names of only three Angels, all of whom belong to the Choir of the Archangels. The names are well known to all, namely: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Ancient apocryphal literature of the Old Testament contains several other names of Archangels in addition to the three just mentioned. Like the sources themselves, these other names are spurious. Names like Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jeremiel are not found in the...

September 29, 2004 Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels Psalm: Wednesday 42 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Reading IDn 7:9-10, 13-14 As I watched: Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened. As the...

March 25, 2004 Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Psalm: Thursday 15 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Reading II Gospel Reading I Is 7:10-14; 8:10 The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin...

Spiritual Bouquet: Do you think that I came to give peace upon the earth? No, I tell you, but division. For henceforth in one house five will be divided, three against two, and two against three... And a man's enemies will be those of his own household. St. Luke 12:51-52/St. Matthew 10:36SAINT GABRIEL ARCHANGELThe day before the great feast of the Annunciation, the Church celebrates the feast of the Archangel who brought to earth the glad tidings that Mary was chosen to be the Mother of the Incarnate God.This angelic Messenger appears several times in the history of God’s chosen...

September 29, 2003Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels Psalm: Monday 42 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Reading IDn 7:9-10, 13-14 As I watched: Thrones were set upand the Ancient One took his throne.His clothing was bright as snow,and the hair on his head as white as wool;His throne was flames of fire,with wheels of burning fire.A surging stream of fireflowed out from where he sat;Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of...

The Annunciation And was it true, The stranger standing so, And saying things that lifted her in two, And put her back before the world's beginning?Her eyes filled slowly with the morning glow. Her drowsy ear drank in a first sweet dubious bird. Her cheek against the pillow woke and stirred To gales enriched by passage over dew, And friendly fields and slopes of Galilee Arose in tremulous intermixture with her dreams, Till she remembered suddenly... Although the morning beams Came spilling in the gradual rubric known to every day, And hills stood ruinous, as an eclipse, Against the softly...