And now for something completely different...

From Conception to Birth by Alexander Tsarias

Prayer of Confidence in St. Joseph

O Dear St. Joseph, faithful foster father of Jesus Christ, I devoutly come before thy sacred image and implore thine aid and intercession in my present necessity.  I know and firmly believe that to thee all things are possible with God, and that the sweet Infant Jesus, who on earth was subject to thee, His reputed father, can now in Heaven refuse thee no request.  Thy faithful servant, the seraphic St. Teresa, experienced this and declared that never did she present to thee a petition that thou didst not grant; at the same time she invites all to have recourse to thee, assuring them that they will not depart from thee unconsoled.

Encouraged by this promise, I fly to thee, O holy Joseph, foster father of Jesus Christ and chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, beseeching thee by the tender love thou didst bear to both, to bestow on me thy love and mercy.  Comfort me in my present trial and affliction and obtain for me, through Jesus and Mary, that God the Father may grant my petition.  Send up to the Heart of thy beloved Jesus but a single sigh, lovingly present to Him my request; then I shall certainly obtain it and be consoled in my distress.

Our Father...
Our Father...
Our Father...

Hail Mary...
Hail Mary...
Hail Mary...

By Ven. Martin von Cochem based on the testimony of St. Teresa of Avila
Excerpted from Favorite Prayers to St. Joseph, Tan Books and Publishers, 1997

St. Joseph the Worker

St. Joseph the Carpenter, Georges de La Tour, c. 1640

THROUGH WORK man must earn his daily bread and contribute to the continual advance of science and technology and, above all, to elevating unceasingly the cultural and moral level of the society within which he lives in community with those who belong to the same family. And work means any activity by man, whether manual or intellectual, whatever its nature or circumstances; it means any human activity that can and must be recognized as work, in the midst of all the many activities of which man is capable and to which he is predisposed by his very nature, by virtue of humanity itself. Man is made to be in the visible universe an image and likeness of God himself, and he is placed in it in order to subdue the earth. From the beginning therefore he is called to work. Work is one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose activity for sustaining their lives cannot be called work. Only man is capable of work, and only man works, at the same time by work occupying his existence on earth. Thus work bears a particular mark of man and of humanity, the mark of a person operating within a community of persons. And this mark decides its interior characteristics; in a sense it constitutes its very nature.

Ioannes Paulus PP. II
Laborem exercens

Jesus I Trust in You

All that the Church says and does shows the mercy that God feels for man. When the Church has to remind about a neglected truth, or a betrayed good, it does it always motivated by a merciful love, so that men may have life and have it in abundance (cf. John 10:10). From divine mercy, which puts hearts at peace, also arises the authentic peace of the world, peace among peoples, cultures and religions.

Pope Benedict XVI

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Titian - Resurrection - 1544

Scourging at the Pillar

JPII

O Holy Trinity,
we thank you for having given to the Church
Pope John Paul II,
and for having made him shine with your fatherly tenderness,
the glory of the Cross of Christ and the splendor of the Spirit of love

He, trusting completely in your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary, has shown himself
in the likeness of Jesus the Good Shepherd
and has pointed out to us holiness
as the path to reach eternal communion with You.

Grant us, through his intercession,
according to your will, the grace that we implore,
in the hope that he will soon be numbered among your saints.
Amen.

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/intercessionJP2.htm#ixzz1qtMTMp5q

Pick Up Your Cross

Albrecht Durer, Christ Bearing the Cross, 1498

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household.  He who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it."
Matthew 10:34-39

Annunciation

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came to be through him,

and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life,

and this life was the light of the human race;

the light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world,

and the world came to be through him,

but the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own,

but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

And the Word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us,

and we saw his glory,

the glory as of the Father’s only Son,

full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-14

Psalm 36

Sin directs the heart of the wicked man;

his eyes are closed to the fear of God.

For he lives with the delusion:

his guilt will not be known and hated.

Empty and false are the words of his mouth;

he has ceased to be wise and do good.

On his bed he hatches plots;

he sets out on a wicked way;

he does not reject evil.

Psalm 36:2-5


 UPDATE
Part II

LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven;

your fidelity, to the clouds.

Your justice is like the highest mountains;

your judgments, like the mighty deep;

human being and beast you sustain, LORD.

How precious is your mercy, O God!

The children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the rich food of your house;

from your delightful stream you give them drink.

For with you is the fountain of life,

and in your light we see light.

Psalm 36:6-10

 

Who Said This?

“...The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”

A) Ronald Reagan

B) John F. Kennedy

C) George Washington

D) Barack Obama 

UPDATE: Answer is B, in his inaugural address.

 

Prayer for Lent

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting
this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,
we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

St. Valentine

St. Valentine’s Day remains a popular celebration even though it is not celebrated as a liturgical holy day in the Church.  When it was celebrated in the martyrology, there were three Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, mentioned on February 14th. Two were from later in the 200s.  They were buried on the Flaminian Way.  In fact, the Flaminian Gate was once called the Gate of St. Valentine.  The third St. Valentine was martyred with several companions in North Africa.  

During the Middle Ages, in England and France, it was commonly held that the birds chose mates around February 14.  This is mentioned in a poem by Chaucer which says,

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

It is likely that customs of writing love letters and exchanging gifts on Saint Valentine's Day came of this understanding.   French and English literature of the time relate accounts of these traditions.  (www.newadvent.com)

Unclean!

The spotless lamb takes the place of the unclean.

We hear in the first reading today of the Lord's instructions to Moses and Aaron regarding those afflicted with leprosy.  The Lord says, 

The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare,

and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!' As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.

Thus, those individuals were to visibly identify themselves by keeping their garments rent, head bare and beard muffled.  They also had to audibly identify themselves as well with the unwelcome identifier "Unclean."  Finally, the leper was to separate himself, physically from the rest of the group by living outside the camp.  

In the gospel reading we hear of Jesus' healing of the leper.  The leper, in his act of faith, comes to Jesus and confidently asserts, 

If you wish, you can make me clean.

Jesus touches the unclean man and makes him clean.  Jesus then gives the man two instructions.  First, Jesus tells the man to not tell anyone of this.  I'll come back to this point later.  Jesus also tells the man that he should show himself to the priest and fulfill the proper offering which Moses prescribed for those made clean.  It is interesting to note that the purification offering is quite elaborate as described in Leviticus 14.  The offering includes the following prescription...

Taking one of the male lambs, the priest shall present it as a reparation offering, along with the log of oil, raising them as an elevated offering before the Lord.

Getting back to Jesus' first instruction to the man made clean.  Jesus, as he does after many of his miraculous cures, told the man not to tell anyone anything.  However, the man could not contain himself and publicized the whole matter.  Word traveled and as a result Jesus was mobbed when he tried to enter any town.  As such, Jesus ended up staying outside of the towns.  It is as if Jesus traded places with the man who would have had to remain outside of town himself.   The spotless lamb takes the place of the unclean.   

  

Presentation in the Temple

Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.

Luke 2:29-32

Simeon in the Temple - Rembrandt - 1669

 

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...
 
In August 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services issued an interim final rule that will require most health insurance plans to cover preventive services for women including recommended contraceptive services without charging a co-pay, co-insurance or a deductible.
[...]
After evaluating comments, we have decided to add an additional element to the final rule. Nonprofit employers who, based on religious beliefs, do not currently provide contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan, will be provided an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the new law. Employers wishing to take advantage of the additional year must certify that they qualify for the delayed implementation. This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule.

What can you do?

On Suffering

Bouguereau - Flagellation -1880

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church...

Colossians 1:24

Holy Name of Jesus

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

For the New Year

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light;

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more,

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out thy mournful rhymes,

But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

~Alfred, Lord Tennyson