The True Nature of Christmas
by VP
Posted on Monday December 23, 2024 at 11:00PM in Books
Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro, NC
"Today, Christmas is celebrated without Christ in many quarters. Christmas is the season when God became man in the form of a child, and yet, unhappily, in how many homes, because Christ is uninvited, children, too, are no longer welcome. Christmas, like Emmanuel, means "God with us". If we celebrated Christmas without God, we have lost its meaning. If we refuse an inn to God's children as the fruit of marriage, we repeat the sad tale of Bethlehem that refused an inn to Mary and Joseph and the Child.
Christmas means Christ's Mass. But the protestant revolt has denied the true sacrifice of the Mass. It has uprooted His altar and replaced it with a pulpit. There are some who profess to be ministers of Christ and yet deny his Divinity.
The Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament has been removed from their altars and the voice of man has usurped His place. The pivot and focal point of the Protestant Church is not the altar but the pulpit. Man's presence has replaced God's presence; private interpretation has taken the place of God's authority.
Christ is sacrificed in the Mass and the Mass is Christ present with us. Take away the tabernacle of God and, since nature abhors a vacuum, the pulpit of man is ushered in to replace it. Remove the Mass, where Christ is offered and adored, and the result is that man is dehumanized whereas he should be super-naturalized. Man exalts himself instead of humbling himself and adoring God. Without God man is not even himself. He is dehumanized. He is less than man. For man, as God made him, is just a little less than the angels.
Christmas today, for the average worldling, means feasting and food, a holiday, with tinsel and tree, and an exchange of gifts. It is externalized and made pagan in its concept.
It should mean attendance at Mass - at Christ's Mass on Christmas day. It should be a day of great dignity, of rejoicing as evidenced in a temperate use of food and drink and a meeting of loved ones under the star and spirit of Bethlehem. It should mean not so much a receiving as a giving to Christ's poor in imitation of God who gave Himself to the poor in the greatest gifts - His only-begotten Son.
(...)
In thinking of Christmas we always conjure up in our mind's eye the happy days of childhood, the memory of our parents who may have passed on to God's Judgment, and of our early home - all these are most joyous recollections. Certainly Advent should not be observed as a lugubrious or melancholy manner. Penance is a joy when it is performed for God. When imposed upon us for a selfish motive it is a drudgery.
These Advent days, then, can be most joyful, our recollection of former years can be most happy if we dedicate them to God. In simple terms, we can be happiest when all things are in harmony and in their proper place. This is the definition of health. This is the understanding of peace - the "tranquility of order."
Source: Preface of Spiritual Steps to Christmas, Very Rev. Msgr. Aloysius Coogan, MA 1953
Christmas Eve. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Monday December 23, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
"1. How did Mary and Joseph spend the first Christmas Eve? St. Joseph spent it in a fruitless attempt to find a lodging for his holy spouse. Vainly he sought for a place in the caravansery or inn, where travelers were received. Vainly he went from house to house in Bethlehem. Everywhere he was disappointed. Thus it is that God prepares His saints and chosen ones for some signal blessing. We must not be cast down by the fruitlessness of our efforts. It is a sign that some great grace is close at hand.
2. Mary meantime was patiently waiting. She was simply praying that God’s will might be done, whatever suffering it might bring to her. She was offering herself to God, to be used by Him as He should see fit. She was making acts of perfect conformity to the will of God in all things. Blessed are those who wait patiently in such a spirit. God will soon fulfill all the desires of their heart.
3. Yet Mary and Joseph, in spite of the sorrow of the one and the anxiety of the other, were both of them overflowing with heavenly consolations. How could it be otherwise, when one of them carried Christ in her chaste womb, and the other was more dear to God than any other of the sons of men, for he was Mary’s chosen spouse, and he knew that before another day was past she was to bring forth into the world the Son of God. Our happiness, like that of Joseph and Mary, does not depend upon external circumstances, but on the love that we bear to God in our hearts."
Meditations #28 for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priestsJesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them, and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more
Vigil of the Nativity of our Lord
by VP
Posted on Monday December 23, 2024 at 11:00PM in Meditations
"THIS day is a preparation for one of the greatest festivals of the year, a festival of infinite mercy and goodness. On the effects of this mercy depends your eternal good: prepare then for it in the best manner you are able; join contrition with your fasting, and a most profound humiliation of spirit. Confess your manifold weakness and unworthiness: He that comes to be your physician will be pleased with the sincere acknowledgment of your infirmities.
This vigil has been kept from the time of the apostles; and in the primitive ages with such exactness, that a neglect of it was reputed criminal.
St. Augustin removed a priest from amongst his clergy, for being wanting in the observance of it, and for breaking his fast. St. Gregory of Tours gives particular instances of God's displeasure against some who had little regard to it. It cannot be questioned that there is great abuse in the disorderly conduct of those who, after assisting at the Holy Sacrifice, hasten from the altar to their entertainments, which are unbecoming at this holy time, and too often profaning it by irreverence and intemperance. Avoid all these abuses: and if necessity obliges you to take any refreshment, let it be with great moderation, without noise or conversation, that your soul may not be disturbed, but be at full liberty to entertain your Lord, and acknowledge all his mercies.
Beg of your Saviour that the mercy of this night may be extended to you, and help you so powerfully in overcoming all the corruption that is yet within you, that having in Him so plentiful a redemption, you may not be lost by any neglect of yours. Appeal to Him under all the infirmities, to which you are subject. Represent to Him all the dangers you meet in the way of salvation.
He comes to be your Saviour; beseech Him then to be a Saviour to you,
and give you all that grace, which He sees necessary for you." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
O Emmanuel. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 22, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
“O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the expectation of the nations and their Savior, come to save us, O Lord our God!”
1.
Emmanuel, God with us, is a name that in every way belongs to Christ
Our Lord. He is with His people in all their needs, ever ready to help
and console them. He is with us on every altar, waiting for us to come
and pour out before Him our sorrow and our needs. He is with us, above
all, in Holy Communion, when He comes to dwell in our heart and to bring
with Him every grace that we need. He is with us in the hour of death,
and He will be with us forever in heaven.
2. He Who thus comes
to dwell with us in familiar friendship is our King ; He Who thus
condescends to be our companion is the God Who has an absolute right to
our obedience. He is our Lawgiver, and the statutes that He enacts for
us have but one end and aim and object, to lead His subjects into the
ways of happiness and the paths of peace.
3. Come then, O God,
our Lord and our Savior. Come and save us from all the perils of the
Evil One, and from our own weakness and frailty. Come and save us in the
hour of temptation,for Thou alone art our King, and none save Thou
shalt rule over us. Come and bring us safe through this valley of tears
to Thy eternal kingdom, where we shall dwell forever, O sweet Jesus, in
the everlasting delights of Thy blissful company. " Meditations # 27 for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena: Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more.
St. Servulus, CONFESSOR, A.D. 590.
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 22, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
"He was a poor man in Rome, who from his infancy was afflicted with the palsy, and was never able to stand, sit upright, lift his hand to his mouth, or turn himself from one side to another. His mother and brother carried him every day to the porch of St. Clement's church at Rome, where he subsisted by the charitable alms of those that passed by. The charity of this beggar was very remarkable, in his distributing every day to other poor persons, whatever he received above what satisfied the necessities of the day. He only saved so much as served to purchase a copy of the Holy Scriptures; in which, though ignorant of other things, he was well instructed, by requesting such as came to visit him to read to him. The sufferings and humiliation of his condition were a means, of which he made an excellent use for the sanctification of his own soul, by the constant exercise of humility, patience, meekness, resignation, and penance. He consecrated his time by assiduously singing humns of praise and thanksgiving to God; and his continual pains were so far from dejecting or distracting him, that they proved a most pressing motive for raising his mind to God with greater ardour
Having lived many years in this method, and in the practice of cheerful patience, St. Servulus perceived his end to draw near. In his last moments, he desired the poor and pilgrims, who had often shared his charity, to sing sacred hymns and psalms by him. Whilst he joined his voice with theirs, he on a sudden eried out: "Silence! Do you not hear the sweet melody and praises which resound in the heavens ?" Soon after he had spoken these words, he expired; and God attested his sanctity by filling the room with a sweet odour, which continued till he was buried.
Learn the great advantage that may be made of sickness, pain, and poverty. By the good use of these,
this saint made his way to heaven: and will not he rise in judgment
against you for your impatience in lesser trials, and the ill use of your
time, health and money? See how much with your plenty and health, you
are behind him who had neither; and hasten to atone for your past ill
management." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
O Rex Gentium. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Saturday December 21, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
“O
King of the nations and desired of them, and the Corner-stone that
maketh both one, come and save man, whom Thou didst form of dust.”
1.
Never was there a king who had such a claim to sovereignty as Christ
Our Lord. He is King by divine appointment and His own right. He is King
by the consentient voice of His subjects, and by the right of conquest.
He is King by reason of His having purchased us with His own blood.
What unnumbered claims He has on me ! and besides all the rest, does He
not deserve to reign supreme by reason of His having won me by His love ?
2. Christ was desired by all nations, long before they knew Him
Whom they desired. The heathen world felt a craving want, which it
could not define, but which was the desire for the Savior Who should
free them from the bondage of sin. So now men of good-will outside the
Church feel something of the same strange longing. Nothing will satisfy
it save submission to their King by union with His mystical body, the
Church of God. Oh, how happy am I, whose desires are fulfilled in that I
am no alien, but a servant of that King Whom to serve is my own desire !
3. Christ is the Corner-stone that maketh both one ; the King
of peace, Whose work it is to unite together those who love Him in the
unity of mutual love of one another for His sake. Thus He desires that I
should be united to those around me, that there should be no dissension
or disunion. Do I in this fulfill the pleasure of my King ? " Meditations #26 for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena: Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests:Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls themselves. Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them, and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they shepherded on earth. Amen.Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more.
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Christmas
by VP
Posted on Saturday December 21, 2024 at 11:00PM in Sermons
There was no room for them in the inn."-LUKE 2. 7.
1. The thought of home.
2. But no home for the poor wayfarers at Bethlehem.
3. Now, as then, our Lord seeks a home.
4. Let us resolve to give Him a welcome, and make a home for Him in our hearts.
THERE is a word ever dear to our hearts, but dearer at this Christmas season than at any other time. Our hearts agree with the old saying, "There is no place like home." Home! what a charm, a fascination clings to that word. It does not matter whether it is a mansion or a cottage, so that it is our home. Childhood's affection nestles round our home, and it is the pride and comfort of venerable old age. And Christmas is the time of all others when our memory and thoughts gather round our home. We all go home in spirit or in glad reality at Christmas. And amidst all our pleasures and comforts we have a thought— a loving thought for those who are far away, whether distance or death separate us. We remember them all at Christmas. We miss their voices and their tender glances; we notice a vacant chair or a little token of the past. Perchance on coming to the Christmas Mass we may cast a wistful glance at the churchyard, where in their little home some dear one is at rest.
Just as it was nineteen hundred years ago, there will be gatherings of friends and happy hours spent in our homes this Christmas-time.
Yes, it was a busy and a festive time at Bethlehem, the little city of David, so many centuries ago. All the friends and kinsfolk of the place were gathered together for the taking of the census. By order of the Roman Emperor the people had to be counted, each in his native place, the old home of the family. So that all the people, rich and poor, had come from all parts, far and near, each to be enrolled in his own city. Each house was full and the inn crowded with these family gatherings.
But there were two poor travellers-oh, you know them well-who had journeyed in the winter-time all the way from Nazareth. And they had no home. No welcome was waiting for them. Doors were pitilessly closed against them as they humbly sought a shelter. And the gospel says: "There was no room for them in the inn." When the bleak night came on, Mary and Joseph sought refuge in a cave, which was used as a stable. There our Lord was born. "And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke ii. 7). The very One Who provided all those homes for others had no home Himself. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not " (John i. II).
As of old, so now, Christ Jesus our Lord is seeking a home. How many at this holy Christmas-time, taken up with the comforts and pleasures of the season, with their house full of friends, will treat Him like the Bethlehemites of old! How many will fail to recognize the wanderers, and, closing the door against them, will soon forget the cold and cheerless night without! There are those standing without, who indeed deserve a home. Joseph and Mary would bring Jesus to us, if we would but let them. Oh, the bitter irony of this festive time ! Why is it a festive time? Because of the birth of Christ. His blessed name and the name of holy Mass united-Christmas-is on every tongue. The world resounds with Christmas greetings, but to so many, so very many, there is not a thought of remembrance of Him.
So much for the world at large, but not, please God, as regards ourselves. Yet even amongst Catholics there are men who forget Christ at Christmas-time. We must redouble the fervour of our piety to make up for those who forget Him. Who is it that their hearts keep standing without, and refuse to bid Him enter, and give Him welcome? Is it a beggar? Yes, a beggar indeed! "He came into the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not!" Everything we have belongs to Him. He gave it us all. Where would be our home, if He had not given us our health and our livelihood, our happiness, our children, our very existence? And now He will not force us, but asks us, begs of us to give Him a home. And He that seeks a home is no stranger, but a kinsman and a brother. He made us His brethren. For the Son of God became man, that we poor men should become the sons of God. He came to be in all things like His brethren" (Heb. ii. 17).
He deserves a welcome; and we can give Him one. He seeks a home, and we have one to offer Him-our heart. Do not let this holy time pass by without bidding Him enter and make it all His own. His coming was all for us. He came to atone for us; to give to our poor lives and daily
actions an eternal reward. He came as an Infant to force us to love
Him; to make it easy for us to remember Him; to take away all fear, and to give us full confidence in His devoted love for us. hearts are unworthy of Him, but if they are all for Him, He will gladly make His home there. And Mary and Joseph will teach us how to serve Him and be faithful. Our hearts, for a little while now, to be His home, where His love will reign supreme; and then, so soon, our home will be with Him in the Kingdom of His glory." Sermons By Fr. Hickey
St. Flavian, MARTYR.
by VP
Posted on Saturday December 21, 2024 at 11:00PM in Poetry
"A NOBLE Roman, who by order of Julian the Apostate had his face disfigured with those marks of infamy, which were the usual punishment of thieves and malefactors. Being afterwards cast forth into banishment, he there gave himself wholly to prayer, and prepared for that life, for which he had contemned all that is in this.
The festivals of martyrs often return, that you may give glory to the Head of the martyrs, and learn something of their spirit. And what advance have you hitherto made? How do you bear reproaches and contempts? How do you submit to the daily difficulties of your state: to the distempers and pains, with which God is pleased to visit you? How do you bear the trouble of your own infirmities and indiscretion? Resentments, impatience, and passion may be your inclination, but ought not to be allowed and indulged in, if уou think to walk by the patterns so often set before you. Stand then with resolution against all such weakness, and begging the patience of the martyrs, bend down your neck to the trouble, whatever it be, that so you may come to the practice of what you profess.
Pray that you may improve in virtue under all trials; and take care, while you profess to honour the martyrs, that you dishonour not their festivals, by passion or impatience. If you can happily overcome these evils, and quietly submit to those exercises of trouble,
which God is pleased to ordain for your portion, this will lay good
dispositions in your soul, such as will bring you to the reward of a martyr, though you may never be called to shed your blood for Christ, patience and contentment under all troubles are the dispositions of a martyr; there is nothing wanting, but the hand of the executioner." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
O Oriens. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Friday December 20, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
“
O Orient, Splendor of eternal light and Sun of justice ; come and
enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
1.
The night of pagan times was long and dark, and seemed hopeless. Deeper
and deeper the nations were sinking in misery and vice. But at length
the Orient, the brightness of the eternal light of heaven, rose, and
scattered the darkness, changing the gloom into a brilliant day. So too
for those who have been long shrouded in the dense gloom of sin or
sorrow there waits the same divine Light, ready to scatter their
darkness in a moment, if only they will draw nigh to Him. He waits for
me, ready to brighten my path, to scatter my sins and sorrows, if I will
avail myself of His love.
2. That rising Light is the Sun of
justice, Who shall exercise His justice in delivering the captive, and
in recompensing His friends a hundred, nay, a thousandfold, for every
little service done to Him. For His justice is virtually identical with
His mercy, and rejoices to employ itself in works of pity and of love.
3.
Come then, O Orient, O Sun of justice ; shine on those who sit in
darkness, on those who are enveloped in the thick mists of heathendom
and heresy. Come and enlighten their ignorance, that they may not
perish. Come and deliver them from the shadow of death, for they cannot
deliver themselves. Pour upon them such a flood of light and grace as
may guide their feet into the way of peace."Meditations # 25 for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena: Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests:Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls themselves. Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them, and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they shepherded on earth. Amen.Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more.
Saint Thomas the Apostle
by VP
Posted on Friday December 20, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
It is not recorded in Scripture how St. Thomas was called to the apostleship; but the indispensable condition of an apostle being to leave all and follow Christ, it cannot be questioned that he did so. This was the perfection of their state, who were chosen to spread the Gospel throughout the world, and to carry the name of Christ before kings and princes. They were to renounce the earth, that they might be, without distractions, wholly attentive to the business of Heaven, and give evident proof of their having no other interest, but in Jesus Christ alone.
This apostle, having once undertaken to follow Christ, continued faithful to him; and gave sufficient evidence of his sincerity, when, apprehending His Master's life to be in danger by His going up to Jerusalem, and all the other apostles dissuading Him from it, he alone cried out: Let us also go, and die with Him. This was the test of a true disciple, not to think of leaving Christ when dangers threatened, but readily to offer himself to take part with his Master in all His sufferings. All the followers of Christ must endeavour to observe this rule. They are not only to be faithful in their duties to Him, when it is consistent with their interest, reputation, quiet, and spiritual comfort; for all this may be suspected; but they must likewise continue their fidelity, where they foresee that they are likely to be sufferers or losers by it. If a Christian tells the truth, when it is to his purpose, and defends himself by lies, when he apprehends that the truth will prove disadvantageous to him, is such a one a true disciple? or, can he say: Let us go and die with Christ, who is so unwilling to suffer anything for Him? If a Christian observes the rules of exact sobriety and discipline, when left to his own conduct, and yet joins with those who importune him to disorder and excess, rather than bear their raillery; -if, for fear of being pointed at, he follows a corrupt world, in all its prodigality, vanity, and luxury; if he would serve his neighbour, could it only be done without trouble; if his desires be to live virtuously and justly, but the apprehension of want puts him upon ways that are unjustifiable; if he would observe peace with his neighbours, but cannot bear their impertinent and disagreeable humours ;—if he would ask pardon for injuries done, but cannot submit to the humiliation, or to the thought of being reputed tame and poor-spirited; can such a man pretend to the character of Christ's disciple, who thus upon the prospect of any difficulty or uneasiness, abandons His cause, and so far forsakes Him. A Christian ought ever to be in a disposition of dying with Christ: it is part of this day's lesson. He is to follow Him even to death: what then, if he meets with the ordinary discouragements, which commonly work by raising fear or shame? If he cannot overcome these, how will he do it when they are accompanied with the terrors of racks and death? He that surrenders to a weak enemy, how can he hope to be victorious, when assaulted by a much greater force ?
Strive therefore daily to be constant in all your duties: accustom yourself to force your way upon meeting with opposition. Let no fear or shame prevail on you, to the omission of any duty have no regard to what the world will say of you. Look on difficulties, troubles, temptations, and disquiets, as part of your portion, and an exercise of this
life, to which God has called you. Be not therefore afraid to suffer
and then if God shall call you to greater trials, you may hope to say
still with this apostle: Let us go, and die with our suffering Lord." The Catholic Year; by Fr. John Gother
