What's in a name? On January 3rd, the Church has given her children the optional memorial to celebrate the the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. This is a wonderful feast to celebrate, for the Lord Jesus' name is a powerful weapon against the devil and a great cry of praise to God. We know from Scripture that Jesus was given his name by the angel Gabriel, when he came to Joseph and Mary to announce the birth of Jesus.
On this Feast of All Saints we come together as Church to honor not only the Saints that we know, but also all those known only to God, who no matter what their station or state in life, have lived manfully the gospel of Christ and now enjoy the blissful vision of God for ever in Heaven. It is certainly a day to rejoice and thank God for the many graces and crowns given to these holy men and women. To move ourselves to strive after the virtues that they expressed by their lives and to implore mercy from God through their powerful intercessions.
Dear Friends in Christ,
The season of Lent is upon us. The Church, in her wisdom, sets aside 40 days to draw our attention back to the purpose of our lives here on earth. Prayer, fasting, and alms giving are the antidotes to our many faults and failings, to those aspects of our lives that need to be cleansed in the Lord's grace.
Prayer draws us into a deeper conversion and renewal of heart, which helps us to live more fully the promises made at our baptism. Fasting strengthens our skills of self denial. Giving alms, either materially or in the form of acts of kindness and compassion are tools used to spread the light of Christ to others.
Dear Friends in Christ,
It is often difficult to prepare well for Christ's coming with all the various things we need to do and places to be. However, with the right perspective, all the things that may cause us stress can be gifts from God to bring us closer to Him. We need to take a moment to recognize that He is inviting us to invite HIM into all aspects of our lives.
To better understand this, let us take a closer look at the Feasts of Mary that we celebrate during this time of Preparation and within the Christmas Season.
Advent is a season that brings back fond memories of childhood practices: lighting the Advent wreath each day at dinnertime, putting straws in a manger after performing an act of charity, making gifts for each family member, putting out shoes on St. Nicholas’ Eve to find them full of goodies in the morning, praying the Advent prayer “Hail and Blessed”...(found below) Traditionally, Advent is a time, when like St. John the Baptist, we prepare a way for the Lord. We give ourselves the chance to see the presence of God to commune with Him, to discover His plan for us.
