It seems strange but nice to be thinking of the Nativity in the middle of the summer, strange but nice. I feel some of the flames of joy coming of the fire of prayer for the season. I suspect if someone where a new Catholic and read and studied nothing but simply prayed the rosary with devotion he or she would know more about the Church than any other form of teaching could furnish. For often study speaks only to the head whereas the rosary speaks to the head and heart...
In my part of the World we celebrate Christmas in the middle of summer Padraig. And know little of 'A WHITE CHRISTMAS' except from Hollywood. Even so Winter seems so much more beautiful.
It does, Mac. Apparently the climate in the Holy Land was very different 2000 years ago. Also the land really was lush compared to the all the heat and sand now. I know it snowed in Jerusalem a couple of years ago as a friend sent me shots. I suspect it would not have been quite so urgent for St Joseph to find a place to stay unless the weather had been cold. I wonder who did mid wife to Mary or if she even needed one? I know some accounts say she gave birth with no pain....
Fifteenth Rose The Hail Mary The Angelic Salutation is so heavenly and so beyond us in its depth of meaning that Blessed Alan de la Roche held that no mere creature could ever possibly understand it, and that only Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary can really explain it. Its enormous value is due first of all to Our Lady to whom it was addressed, to the purpose of the Incarnation of the Word for which reason this prayer was brought from heaven, and also to the Archangel Gabriel who was the first ever to say it. The Angelic Salutation is a most concise summary of all that Catholic theology teaches about the Blessed Virgin. It is divided up into two parts, that of praise and petition: the first shows all that goest to make up Mary's greatness and the second all that we need to ask her for and all that we may expect to receive through her goodness. The Most Blessed Trinity revealed the first part of it to us and the latter part was added by Saint Elizabeth who was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Holy Mother Church gave us the conclusion in the year 430 when she condemned the Nestorian heresy at the council of Ephesus and defined that the Blessed Virgin is truly the Mother of God. At this time she ordered us to pray to Our Lady under this glorious title by saying: "Hail Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death." The greatest event in the whole history of the world was the Incarnation of the Eternal Word by Whom the world was redeemed and peace was restored between God and men. Our Lady was chosen as His instrument for this tremendous event and it was put into effect when she was greeted with the Angelic Salutation. The Archangel Gabriel, one of the leading princes of the heavenly court, was chosen as ambassador to bear these glad tidings. In the Angelic Salutation can be seen the faith and hope of the patriarchs, the prophets and the apostles. Furthermore it gives to martyrs their unswerving constancy and strength, it is the wisdom of the doctors of the Church, the perseverance of holy confessors and the life of all religious. (Blessed Alan de la Roche) It is also the new hymn of the law of grace, the joy of angels and men, and the hymn which terrifies devils and puts them to shame. By the Angelic Salutation God became man, a virgin became the Mother of God, the souls of the just were delivered from Limbo, the empty thrones in heaven filled. In addition sin was forgiven, grace was given to us, sick people were made well, the dead were brought back to life, exiles were brought home, and the anger of the Most Blessed Trinity was appeased and men obtained eternal life. Finally, the Angelic Salutation is a rainbow in the heavens, a sign of the mercy and grace which God has given to the world. (Blessed Alan da la Roache)
I saw, during fifteen days, the Blessed Virgin engaged in preparations for the birth of Jesus Christ ; she got ready coverlets, bandages, and swaddling clothes. Her father, Joachim, was no longer living. There was in the house a little girl of about seven years old who was often near the Blessed Virgin, and to whom she gave lessons. I believe that she was the daughter of Mary of Cleophas. She was also called Mary. Joseph is not at Nazareth, but he will soon arrive. He is on his return from Jerusalem, where he had led victims for sacrifice. I saw the Blessed Virgin in the house. She was in an advanced state of preg- 32 ZTbe matfx>m? ot nancy, and was working sitting in a room with several other women. They were preparing articles and coverlets for the confinement of Mary. Anne had con siderable property in cattle and pasture lands. She furnished the Blessed Virgin abundantly with everything which was needful for her condition : as she believed that Mary would be confined at her house, and that all her relatives would visit her on this occasion, she made all sorts of preparations for the birth of the child of promise. They prepared for this purpose beautiful coverlets and rugs. I had seen a coverlet of this kind at the time of the birth of St. John, in the house of Elizabeth. It had on it sym bolical figures and sentences worked by the needle. In the middle was a sort of wrapper in which the woman when lying in, was placed. When the different parts of the coverlet were fitted together...https://archive.org/stream/nativitychrist00emmeuoft/nativitychrist00emmeuoft_djvu.txt
The Fourth Joyful Mystery The Presentation 'Scripture Speaks: Presentation of the Lord Gayle Somers When Joseph and Mary took the infant Jesus to the Temple to fulfill Jewish law, they also fulfilled a treasured a Messianic prophecy. How? Gospel (Read Lk 2:22-40) About a month after Jesus was born, His parents took Him to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the law of Moses concerning firstborns (see Ex 13:1-3). What was that law? During the time of Israel’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt, God gave to His people, through Moses, an ordinance requiring that every firstborn child born to Hebrew parents must be “dedicated” to the Lord. This requirement would constantly remind the Israelites of how all their firstborn children were spared from death by the blood of the Passover lambs on their doorposts. They owed their existence as a nation to God’s supernatural protection of them. The firstborn could be dedicated to God to serve as a priest or could be bought back with a modest redemption offering. When Joseph and Mary arrived at the Temple, they were “amazed” at what greeted them there. Simeon and Anna, a man and a woman who represented all the “righteous and devout” people of Israel were there actively, faithfully “awaiting the consolation of Israel.” They recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of all their Messianic hope. The Holy Spirit revealed to both of them that this ordinary-looking infant was anything but ordinary. Simeon swept Jesus into his arms and spoke directly to God: “Now, Master, You may let Your servant go in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation.” God had promised this faithful man “that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.” With the prompting of the Spirit, Simeon knew God had kept His promise in this Child. He went on to prophetically describe the Child’s future. Jesus would be both “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for [God’s] people, Israel.” Then, speaking directly to Mary, Simeon describes a shadow that would accompany this Child’s life: “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted.” The Child’s mission would stir up trouble and call for decisions that would create division and opposition. What mother wants to hear that? There was more, of course: “You yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” How difficult this must have been for a new mother, in her first public maternal action, to learn! Suffering for both her Son and herself lay ahead. In fact, Simeon was bringing together many Messianic prophecies in this amazing benediction over Jesus and His mother. God’s long-promised salvation for the whole world was right here, lying as an infant in his arms, and Simeon says He will grow up to become the Suffering Servant of Isaiah’s majestic prophecies in the Old Testament. God had said even at the dawn of time in Eden, after the Fall, that a “woman” and her “seed” would take up the definitive battle against His primordial enemy, the devil (see Gn 3:15). Simeon knew, in fulfillment of all that God had earlier revealed, that great pain and great glory lay ahead. The prophetess, Anna, whom St. Luke identifies as “of the tribe of Asher,” is also prompted by the Spirit, after a faithful life of prayer and fasting, to recognize the Child as the One for whom “all who were waiting the redemption of Jerusalem” sought. The tribe of Asher had been one of the ten northern tribes that were “lost” when the Assyrians conquered them in God’s just judgment against their covenant unfaithfulness. She represents God’s intention to recover all that was lost to Him through sin. Both Simeon and Anna saw in a tiny, newborn baby the hope of the whole world. It is fitting that these prophetic announcements about Jesus were made in the Temple. This was the place intended by God for the most intimate contact between Himself and His people. It was the holiest place on earth, because it was where God visited His people on the Day of Atonement every year, in the liturgical work of the high priest. Long before His earthly life unfolded, Jesus’ work as both priest and victim were foreshadowed in this Temple visit. Jesus would return to the Temple, of course, at the beginning of His manhood and during the course of His public ministry. Eventually, He would prophesy its utter destruction. Why would that happen? He was born to become the New and living Temple where, for all eternity, God and man would meet. So many signs, so many wonders were present in this simple action by devout parents to obey God’s law for family life. This gives us much to ponder, doesn’t it? Possible response: St. Joseph and St. Mary, please pray for parents today to be faithful in raising their children according to God’s Word. First Reading (Read Mal 3:1-4) Here is a dramatic prophecy from the very last of the Old Testament prophetic books. When we read it, we can perhaps understand why devout Jews in Jesus’ day, like Simeon and Anna in our Gospel, spent so much time in the Jerusalem Temple. God says, through His prophet, “Lo, I am sending My Messenger to prepare the way before Me; and suddenly there will come to the Temple the Lord whom you desire.” This amazing prophecy goes on to say that when God’s “Messenger” appears, His work of “refining” and “purifying” God’s people means that “the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord, as in the days of old, as in years gone by.” Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for sin, a sacrifice pleasing to God, because He offered Himself sinless, with a pure heart, out of love for sinners. No wonder Simeon and Anna were waiting and hoping to see this “Messenger” with their own eyes. Possible response: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to refine and purify Your people. May the gratitude and joy of Simeon and Anna for this gift be ours today, too. Psalm (Read Ps 24:7-10) This psalm is traditionally ascribed to King David, written to celebrate the entrance of Israel’s recovered Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. At that time, the Ark contained the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, written by God’s own finger. (By Jesus’ day, the Ark of the Covenant had been lost.) King David recognized the presence of the true King of Israel in those tablets and the Ark itself. Even though the Temple did not exist at this time (it was built later by David’s son, Solomon), the liturgy of the Day of Atonement, which included the sacrifice of one animal and the exile of the “scapegoat” to atone for the sins of the people, was celebrated in the presence of this Ark. Its “mercy seat” served as the altar upon which the animal’s blood was placed. So, as the Ark entered Jerusalem, David wanted to sing at the city gates, “Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the king of glory may come in!” Today, because we know that Jesus is the New Temple, the Word of God in flesh and blood, not stone tablets, we can sing, “Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!” Interestingly, on the day of Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple, not only did the New Temple visit His people but the New Ark of the Covenant, the one who carried God’s living Word in her womb, did, too. Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again carefully to make it your own. Second Reading (Read Heb 2:14-18) Our epistle reading touches on so many themes we have already seen in our others readings. Jesus, God’s flesh and blood “Messenger,” came to destroy the devil, who held all mankind in bondage to the fear of death. This reminds us of Simeon’s prophecy of future suffering in store for the Child in his arms. The “woman” and her “seed” were destined to do battle against God’s enemy. Jesus took on our human nature and lived a human life like ours, made present in our Gospel when His parents, in simple human obedience to their religion, took Him to the Temple. Jesus came to be the expiation of our sins, so that in Him we can now offer God a pure and pleasing sacrifice. Lastly, Jesus is “able to help those who are being tested.” He is not a Savior remote from us but One Who loves us, hears us, helps us. This is why He is a “light” to the Gentiles and “the glory” of His people, Israel. The baby of the Presentation grew up to be the King of all creation. “Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!” Possible response: Lord Jesus, Simeon and Anna welcomed Your nearness in Your first Temple visit. You are always near Your people. Help us to live in the peace You want to give us.' image: Mosaic detail from S. Maria in Trastevere, Rome/ Shutterstock http://catholicexchange.com/scripture-speaks-presentation-lord
As soon as I thought of the Presentation my thoughts went to what one visionary wrote about Our Lady which I have not been able to get out of my head and heart ever since. She said that the thought of the Passion of her son, Our Lord Jesus Christ was never ever out of her head. This mystery, the Presentation seems to underline this, suggesting that the thought of the Passion was in Marys heart both BEFORE and after the Crucifixation itself. This is so touching because of course were Our Mother goes we should follow and so if the Passion was constantly in Mary's heart it should be etched forever on ours too. I always sit at the front of the Monastery seats in the mornings; right in from of the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. ...and of course this icon is all about preknowledge of the Passion. Both for Mary and for the infant Jesus. http://prayers4reparation.wordpress...etual-succour-the-hidden-meaning-of-the-icon/ POWERFUL OBJECT • What do the symbols in the icon mean? What spiritual forces do they convey? Sacred icons are not merely religious paintings, they are something more. According to the concept of art in the East, an icon is a place where God Himself is present: a presence of Grace which the image conveys. The figures in the icon are portrayed in a way that is not an exact representation – in this way emphasising the spiritual dimension of the mystery. The artistic dimension of an icon is only of secondary importance. What is important is God who is expressed through art. • Who were these icons painted by? They were painted by monks, that is, by people who led highly spiritual and ascetic lives, and who had a thorough knowledge of theology. They prepared themselves spiritually before painting an icon through fasting, prayer and penitence. They would meditate on the subject of their painting for long periods before starting their works, during which they sought inspiration from Above, and they often painted their icons while they were kneeling. Our Lady of Perpetual Help was painted in Crete where a famous school of icon painting once existed. Carbon dating places the icon in a period around the second half of the 14th century. According to an ancient tradition, this type of icon was inspired by a painting no longer extant produced by St Luke the Evangelist, and is called a ‘Hodegetria’, a Greek word which means ‘She who shows the Way’. THE FALLING SANDAL • What spiritual message does the icon convey? Our Lady has her head slightly bent to the right; she is looking at the viewer and is holding the Child with her left arm, while the Child is holding on to His mother’s right hand with both his hands. The Child is looking upwards, and His right foot is unnaturally bent so that the sole of his foot is visible. The sandal of this foot is loose and is about to fall. The Child has the features of a 12-year-old boy; in other words they are those of a Jesus who is now aware of His nature as the Son of God. He is looking upwards, not towards the Archangel Gabriel who is bearing the cross, but beyond this spiritual creature to God, His Father in Heaven. Thus, the Virgin Mary is presenting the Son of God to us while the Son of God is looking towards the Father. • What is the meaning of the falling sandal? According to the Book of Ruth, passing a sandal to another person means to conclude a contract. The Child is allowing the sandal to fall down towards us, which means that He is establishing a contract with us: this contract is the new covenant. At the same time, He is showing the sole of His foot. In Oriental iconography, to show the sole of one’s foot means to show one’s own nature, which in this case is human nature. However, this gesture also has another meaning. To touch a patch of land one intended to buy with the sole of one’s foot was the sign indicating that one had become its owner. Jesus, in becoming man and touching the earth, has reclaimed ownership of the earth, of creation, and by restoring humanity to its dignity as sons of God, has restored to humanity its lordship over all creation. ROYAL COLOURS • Do the colours in the icon have any spiritual meaning? Generally, in Oriental icons red indicates divinity while blue stands for humanity. Our Lady is wearing the red tunic for divinity and the blue mantle for humanity. The artist has highlighted the Virgin Mary’s divine role by writing, in the upper part of the icon, the word ‘Teotokos’ (Mother of God). Mary is not merely the mother of the historical Jesus, she is also the mother of the Son of God: by delivering the physical Jesus, who is both man and God, she has become ‘God-like’. There is, moreover, a detail in this icon that is not present in other ‘Hodegetria’ icons, and this is that the artist highlights the colour of the lining of the mantle, which is green. Compositions with these two colours, red and green, were reserved to the nobility. Mary is indeed the Queen of Angels and the Saints. The Child Jesus has a green tunic girdled by a red band. A green tunic with a red waistband was, according to some scholars, the typical attire of the Byzantine emperors; in this way the artist has highlighted Christ’s nobility, who is the Lord of Creation. The task of the two archangels, who hold the symbols of the Passion, is not merely that of presenting these symbols to the Christ Child, but also that of showing to us the means by which Christ has redeemed and saved humanity, and that is when He “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Mary always leads to Jesus; she is inseparable from Him. This is evident, indeed obvious, in the design of this sacred icon. Let us therefore approach the Lord and His Mother with all the confidence of children and all the realism of adults, never forgetting what the Angel of the Annunciation proclaimed to Mary and to us: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” - This article by Renzo Allegri was published in “Messenger of Saint Anthony”, December 2012 issue. For subscriptions etc. contact “Messenger of Saint Anthony”, Basilica del Santo, via Orto Botanico 11, 35123 Padua, Italy
I must say myself I have found thinking about the Passion an easy thing. I struggle with it. But on the other hand I know that meditating on the Passion is the most productive of all and the five Sorrowful Mysteries are very much my favourite. We are never closer to Christ than when we hang on the Cross. But easy? No never easy. But it must have been terrible for Mary at the Presentation. A Sword of Sorrow indeed. Yet this is a Joyful Mystery...why? Because it points beyond Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
May we unite our joys AND our sorrows to those of Mary and Joseph at the time of the Presentation, and then to the cross of Christ, to bring Glory to God, salvation of souls, and reparation of sins against the Two Hearts.
Gregory XVI...says that the Rosary'is the most wonderful means of destroying sins and recovering the grace of God'
It is written: "Give and it shall be given unto you." [1] To take Blessed Alan's illustration of this: "Supposing each day I give you one hundred and fifty diamonds, even if you were my enemy, would you not forgive me? Would you not treat me as a friend and give me all the graces that you were able to give? If you want to gain the riches of grace and of glory, salute the Blessed Virgin, honor your good Mother." "He that honoreth his mother (The Blessed Virgin) is as one that layeth up a treasure." [2] So every day do give her at least fifty Hail Mary's--for each one is worth fifteen precious stones and they please Our Lady far more than all the riches of this world put together.
Absolutely true. That is why the devil declared war on the Rosary and devotion to our Lady. Where there is hatred of the Blessed Virgin Mary - there is the devil http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...-attack-as-sectarian-hate-crime-30424491.html http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3042018/posts http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-28248722
Yes my heart leaps when I see anyone praying the rosary. I noticed this morning a lovely old picture in the magazine Magnificat of a group of country people praying the rosary in the woods. Very touching. https://www.magnificat.net/English/index.asp It seems a lovely Marian Magazine
The Fifth Joyful Mystery The Finding of Jesus in the Temple. The meaning of Catholic Mysticism is the the exploration of the Mystery of Christ. God is not a pussy cat , we cannot think we own him or control him, we never hold Him on our laps.. It is at the very moment we think we do He is gonna jump up and bite us in the ass. I mention this because this is a Mystery that for me is the very least cat-in-the lap type of all the mysteries. Jesus looses His parents ,causing them great grief and pain. There seems no doubt He could have let them know He was planning to talk to the Elders, thus sparing them pain. But when quizzed His answer was more nor less along the lines of , 'I am God and I am God's Son and can do what I like without needing to reference to anyone'. Which of course is true, but being about His Fathers' buisness just opens a whole new new chest of cats to bite us in the ass, a cloud of new questions. Life is so like this; a relative dies or fall ills, a misfortune, so many questions that God does not seem to furnish an answer too. The only real answer is that God loves us and doing just whatever God should be doing going about His own buisness. all we need to know is He loves us and we do no not need to understand the ifs and whys , so long as He knows that is enough. If He felt like He should explain , He would do so. But in order to face unanswered questions like the Finding in the Temple we must have trust and in order to have trust we must have cultivated a loving deep relationship. If we do have this love then a loving silence is answer enough. Very often a loving silence is all we are ever going to get. I have found over the years while searching for answers is that with time some answers do come when I am a little wiser and have a little more sense. But often too, they do not. God in this way does indeed remind me of a cat. People do not in any strict sense own a cat. In this way they are really like dogs. Cats can take a notion and wonder off, for their own good reasons and go a wander round, sure they may rest a little on your lap , but never for good. Cats have their buisness to do and they are their own bosses. But to listen to some preachers , like say, Joel Osteen you might not think this was the case , he has God not only in his lap but in his pocket But cats and God are not like this. I hope one day God will give him a huge bite on the ass to help him see this. Him and all of us who hold God on our knees to pet Him as we are..all of us inclined to do at times. For getting bit on the ass by God is at least a sign He is still there and we haven't both of us fallen asleep , bored with each others company.
Which is all a fancy way of saying I know just about as little about the Finding in the Temple as I did as when I started as a kid. The only difference now is I am happier with not knowing and am more comfortable with the loving silences. Job 11:7-12 7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than the heavens--what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave--what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. 10 "If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? 11 Surely he recognizes deceitful men; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? 12 But a witless man can no more become wise than a wild donkey's colt can be born a man.
