This blog is based on references in the Bible to fear. God wills that we “BE NOT AFRAID”. Many theologians state that the eighth deadly sin is fear. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. By “the power of the Holy Spirit” we can be witnesses and “communicators” of a new and redeemed humanity “even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7 8). This blog is dedicated to Mary the Mother of God.
St. George Universal Man Plan
Fight your Dragons
Traditional Latin Mass
Total Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Introit of this
Mass reminds us of the temporal birth of Our Savior in Bethlehem. A light shall
shine upon us to-day, for Our Lord is born to us, and He shall be called
Wonderful, God, the Prince of peace, the Father of the world to come, of Whose
reign there shall be no end” (Is. ix. 6). “The Lord hath reigned, He is clothed
with beauty; the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded Himself” (Ps.
xcii. 1).
Prayer.
Grant, we beseech Thee,
Almighty God, that we who are filled with the new light of Thy incarnate Word,
may show forth in our works what faith displays in our mind. Through the same
Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen
EPISTLE. Titus iii. 4-7.
Dearly Beloved: The
goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared: not by the works of justice
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the labor of
regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost, Whom He hath poured forth upon
us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior: that, being justified by His
grace, we may be heirs, according to hope, of life everlasting in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
What does St. Paul
teach us in this epistle?
He teaches us what God
has done and is doing that we may have eternal life, and why He does it. Not by
our own merits, but according to His mercy, He has saved us by holy Baptism,
for we were conceived and born in sin. Let us show by our lives that we are
renewed by the Holy Ghost, and animated by the hope of life everlasting.
Why did not God have
mercy on the fallen angels?
This is a mystery which
should heighten our love to God, but should also fill us with fear and
trembling, for if we do not use the goodness and kindness of God to our
advantage our punishment will be severer than that of the fallen angels.
GOSPEL. Luke ii. 15-20.
At that time the shepherds said one to
another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass,
which the Lord hath showed to us. And they came with haste: and they found Mary
and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. And seeing, they understood of
the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard
wondered: and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. But Mary
kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it
was told unto them.
How could the shepherds know that the
new-born child was the Savior of the world?
The angels had given them a sign: “You
shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger,” and
seeing, they believed, fell on their knees, and adored the child. They then
praised God for the graces they had received, and made known what they had
heard and seen to others.
What do we learn from Mary in this gospel?
That we should ponder the divine truths in
our hearts, and, by this heavenly nourishment, strengthen and preserve our
souls in spiritual life.
CHRISTIAN, for the love of Christ, and for thine own
salvation, occupy thy mind, during this holy night, with holy thoughts and
aspirations, in order to make thyself worthy of all the graces which Christ
will grant thee on His coming. Consider how St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin
Mary, in obedience to the edict of Caesar, and in perfect submission to the
will of God, went to Bethlehem, and, finding no room there, at last entered an
open stable, where they were content to stay. Does not the Son of God deserve
all our love when He thus humbled Himself for us? Tender Him your heart as an
abode, in the following
Prayer of the Church.
O God, Who givest us joy by the annual expectation
of our redemption, grant that we may securely see Him coming as our Judge Whom
we joyfully receive as our Redeemer, Our LordJesus
Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee forever. Amen.
Nativity of our Lord, or Christmas
CHRISTMAS
brings before us the happy day on which, in the fulness of time, Jesus
Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, was born of the ever blessed and immaculate
Virgin Mary, in the stable at Bethlehem.
Why does every priest say three Masses on this day?
1. To
give thanks to the ever-blessed Trinity, Who cooperated in the incarnation of
Jesus Christ.
2. To
honor the three-fold birth of Jesus Christ: His eternal birth in the bosom of
His heavenly Father; His temporal birth of His virgin Mother; and His spiritual
birth in our hearts, which He occupies by His grace.
Why is the first Mass
celebrated at midnight?
The first
Mass is said at midnight to remind us that before Jesus Christ was born the
world was without the true light, and lay in darkness and the shadow of death.
Again, it was in the night that He was born; and both His temporal and eternal
births are mysterious truths, incomprehensible to our understanding.
Why is the second Mass
celebrated at daybreak?
The
second Mass is celebrated at daybreak because the birth of Christ brought light
to the gentiles, whose salvation was then nigh, and because, according to
tradition, it was about that hour that the shepherds came to see and adore the
new-born Savior.
Why is the third Mass
celebrated at daylight?
The third
Mass is said at daylight because Christ dispersed the darkness of ignorance,
and appeared as the Light of the world (John i. 9; Is. Ix. 8).
OF THE FIRST MASS.
The
Introit of the first Mass reminds us of the eternal birth of Jesus Christ: “The
Lord hath said to Me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee” (Ps. ii.
7); “Why have the gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?” (Ps. ii.
1.)
Prayer.
O God,
Who hast made this holy night shine forth with the brightness of the true
Light, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may enjoy His happiness in heaven, the
mystery of Whose light we have known upon earth. Amen.
EPISTLE. Titus ii. 11-15.
Dearly
Beloved: The grace of God our Savior hath appeared to all men, instructing us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and
justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the
glory of the great God and Our Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us,
that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to Himself a
people acceptable, a pursuer of good works. These things speak, and exhort, in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
How did the grace of God
appear to all men?
Through
the incarnation of His Son, Whom, in His infinite love, He made like unto us,
to be our brother and teacher, that we might become children and heirs of God,
and co-heirs with Jesus Christ.
What does Christ teach us by
His incarnation?
That we
should abandon impiety, infidelity, injustice, and worldly desires, and love
God, and our neighbor, though he be our enemy, for God’s sake. The incarnation
also shows the dignity and greatness of man, for as God gave His only Son for
our redemption, we thereby perceive the worth of man in the sight of God.
What does the Apostle mean
by worldly desires?
He means
by them carnal and sensual desires and lusts, such as impurity, drunkenness,
avarice, and such like. Christ teaches us to renounce these by the poverty,
patience, fasting, and innumerable privations of His life.
How do we live soberly,
justly, and piously?
We live
soberly when we use temporal goods according to the intention and will of God,
and to supply our necessary wants; we live justly when we desire for, and
render to, our neighbor what, by the example of Christ, we are bound to; we
live piously when we give God His due honor, love Him above all things, and
love all men, in Christ, for His sake.
GOSPEL. Luke ii. 1-14.
At
that time there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world
should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus the governor of
Syria: And all went to be enrolled, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also
went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of
David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child. And it
came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she
should be delivered. And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him
up in swaddling-clothes, and laid Him in a manger: because there was no room
for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and
keeping the night-watches over their flock. And behold an angel of the Lord
stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they
feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them: Fear not: for behold I
bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people; for this
day is born to you a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And
this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant wrapped in
swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the
highest: and on earth peace to men of good will.
Why did Caesar Augustus publish a decree that all
the Roman subjects should be enrolled?
The immediate reasons ofCaesar
are not known to us, but the result shows that it was done by the special providence
of God, for Joseph and Mary were thus obliged to go to Bethlehem, and so the
prophecy of Micheas, that the Messias should be born there, was fulfilled.
Why is Christ called the first-born Son of Mary?
Because she had no child before Him; and, moreover,
having no other after Him, He is also the only begotten of His blessed Mother,
as He was the first-born and only begotten of His heavenly Father (Heb. i. 6).
Why was the Savior of the world born in a stable?
To show, from His very birth, that He had not come
to establish a splendid worldly kingdom, but a kingdom of grace, justice, and
peace, and to lead us to imitate His example of poverty, humility, and contempt
of the world.
Why was the birth of Christ first announced to the
poor shepherds, and not to the high priests?
To show that God does not distribute His graces
through respect for persons: He exalts the humble and humbles those who exalt
themselves. The angels for joy praised God, and sang, “Glory to God in the
highest,” that is, “Praise and thanks to our heavenly Father for sending His
only-begotten Son for the salvation of men, “and on earth peace” that is,
prosperity, happiness, salvation, and blessing “to men of good will.” Learn
from the angels to be thankful for all the benefits which God bestows upon thy
neighbor, and then you also will partake of them. In particular, thank God
to-day for the inexpressible benefit of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
