Virgin Faithful, pray for us. Teach us to believe as you believed. Make our faith in God, in Christ, in the Church, always to be serene, courageous, strong, and generous.
~Pope John Paul II
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Halloween: Where it came from.
HALLOWEEN: ITS ORIGINS AND CELEBRATION
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The celebration of Halloween has dual origins. The first is in a pre-Christian Celtic feast associated with the Celtic New Year. The second is in the Christian celebration of All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). In the British Isles November 1st is called All Hallows, thus the evening before is All Hallows Eve.
The Celtic Feast
The ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany (NW France) celebrated their New Year's Day on what would be November 1st on our calendar. Prior to their conversion to Catholicism these peoples practiced a pagan religion controlled by a priest class known as Druids. The Druids are most famous for the stone monument of Stonehenge and other astronomical calendars that remain in their former domains.
The period prior to the New Year, as the year wound down, was a time to consider the mystery of human death. It was believed that on the last night of the year the lord of death, Samhain, allowed the souls of the dead to return to their homes. Souls that had died in sin, and in Celtic belief imprisoned in the bodies of animals, could be released through gifts to the lord of death, including human sacrifices. It was also thought that evil spirits, demons, ghosts, witches were also free to roam around this night and could be placated by a feast. They would also leave you alone if you dressed like them and thus appeared to be one of them. Families would also extinguish their hearth fires on this evening to be re-lit from a common New Year's bonfire built on the hilltops, which was meant to symbolize the driving away of darkness and evil with the coming of the new year. The jack-o-lantern as a means of scaring away evil and providing light may be a vestige of this custom. When the Romans conquered Gaul (France) and Britain (excluding Scotland and Ireland) in the century before and after Christ, the bloody elements of Druidic practice were banned.
The Christian Feasts of All Saints and All Souls
During the first three centuries of Christianity the Church frequently had to operate "underground" due to the persecutions of the Roman state against her. During these periods there were many martyrs who died for their faith in Jesus Christ. The most renowned of these were honored locally by the preservation of the relics (if available) and by the celebration of the anniversary of their death, as a feast in honor of their birth into eternal life. As time passed, neighboring dioceses would honor each others martyrs and even exchange relics for veneration, the way the first century Christians kept the clothes and handkerchiefs touched by St. Paul (Acts 19:12).
At the end of the third century and the beginning of the fourth the most vicious of all persecutions occurred, that of the emperor Diocletian (284-305). The martyrs became so many that in some places it was impossible to commemorate even the most significant of them. The need for a common feast of all martyrs was becoming evident. This common feast became a reality in some places, but on various dates, as early as the middle of the fourth century. As far as Roman practice goes it is known that on 13 May 609 or 610, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the ancient Roman Pantheon as a temple of the Blessed Virgin and All Martyrs. Beginning with Gregory III (731-741) the celebration of a feast of All Saints was commemorated at St. Peters on November 1. Gregory IV (827-844) extended this feast to the entire Church.
The feast of All Souls developed more gradually, first with a monastic celebration of their departed on October 1st. This seems to have occurred first in Germany in the 900s. The patronage of St. Odilio of Cluny extended this feast to other monasteries, first of his own Order, then to Benedictines and others, from where it spread to dioceses, including Rome. It was only in 1915 that the special privilege of three Masses was granted to all priests by Pope Benedict XV.
Halloween during Christian Times
The conversion of Celtic peoples to Christianity did not dampen their enthusiasm for the pre-Christian year-end custom of feasts, bonfires, and masks, essentially new year's eve costume parties. The proximity to the developing Christian feasts of All Saints and All Souls resulted in an attempt to move the celebration to the evening before All Souls, when children would go door to door receiving treats for a promise of prayer for the dead of the household. This attempt to associate the Celtic remembrance of the dead with the Christian memorial ultimately failed and the celebration remained a year-end custom (by the old Celtic calendar), though Halloween remains primarily a children's feast.
With the massive emigration of Irish in the last century the All Hallows Eve customs of costumes, jack-o-lanterns and trick or treating, were transported to North America. Scary costumes remain the historical norm for Halloween, though the advent of more sinister and violent times has encouraged many parents to take a gentler approach. Today many families, and even parishes, hold group celebrations, often with costumes of the saints, the poor souls or famous Catholics (such as the Pope, Mother Teresa or the like) and other elements which re-enforce the Christian side of Halloween's origins.
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Electronic Copyright © 1998 EWTN
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The celebration of Halloween has dual origins. The first is in a pre-Christian Celtic feast associated with the Celtic New Year. The second is in the Christian celebration of All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). In the British Isles November 1st is called All Hallows, thus the evening before is All Hallows Eve.
The Celtic Feast
The ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany (NW France) celebrated their New Year's Day on what would be November 1st on our calendar. Prior to their conversion to Catholicism these peoples practiced a pagan religion controlled by a priest class known as Druids. The Druids are most famous for the stone monument of Stonehenge and other astronomical calendars that remain in their former domains.
The period prior to the New Year, as the year wound down, was a time to consider the mystery of human death. It was believed that on the last night of the year the lord of death, Samhain, allowed the souls of the dead to return to their homes. Souls that had died in sin, and in Celtic belief imprisoned in the bodies of animals, could be released through gifts to the lord of death, including human sacrifices. It was also thought that evil spirits, demons, ghosts, witches were also free to roam around this night and could be placated by a feast. They would also leave you alone if you dressed like them and thus appeared to be one of them. Families would also extinguish their hearth fires on this evening to be re-lit from a common New Year's bonfire built on the hilltops, which was meant to symbolize the driving away of darkness and evil with the coming of the new year. The jack-o-lantern as a means of scaring away evil and providing light may be a vestige of this custom. When the Romans conquered Gaul (France) and Britain (excluding Scotland and Ireland) in the century before and after Christ, the bloody elements of Druidic practice were banned.
The Christian Feasts of All Saints and All Souls
During the first three centuries of Christianity the Church frequently had to operate "underground" due to the persecutions of the Roman state against her. During these periods there were many martyrs who died for their faith in Jesus Christ. The most renowned of these were honored locally by the preservation of the relics (if available) and by the celebration of the anniversary of their death, as a feast in honor of their birth into eternal life. As time passed, neighboring dioceses would honor each others martyrs and even exchange relics for veneration, the way the first century Christians kept the clothes and handkerchiefs touched by St. Paul (Acts 19:12).
At the end of the third century and the beginning of the fourth the most vicious of all persecutions occurred, that of the emperor Diocletian (284-305). The martyrs became so many that in some places it was impossible to commemorate even the most significant of them. The need for a common feast of all martyrs was becoming evident. This common feast became a reality in some places, but on various dates, as early as the middle of the fourth century. As far as Roman practice goes it is known that on 13 May 609 or 610, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the ancient Roman Pantheon as a temple of the Blessed Virgin and All Martyrs. Beginning with Gregory III (731-741) the celebration of a feast of All Saints was commemorated at St. Peters on November 1. Gregory IV (827-844) extended this feast to the entire Church.
The feast of All Souls developed more gradually, first with a monastic celebration of their departed on October 1st. This seems to have occurred first in Germany in the 900s. The patronage of St. Odilio of Cluny extended this feast to other monasteries, first of his own Order, then to Benedictines and others, from where it spread to dioceses, including Rome. It was only in 1915 that the special privilege of three Masses was granted to all priests by Pope Benedict XV.
Halloween during Christian Times
The conversion of Celtic peoples to Christianity did not dampen their enthusiasm for the pre-Christian year-end custom of feasts, bonfires, and masks, essentially new year's eve costume parties. The proximity to the developing Christian feasts of All Saints and All Souls resulted in an attempt to move the celebration to the evening before All Souls, when children would go door to door receiving treats for a promise of prayer for the dead of the household. This attempt to associate the Celtic remembrance of the dead with the Christian memorial ultimately failed and the celebration remained a year-end custom (by the old Celtic calendar), though Halloween remains primarily a children's feast.
With the massive emigration of Irish in the last century the All Hallows Eve customs of costumes, jack-o-lanterns and trick or treating, were transported to North America. Scary costumes remain the historical norm for Halloween, though the advent of more sinister and violent times has encouraged many parents to take a gentler approach. Today many families, and even parishes, hold group celebrations, often with costumes of the saints, the poor souls or famous Catholics (such as the Pope, Mother Teresa or the like) and other elements which re-enforce the Christian side of Halloween's origins.
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Electronic Copyright © 1998 EWTN
Friday, October 22, 2010
Every Morning I wake up
Obviously we all wonder how the day will go. We have plans, obligations, people to meet, help, and responsibilities to attend to on a daily basis. I don't think there is one person who could tell me they don't have anything to do on any given day....the folks I know anyway.
Every day brings new opportunities to make decisions that affect not just us, but those around us. Everyday, we are responsible for something, someone, somewhere.
You know the lesson we learned in the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life"? How George Bailey the star character is defeated financially and wants to do away with himself. At the bridge, crying, his suicide is sidelined by an angel, Clarence who is looking to earn his wings. Clarence shows George what life in Bedford Falls would be like without him. The people, the places all across the community were very different and the contributions that George made, without him even knowing how deep and far reaching they were, made huge differences in the lives of his loved ones. He realized how important he was to his community and wanted to go back and give it another try. Learning what he did, made him want to live another day for another chance.
This is a movie, but with real life details that can't be disregarded. One person does change lives, affect events, and make differences. Our very existence in the world means something to someone somewhere.
That movie made me think about my own presence in the world. Who have I helped, hurt, or affected in some way. How can I be more aware of how I affect others around me. Sometimes, obviously, we can not know who is watching, listening, and observing us.
As a Catholic Christian, much of our evangelization is by example. How does one live out their faith? In their prayer life, during worship times at Mass, as a parent, friend, as neighbors, how do we touch someone. Are they a better person for knowing us, have we shed hope and joy, love and the Word of God those around us.
Every morning I wake up asking God to help me be a better person, wife, and mother, so that those around me will be a little closer to Him and His son, Jesus.
Every day brings new opportunities to make decisions that affect not just us, but those around us. Everyday, we are responsible for something, someone, somewhere.
You know the lesson we learned in the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life"? How George Bailey the star character is defeated financially and wants to do away with himself. At the bridge, crying, his suicide is sidelined by an angel, Clarence who is looking to earn his wings. Clarence shows George what life in Bedford Falls would be like without him. The people, the places all across the community were very different and the contributions that George made, without him even knowing how deep and far reaching they were, made huge differences in the lives of his loved ones. He realized how important he was to his community and wanted to go back and give it another try. Learning what he did, made him want to live another day for another chance.
This is a movie, but with real life details that can't be disregarded. One person does change lives, affect events, and make differences. Our very existence in the world means something to someone somewhere.
That movie made me think about my own presence in the world. Who have I helped, hurt, or affected in some way. How can I be more aware of how I affect others around me. Sometimes, obviously, we can not know who is watching, listening, and observing us.
As a Catholic Christian, much of our evangelization is by example. How does one live out their faith? In their prayer life, during worship times at Mass, as a parent, friend, as neighbors, how do we touch someone. Are they a better person for knowing us, have we shed hope and joy, love and the Word of God those around us.
Every morning I wake up asking God to help me be a better person, wife, and mother, so that those around me will be a little closer to Him and His son, Jesus.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
A little something about SIN
During my studies in the Master Catechist program over the past few years, I took a course called, Conscience. One of the weekly discussion questions was: How would you define sin for your students or in a conversation with another Catholic?
My answer: Sin is the human failing or weakness to uphold what is right, good, and responsible. Sin is a choice that can be made with or without emotional involvement, but may have a severe emotional aftermath. Sin is a wall that is continually built up between the individual and God that can only be broken down by forgiveness. Sin is the opposite of virtue. Sin without relief by forgiveness and mercy is terminal for the individual’s soul. Sin can be categorized in degrees of intensity, but sin is still bad and adverse.
Sin does not involve just one person, it affects those around the person and has even farther ramifications, it is almost never an isolated situation. Sin hurts society and left unaided builds and proliferates making sin easier and easier to both commit and excuse.
When we discussed sin in our homeschool catechesis studies, I took to the chalkboard in our kitchen and made a dot in the middle of the board and described sin like throwing a pebble in a pond and watching the ripples grow away from it. I asked the girls to tell me a sin to get started. They said, doing something wrong and telling a lie about it. We would make up a scenario where one of the girls would lie about taking something or not doing something when confronted. The deed was the dot, and telling the first lie was the first ripple around the dot. Then the cover up begins and another lie is told to someone else, the second ripple forms, then their conscience starts to nag at them and they get moody and hurt someone’s feelings, the third ripple, then the person who got their feelings hurt gets mad at someone else, the fourth ripple, this stage can go on. But then the lie gets discovered which disappoints us and we lose trust in the person, the family is hurt, and the cycle continues. One bad deed ends up affecting more people than just the one or two directly involved.
Unfortunately, in the present time, the concept of right and wrong has given way to having individual rights of freedom to do as we please. “If it doesn’t hurt someone else, just do it” I’ve heard some say. Loud music with the bass on all the way in a car in traffic, neighbors with noisy parties late into the night, spreading gossip/judgments about others, inappropriate attire at the grocery store, just to name a few ‘innocent’ rights that really do affect others in adverse ways. Our world is getting smaller and smaller with the internet proliferating everywhere, mobile phones in everyone’s hands, and statuses changing by the minute on social networks. Sin, then, must be making new strides in new ways that many of us cannot control much less at times realize.
Confession is not utilized as it should, we should be packing the Church every Saturday with as many times as we have infringed on our neighbor, hurt someone, said something wrongful or hurtful. We do these things without even realizing we have sinned. Here is a helpful was to evaluate how we are doing each day:
General Examination of Conscience
The general examination of conscience is a simple form of prayer directed toward developing a spiritual sensitivity to the special ways God approaches, invites and calls.
It may be done at the end of each day, though it can be done more frequently as the person feels drawn. The more frequently performed, however, the more natural it becomes and more a way of growing into an ever-closer relationship with God. It can take anywhere between five and fifteen minutes, although it does not matter how long one spends. The important thing is to open oneself to recognizing and responding to God’s movement in your heart.
St. Ignatius' General Examination of Conscience
1. Give thanks to God our Lord for the favors received
2. Ask for the grace to know your sins
3. Examine how you have lived this day
4. Ask forgiveness for any faults
5. Resolve to amend with the grace of God
Sin, we commit one at least every day and we need forgiveness. Confession is a beautiful sacrament and opportunity to see our sins as they are and start over with a clean slate. Consider taking a trip to your local Catholic Church this weekend, or call the office and make a special appointment to talk with a priest.
My answer: Sin is the human failing or weakness to uphold what is right, good, and responsible. Sin is a choice that can be made with or without emotional involvement, but may have a severe emotional aftermath. Sin is a wall that is continually built up between the individual and God that can only be broken down by forgiveness. Sin is the opposite of virtue. Sin without relief by forgiveness and mercy is terminal for the individual’s soul. Sin can be categorized in degrees of intensity, but sin is still bad and adverse.
Sin does not involve just one person, it affects those around the person and has even farther ramifications, it is almost never an isolated situation. Sin hurts society and left unaided builds and proliferates making sin easier and easier to both commit and excuse.
When we discussed sin in our homeschool catechesis studies, I took to the chalkboard in our kitchen and made a dot in the middle of the board and described sin like throwing a pebble in a pond and watching the ripples grow away from it. I asked the girls to tell me a sin to get started. They said, doing something wrong and telling a lie about it. We would make up a scenario where one of the girls would lie about taking something or not doing something when confronted. The deed was the dot, and telling the first lie was the first ripple around the dot. Then the cover up begins and another lie is told to someone else, the second ripple forms, then their conscience starts to nag at them and they get moody and hurt someone’s feelings, the third ripple, then the person who got their feelings hurt gets mad at someone else, the fourth ripple, this stage can go on. But then the lie gets discovered which disappoints us and we lose trust in the person, the family is hurt, and the cycle continues. One bad deed ends up affecting more people than just the one or two directly involved.
Unfortunately, in the present time, the concept of right and wrong has given way to having individual rights of freedom to do as we please. “If it doesn’t hurt someone else, just do it” I’ve heard some say. Loud music with the bass on all the way in a car in traffic, neighbors with noisy parties late into the night, spreading gossip/judgments about others, inappropriate attire at the grocery store, just to name a few ‘innocent’ rights that really do affect others in adverse ways. Our world is getting smaller and smaller with the internet proliferating everywhere, mobile phones in everyone’s hands, and statuses changing by the minute on social networks. Sin, then, must be making new strides in new ways that many of us cannot control much less at times realize.
Confession is not utilized as it should, we should be packing the Church every Saturday with as many times as we have infringed on our neighbor, hurt someone, said something wrongful or hurtful. We do these things without even realizing we have sinned. Here is a helpful was to evaluate how we are doing each day:
General Examination of Conscience
The general examination of conscience is a simple form of prayer directed toward developing a spiritual sensitivity to the special ways God approaches, invites and calls.
It may be done at the end of each day, though it can be done more frequently as the person feels drawn. The more frequently performed, however, the more natural it becomes and more a way of growing into an ever-closer relationship with God. It can take anywhere between five and fifteen minutes, although it does not matter how long one spends. The important thing is to open oneself to recognizing and responding to God’s movement in your heart.
St. Ignatius' General Examination of Conscience
1. Give thanks to God our Lord for the favors received
2. Ask for the grace to know your sins
3. Examine how you have lived this day
4. Ask forgiveness for any faults
5. Resolve to amend with the grace of God
Sin, we commit one at least every day and we need forgiveness. Confession is a beautiful sacrament and opportunity to see our sins as they are and start over with a clean slate. Consider taking a trip to your local Catholic Church this weekend, or call the office and make a special appointment to talk with a priest.
Friday, October 15, 2010
The leavening of thieves
Today's reading cautions us to beware of the leaven of the hypocrisy - of the Pharisees! In the Webster's New Dictionary, here on my desk, leaven/leavening not only describes the carbon dioxide gases that expand in bread dough, but also, "Any influence spreading through something and working on it to bring about a gradual change; tempering quality or thing." Hm, gossip, misinformation, lies, as well as the truth, facts, and accurate observations travel pretty quickly around a community. What Jesus is saying here is for all the teachers, or disciples, to know the difference between truth and lies and take care of that which travels throughout the people.
Jesus goes on to say that
The great hypocrisies of the ancient Church and throughout history have caused so many to lose faith, hope, and the charity that is in Jesus Christ and our Triune God with misinformation, lies, and judgements that did not come from God. These tales spread throughout the communities and stayed on for centuries, some. Jesus saw it coming and wanted the disciples to have their eyes wide open so that they could possibly head off some and do damage control when needed.
Why? Because as the Gospel continues, we are far more valuable to God, each and every one of us, to be lost to tales of untruths and hypocrisy. God loves us, knows all about us from top to bottom. He has held every one of us in His arms, counting every hair on our heads! We are His children, His chosen ones.
We are precious in His eyes and He wants us with Him not with the one that has "the power to cast us into Gehenna"!
So, beware of he who will take this all away and send of far from our Heavenly Father!!
Jesus goes on to say that
"There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops."Boy is that ever true!! We have all heard that old adage, "What comes around, goes around". We just can not keep a secret!! This Gospel is so full of information for us in modern times!
The great hypocrisies of the ancient Church and throughout history have caused so many to lose faith, hope, and the charity that is in Jesus Christ and our Triune God with misinformation, lies, and judgements that did not come from God. These tales spread throughout the communities and stayed on for centuries, some. Jesus saw it coming and wanted the disciples to have their eyes wide open so that they could possibly head off some and do damage control when needed.
Why? Because as the Gospel continues, we are far more valuable to God, each and every one of us, to be lost to tales of untruths and hypocrisy. God loves us, knows all about us from top to bottom. He has held every one of us in His arms, counting every hair on our heads! We are His children, His chosen ones.
We are precious in His eyes and He wants us with Him not with the one that has "the power to cast us into Gehenna"!
So, beware of he who will take this all away and send of far from our Heavenly Father!!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The Purpose of Life in Three Little Words
How many times have you heard someone ask the question: "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?" "Why am I here?" Too many to count, right?
It seems too, that it is not a simple answer they want, but a large, extravagantly specific answer. They want answers directly from the source; definitive and obvious to their quest for purpose. Not very many get these answers handed to them on a memo pad like that.
However, there IS a simple purpose of life answer in three short words: know, love, and serve God. That's it, no real splash, just three perfectly small words. No, I am not being sarcastic, facetious, or otherwise silly, just to the point. These three words are plain and simple, but for each and every one of us, they represent something very individual, let me show you.
The first, to KNOW God is to acknowledge Him and everything that He is to you. Not what someone else thinks He is or what you want Him to be, but who He is to you. How you relate to Him, as God, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, etc. this is how you begin to know Him. God is all knowing, almighty, and all places, but He is also special to you as an individual.
Do you love Him, trust Him, and depend on His graces to get you through the tough spots in life? To KNOW Him also means to let others know you know Him, don't keep God to yourself; share your knowledge of His presence in your life. “He who hears you, hears me.” (Luke 10:16)
The second, to LOVE God. Our Heavenly Father doesn't want you to LOVE him out of fear of punishment; He wants you to love Him for who He is and what He has done for you in your life. God wants us to come to him with abandon; no strings attached, solely to be His child, His chosen people. He wants us to have faith and hope in Him, to trust Him in all things. God wants us to be with Him for eternity, but He waits for us to make the first move. He loves us and we must learn to LOVE Him.
And finally, to SERVE God means to take the KNOWLEDGE and LOVE we have for Him and take it to the streets! Let others know about His Word in the Sacred Scriptures, His love by showing love to others (especially our enemies) and do for those of the least of our brothers in serving the poor and lonely. God wants us to find ways to serve His creation as stewards. We need to be Christ in the world, teaching prayer, sacrifice, and charity to our neighbors.
So this doesn't help with the specific answers on the purpose of life? Well, it's amazing how when someone turns to God in prayer, a relationship begins to develop, and things begin to happen. In trusting God more and more, He provides ways to see what is otherwise cloudy in our hearts. God has an amazingly perfect way of parenting us through life so that we are the ones doing most of the work, but finding such peace and confidence along with way.
The three little words, KNOW, LOVE, and SERVE God will show you what you need to know for your purpose in life. Just start with the first one and the rest will follow.
Blessings!
It seems too, that it is not a simple answer they want, but a large, extravagantly specific answer. They want answers directly from the source; definitive and obvious to their quest for purpose. Not very many get these answers handed to them on a memo pad like that.
However, there IS a simple purpose of life answer in three short words: know, love, and serve God. That's it, no real splash, just three perfectly small words. No, I am not being sarcastic, facetious, or otherwise silly, just to the point. These three words are plain and simple, but for each and every one of us, they represent something very individual, let me show you.
The first, to KNOW God is to acknowledge Him and everything that He is to you. Not what someone else thinks He is or what you want Him to be, but who He is to you. How you relate to Him, as God, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, etc. this is how you begin to know Him. God is all knowing, almighty, and all places, but He is also special to you as an individual.
Do you love Him, trust Him, and depend on His graces to get you through the tough spots in life? To KNOW Him also means to let others know you know Him, don't keep God to yourself; share your knowledge of His presence in your life. “He who hears you, hears me.” (Luke 10:16)
The second, to LOVE God. Our Heavenly Father doesn't want you to LOVE him out of fear of punishment; He wants you to love Him for who He is and what He has done for you in your life. God wants us to come to him with abandon; no strings attached, solely to be His child, His chosen people. He wants us to have faith and hope in Him, to trust Him in all things. God wants us to be with Him for eternity, but He waits for us to make the first move. He loves us and we must learn to LOVE Him.
And finally, to SERVE God means to take the KNOWLEDGE and LOVE we have for Him and take it to the streets! Let others know about His Word in the Sacred Scriptures, His love by showing love to others (especially our enemies) and do for those of the least of our brothers in serving the poor and lonely. God wants us to find ways to serve His creation as stewards. We need to be Christ in the world, teaching prayer, sacrifice, and charity to our neighbors.
So this doesn't help with the specific answers on the purpose of life? Well, it's amazing how when someone turns to God in prayer, a relationship begins to develop, and things begin to happen. In trusting God more and more, He provides ways to see what is otherwise cloudy in our hearts. God has an amazingly perfect way of parenting us through life so that we are the ones doing most of the work, but finding such peace and confidence along with way.
The three little words, KNOW, LOVE, and SERVE God will show you what you need to know for your purpose in life. Just start with the first one and the rest will follow.
Blessings!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Families Teach Meaning of Life, Says Pontiff
Stresses Divine Love Transmitted Through Marriage
PALERMO, Italy, OCT. 4, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The family is fundamental because it is the first place where people learn the meaning of life, Benedict XVI is affirming.
The Pope made this reflection Sunday in an address to families and youth gathered in Palermo's Piazza Politeama. The Pontiff spent Sunday on the Italian island of Sicily, visiting the faithful gathered there for a regional meeting of families and youth.
"The relationship between parents and children -- you know -- is fundamental," the Holy Father affirmed.
He noted that "it is the torch of faith that is passed on from generation to generation, this flame that is also present in the rite of baptism, when the priest says: 'Receive the light of Christ … the paschal sign … the flame that you must always keep alive.'"
"The family is fundamental because it is the place where there germinates in the human soul the first perception of the meaning of life," Benedict XVI affirmed.
"This perception grows in the relationship with the mother and with the father, who are not the owners of the life of the children but the first collaborators with God in the transmission of life and the faith," he added.
Blessed Chiara Badano
The Pope observed that "this occurred in an exemplary and extraordinary way in the family of Blessed Chiara Badano," an Italian youth who died in 1990 before her 19th birthday and was beatified Sept. 25.
"I invite you to get to know her," the Pontiff said. "Her life was brief but it is a stupendous message."
"There were two years, her last, that were also full of suffering, but always in love and in light, a light that shown all about her and came from inside: from her heart full of God!" he noted.
The Holy Father observed: "Humanly speaking, she was without hope, but she spread love, serenity, peace and faith.
"Evidently it was a grace from God, but this grace was also prepared and accompanied by human cooperation: Chiara's own cooperation, certainly, but also the cooperation of her parents and her friends. But first of all it was through the cooperation of her parents, the family."
"We need fertile soil in which to put down our roots," he noted, "a soil that is rich in nourishing elements that make the person grow."
"These are above all love and faith, the knowledge of the true face of God," Benedict XVI added.
Badano's parents were at her beatification ceremony and met personally with the Holy Father after last Wednesday's general audience. They reported afterward that the Pope expressed his gratitude to them.
Power of marriage
The Bishop of Rome went on to explain to the youth of Palermo that "the family is the 'little Church' because it transmits God, it transmits the love of Christ, by the power of the sacrament of matrimony."
"The divine love that united man and woman, and that made them parents, is able to make the seed of faith -- which is the light of life's profound meaning -- grow in the hearts of their children," the Pope said.
He added that "the family, to be a 'little Church,' must be well integrated into the 'big Church,' that is, into the family of God that Christ came to form."
"The greatest gift that we have received is to be Church," the Pontiff affirmed, "to be in Christ the sign and instrument of unity, of peace, and true freedom."
He continued: "No one can take this joy from us! No one can take this strength from us! Courage, dear young people and families of Sicily! Be saints!"
The Holy Father urged the tens of thousands of youth in the audience: "Do not be afraid to oppose evil! Together you will be like a forest that grows, perhaps silently, but capable of bearing fruit, of bringing life and of renewing your land in a profound way!
"Do not cede to the suggestions of the mafia, which is a road of death, incompatible with the Gospel, as your bishops have said many times!"
At the conclusion of this meeting with families and youth, Benedict XVI went to the airport for his return flight to Rome.
This is his fourth pastoral visit within Italy this year. His other visits included: Turin (May), Sulmona (July), and Carpineto Romano (September).
PALERMO, Italy, OCT. 4, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The family is fundamental because it is the first place where people learn the meaning of life, Benedict XVI is affirming.
The Pope made this reflection Sunday in an address to families and youth gathered in Palermo's Piazza Politeama. The Pontiff spent Sunday on the Italian island of Sicily, visiting the faithful gathered there for a regional meeting of families and youth.
"The relationship between parents and children -- you know -- is fundamental," the Holy Father affirmed.
He noted that "it is the torch of faith that is passed on from generation to generation, this flame that is also present in the rite of baptism, when the priest says: 'Receive the light of Christ … the paschal sign … the flame that you must always keep alive.'"
"The family is fundamental because it is the place where there germinates in the human soul the first perception of the meaning of life," Benedict XVI affirmed.
"This perception grows in the relationship with the mother and with the father, who are not the owners of the life of the children but the first collaborators with God in the transmission of life and the faith," he added.
Blessed Chiara Badano
The Pope observed that "this occurred in an exemplary and extraordinary way in the family of Blessed Chiara Badano," an Italian youth who died in 1990 before her 19th birthday and was beatified Sept. 25.
"I invite you to get to know her," the Pontiff said. "Her life was brief but it is a stupendous message."
"There were two years, her last, that were also full of suffering, but always in love and in light, a light that shown all about her and came from inside: from her heart full of God!" he noted.
The Holy Father observed: "Humanly speaking, she was without hope, but she spread love, serenity, peace and faith.
"Evidently it was a grace from God, but this grace was also prepared and accompanied by human cooperation: Chiara's own cooperation, certainly, but also the cooperation of her parents and her friends. But first of all it was through the cooperation of her parents, the family."
"We need fertile soil in which to put down our roots," he noted, "a soil that is rich in nourishing elements that make the person grow."
"These are above all love and faith, the knowledge of the true face of God," Benedict XVI added.
Badano's parents were at her beatification ceremony and met personally with the Holy Father after last Wednesday's general audience. They reported afterward that the Pope expressed his gratitude to them.
Power of marriage
The Bishop of Rome went on to explain to the youth of Palermo that "the family is the 'little Church' because it transmits God, it transmits the love of Christ, by the power of the sacrament of matrimony."
"The divine love that united man and woman, and that made them parents, is able to make the seed of faith -- which is the light of life's profound meaning -- grow in the hearts of their children," the Pope said.
He added that "the family, to be a 'little Church,' must be well integrated into the 'big Church,' that is, into the family of God that Christ came to form."
"The greatest gift that we have received is to be Church," the Pontiff affirmed, "to be in Christ the sign and instrument of unity, of peace, and true freedom."
He continued: "No one can take this joy from us! No one can take this strength from us! Courage, dear young people and families of Sicily! Be saints!"
The Holy Father urged the tens of thousands of youth in the audience: "Do not be afraid to oppose evil! Together you will be like a forest that grows, perhaps silently, but capable of bearing fruit, of bringing life and of renewing your land in a profound way!
"Do not cede to the suggestions of the mafia, which is a road of death, incompatible with the Gospel, as your bishops have said many times!"
At the conclusion of this meeting with families and youth, Benedict XVI went to the airport for his return flight to Rome.
This is his fourth pastoral visit within Italy this year. His other visits included: Turin (May), Sulmona (July), and Carpineto Romano (September).
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Catholic Mothers On Line has a new link
If by chance you haven't checked the "Catholic Mothers Online" site recently, your code is probably not the updated one. Please, if you are a Catholic mom online, get updated and/or get added!
Blessings!
Ebeth
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