Presentation of Mary

Today is the prelude of the magnificence of God and the first proclamation of salvation; for in the temple of God, the Virgin appears in all her beauty and announces the coming of Christ. Therefore let us cry to her with all our strength: "Hail, fulfillment of the plan of redemption of our Creator!"

The temple of the most pure of the Savior, the bridal chamber most precious, the Virgin, Sacred Treasury of the glory of God, enters today into the Temple of the Lord, bringing with her the grace of the Holy Spirit; therefore the angels of God sing to her: "This is the heavenly tabernacle!"

Troparion and Kontakion for the Feast

Byzantine Liturgy

This feast was celebrated in the East in the early centuries of the Church. It was the custom of parents to take their children to the Temple in Jerusalem to be educated. This custom was also found in the early Medieval times. Sometimes the children would stay on and become monks or nuns, but more often they would return home to marry.

We heard a sermon recently which rather ties in with today's Feast. We know that in the Old Testament God wanted the first fruits for Himself - the first born son, the first harvest, etc. Does God not still expect the same today? What was given to God had to be the best. It would not be strange at all if God was calling at least one member of every family to consecrate themselves totally to Himself either as a priest or as a religious. It need not be the oldest, the first-born. But we should not be surprised at all if the person called was the most talented! Families should ask God for this grace! So let us be generous and pray that God will not only bless families with priestly and religious vocations, but that those called will hear and generously respond!

Mary's silence enables the Church to appreciate better the value of silence. Mary's silence is not only moderation in speech. It is especially a wise capacity for remembering and embracing in a single gaze of faith the mystery of the Word made man and the events of His earthly life. Mary passes on to believers this silence as acceptance of the Word, this ability to meditate on the mystery of Christ. In a noisy world filled with messages of all kinds, her witness fosters a contemplative spirit and enables us to appreciate a spiritually rich silence.

Mary witnesses to the value of a humble and hidden life. Everyone usually demands, and sometimes almost claims, to be able to realize fully his own person and qualities. Everyone is sensitive to esteem and honor. Mary, on the contrary, never sought honor of the advantages of a privileged position. She always tried to fulfill God's will, leading a life according to the Father's plan of salvation. To all those who often feel the burden of a seemingly insignificant life, Mary reveals how valuable life can be if it is lived for love of Christ and one's brothers and sisters.

Pope John Paul, General Audience, Catechesis on Theotokos, Nov. 22, 1995.

Christ the King

Beginning with the French Revolution, once the once Christian nations of Europe threw off the sweet yoke of Christ to embrace atheism, heathenism, and relativism. To make reparation and give glory to God, lay people began working, first in France and then other European countries, to bring back Christ and His Kingdom. They wrote a petition asking the Pope to proclaim Christ as King over all nations, and this Pope Pius XI did. He also asked that each year we renew this Act of Consecration of the Feast of Christ the King.
Dedication of the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Pope Pius XI
Most Sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thy Altar. We are Thine and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself/herself today to Thy Most Sacred Heart. Many, indeed, have never known Thee; many, too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee, grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof and call them back to the harbour of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd. Be Thou King of all those who even now sit in the shadow of idolatry or Islam, and refuse not Thou to bring them into the light of Thy kingdom. Look, finally, with eyes of pity upon the children of that race, which was for so long a time Thy chosen people; and let Thy Blood, which they once invoked upon themselves, now descend upon them in a cleansing flood of redemption and eternal life. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heartthat wrought our salvation: to it be glory and honour forever. Amen.
One way that we bring about the Kingdom of Christ is to live His Mysteries. This we are called to do by virtue of our Baptism. The other Sacraments give us further grace to live out these mysteries. St. John Eudes has a lovely exposition on the mysteries of Christ in his book The Kingdom of Jesus. (We think it has been republished recently, but with a slightly different title) Another author, among many, that we particularly love is Blessed Dom Marion, in his book, also recently republished Christ in His Mysteries.

The treatise of St John Eudes on the kingdom of Jesus
The mystery of Christ in us and in the Church
We must strive to follow and fulfil in ourselves the various stages of Christ’s plan as well as his mysteries, and frequently beg him to bring them to completion in us and in the whole Church. For the mysteries of Jesus are not yet completely perfected and fulfilled. They are complete, indeed, in the person of Jesus, but not in us, who are his members, nor in the Church, which is his mystical body. The Son of God wills to give us a share in his mysteries and somehow to extend them to us. He wills to continue them in us and in his universal Church. This is brought about first through the graces he has resolved to impart to us and then through the works he wishes to accomplish in us through these mysteries. This is his plan for fulfilling his mysteries in us.
For this reason Saint Paul says that Christ is being brought to fulfilment in his Church and that all of us contribute to this fulfilment, and thus he achieves the fullness of life, that is, the mystical stature that he has in his mystical body, which will reach completion only on judgement day. In another place Paul says: I complete in my own flesh what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.
This is the plan by which the Son of God completes and fulfils in us all the various stages and mysteries. He desires us to perfect the mystery of his incarnation and birth by forming himself in us and being reborn in our souls through the blessed Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. He fulfils his hidden life in us, hidden with him in God.
He intends to perfect the mysteries of his passion, death and resurrection, by causing us to suffer, die and rise again with him and in him. Finally, he wishes to fulfil in us the state of his glorious and immortal life, when he will cause us to live a glorious, eternal life with him and in him in heaven.
In the same way he would complete and fulfil in us and in his Church his other stages and mysteries. He wants to give us a share in them and to accomplish and continue them in us. So it is that the mysteries of Christ will not be completed until the end of time, because he has arranged that the completion of his mysteries in us and in the Church will only be achieved at the end of time.

Our Lady of Ostrabrama - pray for us!

St. Margaret of Scotland, whose feast is kept today along with St. Gertrude, was the grand daughter of the King of England. However, since her father had been forced into exile she was born and grew up in Hungary with her cousins, who are also saints. Having returned to England, her mother and children again had to flee when William the Conquerer invaded England. They set sail for France, but the winds blew them to Scotland where they were welcomed by King Malcom Canmore. You may remember him - he is the same Malcom in Shakespeare's MacBeth, though the actual story is quite different from the play. Margeret had planned to become a nun, but Malcom persuaded her to marry him, and she indeed grew to love him very much. She did a great deal for Scotland, building churches and schools, helping orphans and widows. Being already serious ill, she died of grief when news was brought to her of her husband's death in a war against Northumbria.

There is a new book out, called "Preparing for Christmas with Pope Benedicts XVI, an Advent Novena" which you might find very helpful.

November 15

Today marks 40 days until Christmas. In the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the faithful begin their strict fast and abstinence in preparation for Christmas. In other parts of Europe they had their own customs. One which is particularly dear to us is the saying of 4000 Aves starting today and ending on Christmas Eve. As Guards of Honor for the Queen of the Holy Rosary, we try to keep ourselves in Our Lady's presence as we go about our work each day by meditating on the Mysteries and saying the Aves. But during these days we try to make it more fervent. According to an ancient tradition there were 4000 days between the Protoevangelium in Genesis and the Annunciation. So for many centuries Catholics tried to celebrate this by making this bouquet of Aves to give to Jesus and Mary at Midnight Mass.

It is also a good time to begin thinking of what our practice during Advent will be this year. It is not so much what we plan to do, as it is to ask "What gift does Jesus want from me this year?"

St. Josaphat, Martyr of Church Unity

The light of the East has illumined the universal Church, from the moment when "a rising sun" appeared above us (Lk 1:78): Jesus Christ, our Lord, whom all Christians invoke as the Redeemer of man and the hope of the world.

Today the Church celebrates the courage and fidelity of all her Slavic children in keeping this feast of St. Josaphat. Theirs has been a difficult journey. In remaining faithful to the Successor of St. Peter many of them have suffered imprisonment and martyrdom. Yet still as Catholics, so many of us fail to understand or appreciate them.

Since, in fact, we believe that the venerable and ancient tradition of the Eastern Churches is an integral part of the heritage of Christ's Church, the first need for Catholics is to be familiar with that tradition, so as to be nourished by it and to encourage the process of unity in the best way possible for each. (Pope John Paul II)

This would be a perfect day to visit an Eastern Rite Church (in particular a Ruthenian or Ukrainian) and celebrate the Liturgy with them, if you are fortunate to live near one. It would be also a good time to get to know more about the Slavic Churches and peoples. You can read the various documents by different Popes, from Pope Pius IX to Pope John Paul II on the Eastern Churches as well.

My House shall be called a House of Prayer for all the Nations.

King David, author of many of the Psalms, was the first to set up a daily schedule of prayer before the Ark of the Covenant, even before the Temple itself was built. He entrusted this task to the Levites, yet all the people were encouraged to come to the prayer services. The Apostles continued this tradition as they spread the Church founded by Jesus Christ. Thus it was natural for monks and nuns to take on the Divine Office as an essential element for religious life. St. Dominic definitely saw the Divine Office as an essential element for the Friars and Nuns when he founded the Order. The Liturgy indeed is the heart of our life as Dominicans.

Yet when we tell people our life as contemplatives is a life of prayer, they are often astounded to discover this means primarily the Liturgy. Most people think of prayer as private prayer - not community prayer. The reason for this is that beginning in the 16th century with the Jesuits and then active religious Congregations, the Liturgy became something private. Prayer meant private devotions for the most part. The Church often gave them the obligation of the Divine Office, but that was not the heart of their life.

The Liturgy however has many great benefits. For one, it helps build community. When all members of the community are gathered together as one voice, it unites them spiritually. The Liturgy also enables us to enter more fully into the mysteries of Christ. We are each called, by virtue of our Baptism, to live the mysteries of Christ. The Liturgy and the Rosary are the two main ways we have of living these mysteries. Here is a beautiful quote from Pope Pius X on the importance of the Liturgy and living the feasts and mysteries it contains.

The feasts of the Church were instituted in order that we may render in common to God the supreme worship of adoration, praise, thanksgiving and reparation. All has been so well arranged and adapted to circumstances - the ceremonies, words, music, the outward observance in every detail - as to cause the mysteries, the truths, or facts which we celebrate to penetrate deeply into our minds and lead us to corresponding sentiments and acts. If the faithful were well instructed in this matter and celebrated the feast in the spirit that the Church willed in instituting them, a notable renewal and increase of faith, piety, religious instruction would be obtained, and consequently, the inward life of Christians would thereby be reanimated and made better.

Let every good Christian, by the help of sermons or some appropriate book, strive to understand and to make the spirit of each feast his own, considering its object and special end, meditating upon the truth, virtue, miracle or benefit therein especially commemorated, seeking in every way to derive personal improvement from it. He will thus better know God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the Saints, and will love them more fervently; he will love the Sacred Liturgy, the preaching of the Word of God, and Holy Church, and will even seek to promote this love to others. Every feast should hence be for him a Lord's Day, a true feast which will rejoice, restore, and fortify his soul and fill him with fresh vigor for bearing the sufferings and daily struggles of the week.

"The prayer of a pilgrim soul in the world can help another soul that is being purified after death. This is why the Church calls upon us to pray for our deceased loved ones,

and to visit their graves."

Pope Benedict XVI, All Soul's Day, 2008

The Holy Souls in Purgatory cannot help themselves in any way. They depend totally on us! Yet, they can help us and they show their gratitude to us in many ways. We have always trusted in the Holy Souls to protect us from fires, and we have seen their miraculous interventions at times. The Church makes it very easy to gain indulgences for the Holy Souls. In fact any indulgence we gain can be applied to them. During November anyone who visits a cemetery and prays for the Holy Souls can gain an indulgence for them each time. Padre Pio never ceased interceding for these dear souls, as the little book of Padre Pio and the Holy Souls in Purgatory relates. At times the friars in the monastery would be quite startled at strange noises and voices of rejoicing. Padre Pio would reassure them - Oh, it's just a group of souls from Purgatory. They are stopping by to see me on their way to heaven. We can be sure if we help them while we are living, they will help us at the hour of death!

Lord Jesus, have mercy on the souls detained in Purgatory. It was for their salvation that you took on our human nature and suffered a most painful death. Have mercy on their burning desire to see you, have mercy on their tears of repentance. Through the merits of your Passion, remit the sentence they incurred by their sins.Dear loving Jesus, may your Blood descend on those dear souls! May it shorten their time of atonement and may they soon be called to eternal happiness in your Presence! Amen.