(Name) and (Name),
May God bless you and grant you joy.
May He deepen your love for each other.
May He bless you + in your family and friends,
And lead you to unending happiness in Heaven.
May Almighty God,
Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit,
Bless us all,
And keep us in His love for ever and ever.
Amen.
As the season of Advent quickly approaches, I thought I would try to focus my next several reflections on Advent and specifically the incarnation. The First Reading from today perfectly summarizes the state of our world. “Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist.”
How many people do you know who have made comments like “The bible is just a fiction book” or “Jesus didn’t really exist but they are nice stories to keep people in line?” I have heard this quite a few times. It might seem easy just to shrug these comments off and let people believe what they are going to believe, but the historical facts hold Jesus Christ as a real person who walked, talked, died, and rose from the dead.
The reason this is so important is that to deny the humanity of Christ or to simply turn his story into a myth or legend, is to deny Christ himself. The overwhelming historical evidence and eyewitness testimony of the events of Jesus’ life should be enough to overcome any reasonable doubt about whether or not he lived. But why is it so important that Jesus was a man who truly walked on this earth?
We all know that Jesus came to die for our sins, but Jesus also came to remind us of who we are. Think about it, in the beginning we had the life of God within us. This is the likeness to God that is spoken of in Genesis. As Catholics we call this sanctifying grace. After the fall we lost the likeness of God within us. Satan wants us to believe that our state now is how we are supposed to be. We have forgotten who we really are. Jesus became man to remind us there is so much more.
The Catechism makes this clear when it states, “Disfigured by sin and death, man remains ‘in the image of God,’ in the image of the Son, but is deprived ‘of the glory of God,’ of his ‘likeness.’ The promise made to Abraham inaugurates the economy of salvation, at the culmination of which the Son himself will assume that ‘image’ and restore it in the Father’s ‘likeness’ by giving it again its Glory, the Spirit who is ‘the giver of life.’” -CCC 705
So in other words, Jesus became man not only to save us FROM our sin, but to save us FOR the glory of God. Jesus himself assumes the image of man (the body) and restores it to the likeness of God. This is what the incarnation is all about. God became man so that we might perfectly participate in his divinity one day in heaven. That is the good news. Talk about the reason for the season.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
A medida que se acerca rápidamente la temporada de Adviento, pensé que intentaría centrar mis próximas reflexiones en el Adviento y específicamente en la encarnación. La Primera Lectura de hoy resume perfectamente el estado de nuestro mundo. “Ahora han surgido en el mundo muchos que tratan de engañar, pues niegan que Jesucristo es verdadero hombre. Estos son el verdadero impostor y anticristo.”
¿Cuántas personas conoces que hayan hecho comentarios como “La Biblia es solo un libro de ficción” o “Jesús en realidad no existió, pero son buenas historias para mantener a la gente en línea?” Lo he escuchado bastante. Puede parecer fácil ignorar estos comentarios y dejar que la gente crea lo que va a creer, pero los hechos históricos muestran a Jesucristo como una persona real que caminó, habló, murió y resucitó de entre los muertos.
Esto es tan importante porque negar la humanidad de Cristo o simplemente convertir su historia en un mito o leyenda, es negar a Cristo mismo. La abrumadora evidencia histórica y el testimonio de los testigos oculares de los eventos de la vida de Jesús deberían ser suficientes para superar cualquier duda razonable sobre si vivió o no. Pero, ¿por qué es tan importante que Jesús fue un hombre que verdaderamente caminó sobre esta tierra?
Todos sabemos que Jesús vino a morir por nuestros pecados, pero Jesús también vino a recordarnos quiénes somos. Piénsalo, al principio teníamos la vida de Dios dentro de nosotros. Es la semejanza a Dios de la que se habla en Génesis. Como católicos lo llamamos gracia santificante. Después de la caída perdimos la semejanza de Dios dentro de nosotros. Satanás quiere que creamos que nuestro estado actual es como siempre debemos ser. Hemos olvidado quiénes somos en realidad. Jesús se hizo hombre para recordarnos que hay mucho más.
El Catecismo deja esto claro cuando afirma: “Desfigurado por el pecado y por la muerte, el hombre continua siendo “a imagen de Dios”, a imagen del Hijo, pero “privado de la Gloria de Dios” (Rm 3, 23), privado de la “semejanza”. La Promesa hecha a Abraham inaugura la Economía de la Salvación, al final de la cual el Hijo mismo asumirá “la imagen” (cf. Jn 1, 14; Flp 2, 7) y la restaurará en “la semejanza” con el Padre volviéndole a dar la Gloria, el Espíritu ‘que da la Vida’”. -CIC 705
En otras palabras, Jesús se hizo hombre no solo para salvarnos DE nuestro pecado, sino para salvarnos PARA la gloria de Dios. Jesús mismo asume la imagen del hombre (el cuerpo) y lo restaura a la semejanza de Dios. De esto se trata la encarnación. Dios se hizo hombre para que pudiéramos participar perfectamente de su divinidad un día en el cielo. Esa es la buena noticia. Les invito a hablar acerca de la razón de la temporada con los demás.
De parte de todos nosotros aquí en Diocesan, ¡Dios los bendiga!
Tommy Shultz is a Business Development Representative for Diocesan. In this role he is committed to bringing the best software to dioceses and parishes while helping them evangelize on the digital continent. Tommy has worked in various diocese and parish roles since his graduation from Franciscan University with a Theology degree. He hopes to use his skills in evangelization, marketing, and communications, to serve the Church and bring the Good News to all. His favorite quote comes from St. John Paul II, who said, “A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love.”
Feature Image Credit: Priscilla Du Preez, unsplash.com/photos/CoqJGsFVJtM
Saint Martin of Tours was born in in Savaria, Pannonia in either the year 316 or 336 AD. That region is what is today the nation of Hungary. His father was a tribune, which is a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Horse Guard. Martin and his family went with his father when he was assigned to a post at Ticinum, in Northern Italy. It is here that Martin would grow up.
Just before Martin was born, Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire and the bloody persecution of Christians soon came …
O God,
by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest,
look kindly on your departed veterans who gave their
lives in the service of their country.
Grant that through the passion, death, and resurrection of your Son
they may share in the joy of your heavenly kingdom
and rejoice in you with your saints forever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
We live in a “both/and” Church, rather than “either/or”. Jesus is both true God and true man. Mary is both virgin and mother. We believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Church is both the spotless bride of Christ and still a human institution prone to human failings and weaknesses.
Jesus presents another “both/and” in today’s Gospel. “The behold, the Kingdom of Heaven is among you.” And, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.” How can the Kingdom of Heaven be among them yet they will long to see it? The disciples did not fully understand, and we are still living in this mystery today.
At Mass, we experience a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. We are surrounded by the angels and saints who have gone before us and as we receive Christ, we are transformed more perfectly into His Mystical Body. At that moment, we are living in the Kingdom of Heaven to the fullest extent we are capable of on this earth. Yet at the same time, we know that this earth is not our permanent home. We long for the day when suffering will cease, when we will be free of our sin and sorrow. We will finally come home to the joy and rest of the Father and the true lordship of the Son of Man.
The world will try to call us away, to look here or there for the meaning of life. Jesus is reminding us that we already know where the Kingdom of Heaven is. It is by His side.
Vivimos en una Iglesia de “ambos/y”, en lugar de “uno u otro”. Jesús es verdadero Dios y verdadero hombre. María es virgen y madre. Creemos en la muerte y resurrección de Jesús. La Iglesia es tanto la novia sin mancha de Cristo como una institución humana propensa a las fallas y debilidades humanas.
Jesús presenta otro “ambos/y” en el Evangelio de hoy. “El Reino de Dios ya está entre ustedes”. Y, “Llegará un tiempo en que ustedes desearán disfrutar siquiera un solo día de la presencia del Hijo del hombre y no podrán”. ¿Cómo puede el Reino de los Cielos estar entre ellos y aún así anhelan verlo? Los discípulos no entendieron completamente, y todavía estamos viviendo en este misterio hoy.
En la Misa experimentamos un anticipo del banquete celestial. Estamos rodeados por los ángeles y los santos que nos han precedido y a medida que recibimos a Cristo, somos transformados más perfectamente en Su Cuerpo Místico. En ese momento, estamos viviendo en el Reino de los Cielos al máximo de lo que somos capaces en esta tierra. Sin embargo, al mismo tiempo, sabemos que esta tierra no es nuestro hogar permanente. Anhelamos el día en que cesará el sufrimiento, cuando seremos libres de nuestro pecado y dolor. Finalmente volveremos a casa al gozo y al descanso del Padre y al verdadero señorío del Hijo del Hombre.
El mundo tratará de distraernos para que busquemos aquí o allá el sentido de la vida. Jesús nos está recordando que ya sabemos dónde está el Reino de los Cielos. Está a Su lado.
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.
Feature Image Credit: fauxels, www.pexels.com/photo/man-and-woman-holding-hands-3228726/
Saint Leo the Great, also known as Pope Saint Leo I, was born into a Roman aristocratic family. His response to the call of the Lord transformed him into one of the greatest popes of Christian history. In fact, he was the first pope to be given the title “the Great.” Details pertaining to Leo’s place of birth are not known, but it is believed his ancestors come from Tuscany.
St. Leo the Great became a very well-known deacon of the Church by 431, serving the church under the pontificate of …
Why is it that the more anxious we are, the more we cling to our vices? As each day brings us closer and closer to my husband’s surgery next week, I find myself getting into the kids’ Halloween candy more and more. If I just indulge in one little pleasure, if I just have a little more sugar in my body, maybe I’ll feel better or more in control.
The problem is, the effect is just the opposite. It only causes my thoughts to accelerate, my joints to be cranky and my body to be more sluggish, not to mention the extra pounds I am surely packing on.
The guest priest said in his homily last weekend that prayer is what we most need to get closer to God, yet it is often the first thing we push away. When we have a lot to do, the first thing we discard is our prayer time. Why is that? When we feel like we are in survival mode, do we consider it nonessential? As I am typing this I realize even more what an oxymoron that is! What is more essential than God himself? Without Him we wouldn’t even be here!
When will we learn that the only way to be in control is to let go and let God be in control..?
Yet it appears as if Jesus has lost control in today’s Gospel. We see him driving out vendors with a whip and overturning the money changers’ tables. This is perhaps the one place in Scripture where we see Him in a true display of righteous anger… “and to those who sold doves he said, ‘Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.’”
I remember recalling this passage while visiting Ireland several years ago. A country that has such a rich Catholic heritage (mostly thanks to St. Patrick), is falling away from the faith little by little. Several of their majestic churches have either been sold to Protestants or are now tourist hubs. It was the strangest thing to walk into a beautiful church and see booklets, maps and trinkets. It truly felt like a marketplace.
And perhaps, as we allow ourselves to succumb to our vices and shove prayer aside, we are allowing a noisy marketplace to rise up in our hearts. And what does Jesus want to do? He wants to “whip us into shape” so to speak, and overturn the tables of our false expectations.
God truly is in control, that is, He will be, if only we let Him…
¿Por qué cuanto más ansiosos estamos, más nos aferramos a nuestros vicios? A medida que nos acercamos más y más a la cirugía de mi esposo la próxima semana, me encuentro cada vez más agarrando los dulces de Halloween de his hijos. Si solo me permito un pequeño placer, si solo tengo un poco más de azúcar en mi cuerpo, tal vez me sienta mejor o con más control.
El problema es que el efecto es todo lo contrario. Solo hace que mis pensamientos se aceleren, que mis articulaciones estén irritables y que mi cuerpo sea más lento, sin mencionar los kilos de más que seguramente estoy acumulando.
El sacerdote invitado dijo en su homilía el fin de semana pasado que la oración es lo que más necesitamos para acercarnos a Dios, pero a menudo es lo primero que rechazamos. Cuando tenemos mucho que hacer, lo primero que descartamos es nuestro tiempo de oración. ¿Porqué? Cuando sentimos que estamos simplemente sobreviviendo, ¿lo consideramos no esencial? ¡Mientras escribo esto me doy cuenta aún más del oxímoron que es! ¿Qué es más esencial que Dios mismo? ¡Sin Él ni siquiera estaríamos aquí!
¿Cuándo aprenderemos que la única forma de tener el control es dejar que Dios tenga el control?
Sin embargo, parece como si Jesús hubiera perdido el control en el Evangelio de hoy. Lo vemos expulsando a los vendedores con un látigo y volcando las mesas de los cambistas. Este es quizás el único lugar en las Escrituras donde lo vemos en una verdadera muestra de ira justa… “y a los que vendían palomas les dijo: ‘Quiten todo de aquí y no conviertan en un mercado la casa de mi Padre’”.
Me acuerdo de haber pensado en este pasaje cuando visité a Irlanda hace varios años. Un país que tiene una herencia católica tan rica (sobre todo gracias a San Patricio), se está alejando de la fe poco a poco. Varias de sus majestuosas iglesias han sido vendidas a protestantes o ahora son centros turísticos. Fue de lo más extraño entrar a una hermosa iglesia y ver folletos, mapas y regalitos de recuerdo. Realmente se sentía como un mercado.
Y tal vez, al permitirnos sucumbir a nuestros vicios y dejar de lado a la oración, estamos permitiendo que un mercado ruidoso se levante en nuestros corazones. ¿Y qué quiere hacer Jesús? Quiere encaminarnos y derribar las mesas de nuestras expectativas falsas.
Dios verdaderamente tiene el control, es decir, lo tendrá, si tan solo se lo entregamos…
Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at for Christian Healthcare Centers, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for over 20 years.
Feature Image Credit: Brett Jordan, unsplash.com/photos/JZUAigW8Kbo
Bishop of Ireland, the son of Sechnaa, the psalm singer of St, Patrick. Sechnan was a chief in Meath, Ireland, converted by St. Patrick. Benignus became a disciple of St. Patrick and succeeded him as the chief bishop of Ireland. He converted the Irish in Clare, Kerry, and Connaught. Benignus served as the superior of an abbey at Drumlease, erected by St. Patrick.
The following form of evening prayers is taken from “The Key of Heaven, a Manual of Prayer for the Use of the Faithful”, Imprimatur P. Fenton, Vicar General, Westminster.
In the Name of the + Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
O my God,
I believe that Thou art here present;
and that Thou observest all my actions,
all my thoughts,
and the most secret motions of my heart.
I adore Thee,
and I love Thee with my whole heart.
I return …
Beloved:
You must say what is consistent with sound doctrine,
namely, that older men should be temperate, dignified,
self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance.
Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior,
not slanderers, not addicted to drink,
teaching what is good, so that they may train younger women
to love their husbands and children,
to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers,
under the control of their husbands,
so that the word of God may not be discredited.
Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves,
showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect,
with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech
that cannot be criticized,
so that the opponent will be put to shame
without anything bad to say about us.
For the grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of the great God
and of our savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.
R. (39a) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart’s requests.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The LORD watches over the lives of the wholehearted;
their inheritance lasts forever.
By the LORD are the steps of a man made firm,
and he approves his way.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
The just shall possess the land
and dwell in it forever.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus said to the Apostles:
“Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?
Would he not rather say to him,
‘Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished’?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded, say,
‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.’”
– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.