Is Jesus Christ Really Your King ?? There are Implications If You Say Yes.

On the Feast of Christ the King, we are called to acknowledge that Jesus is in fact our King. It is one thing to say that He is our King because the song in Church says that, or the preacher says that, or the Bible says that (yes, faith does come by hearing). But it is quite another for us to personally say that Jesus is our King. There comes a time when we must personally affirm what the Church has always announced: “Jesus is Lord, and He is King. He is my king. He has authority in my life.” This must become more than just lip service. It must become a daily, increasing reality in our life.

Kings take care of us, but they also have the authority to command us. Can Christ command you or me?

Or are we more like the typical modern person who doesn’t like to be told what to do? Or perhaps we suffer from the more mild form of this attitude in which we reduce Jesus to being a “harmless hippie” who just says pleasant things about peace and flowers but would never rebuke us or command us to repent.

And so, again, here is the question: “Is Jesus Christ your King?”

Yes, there are implications to whether we accept the Lord as our King or not. Today, the Lord asks us all if we will let Him be our King. And to those of us who say yes, the Lord has this further question: “Are you saying this on your own or have others been telling you about me?” Is He really our King? Think hard about it. There are implications.

Credits : The Community In Mission 

The Holy Rosary 2019

The word Rosary means “Crown of Roses,” and each prayer in the Rosary is considered a flower presented to Mary. It is called the “Breviary of the common people” and the “Psalms of the Illiterate.” The prayers we repeat are Biblical and hence “inspired,” and the mysteries we meditate upon are taken from the lives of Jesus and Mary.  The prayer “Our Father” was taught by Jesus himself. The “Hail Mary” is also rooted in the Scriptures. Its first half echoes the words of the Archangel Gabriel and those of Elizabeth, both addressed to Mary. The third prayer — the “Glory be to the Father” — ancient in its wording, surely reflects the unceasing prayer of adoration and praise found in the Book of Revelation. The various events in the lives of Jesus and Mary on which we meditate during the Rosary are expressions of the Paschal Mystery, that is, the suffering, death and Resurrection of Jesus, in which Mary shared.

How to pray the Rosary:  The ideal is to recite at least five decades of the rosary (and if possible, the entire twenty), with one’s whole family daily.  We need to say the Rosary slowly enough to make its recitation devout and reverent. We are to reflect for a minute or two on the mystery, and then concentrate on the meaning of the prayers as we say them, to avoid distractions. Besides saying the rosary with others in the family before bedtime, let us make it a habit of reciting the rosary during our journey to the workplace and during our exercises. 

The feast in memorial of a rosary miracle: The first major Rosary miracle, and one of the most impressive, is the one that occurred at the Battle of Lepanto. This historic battle took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of southern European Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting at Lepanto, on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth, off western Greece. The defeat was attributed to the effect rosaries recited by the soldiers and their respective countrymen for the sole purpose of preventing the Muslim army invading Europe and destroying Christianity as they did in the Byzantine Empire. The Turks had nearly three times more troops. The winds were against the Christians and the conditions were poor. But after the rosary recitals by the soldiers ended, the winds aided the Christians who gained a colossal victory against the Turks. This was one of the greatest naval upsets in history from which the Turks never fully recovered and their threat in the Mediterranean Sea ended. Following this victory, Pope Pius V established the Feast of Our Lady of Victories on October 7th. The name was later changed to its present form – the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The purpose was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto—a victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. Pope Clement XI extended the feast to the universal Church in 1716 and it is celebrated on the 7^th of October, observing October as the month of the rosary.

Importance: The word Rosary means “crown of roses” or “garland of roses” in medieval Latin, and each prayer in the Rosary is considered a flower presented to Mary. In the opening pages of his spiritual classic, The Secret of the Rosary, St. Louis Marie de Montfort describes the Rosary as “a veritable school of Christian life” because of its beauty, power and value. It is a humble, a practical and a powerful means of contemplation, and a great source of blessing for those who pray and for the whole world. It is called the “Breviary of the common people” and the “Psalms of the Illiterate.” The prayers we repeat are Biblical and, hence, “inspired,” and the mysteries we meditate upon are taken from the lives of Jesus and Mary.  As we are saying the Rosary, we are, in fact, in contact with two of the most basic prayers in our Christian tradition: the Lord’s Prayer (the Our Father), and the Angelic Salutation (the Hail Mary).  The first is fully rooted in the Scriptures, taught by Jesus Himself. The second is largely rooted in the Scriptures, its first half echoing the words of the Archangel Gabriel and of Elizabeth as each addressed Mary.  The third prayer — the “Glory be to the Father” — ancient in its wording — surely reflects the unceasing prayer of adoration and praise found in the Book of Revelation.

The Rosary is described as a compendium of the life of Jesus and Mary and a summary of the liturgical year. During the recitation of the Rosary, we meditate on the saving mysteries of our Lord’s life and the faithful witness of our Blessed Mother. Journeying through the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries of the Rosary, we bring to mind our Lord’s Incarnation, His public ministry, His passion and death, and His Resurrection from the dead. The various events in the lives of Jesus and Mary on which we meditate during the Rosary are expressions of the one basic and foundational mystery of the Christian faith: the Paschal Mystery, that is, the suffering, death and Resurrection of Jesus in which Mary shared.  Hence, by praying the Rosary, we come to live out the Paschal Mystery in our lives, thereby becoming authentic disciples of Jesus, people who really follow in his footsteps, dying with him so as to rise with him. We also ask for the prayers of our Blessed Mother, the exemplar of faith, who leads all believers to her Son. Hence, we as modern-day Catholic Christians need to pray the Rosary and live the Rosary.

What about repetitions of Hail Marys? Is it not this the kind of repetitious prayer Jesus condemned—a superficial, mechanical way of praying to God, characteristic of pagans -while true prayer is talking to God and listening to Him? The answer is no. Jesus taught a prayer: “Our Father,” and he intended that we repeat it. In the garden of Gethsemane, he said the same prayer three times (Matt. 26:44). In the Old Testament, parts of Psalm 118 are structured around the repeated phrase “His steadfast love endures forever,” and the book of Daniel presents the three men in the fiery furnace constantly repeating the phrase “Sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever” (Dan. 3:52–88). In the New Testament, the book of Revelation describes how the very worship of God in heaven includes words of holy praise that are repeated without end. The four living creatures, gathered around God’s throne, “never cease to sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’” (Rev. 4:8). Although trying to manipulate God by vain repetition is always wrong, proper repetitious prayer is very Biblical and pleasing to God.

How to pray the Rosary:  The ideal is to have the whole family recite at least five decades of the Rosary daily. We need to say the Rosary slowly enough to make its recitation devout and reverent. We are to reflect for a minute on the mystery and then concentrate on the meaning of the prayers as we say them to avoid distractions. Besides saying the Rosary with others in the family before bedtime, let us make a habit of reciting the Rosary during our journey to the workplace and during our exercises.  If we do so, we shall experience for ourselves the truth of these words: “Meditating on the mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise.

Credits : Father Tony Kadavil, Mobile, Alabama 

The Glorious Nativity Of The Blessed Mother

The Catholic Church celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on its traditional fixed date of September 8, nine months after the December 8 celebration of her Immaculate Conception as the child of Saints Joachim and Anne.

The circumstances of the Virgin Mary's infancy and early life are not directly recorded in the Bible, but other documents and traditions describing the circumstances of her birth are cited by some of the earliest Christian writers from the first centuries of the Church.

These accounts, although not considered authoritative in the same manner as the Bible, outline some of the Church's traditional beliefs about the birth of Mary.

The “Protoevangelium of James,” which was probably put into its final written form in the early second century, describes Mary's father Joachim as a wealthy member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Joachim was deeply grieved, along with his wife Anne, by their childlessness.

“He called to mind Abraham,” the early Christian writing says, “that in the last day God gave him a son Isaac.”

Joachim and Anne began to devote themselves extensively and rigorously to prayer and fasting, initially wondering whether their inability to conceive a child might signify God's displeasure with them.

As it turned out, however, the couple were to be blessed even more abundantly than Abraham and Sarah, as an angel revealed to Anne when he appeared to her and prophesied that all generations would honor their future child: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.”

After Mary's birth, according to the Protoevangelium of James, Anne “made a sanctuary” in the infant girl's room, and “allowed nothing common or unclean” on account of the special holiness of the child. The same writing records that when she was one year old, her father “made a great feast, and invited the priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and all the people of Israel.”

“And Joachim brought the child to the priests,” the account continues, “and they blessed her, saying: 'O God of our fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations' . . . And he brought her to the chief priests, and they blessed her, saying: 'O God most high, look upon this child, and bless her with the utmost blessing, which shall be for ever.'”

The protoevangelium goes on to describe how Mary's parents, along with the temple priests, subsequently decided that she would be offered to God as a consecrated Virgin for the rest of her life, and enter a chaste marriage with the carpenter Joseph.

Saint Augustine described the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary as an event of cosmic and historic significance, and an appropriate prelude to the birth of Jesus Christ. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley,” he said.

The fourth-century bishop, whose theology profoundly shaped the Western Church's understanding of sin and human nature, affirmed that “through her birth, the nature inherited from our first parents is changed."

Credits : Catholic News Agency

Please Read About The Nativity Of The Blessed Mother According To The Byzantine Catholic Church. It is an interesting read.

https://www.archpitt.org/the-nativity-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-according-to-the-byzantine-rite/ 

The Assumption Of The Blessed Mother An Awesome and Amazing Solemnity

Catholics around the world mark the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, commemorating the end of her earthly life and assumption into Heaven. But while the feast day is a relatively new one, the history of the holiday – and the mystery behind it – has its roots in the earliest centuries of Christian belief.

“As her earthly life comes to an end, the Assumption helps us to understand more fully not just her life, but it helps us to always focus our gaze to Eternity,” said EWTN Senior Contributor Dr. Matthew Bunson.

“We see in Mary the logic of the Assumption as the culmination of Mary’s life,” he continued. “A Eucharistic requirement for that day is very fitting.”

The dogma of the Assumption of Mary – also called the “Dormition of Mary” in the Eastern Churches – has its roots in the early centuries of the Church. The Catholic Church teaches that when Mary ended her earthly life, God assumed her, body and soul into heaven.

This belief traces its roots back to the earliest years of the Church. While a site outside of Jerusalem was recognized as the tomb of Mary, the earliest Christians maintained that “no one was there,” Bunson said.

According to St. John of Damascus, in the 5th century, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Roman Emperor Marcian requested the body of Mary, Mother of God. St. Juvenal, who was Bishop of Jerusalem replied “that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; where from the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven,” the saint recorded.

By the 8th century, around the time of Pope Adrian, the Church began to change its terminology, renaming the feast day of the Memorial of Mary to the Assumption of Mary, Bunson noted.

The belief in the Assumption of Mary was a widely-held tradition, and a frequent meditation in the writings of saints throughout the centuries. However it was not defined officially until the past century. In 1950, Pope Pius XII made an infallible, ex-cathedra statement in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus officially defining the dogma of the Assumption.

“By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory,” the pope wrote.

Within the decree, which was passed beforehand to dioceses around the world, Pope Pius XII surveys centuries of Christian thought and the writings of a number of saints on the Assumption of Mary.  

“We have throughout the history of the Church an almost universal attestation of this,” Bunson said of the Christian tradition’s testimony to Mary’s Assumption.

“We have this thread that runs throughout the whole of the history of the Church in support of the dogma. That’s significant because it supports the tradition of the Church, but it also supports a coming to a deeper understanding of the teachings of the Church of how we rely upon the reflections of some of the greatest minds of our Church.”

What’s also notable about the dogma, he added, is that it “uses the passive tense,” emphasizing that Mary did not ascend into heaven on her own power, as Christ did, but was raised into heaven by God’s grace.

The Feast of the Assumption is marked as a major feast day and a public holiday in many countries. In most countries, including the United States, it is a Holy Day of Obligation, and Catholics are required to attend Mass. Dr. Bunson explained that on major feast days, it’s important to mark the significance of the feast as especially vital by emphasizing the necessity of celebrating the Eucharist that day.

“What is more fitting than on the Assumption of the Blessed Mother to, once again, focus on her Son, on the Eucharist?” he reflected.

Credits : Catholic News Agency 

Celebrating The Blessed Mother In The Month Of August

If asked to list Marian feast days in August, most Catholics would respond with only “the Assumption.”

If asked what other Marian feast days are in August, most Catholics would go blank. That is probably because the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a holy day of obligation in the United States, and so our attention is drawn to it because we are required to go to Mass that day.

But there are other feast days of Mary throughout the month that we don’t want to overlook.
Special days honoring Mary have been part of Catholic Tradition since the end of the first century.
Frescos of Mary both with and without Christ are found in the Roman catacombs.

Since that time, devotion to Mary has grown to include holy days we customarily observe during the liturgical year. Marian feasts come under the doctrine of the Communion of Saints, in which we are called to honor those who have been raised up to perfection.

Mary’s role is primary to that of the saints, and so the Church assigns feasts in her honor to emphasize her role in salvation history.

The Marian feasts in August give us glimpses into the life of Mary and her role as Mother of God and Mediatrix of graces.

There are many ways to commemorate Mary’s feasts — from attending Mass, to making a holy hour or just saying an extra Rosary. We may even want to celebrate with a special dinner or desert.

Aug. 2

Our Lady of the Angels

On this day we commemorate the dedication of the church of Portuincula (little portion of land), near Assisi, Italy. During St. Francis’ life, there stood at this place a small ancient church that dated back to the sixth century. St. Francis loved this church because it was there that he recognized his vocation.
In 1211, St. Francis acquired the church from the Benedictines, repaired it and made it the first church of the Franciscan Order. Since wonderful angelic voices frequently were heard there, it was called Our Lady of the Angels. Five years later, St. Francis received the Portuincula Indulgence from Pope Honorius as a gift for the chapel’s dedication. On his deathbed, St. Francis placed the church into the special care of his fellow Franciscans, and in the 16th century, the little chapel was enshrined as the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels. In 1921, Pope Benedict XV gave the privilege of the indulgence to all visitors for one year, and later legislation granted the indulgence to all the faithful on Aug. 2 of each year (or on the following Sunday) with permission of the local bishop.

Aug. 5

Our Lady of the Snows

This day marks the Dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, also known as Our Lady of the Snows. The memorial commemorates the dedication of the basilica originally erected on the Esquiline Hill in Rome by Pope Liberius in the fourth century. Some years later, Pope St. Sixtus III dedicated the church to Our Lady because the divine motherhood of Mary had just been proclaimed as an article of faith during the Council of Ephesus. The Basilica of St. Mary Major is the most significant Marian cathedral in the Western world.

The title Our Lady of the Snows dates back to a legend of the Middle Ages that tells us of a rich, childless couple who wanted to make Mary the heiress of their fortune. They prayed continuously in order to discover Mary’s wish for them.

On the night of Aug. 4, the Blessed Virgin made her wish known to both the couple and Pope Liberius — she wanted a shrine built on the spot on the Esquiline Hill that they would see covered with snow the next morning. Accompanied by clergy and laity, the pope walked in procession to the spot and found a site covered with snow, in spite of the intense heat of August in Rome. Pope Liberius immediately ordered the building of the Marian church on that spot.

Pope St. Sixtus III had the original church replaced by a newer, larger one in 432, and observation of the feast of Our Lady of the Snows began in that church in 435. Henceforth, the feast was extended to all of Rome, and in 1568, Pope Pius V extended it to the universal Church.

Inside the basilica is one of the most ancient pictures of Mary, Salus Populi Romani (“Salvation of the Roman People”), which Pope Francis has visited several times since his election.
Tradition attributes the picture to St. Luke and replicas of it have spread throughout the world. It also is installed as an image of grace in Ingolstadt, Germany, under the title “Mother Thrice Admirable.”

Aug. 13

Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners

This feast dates back to the time of St. Germanus of Constantinople in the eighth century.
This title depicts Mary as the New Eve. Eve was the instrument for the fall of humans into original sin and their subsequent suffering. Mary, on the other hand is the instrument for the salvation of humans and their healing by her agreement to become the mother of the Redeemer.
Mary’s position as Jesus’ mother gives her special intercessory abilities, particularly in interceding for his mercy for sinners.

Aug. 15

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

As far back as the fifth century, the Church in Jerusalem celebrated a feast of Mary on Aug. 15, which became known in the Eastern Church as “the day on which Holy Mary expired.” In the seventh century it was introduced to the Western Church as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It’s one of the most ancient feasts of Mary and commemorates her death and her assumption, body and soul, into heaven. Although Mary’s death is not documented, Tradition holds that she died at age 72 in either Ephesus or Jerusalem. Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the assumption on Nov. 1, 1950. A legend says that the apostles found flowers upon opening Mary’s tomb.

Aug. 22

Queenship of Mary

Pope Pius XII decreed and instituted the feast of the Queenship of Mary on Oct. 11, 1954, in his encyclical, Ad Caeli Reginam (“To the Queen of Heaven”). Originally, the feast was celebrated on May 31 and was reassigned to Aug. 22 in the revised Roman Calendar of 1969.

“Mary, too, as mother of the divine Christ, as his associate in the redemption, in his struggle with his enemies and his final victory over them, has a share, though in a limited and analogous way, in his royal dignity. For from her union with Christ she attains a radiant eminence transcending that of any other creature; from her union with Christ she receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the Divine Redeemer’s Kingdom; from her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father,” Pope Pius XII wrote (Ad Coeli Reginam, No. 39).

Whether we celebrate August’s Marian feast days in a big way or a small one, taking time to reflect on their history and meaning can help us to better understand Mary’s vital role in our salvation. Spending time with her — in private reflection or formal prayer — can increase our love for her and obtain for us graces for our sanctification.

Credits : Our Sunday Visitor