A Reflection for Christmas Day 2015

Introduction :

God willed to share in our human condition to the point of becoming one with us in the person of Jesus Christ, who is "True Man and True God".

However, there is something even more surprising. The presence of God among men did not take place in a perfect world, but rather in this real world, which is marked by so many things both good and bad, by division, by wickedness, by poverty, by arrogance, and finally by war.

He chose to live in our history as it is, with all the weight of its limitations and of its tragedies.

In doing so, he has demonstrated in an unequalled manner his merciful and truly loving disposition towards humans.

He is God - with us. Jesus Christ is God- with - us.

Jesus Christ is God with us always and forever with us in history's suffering and sorrow.

The Birth of Jesus Christ reveals that God "sided" with man once and for all, to save us, to raise us from the dust of our misery, from our difficulty, and from our sins.


Conclusion :

This is the great "gift" of the Child of Bethlehem. He gives us a spiritual energy, an energy which enables us not to despair in our struggles, in our hopelessness, in our sadness, for it is an energy that transforms us.

Indeed, the Birth of Jesus Christ brings us delightful news that we are loved immensely and uniquely by God, and he not only enables us to know this love, but he communicates it to us !!

Credits and References :

"A Place for the Poor on Christmas"
by his Holiness Pope Francis
December 2013
Don Bosco's Madonna Mumbai,
Vol -16, N0- 8
December 2014
Pages 18-19

Note : Please read an excellent meditation for Christmas.

The Nativity of Christ.

http://www.ecatholic2000.com/cts/untitled-590.shtml#_Toc349936255




 

An Indian Princess who became a Catholic Christian

This is a simple story of an Indian Princess who lived in North India from the Mid or Late - 1700's to the early 1800's and who was a fervent Catholic Christian.

She was a Catholic Christian out of conviction and not for "Material Benefits" as she was quite rich in her own right.

I am talking about Begum Yohanna Sumru of Sardhana.

She converted to Catholicism after a number of years. She was married to a French Colonel by the name of Walter Reinhardt Sumru.

She had a great devotion to Our Lady and built a Church -Shrine in honor of Our Lady of all Graces.

Note : Begum Yohanna Sumru is the only "Royalty" in India who became a Catholic Christian.

Read the whole story here.

http://www.sardhanachurch.org/theshrineof.aspx

Merry Christmas 2015 and a Happy and Blessed New Year 2016

Dear Friends in Jesus and Mary,

The Year 2015 is drawing to a close but there are important feast days coming up before the year is over.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the readers of my blog a Merry Christmas 2015.

May the Christ Child bless you and your family abundantly.

This is also the time, to wish all the readers of my blog a Blessed and Holy New Year 2016.

Note : Please watch out for my Blog Post on Christmas Day.

 

Article for January 2016

Dear Friends in Jesus and Mary,

I will be posting just one article in January 2016.

It is as follows :

"Why Young People don't come to Church Today".

THEOPHANE VENARD

A Little Hero of Christ

Introduction :

Theophane  was born in a little village called Saint Loup in France. When he was nine years old and looking after the goats of the family a companion read out a piece of news to him from a recent missionary magazine. It was the narration of how the missionary Father Charles Corney was martyred in TongKing, Indo - China (now present day Vietnam).

Little Theophane had tears in his eyes on hearing of the tortures this holy priest had undergone. "I too will go to Tongking and shall die for Christ !!" he said.

Soon after, that Theophane  joined the Seminary and was ordained a Priest. His mind was now set on Indo-China. He went to the South Seas, and in a Chinese Junk managed to get to Tongking.

It was 1858, these were difficult times for the Catholic Church there. The French Missionaries had succeeded in winning over to "Our Lord" 140,000 souls but now due to fierce persecution all this work seemed to be wiped off !!

"We are like birds on the branch of a tree, always on the alert", Father Theophane wrote. We hide in little boats, or in caverns, or in the tombs in the mountains, where we run the risk of being buried alive. "One day we had to remain in one of these tombs for eight hours, being able to breathe only through a bamboo tube".

Then for a space of two years, Father Theophane was on the run. He hid in the mountains, moved from village to village, all the time teaching, preaching, and administering the sacraments.

He saw the Catholic Christians being put to death by the most horrible tortures, and the Catholic Schools and Catholic Churches destroyed.

Conclusion :

In November 1860, Father Theophane was caught and in chains taken from village to village. The executioner asked for a tip to do the work quickly. Poor Father Theophane who had no money replied "Take your time, friend!! The good Father was then stripped of all his clothes, except the trousers and by a blunt sword the head was severed.

The Blood of this young priest drenched the sands of Indo China !! (now present day Vietnam).

All this happened not very long ago !!

Note: The Catholic Church in Vietnam is red with the blood of martyrs. There are at least 100 canonized martyrs in the Catholic Church in Vietnam.

The most prominent Vietnamese Catholic Saint is Saint Andrew Dung Lac. He too was martyred for the Catholic Faith.

Today, in North Vietnam and in the Highlands in Central Vietnam large numbers of people are embracing Christ and the Catholic Faith.

May God bless abundantly the Catholic Church in Vietnam. It is often said that the Blood of Martyrs is the seed of the Church -that is so true in the case of Vietnam.

Vietnam has approximately 8 Million Catholics roughly 10% of the population and growing.

Credits: Don Bosco's Madonna,
             Mumbai, India
             October 1975
            Page 17
           "Theophane Venard"
           By Father Cajetan Lobo S.D.B.

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe Patroness of the Americas

Introduction :

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is December 12. The one request that Mother Mary made to the Bishop through Saint Juan Diego was that a chapel be built so that all of her children could come to her "Beloved Son" in the Blessed Sacrament.

When we see a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe she appears to be standing in the midst of glorious rays coming from the sun. In Fact, these rays are not coming from the rays of the sun in the sky, but rather the divine rays of the Son in the Blessed Sacrament.

The higher meaning of the "Woman clothed with the Sun" is Mary's perfect union with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. This is what is meant by the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. These two hearts are perfectly united and now beat as one.

The meaning of Our Lady of Guadalupe is this. She is proclaiming the "Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament" giving witness to his healing rays, represented by the glorious rays surrounding her.

At the same time, she is announcing to the world the great "Eucharistic Miracle" to come when the divine rays of his mercy and love will shine out from the Blessed Sacrament in radiant splendour.

This "Eucharistic Miracle" will be brighter than the Sun and it will take place in every chapel of perpetual adoration where Jesus Christ is loved and adored day and night without pause.

This is why we meditate during December on the prophetic words from Isaiah : "No Longer will your teacher hide himself ". (Isaiah 30:20) "He will destroy the veil that veils all peoples". (Isaiah 25:7).

The "Veil" is what prevents us from seeing the glorious "Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament".

The first thing that Saint Juan Diego saw was a brilliant light. Out of the light the Blessed Mother appeared.

It is the "considered opinion" of many associated with the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe that the light that Saint Juan Diego saw was a "Glorified Host" from which the Blessed Mother appeared.

Everything that this marvellous light touched was transformed. For Example, the rocks on the mountainside were transformed into precious stones. From the snow in the cold of winter, grew the loveliest roses Saint Juan Diego ever saw.

Conclusion :

When Saint Juan Diego took the roses to the Bishop as proof that he had a heavenly vision there was a great surprise. His clothing was transformed into the "Image" of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is known as "The Tilma".

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the "Patroness of the Americas".

Happy Feast to one and all.

FYI- Guadalupe is situated in Mexico City, Mexico. There is a magnificent Basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe there.

Credits and References :

"Our Lady of Guadalupe"
 Could you not watch one hour with me
 By Father Martin Lucia
Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament
Newsletter No-3
December 1997



 

Saint Catherine Laboure -- Visionary of the Miraculous Medal

Introduction :

The Feast of Saint Catherine Laboure is on November 28th.

A most unforgettable impression of Paris is the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal at 140 Rue Du Bac.

There you can gaze into the most beautiful blue eyes of a woman who kept a secret for forty six years : Catherine Laboure.

What was that secret ?? That she was the Nun to whom Mother Mary appeared, asking for a Medal to be struck and a statue to be sculpted.

The Fact that she rested her hands on the lap of the Blessed Mother during one of the many apparitions did not make her a saint; her sanctity consists of 50 years of faithful service as a "Daughter of Charity".

She personally worked no miracles, nor did she practice external heroic charity like Saint Martin De Porres.

She was not materially poor as were Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes and the children of Fatima; rather she sprang from upper middle - class parents from among the meadows and vineyards of Burgundy, France.

Her Father was an educated man and an excellent farmer living in the village of  Fain - Les - Moutiers, not far from the city of Dijon in France.

Catherine Laboure was born on May 2, 1806.

The Medal :

God chose Catherine Laboure  to usher in the "Marian Age".

During, one of the many apparitions -- the Blessed Mother asked Catherine Laboure  to have a Medal struck.

On one side, of the Medal there should be a huge Letter M with a cross above it. The Letter should rest on a bar, beneath which should appear two hearts.

On the other side of the Medal, there should be an inscription " O Mary conceived without sin, Pray for us who have recourse to thee".

The first heart, should be encircled by a crown of thorns and the second should be pierced by a sword.

The Letter "M" is for Mary and Mother since she is indeed the Mother of God's people -- a people founded on the twelve apostles, signified by the twelve stars arranged around the side.

The two hearts are those of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary. God's message for Mary was one of suffering : A Sword will pierce your Heart -- just as the heart of her son would be pierced by a soldier's lance.

Catherine asked how she was to have the medal struck. Mother Mary replied that she was to go to her confessor : Father Jean Marie Aladel.

Father Aladel at first, did not believe Catherine; however after 2 years he finally went to the Archbishop of Paris who ordered 2,000 medals struck.

A Conversion wrought by the Miraculous Medal :

Alfonse Ratisbonne was a wealthy Jewish Lawyer and Banker of Strasbourg who hated Catholicism.

A Catholic Friend gave him a Miraculous Medal, daring him to wear it and say the Memorare.

Not long after, Ratisbonne went to the Church of Saint Andrea Della Fratte. At the front door; a menacing black dog met him, but vanished soon after.

Later, a brilliant light emanated from the Guardian Angel Chapel and he saw Mother Mary as on the Miraculous Medal.

He was converted right there and begged for immediate baptism.

This request was not immediately granted, however after some instruction in the faith, the Jesuits baptized him at the Church of the Gesu in Rome, Italy.

After spending some time with the Jesuits, he joined the Congregation of Our Lady of Zion for the evangelization of the Jews.

For thirty years, he labored in the Holy Land as an intrepid missionary to his own kind.

With Mary once More :

On the 31st of December 1876, Catherine Laboure passed into the arms of Mary.

Today, her beautiful remains lie fresh and serene; her eyes are a brilliant blue and her arms and legs are supple; she does not seem dead.

The Miraculous Medal, challenges us to look at life again and accept the protection and encouragement offered to us by the Mother of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion :

On May 28, 1933 Pope Pius, the 12th beatified Catherine Laboure.

Her incorrupt body is now encased in glass beneath the side altar at 140 Rue Du Bac, Paris beneath one of the places where Our Lady appeared to her.

Her Marvelous Blue Eyes, attract visitors from every corner of the globe.

Pope Paul, The Sixth had to say the following about the Miraculous Medal :

"The Miraculous Medal is no good -luck charm. It is a reminder that Our Lady is a sure hope for those troubled in mind as they often are; divided in heart, and troubled about life itself.

Credits and References :

Most Beautiful Blue Eyes
By Father Harold Rahm S.J.
Pages 2-16
Saint Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous Medal
Published by Our Lady's Workers
Sunder Nagar, Kalina - Mumbai, India

Note : My Friends, you who are faithful readers of my Blog -- I encourage you to go to 140, Rue Du Bac to the Shrine - Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and receive untold graces from Mother Mary.

Important :  OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL, RUE DU BAC, PARIS

http://www.chapellenotredamedelamedaillemiraculeuse.com/EN/a__Welcome.asp