On this St. Patrick's Day

Top o' the morning to ya!

It's St. Patrick's Day again! For me, a day of great thanks and celebration. A day to celebrate some history. And also a day that tests my patience.

My ancestral roots are mostly a mixed bag of German, Swiss, Prussian, Irish, and probably other roots that I don't know of. But of these, I take great pride in my German and Irish roots. I (thankfully) have a family history book from my Mom's side, where my ancestors were roughly 50/50 split Irish and German. But my favorite information in that book is under one special category, "religious affiliation," all of whom are listed as "Catholic."

Praise God that my ancestors were and are still part of the Body of Christ. Praise God that down to my generation and now my son's, this Catholic lineage is unbroken for at least a few hundred years (as far back as my genealogy is currently traced). I assume (and probably correctly so) that all of my Irish ancestors were Catholic, and to that, I credit and give thanks to the man who brought Catholicism to pagan Ireland in the 5th century: St. Patrick.

Good St. Patrick was not even Irish himself, but born in Scotland and actually sold into slavery to Ireland as a teen. In those years in captivity, he grew in love for God. He escaped captivity after 6 years, but Ireland would continue to tug at his heartstrings. Around 433, at the command of Pope St. Celestine I, the priest St. Patrick and companions landed in Ireland to evangelize the people. Though many obstacles faced him, he nevertheless came out successful after more than 40 years, converting almost the entire country. He was granted final rest on March 17, 493, wrapped in the shroud that was hand-woven by St. Brigid (my Confirmation namesake).

He was deeply devoted to bringing and keeping the Truth in Ireland. I was taken aback by this paragraph from his biographical write-up on the New Advent site:

It is recorded that when St. Patrick and St. Brigid were united in their last prayer, a special vision was shown to him. He saw the whole of Ireland lit up with the brightest rays of Divine Faith. This continued for centuries, and then clouds gathered around the devoted island, and, little by little, the religious glory faded away, until, in the course of centuries, it was only in the remotest valleys that some glimmer of its light remained. St. Patrick prayed that the light would never be extinguished, and, as he prayed, the angel came to him and said: "Fear not: your apostolate shall never cease." As he thus prayed, the glimmering light grew in brightness, and ceased not until once more all the hills and valleys of Ireland were lit up in their pristine splendour, and then the angel announced to St. Patrick: "Such shall be the abiding splendour of Divine truth in Ireland."

So you see, St. Patrick holds a special place in my Irish-Catholic heart. I'm just so thankful for the graces God gave to him. For the plan that God had for him and Ireland. And for his "yes" to God. My patience is tested especially on this day when people "celebrate" St. Patrick's Day with no nod to the Saint or the God he served. Yes, it bothers me when people use a Catholic feast day as an excuse to commit the mortal sin of purposely getting drunk. Then again, the whole calendar year is full of Catholic-feast-days-turned-sinful-and-misunderstood-celebrations, like the rampant fornication on St. Valentine's Day, more Easter bunnies than celebrations of Christ's resurrection, and the secular war to rid all things religious from Christmas, just to name a few.

But anyways, celebrate today! But don't celebrate how much green alcohol you can drink, but rather, celebrate the Catholic bishop that brought Christ to the hearts of a whole nation, and countless subsequent generations for the last 1500 years. Remember that we are just in the heart of Lent, a time of fasting and self-denial, but go ahead, give thanks, and eat some Irish food, crack open a good beer, and tip your hat to good St. Patrick. Ask for his intercession. Imitate him by loving what he loves: God. Recite and meditate on his prayer (below) and truly honor his feast day, not with drunkenness, but with a heart more open to Christ.

St. Patrick, thank you! Please pray for us!

This prayer of St. Patrick is known as "St. Patrick's Breast Plate". Read and meditate on it. If nothing else, just read what is highlighted in bold near the end and think about those words on this day.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

St. Columban

Have you ever heard of St. Columban? I hadn't either before I pulled out my big book of Saints and opened to a random page. I'm glad I did. Not only did I learn about a Saint I've never heard of before, but I found an excerpt from some of his writing that really spoke to me. I hope you are just as moved. Read it slowly, and then learn more about St. Columban.

Don't consider what you are, but what you will be. What you are only lasts a moment, what you will be is eternal. Don't indulge yourself in laziness, but rather acquire in a short time what you will possess forever. Overcome your dislike for exertion in the present by thinking of the reward to come.

If the world lures you, remember that your pursuit of it is vain. What does it profit you to gaze at a shadow reflected in the water? How do you benefit from joy and happiness tasted in a dream? All dreams, no matter how long they last, are short-lived. And life's joys are like dreams in a dark night.

Awake, therefore, out of the night and seek the light so that you may see and be seen. Your life is a wheel that is ever turning and never waits for you. You must keep up with it. You have nothing on earth. And you will die as naked as you were when you were born. You have only the prospect of heaven, your inheritance, provided  you do not forfeit it.

But if you have lost it already, sell yourself to regain it. What do I mean by "sell yourself"? Sell your vices and buy life. Do you want to know what those vices are? Above all, sell pride, the root-vice, and buy humility. Then you will be like Christ who says, "Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart" (Matthew 11:29). 

All You Saints

"Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints." –From a sermon by St. Bernard, abbot

Today, on this Solemnity of All Saints, I’m truly reminded of what I am called to be. How I’m supposed to live. How to overcome trials in my life. And how, in all that I do, I should give glory to God.
 
I’m reminded on this day that the Body of Christ is one huge family that transcends all race, age, and time. I’m as much a sister of people living now, as I am all of the saints who have served Christ for the last 2000 years.
 
I’m reminded of who the true “litmus test” is for my life. We can get into so much trouble, falling helplessly into sin, and worse—not even considering it a sin—when we begin to compare our lives/behavior/morality on those around us. It’s so easy to say, “Well at least I’m not as bad as that guy,” or “Everyone else does it, they’re fine, and they’re still good people.” But when we compare ourselves only to sinners, we just blend in and get lost. The Saints (both the known Saints and those unknown saints) remind us to compare ourselves only to Jesus. How much worse we look when standing in His light! The brighter the light is in a room, the more dirt, dust, and imperfections you can see.
 
But I’ve always found it very hard and, at times, intangible to try and make my life measure up to Jesus. I fall so short; my sins seem so great; it seems impossible. But that is precisely why I am so thankful that the Church has always taught great devotion to the Saints. These were people just like you and me, but they were able to overcome themselves and devote their lives to God. They had the same struggles, doubts, and insecurities that we do. These are the great role models that we can learn from and model our lives after. As St. Paul says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
 
We are confident that these individuals are in the Heavenly realm of glory, seeing God face-to-face. These Saints are not dead just because they have passed from this world, for Jesus said that, “He is not a God of the dead, but of the living.” These Saints are more alive than we are! So one huge objection from non-Catholics regarding Saints is, “Why do you pray to dead people?” But if one believes that these people are truly dead, then they don’t believe in the Resurrection.
 
So yes, pray to these Saints! Ask them for prayers and help. It is absolutely no different asking a Saint to pray for you than it is to ask a friend, family member, or pastor. We are all united in the Spirit, so the Saints hear our prayers. Praying to Saints takes nothing away from our devotion and worship to Christ, Who is the only Mediator to God the Father. They are our friends and family and they want to help us, as much as we want their help. With their lives purified and their love of God complete in Heaven, why would we think that their “job” is done? Why would we think that once we’ve gotten to Heaven, that we forget about everyone below us? To me, that doesn’t sound like Heaven. Eye has not seen the most unfathomable peace, joy, and glory of Heaven, and if/when we get there someday, wouldn’t we in our perfected states, want everyone to join us? Wouldn’t we want to do everything we can to bring our other brothers and sisters to Eternal Joy? The Saints devoted their lives to God and His will, and His will is that none should perish. Their work is not done until the end of the world, so when someone offers their hand to help, it is a grace to accept that help.
 
"They will be happy to pray for you, for like us they have been feeble, they have been tempted, they have been miserable. But they had recourse to God. God pardoned their offenses and today they sing His mercies." —St. Theodora Guerin
 
“I shall spend my Heaven in doing good upon earth.” – St. Therese of Lisieux
 
So today I am reminded of all those extended, helpful hands from the Saints. I am reminded that even normal humans can do God’s will on earth, despite our sinfulness. I am reminded of the full extent of the Body of Christ, from age to age.
 
It’s a great honor to be called a “saint.” Strive for it.
 
Our Blessed Mother, pray for us!
St. Joseph, pray for us!
St. Helena, pray for us!
St. Brigid, pray for us!
St. Boniface, pray for us!
St. Maria Goretti, pray for us!
St. Gerard, pray for us!
St. Faustina, pray for us!
Venerable Fulton Sheen, pray for us!
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us!

Friday Guidance from the Saints - VI

"He who does not give up on prayer cannot possibly continue to offend God habitually. Either he will give up prayer, or he will stop sinning."

-St. Alphonsus Liguiori

1696-1787
Doctor of the Church - father of moral theology
Patron saint of: moralists, confessors, vocations, and people suffering from arthritis
Feast Day: August 1

Friday Guidance from the Saints - V

 
 
 

"Be courageous, do not be cast down. Trust in God and hope that He will grant you every grace. Do not rely on yourself, but rather on the Lord, and if you imagine that all is calm, then be assured that the enemy is quite near. Do not put too much confidence in peace, for in the midst of rest war may break out."

 

- St. Gerard Majella

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1726-1755

Patron saint of: expectant mothers, motherhood, the falsely accused, good confessions

Feast Day: October 16

Read more

 

St. Gerard Majella, pray for us!

Friday Guidance from the Saints - IV

"Ignorance of Scripture

is ignorance of Christ."

-St. Jerome

c. 340 - 420 A.D.
Doctor of the Church - father of Biblical science
Patron saint of: librarians
Feast Day: September 30

Friday Guidance from the Saints - III

"If people would do for God what they do for the world, my dear people, what a great number of Christians would go to Heaven! But if you dear children, had to pass three or four hours praying in a Church, as you pass them at a dance or in a cabaret, how heavily the world would press upon you."

- St John Vianney

St. John Vianney, patron saint of: parish priests, confessors

Feast Day: August 4

Friday Guidance from the Saints - II

"The Lord manifests Himself to those who stop for some time in peace and humility of heart. If you look in murky and turbulent waters, you cannot see the reflection of your face. If you want to see the face of Christ, stop and collect your thoughts in silence, and close the door of your soul to the noise of external things."

 ~St. Anthony of Padua

St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of: Faith in the Blessed Sacrament; amputees; sailors; elderly people; seekers of lost articles; animals, especially horses; American Indians; expectant mothers; barren women

St. Anthony, pray for us!

Friday Guidance from the Saints - I

“Therefore, you must unite yourselves to the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, both at the beginning of your conversion in order to obtain proper dispositions, and at its end in order to make reparation. Are you making no progress in prayer? Then you need only offer God the prayers which the Savior has poured out for us in the Sacrament of the altar. Offer God His fervent love in reparation for your sluggishness. In the course of every activity pray as follows: "My God, I do this or I endure that in the Heart of Your Son and according to His holy counsels. I offer it to You in reparation for anything blameworthy or imperfect in my actions." Continue to do this in every circumstance of life. And every time that some punishment, affliction or injustice comes your way, say to yourself: "Accept this as sent to you by the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in order to unite yourself to Him."

–St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Read more about this devotion and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque here.

One of my favorite days of the year!

Today is one of my favorite days of the Church year: the Feast of Divine Mercy, or Divine Mercy Sunday.

Quite honestly, last year and all previous years of my life, I was unaware of this day. I never really heard of it (because I wasn't paying attention), I didn't know where it came from, and I didn't know what it was all about.

But last summer, when I was finding myself in re-converting myself wholly to my Catholic faith, I discovered this gem of a feast day. Yes, a gem! My soul feels flooded with love for this day! And it is all because I read a book: The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska.

St. Faustina was a simple, under-educated young Polish nun in the 1920s and 1930s. In her relatively short life (33 years), she received many appearances and visitations from Jesus Christ Himself. Though she seemed like an unlikely candidate given her limited reading and writing abilities, Jesus ordered her to write about these visitations and to write the words He spoke to her. From her personal revelations, we have learned a great deal about Divine Mercy, we were taught by Christ how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena, we have the great image of Divine Mercy, and Divine Mercy Sunday, in which Jesus requested this feast day to be on the Sunday after Easter.

It was difficult at first for me to accept her revelations--like St. Thomas, we like to use our own senses for "proof" instead of just believing someone else's words--but I realized that if we don't believe He can appear to people, then we must discount the writings and experience from St. Paul.

There were two main ideas from Jesus, conveyed by St. Faustina, that stuck with me the most:

“Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy towards tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice…”

“There is no misery that could be a match for My mercy, neither will misery exhaust it, because as it is being granted-it increases. The soul that trusts in My mercy is most fortunate, because I  myself take care of it.”

These two paragraphs are essential to understanding God's mercy. For one, those who sin the most are most entitled to Christ's mercy. So someone who knows that they are a sinner, and they might even call themselves a "big" sinner, they can have full confidence in knowing that Jesus' help, grace, mercy, and love are not just for those who appear to be good all the time. That was His message in the Gospels, too. Jesus didn't come for the righteous, but for sinners. Likewise, when someone tries every moment of every day to avoid sin, when they delight in His Divine Mercy, they know will full trust that they can stand back and invite others in, because those who live in sin or who have great sins on their soul are more entitled to come to Jesus. What a beautiful thing! And it is because He said that there is no sin that is too great for His mercy. There is no combination of great sins that is too much for Him. There is nothing that Christ can't handle and forgive in a contrite heart. Jesus compared His mercy to a vast ocean. One where you can see no borders and no ocean floor. Even the worst sins are but a drop of water in this Ocean of Mercy. That, my friends, is difficult to understand. We humans tend to be very conditional in our forgiveness, and even when we forgive, it is hard for us to forget. But when a miserable and sinful soul runs to those merciful red and white rays from His Merciful Heart, the Heavens rejoice! Jesus has mercy on such a soul, forgiving their sins, seeing them anew, and pours out a flood of graces to help that soul who trusts in Him.

I can truly attest for His great mercy from my own experiences in the last year. When you but peek through the door for Him, He runs to you with open arms and a Heart full of mercy and grace. That grace shines in your soul so that you can understand the gravity of your sins. At that point, you feel the weight of them. You see yourself scourging Him or putting nails in His Hands. You have no choice but to throw yourself at His Feet with a sorrowful heart, seeking mercy and forgiveness. When you receive that forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, your life feels changed. You can actually begin to grasp the idea of an Ocean of Mercy. You feel so much inside you: grace, a heart on fire with love, and a deep desire to bring others to the Ocean of Mercy. It's not enough to keep such a treasure to yourself. My love for God has grown because of His mercy and I am a changed person because of it.

I have a particular devotion to St. Faustina because of her diary. I know she prays for every soul that reads it. She prays for souls who approach His mercy either for the first time ever or for the first time in a long time. I know she was praying for me before my first Confession in almost 9 years. St. Faustina is a great saint to turn to for help and prayers, and I know that she can't disappoint.

I pray for so many things today. I pray for all of you to read St. Faustina's Diary. I pray that you trust in Christ's mercy. I pray that you return to His mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I pray for your heart to be on fire for His mercy, and to understand that those people that you see around you every day, doing "bad things," are the ones who are most entitled to come to Jesus. They have the priority and greatest need! I pray for those souls daily, and I pray that you will pray for them too.

Seek His mercy, particularly today on Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus said, "On that day all the Sources of my Mercy will be open.  I wish that this Feast become a refuge for all souls, but especially for the sinners." 

And now I will leave you with a few more quotes from Jesus Himself that are found in the Diary:

“Tell souls not to place within their own hearts obstacles to My mercy, which so greatly wants to act within them. My mercy works in all those hearts which open their doors to it. Both the sinner and the righteous person have need of My mercy. Conversion, as well as perseverance, is a grace of My mercy.”

“Today the Lord said to me, Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns way from them to humble souls.”

"The greatest sinners could become great saints if they trusted in my Mercy. I delight in sanctifying the souls. The greatest sinners have the individual right to my Mercy. It is for Me a joy when they go to my Mercy. I overflow them with my graces above their expectations." 

"The loss of each soul brings me to a mortal sadness. You always console me when you pray for sinners.  The prayer that is most pleasing to Me is the prayer for the conversion of sinners.  You have to know, My daughter Mine, that this prayer is always heard."

 

O, Blood and Water which gushed forth from The Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You.  

 

"Draw a picture according to how you see me, with the invocation: 'Jesus I Trust in You.' I want that image venerated throughout the world... Both rays mean the Blood and the Water. The pale ray symbolizes the Water that it justifies to the souls. The red ray symbolizes the Blood that is the life of the souls... Both rays emerged from the deepest entrails of My mercy when My dying Heart was pierced in the cross by the lance... I promise that the soul that venerates this image will not perish.  I already promise here on Earth victory over the enemies: mainly at the time of death.  I myself will defend them like my Glory.  I offer mankind a container where they can come to the source of Mercy to gather graces.  That container is this image with the inscription 'Jesus I Trust in You' under and not on the image."   

For more quotes from the Diary: click here

For the Divine Mercy Chaplet: click here

For the Divine Mercy Novena: click here

I'm in love!

Yes it has only been one day since I laid eyes on him and vicariously met him, but I am smitten. My spirit joins with millions of others who are rejoicing today, thanking God for our new pope, Pope Francis, and thanking the Holy Spirit for guiding the cardinals to choose him.

 

From Catholic Memes.
How can you not love this man?!

Why am I so in love? “Let me count the ways…” Where do I begin? Let’s start with my first impressions from his greeting on the balcony. His body language, to me, spoke many words. He seems somewhat shy, introverted, perhaps a little socially awkward, deeply humble, and one who doesn’t want to be the center of attention. I, myself, identify with many of these traits (although, Christ-like humility is a life-long learning process..). In being able to identify myself with him, I cannot imagine how truly uncomfortable and terrifying it would be to overlook a crowd of over 150,000 people who are all there to see you and only you. Not only that, but hundreds (thousands?) of video cameras were there to transmit your greeting all over the world. You know your face was going to be on the front of every major newspaper, TV and radio broadcast, and social media page around the globe. I can’t imagine the kind of courage it takes to face such a challenge, but these words ring louder to me than ever before: “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” In his greeting, I saw the perfect embodiment of this Bible verse. Speaking of Christ and Pope Francis’ body language--his shirking humility also screamed to me, “Please don’t glorify me. Glorify Jesus! Don’t look to me. Please look to Jesus!” As John the Baptist put it simply, “He must increase; I must decrease.”

 

Second, I was deeply moved by his simple greeting, and the common theme through his entire greeting: prayer. He first asked us all to pray with him for Pope Emeritus Benedict with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. Then he asked us to always pray for each other, and for brotherhood throughout the whole world. Before he blessed his adoring crowd, he asked them to first bless him. As he bowed, he asked for all to pray silently for him, and you could certainly hear a pin drop as an enormous crowd suddenly and simultaneously bowed their heads as silent voices lifted up to Heaven, and undoubtedly, graces fell back down to earth. Then he gave us all his blessing and bid us farewell. Prayer, prayer, prayer. This man is certainly tuned in to communication with Heaven.


Next, I’m in love with his bold choice of a papal name: Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi. A simple, poor, humble servant, but one who was fearlessly on fire with love for the Gospel. There is so much symbolism and potential for the future that we can speculate from what we know about St. Francis. We know that when St. Francis was praying one day, he heard God say, “Francis, rebuild my Church.” While I prefer the optimistic side of life, because God is Hope and my hope is in Him, I can’t deny the fact that there are flaws in His Church. Afterall, it is an organization run by flawed, sinful humans. But we have a Church that needs fixings, from the Curia to the invasion of secularism, and everything in-between. Maybe Pope Francis heard this call. There is also a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, where he said, “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Even researching just a little bit of Jorge Bergoglio’s life, you would assume that this is essentially his life motto. He is a true, humble servant of Christ, who truly believes that he is not more important than anyone else. You can’t really say enough about him. Finally, in relation to St. Francis of Assisi, who is typically depicted with a bird, the Sistine seagull may or may not have been a coincidence (or “God-incidence)… Who knows.

 

Finally, I am in love with the effect he has on people. Just like a warm, sunny, early spring day can bring out the best spirits in people, so too does Pope Francis seem to bring about a softened heart in others. I typically dread reading Catholic news on secular media websites because they usually have said something wrong. I dread even more when I scroll to the bottom and read the comments from anonymous people with inflated “keyboard courage.” I have read some of the most hateful, evil, and vile things about the Catholic Church from these comment boxes. So today, I held my breath as I looked through these comments, but I was completely taken aback by what I saw. Comment after comment seemed to say something like, “I’m not a Catholic, but I really like this guy and I wish him the best.”--WHAT?! Are these even the same people?! My heart swelled as I read through many, similar comments of just simple, kind words for our new Holy Father from people on “the outside.” Pope Francis, in his Christ-like humility, pure love, and his proof that he can “walk the walk” instead of just “talk the talk” seems to be a breath of fresh air in this world that is hostile to Christianity, and especially Catholicism. It seems as though the Holy Spirit has truly chosen a Supreme Pontiff, or literally, a Supreme Bridge-Builder. My hopes are so high. The more I learn about him, the more excited I get. I pledge my full obedience to him.
“Francis, rebuild my Church.”

 

I’m in love.



To learn more about him, check out some of the standing facts about Pope Francis, as well as blogs and news bits that trickle in daily from New Advent.

Advent

Advent is probably my favorite season of the year, although in most years past, I have probably treated the Advent season more as the Christmas season. The Christmas decorations went up fast and there was nothing else to wait for. Although most of the decorations went up early again this year (after Thanksgiving), I'm taking a whole new approach to the season of waiting and the season of hope. The first Sunday of Advent was the first day of the new liturgical year, but I also embraced and anticipated it as my new year, the year where I say goodbye to the past me who wasn't the most faithful Catholic, and looking forward to the new year ahead where I have devoted my heart to Christ for the whole year, and the year after, and the year after...

The season of Advent is about waiting for Jesus. I'm awaiting the Baby Jesus' arrival to earth, while also awaiting His second coming. The waiting and "coming" of Advent is this twofold anticipation. I must really use this season to prepare my heart and soul, as if Jesus' second coming could be any day now. Will I be ready? Rarely are any of us truly ready, but are we doing everything we can to prepare our hearts? That is the goal.

The Catholic Church has some beautiful Advent traditions to help us on this journey. I didn't grow up with most of these traditions, but I'm determined to make them a staple in the Evans household. Not only are these great educational and spiritual exercises for my husband and I, but I hope they are just as memorable and valuable to our future children!

 

Here is what my husband and I are doing/will do this Advent season:

 

1.       The Advent Wreath
This is probably the most common tradition of all. A simple wreath with three purple candles and one pink candle, but this is more than just a decoration or centerpiece. The four candles follow the four Sundays of Advent. My husband and I have made it a point to eat dinner at the table every night. Before we eat, we turn the lights out and then light the appropriate candle(s) while singing. On weekdays, we sing O Come O Come Emmanuel and on Sundays, when we add a new candle, we sing the good ol’ Advent Candle song that we remember from our childhoods. "Light the Advent candle one..."
 
2.       The Empty Manger
Advent is a time to prepare for Jesus’ coming, so it doesn’t make much sense to have a full nativity scene, which even has the baby Jesus already in it. Sometimes we humans don’t notice something until it is gone. Is the full nativity scene just another Christmas decoration? Seeing that empty manger reminds me of Who should be in it, and I’m looking forward to the day when I can make the crèche “complete.”

3.       The Jesse Tree
Aside from doing this my 6th grade year, this is new to both of us. The Jesse Tree covers Christ's ancestry, from Adam and Eve to Mary and Jesus, and relates Scripture to salvation history. Each day we read certain passages from Scripture and then draw and hang an ornament with an image that represents the Scripture we just read. This is another tradition that I hope will become a big hit with our children in the Evans household someday!

4.    St. Nicholas Day
St. Nicholas Day already passed and I wrote about my day here.

5.    St. Lucy Day
This was a day I never heard of either, but I love traditions, and especially traditions from other countries. I think it really shows how universal (catholic) the Church is! St. Lucy (Lucia) was an Italian saint and Italians have their own traditions for her feast day. However, I was drawn to the Swedish tradition for her feast day, so this year, on December 13, I will bake a braided bread in the shape of a wreath. In Sweden, the oldest daughter wears a white dress and a red sash and stockings and brings coffee and bread to the family at breakfast. Perhaps since I am the oldest (and only) daughter of my family, I can hold this tradition until I have a little one of my own.

6.    Daily Scripture, meditation, and prayer
I picked up a small book at our local Catholic bookstore with daily reflections of the Daily Readings, a meditation topic, and a prayer. My husband and I do this every morning before we get ready for work. It has been a nice (and new) way to read through Scripture and pray before I really start my day.

"Advent, this powerful liturgical season that we are beginning, invites us to pause in silence to understand a presence. It is an invitation to understand that the individual events of the day are hints that God is giving us, signs of the attention he has for each one of us."

---Pope Benedict VXI, Homily at First Vespers of Advent, November 28, 2009

 

 

St. Nicholas and the Eastern Church

Today (December 6) is the feast day of St. Nicholas. I have brief but fond memories of St. Nicholas day in grade school. Tradition is such that St. Nick leaves treats or gifts in a child's shoes if he or she leaves them out. At my school, we all got to take our shoes off and line them up in the hallway. (As a side note, we had to wear uniforms so anytime we were out of the normal dress code for any reason, even if it was one shoeless class, it was an amazing day) At the end of class, we had to go get our shoes and voila! St. Nicholas had come by with candy canes!

St. Nick actually visited our house this morning too... my husband found a candy cane in his shoe before work. Me, I found this in my lunch box:

 

It's always great to keep even small traditions alive. This is something we plan to continue and play up with our children someday!

Anyways, I read multiple blogs today about the real St. Nicholas. It's absolutely amazing to learn about a person that everyone has heard of, yet few people actually know who he was! Of course, the St. Nicholas of old eventually evolved into the modern-day Santa Claus, but the two couldn't have been more different. If you're interested in lots of details, you can read them here or here.

In short, St. Nicholas was born in a small town in Asia Minor in modern Turkey in the year 280 AD, and later became archbishop of another Asia Minor city, Myra. Before everyone started looking at him with their jolly, rosy Santa Claus glasses, he was arguably most remembered for punching someone.

The year is 325. The place is Nicaea, a small town near the Black Sea in what is now Turkey. Thousands of priests, 318 bishops, two papal lieutenants and the Roman emperor Constantine are gathered to face a looming church crisis…..

 

One of the churchmen rises to speak. Arius, from the Egyptian city of Alexandria, tells the gathering that Jesus was not divine. He was just a prophet. Suddenly, a second man is on his feet, an obscure, cantankerous bishop named Nicholas. He approaches Arius, fist raised menacingly. There are gasps. Would he dare? He would. Fist strikes face. Arius goes down. He will have a shiner. Nick, meanwhile, is set upon by holy men. His robes are torn off. He is thrown into a dungeon.

So much for jolly old St. Nicholas!

But hey, he was a true Christian defending Christ's Divinity!

In my searching for information on St. Nick, I came across a fact that I did not previously know. St. Nicholas was a saint through the Eastern Church... often called the Eastern Rite, but really the Eastern Catholic Church. This perplexed me a little. My initial thought was that the Eastern Church had broken off from the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 and that we were more or less separated since then, like we are from Protestants. So what started out as a day to learn about jolly old Saint Nicholas turned into me digging for information on Eastern and Western Churches.

What I found was great! I have had questions about the status of Eastern Churches, since they broke off long before Protestants did. I found this great page that explains the once-unified Christian church, the Catholic Church, that all Christians belonged to until the East-West schism of 1054. Eventually, over the next 900 years, many Eastern Churches became re-united with Rome. The core Catholic beliefs are the same, East and West recognize the pope as the Supreme Pontiff, but the liturgical style in the East most reflects the local culture and ancient practices.

The good, or bad, thing about the internet is that one page is full of links to other pages. Naturally, as I was thirsty for knowledge, I followed a lot of these links. I found a Q&A page from a Byzantine (Eastern) Church and another page about Byzantine Catholics, the Melkites, explaining the union with the western Roman Catholic Church. Basically, I can attend an Eastern Church, receive the Eucharist (because they, too, consecrate it into the actual Flesh and Blood of Jesus), and fulfill my "Sunday requirement" there.

As it was so beautifully stated on the American Catholic website, "All, East and West, belong to the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church."

 

 

Doing even a little bit of research in the history of a 2000 year old church can take you to many places, from Santa Claus, to St. Nicholas of Myra, to the East-West Schism, to my realizing that I can attend a Byzantine Church.

 

Just another day!

St. Nicholas, glorious Confessor of Christ,

assist us in thy loving kindness.