What Will You Do with Your Last Week of Advent?

Fr. Barron on the Queenship of Mary

What is the Immaculate Conception?

Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - a holy day of obligation - so please make it to Mass today!

What is the Immaculate Conception about? Many mistakenly think that this feast is about the miraculous virgin conception of Jesus, but it is actually about the conception of his mother, Mary.

This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about this dogma:
490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with thee gifts appropriate to such a role." The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immmune from all stain of original sin.

492 The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son." The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love."

By the grace of God and the merits of her Son, Mary was free of Original Sin and personal sin her whole life long.  How can this be?  Here is a great explanation from Catholics United for the Faith.
The basic gist though is to prepare a worthy dwelling place for his Son and by the merits of his Son, God gave Mary the grace of being free of Original Sin and all personal sin. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" (Luke 1:28).  Remember God is outside of time, so he can apply the graces won for us on the cross by Jesus to his Mother even before Jesus is conceived. The Church Fathers would explain it in the following manner:  If I have fallen in a hole and a man comes by and pulls me out then he has saved me from the hole.  If I am standing at the edge of the hole and a man comes by and prevents me from falling into it then he has also saved me from the hole.  Such is the case here - Mary was about to fall in but Jesus saved her from it before she fell in - so Mary can also sing "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1: 46-47).  Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant.  Just as in the Old Covenant God's word, the Ten Commandments, dwelt in the Ark, so in the New Covenant, God's Word, the Word made flesh, dwelt in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception.  Many misunderstandably think that Catholics worship Mary, but the reality is no, we don't worship her.  Worship is due to God alone.  However, we do honor Mary as the Mother of our Lord and recognize the indispensable role that she has played in salvation history.  She is the Mother of God and our Mother.  Just as Jesus gave Mary to John the Beloved Disciple at the foot of the cross, "Son, behold your Mother", so has he given her to all he has redeemed. 

Mary is my mother and I give thanks to God today for the graces he has bestowed on her and the great faith she expressed in saying yes to him - "Be it done unto me according to Thy word!"

Read more about this dogma and its biblical consistency here and here.

Can the Souls' in Purgatory Pray for Us?

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them O Lord, and let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Them

Today is the Feast of All Souls' so I thought I would re-post the following from this time last year.  Enjoy and you're welcome. ;)

All Saints & All Souls: Highlighting the Body of Christ

Tuesday we celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints' - a holy day of obligation giving us the opportunity to glorify God through all His holy saints who constantly intercede for us; a day to celebrate the Church Triumphant.

Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of All Souls' - a day to intercede for the Church Suffering, the holy souls in Purgatory.

To what are the terms Church Triumphant, Church Suffering and Church Militant referring and what is significant about these holy days and the doctrine of Purgatory?

The Church is the Body of Christ - Christ is the head and we are the members of the body.  The Church is made up of both those who are living on earth and those who have passed on and are awaiting the resurrection.  The 'Church Triumphant' are those members of the Body of Christ, the Church, who have entered into the glory of God in heaven and who pray to God for us that we may also enter into the joy of eternal happiness with Him:

"And another angel came and stood  at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God." - Rev. 8: 3-4

The saints have triumphed over sin and Satan through the holy 'blood of the Lamb' and therefore are referred to as the 'Church Triumphant':

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. - Rev. 12: 11

Then we have the 'Church Suffering', who are the holy souls in Purgatory.  Purgatory is often a misunderstood doctrine - and, yes, Purgatory is a doctrine of the Holy Church - always has been, always will be.  Doctrines and dogmas of the Church are unchanging because Truth does not change.  Purgatory is not something the Church just 'made up' - it is a part of the sacred deposit of the Faith given by Christ to the Apostles and handed on to us by them as well as having Scriptural basis.  The Catechism #1030 says this about Purgatory:

All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

Purgatory does not mean that Christ's sacrifice for us was not sufficient.  Purgatory is actually a great grace of God and reinforces the fact that Christ's redemptive act is effective.  When we sin we incur a dual punishment: eternal and temporal.  Eternal punishment is hell; temporal punishment is repairing the damage our sin has caused.  Again, this does not mean that we are working our way toward heaven apart from Christ or that Christ's sacrifice was not sufficient.  Let's look at the words of St. Paul:

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church... - 1 Colossians 1: 24

Does Paul mean that Christ's sacrifice was not good enough?  No, of course not.  The sacrifice of Jesus was perfect and complete.  But God loves us so much that He wants us to be in a relationship with Him, uniting our imperfect sufferings to the perfect suffering of Jesus, thereby, echoing St. Paul's words, "I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions..."  In Revelation 21, St. John describes the "the holy city, new Jerusalem", heaven.  At the end of the chapter he says, "But nothing unclean shall enter it...".  Purgatory is a part of the redeeming blood of Jesus having its effect in cleansing us that we may be clean to enter heaven.

In the whole land, says the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive.  And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested.  They will call on my name, and I will answer them.  I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'.  - Zech. 13: 8-9

Purgatory is a cleansing fire from which all our impurities and disordered attachments are purified as gold in the fire that we may be clean through the blood of the Lamb to enter into the joy of heaven.  Contrary to many misconceptions, Purgatory is not a permanent state.  Those who are being cleansed in Purgatory are assured of heaven but are simply being purified before entering.  We speak of this in terms of space and time, because that's how we experience life, so we say things like 'in' Purgatory and 'how long' someone is in Purgatory, but God is not limited by space and time, so how that actually all looks we don't know because it has not been revealed.

We have the opportunity to pray for the holy souls in Purgatory and offer our sufferings on earth to God in union with the sacrifice of Christ on their behalf, just as St. Paul mentions in 1 Colossians.  So All Souls' Day is a day particularly set aside for that very purpose, though we are called to pray for the holy souls often.  An example of praying for those who have died is provided in 2 Maccabees 12 in which the leader of the army brought his dead soldiers to be buried and he and all with him prayed for those who had died:

In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection.  For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.  But if he was looking to the splendid reward that  is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.  Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.  - 2 Maccabees 12: 43-45

One saint who was particularly devoted to the holy souls in Purgatory was St. Gertrude.  She composed the following prayer for the holy souls:

Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with all  the Masses said throughout the world today, for the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those within my home and within my family.

Read more about Purgatory from Catholics United for the Faith here.  I highly recommend reading it.

The 'Church Militant' are those of us still here on earth fighting the good fight so as to win the prize:

For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. - 2 Tim. 4: 6-7

Each day, because of concupiscence (the tendency to sin) and the temptations of Satan, we engage in a battle to choose Christ over sin.  This is why we are called the 'Church Militant' because we are engaged in a battle.  Thanks be to God that Jesus has won the ultimate victory over sin and death - we must, however, choose to partake in that victory by His grace.

This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophetic utterances which pointed to you, that inspired by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. - 1 Tim. 1: 18

So the Solemnity of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls are important because they remind us that we are all one body in Christ and have an initimate connection to one another and can assist each other in being holy children of God and guide one another on the path to the new Jerusalem, the holy city: heaven.

May the saints intercede for us to our God, may we pray for each other and encourage one another in living holy lives pleasing to the Lord and may we pray for the holy souls in Purgatory who no doubt pray for us as well: May perpetual light shine upon them and may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

The Year of Faith and Its Significance

The Year of Faith has begun!! Why is it important?

Touched By An Angel...Not Just a TV Show....

Today is the Feast of the Guardian Angels - a great day to begin the habit of asking for your guardian angel's intercession everyday and thanking him for the numerous occasions he has saved you from harm and bestowed God's graces upon you:

"Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God entrusts me here, ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule and to guide.  Amen."

Angels are legit.  Angels are pure spiritual beings (they don't have bodies) with intellect and will.   When people die, they do not 'become angels', they remain humans - angels are totally separate creatures who are pure spirit.  Humans are an integration of body and soul and though the body and soul are separated at death (but will be forever reunited again in the resurrection), our nature as human beings does not change into that of an angel upon death.

 Scripture is full of the assistance of angels.  Angels minister to the Lord during his agony in the Garden and temptation in the desert.  The angel Gabriel appears to Mary during the Annunciation, speaks to Joseph and Zechariah and a host of angels appear to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus.  Angels appeared after the Resurrection speaking to the women who came to the tomb.  They appeared to the apostles upon the Ascension and assisted them during their time of spreading the Gospel, even freeing Peter from jail.  In the book of Revelation there are many references to the angels.  My favorite Scriptural story of an angel is the book of Tobit when the archangel Raphael leads Tobias to marry Sarah and heals the blindess of Tobit.  There are also many stories of the angels throughout the Old Testament, often including times when God sends angels as guardians of the Israelites.

Guardian angels are an important part of our faith and life.  As the Catechism says, "From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.“Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God." (CCC336) 

Padre Pio's words to one of his spiritual daughters about the guardian angels:

O Raffaelina, how consoling it is to know that we are always under the protection of a heavenly spirit, who never abandons us, not even (most admirable fact!) in the very act by which we displease God! How sweet this great truth is for the believing soul! What can the devout soul fear that is diligent in loving Jesus, and that always has such a distinguished fighter present by its side? Oh, was he not perchance among those many who, together with St. Michael the Angel there in the empyreal heights defended the honor of God against Satan and all the other rebellious spirits, finally reducing them to perdition and casting them into hell (Cf. Dan. 10,13; 12, 1; Apoc. 12,7)?

Well then, know that he is still powerful against Satan and his satellites. His charity has not grown less, nor will it ever fail to protect us. Form the beautiful habit of thinking about him always. How close to us stands one of the celestial spirits, who from the cradle to the grave never leaves us for an instant. He guides us, he protects us like a friend, like a brother. This ought to be, moreover, a constant consolation for us, especially in our saddest hours.

Know, O Raffaelina, that this good angel prays for you: he offers to God all your good works that you accomplish, as well as your holy and pure desires. In the hours in which you seem to be alone and abandoned, do not complain about not having a soul-mate to whom you can open (your heart) and to whom you can confide your sorrows: - for the love of God, do not forget this invisible companion who is always present to listen to you and always ready to console you.

O delightful intimacy, O blessed companionship! Oh, if only all men knew how to understand and appreciate this very great gift that God, in the excess of His love for men, has assigned to us this celestial spirit! Recall frequently his presence: you ought to fix your mind's eye upon him. Thank him, pray to him. He is so finely mannered, so discreet: respect him. Have continual fear lest you offend the purity of his gaze.

Invoke frequently this (your) Guardian Angel, this benefactor angel. Repeat often the beautiful prayer:"Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom the heavenly Father's bounty entrusts me here; enlighten me, guard me, guide me now and forever." How great, my dear Raffaelina, will be the consolation, when, at the hour of death, your soul will see this angel, who is so good, who has accompanied you throughout your life, who was so ample in his maternal care! Oh that this sweet thought may make you, may render you continually more fond of the Cross of Jesus! This is namely what your good angel desires!  May the desire to see this inseparable companion of your entire life enkindle in you that charity which moves you to desire soon to leave the body.

Oh, what a holy and salutary thought it is to see this our good angel! It is this aspiration, namely, that should make us escape ahead of time from this dark prison in which we are detained. O Raffaelina, where are my thoughts flying to now? How many times, alas, have I made this good angel weep! How many times have I lived without the least fear of offending the purity of his regard! Oh, he is so finely mannered, so discreet. My God, how many times did I respond to the ample, more than maternal care of this good angel without any sign of respect, affection or acknowledgment! It is this thought that presently rather fills me with confusion: alas -- hear this and be horrified -- such is my blindness that I feel no remorse at this. And what is worse still, I treat this dear little angel, I do not say as a friend, but as a member of my family. And to tell the truth, this dear angel is not the least offended at being treated like this by me. How precious he is, how good!"

Read more about Padre Pio and his guardian angel here.

The Rich Gift of Love is here!

It's here!  The video series "The Rich Gift of Love" with Sr. Jane Dominic has arrived on Newman Connection:  click here to watch the first video in which Sister talks about family and society.  These videos are great and it's an amazing opportunity to learn about Theology of the Body and the gift of self from an awesome teacher on the topic.

All Generations Will Call Me Blessed

Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Fra Angelico

Today is the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I first want to recommend two books to you if you would like to get to know Our Lady and her role better.  The first is Scott Hahn's Hail, Holy Queen in which he beautifully looks at Mary's role in salvation history through Scripture.  Next, is my favorite book on Our Lady, not to mention one of my favorite books, period - Fulton Sheen's The World's First Love.  This book is simply great.  Read it!

Mary is the greatest of all creatures, being preserved from the stain of all sin by God's grace that she may be the Ark of the New Covenant in bearing the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  She alone has this unique role in salvation history to be the Mother of the King.  As Dr. Hahn mentions in his book about Our Lady, in ancient times, those who ruled kingdoms were the King and the Queen Mother.   The queen was not the wife of the king but rather was his mother.   Throughout Scripture there are many instances that foreshadow Mary's queenly role or point directly to it.  When we honor Our Lady Jesus is immensely pleased.  As St. Louis de Montfort said, "We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor Him all the more perfectly."  Jesus loves his Mother who has also become our Mother by grace.  Because of her 'yes' to the Holy Spirit, the Lord came into the world to save us from our misery.  Mary always points us to her Son - her final words in Scripture even being "Do whatever He tells you."  Tota pulchra Maria - you are all beautiful Mary - how appropriate that the Lord would bestow such beauty upon her and crown her as the Queen Mother.  Mary, Queen of Heaven, pray for us.

"...at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir...I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations..." - Psalm 45

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.  For behold, henceforth, all generations will call me blessed..." - Luke 1:46-48

 

More reading on Mary's Queenship:
Knowing Mary Through the Bible: Mary's Queenship in Revelation 12

Be Catholic On Purpose

Below is a guest post from CCM student Gideon who was received into the Church this Easter.

Becoming Catholic

When I converted to Catholicism this past Easter I thought that the hardest part of conversion was over.  I thought that once I had accepted the doctrinal and moral teaching of the Church it would be smooth sailing.  Coming from a nominally Protestant background, I had no major obstacles to get around in order to accept the church’s teaching.  There were no dramatic changes; no wrestling with Sola Scriptura or anti-Catholic prejudices.  I would have the occasional feeling that didn’t sit right with what I had been taught as a child but after a few more pages I realized that I was wrong and that, you guessed it…the Church was right.  I was a college sophomore seeking objective truth and upon finding the Catholic faith it was easy to embrace. 

After a time in college when I was devouring apologetics, philosophy, and theology, RCIA was a breeze.  I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the faith and most of what was taught I had encountered in other places.  Easter was soon approaching and I came to a realization.  I had to start being Catholic.  I had been in a sort of suspended animation of conversion; paused on the edge of being Catholic waiting to accept the Church’s teaching.  Not long after saying, “I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God;” I had another realization. 

Catholicism is hard.

Now I was Catholic and it wasn’t easy.  The hardest part of becoming Catholic was still ahead of me.  I now had to examine my conscience, go to confession, and go to Sunday mass.  Not only that but I had to be at Mass.  I had to conform my body as well as my mind to the Catholic faith.  This meant the Sign of the Cross, holy water, genuflecting, memorizing the Creed (haven’t quite mastered this yet), and praying the rosary.  I suddenly found myself in foreign Catholic situations that made me very uncomfortable.  I was being asked to usher and take the collection at Mass (I told them I would have to fall back on my Protestant ushering skills and pray I committed no faux pas). Another time, I had to find a priest to hear my confession before a 10^th anniversary Mass.  I remember walking into a room full of priests and announcing that I needed one of them to hear my confession.  At that moment I would have rather been debating papal infallibility.

I would file all of this under conversion.  Since Easter I have been learning to be Catholic every day.  I still get thrown off at Mass, fumble the Creed and forget to genuflect.  These are the things that are hard for me.  Just today I asked my priest how to properly receive communion on the tongue because I am anxious about messing it up. 

So what is the point of all of this?  The point is that I couldn’t learn all of this in a book.  If there is a book with this stuff in it, I haven’t read it.  So being from Missouri I have a favor to ask.  Show me.  Our humanity is bound up with one another’s and I need help learning to be Catholic.  My neighbors may not know this but I have been watching.  Other converts can probably confirm this.  We are always watching you, hoping to catch you living out the faith so that we can imitate it.  All Catholics are living catechists who are always teaching whether they know it or not.  You can either do it well or poorly but you can’t stop doing it.  I will learn to be Catholic by watching other Catholics.

So when you are at Mass make sure you are doing it right.  Take the time to genuflect properly, cross yourself, bow before the tabernacle, and be Catholic on purpose.  There are no other Catholics in my family so I need your example to teach me the faith.

Gideon 

The Rich Gift of Love

Twenty-eight 20-minute presentations with Sr. Jane Dominic of the Nashville Dominicans on the Theology of the Body - can't wait for this!!!

You Can Do This for FREE

John Paul the Great Catholic University is offering a FREE online learning program on the teachings of the Church called "Pillars of Catholicism" beginning August 20th.  This is a great way for you to learn solid information from a great school at absolutely no cost, so be sure to mark down August 20th in your calendar and go to the website to access the videos.  This endeavor was embarked upon for the following reasons as stated on the website:

Marking the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Benedict XVI has declared..."The Year of Faith" [beginning Oct. 11, 2012]. In particular, the Holy Father is calling upon all Catholics to confront what he identifies as one of the most difficult challenges the Church faces today: "religious illiteracy." That is, a lack of understanding about what Christians really believe.

To address this problem, Pope Benedict has called upon Catholics to spend the year studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the official compendium of all Catholic teaching. Pillars of Catholicism is our response to the Holy Father's challenge.