A Symbol of the Queenship of Mary
In the Old Testament, the kings descending from David had multiple wives. Who then was regarded as queen? The king’s mother had this honor. (See 1 Kings 2:17-20) The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, the everlasting Davidic king, whose reign extends over all. And thus, in the Kingdom of God, Mary is the queen of heaven and earth symbolized by the Crowned “M.” (See Revelation 12:1)
Gospel Reading: Mark 4:21-25
Is a lamp “placed under a bushel basket or under a bed?” Of course not, for the open flame of an ancient lamp would risk the fiery destruction of these tools of work and rest. We must allow God’s Word to enlighten our toil and leisure, rather than try to suppress the Light in pursuits of profit and pleasure. Otherwise, “from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
A Symbol for “Christ”
The Jewish people awaited God’s anointed one (or in Hebrew, “Messiah,”) a priest, prophet, and king who would lead and save them. Jesus, anointed by the Holy Spirit and God the Father’s favor, was that promised Messiah. In Greek, the word for “anointed one” is “Christos,” spelled “ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ.” (Thus, “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, but rather his title.) The Chi-Rho symbol merges the first two letters of this Greek word as a symbol for “Christ.”
A Symbol of Prayer
The ancient Jews saw the burning of incense at the temple as a symbol of their prayer rising up to God. “Let my prayer be incense before you.” (Psalm 141:2) In Heaven, saints are seen in offering burning incense to the Lord. “Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.” (Revelation 5:8) In our churches, the temples of the New Covenant, where Earth joins Heaven in the Mass, we offer incense with our prayers before the Lord.
A
Symbol of Hope
An anchor keeps a ship safely in its proper place, despite powerful waves and winds. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews says of hope: “This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm” (Hebrews 6:19). If we have hope in Christ, hope in the good things he has promised, then we will be anchored securely against currents and storms in our lives.
Readings: 2nd Samuel 5:1-7, 10; Mark 3:22-30
The Jebusites of Jerusalem told King David, “You cannot enter here: the blind and the lame will drive you away!” Jesus, the Son of David, was warmly received by the blind and lame because he cured them. Instead, it was the intellectually blinded and emotionally lamed, such as the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, who rejected Jesus and crucified him outside the city.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 4:12-23
Simon Peter and Andrew were casting a net into the sea. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” James and John were mending their nets when Jesus called them.
Fish = Scattered Humanity
Sea = The chaotic, deadly, fish-eat-fish World
Boat = The Church (like Noah’s Ark)
Fishermen = Christ’s Disciples
Nets = The Good News, the Content of the Faith
Casting Nets = Evangelizing Others
Mending Nets = Repairing Gaps in our Understanding
Fishermen draw fish from the sea into their boat using nets which must be both cast and mended. Christian disciples likewise draw men from the world into the Church by both sharing the Good News and ever more deeply grasping its saving content.
A neat article by National Catholic Register’s Mark Shea recounts how the miracles of Lourdes can bestow faith to an atheist or reveal his hardened heart.
“Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15)
In the United States, for every four babies born alive, there is one whose life is ended by abortion. (In other words, look around a room and divide the number of people by four–that’s how many people are missing.) What leads a woman to this terrible choice? How can God save a soul from the darkness?
Katie, a hometown friend of mine, whose post-abortive testimony became the subject of a 30-minute film, will be coming to speak in Sacred Heart’s parish hall in Wauzeka, Wisconsin at 7pm this Wednesday, January 22, 2014.
All are welcome, especially young people who are mature enough for themes of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion. If you cannot attend, the film can be viewed online.
St. Francis (1567-1622) defines “true devotion” as the love of God in its highest form. He notes that our devotional practices will vary according to our state of life (be it bishop, monk, husband, wife, maiden, widow, etc.) yet he insists that true devotion perfects every sort of Christian life. In An Introduction to the Devout Life, his most famous work, this Doctor (or “teacher”) of the Church lays out lessons for growing in the love of God.
After stating the importance of having a spiritual guide, he describes how the soul can be purified from mortal sins and affections for them; through a thorough general confession and using ten evocative meditations: on God’s creation, our purpose, God’s mercies, our sins, our death, our judgment, Hell, Paradise, our choice for Paradise, and our choice for a devout life. He says we must next lay aside our attachments to venial sins, and purify ourselves from even neutral things which are unhelpful or potentially dangerous for our souls. The remainder of his book is full of good counsel on prayer, practicing virtue, and the soul’s trials and consolations; such as:
»Devote one hour to mental prayer daily, preferably in the morning at a church (where, unlike home, you won’t be interrupted.)
» Realize God is ever with you and within you.
» At night, review your day: thank God, ask for mercy, make resolutions, and request help.
» “Your chief aim in Holy Communion should be to advance, strengthen, and comfort yourself in the Love of God.”
» Choose a specific virtue to focus on growing.
» The more you appreciate God’s mercies, the more you will love Him.
» Good recreation becomes harmful when given excessive time, energy, or importance.
» “Put yourself into your neighbor’s place, and him in yours, and then you will judge fairly.”
» The world opposes true devotion and is an unjust judge; partial and indulgent to its own children, harsh and rigorous toward God’s.
» Feeling a temptation is not the same as yielding or consenting to it (which is sin.)
» As a frightened child flees to her parent’s arms, so fly to God amid temptation for mercy and help.
In the days of Elijah, the people of Israel were divided between commitment to the Lord and to the cult of Baal. Baal worship entailed intoxication, heterosexual and homosexual immorality, self-harm, and the human sacrifice of children. The prophet Elijah, even after his victory against 450 prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), despaired for his people and his nation. He felt all alone. He felt like giving up. But the Lord God reassured him that there were still 7,000 in Israel who had neither bent the knee to Baal nor kissed him. There was reason for hope in Israel.
This Wednesday, January 22nd, pro-life Americans will march in Washington D.C., as they have for 40 years. The major news media will largely ignore this event, or perhaps mention the “thousands of abortion rights supporters and opponents” in a ten-second blurb (despite pro-lifers outnumbering the abortion supporters there literally on the order of 1,000 to 1.) Yet the estimated half-million people who will be marching down Constitution Avenue this week provide reason for hope for the future of our country and our culture.
1. Put a Bible next to your bed (where you will be more likely to read it.)
2. Put a bookmark in your Bible.
3. Ask your guardian angel to remind you to pray in the morning and before you sleep.
4. Pick a patron saint for 2014. (Can’t think of one? Try this.)
5. Change your computer desktop wallpaper to a holy image (like a saint or religious painting.)
6. Take a brochure from the back of church on a topic that interests you.
7. Check out a religious movie from our parish to see at home.
8. Check out an audio CD from our parish to listen to while you drive.
9. Pray for someone in our prayer request book.
10. Light a votive candle next to St. Mary or St. Joseph for your personal prayer intentions.
Injunctions granted on the eve of the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, in three lawsuits against the contraception mandate. (Including one from Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor.)
St. Nicholas (270-343 A.D.) was the Greek bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey.) He is remembered for his generous, secret gift-giving. In our window, he holds three sacks. This recalls how he once helped a loving father who could not afford dowries for his three unmarried daughters—destining them to a life of destitution, or worse. Under the cover of night, St. Nicholas threw 3 bags of gold coins through their window. (Alternate tellings of this story have him dropping them down the chimney or placing them in the daughters’ drying stockings.) He is also known as the saint who punched the heretic Arius at the council of Nicea in 325 AD. His feast day is December 6th.
14th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (July 7, 2013)
15th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (July 14, 2013)
16th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (July 21, 2013)
17th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (July 28, 2013)
18th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Aug 4, 2013)
19th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Aug 11, 2013)
Solemnity of the Assumption, Year C (Aug 15, 2013)
20th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Aug 18, 2013)
21st Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Aug 25, 2013)
22nd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Sept 1, 2013)
23rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Sept 8, 2013)
24th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Sept 15, 2013)
25th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Sept 22, 2013)
26th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Sept 29, 2013)
27th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Oct 6, 2013)
28th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Oct 13, 2013)
29th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Oct 20, 2013)
30th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Oct 27, 2013)
Solemnity of All Saints, Year C (Nov 1, 2013)
All Souls Day, Year C (Nov 2, 2013)
31st Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Nov 3, 2013)
32nd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Nov 10, 2013)
33rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C (Nov 17, 2013)
Solemnity of Christ the King (Nov 24, 2013)
Parishable Items 