Christus Est Natus, Alleluia!

A very merry, bright and blessed Christmas season to all you dear people, and may God bless you abundantly!

Also, apologies for the lack of posts, but I am leaving in ten days and so, as you can probably imagine, blogging is kind of at the bottom of the list!

Favorite Poetry/Meditation: "Mary"

Happy day-before-St. Nicholas Day!  :)  In my family, this is "Black Peter Day" - Black Peter is a little man dressed all in black who sort of heralds St. Nicholas by dropping little presents (which may or may not have been purchased from the dollar store a few days beforehand) in various people's paths the day before his feast.

But I am not here to talk about Black Peter or even dear old St. Nicholas, Puncher of Heretics.  (If you don't know that story, you're missing out, let me tell you.)  Today I am here to give you yet another poem and meditation.  I have this lovely meditation book by the Daughters of Mary which has many beautiful reflections in it, and I found one especially good one about Our Lady in it a couple of days ago while I was looking for something to push me into keeping Advent properly.  (If well begun is half done, I haven't even started yet.)  I'm not entirely sure that it could be called a poem, but it is formatted like one, so I shall.
It's particularly appropriate to think about Mary during Advent, when she carried Our Lord, and even more so since this Sunday marks one of her greatest feasts, the Immaculate Conception.
By the way, the author of this poem/meditation/thing, Archbishop Alban Goodier, was a wonderful writer of spiritual books, and I definitely recommend anything by him.

Mary

from The Life that is Light by Alban Goodier.

She had been foreshadowed by many,

Yet no one recognized her.

She was conceived immaculate,

And no one knew.

The Angel saluted her "Full of grace,"

And not a soul knew.

He told her the Lord was with her,

Told her she would be the Mother of God,

And not even Joseph knew.

To all she was just "a virgin espoused to a man,"

And her name was Mary.

No more.

Elizabeth saluted her,

"Blessed among women,"

Called her the Mother of her Lord.

Wondered that she should come to her,

Yet no one else knew.

She was only a child of Nazareth,

And "Could any good come out of Nazareth?"

She was the Mother of a Child,

In a carpenter's cottage.

 She was that to men and no more.

Men assumed they knew her,

She was easy to know.

"His mother, do we not know her?"

Yet how little did they know!

Mary, "the Handmaid of the Lord"
Mary espoused to the Carpenter

Mary "understanding not"

Mary "pondering in her heart"

Content to be no more.

Yet how much more she is

Mary, Mother of God

Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ

Whom "all generations shall call blessed."

Advent

I can hardly believe that Advent is already upon us!  It's one of my favorite seasons, but it always seems to sneak up on me, nevertheless.

Advent, it seems, is one of the most misunderstood liturgical seasons.  I believe most of my followers know these things already, but let me reiterate: Advent is a penitential season.  The color is purple, the universal color of penance in the liturgy.  You should not be eating a bunch of chocolate, playing Christmas carols, and going to multitudinous Christmas parties during Advent.  (I understand that sometimes one is constrained to attend a party - that's obviously an exception.) Trust me, your Christmas will be much more joyful if you've been doing penance for four weeks!

So what should you be doing during Advent?  Well, there are plenty of traditions to choose from, but in general, Advent should have a theme of recollection and detachment from the world: one should try to separate oneself from frivolities like movies (and TV shows), desserts, secular music, etc.  If we think about it even a little, we can find plenty of things that we do all the time which simply have no value (facebook, tumblr, youtube, movie/TV-show-marathons, I'm looking at you here) and that we would benefit from cutting out of our lives as much as possible.

Now, it's very important to make our penances and sacrifices not just a negative thing -- I mean negative in the sense of taking something away.  Yes, you subtract things from your life, but it's pointless unless you fill up that space with holy things.  Advent is a great time for taking up daily meditations and catching up on your spiritual reading.  Take the time when you would be browsing your favorite websites or watching super-lame Classic Who episodes (not that I have ever done such a thing) and read a spiritual classic or the lives of the saints, say a rosary, make a meditation, make an extra effort to prepare properly and give thanks for your Communion, do an act of charity.  These are all positive things which fill up the void that we usually try (ultimately unsuccessfully) to satisfy with senseless entertainment.


Because I have a special pet peeve against inappropriately-timed Christmas music (I can look at the floor to avoid gaudy decorations, but there's no salvation from horribly-adapted carols), I made you all a special 8tracks playlist of appropriate music for Advent. I hope you enjoy it, and may your Advent be truly blessed!

Things Saints Taught Me {Feast of All Saints}

*Sorry this got up so late at night.  I set it to publish automatically and apparently I did something wrong.*

A happy and blessed feast of All Saints to you all!  Please visit the ever-trusty Fisheaters for customs and a reading for today's glorious feast.

A few nights ago I was discussing spiritual reading with an acquaintance (online, of course...), and I realized how many basic truths have been driven home to me by reading lives of the saints or their writings.  Sometimes you just need another person's example to make things clear.  So, in honor of this celebration of all saints, both known and forgotten, I have listed the saints from whom I've learned things with the lesson learned, put as simply and briefly as possible.  (That was hard, by the way, especially for Therese and Teresa, on whom I probably could have expounded for multiple paragraphs. So if any of you want explanation or expounding, I will give it gladly.)

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Abandon yourself to God's Will.

St. Francis of Assisi

Truly live the Gospel.

St. Teresa of Ávila

Through grace, we can be elevated to complete union with God.

St. Catherine of Siena

"Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire."

St. Augustine of Hippo

No matter how great your sins have been, there is hope through repentance and amendment.

St. Thomas Aquinas

The greatest human achievements are as nothing compared to the majesty and glory of God.

Favorite Poetry: Litany for the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart (Part II)

As promised, here is the rest of the poem.  Please do read both parts! (Last time I did a two-part post, the second one got way less views than the first.)

Also, a most blessed Feast of the Sacred Heart to you all!

via Google Images

Litany for the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart (con't)

by Gertrude von Le Fort

Red-thorn of our gladness, 

Sorrow-thorn of our repentance,

Fair evening glow of our own setting,

We ask Thee for Thy love.

Crimson cloth that turns sin pale as death:

We ask Thee for Thy love.

Ruby stream after which the sick souls thirst:

We ask Thee for Thy love.

Whispering nearness in which parted friends may meet:

We ask Thee for Thy love.

Comforting lamp of the distressed,

Lighthouse of the persecuted and the disgraced,

Hidden chamber in which the gentle dead may yet breathe;

All-knowing Heart, all-guiding Heart, ultimate Heart:

We ask Thee for Thy love!

Heart that takes us all to itself,

Heart that strikes the centre of all our hearts,

Heart that breaks the proud hearts of us all:

We ask Thee for Thy love!

Heart that makes solitude into a great people:

We ask Thee for Thy love.

Heart that makes discord into a united people:

We ask Thee for Thy love.

Heart in which the whole world becomes Thy people:

We consecrate ourselves to Thy love.

Overflowing Heart, overflaming Heart, overstorming Heart:

Be loved, Love, everlasting Love, be everlastingly loved.

That Thy Dawn may break with kindling light,

We consecrate ourselves to Thy love.

That Thy day may bring fire to our hearts,

We consecrate ourselves to Thy love.

That Thy day may burn all our hearts into Thine,

We consecrate ourselves to Thy love.

That Thy day may bring fire to our hearts,

We consecrate ourselves to Thy love,

Mighty Heart, ineluctable Heart, all-consuming Heart.

Fire! Fire!  The angels' wings are burning, the swords of the

seraphim are aflame!  

The lights of heaven are burning, the depths of earth are burning,

rocks and yesterdays are all aflame!

 The expectation of all creatures burns -- the spirit burns in the

darkness of high thought,

All has been taken from love, all must become love; sing "Holy,

Holy, Holy!" rustling flames of the seraphim!

Heart from which the heavens draw their glory,

Heart from which the suns and constellations draw their

beginning and their end,

Heart from which the souls of the blessed draw their blessedness.

World-ordering Heart, world-conquering Heart, Thou only Heart

of hearts:

Amen. Amen.  May the day of Thine infinite love come quickly.

Favorite Poetry: Litany for the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart (Part 1)

In honor of the month of the Sacred Heart, I thought I'd post a bit of this very special poem apparently composed for the feast, which, by the way, is this Friday.  It is very long, so I won't post all of it today - I know that you people grow faint of heart at the prospect of very long pieces of writing.  (And I'm not necessarily blaming you - I get the same way sometimes.)  So I shall post some of it now and then the rest on Friday.

As I was writing it out, I was reflecting that non-Catholics or weak Catholics might find it a bit bizarre or over-the-top.  Well --- all I have to say to that is: let no one say that Catholicism is cold, sterile, or repressive. You can't read this and tell me that the religion inspiring it is repressive.
I think it's one of those poems that have to be pondered - I know a priest who made it the subject of his daily meditations, a stanza every day.  That's my favorite kind of poetry.  And its imagery is just perfect.  Agh, just read it already.  More coming on Friday.

Litany for the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart

by Gertrud von Le Fort 

Now I will pray the ardour of the soul as a great litany is

prayed.  Now I will raise the song of praise that is not sung

but loved.  Blood-red secret of all that is:

Holy Heart, divine Heart, almighty Heart.

Be loved, Love, eternal Love, be thou eternally loved.

Hearth in the dark of the frozen world,

Be loved, Love!

Flame-shadow over all the false brightness of the world,

Be loved, Love!

Burning sign in all the false rest of the world;

Lonely Heart, flaming Heart, unquenchable Heart:

Be loved, everlasting Love.

Heart deep as the nights that have no face:

Be loved!

Heart strong as the waves that have no shores:

Be loved!

Heart tender as little children that have no bitterness:

Be everlastingly loved.

Rose from the flower-beds of the invisible,

Rose from the chalice of the humble maiden,

Blossoming rose-bush, in which heaven and earth are entwined,

Be loved, everlasting Love!

Royal Heart in the flowing mantle of Thy blood:

Be loved!

Brother-Heart in the wild mockery of the thorny crown:

Be loved!

Breaking Heart in the stark ornament of Thy death wounds:

Heart dethroned, Heart betrayed, Heart cruelly martyred:

Be loved, everlasting Love, be everlastingly loved.

Heart before whom the mighty find their knees,

We ask Thee for Thy love.

Heart before whom the careless find their tears:

We ask Thee for Thy love.

Herat in whom thieves and murderers yet find forgiveness,

Great Heart, Heart of mercy, Heart of glory, 

We ask Thee for Thy love!

Honoring Mary in May

via

My little prayer book,The Catholic girl's guide, has a special section for the month of May, and it had a nice list of little ways to honor Our Lady during the month dedicated to her.  I thought you all might like to see some of these ideas and maybe use a few of them yourself!  There are a ton, so I won't post all of them.

• Rise punctually in the morning, invoking her as the "Morning Star."
• Say three Glorias in honor of the saints and Doctors who have explained and defended her prerogatives.
• Gain indulgences for the soul in Purgatory most devoted to the Blessed Virgin in life; offer Mass and communion for this purpose.
• Perform some act of kindness with inconvenience to yourself.
• Say three Hail Marys in reparation for the blasphemies uttered against her.
• Burn a candle before her statue or picture.
• Shun idleness during the day in imitation of Our Lady at Nazareth.
• Say a Hail Mary in honor of the Archangel Gabriel, who brought it to earth.
• Say a Memorare to obtain Mary's help at the hour of death.
• Keep silence for a short time, and with Mary ponder God's words in your heart.
• Say a Hail Mary before going to bed, in order to prevent one mortal sin committed during the night.

May Our Lady bless you during her special month!

Feast of the Guardian Angels

Google Images, touched up in Pixlr.

 
From Tradition in Action: 

"The Angels are pure spirits, mighty Princes of Heaven who stand before God. They are burning fires of love, filled with the plenitude of happiness. No two Angels are alike and there are too many to be numbered. All of them are indescribably beautiful. 

There are angels in Heaven and also on earth, each with different jobs to do. Nations, cities, families, towns - all have their special Angels. St Thomas Aquinas teaches us that there are Angels that guide the stars, the moon, the sun, and the planets, keeping everything in harmony according to God's plan. Scripture tells us of the Angels that perform duties that some attribute to chance.

It is interesting to note that at the time of the Renaissance, Angels began to be portrayed as fat, sweet babies with wings. This artistic style continues to our day. It is a shame for such militant warriors to be reduced to these weak, infantile representations. In the mind of the viewer, the role of the Angel as protector and avenger fades away, replaced by a different idea. It is a subtle way of gradually changing the notion of the principle that life is a war between good and evil with the agents of each side fighting to win the souls of men. There is no spirit of fight in the fat baby angels – in fact, they are so smiling and happy that it appears nothing is amiss in their world."

 I like the idea of angels as strong protectors and warriors infinitely better than the idea of them as pretty figures with wings.  Angels are cool.  *refrains from multiple Doctor Who references*  Ahem.

made entirely by me via PicMonkey and Pixlr.

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I haven't got much time today, but I couldn't let the day pass without mentioning one of my favorite holydays.  It's my favorite partially because of the obvious reason that the feast celebrates Our Lord's infinite love for us and it's a beautiful thing to think about, and partially because I have fond memories of the quiet way we used to celebrate it when we were stationed in Germany.  It was always perfect walking weather there this time of year, so we'd walk down to the little town near our house and buy a big bunch of red roses from the florist's little shop to place in front of our image of the Sacred Heart.  Then my mom would tell the little ones a bit about the feast and how it was established, and we'd say the Litany of the Sacred Heart after the nightly rosary.  Simple but beautiful - and isn't that the best way?

You can read about devotions to the Sacred Heart here, and an extremely long but insanely good article about it here.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Mothers' Day + Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

Firstly, today is the anniversary of Our Lady's first appearance at Fatima.  Everyone should know the basics of this story, so I shan't repeat it.  Just thought I would remind you all. :)  Happy Mother's day, my dear mother in heaven!

So it is of course Mother's Day.  All my blogging companions write beautiful posts to their mother on this day... I am not even going to try to measure up to their standard.  (My mom doesn't read my blog very often anyway.)  Suffice it to say, happy Mother's Day to my dear mommy, I hope you liked your chocolate, and I am aware of how very much you do for me and all of us.  Thank you. I love you so much.

And a very happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the blogosphere, just in case any of you happen by this post!  May our heavenly Mother bless you all - I know you need it! 

Blessed Easter Season to You All!

He is risen, as He said.  Alleluia.

I just wanted to wish my readers a very happy and blessed Easter season and to apologize for not posting during Holy Week.  I had fully intended to have appropriate posts for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, but once they came around I was too tired and busy to do it.  The Triduum was beautiful, though, and I experienced my first-ever Holy Hour. 

I'm keeping everyone in my prayers, as always, and hoping y'all are enjoying the Easter season.

Feast of the Annunciation

click to enlarge (poster made by me via Picnik)

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.

(Hail Mary)

  Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

(Hail Mary)

  And the Word was made flesh.
And dwelt among us. [here genuflect]

 (Hail Mary)

 Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

(Let us pray)

 Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God.

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.  (Luke 1:26 - 38)

 I strongly encourage you to read this article on today's feast.  I thought it was quite good.

Candlemas (Feast of the Purification)

I was planning on writing this nice long complicated post about Candlemas (complete with poetry, theology, and pictures), but then I got overwhelmed by all the information, bored, lazy, and impatient.  Oh wait....that's my normal state of existence, isn't it.... never mind, then.

So it's the feast of Our Lady's purification, the feast of Our Lady of Good Success, and the feast of Candlemas.  Basically that means three things:

1.  You should read the prophecy of Simeon in the Bible, and try to meditate on it a bit.
2.  Um....it's the feast day of Our Lady of Good Success.  Say a prayer to her or something.
3.  Christmas is officially over.  Begin looking forward to the penitential-ness of Lent.

I really feel guilty about the low quality of this post, but I just don't feel like writing up a nice one.
  Here are a few links to supplement the non-existent information in this post:
http://www.fisheaters.com/customstimeafterepiphany3.html
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j059sdPurificationOLGS2-2.html
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03245b.htm
 And the simplest, most comprehensive one: http://www.churchyear.net/candlemas.html
 

Our Lady of Good Success, pray for us! (via)