December 28, 2020
Reflection: The Feast Day of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs
When Herod realized that the Magi did not return to him after they followed the star to see the newborn king of the Jews, he became furious and ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under. The horror of the massacre and the devastation of the mothers and fathers led Matthew to quote Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children...”Rachel was the wife of Jacob. She is pictured as weeping at the place where the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for their march into captivity.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way. When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." Joseph rose and took the Child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called my son." Matthew 2:12-15
Ponder what it was like for Joseph when the angel appeared to him in a dream. Imagine how concerned he must have been for Mary and the Child Jesus. Joseph did not doubt or question the angel. He rose from the dream and left for Egypt immediately. Joseph trusted and obeyed God. Pray to Joseph and ask him to help you trust in God as he did and obey God.
Herod was “greatly troubled” when astrologers from the east came asking the whereabouts of “the newborn king of the Jews,” whose star they had seen. They were told that the Jewish Scriptures named Bethlehem as the place where the Messiah would be born. Herod cunningly told them to report back to him so that he could also “do him homage.” They found Jesus, offered him their gifts and, warned by an angel, avoided Herod on their way home. Jesus escaped to Egypt.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the Magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: "A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more." Matthew 2:16-18
Today we remember the Holy Innocents and we pray for all the babies lost in our time to the horror of abortion. We pray for their families and for all souls wounded by abortion.
Kiss of Mercy - Prayer Apostolate for Healing from Abortion
A baby is a precious gift from God. We pray that ALL LIFE will be protected through the powerful intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn.
The Shrine of the Holy Innocents - A sacred place of prayer and healing for parents and others who have been touched by the loss of a child.
December 27, 2020
Reflection: O Holy Family, pray for us!
Let us enter the scene. Mary and Joseph are watching over the newborn King with awe and wonder. They beckon you to come. As you draw close to the Holy Family, the love of Jesus comes pouring into your heart. Kneel before Him and adore Him. As you gaze at the Baby Jesus, He gazes at you with great love.
The John 10:10 Prayer Ministry began through all the prayers offered for a beautiful baby with Down syndrome, Lily Grace. She is now a happy, healthy fourteen year old who brings light and love to everyone who encounters her.I recall our family was visiting at a beautiful Nativity scene on the grounds of our parish. As we walked up the pathway, the lights suddenly came on shining on the Holy Family. Lily Grace and her little sister Norah, were amazed at how the lights came on at that very moment! As we drew near, they touched the Holy Family, the shepherds and the animals who were near them. Above the Holy Family, is a large Angel, holding a banner, "Gloria in Excelsis Deo Glory to God in the Highest." Norah asked why the angel looked so serious. I told her that the Angel has a very important job: to protect and guide the Holy Family and the Angel took his job very seriously. I explained that God gives each one of us a Guardian Angel who stays with us from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Our guardian angels protect, guide and enlighten us throughout our lives. We can talk to and thank our guardian angel.
O Holy Family, as we gaze at you, your light comes down to shine upon us and we give you our hearts. Saint Joseph and Holy Mary, Mother of God, help us to always keep our eyes fixed on the Baby. Sweet Baby Jesus, the Light of the World, let us look at the angels surrounding You, especially the little angel with Down syndrome, and bow in adoration of You asking for the love and pure heart of this special little angel.
O Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
December 25, 2020
For unto us a Child is born
Luke 8-14 "Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
Jesus came to us as a little baby so we would not be afraid to come to Him. Open your heart to receive Jesus. You are His beloved one.
That I am Your beloved
O Come Let Us Adore Him!
December 24, 2020
Away in a manger...
Like the shepherds who found the Babe in a manger, may we open our hearts to gaze at Jesus in the manger. May we find the joy and peace of Christmas and share it with all those we encounter.
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this things that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph and the infant lying in the manger. Luke 2:15-16
May our own Nativity scenes be a visible reminder of that Holy Night when our Savior was born. May we keep the Holy Family in our hearts, Mary and Joseph and the little Babe of Bethlehem, who came to save us from sin. May we always remember that the wood of the manger that held Him so securely would one day give way to the wood of the Cross.
December 20, 2020
Reflection: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home."
When the angel appeared in his dream, calling Joseph, by name, the angel's first words were, "Do not be afraid."
Joseph was betrothed to Mary but they did not yet live together. Imagine how he must have felt when he found out that Mary was with child! He was a good and loving man. He wanted to protect Mary so decided he would divorce her quietly.
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him Mary's child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Joseph responded with complete trust. Joseph listened to the message of the angel and he obeyed. He awoke from his dream and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and he took Mary into his home.
Ponder Joseph's obedience and trust. Ask him to teach you how to listen, obey and trust the way he did.
Meditation:
Are you afraid about something? Is there a situation in your life that provokes fear and worry?
Go to Joseph. When you are faced with something that you do not understand, go to Joseph. Ask him to be with you and to help you trust the way he did. Go to Joseph. He will console you and protect you. As you await the birth of the Baby Jesus, invite Joseph to come into your home, the home of your heart.
Visit a chapel this week before Christmas, sit before the tabernacle or the creche and ponder the angel's message to Joseph. The angel called him "by name" and told him not to be afraid. As you sit in silence, The Lord calls you "by name." Ask Jesus to help you listen, be obedient and to trust Him in all things as Joseph did. Pour out your heart to Him and receive His love and peace.
Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and they shall name Him Emmanuel which means "God is with us." Matthew 1:23
December 17, 2020
Reflection: Long lay the world in sin and error pining 'til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth
On that Holy Night, our dear Savior came and there was Light. Jesus is the Light of the world. During this beautiful season, listen closely to the words of the beautiful Christmas song, O Holy Night.
O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining; it is the night of our dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
When we hear about the disregard for life, especially life in the womb, remember that it is sin and error that brings the darkness...in the world and in our hearts...
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
We know our worth when we have a personal encounter with Jesus. When you are in sin and error, come to Jesus in Confession. When you have an encounter with Him in the beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation, your soul will feel it's worth.
'til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth.
If you have not been to confession in a while, invite Our Lady to come with you. She will help you as your beautiful Mother. Be not afraid. The priest will help you if you do not remember what to do. Run to Jesus and pour out your heart to Him. Bring Him your sin, miseries, weariness, pain and sufferings. You will receive forgiveness, mercy, healing, grace and peace. He will pour His Light and Love upon you...
December 13, 2020
Reflection: What will you give the Baby Jesus for Christmas?
On this third Sunday of Advent, we pause and rejoice because we know that the Lord is near. We are coming close to the day of the birth of our Savior. Ask Mary how to teach you how to love Jesus the way she does. Ask her to give you the JOY of knowing Jesus in your heart.
Rejoice in the Lord always; I shall say it again, rejoice. Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:4-5
Today let us ponder the word JOY, a gift that comes in knowing the Presence of God.What will you give the Baby Jesus for Christmas? Will you give Him your heart?Jesus is our JOY.
Jesus
Open
Yes
Today let us take time to gaze at the Baby Jesus. Sit with Him and ponder His precious Face. He came as a baby, pure, vulnerable and little. He came to touch our hearts.
Open your heart now and invite the Baby Jesus in. His arms are outstretched to you.
Say Yes to the Baby Jesus, reach out and touch His little hands and hold Him close to your heart. He has something special to give you for Christmas. As you gaze at Him, let Him love you.
Diary of Saint Faustina 40 Most Holy Virgin Mary has taught me how to love God interiorly and also how to carry out His Holy Will in all things. O Mary, you are joy, because through you, God descended to earth and into my heart.
Joy to the World, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King. Let every heart, prepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing.
December 12, 2020
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
Patroness of the Unborn and of the Americas
And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Luke 1:46-47
Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. A poor Indian Juan Diego was a 57 year old widower who lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning December 9, 1531, he was on his way to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady. He was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared and within it a young Native American maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga. She told him that the bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego:
"Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the fountain of your joy?"
“My dearest son, I am the eternal Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, Author of Life, Creator of all and Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth...and it is my desire that a church be built here in this place for me, where, as your most merciful Mother and that of all your people, I may show my loving clemency and the compassion that I bear to the Indians, and to those who love and seek me.”
Juan Diego went to the bishop who told him to have the lady give him a sign. About this same time Juan Diego’s uncle became seriously ill. Poor Diego tried to avoid the lady but she appeared to him and assured him that his uncle would recover and she provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma. Juan Diego told his story to the bishop, who instructed him to return and ask the Lady for a miraculous sign to prove her claim.
The Virgin told Juan Diego to gather some flowers from the top of Tepeyac Hill. It was winter and no flowers bloomed, but on the hilltop Diego found flowers of every sort, and the Virgin herself arranged them in his tilma, or peasant cloak. When Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, the roses fell to the ground and the bishop sank to his knees. On Juan Diego’s tilma appeared an image of Mary miraculously imprinted exactly as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac. It was December 12, 1531.
The Image on the Tilma
The imprint of Mary on the tilma is striking, and the symbolism was primarily directed to Juan Diego and the Aztecs. Mary appears as a beautiful young Indian maiden with a look of love, compassion, and humility, her hands folded in prayer in reference to the Almighty God. Her rose dress, adorned with a jasmine flower, eight petal flowers, and nine heart flowers symbolic to the Aztec culture, is that of an Aztec princess. Her blue mantle symbolized the royalty of the gods, and the blue color symbolized life and unity. The stars on the mantle signified the beginning of a new civilization. La Morenita appeared on the day of the winter solstice, considered the day of the sun's birth; the Virgin's mantle accurately represents the 1531 winter solstice! Mary stands in front of and hides the sun, but the rays of the sun still appear around her, signifying she is greater than the sun god, the greatest of the native divinities, but the rays of the sun still bring light. Twelve rays of the sun surround her face and head. She stands on the moon, supported by an angel with wings like an eagle: to the Aztec, this indicated her superiority to the moon god, the god of night, and her divine, regal nature.
Most important are the black maternity band, a jasmine flower, and a cross that are present in the image. Mary wore a black maternity band, signifying she was with child. At the center of the picture, overlying her womb, is a jasmine flower in the shape of an Indian cross, which is the sign of the Divine and the center of the cosmic order to the Aztec. This symbol indicated that the baby Mary carried within her, Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, is Divine and the new center of the universe. On the brooch around her neck was a black Christian cross, indicating she is both a bearer and follower of Christ, the Son of God, our Savior, who died on the Cross to save mankind. The image signified Mary bringing her Son Christ to the New World through one of their own.
Our Lady's apparition was an event of great significance for Native Americans. Nine million Indians became Catholic in a very short time. Our Lady of Guadalupe shows us God's love for the poor and for the unborn. Our Lady said to Juan Diego, "I will give all my protection to the people. I am the merciful Mother of all mankind. Am I not your fountain of life." Our Lady of Guadalupe protects all her children, born and unborn.
December 09, 2020
Saint Juan Diego, pray for us!
Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the fountain of your joy? Are you not in the fold of my mantle, in the cradle of my arms?
Prayer to Saint Juan Diego
You who were chosen by Our Lady of Guadalupe as an instrument to show your people and the world that the way of Christianity is one of love, compassion, understanding, values, sacrifices, repentance of our sins, appreciation and respect for God’s creation, and most of all one of humility and obedience; You whom we know is now in the Kingdom of the Lord and close to our Mother; Be our angel and protect us, stay with us as we struggle in this modern life often not knowing where to set our priorities; Help us to pray to our God to obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit and use them for the good of humanity and the good of our Church, through the Heart of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Heart of Jesus. Amen
Saint Juan Diego, pray for us, for all the little ones and families for whom we pray.
December 08, 2020
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, a fourteen year-old girl in Lourdes, France on February 11, 1858. The Blessed Mother told Bernadette to drink from the fountain within the grotto. This fountain was unknown and there was no sign of its location. Bernadette scratched the ground and a spring gushed forth from the spot from which she was asked to build a chapel. This is where the Blessed Mother proclaimed. "I am the Immaculate Conception". Ever since Our Lady appeared to Bernadette, Lourdes has been a site for countless miracles.
Today is the Patronal Feast Day of the United States of America. May Our Lady bless our country and protect and guide us as we pray for the protection and sanctity of all Life, especially for life in the womb, for the restoration of the sanctity of Marriage and for the protection of Religious Freedom in our beloved country and that Truth will prevail in the 2020 election.
Christ is the "new Adam". The Church Fathers, Saint Justin in 150 AD and Saint Irenaeus 180 AD, saw Mary as the "new Eve". Mary humbly obeyed God; Eve disobeyed. The Church Fathers also called Mary the "new ark of the covenant" and theotokos, God-bearer. From these titles came the doctrine of Mary's Immaculate Conception and her sinlessness unfolded. Saint Ephrem, the Syrian, in 373AD spoke of Mary as without stain or blemish, calling her "all pure, all immaculate, all stainless, all undefiled, all incorrupt, all inviolate." Saint Augustine left open the possibility of Mary's sinlessness, using language similar to the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
From the Diary of Saint Faustina 564
On the feast day of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, during Holy Mass, I heard the rustling of garments and saw the most holy Mother of God in a most beautiful radiance. Her white garment was girdles with a blue sash. She said to me, "You give Me great joy when you adore The Most Holy Trinity for the graces and privileges which were accorded Me."
Heavenly Father, You prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy Mother of your Son. You kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception. Help us, by her prayers, to live in Your Presence without sin. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
December 06, 2020
Reflection: Prepare the way of the Lord...
After the Baptism of the Lord, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit rested upon Him in the form of a dove. The voice of the Father was heard: This is My Beloved Son, listen to Him.
A voice of one crying in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths." Mark 1:3
It is the second week of Advent, a time of waiting and a time of preparing. As we await the coming of the birth of Jesus, let us ask Him to come and prepare our hearts. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He will make straight your path.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortable unto her. Hosea 2:14
Be still and trust in God. You are His beloved child. He never leaves you alone, unaided, or forgotten. When you feel like you are wandering in the desert or the wilderness, God is with you. He comes when you call Him. Be still. When the noise and storms of the world are all around you, come into the quiet Presence of the Lord and the storms will not enter into your heart. Place your worries and fears in His hands and place yourself in His Presence. When you are in pain or anguish, God comes and He heals your broken heart.
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
Be still. Pray and ponder God's Word, rest, take a walk, slow down and free your mind and heart so God can dwell within you. Prepare the way of the Lord...
December 05, 2020
Our Lady of Fatima + First Saturday Devotion
"I am the Lady of the Rosary." With these words, the Mother of God identified herself to the shepherd children of Fatima. Repeatedly during her apparitions to the children, she told them to pray the Rosary daily and to pray the Rosary well, meditating on the mysteries. The Queen of Heaven held out the Rosary to mankind as a means of obtaining the salvation of souls, the conversion of sinners, true world peace, and the conversion of Russia.
In the last apparition at Fatima Our Lady appeared as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, holding the Scapular in her outstretched hand. The Scapular is the sign of our consecration to Mary's Immaculate Heart. Wearing the scapular daily reminds us of the promise we have made to Mary.
Let us pray to Our Lady of Fatima and ask her intercession to unite our families in love and to heal our relationships. Let us entrust our nation and the whole world to Our Blessed Mother's care and guidance. Her message at Fatima is that of world peace and reconciliation to God. May all men and women heed the call of love and peace of the Blessed Virgin Mary.Our Lady wants us to consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart, a consecration in which we make a complete surrender of self to our Mother, promising her that we will: Say her Rosary every day. Offer the little daily sacrifices that come our way for the conversion of sinners. Make the five Communions of Reparation on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months.
Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, we entrust all the names we receive to your loving care.