“As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens his fellow man.” (Proverbs 27:17). The Joe Catholic blog is intended to provide Catholics and non-Catholics with resources to assist them in answering God's call to holiness. Our goal is to help people learn their faith, so they can live their faith and share their faith.
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| A Light to the Gentiles, Greg Olsen |
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| A Quiet Moment, Schmaltz Picture taken at St. Catherine of Siena, Carrollton, TX |
Accordingly, the family must go back to the "beginning" of God's creative act, if it is to attain self-knowledge and self-realization in accordance with the inner truth not only of what it is but also of what it does in history. And since in God's plan it has been established as an "intimate community of life and love,"(44) the family has the mission to become more and more what it is, that is to say, a community of life and love, in an effort that will find fulfillment, as will everything created and redeemed, in the Kingdom of God. Looking at it in such a way as to reach its very roots, we must say that the essence and role of the family are in the final analysis specified by love. Hence the family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God's love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church His bride. (FC, 17)In the same document, Pope John Paul II also pointed out the role the family should play as the primary teachers of the faith:
The right and duty of parents to give education is essential, since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness of the loving relationship between parents and children; and it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others. (FC, 36)Christ's hidden life in Nazareth should serve as model for us to find sanctity in obedience, silence and work. (See CCC 532-534)
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| Navez, Massacre of the Innocents |
God of power and mercy,
you blessed the Americas at Tepeyac
with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
May her prayers help all men and women
to accept each other as brothers and sisters.
Through your justice present in our hearts
may your peace reign in the world.
O Lady of Guadalupe, pray for the Church in America
and walk with us in the third millennium of faith.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
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| Urban Nativity, Anne C. Brink |
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| The Martyr, Swartzruber |
Finally, St. Stephen is a model for all those who want to serve the New Evangelization. He shows that the novelty of proclamation does not primarily consist in the use of original methods or techniques, which certainly have their uses, but in being filled with the Holy Spirit and allowing ourselves to be guided by Him. The novelty of proclamation lies in immerging ourselves deeply in the mystery of Christ, the assimilation of His Word and of His presence in the Eucharist, so that He Himself, the living Jesus, can act and speak through His envoy. In essence, the evangelizer becomes able to bring Christ to others effectively when he lives of Christ, when the newness of the Gospel manifests itself in his own life. We pray to the Virgin Mary, so that the Church, in this Year of Faith, sees more men and women who, like St. Stephen, know how to give a convinced and courageous witness of the Lord Jesus
Read more: National Catholic Register
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.To read the rest of the sermon continue here....
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| Baby Jesus in Manger, Gina Carter |
When the fullness of time comes, no philosophical genius, no Plato or Socrates appears to fulfill the mission of redemption. Nor does a powerful conqueror, another Alexander, take over the earth.
Instead a child is born in Bethlehem. He it is who is to redeem the world.
But before he speaks he loves with deeds. It is no magic formula he brings, because he knows that the salvation he offers must pass through human hearts.
What does he first do? He laughs and cries and sleeps defenseless, as a baby, though he is God incarnate.
And he does this so that we may fall in love with him, so that we may learn to take him in our arms. (St. Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By, 36)St. Josemaria was visiting with some of "his children" in Rome in 1972 when someone handed him a statue of Baby Jesus. Watch what follows.
We are deeply moved, and our hearts profoundly shaken, when we listen attentively to that cry of St Paul: 'This is God's will for you, your sanctification.' Today, once again, I set myself this goal and I also remind you and all mankind: this is God's Will for us, that we be saints.I wanted to blurt out, "That's easy for you to say, you're already a saint!" Of course it's not easy and St. Josemariá even says later in the same homily that we are likely to encounter Christ's cross, our cross, along the way.
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| Gonzalez Christmas 1971 (NOT the worst) |
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| The Incredulity of St. Thomas, Caravaggio |
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| Word Made Flesh, Nellie Edwards |
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,I am reminded of a sermon in which the priest explained that all of Heaven rejoices at the return of one soul to the bossom of our Lord. This time of year, many people (for whatever reason) who normally stay away from church, return for Christmas. We may refer to them pejoratively, as chreasters or C & E Catholics, but we should be careful of looking down on them, for something still stirs within their hearts that they come to worship on these holy days.
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost."
Our Dallas Tutoring Center still needs families adopted. If you do not have any shoppers in your group (or Shopper Spouses), your group can provide gift cards in $25 increments to be used at Fiesta, Kroger, Wal-mart or Target for food at Christmas to make family dinner.Foxworth went on to say that "if you raised at least $200, that would feed 8 families." We've already raised half that amount in one donation. I think between the men who attend the gatherings and those of you that read this blog, we can raise $1000 for this worthy cause.
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| Immaculada Concepcion, Zubaran |
The subject of this immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body.
The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul.
The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul. Simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam — from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death.
The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. Mary needed the redeeming Saviour to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. He is a greater redeemer who pays the debt that it may not be incurred than he who pays after it has fallen on the debtor.
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2)Some people make ornaments that symbolize the day's scripture and place them on their regular Christmas tree. Others set aside a smaller tree of some sort. We like the Jesse Tree pewter advent wreath because it combines the Advent Wreath lighting with the Jesse Tree tradition. Each day you light the candle, you reflect on one of the scripture passages. The wreath itself has the symbols on its base. The image above is the scripture guide from that wreath.
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| From CatholicWeb |
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| Crucifixion of Christ, Piero di Cosimo |
Below you will find two videos from our last Joe Catholic gathering in which we discussed Christ the King. Because of the importance of this feast day, I have included three excerpts from the Catechism, Bl. Pope John Paul II and St. Josemaria Escriva. Additionally, I have included a few links to read further.the person of Jesus and all His Mystery embody the unity of love of God and neighbour, like the two arms of the Cross, vertical and horizontal. In the Eucharist He gifts us this twofold love, gifting Himself, because, nourished by this bread, we love one another as He has loved us.
786 Finally, the People of God shares in the royal office of Christ. He exercises his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death and Resurrection.211 Christ, King and Lord of the universe, made himself the servant of all, for he came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."212 For the Christian, "to reign is to serve him," particularly when serving "the poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder."213 The People of God fulfills its royal dignity by a life in keeping with its vocation to serve with Christ.Pope John Paul II in Christ the King is Lord of the World and History:
The sign of the cross makes kings of all those reborn in Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit consecrates them as priests, so that, apart from the particular service of our ministry, all spiritual and rational Christians are recognized as members of this royal race and sharers in Christ's priestly office. What, indeed, is as royal for a soul as to govern the body in obedience to God? And what is as priestly as to dedicate a pure conscience to the Lord and to offer the spotless offerings of devotion on the altar of the heart?
While we are pilgrims here on earth, we look towards heaven, our definitive homeland. To reach the fulfilment of the divine kingdom, the Gospel urges us not to follow the "prince of this world" (Jn 12: 31; 16: 11), who sows division and scandal, but to remain faithful and humble in following Christ. He leads us to the kingdom of peace and justice, where God will be all in all.St. Josemaria Escriva in Christ is Passing By, 93:
He is our king. He desires ardently to rule our hearts, because we are children of God. But we should not try to imagine a human sort of rule — Christ does not dominate or seek to impose himself, because he “has not come to be served but to serve.”
His kingdom is one of peace, of joy, of justice. Christ our king does not expect us to spend our time in abstract reasoning; he expects deeds, because “not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord!, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father in heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 7:21)”
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| Image from Vatican Archive of the Documents of Vatican II |
And thus it seems to me that we must rediscover the great heritage of the Council, which is not a “spirit” reconstructed behind the texts, but the great conciliar texts themselves, reread today with the experiences that we have had and that have borne fruit in so many movements, in so many new religious communities. [emphasis added]Since we are being asked to read the documents, we should also possess an understanding of the context in which they were written. I can think of no better way to do this than to share the insights of Douglas Bushman, STL, the director of the Institute of Pastoral Theology at Ave Maria University. Here is an interview with Father Mitch Pacwa on EWTN Live. The video is nearly an hour long, but well worth the investment.
