St. Cyril of Jerusalem says it all ...

Since Christ Himself has said, "This is My Body"
who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?

– St. Cyril of Jerusalem (315 - 386)

Lent: Ash Wednesday begins the journey ...

... the journey (hopefully) to a better me, a better home and a better world over the next 40 days. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? But a wonderful thing about the Catholic Church is her giving me special time to make reparation for the things I need to fix in my life. The things that will rebuild my relationship with a loving God who wants me, and you, and all of us to simply know, love and serve Him.

Ash Wednesday, which is VERY early this year, is the first day of this 40-day spiritual journey to new birth. In the Magnificat, which I love to read and will TRY to read everyday this Lent, there is a wonderful essay this month by Father William M. Joensen, seminary spiritual director and professor of philosophy at Loras College and chaplain at Clarke College both in Dubuque, Iowa.

Here are some quotes that really struck me as I read his essay, titled "Lent and the Soil of Ourselves":

• A gritty cross is placed upon our forehead; when mingled with the purple of penance, black becomes us.
• We are ashen-faced as we realize how much God has bestowed upon us, how readily God waits for us, appeals to us, longing to share the joy of salvation, offering us his Son!
• ... as we glimpse the specks of dust blessed and applied to our foreheads, we marvel as we realize that God knows each one of the grains of ash, every molecule of which the universe, including ourselves, is made. How much more, then, does God know our situation, the secrets held in the inner recesses of our being.
• Each of us is entrusted during Lent with the sacred task of going into the soil of ourselves, inviting the Spirit to help us venture into the inmost recesses of our being ...
• These (lenten) practices are not cosmetic devices meant to attract attention and yet distract us from the work of grace in the space of our souls. They are to help liberate us to look beyond our limits ...

and finally,

• We heed the appeal to go within our own hearts and allow God to unearth the love lying hidden beneath the detritus of sin. If we do so, our faces, our lives will assume a Christ-like cast. Our way of being will proclaim that the day of salvation has arrived: He is risen indeed!

This essay really "spoke" to me ... I get so caught up in the unimportant and forget to take time to stop, listen and love God fully. This Lent, my 46th Lent, will be more than bellyaching about what I'm missing -- this Lent will be my chance to, as Fr. Joensen puts it:

be more present, patient, prayerful, and positive in our dealings with others ...

My prayer for you, and me, and all I know and love this Lent 2008 is a renewed sense of God in our lives -- a renewed sense that He is always there to welcome us back into the sheepfold.

Blessings,

Feast of Christ the King

Today is the beginning of the last week of the Liturgical Year for Catholics. Today is the Feast of Christ the King -- when the Church acknowledges and celebrates that Jesus Christ is the King of ALL ... that He has beat death ... that He has beat the Devil ... that His Kingdom WILL come!

This is a big deal for Catholics. This feast is an important one to celebrate and remember. As Father mentioned at Mass today, it is EXTREMELY important for all of us to decide -- in whose Kingdom do we want to live .... who is our King .... in whose Will will we follow?

Next Sunday, we will start the four weeks of anticipating Jesus' birth ... the 4 weeks of Advent. My prayer for all this week is that we end this year with the renewed desire to follow Jesus to His Kingdom!

Feast: Queenship of Mary

Today is the Feast of the Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. This is a very hard Catholic concept for many. Here's an explanation from the Catholic-Forum website:

The feast of the Queenship of Mary was established in 1954 by Pope Pius XII. The
original date for this feast was chosen as May 31st, but was later moved to the
octave day of the feast of the Assumption, August 22nd. This memorial celebrates
the same event that is highlighted by the fifth glorious mystery or the Rosary.

Throughout the New Testament, Mary's role in heaven is mentioned. Mary is alluded to as Queen in the book of Revelations, and throughout the Bible. It is because of Jesus close relationship with his mother that she shares in his kingship.

The Church and the faithful for have also referred to Mary as queen since the fourth century. Various songs, litanies, and prayers refer to Mary as queen. (e.g. Regina Caeli during Eastertide.) The Church has affirmed the title of Mary in modern times through documents including Lumen Gentium (..."and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son" Lumen Gentium 59) and the papal encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam.

The title Queen is used to indicate the final state of the Virgin, seated beside her Son, the King of glory.

Here is an excerpt of the Ad Coeli Reginam written by Pope Pius XII:

38. From these considerations, the proof develops on these lines: if Mary, in
taking an active part in the work of salvation, was, by God's design, associated
with Jesus Christ, the source of salvation itself, in a manner comparable to
that in which Eve was associated with Adam, the source of death, so that it may
be stated that the work of our salvation was accomplished by a kind of
"recapitulation,"[49] in which a virgin was instrumental in the salvation of the
human race, just as a virgin had been closely associated with its death; if,
moreover, it can likewise be stated that this glorious Lady had been chosen
Mother of Christ "in order that she might become a partner in the redemption of
the human race";[50] and if, in truth, "it was she who, free of the stain of
actual and original sin, and ever most closely bound to her Son, on Golgotha
offered that Son to the Eternal Father together with the complete sacrifice of
her maternal rights and maternal love, like a new Eve, for all the sons of Adam,
stained as they were by his lamentable fall,"[51] then it may be legitimately
concluded that as Christ, the new Adam, must be called a King not merely because
He is Son of God, but also because He is our Redeemer, so, analogously, the Most
Blessed Virgin is queen not only because she is Mother of God, but also because,
as the new Eve, she was associated with the new Adam.

Makes perfect sense to me!

Queen of Heaven rejoice,
alleluia
The Son whom you merited to bear alleluia
Has risen as he said
alleluia
Pray for us to God alleluia
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary,
alleluia!
For the Lord has truly risen alleluia

Today's the Transfiguration ...

... and I'm not sure why it's not a holy day of obligation. This is SUCH an important feast for the Catholic Church -- the Transfiguration is the feast where Jesus proves to Peter, James and John that he truly is the Son of God and the Son of Man. This feast is considered the culmination of Jesus' public life. This feast gives us a glimpse at Jesus Glorified; it gives us a glimpse at Heaven.

And as our pastor pointed out today during the Liturgy ... this feast reminds us that we get this same glimpse of Jesus glorified, the same glimpse of Heaven EVERY TIME we watch the priest consecrate the Host, EVERY TIME we are witnesses to the great gift of Jesus in the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into Jesus' body and blood.

As I've said before when "waxing poetic" about the Catholic Faith -- HOW COOL IS THAT??????

Now, for a more eloquent meditation on the transfiguration, here's Pope Benedict's Angelus message from yesterday's audience.