THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Circumcision of Our Lord 1 January 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends, 

We begin this secular year celebrating the ritual when the official name of Jesus was given to Him. This was the name given by the angel even before He was conceived in the womb of His Blessed Virgin Mother.

It seems appropriate that at this time and always we should place the name of Jesus. St. Paul tells us “All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” (Col. iii, 17)

St. John Chrysostom says: “If we do this, there will indeed be nothing of evil, nothing impure, in our invoking of the Sacred Name. If you eat, if you drink, should you marry, if you set out on a journey, do all in the Name of Jesus; that is, calling upon Him to help you. And having in all that you do invoked Him, then apply yourself to the thing in hand. Should you wish to speak concerning any business, do this beforehand. For this reason do we also place the name of the Lord at the head of all our epistles. Wherever there is the Lord’s name, everything will be well. For if the names of the consuls are affixed to documents, to insure that they are authentic, how much more the name of Jesus. … Do you eat? Offer thanks to God, both before you eat, and afterwards. Do you sleep? Give thanks to God, both before and after. Are you going out among people? Do the same; not some worldly thing. Do everything in the name of the Lord, and all that you do will bring you happiness. Wherever the Name of the Lord is set up, all things prosper. If it has power to drive away demons, if it can banish illness, much more will it aid your own actions.”

It is in this spirit that the Church and we Her children celebrate this new year. Our greatest desire is that everyone should on this day start anew in the name of Jesus Christ. Not only should we start in this Name, but we should also continue in this Name and ultimately conclude in this Name. Let us dedicate this year and the rest of our lives to Jesus. In this manner we will be living rightly as we fulfill the purpose of our very creation. The catechism tells us that we have been created to know, love, and serve Him in this world so that we may be happy with Him in the next.

With the name of Jesus at the start and end of our every action, we dedicate and offer all that we do for Him. We fulfill the command to serve Him. In our service we cannot help but see His goodness and perfections and in this manner are drawn to love Him more and more each day. The growth of this service and love commingles with the growth of our knowledge of God. As one of these aspects (know, love, serve) increase so do the others.

We find that phenomenal growth in all these areas are readily achieved by those who put into practice placing the Most Holy Name of Jesus upon all that they do. We have been created by God for God. It is only in living our lives while doing His will that we fulfill our purpose in being. Those who do not seek to do the will of God are not living as they were created to live. These poor souls find nothing in this life but, frustration, and emptiness. St. Augustine tells us in his “Confessions” that our hearts are forever restless until they rest in God. Those who live not for God are miserable now and will be so forever in eternity unless they turn away from their path of destructive disobedience.

Those who will follow the simple plan placed before us today by our Holy Mother the Church of placing the Name of Jesus upon all that they do, will find peace in their lives now but even more importantly they will find eternal happiness in heaven.

 I found this story on another site and it just touched me,.  Everyday I see many, many older people who are really alone in this world.  Some have children that live far away, some have no children and others have children from which they are estranged.  All of them just want to have a few moments to share with another human being.  Please spend some time with an elderly person during this Christmas season and hopefully continue the practice throughout the year:

A young man learns what's most important in life from the man next door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life,” she said.

“He's the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I'll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture... Jack stopped suddenly...

“What's wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,’” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. “Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read. Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. “Mr. Harold Belser” it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

“Jack, Thanks for your time! - Harold Belser”

“The thing he valued most was... my time”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared appointments for the next two days.

“Why?” Janet, his assistant, asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

“Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!”

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away… Merry Christmas”

 

 

“I thought upon the days of old; and I had in my mind the eternal years; and I meditated in the night with my own heart.     Ps 76:6-7

 

Another “Year of Our Lord,” has gone and no man can lay an arresting finger to stay one single moment of all the myriad points of time that have gone by us in the year’s slow turn.  Another “Year of Our Lord”!  How strange that sounds as we sit this St. Sylvester’s night and call up from memory’s fruitful store the lapsed deeds of well-nigh forgotten days!  How eagerly we sped forward as the New Year opened out its bright, fresh way!  How high were our hearts to do and dare for Christ!  Yet as the days went by, and week was told off into month, the friction of mortal life went hard against us, and we fell aside from our high resolve.  No, not altogether – thank God! – for we still kept our eyes fixed on Christ, “the Author and Finisher of our faith.”  We still held fast to our soldier’s plighted oath.  But we grew aweary at times and slackened in our strong purpose.  The uncharitable word escaped our peevish lips, the spiteful glance sped quick from our angered eye, the harsh thought raced across our jealous mind.  We forgot the knighthood of our calling and “followed from afar” our thorn-crowned King.  The world and its tinseled pleasures lost their hollowness for us and we tried to find our heart’s repose in the trinkets of an hour.

 

Yet over all the days and all the nights hangs the shadow of God’s Hand outstretched caressingly!  Christmastide and Lenten days, Easter-tide and Pentecostal feasts, and Mary Mother’s holy days brought richest graces to our struggling soul.  Each morning that we rose, each evening that we laid aside the labors of the day, across the noontide hours, the freshening steam of heavenly blessings fell.  Many a morning, too, nay perhaps by God’s good grace, each morning, we knelt in lowly adoration in the throne-room of the King, and the Lord of Lords came down in rude disguise and tarried within our hearts.  Oh, blessed days they were and happy hours when God came down and dwelt within us!

Small wonder then, that we call it a “Year of Our Lord.”  Never a moment slipped by into eternity, never an hour aged us towards our grave but Christ our Captain stood by our side and nerved our hearts to wage His holy war.  “Ask of the days of old, that have been before thy time, from the day that God created man upon the earth, from one end of heaven to the other end thereof, if ever there was done the like thing; or it hath been known at any time”.

Jesus, my God, “another year is dying – let it die.”  Much there is that makes Your wearied knight hang a shameful head.  But though faults there were, by Your strong grace, my post I never left, Your flag I never lowered.  And now, strong Leader, I stand upon a New Year’s coming.  What press of battle will strain my soul,  I know not.  But here I am, Your knight, strong in Your strength to dare and do – and one day die.  My King and Lord, stand by me when the days are bright and shield me when the night comes down, until the last, dim, weird battle of the west brings swiftly to its close the last sweet “Year of Our Lord.”

“Another year is dawning

Dear Master, let it be,

In working or in waiting,

Another year with Thee

Another year is dawning,

Dear Master, let it be,

On earth or else in Heaven,

Another year for Thee”

 

 

THE HOLY INNOCENTS

At that time an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and His mother, and fly into Egypt; and be there until I tell thee: for it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy Him. Who arose, and took the child and His mother by night, and retired into Egypt; and He was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called My Son. Then Herod, perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry; and sending, killed all the men children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying: A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

BISHOP LOUIS VEZELIS, OFM MIDNIGHT MASS 2011

A Blessed Christmas To All! 

Here are the Audio Sermon Links from St. Joseph the Workman Mission in Fillmore, NY:

Midnight Mass 2011 

3rd Mass At Dawn  

Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.

You would have suffered eternal death, had he not been born in time. Never would you have been freed from sinful flesh, had he not taken on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness, had it not been for this mercy. You would never have returned to life, had he not shared your death. You would have been lost if he had not hastened ‘to your aid. You would have perished, had he not come.

Let us then joyfully celebrate the coming of our salvation and redemption. Let us celebrate the festive day on which he who is the great and eternal day came from the great and endless day of eternity into our own short day of time.

He has become our justice, our sanctification, our redemption, so that, as it is written: Let him who glories glory in the Lord.

Truth, then, has arisen from the earth: Christ who said, I am the Truth, was born of the Virgin. And justice looked down from heaven: because believing in this new-born child, man is justified not by himself but by God.

Truth has arisen from the earth: because the Word was made flesh. And justice looked down from heaven: because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.

Truth has arisen from the earth: flesh from Mary. And justice looked down from heaven: for man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

Justified by faith, let us be at peace with God: for justice and peace have embraced one another. Through our Lord Jesus Christ: for Truth has arisen from the earth. Through whom we have access to that grace in which we stand, and our boast is in our hope of God’s glory. He does not say: “of our glory”, but of God’s glory: for justice has not come out of us but has looked down from heaven.Therefore he who glories, let him glory, not in himself, but in the Lord.

For this reason, when our Lord was born of the Virgin, the message of the angelic voices was: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men of good will.

For how could there be peace on earth unless Truth has arisen from the earth, that is, unless Christ were born of our flesh? And he is our peace who made the two into one: that we might be men of good will, sweetly linked by the bond of unity.

Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says: He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head. For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the son of man, so that a son of man might in his turn become son of God?

Ask if this were merited; ask for its reason, for its justification, and see whether you will find any other answer but sheer grace.

– St.Augustine of Hippo