#Emmanuel United Church of Christ

[sacredheart-stigmata]

The Hopeful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary

Lent is right around the corner, and typically we are called to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries as a reminded of Christ's passion throughout these 40 days. But in a world so fraught with war, death, and pain, perhaps it is time for a more... hopeful way to pray the rosary. Enter from stage left the Hopeful Mysteries, a new devotion created by a small town church for the 2025 Jubilee that has officially been marked as having spiritual merit for the faithful. Inspired by the Magnificat and messages of hope in the Old Testament while leading up to the most important announcement of hope in the Bible, the Annunciation, the Hopeful Mysteries are five new mysteries one can use while praying the Holy Rosary.

The First Mystery: Eve and the Serpent (Genesis 3:15)

Eve is blamed for a lot-- it is easy to pin all of humanity's downfall on one woman, but as mother of all, Eve is also the source of our salvation. Her offspring crushes the serpent under their heel, and she has no greater offspring than Jesus Christ. Born as man, our Lord has Eve's blood in His veins, and when God promises that an offspring of Eve will crush the serpent, we can see the fulfillment of that promise thousands of years in the future. Mary, the daughter of Eve, the new Eve, and the Holy Spirit bear the One who will do more than crush the serpent: He will eradicate him. Even in the fear and sorrow of the Fall, hope is not far behind.

The Second Mystery: The Rainbow (Genesis 9:13-17)

Noah's arc is a horrible story; it is a story of pain, of death, of separation, with the world drowning and being forced to rebuild. But it carries a promise of hope inside it: the rainbow, a sign of God's promise to never turn His back on us. Never again will the world flood. Never again will He bring inhalation upon us. Instead, he brings forth a soul like no other, both Man and Divine, to unite us with Him again. Death no more, but a promise of hope and reunification. Jesus is the rainbow of the modern era, and through remembering God's promise to Noah, we remember Jesus's sacrifice for us.

The Third Mystery: Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19)

It can be hard to see hope in a story of attempted child sacrifice, but as we read Genesis, we remember that God provided a ram. He provided the sacrifice to go in Isaac's place, sparing son and father. Instead, God takes Abraham's place, sacrificing His own Son as an Easter ram. God denied the need for human suffering to prove our love of Him, and instead suffered Himself to prove love of us!

The Fourth Mystery: The Freedom from Egypt (Exodus 14:13-31)

God does not abandon His people. God does not abandon His people! When the Israelites face oppression in Egypt, the Lord provided emancipation. When they faced the Egyptians before the Red Sea, our Lord parted the waters and led them safely through. And just as He protected the Israelites and led them from Egypt, so has he protected us and led us from death through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Fifth Mystery: Mary the Mother of God and the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38)

Finally, we have reached the greatest of God's promises: the Annunciation. Mary, who lived a life of piety and sinlessness, brings into the world the Christ, Emmanuel, the world's greatest Hope. In her, we have the Hope of Jesus' arrival, and in Him, we have the Hope of salvation. He came once, and He will come again. Mary, the new Eve,'s offspring, Jesus, will crush the serpent under His foot. He will be the rainbow, promising safety and a new world. He will be the God-given ram, dying in our place. He will bring us freedom, just as the Lord led the Israelites to freedom and out of bondage. He is the Greatest Hope, and through Him, we are saved.

[globalworship]

The 'O' Antiphon Songs, Paintings, Poems

Elise Massa is a friend and part of United Adoration in the UK. https://www.facebook.com/EliseMassaMusic

She wrote,

 I thought I'd share with you a little project that I put together this year. In 2023, I engaged in a personal creative prayer practice, meditating on the O Antiphons and writing a musical response for each one. The O Antiphons are ancient refrains, typically sung at evening prayer from December 17-23. Each one is a title of Christ as found in Old Testament prophecies. My responses are more contemplative, less congregational, tapping into my singer-songwriter roots before I wrote for church congregations. This short album (<20 minutes) is just me, my instrument, and a little reverb for spice. It's available for listening and purchase through Bandcamp. https://elisemassa.bandcamp.com/album/o-antiphon-series

May Wisdom of God speak steadily in times of confusion. May the Lord draw you to his Kingdom. May the Root of Jesse anchor you to his life sustaining vine. May the Key of David release you from heavy burdens. May the Morning Star guide you to his Kingdom. May the King of the Nations bring peace to the wars outside and within. And may Emmanuel, God with us, be ever so tangible to you and those you love. 

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The O Antiphons are a series of seven verses dating from the sixth century and prayed during vespers during the last week of Advent. Each antiphon is a name of Jesus taken from Scripture, and they are the basis for the popular Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

Here are 4 paintings from the series by Sister Ansgar Holmberg, C.S.J. that arer based on the 'O' Antiphons.

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Here are excerpts from a (2020) interview with her:

Sister Ansgar Holmberg, C.S.J., 86, didn’t paint her O Antiphon series to edify or instruct anyone. They were meant only for herself.

Ansgar (she likes to be called by her first name) has been with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 67 years, and although she has spent time teaching children and offering spiritual direction, she created these seven paintings over the course of three years as a personal way to contemplate Scripture.

“I had read what other people had said, but I decided to paint them for myself, for me to understand them better. That’s one of the ways I learn,” Ansgar said.

Now the seven paintings, done in brilliant gouache (a kind of opaque watercolor), are gathered in a small book, Praying the Advent Names of God, paired with poems composed by another sister in the community, Joan Mitchell, C.S.J.

Read more at https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/12/22/advent-o-antiphon-paintings-239567

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Here are some of the images with poems available in the book and as posters:

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Read the artist's thoughts about these paintings and poems at https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/12/22/advent-o-antiphon-paintings-239567

Buy the 20-page book at https://goodgroundpress.com/product/advent-names-of-god/

Buy the posters at https://goodgroundpress.com/product/o-antiphons-posters/

[martinwilliammichael]

An American family’s reflections in the restored Notre Dame cathedral (I)

It was December 31, the day before the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, when my family and I visited the newly restored Notre Dame de Paris. The iconic cathedral had only reopened a few weeks earlier to much fanfare, as world leaders gathered to see and be seen at the reopening. This grand ceremony occupied my thoughts as we walked in, but a little voice brought me back to the reason we were really there.

“Look,” it said, “It’s Our Lady!”

The voice belonged to my seven-year-old son, who was bringing my attention to the Pietà statue behind the altar. Notre Dame, after all, means “Our Lady.” I had last seen the eighteenth-century Nicolas Coustou sculpture in photographs from the aftermath of the 2019 fire, when it was surrounded by charred debris but otherwise unscathed. Now, even on a gray winter morning, it was surrounded by bright splendor and crowds of admirers. 

The piece portrays Mary sitting with her only son draped across her knees as he did as an infant. But now he is a grown man. Now he is dead. She looks up, her face etched with sorrow, her arms outstretched, inviting the viewer to contemplate her son.

Visitors from all over the world strained for a better view of her, smartphones poised for a shot they could post to show their followers back home. Others milled around the cathedral investigating the side chapels and decor. My son preferred to sit and take it all in. We chose a couple of chairs in the nave that were evidently still set up from the reopening ceremonies. An ambassador or a head of state might have sat in these seats a couple of weeks ago, but now they provided a place of contemplation for an anonymous mother and son. He drew my attention to something I would have otherwise missed: on the ceiling, a blue medallion depicting Mary holding the infant Jesus.

Together with my only son, I gazed up at Mary with her only son. I don’t mean to draw any other parallels between us. Mary probably would have kept her cool better than I did when, about ten minutes later, the ends of my daughter’s hair caught on fire while she lit a votive candle in front of the Crown of Thorns reliquary (she’s fine). But I did wonder how many other people were there for online engagement and how many were there, like my kids, for Our Lady.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time Notre Dame has been manipulated for secular purposes. Selfies in the sanctuary wouldn’t even be the worst example. That distinction goes to Maximilian Robespierre in 1793, when he converted Notre Dame into an atheistic “Temple of Reason.” Revolutionaries replaced religious iconography with depictions of Enlightenment figures, and held blasphemous rites in the cathedral. From the viewpoint of believers, this is arguably worse than a fire.

But Robespierre is long gone, and Notre Dame is still here, drawing humanity to herself, and through her, to Christ. Why is it that the powerful and influential gathered within her walls on the feast of the Immaculate Conception this past December? Who else but the Mother of God, whose Magnificat prayer proclaimed a God who has scattered the proud in their conceit and cast down the mighty from their thrones, could inspire improbable images like the photo of the future head of the Church of England clutching a Magnificat booklet, chatting amiably with Donald Trump? A young Jewish girl from Nazareth, to whom the message of an angel declared that “nothing shall be impossible for God,” united the leaders from our troubled world to momentarily put their differences to one side and celebrate something joyful. They were gathered, in the words of French President Emmanuel Macron, “ensemble pour Notre Dame” (together for Our Lady).

Maggie Phillips, January 17, 2025

www.wordonfire.org

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

[vaticanomenon]

I’ve seen a lot of good info on the Pope’s letter to the usamerican bishops but not the actual letter. Here it is, in case anyone wants to read it

Dear brothers in the Episcopate,

I am writing today to address a few words to you in these delicate moments that you are living as Pastors of the People of God who walk together in the United States of America.

1. The journey from slavery to freedom that the People of Israel traveled, as narrated in the Book of Exodus, invites us to look at the reality of our time, so clearly marked by the phenomenon of migration, as a decisive moment in history to reaffirm not only our faith in a God who is always close, incarnate, migrant and refugee, but also the infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person.[1]

2. These words with which I begin are not an artificial construct. Even a cursory examination of the Church’s social doctrine emphatically shows that Jesus Christ is the true Emmanuel (cf.Mt1:23); he did not live apart from the difficult experience of being expelled from his own land because of an imminent risk to his life, and from the experience of having to take refuge in a society and a culture foreign to his own. The Son of God, in becoming man, also chose to live the drama of immigration. I like to recall, among other things, the words with which Pope Pius XII began his Apostolic Constitution on the Care of Migrants, which is considered the “Magna Carta” of the Church’s thinking on migration:

“The family of Nazareth in exile, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, emigrants in Egypt and refugees there to escape the wrath of an ungodly king, are the model, the example and the consolation of emigrants and pilgrims of every age and country, of all refugees of every condition who, beset by persecution or necessity, are forced to leave their homeland, beloved family and dear friends for foreign lands.”[2]

3. Likewise, Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent recognition of the dignity of every human being, without exception. In fact, when we speak of “infinite and transcendent dignity,” we wish to emphasize that the most decisive value possessed by the human person surpasses and sustains every other juridical consideration that can be made to regulate life in society. Thus, all the Christian faithful and people of good will are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa.

4. I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival. That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.

5. This is not a minor issue: an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized. The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all — as I have affirmed on numerous occasions — welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable. This does not impede the development of a policy that regulates orderly and legal migration. However, this development cannot come about through the privilege of some and the sacrifice of others. What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.

6. Christians know very well that it is only by affirming the infinite dignity of all that our own identity as persons and as communities reaches its maturity. Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation. The trueordo amoristhat must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the “Good Samaritan” (cf.Lk10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.[3]

7. But worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations, easily introduces an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the strongest as the criterion of truth.

8. I recognize your valuable efforts, dear brother bishops of the United States, as you work closely with migrants and refugees, proclaiming Jesus Christ and promoting fundamental human rights. God will richly reward all that you do for the protection and defense of those who are considered less valuable, less important or less human!

9. I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters. With charity and clarity we are all called to live in solidarity and fraternity, to build bridges that bring us ever closer together, to avoid walls of ignominy and to learn to give our lives as Jesus Christ gave his for the salvation of all.

10. Let us ask Our Lady of Guadalupe to protect individuals and families who live in fear or pain due to migration and/or deportation. May the “Virgen morena”, who knew how to reconcile peoples when they were at enmity, grant us all to meet again as brothers and sisters, within her embrace, and thus take a step forward in the construction of a society that is more fraternal, inclusive and respectful of the dignity of all.

Fraternally,

Francis

From the Vatican, 10 February 2025

_____________________

[1]Cf. DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, DeclarationDignitas infinitaon human dignity, 2 April 2024.

[2]PIUS XII, Apostolic ConstitutionExsul Familia, 1 August 1952: “Exsul Familia Nazarethana Iesus, Maria, Ioseph, cum ad Aegyptum emigrans tum in Aegypto profuga impii regis iram aufugiens, typus, exemplar et praesidium exstat omnium quorumlibet temporum et locorum emigrantium, peregrinorum ac profugorum omne genus, qui, vel metu persecutionum vel egestate compulsi, patrium locum suavesque parentes et propinquos ac dulces amicos derelinquere coguntur et aliena petere.”

[3] Cf. FRANCIS, Encyclical LetterFratelli tutti, 3 October 2020.

[moreapples]

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

—Matthew 16:13-20

~~~~~

Jesus Messiah, Lord of All

By Jennifer Kane

Upon this rock, my faith is laid,

Jesus Messiah, by God displayed.

Name above all, the truth revealed,

Blessed Redeemer, our hearts are healed.

"You are the Messiah, the Son divine,

The living God's own sacred sign."

Blessed are you, Simon of grace,

For flesh and blood did not show this face.

On this rock, Your church will stand,

Not even Hades can take the land.

The keys of heaven You freely gave,

And as Simon became Peter, receive a new name.

Jesus Messiah, Emmanuel,

The rescue for sinners, in You we dwell.

The ransom from Heaven, our sins You bore,

Jesus Messiah, forevermore.

Lord of all, the firm foundation,

The cornerstone of our salvation.

In You, the gates of Hades fall,

Jesus Messiah, Lord of all.

~~~~~

Scriptures: Matthew 16:13-20

In Matthew 16:13-20, we witness a profound moment where Jesus, in the region of Caesarea Philippi, leads His disciples through a pivotal conversation about His identity. This passage reveals the deep truths about who Jesus is and the foundation of the Church He builds.

Many today have opinions about Jesus. Some see Him as a great teacher, a moral leader, or a prophet. However, acknowledging Jesus as merely a historical figure or wise man misses the essence of His divine nature and mission.

“Who do you say I am?” This question remains crucial for each of us. Who do we say Jesus is? Our personal acknowledgment of Jesus as the Christ defines our faith and shapes our lives. Peter's confession invites us to reflect on our own understanding and declaration of who Jesus is.

The Church is built on the solid rock of Jesus’ identity as the Christ. As followers of Jesus, we are living stones, part of the spiritual house He is building. The promise that the gates of Hades will not prevail against it gives us confidence in the enduring strength of His Church.

Jesus' identity as the Messiah is the cornerstone of our faith. Matthew 16:13-20 challenges us to confront this truth personally and corporately. It calls us to a deeper understanding and confession of who Jesus is, shaping our lives and strengthening our resolve to follow Him.

Take time today to meditate on who Jesus is to you. How does your understanding of His identity as the Messiah impact your daily life? Share your confession with someone and discuss how this truth can be a foundation for living out your faith.

~~~~~

Heavenly Father, I come before You in awe of the profound truth revealed through Your Son, Jesus Christ. “Who do you say I am?”

Lord, I declare with my heart and lips, as Peter did, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. This truth is the foundation of my faith, and I am humbled that You have revealed it to me, not by human wisdom, but by Your divine grace.

Thank You for building Your Church upon this rock, the unshakable truth of Christ's identity. Strengthen me to stand firm as a living stone in this spiritual house, united in purpose and love.

Guide me, Lord, to live each day with the knowledge of who Jesus is, allowing His identity as the Messiah to transform my heart and actions. May my life reflect His glory, and may I boldly share this truth with others, drawing them into the saving grace of Your kingdom. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

[tpanan]

My Saturday Daily Blessings

December 21, 2024 Saturday of the Third Week of Advent (Roman Rite Calendar) Lectionary: 197 First Reading:                          Sg 2:8-14

Responsorial Psalm:             Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21

Verse Before the Gospel: R. Alleluia, alleluia. O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God! R. Alleluia, alleluia.

**Gospel:                      Lk 1:39-45

**Meditation

Sources: Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

** Meditations may be freely reprinted for non-commercial use - please cite:  copyright © 2023 Servants of the Word, source: dailyscripture.net, author Don Schwager. 

Scripture quotations from Common Bible: Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1973, and Ignatius Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 2006, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible: Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1973, and Ignatius Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 2006, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.  

[nijjhar]

Rich men cannot be of God but Satan. Lazarus ends up in the Lap of Saint... Rich men cannot be of God but Satan. Lazarus ends up in the Lap of Saint Abraham while the rich man is in Hell. https://youtu.be/_LMgObv1l3I Holy Gospel of our SUPERNATURAL FATHER of our supernatural “souls” Elohim, Allah, ParBrahm, etc., delivered by the first Anointed Christ, which in my native language Punjabi, we call Satguru Jesus of the highest living God Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc. that dwells within His most beautiful living Temple of God created by the greatest artist demiurge Potter, the lord of the visible Nature Yahweh, Brahma, Khudah, etc. and it is called Harmandir or “Emmanuel” if you are not “greedy” according to Saint Matthew 13,44-46. Jesus said to his TWICE-BORN Labourers and not the once-born spiritually blind disciples of the Rabbis reading the dead Scriptures: “The Royal Kingdom of God and not the Kingdom of heaven of the Rabbis is like a treasure buried in a field or the Taproot buried under the Tree of Scriptures, which a person finds through logical reasoning that Brews Logo, the Very Face of God His Word and hides again for you cannot share with any – Parable of the Ten Virgin, and out of extreme joy goes home and sells all that he has as the Apostles left their homes and Matthew gave away half of his share leaving the other half for his family and buys that field full of the Gospel Treasures. Again, the Royal Kingdom of God and not the kingdom of heaven of the Rabbis seen in law and order is like a twice-born merchant searching for fine pearls, the Gospel Treasures. When he finds a pearl of great price through logical reasoning that Brews Logo, which is His Word, the Very Face of God, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it as the Apostles did". Church of England Vicar objected to my T-shirt that it may cause problems. COE is a Church of Satan headed by Mammon and not God. https://youtu.be/wp_8D3tlu90 Please click on my Playlists at http://www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/playlist.htm  Church of England Vicar objected to my T-shirt which may cause problems. Today, 05 December 2010, I visited four Churches. First I went to the United Reformed Church that is just near the Bus stop and I thought let me go in as it was getting late to service. It was normal and a few looked at my T-shirt and logos but with curiosity. Only one man engaged me in the discussion. Then, I thought let me go to the Greek Orthodox Service nearby at Bartholomew Church, corner of Palmer Park and diagonally opposite to URC that I just attended. Serving Priest was from London but he normally is busy with the formalities. However, he gave me his London address and invited me to visit the Church and ask questions. That would be good. After the service, they invite people to join them in their service of Tea and Coffee with food cooked by different members at home. They also served hard drinks as it was cold. I had some cough and it was good for me to have a few. So, in the afternoon or rather evening, I went to Christadelphian Fellowship on Oxford Road with my T-shirt and they also looked with curiosity. They did not like the last two lines that Gnostics are living Christs of living God. This became clear when I attended the next Church of England, Greyfriars Church and over there the head priest, Rev Jonathan Wilmot, Vicar told me to cover my T-shirt as he did not like the way I was dressed. So, I had a rain cover that I put it on covering the back side leaving the front side open. So, he is the first priest to object and I can well imagine that these priests especially of the Church of England are hirelings of Mammon who hate the Light more than the others. In fact, most people who do not understand the Gospel in spirit would not love to see a man like me in their Churches. No wonder someone after reading the last two lines the Gnostics are living Christs of Living God pointed out that only One Christ Jesus. At this I explained to them Christ Thomas and not St.Thomas as propagated by the Anti Christs was known as Christ Thomas in South India and so was His Labourers called Christs and not Christians. Portuguese Pope went there telling people only one Christ Jesus and no other Christ and killed those who were the Labourers of Thomas and burnt their Books. This was told to me by a priest in Wellington, South India. So, please do not be deterred by the people who have no idea of Gospel but blindly follow others leading to so many divisions of the Church of God, ONE FOLD, and One Shepherd, Christ Jesus like the blind defining an elephant. Most of the religious places are infested with Mammon worshipping Antichrists who have no love for Light but love Darkness to carry on fleecing the congregations. www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/JAntisem.htm www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/Rest.htm My Books:- ONE GOD ONE FAITH www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/bookfin.pdf and in Punjabi www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/pdbook.pdf Very informative Channel:- Punjab Siyan. John's baptism:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/johnsig.pdf Trinity:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/trinity.pdf

[emmanuelucc]

The Messenger – 2024

New Post has been published on https://emmanuel-ucc.org/the-messenger/the-messenger-2024/

The Messenger – 2024

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[hieromonkcharbel]

I find something particularly intriguing about this gospel: Joseph’s character, his quandary, and, most intriguing of all, how this quandary was resolved. We see Joseph today struggling, in confusion, and agonizing over what to do. Mary was pregnant and he was the not the father. He could only assume that another was. As a just man, he was sensitive above all things to the sanctity of marriage and yet did not want to manifest his righteousness at Mary’s expense. For the procedure prescribed by Jewish law was to make an example of one convicted of adultery by punishing them publicly: a procedure, you might remember, captured vividly in the gospel where Jesus intervened to protect the woman caught in an adulterous affair from being stoned to death.

Well, it was all too much for Joseph to handle. In fact, he wore himself out thinking about it and fell asleep. However, we are told, this was not the sleep of sloth or of indifference; it was the sleep of contemplation that comes on as a result of faithful, arduous labor. And it was here that the dilemma would be resolved for Joseph; for he began to dream and it was in this dream that God communicated to him.

It was only then that Joseph could disconnect himself from the processes and limitations of human logic; only then that he could receive and know the truth even without understanding it. This child will be Emmanuel, “God with us,” because Mary has conceived him through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is so much God’s Son that God is his only Father; he has been conceived through the Same Spirit that brought life into the world at creation.

It was only then that he could let go in faith and accept what appeared to be unreasonable and unthinkable and do what appeared to be humiliating. The Messiah must belong to the house of David as the prophets have foretold. And so you Joseph, son of David, must name him; for in naming him, you will become his legal father and establish his true lineage.

Upon waking from the dream, we are told, Joseph did all that the angel had commanded him and took Mary as his wife. He embraced and accepted the mystery. This is what the Church is asking us to consider this advent. For you see, Joseph’s experience illuminates the struggle that all of us face who strive to live a life of faith. Each of us like Joseph find ourselves plunged into the mystery that God has set before us – a mystery that is beyond the limits of the human mind to comprehend. It is our destiny to share in the life of the eternal and triune God, a destiny that Christ has made possible for us by becoming one of us, and dying for us. He unites us with himself in this Holy Eucharist and in this unity allows us to participate in the redemptive work of the Cross. He makes our suffering part of his own. But to embrace this destiny, we must like Joseph let go of everything within us that resists it – fear, anxiety, pride, the desire for control. We must, as it were, allow ourselves to dream. In prayer, we must rest in the darkness of faith until He who is our Light comes and turns the night into day.

[orthodoxydaily]

Wed.,Apr,7, 2021: Annunciation

THE ANNUNCIATION (BLAGOVESCHENIE) OF OUR MOST BLESSED LADY MOTHER OF GOD AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY

Commemorated on March 25_ by the newcalendar

Sermon of Saint Proklos, Patriarch of Constantinople

     Our present gathering in honour of the MostHoly Virgin inspires me, brethren, to say of Her a word of praise, of benefit also for those come unto this churchly solemnity. It comprises a praise of women, a glorying of their gender, which (glory) is brought it by Her, She Who is at one same time both Mother, and Virgin. O desired and wondrous gathering! Celebrate, O nature, that wherein honour be rendered to Woman; rejoice, O human race, that wherein the Virgin be glorified. "For when sin did abound, grace did superabound" (Rom. 5: 20). The Holy Mother of God and Virgin Mary hath gathered us here, She the pure treasure of virginity, the intended paradise of Second Adam, – the locus, wherein was accomplished the co-uniting of natures, wherein was affirmed the Counsel of salvific reconciliation.      Whoever is it that ever saw, whoever heard, that within a womb the Limitless God would make habitation, Whom the Heavens cannot circumscribe, Whom the womb of a Virgin limiteth not!?      He born of woman is not only God and He is not only Man: This One born made woman, being the ancient gateway of sin, into the gateway of salvation: where evil poured forth its poison, bringing on disobedience, there the Word made for Himself a living temple, bringing in thither obedience; from whence the arch-sinner Cain sprang forth, there without seed was born Christ the Redeemer of the human race. The Lover-of-Mankind did not disdain to be born of woman, since this bestowed His life. He was not subject to impurity, being settled within the womb, which He Himself arrayed free from all harm. If perchance this Mother did not remain a Virgin, then that born of Her might be a mere man, and the birth would be no wise miraculous; but since She after birth remained a Virgin, then how is He Who is born indeed – not God? It is an inexplicable mystery, since in an inexplicable manner was born He Who without hindrance went through doors when they were locked. When confessing in Him the co-uniting of two natures, Thomas cried out: "My Lord, and my God!" (Jn. 20: 28).

     The Apostle Paul says, that Christ is "to the Jews indeed scandal, and to the Gentiles yet folly" (1 Cor. 1: 23): they did not perceive the power of the mystery, since it was incomprehensible to the mind: "for had they understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory" (1 Cor. 2: 8). If the Word had not settled within the womb, then the flesh would not have ascended with Him onto the Divine Throne; if for God it were disdainful to enter into the womb, which He created, then the Angels too would have disdained service to mankind.      That One, Who by His nature was not subject to sufferings, through His love for us subjected Himself to many a suffering. We believe, that Christ not through some gradual ascent towards the Divine nature was made God, but being God, through His mercy He was made Man. We do not say: "a man made God"; but we confess, that God was incarnated and made Man. His Servant was chosen for Himself as Mother by That One Who, in His essence did not have mother, and Who, through Divine foresight having appeared upon the earth in the image of man, does not have here father. How one and the same is He both without father, and without mother, in accord with the words of the Apostle (Heb. 7: 3)?  If He – be only a man, then He cannot be without mother – but actually He had a Mother. If He – be God only, then He cannot be without Father – but in fact He has the Father. And yet as God the Creator He has not mother, and as Man He has not father.      We can be persuaded in this by the very name of the Archangel, making annunciation to Mary: his name – is Gabriel. What does this name mean? – it means: "God and man". Since That One about Whom he announced is God and Man, then his very name points beforehand to this miracle, so that with faith be accepted the deed of the Divine dispensation.      To save people would be impossible for a mere man, since every man has need in the Saviour: "for all, – says Saint Paul, – have sinned, and come short the Glory of God" (Rom. 3: 23). Since sin subjects the sinner to the power of the devil, and the devil subjects him to death, then our condition did become extremely hapless: there was no sort of way to be delivered from death. There were sent physicians, i.e. the prophets, but they could only the more clearly point out the malady. What did they do? When they saw, that the illness was beyond human skill, they summoned from Heaven the Physician; one of them said "Lord, bend the heavens, and come down" (Ps. 143 [144]: 5); others cried out: "Heal me, O Lord, and I shalt be healed" (Jer. 17: 14); "restore Thine power, and come yet to save us" (Ps. 79 [80]: 3). And yet others: "For if God truly be settled with man upon the earth" (3 [1] Kings 8: 27); "speedily send before Thine tender mercy, O Lord, for we are brought very low" (Ps. 78 [79]: 8). Others said: "O woe to me, my soul! For the pious art perished from the earth, and of the upright amongst men there is none" (Mich. 7: 2). "O God, in help attend to me, O Lord, shield me with Thine help" (Ps. 69 [70]: 1). "If there be delay, endure it, for He that cometh shalt come, and not tarry" (Hab. 2: 3). "Perishing like a lost sheep: seek out Thine servant, who doth hope on Thee" (Ps. 118 [119]: 176). "For God wilt come, our God, and wilt not keep silence" (Ps. 49 [50]: 3). That One, Who by nature is Lord, did not disdain human nature, enslaved by the sinister power of the devil, the merciful God would not accede for it to be forever under the power of the devil, the Ever-Existing One came and gave in ransom His Blood; for the redemption of the race of man from death He gave up His Body, which He had accepted of the Virgin, He delivered the world from the curse of the law, annihilating death by His death. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law", – exclaims Saint Paul (Gal. 3: 13).      Thus know, that our Redeemer is not simply a mere man, since all the human race was enslaved to sin. But He likewise is not God only, non-partaking of human nature. He had body, since if He had not clothed Himself in me, He then likewise should not have saved me. But, having settled within the womb of the Virgin, He clothed Himself in my fate, and within this womb He perfected a miraculous change: He bestowed the Spirit and received a body, That One only indeed (dwelling) with the Virgin and (born) of the Virgin. And so, Who is He, made manifest to us? The Prophet David doth point it out for thee in these words: "Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord" (Ps. 117 [118]: 26). But tell us even more clearly, O prophet, Who is He? The Lord is the God of Hosts, says the prophet: "God is the Lord, and hath revealed Himself unto us" (Ps. 117 [118]: 27). "The Word was made flesh" (Jn. 1: 14): there were co-united the two natures, and the union remained without mingling.      He came to save, but had also to suffer. What has the one in common with the other? A mere man cannot save; and God in only His nature cannot suffer. By what means was done the one and the other? Wherein that He, Emmanuel, being God, was made also Man; both this, that what He was, He saved by, – and this, that what He was made, He suffered as. Wherefore, when the Church beheld, that the Jewish throng had crowned Him with thorns, bewailing the violence of the throng, – it said: "Daughters of Zion, go forth and behold the crown, of which is crowned He of His mother" (Sng. 3: 11). He wore the crown of thorns and destroyed the judgement to suffering from the thorns. He Only is That One both in the bosom of the Father and in the womb of the Virgin; He Only is That One – in the arms of His Mother and in the wings of the winds (Ps. 103 [104]: 3); He, to Whom the Angels bowed down in worship, at that same time reclined at table with publicans. Upon Him the Seraphim dared not to gaze, and at the same time Pilate pronounced sentence upon Him. He – is That One and Same, Whom the servant did smite and before whom did tremble all creation. He was nailed to the Cross and ascended to the Throne of Glory, – He was placed in the tomb and He stretched out the heavens like a skin (Ps. 103 [104]: 2), – He was numbered amidst the dead and He emptied hell; here upon the earth, they cursed at Him as a transgressor, – there in Heaven, they exclaimed Him glory as the All-Holy. What an incomprehensible mystery! I see the miracles, and I confess, that He – is God; I see the sufferings, and I cannot deny, that He – is Man. Emmanuel opened up the doors of nature, as man, and preserved unharmed the seal of virginity, as God: He emerged from the womb thus as He entered through the announcing; the same wondrously was He both born and conceived: without passion He entered, and without impairment He emerged, as concerning this doth say the Prophet Ezekiel: "He returned me back the way of the gates of the outer sanctuaries, looking upon the east: and these had been shut. And saith the Lord to me: son of man, these gates shalt be closed, and not open, and no one go through them: for the Lord God of Israel, He Only, shalt enter and come forth, and they wilt be shut" (Ez. 44: 1-2). Here – it clearly indicates the Holy Virgin and Mother of God Mary. Let cease all contention, and let the Holy Scripture enlighten our reason, so that we too receive the Heavenly Kingdom unto all eternity. Amen.

Luke 1:24-38 

24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people. 26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible. 38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Proverbs 8:22-30 

22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23 I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth;26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primal dust of the world. 27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, 29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,

[belovedarise]

What is Advent?

Advent is a season of waiting for the birth of Jesus on Christmas day. It's often an underrated and overlooked way to experience a deeper meaning of Christmas. Just as the season of Lent helps us to prepare for the full impact of the resurrection on Easter, Advent is a way for people to brace their spirits for the incarnation (God becoming a human) on Christmas. Swipe through for some more info on Advent!

First of all Advent is the beginning of the Liturgical Year on The Church Calendar which is also an often overlooked and underrated way for Christians to engage their faith. The Liturgical Year includes scripture readings, feast days, traditions, music, food and all sorts of traditions that unites Christians from all over the world regardless of their denomination or background as they follow these yearly rhythms together.

Practices like Advent and following the Liturgical Year are particularly important to us at Beloved Arise because we are an ecumenical Christian organization. Ecumenical is a fancy way of saying that we include all Christian expressions; we aren’t associated with any one particular denomination. One way we see this expressed every week is at our virtual youth group where we have Baptists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, “Non- Denoms”, Catholics, and many more participating in our weekly virtual youth group. Collectively following The Liturgical Year  connects us to our more ancient roots instead of focusing on some of the more modern expressions of Christianity that sometimes divide us.

But wait! Isn’t this supposed to be a slide guide about ADVENT!? Yes- we just wanted you to have some brief backstory and context before moving forward.

The word advent can be translated as “coming” or “arrival” and observing this season (which starts on November 29) is about anticipating the arrival of Jesus. On a more meta level it can also be about anticipating the arrival of Christ our hearts and the second coming of Jesus.

Christians from around the world celebrate Advent in a variety of ways that you probably already engage in as part of the Christmas season. Putting up a Christmas tree is traditionally a part of advent along with daily readings, special music, and even a designated traditional color- PURPLE. In many Churches around the world sanctuaries and pastors will be decked out in purple which is a royal color and is yet another way to anticipate the coming of the Prince of Peace- Jesus. There are many resources for daily advent readings, but here is one we would recommend: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/daily.php?year=B

These days one of the most common ways of celebrating Advent is to light an Advent wreath. Advent wreaths are actually a fairly new tradition as far as Christianity is concerned. The modern Advent wreath was conceived of by a German pastor named Johann Hinrich Wichern in 1839 and involves the lighting of a different candle each Sunday along with daily readings. The Advent wreath is loaded with symbols and meaning that we encourage you to look up, but the most obvious symbol is the slow steady emergence of light in darkness.

Advent traditions and celebrations are just like Christmas traditions in that there is always a surprising depth and richness to these practices that get lost in the modern commercialization of our sacred traditions. There is a deep well of traditions and practices to help guide your experience of Advent that will most likely enhance your experience of Christmas, but we are also invited to add our own traditions to this season as well. Whatever you can do during this time to cultivate a sense of waiting and anticipation for the celebration of the birth of Christ is a way for you to more deeply engage with the spirit of the season and join the global Church in a yearly practice.

Beloved Arise wants to invite you to join us this year in observing Advent. Let’s collectively join together in anticipation of Emmanuel- God with us. It is this message of hope that fuels our call to spread a message of hope and affirmation to queer youth of faith all over the world. God’s love is for everybody and ultimately the message of Christianity is that God broke through the forces of darkness and evil to communicate to spread hope and love to every human and that’s the message that we exist to amplify.

We’d like to conclude this slide guide on Advent with an Advent poem from Rowan Williams who was the Archbishop of Canterberry from 2002 to 2012.

He will come like last leaf’s fall.

One night when the November wind has flayed the trees to bone, and earth wakes choking on the mould, the soft shroud’s folding.

He will come like frost. One morning when the shrinking earth opens on mist, to find itself arrested in the net of alien, sword-set beauty.

He will come like dark. One evening when the bursting red December sun draws up the sheet and penny-masks its eye to yield the star-snowed fields of sky.

He will come, will come, will come like crying in the night, like blood, like breaking, as the earth writhes to toss him free. He will come like child.

To view this in slide guide form, go here.

[martinwilliammichael]

Mary is the model for those who strive faithfully to say, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit”

… the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel ….

In the person of Jesus Christ, God and man are united.  This is the good news that Saint Gabriel came to announce to Mary:  that she would bear in her womb the one through whom all human beings could find eternal life.  The profundity of this news overwhelmed Mary, and made her fearful.  What would this mean for her life?

Throughout the world and throughout history, human beings have sought to find meaning in their lives in many ways.  Similarly, human beings have always searched for love in their lives.  We know that there are many different things which people in the world call love, but Jesus Christ and the Church He established upon this earth clearly teach us that there is only one real type of love.  It is that love which over many years would lead Mary to Calvary.  Only this real love is strong enough to destroy death.

If Mary had understood the fullness of her vocation, she would likely have feared the annunciation of Saint Gabriel even more than she did.  Both the Annunciation and its consummation on Calvary are sacred events which call us to consider how God expects us to accept the Holy Spirit in humble submission to the will of God.  Mary is the greatest disciple of Our Lord.  Beyond her questions she says “Fiat”:  “let it be done unto me according to your word”.  She accepts the fullness of the Holy Spirit and bears the Body of Christ.  She is the model for us who strive faithfully to say, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”

Those who have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and have had them strengthened in Confirmation turn to Mary, asking her intercession during their journey towards Calvary, and asking for perseverance to pray beneath the Cross.  As each of us shares in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, may we be transformed in mind and heart, in order to bear the real love of Christ in the world:  in the midst of those around us who are seeking God more deeply in their lives, or who do not yet know Him.

Fr. Thomas Hoisington, March 21.2022

www.reflectionsonthesacredliturgy.com

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

[lambof-gojira]

Graveyard shots. #graveyard #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephoto #blackandwhitephotography #churchesofinstagram #church #churchphotography #creepyart #creepyvibes #creepychurch #amaturephotographer #aesthetic #amateurphotography #landscapephotography #landscape #texture #textureart #texturephotography (at Emmanuel Baust United Church of Christ) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBzQXIvBq1P/?igshid=13digo04l2fns

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – 10 March – St Marie Eugénie de Jésus (1817-1898) aged 80 – Foundress of the Religious of the Assumption – Religious, – born 26 August 1817 at Metz, Moselle, France as Eugenie Milleret de Brou (de Bron) and died on 10 March 1898 at Auteuil, Hauts-de-Seine, France of natural causes.   Patronages – the Religious of the Assumption and Students.   St Marie Eugénie is also known as Anne-Eugénie Milleret de Brou, Eugénie Milleret de Brou, Eugénie Milleret de Bron, Marie Eugénie Milleret de Brou, Mere Marie Eugénie.   She was Beatified on 9 February 1975 by St Pope Paul VI and Canonised by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 June 2007.

Anne Marie Eugenie was born in 1817 in Metz after Napoleon’s complete defeat and the restoration of the Monarchy.   She belonged to a non-believing and financially comfortable family and it seemed unlikely that she would trace a new spiritual path across the Church of France.

Her father, follower of Voltaire and a liberal, was making his fortune in the banking world and in politics.   Eugenie’s mother provided the sensitive Eugenie with an education, which strengthened her character and gave her a strong sense of duty.   Family life developed her intellectual curiosity and a romantic spirit, an interest in social questions and a broad world view.

Like her contemporary, George Sand, Anne Eugenie went to Mass on feast days and received the Sacraments of initiation, as was the custom but without any real commitment.   However, her First Communion was a great mystical experience that foretold the secret of her future.   She did not grasp its prophetic meaning until much later when she recognised it as her path towards total belonging to Jesus Christ and the Church.

Her youth was happy but not without suffering.   She was affected when still a child by the death of an elder brother and a baby sister.   Her health was delicate and a fall from a horse left serious consequences.   Eugenie was mature for her age and learnt how to hide her feelings and to face up to events.   Later, after a prosperous period for her father, she experienced the failure of his banks, the misunderstanding and eventual separation of her parents and the loss of all security.   She had to leave her family home and go to Paris while Louis, closest to her in age and faithful companion went to live with their father.   Eugenie went to Paris with the mother she adored, only to see her die from cholera after a few hours of illness, leaving her alone at the age of fifteen in a society that was worldly and superficial.   Searching in anguish and almost desperate for the truth, she arrived at her conversion thirsty for the Absolute and open to the Transcendent.

When she was nineteen, Anne Eugenie attended the Lenten Conferences at Notre Dame in Paris, preached by the young Abbe Lacordaire (1802–1861), already well-known for his talent as orator.   Lacordaire was a former disciple of Lamennais ­– haunted by the vision of a renewed Church with a special place in the world.   He understood his time and wanted to change it.   He understood young people, their questions and their desires, their idealism and their ignorance of both Christ and the Church.   His words touched Eugenie’s heart, answered her many questions and aroused her generosity.

Fr Lacordaire preaching his Lenten Conferences from the elevated pulpit at Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1845.

Fr Henri-Dominique Lacordaire OP, at the convent of Sainte-Sabine in Rome, by Théodore Chassériau (1840)

Eugenie envisaged Christ as the universal liberator and His kingdom on earth established as a peaceful and just society.   “I was truly converted, she wrote, and I was seized by a longing to devote all my strength or rather all my weakness to the Church which, from that moment, I saw as alone holding the key to the knowledge and achievement of all that is good.”

Just at this time, another preacher, also a former disciple of Lamennais, appeared on the scene.   In the confessional, Father Combalot recognised that he had encountered a chosen soul who was designated to be the foundress of the Congregation he had dreamt of for a long time.   He persuaded Eugenie to undertake his work by insisting that this Congregation was willed by God who had chosen her to establish it.   He convinced her that only by education could she evangelise minds, make families truly Christian and thus transform the society of her time.   Anne Eugenie accepted the project as God’s will for her and allowed herself to be guided by the Abbe Combalot.

At twenty-two, Marie Eugenie became foundress of the Religious of the Assumption, dedicated to consecrate their whole life and strength to extending the Kingdom of Christ in themselves and in the world.   In 1839, Mademoiselle Eugenie Milleret, with two other young women, began a life of prayer and study in a flat at rue Ferou near the church of St Sulpice in Paris.   In 1841, under the patronage of Madame de Chateaubriand, Lacordaire, Montalembert and their friends, the sisters opened their first school.   In a relatively short time there were sixteen sisters of four nationalities in the community.

Marie Eugenie and the first sisters wanted to link the ancient and the new – to unite the past treasures of the Church’s spirituality and wisdom with a type of religious life and education able to satisfy the demands of modern minds.   It was a matter of respecting the values of the period and at the same time, making the Gospel values penetrate the rising culture of a new industrial and scientific era.   The spirituality of the Congregation, centred on Christ and the Incarnation, was both deeply contemplative and dedicated to apostolic action.   It was a life given to the search for God and the love and service of others.

Marie Eugenie’s long life covered almost the whole of the 19th century.   She loved her times passionately and took an active part in their history.   Progressively, she channelled all her energy and gifts in tending and extending the Congregation, which became her life work.   God gave her sisters and many friends.   One of the first sisters was Irish, a mystic and her intimate friend whom she called at the end of her life, “half of myself.” Kate O’Neill, called Mother Therese Emmanuel in religion, is considered as a co-foundress.   Father Emmanuel d’Alzon, became Marie Eugenie’s spiritual director soon after the foundation, was a father, brother or friend according to the seasons.   In 1845, he founded the Augustinians of the Assumption and the two founders helped each other in a multitude of ways over a period of forty years.   Both had a gift for friendship and they inspired many lay people to work with them and the Church.   Together, as they followed Christ and laboured with Him, the religious and laity traced the path of the Assumption and took their place in the great cloud of witnesses.

In the last years of her life, Mother Marie Eugenie experienced a progressive physical weakening, which she lived in silence and humility – a life totally centred on Christ.   She received the Eucharist for the last time on 9 March 1898 and on the 10th, she gently passed to the Lord.   She was beatified by Pope Paul VI on 9 February 1975 in Rome.

Today, the Religious of the Assumption are present in 34 countries – 8 in Europe, 5 in Asia, 10 in America and 11 in Africa. Almost 1,200 sisters form 170 communities throughout the world.

The Lay Assumption – Assumption Together – made up of Friends of the Assumption and Communities or Fraternities of the Assumption, are numerous – thousands of Friends and hundreds of Lay Assumption committed to live according to the Way of Life….Vatican.va

(via Saint of the Day - 10 March - St Marie Eugénie de Jésus (1817-1898))

[fromthefriars]

An Unusual Christmas (By Fr. Jeremiah Shryock, CFR)

           “Your father is recovering well,” the doctor assured us.  “He should be ready for a visit in a few minutes.”  

           My sister and I breathed a sigh of relief.  Even though it was a routine heart procedure, our father’s declining health left both of us a bit nervous.  “Thank God”, I whispered to myself, realizing that I was perhaps more nervous than I expected.  I picked up a magazine that was on the table next to me as my sister began to notify her friends on Facebook that the procedure went well and thanked everyone for their prayers.  

           A few minutes later a voice came over the intercom.  “Code blue, code blue, all available doctors report to the cardiac care unit immediately.”

Alarms began to ring and within seconds a sea of doctors came flooding through the doors that led to the cardiac unit where my father was. A few seconds later, my sister and I turned to each other in panic.  “Oh no,” we both said, “that’s dad!”  

***

Shortly after my father’s procedure, while the doctors were speaking with him, his face turned blue and his heart stopped.  Thankfully, the doctors were able to resuscitate him and bring him back to life quickly, as my sister and I watched in horror. Apparently my father’s lungs filled with fluid, not due to the heart procedure itself, but from the aesthesia and the amount of time he spent lying on his stomach.    

A week later, on Christmas Eve, my father finally left the hospital.  By the time we got him home, my sister and I were relieved.  Despite an exhausting week we were grateful, not only that our dad was alive, but that he was home and able to celebrate Christmas with us.  As I unpacked his belongings my father sat in the living room, staring out the window.  

“Jeremiah,” my dad said.

“Yes dad.”

“Are we going to have Mass tonight,” he asked?

I froze after hearing his question.  Why tonight I thought?  When I am at home I usually celebrate Mass in the morning.  Suddenly I realized why he was asking if I was going to celebrate Mass this particular evening.  It was Christmas Eve!  Amidst all the panic and confusion of the past week, I lost track of time and forgot what day it was.

“Oh yeah, of course” I said.  “What time?”

“How about 8 pm?  I need to rest here for awhile.”

“Ok, that sounds good.”

After I uttered these words a touch of sadness enveloped my heart. One of the gifts of living in a religious community is the shared celebration of certain holy days, Christmas being high on that list.  During these celebrations I am surrounded by people who, though different in age and life experience, both love and care for me in a way that is, for lack of a better word, familial.  Along with the fraternal support of brothers and sisters in the faith, the celebration of these holy days includes beautiful music, a reverent liturgy and an engaging homily that naturally lifts one’s mind and heart to higher things.  This year, however, my Christmas celebration was going to be very different than what I had become accustomed to.

My father lives alone in a simple two-bedroom trailer.  When I was ordained a priest several years ago, we converted his other bedroom into a chapel, so that when I come home I have a place to celebrate Mass and pray.  This Christmas Eve, rather than celebrating Mass with my community, this humble spare bedroom that can only fit four to five people comfortably, became my church.  With me, my dad, sister, brother-in-law and my two nephews in attendance, we were at full capacity.    

Once my family was gathered for Mass there was no beautiful music sung and no engaging homily given.  My father was too tired to utter any of the Mass parts, and my sister and her family tried their best to fill in for the congregation.  When it came time for me to read the Gospel, I was deeply moved by these words:  “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us” (Mt 1:22-23).  

After I read those words, I looked at my dad, standing with the support of a cane, his face still wearing the shock of all he went through. The words “God is with us” were ringing in my heart.  Suddenly, in this small trailer, without any of the usual bells and whistles, I felt myself being led to a deeper experience of Christmas than I ever had before.    

When we gaze upon a Nativity scene, we can often forget the mysterious and confusing background that preceded this divine moment.  Nine months earlier, when Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel, she is “greatly troubled” (Lk 1:29) and must be told by the angel “Do not be afraid Mary” (Lk 1:30).  Despite the dizzying and overwhelming nature of such an encounter, Mary says yes to God, without ever being given a detailed account of how this mystery will unfold. Joseph himself, once he discovers that Mary is pregnant, is understandably confused, and decides to divorce her.  In fact, his confusion is so reasonable that an angel must appear to him to reveal the cause of this event: “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 1:20-21).

Joseph and Mary must allow themselves to be led by God. Even though they are both major figures in the drama of salvation history, God only reveals to them what is necessary to make the next step of faith.  They cannot see into the future nor can they trust in things like wealth or status to protect them.  Their hope is in God and their only strength is their faith, which ironically, will not only enable shepherds to glorify God, but will also enable the Magi, the wise men from the east, to discover the true wisdom they had been seeking their entire life.  

As I stood in our little chapel that Christmas Eve and spent a few moments of silence reflecting on the Gospel, I felt a special kinship to Joseph and Mary.  Like them, I didn’t know where God was leading me, and like them, the birth of Jesus Christ not only gave me hope and consolation in the present moment, but it reminded me of a truth so great, that something even as cruel as even death cannot take away: “God is with us.”  

Many people, including myself at times, are often perplexed before the enormous amount of pain and suffering in our world.  “Why doesn’t God do something?” we often ask. “Why is God silent?”  God’s answer to our perplexity is much deeper that merely taking away our pain and suffering.  God does what is, quite honestly, utterly inconceivable:  he becomes one of us.  He does this by entering our world, not as a vengeful ruler or an angry judge, but as a defenseless and needy baby.  St. John states it in these theological terms: “the Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14).    

As we finished the Mass that night, my sister and I helped my dad get ready for bed.  After kissing him goodnight, I felt my heart and my mind finally begin to relax.  Oddly enough, I felt a deep peace about not knowing exactly what will happen with my father.  Rather than entertain all the possible things that could now go wrong with his health, I reminded myself once again that in the birth of Jesus Christ we are given an eternal pledge that God is with us.  That’s the best Christmas gift we could ever receive and the only one we really need.    

[nijjhar]

The Rabbis had become so greedy that they even started to fleece their o... The Rabbis had become so greedy that they even started to fleece their own members of the Synagogue. https://youtu.be/f06gUnVkF7s Holy Gospel of our Supernatural Father of our “souls” Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc., delivered by the first Anointed Christ, which in Punjabi we call Satguru Jesus of the highest living God Elohim that dwells within His most beautiful living Temple of God created by the greatest artist demiurge potter, the lord of the Nature Yahweh, Brahma, Khudah, etc. and it is called Harmandir or “Emmanuel” if you are not “greedy” according to Saint Mark 6,30-34. The Apostles gathered with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He told them, "Come away by yourselves on a solitary basis to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. Church of England Vicar objected to my T-shirt that it may cause problems. COE is a Church of Satan headed by Mammon and not God. https://youtu.be/wp_8D3tlu90 Please click on my Playlists at http://www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/playlist.htm  Church of England Vicar objected to my T-shirt which may cause problems. Today, 05 December 2010, I visited four Churches. First I went to the United Reformed Church that is just near the Bus stop and I thought let me go in as it was getting late to service. It was normal and a few looked at my T-shirt and logos but with curiosity. Only one man engaged me in the discussion. Then, I thought let me go to the Greek Orthodox Service nearby at Bartholomew Church, corner of Palmer Park and diagonally opposite to URC that I just attended. Serving Priest was from London but he normally is busy with the formalities. However, he gave me his London address and invited me to visit the Church and ask questions. That would be good. After the service, they invite people to join them in their service of Tea and Coffee with food cooked by different members at home. They also served hard drinks as it was cold. I had some cough and it was good for me to have a few. So, in the afternoon or rather evening, I went to Christadelphian Fellowship on Oxford Road with my T-shirt and they also looked with curiosity. They did not like the last two lines that Gnostics are living Christs of living God. This became clear when I attended the next Church of England, Greyfriars Church and over there the head priest, Rev Jonathan Wilmot, Vicar told me to cover my T-shirt as he did not like the way I was dressed. So, I had a rain cover that I put it on covering the back side leaving the front side open. So, he is the first priest to object and I can well imagine that these priests especially of the Church of England are hirelings of Mammon who hate the Light more than the others. In fact, most people who do not understand the Gospel in spirit would not love to see a man like me in their Churches. No wonder someone after reading the last two lines the Gnostics are living Christs of Living God pointed out that only One Christ Jesus. At this I explained to them Christ Thomas and not St.Thomas as propagated by the Anti Christs was known as Christ Thomas in South India and so was His Labourers called Christs and not Christians. Portuguese Pope went there telling people only one Christ Jesus and no other Christ and killed those who were the Labourers of Thomas and burnt their Books. This was told to me by a priest in Wellington, South India. So, please do not be deterred by the people who have no idea of Gospel but blindly follow others leading to so many divisions of the Church of God, ONE FOLD, and One Shepherd, Christ Jesus like the blind defining an elephant. Most of the religious places are infested with Mammon worshipping Antichrists who have no love for Light but love Darkness to carry on fleecing the congregations. For the unlisted videos:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/Unlisted.htm My ebook by Kindle. ASIN: B01AVLC9WO Private Bitter Gospel Truth videos:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/JAntisem.htm www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/Rest.htm Any helper to finish my Books:- ONE GOD ONE FAITH:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/bookfin.pdf and in Punjabi KAKHH OHLAE LAKHH:-  www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/pdbook.pdf Very informative Channel:- Punjab Siyan. John's baptism:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/johnsig.pdf Trinity:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/trinity.pdf