#Sixth & Guadalupe

[simonh]

Graffiti Train Bridge And Skyline, Austin, Texas by Randy von Liski Via Flickr: This view of downtown Austin shows the Graffiti Train Bridge across Lady Bird Lake. The plate girder-style bridge was constructed in 1936, but it sits on the stone piers of a previous bridge. Over the years, multiple layers of artwork and graffiti have been painted on its sides. The graffiti offers a unique and ever-changing perspective, adding a vibrant touch to a view showcasing Austin's ever-evolving skyline.

[uwmspeccoll]

Shakespeare Weekend!

French-born American painter and illustrator, Jean Charlot (1898-1979) illustrated King Henry the Sixth: Part Three, the last of the three-part play and the fourteenth volume of the thirty-seven volume The Comedies Histories & Tragedies of William Shakespeare, published by the Limited Editions Club (LEC) from 1939-1940. The plays were first acted in 1592. The second part was published anonymously in 1594, and the third part in 1595. All three parts were published in the folio of 1623.

The popularity of the Mexican printmaker, Jose Guadalupe Posada, is due in part to the work of Jean Charlot. Working primarily in Mexico, Charlot first saw Posadas work being sold on street corners in 1922. Posada’s original expressive style struck Charlot and he would become a contributor to the publication of catalogues on Posada’s work in 1928 and 1930. Charlot was a part of the Mexican Mural Movement, and his own work has been grouped and exhibited with with names such as Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros.  Charlot illustrated other books including Tito’s Hats by actor Mel Ferrer, Garden City Publishing, 1940; Carmen, the Limited Editions Club, 1941; and Springtime, Tales of the Cafe Rieu, 1956. Charlot became highly sought after by publishers who wanted illustrations for books having to do with Mexico.  When Charlot was first asked to illustrate Part Three of King Henry the Sixth he was not very excited. He had read a rather critical analysis of the text. But upon reading it for himself he became inspired saying: 

The very defects from the point of view of the modern theatre-goer seemed good qualities to me, who had seen in Mexico medieval mysteries and historical pageants performed by Indian actors on open air stages: the scenery a mere hanging rope, the facial expression reduced to naught by the use of masks....The drawings were, then, to function, hemmed between the strong guiding style of the play and the usual problems of illustration: subservience to format, equivalence to the black-and-white of the printed page.

The illustrations are reproduced from drawings by the artist. All volumes in the set were printed in an edition of 1950 copies at the Press of A. Colish, and each was illustrated by a different artist, but the unifying factor is that all volumes were designed by famed book and type designer Bruce Rogers and edited by the British theatre professional and Shakespeare specialist Herbert Farjeon. Our copy is number 1113, the number for long-standing LEC member Austin Fredric Lutter of Waukesha, Wisconsin.

View more Limited Edition Club posts.

View more Shakespeare Weekend posts.

-Teddy, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[ongolecharles]

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS (DSR) 📚 Group, Thu Dec 12th, 2024 ... Thursday Of The Second Week Of Advent, Year C/ Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Reading 1

---------

ZEC 2:14-17

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! 

See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.

Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,

and they shall be his people,

and he will dwell among you,

and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land,

and he will again choose Jerusalem.

Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD!

For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

or

Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab

-----------------

 

God’s temple in heaven was opened,

and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,

with the moon under her feet,

and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

Then another sign appeared in the sky;

it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,

and on its heads were seven diadems.

Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky

and hurled them down to the earth.

Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,

to devour her child when she gave birth.  

She gave birth to a son, a male child,

destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.

Her child was caught up to God and his throne.

The woman herself fled into the desert

where she had a place prepared by God.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,

and the Kingdom of our God

and the authority of his Anointed.”

Responsorial Psalm

---------------

JUDITH 13:18BCDE, 19

R. (15:9d)  You are the highest honor of our race.

Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God,

above all the women on earth;

and blessed be the LORD God, 

the creator of heaven and earth.

R. You are the highest honor of our race.

Your deed of hope will never be forgotten

by those who tell of the might of God.

R. You are the highest honor of our race.

 

Alleluia 

---------

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;

from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

--------

LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God

to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,

of the house of David,

and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said,

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

But she was greatly troubled at what was said

and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel,

“How can this be,

since I have no relations with a man?”

And the angel said to her in reply,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore the child to be born

will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,

has also conceived a son in her old age,

and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

or

Lk 1:39-47

-----------

Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

“Most blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

***

FOCUS AND LITURGY OF THE WORD

When she appeared to him, Juan Diego recognized the dark, Indian features that were so familiar to him. Our Lady of Guadalupe came to the humble peasant nearly 500 years ago, but she did not come as one of the conquerors -- the powerful Spaniards who sometimes treated the Indians with contempt. With her dark hair and brown skin, she was one of them - one of the poor.

The request she had of Juan Diego that day was daunting: would he go to the city and ask the Bishop to build a shrine on this spot? He agreed but knew it would be a humiliating experience. He was quickly dismissed by the Bishop. When the Lady asked Juan Diego to return, he begged her to send someone more important to the Bishop - "a person of mark that he may be believed." The miracles that followed gave Juan Diego credibility with the Bishop, who finally believed him.

We are all afraid when we are asked to do things beyond what we are certain we can do. Juan Diego's simple acceptance of the request led him to a humiliating encounter with the Bishop, but his faith led him to return. Luke's gospel offers us a look at Mary's own life, one of poverty and powerlessness. When the angel Gabriel appeared to her, asking her to be the mother of the savior, "she was greatly troubled." Gabriel encouraged her, "Do not be afraid, Mary."

The difference between what God asked of Mary and what God asks of us is our response - Mary was willing to turn her life over completely to God. She said Yes. We tend to squirm, to hedge, fight for control and insist on doing it alone, on our own, without help from God. It is our independence from God, our rebellious streak that makes our lives more of a struggle. What would it take for us to put aside our own fears about how we will look and how well we might succeed and to take up the request Jesus has given us - to follow his example in caring for the poor, to love the unlovable and to invite the marginalized into our lives?

Let's pray ...

Mary, on this feast of Guadalupe, help me to remember how much I am poor and powerless. Help me to fall into the loving embrace of your son and to turn my life over to him. Let me open my eyes to those around me who need me and not be afraid to respond with my whole life. Come, Lord, Jesus, and fill my heart.

***

SAINT OF THE DAY

The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the 16th century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story.

A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower, and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.

Juan was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared, and within it stood an Indian maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.

Eventually the bishop told Juan to have the lady give him a sign. About this same time Juan’s uncle became seriously ill. This led poor Juan to try to avoid the lady. Nevertheless the lady found Juan, assured him that his uncle would recover, and provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma.

On December 12, when Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, the roses fell to the ground, and the bishop sank to his knees. On the tilma where the roses had been appeared an image of Mary exactly as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac.

Reflection

-----------

Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego as one of his people is a powerful reminder that Mary—and the God who sent her—accept all peoples. In the context of the sometimes rude and cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast significance for the indigenous population. While a number of them had converted before this incident, they now came in droves. According to a contemporary chronicler, nine million Indians became Catholic in a very short time. In these days when we hear so much about God’s preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God’s love for and identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the Gospel itself.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patron Saint of:

The Americas

Mexico

***

【Build your Faith in Christ Jesus on #dailyscripturereadingsgroup 📚: +256 751 540 524 .. Whatsapp】

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

12th December >> Mass Readings (USA)

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I))

Either:

First Reading Zechariah 2:14-17 Rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming.

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem. Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD! For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Or:

First Reading Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab A great sign appeared in the sky.

God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed.”

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Judith 13:18bcde, 19

R/ You are the highest honor of our race.

Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the LORD God, the creator of heaven and earth.

R/ You are the highest honor of our race.

Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of God.

R/ You are the highest honor of our race.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 1:26-38 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[texasfakeid]

Texas Temptations: Exploring the Lone Star State with a Fake ID

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[seekfirst-community]

The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. 

"In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

"And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

"Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.



"He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his ­father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”



"But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”

"And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.



"Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”

"Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her." (Luke 1: 26 - 38).

Saturday 25th March 2023 is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

 The Sacred Scripture focuses on the Call and Mission of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Lord. 

Who is Mary of Nazareth and why is she a powerful person in the history and life of the Church?

#1. Mary is the only daughter of Joachim and Anne. A sweet joy of answered prayer to Joachim and Anne. The couple sensed her uniqueness and destiny and dedicated her to God and after she was weaned brought her to the Temple where she was educated by priests.

#2. The Church draws some of her knowledge of the infancy narrative of Mary from credible non-biblical sources called Apocrypha. Remember that the Church discerns the truth of Revelation from not only Sacred Scripture but also Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium.

#3. The biblical sources of our knowledge of Mary are not voluminous but they contain all we need to know for our devotion and salvation.

#4. The four Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, viz: Annunciation, the Luminous Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries and the Glorious Mysteries tell the whole story of who Mary is. If you do not pray the Rosary every day, you miss the acres of diamonds in your backyard.

#5. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the only human being who knew Jesus Christ from the Visitation of the Angel Gabriel (the Annunciation) to the death of Jesus on the Cross, His burial and Resurrection. Mary was present in the Upper Room waiting and praying for the Holy Spirit to descend on Pentecost Sunday, the Birthday of the Church.

#6. Mary continues to intervene in the lives of simple people in significant apparition events throughout Church history, viz: Guadalupe, Fatima, Lourdes, etc.

We read today of how God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young woman with an astonishing promise. Gabriel told Mary that through the power of God, she will become the Mother of God. Once Mary fully understands the implications of the message, she replies:  "I am the handmaid of the Lord: let what you have said be done to me. (Luke 1: 38).

The Church elaborates:

"To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role." The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace." (CCC 490).

Exactly 9 months from today will be Christmas, the birth of the 

King of the Universe whose origin is "from ancient times."  (Micah 1: 1).

He is the Lord who is always with us. The Emmanuel. He is the Lord who is Peace.

"O Key of David,

opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:

come and free the prisoners of darkness!"

"I am your Mother, the Mother given you by my Son Jesus, from the Cross, in the solemn hour of His sacrifice. And you are my son, dear to my Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, precious to me, and ever under the mantle of my protection. Let me live with you as I lived with John, the second son of my Heart and the model for all my priest sons down through the ages. Speak to me simply and with complete trust in the compassion of my maternal Heart and in the power given to my maternal intercession." (IN SINU JESU, Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Annunciation).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

[myremnantarmy]

𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Gospel LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God

to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,

of the house of David,

and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said,

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

But she was greatly troubled at what was said

and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel,

“How can this be,

since I have no relations with a man?”

And the angel said to her in reply,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore the child to be born

will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,

has also conceived a son in her old age,

and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

[keow]

Hi! This is a weird ask, but would you be willing to post resources/arguments about Christianity being true? Like, were there specific ones that convinced you to convert? I was raised Catholic but didn't really believe it growing up, but would like to have the same feelings about faith and peace that you posted about. I'm in a bit of a bad place right now and would like to go back and deepen my faith but it's hard.

This isn’t a weird ask, don’t worry! I’d love to provide you with some resources :) I’ll try to include both visual and auditory mediums as I don’t know what your learning style is.

I don’t mean to overwhelm you with information, please forgive me if this is too much 😗

I’m going to split this up into different categories of content here, based loosely around my conversion journey—i.e. what I had questions and doubts about. Please remember that faith is a very personal journey and you may have different concerns altogether, but hopefully this will give you a starting point to jump off of.

First: Arguments for the existence of God

Breaking in the Habit - What is God?  

The Thomistic Institute on the Five Ways

Pints with Aquinas - Explaining Thomas Aquinas’ Proofs

Pints with Aquinas - The Best Argument for the Existence of God W/ Trent Horn

Lumen - Arguments for the Existence of God (overview)

Subcategory: Near death experiences This is clearly anecdotal evidence and therefore not as strong, but I found reading about near death experiences to be extremely interesting. I liked browsing the NDE subreddit :) The common experience of SOMETHING among those who nearly die is at least indicative of there being more beyond the material realm, and by extension, a God. 

Second: Arguments for monotheism

This isn’t a common apologetics issue unless you’re a convert from a polytheistic religion (which I was), so there’s less content on this.

Pints with Aquinas — Aquinas on Why There Can’t Be Many Gods

Jordan Peterson on Monotheism

Third: How reliable are the Gospels? Did Jesus even exist?

Biblical Archeology Society - Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible

Pints with Aquinas - Is the New Testament Really Historically Accurate? W/ Trent Horn

The Great Myths - History for Atheists  This is a SECULAR website created by an atheist seeking to correct the flaws in his fellow atheists’ arguments. Much to his chagrin, I found the website and now I’m a Christian. Here is their Jesus Mythicism series.

Influence - The Reliability of the Gospels

NAMB - The Historical Reliability of the Gospels

History - The Bible Says Jesus Was Real. What Other Proof Exists?

The Science of Apologetics on the historical accuracy of the Bible 

Answers in Genesis - How Do We Know the Bible is True? 

Fourth: Was Jesus the prophesied Messiah?

Jews for Jesus - What Proof Do You Have That Jesus is the Messiah?

The Top 40 Messianic Prophecies

Two Messiahs in Judaism: Ben David and Ben Joseph

Be Thinking - Messiah: Jesus, the evidence of history

Fifth: The Resurrection (and the events thereafter)

The Resurrection, Evidence, and the Scientist

William Lane Craig Debates Ben Shapiro about Jesus 

Did the Resurrection Really Happen? | William Lane Craig

Capturing Christianity’s interview with Dr. Gary Habermas Short highlight from that video the Science of Apologetics on Evidence for the Resurrection

Links from the bottom of that post: One, two, three, four, five

Sixth: Did Jesus claim to be God? Theology of the Incarnation and the Holy Trinity

The Thomistic Institute on the Trinity: The Triune God (Aquinas 101) The Persons of the Trinity (Aquinas 101)

Breaking in the Habit - Did Jesus Claim to be God? 

Trinity explained by CS Lewis: Christian "Trinity" Explained in 3 Minutes The Three-Personal God by C.S. Lewis

Christianity.com - Did Jesus Claim to be God?

Ryan Reeves - The Incarnation and Jesus Christ (In 90 Seconds)

The Thomistic Institute on the Incarnation: The Meaning of the Incarnation (Aquinas 101) Motives of the Incarnation (Aquinas 101)

Bishop Robert Barron - Understanding the Incarnation

Seventh: Miracles and saints just because I personally think they’re really fun!

Lessons from Lourdes: Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette

Pints with Aquinas - Scientific EVIDENCE for Eucharistic Miracles? w/ Fr. Terry Donahue

Actual information on incorruptible saints 

Our Lady of Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun

The Shroud of Turin: The Catholic Talk Show  Mr. Mythos  Lecture on the Shroud

Our Lady of Guadalupe

The miracles of St. Padre Pio

PDFS AND STUFF— Writings of saints, theologians, and apologists.

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

The (searchable!) Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas

Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis

Early Christian writings from the Church Fathers

Saints’ Books - A collection of free writings from Catholic saints

St. Augustine of Hippo: On the Trinity  Confessions 

Miscellaneous favorites:

The Thomistic Institute Ascension Presents Fr. Mike Bible in a Year Podcast The Catholic Talk Show Pints with Aquinas Pints with Aquinas - Apologetics Extravaganza with Trent Horn  Capturing Christianity Free Christian Apologetics Resources - Capturing Christianity Bible Illustrated  BibleProject Lectures on early & medieval church history by Ryan Reeves Breaking in the Habit / Catholicism in Focus Upon Friar Review Trisagion Films Servus Dei discord server

Apps: Hallow Catena: Bible and Commentaries The Chosen (This is a tv show! It has its own app. It’s really good and accurate to the Gospels.)

My personal tips section :)

While it’s very important to have a logical foundation for religion, PLEASE don’t underestimate the power of simply sitting with God in prayer. That’s the most important thing. I love praying the rosary, practicing lectio divina, praying novenas, reading the psalms, etc. Prayer shouldn’t always be scripted either. The pre-written prayers are helpful for when you aren’t really sure what to say or where to start, but you should speak to God from your heart as much as possible. Sometimes prayer doesn’t even have to be verbal! Sometimes it’s just a state of being.

Music also goes hand in hand with this. Hymns can really help you get into that religious spiritual headspace when you feel disconnected from God. Here’s a channel that posts some good ones. Read the Bible. When in doubt, just read it or listen to someone else read it. It’s truly the inspired Word of God. For a while it was really hard for me to connect with Jesus for some reason, but reading the Gospels has been instrumental in building a stronger relationship with Him. It’s kind of a given but you might have the same blockages as I did.

A good way to learn more about Christianity, the Church, and her saints is to keep track of the Church calendar. For instance, find out what important feast days/holidays are coming up, then research and learn about them around the time that they occur. Okay that’s pretty much it! Feel free to DM me about anything (I love theological discussion). I hope things get better for you--trust that I’ll be praying for you. Have a lovely day!

[anastpaul]

Our Morning Offering – 12 December – “Christ is Near!”

Our Morning Offering – 12 December – “Christ is Near!”

Our Morning Offering – 12 December – “Gaudete Sunday” – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe “Christ is Near!”Vox clara ecce intonasHear the Herald Voice ResoundingUnknown Sixth CenturyTrans. Fr Edward Caswell C.Orat. (1814-1878) Hear the herald voice resounding:“Christ is near!” it seems to say,“Cast away the dreams of darkness,Welcome Christ, the Light of…

[fuzzysparrow]

Sucre is the constitutional capital city of Bolivia. Before the arrival of the Spanish Empire, the city was called Chuquisaca, and then La Plata thereafter. Until 1839, it belonged to the Viceroyalty of Peru, but after the country gained its independence, the capital was renamed Sucre after its liberator, Antonio José de Sucre (1795-1830). As of 2020, it has a population of 360,544 people and is the sixth-largest city in Bolivia.

Sucre is located in the south-central region of Bolivia at an altitude of 2,800 metres (9,200 ft). It is divided into eight districts, each administered by a Sub-Mayor or 'Subalcalde'. The city contains several sports facilities, including the second-biggest football stadium in the country.

The city still has much of its Spanish colonial architecture and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991. The House of Freedom, built in 1621, is the most important building of the nation because it was the location of the Bolivian Declaration of Independence. There are many churches and convents, most importantly the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, built between 1559 and 1712.

Sucre has a pleasant climate with mild temperatures year-round. It has a low crime rate, which makes the city popular amongst tourists. Sucre is one of the best-preserved Hispanic colonial and republican historic city centres in the Western Hemisphere.

Whilst Sucre is the constitutional capital, Bolivia also has an administrative capital, La Paz.

[itshaddiecruz]

The Cruz Family : Haddie’s Graduation

haddie’s mother and brother are not in attendance due to her mother being well into her last trimester, and neither are the other cruz men, surgeries, to be expected in a family of surgeons, though a big party is awaiting her back home in california, along with a major gift. 

Father: Stefano Alexander Cruz || age :45 || plastic surgeon || Adam Rodriguez

Mother: Bernadette Isabel Garcia Cruz || age: 38 || gynecologist || Alice Braga

Daughter: Haddie Guadalupe Isabel Garcia Cruz || age: 18 || senior || Bruna Marquezine

Son: Felipe Alexander Guadalupe Garcia Cruz || age: 11 || sixth grader || Marcel Ruiz

Aunt: Eleonora Cruz || age: 49 || violinist || Monica Bellucci

Cousin: Calliope Ashlyn Cruz || age: 18 || SOBER ||  Ana de Armas

[radioteopoli]

This morning we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

Gospel LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

or

Lk 1:39-47

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

[kuramirocket]

In some ways, what happened to Mexican Americans in the Southwest happened time and again throughout American history. Promises were made to the community, but many were never kept.

“I just don't think people get the passion that's attached to this,” said Rita Padilla-Gutierrez, whose community has lost tens of thousands of acres of ancestral land over generations. “It's the history, for God's sake. Plain and simple. Your language, your customs, your food, your traditions. But for us, it's being a land-based people.”

What we now consider the Southwest wasn’t part of the United States at all 172 years ago -- it was the northernmost part of Mexico. In 1845, the U.S. annexed Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory. This spurred a long and bloody war with Mexico and, ultimately, Mexico ceded half its country to the U.S.

The agreement between the two countries was immortalized in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which gave around 100,000 Mexican nationals living in those territories citizenship if they decided to stay. More importantly, the agreement protected the rights of any Mexican whose land was now a part of the U.S.

“When Mexico negotiates the treaty in good faith, assuming that all of its citizens' rights will be respected, what it doesn't understand is that for the United States, only whites have the rights to full citizenship,” said María Josefina Saldaña-Portillo, author of “Indian Given: Racial Geographies Across Mexico and the United States.” “[Shortly after the treaty,] territorial governments systematically go about disenfranchising all Mexican citizens who they deem to not be white.”

Indeed, when the treaty was sent to Congress, the Senate removed the article that laid out the process by which the land would be protected.

In 1848, there were 154 communities in New Mexico to whom the U.S. government guaranteed land. But most of those agreements, or land grants, were never honored. Today, only 35 communities remain.

While the country prospered, the treaty would forever change the fate of generations of Mexican Americans to come.

Heirs to land that’s been owed for generations

“There's a huge disparity here in terms of poverty and [in] terms of education,” Arturo Archuleta, a land grant heir in New Mexico, told “Nightline.” “These communities have been left behind.”

Heirs like Archuleta are working to get reparations for the land that was taken from their communities, which existed long before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was even created, according to Jacobo Baca, a historian with the University of New Mexico’s Land Grant Studies Program.

“It's beyond [a] sense of place,” Baca said. “Our identity is tied to place, but we don't see that place having an identity without us, either. So it defines us just as much as we define it.”

At the University of New Mexico, a collection of documents shows how a variety of land grants were vastly diminished over the years. One of the documents showed how an agreement for over 40,000 acres was reduced to less than 1,400 acres.

“I think for land grant heirs, there's this recognition that this treaty was a promise that was made that wasn't kept, and that the federal government owes the recognition of these communities,” Baca said.

Archuleta is an heir to the Manzano and the Tierra Amarilla land grants.

“We come from Spanish communities that came over, [and from] Native American communities as well,” Archuleta said. “So we really are sort of mestizo. We're mixed… We're a land-based people. Half of our soul was here before Columbus ever hit the sand.”

Archuleta says that these communities should be able to thrive where they are.

“It's not just surviving, but thriving. Our cultural connections are still in place,” he said. “The land grant and the treaty issues is probably what you consider the first Latino issue in this country, and it's still unresolved.”

Padilla-Gutierrez’s family in New Mexico has also seen its land vanish over time. For centuries, she said the family has been living in the area near Tomé Hill in Valencia County. Now a hiking trail and site for religious pilgrims, its hillsides are filled with petroglyphs and its summit contains several large crosses.

“We have very deep, deep native roots here,” Andrea Padilla, Padilla-Gutierrez’s sister, told “Nightline.”

Padilla-Gutierrez said their land used to encompass 123,000 acres but that it has since been reduced to only 400 acres.

“America owes us the opportunity to take care of our own communities,” Padilla-Gutierrez said.

“I think regaining some of our land back would be justice,” her sister added.

The family still has the patent it was given to honor the land grant.

“It's signed by Ulysses Grant, who was president at the time -- seal and everything -- granting us that our land grant will continue to be ours again,” Padilla said. “But then later, they stole our mountains.”

The Tomé land grant lost 50,000 acres to the federal government in 1906. Like many others who held land grants, the family later had to sell their land.

“It hurt my father deeply, because he fought to the very end, telling people, ‘You can't do this. … Once you sell your land, that's it, you're nothing. You lose your culture. You lose everything,’” Padilla said.

Her sister says their family’s land should’ve never been sold. The community lost more than acreage, she said. They “lost their way of life.”

The betrayal of these land grants sowed racism that still exists today

Mexican American culture has been maligned for generations, and the racism born out of that continues to be espoused at the highest levels of government today.

The president himself famously kicked off his bid for office by saying Mexican immigrants are “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” And as recently as June, The White House suggested that travel from Mexico was contributing to COVID-19 infections rather than states’ efforts to reopen their economies.

“It does hit me in the heart,” Padilla said. “We always worked hard... And we did the right thing. So when they talk about lazy Mexicans or, ‘These Mexicans are all drug dealers and murderers,’ I'm, like, ‘Where? I haven't seen that. I'm not [one].’ You know?”

Saldaña-Portillo says this bigotry results from Mexican natives’ land being given to white settlers.

“[It helped create] the representation of Mexicans as these barbarous Indians,” she said. “That's annunciated every day when we hear Mexicans described as rapists, murderers and thieves.”

Archuleta said he's not surprised that there's racism in the U.S. because in communities like his, racism had "never gone away."

“We've always felt it,” he said. “We've always known it. We've seen it. We've been on the receiving end of it, either through the institutions, through the bureaucracies or at the individual level.”

Juan Sanchez, a sixth-generation native of the Chililí Land Grant in New Mexico, remembers activist Reies Lopez Tijerina of the 1960s.

“We are called the forgotten people,” Sanchez said. “He came to New Mexico preaching the treaty and preaching and telling the people that they were gonna lose their land.” Tijerina was a major figure in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which sought to reclaim Mexican Americans’ indigenous heritage and original territories.

“They were articulating it concretely, saying, ‘We have these land grants and we want these land grants honored as per the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,’” Saldaña-Portillo said.

Tijerina’s story culminates in June 1967, when he led an armed raid on a courthouse in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, to free imprisoned activists and place a citizen’s arrest on the district attorney who ordered a police crackdown on them.

“They were gonna go make a citizen’s arrest and so it just got outta hand from there. The frustration of not being heard just exploded,” Sanchez said. “They [had] put all the heirs of different land grants that were the followers of Tijerina in a corral like sheep.”

In the ensuing shootout, two police officers were wounded and two hostages were taken as the activists fled Tierra Amarilla. After a week-long manhunt, Tijerina surrendered. He was found guilty of assault on a federal officer and sentenced to two years in prison.

“He opened our eyes. He taught us,” Sanchez said. “He always said, ‘Change the law,’ and we've always tried that.”

For fellow land grant heir and activist Steve Polanco, this fight is personal. His family has lived on Tierra Amarilla since the late 1800s, and now in his 60s, he is the president of the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant.

“We took a stand that … the only way we were gonna be taken from here … was dead,” Polaco said.

Polaco said the original stewards of the land shared 550,000 acres and that they would help each other.

“These mountains were full of herds of sheep, herds of pigs that were being taken care of,” Polaco said. “They’d head off for the day and they’d take care of their flocks, pigs, herds of horses all over these mountains.”

His land has been under siege for decades, he said, with outside investors hoping to develop the lands into everything from a ski resort to a landing strip, the latter of which is visible from his property.

“The building of the airstrip makes me feel really bad because, number one, they destroyed the property. It looks very ugly. It's gonna cause erosion. It’s so dry that the dust kicks up, and there's elderlies that live in the area; that dust affects them,” said Polaco.

“It's very emotional, especially when you see these outsiders coming in and doing destruction and taking advantage of us,” he said.

Today, he continues to harvest hay and attempts to keep the land as undisturbed as possible. He says he wants the Treaty of Hidalgo to be honored and the lands respected, particularly in the face of a changing climate. To that end, he said it’s important to elect public officials who “know the culture and our struggle” so that their Constitutional right to the land can be upheld.

What comes next?

Archuleta says it took generations for these communities to fall into poverty and other socioeconomic issues, and that it’ll take a long time to solve their problems as well.

“We're in a marathon. We're not in a race,” he said.

Archuleta’s grandfather is buried in Manzano, New Mexico. His dad grew up there, too.

“He left in the ‘70s. He didn't have opportunities. That's the stuff that's hard to swallow when you're like, ‘Man, this is something that was in our family and it belonged to us,’” he said. "And because of circumstances beyond our control, the loss of the commons, the poverty that that created… This drives the work that I do. Working with land grant communities and trying to get justice for our communities.”

In June, Archuleta spoke before Congress as it considered a bill to give land grant heirs access to their former lands.

“What the current legislation does is it would create a federal definition of traditional uses on federal lands for land grant communities,” he said. “Access to fuelwood, for example, to heat your home. Access to pasture to graze livestock. And it would also require that the federal agencies work with land grant communities and consult with them.”

For Sanchez, “the dream of reparation would be that we'd get our land back. But we know that's impossible; times have changed.”

“Short of that, I also think our communities are due some type of reparations in terms of monetary compensation for all the hardships that they've endured,” Archuleta said. “What that figure looks like to us, if we did a calculation, probably about $2.7 billion. Not to pay out individuals but to pay our communities for community development and to buy back land.”

Meanwhile, Padilla-Gutierrez hopes to transform a historic jail in her village into a museum.

“The idea is to keep the legacy alive. Do not destroy and forget the history,” she said. “We wish that our parents could be here to see this that we've done. We're slowly inching back to being a legitimate and prideful land grant.”

Her sister emphasized that the family doesn’t “want handouts.”

“We wanna provide for ourselves. So justice would be giving us that opportunity to do that,” Padilla said. “We've always been here and we're not going anywhere… This is where we come from. This is our land and we're gonna protect it and we're gonna continue to be here as long as we possibly can.”

“The hard work of my dad and my grandfather and my great grandfather -- their blood, sweat, and tears... I have to make sure that none of that was [in] vain,” Archuleta added. . “That their hopes and dreams survive on, and [that] they survive on in my kids and their kids.”

[shadowron]

Whose Land Is This Anyway?, or the Ute Nation in Native American Nations, Vol. 1, for Shadowrun (1st Edition). Part 1.

Hoi vey, chummer, these titles are getting longer and longer...

As with all patches of land anywhere on the planet, this particular patch of land – centered on the helpfully named former U.S. State of Utah – has an interesting history. The Shadowrun metaplot, of course, has this as one of the Native American Nations, where the indigenous peoples have regained political autonomy and independence. But it’s all over the place before that. Working our way backwards…

State of Utah (1896 – 2018)

This is the state that was finally formed by the Mormons after they promised to give up polygamy. Which most, but not all, did, bless their hearts.

Utah Territory (1850 – 1896)

This was the waiting room all states have to chill in while their background check clears.

Provisional State of Deseret (1849 – 1850)

This is the state that the Mormons wanted to have – and roughly follows the same outline as the Ute Nation. Fascinating that, having only moved into these lands two years earlier, they immediately wanted to lay claim to fragging all of it.

I don’t want to say “settled” there because, you know, of all of the other people that were already living there.

There’s a whole history of the Mormons in this area that I’m not going to wade into, and we’ll see the “Saints” again soon enough.

So before the Mormons, it was just the Utes, Goshutes, Paiutes, Shoshone, and Navajo who lived there?

Well…

Centralist Republic of Mexico (1835 – 1848)

First Mexican Republic (1823 – 1835)

First Mexican Empire (1821 – 1823)

On paper, this was Mexican territory.

Until it was ceded to the United States at the end of the Mexican – American War with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Cyber-hands down, best name for a treaty. Take that, Denver). So, yeah, everyone, including technically the Mormons who moved in around 1847, were Mexican citizens at the time, and had the choice to either…

Move farther south to within the new Mexican borders

Stay and become U.S. Citizens

Basically the same choice Anglos had upon the formation of the NAN.

But that was a relatively short span of time (27 years) in which it was controlled by Mexico, as before that it, like most of the Americas, were controlled by…

Viceroyalty of New Spain (1521 – 1821)

Good ol’ Imperialist Spain!

The Spanish had Sea to Shining Sea before America did.

Specifically, the provinces of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México, which persisted more or less in the same form after Mexican independence (until the Mexican Cession).

First off: 300 fragging years is a long time, certainly longer than the current (real life) American “claim” to those lands.

Second off: Makes you think about the status of Hispanic/Latinx peoples in the Sixth World of Shadowrun. The U.S. Census Bureau puts the percentage of Hispanic/Latinx citizens (in 2014) at 17% and is projected to reach 29% by 2060.

From the (1st edition) Shadowrun book:

“They laid claim to all of North America and demanded the immediate withdrawal of all persons of European, African, and Asian ancestry, threatening dire magical retribution if the demand was not met.”

Note that Spain is in Europe. 

But – not every Hispanic is of Spanish descent. The indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America have as much claim to being “tribal” as the Native Americans do, their land is just farther south. See my post on the Aztechnology Pyramid for more on the Maya and Aztecs.

“The document outlined a ten-year population adjustment plan that would relocate all non-Indians off lands belonging to NAN.”

Nonetheless – a Hispanic/Latinx person in the United States at the time of the Treaty of Denver would likely not identify as tribal, and depending upon ancestry, wouldn’t have wanted to relocate anywhere other than what was left of the United States.

For all of the racists complaining about immigration today and telling people to go back to Mexico, how many are aware that the land they live on literally was Mexico.

This is getting a bit too historic and political, so let’s get back to the game, and...

Vegas Chummer!

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

12th December >> Mass Readings (USA)

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

(Liturgical Colour: White: B (2))

Either:

First Reading Zechariah 2:14-17 Rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming.

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem.

Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD! For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Or:

First Reading Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab A great sign appeared in the sky.

God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed.”

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Judith 13:18bcde, 19

R/ You are the highest honor of our race.

Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the LORD God, the creator of heaven and earth.

R/ You are the highest honor of our race.

Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of God.

R/ You are the highest honor of our race.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God. Alleluia, alleluia.

Either:

Gospel Luke 1:26-38 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Or:

Gospel Luke 1:39-47 Blessed is she who believed.

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[villagecigarcompany]

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