"The charity of truth seeks holy leisure": holy days of obligation

"On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord's Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health. "The charity of truth seeks holy leisure - the necessity of charity accepts just work." CCC 2185

"for today is Life's Birthday": Saint Leo the Great on the Incarnation

Dearly beloved brethren, Unto us is born this day a Saviour, (Luke ii. 11).

Let us rejoice. It would be unlawful to be sad to-day, for to - day is Life's Birthday the Birthday of that Life, Which, for us dying creatures, taketh away the sting of death, and bringeth the bright promise of the eternal gladness hereafter.

It would be unlawful for any man to refuse to partake in our rejoicing. All men have an equal share in the great cause of our joy, for, since our Lord, Who is the destroyer of sin and of death, findeth that all are bound under the condemnation, He is come to make all free. Rejoice, O thou that art holy, thou drawest nearer to thy crown! Rejoice, O thou that art sinful, thy Saviour offereth thee pardon!

Rejoice also, O thou Gentile, God calleth thee to life! For the Son of God, when the fulness of the time was come, which had been fixed by the unsearchable counsel of God, took upon Him the nature of man, that He might reconcile that nature to Him Who made it, and so the devil, the inventor of death, is met and beaten in that very flesh which hath been the field of his victory.

- From the Sermons of Pope St Leo (the Great)

1st for Christmas

Congregation for Worship on "more dignified celebration of the Sign of Peace within Mass

From CNA:

Vatican announces desire for more restrained sign of peace at Mass

Vatican City, Jul 31, 2014 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Congregation for Divine Worship, in a recent circular letter, announced that the placement of the sign of peace within Mass will not change, though it suggested several ways the rite could be performed with greater dignity.

“The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments … pronounced in favor of maintaining the ‘rite’ and ‘sign’ of peace in the place it has now in the Ordinary of the Mass,” Fr. Jose Maria Gil Tamayo, secretary general of the Spanish bishops’ conference, related in a July 28 memo.

He noted that this was done out of consideration of the placement of the rite of peace as “a characteristic of the Roman rite,” and “not believing it to be suitable for the faithful to introduce structural changes in the Eucharistic Celebration, at this time.”

The sign of peace is made after the consecration and just prior to the reception of Communion; it had been suggested that it be moved so that it would precede the presentation of the gifts.
Fr. Gil’s memo was sent to the Spanish bishops, and prefaced the Congregation for Divine Worship’s circular letter, which was signed June 8 by Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, its prefect, and its secretary, Archbishop Arthur Roche. The circular had been approved and confirmed the previous day by Pope Francis.

The letter made four concrete suggestions about how the dignity of the sign of peace could be maintained against abuses.

Fr. Gil explained that the circular letter is a fruit of the 2005 synod of bishops on the Eucharist, in which the possibility of moving the rite was discussed.

“During the Synod of Bishops there was discussion about the appropriateness of greater restraint in this gesture, which can be exaggerated and cause a certain distraction in the assembly just before the reception of Communion,” Benedict XVI wrote in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation ‘Sacramentum caritatis’.

He added that “I have asked the competent curial offices to study the possibility of moving the sign of peace to another place, such as before the presentation of the gifts at the altar … taking into account ancient and venerable customs and the wishes expressed by the Synod Fathers.”
An inspiration for the suggested change was Christ’s exhortation, at Mt. 5:23, that “if you remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your offering before the altar, and go be reconciled first.” It would also have brought the Roman rite into conformity, in that respect, with the Ambrosian rite, celebrated in Milan.

The Neo-Catechumenal Way, a lay movement in the Church, has already displaced the sign of peace, in its celebration of the Roman rite, to before the presentation of the gifts.
The Vatican congregation’s decision to maintain the placement of the sign of peace was the fruit of dialogue with the world’s bishops, which began in 2008, and in consultation with both Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

The Congregation for Divine Worship said it would “offer some practical measures to better express the meaning of the sign of peace and to moderate excesses, which create confusion in the liturgical assembly just prior to Communion.”

“If the faithful do not understand and do not show, in their ritual gestures, the true significance of the right of peace, they are weakened in the Christian concept of peace, and their fruitful participation in the Eucharist is negatively affected.”

On this basis, the congregation offered four suggestions which are to form the “nucleus” of catechesis on the sign of peace.

First, while confirming the importance of the rite, it emphasized that “it is completely legitimate to affirm that it is not necessary to invite ‘mechanistically’ to exchange (the sign of) peace.”The rite is optional, the congregation reminded, and there certainly are times and places where it is not fitting.

Its second recommendation was that as translations are made of the third typical edition of the Roman Missal, bishops’ conference should consider “changing the way in which the exchange of peace is made.” It suggested in particular that “familiar and worldly gestures of greeting” should be substituted with “other, more appropriate gestures.”

The congregation for worship also noted that there are several abuses of the rite which are to be stopped: the introduction of a “song of peace,” which does not exist in the Roman rite; the faithful moving from their place to exchange the sign; the priest leaving the altar to exchange the sign with the faithful; and when, at occasions such as weddings or funerals, it becomes an occasion for congratulations or condolences.

The Congregation for Divine Worship’s final exhortation was that episcopal conferences prepare liturgical catechesis on the significance of the rite of peace, and its correct observation.
“The intimate relation between ‘lex orandi’ and ‘lex credendi’ should obviously be extended to ‘lex vivendi’,” the congregation’s letter concluded.

“That Catholics are today faced with the grave commitment to build a more just and peaceful world, implies a more profound understanding of the Christian meaning of peace and of its expression in liturgical celebration.”

Saint Nicholas of Myra and Bari

Bishop of Myra in Lycia; died 6 December, 345 or 352. Though he is one of the most popular saints in the Greek as well as the Latin Church, there is scarcely anything historically certain about him except that he was Bishop of Myra in the fourth century. Some of the main points in his legend are as follows: He was born at Parara, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor; in his youth he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine; shortly after his return he became Bishop of Myra; cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian, he was released after the accession of Constantine, and was present at the Council of Nicaea. In 1087 Italian merchants stole his body at Myra, bringing it to Bari in Italy. The numerous miracles St. Nicholas is said to have wrought, both before and after his death, are outgrowths of a long tradition. There is reason to doubt his presence at Nicaea, since his name is not mentioned in any of the old lists of bishops that attended this council. His cult in the Greek Church is old and especially popular in Russia. As early as the sixth century Emperor Justinian I built a church in his honour at Constantinople, and his name occurs in the liturgy ascribed to St. Chrysostom. In Italy his cult seems to have begun with the translation of his relics to Bari, but in Germany it began already under Otto II, probably because his wife Theophano was a Grecian. Bishop Reginald of Eichstaedt (d. 991) is known to have written a metric, "Vita S. Nicholai." The course of centuries has not lessened his popularity. The following places honour him as patron: Greece, Russia, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Lorraine, the Diocese of Liège; many cities in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Belgium; Campen in the Netherlands; Corfu in Greece; Freiburg in Switzerland; and Moscow in Russia. He is patron of mariners, merchants, bakers, travellers, children, etc. His representations in art are as various as his alleged miracles. In Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, they have the custom of making him the secret purveyor of gifts to children on 6 December, the day on which the Church celebrates his feast; in the United States and some other countries St. Nicholas has become identified with Santa Claus who distributes gifts to children on Christmas eve. His relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari; up to the present day an oily substance, known as Manna di S. Nicola, which is highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from them.

From The Catholic Encyclopedia

Thanksgiving Prayers for the Family at Home

FOR APPRECIATION OF EACH OTHER

We thank you, Father, for the gift of Jesus your Son who came to our earth and lived in a simple home.
We have a greater appreciation of the value and dignity of the human family because he loved and was loved within its shelter.
Bless us this day; may we grow in love for each other in our family and so give thanks to you who are the maker of all human families and our abiding peace.

(From The Catholic Prayer Book, compiled by Msgr. Michael Buckley)

IN GRATITUDE

Thank you, Father, for having created us and given us to each other in the human family.
Thank you for being with us in all our joys and sorrows, for your comfort in our sadness, your companionship in our loneliness.
Thank you for yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the whole of our lives.
Thank you for friends, for health and for grace. May we live this and every day conscious of all that has been given to us.

(From The Catholic Prayer Book, compiled by Msgr. Michael Buckley.)

THANKSGIVING TABLE PRAYER

O Gracious God, we give you thanks for your overflowing generosity to us.
Thank you for the blessings of the food we eat and especially for this feast today.
Thank you for our home and family and friends, especially for the presence of those gathered here.
Thank you for our health, our work and our play.
Please send help to those who are hungry, alone, sick and suffering war and violence.
Open our hearts to your love. We ask your blessing through Christ your son. Amen.

( From Celebrating Faith: Year-round Activities For Catholic Families, by Mary Cronk Farrell)

PRAYER AT HARVEST AND THANKSGIVING

O God, source and giver of all things, You manifest your infinite majesty, power and goodness In the earth about us: We give you honor and glory.
For the sun and the rain, For the manifold fruits of our fields: For the increase of our herds and flocks, We thank you.
For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace, We are grateful.
Supreme Lord of the harvest, Graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil, In union with Jesus, your Son, As atonement for our sins, For the growth of your Church, For peace and love in our homes, And for salvation for all.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(From Living God’s Justice: Reflections and Prayers, compiled by The Roundtable Association of Diocesan Social Action Directors) Source: AmericanCatholic.org

Prayer on the Occasion of the Marine Corps 239th Birthday Ball

Prayer on the Occasion of the 239th Marine Corps Birthday Ball

Heavenly Father, we turn together to You on the occasion of this evenings’ Marine Corps Ball, an outstanding gathering of military men and women of the Navy-Marine Corps family, together with their spouses and guests, to enjoy one another’s company as we celebrate the 239th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. That we may start this celebration well, we call upon You for the blessing of all present here that You may be glorified by all we say and do. With that in mind I offer the Marine Corps prayer:

“Almighty Father, whose command is over all and whose love never fails, make me aware of thy presence and obedient to thy will.

“Keep me true to my best self, guarding me against dishonesty in purpose and deed and helping me to live so that I can face my fellow Marines, my loved ones, and Thee without shame or fear. Protect my family. Give me the will to do the work of a Marine and to accept my share of responsibilities with vigor and enthusiasm. Grant me the courage to be proficient in my daily performance. Keep me loyal and faithful to my superiors and to the duties my country and the Marine Corps have entrusted to me. Make me considerate to those committed to my leadership. Help me to wear my uniform with dignity, and let it remind me daily of the traditions which I must uphold.

“If I am inclined to doubt, steady my faith; if I am tempted, make me strong to resist; if I should miss the mark, give me courage to try again.

“Guide me with the light of truth and grant me wisdom by which I may understand the answer to my prayer.”

We pray for all of our deployed military and their families: all who stand guard this night over our freedom and security around the globe and those who wait for them at home.

We pray for all those missing in action or prisoners of war or conflict: may we never forget them or their service and sacrifice; we ask that You grant them the spiritual anchors of faith, hope and love.

And may we never look upon the symbol of our national spirit and ideals, the eagle flying high and proud, without recalling with gratitude all of those who have given the last full measure of the sacrifice of their lives for all of us. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord. May they, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Almighty God, keep all of Your Marines, and all of us who have the honor and privilege of serving beside them, ever faithful: “Semper Fideles”! Grant to the United State Marine Corps a very happy birthday and many more: ad multos annos, United States Marines!

Amen.

Prayers for the Dead on All Souls' Day: "a place of refreshment, light and peace"

In Ancient Rome families would honor, remember and reach out to the dead through the celebration of the 'refrigerium', a picnic at the tomb which included a ritual pouring of wine as a libation offered to refresh those who had gone before them into the mystery of the afterlife.

How much more awesome that we are refreshed already now by the Body and Blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has taken our human flesh with Him beyond the grave and opened heaven to us! This is the refrigerium of God, our Eucharist offered to us here and now in this world from our heavenly habitation which awaits us in Christ who is now seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.

When the priest prays the Roman Canon at Mass, listen for the Church's reference to this lesson from her Roman past, as we beg that through our faithful prayers in Christ the dead may enjoy a place of "refreshment, light and peace".

A holy All Souls' Day to all of you.