TURN BACK TO GOD

Epiphany (Greek for “to manifest” or “to show”), is a Christian feast day which celebrates the alleged revelation of God in human form in the person of Jesus Christ. Epiphany falls on January 6. Western Christians commemorate the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the child Jesus on this day, i.e., his manifestation to the Gentiles. Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, his manifestation to the world as the Son of God. It is also called Theophany, especially by Eastern Christians.

How to Celebrate Feast of the Epiphany:-

1. Have a family “undecorating” party on January 6. Spend the day taking down the tree and other holiday trimmings at a leisurely pace.

2. Prepare a quiet dinner afterward and discuss what you liked about this Christmas season and what you might want to do differently next year. (Think of it as “thinking out loud” time, though - not as a planning session.)

3. Read the story of Befana. According to legend, as the three wise men journeyed toward the manger, they came upon an old woman who was cleaning her house. They invited her to join them; she needed to continue cleaning but said she’d follow when she’d finished. But Befana never found her way to the manger, and has since been wandering the earth looking for the Christ child.

4. Let the kids decorate a “king’s crown” to serve for dessert. It’s a traditional Epiphany cake with a trinket baked inside it. Whoever gets the piece with the trinket reigns as king or queen of the feast and gets to order everyone else around.

5. Make this the day you exchange gifts with friends. You’ll avoid another must-do event on December’s calendar ‘ and you’ll be able to put off some of your shopping until after the holidays, when you can take advantage of post-Christmas sales.

It is a wonderful coincidence that 1st January follows seven days after 25th December when we celebrate the birth of Christ. For on the eighth day, according to Jewish practice, newborn males are circumcised and named.

This festival actually marks three scriptural events:

1. Firstly, the naming of the infant;
2. Secondly, circumcision as the sign of the covenant between God and ‘Abraham and his children’
3. And thirdly, it is traditionally the first shedding of Christ’s blood

The fact that Jesus was circumcised indicates that he entered the great tradition of his fathers, yet his blood would be uniquely shed on the cross. In the gospels perhaps the most significant of the three events celebrated today is the name itself, which means ‘Yahweh saves’ and so is linked to the question that Moses asked of God: “What is your name?” “I am who I am,” was the reply, hence the significance of Jesus’ claim, “Before Abraham was, I am.”

Miracles were performed in the name of Jesus as is baptism, we are justified in the name of Jesus and Jesus is the name above all others. Furthermore, all Christian prayer is through ‘Jesus Christ our Lord.’ This feast has been observed in the church since at least the sixth century.

Since the sixth century, on December 28, the Church has celebrated the memory of those children killed because of Herod’s rage against Christ (Mt 2:16-17). Liturgical tradition refers to them as the “Holy Innocents” and regards them as martyrs.

Throughout the centuries Christian art, poetry and popular piety have enfolded the memory of the “tender flock of lambs”(125) with sentiments of tenderness and sympathy. These sentiments are also accompanied by a note of indignation against the violence with which they were taken from their mothers’ arms and killed.

In our own times, children suffer innumerable forms of violence which threaten their lives, dignity and right to education. On this day, it is appropriate to recall the vast host of children not yet born who have been killed under the cover of laws permitting abortion, which is an abominable crime. Mindful of these specific problems, popular piety in many places has inspired acts of worship as well as displays of charity which provide assistance to pregnant mothers, encourage adoption and the promotion of the education of children.

As recorded in the gospel of Matthew, after the visit of the Magi, Herod, in rage and jealousy, slaughtered all the baby boys in Bethlehem and surrounding countryside in an attempt to destroy his perceived rival, the infant Messiah. These “innocents” are honored by the Church as martyrs.

In countries where our own innocents are daily being slaughtered by abortion, this feast day is a special time to remember the unborn, to pray for their cause, and perhaps to picket or pray at facilities where unborn babies are killed through abortion.

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The Feast of the Holy Family celebrates the family unit and the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The feast usually falls on the Sunday after Christmas. If Christmas is a Sunday, then the feast is celebrated on December 30th.

This year the feast falls on December 28, 2008.

Prayers:-

Let us pray
Father,
help us to live as the Holy Family,
united in respect and love.
Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Let us pray
Father in heaven, creator of all,
you ordered the earth to bring forth life,
and crowned its goodness by creating the family of man.
In history’s moment when all was ready
You sent your Son to dwell in time,
obedient to the laws of life in our world.
Teach us the sanctity of human love,
show us the value of family life,
and help us to live in peace with all men
that we may share in your life forever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Lord Jesus Christ,
who, being made subject to Mary and Joseph,
didst consecrate domestic life
by Thine ineffable virtues;
grant that we,
with the assistance of both,
may be taught by the example
of Thy Holy Family
and may attain to its everlasting fellowship.
Who livest and reignest forever. Amen.

Jesus, our most loving redeemer,
You came to enlighten the world
with your teaching and example.
You willed to spend the greater part of Your life
in humble obedience to Mary and Joseph
in the poor home of Nazareth.
In this way, You sanctified that family,
which was to be an example for all Christian families.
Graciously accept our family,
which we dedicate and consecrate to You this day.
Be pleased to protect, guard, and keep it
in holy fear, in peace,
and in the harmony of Christian charity.
By conforming ourselves to the Divine model
of Your family,
may we attain to eternal happiness.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated every year on the eighth of December. Even though this feast day occurs in the liturgical season of Advent, which prepares for the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception asserts that, ” from the first moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of Mankind, kept free from all stain of original sin.”

St. Ephraem of Syria wrote in the Nisibene Hymns: “Certainly You alone and your mother are from every aspect completely beautiful for there is no blemish in Thee, my Lord, and no stain in Thy mother.” (Hymn. B. Maria 13:5-6)

The Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain (”macula” in Latin) of original sin. It is sometimes also called the Immaculata, also in artistic contexts. The dogma thus says that, from the first moment of her existence, she was preserved by God from the lack of sanctifying grace that afflicts mankind, and that she was instead filled with divine grace. It is further believed that she lived a life completely free from sin. In the words of Pope Pius XII in Mystici Corporis, “she was free from any personal or hereditary sin”. Her immaculate conception in the womb of her mother, by normal sexual intercourse, should not be confused with the doctrine of the virginal conception of her son Jesus. The apparitions of Mary to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 under the image of the Miraculous Medal helped to give further support , with its invocation, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

In 1847, Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) consulted the cardinals of the church about the possibility of defining the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, An encyclical, Ubi Primum, was sent to the 603 bishops of the world asking their thoughts . Only four or five bishops opposed definability and several others questioned the “opportuneness” of the definition. On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception with the papal bull, Ineffabilis Deus. Several years later, in 1858, the Blessed Mother gave her name to St. Bernadette at Lourdes stating, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

As we celebrate the beautiful solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, may Mary’s holiness encourage us to seek her help and continued protection in our own efforts to overcome sin and lead holy, sanctified lives.

Solemnity of Christ The King

Today on November 23, we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. On this day, the Scripture readings remind us about what sort of Kingdom Jesus came to establish.

The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man’s thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ’s royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.

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Today’s Mass establishes the titles for Christ’s royalty over men:

1) Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things; “All things were created by Him”;

2) Christ is our Redeemer, He purchased us by His precious Blood, and made us His property and possession;

3) Christ is Head of the Church, “holding in all things the primacy”;

4) God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.

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Today’s Mass also describes the qualities of Christ’s kingdom.

This kingdom is:

1) supreme, extending not only to all people but also to their princes and kings;

2) universal, extending to all nations and to all places;

3) eternal, for “The Lord shall sit a King forever”;

4) spiritual, Christ’s “kingdom is not of this world”.

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Before the reform of the Roman Calendar in 1969, this feast was celebrated on the last Sunday of October.