As We Come Closer to Christmas

Believe it or not Christmas is just three days away. In the next two days people will be preparing gifts for loved ones, hustling to the store to buy that last gift, and some people may even be freaking out about preparing a Christmas dinner, decorating the house, and making sure everything is just right. Except that is, for their souls.

One of my observations of this Advent season is when I recently traveled to the mall to perchase a gift for my girlfriend. There were two teenage girls who were fighting over a set of earrings. I found this disturbing and as I went about making my purchases I found similar scenes. What have we become as a people? Have we become so materialistic about Christmas that we cannot love our brothers and sisters in Christ? Yes we must prepare for Christmas. But I must stress that in these next two days we focus on preparing the soul as well as our house.

Let us remember that Christ did not come to be born in a palace with the Pharisees and Sadducees and the High Priest of the Temple tending to His every need. Jesus humbled Himself and was born in a stable. He chose to be born amidst animal feces and hay and was placed in a manger or in other words a feeding trough. Jesus Christ, God incarnate, whom the the universe cannot contain, became humble to the point of being born in the most unsanitary of conditions. He chose to humble Himself even further "to the point of death, death on a cross. Because of this God exulted Him and gave Him the Name above all other names, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bend."

So what is Christmas all about? What are we celebrating? We celebrate when He came and we prepare for His second coming when He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. So with what is left of this Advent season let us prepare our souls to receive the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the Prince of peace. Let us celebrate that hour when the Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to our Redemption and became the Mediatrix of all grace. Then let us rejoice with the Angels and give thanks and adoration to God. Most of all, while we are decorating our homes let us decorate them as if Christ Himself were coming over to stay and eat with us as he did with Zacheus the tax collector.

Do We "Go To" or "Attend" Holy Mass?

This is a blog entry taken from my Myspace blog dated April 21, 2008.

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JMJ

I would like to bring about to the forefront of our minds a thought that provoked me about a week ago and hasn't left my mind since. This may seem like a semantical discussion of sorts but I think it is worth talking about. The question is do we as the Church the people of God go to Holy Mass, or attend Holy Mass? I believe there is a difference and I hope to arouse our thoughts to probe deeper into own individual lives as Christians.

First, it must be said that the Holy Mass is the greatest act the Church does. Therefore, our attitude must reflect the solemnity of the occasion. As a cradle Catholic I grew up sometimes dreading Sunday mornings when my mother would call me into the kitchen for Sunday breakfast. I knew that once I finished breakfast I would be asked to put on my "Sunday best." Eventually I grew out of this stage that we all experience from time to time as children and I realized the importance of Holy Mass. It is the holiest thing I do as a Catholic.

Now most people will use the terminology, "I'm going to Mass." There is nothing wrong with this but this does raise the question in my heart: "Am I just going to Holy Mass, or am I attending Holy Mass?" The difference between going to and attending Holy Mass is HUGE.

If I were to just go to Holy Mass I'm probably missing out on the point. The point of Holy Mass is to give thanks to God for having sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for our sins. We give thanks to God the Father for His infinite mercy in forgiving us of our sins and we offer our gifts upon the altar through the Priest. If I'm just going to Holy Mass I'm not letting God show me His love through the Holy Mass. The other problem this poses is that it provides a situation where I as a Christian may begin just "going through the motions" and not actively pursuing my faith.

On the contrary, if I am attending Holy Mass, then I am completely disposed to receiving grace upon grace poured out during Holy Mass. I am fully active in giving glory to God for His infinite mercy, love, and forgiveness. I am completely contrite and sorrowful for my sins and attentive to everything that is happening at Holy Mass. As I receive Holy Communion I am completely aware that I am truly receiving Jesus Christ in His Body and Blood, soul and divinity. When I consciously set my gift upon the altar through the Priest I am giving my cares, my anxieties, my intellect, and my whole being unreserved and unconditionally to Jesus who will return grace upon grace.

So let me come out of the clouds for a minute and speak on practical terms.
The difference between going to and attending Holy Mass is not a semantical diologue but rather an examination of our attitudes. We must be completely disposed to receiving Holy Communion by making proper examination of ourselves and preparing prayerfully to receive God - Jesus Christ made manifest before our very eyes at each and every Holy Mass. Every Sunday we ought to both go to and attend Holy Mass.

When we rise each and every Sunday morning our first thoughts should not be, "I have to go to Mass today," but rather, "I get to attend Mass today." Our whole day then should revolve around preparing for Holy Mass. It is one of the blessings of living in a nation that allows for religious freedom. We ought to eat it up. We get to attend Holy Mass. We get to approach the altar of God and receive the very Flesh and Blood of God and to adore Him. It is the holiest act we as Christians do. The very action of the Holy Mass confers upon us as laypersons the graces necessary to perform our daily tasks with love and devotion, whether it be as students, parents, teachers, or even scientists.

I ask you to consider within yourself whether or not you simply go to Holy Mass (which is awesome) or whether or not you attend Holy Mass (which is greater).

Fulton Sheen on Our Lady of Fatima

This is very powerful, and definitely worth seeing as we mark the 91st anniversary of the miraculous events at Fatima.



Fatima's importance cannot be overstated. We are living in what theologians call "the Age of Mary", a period of time in which Marian apparitions have gained in frequency and urgency. The apparitions before Fatima seem to point forward to it, while those that have taken place afterwards point backwards to it. Fatima was witnessed by tens of thousands of people, believers and non-believers alike. Pope John Paul II attributed his survival of the assassination attempt on him to Our Lady of Fatima. For myself personally, I learned about Fatima at a point in my life plagued with doubt and despair, and it showed me that God is real and that He speaks to us today. Fatima showed me the importance of praying the Rosary, a prayer that is so strong and that has led me closer to Jesus.
Our Lady calls us to turn from sin and to come to her Son, because He loves us and wants us to experience freedom! Mary warned of the Second World War two decades before it began, because she knew that the consequence of our sinfulness is violence. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."(Rom. 6:23) Through Mary, God is calling us to come out of the darkness and to live in His light!
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Pray the Rosary for the Election

I want to take the time and call upon all those who read this blog to pray for this election. The stakes have never been higher in an election because we have never had a clearer choice between the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death. Make no mistake: if we don't elect pro-life leaders this election, we will not be able to end abortion for decades. If we have extremely pro-choice Justices on the Supreme Court, Roe vs. Wade will not be overturned. Period. If we have an extremely pro-choice Congress, they will do away with any limits on abortion. Period. If we elect the most pro-abortion candidate we've ever had for President, he will sign the "Freedom of Choice Act", doing away with any pro-life laws that have been passed. Period.
This is not only a time to be concerned about America's future in regard to energy, the economy, foreign policy, or things like that. We need to be concerned about where we are going spiritually. I feel that if we are to elect a President that has supported infanticide, we will have crossed a serious line that will spell disaster for our country.
That's why I ask everyone who reads this to offer up a Rosary for the election every day from now to November 4. The Rosary is a powerful spiritual weapon and when people pray it with devotion God will work wonders. Pope Pius XI said, "if I had an army reciting the Rosary, I would convert the whole world." So imagine the power that prayer could have in this election. Pray the Rosary. If you can, fast a day each week. If you're not Catholic, maybe spend an extra 15 minutes a day reading Scripture. And pray about your vote. (Don't forget to vote, either- that part's important!)
I think we've seen the results of putting our country in the hands of politicians. This time, let's put it in God's hands.

Our Lady of Sorrows

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. We recall how Mary suffered with her Son at the foot of the Cross. This was predicted by Simeon at the Presentation of the Lord: "And you yourself a sword shall pierce." (Luke 2:35) Imagine her sorrow at seeing her Son stripped, beaten, mocked, scourged, crucified and killed. Imagine the pain in her heart as the spear drove through the Sacred Heart of Christ. Imagine her holding her dead Son in her arms, looking upon His bloody face, and recalling when she cradled Him at Bethlehem at looked upon His face for the first time. Does not this sorrow also pierce our hearts? And that is the point of this feast- we are all called to share in the sufferings of the Cross. To unite our pain with Christ's pain, to suffer with Him. Why? Does God like to watch us suffer? Of course not. Christ wants us to love as He did. But true love always involves sacrifice. A love that is not willing to suffer for the beloved is not really love at all. That is what this feast is about. If we unite our sufferings with those of Christ, as Mary did, we are united with Him in love. And remember: after the Cross comes the Resurrection. So to love Christ in this way is to enter into new life in Him.