Sunday, December 16, 2007

NOVENA FOR CHRISTMAS


NOVENA FOR CHRISTMAS

FIRST DAY DECEMBER 16
O God and Saviour of our souls, sweet Infant Jesus, Whom the angels and shepherds adored in the stable of Bethlehem on that holy night when Thou wert born of the Virgin Mary. We offer Thee our profound adoration and our most earnest thanksgiving for having become man for our redemption and salvation. Grant that we may apply all our powers to fulfill Thy gracious designs, that we may become perfectly renewed in heart, and inflamed with Thy holy love.
Our Father… Hail Mary...
Glory be… Hail and Blessed...

HAIL AND BLESSED be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the Most Pure Blessed Virgin Mary at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold: In that hour, vouchsafe, 0 my God, to hear my, prayer and grant my petitions, through the merits of Jesus Christ Our Lord.


SECOND DAY: DECEMBER 17
0 Merciful Redeemer, Who didst vouchsafe to remain in the chaste cloister of Mary’s womb, hidden and unknown, though Thou wast the Eternal Word, and the Wisdom of the Father. O grant that we may learn from Thee to love solitude and silence, and escape the evils that are found in the tumult and distractions of the world; grant us greater purity of mind and of heart; grant that we may glorify Thee, and edify others by our purity and modesty.

Our Father… Hail Mary...
Glory be… Hail and Blessed...



THIRD DAY DECEMBER 18
O Infant God, Who, from the moment of Thy conception in holy Mary’s womb, didst offer Thyself to Thine Eternal Father for the salvation of our souls. 0 vouchsafe, to give us a lively sense of the one thing necessary, so that we may labor zealously for others, and work out our own salvation in fear and trembling, yet with confidence in Thy love.

Our Father...
Glory be...
Hail Mary... Hail and Blessed...
Amen.

FOURTH DAY: DECEMBER 19
O Sweetest Jesus, Who didst go up to Bethlehem in the womb of Mary, to obey the command of Caesar, who had ordered all his subjects to be enrolled. O grant us grace to obey with alacrity the most arduous commands from those who hold Thy place over us.

Our Father... Hail Mary...
Glory be... Hail and Blessed...

FIFTH DAY: DECEMBER 20

O Most Adorable Jesus, Who, upon Thine arrival at Bethlehem, wast rejected by all men. 0 grant us to follow Thine example in sufferings and contempt, that we may welcome Thee joyfully into our hearts, when Thou seekest an entrance there, either by holy inspirations or by Thy Divine Sacraments.

Our Father... Hail Mary...
Glory be... Hail and Blessed...


SIXTH DAY: DECEMBER 21

O Divine Infant, Who, when excluded from Bethlehem, didst inspire Thy holy Mother to retire to a poor and wretched stable, in which obscure and humble place it was Thy will to be born in order to confound our pride, and to teach us humility. 0 grant that henceforward, conforming ourselves to Thy will, we may renounce all pomp and pride, and become truly meek and humble of heart.

Our Father... Hail Mary...
Glory be... Hail and Blessed...

SEVENTH DAY: DEC EMBER 22

0 Divine Word, Who for the love of us, Thy poor creatures, wast pleased to be born under the most lowly roof, to be wrapped in the meanest swaddling- bands, and to be laid in a vile manger, amongst beasts, and to suffer a thousand evils. 0 grant that we also may renounce all worldly vanities, and embrace poverty of spirit, and mortification of the flesh, so necessary for our perfection. Grant that we may be thoroughly detached from creatures, and poor in all things save in Thy love and Thy grace.

Our Father... Hail Mary...
Glory be... Hail and Blessed...

EIGHTH DAY: DECEMBER 23

0 Divine Saviour, 0 King of peace, Who wast pleased to make Thine appearance amongst us when the whole world was in peace. 0 vouchsafe to send us Thy peace, so that all our powers being brought into subjection to Thee, Thou mayest at the approaching solemnity, be born anew into our souls.

Our Father... Hail Mary...
Glory be… Hail and Blessed...

NINTH DAY: DECEMBER 24

O Divine Saviour, 0 King of immortal glory, Who, in Thy great mercy, didst come into the world to redeem us and to make us holy. 0 grant that, denying all ungodliness and love of this world, we may live soberly in ourselves, justly toward our neighbor, and piously before Thee, that so we may be happy with Thee for all Eternity.

Our Father... Hail Mary...
Glory be... Hail and Blessed...

Friday, December 07, 2007

Dec. 7, 1585 Isle of Bomel, Netherlands, Vigil of the Immaculate Conception


Dec. 7, 1585 Isle of Bomel, Netherlands, Vigil of the Immaculate Conception.
With the onslaught on the Catholic Church in full swing Protestant Armies were out fitted and supported by people such as William of Orange with the aid of Elizabeth I of England, Cecil, and other disaffected non Christian financiers. Many churches and tabernacles had been desecrated. Many of the Holy relics of the had been defiled.

Phillip II of Spain had sent his armies north to the Netherlands to protect his estates and more importantly to safeguard Catholicism at the cross roads of heresies between Germany and England. The Protestant armies, though, had a plan to destroy the Catholic Army.

After Phillips Army's success at Antwerp, the Duke of Parma sent a multiude of his troops to garrison on Bomel, Netherlands. The Catholic Army believed that Bomel was a safe and built a fort to protect themselves from possible attack from the Protestants during the winter months.

As the Spanish garrison thought they were secure, the Dutch Protestant Naval forces, who new the country better, had a plan to destroy the Christian army. It turns out that the land the Spaniards thought was safe was actually below sea level. Owing to the Netherlands reliance on dykes to keep water our of their fertile farm lands the areas around Bomel had been drained of water.

The Calvinists came up with the plan to destroy the dykes and flood out the Spanish Army. Once the dykes were destroyed the Calvinist Navy waited for the water to rise. They wanted the water to rise so high that the hated Catholics would be drowned.

Soon, that night, as the water rose, the land around Bomel became the Island of Bomel. The Catholics had become completely surrounded by water. The Spanish had no means of escape, no means of re supply of food, water, arms or reinforcements.

The Spaniard, though, had the true faith of Jesus Christ and the holy sacraments. The Spanish Army, in this time of peril, knelt down and gave thanks to our Lord and besought protection from our Lady of Victory.

Miraculously, in answer to the Catholics’ prayer, the roaring sea froze solid!
As the sea rapidly froze it became impossible for the Calvinist navy to approach the Spaniards and the Protestants had to retreat. Our Lady heard the pleas of her Christian soldiers. The open sea became ice so hard that the entire Spanish Army was able to cross the sea on foot to dry land!

Praise God!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

How to put Christ back in Christmas? Celebrate St. Nicholas Day


Every year we here Catholics and Protestants alike complain that Christ is missing from the season of Christmas. We Catholics complain that the Holy season of Advent is forgotten. In modern America Christmas begins on the day after Thanksgiving and ends when Santa Claus comes on Christmas morning.

We have heard our priests on preach on Advent, penance and preparation for the coming of the Lord. Ever since the Protestant Revolution and the commercialization of that Holy Day celebrating Christ's birth is only really celebrated by a few Catholics and some conservative Protestants.

One solution would be to return to the celebration of St. Nicholas Day on December 6th. You see, after the Protestant revolution many northern European countries down played Christmas. When the Puritans came to America Christmas was outlawed. It was only after Catholic Immigrants’ arrived from Europe that Christmas was again celebrated to a any great extent.

With this new found interest in Christmas came the marketers of merchandise and the desecration of this sacred holiday. The Merchandisers and seculars writers needed something to celebrate (they had since lost the Catholic Faith generations ago and really did not understand the true nature of the Holiday.) Consequently in their ignorance, irreligion and desire for profit they distorted St. Nicholas Day and moved it to December 25th. They also changed the character of this holy priest and bishop into a rolly, polly, fat, and gift giver named Santa Claus.

As our Catholic Immigrates started to suck up American culture they bought into this “ Santa Claus “ myth and started lying to their children thereby inadvertently deemphasizing the penitential nature of Advent, the true character of St. Nicholas, materializing Christ’s birthday and essentially knocking Christ out of Christmas along with all of the Protestants.

What should have happened was that the Catholic immigrant should have reintroduced these traditional observances to the spiritually weak and culturally deprived Anglo-Saxon Protestant. As we know this did not happen.

The plan for every Catholic this year should be to celebrate St. Nicholas Day some how on December 6th. Only in this way can we bring back Christ. Why? Well every year we all have this great desire to celebrate a mythical creature called Santa Claus albeit based on a true Saint of the Holy Catholic Church. This desire to celebrate Santa Claus and all the gifts, family and friends that go with it is sweeter that candy. So indulge, but indulge on St. Nicholas day. Get you fix, get it out of your system. It can be a beautiful happy holy day.

Once St. Nicholas Day is over it leaves Christ for Christmas. Christ is back because Santa Claus is gone.

Make it fun it fun. We can give candy away as is done in Europe. We could pray, eat dinner, and maybe have a special desert,. We could also acquire an image of St. Nicholas and light a candle thereby reintroducing the real St. Nicholas to our family and friends. I plan to take chocolates to work and give them out.

One of the hardest things for parents with small children would be to tell their children there is no Santa Claus. There is so much pressure on all of us to sustain the Santa Claus lie. So much is riding on this lie (big profits and secularization of society). I know I have been guilty of perpetuating this lie. I will break this lie this year and tell my children the truth.

A Catholic family has so many ways to observe the season. After St. Nicholas there are so many other Holy Days i.e.: Immaculate Conception Dec 8th, Our Lady of Guadalupe December 12th , St. Lucy’s Day December 13th , and of course the vigil Christmas and Christmas Day.