St. Hyginus, Pope/Martyr

St. Hyginus

HE was placed in the chair of St. Peter after the martyrdom of St. Telesphorus, in the year 139. Eusebius informs us, that he sat four years. The church then enjoyed some sort of calm, under the mild reign of the emperor Antoninus Pius; though several martyrs suffered in his time by the fury of the populace, or the cruelty of certain magistrates. The emperor himself never consented to such proceedings; and when informed of them by the governors of Asia, Athens, Thessalonica, and Larissea, he wrote to them in favour of the Christians, as is recorded by Sts. Justin and Eusebius.  As is typical of the Roman Church in the mid second century, Hyginus was more likely one of a number of presbyters as opposed to a stand-alone governor. The dates are unsure, but he was in charge from the time of Telesphorus’ martyrdom in the first year of Emperor Antonius Pius’ reign and, according to Eusebius, in his “Ecclesiastical History”, as well as Ireneus’ listings, he remained in that position for four years. It appears that Hyginus was from Athens, his name meaning wholesome or healthy. How old he was when he came to Rome is unknown. He is said to have been a philosopher, although that cannot be verified. But, a knowledge of philosophy was exactly what was needed by the Church by that time. Gnosticism was invading Rome. The appearance of these non-orthodox preachers does indicate that the city was becoming a center of thought for the new Church, although Asia Minor was still predominant.
The devil had recourse to other arts to disturb the peace of God’s church. Cerdo, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, in the year 140, came from Syria to Rome, and began to teach the false principles which Marcion adopted afterwards with more success. He impiously affirmed that there were two Gods; the one rigorous and severe, the author of the Old Testament; the other merciful and good, the author of the New, and the father of Christ, sent by him to redeem man from the tyranny of the former; and that Christ was not really born of the Virgin Mary, or true man, but such in shadow only and appearance. Our holy pope, by his pastoral vigilance, detected that monster, and cut him off from the communion of the church. The heresiarch, imposing upon him by a false repentance, was again received; but the zealous pastor having discovered that he secretly preached his old opinions, excommunicated him a second time.
Another minister of Satan was Valentine (NOT the saint), who being a Platonic philosopher, puffed up with the vain opinion of his learning, and full of resentment for another’s being preferred to him in an election to a certain bishopric in Egypt, as Tertullian relates, revived the errors of Simon Magus, and added to them many other absurd fictions, as of thirty Æônes or ages, a kind of inferior deities, with whimsical histories of their several pedigrees. Having broached these opinions at Alexandria, he left Egypt for Rome. At first he dissembled his heresies, but by degrees his extravagant doctrines came to light. Hyginus, being the mildest of men, endeavoured to reclaim him without proceeding to extremities; so that Valentine was not excommunicated before the first year of St. Pius, his immediate successor.
St. Hyginus did not sit quite four years, dying in 142. We do not find that he ended his life by martyrdom, yet he is styled a martyr in some ancient calendars, as well as in the present Roman Martyrology; undoubtedly on account of the various persecutions which he suffered, and to which his high station in the church exposed him in those perilous times. Saint Hyginus is said to have accurately regulated the gradations of rank among the clergy. He died on 142 in Rome, Italy and  buried on Vatican Hill near the tomb of Saint Peter the Apostle.

Sorry this came out like this.  Since the new year began, problems have arisen.

The Pope's Epiphany

Following is what the 'Pope' did on the Feast day of the Epiphany last year.  Since the 'nervous order' had their Epiphany yesterday, I thought I'd repeat what the pope did last year  Scandalous, to say the least. He is either the stupidest person to hold the chair, or the most cunning. Either way, he is NOT a true Catholic! Thank you 'Angel Queen'. You'll have to go the angelqueen.org site to see the video. I didn't bother.

“On the Feast of the Epiphany, the Pope gives us baby Jesus–alongside a Jewish menorah, a statue of the Buddha, and a set of Muslim prayer beads inscribed with ‘Allahu Akbar!'” – Oakes Spalding at MahoundsParadise.blogspot.com

Posted by Vox Cantoris
Thursday, 7 January 2016

Who will stand up to Jorge Bergoglio for what he has written and said in the video below. One can sit down with those of other religions but one cannot do it without preaching that there is only one, true religion. Only one Faith that is ultimate truth, only one path to salvation.
Who would dare equate Our Lord Jesus Christ come to Earth as a baby, the WORD MADE FLESH with a pagan such as the Buddha or the false religion of Mahomet. The Menorah, we can accept as an ancient symbol of our Faith, as Catholicism is Judaism fulfilled. The rest is a mockery, a blasphemy to equate them as equivalent to an image of the baby Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded His Church to convert the world and preach the “good news” of salvation to all people. Through baptism by water and the Holy Spirit and by believing in Our Lord Jesus Christ and following the teachings of the Church and a sacramental life.

There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. (And, God is NOT mocked!)

I can say no more lest it be to use the “H” word. The words of Jorge Bergoglio, Bishop of Rome are unadulterated syncretism and religious indifferentism.
 

(Let us pray for the 4 brave Bishops who have the stones to stand up to this 'leader' of our Faith, and that their numbers increase!)

HOLY FAMILY

INTROIT for this Sunday:

'I saw a man seated on a high throne, whom a multitude of Angels adored, singing all together: Behold Him, whose Name and empire are to last forever.'

This day we honor the Feast of the Holy Family. It is the KINGSHIP of the Divine Infant that the Church once again proclaims the Lord and the adoration we owe Him as the KING OF AGES. The 'nervous order' church doesn't bother to recognize what He is to us and for our salvation. Apparently, everyone goes to heaven these days. Anyway:

From twelve years old, a Jew was bound each year to keep the three feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. In the liturgy for Christmas-tide the whole of our Lord's childhood is put before us and to-day we see Him in the Temple, where for the first time, He shows the Jews that God is His "Father.

"It was by no accident," says St. Ambrose, "that this Child who, even according to the flesh, was full of wisdom and grace of God, forgetting His human parents should wish to be found after three days in the Temple. By this He intimated that three days after the triumph of His Passion, He who was believed to be dead should rise again and so offer Himself as the object of our faith, seated on a heavenly throne in heavenly glory. The truth is, that in His case, there is a two-fold birth: the one by which He is begotten of the Father, the other by which He is born of a mother. The first is wholly divine; by the second He humbles Himself to take our nature". This "Man sitting upon a High throne whom a multitude of angels adore singing together" is, therefore, that Divine Child who is shown to us in to-day's Gospel. "Sitting in the midst of the doctors who" were astonished at His wisdom and answers. Moreover since, "as God hath delivered to everyone the measure of Faith", Christian souls form but "one body in Christ", they ought to be penetrated with the wisdom of Him who far from "conforming himself to the maxims of this world," reforms "and rules human life according to the will of God".

"Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?", said the young boy Jesus. This wholly supernatural wisdom whose guiding principles exceed, without destroying those of the natural order, is beyond our unaided powers. While seeking to curb our flesh by the mortification which such wisdom enjoins, sacrificing at times, even the most lawful affection, in pursuance of a divine call which draws children from their parents' side, the plans of almighty God must needs remain for us hidden mysteries to be accepted without being completely understood. "They understood not the word that He spoke unto them". Following Mary who "kept all these words in her heart", let us meditate on the sublimity of Jesus' words and actions in the Temple. Like this Child whose whole life at Nazareth is summed up in the one word "subjection", let us grow in wisdom so that always we may "perceive what we ought to do," and in strength "to fulfill the same"


He that is Life gives His whole self to us; let us, in return, present Him our hearts, that is, a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God; whose service may be accompanied by a formal intention of offering itself to its Creator. Here again, let us imitate the Magi, who went back another way into their own country--let us not adopt the ideas of this world, for the world is the covert enemy of our beloved King. Let us reform our worldly prudence according to the divine wisdom of Him, who may well be our guide, seeing He is the Eternal Wisdom of the Father. Let us understand, that no man can be wise without Faith, which reveals to us that we must all be united by love, so as to form one body in Christ, partaking of His life, His wisdom, His light, and His kingly character.

I would like to end with yet another hymn that we will not hear from the 'modern' church, concerning the Divine Birth, and the Mother who gave Him life.

'Blest light of all heavenly hosts,
Sole hope of them that dwell on earth,
The purest love that ever graced a home,
Did smile upon thy birth.

Mary, dear Mother, who but thee
was ever yet so rich in grace?
Didst nourish Christ upon thy knee
and fold Him in a sweet embrace?

And Joseph, chosen out to guard
the Virgin with thy gentle might,
the Infant Jesus smiled on thee
and called thee father as by right.

You, who to save a guilty race
were born of David's noble line,
O hear the humble prayers of all
today, who gather round your shrine.

The Sun now wends His way to rest
and earth is veiled in shadows gray;
yet hearts afire with joy and love
still bid us linger on to pray.

O may the grace of that sweet home
which held the earthly Trinity,
be shed abroad upon the world
and bless the Christian family.

O Jesu, born of Virgin bright,
Immortal glory be to thee;
praise to the Father infinite
and Holy Ghost eternally. Amen.'

We have been asked, as always, to make some kind of offering to our Lord, for all that He has done for us. This offering is not anything material. It is US! We, as individuals, are to give Him a living sacrifice, as it were, of ourselves. Give Him our all; our mind, our hearts, and our souls. This is all He asks of anyone. Also, let us immolate the Magi, who offered Him what they had. We should copy them, who went back another way into their own country by not going back to our old ways, the ways of the world. He will be our Guide, if we but let Him. Let us not adopt the ideas of 'this world', for the world is the covert enemy of our Beloved King. Let us reform our worldly prudence according to the divine wisdom of Him, Who may well be our Guide, seeing He is the Eternal Wisdom of the Father. Let us understand, that no man can be wise without Faith, which reveals to us that we must all be united by love, so as to form one body in Christ, partaking of His life, His wisdom, His light, and His kingly character.

Mercifully look down, O Lord, we beseech Thee, on the offerings of thy Church; among which, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, are no longer offered; but what was signified by those offerings is sacrificed, and received, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord.

'Holy Family' by Bartolome Esteban Murillo

Epiphany

'Now is the twelfth day come'
'Out of the east a star shone bright'
'There is a blossom sprung of a thorn'
'Come, love we God'. William Herebert's translation of 'Hostis Herodis impie',

The 'Twelve Days of Christmas' come to an end today. To know more about what the song really means, see post of Dec. 18. Christ has come, and we learned what the twelve gifts mean. Anyway:

This is the day which is supposed to be revered throughout the Church. It is a triple play, as it were, of three key events in our Saviour's life. His manifestation of Who He is to the world. And, they are overwhelmingly thought of by Doctors and Saints to have happened on this same day, of course in different years! God truly works in a mysterious way, doesn't He? Anyway, the first of these happenings is when the Magi appeared to adore their God as an Infant, and to bring Him gifts as such to welcome their Divine King, to prepare for His glory and for anointing Him at His death. Secondly, this is the day when John the Baptist baptized Christ in the Jordan River, when the Eternal Father proclaimed Him as His Son. Thirdly, it is the day when Jesus using His Divine power turned water into wine at Cana. According to all the saints, it is impossible to prove that they did NOT occur on this same day. Cool, huh? And, this is why this Feast was always kept on this day, NOT the Sunday before, as we get today. We wouldn't want people to go to Church more than once a week, now would we? We just did that in the last couple of weeks. Actually, it wasn't so bad.


The following is something from an Abbot named AElfric (c.955-c.1010):

As he often does, Ælfric begins his sermon by translating into English the name of the feast on which he is preaching: in this case Epiphania Domini becomes 'Godes geswutelungdæg', 'the day of God's manifestation'. It is a day of 'making clear', related to O.E. sweotol.

This day is called the Epiphany of the Lord, that is, 'the day of God's manifestation'. On this day Christ was manifested to the three kings, who from the eastern part of the world sought him with threefold offerings. Again, after the passage of years, he was manifested to the world on this day at his baptism, when the Holy Ghost, in the form of a dove, rested upon him, and the Father's voice sounded loudly from heaven, saying, "This is my dear Son, who is well pleasing to me; listen to him." On this day also he turned water into noble wine, and thereby manifested that he is the true Creator who could change created things. For these three reasons this feast is called God's Manifestation. (It's like the 'Triple Crown' of religious things.)

On the first day of his birth he was revealed to three shepherds in the land of Judea, through the announcement of the angel. On the same day he was made known to the three astronomers in the east, through the bright star, but it was on this day they came with their offerings... The eastern astronomers saw a new bright star, not in heaven among other stars, but a lone wanderer between heaven and earth. Then they understood that the wondrous star indicated the birth of the true King in the country over which it glided; and they therefore came to the kingdom of Judea, and sorely frightened the wicked king Herod by their announcement; for without doubt earthly wickedness was confounded, when the heavenly greatness was disclosed.

Let us now return to the exposition of the Gospel, where we previously left it. The astronomers went into the place where the child was staying, and found him with his mother. Then with prostrate bodies they worshipped Christ, and opened their coffers, and offered to him threefold gifts, gold, and incense, and myrrh. Gold is fitting for a king; incense belongs to God's service; with myrrh the bodies of the dead are prepared that they may not soon rot. These three astronomers worshipped Christ, and offered to him symbolic gifts. The gold betokened that he is true King; the incense that he is true God; the myrrh that he was then mortal, though now he continues immortal in eternity...

My brothers, let us offer to our Lord gold, for we confess that he is true King, and rules everywhere. Let us offer to him incense, for we believe that he was always God, who at that time appeared as a man. Let us bring him myrrh, for we believe that he was mortal in our flesh, who is incapable of suffering in his divine nature. He was mortal in human nature before his Passion, but he is henceforth immortal, as we all shall be after the universal resurrection.

We have spoken of these threefold gifts, how they apply to Christ. We also wish to say how they apply to us in a figurative sense. Truly gold betokens wisdom; as Solomon said, "A goldhoard much to be desired lies in the mouth of a wise man." Incense represents holy prayer, of which the psalmist sang, "Lord, let my prayer be sent forth like burning incense in thy sight." By myrrh is shown the mortality of our flesh, of which Holy Church says, "My hands dropped myrrh." To the born King we bring gold, if we are shining in his sight with the brightness of heavenly wisdom. Incense we bring him, if we set fire to our thoughts on the altar of our heart with the eagerness of holy prayers, so that through heavenly desire we may give forth something of a sweet smell. Myrrh we offer him if we quell the lusts of the flesh by self-restraint. Myrrh, as we have already said, works to keep dead flesh from rotting quickly. Truly dead flesh rots shamefully when the mortal body serves overflowing lust, as the prophet said of a certain one, "The beasts rotted in their dung." The beasts rot in their dung when fleshly men end their days in the stench of their lust. But if we offer myrrh to God spiritually, then will our mortal body be preserved through self-restraint from the stenches of lust.


I would also like to add something from the Greek Church, honoring this holy day. It is called 'IN NATALI DOMINI':
I hear the angels singing at Bethlehem 'Gloria in excelsis Deo! I hear them tell us that there is peace on earth to men of good will. Oh! see that Virgin, she is lovelier than the heavens: for from her has risen a light to them that sat in darkness, exalting humble hearts that sing, as did the Angels, Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Rejoice, O Israel! Sing forth praise, all ye that love Sion! The chain of Adam's condemnation is broken; Paradise is opened to us; the Serpent is weakened, for woman, whom he had deceived in the beginning, is now before his gaze the Mother of the Creator. Oh! the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! She that had brought Death, the work of sin, into all flesh, is now, through the Mother of God, made the source of salvation. For of Her is born a Little Child who is the all-perfect God, and who, by his Birth, did but consecrate the Virginity of his Mother; by his swathing-bands he loosened the chains of sin; and by his own Infancy he comforted the pangs of child-birth to sorrowing Eve. Let every creature now keep choir and be glad, for Christ is come that he may reclaim mankind, and save our souls.

Thy Nativity, O Lord our God! brought to the world the light of knowledge; for by it they that had adored the stars, were taught, by a Star, to adore thee, the Sun of Justice, and acknowledge thee as the Orient from on high. Glory be to thee, O Lord!

Eden has been opened in Bethlehem! Come, let us go and see; we shall find the hidden Treasure. Come, let us go and possess in the Cave the things that are in Paradise. Here it is that there has appeared the un-watered Root that has budded forth our pardon. Here is the well not dug by human hand, of whose water David heretofore desired to drink. Here a Virgin has brought forth a Child, by whom she quickly slakes the thirst of Adam and David. Therefore, let us go more hastily to the place where is born the new Babe, who is God before all ages.

Rejoice, ye just; be glad, ye heavens; exult, ye mountains! Christ is born. The Virgin, cherub-like, sits bearing on her lap God, the Word made Flesh. The Shepherds are giving glory to the Babe. The Magi are offering gifts to the Lord. The Angels are singing this hymn:

O INCOMPREHENSIBLE GOD! GLORY BE TO THEE!

I would also like to add the following:

Canticle of Zachary (Luke 1.68-79)

Blessed + be the Lord God of Israel, * for He hath visited and redeemed His people,
And hath raised up the Abundance of salvation for us * in the lineage of David His servant.
Thus He foretold by the mouth of His holy prophets * who have been from times ancient;
That we might be saved from our enemies * from the hand of all that hate us.
Now is granted the mercy promised to our fathers, * remembering His holy covenant;
And the oath which He swore to Abraham our father * that He would extend to us;
That we, delivered from the hand of our enemies, * might serve Him without fear,
Living in holiness and righteousness * before Him all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, * for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;
To give knowledge of salvation to His people * the remission of their sins,
Through the bounteous mercy of our God * in which the Orient from on high hath visited us,
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, * to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father. * As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.

Or instead of the above, the Magníficat may be recited. At the end of either, the Antiphon given above is repeated. Then the celebrant sings:

V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray. O God, Who by the guidance of a star didst this day reveal thy Sole-Begotten Son to the Gentiles, grant that we who now know Thee by faith may be brought to the contemplation of Thy heavenly majesty. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, eternally. R. Amen.

St. Telesphorus

Commemoration of St. Telesphorus, Pope and Martyr

The holy Church of Rome commemorates today the holy Pope and Martyr, St. Telesphorus. This Pontiff began his reign in the year 127; and among his decrees, we find that of his prescribing the holy sacrifice of the Mass to be offered up on Christmas Night, in order to honor the hour when our Savior was born: he also ordered that the Angelic Hymn Gloria in excelsis should be said, on most days, at the beginning of Mass. This devotion of the holy Pope towards the great Mystery which we are now celebrating, renders his commemoration at this season of the year doubly dear to us. Telesphorus suffered a glorious martyrdom, as St. Ireneus expresses it, and was crowned with eternal glory in the year 138.



Telesphorus is traditionally reckoned as being the seventh Roman bishop in succession after Saint Peter. The Liber Pontificalis mentions that he had been an anchorite (or hermit) monk prior to assuming office. According to the testimony of Irenæus (Against Heresies III.3.3), he suffered a "glorious" martyrdom. Although most early popes are called martyrs by sources such as the Liber Pontificalis, Telesphorus is the first to whom Irenaeus, writing considerably earlier, gives this title.

Eusebius (Church History iv.7; iv.14) places the beginning of his pontificate in the twelfth year of the reign of Emperor Hadrian (128–129) and gives the date of his death as being in the first year of the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–139).

In Roman Martyrology, his feast is celebrated on 5 January;[4] the Greek Church celebrates it on 22 February.

The tradition of Christmas Midnight Masses, the celebration of Easter on Sundays, the keeping of a seven-week Lent before Easter and the singing of the Gloria are usually attributed to his pontificate, but some historians doubt that such attributions are accurate.

A fragment of a letter from Irenæus to Pope Victor I during the Easter controversy in the late 2nd century, also preserved by Eusebius, testifies that Telesphorus was one of the Roman bishops who always celebrated Easter on Sunday, rather than on other days of the week according to the calculation of the Jewish Passover. Unlike Victor, however, Telesphorus remained in communion with those communities that did not follow this custom.

The Carmelites venerate Telesphorus as a patron saint of the order since some sources depict him as a hermit living on Mount Carmel.

The town of Saint-Télesphore, in the southwestern part of Canada's Quebec province, is named after him.

Octivity of the Nativity

Octave of Christmas: Cooperation with God's Grace
by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876 "And the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that has come to pass, which the Lord hath showed to us."--Luke 2.

Octave of Christmas: Cooperation with God's Grace
by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876 "And the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that has come to pass, which the Lord hath showed to us."--Luke 2.

The joyous feast of Christmas once more fills with gladness the hearts of the children of the Church. It is the feast which bears the significant name of the gracious nativity of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ. For, in truth, the incarnation and birth of the Son of God are the source of all the graces which we have received through His life here on earth, and through His death. But that these graces may really serve unto our salvation, depends upon the care with which we dispose ourselves to receive them, and upon the earnestness of our co-operation.

To understand the nature of that co-operation, which may prove meritorious, we need only glance at the shepherds, and consider their mode of acting when the angel addressed to them the words imparting the glad tidings of the birth of the world's Redeemer: Today is born for you the Redeemer of the world--go to Bethlehem, and you will find the Infant lying in the manger. "Yes, let us go to Bethlehem," said they; and they hastened thither and found the child with Mary and Joseph.

A study of the conduct of the shepherds will show us how we may derive permanent profit from the holy feast of Christmas, and what dispositions we should have to receive with fruit the inspirations of grace. O Mary, look down upon us with that condescension with which thou didst regard the shepherds the first among the faithful, who paid homage to thy divine Child! I speak in the holy name of Jesus, to the greater honor of God!

In the first place, they were watchful shepherds. The inhabitants of Bethlehem were asleep; the shepherds were watching. This circumstance points to the first condition necessary to really perceive the call of grace, namely: we must walk in the presence of God in recollection of spirit. Why is it we feel so few inspirations of grace? Because we are not watchful. Christ says: Blessed are the servants whom the Lord finds watching. Even those who call themselves children of the Church, generally lead a life of carelessness; they are men of habit, they fulfill the duties of their state as Christians, but only superficially, and are mainly engaged in devising plans for the increase of their worldly profits. But how little attention at prayer and in the performance of their other religious duties! How often they fail to recognize and receive the inspirations of the Holy Ghost! This indolence and sleepiness in the service of God also prevents us from clearly seeing those faults which, through carelessness, precipitation, or impatience, find their way into our ordinary actions. Such lukewarm, sleepy souls also lose many opportunities of performing works of charity, and do not interest themselves in the least about the spiritual or temporal welfare of their neighbor.

The shepherds of that Christmas night were resolute men, resolute servants of the Lord. They did not say: Oh, it is night, and we had better wait till daybreak! No; but when they heard the words of the angel, they resolved to carry out at once the instructions given. Why is it, that in so many cases the inspirations of the Holy Ghost remain fruitless? I reply: Strong will is wanting, a strong will to accomplish not only in part but wholly all that we know to be the will of God, without wavering or excuse. This want of determination is an obstacle to the efficacy of grace, and prevents its bearing fruit. This weakness of will and want of resolution comes from an excessive care for temporal things, from an undue fear of mortal man; and finally from the difficulties connected with the accomplishment of a good work.

When the angel announced the glad tidings to the shepherds, they were tending their sheep; and yet they did not hesitate to leave their flocks and hasten to Bethlehem to seek the divine Child. How different the conduct of the majority of men when there is question of some worldly gain! They are all anxiety. They listen with eagerness to every advice, to every word regarding the advancement of their temporal affairs; but they are, so to say, blind and deaf, when the question of attending to their spiritual interests is urged upon them.

The shepherds determined upon going, and did not stop to consider what the inhabitants of Bethlehem might say when they came there to make inquiries for the Child,--to salute an Infant born in a rude stable, and to adore Him as the promised Messiah, the heir of the family of David. The fear of man is, alas! the reason why so many fail in their courage to follow the inspirations of grace. What will people say? is the discouraging impediment opposing them on all sides. They have an idea that if they walk fearlessly in the way of salvation the children of the world will regard them as ignorant, as slaves of the priests. And yet what little cause have we to fear the children of this world, who, in spiritual matters, are so ignorant and so short-sighted. If God is with us, who can be against us, or who can harm us?

The shepherds continued to listen to the echo of the Gloria which the angels sang, and thus assured themselves that God was with them. It was not a very pleasant task to wander through the streets of Bethlehem at night, to awaken the inhabitants from their slumbers, and make inquiries concerning the newly-born Child. But they disregarded these difficulties and obstacles, and hastened onward without delay. the world did not receive its Redeemer and Deliverer. "He came into His own, and His own received Him not." What so frequently renders the inspirations of grace fruitless, is our deficiency in self-denial; our love of ease is the great obstacle. It is true, we make good resolutions at times, but we postpone the fulfillment of them, and thus never accomplish them.

The shepherds found the Infant and adored Him, and offered Him their hearts; and, as tradition teaches, they also presented Him with such gifts as their poverty would allow. That which gives efficacy to the inspirations of grace, is the spirit of prayer and of devotion in our spiritual, intercourse with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. But it is especially the intercourse we hold with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Yes, here is Bethlehem, the city of bread, where Jesus lies in the tabernacle as in a crib, shrouded in the white raiments of the sacramental species. What a fountain of grace here discloses itself to our view! Would that we but profited by it as we might!

We really have no cause to envy the shepherds and their happiness, in being allowed to behold the Infant Jesus once, and to adore Him. We are permitted to visit the same Infant Jesus every day, and even to receive Him into our hearts. Thus our hearts become, as it were, the crib, and we are enabled through Christ, as children of God, to taste of heaven's joys, even while yet living on this earth.

The shepherds praised and thanked God for the favor they had received. Not without reason does the Church call the Blessed Sacrament the Sacrament of thanksgiving. O Infant Jesus, filled with these sentiments we prostrate ourselves before Thee with the shepherds, and with them we worship Thee! Bless us, as Thou hast blessed them, and save us through the power and the graces of Thy coming into this world! Amen!

 

 

 

The HOLY NAME OF JESUS

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

For those of you who read this yesterday, I apologize.  I made a mistake.


This day is for the Holy Name of Jesus, when He shed His first Blood for us. The following says it all:

January 2, 2017
'In the Name of Jesus let every knee bow(*), of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and let every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.' (Phil. 2, 10-11)

*Kneeling: For example, bending the knees and kneeling for Holy Communion?!

The following is taken from a 1891 book entitled HALF HOURS WITH THE SERVANTS OF GOD, concerning this day. It was written by a Jesuit, Pere Nouet.

'A true devotion to the Holy Name will help to obtain our own sanctification; for in saving our own souls, we accomplish the greatest desire of our Saviour, and we contribute on our part to do that which adds an additional glory to Him, which is our own salvation.

Our salvation depends, on the one part, on Him; on the other, ourselves. On His part He has abundantly supplied us with all that was necessary to complete the work of that grand, important, and sole hope of a happy eternity. He has cured all our infirmities; He has given us preservatives and wholesome remedies against all our vicious habits; He has delivered us from the power of the devil; He has reconciled us with His Eternal Father; He has paid all our debts; He has surmounted every obstacle to our salvation, and, through excess of love, He has shed His Blood, and after suffering excruciating pains He expired on the Cross. But, after all, if we do not make a good use of His graces, all that He has done and suffered will be in vain, inasmuch as we deprive Him of the glory of His Holy Name...

...Listen, then, to the voice of the Blood of that Redeemer Who beseeches you, by virtue of His Name and the excess of His love, to help Him to make His Name efficacious by saving souls, and by making them partakers of the fruit of His Precious Blood.'


Lord, that we may listen to that voice. Please?