Second Sunday after Epiphany
ORTHODOX NEW YEAR
Sirach, Chapter 19, Verse 24
Better are the God-fearing who have little understanding than
those of great intelligence who violate the Law.
Hmm do you think lawyers will be able to adjudicate their judgment
by Christ? Simple faith begins in love.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
IN BRIEF
2392 "Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every
human being" (FC 11).
2393 By creating the human
being man and woman, God gives personal dignity equally to the one and the
other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual
identity.
2394 Christ is the model of chastity. Every baptized person is
called to lead a chaste life, each according to his particular state of life.
2395 Chastity means the integration of sexuality within the person.
It includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery.
2396 Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are masturbation,
fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices.
2397 The covenant which spouses have freely entered into entails
faithful love. It imposes on them the obligation to keep their marriage indissoluble.
2398 Fecundity is a good, a gift and an end of marriage. By giving
life, spouses participate in God's fatherhood.
2399 The regulation of births represents one of the aspects of
responsible fatherhood and motherhood. Legitimate intentions on the part of the
spouses do not justify recourse to morally unacceptable means (for example,
direct sterilization or contraception).
2400 Adultery, divorce, polygamy, and free union are grave offenses
against the dignity of marriage.
Second Sunday after Epiphany[1]
Christ manifests His divinity and His mystical union with the Church
with His first miracle at the Wedding of Cana.
GOSPEL. John ii. 1-11
At that time there was a
marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the Mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was
invited, and His disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the Mother
of Jesus saith to Him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what
is to Me and to thee? My hour is not yet come. His Mother saith to the waiters:
Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye. Now there were set there six water-pots
of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two
or three measures apiece. Jesus saith to them: Fill the water-pots with water.
And they filled them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now and
carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it. And when the
chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but
the waiters knew who had drawn the water: the chief steward calleth the bridegroom,
and saith to him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine, and when men have
well drank, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until
now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His
glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
Why was Jesus present at the wedding with His Mother and disciples?
1. In order there to reveal His majesty, and by that means to establish and
confirm the belief in His divinity. 2. To show that marriage is pleasing to
God. 3. To let us understand how pious the bridegroom and bride were. 4. To
teach us that those pleasures are permitted which are in accordance with reason
and Christianity, and neither sinful nor leading to sin.
Why did Mary intercede for the bride and bridegroom when the wine was
failing? She was sorry for them, for she is the tender-hearted mediatrix of
the afflicted and destitute. Besides, the number of the guests had been
considerably increased by the presence of Jesus and His disciples, so that the
wine was not sufficient for all.
What is the meaning of the words, “Woman, what is that to
Me and to thee?” According
to the idiom of the Hebrew language, they mean as much as, Mother, be not anxious; I will provide
the wine as
soon as the hour appointed by My Father is come. Jesus did not mean to
rebuke His Mother, but He
thus
gave her
and all
who were present, to understand that He
had
not received the
power of working miracles as the son of woman, but that He possessed it as the
Son of God, and should use it according to the will of His Father.
Orthodox New Year[2]
·
Russian Orthodox churches in the United States
hold church services often with festive dinner and dancing to celebrate the
holiday. The traditional dishes include meat dumplings, beet salad,
pickled mushrooms, tomatoes, and cucumbers along with vodka.
·
Orthodox Serbians also celebrate Old New Year,
which is sometimes called the Serbian New Year. Many Serbians Orthodox
churches hold services, followed by dinner, and dancing.
·
Although the Old New Year is a popular holiday
for many practicing the Orthodox faith, it isn't an official holiday.
·
Macedonians, including those living in the
United States, also celebrate Old New Year's with traditional food, folk music,
and visiting friends and family.
·
Many Russians enjoy extending the holiday season
by including Orthodox New Year in it.
Orthodox New Year Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Enjoy a dinner dance at Orthodox Church with
native cuisine folk music.
·
Learn to cook some Russian or Eastern European
dishes. One of the most important Russian dishes during the holiday
season is kutya, a porridge made of grain, honey and poppy seeds. It
symbolizes hope, happiness, and success.
·
Rent a movie Dr. Zhivago (1965). It
depicts some of the lavish parties held during the holidays right before the
Russian Revolution. The film is based on the 1957 novel by Boris
Pasternak.
Please pray for the intentions of
my daughter Candace Faith, whose name means “Shining Faith” pray that the “Candace
can do miracles”!
49
Godly Character Traits[3]
During
this New Year let us take up the nature of God by reflecting on these traits
that make us a model for our children and our sisters and brothers in Christ.
Today reflect on:
Virtue vs.
Impurity
The moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiate from my life as I obey God’s Word (II Peter 1:3)
1055 By
virtue of the "communion of saints," the Church commends the dead to
God's mercy and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of the
Eucharist, on their behalf.
1833 Virtue
is a habitual and firm disposition to do good.
1995 The
Holy Spirit is the master of the interior life. By giving birth to the
"inner man," justification entails the sanctification of
his whole being:
Just as you once
yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now
yield your members to righteousness for sanctification. . . . But now
that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return
you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life.
Daily
Devotions
·
Nineveh 90 Day 14
·
Please pray for me and this ministry
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