Monday, December 23, 2024

Monday Night at the Movies

Christian Carion, Joyeux Noel, 2005.

Christopher’s Corner

Jesse Tree ornament: Jesus is King of the Gentiles: Psalm 2:7-8; Ephesians 2:14-20 Symbols: crown, scepter

· "Golden Nights" (December 16 to 24)

· Round Steak and Mushrooms

· Christmas Novena

· Festivus

· How to celebrate Dec 23rd

o You wake up on a day that calls for movie marathons, feats of strength, and celebrating your origins. Start by cozying up with classic Christmas movies. Make some popcorn, turn on the TV, and settle in for hours of festive film fun. Next, embrace the spirit of Festivus by airing grievances and engaging in a friendly wrestling match. It’s all in good fun! For National Roots Day, explore your ancestry online or call a relative to chat about your family history. End the day with a hearty meal that pays tribute to your roots – maybe a dish that’s been passed down through generations. Remember, the key is to enjoy yourself and embrace the offbeat spirit of these holidays. So whether you’re laughing at a cheesy holiday movie, wrestling with a loved one, or learning about your heritage, make the most of this unique day!

33 days to Christmas-Start the 33 days to Eucharistic Glory[3]

Want to start a small group? Download our 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory Study Guide

Day 32

On this 32^nd day the reception of the Eucharist gives us hope of eternal life

Copilot

The reception of the Eucharist provides Catholics with hope of eternal life in several profound ways:

1. Union with the Risen Christ: The Eucharist is a participation in the life of the risen Christ. This union reassures believers of the reality of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life.

2. Foretaste of Heaven: The Eucharist is often described as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. This glimpse into the eternal joy that awaits believers strengthens their hope and anticipation of eternal life with God.

3. Promise of Jesus: Jesus Himself promised eternal life to those who eat His Body and drink His Blood. This promise, reaffirmed each time the Eucharist is received, instills a deep sense of hope in the believer’s heart.

4. Renewal of Covenant: The Eucharist renews the covenant between God and His people. This renewal is a reminder of God’s unwavering commitment and the eternal life He offers through Jesus.

5. Celebration of the Paschal Mystery: By participating in the Eucharist, believers commemorate Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection, which are the foundation of the Christian hope in eternal life.

6. Strength and Grace: The spiritual strength and grace received from the Eucharist empower believers to persevere in their faith journey, reinforcing their hope in the promise of eternal life.

7. Community of Believers: Sharing in the Eucharist with the faith community strengthens the collective hope of eternal life, fostering a sense of unity and shared destiny.

8. Reflection on Christ’s Sacrifice: Reflecting on Jesus' sacrificial love during the Eucharist reminds believers of the eternal life He secured for them through His death and resurrection.

9. Inspiration to Live for God: The Eucharist inspires believers to live a life dedicated to God, with the hope and expectation of eternal reward.

10. Overcoming Fear of Death: The assurance of eternal life through the Eucharist helps believers overcome the fear of death, knowing that they are destined for eternal communion with God.

11. Spiritual Nourishment: The grace and spiritual nourishment received through the Eucharist provide the strength to remain faithful and hopeful in the journey toward eternal life.

12. Reinforcement of Faith: Regular reception of the Eucharist deepens faith and trust in God’s promises, including the promise of eternal life.

13. Hope Amid Suffering: The Eucharist offers consolation and hope amid suffering and trials, reminding believers that their ultimate destiny is eternal joy with God.

Through these ways, the Eucharist continually reinforces and deepens the hope of eternal life for Catholics, guiding them on their spiritual journey with the promise of everlasting communion with God.

DECEMBER 23 Monday of the Fourth Week in Advent

Luke, Chapter 1, verse 65-75

⁶⁵ Then FEAR came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. ⁶⁷Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: ⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant, ⁷⁰ even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:⁷¹ salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷² to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant ⁷³ and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that,⁷⁴ rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

When God Makes Us Righteous, He Means It[1]

Some Protestants believe, contrary to Catholic teaching, that our justification doesn’t consist in us being intrinsically righteous. Rather, God merely declares us righteous, whereby we receive Christ’s personal righteousness, and God treats us just as he treats Christ. In other words, God sees Christ when he sees us.

To make their case, these Protestants will often appeal to 2 Corinthians 5:21, where Paul writes, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Just as Christ is said to be sin when he wasn’t, so the argument goes, so too sinners are reckoned to be righteous (“become the righteousness of God”) when they aren’t. And if we’re reckoned righteous without being intrinsically righteous, then it must be Christ’s righteousness that we receive.

Advent Calendar

Read: Have you blessed your Christmas tree yet? Prepare to do so before Advent is over.

Reflect: "To be fully a disciple of Jesus means not only accepting and believing his message, but also taking up and participating in the mission of encountering and inviting others to join our pilgrim journey to his heavenly kingdom."

Pray: Add this "O Antiphon" to your daily or meal-time prayer today: "O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!" (Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, Revised Edition, 77)

· Decide which Mass you will attend at midnight, dawn, or day.

The Three Feasts of the Nativity[2]

When we celebrate Christmas, we are commemorating the three nativities of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the reason for the three Masses celebrated. The first is the eternal begetting of God the Son from all eternity within the mystery of the Blessed Trinity by the Father, “You are My Son. Today I have begotten You.”

· This FIRST NATIVITY was before the seven days of Creation, when everything was darkness. This is why the first Mass is at midnight to recall the darkness that prevailed during that first eternal birth of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

o The first nativity reminds us of the Spirit of poverty, the Spirit that tells us that all the things God created is His, to be used for His glory and not for man’s enjoyment. Even man was to use himself for the glory of God. This represents the six days of creation. If Adam, being the head of creation, had observed the spirit of poverty and used all of creation for the glory of God, then he would have entered into the Sabbath, God’s rest… i.e. eternal happiness. But Adam messed up everything. And the consequence: the whole of mankind could not enter God’s rest.

· The SECOND NATIVITY, or birth, of the Second Person of the Trinity is commemorated on Christmas day when He became man, born of the Virgin Mary, in Bethlehem. For the world, the darkness was beginning to be dispelled. This is why the second Mass is celebrated at dawn when the dawn is beginning to dispel the darkness.

o The second nativity reminds us of the Spirit of chastity. That Spirit reminds us to give up all physical comforts, pleasure and conveniences. And Christ in the manger is a clear example of this. It is a continuous reminder that true happiness can only be found in God and that we are on earth to seek God. All the rest will come with that find. True rest can only be found in God.

· The THIRD NATIVITY of Christ is when He is born in our souls, through His in-dwelling, when man, through grace, becomes enlightened. Thus, the third Mass is celebrated during the day when the sun is bright. For man is truly enlightened when he has Christ in his soul.

o The third nativity reminds us of the Spirit of obedience. It is only when we can say, “Not my will but Your will be done,” can Christ be born in our souls. The apostolic commission at the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel reiterates this, reminding us of the role of the Church and the men of the Church: “… teach all My commands and how to observe them.”

Christmas reminds us of one lesson. Christ was born to die. For us the message is clear. We are born to die to oneself. And to die to oneself means reaching a point in our lives when we no longer do our own will but the will of the Father in heaven. This is to lose one’s life in order to find it. If we have learned the lessons of the first nativity, if we have learned the lesson of the second nativity, our reward is the third nativity, when Christ is born in our souls…. indeed, our eternal Christmas. This is truly a Merry Christmas.

— Excerpted from Fr. Odon de Castro, Bo. San Isidro, Magalang, Pampanga, Philippines

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

SECTION TWO-THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

CHAPTER ONE-THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION

Article 3-THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST

IN BRIEF

Day 194

1406 Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).

1407 The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church.

1408 The Eucharistic celebration always includes: the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship.

1409 The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action.

1410 It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. and it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.

1411 Only validly ordained priests can preside at the Eucharist and consecrate the bread and the wine so that they become the Body and Blood of the Lord.

1412 The essential signs of the Eucharistic sacrament are wheat bread and grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked and the priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper: "This is my body which will be given up for you.... This is the cup of my blood...."

1413 By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651).

1414 As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.

1415 Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.

1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.

1417 The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion each time they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year.

1418 Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is . . . a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord" (Paul VI, MF 66).

1419 Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.