Redland Catholic

Some Easter Poems

APOSTLE TO THE APOSTLES
In the upper room
weary frightened disciples
a woman brings news

VIGIL
Chants by candlelight
listening watching praying
stouthearted souls wait

PASCHAL FIRE
Lit by holy fire
Flame of Christ's eternal light
The Paschal Candle

EARLY ONE MORNING {Haiku in 2 stanzas}
Dawn in a garden
Women find an empty tomb
The stone rolled away

An angel's greeting
"The one you seek is not here."
The Lord has Risen!
(Image source)

HALLELUIA
Sing Halleluia!
Rejoice you Heavens and Earth!
Shout Halleluia!

CHRIST'S VICTORY
Death where is thy sting?
Christ has died, Christ has risen,
Christ will come again!

DOUBTING THOMAS
He hears the good news
He wants to see for himself
We believe and see

EASTER LILLIES
Beneath the altar
Easter lillies like trumpets
Cry ALLELUIA!

EASTER CINQUAIN
Resurrection
Glorious Victorious
Arise Live Rejoice
Christ has defeated death  --  ALLELUIA!

Alleluia!

From the Pope's Urbi et Orbi (a must read if you haven't already):

Dear Brothers and sisters, through the wounds of the Risen Christ we can see the evils which afflict humanity with the eyes of hope.  In fact, by his rising the Lord has not taken away suffering and evil from the world but has vanquished them at their roots by the superabundance of his grace. He has countered the arrogance of evil with the supremacy of his love.   He has left us the love that does not fear death, as the way to peace and joy. “Even as I have loved you – he said to his disciples before his death – so you must also love one another” (cf. Jn 13:34)

Wishing Everyone a Blessed and Glorious Easter Season!  Continue reading this post for more on the Easter Vigil service.

(Image Source)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I have added more pictures my Ireland Photo album, so enjoy!  More on St. Patrick here.  And from one of my favorite prayers:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

Happy Purim!

Purim (began sundown yesterday and will end sundown tomorrow) is not a Catholic holiday, but I do have Jewish reletives, so I wish a Happy Purim to my Jewish friends and relatives!  This holiday has to do with the story of Queen Esther, as told in the Old Testament Book of Esther.

In a nutshell (from the http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/esther/intro.htm):

It tells the story of the plot of Haman the Agagite, jealous and powerful vizier of King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) of Persia (485-464 B.C.), to destroy in a single day all the Jews living in the Persian Empire...She [Esther] averts the pogrom planned against her people and has the royal decree of extermination reversed against Haman and the enemies of the Jews.

More on the story and holiday from a Jewish perspective here: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.html.  A recently released movie called One Night with the King tells Esther's story in a romanticized way.

Catholics observing Lent can reflect on this story.  A passage from Esther was read at Mass on Thursday.  Read the Book of Esther this weekend, paying special attention to Esther's penitence and prayer, and visit the Vultus Christi blog for more.

Resources for Lent

**Today (2/20) is Fat Tuesday, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.  I have changed the "theme" colors of my blog for Lent.  If you haven't made plans for Lent yet and you are a Roman Catholic, now is the time!  This post, and my "More Lent resources" post have links to some of the resources I will be using throughout the season.

Lent begins next Wednesday (February 21), and it's time to start making preparations.  I haven't decided for sure how I will spend my Lent (what my penance will be), but I am pretty sure I'm going to spend more time reading and less time on the computer and watching TV.  I especially want to make a good Lent this year, because this is probably my last Lent before I enter religious life (more on this later).  Here are some books and resources I plan on using:

The Bible - RSV or NAB. 

The Magnificat Lenten Companion and Magazine

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis

When Did We See You, Lord by Fr. Benedict Groeschel C.F.R and Bishop Robert J. Baker

Heaven: Obstacles and Opportunities Audio Set by Fr. Vincent Serpa

Lent and Easter Wisdom from John Paul II (Catholic Answers is running a special on this book and Fr. Vincent's CDs here)

Catholic Culture's Lent Pages (check out the "Personal Program" section for help in deciding how to spend this Lent).

Stations of the Cross: There are several available online.  EWTN has some good ones in their Document Library, including those of Cardinal Newman and John Paul II.  Also check out Catholic Culture's (Designed to be viewed online).

Confession: I use Fr. Richard Rego's Contemporary Adult Guide to Conscience as well as this web page to help examine my conscience.

The Rosary: There are many good books and CDs out there, I use The Scriptural Rosary and Praying the Rosary with St. Therese of Lisieux.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: http://www.therealpresence.org/index.html

Check http://www.masstimes.org for times for confession, mass, and adoration in your area.

Prayers for everyone who visits this web page - I won't be posting very often or spending as much time on the computer or watching TV during Lent.  Hopefully this will make more time for spiritual reading and prayer.

Merry Christmas

This will be my last post for a while - may you have a Blessed Christmas!

Please keep me and my family in your prayers!

Holy Day of Obligation on Christmas

Christmas is a Holy Day of obligation this year.  I think a lot of people are wondering if they have to go to Mass on Sunday as well as Monday, since Christmas falls on a Monday.  The answer is yes, Roman Catholics are to go to Mass on both the 4th Sunday of Advent and Christmas Day.  Going to one Mass will not satisfy both the Sunday Obligation and the Holy Day of Obligation.  So, you can go to Mass Saturday evening or Sunday morning/afternoon, then again on Sunday night or Monday morning.

I am disappointed with my pastor this year, because he is usually very clear on this issue and always encourages people to come to Mass on Holy Days ("It's a Holy day of obligation, not a holy day of option".  But this year, two of the Sunday Masses (the 11 am which most people attend and the Spanish one at 1 pm) are cancelled, and we got a plea after Mass on Sunday to give more money at the Christmas Mass since there won't be as many Masses on Sunday :(  This is especially disappointing because I know other parishes in the area have placed notices in their bulletins explaining that there is no "two-for-one special" as Anastasia puts it.  Oh, well.  I will probably go to a 5 pm Mass on Saturday, since I will be reading at Midnight Mass.  Then I will fly out to visit the Little Sisters of the Poor on Christmas morning.  Wow - these weeks have gone by so fast!

Holy Day of Obligation December 8 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Mary concieved without sin pray for us who have recourse to Thee!

On December 8th, Roman Catholics observe the Solemnity of  the Immaculate Conception.  Many people understand that the term "Immaculate Conception" refers to the moment when Jesus was concieved miraculously in Mary's womb.  This is incorrect.  The Immaculate Conception, in fact, is Our Lady.  Since Mary's birthday is celebrated on September 8, we celebrate the anniversary of her Immaculate Conception on December 8.  The doctrine teaches that Mary was concieved in the normal way, but preserved from the stain of Original Sin from the moment she was concieved.  Under the title of the Immaculate Conception, she is the patroness of the United States.  We need her intercession now more than ever!

In a nutshell, the Church teaches that

"the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin." (See Ineffabilis Deus by Pope Pius IX)

If you are Roman Catholic in the United States, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a holy day of obligation, which means Catholics are required to attend Mass. If you're not sure what times Mass will be celebrated in your area, check out http://www.masstimes.org or check your local parish's website.

For more, you can read Ineffabilis Deus, and visit http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/calendar/day.cfm?date=2006-12-08 or http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/calendar/day.cfm?date=2006-12-08

December 7 - Feast of St. Ambrose

I know I'm a little late but I wanted to share a beautiful prayer I found that is attributed to St. Ambrose of Milan (whose Feast Day is today).  It is very appropriate for the Advent Season:

Lord, teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me when I seek you. For I cannot seek you unless you first teach me, nor find you unless you first reveal yourself to me. Let me seek you in longing and long for you in seeking. Let me find you in love, and love you in finding.

St. Ambrose's story is quite interesting, you can visit http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta07.htm to read more about him (this was also where I found my prayer).

Solemnity of Christ the King

Sunday 11/26 is the feast of Chist the King, and the last Sunday of the Liturgical year.  Advent begins Sunday December 23rd. 

The Feast of Christ the King was established in 1925 to combat increasing secularism.  How appropriate that it falls the day after the biggest shopping day of the year!  How will you spend this day?  I plan on attempting to make an Advent Wreath, I got the materials on sale yesterday (well, at least I wasn't waiting at 4:00 AM for the stores to open!).  The Feast of Christ the King will end the Liturgical Year and lead us into Advent, the season when Catholics pray and do penance in preparation for the coming of Our King.  With all the talk of the "Christmas wars" I think our greatest battle is against the secularization and commercialization of this Holy Day.  We all have lots of shopping to do, there are sweets and treats to be eaten, we have presents and feasts to look forward to, and end of year reports and work to dread.  Advent helps us keep our priorities straight during the crazinesss of this season.  I have my tree up but will leave it undecorated until next weekend.  I have some Holy Cards to add to it this year, either Saints who have Feast days during Advent, or other Saints who have a part in the Christmas story.

This Advent is going to be short (the last Sunday of Advent will be Christmas Eve), so I will use next week as a "pre-Advent."  I have a lot of preparation to do, since I will be spending a couple of weeks with the Little Sisters of the Poor.  This visit will probably be when I decide whether or not to apply to enter their order, so I am asking for prayers from anyone who may run across my blog!