Year of Grace Series: Chapter 6 Part 2 Different types of philosophies

Different Stances of Philosophy:

There are certain different stances of philosophy with regard to Christian faith.  In brief these are:

    (a) Philosophy completely independent of the Gospels Revelation.

    (b) Christian Philosophy.

    (c) When theology calls upon philosophy.

 A brief summary in respect of reach follows:

(a) Philosophy completely independent of the Gospels Revelation.

This is the philosophy that took shape before the birth of Christ, and in other areas not touched by the Gospel.  Such a philosophy obeyed its own rules and employed the powers of reason alone.  As a search for truth within the natural order, it should be supported and strengthened.  Valid autonomy of thought should be respected, as the results attained are universally valid, provided arguments in favour use rigorous rational criteria.

However some modern philosophers reject this approach and adopt a ‘separate’ philosophy in which the truth offered by divine Revelation is ignored to its own detriment.

(b)   Christian Philosophy.

There is not an official philosophy of the Church, since the faith as such is not a philosophy.  Nevertheless Christian philosophy includes those important developments of philosophical thinking, which would not have happened without the direct or indirect contribution of Christian faith.

Christian philosophy is not only subjective but also objective.  It is subjective in the sense that faith purifies reason.  There are questions to be resolved such as the problem of evil and suffering, the personal nature of God and the meaning of life.  Also ‘why is there something rather than nothing?’

Christian philosophy is objective when dealing with content.  Revelation has disclosed the truth that there is a God who created the world, that there is sin in the world responsible for the problem of evil, and that a person is a spiritual being.  The Christian proclamation of human dignity equality and freedom has influenced modern philosophical thought.  History has been important for  a philosophy in the search for truth.

Christian philosophy when reviewing the truth in Sacred Scriptures will discover that man has a supernatural vocation and that there was original sin.  Reason is required to be challenged to recognise such truth, and to look further than it normally would.

It is a fact than many philosophers in recent centuries have abandoned Christian orthodoxy, even though a good part of modern and contemporary philosophy would not exist without the stimulus of the word of God.

(c) When theology calls upon philosophy.

Theology has always and still needs philosophy’s contribution to demonstrate and confirm the intelligibility and universal truth of its claims.

Historically philosophy has retained its autonomy, which remains unimpaired when called upon by theology in its research of providing a critical reason, concept and argument in the light of faith.

From the patristic period onwards, philosophy has served throughout history to indicate the link between itself and theology and the impossibility of their separation.

Theologians need philosophers and vice versa otherwise the grounding principle of autonomy which every science rightly wants guaranteed would be seriously threatened.  Philosophy must respect the truths of faith whenever it engages theology.

The reason why the Magisterium favours Saint Thomas Aquinas’s thought and made him the guide and model for theological studies, is because his is an authentic model of all who seek the truth.  His reason and power of faith were a magnificent example to emulate.

The Pope pointed out philosophy must obey its own rules and its own principles yet truth can only be one.  Revelation can never debase the discoveries and legitimate autonomy of reason, which must never lose its capacity to question and be questioned.  Christian Revelation is an integral focus between philosophical and theological thinking.  The Pope hopes that there will emerge philosophy consonant with the word of God, so that a point of understanding between believer and non-believer will emerge.  Believers will be helped to strengthen their faith when their thought is found to be in union with God’s word.

Gospel of Mark Series: A healing in the Decapolis of the deaf and dumb man Chapter 7:31-37

Welcome to my Gospel of Mark Series. During 2012-13, each week, I will write a post about the Gospel of Mark as I review and explore each of the 16 chapters and how it may be applied in our daily lives. My goal is to understand and pray the Gospel of Mark.  I hope you will join me on this journey as we travel through the liturgical season of Year B.  In today's post, we explore chapter 7: 31-37 which is called a  healing in the  Decapolis.

Jesus continues His journey into the Decapolis.  To go from Tyre, south-east to the Lake of Galilee by first going north to Sidon, then east of the Decapolis, then west to the lake is hardly a direct route.  Mark's aim, however, is not geographical detail, but to portray Jesus as missionary, one who goes with His disciples to people in different places, even outside Israel, as they once came to Him.  For Mark, it is in Galilee and nearby places that the gospel is first announced and believed.  Only later does Jesus go south to Jerusalem. 

The people bring a deaf and dumb man, one unable to speak properly, and they ask Jesus to touch him and heal him. Jesus takes the man apart from the unbelieving crowed and the healing in private.  Such a context, away from the surrounding unbelief, invites our faith to contemplate devoutly how Jesus frees this man from evil.

With His fingers He touches the man's deaf ears. With spittle from his mouth he touches the man's twisted tongue. He looks up to God and sighs with sorrow for the man's condition.  The human actions of Jesus manifest divine power.  The prophet Isaiah says God would heal the deaf and the dumb when He came to free His people ( Is35:4-5). the crowd is astonished ''beyond measure'' the strongest statement of surprise at a miracle in all of Mark's Gospel.

 Notice the order in which Jesus heals Him- the ears and then the tongue. We need to hear the word first before we are able to proclaim it.  What does this gospel passage mean for us?  A really deaf person is anyone who does hot hear the gospel and believe in God. A really dumb person is one who does not proclaim the gospel of God and share it with others.

In our journal and/or our discussion group we may wish to reflect on this passage as follows:

• Name the key points that you have learnt about the person of Jesus in this passage of scripture?
• Reflect on the keywords in this passage for they contain the substance and purpose of all the things Jesus said and did- ?  
• Imagine that you are in the crowd when Jesus heals this man.  What do you see and hear and feel. What can I learn from this?
• Imagine that you yourself are the one touched and healed by Jesus. What do you feel? 
• Try to enter into the feeling of Jesus's sorrow as He sighs to His Father.  
• Reflect on my relationship with Jesus and this teaching in the light of this gospel passage. What are my experiences of  asking God for healing for others
• What are some things in my life that I can ask God for healing?  Make a list of areas in my life that need a change of heart and develop an action plan on how this change of heart might occur. (eg name an area and name one/two changes that you will implement with God's help.
• What impact does Jesus’ teaching have on you (7:31-37).
• How has this passage spoken to you- what does it say to you personally

Year of Grace Series: Faith and Reason Chapter 6: The Interaction between Philosophy and Theology (Part 1)

The Knowledge of Faith and the demands of philosophical reason.

The word of God is addressed to all people everywhere.  Theology must have regard to the philosophies developed through the Ages in order to understand God’s word in the light of faith.  The Pope desires to recall some specific tasks of theology, which, by the very nature of the revealed word, demand recourse to philosophical enquiry.

Theology has two methodological principles to follow, viz

1. To absorb the content of Revelation, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Church’s Magisterium. 
2. To respond to the specific demands of disciplined thought. With regard to (1), philosophy helps theology in the study of the structure of knowledge and personal communication including forms and functioning of languages.  The theologians are also required to explain the Church’s teachings and the philosophical underpinnings of those teachings so that they are correctly interpreted.

With regard to (2), theology must grasp the logical and conceptual structure of the Church’s teachings which are designed to provide salvation for the individual and for humanity.  This culminates in the person of Jesus Christ and in his Pascal Mystery.  Believers then share in this mystery by their assent of faith.

Theology comprises:

• Dogmatic Theology.
• Fundamental Theology.
• Moral Theology.
  
  

A brief description of each follows:

Dogmatic theology must be able through concepts formed critically and understood universally, to make clear the universal meaning of God and men’s salvation by way of argument.  Without philosophy’s contribution this would nigh be impossible.  The believer must acquire a true knowledge of created realities of the world and man, whilst dogmatic theology implies a philosophy of the human being, who can recognise objective truth as its foundation.

Fundamental theology is required to justify and expound the relationship between faith and philosophical thought.  It should show how, in the light of the knowledge conferred by faith, there emerge certain truths which reason from its own independent enquiry, already perceives.

Revelation makes these truths clearer and more meaningful.  There is a natural knowledge of God, and divine Revelation can be distinguished from other phenomena so that the mind can accept Revelation without in any way compromising the principles and autonomy of the mind itself.  Faith, which is a gift from God, is not based on reason, although reason needs to be reinforced by faith to discover other truths which it cannot reach on its own.

Moral theology requires a sound philosophical vision of human nature and society, including being able to make ethical decision when needed.  Christians receive from the Gospel and other Apostolic writing God’s teaching as to how to lead a good life by exercising their conscience and power of their reason.

There is some objection to theologians having to rely solely on philosophy, when they are other avenues such as history, sciences, people’s traditions and cultural pluralism available to guide them.

There is some truth in these objections, but to reject a typical philosophical and critical thinking of a universal nature would be naive, because it is truth alone and not different worldviews that can help theology.

From the time the Gospel was first preached, it was realised that different cultures created difficulties in passing on the universality of its message.

But once the Gentiles embrace the faith they were transformed and the different cultures which they followed collapsed.  Jesus destroyed the walls of division and created unity in a new and unsurpassed way through sharing in his mystery. People became saints and members of the household of God.  Faith’s encounter with different cultures has created something new.

Cultures of people share their history and human life experiences.  Such cultures require communication of values, but need to be open to receive new experiences.  Lying deep in every culture there is a need for fulfillment so as to receive divine Revelation.

To every culture Christians bring the unchanging truth of God, which He reveals in the history and culture of a people.  The proclamation of the Gospel in different cultures allows people to preserve their own cultural identity, without creating division amongst the baptised.

No one culture can claim to be pre-eminent to the exclusion of all other cultures, as regards the truth of God’s revelation.  The Gospel is not opposed to any culture, but rather thinks believers bring a genuine liberation from all the disorder caused by sin, and at the same, time, a call to the fullness of truth.  Cultures are improved by the Gospel’s truth and develop in new ways.

The Church nowadays has problems regarding inculturation which the first centuries did not encounter.

The Pope referred to India as a case in point where there are rich heritages to be tapped.  The Council’s Declaration  ‘Nostra Aetate’ provides certain criteria to be kept in mind when dealing with disparate cultures.  These, in brief, are:

• Universality of the Human spirit.
• Basic needs are similar to most other cultures.
• The Church must not reject the heritage derived from the Greco-Latin thought when first dealing with Indian cultures and other Eastern Cultures.
• This approach is valid for every age both now and in the future.
• It would be wrong for the Indian cultural tradition to remain closed to any other tradition.  The same applies to cultural traditions in China, Japan, Asian countries and Africa.
  
  

The relationship between theology and philosophy is like a circle.  Theology starts from the word of God revealed in history.  God’s word is truth as God cannot lie.  Philosophy helps people to understand God’s word better, by requiring men and women to use their powers of reason to gain further insights into the search for truth and to avoid paths which would lead it to stray from revealed Truth.  Reason discovers new and unsuspected horizons because it is enhanced by philosophy in understanding God’s Truth.

This relationship has been confirmed over the years by many distinguished philosophers such as Saint Gregory of Naziagus, Saint Augustine, Saint Anselm, Saint Bonaventure, Saint Thomas Aquinas, John Henry Newman, Antonio Rossmine, Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, Edith Stein (now a Saint), Vladimir Soloviev, Pavel A Florensky, Petr Chaadaev, and Vladimir P Lossky.

The Pope’s hope was that the work inspired by such people would encourage others to search for truth and to apply their results to the service of humanity, whilst using the philosophical and theological tradition in the process.

Opening Prayer Series: Collect for 24th Sunday Year B.

The Collect for the 24th Sunday of Year B reads as follows:

Let us pray

Look upon us O God,

Creator and Ruler of all things,

and, that we may feel the working of Your mercy,

grant that we may serve You will all our heart.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, 

who lives and reign with You 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God for ever and ever.

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1. What does it mean for my life for God to be Creator?
2. What does it mean for my life for God to be ruler?
3. What does God's mercy mean to me?
4. What does it mean to me to serve God with all my heart?
5. What hinders me from serving God with all my heart?
6. How will I change one hinderance this coming week?
7. How am I progressing in my spiritual growth in this Year of Grace.

In today's Gospel we have the first climax in Mark's Gospel which was said in vs 1 of chapter 1-

                                 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus is name the Christ, or Messiah. After his death, he will be publically names Son of God.

Jesus first asked what outsiders, people who are not disciples say about Him.  Various answers are given which identify him with great frigures from Israel's past. Then Jesus asks His disciples:

                                             ''But who do you say that I am?''

Peter names Him the Messiah, which means Christ, the anointed by God for the divine task of revealing His power to Israel.  Peter is thinking of the popular expactation of a worldly and political Messiah and is yet to learn what kind of Messiah Jesus really is, and the way He will show Himself as God's Son. 

The teachng which Jesus now begins to give His disciples is about the kind of Messiah He will be and is a formation in the way He wants His disciples to follow.  Peter and the disciples do not understand the prophecy of his death and resurrection that Jesus gives them, since they are fixed on their own popular version of what the Messiah will be.  Jesus rebukes Peter not only for his human thinking, but that he still needs to be formed as a true disciple. He calls him Satan, one who opposed the plans of God.

We too need to answer the question  'But who do you say that I am?''. We need to answer it each day, perhaps several times a day to be a true disciple and remain that way. Every day has its challenges, but if Jesus is truly the Christ, the anointed one to us and is number 1 in our hearts, then we will act accordingly, not by our  own human thinking of what we would like Christ to be.

Let us answer the question 'But who do you say that I am?''. and resolve to be true disciples.

Feast Day Series: Our Lady of Sorrows.

The title, “Our Lady of Sorrows,” given to our Blessed Mother focuses on her intense suffering and grief during the passion and death of our Lord. Traditionally, this suffering was not limited to the passion and death event; rather, it comprised “the seven dolors” or “seven sorrows” of Mary, which were foretold by the Priest Simeon who proclaimed to Mary,

 “This child [Jesus] is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, 

a sign that will be opposed and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword 

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare” (Luke 2:34-35). 

These seven sorrows of our Blessed Mother included

1. The Prophecy of Simeon.
2. the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt; 
3. the loss and finding of the child Jesus in the Temple; 
4. Mary's meeting of Jesus on His way to Calvary; 
5. Jesus dies on the cross.
6. Holding the dead body of Jesus when He was taken down from the cross;
7. Jesus is laid in the tomb. 

In all, the prophesy of Simeon that a sword would pierce our Blessed Mother's heart was fulfilled in these events. For this reason, Mary is sometimes depicted with her heart exposed and with seven swords piercing it. More importantly, each new suffering was received with the courage, love, and trust that echoed her fiat, “let it be done unto me according to Thy word,” first uttered at the Annunciation. 

This Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows grew in popularity in the 12th century, although under various titles. Granted, some writings would place its roots in the eleventh century, especially among the Benedictine monks. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the feast and devotion were widespread throughout the Church. 

Interestingly, in 1482, the feast was officially placed in the Roman Missal under the title of “Our Lady of Compassion,” highlighting the great love our Blessed Mother displayed in suffering with her Son. The word compassion derives from the Latin roots cum and patior which means “to suffer with.” Our Blessed Mother's sorrow exceeded anyone else's since she was the mother of Jesus, who was not only her Son but also her Lord and Savior; she truly suffered with her Son.  In 1727, Pope Benedict XIII placed the Feast of Our Lady of Compassion in the Roman Calendar on Friday before Palm Sunday. This feast was suppressed with the revision of the calendar published in the Roman Missal of 1969. 

In 1668 the feast in honor of the Seven Dolors was set for the Sunday after September 14, the Feast of the Holy Cross. The feast was inserted into the Roman calendar in 1814, and Pope Pius X fixed the permanent date of September 15 for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (now simply called the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows). The key image here is our Blessed Mother standing faithfully at the foot of the cross with her dying Son: the Gospel of St. John recorded, “Seeing His mother there with the disciple whom He loved, Jesus said to His mother, 'Woman, there is your son.' In turn He said to the disciple, 'There is your mother.'” (John 19:26-27). 

The Second Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church wrote, A...She stood in keeping with the divine plan, suffering grievously with her only-begotten Son. There she united herself, with a maternal heart, to His sacrifice, and lovingly consented to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth” (#58). St. Bernard (d. 1153) wrote, “Truly, O Blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart.... He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since His” (De duodecim praerogatativs BVM). 

Focusing on the compassion of our Blessed Mother, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, reminded the faithful, “Mary Most Holy goes on being the loving consoler of those touched by the many physical and moral sorrows which afflict and torment humanity. She knows our sorrows and our pains, because she too suffered, from Bethlehem to Calvary. 'And they soul too a sword shall pierce.'

 Mary is our Spiritual Mother, and the mother always understands her children and consoles them in their troubles. Then, she has that specific mission to love us, received from Jesus on the Cross, to love us only and always, so as to save us! Mary consoles us above all by pointing out the Crucified One and Paradise to us!” (1980). 

Therefore, as we honor our Blessed Mother, our Lady of Sorrows, we honor her as the faithful disciple and exemplar of faith. Let us pray as we do in the opening prayer of the Mass for this feast day: “Father, as your Son was raised on the cross, His Mother Mary stood by Him, sharing His sufferings. May your Church be united with Christ in His suffering and death and so come to share in His rising to new life.” Looking to the example of Mary, may we too unite our sufferings to our Lord, facing them with courage, love, and trust.

The Seven Graces of this Devotion
  1. I will grant peace to their families.
  2.They will be enlightened about the Divine mysteries.
  3. I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.
  4. I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.
  5. I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.
  6. I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their Mother.
  7. I have obtained this Grace from my Divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.


Benefits of the  Devotion to the Mother of Sorrows
1. To realize the value of a soul, worth the supreme Sacrifice on Calvary.
2. To work for souls, by evangelization, duty to life's duties, and prayer for sinners.
3. To pray always, in a life of union with God; whoever has a heart similar to Jesus' and Mary's hearts, will work for the salvation of souls.

When we commit sin we bring sorrow to Our Lady, for she is, indeed our very Mother, our spiritual Mother, and she watches over us as she watched over her Baby, nearly two thousand years ago.  It is the desire of Jesus that we should think of His Passion, to offer Him our devotion and to renew our sorrow for sin. It is also His desire, as the Church makes clear to us, that we should think of the compassion of Mary in His Passion.

Year of Grace Series: Faith and Reason Encyclical Chapter 5 part 2.

During this year of Grace, it is timely to consider whether Faith and Reason are interwined or as secular society would like us to believe that Faith and Reason are exclusive.  My purpose for writing this series is to explore this by examining carefully the encyclical  called " Fides et Ratio"- Faith and Reason written by the late Pope John Paul 11. I hope that during these next 8-10 weeks, you may explore with me, find your own answers and be able to communicate the truth to others. I also hope that in studying this encyclical you will be blessed with many graces. This week we continue to explore together chapter 5 which examines the the role of the magisterium and philosophy. I will examine this chapter in two parts, with today's post being part 2 of chapter 5.

 

The Church’s interest in philosophy

The Magisterium seeks to stress the basic principles of a genuine renewal of philosophical enquiry as well as pointing the way to be taken.

The one papal document devoted entirely to philosophy was Pope Leo X111 Encyclical ‘Aeterni Patris’ dated 4 August 1879 in which he showed how philosophical thinking contributes in fundamental ways to faith a and theological learning.  He insisted on the incomparable value of the philosophy of St Thomas Aquinas, who distinguished clearly between faith and reason, each with its specific rights and dignity.

The works of St Thomas became known through the formation of the new Thomistic schools through historical studies.  The second Vatican Council was indeed indebted to the revival of Thomistic philosophy by Catholic theologians.  There was also a resurgence of philosophical thought in culture of Christian inspiration by other Catholic philosophers apart from those who had adopted the Thomistic philosophy.,  Taken together the different modes of philosophical speculation have kept alive the great traditions of Christian thought which unites faith and reason.

One chapter of ‘Gaudium et Spes’ from the Second Vatican Council provides philosophy with much inspiration.  For example, it refers to the value of the human person created in God’s image, explains the dignity and superiority of the human being over the rest of creation, and declares the transcendent capacity of human reason.  Atheism is also dealt with especially the flaw relating to dignity and freedom of the persons.

Pope John Paul 11’s first Encyclical Letter ‘Redemptor Hominis’ of 4 March 1979 also used the philosophy espoused by ‘Gaudium et Spes’ by stating that ‘Christ, the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and his love, fully reveals man to himself and bring to light his most high calling’.

The Decree on Priestly Formation ‘ Optatam Totius’ requires standards for the priesthood ‘to have a solid and harmonious knowledge of the human being, of the world and of God, based on the philosophical heritage which is enduringly valid, yet taking into account currents of modern philosophy’.

Other magisterial documents have reiterated the need for students to the priesthood to have a solid philosophical formation.  The late Pope noted with displeasure that there was a lack of interest in the study of philosophy.

There are a number of reasons for this, viz:

• Distrust of Reason found in contemporary philosophy.
• Misunderstanding with regard to the human sciences by theologians, who marginalised philosophy by putting something else in its place in pastoral formation.
• Renewed interest in the inculturation of faith, with sophisticated modes of thinking and an array of expression of popular wisdom, giving rise to genuine cultural wealth of traditions.  But the study of traditional ways and philosophical enquiry should go hand in hand to proclaim the Gospel.
  
  

Pope John Paul 11 was adamant that the study of philosophy is fundamental and indispensable to the structure of theological studies and the priesthood.  The Fifth Lateran Council (1512-1517) confirmed the experience of the Middle Ages which required philosophical and theological learning to be harmonised and indirectly influenced the development of the modern philosophy.

The late Pope re-emphasised the Church’s keen interest in philosophy and theology which are required for the philosophical search for truth.

It is the Magisterium duty to discern and promote philosophical thinking which is not at odds with faith, whilst the Pope’s task is to state principles and criteria which are necessary to restore a harmonious and creative relationship between theology and philosophy.

Opening Prayer Series: Collect for the 23 Sunday of Year B

The Collect for the 23 Sunday of Year B reads as follows:

O God by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,

look graciously upon Your beloved sons and daughters,

that those who believe in Christ

may receive true freedom

and an everlasting inheritance.

through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God for ever and ever.

In making this prayer tangible, the following reflection questions emerged:

1. What does it mean to me to be redeemed?
2. What does it mean to me to receive God's adoption?
3. Why do I believe in Christ?
4. What difference in my life does my faith play?
5. What would receiving true freedom from God mean to me?
6. If I was to die today, what  would hinder me from receiving my everlasting inheritance? Am I ready to receive it and not what do I need to change?

 
 

Birthday of Our Blessed Virign Mother- Mary

Catholics celebrate the Virgin Mary's birthday as the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8, which is exactly nine months after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Christians normally celebrate the day on which saints died, because that is when they entered into eternal life, but there are three major exceptions. We celebrate the births of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Saint John the Baptist, because all three were born without original Sin. 

 

History of the Feast.

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated at least by the sixth century, when St. Romanos the Melodist, an Eastern Christian who composed many of the hymns used in the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies, composed a hymn for the feast. The feast spread to Rome in the seventh century, but it was a couple more centuries before it was celebrated throughout the West. 

 

The source for the story of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal gospel written about A.D. 150. From it, we learn the names of Mary's parents, Joachim and Anna, as well as the tradition that the couple was childless until an angel appeared to Anna and told her that she would conceive. (Many of the same details appear also in the later apocryphal Gospel of the Nativity of Mary.)

It's no surprise, then, that the Christians of the second century A.D. recorded the details of Mary's birth in such documents as the Protoevangelium of James and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary. While neither document bears the authority of Scripture, they provide us with everything that we know about the life of Mary before the Annunciation, including the names of Saint Mary's parents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anna (or Anne). It's a good example of Tradition, which complements (while never contradicting) Scripture 


The traditional date of the feast, September 8, falls exactly nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Perhaps because of its close proximity to the feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not celebrated today with the same solemnity as the Immaculate Conception. It is, nonetheless, a very important feast, because it prepares the way for the birth of Christ.

In earlier centuries, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated with greater fanfare.  Nowadays, less so.  However, like the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an important date in our salvation history. Christ needed a mother, and Mary's conception and birth, therefore, are events without which Christ's own birth would have been impossible. 

Let us recommit to saying the Rosary each day.  Even if you cant commit to the full 20 decades, then why not commit to saying one decade each day slowly and with fervour. One decade said well and reflecting on the mystery is a great start. Start it today on Our Blessed Mother's birthday.
 

Reflection and Prayer Series: With God at our Side

My reflection and prayer series is about sharing reflections and Prayers which have impacted upon me and have provided food for thought. I hope that they will also nurture your soul and spirit.

My post is called:

                                                              WITH GOD AT OUR SIDE.
 

We have a God who seems to delight in doing impossible things,
When we're at the end of our strength,
He only begun.
We can face every trial without fear of defeat, 
for this is our hope and assuramce,
With God at our side,
the battle is already won.

May we live our life with God at our side this coming week 

About the Mass Series Vol 2: The Penitential Rite: The Confiteor Part 2.

The Confiteor is one of those prayers every Mass-going Catholic knows, but may not be aware of its name. The name is taken from the very first word of the prayer in Latin, Confiteor, which essentially means “I confess”. Since Catholics have a whole sacrament dedicated to the confession of sins they might wonder why the Confiteor is part of the Mass. Essentially the Confiteor is a necessary preparation for what we participate in at Mass, a work of the Lord.

Often before participating in a great work of the Lord men cleansed themselves. In scripture we see that a servant of God might have fasted, journeyed into the wilderness to pray, or even had his lips cleansed with hot coals by an angel (Isaiah 6:6) to prepare him for his work for the Lord. Although fasting before Mass is still our practice today, properly conforming our heart and soul to Christ also requires contrition for our sins. Through the Confiteor we fittingly offer contrition to God for our sins and prepare for our participation in the Divine Mystery of the Eucharist.

The prayer used for the last 40 years is familiar to us all:

I confess to almighty God,

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have sinned through my own fault,

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done,

and in what I have failed to do…

The new translation, which is closer to the original Latin, is more emphatic and draws more attention to a particular pious practice. Although in the rubrics (i.e. the prescribed actions to accompany the words said) of the Mass, this practice was often forgotten in the last few decades. We will discuss that in a moment. Here is the new translation (which will sound familiar to many older Catholics):

I confess to almighty God

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have greatly sinned

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done

and in what I have failed to do,

through my fault, through my fault,

through my most grievous fault…

When the penitent recites the last two lines of the Confiteor he takes his right hand, curls it into a loose fist and strikes his left breast. Immediately a couple of Bible verses come to mind. In the Old Testament, we find Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:19) saying, “I turn in repentance; I have come to myself, I strike my breast; I blush with shame, I bear the disgrace of my youth.” In the New Testament, the contrition of the publican, the tax collector, in Luke 18:13 is recalled: “But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’”

In ancient Judaism, striking one’s breast was a sign of deep sorrow our one’s sinfulness. This continued into the Christian era. St. Augustine, one of the greatest Early Church Fathers, noted that,

"No sooner have you heard the word 'Confiteor' than you strike your breast. What does this mean except that you wish to bring to light what is concealed in the breast, and by this act to cleanse your hidden sins ?" (Sermo de verbis Domini, 13).

The secular world today, however, shuns such displays, but the Church most certainly does not. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has noted: “During the Confiteor the action of striking our breasts at the words through my own fault can strengthen my awareness that my sin is my fault.” Our physical actions, when done piously, help bring home to us spiritual truths.

At this time, using the current translation of the Mass, we strike our breast once. In the old Latin Mass, Catholics struck their breast three times – once for each use of the word “fault”. It is not entirely clear at this time whether we will still use one strike or three. In any case, the importance of such gestures should not be underestimated. As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in Sacramentum Caritatis,

“the Synod of Bishops asked that the faithful be helped to make their interior dispositions correspond to their gestures and words… This is particularly important in a highly technological age like our own, which risks losing the ability to appreciate signs and symbols.”  (Sacramentum Caritatis, 64)

But what is the point of all of this? When we pray the Confiteor – and we have to remember it IS a prayer – we are professing our contrition to God, His saints in heaven, and the faithful on earth. We are asking for forgiveness for all those sins - thoughts, words, deeds and omissions – which we have committed. Such a confession of sins makes it possible for our venial sins to be forgiven during the Mass itself. However, it should be noted that it does not replace and is never intended to replace the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation.

The next time we are at Mass, let us keep in mind the following written by Fr. Nikolaus Gihr many years ago:

“The Confiteor is an open avowal of compunction of heart, a contrite and penitential prayer which should cleanse the soul from even the slightest stains of guilt and from all sinful defects. But in order that its recital, together with the threefold striking of the breast, may prove cleansing and salutary to the soul, it must in truth be the outpouring of a contrite spirit, proceeding from the depths of a heart touched with love and sorrow.”

(Nikolaus Gihr, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically, and Ascetically Explained, St. Louis: Herder, 1902, page 358).