Congratulations to Father Chris
On New Years' Eve December 31, 2009, Father Chris came to our church from Texas. Throughout his year here at our church, his leadership and spiritual guidance has been a blessing to us all. We pray that it is in God’s plan for him to stay here for many more years!
Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem star may lead me.
O the sight of Him Who freed me. From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou art holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and always:
Now begin, on Christmas day.
Scripture tells us practically nothing about the first years and the boyhood of the Child Jesus. All we know are the facts of the sojourn in Egypt, the return to Nazareth, and the incidents that occurred when the twelve-year-old boy accompanied his parents to Jerusalem.
In her liturgy, the Church hurries over this period of Christ's life with equal brevity.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, My spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
The start of a new liturgical year, beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, also marks the transition from one lectionary cycle (A, B, or C) to the next.
These cycles are a result of the Second Vatican Council, which ordered a change in the Sunday readings at Mass so that Catholics would become more familiar with the text of the Bible. As a result, we now have a three-year cycle of readings built around readings from the three synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Cycle A: The Gospel of Matthew
Why Do They Still Look and Taste Like Bread and Wine? In the celebration of the Eucharist, the glorified Christ becomes present under the appearance of bread and wine in a way that is unique, a way that is uniquely suited to the Eucharist. In the Church’s traditional theological language, in the act of consecration during the Eucharist, the “substance” of the bread and wine is changed by the power of the Holy Spirit into the “substance” of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. At the same time, the “accidents” or appearances of bread and wine remain.
The month of October each year is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. This is primarily due to the fact that the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7. It was instituted to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer to the praying of the Rosary by the faithful.
Pope Pius V declared the day — October 7 — as a feast day for Our Lady of the Rosary. To celebrate, a rosary procession was held in Saint Peter’s Square.
