January 26 2025
Today is the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the liturgical year there are 33 or 34 weeks that do not fall within a specific season or celebrate a specific aspect of the mystery of Christ, such as Christmas or Easter. These Sundays in Ordinary Time are devoted to the mystery of Christ in all its aspects. The Church celebrates the paschal mystery on the first day of the week—Sunday. This follows a tradition handed down from the apostles and having its origin from the day of Christ’s Resurrection. Sunday, then, is ranked as the first holyday of all. We call this holyday a solemnity. Solemnities are obligatory, meaning it is a sin to miss Mass on these days (unless, of course, one is sick or otherwise indisposed). Some solemnities have been moved to Sunday as opposed to being celebrated during the week. For example, The Holy Family, Baptism of the Lord, the Holy Trinity, and Christ the King are observed on Sunday as are Epiphany, Ascension, and Corpus Christi. Also included in the liturgical year are feasts which venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the apostles, martyrs, and various saints. (Thus the celebration of All Saints Day is obligatory, as well as January 1 the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.) During the liturgical year, the Church celebrates the whole mystery of Christ, from his incarnation until the day of Pentecost and the expectation of his Second Coming. During Ordinary Time we fill in the gaps, so to speak, through the Gospels, of Jesus’ life. Each Sunday of the liturgical year, one of the Gospel writers is more prominent. This year we hear from Saint Luke. We have also enter into a Jubilee year. More on that later… Have a good week in the Lord, Gay Snell
January 19 2925
Receiving Holy Eucharist is a privilege we should never take for granted or take lightly. In the Catholic Church, we are able to receive every day and should receive at least every Sunday and Holy Day. To receive Our Lord in Holy Communion, several conditions must exist. One is our having prepared for and received our First Holy Communion. Secondly, we must have fasted at least one hour before receiving (only water or medication—other drinks, food, gum, or even cigarettes within that hour breaks our fast). Thirdly, we must be in a state of Grace. So what does it mean to be in a state of Grace? To be in a state of Grace is not having committed any mortal sin and if we have we must have gone to Confession and received Absolution for that sin. A mortal sin (CCC 1855-1864) “destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to Him”. Mortal sin attacks in us charity or love. We in essence turn our back on God. To be mortal three conditions must be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.” In other words, it is a serious sin, we know it is a sin, and we do it anyway. For example, in His Commandments, God tells us to keep Sunday Holy, meaning to attend Holy Mass. We know this; we know missing Mass is a serious or grave sin; we decide not to, thus we are no longer in a state of Grace. (...of course we should stay home if we or a family member are sick…) Hence, having committed a mortal sin we must first go to Confession before receiving the Eucharist. Have a good week in the Lord, Gay Snell
January 12 2025
Today is The Baptism of the Lord and the end of the Christmas Season. Monday we begin the shorter of the two Ordinary Times. This Ordinary Time will lead us up to Lent. The color is green. “Why did Jesus, the all-holy Son of God, seek John’s baptism of repentance? It was not to receive—for he is himself the source of all grace—but to give.” (January Magnificat p 163) What did Jesus give us with his baptism—the seven sacraments, beginning with Baptism. Jesus is the one, true sacrament and being God he is incapable of sinning and thus did not need to be baptized. However, with his Baptism, he shows us the importance of the Sacrament of Baptism. In Baptism, we are cleansed of Original Sin—the sin of Adam and Eve which we carry into this world. In our Baptism, we are infused with sanctifying grace and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Without Baptism, the other 6 sacraments are not available to us. At our Baptism we are given the baptismal candle. Lighted from the Easter candle, it signifies Jesus, the Light of the World. We become his adopted brothers and sisters and are to share his light with others. “Baptism places upon our souls a mark that forever will identify it as one privileged of God.” (Sister Mary Jean Dorcy, O.P.) After the Lord was baptized, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, and the voice of the Father thundered; This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. (Entrance Antiphon) As promised, more on the Epiphany of the Lord… The Epiphany commemorates the coming of God to the world symbolized by the Magi from the East. It is also known as the Twelfth Night because it is the last of the “Twelve days of Christmas”. It is also called Three Kings Day because of the Magi—the three kings… Have a good week in the Lord, Gay Snell
January 5 2025
The 8 days between Christmas and New Year’s Day is the Octave of Christmas. We celebrate Our Lord’s birth every day during this Octave. During this week are many feast days as well. On Thursday, December 26, we celebrated the Feast of Saint Stephen, the First Martyr. He was stoned as Saul, later Paul, looked on. The gates of heaven were opened for blessed Stephen, who was found to be first among the number of the Martyrs and therefore is crowned triumphant in heaven. (Entrance Antiphon) Friday the 27th was the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist. Tradition identifies John with “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” He was the only Apostle not martyred and is credited with writing Revelation. He witnessed the Lord’s Transfiguration and the agony in Gethsemane. John’s Gospel records Jesus’ majestic final discourses and meditations on the mysterious communion of the Father and the Son. Then on Saturday, December 28 we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs. When the Magi told Herod the Great of the birth of a new King of the Jews, he wanted to eliminate the threat to his throne. The Holy Innocents are those children who were brutally murdered by Herod as he sought the Christ Child. By virtue of their martyrdom, they attained baptismal innocence. Last Sunday, December 29, we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This feast inspires us to have confidence in God’s interest of and love for family, a loving union of man and woman, and new life in children. Wednesday we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. Devotion to Mary has been constant and profound since apostolic times. This feast is the oldest Marian feast in the West. It shows her unique, central, and pivotal role in Jesus’ redemption of the world. Her “fiat”, her “yes”, brought Jesus to us and gives us our salvation. (Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. More on this later.)
May 2025 be a blessed year for all of us, Gay Snell
