catholic family faith

Thanksgiving

So what are you doing today?  Visiting family?  Eating more than you need to eat?  Watching football?  (Any hopeful Lions fans out there?)  Watching movies?  Going through the Black Friday ads and plotting your route?

In the United States, the tradition of Thanksgiving is said to have begun with the colonists at Plymouth, who celebrated a successful harvest with a feast.  The first Thanksgiving holiday proclamation was given by President George Washington in 1789.  Abraham Lincoln officially established the Thanksgiving holiday in the midst of the Civil War in 1863.  In 1941, President Roosevelt signed the bill establishing the last Thursday of November as the official day of the Thanksgiving holiday.

This tradition of celebrating a successful harvest with a feast, however, goes back centuries.  Most ancient peoples celebrated successful growing seasons.  The Native American tribes of the Cherokee, Seminole, Yuchi, Iriquois and others celebrated the Green Corn Festival on the first full moon when the first corn crop was ready to harvest.

The Celts celebrated three festivals of harvest.  The first was observed with Lughnasadh (LOO nah saw) on the first of August.  Mabon was celebrated on the Autumn equinox, the day of equal day and night, on the twenty-first of September.  The third and final harvest festival was the three day celebration of Samhain (SOW inn), October 31-November 2.

The ancient Romans celebrated Ceresia on the fourth of October.  This celebration was dedicated to Ceres, the goddess of corn.  This autumnal festival included the offerings of the first fruits of the harvest along with parades, music, games and sports, and a thanksgiving feast.

The Hebrew people celebrate Sukkot, the Festival of Booths or Tabernacles, outlined in Leviticus 23:42-43 and Deuteronomy 16:13-15.  This festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Tishri,September-October), after the gathering of the harvest.  They erect booths to commemorate their ancestor's 40-year wandering in the desert of Sinai.  The first and last days of the festival are Sabbath days, on which they do no work.  For seven days they present food offerings to the Lord.  On the eighth day, they gather in assembly and present food offerings to the Lord.

It is only natural for us to celebrate the gifts given to us by Creator.  Everything that we have comes from God.  In the agrarian societies of our ancestors, the harvest festival was a natural reminder that all food - and everything they had - was a gift from Creator.  They knew that they would not have the food and supplies that they needed to get through the winter months if it weren't for the gifts of sunshine, rain, soil, and seed, as well as animals for hunting.  They recognized that all of these gifts were provided for them through the goodness of the Creator.

It is a little more difficult for those of us in post-industrial societies to remember that everything we have comes from God.  If we need or want anything, we just drive to the store and pick it up.  We get our food already processed and packaged from groceries.  We buy clothes from our favorite retailers.  We fill our houses with furniture and stuff that we get from furniture stores, chain stores, and malls.  We must make an intentional effort to remember from where all that we have comes.

On this Thanksgiving day, as you are feasting with your family, remember your ancestors who physically labored for all that they had.  Give thanks to Creator for the ease with which you can get food, clothing, and other things that you want and need. 

And if you're going out to get more stuff tomorrow, Black Friday, go about your shopping with an attitude of gratitude, giving thanks to God for all the bargains you get.  And remember, nothing matters more than family and love...nothing!

Give thanks to God, bless God's name; good indeed is the Lord, whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age.  (Psalm 100:4-5)

Celebrating Summer

Celebrate God's gift of the sun on the longest day of the year. The summer solstice, and the official beginning of summer, is June 21st this year. Wake up early and watch the sunrise. Play outside all day long. Lather on the sunscreen and rest in the sunshine. Stay outside until the sun's last pink rays fade into night.

 

Download and pray St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of Brother Sun:

Download CanticleoftheSun.pdf (49.6K)

Easter...Not Just the Resurrection Anymore?

"What do bunnies and eggs have to do with Easter and Jesus' Resurrection?" one of our first grade boys asked in religious education last week.  Good question!

Historically, Eastre (traditional spelling) is a pagan festival that existed even before Jesus walked the earth.  The Saxons of northern Europe celebrated the coming of spring in a festival devoted to Eostre, the goddess of dawn, spring and fertility.  Eostre was viewed as the Mother goddess, who existed in balance with the Father in the heavens.

As the Christians moved into northern Europe in the second century, they attempted to convert the peoples to Christianity.  As Christians have done throughout the centuries, these missionaries drew upon the existing pagan traditions and integrated them into Christian belief.  The celebration of Christ's Resurrection was celebrated around the same time as the Eastre celebration, so there was a natural blending of the two traditions.

Eastre's symbols were the hare, eggs, and newly hatched chicks, all signs of new life and fertility.  Since rabbits are more common than hares in most places around the world and rabbits are notably fertile, they came to replace the hare as an Easter symbol.

Eggs have been a symbol of rebirth since ancient times.  Egyptians and Greeks would bury eggs in the tombs of the dead to symbolize resurrection into the next life.  During the pagan festival of Eastre, the peoples would color and decorate eggs, a tradition that continues to this day.

So as your family participates in the traditions of egg hunts and stuffed bunnies this Easter, celebrate these symbols as signs of new life and rebirth rather than competition with the feast of Jesus' Resurrection.

Holy Week Pilgrimages - Walking in the Steps of Jesus

This week, Catholics and other Christians around the world are embarking on special journeys commemorating Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection. We call these special journeys "pilgrimages," as those who participate are pilgrims walking in the steps of Jesus.  Whether you take a physical journey or a spiritual journey of prayer, spend some time walking with Jesus during Holy Week.

VIA DOLOROSA - One of the most famous pilgrimages is the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrows, in Old City Jerusalem.  You can experience the Via Dolorosa on the Internet by visiting these websites: 

http://www.holylandnetwork.com/jerusalem/via_dolorosa/via_dolorosa.htm - offers photos of the   stations along the Via Dolorosa and prayers to pray in conjunction with the stations

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-via-dolorosa - I liked the photos and map on this website

EL SANTUARIO DE CHIMAYO - In the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, thousands of pilgrims visit El Santuario de Chimayo each year. This site, referred to as the Lourdes of America, is a simple adobe chapel, but is said to be a place of spiritual and physical healing.  On Good Friday, pilgrims walk from nearby villages to remember Jesus' sacrifice.  Many pilgrims begin a week-long journey on Palm Sunday, walking 100-miles from Albuquerque to Chimayo.

http://www.archdiocesesantafe.org/AboutASF/Chimayo.html - provides a basic introduction on El Santuario de Chimayo on the Archdiocese of Santa Fe website

http://holychimayo.us/ - the main website of El Santuario de Chimayo; click on "A Place of History" for the story behind the "holy dirt" of Chimayo

MOUNT ADAMS STEPS - In Cincinnati, Ohio, pilgrims "pray the steps" to Holy Cross-Immaculata Church.  This 150-year old tradition began with a promise to the Blessed Virgin Mary by John Purcell, the first archbishop of Cincinnati.  During a terrible storm at sea on a return voyage from Rome, Archbishop Purcell promised that, if he survived, he would build a church to honor Mary in Mt. Adams.  People pray in their individual ways as they climb the steps to the church.  Some say the Rosary, others read from prayer books, still others pray in their own words in conversation with God.  Children are encouraged to say a Hail Mary on each step and an Our Father on the landings.

http://mtadamssteps.com/mtadamssteps/index2.htm - offers a brief description of Mount Adams Steps

http://hciparish.org/ - the official website for Holy Cross-Immaculata Parish

PARISH STATIONS OF THE CROSS - Catholic parishes around the world pray the Stations of the Cross, especially on Good Friday.  This devotion includes reflections on the 14 Stations of Jesus' passion and death.

http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/child/stations/ - on-line Stations of the Cross, especially for children

http://www.usccb.org/nab/stations.htm - Stations of the Cross based on those celebrated by Pope John Paul II's on Good Friday in 1991

National Prayer Week, March 14-21, 2010

Each year, the Holy Childhood Association sponsors a National Prayer Week to encourage Catholic children and families to pray for missions throughout the world.

Prayer is a powerful mission ministry.  In fact, Pope Benedict XVI said that he counts on the prayers and missionary commitment of children.  "In my ministry, I also count on children's prayers and their active participation in the mission of the Church," the Holy Father said.

During the week of March 14-21, 2010, children and families are invited to share the following prayer for missions around the world:

Through our Baptism, we are called to share Your love and Your peace everywhere.  We are Your ambassadors, sent to bring the "Good News" of Jesus to all, beginning in our own communities and reaching "to the ends of the earth."

 

Fill our hearts with the love and peace of Jesus, especially as we meet Him in the Sacraments.  Help us to be examples of Your compassion and a source of Your hope to all, especially those who are poor, lonely, suffering and sick.

 

Give us strength to show others what it means to follow Jesus.  Help us to answer the call to be His witnesses, His missionaries.

 

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who is Lord forever.  Amen.

 

For information about the ministry of the Holy Childhood Association, including on-line activities for children, check out www.hcakids.org.

 

For more information about the Pontifical Mission Society, go to www.onefamilyinmission.org.

 

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

On January 1st, the Church observes the solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.

Theotokos (The Mother of God)
[In the Letter to the Galatians] St. Paul said: “God sent forth his Son, born of woman” (Gal 4:4). Origen commented: “Note well that he did not say, ‘born by means of a woman’ but ‘born of a woman’” (Comment on the Letter to the Galatians, PG 14, 1298). This acute observation of the great exegete and ecclesiastical writer is important: in fact, if the Son of God had been born only “by means of” a woman, he would not truly have taken on our humanity, something which instead he did by taking flesh “of” Mary. Mary’s motherhood, therefore, is true and fully human. The fundamental truth about Jesus as a divine Person who fully assumed our human nature is condensed in the phrase: “God sent forth his Son born of woman.” He is the Son of God, he is generated by God and at the same time he is the son of a woman, Mary. He comes from her. He is of God and of Mary. For this reason one can and must call the Mother of Jesus the Mother of God [in Greek, Theotokos].

Pope Benedict XVI, Homily at First Vespers, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
December 31, 2006

 

As the world begins a new year, it is fitting that we invite Mary, the Mother of God, to pray with us and to pray for us.  Follow this link and pray the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary with your family.   http://www.usccb.org/prolife/liturgy/litany_mary3x.shtml

From the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

115. On January 1st, the octave day of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God. The divine and virginal motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a singular salvific event: for Our Lady it was the foretaste and cause of her extraordinary glory; for us it is a source of grace and salvation because "through her we have received the Author of life"(127).

The solemnity of 1 January, an eminently Marian feast, presents an excellent opportunity for liturgical piety to encounter popular piety: the first celebrates this event in a manner proper to it; the second, when duly catechised, lends joy and happiness to the various expressions of praise offered to Our Lady on the birth of her divine Son, to deepen our understanding of many prayers, beginning with that which says: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners".

116. In the West, 1 January is an inaugural day marking the beginning of the civil year. The faithful are also involved in the celebrations for the beginning of the new year and exchange "new year" greetings. However, they should try to lend a Christian understanding to this custom making of these greetings an expression of popular piety. The faithful, naturally, realize that the "new year" is placed under the patronage of the Lord, and in exchanging new year greetings they implicitly and explicitly place the New Year under the Lord's dominion, since to him belongs all time (cf. Ap 1, 8; 22,13)(128).

A connection between this consciousness and the popular custom of singing the Veni Creator Spiritus (Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest...) can easily be made so that on 1 January the faithful can pray that the Spirit may direct their thoughts and actions, and those of the community during the course of the year(129).

117. New year greetings also include an expression of hope for a peaceful New Year. This has profound biblical, Christological and incarnational origins. The "quality of peace" has always been invoked throughout history by all men, and especially during violent and destructive times of war.

The Holy See shares the profound aspirations of man for peace. Since 1967, 1 January has been designated "world day for peace".

Popular piety has not been oblivious to this initiative of the Holy See. In the light of the new born Prince of Peace, it reserves this day for intense prayer for peace, education towards peace and those value inextricably linked with it, such as liberty, fraternal solidarity, the dignity of the human person, respect for nature, the right to work, the sacredness of human life, and the denunciation of injustices which trouble the conscience of man and threaten peace.

 

 

Boxing Day - Feast of St. Stephen - Good King Wenceslas

Boxing Day.  It's on our American calendars as a Canadian holiday.  While people in Canada and England know what Boxing Day is all about, we here in the U.S. speculate about what it is.

"It's a national boxing tournament."

"It's the day people box up all of their Christmas decorations."

"It's the day people go through all of their storage boxes to see what they have."

"It's the day people box up old clothes and stuff to donate to a charity organization."  BINGO!

Boxing Day originated in the mid-nineteenth century under Queen Victoria.  It originated as a holiday for members of the merchant class to give boxes containing food and fruit, clothing, and/or money to trades people and servants.  The gifts were an expression of gratitude similar to the bonuses many employers offer their employees today.  These gifts, usually given in boxes, gave the holiday it's name, "Boxing Day."  Also related to the origin of Boxing Day is the tradition of opening the alms boxes placed in churches over the Christmas season.  The contents of these boxes were distributed among the poor by the clergy on the day after Christmas, the feast of St. Stephen.  (http://www.calendar-updates.com/info/holidays/canada/boxing.aspx)

Related to Boxing Day, the carol "Good King Wenceslas" is about a king who goes out on the feast of St. Stephen to give alms to the poor.  During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by the heat miraculously emanating from the king's footprints in the snow.  This legend is based on the life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907-935).  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_King_Wenceslas)

Winter Solstice

Today, December 21st, is the Winter Solstice, having the shortest daylight hours of the year.  The Winter Solstice is a turning point; from today forward, the hours of daylight will increase.

In ancient times, the Winter Solstice was a time of celebration.  During this time, which they called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun, "the Romans celebrated their midwinter holiday, Saturnalia, which involved decorating the halls of houses with boughs of lauren and evergreen trees.  Lamps were kept burning to ward off the spirits of darkness.  Temples were decorated with evergreens symbolizing life's continuity, and processions of people with masked or blackened faces and colorful hats danced through the streets."  (http://www.shambhala.org/arts/fest/unconquered.html)

Around 350 C.E., December 25th was adopted as the feast of Christmas.  This allowed Christians to celebrate the birth of Christ at the same time as the celebrations of Saturnalia and Yule, so that they would "fit in" secular society better. 

On this day of less daylight, lights some candles in your home to remember that Christ, the Light of the World, dispels the darkness of winter and sometimes difficult lives.

Back to School Supplies...Don't Forget Jesus!

This is the time of year when families are busy getting all the stuff that the students in their households need for going back to school.  New clothes & shoes (that fit), pencils, crayons, markers, notebooks, folders, binders, backpacks, lunch boxes...the list really could go on and on.  With all these back to school supplies, don't forget the most important supply of all...

Jesus!

While students need certain items to get a good start to the school year, the one most basic and essential need is a student's connection to Jesus! 

New clothes and shoes can help students feel good about how they look on the first day of school.  Jesus can help students feel good about who they are every moment of every day of their lives.

Pencils, pens, crayons, and markers can help students write and draw and express themselves.  Jesus can help students realize all the unique and creative gifts that they can use to be who God created them to be.

Notebooks, folders, and binders can help students hold together their papers and stay organized.  Jesus can help students hold together their feelings and emotions and de-stress so that they can better focus on what is important.

Backpacks and lunch boxes can help students carry around all their stuff.  Jesus can help students carry around all the love that God and their families have for them.

So don't let the students in your household start the new school year without their most important supply...Jesus!

Easter Eggs & Bunnies

Whenever I ask children what happens on Easter, usually their first response has something to do with the Easter bunny and Easter eggs.  So how did these symbols become associated with Easter, the day we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and God?

The title "Easter" for this holiday has its roots in the Pagan equinox festival.  The ancient Saxons (on the isle now known as Britain) devoted the month of April to celebrating their goddess of fertility, Eastre or Eostre.  Eastre's sacred animal is the hare, rabbit, which is a common symbol of fertility and birth.  The Easter bunny bringing eggs and gifts to children is believed to have its origins in 16th century Germany.  The Germans then brought this tradition to America.

Eggs have long been associated with springtime and life.  The ancient Romans and Greeks used eggs in their rites to their fertility gods.  Even the Jewish ritual of the Passover seder includes eggs.  In the spring, new birds and animals are born, so nests of eggs are a natural part of springtime.  Coloring eggs and giving them to people you love is a tradition that goes back to 16th century Germany.

Life comes from eggs.  All animals - mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians - are born of eggs.  (Parents, there are some really good books to help you help little ones understand how mammals, including humans are born from eggs!)  So it is natural for eggs to be associated with life on Easter, the holiday that we celebrate new life in Christ's Resurrection.

This weekend, have some fun with your family.  Color and decorate Easter eggs.  Have an Easter egg hunt.  For more Easter crafts and games, visit http://www.familyeducation.com/search/results/?keywords=easter

For more information about the history of Easter traditions, visit these websites:  http://holidays.net/easter/ or http://www.easterbunnys.net/traditions.htm or http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05224d.htm