Waking up can be a little difficult this time of year for many unknown reasons. This is also a time for remembrance and reverence for all holy people who have believed, lived, and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This season asks each Christian to take a minute and count each blessing, each gift from God and to give thanks. The lessons within each reading point toward the universality of God's love. The message within each Mass presents the breadth of God's love for all of humanity. People on the right road will experience a little longing for Christ after hearing each Gospel reading. People on the right road will work to model their whole lives with a universal love, compassion, and sense of social justice. Each moment in their lives will bring more understanding, more wisdom. With effort each word of the Gospel can be understood. For the greatest gift of the season is developing the courage to be good, kind, and holy in the presence of both man and God.
Waking up can be a little difficult this time of year because everyone has something to complain about. This is not the time for heated discussions about God, the Eucharist, Jesus Christ, the Ten Commandments. This is a time for Love. This is a time for humility. This is a time to listen, not to be drawn into a paradox of excited opinion. This is a time for goodness, kindness, holiness. Each action of Christian, hopefully, will be pleasing to God. Rhetoric and grand speeches will not get a man or woman into heaven. Rhetoric and grand speeches will not make a man or woman holy. Rhetoric and grand speeches will fill the ears of the listeners with hollow sounds and unasked questions. There is always a need for penance, a need for Reconciliation with God. For some this time of year is a moment of extreme vanity when the spotlight shines on them, the parties they attend, the gifts they give, the gifts they receive. Although it might be difficult, please remember that this is a time to love and serve God. The true message of Christmas reminds each Christian of the necessity of patience and encourages each Christian to keep their gaze heavenward, to allow each step to lead them to the heavenly kingdom.
Showing posts with label Penance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penance. Show all posts
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
An Opportunity
Remember that each time you attend Mass, there is an opportunity to learn more about God and an opportunity to share your faith with others after you leave. This does not require a recitation of the Gospel or the homily. It can simply be how you treat your neighbors, with compassion and love. Each moment of our lives should have some movement upward, higher, heavenward. Our gaze should always be upward, toward God. Each moment of our lives we should strive to avoid the mediocrity of sin. Our aim should always be toward pleasing God. Our ambition should be for eternal life and salvation. The arena of life presents us with an opportunity for prayer, penance, and obedience.
We must strive to be pure and triumphant servants of God.
Be ambitious then, with sincere prayers, keep love in both your heart and your life; remember to pray for something great for yourself and for mankind. Each of us will have only one life in this world, prayer will help us to make the most of it. Take advantage of each opportunity to praise and thank God. Attend Mass and pray as often as you can. Let your life be filled with the Good News. Each day increase your knowledge and learning about your faith. Allow your prayers to carry you higher and higher, closer and closer to God.
Allow your prayers to guide you to legitimate pursuits of love, life, and peace. Allow your prayers to guide you in the path to serve God. Allow your prayers to teach you fidelity to duty. We each have the opportunity to bring glory to God, to sanctify ourselves, and to be a soldier for God.
We must strive to be pure and triumphant servants of God.
Be ambitious then, with sincere prayers, keep love in both your heart and your life; remember to pray for something great for yourself and for mankind. Each of us will have only one life in this world, prayer will help us to make the most of it. Take advantage of each opportunity to praise and thank God. Attend Mass and pray as often as you can. Let your life be filled with the Good News. Each day increase your knowledge and learning about your faith. Allow your prayers to carry you higher and higher, closer and closer to God.
Allow your prayers to guide you to legitimate pursuits of love, life, and peace. Allow your prayers to guide you in the path to serve God. Allow your prayers to teach you fidelity to duty. We each have the opportunity to bring glory to God, to sanctify ourselves, and to be a soldier for God.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Lent, Lent, Lent
I must not forget this Lenten season. I must remember the necessity of repentance.
Lent is not just about giving something up. It also is about the changes which are made to our lives, the changes which help us pray more, the changes which help us move closer to God. Repentance, true repentance is both the regret and remorse we feel about our sins and real attempt to get sin out of our lives. In away repentance is about the departure of sin. The conflict between good and evil will remain in our lives. Sin patiently does wait to tempt us. But, sin can be defeated when we believe in God, put our trust and faith in God. As Christians our duty is to serve God; he asks us to be humble, obedient, charitable; as we grow in our faith our ability to love each other should also grow. Being Christian means that the struggle will continue. The more goodness we have in our lives, the more we are able to be just in accordance with Christ’s teachings the more we will be tempted. But, remember that we always have hope and God for protection.
Nothing is hopeless when we remember to pray, and, above all, nothing can change God’s love for each one of us. We must remember that God simply asks us to believe in him, to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Our lives should always reflect this love in all our interactions.
Lent is about penance. Penance is not to be viewed as a bad thing. Penance can be good. When our minds and our hearts are open good lessons about life and love can be learned through penance. Our lives with God can be greatly improved by the spirit in which we approach our penance and our desire for change and growth in our relationship with the Lord.
Lent is a time to remember and pray for everyone who loves you, for everyone who does not love you, for everyone you have forgotten. Lent is a time for unconditional prayer. Prayer leads us to God. We might experience a little upheaval but hopefully our former life will end, will die. Hopefully we will find the courage to adapt our lives as Christians to an existence of humility, charity, obedience; hopefully we will obtain the grace to be different than we previously were. Our love, faith, and trust in God can provide us with strength.
As Christians goodness and holiness are not achieved without struggle.
Be very careful and prayerful in your entire life, learn how to avoid the temptations which will endanger your Christian life, avoid pride and envy; strive to keep a pure and clean mind and a clear conscience. God does not exist in a gray area.
Live with hope; prosper with love.
Lent is not just about giving something up. It also is about the changes which are made to our lives, the changes which help us pray more, the changes which help us move closer to God. Repentance, true repentance is both the regret and remorse we feel about our sins and real attempt to get sin out of our lives. In away repentance is about the departure of sin. The conflict between good and evil will remain in our lives. Sin patiently does wait to tempt us. But, sin can be defeated when we believe in God, put our trust and faith in God. As Christians our duty is to serve God; he asks us to be humble, obedient, charitable; as we grow in our faith our ability to love each other should also grow. Being Christian means that the struggle will continue. The more goodness we have in our lives, the more we are able to be just in accordance with Christ’s teachings the more we will be tempted. But, remember that we always have hope and God for protection.
Nothing is hopeless when we remember to pray, and, above all, nothing can change God’s love for each one of us. We must remember that God simply asks us to believe in him, to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Our lives should always reflect this love in all our interactions.
Lent is about penance. Penance is not to be viewed as a bad thing. Penance can be good. When our minds and our hearts are open good lessons about life and love can be learned through penance. Our lives with God can be greatly improved by the spirit in which we approach our penance and our desire for change and growth in our relationship with the Lord.
Lent is a time to remember and pray for everyone who loves you, for everyone who does not love you, for everyone you have forgotten. Lent is a time for unconditional prayer. Prayer leads us to God. We might experience a little upheaval but hopefully our former life will end, will die. Hopefully we will find the courage to adapt our lives as Christians to an existence of humility, charity, obedience; hopefully we will obtain the grace to be different than we previously were. Our love, faith, and trust in God can provide us with strength.
As Christians goodness and holiness are not achieved without struggle.
Be very careful and prayerful in your entire life, learn how to avoid the temptations which will endanger your Christian life, avoid pride and envy; strive to keep a pure and clean mind and a clear conscience. God does not exist in a gray area.
Live with hope; prosper with love.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Forty Days, Forty Opportunities
Lent offers each Christian the opportunity to improve our communion with God. Each Christian must pray, examine his/her conscience, test our faith, our resolve to follow in Christ’s footsteps and create lives based upon humility, charity, obedience. Lent is a time for each Christian to remember Christ in the desert and to test ourselves. Doing the simple things we say that we are going to do during this time is a test. Will we be able to fulfill our penance.
Penance is not about giving up, penance is for moving forward, learning something about yourself, your relationship with God, learning how to strengthen and improve that relationship.
The forty days of Lent provides each Christian with a glimpse of God beautiful loving design for our lives if we allow ourselves to trust in his magnificent, omnipotent love.
Penance allows us to draw direct parallels with Christ’s life; Christ did not take the easy path; Christ made all types of sacrifices; Christ suffered. As Christians penance reminds us that goodness requires effort and is difficult to achieve; as Christians we must be prepared to offer sacrifices and to suffer. As Christians we must always remember all the things that Christ did to save us, all the things that Christ did to show us how to be like him.
The gift of salvation waits for those who are able to demonstrate their free will to live like Jesus, to follow in his footsteps. Lent is a journey; penance is the map guiding us through life’s mendacity, mediocrity, morbidity, temptations. Lent is not a time for solitude; each Christian must remember to invite and to include Jesus in their Lenten journey.
Lent offers each Christian the choice of following Christ on the road of humility. Lent offers each Christian a moment to examine each action, to make the right choice, to be victorious over sin with Christ.
The itinerary of the Lenten journey was hopefully decided before the penitential sign of the ashes was placed on a forehead. Lent is a period of hope and good will. For penance to be successful, some effort and prayer must be connected to it. It is not enough to simply give up chocolate or coffee for Lent without adding something, some moment of prayer or reflection, some way to move closer to God.
Ash Wednesday reminds each Christian that we are made of earth and someday we will return to earth. Lent reminds us that we are created in the image of God and that if we are humble, obedient servants we will live in heaven with God.
We must remember that God loves us. We must teach ourselves to recognize and respond to God’s call. We must understand free will means choosing to obey God.
Secular life downplays the beauty of the mystical and spiritual life for the clamorous diseases leading people away from God, into all types of sinful, bad behavior. The secular world pollutes and infects each of our lives with disturbing, imprudent, impious images and ideas attacking basic decency and morality. Human beings should live in harmony with each other and the world; secular interests encourage lust, envy, gluttony, pride.
Lent offers a time and a manner to turn away from the secular world, a time and a manner to turn toward God.
Lent offers us a time to reflect upon our own unfair behavior and hopefully will provide us with the desire and ability to permanently make changes which will make us better people, better Christians. Lent reminds us of the necessity of social justice and then encourages us to add alms giving, prayer, and fasting to our lives. These should not be directed toward other men, but directed toward God’s gaze.
As we journey through each day of Lent remember human dignity. Remember that we all need to pray for and have hope in social justice. Life’s disappointments and tragedies should direct us toward God. Lent is a time of spiritual renewal. Each of us is responsible for both our personal and community conversion. Our lives must not only reflect the teachings of Christ, our lives must project the teachings of Christ and his love for each of us.
Ash Wednesday symbolizes our humanity and the continuing struggles of our daily experiences, of our daily conversion.
Penance is not about giving up, penance is for moving forward, learning something about yourself, your relationship with God, learning how to strengthen and improve that relationship.
The forty days of Lent provides each Christian with a glimpse of God beautiful loving design for our lives if we allow ourselves to trust in his magnificent, omnipotent love.
Penance allows us to draw direct parallels with Christ’s life; Christ did not take the easy path; Christ made all types of sacrifices; Christ suffered. As Christians penance reminds us that goodness requires effort and is difficult to achieve; as Christians we must be prepared to offer sacrifices and to suffer. As Christians we must always remember all the things that Christ did to save us, all the things that Christ did to show us how to be like him.
The gift of salvation waits for those who are able to demonstrate their free will to live like Jesus, to follow in his footsteps. Lent is a journey; penance is the map guiding us through life’s mendacity, mediocrity, morbidity, temptations. Lent is not a time for solitude; each Christian must remember to invite and to include Jesus in their Lenten journey.
Lent offers each Christian the choice of following Christ on the road of humility. Lent offers each Christian a moment to examine each action, to make the right choice, to be victorious over sin with Christ.
The itinerary of the Lenten journey was hopefully decided before the penitential sign of the ashes was placed on a forehead. Lent is a period of hope and good will. For penance to be successful, some effort and prayer must be connected to it. It is not enough to simply give up chocolate or coffee for Lent without adding something, some moment of prayer or reflection, some way to move closer to God.
Ash Wednesday reminds each Christian that we are made of earth and someday we will return to earth. Lent reminds us that we are created in the image of God and that if we are humble, obedient servants we will live in heaven with God.
We must remember that God loves us. We must teach ourselves to recognize and respond to God’s call. We must understand free will means choosing to obey God.
Secular life downplays the beauty of the mystical and spiritual life for the clamorous diseases leading people away from God, into all types of sinful, bad behavior. The secular world pollutes and infects each of our lives with disturbing, imprudent, impious images and ideas attacking basic decency and morality. Human beings should live in harmony with each other and the world; secular interests encourage lust, envy, gluttony, pride.
Lent offers a time and a manner to turn away from the secular world, a time and a manner to turn toward God.
Lent offers us a time to reflect upon our own unfair behavior and hopefully will provide us with the desire and ability to permanently make changes which will make us better people, better Christians. Lent reminds us of the necessity of social justice and then encourages us to add alms giving, prayer, and fasting to our lives. These should not be directed toward other men, but directed toward God’s gaze.
As we journey through each day of Lent remember human dignity. Remember that we all need to pray for and have hope in social justice. Life’s disappointments and tragedies should direct us toward God. Lent is a time of spiritual renewal. Each of us is responsible for both our personal and community conversion. Our lives must not only reflect the teachings of Christ, our lives must project the teachings of Christ and his love for each of us.
Ash Wednesday symbolizes our humanity and the continuing struggles of our daily experiences, of our daily conversion.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Canon Law - Feast Days and Days of Penance
Here is a little information on Moveable Feast Days and Holy Days of Obligation. Also, I have created a list of the remaining Holy Days of Obligation and Moveable Feasts.
Feast Days
Can. 1246 §1. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation. The following days must also be observed: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ,G, the Ascension, the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, and All Saints.
§2. With the prior approval of the Apostolic See, however, the conference of bishops can suppress some of the holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday.
Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.
Calendar of the Remaining Holy Days of Obligation and Moveable Feasts 2009
All Saint’s Day, (Sunday, November 1, 2009) Holy Day of Obligation
First Sunday of Advent (Sunday, November 29, 2009)
Feast of Saint Nicholas (Sunday, December 6, 2009)
Second Sunday of Advent (Sunday, December 6, 2009)
Immaculate Conception (Tuesday, December 8, 2009 Holy Day of Obligation
Our Lady of Guadalupe (Saturday, December 12, 2009)
Feast of Saint Lucy (Sunday, December 13, 2009)
Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) (Sunday, December 13, 2009)
Fourth Sunday of Advent (Sunday, December 20, 2009)
Christmas (Friday, December 25, 2009) Holy Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Advent is the both beginning of the liturgical year and a time to spiritually prepare for the arrival of Christ at Christmas. Advent, like Lent is a time of increased prayer, fasting, Confession, and good works. Some Catholics refer to Advent as “Little Lent.” The length of Advent varies from twenty-one to twenty-eight days.
Days of Penance
Can. 1249 The divine law binds all the Christian faithful to do penance each in his or her own way. In order for all to be united among themselves by some common observance of penance, however, penitential days are prescribed on which the Christian faithful devote themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their own obligations more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence, according to the norm of the following canons.
Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Feast Days
Can. 1246 §1. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation. The following days must also be observed: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ,G, the Ascension, the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, and All Saints.
§2. With the prior approval of the Apostolic See, however, the conference of bishops can suppress some of the holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday.
Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.
Calendar of the Remaining Holy Days of Obligation and Moveable Feasts 2009
All Saint’s Day, (Sunday, November 1, 2009) Holy Day of Obligation
First Sunday of Advent (Sunday, November 29, 2009)
Feast of Saint Nicholas (Sunday, December 6, 2009)
Second Sunday of Advent (Sunday, December 6, 2009)
Immaculate Conception (Tuesday, December 8, 2009 Holy Day of Obligation
Our Lady of Guadalupe (Saturday, December 12, 2009)
Feast of Saint Lucy (Sunday, December 13, 2009)
Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) (Sunday, December 13, 2009)
Fourth Sunday of Advent (Sunday, December 20, 2009)
Christmas (Friday, December 25, 2009) Holy Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Advent is the both beginning of the liturgical year and a time to spiritually prepare for the arrival of Christ at Christmas. Advent, like Lent is a time of increased prayer, fasting, Confession, and good works. Some Catholics refer to Advent as “Little Lent.” The length of Advent varies from twenty-one to twenty-eight days.
Days of Penance
Can. 1249 The divine law binds all the Christian faithful to do penance each in his or her own way. In order for all to be united among themselves by some common observance of penance, however, penitential days are prescribed on which the Christian faithful devote themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their own obligations more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence, according to the norm of the following canons.
Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
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