The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception- Dec. 8

(La Purísima Inmaculada Concepción by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1678, now in Museo del Prado, Spain)

This is probably one of the most misunderstood celebrations in the Catholic Church- for both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

First- a quick explanation.... while the Immaculate Conception is USUALLY a holy day of obligation (meaning we are obligated to attend Mass- or a vigil- for the day), the obligation is waived if the holy day falls on a Saturday or a Monday. HOWEVER, since Our Lady, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is patroness of the United states, it is still a hold day for those of us in America.

The confusion about exactly what we are celebrating stems from two things: the atrocious lack of decent catechesis from the mid 1960's on, although there are some good, faithful and educated catechists out here. Really- there are.  The other problem is the choice of the Gospel reading for the day: Luke 1:26-38... the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary.

You see, the Immaculate Conception does have something to do with that moment in scripture ( see The Visitation ) ... but not the way most people imagine.

The Immaculate Conception we are talking about is not the conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is part of the Virgin Birth. The Immaculate Conception to which we refer is the conception of Mary in her mother's womb. (Count forward nine months and you will find the Church celebrates the birthday of Mary on September 8th)

Now, before my non-Catholic friends get bent out of shape, the Church teaches that Mary was conceived the good old-fashioned way: through the marital embrace of her parents. By tradition, we call them Anne and Joachim.

The difference between Mary's conception and ours is that at the moment of her conception, by the merits of Jesus Christ and through a singular act of grace, she was kept free of the stain of original sin.

In fact, Gabriel's greeting to Mary tells us there was, indeed, something very special about this young woman: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!. Full of grace.... if she was full of grace, there was no room for unsavory things- like sin.

Ah, you may say- but in Luke 1:47, Mary clearly says, "My spirit rejoices in God my savior." Mary needed a savior, so she could not have been sinless. Bam!

Step back for a moment and imagine.... You are walking through a dark woods and you fall into a deep pit filled with muck and slime and goo. I come along and pull you out. Did I save you? Yes.   Now imagine that right before you fall into the pit, I block your path and keep you from falling in. Did I save you? Yep, sure did.

...and that is what happened with Mary. The Lord saved Mary by preserving her from original sin.

And where is that in scripture? Well, we'll start by saying that nowhere in scripture does it say that everything about the Christian faith is contained in scripture. Nowhere. Even if it did, the canon of scripture was not even settled until the Council of Rome in 392, under Pope Damasus. So any reference to scripture contained in scripture can only refer to the Hebrew Scriptures. That is another topic for another day.

What is crucial here is nothing about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is contrary to scripture.

Some people will argue that there was no need for Mary to have been so created. Perhaps- though here is a story that illustrate why God may have chosen to do so.

               Once upon a time, a baker decided to show his gratitude to the Lord for the blessings he had been given. He talked it over with his wife, and they decided they would make an offering of loaves of bread. The baker took the bread to the temple, placed the loaves before the ark, then departed. The caretaker came by and found the bread. Furious, he gathered the loaves and took them to the rabbi, "Look! Someone has desecrated the ark!" The rabbi realized the bread was an offering, and the donor meant no harm. He told the caretaker to give the bread to the poor.
              The following week, the baker returned with fresh loaves, intending to replace the old ones. When he saw the first bread was gone, he was excited and ran home to tell his wife that the Lord had accepted their gift. Later, the caretaker came again, and again found the bread, and again was enraged. Again, he took the bread to the rabbi, who told him to give the bread to the poor.
               A week later, the caretaker had had enough. He hid, waiting for the mysterious bread delivery. When the baker entered, the caretaker jumped out and the baker dropped the loaves as the caretaker chased him from the temple. The rabbi- who witnessed what had happened- picked up the loaves with tears in his eyes, knowing the baker would never return again with bread...and that the families who had received the loaves would be hungry.

I heard this story in a homily many years ago. It had nothing to do with the context in which I use it here, but it makes a point.
           Why was the caretaker upset? The presence of the worldly, common bread was not appropriate before the ark. Why? The ark was the holiest place in the temple, it contained the Torah: the Word of God.

Looking back to the original ark- the Ark of the Covenant (check Exodus 25 for the details)- we can see that God demanded the finest materials: gold, silver, bronze... fabrics dyed violet, purple and scarlet- the most expensive dyes...spices, oils and gemstones. The materials had to be the best.... God would dwell there. And no one messed with the Ark, or else. ( warning: graphic content!)

(Some of you see where I am going here...)

Where was the first dwelling place of God Made Man, the Word of God made Flesh, Jesus Christ? The womb of Mary, his mother. It is only good and right and just that his first earthly dwelling be as perfect as possible.

As God, he did just that.

Now, some history behind the Immaculate Conception.....

There is evidence that Mary's pureness and holiness was celebrated as early as the 5th century,  however  the formal proclamation of the Immaculate Conception took place in 1856:

     We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at 

      the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in 

      virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all 

      stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be 

      believed by all the faithful.

                 —Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854

As with many formal declarations of the Church ( and other, more worldly institutions), they do not appear out of thin air. They are part of what is called the development of doctrine, an unfolding of the truths of the faith. Such declarations are meant to put in one place the belief of the Church, and usually correct errors that tend to creep into un-formalized teachings. (note the painting above was done nearly 200 years before the formal proclamation)   Martin Luther, who initiated the Protestant Reformation, said: "Mary is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin. God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil" (Luther's Works, American edition, vol. 43, p. 40, ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968)

In 1858 in Lourdes, France, a 14 year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous saw a vision of a beautiful woman. The woman told Bernadette, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Bernadette had no idea what this meant; it was not a term a peasant child would have heard.

In 1792, Bishop John Carrol (first bishop of the United States) placed our country under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC is the largest Catholic Church in the United States, the 8th largest religious structure in the world, and is well worth your time on a visit to DC...even if you are not Catholic.

So, if you stuck with me to this point- I hope you learned something...or at least found words that will help you explain this beautiful part of our Catholic faith.

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The Third Glorious Mystery- Pentecost

The Third Glorious Mystery- Pentecost

Acts 2

Just as we celebrate Christmas for nearly 2 weeks after December 25th, we can't be content to give Easter just one day. The Church celebrates Pentecost on the 8th Sunday of Easter ( which is the 7th Sunday after Easter, 50 days- hence, PENTEcost), the entire time between Easter Sunday and Pentecost is the Easter season.

It is so much fun to wish everyone "Merry Christmas" after January 1st, and "Happy Easter" well after all the chocolate bunnies have met their demise! Try it sometime....

Pentecost is actually a Jewish feast ( this will be important to remember next paragraph). Recall that Jesus' death and resurrection occurred at the time of the Passover feast... giving a Christian meaning to the shedding of the Blood of the Lamb to save the people. Immediately after the first Passover, what did the Israelites do? They left Egypt and began their Exodus.

And what happened as they began that journey? Moses went up the mountain ( think back to the blog entry here on the Transfiguration) and received the Ten Commandments. Fifty days after the Passover. That is why there were Jews from all over in Jerusalem in Acts 2: they were there to celebrate Pentecost, the giving of the Law. It is called the Festival of Weeks, and is considered by many Jews to be the birthday of their religion. (remember that!)

So, Jesus' disciples were gathered together and a "noise like a strong, driving wind" came and "tongues as of fire" came to rest on each of them ( Acts 2:2-3).  We know the fire was the Holy Spirit... but remember the Jewish feast? Immediately before giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, we read in Exodus 19:18, "Mount Sinai was all wrapped up in smoke, for the Lord came down upon it in fire. "  The presence of the Lord, symbolized by fire.

Then the disciples began speaking in "foreign tongues." "Staying in Jerusalem at the time were devout Jews of every nation under heaven. These heard the sound and assembled in a large crowd. They were much confused because each one heard the men speaking in his own language." (Acts 2: 5-6)

Think about this for a moment... the listeners could each understand what the disciples were saying. 

****The following I say as my own observation about the event: the miracle of Pentecost was not the gift of speaking in tongues, it was that everyone understood.  I make this point because I have been present at conferences and prayer gatherings of Catholic and ostensibly rational people who announce "I am going to speak in tongues now," as if they can turn the Holy Spirit on and off like a light switch.  I even had one woman tell me that I did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling because I have never spoken in tongues.  Well, I gotta tell you, I believe the Lord God can do anything he pleases, whenever he pleases. I also believe that speaking in tongues ( known as glossolalia ) is pointless unless the people understand the message. I am more likely to listen to someone filled with the Holy Spirit speaking words I can take to heart than I am to someone who claims the un-intelligible words they mutter are of God...because we just never know.  *****

In  the first week of December of 2008, I was planning a retreat for the 7th and 8th graders I was taking to Washington DC for the March for Life. It was an overnight lock-in that I dubbed the "Lock-in for LIFE." Throughout the evening, we were going to have a LIFE marathon, with game sessions interspersed with discussions about the various life issues we face as Catholic Christians: genocide, euthanasia, death penalty, suicide, birth control, pre-marital sex, and- of course- abortion.  Forty youth were supposed to be there, so I needed SEVEN  LIFE games, and with so many varieties, I knew I just needed to buy them, I didn't want to deal with different sets of rules. Besides, you have no idea how few teens know how to play board games anymore!

So, I went shopping. In our town, we are blessed to have many places to choose from, all close. I checked WalMart ( $17), KMart ($18), Meijer ($20), Big Lots( no luck). I needed to watch the money.  I was southbound on Cable Road at the 309 light. Toys-R-Us was to my left. I had intentionally NOT gone there. 

Something inside me said- go to Toys-R-Us.

No, I said. I'm not wasting my time.

Go to Toys-R-Us.

No. They are overpriced on everything.

Go to Toys-R-Us!

Ugh. FINE. I will go- but only to prove to myself they are too expensive.

So I made the turn and went into the store...only to find that original LIFE was the loss-leader game for the week. At $7 each. I bought seven of them...despite the looks I received.

When I got into the car, I sat for a moment and thought about what had happened. I could have ignored the message and would have spent the extra money at WalMart, believing I found the best price. 

I called our pastor at the time, and when he answered the phone, I said, "Never, ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever...doubt the Holy Spirit when he tells you to do something." He laughed at me. Come to think of it, he does that a LOT. 

Some may call it coincidence.

Some might say I saw it in the Sunday ads and my sub-conscious recalled it.

Some might say it was just common sense to at least check.

I still believe it was the Holy Spirit: the $70 I saved was 1/3 the cost of one student's way to Washington. This trip was for students from two inner-city parishes, and we worked very hard to raise 90% of the money for each of them, so no one had to stay behind because of money. And every time we met, every fundraiser we held- we prayed. We prayed to St Therese, Blessed JPII ( although he wasn't a blessed at the time), and Our Lady of Guadalupe. And we prayed to the Lord, too. We needed help raising that money, and we knew the heavenly intercessors would speak up on our behalf. You see.... Therese of Lisieux is patroness of the missions, and this was a mission trip....JPII loved young people and traveled the world... and Our Lady of Guadalupe? She is patroness of the Americas and of the unborn.  And, of course, we can go to the Lord for anything... but how nice to have a cheering section!

In the end, we raised $200 per student. for 35 students. Not bad for a bunch of junior high kids!

That was a sidetrack, but I wanted to show how it all came together. We all worked together: the Lord, the Saints, and our hard work.

The Holy Spirit is pointless unless we are open to his working in our lives. This is called being docile to the Spirit, and it takes work on our part...and trust. That is the lesson of the Third Glorious Mystery.

The Second Glorious Mystery- The Ascension of Jesus Christ

The Second Glorious Mystery- The Ascension of Jesus Christ


Luke 24:50 and following; Acts 1:1-14

In the Catholic Church, we celebrate the Ascension ( a Holy Day of Obligation) 40 days after Easter, which would always fall on a Thursday. In some Dioceses, the Bishops have moved the observation of the Ascension to the following Sunday.

Put yourself in the place of one of the disciples. ( after all, that is the best way to meditate on the mysteries!)  Remember back to the events of Holy Week- the Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem, the last days with Jesus, the Last Supper.- and think about the horror of that Friday. Recall the devastating loss of Christ, the feeling of abandoning him.... the emptiness of Holy Saturday.

Then the triumph of Easter Sunday! Imagine the joy they felt, how good it was to have Jesus with them again, how he offered them his PEACE.

And now- he is leaving...again?  I went looking for an image that summed up how I have always imagined the event. Surprisingly, most classical art of the Ascension shows Jesus' followers cowering. I've always imagined it like this:

In my mind, I think they would be unwilling to let him go so easily. Two more images with interesting perspectives:

  Yep. Just the feet. Sure lets you know what is happening.

But THIS- this one is my favorite! What a perspective! THIS artist thinks about the mysteries the way I do, putting himself/herself right there, being a part of it....  get ready to say WOW.

Yeah- I know- no nail marks. Or wound in his side. But isn't it an incredible point of view??

So, how would you feel at that moment? I'd probably be reaching up, "Get back here!"  And we know the disciples stood there, waiting, looking into the clouds...because two angels came and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up at the skies? This Jesus who has been taken from you will return, just as you saw him go up into the heavens." (Acts 1:11)

In other words, "He gave you your marching orders. Get to it!"

And what had Christ told them, the instant before he ascended?

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you; then you are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes even to the ends of the earth."

And those words are for us, too. We have work to do, witnessing to Christ in word and deed...because we cannot hold on to the temporary things of this earth. There is so much more waiting for us!


...And that is the lesson of the Second Glorious Mystery.

The First Glorious Mystery- The Resurrection of Jesus

The First Glorious Mystery- The Resurrection of Jesus

Several years ago, we started attended the Easter Vigil Mass (rather than Easter Sunday) again because our children as a group were old enough. The incident is recorded in the annals of Alderman history. Consider it our version of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  I'll not go into it here. We'll just say that after the Mass, the associate pastor and the two of our offspring who were serving couldn't wait to hustle over and find out what was so outrageously funny in the Alderman pew.

The final incident in the string of you-can't make-this-stuff-up comedic moments...the one that sent us all over the edge, went like this:
       The pastor ( who was not my biggest fan to begin with) was giving his homily. He talked about the first commemoration of Easter after Christ rose from the dead- in essence, the first Easter Vigil. How the apostles built a fire and waited through the night. "They waited. And they waited. And do you know what they were waiting for?" he asked.

A small voice beside me answered loudly , "The Easter Bunny?"

Yeah. Boy, did I get a look from the pulpit.




Most of us have had the experience of standing at a graveside. The rite of committal is over, it is time to leave. Time to go home.

It seems difficult to do, though. It seems so final. No one wants to be the first to walk away...eventually someone does, perhaps with some parting words to the immediate family. A few people will linger longer than others,

Imagine how the followers of Jesus felt. They had rolled the stone in front of the grave to close it. It was time to leave, the sun was setting and it was the eve of a holy day. They had to go.

Confusion. Sorrow. Despair. Loneliness.

We know how they felt. How empty that evening and the next day must have been without their friend, their teacher. How painful it must have been, replaying the events of Friday, realizing how they had let him down, how they had not been there for him. Conversation was, I'm sure, difficult, as they each confronted their sorrow and guilt in their own way.

Sunday morning. The women go to the tomb to complete the burial rituals for which there had not been time.
Get your Bible.
Matthew 28:1-10
Mark 16:1-8
Luke 24:1-12
John 20 1-18

While the accounts differ slightly, that does not mean there is conflict among them. In fact, most of the details can easily be formed into one account.

So contrast the feelings on that first Easter Sunday with those on Good Friday. I'm betting they were still plenty confused, but were they starting to piece it together?

"Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days" John 2:19
"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and [of] the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." Mark 8:31
"From that time forth began Jesus to tell his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day."  Matthew 16:21

...it was more than they could dare hope.

Hope is the lesson of the First Glorious Mystery. We stand by the grave, and we hope. We hope that everything Christ is promised is true. We hope that those we love are in a better place. We hope that one day, we, too, will share in that promise. And we always must remember that we cannot get to Easter Sunday without first journeying through Good Friday.

The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery- Jesus Dies on the Cross

The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery- Jesus Dies on the Cross

When my youngest daughter was 3 1/2, we attended a Mass at Historic St Patrick's in Toledo, OH.

We sat in the pew before Mass began, and she gazed at the large crucifix which hung quite near us. It was a beautiful perspective that made me feel as though I was at the foot of the cross.... as though I was at Calvary.

Already rather precocious in her faith, my daughter gazed at the crucifix as I watched her. Without taking her eyes from it, she asked, "Mommy, why did Jesus have to die?"

Well, there's the $64 thousand-dollar question. Holy cow!

Why did Jesus have to die? How do you answer that for anyone, let alone a three-year-old??

And in one of those moments in which you know the Holy Spirit is right there with you, I put my arm around her and was able to give her an answer:

"Jesus had to die because we forget how to love one another."

After a brief "hey-that-wasn't-a-bad answer" gloat, I thought about it....it really is the answer, isn't it?

We forget how to love each other, and that is where a good chunk of the misery in the world originates.

We don't stop and think how deeply a wise-crack can cut.
We forget that to truly love a person, we must always make our choices for that person's benefit, not based on what we want for ourselves.
We forget that people we see every day carry hidden hurts that affect how they present themselves, and we judge them based on what we see.

We refuse to give up the sinful pride that goes all the way back to Adam and Eve- the pride that was the original sin that has reached through the ages and led to a little girl's question.

Why did Jesus have to die? ...Because we forget how to love one another.....The lesson of the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery.

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery- Jesus Takes Up His Cross

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery- Jesus Takes Up His Cross

Jesus told his disciples they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. (MT 16:24, MK 8:34, LK 9:23)

It sounds so sanitary...just pick up the cross and follow.  Even gazing upon the crucifixes in churches, they are ( for the most part) neat, clean... You'll even find parishes that have an atrocity known as the 'risen Christ' crucifix. we're jumping ahead, but Jesus died on the cross, he didn't rise from it.

But I digress.

Contrary to the 'health and wealth' or 'prosperity' gospel preached by some, my Bible reads differently. If we are disciples, we take up the cross, and we walk the path Jesus walked.

If you go to Jerusalem and walk the Via Dolorosa, you will be surprised at how it is marked. Simple Roman-numeral plaques mounted on walls designate each of the traditional Stations of the Cross, until you approach the last few which are all contained in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  Along the way, you are reminded of the insults, taunt and abuse that was all part of the sport of crucifixion. The crowd would join in- it wasn't only the soldiers.

And the condemned had to face it alone, crushed under the weight of the cross- or at least the cross-beam. It was a spectacle. A bloody, violent, humiliating spectacle.

And Jesus? He did it after the horrendous night before: betrayed by his disciple, abandoned by his friends, whipped, beaten, spat upon, crowned with thorns....and now- when it is difficult to imagine him having any strength left...he takes up the heavy wood and bears it alone.

Until Simon of Cyrene is pressed into service. Imagine how embarrassing it was for Simon, but he didn't have a choice.

We all have crosses, the trials and hardships of life. And I know, sometimes I wonder how I will get through them- especially when I feel so terribly alone.

But we are never truly alone. We have a Savior who walked the road before us...and is waiting for us at it's end.

The Third Sorrowful Mystery- Jesus is Crowned with Thorns

The Third Sorrowful Mystery- Jesus is Crowned with Thorns

MT 27:27-31, MK 15:16-20, JN 19:2-3

The crowning with thorns took place immediately after the scourging; Jesus' back, bruised and raw, was draped with a heavy scarlet (more of a purplish- red) military cloak, likely made of wool. The fabric would have absorbed the blood and stuck to the wounds. Then the soldiers wove a crown of thorny barbs and didn't just place it- crammed it- onto his head.

These guys didn't mess around.

It was a mob-mentality thing. Who can some up with a more humiliating, more vicious way to treat the prisoner? It was a game.

The descriptions in the Gospels are bad enough. it makes you wonder what they did to Jesus that didn't make it onto the pages.

 And when they were through, they tore the cloak off his back, re-opening the wounds from the scourging.


What lesson can we possibly learn from this?

How do we in any way mock and humiliate Jesus Christ?

How do you feel about the the Church's stand on artificial contraception?
Artificial/ In-vitro fertilization?
Divorce?
Female priests?
Abortion?
The Real Presence in the Eucharist?

How do you treat the gift of your sexuality?
How many porn sites have you visited?
Read 50 Shades of Gray?
Do you masturbate?
Pre-marital and extra-marital sex?
Lusted after anyone lately?

Are you completely and totally honest in your dealings with other people?
Are you on Facebook while you are at work?
Do you give back incorrect change?

When's the last time you saw the inside of a confessional?

The Lord gave us his Bride, the Church, as a lawful authority and presence in our lives. The Church stands as the visible body of Christ, and we are compelled to obey the Church by our love of the God who loved us so much he didn't spare his own Son...just so we could be happy in heaven with him one day.

Spurning that lawful authority, we are the soldiers crowning Jesus with thorns, mocking him and spitting in his face.

That is the lesson of the Third Sorrowful Mystery.


For a more complete---practically exhaustive list of Sins That Must Be Confessed, ( in English and Spanish!) follow the link.  Write down each one you are guilty of, and be humbled. Then go to Confession and get rid of it all!!!!!!!!

The Second Sorrowful Mystery- The Scourging at the Pillar

The Second Sorrowful Mystery- The Scourging at the Pillar

MT 27:26, MK 15:15, JN 19:1

The Gospels are remarkably silent on the scourging. Pretty much all they say is "Pilate had Jesus scourged."

Which makes one wonder.... WHY? Why not say more?

The answer is simple- because their readers fully understood what scourging meant.

Some years ago, I read a book called A Doctor at Calvary by Pierre Barbet. It was a difficult read for two reasons. First, it was originally written in French, and was translated into English by a native speaker of French, so a lot of the phrasing was awkward. Second, the subject matter. Through extensive research, Barbet learned the physiology of Roman crucifixion, and the antecedent torture that usually accompanied it.

After whichever-Pope-it-was read it, he received Barbet and with tears told him, "We didn't know.No one had ever told us."

I have not seen- I refuse to see- "The Passion of the Christ", because I know what happens; A Doctor at Calvary was one of the references Mel Gibson used when writing the screenplay. Besides, I won't watch "Titanic" either.  [SPOILER ALERT: the boat sinks. I hope I didn't ruin it for you :-) ]

Long, gruesome story short, scourging was done with leather straps tied to a stick. Each of the straps had a lead weight at the end. The weights pummeled and tenderized the skin of the victim, then the leather straps eventually sliced open the bruised skin. It was so severe, many victims never made it to their crosses.


Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

In a coloring book about the Rosary that I wrote some years ago, this mystery is represented by a picture of Jesus back. The color-er was to add the scourge marks... remembering that each of them was inflicted by each of us individually. I did that. You did it, too. Every sin, Jesus took the hit. No one ever wanted to take the red crayon to that page. Until I went through an examination of conscience with them and asked them to make a mark every time they had committed a sin I mentioned. Most of the students were in tears by the time we finished.


Prior to the order to scourge Jesus, Pilate offered a deal to the people. He would release a prisoner to them. He really wanted to release Jesus, but when offered them a choice, they chose the prisoner Barabbas.

The prefix BAR. Means "son of."   ABBAS... was a title Jesus used addressing God the Father. It is the equivalent of "dad" or "father."   The people called for the release of Barabbas.... the son of the father. Hmmmmmmmm......... makes you think, doesn't it?

Now, let's get back to Pilate for a moment. He really did try to find a way to set Jesus free- especially after the dream his wife had to "not interfere in the case of that holy man." (MT27:19) Her concern was for her husband, not Jesus. Pilate repeatedly said he found no guilt in Jesus. yet he failed to stand up the crowd because he was afraid.

Lesson #1 of the Second Sorrowful Mystery- sin is an ugly word. And every time I sin, I add another lashing to Jesus' back. Kinda puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

Lesson #2- When your gut is telling you what is right, and the crowd says the opposite...do the right thing.

The First Sorrowful Mystery- The Agony in the Garden

The First Sorrowful Mystery- The Agony in the Garden

After the Last Supper, Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray (Luke 22:39 and following). He knelt and prayed, "Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done" (vs 42). Luke tells us an angel comforted Christ, who prayed so intensely that his sweat 'became like drops of blood falling to the ground" (vs 44). He then found his disciples asleep.

Twenty-seven years ago this summer, I stood in Gethsemane while on my honeymoon. I was profoundly moved by the place, which is a simple olive grove with a requisite church commemorating Christ's prayer, betrayal and arrest there. I felt like I should pray, but what should I pray? I couldn't conjure a prayer.  An Our Father was the best I could summon as the tour group was moving on.

Fifteen years later during Holy Week, I found myself leaving the confessional with a prayer-penance that was....well....different, for me anyway. Not certain how to approach it, I returned the following day for guidance. I explained my dilemma to the (different) priest, who suggested, "Think of Jesus in Gethsemane."

Now, I did not know this priest well at the time ( it's Fr. Ross for those of you wondering :-)) , but I will tell you this: no amount of psychology, no amount of seminary training could have known how deeply those words reached me. Every Christian has a reaction to Gethsemane, but he had no way of knowing I had been there 15 years prior- with difficulty praying. Problem solved, just be in the Lord's presence in prayer, he'll take care of the rest.

Lesson # 1 of the First Sorrowful Mystery: We speak to and are spoken to by the priest in Confession, but never forget: it is really Jesus Christ doing the talking! He stands in persona Christi - and the Lord will speak to you through him- if you are willing to listen.

Fast-forward another five years. I was facing surgery for something I shouldn't have had to have surgery for. It wasn't my fault; I had done everything right...and I was not happy about it. I was 30 years old and the only surgery before that was a tonsillectomy when I was five. I was scared, I'll admit it. And I knew that despite the bad situation, the Lord could make good come from it... I just didn't understand why it had to be this way.

So I prayed. It was a Tuesday, so I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries. I never got past the first decade, I got stuck in Gethsemane.

Remember waaaayyy back in the second blog entry- when I talked about meditating on the mysteries as you say the prayers?  I pictured the quintessential Gethsemane picture...Jesus next to a big rock, hands clenched, angel ... and the only words I could hear were: Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done....over and over again.

I knew the Lord was telling me, "We can do this your way, or we can do it MY way. In the long run, my way works out better....but you must drink from the cup."  I drank. Deeply. And amazing things have happened.

To this day, when I receive the Precious Blood, my prayer before I drink is : Lord, your will- not mine.  Some days, I know I'm not ready to say that, so I don't receive from the cup. (Which is fine, because we receive Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity even when we receive under one species only) Also, for those who pay attention to these things, I won't drink from a glass cup at Mass. And some days I don't receive from the cup because I don't feel well.

Lesson #2 of the First Sorrowful Mystery: When we do "drink from the cup" the Lord has for us, we are surrendering ourselves to God's will in our lives. Buckle up: powerful things will happen! 

The words "his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground" had always mystified me. While there is a medical condition that occurs under severe stress that can cause the capillaries to burst and allow blood to leak from the pores and mix with blood, I'm not positive that is what happened. I always imagined Jesus sweat so profusely that it was literally dripping off on him. Either way, the guy was under a LOT of pressure, who wouldn't be?

And what are his friends doing?

They are asleep.

In other Gospels, we hear Jesus three times ask them to stay awake with him, even if just for an hour.

Lesson #3 of the First Sorrowful Mystery: When you have a friend going through a tough time, just be there. Even if you don't have a thing to say, not a single word of comfort. Your presence alone will be comfort beyond words, and your absence would be missed.

Oh- and keeping watch with the Lord for an hour? That is where the tradition of a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament originates.

Will you keep watch with him for an hour?

Don't know what to say"

Just be in the Lord's presence in prayer, he'll take care of the rest!

The Fifth Luminous Mystery- The Institution of the Eucharist

The Fifth Luminous Mystery- The Institution of the Eucharist

This is- so far- the most difficult Mystery for me to write about, not because the subject matter is so difficult, but because there is SO MUCH to say! 

You know the story of the Last Supper. We hear the words at every Mass. ..."Do this in remembrance of me."

Those are very important words, and they sent a clear message to those who heard Jesus speak them. You see, "remember" had a far deeper meaning for them than it does for us, especially in the context of the Passover meal Jesus was celebrating with his disciples. In the Passover meal, the Jews believe they are joining at that moment with everyone who has ever eaten the Passover, and with everyone who will ever eat the Passover. It makes all time present in that moment, when they remember God bringing them out of slavery and to freedom. And the guest of honor at the Passover meal was the lamb. It was by the blood of the lamb that they were protected....but there was another specification: everyone present was required to eat of the flesh of the lamb that had been sacrificed, whose blood was poured out.

See where this is going? 

Now. Grab your Bible ( or Google) the Gospel of John, chapter 6. Read it now. Go ahead, I'll wait!

Hum-de-dum-dum....  Back already? Did you really read it?  Go on, even if you think you know what it says. 

*****

John 6: 54-58  ( from USCCB.ORG )

Whoever eats^* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.57Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

****

Notice- not once, not twice but THREE times, Jesus says you must eat his flesh. Ever wonder why we say HOLY HOLY HOLY during Mass? Or repeat LAMB OF GOD three times? It is because in Hebrew, there are no comparative or superlative forms. So, you cannot say something is 'better' or 'best,'  but it can be GOOD GOOD or GOOD GOOD GOOD. Repetition was also used for emphasis.

Yes. I know Jesus spoke Aramaic. Yes, I know the Gospels were written in Greek. But Jesus also spoke Hebrew ( he could read from the scrolls in the temple), and the literary form of repetition for emphasis was understood then- and is even used in writing and speaking today, because it works, it gets the message across. 

This is what the  United States Council of Catholic Bishops say about the above-cited passage: 

[6:54–58] Eats: the verb used in these verses is not the classical Greek verb used of human eating, but that of animal eating: “munch,” “gnaw.” This may be part of John’s emphasis on the reality of the flesh and blood of Jesus (cf. Jn 6:55), but the same verb eventually became the ordinary verb in Greek meaning “eat.”

When you look at the big picture, there can be no doubt in the reasonable persons mind: Jesus said we must eat his flesh- the flesh of the Lamb whose blood was poured out - if we want to have eternal life. 

When we join in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we are present for the ONE sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And we are doing exactly what he asked us to do.

In the Fifth Luminous Mystery, we remember what we may take for granted: the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

The Fourth Luminous Mystery- The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration appears in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36)  Peter, James and John climb the mountain with Jesus, whose appearance becomes radiant, blinding as the sun.

So, the question is WHY?

It stumped me for a long time.

OK, first we have the obvious significance of going to the mountaintop, which scripturally indicates an encounter with God is coming soon. (Think- MLK Jr.'s "I Have Been to the Mountaintop" speech- when he said that he had seen the Promised Land. He gave the speech the day before he died!!!!!)

So, we know an encounter with God is coming.

When Jesus is transfigured, Luke tells us that they "saw him in his glory." (LK 9:32)  There is an inkling that this was indeed, divine glory. Some believe this was an anticipation of Jesus' body glorified in the resurrection.

But why Moses and Elijah?   Various theologians have said  they were there to show Jesus is Lord of the living and the dead. Others believe that ( in light of the words God speaks in the account) it is to show that we should listen to Jesus instead of Moses and/or Elijah.

That didn't quite do it for me. Then it dawned on me: Moses and Elijah came as close as anyone ever did to meeting God face-to-face. The close encounter was enough to turn Moses hair white. But neither actually beheld the face of God, because no one could see the face of God- and live. (Ex 33:20) *

But Jesus IS God!

And there, on Mount Tabor, Moses and Elijah could finally do what they had not done: stand in the presence of God, look him in the eye... and live.


God had always been present to his people, but they could never see him. In Jesus, God makes himself visible and physically present to us...and the Transfiguration was a foretaste of the ultimate physical presence of Jesus Christ...which we'll discuss tomorrow!

The Transfiguration teaches us to long for holiness and being in the presence of God.  Twice now in the Luminous Mysteries, we have heard God the Father proclaim Jesus Christ as his Son, telling us to listen to him. There is only one way to God. While all religions have some elements of truth ( or they could not continue), there is only one truth, Jesus Christ. He started one Church. Only one. It is not easy to be a member of that Church, because you will suffer for telling people the truth out of love for them. There is no glory with first suffering, there is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday.  Do you have the courage to be a disciple?


*Two great stories from the Hebrew Scriptures are Ex 33:18-23, when God describes holding Moses so he is face- first into the mountain as God passes him...so all Moses gets to see is God's backside.  Another is Elijah's encounter with God on the mountain top in 1Kings 19.    Moses was given the covenant; Elijah's job was to restore it. They both received their commission on the mountaintop- in the presence of the Lord, but not seeing him.

The Third Luminous Mystery- The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God

The Third Luminous Mystery- The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God.

This Mystery is found in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, and may be recognized as the Sermon on the Mount.

Here we find the Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit...blessed are they who mourn...blessed are the meek...

None of them sound very promising on the surface, do they? I don't want to mourn. I don't want to be persecuted. I guess being meek and merciful is OK. But, really? That isn't what gets you ahead is this world!

And that is the point. The Beatitudes make no sense on the surface.

My St Charles friends... take a look at the doors next time you go to Mass. The stained glass ones. There are eight of them.

Take a look at all the stained glass, for that matter. Fr. Ross was brilliant when he had the concept for them a dozen years ago. I still marvel at them! The cupola contains the days of Creation, the side windows are the Corporal works of Mercy. The bell tower is "Peace and Justice."

Look at them from the outside. I specifically want you to look at those doors, because each one is a Beatitude, and there is above each door a plaque telling you what it is.

But from the outside, they don't make sense. They are grey and dark and formless.

From the inside? Ah, from the INSIDE, you can see what is happening!

The Beatitudes are the same way. It is only from INSIDE the church that they have meaning, when the light of the Son ( see what I did there? ) is shining through, illuminating them.

Then we can see: the mourning shall be comforted, the meek shall inherit the earth, the peacemakers shall be called sons of God... the persecuted for God's sake will have a great reward in heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven will never make sense to those outside the Church, because the ways of the world are not the ways of God. But when we live the Beatitudes, his light shines through us and allows us to bring peace, and mercy and consolation and holiness to a world so desperately longing for them.

And that is the lesson of the Third Luminous Mystery.

The Second Luminous Mystery- the Wedding at Cana

The Second Luminous Mystery- the Wedding at Cana.( JN 2:1-12) 

My husband ( raised a Protestant) was taught the wedding at Cana was actually JESUS' wedding, perhaps to Mary Magdalene.  Scripture shows the cannot be true.

1-  in Jn 2:2 we read, "Jesus and his disciples had likewise been invited to the celebration." ( in addition to Mary, his mother.   The groom is not 'invited' to a wedding, his is the guest of honor. 

2- Mary informs Jesus "They have no more wine." (Jn 2:3) If it were Jesus' wedding, she would have said WE have no more wine.

3- Jesus replies, " How does this concern of yours involve me?" (Jn 2:4) If her were the groom, it most certainly would have been a concern of his.

Nope. Cana was not Jesus wedding.



Mary knew Jesus could help when the party ran out of wine ( 

a tremendous embarrassment ); the words she speaks in this passage are the last words of Mary in scripture: Do whatever he tells you.

See what she did there? She turned the attention back to Jesus. Again.

The First Luminous Mystery: Jesus sanctifies traditional marriage...he shows us that whatever we set before him, he will turn into something wonderful... and we learn to listen to Mary- who once again turns our attention away from herself and toward Christ- she tells us "DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU."

The First Luminous Mystery- the Baptism of Jesus

The Luminous Mysteries were added to the Rosary by Pope John Paul II ( the Great) in 2002. They fill inthe gap between the Joyful and the Sorrowful Mysteries.  A little different in character than the original ( Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious) mysteries in that they are not seen through Mary's eyes, they still keep the tradition of eventsin the life of Jesus Christ in which we see God at work, though we may not fully understand how or why.

First Luminous Mystery: The Baptism of Jesus. (MK 1 :1-11, also in other gospels) It seems ridiculous, doesn't it? John preached a baptism of repentance, Jesus had no sin to repent of. But- as 

in all things- Christ set the example for us through his own baptism. The CCC says this about Jesus's baptism:

537 Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his own baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. The Christian must enter into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit so as to become the Father's beloved son in the Son and "walk in newness of life."

In this mystery we learn obedience and how to begin to conform our own lives to that of Christ.

The Fifth Joyful Mystery- The Finding in the Temple

The Fifth Joyful Mystery is the Finding in the Temple.

The Gospel of Luke tells of Jesus accompanying Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for the Passover. On the trip home, a day and a half passed before Mary and Joseph realized he was not in the group ( he likely would have been with the other boys his age, and it was a large group....before anyone accuses his earthly parents 

of neglect :-) ). 

They found him in the Temple, listening and asking questions, and all who heard him were impressed by his intelligence. When Mary asked why he had caused them to worry, Jesus replied, "Did you not know I would be about my father's business." Some translations read "Did you not know I would be in my father's house?", He then returned home with them, was obedient to them and grew "in wisdom and age and grace before God and man." 

From Luke 2, vs 41 and following. Jesus was missing for 3 days total, a foreshadowing of another time he would be 'missing' for 3 days- and be about his father's business during that time. Notice also, he was not teaching, but asking questions.

I've often wondered what he asked them. His response to Mary shows us he had knowledge of why he was here. Were his questions perhaps Socratic? Regardless, he was showing the proper respect a 12 year-old boy should show in that situation. 

What do we learn from the Fifth Joyful Mystery? Respect for legitimate authority- teachers, parents, the Church.... Humility. Obedience. And all of these because we simply do not see as God sees. We must learn to trust that the wisdom and providence of God is better than anything we can come with on our own. If we do not, we run the risk of seeing ourselves as more omnipotent then God himself.

The Fourth Joyful Mystery- The Presentation

The Fourth Joyful Mystery is the Presentation.(LK 2:22-40) 

The Presentation (celebrated by the Church on February 2nd- 40 days after Christmas) recalls Mary and Joseph taking the infant Jesus to the temple for the ritual purification of Mary and the Jewish custom of the redemption of the firstborn. Here is our evidence that the Holy Family w

as, indeed, poor because their offering of small birds was allowed in Leviticus. The wealthy would offer a bull or a goat; the destitute could offer flour. Even though they had no need to make a sin offering for Mary's purification, they did anyway. This shows their desire to live according to the Law and their acceptance of God's will in their lives.

Simeon, upon seeing the child, recognizes him as the long-awaited Messiah and makes a prophecy about him; Anna tells every who will listen that she has seen the child.

Again- notice- the focus is on Christ. 

Candlemas (another name for this feast) is traditionally the day when candles are blessed for use at Mass during the year. The following day- Feb. 3rd is the Feast of St Blaise, Bishop and martyr...it is a tradition to bless throats with candles on St Blaise Day.

A beautiful Catholic tradition based on the Jewish custom has fallen out of use. It was called the "churching" and was a special blessing given to a mother the first time she returned to church after giving birth. If I had known about it when I was in baby-making mode, I would have asked for it!

The lesson of the Presentation? Parents are the first faith educators of their children. We set the example. When our children see us attending Mass every Sunday and Holy Day, when they see us go to Confession, when they see us pray we are teaching them far more than we could ever imagine...and we all know:our children watch what we say and do. All of us have the responsibility to raise children in the faith and to set the example of faithful following of the Lord and his Church.

The Third Joyful Mystery- The Nativity of Christ

The Third Joyful Mystery is the Nativity of Jesus Christ. 

God could have sent his son into the world any way he wanted. He chose to send him as a helpless infant. Why? 

Step back a moment and think about this -albeit absurd- example. You are a child and you can't get the lid off the peanut butter jar. There are two men who can help you: a mighty king on a throne, regaled in jewels and obvious sp

lendor, or a guy in jeans, t-shirt and sneakers, who actually looks a lot like you. Who is more easily approachable? 

Jesus Christ came as an infant, a helpless child, and lived the life we lived. He felt love. He felt friendship. He felt anger. He felt betrayal. He laughed. He grieved. He bled. He died. He loved us enough to enter our human experience so that we might enter HIS life. Like us in all things but sin, he took on our humanity so that we might have a share in his divinity : eternal life with him in heaven.

Why should we expect this life be easy for us, when our Lord didn't even make it easy on himself? His life is our example, his death our redemption, his rising our hope. 

The lesson of the Third Joyful Mystery is this: we can never know what greatness lies in the smallest of human life (even the pre-born). We must protect it, cherish it and nurture it for our Lord sanctified human life by taking on human flesh. He became our brother so we could become children of the Most High. Not bad for a homeless kid born to an unwed, teen mom.

 ***Now before you go chiding me, yes, I know Mary was betrothed, but she had no business being pregnant- which is why Joseph was going to divorce her. And they were traveling, not homeless...WORK WITH ME HERE :-) ***

The Second Joyful Mystery- The Visitation

The Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: The Visitation

Unable to pick up her cell and call her relative, Elizabeth, Mary set out to see for herself if what Gabriel said was true: Elizabeth- in her old age- was pregnant. When Mary entered Elizabeth's house, she called out to her, and what does Elizabeth say? " Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (LK 1: 42) This 

is the next part of the HAIL MARY- yes, that is right! The HAIL MARY IS SCRIPTURAL!!

Now listen to Liz's next words: "But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (LK1:43) Yes, folks, you read it in the Bible: inspired by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth calls MARY THE MOTHER OF THE LORD! Woo-Hoo!!!

Once again, though, Mary turns our gaze back to GOD! She begins her beautiful Magnificat: My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked upon his servant in her lowliness and all ages to come shall call me blessed." (LK 1:46 and following- read it- it's quite beautiful)

SO---- Anytime you call that girl from Nazareth the BLESSED Mother- YOU, yes YOU are fulfilling Biblical prophecy. How cool is that!! LK 1:56 tells us Mary remained 3 months with Elizabeth. Gabriel had said Elizabeth was 6 months along....Mary likely (and this is my conjecture) stayed to help with the birth of--------JOHN THE BAPTIST, who as we saw in LK 1:41, already recognized the presence of Christ when the two were in their mothers' wombs. So- the first time they met was in a little house in Bethany. Pretty neat!

What do we learn from the Visitation? We need to be both Mary and Elizabeth: We must BRING Christ to others and we must learn to SEE Christ in others.

The First Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation

The First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary is the Annunciation of our Lord.

One of the the first things anyone must learn about the Rosary is that, although it seems centered on Mary, it is actually Christ- centered: it is the life of Christ seen through his mother's eyes.

The Annunciation ( celebrated on March 25th- 9 months before Christmas) recalls the angel Gabriel coming to Mary and asking her to b

ecome the mother of Israel's long-awaited savior. He greets her :" Hail, full of Grace! The Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women." (Luke 1:28) This is the first part of the HAIL MARY. Note- Gabe says she is full of GRACE. If one is full of grace, she has no room for sin!

In Mary's fiat: "I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word" (LK 1:38) she turns our gaze back to God and sums up how Catholics view Mary.... she is fully human and humbles herself in service to God. We are to 'be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" ( MT 5:48), but we can only attain that perfection through God's grace in Heaven.

Here on earth, we can aspire to be like Mary: as best we can in our humanity, we can strive to always do as the Lord wills us to do.

And that is the lesson of the First Joyful Mystery: the Annunciation of our Lord.

What is the origin of the Rosary?

Various legends surround the origin of the Rosary.  The traditional rosary ( the beads) I described in the last post is attributed to St. Dominic, and is called the Dominican Rosary. Legend has it that the Blessed Mother gave Dominic the beads and instructed him in their use.

Another version calls the Rosary the 'poor man's Psalter.'  There are 150 Psalms; at one time, the learned would memorize them and pray them every day. The uneducated would pray 150 Our Fathers, originally by counting out beans or pebbles from one bowl to another, evolving into a string of beads. eventually, those 150 Our Fathers were grouped into sets of ten. Somewhere along the way, the Hail Mary prayer and the Mysteries were introduced.

The reason the month of October is dedicated to the Rosary dates back to the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571.  In this battle, the Ottoman empire was threatening to invade southern Europe. The Holy League, under the ultimate command of the Pope and comprised of soldiers and sailors from: Venice, Genoa, Tuscany, Hapsburg  Spain, the Papal States, Naples, Sicily, Savoy and Malta  faced the aggressors  ( at the time, those areas of what we now know as Italy were independent countries/territories).

Each of those regions spoke a different dialect/ language. Most of the men who came to fight were farmers. No power on earth would have expected the Holy League to win. But Popes do not rely on earthly power. Pope Pius V sent word to those remaining behind to pray: pray the Rosary, asking for victory in the battle

Seriously out-manned, the Holy League crushed the Ottomans, saving Europe from coming under Muslim rule.

The Christians lost 17 ships; the Muslims- 187 ships captured or sunk
The Christians lost 7500 men; the Muslims- 20,000 dead, wounded or captured.

Pius V declared October 7 to be the Feast of Our Lady of  Victory, which has become Our Lady of the Rosary. That is why October 7 is the Feast day of the Diocese of Toledo, whose cathedral is Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. And the entire month of October is traditionally dedicated to the Rosary.


Our Lady of Victory, Our Lady of the Rosary: Pray for us!!