Father Barron on Lent
Showing posts with label Customs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Customs. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Link - The History of the Scapular
Link – The History of the Scapular
Many people wear a scapular.
Many people have heard of the scapular, but many people don’t know much
about it. The article at the link below
is a helpful resource.
Monday, January 6, 2014
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas
Today, January 6, is the Feast of the Epiphany (celebrated at
Mass yesterday), the Twelfth Day of Christmas.
In the nearly two weeks since Christmas Day, the Church has taken us on
quite a journey, allowing us to meditate on many of the events surrounding the
Nativity of Our Lord.
On Christmas and Christmas Eve, of course, our worship
included prophecies from Isaiah about the Messiah, the beginning of St. John’s
Gospel (“In the beginning was the Word…”), the familiar stories of the trip to
Bethlehem, the shepherds, and Joseph’s obedience to God’s plan, which was so
unexpected to him.
Then, December 26, while everyone is still feeling the bliss
of their Christmas celebrations, we had the feast day of St. Stephen, the first
Christian martyr. This feast is a
reminder that by accepting the newborn king as our King, we will be called to
pay a price. On December 28, we are
confronted with the Holy Innocents, those children who lost their lives because
of Herod’s blood-lust for power. This
feast also challenges us to consider the millions of innocents in our own time
who have been sacrificed on the altar of abortion, as well as those countless
men and women who regret losing their children to abortion and are in need of help and healing.
On January 1, we ring in the new year with the feast of Mary,
the Mother of God. This can serve to
remind us that we are part of a family, and that God has provided for us a
mother, His own mother.
And now we celebrate the Epiphany, and the Magi coming to
adore the Baby Jesus. These pagans,
Gentiles, led to Jesus, give witness to the words Simeon would speak at His
Presentation, that He would be a light for all nations.
It may not seem so profound to us now, but to understand that
the Messiah, the King of the Jews, is really the King of the Universe and the
salvation of all men, is the greatest epiphany of all time. It should lead us to immense gratitude and
also remind us that we are a missionary Church, and our call is still that of
the Apostles, to bring Jesus to all people.
May we be blessed this Epiphany with the grace in this new
year to bring at least one soul to Christ.
Note:
One of the beautiful traditions on the Epiphany is the blessing of one’s
home. Find a traditional Epiphany home
blessing at the link below.
Monday, December 16, 2013
The Santa Controversy
The Santa Controversy
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” These famous words are part of a poetic
response to a young girl’s innocent question.
To us they seem mere sentimentality, but I wonder if there is real
wisdom there for parents dealing with the “Santa Controversy.”
What I refer to is the challenge many Catholic parents face
regarding how to handle Santa during the Christmas season. I’ve heard arguments on both sides of the
debate recently. On one side are people
who say the traditions regarding Santa help open children to wonder at things
that go beyond what they can see. It is
also a proper use of myth to direct children to ultimate Truths, when Santa is
subordinated to and directed toward the birth of Jesus.
On the other side are those who would say that by going along
with the popular culture’s version of Santa, we are lying to children. If we tell them to believe in Santa, the
Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny, and later they learn that these things are
not real, will that not undermine what we have taught them about God? (Though I would say that if parents’ teachings about Santa can in any way be compared to their teachings about Christ, their spiritual life probably needs a bit of a jump start.)
I have heard many good points on both sides of the issue, and
though I have a few thoughts to add to the discussion, I can not pretend to
have any more of the answer to the dilemma than anyone else.
In our home, we do hang stockings for Santa, but we do not
promote the culture’s understanding of him as a jolly fat man who lives in the
North Pole with flying reindeer and a workforce of elves. (Though given the exposure our children get
from the prevailing culture, I know that they may hold some of those
assumptions, but we have not taught them.)
We celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6, and
our children know that he was a fourth century bishop who was imprisoned for
his faith, later released, and was known for his charity to the poor and to
children, especially at Christmas.
We teach the historical truths about St. Nicholas, and
emphasize his love for Our Lord and desire to serve Him and His people. (There is a nice animated video we use: Nicholas:
The Boy Who Became Santa.) We do
not emphasize Santa during the season beyond that, and we try to participate in
activities that direct attention on the Nativity.
Why, then, do we hang the stockings, and why do we not
directly dispel the parts of the customary tale that are not true? Are we not participating in the deception of
our children?
It’s true that I like the wonder our children display at
seeing their stockings, which always include at least one major religious item
in them. Long after they stop believing
those stockings are filled by a fat man in a red suit (unless I invest in some
red pajamas), I suspect we will continue the tradition.
I intend to explain to my children that the gifts they
receive from “Santa” are from him, as a representative of the Communion of
Saints who celebrate with them the birth of the Lord. St. Nicholas was a generous man, devoted to
Christ, who loved Christmas. It is in
his honor that we have filled their stockings all these years as a reminder
that the people of God, and the worship of God, are not confined to this world.
This is not the “right way” to handle the Santa Controversy,
but it is our way. I pray that it helps
our children in their love of God.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He is alive, in the presence of God, and he
gifts you this Christmas and always with his prayers, that one day he may
celebrate Christmas with you, in Heaven.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
What is a Jesse Tree?
What is a Jesse Tree?
Image
from http://domestic-church.com/
As mentioned earlier this week, people all over are buying,
erecting and decorating Christmas trees.
But many Christians are also creating Jesse trees for Advent. What is a Jesse tree? Why is it so appropriate for Advent?
“Jesse” refers to the father of King David, a key figure in
the human genealogy of Jesus. For each
day of Advent, people add one ornament to their Jesse tree, with a symbol that
represents a key figure or event in the Old Testament.
The Jesse tree is an appropriate Advent activity because the
season consists of approximately four weeks of waiting to celebrate the birth
of Jesus. The Jesse tree reminds us that
God’s people had been waiting for thousands of years for the birth of the
Savior. During that time, though, they
were not ignored. God worked through the
history of His people to prepare them for their Messiah.
As each ornament is added to the Jesse tree, there is a
corresponding Scripture reading from the Old Testament and usually a meditation
highlighting how the Old Testament event or person was a preparation or
prefiguration of Christ.
The Jesse tree is a great tradition to help children and
adults alike see how God has worked in the history of Israel, and recognize the
continuity of the Old Testament with the New.
We can’t really understand the depth and meaning of the Old Testament
without relating it to the revelation given to us through the Incarnation of
Christ.
There are numerous variations of the Jesse tree. The link below gives one example of ornaments
and related Scripture. A simple Internet
search can produce other ideas and accompanying meditations. Catholic stores or companies often have Jesse
tree kits for purchase as well.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Link - The Advent Wreath
Link - The Advent Wreath
Yesterday I posted an article about the history of the
Christmas tree. At the link below,
Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur explores the history and meaning of the Advent
wreath.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
St. Boniface and the Christmas Tree
St. Boniface and the Christmas Tree
Millions of people
have begun flocking to stores to buy their Christmas trees. It's a nice tradition of the holiday season,
but many have stripped it of its religious significance and many more have no
idea where the tradition came from.
I've known people
who refuse to have a Christmas tree because they claim it is a pagan
tradition. While it is true that
paganism does play some part in the history of the Christmas tree, it is a
thoroughly Christian custom.
We can trace the
Christmas tree to St. Boniface in the eighth century. Boniface was an English Benedictine
missionary sent to evangelize the pagan tribes of Germany.
The pagans of
southern Germany used trees in their worship and in a famous, historically
documented story Boniface used this to bring about their conversion. At the time of Christmas in the year AD 723,
Boniface saw that a young man was to be sacrificed under Odin's oak. Boniface responded by taking an axe to the
sacred tree. Not only was Boniface not struck dead, legend has it that at his
first blow, a miraculous wind blew the tree over. The people recognized the power of the true
God and mass conversions began.
Boniface took the
customs of the local people surrounding tress and “baptized” them. It was customary for people to bring trees
into their homes around the time of the winter solstice, so Boniface decided
this custom could be transformed into one that honored the true God.
At Christmas, the
people brought in evergreen trees, symbolizing peace and life, and pointing
toward Heaven, and decorated them to honor the birth of the Lord.
The rest, as they
say, is history. The tradition spread to
England and eventually to the United States and the Christian West. So this year as we trim our trees, may they
point our eyes Heavenward, and may we use these beautiful gifts of nature to be
offerings to the true God, the Baby born among nature's beasts in a stable so
many years ago.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
