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All posts in category Feasts and SEasons
What the Elect say and do, especially when they are leaders, matters.
Fr Peter, one of the originators of the British Province of the Confraternity of Catholic
Fr. Peter Edwards, parish priest at St Joseph’s New Malden is the leader of a large parish in Southwark, who isn’t afraid to take criticism on the chin and who rises above it in all that he does and says. He’s not afraid of swimming upstream (another Catholic salmon!!) against a tide of carping parishioners who question his choice to remain faithful to the Tradition and truths of the Faith and who cannot and will not understand the importance of standing firm on these teachings. For this (amongst other things) I love, respect and support him. His beautiful and prayerful Masses are uplifting, putting Christ front and centre without fail no matter which Mass I attend, each and every time. He gives me a sense of an unwavering love of Jesus that will never be swayed .
How do you view your shepherd? Do you support him or criticize him?
The ensuing homily is one of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, delivered at the Easter Vigil Mass at Westminster Cathedral. Bold emphasis is my own-in a show of support of what he shared:
The full text of Cardinal Nichols the Easter Vigil on 4 April 2015.
Our Vigil this evening started in a very deep darkness, and in many ways that is a harsh reality because there is much darkness in our lives. With the violence in Kenya, the wretchedness of those who have been forced away from their homes, and now in Northern Iraq, millions of displaced people. Think of the anxiety, the loneliness, the depression, jealousy and greed that characterise our lives.
Yet tonight, a fire blazed, there is something very primal about a fire, and for us we can see it as symbolising that first power of God and the Holy Spirit that hovered over the chaos and brought forth the cosmos and ordered world. The fire stands for the beginnings of the work of creation, for the original creativity of God who is meant be seen in energy and purpose, and inventiveness and goodness. From that original fire, now has come forth a single light.
That fire, as we heard in the readings, is struggling to survive through the unfaithfulness of people. Now it comes, a single light, which is inextinguishable, even by death, and that light has spread among us, from one to another, filling this place, becoming the Church. The light is Christ, the light that conquers darkness, the light we celebrate this night, that he is risen, and he lives with us.
How in our lives does this victory of Christ come to be real? Yes, it becomes real by God’s grace working within us as we strive to follow the person of Jesus; but how can we express that precisely this evening? By this light we are to live fully each day and always with a hope that is sure and certain. So we open our hearts to the present, a present that is full of the future. Tonight that it what we try to do; we try to grasp the light, to make it our own, just as we grasp the candle. This is my light. We open our hearts to receive the hope; a hope that St Paul spoke about; a hope that we are bound to Christ and therefore share his resurrection. And we resolve to seize the day, to live the day, to live every day to the full. You can put it like this, “this rising of the sun each morning is the rising of the Son of God and for that day I live by his light and exceed everything in his light.”
My mother used to say, at the beginning of every day, “This is the day the Lord has made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it, accept it, and live it to the full.” But we make each day in the light of a sure and certain hope because we know that all things will be fulfilled in Christ and nothing of what is true worth, nothing that reflects the truth and the love and the compassion of God, will ever be lost.
In this light of the risen Christ, we live fully each day with a hope for the future that is sure and certain.
So often today we are tempted just to live for the moment, see what pleasure it can give us and not know about tomorrow. Sometimes it’s suggested that religion tempts us to abandon the present for a fanciful dream, a fanciful future that is detached from this day. Our faith does not do that. We live this day through God’s love and mercy, whatever its reality, facing its greatness and its failure. So for us, faith in Jesus is not escapism.
We are profoundly committed to the day, to this world, to God’s world, to serving it in the light of His truth. And equally, our faith is not an ideology. Ideologies always want to destroy what is in their way.
Our faith is not an ideology; it embraces what is in front of us only to heal and redeem through Christ, and with him in our hands and our hearts, that we play our part…
He is risen. Alleluia. Amen
Quoted from The Catholic Herald
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on April 6, 2015
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/what-the-elect-say-and-do-especially-when-they-are-leaders-matters/
The Paschal Candle
The Paschal candle represents Christ, the Light of the World.
The pure beeswax of which the candle is made represents the sinless Christ who was formed in the womb of His Mother. The wick signifies His humanity, the flame, His Divine Nature, both soul and body.
Five grains of incense inserted into the candle in the form of a cross recall the aromatic spices with which His Sacred Body was prepared for the tomb, and of the five wounds in His hands, feet, and side.
During the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night the priest or deacon carries the candle in procession into the dark church. A new fire, symbolizing our eternal life in Christ, is kindled which lights the candle. The candle, representing Christ himself, is blessed by the priest who then inscribes in it a cross, the first letters and last of the Greek alphabet, (Alpha and Omega `the beginning and the end’) and the current year, as he chants the prayer below; then affixes the five grains of incense.
The Easter candle is lighted each day during Mass throughout the Paschal season until Ascension Thursday.
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on April 5, 2015
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/the-paschal-candle/
Lenten Fasting and Abstinence.
image@http://ucatholic.com/blog/lent-guide/
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on February 18, 2015
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/lenten-fasting-and-abstinence/
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…
MIDNIGHT MASS
Is 9:1-6
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, As they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, And the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David’s throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains By judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
This is the Word of the Lord
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on December 25, 2014
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2014/12/25/the-people-who-walked-in-darkness-have-seen-a-great-light/
So many Christmases.
It is hard to believe we are already well into Advent. Advent is a time of prayer and preparation as we wait to celebrate the joyous birth of Christ.
As people of the 21st century we are not very good at waiting. Our internet speeds have to be ever faster. The average teenager will only spend seven seconds on a web page. We expect parcels ordered online yesterday to be delivered today. Waiting in supermarket queues annoys us. We get angry at waiting times in GP surgeries. We are not very patient.
The children of today often have so many ‘Christmases’ and so many Christmas treats, before December 25th that the concept of waiting for something special sometimes seems to have almost disappeared.
But there is great peace in taking time, creating space in your lives and just waiting. Waiting allows us time to anticipate, time to reflect and time to prepare. During this Advent, we pray that we can all find the time and the patience to discover the joys of waiting.
It is also a time to avoid the temptation to fill our lives with complications but instead to focus on simplifying our days. Jesus was born of Mary, a Jewish teenager who was probably illiterate. This simple Jewish girl was central to the greatest happening since Creation – the Incarnation, the coming to Earth by God, in the person of Jesus. Through Mary, God became human in order to save us.
During these days of Advent, we recall this simple, yet remarkable event and look forward in hope.
As we give each other gifts in Christ’s name, we remember that He has given us so much. The essence of Christmas is Christ among us. While ‘black Friday’ saw the emergence of retail mania, it is worth pausing to remember that the greatest gift we can give our family and friends is the gift of time and love at Christmas.
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on December 10, 2014
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/so-many-christmases/
St Peter and St Paul
mage: Juan Fernandez de Navarrete – St. Peter and St. Paul
Peter and Paul Icon
St Peter
St Paul
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on June 29, 2014
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2014/06/29/st-peter-and-st-paul/
Ever hear the phrase: you are what you eat?
The Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of transubstantiation, namely that in the Eucharist, the communion wafer and the altar wine are transformed and really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Have you ever met anyone who has found this Catholic doctrine to be a bit hard to believe?
When Jesus spoke about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in John 6, his words met with less than an enthusiastic reception. How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (V 52). This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it? (V60). In fact so many of his disciples abandoned him over this that Jesus had to ask the twelve if they also planned to quit. It is interesting that Jesus did not run after his disciples saying, Don’t go, I was just speaking metaphorically!
How did the early Church interpret these challenging words of Jesus? One charge the pagan Romans lodged against the Christians was cannibalism. Why? They heard that this sect regularly met to eat and drink human blood. Did the early Christians say: wait a minute, it’s only a symbol? Not at all. When trying to explain the Eucharist to the Roman Emperor around 155 AD, St. Justin did not mince his words: “For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Saviour being incarnate by God’s word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from him . . . is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus”.
St. Justin Martyr
The bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ which are, in turn, meant to transform us. Ever hear the phrase: you are what you eat? The Lord desires us to be transformed from a motley crew of imperfect individuals into the Body of Christ, come to full stature.
I look forward to participating in the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christ (The Body Of Christ) and giving thanks for the wonderful gift of Christ Himself in the Eucharist.
After this Mass we will be joining a short procession in adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ next week.
“Adoration outside Holy Mass prolongs and intensifies what has taken place in the liturgical celebration and makes a true and profound reception of Christ possible. I . . . warmly recommend, to Pastors and to all the faithful, the practice of Eucharistic adoration. “
– Pope Benedict XVI
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on June 14, 2014
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/ever-hear-the-phrase-you-are-what-you-eat/
TODAY:-Not just ‘another’ Sunday…
The Divine Mercy of Christ
Today is the second Sunday of Easter and it’s also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. For an excellent post on Divine Mercy Sunday click here.
Today two great men of God were canonized as saints: St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II
Image from http://www.xt3.com/canonisations/
Today we celebrate 4 Popes and two canonizations.
Image from http://www.xt3.com/canonisations/
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on April 27, 2014
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/today-not-just-another-sunday/
Preparing for Lent
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on March 2, 2014
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/preparing-for-lent/
1catholicsalmon 