Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church
December 31, 2024
Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church
Personally, I am happily realizing and experiencing awe and joy as I reminisce the recent past experiences with pleasure or nostalgia. This year’s Christmas joke had as a theme Ang Kwento ni Lola Basyang. My joke was Queen of Sudoku because I am the only one among the rest who is fond of Sudoku and I find rest of mind and body doing Sudoku. Moreover I am a Banana Queen because I had been coming home from farm visits to my brother with branches of bunches (buwigs) of saba. Each and every member of the family feeds on the bananas like monkeys do. At one point the kitchen staff who used to welcome these bananas gave up and uttered please don’t bring home bananas any more. Nevertheless, they believe bananas produce happiness hormones: dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. There is no monkey who is sad, they say. The inspiration I received is yes, indeed, you are a queen in many ways. And so that is the thought that lingers on.
Another thing worth mentioning to which I also received an insight is the Christmas e-card that we sent to the other relatives around. When I saw my photo that was the choice of somebody in the house I thought I have seen a similar image and I kept pondering. Then the inspiration the next morning came and suggested that it must be Our Lady of Czestochowa. Now that I searched her image below tell me if it is not. Once again I see our Lady in our midst.
December 29 this year, the last Sunday of the year, we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We consecrated our families and each and every family in the world to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the Blessed Trinity in heaven. We asked “God, who was pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family, to graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity and in the joy of His house, delight one day in eternal rewards”.
And today, December 31, the last day of the year, let us, as children of the Almighty God, according to the words of St Paul: “Give thanks upon all occasions; this is what God expects of you all in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5, 18).
From the Pocket Prayer book
TE DEUM
1. We praise you, O
God, we acknowledge
You to be the Lord.
2. You, the Father
everlasting, all the earth does worship.
3. To you all the
angels, to you the heavens, and all the powers,
4. To you the cherubim
and seraphim cry out without ceasing:
5. Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of hosts.
6. Full are the
heavens and the earth of the majesty of Your glory.
7. You, the glorious
choir of the apostles,
8. You, the admirable
company of the prophets,
9. You, the
white-robed army of martyrs do praise.
10. You, the holy
Church throughout the world do confess:
11. The Father of
incomprehensible majesty;
12. Your adorable,
true, and only Son,
13. And the Holy
Spirit the Paraclete.
14. You, O Christ, are
the King of glory.
15. You are the
everlasting Son of the Father.
16. Having taken upon
yourself to deliver man, you did not disdain the Virgin’s womb.
17. Having overcome
the sting of death, you have opened to believers the kingdom of heaven.
18. You sit at the
right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
19. You, we believe,
are the Judge to come.
[Kneel during the next line]
20. [We
beseech you, therefore, to help your servants whom you have redeemed with your
precious Blood.]
21. Make them to be numbered with your saints in glory everlasting.
22. O Lord, save your
people, and bless your inheritance.
23. And govern them,
and exalt them for ever.
24. Day by day we
bless you.
25. And we praise your
name forever; yes, for ever and ever.
26. Vouchsafe, O Lord,
this day, to keep us without sin.
27. Have mercy on us,
O Lord; have mercy on us.
28. Let your mercy, O
Lord, be upon us; as we have trusted in You.
29. In you, O Lord,
have I trusted: let me not be confounded forever.
V. Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers.
R. And worthy to be
praised, and glorified forever.
V. Let us bless the
Father, and the Son, with the Holy Spirit.
R. Let us praise and
exalt him forever.
V. Blessed are you, O
Lord, in the firmament of heaven.
R. And worthy of
praise, and glorious, and exalted above all forever.
V. Bless the Lord, O
my soul.
R. And forget not all
his benefits.
V. O Lord, hear my
prayer.
R. And let my cry come
to you.
Priests add:
V. The Lord be with
you.
R. And also with you.
Let us pray.
O God, of your mercies
there is no number, and of your goodness the treasure is infinite; we render
thanks to your most gracious majesty for the gifts you have bestowed upon us;
evermore imploring your clemency, that as you grant the petitions of them that
ask you, you may never forsake them, but may prepare them for the rewards to
come.
O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit: grant us, by the same Spirit, to relish what is right, and evermore to rejoice in his consolation.
O God, who suffers none that hope in you to be afflicted overmuch, but does listen graciously to their prayers; we render you thanks because you have received our supplications and vows; and we most humbly beseech you that we may evermore be protected from all adversities. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
Greed and the Illusion of Control
A hospital chaplain I know works with people who have experienced
critical trauma in their lives. Whether
they are reeling from a loss related to a car accident, plane crash,
catastrophic storm, or a terminal diagnosis, one of the things he says people
struggle with the most is the loss of their sense of control.
“I have found it helpful to ask the people I care for to tell me about a time in their lives when they really were in control,” he says. “They usually start by relating some situation or another when things were going well. I listen, but when they’re done, I ask them, ‘But were you really in control?’ Inevitably, they come to realize what I’m getting at. Good things come. Bad things come, We aren’t really in control of any of it at any moment, especially when we think we are. We can try to do what we can to put the odds in our favor, but that isn’t the same thing as being in control, and those efforts can be just as easily swept away in a heartbeat. The only thing we can place our trust in is the constancy of God. If we forget his presence and Providence everything else is an illusion.”
It is terrifying for most of us to be forced to confront the reality of our utter lack of control over anything at any time, but I think it can also be profoundly liberating if we allow it to be. When we can accept that we control nothing, we are free to stop spending our lives in useless pursuits. If we can control nothing, then why not stop running around and listen to God, who is in control of everything? If we control nothing, what do we have to lose if we stop trying to follow our own will and, instead, ask God what his will for us might be? If working obsessively hard isn’t a guarantee that we can stave off misfortune, why not work in more humane ways that respect our dignity and protect our relationships? If we can’t guarantee our ability to really hold on to anything we have no matter how we try to hoard it, why not share what we have with those who are in need?
Tomorrow the first day of the year 2025, January 1, is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church and our mother as well. Let us praise her and say with the whole Church: “Hail, Holy Mother, who gave birth to the King, who rules heaven and earth forever.” Let us lavish her with affection and love. Turn to her and ask her how she would want you and me to show her our love and affection every day. She will teach us and lead us the way.
As
usual let us bring the above topics into our intimate conversation with Our
Lord in the quiet moments of our prayer and listen attentively to what He tells
us.
See
you in the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may you find love and
laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care; ‘til He brings us
together again.”
Affectionately,
Guadalupinky
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