Have a blessed feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes!
(Painting done by artist Maria Rangel – my future sister -in-law! š
Category Archives: liturgical year
Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for Us!
A Blessed Easter 2007!
The Light of Christ
by Brian
by Brian
One of my favorite parts of the morning is the dawn. Watching the sun slowly appear over the eastern mountains is an awesome sight. It’s beautiful to see the various shades of yellow, orange and red slowly taking shape and ushering in a new day and pushing back the darkness of the night.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn. 1:5) Like the dawn, the light of Christ dispels the darkness, pushes it back, and reveals the majesty, beauty and love of the Most Holy Trinity. This light is not for a chosen few, but is for everyone. It is a light that radiates the glory of Heaven and the love God has for the world. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)
Each baptized Catholic is called to be a bearer/channel of this light. As Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men…” (Mt. 5:14,16) Christ needs each one of us to share His Light with others, by following his commandments, especially to love God and neighbor, while listening to His Bride the Church. By being channels of His Light we will push back the darkness of sin and evil and become “living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.” (Rom. 12:1)
This heavenly light that permeates the world and is the focal point of the Easter season, can never be manufactured or produced, but is a free gift from the “Father of Light.” Like an icon that captures the depths of light radiating the holiness of the person or Biblical event depicted, any man or woman whose heart is filled with the Light of Christ will also radiate holiness.
When I reflect upon the life of Pope John Paul II, I see a man who was filled with the Light of Christ, and because of it, produced remarkable fruit for the Kingdom. How many people, who were of other faiths or beliefs, recognized his love for them and all the good works he initiated? Because of this, many hearts were turned toward Heaven and many people could be heard giving glory to God.
The light that radiated from John Paul II bears witness to its beauty and power. It attracts those trapped in sin, it warms those bitten by the coldness of evil and nurtures those stunted by spiritual darkness. Where the Light of Christ is, there you will find Christ Himself.
I encourage all of you during this Easter season, which ends on Pentecost Sunday, to reflect on the theme of Light and how each one of us is called to be channels of that light, instruments of love and people of holiness. I also encourage you to pray daily to the Holy Spirit who will gladly answer your prayer and fill you with the Light of Christ.
Happy Easter!
God bless.
12/9/04 – Bringing Advent Home
Some of the local Catholic families were talking about how they are incorporating the Advent season into their home. One of our friends had an excellent idea so I thought I’d share it with you. She says:
In previous years I’ve waited until the last minute to decorate, cook, etc, but that puts a huge strain on the season in those final days of Advent. This year I wanted to keep Advent as a waiting period and a time of penance, but also try to avoid the last minute rush. This is what we’re doing this year.
Once “Pink week” comes this Sunday (the third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday) we will slowly begin to decorate (dragging it out for the next 2 weeks) since “pink week” invites us to recognize the hope and joy to come. But our biggest change is we have our tree up and decorated with wonderful PURPLE balls, silver garland, and PURPLE and PINK lights. I saw all these things at Target and now we have an “Advent tree!” This way our tree is up and ready to go and is getting the water it needs. Closer to Christmas we’ll take down the purple and put up the Christmas decorations.
We also have Advent calendars, Advent wreath, candles in the window as a sign of waiting, etc.
I love that idea and will keep it in mind next year. (This year we were so excited to have a real tree and house to decorate that we put up our Christmas decorations now along with our advent things.) For a refresher you can also read last year’s article Keeping Christ in Advent and Christmas. If you have an advent idea you’d like to share, let us know!