Our Lady of Lourdes And The Rosary
The Blessed Virgin Mary is well-known for her apparitions in different places of the world. Some of her apparitions were accompanied by the praying of the Holy Rosary. One of her popular apparitions is in Lourdes France, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette of Soubirous.
Why Do We Need To Attend The Holy Mass?
In today’s generation, attending the Holy Mass on Sunday (or Weekday Mass if your job falls on a Sunday) is not a priority anymore. The Holy Mass becomes an optional event in our lives. The main question for those who don’t attend the Holy Mass is why do we need to? And many people have different answers for this.
The Eucharistic Fast
As faithful Catholics, we always attend the Holy Mass every Sunday. Most of us, especially the elders, attend the morning Mass. But did you know, that we must fast before we receive the Sacrament of the Holy Communion?
The Sacred Tradition
As Christianity spread all over the world, many Christians instituted their own church such as the Protestants who are known popularly as the Born Again. They spread the word of God through the Bible but using their own interpretation that led to error to those who listened to them. The Protestants followed “Sola Scriptura”, a Latin word which means “Scriptures Only”. It means that every Christian must follow the scriptures ONLY and not any other church teachings or dogmas. The Catholic Church (also the Orthodox) follows the Scriptures but also follows oral traditions which the Protestants ignored. These oral traditions are also known as Sacred Traditions.
The Angelic Doctor – St. Thomas Aquinas
Many saints provide big help to the Catholic Church especially to its doctrines. One of them is Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican priest, a philosopher and one of the Doctors of the Church. Saint Thomas Aquinas was born from a noble family. When he was young, he was transferred from Monte Cassino to Naples to study. During his stay in Naples, he was influenced in philosophy including Aristotle. He also met John of St. Julian, a Dominican priest who influenced him to join the Dominicans.
The Three Nativity of the Liturgical Calendar
In the Catholic Liturgical Calendar, we will see the dates of the feast of a saint and important seasons such as Lent and Advent. The feast date of a Saint is the date when he or she departed from this world and entered the Kingdom of God in Heaven. But some feast dates are not the dates of their deaths, such as the feast date of the married couple Saint Zelie and Saint Louis Martin. Saint Therese of Lisieux’ feast day was put on October 3 even though she died on September 30, because the date was already the feast day of Saint Jerome, until it was moved to December 1 on 1970. But there are three unique occasions or feasts that are celebrated in the Catholic Church, these are the nativity or birthday of three persons, the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.
The Three Christmas Masses
During Christmas, the Holy Catholic Church celebrates Three Masses for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It goes back at least to the 6th Century when the Church started celebrating three masses to emphasize the different parts of the Nativity – the Angel’s Mass, the Shepherd’s Mass and the King’s Mass.
Who is Santa Claus?
Every Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we start decorating our house with Christmas lights and Christmas trees, playing Christmas songs and buying gifts for our loved ones. In European and Western countries including America, there is another popular tradition during Christmas, and that is placing a sock near the chimneys. Why do they place a sock near the chimney? Because the kids are hoping that they will get special gifts from Santa Claus. But who is Santa Claus? Is he real? Does he go into the chimney and place a gift on every sock? How can he fit in the chimney if he is fat? The last question is just a joke. Anyway, this popular character was based from a real-life person, a saint. His name is Saint Nicholas of Myra.
St. Bernadette and the Immaculate Conception
Saint Bernadette was a daughter of a former miller. Saint Bernadette’s Family was so poor and forced to live in a former prison in Lourdes, France. Compared to her siblings and children with the same age, she was unhealthy. When she was an infant, she was infected by Cholera and she also had an asthma. Her unhealthy body hindered her to attend school that resulted to her lack of education. She also had a little knowledge about the Catholic Faith.
The Advent and the Wreath
The Advent is the time of preparation which last for four weeks before Christmas. The Advent came from the Latin word “Adventus”, which means “For arrival” which refers to the arrival of our Lord. It is unknown when the exact year the Advent started but it was celebrated in 480 A.D.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Holy Eucharist
The Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Christ, it gives nurture to our body and to our soul. In the previous centuries, the Holy Eucharist was always given respect and adoration. But sadly, our generation today never give importance to the body and blood of our Lord in the Eucharist. Let us tell you a short story about a person who fell in love to the Holy Eucharist. Her name is Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
The Liturgical Colors Used at the Holy Mass
During the Holy Mass, you will notice that the priest’s and the sacred vessels’ color changes during an important feast like the Holy Week and Christmas. The Catholic church has liturgical colors that has been used during the Holy Mass. These are not just colors; they also have meanings and symbolisms. It is very important for the Church to use these colors on important feasts, which serves as a reminder for the faithful about the current season.