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Day: December 31, 2006

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Homilies,

The Solemnity of the Circumcision

This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.

And Jesus Christ came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.

When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus

Our first reaction to today’s readings and Gospel might be a certain level of discomfort.

It is the eighth day of Christmas, and we are still wrapped in the afterglow of the festivities. We just celebrated New Years Eve, perhaps spending time with family and friends in celebration. Who wants to hear about this bloody stuff?

The point is; we make the Christmas season and New Years into a celebration of ourselves, a celebration of what we would like to celebrate. We like to pause for a moment every winter and bathe in the light of the manger with the pretty Madonna and St. Joseph watching over the cute little baby. And we feel good.

We feel good and cheery because God came to be among us, even though we cannot quite put our finger on the meaning of that. We feel good and cheery because we decided to give something of ourselves, a gift, a card, or a visit.

And here we are, slapped with reality. God among us has to suffer along with us. That’s what it means to be fully human; He had to take on the pain as well. That was His ultimate gift, to suffer and die for us.

The Holy Church reminds us that we have to break through the glass window protecting our crèche as a show piece. We have to get down on the ground and experience the crèche as it was, and the reality of life, the life God freely took upon Himself for our salvation.

Yes, God had to be born in a manger, surrounded by the animals and dirt, smells and all. He had to be worshiped by migrants. He had to be taken to the local mohel to perform the Brit milah. He shed His blood for the first time today, the eighth day after His birth.

Listen to the first verses from today’s psalm:

May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.

So He did have pity on us, He let His face shine upon us, He came to show us the way.

Yes, God is not separate from us —“ He is part of us, our lives, and our experiences – the complete reality of it all.

God among us is here to challenge our complacency and our perceptions. He is among us to tell us that He loves us more than we deserve. He is here to tell us that He faced every pain and every temptation by coming as man. And, He is here to tell us that the door to the real, the living, and the challenging Jesus is open.

Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way to get there?” Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one can go to the Father except by Me. If you had known Me, you would know My Father also. From now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

Amen Lord, we know You are here and that You are real. Come to us Lord Jesus.

Saints and Martyrs,

One project down – what’s next

As many of my regular readers may know, I spent 2006 transcribing and posting daily prayers from Żywoty Świętych – a Polish language lives of the saints. That book was published in 1904 by J. Steinbrenner, Catholic Book Publishers. Its author was the Rev. J.A. Łukaszkiewicz.

For 2007 I will be posting the PNCC Calendar of Saints on a daily basis. I will also be transcribing Polish Language hymns from the Śpiewniczek Kościelny on occasion.

The full title of the book is:

Śpiewniczek —“ zawierający Pieśni Kościelne z Melodyami – Dla Użytku Wiernych (Hymn Book —“ inclusive of the hymns and melodies of the Church for the use of the faithful)

The book was assembled by the Rev. Jan Siedlecki and was published in Poland in 1901, imported and sold by Regulski-Polaski, Inc., 21 Murray St., New York, NY.

As to the PNCC Calendar of the Saints and the Sanctoral Cycle:

The calendar was developed from a review of the many thousands of saints that are commonly recognized by Catholic bodies throughout the world. The Church has not included every recognized saint, but rather has provided a selection of at least three commemorations for each day.

The clergy of the Church are not required to observe commemorations, but are encouraged to do so to add variety to Eucharistic worship and as an expression of union with the rest of the Catholic Church.

Saints were included based on:

  • Commemorations that are universally and traditionally honored on certain days.
  • Individuals who by their lives and work reflect universally accepted Catholic teaching.
  • Saints reflected in the early PNCC work, “33”
  • Polish saints
  • Bishops Hodur and Padewski

It should be noted that general rules of precedence apply to the Sanctoral Cycle:

Solemnities
of our Lord
of the Blessed Mother
of St. Joseph, Guardian of our Lord
of All Saints
of St. John the Baptist
of St. Stephen, Proto-martyr

Feasts
of Holy Angels
of Apostles
of Evangelists
of All Souls

Memorials
of Old Testament Saints
of Abbots
of Bishops
of Confessors
of Doctors
of Deacons
of Kings
of Martyrs
of Priests
of Virgins
of Widows
of Queens
of First Prime Bishop Francis Hodur
of Bishop Joseph Padewski, PNCC Bishop and Martyr

As to Sundays of the year, there are Sundays of the First Class, Second Class, and Ordinary Sundays

Sundays of the First Class (these Sundays give place to no other feast except as noted):

  • the First Sunday of Advent
  • the four Sundays of Lent (The Institution of the PNCC falls on the second Sunday in March and takes precedence over the first four Sundays of Lent, but not Passion Sunday)
  • Passion Sunday
  • Palm Sunday
  • Easter
  • Second Sunday of Easter (Low Sunday)
  • Pentecost

Sundays of the Second Class (these Sundays give place only to Solemnities)

  • Second, Third, and Fourth Sundays of Advent
  • Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Sundays

Ordinary Sundays (these Sundays give place to Solemnities and Feasts

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