Solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus
St. Macarius of Alexandria, Confessor, (394)
St. Adelard, Abbot, (827)
In the Lithuanian language ‘liŁ«dnas’ means sad. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany closed a parish founded by Lithuanians in 1923. Their last Mass was held on December 31st. The Albany Times-Union covered the story in Tears, memories, a final homily
The following stuck me:
“It’s very sad, but you could see it coming,” said Bill Zebuda, 64, a trustee and lifelong parishioner.
Much as worshipers like Zebuda mourned their loss, the brick church welcomed them on Sunday with a festive atmosphere.
Christmas trees and red poinsettias surrounded the altar. A wreath hung from the choir loft. Sunlight brightened the blue-and-yellow stained glass windows.
A Lithuanian flag stood beside the nativity scene. Dorothy Richmire even showed up in traditional Lithuanian dress: a long skirt, white apron, embroidered blouse and amber jewelry.
“You can’t help but feel angry because they’ve taken something away from us,” said Richmire, 80, whose father helped found Holy Cross. “But there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Mr. Zebuda’s statement recalls liŁ«dnas while Ms. Richmire’s statement calls to mind another Lithuanian word: ‘graudus’ meaning pathetically sad.
There is of course the Lithuanian National Catholic Church in which Ms. Richmire’s statement would not be possible. That is because as part of the PNCC, the LNCC is democratic and the parishioners make all decisions regarding their property and possessions, including decisions as to whether or not their parish should stay open.
Solemnity of the Circumcision of our Lord
St. Peter Atroa, Abbot, (837)
St. Telemachus, Martyr, (400)
My warmest wishes to all of you. May the new year bring you health, happiness, and every blessing.
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.
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. Łukaszkiewicz.
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
Wspomagaj nas Panie przez zasługi św. Sylwestra, biskupa i wyznawcy, abyśmy przykazania Twoje i w sercu dobrze rozważali, i wiernie uczynkami wypełniali, a tak na zbawienie zasłużyli wieczne. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Once they saw they understood what had been told them concerning this Child
The Gospel has interesting bookends. Toward the beginning of the Gospel we read of the Humble Shepherds who heard, went in haste, saw, understood, and proclaimed what they saw.
At the other end of the Gospel we have Peter and John running to the tomb. They heard, went in haste, and saw. At that moment John believed.
It took the rest of the apostles a little while to catch on. Thomas, incredulous, would not believe until he saw the living Christ.
For forty days Jesus worked with his apostles and disciples. He appeared to them, healed them, and reassured them. He gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit, and ten days after His ascension the power of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled in them and they began to preach —“ to proclaim Him.
St. Paul tells Titus:
He saved us through the baptism of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit He lavished on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, that we might be justified by His grace and become heirs, in hope, of eternal life.
Brothers and sisters,
The poor shepherds were there at the beginning. They heard, went in haste, saw, understood, and proclaimed Him. Later the apostles and disciples, aided by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, heard, went in haste, saw, understood, and proclaimed Him.
Today our Holy Church celebrates the witness of those men, the memory of the humble shepherds who took action.
[They] returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.
Now it has been told to you. You have been baptized, you have received the Holy Spirit, the Word of God has been proclaimed to you. We are past the bookends of the Bible and into the reality of life lived as witnesses to the Word, to the Gospel.
Witnessing is a living and breathing thing. Your witness is alive and vital —“ and God, while He doesn’t necessarily need it, asks it of you, for through you all men will come to be saved, not on their own merit but because of His mercy.
From St. Matthew:
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
From St. Mark:
He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
And From St. Luke:
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
You are witnesses of these things. The Bible is replete with references to the Lord. Co-eternal with the Father He came as man, taught us, healed us, suffered for us, died for us, was buried, and was raised as our hope and as St. Paul tells us the first fruits of all those who have died.
Jeremiah began today with a simple instruction:
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, proclaim it on distant coasts.
The shepherds in their humility got it right. The apostles, some incredulous, got it right. We too must get it right.
We must hear, go in haste, see, understand, and proclaim what we see. Through us, our witness, all will be brought to Jesus Christ, regenerated through baptism, and made alive in Him.
Boże, który nas uroczystością św. Sabina i towarzyszy uweselasz, dozwól łaskawie, abyśmy czcząc jego zasługi na ziemi, do radości obcowania z nim w niebie byli przypuszczeni. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
…but is President Bush satisfied? He has avenged his father with his Texas brand of justice, but any joy his blood lust brings him this evening will turn bitter in his mouth.
But judge thy neighbor according to justice. Thou shalt not be a detractor nor a whisperer among the people. Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbor. I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: but reprove him openly, lest thou incur sin through him. Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord.