When Legion Comes

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for February 3rd, 2014

Liturgical texts here


A “performance” at the 2014 Grammy Awards

 

 

ST. Basil wrote that,

Among the angels, some are set in charge of nations, others are companions of the faithful… —Adversus Eunomium, 3:1; The Angels and Their Missions, Jean Daniélou, S. J., p. 68

We see the principle of angels over nations in the Book of Daniel where it speaks of the “prince of Persia”, whom the archangel Michael comes to battle. [1]cf. Dan 10:20 In this case, the prince of Persia appears to be the satanic stronghold of a fallen angel.

The guardian angel of the Lord “guards the soul like an army,” said St. Gregory of Nyssa, “provided we do not drive him out by sin.” [2]The Angels and Their Missions, Jean Daniélou, S. J., p. 69 That is, grave sin, idolatry, or deliberate occult involvement can leave one vulnerable to the demonic. Is it possible then that, what happens to an individual who opens himself up to evil spirits, can also happen on a national basis? Today’s Mass readings lend some insights.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Dan 10:20
↑2 The Angels and Their Missions, Jean Daniélou, S. J., p. 69

Who Said That?

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THE media continues to roll out its rather brutal comparisons between Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict. This time, Rolling Stone magazine has jumped into the fray, describing Francis’ pontificate as a ‘Gentle Revolution,’ whilst stating that Pope Benedict is…

…a staunch traditionalist who looked like he should be wearing a striped shirt with knife-fingered gloves and menacing teenagers in their nightmares. —Mark Binelli, “Pope Francis: The Times They Are A-Changin'”, Rolling Stone, January 28th, 2014

Yes, the media would have us believe that Benedict is a moralistic monster, and the current pope, Francis the Fluffy. Likewise, some Catholics would have us believe that Francis is a modernist apostate and Benedict a prisoner of the Vatican.

Well, we’ve heard enough in the course of Francis’ short pontificate to get a sense of his pastoral direction. So, just for fun, let’s take a look at the quotes below, and take a guess at who said them—Francis or Benedict?

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The Unfailing Kingdom

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 31st, 201
Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest

Liturgical texts here


Rusty Crucifix, by Jeffrey Knight

 

 

“WHEN the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

It’s a rather haunting question. What could possibly bring about such a condition whereby the greater part of humanity will have lost its faith in God? The answer is, they will have lost faith in His Church.

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Find a Home for the Lord

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 30th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

Darknessroad

 

 

SOMETIMES I look down the narrow, darkening road of the future, and I find myself crying out, “Jesus! Give me the courage to go down this path.” In times like these, I am tempted to tone down my message, taper my zeal, and measure my words. But then I catch myself and say, “Mark, Mark… What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?“

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Seeds of Hope… and Warning

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 29th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

I find this one of the most challenging of all the Gospel parables, for I see myself in one soil or the other. How often does the Lord speak a word in my heart… and then I soon forget it! How often does the mercy and consolation of the Spirit bring me joy, and then the slightest trial throws me into confusion again. How often do worries and concerns of this world carry me away from the reality that God always carries me in the palm of His hand… Ah, cursed forgetfulness!

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The Ark and the Son

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 28th, 2014
Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THERE are some interesting parallels in today’s Scriptures between the Virgin Mary and the Ark of the Covenant, which is an Old Testament type of Our Lady.

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Driving Life Away

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 27th, 2014
Opt. Memorial St. Angela Merici

Liturgical texts here

 

 

WHEN David marched on Jerusalem, the inhabitants at that time shouted:

You cannot enter here: the blind and the lame will drive you away!

David, of course, is an Old Testament type of Christ. And indeed, it was the spiritually blind and lame, “the scribes who had come from Jerusalem…”, who tried to drive Jesus out by casting shadows on His reputation and twisting His good works into appearing as something evil.

Today, there are also those who wish to twist what is truth, beauty, and goodness into something intolerant, oppressive, and wrong. Take for instance the pro-life movement:

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When The Light Comes

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 25th, 2014
Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THERE is believed by many saints and mystics in the Church to be an event coming known as the “Illumination”: a moment when God will reveal to everyone in the world at once the condition of their souls. [1]cf. The Eye of the Storm

I pronounced a great day… wherein the terrible Judge should reveal all men’s consciences and try every man of each kind of religion. This is the day of change, this is the Great Day which I threatened, comfortable to the well-being, and terrible to all heretics. —St. Edmund Campion, Cobett’s Complete Collection of State Trials…, Vol. I,  p. 1063.

Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769-1837), known and praised by popes for her astoundingly accurate visions, also spoke of such an event.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. The Eye of the Storm

Casualties of Confusion

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 24th, 2014
Memorial of St. Francis de Sales

Liturgical texts here

 

 

WHAT the Church needs most today, said Pope Francis, “is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful… I see the church as a field hospital after battle.” [1]cf. americamagazine.org, Sept. 30th, 2013 Ironically, some of the first wounded rolling in since his pontificate began are casualties of confusion, mostly “conservative” Catholics bewildered by statements and actions of the Holy Father himself. [2]cf. Misunderstanding Francis

The truth is that Pope Francis has done and said certain things that require clarification or has left the hearer wondering, “Who was he just referring to?” [3]cf. “Michael O’Brien on Pope Francis and the New Phariseeism” The important question is how can and should one respond to such concerns? The answer is twofold, revealed in today’s readings: first on the level of an emotional response, and second, on the level of a faith response.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. americamagazine.org, Sept. 30th, 2013
↑2 cf. Misunderstanding Francis
↑3 cf. “Michael O’Brien on Pope Francis and the New Phariseeism”

iWorship

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 23rd, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

ONE of the giants of our time whose head has grown extraordinarily large is narcissism. In a word, it is self-absorption. One could even argue that this has now become self-worship, or what I call “iWorship.”

St. Paul gives a long list of what souls will look like in the “last days.” Guess what is at the top?

There will be terrifying times in the last days. People will be self-centered and lovers of money, proud, haughty, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful… (2 Tim 3:1-2)

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Five Smooth Stones

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 22th, 2014
Memorial of St. Vincent

Liturgical texts here

 

 

HOW do we slay the giants in our day of atheism, individualism, narcissism, utilitarianism, Marxism and all the other “isms” that have brought humanity to the point of self-destructing? David answers in today’s first reading:

It is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves. For the battle is the LORD’s and he shall deliver you into our hands.

St. Paul put David’s words into the contemporary light of the new covenant:

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. (1 Cor 4:20)

It is the power of the Holy Spirit that converts hearts, peoples, and nations. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that illuminates minds to the truth. It is the power of the Holy Spirit so desperately needed in our times. Why do you think Jesus is sending His Mother among us? It is to form that cenacle of the Upper Room once again that a “new Pentecost” may descend upon the Church, setting her and the world aflame! [1]cf. Charismatic?  Part VI

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Footnotes

Little Things That Matter

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 21th, 2014
Memorial of St. Agnes

Liturgical texts here


The mustard seed grows into the largest of trees

 

 

THE Pharisees had it all wrong. They were obsessed with details, watching like hawks to find fault with this or that person, with any little thing that wasn’t according to “standard.”

The Lord is also concerned with the little things… but in a much different way.

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The New Wineskin Today

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 20th, 2014
Memorial of St. Sebastian

Liturgical texts here

 

 

GOD is doing something new. And we have to pay attention to this, to what the Holy Spirit is doing. It is time to let go of our expectations, understanding, and security. The winds of change are blowing and in order to fly with them, we have to be stripped of all the heavy weights and chains that keep us tied down. We have to learn to listen intently, as it says in the first reading today, to “the voice of the Lord.” [1]translation in the Jerusalem Bible

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 translation in the Jerusalem Bible

Looking in All the Wrong Places

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 18th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

WE are often unhappy because we are looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places. St. Justin searched in the philosophies, Augustine in materialism, Teresa of Avila in fictional books, Faustina in dancing, Bartolo Longo in satanism, Adam and Eve in power…. Where are you searching?

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Stubborn

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 17th, 2014
Memorial of Abbot St. Anthony

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THROUGHOUT salvation history, what draws the disciplinary intervention of the Father is not sin, but a refusal to turn from it.

So the idea that—if you step out of line, stumble and sin—it will draw down the wrath of God… well, that’s the devil’s idea. It’s his primary and most effective tool in accusing and trampling on the joy of Christians, in keeping one depressed, self-loathing, and afraid of God.

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Thwarted!

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 16th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

IT looked like the perfect comeback. The Israelites had just been soundly defeated by the Philistines, and so the first reading says they came up with a brilliant idea:

Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies.

After all, with all that happened in Egypt and the plagues, and the reputation of the ark, the Philistines would be terrorized at the idea. And they were. So when the Israelites marched into battle, they thought they had that fight in the books. Instead…

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First Love Lost

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FRANCIS, AND THE COMING PASSION OF THE CHURCH
PART II


by Ron DiCianni

 

EIGHT years ago, I had a powerful experience before the Blessed Sacrament [1]cf. About Mark where I felt the Lord asked me to put my music ministry second and begin to “watch” and “speak” of the things He would show me. Under the spiritual direction of holy, faithful men, I gave my “fiat” to the Lord. It was clear to me from the very beginning that I was not to speak with my own voice, but the voice of Christ’s established authority on earth: the Magisterium of the Church. For to the twelve Apostles Jesus said,

Whoever listens to you listens to me. (Luke 10:16)

And the chief prophetic voice in the Church is that of the office of Peter, the Pope. [2]cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1581; cf. Matt 16:18; Jn 21:17

The reason I mention this is because, taking into consideration everything that I have been inspired to write, everything that is happening in the world, everything that is in my heart now (and all of it I submit to the Church’s discernment and judgment) I believe the pontificate of Pope Francis is a significant signpost at this juncture in time.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. About Mark
↑2 cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1581; cf. Matt 16:18; Jn 21:17

Speak Lord, I am Listening

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 15th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

EVERYTHING that happens in our world passes through the fingers of God’s permissive will. This does not mean that God wills evil—He doesn’t. But he permits it (the free will of both men and fallen angels to choose evil) in order to work toward the greater good, which is the salvation of mankind and the creation of a new heavens and new earth.

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Pour Out Your Heart

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 14th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

I REMEMBER driving through one of my father-in-law’s pastures, which was particularly bumpy. It had large mounds randomly placed throughout the field. “What are all these mounds?” I asked. He replied, “When we were cleaning out corrals one year, we dumped the manure in piles, but never got around to spreading it.” What I noticed is that, wherever the mounds were, that’s where the grass was greenest; that’s where the growth was most beautiful.

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The Emptying

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 13th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THERE is no evangelization without the Holy Spirit. After spending three years listening to, walking, talking, fishing, eating with, sleeping beside, and even laying upon the breast of our Lord… the Apostles seemed incapable of penetrating the hearts of the nations without Pentecost. It wasn’t until the Holy Spirit descended upon them in tongues of fire that the mission of the Church was to begin.

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Loving the Unlovable

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 11th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

MOST of the time, when we witness for Christ, we are going to be confronted with having to love the unlovable. By this I mean that we all have our “moments,” occasions when we are not very lovable at all. That is the world in which our Lord entered and the one into which Jesus now sends us.

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Francis, and the Coming Passion of the Church

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IN February last year, shortly after Benedict XVI’s resignation, I wrote The Sixth Day, and how we appear to be approaching the “twelve o’clock hour,” the threshold of the Day of the Lord. I wrote then,

The next pope will guide us too… but he is ascending a throne that the world wishes to overturn. That is the threshold of which I am speaking.

As we look at the world’s reaction to the pontificate of Pope Francis, it would seem the opposite. Hardly a news day goes by that the secular media isn’t running some story, gushing over the new pope. But 2000 years ago, seven days before Jesus was crucified, they were gushing over Him too…

 

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Share What You Have Been Freely Given

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 10th, 2014

Liturgical texts here


Artist Unknown

 

 

THERE has been a lot of teaching on evangelization in this week’s reflections, but it all comes down to this: letting the message of Christ’s love penetrate, challenge, change, and transform you. Otherwise, the imperative of evangelizing will remain but a lovely theory, a distant stranger whose name you know, but whose hand you’ve never shaken. The problem with that is every Christian is called in obedience to be an emissary for Christ. [1]cf. Evangelii Gaudium, n. 5 How? By first of all moving “from a pastoral ministry of mere conversation to a decidedly missionary pastoral ministry.” [2]POPE FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 15

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Evangelii Gaudium, n. 5
↑2 POPE FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 15

Love Anchors Doctrine

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 9th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

JUST when you would perhaps expect God to send prophets wielding thunderbolts warning that this generation will be destroyed unless we repent… He instead raises up a young Polish nun to deliver a message, timed for this very hour:

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Love Paves the Way

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 8th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 


Christ Walking on Water, Julius von Klever

 

PART of a reader’s response to yesterday’s Now Word, Love Beyond the Surface:

What you said is very true… But I think the sole focus of the Church since Vatican II has been love, love, love, love—with zero focus on the consequences of sinful actions… I think the most loving thing a person can do for an AIDS patient ( or adulterer, porn viewer, liar etc.) is tell them that they will spend eternity in the darkest abyss of hell if they do not repent. They won’t like hearing that, but it is the Word of God, and the Word of God has power to set the captive free… Sinners are pleased to hear consoling fleshy words, not realizing that soft, smooth words, tender embraces, and pleasant conversation without the hard truth is deceptive and powerless, a counterfeit Christianity, lacking power. —N.C.

Before we look at today’s Mass readings, why not look at how Jesus responded when He did “the most loving thing a person can do”:

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Love Beyond the Surface

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 7th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 


Photo by Claudia Peri, EPA/Landov

 

RECENTLY, someone wrote asking advice for what to do in situations with people who reject the Faith:

I know we are to be ministering and helping our family in Christ, but when people tell me they don’t go to Mass anymore or hate the Church…I am so shocked, my mind goes blank! I beg the Holy Spirit to come upon me…but I don’t receive anything…I have no words of comfort or evangelization. —G.S.

How as Catholics are we to respond to unbelievers? To atheists? To fundamentalists? To those who disturb us? To people living in mortal sin, within and without our families? These are questions I get asked quite often. The answer to all these is to love beyond the surface.

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Fighting the Ghost

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 6th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 


“The Running Nuns”, Daughters of Mary Mother of Healing Love

 

THERE is much talk among the “remnant” of refuges and safe havens—places where God will protect His people during coming persecutions. Such an idea is firmly rooted in the Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. I addressed this subject in The Coming Refuges and Solitudes, and as I reread it today, it strikes me as more prophetic and relevant than ever. For yes, there are times to hide. St. Joseph, Mary and the Christ child fled to Egypt while Herod hunted them; [1]cf. Matt 2;13 Jesus hid from the Jewish leaders who sought to stone Him; [2]cf. Jn 8:59 and St. Paul was concealed from his persecutors by his disciples, who lowered him to freedom in a basket through an opening in the city wall. [3]cf. Acts 9:25

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Matt 2;13
↑2 cf. Jn 8:59
↑3 cf. Acts 9:25

One Word

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WHEN you are overwhelmed with your sinfulness, there are only nine words you need to remember:

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. (Luke 23:42)

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In Gratitude

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DEAR brothers, sisters, beloved priests, and friends in Christ. I want to take a moment at the beginning of this year to update you on this ministry and also take a moment to thank you.

I have spent time over the holidays reading as many letters as I can that have been sent by you, both in email and postal letters. I am so incredibly blessed by your kind words, prayers, encouragement, financial support, prayer requests, holy cards, photos, stories and love. What a beautiful family this little apostolate has become, stretching out across the world from the Philippines to Japan, Australia to Ireland, Germany to America, the United Kingdom to my homeland of Canada. We are connected by the “Word made flesh”, who comes to us in the little words that He inspires through this ministry.

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2014 and the Rising Beast

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THERE are many hopeful things developing in the Church, most of them quietly, still very much hidden from view. On the other hand, there are many troubling things on the horizon of humanity as we enter 2014. These too, though not as hidden, are lost on most people whose source of information remains the mainstream media; whose lives are caught in the treadmill of busyness; who have lost their internal connection to God’s voice through a lack of prayer and spiritual development. I am speaking of souls who do not “watch and pray” as Our Lord asked us.

I can’t help but call to mind what I published six years ago on this very eve of the Feast of the Holy Mother of God:

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Love Live in Me

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HE did not wait for a castle. He didn’t hold out for a perfected people. Rather, He came when we least expected Him… when all He could be offered was a humble greeting and abode.

And so, it is appropriate this night that we hear the angel’s greeting: “Do not be afraid.” [1]Luke 2:10 Do not be afraid that the abode of your heart is not a castle; that you are not a perfect person; that you are in fact a sinner most in need of mercy. You see, it is not a problem for Jesus to come and dwell among the poor, the sinful, the wretched. Why do we always think that we must be holy and perfect before He will even so much as glance our way? It is not true—Christmas Eve tells us differently.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Luke 2:10

Unhealthy Introspection

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 20th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

SAME angel. Same news: beyond all possible odds, a baby is going to be born. In yesterday’s Gospel, it would be John the Baptist; in today’s, it is Jesus Christ. But how Zechariah and the Virgin Mary responded to the news was completely different.

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Waging War

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 19th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

Screen_Shot_2013-12-09_at_8.13.19_PM-541x376
The attack on a group of men praying outside a Cathedral, St. Juan Argentina

 

 

I recently watched the film Prisoners, a story about the abduction of two children and the attempts of the fathers and police to find them. As it says in the movie’s release notes, one father takes matters into his own hands in what becomes a very intense moral struggle. [1]The film is very violent and contains many expletives, earning it an R rating. It also, curiously, contains many blatant Masonic symbols.

I won’t say any more about the film. But there is one line that stood out like a beacon:

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 The film is very violent and contains many expletives, earning it an R rating. It also, curiously, contains many blatant Masonic symbols.

Welcome Mary

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 18th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

WHEN Joseph learned that Mary was “found with child”, today’s Gospel says he set about to “divorce her quietly.”

How many today quietly “divorce” themselves from the Mother of God! How many say, “I can go to straight to Jesus. Why do I need her?” Or they say, “The Rosary is too long and boring,” or, “Devotion to Mary was a pre-Vatican II thing that we no longer need to do…”, and so forth. I too pondered the question of Mary many years ago. With a sweat on my brow, I poured over the Scriptures asking “Why do we Catholics make such a big deal of Mary?”

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The Lion of Judah

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 17th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THERE is a powerful moment of drama in one of St. John’s visions in the Book of Revelation. After hearing the Lord chastise the seven churches, warning, exhorting, and preparing them for His coming, [1]cf. Rev 1:7 St. John is shown a scroll with writing on both sides that is sealed with seven seals. When he realizes that “no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth” is able to open and examine it, he begins to weep profusely. But why is St. John weeping over something he hasn’t read yet?

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Rev 1:7

Unbelievable Odds

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 16th, 2013

Liturgical texts here


Christ in the Temple, by Heinrich Hoffman

 

 

WHAT would you think if I could tell you who the President of the United States will be five hundred years from now, including what signs will precede his birth, where he will be born, what his name will be, what family line he will descend from, how he will be betrayed by a member of his cabinet, for what price, how he will be tortured, the method of execution, what those around him will say, and even with whom he will be buried. The odds of getting every single one of these projections right are astronomical.

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"Prepare you… as no other work I've read"

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What’s in the book?

  • Understand how the Woman and dragon of Revelation appeared in the 16th century, beginning “the greatest historical confrontation” mankind has gone through.
  • Learn how the stars on Our Lady of Guadalupe’s tilma match the morning sky on December 12th, 1531 when she appeared to St. TheFinalConfrontationBook-1Juan Diego, and how they carry a “prophetic word” for our times.
  • Other miracles of the tilma that science cannot explain.
  • What the early Church Fathers have to say about the Antichrist and the so-called “era of peace”.
  • What the Fathers say about the timing  of the Antichrist.
  • Learn why the “day of the Lord” is not a 24 hour period, but symbolic of what Tradition refers to as the “thousand year” reign.
  • Learn how the “era of peace” is not the heresy of millenarianism.
  • How we are not coming to the end of the world, but the end of our era according to the popes and Fathers.
  • Read Mark’s powerful encounter with the Lord while singing the Sanctus, and how it launched this writing ministry.
  • Discover the hope that lies on the horizon after the coming judgment.

 

Buy two, get one book free!
Go to markmallett.com

PLUS

Receive FREE SHIPPING on Mark’s music, book,
and family original art on all orders over $75.
See here for details.

Parenting the Prodigal

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 14th, 2013
Memorial of St. John of the Cross

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THE most difficult and painful thing any parent can face, aside from losing their child, is their child losing their faith. I have prayed with thousands of people over the years, and the most common request, the most frequent source of tears and anguish, are for the children who have wandered away. I look into these parents’ eyes, and I can see that many of them are holy. And they feel absolutely helpless.

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Snow In Cairo?

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First snow in Cairo, Egypt in 100 years, AFP-Getty Images

 

 

SNOW in Cairo? Ice in Israel? Sleet in Syria?

For several years now, the world has watched as natural earth events ravage various regions from place to place. But is there a link to what is also happening in society en masse: the ravaging of the natural and moral law?

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Vindication

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 13th, 2013
Memorial of St. Lucy

Liturgical texts here

 

 

SOMETIMES I find the comments beneath a news story as interesting as the story itself—they are a bit like a barometer indicating the advance of the Great Storm in our times (though weeding through the foul language, vile responses, and incivility is exhausting).

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The Blessed Prophecy

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 12th, 2013
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Liturgical texts here
(Selected: Rev 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab; Judith 13; Luke 1:39-47)

Jump for Joy, by Corby Eisbacher

 

SOMETIMES when I’m speaking at conferences, I will look into the crowd and ask them, “Do you want to fulfill a 2000 year old prophecy, right here, right now?” The response is usually an excited yes! Then I’d say, “Pray with me the words”:

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The Rest of God

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 11th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

MANY people define personal happiness as being mortgage free, having plenty of money, vacation time, being esteemed and honored, or achieving big goals. But how many of us think of happiness as rest?

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The Surprise Arms

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 10th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

IT was a freak snowstorm in the middle of May, 1987. The trees bent so low to the ground under the weight of heavy wet snow that, to this day, some of them remain bowed as though permanently humbled under the hand of God. I was playing guitar in a friend’s basement when the phone call came.

Come home, son.

Why? I inquired.

Just come home…

As I pulled into our driveway, a strange feeling came over me. With every step I took to the back door, I felt my life was going to change. When I walked into the house, I was greeted by tear stained-parents and brothers.

Your sister Lori died in a car accident today.

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The Bridge

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 9th, 2013
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Liturgical texts here

 

 

IT would be easy to hear today’s Mass readings and, because it is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, apply them solely to Mary. But the Church has carefully chosen these readings because they are meant to apply to you and me. This is revealed in the second reading…

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The Coming Harvest

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 8th, 2013
Second Sunday of Advent

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“YES, we should love our enemies and pray for their conversions,” she agreed. “But I am angry over those who destroy innocence and goodness.” As I finished up a meal I was sharing with my hosts after a concert in the United States, she looked at me with sorrow in her eyes, “Wouldn’t Christ come running to His Bride who is increasingly abused and crying out?” [1]read: Does He Hear the Cry of the Poor

Perhaps we have the same reaction when we hear today’s Scriptures, which prophesy that when the Messiah comes, He shall “decide aright for the land’s afflicted” and “strike the ruthless” and that “Justice shall flower in his days.” John the Baptist even seems to announce that the “coming wrath” was near. But Jesus has come, and the world seems to go on like it always has with wars and poverty, crime and sin. And so we cry out, “Come Lord Jesus!” Yet, 2000 years have sailed by, and Jesus has not returned. And perhaps, our prayer begins to change to that of the Cross: My God, why have you forsaken us!

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Footnotes