Hello Everyone:
January 1st in the Traditional Calendar is the Circumcision of Our Lord.  This is a day that honors the first shedding of Our Lord and Saviour's blood. When I looked up this information, it was made clear that we have returned back to pagan times. Please read the following to make your own judgement.
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The following is taken from the Butler's Live of the Saints:
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As Christ wished to fulfill the law and to show His descent according to the flesh from Abraham. He, though not bound by the law, was circumcised on the eighth day (Luke, ii, 21), and received the sublime name expressive of His office, Jesus, i.e. Saviour. He was, as St. Paul says, "made under the law", i.e. He submitted to the Mosaic Dispensation, "that he might redeem them who were under the law: that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal., iv, 4, 5). "The Christ, in order to fulfill all justice, was required to endure this humiliation, and bear in His body the stigma of the sins which He had taken upon Himself" (Fouard, A Life of Jesus, tr., I, 54). The circumcision took place, not in the Temple, though painters sometimes so represent it, but in some private house, where the Holy Family had found a rather late hospitality. The public ceremony in the synagogue, which is now the usage, was introduced later. Christmas was celebrated on 25 December, even in the early centuries, at least by the Western Church, whence the date was soon adopted in the East also. Saint Chrysostom credits the West with the tradition, and St. Augustine speaks of it as well and long established. Consequently the Circumcision fell on the first of January. In the ages of paganism, however, the solemnization of the feast was almost impossible, on account of the orgies connected with the Saturnalian festivities, which were celebrated at the same time. Even in our own day the secular features of the opening of the New Year interfere with the religious observance of the Circumcision, and tend to make a mere holiday of that which should have the sacred character of a Holy Day. St. Augustine points out the difference between the pagan and the Christian manner of celebrating the day: pagan feasting and excesses were to be expiated by Christian fasting and prayer (P. L., XXXVIII, 1024 sqq.; Serm. cxcvii, cxcviii). The Feast of the Circumcision was kept at an early date in the Gallican Rite, as is clearly indicated in a Council of Tours (567), in which the Mass of the Circumcision is prescribed (Con. Tur., II., can. xvii in Labbe, V, 857). The feast celebrated at Rome in the seventh century was not the Circumcision as such, but the octave of Christmas. The Gelasian Sacramentary gives the title "In Octabas Domini", and prohibits the faithful from idolatry and the profanities of the season (P. L., LXXIV, 1061). The earliest Byzantine calendars (eighth and ninth centuries) give for the first of January both the Circumcision and the anniversary of St. Basil. The Feast of the Circumcision was observed in Spain before the death of St. Isidore (636), for the "Regula Monachorum", X, reads: "For it hath pleased the Fathers to appoint a holy season from the day of the Lord's birth to the day of His Circumcision" (P.L., LXXXIII, 880). It seems, therefore, that the octave was more prominent in the early centuries, and the Circumcision later.

It is to be noted also that the Blessed Virgin Mary was not forgotten in the festivities of the holy season, and the Mass in her honor was sometimes said on this day. Today, also, while in both Missal and Breviary the feast bears the title "In Circumcisione Domini et Octav Nativitatis", the prayers have special reference to the Blessed Virgin, and in the Office, the responses and antiphons set forth her privileges and extol her wonderful prerogatives. The psalms for Vespers are those appointed for her feasts, and the antiphons and hymn of Lauds keep her constantly in view. As paganisn passed away the religious festivities of the Circumcision became more conspicuous and solemn; yet, even in the tenth century, Atto, Bishop of Vercelli, rebuked those who profaned the holy season by pagan dances, songs, and the lighting of lamps (P.L. CXXXIV, 43). (See also NEW YEAR'S DAY.)
Acta SS., Jan., I, Sermo Faustini (describing secular festivities and Christian fasts; BUTLER, The Lives of the Saints, 1 Jan.; SMITH, Dict. of Christ. Antiquities, s.v.; DUCHESNE, Les origines du culte chrét. (tr. London, 1904), 273.

Hello Everyone:
Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. May we pray for the little ones that are not only being aborted but abused and abandoned. More children are suffering today than at any other time in all of history. We are truly living in a culture of death. Even the children that are in so called "decent" households are being neglected. The child is looked upon without love, without guidance, without God. Households today have surrendered their children to the world, to video games, to the internet, to Satan. How many families pray together? How many couples pray together and bring grace to their families?  Do we realize that this life is very short and that the next is eternal? Do we realize that God has given us every means to live healthy, happy and holy lives if we just turn to Him and ask for these graces in prayer? Don't we want to be saints? Don't we want our children to be saints?

We are entering into a New Year - may we make a huge commitment to turn back to God in family prayer! May we pray to the little innocent ones that have gone before us and are now before God. May we ask them to pray for us and our families.

Below is a link to "The Coventry Carol" - a 16th century English song that mourns the Holy Innocents killed in Bethlehem following the birth of Christ. King Herod, approved by Rome to rule over Judea, heard that a King had been born in Bethlehem. Fearing for his earthly crown, Herod ordered the slaughter of all male children under the age of two in Bethlehem. The innocent children were killed by the soldiers of Herod and the mournful mothers grieved the loss of their beloved sons. 

The slaughter of the Holy Innocents fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah and writes in blood the first chapter of the History of the Church. Christ the King is saved by the flight into Egypt, while the children who died in the stead of the Messiah received their crowns in Heaven as the first martyrs of the Church. 

A Blessed Christmas to you and your family. May we pray for the peace of Christ to enter into all of our hearts through the prayers and intercession of Our Queen and Mother. Thank you Eternal Father for the gift of Your Son through the flesh of the Virgin Mary! God be Praised for His Goodness to us - may we give Him our all!!!
Merry Christmas!

            
 
       
“This is God’s great gift to us, and therefore, we give gifts on Christmas because we received a Gift. It is the birthday of God in the form of a man, in order that man might be like unto God. Whenever we give gifts we tear off the price tag so that there will be no proportion between the gift of the lover and the love of the giver. There is no price tag on the Gift of Christ. We can never buy Him, but we can sell Him, as Judas did.
                             His Gift of Love is free – is that why we scorn it?”
                                                 Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen 
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Hello Everyone:
We are just two days away from Christmas! How fast time flies. Today after spending time with Archbishop Fulton Sheen, we are going to touch on what it means to be self-sacrificing. We will focus on our daily family living and all that we do to achieve God's Will as the Holy Family did.
So how are we, the laity, particularly mothers and fathers of families, suppose to be self-sacrificing? Being self-sacrificing entails the virtue of poverty because in it lies being truly detached from earthly things and in cheerfully accepting shortage or discomfort if they arise. Furthermore, it means having one’s whole day taken up with a flexible schedule in which, besides the daily norms of piety, an important place should be given to rest, which we all need, to family get-togethers, to reading and to time set aside for an artistic or literary hobby or any other worthwhile pastime. We live the virtue of poverty by filling the hours of the day usefully, doing everything as well as we can, and living little details of order, punctuality, and good humor.

It is love that gives meaning to daily sacrifices. Every mother knows well what it means to sacrifice herself for her children; it is not a matter of giving them a few hours of her time, but of spending her whole life in their benefit. We must live thinking of others and using things in such a way that there will be something to offer to others. All these are dimensions of poverty which guarantee an effective detachment.

The best examples of poverty are those mothers and fathers of large and poor families who spend their lives for their children and who with their effort and constancy — often without complaining of their needs — bring up their family, creating a cheerful home in which everyone learns to love, to serve and to work.

Here is Archbishop Fulton J Sheen's quote:
"The very permanence of marriage is destructive of those fleeting infatuations, which are born with the moment and die with it; it destroys selfishness, furthermore, because the mutual love of husband and wife takes them out of themselves into the incarnation of their mutual love, their other selves, their children; and finally it narrows selfishness because the rearing of children demands sacrifice, without which, like unwatered flowers, they wilt and die.” 
                                                                                       Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Again, this is profound. If we look at marriage in such a way - we will conclude that this formula will give us Heaven because we will live in imitation of the sacrifices once met of the Holy Family.
God bless!

Hello Everyone:  Sorry this is posted so late!  Yesterday was a beautiful quote by Archbishop Fulton Sheen on the mystery of Love. I pointed out that it is obvious and evident that one is not capable of loving if one is prideful. Humility is a necessary foundation. One only needs to look at Jesus to see this. He humbled Himself and became man in order to save us. This could make a daily meditation all by itself - God becoming man - truly a humbling idea! Here is a beautiful quote for us on humility. Again, as with all of his quotes - there is so much to meditate on. Here it is:
"There is a close relation between physical littleness, which is childhood, and mental littleness, which is humility. We can not  always be children, which is another way of saying we can be humble. And so in the spiritual order, the law remains ever the same: if human beings are ever to discover anything big, they must always be making themselves  little; if they magnify their ego to the infinite, they will discover nothing, for there is nothing bigger than the infinite; but if they reduce their ego to zero, then they will discover everything big -- for there is nothing smaller than the self. How, then, shall we find the reason behind the joy? Just as it is only by being little that we discover anything big, so it is only by being humble that we find an Infinite God in the form of a little child."                 Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Again, this is so profound. Some of the saints have told us that if we knew how much humility would afford us - we would LOOK for humiliations in order to grow in humility. Archbishop Fulton Sheen use to say - if you think prayer is not answered, then just ask for suffering and see how quickly that is answered. I would like to add that if you pray for humiliations to grow in humility - this too will be answered quickly. Our Lord and Our Lady want us to grow in humility! Therefore, let us not shun humiliations! Let us embrace them in order for the  graces to grow in love and knowledge so that we may draw closer to God! Think of the peace this would bring!

Holy Mother Mary, please pray for us to be truly humble in order to find Truth and Love so that the peace that was given to us on that first Christmas morning may be felt in our very souls!

Here is a beautiful quote about the mystery of love. This quote is worth pondering and meditating on because so often we find people in our family and acquaintances that we find difficult to love. St. John of the Cross says something similar to this quote by Archbishop Sheen and that is - "we must put love where there is no love". Of course, we can not do this without God because God is Love. Let us read this quote and see what is being stated about this great mystery----
"Once I surrender the tinsel to have the jewel, then I enter into the mystery of love. I see that I do not love anyone unless he has some goodness in him, or is lovable in some way. But, I see also that God did not love me because I am lovable. I became lovable because God poured some of His goodness and love into me. I then began to apply this charity to my neighbor. If I do not find him lovable, I have to put love into him as God puts love into me, and thereby I provoke the response of love. Now, my personality is restored and I make the great discovery that no one is happy until he loves both God and neighbor."                      Archbishop Fulton Sheen
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I love this quote - there is so much here. Just the surrendering of the tinsel to have the jewel is so profound and speaks volumes about the way we live in this crazy world with all of its "tinsel" - we miss the jewels that God has for us! Obviously, humility is needed for this quote to work. If we have pride - we will never love. It takes great humility to lower ourselves to love someone who is not lovable. This humility is what draws the love out of the one who chooses to hate or be prideful. Again, this may take awhile and not be immediate. This makes it all the more painful and humiliating to do but being persistent and trusting in God's grace will reap tremendous blessings.
May we love God with our whole heart, mind and soul so that we can then turn to love our neighbor. Holy Mother Mary - please give us the grace of a profound humility so that we may experience God's profound love!

Hello Everyone - we are only 5 days away from Christmas. I hope you went to Confession to clean your soul before you spend time cleaning your house. I still have baking and cooking to do - a few present to wrap - cleaning my floors and bathrooms. Lots of preparation for family and friends. WOW - how difficult it is to fit in time with the one we should - the King of our hearts! I hope you are familiar with the St. Andrew Prayer. If you are not familiar with it - here it is:
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This is a very beautiful prayer to memorize and say each and every day that we can - it helps to keep the Presence of God to say little ejaculatory prayers throughout our day - throughout the year!  We can change them according to the Liturgical Year.

Now for that promised quote of Archbishop Fulton Sheen - one of my favorite "saints".    Enjoy!
"The world's greatest need is someone who will understand that there is no greater conquest than victory over oneself; someone who will realize that real worth is achieved not so much by activity, as by silence... who will, like a lightning flash, burn away the bonds of feeble interest which tie down our energies to the world; who with a fearless voice, like John the Baptist, will arouse our enfeebled nature out of the sleek dream of unheroic response; someone who will gain victories not by stepping down from the Cross and compromising with the world, but who will suffer in order to conquer the world."                               Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Dear Lord Jesus - help us to be persons of penance and self-denial. Let us love you no matter what. If we are praised or ridiculed, if we prosper or fail, if we are sick or well, if we are suffering or happy - give us the grace to always be faithful in our love for You. Holy Mother Mary pray for us - your children, to always love and seek the Lord and King of our hearts in all that we do!

We are a week away from Christmas. I have posted an article on the "O Antiphons" on the Consecration blog under Formation. Please check this out. It makes the last week of Advent very special and united to Our Lady.
I will try to write special messages given to us by Archbishop Fulton J Sheen for these last days in preparation of Christmas. Here is the first one:
"Sanctity is not giving up the world. It is exchanging the world. It is a continuation of that sublime transaction of the Incarnation in which Christ said to man:
"you give me your humanity, I will give you My Divinity.
You give me your time, I will give you My Eternity.
You give me your bonds, I will give you My Omnipotence.
You give me your slavery, I will give you My Freedom.
You give me your death, I will give you My Life.
You give me your nothingness, I will give you My All."
And the consoling thought throughout this whole transforming process is that it does not require must time to make us saints; it requires ONLY MUCH LOVE!"
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Hello Everyone:
Today is the Feast of St. John of the Cross in the Conciliar Church (New Calendar). We celebrated St. John of the Cross in the Traditional Calendar on November 24th.
I have been busy with family and just recently went to a Funeral Mass for my cousin and it was at a Novus Ordo Parish. I have not been to a Novus Ordo Mass in quite a while and I do only to be with family. I am always shocked when I go because it is so different from the Latin Mass that I am now accustomed to.
I am not a member of the Society of St. Pius X but I go to a Parish that is of the Institute of Christ the King - Sovereign Priest. Nonetheless, I do view Archbishop Lefebvre as a saint. He was a staunch Catholic prelate who happened to also attend the Second Vatican Council and saw first hand what was going on. I advise all Catholics to read his view in order not to make bad judgments against him. I hope someday soon that his body will be exhumed so that we can see if he is in fact incorrupt. He died on the feast of the Annunciation.
I am including two videos for viewing. I hope they will be helpful and if you have members of your family who are losing  the faith because of this New Mass - you may want to share it with family.
The videos speak for themselves.
Have a holy Advent week!!

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