Oh Nuts

  As Jesus hung on the cross, he forgave the soldiers who had crucified him and prayed for his mother and friends. Jesus wanted all of us to be able to live forever with God, so he gave all he had for us. Photo by Alicia Quan on Unsplash Leader:  We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. All:  Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world. As Jesus hung on the cross, he forgave the soldiers who had crucified him, and prayed for his mother and friends. Jesus wanted all of us to be able to live forever with God, so he gave all he had for us. Jesus, let me take a few moments now to consider your love for me. Help me thank you for your willingness to go to your death for me. Help me express my love for you! My Jesus, three hours didst Thou hang in agony, and then die for me; let me die before I sin, and if I live, live for Thy love and faithful service. Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father... Leader:  Jesus Christ Crucified. All:  Have merc...

Advent Meditations with Fulton Sheen The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them, light has shined. -Isaiah 9:2 The O Antiphons refer to the seven antiphons that are prayed immediately before the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours (or the Divine Office). Each antiphon begins with the exclamation “O”, thus earning their popular name of the “O Antiphons.” Originally written in Latin around the seventh or eighth centuries, these special antiphons are verses extracted from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah that are titles for the Messiah.

Ash Wednesday Day of Fasting and Abstinence Found on Unsplash Gospel Reading: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden." (Matthew 6:16-18) As Lent begins, ask Our Lord for His Guidance in your daily practice of prayer, fasting, and good works through the Lenten season.* *Taken from the 2019 Lenten Daily Devotional from the Basilica of The National Shrine of The Immaculate Conception.

God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company. Baruch 5   We begin this second week of our Advent journey  with this wonderful proclamation of the end of our exile.  We really can take off our robe of misery and put on the splendor of the glory of God forever.   Let us experience today what it will be like to be  freed from the power of our sins to hold us captive.  Freed from our longing, our desire:  that we might be set free.   “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” Ps. 126   May the Lord bless us,   protect us from all evil   and bring us to everlasting life.   Amen.

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Though I don't know who originally said it, the above quote is something that I have heard my whole life. Sometimes I feel like it is very true. The idea for this post came around a week ago, during a talk that I was listening to on the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt. In the handout that was passed out after the talk, there was several sentences that stuck out to me about what our vocations are in life. It was also part of the inspiration for the post that I wrote on St. Catherine of Siena . We all have a different vocation in life, sometimes we know what it is and sometimes we don't. The only person who knows what each person's vocation in life is God. Sometimes it is hard to understand what it is we are supposed to do in life, but we have to be patient and trust in God. In the reflection for the talk that I went too, the first sentence that jumped out at me was " St. Joseph did not clai...

Back in July, when my family and I were on vacation, we stopped at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help up in Wisconsin. At the attached gift shop I had purchased several medals, with one of them being of St. Catherine of Siena , who is my patron saint. Then back in October, before we moved, I finally attached the medals that I had gotten to my scapular. After a while, the medals started to come off, except for the one of St. Catherine. When I realized that the other day, I started wondering if God was trying to tell me something about the future and my vocation. Even though I might no what God has in store for me for the future,  I do know that he has a plan and that I just have to wait and listen for it.

O Emmanuel  (Isa 7: 14; 8: 8),  our King and Lawgiver (Gen 49:10; cf. Ezek 21: 32), the Expected of the nations and their Savior (Isa 33: 22): Come, and save us, O Lord our God. Veni, Veni, Emmanuel captivum solve Israel, qui gemit in exsilio, privatus Dei Filio. (1) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel nascetur pro te Israel! Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:23 1 Timothy 4:9 Psalm 14:7 Phil 4:4

O King of the Gentiles  (Hag 2: 8),  and the Desired of all, You are the Cornerstone that binds two into one (Eph 2: 20). * Come, and save man whom You fashioned out of clay (Gen 2: 7). Veni, Veni, Rex Gentium, Veni, Redemptor omnium, ut salvas tuos famulos peccati sibi conscios. (7) O Come, Desire of the nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind; bid every strife and quarrel cease and fill the world with heaven's peace. Isaiah 2:4; 11:10 Psalm 47:8; Jeremiah 10:7 Daniel 7:14; Haggai 2:8 Romans 15:12 Ephesians 2:14, 20

O Rising Dawn,  (Zac 6: 12),  Radiance of the Light eternal (Hab 3: 4) and Sun of Justice (Mal 3: 20): * come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Ps 107: 10; Lk 1: 78). Veni, Veni O Oriens, solare nos adveniens, noctis depelle nebulas, dirasque mortis tenebras. (6) O Come, Thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadow put to flight. Isaiah 9:1; 58:8; 60:18-20 Malachi 4:2 Luke 1:78-79 John 8:12 Revelation 22:16

O Key of David,  (Apoc 3: 7)  and Scepter of the house of Israel: You open and no man closes; you close and no man opens (Isa 22: 22). * Come, and deliver him from the chains of prison who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death (Ps 107: 10).                             Veni, Clavis Davidica, regna reclude caelica, fac iter tutum superum, et claude vias inferum. (5) O Come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heav'nly home, make safe the way that leads on high, that we no more have cause to sigh. Revelation 3:7 Isaiah 22:22 Jeremiah 13:13; 51:19 Matthew 4:16; 16:19 Luke 1:79

O Root of Jesse ,  You stand for the ensign of mankind (Isa 11: 10); before You kings shall keep silence and to You all nations shall have recourse (Isa 52: 15). * Come, save us, and do not delay (Hab 2: 3). Veni, O Iesse virgula, ex hostis tuos ungula, de spectu tuos tartari educ et antro barathri. (4) O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse's stem, from ev'ry foe deliver them that trust Thy mighty power to save, and give them vict'ry o'er the grave. Isaiah 11:1, 10 Isaiah 52:15 Romans 15:12

O Adonai  (Exod 6: 13)  and Ruler of the house of Israel (Matt 2: 6), You appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush (Exod 3: 2) and on Mount Sinai gave him Your Law (Exod 20). * Come, and with an outstretched arm redeem us (Jer 32: 21). Veni, Veni, Adonai, qui populo in Sinai legem dedisti vertice in maiestate gloriae. (3) O Come, O Come, Thou Lord of might, who to thy tribes on Sinai's height in ancient times didst give the law, in cloud , and majesty, and awe. Exodus 3:2 Isaiah 33:22; 63:11-12 Micah 6:4 Acts 7:30-31

O Wisdom  (Eccl 24: 5),  You came forth from the mouth of the Most High (Sir 24: 30), and reaching from beginning to end You ordered all things mightily and sweetly (Wis 8: 1). * Come, and teach us the way of prudence (Isa 40: 14). Veni, O Sapientia, quae hic disponis omnia, Veni, viam prudentiae ut doceas et gloriae. (2) O Come, Thou Wisdom, from on high, and order all things far and nigh; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go. Wisdom 8:1 Isaiah 11:2-3; 28:29 Proverbs 8:1-36 John 1:1-5

Read - John 18:1-19:42 Carrying the cross himself, he set out. (John 19:17) Where do you see yourself, as Jesus walks the rough path to the hill of Golgotha? Are you a bystander, waiting for the procession to pass so that you can be about your business? Are you a friend, hurrying behind, distraught but unable to desert him? Maybe you're a soldier, driving him before you. No matter what perspective you view in the story, Jesus is always at the center, orchestrating each action. At no point in John's Gospel is Jesus helpless or bewildered. He shows nothing but steadfast purposefulness. At his word, a whole contingent of soldiers falls back (John 18:6). Standing before Pilate, he holds fast, while the procurator becomes increasingly anxious and afraid (19:8). He manfully takes up his cross and marches to his fate (19:17). And at what appears to be his lowest point, Jesus announces calmly and definitively, "It is finished" and hands over his spirit to the Father...

The First Letter of Saint Clare to Agnes of Prague (1234) Therefore, most beloved sister, or should I say, Lady, worthy of great respect: because You are the spouse and the mother and the sister of my Lord Jesus Christ (cf 2 Cor 11:2, Mt. 12:50) and have been beautifully adorned with the sign of an undefiled virginity and a most holy poverty: Be strengthened in the holy service which you have undertaken out of a burning desire for the poor Crucified, Who for the sake of all of us took upon Himself the Passion of the Cross (Heb 12:2), delivered us from the power of the Prince of Darkness (Col 1:13) to whom we were enslaved because of the disobedience of our first parent, and so reconciled us to God the Father (2 Cor 5:18). O blessed poverty, who bestows eternal riches on those who love and embrace her! O holy poverty, God promises the kingdom of Heaven and in fact, offers eternal glory and a blessed life to those who posses and desire you! O God-centered p...

The Second Letter of  Saint Clare to Agnes of Prague (1235) But with swift pace, light step unswerving feet, so that even your steps stir up no dust, may you go forward securely, joyfully, and swiftly, on the path of prudent happiness, not believing anything, not agreeing with anything that would dissuade you from this resolution or that would place a stumbling block for you on the way, so that you may offer your vows to the Most High in the pursuit of that perfection to which the Spirit of the Lord has called you. For Prayer and Reflection: What are the stumbling blocks that keep you from "going forward securely, joyfully and swiftly?" What passion will you never abandon in your life?

I   bind unto myself today The strong Name of the Trinity, By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three. I  bind this day to me for ever. By power of faith, Christ's incarnation; His baptism in the Jordan river; His death on Cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spicèd tomb; His riding up the heavenly way; His coming at the day of doom; I bind unto myself today. I  bind unto myself the power Of the great love of the cherubim; The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour, The service of the seraphim, Confessors' faith, Apostles' word, The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls, All good deeds done unto the Lord, And purity of virgin souls. I  bind unto myself today The virtues of the starlit heaven, The glorious sun's life-giving ray, The whiteness of the moon at even, The flashing of the lightning free, The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, The stable earth, the deep salt sea, Around the old eternal rocks. ...

The Fourth Letter of Saint Clare to Agnes of Prague (1253) Gaze upon that mirror each day, O Queen and Spouse of Jesus Christ, and continually study your face within it, that you may adorn yourself within and without beautiful robes, covered, as it is becoming the daughter and most chaste bride of the Most High King, with the flowers and garments of all the virtues. Indeed, blessed poverty, holy humility, and inexpressible charity are reflected in that mirror, as, with the grace of God, you can contemplate them throughout the entire mirror. Then, at the surface of the mirror, consider the holy humility, the blessed poverty, the untold labors and burdens that He endured for the redemption of the whole human race. Then, in the depth of this same mirror, contemplate the ineffable charity that led Him to suffer on the wood of the Cross and to die there the most shameful kind of death. Therefore that mirror, suspended on the wood of the Cross, urged those who passed by to co...

The Third Letter of Saint Clare to Agnes of Prague (1238) Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance! And transform your entire being into the image  of the Godhead itself through contemplation. So that you too may feel what His friends feel as they taste the hidden sweetness that God Himself has reserved from the beginning for those who love Him. And, after all who ensnare their blind lovers in a deceitful and turbulent world have been completely sent away, Who gave Himself totally for your love. For Prayer and Reflection: Clare uses the image of the mirror popular in the spiritual literature of her time. The medieval concept was that one gazed into a mirror to see there what one should become . Does this image speak to you in realizing that as one gazes upon one's truest self, one comes to see the very Image in which one was create...

The Second Letter of Saint Clare to Agnes of Prague (1235) Your Spouse, though more beautiful than the children of men, became, for your salvation, the lowest of men, was despised, struck, scourged, untold times throughout His entire body, and then died amid the suffering of the Cross. O most noble Queen, gaze upon [Him] consider [Him] contemplate [Him] as you desire to imitate [Him]. If you suffer with Him, you will reign with Him. [If you] weep [with Him], you shall rejoice with Him; [If you] die with Him on the cross of tribulation, you shall possess heavenly mansions in the splendor of the saints and, in the Book of Life your name shall be called glorious among men. For Prayer and Reflection: What times and places are reserved in your life NOW for "gazing, considering, contemplating," Jesus on the cross? Is this a struggle as you attempt to balance contemplation and ministry? How has your own suffering been a transforming p...