Communio – Page 363 – …bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Saint Blase and the Blessing of Throats

Lord, hear the prayers of Your martyr Blase. Give us the joy of Your peace in this life and help us to gain the happiness that will never end.

The Church has few exact details of the life of Saint Blase (also Blaise, Biago, Sveti Vlaho) but we have the experience of his popularity through the centuries in the churches of the East and West. What we know is that Blase was a physician, the Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia and martyr. The Roman Martyrology tells us that he was beheaded in 316.

More info on Saint Blase is found here and here.

The Blessing of Candles on the feast of St Blase can be found here.

The Blessing of Bread, Wine, Water and Fruit for the feast.

From the Golden Legend again:

And when this good widow, which by S. Blase had recovered her swine, heard thereof, she slew it, and the head and the feet with a little bread and a candle, she brought to S. Blase, and he thanked God and ate thereof, and he said to her that every year she should offer in his church a candle, and know thou that to thee and to all them that so shall do shall well happen to them, and so she did all her life, and she had much great prosperity.

Even after imprisonment, he refused to worship the prince’s gods, and for punishment his flesh torn by wool combs. He was finally beheaded, martyred along with seven women and two children.

Today, due to the cure of the boy’s throat when the boy was choking, Saint Blase is patron against diseases or any other trouble of the throat.

The priest will bless two candles in honor of Saint Blase.

Consecrated Life is a living exegesis of the Word of God, Pope tells religious

In today’s feast we contemplate the Lord Jesus whom
Mary and Joseph take to the Temple “to present him to the Lord” (Luke
2:22). Revealed in this evangelical scene is the mystery of the Son of the
Virgin, the consecrated One of the Father, who came into the world to carry out
his will faithfully (cf. Hebrews 10:5-7).

Simeon points to him as “light
for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32), and proclaims with prophetic
word his supreme offer to God and his final victory (cf. Luke 2:32-35). It is
the meeting of the two Testaments, the Old and the New. Jesus enters the
ancient Temple, He who is the new Temple of God: He comes to visit his people,
bringing to fulfillment obedience to the Law and inaugurating the end times of
salvation.

Continue reading Consecrated Life is a living exegesis of the Word of God, Pope tells religious

Don’t rush the praying of the Liturgy

How does one form a deacon, priest and bishop to celebrate the ars celebrandi of the sacred Liturgy? Being side-by-side these sacred ministers I am often scandalized by the lack of composure and gravitas in the praying of the Mass and other liturgical rites. Several priests and bishops I know are such poor celebrants of the Mass that I would argue that Mass celebrated so poorly does in fact lead others away from the Church’s worship. And let’s not even speak of the many deacons who have no clue and poor presence in the sanctuary! Two cardinals I’ve seen celebrate the Mass in their cathedrals have the habit of running down the isle and up the stairs into the sanctuary with evident exterior indication of what is about to happen. Another needs a seat belt in the cathedra. Is it too much to ask for beautiful gesture, beautiful music, beautiful words, beautiful art and architecture in the sacred Liturgy? Beauty and prayer also warms interpersonal relations!

Father John Zuhlsdorf (Fr. Z) over at the blog What the does the Prayer Really Say? has it right: save the Liturgy, save the world.

I think Archbishop Joseph Raya will have the last word on this topic today: “It
is absurd to hurry: this shows a lack of understanding and respect and may be
an occasion of scandal” (Byzantine Daily Worship, Alleluia Press: 1969).

Christ’s born, be glad for you have encountered the Messiah!

40 days ago we celebrated the fact of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word of God, Emmanuel, whom we call Jesus. Today’s liturgical observance of Candelmas –the Encounter with the Lord– recalls our great joy and we’re told what our joy is about by Saint Leo the Great:

“Our Savior was born today: let us be glad. For there
is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which
destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity.”

The on-going work of remembering of the Jewish holocaust

H2O News aired an interview with an acquaintance of mine, Jesuit Father David Neuhaus, who gave his family’s recollection of the Nazi atrocities in WWII. Himself a convert to Catholicism his thoughts are poignant. Each year at January’s end there is a Day of Remembrance. Father David is the vicar of Hebrew Christians for the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. I recommend watching the interview.

St Matthew’s Passion to be presented by St Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in NYC Feb. 7

The St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Yonkers,
NY) will present a setting of the St. Matthew Passion.

The musical setting of Passion of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Saint Matthew is an exquisite
interplay of soloists, choir, and orchestra. This concert will be the U.S.
English-language premiere of the piece by Russian Orthodox Christian composer
and churchman Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev.

Performers will include The Salomé
Chamber Orchestra, famed soloists soprano Mary Mackenzie, mezzo-soprano Ana Mihanovic,
tenor Blake Friedman, and bass Aaron Theno, and the New York Virtuoso Singers
prepared by Harold Rosenbaum.

The concert will take place at 7:30 pm in the
Church of the Saint Paul the Apostle (at the corner of Columbus Avenue & West 60th Street, NY 10019).

Please click HERE for more
information and to purchase tickets.

Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, 46, is the Russian born Oxford and Paris educated theologian and musician. He’s wonderfully talented in many areas. Last May it was a pleasure of mine to see him and hear his work in Rome at a concert he organized for Pope Benedict XVI.

Presentation of the Lord

In honor of the divine mystery that we celebrate
today, let us all hasten to meet Christ. Everyone should be eager to join the procession
and to carry a light. Our lighted candle are a sign of the divine splendor of
the One who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole
universe radiant with the brilliance of His eternal light. Our candles show us
how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ.

from a homily of Saint Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem

Office of Readings

Still at the beginning of a papacy

In some comments made of a book on the papacy of Benedict XVI, Archbishop Rino Fisichella said that at the beginning of every pontificate the new pope and the Church face certain challenges that are normal. As Fisichella, the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization reminded his audience, we’re only 6 years into Benedict’s ministry as the head of the Catholic Church. None of the things that blotted the pope’s copybook (that is, have caused the Pope to expend political capitol) are new and that extraordinary; change is always needed in the Church moving to a new administration. All of the recent popes have had to deal the growing pains of transitioning from pontificate to another. In Fisichella’s interpretation, and I concur, the central issue of Benedict’s work is one of formation, a new education in the faith of all the faithful, including the higher and lower clergy. However, I do think that some of the people that work directly or indirectly at the Holy See have not been as helpful as they possibly could be so as not to have Benedict kicked by the secular media at every “major” event.

Read John Thavis’s CNS blog post.

Snow and Ice

“The Snow-Storm” comes to mind today. There’s a certain end-times (should we say a 19th century apocalypticism?) quality to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem that life and death are confronted, forward motion is reduced-if-not-halted the boundaries are indistinct. Looking out my window I see the barrenness of the landscape with only the evergreens providing color save for the woodpecker, the bluejay and the cardinals collecting their food at the feeder. The property lines aren’t present and movement is difficult either by foot, car, or train, and forget the airplane. The vivid white of the snow and ice is blinding.

So, I think it’s time for a change in weather. Don’t you?

Continue reading Snow and Ice

Saint Brigid of Ireland

O holy Brigid, you became sublime through your humility, and flew on the wings of your longing for God. When you arrived in the eternal City and appeared before your Divine Spouse, wearing the crown of virginity, you kept your promise to remember those who have recourse to you. You shower grace upon the world, and multiply miracles. Intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls. (Troparian, tone 1)

Lord, you
inspired in Saint Brigid such whole-hearted dedication to your work that she is
known as Mary of the Gael; through her intercession bless our country; may we
follow the example of her life and be united with her and the Virgin Mary in
your presence.