Real Catholic Blog

In today’s Gospel, our Lord, Jesus Christ, explains to the Apostles his passion, death and resurrection. But the Gospel also tells us that they did not understand. How were they eventually enlightened? The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit brought the Word to them. Still today, the Holy Spirit brings clarity to our understanding of God’s Word if we open our hearts and seek to receive it. Father Ignatius Manfredonia of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Friary explains in his homily from Mass earlier today.

Jesus explained his death and resurrection in advance to the Apostles, but it was the Holy Spirit who enlightened them to understand. He enlightens us as well when we open ourselves to receive Him.

Pope Benedict spoke about Saint Anthony of Padua earlier this week at his general audience. Saint Anthony is one of the most popular saints and one to whom I seek constant intercession. The Pope told the audience that, as Saint Anthony preached, the Cross is the mirror in which everyone can find a meaning that enriches life. That includes non-believers.

Therefore, “nowhere man can better realize what he is worth than by looking at himself in the mirror of the cross.” St. Anthony of Padua, was a man who always put “Christ at the center of life and of thought, action and preaching.” He spoke “of prayer as a relationship of love which impels a man to talk sweetly with the Lord. Only a soul that prays can make progress.”

Pope Benedict spoke of Saint Anthony of Padua as an example of one who used the Cross as his mirror.

Today is the feast day of Saint Scholastica (see Catholic Online), the sister of Saint Benedict (see Catholic Encyclopedia). Together, they founded the Benedictine way of life and order.

Here is a sweet and powerful homily about Saint Scholastica from Father Angelo Geiger of the Our lady of Guadalupe Friary and Air Maria. In it he tells a wonderful story about Saint Scholastica’s relationship with her brother — and God, and how God answered her prayer. He also expounds on the today’s Gospel reading about the 10 virgins and the importance to accept from God the gift of our lives and to resist temptation. We can pride ourselves on our belief, but unless we put it into action. … He also spells out the importance of praying our faith. It lasts 5:30.

The life of Saint Scholastica: The simplicity of faith is very powerful.

As I’ve noted before, it is vital that parents take an active role in the formation of their children. As important as bringing them to Mass is, sending them to Catholic school, and registering them for classes offered by your parish and other Catholic educational opportunities, it all starts in the home.

Here’s a great example. It is from Gelsi, a young girl with her own YouTube channel. In fact, it is the only youth Catholic YouTube channel. Not only is she being raised well and right, she is enterprising! What a spirit! As you can read here, she writes her own scripts — with some “help from my dad.” I realize not all families are going to be able to help their children start a YouTube channel to advance the faith, or better instill it to other children, but only one? Even Pope Benedict recently extolled the virtues of social media. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come as well as an indication that parents are, indeed, more active now than in previous generations in the Catholic formation of their children.

In this video Gelsi explains why the Blessed Virgin Mary is Important:

Gelsi is young enough, but can teach us all a whole lot! 

We hope as many people as possible attend the March For Life, January 20-23, in Washington, D.C. Our very own Brother John (the hard working, behind the scenes, driving force of this blog) will be there and will offer will provide coverage for us. Parishes and dioceses all over the country, as well as Catholic and pro-life organizations, are sponsoring transportation. It will be worth the effort — a pilgrimage of activism in the defense of the unborn.

Many events are planned for the week, culminating in the great march on Friday, January 23. Many of the events are Catholic oriented, including Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life and Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. For more information on these and the many other events and activities, from lectures to a flashlight rally across from the White House, to a bloggers conference, LifeSiteNews.com has an entire schedule and details on each event, here. 

Meanwhile, we’ll provide updates along the way. We hope you check back often and, most importantly, continue to pray for the end of abortion in America.

From EWTN.com:

St. Michael the Archangel,

defend us in battle.

Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and do thou,

O Prince of the heavenly hosts,

by the power of God,

thrust into hell Satan,

and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world

seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

O glorious prince St. Michael,

chief and commander of the heavenly hosts,

guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits,

servant in the house of the Divine King

and our admirable conductor,

you who shine with excellence

and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil,

who turn to you with confidence

and enable us by your gracious protection

to serve God more and more faithfully every day. Amen.

Father Tito of the Franciscan Friars of Air Maria gives a homily on the Luminous Mysteries, starting with the baptism of Jesus. He explains that we see Jesus’ espousal with His bride, the Church in the Luminous Mysteries. His breaking open of these mysteries gives good reason as to why John Paul The Great added these mysteries to the Rosary. Father Tito’s homily is packed with thoughtfulness. Every sentence gives you much to think about. Take the time to listen. It’s worth it.

The Catholic Church teaches the Truth, which is not easy. But who will teach those Truths if not us? Certainly “not the New York Times.”

Here’s an insightful homily by Father Ignatius Manfredonia (of AirMaria.com) on the Holy Family in which he expounds on the relationship between the loss of family life to the loss of love — first to God then to neighbor. He stresses the connection between love and sacrifice.

Love and marriage. They really are related . . . but a love of God is the part you don’t hear too much about.

This is a Christmas prayer I came across on a card with a Nativity scene. There is no attribution. However, It touches on some of the elements of the previous post. Remember, the Christmas season in the Church is more than just a few days in December, nor a week that stretches into the New Year, and certainly not a shopping season that starts in November. It is a holy time of year that remains with us for a few weeks still. Let the glow continue. Pray on!

Holy Infant Christ, born 2,000 years ago into a cold and hostile world and deprived of all simple human comforts, help us to replicate the example of Bethlehem and Nazareth in our daily lives.

If there is no room at the inn of men’s hearts for you today we shall make room in our own. Whether our stations in life are simple and impoverished as the Shepherds, or resplendent as the Wise Men of Old, we will bow in adoration before your majesty. Like the Star of Bethlehem and the Heavenly Choir of Angels we will lead men to sing your praises.

From you who deigned to lower yourself to partake of our humanity and its miseries, enable us to partake of your Divinity that we may experience a truly spiritual incarnation this Christmas-tide. 

In the post before last, I mentioned in quick succession a few aspects of the season, but aspects that nonetheless are intergral to each other and are central to our being as Catholics, not just during the Advent and Christmas seasons. As we celebrate a New Year and the Feast of Mary, Mother of God (ChurchYear.net), a Holy Day of Obligation, at a vigil tonight or at Mass  tomorrow, it is an appropriate time to flesh them out a bit.

First is the hope that the glow of the season stays with us all year long. We celebrate during Christmas God’s divine touch on us in the form of the Mystery of the Incarnation. Just because we celebrate Jesus’ birth now doesn’t mean he goes away the rest of the year. God becomes man through the incarnation. Inconceivable! It is worth celebrating all year.

We do that by constantly reflecting Jesus by our actions to others. Inspire them to the Lord by how we act and explain the Divine Mysteries. We especially need to instill the love of the Lord in those who at least show a perfunctory acknowledgment of God. Many people attend Mass twice a year. Let’s try to bring them home to the Church while there is an immediate Christmas warmth in their hearts. While this mission to bring to the salvation of the Church to others includes Christians, non-Christians and non-believers alike, we have a special obligation to show wayward Catholics the way home (see Catholics Come Home).

Bringing all this together is the central thought that the Wood of the Manger is the Wood of the Cross. While it is warm and fun to celebrate a birthday and exchange presents, God humbled himself to become man for one reason: To die for our sins. That is why we must “celebrate” Christmas all year. Not the gift-giving, but the life giving that Christ gave us by His birth — the everlasting life He gives us. For, if not for His birth, He has no human life. Without His Incarnation, we do not have His sacrifice on the Cross for our redemption and forgiveness of our sins. So the wood of the Manger is the Wood of the Cross. After all, even at Christmas, where we celebrate His birth, the central part of the Mass, what we truly celebrate, is the Holy Eucharist, Christ’s Body and Blood made available to us only by His death and Resurrection.

Please accept our video wishes for a warm and joyous and Holy Christmas. We hope this Advent has been a meaningful time as prepare our hearts to welcome our Lord and Savior. While this season has much secular fun and frolic — fellowship with family and friends is not to be discounted — we pray that the glow from the Christmas Season remains in all of us throughout the year, that it especially transforms those who only know Christmas for its secular celebration into God loving and committed Catholics. For those who once knew the joy of the Church, and celebrate only in a perfunctory way twice a year, we pray that you come home for good. It is up to all of us to do our own part, to reflect Jesus in every way, in order to bring His light to others now, in December, and throughout the year. We cannot ever forget the joy of Christmas is that Jesus came to die and atone for our sins. The wood of the manger is the wood of the Cross.

From Brother John and myself, and the Real Catholic team, we wish and pray for all God’s Blessings upon you, now and in the year to come. Please enjoy the following videos to help put you at peace through these frantic times, to reflect as Advent ends and the Joyous time arrives!

We expectantly wait. We look to rejoice. Oh, Come! Oh Come, Emmanuel!

Silent night, Holy night! Let the peace of it overwhelm you with joy.

He came so that man would no more die. How great a gift!