Catholic Special Day

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, which occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a solemn reminder of human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God.

Many Christians begin Ash Wednesday by marking a Lenten calendar, praying a Lenten daily devotional, and making a Lenten sacrifice. Ash Wednesday derives its name from this practice, which is accompanied by the words, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or the dictum “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations. The ash is applied in the shape of a cross on the forehead of each worshipper on Ash Wednesday.

It is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence, where only one full meal and no meat are to be consumed.

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Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord: Christmas

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Is 52:7-10

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings glad tidings,
announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
“Your God is King!”
Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,
together they shout for joy,
for they see directly, before their eyes,
the LORD restoring Zion.
Break out together in song,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the LORD comforts his people,
He redeems Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;
all the ends of the earth will behold
the salvation of our God.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4,5-6

Response– All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R– All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R– All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R– All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R– All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

Second Reading: Heb 1:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways
to our ancestors through the prophets;
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son,
whom he made heir of all things
and through whom he created the universe,
who is the refulgence of his glory,
the very imprint of his being,
and who sustains all things by his mighty word.
When he had accomplished purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say:
You are my son; this day I have begotten you?

Alleluia:

Alleluia, alleluia. A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. For today a great light has come upon the earth. Alleluia, alleluia!

Gospel: John 1: 1-18

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying,
“This was he of whom I said,
‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side,
has revealed him.

The Readings and Gospel were sourced from:

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Feast of the Immaculate Conception

A feast called the Conception of Mary arose in the Eastern Church in the seventh century. It came to the West in the eighth century. In the 11th century it received its present name, the Immaculate Conception. In the 18th century it became a feast of the universal Church. It is now recognized as a solemnity.
In 1854, Pius IX solemnly proclaimed: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.”
It took a long time for this doctrine to develop. While many Fathers and Doctors of the Church considered Mary the greatest and holiest of the saints, they often had difficulty in seeing Mary as sinless—either at her conception or throughout her life. This is one of the Church teachings that arose more from the piety of the faithful than from the insights of brilliant theologians. Even such champions of Mary as Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas Aquinas could not see theological justification for this teaching.
Two Franciscans, William of Ware and Blessed John Duns Scotus, helped develop the theology. They pointed out that Mary’s Immaculate Conception enhances Jesus’ redemptive work. Other members of the human race are cleansed from original sin after birth. In Mary, Jesus’ work was so powerful as to prevent original sin at the outset.

Sources:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary

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Catechetical Sunday

“This is my body given for you.” – Luke 22:19
Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each baptized plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. This year, the Church will celebrate Catechetical Sunday on September 18, 2022 , and the theme is: “This is my body given for you.” Those who the parish community has designated to serve as catechists will be called forth to be commissioned for their ministry.

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World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

This year’s celebration will fall on Sunday, 24th of July, the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, Grandparents of Jesus. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s celebration is: “In old age they will still bear fruit” (Psalm 92:15).
The Catholic Grandparents Association has been at the forefront in campaigning for a greater recognition of Grandparents for their role and vocation in passing on their faith to the next generation. The announcement of a new Church-wide celebration for Grandparents and the elderly came in answer to our prayerful request to the Holy Father Pope Francis.
This new worldwide celebration in the Universal Church calendar is a momentous achievement for Grandparents and the Elderly and will hopefully reassure them that they are loved and that they are needed.

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