Always Begin With Prayer

Let us pray.

Come Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of us your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth. O God, by the light of the Holy Spirit, instruct the hearts of the faithful and grant that by the same holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His Consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen

Saint Nicholas

By Teresa Rosa

Saint Nicholas is one of the most widely known saints especially around the holidays. But old Saint Nick did not start with a cap and black boots, he was actually a bishop! He lived in a province called Lycia, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor. He lived during the 4th century. He was born in Patara and traveled as a young man to Palestine and Egypt. And when he became a

bishop he left to Myra.

When Emperor Diocletian became ruler he persecuted the Christians and Nicholas was imprisoned. But he was released by Constantine the Great. He died somewhere around 1087.

The name Santa Claus came from the dutch word "Sinterklass" and the red outfit worn by Santa is really based on the red robe of a bishop! Did you ever wonder why another name for Santa is Kriss Kringle? Well, it comes from the word Christkindle (kindle meaning fire).

So, I hope this year you will remember who you are really sending your Christmas list to and that you should be a Christkindle to everyone you meet.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmass

You may have noticed that I spelled Christmass wrong. Well, the truth is I didn't. I spelled it the original way. People used to spell it this way before our secular society changed it to make it more politically correct. In fact, we have changed many things about Christmass. Instead of focusing on Christ's birthday we focus on what we are going to get this Christmass. Now don't get me wrong, I love presents as much as the next guy, but they shouldn't be our main focus. We should be working on giving our love as a gift to Jesus this year. So this season, let's remember who's birthday it really is.

Merry Christmass

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is a sacrament where you go before a priest and confess your sins. This may sound very queer confessing your sins before a mere man. But actually you aren't because the priest is acting impersonia christia which means that you are speaking to Christ through the priest. If you have committed a veinal sin you can ask God's forgiveness without going to Reconciliation. But if you commit any kind of mortal sin then you must go to confession to be cleansed. One of the biggest problems Protestants have with Confession is telling their sins to a priest because they don't think that a person can forgive sins. But God gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins in John 20:22-23 and in Matt. 16:19. The Catholic Church commands that we go to Reconciliation at least once every year but it recommends that we go once a month. Reconciliation is one of the greatest sacraments that the Church has given us and we should take advantage of it whenever we can.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Starting on Good Friday and ending on the 2nd Sunday after Easter we can pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet Novena. The Divine Mercy Chaplet was given St. Faustina by our Lord Jesus when he appeared to her. He also gave her a picture of Himself that he wanted painted. Now, this devotion has become very popular in our Church. But who is St. Faustina?

She was a young polish girl who lived during World War I. She was poor and uneducated. This is the reason God chose her, because people would know that the vision was from him, because she wouldn't have thought it up all by herself. She became a nun with the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Divine Mercy.

St. Faustina received her many visions from Jesus, but no one knew it but her confessor. The visions were visits from Jesus. He would tell her to pray for sinners to return to Him and accept his Mercy. He gave her the prayers prayed in the Chaplet and explained how to pray it using the rosary beads. 3 o clock is the hour of mercy in which to pray the chaplet. She recorded all of the visions in her diary.

The painting of Jesus that we see with the Divine Mercy is important. It is how he appeared to her and he wanted it painted. In the picture, he is wearing white and his hands are in a position of blessing. Coming from his heart are two rays of light. On the left is a red beam which symbolizes the blood he shed for us. On the right is a white beam which symbolizes the water that cleanses our souls. Underneath are the words, "Jesus, I trust in You."

There many reasons to pray the Chaplet. Jesus said that if someone died you should pray this prayer for that person. Another reason we should pray the Chaplet is for the conversion of our country because we are suffering from many sins for example pride, greed, abortion and many other sins. It is also a good prayer to pray when we are trying to grow closer to Jesus.

So when you pray this chaplet remember to pray for all the sinners. This was the purpose of St. Faustina's visions. It is what Jesus calls us to do.

Easter

Easter is the day Jesus rose from the dead and opened the gates of heaven for all humanity. For the you see the gates of Heaven were closed when Adam and Eve committed the first sin. It was the third day since Jesus had died. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary brought spices to the tomb but found that the stone had already been rolled away. When they entered they saw that Jesus was gone and there was an angel who said to them"Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you you while he was still in Galilee, that he would be handed over to sinners and be crucified and rise on the third day." They ran to the Twelve Apostles and reported everything that happened. But they did not believe them, so Peter and John went to the tomb to see for themselves. when they entered the tomb they found that it was true!

Holy Week

Holy Week is a time of fasting and prayer. It is also a good week offer up our suffering for the souls in purgatory. Holy Thursday is the end of Lent and the beginning of Tridiuum which is a three day celebration of Jesus' Passion. It is also the day the first Mass was said and Jesus washed the feet of his Disciples. On this day churches clear their altars because the next day is Good Friday. Good Friday is the day we remember our Lord's sacrifice on the cross. It is also a day of fasting which means that you can have one full meal and two smaller meals. On this day there is no Mass but there is a communion service. The next day is Holy Saturday in which we go to the Easter Vigil and watch the R.C.I.A members come into the Catholic Church. The Easter Vigil also has nine readings that take you through salvation history. And finally Easter Sunday the most important day of the year. The day we celebrate Jesus' Resurrection.