Ash Wednesday
Feast of the Presentation
By Misericordia.
“Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.”
When I read this passage from the second reading I stopped for a few minutes to try and absorb this truth of the Incarnation.
Jesus became one of us for our sake.
He was born of His Virgin Mother Mary for our sake.
His mission was revealed in the Temple, his mission to suffer for our sins for our sake.
He hid himself in a childhood of poverty and ordinariness for our sake.
He sanctified the waters of Baptism in his own Baptism, taking on our sins for our sake.
He was tempted in the desert for our sake.
He went out and brought the message of healing and forgiveness of sins for our sake
He suffered loneliness and persecution for our sake.
He suffered all of the effects of the human condition for our sake.
He endured the agony of all of the sins of the world for our sake.
He was scourged and beaten for our sake.
He was crowned with a crown of thorns and mocked for our sake.
He carried his cross to Calvary for our sake.
He was nailed to the cross and crucified for our sake.
He died and was laid in the tomb for three days for our sake.
And then He opened the gates of Heaven for our sake!
What more can we ask for in the sufferings of our life than a merciful God who wants to be united to us in those very sufferings? On the day of His Presentation, Jesus’ identity as Savior of the world was proclaimed by Simeon. Today, when we remember this canticle repeated so often in the quiet hours of night, let us remember the saving work accomplished in his 33 years of life, for our sake. Let us rejoice on the day of His consecration that enable each one of us to be consecrated to God for a specific mission and purpose, for His glory, for the joy of each soul, and for the salvation of the world.
January 4th: Elizabeth Ann Seton
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton: August 28th, 1774- January 4th, 1821. The first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Catholic Church.
Prayer by Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Lord Jesus, Who was born for us in a stable, lived for us a life of pain and sorrow, and died for us upon a cross; say for us in the hour of death, Father, forgive, and to Your Mother, Behold your child. Say to us, This day you shall be with Me in paradise. Dear Savior, leave us not, forsake us not. We thirst for You, Fountain of Living Water. Our days pass quickly along, soon all will be consummated for us. To Your hands we commend our spirits, now and forever. Amen.
January Second: The Birthday of the Little Flower
Saint 
Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, January 2nd 1873 – September 30th 1897.
From the preface to the 1912 edition of The Story of a Soul by H.E. Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster:
From the cradle all the Martin children were dedicated to Mary Immaculate, and all received her name: Marie Louise, Marie Pauline, Marie Léonie, Marie Hélène, who died at the age of four and a half, Marie Joseph Louis, Marie Joseph Jean Baptiste, Marie Céline, Marie Mélanie Thérèse, who died when three months old, and lastly, Marie Françoise Thérèse.
Zélie Martin’s whole ambition as a mother was directed to Heaven. “Four of my children are already well settled in life,” she once wrote; “and the others will go likewise to that Heavenly Kingdom enriched with greater merit because the combat will have been more prolonged.”
Never did her husband allow the meannesses of human respect to degrade his Christian dignity. In whatever company he might be, he always saluted the Blessed Sacrament when passing a church; and he never met a priest without paying him a mark of respect. A word from his lips silenced whoever dared blaspheme in his presence.
In that house the “Little Flower of Jesus” first saw the sunshine. Again and again, in the pages of her Autobiography, she calls herself by this modest name of the Little Flower, emblematic of her humility, her purity, her simplicity, and it may be added, the poetry of her soul. On the manuscript of her Autobiography she set the title: “The Story of the Springtime of a Little White Flower,” and in truth such it was, for long ere the rigours of life’s winter came round, the Flower was blossoming in Paradise.
Saint Thérèse, pray for us!
The Gate of the Year
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
May you have a happy and blessed New Year.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
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