The Immaculate Conception of Mary

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
December 8

                                            Wikipedia Commons

We remember the Feast of The Immaculate Conception on December Eighth.  We pray and sing:

Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.

The Immaculate Conception of  Mary is the national feast of the United States of America. 
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is located in
Washington DC

The Feast of The Immaculate Conception is also the patronal feast day of Spain, Korea, Portugal, Brazil, the Philippines, and Nicaragua. 
 This feast is celebrated in many special ways throughout the Catholic World.

The Virgin They Could Not Move

By Charlie29 Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Attribution not legally required.

Nicaraguans call this feast that of The Most Pure One. 
La Purísima.

       In 1562, Pedro Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda y Ahumada*, the brother of St. Teresa of Avila, was sailing to Peru. His sister had given him a lovely statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. During the long ocean voyage the ship endured many storms. Those on board prayed to the Virgin.  One storm occurred off the coast of Nicaragua.  Pedro  decided to land there.  The port was hot and humid.  Pedro and his men traveled on to a nearby settlement, El Viejo.

     They carried the statue with them. When Pedro got to the village, he asked the Franciscan missionary to place it in the church for safekeeping. The people there came to pray before the statue. They were happy to have such a lovely image of Mary.

    When the weather improved, Pedro packed up the statue and went to his ship. The people accompanied the statue as it was carried there. They did not like to see it go, but Pedro had to get to Peru.  After the people had said their last prayers before the statue, he set sail.

As soon as Don Pedro reached the deep of the ocean, he met another storm and was forced to return to the port. 

When the people saw this, they insisted that the Virgin did not want her statue to leave them.  Don Pedro seeing how much the people wanted the statue to stay with them, decided to make a gift of it to them.

Then, he sailed on safely to Peru. They people placed it in their village and today, five hundred years later, the statue is still in Nicaragua in the  cathedral of El Viejo 

On this feast, Nicaraguans honor Mary with songs, prayers, processions, and firecrackers.  In the city of León , they call their celebrations, “La Griteria” which literally means 
The Shouting.

They have a lovely custom at this time. Families make shrines to Mary. Everyone, all the children, the neighbors come to pray and sing and celebrate their love of the Mother of God.  Families offer sweets and drinks and gifts to those who visit the shrine.  They share what they have as long as it lasts.

        In the city of Leon and in other towns, too, they greet one another saying, “Who is the cause of so much joy?”  
 (“Quien es la causa de tanta alegría?”)

     Nicaraguans, like Catholics the world over 

love Mary, the Mother of God.

 *Some accounts say it was Lorenzo, not Pedro, but Pedro seems more likely to be the one.

Good King Wenceslaus

GOOD KING WENCESLAUS

Good King Wencelaus was a kind and generous nobleman in Bohemia more than a thousand years ago.  He went out of his way to help the poor people on his lands. He was so good that people felt happy just to see him. They came to believe that just being near him was a blessing.

On the day after Christmas, the feast of St. Stephen, Good King Wenceslaus looked out his window.  He saw  a poor servant walking home in a blizzard.

Good King Wenceslaus called a servant and asked him to gather food and firewood. The  King wanted to go to the poor man’s house to help him. He wanted the poor man to have food and a warm house.

Good King Wenceslaus set out in the snow.  The servant walked behind him.  When the servant felt the cold and it was hard to walk in the blizzard.  He said, “Good King, I cannot go on.” If the servant turned back alone, he would get lost in the blizzard.

Good King Wencelaus encouraged him saying, “I will make the path. Try stepping in my footsteps.”

As he walked in the footsteps of Good King Wenceslaus, the servant felt warm again. Together, the King and the servant trudged on through the blizzard. Later, the servant told everyone about how even in a blizzard, he felt warm near Good King Wencelaus.

That is why a famous Christmas Carol begins with the words, “Good King Wenceslaus, on the feast of Stephen, . . ”

The lyrics were written by  John Mason Neale, but the tune was found in an ancient Finnish Hymn Book.

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Mel Who?

Mel Who?

Year of Faith

God loves us!  God loves us!   God loves us!

Mel Who?

Jane came home singing “God loves us!”

As usual, she looked for her little brother to tell him all about her Religion Class.

“Billy, today I learned about Melchisedeck.”

“Mel Who?” Billy had a puzzled look on his face, but Jane went right on.

“Not  Mel, Melchisedeck. He was in his tent and ,”

“Was he camping?” Billy asked.

“No, he was a king, the King of Salem. Salem means peace.  He was the King of Peace in the Jewish Scriptures,  the Old Testament, before Jesus came.

“ And Billy, he was a priest, too. And he had some visitors and he offered them bread and wine.”

Billy still looked puzzled. Jane went on.

“Billy, that happened thousands of years ago. It was God preparing us for Jesus. Melchisedeck was a priest, and a king, and he offered bread and wine.”

Billy looked at Jane, but he did not understand.

Jane said, “Mr James said that helps us understand Jesus and it must have helped the Apostles.  Melchisedeck was somebody important in history. When Jesus offered bread and wine at the Last Supper, maybe the Apostles remembered Melchisdeck had done that too.

Billy said, “ So what has that got to do with First Holy Communion?

Jane said, “Billy, Melchisedeck was like an advance notice of Jesus. Jesus is also a priest, and a king, and he offered bread and wine at the Last Supper, the night before he died.

“Next week we are going to learn more about the Last Supper.”

Billy said, “Push me on the my swing again.”

Jane Shares her Religion Lesson with Her Little Brother

Year of Faith

God loves us!  God loves us!   God loves us!

Jane Shares her Religion Lesson with Her Little Brother

   When Jane came home from school, Billy pleaded, “Jane, push me on the swing Dad made for me.”

   Jane said, “Okay, and I will tell you a story, too.”

She took Billy by the hand and walked him to the back yard. Jane lifted Billy into the swing.  She pushed it gently.

    Billy said, “Tell me the story!”

   Jane said, “Jesus was going around his country telling people about God, his Father.

   Crowds gathered wherever he went.  And people wanted to get up close to see and hear him.

   “Billy, Jesus cured people of all kinds of things.  He could make blind people see, and he fixed the ears of people who couldn’t hear, so that they could hear everything. He even brought people back to life.

   And one day, people were crowding around him. The Apostles, his closest friends, were trying to keep people from pushing and shoving.  Some women wanted Jesus to bless their children.  I guess they were really pushing their children up front.

   So, some of the apostles, stopped them. They told them to get away, because they were crowding Jesus. And do you know what happened?”

   Billy, wide–eyed turned in the swing to look at Jane behind him.  “What happened?” he asked.

   “Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me.’ Jesus really likes children. He talked to them and he blessed them.  

   “And Mr James, my catechist, says Jesus loves us, too. And we can tell Jesus anything at all and he will listen. Right now, we can talk to Jesus because he promised to be with us always.”

   Billy’s eyes opened even wider. “You mean Jesus is here right now?”

  “Yes,” Jane said, “And he likes to be with us. Want to tell Jesus anything?”

   Billy said, “Oh, Jesus, THANK YOU for this swing Dad made for me.”

   Jane said, “That’s a nice prayer, Billy?”

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Jane Prepares for First Holy Communion

Year of Faith! 

  Jane came running in from school. She wanted to find her little brother Billy, but he was playing in the back yard.  "Billy, Billy?  Where are you?"

As she ran through the house, she grinned from ear to ear. She opened the screen door and ran into the yard.  "Billy," she said.  "I am going to make my First Holy Communion!"

Billy was busy filling his little pail with black dirt. He was going to plant flower seeds his mother had given him. When he saw his sister,  he looked up.

Jane grabbed him by both shoulders and repeated, "I am going to make my First Holy Communion!"

"What's that?" Billy asked.

"Billy, you know. You see Mom and Dad going up to the front of the church every Sunday. They are receiving Holy Communion, and I am going to do it, too.

"But Mom and Dad always tell you to stay with me. Am I going to be all by myself now?"

"No, Silly! Mom and Dad will figure out something."
"Jane, what's Holy Communion? Why can you and Mom and Dad get it and not me?"
"First," Jane said, "You are not old enough. You have to reach the age of reason."
Billy made a face. "Age of reason?"
"That means you have to be at least seven and understand what's right and wrong."
"I am five and a half, and I know what's right and wrong."
"Well, sometimes you do, but not always. Like the other day when Dad saw you sitting in the car and trying to start it.."
"Dad was mad about that! But he said he will teach me when I am old enough to get a license. There are a lot of things only old people can do."
"Billy, I am not OLD!  I am just old enough to receive Jesus."
"You are going to receive Jesus? How?"
"That's what I'm telling you. Jesus is going to come to me in Holy Communion?
And Mr. James is going to prepare me."
"How is he going to do that?"
"I don't know, but he said the first thing is to tell Jesus everyday that I want Him to come to me."



God Loves Us!

Year of Faith

Jane

God Loves Us!  God Loves Us! God Loves Us!

Mom! Mom! You know what Mr. James taught us today?”

“No, Jane. What did he teach you?” Mrs. Santos asked.

“Mr James says, “We need to know four things to be followers of Jesus and members of his Church.”

“Only four?” Mrs. Santos asked.

“Yes. We need to know:

        1. What we believe.

        2. What will help us increase our faith,

        3. How to live what we believe

        4. And how to talk with God.

“That sounds like a pretty big order,” Mrs. Santos said.”

“Mr. James says we need to know how to talk with God. God can show us how to do the first three.”

Billy came running into the kitchen. “Jane, did Mr. James tell you any stories about Jesus today?”

“Yes, Billy, Mr James said Jesus taught that brothers have to be good to their big sisters.”

Billy waved the comics at Jane and asked, “What about sisters being good to their little brothers?”

Jane laughed and said, “Okay, okay. I will read the comics for you.”

Billy, Jane's Little Brother

[1] See Prologue to Catechism of the Catholic Church I–3 and 
Acts 2:42

For Books by Sister Elizabeth see:
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Year of Faith

  God Loves us, God loves us, God loves us!

Jane and her friends ran into the house singing "God loves us." Jane was excited, "Mom, Mom! Guess what? Jesus brought a little girl back to life! Mr. James, told us all about it.  He says, Jesus did that so we would understand he is God.

"I wish I could have seen that. Just imagine!  Everybody was sad, and the girl's father didn't know what to do, but he must have heard that Jesus was nearby.  He just went and asked Jesus to heal his daughter.

"And his servants came and said not to bother because she was dead. Jesus said she was not dead, but just sleeping. He went to the house and took the little girl by the hand and asked her to get up.

"And she got up, and then he told them to give her something to eat.

"And that is in the Bible in Matthew, chapter 9, verses 18 to 26.

"Mr. James says Jesus didn't do miracles to show off, or to become famous. He did them to show that he is God and that God loves us.  Isn't that great?"

Jane's mother said, "Yes, we better celebrate that. Would you girls like a cold drink and some cookies?"

One of Jane's friends said, "Gee, Mrs. Santos, this is like a miracle. I smelled the cookies and I wanted one so badly!"

Mrs. Santos laughed. "You girls are just charmers. I am sure God has great plans for you. When Jesus tells you to stand up for what you believe, I am sure you will do as he asks."