March 25th is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)
…Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace;
Because my eyes have seen Thy salvation,
Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:
A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel…
February 2nd is the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord and the rite of Purification of Mary
Our Lady of the Candles (Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria)is also known as the Candlemas Virgin. It was the title given to Our Blessed Virgin Mary in commemoration of the Presentation of Jesus and Mary’s own rite of Purification according to Jewish Law.
According to the Mosaic law a mother who had given birth to a man-child was considered unclean for seven days; moreover she was to remain three and thirty days “in the blood of her purification”; for a maid-child the time which excluded the mother from sanctuary was even doubled. When the time (forty or eighty days) was over the mother was to “bring to the temple a lamb for a holocaust and a young pigeon or turtle dove for sin”; if she was not able to offer a lamb, she was to take two turtle doves or two pigeons; the priest prayed for her and so she was cleansed. (Leviticus 12:2-8)
Forty days after the birth of Christ, Mary complied with this precept of the law, she redeemed her first-born from the temple (Numbers 18:15), and was purified by the prayer of Simeon the just, in the presence of Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:22 sqq.). No doubt this event, the first solemn introduction of Christ into the house of God, was in the earliest times celebrated in the Church of Jerusalem. We find it attested for the first half of the fourth century by the pilgrim of Bordeaux, Egeria or Silvia. The day (14 February) was solemnly kept by a procession to the Constantinian basilica of the Resurrection, a homily on Luke 2:22 sqq., and the Holy Sacrifice. But the feast then had no proper name; it was simply called the fortieth day after Epiphany. This latter circumstance proves that in Jerusalem Epiphany was then the feast of Christ’s birth.
From Jerusalem the feast of the fortieth day spread over the entire Church and later on was kept on the 2nd of February, since within the last twenty-five years of the fourth century the Roman feast of Christ’s nativity (25 December) was introduced. In Antioch it is attested in 526 (Cedrenue); in the entire Eastern Empire it was introduced by the Emperor Justinian I (542) in thanksgiving for the cessation of the great pestilence which had depopulated the city of Constantinople.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star 3 at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet. Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2, 1-5.7-11)
Where is the king? Could it be that Jesus wants to reign above all in men’s hearts, in your heart? That is why he has become a child, for who can help loving a little baby? Where then is the king? Where is the Christ whom the Holy Spirit wants to fashion in our souls? He cannot be present in the pride that separates us from God, nor in the lack of charity which cuts us off from others. Christ cannot be there. In that loveless state man is left alone.
As you kneel at the feet of the child Jesus on the day of his Epiphany and see him a king bearing none of the outward signs of royalty, you can tell him: “Lord, take away my pride; crush my self-love, my desire to affirm myself and impose myself on others. Make the foundation of my personality my identification with you.”
Christ is passing by, 31
After confessing “the holy catholic Church,” the Apostles’ Creed adds “the communion of saints.” In a certain sense this article is a further explanation of the preceding: “What is the Church if not the assembly of all the saints?”The communion of saints is the Church.
“Since all the faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to the others. . . . We must therefore believe that there exists a communion of goods in the Church. But the most important member is Christ, since he is the head. . . . Therefore, the riches of Christ are communicated to all the members, through the sacraments. As this Church is governed by one and the same Spirit, all the goods she has received necessarily become a common fund.”
The term “communion of saints” therefore has two closely linked meanings: communion “in holy things (sancta)” and “among holy persons (sancti).”
Sancta sanctis! (“God’s holy gifts for God’s holy people”) is proclaimed by the celebrant in most Eastern liturgies during the elevation of the holy Gifts before the distribution of communion. The faithful (sancti) are fed by Christ’s holy body and blood (sancta) to grow in the communion of the Holy Spirit (koinonia) and to communicate it to the world. (CCC 946-948)
In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
You will notice that, during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, while the choir chants the Agnus Dei, the priest will break the Host into three pieces. Two parts are left upon the paten, while one part (which is very small) is placed into the chalice of the Precious Blood. This is called the rite of “commingling”, because it is at this point that the Body and Blood of Christ are sacramentally mingled together – though the Lord is fully present in both the Host and the chalice, the one is the Sacrament of his Body and the other is the Sacrament of his Blood. As the priest performs this rite he prays: “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.” There is, in the very rite itself, a direct connection between the commingling and salvation! St. Thomas Aquinas, following an ancient tradition, has shown how the whole Church is mystically present in this sacramental rite.
A Filipino Who Dared: St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Martyr (+1637), Oct-Dec 2001
Our saint was born in the outskirts of the walled city of Manila called Binondo and was baptized sometime between 1600 and 1610, given the name Lorenzo Ruiz.
As a child, he worked in the convent of the Dominican Fathers as a helper and an altar boy. He was then educated by the Dominicans and later was hired as a secretary and calligrapher of the convent. He became a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. He got married and had two sons and a daughter. Lorenzo Ruiz is an active parishioner involved in church services and activities, and having a fervent Marian devotion especially towards the recitation of the Holy Rosary.
In 1636, he was accused of being involved in a criminal case and the civil authorities sought him for questioning and trial. Knowing the prejudices of certain officials, he dreaded the trial or mistrial. He sought to escape for his life and decided to leave the country with a group of Dominican priests and a Japanese layman who were leaving Manila, thinking that they were going to Macao. There, in that Portuguese colony, he hoped to find a living as a calligrapher. But, the missionaries were not heading Macao but to the land of martyrs, Japan!
Christianity was forbidden in Japan by an edict of the military dictator Tokugawa Yeyasu, Shogun of the empire in 1614, expelling all missionaries and catechists, and forbidding the profession of the Christian faith. From that year until 1636, the Catholics in Japan were subjected to one of the most cruel and devastating persecution of the Church.
The reason why Christians were persecuted
“The followers of Christ, arriving unexpectedly in Japan, not only came here carrying their goods, but also, without any permission, have spread and propagated their wicked law, destroying the good and legitimate one and plotting to overthrow authority in the country. This is the beginning of great calamity, which we should avoid by all means. Japan is a Shintoist and Buddhist country, which venerates the gods, honours Buddha, and respects the ‘way of benevolence’ (Confucius).
The followers of the Fathers (the Christians) have all disobeyed the orders already given by the government despising religion…and destroying the good. They are overjoyed when they see those about to be executed; they run after them wherever they go and adore them … Such is the supreme ideal of this religion. Unless it is suppressed immediately, endless misfortunes will fall on the State. In all the regions of Japan, all these Christians should be eliminated without any delay … If anyone dares contravene this order, he will be put to death …… (Extracts of the 1614 Edict, substantially alike those of 1633, 1636).
Lorenzo Ruiz arrived in Nagasaki on September 21, 1637. At this time, Lorenzo entered Japan still without the slightest intention – as he latter confessed to his judges – of becoming a martyr.
They were arrested and taken to the tribunals of the governors of Nagasaki. During one of Ruiz’ interrogations, a judge asked him a question if he will denounce his faith. The response was categorical and immediate: “That I will never do, because I am a Christian, and I shall die for God, and for Him I will give many thousand lives if I had them. And so do with me as you please.”
On September 27, Lorenzo and his companions were withdrawn from their prison to be executed. They were paraded along the streets of Nagasaki, on horseback, hands tied and muzzled with the motive of death sentence announced by placards. They were taken to Nichizaka Hill, outside the city, where they had to undergo the final torture of the “gallows on the pit”.
On September 29, 1637, the judges wishing to go on a hunting trip ordered their ministers to extract the five victims and have them beheaded. Lorenzo and Lazaro were already found dead. The three priest were then beheaded. Their bodies were set on fire and the ashes carried out of the Nagasaki Bay and thrown into the sea near the little island of Io-Jima, to prevent their veneration by the Christians.
Three months latter, the news of his death arrived in Manila and was received with extraordinary enthusiasm. Moved by religious fervor, a big crowd of people assembled in the Church of San Ignacio in commemoration of the martyrdom of the Jesuit Father Marello Mastrilli, also martyred in Japan. They then proceeded to Santo Domingo, led by the religious authorities, including Archbishop Hernando Guerrero, and by the civil authorities. In both churches a solemn “Te Deum Laudamus” (Ambrosian Hymn or A Song of the Church) was sung in praise of God for the triumph of the Christian faith in Japan.
Lorenzo Ruiz and his 15 companions were beatified by Pope John Paul II in Manila on February 1981. This was the first beatification held outside of Rome. They were later canonized by the same Pontiff in Rome on October 18,1987. Their Feast Day is September 28.
The Nichizaka Hill, the place where San Lorenzo Ruiz, his 15 companions and countless Christians were exectuted is called Martyrs’ Hill. Today, a church, museum and bronze monument stand atop Nishizaka Hill to commemorate the martyrs and all those faithful Christians who followed them. Pope John Paul II visited the site in 1981 and named it “Resurrection Hill.”
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Forty days after the birth of Christ, Mary complied with this precept of the law, she redeemed her first-born from the temple (Numbers 18:15), and was purified by the prayer of Simeon the just, in the presence of Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:22 sqq.). No doubt this event, the first solemn introduction of Christ into the house of God, was in the earliest times celebrated in the Church of Jerusalem. We find it attested for the first half of the fourth century by the pilgrim of Bordeaux, Egeria or Silvia. The day (14 February) was solemnly kept by a procession to the Constantinian basilica of the Resurrection, a homily on Luke 2:22 sqq., and the Holy Sacrifice. But the feast then had no proper name; it was simply called the fortieth day after Epiphany. This latter circumstance proves that in Jerusalem Epiphany was then the feast of Christ’s birth. 
Excerpts take from the 
