NEW YEAR'S BLESSINGS

 

A New Year's Poem 

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow;
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rimes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

CHILD IN A WEARY, WEARY WORLD

 

A Christmas Carol

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world's desire.)
The Christ-child stood on Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.

                 G.K. Chesterton

REJOICE VIRGIN MARY

Christmas

Your voice speaks:
Little child out of Eternity, now will I sing to thy mother! The
song shall be fair as dawn-tinted snow.
Rejoice Mary Virgin, daughter of my earth, sister of my soul,
rejoice, O joy of my joy!
I am as one who wanders through the night, but you are a house
under stars.
I am a thirsty cup, but you are God's open sea.
Rejoice Mary Virgin, blessed are those who call you blessed,
never more shall child of man lose hope.
I am one love for all, I shall never cease from saying: one of you
has been exalted by the Lord.
Rejoice Mary Virgin, wings of my earth, crown of my soul, rejoice joy of my joy!
                                 Blessed are those who call you blessed.

                                          

                 German original: Gertrude Von Le Fort   (German)
                                                English translation: Margaret Chanler

SIMPLICITY AT THE BIRTH OF JESUS

 

I have done a Blog in the past  on our dear friend & benefactor, Lauren Ford,  who gifted  our Abbey of Regina Laudis, in Bethlehem, Connecticut, her property, Sheepfold, where she lived for many years and did much of her artwork.

This week of Christmas  I want to portray her art, as I feel the world right now needs simplicity as we celebrate the Birth of our Savior.  It has been a very hard year for all, but most especially for the working class peoples of all countries as they have tried to stay afloat for their families, as their livelihood has been threatened or destroyed.

Lauren loved to use the people of her area in her art, especially the farmers.  This simple, yet moving piece shows the laborers getting the animals fed in the midst of a cold winter’s day. 

Christmas is about simplicity. Jesus was  born in an ordinary manger. A feeding trough was his cradle. He was not born of royalty, but of humble, poor parents. And it was this simplicity that held the destiny of  our salvation.

Sheepfold- with the local people coming to see the new born Child

CHRIST IS BORN TO OUR WORLD IN NEED OF MERCY

                                                              

         

                                           Lauren Ford-   Friend & Benefactor to  Regina Laudis Abbey

CHRISTMAS   BLESSINGS  TO  ALL

 

        ESPECIALLY  THOSE  ALONE ~

 

        MAY  HIS BIRTH  BRING A  RAY  OF  HOPE

EXPECTATION

 

This week  of the fourth and last week of Advent,  we are so concentrating on Mary and the Birth of her Son, that we tend to overlook St. Joseph, who plays a key part in this whole epic.  He is protector, guide and father.

There is little art portraying  the  marriage of Joseph and Mary,  but one which  to me shows the love between them is by Sebastian  Lopez de Arteaga (d. 1656).  So often we see Joseph  as this graying, old man, which most  probably was not the case.  He most likely was not that much older than Mary.  In this painting we see a  virile, handsome young man who is very intent on his marriage-  the mission will be revealed to him later. Like his bride he will accept it with full heart.

In this year dedicated to St. Joseph, may we find comfort in his quiet acceptance of God’s will and joy in his relation to the Son of God and His Mother.

GRACES IN THE YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH

 

In our last Blog we presented the Year of St. Joseph proclaimed by Pope Francis.   What does this mean for Catholics? According to the decree issued by the Apostolic Penitentiary on Dec. 8, there are 15 ways to receive an indulgence in the Year of St. Joseph. Plenary indulgences remit all temporal punishment due to sin and must be accompanied by full detachment from sin. 

These acts must be accompanied by sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the pope’s intentions, the usual conditions to obtain any plenary indulgence.

1) Participate in a spiritual retreat for at least one day that includes a meditation on St. Joseph. 

2) Pray for St. Joseph’s intercession for the unemployed that they might find dignifying work.

3) Recite the Litany of St. Joseph for persecuted Christians.

4) Entrust one’s daily work and activity to the protection of St. Joseph the Worker.

5) Follow St. Joseph’s example in performing a corporal work of mercy. These include feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the imprisoned, visiting the sick, and burying the dead.

6) Perform one of the spiritual works of mercy, such as comforting the sorrowful, counseling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing the sinner, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving injuries, and praying for the living and the dead.

7) Pray the rosary together with the family in order that “all Christian families may be stimulated to recreate the same atmosphere of intimate communion, love and prayer that was in the Holy Family.”

8) Engaged couples can also receive an indulgence from praying the rosary together.

9) Meditate for at least 30 minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, because St. Joseph “invites us to rediscover our filial relationship with the Father, to renew fidelity to prayer, to listen and correspond with profound discernment to God’s will.”

10) Pray an approved prayer to St. Joseph on St. Joseph Sunday.

11) Celebrate the feast of St. Joseph on March 19 with an act of piety in honor of St. Joseph.

12) Pray an approved prayer to St. Joseph on the 19th of any month. 

13) Honor Joseph with an act of piety or approved prayer on a Wednesday, the day traditionally dedicated to St. Joseph.

14) Pray to St. Joseph on the Feast of the Holy Family on Dec. 27.

15) Celebrate the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1 with an act of piety or prayer.

“All the faithful will thus have the opportunity to commit themselves, with prayers and good works, to obtain with the help of St. Joseph, head of the celestial Family of Nazareth, comfort and relief from the serious human and social tribulations that today afflict the contemporary world,” the decree signed by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza said.

The elderly, the sick, and the dying who are unable to leave their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic also have special permission to receive an indulgence by “offering with trust in God the pains and discomforts” of their lives with a prayer to St. Joseph, hope of the sick and patron of a happy death.

The decree noted that in this instance the person must have the intention of fulfilling, as soon as possible, the three usual conditions for an indulgence, as well as a detachment from sin.

The Apostolic Penitentiary permits any prayer to St. Joseph approved by the Church, mentioning in particular the “To you, O blessed Joseph” prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII:

“To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities.”

“O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be kind to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness.”

“As once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.”

Both images: Our dear friend  Br. Arturo Olivas (RIP)