Things I Did Not Used to Know About the Rosary

It may be news to some that when the Rosary is prayed, with all its “Hail Mary's,” the meditations for it are various events in the Life of Jesus. Your mind is supposed to be on Jesus, not Mary. Father John told our class that the words are not really the point. They words are spoken to help you shut everything else out and focus on “The mysteries” which are key events in the life of Jesus from conception to Resurrection. The Hail Mary's are indeed inane repetitions, and that is because “Hail Mary's” aren't what the rosary supposed to be about. You're supposed to concentrate on “The Mysteries,” imagining like you were standing there seeing it, as vivid as possible, to make it really real to you. You start out saying the creed, like what the band Third Day put to music once, the object of the Rosary is to nourish one's faith in Jesus.
In light of that, I sort of understand why there are so many Hail Mary;s and the prayers to God are fewer. The ones to God are not supposed to be white noise you make to drown out your actual surroundings, and the Hail Mary's are. I still find it more effective, most of the time, to just say the verses that tell the story I am trying to imagine, though, or the Glory Be: “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, amen.” That prayer is included in the normal Rosary practice too, but not as much as the Hail Mary.
The original Catholic rosary was, in fact, recitation of Scripture. They said all of the Psalms. It went through a lot of changes over time. Even after it was pretty much in its present form, for a long time the mysteries stopped at the crucifixion, and within the last couple hundred years one of the Popes added “The Glorious Mysteries” about the resurrection and the coming of the Holy spirit and stuff. He was pointed out that Without the resurrection, all the rest would be powerless and meaningless. He was like, "Why are we stopping there?” I think that was a really good move. I expect the reason is was stopped at the crucifixion for so long is because it started as a recitation of the Psalms. There are 150 psalms. That 150 Psalms became 150 "Hail Marys", and there were 15 "mysteries" with ten "Hail Mary's" a piece.
The words coming out your mouth are the same, but the Mysteries you Meditate on are what will vary. They Mysteries are in groups of five,
 "The Joyful Mysteries - The Annunciation, which is when the Angel appears to Mary and lets her know God's plan,and she agrees to answer the call. The Visitation when Mary visited her cousin who was pregnant with John the Baptist and Elizabeth prophesied that Mary's baby was the Lord, The Nativity when Jesus is born in Bethlehem, the The Presentation at the temple when the prophetess Anna and the prophet Simon basically said "This is the Messiah, I can die in peace now that I've seen him.", and the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, when He said,"Didn't you know I needed to be about my Father's business?"
Then there are the Sorrowful Mysteries: The Agony in the Garden (Gethsemani), The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowing with Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross, and The Crucifixion, When he was nailed and hung until He died.
Glorious Mysteries: The Resurrection, The Ascension, the Coming of the Holy Spirit, The Assumption (a Marian Dogma event), and the Coronation (which has to do with the Catholic interpretation of Revelation 12:1), In total, the Joyful Mysteries, The Sorrowful Mysteries,and the Glorious Mysteries  made 150 Hail Mary's, which when they first started doing the Rosary, was the 150 Psalms.
They added the five Lumious Mysteries,which are optional in 2002 according to the suggestion of Pope (Saint) John Paul II.
The Luminous Mysteries are: The Baptism of the Lord, when the Holy spirit came down in the form of a dove and the voice came from heaven saying Jesus was God's son. The Wedding at Cana when He turned water into wine. The proclamation of the Kingdom, when He began his ministry and went out saying "Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,"and went around healing the sick and the demonized. The Transfiguration, And The Institution of the Eucharist, when he said,at Passover "This is my body... this is my blood..."
Therefore now, if you go through all of the Mysteries in one sitting, which would mean going around all the Rosary beads four times, you will now say 200 Hail Marys. Usually, you only do 50 though, because most people just go through one set of five mysteries every time they say it.

So that is what the Rosary is about, and all those Hail Mary's. I personally, do not use the Hail Mary very much, even when I say the Rosary, but that is a story for another day.
I will say, on the note of personal testimony, that I do have a greater sense of God's presence in my life and usually do better at resisting various besetting sins in my life when I pray the Rosary fairly frequently, like about every day.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

What I Have Learned About Mary

What I have learned about Mary.

Mary was, of course, Jesus' mom. One of the worst things that can happen to someone is to lose their kids and in her case, she didn't just lose him, she saw him crucified. That's a horrible way to die. She really went through a lot in her walk with God and in her obedience to God's call to be Jesus' mom.

Therefore,  I can believe the doctrine that Mary was assumed into heaven like Elijah and Enoch. Having him grow inside her would have created quite a bond, plus going through seeing the crucifixion. Neither Elijah nor Enoch could have suffered quite like her, or had opportunity to be that close to the Lord and develop so unique a relationship with the Lord as Mary. Therefore, once I think about it, I would actually find it harder to believe that she wasn't Assumed into heaven than that she was. There is no grave, anymore than there is a record of her rapture. Its something one has to just pray about and decide what they believe. Either way, its taken on faith. Once I considered it, it takes more faith for me to continue to  believe she wasn't. The only thing challenging about it for me is that it is a totally new concept to me.

As to the perpetual virginity, I didn't accept that for a long time because for a Jewish woman, that would have been like God giving somebody some radical "special grace" never to pray again! Sex in marriage is a Miztvah, in Judaism. Its like a sacrament is to Catholics and Lutherans and Orthodox and all the other liturgical churches... Its connected to holiness and is a part of participating in the life of faith - if one is married. Then my friend Mike who is an ordained Protestant minister and was studying the Orthodox church told me about a book called the Evangelion. Its written by James, the (step) Brother of Jesus. The book had used to be bound with it, and the Orthodox church still holds it sacred, although its not canonized as actual scripture as far as I know. Its Sacred in that it gives important historical insights and context and eyewitness testimony of things like the virgin birth and such. "Sola Scriptura" - scripture alone, was a Luther thing. The older churches all have something called sacred tradition and other things that they use to interpret the bible, and count them as Sacred along with the Bible, since it's kind of hard to understand scripture correctly without it. James wrote that Mary was indeed a virgin when Jesus was conceived and born, and also for the rest of her life. James' mom had died. His dad was very old, and did not feel he should remarry since he was so old, especially not someone as young as Mary. He married her because it became very clear that God wanted him to, long story short.
The reason Jesus had to get somebody else, specifically John, to look after his mom after he went to the cross was because she had no other kids. He was her only son, her only child. He had step-siblings though. “Thy mother and thy brethren are looking for you” it was Mary and His step siblings. James probably wrote all that to give eyewitness testimony that Jesus was indeed born of a virgin and such like. None of the gospels are eye-witness accounts of that particular part. James said that Jesus was virgin-born, and that Mary stayed a virgin all her life. Mike says James hinted that his dad couldn't actually do anything to change that... Joseph was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping with her because God himself had lived inside her. That plus he was very old.
James' writings about family life with Jesus were typically bound with the Bible, I guess. In his research, Mike says he learned that Catholicism tossed James' accounts of Jesus upbringing and his family stuff when the King James Bible was made. There was a compromise between Catholics and Protestants on the KJV Bible since King James wanted to make a Bible everyone would accept in order to unify his country. Protestants wanted the Evangelion of James removed because it supported doctrine that they did not maintain. Mike never found anything challenging its authorship, just “We don't want it in there because it supports doctrine that we don't have.” Mike didn't believe in the perpetual virginity either, until he read that book. So now I do actually believe in it too.
Mike has since started a ministry that includes Orthodox, Messianic Jews, Catholics, and Protestant Christians and gets everybody working together to reach out. He says some pentecostal ministers he knows try and explain their discomfort saying, “The perpetual virginity isn't in the Bible.” Mike's like, “They basically used to be. They were removed in order to prevent anything support those doctrines. Its not that the doctrines were made-up with no support or apostolic testimony. People changed the doctrines, then removed the texts that supported the beliefs that they didn't accept.” I'm annoyed actually, because for example, atheists on facebook made an anti-Christian cartoon, showing a fundamentalist tearing into aspects of Darwin's theory that aren't rock-solid-proven, then they are asked if Jesus was born of a virgin and if so how do they know. They said, smiling, "Yes, absolutely, because somebody is said to have written something to confirm it, that we don't have."  The truth is, we did have it and some people (Orthodox churches) still do. it was thrown out of the Catholic church because of denominationalism, basically. The Vatican and King James and the Protestant leaders were trying to stop rioting and war between Christians. Its totally embarrassing and shameful, but that's basically how it unfolded as far as I can so far tell. :( Now, without the apostolic account that the doctrine is based on, catholic teaching on the subject has Joseph, of an unknown age, living in celibacy with his wife in order to support God's call on her life to stay pure forever in honor of Jesus having been carried in her body.
I can see bits of the truth in there, like Joseph was wigged out because God had lived in her womb, and he felt he might be defiling, possibly, if he consummated the marriage. But in the absence of the foundation, the story has gotten a bit warped. They removed it to compromise with Protestants though. Of course you'll not likely hear that from catholic catechists, but that's what happened as far as I know now.
My thought is, Joseph married Mary out of submission to the will of God, not on his own will. He was old and extremely nervous about being with her after she carried God in her body. He submitted to God to be Mary and Jesus' protector and provider, and thus supported Mary's calling to be Jesus' mother. If God wished for her to stay a virgin forever, He picked the right guy for that, too. The East and West remain divided partly because of those minute differences in their doctrines, but I don't think they're incompatible. Joseph submitted to God to marry Mary, it was God's will not his. The call of God on Mary's life plus possibly Joseph's great age, brought it about that she was a virgin all her life, like the Lord intended. Mike says she was in a religious vocation at the temple, much like  what we call a nun, but for some reason it was decided that she should marry, and when the will of God was sought as to who it should be, it became obvious that God wanted Joseph for the job. If there were vows involved in that vocation she had previously been in, she never had to break them... Long story short, I see the two doctrines as very compatible. The Orthodox church has a document of apostolic authorship to back its story, the Catholic church doesn't. So I am inclined to side with the East if an argument arises but really, I don't see them as being incompatible.
It was James' testimony, relayed to me through my friend, that made me believe in the perpetual virginity. 

That leaves the Immaculate conception. I don't have anything to support it, really. The Immaculate conception is not the belief that Mary never committed any sins, but that she was born without original sin in order to make a pure vessel to carry Jesus in. I guess I can see the thinking behind it, so it doesn't bother me like it used to would have, but obviously I don't have anything to support that. Belief is a choice here, and I don't think it takes more faith to believe it, but less, like Jesus would be contaminated if it weren't for Mary's Immaculate conception. Mary could be born without original sin form a mom who had it, but God himself couldn't. IT doesn't increase my faith to believe that. Its not that I need to exercise my faith to believe it is possible. I chose, based on the fact that God seemed to be calling me to the Catholic church, to try embracing this doctrine. It has not done anything to help my faith, really. If anything it weakens it. So I am putting this one back on the shelf and saying, "Maybe. But I don't think so." I won't completely rule it out, but I don't think it was necessary, and if anything, the opposite may have been, but again I am not completely sure of that either.

So, I have still come a long way from my previous position on the Marian dogmas, and for awhile I embraced all four, and at the moment I won't rule the fourth out, but I am not really on board with it that much.

~Mother Star

My Most Powerful Good Friday Ever

Well, Dickens said it well when he said, "It was the best of times it was the worst of times."
On Good Friday this year, I was under the impression that my dad did not want to speak to me anymore. Therefore, when I thought about Jesus' agony in the garden, knowing he was soon to become sin for us and accept our punishment and out judgment from the Father, I could relate. It was an amazingly painful situation, but through meditating on how well Jesus understood my pain, it made this the most powerful Good Friday of my life.

I really enjoyed the Paschal Triduum. In the Protestant Church, we had to cram the whole thing into an Easter Sunday Service. It was awesome every time. Being raised Pentecostal, I was used to prayers for everyone who needed it on almost any Sunday. I noticed that more people actually got healed when prayed for on Easter Sunday. It is a powerful time and has always been, at least for me.

It didn't work quite that way in the Catholic church, it was still very special and restorative. One of my old friends who has gotten out of fellowship and into a lot of weird or heretical teachings came to my confirmation. It was nice that he went to church, for once.

The staff advisor of the PRIDE chapter at my community college was there on Good Friday. His husband (in the states eyes, but obviously not in God's) and the kids they have both adopted were not there, though. He was there alone, for some reason. He  kissed he cross and walked out singing, "Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom," and left before they served communion.
He sang solos at the Saturday Vigil, and was in the choir for the special music. Again, the man he is involved with and the kids they are raising together were not there.
I pray for God to draw him, and to bring healing to his life, to the other man's life, and to do a profound work in those children's life.

I was invited to my Methodist Friend's Good Friday service. They sang a hymn about how Sunday's palms are Wednesday's ashes. Both churches sang a black spiritual called "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" Both churches read a lot of the same verses and said similar or same prayers. I was allowed to take communion there even though I am not Methodist, while at St Patrick's it was the last time that I couldn't. Communion is a powerful experience for me, even when I was Protestant. I had been really missing that while going through RCIA.


All this time I was thinking I had no blood-family anymore, except my mom. I later learned there was a problem with the phones that was really strange and I am glad my dad did not actually turn away from me in real life.
I sent my dad an email on Good Friday Evening, from an email address he did not have in case he had blocked me. A few days later I got a text message that said, "I LOVE YOU!" from him. I called and we figured out what had happened, bit not how it had happened. Somehow, his number in my phone got edited and one digit changed, and he wasn't getting my messages. It was someone else's phone that was set, at the subscriber's request, not to accept my calls.
 Jesus was also restored to His father. My dad told me emphatically that he would never, ever, do such a thing, he would never decide he did not want to be in my life. I hope that this is true. I know it is true of the Father I reached for when I thought that my earthly dad had turned away from me. It was a crazy mix-up of communication devices there an it caused a lot of pain, but it also helped make this the most wonderful Good Friday service ever.

Adventures in RCIA: An Updated Discussion on Mariology

On the Virgin birth, obviously I have always believed it and always will.
As to the perpetual virginity, the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe got me wondering and I went from disbelieving to wondering. Later, a friend who is studying the Orthodox church read a book by St.  James, who was Jesus' step-brother. In this book, James says Mary was indeed a virgin all her life because of his father's advanced age. He hinted that Joseph couldn't actually do anything about that, basically.
This differs from the Catholic teaching that she remained a virgin all her life due to a call to do so from God, but it does give an explanation for the perpetual virginity of a married Jewish woman. Being called by God to stay in that marriage, and after Joseph's death to be celibate and give herself to ministry, doesn't clash with anything she would likely have believed, as far as I know.
I therefore can assent to the perpetual virginity of Mary, in light of this further information.

As far as her ascension, she would not be the only person besides Jesus to do this. Enoch went that way and so did Elijah. All of the oldest churches believe this, including the Copts. I don't have legitimate reason not to. Therefore, I do.

Regarding the Immaculate conception, I am still unsure. It doesn't make any more sense to me than it did before. The only improvement I have in this area is that I can believe all the other ones. I do not believe that thinking this will send someone to hell. I have my doubts, serious doubts, but still,.. I think belief is a choice. I am going to pray about it, and consider if God would have a problem with my choosing to believe it until further evidence is offered that she wasn't. It may help me, in some ways, as far as theneed for a female role-model, and with this revised understanding of perpetual virginity, I would not have an obstacle to that anymore, especially since right now I am single.
I expect I will proceed as if she was, and just go from there, and if God wants me to not believe that, then He will be able to tell me. Right now, I feel called to the Catholic church and sense in my spirit that God is going to straighten out the reservations I have about gender roles. I hope so.
So, at this time I do, with some minimal reservation, accept the Catholic teaching on Mary.


Godspeed.

~Mother Star.

Adventures in RCIA: My First Lenten Season

Well, I think we're about half-way through Lent.
Yesterday was Friday and I ate meat. I forgot until it was too late.
I think last week I did not, but I can't remember. I have been able to abstain from chocolate and sweets.
I have a Valentine's heart full of chocolates and an organic fair trade dark chocolate bar sitting on a stand near my bed, and I have not touched them.

There are certain things I really wanted to stop doing through this season of repentance, and at first I was doing ok, but lately I have not been doing as well. I have "Gotten back up" to some extent, but not to the degree I would like. I have not yet been to confession.

What I have succeeded in dong is praying more and worshiping more. I have been working my way through the Book of Sirach, whereas for a while I had not been doing much scripture reading. I think this increase in scripture reading is going to give me the wherewithal to get the victory I am really hoping for in certain areas of my life.

Homosexuality - Living Out Christian Convictions In A Productive Way.

Have you guys hear about that doctor in MI who refused to treat a baby because she was being raised by "married" lesbians?

I assume she would accept the children of un-wed moms and cohabiting opposite sex couples (there are sooo many now, it would be hard to stay in business otherwise, I think), so why choose this sin on the part of the caregivers to refuse to take care of the baby over? If you think this is what standing up for your beliefs is, ask yourself if you refuse service to cohabiting couples or people who likely use drugs or drink heavily on a regular basis, or own a business that does things you don't believe in like sell porn or booze or whatever. If the answer is no, then you are not really standing for your beliefs but genuinely discriminating.
I recognize a need in the church for balanced teaching on how to respond to situations like this, and how to know if you really are compromising your faith or not when confronted with such people in a work or business environment, because so many Christians just don't know what to do and the enemy takes advantage by tempting them to do counter-productive stuff like this. Sometimes, people dothe wrong thing because they really do not know what to do.

Medical care for a child conceived in rape doesn't mean you condone rape. Medical care for a child raised by unmarried parents is not condoning cohabiting or fornication.
Medical care for a child raised by practicing homosexuals is not condoning homosexual behavior or giving your stamp of approval to same-sex marriage. Rather,  it just makes it harder for people who think they are homosexuals to find the truth, because those who carry the truth are not in any close personal contact with them.
Treat those who commit this sin different from how you treat other sexual sins, and your statement that you do not really discriminate or hate, and do not believe they are truly even different, starts to look silly. This behavior really does a lot to promote the gay agenda, and severely hurts the cause of Christ.
Now, refusing to participate in a same-sex wedding is refusing to actually participate in the sin, but refusing to work with the baby who is going to be raised in that environment? If it is not a refusal to participate in a sin, then refusing to serve someone in your business on grounds of the way they live outside of your business is indeed discrimination. Refusing to serve lunch in your restaurant to people caught in that particular stronghold? That is not helpful at all!

The point where it becomes necessary to refuse in order to live out your views is when you must participate. Involvement in a same-sex wedding is participating, obviously.
Serving lunch to a person in a same-sex relationship is not participating. Taking care of a baby is taking care of a baby, it is not participating. Helping

The gay-agenda has built its crocodile tears and emotional appeals on behavior like that, not on mere disagreement. This particularly true of appeals for laws that persecute and discriminate against Christians. More of the same will only make things worse. Balance. God created everything to function in balance. If we aren't in balance we are easy prey for the devil to tempt and to use.

Godspeed

~Mother Star.

Adventures in RCIA - The Difference between a Mass and a Protestant Service

There are some differences between a Mass and a Protestant service. The Mass is modeled very much after the Jewish tradition, whereas Protestant churches usually, though not always, have a tradition all their own or at least much further removed from Jewish traditions.
The first thing that is different is that a Mass is called a Mass instead of a service or meeting. The word is capitalized.
Not every Protestant church uses vestments for the ministers.
Protestant churches usually do not have communion at every single service, though some do.
You can go to Mass about every day if you choose to, whereas most Protestant churches meet 1-3 times a week.
The pulpit in a Catholic church is called an ambo, but it works the same way.
Superficial differences aside,
The first thing that happens is a server, formerly called an alter boy, carries in a cross. The cross goes ahead of everything, since the Jesus' cross is how we are saved. It's the core of our faith. That goes ahead of everything.
Another server will carry a big, ornate book. It has the gospels in it. Not the whole Bible, Just the gospels, and it is held aloft as it is carried. Again. the gospel is the core of our faith.
The priest walks in last. These all comedown in a procession, like a little parade.
Some Protestant churches have a similar arrangement but most don't. Most of the tens of thousands of Protestant sects in the U.S, are pentecostal or non-denominational charismatic churches. Such churches tend to have very little ritual, and do not follow a liturgical calender, save Easter and Christmas.

Water is mixed with the blood of Christ to represent Jesus's humanity. It is not holy water, just regular water. As far as I know, there are no Protestant sects that mix the communion wine/juice with any amount of water, unless they use unfermented juice from a concentrate, which, again, I've never heard of. I would not be surprised though, to hear of it.
Some charismatic and/or non-denominational  churches do not have a set order for their service but pretty much "play it by ear" every week! I've been in those. They say they let the Holy Spirit run the service, and have free reign. I am not sure that is necessarily what is happening all the time though, I think many times it is the emotions and whims of those in the church running the service. I have no doubt the holy spirit takes advantage of this open door, but strongly doubt whether anybody is capable of hearing and discerning so well that they can truly let the Holy Ghost order the service individually and specifically each time. Also there is not always adequate accountability for the leadership. I have been fleeced pretty badly in a church like that, as well as seeing a lot of corrupt doctrine that proved to be destructive in my life and others, and more false prophesy than I can even specifically recall.
Loads upon loads of false prophecy like that is much harder to find in Catholicism. In the Catholic church, a committee of bishops and cardinals have to examine and verify a spiritual gift like prophesy or word of knowledge before the church recognizes it. It may seem like quenching the spirit, but I see wisdom in it. Some people have had "words" for people to go off of their medicine, and the individual died as a result. A pastor of a church my family went to lost a dear friend that way. Others have just made fools of themselves and God by giving words about "Problem between you and your wife will be resolved" to unbelievers visiting who were not married. My dad actually saw that happen once.
Mass is a very different thing for me, obviously, but I enjoy it.

I will discuss the actual Mass and how it runs and the meanings and roots behind everything in my ext post. Today I just wanted to do a contrast and point out some differences that might take newbies by surprise, I will remind everybody not to take communion in a Catholic church unless you have been confirmed Catholic.

Adventures in RCIA - More on the Eucharist

As I mentioned in my first post in this series, this is one of the biggest pulls for me, to the Catholic church.
Eucharist is a Greek word that means, "thanksgiving." It refers to Holy Communion.

There are a few description that Catholics use to explain the Eucharist that work very well for insiders, but will make little sense to someone who is not already Catholic.
"The Real Presence of Christ" for example. This refers to "trans-substantiation," the belief that the second person of the Trinity is present in the bread and wine. When the bread is blessed, we believe that Jesus'presence comes into the bread and wine, sort of like a vessel carrying his spiritual presence. We do not think that a chemical test would start showing human flesh and blood rather than grains and fermented fruit, though.
God is everywhere, of course, but yet if you have had any kind of encounter with God at all, you understand how God can seem to be more in some places than others at times. We believe that, spiritually Jesus is present with us in the Eucharist in a special way.
We believe this is referred to in John -6:24-69. If Jesus had been speaking metaphorically, wouldn't he have said so, for the sake of the disciples who he so loved who were offended and walked away? In RCIA last week, it was explained that this has always been a hard teaching for people, and this scripture was given to demonstrate both how upsetting it was for Jesus' first followers and how important it is to him. He came to die by torture for those people. He had just fed them all with a miracle because he cared about them (v. 5-24), if he was speaking metaphorically, don't you think he would have explained himself to those who he cared about? Having people walk away from you because they do not like what you are saying is one thing, but letting them go like that to damnation (it says they "walked no more with him") over a misunderstanding is something else.
I note that in this text, it says they told him he was crazy when he said that he was God and was before Abraham and that some in the crowd intended to kill him.
I do not find actual scriptural support for the notion that communion is supposed to be just a symbol. He said on two occasions that "This is my body, this is  my blood." Paul taught that we should examine ourselves before communion, and that it is life-threateningly dangerous to take communion when not right with God (1 Corinthians 11:27-32), because when we do that we become guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
I think this is because the early church was before the Catholic/Protestant division, before Constantine and long before Luther. They did not have any offense at any group within the body that they sought very hard to distance themselves from, and did not have anyone telling them it was only a symbol. They were in agreement about what they were doing, so it would have been that powerful.
If you visit a Catholic church, either do not go down for communion, or go down with your arms crossed over your chest, sort of like the traditional coffin laying position. The communion servers will give you a blessing instead of communion, because you are out of agreement in what is going an and since everyone is in such agreement about the actual habitation of the spirit of Christ resting on that host (the bread and wine); it is not safe for you to eat it. "According to your faith be it done to you." If you commune in a Protestant church, you are not in danger of dying. Nobody invited Jesus to use that bread and wine that way, it is only a symbol. go ahead and eat it, if you agree to revere what it symbolizes.
I would probably take communion in a Protestant church again, I can receive it as a symbol to recollect things by. However, I was told in RCIA that "memorial" in Judaism,like the Passover, is not just sitting around recalling something. It is reliving. It is almost like repeating but not exactly. Its not just thinking about something, it goes much farther.
The RCIA lady who taught the class last week said Eucharist was what drew her to this Church as well, and when she finished RCIA and took communion the first time, she was full on just that.
You are supposed to fast an hour before receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic church,so she was ravenous when she went up, but she was full for hours after taking it. It is only one bite worth, maybe less, of unleavened bread, but she was full the rest of the day and felt the presence of God very strongly.  I believe this happened for her because her belief was so strong. She said she actually snatched it out of the priest's hand, which was not proper decorum at all, because she was so excited about it. He forgave her and overlooked it, though.
I hope I don't do anything drastic like that...
Communion is supposed to mimic the Passover. Like the Passover Feast, it is not a mere recalling but a reliving, an actual experience of it, sort of like. The sacrifice is Jesus, present in the Eucharist and consumed just like the lamb was. The Passover also foreshadowed the coming of Jesus and his Sacrifice for us all. In the Eucharist, we relive the sacrifice of Jesus. We have our Passover Feast - every single week, and almost every day if we so choose. There are daily Masses as well as Sunday Masses.

Next time in RCIA, we will be having a walk through the Mass. I am greatly looking forward to it. I understand there is a connection between the Mass and the Catholic interpretation of Revelation. Soon I will be going through some extra things that are part of actually joining the Church, so I can also fill you in on those details when I get them.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

On the Nature of Temptation

Not every thought or temptation we ever have necessarily gets encoded to long-term memory.
In order to report occasional same sex temptation or attraction, the mind/brain would have retain it. You have to give at least some amount of attention to something in order to remember it.

Depending on the wording of the question, anywhere from 10% to 45% of adult men report having fantasies involving same-sex activity. Those are just people have sat and entertained the thoughts for however long, possibly on more than one occasion. These things never originate with the person anyway, it all comes from satan, and not just same sex stuff but other things. We decide if we are going to hold the thought or not, and whatever else we might do with it.


Advertisers sometimes try to get people to associate products with unrelated things that they want or need. Sex being used to advertise credit cards, shoes, or etc is an example of that, as is Summer's Eve's unfortunate attempt to use women's career advancement goals to sell feminine deodorant. Likewise, the enemy tries to sell unnatural or even self-defeating things to people.

Like the advertisers attempts at sales, the enemy's ploys may or may not work, and may or may not even be remembered. He has probably tried stuff on me that I don't remember. I lived on the street a couple of times in my life, but do not recall ever being actually tempted by drugs. Ever. I'm sure he must tried it though. If you have any doubts about the rates of same-sex fantasizing, the links to sources are below. Keep in mind, even on anonymous studies, self report studies tend to be skewed by people giving answers closer to what their society would want to hear (See the section on "measurement bias" in section 2 of this UIC article).

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsm.12734/full
http://www.businessinsider.com/which-sexual-fantasies-are-normal-2014-10

There is a very strong taboo about same-sex activity and temptation among American males in particular. If there is self-report bias here, it is more likely to be making the rates look smaller, not larger. Not recalling ever being tempted by SSAs, or anything else on the list of perverse thoughts and actions in this study, does not mean it has never been tried on you, or that it never will be. It does however, mean you are probably less likely to commit that particular sin, even in your thoughts. Many, many people who do not identify as LGBT and never acted out, and may never act these things out, with others have committed this type of sexual sin in their thoughts through lust.
Sexual fantasy is, in fact, a lustful sort of meditation that many people who are physically very chaste may battle with on the inside, and which the Holy Spirit can and will deliver people from.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Church Calender - Advent, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day

This isthe last season here is to talk about on the Catholic Church calender Advent is the time leading up to Christmas, much like Lent is the time leading up to Easter. Pentecostal and at least some Baptist churches do not do anything like this. Nondenominational churches usually don't either. 

Advent would probably have been the best season to big in with, and it is what we began with in RCIA.

Advent is a very reflective time. There is no"Gloria" in the Mass, but there is still "Alleluia" in the advent Mass.

Advent begins 4 Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve right before the Vigil of Nativity. The advent special music is mostly the "O antiphons"such as "O Come All Ye Faithful." 

The music is toned down and supposed to be more reflective and subdued. It's like the calm before the storm, but in a good way. At Christmas, we pullout all the stops musically and decoration-wise.

At Midnight Mass, every Catholic parish on earth begins Mass at Midnight of December 25th and it lasts for at least an hour. As the earth turns, the praises go up and the celebration begins all around the world, "Happy Birthday Jesus, thank you for what you did." In our city, we have a really big music and art university. I think they had students from there doing the music. They had opera singers and a symphony and they did all the Christmas songs from our book. At the conclusion of Mass, they did the Halleluia chorus mixed in with, I think, Joy to the World. It was arranged beautifully, it flowed seamlessly from Joy to World, to Halleluia and back. It was awesome. We have an old church building designed with acoustics for a choir like that. It is the first time I have experienced anything like that live. It was so beautiful!

So that is why the toned down music and mood during Advent. It is to seriously ponder and take in everything that was going on with Mary's pregnancy and all the amazing things God was doing, and why. It also adds even more emphasis to the big bang of a celebration at Christmas.

There is something called an "Advent  Wreath" that holds four candles. Three of the candles are violet and one is rose-colored. You are supposed to light one each Sunday of Advent. An RCIA participant from the Methodist church says they have five candles and each one means something - love, hope, and etc. One of the teachers said "We don't have that much fun in the Catholic church. We just light the candles." I though that was funny.
The colors for Advent are, of course, violet and rose like the candles. Rose is just for the third Sunday, though. The priests wear violet vestments, except on the third Sunday. On the third Sunday, also called Gaudete Sunday, Catholic priests wear rose vestments.

More on Advent:

In addition to featuring advent wreaths, the environment is supposed to be one of elegant simplicity. There may be moderate use of flowers in keeping with the season and climate.

Really important Catholic feasts during Advent include:

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - December 8th, refers to the idea that Mary was sinless, not to the virgin birth.

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas - December 12th. This commemorates the Event that led to the conversion of indigenous communities in Mexico and Latin America. Reading this story has almost made me reconsider my position on the Marian dogmas I disagree with - almost. It has certainly given me a new respect for it.

In our parish and others in the Springfield, IL Diocese, we also have the Solemnity of the Dedication of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on December 2nd.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Bible: Things I Wonder About The Book of Sirach

Jesus son of Eleazar son of Sirach, or Yeshua ben El-azar ben Sira in his mother tongue, was a great scholar and Rabbi, and the author of the "Ecclesiasticus" or the book of Sirach. He wrote and taught in Jerusalem prior to 180 B.C. The Septaguint used a Greek translation, written by ben Sira's grandson, of  writings. The grandson wrote an introduction to the Greek rendering. The intro by ben Sira's grandson states that "You are invited to read with good will and attention. and to be indulgent in cases where, despite our diligent labor in translating, we may seem to have rendered some phrases imperfectly. For what was originally expressed in Hebrew does not have exactly the same sense when translated into another language."  The Hebrew text was totally lost to the Western world from about 400 to 1900 A.D. We have about two-thirds of the Hebrew text now, recovered from various places around the Middle East. All this I learned in an additional intro to the book by the scholars who wrote commentary in this particular annotated Bible. They also stated that the Jews never, ever considered this particular book to be canonical. Very powerful and valuable, yes. Authoritative scripture? No, never. The early Christians did, though, so depending on how much weight you give to which of those...

The intro to the book of Sirach in my New Oxford Annotated Bible, NRSV with Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical books, says that reading from start to finish is not the best way to approach Sirach. They recommend reading chapters 1 and 24 first, and then the hymn of praise to Isreal's ancestors in 44:1-49:16. The Oxford commentators said Sirach is divided into three major blocks of teaching: chapters 1 - 23, chapters 24:1 - 42:14, and chapters 42:15 - 50:24. This is such a long book, I am going to write a synopsis of at least those three parts rather than doing the whole thing in one shot. This piece is not a synopsis, but a reflection on chapters 1 and 23.

The grandson who did the translating was a teacher and scholar himself. He translated the book while living in Egypt because he felt it would be extremely helpful for "Those living abroad who wish to gain learning and are disposed to live according to the Law." He said that not only his grandfather's book, "but even the Law and the Prophecies and the rest of the books differ not a little when read in the original." I am, like most Westerners from well before Luther's time to the present, reading a translation of a translation because that is what we have to work with. Nevertheless, here goes:

Sirach 1:1 "All wisdom is from the Lord, and with Him it remains forever." This was very striking to me. I was thinking about how Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 occurs in chapters 1 and 23 in Sirach.

One of the most powerful teachings on Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 8 and 9:1-6) I ever heard explained that she was a type of Christ and/or the Holy Spirit.
Excerpts from Proverbs 8 "Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom. I am understanding, I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me... The Lord possessed me, in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there was no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. While as yet He has not made the earth, nor the hills, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He set a compass on the face of the depth, when He established the clouds above,when he strengthened the fountains of the deep. When he gave to the sea His decree that the waters should not pass His commandment, when He appointed the foundations of the Earth, then I was by Him as one brought up with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, and my delights were with the sons of men... Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors, for whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. All they that hate me love death."
In chapter 9, it continues, "Wisdom hath builded her house... She hath killed her beasts, she hath mingled her wine, she hath also furnished her table. She hath sent forth her maidens; she crieth upon
the highest places of the city, '... come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish and live, and go in the way of understanding." Sure sounds like Jesus to me.

Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that Christ became wisdom from God to us, and in context from v. 20 to 31, especially v. 26, it is mentioning God revealing His wisdom to/through those who lacked it, calling those who were simple and lacked understanding, though it puts it differently. Paul's new testament revelation on the wisdom of God speaks a lot more about of why God chose to call the foolish and simple of the world. Nevertheless, Christ is the Word, who was in the beginning with God (John 1), who was before all things and by whom all things were made (Col. 1:17). Jesus calls us who are unworthy and clueless to the banquet He prepares for us, and the one who is building the spiritual house referred to in Hebrews 3. I do believe Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 is a type of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, and/or the Holy Spirit.

Excerpts from Sirach 24 seem to go along with this: " In the presence of the Most High she opens her mouth, and in the presence of his hosts she tells her story, 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist. I dwelt in the highest heavens, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud. Alone I compassed the vault of heaven and traversed the depths of the abyss, over the waves of the sea, over all the earth, and over every people and nation I have held sway..." Yep, sounds like YHVH, like the Spirit of God and Jesus.

The problems I run into here are with translations. I wish the deuterocananical books had not been tossed out before Dr. Strong wrote his concordance. I cannot check when I see a statement in English in both books to see if the original text uses the same word or was even talking about the same thing. I really wish I could look up the word used in the original text when studying the disputed books, especially this one. The NRSV version of Proverbs 8:22 says "The lord created me in the beginning..." where the KJV I am used to says "The Lord possessed me..." I looked this word up the in the Strong's:
QANAH {kaw-naw'} Strong's Hebrew #07069 Definitions: a primitive root; to erect, i.e. create; by extension, to procure, especially by purchase (causatively, sell); by implication to own:--attain, buy(-er), teach to keep cattle, get, provoke to jealousy, possess(-or), purchase, recover, redeem, X surely, X verily.
The stuff that comes after "--" in the Strong's expositions on these words are ways this word has been translated in the (Protestant) Bible.

A word that comes from "QANAH" seems, to me, like it might illustrate what was brought to mind for those who spoke and wrote QANAH in Hebrew:
QANEH {kaw-neh'} Strong's Hebrew #07070 
Definitions: from Strong's HEBREW #7069; a reed (as erect); by resemblance a rod (especially for measuring), shaft, tube, stem, the radius (of the arm), beam (of a steelyard):--balance, bone, branch, calamus, cane, reed, X spearman, stalk.

I see this and think of where Jesus was referred to in prophecy as a branch and as a root. He is also symbolized by water, "The water of the word" and when he says he gives us water where we will never thirst again, the Water he gives us is Himself.


I am not yet certain if the deuterocanonical books are inspired and hold the same weight as the books I grew up with, but I will go ahead and read them prayerfully. My problem with Sirach, from the other parts I have read, is that he was (from what we can tell by the translations anyway) a total misogynist, but I will address that when the relevant passages actually come up. I have struggled long and hard with issues of misogyny in church and in the Bible, and if Sirach is to be taken as authoritative, then I may have to start all over.
If anyone has any thoughts on any of this, please feel free to comment below. Also if any questions come up for clarification of anything I have stated,please feel free to let me know.
Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Catholic Church Calender: Easter Time

In the Catholic Church, there is Easter Sunday and then there is Easter Time. It lasts for 50 days after Easter Sunday. It ends with Pentecost.

There are a great deal of flowers, like on Easter Sunday and the pulling-out-all-stops decor of Easter Sunday stay until Pentecost. There is a special dismissal chant for Easter and Pentecost.

The scripture readings in the Mass, (which are also at least some of the texts for the homilies Acts of the apostles, Revelation, and the Gospel accounts of Jesus time on earth after the Resurrection, the Ascension, and Pentecost.

The book of Revelation is interpreted very differently in the Catholic church than in Protestant churches. They do not teach that it foretells the end of the world. There is nothing frightening in it for them, for the Catholic church, Revelation is a book full of hope and there is nothing fearful in it. I have more study to do on it. I very much look forward to learning more about that, and then sharing what I learn.

Solemnities of the Octave of Easter - Every day for 8 days after Easter.

Special days in Easter Time include include:
Divine Mercy Sunday - The 2nd Sunday after Easter. It was Pope John Paul II's "special task," as he put it. St Faustina had some revelations during the time of Hitler's reign in Germany. It gave tremendous hope to the Polish Catholics who suffered in the concentration camps, one of whom later became a bishop and began the process that led to St. Faustina being made a Saint. The revelations of Divine Mercy are summed up in the statement that "Good triumphs over evil, life is stronger than death and God's love is more powerful than sin." This is revealed in Christ's cross, but St. Faustina''s very timely spiritual experience explained this in a way that made it very accessible to the understanding at a time when it was so urgently needed. It is also a message of the need for us all to forgive. During the Cold War, when John Paul II instituted this Special Day, and now when we hear of wars and rumors of wars everywhere, the Catholic church believes it is very important that those who follow Christ remember these revelations and ponder them. I agree. I really look forward eagerly to celebrating my first Divine Mercy Sunday and hearing/reading more teaching about it. I expect that it might need its own post!
The Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist. - April 25th
Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord - 40 days after Easter
Solemnity of the Feast of St. Matthais the Apostle - May 14th
Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday - 50 Days after Easter.

I see I will need to do more study of the book of Revelation, Divine Mercy Sunday, and the Octave of Easter. Those look like some pretty special and important subjects. Having been raised Pentecostal, and knowing that my pastor was raised Pentecostal, I wonder what kind of sermon I will hear on Pentecost.

If any of you see a special day or some other topic you would like me to investigate or inquire about, leave it in the comments below and I will see what I can do.

Take care and God bless.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Church Calender: The Triduum

The Triduum is the three days leading up to Easter. These are the holies days of the year on the Catholic church calender. I am really looking forward to celebrating these!

Holy Thursday:
Celebrates the Last Supper, and the gift of the Eucharist. It begins with the Mass of the Lord's Supper and ends as Good Friday Dawns.
The "Gloria" returns to the music in the Mass here, and they begin to use instruments more. there is still no "Alleluia" though.
The color for Holy Thursday is white, and the priest will wear white vestments.

The very special chant, called Pange Lingua is incorporated. It was written by Thomas Aquinas. In, English, it goes like this:

Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.
Down in adoration falling,
This great Sacrament we hail,
O'er ancient forms of worship
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith will tell us Christ is present,
When our human senses fail.
To the Everlasting Father,
And the Son who made us free
And the Spirit, God proceeding
From them Each eternally,
Be salvation, honour, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia."

If you would like to hear someone singing it, albeit in Latin, click here.

Flowers are brought back for the decor, but it has to be a simple kind of elegance. Nothing extravagant. There is a Mass commemorating the Lord's Supper, and Eucharistic adoration
later on. If people cannot make it to Adoration, then they are encouraged to light some candles and say some special prayers when they get back from Mass, and again before bedtime.

Good Friday:

The Friday before Easter. 

Alter is bare, no flowers or other decorations. Holy Water fonts are even emptied. There is only one large cross for veneration. The color for this day is Red, for the blood of Christ's sacrifice that day.

There are reflective silences during service. It is not a mass.

Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering servant, the book of Hebrews: Jesus the great high priest. John's account of the Lord's passion.

There is still no "Alleluia", but the "Gloria" is still sung. Both are usually a regular part of the Mass.

The Gloria:

"Glory to God in the highest, 

and on earth peace to people of good will.

We praise you, 

we bless you, 

we adore you, 

we glorify you, 

we give you thanks for your great glory, 

Lord God, heavenly King, 

O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, 

Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, 

you take away the sins of the world, 

    have mercy on us; 

you take away the sins of the world, 

    receive our prayer; 

you are seated at the right hand of the Father, 

    have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One, 

    you alone are the Lord, 

    you alone are the Most High, 

Jesus Christ, 

with the Holy Spirit, 

in the glory of God the Father.

Amen." 

It's not so easy to find a recording of this, because people sing it every week and if they attend daily Mass, they sing it almost every day. I have noticed, living in different places, that the "Gloria" and the"Alleluia" have somewhat different musical arrangements,but similar ones, in different parishes. 

Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday

This begins with Vigil Mass after nightfall on Holy Saturday. It ends Easter Sunday Evening.

Instrumental music returns, and the Alleluia returns. The songs are very joyful. 

There is a lot of decoration; tons of flowers, full, beautiful decorations. It is the biggest day of the year, time to pull out all the stops. The Exsultet is chanted, which is lengthy enough I will save it for another day.

There are up to seven Old Testament scripture readings, which can make for a LOOONG Mass. Some perishes, including ours, shorten this. The Old Testament readings are accounts of salvation history. The covenant with Abraham and etc.

The second reading is from the Epistles, about how if we died with Christ we will live with him.

The Gospel readings are, of course, about the Resurrection.

I am  very much looking forward to experiencing this time in the Calender first and for the first time.I expect there will be a lot more to write about, then. I hope the Lord will give me grace to convey this  in a clear and interesting way.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Church Calender: Lent

Not everybody has Lent. Non-denominational churches often don't. Pentecostals don't. I don't think Baptists do.
In fact, the only days on their church calenders are Easter (some churches call it Resurrection Sunday, and using the term Easter is frowned upon) and Christmas. However, I guess some Protestant churches have the Church calender too. No feasts of Saints and there may be other differences, but these terms and concepts are familiar to, and even observed by, some Protestants.
So, for those that don't know, Lent is a time of fasting and repentance.
It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at the start of Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday.

In the worship service, there is no "Gloria" in the Mass and no "Alleluia" no instrumental music except as needed to support singing. The theme color is mostly violet, but on the 4th Sunday, AKA Laetare Sunday, the color is rose. The Priest's vestments are always the special colors.
The environment is stark simplicity during this time. There are no flowers in the decor.
The scripture readings come from the Old testament stories of Adam and Eve, and Moses and Abraham, and David, Jesus in the desert, and the Transfiguration.

The Solemnity of St Joesph, Jesus' stepdad, is on March 19th.
The Solemnity of the Annunciation, which is when the angel told Mary she was going to have a baby, it's also where the first part of the Hail Mary Prayer mostly comes from.

In our parish, we also have a Solemnity for the Dedication of St. Patrick's Church on March 17th.
That is a local solemnity, when we thank God for our church building that we have to meet and to hold his meetings in.

The Scrutinies: There is something going on at this time called scrutinies. They are very special rites for those preparing for Baptism, and they occur on the middle three Sundays of Lent. The people preparing for baptism are called the Elect. I have already been baptized in a Baptist church, and that baptism counts as my baptism in to the Catholic church too, because both are Christian in the eyes of the Catholic church. I have no idea if I will be doing the scrutinies or not, but I might be. either way, I will have to write more on this later.
The scrutiny gospels are: the woman at the Well, the man born blind that Jesus healed, and Lazarus being raised from the dead. I thing the Elect have rites that are reminiscent of these events, and must meditate on the lessons in these stories.

Palm Sunday Scriptures are about the triumphal entry, and Jesus passion at Gethsemane

Adventures in RCIA - Dispelling Some Myths About the Pope, Pt. 1

Recently, I asked my pastor, who has a great deal of education in Catholic theology, and is, of course, a Catholic priest, if the Catholic church thinks the pope is "prophet, priest,and king" like some Protestants say that they do.

He said the pope is prophet, priest and king by virtue of his baptism, just like every other baptized believer. He said not "every believer" because demons believe too, and this does not apply to them. He said a Christian is a little Christ.
The role of a prophet, according to catholic church is basically a witness of God's Word (and I think there were a few other things he mentioned and I couldn't write that fast, but I think he was elaborating on "a witness of God's word"). The Role of a priest is to offer sacrifices (and again I think there were a few other things he mentioned and I couldn't write that fast) and king is a ruler.
As believers we have the job, and are equipped by the holy spirit, to be witnesses of God's word. As believers, it is also our job to offer sacrifices, first of all in gratitude and praise, and also offering ourselves, and offering our lives - our struggles, our joys, etc,etc, etc. to God.
We have responsibility and ability given by god to be rulers of ourselves. Living by the spirit, saying no to the flesh, and again these are rights/abilities given to us by God, and by God's power we exercise them.
My baptism in a baptist church ten years ago counts as my baptism into the catholic church, because protestants are counted as Christians in official catholic doctrine as long as they believe in the Trinity. So my baptism, and your baptism all would make us "little Christs" and therefore prophets, priests and kings/queens, like Christ but on a smaller scale, every bit as much as the pope is. That's official Catholic doctrine. The text cited for this is the same as I got in the "who you are in Christ" things I have read in the Protestant world, 1 Peter 2:9, and several verses around it, likely familiar to most of us.
He said that is how the Pope is Prophet, Priest and King, and that is the ONLY way he is those three things, "The Pope is not 'King of the church, or anything like that,'" he said, "absolutely not".
I really feel like my job, through going through this process, is to remove barriers and lies people believe about each other by sharing what I am learning as I go. Lots of Protestants have exaggerated ideas about what Catholics think of the Pope, including me up until recently. This was really big news to me, to learn this today. Perhaps it will be for you too.
Godspeed.

Adventures in RCIA - The Catholic Church Calender: Ordinary Time

"Ordinary" means "ordinal," here. It does not mean "boring."

Ordinary time comes in two parts. The first part comes between The Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord and ends the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.
The second part begins the day after Pentecost, and ends the day before Advent begins.

Solemnities celebrated during ordinary time include:
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, - the Sunday after Pentecost.
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), - the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity.
Solemnity of St. John the Baptist, - June 24th.
Solemnity of Saint Peter (called the first Pope) and Saint Paul (author of many epistles) - June 29th
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mary the Mother of Jesus) - August 15
Solemnity of All Saints - November 1. Note that the Eve of All Saints, aka All Hallows, is Halloween.

Some Solemnities are particular to groups or regions. For exmple, the Parish I am in Celebrates the Solemnity of the Anniversary of the Dedication of St. James Church,which is one of the churches in our Parish. St Patrick's Day is a Solemnity in Ireland, but a Feast everywhere else. You get the idea, I think.

The decor is supposed to be plants and flowers. The readings come mainly from the Old Testament prophets, Paul's Epistles, and the Gospels where there is teaching on a variety of topics.
The color for this season ( I forgot to tell you the Colors for Christmas) is Green, whereas Christmas is White. The Priest's vestments are green in ordinary time and White during Christmas, and have other colors for the other times in the religious calender.

As of this writing, next Sunday will be the Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord and after it, the Christmas decorations will come down. parishioner have been asked to stay a few minutes and help. I am greatly looking forward to serving in my new church for the first time.
Our Parish is a amalgamation of two parishes, St. James and St Patrick. They have the same pastor but hold special events at one place or another, and hold regular masses at different times, usually an hour or two apart. I am hoping to make it to both services so I can help take down decor at both churches. I have no idea how short handed they are or are not likely to be. I will find out how much the parishioners here like to help out,and whether or not the 80/20 rule applies here, when I get there.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Wisdom of Solomon

The Wisdom of Solomon is another book from the Catholic and Orthodox and Coptic Bible I have never been exposed to before. I just finished reading it.
It is a little like Proverbs or Ecclesiastes, and a little like Psalms also.
It starts out discussing the benefits of fearing God and doing right versus being terrible.
Parts of it seem very prophetic. It talks about how people who love and follow God will never really die. They go to peace when they die, death holds no terror for them, but it is a loss to die on bad terms with God. I think the Jews just believed the dead all went to Sheol. I am pretty sure that this concept about righteous souls going to peace and the evil people having a different afterlife was an unusual thing to say in Judaism - and that may be why the Tanakh does not include it. It goes very well with Christianity though. In this book's case, I strongly doubt that the Hebrew Bible not having it is a good reason to throw it out...
It has some things to say about idolatry, similar to what Isaiah had to say. It points out how stupid it is to ask for life from something that is dead, and to ask for strength from something that has no strength, and for guidance from something that can go nowhere - namely, an idol.
The last several chapters discuss God's works when getting the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. This section is addressed to God, and reads like a worship song - a very long one! It mentions the serpent that people looked upon when bitten by snakes, and God would heal them from the snakebites. It says the statue of the snake did not do the healing, but God did the healing.
It does not cover all these things in chronological order, it seems to be like the writers flow of consciousness.

Now, for the controversial parts (for me): It says the offspring of adulterers will not live long, just like it says that adulterers will not. Parts of the Protestant Bible also say negative things about the children of immoral people. A passage in Isaiah calls people coming under judgment "the seed of the adulterer and the whore..." also some sections of the Psalms ask God to bring destruction on enemies, and talks about their kids. There are such things as generational curses, and God even mentioned that when He revealed himself to Moses, when Moses had asked to see God's glory. Therefore, I guess it is not grounds to doubt the inspiration of this book.
Obviously, the punishment going through generations is not God's favorite thing, by any means. That is why Jesus came, to break the curse off the sinner and their generations, and there are indeed curses like that to be broken. So, though I do not like it (clearly God feels the same way), but I think this is indeed sound doctrine, and can be verified by other scripture from several books that no Christian community has ever disputed, and which Jews also revere.

At the end, there is a part that says God can reverse the whole setup of creation, and make birds fly through water and fish swim through air if he should choose. The wording, in English at least, is confusing at that part, but I think he may be saying that this actually happened when the Red Sea was parted. I do not know af any other passage that says this was the case, but I can see it happening. The water might have been standing up pretty high, and birds could have run into it and been guided right through it and back to the air on the other side by God, The fish may well have fallen out of the water and been carried along in the wind to the other side where they were in water again,  as safely as the children of Israel were being taken across the sea bed. Now that I have actually written all that out, it even seems likely. Therefore, I see no particular issue with this. It could also be interpreted as a poetic device, painting an image of the situation with more vivid, though perhaps imagined, detail.
Psalm 18 describes God riding on angels, which I think God is way bigger than and is far too big to ride them. That is a poetic device used in a worship song, as could be this imagery of swimming birds and flying fish in this worshipful poetry.

So with that, I find prophetic statements in here that are not part of the religion that the book was connected to, but are central to Christianity, such as the afterlife, and how friends of God never die, but pass from this life to new peace in a new life. That concept was alien to Jews, but as Christians, this is our Blessed hope. Therefore, I firmly believe this book is inspired, if no other disputed book is. I based my conclusion about the other ones on how I felt and thought about them and on whatever measure of discernment I have;  I admit this is no more infallible than Martin Luther doing the same thing. This book is different though, this one is without a doubt sacred, because there is no other way a Jew in Greece could have said some of what was said in here.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA: What Pope Francis' Recent Message Said

Today, in our church bulletin, there was a message from Pope Francis. It is mostly a prayer, and one which I fully agree with. It made me realize what a job it is to be the pope of Rome.

There are Catholic churches and members of religious orders working in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan. all over Africa, China, and even in North and South Korea, as well as in more affluent nations. Feedback from all these places funnels up the various chains of command to the Vatican. Senior pastors have so much crap come across their desks, but imagine if your desk was just full of wars, plagues, trafficking, international controversies, and gross sin, with all its consequences, on a large scale? The job is harder than being president of the U. S. Nobody asks to be Pope either; they can only accept or decline the task. If someone seems to want the job, it rules them as a candidate; there's no campaigning to be Pope.
 While surfing youtube fairly recently, I have seen footage from the same events, shared by various anti-Catholics, claiming that Pope Francis was bad because he supposedly said at these events that he favors abortion (he doesn't) AND that he was bad because he was saying, at the same events,  that he is against abortion. Some of the same images alleged to be pics of him saying to kill gay people or some such (he doesn't say that) AND that he was pro-gay (he's not). 
Today I did a search in youtube for "pope francis." Scrolling the results, it mostly read like a list of headlines from Weekly World News, (that's a defunct, faux newspaper with headlines like "Bat-Child Found in Cave," "World to End in Two Weeks," "Aliens Steal Family Dog, Leave Life-Changing Messages," "80-Foot Tall Two Year Old Wreaks Havoc in India." One of those actually was a Weekly World News front-page headline when I was kid!), I can't believe the stuff people come up with - and believe! So, before any of this gets distorted beyond recognition by whoever and by whatever means, here is a synopsis of the "Urbi et Orbi, Message of Pope Francis", that I got today in my church bulletin. Exact quotes will be in "" marks:

"Thursday, December 25th, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas!
Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of the World, is born for us, born in Bethlehem of a Virgin, fulfilling ancient prophecies. The Virgin's name was Mary, the wife of Joseph." (That is both the first, of the only two, brief mentions of Mary in the whole thing) 
"Humble people, full of hope in the goodness of God, are those who welcome Jesus and recognize Him." The Holy Spirit enlightened the shepherds of Bethlehem, and they rushed to adore Him. The Spirit led Simeon and Anna to Jerusalem, and they recognized Him as Messiah. "'My eyes have seen your salvation,' Simeon Exclaimed, 'the salvation prepared by God in the sight of all peoples' (Luke 2:30)."
"Yes, brothers and sisters, Jesus is the salvation for every person and for every people!"
Today, I ask Jesus to help our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria, who for too long have suffered brutal persecution, along with other ethnic and religious groups. May Christmas bring to them, and the other refugees and displaced persons of all ages from this region, hope. "May indifference be changed closeness and rejection into hospitality, so that all who are now suffering may receive the necessary humanitarian help to overcome the rigours of winter, return to their countries and live with dignity. May the Lord open hearts to trust" and may he bring his peace to the whole middle east, beginning in the place of his birth.
"May Jesus, the Saviour of the world, protect all who suffer in Ukraine," and help them overcome tensions and violence and begin a healing journey of reconciliation.
"May Christ the Saviour bring peace to Nigeria, where even in these hours more blood is being shed and too many people are being unjustly deprived of their possessions, held as hostages, or killed." I contend for peace in other parts of Africa. "I beseech all who have political responsibility to commit themselves through dialogue to overcoming differences and to build a lasting, fraternal coexistence."
May Jesus save all the trafficked and enslaved children. "Children, so many abused children. May he give comfort to the families of the children killed in Pakistan last week." May he be with all who are ill, especially victims of Ebola (This makes sense, as many of those people are on their deathbed now, sadly). I thank all those dedicated to helping the sick, and their family members, and I make another urgent appeal that the necessary help be provided.
"The Child Jesus. My thoughts turn to all those children today who are killed and ill-treated, be they infants killed in the womb, deprived of that generous love of their parents and then buried in the egoism of a culture that does not love life; be they children displaced due to war and persecution, abused and taken advantage of before our very eyes and our complicit silence. I think of those infants massacred in bomb attacks, also those where the Son of God was born. Even today, their impotent silence cries out under the sword of so many Herods. In their blood stands the shadow of contemporary Herods. Truly there are so many tears this Christmas, together with the tears of the infant Jesus."
May the Holy Spirit enlighten our hearts now, to recognize in the Infant Jesus the salvation God has given to each of us, and to all the peoples of the earth. May the power of Christ, which brings freedom and service, be felt in so many hearts afflicted by atrocity. "May this divine power, by its meekness, take away the hardness of heart of so many men and women immersed in worldliness and indifference, the globalization of indifference." May his grace transform weapons to ploughshares, destruction to creativity, and hatred to love, that we may cry out with joy, "'Our eyes have seen your salvation"

I wish you a Happy Christmas!

"Francis"

Now, I agree that wars, plagues, and abounding evil are signs of the times, but they are still the work of the Christians' sole enemy. We are to resist those things passionately, with prayer and other means when possible. We are soldiers of peace and light, don't forget it. 
I see nothing unscriptural, dangerous, or unglodly in this prayer. I see a believer whose heart is broken for the heaps of reports about hideous atrocity, and equally atrocious selfishness and indifference, accumulating in his office daily. I see someone sending out his prayer for us all to read and to agree with. I for one will say "Amen!"

By the way, "Urbi et Orbi"means "City and World" in Latin, according to google translate. I had to put it in one word at a time to get it to translate it, but that is what those words mean.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - The Catholic Church Calender: Christmas Time

I will start with the time we are in now, which is still Christmas. If you are one of those people who wishes Christmas lasted longer than it does, you would appreciate the Catholic way of celebrating.
Christmas time in the Catholic Church lasts for several weeks.

Here is a brief list of the times and seasons on the Catholic religious calender.
Christmas time
Lent
The Triduum
Easter
Ordinary Time (from the word "ordinal" since it is ordered by numbers, not "boring" or "blase" time!)
Advent

A Solemnity is the highest ranking of all the special days on the Calender. A Holy Day of Obligation means that it is required to go to Mass that day. Holy Days of Obligation are always Solemnities, but Solemnities need not be Holy Days of Obligation.
A Feast Day is a Holy Day that commemorates an event, a mystery, a person. There are Feast days for every saint in the canon, and not enough days in the year to assign every single day to only one saint.

A shot of the handout from RCIA class, the page on Christmas Time, obviously.

That being said, today we are talking about Christmas Time.
Christmas Time starts with the Vigil of Nativity, held on December 24th, the day before the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord, which is Christmas Day.
December 26th is the Feast of Saint Stephen,who was the first Christian Martyr ("Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen..." Now you know what that refers to!).
December 27th is the Feast,of Saint John, the Apostle, evangelist and author of the Gospel of John,one of Jesus' twelve disciples.

December 28 is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the babies who got killed in and around Bethlehem, age two years old and younger, when Herod was after Jesus. They are ranked with martyrs and remembered during this special time each year. They were sainted collectively, as only God knows their names now, and are the Patron Saints of babies. I thought that was interesting. We should probably ask them to pray for us to succeed in the fight against infanticide/abortion. It can't hurt anything...

The Sunday after Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Family - Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
January 1, New Year's Day, is the Solemnity of Mary, It is meant to coincide with Jesus' circumcision.
The Sunday after January first is the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord, which means Christ Jesus being revealed to humankind - our epiphany of knowing Him and who He is.
Christmas Time ends with the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, which is the Sunday right after Epiphany.

All the Church's decorations - Christmas trees, poinsettia's, and Nativity figures - stay up until after the Feast of Jesus Baptism. Christmas Carols are sung all the way through the season, The scripture readings, which are the texts for the homilies, cover the accounts of Jesus' birth, the visit of the magi, and finally, Jesus' Baptism.

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas Season!

Godspeed.

~ Mother Star