BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Here we are at the beginning of a new year with high hopes that this year will be better than 2015. We have our hopes even though we know that there is much in our world that is wrong. Without going into a long dismal list of the many things that are wrong let me point out just a few of them. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening, not closing. Political corruption and the politics of gridlock darken our perceptions of those we have elected to office. Terrorism and abortion along with ISIS murders cause us to realize that in the minds of many, human life is cheap and regarded as disposable. We face much that is sinful, evil, and criminal in our world. All of these things we know quite well are exceptions to the way things ought to be; they are out of the general order of what should present in our relations with others. How do we know that? What gives us this perspective and rec

Everyone is interested in a marriage. If the human heart does not have enough love in its heart, it seeks out those who are in love. The most famous marriage in history was at Cana, because Our Blessed Lord was present there. A marriage in the East was always a time of great rejoicing. The bridegroom went to the home of the bride, and in those days it was never the bride who kept the bridegroom waiting, but rather the bridegroom, as in the parable, who kept the bride waiting. The bride was veiled, from head to foot, to symbolize her subjection as a wife. Both partners fasted the whole day before the marriage and confessed their sins in prayer as on the Day of Atonement. Ceremonies began at twilight, for it was a custom in Palestine, no less than in Greece: To bear away the bride from home at blushing shut of day. The Cana marriage is the only occasion in Sacred Scripture where Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is mentioned before Him. It is very likely that it was one of her relatives w

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the solemn dogma defined by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1854 [ Ineffabilis Deus ]. As Our Lady Immaculately Conceived is the patroness of the United States of America, this is a holy day of obligation in the United States. Catechism of the Catholic Church [491] Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. The Immaculate Conception of Mary "Hail Mary, full of grace". For thousands of centuries, millions of times per day the Virgin Mary is greeted by

As we discussed here the original Ark of the Covenant was a golden vessel containing the Ten Commandments, the sign of God's covenant with the nation of Israel. In a similar fashion, the Virgin Mary who bore Jesus in her very womb, is the Ark of the New Covenant that is Christ Himself. Both Mary and the Ark of the Covenant were "overshadowed" by a cloud representing the Glory of the Lord. This happened to Mary at the Annunciation. The Ark of the Covenant was overshadowed by the Glory of the Lord on several occasions. During its installation in the Tabernacle and the Temple the Ark was overshadowed just as Mary was. When the gospel writer Luke writes about Mary visiting her cousin Elisabeth (who is pregnant with John the Baptist) he uses suggestive language to point out Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant. Luke reminds us of when King David brought the Ark to Jerusalem. The parallels are unmistakable: "David arose and went" to bring up the Ark (

The Immaculate Heart of Mary, also known as the Sacred Heart of Mary, is a devotion of Roman Catholics that venerates Mary’s maternal love for her Son, Jesus Christ, and her compassion and love for all people. The Immaculate Heart has also been involved in Marian apparitions such as those to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830. On the Miraculous Medal, the Immaculate Heart is pierced by a sword. The Sacred Heart of Jesus also appears on the medal, next to the Immaculate Heart, but is crowned with thorns, rather than being pierced by a sword. The M on the medal signifies the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified. Our Lady of Fátima asked that, in reparation for sins committed against her Immaculate Heart, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months the Catholic: Go to Confession (within 8 days before or after the first Saturday) Receive Holy Communion Recite five decades of the Rosary Keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen m

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a celebrated 16th-century icon of the Virgin Mary mother of Jesus Christ. The image, also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe represents a famous Marian apparition. According to the traditional account, the image appeared miraculously on the front of a simple peasant's cloak. The image still exists; it is on display in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. It is perhaps Mexico’s most popular religious and cultural image, and the focus of an extensive pilgrimage. The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is December 12. She is said to have appeared to Saint Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City between December 9 and December 12, 1531.

We would be remiss if we did not dedicate a post in this month of Mary to discussing the events at Fátima which commenced on May 13, 1917. Our Lady of Fátima is the title given to the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on 13 May. The three children were Lúcia Santos and her cousins, siblings Jacinta and Francisco Marto. The title Our Lady of the Rosary is also sometimes used to referr to the same apparition (although it was first used in 1208 for the reported apparition in the church of Prouille), because the children related that the apparition specifically identified herself as "the Lady of the Rosary." Lúcia described seeing the lady as "brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and stronger than a crystal ball filled with the most sparkling water and pierced by the burning rays of the sun." According to Lúcia's account, the lady confided

Today is Mother's Day. This post is dedicated to my Mother and to mothers everywhere. Icons represent and make present spiritual realities beyond us. Motherhood is a special icon of God's love. I was home schooled by my Mom, loved, nurtured and cared for. To this day she makes sure my Father looks presentable. Her maternal care has sustained our family. Because of her it is easy to believe that God is loving. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!