NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

• Share some of your New Year’s resolutions.

• Have you discussed your resolutions with God? Why or why not?

My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.

Psalm 119:20

If you choose to make some New Year’s resolutions, you have countless options. You could resolve to study more. You could resolve to eat healthier or exercise more. You could decide to practice your musical instrument every day or shoot 100 free throws a day.

Or you could resolve to read your Bible every day. If you’re going to make a New Year’s resolution, why not make one that will change every aspect of your life? Why not make a resolution that will have eternal significance for you and for others?

Don’t make this resolution just to make one. Make it prayerfully. Ask God what he thinks about the idea. But do consider it. If you are not already in the Word every day, you will not believe what it will do for you. If you are already in the Word every day, good for you. Resolve to step it up a notch. There are many programs out there designed to help you read the whole Bible in one year. This could be your year! 

PRAYER

Dear God, please guide us as we enter into this new year. And God, please give us a hunger for your Word. Let our souls long for it. Amen.

THE LORD ORDERS OUR STEPS

BIOGRAPHY OF POPE SAINT SYLVESTER I

Pope Saint Sylvester I

Also known as

• Silvester

Memorial

• 31 December (Latin calendar)
• 2 January (Eastern calendar)

Profile

Son of Rufinus. Pope in the reign of Emperor Constantine I. Built the Basilica of Saint John Lateran and other churches. Sent legates to the First Council of Nicaea, and was involved in the controversy over Arianism. The spurious Donation of Constantine was supposedly given to Saint Sylvester.

Born

• Roman

Papal Ascension

• 314

Died

• 31 December 335 at Rome, Italy
• relics transferred to the Church of Saint Sylvester in Capite in Rome in 761

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

Patronage

• animals
• for good harvests
• stone masons
• Order of Saint Sylvester
• Castroreale, Italy
• Feroleto Antico, Italy
• Poggio Catino, Italy

REFLECTION on PSALM 32:5

God himself referred to David as a man who walked “with integrity of heart” (1 Kings 9:4) … David’s psalms teach obedience to God. But how can the psalmist who sins be a model of integrity? David had integrity because he consistently held to the same standard … When he violated it, he called it sin … Does that excuse David’s sin? No! Does David’s story give today’s leader permission to sin? Absolutely not. But integrity doesn’t demand perfection, either. Even the most morally committed people blow it. Integrity doesn’t guarantee a perfect life, but it does require an integrated life. People with integrity have a moral center that integrates their behavior. When they violate that moral center, they recognize that violation as sin … They confess it, seek forgiveness and reconfirm the standard … [David’s] prayers of repentance show leaders what to do when they violate their commitment to God’s standards and want to reestablish their integrity.

OUR LORD IS LOVING AND MERCIFUL

TODAY'S PRAYER

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

BIOGRAPHY OF SAINT THOMAS A BECKET

Saint Thomas a Becket

Also known as

• Thomas Beckett
• Thomas of Canterbury

Memorial

• 29 December
• 7 July (translation of relics)

Profile

Of Norman ancestry. Educated at Merton Priory, the University of Paris, in Bologna, Italy, and in Auxerre, France. Civil and canon lawyer. Soldier and officer. Archdeacon of Canterbury, England, ordained in 1154. Friend of King Henry II. Chancellor of England. Ordained on 2 June 1162 and appointed archbishop of Canterbury on 3 June 1162. Opposed the King‘s interference in ecclesiastical matters which led to his being exiled several times and eventually murdered by supporters of the king. Martyr.

Born

• 21 December 1118 at London, England

Died

• murdered on 29 December 1170 in the Cathedral at Canterbury, England
• some relics enshrined at the Ladyewell Shrine in Lancaster, England

Canonized

• 21 February 1173 by Pope Alexander III

Patronage

• clergy
• Exeter College, Oxford, England
• Portsmouth, England
• secular clergy

Representation

• archbishop with a wounded head
• archbishop holding an inverted sword
• archbishop kneeling before his murderers
• archbishop being murdered in church
• crosier with a battle-axe head at the top

Storefront

• medals and pendants

Readings

Hereafter, I want you to tell me, candidly and in secret, what people are saying about me. And if you see anything in me that you regard as a fault, feel free to tell me in private. For from now on, people will talk about me, but not to me. It is dangerous for men in power if no one dares to tell them when they go wrong. – Saint Thomas Becket to a friend on his way to ordination

For our sake Christ offered himself to the Father upon the altar for the cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day he will give each of us the reward his deeds deserve. It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the right of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple of the Lord. The harvest is good and one reaper or even several would not suffice to gather all of it into the granary of the Lord. Yet the Roman Church remains the head of all the churches and the source of Catholic teaching. Of this there can be no doubt. Everyone know that the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to Peter. Upon his faith and teaching the whole fabric of the Church will continue to be built until we all reach full maturity in Christ and attain to unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Of course many are needed to plant and many to water now that the faith has spread so far and the population become so great. Nevertheless, no matter who plants or waters, God gives no harvest unless what he plants is the faith of Peter, and unless he himself assents to Peter’s teaching. All important questions that arise among God’s people are referred to the judgment of Peter in the person for the Roman Pontiff. Under him the ministers of Mother Church exercise the powers committed to them, each in his own sphere of responsibility. Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown. – from a letter by Saint Thomas Beckett

A PRAYER FOR HOLINESS

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 - 24

As we grow up, our parents teach us how to become more and more independent. They teach us how to tie our own shoes or how to cross a busy intersection. And then one day, they trust us to do it all alone. By the time we’ve become adults, we start believing we can do anything and everything on our own. That type of attitude often spills over into our spiritual lives. Scriptures teach us to live a holy life, and we determine to become holy by our own efforts. At the end of this letter, Paul doesn’t tell the Thessalonians to be holy. Instead, he prays: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you.”

In our own strength and by our own striving, we’re not capable of becoming holy. But how are we blameless before God? Paul reassures the Thessalonians that God “is faithful, and he will do it” (5:24). Take to heart Paul’s message to the Thessalonians. Pray that God will make you holy.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, keep me blameless until that day when you come again …

ASK, SEEK, KNOCK

TODAY'S PRAYER

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS

Holy Innocents

Also known as

• Childermas
• Children’s Mass

Memorial

• 28 December (Roman Catholic; Church of England; Lutheran Church)
• 27 December (Syriac Orthodox Church; Syro-Malankara Catholic Church; Maronite Church; Chaldeans; Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
• 29 December (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Profile

The children slaughtered by Herod the Great when he tried to kill the infant Christ.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.” – Matthew 2:16-18

Patronage

• against ambition
• against jealousy
• altar servers
• babies
• children
• children’s choir
• choir boys
• foundlings
• students

Readings

A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come.

Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage. To destroy one child whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.

You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers and fathers mourning the deaths of their sons, nor by the cries and sobs of the children. You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart. You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong you own life, though you are seeking to kill Life himself.

The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The Christ child makes of those as yet unable to speak fit witnesses to himself. But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious. While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying him homage, and do not know it.

To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory. – from a sermon by bishop Saint Quodvultdeus about the Holy Innocents

THE WISE MEN ARRIVE

• How do you suppose the myth that the wise men were at the manager got started?

• Why is it meaningful that they brought very expensive gifts to Jesus?

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11

If we were to ask people who aren’t familiar with the Bible who came to visit Jesus on the night he was born, they would probably look at the closest nativity scene and name Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the angel above the stable and the wise men. And we would have to tell them their answer is incorrect.

There were no wise men at the manager. They didn’t show up until months later when Jesus and his family were living in a house. And as long as we’re talking about myths, we should point out that there weren’t necessarily three wise men. The wise men, or Magi, brought three gifts to Jesus, but that doesn’t mean there were three givers.

What we do know is that the Magi were kings from the East. They saw a star, realized it meant that the King of kings had been born, and followed it to Jesus’ house. There they presented him with gold, incense and myrrh.

The fact that kings from a distant land knew who Jesus was and where he could be found shows us that God’s hand was at work in every part of the Christmas story. For that, we can praise him. 

PRAYER

Dear God, on this Christmas Day, we thank you for the evidence in your Word that supports our faith. You are the truth, and we put our belief in you. Amen.

EMMANUEL

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

NATIVITY OF OUR LORD- MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas

Also known as

• Feast of the Nativity
• Nativity of the Lord

Memorial

• 25 December

Derivation

• Cristes Maesse, Christ’s Mass (Old English)

About the Feast

Celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Our Lord. In the earliest days of the Church there was no such feast; the Saviour’s birth was commemorated with the Epiphany by the Greek and other Eastern Churches. First mention of the feast, then kept on 20 May, was made by Clement of Alexandria c.200. The Latin Church began c.300 to observe it on 25 December, though there is no certainty that Our Lord was born on that day. Priests have the privilege of saying three Masses, at midnight, daybreak, and morning. This was originally reserved to the pope alone; beginning about the 4th century he celebrated a midnight Mass in the Lateran Basilica (in which according to tradition, the manger of Bethlehem is preserved), a second in the church of Saint Anastasia, whose feast comes on 25 December, and a third at the Vatican Basilica. Many peculiar customs of the day are the outcome of the pagan celebrations of the January calends. The Christmas tree, of which the first known mention was made in 1605 at Strasbourg, was introduced into France and England in 1840. The feast is a holy day of obligation, preceded by the preparatory season of Advent and by a special vigil; should it fall on a Friday it abrogates the law of abstinence.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ALL OF US.

A NEW HOPE

• Have you ever made a prediction that came true? Tell us about it.

• Why didn’t more people recognize Jesus as the Messiah, especially since he fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies?

For to us, a child is born, to us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah predicted the coming of one who would shake the earth to its very foundations. He would arrive as a child—a Son, but not just any Son. He would be the Son of David, a descendant of Israel’s beloved king. He would be a Wonderful Counselor, a king capable of carrying out a royal plan that would change the world.

And then Isaiah dropped the bombshell: This child would be Mighty God himself, a warrior with unmatched power. He would be the Everlasting Father, whose kingdom would endure forever. He would be the Prince of Peace, the one who ends conflict and strife. The peace he offered would last forever.

And when that much-anticipated child arrived 700 years later, no one was there to greet him but his mother and stepfather, a few shepherds and some barn animals. When he talked about his kingdom, he was mocked. When he revealed his identity, he was killed. Yet he was everything Isaiah said he would be. And if we believe in him, we will enjoy his kingdom forever.

On this Christmas Eve, we celebrate the arrival of Isaiah’s prophesied child, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

PRAYER

Dear God, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of your Son tomorrow, we thank you for your plan of salvation. Jesus came to save us from our sin. That’s what we really celebrate this Christmas. Amen.

ALL THINGS ARE LAWFUL UNTO ME

TODAY'S PRAYER

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

BIOGRAPHY OF ADAM & EVE

            Adam the Patriarch

Memorial

• 24 December

Profile

First human being. Lived in the Garden of Eden until expelled by God. Married to Eve. Father of Cain, Abel, Seth and other children. Old Testament Patriarch.

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

Patronage

• gardeners
• tailors

Representation

• apple
• receiving life from God
• serpent
• with Eve
•                   Eve the Matriarch
• Memorial

  • 24 December

  Profile

  First woman. Married to Adam. Mother of Cain, Abel and Seth.

  Patronage

  • tailors

  Representation

  • apple
  • serpent
  • with Adam

  Readings

  The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'” But the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. The LORD God then called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!” The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me–she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” To the woman he said: “I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master.” To the man he said: “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, “Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.” The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. – Genesis 2:20-3:20