Christmas with archbishop

Last night, the seminarians had their annual Christmas dinner with our archbishop. Archbishop Naumann invited us to his house for evening prayer, a wonderful dinner and some nice conversation. This is a great time for the seminarians as we are all able to gather together, spend time renewing our friendships as brothers and learn of the activities and events of our various seminaries. Since we are attending four different seminaries, (North American College in Rome, Conception Seminary, Mundelein Seminary and Kenrick Seminary) it is a good to come together and spend time with each other.

 

Some housekeeping notes: As we come to the end of the year, I have decided to follow a trend that seems to occur this time of the year. I see alot of top 10 lists come out as the year comes to a close. I see the Top 10 Commercials of 2005, Top 10 Persons of 2005, etc. I have decided to post a Top 10 list of Catholic events in 2005. I will post this either Dec. 30th or Dec. 31st.

 

Second, as the new year begins, I will be expanding the blog site. While my blog entries will continue, I will be adding two other sections to the blog. The first is a review section of movies, books, web sites, etc. from a Catholic point of view. This will not be a copy of the US Conference of Bishops reviews, but a unique and insightful review by seminarians. The second addition will be an informational section that will contain 2-3 minute downloadable video iPods on elements of our Catholic faith. These video clips will be in mpeg format so those without iPods will be able to view them on their computers as well. Finally, sometime in February I will begin to blog on the 6 promises a candidate makes at his diaconate ordination. It is my hope that by blogging about these promises my readers will better be able to understand the responsibilities of a deacon and that I will be able to articulate what promises I will make in May.

 

Well, that’s all for today. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 08:29 | link | comments |
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From Christmas to Calvary

A Blessed and Merry Christmas.

I find the liturgical week between Christmas and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on January 1st. to be a wonderful connection of the birth of Christ and the whole of our faith. December 26th is the feast of St. Stephen, who was the first martyr for the faith. His death by stoning emphasizes our need for complete fidelity to the faith, even in the face of death. December 27th is the feast of the Apostle, John. His writings, especially the fourth Gospel and the Book of Revelations stress our responsibility to spread the faith and also points to the Coming of Christ at the end of time. December 28th is the feast of Holy Innocents. This feast commemorates Herod's killing of all the males children near Bethlahem who were two years and younger. This feastday accentuate the importance of all life, especially children and the unborn. The sanctity of life is a foundational element of our faith and the feast of Holy Innocents reminds us of this. The feast of the Holy Family is usually celebrated on the Sunday following Christmas, but it is on December 30th this year since Christmas itself was on Sunday. This feastday commerates the Holy Family of Mary, Joseph and Jesus. This reminds us of the extreme importance of the family in our Catholic faith. Marriage between one man and one woman, the prohibition against the use of contraception, which denies life, and the fact that the family is the primary environment in which we learn the faith are all emphasized in this feastday.

The week between Christmas and January 1st isn't simply the week of bowl games and playing with our new Christmas presents. It is a week in which we encounter many of the foremost elements of our faith.

Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 10:24 | link | comments |
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This night a child is born...

Merry Christmas!!! On this most holy of nights, all the hustle and bustle of the world comes to a stop as we pause to welcome Christ into the world. On this evening, businesses close early, families gather together and the churches are filled for the Midnight Christmas Mass. On this night, we stop to reflect in awe on the magnificant and unique moment in history when the Eternal God emptied himself and became a man, being born of Mary as a tiny infant. On this night, our salvation dawned as the Divine shared in our humanity so we in turn could share in His Divinity.

On this night, we pray in thanksgiving for the tiny infant born of a young mother, Mary. On this night, we also pray in thanksgiving for ALL unborn children and for those who are with child that they may choose to bring life into the world just as Mary brought Life into our world on this night!

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas and may God bless you.

posted by: crossman at 19:46 | link | comments |
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God is being silenced in the U.S.

It seems the U.S. govt. in its infinite wisdom (dripping with sarcasm) has decided that God has no place in our country. the words 'under God' in the Pledge of Alligience, the words 'In God we Trust' on our money, the removal of the 10 commandments from govt. places, etc. Of course, when questioned as to why the govt. is roming these elements, they reply that the 1st Admentment of the Constitiution strictly prohibits the govt. endorsing any religion. Unfortunately, that is not the case. the exact wording of the 1st Admentment is as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion

In fact, it seems the forefathers felt including God in the newly created United States was extremely important. The opening sentence of the second paragraphh to the Declaration of Independence show this when it says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." To emphasize God's role in this new country, the Declaration closes with the following:

"...for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor"

Does this sound like a bunch of founders who sought to remove all shreds of religion from their new country?

Now, in presenting this argument before, I have had the reply that the use of God is offensive to some. But who? It isn't promoting any one religion. Christians, Jews, Muslims,  I've been told it offends the religion of athesists. First, how can an athesist have a religion? Atheism is not described as a religion. The Webster's Dictionary defines atheism as: one who disbelieves or denies the existence of a supernatural being or beings. The definition of religion is: reverence for a supernatural being or beings regarded as creator and governor of the universe. How can atheism, which doesn't believe in a supernatural being, claim to be a religion when the very definition of religion requires the reverance for a supernatural being?????

It my opinion that does the vast majority of Americans don't want to see religion silenced. Statistics show that 79% of Americans practice some major religion (www.adherents.com).

Why would people want religion silenced in the U.S. when such a large percentagr of the population practices for sort of faith? The answer is that they don't, but the 13% who don't believe in God, for some reason are having a huge influence on the govt. Its high time, we stood up and defended our right and freedom OF religion, not FROM religion. The govt. is mandated by the 1st Admentment to not establish laws that establish a religion. It sure seems like they are instead establishing laws abolishing religion. Keep God in our country - we need Him more than ever!!!

Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 23:28 | link | comments (1) |
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In preparation for Christmas

Last night the seminary began the first of its nine night Novena in preparation for Christmas. This is a tradition dating back to the time when the Vincentians were in charge of operating the seminary. The Christmas Novena is a tradition of their order.

The Novena, which is at 7:30 pm each evening from Dec. 5th through Dec. 13th consists of chanting eight prophesies, singing a cantical, listening to a reading, a short homily, the singing of the Magnificat and concludes with prayer petitions and the Our Father. It last around 45 minutes each evening and includes the bulk of the students, who are singing in the choir, setting up before the Novena or serving in a ministry function during the Novena. As for myself, I am recording the Novena each evening and will be the acolyte on Dec. 12th.

The Novena is a good opportunity to prepare oneself for Christmas and to make Advent a special time. If you are able to attend one of the evening Novena's here in St. Louis, I encourage you and invite you to come. If you are not in St. Louis (most of my readers are from other parts of the country), you can participate in your own short Novena in preparation for Christmas. EWTN has a short Novena prayer that can be prayed for any nine consecutive nights between now and Christmas. You can find this Novena at: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/novena/christmas.htm and I encourage you to prayer it with your family or on your own as a way to prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ.

Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 20:47 | link | comments (1) |
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