Christus Natus est!

~*~*~Gaudate! Hodie Christus natus est!~*~*~


Wishing you all a blessed and very Merry Christmas!!! May the peace, joy, and warmth of Jesus' birth remain with you and your families always!

A quick post...

Today's reading from Maccabees:
"From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.
In those days lawless men came forth from Israel, and misled many, saying, 'Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles round about us, for since we separated from them many evils have come upon us.'
This proposal pleased them,
and some of the people eagerly went to the king. He authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles.
So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom,
and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.
Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people,
and that each should give up his customs.
All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.
Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding cities of Judah,
and burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets.
The books of the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire.
Where the book of the covenant was found in the possession of any one, or if any one adhered to the law, the decree of the king condemned him to death.
But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food.
They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die."

Is it just me, or does it sound scary familiar?
Whatever is to come, let's remain steadfast in faith and love for God...knowing that He will be by our side through it all.
"No storm can shake my inmost calm, for to that Rock I'm clinging. Since Love is Lord of Heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?"


BTW, how are you all doing? :-)

ApologetiX

Thanks to a friend of mine :-)

ApologetiX
A Christian parody band

"Although I went to 12 years of religious school (Grades one through 12) and attended church faithfully, participated in choirs, etc., before I became a born again Christian, I didn't have a clue as to exactly 'why I believed what I believed.' When atheists or agnostics or cultists wanted to debate with me, I'd run away.
"Then I started reading the Bible and really, really researching things, and I discovered that there is a whole lot of evidence to back it up. There's a whole lot more to the story, but the point is that I wanted to be able to help others know 'why they believe what they believe.' So we chose the name ApologetiX, adding the "X" on the end to make it look more modern and to ensure we had a name that nobody else had ever used."
~ Lead singer J. Jackson

This is one of the songs my brother knows, so he was craking up. :D
Life Restored (parody of Last Resort)



p.s.
Really sorry for disappearing again! Can't promise to post more unfortunately, high school and life being demanding at the moment...so there'll be spotty posting...
Hope all is well with all of you and God bless!

Beautiful Ending

New song by BarlowGirl! Yay ♫ It's one of my favs now...




Oh, tragedy has taken so many
Love lost 'cause they all forgot who You were
And it scares me to think that I would choose
My life over You
My selfish heart
Divides me from You
It tears us apart

So tell me what is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?

Oh, why do I let myself let go
Of hands that painted the stars and hold tears that fall?
And the pride of my heart makes me forget
It's not me but You
Who makes the heart beat
I'm lost without You
And dying from me

So tell me what is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?
Will my life find me by Your side?
Your love is beautiful
So beautiful

At the end of it all I wanna be in Your arms

So tell me what is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?
Will my life find me by Your side?
Your love is beautiful
So beautiful...



Sometimes at the end of the day, I'd look back at what I'd done. God had given the gift of another day; had it been spent chasing after my own selfish gains that lasted only for only a few hours, or had it been given back to Him and spent well? Had that gift been spent and used into something beautiful...?

Bread from Heaven...

Yesterday and today's reading


Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis caelicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum.
Pauper, servus et humilis.

The angelic bread
becomes the bread of men;
The heavenly bread
ends all prefigurations:
What wonder!
consumes the Lord
a poor and humble servant.
~Saint Thomas Aquinas~


"...and all ate and were satisfied."

We attended the 6pm Mass last night and the lead soprano just sang it afterwards (it wasn't planned or anything, she wasn't even facing the front). It was so lovely and I couldn't get it out of my head...
...that such a great Happening everyday during Mass occurs in the simplest of appearances, and all becuase of the unfathomable Love God has for we who can barely pay attention sometimes.

Father Jon Cabico's Ordination

"You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek..."

Where on earth has Cy been?!?!

Well, I have been on earth...but last week I wasn't anywhere near the Pacific ocean. CT and I attended the St. Paul Summer Program with the Daughters of St. Paul in Boston!

It wasn't a retreat all the way really, but it was sort of a camp/program/retreat.
There were classes given by the Sisters on their Charism and Founders as well as a writting class, art class, and media class.
It was a retreat in a way that we got to join the Sisters everyday for morning prayers and Mass, and had an hour of Adoration each day. We did have a half day silent retreat on friday.
Basically, we were able to see how the Sisters lived and what their community life was like.






Of course, we had outings to some places of note! We went to Isabella Stewart Gardner Art Museum, the largest art museum I'd ever been to. Then we went to Louisa May Alcott's house and went on a tour.
CT and I made friends with girls from across the US and sometimes laughed until we doubled over at whatever jokes we had made up during the week with the Sisters. We had a great time - it was the best summer trip we've ever had and we wished it didn't have to end!
But it did, and now we're all back safe and sound and with a memorable experience.



Thank for all your prayers, BTW!

Photos by CT!

Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul

Pictures from here.

Happy feast day!!
And so ends the Year of Saint Paul...now it's the Year for Priests.





Oh, please keep Jon Cabico in your prayers. He will be ordained a priest today at the Cathedral! Thanks.

Just a reminder...

Picture by Mom

You are what you eat.


"We are the Body of Christ..."

St. Juan Maria Muzeyi - Happy Feast!

St. Juan was one of the Martyrs of Uganda. He had converted and performed many acts of charity before his death in 1887 at Mengo, Uganda. June third is his feast and the feast of the Martyrs of Uganda.

Click here to read more!