Kevin's Watch

Very true, I just regurgitated responses and didn't think about anything at all when attending mass - I guess thinking for me came later in life

Owlie -- interesting that you're part Czech. Bohemia is one of the three historical provinces of the Czech Republic, the other two being Moravia and Silesia (which is now part of either Poland or Germany or both -- I forget). My grandparents were from Bohemia. When I told my mom (who was about 90 then) that I was learning Czech, it took her a minute to figure out what I was saying. Then she said, "Oh! You're learning Bohemian!"

I have learned most of the stuff about St. Nicholas Day observances in the Czech Republic since I started taking Czech. When I was a kid, we never did stockings until I was well into elementary school, and then we put them up on Christmas Eve like everybody else. Mom mentioned that she and her siblings would put them up on St. Nicholas Day, but that's all she really said about it. (We also never had carp on Christmas, which is another Czech tradition -- one which, I have to confess, I'm glad didn't get handed down in our family....)

Aaaand that's enough of ali hijacking Auliel's Advent thread. Carry on!

aliantha wrote: Aaaand that's enough of ali hijacking Auliel's Advent thread. Carry on!

Well, she is a proud member of THOOOTP, so I'm sure she doesn't mind!

OK, carry on!

StevieG wrote:

aliantha wrote: Aaaand that's enough of ali hijacking Auliel's Advent thread. Carry on!

Well, she is a proud member of THOOOTP, so I'm sure she doesn't mind!

OK, carry on!

It's perfectly alright. OTP's are welcome here (within reason).
Thanks for the history lesson, ali.

December 7, 2009
Monday of the Second Week of Advent

Today's Scripture passage is a continuation of the story of Mary receiving the angel Gabriel's message from God.

Luke 1:30-33 wrote:Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

[i]The Little Blue Book[/i] wrote:Imagine what it must have been like for Mary to hear those words: "You have found favor with God." Then to hear that she would conceive in her womb the Son of God.
This was the promise, and it was fulfilled. But the details of its working-out were something else again. Mary did have a son, and from the beginning and on into manhood he led what, to all outward appearances, was an ordinary life. But then, when the extraordinary emerged, in less than three years he was executed by the Roman government as a criminal.
Each of us has a similar promise spoken upon us: "You have found favor with God... and you have been given an important role in God's plan." It's true. But the up-close working-out-of-it may not seem that spectacular, or even easy.
I can identify with the apparent ordinariness of Mary's life. But I also need to identify with her faith. She believed, stayed the course, and lived well the seemingly obscure and sometimes confusing and sometimes painful role that was given to her.
O Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief.

That last line, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief", is from one of the Gospels (I can't find the exact reference right now, sorry), and has been my mantra lately. I have faith, but I also have doubts. This is a natural part of any healthy faith/spiritual journey, no matter what your religion or spirituality may be (including agnosticism/atheism). Doubt is a good thing when used well--it can help us ask the right questions to bring us closer to God. In our search for understanding, we develop a relationship with God as we ask for help in "finding the answers". If we are earnestly seeking, we will eventually find our way to the Truth, and to God's plan for us. But doubt can also be an obstacle and a crutch--if we use it as an excuse to drop all beliefs and stop searching. There will always be some things that we don't understand, won't ever understand, but if we have faith and continuously seek the Lord and Truth, we will get closer and closer to understanding and to a fruitful relationship with God. And at the end of all things, if we have faith and are persistent, we just might come to understand all that we really need to understand.
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.

I must agree, that doubt is a good thing.

But that Doubt is certainly not the same thing as unbelief.

Speaking of Advent, this is my favorite Advent Hymn.

drew wrote:Speaking of Advent, this is my favorite Advent Hymn.

Yes, the Robert Shaw Chorale is fabulous.
But I didn't know that it was considered an Advent hymn.
Makes perfect sense, since it is about anticipation, compared to Carols which proclaim the birth.

We just sang that song yesterday in Church. It's in the Advent section of the Hymn book!

I couldn't actually find a version that I really like, that wasn't an instrumental version.

drew wrote:Speaking of Advent, this is my favorite Advent Hymn.

What a coincidence. This is my favorite Advent hymn.

=)

well now, something like that is EXACTLY what I was looking for.

Other than the fact that its not sung in the original English
Version.
lol

drew wrote:=)

well now, something like that is EXACTLY what I was looking for.

Other than the fact that its not sung in the original English
Version.
lol

It's so beautiful I don't care what language it's in. It is one of my top ten favorite songs of all time, and if I haven't listened to it by the second day of Advent, you can be absolutely certain that something is terribly wrong. I listen to it almost every day (sometimes multiple times each day) between the first day of Advent and January 6th. As I have said on Facebook, Mannheim Steamroller is a must for Advent.

Auleliel wrote:As I have said on Facebook, Mannheim Steamroller is a must for Advent.

hmm...
Somehow, I didn't get that post on my feed...
...sorry, definitely OT...

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I have almost no excuse. I will include yesterday in today's post.

December 8, 2009
Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent, and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Most people, including many Catholics, don't know what the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is all about, so I will explain it as best as I can.
First of all, the Immaculate Conception has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Mary got pregnant without having intercourse. We are celebrating Mary's conception, not Jesus'.
To really understand the Immaculate Conception, you need to understand the Catholic understanding of Original Sin. Catholics believe that the first sin, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, had lasting effects on all of humanity. Because of their sin, every single person (except two people, whom I will discuss in a moment) who has been born since then has had a share in their guilt. We call this effect Original Sin, and Catholics believe that Original Sin is washed away in the Sacrament of Baptism. The Immaculate Conception is the celebration of the fact that from the moment of her conception, Mary was free from sin--she was not tarnished with Original Sin. Catholics believe that Mary and her son Jesus were the only two people ever born without Original Sin.

Ironically, the Scripture reading for today discusses Jesus' conception.

Luke 1:34-35 wrote:But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."

[i]The Little Blue Book[/i] wrote:If, through an angel, I were told what God planned to accomplish through me in the days ahead, I'd probably ask, as Mary did, "How can this be?"
Yes, indeed. I'd have a whole list of things past and present that would rasie questions.
How can this be?... given my marriage, or former marriage... or my health... or the consequences of my mistakes... or my obligations... or my lack of power and influence... or my weaknesses... on and on the list goes.
But it's the Lord who works through me. I'm not the one who achieves whatever good comes through me. Mary wasn't the one who achieved what God did through her.
The same Holy Spirit that came upon Mary has come upon me. I am given things to accomplish that are part of God's plan, not mine.
It's not fantasy. It's true.
To whom should I speak about this?
Why, God, of course.

December 9, 2009
Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

In today's Scripture passage, the angel Gabriel tells Mary about Elizabeth's pregnancy as an example of how God can make the seemingly impossible possible, and Mary says yes to God's plans for her.

Luke 1:36-38 wrote:"And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

[i]The Little Blue Book wrote:Mary speaks in only two of the four Gospels: Twice in Luke (both times in the Infancy Narrative), and twice in John (both times at the Cana miracle).
The words that Mary speaks in today's passage are among the best known words in all the Gospels: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."
These are words of total acceptance of God's will.
These are words we could say at the beginning of every day. It takes just four seconds.
Mary wasn't saying, "This is wonderful. Of course, I'll do it." Instead she was saying, "This isn't what I had planned, and I'm not sure I understand, but I'll do my best to do what the Lord wants."
What is it like to say words to that effect on any given day? Or at the beginning of every day?
Try it.

Today is also the anniversary of the TV premier of "A Charlie Brown Christmas", first aired in 1965. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is based on the Infancy Narrative of St. Luke, which is beautifully told by Linus.

Charles Schulz wrote:I said if we're going to do a Christmas show, we have to use the passage from St. Luke.

We will be reading that particular passage within the next two weeks.

I do not want to derail the teaching of the thread Owlie, so if you would prefer to answer this via PM, I am fine with that.

Auleliel wrote:Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Most people, including many Catholics, don't know what the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is all about, so I will explain it as best as I can.
First of all, the Immaculate Conception has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Mary got pregnant without having intercourse. We are celebrating Mary's conception, not Jesus'.
To really understand the Immaculate Conception, you need to understand the Catholic understanding of Original Sin. Catholics believe that the first sin, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, had lasting effects on all of humanity. Because of their sin, every single person (except two people, whom I will discuss in a moment) who has been born since then has had a share in their guilt. We call this effect Original Sin, and Catholics believe that Original Sin is washed away in the Sacrament of Baptism. The Immaculate Conception is the celebration of the fact that from the moment of her conception, Mary was free from sin--she was not tarnished with Original Sin. Catholics believe that Mary and her son Jesus were the only two people ever born without Original Sin.

I am willing to accept that Catholics believe this. And I understand (I think) why JC is believed to have been born without Original Sin. But how and why for Mary? Here, I do not follow, nor understand. If she could have been born free of Original Sin, why not anyone or everyone else?

One explanation of the reasoning behind the Catholic understanding of Mary can be found here. Be warned that it is a very long article, and I only read/skimmed about a third of it. I did check that it was an explanation that was acceptable to the Catholic Church (that's what the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur stuff on the bottom of the webpage are for).
Sorry I can't be more helpful with this question--I don't know the reasoning behind every Catholic teaching, and there are many things that I am just starting to learn about. This is one of the many topics that I am accepting on faith until I have time to learn more about it, and right now I am busy exploring a different topic.
If there is anybody reading this who understands the Catholic teachings on Mary and the rationale behind the teachings, please feel free to add your comments and explanations.

Edit: Also, the Wikipedia page for the Immaculate Conception has some information that could be helpful.

Auleliel wrote: This is one of the many topics that I am accepting on faith until I have time to learn more about it, and right now I am busy exploring a different topic.

Thanks Owlie.
Both of those articles helped a lot.

I understand the concept better now, and think, from what I just read, the "accepting on faith" approach would be the best one for a follower of the Pope's doctrines and church's dogma regarding this.

Edit: stuff moved without taking my post with it. My poor lonely little post.

I seem to have gotten a few *cough* days behind. Sorry.
Do we want to pick up where I left off and have a "crash course", so to speak, or should I simply sum up and continue? I will go with what seems to be the majority opinion, so please respond.

I, for one, am grateful for whatever form you decide to present the remaining Advent story. If the full crash course is more effort for the time you have available at this busy season, a summary will still provide more knowledge than the lack thereof. If you have the time and will to provide the full course, we who appreciatively read this thread will feast on that.

I could not have said what SD said any more eloquently.
Agree, 100%.

...am I right in thinking this past weekend was graduation weekend for you, Owlie?

Whatever works for you Owlie. Personally, I'm better with summaries, but that's just me...