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ADVENT 101: Fourth Week of Advent

Posted on: December 24, 2012 by Image Books

The Birth of Jesus

Luke 2:1—21

Now it happened that at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole inhabited world. This census — the first — took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David’s town called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living-space.

In the countryside close by there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep during the watches of the night. An angel of the Lord stood over them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God with the words:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace for those he favors.

Now it happened that when the angels had gone from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem and see this event which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds said to them. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told.

When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.

Reflections: Advent is the time to remember Christ’s first coming and vigilantly await his second. How can we make our spirits ready for the coming of the Lord?

The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985. Print.

ADVENT 101: Third Week of Advent

Posted on: December 17, 2012 by Image Books

The Birth of John the Baptist and Song of Zechariah

Luke 1:57—80

The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbors and relations heard that the Lord had lavished on her his faithful love, they shared her joy. Now it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said, ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name,’ and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbors were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited his people, he has set them free, and he has established for us a saving power in the House of his servant David, just as he proclaimed, by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times, that he would save us from our enemies and from the hands of all those who hate us, and show faithful love to our ancestors, and so keep in mind his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant us, free from fear, to be delivered from the hands of our enemies, to serve him in holiness and uprightness in his presence, all our days. And you, little child, you shall be called Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare a way for him, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the faithful love of our God in which the rising Sun has come from on high to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow dark as death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Meanwhile the child grew up and his spirit grew strong. And he lived in the desert until the day he appeared openly to Israel.

Reflection: In what ways have we met God’s plans for our lives?

The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985. Print.

ADVENT 101: Second Week of Advent

Posted on: December 10, 2012 by Image Books

The Annunciation and Mary’s Song

Luke 1:26—56

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favor! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’

Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?’

The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary said, ‘You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.’ And the angel left her.

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

And Mary said:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name, and his faithful love extends age after age to those who fear him. He has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart. He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty. He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his faithful love–according to the promise he made to our ancestors — of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.

Mary stayed with her some three months and then went home.

Reflections: Unafraid, Mary accepted the Lord’s will and went on to proclaim His greatness–would we be able to do the same?

The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985. Print.

ADVENT 101: First Week of Advent

Posted on: December 3, 2012 by Image Books

The Annunciation of John the Baptist

Luke 1:5—25

In the days of King Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron. Both were upright in the sight of God and impeccably carried out all the commandments and observances of the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both advanced in years.

Now it happened that it was the turn of his section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly office before God when it fell to him by lot, as the priestly custom was, to enter the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of incense all the people were outside, praying. Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you shall name him John. He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink; even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the Israelites to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the good sense of the upright, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.’

Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How can I know this? I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel, who stand in God’s presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. Look! Since you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has happened.’ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he stayed in the sanctuary so long. When he came out he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. But he could only make signs to them and remained dumb. When his time of service came to an end he returned home.

Some time later his wife Elizabeth conceived and for five months she kept to herself, saying, ’The Lord has done this for me, now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered in public.’

Reflections: When God makes our path clear, are we fearful or faithful?

The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985. Print.

POPE 101 PART 3: The Writings of Benedict XVI

Posted on: November 26, 2012 by Image Books

By Bianca M. Caraza

Even before his papacy, his holiness was considered an influential and significant theologian and academic within the Church. In April of 2005 (prior to his ascension to the papacy) Time magazine named him among the top 100 most influential people in the world. His reputation is well-deserved, always a scholastic individual, his holiness speaks German, his native tongue, English, Italian, and Latin.

His holiness Pope Benedict XVI. Photo Courtesy of Turn Back to God website.

Early in his life, his holiness pursued the path of an academic, obtaining several degrees. According to the Vatican website, after completing seminary, he studied theology and philosophy at the Higher School of Philosophy and Theology of Freising and the University of Munich. He later earned a doctorate in theology with his thesis, “People and House of God in St Augustine’s Doctrine of the Church.” Next, he wrote a dissertation on “The Theology of History in St Bonaventure,” to qualify for his professorship. He then proceeded to teach at a number of universities, including the University of Regensburg, where he acted as the Chair of dogmatics and the history of dogma.

In 1972, his holiness, along with Hans Urs von Balthasar and Henri de Lubac, made one of his largest contributions to the Catholic community by founding Communio, a now-international quarterly Catholic journal. In a Zenit interview with David Schindler, the journal’s current editor, he defined Communio as “seek[ing] to recover the nature of the Church as a communion of persons.” After being named prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981, Cardinal Ratzinger could no longer be involved in the journal as he had once been. However, he has since has been a faithful contributor, publishing work in Communio such as his writings on the theology of the Marian doctrine and an “Introduction to Christianity,” which explains Christianity’s mission to provide a Christ-centered doctrine in light of modern times. In the aforementioned interview, Schindler spoke of his holiness as having a “childlike wonder about him,” and describing his amazing humility which “enables him to speak with such courage in defense of the truth.”

In addition to his many accomplishments, degrees, and books, his holiness has received many honorary doctorates over the years: from the Catholic University of Lima, the Faculty of Theology of the University of Wrocław in Poland, and several more. Among his many books are Charity in Truth, Maria, on the Mother of God, and Jesus of Nazareth, a three-volume series of meditations on the life of Christ and its modern day relevance to the Catholic faith. The third and final volume, The Infancy Narratives, which focuses on the childhood of the messiah, is now available from Image Books.

Thank you for reading and learning with us! We hope you’ve enjoyed our series on his holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.