Merry Christmas!

But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy; they rejoice before Thee as with joy at the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of His burden, and the staff for His shoulder, the rod of His oppressor, thou hast broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 
Isaiah 9: 1-6 
First Reading for Christmas Midnight Mass

A Scriptural Journey Through Holy Week

A dear friend of mine sent me an e-mail today with a list of all the readings from the Gospel's that pertain to each day of Holy Week.  Reading the events for each day in the Bible sounded like a great idea, so I'm sharing the list with you!

Palm Sunday*: Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-48; John 12:12-50 (not clear split of days here)

Monday: Matthew 21:18-46, 22, 23 (approx); Mark 11:12-19; Luke 20 & 21 (not clear split between Monday and Tuesday); John (see above)

Tuesday: Matthew 24-26:13 (approx); Mark 11:20-33, 12, 13, 14:1-9 (approx); Luke 20 & 21 (see above); John (see above)

Spy Wednesday: Matthew 26:14-15; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:1-6; John (see above)

Holy Thursday: Matthew 26:16-75; Mark 14:12-72; Luke 22:7-71; John 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18:1-27

Good Friday: Matthew 27:1-61; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18:28-40, 19:1-42

Holy Saturday: Matthew 27:62-66; Luke 23:56

Easter Sunday: Matthew 28; Mark 16:1-13; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-23

How This Ever Got Into Our House, I'll Never Know

I'm not sure I want to know either. What I am speaking of, dear readers, is the *cough* The Catholic Living Bible: Paraphrased: A Thought-for-Thought Translation *gags* We discovered this while sorting through books today. I'd seen it around before, but none of us had ever actually taken a look at it before. It is really weird. Let me share with you some verses I found while flipping through it.

Warning: Not for those whose blood pressure rises easily

"After his father's death, he built Elath and restored it to Judah. Meanwhile, over in Israel..." 2 Kings 14:23 [Is that just weird wording or what?]

"I said to myself, I'm going to quit complaining! I'll keep quiet, especially when the ungodly are around me." Psalms 39:1 [No comment]

"Jesus' mother came to Him with the problem. 'I can't help you now,' He said. 'It isn't my time for miracles." [Ummm... Jesus uses contractions?]
"This is wonderful stuff,' he [the steward] said. 'You're different from most. Usually a host uses the best wine first, and after everyone is full and doesn't care, then he brings out the less expensive brands." John 2:4 and 10 [Excuse me, they didn't have "brands" in ancient Israel. ]

[My favorite one of all...]

"Now unto God our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Sincerely, Paul. Ps. Say "hello" for me to all the Christians there..." Philippians 4:20-21[Okay, two things there. SINCERELY? Since when do the letters of Paul end like letters? And PS!?!?!!?!?!?]


Needless to say, that "Bible" is leaving.

To refresh you from the shock, here are the verses from The Holy Bible Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

"In the fifteenth year of Amazi'ah the son of Jo'ash, the king of Judah, Jerobo'am the son of 'Joash, King of Israel, began to riegn in Samari'ia and he reigned for forty-one years." 2 Kings 14:23

"I said, 'I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will bridle my mouth, so long as the wicked are in my presence." Psalm 39:1

"...the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come."
"Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine." John 2:4 and 10

"To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you." Philippians 4:20-21


Ai ai ai. Thank heavens the kids who used to "read" TCLB couldn't read!

Show those executives what you care about!

Many thanks to Elenatintil for bringing this to my attention!

Apparently to increase awareness and excitement for their new film "2012" - involving the end of the world - Sony is doing a poll titled "What Would You Take With You In 2012"?

Well, as far as books go, Twilight and Harry Potter outrank the BIBLE! Even The Lord of the Rings does. (But just barely.)

Something needs to be done about this. I ask you all to go right now and vote on that poll - putting The Bible as your first pick. No personal information is needed, so you have no excuse.

http://www.sonypictures.net/movies/2012/preservationlist/

The Feast of the Visitation

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Scripture text: Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

From the Gospel According to Luke. Chapter 2, verses 22-40

And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Ever male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And inspiried by the Spirit he came into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for the glory to thy people Israel." And his father and mother marveled at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hears may be revealed." And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan'u-el, of the tribe of Ahser; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

______________________________

And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

The Angel of Marye's Heights

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him... Then the king will say to those on the right... 'I was thirsty and you gave me to drink...'
Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you ...thirsty and give you drink?'...
And the kind will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

~ Matthew 25:31-32, 35, 37, 40

Sergeant Richard Rowland Kirkland was enlisted in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He fought with his fellow soldiers on December 13th in one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war, repelling the Federal Army of the Potomac. In the closing of the battle, and all through the night, Sergeant Kirkland listened to the cries of agony and pleas for mercy from the Federal soldiers lying wounded on the battlefield.
The cries continued on into the next day, many begging for water.
At last Kirkland could stand it no longer. He approached his commander, General Kershaw, and asked for permission to bring water to the suffering men. Kershaw replied, asking Kirkland, "Don't you know that you would get a bullet through your head the moment you stepped over the wall? ..."

Kirkland responded with these words, "Yes, I know that I may, but if you will let me, I am willing to try it." The General could not refuse this gallant and earnest request and allowed Kirkland to go out on his mission of mercy. He was greeted as expected with bullets from the Federals on the other side of the field, but once he began administering aid to the wounded men, they ceased fire. Both sides watched and cheered, and after Kirkland had done all that he could do, he returned to the Confederate lines.
Sergeant Kirkland went on to distinguish himself at Gettysburg and later fell on the field at Chickamauga. He truly followed out the orders of Our Lord, Kirkland's chief commander,

'But to you who hear I say... love your enemies and do good to them.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.'

~ Luke 6: 27, 35, 36

Bible vs Cell Phone

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treated our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What of we gave ot to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

This is something to make you go.... hmmm!

Where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing.

Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected,

because Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop and think:

"Where are my priorities?"

And no dropped calls!