Schedule Some Time For Jesus!
Blessings and happy New Liturgical Year in the Church! Could you imagine Hallmark cards honoring this great celebration of sacred power throughout the year with cards and mementoes? Oh the possibilities! Every week there are Feasts or Solemnities that honor real heroism and holy people. All of these great events, which shaped salvation history, are noteworthy and more important than our secular “New Year” celebrities and festivities!
Each year the Secretariat of Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops publishes the Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America. http://catholicism.about.com/od/2014calendar/a/2014_Lit_Cal.htm
It is published to promote the liturgy in our country; making each celebration of the Holy Eucharist a high point of the action and the very means through which God sanctifies the world. The calendar is based upon the General Roman Calendar, promulgated by Pope Paul VI on Feb. 14, 1969, and amended by Pope John Paul II. This calendar has been updated to reflect the names and the titles of liturgical days in conformity with the Roman Missal, Third Edition.
We are now in the Advent season, which is the beginning of our preparation for the Christmas season, and is certainly about more than shopping and decorating. It is the beginning of our Church year and our hope in the birth of baby Jesus, who is the Savior of the world. The events underscored in our Liturgical Church Calendar have all been inspired by the Holy Spirit to strengthen the Universal Church. This is clearly evident in the addition of the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. His insightfulness during that time in history with the ideology of dictators and government gone badly is indicative of the need for prayer and recognition of a real a Sovereign King in our world.
We all have a purpose and must recognize our own participation in salvation history. St. Catherine of Siena once said, “If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire!” What are you called to do for Jesus? If you ask, he will certainly give you the answer. Our first goal in life is a call to holiness.
Here is an exercise that may help. Post a copy of the Liturgical Calendar of the Church on your refrigerator next to your daily schedule of appointments and commitments. Your outlook on life will change if you understand the purpose for our Church calendar. We are honoring the holy men and women who sacrificed so much to give us real freedom and eternal happiness. If you help bring others to God you too will understand that the most peaceful place in the world is in the perfect will of God. To get to that place requires a diligent search. Our greatest daily reminder is in the witness of those not ashamed of the Cross of Jesus, the communion of saints in heaven.
God wants us to be less about choices and more about discovery. He wants us all to be saints. The real suffering of the human heart is resistance to the will of God, and how we choose to respond to God’s invitation affects our own spirit. We were put on this earth for the sake of serving others. Do you give as much as you receive? Being Christ-centered, as opposed to self-centered makes all the difference. Perfect happiness and holiness will not be found in things of this earth, and like love, when discovered, are easily responded to.
The Church recognizes the importance of every vocation or “call” from God to serve. Jesus gave us the priesthood to continue his work of redemption on earth. But in the work of evangelization, it is greatly stressed by Vatican II Council Fathers, that the largest battalion in the army of Christ is the laity. As the end of another year approaches and the beginning of a “New Year” looms, take time to think about the people who have influenced your life. Who is identified as important on your personal calendar? Is it your parents, spouse, a family member, teacher, friend, a Catholic priest or religious brother or sister, or is it a story in the Gospels or the lives of the saints? Pope Francis just released a new document, “Evangelii Gaudium,” which is Latin for “Joy of the Gospel”. If you had access to the Liturgical Calendar and read each day about what the Church was celebrating at Mass, even if you could not attend, you would be a participant in this great army of Christ, where soldiers are needed, and training is required. The Advent Season is a great time to begin! Amen!
