Monday, June 27, 2011

Daniel 3:52-90 Praise the LORD!

52 "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.

53 Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.

54 Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

55 Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

56 Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.

57 Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

58 Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

59 You heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

60 All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

61 All you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

62 Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

63 Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

64 Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

65 All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

66 Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

67 [Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

68 Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

69 Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

70 Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

71 Nights and days, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

72 Light and darkness, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

73 Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

74 Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

75 Mountains and hills, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

76 Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

77 You springs, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

78 Seas and rivers, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

79 You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

80 All you birds of the air, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

81 All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

82 You sons of men, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

83 O Israel, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

84 Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

85 Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

86 Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

87 Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

88 Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. For he has delivered us from the nether world, and saved us from the power of death; He has freed us from the raging flame and delivered us from the fire.

89 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

90 Bless the God of gods, all you who fear the Lord; praise him and give him thanks, because his mercy endures forever."
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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Roman Missal, Third Edition - The People's parts at Mass

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR PARISH PRESENTATION IN CHURCH Wednesday, 26 October 2011 from 7 to 8 p.m.

For updates on our parish preparations click - http://bit.ly/o5SuPn


Welcome to our series of brief explanations of the "changes" that will come to the Mass beginning November 26/27 - the First Sunday of Advent.  The first thing to note is that the word "changes" is not a good one, but it's probably unavoidable.

The Mass is not changing! The English translation is being updated. 

All the parts of the Mass remain; all the prayers remain in the same place; and all the roles of priests, deacons, lectors, cantors, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, altar servers, musicians, ushers and congregation members remain the same.  What "changes" are the English words.

Here's the first response we'll look at...

NEW TRANSLATION:
When the priest/deacon says "the Lord be with you" or "peace be with you," the new response will be "and with your spirit."



COMMENTARY:
Here is what the US Bishops give as a commentary. (see our website homepage http://www.saintbenedicts.com/ -which has a link to the US Bishops' full website. This will be available through Advent 2011).

At the beginning of Mass, immediately after the Sign of the Cross, the celebrant extends one of three different liturgical greetings to the people. The one that is perhaps most commonly used is “The Lord be with you.” It is a familiar line that will remain unchanged with the new translation.

However, our new response will be the first major change in the Order of Mass. Instead of “And also with you,” we will now be saying, “And with your spirit.” This new response will also be made at the four other times during Mass when this dialogue occurs: at the reading of the Gospel, at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, during the Sign of Peace (when the priest says, “The peace of the Lord be with you always”), and at the conclusion of Mass.


Why the change? At the most basic level, “And with your spirit” is the proper translation of the original Latin text: “Et cum spiritu tuo.” By correctly expressing this dialogue in English, we are actually aligning our translation with that of all the other major language groups, which have long been translating the Latin properly. For example, in Spanish, the response is “Y con tu espĂ­ritu.”


But even beyond the linguistic, the recovery of the word “spirit” also carries Scriptural meaning. One form or other of “The Lord be with you” appears multiple times in the Bible, including the greeting given by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation: “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28). Then, in the Pauline epistles, multiple variations of “The Lord be with your spirit” are employed as parting words to different church communities. Understood together, this liturgical dialogue in the Mass is an exchange whereby all present – both Priest and congregation – ask that the Holy Spirit (whom we call “the Lord, the giver of life” in the Nicene Creed) establish a stronger communion among us.
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Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Visit to Ste. Therese Shrine - A Parishioner's Experience

A few weeks ago, we visited our oldest son and his family for a long weekend in Michigan and as usual, we attend Sunday mass at the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan. It is truly a religious experience to be in this beautiful church.


Shrine of the Little Flower was founded in 1925, just prior to the canonization of St.Therese of Lisieux. St. Therese was known as "The Little Flower". It was one of the first churches in the world dedicated in her honor. It is a vibrant parish with 4,300+ registered families and 3 schools with over 1,000 students. The Shrine was designated a National Shrine by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1998.

Therese Martin was born to Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin on January 2, 1873. At the age of 15, she entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux, France. With the religious name of Sr. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, she lived a hidden life of prayer. She was gifted with a great intimacy with God. Through sickness and darkness, she remained faithful, rooted in God's powerful love. She died on September 30, 1897 at the age of 24. The inspiration of her life and her powerful ptresence from heaven touched so many people so quickly that she was solemnly canonized on May 17, 1925 by Pope Pius XI. Had she lived, she would have only been 52 years old at the time of her canonization. On the 100th anniversary of her death, Pope John Paul II designated St. Therese a Doctor of the Church.

Here is a picture that I took while we were there -