• Why is New Year’s Day a Holy Day of Obligation?

  There's a reason why the new year begins on January 1.  The answer is found in the Gospel read every year

  on that day: When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given

  him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb" (Lk 2:21). Under Jewish law, every male child had

  to be circumcised eight days after his birth.  This brought the child into the covenant, and made him a true

  member of the Jewish people.  It was also the time when the child would be formally named.  So, this was

  the day Jesus became "official.  Now, some basic math.  The birth of Jesus is December 24.  Eight days later…

  January 1.  We make this the start of the new year because on this day the world officially changed from

  BC to AD-all time is now marked by the newly named Messiah.  This feast of Our Lord's circumcision also

  marks the start of salvation history, as today the Savior shed the first drops of his blood in the work of

  redemption.  New Year's Day, then, is not arbitrary; it's actually a Catholic holiday (holy day).  Good to know

  what people all over the world are really celebrating as they count down to midnight, even if most of them

  are totally unaware of the connection! _____________________________________________________________________ What are the Twelve Days of Christmas   Traditionally, Christmas was celebrated with special festivity for twelve days, culminating on the  feast of the Epiphany, January 6.  The Twelve Days of Christmas do not lead up to Christmas Day, they begin on Christmas Day.  We can lose sight of the twelve days because now the fest of the  Epiphany is usually transferred to the nearest Sunday.  Nonetheless, it's proper and official date is and always has been January 6.  This is why January 6 is sometimes referred to as "little Christmas" (hence the song, Have yourself a Merry  little Christmas).  The last or twelfth night of Christmas was marked by great revelry; in fact, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night derives its title from the fact that it was written as part of "twelfth night" celebrations.  For much of the world, Christmas is all over the day after; as Christians though, we know that on December 25 the Christmas season has really just begun. ______________________________________________________________________ How many times a day may I receive Holy Communion?   Canon Law states that, “A person who has received the Most Holy Eucharist may receive it again (iterum) on the  same day only during the celebration of the Eucharist in which the person participates...” (Canon 917). The first  point to note is that  if someone has already received Communion, he may receive again only if it is in the context  of a Mass that he attends. So, for example, someone can receive communion at morning Mass, and then attend a wedding Mass later that same day and receive again.  But, how many times a day may this happen?  After the current Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1983, there was confusion on this topic, and the bishops of the world asked the Holy See for a clarification.  In 1984, the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic interpretation of the Code of Canon Law definitively answered that the word again (iterum) in Canon 917 means "once more", not  "repeatedly." A Catholic, then, may receive communion no more than twice in a single day.  This applies to lay people as well as deacons.  There are two exceptions: A priest saying Mass must always receive communion, however many Masses he has already said that day.  Also, a Catholic may always receive in danger of death,  even if that would exceed the two-time limit. __________________________________________________________________________ What are indulgences? Part 1   When we sin, we have to make reparation for that sin.  Even when the sin has been absolved in  confession, we still have to atone for it.  This is why we receive a penance in confession.  That penance  helps to repair the wounds of sin and make satisfaction to God.  But we need to supplement that: every prayer we say, Mass we attend, communion we worthily receive, good work we perform, mortificaton we endure, all attain grace to help heal the wounds and pay the debt we owe to  God for our transgression against his infinite goodness.  W have a fixed time on earth to make that satisfaction.  If we die in the state of grace, but still have not fully healed the wounds of sin, we complete that satisfaction in Purgatory.  This process is known as temporal punishment-it's a punishment  that lasts for a fixed time, as opposed to the eternal punishment of hell.  An indulgence is a  lessening of the temporal punishment that we owe for sins that have already been forgiven.  It is granted by the Church as part of the authority that she received from Christ, her head: " Whatever   you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:19). This would be the spiritual equivalent of a pardon  that someone may receive from a civil ruler.  We must be clear: an indulgence does not remove sin, it does not take away the eternal punishment due to mortal sins, and it is not permission to sin.  It simply helps "speed up" the process of our recovery from sin by supplying extra grace (spiritual medicine) to our soul.  Mother Church draws out graces from the infinite stroehouse of merit accrued by Our Lord's saving Passion, and applies them directly to our soul.  Next week, we will begin to examine examples of indulgences, how we can gain them, and how they have, at times, been misused. _________________________________________________________________   What are indulgences? Part 2   Indulgences are classified as either partial or plenary (full). A partial indulgence reduces some of our temporal punishment due to sin.  A plenary indulgence removes all of our temporal punishment So, if we should die right after receiving a plenary indulgence, we would go straight to Heaven (no time in Purgatory).  Partial indulgences can be gained through many different prayers, good works, and mortifications. All that is required to receive them is that one be in the state of grace (free from mortal sin), intend to receive the indulgence, and perform the indulgenced act ( the prayer or good work).  Plenary indulgences are more difficult to obtain.  Some examples of plenary indulgences are: adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for at least an hour, public recitation of the Rosary; participating in the Stations of the Cross; a visit to a cemetery during the first eight days of November with a prayer for the souls.  In addition to the indulgenced act, however, other conditions must be filled.  These are going to confession and receiving communion in the days before or after the act is performed; praying for the intentions of the Holy Father; being free from all attachment to venial sin.  If these conditions are not met, a partial indulgence can still be obtained. __________________________________________________________________   What are indulgences? Part 3 of 3   Two final points about indulgences.  First, about obtaining them.  We should try to obtain as many  indulgences as possible, so as to heal the wounds o sin while we're still on earth and thereby hasten our entrance, please God, into heaven.  Partial indulgences can be obtained as often as possible.  Plenary indulgences can be obtained only once per day.  Indulgences may be gained either for oneself or for the souls in Purgatory, but not for any other living person.  (For an definition of partial and plenary indulgences, see last week's bulletin.) The second point is to clarify some of the history about indulgences.  Like any good thing, indulgences can be and have been terribly abused.  One of the most infamous abuses concerns the so-called "selling" of indulgences.  To be clear, the Church never "sold" indulgences in the explicit sense of the term.  At times, indulgences were attached to charitable giving, including donations to the project of building churches.  Such a donation is a good thing in itself, and indulgences can of course be attached to the good work of charitable giving.  Sadly, this good act easily lent itself to abuse and misunderstanding.  It looked like money was buying indulgences, rather the indulgence being the spiritual reward for one's almsgiving.  To reform this abuse, Pope St. Pius V in 1567 for bade any indulgences from being attached to any good work involving money.  Sadly, many Catholics are under the mistaken impression that indulgences are a thing of the past, or are somehow inherently corrupt.  How many graces they lose out on!  With a proper understanding of indulgences, Catholics can avail themselves of the tremendous favors that God continues to offer us through this gift. ___________________________________________________________________   Why do we pray to saints?   Let's clarify what we mean by "praying to the saints"  In an ultimate sense, of course all prayer is directed to God alone.  Only he can answer our prayers; only he may receive our worship and adoration. So what do we mean by "praying to the saints"? We mean that we're asking them to join us in praying to God.  What could be more natural!  How often we ask our friends to pray for a special intention; “Please pray for me,” we say over and over again—and no one thinks there’s anything wrong with that. And yet, when we ask the same thing of our friends in heaven, people start reacting in very strange ways. Why wouldn't we want the prayers of these heavenly friends, who are also the special  friends  of God?  After all, they actually see God directly!  Besides, when we honor the saints by having them join in our prayers, we actually give greater honor to God who is the cause of their holiness.  In other words, we're acknowledging God's wonderful work in the holiness of his saints.  We certainly honor plenty of people who achieve good things here on earth; how much more should we honor those who have won the ultimate prize of heaven!  There's no better way to honor them than to trust in the powerful prayers of these holy men and women.  And to pray (ask) them to join us in pleading for our needs before our heavenly Father. ________________________________________________________   Why do we honor relics?   Let’s first clarify what relics are. The most privileged relics are those items connected with Our Lord’s  Passion, such as a piece of the True Cross. In more common usage, relics are objects connected to the  saints.  We specify three different categories of relics: A first class relic is an actual body part of a saint (e.g.  a bone fragment); a second class relic is an article of clothing or some other object used by a saint  (e.g. a prayer book); a third class relic is any object touched to a first class relic. Relics have been venerated  since the early Church; the first altars were the tombs of the martyrs. We place first class relics in our altars to this day in honor of this tradition. Catholics have always venerated relics, and we are right to do so These bodies are holy, and they will join their souls in heaven at the end of the world. Even now, God  continues to work great blessings and even cures through these relics, just as he did during that saint’s  life on earth.  We do not pray to relics, but to the persons they represent. They are holy reminders that we  want to get to heaven as well, body and soul. The distaste with which some people react to relics stems  perhaps from a misunder-standing of the role that the body, and the whole physical world—water and  wine, bread and bones, plays in the work of redemption.  Perhaps we can learn from our forebears and grow in appreciation of these holy items, and the salvation that they represent. ____________________________________________________   What is Eucharistic adoration? What do I do there?   In Eucharistic adoration, the priest places a consecrated Host in a monstrance (basically, a large display case  for the Host) upon the altar so that people can pray for an extended time period before the Blessed Sacrament.  Some Parishes have perpetual adoration, where people takes turns, usually for an hour each, praying before Our Lord day and night. Other popu-lar times for adoration are First Fridays and the feast of  Corpus Christi.  Often, adoration will conclude with Benediction, which is when the priest takes the  monstrance and blesses the people with the Body of Christ itself. The tradition of spending an hour in  prayer with Our Lord comes from Holy Thursday, during the agony in the garden, when Jesus asked the apostles, “Could you not watch one hour with me?" (Mt 26:40). Of course, any amount of time in adoration, however brief, is meritorious.  There is no pre-scribed activity for adoration-one can read a devotional book, pray certain litanies or novenas, pray the rosary, or simply talk to Our Lord in our own words.  The best  thing of all is to do nothing, but simply to be with Jesus in this atmosphere of holy silence.  The saints  compare this devotion to soaking in the rays of the sun, absorbing the graces that Our Lord offers in this privileged encoun-ter. It is one of the most powerful means of prayer available to us, and a wonderful practice to incorporate into your spiritual life. _____________________________________________________