Our Lady of Hope Blog

My Dear Friends,

In a few days we will begin the year 2025. What a year this past 2024 has been for all of us, not only in your circle of family and friends but also in the country and in the world. A new year always brings a new hope, just as every newborn baby brings forth new hope as well. On January 1st, we honor the Blessed Mother under her title, the Mother of God. Given to us by her Son as our mother, we experience her mother’s heart as she prays for all her children, bringing us in her Immaculate Heart to the Sacred Heart of her Son.

My Dear Friends,

Christmas is in three days!! What a joyous time to be a Christian and a Catholic. Christmas has a way of bringing our brothers and sisters back to Mass, if only for a day before we see them again at Easter (and maybe Ash Wednesday). This is so important because the name of Christmas comes from Christ Mass; the Mass of Christ. We celebrate and commemorate the birth of the Savior, the most important birthday ever recorded in history. It is so important that since the Savior’s birth we in this world count the years from his birth, regardless of religious affiliation.

My Dear Friends,

As usual, Advent is flying by. Christmas is in ten days. This Tuesday we begin the O Antiphons in the Catholic liturgy. The O Antiphons are the words to the beautiful Advent hymn, O Come O Come Emmanuel. The excitement builds as we move closer to December 25th. The preparations are probably taking up a lot of your time. But as we continue to prepare for Christmas day with decorations, parties, food, presents and entertainment, we are also called to reflect and meditate on Advent for ten more days.

My Dear Friends,

Today is the great solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Because it falls on a Sunday in Advent, Holy Mother Church has moved this solemnity this year to tomorrow, December 9th. There has been a lot of confusion concerning whether it is a Holy Day of Obligation this year. Normally, the Bishops in the United States have taken away the obligation if the holy day falls on a Monday or a Saturday. This concerns only the holy days of January 1st (Mary, Mother of God), August 15th (the Assumption), and November 1st (All Saints). For the moment, the solemnity of the Ascension still falls on Thursday, forty days after Easter. The other two holy days in the United States are Christmas and Immaculate Conception. If these days fall on a Monday or a Saturday, they are still to be celebrated as a Holy Day of Obligation. But when the Immaculate Conception falls on a Sunday, the bishops of the United States always rescind the obligation.

My Dear Friends,

Today we begin the season of Advent in preparation for the great feast of Christmas. I have also come to the realization that like so many other holidays and birthdays, I remember more previous Christmases than I will experience new Christmases. With that realization and the reality that life in general is short, it is important for us to enter into the season of Christmas with that joy and love and peace that comes through a life of faith.

My Dear Friends,

This Thursday is Thanksgiving. We remember, as we do every year, that thanksgiving in Greek is the word eucharistia. From this word comes our word, Eucharist. We celebrate, as Catholics, thanksgiving every day of the year, not just the fourth Thursday of November. We are grateful to our Father who sent his Son into the world, taking on human flesh without losing his divinity, in order to free us from sin and open the gates of heaven, reconciling us with the Father, which was destroyed through the sin of Adam.

My Dear Friends,

We finish up the Eucharistic prayers today. As I mentioned in a previous bulletin letter, there are two Eucharistic prayers for Reconciliation. Many priests choose one of these prayers during the season of Lent, but they can be used at any time. There were three Eucharistic prayers for children, but mercifully they were left off the Third Edition Roman Missal in 2011. They were to be primarily used during Masses with children, but in my opinion, as well as the opinion of many other priests and theologians, these Eucharistic prayers were pitifully written and treated children as if they were not able to understand or comprehend eternal truths. It was dumbing down of the faith.

My Dear Friends,

Today we talk about Eucharistic prayer IV. The essential elements are the same as the other three Eucharistic prayers, but it also has differences. For example, this Eucharistic prayer has a set preface which has to be used whenever you use this Eucharistic prayer. The preface is the prayer the priest prays (or sings) before we sing the Holy, Holy, Holy. There are many preface options that may be used, but not with this Eucharistic prayer.

After spending a few weeks on the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I), and having already mentioned Eucharistic Prayer II and how it was composed a Trastevere in Rome, I will move on to Eucharistic Prayer III.

My Dear Friends,

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explains the role of a deacon in the Catholic Church. He is an ordained minister, hence a man who receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

My Dear Friends,

This Tuesday is the feast day of Pope St. John Paul II. We know that St. John Paul worked and preached tirelessly on the issue of life, which is why I am asking our parish to pray for 24 hours in our participation in the Forty Days for Life that Catholic parishes and dioceses promote every October.

My Dear Friends,

I will wrap up the first Eucharistic Prayer (the Roman Canon) with a few more examples of why this canon is venerable and worthy to be prayed at every Mass. Besides being the one Eucharistic prayer in our Roman Missal that is unabashedly sacrificial, it is also the most Catholic of all Eucharistic prayers for the reasons I have been writing these last few weeks.

My Dear Friends,

Last week we mentioned the list of 26 saints (Mary and Joseph, 12 apostles, and 12 martyrs) in the first section of the Roman Canon. Today we talk about the second list of fifteen names, beginning with St. John the Baptist. In the traditional Mass, John the Baptist is mentioned nine times (the same is for Saints Peter and Paul, who are also mentioned nine times).