First Feast of the New Year: The Circumcision

And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.  (Luke 2: 34-35)

  

I have been pondering this feast of the Church today -- as usual, with some difficulty.  The only thread of it that I'm ever able to really wrap my brain around is the bittersweet prophecy of Simeon and the official "naming" of the Christ Child.  I like that in Jewish tradition it was a ceremony steeped in dignity and history which introduced our Savior to the world in His Name: Jesus.  It's a beautiful thought, every knee in Heaven bending at this first utterance of His name!  Jesus.

 But, even understanding what I do of Judaism (which admittedly is not much) and the possible hygienic reasons for the practice, the idea of a religious ceremony surrounding the actual circumcision has always seemed, well...  just weird.  It's a hard concept to reconcile with my Christian sensibilities regarding appropriateness and privacy.  And, uh...    I might as well just come out and say it: it just seems somewhat, uh, vulgar to be observed as a religious practice. But, in Jesus' time mandatory circumcision of newborn males was -- and still is -- one of the hard and fast standards of the Mosaic Law, a law thick with the incense of Old Testament ceremony and tradition.  But, then, almost everything in the old law of the Jewish people was surrounded by pomp and circumstances.  And almost everything you can think of was somehow covered by law.  It's an amazing set of rules to be found in the Torah -- a set of rules that St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother observed carefully and taught Jesus to observe over two thousand years ago.  But, what is it all about? 

I looked it up on the internet today.  This is what I found out:

    * There are 613 laws of the Torah, first recorded in the 3rd century A.D.  

    *  It is commonly known as the "Law of Moses," though it comprises considerably more than the ten commandments dictated by God on Mount Sinai.

    *  The Jewish people divide the 613 laws into three types: 1) "Mishpatem," which are those that are self-evident, or known by "natural law," such as not to commit murder or to steal; 2) "Edot" which are "testimony" rules which result from the truths of the history of the Old Testament, such as the laws forbidding work on the Sabbath in recognition of God's resting on the seventh day of creation; and 3) "Chukim," those laws for which there is no known rationale except that they are manifestations of the Divine Will, such as those Jewish laws regarding sacrifice.

    *  When Christians discuss Mosaic Laws they tend to divide them up with the distinctions of those that are: 1) ceremonial, 2) civil, and 3) moral

    * Of the 613 original laws, 365 are positive ('Thou shalt") rules and 248 are negative ("Thou shalt nots")

    *  Of the observable commandments of today, 77 are positive and 194 are negative commandments.

    *  26 of the laws can only be observed in Israel

    *  Some apply only to males or females

    *  Some only apply to persons with specific status within Judaism

    *  More than half the original 613 laws are no longer observable

    *  Though their historical nature is pertinent to the understanding of Jesus' day and are still observed (as far as is possible) by orthodox Jewish sects, the 613 laws do not constitute a formal code of the typical person practicing Judaism in the present day.

MTP = "Messianic Torah Positive"

    *  The 613 laws touch on every imaginable facet of life, run the gamut of broad, general pronouncements of morality to specific, nitty-gritty details of diet and judicial practices

I read through almost all 613 of the individual tenets of the Mosaic Law this afternoon, and let me tell you, I was bug-eyed by the time I got all the way through them!  It's amazing some of the subjects they dispatch!   Rules #122 - #130, for example, treat of marriage and divorce; divorce was legal in Jesus' time and the rules regarding it were as stringent as the rules regarding marriage. A man was not permitted, for instance, to remarry his ex-wife unless she had already married someone else first (rule # 127), but he could obtain a divorce quite easily by issuing to his wife a "get document," which severed their marriage (rule #126).  A woman's consent was not required to be thus divorced; neither could the wife issue for divorce.

To find the entire list, broken down with subheadings, go here.  But here's a random sample of a few laws I found interesting:

    #1 and #2  Know thou God; not to even think there are other gods besides Him

    #25  Not to follow the whims of your heart or what your eyes see

    #52  Not to plant a tree in the Temple courtyard

    #68  Men must not shave the hair off the sides of their head

    #72  Not to tattoo the skin

    #69 and 70  Men must not wear women's clothes -- and vice versa

    #85  To bless the Almighty after eating

    #86  To circumcise all males on the 8th day after birth

    #87  To rest on the 7th day

    #76 - #185  (roughly) contain the "Kosher" rules **
    
    #185  To not eat unkosher maggots

    #187  Not to eat creatures that live in the water other than fish

    #190  Not to eat the meat of an animal that has been mortally wounded (Huh?)

    #200  Not to eat the fruit of a tree during its first three years

    #210  Not to take God's Name in vain

    #235  Not to plant grains or green in a vineyard

    #238  Not to wear "shaatnez" -- a cloth woven of wool and linen

    #239  To leave a corner of the field uncut for the poor  

    #239 - #254 regard charity and tithing

    #327  Impure people must not enter the Temple

    #336 -374  Encompass many of the laws of temple sacrifices

    #474 Not to rob openly

    #467  Not to steal money stealthily

    #473  Not to kidnap

    #482  Not to murder

    #480  Not to stand idly by when someone is in danger

    #494  Make a guard rail around flat roof tops

    #497  Help others load their beasts

    #504 - #516 deal with the manner of treating one's slaves

    #513  The master must not sell his maidservant

    #518  Pay wages on the day were earned

    #526  Lend to the poor and destitute

    #527  Not to press for payment if you know they don't have it

   #564 and #565  Not to lend or borrow with interest

    #584  Respect your father and your mother

    #593 - #595  the king must not have too many wives, horses, gold, or silver

    #596  Destroy the 7 Canaanite nations

    #598  Wipe out the descendents of Amaleck

Throughout the laws, it is made very clear that those of Jewish faith and descendency are favored, as

workers, as slaves, in the judicial system, and elsewhere.  A person is not given the same fair shake as a Jew if one is an idolator or a foreigner, but is, at best, shunned.  One of the Jewish faith lends and borrows without interest, while an idolator pays and can expect interest -- rule (#537).  At worst, a non Jew can expect to be decimated; a Jew is required not only to "destroy the 7 Canaanite nations," (as per rule #596), but one must also, (according to rule #597), "not let any of them remain alive." Yikes!  The expectations of the Jewish religion at the time of Christ were strict and merciless!  And hardly
any aspect of life remained untouched by them.

Still, in pious obedience, the Holy Family observed the rules of the Mosaic Law.  When the Christ Child was eight days old, He was taken to the Temple "according to the custom of the law" to be Circumcised, and there His holy parents met the prophet, Simeon, and holy Anna.  Throughout His childhood, what little we know of Jesus' life, we see His mother and Foster Father, St. Joseph, instilling in Him a love for the discipline and ceremony of the Judaic Law. St. Joseph, in observance of Jewish custom, traveled every year to Jerusalem with His family. It was during one of these trips that Jesus was lost and then found by His parents.  We also know that during His public ministry, He taught daily in the temple, and that His life revolved around the cycle of the traditional feasts of His time and place.  He was perceived by all as thoroughly Jewish in behaviour.

But we know that He came to change it all.  He came to fulfill the Law.  He was the Answer

to the quest of the Jews, the Fulfillment of the prophecies, the Author of the New Testament.  But, by the examples of his "Jewishness," Christ showed us how to be religious, how to practice our faith with piety, passion, and attention to details.  He made it very clear that He expected us to adhere to organized religion; not to say we believe and take no action on it; not to wander through a "cathedral" of trees, think of God, and call our faith good.  If Jesus, God Himself, could observe what seem to be the rather amazing, occasionally absurd tenets of the Jewish Faith, we can certainly follow the much kinder, common sense rules of the Church He founded.  This is what I have gotten from reading the Law of Moses today.  We've got it made as Catholics, in comparison to what Our Lord went through growing up Jewish! 

** General Rules of the Kosher Diet For Curious Christians

Although the details of kashrut are extensive, the laws all derive from a few fairly simple, straightforward rules:

1. Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals.
2. Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.
3. All blood must be drained from meat and poultry or broiled out of it before it is eaten.
4. Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
5. Fruits and vegetables are permitted, but must be inspected for bugs (which cannot be eaten)
6. Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).
7. Utensils (including pots and pans and other cooking surfaces) that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot.
8. Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten.
9. There are a few other rules that are not universal. 

(Taken from here)

Christmas Chronicles: Caroling on the Strip

The children have gone caroling many times Christmases past: in Omaha and Denver and on the Western Slope of Colorado, on street corners -- downtown areas and suburban -- in retirement homes, living rooms, church halls, you name it...  But they've never sung in a place like Las Vegas.  Much less on the infamous "Strip.' 

This Christmas, though, on the evening of Christ's birthday, the children took Jesus to the

bustling crowds in the shadow of the casinos and bars and shopping malls under the neon lights. It was their idea and we were all so happy to do it, we left in a flurry of powdered sugar and tinsel, ready with Ave Maria, What Child Is This, and Alma.  But, well...  It's a funny and sad thing about Vegas (if not totally unexpected): Jesus was literally nowhere to be found -- at least not where we could see.  Signs of Christmas, even in a secular sense were scant.    We know there were certainly some good people sharing the evening air with us there on the Las Vegas Strip -- but we had, nevertheless,  the peculiar feeling that we alone carried Jesus with us. We weren't sure anyone else even remembered what day it was. Christmas was almost nowhere to be found.

One exception was the Bellagio which attracts an extra share of tourism every year with its amazing display of Christmas sculptures -- all made of live plants! Very cool, indeed!  In the palatial central courtyard of the Bellagio, larger-than-life-sized reindeer leap through the air and a candy cottage made of flowers nestles in a sea of white and red variegated poinsettias; white carnation polar bears romp within a sugar cookie's throw of Prada, Gucci, Tiffany's, and Dior -- all beneath a ginormous brightly lit, scarlet poinsettia Christmas tree that we all (us and a bazillion others, shoulder to shoulder) filed past to the melody of piped-in music, just loud enough to hear over the crowd.  Carol of the Bells and Jolly Ole St. Nicholas are the tunes I remember.  

But there were no angel displays at the Bellagio, no Creche, no Silent Night.  And, on the whole Strip, the only other nod to the season we saw was a Christmas tree display in one lone store window on Las Vegas Blvd.  Not a one to be seen in the Miracle Mile Mall, not one in the public squares, not one in any of  the casinos we passed.

Thousands of people milled about the Strip on Christmas night -- hurrying, hurrying, hurrying.  Everyone in such a rush.  No telling where they were all going.  Maybe they weren't going anywhere at all -- but they were sure trying to get there with no time to spare.  Every once in a while, the crowds would pause for a

moment: to watch the fountain show at the Bellagio, for instance, or to form sidewalk-blocking circles around the ever-present bucksters.  Chewbacca drew a good number of camera toting tourists, as did the Minions nearby; the floating Jedi warrior woman near the Bellagio fountains drew a good-sized curiosity crowd, and everyone had to slow down at the bottlenecks on the pedestrian bridges and at the stop lights along the way.  (Stop or be squashed flat by a taxi!)  But almost no one stopped to hear our stalwart carolers.  They didn't even slow down.

No one, that is, except one inebriated, sad, old man who sat down to listen to the children sing and couldn't get back up.  He slurred something about how important religion is, then needed us to help him up, and wanted us to pray with him.  (We did, and sent him on his way with $5 and his promise to get food with it.)

But then of course, there were also the angels who always accompany Christmas Carolers.   They were there, praising and honoring the Christ Child Who walked with us because we were singing His Name and loving Him on His birthday.  

It may be that the Christmas carols the children brought to Las Vegas this Christmas tripped no memories, warmed no hearts, and pricked no consciences...  Or maybe they did.  Who knows, right?

  

But, one thing we do know.  We all went home that night with sore feet and warm hearts, filled with the joy of Christmas, and glad we'd gone.  We went home on the air of angels' wings.

A very different kind of Christmas, but a very good one!

In front of the Bellagio Fountains December 25, 2013
L-R: Dan's parents Dan and Sharon, Michelle, Theresa, Dan, Anna, Dominic, Kevin, and Cathy

Christmas Season Greetings!

From All of Us

On the Sunday Within the Octave of Christmas

Left to Right, Top to Bottom:  Nicole (and Evelyn, due the beginning of March!), Paul, Kevin, Michelle, Dominic, Cathy, Theresa; William, Gabe, Gavin, Anna

Celebrating the Last Davis Birthday of 2013

 Dish Washer Extraordinaire....

Music Maven...

Eminent Scholar...

All Around Sweetie-pie...

Fifteen Years Old Today!

Theresa Philomena

We Love You!!

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways,

 before He made any thing from the beginning.

 I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth was made.

The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived.

Neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out:

 The mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been established: 

before the hills I was brought forth:

 He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world.

 When He prepared the heavens, I was present: 

when with a certain law and compass He enclosed the depths:

When he established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters:

When He compassed the sea with its bounds, 

and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits: 

when He balanced the foundations of the earth;

 I was with him forming all things: 

and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times;

 Playing in the world: 

and my delights were to be with the children of men.

Now therefore, ye children, hear me: 

Blessed are they that keep my ways.

 Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not.

Blessed is the man that heareth me,

 and that watcheth daily at my gates, 

and waiteth at the posts of my doors.

He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord:

(Prov. 8, 22-35)

Sons, Kevin, Dominic, and Br. Philip, singing with their friends in the Mater Dei Men's Choir 


Given to the world on the fiftieth anniversary of the Proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Piux IX:

AD DIEM ILLUM LAETISSIMUM (On the Immaculate Conception)

Pope Pius X

Encyclical promulgated on 2 February 1904

An exerpt:

5.  ...Can anyone fail to see that there is no surer or more direct road than by Mary for uniting all mankind in Christ and obtaining through Him the perfect adoption of sons, that we may be holy and immaculate in the sight of God? For if to Mary it was truly said: "Blessed art thou who hast believed because in thee shall be fulfilled the things that have been told thee by the Lord" (Luke i., 45); or in other words, that she would conceive and bring forth the Son of God and if she did receive in her breast Him who is by nature Truth itself in order that "He, generated in a new order and with a new nativity, though invisible in Himself, might become visible in our flesh" (St. Leo the Great, Ser. 2, De Nativ. Dom.): the Son of God made man, being the "author and consummator of our faith"; it surely follows that His Mother most holy should be recognized as participating in the divine mysteries and as being in a manner the guardian of them, and that upon her as upon a foundation, the noblest after Christ, rises the edifice of the faith of all centuries.

6. How think otherwise? Could not God have given us, in another way than through the Virgin the Redeemer of the human race and the Founder of the Faith? But, since Divine Providence has been pleased that we should have the Man-God through Mary, who conceived Him by the Holy Ghost and bore Him in her breast, it only remains for us to receive Christ from the hands of Mary. Hence whenever the Scriptures speak prophetically of the grace which was to appear among us, the Redeemer of mankind is almost invariably presented to us as united with His mother. The Lamb that is to rule the world will be sent—but He will be sent from the rock of the desert; the flower will blossom, but it will blossom from the root of Jesse. Adam, the father of mankind, looked to Mary crushing the serpent's head, and he dried the tears that the malediction had brought into his eyes. Noe thought of her when shut up in the ark of safety, and Abraham when prevented from the slaying of his son; Jacob at the sight of the ladder on which angels ascended and descended; Moses amazed at the sight of the bush which burned but was not consumed; David escorting the arc of God with dancing and psalmody; Elias as he looked at the little cloud that rose out of the sea. In fine, after Christ, we find in Mary the end of the law and the fulfillment of the figures and oracles.

7. And that through the Virgin, and through her more than through any other means, we have offered us a way of reaching the knowledge of Jesus Christ, cannot be doubted when it is remembered that with her alone of all others Jesus was for thirty years united, as a son is usually united with a mother, in the closest ties of intimacy and domestic life. Who could better than His Mother have an open knowledge of the admirable mysteries of the birth and childhood of Christ, and above all of the mystery of the Incarnation, which is the beginning and the foundation of faith? Mary not only preserved and meditated on the events of Bethlehem and the facts which took place in Jerusalem in the Temple of the Lord, but sharing as she did the thoughts and the secret wishes of Christ she may be said to have lived the very life of her Son. Hence nobody ever knew Christ so profoundly as she did, and nobody can ever be more competent as a guide and teacher of the knowledge of Christ.

* Find the whole encyclical here.

Who Was the Real St. Nicholas?

(Looking toward the feast of St. Nicholas, December 6th)

What Did He Look Like?

 Well...  He didn't look like this:

Rather, he would have dressed like any other ecclesiastic of the fourth century, because that's what he really was -- the bishop (actually the archbishop) of Myra, in present-day Turkey.  At that time it was a Greek province of the Roman Empire*, though its customs and traditions would have leaned to eastern.  So, His Excellency would likely have worn a semblance of robes as were common in an eastern border country under Roman rule.

Which, actually, didn't look like this, either:

You see, when officiating, the garb of a bishop wouldn't have included a bishop's miter, as it's commonly believed that miters didn't begin to be worn until after the tenth century.  And, in fact, it's likely that his clerical vestments may not have differed at all from his street clothes, as this differentiation didn't start to occur until after the time of Constantine, well into the fourth century, and wasn't regularized throughout the Church until a couple centuries after the death of St. Nicholas.

Don't be mistaken, though, as iconography and symbolism are important ingredients of our Faith, it's logical and appropriate that St. Nicholas is almost always depicted wearing red -- as it's the traditional color of all bishops -- and that he's shown with the mitre and crozier of more modern times, as his office in the Church is a key part of his identity.

But what did he look like?  Interestingly, this is something we actually do know. St. Nicholas is one of the few ancient saints whose entire skeletal relics remain intact.  During a chapel restoration in the 1950s, the Archdiocese of Bari permitted a group of carefully chosen scientists to photograph and measure the bones of  St. Nicholas.  In doing so, they discovered that he was barely five feet tall and had a broken nose.  What is also fascinating, is that, by studying the skull and using modern forensic technology, scientists have reconstructed what the St. Nicholas would really have looked like in real life!  Go here to have a look!

What Did He Do?

The real St. Nicholas was a holy and well-loved Religious of the early Church, known for his courage and defense of the Faith during the persecutions of Diocletian.  He was imprisoned, in fact, for his Faith during the reign of Diocletian, and one wonders if it was during this time that he got the broken nose!  But, after the persecutions ended, the work didn't end for the early Church leaders.  St. Nicholas, in his see at Myra, was particularly called to erase the scourge of paganism  and brought about the destruction of many pagan temples in his diocese, most notably that of the Temple of Artemis in Lycia.

 He also attended the Council of Nicaea in 325  and for his staunch defense of the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity earned the title of "Defender of Orthodoxy" which is still remembered (particularly in the Eastern Church). During the Nicaean Council, legend has it that St. Nicholas became so frustrated with the foolishness of the arguments against the Trinity, that during the debates, he flew across the room and actually slapped Arius, his chief opponent!  For this affront to the dignity of the council, St. Nicholas was put in prison to cool off, but in a miracle, he was freed of his chains by Christ, Himself, and clothed by the Blessed Mother in the omophorion, the stole that became the traditional garb of the eastern bishops.

The slap.  You can mess with
St. Nick, but don't mess with
the Holy Trinity!

But, aside from his ecclesiastical duties as a bishop and defender of the Faith, St Nicholas was known as a holy man, one especially likeable and warm-hearted.  As you might guess, he really was known for his devotion to the care of the poor, and the legend of his secret gifts to the needy appear to be perfectly true.  But, aside from his practical works of mercy, he was known, even in his day as a Wonder Worker;  many miracles are included in his biography, a large portion of which concern helping and protecting children.  He has earned for this reason the title of patron of children -- but it's more likely that when he brought gifts to needy children, it was in the way of food and warm clothing --  not toys or candy.

Where Did He Live?

St. Nicholas was born in 270 A.D., the son of wealthy parents in the Greek city of Patara, which was at that time a province of the Roman Empire. This area is now the southern coast of Turkey. When he was a young man, St. Nicholas went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he stayed for a while, but upon returning, stopped in Myra (which is now the town of Demre), where he was elected Bishop.  He traveled in his duties, but remained bishop of the see of Myra for the rest of his life.

Why He is Sometimes Called St. Nicholas of Bari?

When St. Nicholas died on December 6th, in the year 343, his body was entombed in Myra, but in the early 11th century,  Muslims took over the town, and, in the confusion, sailors from Bari, Italy (against the wishes of the attending monks in Myra) removed the remains, taking them back with them to Bari, where St. Nicholas' relics remain to this day.   A beautiful basilica, the " Basilica di San Nicola" was completed to house the relics in the middle of the twelfth century, this becoming a great pilgrimage center in the Middle Ages.

 From the earliest days, miraculous oil or "manna" had exuded from the tomb and continued to do so after the relics' removal from Myra.The "Manna" (sometimes called "Myrrh") of St. Nicholas is reported to flow from the relics even to this day.

Is there Devotion to St. Nicholas in Our Day?

Unfortunately, regardless of  all the wonder and drama and sanctity of his life, the real St. Nicholas has gotten somewhat lost in the confusion with Santa Claus in our western world.  His feast day is on the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran calendars, but he's probably better known for one legendary act of mercy than for anything else in his long ,busy, very holy life.  Just about anyone who has any idea of  "St. Nick" can tell about the three daughters who lacked dowries to get married.  The story goes that the Bishop, hearing of their need, snuck into the family's home by night and slipped the necessary funds into the girls' stockings that had been hanging to dry by the fireplace.  This story is so ancient that the biographers of the saint believe that it has some foundation in fact.  And it is from this work of mercy that our Christmas stocking tradition proceeds.  Thus most American's single recollection of the life of our saint.

BUT...

According to the details given in Wikipedia, there are still many world wide traditions associated with St. Nicholas that aren't  connected to our American Santa Claus, though some of them represent the forerunners of his tradition.  From the Netherlands to Serbia and all over the world, December 6th is remembered in feast and custom honoring St. Nicholas.  In celebration of his reknowned charity, gift-giving is usually part of the picture, of course.

And in the Church

We remember St. Nicholas in the Mass:

 Prayer of the Collect for December 6th

 

O God, who didst adorn by the workings of countless miracles the holy bishop Nicholas: grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits and prayers we may be delivered from the flames of hell.  Through our Lord.....

Ways To Celebrate the Feastday?

To dive into a plethora of customs and ideas for crafts and cooking to celebrate the day, you can go to The St. Nicholas Center, most especially for the true story of our saint;  this site is an amazing resource -- the one from which I derived a lot of the facts you may have read here.  And, by all means, if you have any inclination at all toward baking for St. Nicholas Day or any of the feasts of December, Catholic Cuisine is thee go-to website.  For craft ideas, try Catholic Icing or run back over to the St. Nicholas Center for some ideas.

And for coloring pages (Gotta Have Coloring Pages!), there are several really good ones at the St. Nicholas Center, but the following icon is considered to actually most favor the real St. Nicholas:

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

St. Nicholas, Pray for us!

*Reworded to reflect the fact that one could not actually call St. Nicholas "Turkish" as I  originally had done.  Turkey didn't exist at that time.  St. Nicholas would have more properly have been called "Greek."  Thanks for the correction, Carol!

* * Yup,  reposted from 2012!