Merry Christmas! We are now in the fifth day of the Octave of Christmas.

The Holy Theotokos, a Greek that can be translated as “God-Bearer,” is a succinct yet profound title that The Church has used for Mary since at least the 3rd century. As Jesus was born into the world both completely human and completely divine, Mary’s bringing forth of Him into the world through her womb makes her not merely the mother of Jesus but the mother of God. Today, we celebrate the “Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” On Wednesday, we will celebrate, as a Holy Day of Obligation, the “Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God.” Together with these two special days, The Church points to the special significance of God’s incarnation through Mary and His role in the human family.

“Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, Gaudete!”

This incipit (the opening line) of the introit, the short piece of musical prayer the Church gives for the beginning of the Mass, translates to English as “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.” That is where we get the name for this Sunday of the Liturgical Year: Gaudete Sunday. This day is one of only two days in the entire Liturgical Year that the vestments for the Mass may be of rose color; the other day is Laetare Sunday in Lent.

The nativity scene or crèche arose out of ancient piety and the medieval theater. Christians were honoring the cave in Bethlehem where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born even before St. Helen built the Basilica of the Nativity over it around A.D. 330. Medieval mystery plays later reenacted the Nativity, but when they got out of hand, Pope Honorius suppressed them.

Happy New Year! Today, the First Sunday of Advent marks the start of the Church’s new Liturgical Year.

Advent is a curious season. It is the beginning of the liturgical year, and yet its first Gospel is about the end of the world. It marks a fresh start, and yet it opens by virtually repeating one of the readings from the Sunday before. It is draped in the penitential color of violet yet is irrepressibly joyful. It awaits the coming of the Messiah, who already came two thousand years ago. During Mass, the Gloria is suppressed, but outside Mass, there are delicious treats, Yuletide drinks, and joyous caroling.

Advent, from the Latin “ad-venire” meaning “to come to,” is a time of preparation and anticipation for the remembrance of our Lord’s birth and His eventual Second Coming. Additionally, the Church calls us to conversion and a repentance of the heart during Advent to prepare our souls to receive our newborn King and the heavenly Kingdom to come. In essence, this season allows us to look back on the hope for the Savior of the World, experience anew the joy of his arrival and also his reign in the present through his Church, and to prepare ourselves for his glorious return at his Second Coming.

A wise, elderly priest once celebrated an early morning Mass. Later that day, someone asked him, “How many attended Mass this morning?” and he answered, “There were thousands there—but I only saw three of them.” In other words, in addition to the three early birds in attendance, the priest included the thousands of souls from purgatory allowed by God to be present at this Mass, along with a multitude of invisible but very real angels and saints, “especially Our Lady, St. Joseph, and St. Michael the Archangel. We don’t see everything that’s going on at Mass, and we would be overwhelmed and amazed if we could. Many deceased persons being cleansed and healed in purgatory are allowed to be present, especially if the Mass is being offered for them and especially if they had a great devotion to the Eucharist during their lives.

It is important that we, as Catholics, know not only what the Catholic Church does but why we do it, when it comes to our funeral rites. Like all liturgical rites, funerals have a specific function in the life of the Church. Catholic funeral rites actually consist of three liturgies, each serving a distinctive purpose in ministering to the bereaved and commemorating the deceased.

The first is the vigil, which takes place prior to the funeral mass, typically the preceding evening. The service consists of a Liturgy of the Word and intercessory prayer. It is typically celebrated at the funeral home but may also be celebrated at the church. It is a time for mourners to express their grief and to receive consolation. At the vigil, God’s word in Scripture is offered “as light and life in the face of darkness and death.” The vigil liturgy is the most appropriate time for a friend or family member of the deceased to offer a eulogy in their remembrance.

Many Catholics aren’t fully sure what Purgatory is or why it exists; perhaps you may be in that boat, too. Hopefully, this can help illuminate the role of Purgatory in the life of a Christian and how we can participate in helping souls get to Heaven through the prayers of the mass.

During the month of November, the Church ponders The Last Things, that is, the end of our earthly lives and our life after death. We begin by celebrating All Saints’ Day on November 1st, a Holy Day of Obligation. On this day, we rejoice with all the Saints, known and unknown, who, through the mercy and grace of God and aligning their will with His, have attained entry to our Lord’s Heavenly Kingdom. The next day, November 2nd, is All Souls’ Day, where we pray for all those souls, remembered and forgotten, who have passed on from this world and are in Purgatory awaiting entry to Heaven.

You may have noticed the altar servers are wearing different colors now from what you may be used to. This is one of the most outwardly visible signs of the reforms happening with our Altar Server ministry. The ministry is in the process of being transformed into a full-fledged formative program with the vision of planting and cultivating seeds to inspire and raise up the next generation of vocations to Religious Life and the Priesthood.

Concluding our series on the sacrifice all of creation offers in worship to God the Almighty Father, we now look at how all of creation is united together through our work, our own sacrifice that we offer in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The sacrifices of creation can only be offered to God through our cultivation and work of the items to render them in service of worship. We form and carve the beeswax into candles; we make bread for the Eucharist from the wheat of the earth, and the wine from crushing grapes. We press olives to extract their oil for Chrism and melt and cast gold into chalices to contain our Lord’s blood. Through these actions, we fulfill one of the primordial commands God gave to us in Genesis, to “Fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen. 1:28). We participate in the work of God by creating new things from what He has given us, and we in turn offer it back to Him.

All of God’s created world offers a part of themselves for the offering of the Holy Mass. So far, we have seen how animals and plants give their fruits and even their very selves to worship God. Let us now see how the earth and all the non-living but purposefully created bodies and objects within our universe make an offering to God.