7 day christmas
Posted on

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven swans a-swimming

The seven swans are meant to remind us of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit

For many of us, today is a day of revelry: we are going to ring in the New Year! Maybe you’re headed to a big bash. Perhaps you prefer a quiet celebration with just a few friends. Or maybe you’re staying home, working on New Year’s resolutions.

As we look forward to bringing in the New Year, it is good to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As Catholics, we receive theses gifts in Baptism and more fully in Confirmation. Like any gift, however, we have to open these and use them. Otherwise, they become like that ugly sweater your Aunt Ethel made you that you hide in the back of the closet or that “thing” that you still haven’t figured out (A vase? An umbrella stand? A planter?) from your mother-in-law that you’re pretty sure she re-gifted.

Wisdom. Understanding. Knowledge. Counsel. Fortitude. Piety. Fear of the Lord. Those are some heavy-duty gifts. If we use them daily, they not only serve us well by making us holier, they stand as a sign of God’s love to all those around us. 

In 2014, Pope Francis began a catechesis on the Gifts of the Spirit. In his opening remarks, he said:

You know that the Holy Spirit constitutes the soul, the life blood of the Church and of every individual Christian: He is the Love of God who makes of our hearts his dwelling place and enters into communion with us. The Holy Spirit abides with us always, he is always within us, in our hearts.

The Spirit himself is “the gift of God” par excellence (cf. Jn 4:10), he is a gift of God, and he in turn communicates various spiritual gifts to those who receive him. The Church identifies seven, a number which symbolically speaks of fullness, completeness; they are those we learn about when we prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation and which we invoke in the ancient prayer called the ‘Sequence of the Holy Spirit.’

“The Love of God who makes of our hearts his dwelling place.” That is a stunning statement. God, who is Love, pours Himself into our hearts. In learning, understanding and using these gifts, we come to know God and ourselves more intimately. That intimate knowledge will lead us to our salvation.

As we begin the New Year, let take time to learn more about these gifts and to pray fervently for a deeper understanding of how God wishes us to use them.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

[From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “The liturgical season of Christmas begins with the vigil Masses on Christmas Eve and concludes on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. During this season, we celebrate the birth of Christ into our world and into our hearts, and reflect on the gift of salvation that is born with him…including the fact that he was born to die for us.” There are, however, the traditional “12 Days of Christmas,” captured in the song of the same title. Some claim the song was meant as catechism of a sort, written and sung for nearly 300 years of British persecution of Catholics. We will be using both the song and the Church’s liturgical calendar to celebrate the Christmas season. We hope you enjoy.]

marks of the church
Posted on

4 Marks Of The Catholic Church: What Makes Us Who We Are

Do you know the 4 marks of the Catholic Church? You probably do, although perhaps you’ve never heard them called that. We state the 4 marks every time we pray the Nicene Creed: we are one, holy, catholic and apostolic. Let’s look at each of these terms.

First, we are one church. Author Kevin Whitehead says that the meaning of one church was vital to the new church formed by the Apostles:

The Church of the apostles was definitely one: “There is one body and one spirit,” Paul wrote, “just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all” (Eph. 4:4-5). Paul linked this primitive unity to the Church’s common Eucharistic bread: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17). Jesus had promised at the outset that “there would be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).

We remain so today. Under the guidance of the bishops and the pope, our faith is unified. For instance, you can attend a Mass in Ireland, in South Africa, in Alaska, in Peoria and the Mass remains the same. Even if you do not speak the local language, you understand what is happening. Most important, Christ is present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity at every Mass.

The next mark of the Church is holy. Does this mean that each and every Catholic is holy? Unfortunately no. The Church is a holy institution made up of sinners. The Church is holy because Christ is holy. Fr. William Saunders:

Christ sanctifies the Church, and in turn, through Him and with Him, the Church is His agent of sanctification. Through the ministry of the Church and the power of the Holy Spirit, our Lord pours forth abundant graces, especially through the sacraments. Therefore, through its teaching, prayer and worship, and good works, the Church is a visible sign of holiness.

Nevertheless, we must not forget that each of us as a member of the Church has been called to holiness. Through baptism, we have been freed from original sin, filled with sanctifying grace, plunged into the mystery of our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection, and incorporated into the Church, “the holy people of God.” By God’s grace, we strive for holiness.

For lay people, we have a responsibility to become holy. Holiness is not something meant for “those” people: priests, nuns, that little old lady who goes to Mass every day and sacrifices a great deal to support the Church financially. No, it is our responsibility to seek holiness in whatever place we find ourselves. If you are a nurse, God wants you to be a holy nurse. If you are a farmer, God is calling you to be a holy farmer. If you run a cash register at a restaurant, God wants you to be holy in that job. And of course, we are all called to be holy in the context of our families.

The word catholic in the Creed often throws people off. Some think that it’s the name of our church. We are known as Catholics; we belong to the Catholic Church. But in the Creed, this word means something a bit deeper. Catholic here means universal. Think about it: Christ called his Apostles and disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations.” And they did. Our Church still does. Our Church serves the needs of people around the world. This means that we don’t simply belong to St. Martin de Porres Church down the street; we belong to a universal church that covers the globe. Anywhere there is a Catholic Church, we are home.

Finally, the mark apostolic. Just as one might imagine, this has to do with the Apostles. Christ Himself appointed the leaders of the early Church: his Apostles. Yes, He was clearly aware of their faults, their doubts, their sins. Yet,  Christ still told them they were to lead the Church.

The apostles were the first bishops, and, since the first century, there has been an unbroken line of Catholic bishops faithfully handing on what the apostles taught the first Christians in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (2 Timothy 2:2). These beliefs include the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, baptismal regeneration, the existence of purgatory, Mary’s special role, and much more – even the doctrine of apostolic succession itself.

As Catholics, we do not bear this marks on our physical being, like some sort of tattoo. However, we do bear them indelibly in our souls because of our baptism. And since we proclaim our belief in these 4 marks of the Church when we pray the Creed, we certainly ought to know what they mean, not just for the Church, but for us. We are meant to be unified with all Catholics, called to be holy, to know that our Church is universal and not simply our local parish or diocese, and that we have pledge (through baptism, the reception of the Eucharist, and our confirmation) to follow the teachings of our bishops and the Pope, so long as none of those teachings defy the Magisterium of the Church.

Most of us will not have the 4 marks of the Church tattooed on our bodies, but they should always be tattooed on our hearts.