Meanwhile,…
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Black to move and win material.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE
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From a reader…
QUAERITUR:
At Mass yesterday the priest said that St. John the Baptist never sinned his whole life due to the absolution he received from the Lord during the Visitation (‘ . . . and he leapt in the womb’).
Never heard this before. Is this Church teaching?
While this has never been taught officially by the Church, our tradition has it that at the moment of the Visitation, when he leapt in Elizabeth’s womb at the approach of the unborn Savior within Mary, that was when John was cleansed of the guilt of Original Sin. Hence, he was born without the guilt of Original Sin. He, like everyone else except the Blessed Virgin and Our Lord, suffered the effects of Original Sin. He would have had to deal with his passions, disordered appetites, concupiscence, etc. He was not “immaculate”, like the Blessed Virgin.
That said, we can suppose that John the Baptist was a deeply holy man, if not immaculate. After all, Our Lord Himself said of John:
I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John; … (Luke 7:28)
Imagine the implications of that, coming as it does from the mouth of Christ.
But the second part of that verse is:
…yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Since only the sinless can see God in Heaven, one might conclude from this that John, while amazingly holy, is nevertheless not without sins, without some attachment, or without the debt in justice of temporal punishment due to sin.
Holy Church recognizes the greatness of John the Baptist also by the fact that we celebrate his birth day. In general when we use the term “birth day” for a saint, the dies natalis, we mean the day of the death of the saint and their “birth” into Heaven. However, we celebrate the Nativity of John the Baptist, as we do that of Our Lord and of Mary. A singular honor!
If I recall rightly, Anne Catherine Emmerich thought that John the sinless in life. Maybe, but that’s not the teaching of the Church and, frankly, I have a strong dubitation about that.
I’m pretty sure that this is the oldest representation of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rome, with some of the first gold brought from the New World.
Meanwhile, …
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I had posted about this some years ago, but on this wonderful Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe it gives us something to think about anew.
Gazing at an image crafted by a true master who intended to open us up into mystery can, over time, produce great fruits.
For example, the 6th c. Byzantine icon of The Christ Pantocrator reveals two attitudes, in the two halves of His face. On the right side He holds the Gospels and His attitude is that of the severe Judge whom nothing shall escape. On the left, His hand blesses and his face is gentle.
If this treasury of ongoing spiritual dividends is true of images made by man, how much more might it be true of images made by God?
First and foremost, we contemplate Christ Himself, the Eternal Word made flesh. The Son is the perfect invisible image of the invisible Father, begotten but not made. In His Incarnation and Birth, the Son takes His Body, made with the Virgin Mother, and becomes the perfect visible image of the invisible Father. In contemplating Him we find infinite mysteries, awesome and alluring.
Next, each one of us are images of God. Each person reflects mystery. Our fallen nature’s solitary boast, moreover, presents mystery to us in her own way, as do all the saints who beautifully reflect God in living flesh. Remember that Holy Church has given two great patrimonies to the whole human race: art and saints, which both reflect, in different media and manners, the mystery of God in His goodness, truth and beauty.
And so we come to the point of my post.
I read today a story at LifeSite about the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast it is.
The tilma has revealed many mysteries. As science advances, more and more fascinating – and hitherto unknown elements – are discovered in it, much as what is happening with the image of Mary’s crucified Son, the Shroud of Turin (which I happen to accept as being authentic).
Today, however, I read something that didn’t so much involve discovery of new depths in the tilma through technology, as through gazing.
The writer, Pete Baklinski, gazed at the image of Mary in the tilma. It eventually occurred to him that one side of her face looked happy, pleased, while the other side looked said.
The left side
The right side
He explored Mary’s message at Guadalupe and found themes of both joy and sadness. He suspects that her image means to reflect both.
You might go over there and read the whole account.
From a reader…
QUAERITUR:
Would my Baltimore Catechism No 4 and the Sacred Liturgy be best as a layman as my manual for daily life? I ask because I’m wondering if I should carry both my Catechism and my 1962 Missal with me wherever I go.
You are off to a good start with those, I think. Very good and relatively portable.
Keeping in the vein of portability, there are any number of small devotional books with prayers and meditations, etc., for personal use. There used to be a zillion of these little gems. I always watched for them in used books stores. They vary widely on account of age, and sex and spiritual inclination.
For example, and this is not a hard and fast recommendation – everyone is a little different – as I turn my head to the left towards a line up of books, pending and otherwise, among them is the diminutive prayer book by Preserving Christian Publications called
It has flexible imitation leather (the cover extends out so that it’ll protect the pages), a ribbon, gold-edged pages and it fits in the palm of your hand. Inside are the many prayers and novenas, readings from the Imitation of Christ, the texts of the Mass and certain Votive Masses, and the readings for Sunday and Holy Day Masses. It could easily go into a pocket.
There are any number of these precious little jewels of faith and devotion. It could be a nice gift, too, come to think of it.
However, your question also made me think instantly if a classic by Frank Sheed:
A Map of Life: A Simple Study of the Catholic Faith
This is not only a summary of the Catholic Faith but also a way to clarify one’s purpose in life. Sheed was a brilliant writer.
Also, for different reasons, and depending on one’s vocational state, this could also help one as part of a “tool box” for life:
The Intellectual Life: Its Spirit, Conditions, Methods
I don’t want to burden your EDC (“every day carry”), so I will stop there.
Oh yes… Rosary, for sure. Perhaps Brown Scapular and Medal of Our Lady of Graces (the Miraculous Medal).
Send Fr. Z your snail-mail 2022 CHRISTMAS CARDS!
Bl. Ildefonso Schuster in the Duomo of Milan.
Meanwhile,…
White to move and devastate.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Christmas shopping?
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This is a book which you might give to all your hesitant priests and to your bishops.
Does Traditionis Custodes Pass the Juridical Rationality Test?
by Fr. Réginald-Marie Rivoire FSVF and Fr. William Barker FSSP
UPDATE:
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Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for the 3rd Sunday of Advent – 2022?
Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass. I hear that it is growing. Of COURSE.
Any local changes or (hopefully good) news?
I have a few thoughts about the Epistle:
Here’s a notice about ZedNet for Sunday 4 Dec ’22 – evening at 2000h EST. (0100h ZULU Monday).
Last week we had 11 checkins. There were some glitches, but it was working. I experimented with three modes, DMR, Echolink (which is working well) and Allstar (which I am told sounded the best).
We now have the site running: http://zednet.xyz I have to get that updated.
Zednet exists on the…
Fellow hams who have access locally to a Yaesu System Fusion repeater, a repeater on the BM network, or a multi-mode hotspot registered with BM can get on and have a rag chew…. 24/7/365
Want to get involved? WBØYLE provided a Bill Of Materials, with links, for what you need. HERE THIS WAS UPDATED on by WBØYLE and Fr Z on 4 Dec 2022.
I created a page for the List of YOUR callsigns. HERE Chime in or drop me a note if your call doesn’t appear in the list.
For an image of what the Zednet “interconnections” are, click HERE.
Ite Naves! Caedite Exercitum!
Meanwhile,..
BLACK to move and win material.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE
Interested in learning? Try THIS.
Chess pieces originally represented different military units. Rooks were originally elephants, knights were obviously cavalry, etc. What would be the analogies now?
A chessy history book:
Birth of the Chess Queen: A History
The author is a feminist, but the book is pretty good history. It was really interesting.
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Coat of Arms by D Burkart
A Daily Prayer for Priests
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