On St. Benedict XVI; Fra Angelico & the 4th Joyful Mystery by Rembrandt. 33-day 'Total Consecration' prayers to Jesus through Mary Dec. 31-Feb 2 via St. de Montfort.
'O'Terço Guide' to Rosary Mass Devotions on the Camino to Santiago for January 01, 2023 -- Madre de Deus in PdV; Notes on the Presépio Exhibit + "How to Make a Parol" (Children's Activity for 2023).
TODAY’S GUEST CONTRIBUTORS: VANCOUVER & ONTARIO, CANADA
BRIEF NOTES ON POPE BENEDICT XVI BY: IZZY NUNZIATO (RHP)
REMBRANDT & KAREN ROCHA (TRANSLATION) & CHILDREN’S CRAFT IDEAS INSPIRED BY CAFOD UK
EDITED BY: IZZY & KAREN
THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST NEWSLETTER [2nd Edition]
31 dezembro / 31 December 2022, VIGIL: MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD
ETERNAL WISDOM: POPE BENEDICT XVI
“Staying in the Church because she is worth having around; because she is worth loving and transforming ever anew through love so that she transcends herself and becomes more fully herself—that is the path that the responsibility of faith shows us even today.”
(Excerpt from ‘Why I am Still in the Church’, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger)
IN MEMORIAM: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
by: Izzy Nunziato
The faithful are thankful for the life of, yet mourn the death of, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. This 265th Pope, was the oldest person elected since 1730 on 19 April 2005. He served as a Cardinal for a longer period of time than any Pope since 1724. He freely renounced the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter on February 11th, 2013.
His episcopal motto was "Cooperators of the truth". He explained that in today's world the theme of truth is omitted almost entirely as something too great for man and yet everything collapses if truth is missing. Among his many publications, "Why I Am Still in the Church" had a wide resonance: "one can only be a Christian in the Church, not beside the Church".1
He is referred to as a 'Humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord' and has requested that his funeral be marked with simplicity, just as he lived his life.
Pope Benedict reminds us, "Although the Church is exposed to the negative influences of the world, she always finds in Mary the star to guide her so that she may follow the route pointed out to her by Christ."2
REMINDER:
STILL TIME TO BEGIN YOUR 33-day CONSECRATION TO JESUS THROUGH MARY TODAY:
Pray with the full text online.
DAYS #1-12 are located here: [CLICK TO PRAY]
Consecration Day: Mass, Confession, Daily Rosary, Signed Consecration on Feb. 2, 2023.
Download the Digital Toolkit for Rosary Leaders and teach someone new How To Pray the Rosary. (Script included).3
THE FOURTH JOYFUL MYSTERY: REFLECTIONS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF TODAY’S GUEST CONTRIBUTION:
Rembrandt is a writer for Travessa Da Senra House Press. Back in May 2022, he wrote a reflection about Saint Pope John Paul II’s exploration of the definition of "Immaculate Conception" as per Pius IX (19 June 1996, page 11 in L'Osservatore Romano) for The Rosary Hour Podcast Newsletter™.
He is our most senior columnist, advisor and contributor who studied at St. Michael's College in a degree-granting programme attached to St. Augustine's Seminary. He was educated by the Basilians, throughout high school, and even had Basilian professors at the University of Windsor.
After his graduate work, he taught social sciences at the post-secondary level and furthered his studies in the German language in Germany and Switzerland. He continues to research, write articles and translate papers in his retirement.
VIEW ARTICLE LAYOUT IN “O’TERÇO” MAGAZINE — (3rd Joyful Mystery) A NEW ‘SCRAPBOOK’ PROJECT ON THE ROSARY4 (Click to expand for DIGITAL EDITION SAMPLE)
“Meditating on the Fourth Joyful Mystery with Fra Angelico”
by: Rembrandt
The Presentation of our Lord in the Temple
And after the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord: As it is written in the law of the Lord: "Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord". (Luke 2:22-23)
Since the Presentation of Jesus in the temple takes place in before the active life of John the Baptist, prophecy is still the means by which the Incarnation is made known to the people following the Visitation, a prophecy which is specific about redemptive fruits and less easy to interpret as a Messiah specific only to the Jews. Prophecy, from a human standpoint, is a form of intuition dependent for its content on a timeless world. Like Zachary, Simeon still lives according to the old Law and can only see the New Dispensation in the future.
The Presentation occurs, according to the law of Moses, forty days after Jesus' birth and at the conclusion of Mary's purification, for "every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the lord" (Luke 2:23).
According to law, the parents were to offer a sacrifice, and they do so according to their means (2:24). Fra Angelico depicts Joseph carrying their offerings in a basket.
An ordinary man, the "just and devout" Simeon of Jerusalem, takes over from Zachary as a prophet, for "the Holy Ghost was in him" and he was waiting for the "consolation of Israel". The Holy Ghost had told him that "he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord" (Luke 2:25-26). And through another instance of synchrony rich in significance, Simeon "came by the Spirit into the temple" at precisely at the time when Mary and Joseph bring the child Jesus for the Presentation (2:27).
Fra Angelico's painting captures the moment when Simeon takes Jesus "into his arms and blessed God" (2:28), saying what has come down to us as the third Canticle in Luke's opening chapter, Nunc Dimittis:
Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace: Because my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou has prepared before the face of all peoples: A light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.
Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine secundum verbum tuum in pace quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloriam plebis tuae Israhel. (Luke 2:29-32)
The coming salvation is for "all peoples", Jews and Gentiles, hence he is not a revolutionary.
An underlying tension in the Jewish community can be discerned at the Presentation, and it would centre around the meaning of the expectation of a 'Messiah'. That Simeon should prophesy, precisely in the temple of Jerusalem, that Jesus is to be "a light to the revelation of the Gentiles" (2:32) appears out of place. There will be a salvation, but the operative word is "Gentiles". Later, Jesus is to predict the destruction of the temple: "There shall not be left a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down" (Mark 13:2). In 70 AD, the Roman General Titus was to destroy the temple in Jerusalem completely. And because there would be no more sacrifices, the Jewish priesthood was to come to an end.
Along similar lines, Simeon makes the cryptic prophesy that "this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be contradicted" (2:34). And we know that Jesus has been a stumbling block ever since. That is because at the beginning of the first millennium, light shone in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:5); and Jesus "saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven" (Luke 10:18). At that time, with the birth of the Logos, there was a great separation which can never be undone.
Alas, it is difficult to speak of joy without anticipating sorrow. Simeon alludes to Mary's participation in suffering at the foot of the cross in the language of a piercing sword, and it appears we are implicated:
And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed. (Luke 2:35)
MUSEUM INVITATION FROM PORTO, PORTUGAL
TRANSLATED FROM PORTUGUESE BY KAREN ROCHA5
"Municipal Museum Teaches About the Christmas Traditions of Povoa"
Beginning December 6th through January 8th, 2023 (closed 1 janeiro), all povoeiros (peoples of Povoa) will be able to visit the "Laying in a Manger" exhibit, an interesting display of traditional and historical nativity scenes.
Included in the exhibit will be pieces belonging to the Municipal Museum as well as nativity scenes contributed by local families who have graciously shared their own "presepios" (nativity scenes) and traditions handed down through generations.
In addition to this exhibit, the Museum will also recreate a traditional Povoa fisherman's Christmas meal, so that younger generations can come to know the habits and customs which were practiced at the end of the XIX century and which were established at the beginning of the XX century in the Povoa de Varzim.
trans by: K. Rocha (The Rosary Hour Podcast) from original posting on PdV website.
MASS SCHEDULE OPTIONS FOR VISITORS TO THE PORTUGUESE CAMINO TO SANTIAGO ON JANUARY 1, 2023: NS MADRE DE DEUS
Below, please find the Rosary Mass on the Camino Schedule for pilgrims & visitors to the Atlantic Coast of Portugal in the Porto Region on January 01, 2023:6
AN INVITATION FROM HOLY ROSARY CATHEDRAL, CALIFORNIA (USA)
Saturday January 14, 2022, Bishop Alberto Rojas will have a 1:30 p.m. procession in San Bernadino, California (See the street map with the procession route starting from Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral - 2525 N. Arrowhead Ave.)
CAFOD SPOTLIGHT: STAR OF WONDER CRAFT FROM THE PHILIPPINES
“In the Philippines a 'parol' is a special lantern which people put up throughout the Christmas season. Most often, these lanterns are in the shape of a five-pointed star - a reminder of the star above Bethlehem.”
KIDS CORNER CHRISTMAS OCTAVE PARISH CRAFT IDEAS:
HOW TO MAKE A “PAROL”
EXTRA FOOTNOTES:
Read: https://www.preasfantatreime.ro/en/blog/2021/04/19/why-i-am-still-in-the-church/ Excerpt from Fundamental Speeches from Five Decades, 2012, Ignatius Press.
Prayers in Portuguese coming soon with introduction from Padre Nuno from Portugal. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GXL43FbmY10BikwobbAJQThHNdVbg_SC
PUBLISHED BY TRAVESSA DA SENRA HOUSE PRESS, w/ SPIRITUAL DIRECTION on the ROSARY from the CAMINHO PORTUGUÊS DA COSTA a.k.a. “THE CAMINOS DE SANTIAGO” (PORTUGAL) from PADRE NUNO ROCHA (pastor of S. José, Lapa) & ART HISTORY / PORTUGUESE CAMINO HISTORY / MENTORSHIP by: DR. D. CARNEIRO, w/ Mentorship by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle & Dr. Blythe Kaufman, etc.
KAREN ROCHA IS THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER of THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST.
With thanks to the parish staff & local Rosary leaders from NS Desterro / San Tiago / S. José / Lapa / Matriz / Basilica (6 communities) for their generous assistance to help spread the message of the Rosary of Our Lady, Mother of God.
NOTE: 01 January — Eucharistic Adoration on the Camino - Lapa at 18h00 followed by a Solemn Mass at 19h00.