Saturday, December 8, First Week of Advent
SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Some familiar paintings: From left, by Carlo Crivelli; 2 by El Greco; 2 by Esteban Murillo (who painted 4); 2 by Francisco Zurbaran (who had 3); and by Giambattista Tiepolo.
SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
This has been a major Church feast since 1476 when Pope Sixtus IV made it a religious holiday,
but it was not until 1854 when Pope Pius IX formally proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, as follows:
We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by all the faithful.
—Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120812.cfm
WITH THE POPE, 12/8/12
Holiday Angelus - Benedict XVI paid tribute to Mary as "a genuine expression of grace", saying that
the light that emanates from her figure helps us to understand the true meaning of original sin.
He offered prayers for the thousands of victims, including hundreds dead, of recent floods in the Philippines
Homage to the Immacolata - Keeping to a new tradition introduced in recent Pontificates, the Holy Father
went to Rome's Piazza Spagna for the annual tribute to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (l'Immacolata)
at the pillar raised there in her honor. Homily.
December 9, Second Sunday of Advent
ST. JUAN DIEGO CUAUHTLATOHUAC (Mexico, 1474-1548)
Modern scholars question whether this saint ever existed, pointing to lack of documentation about him at the time of the Marian apparitions and miracle (1531) that made him a decisive figure for the mass Christianization of Mexico immediately following the 1531 apparitions (in 1532-1538, at the height of the Protestant Reformation in Europe). Mainly, they claim that the bishop at the time of the apparitions never mentioned it in his writings. However, there is the fact (scientifically unexplained) of Juan's tilma (cloak) on which the image of the Virgin was imprinted, and that photographic enlargements of the Virgin's eyes from the image on the cloak show a reflection of Juan Diego. The story is that the Virgin appeared to the elderly native Indian peasant, a devout widower, and told him to ask the bishop to build a church on the spot. In order to convince the skeptical bishop, the Virgin told Juan to gather roses from the spot (it was December) and bring them to the bishop. He wrapped the miraculous flowers in his cloak, and when he opened it in front of the bishop, there was the image of the Virgin on the tilma [the object now venerated in the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City). Before Juan Diego was canonized in 2002 - the first native American to earn this distinction - the Vatican named a 30-man commission of scholars to research and establish the authenticity of his life and the events related to the apparitions. The Basilica of Guadalupe outside Mexico City is now the world's most visited religious shrine.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120912.cfm
AT THE VATICAN TODAY
Sunday Angelus - The Holy Father reflected on the figure of John the Baptist, who, next to Mary, 'represents' Advent
literally and figuratively in the Catholic faith, saying the Baptist "reminds us of the need for repentance
and purification as we prepare a way for the Lord and await in hope his coming in glory".
Not previously announced, the Pope addressed the Opening Mass this afternoon of the International Congress
in Rome on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops on the Americas.
I have combined the 'almanac' entries for December 8 and December 9, as I have fallen two days behind in my posting, for which I cannot apologize enough and may have to continue doing - until I can work out a system to manage my time after a distinct change in the nature of my daytime job, which is six days a week, and the time-intensive and time-dependent workload which the change has meant. Principally, I no longer have desk time available during the day to add a post or two as I discover items to post, and after catching up with domestic duties at night, I find I can no longer stay up long enough to make up for 'time lost' for the Forum during the day... So, for the interest of all who follow this Forum, I would truly welcome it if any of you could fill up the slack by posting any items that should be posted, especially if any big news breaks while I am away from the Internet! Otherwise, until I can work out some time management solution, it will be a 'stale news' Forum...
NB: Since Dec. 8 was a religious holiday and today is Sunday, I am behind in posting items on the three papal events in these two days - the Angelus and the Piazza Spana event yesterday, and the Angelus today (all have to be translated), and the Pope's address in English to the bishops of the this afternoon... In addition, I have yet to translate the Pope's address to the International Theological Commission, but I have posted my translation of the Wednesday catechesis - with the omissions from the official text - in the apposite box in the preceding page. I hope I can catch up today.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/12/2012 15:32]