Commentary: 'Tis a holy day of obligation. Get thyself to Mass! From the church bulletin:
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a belief of the Roman Catholic Church*, expressing the conviction that the Virgin Mary was free from original sin & filled with sanctifying grace from the moment of her conception in her mother's womb.*It irks me when Catholics refer to Holy Mother Church as the "Roman Catholic Church." (However, I do love the pun "roamin' Catholic," referring to those who hop from parish to parish.) Yes, His Holiness the Pope derives his apostolic authority from being Bishop of Rome. Yes, I look forward to visiting, exploring, & possibly even residing in Rome, in & around the Vatican (a sovereign city-state enclaved within Rome). Yes, the vast majority of the world's Catholics, your humble narrator included, adhere to the Roman Rite used in the Latin Church. But neither the Roman Rite nor the Latin Church should be treated as synonymous with the Catholic Church. The Eastern Catholic Churches (the most populous of which are the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Church, & the Maronite Church) are just as Catholic as the Latin Church, even though they have their own liturgical traditions apart from the western Catholicism with which most of us are familiar. The Church calls herself the Catholic Church; to call her to Roman Catholic Church is to collaborate, in a small & unintentional way, with our Protestant brethren who demonize the "Church of Rome." The Church is headquartered in Rome, but her character is Catholic (universal), not Roman (specific).
It's also possible I'm making a mountain out of molehill, which I've been known to do.
Scripture of the Day
Personal Reading
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter twelve.
Daily Mass Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter three, verses nine through fifteen & twenty;
Psalm Ninety-eight, verses one through four;
The Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter one, verses three through six & eleven through twelve;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses twenty-six through thirty-eight.
Commentary: Because today is a holy day of obligation, the liturgy followed the longer Sunday format (including the readings: Old Testament (O.T.), responsorial Psalm, New Testament epistle, Gospel) rather than the abbreviated daily format (O.T., Psalm, Gospel). Beyond the shorter readings, the main differences are a shorter homily & less music in the daily liturgy, though Fr. Gary's homily today was more of the shorter, punchier daily variety despite the longer liturgy. That is not a complaint; I reveled in today's homily.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Robert Kochis, "Immaculate Mary" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"We pray for our mother, the Church upon Earth,
And bless, sweetest Lady, the land of our birth,
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!…"
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