Advent Series - December 21

JMJ

December 21

Yesterday, we read how the Jews were taken into captivity by the Chaldeans and forced to live in Babylon.

King Darius of Babylon liked Daniel very much and wanted to put him in charge of his kingdom. Others were jealous of Daniel and they looked for a way to get rid of him.

Using flattery, they got the king to make a law forbidding anyone to pray except to the king for 30 days. Anyone caught disobeying the king’s law would be thrown to the lions. When Daniel went to pray to God, the jealous men brought Daniel before the king.

Then the king knew he had been tricked into killing his friend, but he prayed that Daniel’s God would deliver him. The next morning, King Darius hurried to the den and Daniel answered him that an angel of the Lord had shut up the mouths of the lions.

The king was “exceeding glad” and commanded that Daniel be taken out of the den.

“Then king Darius wrote to all people, tribes and languages, dwelling in the whole earth:

PEACE be multiplied unto you. It is decreed by me, that in all my empire and my kingdom all men dread and fear the God of Daniel. For He is the living and eternal God forever: and His kingdom shall not be destroyed, and His power shall be forever. He is the Deliverer, and Saviour, doing signs and wonders in heaven, and in earth: who hath delivered Daniel out of the lion’s den” (Dan 6:25-27)

After Daniel was delivered from the lions, while he was praying, the angel Gabriel revealed to him God’s plan:

For the return of the Jews to Jerusalem (which had been foretold by Isaias as well)
For the rebuilding of the Temple
The coming of the Persians, Greeks (with the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes) and Romans
The angel Gabriel also revealed the time of the coming of the Saviour; which would be 69 weeks of years (69 X 7 = 483 years) from the rebuilding of Jerusalem! (Dan 9:25) Amazing! Who could not believe that Our Lord was the Messias! In fact, It says in the Haydock commentary of the Bible about this prophecy that “In a dispute between an Jew and a Christian, at Venice, the Rabbi who presided…put an end to the business by saying, “Let us shut up our Bibles; for if we proceed in the examination of this prophecy, it will make us all become Christians” (Haydock page 1103 regarding Daniel 9:25)

Time passed and Daniel was thrown to the lions again. This time by those who worshipped the idol, Bel and a snake, which Daniel destroyed. This time, Daniel was left with the lions for 6 days.

At that time, a few Jews had been left behind to plant crops in Judah. Among those living in Judah was Habacuc, the prophet. Habacuc was on his way to bring food for the workers in the fields when an angel appeared. Taking Habacuc by his hair, the angel carried him all the way to Babylon so that he could give the food to Daniel while he was in the den!

After 6 days, Daniel was released and the king gave thanks, ordering all to fear the God of Daniel.

(And both times, the lions ate the bad guys instead!)

The O Antiphon for today is “O Oriens”

O rising sun, brightness of eternal life and Sun of Justice: come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”

This antiphon is fitting today because it is the shortest day of the year.
Our Lord came to bring us the light of truth.

An interesting thing to note:
From the birth of Our Lord, daylight will increase until about the feast of St. John the Baptist in June.
From the feast of Saint John, the days begin to grow shorter until the birth of Our Lord!

And in the Gospel, St. John the Baptist said of Our Lord, “He must increase and I must decrease.”

Auctorem Fidei

Can the SSPX be right about the Novus Ordo? Revision: Feb 11, 2013 On another web forum, I was engaged in a rather heated discussion about the documents of Vatican II.

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Catholic Culture - The Edgar Schein Model Analysis of the Pre and Post Conciliar Culture

+ JMJ So ... I was thinking ... I've used Edgar Schein's (RIP) organizational cultural model (link ) in my research ... why not apply it in a comparison between the Catholic Organizational Culture - PRE and POST Second Vatican Culture? Of course, this will be from my own perspective, I'm certain that others will think differently. 😁 Also, apologies for a rather long article. Graphic: https://mutomorro.com/edgar-scheins-culture-model/ Below is a quick mapping of the cultural factors that I could think of. Since the Church is vast and composed of millions of Souls, it is necessarily a limited cultural map. Yet, I think it will still be useful to assess what has changed since the Second Vatican Council. Additional Reading: 5 enduring management ideas from MIT Sloan’s Edgar Schein | MIT Sloan Artifacts Artifacts are tangible and observable aspects of the culture being examined. All organizations have them. Walmart has their Walmart chant, Charismatics have their spe

Is it sinful to attend the Novus Ordo (New Mass) - Is it Sinful to Not Attend the Novus Ordo on Sunday?

+ JMJ A non-SSPX Catholic is upset over the SSPX statements on not attending the Novus Ordo Missae. Ladies and gentlemen, what the SSPX, or at least its website editor, is advocating is a mortal sin against the Third Commandment. Unless the priest deviates from the language of the Sacramentary, the consecration, and thus the rest of Mass is to be considered valid. No one may elect not to attend Mass simply because abuses are occurring therein. Might I suggest that such absenteeism is its own abuse? The Third Commandment binds under mortal sin. Father So-And-So from the SSPX has no authority whatsoever to excuse attendance at Mass, be that Mass ever so unpalatable. Source:Restore DC Catholicism Well, this is interesting. First why does the SSPX issue this statement? Because it is sinful to put your faith in danger by attending a protestant service. It is likewise dangerous to put your faith in danger by attending a protestantized mass (ie the Novus Ordo Missae

Holy Ghost vs Holy Spirit

+ JMJ Something that always and I do mean always causes me to cringe interiourly is when non-Trad Catholics use the words "Holy Spirit" instead of "Holy Ghost". First, this is a natural response because of long usage of "Holy Ghost" as soon as I hear the word "Holy" in a prayer, my brain automatically is prepped to hear "Ghost" afterwards. This creates a short period of interiour dissonance (discomfort). Now the question I would like to ponder today is whether or not there is a difference and whether or not there is a right way vs wrong way.

Tradicat

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