Nazareth | AirMaria.com

Sep 01 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Nothing but Christ Crucified

apostolate — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:00:06 +0000

Homily #080901 ( 14min) Play – Fr. Angelo bases his homily on the first reading today by Paul “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Listen as Fr. relates this to Paul’s discourse in Athens, Our Lord’s visit to Nazareth, the Eucharist, and the need for humility.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
+++

The post Sep 01 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Nothing but Christ Crucified first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Dec 21 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Our Lord Comes to Nazareth

apostolate — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:43:30 +0000

Homily #081221 ( 09min) Play – “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth…”

On this Fourth Sunday in Advent Fr. Ignatius explains how the prophecy of Nathan in the Old Testament, that the Lord will build a house for David and his descendants, comes to fulfillment in the New Testament as Mary gives her fiat at the humble Holy House of Nazareth. This comes about through Mary’s obedience of faith. Let us imitate her.

Ave Maria! Mass readings
+++

The post Dec 21 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Our Lord Comes to Nazareth first appeared on AirMaria.com.

March is the Month dedicated to St. Joseph

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:00:23 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

A Novena

The man nearest to Christ Jesus was His foster father, Joseph the carpenter. John the Baptist saw Christ briefly near the Jordan and knew that his work as Precursor was over. The Apostles lived and worked with Christ during the brief days of His public life.

FIRST DAY:

But Joseph presided over the events of Christ’s Infancy, provided for Him the house that sheltered Him from birth to baptism, and was of all the men of earth the one at whose hands Jesus received most in service and love and unselfish devotion.

Born of a royal line, Joseph was a carpenter. That trade he passed on to his foster Son. Joseph was destined to immortal honors of the Church, yet no spoken word of his is recorded in the Scriptures.
Still the Church with good reason cries out, “Go to Joseph.”
This injunction we confidently obey as we pray:

The Prayer to Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

2nd day:

There is always a cause for the choices God makes.
    Out of the long procession of men through history, God selected Joseph to be the husband of Mary and the protector of the Savior.
    Joseph’s youth was one of stainless virtue.
    His young manhood was marked by deep religious faith and a burning desire to see the Savior of Israel. His was a life of honest work and of a humility that fitted him for his part in the hidden life of the Savior.
    Little did he dream as he visited the synagogue on the Sabbath that someday he would be the protector of the synagogue’s God. Little did he understand that the trade of carpenter that he was learning would be the means by which he would provide food and clothing for the world’s maker, would be the trade that he would teach the creator of the universe.
    Without knowing what it was that he was getting ready for, he gave to his simple jobs the full devotion and the full strength of a character of a simple, honest man.
    In these ordinary ways did he fit himself for the extraordinary assignment that God would give him.
    Remembering this splendid man, who walked the simple ways, we pray:

The Prayer to Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

3rd day:

Tradition has it that Joseph had taken the vow of virginity, thus renouncing the right to marriage. At any rate he lived a life of purity. He was stainless among men and pure in the sight of God.
    But God in His providence had greater designs for Joseph than mere abstinence. He chose Joseph, the just man, for the delicate mission of sheltering Mary’s virginity and at the same time being her loyal spouse and guardian of the Incarnate Son of God.
    Legend tells us that he was selected by a miracle: The barren rod that he held in his hand blossomed with lilies. Perhaps. But surely his soul was bright with joy when he knew that God had given him to be the partner of his life the rose of Sharon, the stainless lily of Israel, the flower among all the flowers in God’s garden.
    He accepted his bride and his new responsibility with the determination to make her happy, to keep her safe, and in her company to carry out whatever were Gods plans for their future.
    So Joseph and Mary were married, and they established the holy house of Nazareth. There they lived most exemplary lives.
    To this strong and pure protector of Mary we pray:

The Prayer of Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

4th day:

Wedded to the loveliest of brides, entering marriage with strong ideals and a trust in God’s provident care, Joseph had a right to expect love and security that come with consecrated marriage.
    While marriage for him was the beginning of a high honor, it was also the beginning of a new pain. While it added to his royal dignity, it was also the occasion of poverty, patience, exile, obscurity, confusion and wonderment.
    For at once he found that his virgin bride was with child. What could this possibly mean? He wanted to think her stainless, but what of this clear evidence? He was confused and bewildered. And while it was distasteful to a man of his simple reticence, the law of his people demanded that he put her away.
    Since Mary herself did nothing to enlighten him (for she was committed by God to secrecy) his confusion gave way to grave doubt, and doubt in turn gave way to firm, honorable resolve to take action.
    What a period of suffering and suspense this must have been to Joseph. In His own good time, God would reveal the wonders of the Incarnation of His Divine Son. But to prepare his soul for so great a miracle, God chose to cleanse his heart in suffering.
    Remembering his trial and suffering, we pray:

The Prayer of Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

5th day:

Pain and patience in the service of Christ and His Mother soon turn to joy.
    The visit of the angel brought an end to Joseph’s problems.
    The Child whom the lovely Mary carried was the Son of the Most High. He had no earthly father, for God Himself was His Father. The Holy Spirit had wrought the wonder in Mary’s body.
    Over Joseph there came in a rush the realization of what his marriage meant.
    He among all men of earth was to be the guardian of the Mother of the Savior.
    Upon him would rest the responsibility to protect the Christ Child, to provide His home, to watch over His childhood, to lead Him into the safe maturity that would be a prelude to His public life.
    The home? Joseph had only the house of the carpenter to offer. The food of the Son of God would be plain. The clothes He wore would be those of a laborer’s child. But Joseph silently vowed that the Christ should never want for a heart to love Him, for hands to serve Him, for feet to run His errands, for a back to shoulder whatever weight God would let him bear.
    Joseph and Mary smiled upon each other and together waited for the coming of the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
    To Joseph, guardian of Mary and protector of the Infant Savior, we say:

The Prayer of Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

6th day:

To us Christmas is a day of uninterrupted joy.
    To Joseph it was a day of the brightest light and the deepest shadows: a blazing sky and a chilly cave; the presence of angels and the cold shoulder of the villagers; faith and sorrow; intensest joy in the Infant and grief that he could give the Infant only a stable and straw and his ineffectual service.
    The story of Joseph and Christmas is dearly familiar to us.
    It was decreed that they leave the comforts of home and journey to Bethlehem. The doors of the crowded inns were slammed in his face. He quested through the night until he found the cave and prepared it for his bride and for the coming Child.
    His was the joy of hearing the song of the angels and watching the procession of the first adorers. His was the pain of seeing Mary shiver in the cold darkness and of remembering that they had been forced to leave in Nazareth the cradle that he had made with such loving care.
    He was the first sentry in the court of the new king, His first man-at-arms, His prime minister, His treasurer, the faithful disciple of the master, who had yet to speak His first word.
    To Joseph at Christmastide we say:

The Prayer of Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

7th day:

Compared to the powerful and important Herod, Joseph was in the eyes of his times a nobody.
    Yet as this faithful carpenter and saint made smooth the ways of his Lord, worked for His comfort, and knelt to adore Him, Herod plotted the destruction of this Child, whom he looked upon as a possible rival for his throne.
    Herod had tried to turn the Magi into messengers of death, but these wise men had on a warning from God, through the star-lighted night found their way to the king. Failing this, Herod sent his soldiers out to kill the Child and end the threat to his brief and pitiful power.
    Another visit of an angel … and Joseph is moving through the night, leading the ass that carries the sacred burden of Mother and Child.
    Eyes alert for danger, staff gripped tightly against possible threat, feet tirelessly striding forward, a few coins in his purse, his locked shop left behind him, Joseph travels the glorious and ignominious road to exile.
    But God had chosen well when He chose this protector of Mother and Son. The journey was safe, the exile comfortable, and the return happy and secure.
    To Joseph, guardian of Jesus and of Mary in danger and in exile, we say:

The Prayer of Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

8th day:

Wonderful things have happened in the long annals of mankind, but none have been more wonderful than what occurred in the little house and shop of Joseph in Nazareth.
    The earnings of a laborer provided the food for the creator of heaven and earth.
    Into the little carpenter shop comes the young Jesus, apprenticed to a trade. Joseph guides the hands that guided the course of the stars; he teaches the maker of sun, stars, and planets the craft of making tables and chairs for peasants and yokes for oxen.
    The Trinity looks down to the lovely trinity of earth – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit beautifully mirrored in Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.
    Modern Christian homes receive their design and pattern from this model.
    Modern Catholic marriage is here given its lovely example.
    The hearts of Mary and Joseph create a union close and dear and intimate and utterly beautiful; together they live and think and plan and work for the Child, who has been given into their keeping.
    Their’s was a beautiful family.
    Remembering the happiness of Joseph in Nazareth, we pray:

The Prayer of Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

9th day:

Death in the days before Christ was often frightening, often terrible.
    It was left for Joseph to show us for the first time the perfect way to die.
    Graciously God let him know that his work was done. Jesus was almost ready to enter His public life; in that the humble carpenter would play no part.
    He obeyed the voice of God in death as he obeyed that voice in life. But for him the voice had no terrors.
    As Joseph lay on his bed, Jesus and Mary were close to him. His head rested on the virgin breast of his untouched bride. His hand rested in the firm grasp of his foster Son. Jesus was speaking gratefully of what Joseph had done for Him. Mary was saying a loving thank-you. His thoughts were being lifted up … and up …and up toward the heaven that lay ahead and the glory that comes to those who have done their simple duty well.
    Jesus and Mary followed their beloved protector to the grave.
    In his place in glory the whole Chruch has sought him, called him its faithful guardian, and known that from his powerful intercession favors past counting would fall upon the world of men and women, whom he regards as his beloved sons and daughters.
    To Joseph in heaven we say:

The Prayer of Saint Joseph

O God, who in thine ineffable providence was pleased to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother, grant we beseech thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom we venerate as our protector on earth. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Nihil Obstat, John M. Fearns, S.T.D.
Imprimatur Francis Cardinal Spellman
Archbishop, New York

The post March is the Month dedicated to St. Joseph first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Jul 05 – Homily – Fr Angelo: His Own Received Him Not

apostolate — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:26:08 +0000

Homily #090705 ( 18min) Play – Jesus the King and Savior of the Jews was not received by them because He came as one of them. This was made very clear when He went to Nazareth where He grew up and, despite performing miracles and preaching the full richness of the Gospel, He was rejected. But it is this rejection that He uses to save the Jews and all humanity.

Ave Maria! Mass readings

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Jul 05 – Homily – Fr Angelo: His Own Received Him Not first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Aug 31 – Homily – Fr Angelo: He Passed Through Their Midst

apostolate — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:19:03 +0000

Homily #090831 ( 08min) Play – When Jesus was rejected by the citizens of His native Nazareth due to their lack of humility, He easily evaded the angry crowd by walking through their midst. This shows His power over those who reject his message and therefore how he laid down his life voluntarily on Calvary in an act of humility. Let us ask for the grace of humility whenever Jesus reveals himself to us.
Ave Maria! Mass readings

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Aug 31 – Homily – Fr Angelo: He Passed Through Their Midst first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Dec 10 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Flight to Loretto

apostolate — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:46:17 +0000

Homily #091210s ( 09min) Play – Fr. Ignatius describes how the House of Loretto (Jesus’ house from Nazareth) came to this town.
Ave Maria! Holy House of Loretto – Mass: EF, Terribilis est – Readings: 1st: sir 24:11-13, 15-20 – Gsp: luk 1:26-38

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Dec 10 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Flight to Loretto first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Our Lady’s Vocation and Our Example

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:00:02 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations:

The Blessed Virgin chosen from eternity: Her vocation.

We are now very close to Christmas. The prophecy of Isaiah is now about to be fulfilled: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God is with us’. The Hebrew people were familiar with the prophecies which singled out the descendants of Jacob, through David, as bearers of the Messianic promises. But they could not imagine that the Messiah would be God himself made man. But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman. And this woman, chosen and predestined from all eternity to be the mother of the Savior, had consecrated her virginity to God, renouncing the honor of counting the Messiah among her direct descendants.

We can obtain great benefits at this time by keeping close to Our Lady and showing our love for her.

Mary appears as the virgin Mother of the Messiah, she who will give all her love to Jesus, with an undivided heart, as the prototype of that self-surrender that Our Lord will ask from many souls. The Virgin gives her full consent to the divine will: Be it done unto me according to your word. From this moment on, she accepts her vocation and begins to put it into practice. Her vocation is to be Mother of God and Mother of men..

Unknown to anyone, the hub of human history and the centre of all mankind is now the little village of Nazareth. Here lives the woman most loved by God, she who is to be the most loved human being in the whole world, the most frequently invoked and called upon of all time. And we, in the intimacy of our heartfelt prayer, say: ‘Mother! Blessed art thou among all women.’

In the exercise of her Motherhood she was adorned with all the graces and privileges which made her a worthy abode for the Most High. God chose His Mother and put in her all his love and power. He did not permit there to be in her the least taint of sin, neither original nor personal. She was conceived Immaculate, without any stain at all. And He granted her so much grace that under God, it would be impossible to conceive of anyone greater than she: such was to be her state that no one, apart from God, could even begin to comprehend it. Her dignity is almost infinite.

All these privileges and graces were given to her so that she could carry out her vocation. As with each individual, her vocation was the central moment of her life: She was born to be the Mother of God, chosen by the Blessed Trinity from all eternity. She is our Mother too, a fact which, in this season, we want constantly to keep in mind.

Our vocation and corresponding to it

For each one of us, our vocation is the central theme of our lives. It is the axis around which everything else turns. Everything, or almost everything, depends on our knowing and carrying out what God asks of us. To follow and to love one’s own vocation is the most important and joyfully fulfilling thing in life. But in spite of its being the key that opens the door to happiness, there are many who do not want to know what their vocation is. They prefer to do what pleases them, to do their own will instead of God’s will, to remain in a state of culpable ignorance instead of seeking in all sincerity the road that will lead them to happiness and enable them to reach heaven in safety as well as to bring this same joy to many others.

Our Lord calls every one of us by our own name, today as much as ever. He needs us, it seems. Furthermore He calls all of us to a holy vocation, a vocation to follow him in a new life whose secret He alone possesses: if any man would come after me … Through Baptism we have all received a vocation to seek God in the fullness of love. For the ordinary life of man among his fellows is not something dull and uninteresting. It is there, in their ordinary lives, that God wants the vast majority of his children to achieve sanctity.

It is important to keep reminding ourselves that Jesus did not address himself to a privileged set of people; he came to reveal to us the universal love of God. God loves all men, and he wants all men to love him – everyone, whatever his personal situation, his social position, his work. Ordinary life is something of great value. All the ways of the earth can be an opportunity to meet Christ, who calls us to identify ourselves with him and carry out this divine mission – right where He finds us.

God calls us through what happens in the ordinary course of our day: through the sorrows and joys of the people we live with, through the human interests of all our colleagues and the things that go to make up our family life. He also calls us through the great problems, conflicts and challenges of each period of history, the portentous events that attract the interest and idealism of a large part of mankind.

The call of Our Lord urges us to a greater self-giving, for among other reasons, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. And there are harvests which perish daily because there is no one to gather them in. Be it done unto me according to your word, says Our Lady. And we contemplate her, radiant with joy. As we raise up our minds and hearts in prayer, we can enquire of ourselves: Am I seeking God in my work or in my study, in my family, out in the street…in everything? Am I daring in doing apostolate? Does Our Lord want more of me?

Imitating Our Lady in her spirit of service to others

To God’s will, Our Lady has but one reaction: to love it. Proclaiming herself the handmaid of the Lord, she accepted without any reservation whatever. In the world of antiquity, in which slavery; the lot of the servant, was a common condition, this expression of Mary is seen in all its force and depth. The slave, one can say, did not have a will of his own, nor could he have any desire independent of his master’s . Our Lady agrees with the greatest joy and with all her heart to have no other wish than that of her Master and Lord. She gives herself to Him unreservedly, without condition.

We also, in imitation of Our Lady, do not want to have any other will, or any plans other than those of God. And we want this in the things that are obviously of transcendent importance for us, that is, in our vocation to sanctity and also in what immediately relates to it in the ordinary little things of every day, the mundane details of our work, our family life and our social relations

One of the mysteries of Advent is that on which we meditate in the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, namely, the Visitation. Let us focus in our consideration of it on one specific aspect of service to others which is part of our vocation: the order of charity.

This visit of our Mother to her cousin St Elizabeth presents one outstanding manifestation of the order of charity. We must love all men because they are all, or can be, sons of God. But we must love in the first place those who are closest to us, those with whom we have special ties, such as members of our families. This caritas must be shown by deeds, not only by affection or fondness. Let us think now of our dealings with our family, of the numberless opportunities that come our way of exercising, quite normally and naturally, our love and spirit of service.

We would like to live these days of Advent with the same spirit of service as our Mother had during her time of expectant waiting. Supported by the humble self giving of Mary, let us ask her (like good children) to help us, so that when Our Lord comes our hearts may, with complete generosity, be ready to receive his commands, his counsels and his suggestions.

Let us ask the blessed Virgin to make us contemplatives, to teach us to recognize the constant calls from God when he knocks at the door of our heart. Let us ask her now: Mother, you brought into the world Jesus, who reveals to us the love of our Father God. Help us to recognize Him in the midst of the cares of each day. Stir up our minds and our wills, so that we may be ready to listen to the voice of God, to the calls of grace.

Fr. Francis Fernandez

The post Our Lady’s Vocation and Our Example first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Jul 30 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: High-born Messiahs

apostolate — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:47:06 +0000

Homily #100730 ( 07min) Play – The world is always looking for high-born messiahs who can give them a good show and so the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus in today’s Gospel because he was low-born, a carpenters son and was one of their fellow townsmen. Let us not seek sensation in religion but seek eternal life.
Ave Maria! St Peter Chrysologus – Friday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: jer 26:1-9
Resp: psa 69:6, 8-10, 14
Gsp: mat 13:54-58

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Jul 30 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: High-born Messiahs first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Nov 06 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Holy Grief of Mary

apostolate — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 20:02:00 +0000

Homily #101106 ( 18min) Play – On this First Saturday devotional Mass in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary we have the Gospel account of the losing of the child Jesus on the way from Jerusalem to Nazareth and the finding in the Temple three days later. Fr. Angelo relates how Mary and Joseph did, in fact, experience grief but they did not despair nor where they completely ignorant of the meaning of Christ’s staying in the Temple contrary to modern Bible scholars. Father explains the purpose of Human knowledge as it relates to faith and to the apparitions of Mary at Fatima from whence the First Saturday Devotions come, where she tells us to offer up our suffering in reparation for the offense to her Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of our impious age.
Ave Maria! – Mass: – Readings:
1st: jud 13:17-20, 15:9
Rsp: luk 1:46-55
Gsp: luk 2:46-51

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Nov 06 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Holy Grief of Mary first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Dec 10 – Homily – Fr Elias: Holy House of Loreto

apostolate — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:39:29 +0000

Homily #121210b ( 13min) Play – Fr. Elias on the feast of Our Lady of Loreto preaches on the Holy House of Loreto where Our Lord was conceived and grew up in Nazareth. He underscores the historicity of Christ’s life that is actually denied by some and how humble the circumstances that Jesus the Son of God and our savior entered into our world.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Our Lady of Loreto – Feast – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: 1ch 15:3-4, 15-16, 16:1-2
Resp: psa 84:3, 4, 5-6, 8, 11
Gsp: luk 1:26-38

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Dec 10 – Homily – Fr Elias: Holy House of Loreto first appeared on AirMaria.com.