Category Archives: Nativity

THE INCARNATION – By Deacon Marty McIndoe

Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Creation, Death and Dying, Early Church Fathers, Eucharist, Hypostatic Union, Incarnation, Liturgy, Nativity, Resurrection, Saints, Scripture, Teaching, , ,

At the very heart of the Christmas celebration is the Incarnation, or the fact that God became man. When this happened 2,000 years ago, the earth and all mankind was changed forever. The Light of God would now dispel darkness. The second person of the Holy Trinity would now become one of us. The Creator would now come to His Creation. Now, mankind would be capable of living forever.

We commonly hear the initial words of the Bible “In the Beginning…..” which come to us from the book of Genesis and talk about God’s creation; about how all things were created. How Light came in to the earth. How all things came in to being by God’s creative hand. Genesis is the beginning of the Hebrew Scriptures, or the Old Testament. The Christian Gospel writer, Saint John begins his Gospel in the New Testament using the same words, “In the Beginning…..”. This was no coincidence. John wanted us to think about how both the Old Testament and the New Testament are linked and how God created us and brought about His Salvation for us. He wanted us to think about how God’s Light now dispels all darkness. John, in his Gospel, introduced us to the second person of the Holy Trinity namely, THE WORD when he tells us that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He makes it quite clear that THE WORD was God and was with God and helped Him in creating the Universe. This fits so well with Genesis when it says in the creation account, “Let Us make mankind in Our image”. This explains why the plural pronouns are used. John continues by saying that THE WORD was LIFE and was LIGHT and His LIGHT was the light of mankind.

A few verses down, John talks to us about John the Baptist and how he said that John the Baptist would be the messenger of the LIGHT and testify about the LIGHT and that the LIGHT was coming in to the world to enlighten every person. He also said that even though the LIGHT created the world, the world would mostly reject Him and only those born of God would really receive the LIGHT. Then the Gospel writer talks about the Incarnation by saying, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John the Baptist testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

To summarize all of this, St. John, in his Gospel tells us that THE WORD existed from the very beginning and was both God and with God. In other words, THE WORD was God Himself, but also separate from God. THE WORD was the second person of the Holy Trinity who was also known as the LIGHT and the LIFE. This WORD/LIGHT/LIFE was creator of the Universe. The Gospel writer then goes down to his historical time and talks about St. John the Baptist, and how he was the one to testify to WORD/LIGHT/LIFE and that many would reject his testimony. The Gospel writer then delivers the words, “He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.” It is important to note the the word, WORD comes from the Greek (Logos) and means emanation. Thus, the second person of the Holy Trinity, THE WORD is the emanation of God.

Another part of scripture, from Paul’s letter to the Philippians deals with the incarnation. In Philippians, Chapter 2 it says, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself taking the form of bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Another familiar scripture showing the incarnation, comes to us from the Old Testament, the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, chapter 9 which says,

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Another scripture, from the New Testament, Paul’s First letter to Timothy says, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Back to the Old Testament, in Isaiah 7 we hear, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (which means, “God is with us”).

Also, Our liturgy is a reflection of our faith. In our Liturgy of the Eucharist, when the deacon prepares the cup he pours water in to the wine and says, “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”

It is interesting to note that when God (The Word) became man (Jesus) He took on two natures. He was fully God and fully Man, all at the same time. We call this the theological term: Hypostatic Union. Jesus has two complete and distinct natures, all at the same time. Jesus is perfectly Divine and perfectly human. Even more interesting to note, Jesus maintains this Hypostatic Union for ever and ever. When Jesus died and rose from the dead and later ascended in to Heaven, he did so both as Divine Word and risen human. He proved to us that death no longer has a hold on us, but that we will live forever as children of God. The Athanasian Creed recognized this doctrine (Hypostatic Union) and affirmed its importance by stating:

He is God from the essence of the Father, begotten before time; and he is human from the essence of his mother, born in time; completely God, completely human, with a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as regards divinity, less than the Father as regards humanity. Although he is God and human, yet Christ is not two, but one. He is one, however, not by his divinity being turned into flesh, but by God’s taking humanity to himself. He is one, certainly not by the blending of his essence, but by the unity of his person. For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh, so too the one Christ is both God and human.

In conclusion, our God wants us to know Him and to Love Him and to serve Him and He humbled Himself to become one of us so that we could know and love and understand Him better. Christmas is the celebration of God becoming man, When the Blessed Virgin Mary said YES to the angel Gabriel, she allowed God to enter in to our humanity in the form of Jesus. All of our salvation is dependent upon this. Jesus, the GOD/MAN came not only to reveal the LOVE of the Father to us, but also to save us and bring us in to His LIGHT and to have LIFE forever and ever. This Christmas, as we celebrate so many things, let us remember that Christmas is all about the INCARNATION, God became man (Jesus). Also, remember, when we receive the Eucharist, we are receiving the Body, blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus. God is good.

He was made man that we might be made God. (Athanasius of Alexandria)

The FIFTH GLORIOUS MYSTERY of the Rosary – THE CORONATION OF MARY AS QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Apologetics, Assumption of Mary, Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Community, Converts, Evangelism, Family, Healing, Holiness, How to be Catholic, Jewish roots, Nativity, Prayer, Rosary, Scripture, Tradition, Women, , ,

First of all, I feel so inadequate to write this because I was brought up as a Protestant Methodist (I converted in 1972) and I heard very little about Mary when I was growing up. About the only time we heard about her was at Christmas. However, after becoming Catholic, I have grown in love with Mary, not only as the mother of Jesus, but also as my mother. Because of this, I am very excited to write about her Queenship. Believe me, most Protestants do not understand how we Catholics can see Mary as Queen. Hopefully, this might help. I think that it is interesting that the Protestant Evangelist and Conservative commentator, Charlie Kirk, only two months before his assassination/death, had this to say, “But let me first say, I think we as Protestants and Evangelicals under-venerate Mary. She was very important. She was a vessel for our Lord and Savior. I think that we, as Evangelicals and Protestants, we’ve overcorrected. We don’t talk about Mary enough. We don’t venerate her enough. Mary was clearly important to early Christians. There’s something there. In fact, I believe one of the ways that we fix toxic feminism in America is that Mary is the solution. Have more young ladies be pious, be reverent, be full of faith, slow to anger, slow to words at times. Mary is a phenomenal example, and I think a counter to so much of the toxicity of feminism in the modern era.” Whether or not you agree with the political side of that statement, I think that it is notable that a Protestant Evangelical made such a statement about Mary. I once read an article stating that Mary would be the one who brings the Protestant and Catholic Church back together. I would love to see that happen.

The main scripture that shows Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth is Revelation 12: 1-6 which describes a woman, with a Crown of 12 stars giving birth to a male child who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” It tells how the Devil wished to devour the child. This vision that Saint John descibes, clearly shows Mary, the Mother of Jesus as a Queen. But the question is often asked, “why does the Church need a Queen? Didn’t Mary fulfill her duty by giving birth and raising Jesus?” The answer is clearly, no. Mary was chosen not only to be the mother of Jesus but our mother too, She was chosen to be the Queen of Heaven and Earth. We can understand this better when we look at the Hebrew scriptures and the history of their Kings. Don’t forget that Jesus is known as the King of Kings and Son of David. The Davidic Kingdom finds its fulfillment in Jesus as KING OF THE UNIVERSE.

In the Davidic Kingdom of the Jews, the King had primary authority and often they had many brides. Even if there was one favored bride, the Mother of the King was known as the Queen. This was a recognized office and not just a title. In her office she possessed a Crown and a Throne and had signigicant powers. The Queen had the title of Gebirah (Hebrew for Great Lady) and served as a powerful and influential person within the King’s royal court. Often the King would have his subjects go to her with their requests and she would bring to him the ones she thought were necessary and would often handle many on her own. Catholics continue this tradition by often bringing to Mary their intercessions, to then to bring to Jesus. Remember that the Queen mother had the highest royal position, even above any of the King’s wives. Today the Church is seen as the Bride of Christ and we can all thus be seen as his bride (males too). There are many scriptures that show this, but my favorite is Isaiah 54:5 – “For your Maker is your husband; the Lord of hosts is His name; and the Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called.” However, even though we have many Brides of the King, we have only one Queen, His mother Mary. This is just like the Davidic Kings.

Bathsheba, the wife of Solomon, is known as the first Gebirah, or Queen mother. Many others followed; Maacha, Azubah, Zibiah, Jehoaddom, Jecholiah, Jerusha, Abi, Hephzihah, Meshullemeth, Jedidah, Hamutal, Zebidah, and Nehusta who was the last when the Babylonians conquered the Kingdom. It should also be noted that the royal expression for addressing the Gebirah was “the mother of my Lord”. This is the same exxpression that Elizabeth called Mary when the Visitation occurred (Luke 1:43). Even Elizabeth, during that very special meeting, while Jesus was still within Mary’s womb, recognized Mary as the Gebirah or Queen Mother. Today the Church continues that tradition of recognizing Mary as the Queen Mother, the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Why? Because Jesus is the King of Kings, the King of Heaven and Earth and Mary is His Mother and both Scripture and Tradition tell us to..

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

1 – Do I really honor Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth?

2 – Do I appreciate the rich link between our Christian faith and the Jewish traditions?

3 – Do I see Mary as someone to intercede to?

4 – Do I recognize Jesus as the King of the Universe?

5 – Do I see how God was at work within the Jewish nation and how it led to our beliefs today?

6 – Do I stand up for my beliefs even among people who believe differently than me?

7 – Can I think of ways to give special honor to Mary, as Queen of the Universe”

8 – Again, how am I doing on praying the Rosary on a regular basis?

9 – In the midst of her Queenship, can I see Mary as my mother?

10 – Do I understand how special I am as a believer in Jesus, as having Him as my Spouse and as having His Mother as my mother too?

MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY the Fourth JOYFUL Mystery: the PRESENTATION – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Communication, Consecration, Evangelism, Family, Fasting, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Jewish roots, Lent, Nativity, Prayer, Pro-Life, Relationships, Rosary, Spirituality

In Luke 2: 22-40 we hear how Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple to perform the prescribed rituals as to the custom of the law. We heard how Mary’a time of “purification” was over (not that she really needed it) and that she and Joseph would take the baby Jesus to the Temple. It appears that there was both a need for a purification ritual for Mary and a Presentation of the Lord as the first born son. Both were required by Jewish law. The purification of Mary meant that a sacrifice (two doves indicated their poor status) had to be offered. It was also customary for the first born male baby to be presented to God. This reflected the call from Exodus regarding the Angel of Death passing over the first born males of the Jews, but not the Egyptians. Joseph and Mary did both.

While going in to the Temple, they were greeted by two prophets. The first was Simeon who was led by the Spirit to go to the Temple at that perfect time. Luke relates that Simeon was a Holy man who had been told by God that he would not pass from this life, until he had seen the Messiah. Upon looking at the baby Jesus, Simeon immediately knew that He was the Messiah. Simeon then prayed the

Nunc Dimintis, sometime known as the Song of Simeon or Canticle of Simeon. This prayer says to God:

“Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace. You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness; the glory of your people Israel”.

This canticle is recited every day in Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted – and you yourself a sword will pierce, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Mary Queen of Sorrows)

About this time a prophetess by the name of Anna came. All of scripture only mentions four women prophets, and Anna is one of them. We were told that she was a very Holy woman who remained in the Temple day and night fasting and praying. She too immediately recognized the baby Jesus as the Messiah. She gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke then said, “when Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.”

There is so much to meditate on in this Mystery. Here are some questions to help us see how this Mystery affects each one of us:

1 – Do I diligently do all that the Church asks and even requires me to do?

2 – Do I include my immediate family in this?

3 – Am I comfortable in going, with my whole family, in to the Church?

4 – Do I see my children as both a gift from God and as a gift to God?

5 – Am I open to listening to the words of Holy men and women?

6 – Am I able to trust God, even when given bad news?

7 – Do I experience the wonder (and grace) of watching my children grow?

8 – Am I open to hear the voice of God, and to do what He asks me to do?

9 – Do I truly believe that every childs is filled with potential?

10 – Am I confident enough to share with another a “word” that God has given me for them?

MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY: The Third JOYFUL MYSTERY: THE NATIVITY – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Angels, Apologetics, Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Community, Death and Dying, Eucharist, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Holiness, How to be Catholic, Jewish roots, Nativity, Relationships, Rosary, Sacraments, Saints, Scripture, Service, Sin, Spirituality

MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY the Third Joyful Mystery: the NATIVITY – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Thanks to St. Francis of Assisi, we are all familiar with Nativity scenes. We put them up in our homes, our churches and our communities. We know quite well the stories shared by Matthew and Luke about Joseph taking the very pregnant Mary to Bethlehem and not finding room in the inn and having to settle for a place where the animals made their homes. We know the stories about the angels coming to the shepherds telling them that the new born King had come. We know how the Wise Men came to offer their gifts to the newborn King of the Jews, We know that this new baby is God-made-man and our savior and our Lord, Jesus the Messiah. In the midst of the nativity story, there is so much symbolism about who Jesus would be. The very fact that Jesus was born in a town named Bethlehem is quite notable. Bethlehem literally means House of Bread. This Jesus would become the Eucharist, the Bread from Heaven. It is also notable that Jesus was laid down in a manger, which is actually a feeding trough for animals. This also points to Jesus being the Bread for the World to be eaten as the Eucharist. Jesus later says, “I am the bread of life; unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you will not have life within you.”

The shepherds are awoken by the heavenly Host of Angels praising God and who tell the shepherds to go visit the newborn King. They do so, and it is interesting that there is some (although possibly scant) evidence that the shepherds in the Bethlehem area were the ones responsible for the lambs to be used in the temple for sacrifice. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. These shepherds, who perhaps were responsible for taking care of the temple sacrificial lambs, get to view the true Sacrificial Lamb, Jesus the lamb of God. One of the gifts that the Wise Men bring is Myrrh, which is used at burial time. Here at the birth of Jesus, we are reminded that He was born to die for us. The very Star that led the Wise Men reminds us of the divine plan that is present and how God leads us to where he wants us to go. The Wise Men’s gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh foreshadow Jesus’ roles as King, Son of God and Savior. The whole story of the Nativity reflects that Jesus is born to be among the common people, among the humble of heart, and around the poor. It is truly a reflection of the life of Jesus.

Questions to Ponder:

1 – Do I embrace humility the way Jesus does?

2 – Do I make room for Jesus in my home, and in my life?

3 – Do I offer a welcome home to others?

4 – Do I truly believe that Jesus, the Lamb of God shares his body, blood, soul and divinity with us in the Eucharist?

5 – Have I fully acknowledged that I am a sinner?

6 – Do I really understand that Jesus is my Savior and the answer to my sinful self?

7 – Do I understand that Jesus is the Lamb of God who died for my sins?

8 – Do I attend mass at least weekly to share in the remembrance of what Jesus did in His Passion?

9 – Do I offer prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving to God for all that He has done?

10 – Do I truly celebrate the real meaning of Christmas, and not just the social meaning?