Christ The King - Closing of the Year of Faith

On this last Sunday of the Church calendar we celebrate the solemnity of CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE.

From this humble blog we greet our Lord and King and give thanks for His Kinship of Love, Sacrifice, and Salvation upon us, and we repeat with so many martyrs of the last century:

¡¡VIVA CRISTO REY!!

LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING!!

Today is also the closing of the YEAR OF FAITH which we have been celebrating since October 2012.

During this special Year we've had a special emphasis on the Creed, the prayer of the Church which summs up our Catholic faith, the faith I profess with Pope Francis and the whole Church

It is especially meaningful the celebration of the Eucharist that Pope Francis held today with all the Patriarchs and leaders of the Churches in full communion with Rome.
During the singing of the Creed, Pope Francis held in his hands a small urn containing the remains of the Apostle Peter, the first Pope, which were exposed to the public for the first time. Here is the video:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

        the Only Begotten Son of God,

        born of the Father before all ages.

    God from God, Light from Light,

        true God from true God,

    begotten, not made, consubstantial

       with the Father;

        Through him all things were made.

    For us men and for our salvation

        he came down from heaven,

        and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate

        of the Virgin Mary,

        and became man.

    For our sake he was crucified

      under Pontius Pilate,

        he suffered death and was buried,

        and rose again on the third day

        in accordance with the Scriptures.

    He ascended into heaven

        and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

    He will come again in glory

        to judge the living and the dead

        and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

        the Lord, the giver of life,

    who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

    who with the Father and the Son

        is adored and glorified,

        who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic,

     and apostolic Church.

    I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins

        and I look forward to the resurrection

        of the dead and the life of the world to come.

                          Amen.

The Year of Faith has been a year of incredible GRACE from God not only for the Church but also in my own life.

We've seen the amazing workings of the Holy Spirit in the leading of the Church through the historic and humble resignation of Pope Benedict and the gift of Pope Francis to the Church and the world.

In my own Diocesan Church we've seen also the resignation of our Bishop upon reaching the retirement age, and the appointment of our new Bishop.  Then, we've also had a change of Pastor at my parish.

But above and beyond these external -and important- changes, I've been blessed with a renewal of my own faith and my own vocation and place in the Church.

This might be a good time to reflect, how has the Year Of Faith influenced your own life? How has the Spirit touched (blessed - disturbed) you over the last 13 months?

May we all continue to grow stronger in our Faith, our Hope, and our Love.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple - Pro Orantibus Day -

Although not recorded in Scripture, today the Church celebrates the Consecration of the Infant Mary to God in the Temple of Jerusalem.

The story is related in some of the apocryphal gospels, and is extensively recorded in The Mystical City of God of the Ven. Maria de Jesus de Agreda (book II ch 1). Here are some excerpts (#421-422):

421. The three years time decreed by the Lord having been completed, Joachim and Anne set out from Nazareth, accompanied by a few of their kindred and bringing with them the true living Ark of the covenant, the most holy Mary, borne on the arms of her mother in order to be deposited in the holy temple of Jerusalem. The beautiful Child, by her fervent and loving aspirations, hastened after the ointments of her Beloved, seeking in the temple Him, whom She bore in her heart...

Thus they pursued their journey from Nazareth to the holy city of Jerusalem, and also the parents of the holy child Mary felt in their hearts great joy and consolation of spirit.

422. They arrived at the holy temple, and the blessed Anne on entering took her Daughter and Mistress by the hand, accompanied and assisted by saint Joachim. All three offered a devout and fervent prayer to the Lord; the parents offering to God their Daughter, and the most holy Child, in profound humility, adoration and worship, offering up Herself...

Having offered their prayers, they rose and betook themselves to the priest. The parents consigned their Child into his hands and he gave them his blessing. Together they conducted Her to the portion of the temple buildings, where many young girls lived to be brought up in retirement and in virtuous habits, until old enough to assume the state of matrimony. It was a place of retirement especially selected for the first-born daughters of the royal tribe of Juda and the sacerdotal tribe of Levi.

On this special Marian feast, the Church celebrates also her contemplatives, the lives consecrated to God in a life of prayer. Thus this is also called "Pro Orantibus Day" -the Day For Those Who Pray-

Pope Francis marked the ocassion by visiting the contemplative monastery of the Camaldolese nuns in Rome, and prayed with them Vespers as well as a time of adoration to the Blessed Sacrament. 

Here is a short video of the visit:

Some references for the Pro Orantibus Day: http://www.cloisteredlife.com/pro-orantibus-day/