Little Shares and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Mary has brought forth the Christ Child for the salvation of the world! We continue to celebrate because Christmas is not over, it's just begun! Christmas is a liturgical season that begins on the Feast of the Nativity, December 25 (also known as the Christ's Mass, i.e., Christmas)! Continue to enjoy the Baby Jesus, Who brings peace on earth to men of good will!  <----- That's a reminder that if you want Christ's peace, you must be of good will.

Now, to a few Little Shares...

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I love Catholic blogger, author, and speaker Devin Rose. Indirectly, Devin is a huge reason why this blog exists. I have followed him for years, and now I am honored to count him as a friend. Devin was an atheist in his early life, became a Baptist in his college years, and then found the fullness of the Catholic Faith in 2001. He is an amazing Catholic apologist. And, like so many millions of men, he was a slave to pornography for many years.

I am so thrilled to announce that Devin has designed a program that will help lift other Catholic men out of the sin and despair of porn addiction. The program contains every weapon a man needs to conquer this monster, and best of all, it includes personal, one-on-one support and advice from Devin himself. Check it out, and go to battle:

Catholic Men Conquer Porn Addiction

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Throughout the centuries, there have been countless volumes written about the Marian Doctrines and in defense of our veneration of Mary. Yet, sometimes the simplest off-the-cuff statements resonate most profoundly. Our buddy Chris Sawaya came to the defense of the Blessed Mother recently, when an anti-Catholic fundamentalist burst on the scene spewing ugliness and ignorance in the comments. I loved Chris' response so much that I put it on my Facebook page. The reaction there was astounding, and someone even asked if Chris' words were copyrighted! Here is what he said:

And John, it's ok to love Mary. Jesus certainly did. If the Angel Gabriel took time out of his busy schedule to talk to a human and use the greeting "Hail, full of Grace" you're probably ok with honoring that person.  

Not to mention, who wants to hear on judgement day "dude, did you really spend all that time dissing my Mama? Why don't you say it to my face?" 

Brilliant, I tell you!

And here's another that Chris heard once, and that stuck with him (and now me): "Be nice to Mary, her Son will be your judge."

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You might not be hearing from me for a while, for a couple of reasons. First, I have decided to write a casual little self-published book. There have been enough providential nudges that I finally took the hint and decided to get writing. I have kinda suspected that I would one day attempt to write a book, but I always thought it would be a compilation of Little Teachings. I'm a little surprised that the subject matter is of a different nature....

It's still taking shape, but the tentative title is Raising Up Chaste Catholic Men in a Pornified Culture, and I'm enlisting the help of my three oldest sons (ages 22, almost 18, and 15). I am really excited about it! Believe me, I know it's a big risk on so many levels, but I ask for your prayers as I spend the next few weeks putting it all together. As soon as the bulk of it is complete, I'll be back to blogging, but I need to minimize distractions until that time. (I am like a child, easily distracted.)

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A second reason I won't be blogging for a while is that both my daughters and their families are coming to town! Hooray!! 

I realize I have not provided any updated photos of my two grandbabies, nor have I announced that my older daughter and her husband are expecting their second daughter in May! Yes, Miss Felicity will have a sister for life! Here she is, our sweetie pie, at 18 months:

She had a white Christmas!!

And my handsome grandson David is nine months old already! Enjoying his life and his very first Christmas!

My daughter told me he really loved eating the bows!

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God bless you all this Christmas season, and I'll be back soon!

Little Teaching: The Immaculate Conception

The beautiful thing about the Catholic Church is that we are very much a family. We have our Father in Heaven, our Brother Jesus, and all of our brothers and sisters in the Communion of Saints. And no family is complete without the presence and love of a Mother.

Mary, the Mother of Christ Jesus, is our Mother, too. She is your Mother.

Today, we celebrate one of the most beautiful Marian Feast days, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (which is also a holy day of obligation, by the way, so get yourself to mass!).

Many people are confused about the Immaculate Conception, believing that it refers to the the conception of Jesus in Mary's womb (it does not; that is the Annunciation, or the Incarnation), or that it refers to the Virgin Birth (it does not; that is the Nativity, or Christmas).

The Immaculate Conception refers to and celebrates the conception of Mary in her own mother's womb. She was conceived in the usual way, by her two married parents, St. Anne and St. Joachim, so that was not the extraordinary part. What is extraordinary is the fact that from the moment of Mary's conception, she was without the stain of Original Sin. She was immaculate, and she stayed that way her whole life. 

On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX infallibly defined this ancient Christian teaching in this way:

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

Some Catholics fully embrace this doctrine of Mary's sinlessness, yet still misunderstand why Mary was conceived without sin. Some people (even some priests) erroneously believe that Mary had to be sinless in order to carry a sinless Jesus in her own womb, so as not to pass along Original Sin to her Divine Son through her flesh. They believe that the Immaculate Conception was necessary. 

But that is not true. Because if it were necessary for a woman to be without sin in order to bear a child without sin, then St. Anne would have had to be sinless to bear a sinless Mary, and the same would have to be true for St. Anne's mother, and on and on all the way back through the generations. Clearly, that is not the case. 

Rather than "necessary", the words of the Church are that it was "wholly fitting" that God would preserve the Blessed Mother from any taint or impurity. She is the Holy Vessel who would house the Word Incarnate in her own body. Just as the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant was made of the purest gold to house the Word of God, the Ark of the New Covenant (Mary) would be made of purest flesh to house the Word of God made Flesh (Jesus). She was, literally, the Holy of Holies. 

And so it is fitting that we honor Mary, the Immaculate Conception, on this beautiful feast day dedicated to her singular privilege as the Fairest Daughter of the Father. Praise God Who gave us, literally, the perfect Mother. 

The Immaculate Conception, by Tiepolo

Related Post:  Mary's Perpetual Virginity

Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother!

Today we joyfully celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother! Mary made herself known to me in an extraordinary way when I was just a little girl, and she waited patiently for me, with a mother's love, while I wandered in the darkness for many years. I thank my wonderful parents, and my father especially, for instilling in my heart a deep love for Our Lady.

To honor our Heavenly Mother on her birthday, please leave a comment telling us what she means to you, how she has affected your life and faith journey, or how she has led you to her Divine Son. I can't wait to hear!

"The day of the Nativity of the Mother of God is a day of universal joy, 

because through the Mother of God, the entire human race was renewed, 

and the sorrow of the first mother, Eve, was transformed into joy."

-- Saint John Damascene, Father and Doctor of the Church

Mary, Mother of God, by Tracy L. Christianson

“In trial or difficulty I have recourse to Mother Mary, 

whose glance alone is enough to dissipate every fear.” 

-- Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church

A few items and a "Just Curious"!

I'm just full of awe about so many things these days. (Advent is a good time for that, I guess!)

First, I am simply awestruck that Sew Infertile has given birth to the most beautiful baby girl, Hannah Grace! This amazing family has pretty much consumed my thoughts since I heard that Sew was at the hospital! Sometimes the human heart fills up to overflowing with gratitude to God for His gifts, and for life itself. There really are no words. Welcome, Hannah! (My future daughter-in-law?)

Second, I cannot believe that my last post ("My imaginary dialogues with abortion rights advocates") has resulted in over 200 comments so far! (Yeah, so what if most of them are mine??) If you have missed any of the discussion (and if you have a couple of hours, ha ha), then go and read. I am learning a lot, and I suspect others are, too. With one exception, I believe everyone has been civil, even gracious.

Third, I am honored that a recent Bubble post has been featured at Catholic Exchange, here. It's a post I can't take much credit for; however, it's incredibly important for Catholics to read. I am grateful that CE thought so, too, and I'm grateful for the chance to bring it to others' attention again.

Finally, today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception! On this holy day (of obligation, by the way!), we honor our Mother Mary, the most perfect creature ever made, conceived without sin! She is such a gift to us and to this world! How on earth can anyone speak of the Catholic Church as sexist when we hold a woman to be the most perfect human in all of creation, reigning as Queen above all the angels and saints?

St. Mary Immaculate, pray for us!

Now, because I am curious....

Into what religion were you born, if any? And your spouse?
And, what religion, if any, do you practice now?

I am a Cradle Catholic (born and baptized Catholic), but I didn't know my faith very well till my late 20's. I am still Catholic today (I hope that is obvious, ha ha!).

My husband was raised as an agnostic Jew. He had his own conversion right around the time I had my "reversion" (after six years of marriage and three kids), and now he is a practicing Catholic. I am still trying to get him to sit down and write his faith story!

How about you?

Answer to Bible in the Bubble! Plus, Bubble Awards!

Welcome to the answer and awards portion of Bible in the Bubble!

The question from Monday was:

The scene of the Visitation in the New Testament (Luke 1:39-56) contains striking parallels to what scene in the Old Testament? Elaborate.


Answer:

There is a thrilling discovery when a passage from the New Testament so beautifully parallels, prefigures and fulfills a passage from the Old Testament. In this case, the Visitation scene in the New Testament (Mary on a journey, visiting her cousin Elizabeth) is strikingly similar to 2 Samuel 6:4-16, the scene of David on a journey with the Ark of the Covenant.

St. Luke's passage draws a beautiful parallel between Our Lady and the Ark. As Catholics, we identify Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant for many reasons, including the obvious: the old Ark was the pure vessel in which dwelt the Word of God (the Ten Commandments), and the New Ark (Mary) was the pure vessel in which dwelt the Word of God (made flesh!).

But there is so much more than that!

In those two short Bible scenes in Luke and Samuel, we see the following parallels (excerpted here from Steve Ray):

• Mary arose and went to the hill country of Judea.... Mary and the ark were both on a journey to the same hill country of Judea.
• When David saw the ark he rejoiced and said, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" Elizabeth uses almost the same words: "Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Luke is telling us something—drawing our minds back to the Old Testament, showing us a parallel.
• When David approached the ark he shouted out and danced and leapt in front of the ark. He was wearing an ephod, the clothing of a priest. When Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, approached Elizabeth, John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb—and John was from the priestly line of Aaron. Both leapt and danced in the presence of the ark. The Ark of the Old Covenant remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months, and Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months. The place that housed the ark for three months was blessed, and in the short paragraph in Luke, Elizabeth uses the word blessed three times. Her home was certainly blessed by the presence of the ark and the Lord within.
• When the Old Testament ark arrived—as when Mary arrived—they were both greeted with shouts of joy. The word for the cry of Elizabeth’s greeting is a rare Greek word used in connection with Old Testament liturgical ceremonies that were centered around the ark and worship (cf.Word Biblical Commentary, 67). This word would flip on the light switch for any knowledgeable Jew.
• The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God’s presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sam. 6:12; 1 Kgs. 8:9–11). Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple (Luke 1:56; 2:21–22).

It seems clear that Luke has used typology to reveal something about the place of Mary in salvation history. In the Ark of the Old Covenant, God came to his people with a spiritual presence, but in Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, God comes to dwell with his people not only spiritually but physically, in the womb of a specially prepared Jewish girl.

The section above, in blue, can be found here, along with several other Biblical parallels between Mary and the Ark. I strongly urge you to read the entire article.... It will take your breath away!

Now for the part you have all been waiting for.....

The Bubble Awards!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, this rarely happens, but there are three recipients of the Riding an Emotional Roller Coaster Award -- Brit, Megan and Lauren, for cycling from excitement to despair in a matter of seconds! Interestingly, this is also called the You Need to Read the Question More Carefully Next Time Award! Congratulations on the triple-double award, ladies!

But wait! Brit and Lauren have achieved the double-triple, because they have also won the Best Presentation and Explication of a Wrong Answer Award! Your wrong answers were excellent!!

The Best Display of Self-Deprecating Catholic Humor Award goes to... Jennifer (for reminding us all that we need to know our Bibles better... after all, it's a Catholic Book)!!

The Yes, It Counts for Something, But Your Reward Will Be in Heaven Not on this Quiz Show Award goes to.... JellyBelly!!

And finally, the GRAND PRIZE (as prophesied by some of the commenters already) goes to.... 

Mrs. Blondies!!! 

{Applause, applause, applause!!}

Unfortunately, Mrs. Blondies gets no holey soap and nothing else either, except the satisfaction of winning a GRAND PRIZE Bubble Award, which includes bragging rights!

(Some people would give their right arm for that award, right Lauren? Although Lauren did get three awards today.... )

Join us next time and thanks for playing along!!

*PS: Please note that I normally don't cut and paste an answer like that, nor do I wait this long to answer, but I have been swamped lately. Forgive?

Little Teachings from the Bubble: Mary's Perpetual Virginity

Well, you know I like to keep things simple and clear. No fancy schmancy theological jargon here. (If I fall into that, slap me.)

Adrienne, a super cool lurker posing as her husband Dave, asked a great question after this post on the Immaculate Conception of Mary. After discussing the "why" of Mary's sinless nature, she wanted to know the "why" of Mary's perpetual virginity.

Here's the key that starts to unlock the "why" of it:

God speaks to us in terms of marriage. Our relationship with Him is a nuptial relationship, as Christopher West explains beautifully:

The Bible, itself, uses spousal love more than any other image to help us understand God’s plan. It begins in Genesis with the marriage of Adam and Eve and ends in Revelation with the marriage of Christ and the Church. Here we find a key for understanding the whole of Scripture: God’s wants to “marry” us – to live with us in an eternal bond of love that the Bible compares to marriage.

Okay, so you got that? It's astounding, really!! In fact, the Church teaches that the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, as glorious as it is, is merely a reflection, or a preview if you will, of the ultimate union we will have with the Trinity in Heaven one day. Earthly marriage points us toward "the Wedding Feast of the Lamb" which is how our Heavenly consummation with God is described in the Book of Revelation. Yep, God wants to marry us!

Chris West continues:

But there’s more! God wants to fill us – or, to go with the analogy – God wants to “impregnate” us, his bride, with his own divine life. This is a very “earthy” way of speaking, but it isn’t mere poetry. In Mary we witness a woman who literally conceived divine life in her womb.

Holy moley, think about that!! Seriously try for a moment to wrap your brain around that truth. It should make you fall over! Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit. The rest of us have to get to Heaven before we can hope to have such a profound union with our God. But for Mary, her union with God came on earth, and it was a union so powerful that she conceived Jesus Christ -- the Second Person of the Holy Trinity! -- in her womb! Hello??!!! I mean, who does that??

Okay, let me collect myself and get to the point: Marriage is a reflection of the union we will one day have with God. Mary achieved that union, that consummation, on earth. Even the words of the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation ("The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" Luke 1:35) echo language in the Old Testament which implies marital relations.

We will "marry" God in Heaven. Mary "married" God while still on earth. She, in essence, "skipped over" earthy marital union and went straight to where marriage points us, which is union with God! (And as an aside, that is why priests and nuns remain celibate as well... There is a lot of nuptial imagery in religious life. For example, women religious have Jesus as their spouse, wear wedding rings, etc.)

Mary as "spouse" of the Holy Spirit is a common and ancient understanding of the Church, and you'll often hear Mary's unique relationship to the Holy Trinity described this way:

Mary is the Fairest Daughter of the Father,

the Chaste Spouse of the Holy Spirit,

and the Blessed Mother of the Son.

Soooooo.... what was St. Joseph, then, chopped liver?

Quite the opposite! Though not sinless himself, he was a profoundly holy man and a faithful Jew. He lived his life in humble obedience to God, and God had a very special role for Joseph in salvation history. As one of my favorites, Brother Anthony Opisso (Jewish doctor turned Catholic monk!) put it:

Having been enlightened by an angel in a dream regarding her pregnancy, and perhaps further by Mary concerning the words of the archangel Gabriel to her at the Annunciation, Joseph knew that God had conducted himself as a husband in regard to Mary. (emphasis mine)

Joseph knew that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit! She was now the Holy of Holies made flesh, the Ark of the New Covenant who carried within her the Word made flesh! (Remember the Old Testament Ark? It was made of purest gold, and if you touched it you would die! How much more worthy and precious was Mary than a golden box!)

And now let's get very real here. Many of you know deeply holy and devout men of God. If a holy man knew from an angel that his virgin betrothed had been overshadowed, espoused and impregnated by GOD ALMIGHTY, do you think that man would go ahead and have relations with her? Ummmm..... not likely!

And yet, Joseph followed the instruction of the angel, and took Mary as his wife. He knew he was to care for her and the Baby as a husband and a father. They lived as a true, real family, in true, real love, but Joseph abstained from relations with his wife, as anyone with his understanding would do. There was precedent for this in Judaism (again from Brother Opisso):

Living a celibate life within marriage was not unknown in Jewish tradition. It was told that Moses, who was married, remained continent the rest of his life after the command to abstain from sexual intercourse (Exodus 19:15) given in preparation for the revelation at Mount Sinai. There was also a tradition that the seventy elders abstained thereafter from their wives after their call, and so did Eldad and Medad when the spirit of prophecy came upon them; indeed it was said that the prophets became celibate after the Word of the Lord communicated with them.

Even today in the Church there is something known as a "Josephite marriage" -- that is, a couple validly married in the Church who both mutually agree to abstain from their right to have sex with one another. St. Therese's parents had just such a marriage until their spiritual director, one year into the marriage, advised them to consummate. Josephite marriages are quite rare, of course, but just as in ancient Jewish times, they do exist.

Oh my, this is getting long. So much more to say, but this is supposed to be a "little" teaching after all.

I will leave you with this, because I adore this passage.... You know how the Old Testament foreshadows, or prefigures, the events of the New Testament? How everything in the OT points to Jesus Christ? Well, with that in mind, meditate on this beautiful passage from the Old Testament, in light of Mary's perpetual virginity:

The Lord said to me,

"This gate shall remain shut;

it shall not be opened,

and no one shall enter by it;

for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it;

therefore, it shall remain shut."

(Ezekiel 44:2)

Holy Mary, ever-Virgin, pray for us!

Answer to Doctrinal Quiz Show, Second Edition... and Bubble Awards!

Well, well, well! You guys continue to impress! I know you are really in this for the awards, but before I give those out, let's get to the big reveal.

The question I posed: According to the Catholic Church, why did God create Mary to be without sin from the first moment of her conception?

Answer: Because it was "wholly fitting" that the Mother of God be perfectly pure, without taint of sin.

I said it was sort of a trick question because I really wanted to focus attention on what Mother Church does NOT say. She does NOT say that it was "necessary" in any way that Mary be sinless so that she would not pass along Original Sin to Jesus. Because if that were the case (as Lauren pointed out), then St. Anne would have had to be sinless to bear a sinless Mary, and on and on all the way back through the generations.

It's amazing how many really sound and faithful Catholics believe (wrongly) that Mary's Immaculate Conception was necessary. I know a wonderfully orthodox Catholic who wrote a brilliant catechism which had this error in it. I pointed it out to him, and he just could not see the illogic of using that argument. I have even heard wonderful priests preach this error from the pulpit.

Anyway, it's just a little pet peeve of mine, so I wanted to clear that up.

So, in a nutshell, the "why" of it is because it was fitting, not because it was necessary.

(Find the entire encyclical defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception here.)

The awesome answers you all offered really fleshed it out even more, diving into the understanding of Mary as Ark of the New Covenant, Mary as the New Eve. She is all that! And the encyclical above discusses those themes as well. Man, you guys are good. It also gets me excited about writing more on Mary as New Ark and New Eve. That is some amazing stuff!! Blows me away, really, so I will revisit that for sure.

Finally, what you have really been waiting for...

The Bubble Awards!

I am limiting these to six awards, or else I will end up giving one to everyone. The envelopes, please....

The Speedy Gonzales Award goes to Sew Infertile, for her quick response like last time! Secondary award for being the second commenter, commenting on her first comment. By the way, Sew will always get an award, just because she is Sew. I think that is, well, wholly fitting. ;)

The Patriot Award for Best Use of a Decoy Link in Order to Instruct Americans About Flag Etiquette goes to Cathy!

The Most Courageous Emergence of a Protestant Into the "Little Catholic Bubble" Award goes to Olya! I speak for everyone when I say that you are always welcome here!

The Most Likely to Have Written Her Comments From a Bar Award goes to Jenny!

The Flattery Will NOT Get You an Award Award goes to Shannon, for making me feel good about changing my blog design in the shameful and obvious hope of getting an award. Clearly that didn't work, but nice try!

And finally, the That's Pretty Much Exactly the Answer I Was Looking For Award goes to Lauren! I will ignore the fact that she confessed a grave sin from the last Doctrinal Quiz Show (although she will have to give back her Frank Sheed award), and I will also try to ignore her explicitly voiced complaint about my question. The fact that I still give her this coveted award is a testament to my good will, fair-mindedness, spirit of forgiveness, extreme generosity and almost unimaginable humility.

Now, please, don't despair if you didn't win a Bubble Award this time, because the rest of you won the Scarlett O'Hara Award for remembering that tomorrow is another day.

PS: Second Chances, you are still brown-nosing. ;)

Doctrinal Quiz Show, Second Edition. Play along!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post for another episode of...

DOCTRINAL QUIZ SHOW!

(clap, clap, clap)

Okay, folks, this one might seem simple on the surface, but it's *almost* a trick question (and that's all I'm going to say about that).

Remember, the rules are that you cannot research it, google it, or ask your catechist husband the answer. Just answer to the best of your ability, off the top of your head. No cheating! Because cheating is a sin.

Don't worry, I will not publicly mock your answer unless I feel like it. I also reserve the right to give out incredibly witty awards like last time, so beware.

Here is your question (soft drum roll):

According to the Catholic Church, why did God create Mary to be without sin from the first moment of her conception?

Have at it, kiddos!