In Luke 2 we read about the decree from Caesar Augustus for a census of the entire known world.  Everyone had to be registered in his own home town.  Joseph and Mary were living in Nazareth, but had to travel to Bethlehem to register, because Joseph was a direct descendent of King David.  Do you have any idea how long a trip this was?  About 60 miles!  Joseph on foot, leading a donkey carrying his pregnant wife, might be able to travel 10-15 miles a day, depending on the terrain.  Of course, there were no roads as we know them, just caravan routes.  At least the Romans and the groups of travelers would provide some protection from bandits.  With good weather, they may have made the trip in 5 or 6 days.  But how uncomfortable Mary must have been, in her ninth month, making that cross country trip!  

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

The third Sunday in Advent is nicknamed "Gaudete Sunday". Gaudete meaning ‘rejoice!’ in Latin, is the first word in the Latin Mass for today. If you look up the entrance antiphon in a missal, you will see that it starts out: "Rejoice in the Lord always!" In the Latin that would read “Gaudete in Domino semper!” You may have missed the "Gloria" these past few weeks. During Advent (as well as during Lent), the "Gloria" is not used at all, since both of these seasons are penitential in character. The “Gloria” is one of the most ancient hymns in the Church, originating in the Syrian Church. It is sometimes called "The Greater Doxology" to distinguish it from another "Gloria," "The Lesser Doxology," which is the prayer known in English as "The Glory Be." The Gloria entered the Latin Rite Mass as part of the Christmas Mass, its first line being the angels’ greeting at the Nativity of Christ: "Gloria in Excelsis Deo!”,  Glory to God in the Highest! It later came to be included in Masses on Sundays and on solemn feasts. It has been an integral part of the Mass for many centuries, and was retained after the reforms brought about by the Second Vatican Council. We will sing it again at Christmas Mass in just a couple of weeks.   

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

We are now at the Second Sunday of Advent this week. The Advent wreath is rich in the symbolism of the season. The wreath is an evergreen circle, symbolizing the everlasting and eternal God.  In some places, the Advent wreath is a triangle, to represent the Trinity.  

The four candles represent the four Weeks of Advent, and there are four weeks in Advent to represent the four thousand years the Hebrews waited for the Messiah.  Three of the candles are purple.  Purple represents penance and purification in anticipation of the birth of the Savior.  One of the candles is pink.  This is for Gaudete Sunday, which is next week, when the penitential tone of the season is briefly suspended in favor of the joy of the anticipation of Christmas.  

Maranatha, as we sing in the acclamation before the gospel, is an interesting word.  The Aramaic word “MRA” means “Lord”, and maranatha means “Come, O Lord” or “The Lord is near.” 

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

 Advent means “he is coming”.  It refers to the season before Christmas when the Church prepares for the coming of Christ.  We actually prepare for His coming in three ways.  The entire Christian (and indeed most of the secular) world are making preparations to celebrate His birth on Christmas Day. Today’s first reading reflects this anticipation.  Second, we also prepare ourselves to receive Him in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.  Third, we prepare for His second coming at the end of the world, as Jesus instructs in the Gospel.  Advent begins with the Sunday closest to November 30, the feast of St. Andrew, which falls on the same day this year.  This is because Andrew was the first apostle to approach Jesus, recognize Him as the Messiah, and ask to follow Him.  He also told Peter “We have found the Messiah” and brought Peter to Jesus. (John 1, 35-41).

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

  “…And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.”  Exodus 12:14

 “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you…” Joel 2:26.

“We know that … nations, like individuals, are subject to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with broken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”  Abraham Lincoln, 1863.  

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

We Catholics are often criticized for our lack of knowledge of the Bible.  When was the last time you read a Good Book?

Even though the Bible is bound as one book, it is really many. 

How many books are there in the Bible?
(1)  27  (2) 46  (3) 73  (4) 112.

The books of the Bible were written in three languages.  Which of the following was not an original language of the Bible?
(1)     Hebrew  (2) Latin  (3) Greek  (4) Aramaic

What is the Pentateuch?
(1)  a geometric figure  (2) a car Jesus drove  (3) the beard of Moses  (4) the first five books of the Bible.

The Jews have another name for the Pentateuch.  What is it?
(1) Sadducee  (2)the Torah  (3) the Septuagint  (4) Rosh Hashanah

Which version of the Old Testament has the most books?
(1)  the Jewish version  (2) the Protestant version  (3) the Catholic version

The first and the last books of the Bible are:
(1) Genesis and the Apocalypse (2) Exodus and the Acts of the Apostles (3) Genesis and Malachi (4) Genesis and Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews.

Answers: 3; 2; 4; 2; 3; 1

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

 Rehoboam, son of Solomon, was the last king of unified Israel.  The Northern ten tribes broke away from the two tribes in the South.  The Assyrians conquered the Northern kingdom in 721 B.C., while in 585 B.C. the Southern kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians, who destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, and carried off many of the Jews into captivity, thereafter known as the Babylonian captivity.  Ezechiel preached about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple as just punishment for the wicked ways of the people.  He prophesied that the people would eventually return to the Promised Land, and that a new temple would be raised up, and the water that flowed from the temple would allow fish to thrive in the waters of the Dead Sea.  The prophesies of Ezechiel are particularly meaningful for Christians, who see in the dream of the temple a foreshadowing of Christ, the new Temple raised up at the Resurrection after our captivity in sin.

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

 Most of us will never attain recognized sainthood, or even beatification, as Mother Theresa did last week, so All Saints’ Day will forever be a day of homage and reverence to martyrs and those recognized through the canonization process.  However, there is a day of commemoration for us ordinary folk, celebrated each year on November 2 (unless this falls on a Sunday as it does this year, in which case it falls on November 3).  Our souls, having departed our bodies, will need further purification before being admitted into heaven.  The faithful on earth can assist us in purgatory by prayer and acts of sacrifice.  This brings us to the diptych, or the Book of the Dead.  This is an age old Christian custom, in which the names of those in communion with the Church during life had their names inscribed by their loved ones so that the entire community could view and pray for those so named. Our Book of Remembrance is located at the entry to the church.  Please view the names of those who have gone before us, and write the names of those whom you would like the St. Louis community to remember in prayer.

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

  In St. Mark’s Gospel reading today, Jesus cures the blind man, Bartimeus, after leaving the city of Jericho.  But recall that Jericho was the city that Joshua conquered and destroyed centuries before.  (The Israelites circled the city for seven days blowing trumpets made from rams’ horns, until the walls fell and they were able to breach the defenses of the city and put the inhabitants to the sword.)  So where was Jesus visiting?  The ancient Jericho had entirely disappeared when Herod (the bad guy in the Christmas story) founded a new Jericho near the original city.  It had a royal palace, reservoirs, a hippodrome, and an amphitheatre.  Herod died there, and one of his sons made further improvements.  Perhaps Jesus and the disciples were sight seeing.  It was at the gates of this newer Jericho that the cure of Bartimeus took place.  It was also at this same Jericho where Christ met the tax collector, Zacheus, who is the namesake of Father Jim’s dog, Zach.

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

 October 18 is the feast of St. Luke, one of the evangelists, and the only Greek and Gentile (although the Gospel of St. John is written in Greek, so we have to wonder about him too).  He was the first Christian physician, and so his Gospel is replete with references to diseases and stories of healing.  Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, where he chronicles his meeting of St. Paul.  He was afterward a companion to Paul, traveling to Italy with him, and may have saved his life on several occasions, using his skills as a physician to restore Paul to health after his many persecutions.  We are relatively certain that Luke met, and interviewed the Blessed Virgin Mary.  He is the only evangelist to record the Magnificat, which he probably heard from her directly.  The only references to the Child Jesus are in Luke, and his account of the birth of Christ is among the most beloved passages in the Bible. There is also a legend that he painted a picture of Mary, which hung for a while in a cathedral in Italy, but is now lost.  Consequently he is the patron saint not only of physicians, but artists as well. 

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

 The Real Presence is a term signifying the presence of Christ in our midst.  We are used to thinking of His Presence in the consecrated hosts and wine at Mass, but there are other times that this term applies.

1. in His divine personhood.
2. in the least of His brothers and sisters
3. whenever two or more gather in His name.
4. in the Holy Catholic Church
5. in the Mass and liturgical celebrations of the Church
6. in the person of the pope, bishops and priests
7. in the reading of the Scriptures, and in preaching
8. in the praying and the singing of the congregation at Mass.

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

  The first reading and the Gospel this week are about the sanctity of marriage.  

The Catholic Church recognizes four possible ends to a sanctified marriage.  The first, and most obvious is death, of one or both partners.  The second is by dissolution, that is, the absence of valid baptism of one or both partners.  This is commonly referred to as Pauline Privilege (refer to I Corinthians, Chapter vii).  The third is annulment or invalidation, based on lack of freedom (being forced to marry), lack of intent (intention against permanence, fidelity or children), or lack of competence.  The last is lack of form, which refers to a marriage outside the Church without proper dispensation.

The banns of marriage was an ancient custom to publicize an intended marriage in the parishes of the marrying parties in order to discern any impediment against the marriage.  Anyone with knowledge of such impediment was bound to reveal it to the pastor of the church.   

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

September is a month of devotion to Mary.  Earlier this month we celebrated the birthday of Mary.  In art and sculpture as Our Mother of Sorrows, she is frequently depicted in black, with seven swords piercing her heart.  (Remember that the Latin root for September is “septem”, seven?).  

The seven sorrows are: the prophecy of Simeon; the flight into Egypt; the loss of Jesus at the temple when he was twelve; meeting Jesus on the Via Dolorosa or Way of the Cross; the Crucifixion; the taking down of Jesus from the cross; and the burial of Christ.  Simeon’s prophecy does double duty, in foretelling Jesus' fall, and that swords would pierce her soul.  As it is, all the other sorrows involve her divine Son in one way or another, not the least of which include some interesting “challenges” to Mary’s status by Jesus Himself.  

In May we also remember the seven joys of Mary which are: the Annunciation; the Visitation; the Nativity; the Epiphany; the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple; the finding of the young Jesus in the temple; and the Assumption.  

If anyone is interested, the Scriptures also record Mary speaking seven times.  How many can you think of? Answer

Michael G. Martin, M.D.

 Let’s greet autumn with a little quiz.

1. What’s the difference between the sacristy and the sanctuary? Answer
2. If you were to meet someone in the narthex, where would you go? Answer
3. Without peaking, is the evangelist’s window on the left or the right of the apse? Answer
4. Where would you find the icon of St. Monica? Answer
5. What color vestments does Father wear in Ordinary Time? Answer
6. What is the difference between the Lectionary and the Bible? Answer
7. What place in the church is a replica of the Ark of the Covenant? Answer
8. Without peaking, where is there an image of St. Joseph? Answer
9. Which gospel cycle are we in currently? Answer
10. Where is the sacramentary? Answer

Michael G. Martin, M.D.