On Mary and John the Baptist
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In last week’s post, we featured information on a variety
of topics: on the life of St. Anthony of Padua and St.
Cyprian of Carthage; on the book “Called By Name” - an
author-counselor’s work on helping people discover or
rediscover their calling in the mission of life; on Irish
inspired music featuring Hayley Westenra and Mark Forrest;
and a page informing about three ways to optimize the
use of key words in the blog software, WordPress.
For those who wish to review or to know more in detail
about these topics, you can visit it by clicking here.
The current post for today contains: the Lectionary
Readings for the Solemnity of the Birth of John the
Baptist, Year C; a book description on the writings
of four women mystics on the life of Mary; and a
featured page on stories of courageous and brave
people who have inspired many by their great faith
in God during the Rwandan holocaust of 1994.
This post features:
- Discovering God in the Rwandan
Holocaust: Stories of Courage - Four Mystics Write on the Life of the
Blessed Virgin Mary - Lectionary: Solemnity of the Birth
of John the Baptist, Year C
Discovering God in Tribal War
It has been more than a decade since the 1994 Rwandan holocaust,
when the warring Tutsi and Hutu tribes engaged in a genocide
that has its roots in old tribal animosities. This page
features people - most especially Immaculee, a Rwandan girl
who wrote a diary in relation to the bloodshed happening around
her; and a man who owned a hotel and made it a refuge for
those wanting to escape the terrible genocide happening in
Rwanda. These stories of bravery and courage inspire many
to discover that despite all these darkness in the history
of Rwanda, there are people who still believe in a God who
saves, delivers, and defends those who seek His refuge and
help.
Four Women Mystics on the Life of Mary
Mysticism of the “visionary” nature is very popular among
Catholics - not only in contemporary times but even more so
during the medieval ages. This page gives information on
four women mystics who wrote about their “visions” on the life
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Featured are: St. Bridget of
Sweden, St. Elizabeth of Schöenau, Venerable Mother Mary of
Jesus of Agreda, and Sister Anna Catherine Emmerich. The
Church teaches us that these writings on the life of Mary are
to be taken lightly like a religious novel, and they must
not be compared in seriousness to the message of the gospel
and Church teaching. However, by the spirit of their work,
their writings can lead us to a greater love and devotion to
the Mother of God. Aside from a reference to the book in
which their writings are compiled, this page gives short
biographical sketches of these four women mystics and
visionaries.
Lectionary Readings
Usually, it would be the 12th Sunday of the Year for this
coming June 24. However, since the solemnity of the Birth
of John the Baptist is celebrated annually every 24th of
June, Church norms teach us that the readings for this feast
will now supersede the readings of the 12th Sunday of the Year.
[For those who wish to also know the readings of the 12th
Sunday of the Year, you may click here.] The readings for
the solemnity of the birth of John the Baptist are taken from:
the book of Isaiah, the book of the Acts of the Apostles,
and the gospel of Luke. The gospel of Luke narrates the
story of how the name was given to John. The story invites
us to see God’s hand and his miracles in the life of His
servants. We see John’s father, Zechariah, who was struck
dumb upon initially learning that his wife Elizabeth, who
was already in her old age, will give birth to a son.
However, when the child was born, and the people in the
neighborhood asked Zechariah what name to give the infant
boy, Zechariah wrote in a tablet: “His name is John” -
and then astonishing and astounding the people because
he eventually opened his mouth, began to speak and praise
God!
