Catholic Teens 8-15-06
Hey All--
Today is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. It’s a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning we’re all to go to Mass today. (This is where you can wish you lived 500 years ago.) Because on a Holy Day—everyone was off of work and the whole town shut down to celebrate. Although I should add that in some places this is still the case. For instance, in Italy, the day is one of celebration, and in many Latin American countries as well.
We celebrate Mary being “assumed” into Heaven today, both body and soul. When we die, our soul goes to heaven(hopefully!) and our body into a grave—where it remains until Jesus comes again. Mary, because of her holiness and faithfulness, was given the reward of her body and soul going directly to heaven.
Did she physically die before this happened? We don’t know for certain. She may have and then at that moment been taken to Heaven or may have been taken before her death. The Eastern Churches refer to this as “the Dormition” of Mary---in other words “sleep”.
What we do know…is that she sits in Heaven with Jesus and all the saints, still watching us and praying for us..that one day we might join her!
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Question O' The Week:
Why do we have holy water at the entrance to the Church?
-It’s there for 2 reasons…we use it to bless ourself and to remember our Baptism. For it was Baptism that first made you a member of the Church. So every time you enter the Church and bless yourself, you remember your Baptism. On top of that, it is a blessing we receive that draws us closer to God and helps defend us against the evil spirits, that as St. Peter tells us prowl “like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
I believe it was St. Theresa of Avilla who recounted this tale. The devil appeared to her and she prayed him away. He then appeared to her again and she threw holy water at him. He never came back.
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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism, and for the continued ceasefire in the Middle East.
-For a father of a young family having back surgery tomorrow morning.
-For the diocesan in-service this weekend.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
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Announcements:
St. Peter’s Keys Softball:
The Keys ended on a downnote, losing 13-4 to the 1st Place, Second Street Pub. Defensively a good game was played but the offense disappeared after the 3rd inning. The team finished 7-7 on the year…not bad for our 1st try!
We’ll be back next year!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For more information on St. Peters check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com
Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.
Today is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. It’s a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning we’re all to go to Mass today. (This is where you can wish you lived 500 years ago.) Because on a Holy Day—everyone was off of work and the whole town shut down to celebrate. Although I should add that in some places this is still the case. For instance, in Italy, the day is one of celebration, and in many Latin American countries as well.
We celebrate Mary being “assumed” into Heaven today, both body and soul. When we die, our soul goes to heaven(hopefully!) and our body into a grave—where it remains until Jesus comes again. Mary, because of her holiness and faithfulness, was given the reward of her body and soul going directly to heaven.
Did she physically die before this happened? We don’t know for certain. She may have and then at that moment been taken to Heaven or may have been taken before her death. The Eastern Churches refer to this as “the Dormition” of Mary---in other words “sleep”.
What we do know…is that she sits in Heaven with Jesus and all the saints, still watching us and praying for us..that one day we might join her!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question O' The Week:
Why do we have holy water at the entrance to the Church?
-It’s there for 2 reasons…we use it to bless ourself and to remember our Baptism. For it was Baptism that first made you a member of the Church. So every time you enter the Church and bless yourself, you remember your Baptism. On top of that, it is a blessing we receive that draws us closer to God and helps defend us against the evil spirits, that as St. Peter tells us prowl “like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
I believe it was St. Theresa of Avilla who recounted this tale. The devil appeared to her and she prayed him away. He then appeared to her again and she threw holy water at him. He never came back.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism, and for the continued ceasefire in the Middle East.
-For a father of a young family having back surgery tomorrow morning.
-For the diocesan in-service this weekend.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcements:
St. Peter’s Keys Softball:
The Keys ended on a downnote, losing 13-4 to the 1st Place, Second Street Pub. Defensively a good game was played but the offense disappeared after the 3rd inning. The team finished 7-7 on the year…not bad for our 1st try!
We’ll be back next year!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For more information on St. Peters check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com
Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.
posted by Phil Lawson at 12:43 PM
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