St. Augustine: God became man so that man might become God

Francia (Italian High Renaissance Painter, 1450-1517).
Adoration of the Child
Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale)
Note: St. Augustine is the bishop depicted

(SOURCE)

I may have to make corrections to what is below as I typed it in a hurry this morning from the Breviary. I don't typically like not capitalizing certain words and names that refer to the Divine, but for now must leave it as it appears in the Office. Part of restoring a sense of the sacred would be a return to showing respect in written words.

From today's Office of Readings, a thought provoking sermon from the great Doctor of the Church...

From a Sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
(Sermo 13 de Tempore: PL 39, 1097-1098)

Beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal creator of all things, today became our Savior by being born of a mother. Of his own will he was born for us today, in time, so that he could lead us to his Father's eternity. God became man so that man might become God. The Lord of angels became man today so that man could eat the bread of angels.

Today, the prophecy is fulfilled that said: Pour down, heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just one: let the earth be opened and bring forth a savior. The Lord who had created all things is himself now created, so that he who was lost would be found. Thus, man, in the words of the psalmist, confesses: Before I was humbled, I sinned. Man sinned and became guilty; God is born a man to free man from his guilt. Man fell, but God descended, man fell miserably, but God descended mercifully; man left through pride, God descended with his grace.

My brethren, what miracles! What prodigies! The laws of nature are changed in the case of man. God is born. A virgin becomes pregnant with man. The Word of God marries the woman who knows no man. She is now at the same time both mother and virgin. She becomes a mother, yet she remains a virgin. The virgin bears a son, yet she is not barren. He alone was born without sin, for she bore him without the embrace of a man, not by the concupiscence of the flesh but by the obedience of the mind.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Fr. Vincent Serpa, OP on Fear of Confession

"The Perfect Sacrifice"

by artist Tommy Canning

Visit Art of Divine Mercy Online to purchase stunning Catholic artwork by this great artist I met at the 2005 Call to Holiness Conference here in metro Detroit.

Over at Catholic.com, where he is a staff apologist, Fr. Vincent Serpa, OP has given a most thought-provoking and powerful response to someone who experiences tremendous fear of using the Sacrament of Confession.

Fr. Serpa words give us all something to meditate on the next time we find ourselves less than enthusiastic to go, or don't want to take time out of our day:

You say that you hate this sacrament. What you hate is the way you feel when you receive it. You need to acknowledge that your fear is subjective. There is nothing objectively dangerous in having one’s sins forgiven.

It seems that the stating of those sins and the hearing of oneself state them to another person and the anticipation of a response could be what scares you. It would seem that somewhere in your past some experience has made you fearful of such vulnerability. You really do need to find out what it is that is really going on here.As for approaching the sacrament, you need to make a list of your sins and simply read them to the priest. But even more importantly than this, you need to focus on what the Lord was willing to endure that your sins might be forgiven.

As the result of the loss of so much blood from the scourging at the pillar, he endured a pounding headache that accompanied Him to His death. Receiving the nails into the carpal tunnels of His hands brought pain to His whole upper body. When the cross was lifted and put in place, the nails in His hands held His body up. His up-stretched arms then began to squeeze His lings and He began to gasp. So He had to push down on His crucified feet to raise His body so that He could fill His lungs with air. This caused additional pain to His feet. Such strain required additional energy and His energy was steadily decreasing from the loss of blood. Nevertheless, He maintained this agonizing routine while hanging on the cross for three hours. As He became weaker, His struggle became greater. After three hours He came to the point where He just could not raise His body one more time. Finally in that eternal moment He gave up His spirit and died, giving us life. That moment was the reason He became man. It’s eternal because it transcends time and touches every human being who has ever lived or will ever live. It’s the moment that gives us a window into what it means to be loved with a love that is infinite.

The more we reflect on this eternal moment, the more we begin to realize what it means to be loved by Him. When the priest raises his hand as he absolves us, it is really the nail-scarred hand of Jesus who is absolving us. We must never forget this. This is how to cope with your fear. As St. John says, love banishes fear.

I will remember you at 2 a.m. during my hour before the Blessed Sacrament.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.

Source post at Catholic.com

If you have questions about the Catholic faith, you can always use Ask an Apologist at Catholic.com after registering.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

"The Annunciation" (1644) by Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674)
Source: Artcyclopedia

ANGELUS (Latin)

V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae.
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.

Ave Maria, gratia plena; Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus. * Sancta Maria, Mater Dei ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

V. Ecce ancilla Domini,
R. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.

Ave Maria, gratia plena; Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus. * Sancta Maria, Mater Dei ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

V. Et Verbum caro factum est,
R. Et habitavit in nobis.

Ave Maria, gratia plena; Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus.* Sancta Maria, Mater Dei ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genetrix,
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

Oremus. Gratiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde; ut qui, Angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem eius et crucem ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.

ANGELUS (English)

V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with Thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.* Holy Mary, Mother of God, prayer for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
R. Be it done to me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with Thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.* Holy Mary, Mother of God, prayer for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

V. And the Word was made flesh,
R. And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with Thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.* Holy Mary, Mother of God, prayer for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that, as we have known the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, by the message of an angel, so by His Passion and Cross we may be brought to the glory of the Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

via EWTN