Sr. Emmanuel: "My Prayer to Jesus, Hidden in Mary's Womb".
10,000,000 tarbija maqtula minn dawk il-ftit kliem fil-liġi.
Prayer to Jesus in the Womb of Mary
God of holy wonders, great things you have done
Blessings in abundance, born to us a Son
Offspring of a virgin, to our world He came
Born to lift our burdens, come to earth to reign
Jesus is His name
O my soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour
My soul magnifies the Lord
For He who is mighty has done great things for me
David's great descendant, Mary's blessed child
Lived to raise the humble, died to reconcile
Mercy upon mercy, freeing us from shame
By His precious life-blood, sinners He reclaims
Blessed be His name
O my soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour
My soul magnifies the Lord
For He who is mighty has done great things for me
Jesus Christ, You took on flesh and blood
So that in You we might be born of God
Jesus Christ, You took on flesh and blood
So that in You we might be born of God
Jesus Christ, You took on flesh and blood
So that in You we might be born of God
Jesus Christ, You took on flesh and blood
So that in You we might be born of God
Lk 1:26-38 -- The Birth of Jesus Foretold - t-taħbira tat-twelid ta’ Ġesù Kristu
Anna O'Neil - published on 12/01/18
Have you ever thought about the placenta -- what it meant to Jesus and Mary, and what it means to us?
It’s not the part of labor and delivery that stands out, and you can bet it doesn’t make into a lot of people’s birth pictures or new baby announcements, but in and around the Christmas season especially, it’s worth remembering the placenta — what it meant to Jesus and Mary, and what it means to us.
Quick refresher, if you’re foggy on what a placenta is and does: It’s the organ that connects an unborn baby with his mother. The baby’s umbilical cord attaches to the placenta, and the mother’s body sends oxygen and nutrients through it to the baby. It also filters waste out of the baby’s blood, regulates the temperature of his environment, and produces the hormones that make the pregnancy possible.
Here’s the best part, though. The placenta is an organ that the mother and baby build together. We can’t say the mother’s placenta belongs to her in the same way that her womb is hers; the placenta belongs to mother and child both. Part of it is built by her body, and part by the baby’s body, but it’s one single organ — with both of their DNA.
So Mary didn’t only carry Jesus in her womb during those months leading up to Christmas day. She and he were actually attached — by a human organ that belonged to them both.
It really brings home what Jesus did, coming to earth, and asking to be named Emmanuel, God with us.
----------------------------------------
Lk 1:39-56 -- "The Almighty has done great things for me - Is-Setgħani għamel miegħi ħwejjeġ kbar"
The Hour of Darkness - Fr. Mark Goring, CC
During his general audience Dec. 1, 2021,
Pope Francis explained the lesson of St. Joseph's courage in accepting Mary as his wife.
The Gospel's "most demonic" passage
Jn 8:41b -- "We were not born of fornication" --- Ġw 8:41b - “Aħna m’aħniex ulied iż-żina!"
Mt 2:13-18 -- The massacre of the innocents - Erodi qatel it-tfal subien kollha ta’ Betlehem.
Later, when Jesus was preaching, somebody calls out to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!” Luke tells us that Jesus answered: “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
Lk 11:27-28 -- 'Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it'. - L-hena veru
Here is a God who wants to be so close to us that he became man — not just showing up out of the blue as an adult, but growing inside of his mother’s womb, sharing an organ with her, letting their two bodies be so intimately united — and now he says to us that those who hear the word of God and observe it can be united with him like his own, immaculate mother was.
We’re not immaculate, but that’s not the point. Jesus wants to share his life with us. We talk like he just wants proximity. He wants more. We talk about bringing Jesus into our life, making room for him in the inn, remembering him through the season, and all of that is good. But Jesus wants to be closer.
Jesus started his human life as every life starts, burrowed into the lining of his mother’s uterus. As he grew, their bodies worked together, God’s body and her immaculate one, building the placenta that attached them until he was ready to be born.
Some of us are mothers, and we remember sharing our body with our children. But all of us have mothers, and even though we don’t remember it, we began our lives connected to them in the most intimate way imaginable. If you’ve ever doubted that Jesus truly wants to be with you, remember that the unity in which your own life began is only a shadow of the unity that Jesus is hoping to have with you.
We don't have to introduce abortion to save the mother - The Archbishop
M'hemmx għalfejn nintroduċu l-abort biex insalvaw l-omm - L-Arċisqof
You are in a state of antenatal anxiety and depression:
You need caring and compassion,
even if you feel disappointed or even abused.
Do not give in to condemnation, abandonment or rejection
=======================
Why St. Joseph is patron and protector of the unborn
Philip Kosloski - published on 01/22/21
St. Joseph protected Mary and her unborn child, even though Jesus was not his biological son.
Among the many titles of St. Joseph, one that has grown in significance over the past 40 years has been “St. Joseph, patron of the unborn.”
The title and patronage is most fitting for St. Joseph, as he was about to “divorce [Mary] quietly” when he learned that “she was found with child … before they lived together” (cf. Matthew 1:18-19).
It took the appearance of an angel to reveal the plan God had for St. Joseph, assuring him to “not be afraid.”
St. Joseph then did all he could to protect the unborn child in Mary’s womb, as well as protecting Jesus, after he was born, from the murderous threats of Herod.
St. John Paul II emphasized St. Joseph’s role in protecting the unborn in a homily he delivered at a Shrine of St. Joseph in Kalisz, Poland.
Joseph of Nazareth, who saved Jesus from the cruelty of Herod, is shown to us in this moment as a great supporter of the cause of the defense of human life, from the first moment of conception to natural death. In this place, therefore, we wish to commend human life to Divine Providence and to Saint Joseph, especially the life of children not yet born, in our homeland and throughout the world. Life has an inviolable value and an unrepeatable dignity, especially because – as we read today in the liturgy – every person is called to share in God’s life. Saint John writes: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are!” (1 Jn 3:1).
St. John Paul II repeatedly emphasized in his homily the duty of every individual to protect life in the womb and to look to St. Joseph for inspiration.
Here in Kalisz, where Saint Joseph, this great defender and careful guardian of Jesus’ life, is venerated in a special way, I wish to remind you of the words that Mother Teresa of Calcutta …”the greatest destroyer of peace in the world today is abortion. If a mother can kill her own child, what is there to stop you and me from killing each other? The only one who has the right to take life is the One who has created it. Nobody else has that right: not the mother, not the father, not the doctor; no agency, no conference, no government … It frightens me to think of all the people who kill their conscience so that they can perform an abortion. When we die, we will come face to face with God, the Author of life. Who will give an account to God for the millions and millions of babies who were not allowed to have the chance to live, to love and be loved? … The child is the most beautiful gift of God to a family, to a nation. Let us never refuse this gift of God.”
When human life needs to be defended, turn to St. Joseph!
