Old Testament prophecies and prefigurations of the Holy Rosary

All of the books of the Old Testament anticipate the coming of the Messiah (anointed priest/prophet/king) either by prophecy or by prefiguring his life with events in the lives of one of the God-given saviors of their people. These “types” of Christ include: Melchizedek, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, and Jonah. As Jesus is the spiritual Adam (1 Corinth. 15:45), so “the woman” Mary is as an obedient Eve. Mary, the virgin mother of God, likewise is prefigured by a number of faithful and heroic women in Jewish salvation history: Sarah, Hannah, Esther, and Judith. She is even prefigured by the Mosaic ark of covenant, as her body is the new ark of the Covenant who is Jesus Himself.

One good way to meditate on each rosary mystery is to consider the associated prophecy or prefigurement before praying the Our Father.

THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES

I. THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE INCARNATION OF JESUS BY THE ANGEL

Prophesied Isaiah 7:13-14
Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God!? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
Prefigured Genesis 18:1,9,12
The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre. … “Where is your wife Sarah? … I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” … So Sarah laughed. … The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? … Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do? At the appointed time, … I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.”

II. THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH AND ZECHARIAH

Prophesied 2 Samuel 6:9,11,14; 7:8-9,16
David … said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” … The ark of the LORD remained in the house … 3 months. … David … came dancing before … the ark of the LORD with abandon. … “Speak thus to my servant David, … I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. … Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me.”
Prefigured 1 Samuel 2:1-2,5,7-8
As Hannah worshipped the LORD, she said: “My heart exults in the LORD, my horn is exalted in my God. … I rejoice in my victory. There is no Holy One like the LORD. … The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry batten on spoil. … The LORD makes poor and makes rich, he humbles, he also exalts. He raises the needy from the dust … to seat them with nobles.”

III. THE NATIVITY OF JESUS IN BETHLEHEM

Prophesied Micah 5:1-2,4
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, … from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel;  whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the LORD will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne. … He shall be peace.
Prefigured 1 Kings 10:1-2,4-6,9-10
The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s fame, …. arrived in Jerusalem. … When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s great wisdom, … she was breathless. She told the king, …“In his enduring love for Israel, the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice.” Then she gave the king 120 gold talents, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones.

IV. THE PRESENTATION OF THE INFANT JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

Prophesied Malachi 3:1-3
Suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who will endure the day of his coming? … He will purify the sons of Levi … that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Prefigured 1 Samuel 1:24-25,28
Once he was weaned, she brought him up with her … and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh. After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother approached Eli and said, … “Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”

V. THE FINDING OF THE CHILD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

Prophesied 2 Samuel 7:4-5,12-14
The LORD spoke to Nathan and said: “Go tell my servant David, … I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, …It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.”
Prefigured 1 Samuel 2:11,20; 3:1,3
When Elkanah returned home to Ramah, the child remained in the service of the LORD under the priest Eli. … Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, as they were leaving for home. … During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli, … Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was.

THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES

I. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS IN THE JORDAN RIVER BY JOHN

Prophesied Isaiah 42:1,6-7
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased. Upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations. … I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners.
Prefigured 1 Samuel 16:4,11-13
Samuel did as the LORD commanded him. … Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him.” … The LORD said, “There – anoint him, for this is he!” Then Samuel, … anointed him. … The spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.

II. THE MANIFESTATION OF JESUS AT THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA

Prophesied Isaiah 55:1-3
All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! … You shall delight in rich fare. … I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.
Prefigured 2 Kings 2:19-22
Once the inhabitants of the city complained to Elisha, … “The water is bad and the land unfruitful.” “Bring me a new bowl,” Elisha said, “and put salt into it.” When they had brought it to him, he went out to the spring and threw salt into it, saying, “Thus says the LORD, ‘I have purified this water.’ ” … And the water has stayed pure even to this day.

III. THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM BY JESUS

Prophesied Deuteronomy 18:17-19
The LORD said to Moses, “This was well said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it.”
Prefigured Deuteronomy 30:15-16,19-20; 31:1
“I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, … loving him and walking in his ways, … your God will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. … Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.” … Moses had finished.

IV. THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS ON THE MOUNTAIN

Prophesied Isaiah 9:1,5-6
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. … A son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over his kingdom which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever.
Prefigured Exodus 34:30,34
When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him. … Whenever Moses entered the presence of the LORD to converse with him, … the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant.

V. THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST AT THE LAST PASSOVER OF JESUS

Prophesied Jeremiah 31:31-34
The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. … It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers. … They broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master. … I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God. … I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
Prefigured Genesis 14:18-20
Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and being a priest of God Most High, he blessed Abram with these words: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES

I. THE AGONY OF JESUS IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE

Prophesied Isaiah 53:8,10-12
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away; … smitten for the sin of his people. … Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, … the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. … Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. … He surrendered himself to death.
Prefigured Genesis 37:8,27-28
“Are you really going to make yourself king over us?” his brothers asked him. … “Let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.

II. THE SCOURGING AND ABUSE OF JESUS

Prophesied Isaiah 53:5-7
He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep; each following his own way; but the LORD has laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth, like a lamb led to the slaughter.
Prefigured Jeremiah 26:10-11; 37:15
When the princes of Judah were informed of these things, they came up from the king’s palace to the house of the LORD and held court. … The priests and prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “This man deserves death; he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” … The princes were enraged, and had Jeremiah beaten and thrown into prison.

III. THE CROWNING WITH THORNS AND MOCKING OF JESUS

Prophesied 1 Samuel 8:6-8
Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them. He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer: … “They are rejecting me as their king. As they have treated me constantly from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this day, deserting me and worshiping strange gods, so do they treat you.”
Prefigured Jeremiah 15:10-11,15-16
A man of strife and contention to all the land! I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me. Tell me, LORD, have I not served you for their good? Have I not interceded with you in the time of misfortune and anguish? … You know I have. … Know that for you I have borne insult. …Because I bore your name, O LORD.

IV. THE CARRYING OF THE CROSS OF JESUS TO GOLGOTHA

Prophesied Isaiah 53:3-4,12
He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken. …Counted among the wicked, he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon.
Prefigured Genesis 22:6-8,13
Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders. … Isaac spoke, … “Where is the sheep for the holocaust?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.” … As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

V. THE CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF JESUS

Prophesied Psalm 22:1,8-9,16-19
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? … All who see me mock me; … “He relied on the LORD – let him rescue him.” … My throat is dried up liked baked clay; my tongue cleaves to my jaws; … They have pierced my hands and my feet, I can count all my bones. … They divide my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.
Prefigured Numbers 21:7-9
The people said to Moses, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. … The LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered. 

THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES 

I. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS FROM THE DEAD 

Prophesied Psalm 16:9-11 My heart is glad, my soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure, for you will not abandon me to Sheol, nor let your faithful servant see the pit. You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever. 

Prefigured Jonah 2:1,3,7 The LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish 3 days and 3 nights. … Jonah said this prayer: … ‘From the midst of the nether world I cried for help, and you heard my voice. … You brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God.’ 

II. THE ASCENSION OF JESUS TO HEAVEN AFTER 40 DAYS 

Prophesied Daniel 7:13-14 I saw one like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, he received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away. 

Prefigured 2 Kings 2:9-12 Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask whatever I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of your spirit.” … He replied, “If you see me taken up from you, your wish will be granted.” … A flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. When Elisha saw it happen he cried out. 

III. THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE DISCIPLES 

Prophesied Joel 3:1-2,5 I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, … even upon the servants and the handmaids, in those days, I will pour out my spirit. … Then everyone shall be rescued who calls on the name of the LORD; for on Mount Zion there shall be a remnant, as the LORD has said, and in Jerusalem survivors whom the LORD shall call. 

Prefigured Numbers 11:25,29 The LORD then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied. … Moses answered, … “Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets. Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!” 

IV. THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY, BODY AND SOUL, INTO HEAVEN 

Prophesied Psalm 45: 7,9,14-15,17-18 Your throne, O God, stands forever; … with myrrh, aloes, and cassia your robes are fragrant. … All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters; ... she is led to the king. … The throne of your fathers your sons will have; you shall make them princes through all the land. I will make your name renowned through all generations; thus nations shall praise you forever. 

Prefigured Esther 5:1-2 Esther put on her royal garments and stood in the inner courtyard, looking toward the royal palace, while the king was seated on his royal throne in the audience chamber, facing the palace doorway. He saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, and made her welcome by extending toward her the golden staff which he held. She came up to him. 

V. THE CORONATION OF MARY AS QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

Prophesied Genesis 3:14-15,20 Then the LORD God said to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” … She became the mother of all the living. 

Prefigured Judith 13:18; 15:9-10 “Blessed are you, daughter, by the most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the LORD God, … who guided your blow at the head of the chief of our enemies.” … All blessed Judith, saying: “You are the glory of Jerusalem, the surpassing joy of Israel; you are the splendid boast of our people. … God is pleased with what you have wrought. May you be blessed forever. 

Source: SCRIPTURES IN ROSARY. PDF

Hate the sin, love the sinner

"I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man's actions, but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner.

For a long time I used to think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life - namely myself. However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently, Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them. Not one word of what we have said about them needs to be unsaid. But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere he can be cured and made human again."

- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity


“Love the sinner and hate the sin” really means this: love all sinners and hate all sins, without partiality and without prejudice. This is the way of life that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. When this teaching is followed, it is revolutionary.

- Joshua Nickel

Archbishop Fulton Sheen: Wedding at Cana

One of the most amazing features of this marriage is that it was not the wine servant, whose business it was to service the wine, who noticed the shortage, but rather Our Blessed Mother. (She notes our needs before we ourselves feel them.) She made a very simple prayer to her Divine Son about the empty wine pots when she said: “They have no wine.” Hidden in the words was not only a consciousness of the power of her Divine Son, but also an expression of her desire to remedy an awkward situation. Perhaps the Blessed Mother had already seen Our Lord work many miracles in secret-although He had not yet worked a single one in public. For if there had not already been a consciousness of the truth that He was the Son of the Omnipotent God, she would not have asked for a miracle. Some of the greatest miracles of the world have similarly been done through the influence of a mother: “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”

The answer of Our Blessed Lord was, “Woman what is that to me? My hour is not yet come.”

Note that Our Lord said: “My hour is not yet come.” Whenever Our Blessed Lord used that expression, “hour,” it was in relation to His Passion and His Death. For example, the night that Judas crossed the brook of Cedron to blister His lips with a kiss, Our Lord said: “This is your hour and the powers of darkness.” A few hours before, when seated at His Last Supper on earth and anticipating His Death, He said: “Father, the hour is come. Glorify Thy Son with the glory that He had with Thee before the foundations of the world were laid.” Earlier, when a crowd attempted to take His Life by stoning, Scriptures say: “His hour was not yet come.” Our Blessed Lord was obviously, at Cana, saying that the hour in which He was to reveal Himself had not yet come according to His Father’s appointment. And yet, implicit in Mary’s statement was a request that He actually begin it. Scriptures tell us: “So in Cana of Galilee, Jesus began His miracles, and made known the glory that was within Him, so that His disciples learned to believe in Him.” (John 2:11.) 

In our own language, Our Lord was saying to His Blessed Mother: “My dear Mother, do you realize that you are asking me to proclaim my Divinity - to appear before the world as the Son of God, and to prove my Divinity by my works and my miracles? The moment that I do this, I begin the royal road to the Cross. When I am no longer known among men as the son of the carpenter, but as the Son of God, that will be my first step toward Calvary. My hour is not yet come; but would you have me anticipate it? Is it your will that I go to the Cross? If I do this, your relationship to me changes. You are now my mother. You are known everywhere in our little village, as the ‘Mother of Jesus.’ But if I appear now as the Saviour of men, and begin the work of Redemption, your role will change too. Once I undertake the salvation of mankind, you will not only be my mother, but you will also be the mother of everyone whom I redeem. I am the Head of humanity; as soon as I save the body of humanity you, who are the mother of the Head, become also the mother of the body. You will then be the universal mother, the new Eve, as I am the new Adam. 

“To indicate the role that you will play in Redemption, I now bestow upon you that title of universal motherhood; I call you - Woman. It was to you that I referred when I said to Satan that I would put enmity between him and the Woman, between his brood of evil and your seed, Which I am. That great title of Woman I dignify you with now. And I shall dignify you with it again when my hour comes and when I am unfurled upon the Cross, like a wounded eagle. We are in this work of Redemption together. What is yours is mine. From this hour on, we are not just Mary and Jesus, we are the new Adam and the new Eve, beginning a new humanity, changing the water of sin into the wine of life. Knowing all this, my dear Mother, is it your will that I anticipate the Cross and that I go to Calvary?” Our Blessed Lord was presenting to Mary not merely the choice of asking for a miracle or not; rather He was asking if she would send Him to His death. He had made it quite plain that the world would not tolerate His Divinity - that if He turned water into wine, some day wine would be changed into blood. The answer of Mary was one of complete cooperation in the Redemption of Our Blessed Lord, as she spoke for the last time in Sacred Scripture. Turning to the wine steward she said, “Whatsoever He shall say to you, that do ye.” (John 2:5.) What a magnificent valedictory! As Our Blessed Lord had said that He had come on earth to do His Father’s Will, so Mary bade us do the Will of her Divine Son. “Whatsoever He shall say to you, that do ye.” The waterpots are filled, are brought to Our Blessed Lord, and then, in the magnificent lines of the poet, Richard Crashaw, “The unconscious waters saw their God, and blushed.”

 The first lesson from Cana is: “Aid yourself and Heaven will aid you.” Our Lord could have produced wine out of nothing, as He had made the world from nothing, but He willed that the wine servants bring their pots and fill them with water. We must not expect God to transform us without our bringing something to be transformed. In vain do we say: “O Lord, help me overcome my evil habits or let me be sober, pure, and honest.” What good are these prayers unless we bring at least our own efforts? God will, indeed, make us peaceful and happy again, but only on condition that we bring the water of our own feeble efforts. We are not to remain passive, while awaiting the manifestation of God’s power; there must be the indispensable gesture of our own liberty, even though it brings to God something as unspirited as the routine waters of our insipid lives! Collaboration with God is essential if we are to become the sons of God.

From The World's First Love

Two criminals were crucified with Christ. 

One was saved – do not despair. 

One was not – do not presume.

– St Augustine

Sola scriptura

Related links:

Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal. Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age".

Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit."

"And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching."

As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, "does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence. (Catechism of Catholic Church 80-82)

Sola scriptura is unhistorical, unbiblical and unworkable.

While Protestants limit themselves to scripture alone, they are denying God's revelation through Sacred Tradition: Tradition first means all of divine revelation, from the dawn of human history to the end of the apostolic age, as passed on from one generation of believers to the next, and as preserved under divine guidance by the Church established by Christ. Sacred Tradition more technically also means, within this transmitted revelation, that part of God's revealed word which is not contained in Sacred Scripture. Referring specifically to how Christian tradition was handed on, the Second Vatican Council says: "It was done by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received--whether from the lips of Christ, from His way of life and His works, or whether they had learned it by the prompting of the Holy Spirit" (Constitution on Divine Revelation, II, 7).

Scott Hahn's conversion story - Scott, a Protestant minister and Professor of Theology wrestled with Sola Scriptura ultimately converting to Catholicism

The Five Solas - The first thing that is striking is that if they are all "alone", then why do the other 4 even exist?  In other words, if we are saved by scripture alone, then why do we even talk about grace or faith?  Why do we need scripture when we are saved by grace alone?  And are any of these "alones"  in the Bible?  A quick search shows that only one of the solas, the words "faith alone" does appear in the bible, as follows:
James 2:24:You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Strange that the one sola that does appear in the bible contradicts the very sola itself... Read full article

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Advent begins today and with it the hope that we all make more room in our hearts for Emmanuel, God with us.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Roe v. Wade: Jane Roe speaks out

January 22, 1973 - Roe v. Wade opened the door to legal abortions.
To date, there have been 53,000,000 lives lost.

"Jane Roe" never did get an abortion. Norma McCorvey, the woman referred to as Roe in the landmark case of Roe vs. Wade, has become an advocate for the pro-life movement.

"In Roe v. Wade, perhaps the most controversial United States Supreme Court decision, Norma McCorvey fought for and won the right to secure an abortion. Though she never had an abortion, under the pseudonym "Jane Roe," Norma reluctantly became the poster child for the pro-choice movement. Over the next two decades, Norma experienced the grief and despair of millions of women who chose to abort their babies; she witnessed the destruction of thousands of human lives in abortion clinics where she worked; and the "champion: of the pro-choice movement was soon being crushed by the weight of so much death, and so many ill-considered "choices." Finally, she began to break. She found out that the real choice she had been burdened with was not about abortion but about eternal life. It was a choice that would shock the world and change Norma's life forever." [Amazon.com]

And a Child will lead them...

I heard this story, read by the deacon at the church in my hometown and I was so moved by it! Thanks to my Mom for finding a copy of it to pass on!

* * * * * * * * * *

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.

We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled.. His hands
waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I
see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks,
'What do we do?' Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man.
The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal
came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake?
Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo.'

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.

My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for
Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row
bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went
to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man
sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here
before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man,
I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be
breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in
a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had
propelled himself from my arms to the man.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their
love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission
laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder.. The man's eyes
closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of
grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his
back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.

I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and
his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding
voice, 'You take care of this baby.' Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a
throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were
in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am,
you've given me my Christmas gift.'

I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran
for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik
so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny
child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and
a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind,
holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing
to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity.
How did God feel when he put his baby in our arms 2000 years ago.

The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom
of God , we must become as little children.'

Brother Andre named a saint!

“It is with the smallest brushes that the artists paint the most beautiful pictures.”

~ Brother Andre

Having grown up only an hour away from Montreal, I was fortunate to make several visits to St. Joseph's Oratory over the years with my family. So many of us have been touched by the life of Brother Andre - a simple, humble man who didn't allow his own frailties to stop him from serving God. He may have been small in stature and considered a weakling by many, yet his tremendous faith in God and devotion to St. Joseph allowed him to be used as an instrument for healing for thousands.

On October 17, 2010, Brother Andre has been recognized by the church as a saint!

Brother Andre was born Alfred Bessette on Aug. 9, 1845, in St-Gregoire-d'Iberville, and orphaned when he was 12 years old.

Once he took his vows, he gave comfort to people who came to him at College Notre-Dame for solace, and many credited him with curing their illnesses.

Shown on left: Some of the crutches lining the walls at the Oratory of those healed by Brother Andre

He founded St. Joseph's Oratory in 1904, although it was a modest chapel and far from the grand landmark that looms over Montreal today.

He was named the Oratory's guardian in 1909.

Brother Andre died at age 91 on Jan. 6, 1937. During the six days and nights before his funeral, more than one million people filed past his coffin.

His heart still rests in a small shrine in the Oratory, where he was ultimately laid to rest.

Resurrection Mural by Ron Dicianni

I've come across wonderful artwork by Ron Dicianni in the past and just learned of this beautiful mural of the Resurrection that took him two years to paint. It's now displayed in the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, Texas. Dicianni even enlisted the help of four other prominent Christian artists as some of his models. Thomas Blackshear posed as Abraham, Michael Dudash as Isaiah, Morgan Weistling as David, and Chris Hopkins as John the Baptist.

Pictured from left to right:
Abraham, Isaiah, David, Moses, (an angel on either side of Jesus), Elijah, Noah, Queen Esther, John the Baptist, Daniel

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

[Hebrews 12:1, verse used for artist's inspiration]

-> Read more as Dicianni describes his painting and its inspiration...

Watch video!