The Christmas Plan

Written by Etienne Figueroa

With the change in liturgy and with the growing commercialism of Christmas, it's time for an official plan of attack. Follow these steps to win our Christmas back:

1. Take responsibility.

This may come off as a little unusual for a first step, but think about it for a moment: the only reason why stores put their Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving (and in growing numbers, before Halloween) is because they think it will make them more money. If we give them money for it, we are enabling their behavior. Before we can ask others to change, we must change ourselves.

2. Follow your family's old traditions.

If you don't know them, learn about them. Even if you don't understand them at first, there's most likely a reason why they have existed as long as they have.

3. Don't put your decorations up until the start of Advent.

Do I really need to explain this one?

4. Don't buy anything the day after Thanksgiving.

If emergencies happen or you want to pay off a bill, then okay, but nothing retail related. Buying on Black Friday will only breed crass consumerism, greed and un-Christian behavior. So, don't buy anything--it just encourages them.

5. Observe all of Advent.

One of the smartest things I've ever read about Advent and Christmas came from an article on AmericanCatholic.org (which was part of the inspiration for this list). In the article, it compared the season to a buffet, with Advent as the main course and Christmas as the dessert. It further stated that too often stores want us to skip the dinner and go right to desert, and as we all know, too much desert makes someone sick.

Advent is supposed to be a time of preparation for Christmas, and Christmas is not supposed to be for just one day. It is supposed to last from Christmas Day until the Epiphany (aka Baptism of the Lord).

So put up not just the lights and the tree, but also the Advent Wreath and Nativity Scene.

6. Attend Mass on at least ALL the Holy Days of Obligation.

This means Dec 8th, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Epiphany but can also include Dec 6th (St Nicholas Day) as well as Dec. 12 (Our Lady of Guadalupe). If you want to attend more often, you are greatly encouraged to do so.

7. If you are going to buy gifts, be sure said gifts are made in America or make something yourself.

This isn't so much Christmas related but it is a a way to bring jobs and revenue back to America. Economists say if we just buy 1% more American goods, we can create 200,000 jobs right here at home. And who knows? Perhaps if you make something yourself, you might discover a talent you didn't know you had.

8. For home cooks out there, consider making your goods with produce from a co-op and with Fair Trade ingredients.

This goes especially for any recipe that calls for chocolate and/or coffee. More information on Fair Trade can be found with this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_h99DDa39E

9. Arm yourself.

Tired of not hearing "Merry Christmas" at a store? Frustrated over the fact you can't find any religious themed Christmas cards? This can help you out with that.

Catholic Daughter's Court #2554 sells online little buttons that say "It's Okay to Say Merry Christmas to Me." ChristisChristmas.com sells paper Christmas cards or if you prefer online greetings, sign up for e-cards at catholicgreetings.org. And of course, it's easy to find car magnets for the Knights of Columbus "Keep Christ in Christmas" campaign.

10. Join Advent Conspiracy.

http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

Young Priest Discovers Renewal In Old Rite

Father Jeffery Fasching Elevates the Eucharist at
the Traditional Latin Mass in St. Agnes Cathedral - Springfield, Missouri
May 9th. 2010

A Catholic Priest is first and foremost a man of prayer. Prayer alone with our Lord is the single most important activity that I engage in each and every day. If any priest tells you otherwise, he does not have his priorities in order. A significant number of seminarians and priests attribute their vocations to Eucharistic adoration. I am one of them. Being alone with the Lord with no distractions each day makes for a very personal visit through which I am able to listen to the Lord speak to me.

The Eucharist is a priceless treasure. I first began to learn this in my home parish of Saint Francis of Assisi in Wichita, KS when I was in my early twenties. As I began to discern my vocation, I felt a powerful attraction toward regularly visiting our Lord in the perpetual adoration chapel in the parish. Our Lord spoke to me in my heart with an overwhelming invitation to confect the Eucharist and bring Christ to the world. From that time on I realized that among the many possibilities that life offered me at that point, nothing could begin to compare with working for the salvation of souls as a Catholic priest.

Over the years I have truly experienced first hand how the words of Pope Benedict XVI ring true regarding the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and adoration: “Only within the breathing space of adoration can the Eucharistic celebration indeed be alive…Communion and adoration do not stand side by side, or even in opposition, but are indivisibly one.”

Less than a year ago I learned of our Holy Father’s milestone document “Summorum Pontificum,” which restored to priests the freedom to celebrate the “extraordinary form” of the Roman rite. With the help of an on-line tutorial, I trained myself to offer Mass in the extraordinary form. The reason for my attraction toward the Latin Mass is twofold: my traditional upbringing and my experience of an unwillingness on the part of many priests to follow the rubrics of the mass.

Since I have been offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the extraordinary form I have experienced both a strengthening of my faith and great consolation as a Traditional priest who has experienced tremendous support from a Traditional, like-minded bishop. I have experienced a deeper union with the Church and our Holy Father through the classical Roman Liturgy because so many saints throughout the ages have offered the Holy Sacrifice precisely the same way that I am able to do right now.

As children of God our relationship with God is by far the most important relationship we can have. This relationship is intimately united with the presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. It is through the Mass alone that we are able to receive our Lord in Holy Communion and thereby nourish our personal relationship with Him. My experience has been that in any human relationship the words we use and the actions we perform play a significant role in the success of that particular relationship. Since our salvation depends upon our relationship with God, we should take extreme care with the words and actions of the Sacred Liturgy.

The documents of Vatican II clearly state that no individual, not even a priest, has the right to change the rubrics of the Sacred Liturgy. Nevertheless, this practice is common-place in many parishes. When a priest changes the words and gestures of the Sacred Liturgy he endangers the faith of those for whom he celebrates and thereby becomes responsible for diminishing the integrity of their belief. In learning to offer the Traditional Latin Mass that has grown under the influence of the Holy Ghost for so many centuries, I have experienced tremendous peace in the midst of casual behavior and gratuitous changes of words and gestures so prevalent in many parishes around me.

The Catholic Faith and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are the greatest gifts God has bestowed upon us. Therefore we must nourish our faith, grow in it, and never take what God has given us for granted. The Sacred Liturgy has been given to us by God to remain in contact with Him. As a priest, it is therefore incumbent upon me to help others to see how important the Liturgy is for our daily lives. The vestments, chalice, and all other items used during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass should show that we want to give back to God the most beautiful things that we have when we are in communion with Him.

The principle aim of the Church is to bring people into communion with the Lord through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Mass is the source and summit of our lives as Catholic Christians. Consequently, Liturgical matters have always been of the utmost importance with respect to Holy Mother Church. Despite this, many pastors do not even care to take charge of how liturgies are performed in their own parishes! As a result, I have experienced a tremendous lack of knowledge among the lay faithful with respect to Catholic doctrine.

This is precisely where I believe my mission as a priest sympathetic to the extraordinary form of the Mass begins. Recently appointed pastor of a growing Latin Mass community, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share my God-given faith with others who have it their aim to draw nourishment from the Sacred Liturgy that has nourished countless others throughout the centuries in the life of Holy Mother the Church.

Written by the Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Diocese of Springfield - Cape Girardeau

For more read The Catholic Knight's exclusive interview with Father Jeff Fasching HERE.

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Frequently The Catholic Knight is privileged to make the acquaintance of some remarkable people in the Catholic Church who have been inspired by the liturgical renewal of Pope Benedict XVI. The above article was written by one such person. Father Jeffrey Fasching is a new Traditional Latin Mass priest in Springfield Missouri. He is currently serving at St. Agnes Cathedral. Having just discovered historic Catholic tradition less than a year ago, he has been transformed and energized by the spiritual depth of the Usus Antiquior. Father Fasching is meeting the desperate need of faithful Catholics in a diocese where many people are struggling to understand the intentions of our Holy Father. The Catholic Knight is pleased to present this exclusive article written by Father Fasching, and hopes to bring you more from him in the near future.