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Got questions about life? Everyone should have the chance to explore the Christian faith, ask questions, and share their point of view.
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Amazed at the work of the Holy Spirit in our parish, we’re convinced that God is leading us into a time of formation, becoming missionary disciples necessary for the transformation of life and culture.
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Only love is credible. The Church from the beginning stood out because of the love that they had for their contemporaries.
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Who is Saint Cecilia?
St. Cecilia was born into an affluent Roman family in the third century. Her name is included in the Roman Canon alongside the names of other early Church martyrs.
Tradition tells us that Cecilia converted to Christianity and made a vow of virginity, but her parents forced her into marriage with a pagan nobleman named Valerian. On her wedding day, while instruments played, Cecilia sang to God in her heart. It’s one of the reasons why Cecilia is known as the patroness of music, musicians, and poets.
On their wedding night, Cecilia revealed to Valerian her conversion to Christianity and her vow of virginity. Valerian sought to understand the faith and converted soon after he found out. His brother followed suit and converted as well.
During that era, it was forbidden for anyone to bury the bodies of Christians, so newly-baptized Valerian and his brother dedicated themselves to burying the bodies of all the Christians they found. For this, they were arrested and brought before a judge who ordered them to worship the Roman god Jupiter, and were martyred when they refused to deny their Christian faith.
The police then came for Cecilia and strongly advised her to renounce her faith. In reply, she told them that she would prefer to die than to denounce the true faith. According to legend, upon hearing her response, they brought her to a large oven with the intention of suffocating her with the hot and toxic gasses it emitted.
However, instead of choking, Cecilia began to sing. Infuriated, her persecutors attempted to behead her, but after three strokes of the sword, Cecilia was still alive and her head was not severed. The soldiers then left her covered in blood in her own home, where she remained for three days before she died.
Her tomb in the catacombs of Rome became a place of devotion for many Christians. Her story has been depicted in art, music, and literature over the centuries.
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It was heartwarming to see the intergenerational gathering of smiling faces, at our Donut & Coffee Sunday this past week.
We are blessed to have a vibrant church that continues to thrive, as we strengthen our communal bonds in building up the Body of Christ.
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What is The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
This Feast, celebrated annually on November 21st, commemorates the presentation of the Blessed Virgin as a child by her parents in the Temple in Jerusalem. Before Mary's birth, her parents received a heavenly message that they would bear a child. In thanksgiving for the God's gift of Mary's birth, they brought her to the Temple to consecrate their only daughter to The Lord.
The celebration of the Feast is first documented in the 11th century within the Byzantine Catholic Church. It was introduced into the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th century by Pope Gregory XI, then removed from the calendar by Pope Pius V in the mid 16th century. Pope Sixtus V later reestablished the feast in 1585, and it is still celebrated today, commemorating the faith of her parents, Joachim and Anne, and the purity of Mary.
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