A request

I ask all of my readers to pray for me, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, by means of the Angelus, which is our traditio this week, albeit a day early, as I am departing tomorrow, that what I have to say to my sisters and brothers, my fellow celini, in Seattle this weekend will be beneficial and effacacious for them, for me, for the Movement, the furthering of the charism in which share, the one given by God to Luigi Giussani, which is always at the service of the church. Also, I humbly implore your prayers for my lovely and very pregnant wife, who is not due for another few weeks, that all be well the two days I am gone. Please pray, too, for our CL community here in SLC, our little School of Community. I also want to invite those in my vicinity who might be interested to come to see on Wednesday evening, at the Cathedral, at 6:30 PM. Finally, please pray in the same way for my brother deacons here in the Diocese of Salt Lake City who will be on retreat this weekend with Bishop Wester as their retreat master.

I request your prayers to commence at 6:00 PM this evening and carry over to 6:00 AM, Noon, and 6:00 PM tomorrow. Please continue the cycle at least through Saturday, though that is what we should be doing everyday, except during Easter, during which time we pray the Regina Coeli instead of the Angelus. I don't make such a specific request in order to give anybody a complex that leads to spiritual neurosis. Please, do not be neurotic about it! If you miss a time, when you realize you missed it, just pray then and get back on track! In this way the practice can be microcosm of our lives with God. I'll spare you the Footprints in the Sand quote, but you know what I mean. God is good because Deus caritas est and I am grateful that you would spend time praying for me anytime!

Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
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, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto 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, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

And the Word was made Flesh: 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, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

The Angelus reminds us of the fact of the Incarnation. It is no myth, no fanciful story, but a fact that determines the world. This is articulated beautifully by His Excellency, the Most Rev. Filippo Santoro, Bishop of Petrópolis, Brazil, in an intervention at the Synod of Bishops, which is convened now in Rome and discussing sacred scripture and for which I give a deep diaconal bow to Fred who brought this to my attention, writing over on Is It Possible?:

"The Word of God is a fact: it is the person of Jesus Christ whom the Apostles met as he walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and whom the Church proclaims as one who can be met today in the paths of our life.

"There is a challenge that this announcement has to overcome; the challenge is above all anthropological. And that is does this fact show it is able to overcome space and time as something that does not fade away, that does not wear out and answers the desires of a man’s heart in a unique and singular way. Experience shows that things sparkle then fade with time: the Ancient Greek poet Mimnermus said 'like the leaves that germinate spring' and along with him Arnault, Leopardi and the literature of all times. The ego also fades and what fascinated us loses its value with time, it is consumed or it no longer attracts us. The big question, which cannot be denied even by contemporary culture, is: does something exist that can fully realizes the needs of our hearts and that lasts in time, forever."

To which the answer is YES, a million times YES, the one who did not deem equality with God something to be held onto- Jesus the Christ, born of the Virgin Mary!