God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

We are washed in the waters of Baptism; we begin and end our prayers; we sign ourselves with the Cross – all in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

We invoke God by those names we have learned: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There is one God, but three Divine Persons. This is God: manifest in all His works, revealed in the Sacred Scriptures, and taught in the Church’s Magisterium.

“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion … “ (A. Lincoln. Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863)

Although the Church’s liturgical Christmas season officially ended with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, in the old calendar it continued through February 2, the Presentation of the Lord, or, in the old tradition, the Purification of Mary.  This was coupled with what is called “Candlemas Day.” On that day, the priest blesses the altar candles that might be used throughout the year. Participants sometimes process into the church with candles.

Since 1972 various “Respect Life” efforts have been undertaken in the Catholic Church in the United States. Although this attention to the immutable value of human life is proper at all times, October has traditionally been observed as Respect Life Month.

A considerable element in the recent battle for the confirmation of now Associate Justice Kavanaugh, and the vehement opposition to his nomination, appeared to focus on his potential future role in overturning the January 22, 1973 decision of Roe v Wade, which together with Doe v. Bolton, opened the door to abortion on demand in the U.S.

St. Joseph, whose Solemn Feast Day is March 19, was a man chosen by God to share in the mystery of the Incarnation. God called him to be the Husband of Mary, Guardian of the Redeemer, and Head of the Holy Family. He is a model of masculinity; of chastity and purity; of holiness and the interior life; of hard and honest work; of justice.

In the Old Testament we hear the account of a different Joseph, and his brothers in Egypt.  At the time of the famine, Pharaoh sends the starving people to Joseph, his appointed representative.  He tells them, “Ite ad Ioseph,” “Go to Joseph” to receive their grain. The Church uses these same words in reference to St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church.