Joyful Welcome, Baby Dear!

Gaudium Magnum Annuntio Vobis:

Natus Est Nobis Filiam!

Et Nomen Suum Est:

Elizabeth Therese Varella.

Translation: A great joy I announce to you: a daughter has been born to us! And her name is: Elizabeth Therese Varella.

I chose the title, "Joyful Welcome, Baby Dear!" for this article because when my grandmother would embroider blankets for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, that was always the message. And why not be joyful at the birth of a little one? "Lo, sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward" (Psalm 127:3). And also, Psalm 128 is also a good one to know, because children are a blessing, and those who have children are blessed more than they who have monetary riches:

1. Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!

2. You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

3. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

4. Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.

5. The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!

6. May you see your children's children! Peace be upon Israel!

First Visit with Deacon Denis from our Parish

First Yawn 

First Smile 

First Look of Contentment

Alert after First Bath

We have chosen the name Elizabeth after Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), a great educator and saint, and the foundress of Catholic schools in America.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Filicchi Portrait, 1804

We have chosen the name Therese, after Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face (1873-1897). She became a Carmelite novice at an unusually early age, made vows as a Carmelite nun, and died very young. She preserved her innocence throughout her short life, and she was very devoted to the Child Jesus. At one time, she said that if one is afraid of approaching Jesus the Judge, let him approach Jesus as a Child, because who is afraid of a little child? She has been given the title of "Doctor of the Church" because of her "Little Way." Her autobiography, Story of a Soul, is truly a delight to read, and I highly recommend it.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus
A.K.A. St. Therese of Lisieux

Little Elizabeth Therese was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) the day she was born due to dropping oxygen saturation levels in her blood. While the oxygen saturation levels have been resolved and stabilized, she is still in the NICU because she prefers to sleep now rather than anything else, including eating, so an NG tube was put through her nose to her stomach to feed her with. This should resolve in a couple of days.

Due to the unknown duration of her stay in the NICU, the date of her baptism has not yet been set, but we have already selected the couple who will be her godparents. The Catholic Church has always supported infant baptism, in obedience to the Lord's command, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven" (St. Matthew 19:14). It is also worth noting that, although infants and small children do not have the reasoning ability to make a formal act of faith, the faith of the parents suffices and speaks for the faith of the child. Such is a Scriptural stance: in the Old Covenant, the circumcision of infant males on their eighth day of life outside the womb made them children of Abraham and partakers of the Old Covenant laws, rituals, and customs. The infant males were not able to make a formal act of faith and acceptance of the Jewish way of life, but the faith of the parents sufficed and spoke for the faith of the child. And yet circumcision in the Old Covenant was merely a shadow and a type of the Sacrament of Baptism in the New Covenant.

To all who have been walking with us, especially those praying for our family -- and for Baby Elizabeth and Nicole in particular -- we extend hearty thanks. Words do not suffice to express our gratitude to you for the gift of your prayers, a gift often overlooked. We have felt so much love and support from family, friends, and coworkers that we are overwhelmed with gratitude!

Novena of Prayer for Christian Unity

Every January, many people pray the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity. In February, our domestic church prays this as a Novena in the following manner.

The Novena of Prayer for Christian Unity

The Novena of Prayer for Christian Unity concludes on the vigil of the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (February 22nd).

Hymn

Hymn I: Ubi Caritas Est Vera

Sundays during the Novena.

Text: Ancient Maundy Thursday Hymn
Tune: Traditional Gregorian Chant

1. Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

    Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.

    Exultemus, et in ipso iucundemur.

    Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.

    Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.

2. Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

    Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur:

    Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus.

    Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites.

    Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus.

3. Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

    Simul quoque cum beatis videamus,

    Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus:

    Gaudium quod est immensum, atque probum,

    Saecula per infinita saeculorum. Amen.

Hymn II: Lead On, O King Eternal

Days one, four, and seven.

Text: Ernest W. Shurtleff (1888)
Tune: “Lancashire” by Henry T. Smart (1836)

1.     Lead on, O King eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home.
Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong;
And now, O King eternal,
We lift our battle song.

2.     Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords’ loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
The heav’nly kingdom comes.

3.     Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Thy face appears.
Thy cross is lifted over us,
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.

Hymn III: Christ for the World We Sing

Days two, five, and eight.

Text: Samuel Wolcott (1869)
Tune: “Italian Hymn” by Felice de Giardini (1769)

1.     Christ for the world we sing,
The world to Christ we bring,
With loving zeal,
The poor and them that mourn,
The faint and overborne,
Sin sick and sorrow worn,
Whom Christ doth heal.

2.     Christ for the world we sing,
The world to Christ we bring,
With fervent prayer;
The wayward and the lost,
By restless passions tossed,
Redeemed at countless cost,
From dark despair.

3.     Christ for the world we sing,
The world to Christ we bring,
With one accord;
With us the work to share,
With us reproach to dare,
With us the cross to bear,
For Christ our Lord.

4.     Christ for the world we sing,
The world to Christ we bring,
With joyful song;
The newborn souls, whose days,
Reclaimed from error’s ways,
Inspired with hope and praise,
To Christ belong.

Hymn IV: Jesus Shall Reign

Days three, six, and nine.

Text: Isaac Watts (1719)
Tune: “Duke Street” by John Hatton (1793)

1.     Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

2.     Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.

3.     There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barbarous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.

4.     To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.

5.     People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name.

6.     Blessings abound where’er He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blest.

7.     Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.

8.     Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud Amen.

Psalm 132: Ecce quam bonum.

The happiness of brotherly love and concord.

Antiphon: That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity.

Like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, Which ran down to the skirt of his garment:

As the dew of Hermon, which descendeth upon mount Sion. For there the Lord hath commanded blessing, and life for evermore.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Antiphon: That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.

V. I say unto thee, thou art Peter.
R. And upon this rock I will build my Church.

Here is brought to mind the intention for the day’s prayer.

February 13: For the return of the “other sheep” to the One Fold of our Lord Jesus Christ.

February 14: For the return of the Eastern Orthodox Christians to communion with the Apostolic See.

February 15: For the return of Anglicans to the authority of the Vicar of Christ.

February 16: For the return of all Protestants throughout the world, especially those of my own family, to the unity of the Catholic Church.

February 17: For the return of all Traditionalist Catholics, Old Catholics, and Sedevacantists to the fullness of communion with the Vicar of Christ.

February 18: That lapsed Catholics, especially those of my own family, will return to the Sacraments of the Church.

February 19: That the Jewish people will be converted to the Catholic Faith.

February 20: That missionary zeal will conquer the world for Christ.

February 21: For all Catholics, that by the goodness of our life, words, and works, we may attract others to the “bonus odor Christi,” the “sweet fragrance of Christ” that exists within the holy Catholic Church united to the See of Peter.

The following Collect, taken from the 1962 Roman Missal’s “Votive Mass for the Unity of the Church,” is then said by the leader.

Let us pray. O God, who settest straight what has gone astray, and gatherest together what is scattered, and keepest what Thou hast gathered together: we beseech Thee in Thy mercy to pour down on Christian people the grace of union with Thee, that, putting disunion aside and joining themselves to the true Shepherd of Thy Church, they may be able to render Thee worthy service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, forever and ever. Amen.

In the 1962 Roman Missal, there is a Votive Mass for the Unity of the Church. The readings from that Mass are the following, and deserve careful consideration and prayerful meditation during this Novena.

Introit: Psalm 105(106):47

Epistle: Ephesians 4:1-7; 13-21

Gradual: Psalm 122(123):6-7

Tract: Psalm 75(76): 2-4

Alleluia: Psalm 72(73): 12, 14

Gospel: St. John 17:1, 11-23

Offertory: Romans 15:5-6

Communion: 1 Corinthians 10:17