Christ in the Womb Series, Week 2

April 6 Bulletin

The Word was made Flesh . . . Following Baby Jesus in the Womb Day 6 – 14

Implantation: The new life is composed of hundreds of cells and has developed a protective hormone to prevent the mother’s body from rejecting it as foreign tissue. The lifeline is secured with mother for continued nourishment. The new individual at first attaches loosely to the wall of the womb, then burrows deeply and attaches securely to it over the next week. Sensitive pregnancy tests may now show positive, but this depends on the level of hormone produced by the new life. Many women are still unaware of the pregnancy. Baby’s approximate due date: December 25, 2014

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The Word Made Flesh for April 4-5, 2015
In the Gospel of John Chapter 1, the Eternal Word, a part of God, which created the World, was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Our little girl now joins her mother in her bed- attaching loosely to the walls of the womb, and starts growing the complex connections that will feed her over the next 9 months. In the annunciation- The Holy Spirit entered Mary and conceived our Lord, incarnating a soul into flesh. Likewise, our little girl who we are following until her sharing of a birthday with our Lord, already is a soul in a body- the incarnation of a fully human soul. While the Incarnation of the Divine Jesus was a unique event in our history, do we seen the more commonplace event of the incarnation of a human soul as less miraculous, merely because it is mundane? A miracle occurs with every conception, and we need to respect that miracle as well.

Christ in the Womb Series 2014 and The Word Was Made Flesh, and Dwelt Among us for 2015

The St. Clare's Pastoral Council gave us great feedback on this series, in deciding not to put it in the bulletin for this year. On this blog, I'm going to post the original series, week by week, along with a rewrite taking their comments into account.

One of the most important comments was that information about Christ, should come solely from scripture. To that end, please note that the The Word Was Made Flesh rewrite deals not with the Christ Child in the Womb, but with a hypothetical child who will be conceived on or about March 25th, 2015, and who will share her birthday with Our Divine Lord. Even if I never get this series printed in the bulletin at St. Clare, I feel the scriptural study needing to write it will make me a better Grand Knight, and will enhance our council.
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The Word was made Flesh . . . Following Baby Jesus in the Womb

This year, between the Annunciation (March 25) and Christmas, we will remember the nine months Jesus spent growing inside the Blessed Virgin Mary. Everybody loves the beauty and innocence of a newborn baby. We hope to reveal the beauty of babies before birth by describing their steps of growth, as Jesus experienced. He, like each of us, lived through the amazing stages of prenatal development.
While the mechanism of His miraculous conception (the Incarnation) is unknown, it is likely that His subsequent journey followed the normal milestones of early human life.
At the very moment of conception, a new and unique individual is formed. All of the inherited features of this new person are already set –whether it’s a boy or a girl, the color of the eyes, the color of the hair, the dimples of the cheeks and the cleft of the chin. He or she is smaller than a grain of sugar, but the genetic fingerprint is complete.
The first cell soon divides in two. Each of these new cells divides again and again as they travel toward the womb in search of a protected place to grow.
Follow the development of Baby Jesus in the weekly bulletin! Baby’s approximate due date: December 25, 2014
----------------Revised Scriptural/Reverent Version for 2015, based on comments from St. Clare's Pastoral Council
The Word Was Made Flesh, and Dwelt Among Us, for March 28-29, 2015
Two Thousand and Sixteen Years ago, our Tradition Tells us, Our Lady was visited by an Angel. We read in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke how that angel greeted her- Hail, Full of Grace- and that very night, by Her Consent, she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Pope Francis, in talking with Catholic gynecologists in September 2013, told us that every unborn child has the Face of Jesus.
This week, a young lady, whom her parents do not even know she exists yet, was conceived, somewhere in the world. She's just a blastocyst so far- but the spark of life has already been imparted to her, her DNA has been set, the color of the eyes, the color of the hair, the dimples of the cheeks and the cleft of the chin. She is smaller than a grain of sugar, but the genetic fingerprint is complete.
The first cell soon divides in two. Each of these new cells divides again and again as they travel toward the womb in search of a protected place to grow.
Follow the development of this young lady with us- a baby who will be born in 9 months on Christmas Eve, to share her birthday with Our Lord.

Warden Michael Chau does us proud

Warden Michael Chau accepted Grand Knight Ted Seeber's invitation in March to attend the adaptive Mass at St. Rose of Lima in Northeast Portland. The normal altar server, Dennis, an older man with cognitive disabilities, was feeling ill and was unable to serve. Amelia from the parish and Michael stepped up into the role, and did admirably. Well Done Michael!