Thursday, December 08, 2005

"I will put emnity between you and the woman..."

The line is taken from an antiphon in the Divine Office for today, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It does not commemorate the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary (as is often assumed by popular belief), but the conception of Mary herself, free from the stain of original sin, within the womb of her mother Anne. For Catholics, this is a holyday of obligation. So I'm duckin' outa here during the lunch break for Mass.

For what it's worth, this is also the day when, twenty-five years ago, former Beatle John Lennon was assassinated outside his Manhattan apartment building.

9 comments:

N. Trandem said...

So it's a day full of things to celebrate!

David L Alexander said...

And to think I started feeling guilty about having to take the late Archbishop Lefebvre to task! My good fellow, you're talking to an old Beatles fan here. Not that I cared much for the Lennon of the 70s; I would consider Yoko Ono a bad influence. But the lad from Liverpool actually showed signs of growing up by the time he met his fateful end.

N. Trandem said...

Would that be the post-Beatles Lennon of such angelic tunes as "Imagine"? I just don't see how John Lennon was a better influence on humanity than Vladimir Lenin.

Mr. Nixter said...

Hopefully I'll be welcomed back into MWBH community as I've been a little incommunicado lately...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that although "Anne" is named the mother of Mary, no one really knows the name of her mother, or her father for that matter, either.

David L Alexander said...

Jack:

My goodness, man, you had me wondering if you got off the wrong exit of the Jersey Turnpike while Christmas shopping. Thank God you're safe!!!

Anyway, about Mary's parents... Tradition names them as Anne and Joachim. They're names are not in scripture, but do appear in a number of apochryphal gospel accounts. Which is also where we get the names of the three wise men.

Mr. Nixter said...

Lost on the NJ Turnpike? I hardly have time to travel since I'm usually either harvesting cranberries, chasing wild creatures through the Pine Barrens or tracking down the latest Bruce Springsteen sighting here in the Garden state!

David L Alexander said...

What, you didn't know? He's pulling the night shift at an Exxon station just outside of Hoboken.

Mr. Nixter said...

...right beneath an Exxon sign, that brings that fair city light?

David L Alexander said...

Yeah, so you've seen him then?