Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => General Discussion => Topic started by: Alan on August 22, 2013, 07:59:18 AM
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In the book "True devotion to Mary", St Louis mentioned a term "Devotion to the Incarnation".
I am mot sure what it is. I would like to know more about it. Does anybody know what it is ?
Could you explain please.
Many thanks in advance.
Alan
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The incarnation is the mystery and truth of faith whereby God became man in the fullest sense of the word. That is the reason we kneel at the wordsin Latin which mean, "Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man." and at the last gospel when we genuflect at the words in Latin which mean, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us."
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Yes, poche is correct.
Do not be confused with the Immaculate Conception, which
is not an uncommon mistake. I know someone who learned
this error in a so-called Catholic religion class, and remembered
it for 40 years.
The Incarnation occurred at Blessed Mary's "fiat" upon the
Annunciation of St. Gabriel, Archangel, when the Holy Ghost
overshadowed her and she became the Virgin Mother of God
by His power. Feast Day March 25th (just 9 months ahead of
Christmas Day).
It is in commemoration of this event, the point upon which all
of human history turns, that we genuflect at the Credo, and
at the "Et verbum caro factum est" of the Last Gospel, when it is St.
John cap. i. (The CTLM not infrequently has a substitute Last
Gospel, thus providing all the more Scripture readings
throughout the year.) Traditionally, we also genuflect in the
Angelus when we pray, "And the word was made flesh - and
dwelt amongst us."
Regarding the Immaculate Conception, it was only fitting that
the womb that would bear the Christ Child would be free from
any stain of sin, including original sin, and so, by a singular
privilege and as dogmatically defined in 1864, the Blessed
Virgin Mary was immaculately conceived in the womb of her
mother, St. Anne, a result of natural relations with her husband,
St. Joachim. Feast day, December 8th, just 9 months ahead
of September 8th, the Nativity of Our Lady.
See how the Church does not tarry long on these joyous
occasions, as the Feast days immediately following Christmas
are the martyrdom of St. Stephen, St. John Apostle (who
suffered martyrdom May 6th but survived), the Holy Innocents,
Martyrs, and St. Thomas á Becket, Martyr. And likewise, the
Feast day the day after the octave of the Nativity of Our
Lady is the Feast of Seven Sorrows.
These two birthdays, of Our Lord and Our Lady, are two of
the only 3 birthdays celebrated in the Catholic calendar. The
third one is the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, who was born
without original sin, since he had been sanctified in the womb
of his mother, St. Elizabeth, upon the Visitation of Our Lady
who carried the Christ Child in her womb. The Church
celebrates these 3 birthdays because they were days when
these children were born without original sin.
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Thank you for the lessons on the Incarnation.
But that's not what I asked for, what I wanted to know is:
what is "devotion to the Incarnation" ?
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I think to have a devotion to a particular aspect of the faith, like an event in the life of Jesus or Mary, or some aspect of catechism or tradition, simply means to be moved by it toward greater virtue.
One might first realize that they have a devotion to something by finding themselves wondering about it, or being attracted to things that remind them of it, for example, images that portray it, and hymns and feasts that celebrate or honor it. Then one might choose to express the devotion by, for example, meditating on it, and praying the Angelus, and going to Mass on March 25 (the Annunciation) and displaying images of it. If the person has a religious vocation they might choose to express this devotion in their chosen name i.e. 'Maria Catherine of the Incarnation'.
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Do not be confused with the Immaculate Conception, which
is not an uncommon mistake. I know someone who learned
this error in a so-called Catholic religion class, and remembered
it for 40 years.
Yes, I've heard this one all the time. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. I know I shouldn't be so irritated, because people have not been properly catechized. In particular I was shearing sheep at a small farm this spring and the sheep owner was commenting on how a particular ewe was accidentally bred despite the fact that the main flocksire was confined to a pen far away. I asked if he by any chance had an uncut ram lamb in the group, and he replied, "Well, if it wasn't that, it was an immaculate conception!". It's no joking matter to me, but I held my tongue. He obviously had no clue what he was talking about and discussing the dogma of the Immaculate Conception versus the Incarnation would have gotten me nowhere. I don't even know if he was Catholic. He was a younger person, perhaps eight to ten years my senior. If it came up in a religious discussion/debate, I certainly would have gently corrected him.
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Do not be confused with the Immaculate Conception, which
is not an uncommon mistake. I know someone who learned
this error in a so-called Catholic religion class, and remembered
it for 40 years.
Yes, I've heard this one all the time. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. I know I shouldn't be so irritated, because people have not been properly catechized. In particular I was shearing sheep at a small farm this spring and the sheep owner was commenting on how a particular ewe was accidentally bred despite the fact that the main flocksire was confined to a pen far away. I asked if he by any chance had an uncut ram lamb in the group, and he replied, "Well, if it wasn't that, it was an immaculate conception!". It's no joking matter to me, but I held my tongue. He obviously had no clue what he was talking about and discussing the dogma of the Immaculate Conception versus the Incarnation would have gotten me nowhere. I don't even know if he was Catholic. He was a younger person, perhaps eight to ten years my senior. If it came up in a religious discussion/debate, I certainly would have gently corrected him.
Also not to be confused with the 1972 Franco hαɾɾιs "Immaculate Reception."
(http://c10566323.r23.cf2.rackcdn.com/03-28-43_the-immaculate-reception_420.jpg)