1. In Luke 1:5, we are told that, “in the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth.”  Elizabeth was advanced in years and barren.  Luke 1:7.
2. If you look carefully at 1 Chronicles 24:7-19, it was King David who divided the priests into 24 separate orders, and these orders took turns serving in the Temple for a period of eight days, two times a year, serving separately from their wives and children.  
3. In Luke 1:8, it states that while Zechariah was serving as priest before God when his division of Abijah was serving, “according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the LORD and burn incense.”  
4. During his time in the temple, an Angel of the LORD appeared to him, stating that “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”  Luke 1: 12-13.
5. If this was the 2^nd course of service for the year, this would have been around the 24^th week of the year, which would have been in September or October, depending upon the given year.  
6. In checking on the AI, I learned that the feast of Yom Kippur occurred in September of the years 4 to 1 B.C.
7. In Luke 1, it notes that after Elizabeth had conceived of John the Baptist, and “for five months she hid herself, saying, “Thus the LORD has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.”  Luke 1:24-26.
8. In the next verse, the Holy Bible states that, “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.”  Luke 1: 26-27.  It is clear this reference to the sixth month relates to the date of conception of St. John the Baptist.
9. After the Annunciation, the angel declared to Mary, “and behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.”  Luke 1:36.  This is clear evidence that St. John was six months in the womb on the date of the Annunciation.
10. In the apocryphal work titled the “Infancy Gospel of James” (dated around the early 100s AD), the book implies that Zechariah’s vision happened on the Jewish Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which is largely in September.  
11. St. John the Baptist was born approximately 9 months later, around June of the next year. 
12. If Our Lord was conceived six months after St. John the Baptist, that would have been around March of the next year, with 9 months later being the December next.
13. The Catholic Church celebrates the Nativity of St. John the Baptist on June 24 of each year, which is the last day of Spring, and we celebrate Christ’s birth six months later December 25^th. 
14. In John 3:30, St. John the Baptist asserts that Jesus must increase and that “I must decrease.”  
15. St. Bede (8^th Century) wrote about this event referencing the feast days of June 24 as to St. John the Baptist and December 25 as to Christ, because from June 24^th onward, the sunlight in the world decreases and after December 25^th the sunlight of the world increases.  All of this on a cyclical basis. 
16. It was St. John Chrysostom (AD 347-407) argued strongly that December 25 was the birthdate due to Zechariah’s priestly service; but it is also noted that Pope Julius (reigned from AD 337-352) determined Christ’s birth “from the census documents brought by Titus to Rome” after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.  From that evidence, Pope Julius determined the date of Christ’s birth to be December 25^th.  
17. Theophilus of Caesarea (AD 115-181) wrong that “we ought to celebrate the birth of our Lord on December 25^th.”  Sextus Julius Africanus (AD 160-240) concluded that OUR LORD was conceived on March 25 and therefore born on December 25. 
18. Hippolytus of Rome (AD 170 – 2430), provided that the birth of Jesus was “eight days before the calends [first days] of January”.  St. Irenaeus (AD 130-202) concluded the same.

      Members of the Saint Margaret of Castello Chapter in Idaho, welcome you to the Chapter's website, dominicanidaho.org.  The Chapter meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month at St. Mark's Catholic Church in Boise, Idaho at 10:00 o'clock a.m., with prayer, discussion and fellowship.  The Members are committed to the practice and holiness of the Rule of St. Dominic for the Laity.

 You are welcome to attend.  Check our calendar not only for the monthly meetings but periodic events, such as its annual Magdalene Retreat, held on or near the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, celebrated on the 22nd of July of each year.  In addition, we will notify other events such as Chapter encore, visits by the Friars, and other key Dominican events.

 The Chapter is known as the Third Order of St. Dominic, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax exempt Idaho nonprofit corporation; in affiliation with, and under the authority of, the Most Holy Name of Jesus Province of the Dominican Friars in the western United States of America. 

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless yu and be with you all the days of your life.   Would you like more information via email?  Click on the following link: REGISTER

The Chapter's Religious Assistant, is Fr. Peter Do, O.P., Prior, Holy Rosary Parish, Portland Oregon.

     "The Dominican task is to study, explore, and discover better, more effective, and newer ways of disseminating the Gospel message. It will ever be the Order's duty to prepare the way for the coming or deepening of faith in those who hear the message. Everything the Dominican does, he must link to spreading the Word of God. Even when doing work that seems only distantly related to preaching, he must motivate it toward the proclamation of the word. He must therefore remain in close touch with the Scriptures, study them, pray them, guide his own life by them, and spread the good news they contain."  

"I think I am a better scientist bcause my faith is grounded in the Catholic Church."  Karin Oberg, Ph.D., Harvard University.  Go to www.aquinas101.com

On Saturday, October 16, 2021, at the Chapter's 2021 Colloquium at St. Paul's Catholic Student Center in Boise, the Chapter joyfully received and professed the following members: From L to R:  Tom Lester; Andrew Bartel; Bonnie Keenan; Brendan Earle; Emily Gossard; Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P.; Alexandra Johnson; Katherine Lockyer; Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P.; and (seated) David Charnock.  Not pictured:  Joanne Baker; Joseph Rekiere; and Brian Walker. 

Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator,
true source of light and fountain of wisdom!
Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect,
dissipate the darkness which covers me, that of sin and of ignorance.
Grant me a penetrating mind to understand,
a retentive memory, method and ease in learning,
the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself.
Guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress,
and bring it to successful completion.

This I ask through Jesus Christ,
true God and true man,
living and reigning with You and the Father,
forever and ever.
Amen.

For the full news about the 20025 Jubilee Year, check out the U.S. Catholic Bishop's website at this LINK  

Here is the Oath Against Modernism, set forth by Pope Pius X, in 1910.  Are you willing to take such an oath before God?

I . . . . firmly embrace and accept each and every definition that has been set forth and declared by the unerring teaching authority of the Church, especially those principal truths which are directly opposed to the errors of this day. And first of all, I profess that God, the origin and end of all things, can be known with certainty by the natural light of reason from the created world (see Rom. 1:19), that is, from the visible works of creation, as a cause from its effects, and that, therefore, his existence can also be demonstrated. . .. [CONTINUE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW:]

LINK

1. “participate in the Eucharistic celebrations organized by the Dominican Family in our churches and schools on the important occasions of the jubilee of the canonization and death of St. Thomas Aquinas, and
2. “on the faithful who will make pilgrimages to Churches, shrines and oratories under his patronage.”

1.  In order to obtain a plenary indulgence, the standards are:
   1. Perform the work to which the indulgence is attached (see above);
   2. Receive sacramental confession;
   3. Receive sacramental Holy Eucharist;
   4. Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father; 
   5. Any disposition to, or attachment to sin, even venial sin, must be absent; and, 
   6. If any such disposition or condition is absent, then a partial indulgence is granted, unless otherwise impeded. 

Letter of St. Thomas to a student about the Method of Study:

     Because you have asked me, John, my dearest friend in Christ, how you should study to amass the treasure of knowledge, such is the advice I give to you.
      You should choose to enter not immediately into the ocean depths, but rather through small streams, for one should reach more difficult matters by going through the easier ones first. This is, therefore, my admonition and your instruction.
          -- I bid you be slow to speak and slow to approach the [“chatroom"] parlor.
          -- Embrace purity of conscience.  Do not fail to have time for prayer.
         -- You should frequently choose your own room if you wish to be led into the wine cellar.
         -- Present yourself as amiable to all. Do not look for deep, hidden meanings in the deeds of others. To no one should you show yourself to be too familiar, because too much familiarity gives birth to contempt and provides from its eagerness the raw material for backsliding. You should in no way involve yourself concerning the words and deeds of worldly people.
         -- Above all else you should flee from common conversation. You should not fail to imitate the steps of the saints and all good people.
        -- You should not consider the source from which you hear something, but whatever good is spoken, commit it to memory.
         -- Those things that you read and hear, make sure that you understand them. Make yourself certain about doubtful matters and make it your business to shelve in the bookcase of your mind whatever you can, as if desiring to fill a vase.
         -- Do not seek the matters that are above you.
 
     Following those well-known paths, you will bring forth and produce, as long as you have life, branches and fruits useful in the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts. If you eagerly follow these points, you will be able to attain that which you are striving after.

Sr. Amata Marie of Divine Mercy, OP, of the Corpus Christ Monastery in Menlo Park, California, has been praying for the St. Margaret of Castello Chapter, since the LPC meeting in May, 2023 at Menlo Park, CA.  The Chapter so appreciates her prayers and attention given to the Chapter, which is a blessing for each of our members.  Thank you dear Sr. Amata Marie for your prayers, but also for your life commitment and Profession into the Order!