First Sunday of Advent: Renewing HOPE

First Sunday of Advent
Renewing the HOPE

Jesus said to His disciples: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when 

the time will come. ... May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.  

What I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"  - Mark 13: 33, 36, 37 (Today's Gospel) 

Fr Orr ~ St John Neumann Catholic Church  ~ Knoxville, TN ~ USA

"Jesus, ... the Eucharist is the sacramental testimony of Your first coming, with which the words of the prophets were reconfirmed and expectations were fulfilled.  You have left us, O Lord, Your Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine that they may bear witness to the fact that the world has been redeemed  - that through them Your paschal mystery may reach all men as the Sacrament of life and salvation.  

The Eucharist is at the same time a constant announcement of Your second coming and the sign of the definitive Advent and also of the expectation of the whole Church. 

When we eat this bread and drink this cup,

we proclaim Your death, Lord Jesus, until You come in glory.

Every day and every hour we wish to adore You, stripped under the species of bread and wine, to renew the hope of the call to glory.  Amen."

St John Paul II

 

Seconda Venuta di Christo

 

Click here: In Times Like These You Need a Savior – A Homily for the First Sunday of Advent « Archdiocese of Washington

Advent season resources

"Prepare your hearts to receive Jesus the Savior." - Pope Francis

Vatican Advent page 
U.S. Bishops’ Advent/Christmas Seasons (with daily family activities)

Click here: Sign up for Fr. Barron's FREE Advent Reflections! | Word On Fire

EWTN reflections for each day of Advent

Women for Faith & Family Advent page

Domestic-Church.com: Advent and Christmas in your home

Click here: Advent Calendar (Not just for kids!)

Fish Eaters Advent overview

Our Sunday Visitor Advent page

Internet Padre’s Advent resources page

Saints.SQPN.com: Learn more about the saints of Advent, 
including the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dec. 8 and 12), St. John the 
Baptist, St. Nicholas (Dec. 6), St. Juan Diego (Dec. 9), and 
St. Lucy (Dec. 13).

Tradition Day by Day: Writings of the Church Fathers and others saints
Short readings for every day of the year

A Catholic approach to holiday gift-giving
(Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio)

Christmas Anticipation Prayer

Beginning on St. Andrew's Feast Day, November 30, the following prayer is traditionally recited fifteen times a day until Christmas. This is a beautifully meditative prayer that helps us increase our awareness of the real focus of Christmas and helps us prepare ourselves spiritually for His coming.

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother.  Amen.

You will happily find beautiful St Andrew Chaplet beads here:

Click here: Mary Devotions

Clearly Jesus

And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance,

so that you may always have enough of everything and

may provide in abundance for every good work. - II Cor 9:8

“Jesus has said very clearly:

I am the love to be loved. I am the life to be lived.

I am the joy to be shared. I am the bread to be eaten.

I am the blood to be drunk. I am the truth to be told.

I am the light to be lit. I am the peace to be given.

Jesus is everything.”

Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Approaching God: plainly and simply

 ...and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.  For the LORD is your life... - Deut 30:20

"Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the presence of our good Lord, and I say to Him, ‘Lord, I am here.  Tell me what you would have me to do’ ...

... And then, I tell God everything that is in my heart.  I tell Him about my pains and my joys, and then I listen.  If you listen, God will also speak to you, for with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen.  God always speaks to you when you approach Him plainly and simply."

St Catherine Labouré

France~ 1806 -1876

Daughters of Charity nun (Nursing order)

Marian Visionary

Incorrupt body (Motherhouse of Dgtrs of Charity: 140 Rue du Bac, Paris)

Feast Day - November 28

In her second apparition, on November 27, 1830, Our Lady revealed her desire for the Miraculous Medal.  Over the course of the apparitions, which always occurred near the Blessed Sacrament, Our Mother gave St Catherine this message, as if giving a remedy, for the world:  “Come to the foot of the altar.  Here graces will be showered on all, great and little, who ask for them.  Graces will especially be showered upon those who ask for them.”

Click here: St. Catherine Labouré - YouTube (2 mins)

 

 

More about St Catherine and the Miraculous Medal -

and to obtain a free medal (USA and Canada only )

http://www.cammonline.org/index.php?/medal/free-miraculous-medal

Thanksgiving Day blessings to ALL!

Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse

may be Thy praise.  ~ George Herbert

 

  Sing and make music to the Lord in your hearts, 
always thanking God the Father for all things in the name 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Eph 5:19-20 (Today's Entrance Antiphon)

"We give You thanks, O Lord our God,

for the Communion of Your

holy, pure, and heavenly Mysteries,

which You have given

for the good, the hallowing

and the healing of souls and bodies."

St. Basil the Great

 

Gratitude ... goes beyond the "mine" and "thine" and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy. ~ Henri J. M. Nouwen

  Consider a gift of gratitude to our Lord through a

daily HOLY HOUR and/or HOLY MASS

during the upcoming season of ADVENT!

"God has two dwelling places:

One in heaven and the other

in a grateful heart."  ~ Izaak Walton

Hunger and thirst: satisfied!

 

 

"How sweet is the moment in which poor humanity, wearied and afflicted, may remain alone, with Jesus alone, in the Sacrament of Love; for there the Lord, with His flaming heart open, calls unto all, 'You that are burdened and heavy laden, come unto Me and I will refresh you.' Happy are those hearts that know how to satisfy the unquenchable hunger and thirst in this heavenly banquet!" 

 Fr. M.J. Corcoran, O.S.A.

True Bread of my soul

"He is always with you.  Be always with Him." 

- Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity

"I acknowledge and confess that I kneel before that sacred Humanity, which was conceived in Mary's womb, and lay in Mary's bosom; which grew up to man's estate, and by the Sea of Galilee called the Twelve, wrought miracles, and spoke words of wisdom and peace; which in due season hung on the cross, lay in the tomb, rose from the dead, and now reigns in heaven. 

I praise, bless, and give myself wholly to Him, who is the true Bread of my soul, and my everlasting joy."

Bl John Henry Cardinal Newman

Renewed by the One Bread

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice;

the kingdom of heaven is theirs. - Matthew 5:10

 

Today’s Liturgy:  Prayer after Communion

Renewed by the one Bread

as we commemorate the holy Martyrs,

we humbly beseech you, O Lord,

that abiding as one in Your love,

we may merit by endurance an eternal prize.

Through Christ our Lord.

St Andrew Dũng-Lạc (priest) and Companions

117 Martyrs (btwn 1820-1862)* ~ Vietnam

The group consisted of 96 Vietnamese, 11 Spaniards, and 10 French:

8 Bishops, 50 priests, 59 lay Catholics, incl a 9 y/o

Feast Day – November 24

 

"In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone - Christ is with me.  Our Master bears the whole weight of the cross, leaving me only the tiniest, last bit." ~ St Paul Le-Bao-Tinh, Martyr, 1843

Click here: St. Andrew Dung Lac [Catholicism in Vietnam] - YouTube (8 mins)

 Click here: Den katolske kirke — St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his 116 companions

St Andrew Dung-Lac and companions, pray for us!

King of Kings, Lord of Lords

Solemnity of

Our Lord Jesus Christ the King

The Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King celebrates the all-embracing authority of Christ as King and Lord of the cosmos.  It is celebrated on the final Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Sunday before Advent. "O Lord our God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power" (Rev 4:11).

 

“The Lord will sit on His royal throne for ever;

the Lord will bless His people in peace.” - Psalm 10b,11b 

 

Sacristy ~ Basilica of St Mary's ~ Minneapolis, Minnesota ~ USA

 

 “O king of Glory, though You hide Your beauty,

yet the eye of my soul rends the veil.” - St. Faustina

 

 

 

“There He is:

King of Kings and Lord of Lords,

hidden in the bread.

To this extreme

has He humbled Himself

for love of you.”

 

St. Josemaria Escriva

 

Excerpt: Quas Primas, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI 

Promulgated on December 11, 1925, Quas Primas introduced the Feast of Christ the King. The encyclical summarizes both the Old Testament and the New Testament teaching on the kingship of Christ. Invoking an earlier encyclical Annum Sacrum of Pope Leo XIII, Pius XI connotes that the kingdom of Christ embraces the whole mankind. He connected the denial of Christ as king to the rise of secularism. At the time of Quas Primas, secularism was on the rise, and many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting Christ’s authority, as well as the Church’s, and even doubting Christ’s very existence.  Click here: QUAS PRIMAS  (EXCELLENT !)

Hail King Jesus, our King of Peace!

20. If the kingdom of Christ, then, receives, as it should, all nations under its way, there seems no reason why we should despair of seeing that peace which the King of Peace came to bring on earth -- he who came to reconcile all things, who came not to be ministered unto but to minister, who, though Lord of all, gave himself to us as a model of humility, and with his principal law united the precept of charity; who said also: "My yoke is sweet and my burden light." Oh, what happiness would be Ours if all men, individuals, families, and nations, would but let themselves be governed by Christ! "Then at length," to use the words addressed by our predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, twenty-five years ago to the bishops of the Universal Church, "then at length will many evils be cured; then will the law regain its former authority; peace with all its blessings be restored. Men will sheathe their swords and lay down their arms when all freely acknowledge and obey the authority of Christ, and every tongue confesses that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father."

21. That these blessings may be abundant and lasting in Christian society, it is necessary that the kingship of our Savior should be as widely as possible recognized and understood, and to the end nothing would serve better than the institution of a special feast in honor of the Kingship of Christ. For people are instructed in the truths of faith, and brought to appreciate the inner joys of religion far more effectually by the annual celebration of our sacred mysteries than by any official pronouncement of the teaching of the Church. Such pronouncements usually reach only a few and the more learned among the faithful; feasts reach them all; the former speak but once, the latter speak every year -- in fact, forever. The church's teaching affects the mind primarily; her feasts affect both mind and heart, and have a salutary effect upon the whole of man's nature. Man is composed of body and soul, and he needs these external festivities so that the sacred rites, in all their beauty and variety, may stimulate him to drink more deeply of the fountain of God's teaching, that he may make it a part of himself, and use it with profit for his spiritual life.

To Jesus Christ, our Sov'reign King,
Who is the world's salvation,
All praise and homage do we bring,
And thanks and adoration.

 Refrain:

Christ Jesus Victor, Christ Jesus Ruler!
Christ Jesus, Lord and Redeemer!

The way to 'enter' into God's Kingdom does not permit shortcuts; rather, every person must freely welcome the truth of the love of God. He is Love and Truth and both love and truth never impose themselves: they knock at the door of the heart and mind and, wherever they may enter, they bring peace and joy. This is God's way of reigning; this is His project of salvation, a 'mystery' in the biblical sense of the word, which is a plan that is revealed little by little throughout history."- Benedict XVI

Voices: singing out, ringing out!

Therefore, we, too, extol you with all the Angels,

as in joyful celebration we acclaim:  Holy, holy, holy....

 

 

Choir of Angels ~ Hans Memling (c. 1433-1494, Netherlands)

 

 

“Liturgical action is given a more noble form when sacred rites are solemnized in song, with the assistance of sacred ministers and the active participation of the people.... Choirs must be diligently promoted, but bishops and other pastors must ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightfully theirs.... Gregorian chant, other things being equal, should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded.... Religious singing by the people is to be skillfully fostered, so that in devotions and sacred exercises, as also during liturgical services, the voices of the faithful may ring out” (Constitution on the Liturgy, 112-118).

St Cecilia

Martyr ~ Rome

Approx  90-117 AD

Patron of Musicians, Sacred Music

Incorruptible

Feast Day – Nov 22

 

"Words cannot express the things that are sung by the heart ... And if so happy that words can no longer express what they feel, 

people discard the restricting syllables. 

They burst out into a simple sound of joy, of jubilation.'"

Well said, St. Augustine!

  Sing praises to the LORD, O you His saints,

and give thanks to His holy Name.  ~ Psalm 30:4

Click here: St. Cecilia - YouTube (2 mins)

St Cecilia, pray for us! 

"Behold the heavenly tabernacle!"

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Feast Day -November 21*

*The Feast celebrates Mary as a temple,

where God dwelt in a special way through her role as Mother of Jesus.

"Go then, go, O Queen of the world, O Mother of God, go joyfully to

the house of God and there await the coming of the divine Spirit

who will make you the Mother of the divine Word." - St Germanus (+ 730)

 

From the Byzantine liturgy:

 "The most pure temple of the Savior, His most precious bridal chamber, the Virgin, sacred treasury of God's glory, enters today into the house of the Lord, bringing with her the grace of the divine Spirit.  Wherefore the angels of God are singing: "Behold the heavenly tabernacle!" ... Wherefore let us cry out to her with all our strength: "Joy to you, fulfillment of the Creator's plan!" At the moment when the young girl Mary was presented in the glorious Temple, "everything that humans build was already diminished by the praise in her heart." (Rilke)

 

"God Himself, with the whole heavenly court, was greatly pleased and glorified the day when He beheld His spouse being led to the Temple.  Never had He seen a holier creature, nor one whom He loved so tenderly, come to offer herself to Him."
- Bernardine de Bustis (+1515)

"Hail, Holy throne of God, divine sanctuary, house of glory, jewel most fair, chosen treasure house, and mercy seat for the whole world, heaven showing forth the glory of God.  Purest Virgin, worthy of all praise, sanctuary dedicated to God and raised above all human condition, virgin soil, unplowed field, flourishing vine, fountain pouring out waters, virgin bearing a child, mother without knowing man, hidden treasure of innocence, ornament of sanctity, by your most acceptable prayers, strong with the authority of mother hood, to our Lord and God, Creator of all, your Son who was born of you without a father, steer the ship of the Church and bring it to a quiet harbor." - St Germanus, homily on the Presentation of Mary 

 

"Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb Him

whom she would obey as her master." - St Augustine

Click here: Presentation of Mary - YouTube (2 mins)

various works of art depicting Presentation of Mary + Hail Mary sung

Click here: The Presentation of Mary - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: Catholic Fire: The Feast of the Presentation of Mary

Spiritual waters that gush forth...

 "Awesome is the altar on which the divine victim is immolated! 

From paradise there went forth a spring whose visible waters

spread out on every side.  From this Table, it is a spring

of spiritual waters that gushes forth." - St John Chrysostom

 

...so everything will live where the river flows. - Ezekiel 47:9

"Everything

flows from the altar -

everything!" 

 Bishop Paul V Dudley

11-29-1926 ~ 11-20-2006

"The Body of Christ (Eucharist) will unite the

Body of Christ (Believers)."~ Bishop Paul V Dudley

Enchantment of all heaven!

 Serve the Lord with gladness!  Come into His presence with singing! 

Know that the Lord is God!  It is He that made us , and we are His;

we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. - Psalm 100:2-3

 

"O blessed Host, enchantment of all heaven, 
though Your beauty be veiled 
and captured in a crumb of bread, 

strong faith tears away that veil."

St Faustina Kowalska

Hold nothing back!

Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully

and with wholehearted devotion

and have done what is good in your eyes. - Isaiah 38:3

 

 

“We cultivate a very small field for Christ,

but we love it, knowing that God

does not require great achievements,

but a heart that holds back nothing for self. ...

He who has Jesus has everything."

 

 

St Rose Philippine Duchesne

nee France ~ 1769-1852

"Missionary of the American Frontier"

Foundress: American Society of the Sacred Heart

Incorrrupt

FEAST DAY – November 18

 

St Rose spent hours in adoration of our Eucharistic Lord.  Sometimes her prayer would go long into the nighttime, spending 6 to 8 hours before the Blessed Sacrament.   Her long hours of contemplation impelled the Potawatomi Indians whom she served to name her, Quah-kah-ka-num-ad, "Woman-Who-Prays-Always".  It is said  that the Native American children sneaked behind her as she knelt and sprinkled little pebbles (or acorns or leaves) on her long habit robe, and came back hours later (or even the following morning) to find them undisturbed.

She wrote:  "Once baptized, they never revert to drunkenness or stealing. Whatever is found is placed at the door of the church to be claimed by the owner. Not a single house has locks on the doors, yet nothing is ever missing. The Indians gather in groups (men and women separate) for morning prayers, Mass, and catechism. In the evening they assemble again for prayers." 

"You may dazzle the mind with a thousand brilliant discoveries of natural science; you may open new worlds of knowledge which were never dreamed of before; yet, if you have not developed in the soul of the pupil strong habits of virtue which will sustain her in the struggle of life, you have not educated her, but only put in her hand a powerful instrument of self-destruction." ~ Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne

Click here: St. Rose Philippine Duchesne - YouTube (2 mins)

 

St Rose Philippine Duchesne, pray for us!

Close to the hidden Jesus...

  

 

St Elizabeth of Hungary, when as a little girl used to play about the palace with her companions, would always pick a spot near the chapel so that every now and then, without being noticed, she might stop by the chapel door, kiss the lock, and say to Jesus,

"My Jesus, I am playing, but I am not forgetting You. 

Bless me and my companions. Goodbye."

 

St Elizabeth of Hungary

Wife, mother

Secular Franciscan Order

1207-1231

FEAST DAY - November 17

 

 

The Charity of St. Elizabeth of Hungary by Edmund Blair Leighton (1895) 

"How could I bear a crown of gold when the Lord bears a crown of thorns? And bears it for me!"  - St Elizabeth of Hungary

 Click here: St. Elizabeth of Hungary - YouTube (3:15 mins) CCTN

Click here: St. Elizabeth of Hungary - YouTube (2 mins) 

Click here: A Woman for Our Time: St. Elizabeth of Hungary - YouTube 

(Trailer for feature length DVD)

 

From a letter of Conrad of Marburg, St Elizabeth's spiritual director:

"Elizabeth recognised and loved Christ in the poor.  ... She was a lifelong friend of the poor and gave herself entirely to relieving the hungry. She ordered that one of her castles should be converted into a hospital in which she gathered many of the weak and feeble. She generously gave alms to all who were in need, not only in that place but in all the territories of her husband’s empire. ...

Twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, Elizabeth went to visit the sick. She personally cared for those who were particularly repulsive; to some she gave food, to others clothing; some she carried on her own shoulders, and performed many other kindly services. Her husband, of happy memory, gladly approved of these charitable works. ...

Apart from those active good works, I declare before God that I have seldom seen a more contemplative woman. When she was coming from private prayer, some religious men and women often saw her face shining marvelously and light coming from her eyes like the rays of the sun. ...

Before her death I heard her confession. When I asked what should be done about her goods and possessions, she replied that anything which seemed to be hers belonged to the poor. She asked me to distribute everything except one worn out dress in which she wished to be buried. When all this had been decided, she received the Body of our Lord. Afterward, until vespers, she spoke often of the holiest things she had heard in sermons. Then, she devoutly commended to God all who were sitting near her, and as if falling into a gentle sleep, she died."

Continuing in a series of descriptions of the great female figures of the Middle Ages, Pope Benedict XVI (October 21, 2010) spoke of this princess who shows how a life of "faith and friendship with Christ creates a sense of justice, equality of all, of the rights of others... which creates love, charity ... and from this comes the hope and certainty that we are loved by Christ and the love of Christ awaits us, and so enables us to imitate Christ, to see Christ in others. Saint Elizabeth invites us to find Christ, love Christ, have faith and so find true justice, love and joy that one day we will be immersed in God's love."

St Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us!