At once, they followed...

  "Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

At once they (Simon Peter and Andrew) left their nets

and followed Him.  ~ Matt 4: 19 (Today's Gospel)

 

Jesus Calling Peter and Andrew, Basilica S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy

Following Our Lord's example... Invite someone... 
to Mass or Adoration this Advent Season.

___________________

Today's Liturgy: Preface II of the Apostles - Eucharistic Prayers

For You have built Your Church

to stand firm on apostolic foundations,

to be a lasting sign of Your holiness on earth

and offer all humanity Your heavenly teaching.

Therefore, now and for ages unending,

with all the host of Angels,

we sing to You with all our hearts, 
crying out as we acclaim: Holy, Holy, Holy ...

St Andrew

Apostle, Priest, Martyr

Younger brother of St Peter

Patron:  Greece, Russia, Scotland, fishermen

 Name "Andrew" (Greek: manly, brave)

Feast day  - November 30

Click here: Animated story of St Andrew - YouTube (1:45 mins)

St Andrew, pray for us!

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.

Hunger and thirst: satisfied...

  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 

 

"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.

Approaching Him, 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

The Listening Woman - Godfried Shalcken

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)

Wear the medal - plainly, simply!

First Sunday of Advent: Renewing the HOPE...

First Sunday of Advent

Renewing the HOPE

In Advent, Christians relive a dual impulse of the spirit:  on the one hand, they raise their eyes towards the final destination of their pilgrimage through history, which is the glorious return of the Lord Jesus; on the other, remembering with emotion His birth in Bethlehem, they kneel before the Crib. The hope of Christians is turned to the future but remains firmly rooted in an event of the past. In the fullness of time, the Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary:  "Born of a woman, born under the law", as the Apostle Paul writes (Gal 4: 4). - Pope Benedict XVI, 27 November 2005

"Therefore, stay awake!"

Matthew 24 (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
 Quoted in Jesus, We Adore You
Paul Thigpen

Advent season resources

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

Vatican Advent page 

Advent: Catholic News Agency 

Click here: Advent in 2 Minutes - YouTube 
Click here: Making Advent a more holy season - YouTube (4:30 mins)

Click here: 10 Advent Songs to Remind It's Not Yet Christmas - FOCUS Blog

Click here: Fish Eaters Advent Overview

Learn more about the saints of Advent, including 

the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dec. 8, 10 and 12), St. John the Baptist, 

St Francis Xavier (Dec 3), St John Damascene (Dec 4), 

St. Nicholas (Dec. 6), St Ambrose (Dec 7), St. Juan Diego (Dec. 9), 

St. Lucy (Dec. 13), St John of the Cross (Dec 14), 

St Peter Canisius (Dec 21), and St John of Kanty (Dec 23)