Second Sunday of Advent: Repentance and Grace...

 Second Sunday of Advent

Repentance and Grace

It was of him (St John the Baptist) that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:  A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. - Matthew 3: 3 



"A humble confession displeases Satan and,
if he could, he would make you
omit Holy Communion."

Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ

 During this holy Advent season make frequent and good confessions that you may receive 
frequent and good Holy Communions.

 

On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry

Advent Hymn by Charles Coffin (+1749)

On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come, then, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.

Then cleansed by every Christian breast
And furnished for so great a Guest.
Yea, let us each our hearts prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.

For Thou art our Salvation, Lord,
Our Refuge, and our great Reward.
Without Thy grace our souls must fade
And wither like a flower decayed.

Lay on the sick Thy healing hand
And make the fallen strong to stand;
Show us the glory of Thy face
Till beauty springs in every place.

All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Who advent sets Thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.

May times of refreshing come...

Repent therefore, and turn again,

that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing

may come from the presence of the Lord. – Acts 3:19

"I look and look, and turn to look again

at the consecrated Host; its whiteness dazzles me;

its brilliant rays wound my soul to its utmost depths

by revealing to me all its defects and deformities. ...

Who can think himself humble in the presence of Him

who is hidden under the form of bread? ...

Oh, my Lord! In your presence,

I ought to feel nought but shame,

and a deep sense of my utter worthlessness;

but I also feel a great love for You ...

which purifies and transforms me,

and takes me far away from this earth,

to the purest of Hosts, the very abode of Love."

Servant of God Concepcion Cabrera de Armida

  Photo Image:  Fr Gabriel, Canon Regular of St Augustine, Australia

Holy Confessions beget holy Communions...
still time for both in this extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy!

"Our misery caused Him to stoop to our lowness.  Even our sins

had a sort of attraction for the abundance of His mercy

and the predilection of His grace.  Our repentance wins Him to us. 

Our love makes earth a paradise to Him..."  - Fr Frederick W Faber

Dusting off the soul....

... I was sick and you looked after me ... Matthew 25:36c

"St Camillus de Lellis never celebrated Holy Mass without first going to Confession, because he wanted at least "to dust off" his soul.  Once at sundown in a public square in Livorno, before taking leave of a priest of the same religious order, foreseeing that he would not have a priest to confess to on the following morning before his Mass, the Saint paused, took off his hat, made the sign of the Cross and went to Confession right there in the square to his confrere."

From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love (pg 32)
by Fr Stefano M Manelli, FFI

    

St Camillus de Lellis

Italy ~ 1550-1614

Encouraged to priesthood by St Phillip Neri

Founder of Order: Fathers of Good Death

Click here: Order of St. Camillus

Patron of hospitals, nurses and the sick

FEAST DAY - July 18

The Camellians took the vow to "devote themselves to material and spiritual care of the sick and needy". St. Camillus honored the poor and sick as living images of Christ. His reverence in their presence was as great as if he were really and truly in the presence of his Lord.

 “The poor and the sick are the heart of God. In serving them,

we serve Jesus the Christ. ...We want to assist the sick

with the same love that a mother has for her only sick child."

 -  Saint Camillus de Lellis

Click here: History | Camillo de Lellis

 Click here: PRAYER TO ST CAMILLUS - YouTube (1:45 mins)

Click here: St. Camillus de Lellis, Rash Vows, and Sanctity’s Daily Grind |

From Miraculous Images of Our Lord, by Joan Carroll Cruz, TAN Books (1993). 

The figure on this crucifix, which is venerated in the Church of Mary Magdalene in Rome, is the one which in 1582 detached its arm and comforted St.Camillus de Lellis with these words "Take Courage, faint-hearted one. Continue the work you have begun. I will be with you because it is my work." Camillus was very discouraged at the time because of opposition to his health care reforms. Our Lord's words were instrumental in the Saint pushing ahead and founding the Order of the Ministers of the Sick.

St Camillus, pray for us!