Posts Tagged ‘Advent’
The Coming of the Divine Infant
Saint Francis de Sales spoke the following words in a Christmas Eve Sermon on December 24, 1613. The below sermon is presented in a shorter form. HOLY Church usually prepares us for great solemnities with vigils to help us appreciate more the great benefits we have received from God in the events celebrated. In the…
Read MoreAdvent Calls Us to Silence: Part II
Pope Benedict XVI continues his previous discourse on silence by focusing on the importance of expectation. Another fundamental element of Advent is expectation, an expectation which is at the same time hope. Advent impels us to understand the meaning of time and of history as a kairós, as a favourable opportunity for our salvation. Jesus…
Read MoreAdvent Calls Us to Silence: Part I
In the biblical Reading we have just heard, taken from the First Letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul invites us to prepare for “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:23), with God’s grace keeping ourselves blameless. The exact word Paul uses is “coming”, in Latin adventus, from which the term “Advent” derives. Let…
Read MoreThe Fourth Week of Advent: The Silent Invitation
This story of the Annunciation is related not a one-time occurrence in human history, but repeats many times throughout the ages. Indeed, it happens as often as a new rational soul is conceived. In the life of every man and woman born into the world there is an annunciation of the angel of God. Rather,…
Read MoreThe Third of Week of Advent: Gaudete!
The first word of the Mass of Gaudete Sunday, read in every Catholic church this morning, sounds the keynote of our faith. It is the Latin word, gaudete, which, being translated, means rejoice. It is a striking paradox that the religion of the cross is at one and the same time the religion of joy.…
Read MoreThe Joyous Feast of St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas, the patron Saint of Russia, was born toward the end of the third century. His uncle, the Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, ordained him priest, and appointed him abbot of a monastery; and on the death of the archbishop he was elected to the vacant see. Throughout his life he retained the bright…
Read MoreThe Second Week of Advent: Prayer Means Progress
“When John had heard in prison the words of Christ, sending two of his disciples he said to him: Art thou he that is to come, or look we for another? And Jesus answering said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the…
Read MoreAdvent Recollection: The Cave of Bethlehem
The Blessed Virgin was in the eastern part of this cave, exactly opposite the entrance, when she gave birth to the Light of the World. The crib in which the child Jesus was laid stood on the west side of the southern and more roomy part of the cave. This crib was a hollowed-out stone…
Read MoreThe Beginning of Advent: Preparing for Christmas
The Catholic Church is the most interesting institution in the world. Like her Founder, she is both human and divine. She is human because her members are of human origin; she is divine because Christ, the Head of these members, is divine. The Catholic Church is the greatest storyteller in the world. She is the…
Read MoreMary as the Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant was a wood box about four-feet long and two and a half-feet wide. The word “ark” comes from the Hebrew word “aron” which means chest or coffer. The Ark was no ordinary chest. It was plated inside and out with gold. And it had an ornate cover, called the mercy…
Read MoreChristmas Meditation on the Sacred Infancy of Jesus
” Yet neither Nazareth nor Bethlehem were his beginnings. He was eternal years old the moment he was born. “ -Fr. Frederick Faber Below is a unique Christmas meditation from the famous English convert to the Catholic Faith, Fr. Frederick Faber of London, England. Fr. Faber has long been revered for his thoroughly enjoyable and erudite…
Read MoreMystical Aspects of the Mystery of Christmas
Below is an excerpt from a brief, but interesting sermon that was delivered by Saint Francis de Sales to a convent of nuns on Christmas Eve in the year 1614. These nuns were members of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Visitation; an order founded by him. The sermon addresses Christ the Savior as…
Read MoreWelcoming Advent in the Home as a Pre-Christmas
Advent is here and soon enough Christmas will be upon us! It has always been the aim of the Church to cause her children to reflect and prepare in a special way during this holy season. Mothers can sympathize with the secular mythology surrounding Ol’ Saint Nick–that of a fairyland workshop bursting with harried elves…
Read MoreThe Secrets of the Sacred Heart
On the night before Our Lord suffered and died, He took comfort in the consolation offered by His beloved disciple, St. John the Evangelist, who reclined on His Sacred Heart. In less than twenty-four hours, the Heart that once beat in the womb of Our Lady in Bethlehem, would beat no more. Instead, the Sacred…
Read MoreThe Immaculate Conception According to Anne Catherine Emmerich
“In the moment when the newborn child [Mary] lay in the arms of her holy mother Anna, I saw that at the same time the child was presented in Heaven in the sight of the Most Holy Trinity, and greeted with unspeakable joy by all the heavenly host.” —Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich Anne Catherine Emmerich…
Read MoreFostering Catholic Culture: Celebrating the Feast of Saint Nicholas
“O God, Who didst adorn blessed Nicholas, Thy bishop, with miracles unnumbered, grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits and prayers we may be delivered from the fires of hell.” –Roman Missal, Collect for Feast of St. Nicholas One of the most beloved of saints is St. Nicholas of Myra, an early Christian bishop…
Read MoreAdvent – Time for “Holiday Parties” or Little Lent?
“But except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.” —Luke 13:5 My childhood hero was Bishop Ignatius Kung. We were told of his heroic suffering as a prisoner. The Chinese Communists (the same ones who recently gifted us with a man-made virus), permitted him to leave his solitary confinement of thirty years if he…
Read MoreAdvent: A Time for Preparing One’s Heart to Welcome the Infant Jesus
The season of Advent, like the season of Lent, is a time of earnest and directed preparation for God. Whereas in Lent, we prepare for the blessed passion and glorious Resurrection of our Lord, in Advent we prepare for His Incarnation, the entrance of Jesus Christ, who is God Himself, into this world of time…
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