Advent: November 29th

First Sunday of Advent

MASS READINGS

November 29, 2015 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Caryll Houselander and the Flowering of Christ | Janet Golden

Old Calendar: First Sunday of Advent

For us Catholics, the new Liturgical Year commences with the first Sunday of Advent. In this new liturgical year, the Church not only wishes to indicate the beginning of a period, but the beginning of a renewed commitment to the faith by all those who follow Christ, the Lord. This time of prayer and path of penance that is so powerful, rich and intense, endeavors to give us a renewed impetus to truly welcome the message of the One who was incarnated for us. In fact, the entire Liturgy of the Advent Season, will spur us to an awakening in our Christian life and will put us in a 'vigilant' disposition, to wait for Our Lord Jesus who is coming:

'Awaken! Remember that God comes! Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today, now! The one true God, "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", is not a God who is there in Heaven, unconcerned with us and our history, but he is the-God-who-comes.'¹

The Season of Advent is therefore a season of vigilant waiting, that prepares us to welcome the mystery of the Word Incarnate, who will give the 'Light' to the womb of the Virgin Mary, but essentially this time prepares us not only to welcome this great event but to incarnate it in our lives. We could say that the true light enters the world through the immaculate womb of Mary but it does not stay there. On the contrary, this light flows out into our dark, obscure, sinful lives to illuminate them, so that we can become the light that illuminates the world. For this reason, let us live this time of waiting not only to celebrate a historical memory but to repeat this memory in our lives and in the service of others. To wait for the Lord who comes, means to wait and to watch so that the Word of Love enters inside us and focuses us every day of our lives.

As Blessed John Henry Newman reminded us in a homily for the Advent Season: "Advent is a time of waiting, it is a time of joy because the coming of Christ is not only a gift of grace and salvation but it is also a time of commitment because it motivates us to live the present as a time of responsibility and vigilance. This 'vigilance' means the necessity, the urgency of an industrious, living 'wait'. To make all this happen, then we need to wake up, as we are warned by the apostle to the Gentiles, in today's reading to the Romans: 'Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed" (Rm 13:11).

We must start our journey to ascend to the mountain of the Lord, to be illuminated by His Words of peace and to allow Him to indicate the path to tread. (cf. Is 2:1-5). Moreover, we must change our conduct abandoning the works of darkness and put on the 'armor of light' and so seek only to do God's work and to abandon the deeds of the flesh. (cf. Rm 13:12-14). Jesus, through the story in the parable, outlines the Christian life style that must not be distracted and indifferent but must be vigilant and recognize even the smallest sign of the Lord's coming because we donâ€™t know the hour in which He will arrive. (cf. Mt 24:39-44)

1 Pope Benedict XVI, Celebration of First Vespers of Advent, Vatican Basilica, December 2006

Excerpted from the website of Congregation for the Clergy

On the First Sunday of Advent, the traditional opening prayer (or Collect) prayed: "Stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come." With this request to God to "stir up" His might, this day was traditionally called Stir-Up Sunday. Many families create a traditional plum pudding or fruit cake or some other recipe that all the family and guests can "stir-up." This activity of stirring-up the ingredients symbolizes our hearts that must be stirred in preparation for Christ's birth.

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Jesse Tree ~ Creation

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

1st Sunday of Advent

Be vigilant at all times.… Your redemption is at hand. (Luke 21:36, 28)

So begins another Advent—with words of warning to stay alert, but also with words of confident reassurance. Isn’t it funny how we are so quick to focus on the verses that sound threatening but lose sight of the ones that remind us how faithful God is and how deeply committed he is to us?

Do you believe that right now, God wants nothing but good things for you? After all, he has been pouring out grace on his people for millennia. From the very beginning, he has been leading us to the day of our “redemption,” so why would he stop now (Luke 21:28)?

In today’s first reading, we see St. Paul praying that the people of Thessalonika will deepen in their love for each other as they wait for the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13). Paul didn’t say this because he thought that the Thessalonians were doing poorly. Quite the opposite—he begins his letter by praising them for their “work of faith and labor of love” (1:3). Paul wasn’t correcting them or admonishing them; he was congratulating them and urging them to keep up the good work!

The same is true for you. God isn’t upset that your faith in him or your love for other people isn’t greater than it is. He knows your heart; he knows how much you want to please him. He delights in the faith and love that you do have—incomplete though it may be. Now he is urging you to take another step so that you can be even more faith filled and loving.

We are entering Advent, a season of grace when God invites us to journey deeper into his love and his presence. Over the next four weeks, you’ll find numerous opportunities to connect with the Lord, whether it is at Mass, in prayer, or in your encounters with other people. Make the most of them. Trust that each situation is another opportunity for your redemption to unfold even more.

“Lord, draw me closer to you this Advent!”

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14
1 Thessalonians 3:12–4:2

Questions for Reflection or Discussion:

Mass Readings:
1st Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Responsorial: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 141
Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12–4:2

1. The first reading opens with these words of great promise and warning: “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.” How would you describe the fulfillment of that promise? As you prepare your heart to celebrate the coming of the Lord at Christmas this year, what additional steps can you take to commit your life to Him in a deeper way?

2. In the Responsorial Psalm, we ask God to “make known” to us his “ways,” to “teach” us his “paths”, and to “guide” us in his “truth” (Psalm 25:4-5). In what ways does God teach and reveal his intentions to you? What can you do each day, especially during Advent, to be more attentive to his promptings?

3. In the second reading, St. Paul exhorts his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica to “increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” He goes on to say that loving one another is the key to “being blameless in holiness” at the “coming of our Lord Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13). Why is there such a strong relationship between love and being ready to receive Christ at his “coming”? What are some practical steps you can take to demonstrate more deeply Christ’s love, and your love, to your family and to others? In what way will this love in action help them to be more ready to receive Christ?

4. The Gospel reading focuses on the difficult signs that will occur prior to Jesus’ Second Coming, rather than on his First Coming at Christmas? Why do you think that is so? How would you describe the similarities and differences between his First and Second Coming?

5. In the Gospel, with regard to the signs that will arise during the end times and the final return of Christ, we are cautioned to be “vigilant,” so that day doesn’t catch us “by surprise like a trap” (Luke 21:34). What does being vigilant mean to you? There are many things that can keep us from being vigilant, e.g., sin, temptations, distractions of the world, and fear and anxiety. What are some things you can do to overcome and root out any of the obstacles that can cause you not to be vigilant?

6. The meditation ends with these words: “We are entering Advent, a season of grace when God invites us to journey deeper into his love and his presence. Over the next four weeks, you’ll find numerous opportunities to connect with the Lord, whether it is at Mass, in prayer, or in your encounters with other people. Make the most of them. Trust that each situation is another opportunity for your redemption to unfold even more.” What additional steps can you take during this grace-filled season of Advent to deepen your relationship with the Lord through prayer, the sacraments, Scripture reading, and fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ?

7. Take some time now to pray and ask the Lord to use this Advent Season to draw you closer to him and to prepare your heart to receive him more deeply this Christmas, and when he comes again in glory. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.