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December 11, 2012   Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent   Reading 1 Is 40:1-11 Comfort, give comfort to my people,says your God.Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to herthat her service is at an end,her guilt is expiated;Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORDdouble for all her sins. A voice cries out:In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!Every valley shall be filled in,every mountain and hill shall be made low;The rugged land shall be made a plain,the rough country, a broad valley.Then the glory...

December 10, 2012 Monday of the Second Week of Advent   Reading 1 Is 35:1-10 The desert and the parched land will exult;the steppe will rejoice and bloom.They will bloom with abundant flowers,and rejoice with joyful song.The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;They will see the glory of the LORD,the splendor of our God.Strengthen the hands that are feeble,make firm the knees that are weak,Say to those whose hearts are frightened:Be strong, fear not!Here is your God,he comes with vindication;With divine recompensehe comes to save you.Then will the eyes of the blind be...

Avoiding Advent Pitfalls Dec 9th, 2012by Gary Zimak. We’re all familiar with the main message of Advent: “PREPARE!”As we look back on past Advents, however, most of us have done a rather poor job preparing to welcome Christ. Sure, we’ve prepared for Christmas by buying gifts, decorating and baking and we’ve probably reflected on the Lord’s birth, but have we honestly followed the Church’s instructions to “Prepare the way of the Lord”?I would guess that most of us would have to admit that we’ve often failed to use the season of Advent as a time of preparation. And why is...

December 9, 2012 Second Sunday of Advent   Reading 1 Bar 5:1-9 Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery;put on the splendor of glory from God forever:wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,bear on your head the mitrethat displays the glory of the eternal name.For God will show all the earth your splendor:you will be named by God foreverthe peace of justice, the glory of God's worship. Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights;look to the east and see your childrengathered from the east and the westat the word of the Holy One,rejoicing that they are remembered by...

“Bear Fruits in Keeping with Repentance” (Luke 3:1-20)Advent is a penitential season, and every year on this Second Sunday in Advent, John the Baptist shows up, leading the call to repentance. John came to prepare the way of the Lord, and he did so by calling the people to repent, that that is fitting as they get ready to welcome the coming King. And that is precisely what we are doing now during this time of preparation, the penitential season of Advent. As we anticipate the arrival of the Christ, John would have us “Bear Fruits in Keeping with Repentance.”...

December 8, 2012   Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary   Reading 1 Gn 3:9-15, 20 After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"He answered, "I heard you in the garden;but I was afraid, because I was naked,so I hid myself."Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked?You have eaten, then,from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate...

December 7, 2012   Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church   Reading 1 Is 29:17-24 Thus says the Lord GOD:But a very little while,and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,and the orchard be regarded as a forest!On that day the deaf shall hearthe words of a book;And out of gloom and darkness,the eyes of the blind shall see.The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.For the tyrant will be no moreand the arrogant will have gone;All who are alert to do evil will be cut...

“The Chronicle of Luke: ‘That You May Have Certainty’” (Luke 1:1-4)This past Sunday was the First Sunday in Advent, and thus it was the beginning of a whole new church year. In our congregation, and in thousands of churches all around the world, this is known as “The Year of St. Luke.” You see, in the three-year lectionary, the system of appointed readings that we use, Series A is the Year of St. Matthew--his gospel is the one predominately read throughout that church year. Series B is the Year of St. Mark. And now, starting this week, Series C is...

December 6, 2012 Thursday of the First Week of Advent   Reading 1 Is 26:1-6 On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: "A strong city have we;he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.Open up the gatesto let in a nation that is just,one that keeps faith.A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;in peace, for its trust in you." Trust in the LORD forever!For the LORD is an eternal Rock.He humbles those in high places,and the lofty city he brings down;He tumbles it to the ground,levels it with the dust.It is...

December 5, 2012 Wednesday of the First Week of Advent   Reading 1 Is 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hostswill provide for all peoplesA feast of rich food and choice wines,juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.On this mountain he will destroythe veil that veils all peoples,The web that is woven over all nations;he will destroy death forever.The Lord GOD will wipe awaythe tears from all faces;The reproach of his people he will removefrom the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said:"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!This...

December 4, 2012   Tuesday of the First Week of Advent   Reading 1 Is 11:1-10 On that day,A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,and from his roots a bud shall blossom.The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,A Spirit of counsel and of strength,a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.Not by appearance shall he judge,nor by hearsay shall he decide,But he shall judge the poor with justice,and decide aright for the land's afflicted.He shall strike the ruthless with...

(Vatican Radio) A community of contemplative nuns, their cloistered monastery located in the farmlands of Missouri, have released an album of sacred music to mark the beginning of the liturgical season of Advent. “Advent at Ephesus” debuted on November 20th in the number 1 spot on Billboard’s Classical Traditional Chart. The nuns featured on the album are members of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, a monastic order of sisters founded in 1995. All of the music was conducted and arranged by the order’s prioress, Mother Cecilia, a professionally-trained musician who performed in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra of Ohio...

December 3, 2012   Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest   Reading 1 Is 2:1-5 This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come,The mountain of the LORD's houseshall be established as the highest mountainand raised above the hills.All nations shall stream toward it;many peoples shall come and say:"Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain,to the house of the God of Jacob,That he may instruct us in his ways,and we may walk in his paths."For from Zion shall go forth instruction,and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.He shall judge between the nations,and impose...

December 2, 2012   First Sunday of Advent   Reading 1 Jer 33:14-16 The days are coming, says the LORD,when I will fulfill the promiseI made to the house of Israel and Judah.In those days, in that time,I will raise up for David a just shoot ;he shall do what is right and just in the land.In those days Judah shall be safeand Jerusalem shall dwell secure;this is what they shall call her:"The LORD our justice." Responsorial Psalm Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;teach me...

“The King Who Comes in the Name of the Lord” (Luke 19:28-40)Today is the first day in a brand-new church year. That’s because today is the First Sunday in Advent. The church year begins with the season of Advent, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, along with their weekdays. Of course, for the world--that is, for the secularized pop culture around us--there is no Advent. For them, there is only Christmas, and their Christmas started way back around--oh, I think it now starts around the day after Halloween. And the world’s version of Christmas has very little to do...

Featured Term (selected at random):GAUDETE SUNDAY Third Sunday of Advent, so named from the opening antiphon of the Introit Gaudete in Domino semper (Rejoice in the Lord always). On this Sunday rose vestments are permitted in the Eucharistic liturgy. (Etym. Latin gaudete, rejoice.) See Also: LAETARE SUNDAYAll items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

December 24, 2011   Saturday of the Fourth Week of Advent   Reading 1 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 When King David was settled in his palace,and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,he said to Nathan the prophet,"Here I am living in a house of cedar,while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" Nathan answered the king,"Go, do whatever you have in mind,for the LORD is with you." But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD:Should you build me a house...

Tomorrow when the sun goes will end Advent 2011 and begin the real season of Christmas 2011. This Advent season, which is coming to an end was a very difficult one for me. Having dealt with first a tooth abscess and the death of one of my teeth during the weekend of Thanksgiving and having to go to the dental emergency at the University of Connecticut Medical And Dental Hospital to have it treated, at first having been given the opportunity to have a root canal treatment and then being told that the tooth was not worth being saved and...

December 23, 2011 Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent   Reading 1 Mal 3:1-4, 23-24 Thus says the Lord GOD:Lo, I am sending my messengerto prepare the way before me;And suddenly there will come to the templethe LORD whom you seek,And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.But who will endure the day of his coming?And who can stand when he appears?For he is like the refiner's fire,or like the fuller's lye.He will sit refining and purifying silver,and he will purify the sons of Levi,Refining them like gold or...

December 22, 2011   Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent   Reading 1 1 Sm 1:24-28 In those days,Hannah brought Samuel with her,along with a three-year-old bull,an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine,and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh. After the boy's father had sacrificed the young bull,Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said:"Pardon, my lord!As you live, my lord,I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;as...