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The History of AdventFr. William Saunders The liturgical season of Advent marks the time of spiritual preparation by the faithful before Christmas. Advent begins on the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (November 30). It spans four Sundays and four weeks of preparation, although the last week of Advent is usually truncated because of when Christmas falls.The celebration of Advent has evolved in the spiritual life of the Church. The historical origins of Advent are hard to determine with great precision. In its earliest form, beginning in France, Advent was a period of preparation for the...

Preparing Our Hearts and Minds for AdventConstance T. Hull This Sunday the Church begins her new liturgical year with the season of Advent. In the hustle and bustle of the secular Christmas season, it is an often-overlooked season. It is a time when the Church calls us as our Mother to enter into the silence and hope of waiting. Many of us live in cultures of instant gratification, so Advent is rich in spiritual truths. Christmas trees, elves, lights, and holiday decorations seem to show up in stores earlier and earlier. The day after Halloween gave way to Christmas. Here...

Advent: The Real Meaning of Christmas LightsMarcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. As fall moves onward towards winter we have places to go, things to do, people to meet. Yet as we go about our business, we notice the days are getting shorter. Sweaters come out of storage, we close the windows, and turn on the heat.Advent is a season where we stop and remember that the light of this world is waning in more ways than one. That the world as we know it is passing away.The world “secular” comes from the Latin word for this present world with its priorities–getting a...

Do You Want to Have a Good Christmas? Then Listen Carefully to this Advent Message: “You Need a Savior!” Msgr. Charles Pope • November 30, 2016 • One of the goals of Advent (in many ways a penitential season) is to meditate on our need for a savior. In daily Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours, we read lengthy passages from Isaiah and the other prophets, who speak boldly and bluntly about the people’s sin. Some of the passages are even a bit humorous. Here are a few: Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD...

December 1, 2016 Thursday of the First Week in 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...

“The Mountain of the House of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:1-5) Today we’re beginning a series of sermons I’m calling “Isaiah’s Advent Prophecies.” We’re taking the Old Testament readings for this season of Advent, all taken from the prophet Isaiah, and making them the basis for these messages. Today it’s the reading from Isaiah 2, as we will hear. In the movie “Field of Dreams,” the main character is told, “If you build it, he will come.” What is it that he is to build? And who is it that will come? That’s what the movie is about. It turns out...

The Bridegroom Comes! A Reflection on the Great Wedding Feast That Advent Announces Msgr. Charles Pope • November 29, 2016 • The coming of Christ at Christmas was as an infant and thus we don’t usually think of wedding imagery. Yet since the first coming of Christ has certainly already been fulfilled, we now focus more on His second coming, of which the first coming is a sacramental reminder.Thus, in Advent, our longing and excitement are also directed to His glorious second coming. Mother Church, the New Jerusalem, our Mother, looks for her groom Jesus to come again all...

November 30, 2016 Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle Reading 1 Rom 10:9-18 Brothers and sisters:If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lordand believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,you will be saved.For one believes with the heart and so is justified,and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.The Scripture says,No one who believes in him will be put to shame.There is no distinction between Jew and Greek;the same Lord is Lord of all,enriching all who call upon him.For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But...

November 29, 2016 Tuesday of the First Week in 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 the...

Pondering the Approaching Feast of the Word Made Flesh Msgr. Charles Pope • November 27, 2016 • As Catholics, we open Advent with the New Testament. We read its earliest pages, and the light shows brighter than ever as one covenant passes on and the New Covenant begins. The Groom has found his Bride.Catholics reverence the whole of the Scriptures and refuse Marcionism, a heresy that (among other things) rejected the Old Testament. However, not all of Scripture has equal authority in its application. We read the Old Testament in the light of the New Testament. Many of the...

November 28, 2016 Monday of the First Week in Advent Reading 1 Is 4:2-6 On that day,The branch of the LORD will be luster and glory,and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendorfor the survivors of Israel.He who remains in Zionand he who is left in JerusalemWill be called holy:every one marked down for life in Jerusalem.When the LORD washes awaythe filth of the daughters of Zion,And purges Jerusalem’s blood from her midstwith a blast of searing judgment,Then will the LORD create,over the whole site of Mount Zionand over her place of assembly,A smoking cloud by...

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 house shall be established as the highest mountain and 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...

A Recipe for Readiness – A Homily for the First Sunday of Advent Msgr. Charles Pope • November 26, 2016 • The first weeks of Advent focus more on the Lord’s second coming in glory than on His first coming at Bethlehem. The Gospel clearly states that we must always be prepared, for at an hour we do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Ready” is the key word. But how should we be ready?The second reading from today’s Mass (Romans 13:11-14) gives us a basic recipe for readiness. We can distinguish five fundamental instructions in Paul’s...

“‘Hosanna!’ Our Advent Prayer and Praise” (Matthew 21:1-11)Today is the First Sunday in Advent, the season leading up to Christmas. But you’ll notice that the Holy Gospel for this day is actually a reading about Palm Sunday. What gives? Why do we get a Palm Sunday reading here at the beginning of Advent? Well, if you think about it, there is a good reason for this selection. Think about what those crowds were doing on Palm Sunday. They were welcoming Jesus as their coming king. “Behold, your king is coming to you,” our text says, quoting from the prophet Zechariah....

November 27, 2016 First Sunday of Advent 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 terms on many peoples.They...

Run to Jesus! An Advent Reflection Msgr. Charles Pope • November 24, 2016 • The Lord’s coming is near. And though we have all been well taught that the word “Advent” means “coming,” there is the danger that we think that we are only passively waiting for Him to come. It is not just that the Lord is coming to us; we are also journeying to Him. In fact, as the Advent prayers in the Roman Missal instruct, we ought to run, not walk, and hasten to greet Him as He draws near.This notion of running to meet God...

December 24, 2015 Thursday 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 to dwell...

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS CAROLIntroduction: Have you ever considered, What is the first Christmas Carol?A carol is a song of joyful praise involving the birth of The Lord Jesus Christ. The first carol goes all the way back to the night in which The Lord Jesus Christ was born. No, it was not the Shepherds! Neither was it the Heavenly host which the shepherds heard. But even before the angels sang, The Lord Jesus Himself sang. Yes, That Little Baby in the manger sang the first Christmas Carol. It was not heard by His parents, nor by any human being, but...

December 23, 2015 « December 22 December 24 » Wednesday of the Fourth Week of AdventLectionary: 199 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...

December 22, 2015 Tuesday 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 long as...