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December 9, 2016 Friday of the Second Week in Advent Reading 1 Is 48:17-19 Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,the Holy One of Israel:I, the LORD, your God,teach you what is for your good,and lead you on the way you should go.If you would hearken to my commandments,your prosperity would be like a river,and your vindication like the waves of the sea;Your descendants would be like the sand,and those born of your stock like its grains,Their name never cut offor blotted out from my presence. Responsorial Psalm Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 R. (see John 8:12) Those who...

Advent: Our Hope is Not in This WorldConstance T. Hull In many of our cultures the Christmas season is in full swing. It is the version of Christmas when we are told to buy more things and to accumulate as many material possessions as we can for ourselves and others. This is an understandable mentality in wealthier nations, only because we have been inundated with this message since childhood. Pay close attention to advertisements and commercials this time of year and throughout the year. Buying item X will bring you happiness, joy, comfort, or pleasure. You need this car, dress,...

“The Shoot and the Root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1-10) Today we continue our series on “Isaiah’s Advent Prophecies.” Today’s prophecy comes from Isaiah 11, and it begins, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” And then our text closes, “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples--of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” Notice that this one who is coming is first called “a shoot from the stump of Jesse,” and then he...

December 8, 2016 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 it.”The...

December 7, 2016 Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Is 40:25-31 To whom can you liken me as an equal?says the Holy One.Lift up your eyes on highand see who has created these things:He leads out their army and numbers them,calling them all by name.By his great might and the strength of his powernot one of them is missing!Why, O Jacob, do you say,and declare, O Israel,“My way is hidden from the LORD,and my right is disregarded by my God”? Do you not knowor have you not heard?The LORD is the eternal God,creator...

History and Symbolism of the Advent WreathPatrice Fagnant-MacArthur The lights of the candles on the Advent Wreath break through the darkness, reminding us of the Light of Christ that we anticipate during this holy season. Where did this tradition come from, of lighting four candles in an evergreen wreath to mark the weeks preceding Christmas? Like many of our Church traditions, the use of candles in the midst of late fall and winter was originally a pagan tradition. Rev. William Saunders, who wrote an article in the “Arlington Catholic Herald” on this topic, states that “pre-Germanic peoples used wreaths with...

An Epigraph for AdventBr. Bonaventure Chapman, O.P. Do you ever skip the introductory pages of a book you are reading? If so, STOP IT! You could miss one of the best parts, the epigraph. You know, that short quotation which the author has carefully selected to summarize, introduce, or preface his own work with. It is a tip of the hat to an older author, a humble recognition in the face of past genius, and a claim that this work you, the reader, are now holding stands in a tradition that almost makes the current volume at best superfluous, at...

Seeing More As God Sees Msgr. Charles Pope • December 5, 2016 • Today I’d like to reflect further on the Gospel from yesterday’s Mass (Monday of the second week of Advent). The Gospel tells of the paralyzed man whose friends lowered him through the roof in order to see Jesus. It is read during Advent because one of the prophecies about the Messiah was that He would make the lame walk. In a provocative way, this Gospel also helps us to focus on Jesus’ central mission for us.The Gospel passage contains a rather peculiar and somewhat awkward moment:...

December 6, 2016 Tuesday of the Second Week in 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 of...

A Mid-Advent Picture of What Our Savior Offers Msgr. Charles Pope • December 4, 2016 • The Gospel for today’s Mass (Monday of the Second Week of Advent) is the well-known story of the paralytic. There are many wonderful details that I could discuss (e.g., the four friends who bring him to Jesus—talk about great friends!), but I’d like to focus today on Jesus’ command: “Rise, take up your stretcher, and go home.” It is a small picture of the grace unto salvation offered to us by the Lord. Here is a man who is powerless to help or...

December 5, 2016 Monday of the Second Week in 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...

A Prophet Who Prepares Msgr. Charles Pope • December 3, 2016 • The Second Sunday of Advent usually features the ministry of St. John the Baptist. He was the prophet who fulfilled the Office of Elijah, of whom it was said, See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction (Mal 4:4-6).St. John was a prophet who...

December 4, 2016 Second Sunday 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 the rod of...

The Advent Gift of John the BaptistJacques-Bénigne Bossuet “Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her” (Luke 1:57-58).True gatherings of the friends and families of Chris­tians should have for their object to celebrate the mercy that God has shown to us. Without this object, the con­gratulations we receive have nothing solid or sincere about them and are vain things.God weaves the fabric of his designs in a wonderful order. He intended the...

“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand” (Matthew 3:1-12) “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand”: That was the message of John the Baptist as he came preaching in the wilderness. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”: That is the message of John the Baptist as he comes preaching in our midst today. Let’s listen and take heed to what he is saying. “Repent”: That’s the big word that comes through in our text today. What does this call to repentance mean for us and for our lives? What shape will it take?...

December 3, 2016 Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest Reading 1 Is 30:19-21, 23-26 Thus says the Lord GOD,the Holy One of Israel:O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,no more will you weep;He will be gracious to you when you cry out,as soon as he hears he will answer you.The Lord will give you the bread you needand the water for which you thirst.No longer will your Teacher hide himself,but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:“This is the way; walk in it,”when you would turn to...

Keeping Advent when it’s not yet ChristmasJenny Uebbing It’s nearing the end of November. Which means Christmas music has already begun playing in stores, and I’m too late to buy Thanksgiving blend at Starbucks, because Christmas blend has already been out for weeks and weeks.The grocery stores are starting to fill out their fabricated forest of Christmas trees out front, and okay, yes, I’ve let my kids watched Mickey’s Christmas Carol on Netflix. Twice.But I don’t want to get pulled too far down the path of celebrating Christmas before we’ve kept Advent.Now, we live in a culture that beckons us...

Advent is a Time for Greater Silence and PrayerFr. Ed Broom, OMV Advent is a season of very special graces! It is time of waiting, hope and joy. Waiting—for the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; Hope—because Jesus came to save us; finally Joy—because Jesus’ birth, life and Resurrection is a promise of eternal life for those who obey His commandments and love Him.Silent Night On Christmas Eve it is most appropriate to sing the hymn Silent Night. In the profound depths of that most special night Jesus was born in silence. How important silence is for those...

Four Advent AttitudesFr. Edward Looney It’s hard to believe Advent has already arrived. If I’m not mistaken, this is the longest observance of Advent we celebrate because Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. It seems Advent is one of the seasons that happens, and usually goes quicker than we would like! We are always in a hustle and a bustle preparing for Christmas that we do not slow down enough to take in the purpose of these Advent days of waiting. As we wait for the birth of Jesus on Christmas day, here are four Advent attitudes we can...

December 2, 2016 Friday of the First Week in Advent 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 off,those whose mere word...