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December 3, 2017 First Sunday of Advent Reading 1 Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7 You, LORD, are our father,our redeemer you are named forever.Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?Return for the sake of your servants,the tribes of your heritage.Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,with the mountains quaking before you,while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,such as they had not heard of from of old.No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but youdoing such deeds for...

THE HISTORY OF ADVENT THE NAME Advent (from the Latin Adventus, which signifies a coming) is applied, in the Latin Church, to that period of the year, during which the Church requires the faithful to prepare for the celebration of the feast of Christmas, the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. The mystery of that great day had every right to the honor of being prepared for by prayer and works of penance; and, in fact, it is impossible to state, with any certainty, when this season of preparation (which had long been observed before receiving its present...

Advent: Five Ways to Live Out This Holy SeasonFr. Ed Broom, OMV Advent is just around the corner, which means time to prepare for Christmas — the birth of Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. The joy of Christmas depends on the intensity with which we live out the Season of Advent. Let us follow these concrete suggestions and live out this Season of Advent with great joy, prayer, love and intensity. Let us live out this Advent as if it were to be the last in our lives. Indeed, it could be! Jesus constantly reminds us to be alert,...

Catholic Traditions for Advent and Christmas MICHAELANN MARTIN Issue: How can families better live the spirit of Advent and Christmas in their homes? Response The Catholic Church has designated the four weeks preceding Christmas as Advent, a time to prepare the way of the Lord for His coming as our King and Savior. In addition, the Church teaches that: [w]hen the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Saviors first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second...

Best Advent Hymn! I Wonder If You’ve Ever Heard of It Msgr. Charles Pope • December 8, 2016 • For my money, the best Advent hymn ever is Veni Redemptor Gentium (Come Redeemer of the Nations), written by St. Ambrose in the 4th century. It is more widely known by the title “Come Thou Redeemer of the Earth.” Sadly, it is not often sung in Catholic parishes today. Most Catholics I’ve asked have never even heard of it.One of the beautiful things about the ancient Latin hymns is how richly theological they are. Not content to merely describe an...

No One Goes Away from Jesus Unchanged Msgr. Charles Pope • December 23, 2016 • The video below is a 2008 Coca-Cola commercial that takes up the theme of the star of Christmas.Let us review the impact that the star of Christmas had on the wise men, the Magi. The star moved them to seek meaning outside themselves; it made them look out and up.The star called them beyond what was familiar in their own country and world and expanded their horizons toward Christ and His Kingdom.The star summoned them to seek Christ, and when they found Him, to...

December 24, 2016 Saturday of the Fourth Week in 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...

Why Was Jesus Born When and Where He Was? Msgr. Charles Pope • December 22, 2016 • In preparation for the coming of Christmas, we have been discussing some of St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings. In today’s last installment we’ll be looking at his commentary on the time and place of Jesus’ birth.We live in a culture today that tends toward a kind of temporal pride. We think that we have come of age, that we are smarter and wiser than our forebears. Scientific, technical, and medical knowledge are more highly developed to be sure, but there is more to...

December 23, 2016 Friday of the Fourth Week in Advent Reading 1 Ml 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 like...

Would Jesus Have Come If Adam Had Not Sinned? Why Did He Wait So Long Before Coming? Msgr. Charles Pope • December 21, 2016 • Continuing our series of questions related to the Incarnation, we next ponder whether Jesus would have come at all had we not sinned in the Garden. We also wonder why He waited thousands of years before coming to our rescue.Regarding the question of whether Christ would have come if Adam had not sinned, St. Thomas Aquinas (in his Summa Theologica) first states that there are different opinions on the matter. He also notes that...

December 22, 2016 Thursday of the Fourth Week in 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...

Why Was Christ Born of a Woman? Msgr. Charles Pope • December 20, 2016 • As Christmas draws closer, we continue to ponder the approaching mysteries. Today we will consider some of the things St. Thomas Aquinas taught regarding the Incarnation.Why did the Lord choose to come to us through a woman, Mary? He could have come in any manner He pleased. Yesterday, we pondered why He took true flesh and a human nature to Himself rather than just coming as a kind of ghost or simply as God. But even in becoming truly and fully man, He could...

December 21, 2016 Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Advent Reading 1 Sg 2:8-14 Hark! my lover–here he comesspringing across the mountains,leaping across the hills.My lover is like a gazelleor a young stag.Here he stands behind our wall,gazing through the windows,peering through the lattices.My lover speaks; he says to me,“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,and come!“For see, the winter is past,the rains are over and gone.The flowers appear on the earth,the time of pruning the vines has come,and the song of the dove is heard in our land.The fig tree puts forth its figs,and the vines, in...

December 20, 2016 Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Advent Reading 1 Is 7:10-14 The LORD spoke to Ahaz:Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!But Ahaz answered,“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” Then Isaiah said:Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men,must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and shall name him Emmanuel. Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 R. (see...

Four Arguments for the Fittingness of the Incarnation According to St. Thomas Aquinas Msgr. Charles Pope • December 18, 2016 • As we approach the Christmas feasts, it is good for us to ponder aspects of the Incarnation. In this article, I would like to consider what St. Thomas Aquinas teaches about the fittingness of the Incarnation. God was not radically “required” to do everything as He did. We do well to ponder why the manner of the Lord’s incarnation is “fitting,” why it makes sense.St. Thomas, referencing St. John Damascene, gives four reasons for the fittingness of the...

December 19, 2016 Monday of the Fourth Week in Advent Reading 1 Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites,whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,“Though you are barren and have had no children,yet you will conceive and bear a son. Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drinkand to eat nothing unclean.As for the son you will conceive and bear,no razor shall touch his head,for this boy is...

Crisis at Christmas - A Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent Msgr. Charles Pope • December 18, 2016 • Today’s Gospel gives us some background for the Christmas feast that we need to take to heart. It speaks to us of a crisis at Christmas.We tend to sentimentalize the Christmas story as we think of the baby Jesus in the manger. It is not absolutely wrong to be sentimental, but we must also be prayerfully sober about how difficult that first Christmas was, and about the heroic virtue required of Mary and Joseph in order to cooperate with...

December 18, 2016 Fourth Sunday of Advent Reading 1 Is 7:10-14 The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!But Ahaz answered,“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”Then Isaiah said:Listen, O house of David!Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God?Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel. Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 R. (7c and...

Home » Resources » Advent » History The History of Advent The name Advent (From the Latin word Adventus, which signifies a coming) is applied, in the Latin Church, to that period of the year, during which the Church requires the faithful to prepare for the celebration of the feast of Christmas, the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. The mystery of that great day had every right to the honor of being prepared for by prayer and works of penance; and, in fact, it is impossible to state, with any certainty, when this season of preparation (which...

Who Is My Neighbor? Answered by a Touching Christmas Commercial Msgr. Charles Pope • December 16, 2016 • In these days of nearly instant information availability, we think we know a lot about people, things, and issues. Truth be told, we may know more in a quantitative sense but less in a qualitative sense. Too much information can make us less discerning.The Christmas commercial below is touching and enlightening at the same time. Basically, it plays off the Scrooge/Grinch theme. The commercial shows a grouchy fellow who is touched and converted by the Christmas kindness of some children. That’s...