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What Does It Mean to Find the Perfect Gift? Msgr. Charles Pope • December 21, 2017 • Jesus said many paradoxical things. For example: Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Mat 10:39). For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it (Mat 16:25).The basic rule of life the Lord announces is that when we want something too much, or very insistently on our own terms, we can never possess it. Rather, it possesses us. Only when...

Violet Fast and Full Abstinence Prope est jam Dominus; venite, adoremus. The Lord is now nigh: come, let us adore. THE CHURCH does not read anything from the Prophet Isaias today; she merely gives, in the Office of Matins, a sentence of that chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel which relates the mystery of our Lady’s Visitation: and to this she subjoins a fragment of St. Ambrose’s Homily upon that passage. The considerations and affections with which this important event of our Lady’s life ought to inspire the faithful shall be given further on, in the Proper of the Saints....

SIXTH ANTIPHON O REX Gentium, et desideratus earum, Lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum; veni, et salva hominem quem de limo formasti. O KING of nations, and their Desired One, and the Corner-Stone that makest both one; come and save man whom thou formedst out of slime. O KING of Nations! thou art approaching still nigher to Bethlehem, where thou art to be born. The journey is almost over, and thy august Mother, consoled and strengthened by the dear weight she bears, holds an unceasing converse with thee on the way. She adores thy divine Majesty; she gives thanks...

December 22, 2017 Friday of the Third 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...

Late Advent Messages from God to His People Msgr. Charles Pope • December 20, 2017 • The Prophet Isaiah, by Lorenzo Monaco (1405-10)As the end of Advent approaches, the Office of Readings features some final admonitions from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. On the one hand they console; on the other, they challenge us to remain firm.Isaiah addressed a people in exile who still awaited the first coming of the Lord. Today, these texts speak to us in difficult times when, exiled from Heaven, we await His magnificent Second Coming.Let’s look at these admonitions from the Lord (Isaiah...

Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus. Come, let us adore the King our Lord, who is to come. De Isaia Propheta. From the Prophet Isaias. Cap. xxxiii. Ch. xxxiii. Domine, miserere nostri, te enim exspectavimus; esto brachium nostrum in mane, et salus nostra in tempore tribulationis. A voce angeli fugerunt populi, et ab exaltatione tua dispersae sunt gentes. Et congregabuntur spolia vestra sicut colligitur bruchus, velut cum fossae plenae fuerint de eo. Magnificatus est Dominus, quoniam habitavit in excelso; implevit Sion judicio et justitia. Et erit fides in temporibus tuis: divitiae salutis sapientia et scientia; timor Domini ipse est thesaurus...

FIFTH ANTIPHON O ORIENS, splendor lucis æternæ, et sol justiæ; veni et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis. O ORIENT! splendor of eternal light, and Sun of Justice! come and enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death. O JESUS, divine Sun! thou art coming to snatch us from eternal night: blessed forever be thy infinite goodness! But thou puttest our faith to the test, before showing thyself in all thy brightness. Thou hidest thy rays, until the time decreed by thy heavenly Father comes, in which all thy beauty will break upon the...

December 21, 2017 Thursday of the Third Week of 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...

“He Will Surely Do It” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24) This has been an Advent series about the Second Advent, the Second Coming of Christ. Each Wednesday we’ve looked at the Epistle reading from the previous Sunday, and the connecting theme that runs through all of them is the idea of “Waiting for the Day of the Lord.” We began two weeks ago by unpacking the biblical teaching about the day of the Lord, that it is “A Day of Judgment and Salvation.” Last week we saw that when the Day of the Lord finally comes, God will bring about “New Heavens...

Violet Fast and Partial Abstinence Prope est jam Dominus; venite, adoremus. The Lord is now nigh; come, let us adore. TODAY THE CHURCH begins the Fast of Quatuor Tempora, or as we call it, of Ember days: it includes also the Friday and Saturday of this same week. This observance is not peculiar to the Advent liturgy: it is one which has been fixed for each of the four seasons of the Ecclesiastical Year. We may consider it as one of those practices which the Church took from the Synagogue; for the Prophet Zacharias speaks of the fourth, fifth,...

FOURTH ANTIPHON O CLAVIS David et Sceptrum domus Israël, qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit; veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis. O KEY of David, and Scepter of the house of Israel! who openest, and no man shutteth: who shuttest, and no man openeth; come and lead the captive from prison, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. O JESUS, Son of David! heir to his throne and his power! thou art now passing over, in thy way to Bethlehem, the land that once was the kingdom...

December 20, 2017 Wednesday of the Third Week of 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...

Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus. Come, let us adore the King our Lord, who is to come. De Isaia Propheta. From the Prophet Isaias. Cap. xxx. Ch. xxx. Exspectat Dominus ut misereatur vestri; et ideo exaltabitur parcens vobis, quia Deus judicii Dominus: beati omnes qui exspectant eum! Populus enim Sion habitabit in Jerusalem: plorans nequaquam plorabis: miserans miserebitur tui, ad vocem clamoris tui: statim ut audierit, respondebit tibi. Et dabit vobis Dominus panem arctum, et aquam brevem; et non faciet avolare a te ultra doctorem tuum; et erunt oculi tui videntes praeceptorem tuum. Et aures tuae audient verbum post...

THIRD ANTIPHON O RADIX Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges o ssuum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare. O ROOT of Jesse, who standest as the standard of the people; before whom Kings shall not open their lips; to whom the nations shall pray: come and deliver us; tarry now no more. AT LENGTH, O Son of Jesse! thou art approaching the city of thy ancestors. The Ark of the Lord has risen, and journeys, with the God that is in her, to the place of her rest. “How beautiful are...

December 19, 2017 Tuesday of the Third Week of 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...

Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus. Come, let us adore the King our Lord, who is to come. De Isaia Propheta. From the Prophet Isaias. Cap. xxviii. Ch. xxviii. Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego mittam in fundamentis Sion lapidem, lapidem probatum, angularem, pretiosum, in fundamento fundatum; qui crediderit, non festinet. Et ponam in pondere judicium, et justitiam in mensura; et subvertet grando spem mendacii, et protectionem aquae inundabunt. Et delebitur foedus vestrum cum morte, et pactum vestrum cum inferno non stabit. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will lay a stone in the foundations of Sion, a tried...

SECOND ANTIPHON O ADONAI, et dux domus Israël, qui Moysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti; veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extenso. O ADONAI, and leader of the house of Israel, who appearedst to Moses in the fire of the flaming bush, and gavest to him the law on Sinai; come and redeem us by thy outstretched arm. O SOVEREIGN LORD! O Adonai! come and redeem us, not by thy power, but by thy humility. Heretofore, thou didst show thy self to Moses thy servant in the midst of a mysterious flame; thou...

December 18, 2017 Monday of the Third Week of Advent Reading 1 Jer 23:5-8 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;As king he shall reign and govern wisely,he shall do what is just and right in the land.In his days Judah shall be saved,Israel shall dwell in security.This is the name they give him:"The LORD our justice." Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,when they shall no longer say, "As the LORD lives,who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt";but rather, "As the LORD...

Also known as the Greater Advent Antiphons, the O Antiphons are Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers (around sunset) of the last seven days of Advent preceding the vigil of Christmas. Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are: DECEMBER 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)DECEMBER 18: O Adonai (O Lord)DECEMBER 19: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)DECEMBER 20: O Clavis David (O Key of David)DECEMBER 21: O Oriens (O Dayspring)DECEMBER 22: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Gentiles)DECEMBER 23: O Emmanuel (O God is with Us) The hymn O come,...

Praying the O Antiphons: An Ancient Advent Tradition December 16, 2016 By Gretchen Filz During the final days of Advent, the anticipation increases as the birth of the Savior draws nearer and nearer. In the eight days before Christmas this anticipation is marked by something special that happens in the prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours. The antiphons of Evening Prayer (Vespers) during the week before Christmas welcome the birth of the Savior by heralding one of His resplendent Biblical titles along with a special petition in light of that title.It is a liturgical tradition started in the...