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December 9, 2008                                 Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 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...

December 8, 2008                                 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception                                 of the Blessed Virgin Mary       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Gn 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...

December 7, 2008                                     Second Sunday of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Is 40:1-5, 9-11 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...

“An Advent Inventory, Invitation, and Intent” (Mark 1:1-8)He has been called “the great forerunner of the morn.” He called himself “a voice crying in the wilderness.” Most of us know him as John the Baptist. But coming as he does in the midst of the world’s Christmas season, he might as well be called, “John the Killjoy.” For this is the season of merriment and mirth, office parties, and liquid cheer. We want to put aside any gloom and doom, and it irks us to run into anything or anyone who would ruin our good time. But every year, as...

Who is St. Nicholas?CAROL MYERSThe true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. Saint Nicholas by Ken Widing St Nicholas Center Collection The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used...

December 6, 2008                                 Saturday of the First Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 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...

History and Symbolism of the Advent Wreath December 4th, 2008 by Patrice 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...

December 5, 2008                                     Friday of the First Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 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...

December 4, 2008                                Thursday of the First Week of Advent Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 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...

“Waiting for the Day of the Lord: A Day of Judgment and Salvation” (1 Corinthians 1:3-9)For Advent and Lent, pastors tend to do a series, with a particular theme, for the midweek services. Coming up with a series theme sometimes comes easily, sometimes less so. Last year for Advent, since it was the year of St. Matthew, we did “The Genealogy of Jesus Christ” found at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel. Next year, when it’s Luke, an obvious series possibility is the four canticles found in Luke’s infancy narrative, chapters 1 and 2: the Magnificat, the Benedictus, the Gloria in...

Rediscovering Advent in the (St.) Nick of Time December 2nd, 2008 by Doreen Truesdell I have to hurry up and write this because if I don’t get it done in time the season will be past and it will be too late to do all of those things that people do this time of year like decorating with trees and colored lights and shopping for gifts for those we love and those we don’t and going to parties to eat and drink too much before coming home and making a list of all the errands we still have to run...

December 2, 2008                             Tuesday of the First Week of Advent     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 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...

Pope: Church Is to Be Hope for World in Advent Says God Calls Us to Meet Him in Prayer VATICAN CITY, NOV. 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Advent is the season of hope par excellence, and during this time, the Church is called to be hope for itself and for the world, says Benedict XVI.The Pope affirmed this Saturday during his homily at the celebration of first vespers in St. Peter's Basilica. He noted that in St. Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians, there is the exhortation to stay "irreprehensible 'for' the coming of the Lord.""But in the original text we read...

FRIENDSWOOD — Evangelicals are more likely to sing choruses than hymns. They do not use prayer books, and recitation of Christian creeds is a rare thing in their churches. They tend to view the layers of ritual that their friends and neighbors in the Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal and other liturgical churches enjoy as something like a dense thicket of historical artifacts. But Advent is becoming an exception to these superficial distinctions. As USA Today noted last week, “Evangelical Christians are adopting — and adapting — the rituals of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas that are traditionally celebrated...

December 1, 2008                                 Monday of the First Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 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...

 

November 30, 2008                                     First Sunday of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Is 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...

Catholic Traditions for Advent and ChristmasMICHAELANN MARTINIssue: 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. 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...

“Oh That You Would Rend the Heavens and Come Down” (Isaiah 64:1-9)The Old Testament Reading for today, from Isaiah 64, is an intense prayer, begging God to intervene on behalf of his people. As such, it is a fitting prayer also for God’s New Testament people, the church. And so, on this First Sunday in Advent, as we enter this season of waiting for the Lord’s coming, we cry out with Isaiah, “Oh That You Would Rend the Heavens and Come Down.” What is the situation for which Isaiah writes? With prophetic foresight, Isaiah looks ahead to the time when...

The Nativity Project Proponents of public displays of nativity scenes are taking a pro-active approach for the 2008 holiday season. Last Thursday, organizers of the Nativity Project placed a display on the sidewalk outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Their point: That it’s completely legal for private citizens to place religious displays on public sites. Rev. Rob Schenck is the president of the National Clergy Council, which is a co-sponsor of the Nativity Project. “This is not only okay, it is to be encouraged,” Schenck said, CBNNews.com reported. “In fact the more we exercise this right the stronger...