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Our Catholic liturgical year follows a rhythmic cycle. It points us toward beginnings and ends and, in so doing, emphasizes an important truth that can only be grasped through faith. This is the Thirty Fourth or last Sunday in the Western Church year and we celebrate the Feast of the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the Sovereign King. Then, no sooner than we have celebrated the last Sunday of the Year, the feast of Christ the King, we will celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, and begin the time of preparation for the great Nativity of Our Savior. Our Catholic Christian...

December 24, 2008                             Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent                                  Mass in the Morning       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 12 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,...

December 23, 2008                             Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Mal 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...

December 22, 2008                                 Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 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...

December 21, 2008                                     Fourth Sunday of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 12 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...

“What Sort of Greeting Might This Be?” (Luke 1:26-38)Every year on the Fourth Sunday in Advent, the Holy Gospel is a reading about Mary. Last year it was the message to Joseph that Mary would bear a son. Next year it will be Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth. This year it is the Annunciation to Mary herself that she will conceive in her womb and bear a son. So each year on this Sunday we hear something about Mary becoming the mother of our Lord, which is most fitting on the Sunday closest to Christmas. As I say, our text today...

December 20, 2008                                     Saturday of the Third Week of Advent     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 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...

December 19, 2008                                     Friday of the Third Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Jgs 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...

December 18, 2008                             Thursday of the Third Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Jer 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...

Ego Cras December 17th, 2008 by Hugh J. McNichol · Advent, the great period of anticipation and preparation, is waning as we continue toward the celebration of the Incarnation on December 25th. The Liturgy of the Hours, the prayer of the Universal Church, begins on December 17 with the invocation of the Great O Antiphons forming the octave before Christmas. These antiphons invoke the prophecy of Isaiah and recall a Messianic title on each day that is attributed to the coming Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. No one is quite sure of the origins of the tradition, however in the eight century...

“Waiting for the Day of the Lord: 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 have looked at the Epistle reading from the previous Sunday, since the connecting theme that runs through them all is the idea of “Waiting for the Day of the Lord.” We began two weeks ago by unpacking the biblical teaching of the Day of the Lord as “A Day of Judgment and Salvation.” Last week we saw that when the Day of the Lord comes God will bring...

December 17, 2008                                  Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Gn 49:2, 8-10 Jacob called his sons and said to them:“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,listen to Israel, your father. “You, Judah, shall your brothers praise–your hand on the neck of your enemies;the sons of your father shall bow down to you.Judah, like a lion’s whelp,you have grown up on prey, my son.He crouches like a lion recumbent,the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?The scepter shall never depart from Judah,or the mace from between his legs,While tribute is brought to him,and he...

December 16, 2008                                 Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Zep 3:1-2, 9-13 Thus says the LORD:Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,to the tyrannical city!She hears no voice,accepts no correction;In the LORD she has not trusted,to her God she has not drawn near. For then I will change and purifythe lips of the peoples,That they all may call upon the name of the LORD,to serve him with one accord;From beyond the rivers of Ethiopiaand as far as the recesses of the North,they shall bring me...

December 15, 2008                             Monday of the Third Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Nm 24:2-7, 15-17a When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe,the spirit of God came upon him,and he gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,the utterance of a man whose eye is true,The utterance of one who hears what God says,and knows what the Most High knows,Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,enraptured, and with eyes unveiled:How goodly are your tents, O Jacob;your encampments, O Israel!They...

“Tell Us, John: Who Are You?” (John 1:6-8, 19-28)Every year during Advent, on the Second and Third Sundays in Advent, we get readings about John the Baptist. On the Second Sunday in Advent, which was last week, the reading tends to focus on the preaching of John the Baptist, his preaching of repentance. On the Third Sunday in Advent, which is today, the reading focuses more on the person of John the Baptist, his person as the forerunner of Christ. That’s the focus today, then, the question--asked five times, and answered by John five times--“Tell Us, John: Who Are You?”...

December 14, 2008                                         Third Sunday of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Is 61:1-2a, 10-11 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,because the LORD has anointed me;he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,to heal the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captivesand release to the prisoners,to announce a year of favor from the LORDand a day of vindication by our God. I rejoice heartily in the LORD,in my God is the joy of my soul;for he has clothed me with a robe...

Why “Gaudete?” Posted By Victor | Filed Under Quotes & Excerpts  Br. Hyacinth Cordell, OP Violet is the liturgical color of Lent and Advent. Yet, in both holy seasons, over half way through, we discover the bright color of rose in the liturgy… but only for one Sunday.[i] The Sunday in Lent is called Laetare Sunday, in Advent Gaudete Sunday. Both these Latin words (Gaudete and Laetare, from the Entrance Antiphons at Mass) are translated, “Rejoice!” But why the color rose, and why “rejoice”?The Meaning of RoseTo understand the meaning of rose, we first need to be aware of...

December 11, 2008                             Thursday of the Second Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 41:13-20 I am the LORD, your God,who grasp your right hand;It is I who say to you, “Fear not,I will help you.”Fear not, O worm Jacob,O maggot Israel;I will help you, says the LORD;your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.I will make of you a threshing sledge,sharp, new, and double-edged,To thresh the mountains and crush them,to make the hills like chaff.When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them offand the storm shall scatter...

“Waiting for the Day of the Lord: New Heavens and a New Earth” (2 Peter 3:8-14)So this Advent we’re doing this series on “Waiting for the Day of the Lord.” We’re looking at the Epistle lessons for the first three weeks of Advent, all of which carry this theme of looking forward to the Second Coming of Christ and how to live now while we’re waiting for that day. Last week we began by looking at the biblical background of the term, “The Day of the Lord,” and seeing it as both a day of judgment and a day of...

December 10, 2008                              Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 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...