Living a Life of Hope

In this time, as Pope Benedict XVI has said, "We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires" (Read entire Homily).

Advent is a time to put aside these thoughts. There is no hope without God. Our theme this week of Advent is Hope and there is no other Hope than that of God.

Some people do kind works and try and help others. I have talked before on the need to have works with faith and atheists have said that they also have works. But does this mean anything? James 2:26 states that "faith without works is dead". And of course works without faith also is dead. How could someone not believe. Since the beginning of the human race God has stood by His people and guarded them. Even when some wandered off and over time started other religions, they still had faith. Atheism is a lie of the heart and spirit and truly chokes off our love. Christ died for everyone on the Cross; He died for those that would hate Him too. My question is why don't some people care?

Our beautiful faith is based on hope. Our Faith is based on Matthew 16:18 as we are the first Christian Church. And for over 2,000 years we have kept to Christ's teachings. While we are all sinners, there have been great saints in our midst. And this is one problem I have with other churches. Not only do they destroy the teachings of the sacraments and forget Mary, who stood by Our Lord His entire life, but they forget about the saints. They people were filled with such love and hope. Let us, this week, nurture our souls and grow closer to God, the Only Hope.

"Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33, Douay-Rheims)

Let us all pray:

Father, in the wilderness of the Jordan you sent a messenger to prepare people's hearts for the coming of your Son. Help me to hear his words and repent of my sins, so that I may clearly see the way to walk, the truth to speak, and the life to live for Him, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Required Reading

Advent is a spiritual time to not only help us on our journeys to Christ but bring others along. When we prepare for this journey, as a book I'm reading, "On the Way to Jerusalem" reminds us not to worry about so much to pack. Think of the love and humility of Christ. Imagine the king of the Wworld was born in a manager, a place for animals to eat. He was born in a shack in the cold of the night instead of even a building. Christ chose humility; He chose poverty to show us His love for us. Christ never even had to leave Heaven, but think about how much he loved us. Think about the Cross, He never complained but pleaded, "Father, forgive them."

So, during this time of year, I would like to recommend a great book for newer Catholics called "The Confirmed Catholic's Companion: A Guide to Abundant Living". It features in-depth coverage of prayers, the basics, tradition, the Sacraments, Mary and more. It also includes great side-bar notes and a journal section at the end for readers to reflect and write down their thoughts. This is a guide for those teaching the faith to newcomers or those in RCIA or those that have recently gone through the program.

For those of you hoping to rediscover the faith please try "A Faith Interrupted: An Honest Conversation with Alienanted Catholics" by Alice L. Camille. 17 million American Catholics are inactive in Our awesome faith. Let us bring someone else closer to God this Christmas. Let us pray for the poor and those in desolation and hope to rekindle our anticipation for the Day Our Savior was born to us. The day of His Second Coming is just as glorious. Let us be ever watchful.

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First Sunday of Advent

Traditional Propers:

INTROIT
Psalms 24: 1-3
To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed. Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded. Ps. Show, O Lord, Thy ways to me, and teach me Thy paths. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. To Thee...

COLLECT - Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we pray Thee and come; That, defended by Thee, we may deserve rescue from approaching dangers brought on by our sins, and being set free by Thee, obtain our salvation. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

EPISTLE
Romans 13:11-14
Brethren, knowing the time, that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is past, and the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gradual
Psalms. 24: 3-4
None of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded. Show, O Lord, Thy ways to me, and teach me Thy paths.

LESSER ALLELUIA - ALLELUIA, alleluia. V. Ps. 84, 8. Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy: and grant us Thy salvation. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
Luke 21:25-33

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves: men withering away for fear and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved; and then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. And He spoke to them a similitude: See the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh; so you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Amen I say to you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

OFFERTORY
Psalms 24:1,-3
To Thee have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed: neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait for Thee shall be confounded.

SECRET - May, O Lord, these Sacred Rites enable us, whom by Thy mighty power Thou hast cleansed from sin, to come pure in heart before Thee who art their author. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.. .

PREFACE (Preface of the Most Holy Trinity) - It it truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:

COMMUNION
Psalms 84: 13
The Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit.

POST COMMUNION - May we in the midst of Thy holy temple, O Lord, receive of Thy mercy, who seek with fitting honour to welcome the coming festival of our Redemption. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Upcoming Christmas Devotions:

Nov. 30: Begin Christmas Novena
Dec. 17-23: The Antiphons

Typically some people will even read the entire Book of the Prophet Isaiah throughout Advent too. Remember, this time is all about welcome our Savior. He will come again. As today's Gospel states, "Watch!" Be ready. If tomorrow Our Lord came to judge us, would you be ready?

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Prayers for the Poor: My Advent Theme

With Thanksgiving Thursday I couldn't help to think of those people too poor to afford anything to eat. And with Christmas coming up, I realized there are people out there that won't be sharing its joy because of their poverty.

Besides this, the Salvation Army has been banned from certain stores and most people have forgetten the real meaning of Christmas - Our Lord's Nativity. Basically, some people don't care and that's what I want to stop. I thought of an idea based out of a book for prayers for priests for Advent.

My idea is to record our prayers for the poor on a table. Let us offer our Rosary, and Our Fathers, and Stations of the Cross and other prayers all for them. They have nothing, but Christ had nothing too in Bethlehem! We could save someone from lonliness this Christmas. The concept is to pray for the poor this Advent season as we all await the joy of Christmas.

The idea comes from the metaphor that each prayer is a rose. If we offer more and more prayers we slow gather a bouquet of roses for the poor. And how beautiful roses are. St. Francis de Sales suggested gathers "bouquets of devotion" when we pray.The idea is to record all of our prayers through Advent and look at that list on Christmas morning. That will be our gift to the poor; Our Lord will certainly hear our prayers for them. Trust in God!

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A Reminder of World Hunger

For those of us that sat at home with our families on Thanskgiving, let us not forget of those that could not eat. Several places in my community raised large amounts of food; the food pantry was actually empty before. Please donate to a reputable organization to ease poverty. So many people are dying from it (statistics). Even Pope Benedict XVI recently reminded us to combat poverty.

Christ was born in Bethlehem and chose poverty! Have mercy on His children; Adore Him!

I read of an idea in a magazine on praying for our priests. There was a chart that said various prayers and included lines for the Stations, Rosary, Chaplet, etc. And, all prayers recorded on their were for priests. This year I thought about doing the same thing but for those people out there that can't have Christmas - the poor. Would anyone join me spiritually in this? On Christmas Day we can look at this sheet and see all of our prayers and know that through God's mercy someone is now better off. God requires nothing to make anything beautiful or perfect but allows us to add our own merit to His perfect one - the Cross.

Image Source: ~The Holy Mass~

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What is Advent?

Advent is the time of preparation leading up to Christ and consisting of four Sundays. While Advent does focus us on preparing for Christmas, its primary focus is on preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. At this time of year we remember the three comings of Christ: 

1. At Bethlehem as a baby
2. Daily in the Holy Eucharist
3. In all-glory at the Second Coming. 

In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and concludes on Christmas Eve at sundown. The typical vestment color during Advent is purple because this is a time of penance as we prepare for the birth of Christ.

A Brief Overview of Advent:

The name Advent 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 honour 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 name of Advent) was first instituted. It would seem, however, that its observance first began in the west, since it is evident that Advent could not have been looked on as a preparation for the feast of Christmas, until that feast was definitively fixed to the twenty-fifth of December; which was done in the east only towards the close of the fourth century; whereas it is certain that the Church of Rome kept the feast on that day at a much earlier period.

We must look upon Advent in two different lights: first, as a time of preparation, properly so called, for the birth of our Saviour, by works of penance; and secondly, as a series of ecclesiastical Offices drawn up for the same purpose. We find, as far back as the fifth century, the custom of giving exhortations to the people in order to prepare them for the feast of Christmas. We have two sermons of Saint Maximus of Turin on this subject, not to speak of several others which were formerly attributed to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, but which were probably written by St. Cesarius of Arles. If these documents do not tell us what was the duration and what the exercises of this holy season, they at least show us how ancient was the practice of distinguishing the time of Advent by special sermons. Saint Ivo of Chartres, St. Bernard, and several other doctors of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, have left us set sermons de Adventu Domini, quite distinct from their Sunday homilies on the Gospels of that season. In the capitularia of Charles the Bald, in 846, the bishops admonish that prince not to call them away from their Churches during Lent or Advent, under pretext of affairs of the State or the necessities of war, seeing that they have special duties to fulfill, and particularly that of preaching during those sacred times.

Source: Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB, Advent, ca. 1841, Volume 1, The Liturgical Year, translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B., ca. 1867. London: Stanbrook Abbey, 1918.

More in-depth information can be found at Fish Eaters. Please also see the Advent/Christmas Compilation list on this site.

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Advent Season Begins

What a busy day! Today is that day where everyone gets up at incredibly early hours and goes shopping. The stores are so packed, but this is the main shopping day for so many people because of the sales. Today has been the day to put up our Christmas tree for years. It's a tradition in our family. Also, I need to buy an advent wreath today and bless it Sunday for the first day of Advent. I got a new book called, "On the way to Bethlehem" by Hilary McDowell with a small reading and prayer for each day of Advent.

Here's some useful links in this Christmas Season:

1. St. Margaret Mary's Advent Calendar

2. Blessing of a Christmas Tree (a few versions):

Version 1
Version 2

3. Nativity Scene Blessing

Blessings to everyone in this Christmas season. Remember the poor and suffering; I always give to charities at this time. Give to those in poverty during Christmas especially since Christ Himself chose poverty that day in Bethlehem. Pray for unbelievers, heretics, and schismatics. Pray for the salvation of all souls.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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The "Our Father" for the Souls in Purgatory

November is the month for the holy souls in purgatory, and this month is almost over. I would like to share a prayer attributed to St. Mechtilde. This is the "Our Father" for the souls in purgatory. When St. Mechtilde one day offered her Holy Eucharist for the souls, Jesus came to her (he has come to many saints) and told her to pray one "Our Father" for them. After she recited it, she saw many souls rise up to Heaven.

OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, I beseech You, O Heavenly Father, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not love You sufficiently, nor render to You all the honor which is Your due, due to You their Lord and Father, Who, by pure grace, have adopted them as Your children. By their sins, rather, have they driven You from their souls, where You none the less wished always to live. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the love and veneration which Your Incarnate Son showed You all during His earthly life, and I offer all the acts of penance and satisfaction which He performed and by which He effaced and atoned for the sins of men.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME, I beg You, O Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not honor, always and fittingly, Your Holy Name, but often they took It in vain and proved unworthy of the name "Christian", by their lives of sin. In reparation for their faults, I offer to You all the honor which Your Well-Beloved Son rendered to Your Name by His words and deeds.

THY KINGDOM COME; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always seek or adore Your Kingdom with enough fervor and diligence;This Kingdom, the only place where true rest and peace reign. In reparation for their omissions, through indifference to do what is good, I offer You the Most Holy Desire of Your Son, by which He wished that they also might become heirs of His Kingdom.

THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always submit their will to Your Will. In reparation for their disobedience, I offer You the perfect conformity of the Heart, full of love, of Your Divine Son with Your Holy Will and the most profound submission which He showed in obeying You unto death on the Cross.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always receive the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist with enough desire, but often without contemplation, or love, or even unworthily, or they neglected to receive It. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.

FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, all the faults of which they have been guilty through succumbing to the Seven Capital Sins and also in not having wished either to love or pardon their enemies. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, because too often they did not resist temptations and the passions, but they followed the Enemy of all goodness. In reparation for all these sins, in thought, word, and deed. I offer You the glorius victory which Our Lord won against the world, as well as His Most Holy Life, His Work and Sorrows, His Suffering and His Most Cruel Death.

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL; and from all punishments through the Infinite Merits of Your Well-Beloved Son and lead us, as well as the Souls in Purgatory, into Your Kingdom of eternal glory. Amen.

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro

Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): November 23

Today on the United States Calendar of Saints, the Church celebrates the life of Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro. On the Universal Calendar for November 23, the Church remembers St. Clement I

Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro (1891-1927) died from religious persecution by President Plutarco Elías Calles in Mexico in 1927 by firing squad. He refused a blindfold and forgave his killers. And as he died, in an expression of love, he opened his arms and screamed, "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" (Long live Christ the King). Those were his dying words to his executioners.

He is a great example of what to be thankful for. Thank God today for the gift of the Church and its sacraments to lead us to Heaven. Thank Him for the Eucharist, the Bread of angels and delight of all souls. Thank Him for the gift of His Mother He made on the Cross. She stands by us on our journeys to Heaven. Thank the Lord for His merciful Heart pierced on the Cross. Thank the Lord for His wonder and beautfy. After all, the Lord our God is the delight of our hearts.

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Lost Rosary: Final update

This is part three of a story about my Rosary. After Mass on October 16, my Rosary was actually taken from my pew while I was away in the sacristy, and I have never found it. This is the third post on this subject.

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

Well, recently the organist brought in several rosaries for me to look at. He was very kind and told me to take any of the rosaries. Several are from Fatima. One has the medal of Blessed Mother Teresa. All of them are beautiful. I chose, though, a wonderful, leather-bound prayer book to make up for my prayer book also taken. In addition, there was a beautiful picture of the Virgin Mary in the bag and I chose that. My parish's pastor already gave me a beautiful St. Patrick Rosary as a replacement.

I wanted to thank everyone for their prayers. I only hope my Rosary and prayer book were taken by someone that could use them.

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