Come, Lord Jesus, come!

When I was at boarding school we used to sing as we walked in the files to our classes during Advent. We sang in Latin, "Veni, veni, Domine Jesu,  Veni, veni, nole tardare." I have no idea if I am remembering correctly now after over sixty some years and I may not know how to write it, but it still sings in my head as soon as Advent arrives.
"Come, o come, Lord Jesus; come and do not delay!"  At the time, I thought it a great idea to sing as otherwise we were in silent files going to and from our classes; now I see it as a real Advent prayer and I am grateful for the fact that it seems to come back to me so easily to move around with this singing in my head - something about my memory associating it with Advent so it just pops up and is really an expression of my desire for Jesus.

When I look back on my days at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles, I am filled with both gratitude and joy. Our school song at the time said, as I remember, "there is a home where sunny laughter combines most merrily with our tears"  - and I do remember too times when I shed tears but both disappointments turned out to be real graces for me. I am convinced that when one thing does not work out for me, it is because God has something better planned for me.

This comes from the NCR's article:
...the time of Advent offers us an opportunity to dive deeply into a counter-cultural time of quiet reflection, a space of hopeful and patient waiting and discernment about how God's incarnation has meaning and is at work in our world today. I like the opportunity to dive deeply into a counter-cultural time of quiet reflection as well as hopeful and patient waiting and discernment about how God's incarnation has meaning and is at work in our world today!

We talked about intimacy with Jesus in the Advent retreat; He is always with us and loving us and desiring our good. Let us remember to turn to Him more often during this Advent. Remember that it is an amazing grace that Jesus chooses to be with us as our friend, lover, companion.

First Sunday of Advent

Advent is a time of waiting in joy for the coming of the Lord. We know He has come, is with us now, but also will come again. There are two Advent Prefaces and both give us much to reflect upon. Here is the first:

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
For he assumed at his first coming
the lowliness of human flesh,
and so fulfilled the design you formed long ago,
and opened for us the way to eternal salvation,
that, when he comes again in glory and majesty
and all is at last made manifest,
we who watch for that day
may inherit the great promise
in which now we dare to hope.

Jesus really did come and assume the "lowliness of human flesh" and opened for us the way to eternal salvation; to eternal joy! Advent makes us remember that this life is just a preparation for the next when we shall see God face to face. What am I going to do to prepare for His coming this Advent?

I know that Jesus is asking me to pipe a song of joy for Him and to give His love and joy to others. I am going to try to reflect each day on the ways Jesus shows me of doing this for Him. It will be with Him and for Him and in Him, I hope. I will ask Mary's help as she is always with us and wants to help us to please her Son.
Have a happy Advent! Make it a joyful season full of expectation. Jesus is coming!! He is here!!!

Advent Retreat

How wonderful to have the Advent retreat fall on the eve of Advent!! I began this retreat about twenty-four years ago and it has always been the first Saturday in December, but this year the timing is great for helping us to begin Advent with a day devoted to prayer and reflection. I will tell you more about this after the retreat.

Here is something copied from the Advent retreat flyer - author unknown:

Descent

Down he came from up,

And in from out,

and here from there.

A long leap,

An incandescent fall

From magnificent

To naked, frail, small,

Through space,

Between stars,

Into our chill night air,

Shrunk, in infant grace,

To our damp, cramped

Earthy place

 Among all

The shivering sheep,

and now, after all,

there he lies,

fast asleep.

 

Give Us This Day

Give Us This Day is a daily prayer book with morning prayer, the readings of the daily Liturgy, and evening prayer for each day of the month. At the beginning, there are some helpful readings and I am going to quote from "Teach Us to Pray - Advent: Season of Desire" by Father James Martin, S.J. :

"Advent is the season of desire...."Prepare the way of the Lord." The people of the Old Testament, the people of the New Testament, and the people of today are encouraged to wait, to anticipate, to expect, to long, to hope--in short, to desire....

Our deepest desire is the longing for God.

Our hearts are restless until they rest in God - St. Augustine said it, but we all know this to be true. Let us foster our desire for God during this Advent.

Today was my parents' wedding anniversary. I am sure they are still celebrating it together with God!

Canada and the Society of the Sacred Heart

I began November with the history of the first foundations that the Society of the Sacred Heart made in Canada and we had the story of three of the first foundations as we moved closer to making a foundation in Montreal. We had opened the boarding school at St. Vincent's in 1846; in August, Mother Hardey visited and installed as Superior Mother Amalie Jouve to replace Mother Sallion. By 1852, the academy had more than eighty pupils, a junior school of twenty-five little girls and a growing novitiate. The parish school had also incrreased. However, the distance from Montreal was still a hindreance. Mother Jouve was summoned to the South to take chare of the vicariate of Louisiana in 1854 and then a real problem arose as the pastor of St. Vincent heard that the Society of the Sacred Heart had come into property on the island of Montreal and was about to erect another convent there that would be more accessible for the population of the city. There follows a struggle to keep the nuns, but by 1858 "the entire establishment of the Sacred Heart at St. Vincent was turned over to the Sisters of Providence."
I may be repeating myself here as we had covered the foundation  at Sault-au-Recollet in earlier blogs, but I had to go back myself to get the three first foundations clear in my head. We still are not in the city of Montreal. But Reverend Mother Trincano was named Superior Vicar of the Canadian houses in 1864 and, although only able to live for four years, she left a lasting influence on all.

Canadian Rockies

I must confess that I am spending a great deal of time reading about Canada and its history. Here are a few tidbits gained from the Internet:


Canada is the second-largest country in the world, by surface area. Russia is first with 17,070,000 sq. km., then Canada, followed by China with 9,597,000 sq. km. and the U.S.A. with 9,363,000 sq. km.
Canada comprises seven percent (7%) of the earth's total surface area.
It reaches more than 4,600 km. from Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island (Canada's northern extremity) to Middle Island, Ontario (the southern-most point).
From west to east, Canada covers 5,047 km. from Victoria, B.C. to St.John's, Nfld.

Mother Callan wrote in her book, "The Society of the Sacred Heart in North America"  that when we went to establish the first convent of the Sacred Heart in Canada, we were in the Province of Quebec, the oldest, largest, and most individual of Canadian provinces with two centers rich in history: "Quebec, the mother city, serene on its rocky height and retaining much of the atmosphere of French colonial days, and Montreal, a mart of commerce, set in mid-stream and exposed to foreign influences, today a great cosmopolitan city, yet treasuring the historic memories which cling to its very soil."

The diocese of Montreal was erected in 1836 by Pope Gregory XVI. The second bishop was Mgr. Ignatius Bourget and he is the one who petitioned Mother Barat for a foundation in his diocese. He was the one who then called on Mother Galitzin in New York to deliver the letter from the Superior General who thinks we should not refuse the offer of the Bishop who has a house ready for us and the promise of novices soon. Mother Galitzen canceled her trip South and aranged to go in three days with Mother Sallion to inspect the property. They went by steamboat and stagecoach and crossed the St. Lawrence on a ferry.  Although open to the foundation, a delay was sought as money and subjects were lacking. However, as we have seen in earlier blogs, the delay was only until Mother Hardey returned from France in 1842.

Snowdrop

This snowdrop is symbolic of Advent - four petals, one for each week, simple against a stark background and so I offer it as the picture today that will help us to prepare for Advent. My own preparation today seems to be trying to clear out things that have accumulated in my room and work on my Christmas cards. That is all the exterior preparation that I am trying to do while also saying "Come, Lord Jesus and let me share your risen joy!" Actually, I mostly say "Thank you for letting me share in your risen joy!" I am finishing my formal gratitude journal this week and find myself going back to the home I lived in with my family from 1941 to 1950 - we moved when I was ten and I entered the Society of the Sacred Heart two weeks after my 19th birthday! During those formative years we lived in a large, three-story home on Westminster Place. I find myself taking time to go back to each room and let the memories surface and find so much to thank for and feel again the love of my parents and the love of Jesus. I also remember the friends who came into my home during those years. I suspect this would be a good exercise for all of us to do from time to time. I especially remember my first Christmas in that lovely home as my brother George was born on Christmas morning.

Advent Preparation

I was ready to continue with the history of Canada but the Holy Spirit seems to be pushing me to think about Advent instead. For anyone in Miami or near enough to make the Advent retreat at St. Thomas University next Saturday, that is an excellent way to begin the beautiful season of Advent. The retreat ends with the Liturgy of the First Sunday of Advent - then we will wake up on Sunday morning aware that we have the next few weeks to Christmas to prepare for the coming of Jesus into our world and our hearts again in a special way in 2012 - Christmas is never the same as we have one more year of life to bring to the celebration of this feast.

I have prayed over my own plan of preparation for this year and know it will be centered on joy. Joy gives energy. I want to give joy to Jesus by giving joy to others. It is easy to get stressed out during Advent as people seem to rush around, the parking lots are full near the stores, the post office has long lines, and traffic is even worse than usual. I have written my Christmas letter and started to write my Christmas cards to avoid the last minute rush to get these things done. I think we cannot cultivate joy without the discipline of planning ahead to avoid stress. Peace and joy are fruits of the Spirit and flow into us when we take time to sit quietly in prayer. Let us strive to do this each day in Advent and then radiate peace and joy to others.

Feast of Christ the King

Today's Feast is one that may seem strange to us as we do not think of Jesus Christ as King usually. He is King of all creation. I hope you were able to read the Preface for the Mass for this Feast. Again, I do not have my Mass book near so cannot copy it here.

 I just saw that Pope Benedict's third book on the life of Jesus will be out and in time for Christmas. Today is the last Sunday before Advent so do start making your Advent preparations. I try to get my Christmas letter and cards done before Advent and gifts, too, so I only need to wrap and mail a few. I do not give many gifts but do like to send a token gift to family to let them know I am thinking of them.
Advent is going to be a time of joy as I think it was for Mary and Joseph as they waited for Jesus. They may have had their plans changed, but I know they kept their inner peace and joy; they also must have been full of desire.
I guess the best prayer for Advent is "Come, Lord Jesus!"

Feast of Christ the King is tomorrow

I just want us all to remember that the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year is the Feast of Christ the King. This year, it seems to be warning me that I need to prepare for Advent. Christmas seems to come so fast and we do not have time to prepare - just as we make so many material preparations, we need to do quite a bit of internal preparation which may include house-cleaning, decluttering, longing, desire, and some internal practice to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus again this Christmas. Of course, Jesus is with me; I receive Him in Holy Communion every day, but still His coming at Christmas is special and the Church gives us the four weeks of Advent to prepare to celebrate the feast of His Incarnation into our world, into our hearts, and we are also preparing for His final coming to unite us with Him for all eternity.
In the meantime, we have the Feast of Christ the King. What does that really mean for me? I think, if you look at the Preface for the Mass, you will understand the theology behind the Feast.I will copy it here tomorrow as I do not have my Mass book with me. I just wanted to alert all to tomorrow's feast.
We are called to realize that Jesus is Lord of all and we are to aid Him in establishing the Kingdom, the reign of God on earth.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Sault-au-Recollet

This will not let me write a blog but I thought the picture worth putting on today.

Th

It takes only one smile...

It only takes one smile to offer welcome...                      and blessed be the person who will share it. It only takes one moment to be helpful... and blessed be the person who will spare it. It only takes one joy to lift a spirit... and blessed be the person who will give it. It only takes one life to make a difference... and blessed be the person who will live it.

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving... Make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!

- Amanda Bradley

This quote is featured in the book, Friends, The family we choose for ourselves

by BJ Gallagher. Now, I did go to Mass yesterday and this last sentence of the homily has stayed with me: "Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."  I think we need to cultivate the wonder and the joy that grateful people have in their lives. Joy is a virtue and that means it is something to practice and to make a habit of being joyful each day.  I suspect that wonder is one way to double our joy but I can rejoice in so many ways and joy gives energy and gives a lift to all those we come in contact with each day.!