The Advent wreath is part of our long-standing Catholic tradition. However, the actual origins are uncertain. There is evidence of pre-Christian Germanic peoples using wreathes with lit candles during the cold and dark December days as a sign of hope in the future warm and extended-sunlight days of Spring. In Scandinavia during Winter, lighted candles were placed around a wheel, and prayers were offered to the god of light to turn “the wheel of the earth” back toward the sun to lengthen the days and restore warmth.

By the Middle Ages, the Christians adapted this tradition and used Advent wreathes as part of their spiritual preparation for Christmas. After all, Christ is “the Light that came into the world” to dispel the darkness of sin and to radiate the truth and love of God (cf. John 3:19-21). By 1600, both Catholics and Lutherans had more formal practices surrounding the Advent wreath.

I think we need the ritual of lighting the Advent candles each week to internalize our waiting and preparation for Christmas.
I found today's liturgy full of joy and that is what I am trying to cultivate this Advent - joy because we know that Jesus is coming, has come, and will come again; joy because Jesus loves each of us and comes so helpless and vulnerable so that we may not be afraid to love Him. I often think that the poor stable open to the cold of the night is what made it possible for the shepherds to approach and have the joy of being the first visitors that the Holy Family welcomed!

Second Sunday of Advent

Today we light another candle as we begin the second week of Advent. the smaller picture is an Advent icon.
It is good to spend these days in intense desire for the coming of the Lord. I feel that we are full of joy when we have this desire; God gives us the desire and the joy of expectation even though God is with us now. I think Jesus wants to share His risen joy with each of us in a very special way this Advent for the world needs joy!

John the Baptist attracted many followers. Someone told me that other day that she thought John and Jesus had played together when children - the Gospel only tells us that John leaped for joy when Elizabeth and Mary greeted each other; then no word of John until he appears preaching the same message that Jesus will preach: "Repent"!
Jesus must have been about thirty when He went to the river Jordan where John was baptizing. John's mission was to prepare the way for the Lord. In a sense, we are all to prepare a way for the Lord. First, let us prepare our own hearts and then pray for all to desire the coming of Jesus this year into our hearts in a special way.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Happy Feast! Remember that joy is God's echo in us!
Our Lady, under the title of "Immaculate Conception" is the patron of the United States. Today is her feast and it is a Holy Day of Obligation which shows how important this day is in the eyes of the Church. Here is what
Wikipedia says about the Feast:
The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the Catholic Church maintaining that from the moment when she was conceived the Blessed Virgin Mary was kept free of original sin and was filled with the sanctifying grace normally conferred during baptism.^[2][3] It is one of the four dogmas in Roman Catholic Mariology. Mary is often called the Immaculata (the Immaculate One), particularly in artistic and cultural contexts.^[4]
The Immaculate Conception should not be confused with the perpetual virginity of Mary or the virgin birth of Jesus; it refers to the conception of Mary by her mother, Saint Anne. Although the belief was widely held since at least Late Antiquity, the doctrine was not formally proclaimed until December 8, 1854, by Pope Pius IX in his papal bull Ineffabilis Deus. It is not formal doctrine except in the Roman Catholic Church.^[5] The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is observed on December 8 in many Catholic countries as a Holy Day of Obligation and in some places as a national or public holiday.




I wanted to share this with you that came to me :

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.
Isaiah 9:6
To those in sin, God sent us the Savior;
To those in darkness, God sent us the Light;
To those in bondage, God sent us the Deliverer;
To those in defeat, God sent us the Victor;
To those in want, God sent us the Shepherd;
To those in hunger, God sent us the Bread;
To those in pain, God sent us the Physician;
To those in doubt, God sent us the Truth;
To those in confusion, God sent us the Way;
To those in turmoil, God sent us the Prince of Peace;
To all in need, God sent His only begotten Son.
-Devotional by Roy Lessin, from his blog Meet Me In The Meadow

Eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

We have this feast to help us turn to Mary during Advent. She was conceived without sin and yet human with a human heart and all the emotions we experience. However, when I think of Mary, I see her as loving, very maternal, serene, and radiating a certain peace and stillness.

I am now getting the Friends of Silence newsletter and it is full of wonderful quotes on silence and also on joy. Here is a sample to reflect upon today:

The waves of mind
demand so much of Silence.
But She does not talk back
does not give answers nor arguments.
She is the hidden author of every thought
every feeling
every moment.
Silence.
She speaks only one word.
And that word is this very existence.

~ from MY SECRET IS SILENCE: Poetry and Sayings of Adyashanti

 

Advent Prayer

I saw this in the Church Bulletin and thought I would pass it on today:

Advent Daily Prayer

God of eternal mercy and love,
I lift my heart in prayer to you
Throughout these Advent days.

Grant me patience
As I prepare the way
For the Christ's coming.

Inspire me with hope
To await eagerly
The return of Christ in glory.

Fill me with joy
To cry out with the whole Church
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

You can change it around to suit you - for instance, you may want to pray for something more than patience ( grant me Lord generosity, or grant that I may serve You with joy, or grant me humility, etc.)

I had an unexpected joy today; I sent an e-mail to a very dear friend in Chile with whom I really have not been in contact with at all but we worked closely together on the Mission Team that did on-going formation for the Province during the last five years I was in Chile. I was superior in the poorest region in the north the last part of my twenty years in Chile and Carmen was in the south so we mostly saw each other in our monthly meetings. I sent her a few lines inspired to ask that we pray for one another during this Advent. I received an immediate reply and she told me she had put up the letters pinned to the curtain in her room that said "Ven" or "Come" as a reminder for this Advent. I just felt that the years dropped away and we were still encouraging each other to deepen our love for Jesus.

What did Mary feel during the first Advent?

I often try to be with Mary during Advent. I start with the Annunciation which must have been mind-blowing for her. She was given her vocation by an angel; she said "Yes" and life was never the same. I think she had such faith and confidence in God that she was peaceful deep down, but she had to have been worried about such an unusual conversation with an angel. Then she realizes that it is true and she is expecting a child and Joseph knows nothing about this. I suspect she did not know how to tell anyone and so goes to visit Elizabeth as the angel has also said that Elizabeth, in her old age, is now expecting a child.

It must have been a relief to find out that Elizabeth was also inspired by the Holy Spirit and greets her with the words we say in the Hail Mary: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed in the fruit of your womb." And the child in the womb of Elizabeth leaps for joy!

Take some time to be with Mary today and thank her for saying "yes" and reflect on what this must have meant for her and what it still means for us.
Mary always brings me to Jesus!

Migrants - December Intention

That migrants throughout the world may be welcomed with generosity and authentic love, especially by Christian communities. (Let us all pray for this!)

The Pope's December intention for the Apostleship of Prayer is worth our reflection, but I am going to share what impressed me from the excellent Advent Day of Retreat given last Saturday by Father Bill Mason, OMI.

We are to think more of the Incarnation and less of "Christmas" in the sense that we get caught up in the external and material aspect instead of reflecting on the meaning of the Incarnation in our lives.
Reflection is a skill but we have the next four weeks to develop it in taking one Gospel each week and reading it straight through and reflecting on the impression Jesus makes on others and on us. See how Jesus relates with others, why He says this, or feels this, etc. Get in touch with the humanity of Jesus who was like us in all things except sin.

These are some of the thoughts that come to my mind from the first talk. I began reading Matthew's Gospel this morning and it has been some time since I tried to read straight through; I did eleven chapters and Jesus does come across as very human, but also one who is energetic and about the mission given Him by His Father.
Happy Advent. I will share more in the next days.  

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.