#Happy New Liturgical Year

[firstumcschenectady]

"Be on Guard" based on Jeremiah 33:14-16 and Luke 21:25-36

As a general rule, I really hate Advent texts. I hate them because they're apocalyptic and messy and scary and generally reflect a future I hope we don't have.

When I reflected on this with Worship Committee last month, they looked at me knowingly and pointed out that perhaps that's exactly why we need the Lectionary Advent texts right now. Because 1. we need some connection to our traditions and 2. it feels really real right now.

Which, since you just heard the utter wonder of the Luke 21 text, you can tell I was convinced by those ideas. However, I'm particularly lucky that the Sunday Night Bible Study also just finished reading the book of Daniel and I'm way more aware of the genre of apocalyptic literature in the Bible than I normally am.

I do not, for the record, recommend reading the book of Daniel outside of the context of a Bible Study or without some truly excellent commentaries. However, I had the benefit of reading it with excellent commentaries and insightful fellow readers.

The thing about Daniel, and the book of Revelation, and I think this passage in Luke is: they're written as resistance literature. They can't be direct and make the point, “The person who has all the power an is oppressing us with it is not doing God's will,” because if they say that then anyone who has access to the document will be killed. #OpressiveRegimes So, they put things in different times. Daniel pretends to be from the past, Revelation pretends to be in the future. Then they speak about the abuses of power they see now, and do it in a way that it clear that God is still God and the horrors of this time will come to an end.

They are powerful tools of encouragement, of hope, and of resistance.

But, in order to obscure their points so people don't die, they're also a little bit hard to decipher.

I'm not really sure what Luke is trying to get to in today's passage. (The Jesus seminar is pretty clear this is all Luke's writing, not reflective directly of Jesus.) What we do know is that the early Christian communities experienced fairly extreme circumstances, and often needed encouragement and resistance literature. It seems that it could be common enough to feel like things were so bad that “people would faint from fear”. But Luke assures the people that things getting bad are just a sign they're going to get better soon. Because the people needed to be encouraged.

So, beloveds, as people who also might need some encouragement, the part of the passage that encouraged me this week was one little line, “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life.” Oh, I needed that reminder. Be on guard that your heart is not weighed down.

Sweet Jesus, thank you. (Or, rather, thanks Luke.)

Now, Jeremiah goes at this from a different perspective. Which is interesting because Jeremiah is known for being a significant downer as a prophet. But chapter 33 is one of Jeremiah's “good cop” chapters and Jeremiah encourages the people that the end has not come and good times are going to come again.

Now, I have to admit something to you. I rebel against the word “righteousness.” I don't think my objections are particularly fair. It is a good word. It means living well, living “rightly,” living in right relationship with God and neighbors. And yet, somehow, when I come across it, I connect it with purity culture and judgmental-ism and people judging whether or not one is righteous and it just ruins the whole thing for me. (I believe others struggle with Justice for similar reasons, and oddly enough I like that one.)

So, I thesaurus-ed “righteous” and the simplest substitute for it is “goodness” which I can handle. With that, we get a passage from Jeremiah that says:

The days are coming, God says, when I'm going to fulfill my promises.

In those days David's line will continue,

and the leader in the line of David will bring goodness and fairness to everyone.

The people will be safe and well.

Things will be so good that other nations will call my people by the name,

“God is our goodness.”

I like it. Sounds to me like yet another description of that beloved community or kindom of God we're co-creating with God. God reminds us, even in dark times, not to give up hope.

And Luke reminds us to be on guard so our hearts aren't weighed down.

Which leads me to invite us to think about both what weighs down our hearts, and what lifts those weights.

I can share that my weights are lifted by:

remembering all the organizations and people working for goodness

jokes and memes that hit at the crux of things with humor

feeling heard

being able to truly hear another person's heart

singing together

fiction and fictional portrayals that give me a break from the problems of this time

telling God exactly what I'm feeling and why

giving God time to respond (I may use this less than I wish)

helping others

baking

and as I was reminded in today's Advent Devotional – a snack and a nap!

It's my list, I don't know if yours has baking on it or not ;) But, if you are willing, would you work on making your list? What lifts the weights when your heart is heavy?

And, if you are willing, could you then put that list somewhere you can see it, as a reminder for when your heart needs you to guard it and lighten it's load?

Someone wise reminded me this week that it is hard to be disconcerted by reality at the same time that others are, because instead of steadying each other, people are pulling each other further off kilter. I say we work on becoming a fire break in the anxiety storm, a source of calm in the midst of it all. We guard our hearts and each other's, so we can be steady when others are off kilter. Are you with me?

I hope so. Thanks be to God for the opportunity to lift some weights from our hearts, so we have capacity to help others when their weights get too heavy. Amen

December 1, 2025

Rev. Sara E. Baron  First United Methodist Church of Schenectady  603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305  Pronouns: she/her/hers  http://fumcschenectady.org/  https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

[ameretat]

At that time, Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

— Luke 4:16

[queerprayers]

Hi! This advent I really want to honour my faith rather than just celebrating christmas in a secular sense. I found your post about advent and the liturgical new year inspiring, and I was wondering if you could point me towards some ideas or resources for advent practices or ways to go about worship specifically for this period - everywhere I've looked just talks about lighting candles, which I'm not able to do in my current housing. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you for your blog and everything you write here, and I hope you have a wonderful new year <3

Happy Advent, beloved! Candles are great (including fake ones or felt/crafted ones)—or you could recreate a similar weekly/daily thing, like hanging another star in the window. But that's not your only option. Here are some thoughts! (I also said some similar things last year you might find interesting.)

One of the most meaningful things about my Advents growing up was the fact that it was visibly not-quite-Christmas. We put up our tree maybe a few days before but we didn't decorate it until Christmas Eve. We didn't listen to Christmas music till Christmas—we listened to Advent music. We put our nativity set in the window, but gradually—we would set up Mary and Joseph traveling to it, and I remember waiting to unpack the baby Jesus until Christmas Eve. (The wise men were on the bookshelf until Epiphany.) I've put a painting of the Annunciation on my altar, but Christmas stuff will wait. 

It's very important to me to make each season distinct materially. The things around me, the music I listen to, the books I read, the prayers I say, change tangibly—in Advent and Lent especially. My emotions come and go, what I'm thinking about is different every day, but it's Advent because I am doing Advent—and not yet doing Christmas, no matter what the music in the grocery store or the parties I'm invited to tell me. (I don't refuse to find joy in them, I'm just conscious about the fact that I'm in a different season. It's not as big a deal to me as the Lent/Easter divide, though, which I will defend with every part of me.)

I love liturgical colors for this reason, too—my church isn't very extravagant and mostly looks the same throughout the year, but the altar cloth is a different color. I know exactly what season it is just from that. (Our Advent is blue to honor Mary, but most people's is purple like Lent with maybe a pink Gaudete Sunday.) My home altar also changes color, so I have that visual in my room as well.

So do it on purpose, candles or no. Maybe wait on a few Christmas-y things, like ornaments or music (don't worry, Christmas has twelve days and then you can keep doing it all through the Epiphany season if you want). Make it Advent, whenever you start! 

Historically, Advent traditions have been very similar (or identical) to Lenten ones. The Orthodox church calls Advent the Nativity Fast. It's been a penitent preparation. Things we may associate with Lent, like going without things or structured prayer, can find a home in Advent as well.

Secular celebrations and consumerism have affected Advent as well as Christmas, with countless calendars and just in general by filling our lives with Christmas themes that might make us forget Advent has its own themes. (To be clear, I support anyone celebrating Christmas—once a religion evangelizes/colonizes/rules, it has no right to accuse people of appropriating its holidays. I am simply talking about how the cultural practice differs.) Advent has themes of peace and love and hope, but it's got more specific themes than that, scarier stuff than that. It's about Christ's coming in the Incarnation, but it's also about Christ coming all around us every day, and Christ's promised future coming.

Spend some time with Isaiah, spend some time with meditations on Mary (I just read some of Catherine of Siena's words which are here as a reading for March 25.). From the poem I posted, you can tell I spent some time with Joel last year. Here's the Revised Common Lectionary daily readings for these seasons—you could start a habit or do it for a season or explore some passages every once in a while. You can find the Book of Common Prayer's traditional Advent prayers here (The Collects >> choose Traditional or Contemporary language >> Seasons of the Year). The ancient "O Antiphons" accompany the Magnificat starting Dec. 17 (here's a booklet with commentary & Latin chant). Forward Movement has several podcasts, if you want to pray daily while commuting or taking a walk or right before bed.

There are a million Advent devotionals out there—you can find one from an author you like, or search your/a denomination + "advent devotional" or "advent prayers" and you'll probably find something. For some social justice oriented ones, I've found Red Letter Christianity's Reflections from Bethlehem (by Palestinian authors), Justice Unbound's Boundless: An Anti-Colonial Advent Devotional, and the UCC's Abolition Advent Calendar. Cole Arthur Riley (Black Liturgies) is doing an Advent series on her Patreon. Jan Richardson posts art and poetic blessings throughout the year.

In terms of books, I recommend:

Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas

Preparing for Christmas (Richard Rohr)

Celtic Advent (David Cole)

WinterSong (Madeleine L'engle & Luci Shaw)

Advent for Exiles (Caroline Cobb)

If you want poetry: Accompanied by Angels (Luci Shaw). 

I'll tell you a secret—most devotionals are meant to be read every day, but no one will know if you don't do that. You can start them at any time and read as much as you like whenever you like. Don't not start one because you don't think you'll be regular about it. 

And of course, you don't need a book to say "Advent" on the front for it to be an Advent book—or music or anything else. I'm about to start God Hunger: Discovering the Mystic in All of Us (John J. Kirvan) which I picked up at a book sale but it's on the Internet Archive! I'm drawn to poetry and Marian hymns in this season, and things that talk about the end of the world and prophecy. Whatever Advent is to you, surround yourself with it—and anything you're just starting to think about, you can explore.

The beautiful news is? The years spiral on, and Advent returns. Every year we're confronted with it, and every year I never do exactly what I wanted. But I've found some stuff to bring with me, some books to reread, things I know further my practice and things that don't. And when the spiral returns to this distinctive place of waiting for something already in our hearts, of hoping for something we don't understand, of inviting in someone who has already snuck in like a thief in the night, we can try again.

So happy Advent, and may yours be visibly, tangibly, purposefully Advent. May you be the impractical kind of hopeful and the holy kind of scared. Christmas is a miracle slowly being tended (rather than Easter's miracle erupting from the ground)—not that there's no blood, no surprise, but that for nine months Life itself grew quietly. So keep watch. Make your life a womb, make your Advent a narrowing toward the humanity God enters. Tend the darkness and bring in some light—a candle is just a way to do that, but there's so much light in the world. Here's to finding it.

<3 Johanna

[findingrome1]

Happy Advent again!! Here is another post with some thoughts I'd like to share about the season.

So Advent is one of two main fasting seasons of the Western Christianity (I know in the Eastern Christianity it is 3 to 4 depending on the liturgical cycle). For those who are new to the faith, or maybe in turning a leaf to be less lukewarm, committing to a fast can be hard. Especially if food is a maladaptive coping with feelings of stress, sadness or loneliness. But this is why fasting is important as a discipline. Another challenge someone may encounter while fasting is if they live with their family and they are none Catholic when you eat from this maybe a challenge. Something you can do is fast on different days when you do have control over what you eat. If you have trouble with fasting just start off small and work your way from there.

Fasting at its heart is not about the absence of food or another activity, but exchanging an ordinary part of our daily routine for an activity that will deepen our relationship with our God. If fasting is about eating less and avoiding meat on certain days but nothing else changes then you aren't in the spirit of fasting, you are merely falling the letter of the prescribed dietary practice by the Magistrium. You are making the Faith a checklist.

Fasting is best accompanied with a difference in routine as well because it ties the acting of abstaining with an increase in spiritual practice. Here are a few things I intend to do, so feel free to borrow from my example.

Before I was a Catholic I would read the Bible in the year (minus the Deutro Cannon). Now that I am I plan to read the Bible in a year, every year at the start of the liturgical calendar.

Do the daily Gospel readings throughout Advent.

Praying Novenas with the saints through the season.

Going to cemeteries to pray for the dead and sing hymns.

Finally and very important is to remember what Advent is about. It isn't just some count down to Christmas. It is the season where remember how Christ our Lord was born for you. The infinite chose to surrender his power to humble himself and be part of our finite world and participate in it, in the ultimate way: Christ our Lord has died for you. By his death we are allowed us finite to now participate in the life of the infinite. So then now, we keep watch for his second coming for when all things are made new. We don't go to heaven, heaven is coming down to us.

[egglishmajor]

this sideblog was accidentally password protected until today so no one could see it ... and here I was wondering why no one ever interacted. anyway, with the start of the new liturgical year (happy advent, everyone!) interact w/ this post if you post catholic things & want a follow!

[aure-entuluva-2407]

Christus Vincit

Lo, He comes with cloud descending, Once for favored sinners slain! Thousand thousand saints attending Swell the triumph of His train: "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God appears on earth to reign!" Every eye shall now behold Him, Robed in dreadful majesty- Those who set at naught and sold Him, Pierced and nailed Him to the tree, Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, Deeply wailing shall the true Messiah see. The dear tokens of His Passion Still His dazzling Body bears- Cause of endless exultation To His ransomed worshipers! With what rapture, with what rapture, With what rapture gaze we on those glorious Scars! Yea, Amen! Let all adore Thee, High on Thy eternal throne! Savior, take the power and glory, Claim the kingdom for Thine Own! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Everlasting God, come down!

It's the Solemnity of Christ the King, one of my favorite feasts and the end of the Catholic Liturgical Year! On this feast, we celebrate Christ as King of the Universe, and look towards His second coming at the end of time- fitting, as next Sunday begins Advent, our time of preparation in remembrance of His first coming at Christmas.

God bless you, and Happy New Year (almost)!

[that-catholic-shinobi]

Also Happy Liturgical News Years Eve to my fellow Catholics

[gaelic-symphony]

hi!! :)

i hope this isn't weird, but i love reading your posts about judaism to learn more from it. i don't follow any religion but i love getting to know them from people who do

and if you don't mind me asking, what are your favourite things about it? <3

i hope i have expressed myself well and you don't mind this 🫶🏼

I actually love this ask, and I'm so glad you sent it! There are so many things I love about Judaism, it would take me forever to come up with a list of them, but here are a few of my favorites:

I love our everyday rituals. I love keeping kosher and going to the kosher supermarket. I love that every time I eat or go grocery shopping, I'm affirming my connection to my people and my ancestors. I love that we have blessings for the most mundane human activities like washing our hands. I love ending every week with Shabbat. I love how it gives us a day to rest and reflect and be thankful before we start a new week, and I love having the weekly marker of Shabbat to track the passage of time. I love that you don't have to subscribe to any particular version of Jewish theology or believe that we do these things because Hashem commanded us in order to participate fully in these rituals. You can do them just because you find meaning in them. You can do them just because you're proud to be Jewish and follow the traditions of your ancestors.

I love our holidays. So many of them commemorate our survival against those who tried to wipe us out: Purim, Chanukah, Passover. Every year, we tell the story of our peoples' perseverance. We reflect on the strength and courage of generations of Jews before us that allowed our continued survival into the present day. Other holidays are seasonal markers of time. Tu B'Shvat is a little over a week away, and it's our "new year for trees," the time of year when the earliest trees start to bloom in the Land of Israel. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mark the end of the old year and beginning of a new one, and give us the chance to leave our mistakes of the past year behind and learn from them moving forward as we start fresh with a brand new year. Sukkot is a traditional celebration of the annual harvest. And other holidays, we're just so happy to be Jewish that we need to throw a party about it! Shavuot celebrates the Israelites receiving the Torah from Hashem at Mount Sinai, and then we celebrate the Torah again on Simchat Torah, when we read the very last verses of the book of Dvarim and start all over again with Bereshit.

I love our music. Our daily prayers are set to music, with special nusach (melodies) for Shabbat and holidays. When we read from the Torah or the books of the prophets, we chant the words to the same melodies our ancestors have done for centuries. We sing as a way to connect with each other and with Hashem. We sing the psalms of King David, and we sing wordless melodies we call niggunim. We've developed our own styles of secular, non-liturgical music and dance: klezmer and canciones, the horah and the Yemenite step, and many, many more!

I love our scholarship. Our scholarly tradition is one of questioning and arguing, neither of which are viewed negatively in Jewish tradition! We love to ask ourselves "what if" and "why," and the point isn't so much finding a singular answer as it is the process of engaging with the text. Does it really matter as a real-world issue whether there are any Pokemon that would be kosher to eat? Of course not! But that's exactly the type of thing we love to argue over, and if the ancient rabbinic sages like Hillel and Akiva and Rashi and Maimonides were alive today, I guarantee you they would have opinions on the matter.

I love our joy. There is so much joy that comes with being Jewish, a joy we feel just for being alive against all odds. Most of our prayers are not asking Hashem for the things we want, but thanking Hashem for the things we have. We have a brachah we say specifically to thank Hashem for the opportunity to fix what is broken in this world. Our history has rarely been a happy one, but we have always found reasons to rejoice. We danced and sang and celebrated our holidays and life events even in the Warsaw Ghetto. This past December, during one of the saddest, heaviest, and scariest times for our people since the Shoah, Jews all over the world celebrated Chanukah like we always do. In the midst of our mourning, we found joy. Literally and figuratively, we came together as a tribe to create light in the darkness.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

3rd January >> Mass Readings (Except GB & USA)

3rd January  or The Most Holy Name of Jesus  or Saint Munchin, Bishop.

3rd January 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I))

First Reading 1 John 2:29-3:6 Everyone must try to be as pure as Christ.

You know that God is righteous – then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous has been begotten by him.

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us. My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.

Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ. Anyone who sins at all breaks the law, because to sin is to break the law. Now you know that he appeared in order to abolish sin, and that in him there is no sin; anyone who lives in God does not sin, and anyone who sins has never seen him or known him.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 97(98):1,3-6

R/ All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation.

R/ All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy.

R/ All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp with the sound of music. With trumpets and the sound of the horn acclaim the King, the Lord.

R/ All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia! A hallowed day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, worship the Lord, for today a great light has shone down upon the earth. Alleluia!

Or: John 1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia! The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. To all who received him he gave power to become children of God. Alleluia!

Or: Hebrews 1:1-2

Alleluia, alleluia! At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son. Alleluia!

Gospel John 1:29-34 'Look: there is the Lamb of God'.

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

----------------------------

The Most Holy Name of Jesus 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Friday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Philippians 2:1-11 Be united in your love.

If our life in Christ means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the Spirit that we have in common, or any tenderness and sympathy, then be united in your convictions and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common mind. That is the one thing which would make me completely happy. There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself, so that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead. In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus:

His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 8:4-9

R/ How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal man that you care for him?

R/ How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

Yet you have made him little less than a god; with glory and honour you crowned him, gave him power over the works of your hand, put all things under his feet.

R/ How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

All of them, sheep and cattle, yes, even the savage beasts, birds of the air, and fish that make their way through the waters.

R/ How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia! A hallowed day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, worship the Lord, for today a great light has shone down upon the earth. Alleluia!

Or: John 1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia! The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. To all who received him he gave power to become children of God. Alleluia!

Or: Hebrews 1:1-2

Alleluia, alleluia! At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 2:21-24 His parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception. And when the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

------------------------------------

Saint Munchin, Bishop 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Friday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

Either:

First Reading Exodus 32:7-14 Moses pleads with the Lord his God to spare Israel.

The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostatised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made themselves a calf of molten metal and have worshipped it and offered it sacrifice. “Here is your God, Israel,” they have cried, “who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.’ But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘why should your wrath blaze out against this people of yours whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with arm outstretched and mighty hand? Why let the Egyptians say, “Ah, it was in treachery that he brought them out, to do them to death in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth”? Leave your burning wrath; relent and do not bring this disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own self you swore and made this promise: I will make your offspring as many as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give to your descendants, and it shall be their heritage for ever.’ So the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

OR: --------

First reading Deuteronomy 10:8-9 The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to do him service

Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand in the presence of the Lord, to do him service and in his name to pronounce blessing as they still do today. Levi therefore has no share or inheritance with his brothers: the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God told him.’

OR: --------

First reading 1 Samuel 16:1,6-13 David is anointed by Samuel

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel purified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed one stands there before him’, but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse then called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ Jesse then presented Shammah, but Samuel said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on.

OR: --------

First reading Isaiah 6:1-8 Isaiah's lips cleansed with a burning coal

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord of Hosts seated on a high throne; his train filled the sanctuary; above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings: two to cover its face, two to cover its feet, and two for flying. And they cried out to one another in this way,

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts. His glory fills the whole earth.’

The foundations of the threshold shook with the voice of the one who cried out, and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said:

‘What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of Hosts.’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in his hand a live coal which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. With this he touched my mouth and said:

‘See now, this has touched your lips, your sin is taken away, your iniquity is purged.’

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

‘Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?’

I answered, ‘Here I am, send me.’

OR: --------

First reading Isaiah 61:1-3 He has sent me to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken;

to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord, a day of vengeance for our God,

to comfort all those who mourn and to give them for ashes a garland; for mourning robe the oil of gladness, for despondency, praise.

OR: --------

First reading Jeremiah 1:4-9 Go and say whatever I command you and do not fear

The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying,

‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.’

I said, ‘Ah, Lord; look, I do not know how to speak: I am a child!’

But the Lord replied, ‘Do not say, “I am a child.” Go now to those to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you – it is the Lord who speaks!’

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me:

‘There! I am putting my words into your mouth.’

OR: --------

First reading Ezekiel 3:17-21 Warn the wicked man, and you will live

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from me, warn them in my Name. If I say to a wicked man, “You are to die,” and you do not warn him; if you do not speak and warn him to renounce his evil ways and so live, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, however, you do warn a wicked man and he does not renounce his wickedness and his evil ways, then he shall die for his sin, but you yourself will have saved your life. When the upright man renounces his integrity to do evil and I set a trap for him, he too shall die; since you failed to warn him, he shall die for his sin and the integrity he practised will no longer be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, however, you warn the upright man not to sin and he abstains from sinning, he shall live, thanks to your warning, and you too will have saved your life.’

Or:

First Reading Ezekiel 34:11-16 I will look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view.

The Lord God says this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. I shall bring them out of the countries where they are; I shall gather them together from foreign countries and bring them back to their own land. I shall pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in every inhabited place in the land. I shall feed them in good pasturage; the high mountains of Israel will be their grazing ground. There they will rest in good grazing ground; they will browse in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them where to rest – it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.’ O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight: since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand happiness for ever.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 23:9,10

Alleluia, alleluia! You have only one Father, and he is in heaven; you have only one Teacher, the Christ. Alleluia!

Or: Matthew 28:19,20

Alleluia, alleluia! Go, make disciples of all the nations. I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. Alleluia!

Or: Mark 1:17

Alleluia, alleluia! Follow me, says the Lord, and I will make you into fishers of men. Alleluia!

Or: Luke 4:18

Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives. Alleluia!

Or: John 10:14

Alleluia, alleluia! I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my own sheep and my own know me. Alleluia!

Or: John 15:5

Alleluia, alleluia! I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty, says the Lord. Alleluia!

Or: 2 Corinthians 5:19

Alleluia, alleluia! God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 9:35-37 The harvest is rich but the labourers are few.

Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[frangipani-wanderlust]

Advent Wreath up, as today is the first Sunday of Advent. And happy new year to anyone who knows the liturgical calendar.

The purple candle symbolizes penitence and longing, in preparation for the coming of Christ.

[apilgrimpassingby]

Happy Orthodox Liturgical New Year!

(Which means stocking up on holy water, and the priest walking down the aisle sprinkling holy water on everyone.)

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

Happy liturgical New Year!

[angeltreasure]

Hi I'm new to Catholicism, and growing up I was always told birthdays were pagan? I know they're not but could you pls prove that and explain why they're not?

I’ve never heard a birthday as being a pagan celebration.

A birthday celebration is not a day to worship a regular human. God alone deserves our worship, because as Catholics we believe there is only one God. Our birthdays are celebrating the day we and loved ones are born, a day to give thanksgiving to God in prayer and show love to our neighbor. Birthdays are a chance to express our happiness that we are so happy a loved one was/is born and we look forward to more time with them in the present moment. We can also use birthdays as a day to look back and remember past years of good times growing up surrounded by our dearest family, friends, coworkers, and churchgoers. To love our neighbor is a direct teaching of Jesus Christ.

Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him, and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

And no one dared to question Him any further.

- Mark 12:28-34

Unlike Islam, Catholics do not view birthdays as bad. We don’t see birthday candles as a replacement for prayer to God. There is no replacement. They are just decorations on a piece of food.

And also, as Catholics, we literally celebrate the best birthday of all every single year: Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ!!!!!!!! His birthday is the best of all. ❤️ It’s a real holy day we celebrate, in fact, a whole liturgical season. The pagans are mad about our calendar day, but at the end of the day, their fits don’t matter. What matters is that Christ was real. We express our happiness in His birthday too and thank God the Father for sending Him (and thank the Holy Spirit too). We honor Mary the Mother of Jesus and we honor Jesus’s adoptive father, St. Joseph. The mass on the day of Christmas is so awesome it changes in readings depending on the time of day or night you go, making it all the more special. I make a birthday cake for Jesus every year and I celebrate His birthday through our traditions. What an awesome gift, the Messiah! Oh how my heart soars like a dove just think of Christmas!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

- John 3:16

The world forgets Jesus in their secular celebrations in their relativism and consumerism, but Catholicism remembers Jesus Christ, our King. What will you give Jesus for His birthday?

[catholicmemoirs]

I'm late setting up for Advent.. and it's okay!

It's 1am on December 2nd and our Thanksgiving weekend got ahead of us.

I just got around to bringing up our stack of Advent things, but I really need to get rest since I'm back to work tomorrow after taking the week off.

These are all the Advent countdown things. I didn't get a chance to hang the Jesse Tree countdown cards, so will have to ask my husband for help tomorrow.

The Advent wreath isn't even close. I have to remove old wax and we don't even have the wreath!

The earliest we can do is take our preschooler to go wreath shopping after work tomorrow. I think he'll enjoy taking part in the setup of what we do for Advent.

Lastly, I printed out my liturgical planner since it will take around 2-3 weeks to print and deliver the book copies, so I need to do planning on printables for now. Sadly, I don't have time to post a listing of these, so again they're late for the new liturgical year!

We went to Latin Mass. The Gradual (Psalm 24: 3, 4) literally moved me to tears. The soprano soloist in our schola was so talented, her singing shook me to the core and before I knew it, I had tears streaming down my face. I decided that the Gradual would be my Lectio Divina study for today.

The word "wait" stuck out to me. It's actually an interesting word choice because it could mean "to wait" like waiting for something to happen (passive) or "to wait on someone" like to attend to their commands (proactive), kind of like a handmaid to a queen. The latter drew me in more because there are lots of Scripture from mass that mention people waiting on an important figure. This ties into Mary's fiat acceptance ("I am the handmaid of the Lord") and the Church being Christ's queen. Handmaids are usually specially hand picked by the queen or the king and not a role given to most people. They're usually the queen's most trusted and most loyal people. By waiting on the queen, her handmaids also serve the king.

Anyway, back to Mass. Our baby was asleep peacefully in our arms all the way until Communion where my spiritual director was celebrating mass & he blessed the baby when we were up at the altar rail. It was a really peaceful and holy mass today.

At the end of it all, this is all okay. It will all happen soon enough. Happy Advent!

[deedsandcreeds]

Happy New Year, Church!

Today marks the beginning of the Advent Season, the beginning of the liturgical new year, the first day in the Church’s calendar.

Advent offers followers of Christ a time of self-examination, reconciliation, hope, and peace. It can be difficult to see the four weeks of Advent in these terms — even in the best of years, our plates are pretty full already with Christmas carols, preparation for family time and travel, and the general chaos of Christmas vacation.

Each week in Advent, we light a candle, sing special hymns and say special prayers written specifically for this time. The practices, prayers, and Scriptural passages are chosen because they help us to prepare in heart and mind for the coming of Christ on Christmas Eve as well as his second coming as King.

dashboard advent wreath for y’all :) (x)

[anglocatholicofficial]

Anglo Catholic Church St. Paul the Apostle

Pax Evangelica

All Christians recite the Creed which invokes the ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC Church as desired by our Lord Jesus Christ.

However there are three major groups in Christianity: the Roman, the Orthodox and the Anglican. Each group has its own characteristics and over the centuries there have frequently been quarrels and misunderstandings which have disregarded the directives of our Lord even, at times, in a blatantly incomprehensible way.

The divisions and differences in uses, customs and traditions are physiological between the Christian Churches which each live local realities and differ in the flow of time and these differences enrich humanity and Christianity if they are collected in a single container, that is, in the unity of intentions of all the Churches while they are not understandable when the inevitable differences are used not to enrich all of Christianity but are placed at the service of partisan interests and used to divide rather than unite.

 

The Anglo Catholic Church of Saint Paul the Apostle is a small High Christian community in the Anglican panorama and this means that it feels very close to the Roman Christians and the Orthodox ones: an important starting point to be close to that unity of purpose that invokes the prayer of Creed recited every day by all Christians.

To give a real follow-up to the invocations of the Creed we are trying to open new paths that aim at what we call the Pax Evangelica.

In the year of our Lord 2022 we began to consecrate our parishes and ecclesial structures to all three liturgies, ensuring that churches and chapels are suitable for celebrating Roman, Orthodox and Anglican liturgies. We tried to use sacred furnishings and ornaments that were not in conflict with anyone, for example by avoiding statues and depictions replaced by icons. We celebrate the Holy Mass with the rite requested by the faithful, often fusing liturgies and uses belonging to different sources, trying to use the best things of each of the three Christian souls.

In the year of the Lord 2023 we created, within our Church, a Roman Catholic Christian Institute led by Msgr. Ludovico Allegretti, a priest of the Roman liturgy of great theological standing and a Western Orthodox Christian Catholic Institute led by Msgr. Orlando Francesco Amendola Orthodox Archesarch of the European Continent.

With the creation of these autonomous Institutes we have decisively overcome the traditional intercommunions between Churches which are limited to mutual recognition, creating a level of synergistic integration never achieved before.

The Holy Father Francis has been trying for some years to create a common Roman-Orthodox-Anglican rite for the liturgy of the Holy Mass, often finding insurmountable difficulties because no one intends to give up their identity and diversity. We are simply integrating the best things of the different liturgies, leaving priests the possibility of choosing without limits or discrimination how to honor our Lord.

For some time we have avoided entering into the debate between the different liturgical calendars and without asking ourselves the problem of deciding which is the correct date of Christmas or Easter we have simply decided to celebrate them and honor all the dates through gifts and special meals for those in need all occasions.

We do not distinguish between Roman-Anglican and Orthodox Easter but we celebrate both dates to make those who need it happy twice. There are no distinctions between calendarists and old-calendarists but double opportunities to bring relief to those who suffer.

We pray helping those who suffer and we take the different dates between the liturgical calendars as an opportunity to celebrate and help our less fortunate neighbors.

If in Orthodox theology engagement is a more important event than marriage, we consider them both fundamental, honoring them both equally in order to celebrate them both in the best perspective and create two solemn occasions to present the birth of a new family unit to God. .

Our Church with its autonomous Institutes includes clergy of every liturgy and Christian orientation and we do not ask all these deacons, priests and bishops to cancel their own beliefs and traditions but, on the contrary, to keep them alive to enrich the common liturgies in the encounter and in the synergy of different points of view.

Our Lord saved all humanity without discriminating and dividing but uniting everyone in his name, so who are we to oppose His will for foolish partisan interests.

The Pax Evangelica is something immense, a wonderful dream that is certainly coming true not by the will of our small Church. We follow a luminous path indicated to us and traced by Superior Spirits who guide the actions of our little clergy who are becoming the humble instruments of a Good and a superior Will that intends to unite without destroying but, on the contrary, valorising those diversities that enrich the wonderful kaleidoscope of the human race created by the free will that was given to us to improve and evolve and not to destroy each other without any profit to anyone.

Until now, no one has even thought of integrating different priests, traditions and liturgies! We are doing it first, but certainly not thanks to us. We try to unite and our intercommunions are synergies created to unite different uses and are not titles of merit to be shown.

Our synergies are the integration of different traditions in the common belief that we follow a single God through a single Faith and a single great, immense Church which without borders or discrimination brings together all of us who breathe the same air.