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pastortomsteers · 1 month ago

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THE TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Nov. 17, 2024 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

OPENING HYMN: 655 “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” by Martin Luther https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb5d_Do9xy0

The Invocation Page 184 Confession and Absolution Page 184-185

The Introit – Psalm 48:11-14, antiphon: Mark 13:13b

The one who endures to the end will be saved. Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments! Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son And to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. The one who endures to the end will be saved.

Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.

Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And with thy Spirit.

Collect Prayer: O Lord, by Your bountiful goodness release us from the bonds of our sins, which by reason of our weakness we have brought upon ourselves, that we may stand firm until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Daniel 12:1-3 Psalm 16 Epistle Reading: Hebrews 10:11-25 Our Gospel Reading: Mark 13:1-13

THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192

HYMN OF THE DAY: 508 “The Day Is Surely Coming Soon” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJcXREt1nwM

SERMON The One Who Endues –

In the Gospel text today our Lord tells us, “the one who endues to the end will be saved.”

But we may ask ourselves privately, can I?

Today we’re two weeks away from Advent.

As the Church year draws to a close, we’re reminded that al; things come to an end,

even our own lives in this world.

The Lord wants us to be ready.

There are two things the Church does as she lives in these end times.

And it’s important we understand what these two things are in order to know the will of God, the role of the Church, and our calling as Christians.

First, we tell the Good News of Jesus, the Gospel, to those we know, and support the Church in attendance and inviting others to attend.

This is evangelism, the Great Commission.

Secondly, we stand firm in the Christian faith.

When the time comes to witness to our Saviour, we needn’t worry about what we’re going to say.

We’ve memorized the salvation message of John 3:16

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

We hear this Word in preaching and in our Bible Studies.

Jesus died for our sins on the cross.

Faith that He was God’s only Son, and made complete payment for our sins,

faith worked within our hearts by the Holy Spirit using the means of grace, Word and Sacrament,

brings salvation and eternal life.

Every Lutheran has heard that promise.

It’s in the Apostles’ Creed we recite.

We face challenges and hardships every week, sometimes every day.

But do we endure in the faith?

Do we stand fast?

No, at times we give in to the world’s desires and expectations, and our own human frailties and nature.

You probably remember the Bible account in Daniel about three young fellows, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who live in the land of Babylonia during the exile.

Nebuchadnezzar was king.

He wanted these young men to bow down to an idol, a false God, to a symbol of human wickedness and error the king had had constructed.

These three young men knew the First Commandment and say to the king – “we can’t do that, we won’t do that.

So, Nebuchadnezzar gets mad as a hornet and threatens, you better, because I’m going to heat up a furnace and throw you in it.

You know what they say; we have no need to answer you King, because our God will deliver us.

The king got even angrier, and said heat up that furnace seven times hotter than usual.

It was so hot that even the men who bound up the three Hebrew fellows and threw them in were themselves killed by the flames.

What happens?

The king sees not three. but four men in the fiery furnace, and they’re walking around unhurt.

One looked like a son of the gods according to the words of the Bible.

Jesus is always Saviour.

You can endure to the end, through Him.

Daniel the prophet lived in Babylon a little after the time of the three Jewish men.

Daniel was well acquainted with trouble in his life, and the world.

He also runs into a king who says worship me and my idols.

Daniel says no, and his penalty for not giving into the world and false gods is getting thrown into a lions’ den.

But his reward from God is protection.

God not only delivers Daniel, but let’s him see beyond his current time into the future of the New Testament.

Daniel sees Jesus Christ coming in His glory, for the prophet’s comfort, and ours.

In our Epistle reading we see Christ described as our High Priest.

Yet not like the Old Testament priests who had to offer sacrifices again and again because animal sacrifices couldn’t permanently take away sin.

No, only Jesus, the perfect sinless sacrifice, the only Son of God, could do that.

The Letter to the Hebrews explains that all of us have strength, in God, because of the work, because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

And when we’re drawn to God, we see that there is our security, and sure defense.

There is the confidence and endurance we could never have on our own.

The writer of Hebrews says, why would anyone be so silly as to worry about ‘doing’ something to earn their way into Heaven.

Because when it comes to the work of forgiveness and salvation, that’s already been done, by Christ, alone.

When Jesus died on the cross, God saw to it that the curtain separating the Holy of Holies in the temple was torn in two.

The separation that had existed between God and man, that happened because of human sin, was removed.

We are reunited with our Heavenly Father.

We don’t have to cower before the Almighty, because thanks to our loving Saviour, you and I, as Christian believers, are covered by the Holy merits of Christ.

Every day when we pray, and especially in our Divine service, we confess our sins and have the promise of absolution, of forgiveness.

From the Bible we know Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

We are not threatened by every challenge thrown at us by every false teaching concerning Christianity we see in the media or hear in school or workplace.

Jesus died for your sins, and the sins of the world.

And he wants us to know we are united to Him and to each other in the Body of Christ, His Church.

That means it is a mistake to think we can, or should, be isolated Christians.

We are meant for fellowship with God, and other believers, in the Church that preaches and teaches God’s Word correctly as Law and Gospel, and where the Sacraments of Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper are administered properly.

So, we go back to our Gospel reading, to the very words of Christ. Jesus is coming out of the Temple with the disciples.

The twelve are impressed with the beautiful buildings.

Jesus says don’t get too attached to them, because Christ knows come Good Friday the temple is going to become obsolete.

The temple is where they offered animal sacrifices every day.

Yet come Good Friday at 3 p.m. that curtain in the Holy of Holies, the divider between God and man, is going to be removed – permanently.

The temple will be unnecessary, because Christ will have entered into the temple of Heaven with the one and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, yours and mine.

Jesus knew the Romans would come and tear down the temple in 70 A.D.

But the real sacrifice for all time, Jesus, would stand, last, endure. And because Christ endures, through Him, you will as well.

We can humbly trust in God, look to Him in faith while we bear witness to our Saviour.

Jesus says persecution is hard now and will get tougher.

Even one’s own brother will deliver him over to death. Children will rise up against parents.

Believers will be hated for His names’ sake, for the sake of faith in Christ.

But remember, we are joined to Christ, to His suffering and His resurrection, in our Baptism.

We are joined to Him through the Church, the Word, through Holy Communion.

The author of the Book of Hebrews explains, He is the founder and perfecter of our faith.

So much for the heretics who say we ‘make a decision for, we chose’ Jesus.

He made clear to the disciples, and to us, “I chose you.” (John 15:16)

And so here is how I pray you go on this day – not in the belief, or doubt, that you can endure, but as Christians, that Christ has endured to the end for you.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. Amen.

SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Hymn 962 Post-Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201

CLOSING HYMN: 923 “Almighty Father, Bless the Word” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVArufuXXgI

#christian religion #christian #lutheran #faith #jesus #salvation #bible #evangelism #holy spirit

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m-labbe · 1 year ago

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THE 3RD SUNDAY IN ADVENT

(traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday from the officium or introit)

The 17th day of December in the year of our Lord, 2023,

the 16th day before the Kalends of January, &

the 5th day of the lunar month.

(There is no saint listed in the Calendar of the BCP today.)

At Marseilles in Gaul, Blessed Lazarus, whom our Lord raised from the dead, first bishop of that city.

#BCP1662Almanac

—

From John Sturt's engraving of the Book of Common Prayer.

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traumacatholic · 3 years ago

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Gregorian chant: Sanctissimus namque Gregorius - Introit: Ad te levavi

This trope from the 11th-12th Century was sung in some form before the Introit of the First Sunday of Advent. It replaced an earlier trope for this Introit honoring St. Gregory, which had been composed by Pope Hadrian I (772 - 795), which was placed at the top of the Sacramentary given by Pope Hadrian to Charlemagne, the existence of which was attested to by Agobard of Lyons (d. 840).

[If you turn subtitles on, English translation is available]

#Catholic #Catholicism #Christian #Christianity #Gregorian Chant

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pamphletstoinspire · 4 years ago

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Today is the Third Sunday of Advent - Gaudete Sunday (December 13, 2020)

The Third Sunday of Advent takes its common name from the Latin word Gaudete (“Rejoice”), the first word of the introit of this day’s Mass.

The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians, iv. 4-7.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh. Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.

by Bishop Ehrler, 1891

“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: make straight the way of the Lord.” (John I: 23.)

In my text of to-day, my dearly-beloved, St. John calls himself a voice, thereby giving his disciples plainly to understand that he was not the “Word made flesh,” but simply the voice of that Word. And those who listened to him knew that the Son of God could not then be far off, inasmuch as they already heard his voice in the person of the Baptist. As the voice prepares the way for the word, so that it may come forth intelligibly from the mouth of man, so also John, through his voice, (that is, through his preaching and baptism) prepared the hearts of men for the coming of Christ. Hence, he says that he is that voice which Isaias had long before foretold as crying out: “Make straight the way of the Lord.” In what did this preparation principally consist?” He preached the baptism of penance, for the remission of sins (Luke 3 : 3).” He consoled the people, and after he had imbued them with faith in the Redeemer, he animated them still further to love him and confide in him:

I. Through the hope of pardon; II. Through the hope of grace; and III. Through the hope of glory. This three-fold hope, my brethren, is the necessary fruit of that three-fold faith of which we spoke, last Sunday. From the faith of the commandments, springs the hope of pardon; from the faith of miracles, the hope of grace; and from the faith of the promises, the hope of glory. We will, to-day, examine the foundations of these three truths.

I. Every sinner, no matter how often or how grievously he mav have violated the Commandments of God, has a sure hope of pardon. It is true that, when a hardened offender turns to God, and calls upon him for forgiveness, the abyss of evil cries out to the abyss of mercy; or as the Psalmist expresses it: “Deep calleth upon deep.” (Ps. 41 : 8.) But, though this abyss of wickedness be ever so deep and fathomless, that of God’s mercy is still greater and more profound; where sin hath abounded, grace more fully abounds. “Turn ye to me, saith the Lord of Hosts: and I will turn to you (Zach. 1 : 3).” Yea, He promises still further: “If the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done (Ezech. 18 : 21-22).”

Moreover, He not only invites the sinner to repentance, my dear brethren, but He waits long and patiently for his conversion. “I desire not the death of the wicked,” He declares by the mouth of his prophet, “but that the wicked turn from his ways and live (Ezech. 33 : 11).” “The Lord is compassionate and merciful (Ps. 112 : 8).” He is merciful to all sinners, He is long-suffering toward the perverse and obdurate, so that they may be converted from the evil of their ways; or, as the Wise Man says in his apostrophe to the Most High: “Thou overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance (Wis. 11: 24).” Why, then, do you delay your repentance, unhappy sinner? “Despisest thou the riches of His goodness, and patience, and longsuffering? Knowest thou pot that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance (Rom. 2: 4)?” Long and zealously did St. John the Baptist preach to the Jews “the baptism of penance,” for no other purpose than “for the remission of their sins”! Yet, how often might he not have said to them: “Be not as your fathers, to whom the former prophets have cried, saying: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: turn ye from your evil ways, and from your wicked thoughts: but they did not give ear (Zach. 1: 4).” I beseech of you now, my brethren, to take warning from the example of that hardened and stiff-necked people, and listening, to follow with docility and faith “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” Making straight the way of the Lord by the faith of the Commandments, you will not only enjoy the assured hope of pardon for past sins, but also, if you will humbly beg it from God, the hope of grace that will prevent you from committing sins in the future.

II. The hope of pardon, my dear Christians, is far from being so attractive to the sinner as the hope of continued grace. He knows that God’s forgiveness for the past will avail him nothing, if he continues to offend Him anew by fresh sins. He also knows that, of himself, he is utterly unable to avoid evil; and that “it is God who worketh in him both to will and to accomplish according to His good will (Phil. 2: 13).” The Wise Man declares that: “To God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike; “and when the converted sinner remembers that he was once an object of hatred to that good God, and reflects at the same time that he is now His friend and favorite, what can he do but cry out gratefully with St. Paul: “By the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Cor. 15 : 10)!” adding with the Psalmist: “What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that He hath rendered to me (Ps. 115 : 12)?” The recollection of one’s past misery is the first happy effect of grace, as well as the first step toward future holiness.

But this knowledge, my brethren, is due altogether to the ineffable goodness of God. “The Lord is my light and my salvation (Ps. 26: 1)!” O ye poor, blinded sinners! no matter how deeply you may be sunk in misery, “Come ye to him, and be enlightened (Ps. 33: 6).” Seeing, you will understand the danger from which you have been rescued by the mercy of God; and understanding, you will learn to dread a relapse into sin.

Grace is alike necessary to convert the sinner and to preserve him in the divine friendship after his conversion. The soul of a Christian is like a fortified city, which is surrounded on all sides by enemies. “Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it (Ps. 126: 1).” Our spiritual enemies are most numerous, their plans most cunningly devised for our destruction; and we are obliged to contend constantly with the traitorous foe within the walls–our own miserable concupiscence. A man’s enemies, says the Lord, are they of his own household (Mich. 7 : 6). But, for our consolation, let us be firmly assured that God will not desert us, unless we first turn our backs on Him; and it is especially written of the just: “The Lord keepeth all them that love Him (Ps. 144: 20).” God does not constrain the free will of man; but His grace is always ready to co-operate with that free will in the grand work of salvation. “He has created us without our aid,” says St. Augustine, ” but He will not save us without our co-operation.” His assistance is so essential to the success of our undertakings, that no one can begin, continue, or complete any work without the all-powerful help of God. He has, then, a just right to issue His commands, since His gracious help encompasses His children on every side, mercifully and efficaciously enabling them to keep His commandments to the end. See, O dearly beloved! how firm and consistent is the hope of grace, to the heart of the repentant and converted sinner!

III. The hope of glory is that strong and intimate confidence which supports the just, and enables them to persevere in the performance of their good works. “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved (Matth. 10 : 22),” says our Saviour. In what does this being saved consist?” One can truly receive the happiness of the elect,” says St. Augustine, “but one can never properly estimate it.” “I can more easily tell what is not in heaven than what is there.” Death shall be no more in that kingdom of delights; and sorrow, and weakness, and sickness shall be at an end; neither shall hunger, nor thirst, heat, disappointment, or any other misery, afflict the children of God. “They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Thy house: and Thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure (Ps. 35: 9).” “And they shall reign with God forever and ever (Apoc. 22: 5).” “Oh, true life! Oh, eternal life! Oh, eternally happy life!” exclaims in an ecstasy the great Bishop of Hippo–unable to find words to express the feelings of his heart, when he would depict the ineffable joys of Paradise. And if any thing further were needed to encourage us, we shall find it in the exhortation and promise of our Saviour which is jointly the foundation of our hope: “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: because your reward is very great in heaven (Matth. 5 : 12).” St. Bernard, speaking of this same reward, says: “It is so great that one can not exhaust it; and so precious that one can not sufficiently value it.”

And what does God require from us, my brethren, in order to merit this heavenly recompense? If He exacted of us to serve him for half an eternity, the demand would not be too great. “The days of man are short (Job 14: 5).” “Our days upon earth are but a shadow” (Job 8: 9), and they “are passed more swiftly than the web is cut by the weaver (Job 7 : 6).” Should we not, then, apply these few brief days to serving our Creator, and keeping His commandments? “His commands are not heavy (1 John 5: 3).” This short life may be filled with miseries, I will admit, my dear fellow-sufferers, but, with the Apostle of the Gentiles, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8: 18).” That which we suffer is only temporary, and “our present tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4: 17).”

Peroration. Therefore, “prepare ye the way of the Lord,” beloved Christians, and “trust in Him, all ye congregation of people (Ps. 61: 9).” “Being justified by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: by Whom, also, we have access through faith into this grace, wherein we stand, and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God (Rom. 5: 1-2).” God receives us back into His friendship even after we have frequently and basely insulted him. He upholds us by His all-powerful grace in the path of righteousness; and he promises us, moreover, an eternal reward if we serve Him faithfully during the short days of our life. Dearly beloved, have we not here three signal mercies of our good God, sufficient to excite us to the thorough and lasting reformation of our lives? Ah! yes, let us put our hope in his divine power and goodness; and persevering bravely with His help in the path of virtue, let us hope to love, for all eternity, that gracious God in whom we have believed and hoped unwaveringly here below. Amen.

#gaudete sunday

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emvidal · 3 years ago

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It is the First Sunday of Advent. Here is the Entrance Antiphon (Introit):

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helpisawareness · 7 years ago

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HAPPY GAUDETE SUNDAY!

"CERTAIN Sundays throughout the liturgical year have taken their names from the first word in Latin of the Introit, the entrance antiphon at Mass. Gaudete Sunday is one of these. Gaudete Sunday is a joyous celebration. Although it takes place during the usually penitential period of Advent, Gaudete Sunday serves as a mid-point break from the austere practices to rejoice in the nearness of Jesus's return in three ways. WHEN IS GAUDETE? Gaudete Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent. The date usually falls between December 11 to 17 each year. (See the Liturgical Calendar for Advent to find the date of Gaudete Sunday this year.) WHERE DOES THE NAME COME FROM? The Introit for Gaudete Sunday, in both the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo, is taken from Philippians 4:4,5: "Gaudete in Domino semper" ("Rejoice in the Lord always"). PRIEST CLOTHING Like Lent, Advent is a penitential season, so the priest normally wears purple vestments. But on Gaudete Sunday, having passed the midpoint of Advent, the Church lightens the mood a little, and the priest may wear rose vestments. The change in color provides us with encouragement to continue our spiritual preparation—especially prayer and fasting—for Christmas. DECOR For this same reason of lightening the mood, the third candle of the Advent wreath, first lit on Gaudete Sunday, is traditionally rose-colored. LAETARE SUNDAY Gaudete Sunday is often compared to Laetare Sunday. Laetare Sunday is the fourth Sunday in Lent. Like Gaudete Sunday, Laetare Sunday has a more light-hearted, celebratory mood relative to Lent's usually strict mood."

#Catholic #advent #third sunday of advent #gaudete #gaudete sunday

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amutheology · 6 years ago

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First Sunday of Advent

A reflection by Sean Robertson.

“Ad te levavi animam meam, Deus meus, in te confido…universi, qui te exspectant, non confundentur.” “To you I lift up my soul, my God, in you I trust…let all those who wait on you not be confounded.”

These words from the Introit or Entrance Antiphon of the First Sunday of Advent are taken from the beginning of Psalm 25 and are the first words uttered at Mass in the new liturgical year. As the Church’s year opens anew, she bids us that the first movement of our souls be upward to the Lord. Advent thus marks a time of renewed prayer and meditation on the God in whom we trust and for whom we wait with great expectancy. As the Benedictine abbot Dom Prosper Gueranger (following St. Bernard of Clairvaux) reminds us in The Liturgical Year, the Advent season in fact unites for us a threefold kind of waiting: one that involves past, present, and future.

As to the past, we are reminded of the time of the Old Testament, during which Israel longingly waited on the coming of the Messiah to redeem Israel and crush the head of the serpent. During the Advent season, we can enter back into the spirit of hunger and thirst for the Lord’s salvation that Israel experienced as we hear the ancient prophecies of Christ’s coming in the Psalms and the prophet Isaiah. Psalm 25, which features prominently in this Sunday’s Mass, is especially fruitful in this regard as it sings to the Lord asking Him to forgive our sins and teach us His ways as we wait for Him. It ends with the plea: “Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.”

As we enter mystically back into the longing for Christ’s first coming in the flesh, Advent also prepares us to celebrate the liturgical feast of Christmas which is now just four weeks away. This is more than a simple memory of the event, but in fact is a call to prepare ourselves to receive the joy of the Lord’s coming into our soul especially on that day – and indeed each day by grace. As Dom Gueranger tells us: “In vain would the Son of God have come [two thousand years ago] to visit and save mankind, unless He came again for each one of us and at every moment of our lives, bringing to us and cherishing within us that supernatural life.” As with all preparations in the Church’s calendar, then, Advent constitutes a time of penance and prayer during which we should especially seek detachment from our worldly cares and instead decorate our souls in order to receive Christ well. This is St. Paul’s message in Romans 13: “It is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Just as we fast before receiving the Eucharist, just as Lent prepares us for Easter, and indeed just as we are called to lead an entire life of prayer and penance to prepare us for the Marriage Feast of Heaven, so also Advent constitutes the fast that prepares us for the feast of Christmas. As Gueranger notes, it nonetheless retains an admixture of joy since while we wait we are aware that Christ has already come in history and redeemed mankind. We find this in-between time of joyful expectation well expressed in the Advent Mass, which omits the Gloria, the song of the angels at Christmas, but retains the Alleluia, the herald of a redemption already accomplished.

Finally, Advent is a time for us to renew our preparation for the future coming of Christ in glory at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. This Sunday’s Gospel from Luke 21 calls our attention to this. At the end of the liturgical year, the Gospel readings turn more and more to Our Lord’s words about the eschaton in order that we might meditate on the Four Last Things. The liturgical year now begins as it ended, calling us to be prepared to meet the Lord and Judge of all: “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” This requires attentiveness and readiness, as the Lord says in the same passage: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap…Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” Our spiritual preparation for the feast of Christmas should thus also help prepare us for the ultimate coming of Christ, should keep us vigilant against temptations and worldly distractions, and should strengthen our hearts and minds in the hope of the salvation which Christ brings in His coming.

Sean Robertson is a third year Ph.D. student at AMU.

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romancatholicreflections · 7 years ago

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17th December >> Daily Reflection/Commentary on Today’s Mass Readings for Roman Catholics on Sunday of the Third Week of Advent (B) (Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11; 1 Thess 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,19-28).

ON THIS THIRD SUNDAY of the Advent season, the theme is traditionally one of joy. The first word of the entrance hymn today is “Rejoice!” This is a tradition coming down from the old pre-Vatican II Latin Mass when the first word of the Introit or entrance antiphon was “Gaudete” (rejoice, be glad). And so this Sunday has come to be known as “Gaudete Sunday”.

In the past, Advent was a penitential season – many of us can still remember when there were four fast days during this period – and the celebrant of the liturgy wears vestments with the penitential colour of purple or violet. The atmosphere was deliberately sombre and penitential.

So, in the middle of it all, people needed to be reminded of what they were preparing for – the very joyful occasion of the birth of Jesus. In the midst of all the penance and fasting, today was conceived as a window of joy and brightness in anticipation of what was to come. On this day, too, the violet vestments in many churches give way to a less penitential colour, a pinkish red, a toned-down violet usually described as “rose”. (There is a similar break, “Laetare Sunday”, during the Lenten season.)

Why rejoice?

And why should we be rejoicing? Because we are soon to remember that the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, came to live among us as a human being and be one of us. “And the Word [who has the nature of God] became a human being and lived [literally ‘pitched his tent’] among us” (John 1:14). And further, we rejoice because he the Lord brings such good news. The First Reading quotes, from the prophet Isaiah, a text which Jesus, in Luke’s gospel, will apply to himself: “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me for the Lord has anointed me.”

In so speaking, Jesus clearly identifies himself with the anointed king who is the Messiah and Saviour of God’s people. And why has he come? Why has he been sent? “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 grace from the Lord.”

The Scriptures, written at a time when poverty and suffering were the lot of the majority, certainly speak of those who are materially poor, of those who are really rotting (often unjustly) in prisons, those who are physically handicapped – the blind, the lame and those afflicted with diseases like leprosy (with its concomitant alienation and marginalisation from ordinary society). And there are still all too many places in our high-tech world where the situation of hundreds of millions has not yet changed in this regard.

Other forms of poverty

But, even for those of us who live in islands of abundance and prosperity, there are other forms of poverty (social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual); other forms of captivity (compulsions, obsessions, addictions, trapped in consumerism…); the blindness and deafness of those who can see no real life meaning in all of the plenty they pursue; the dumbness of those who have nothing constructive or creative to say; the lameness of those who are socially and emotionally crippled, who play at sex but do not know love; and the leprosy of isolation and loneliness in the midst of the crowds.

If the Lord has really come to liberate us from all of this, then we surely have cause to rejoice. “I exult for joy in the Lord…for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity.” The coming of Jesus is a promise to all of us of salvation, that is, a real wholeness and integrity in our lives, which is the complete opposite of lives fragmented by fear and the never-satisfied desire to possess.

And it is this wholeness and integrity that is salvation and not just getting a last-minute passport on our deathbed to play a harp forever in the clouds. Salvation is a real experience which we are all being called to share in our lives here and now. If we have not yet had that experience, then we can say that Christmas has never really come into our lives. We have not really met Jesus yet, the Jesus who makes us whole, who frees us from our forms of captivity.

Be happy always

The Second Reading continues the theme of joy that comes to us through Jesus. “Be happy at all times” may seem a rather unreasonable demand. Yet, for the true Christian, happiness is the underlying experience of daily living, even if, now and then, there are painful problems to be deal with. Fr Tony de Mello used to say that each one of us has right now all we need to be happy. For, if I am not happy NOW, I never will be. “Never try to suppress the Spirit or treat the gift of prophecy with contempt,” says the Reading. A key to our enduring happiness is an unconditional openness to where God leads us and a readiness to speak out and act boldly in his name.

In this we have the example of John the Baptist who is the focus of the Gospel passage from the Prologue of John’s gospel. “A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness, to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light.” We have here a clear assertion of the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. Jesus is the light and John is a witness to the light. It might be helpful for us to re-read those opening verses of today’s Gospel and replace the name of John with our own name. What it says should be just as true of every baptised person as it is of John.

For each one of us, by our baptism and our membership in Christ’s family, has been sent not, obviously, to be the original Light but to give witness to the Light. The Sermon on the Mount speaks of us as “the light of the world”. We are to be the light in the same way as the moon is in its reflection of the sun.

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas and the coming of God into our lives through Jesus we need also to remind ourselves that we have been called to be the means to bring Jesus into other people’s lives.

Light in darkness

At Christmas time our city is bathed in light. But so many have no idea that this light symbolises our Lord Jesus, the Light of the World, born among us at this time. And we may ask ourselves into the lives of how many people this Christmas will we bring the Light of Jesus? How many will experience Jesus being reborn within them through our witnessing?

There are so many people out there who live in darkness. There are so many who are poor in so many ways, even though financially well-off. So many who lack real freedom, the freedom to choose truth and love in all they do and say. So many who are deafened by the consumerist din around them. So many, in the midst of all the superficial jollity, who feel lonely, unwanted, rejected, marginalised. So many broken hearts amid all the party-going. There are people who simply hate Christmas because it only increases their inner pain and deep sadness.

So many out there are waiting. Waiting for us to shine the light of Christ on them and to turn their lives into experiences of joy, of wholeness and integrity. The joy of Jesus, the joy of Christmas can only be ours to the extent that we work with Jesus to bring that joy into the lives of others too.

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pamphletstoinspire · 4 years ago

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The Vigil of the Nativity - December 24, 2020 (With Prayer)

Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, The Vigil of the Nativity

Ascendit autem et Joseph . . . ut profittretur cutit Maria desponsata sibi uxore pregnant.

“And Joseph also went up . . . to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child.”–St. Luke, ii. 4.

“At length,” says St. Peter Damian in his sermon for this holy eve, “we have come from the stormy sea into the tranquil port; hitherto it was the promise, now it is the prize; hitherto labor, now rest; hitherto despair, now hope; hitherto the way, now our home. The heralds of the divine promise came to us; but they gave us nothing but rich promises. Hence our psalmist himself grew wearied and slept, and, with a seemingly reproachful tone, thus sings his lamentation to God: ‘But thou hast rejected and despised us; Thou hast deferred the coming of Thy Christ’ (Ps. 138). At another time he assumes a tone of command and thus prays: ‘O Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim, show Thyself!’ (Ps. 129) Seated on Thy high throne, with myriads of adoring angels around Thee, look down upon the children of men, who are victims of that sin, which was committed indeed by Adam, but permitted by Thy justice. Remember what my substance is (Ps. 138); Thou didst make it to the likeness of Thine own; for though every living man is vanity, yet inasmuch as he is made to Thy image, he is not a passing vanity (Ps. 38). Rend Thy heavens and come down, and turn the eyes of Thy mercy upon us Thy miserable supplicants, and forget us not unto the end!

“Isaias, also, in the vehemence of his desire, thus spoke: ‘For Sion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, till her Just One come forth as brightness. Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and wouldst come down!’ So, too, all the prophets, tired of the long delay of the coming, have prayed to Thee, now with supplication, now with lamentation, and now with cries of impatience. We have listened to these their prayers; we have made use of them as our own, and now, nothing can give us joy or gladness, till our Savior come and say to us: ‘I have heard and granted your prayers.’

“But what is this that has been said to us: ‘Sanctify yourselves, O ye children of Israel, and be ready: for on the morrow the Lord will come down’? We are, then, but one half day and night from the grand visit, the admirable birth of the Infant God! Hurry on your course, ye fleeting hours, that we may the sooner see the Son of God in His crib, and pay our homage to this world-saving birth. You, brethren, are the children of Israel, that are sanctified, and cleansed from every defilement of soul and body; be ready, by your earnest devotion, for tomorrow’s mysteries. Such, indeed, you are, if I may judge from the manner in which you have spent these sacred days of preparation for the coming of your Savior.

“But if, notwithstanding all your care, some drops of the stream of this life’s frailties are still on your hearts, wipe them away and cover them with the snow-white robe of confession. This I can promise you from the mercy of the Divine Infant: he that shall confess his sins and be sorry for them, shall have born within him the Light of the world; the darkness that deceived him shall be dispelled; and he shall enjoy the brightness of the true Light. For how can mercy be denied to the miserable this night, in which the merciful and compassionate Lord is so mercifully born? Therefore, drive away from you all haughty looks, and idle words, and unjust works; let your loins be girt, and your feet walk in the right paths; and then come, and accuse the Lord, if this night He does not rend the heavens, and come down to you, and cast all your sins into the depths of the sea.”

This holy eve is, indeed, a day of grace and hope, and we ought to spend it in spiritual joy. The Church, contrary to Her general practice, prescribes that if Christmas Eve fall on a Sunday, the Office and the Mass of the Vigil should take precedence over the Office and Mass of the 4th Sunday of Advent. How solemn, then, in the eyes of the Church, are these few hours, which separate us from the great Feast! On all other Feasts, no matter how great they may be, the solemnity begins no earlier then First Vespers, and until then the Church restrains Her joy, and celebrates the Divine Office and Mass of most vigils according to the Lenten rite. Christmas, on the contrary, seems to begin with the Vigil; and one would suppose that this morning’s Lauds were the opening of the Feast; for the solemn intonation of this portion of the Office is that of a Double, and the antiphons are sung before and after each psalm or canticle. The violet vestments are used at the Mass, but the rubrics are less somber than on the Advent ferias.

Let us enter into the spirit of the Church, and prepare ourselves, in all the joy of our hearts, to meet the Savior Who is coming to us. Let us observe with strictness the fast which is prescribed; it will enable our bodies to aid the promptness of our spirit. Let us delight in the thought that, before we again lie down to rest, we shall have seen Him born, in the solemn midnight, Who comes to give light to every creature. For surely it is the duty of every faithful child of the Catholic Church to celebrate with Her this happy night, when, in spite of all the coldness of devotion, the whole universe keeps up its watch for the arrival of its Savior. It is one of the last vestiges of the piety of ancient days, and God forbid it should ever be effaced!

Let us, in a spirit of prayer, look at the principal portions of the Office of this beautiful Vigil. First then, the Church makes a mysterious announcement to Her children. It serves as the Invitatory of Matins, and as the Introit and Gradual of the Mass. They are the words which Moses addressed to the people of God when he told them of the heavenly manna, which they would receive on the morrow. We too are expecting our Manna, our Jesus, the Bread of Life, Who is to be born in Bethlehem, which translated means the “House of Bread”:

This day you shall know that the Lord will come, and in the morning you shall see His glory.

The Responsories are full of sublimity and sweetness. Nothing can be more affecting than their lyric melody, sung to us by our Mother the Church, on the very night which precedes the night of Jesus’ Birth:

R. Sanctify yourselves this day, and be ready: for on the morrow you shall see * the Majesty of God amongst you. V. This day you shall know that the Lord will come, and in the morning you shall see * the Majesty of God amongst you.

R. Be constant; you shall see the help of the Lord upon you: fear not, Judea and Jerusalem: * Tomorrow you shall go forth, and the Lord shall be with you: V. Sanctify yourselves, children of Israel, and be ready. * Tomorrow you shall go forth, and the Lord shall be with you.

R. Sanctify yourselves, children of Israel, saith the Lord: for on the morrow, the Lord shall come down: * And He shall take from you all that is languid. V. Tomorrow the iniquity of the earth shall be cancelled, and over us shall reign the Savior of the world. * And He shall take from you all that is languid.

At the Office of Prime, in cathedral chapters and monasteries, the announcement of tomorrow’s Feast is made with unusual solemnity. The lector, who frequently is one of the dignitaries of the choir, sings with a magnificent chant the following lesson from the Martyrology. All the assistants remain standing during it, until the lector comes to the word Bethlehem, at which all genuflect, and continue with bended knee until all the glad tidings are told:

The Eighth of the Calends of January. The year from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created Heaven and earth, five thousand one hundred and ninety-nine: from the deluge, the year two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven: from the birth of Abraham, the year two thousand and fifteen: from Moses and the going out of the people of Israel from Egypt, the year one thousand five hundred and ten: from David’s being anointed king, the year one thousand and thirty-two: in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel: in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad: from the building of the city of Rome, the year seven hundred and fifty-two: in the forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus: the whole world being in peace: in the sixth age of the world: Jesus Christ, the eternal God, and Son of the eternal Father, wishing to consecrate this world by His most merciful coming, being conceived of the Holy Ghost, and nine months since His conception having passed, in Bethelehem of Juda, is born of the Virgin Mary, being made Man: The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to the Flesh!

Thus have passed before us, in succession, all the generations of the world. (It should be noted that on this one day alone, and on this single occasion, does the Church adopt the Septuagint chronology, according to which the Birth of our Savior took place five thousand years after the Creation; whereas the Vulgate version, and the Hebrew text, place only four thousand years between the two events. This shows us the liberty which the Church allows us on this question.) Each generation is asked if it may have seen Him Whom we are expecting, and each is silent; until the Name of Mary is pronounced, and then is proclaimed the Nativity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God made Man. St. Bernard, speaking of this announcement, says: “The voice of joy has gone forth in our land, the voice of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles of the just. There has been heard a good word, a word that gives consolation, a word that is full of gladsomeness, a word worthy of all acceptance. Resound with praise, ye mountains, and all ye trees of the forests clap your hands before the face of the Lord, for He is coming. Hearken, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth! Be astounded and give praise, O all ye creatures! But thou, O man, more than all they! Jesus Christ the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem of Juda! O brief word of the Word abridged (Rom. 9: 28), and yet how full of heavenly beauty! The heart, charmed with the honeyed sweetness of the expression, would fain diffuse it and spread it out into more words; but no, it must be given just as it is, or you spoil it: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem of Juda!” (Second Sermon for Christmas Eve)

The Gospel of today’s Mass is the passage which relates the trouble of St. Joseph and the visit he received from the Angel. This incident, which forms one of the preludes to the Birth of our Savior, could not be omitted from the Liturgy for Advent; and so far, there was no suitable occasion for its insertion. The Vigil of Christmas was the right day for the Gospel, for another reason: the Angel, in speaking to St. Joseph, tells him that the Name to be given to the Child of Mary is Jesus, which signifies that He will save His people from their sins.

Let us contemplate our Blessed Lady, and Her faithful Spouse St. Joseph, leaving the city of Jerusalem, and continuing their journey to Bethlehem, which they reach after a few hours. In obedience to the will of Heaven, they repair to the place where their names are to be enrolled, as the emperor’s edict requires. There is entered in the public register Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth in Galilee. To his name, there is, doubtless, added that of Mary, Spouse of the above-named Joseph. Perhaps they enter Her as a young woman, in the ninth month of Her pregnancy. And this is all! O Incarnate Word! Thou art not yet counted by men! Thou art upon this earth of Thine, and men set Thee down as nothing! And yet, all this excitement of the enrollment of the world is to be for nothing else but this, that Mary, Thy august Mother, may come to Bethlehem, and there give Thee birth!

O ineffable mystery! How grand is this apparent littleness! How mighty this divine weakness! But God has still lower to descend than merely coming on our earth. He goes from house to house of His people: not one will receive Him. He must go and seek a crib in the stable of poor dumb beasts. There, until such time as the Angels sing to Him their hymn, and the shepherds and the Magi come with their offerings, He will meet “the ox that knoweth its Owner, and the ass that knoweth its Master’s crib!” (Is. 1: 3) O Savior of men, Emmanuel, Jesus! We too, will go to this stable of Bethlehem. Thy new birth, which is tonight, shall not be without loving and devoted hearts to bless it. At this very hour, Thou art knocking at the doors of Bethlehem, and who is there that will take Thee in? Thou sayest to my soul in the words of the Canticle: “Open to me, my sister, my beloved!” (Cant. 5: 2) Ah, sweet Jesus! Thou shalt not be refused here! I beseech Thee, enter my house. I have been watching and longing for Thee. Come, then, Lord Jesus, come! (Apoc. 22: 20)

Christmas Eve Prayer from the Liturgical Year, 1910

O Divine Infant! we, too, must needs join our voices with those of the Angels, and sing with them: Glory be to God! and Peace to men! We cannot restrain our tears at hearing this history of Thy Birth. We have followed Thee in Thy journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; we have kept close to Mary and Joseph on the whole journey; we have kept sleepless watch during this holy Night, waiting Thy coming. Praise be to Thee, sweetest Jesus, for Thy mercy! and love from all hearts, for Thy tender love of us! Our eyes are riveted on that dear Crib, for our Salvation is there; and there we recognise Thee as the Messias foretold in those sublime Prophecies, which Thy Spouse the Church has been repeating to us, in her solemn prayers of this Night. Thou art the Mighty God–the Prince of Peace–the Spouse of our souls–our Peace–our Saviour–our Bread of Life. And now, what shall we offer thee? A good Will?

Ah! dear Lord! Thou must form it within us; Thou must increase it, if Thou hast already given it; that thus, we may become Thy Brethren by grace, as we already are by the human nature Thou hast assumed. But, O Incarnate Word! this Mystery of Thy becoming Man, works within us a still higher grace:–it makes us, as Thy Apostle tells us, partakers of that divine nature, which is inseparable with Thee in the midst of all Thy humiliations. Thou hast made us less than the Angels, in the scale of creation; but, in Thy Incarnation, Thou hast made us Heirs of God, and Joint-Heirs with Thine own divine Self! Never permit us, through our own weaknesses and sins, to degenerate from this wonderful gift, whereby Thy Incarnation exalted us, and oh! dear Jesus, to what a height! Amen

#christmas eve

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pamphletstoinspire · 5 years ago

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FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT

The first Sunday in Advent is the first day of the Church Year, and the beginning of the holy season of Advent. The Church commences on this day to contemplate the coming of the Redeemer, and with the prophets to long for Him; during the entire season of Advent she unites her prayers with their sighs, in order to awaken in her children also the desire for the grace of the Redeemer; above all to move them to true penance for their sins, because these are the greatest obstacles in the path of that gracious Advent; therefore she prays at the Introit of the day's Mass:

INTROIT 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. Show me, O Lord, Thy ways, and teach me Thy paths (Ps. 24). Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT Raise up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy power, and come; that by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins, and to be saved by Thy deliverance. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE (Rom. 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 armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day: not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and strife; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.

What does St. Paul teach us in this epistle?

After fully explaining the duties of a Christian life to the Romans who were converted mainly by St. Peter, he exhorts them to hesitate no longer to fulfil these duties, and he seeks to move their hearts by this time of grace, presented them by the Christian dispensation, and by the shortness of the time of grace.

What is here meant by sleep?

The stupidity and blindness of the soul that, forgetting her God, is sunk in a lukewarm, effeminate, slothful and lustful life, which, when it is gone, leaves nothing more than a dream.

Why does St. Paul say, "salvation is nearer"?

He wishes to impress upon the Romans that they now have far greater hope of salvation than when they first became Christians, and that they should secure it by a pious life, because death, and the moment on which depended their salvation, or eternal reward, was drawing near. "What is our life," says St. Chrysostom, "other than a course, a dangerous course to death, through death to immortality?"

What is the signification of day and night?

The night signifies the time before Christ, a night of darkness, of infidelity and of injustice; the day represents the present time, in which by the gospel Christ enlightens the whole world with the teachings of the true faith.

What are "the works of darkness"?

All sins, and especially those which are committed in the dark, to shun the eye of God and man.

What is the "armor of light"?

That faith, virtue and grace, the spiritual armor, with which we battle against our three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and in which armor we should walk honestly before all men. A Christian who in baptism has renounced the devil and all his pomps, must not live in vice, but must put on Christ Jesus, that is, must by the imitation of Christ's virtues adorn his soul, as it were, with a beautiful garment. This text (verse 13) moved St. Augustine to fly from all works of uncleanness in which he had been involved, and to lead a pure life which he had before thought difficult.

ASPIRATION Grant, O Lord, that we may rise by penance from the sleep of our sins, may walk in the light of Thy grace by the performance of good works, may put on Thee and adorn our souls with the imitation of Thy virtues. Amen.

GOSPEL (Lk. 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.

Why does the Church cause the gospel of the Last Judgment to be read on this day?

To move us to penance, and to induce us to prepare our souls for the coming of Christ, by placing the Last Judgment before our minds. Should not the thought of this terrible judgment, when all good and all evil will be revealed, and accordingly be rewarded or punished in the presence of the whole world‑should not this thought strengthen us in virtue!

What signs will precede the Last Judgment?

The sun will be obscured, the stars will lose their light and disappear in the firmament (Is. 13:10), lightning and flames will surround the earth, and wither up every thing; the powers of heaven will be moved, the elements brought to confusion; the roaring of the sea with the howling of the winds and the beating of the storms will fill man with terror and dread. Such evil and distress will come upon the world, that man will wither away for fear, not knowing whither to turn. Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, the holy cross, the terror of the sinners who have scorned it, the consolation of the just who have loved it (Mt. 24:30).

Why will all this come to pass?

Because as the people love the creatures of God so inordinately, more than the Creator, and use them only to His dishonor, He will destroy them in this terrible manner, arming all creatures for vengeance against His enemies (Wis. 5:8‑24, and showing by the manner of their destruction the evils which will fall upon all sinners. The darkness of the sun will indicate the darkness of hell; the blood-red moon, the anger and wrath of God; the disappearance and falling of the stars, will represent the fall of sinners into the abyss of hell and their disappearance from earth; and the madness of the elements, will exhibit the rage of the beasts of hell. Sinners will then vainly, and too late, repent that they have attached their hearts to things which will end so horribly, and that only increase their torments.

Why does Christ nevertheless command: "Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand"?

These words are spoken to the just who as long as they live on earth are like prisoners and exiles, but who at the Last Judgment will be taken body and soul into their long desired fatherland, the kingdom of heaven: into the freedom of the children of God. These will have reason to raise their heads, now bowed in mourning, and to rejoice.

How will the Last Judgment commence?

By the command of God the angels will sound the trumpets, summoning all men from the four parts of the earth to come to judgment (I Thess. 4:15). Then the bodies of the dead will unite with their souls, and be brought to the valley of Josaphat, and there placed, the just on the right, the wicked on the left (Mt. 25:33). Then the devils as well as the angels will appear; Christ Himself will be seen coming in a cloud, in such power and majesty that the sinners will be filled with terror. They will not dare to look at Him, and will cry to the mountains to fall upon them, and to the hills to cover them (Lk. 23:30).

How will the judgment be held?

The book of conscience, upon which all men are to be judged, and which closed with this life, will be opened. All good and evil thoughts, words, deeds and motives, even the most secret, known only to God, will then be as plainly revealed to the whole world as if they were written on each one's forehead; by these each one will be judged, and be eternally rewarded, or eternally punished.

O God! If we must then give an account of every idle word (Mt. 12:36), how can we stand in the face of so many sinful words and actions!

Why will God hold a universal public Judgment?

Although immediately after death, a special private judgment of each soul takes place, God has ordained a public and universal judgment for the following reasons: First, that it may be clearly shown to all how just has been His private judgment, and also that the body which has been the instrument of sin or of virtue may share in the soul's punishment or reward; secondly, that the justice which they could by no means obtain in this life, may be rendered before the whole world to the oppressed poor, and to persecuted innocence, and that the wicked who have abused the righteous, and yet have been considered honest and good, may be put to shame before all; thirdly, that the graces and means of salvation bestowed upon each, may be made known; fourthly, that the blessed providence of God which often permitted the righteous to suffer evil while the wicked prospered, may be vindicated, and it be shown on that day that His acts are acts of the greatest wisdom; fifthly, that the wicked may learn the goodness of God, not for their comfort or benefit, but for their greater sorrow, that they may see how He rewards even the slightest work performed for His love and honor; finally, that Christ may be exalted before the wicked on earth as before the good in heaven, and that the truth of His words may solemnly be made manifest.

ASPIRATION Just art Thou O God, and just are Thy judgments. Ah, penetrate my soul with holy fear of them, that I may be kept always in awe, and avoid sin. Would that I could say with the penitent St. Jerome: "Whether I eat or drink, or whatever I do, I seem to hear the awful sound of the trumpet in my ears: `Arise ye dead, and come to judgment."'

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

#first sunday of advent

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THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT - GAUDETE SUNDAY

The Third Sunday of Advent takes its common name from the Latin word Gaudete (“Rejoice”), the first word of the introit of this day's Mass.

The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians, iv. 4-7.

by Bishop Ehrler, 1891

“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: make straight the way of the Lord.” (John I: 23.)

I. Every sinner, no matter how often or how grievously he mav have violated the Commandments of God, has a sure hope of pardon. It is true that, when a hardened offender turns to God, and calls upon him for forgiveness, the abyss of evil cries out to the abyss of mercy; or as the Psalmist expresses it: “Deep calleth upon deep.” (Ps. 41 : 8.) But, though this abyss of wickedness be ever so deep and fathomless, that of God's mercy is still greater and more profound; where sin hath abounded, grace more fully abounds. “Turn ye to me, saith the Lord of Hosts: and I will turn to you (Zach. 1 : 3).” Yea, He promises still further: “If the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done (Ezech. 18 : 21-22).”

II. The hope of pardon, my dear Christians, is far from being so attractive to the sinner as the hope of continued grace. He knows that God's forgiveness for the past will avail him nothing, if he continues to offend Him anew by fresh sins. He also knows that, of himself, he is utterly unable to avoid evil; and that “it is God who worketh in him both to will and to accomplish according to His good will (Phil. 2: 13).” The Wise Man declares that: “To God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike; “and when the converted sinner remembers that he was once an object of hatred to that good God, and reflects at the same time that he is now His friend and favorite, what can he do but cry out gratefully with St. Paul: “By the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Cor. 15 : 10)!” adding with the Psalmist: “What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that He hath rendered to me (Ps. 115 : 12)?” The recollection of one's past misery is the first happy effect of grace, as well as the first step toward future holiness.

Grace is alike necessary to convert the sinner and to preserve him in the divine friendship after his conversion. The soul of a Christian is like a fortified city, which is surrounded on all sides by enemies. “Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it (Ps. 126: 1).” Our spiritual enemies are most numerous, their plans most cunningly devised for our destruction; and we are obliged to contend constantly with the traitorous foe within the walls–our own miserable concupiscence. A man's enemies, says the Lord, are they of his own household (Mich. 7 : 6). But, for our consolation, let us be firmly assured that God will not desert us, unless we first turn our backs on Him; and it is especially written of the just: “The Lord keepeth all them that love Him (Ps. 144: 20).” God does not constrain the free will of man; but His grace is always ready to co-operate with that free will in the grand work of salvation. “He has created us without our aid,” says St. Augustine, ” but He will not save us without our co-operation.” His assistance is so essential to the success of our undertakings, that no one can begin, continue, or complete any work without the all-powerful help of God. He has, then, a just right to issue His commands, since His gracious help encompasses His children on every side, mercifully and efficaciously enabling them to keep His commandments to the end. See, O dearly beloved! how firm and consistent is the hope of grace, to the heart of the repentant and converted sinner!

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

#third sunday in advent

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pamphletstoinspire · 5 years ago

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December, the month dedicated to the Divine Infancy

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT From "The Saint Andrew Daily Missal" (1937)

At Christmas Jesus will be born in our hearts, for at that time the anniversary of His birth will be celebrated. He refuses nothing, to the prayer of the Church, His spouse, and thus He will grant to our souls the same graces which He gave the shepherds and the wise Kings.

Christ will come again also, at the end of all time, to "condemn the guilty to the flames, and to call the just with a loving voice to heaven" (Hymn for Matins).

The whole of today's mass is a preparation for this double Advent of mercy and justice. Some parts of it can be applied equally to either (e.g., the Introit, Collect, Gradual, Alleluia), while others refer to our Divine Redeemer's lowly birth, and others again, (e.g. the Epistle and Gospel), to His coming in the splendour of His power and majesty. The same welcome will be given to us by our Lord when He comes to judge us, as we give to Him now when coming to redeem us. Let us prepare for the Christmas feast by holy prayers and aspirations and by reforming our lives, that we may be ready for that last great assize upon which depends the fate of our soul for all eternity. And all this with confidence, for those "who wait upon the Lord will never be confounded" (Introit ; Gradual ; Offertory).

In former times, on this First Sunday of Advent, all the people of Rome made the station at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, to assist at the solemn mass which the Pope celebrated, surrounded by his clergy. This particular Church was chosen because it is Mary who gave us Jesus and because relics of the crib in which the Blessed Mother placed her Divine Child are preserved in this Church.

Every parish priest says Mass for the people of his parish.

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

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pamphletstoinspire · 6 years ago

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December, the month dedicated to the Divine Infancy First Sunday of Advent

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS

(From the book "Could You Explain Catholic Practices?" by Rev. Charles J. Mullaly, S.J. - 1937)

Advent is a season of penance, and of preparation by the Faithful for the spiritual joy of Christmas. It is a time when the Church admonishes us to lift our hearts to God and to trust in Him who is to free us from our sins. As Advent is a season of penance, the color of the vestments used at its seasonal Masses is violet and the altar is not decorated with flowers, except on the third Sunday which is called Gaudete, or "Rejoice Sunday," because the Introit of the Mass of that day reminds us of the near approach of our Lord's birth: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh." During this season of penance, as in Lent, the solemn celebration of marriage, that is, with Nuptial Mass, etc., is forbidden.

We should strive ever to emphasize the fact that Christmas is the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The greeting cards we send at the holy season should be a manifestation of our Catholic Faith, an aid to our friends to enter into the spirit of the holy season, and a reminder to them that we are praying that they may know Christ more intimately and love Him more ardently. Your cards to non-Christian friends may be a means of causing them to make inquiries in regard to the real meaning of Christmas.

Christmas derives its name, "Christ's Mass," from the Mass offered in honor of the Birth of Christ. Its early English form was written as "Christes Maesse," and in the course of the change of the English language it eventually became Christmas. In the earliest days of the Church this feast did not exist. Greater stress was placed on the Feast of the Epiphany, because it commemorates the day on which our Saviour was made known to the Gentiles, when the Wise Men came to adore Him. The Feast of the Nativity came gradually into existence in the fourth century. Its first mention is made by the great Christian writer, Clement of Alexandria, about the year 200, and shows that it was celebrated on May 20. About the year 300, the Latin Church began to observe it on December 25, because an ancient tradition assigns that day as the probable date of the Birth of our Savior.

Love of the Babe of Bethlehem, who was born to redeem us, caused Catholics, in centuries long gone by, to introduce into our churches a representation of the crib, the Divine Babe, The Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and the Shepherds. St. Francis of Assisi deserves the credit of making this practice very popular. His zeal prompted him to place at Graccio a representation of the cave of Bethlehem. His plan permitted the Faithful vividly to grasp the story of Bethlehem and to realize the poverty and suffering of our Saviour in the bleak, cold stable where He was born. The plan has spread to churches in all parts of the world.

On the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, it is customary to put the statues of the Wise Men beside the crib. In the early Church, this feast was celebrated with great solemnity because it was the day on which our Saviour was made known to those who were not of Israel. In the fourth century, the Feast of the Nativity came into its own and was given first importance, though in many Catholic countries the custom exists of giving all Christmas presents on the Feast of Epiphany, since on that day the Wise Men brought gifts to our Saviour.

The Christmas tree is of recent origin. It represents for us the Tree of the Cross. Bethlehem and Calvary are ever associated together in our Christian thoughts, for Christ was born to die on the Tree of Ignominy and thus redeem a sinful world. The lights placed upon the Christmas tree have for us a symbolical meaning. They portray the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

Our modern Santa Claus, a crude, ridiculous figure, can be traced back to that gentle lover of children--St. Nicholas. This Saint's feast is celebrated on December 6, and parents and friends gave children presents on that day. The Dutch settlers in New York brought this custom with them to the New World, and the giving of presents on December 6 and on Christmas Day became somewhat confused. St. Nicholas was contracted into "Santa Claus" and, with the increasing pagan idea of the Yuletide, became the rollicking, bewhiskered figure so alien to the true Christmas spirit.

Let our children look to the Christ Child for their Christmas presents. There is no need of deception here, and of shattering childish faith. The Christ Child exists; He loves the little ones and He wishes them to love Him. We have no use in a Catholic home for the fraudulent Santa Claus and the pagan Christmas he now symbolizes. Let the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ be for young and old a day of spiritual joy and of close union with the Saviour whom we love.

PRAYER TO THE INFANT JESUS

Come to me, O Divine Savior, vouchsafe to be born in my heart. Grant that, taught by Thine example, and assisted by Thy grace, I may be poor in spirit and humble of heart. Keep me chaste and obedient. I wish to live but for Thee. O Mary, my Advocate and Mother, obtain by thy prayers forgiveness of my past offences and holy perseverance unto death. St. Joseph, do thou also pray for me, that I may become daily more pleasing to Jesus. Amen.

#advent and christmas

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