Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A

Welcoming light
Reading I: Isaiah 7:10-14 (birth of Emmanuel)
Reading II: Romans 1:1-7 (greetings from Paul)
Gospel: Matthew 1:18–24 (the birth of Jesus)

Key Passage: When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:24)

Adult: Whom do you find it difficult to welcome in your life? What can you do to overcome that?
Child: What could you do this week to make someone feel welcome, as Joseph welcomed Mary?
(From PastoralPlanning.com)

Third Sunday of Advent, Year A

Actions worthy of praise

Reading I: Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 (Israel’s deliverance)
Reading II: James 5:7-10 (patience)
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11 (Christ’s witness to John)

Key Passage: Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11)

Adult: How do you prepare yourself to meet Christ in those around you?

Child: What good thing have you done so far during Advent to be like Jesus?

(From: pastoralplanning.com)

Our Lady of Guadalupe

In the winter of 1531, a poor native Aztec Indian named Juan Diego was walking through the hills outside of Mexico City on his way to Mass. He heard music and a woman’s voice calling his name from a hill named Tepeyac.

He climbed the hill and found a woman who looked to be of his race and dressed in the clothes of his people. She identified herself as Mary and told Juan Diego to tell his bishop to build a shrine on the hill to encourage faithfulness in the people of Mexico City.

The bishop was skeptical and asked for a sign. When Juan Diego gave this message to Mary in a later apparition, he found roses blooming out of season. He gathered them in his tilma, a cloak-like a poncho, and she arranged the flowers and told him to take them to the bishop.

When Juan showed the bishop the roses, they saw that an image of Mary was left upon Juan’s cloak. The bishop was immediately convinced and built a shrine on Tepeyac. Soon, some 8 million people had come to the faith because of Mary’s apparition.

Juan Diego’s tilma was framed and kept in the shrine. It was made of a rough material from cactus and should have decayed within a few decades, but 500 years later is still an object of wonder for millions of pilgrims today.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared patroness of the Americas, and, as she is depicted as pregnant with Jesus, she is also patron of the Right to Life movement. (For a short reflection on the placement of this feast during the Advent season, read this essay from theology professor and Guadalupe scholar Maxwell Johnson here.)

This feast day is celebrated on campus with a vibrant Mass in the Basilica led by the Spanish-language student choir. A number of images of Our Lady of Guadalupe are presented on campus--this tapestry above hangs in the Eck Hall of Law Chapel. The painting shown above rests in a side chapel in the Basilica and is used in the Guadalupe Mass. It was painted by Maria Tomasula, professor of painting in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of the Americas and of the Right to Life movement, pray for us!

(from: http://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&sitebuilder=1&pgid=10813)

Names of the Candles on the Advent Wreath

"The celebration of Advent is marked by lighting a candle on each of the four Sundays. On the first Sunday of Advent, the purple Prophecy candle is lit, reminding us that Christ's Coming was revealed to us by God through the prophets.

The purple Bethlehem candle is lit on the second Sunday, in addition to the first purple, offering light and guidance through the bright Star of Bethlehem.

On the third Sunday, the pink (Rose) Shepherd's candle is also lit, bearing the joy and glad tidings of the coming birth.
The final purple candle is added to the lighting ceremony on the fourth Sunday. This is the Angel's candle signifying Christ's presence is near.

Finally on Christmas Day, we light a large white Christ Candle to celebrate His arrival, the Light of the World."

(This description was found on a box of candles from Root Candles, Medina, Ohio 44256 and was found on Names of the Advent Candles.

(from NCCL Newsletter, December 8, 2013)

Week of December 9-15

Monday, December 9: Mass for the Immaculate Conception, 6:30 PM; Tuesday, December 10: Women’s Faith Sharing Group, 6:30 AM to 7:30 AM in the Gathering Space, please use door #2; Grief Support Group, 10:30 AM in meeting room 3, please use door #7; Advent Presentation with Deacon Bob, 6:30 PM in the chapel; Wednesday, December 11: Religious Education Classes for grades 1-7, 6:15 PM to 7:30 PM and grade 8, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM; Thursday, December 12: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe; Men’s Faith Sharing Group, 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM in the Parish Center

St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas 12/6/2013

Nicholas is one of the most-loved and venerated saints in our tradition, said to be only second to Mary in depictions by artists. He was bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey in the fourth century, and legends and accounts of his life have been told for ages.

His parents died when he was young and left him with a large inheritance. He resolved to use the money for charitable works and learned of a man who had fallen into poverty. The man had three daughters, but because he could not support them nor provide a dowry for their marriage, he was going to give them over to prostitution.

Nicholas learned of this family’s situation and, under the cover of darkness, tossed a bag of gold through the family’s window. The oldest daughter was soon married. The saint returned and performed the same act of kindness for the second daughter. When he approached to help the youngest daughter, the man was waiting for him and when he recognized Nicholas, he overwhelmed him with gratitude.

After being chosen as bishop of Myra, Nicholas was imprisoned and tortured during the persecutions of Christians during the early fourth century. When the Christian emperor Constantine released Christians from prison, Nicholas returned to Myra, where he confronted pagans and those who distorted the faith among the people in his region.

According to tradition, he attended the Council of Nicea in 325, which articulated the nature and personhood of Jesus as fully human and fully divine. It is said that Nicholas became so infuriated with a famous teacher who distorted the faith that he slapped him in the face.

St. Nicholas was so revered that there was competition for his relics. The reliquary chapel in the Basilica, which holds some relics of St. Nicholas, contains a stained glass image of his relics being transferred to Italy, where they rest today. The top image shows St. Nicholas as bishop and comes from the Snite Museum of Art on campus.

St. Nicholas is patron saint of Russia and Greece, among other nations, and is also patron of children. Catholics in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands gave presents in his name, from which comes our custom of gift-giving at Christmas.

St. Nicholas, whose generosity has inspired Christians for ages, pray for us!

(From: Faith ND - http://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&sitebuilder=1&pgid=10813

Second Sunday of Advent, Year A

Our need to change
Reading I: Isaiah 11:1–10 (the rule of Emmanuel)
Reading II: Romans 15:4–9 (prayer of encouragement)
Gospel: Matthew 3:1–12 (John the Baptist)

Key Passage: This is the one [John the Baptist] of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:3)

Adult: What do you need to change so that others can learn from watching you that Christ walks among us?

Child: What could you do so that others will see in you what it means to follow Jesus?

(from: PastoralPlanning.com)