Luke,
Chapter 2, verse 8-10:
8 Now
there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night
watch over their flock. 9The
angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear. 10The angel said to them, “Do not
be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that
will be for all the people.
During this season let us daily
ask of our Lord to remove our hearts of stone and give us a heart of love thus
making the winter brighter and our burdens lighter and bring cheer to the
hearts of all we encounter. May we through love be brought to Holy fear!
Ember Wednesday[1]
Commemoration of the Annunciation
Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Gaudete Sunday (3rd
Sunday of Advent) are known as "Advent Embertide," and they come near
the beginning of the Season of Winter (December, January, February).
Liturgically, the readings for the days' Masses follow along with the general
themes of Advent, opening up with Wednesday's Introit of Isaias 45: 8 and Psalm
18:2: Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just:
let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior. The heavens show forth the
glory of God: and the firmament declareth the work of His hands. Wednesday's
and Saturday's Masses will include one and four Lessons, respectively, with all
of them concerning the words of the Prophet Isaias except for the last lesson
on Saturday, which comes from Daniel and recounts how Sidrach, Misach, and
Abdenago are saved from King Nabuchodonosor's fiery furnace by an angel. This
account, which is followed by a glorious hymn, is common to all Embertide
Saturdays but for Whit Embertide. The Gospel readings for the three days
concern, respectively, the Annunciation
(Luke 1:26-28), Visitation
(Luke 1:37-47), and St. John the
Baptist's exhorting us to "prepare the way of the Lord and make
straight His paths" (Luke 3:1-6).
Attend mass today and feel the joy of Mary at the
annunciation!
Before the revision of the Catholic Church's liturgical calendar in 1969 (coinciding with the adoption of the Mass of Paul VI), the Church celebrated Ember Days four times each year. They were tied to the changing of the seasons, but also to the liturgical cycles of the Church. The spring Ember Days were the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the First Sunday of Lent; the summer Ember Days were the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Pentecost; the fall Ember Days were the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the third Sunday in September (not, as is often said, after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross); and the winter Ember Days were the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the Feast of Saint Lucy (December 13).
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The Roman Origin of Ember Days: It's common to claim that the
dates of important Christian feasts (such as Christmas) were set to compete
with or replace certain pagan festivals, even though the best scholarship
indicates otherwise. In the case of the Ember Days, however, it's
true. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes: The Romans were originally given to
agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class. At the beginning
of the time for seeding and harvesting religious ceremonies were performed to
implore the help of their deities: in June for a bountiful harvest, in
September for a rich vintage, and in December for the seeding.
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Keep the Best; Discard the Rest: The
Ember Days are a perfect example of how the Church (in the words of the
Catholic Encyclopedia) "has always tried to sanctify any practices which
could be utilized for a good purpose." The adoption of the Ember Days
wasn't an attempt to displace Roman paganism so much as it was a way to avoid
disrupting the lives of Roman converts to Christianity. The pagan practice,
though directed at false gods, was praiseworthy; all that was necessary was to
transfer the supplications to the true God of Christianity.
·
An Ancient Practice: The adoption of Ember Days by Christians happened so
early that Pope Leo the Great (440-61) considered the Ember Days (with the
exception of the one in the spring) to have been instituted by the Apostles. By
the time of Pope Gelasius II (492-96), the fourth set of Ember Days had been
instituted. Originally celebrated only by the Church in Rome, they spread
throughout the West (but not the East), starting in the fifth century.
·
The Origin of the Word: The origin of the word "ember" in
"Ember Days" is not obvious, not even to those who know Latin.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "Ember" is a corruption (or
we might say, a contraction) of the Latin phrase Quatuor Tempora, which simply
means "four times," since the Ember Days are celebrated four times
per year.
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Optional Today: With the revision of the liturgical calendar in 1969, the Vatican left
the celebration of Ember Days up to the discretion of each national conference
of bishops. They're still commonly celebrated in Europe, particularly in rural
areas. In the United States, the bishops' conference has decided not to
celebrate them, but individual Catholics can and many traditional Catholics
still do, because it's a nice way to focus our minds on the changing of the
liturgical seasons and the seasons of the year. The Ember Days that fall during
Lent and Advent are especially useful to remind children of the reasons for
those seasons.
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Marked by Fasting and Abstinence: The Ember Days are celebrated with fasting (no food between meals) and
half-abstinence, meaning that meat is allowed at one meal per day. (If you
observe the traditional Friday abstinence from meat, then you would observe
complete abstinence on an Ember Friday.) As always, such fasting and abstinence
has a greater purpose. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, through these
activities, and through prayer, we use the Ember Days to "thank God for
the gifts of nature,. teach men to make use of them in moderation, and assist the
needy."
Advent Calendar[3]
Reflect "If we say that we have not sinned, we make [God]
a liar, and his word is not in us" (1 Jn 1:10).
Pray Add this "O Antiphon" to your daily or
meal-time prayer today: "O Key of David, opening the gates of God's
eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness." (Catholic
Household Blessings and Prayers, Revised Edition, 76)
Act Make going to confession a priority before
Christmas.
Every
Christmas although the same in many ways is always new for each Christmas
expresses a hope learned from a lifetime of praising God. For every Christmas
if we open our eyes to truth we will see the handiwork of God; the rock of our
salvation. Perhaps in these final days of anticipation it would do us well to
reflect on the virtues of Mary Christ’s very own mother and in these final days
in some way reflect them in our own lives.
Our Lady puts all she has at God’s disposal. In an instant, all
her personal plans – and no doubt she had many – were discarded so that she
could do everything God wanted her to. She made no excuses, had no reservations.
From the very first moment, Jesus is the one great ideal of her
life. Throughout her life on earth Our Lady showed limitless generosity.
Among the few episodes of the Gospel that refer to her, two of them speak
directly of her attention to the wants of others. She generously gave of her
time to look after her cousin St Elizabeth until the birth of her son, John,
and she was solicitous for the well-being of the young couple and their guests
at the wedding reception in Cana of Galilee. Such attitudes
were second nature to her. Her neighbors in Nazareth would have much to tell us
about Mary’s innumerable little services to them in their everyday
lives. The Blessed Virgin never thought of herself, but of others. She did
her household chores with the greatest simplicity and happiness while
maintaining the deepest interior recollection, for she knew that God was within
her. In Elizabeth’s house everything was sanctified by Our Lady and the Child
she carried in her womb. In Mary we confirm the truth that generosity is a
virtue of great souls, who know how to find their reward in the act of giving: you received without pay, give without pay. A
generous person knows how to be loving and understanding and how to give
material help without demanding love, understanding or help in return. He
gives and forgets he has given, and in this lies his riches. He has understood
that it is better to give than to
receive. He realizes that to love is in its essence to give
oneself to others. Far from being an instinctive inclination, love is a
conscious decision of the will to draw close to other people. To be able to
love truly it is important to be detached from everything and,
especially, from self, to give gratuitously … This detachment from self is the
source of a balanced personality. It is the secret of happiness.
Christmas gift suggestions
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to your enemy, forgiveness.
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To an opponent, tolerance.
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To a friend, your heart.
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To a customer, service.
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To all, charity.
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To every child, a good example.
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To yourself, respect.”
— Oren Arnold
Evening Antiphon
Come, and bring forth the
captive from his prison.
O Key of David, and Scepter of the House of Israel, who
opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens; Come and bring forth the
captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.
During this Advent season let us take up the nature of God by
reflecting on these traits that make us a model for our children and our
sisters and brothers in Christ. Today reflect on:
Gratefulness vs. Unthankfulness
Making known to God and others in what ways they have benefited my life (I Corinthians 4:7)
1334 In the Old Covenant bread and wine
were offered in sacrifice among the first fruits of the earth as a sign of
grateful acknowledgment to the Creator. But they also received a new
significance in the context of the Exodus: the unleavened bread that Israel
eats every year at Passover commemorates the haste of the departure that
liberated them from Egypt; the remembrance of the manna in the desert will
always recall to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God; their
daily bread is the fruit of the promised land, the pledge of God's faithfulness
to his promises. The "cup of blessing" at the end of the Jewish
Passover meal adds to the festive joy of wine an eschatological dimension: the
messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. When Jesus instituted the
Eucharist, he gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread
and the cup.
Daily Devotions
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