Second Sunday of Advent
solemnity of the
immaculate conception
Proverbs, Chapter 1, Verse 28-29
28 Then they will call me, but I will not answer; they will
seek me, but will not find me, 29 because they hated knowledge, and the fear of the LORD they
did not choose.
Wisdom is personified in this proverb; and she proclaims the moral
order, threatening to leave to their own devices those who disregard her
invitation. Wisdom comes to those who make their hearts ready.
The Beginning of Knowledge[1]
·
The Book of Proverbs begins with a short mission statement. It
says that it's here to instruct people in—wisdom.
·
But it'll also take time to drop some knowledge about justice,
equity, shrewdness, and stuff like that. It's targeting this wisdom at an
audience including the young and the simple—people who really need it—as well
as the wise, so they can kick their wisdom up to Dragon Ball Z levels of
firepower.
·
It states that wisdom begins by fearing (and revering) God.
Shun Evil Counsel
(Media?!)
·
As the actual dispensing of wisdom begins, the author speaks like
a parent urging a son to obey his mother and father, since they've got good
advice to give.
·
If sinners try to get you to go and ambush innocent people and
kill them and steal all their stuff, the author says you should walk away and
avoid them.
·
These evil robber-murderers are actually going to kill themselves
(because their sins will come back to get them). They are like hunters setting
a net while the bird they're trying to catch is watching them (kind of like
Wile E. Coyote stalking the Roadrunner).
·
This is what happens to people who are greedy—they lose their
lives.
The Call of Wisdom
·
The author imagines Wisdom as being a person—specifically, a
woman—who walks through the streets calling out to the ignorant and simple
people, asking them how long they'll remain without wisdom.
·
She says that she'll pour out her insights to anyone who pays
attention to her. But she'll mock the people who refuse to listen, and who
bring disasters and panic on themselves by their willful stupidity.
·
They'll try to find her once they've fallen into calamity, but
they won't be able to, because they failed to fear God and heed wisdom's advice
earlier. It'll be too late.
·
So, Wisdom says, if you pay heed now, you'll be fine.
Wisdom is the true goal of good leadership, rather self or leading
a group. Without leadership and wisdom everything stops; kinda like congress.
Wisdom eludes the selfish and Godless. True wisdom is an act of faith. John
Maxwell gives us the following guidelines as outlined in this proverb.
1.
The foundation of every decision is to honor and revere God (v.7).
2.
We must build of our heritage and conscience: what values are we
to embrace? (v. 8-9) (Life, Liberty, Legacy)
3.
We must avoid the counsel of the ungodly (v. 10-19) (cnn?)
4.
We must pursue wisdom. What are the facts? What are the options?
(v.20-13)
5.
We must move toward inward peace (v. 32-33).
Second Sunday of Advent
The voices of Isaiah and John the
Baptist tell us to prepare.
Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896.
HAVING
taught us on the first Sunday of Advent to sigh with the prophets for the
redemption through Christ, the Church on this day reminds us, in the holy
sacrifice of the Mass, of the joyful promises of God for the salvation of the
gentiles, and of Jesus Christ s actual coming, in order to quicken our desire
for it, and to produce in us an alacrity in making ready our hearts by penance
and love.
For this reason,
she says in the Introit of the Mass: “People of Sion, behold the Lord shall
come to save the nations, and the Lord shall make the glory of His voice to be
heard in the joy of your heart.” “Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou
that leadest Joseph like a sheep.”
Prayer.
Stir up our
hearts, O Lord, to make ready the ways of Thine only begotten Son, that by His
coming we may be worthy to serve Thee with purified minds.
EPISTLE. Rom. xv. 4-13.
Brethren:
What things so ever were written, were written for our learning: that through
patience and the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now the God of
patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind one towards another, according
to Jesus Christ: that with one mind, and with one mouth, you may glorify God
and the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive one another, as
Christ also hath received you unto the honor of God. For I say that Christ
Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the
promises made unto the fathers. But that the gentiles are to glorify God for
His mercy, as it is written: Therefore, will I confess to Thee, O Lord, among
the gentiles, and will sing to Thy name. And again, He saith: Rejoice, ye
gentiles, with His people. And again: Praise the Lord, all ye gentiles; and
magnify Him, all ye peoples. And again, Isaias saith: There shall be a root of Jesse;
and He that shall rise up to rule the gentiles, in Him the gentiles shall hope.
Now the God of hope fill you all with joy and peace in believing that you may
abound in hope, and in the power of the Holy Ghost.
What are
we to learn by this epistle?
To be
grateful to God for having called us, by His grace, to the true faith, and for
having received us into the bosom of His holy Church. Again, we are taught that
by envy, discord, pride, and hatred we lose our salvation. Finally, St. Paul
refers us to the Scriptures for instruction.
Why do
the Holy Scriptures profit us?
1. They
teach, correct, and instruct us in justice, that we may serve God faithfully,
and be ever ready for good works.
2. They
sustain our patience in suffering, and our hope of eternal life, by many
promises, and by the example of Jesus Christ and His saints.
Why is
God called the God of patience, comfort, and hope?
1. Because
He looks with patience and long-suffering upon our sinful lives.
2. Because
He gives us grace to carry our cross with patience and joy, and removes our
despair by spiritual consolation.
3. Because
He gives us hope that after this life, we shall possess Him, the object of our
desire.
Aspiration.
O
God of patience, comfort, and hope fill our hearts with joy and peace, and
grant that we may become perfect in all good works by faith, hope, and charity,
and that we may attain the promised salvation.
GOSPEL.
Matt. xi. 2-10.
Why was
St. John cast into prison?
Because he
rebuked King Herod, who was living in adultery with the wife of his
stepbrother. This teaches us that we should not be deterred from our duty,
though great suffering and misfortune should thereby befall us. Is it not
nobler and more profitable to our salvation to be a martyr for truth, as St.
John was, rather than to gain favor with the world by timidly looking on, or by
deceitful flattery?
Why did
St. John send his disciples to Jesus?
St. John
sent his disciples to Christ so that they, too, might be convinced that He was
the Messiah.
Superiors
and parents should learn from this to see that their dependents and children
are well instructed in the faith.
Why did
Christ merely say to the disciples of St. John: Go and relate to John what you
have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk?
Because
they ought to have been convinced from the miracles He wrought, which were the
fulfilment of the prophecies, that He was the promised messiah.
What was
the object of the question, “What went you out to see?” which Our Savior asked?
1. To
praise the constancy of St. John, who was not to be deterred from exercising
his sacred functions either by the com mands of Herod or through fear of
imprisonment and death.
2. To
approve the austere life of St. John, that we should thereby be encouraged to
crucify the flesh and to do penance.
Why did
Our Savior say that St. John was more than a prophet?
Because he
was destined to see the messiah, to preach to men, and declare Him to be the Savior
of the world. And as he was a messenger of God, to announce the coming of
Christ and prepare His way, he was called an angel (Malachi. iii. T).
Why did
Jesus add, “Blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in Me”?
On account
of those who would be scandalized, at
His humility, His poverty, His ignominious suffering and death upon the cross,
and who would, accordingly, despise and reject Him; although the more He
humbled Himself for them the more they ought rather to love and honor Him.
Why does
the Church set before us this gospel?
In order
that we, like the disciples of St. John, may, by His works, recognize Jesus as
our Lord and Savior, and that we may make ourselves worthy of the grace of
redemption by doing penance earnestly and firmly, thus preparing the way of the
Lord in our hearts.
Consolation
in Adversities and Afflictions
What can and should console us in adversity?
1. A firm
belief that everything is ordered by God’s wise providence, and that no evil
can befall us except by His permission, who never allows us to suffer more than
is for our good.
2. That if
we call upon Him in adversity God will help us, whenever it is expedient for
our salvation. Thus, to encourage us He says, “Call upon Me in the day of
trouble, I will deliver thee” (Ps. xlix. 15); and, “If God be for us, who is
against us?” (Rom. viii. 31); and “Can a woman forget her infant so as not to
have pity on the son of her womb? and if she should forget, yet will not I
forget thee: behold, I have graven thee in My hands” (Isaias xlix. 15, 16).
3. That it
is useless to resist Divine Providence, for all who have done so have been
filled with shame and ignominy, “Who hath resisted Him and hath had peace?”
(Job ix. 4.)
4. That our
sufferings when borne with patience and submission lose their sharpness and
bring us merit and reward. “For that which is at present momentary and light of
our tribulation, worketh for us, above measure exceedingly, an eternal weight
of glory” (n. Cor. iv.17).
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception has been
moved to tomorrow-the Iceman will make a spiritual celebration in the evening
and observe a spiritual octave after.
Mary who was conceived without sin on the Feast day of the
Immaculate Conception is our example of courage in the presence of God and His
angels. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a
son, and you shall name him Jesus. (Luke 1:30-31)
ON this and the following eight days the Church celebrates, with
particular solemnity, the immaculate conception of the ever-blessed Virgin
Mary, who, from all eternity, was chosen to be the daughter of the heavenly
Father, the spouse of the Holy Ghost, the Mother of the divine Redeemer, and,
by consequence, the queen of angels and of men. The consideration of these prerogatives
convinced the most enlightened fathers and teachers of the Catholic Church that
she was conceived immaculate, that is, without original sin. It is very
remarkable that among the shining hosts of saints who have, in every century,
adorned the Church no one wrote against this belief, while we find it confirmed
by the decisions of the holy fathers from the earliest times. Pope Pius IX.,
forced, as it were, by the faith and devotion of the faithful throughout the
world, finally, on December 8, 1854, sanctioned, as a dogma of faith falling
within the infallible rule of Catholic traditions, this admirable prerogative
of the Blessed Virgin. It is, therefore, now no longer, as formerly, a pious
belief, but an article of the faith, that Mary, like the purest morning light
which precedes the rising of the most brilliant sun, was, from the first
instant of her conception, free from original sin.
·
God gave Mary a pure soul incapable of sinning when she was
received. It prepared her to be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
This teaching does not appear in Scripture. It was decreed by Pope
Pious IX on December 8, 1854.
·
Our Holy Lady Immaculately Conceived is the patroness for the
United States - as decreed by Pope Pius IX in 1854.
·
Our Mother Mary is full of beauty because she is full of grace. -
Pope Francis via twitter on Dec 30, 2013.
·
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her
conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of
the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all
stain of original sin. - Catechism of the Catholic Church
Immaculate Conception Top Events and Things to Do
·
Go to Mass. It is a holy day of obligation for Roman
Catholic in the United States.
·
Study the Immaculate Conception in art. One famous painting,
The Virgin of the
Immaculate Conception was completed by Spanish artist Bartolome Esteban Murillo in the
17th century. It hangs in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
·
Watch the movie, Mary of Nazareth (2013)
·
The
dogma of the Immaculate Conception lends itself to fruitful meditation and
should be taught to children. The doctrine of original sin, the sin of Adam and
its effects on the human race, is a good beginning for study. For the best
explanation of the teachings of the Church on this, see the Catechism of the
Catholic Church, numbers 386-412. Also you might read Pope Piux IX's bull, Ubi
Primum (On The Immaculate Conception) proclaiming the Immaculate
Conception as a dogma of Faith. Other reading from the Catholic Culture
Library:
o
Fulgens
Corona (Proclaiming A Marian Year To Commemorate The Centenary Of The
Definition Of The Dogma Of The Immaculate Conception) by Pope Pius XII;
·
Mary
as the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the United States. Visit or
take a virtual tour of the Basilica
of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, America's
patronal church.
·
This
day would also be appropriate for parents to plan their approach on family sex
education, as it is the privilege and duty of parents to teach their own
children in this area.
·
Make
a Mary candle for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. See Celebrating
for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception for details and other ideas.
·
Prepare
an all white meal for dinner and then discuss with your children the dogma of
the Immaculate Conception with the visual aids of dinner showing the purity and
the stainlessness of Mary's soul. Read Teaching
the Immaculate Conception and Advent
and the Immaculate Conception for discussion ideas.
Ideas
for dinner:
Appetizers:
Rice crackers and white cheeses;
Soups: cream soups, such as clam chowder, pototo soup, cream of celery;
Main Course: chicken breasts, pasta with alfredo sauce;
Side Dishes: mashed potatoes, white rice, cauliflower with (or without) white cheese sauce, white bread (with crusts removed), white corn;
Dessert: White cake with white icing, meringue kisses, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, white chocolate.
Soups: cream soups, such as clam chowder, pototo soup, cream of celery;
Main Course: chicken breasts, pasta with alfredo sauce;
Side Dishes: mashed potatoes, white rice, cauliflower with (or without) white cheese sauce, white bread (with crusts removed), white corn;
Dessert: White cake with white icing, meringue kisses, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, white chocolate.
·
The
special treat for this feast is Moravian
Spritz,
or gingerbread cookies, loaded with fine, aromatic spices. These are mixed on
the vigil, December 7. Or make your favorite gingerbread cookie. Perhaps for
this solemnity the family could make a gingerbread house or Gingerbread
Bowls.
·
Today,
plant an Immaculate
Conception Rose Bush.
During this winter season, it is also a good time to plan a Mary
Garden.
Flower
Theology
by John Stokes, the website Mary's
Gardens
and the book Mary's Flowers, Gardens, Legends and Meditations by Mary's Gardens
Associate, Vincenzina Krymow, are good beginnings for planning your garden.
·
No
room for a garden? No time to nurture nature? Read Flowers
for the Fairest by
Daniel Foley to read about flowers appropriate for Our Lady, and purchase a
small bouquet or a few flowers...real or silk to display for feasts of Mary.
Mary as the new Eve is an essential part of God’s redemptive plan
bringing light to a dark world.
The season of Advent is about preparing to celebrate the birth of
our redeemer. God in his love has chosen us, predestined us to be his children
and then in the fullness of time, redeemed us.
These are our darkest afternoons. But, surprise! For most of
us, December 8, will bring the turnaround. It’s a major winter milestone:
the day of our earliest sunset. This puzzles people, but in fact it’s
a reliable yearly sequence. First comes earliest sunset, this week. Then
there’s the solstice half a month later, the day with the fewest minutes of
daylight. Finally, another two weeks later, in early January, we get our
murkiest morning—the latest sunrise. So we’re now slam bang at the
low point of afternoon sunshine. And since far more people are awake and aware
of things at 4:30 PM than they are at 6 in the morning, in a very
real sense you can forget about the solstice and the “official” shortest day of
the year. So far as what most folks actually experience, NOW is the
darkest time of the year.
Why Is the Octave of the Immaculate Conception
No Longer Observed?[8]
On this octave day of the
Immaculate Conception, it occurred to me that it was in 1956, six years before
the Missal of 1962 was promulgated by Pope John XXIII, that the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception lost its octave and became a feast celebrated in the
course of one day.
A similar simplification occurred
in 1955, when Pope Pius XII accepted the suggestions of Fr. Annibale Bugnini
concerning the reform of Holy Week. Seven years later, Pope John XXIII himself
would accept the suggestions of the same Fr. Bugnini to simplify Catholic pious
devotions and remove the octaves from the Church calendar.
Why did John XXIII agree to
Bugnini’s proposition to reform this feast of the Immaculate Conception?
Several answers can be given to
this question. Here I want to stress just one point that I present as a
hypothesis. The answer seems related to the fact that John XXIII also failed to
consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart even though he knew he should do so.
That was in 1960 after the Pope read the Third Secret and decided that “it was
not for our time,” even though Our Lady had explicitly asked the Pope to make
it known at that time. There is more that could be said but others have
addressed the issue of Fatima in great detail, so I will not repeat what they
have already written.
I think that when we disobey the
will of God, we receive a curse from God rather than a blessing. St. Thomas
Aquinas taught that when a person receives such a curse, God allows increased
demonic activity and influence in his life, or if it happens to be a Pope in
question, that demonic power would extend to the Church and the world.
At La Salette, Our Lady told
Melanie that in the 1840s Satan and some of the other most powerful devils were
released from Hell to punish mankind for sins committed.
Bugnini, proposed the octave be
eliminated; John XXIII agreed: This fact was confirmed in a revelation received
by Pope Leo XIII more than a half century later. After Mass one day, he had a
vision of the confrontation between Jesus and Satan. The latter boasted that he
could destroy Christ's Church if he were only given more time, which was
granted to him. Shortly after this vision, the Holy Pontiff composed the St.
Michael prayer [click here] as well as wrote several encyclicals on the Rosary.
He also ordered that the St. Michael prayer, in addition to three Hail Marys,
the Hail Holy Queen, and a prayer for the Church should be prayed at the end of
every Mass for the conversion of sinners. These prayers were made optional in
1962, and abolished in 1965.
Where disobedience increases,
degeneration increases, and as Fr. Patrick Perez pointed out in a recent talk
in Indianapolis for the Catholic Family News Conference, this corrosion of the
liturgy did not begin in 1969 with the New Mass. It did not begin even with the
1962 Missal. It began much earlier.
Why did it happen?
In 1929, Our Lady appeared to
Sister Lucy in Tuy, Spain, requesting the Consecration of Russia to her
Immaculate Heart. She wanted the Consecration made not only to bring about
millions of conversions to the Catholic Faith, but also so that those who adhered
in substance to the Catholic Faith would be more faithful and zealous.
By failing to honor the Immaculate
Heart of Mary and fulfill the requests that would establish devotion to her
Heart throughout the world, as Our Lord desires, the last Popes in succession
became guilty of greater and greater disobedience to the Divine Will.
Our Lady of Fatima
The Popes disregarded Our Lady's
command to consecrate Russia
Just as a disease that is not cured
spreads, so it happens with a malady in the Church. The internal crisis in the
Church becomes worse and worse so long as the right remedy is not applied to
it.
As the power and influence of Satan
and his minions increase, the temptations to sin become greater and it becomes
more difficult to resist, although it is never impossible. We must always keep
before us the horror of all sin, especially mortal sin, in order to keep up our
resistance to the evil of our times. Wherever we go, we should consign Jesus
and Mary to go with us. They witness our every action.
Now, if we further reflect that the
season of Advent commemorates that time when Our Lady was preparing to give
birth to the Redeemer, then we realize we should ask her protection in the name
of the great love she had for her Son.
By honoring today, the octave of
Our Lady's Immaculate Conception, we prove to her and to Almighty God that we
will not accept any rebellion against the will of God, not even the trial
balloon of the 1962 Missal. For already at that point in the game,
Progressivism was preparing its great assault on the Church, which was Vatican
II.
It is this kind of firm resistance
to errors and concessions toward Progressivism that will help us to also resist
temptation to mortal sin in our personal life, obtaining for us the graces
necessary to remain firmly planted in the footsteps of Our Lady and Our Lord,
far from Satan’s wicked instruments. The decree Maxima Redemptionis, which
introduced the new rite in 1955, changed the times of the ceremonies of Maundy
Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday to evenings.
It also suppressed the Last Gospel for the Masses of Holy Week, the
psalm Judica me for the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, initiated the
practice of the priest facing the people in certain places, diminished the role
of the priest in the readings, changed the Prayer for the Conversion of
Heretics to the Prayer for Church Unity, introduced the vernacular in places,
and many other such innovations.
For hundreds of years, lighting a candle
has been a way to show respect for those that have died. This beautiful gesture
shows that although someone may be gone from this world, their memory will
endure, and the light of their flame will continue to inspire and guide
others. Worldwide Candle Lighting Day is a celebration of solidarity and
memory. It’s a day on which people around the world gather to light candles for
children who have died and to show that they will always be loved and never
forgotten. The candles are lit at the same time in every time zone, meaning
that a consistent warm glow passes around the planet for a full 24-hour day.
The History of Worldwide Candle Lighting Day
Worldwide Candle Lighting Day was a gift
to the bereavement community from The Compassionate Friend. The Compassionate
Friend’s Worldwide Candle Lighting Day started in the United States in 1997 as
a small internet observance in honor of children who lived tragically short
lives for any number of reasons, from sickness, to accidents, to war, but has
since spread throughout the world. Nowadays, hundreds of formal candle lighting
events are held in many different countries and thousands of informal candle
lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children
who have died, but will never be forgotten. many organizations join in to
observe this holiday, some f which are local bereavement groups, churches,
funeral homes, hospitals, hospices, children’s gardens, schools, cemeteries,
and community centers, and remembrance services have ranged in size from just a
few people to nearly a thousand over the years since the creation of this
special day. All of this just goes to show how necessary it was to set this day
aside for this purpose.
How to Celebrate World Candle Lighting Day
As mentioned before, this day is
celebrated with a quiet elegance: at 7 p.m. local time, people light candles
for one hour to remember their loved ones. It is a moving occasion that
bypasses geographical and cultural divides. As everyone lights their candles at
seven pm local time, far-flung parts of the world get illuminated in turn, so
that eventually the light has moved all around the globe. If you have
experienced the loss of a child in your lifetime, this is a good moment to honor
his or her memory by taking part in the candle lighting. You could also invite
some close family members to spend this time with you and light their own
candles for the late child.
This doesn’t only have to be a sad occasion,
however. Children’s lives are mostly filled with fun and laughter, so
reminiscing about all of the things the child you are honoring managed to enjoy
before he or she passed may should serve to lighten the atmosphere up a little
bit. Of course, nothing will ever make up for the loss of a child, but there is
some solace to be taken in the fact that the child’s life was a good one,
however short. No matter whether you’ll be lighting a candle at home or joining
a gathering Worldwide Candle Lighting Day it is a way to show love and community.
Daily
Devotions
·
Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving
your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after SUNSET ON SATURDAY till
Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
[2]John
Maxwell, The Leadership Bible.
[5]
http://www.wincalendar.com/Immaculate-Conception
[8]https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/e009rp_OctaveImCon_Stretenovic.htm
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