Dara’s Corner
· Jesse Tree ornament: Jesus is Lord: Ex. 3:2; 20:1 Symbols: burning bush, stone tablets.
· Bake Cookies Day
· Steven Spielberg’s birthday; 1946
· How to celebrate Dec 18th
o You wake up to a world filled with possibilities. Start your day by baking a batch of cookies, celebrating the art of homemade treats. As they bake, take some time to appreciate the beauty of the Arabic language. Explore its sounds and script, maybe even learn a new word or phrase. Embrace the uniqueness of every flake, outside and in—find joy in the intricate details. When the phone rings, answer with the spirit of Buddy the Elf—spread cheer and laughter through every conversation.
o For lunch, consider trying a new dish that celebrates cultural diversity, like a flavorful roast suckling pig. Take a moment to reflect on the journeys of migrants around the globe, their courage and resilience. Share stories or research ways to support migrants in need. End your day with a simple gesture of kindness, perhaps by offering a warm meal to someone in your community.
33 days to Christmas-Start the 33 days to Eucharistic Glory[11]
Want to start a small group? Download our 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory Study Guide
Day 21
On this 21st day express thanksgiving in all you are, seek to know the truth as revealed via the Eucharist and go forth doing the will of God.
Copilot:
Expressing thanksgiving in all aspects of life, seeking the truth through the Eucharist, and striving to do God’s will can be a profound and transformative journey. Here’s how one might approach this path:
Expressing Thanksgiving
1. Gratitude in Prayer: Start and end each day with prayers of thanksgiving, acknowledging God's blessings and presence in your life.
2. Mindfulness: Practice mindfulness to recognize and appreciate the small and large blessings throughout the day.
3. Acts of Service: Express gratitude by serving others, offering your time and resources to those in need.
4. Thankful Attitude: Cultivate a habit of saying thank you, both to God and to others, in all situations.
5. Gratitude Journal: Keep a journal to record daily blessings and moments of gratitude.
6. Worship and Praise: Participate actively in worship and praise, thanking God through communal and personal worship.
Seeking Truth through the Eucharist
1. Regular Participation: Attend Mass regularly to receive the Eucharist, reflecting deeply on its significance.
2. Meditation and Reflection: Spend time in quiet meditation after receiving the Eucharist, contemplating the mystery of Christ’s presence.
3. Study Scripture: Engage in regular Bible study to understand the teachings and truths revealed in the Scriptures.
4. Spiritual Reading: Read writings of the saints and theological reflections to deepen your understanding of the Eucharist.
5. Eucharistic Adoration: Spend time in Eucharistic Adoration, silently praying before the Blessed Sacrament.
6. Community Fellowship: Discuss and share insights with fellow believers to grow in communal understanding of the faith.
Doing the Will of God
1. Discernment in Prayer: Regularly pray for guidance and discernment, seeking to understand God’s will in your life.
2. Active Listening: Pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the Church.
3. Obedience to Commandments: Strive to live according to God’s commandments and the teachings of Jesus.
4. Service to Others: Live out God’s will by loving and serving others, especially those in need.
5. Moral Integrity: Uphold moral integrity and ethical standards in all aspects of life.
6. Ongoing Conversion: Embrace an ongoing process of conversion, continually seeking to align your life more closely with God’s will.
By integrating these practices into daily life, one can express thanksgiving in all they do, seek the truth revealed through the Eucharist, and actively live out the will of God.
DECEMBER 18 Ember Wednesday
Matthew, Chapter 1,
verse 19-20
19 Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to
expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. 20 Such
was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be AFRAID to take Mary
your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has
been conceived in her.
Even righteous people become afraid at times but Mark Shea a catholic
writer points out that Joseph being a devote Jew may have had Holy fear as the
basis of his being afraid.
” Modernity assumes it was because he thought her guilty of adultery, but the typical view in antiquity understood the text to mean he was afraid of her sanctity — as a pious Jew would be afraid to touch the Ark of the Covenant. After all, think of what Mary told him about the angel's words: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."[1]
We should follow the example of Joseph and be not afraid to take Mary into our home!
I know one small way I have taken Mary in my home is to silently say a Hail Mary when I wash my hands to eat-thinking Mary help me not to wash your son’s blood from my hands as Pilot did. Help me to have no innocent blood on my hands. Let me not wash off responsibility for others.
Ember Wednesday[2] 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).
Associations and Symbols of the Advent Ember Days[3]
·
Winter is characterized by "wet and
cold," and is associated with the golden years of old age; remember them
this season. Get your children to think of what changes atmospherically and
astronomically during this season. Why is it so cold? How does the cold affect
the earth's air and waters?
·
Remember that lore says that the weather conditions
of each of the three days of an Embertide foretell the weather of the next
three months, so the weather seen on Wednesday of Advent Embertide predicts the
weather of the coming January, Friday's weather foretells the weather of
February, and Saturday's weather foretells the weather of March. Make a note of
the weather on those three days and see if the old tales are true! What stars
can be seen during the Winter months? Do your children know the traditional
names for this season's full Moons?
·
Ask your children to consider how the seasonal
changes of Winter affect the plants and animals. How have the trees changed?
What are the animals doing now? Which are hibernating? Which are gone, having
migrated? What do the animals that aren't hibernating or gone eat now? Have any
stored-up food to eat during the cold months? Which have fur that has grown
thicker to protect them? Do any have fur that has changed color to match the
snow?
·
Ask them to consider how the seasonal changes
affect (or traditionally affected) the activities of man. What can we do now
that we couldn't do at other times of the year? What can't we do? How do modern
conveniences affect the answers to those questions?
·
Ask them how they would ensure they had shelter,
food, and water if they were put into the middle of the woods right now, with
the season as it is. What plants and animals would be available to eat? How
would they keep themselves dry and warm and protected from the winds? In the
Middle Ages, the months are almost always uniformly depicted by showing the
"Labors of Man" throughout the seasons. In stained glass windows, in
illuminated manuscripts, one sees over and over the same human activities used
to portray the months.
·
In addition to these things, now is the time to
make snow angels, build snowmen and snowforts and ice sculptures, sled, ski,
skate, ice fish, sit around hearths and tell tales, make crafts indoors, watch
for and feed the Winter birds, and, most of all, praise God for His artistry
and providence... Get to it! -- and know that just when you tire of this
season, Spring will be here!
December
Ember days[4]
Advent
Embertide marked four different themes:
·
Thanksgiving for the Harvest:
Traditionally the Advent Ember Days marked thanksgiving for the olive harvest.
Olive oil is used for the Holy Oils in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation
and Anointing of the Sick, and also for special consecrations and blessings,
such as for a new church or altar stone. The thanksgiving emphasis was
expressed on Ember Wednesday, with offering of first fruits and distribution of
blessed food baskets for the needy.
·
Days of Spiritual Renewal:
Holy Mother Church provides us so many opportunities to redirect, refresh and
renew. Our human frailty needs reminders to resolve to start anew. These three
days are opportunities to add extra prayer and penance for ourselves and
others.
·
Praying for Priests:
For centuries this Ember Saturday was the only day in the Church's year
for conferring the sacrament of Holy Orders. The Church no longer regularly
ordains priests during the times of the Quarterly Ember Days, but this is a
special time, particularly Ember Saturday, to pray for priests, particularly
the ones who are about to be ordained within the year.
·
Reflecting the Spirit of the
Season: Each set of Ember Days reflect the
season of the Liturgical Year in which they occur. The Advent Ember Days fall
near the end of Advent, and the traditional liturgy summarizes the weeks of
longing for the Messiah. The Masses include the Messianic prophecies regarding
Christ’s Birth and Epiphany in order to prepare for Christmas. The 1962 liturgy
had Ember Wednesday’s Gospel focused on the Incarnation, Ember Friday presented
St. Elizabeth and the Visitation of Mary, and Ember Saturday featured St. John the
Baptist.
Of particular note is the ancient liturgy of Missa Aurea or “Golden Mass” on Ember Wednesday. On this day the Church celebrated the “golden mystery” of our Faith, the moment the Word became flesh, the Incarnation of Christ in Mary’s womb. In the current Roman Missal, the Golden Mass is not lost but celebrated in the liturgy on December 20, the O Antiphon day “O Key of David.”
Golden Mass
Today's Mass was historically called the "golden Mass" and celebrated with special solemnity, because it focuses on the role of Mary in the Incarnation. The first reading is the famous prophecy from Isaiah about the virgin who will conceive and bear a son. The Gospel is the Annunciation account. Mary is a special Advent figure. The expectant mother is a sign to us of what our Advent waiting is all about: the coming of Christ, our Savior. Today's first reading from Isaiah is Ahaz, the king, had entered into political alliances in an attempt to save Israel from her enemies. But the prophet Isaiah was telling him not to trust in politics, but in God. Only God could deliver Israel. In refusing to ask for a sign, Ahaz was not being humble, but tricky. He was keeping his options open, so to speak, by refusing to trust the Lord. Mary, instead, was completely committed to doing God's will. By her "yes" to the angel Gabriel, Mary totally surrendered to what God was asking of her. She didn't know exactly what would happen. It was very risky--in those days a woman in an irregular pregnancy could suffer severe penalties. What would Joseph think? Mary turned all those worries over to God. And God made it all work out. Whatever problems we face, God will help us also to work them out, if we turn to him in trust.
The Mystery of Man's Reconciliation with God[5]
Lowliness is assured by majesty,
weakness by power, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our sinful state,
a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer.
Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator
between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, was able to die in one nature, and
unable to die in the other.
He who is true God was therefore born
in the complete and perfect nature of a true man, whole in his own nature,
whole in ours. By our nature we mean what the Creator had fashioned in us from
the beginning and took to himself in order to restore it.
For in the Savior there was no trace
of what the deceiver introduced and man, being misled, allowed to enter. It
does not follow that because he submitted to sharing in our human weakness he
therefore shared in our sins.
He took the nature of a servant
without stain of sin, enlarging our humanity without diminishing his divinity.
He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself invisible, though Creator
and Lord of all things he chose to be one of us mortal men. Yet this was the
condescension of compassion, not the loss of omnipotence. So he who in the
nature of God had created man, became in the nature of a servant, man himself.
Thus, the Son of God enters this
lowly world. He comes down from the throne of heaven yet does not separate
himself from the Father's glory. He is born in a new condition, by a new birth.
He was born in a new condition, for,
invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he
chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist
at a moment in time. Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took
the nature of a servant. Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be
a man, capable of suffering. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of
death.
He who is true God is also true man.
There is no falsehood in this unity as long as the lowliness of man and the
preeminence of God coexist in mutual relationship.
As God does not change by his
condescension, so man is not swallowed up by being exalted. Each nature
exercises its own activity, in communion with the other. The Word does what is
proper to the Word, the flesh fulfills what is proper to the flesh.
One nature is resplendent with
miracles, the other falls victim to injuries. As the Word does not lose
equality with the Father's glory, so the flesh does not leave behind the nature
of our race.
One and the same person - this must
be said over and over again - is truly the Son of God and truly the son of man.
He is God in virtue of the fact that in the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is man in virtue of the fact that
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
RESPONSORY
Receive, O Virgin Mary, the word
which the Lord has made known to you
by the message of the angel:
You will conceive and give birth to a
son,
both God and man,
--and you will be called blessed
among women (alleluia).
A virgin, you will indeed bear a son;
ever chaste and holy, you will be
the mother of our Savior.
--And you will...
PRAYER
God our Father,
your Word became man and was born of
the Virgin Mary.
May we become more like Jesus Christ,
whom we acknowledge as our redeemer,
God and man.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
God’s Handiwork[6]
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.
Generosity[7] the mode of Our Lady’s soul
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
·
to your enemy, forgiveness.
·
To an opponent, tolerance.
·
To a friend, your heart.
·
To a customer, service.
·
To all, charity.
·
To every child, a good example.
·
To yourself, respect.”
— Oren Arnold
This feast, which in recent
times has been kept not only throughout the whole of Spain, but also in many
other parts of the Catholic world, owes its origin to the bishops of the 10th
Council of Toledo, in 656. These prelates thought that there was an incongruity
in the ancient practice of celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation on the
25th of March, inasmuch as this joyful solemnity frequently occurs at the time
when the Church is intent upon the Passion of Our Lord, so that it is sometimes
obliged to be transferred into Easter time, with which it is out of harmony for
another reason. They therefore decreed that, henceforth, in the Church of Spain
there should be kept, eight days before Christmas, a solemn Feast with an
octave, in honor of the Annunciation, and as a preparation for the great
solemnity of Our Lord's Nativity.
In the course of time, however,
the Church of Spain saw the necessity of returning to the practice of the
Church of Rome and of the whole world, which solemnize the 25th of March as the
day of Our Lady's Annunciation and the Incarnation of the Son of God. But such
had been, for ages, the devotion of the people for the Feast of the 18th of
December, that it was considered requisite to maintain some vestige of it. They
discontinued, therefore, to celebrate the Annunciation on this day; but the
faithful were requested to consider, with devotion, what must have been the
sentiments of the Holy Mother of God during the days immediately preceding Her
giving Him birth. A new Feast was instituted, under the name of "the
Expectation of the Blessed Virgin's Delivery."
This Feast, which sometimes goes under the name of Our Lady of O, or the Feast of O, on account of the great antiphons which are sung during these days, and, in a special manner, of that which begins O Virgo virginum (which is still used in the Vespers of the Expectation—together with the O Adonai, the antiphon of the Advent Office), was kept with great devotion in Spain. A High Mass was sung at a very early hour each morning during the octave, at which all who were with child, whether rich or poor, considered it a duty to assist, that they might thus honor Our Lady's Maternity, and beg Her blessing upon themselves.
It is no wonder that the Holy
See approved of this pious practice being introduced into almost every other
country. We find that the Church of Milan, Whose Advent fast lasted 40 days,
long before Rome conceded this Feast to the various dioceses of Christendom,
celebrated the Office of Our Lady's Annunciation on the sixth and last Sunday
of Advent, and called the whole week following the Hebdomada de Exceptato
(for thus the popular expression had corrupted the word Expectato). But
it, too, has given way to the Feast of Our Lady's Expectation, which the Church
has established and sanctioned as a means of exciting the attention of the
faithful during these last days of Advent.
Most just indeed it is, O Holy
Mother of God, that we should unite in that ardent desire Thou hadst to see
Him, Who had been concealed for nine months in Thy chaste womb; to know the
features of this Son of the Heavenly Father, Who is also Thine; to come to that
blissful hour of His birth, which will give glory to God in the highest, and on
earth, peace to men of good will. Yes, dearest Mother, the time is fast
approaching, though not fast enough to satisfy Thy desires and ours. Make us
redouble our attention to the great mystery; complete our preparation by Thy
powerful prayers for us, that when the solemn hour has come, our Jesus may find
no obstacle to His entrance into our hearts.
O Virgin of virgins! How
shall this be? For never was there one like Thee, nor will there ever be. Ye
daughters of Jerusalem, why look ye wondering at Me? What you behold is a
divine mystery.
Spiritual Crib[9]
A special devotion that can be performed during Advent to prepare for the coming of the Infant Savior. It can be adapted for adults and/or children and applied as is appropriate to your state in life.
· 8th day, December 18th THE MULE—Patience To practice this virtue, we must complain of no one or nothing. No shade of impatience should be seen on our countenance, nor an impatient word heard. Be brave. The Infant Jesus suffered much more for you.
Today’s Antiphon
Come and redeem us with
outstretched arm.
O
Lord and Ruler of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of
the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come and redeem us with
outstretched arm.
· As Moses approached the burning bush, so we approach the divine Savior in the form of a child in the crib, or in the form of the consecrated host, and falling down we adore Him. "Put off the shoes from thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground . . . I am who am." "Come with an outstretched arm to redeem us." This is the cry of the Church for the second coming of Christ on the last day. The return of the Savior brings us plentiful redemption.[10]
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day
189
1378 Worship
of the Eucharist. In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real
presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways,
genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The
Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the
Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it,
reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the
solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession."
1379 The
tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy
place so that it could be brought to the sick and those absent outside of Mass.
As faith in the real presence of Christ in his Eucharist deepened, the Church
became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under
the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be
located in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed
in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence
of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
1380 It is highly fitting that Christ should have wanted to remain present to his Church in this unique way. Since Christ was about to take his departure from his own in his visible form, he wanted to give us his sacramental presence; since he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us, he wanted us to have the memorial of the love with which he loved us "to the end," even to the giving of his life. In his Eucharistic presence he remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us, and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love:
The Church and the world have a
great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love.
Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation
full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of
the world. Let our adoration never cease.
1381
"That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is
something that 'cannot be apprehended by the senses,' says St. Thomas, 'but
only by faith, which relies on divine authority.' For this reason, in a
commentary on Luke 22:19 ('This is my body which is given for you.'), St. Cyril
says: 'Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the
Savior in faith, for since he is the truth, he cannot lie.'"
Godhead here
in hiding, whom I do adore
Masked by
these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord,
at thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all
lost in wonder at the God thou art.
Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived;
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth himself speaks truly or there's nothing true.
VI. The Paschal Banquet
1382 The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the
sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the
sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood. But the celebration
of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of
the faithful with Christ through communion. To receive communion is to receive
Christ himself who has offered himself for us.
1383 The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the
celebration of the Eucharist, represents the two aspects of the same mystery:
the altar of the sacrifice and the table of the Lord. This is all the more so
since the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst
of the assembly of his faithful, both as the victim offered for our
reconciliation and as food from heaven who is giving himself to us. "For
what is the altar of Christ if not the image of the Body of Christ?" asks
St. Ambrose. He says elsewhere, "The altar represents the body [of Christ]
and the Body of Christ is on the altar." The liturgy expresses this
unity of sacrifice and communion in many prayers. Thus the Roman Church prays
in its anaphora:
We entreat you, almighty God,
that by the hands of your holy Angel
this offering may be borne to your altar in heaven
in the sight of your divine majesty,
so that as we receive in communion at this altar
the most holy Body and Blood of your Son,
we may be filled with every heavenly blessing and grace.
"Take
this and eat it, all of you": communion.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Absent
Fathers (Physically & Spiritually)
·
Religion
in the home: Preschool for December
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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