November 29, 1998First Sunday of Advent |
HAPPY NEW YEAR! While we certainly will be repeating this greeting in a little less than a month, we have the opportunity to say, "Happy New Year" now, as we are entering another Church year with the First Sunday of Advent.
The season of Advent is a joyful one, and can afford us an opportunity for reflection and prayer, even amidst fast paced and heavy demands of Christmas preparation.
The Four Sundays of Advent are marked by the Four Advent Candles, three of which are violet and one of which is a rose color. The three purple candles remind us that this is a penitential season (although different in character than Lent) during which we heed the call of St. John the Baptist to reform our lives. The rose colored candle on the third Sunday tells us that it is Gaudete Sunday, which in Latin means to "Rejoice" because the Lord is near.
The history of Advent goes back to the eighth or ninth century, being celebrated first in the Church in France and Germany and then in Rome. The word "Advent" comes from the Latin words advenio or adventus which means "arrival" or "coming". It is in this Season that we first reflect on the Lord's second coming at the end of time, the call of John the Baptist to repent, and then His first coming at his birth. The latter part of the season is immediate preparation for Christmas.
There can also be a hint of blue in the Advent decorations, as the Blessed Mother also has a prominent place in this season, especially in the days, when the celebration of the Incarnation of Christ is near.
A family Advent wreath, and Advent prayers, and a celebration of the Sacrament of Penance would be several good ways to take advantage of the grace of this beautiful season. Pick up the literature that is available at either vestibule for prayers and ideas.
The new Church year also leads us into a year long proclamation of the Gospel of St. Mark and St. John.
1) Isaiah 2, 1-5
2) Romans 13, 11-14
3) Matthew 24, 37-44
As we begin the season of preparation for the feast of Christmas, the church focuses not only on the birth of the Lord, but also his second coming at the end of time. We are a people of prophecy-a people with a vision. For Isaiah the future is a time when "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest mountain (1)." We know that "our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith (2)." Our readiness to encounter the completion of this world and the beginning of a new creation depends a great deal on how faithful we have been to our mission as Christians. If we have been good stewards-have used our time, talents and treasures to advance the kingdom, then the fulfillment of the kingdom is nothing for us to fear. "Be sure of this: if the owner of the house knew when the thief was coming he would keep a watchful eye and not allow his house to be broken into. You must be prepared in the same way (3)." If you were required to give an accounting of your life today, how would you report on your stewardship?
Next Sunday, the reading's will be: 1)Isaiah 11, 1-10; 2)Romans 15, 4-9; 3)Matthew 3, 1-12.
Human beings cannot live without hope. Unlike the animals, we are blessed-or cursed with the ability to think about the future and to fear our actions to shaping it. So essential is this to human life that human beings cannot live without hope, without something to live for, without something to look forward to. To be without hope, to have nothing to live for, is to surrender to death in despair. But we can find all sorts of things to live for and we can hope for almost anything: for some measure of success or security or for the realization of some more or less modest ambition; for our children, that they might be saved from our mistakes and sufferings and find a better life than we have known; for a better world, throwing ourselves into politics or medicine or technology so that future generations might be better off. Not all these forms of hope are selfish; indeed, they have given dignity and purpose to the lives of countless generations.
But one of the reasons why we read the Old Testament during Advent is to learn what to hope for. The people of the Old Testament had the courage to hope for big things: that the desert would be turned into fertile land; that their scattered and divided people would eventually be gathered again, that the blind would see, the deaf hear, the lame walk; that not only their own people, but all the peoples of the earth, would be united in the blessings of everlasting peace. Clearly, their hopes were no different from ours or from any human beings: lasting peace, tranquil lives, sufficiency of food, an end to suffering, pain and misery.
Thus we hope for the same things as the Old Testament people, for their hopes are not yet realized. But we differ from them in two ways. First, the coming of Jesus in history, as a partial fulfillment of God's promises, immeasurably confirms and strengthens our hope. Secondly, we differ from the Old Testament people because Jesus has revealed to us that God is not afar off, but is already in our midst. Hence the importance in the Advent liturgy of John the Baptist and of Mary: because they recognized the new situation, they serve as models for the Church in discerning the presence of our Savior in the world.
(Taken from "The Spirit of Advent," Mark Searle, in Assembly, Volume 7:1, 0 Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy, Notre Dame, IN 46556)
--Dr. Harry Kocurek, Pastoral Associate
Today, November 29, is the First Sunday of Advent which marks the beginning of the new liturgical year, the year of the Gospel of Matthew (Cycle C). The season of Advent (from Latin "to come") is the first season of the new liturgical year and is a way of spiritual preparation anticipating the birth of Christ and anticipating Jesus' second coming into salvation history.
To make the most of Advent, set aside some time to pray about the deeper meaning of Advent and to reflect on why we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Lord, Emmanuel, God-with-us.
The Advent wreath is not just a decoration, but a symbol of our resolve to slow down and wait for Christ. The Advent wreath has been used since the 15th century. The wreath as a circle is a symbol of eternity and of God who has no beginning and no end. The evergreens are a symbol of eternal life. Green is the traditional church color for hope -- the hope that came into this world with the coming of Christ. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent and are symbols of "Christ the Light" who came into the world. Three candles are purple which symbolize this as a season of waiting, preparation and expectation. The remaining candle is pink, and is lighted on the Third Sunday of Advent. Prayers used when lighting the candles each week of Advent can include:
1st week: The first purple (sign of royalty) candle is lighted to signify Jesus' coming which brought light to the darkness and hopelessness surrounding God's people.
(Presider:) Lord, we know what it is like to want something and to wait for it. We have all wanted many things and then when we have them, we are happy for a little while, and then our happiness fades for they are just things. Help us, this Christmas, to want to be like Jesus, Your Son, so that instead of wanting and waiting for a lot of new things, we will each be looking for ways to grow more loving, more kind, and more just.
(All:) Amen.
2nd week: A second purple candle is lighted as a symbol of hope that Joseph and Mary had for the child who was to be born.
(Presider:) Lord, we believe that you came into our world and that this very day you want to come into our hearts. We also believe that once we let You into our hearts, You are again present in our world today through us. Help us to remember to bring You wherever we go.
(All:) Amen.
3rd week: Light the rose colored candle as a symbol of joy in Jesus' coming birth.
(Presider:) Lord, we know that this is a season of hope. Help us to be the type of person who radiates joy because we believe in your faithful presence. Give us hope and confidence in ourselves to go out and make your ministry our own ministry.
(All:) Amen.4th week: The last purple candle is lighted with the other three to complete the circle that tells us the Father's love is so great that "He gave us his only Son."
(Presider:) Lord, this year help us to do more than just sing all the familiar Christmas carols: help us to live them. You sent Jesus to be a bond of peace between us. May that peace on earth begin with us and may joy in the world shine through each of us in this family.
(All:) Amen.
Advent marks new beginnings for us as a liturgical people. This advent is a special new beginning for us as we begin the use of the newly-approved Lectionary for Sundays and Solemnities. Our American bishops have been working since 1981 on this project, and the Vatican in Rome has given its blessings to it. We are excited about the new Lectionary.
What are the changes? Really, they are minimal to listeners, but significant to those who proclaim our readings every Sunday. The layout of the pages is the most important difference, making good reading a far easier task. There are a few other changes, most of which have to do with horizontal inclusive language (saying men and women when that is what is meant).
Will you have trouble following the readings as they already are in Worship? Almost without a doubt the answer is a strong NO. And we will keep posting the numbers for those of you who need or want to follow along in the books as our lectors proclaim the Word.
God's Word became flesh for our sake, and Christmas is the first of the great feasts that celebrates this mystery of our redemption. In honor of God's word we want to proclaim the Word in our liturgy as well as possible. Our new Lectionary is going to help us do just that.
-Fr. David
Advent . . . here already. Our struggle to be counter-cultural, to hold on to some quiet, to prepare inner room for the Prince of Peace is real. It is also a bit different from Advent observations in early Christian centuries. They had Advent without malls. Well, good for them. They also had letters from their bishop read in church. Bishops encouraged believers to take Advent seriously, to refrain from going to their seaside villas, to wear sandals when at home, and of course to refrain from marital privileges just as they did during Lent. So much for nostalgia! Back to 1998, preparing Advent and Christmas involves a lot of people. Lectors need to collect their new workbooks from Fellowship Hall, all liturgical ministers need their new ministry schedules (next week starts new schedule!) in the check-in room, and the Christmas Eve and Day sign-up notebook is on the podium in the check-in room. Let's attend to the practical side of Advent too.
In the darkness of the evening of November 28th we begin a new Church year with the beginning of a great festival of darkness and light. In nature, this coincides with the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Like all great celebrations, this time period includes a preparation time and celebration time; the weeks of preparation we call Advent and the weeks of celebration, Christmastime. Culturally, society begins celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier each year. This year, Halloween was not even here before Christmas gimmicks began appearing in the stores. Weeks before Thanksgiving, houses already have Christmas lights. As Christians, however, we must remember that Christmas is our celebration and we have the power to buy into the commercialism and gimmicks that society waves before us, or allow it to be a time of grace and growth as we await the birth of the Messiah in our lives.
Make it your goal this year to keep the Advent and Christmas cycle in church and in the home. Below is a calendar of parish celebrations throughout the season to aid you in taking the time to prayerfully reflect on the true meaning of Christmas in your lives. In the back of church we will provide materials that can be used in the home to celebrate this special time.
Advent is dedicated to the last things, to death, judgment, heaven and hell, but above all to Jesus' glorious coming to complete his Easter work. The church goes so far as to set aside an entire liturgical season to the end of the world and the final coming of the Lord, so important a part of the faith does she consider these truths.
--Charles K. Riepe
Advent is both a beginning and an end, an alpha and an omega of the church's year of grace. Too often considered merely a season of preparation for the annual commemoration of Christ's birth, this rich and many-layered season is actually designed to prepare the Christian for the glorious possibilities of the parousia. It is a season of longing expectation -- "Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev 22:20).
--William G. Storey
Advent is a time for rousing. We are shaken to the very depths, so that we may wake up to the truth of ourselves. The primary condition for a fruitful and rewarding Advent is renunciation, surrender. We must let go of all our mistaken dreams, our conceited poses and arrogant gestures, all the pretenses with which we hope to deceive ourselves and others. If we fail to do this, stark reality may take hold of us and rouse us forcibly in a way that will entail both anxiety and suffering.
--Alfred Delp
Beloved, now is the acceptable time spoken of by the Spirit, the day of salvation, peace and reconciliation; the great season of Advent. This is the time eagerly awaited by the patriarchs and prophets, the time that holy Simeon rejoiced to see. This is the season that the church has always celebrated with special solemnity. We too should always observe it with faith and love, offering praise and thanksgiving to the Father for the mercy and love he has shown us in this mystery.
--St. Charles Borromeo
Reflections on Jesus, The Holy Spirit, and the Father, by Pope John Paul II.
Sharers In Christ's Mission... The lay faithful are sharers in the priestly mission for which Jesus offered Himself on the Cross and continues to be offered in the celebration of the Eucharist for the glory of God and the salvation of humanity. Incorporated in Jesus Christ, the baptized are united to Him and to His sacrafice in the offering they make of themselves and their daily activities (see Romans 12:1-2).
Through their participation in the prophetic mission of Christ, who proclaimed the kingdom of his Father by the testimony of his life and by the power of his word, the lay faithful are given the ability and responsibility to accept the Gospel in faith and to proclaim it in word and deed, without hesitating to courageously identify and denounce evil. United to Christ, the great prophet (Luke 7:16), and in the Spirit made witnesses of the risen Christ, the lay faithful are made sharers in the appreciation of the Church's supernatural faith, they cannot err in matters of belief, and sharers as well in the grace of the Word (see Acts 2:17-18; Revelation 19:10). They are also called to allow the newness and the power of the Gospel to shine out every day in their family and social life, as well as to express patiently and courageously in the contradictions of the present age their hope of future glory even through the framework of their secular life.
Because the lay faithful belong to Christ, Lord and King of the Universe, they share in His kingly mission and are called by Him to spread that Kingdom in history. They exercise their kingship as Christians, above all in the spiritual combat in which they seek to overcome in themselves the kingdom of sin (see Romans 6:12) and then to make a gift of themselves so as to serve, in justice and in charity, Jesus who is Himself present in all His brothers and sisters, above all in the very least (see Matthew 25:40).
But in particular the lay faithful are called to restore to creation to the authentic well-being of humanity in an activity governed by the life of grace, they share in the exercise of power which with the risen Christ draws all things to Himself and subjects them along with Himself to the Father, so that God might be everything to everyone (see Corinthians 15:28; John 12:32). [CL n. 14-15]
With this series of historical vignettes we review the history of the parish and archdiocese.
Besides these Church construction worries, one of Bishop DuBourg's first cares upon coming to St. Louis was to provide a school of higher education for the youth of the city. Under the leadership of Father Niel, one of the early pastors of the Cathedral, St. Louis Academy was founded. Classes were first held on November 16, 1818, in a stone house of one story, located on the northwest corner of Third and Market streets. However, these quarters were temporary. The college soon was moved to the site of the old Spanish church, just south of the old brick Cathedral on Second street, between Market and Walnut. In 1820, its name was changed to St. Louis College.
The college, as built by Father Niel, was a two-story building of brick capable of accommodating about 70 students. The college opened with the priests of the parish as professors, offering courses in modern languages, mathematics, classical languages, handwriting, and drawing. Unhappily the college was not a financial success, and at the end of the 1826-27 session, closed its doors. However, the spirit of Father Niel as embodied in his college was destined for a glorious reincarnation in the founding of St. Louis University, under the direction of the learned Jesuit Fathers. In 1827, the Jesuit Fathers took over St. Louis College. On November 2, 1829, in new buildings on the north side of Washington Avenue, between Ninth and Tenth Streets, St. Louis College was reopened, being honored in 1832 by the reception of its charter as a university from the Missouri Legislature. St. Louis University was subsequently removed to its present location on Grand and Lindell Avenues.
It is interesting to note that the abandoned college building was in time remodeled into a chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was used for the Catholic Negroes of St. Louis. It also functioned as the first German Church in St. Louis, inasmuch as it provided opportunity for German Catholics to hear sermons in their native tongue.
But once again the building became a school. In January, 1844, it was turned into a free school for boys, under the guardianship of the Religious Community of Brothers called the Clerics of St. Viator. Yet this school too was not destined to endure; in 1849 the building was destroyed in the great St. Louis fire.
Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice that I sent to your attorney? No, this is how I dress when I go to work. Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you? I went to Europe, sir. And you took your new wife? So the date of conception was Aug. 8: Yes. And what were you doing at the time?
In Jesus' Love, Fr. John
