December 13, 1998Third Sunday of Advent |
The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called "GAUDETTE SUNDAY" from the Latin word meaning to "rejoice". We are to rejoice because our salvation is nearer, the time of Advent waiting is nearly over, as the celebration of the birth of Christ draws near. Thus the purple color of penance is lightened to a rose color. Reginald Fuller's book PREACHING THE LECTIONARY reminds us that "Advent...rises in a steady crescendo toward the full light of Christmas. This rhythm is aptly symbolized by the Advent wreath, which is popular in this country, also. The crescendo of Advent is reflected in the liturgical readings, which, beginning with the prophecies of Isaiah and John the Baptist, find their culmination [next week] on the fourth Sunday of Advent in a series of readings that focus on the Blessed Virgin and the annunciation of Jesus' birth.
Thus, this Sunday, John the Baptist urges us once more to conversion and repentance in our lives, to truly prepare for Christ to enter fully into our lives. The letter of James gives us practical advice for our daily lives and reminds us that even as we are joyful at the first coming of Christ, we must "also listen to the warning of the impending judgement and the challenge [daily] to be patient!
These readings, and this Sunday, while reminding us to be both joyful and vigilant, also can gently nudge us about the importance of the Sacrament of Penance. Keep this is mind for city penance services which are listed below:
This is Gaudete (Latin for "Rejoice") Sunday. It's also one of two Sundays where a rose colored vestment is worn. (I was in one parish where the vestment made me look like a giant strawberry!) The theme of the readings is that the "Wait" for the Messiah is over. Old John the Baptist, munching on a bag of fried locusts, tells the crowd that fact. For you and me, the "wait" continues. Let's not "wait" for His return to live our faith. Open your hearts to His voice today and "rejoice" for the gift of faith!
Father Murphy
--Dr. Harry Kocurek, Pastoral Associate
Halfway through Advent, youngsters of any age need projects to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas. The Jesse Tree is another such project.
The Jesse Tree celebrates Jesus' family tree. In the Old Testament, Jesse was the father of King David who lived in Bethlehem. Jesus is a descendant of Jesse as the prophecy from Isaiah 11:1 states, "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." A Jesse Tree depicts Jesus' family tree using symbols to represent individuals in Jesus' lineage such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Jesse, David, Solomon, Joseph, and Mary. Set a bare tree branch in a pot of sand. Make a symbol of some theme from the Mass reading for the day or from the Old Testament. A paper crown can represent King David. A rolled scroll reminds us of the covenant God made with his people. Use your imagination to create your own symbols. Then take turns reading the scripture passage that contains the theme represented by each symbol.
No matter how many gifts abound under the Christmas Tree, it usually is the center of attraction in most homes. For many families, the selection of the tree is a family project. Northwest of Edmond you can select and cut your own tree, and this is an excellent opportunity for "togetherness." The origin of the Christmas Tree goes back into ancient times. Evergreens have long been symbolic of eternity and everlasting life. German tribesmen brought fir trees into their homes to please the spirits they thought inhabited the trees. When the pagans were converted to Christianity, they transferred their feelings for the evergreen to their new religion. Decorating the tree may have originated with Martin Luther. The story goes that while walking home one night just before Christmas, he felt a strong tie between the starry night and the love of God. At home, he placed candles on a little evergreen tree to help his children experience the same wonder of God. The emphasis on "Christmas light" was a sign of salvation. However, the practice of hanging ornaments on a tree goes back to Roman times for inspiration from one of the medieval mystery plays called "The Paradise Play" about the story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. The only stage prop used was a fir tree with apples tied to its branches. In those days the ornaments were fruit, candy and painted nuts. The "tree of sin" in the Paradise Play had become a sign of salvation -- the Christmas Tree.
Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen
Leader: Let us pray. O God, by Whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth Your blessing on this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from You abundant graces. We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
All: Amen
All: O Lord, stir up Your power, we beg You, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins and be saved by your deliverance. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Three candles are lighted and left burning during the meal.
My dear family in Christ,We hear from the prophet Isaiah: 'Be strong, fear not' (Is. 35:4)! These words invite us to recognize that we can put our trust in God. Many times that is easier said than done. In our modern world we have a tendency to put our trust in things - finances, work, relations, things that we value - but God is the only one who can meet our most human need.
In the reading from Isaiah we have a call to prepare ourselves for God's chosen one - His own Son. He has come to cure our blindness, doubt and fears, but most of all to offer us life. Yet it takes faith to see that Jesus Christ is the one.
How often we allow ourselves to be side tracked by our wants and preoccupations, really our fears. This week the Word of God invites us to take some time and let the healing presence of the Lord renew us.
A practical way to do this is taking advantage of the opportunity for confession during this time. We will have our Advent Penance Service on Dec. 17. There will be a number of priests available. I invite you to make this a part of your preparation for Christmas. Moreover, in this year we focus on the mercy or our heavenly Father and we are encouraged to take advantage of confession. Advent is a good time to heal all that keeps us from experiencing the divine love and mercy.
Fr. Ron
In the first reading we find Isaiah the prophet communicating an exuberant message: The deserts burst into flower. The hills ring with joyful song. The feeble grow strong; the frightened take courage. All because the Lord is coming!In the second reading we hear, "Be patient until the Lord comes," as proclaimed by the author of the letter of James.
In today's gospel passage John sends his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come or should we look for someone else?" Jesus answered them affirmatively, pointing to the blind who see, the crippled who walk, the lepers who are cured, and the poor who hear from him the good news of hope.
Message:
The key focus of today's readings is: Be strong! Be patient! Be a peacemaker! Be persevering! For then you will recognize Jesus Christ, the Lord of healing, who comes to save us and to fulfill the kingdom of God within and around us.
Application:
It wasn't God who said, "God helps those who helps themselves"; that was Benjamin Franklin! God says that he helps those who trust in him.
So with the eyes of faith and with hearts of trust we look around us and experience that the Divine Healer is breaking into our existence with a new kind of serenity and contentment.
In the parish setting we prepare by means of patience and perseverance for the Lord to come to us: Patience is a surrender to the God working within and around us, even though we cannot always recognize him and immediately accept his ways. Perseverance is a persistence to stay active within the faith community even though we do not always feel like it or fully understand what's going on.
At St. Anthony's this coming of the Lord is maintained and enhanced by being a peacemaker: putting aside old attitudes that see others as "enemies" or "stumbling blocks," developing a passion for gathering people in harmony, helping people experience life from a more positive perspective, diffusing conflicts and judgments of blame, and empowering others by our own kindness to carry Jesus' love to others and by our own joyful commitment to be active stewards in the parish community.
Hence, we fulfill the Word of God when we recognize the presence of Jesus in our midst by means of the healing which his members in the Church bring about.
--Father Benet OFM
Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
You must be men and women of ceaseless hope, because only tomorrow can today's human and Christian promise be realized; and every tomorrow will have its own tomorrow, world without end. Every human act, every Christian act, is an act of hope. But that means you must be men and women of the present, you must live this moment -- really live it, not just endure it -- because this very moment, for all its imperfection and frustration, because of its imperfection and frustration, is pregnant with all sorts of possibilities, is pregnant with the future, is pregnant with love, is pregnant with Christ.
--Walter J. Burghardt
Our time is a time of waiting; waiting is its special destiny. And every time is a time of waiting, waiting for the breaking in of eternity. All time runs forward. All time, both history and in personal life, is expectation. Time itself is waiting, waiting not for another time, but for that which is eternal.
--Paul Tillich
We live always during Advent. We are always waiting for the messiah to come. The messiah has come, but is not yet fully manifest. The messiah is not fully manifest in each of our souls, not fully manifest in humankind as a whole: that is to say, that just as Christ was born according to the flesh in Bethlehem of Judah, so must he be born according to the spirit in each of our souls.
--Jean Card. Danielou
Isaiah's Advent images capture our imagination. Hearing today that the desert will bloom and rejoice has a particular echo of yesterday's feast, Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was not until I was studying Spanish in San Antonio that I began to appreciate the deep meaning of that apparition. In a time of profound hopelessness, Mary appeared in the dress of an Aztec princess, not to the conquering Spaniards but to a poor Indian. When the bishop asked Juan Diego for a sign from Mary to prove it was really her, Mary filled Juan's simple cloak with beautiful, unseasonable roses. Obediently, he returned to the bishop, not realizing that under the roses was the miraculous painting of Mary, still visible in the cathedral in Mexico City today. The desert shall bloom-it did for a people who needed hope in their time, and the desert shall bloom again for us. Thank you, God, for Mary.
The Jesse Tree is an Advent tradition that uses symbols portraying the spiritual heritage of Jesus to trim a tree. Daily throughout the season of Advent, a symbol of Christ's heritage is placed on the tree.
3rd Sunday: 'THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON'
Symbol is the crown
3rd Monday: 'ELIJAH & THE RAVEN'
Symbol is Elijah & the raven.
3rd Tuesday: 'ELIJAH & HEALING'
Symbol is the hand of blessing.
3rd Wednesday: 'ISAIAH'
Symbol is the scroll.
3rd Thursday: 'JEREMIAH'
Symbol is the Word of God.
3rd Friday: 'NEHEMIAH THE BUILDER'
Symbol is the church.
3rd Saturday: 'ANGELS'
Symbol is an angel with a candle.
Prayer for lighting the advent wreath in your home the third week:
As we draw near to you, Lord God, keep us aware of your presence in all we do. Come with power to enlighten us by your grace, that we may live in praise and peace all our days. May we bring light and love to all we meet, that the darkness of sin and fear may be overcome. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.
In Jesus' public ministry, He called people to strive for 'maximum performances' in their relationship with God. Many of the religious people of Jesus' day were content simply with a legalistic approach to their religion. They followed the letter of the law, but their hearts and lives were far from God.
This can happen to us as Roman Catholics. Because we are in continuity with the religion of the Old Testament, we can fall into some of their pitfalls as well. We can become a people who follow the letter of the law, but our hearts and lives are far from Jesus and His Church. We attend Mass each Sunday, but our daily lives are not a sacrifice of worship. We follow the commandments, but we harbor ill will, greed and corruption in our hearts.
At least, however, Jesus contended with poeple who did strive to follow the letter of the law, although their hearts were far from God. In our day, we have to contend with Catholics who do not even follow the law! They don't even attend Mass except perhaps for Christmas and Easter! They don't even know what the commandments are! They have no approach to religion, let alone a legalistic one. They are like sheep without a shepherd!
As we mark the final days of Advent, let us examine our approach to God, to the Church and to our daily lives. May we strive for maximum performance, that is doing the most for God, His Church and world not the least. May God bless you.
Your pastor,
Father Allan J. McDonald
1) Isaiah 35, 1-6.10
2) James 5, 7-10
3) Matthew 11, 2-11
The coming of the Messiah is marked by an abundance of good things: "The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom (1)." And again, "the blind recover their sight, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, dead men are raised to life, and the poor have the good news preached to them (3)." "The coming of the Messiah is marked by great wealth, but by a kind of wealth far more significant than material prosperity. Greatness may come with hardship or sacrifice (2). Greatness may not be found in palaces of the powerful (3). Our greatest possession is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The measure of our success as Christians is not how much we hold onto, but how much of the truth we have shared with the world. All of our resources are best employed in the service of the good news.
Next Sunday, the reading's will be: 1)Isaiah 7, 10-14; 2)Romans 1, 1-7; 3)Matthew 1, 18-24.
John was born in the village of Fontiveros in Castile, Spain. At about the age of 20, John became a Carmelite friar.
Most Carmelites of his time lived by a relaxed version of the original rule of their order. John wanted to live by the original rule, which was strict. He hoped that would draw him closer to God.
Teresa of Avila (October 15), who was also a Carmelite, had received permission to begin convents with a simple lifestyle like the one John had chosen for himself. Teresa asked John to become the spiritual director of the nuns at Avila, where she lived.
Despite John's gentle nature, he had made powerful enemies within the Carmelite Order. These friars thought he was rebellious. To teach him a lesson, they had him imprisoned in Toledo. Light came in through one small slit high on the wall, so John had to stand on a stool in order to read his prayer book. During the nine months that he was held in prison, he wrote some of his greatest spiritual poetry.
He thought of prayer as a tool to help us become more loving toward others. His books about prayer and spiritual direction are used by people all over the world.
Reflections on Jesus, The Holy Spirit, and the Father, by Pope John Paul II.
Proclaimimg Christ...Proclaiming Christ means above all giving witness to Him with one's life. It is the simplest form of preaching the Gospel and, at the same time, the most effective way available to you. It consists of showing the visible presence of Christ in one's own life by a daily committment and by making every concrete decision in conformity with the Gospel. Today the world especially needs believable witnesses...
Therefore, testify to your faith through your involvement in the world, too. A disciple of Christ is never a passive and indifferent observer of what is taking place. On the contrary, he feels responsible for transforming social, political, economic, and cultural reality.
Moreover, proclaiming means precisely proclaiming - becoming one who brings the word of salvation to others. There is indeed much ignorance about the Christian faith, but there is also a deep desire to hear the Word of God. And faith comes from listening.
St. Paul writes: 'And how can they believe unless they have heard of Him?' (see Romans 10:14)... Proclaiming the Word of God is not the responsibility of priests or religious alone, but it is yours too. You must have the courage to speak about Christ in your families and in places where you study, work, or recreate, inspired with the same fervor the Apostles had when they said, 'We cannot help speaking of what we have heard and seen' (see Acts 4:20). Nor should you be silent! There are places and circumstances where you alone can bring the seed of God's word.
Do not be afraid of presenting Christ to someone who does not yet know Him. Christ is the true answer, the most complete answer to all the questions which concern the human person and his destiny. Without Christ, the human person remains an unsolvable riddle. Therefore, have the courage to present Christ!
Certainly, you must do this in a way which respects each person's freedom of conscience, but you must do it. Helping a brother or sister to discover Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life (see John 14:6), is a true act of love for one's neighbor. [TPS 37/3, 1992, 140-1]
With this series of historical vignettes we review the history of the parish and archdiocese.
Possibly one of the most heartwarming and inspiring incidents in the history of the Old Cathedral
Occurred in the autumn of 1831. In the Old Cathedral Register of Burials there are found these records:
"On the thirty-first day of October, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, I the undersigned, have buried in the cemetery of this parish the corpse of Keepeellele or Pipe Bard of the Nez Perce of the tribe of the Chepewck Nation called Tetes Plates aged about 44 years, administered of Holy Baptism, coming from the Columbia River in the Rocky Mountains.
EDM. SAULNIER, PR."
The second record:
"On the seventeenth of November, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, I the undersigned, have buried in the cemetery of this parish the corpse of Paul, a savage of the nation of Tetes Plattes, coming from the Columbia River in the Rocky Mountains, administered of Holy Baptism and Extreme Unction.
ROUX, PR."
These two simple entries record the pathetic sequels to an adventurous journey of four Indians of the Flat-Head and Nex Perce tribes from the banks of the Columbia River to St. Louis in search of the Black Gown and his religion. Some years before a small band of Catholic Iroquois had settled among these pagan tribes of the Northwest and had so impressed them with their explanation of the Catholic religion and its ceremonies, that a delegation was sent to St. Louis for a missionary priest to dwell among them. This delegation of four Indians from beyond the Rocky Mountains arrived in St. Louis in the autumn of 1831. Their language was different from any language with which the inhabitants were acquainted. Yet as these visitors gradually made themselves understood it was learned that they had come to obtain religious teachers for their people, the Flat-Head and Nez Perce tribes near the Pacific Ocean. They visited the Cathedral and attended divine service with all possible reverence. Owing to the Change of climate and the unwonted life of the city, these savages grew ill; two of them were baptized on their deathbeds by Fathers Roux and Saulnier of the Cathedral, and were buried with all the rites of the Church. The two others started in the spring of 1832 on their return voyage, but only one reached his home as the other died on the way.
Three years later, when no missionary priest had as yet arrived, a second delegation from the tribes made its way to St. Louis, and in 1837 and 1839 third and fourth delegations arrived, persisting in their entreaties that a priest be sent to their tribes. This almost incredible story ends on a happy note, in 1840 there was opened among them by the famous missionary Father Peter DeSmet, S.J., the first Catholic Indian Mission in the Northwest.
