"Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice." (Phil 4:4)
Have you made a holy hour this Advent? Have you made many? No matter your answer, I urge you to make one more this week as a gift to lay before the manger. Many people suffer at this time of year. If you are one of them, run to Bethlehem, the "house of bread." There the Lord waits for you to pour out his love in an infinite flow of consolation and peace. If you have only a drop of love to give Him, He will pour out an ocean of love in return; if your love is only the size of grain of sand, He will offer you all the sands of the desert that Moses and the Israelites passed through on the way to the Promised Land.
If suffering has passed you by like the angel of death, rejoice and offer a gift of adoration and thanksgiving in gratitude. If you are suffering, rejoice even more for the opportunity to join in the suffering of the baby Jesus born in the bitter cold in a stable, already rejected by men and welcomed only by the poor and the humble gentiles coming from the East following the star.
Whatever your circumstances, cling to God's promise that "All things -- ALL THINGS -- work together for good for those who Love the Lord and serve according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) He is faithful. He will join with you in rejoicing and offer consolation in your sorrow.
I offer the meditation below that inspired me to break my Advent silence for a moment of rejoicing in adoration and thanksgiving, contrition and petition. Join with me in begging the intercession of Our Lady, refuge of sinners, and St. Joseph, pillar of families, and of your guardian angel and patron saints. How can God refuse anything to His children who come before Him in modesty and humility.
Let us make a Eucharistic Holy Hour together praying for each other for the happiest and holiest of Christmases.
And please, in your kindness, pray for the happy repose of the soul of Fr. James Buckley, FSSP who died last Thursday, December 14th. I was blessed to make almost twenty annual Ignatian retreats with Fr. Buckley and will miss his wisdom and his humor. May he rest in peace receiving the reward of the Master he served so faithfully for so many years.
Oremus pro invicem.
It was the evening of August 21, 1879. In the little village of Knock in western Ireland, a group of more than twenty people stood in the midst of a heavy downpour. They were witnessing a vision of heavenly figures made of light appearing on the gable wall of Saint John the Baptist Church. The luminous figures spoke no words but held their posture in place for over two hours. As people looked on, some went to tell others, some remained in prayer, some tried to touch the figures in the apparition. The attempt to touch them proved futile. Hands simply passed through light to feel the stone wall of the Church. The witnesses, who were later examined by ecclesiastical authorities and declared trustworthy, offer a common description of what they saw.
On the far left was Saint Joseph with hands folded in prayer. Next to him was Our Lady wearing a crown of gold, her eyes and hands lifted upwards to heaven in prayer. Next to her was Saint John the Evangelist wearing something like a Bishop’s mitre. His one hand was holding a book of the gospels; his other hand was lifted up as though preaching. Next to Saint John, however, was the central and brightest figure in the whole scene. Standing erect on a raised altar, there was a bright white Lamb, head lifted high. Above the Lamb was a radiant cross. The altar, the Lamb, and the cross were surrounded by luminous angels. The vision lasted about two hours, and popular piety refers to the event as a Marian apparition. That is partially true, but the larger truth is that it was a Eucharistic apparition. [Read more here....]
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD
by Fr. James Brent, O.P.
It was the evening of August 21, 1879. In the little village of Knock in western Ireland, a group of more than twenty people stood in the midst of a heavy downpour. They were witnessing a vision of heavenly figures made of light appearing on the gable wall of Saint John the Baptist Church. The luminous figures spoke no words but held their posture in place for over two hours. As people looked on, some went to tell others, some remained in prayer, some tried to touch the figures in the apparition. The attempt to touch them proved futile. Hands simply passed through light to feel the stone wall of the Church. The witnesses, who were later examined by ecclesiastical authorities and declared trustworthy, offer a common description of what they saw.
On the far left was Saint Joseph with hands folded in prayer. Next to him was Our Lady wearing a crown of gold, her eyes and hands lifted upwards to heaven in prayer. Next to her was Saint John the Evangelist wearing something like a Bishop’s mitre. His one hand was holding a book of the gospels; his other hand was lifted up as though preaching. Next to Saint John, however, was the central and brightest figure in the whole scene. Standing erect on a raised altar, there was a bright white Lamb, head lifted high. Above the Lamb was a radiant cross. The altar, the Lamb, and the cross were surrounded by luminous angels. The vision lasted about two hours, and popular piety refers to the event as a Marian apparition. That is partially true, but the larger truth is that it was a Eucharistic apparition. [Read more here....]
One of my favorite Advent songs and a lovely exhortation. I was blessed to be a member of the FSSP parish Fr. Buckley served in its earliest years and to which he retired at the end. An exemplary priest. RIP.
ReplyDeleteA tribute to him from another blog: https://harveymillican.com/2023/12/21/