Fourth Sunday of Advent: Lo, He Comes...

...In the Bleak Midwinter. If this doesn't give you goosebumps, you're deaf. Imagine what the angel choirs sound like when you can listen to heavenly music on earth.

Jesus is Nigh

Advent light increases as the Lord of Life draws near.

Advent: The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns

Are you ready to welcome him? You still have almost a week to prepare. And what better way to welcome him than as a little child. I love to listen to children's choirs. Their sweetness and innocence speaks a special love for the baby Jesus coming at Christmas.

A Two-fer: Advent Music and Some Inspiring Sisters

Advent is a good time to ask, "What does the Lord want of me? How is He calling me? For what is this Advent season preparing me?" Have you ever considered a priestly or religious vocation? Advent is a great season to think about it.

Wait for the Lord...

...in hope for He comes! Maanatha, Lord Jesus.

Are You Awake?

In these last days of Advent it isn't too late to wake and prepare for the coming of the Lord. One of the images of Advent is the wise virgins waiting with their lamps for the coming of the bridegroom. This Advent hymn features the wise virgins so quick to awaken to their Lord's coming. May we imitate their watchfulness.

A Little Latin for Gaudete Sunday

Remember Julius Caesar's famous statement, "Veni, Vidi, Vici!" It was the statement of an arrogant man who became a tyrant who came to a bad end. But the words are more appropriate to the Advent of our God. Jesus came as a little babe in the fullness of time. He saw the possibilities in all men made in His image and likeness. And He conquered sin on the cross. Rejoice, rejoice...to you has come Emmanuel.

Are You Filled with Wonder?

Advent is a time to reflect on the promise of a Savior. What a loving God who cares for His creation enough to send His own Son to pay the ransom to restore all things in Him. Does this not fill you with wonder? And yet how ungrateful we are, like the Israelites in the desert who grumbled and complained. They were punished by having to wander for 40 years. Only then did their children enter the promised land.

Will you enter the promised land - the heavenly Jerusalem? Or are you trading an eternity of joy with God for the passing allurements of this world. Will you stand with Mary at the cross or will you stand with politicians and earthly leaders believing in their false utopias purchased with the blood of the innocent? Advent is a time of repentance. Don't delay. Jesus is waiting for you in the confessional.

Advent Song

I thought this lovely song expressed the longing of our hearts for our Savior to come and dispel the darkness, to end the waiting and fill us with His hope.

Every Valley Shall be Exalted and Every Mountain Made Low

Have you ever taken a trip out west and had to pass from the valleys over the mountains? I remember a  harrowing ride over the Big Horn Mountains pulling our camper. Fortunately we were advised by a friendly lady working at a service station to take the "easier" path. It make me wonder what the "harder" way was like.

In Advent we hear over and over the passage from Isaiah 40 about the valleys being raised up and the mountains and hills being brought low. Think of it. What an easy path we would have if the road stretched out before us like a broad, flat ribbon all the way to the horizon.

That is what John the Baptist, Advent's herald, offers us. Repent and prepare the way of the Lord. Does that mean we'll never have a difficulty? Of course not. But once we unite our will to God's, even the challenges take on a different prospect. We see the rose more than the thorns and taste the honey more than we feel the bee's sting. That's why the Roman martyrs could go into the arena singing and Miguel Pro could stretch out his arms in the sign of the cross and cry out "Viva Cristo Rey" as the soldiers fired. It explains how a person dying of a painful disease can comfort his grieving family. Faith makes "the crooked straight and the rock places plain." Advent is almost half over. Are you using it to increase your faith? If you stick with St. John the Baptist, he's show you how...you must decrease, Jesus must increase.

Advent's Hero: St. John the Baptist

Last Sunday's homily focused on St. John the Baptist, the shining light of the Advent season. John, the precursor, fasts and prays in the desert. How many of us would be content to eat locusts and wild honey and wear John's rough garments? He gives us the guidebook to follow saying,  "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'" John is not "the one;" he is merely the "voice," the megaphone, as Father described him, urging us to prepare our hearts for Him.

Is it any surprise? Remember, John is the first to recognize Jesus and honor Mary as the tabernacle of the Lord when he leaps in the womb of Elizabeth. It is he who is the first evangelist (after Mary) enlightening his mother Elizabeth and preparing her to receive the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Like Mary, John magnifies the Lord pointing him out to all who will listen. "There is the lamb of God; I am not worthy to unfasten the strap of sandal." He sends his own apostles away, redirecting them to the "Lamb of God," the one whose way he has prepared.

"He must increase; I must decrease," says John. There is no self pity in that statement, only the recognition that when the bridegroom arrives, the best man fades into the background. John takes us to the Jordan where we are washed in the waters of baptism, repenting of our sins in preparation for the coming of the Christ, the Savior of the world. So come to Jordan's banks and "hear the Baptist's cry announcing that the Lord is nigh."

Gregorian Chant for Advent

Fr. Z has the literal and poetic translation on his website. Here's a small taste:

Creator of the starry height,
Thy people’s everlasting light,
Jesu, Redeemer, save us all,
Hear thou thy servants when they call. 

Thou, sorrowing at the helpless cry
Of all creation doomed to die,
Didst save our lost and guilty race
By healing gifts of heavenly grace.

Isn't it lovely?  Now don't you wish your parish would do some Gregorian Chant? 

The Sound of Children's Voices...

...is the sound of Advent waiting and Christmas joy.

Sing with your children as often as possible. Music speaks to the heart. Teach rounds. Sing in the car. Sing around the Advent wreath. Sing in the summer around a campfire. Sing nursery rhymes and lullabies to the babies. Play them classical music when they go to sleep. Play beautiful music in the background while they do their homework (and I don't mean pop tunes with lyrics, rap, or other brain-numbing musical junk food).

Chesterton once said that "Life exists for the love of music or beautiful things." Increase your joy with good music. And let the songs of Advent prepare you for the joy of Christ coming at Christmas. This song makes me feel the longing desire for the long-awaited Messiah.

Advent Music Should Trigger Our Awe Reflex

I've been posting a different Advent hymn every day and most that I've posted inspire me again when I replay them -- except for this one. Every time I listen to it, I like it less. It sounds like elevator music or something from a Sunday mega-church TV choir. I'm posting another version below as an antidote to its sugary sweetness. When the long-expected Jesus comes again he won't be accompanied by the Pillsbury Doughboy at His side. He will arrive surrounded by light accompanied by Michael the Archangel and his very big sword. Jesus will inspire "fear of the Lord" in the sense of awe among all those who see Him. They won't be swaying in Kumbaya style. They will fall to their knees either in reverent awe (the sheep) or terrifying fear (the goats). Which will you be?

And a little child will lead them...

...well not so little, but what a beautiful celebration of the Advent season. Those fresh young faces remind me of Jesus' admonition to the apostles to let the children come to him. Although, I suppose some of these young women are close to Mary's age when she said yes to the angel and some of the young men are probably close to St. John's age when he left his father's fishing boat to follow the Savior. Hope for the future is always embodied in the young. May God raise up many idealistic and zealous apostles to counter the cynicism and deadly lust of the culture of death.

This is a different version of the hymn posted here.

Get Off to a Good Start

Pray Advent Well.  Did you know that the first candle lit on the Advent wreath represents Bethlehem? I never knew that until I read the article I've just hotlinked. How will that knowledge affect my prayers this first week? I won't know until I reflect on it, but it seems to me a lovely focus.

And don't start playing the Christmas music too soon; you could miss the beautiful humns of Advent.

Gaudete Sunday: Rejoice, the Lord is Near!

We sang People Look East this morning at Mass, one of my favorite hymns. I posted a choir version last year, so this year here's something different -- bells ringers. Whenever you here a bell, remember the Lord is near!