Focus the Microscope of Christmas, The O Antiphons

Today begins the last prep for Christmas, the seven O Antiphons. They bring the holy day into focus in a big way. O Come Emmanuel is the hymn of the O Antiphons. Today is also the first of the December ember days. So we have abundant opportunities to make this last week before Christmas a time of magnifying our preparation. Even if we've had an Advent with too much emphasis on the secular preparations with decorating and baking, we can spend this last week decorating our hearts and turning up the heat of love for the little King.

Sunday Meditation: St. John the Baptist, Rock not Reed!

St. John the Baptist is a major Advent voice preparing the way for the birth of Jesus on Christmas day. Today, we heard in the Gospel (TLM) the moment, when in prison, John sent his disciples to ask Christ a question. "Shall we look for another?" I have no doubt that John already knew the answer to that question. So why did he ask it? I think he wanted to wean his disciples from himself and turn them to Christ. His "voice in the wilderness" was about to go silent and he wanted his little band of brothers to follow the One whose sandal he was not fit to unloose. 

Advent Attitude? Gratitude!

I try to remember every morning -- when I sit up in bed and plant my feet on the floor -- to begin the day with a litany of gratitude. It was easy today. I thanked God for central heating (It's really cold this morning.) and for giving gifts to the inventors who've make our modern life so comfortable. 

Today Begins the St. Andrew Novena! Ready, Set, Pray....

The best Christmas present you can give anyone is prayer. And what better intention can anyone offer than for the salvation of the souls of their loved ones. That will be our intention for this 25-day novena seeking the intercession of St. Andrew. I love St. Andrew and ask him to do for me what he did for his brother, Peter. Take me to Jesus! 

St. Andrew Christmas Novena

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I Need a Little Christmas!

           

Life is often filled with challenges and sometimes they seem overwhelming. This has been a rough year for many reasons, so the other day, I just started singing a song from Auntie Mame. I definitely "need a little Christmas!" so we set up the tree. Larry dragged up the canvas bag and out came the pre-lit evergreen. We gave up on real trees about ten years ago when we just got too old and tired to deal with getting down on the floor to water it every day and cleaning up all the pine needles. I've never regretted it.

Boycott the CCHD Collection along with Other Thoughts for Thursday

• The CCHD (Catholic Campaign for Human Development) collection is coming up. This is the fraudulent pocket picking of pew sitters to divert Catholic contributions to groups that lobby for liberal Democrats and support abortion, contraception, and sodomy. Check out the Lepanto Institute report and see how the collection funds intrinsic evils. Don't give a plug nickle; do put in a note that you will not be supporting the parish until they issue an apology for passing the basket to enable evil. I made the video above 16 years ago. Nothing much has changed at the CCHD except it's worse than ever. It's way past time to eliminate that group for good. Add prayers and penance to your boycott. 

Sunday Meditation: Gratitude, Hospitality, and Regenerative Repentance

St. Augustine says that gratitude to God is the beginning of faith. Are we grateful in these  last days of Advent? What a blessing to fill the manger with straws of gratitude softening and overflowing and making ready the rough bed for the infant Savior.

 Beginning in the days before Thanksgiving, my husband and I started filling Santa's sleigh with gratitude messages to deliver to the Holy Family in the stable at Bethlehem. Before a rosary lunch I held in November and before Thanksgiving dinner, we invited our guests, from the littlest on up, to write notes of gratitude to God in thanksgiving for all his gifts. That little sleigh full of thanks will grace our kitchen table throughout the Christmas season. I love to sit there and pull out reminders of the many gifts God gives us. And to add still more love notes. Praise be to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

O Root of Jesse's Stem: A Heartwarming Story for Christmas from Fr. Gordon MacRae

 

Many people this time of year make the first ornaments to adorn the tree symbols of Jesus' family. Mary came from the house of David, as did the spouse chosen for her, St. Joseph, so King David is a prominent feature. Even before Jesus' birth, God emphasized the importance of family by calling Joseph to his ancestral village, Bethlehem. Symbols of the patriarchs beginning with Adam often go on the Christmas tree first. "O Root of Jesse's Stem," come and deliver us! 

The O Antiiphons Begin. Don't Miss the Richness of these Final Days of Advent!

 

The Queen of Advent, Our Lady of Guadalupe

What does Holy Mother Church give us halfway through Advent? The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of America. What a gift! 

Do you know the story? 

On December 9, 1531 which was then the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, Mary appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico City and asked him to take a message to the bishop to build her a shrine there. The bishop asked for sign. In response, Mary gathered roses and arranged them in Juan Diego's tilma and told him to take them to the bishop.

When Juan Diego opened it before the bishops, the roses fell to the floor revealing the miraculous image imprinted there by heaven's power. 

What a gift and reminder Mary's feast is in the middle of Advent. She calls us in this holy season to prayer and penance. "Am I not here?" Mary asks us and "Am I not your mother?" 

Time Out from Blogging for Family Visiting!

What a busy week! We left Monday morning to visit family in Wheeling. What a whirlwind! We stayed with my husband's brother and his wife and visited there Monday evening. (My sister-in-law and I got creamed at euchre by our gloating husbands.) We saw the lovely Christmas decorations at Ogleby Park's lodge on Tuesday midday. The ballroom was set up like a wedding reception for an employee luncheon, a practice they repeat every month!

Digital Viral Slop!

Escape the screen.
Take a walk in the woods!

The Gab CEO sent out an interesting article a few days ago: JOMO, The Joy of Missing Out. The article was a reflection on the amount of time and attention we give to our computers, phones, and other digital devices. The joy comes from "missing out" on the digital viral slop that consumes so much of our time and energy. Here's a bit from the article which has convinced me to stop playing any internet games during Advent and to limit my exposure to the ubiquitous screen:

Research shows that excessive information consumption can lead to psychological stress, anxiety, and mental fatigue. This constant bombardment of information through various digital channels can overwhelm our cognitive capacities, making it difficult to process and evaluate the information effectively. The inability to filter and process the overwhelming amount of data can result in difficulty making decisions, decreased productivity, and a general sense of being overwhelmed.

The Mad Rush to Christmas!

Don't Let Thanksgiving be Lost in the Rush to Christmas!

When I was growing up, Christmas arrived in the secular world the day after Thanksgiving. The turkey was hardly off the table before Santa came riding in on his sleigh behind the reindeer. The worldly holiday fuss obliterated Advent completely. Despite the world's mad rush to Christmas, many Catholic families waited in the quiet for Emmanuel, God with us. They lit the Advent Wreath every evening, sang Come, O Come, Emmanuel and prayed together.

Advent Time Out: Entering the Dark Silence and Searching for the Light

Dear Readers,

How grateful I am for all of you, both those who encourage Susan and me and those who think we are on the road to hell and deserve eternal punishment. 

"All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and serve according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Are You Praying the Great O Antiphons?

This time of year I always recall a wonderful homily given by a former pastor of ours, Fr. Richard Ley, anticipating the O Antiphons. These are the antiphons that begin on December 17th and continue through Christmas Eve. Fr. Ley, who is now retired and living in Florida, has a gift for preaching and it was clearly demonstrated as he described each of the antiphons that illustrate one of Christ's titles:

On the Road to Bethlehem!

Mary & Joseph find a stopping point near a fallen down shed not far from
the chicken coop. Eggs for breakfast.

I recently received a meme suggesting replacing the "Elf on a Shelf" with Mary and Joseph making the trip to Bethlehem. What a wonderful idea! Since I have a statue of the expectant mother riding a donkey being led by dear St. Joseph, I decided to spend Advent journeying with them along the Advent road at Camp Kreitzer. They began the journey today outside under the pine trees not far from the chicken coop. 

The Song Running Through My Head This Morning: My God, My God, Why Have You Abandoned Me?

This hymn has been running through my head ever since yesterday. It started up again this morning, but the words are a little different: It's not "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" Instead, the words are, "My God, my God, why have I abandoned You?" 

It's a good question for Advent. 

Laudamus Te: As Advent Begins Let Us Look Toward the Light!

My Favorite Advent Hymn for the second Wednesday of Advent -- May God's grace bless us all as we prepare for His coming.

 

Sunday Meditation: Mary is the Icon of Advent

Mary's womb: the first Tabernacle

Advent words: waiting, preparation, hope, expectation, longing, promises, light and dark, redemption...

But the one word that, for me, encompasses all the others and summarizes all that is Advent leading up to Christmas when Jesus Christ is born to us, that word is Mary.

Mary's lap: the first altar of worship

Mary is advent's icon.
She represents the hope, the expectation, the longing for a Messiah. It is Mary whose "yes" begins the fulfillment of God's promise to send a Redeemer. Mary waits while the Word Made Flesh dwells in the darkness of her womb. She prepares for his coming lovingly sewing His swaddling clothes. She longs for the day when the Son of God will be born like the sun rising in the East to bring light to the world. Mary, the Mother of God, is Advent's icon.

Sister Lucia of Fatima loved Our Lady profoundly and she presents her to us in Eucharistic language
fitting for Advent meditation: