2nd Sunday of Advent: The Missionary Spirit
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 10, 2023 at 12:00AM in Sermons
"Jesus, making answer, said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen."-St. Matt. xi. 4.
In the Gospel just read, my dear brethren, we are taught a very practical and important lesson. St. John the Baptist had been thrown into prison on account of his bold denunciation of the sins of those who were then in power. His disciples, it would seem, were losing confidence in him and in what he had taught them. His imprisonment was causing them to waver; and so St. John sends them to our Lord that they may learn from Him whether He was indeed what John had said He was, the promised Messias. "Art thou He who art to come, or look we for another?' '
Now, in what way did our Lord reply to this question? Did he enter into a long and elaborate argument in order to show from Moses and the Prophets that He fulfilled in Himself all that they had foretold? No, it was not by words that our Lord removed their doubts, although never man spake like Him. The way in which He brought the truth home to these men was by deeds. "Go relate to John what you have heard and seen; the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the Gospel preached to them." It was the works which the Father gave Him to do which gave testimony of Him.
Now, the work of bringing back man to God, which brought our Lord down from heaven and of which he made the beginning, is continued and carried on, since He left this world, by His Church, which He founded for this purpose. By His life, and especially by His death and passion, He purchased for mankind full and complete redemption, inexhaustible grace in this life, and never-ending glory hereafter. To what our Lord did no addition can be made which is not itself due to the merits of our Lord's death and passion. The only thing which remains to be done is to have this grace applied to the souls of men. This application is to be made by the ministrations of the Church; in this way the realization and completion of our Lord's work are entrusted to her; and consequently, since our Lord went to heaven again, the Church is for men in the place of Christ, and has in her hands the ordinary means by which men make their own what our Lord has done for them. It is in the Church that our Lord dwells, it is through the Church He works, it is by her ministration that men, according to the ordinary course of God's providence, are saved.
If this be so, we must all see how important it is that nothing should be done by Catholics to keep men from the Church, and that everything should be done to bring them within her fold. The Church has a work to do for every man in this vast city of ours. And how is she to perform this work? How is the fact, that she comes from God, to be brought home to each and all? In early days miracles were the most cogent proof of her supernatural origin. But although miracles are still wrought in the Church, they are not among the ordinary ways by which we can prove to those outside that the Church comes from God. Argument, historical investigation, logic, are good ways of doing this. But men are too busy to study profoundly in our times. There is another way, however, and a better one; one more powerful, one which appeals to larger numbers, one without which all the ways are very often unsuccessful, and that is that Catholics should prove themselves to be before the eyes of men what the Church teaches them to be; that by their works, which they are seen to perform, they should make manifest to all that they are in possession of the truth of God.
Can we say, my dear brethren, that this is the case? Let us not be afraid to look at the facts as they really are. Are our lives such as to recommend to those outside that faith in and through which all must be saved? Let each one ask himself this question; and reflect what a terrible thing it will be hereafter if he has so acted as to have shut out from eternal life a single soul which might have been saved had he acted rightly."
Five-minute Sermons for Low Masses on All Sundays of the Year, Volume 1 by the Priests of the Congregation of St. Paul 1893
6. The Golden Thread. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Wednesday December 06, 2023 at 12:00AM in Meditations
"1. All through the long ages that elapsed from the promise to the coming of the Redeemer, a golden thread of light from heaven ran athwart their darkness. In the chosen people of Israel there ever prevailed a strong conviction of the coming of a Savior, Who was to deliver His people from all sin and evil. It was handed down from generation to generation, and was again and again renewed by the inspired declarations of the prophets of Israel. Thus God in His mercy never leaves Himself without a witness to reveal to men of good-will the message of hope.
2. So through all the centuries that have passed since the coming of Our Lord, the Catholic Church has been the golden thread of light amid the darkness of heresy and heathendom. What a bright and glorious thread ! What a contrast to all around ! How it has, through God’s mercy, enlightened my life ! How can I ever thank God sufficiently that, led by its divine light, I am traveling on in peace and safety to the heavenly Jerusalem !
3. So too there runs through the life of all those who are to attain at last to the eternal happiness of heaven a golden thread which never wholly disappears, even though their steps may wander far from the right path. Sometimes it is kindness to the poor ; sometimes devotion to the holy souls; very often it is a reverence to the holy Mother of God that thus runs through the whole of life. In my life God has interwoven some such thread. Do I follow it up with grateful perseverance? "
Meditations for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891 Digitized by google
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests
Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank
Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests
are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted
the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls
themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them,
and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good
laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and
preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city
placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And
in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they
shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more!
5- Transient Gleams. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Tuesday December 05, 2023 at 12:00AM in Meditations
"1. From time to time there broke through the thick darkness of heathendom a gleam of light that seemed to be a harbinger of the coming day. Some sage or poet sang of a golden age that soon would be at hand. But the flash of light soon disappeared, and only left the darkness even darker than before. So in the life of those who have hardened themselves against God there are sometimes moments when the devil seems to have forsaken his prey, and there seems a hope of better things. But if Jesus’ coming is still far away, the improvement soon passes, and the evil seems to have even a more complete mastery than ever before.
2. There is something very beautiful in the sentiments of the old Greek and Roman poets. Their minstrelsy rings sweetly in our ears. Their poems proclaim them men of the highest genius. But they have no power to effect a change of heart, such as is wrought by the inspired words of some great saint or servant of God. God must speak through man’s voice, if it is to avail to turn others to God. Do I pray God thus to rule and direct my words that they may do His work?
3. So, too, many of the deeds of the heroes of antiquity appear worthy of the holy ones of God. Some may have been done from a supernatural motive, and may even have merited eternal life. But no act, however noble in the natural order, is of any value in the sight of God, unless it be done with some sort of conscious desire to please and serve Him. Do my ordinary actions possess this necessary characteristic?"
Meditations for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891 Digitized by google
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests
Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank
Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests
are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted
the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls
themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them,
and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good
laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and
preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city
placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And
in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they
shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more!
On what we must do to prepare the Way for the Lord (Dec. 2)
by VP
Posted on Saturday December 02, 2023 at 12:00AM in Advent Sermons
CONSIDER, first, that the Church, in the office appointed for this holy time, frequently puts us in mind of the mission and preaching of St. John the Baptist, and of the manner in which he endeavoured to prepare the people for Christ; to the end that we may learn, from the doctrine of this great forerunner of our Lord, in what dispositions we ought also to be, if we would duly prepare the way for Him. Now, what the Baptist continually preached to the people was, That they should turn from their evil ways, and do penance, because the kingdom of heaven was at hand: that they should bring forth fruits worthy of penance, if they would escape the wrath to come; and this without delay; for that now the axe was laid at the root of the tree, and that every tree that did not bring forth good fruit should be cut up, and cast into the fire: that they should not flatter themselves with expectation of impunity, or security, because they had Abraham for their father; for that God was able to raise up from the very stones children to Abraham; and therefore, without a thorough conversion from their sins, they were to expect that the kingdom of God, and the grace and dignity of being children of Abraham, (the father of all the faithful,) should be taken away from them, and given to the Gentiles.
He added, that he baptized them, indeed, with water unto penance, but that another should come after him, that should baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire; that his fan was in his hand, and that he should thoroughly cleanse his fioor, and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he would burn with unquenchable fire, St. Matt.3 This was the way St. John prepared the people for Christ; and it is by our conforming ourselves in practice to these his lessons at this holy time, we must also prepare the way of the Lord, and be prepared for Him.
Consider, secondly, that the great theme of the preaching of St. John, in order to prepare the way of the Lord, was the virtue of penance; inasmuch as this was the only means by which sinners could ever effectually be reconciled to God, after actual mortal sin; and, therefore, this same was at all times perpetually inculcated, by all that were ever sent with commission from God to reclaim unhappy souls that had gone astray from Him. It is, then, by this virtue of penance, we also are to prepare the way of the Lord at this holy time; this is the proper devotion for the time of advent. Now, this virtue of penance (which always was, always is, and always will be, absolutely and indispensably necessary for the bringing back sinners to God) implies three things; first, the renouncing and detesting of all our sins, by which we have offended so good a God; secondly, a turning of ourselves to God, with our whole heart, and dedicating ourselves henceforward to Him, both for time and eternity; and thirdly, an offering of ourselves to Him, to make Him what satisfaction we can for our past offences, by a penitential life.
Christians, this is our great business at this holy time: if we hope to prepare ourselves for Christ, this is the proper exercise for it; to pass over in our mind, in the bitterness of our soul, all our years that have been spent in sin; to bewail and lament, every day of this holy season, all our past treasons against the divine Majesty; to turn now to God with our whole heart; to offer our whole souls to Him, to exercise ourselves in His love; and to enter into new articles with Him of an eternal allegiance, with a full determination of rather dying, than being any more disloya to Him; and letting not one day pass without offering Him some penitential satisfaction for our past guilt, to be united to, and sanctified by, the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
O, how happy are they that employ the time of Advent in this manner! O, how willingly will our Lord, at the approaching Christmas, communicate Himself to such souls as these!
Consider, thirdly, that, at the approaching solemnity of Christmas, the Church, by thrice celebrating the sacred mysteries, in the same day commemorates three different births of Christ; His eternal birth from His Father; His temporal birth from His mother; and His spiritual birth, by which He is born by grace, in our souls. Hence the best devotion for the time of Christmas, is that which conduces the most to bring Christ into our souls by this spiritual birth; and consequently the best devotion for the time of Advent, is to cleanse and to purify our souls, that He may find nothing in them that may disqualify them for His visits, or hinder Him from coming to be spiritually born in us; for He will never come into an unclean soul, nor be born in a mansion where Satan resides. See then, my soul, what measures thou art to take at this holy time, to prepare thy inward house for the spiritual birth of this king of glory. First, thou must cleanse it and purify it from sin and Satan; secondly, thou must adorn it with virtue and piety; and, thirdly, thou must daily invite thy Lord thither by fervent prayer. Thus shalt thou prepare the way of the Lord, in the manner that is best pleasing to him.
Conclude to put in practice all these lessons, to the best of thy power, at this holy time. An Advent spent in this manner, in devotion and penance, cannot fail of bringing thee a happy Christmas." Considerations upon Christian truths and Christian duties by Bishop Challoner
On the Time of Advent (December 1st)
by VP
Posted on Friday December 01, 2023 at 12:00AM in Advent Sermons
Consider firstly, that the time of Advent (so called from being set aside by the Church for worthily celebrating the Advent, that is, the coming of Christ) is a penitential time, and a time of devotion; in which we are every day called upon by the Church of God, to prepare the way of the Lord , to make straight His paths: to enter into the like dispositions to those which St. John the Baptist required of the people, when he was sent to preach to them conversion and penance, in order to prepare them for their Messias; that so we also, by turning away now from our sins, by sorrow and repentance, and turning ourselves to the Lord our God with our whole heart, by love and affection; may dispose our souls to welcome our Saviour, whose birth we are about to celebrate; and to embrace in such manner the mercy and grace, which He brings with Him at His first coming, as to escape hereafter those dreadful judgments, which His justice shall execute upon impenitent sinners, at His second coming. See then, my soul, that thou dedicate this holy time to suitable exercises of devotion and penance, that thou mayest answer the end of this institution.
Consider 2dly, in what manner we are all summoned, by the Church, at the beginning of this holy time, in the words of St. Paul, {Rom. xiii. 11, read in the epistle of the first Sunday in advent) to dispose ourselves now for Christ. "Knowing the time", says the apostle," that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep: for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The flight is passed, (or far spent) the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness , and put on the armour of light : let us walk decently, as in the day, &c".
Oh ! my soul, let us consider these words as particularly addressed to us, in order to awaken as, and to stir us up to begin a new life. Alas! have we not hitherto been quite asleep, as to the greatest of all our concerns? Are not far the greatest part of Christians quite asleep, by their unaccountable indolence in the great business of the salvation of their souls, and of a happy eternity! Are they not sleeping too, which is worse, in the very midst of dangers, and of mortal enemies, who are continually plotting their destruction; and even upon the very brink of a precipice, which if they fall down, will let them in a moment into hell? O let us then all hearken seriously to this summons and rouse ourselves now, whilst we have time, out of this unhappy lethargy; and from this hour begin to apply ourselves in good earnest to that only business for which we came into this world. O let us cast off now and for ever the works of darkness, and put on Jesus Christ!
Consider 3dly, that on the first Sunday of Advent, the terrors also of God's justice are set before our eyes in the description given in the Gospel of the great accounting day: to the end that they will not correspond with the sweet invitations of God’s mercy, and awake from sleep at the summons addressed to them in the Epistle; may be roused at least by the thunder of His justice, denounced in the Gospel: and be induced by the wholesome fear of the dreadful judgments, that are continually hanging over the head of impenitent sinners, to make good use of this present time of mercy; lest hereafter there should be neither time nor mercy for them.
Ah! sinners, if this day you hear the voice of the Lord either sweetly inviting you with the allurements of His mercy, or terrifying you with the threats of His judgments; see you harden not your heart. For now is your time. Sleep oh no longer; lest you come to sleep in death: as it happened to them of old, who by refusing to hearken to God's voice, provoked Him so far that He swore to them in his wrath that they should never enter into His rest. O remember that the day of the Lord, and His judgments, shall come as a snare upon all them that will not watch, (Luke xxi. 35.)
Conclude to enter now into the true spirit of this holy time, which is a penitential spirit and to prepare the way of the Lord; by putting away all thy
sins, and purifying thy soul for Him: thus shall thou welcome Him at His coming ; and shall be welcome to Him." Considerations upon christian truths and christian duties, Bishop Challoner
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priestsJesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them, and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more
