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First Sunday of Advent, November 28, 2004
• Scripture Readings:
Isa. 2: 1-5 • Rom. 13: 11-14 • Matt 24:37-44
• Advent Homily: "The
Meaning of Advent: Waiting for Jesus" by Rev. Jeffrey Lawrence
| When I was a kid, my friends and I used to spend countless hours playing
make believe. We played school; some kids were the teachers, others were
the pupils. We played house. We played cowboys and Indians. Our bicycles
and wagons became long freight trains and trucks and fancy cars. We played
circus. We had pretend battles, and all of us were soldiers. Some kids
even played church and Mass. ...
• "The
Helpful Tension of Advent Expectation" by Carl E. Olson |
During Advent, guided by the liturgy, we look back to when God came into
the world at the Incarnation. We also look forward in time to the Parousia,
the final coming of the God-man when He will judge the living and the
dead, and the world as we know it will pass away. And, in between these
two cosmic events, we come face-to-face with ourselves, examining our
hearts and preparing them for the celebration of the great feast of Christmas.
...
• Advent Reflection: "Mary’s
Gift of Self Points the Way" by Carl E. Olson | An advent
is a coming; it literally means "to come to." The season of
Advent anticipates the coming–or comings–of the Son: in his
Incarnation two thousand years ago, in his future return in glory, and
in the mystery of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. ...
• "Baking with Children",
an excerpt from A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz
| Advent is a wonderful time to bake with
children. It’s not just that it is fun—though it is fun. This
baking picks up the themes of Advent: the preparing of gifts for others,
to make them happy, and the waiting for Christmas before eating the good
things we prepare. ...
• "The Advent Wreath",
an excerpt from Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany in the Domestic Church by by Peter & Catherine Fournier
| Every season of Advent is a new
reminder of the promise of eternity. (CCC 1020 - 1029) Thus, Advent wreaths are made of evergreens
to symbolize God's "everlastingness" and our immortality. (Purple is the liturgical color for Advent,
green in the wreath symbolizes hope and new life.) Four candles--three purple or violet that represent
penance, sorrow, and longing expectation and one rose or pink that represents the hope and coming joy--are
used to represent the four weeks of Advent. ...
• Selected
Ignatius Press books and music for Advent and Christmas. Books
for the entire family, including Fiona French's beautifully illustrated
Bethlehem, books by theologian John Saward, and classic Catholic Christmas
carols. ...
The page for the second week of Advent is here.
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LISTEN TO A .60 SPOT:
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Joseph Pearce is the prolific author of several acclaimed biographies of major Catholic literary
figures, including G. K. Chesterton, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Hilaire Belloc, as
well as several other works. He is a Writer in Residence and Professor of
Literature at Ave Maria University in Florida, Editor-in-Chief of Ave Maria University
Communications and Sapientia Press, as well as Co-Editor of the The Saint Austin Review (or StAR), an international review of Christian culture,
literature, and ideas published in England (St. Austin Press) and the United
States (Sapientia Press). Pearce's most recent book is
The Quest for Shakespeare. He is also
editor of the Ignatius
Critical Editions, a tradition-oriented alternative to popular textbook series such as
the Norton Critical Editions or Oxford World Classics, designed to concentrate on traditional readings of the Classics
of world literature. Visit his Ignatius Insight author page for further information.
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Jesus of Nazareth
by Pope Benedict XVI
Now in Paperback, with a new Index! In this bold, momentous work, Joseph Ratzinger--in his first book written since he became Pope--seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent "popular"
depictions and to restore Jesus' true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich, compelling,
flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and invites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.
From Jesus of Nazareth: "the great question that will be with us throughout
this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the
God who formerly unveiled his countenance gradually first to Abraham, then to Moses and the Prophets, and then in the Wisdom Literature--the God who revealed his face only in Israel, even though
he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth."
Read more about Jesus of Nazareth.
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