There is a Longing

This past weekend, we celebrated the First Sunday of Advent...a time of waiting with expectant hope for both Jesus' birth at Christmas & His Second Coming. It should begin a time of reflection & peace as we prepare our hearts for Jesus.  Unfortunately, our secularized world tends to skip right over Advent & jump right into the hustle & bustle of Christmas. For many, this can be a stressful time of planning, shopping, decorating, etc. And Christmas music has been played on the radio since Halloween. The two quotes below should help slow us down taking a step or two back to focus on the true meaning of the Advent season. *****   "Advent: the time to listen for footsteps - you can't hear footsteps when you're running yourself." (Bill McKibben) ***** "Let's approach Advent with an expectant hush, rather than a last-minute rush." (Anonymous)

  As we begin a new liturgical year and enter into the expectant season of Advent, we are urged to “stay awake!” These weeks preceding the joyous celebration of our Savior’s birth provide a chance for us to make the necessary preparations for such a mystery. Not, however, a preparation consisting of gift shopping, decorating, and making delectable treats in the kitchen.  In a way, we have to avoid jumping right into all of the “Christmas cheer.” Right after Thanksgiving (or sometimes even before), it seems that Christmas is being celebrated wherever you turn. But we can’t get caught up with the festivities. We need to first remind ourselves what it is we are celebrating, why we even have a cause to celebrate in the first place. This is what we do in Advent!  A dvent is a time of quiet and interior preparation for that moment when we commemorate the coming of God made man, when the Son of God took on our lowly human nature. How humble and how remarkably glorious is our lit...

Tomorrow, we in the United States of America will celebrate Thanksgiving. We thought it would be fitting to share quotes from saints on giving thanks to God, our Father. "In all created things discern the providence and wisdom of God, and in all things give Him thanks." (St. Teresa of Avila) "No duty is more urgent than that of giving thanks." (St. Ambrose) "Thank God ahead of time." (Bl. Solanus Casey) "A single 'Blessed be God' in adversity is worth more than a thousand acts of thanksgiving in prosperity." (St. John of Avila) "The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day." (St. Gianna Beretta Molla)  

And so, we’ve come to the end of another Liturgical year.  Next week, we begin the season of Advent – a time of waiting and preparing our hearts for the coming Messiah, the King of Heaven.  Today, we celebrate His Kingship! The Solemnity of Christ the King was established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI to combat the growth secularism and atheistic views as governments threatened to push Jesus and Christianity out of the public life.  Governments will come and go, but this Feast reminds us that Christ and His Kingdom will live forever.  Pope Pius XI proclaimed, “Pax in Christi regno Christi,” (the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ), encouraging us to live in Christ’s peace when we do three things.  Daily, we must live and surrender our lives for Christ, acknowledge Him as our God, Savior, and King, and allow Him to rule our lives.  How peaceful and beautiful our world would be if everyone put these into practice! Sadly, though, we live in a fallen world. ...

As musicians, we would be remiss if we failed to recognize St. Cecilia in today's Saintly Saturday! St. Cecilia was believed to have been born sometime in the late 2nd century into a wealthy family. At a young age, she took a vow of virginity, yet her parents still gave her in marriage to a young man named Valerian. Prior to consummating their marriage, Cecilia informed Valerian of her vow & told him an angel was protecting her. He asked for proof, wanting to see the angel, & she replied that he must travel to be baptized by Pope Urbanus. Upon his return to his wife, he saw the angel & came to believe.  His brother, Tibertius, also came to believe. The two spent the rest of their lives burying those murdered during persecutions by the city's prefect, Turcius Almachius. They were eventually arrested & executed for their denial to offer sacrifice to the gods.  During their burying of the dead, Cecilia preached & brought over 400 to conversion. She, too, was a...

My apologies, dear readers...my days have been off a bit this week, so I forgot yesterday was Wisdom Wednesday. Since today is the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, I'm sharing a quote of hers.  *************** "How could I bear a crown of gold when the Lord bears a crown of thorns? And bears it for me?" (St. Elizabeth of Hungary)

Luke 21:5-19     In the themes and predictions of today’s Gospel, Jesus alludes to the destruction of the Temple, which would occur in the year 70 AD. He foretells of the persecutions, imprisonments, and calamities that would befall Jerusalem. “I myself will give you wisdom in speaking,” “not a hair on your head will be destroyed,” He consoles them. For “by your perseverance you will secure your lives.”     While the destruction of the Temple occurred two thousand years ago, we are still subject to persecution, imprisonment, and calamity in our modern day. War and hatred seem to have become our language, our means to resolve conflict and disagreement. While the evils that threaten us now have changed more or less from the evils that threatened Jerusalem, Christ’s offer of hope has still remained.      For the Jews, the Temple in Jerusalem was where God dwelt. When they prayed, they prayed facing east, towards Jerusalem. So we can imagine...