ADVENT WREATH
It dates back to the late 19th century in Germany, where parents encouraged their children to make a garland of greenery tied up with a red ribbon and hung in the main hallway or door of the house. It would have had four candles, one to be lit for the beginning of each Advent week. On Christmas eve the garland would have been taken down and laid in front of the Christmas crib with an extra white candle - a sign of welcome for the birth of Christ.
ADVENT CALENDAR
Really a countdown to the great Christmas feast. For small children a month was a long time so each day they were encouraged to draw or paint a small picture and stick it on a large card for each Advent day.
The custom of wreaths and calendars soon spread throughout Europe and especially to the English speaking world.
RECONCILIATION
Advent is the beginning of the Church's liturgical year. It is a time of reflection and preparation, a time for looking at the kind of life each one of us is leading.
The Sunday vestments on the first, second and fourth Sunday will be purple, there is even a special advent purple which you might see in some churches; on the third Sunday the vestments are rose coloured, a time of rejoicing, the great feast is almost with us. It is used to be referred to as "Gaudete Sunday".but that word seems to have disappeared from common usage. The fourth Sunday in Lent has a similar joyful context and is called "Laetare Sunday".
This is a time to look at how we treat other people. Do we treat them with respect and dignity, are we truthful, are we honest with the property of others, is our language proper and controlled, are we careful in our daily relationships with others, are we close to God through the practice of our faith? Or are we careless?
This is a good time to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation - time to go to confession.
CHRISTMAS TREE
Some traditions say that it was dreamt up by Martin Luther, others claim that the true inventor was St. Boniface in the eighth century, but there seems to be a strong basis that Prince Albert introduced the tree to England around 1841 when his wife, Queen Victoria, referred to the "Christmas tree and all its candles" in one of her letters.
SAINT NICHOLAS (December 6th)
We all know of St Nicholas and his connection with Santa Claus. Although he is usually associated with children, he is obviously a model for parents too. Here is a prayer translated from the French which asks for that same spirit of the Gospel that inspired Nicholas:
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
If Mary is given to us, it is so that the Holy Spirit might carve in us what He carved in Mary. The only difference is that with Mary it took an instant, whereas with us it comes about slowly. The granite in us resists. It is difficult to surpass the consequences of sin to rediscover the spring of the Immaculate Conception. But we know that if we cling to Mary, one day we will be immaculate. We should already be immaculate in the Holy Spirit and in Mary. This is what gives us hope. Be that as it may, fifteen minutes later we may be tempted. But nonetheless the mystery of the Immaculate Conception is given to us. Of course the struggle is then at its paroxysm. We see the abyss of love that is given to us and the poverty in which we find ourselves.
HOLY INNOCENTS
It's impossible to determine the day or year of the death of the Holy Innocents since the date of Christ's birth and the events that followed it are most uncertain. All we know is that the children were slaughtered within two years of the star appearing to the wise men.
The Church established this feast sometime in the fourth or fifth century and it is placed within the week of Christmas because the Holy Innocents gave their life as a result of the newborn saviour coming among us. So this week we see Stephen, the first martyr, John, the disciple of love, and the Holy Innocents, the first flowers of the Church accompanying the Holy Child who entered our world on Christmas Day. Today the feast is seen also as homage to all those defenceless children whose lives are needlessly taken from them.
BIBLE SUNDAY
The Second Sunday of Advent is sometimes referred to as Bible Sunday. What can you do to get the most out of the Bible?Every Christian has a different relationship with the Bible. Perhaps you meet it only when you come to a church service. Or you may read a short passage from the Bible every morning or evening, perhaps working your way through particular books within it. Or you may find your main contact with the text of the Bible is through the singing of psalms and anthems.Some of you may use one of the aids to Bible reading, daily notes such as are available from several different Christian educational publishers. Or you may make occasional use of the Bible as an aid to prayer or meditation. Perhaps you may come to the Bible as part of a course of study of Christian theology.The Bible may have been more important to you in the past than it is now; or it may be that you are just beginning to appreciate it more and more, or discovering its wonderful variety and inspiration for the first time. There are many, many types and degrees of relationship with the Bible. This Sunday and the Advent period in general is a spur to reflect upon and review your relationship with the Bible. What does it mean to you? Could it mean more?
SIGN OF THE CROSS
The sign of the cross is a gesture made by drawing the right hand from forehead to breast and then from shoulder to shoulder, returning to the centre afterwards. From early Christian times (Tertullian mentions it in the 2nd century) it was used to sanctify actions in daily life and known as the "sign of the Lord". Recalling Christ's death on the cross it became a shorthand prayer in times of trial and temptation and was used to begin formal prayers and to signify blessing of people and objects, particularly in liturgical worship. In many parts of the world Christian people make a sign of the cross before starting work, or some new venture, or even when joining in some kind of game or competition.
SOLEMNITY
In the Roman Catholic Church celebrations are of three distinct types. Memorials are usually rites celebrated to honour local or universal saints and can be obligatory or optional. Feasts are the second rank of celebrations and take place within the natural day (midnight to midnight) to honour the saints and Jesus Christ. The days of greatest importance are called solemnities. They begin at vespers (evensong) of the previous day and several have their own vigil Mass as well as the Mass of the day. There are 14 solemnities which fall during the calendar year as well as Easter, Ascension and Pentecost.
ADVENT REFLECTION
Peace is something that everyone is in favour of. And it comes as a comfort to hear that the very first reading of the Church's cycle of scripture at the start of Advent is the good news that God has promised peace to the world. Isaiah tells us that weapons of war (swords) will be melted down and turned into food producers (ploughshares).
Yet we do not live in cloud cuckoo land. We only have to turn on the TV to see that this Advent is no more peaceful than any other. Far from it. The enduring peace of God's everlasting justice is being sought with weapons of war and innocent people are dying in America, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Peace cannot be imposed on any people or nation. It has to be felt and yearned for. When a nation is defeated and it signs a declaration of end to hostility, the work only just begins. That's because peace is more than the absence of conflict. Peace is living with justice for all sides. Without tackling root injustice we only create what at best is a temporary truce.
Isaiah speaks of the "mountain of the Lord" being a place where the Law, God's plan for humanity, is proclaimed and dispensed. Each year Christians recall that Christ came as the embodiment of that promise of peace and justice. But we don't simply recall it as a past event, something which took place in the past. We recall it to remind ourselves that it is our responsibility and duty to make it a reality in our own day.
As this year unfolds we will gather at worship to ask the Holy Spirit to transform our lives through the action of the liturgy, so that we may become signs and vehicles of that peace which God alone can offer the world. God's peace is more than tolerance and multiculturalism. It is that deep down sense of wellbeing that comes from knowing that we are held in the palm of God's hand and we are doing all we can to ensure that others experience his infinite love through the way we treat them.
So Advent is not about remembrance. It's about active recommitment to making the Son of Man present in our world through the way we live justly.
Bouquets and Flowers For Every Event...
This information is intended for parents of school-age children and teachers who are imparting Religious Education within a Catholic school environment.
WHAT ABOUT ADVENT!
The contents of these documents are related to the present day teaching of the Catholic Church in relation to Doctrine, Liturgy and Catholic practices. There are also special sections on Catholic Marriage and arranging a funeral in the Catholic Church.
Scripture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at his coming, judgement on sin, and the hope of eternal life.
In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolises the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that he is present in the world today, and that he will come again in power. This provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live "between the times" and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God's people. So, as the church celebrates God's breaking into history in the incarnation and anticipates its future consummation, it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbour as yourself".
O Holy St Nicholas,
you bring joy to the faces of young children.
Put that same gospel spirit of childhood once more in my heart
and teach me to sow happiness all around me.
Your feast reminds us that Christmas is on its way;
increase my faith in the mystery of God made man.
You were a bishop and a shepherd;
help me to find my place in the Church.
O Holy St Nicholas,
patron of the poor and weak,
watch over all who come into our parish church.
Pray to Jesus for me that our children may grow
healthily in mind and body
and come to know the Christ-child as their friend, their saviour and their God.
Amen.
Pray, O Mother, for all of us.
Pray for humanity who suffers poverty and injustice,
violence and hatred, terror and war.
Help us to contemplate with the rosary
the mysteries of him who "is our peace",
so that we will all feel involved
in a persevering dedication of service to peace.
Look with special attention upon the land
in which you gave birth to Jesus,
a land that you loved together with him,
and that is still so sorely tried today.
Pray for us, Mother of hope!
Give us days of peace; watch over our way.
Let us see your Son as we rejoice in heaven. Amen!
(Pope John Paul II)
CHRISTMAS PRAYER
Lord, we are filled with wonder and awe
at your boundless generosity
in giving your only Son to be born among us.
You cheer us with the nearness of your godhead
and you give us a foretaste of the joy we will know
when the fullness of his glory is seen all over the world.
Through his co-mingling with our human nature
may Jesus open our hearts
to accept the freshness of life's gifts
which you offer us today and every day.
Your Son shared the humdrum of our daily routine;
may we share the glory of his risen life in fullest measure.
The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival". Originally it referred to the coming of a ruler into one of his cities and the response of the citizens. The focus of the Christian season of Advent is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent.
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