So, we begin with our longing, our desire and our hope.
When we wake up, each day this week, we could light that candle, just by taking a few moments to focus. We could pause for a minute at the side of our bed, or while putting on our slippers or our robe, and light an inner candle. Who among us doesn't have time to pause for a moment? We could each find our own way to pray something like this:
“Lord, the light I choose to let into my life today is based on my trust in you. It is a weak flame, but I so much desire that it dispel a bit more darkness today. Today, I just want to taste the longing I have for you as I go to the meeting this morning, carry out the responsibilities of my work, face the frustration of some difficult relationships. Let this candle be my reminder today of my hope in your coming.”Each morning this week, that momentary prayer might get more specific, as it prepares us for the day we will face. And as we head to work, walk to a meeting, rush through lunch, take care of errands, meet with people, pick up the phone to return some calls, answer e-mail, return home to prepare a meal, listen to the ups and downs of our loved ones' day, we can take brief moments to relate our desire for the three comings of the Lord to our life.
If our family has an Advent wreath, or even if it doesn't, we could pray together before our evening meal. As we light the first candle on the wreath, or as we simply pause to pray together our normal grace. Then, as we begin to eat, we can invite each other, including the children, to say something about what it means today to light this first candle.
Perhaps we could ask a different question each night, or ask about examples from the day. How am I getting in touch with the longing within me? How did I prepare today? What does it mean to prepare to celebrate his coming 2,000 years ago? How can we prepare to experience his coming into our lives this year? What does it mean for us now, with our world involved in so much conflict? How are we being invited to trust more deeply? How much more do we long for his coming to us, in the midst of the darkness in our world? In what ways can we renew our lives so we might be prepared to greet him when he comes again? Our evening meal could be transformed this week, if we could shape some kind of conversation together that lights a candle of anticipation in our lives. Don't worry if everyone isn't “good at” this kind of conversation at first. We can model it, based on our momentary pauses throughout each day, in which we are discovering deeper and deeper desires, in the midst of our everyday lives.
And every night this week, we can pause briefly, perhaps as we undress or sit for a minute at the edge of the bed. We can be aware of how that one, small candle's worth of desire brought light into this day. And we can give thanks. Going to bed each night this week with some gratitude is part of the preparation for growing anticipation and desire.
Come, Lord Jesus! Come and visit your people.
We await your coming. Come, O Lord.
Don't be worried or anxious.
These resources are simple and friendly. You won't need to rush out and get an Advent wreath if you don't have one. You won't need to make your family recite prayers that don't seem to fit where you are.
These reflections are for adults.
They are prepared, however, to draw children in. They are resources to help us adults with the un-named anticipation or longing in our hearts. They allow us to enter into the experience of our darkness and therefore to give glory to God for the Light.
Praying Advent website helps our journey
Want some help for the Advent journey? The Praying Advent website offers a Daily Prayer for each day of Advent, based upon the new Collects of the New Roman Missal. In addition, there are family Dinner Prayers for Advent, help for parents and for people caring for parents. There are even audio reflections and a few audio retreats. All, brief and intended for busy people - to help make our Advent full of grace. Just Google "Praying Advent 2011." or click here.
Last year’s First Communicants, this year’s Confirmation group and representatives of parish organizations marched in the Eucharistic procession.
These devotion highlighted the significance of our Eucharistic faith. As Fr. Gerry mentioned those who want their families and themselves rooted in the traditions of our faith will want to take advantage of this occasion and many did.
Simply put, Adoration is prayer. Adoration celebrates Jesus, who is fully present in the Consecrated Host at Mass and reserved in tabernacles in Catholic churches and chapels. At Adoration, the Consecrated Host is reverently displayed on the altar in a receptacle called a monstrance. Adoration is a time for us to pray, to listen, and to be in His presence.
The Bible. After Christ instituted the Eucharist and celebrated the first Mass at the Last Supper, He took His disciples to the Mount of Olives and invited them to stay awake with Him, praying there in vigil for what was to come. Christ gave to the disciples, and to all Christians, this pattern of prayer. Jesus’s question to his disciples, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” is the same question he asks us today…Could you not keep watch for one hour? (Mark 14:37)
How does Eucharistic Adoration relate to my life?
Whether it is homework, service work, faith, athletics, a relationship, friendships, or fun, everything you do can be rooted in Christ through Eucharistic Adoration. Pope John Paul II reiterated Vatican II’s proclamation, that the Eucharist is “the Source and Summit of the Christian life.” Eucharistic Adoration nourishes us, inspires us, and gives us the strength and grace to make Christ relevant, whether in our school work, our leisure time, our relationships, or our service to those who are in need. By spending time with Jesus in Adoration, we are made more mindful of Him and His presence with us throughout our day.
How is it different than Mass or private prayer in my hall chapel?
Prayer can be done at anytime, anywhere, by anyone. You can always find and make time for prayer.
Mass is the perfect prayer. When we gather as a community at Mass, we celebrate God’s gift to the Church in giving us His Son. By the words of the priest and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine offered at the altar become Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Jesus’ Real Presence remains in the Consecrated Host, which is reserved in the tabernacle following Mass. Outside of Mass, people are always welcome to pray in our churches and chapels in the presence of Christ at any time.
Eucharistic Adoration is that time set aside when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed (placed in a monstrance on the altar) so that the faithful may see, pray, and adore our Risen Lord. Jesus is just as present in the tabernacle as in the monstrance, but many believers find comfort and ease when they are able to adore while looking upon Jesus exposed in the monstrance.
The Closing of Forty Hours was such a beautiful celebration. It was an outward sign of our relationship with Christ to the community. Fr. Nick Rottman during his homily highlighted that the very essence of a Christian life is our relationship with Christ. All the things that we do for credit or admiration for other people is not what gets us to heaven. Rather it is the relationship that we form with Jesus himself is what gets us to heaven and that is why we are here.
" I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that
I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
John 6:51
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you."
John 6:53
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:26
Here at St. Joseph we have Exposition of Blessed Sacrament from 10am - 6:30pm every Wednesday. This is a great opportunity to spend some quiet time with our Lord throughout the year.
Many thanks goes to Fr. Josh, Dave Wegert, and Connie Ruprich in all the preparation they put into making this a beautiful celebration. We also thank all the parishioners that took time out of their busy lives to make sure that someone was here with our Lord during these forty hours. To all the families that made it to the closing - THANK YOU. We hope you come and fill the church with your voices, prayers, and presence at this beautiful celebration next year.
The questions and answers came from the following website: Office of Campus Ministry
Liturgical Color(s): White
Type of Holiday: Solemnity, Holy Day of Obligation (West); Feast (East)
Time of Year: November 1 (in the East, the Sunday after Pentecost)
Duration: One Day
Celebrates/Symbolizes: All Saints, known and unknown
Alternate Names: All Hallows, Hallowmas, Halloween
Scriptural References: Mark 12:26-27; Ephesians 6:18; Hebrews 12:1, Revelation 5:8
Every day in the Church calendar has a saint day, but the Solemnity of All Saints is when the Church honors all saints, known and unknown. This is much like the American holidays Veterans Day and Presidents Day, where many people are honored on one day. While we have information about many saints, and we honor them on specific days, there are many unknown or unsung saints, who may have been forgotten, or never been specifically honored. On All Saints Day, we celebrate these saints of the Lord, and ask for their prayers and intercessions. The whole concept of All Saints Day is tied in with the concept of the Communion of Saints. This is the belief that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of purification (called Purgatory in the West), are connected in a communion. In other words, Catholic and Orthodox Christians believe that the saints of God are just as alive as you and I, and are constantly interceding on our behalf. Remember, our connection with the saints in heaven is one grounded in a tight-knit communion. The saints are not divine, nor omnipresent or omniscient. However, because of our common communion with and through Jesus Christ, our prayers are joined with the heavenly community of Christians. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 350) testifies to this belief:
We mention those who have fallen asleep: first the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, that through their prayers and supplications God would receive our petition...(Catechetical Lecture 23:9).
The Catholic Catechism concisely describes this communion among believers, by which we are connected to Christ, and thus to one another:
"Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness...They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us...So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."
"...as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself: We worship Christ as God's Son; we love the martyrs as the Lord's disciples and imitators, and rightly so because of their matchless devotion towards their king and master. May we also be their companions and fellow disciples (CCC 956, 957)!
There are thousands of canonized saints, that is those individuals officially recognized by the Church as holy men and women worthy of imitation. Because miracles have been associated with these people, and their lives have been fully examined and found holy by the Church, we can be assured they are prime examples of holiness, and powerful intercessors before God on our behalf. There are also many patron saints, guardians or protectors of different areas and states of life. For instance, St. Vitus is the patron saint against oversleeping, and St. Joseph of Cupertino is the patron saint of air travelers. It may sound crazy to have a patron saint against oversleeping, but keep in mind the Church has something meaningful for every area of our human lives. All of these saints are celebrated throughout the year, as many have their own feast days (for instance, St. Hilary of Poitiers, whose feast day is celebrated January 13).
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