First Week of Advent

December is the month dedicated to Advent and Christmas and the Immaculate Conception 

December 7 is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

December 8 is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Patronal Feast of the United States of America

Readings from the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 52 The Oratory of the Monastery - Ch 56 The Abbot's Table

Protect what your right hand has planted.

MARY, QUEEN CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Cor 1:8)

Happy New Liturgical Year and welcome to the season of Advent. For these gifts, we give God the praise. Our brief connection at the commencement of this most holy and glorious season begins with a voice.

To prepare our hearts to welcome the Lord who, as we say in the Creed, will come one day to judge the living and the dead, we must learn to recognize His presence in the events of daily life. Advent is then a period of intense training that directs us decisively to the One who has already come, who will come and who continuously comes.

(Pope Saint John Paul II)

As we prepare, then, to welcome the Lord, let us, united in faith and prayer, pray for the grace to be more aware of the presence of God in our daily lives. Be watchful! Be alert! At the end of each day of Advent, record at least one time when you were aware of the presence of God. Keep a list. Pray with the growing list and be grateful. The Lord is with you, in times of joy, frustration, challenge, in times high and low. Call on Him; He is faithful. He will keep you firm to the end. Praise to the God who is, praise to the God who was, praise to the God who is to come, for ages unending. Amen. 

Speaking of being aware of and alert to the presence of God in the events of daily life, we also want to be aware of the saints who are with us and want us to be with them. “We,” however, as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux tells us, “are indifferent. The souls of the just awake us, and we ignore them … we should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness.” So, what saint has been calling your name? Do you have a new patron saint who wants you to be with him or her for Liturgical Year 2023/2024? Let a saint choose you. Pray, first, that the proper saint be guided your way. Pray for yourself that you are open to and aware of the saint who is guided your way. Aware of the presence of God; aware of the presence of your saint, be grateful. A grateful person is a happy person. Dear Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, help me to possess your happiness. 

SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER,

SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE,

BLESSED HEREDIA ZUBIA COMPANIONS,

SAINT SABAS,

SAINT JOHN ALMOND,

SAINT BIRINUS,

SAINT HEDDA,

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW MANTI,

SAINT GERALD OF MAYO,

SAINT NICHOLAS,

SAINT AMBROSE OF MILAN,

SAINT JUAN DIEGO CUAUHTLATOATZIN,

VENERABLE SERVANT OF GOD FULTON SHEEN,

PRAY FOR 

Today’s photo: Christmas cactus in the luxurious home of dears d and J. Take care of this vine.

© Gertrude Feick 2023