Reasons for preparing well
‘Characteristics of this feast’ -- first reason. The first in the order of our Lord’s time; and last in the order of the calendar.
‘The example of the Church’ -- second reason. Consider the ways our Holy Mother the Church distinguishes the feast of Christmas:
1) Four weeks of Advent; 2) Holy Mass can be celebrated at midnight; and 3) Every priest celebrates three Masses in honor of the 3-fold birth of our Lord: being born of His Father from all eternity, His temporal birth at Bethlehem, and His spiritual birth in the hearts of the Faithful.
‘Graces attached to the Feast of Christmas’ -- third reason. Our Lord, ever ready to dispense graces and favors to all who ask them, is especially disposed to grant our requests on this day upon which, out of love for us, He came to this vale of tears, the consoler of our exile and our great reward.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp793-4
Mary, teacher of hope
The spirit of Advent largely consists in living close to Our Lady when she is carrying Jesus in her womb. We can regard our whole life as a somewhat longer ‘advent’, a time of waiting for that definitive moment when we will finally find ourselves with God forever.
The Christian knows that he must live this ‘advent’ beside Our Lady every day of his life if he wants to attain the only important thing in his whole existence: finding Christ now, and then being with him in eternity.
There is no better way of preparing for Christmas than by getting to know Mary and deepening our love and trust in her. Mary imparts a great joy to our souls. When we turn to her she leads us to Christ. Mary teaches us to hope.
“‘All generations will call me blessed’, she proclaimed. Humanly speaking, how could she hope for such a thing? Who was she, in the eyes of her contemporaries? The great heroines of the Old Testament (Judith, Esther, Deborah) won a measure of human renown even here on earth ...
“What a contrast between Our Lady’s hope and our impatience! We call so often upon God to reward us at once for any little good we may have done. For us, no sooner does the very first difficulty appear than we begin to complain. Often we find ourselves incapable of sustaining our efforts, of keeping our hope alive.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 286)
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is the greatest guarantee of our achieving the means necessary for our salvation and the eternal happiness for which we have been destined. Mary is truly ‘the port in a storm for those who are shipwrecked’. She is “the consolation of the world, ransom of captives, joy of the sick”. (St Alphonsus Liguori, “Visit to the Blessed Sacrament”, 2)
During these days that precede Christmas, and always, let us ask her to teach us how to hope in her son Jesus Christ, the Messiah whose advent was foretold by the Prophets. “She shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of sure hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.” (Second Vatican Council, “Lumen Gentium”, 68)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:153-4, 159-60
Queen of apostles and of all apostolates
“What is the devotion that should be spread throughout the world? Give the most beautiful titles to Mary ... But the title that will explain all the others, the dignity that serves all her privileges, the office for which she was clothed in the highest virtues is that of being an apostle ... All of the most beautiful titles given to Mary are fine. But the one that completes them and explains her most of all is the title of ‘Queen of apostles’.” -- Rev James Alberione, SSP
“Why did the Lord make Mary so great? Why did He make her the Mother of God and of the Church? Perhaps because the ‘Queen of apostles’ is the true apostle. So the same dignity of Mother of God is related to the Apostles’ office: to give Jesus to the world.
“The first great gift received by the Church was the descent of the Holy Spirit. Mary obtained this in the Cenacle. And as she drew down this first grace of the Holy Spirit among the Apostles, so she acquired almost by right the effusion of the Holy Spirit among souls. Mary is, therefore, the Sanctifier of our souls.” -- Rev James Alberione, SSP
(Pope Paul VI called the Rev James Alberione, SSP, a marvel of this century; ... the St Paul of the 20th century.)
Ref: In “Two Months with Mary”, Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, 1984, p21
‘Mother most renowned. Pray for us.’
The Grace of the Coming
‘Christian expectation’: Perseverance in faith, in struggle.
Advent makes us see that salvation has been given to us through ‘the grace of the coming’ of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Let us open our hearts afresh so the grace of this year’s Advent may work in us with the fulness of its riches and depth.
Advent is the period of waiting: of Christian waiting and perseverance in faith and in struggle, by virtue of Christ’s grace in us. Advent opens a new chapter every year in that book of salvation which God writes in the Church through the story of man. It is necessary to be humble to receive the divine teachings; so that divine grace may operate in us, transform our lives and bring out fruits of goodness.
Elevation of the soul is accomplished through ‘knowledge of the Lord and his ways’: “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me ...” (Ps 25:4-5)
As you see, it is not a matter of abstract knowledge but of knowledge ‘having influence upon life’. “Teach me your paths” means teach me to live in conformity with God’s will.
In this internal effort it is given to us to discover once again and convince ourselves that “the Lord is good”.
There are “Advent wishes”, “Advent requests”. I express them to you in prospect of the feast of Christmas.
Ref: cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p15
Our Lady of Good Deliverance. (‘Notre Dame de Bonne Délivrance’; ‘Notre Dame de Bon Secours’). Black Madonna. Statue in St ‘Etienne des-Grès’, the Black Madonna of Paris (‘La vierge noire de Paris’). (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm).
Our Lady of Good or Happy Deliverance, brought from Madrid, Spain to St. Augustine, Florida (1565). (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html).
Institution of the celebrated Confraternity of Our Lady of Good Deliverance, in the Church of St Stephen des Gres, at Paris, about the year 1533, to which Gregory XIII granted ample indulgences in the year 1538. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm).
Institution: Confraternity of Our Lady of Deliverance (‘Saydet An-Najat’, in Syriac). France. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm).
Institution of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Deliverance in 1583 (France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment