* The Beginning of the Church's Calendar Year. First Sunday of Advent. Year C - Sunday, November 28, 2021 (EPISODE: 335)
Readings for Sunday, November 28, 2021 - First Sunday of Advent. Year C
FIRST READING: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:4-5a, 8-9, 10+14. "To you O Lord I lift my soul"
SECOND READING: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36). Alleluia, alleluia! Lord, show us your mercy and love and grant us your salvation. Alleluia!
GOSPEL: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
(Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID:775472464 -Panoramic view of apocalypse sky over the city. Unbelievable nature landscape. By Benevolente82)
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for the First Sunday of Advent. Year C - Sunday, November 28, 2021, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/advent-1c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-335?si=1eccb2ea9c874ba49ebb68e4fe6043fd (EPISODE: 335)
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Prologue (Fr Paul)
The Church's year has a timing different from the usual calendar year. This weekend, with the first Sunday of Advent, the new liturgical year for the Church begins. We have a three-year cycle of readings for each new year.
The Church's liturgical year begins with Advent, in anticipation of the birth of Christ. Every year we focus upon and read continuously through a particular gospel.
The weekend cycle covers three years, year A (Matthew's Gospel), Year B (Mark's Gospel), and Year C (Luke – which begins this week). If you are wondering why there isn't a four-year cycle (with John's Gospel as the fourth), it is because John's Gospel, so rich in theology and the latest of the four gospels is spread through all the years and is especially fitting in the Lent, Easter and Christmas seasons.
The readings are fairly continuous, although parts are not included, largely due to repetition, or to fit the asymmetrical nature of the Bible into a neat three-year cycle. There may be some jumping about so that the old testament readings are often placed in the same weekend next to a gospel passage with similar, contrasting or expanded themes.
The Beauty of our Continuous Cycle of Readings.
In the Catholic Church, and in fact most of the mainstream Christian Churches, there is a set cycle of readings. Our "lectionary" is actually the Bible divided up into regular instalments. The great thing about this is that, over a three-year cycle, we cover most of the old and new testament readings. The weekday readings are also a cycle (independent of the weekends) that covers a two year's period. In the weekday cycle, the first reading changes and the gospel is the same for the same weekday of the year, irrespective of whether it be year 1 or 2).
The advantage of this way of choosing readings is twofold: we progressively hear from the breadth of the scriptures and not just the 'old favourites.' The other reason is that we let the Word of God "choose us" and not "us choose the word of God." If we arbitrarily choose the readings for each weekend, it could open up the scriptures to all sorts of watering-down. For example, some texts are more challenging and less pleasant than others. How many times have you seen when a group is choosing the readings for a liturgy that they will skip over an option because the subject matter is "not pleasant" or deemed "irrelevant". In fact, most scriptures are relevant, if we sit with them and ponder their often challenging meaning.
Admittedly, some passages seem more readily relevant than others, but this can be a great trap. Also, for the preacher, it could be a temptation to pick readings that are easier, more entertaining, or more engaging to preach upon. But, in the end, surely the Word of God needs to be let free to set the agenda and not us. Also, a challenging word from the bible can be neutralized if people think that the preacher or others have chosen a particular passage to "get a point across." So, in our system, if a reading seems uncannily topical, it is not chosen by the minister, it is the action of the Spirit, who enlivens the Word of God contained in the Scriptures.
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Advent has begun.
A new church year has also begun.
It is a time of renewal and 'new beginnings."
From a church perspective, now is the best time to bring out those inspiring 'new year resolutions' (Christian-style), and for us to ask God to direct and guide us as we immerse ourselves deeper, (and deeper, each day), into the reality of God's love, compassion, mercy and justice.
We have commenced our four-week preparation for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. It is such a short time of preparation that we have to be vigilant because the busyness of the season could easily mean that we "blink and miss it."
The readings this weekend are all about preparing and being 'ready' and 'staying awake' and being watchful.
I particularly like Saint Paul's words in the second reading:
"May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness …. (And to) make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants…." (JB)
The whole purpose, point and goal of our "lives of faith," is to continue along the path of loving our God by means of deepening our love and reverence for one another.
Our attitudes, our thoughts, and actions are intended to foster each day an ever-deeper love, charity and concern for all our fellow brothers and sisters; that is, all people.
What a wonderful calling. To strive (with God's grace), to be everything God desires us to be. We are called to grow daily in love, goodwill, peace, and forgiveness.
The readings also ask us some important questions: Do you believe that God will indeed fulfil his solemn promises to us? Do you truly believe that in the end, God will come in power and glory to establish in its fullness the Heavenly Kingdom of God's peace, justice and mercy? Do you believe that ultimately, honesty, peace, integrity, and love will be at the centre of all creation, through Christ?
Come, Lord Jesus, teach us your truth and love. Establish your Kingdom in its fullness.
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Homily (Fr Peter)
One of the hardest lessons for any child has to learn is how to wait for good things to come. Waiting for holidays, birthdays, sporting events and of course Christmas, all of which require a special discipline, is so difficult for child to practise. It can also be difficult for adults to exercise the patience necessary while waiting appointments, or taxies, or just people to arrive on time. When outcomes don't arrive at a time that we want or in a way that we expect then we give into frustration and ultimately despair. Why does God make us wait and how do we stay confident in that waiting time?
At the start of today's liturgy in all Churches we performed a ceremony with the lighting of a candle, a symbol of Advent The single small flame, burning alone in the midst of the others yet unlit, reminds us that this is a feast of beginnings, of waiting and anticipation. It's not so much a time of discipline, as a growing awareness or preparation of readjusting our lives that have tended to relax and lose focus about what is important and meaningful in a world of contrary voices.
It might seem strange that this gospel of this liturgy of beginnings turns our attention to the end: to the coming of the heavenly home, identified by the church with Christ in his second coming and glorious appearance. Of course this is to remind us that we are all on a journey moving towards an end that is still ahead of us, towards which we are still on our way.
Even though Jesus paints a rather grim picture of the future, he does so in order to influence what is happening now. He doesn't want to paralyse people with fear so much as energise them into action. He encourages us to do things by way of preparation. Firstly, to be realistic about the way the world is going and at the same time not to lose hope for the future.
If we just listened only to this section of Jesus message then we would feel understandably hopeless, and that is the way many people feel today. They deduce that if issues like the Covid and global warming are in the world then what have we got to hope in. We believers are fortunate in that we know the whole story and our hope is founded in the salvific action of Jesus. And that is why we tell the story again and again beginning with each Advent. We need to be reminded and reassured, so that we don't succumb to a negative and hopeless image of the world.
Advent of course is a preparation for Christmas, as so we are invited to feel the meaning of the feast more profoundly by reflecting on the history of humanity as we imagine ourselves sharing in the anticipation of a future saviour. But Advent is something much more that recalling the past history of salvation, or mere play acting. It is a history in we are included, in which we declare that we too wait in joyful hope for the coming of Christ. It commemorates a joyful kind of waiting, a waiting for Jesus that contains promise, love, preparation, alertness, reflectiveness, new beginnings and fulfilment. It's a special kind of waiting for the God who has come, does come, and will come. It's a time to be awake, alive quick-sighted, zealous in honouring him; to look out for him in all that is happening around us; to be detached from what is present and to live in what is unseen and to live in the thought that Christ once came and will come again.
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References:
Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly
Homily – Fr Peter Dillon
(Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID:775472464 -Panoramic view of apocalypse sky over the city. Unbelievable nature landscape. By Benevolente82)
First Sunday of Advent. Year C (Sunday, November 28, 2021) (EPISODE: 335)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{How are you today}}
1st SUNDAY OF ADVENT – YEAR C –
ENTRANCE PROCESSION:
INTRODUCTION
In the Name of the Father (+) and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Lord be with you.
[the blessing of the wreath with the sprinkling of holy water follows, using these words]:
Presider: As we begin our Advent Journey, in preparation for Christmas,
We bless this Advent Wreath.
May the sprinkling of this water
remind all of us gathered here
of our first sharing in the grace of baptism.
During this time of Advent
may we prepare for the Lord's coming
with open hearts and minds.
May this wreath be a symbol to us
(+) of this time of prayerful watching and waiting
For the coming of the Lord.
{Presider now blesses the wreath and sprinkles it with holy water}
We now light the candle for the 1st Sunday of Advent. The "Prophet's Candle" Symbol of Hope. Reminding us that Jesus is coming.
{Presider takes taper and lights first candle on Advent wreath}
Lord Jesus your coming was proclaimed by the prophets of old. Lord Have Mercy.
Lord Jesus, you promise to keep us steady until the last day. Christ Have Mercy.
You instruct us to be ever-watchful. Lord, Have Mercy.
(no Gloria in Advent)
Collect:
Let Us Pray
Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,
the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ
with righteous deeds at his coming,
so that gathered at his right hand,
they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. God, forever and ever.
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Prayer after Communion
Let us pray.
May these mysteries, O Lord, in which we have participated,
profit us, we pray, for even now, as we walk amid passing things, you teach us by them to love the things of heaven
and hold fast to what endures. Through Christ our Lord.
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Psalm 25:4-5a, 8-9, 10+14. "To you O Lord I lift my soul"
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36). Alleluia, alleluia! Lord, show us your mercy and love and grant us your salvation. Alleluia!
Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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PREFACE: Advent I
EP I
Communion side. pwk: LH
(theme variation: full )
(pre+post variation: v1-long)
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{May God's love, strength, mercy and kindness guide you all this week.}
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection " - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
"O Come. Lord. (Advent) " - In Memory of Paolo Mario (Paul) Giacomantonio (1968-2020).
By Paul W. Kelly. Based on the Ancient church "O Antiphons " of Advent.
Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics, By Stefan Kelk, 2020.
[ Production - KER - 2021]
May God bless and keep you.
{extra text : unspoken for Advent -
Roman Missal, 3rd edition, 2010, (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA.
"The Psalms " by The Grail - 1963, 2009.
Prayers of the Faithful - Robert Borg "Together we pray " - (1993) }
Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.
Microphones: - SHURE MOTIV MV5
Editing equipment: NCH software - MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software
NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 12.44
Sound Processing: iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor
[ Production - KER - 2021]
May God bless and keep you.
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