Weekday - Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception - December 8th. (episode: 265)

Weekday Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception  - December 8^th. (episode: 265)

Genesis 3:9-15, 20

Psalm 97:1-4. " Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous deeds."
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Gospel Acclamation: cf Luke 1:28. Alleluia, alleluia! Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women. Alleluia!
Gospel:  Luke 1:26-38

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed ID: 416319478. SALAMANCA, SPAIN, APRIL - 17, 2016: The Immaculate conception of Virgin Mary painting on the altar of Convento de las Agustinas and Iglesia de la Purisima church by Jose de Ribera 1635.By Renata Sedmakova
++++
To listen to the audio recording of the readings, prayers and reflections for this feast of The Immaculate Conception  - December 8th , please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/the-feast-of-the-immaculate-conception-faith-hope-and-love-ep-265/s-XIxUskxjxd3  
+++++

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
{{Joy and peace to everyone}}

On this special (feast of) Feast Of The Immaculate Conception
Coming together as Gods family, let us call to mind our sins.

Lord jesus, you humble the proud and exalt the lowly. Lord have mercy.

You fill the hungry with good things, and The self-sufficient you send away empty. Christ have mercy.

Your mercy reaches from age to age for those who revere you. Lord have mercy.

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

(Gloria)

Collect (Immaculate Conception)

Let us pray.
(that we too will be admitted to the presence of God)

O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son,
grant, we pray,
that, as you preserved her from every stain
by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw,
so, through her intercession,
we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PREFACE: Immaculate conception.
Euch .Prayer: 3
(PROPOSED THEME Marian hymns)
++++
{Thank you, everyone, for participating in this superb feast of the  immaculate conception…  and for giving generously to god and to our christian community, of your time  and prayerfulness.}

Dismissal:
go and announce the gospel of the lord..
++++++++
HOMILY:
The Immaculate Conception
(8 December)
Prologue:  This feast had its origin in the East as the "Conception of Mary by Saint Anne". It spread through the West during the Middle Ages as the "Immaculate Conception" and was extended to the entire Western Church in the eighteenth century. The feast celebrates Mary, preserved from sin from the moment of conception; she is the first fruits of her Son's redemption and a prophetic model of what the Church is called to be.
+++++++
(draft)
Although this is a very special feast celebrating Mary's life…  from the moment of her conception…  This Feast… as all feasts and solemnities, is really about God and what God has achieved, through the wonderful grace and blessings God has showered upon his beloved children…  And on this occasion, the superb and wondrous plan of God that envisaged and made a reality through the first moment of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary….   Whenever we pause to turn our attention to contemplate Mary  and praise God and celebrate the life of Mary, This first and most perfect disciple of Christ always humbly points us in turn towards her beloved son…  God's son..  who is the reason and cause of all our joy and hope…   

Mary, although fully human was conceived without sin and remained sinless throughout her life.

By this feast we remember the earlies beginnings of Mary's existence and also contemplate our own earliest beginning. And the love at the very heart of our origins.  

Ultimately we all belong to God. A God of the most profound and overflowing love.  God's plans of love and inclusion for his children began well before time began.
We were imagined by God long before we came to be.  We were all lovingly brought into existence, created by God, through God's loving grace…(that same source of love that brought the whole of creation into existence). ..
God's love claims Mary's entire existence. We, too, seek to allow God to envelop our whole selves now and always. (1).

The Immaculate Conception: Is defined like this…..
490 To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role. (that is, God gave her the graces and gifts needed to allow God to achieve his plan for the salvation of humanity, through her cooperation). "The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.
491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception.  as Pope Pius IX officially proclaimed in 1854:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and the privilege from almighty God; --and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
492 The "splendour of entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son". The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".(2)

and a nice quote from:
Scripture Scholar and Theologian, Gustavo Gutiérrez:
 "Mary is aware of all the implications of her accepting God's will: "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (v. 38). In the Canticle of the Magnificat, Mary will again call herself a servant. Luke has in mind the meaning of the Hebrew word which we translate by "servant." It means completely belonging to God... Servants are those who announce the Lord's message completely, and those who receive a mission (Acts 2:18).

Belonging to God is expressed by our availability, by our welcoming his plan for our lives and our world.

Mary does not ask for a sign from the Angel Gabriel… in the way that Zechariah had demanded and doubted(Lk 1:18). She shows her complete trust and confidence in the will of God. Mary makes God's will her own, in her entire self-hood….   in her whole life and in her body. 

We are called do the same.

The reading from Ephesians shows the deep meaning of our human existence. We have come into this world for the purpose of fully realising our full calling to be daughters and sons of God (vv. . 4-5). Being God's children is not something added from outside the human condition, instead, it is our very reason for being. The grace of God's love is the first and the last word upon everything.
However, we cannot accept God's plan of love and peace if we do not first incarnate God's plan, (that is, to make God's plan a concrete reality)……  to "enflesh" God's word, into the tangible elements of our daily lives. In order to achieve this we first need to get rid of any selfishness or wilfulness, and trust, rely and act upon the grace and vision of God, (as Mary did), and take risks in the strength of this trust and obedience, (again, As Mary did)." (3)

All Praise and blessing to our beautiful and loving God, for the wonderful things God has achieved through his extraordinary plan to utilise the free and full cooperation of the of the Blessed Virgin Mary, flowing through her, for the good of all people. Praise, indeed, be to God whose wonderful and astounding plan of salvation for the whole world, included his loving and freely cooperative plan for Mary's life, which began before her conception, and anticipated the salvation that Christ would later achieve by his Death and Resurrection, to save us all.

O Mary, The Immaculate Conception. Pray for us.
+++++
References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

+++++
References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

1.     Quote from a pamphlet:  "Mary: God's radical daughter." Published by CATHOLIC ENQUIRY CENTRE. Copyright: The Australian Episcopal Conference of the Roman Catholic Church, 1994
2.     Vatican.va. (2019). Catechism of the Catholic Church - "Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary". [online] Available at:  http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a3p2.htm [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019]).

3.     Gutiérrez, G. and Dees, C. (1997). Sharing the Word through the liturgical year. 1st ed. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. pp 280-281.

4.     Prologue from Liturgy Brisbane Resource.

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed ID: 416319478. SALAMANCA, SPAIN, APRIL - 17, 2016: The Immaculate conception of Virgin Mary painting on the altar of Convento de las Agustinas and Iglesia de la Purisima church by Jose de Ribera 1635.By Renata Sedmakova
++++++++
Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++
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:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria. Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org .

Marian Hymn – "Whom Earth and Sea and Sky Proclaim." Traditional 6th Century Hymn. Melody: Bartholomaus Gesius (d.1613). #376 - Brébeuf Hymnal. From https://www.ccwatershed.org/hymn/

Reflection Hymn post communion -  Salve Regina (tono simple) 450 voces coro virtual Música Católica.  https://cantocatolico.org/salve-regina/

Marian Hymn -   "Salve Regina Mater Misericordiae." (Traditional 11th Century). Melody: Mainz (1712), Hymn #783 - Brébeuf Hymnal. From https://www.ccwatershed.org/hymn/

[ Production - KER - 2020]

May God bless and keep you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Second Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 6, 2020 - (EPISODE: 264)

Second Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 6, 2020
(EPISODE: 264)

Readings for 2nd Sunday of Advent - B
FIRST READING: Isa 40:1-5, 9-11
Ps 85:9ab+10, 11-12, 13-14. "Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation"
SECOND READING: 2 Pet 3:8-14
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Luke 3:4+6). Alleluia, alleluia! Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: all people shall see the salvation of God. Alleluia!
GOSPEL: Mark 1:1-8

Image Credit: Image:  Photo by Ray Fragapane on Unsplash
++++
Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Second Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 6, 2020, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-advent-2b-episode-264-second-sunday-of-advent-year-b  (EPISODE: 264)
+++++
*Prologue: Just to be even a very small part of God's grand project, is surely satisfaction enough.

A fitting quote (from Scripture commentator William Barclay), is quite apt for today. . .." In my youth, because I could not be a singer, I did not even try to write a song; and I planted no little trees along the roadside Because I knew their growth would take so long and I would never see them fully grown. But now from the wisdom that the years have brought me, I know that it may be a blessed thing; to plant a tree for someone else to water and enjoy, Or make a song that someone else will sing when I cannot." (William Barclay).

The goal will never be reached unless the labourers unite to make it possible, under the great architect's plan. Each one adds their little bit to a project much bigger than any one of us.

God's plan was being unfolded long before we came on the scene and it will continue to come to fruition long after we have finished our earthly journey.

In the gospel, we hear that those who were baptised also confessed their sins. . .. Admitting to our sins and faults is difficult. But when we do this we straighten the path between us and God. Often, the most difficult person to admit sin, is actually ourselves.   For example, when the prodigal son took off with half his father's property, he probably thought very well of himself.    He thought he was a fine and clever young man who will make it big. But, later, in extreme poverty, as he even longed to eat the scraps of pigs' food and realised his folly, he would first have had to admit to himself how pathetically he had acted.   Even before he returned to his father, he had to look at himself honestly and humbly, and it must have been very deflating and difficult. But he could not have imagined the astounding love and mercy he would receive when he made a straight path back to his father.

We must let the barriers down…  and fill in the valleys of pride and self-satisfaction.  It is not the person who desires to meet God on equal terms who will discover forgiveness, grace and compassion - but rather, the person who falls to their knees and whispers: "Lord, I need you! I am a terrible mess without your help. Be merciful to me, for I am a sinner!"

The Prophet Isaiah in the first reading speaks of comfort for God's people. God assures the people that they have 'done their time' for their sins. The debt is cancelled. However, one gets a distinct feeling that God is just being kind and generous. We couldn't have paid off the debt; but God, in His love and mercy has cancelled it and written "paid in full" anyway. Another act of astounding generosity. 

John the Baptist was out in the desert. This reminds us of the time when the People of Israel wandered in the desert and lived in the wilderness for forty years, In that time, they were utterly reliant on God's providence. They had nothing else but the presence and leadership of God's guiding hand. The people had to trust totally in God's wisdom and care. For the most part, they were humble and grateful people.  (although at times, for those who trudged the relentless desert paths, - pride, distrust and ingratitude got the better of many of them)

In the process of trying to give up sin and live with virtue, we often find it difficult. Even after years of struggle, we can often find ourselves still facing the same sins and defects in our lives. But let us not lose hope. The Lord assures and comforts us…… He comes to save us, not to condemn us. The secret is to trust completely in Jesus Christ. To surrender to God.  To stop wrangling with God and resisting him with our wilfulness. We humbly admit our need for Our Lord's grace and mercy.

Everything God gives us is a grace -- Gifts and blessings are given, completely and unreservedly in love for all people….By contrast, we are tempted to keep score or place conditions on love,  or by "trying to live as if we were an island complete of itself," this is what creates valleys and mountains – making rocky the pathway of communication and the friendship between God and ourselves.  In the same way, wilfulness, pride and self-focus are obstacles to our peace and to accepting Christ's unconditional love.

May we appreciate more deeply, the reality of Christ's selfless and generous love and make it an ever deeper reality in our lives too.  

O Come, Lord Jesus!!  

+++++
Homily- Fr Peter Dillon. -

Following the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, scholars got to know of the existence of a sect called the Essenes who had left Jerusalem and the Temple and basically civilisation behind to go into the desert and await their delivery and to get things straight in their lives. They went back to the source of where their religion had been born since it was in the desert that God appeared to Moses. It was in the desert that a small nomadic tribe with no resources other than what God provided – manna and quails – not only survived but flourished and passed on its revelation and experience to the world.

The term "desert experience" has come to mean going back to basics, back to the source, back to one's utter dependency on one's Creator, going back to claim one's true identity as a son and daughter of God. The desert experience means that one must pull away to gain perspective, and letting go of what we think is so life-giving, but which in reality is life-denying. It means entering a spiritually dry period and accepting vulnerability and total dependence on God, because the desert is a harsh and an unforgiving place, where life is lived day-by-day on the edge and you come face to face with reality, with what really counts.

It's no surprise then that in today's Gospel John is found in the desert rather than the city. Later on in Christian history, whole groups of people went into the desert and founded havens of renewal and spirituality. These people came to be known as "the Desert Fathers" and people would flock to them seeking their counsel and consolation.

Like John, these Desert Fathers appeared eccentric, but there was a deep sense of purpose in what they did. They often went without sleep, because, Advent-like, they were watching for the Lord. They did not speak often because they were listening for the Lord. They fasted frequently because they were fed by God's word. It was God who really mattered and their asceticism was only a means to that end.

Eventually their teachings, their sayings and their stories were collected and meditated on. Not as a means of entertainment but more as an instruction manual on how to distil the essentials of life, and not crowd or cloud ourselves with the incidentals of our existence, that sometimes present themselves as life's necessities.

The point of the gospel, the point of the stories of the Desert Fathers is that if you want renewal and refreshment if you want to shake off the barnacles of sin and selfishness that have attached themselves your life; if you want to rise above humdrum consumer living and become a real person of depth and spirit, you must go back to the desert.

Where do we find a desert experience? Where do we find the time? What are we really looking for and how will we know if we find it? These are Advent questions that we can sit with before we begin the journey, or else we may find ourselves full of good intentions, but little energy to start.

For some, it can be a retreat or conversation with a spiritual guide or a day set aside for recollection, for others it may be spiritual reading or a regularly scheduled prayer time. Whatever the experience we will need some discipline not to place self-imposed hurdles in our path. We may not have to travel far but we do need a resolve. To go to the "desert" means giving time and making space and watching listening and sometimes being quiet to that God will have a chance to speak. And if we listen carefully we might hear the words that tell us God has come to rid us of fear, and enable us to live in holiness and justice all the days of our lives. A light that shows the way in times of darkness and guides our feet into the way of peace.

++++++
References:
homily by Fr Peter Dillon

Prologue by Fr Paul W. Kelly

Barclay, W. (1975). The Gospel of Mark. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press

Fr Paul W. Kelly

Leonard, R. (2006). Preaching to the converted. New York: Paulist Press.

Monastery of Christ in the Desert. Abbot's Homily. Advent 2, Year B. 2008.

PrepareTheWord.com © 2008, TrueQuest Communications, LLC.


Image Credit: Image:  Photo by Ray Fragapane on Unsplash


Second Sunday Advent. Year B  (Sunday, December 6, 2020)  (EPISODE: 264 )

+++++++++++++


In the Name of the Father (+) and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord be with you.
Welcome everyone, we gather -  Reflection upon God's word, and encounter Christ's presence.
We continue on our Advent journey. We now light the second Advent candle. The "Bethlehem Candle" - symbolizing the journey of Faith. Reminding us of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem.

The Presider lights the second candle

Presider: Lord Jesus. You promise to lift the valleys and straighten the pathway for God. Lord have mercy.

Presider: You feed your flock. Gently gathering us in your arms. Christ Have mercy.

Presider: O Wisdom, Come to teach us the way of truth. Lord Have mercy.

(no Gloria in Advent)

COLLECT:

Almighty and merciful God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those
who set out in haste to meet your Son, but may our learning of heavenly wisdom
gain us admittance to his company.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. God, forever and ever.

++

Prayer after Communion

Replenished by the food of spiritual nourishment, we humbly beseech you, O Lord, that, through our partaking in this mystery, you may teach us to judge wisely the things of earth and hold firm to the things of heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.

+++++++++++++++++++++
Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PREFACE: Advent I
EP II
Communion side.  pwk:  RH
(theme variation: 2 )
(pre+post variation: 2)
++++
{thank you for your company as we have given thanks and praise to our God.}

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

++++++++
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:
"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 - 2020]

May God bless and keep you.

             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) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

First Sunday Advent. Year B- Sunday, November 29, 2020- (EPISODE: 263)

First Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, November 29, 2020

(EPISODE: 263)

Keep Vigilant:

Readings for 1st Sunday of Advent - B

FIRST READING: Isa 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7
Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19. "Lord make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved"
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 1:3-9
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Ps 85:8). Alleluia, alleluia! Lord, show us your mercy and love and grant us your salvation. Alleluia!
GOSPEL: Mark 13:33-37

Image:  shutterstock licensed. ID: 406003843. "Keep alert" - Large and diverse group of people - aerial perspective gathered together in the shape of an eye, 3d. By Arthimedes
++++
Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for First Sunday Advent. Year B - 29-Nov-20 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-advent-1b-episode-263-first-sunday-of-advent-year-b  (EPISODE: 263)
+++++
*Prologue: Readiness. (Fr Paul)

Saint Augustine once wrote: "It is by design that Our Lord hid the time and date of the last day from us. It is so that we would be on the lookout for Christ every day of our lives. "

 

If we were somehow to know when the day of the Lord will come, we would be focusing on the deadline. the endpoint. Instead of being busy with our work along the way. The Kingdom is not a conclusion point. The Kingdom is a way to live and act in each moment of life here and now.

 

No wonder many completely missed the first coming of the Messiah, some two thousand years ago. they were looking into the past or the distant future and completely missed what was happening in the present! They were also looking for the wrong signs. They expected a warrior king. but the one who arrived was a suffering servant. He came and went and many were not awake to his presence among them. The pattern of watchfulness is the same as Christ's passion and death. On that night before, the disciples fell asleep, they were unprepared when Our Lord was arrested under cover of darkness. and unprepared and shocked, despite Our Lord's constant teachings to them and his equally strident warnings to prepare themselves for the shocks and ordeals ahead, - and – unprepared - they became frightened and confused and ran away. abandoning our Lord. Peter was also not as ready as he needed to be - when he was accused of knowing Christ and, in the pressure of the moment, desperately and unthinkingly denied Christ three times before the cockcrow.

And at dawn. the Lord was sent to be tried. By contrast. Jesus was ready at all times.

 

We must be too. Alert and always ready to live the gospel.

 

In the Gospel, Jesus challenges us to "stay awake ", to pay attention. But, pay attention to what? TO the things of the Kingdom around us. Being attentive to our lives. Looking at our family member or friend in the eye when they're telling us something. Notice the look of worry or frustration on our friend's brow. Taking time to savour the things around us that we see and hear and taste, and staying alert for news of hardships suffered by people in our own community or even further afield.

 

Advent is a time to be watchful and see if we are ready; Ready to welcome Christ in so many ways.

 

And meanwhile, as Saint Paul says in the second reading: "You will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. (1 Corinthians 1:7)

 

Am I willing to let God be the potter, and myself be the clay in his hands. shaping my life? We believe in God, but do we trust in God sufficiently to allow God to mould us and shape us in different directions than our own wilfulness– to step back from the control-seat and let God steer us a bit more. To open ourselves to being transformed by God's hand.

 

Surely, countless Christ-moments and Kingdom building moments come our way every day and who knows how many are missed. or perhaps sometimes we are aware of how we missed them or responded poorly to them because we were on the back foot and not ready and so, as this Advent time begins, we remain alert and awake. .

During the season of Advent we will be featuring, on the weekly audio-podcast, a new Hymn for Advent that I have composed. .

Entitled: "O Come, Lord. " -

I dedicate this Hymn to the Memory of Paolo Mario - (Paul) -

Giacomantonio

(1968-2020).

May he rest forever in the arms of Our Lord.

-      O Come, Lord!   -

+++++

Homily – Fr Peter Dillon:

1^st. Sunday Advent – Year B – 2020

 

Every New Year we try to have an audit of our life over the past year to honestly look at how we have dealt with the burdens and the celebrations. Some of our life gets a bit dusty and needs a freshening up, so that we can try to let our best self emerge, so that the heart of us will shine.

 

Since Advent makes the start of the Church liturgical year, a similar survey of our spiritual lives is also helpful. What happened to our good intentions of last year? What got in the way? Did we really put in an effort? Did we address any of our habits and try to free ourselves from the damaging one?

 

Habits play a big part in our lives. All of us, apart from the very young, are to a great deal creatures of habit. It is said that we live the second part of our lives according to the habits we acquired during the first half. That's all well and good if they are good habits, but it's a bit disturbing if we consider the bad ones.

 

The positive side of habits is that once we acquire them they become almost second nature to us. They seem effortless and can produce excellent results with a minimum of concentration. Again all well and good if they are not destructive habits.

 

Habits can be life-giving and sustaining and can carry people through some difficult situations because they don't draw on our energies so much. Of course, the negative side of habits is they draw us into repetition and thoughtlessness. As a result of doing the same thing day after day, we get into a rut and do things absent-mindedly and in a casual unthinking manner. There is no real heart or meaning in them. They can dull our senses and turn living into mere functioning. Habits can also be selfish and hard to change, particularly if we get so used to them that we come to depend on them.

 

Three times in today's Gospel passage Jesus urges his disciples to "stay awake". This call is meant for us as well.

 

Maybe that is the purpose of Advent. It gives us a jolt. It issues a wakeup call to us. It provides us with a chance to start again. We can easily become Christians by habit only. We may just be going through the motions, taking part in the ritual that has lost all freshness and meaning.

 

Advent is supposed to be a time of breakthrough – from darkness into light, so when Jesus talks about the end, he is not referring to the material world but rather then end of darkness. He suggests we get ready to move into the light. And therein lies the challenge.

 

Advent comes to us very forcibly with a question;,

 

"what is the struggle in your life?"

 

"What do you want to overcome"?

 

"What darkness in your life or in the world to you want to overcome"?

 

What breakthrough do you want for the coming year? Do you want to be more kind, more forgiving? Less addicted, more chaste. Closer to God?

 

Do you hope that people would like you more? That your job or your marriage would flourish? That your children or your parents would change?

 

Can I suggest that you start with having a more open and honest relationship with Jesus. That you got to know him better and that he didn't just become one of the thoughtless habits that we attach to being part of church. That he's someone we speak of as well as someone we speak to, that we try to look at the world through his eyes, and touch with his hands and hear with his ears. In doing so we might not just lift ourselves out of darkness but we might also bring others into the light. It's worth a try. What have we got to lose?

+++++
References:
homily: fr peter dillon

 

Prologue: Fr Paul W. Kelly

 

Bergant, D. and Fragomeni, R. (1999). Preaching the new lectionary. Year B. Collegeville, Minn. : Liturgical Press.

 

Birmingham, M. (2000). Word & worship workbook for year B. New York, N. Y. : Paulist Press. P 55-56

 

Link, M. (2000). Mission. Praying Scripture in a Contemporary Way. Year B. Allen, Tex. : Resources for Christian Living

Image:  shutterstock licensed. ID: 406003843. Large and diverse group of people - aerial perspective gathered together in the shape of an eye, 3d. By Arthimedes


First Sunday Advent. Year B (Sunday, November 29, 2020)

(EPISODE: 263 )

+++++++++++++

1st SUNDAY OF ADVENT – YEAR B –

 ENTRANCE PROCESSION:

 

INTRODUCTION

 

In the Name of the Father (+) and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The Lord be with you.

 {{Hello}} welcome everyone, we gather - Praise, Worship of God

 

[Presider prepares to bless the wreath with the sprinkling of holy water, 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.

 

You are the potter and we are the clay, the work of your hands. 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.

 

++

 Prayer after Communion

 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.

+++++++++++++++++++++
Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PREFACE: Advent I
EP I
Communion side. pwk: LH

(theme variation: 1 )

(pre+post variation: 1)
++++
{Thanks for joining us for this time of prayer and reflection}


Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
++++++++
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:
 "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 - 2020]

 

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) }