3rd Sunday of Advent Isa 35:1-6,10Jas 5:7-10Mt 11:2-11 They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their faces. We are now in the mid-point of Advent and steeped fully in the season of waiting. This practice of waiting hardly comes easy to most of us -- certainly not me. As I ponder... Continue Reading →
13 December, Saturday — “Come back to me…”
Dec 13 – Memorial for St. Lucy, virgin, martyr St. Lucy (c. 283) was a rich, young Christian of Greek ancestry. She was raised in a pious family, and vowed her life to Christ. Her Roman father died when she was young. Her mother, Eutychia, arranged a marriage for her. For three years, she managed... Continue Reading →
12 December, Friday — The Book of Love
Dec 12 – Memorial for Our Lady of Guadalupe Guadalupe is, strictly speaking, the name of a picture, but the name was extended to the church containing the picture and to the town which grew up around the church. It makes the shrine, it occasions the devotion, it illustrates Our Lady. It is taken as... Continue Reading →
11 December, Thursday — The Least is The Greatest
Dec 11 – Memorial for St. Damasus I, pope St. Damasus (306-384) was raised in a pious family. His father was a priest in Rome, and Damasus served for a time as deacon in his father’s church, St. Laurence. He was ordained a priest and became assistant to Pope Liberius. He was elected the 37th... Continue Reading →
10 December, Wednesday — Signs of Patience
Dec 10 – Our Lady of Loreto The Basilica della Santa Casa (English: Basilica of the Holy House) is a Marian shrine in Loreto, in the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pious legends claim the same house was flown over by angelic beings from Nazareth to Tersatto (Trsat in Croatia), then... Continue Reading →
9 December, Tuesday — Saved by our God of Love
Dec 9 – Memorial for St. Juan Diego, hermit, layman John (1474-1548) was born an impoverished free man in a strongly class-conscious society. He was a farm worker, a field labourer, and a mat maker. He became a married layman with no children. Even as a pagan, he was a mystical and religious man, and... Continue Reading →
8 December, Monday — All were created for you and me
Dec 8 – Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary On this and the following eight days, the Church celebrates, with particular solemnity, the immaculate conception of the ever-blessed Virgin Mary who, from all eternity, was chosen to be the daughter of the heavenly Father, the spouse of the Holy Ghost, the... Continue Reading →
7 December, Sunday — There is always hope
2nd Sunday of Advent Isa 11:1-10Rm 15:4-9Mt 3:1-12 …people who did not give up were helped by God. Nowadays, my feed is filled with news of difficulties finding jobs, of mass layoffs, and of how the economy is not doing too well globally. It seems that everywhere we look is bleak. I’m not sure how... Continue Reading →
6 December, Saturday – Mission Possible
Saturday of the 1st Week of Advent Isa 30:19-21,23-26Mt 9:35-10:1,5,6-8 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to the harvest." The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. This line appears frequently whenever we have prayers for... Continue Reading →
5 December, Friday – Do You Believe?
Friday of the 1st Week of Advent Isa 29:17-24Mt 9:27-31 In a short time, a very short time, shall not Lebanon become fertile land and fertile land turn into forest? The deaf, that day, will hear the words of a book and, after shadow and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see. ‘Twas the night... Continue Reading →