Quote/s of the Day – 6 December – Friday of the First week of Advent, Year A – Readings: Isaiah 29:17-24, Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14, Matthew 9:27-31
“According to your faith be it done to you.”
“Faith lifts the soul.
Hope supports it.
Experience says it must.
And Love says let it be!”
“Pray, hope and don’t worry.”
Thought for the Day – 3 December – Tuesday of the First week of Advent, Year A and The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)
Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552)
Priest and Missionary
An excerpt from Letters to Saint Ignatius
“We have visited the villages of the new converts who accepted the Christian religion a few years ago. No Portuguese live here—the country is so utterly barren and poor. The native Christians have no priests. They know only that they are Christians. There is nobody to say Mass for them, nobody to teach them the Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Commandments of God’s Law.
I have not stopped since the day I arrived. I conscientiously made the rounds of the villages. I bathed in the sacred waters all the children who had not yet been baptised. This means that I have purified a very large number of children so young that, as the saying goes, they could not tell their right hand from their left. The older children would not let me say my Office or eat or sleep until I taught them one prayer or another. Then I began to understand – the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
I could not refuse so devout a request, without failing in devotion myself. I taught them, first the confession of faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, then the Apostles’ Creed, the Our Father and Hail Mary. I noticed among them persons of great intelligence. If only someone could educate them in the Christian way of life, I have no doubt, that they would make excellent Christians.
Many, many people hereabouts, are not becoming Christians for one reason only – there is nobody to make them Christians. Again and again, I have thought of going round the universities of Europe, especially Paris and everywhere crying out like a madman, riveting the attention of those with more learning than charity – “What a tragedy, how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you!”
I wish they would work as hard at this as they do at their books and so settle their account with God, for their learning and the talents entrusted to them.
This thought would certainly stir most of them to meditate on spiritual realities, to listen actively to what God is saying to them. They would forget their own desires, their human affairs and give themselves over entirely to God’s will and His choice. They would cry out with all their heart – Lord, I am here! What do you want me to do? Send me anywhere you like—even to India.”
How can we too fail!
It is Advent. All our answers remain fragmentary.
The first thing we have to accept is, ever and again,
the reality of an enduring Advent.
If we do that, we shall begin to realise
that the borderline between “before Christ” and “after Christ”
does not run through historical time, in an outward sense
and cannot be drawn on any map,
it runs through our own hearts.
Insofar, as we are living on a basis of selfishness, of egoism,
then even today, we are “before Christ.”
But in this time of Advent, let us ask the Lord to grant
that we may live less and less “before Christ”
and certainly not “after Christ”
but truly “with Christ and in Christ” –
with Him who is indeed Christ yesterday, today and forever.
Advent Reflection – 3 December – Tuesday of the First week of Advent, Year A and the Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)- Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72:1-2, 7-9, 12-13, Luke 10:21-24
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”
Isaiah 11:6
Reflection
“In these passages, the meaning of Christmas shines through – God fulfils the promise by becoming man, not abandoning His people, He draws near to the point of stripping Himself of His divinity. In this way God shows His fidelity and inaugurates a new Kingdom, which gives a new hope to mankind. And what is this hope? Eternal life. ”
... Pope Francis – General audience 21 December 2016
Advent Action
Advent is a time to practice discipleship and the joy of sharing the message given to us! Today, share just a little of this joy of the Gospel and the hope of Christ, with those around you. Giving this gift is immense, as the Lord shared His Father in the Gospel of today, so we share Him. Spiritual love is tender, it is holy ground. There is simply no greater investment.
” …. Paul does not seek himself, he does not want to make a fan club for himself, he does not wish to go down in history as the head of a school of great knowledge, he is not self-seeking, rather, St Paul proclaims Christ and wants to gain people for the true and real God. Paul’s wish is to speak of and preach the One who entered his life and who is true life, who won him over on the road to Damascus.
Therefore, talking about God means making room for the One who enables us to know Him, who reveals His face of love to us; it means emptying ourselves of our own ego, offering it to Christ, in the awareness that it is not we who can win over others for God but, that we must expect God to send them, we must entreat God for them.
Talking about God, therefore, stems from listening, from our knowledge of God which is brought about through familiarity with Him, through the life of prayer and in accordance with the Commandments.” … Pope Benedict XVI (Excerpt – How to speak about God – The Year of Faith – 28 November 2012)
Prayer
Lord, it is my hope that I may always be in “Your will
and way.”
Sometimes I am selfish with my time and my own desires.
Today, help me sort out things in my life.
I need to make You the first priority in my life
and not the things that really do not matter.
Assist me in conducting myself in ways that are most pleasing to You.
Lord, it is my desire to live more for You this day
and share the joy of Your love with all I meet.
And today, we remember St Francis Xavier, the “second Paul”
please pray for us!
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 13 December – Monday of the First week of Advent, Year A
DAILY ADVENT PRAYER
By Fr Henri J M Nouwen (1932-1996)
Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness,
send Your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We, who have so much to do, seek quiet spaces
to hear Your voice each day.
We, who are anxious over many things
look forward to Your coming among us.
We, who are blessed in so many ways
long for the complete joy of Your kingdom.
We, whose hearts are heavy
seek the joy of Your presence.
We, are Your people,
walking in darkness,
yet seeking the light.
To You we say, “Come Lord Jesus!”
Amen!
The St Andrew Christmas Novena – The Christmas Anticipation Prayer
Pray 15 Times each day.
Let us Pray!
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment,
in which the Son of God was born
of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight, in Bethlehem,
in the piercing cold.
In that hour vouchsafe,
I beseech Thee, O my God,
to hear my prayer and grant my desires,
………………… [here mention your request]
through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ
and of His blessed Mother.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 29 November – Friday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:29–33
“The issue is now clear.
It is between light and darkness
and every one must choose his side.”
“Each and everyone of us,
at the end of the
journey of life,
will come,
face to face
with either one
or the other
of two faces…
And one of them,
either, the
merciful face of Christ
or the
miserable face of Satan,
will say,
“Mine, mine.”
May we be Christ’s!”
“Many who plan
to seek God
at the eleventh hour
die at 10:30.”
Lord Jesus, May we Seek Your Face
By Pope Benedict XVI
Lord Jesus,
grant us restless hearts,
hearts which seek Your Face.
Keep us from the blindness of heart
which sees only the surface of things.
Give us the simplicity and purity
which allows us to recognise
Your Presence in the world.
When we are not able
to accomplish great things,
grant us the courage
which is born of humility and goodness.
Impress Your Face on our hearts.
May we encounter You along the way
and show forth Your image to the world.
Amen
St Andrew’s Christmas Novena – Begins on St Andrew’s Feast Day – 30 November
Just a reminder of this beautiful Catholic tradition 
The Feast of Saint Andrew has always been closely associated with the beginning of Advent as it is on 30 November, around the First Sunday of Advent. In light of that fact, a prayer was developed as a daily preparation for Christmas and took 30 November as its starting point.
It is sometimes called the Christmas Novena, St Andrew’s Novena, St Andrew’s Christmas Prayer, or the Christmas Anticipation Prayer.
It is a beautiful prayer that focuses on the moment of Christ’s birth and can act as an inspiring meditation for Advent and of course, we pray for our own intentions – 15 times a day – God is listening! The prayer is customarily prayed 15 times a day, as a family, it is most efficacious to pray it five times before and after mealtimes, alternating the family members.
Let us prepare our hearts to welcome Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer and pray the “Christmas Novena.”
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment
in which the Son of God was born
of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold.
In that hour vouchsafe,
I beseech Thee, O my God,
to hear my prayer and grant my desires,
………………… [here mention your request]
through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ
and of His blessed Mother.
Amen
