Praying through Advent -- 2006

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Examination of Conscience

A Guide for Confession

How To Make a Good Confession (especially if you haven't gone in years)

Why Go to Confession? (Part 1) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte

Why Go to Confession? (Part 2) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte

Why Go to Confession? (Part 3) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte

Pulling Sin up by the Roots: The Need for Mortification

Reasons for Confession [Sacrament of Reconciliation]

Cardinal Stafford's Homily at Penitential Liturgy With an Examination of Conscience

How to Go to Confession

[Salvation]

Wednesday, December 13
Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

Laying Down Our Burdens

Advent is supposed to be a time of spiritual preparation, but for many of us it has become a time of frantic activity. Too often we feel that in honor of the season we must host the perfect Christmas part, find perfect gifts for family and friends, put on elaborate decorations and send a card or note to everyone we have or haven’t seen in the last year. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden light, but here we are halfway through the Advent season – halfway to Christmas – and we feel our yoke getting harder to carry and our burden heavier. It is obvious that we are not carrying Jesus’ yoke, but a yoke that has been placed on our shoulders by our own perfectionism or by the expectations of others. Will the world come to an end if we don’t fulfill all those unreasonable expectations? Does Jesus want us to arrive at Christmas Eve totally exhausted and unable to stay awake through midnight Mass? Let us sit down quickly and make a list of all the things we think we have to do before Christmas and then ask ourselves which ones are really God’s will for us and which ones can be eliminated. Let us lay down our burdens and find rest. The virgin martyr Saint Lucy knew how to put first things first. She gave her life to Christ. Let us ask her intercession as we prepare for Christmas.

Reflection based on Matthew 11:28-30
Dale O’Leary

Loving Father, free me from the false priorities and distractions that alienate me from you.

[Salvation]

	Week 2: Thursday From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it be force. (Matthew 11:12) Reflection Our world will never be bliss. We can say with Matthew, that from the days of John the Baptist until now, that God’s kingdom suffers violence. That is why we celebrate Advent over and over. We reassert that the violence we suffer in this world is not the norm, but only a temporary condition. That mystery of our faith is proclaimed each time we celebrate the Eucharist: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. We are grounded in this present world, but look to the world to come. Advent Action Renew your commitment to a special time of Advent prayer each day throughout the season. Say a prayer sometime today for the Americas. Contemplate on the miracle of the Cloak Of Juan Diego.    Prayer Lord, may I refrain from all violent words and deeds, and help make my part of this world a more peaceful place.

[Salvation]

2006 Advent Calendar
Thursday
Put a lamp or an electric candle in the window to welcome the Christ Child. Light it each night until Christmas Day. (Or through the Epiphany, if you wish.)

[Salvation]

Thursday, December 14
Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

The Promise of Greatness

What a strange man John the Baptist was – how strange, passionate, and fortunate to be the one to recognize and proclaim Jesus! And yet, we are told that while there had been no man greater than he, the very least in the kingdom of heaven is greater! What can this mean, we wonder? It is clear that time would never be the same again after Christ’s birth and death. What a change has happened in the world, that this greatest of men is less than the least of heaven. All of history prepared for John the Baptist, but the time of prophets has passed: we are in the time of the fulfillment of all history. The Savior has truly come: he is with us now and we will recognize him once again as a little baby on Christmas Day. But it is easy to forget that time and history have been ineradicably changed – just as it is easy to be distracted from the truth of Christmas even during Advent. We need to be reminded how fortunate we ourselves are. In all our smallness, we can be greater than John the Baptist, the great prophet! This is the promise made to us. No longer is greatness measured the way it was of old, but by the simplicity of those who have ears and choose to hear.

Reflection based on Matthew 11:11-15
Rebecca Vitz Cherico

Loving Father, let me see the blessing of my littleness and live only according to your measure.

[Salvation]

2006 Advent Calendar
Friday
Today, think about all the Biblical accounts of God's merciful treatment of sinners.

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	Week 2: Friday   Thus says the Lord, you redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence. (Isaiah 48:17-19) Reflection The use of water as a metaphor of God, or for any good thing, is common in Hebrew Scriptures. Who should know more about the preciousness of water than a desert people like the Israelites? Isaiah says our prosperity will be like a river. Have we let God’s love flow over us like a river, or are we stingy when we imagine it? Do we imagine God’s love as a trickle or a torrent? Advent Action Send a get-well card to someone in the hospital. Ask St. Lucy to help us not to be blinded our personal goals, but to always seek what the Lord wants us to do. Prayer Lord, wash me and I shall be clean, bathe me in Your loving mercy and I shall be truly forgiven.

[Salvation]

Friday, December 15
Friday of the Second Week of Advent

Singing Our Carols

The children in Jesus’ day sang a little rhyme to one another: “We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.” Our generation is not unlike the one Jesus condemned in today’s Gospel for wanting it both ways. No matter what the Church does there are those who want us to do something else. The worldly worry about whether or not receipts from Christmas sales will be high enough and then complain about the use of the word, Christmas. We are told to keep our religion inside our churches. No images of the Mother and Child must be allowed to intrude on the holiday festivities. Just as there was no room in the inn for the Holy Family, there is no room in the public square for Nativity scenes. We must not allow this to spoil our celebration. We must go on singing our carols, putting up our Nativity scenes, and greeting friends and strangers with “Merry Christmas.” And we must pray for those who are afraid of Christmas. After all their fears are nor groundless. Christmas is not an innocuous winter celebration; it is the anniversary of a world-shattering event – the birth of a baby who changed everything for ever.

Reflection based on Matthew 11:16-19
Dale O’Leary

Loving Father, let me live the mystery of the incarnation filled with conviction, ardor, and zeal to witness to your Son.

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	Week 2: Saturday Then the disciples asked Him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He said in reply, "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them of John the Baptist. (Matthew 17: 10-13) Reflection Some among those who followed Jesus would not believe that He was the Messiah. They were waiting for the reappearance of Elijah, who Scripture said must return before the coming of the Messiah. In the same way, many of us have set up obstacles that prevent us from living as if the Messiah has already come. What are we waiting for? What obstacles have we set up to prevent us from living as if our Savior has already come? Advent Action Make a phone call. Call someone you have been meaning to speak to, but for some reason you have not done so. May St. John Of The Cross intercede in our prayers for peace on Earth.  Prayer Lord, in Your own way remove everything that makes it hard for me to see You clearly today.

[Salvation]

2006 Advent Calendar
Saturday
Even if you live alone, put up and decorate a Christmas tree.

[Salvation]

Saturday, December 16
Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

The Patron Saint of Adulthood

As a girl in Catholic School, I was taught that John the Baptist was the “greatest of the prophets.” This never made much sense to me, probably because there the Gospel stories about John seemed so uninteresting. I was much more taken with the antics of Job or the heartfelt cries of Isaiah than the austere proclamations of John. Now as I raise my own children up in the faith, I begin to see where John’s greatness lies. Jesus himself calls him Elijah and says that John came to “restore all things.” He had to prepare the people for Jesus. And this is exactly what he does. He prepares in the desert, preaches to the people, dies at the hands of the authorities. John was singular in purpose, unflagging in his task – je never did anything that was dramatic or spectacular. His whole life was just a pointer, an indicator. And this amounts to a life that might bore the average third-grader, but inspires an adult struggling to remain in union with Jesus. In John the Baptist we have a model, simple and beautiful. Let us live today so that our life says, “Look not at me, but at the other one, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

Reflection based on Matthew 17:9a, 10-13-19
Lisa Lickona

Loving Father, let me be obedient to the One John the Baptist points out to me through the passion and sacrifice of his life.

[Salvation]

	Week 3: Sunday   Prayer for the Advent Wreath Lord, our God, we praise You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, for He is Emmanuel, the Hope of all people. He is the Wisdom that teaches and guides us. He is the Savior of us all. O Lord, let your blessing come upon us as we light  two (purple) candles and the third (pink) of this wreath. May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ’s promise of salvation. May He come quickly and not delay. We ask this in His holy name. Amen. Rejoicing "(The desert) will bloom with abundant flowers and rejoice with joyful song." "Rejoice in the Lord always!" "Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!" The Scriptures for the Third Sunday of Advent proclaim their message in no uncertain terms: Rejoice! Joy is all around us and our celebration of Advent calls us to discover it. The joy that the Scripture passages speak about is not a joy that equates with hilarious laughter. It is a joy that comes from a security with our God, those around us, and our place in the world. It is the joy Isaiah describes when he writes, "I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul." It is a joy that cannot be bought or obtained from artificial highs. It is a joy that comes from our living faith in a living God. It is the joy we feel as we approach the birth of our Savior and remember the awesome beauty of what happened on that cold Bethlehem night. Rejoice!

[Salvation]

2006 Advent Calendar
Sunday
Light the two purple candles and the rose one for joy! Look for one new thing at Mass yoday that you haven't noticed before.

[Salvation]

2006 Advent Calendar
Sunday
Light the two purple candles and the rose one for joy! Look for one new thing at Mass today that you haven't noticed before.

[Salvation]

Sunday, December 17
Third Sunday of Advent

Gospel
Lk 3:10-18

The crowds asked John the Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,

“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them,
“Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.

[Salvation]

Sunday, December 17
Third Sunday of Advent

What Should We Do?

In the Gospel account of Luke, the crowds that came out to the desert to hear John the Baptist preach, whatever their background, found themselves united in a common question: “What then should we do?” John’s message of course, was of the imminent coming of the Messiah, and it is understandable that such an expectation aroused a desire to prepare for the momentous event, symbolized in John’s baptism by water. John’s answer to the question “what to do” is both very pragmatic – give to the poor, be upright and honest – and very mysterious. For he speaks of a new baptism by fire and the Holy Spirit, and of a judgment that awaits souls. “His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” This modern age seems increasingly disinclines to acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ as the central event of human history. The question of Jesus Christ cannot be ignored, however. Every person in history takes a stand in some manner before this mystery of the God-man offered for our salvation. The question then is always pertinent – what should we do? Let us renew deeply our faith in Jesus our Savior as Christmas draws near. And pray fervently for a world that needs his presence more than ever.

Reflection based on Luke 3:10-18
Father Donald Haggerty

Loving Father, let me live in front of the Event of your Son so that my life becomes a true witness to the Gospel.
We are starting the last week of Advent -- any thoughts or prayers?

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	Week 3: Monday   When He had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached Him as He was teaching and said, "By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" (Matthew 21:23) Reflection The question of authority always followed Jesus. Different groups and individuals would try to ask Him difficult questions to trick Him and make Him look stupid in front of the crowds who listened to His teaching. It is clear that Jesus derived His authority from an unshakable inner knowledge of His relationship to the Father. Do we have confidence in our relationship with God so that we can speak the truth as we see it? Or do we expect the Church or some other authority to speak for us? Advent Action Make something (bake a cake, draw a picture, cut out a cartoon) to cheer someone up or as a means of sharing the spirit of the season. Prayer Lord, make me confident anew of Your great gift of faith that I may tell others of Your goodness.

[Salvation]

2006 Advent Calendar
Monday
The presence of Jesus in our lives speaks of our hope in God's mercy and love. Today list your reasons for hope in the future.

[Salvation]

Monday, December 18
Monday of the Second Week of Advent

The Greatness of Joseph

The passage which immediately precedes today’s Gospel gives the genealogy of Jesus ending with the word: “Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” This is how it came about: “When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.” A reputable segment of Church tradition understands what happens next in the following manner. When Joseph, a holy man, learned probably from Mary, the true nature of this pregnancy, he was overawed as later will be Elizabeth at Mary’s visit, or the centurion at Jesus’ offer to enter his house. Joseph reasoned that he was not worthy to be considered the father of such a child and resolved to give Mary a private bill of divorce that would not oblige him to publicize her secret. The angel came to him and told him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All the greatness of Joseph, gradually appreciated over the centuries, has its foundation here.

Reflection based on Matthew 1:18-25
Father Francis Martin

Loving Father, through the mother of your Son, help me to recognize your providence in the impossible circumstances of my life.

[Salvation]

	Week 3: Tuesday   For then I will change and purify the lips of the people, that they all may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord. (Zephaniah 3:9) Reflection Zephaniah’s prophetic dream of unity seems no closer to reality today than when it was 2500 years ago. Even though our world enjoys many modern technological advantages over the world of Zephaniah, it seems that there is not technological "fix" for the human heart. "Change" and "pure lips" require personal conversion. What have I done to promote "one accord" in the world? No matter how we might view ourselves, all people are equal in the sight of God. We are all His servants. Advent Action Examine your conscience. Are you continually turning towards God? Prayer Lord, purify me of everything, whether present or past, that hinders me from serving You.