Catholic News World : Sunday November 27, 2016 - SHARE - 1st of Advent

2016

#PopeFrancis "In this time of Advent, we are called to widen the horizons of our heart..." #Advent Angelus FULL TEXT + Video

#BreakingNews Parishioner Killed during Mass with Archbishop in Columbia - RIP Fernando Padilla - Please PRAY

What is Advent? 3 Things to SHARE plus FREE #Advent Ressources from Bishops!

Sunday Mass Online : Sunday November 27, 2016 - #Eucharist - 1st #Advent - Readings and Video

What is the Miraculous Medal + how to get a free one - SHARE

#BreakingNews Attack at Catholic Mission house in France leaves 1 Dead - Please Pray

Saint November 27 : St Virgilius : #Benedictine

#PopeFrancis offers Prayers for Soul of Fidel Castro upon his death at age 90 - FULL TEXT

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Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.

Today in the Church we begin a new liturgical year, that is, a new journey of faith for the people of God. And as always, we begin with Advent.

The passage of the Gospel [for today] introduces us to one of the most representative themes of the time of Advent: the Lord’s visit to humanity. The first visit was made with the Incarnation, the birth of Jesus in the stable of Bethlehem. The second visit is in the present: the Lord visits us continually every day, he journeys at our side and is a consoling presence. And at the end will be the last visit, which we profess each time we recite the Creed, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” The Lord today speaks to us of this last of his visits, the one that will happen at the end of time, and he tells us where our journey will end.

The Word of God highlights the contrast between the normal development of things and daily routines, and the sudden arrival of the Lord. Jesus says, “In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away” (vs 38-39).

It always makes an impact on us when we think of the hours that precede a great calamity: everyone is calm, doing their normal normal things, without realizing that their lives are about to be changed.

The Gospel doesn’t want to make us afraid, but rather to open our horizons to the final, greater dimension, which relativizes everyday things and at the same time, makes them valuable and decisive. A relationship with the God who comes to visit us gives a distinct light, a weight, a symbolic value, to everything.

From this perspective also comes an invitation to sobriety, to not be dominated by the things of this world, by material realities, but instead to govern them.

If on the contrary we allow ourselves to be conditioned and dominated by those things, we cannot perceive that there is something much more important: our final encounter with the Lord who comes for us. In that moment, as the Gospel says, “Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left” (v. 40). It is an invitation to vigilance, because as we don’t know when He will come, we must be always ready to depart.

In this time of Advent, we are called to widen the horizons of our heart, to allow ourselves to be surprised by life, which presents us each day with its novelties. To do this, we must learn to not depend on our securities, on our closed way of thinking, because the Lord comes at an hour that we are not expecting. He comes to introduce us into a dimension that is greater and more beautiful.

Our Lady, the Virgin of Advent, helps us to not consider ourselves the owners of our lives, to not resist when the Lord comes to change our lives, but to be ready to allow ourselves to be visited by Him, this delightful and awaited guest, even though He will dismantle our plans.

[Angelus]

Dear brothers and sisters,

I want to assure my prayers for the peoples of Central America, especially those of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, hit by a hurricane, and in the case of Nicaragua, also a strong earthquake. I’m praying as well for those of the north of Italy, who are suffering because of floods.

I greet the pilgrims here who have come from Italy and various countries: the families, the parish groups, the associations. I particularly greet the faithful who’ve come from Egypt, Slovakia and the choir of Limburg, Germany.

I greet with the affection the Ecuadorian community of Rome, and the families of the Tra Noi Movement, the groups from Altamura, Rieti, San Casciano in Val di Pesa, the UNITALSI of Capaccio and the students of Bagheria.

I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good beginning to Advent. May it be a time of hope! The true hope founded on fidelity to God and on our own responsibility. And please don’t forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and see you soon!

[Translation by ZENIT]

#BreakingNews Parishioner Killed during Mass with Archbishop in Columbia - RIP Fernando Padilla - Please PRAY

AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Murder in a church in Cali, in front of the Archbishop who was celebrating Mass

Cali (Agenzia Fides) - In a statement the Archbishop of Cali, His Exc. Msgr. Dario de Jesus Monsalve Mejia, denounced the killing of one of the faithful of the parish of Santa Cecilia during the celebration of the Mass for the feast of the parish patron, on Tuesday evening, November 22. Not only the whole of Ciudad Cordoba neighborhood was present, but also many people from neighboring towns. A man entered the temple and began to shoot Fernando Padilla, a 35-year-old parishioner, and killed him, in front of the Archbishop who was celebrating Mass.
"Taking advantage of the gathering in churches to kill a parishioner and create terror among the faithful, goes beyond any rational consideration ... Unfortunately not even the fear of God stops the absolute disregard for human life that has roots in the soul of vast sectors of our Colombian society", said the statement sent to Fides.
Two years ago, in the same church, two other people were murdered, and even then the Archbishop denounced violence in holy places (see Fides 27/01/2014). (CE) (Agenzia Fides 24/11/2016)

What is Advent? 3 Things to SHARE plus FREE #Advent Ressources from Bishops!

1. Latin ad-venio, to come to.
2. Advent is a period beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (30 November) and embracing four Sundays. The first Sunday may be as early as 27 November, and then Advent has twenty-eight days, or as late as 3 December, giving the season only twenty-one days.
3. With Advent the ecclesiastical year begins in the Western churches. During this time the faithful are admonished

• to prepare themselves worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord's coming into the world as the incarnate God of love,
• thus to make their souls fitting abodes for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace, and
• thereby to make themselves ready for His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world.

• Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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Duration and ritual

In the Massthe Gloria in excelsis is not said. The Alleluia, however, is retained. During this time the solemnization of matrimony Benediction) cannot take place; which prohibition binds to the feast of Epiphany inclusively. The celebrant and sacred ministers use violet vestments.   An exception is made for the third Sunday (Gaudete Sunday), on which the vestments may be rose-coloured.   Flowers and relics of Saints are not to be placed on the altars during the Office and Masses of this time, except on the third Sunday. 

Historical origin

The preparation for the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord was not held before the feast itself existed, and of this we find no evidence before the end of the fourth century, when, according to Duchesne [Christian Worship (London, 1904), 260], it was celebrated throughout the whole Church,    Several synods had made laws about fasting to be observed during this time,. 

Beginning the Church's liturgical year, Advent (from, "ad-venire" in Latin or "to come to") is the season encompassing the four Sundays (and weekdays) leading up to the celebration of Christmas.

The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and also to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas. The final days of Advent, from December 17 to December 24, focus particularly on our preparation for the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas).

Advent devotions including the Advent wreath, remind us of the meaning of the season. Our Advent calendar above can help you fully enter in to the season with daily activity and prayer suggestions to prepare you spiritually for the birth of Jesus Christ.  More Advent resources are listed below.

ADVENT RESOURCES

• About Advent Wreaths
• Blessing of an Advent Wreath
• Blessing of a Christmas Tree
• Commentary on the Proper Prayers of Advent from the Roman Missal
• Blessing of a Christmas Manger or Nativity Scene
• Liturgical Notes for Advent
• The "O Antiphons" of Advent
• Family Calendar
Advent Resources
• About Advent Wreaths
• Traditionally, Advent wreaths are constructed of a circle of evergreen branches into which four candles are inserted, representing the four weeks of Advent.  Ideally, three candles are purple and one is rose, but white candles can also be used. 
  The purple candles in particular symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and goods works undertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the priest also wears rose vestments at Mass; Gaudete Sunday is the Sunday of rejoicing, because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over and they are close to Christmas.
  The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of his second coming to judge the living and the dead.

Sunday Mass Online : Sunday November 27, 2016 - #Eucharist - 1st #Advent - Readings and Video

First Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 1

Reading 1IS 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
the mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Responsorial PsalmPS 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my brothers and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Reading 2ROM 13:11-14

Brothers and sisters:
You know the time;
it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,
not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in promiscuity and lust,
not in rivalry and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

AlleluiaCF. PS 85:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us Lord, your love;
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

What is the Miraculous Medal + how to get a free one - SHARE

November 27 is the feast of the miraculous medal. The miraculous medal (French: Médaille miraculeuse), also known as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, is a medal, the design of which was originated by Saint Catherine Labouré following her vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary and made by goldsmith Adrien Vachette. November 27 marks the anniversary of the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, known as the Miraculous Medal. This aided the Church's official declaration of the dogma in 1854. On the front is written: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." On the reverse, twelve stars surround a large "M," from which a cross arises. Below the "M," the medal depicts two flaming hearts. The left heart, circled with thorns, represents Jesus. The right heart, pierced by a sword, symbolizes Mary. A 24-year-old novice, received the visions, in the community of Sisters known as the Daughters of Charity, Paris, France, in 1830. On July 18, 1830, a child awakened Sister Catherine Laboure. The child lead her to the convent's chapel where the Virgin Mary was sitting in a chair. She kneels beside Mary. A little more than four months later, during her evening meditation on Nov. 27, 1830, Catherine had a vision of Mary. Mary said, "Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around their neck."  The first medals were made in 1832 and distributed throughout Paris.  In 1836, a Church investigation declared the apparitions to be genuine.
What does the medal mean?
The Front Side • Mary stands on a globe, crushing a serpent beneath her feet. Describing the original vision, Catherine said the Blessed Mother appeared radiant as a sunrise, " • Rays shoot out from Mary's hands, which she told Catherine, "... symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them." • Words from the vision form an oval frame around Mary: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." Seen as a matrix, the elements of the front design encapsulate major Marian tenets: • Immaculate The words, "conceived without sin" • Assumed into Heaven She stands on the globe • Mediatrix Rays from her hands symbolizing "graces" The Reverse Side • A cross-and-bar surmounts a large, bold "M" • 12 stars disperse around the perimeter • Two hearts are depicted underneath the "M," the left lapped with a crown of thorns, the right skewed by a sword. From each, a flame emanates from the top. Again, employing a grid analysis, we can see how the reverse-side design contains great symbolism reflecting major tenets of the Catholic faith. Design Element and its Catholic Meaning • The large letter "M" — Mary as Mother, Mediatrix. • Cross and bar — Jesus' cross of Redemption. • 12 stars — 12 Apostles, who formed the first Church. • Left Heart — The Sacred Heart, who died for our sins. • Right Heart — The Immaculate Heart, who intercedes for us. • Flames — The burning love Jesus and Mary have for us. It is "a testimony to faith and the power of trusting prayer. Its greatest miracles are those of patience, forgiveness, repentance, and faith."
 To obtain a free Miraculous Medal, write to the Association of the Miraculous Medal, 1811 W. St. Joseph St., Perryville, MO, 63775.

#BreakingNews Attack at Catholic Mission house in France leaves 1 Dead - Please Pray

An attack on a retirement home for missionaries that left one woman dead in southern France is not linked to terrorism, French public prosecutor Christophe Barret said on Friday. The suspect has been identified but remains at large. A hooded man wielding a knife murdered a woman at a retirement home for missionaries in southern France on Thursday triggering a manhunt, with the country still on edge following a string of jihadist attacks. The man, brandishing a sawn-off shotgun and a knife, tied up and killed the woman who worked at the home in the village of Montferrier-sur-Lez near the city of Montpellier, a prosecutor said. Armed police searched the building but believe the man fled, sources close to the police operation said, and a large-scale police operation was under way to find the unidentified attacker. "For the time being, there is only one victim," Montpellier prosecutor Christophe Barret told AFP. "For the moment there is no particular evidence about the motive for this crime." "Nothing is pointing towards the motive" of the killer, he added. The man was not known to authorities. The secretary general of the French Bishops' Conference, Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, said in a Twitter message: "Our prayers tonight go to the woman who lost her life in this attack on a retirement home." France is under a state of emergency that gives security forces enhanced powers of surveillance and arrest. Earlier this year two jihadists in their 20s claiming to be IS followers slit the throat of 84-year-old priest Jacques Hamel at a church near the northern city of Rouen.
(Edited from France 24)

Saint November 27 : St Virgilius : #Benedictine

St. Virgilius

BENEDICTINE BISHOP

Feast: November 27

Information: Feast Day: November 27 Born: 8th century Ireland Died: 784 at Salzburg, Austria Canonized: 10 June 1233 by Pope Gregory IX Patron of: Salzburg, Austria; Slovene

Virgilius was a scientist before his time, and in his monastery of Aghaboe in Ireland he was known as "the Geometer" because of his knowledge of geography. In 743, he left Ireland for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land but got no farther than the court of Pepin, the father of Charlemagne. In 745, Pepin defeated Odilo, duke of Bavaria, and sent St. Virgilius to be abbot of the monastery of Sankt Peter and in charge of the diocese of Salzburg. In accordance with the Irish custom, the bishop was subject to the abbot, who was the real head of the diocese. This was contrary to continental custom, and so Virgilius consented to be consecrated bishop. His most notable accomplishment was the conversion of the Alpine Slavs; moreover, he sent missionaries into Hungary. In his first days at Salzburg, he was involved in controversies with St. Boniface, one over the form of baptism, which the pope decided in Virgilius's favor. Virgilius also expressed a number of opinions on astronomy, geography, and anthropology, which to Boniface smacked of novelty, if not heresy. He reported these views to Rome, and the pope demanded an investigation of the bishop of Salzburg. Nothing came of this and apparently Virgilius was able to defend his views. Virgilius built a grand cathedral at Salzburg, baptized the Slavic dukes of Carinthia, and sent missionaries into lands where no missionary had yet gone. Returning from a preaching mission to a distant part of his diocese, he fell sick and died on November 27, 784. When the Salzburg cathedral was destroyed by a fire in 1181, the grave of Virgilius was discovered and this led to his canonization by Pope Gregory IX in 1233. His feast is kept throughout Ireland and in the diocese of Salzburg. SOURCE: the Catholic Encyclopedia

#PopeFrancis offers Prayers for Soul of Fidel Castro upon his death at age 90 - FULL TEXT

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz Cuban  President from 1976 to 2008 has died. He was born on August 13, 1926, Birán, Cuba and he died on November 25, 2016, Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba His  Children were Alina Fernández, Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart. His siblings were Raúl Castro, Juanita Castro, Ramón Castro Ruz.
 (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has expressed his condolences for the death of the former President of the State Council and of the Government of the Republic of Cuba, Fidel Castro. 

In a telegram sent to the current president, Raul Castro, the Holy Father also offered his prayers for the former leader, and entrusted the Cuban people to the intercession of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, the patroness of Cuba. 

Here is the full text of the telegram from Pope Francis: 

On receiving the sad news of the death of your dear brother, His Excellency Mister Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, former president of the State Council and of the Government of the Republic of Cuba, I express my sentiments of sorrow to Your Excellency and other family members of the deceased dignitary, as well as to the people of this beloved nation. At the same time, I offer prayers to the Lord for his rest and I entrust the whole Cuban people to the maternal intercession of our Lady of the Charity of El Cobre, patroness of that country.

Francisco, PP

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