Catholic Fire

The First Sunday of Advent (Meditation) Today the Church celebrates the First Sunday of Advent. This is the beginning of a new liturgical year. The Advent liturgy opens with that great yearning cry of the prophets of Israel to the Messiah and Redeemer whose advent they awaited. "Come!" God is not deaf to His people's cry. Fulfilling the promise of salvation made to our first parents at their fall He sent His Son into the world. And the application to all generations of mankind of the redemption that the Son of God made Man obtained for us by His passion continues until the end of time: it will conclude with the end of the world when the Messiah comes to complete His work and lead us into His kingdom. The history of the Church occupies the period between these two great events. In the Mass of this Sunday the whole work of redemption is set before us, from its preparation in Israel's expectancy and its effect on our present lives down to its final fulfillment. The Churc...

The liturgical season of Advent begins on the first Sunday in Advent, opening a new year in our Church's Calendar. The word Advent is from the Latin adventus, which means "coming" and is associated with the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Advent blends together a penitential spirit, very similar to Lent, a liturgical theme of preparation for the Second and Final Coming of the Lord, called the Parousia, and a joyful theme of getting ready for the birth of Christ. During Advent, we are called upon to: 1) prepare ourselves to worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord's coming into the world as the incarnate God of love, 2) make our souls fitting abodes for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace 3) make ourselves ready for His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world ~from New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia Advent is a season of waiting, a season filled with hope. Here are ten tips that will help you and your family keep ...