BIG C CATHOLICS

The lighting of the Advent candles symbolizes the hope that the coming Messiah represents in a world that very often seems dark, forbidding and hopeless. We do so because we are a people living in faith that our Divine Master will come again in glory at the end of time to dispense peace and justice. The joyous anticipation of the season of Advent is captured in the teachings of the prophets from the Old Testament: "Exult greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! Behold: your king is coming to you, a just savior is he…" (Zechariah 9:9) Advent Wreath Prayer - Fourth Week By Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois Heavenly Father, today I light the final candle of the Advent wreath. All four candles are now lit. As I sit back and see all the candles burning, I am reminded that your time is nigh. Prepare my heart, Lord, for the great feast that next week will bring. I don’t know if I am ready, Lord, but I know I am anxious to reignite our relationship. With y

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) One of the most important needs we have in life is to receive respect and esteem from others, no matter how high or lowly our position may be on the ladder of social importance. This is a good and legitimate need. Humility does not mean being a door-mat upon which others wipe their feet. But our need for respect and esteem can, as we all know so well, become unbalanced. Self-appreciation and self-affirmation can slip over into egocentrism, self-centeredness, arrogance and an aggressive “in your face” approach to others. The result is certain … sadness, pain, and misery, not only in one’s own self but in the lives of those who must live near us. When the biggest thing in this world is self, there is no surer guarantee to misery. Preoccupation with one’s own public image and the everlasting pursuit of recognition leads us into the most merciless of all slaveries, with our ego as our t

December 17, 2017 This novena is dedicated to praying for the abolition of abortion, and for greater respect for the dignity of every human being. When contemplating the birth of our Savior and preparing for Christmas, it is a good time to pray for abortion's end. Remember, Christ came to us as a humble and vulnerable pre-born child. The Christmas Novena - Day 2  – Humility O Lord, infant Jesus, grant us great humility! You gave us the model of perfect humility in your incarnation, life and death. We pray for a greater Humility this Christmas. (There are two versions of the novena prayer) The Visitation. O most sweet infant Jesus, who by means of your Virgin Mother, visited St. Elizabeth, and filled your servant, St. John the Baptist, with the Holy Spirit, sanctifying him from his mother’s womb. Have mercy on us. Have mercy on us, O Lord.  Have mercy on us. We pray also for these intentions… (State your intentions here) Hail Mary…

Beginning on December 17, as the final phase of preparation for Christmas, the Church recites or chants the O Antiphons preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours. The O Antiphons express the Church's longing and expectation for the Messiah, her startled wonderment at the fullness of grace which the Christ-Child is about to bestow on the world. Their theme is the majesty of the Savior, His wisdom, His faithfulness and sanctity, His justice and mercy, His covenant with His chosen people, who in their ingratitude broke faith with Him. They are concerned with His power and love as King and Redeemer of the world, His relation to every soul as Emmanuel, God-with-us. ( With Christ Through the Year by Bernard Strasser) According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one — E mmanuel,

December 16, 2017 This novena is dedicated to praying for the abolition of abortion, and for greater respect for the dignity of every human being. When contemplating the birth of our Savior and preparing for Christmas, it is a good time to pray for abortion's end. Remember, Christ came to us as a humble and vulnerable pre-born child. The Christmas Novena - Day 1  – Joy O Lord, infant Jesus, fill us with Joy! The birth of any child is a cause for joy and so much more is the birth of You our Savior. We pray in union with Mary, Your mother, for a greater joy this Christmas. (There are two versions of the novena prayer) The Incarnation. O most sweet infant Jesus, who descended from the bosom of the eternal Father into the womb of the Virgin Mary, where, conceived by the Holy Ghost, you took upon yourself, O Incarnate Word, the form of a servant for our salvation. Have mercy on us. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Have mercy on us. We pray also for

Feast Day - December 16th  Perhaps the most prominent European woman of the 10th century through her marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto the Great of Germany, St. Adelaide was a remarkable figure. The daughter of King Rudolph II of Burgundy, she was born in 931, in Burgundy, France. Adelaide was promised in marriage when she was only two to Lothaire, the son of the ruler of Provence, to end a political feud. When her husband was murdered by a rival prince, his successor tried to make Adelaide his wife. She refused and was held in captivity until freed by the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I. On Christmas Day 951, she would marry Otto at Pavia. The marriage consolidated his authority in northern Italy, and in 962 they were solemnly crowned emperor and empress of the realm by Pope John XII in Rome. Adelaide ruled with her husband until his death. Otto died in 973, and for twenty years Adelaide’s life was a turmoil of family and political troubles. Her daughter-in-law, the Byzan

December 15th is the feast of the Italian saint Virginia Centurione Bracelli that is observed throughout Italy. Virginia was born in 1587 and forced into marriage in 1602. She raised two daughters and was widowed at the age of 20. She repulsed another suitor seeking marriage and made a solemn vow of chastity. She devoted her life to aiding the destitute and the sick. This is her oft repeated quote on God. When God is the only goal, all disagreements are smoothed out, all difficulties overcome. — St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli ______________________________________ Prayer for St.  Virginia Centurione Bracelli’s Intercession God, in St Virginia Centurione Bracelli, you have provided us with an example of lifelong service to the less fortunate among us. Move our hearts with the same compassion as You did hers, so we may follow her by directing our efforts in this life to love and service of You in our neighbors. Through Your Son, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

St. John of the Cross, the Carmelite saint, mystic and Doctor of the Church, was imprisoned three times while trying to reform his own order. He was shamefully persecuted by his brethren and publicly disgraced. The physical and emotional suffering he endured was immense. This total abandonment by creatures served to deepened his peace and love for God. Here is his insight into the Judgment. In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone. — St. John of the Cross ______________________________________ Prayer for St.  John of the Cross’ Intercession Almighty ever-living God, who gave the priest and mystic Saint John of the Cross an outstanding dedication to perfect self-denial and love of the Cross, grant that, by imitating him closely at all times, and by his intercession, we may duly come to contemplate eternally your glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and with the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever. Amen.

Memorial - December 14th "How gently and lovingly You wake in my heart,  Where in secret You dwell alone;  And in Your sweet breathing,  Filled with good and glory,  How tenderly  You swell my heart with love." At first glance, you might think that the lines of poetry quoted above were the work of one of the great English Romantic poets, like Wordsworth or Keats; if so, it may come as a surprise that this beautiful verse was actually written by an ascetic Carmelite. "The Living Flame of Love," from which this stanza was taken, was composed by one of the great mystics and doctors of the Church, St. John of the Cross, and expresses "the soul in the intimate communication of loving union with God." St. John of the Cross was born into poverty in Spain in 1541. After the death of his father, John’s widowed mother struggled to keep her family together despite homelessness and destitution. At the age of 14, John went to work in a hospital,

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) The third Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete Sunday.” It comes from the first word of the “Entrance antiphon” or “Introit” of the Mass. “Gaudete” is Latin for “rejoice,” and the text of the antiphon is from Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!” It appears in a shorter form in today’s second reading: “Rejoice always.” More on this later. Television shows have gone through many fads and phases. There was the age of quiz shows, the age of westerns, of variety shows, of situation comedies, of detectives, and so on. Today we are in the age of “reality shows.” They are of two types. There are those where we simply observe people: litigants in small claims court, women buying a wedding dress, survivalists, home buyers, you name it. Others are competitions, in which each week someone wins and someone i