Advent is a Marian Season.
We wait expectantly for our celebration of the Birth of Jesus, Son of
Mary and the Son of God. Joyful anticipation
and hopeful acceptance of all the struggles that come from doing the Will of God
form us to share in the act of offering Jesus to the world.
This week, a few different Marian Feasts remind us of
aspects of the actions of God in the life of Mary. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is
celebrated this year on Monday, December 9, since the 8th fell on
the Second Sunday of Advent. God reveals
His Providence in preparing the mother of His Son by preserving her from all
stain of sin.
Pope Francis has put the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto in the
general calendar on December 10. Loreto
has the shrine of the Home of the Holy Family, which was transported there from
Nazareth. This feast calls to mind the capacity
of the human family to welcome the Presence of God among us. Each family is able to welcome the Lord into
its home, just as Mary and Joseph made a home for Jesus.
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is December 12. The Blessed Virgin Mary came to the Americas
to assist in the proclamation of the Gospel to the peoples native to this
place. She reminds us all that she is
with us as a Mother, one who knows our needs and brings them to her Son.
We are called to be like Mary in our Faith and in the
welcome to show to all the members of the Family of God. May our hearts be ready to receive the Lord
as He comes to dwell with us.
Next weekend, we will have the Bethlehem Families with us
to share olive wood sculptures from the Holy Land which will be on sale after
all Masses as part of our effort to reach out to our fellow Christians in the
land of the Lord’s Birth. The Fourth
Sunday of Advent will bring the celebration of the Anointing of the Sick at all
Masses, to bring healing and comfort to those who experience the burdens of
illness and age.
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