Novena to the Immaculate Conception

November 30 and ending on December 8

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Immaculate Virgin! Mary, conceived without sin! Remember, you were miraculously preserved from even the shadow of sin, because you were destined to become not only the Mother of God, but also the mother, the refuge, and the advocate of man; penetrated therefore, with the most lively confidence in your never-failing intercession, we most humbly implore you to look with favor upon the intentions of this novena, and to obtain for us the graces and the favors we request. You know, O Mary, how often our hearts are the sanctuaries of God, Who abhors iniquity. Obtain for us, then, your angelic purity which was your favorite virtue, that purity of heart which will attach us to God alone, and that purity of intention which will consecrate every thought, word, and action to His greater glory. Obtain also for us a constant spirit of prayer and self-denial, that we may recover by penance that innocence which we have lost by sin, and at length attain safety to that blessed abode of the saints, where nothing defiled can enter. 

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. 

You are all fair, O Mary.

And the original stain is not in you. 

You are the glory of Jerusalem.

You are the joy of Israel. 

You are the honor of our people.

You are the advocate of sinners.

O Mary. Virgin, most prudent.

Mother, most tender.

Pray for us.

Intercede for us with Jesus our Lord. (Mention your request)

In your conception, Holy Virgin, you were immaculate.

Pray for us to the Father Whose Son you did bring forth.

O Lady! Hear my prayer.

And let my cry come to you.

Let us pray

Holy Mary, Queen of Heaven, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and mistress of the world, who forsakes no one, and despises no one, look upon me, O Lady! with an eye of pity, and entreat for me from your beloved Son the forgiveness of all my sins; that, as I now celebrate, with devout affection, your holy and immaculate conception, so, hereafter I may receive the prize of eternal blessedness, by the grace of Him whom you, in virginity, did bring forth, Jesus Christ Our Lord: Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, lives and reigns, in perfect Trinity, God, world without end. Amen.

 

Homily Second Sunday of Advent Year A

 

Reading 1: Last Sunday, the prophet Isaiah invited us to come to the Lord to receive instructions so that we may able to walk in the light of the Lord. Today, the Church continues to listen to the prophet Isaiah. He tells us good news of hope. Even though things may look lifeless and hopeless, like an old stump of a tree, life will bud forth, a shoot shall break forth.

 

This was an allusion of the future Messiah. The Spirit of God will anoint him in his humanity for his own personal growth in his relationship with God: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge and fear of the Lord. These are the same gifts we received in Baptism, so that we can delight in the Lord.

 

Last Sunday, Isaiah talked about peace: one nation will not rise against another. This Sunday he speaks of the harmony between human beings and the animal world. When the Messiah comes he will restore relationship between us and God and between us and all creation. The same as it was before the Fall. And the focus is to free us to come to be filled with the knowledge of God. Not only is this peace for Israel but for the Gentiles as well. Advent is a time for us to fulfill what Jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection, namely, peace and harmony between God and us and us with others.

 

Gospel: As Isaiah was a prophet of hope, so John the Baptist is a prophet of hope. His role was to prepare the way for the Messiah. He does this by calling people into true and sincere repentance for their sins and to express this inner repentance through an external sign, baptism. But for this external sign to bear good fruit, they must turn away from sin, so that when the Messiah comes they can receive him. It will be then that they will be able to act on his word.

 

They are to prepare with expectation, because what the Messiah will do is baptize them in the Holy Spirit and fire. John’s baptism was a preparatory step to the greater gift that Jesus will offer, namely the Holy Spirit. Jesus will begin, like John, calling for repentance for sins which prepares the person for the grace of reconciliation and forgiveness through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Like John’s call for some fruit in a person’s life, Jesus too calls for the fruit of witnessing to what God has done for us in the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

How many people were baptized by John and how many of these became open to the ministry and word of Jesus? How many persevered in their walk of faith? We have been baptized, we have been forgiven, we have been fed, we have been anointed. Where is the fruit, the evidence in our lives? Advent is a new beginning, a new response, a new longing for a fresh coming of Jesus and the Spirit into our lives. But it is a times of fruit on our part.

 

Reading 2: Paul is also a prophet of hope. He reminds us that the scriptures are written for our instruction, so that as we hear and act on God’s word, we might have the hope, giving us endurance in the midst of life’s difficulties. The source of our endurance and encouragement is God.

 

As Jesus died for all, we are called to be at one with all, to be at peace.

Through this harmony and peace we praise and glorify God. Unity and peace was the prayer of Jesus at the Last Supper. The exchange of peace at Mass is not just an external ritual but needs to be a reflection of our way of life.

 

As Paul said: “Welcome one another as Christ welcomed you,” Advent reminds us that if there is no room for others in our heart then there is no room for Jesus there.

 As important was the first coming of Jesus and his second coming in glory, equally important is his coming in the present moment. How we receive him in the present moment may indicate how really we responded to his first coming and will determine our situation at his second coming. For in the present moment he will come to call us to our personal accountability before him who created and redeemed us. That will determined the confirmation of the final judgement, whether we are one one of the sheep on his right or one of the goats on his left. It is his coming in the present moment that we need to be watchful and prepared for we do not know the day or the hour.  He comes to us in the present moment in many ways through many people. These are preparations for that moment when he will come through our death to life beyond the grave. The previous comings were like pop-up quizzes. The coming in death is the final exam. Always be ready.

I apologize that I could not give my teaching yesterday. Had technical issues, which I think I have resolved. So I will try again Wednesday night, Nov 30. Here is the link and other information you will need to connect to the Zoom room. 

Topic: Mary in Advent by Bishop Sam Jacobs

Time: Nov 30, 2022 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89026509437?pwd=bXEvK0cxQVhBM1paNVNmSXUvaW5iZz09

Meeting ID: 890 2650 9437
Passcode: 580980

 Second Sunday of Advent Gospel A

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 

· This call is consistent with the prophetic message of the Old Testament. John adds the urgency for the need to repent: the coming of the Messiah. Later, Jesus begins his own preaching in the same vein but adds the important message: Reform your lives and believe in the Good News.

It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. 

· Matthew wants to connect the ministry of John to that of Isaiah. Matthew also wants to show that what John is doing is fulfilling the prophetic message of Old Testament.

· How does God want us to prepare the way for the Lord in our heart during this Advent season?

· What do we need to repent of and change in so as to better respond to the Word of God?

John wore clothing made of camel’s hair  and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 

· These are the trappings of a prophet, who totally commits himself to do the work he was sent to do and to totally depend on the Lord even for his sustenance.

At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. 

· What was the difference between John’s baptism and the baptism inaugurated by Jesus? In one there is merely acknowledgement of sin so as to be better prepared to receive the Messiah. In the Sacrament of Baptism, there is the actual removal of sin and its effects in our life and the entering into the shared life of God. In the first, it is the effort of the individual that is central. In the other, it is the work of God that brings this about.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 

· John is questioning the motives of these groups. He was aware of their self-righteousness based on their relationship with Abraham. They considered themselves the pure stock, almost above sin.

· It is interesting that Jesus is going to pick up on their relationship with Abraham in his encounters with them. Jesus confronted this conviction and said: “If Abraham was your father you would have accepted me. For Abraham rejoiced in seeing me.”

Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 

· What fruit are you bearing in your life?

· Jesus uses the same idea when he talks about a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit.  Or when he cursed the fig tree for not bearing fruit.

I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. 

· John acknowledges that he is less than the Messiah. This is not just a statement of humility but a fact in who he is and who the Messiah is; what he does and what the Messiah will do.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

· What are the qualities of fire that John is emphasizing here?

· Does not Jesus use the same language in the parable of the wheat and the weeds?

· What does God want of you in response to your reflection on this passage?

 Yesterday, we focused on the past coming of Jesus in time. There is another coming that we profess in the Creed every Sunday, namely Jesus' coming at the end of time in glory. He will come to judge the living and the dead. In his first coming many did not receive him. He still died on the cross to save everyone. In his final coming in the future he will finalize the eternal life of everyone. Those who lived and died in Christ in their life time will hear the confirming word: "Well done, share in my Father's presence at the banquet of plenty." Those who did not receive him or share in his life in the years of their earthly existence will hear these words confirming their decision. "Depart from me into the everlasting darkness of unfulfillment." That day will be great for those who lived in him but horrible for those who did not. His judgment is an affirmation of our life-decisions. He does not have to condemn. We have done it ourselves, if we failed to receive him in this life. Lord, may I welcome you in this life so you can welcome me in the next.

 This is just a reminder concerning the first of three teachings on Mary in Advent on Zoom. The first will take place tonight, November 28, 2022 at 6:30pm Central Time. It will last for 30 minutes. If you would like to join me, here is the information you will need.

 ID is 677 091 7946

Password MWw89u

https://us05web.zoom.us/j/6770917946?pwd=SHlQTFR3Sm9KRURkU0ZpeXdKQkQ3QT09