Adam and Eve are the first ancestors of the human
race. Christ is called the "second" or "new Adam" because
He ushered in the new creation by forgiving sin and restoring humanity to the
grace of God's friendship lost by original sin. Mary, because she is the mother
of the eternal Son of God made man, is called the "new Eve," the
"mother of the living" in the order of grace.
During this Advent season we review our salvation
history, meditating on God's promise of a Savior. We begin with Creation, the
birth of life, beginning of time.
In the creation of world and man, God gave the
first and universal witness to His almighty love and His wisdom, the first
proclamation of the "plan of His loving goodness," which finds its
goal in the new creation of Christ.
Recommended Readings:Genesis1-2
ADAM AND EVE
December 1
Symbols: Tree, Man and Woman
Adam and Eve are the first ancestors of the human
race. Christ is called the "second" or "new Adam" because
He ushered in the new creation by forgiving sin and restoring humanity to the
grace of God's friendship lost by original sin. Mary, because she is the mother
of the eternal Son of God made man, is called the "new Eve," the
"mother of the living" in the order of grace.
Recommended Readings:Genesis2:7-9;
18-24
FALL OF
MAN
December 2
Symbols: Tree with Fruit
or Apple
The parents of the human race, Adam and Eve,
disobeyed God's command in the Garden of Eden, thereby commiting the original
sin, resulting in the closing of the gates of Heaven to mankind.
Even after this sin, man was not abandoned by
God. God promises a Messiah and Redeemer: "I will put emnity between
thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and
thou shalt lie in wait for her heel (Gen 3:14)." He tells us of a
"New Adam" who will have victory over sin.
This victory of Christ has given us greater
blessings than those which sin had taken from us. God permits evil in order
to draw forth some greater good: "O Happy Fault, whereby we have merited
so great a Redeemer (Exsultet)."
When Noah finally left the Ark and settled on dry
land, he built an altar to worship the Lord who had saved him. God placed a
rainbow in the sky as token of his resolve to never visit such a disaster
over the face of the earth again.
Noah was a savior, preserving the natural life of
all within the Ark; Christ bring supernatural life to mankind and preserves
that life within His Mystical Body, the Church.
Abraham is our father in faith. He is the man of faith and patriarch of Israel with whom God made a covenant which promised him land in which to live and many descendants, a great people for whom the Lord would be their God. Through Abraham God formed the people to whom he would later give the law by revelation through Moses. With the advent of Christ, the people of Israel would serve as the root to which the Gentiles would be grafted by their coming to believe.
The Jesse Tree is a centuries-old family Advent devotion that has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in recent years. It has particular value since it helps both kids and adults a like to locate Jesus, the Messiah, within the lineage of the shepherd boy who became King of Israel--David, son of Jesse.
The whole idea of the Jesse Tree comes right out of a classic Advent passage from the prophet Isaiah: "A shoot will sprout from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit" (Isaiah 11:1). The Jesse Tree is hung with ornaments representing Old Testament people and events and lead up to Jesus. The traditional symbols hung on the tree are based on the genealogy of Jesus as reccounted by the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew.
Set up a tree or branches with or without leaves. For the ornaments, you can either buy a Jesse Tree kit or just craft them yourself (scroll to the bottom of this page for traditional ornament list). Traditionally, there is one ornament for each day of Advent. You start at the base of the tree with Adam and Eve. At the top of the tree at the very end of the season comes a crib representing the baby Jesus. There's a brief scripture reading for every symbol (see below). If you read these readings and contemplate them and the symbols to which they are linked, by December 25th you and your family will have a much deeper understanding of the history of salvation and the meaning of Christmas!
(the material for this page comes to you in large part thanks to Meredith Gould, author of The Catholic Home. For more great ideas for celebrating Advent, Christmas, and other seasons and feasts in your home, get a copy of her wonderful book--Dr. D'Ambrosio)
If you would like to sign up for our free weekly e-mail with Dr. D'Ambrosio's commentary on the Sunday readings, updates on where Dr. D will be speaking, a chance to WIN a FREE CD and MORE, be sure to CLICK HERE!
From a Catholic Home - this a chart for the Jesse Tree Symbols -
The World is Created – Globe – Genesis 1:24-28
Adam and Eve – Snake and Apples – Genesis 3:1-24
Noah and the Flood – Rainbow – Genesis 6:11-22; 86-12; 9:11-17
God reveals more to a humble heart, Pope Francis said at morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta today. Others who claim to fathom the mystery of God with the resources of intelligence must first get down on their knees, in an act of humility, otherwise "they will not understand anything," he said. Focussing on the day's Gospel of St Luke, which reflects on Christ’s relationship to the Father, Pope Francis said: "He makes us know the Father, introduces us to this inner life that He has. And to whom does the Father reveal this? To whom does he give this grace? 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little ones'. Only those whose hearts are like the young are capable of receiving this revelation, the humble of heart, the meek, who feel the need to pray, to open up to God, who feel poor; only he who goes forward with the first Beatitude: the poor in spirit."... "Many may know the science, theology well, so many! But if they do not practice this theology on their knees, humbly, like children, they will not understand anything. It will tell them many things, but they will not understand anything. Only with this poverty is one capable of receiving the revelation that the Father gives through Jesus, through Jesus. Jesus is, not like a captain, an army general, a powerful ruler, no, no. He is like a bud. Just like we heard in the First Reading: 'On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse'. He is a bud that is humble, mild, and came to the humble, and to the meek, to bring salvation to the sick, the poor, the oppressed.” Pope Francis continued by saying that the mystery Jesus is that of humbling oneself. It is a mystery that "brings salvation to the poor, brings comfort to those who are stricken by many diseases, sins and difficult situations." "Out of this context”, concluded Pope Francis you cannot understand the mystery of Jesus": "We ask the Lord, in this Advent season, to bring us nearer to his mystery and to do so the way that He wants us to do: the way of humility, the way of meekness, the way of poverty, the road where we feel sin. So that he can come to save us, to free us. May the Lord give us this grace. " Source: Vatican Radio/VIS
Today is the memorial of St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552)
Born in the family castle of Xavier, near Pamplona in the Basque area of Spanish Navarre on Apr. 7, he was sent to the University of Paris in 1525. There he met St. Ignatius Loyola with whom he received Holy Orders in Venice in 1537. In 1540 he was sent to evangelize India. He labored in western India, the island of Ceylon, Malacca, Molucca Islands, island of Mindanao (Philippines), and Japan. In 1552 he started on a voyage to China but died on Sancian Island. -catholicfire.blogspot.com Ave Maria!
Exposition: (Once in 10 years)
The silver casket is lowered for public viewing only during the public
exposition, which most recently took place in 1994-95, 2004-05. Next would be
in 2014-15. The Exposition last about 6 weeks from Late Nov to Early Jan.
Some clips of 'St. Francis Exposition' available with You Tube.
The singing in the background clip: Locals singing a hymn of SFX at a roadside
Holy Cross at Velsao, Goa
Commentary of the day :
Wednesday of the First week of Advent
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 15:29-37.
Baldwin of Ford (?-c.1190), Cistercian abbot The Sacrament of the altar, PL 204, 690
The bread of eternal life
« Jesus said : I am the bread of life ; whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst »… In this way he describes twice over the eternal repletion when nothing will be lacking any more.
However, Wisdom says : « He who eats of me will hunger still, he who drinks of me will thirst for more » (Sir 24,20). Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, is not eaten to satisfy our desire in the present moment but to make us long for that satisfaction. And the more we taste his sweetness, the more our desire for it is stimulated. That is why those who eat it hunger still until the satisfaction comes. But when their desire has been filled they will no longer have either hunger or thirst.
« Those who eat of me will hunger still. » This saying can also be understood of the world to come since in the eternal satisfaction there is as sort of hunger that comes, not from need but from happiness. There, satisfaction knows no satiety, desire knows no groaning. Christ, who is always wonderful in his beauty, is also always desirable: “he whom angels long to see” (1Pt 1,12). And so, even when possessing him, we desire him; even when holding him, we seek him, as it is written: “Earnestly seek his face” (Ps 104[105],4). Indeed, he is always sought who is loved in order to be possessed for ever.
This is the Story of Catherine Laboure born in France in 1806 Our Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Catherine a Daughter of Charity Nun in Paris in 1830. A Circle formed around the apparition with this message: 'O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you' Have a medal struck; those who wear it with confidence will enjoy the very special protection of The Mother of God.
Nun and visionary. Founder of the devotion of the Miraculous Medal. St Catherine came from a large farming family near Dijon in France. Born in 1806, she looked after her widowed father and later worked as a waitress in her uncle's cafe in Paris, before joining the Sisters of Charity at the age of 14. She lived in the community in Reuilly, caring for the elderly in a rest home and tending chickens. Her superiors wrote that she was a 'quiet and dull' person. Until her last years, few people realised that she led an extraordinary inner life. Through a series of dreams and visions, she accurately foresaw many historical events in France. In one dream she saw a picture of Mary standing on a globe with shafts of light coming from her hands with the inscription underneath reading: 'Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee.' On the reverse side was a capital M with the cross above and two hearts below. Catherine believed she was ordered to have this produced as a medal. She spoke with her superiors and, in 1832, the archbishop allowed 1,500 to be minted. Later an account of the medal's origins was published. A canonical review in 1836 declared them authentic. In 1842 a Jewish man from Alsace, Alphonsus Ratisbone, inspired by the devotion to the medal, became a Christian and founded the Fathers and Sisters of Sion. From that time onwards, the devotion to the Miraculous Medal spread around the world. Catherine died on 31 December 1876. Her body remains incorrupt in the convent chapel at Rue de Bac, Paris. She was canonised in 1947.
According to the verbal process of the investigation on February 16, 1836, the medal is supposed to be oval in shape. It also bears the words, "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!"; these start at Mary's right hand, continue over her head, and end at her left hand.[8]
According to an account written by Catherine's own hand, Mary was clothed in a robe of auroral light and her robe had a high neck and plain sleeves. According to Catherine's notes, the medal should also have half a globe upon which Mary's feet rest, hands raised up to her waist, fingers filled with diamond rings of different sizes giving off rays of light, and a frame slightly oval with golden letters saying, "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!" Her fingers each had three rings and the largest stones emitted the most brilliant rays. She added that some of the diamonds did not give off rays
I am writing to you as the Successor of Peter, to
whom the Lord entrusted the task of confirming his brothers and sisters in
faith (cf. Lk 22:32). But I am also writing to you as a brother who, like
yourselves, is consecrated to God.
Together let us thank the Father, who called us to
follow Jesus by fully embracing the Gospel and serving the Church, and poured
into our hearts the Holy Spirit, the source of our joy and our witness to God's
love and mercy before the world.
In response to requests from many of you and from
the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of
Apostolic Life, I decided to proclaim a Year of Consecrated Life on the
occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
Lumen Gentium, which speaks of religious in its sixth chapter, and of the
Decree Perfectae Caritatis on the renewal of religious life. The Year will
begin on 30 November 2014, the First Sunday of Advent, and conclude with the
Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple on 2 February 2016.
After consultation with the Congregation for
Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life, I have
chosen as the aims of this Year the same ones which Saint John Paul II proposed
to the whole Church at the beginning of the third millennium, reiterating, in a
certain sense, what he had earlier written in the Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation Vita Consecrata: “You have not only a glorious history to remember
and to recount, but also a great history still to be accomplished! Look to the
future, where the Spirit is sending you in order to do even greater things”
(No. 110).
I. AIMS OF THE YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE
1. The first of these aims is to look to the past
with gratitude. All our Institutes are heir to a history rich in charisms.
Starring Joss Ackland and Claire Bloom. Winner of over a dozen prestigious awards including the International Emmy for Best Drama and two British Academy Awards. (RPI / Discount Christian Media is an Authorized Distributor of this title. For more information please visit www.Go2RPI.com )
ADAM AND EVE
CREATION
ADAM AND EVE
FALL OF
MAN 
NOAH
Abraham is our father in faith. He is the man of faith and patriarch of Israel with whom God made a covenant which promised him land in which to live and many descendants, a great people for whom the Lord would be their God. Through Abraham God formed the people to whom he would later give the law by revelation through Moses. With the advent of Christ, the people of Israel would serve as the root to which the Gentiles would be grafted by their coming to believe.Recommended Readings: Genesis 12:2-3; 17:4-6
The Jesse Tree is a centuries-old family Advent devotion that has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in recent years. It has particular value since it helps both kids and adults a like to locate Jesus, the Messiah, within the lineage of the shepherd boy who became King of Israel--David, son of Jesse.
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