In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
The First Sunday of Advent, Last Things, Bambinelli Sunday
Jesus said to his disciples, “As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."
Dear friends -
I hope you each had a happy, festive, and well-provisioned Thanksgiving. I certainly did!
This Sunday (unbelievably to me) is the First Sunday of Advent. If you are one of those who are annually put out by the encroachment, to the point of an almost complete obliteration, of secular, consumerist winter holiday (one can hardly call it "Christmas") upon a quiet, reflective, and watchful Advent, have I got just the thing for you! On the four Sundays of Advent, I will be preaching on the traditional "Four Last Things": Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell.
I know, it sounds brutal, but please keep in mind a few things:
- I intend these homilies to be brief (i.e., short) meditations provoking reflection, not intense catechetical dissertations
- It was for centuries the tradition of the Church to meditate, and for preachers to preach, on the Four Last Things is Advent; indeed, medieval churches were dominated by art depicting the Last Things for the meditations fo the faithful
- St. Philip Neri, who had a reputation for cheerfulness and fun, said, "Beginners in religion ought to exercise themselves principally in meditation on the Four Last Things."
In Advent we are preparing to meet our Lord, who came to us once in great humility, and who will come again in great majesty, "to judge the quick and the dead." By pondering the Last Things, we prepare our ousrselves to greet him with joy and hope, who comes to us in love and glory.
Also in Advent, we will continue the tradition we have begun of keeping "Bambinelli Sunday" on the Third Sunday of Advent ("Gaudate Sunday," 12/11), when families are invited to bring the Christ Child from their family crèche to be blessed at the conclusion of Mass. This year our tradition will be enhanced with the opportunity for children to make their own Bambinelli after Mass on the Second Sunday of Advent (12/4). The children of Sacred Heart Church will be joining us, and there will be refreshments - so please plan on joining us for this time of fellowship and joy! More details below.
God bless you,
Fr Allen
“BAMBINELLI SUNDAY”
Make your own Bambinelli: Advent II, 4 December
Gaudate Sunday (Advent III), 11 December
Each year on the 3rd Sunday of Advent (“Gaudate Sunday”), children in Rome gather with their families in St. Peter’s Square for “Benedizione del Bamninelli.” The children bring with them the “Bambinello” – the Christ Child figurine – from their family’s home crèche, and at the noon Angelus, the Pope blesses the children, their families, and the figurines they have brought. On Gaudate Sunday, we will unite our hearts to the Holy Father’s and the children and families gathered with him and bless our own “Bambinelli.”
This year, on the second Sunday of Advent (12/11), we will have the opportunity for families to craft their own Bambinelli. After Mass we gather in the parish hall at Sacred Heart for refreshments and Bambinelli-making. The children of Sacred Heart will be joining us - so please come for the fun and fellowship!
“Advent and Christmas are about welcoming the Word of God into our lives – which means our homes. The blessing of the Bambinelli – which we bring from our homes and return there – is an embodiment of this.”— Amy Welborn
Learn more!
- Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing is a wonderful children's book for the season by Amy Welborn & Ann Engelhart.
- Amy Welborn has lots of resources at her blog, including instructions for making your own Bambinelli.
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
At that time: The rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity
Jesus said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives."
The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity
Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him.”
All Saints' & All Souls' Masses at St. Mary's
ALL SAINTS' DAY: Tu (11/1), 6.30PM at St. Mary's, 89 Hasell Street.
ALL SOULS' DAY: Wd (11/2), 12.15PM at St. Mary's, 89 Hasell Street.
The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity
And there was a man named Zacchae'us; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchae'us, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
Click here for the Collect & Lessons for the Sunday (10/30).
The Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Click here for the Collect & Lessons for this Sunday (10/23).
The Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity
And Jesus told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Vindicate me against my adversary.’ For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Mass Cancelled for Sunday, 9 October!
Dear friends,
In view of the approaching hurricane and anticipated flooding, and having consulted with Fr. Miles, I am cancelling Corpus Christi's Mass for this Sunday, 9 October. Sacred Heart's Mass is also cancelled. You are encouraged to attend Mass at a nearby Catholic parish if you are able safely to do so. If for good reason that is not possible, you are dispensed from your Mass obligation for this Sunday. For your devotions, the Collect and Lessons for this Sunday are here.
Please be safe.
God bless you,
Fr Allen