Advent at the Cathedral

"Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord"

ADVENT PRAYER

All-powerful God, increase our strength of will for doing good that Christ may find an eager welcome of His coming and call us to His side in the kingdom of heaven, where He lives ad reigns for ever and ever. 

Amen.

WEEK 1  – HOPE 

Purple is the primary color associated with Advent. Within the Catholic Church it symbolizes penance, preparation, and sacrifice. During the first week of Advent, we look forward to Jesus’ coming with hope.

WEEK 2  – PEACE 

During this second week of Advent, we reflect on our lives and work on becoming better-versions-of-ourselves in preparation for Jesus’ coming.

WEEK 3  – JOY

This third candle is rose, symbolizing anticipation and rejoicing. During the third week of Advent, we are filled with joy for the near arrival of Jesus on Christmas day. coming.

WEEK 4  – LOVE

During this final week of Advent we rejoice in the endless love that God has for us, which is made apparent in the birth of his Son. preparation for Jesus’ coming.

Advent
Season of Joyful Prayer

Daily Rosary:

After 12:10pm Mass, Chapel

Adoration Hours:

Fridays, 11:00am – Noon, Chapel

Saturdays, 9:00am – Noon, Chapel

Advent Rosary:

Saturdays, 9:00am, Chapel 

Nov 26: Luminous Mysteries for Vocations        Sponsor: Knights of Columbus

Dec 3: Glorious Mysteries for Elderly &                Homebound  Sponsor: SJB 50+ Group

Dec 10: Sorrowful Mysteries for the Hungry &    Homeless  Sponsor: Cathedral Society of St.        Vincent de Paul

Dec 17:  Joyful Mysteries for our Youth –              Sponsor: SJB Dads Club

Advent
Season of Repentance

Confession Opportunities:

Thursdays: 

Dec 1, 15, 22: 11:00am, Chapel

Saturdays in the Cathedral: 

Dec 3, 10, 17: 2:45-3:45pm

Sundays in the Cathedral:

Dec 4, 11, 18: 7:15-7:45am, 10:15-10:45am,                                     4:45-5:15pm

By Appointment:

Call the Church office at 221-5296

"Let's Us Walk in the Light of the Lord"

Advent
Season of Sacred Music

Advent
Season of Sacred Music

Giving from the Heart

“For it is in giving that we receive.”    –  Saint Francis of Assisi

"Let's Us Walk in the Light of the Lord"

Advent
Season of Giving

Advent
Season of Giving

Advent
Season of Home & Family Activities

  • Advent Calendar:  A wonderful visual for children to count down the days leading to Christmas.
  • Advent Good Deeds Chain: During Advent and Lent we especially focus on doing acts of charity and kindness for other. To reinforce this, start a good deeds chain today. A good deeds chain is a simple paper chain, but you must do a good deed for each piece of paper you add. Click here for more information on the Good Deeds Chain.
  • Advent Wreath: Place on your table and light the candles each night. Pray together and sing O Come O Come Emmanuel. Be sure to bless your advent wreath using this blessing.
  • Advent Calendar:  A wonderful visual for children to count down the days leading to Christmas.
  • Celebrate Saints’ Feast Days: There are many wonderful feast days during Advent. Click here for a list. You could keep it as simple as reading about the life of the saint over dinner; or make it a more elaborate celebration with ideas you find online.
  • Jesse Tree: Lots of ideas and resources online for this. It is a fantastic way to learn about Jesus’ ancestors and the Biblical events leading up to His birth. Click here for more about the Jesse Tree.
  • Nativity Scene: This tradition started by St. Francis is a perfect visual to remind everyone about the meaning of Christmas. Say a blessing over your nativity set and maybe wait to add baby Jesus to the manger until Christmas morning!
  • O Antiphons: From the Liturgy of the Hours, these antiphons are sung or recited at evening prayer from December 17 to 23, the octave before Christmas. Each antiphon welcomes the birth of the Savior by heralding one of the ancient Biblical titles given to the Messiah (as prophesied in the OT). Click here for the antiphons.
  • Read Christmas & Advent books to your children: Here and Here are two wonderful book lists!
  • Sacrifices for the Christ Child:  Fill an empty “manger” during the season of Advent – one piece of straw placed for every sacrifice or good deed. Baby Jesus will have a soft manger when he arrives on Christmas from all the good works performed during Advent! Click here for more.
  • Special Sunday Advent Dinners: Fix a special dinner every Sunday in Advent. Read aloud a Christmas story, Saints story, Scripture passage or Advent devotion. Say prayers together as a family. 

  • Brother Francis – The Days of Advent: Brother Francis leads us on a daily journey in this special seasonal celebration of the coming of the Lord! Featuring meditations, prayers, and suggested activities to keep our focus on Christ this Christmas.  Click here to view the videos.
  • The True Meaning of Christmas | Lukas Storyteller: Christmas is coming and our friends Peter, Agnes, Paul and Anna expect to receive many gifts. but when they caught in one of their antics. Lukas and Noah will help them understand the true story of Christmas and how the birth of the Son of God should change our hearts. Click here to view the video.

  •  Nicholas – The Boy Who Became Santa: Nicholas was still a young child when he discovered a very special secret that changed his life forever. It was the gift of giving, by which he brought happiness to many people. Nevertheless, in sharing this gift, Nicholas had to face many dangers. Click here to view video.

  • O Holy Night, The King is Born: What Christmas Is About: Celebrate the wonder and joy of Christmas with Brother Francis in this heartwarming presentation of the birth of God’s Son! Witness the moving submission of Mary, Joseph, and others as they make way for our Savior. Click here to view video.

Advent
Season of Reflection

Week One Reflection – Time of Preparation and Examining Our Life

By Deacon Basco

Today is the First Sunday of Advent and the first Sunday of our new liturgical year.  Our Collect is reminding us that Advent is not only a time of preparation for the coming birth of our Lord Jesus Christ but is also the perfect opportunity for examining our lives. In our Collect we ask God “for the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming”.  What are our righteous deeds? Do they bring honor to God, or do they shame our faith? As we begin a new liturgical year do we need to make a Christian’s new year’s resolution that changes our way of life?

The readings for this first week of Advent help to understand why we should examine our lives. The readings focus our attention on the second coming of Jesus. We do not know when Jesus will return. Jesus tells us the world will be like the time before the great flood. People were eating and drinking and marrying. They did not know the end was upon them until the flood came and carried them away. In other words, people were still doing the same things, not preparing for the future judgment day. They were not living a life that would be found good in the eyes of God.

We need to heed the words of the Collect this Advent and ask ourselves if we are worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom. St. Paul gives us guidance in the second reading. We are to throw out the works of darkness, those things that we are ashamed of and do not want others to know of or see. We are not to make exceptions for wicked desires but conduct ourselves properly with words and actions that honor God. Words and actions we are delighted to carry forth into the light of judgment.

As we begin this Advent season, let us admit to ourselves we do not know when God will call us home, but we can resolve to be prepared, ready to go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Week Two Reflection – Letting go of those things that hinder us from Loving God ….

By Deacon Basco

Last week the Collect prompted us to ask God “for the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with Righteous deeds at His coming” We reflected on how this challenges us to change our ways. The Collect for the second week of Advent builds on our desire to change our ways. The Collect tells us to let “no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet your Son.” Using last week’s Collect as inspiration, we changed our ways and now all of our deeds are righteous. We let go of those things that hinder us from loving God and heeding the words of his Son so that we can move forward with confidence, knowing that all of our future deeds will be righteous.

While we changed our ways, the readings for today remind us that we must do more. John the Baptist tells us to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” To repent we must be truly sorry for our past misdeeds. When we are truly remorseful, we want to verbally express that sorrow. Our Catholic faith gives us the perfect tool to express that remorse through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this sacrament, we express our regret and sorrow for the transgressions we have committed to a priest, who, “by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, has the power to forgive all sins” (CCC 1461). By saying the prayer of absolution, he forgives our sins. The Catechism tells us that

“Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fights against evil tendencies, lets ourselves be healed by Christ.” (CCC 1458).

Our conscience, formed through prayer, reading scripture, teachings of the Church and the graces received from the Sacrament of Reconciliation will help us face the last challenge the Collect gives us. The Collect tells us to pray for heavenly wisdom. We need this wisdom to guide us toward decisions that are right in the eyes of God. The right decisions made here on earth will help us gain admittance to God’s heavenly Kingdom.

Week Three Reflection – The Coming of The Lord is at hand ….. 

By Deacon Basco

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal explains the Collect “is our way of acknowledging what He, God has done on our behalf. Next, on the basis of what is remembered, we ask for something in the present, for ourselves and the whole Church and world, which is assembled in our assembling.” 

Over the last few weeks we have used the Collect to ask for something in the present. We have asked for fortitude and help in preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. This has been with our eyes turned toward his second coming. The Collect of the Mass has given us direction for how our lives should be shaped as we await His coming. We have remembered our past and then asked God to give us the resolve to make any necessary changes so we can meet our Lord Jesus Christ unhindered by sin. 

The Collect of the third week of the Advent season signals a turn from self preparation to that of excitement. The birth of a child is always a cause for joy. Good health for both mother and child after the birth is well worth the celebration that follows. There is joyful anticipation as we look forward to celebrating the Nativity of our Lord Jesus with solemn worship and glad rejoicing. 

For those who recognize the true nature of the Christmas birth, our celebration must include solemn worship. We recognize that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” When we acknowledge that the divine has become human our worship should and will always include worthy and solemn rejoicing. 

Over these last two weeks, do not forget the lessons we have learned from our Collects. Be strong in your resolve, continue to avoid those things that hinder your meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes. Do this with joy, for we have been blessed, we know that Jesus is the Son of God who dwells among us. 

 

Week 4 Reflection – Lord, Pour Forth Your Grace Into Our Hearts ….. 

By Deacon Basco

As we begin the last week of our Advent season we also come to our last reflection based on the Collects from the four Sundays of Advent. 

We started this Advent season reflecting on the first Collect and how living a life filled with righteous deeds will strengthen our resolve to run toward Christ Jesus. The Collect for the second week of Advent saw us asking for God’s forgiveness from our transgressions, leaving nothing to hinder us from continuing our resolve to seek out the Lord. Last week the Collect from the Third Sunday of Advent asked us to now look with joyful anticipation to the coming birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We recognize God the Son in the infant baby Jesus Christ. 

The Collect for this fourth and final Sunday of Advent is a powerful prayer. In it, we acknowledge that even with all our Advent preparation, we may still fall short in faith. The Collect asks the Lord to pour forth his grace into our hearts to keep us strong in our faith and constant in our resolve to live a life pleasing to God. This grace is freely given to help us live holy lives. We will want our faith to be strong because God is about to show us his mighty power and the strong love he has for us. 

Today’s Collect calls us to look both to the past and to the future. With our faith strengthened by the spiritual journey we have taken during this Advent season, the Collect now shows us the depth of the love God has for his children. It connects the Incarnation to the Cross and leads us through the death of Jesus to the glory of His Resurrection.

In the Collect we pray that through the Incarnation of the Son of God, God’s grace may be poured forth into our hearts. This grace will help strengthen us for our own journey from death to eternal salvation. With the Advent season coming to a close, be ready to celebrate Christmas with the right understanding and Joy. Know that the Incarnation is the beginning of a journey that will lead to the glory of the Resurrection and our own salvation. 

Christmas at the Cathedral

"Let's Us Walk in the Light of the Lord"

Christmas,
Season of Gathering

Christmas,
Season of Joy

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