Keep
your eyes open!...
Christmas,
2021
THE TRIB TIMES WILL
RETURN IN MID JANUARY 2022, GOD
WILLING (James 4:15).
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL FROM THE
ZAMBRANO
GRANDDAUGHTERS! BLESSINGS FOR A
JOYOUS NEW YEAR!
VIDEO HOMILY: What
Child is This? - Fr. Mark Goring, CC
CNA: 12 saints' quotes about the true meaning of
Christmas
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day 
I
heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said:
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”
CRISIS MAGAZINE: God Loves You!
God is charity: He has loved us
with an everlasting love!
“I think God must
have said to Himself: Man does not love Me because he does not see Me;
I will show Myself to him and thus make him love Me. God’s love
for man was very great and had been great from all eternity, but this
love had not yet become visible…. Then, it really appeared; the
Son of God let Himself be seen as a tiny Babe in a stable, lying on a
little straw” (St. Alphonsus).
This is the mystery of the
Nativity; this is St. Paul’s exultant cry: “The grace of God our
Savior hath appeared to all men…. The goodness and kindness of
God our Savior appeared” (cf Titus 2:11-15 – 3:4-7). These are
the blessed tidings “of great joy” brought by the Angel to the
shepherds; “This day is born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!”
(cf Luke 2:1-14).
The texts in today’s liturgy,
following each other in tones of increasing exultation, sing the
praises of the sweet Child Jesus, the Word made Man, living and
breathing among us: “Whom have you seen, O shepherds? Speak and
tell us who has appeared on earth? We saw the new-born Child and
choirs of angels loudly praising the Lord” (Roman Breviary). “Let
the heavens rejoice, let the earth exult in the presence of the Lord!”
(Roman Missal), Our God is here in the midst of us, He has become one
of us. “A Child is born to us, a Son is given to us…. His
name is Admirable, God, Prince of peace, Father of the world to come!…
Rejoice, O daughter of Sion, sing, O daughter of Jerusalem….
Rejoice, ye inhabitants of the earth! Come, ye nations, adore the
Lord!” (Roman Breviary).
Come! Come, adore, listen,
and rejoice! Jesus, the Word of the Father, speaks to us a
wonderful word: God loves you!
The three Christmas Masses place
before us a majestic picture: the touching description of the birth of
Jesus as man alternates with the sublime one of the eternal birth of
the Word in the bosom of the Father; and there are also allusions to
Christ’s birth in our souls by grace.
However, this three-fold birth is
but one single manifestation of God who is Charity. No one on
earth could know God’s love; but the Word, who is in the bosom of the
Father, knows it and can reveal it to us. The Word was made flesh
and has shown to us the love of God. Through the Word, God’s
incomprehensible, invisible charity is made manifest and tangible in
the sweet little Babe, who from the manger holds out His arms to us.
Today’s preface solemnly declares
it: “O eternal God, because of the mystery of the Word made flesh, the
light of Thy glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind: that
while we acknowledge Him to be God visible, He may draw us to the love
of things invisible.” Yes, this “Child, wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid in a manger” is our God, who, for us, has made Himself
visible: our God, who shows us in the most concrete way His infinite
charity. One cannot contemplate little Jesus without being
captivated and enraptured by the infinite love which has given Him to
us. The Infant Jesus reveals to us God’s love, He manifests it in
the clearest, most touching way.
St. Paul says in the Epistle
of the Third Mass (Heb 1:1-12): “God, in these days hath spoken to us
by His Son…the brightness of His glory, and the figure of His
substance.” Jesus, in the Incarnate Word, in His silence as a helpless
Child, speaks to us and reveals to us the substance of God: His charity.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Love of God
28. Your love for
God must be so great that grace
may triumph over your heart and over all human respect. No more
self-introspection.
Provided that the good pleasure of the Sacred Heart is accomplished,
suffering
or enjoyment must be a matter of indifference to you.
Fourth
Week of Advent, 2021
(Luk
1:41-45) And
it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the
infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Ghost. And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed art thou
among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to
me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold as soon as
the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb
leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those
things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.
BLOG: A Message from Archbishop Vigaṇ for Christmas 2021
THE CATHOLIC THING:
Mary, Motherhood, and World History
ALETEIA: From Nazareth to Bethlehem: The trying journey of
Mary and Joseph
CATHOLIC CULTURE: --Excerpted from Fr. Phil Bloom
This is the last Sunday of our preparation for Christmas, the
anniversary of Christ's birth. Like Joseph, we can all feel
unworthy of the honor of welcoming him into our hearts and our
homes. We are indeed unworthy, not because we have little of this
world's goods, but because we have so little humility, so little
charity, so little faith and trust in God's goodness. Let us try
to imitate Joseph and Mary, the humblest of the humble, the kindliest
of the kindly, and the greatest-ever believers in God's goodness and
mercy. We can never hope to equal them, but we can follow them
humbly, from afar.
The feast of Christmas should draw the hearts of every child of God
towards the furnace of divine love. In the manger, the infinite
love of God for us miserable sinners is dramatically and forcefully
portrayed before our eyes. In that helpless Baby, represented by
a statue, we know that the person, and the power, of the omnipotent
Creator and sustainer of the universe lie hidden "He emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave" for us. He became a creature, like
ourselves, so that he would make us sharers in his divine nature.
He came on earth to bring us to heaven. He hid his divine nature
so that he could cover us with it.
"Unsearchable indeed are the judgements of God, and inscrutable his
ways." But though we are unworthy of his infinite love, it nevertheless
stands out as clear as the noonday sun in the Incarnation. We
realize that we can never make ourselves worthy of this infinite love,
but let us imitate Joseph and accept the honor which God is giving us,
as we trust that he will continue to make us daily less unworthy.
PRAYER: Catholic Daily Reflections
Reflect, today, upon your own invitations from God to embrace the
mysteries of life. God’s ways are often more than we can
comprehend and figure out. Mary and Joseph give us the witness of
how we are to handle every mystery God invites us to participate
in. Say “Yes” to the will of God just as this holy couple did.
Dearest Mother Mary and Saint Joseph, pray for me that I may have the
faith you both lived. When questions arise in my heart, help me
to respond generously to God as you did. May I trust in all that
God has spoken in imitation of each one of you. Jesus, I trust in
You.
ADVENT RESOURCES
ICBC: Advent
Calendar 2021
DYNAMIC
CATHOLIC: Best
Advent Ever!
CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY'S ONLINE MINISTRIES:
Praying Advent and Celebrating Christmas
CATHOLIC
APOSTALATE CENTER: Advent:
the "Little Lent"
USCCB: Advent 2021
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Love of God
27. The love of
creatures is as poison in your
heart and destroys the love of Jesus Christ. If you seek the esteem of
creatures and try to insinuate yourself into their good graces, you
will
lose those of the Sacred Heart. You will be deprived of Its treasures
in
proportion as you enrich yourself with created things.
Third
Week of Advent, 2021
(Php
4:4-5) Rejoice in the Lord always: again, I say, rejoice. Let your
modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh.
“To
live always joyfully. God is infinite joy”. “When one loves,
everything is joy. The cross doesn’t weigh down. Martyrdom
isn’t felt. One lives more in heaven than on earth. The
life of Carmel is to love. This is our vocation” (May,
1919).
-Saint Teresa of the Andes
VIDEO: Have
You Found Joy? — Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermon
CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD: Gaudete Sunday Explained - Advent Gaudete Sunday
Meaning - 5 Things to KNOW and SHARE
CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT: How devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe has stood the
test of time
FRANCISCAN
MEDIA: Reflection on Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego as
one of his people is a powerful reminder that Mary—and the God who sent
her—accept all peoples. In the context of the sometimes rude and
cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards, the apparition was a
rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast significance for the
indigenous population. While a number of them had converted
before this incident, they now came in droves. According to a
contemporary chronicler, nine million Indians became Catholic in a very
short time. In these days when we hear so much about God’s
preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us
that God’s love for and identification with the poor is an age-old
truth that stems from the Gospel itself.
CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD: Powerful
Prayers to Our Lady of Guadalupe - Including Novena with Chaplet and
Special Prayer written by St. Pope John Paul II
OF FURTHER INTEREST
The Mystery in Our Lady's eyes
Wow LISTEN to the Beautiful Music Hidden in the Mantle
of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Fact or fiction? Nine popular myths about Our
Lady of Guadalupe
ADVENT RESOURCES
ICBC: Advent
Calendar 2021
DYNAMIC
CATHOLIC: Best
Advent Ever!
CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY'S ONLINE MINISTRIES:
Praying Advent and Celebrating Christmas
CATHOLIC
APOSTALATE CENTER: Advent:
the "Little Lent"
USCCB: Advent 2021
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Love of God
22. Our Lord loves
you and wishes to see you advance
with great speed in the way of His love, however crucifying to
nature.
Therefore, do not bargain with Him, but give Him all, and you will find
all in His divine Heart.
Second
Week of Advent, 2021
(Luk 3:2-4) Under
the high priests Anna and Caiphas: the word of the Lord was made unto
John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the
country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the
remission of sins. As it was written in the book of the sayings of
Isaias the prophet: A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye
the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.
ADVENT RESOURCES
ICBC: Advent
Calendar 2021
DYNAMIC
CATHOLIC: Best
Advent Ever!
CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY'S ONLINE MINISTRIES:
Praying Advent and Celebrating Christmas
CATHOLIC
APOSTALATE CENTER: Advent:
the "Little Lent"
USCCB: Advent 2021
CATHOLIC FAMILY NEWS: Abp. Vigaṇ: Meditation for the Season of Advent
THE CATHOLIC THING: Hope, the Future, and Advent
SEAT OF WISDOM BLOG:
Pastoral Letter on Advent (St. Charles Borromeo)
CATHOLIC DAILY
REFLECTIONS:
Advent is a time when we should especially focus upon the coming
celebration of the Gift of Christmas. Christmas is a time when we
give and receive gifts, but it’s important to understand the difference
between a “gift” and a “present.” A present is something that is
expected. For example, your spouse or child expects a present on
their birthday or on Christmas. But a gift is something that is
much more. A gift is something that is freely given, unearned and
undeserved. It’s given out of love with no strings
attached. This is what the Incarnation is all about.
Advent must be a time when we ponder the truth that God came to Earth
to give us Himself in an unmerited and free way. His life is a
totally free Gift to us and is the greatest Gift we have ever
received. In turn, Advent must be a time when we also reflect
upon our calling to bring the Gift of Christ Jesus to others.
Reflect, today, upon the giving and receiving of Jesus in your
life. Let your heart be filled with gratitude this Advent so that
you, in turn, can give the Gift of Jesus to others.
BISHOP BARRON:
Friends,
in today’s Gospel, Luke quotes from the prophet Isaiah: "Prepare the
way of the Lord, make straight his paths." (Isa. 40:3)
Advent is a great liturgical season of waiting—but not a passive
waiting. We yearn, we search, and we reach out for the God who
will come to us in human flesh. In short, we prepare the way of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
This preparation has a penitential dimension, because it is the season
in which we prepare for the coming of a Savior, and we don’t need a
Savior unless we’re deeply convinced there is something to be saved
from. When we have become deeply aware of our sin, we know that
we can cling to nothing in ourselves, that everything we offer is, to
some degree, tainted and impure. We can’t show our cultural,
professional, and personal accomplishments to God as though they are
enough to save us. But the moment we realize that fact, we move
into the Advent spirit, desperately craving a Savior.
In the book of Isaiah (Isa. 64:7), we read:
"Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you are the
potter:
we are all the work of your hands."
Today, let us prepare ourselves for the potter to come.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Love of God
21. It is attachment
to creatures and to self-satisfaction
that weakens the blessing of love in your heart. You must die to
all that, if you wish the pure love of God to reign therein.
First
Week of Advent, 2021
(Luk 21:34-36) And take heed to
yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and
drunkenness and the cares of this life: and that day come upon you
suddenly. For as a snare shall it come upon all that sit upon the face
of the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you
may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come and
to stand before the Son of man.
ADVENT
RESOURCES
ICBC: Advent
Calendar 2021
DYNAMIC CATHOLIC: Best
Advent Ever!
CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY'S ONLINE MINISTRIES:
Praying Advent and Celebrating Christmas
CATHOLIC
APOSTALATE CENTER: Advent:
the "Little Lent"
USCCB: Advent 2021
CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE CENTER: Entering Advent This Year
CATHOLIC DAILY REFLECTIONS: Advent Begins!
BISHOP
BARRON: Friends,
in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to be vigilant.
Today marks the beginning of Advent, the great liturgical season of
vigilance, of waiting and watching.
What practically can we do during this season of vigil keeping?
What are some practices that might incarnate for us the Advent
spirituality?
I strongly recommend the classically Catholic discipline of Eucharistic
Adoration. To spend a half hour or an hour in the presence of the
Lord is not to accomplish or achieve very much—it is not really
“getting” anywhere—but it is a particularly rich form of spiritual
waiting.
As you keep vigil before the Blessed Sacrament, bring to Christ some
problem or dilemma that you have been fretting over, and then say:
“Lord, I’m waiting for you to solve this, to show me the way out, the
way forward. I’ve been running, planning, worrying, but now I’m
going to let you work.” Then, throughout Advent, watch attentively for
signs.
Also, when you pray before the Eucharist, allow your desire for the
things of God to intensify; allow your heart and soul to expand.
Pray, “Lord, make me ready to receive the gifts you want to give,” or
even, “Lord Jesus, surprise me.”
UNIVERSALIS:
From
the Instructions to Catechumens by St Cyril of Jerusalem
The twofold
coming of Christ
We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much
more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by
patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.
In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two
aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth
from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming,
like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the
future.
At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a
manger. At his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a
garment. In the first coming he endured the cross, despising the
shame; in the second coming he will be in glory, escorted by an army of
angels.
We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the
first coming we said: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord. At the second we shall say it again; we shall go out with
the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration: Blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord.
The Saviour will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by
whom he was judged. At his own judgement he was silent; then he
will address those who committed the outrages against him when they
crucified him and will remind them: You did these things, and I was
silent.
His first coming was to fulfil his plan of love, to teach men by gentle
persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be
subjects of his kingdom by necessity.
The prophet Malachi speaks of the two comings. And the Lord whom
you seek will come suddenly to his temple: that is one coming.
Again he says of another coming: Look, the Lord almighty will come, and
who will endure the day of his entry, or who will stand in his
sight? Because he comes like a refiner’s fire, a fuller’s herb,
and he will sit refining and cleansing.
These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus: The
grace of God the Saviour has appeared to all men, instructing us to put
aside impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly, and
religiously in this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the
appearance of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. Notice how he speaks of a first coming for which he gives
thanks, and a second, the one we still await.
That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these
words: He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the
Father, and he will come again in glory to judge the living and the
dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will
come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For
there will be an end to this world, and the created world will be made
new.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Love of God
20. Taking your
heart, as it were, in your hands,
offer and consecrate it to our Lord, that He may be forever the sole
Owner
thereof, that He may reign therein absolutely and may teach you to love
Him perfectly.
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