{"id":185388,"date":"2015-12-12T12:00:21","date_gmt":"2015-12-12T18:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=185388"},"modified":"2015-12-17T11:51:44","modified_gmt":"2015-12-17T17:51:44","slug":"185388","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/185388\/","title":{"rendered":"The Prayers – 3rd Sunday of Advent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since we can learn much from what we pray day in and day out in our Liturgy it would be profitable for us to reflect more profoundly upon the prayers of each day. We should especially do this over the season of Advent which marks the end of one liturgical year, and the beginning of the next. \u00a0<\/em>This is the 2nd of a series of posts which will be focused upon the prayers in the Mass during the time of Advent. Look for new posts about once a week during the season of Advent. Previous posts are here: (Week I <\/a>)(Week II<\/a>) (Week IV<\/a>)\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\"photo

photo by Lauren Gulde<\/p><\/div>\n

This Sunday is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday because of the first word of its entrance antiphon, \u201cGaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, Gaudete,\u201d (\u201c[You all] Rejoice, in the Lord always: again I say rejoice\u201d).[1]<\/a> We on rejoice because the Lord is near; our joyful period of waiting is rapidly coming to a close. On the third Sunday of this season, we finally find reference to that which we are liturgically preparing to remember in the Collect.<\/p>\n

O God, who see how your people
\nfaithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity,
\nenable us, we pray,
\nto attain the joys of so great a salvation,
\nand to celebrate them always
\nwith solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
\nThrough our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
\nwho lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
\none God, for ever and ever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With this emphasis upon the upcoming feast of the Nativity, it could be tempting to consider this part of the Advent as discontinuous with the previous two weeks. However, to do so would cause us to miss the main point of the season: namely, that by remembering Israel\u2019s longing for the Messiah, we are prepared to meet Christ in the Parousia. If the first two weeks of Advent focus on this reality of Christ\u2019s second coming, then the latter two weeks are the Church\u2019s way of holding up as an example of how we ought to wait.\u00a0 The entire season is really a sacramental sign that points to the reality of our human condition at all times.<\/p>\n

\"My

My two brothers, David and Travis and I last Christmas. Even as young adults, we still love Christmas morning!<\/p><\/div>\n

As an example to illustrate this, I offer my own experiences in childhood. When I was a boy, my brothers and I anxiously awaited the coming of Christmas morning \u2013 perhaps more because of the presents\u00a0we received than the Christ-child \u2013 but nevertheless with great hope. As Christmas approached the excitement was palpable and on Christmas morning, we would wake very early in the morning to see what was under the tree and in our stockings. It is that sort-of wake-up-early-in-the-morning type of attitude that we should have at all times with regard towards our hope in the Savior who is coming. The joyful hope my brothers and I had in earthly goods during the Advent and Christmas season is supposed to be a sign of our joyful hope in Jesus Christ, the only one who is is worthy of such a hope.<\/p>\n

\"ACNM-Advent3\"

It’s week three already!<\/p><\/div>\n

Thus, when we await the feast of the Nativity, which is a sign of the Parousia yet to come, we should stand in hopeful, and joyful expectation that God will fulfill his promises to us. The concept of faithful, joyful waiting of the coming of the Messiah is at the heart the Advent season, which is itself a microcosm of the whole life of the Christian, who hopes in God, despite the many trials of this present vale of tears. Commenting on this phenomenon of waiting in hope, Pope Benedict XVI writes, \u201cMankind has never ceased to hope for better times; Christians hope that the Lord passes through the whole of history and that he will one day gather up all our tears and labors, so that everything\u00a0\u00a0will find its explanation and its fulfillment in his<\/em> kingdom.\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> We are a \u201cpeople who walked in darkness\u201d, but we \u201chave seen a great light,\u201d which is the coming fulfillment of the promises of God in the person of Jesus Christ.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

In the Collect, we ask that we be able to \u201ccelebrate \u2026 always\u201d the joys of such a salvation, this is a plea that we might not forget the truth of the Incarnation. We are to keep the reality that God became man always before our eyes, and by this action allow our lives to be marked with great joy and great hope for our salvation who has come and will come again. My challenge for us this week is to live joyfully with the knowledge that Christ loves us and to share this joy with others daily.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Phillipians 4:4-5<\/p>\n

[2]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Benedict XVI, The Blessing of Christmas<\/em>, trans. Brian McNeil (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2007), 24.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Isaiah 9:1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since we can learn much from what we pray day in and day out in our Liturgy it would be profitable for us to reflect more profoundly upon the prayers of each day. We should especially do this over the season of Advent which marks the end of one liturgical year, and the beginning of… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[671],"tags":[3026],"class_list":{"0":"post-185388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-column","7":"tag-the-prayers","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":182741,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/the-prayers-2nd-sunday-of-advent\/","url_meta":{"origin":185388,"position":0},"title":"The Prayers – 2nd Sunday of Advent","author":"William Rooney","date":"December 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Since we can learn much from what we pray day in and day out in our Liturgy it would be profitable for us to reflect more profoundly upon the prayers of each day. 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Amen\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"FirstSundayAdvent2015Shrine","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/FirstSundayAdvent2015Shrine-550x550.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/FirstSundayAdvent2015Shrine-550x550.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/FirstSundayAdvent2015Shrine-550x550.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":339830,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/mary-never-enough\/","url_meta":{"origin":185388,"position":4},"title":"Of Mary, Never Enough","author":"Rachel","date":"December 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\"De Maria, nunquam satis!,\" St Bernard of Clairvaux once said. 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