Start of a Christmas Novena
Now that we are well into tripping our way through Mass with the Roman Missal, Third Edition, we can move on. But before we do, why don't yopu take a bit of time to post a comment about how the adjustment to the New Roman Missal is going in your parish or how it feels to you. Just click on the word "comments" below and go for it.
We can now look toward orienting ourselves to the Advent journey. This is the mystery of Mary's "Yes" to the angel Gabriel and Jesus' "Yes" to the desire of the Father that the second person of the Blessed Trinity should become incarnate in human flesh, should enter into our human condition.
Today is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and the tradition day to start a Christmas prayer practice. I weas introduced to this as a high school student be the good sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, NY at Fontbonne Hall Academy. A little card I have saved through the years bears the 1897 imprimatur of Michael Augustine, Archbishop of New York.
Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment
in which the Son of God was born
of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.
In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer
and grant my petition
through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and of His Blessed Mother.
Amen.
This prayer is to be said 15 times a day beginning today and ending on Christmas day. Perfect for the intention dearest to your heart at this time.
1 comment:
Confession in a safe place: while I have been functioning as the "explainer/cheerleader" in my parish, encouraging the community to see all this as a positive thing, I really hate the language. It's stuffy, pedantic, flowery - and I feel it distances us from God. Emphasizes our sinfulness, not how much God loves us and wants to be with us. The theological agenda is so clear - separating the hierarchy from the people; separating people from God. It makes me so sad. The sentence structure is clunky and awkward and, if I were being the creative writing teacher I used to be, I'd give it a courtesy "C" for effort, and encourage the student to choose another field of endeavor. Whew. it felt good to admit that! (And I think when you have to explain that "many" really does mean "all," I think they really do mean "some" as opposed to "all." Come, Holy Spirit! Blow open those windows again! St. John XXIII, Angelo Roncalli, pray for us!!
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