Comments for Advent Resolutions at http://www.thecatholicthing.org , comment 1 to 5 out of 5 comments http://www.thecatholicthing.org Mon, 20 May 2013 20:55:55 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/advent-resolutions.html#comment-14646 Last year I made some resolutions. Some were the same old resolutions: lose weight, exercise more. These did not happen. But I also made two new resolutions that I kept: 1. Learn more about the mass, and 2. Learn more about the Bible. Interestingly, I have discovered more deeply how important the mass is, and how biblical it is. See "The Lamb's Supper" by Scott Hahn, and Cardinal Wuerl's book on the mass for better descriptions than I can give. I have also really discovered how wonderful, and applicable to our daily lives, the Bible is. I began with Peter Kreeft's book, "You Can Understand the Bible", and I have also determined that I will read the Bible itself more. For example, I read the Book of Ruth, and it is a wonderful and inspiring story. I have come to believe that the mass on earth is a foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb in heaven. That when we receive the Eucharist, we are as close to Jesus as we can get in this life. Just as the marital act is the consummation of marriage and a continual renewal of the marriage covenant, so too the mass and reception of the Eucharist is a continual renewal of our baptism in Jesus. That is why we call it Holy Communion. I have further come to believe that Jesus is the Word of God, and words are spoken and written. So the Bible is the written word of God, the Sacred Tradition is the spoken word of God, and the Church, by being the mystical body and bride of Christ, is (through the sacraments) the continuing presence of the Word made flesh. I believe the Bible supports this belief. Further, I believe the Bible is more than God's love letter to us. It is a marriage proposal. And to make it easier for us to understand this, God created us male and female, so that through our uniting as one flesh in sacramental marriage we can see the foreshadowing of our eternal union with God in heaven. This year, I will continue to explore both the mass and the Bible. I will also try to learn more about God's mercy through St. Faustina. Fortnately, I live within a 2 hour drive to the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA. I hope to make another pilgrimage there this year. God Bless you in this new liturgical year. May God bless the United States of America. Heaven knows we need it. - Athanasius Sat, 01 Dec 2012 18:21:12 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/advent-resolutions.html#comment-14637 What a wonderful column! Many years ago I read the Book of Isaiah of a Sunday in Advent and it changed everything for me. I recall the volume of Lancelot Andrewes sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be unpacked and shelved in a new home. And the Liturgy of the Hours...whether it be taken from the Book of Divine Worship (the Book of Common Prayer adapted and approved by the Vatican), the ordinary or extraordinary forms of the Liturgy of the Hours, the ordinary or extraordinary forms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary: treasures awaiting discovery by those who pray them assiduously. Not to be missed are the Great O Antiphons, which begin Vespers of December 17 and continue through Christmas Eve. We are about to enter one of the two most beautiful seasons of the Church Year. Our Lord was born far from the din, far from the madding crowd, in a place the world would not have expected. The same is true today: He can be found only far from the din and far from the madding crowd. Let us say "no" to the commercialization of the Feast of the Birth of the Son of God and follow the Star to wherever it may lead us. Christ is about to be born, and hope is born anew, even in our times. - Dave Sat, 01 Dec 2012 11:14:47 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/advent-resolutions.html#comment-14634 Yes, smoking, drinking, eating -- no worries here, these are completely outside the realm of sin... - william williams Sat, 01 Dec 2012 03:13:49 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/advent-resolutions.html#comment-14632 "Jesus the doctor of all doctors, " "teaches without words....I have" "never heard him speak but i know" "he is inside me.At each and every" "moment,he guides me to what i must Do. -ST Therese Let us not forget today is the start of the Novena for the most Venerable Bishop Fulton J Sheen,I true hero and example to all! It is easy to find the novena,I pray it brings you much joy! Jack - Jack,CT Sat, 01 Dec 2012 01:15:02 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/advent-resolutions.html#comment-14627 My favorite has always been Matins. It's where I can regularly hear the voices of the many saints and scholars who are my friends in Christ. May God bless you throughout Advent and the coming new liturgical year. - Ib Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:17:39 +0100