Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => Catholic Living in the Modern World => Topic started by: FlosCarmeli13 on November 13, 2022, 04:54:54 PM
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Advent starts in two weeks on Sunday, November 27th, 2022.
Are you ready? Most of the world ignores the penitential season of Advent. Many put up their decorations or their tree around Thanksgiving or even earlier.
I know I get the odd look when I wish others a ‘’Blessed Advent’’ but I do it anyway.
Share your plans, suggestions, favorite books or sermons, etc.
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My family has been praying this prayer called THE CHRISTMAS NOVENA for a long time.
It starts on St. Andrew's feast day (Nov 30th) and ends on Christmas Eve. It is prayed 15 times a day. It can be prayed all at one or five times three times a day like the Angelus.
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires,
[here mention your request]
through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.
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Also, thanks to Miseremini, I learned of the old custom of praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary every day from the First Sunday of Advent until Candlemas/February 2nd/Feast of the Presentation.
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I'm a bit confused about why a Novena would begin on November 30, as it's 26 days before Christmas. Start on November 29th and now it's 27, so 3 sets of 9.
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This will be my first advent as a Catholic. Really looking forward to it.
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This will be my first advent as a Catholic. Really looking forward to it.
I wish you a Blessed Advent! I will pray for you and your family. I hope your daughter is feeling better.
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I'm a bit confused about why a Novena would begin on November 30, as it's 26 days before Christmas. Start on November 29th and now it's 27, so 3 sets of 9.
We always began the novena on St. Andrew's feast day, which is Nov. 30.
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I was gifted a brand new set of 100% beeswax Advent candles so I look forward to lighting them on Vespers before Sunday and on Advent Sundays. Flameless candles for the rest of the days, otherwise the real ones wouldnt last very long!
Get those chocolate coins ready for St. Nicholas. Coal too. ;) For the Krampus in your family :laugh1:
Immaculate Conception, St. Lucy, Our Lady of Guadalupe, O Antiphons.....much to look forward to prayer-wise.
(Beethoven's birthday December 17th for audiophiles!)
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I was gifted a brand new set of 100% beeswax Advent candles so I look forward to lighting them on Vespers before Sunday and on Advent Sundays. Flameless candles for the rest of the days, otherwise the real ones wouldnt last very long!
I ended up getting some LED candles (real wax though!) because kids, dogs and cats. I do not need a house fire this Advent! :cowboy:
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For years I have been wanting to have a Jesse tree for Advent.
The basic idea is having on the Christmas tree the names of all of Our Lord's ancestors who are mentioned in the Bible.
This year we decided to get an early start and make name tag ornaments for the advent tree ourselves. We just finished today!
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I ended up getting some LED candles (real wax though!) because kids, dogs and cats. I do not need a house fire this Advent! :cowboy:
That I understand completely. Thankfully our cat only likes to poke under the Christmas tree, behind the Nativity - where our family from before I was born - is placed.
In many years past I had those 5 day votive paraffin candles, but caution dictates LED for the majority of candle time. The real ones are lit only for a short time while I recite the appropriate office, then the LEDS take over.
Plus I have many other LED candles for the proper ambiance at this darkening time of year.
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I love this season. My absolute favorite. Advent and Christmas, cooler weather (finally get to turn off the air conditioning) and so forth.
For many of the same reasons Kazimierz mentioned -- O Antiphons, Advent/Christmas songs, Matins for Christmas Eve, etc.
And December is chock full of feast days. Those are the "Holidays" for a Catholic.
St. Nicholas Day
Immaculate Conception
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Gaudete Sunday
And that's just the first half of the month.
And let's face it: most families have 1 or more birthdays in November and December too, for whatever reason (maybe it has to do with the beauty of Spring 9 months earlier?)
Let's just say December is the birth-month for MORE than 1/12th of the population, which statistically shouldn't be the case. November too.
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cooler
So you have to break out the Winter coats for those highs in the mid-70s?
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I love this season. My absolute favorite. Advent and Christmas, cooler weather (finally get to turn off the air conditioning) and so forth.
For many of the same reasons Kazimierz mentioned -- O Antiphons, Advent/Christmas songs, Matins for Christmas Eve, etc.
And December is chock full of feast days. Those are the "Holidays" for a Catholic.
St. Nicholas Day
Immaculate Conception
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Gaudete Sunday
And that's just the first half of the month.
And let's face it: most families have 1 or more birthdays in November and December too, for whatever reason (maybe it has to do with the beauty of Spring 9 months earlier?)
Let's just say December is the birth-month for MORE than 1/12th of the population, which statistically shouldn't be the case. November too.
:laugh1: We have had the furnace running for three weeks here already. Temps in the 20F and colder we had, now getting close to freezing again, which is a pain as the snow we have will melt a bit then things freeze overnight. Awaiting patiently - trying to anyway - for the next surge of Arctic air from Siberia and a good helping of snow sometime early in Advent. The "joys" of living at 53 N Latitude. :cowboy: It was a lot more fun as a kid playing in the snow and cold though. Traditionally, there was always some snow on the ground for the start of Advent (the 70s were above average for snow and low temps, thus a cold-ish VERY white Christmas is what I grew up with.)
Apparently it will be a brutally cold and snowy winter this season a few sources say. And so I keep praying!
I would have a terribly difficult time (and have had) when I did not have sufficient snow and cold for Advent and the Yuletide. It is built in, spiritually and psychologically.
Benedicite glacies et nives!
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I heard that you can read a chapter of St Luke every day.
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I ended up getting some LED candles (real wax though!) because kids, dogs and cats. I do not need a house fire this Advent! :cowboy:
Sorry. I think I hit the thumbs down button. It’s a thumbs up.
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I heard that you can read a chapter of St Luke every day.
Yes! There’s 24 chapters. Good idea!
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:laugh1:
I would have a terribly difficult time (and have had) when I did not have sufficient snow and cold for Advent and the Yuletide. It is built in, spiritually and psychologically.
Benedicite glacies et nives!
And here we are sweltering at 45C. and praying for rain.:pray:
O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
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Years ago my mother made a cloth Advent calendar with laminated and pinned labels for each day for what Bible readings were relevant for the day and season. We inherited the labels.
A year or two ago my sister gave us an old Victorian style advent calendar box with little doors that open up for each day that goes on the wall. Originally it had candies in it but now it has the labels in it. So, each day we try and open one of the little doors and do the Bible readings for the day.
We have not ways been very good about doing the readings with the little boys. I am hoping that this year will be better. 😇
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Years ago my mother made a cloth Advent calendar with laminated and pinned labels for each day for what Bible readings were relevant for the day and season. We inherited the labels.
A year or two ago my sister gave us an old Victorian style advent calendar box with little doors that open up for each day that goes on the wall. Originally it had candies in it but now it has the labels in it. So, each day we try and open one of the little doors and do the Bible readings for the day.
We have not ways been very good about doing the readings with the little boys. I am hoping that this year will be better. 😇
Are the readings long? I've always loved the type of Advent calendars we had, where you open a door & read a very quick Bible verse. It doesn't take long at all, but gets one in the spirit of Advent. And children are eager to open the doors each day. With the ones we had, the final day (Dec. 24) was the biggest window, and would open to a Nativity scene. And it was so exciting to anticipate the day you finally got to open that big window!
For example, this type:
Advent calendar (https://www.catholiccompany.com/peaceful-nativity-advent-calendar-i122625/#mz-expanded-view-774410936891)
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Are the readings long? I've always loved the type of Advent calendars we had, where you open a door & read a very quick Bible verse. It doesn't take long at all, but gets one in the spirit of Advent. And children are eager to open the doors each day. With the ones we had, the final day (Dec. 24) was the biggest window, and would open to a Nativity scene. And it was so exciting to anticipate the day you finally got to open that big window!
For example, this type:
Advent calendar (https://www.catholiccompany.com/peaceful-nativity-advent-calendar-i122625/#mz-expanded-view-774410936891)
Oo! That is beautiful and so practical for Advent to get the children involved!!! It reminds me of a little nativity set when you hung up, a star, angel shepherd or something each day and on Christmas everything was as the manger scene should be. I had totally forgotten about this! My godmother gave it to me as a child.
The one we have currently is more like a half chapter reading. 😅
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This would be my dream set for the children but not ready to spend the money on it this year. 😅
https://www.wayfair.com/holiday-decor/pdp/precious-moments-26-piece-nativity-advent-calendar-set-fh2804.html (https://www.wayfair.com/holiday-decor/pdp/precious-moments-26-piece-nativity-advent-calendar-set-fh2804.html)
This is closer to what we have now:
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I know this topic is about Advent, but I was wondering if anyone else hung a Christmas nail on their tree. We always hang it. I don't remember if we had one as a child.
It's a very special ornament to those devoted to the Passion of Christ.
The Original Christmas Nail Ornament | The Catholic Company® (https://www.catholiccompany.com/original-christmas-nail-ornament-i17233/)
S
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Catholic Harbor of Faith and Morals's website has an online Advent calendar
https://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/Advent%20Calendar.html (https://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/Advent Calendar.html)
(I made another post on The Sacred: Prayers board so this doesn't get lost)
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I heard that you can read a chapter of St Luke every day.
Thanks, Viva Cristo Rey, for the idea. I think I will do this and start on Dec 1st.
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The boys helped me do do some crafting today. We made a child-friendly Advent Wreath today with upcycled pickle jars, cardboard construction paper and tape. We plan to use tea lights inside the jars and keep it on top of our piano to light for when we read the "Advent readings" from our Advent calendar. 😇
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This year is the LONGEST ADVENT that is physically possible. Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, basically the "5th Sunday of Advent" if such a thing were possible.
The shortest possible Advent is when Christmas falls on a Monday -- the day after the 4th Sunday of Advent.
Bad news for those who dread fasting and/or abstinence -- we have the usual Friday abstinence followed by the Vigil (Christmas Eve) on Saturday which is traditionally a day of Fast and Abstinence.
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Fasting can be easy if you make a habit of it. Skip breakfast, and eat the last meal on the early side, so that the hunger pains return and pass while you are in the deepest part of your sleep cycle, so you aren't painfully hungry in the morning.
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And here we are sweltering at 45C. and praying for rain.:pray:
O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
May you receive the rain you pray for!!!! 45C.....sweet Iesu, that is polar bear meltingly hot, and unbearable anytime of the year for me! :(
"The Western desert lives and breathes in 45 degrees" I heard once sung.
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This year is the LONGEST ADVENT that is physically possible. Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, basically the "5th Sunday of Advent" if such a thing were possible.
The shortest possible Advent is when Christmas falls on a Monday -- the day after the 4th Sunday of Advent.
Bad news for those who dread fasting and/or abstinence -- we have the usual Friday abstinence followed by the Vigil (Christmas Eve) on Saturday which is traditionally a day of Fast and Abstinence.
And that Fast will end, but not the abstaining from meat, on the sighting of the first star on Christmas Eve (or if cloudy when sufficiently dark, usually around 17 00H or so) Praise the Lord and pass. the pierogies. Those were the days.......
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PRAYER IN ADVENT. O God, who by Thy gracious advent hast brought joy into this world, grant us, we beseech Thee, Thy grace to prepare ourselves by sincere penance for its celebration and for the Last Judgment. Amen.
Have a Blessed Advent!!
:pray:
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We hung up our "Jesse Family Tree" tags on our "Advent" tree last night. It is a nice reminder that it is Advent whenever we walk through the room. 😇
Sadly some of our Advent Calendar Tag readings were missing... So, we might have to put that away until next year or at least until we figure out which are missing and replace them. 😅
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I heard that you can read a chapter of St Luke every day.
This is what I did along with a old-fashioned Advent Calendar when I was still teaching. ITT had 24 little doors or windows to open, each numbered, so the children would take turns finding the door of the day and reading it. The result was that the class would have Luke, chapter two memorized by the last day of school before Christmas.
For myself, I’ve hung the calendar on the wall and like to light a blessed candle as I read and recite it from memory.
Also for safety reasons, I extinguish the flame when I complete my evening prayers. Having two large dogs and a cat in a one room cabin isn’t wise.
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This is what I did along with a old-fashioned Advent Calendar when I was still teaching. ITT had 24 little doors or windows to open, each numbered, so the children would take turns finding the door of the day and reading it. The result was that the class would have Luke, chapter two memorized by the last day of school before Christmas.
For myself, I’ve hung the calendar on the wall and like to light a blessed candle as I read and recite it from memory.
Also for safety reasons, I extinguish the flame when I complete my evening prayers. Having two large dogs and a cat in a one room cabin isn’t wise.
Love this! We have little boys so we extinguish candles after prayers as well unless they are small ones on the mantel shelf. 😅
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What method of fasting is everyone doing ?
I started Sunday, even though Sundays are exempt. One full meal per day plus a collation of 8 oz food as a second meal. No meat on Wednesdays or Fridays.
Gonna take a lot of diligence but I'll make it. I'll just make sure what I do eat is nutrient dense.