December, the Month dedicated to the Divine Infancy
First Sunday of Advent
J.M.J.

Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's
The Church's Year

INSTRUCTIONS ON ADVENT

What is the meaning of Advent, and what do we understand by the term?

The word Advent signifies coming, and by it is understood the visible coming
of the Son of God into this world, at two different times.

It was when the Son of God, conceived of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the
immaculate Virgin Mary, was born, according to the flesh, in the fullness of
time, and sanctified the world by His coming, for which the patriarchs and
prophets had so longed (Gen. 49:10; Is. G4:1; Lk. 10:24).

Since Christ had not yet come, how could the Just of the Old Law be saved?

Immediately after their sin, God revealed to our first parents that His
only-begotten Son would become man and redeem the world (Gen. 3:15). In the
hope of this Redeemer and through His merits, all in the old covenant who
participated in His merits by innocence or by penance, and who died in the
grace of God, were saved, although they were excluded from heaven until the
Ascension of Christ.

When will the second coming of Christ take place?

At the end of the world when Christ will come, with great power and majesty,
to judge both the living and the dead.

What is Advent, and why has the Church instituted it?

Advent is that solemn time, immediately preceding Christmas, instituted by
the Church in order that we should, in the first place, meditate on the
Incarnation of Christ, the love, patience and humility which He has shown
us, and prove our gratitude to Him, because He came from the bosom of His
heavenly Father into this valley of tears, to redeem us; secondly, that we
may prepare ourselves by sincere repentance, fasting, prayer, alms-deeds,
and other works pleasing to God, for the coming of Christ and His birth in
our hearts, and thus participate in the graces which He has obtained for us;
finally, that He may be merciful to us, when He shall come again as judge of
the world. "Watch ye, for ye know not at what hour your Lord will come" (Mt.
5:42). "Wherefore be you also ready; because at what hour you know not, the
Son of man will come" (Mt. 24:44).

How was Advent formerly observed?

Very differently from now. It then commenced with the Feast of St. Martin,
and was observed by the faithful like the Forty Days' Fast, with strict
penance and devotional exercises, as even now most of the religious
communities do to the present day. The Church has forbidden all turbulent
amusements, weddings, dancing and concerts, during Advent. Pope Sylverius
ordered that those who seldom receive Holy Communion should, at least, do so
on every Sunday in Advent.

How should this solemn time be spent by Christians?

They should recall, during these four weeks, the four thousand years in
which the just under the Old Law expected and desired the promised Redeemer,
think of those days of darkness in which nearly all nations were blinded by
Satan and drawn into the most horrible crimes, then consider their own sins
and evil deeds and purify their souls from them by a worthy reception of the
Sacraments, so that our Lord may come with His grace to dwell in their
hearts and be merciful to them in life and in death. Further, to awaken in
the faithful the feelings of repentance so necessary for the reception of
the Savior in their hearts, the Church orders that besides the observance of
certain fast days, the altar shall be draped in violet, that Mass shall be
celebrated in violet vestments, that the organ shall be silent and no Gloria
sung. Unjust to themselves, disobedient to the Church and ungrateful,
indeed, to God are those Christians who spend this solemn time of grace in
sinful amusements without performing any good works, with no longing for
Christ's Advent into their hearts.

What are Rorate High Masses, and why are they celebrated?

They are the solemn high Masses celebrated in some countries in
commemoration of the tidings brought to the Blessed Virgin by the Archangel
Gabriel, announcing to her that she was to become the Mother of God; they
derive their name from the words of the Introit in the Votive Mass, Rorate
coeli desuper. They are celebrated very early in the morning because the
Blessed Virgin preceded our Lord, as the aurora precedes the rising sun.

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.


FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT

The first Sunday in Advent is the first day of the Church Year, and the
beginning of the holy season of Advent. The Church commences on this day to
contemplate the coming of the Redeemer, and with the prophets to long for
Him; during the entire season of Advent she unites her prayers with their
sighs, in order to awaken in her children also the desire for the grace of
the Redeemer; above all to move them to true penance for their sins, because
these are the greatest obstacles in the path of that gracious Advent;
therefore she prays at the Introit of the day's Mass:

INTROIT To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put
my trust; let me not be ashamed: neither let my enemies laugh at me: for
none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded. Show me, O Lord, Thy
ways, and teach me Thy paths (Ps. 24). Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT Raise up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy power, and come; that by Thy
protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our
sins, and to be saved by Thy deliverance. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE (Rom. 13:11-14). Brethren, knowing the time, that it is now the hour
for us to rise from sleep: for now our salvation is nearer than when we
believed. The night is past, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast
off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us walk
honestly, as in the day: not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering
and impurities, not in contention and strife; but put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ.


What does St. Paul teach us in this epistle?

After fully explaining the duties of a Christian life to the Romans who were
converted mainly by St. Peter, he exhorts them to hesitate no longer to
fulfill these duties, and he seeks to move their hearts by this time of
grace, presented them by the Christian dispensation, and by the shortness of
the time of grace.

What is here meant by sleep?

The stupidity and blindness of the soul that, forgetting her God, is sunk in
a lukewarm, effeminate, slothful and lustful life, which, when it is gone,
leaves nothing more than a dream.

Why does St. Paul say, "salvation is nearer"?

He wishes to impress upon the Romans that they now have far greater hope of
salvation than when they first became Christians, and that they should
secure it by a pious life, because death, and the moment on which depended
their salvation, or eternal reward, was drawing near. "What is our life,"
says St. Chrysostom, "other than a course, a dangerous course to death,
through death to immortality?"

What is the signification of day and night?

The night signifies the time before Christ, a night of darkness, of
infidelity and of injustice; the day represents the present time, in which
by the gospel Christ enlightens the whole world with the teachings of the
true faith.

What are "the works of darkness"?

All sins, and especially those which are committed in the dark, to shun the
eye of God and man.

What is the "armor of light"?

That faith, virtue and grace, the spiritual armor, with which we battle
against our three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and in which
armor we should walk honestly before all men. A Christian who in baptism has
renounced the devil and all his pomps, must not live in vice, but must put
on Christ Jesus, that is, must by the imitation of Christ's virtues adorn
his soul, as it were, with a beautiful garment. This text (verse 13) moved
St. Augustine to fly from all works of uncleanness in which he had been
involved, and to lead a pure life which he had before thought difficult.

ASPIRATION Grant, O Lord, that we may rise by penance from the sleep of our
sins, may walk in the light of Thy grace by the performance of good works,
may put on Thee and adorn our souls with the imitation of Thy virtues. Amen.

GOSPEL (Lk. 21:25-33). At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: There
shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars: and upon the
earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the
sea and of the waves, men withering away for fear and expectation of what
shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved;
and then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with great power
and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift
up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. And he spoke to them a
similitude: See the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth
their fruit, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see
these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Amen I
say to you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be
fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass
away.



Why does the Church cause the gospel of the Last Judgment to be read on this
day?

To move us to penance, and to induce us to prepare our souls for the coming
of Christ, by placing the Last Judgment before our minds. Should not the
thought of this terrible judgment, when all good and all evil will be
revealed, and accordingly be rewarded or punished in the presence of the
whole world-should not this thought strengthen us in virtue!

What signs will precede the Last Judgment?

The sun will be obscured, the stars will lose their light and disappear in
the firmament (Is. 13:10), lightning and flames will surround the earth, and
wither up every thing; the powers of heaven will be moved, the elements
brought to confusion; the roaring of the sea with the howling of the winds
and the beating of the storms will fill man with terror and dread. Such evil
and distress will come upon the world, that man will wither away for fear,
not knowing whither to turn. Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in
heaven, the holy cross, the terror of the sinners who have scorned it, the
consolation of the just who have loved it (Mt. 24:30).

Why will all this come to pass?

Because as the people love the creatures of God so inordinately, more than
the Creator, and use them only to His dishonor, He will destroy them in this
terrible manner, arming all creatures for vengeance against His enemies
(Wis. 5:8-24, and showing by the manner of their destruction the evils which
will fall upon all sinners. The darkness of the sun will indicate the
darkness of hell; the blood-red moon, the anger and wrath of God; the
disappearance and falling of the stars, will represent the fall of sinners
into the abyss of hell and their disappearance from earth; and the madness
of the elements, will exhibit the rage of the beasts of hell. Sinners will
then vainly, and too late, repent that they have attached their hearts to
things which will end so horribly, and that only increase their torments.

Why does Christ nevertheless command: "Lift up your heads, for your
redemption is at hand"?

These words are spoken to the just who as long as they live on earth are
like prisoners and exiles, but who at the Last Judgment will be taken body
and soul into their long desired fatherland, the kingdom of heaven: into the
freedom of the children of God. These will have reason to raise their heads,
now bowed in mourning, and to rejoice.

How will the Last Judgment commence?

By the command of God the angels will sound the trumpets, summoning all men
from the four parts of the earth to come to judgment (I Thess. 4:15). Then
the bodies of the dead will unite with their souls, and be brought to the
valley of Josaphat, and there placed, the just on the right, the wicked on
the left (Mt. 25:33). Then the devils as well as the angels will appear;
Christ Himself will be seen coming in a cloud, in such power and majesty
that the sinners will be filled with terror. They will not dare to look at
Him, and will cry to the mountains to fall upon them, and to the hills to
cover them (Lk. 23:30).

How will the judgment be held?

The book of conscience, upon which all men are to be judged, and which
closed with this life, will be opened. All good and evil thoughts, words,
deeds and motives, even the most secret, known only to God, will then be as
plainly revealed to the whole world as if they were written on each one's
forehead; by these each one will be judged, and be eternally rewarded, or
eternally punished.

O God! If we must then give an account of every idle word (Mt. 12:36), how
can we stand in the face of so many sinful words and actions!

Why will God hold a universal public Judgment?

Although immediately after death, a special private judgment of each soul
takes place, God has ordained a public and universal judgment for the
following reasons: First, that it may be clearly shown to all how just has
been His private judgment, and also that the body which has been the
instrument of sin or of virtue may share in the soul's punishment or reward;
secondly, that the justice which they could by no means obtain in this life,
may be rendered before the whole world to the oppressed poor, and to
persecuted innocence, and that the wicked who have abused the righteous, and
yet have been considered honest and good, may be put to shame before all;
thirdly, that the graces and means of salvation bestowed upon each, may be
made known; fourthly, that the blessed providence of God which often
permitted the righteous to suffer evil while the wicked prospered, may be
vindicated, and it be shown on that day that His acts are acts of the
greatest wisdom; fifthly, that the wicked may learn the goodness of God, not
for their comfort or benefit, but for their greater sorrow, that they may
see how He rewards even the slightest work performed for His love and honor;
finally, that Christ may be exalted before the wicked on earth as before the
good in heaven, and that the truth of His words may solemnly be made
manifest.

ASPIRATION Just art Thou O God, and just are Thy judgments. Ah, penetrate my
soul with holy fear of them, that I may be kept always in awe, and avoid
sin. Would that I could say with the penitent St. Jerome: "Whether I eat or
drink, or whatever I do, I seem to hear the awful sound of the trumpet in my
ears: `Arise ye dead, and come to judgment."'