Liturgical Year

       Advent
      Christmas Season
      Ordinary Time
      Lent
      Holy Week
      Easter Season
      Holy Days of Obligation

Advent

Waiting in Joyful Hope

Picture
The Church year begins with the Season of Advent.  The word Advent comes from the Latin word meaning coming. The Lord is coming.  It  is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming  and also to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas. 

Purple reflects the call of John the Baptist to repent—to turn our hearts and minds to God.  
The pink of the third Sunday in Advent, Guadete Sunday, reminds us we wait in joyful hope for the promises of God to those who follow his ways.  

Living the Season of Advent
Prayers, Resources and Traditions

Picture
2nd Graders making their Advent Wreaths

CELEBRATIONS within the SEASON of ADVENT

St. Nicholas    December 6

Picture
The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, born during the third century on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a  Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give to the poor," Nicholas used his inheritance to assist the needy, sick and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. He became known for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children and his concern for sailors. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned.  After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra 

                                                          Celebrate St. Nicholas' Day with a new Family Tradition


Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Holy Day of Obligation, December 8
Patroness of the United States

Picture
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ca 1678
Father,
you prepared the Virgin Mary
to be the worthy mother of your Son.
You let her share beforehand
in the salvation Christ
would bring by his death,
and kept her sinless
from the first moment of her conception.
Help us by her prayers
to live in your presence without sin.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever. Amen
The Liturgy of the Hours



The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrates Mary's conception, without sin.   This age-old belief of the Church was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854 as an article of revealed truth. Mary was in need of redemption and she was indeed redeemed by the passion and death of Jesus Christ.  Only she was freed from original sin before her conception, thus she was immaculately conceived, to become a worthy vessel for the Son of God. 

Learn More:  Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the United States
                        Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
                        FAQ on the Immaculate Conception
                        Immaculate Conception Prayers
                        Sermon by St. Anslem, 12th Century
                        Mary, Model of Faith & First Believer
                        Doctrine on the Immaculate Conception
                        Our Lady of Lourdes, "I am the Immaculate Conception"  


Our Lady of Guadalupe   December 12
Patroness of the Americas

Picture
Mary, Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of all America, help us be faithful stewards of the great mysteries of God. Help us teach the truth your Son proclaimed and spread love, which is the first commandment and first fruit of the Holy Spirit. Help us confirm our brothers and sisters in the faith. Help us spread hope in eternal life. Help us guard the great spiritual treasures of the members of God's people who are entrusted to us. Accept our willingness to serve unreservedly the cause of your Son, the cause of the Gospel and of peace, based on justice and love among individuals and between peoples.

Queen of peace! Save the nations and peoples of the whole continent who trust in you; save them from war, hatred and subversion. May all, governors and the governed, learn to live in peace; may they be educated for peace, and undertake everything required by justice and respect for the rights of each person, so peace may be strengthened.  Pope John Paul II,

At dawn on December 9, 1531, on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City, Our Blessed Lady appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian.  Several times Mary sent Juan to the Bishop asking him to build a shrine.  Finally the Bishop asked for a sign.  Appearing to Juan a fourth time, she directed him to gather fresh roses which he would find growing on the frosty summit of the rocky and barren hill.  When Juan opened his tilma (cloak) to reveal the roses, to everyone's amazement, upon the tilma was a miraculous beautiful image of Our Lady exactly as she had appeared on Mount Tepeyac.  Juan Diego's cloak, marvelously preserved, can still be seen behind the main altar in the new Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe which is near the original Basilica site she requested.

The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in December of 1531 generated the conversions of Mexico, Central and South America.  Within 20 years, 9 million people converted to Catholicism.


Learn More:  The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe