Second week of Advent

Im·mac·u·late Con·cep·tion

noun

1. the doctrine that God preserved the Virgin Mary from the taint of original sin from the moment she was conceived; it was defined as a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church in 1854.

   • the feast commemorating the Immaculate Conception on December 8.

Lectio Divina For Advent

Lectio divina is a form of meditation rooted in liturgical celebration that dates back to early monastic communities. It was a method practiced by monks in their daily encounter with Scripture, both as they prepared for the Eucharist and as they prayed the Liturgy of the Hours. 

The Latin phrase "lectio divina" may be translated as "divine reading."  As one reads and invites the Word to become a transforming lens that brings the events of daily living into focus, one can come to live more deeply and find the presence of God more readily in the events of each day. The method of lectio divina follows four steps:

• lectio (reading)
• meditatio (meditation)
• contemplatio (contemplation)
• and oratio (prayer).

These are great Christmas adverts....enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuRn2S7iPNU

http://www.clipartkid.com/images/239/clipart-catholic-google-search-catholic-traditional-pinterest-SqqlLQ-clipart.jpg

Father Peter Stamm of Needham MA

A GREAT Homily by a very young Priest on the Catholic T.V. Network broadcast of the Mass today!

It is one I will listen to more than once.

http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass/saint-andrew

http://www.clipartkid.com/images/239/clipart-catholic-google-search-catholic-traditional-pinterest-SqqlLQ-clipart.jpg

The Advent link now works....yea! The first Sunday of Advent

Happy New Year everyone!
May God Bless you now and throughout this new liturgical year.

http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=b927174dbe854683d4b527f98&id=cf918d1ebf&e=689bfe8852

Super moon photos...again in Dec.?

 Moon over Maine

A couple of days ago we had a "super moon"

A "supermoon" occurs when the moon becomes full on the same day as its perigee, the point in the moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth.

The term is borrowed from the pseudoscience of astrology but has been adopted by popular culture and astronomers. Supermoons generally appear to be 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons.

A month after the mega-supermoon, another supermoon will rise on December 14.

It too will be a sight to behold, but it'll also limit our opportunity to see something just as beautiful -- a Geminid meteor shower.

The Geminid meteor shower, an annual event, got its name because the meteors look like they're coming from the constellation of Gemini.

But the supermoon's brighter light will drastically reduce the number of meteors you'll be able to see.

NASA says we'll be lucky if we see a dozen meteors in an hour at the shower's peak, when normally the shower lights up the night sky with more than 100 meteors per hour.

CNN's Doug Criss and Holly Yan contributed to this story.

Christ the King....Crown Cake!

The Feast of Christ the King 2016: November 20, 2016

Totally unrelated photo:)

Chocolate Crown Cake

Ingredients

·        1 cup sugar

·        1/2 cup butter, softened

·        1/4 teaspoon salt

·        2 eggs

·        1 teaspoon vanilla

·        1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·        1/4 cup chocolate syrup

·        1/2 cup milk

·        1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Prep & Instructions

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease and flour Bundt Pan.  In large bowl, mix sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add all remaining ingredients except chocolate syrup and baking soda; mix well. Spoon 1/4 of batter into small bowl.  Stir in chocolate syrup and baking soda; mix well.  Pour chocolate batter into prepared pan.  Spoon white batter over chocolate batter.  Bake at 325 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes.  Remove from pan; cool completely on rack.   8 servings.

https://www.nordicware.com/recipe/chocolate-crown-cake#.WCPKuPkrKDI

Responsorial Psalm PS 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5

R. (cf. 1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112016.cfm

We are in His Hands...He Made us!

You are a beautiful building, built by The Master and He smiles at the beauty you are!  He Loves you so much and is proud of you no matter how you feel about yourself.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d7/82/44/d7824438562d461f5d484e41ecde0652.jpg

1 COR 3:9C-11, 16-17

Brothers and sisters:
You are God’s building.
According to the grace of God given to me,
like a wise master builder I laid a foundation,
and another is building upon it.
But each one must be careful how he builds upon it,
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God’s temple,
God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

http://media.gizmodo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/communion.jpg