Vocation office e newsletter december 2017

Inside: Reflection on Advent and Christmas St. Cecilia Day music and pictures Recent trips and events Book Recommendation

Walking with Our Lady Photo: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.,“Our Lady Who Crushes the Serpent,” from the National Shrine, 8/19/15. Used with permission.

A Pregnant Pause: Advent and Christmas as Seasons of Hope During most liturgical seasons of the year, such as Lent and Easter, the Church asks us to focus all our attention on one or two central Christian mysteries, such as the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Advent and Christmas are different. During Advent, we are asked to prepare for the coming of Christ at the end of time and to remember the coming of Christ in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago. Additionally, during the Christmas season which is fast approaching, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but we also celebrate Epiphany, during which we ponder the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family, the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, and Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana. What, then do we make of these seasons of Advent and Christmas, swelling with such a rich variety of Christian mysteries?

Juan Zariñena, "La Virgin de la Esperanza{{PD-1923}}t

The season of Advent and Christmas emphasize a perennial experience of a Christian in this world: Christ is already fully present with us, but not yet known in all His glory. As we wait with Joseph and Mary for the birth of Jesus, we note the most human and primordial of the “already but not yet” moments: pregnancy. God has already become man and is already substantially present to and in Mary, but He is not yet visible. She has not yet seen His face. In this experience, Mary personifies the ancient longing of her people, which we remember during Advent through the words of the prophets. God was already truly present to the people of Israel, making covenants with them and protecting them, but still they cried out, “Your face, LORD, do I seek” (Psalm 27:8).

A Pregnant Pause: Advent and Christmas as Seasons of Hope, continued In her pregnancy, Mary captures the mystery of expectant hope. She holds within her very being the tension between the “already” and the “not yet,” of God’s coming to man. Consequently, it is logical to celebrate Christ’s historical coming in Bethlehem (the “already”), and His future coming in glory (the “not yet”) during Advent. Similarly, Epiphany reminds us that although Jesus is already born, He is not yet fully manifest. This manifestation unfolds not only in His encounter with the Magi, but also in His Baptism and the miracle at Cana. However, even these manifestations are not enough, Christ lets us see His human face in birth and earthly miracles so that we can see His face disfigured in suffering, glorious in resurrection, and triumphant in His return. Even Epiphany is an “already but not yet” feast.

In fact, while in this pilgrim state, all of our encounters with the living God are marked by this same reality. To live in this state well, we must embrace the middle term between the “already” and the “not yet:” the “today” of the present moment. As St. Bernard points out, Advent not only celebrates the first and final comings of Christ but also celebrates the third coming of Christ—His coming into our hearts through grace. Advent is an excellent time to be more attentive to the ways in which God, Who makes a home in our hearts, is speaking to us and working with us in all the ordinary events of our lives. The Eucharist makes this presence visible and substantial. Christ is really present in the Eucharist, and He offers Himself to us as Food for the journey.

Through His presence with us now by grace and sacrament, we can live in hope, expecting and awaiting the glory of God that is to come, while simultaneously leaning on the God in Whom we hope (Summa Theologica, II-II, Q. 17, A.1).

During this season of Advent and Christmas, so packed with Christian mysteries, let us not miss the chance to take a pregnant pause—to contemplate Christ who came as a little babe in Bethlehem, who dwells with us in the Eucharist and in grace, and whose glorious Face we await with JOYFUL HOPE. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, "The Virgin Adoring the Host, 1852.

St. Cecilia Day 2017

Enjoy some of our St. Cecilia Day music using the links below: "With Instruments Playing"

"Rejoice, O Heavens!"

Telemann Postlude

Thanksgiving Day

Benefactor Baking

Each December, the novices make beautiful and delicious Christmas gifts for our benefactors.

Congress on Vocational Ministry Rome, Italy

December 1-3

Sister Peter Marie and Sister Mara Grace had the gift of participating in a gathering of religious in Rome to help prepare for the upcoming Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment.

Some of the Sister participants from the United States with Archbishop JosĂŠ RodrĂ­guez Carballo, OFM.

Recommended Reading

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love

By Carl Anderson and Msgr. Eduardo Chávez

In this book, Mr. Anderson and Msgr. Chávez trace the history of Our Lady of Guadalupe from the sixteenth century to the present and discuss how her message was and continues to be an important catalyst for religious and cultural transformation. Looking at Our Lady of Guadalupe as a model of the Church and Juan Diego as a model for all Christians who seek to answer Christ's call of conversion and witness, the authors explore the changing face of the Catholic Church in North, Central, and South America, and they show how Our Lady of Guadalupe's message was not only historically significant, but how it speaks to contemporary issues confronting the American continents and people today. (from the inside cover)

“Juan Diego can trust Our Lady of Guadalupe specifically because her motherhood is not closed in on itself but is open to all; she is a mother who rejects no one. For this reason, too, the church on Tepeyac was requested not as a private place of prayer for Juan Diego but as a place of prayer for a all, a 'little home' open to all so that every person has a place to encounter Christ, not only for the Virgin's love of Christ, but specifically for her love for us: 'Because truly I am honored to be your compassionate Mother...[T]here truly will I hear their cry, their sadness...' In a very real sense, 'prayer is hope in action,' and the Church is a place where through the Eucharist and through prayer we encounter Christ, the ultimate transformative hope that saves” (p. 151).

As we walk through these seasons of expectation, let us take Our Lady as our guide.

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe Dear Lady of Guadalupe, my Queen and my Mother. As you carried within you Jesus Christ, the Hope and Desire of all nations, please carry me. Help me to hold on to your Son, trusting that He is present with me now and awaits me in the Life that never ends.

Help me to draw close to Him present now in the Eucharist and in every moment, learning like you to live a joyful life of faith, hope, and love.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.