Anyone who says evening prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours regularly recites the Magnificat from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Named for its first word in Latin, this canticle is one of only four places in the Gospels where the Blessed Virgin’s words are recorded. And the Magnificat contains more words than the other three passages combined. The rarity and brevity of Mary’s words, however, should not diminish their importance. Indeed, the Magnificat is among the most theologically powerful speeches in the entirety of the New Testament. Given its place in the narrative of the birth of Our Lord, the commencement of Advent is the perfect time for meditating on Our Lady’s words.

A newly pregnant Mary travels to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. When Mary greets Elizabeth, John leaps in his mother’s womb, prompting Elizabeth’s own contribution to the Christian liturgical tradition. “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb,” exclaims Mary’s cousin (Lk 1:42). “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45). This elicits Mary’s response, that begins, “Magnificat anima mea Dominum“: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.”

• Echoing the prophet Isaiah

Mary’s pregnancy represents our own liturgical experience in the season of Advent. The Lord has arrived in her womb, yet she awaits the fulfillment of his appearance. So, too, we live under the lordship of Christ, while we wait in hopeful expectation of his return. And John the Baptist, who will become the voice from the desert proclaiming the coming of the savior, has already made his presence felt to Elizabeth. The incarnational details of the scene draw our minds to the God who became flesh so that we may become like God.

Echoing the hopeful words of the prophet Isaiah, the Magnificat could be called a primer on the church’s doctrine of solidarity. Here, at the commencement of the Blessed Virgin’s mysterious and wonderful gestation of Our Lord, she proclaims that this birth will upset the order of things. God calls lowly Mary as the exemplar of humility and selfless service. And in that humble submission, her soul is exalted. The last has been made first. Considering all these things, the Magnificat may be the perfect Advent prayer.

“A voice proclaims: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!,” exclaims the prophet Isaiah. “Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God” (Is 40:3). From the disorder of wilderness will come the order of restoration. “Every valley shall be lifted up,” the prophet continues, “every mountain and hill made low.” The rugged and rough shall be made smooth and plain. And having made all things level, the Lord “like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, leading the ewes with care” (Is 40:11).

Isaiah’s prophecy of God’s mercy echoes through from age to age until it finds its renewed articulation in Mary’s canticle, in which the Lord “has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy” (LK 1:54). God “has … lifted up the lowly,” Our Lady proclaims (Lk 1:52). “The hungry he has filled with good things” (Lk 1:53). Like Isaiah, Mary’s prophetic voice puts the poor and hungry in the center of theological consideration. To those whom mercy has been denied, mercy now has come.

• A song for a fallen world

Some commentators have suggested that the Magnificat may be a traditional early Christian hymn, put in the mouth of Mary as a kind of early creedal confession. Part of the explanation for this theory is that the hymn makes no direct reference to Mary’s pregnancy, or the expectation of the coming of the savior. The broader message, these scholars contend, makes it more likely that the hymn came later, and was retroactively put into the mouth of Our Lady.

While the theory has some merit, I believe that it misses the overall messianic tone of the canticle. The song is not simply about Our Lady’s pregnancy, but rather about what that pregnancy means to a fallen world. Just as the birth of Christ is about much more than a baby in a feeding trough, so the Magnificat accounts for the expansive — indeed, eternal — message of the Incarnation. A lowly birth to a lowly woman ushers in the magnificent fulfillment of God’s offer and promise of salvation. This puts the Magnificat squarely in the context of the Incarnation, which has commenced in Mary’s womb.
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Kenneth Craycraft is an associate professor of moral theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology in Cincinnati.

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By Effie Caldarola | OSV News

Christina Rosetti’s poem, In the Bleak Midwinter, is a Christmas classic.

“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. . .”

As Advent begins and the first wintry weather sets in, those words come to mind. As I write, today is such a day — gusty wind, hard rain, fluid and not yet frozen like a stone, but cold and bleak nonetheless.

In the darkest nights of our year, and in the dark nights of our world’s present turmoil, it seems so wonderful, yet challenging, that hope appears in the guise of a baby born to the poor.

When we saw the news reports of tiny premature babies huddling together in bombed-out hospitals in Gaza, it seemed the baby Jesus lay there among them. And when some “preemies” were evacuated to medical care in Egypt, how can we not remember the little refugee who fled into Egypt with Mary and Joseph?

So much suffering in this world right now, so much sorrow. So many bad, despotic governments, so many refugees, so much climate catastrophe, so much divisiveness, so much terror, so much war.

Rosetti’s poem asks us, “What can I give him/poor as I am …” and ends by saying, “Give him my heart.”

And in the midst of brokenness, we bring a heart made joyful by his presence, despite this weary world. It’s up to us to decide how we might give our heart during Advent. We may need a plan.

A small daily journal might help. Keep it short and simple. A prayer offering each morning, a little commitment: I will do this one thing today to simplify my lifestyle to honor our Earth, and one thing today to bring joy to another.

Maybe it’s the season you put canvas bags in your car and begin the habit of using them instead of those disposable plastic bags. Maybe find the phone number of an old friend or an elderly relative and surprise them with a call.

Share Christmas cookies with a lonely neighbor. Give yourself a bonus point for letting your kids help. Start a bag and place one item cluttering your home into it each day. Bonus points for giving away something someone else can really use.

Write your pastor a note telling him what he’s done or said to inspire you this year. Find people to thank. Find people to gently and courteously nudge, perhaps toward more environmental activity — your congressman, perhaps, or even your bishop. Add some thanks.

Sit down for a quick coffee with a friend. Give yourself a bonus point if you’re at a coffee shop and you’ve brought your reusable coffee cup.

Add joy by not sniping at your spouse when you’re exasperated. Bonus point for giving him or her a hug instead.

Make Advent loving and fun, with your focus on Jesus. Write all those little accomplishments in your journal. Keep it meaningful. We’re all really busy right now, right? So go easy on yourself in these hard times. Remember that Christmas is all about joy, gratitude — and Jesus.

Pope Benedict XVI, writing in the first volume of his trilogy, “Jesus of Nazareth,” addressed the great question that the book would ask: “What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God.”

And always remember: God alone is enough.

“We are all meant to be mothers of God,” wrote the theologian Meister Eckhart, “for God is always needing to be born.”

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Effie Caldarola is a wife, mom and grandmother who received her master’s degree in pastoral ministry from Seattle University.

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St. Joseph • Join the Benedictine Sisters for a weekly Advent Reflections email series by signing up at https://bit.ly/3TVYMpg. Every week during Advent they will share a recorded reflection from a sister via email and on their website and social media channels. The email will be sent at 7 p.m. each Saturday — the same time a reflection will be given in the Oratory during their Saturday vigil.

All Sundays of Advent: Nov. 27, Dec. 4, 11, 18

Collegeville • Join the St. John’s monastic community for the Advent Eucharist at 10:30 a.m. and Sunday evening prayer at 5 p.m. in the Abbey Church. (All Masses are livestreamed at saintjohnsabbey.org and are also archived on YouTube under the title Saint John’s Abbey.)

Little Falls • Join the Franciscan sisters to celebrate Advent liturgies at 9:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Chapel. (Also livestreamed: search YouTube for Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, MN.)

Onamia • Join the Crosier Fathers and Brothers for Solemn Advent Vespers at 5 p.m. in Holy Cross Priory Church.

St. Joseph • Join the Benedictine sisters for Advent liturgies at 10:30 a.m. at St. Benedict’s Monastery. The Benedictine community and public will assemble in the Gathering Place to light the Advent candles followed by a procession into Sacred Heart Chapel prior to the beginning of Mass.

Wednesday, Nov. 30

St. Joseph • The Spirituality Center at St. Benedict’s Monastery hosts a virtual “Advent Sacred Pause” from 11 a.m. to noon for four Wednesdays, starting today. Led by Benedictine Sisters Mary Catherine Holicky and Eunice Antony, participants will gather to share the common prayer of “lectio divina” (prayerful reading) using the Gospels of the Sundays of Advent. Meeting with a sister spiritual companion for 30 minutes each week of Advent is optional. (Participants will need access to a device with Zoom capability.) Fee is $60. (Limited to 8 participants.) Other dates include Dec. 7, 14 and 21. Register at https://bit.ly/3Te4Fh9 or call 320-363-7112.

Thursday, Dec. 1

St. Joseph • The Spirituality Center at St. Benedict’s Monastery hosts an in-person “Advent Sacred Pause” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. for four Thursdays starting today. Led by Benedictine Sisters Mary Catherine Holicky and Eunice Antony, participants will gather to share the common prayer of “lectio divina” (prayerful reading) using the Gospels of the Sundays of Advent. Prayer is followed by a shared meal and fellowship. Meeting with a sister spiritual companion for 30 minutes each week of Advent is optional. Fee is $100. (Limited to 8 participants.) Other dates include Dec. 8, 15 and 22. Register at https://bit.ly/3D58y2s or call 320-363-7112.

Monday, Dec. 5

St. Joseph • The Spirituality Center at St. Benedict’s Monastery hosts “Celebrating, Singing and Praying Advent” from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Led by Carol Meier, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America liturgical music minister studying at the St. John’s School of Theology, this Advent retreat will use the gift of music as a tool for worship, meditation and community-building. It will be a time for singing, silence and fellowship. Fee is $90, which includes a noon meal at the monastery. (Limited to 10 participants.) Register at https://bit.ly/3MGHZDS or call 320-363-7112.

Saturday, Dec. 10

Little Falls • St. Francis Community Chorale presents a free Christmas concert at 2 p.m. at St. Francis Convent.

Onamia • Join the Crosier Fathers and Brothers and the Parish of Holy Cross for an Advent Healing Mass that includes the anointing of the sick and ritual blessing with the relic of St. Odilia at 9 a.m. at the National Shrine of St. Odilia.

St. Cloud • “Lesson and Carols” — readings and music for the Advent season — at 2 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Friday, Dec. 16

Little Falls • The St. Francis Orchestras presents a free Christmas concert at 7 p.m. at St. Francis Convent.

Sunday, Dec. 18 

Collegeville • “Lessons and Carols” — readings and music for the Advent season — at 5 p.m. at St. John’s Abbey Church.

Tuesday, Dec. 20

St. Cloud • Celebrate God’s love and forgiveness at the Advent reconciliation service at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Photo: CNS photo/Lisa Johnston, St Louis Review

The post Looking ahead: Advent opportunities in the diocese appeared first on The Central Minnesota Catholic.

Something about Advent, and the Christmas season that succeeds it (or, in the secular sphere, envelops it), draws the eye to beauty.

We gently unwrap delicate decorations and place them prominently in our homes and parish sanctuaries; out comes sparkling crystal, glittering baubles, velvet emerald, decadent crimson and every manner of silver and gold.

Our exquisitely carved figurines find their places in Nativity scenes and twinkling lights line windows and doors. The austerity of Lenten purple can wait; the explosion of Advent purple (somehow different!) is here.

While much of this beauty is made by humans and machines, it still orients us to the beauty of the season, a love crafted by God’s own hand.

The inbreaking of the Incarnation, where God enters into our mess, is so profoundly beautiful in and of itself. It feels as grand as the “big bang,” the “let there be light,” and yet is quiet — tucked away in a manger in Bethlehem.

It is difficult, then, not to think of my favorite poem by Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur,” whose language is as exquisite as the trappings by which we find ourselves surrounded:

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Gerard Manley Hopkins was a Jesuit priest and English poet of the Victorian era. Much to the chagrin of his Anglican family, he became Catholic and was received in the Roman Catholic Church by St. John Henry Newman.

His poetic style was spectacular and unusual, in contrast to his austere and melancholic life as a Jesuit. Indeed, the juxtaposition is a fascinating one for the drama of his writing, especially a poem about grandeur.

Reading this poem (which is my absolute favorite!) I see so much Advent allegory at play, though I cannot say that it was Hopkins’ intent. As this Advent has been preceded by so much pain, division and separation, it is well worth turning our eyes toward beauty.

The exceptional wordplay at the start paints such vivid pictures: the “charge” of God’s grandeur like a spark from a bolt of lightning; the “flaming out” with a fizzle; the “shine of shook foil,” with a sound you can imagine crackling; the “ooze of oil.” How vivid, like the beauty of this season!

As our souls look toward Christmas at the end of this Fourth Week of Advent, we prepare for that Incarnation, the inbreaking of the light of God into the darkness of our world (“though the last lights off the black West went/ Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs”).

While it takes flesh in the simple way of an infant, we know there is more to the story: The world suddenly, almost inexplicably, becomes charged with God’s grandeur. Our humanity is glorified with Our Lord accepting it as his own; he “wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell.”

Of course, this period is not just for beauty and seasonal cheer, though these are happy side effects; this is a season of waiting, anticipating the coming of the Christ Child as enthusiastically as we await the second coming of Christ.

When we think about the context of Christ entering our world, we recall that the Jewish people were long-suffering, laboring in exile or oppression (“Generations have trod, have trod, have trod/ And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil”), awaiting the Messiah.

How much we all have waited for this year: an end to the pandemic; a spirit of unity amid the toxic divisiveness of our country, regrettably mirrored by our church; healing for sick loved ones; transitions from one life stage to the next; good news in a time that seems to ceaselessly bring the opposite.

Much like the people of God in the time of Christ, we may feel surrounded by that which separates us from the God who loves us.

And yet, here is where the hope comes in (“And for all this, nature is never spent”). That God who loves us chooses, over and over, to break into our mess and charge our world with God’s own grandeur, to dig out the “dearest freshness deep down things” amid the dust and dirt of our lived reality.

We await this annual Incarnation in this hopeful season, and we know it points to what is to come. Beauty can be found in the waiting, in that anticipation, in the knowing that what is promised ahead of us is far, far better than anything we have seen before — and that is more beautiful than any decoration or ornament we’ve hung this season.

Nicole Perone is the national coordinator of ESTEEM, the faith-based leadership formation program for Catholic students at colleges and universities across the United States.

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The ritual typically takes place between Dec. 16 and Dec. 24. It includes a procession in which participants carry with them lit candles and images of Mary and Joseph. Sometimes people don costumes to portray the Holy Family and children often dress like angels.

“Las Posadas is a joyful and wonderful celebration of the mysteries of our faith,” said Benedictine Father Efrain Rosado. “We remember and commemorate how the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph were asking for shelter at Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, and how we must be hospitable and generous to those who are in need in our communities and towns. These festivities are in fact a novena, which is prayed and celebrated during the nine nights that are before Dec. 25.”

Over the years, the tradition has been adapted into various forms: Sometimes it takes place over days and sometimes at just one location. In any case, people move from door to door, asking for refuge. They are then refused, and the door is closed.

At each stop, Scripture and songs are read or sung. At the final destination, they are let into the home and a celebration occurs. The host provides snacks or a meal and often a hot drink or punch. Children are invited to break open a star-shaped piñata representing the star that guides the Three Wise Men to Christ.

Brenda Torres, who attends Spanish Masses at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville and Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Rockville, has fond memories of celebrating Las Posadas.

“My favorite thing is spending time with friends and family on an important historical event that represents the true meaning of Christmas,” Brenda said. “People celebrating the posada can reinforce their faith, and for the ones that don’t know anything [about the tradition], it can be a way to learn and experience the event that happened right before Jesus was born.”

LEARN MORE:  The Knights of Columbus has created a guide, “Journey to the Inn: An Advent Celebration,” to host your own posada that is adaptable for many audiences. Find it here: https://bit.ly/3wH0dNA.

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The week before Christmas is bustling and bursting with to-do lists. Last-minute shopping, cookie baking, cleaning and decorating help prepare our homes to welcome family and friends. This year, let us also set aside time to prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus with the O Antiphons.

Since the eighth century A.D., the O Antiphons have been said or sung after the Magnificat during Advent vespers in the seven days before Christmas. Each O Antiphon calls Jesus a different name inspired by Old Testament prophetic writings.

Each evening for seven nights, read the O Antiphons and reflect on the questions below, either in prayerful solitude or with your family at the dinner table or during prayer time.

December 17: O Wisdom … come to teach us the path of knowledge!
Wisdom is understanding. How have I gained clarity this year? What do I still need to understand?

December 18: O Leader … come to rescue us with your mighty power!
God leads us to redemption. Where is God leading me? How can I lead others to Christ?

December 19: O Root of Jesse’s stem … come to save us without delay!
Roots are a tree’s foundation. How is God the foundation of my life? How can I make his roots stronger in me?

December 20: O Key of David … come and free the prisoners of darkness!
Keys open doors. What doors has God opened for me? How can I open doors for others?

December 21: O Radiant Dawn … come and shine on those who dwell in darkness.
Sunrises are full of promise. What is my hope for the upcoming year?

December 22: O King of all nations … come and save man!
God is King of all nations, not just some. Where there is discord in my life, how can I promote unity and peace?

December 23: O Emmanuel … come to save us, Lord our God!
Emmanuel means “God is with us.” Where is God working in my life? In what ways has the Lord saved me?

The O Antiphons encourage us to prepare patiently for a blessed, holy Christmas, because the best things are always worth the wait.

Veronica Szczygiel is the assistant director of online learning at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education.

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