On the Liturgical Season of Advent

The Liturgical Season of Advent

The liturgical season of Advent begins the liturgical year in the calendar of the Catholic church. It prepares Catholics for the feast and commemoration of the birth of the Christ-Child at Christmas.

The season of Advent is a short liturgical season. It comprises four Sundays before the feast of Christmas on December 25. The four Sundays of the Advent season are movable feast-dates unlike other feasts in the Church. The Immaculate Conception is always celebrated on December 8, and Christmas Day is always celebrated on December 25.

The significance of Advent

Advent is a time of serious preparation: a time of preparation for the coming of Christ. Though the themes of the readings speak mostly on the first coming of Christ on Christmas Day, it also includes themes from the second coming of Christ. It is in this liturgical atmosphere of waiting and anticipation that Christians are called to prepare themselves for Christ's coming: not only for the commemoration of the Christmas season, but also for His second coming when He comes to save us completely from our sinful situation.

Reconciliation as a preparation

Much of the preparation done during this Advent season has to do also with the sacrament of reconciliation. As the Church lights the four Advent candles on the Advent wreath to signify the waiting for Christ's coming, and the joy of receiving Him on Christmas, Catholics are called everywhere to return to God and prepare. One of the readings of the Advent season is John the Baptist calling people to turn from their sinful ways and to repent. It is thus a fitting opportunity for all Catholics to go to the sacrament of reconciliation and reconcile themselves back to God.

The Advent wreath and the four Advent candles

Seasoned Catholics in many parts of the world know that it is Advent because of the presence of the Advent wreath. The four Advent candles represent the four Sundays of Advent: the first two are violet, the third is pink or rose, and the last is violet. Violet or purple, like the liturgical color used also for the Lenten season, signifies preparation, penance and reconciliation. The third candle is colored rose or pink, to signify the tradition of the third Sunday of Advent, classically called Gaudete Sunday. This Sunday emphasizes the theme of joy and expectation, since the coming of the Christ-child is near. There is a more joyful and expectant liturgical spirit involved in the theme of the readings during Gaudete Sunday.

The Advent readings

The Advent readings revolve around the 3-year liturgical cycle of readings: cycle A, B and C. In year A or cycle A, the first readings of the Mass are taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The second readings are taken from the letter to the Romans and from the letter of James. Then the gospel readings are taken from the gospel of Matthew.

For year B or cycle B, the first readings of the Mass are taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah and the second book of Samuel. The second readings are varied, as they are taken from 1 Corinthians, 2 Peter, 1 Thessalonians, and Romans. The gospel readings are also varied as they are taken from: Mark, John and Luke.

For year C or cycle C, the first readings are taken from the book of the prophets: Jeremiah, Baruch, Zephaniah, and Micah. The second readings are taken from Philemon, Hebrews, and 1 Thessalonians. As for the gospel readings, the whole four Sundays of Advent, cycle C, are taken from the gospel of Luke.

How Religious Life Evolved in the Course of History

Profile of Religious Life as it Evolved in the Course of Time

Introduction

The Christian state of life known as religious life started when certain individuals began to "separate" themselves from the world, either by living in the desert or in mountain caves. These individuals made a choice to follow the gospel's counsels more intensely and radically - taking a way of life that was more ascetic, detached from people, and involved more prayer, fasting, repentance, and union with God in contemplation. This way of life involved a process of organization that evolved in the course of many centuries.

Organization of separation from the urbanized world: 1st-5th c.

Those individuals who started to separate themselves from urban life undertook an individualistic project and were commonly known as hermits or eremites. They viewed their retirement from the world and its life as a way of perfection - a way of life following the teaching of Jesus more radically and intensely. During these early centuries, individuals fled to the desert, lived in the caves of mountains or chose isolated places where they can separate themselves totally from the busyness and noise of the world. As time went on, these individuals who began this movement soon obtained followers, who all followed the hermit's system of life. [example: St. Anthony of the Desert]

Organization of a Common Way of Life: 6th-12th c.

As this way of life increased, many of the followers who gathered around a hermit-leader agreed to organize a common life among themselves. Now, instead of an individualistic project, the way of life became a collective project. What was created from this collective project were communities who organized their life and work into a more stable and systematized way of life and prayer. There are two types of this new way of life: the monks in their abbeys and monasteries, and the regular canons in their local church. The monks take vows, and live a sedentary life in silence and monastic cloister doing community work. The regular canons on the other hand, have a frame for common life, are bound together under a bishop, and live a sedentary life bonded to a local church where they perform ministerial services.

Organization of the mission: 13th-15th c.

As the 13th century approached, the monastic common life opened itself to an "external" apostolic activity with poverty as the sign of its way of life. This paved the way for the creation of mendicant orders who organized themselves for the missionary purpose of preaching the gospel. Members of such orders are bound together under a religious superior who takes responsibility for the growth of the order and the expansion of their mission to different lands. This religious superior also makes certain that all the members of his order dedicate themselves foremost to the spirit of the gospel

The mission conditioning the organization: 16th-18th c.

If in the mendicant orders, dedication to the gospel and living poverty is paramount for the condition of working in the missions, at the beginning the 16th century, it is the missions which condition the organization of orders, congregations, and religious communities. The latter are more dedicated to action and mission. The missionary action of these missionary institutes is the one that regulates the life and work of those who live together in community. Their members are regular clerics who are bound to undertake a specific mission. There is no more monastic cloister among them: they are a community of action and dispersion in the public place with mission as the main element of their common life.

Primacy of insertion into the world over organization: 19th-21st c.

As the 19th century approached, the organization of the religious state of life has evolved even further. If in the previous centuries, religious life was markedly a sign of separation from the world, in more modern times, insertion into the world has become more and more paramount. Members of these communities are organized into what is known as secular institutes: an organization where there is a common spirit, a common rule, spiritual bonds, and the professional freedom to do a variety of tasks.

Summary:

As the profile of religious life is reviewed through the centuries, one will discover that at the beginning, it started as movement that separates itself from the world, to live a life that is closer to the spirit of the gospel. When it evolved throughout the centuries, there is a gradual pattern for their way of life to progress towards a greater re-insertion into the life of the world.

Related resources:

• A Spirit of Reform in Monasticism in the 10th Century
• A History of the Catholic Church
• Popular Saints and Leaders of the Reformation
• Centers of Learning: From Monasteries to Universities

Memorial of Saints (November 28)

St. Catherine Labouré joined the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in 1830 A.D., and was then sent to the Rue de Bac Convent in Paris. It was in this Convent that she experienced visions of Mary as the Immaculate Conception. The result of these apparitions was the minting and distribution of the popular "Miraculous Medals" all over the world (died ca. 1876 A.D.).

St. James of the March joined the Franciscans at Assisi in 1416 A.D. James was ordained and became a missionary to the northern, central and eastern parts of Europe. Then he became part of the Inquisition in 1426 A.D. The last three years of his life was spent at Naples, Italy (died ca. 1476 A.D.).

St. Stephen the Younger entered St. Auxentius Monastery and eventually became abbot. He soon resigned this post to live as a hermit. At the time, Emperor Constantine engaged in iconoclastic activities. Stephen was against this and as a result was arrested. When he continued to insist on the veneration of holy relics, Stephen was scourged, dragged through the streets, and killed (died ca. 764 A.D.).

St. Simeon Metaphrastes compiled a 'Menology' of legends and stories of the Byzantine saints. This work is one of the popular medieval Greek collections. Aside from his Menology, Simeon also wrote a chronicle, prayers, letters, and a collection of maxims from St. Basil and Macarius of Egypt (died ca. 1000 A.D.).