This is a simple panner printable to help make your Thanksgiving plans a bit easier.
You may print or click this link to customize.
In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all.
-1Thessalonians 5:18
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
The women of our parish were blessed to have a day retreat offered to us this past Saturday. I would have attended for the Holy Hour, alone.
Here is a sermon from Archbishop Lefebvre on Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost.
Today’s Gospel describes two striking miracles wrought by Our Divine Lord-the cure of a woman who for ten years had suffered from an issue of blood and the raising to life of a ruler’s daughter. In both miracles the divine power of Jesus Christ was clearly manifested. But even more evident was His tender mercy. Both cases were such as to arouse the deep sympathy of Our Divine Saviour because of the pathetic condition of those who sought His help the poor woman who had so long suffered from a distressing ailment without any natural hope of relief and the grief-stricken father who had just seen his little daughter snatched from him by death.
The mercy of Our Divine Saviour is just as great today as it was when He lived on earth, and He is just as willing to aid the suffering and the sorrowing today as He was nineteen centuries ago. But if we wish to profit by His mercy we must approach Him in the same spirit as the poor woman and the afflicted father-with a deep confidence that He can help us and thai He will do so if we pray to Him with humility and perseverance.
Neither can we say that we do not possess the same advantage that was granted to the people of Palestine of old, to have Christ personally in their midst. He is with us just as truly as He was with the poor and the suffering who gazed on His gentle face when He walked on earth. For our holy faith assures us that Our Lord is truly present on our altars in the Blessed Sacrament. There He dwells, night and day, to help us in our needs, to give us light and consolation in afflictions, to strengthen us in temptation, and even to relieve our temporal burdens when this will be for our spiritual benefit.
Practical Catholics come to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament with the same spirit of faith that was manifested by the sick woman when she said, “If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed.” We can do more than touch the garment of Christ. We can kneel before Him with the assurance of faith that we are conversing intimately with Him as with a beloved friend who is anxious to do us good. He may not grant us the particular favour we ask, especially if it is something temporal or material, because it may not be for our spiritual welfare. But He will always hear our prayers and grant us some favour that will be conducive to our spiritual welfare and to our eternal salvation.
Practical Application
Almost all those in the church today can if they wish, make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament daily, or at least several times in the course of each week. If you have a practical faith in the doctrine of Our Lord’s real presence in the Church, you will take advantage of this opportunity to visit Him frequently and to unburden to Him the needs of your soul.
How Should Your Advent Be Spent?
May we spend this Advent season befitting a true Christian.
“They should recall, during these four weeks, the four thousand years in which the just under the Old Law expected and desired the promised Redeemer, think of those days of darkness in which nearly all nations were blinded by saran and drawn into the most horrible crimes, then consider their own sins and evil deeds and purify their souls from them by a worthy reception of the Sacraments, so that our Lord may come with His grace to dwell in their hearts and be merciful to them in life and in death.
Unjust to themselves, disobedient to the Church and ungrateful, indeed, to God are those Christians who spend this solemn time of grace in sinful amusements without performing any good works, with no longing for Christ’s Advent into their hearts.”
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PRAYER IN ADVENT
O God, who by Thy gracious Advent hast brought joy into this world, grant us, we beseech Thee, Thy grace to prepare ourselves by sincere penance for its celebration and for the Last Judgment.
Amen.
The First Thanksgiving
Today may be a secular holiday but we gather and give thanks for our greatest blessing, the First Masses said on Catholic soil.
We thank God for our Catholic past and ask him to take up again the original plan for our Nation that it may rightly celebrate the Reign of Christ and Our Lady in all its festivals and actions.
a Mass of thanksgiving was said.
The first American Thanksgiving was neither at Plymouth Rock in 1621 nor in Texas on April 20, 1568 when Don Juan de Oñate crossed the Rio Grande and took formal possession of present day El Paso.
The first American Thanksgiving took place in St. Augustine, Florida, the first and oldest city of our present day US. The land was claimed for Spain and a Mass of thanksgiving was said on Sept. 8, 1565. – Reality & Myth regarding Thanksgiving, Marian T. Horvat. Ph.D.
An Advent PSA & Ways to Keep it Simple
When you’re out shopping for Thanksgiving Day, digging in your garage for your decorations, or just kicking your feet up for a much-needed break — remember to pick up the necessary items for any of the traditions that you’re seeking to observe this Advent.
This is an Advent Calendar (in list form) for 2022. The current year Advent Calendar is included in Advent Planner.
Help your children discern their Advent Resolutions or discern as a family.
You can print out a blank Advent plan to record the family plans or each family member can have their own. I usually print 4 per child (2 pages/sheet) to cover the entire Advent season (in most years).
Advent Wreath — candles (they need not be purple and pink), wreath, and you can print out the prayers from here.
Advent/Christmas candles for your home window. I opted for battery-operated candles covered in real wax that can be controlled by remote. They were left over from our daughter’s wedding. If you don’t know about this tradition, you can read more here. I’ve also used a stick-candle-like option.
Christkindl cards for all those children, family, or friends that will be participating in this lovely tradition to serve & keep Christ at the center of the season.
Christmas Novena prayer cards or sheets are also helpful to have handy ahead of time. The actual devotion starts on Nov. 30, a day after the start of Advent this year. Be certain to get beads if you plan on making a Chaplet or ribbon if you perfected Novena lacing cards.
Jesse Tree — get a tree to use, branch, or twine to tack up to the wall. Ornament hooks or clothespins are needed. If you don’t have ornaments on hand, print out a simple set for free and follow along with an easy guide. A Bible is a must even if you have the readings.
Jesse Tree Devotional with Traditional Catholic Reflections & Scripture from the Douay Rheims Bible & Cut/Color Jesse Tree Ornaments
Jesse Tree Readings from the New Catholic Picture Bible – Shower of Roses
Jesse Tree Schedule for the Year and printable Jesse Tree Ornaments – Holy Heroes
Gather your manger (box cutout or wood crafted) and straw for the Christ Child. Each child or family member can place a prince of straw or paper into the manger when an act of service or kindness is done. This serves as a great visual for children regarding how their small acts add up to something grand. It also serves to grow joyful anticipation for the glorious season to come.
Other items to consider:
- Spiritual reading & Pray the Divine Office
- Feastday goodies — Refer to the Advent Calendar to select which feasts you want to celebrate in a special way. Below are a few to consider.
- Presentation of the BVM – Nov. 21 — Marian feastday go-to
- St. Nicholas – Dec. 6 — Cuties, chocolate coins, socks, a book, candy canes, St. Nicholas chocolates…
- Immaculate Conception of the BCM – Dec. 8 — Holy Day & Marian feastday go-to
- St. Lucy – Dec. 13 — crown, candles, tea, and all the simple sweet breakfast fixings.Hot cocoa as you take your family to see the lights.
- Our Lady of Guadalupe – Dec. 12 — Mexican dinner or pastries
- Advent book basket — You do not need to have anything grand. You can select one good book this year and read it throughout Advent or four and rotate one for each week. You could also just select a few titles from your bookshelves or at the thrift store that will help your children grow in their Faith and life of Jesus.
- Consider fasting and abstinence when meal planning. Advent was traditionally observed as a “Mini-Lent.” There are also Ember Days in Advent which are traditional days of fast and abstinence.
You can check out this post if you have more questions or desire additional resources.
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