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Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

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Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus. Come, let us adore the King, our Lord, who is to come.

De Isaia Propheta.   

From the Prophet Isaias.

Cap. iii.   

Ecce enim Dominator, Dominus exercituum, auferet a Jerusalem et a Juda validum et fortem, omne robur panis, et omne robor aquæ; fortem, et virum bellatorem, judicem, et prophetam, et ariolum, et senem; principem super quinquaginta, et honorabilem vultu et consiliarium, et sapientem de architectis, et prudentem eloquii mystici. Et dabo pueros principes eorum, et effeminati dominabuntur eis; et irruet populus, vir ad virum, et unusquisque ad proximum suum; tumultuabitur puer contra senem, et ignobilis contra nobilem. Apprehendet enim vir fratrem suum, domesticum patris sui: Vestimentum tibi est, princeps esto noster, ruina autem haec sub manu tua. Respondebit in die illa, dicens: Non sum medicus, et in domo mea non est panis neque vestimentum: nolite constituere me principem populi. Ruit enim Jerusalem, et Judas concidit, quia lingua eorum et adinventiones eorum contra Dominum, ut provocarent oculos majestatis ejus. Agnitio vultus eorum respondit eis; et peccatum suum quasi Sodoma prædicaverunt, nec absconderunt. Væ animæ eorum, quoniam reddita sunt eis mala! Dicite justo quoniam bene, quoniam fructum adinventionum suarum comedet. Vae impio in malum! retributio enim manuum ejus fiet ei.   

For behold the sovereign the Lord of hosts shall take away from Jerusalem, and from Juda the valiant and the strong, the whole strength of bread, and the whole strength of water. The strong man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the cunning man, and the ancient. The captain over fifty, and the honourable in countenance, and the counsellor, and the architect, and the skillful in eloquent speech. And I will give children to be their princes, and the effeminate shall rule over them. And the people shall rush one upon another, and every man against his neighbour: the child shall make it tumult against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. For a man shall take hold of his brother, one of the house of his father, saying: Thou hast a garment, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand. In that day he shall answer, saying: I am no healer, and in my house there is no bread, nor clothing: make me not ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Juda is fallen: because their tongue, and their devices are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his majesty. The shew of their countenance hath answered them: and they have proclaimed abroad their sin as Sodom, and they have not hid it: woe to their souls, for evils are rendered to them. Say to the just man that it is well, for he shall eat the fruit of his doings. Woe to the wicked unto evil: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

Jerusalem is tending to her destruction; therefore she is losing all power and, with the rest, the power of understanding. She no longer knows whither she is going, and she sees not the abyss into which she is plunging. Such are all those men who never give a thought to the Coming of the Sovereign Judge; they are men of whom Moses said in his Canticle: They are a nation without counsel and without wisdom: O that they would be wise and would understand, and would provide for their last end! 

The Son of God comes now in the swaddling clothes of a weak Babe, and the humility of a servant, and, to speak with the Prophets as the dew which falls softly drop by drop; but it will not always be so. This earth also, which now is the scene of our sins and our hardheartedness, will perish before the face of the angry Judge; and if we have made it the one object of our love, to what shall we then cling? 

“A sudden death which has happened in your presence,” says St. John Chrysostom, “or an earthquake, or the bare threat of some dire calamity, terrify and prostrate you; what then shall it be when the whole earth shall sink beneath your feet; when you shall see all nature in disorder; when you shall hear the sound of the last trumpet; when the Sovereign Master of the universe shall appear before you in the fulness of his Majesty? Perchance, you have seen criminals dragged in punishment: did they not seem to die twenty times before they reached the place of execution, and before the executioner could lay his hands on them, fear had crushed out life?” 

Oh! the terror of that Last Day! How is it that men can expose themselves to such misery when, to avoid it, they have but to open their hearts to Him who is now coming to them in gentlest love, asking them to give him a place in their souls, and promising to shelter them from the wrath to come if they will be receive him! 

O Jesus, who can withstand thy anger at the Last Day? Now thou art our Brother, our Friend, a Little Child who is to be born for us: we will therefore make covenant with thee; so that, loving thee now in thy first Coming, we may not fear thee in the second. When thou comest in that second one, bid thy Angels approach us, and say to us those thrilling words: It is well!

Hymn of Advent

(Roman breviary, the Office of Matins)

Verbum supernum prodiens

E Patris æterni sinu,

Qui natus orbi subvenis,

Labente cursu temporis.   

O sovereign Word, begotten of the bosom of the eternal Father, yet born in the fleeting course of time, thou bringest succor to the world.

Illumina nunc pectora,

Tuoque amore concrema,

Ut cor caduca deserens

Cœli voluptas impleat.   

Enlighten now our hearts, and inflame them with thy love, that, being detached from earthly things, they may be filled with the joys of heaven.

Ut cum tribunal Judicis

Damnabit igni noxios,

Et vox amica debitum

Vocabit ad cœlum pios.   

That when form his tribunal the Judge shall condemn the wicked to the flames, and lovingly call the good to the heaven they have won,

Non esca flammarum nigros

Volvamur inter turbines;

Vultu Dei sed compotes

Cœli fruamur gaudiis.   

We may not be hurled into the dark pool of fire, but, admitted to the vision of God, may enjoy the bliss of heaven.

Patri, simulque Filio,

Tibique, sancte Spiritus,

Sicut fuit sit jugiter

Sæclum per omne gloria.   

To the Father, and to the Son, and to thee, O Holy Ghost, may there ever be, as there ever hath been, glory for ever and ever.

Prayer From the Mozarabic Missal

(In the Mass of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Illation)

Dignum et justum est, vere et nobis per omnia expedibile, tuam nos elementiam, omnipotens Pater, quibus possumus semper laudibus prædicare; qui bonitate nos ingenuitateque condidisti ac serpentis antiqui fraude decepti, gratuita miseratione a morte velis eripere; qui Filium tuum, quem pro nobis in carne missururs eras ad terras venturum nasciturumque de Virgine longe antea prædixisti, ejus nativitatis adventum prætonantibus sanctis prænuntiasti; ut exspectatus diu qui fuerat repromissus, magnum mundo faceret gaudium in plenitudine temporum præsentatus. Unde petimus et rogamus ut qui plasma tuum, sicut vere pius et misericors, perire non passus es; sed per humilem adventum Filii tui Domini nostri, quod perierat revocasti; quod jam inventum et reparatum ac revocatum est, sic protegas, sic custodias, sic sanes, sic defendas, sic liberes: ut in illo adventu terribili quo iterato illos venturus est judicare, a quibus et pro quibus est judicatus, tales inveniat quod redemit, ut in æternum possideat quod pretio sui sanguinis acquisivit.   

It is meet and just, and available to us in all things, that we always should extol, by all possible praises, thy clemency, O Almighty Father; who didst create us in holiness and nobleness, and, when the fraud of the old serpent had seduced us, didst in pure mercy deliver us from death. 

Thou didst foretell, in past ages, that the Son, whom thou wast to send in the flesh for us, would come on this earth and would be born of a Virgin, and by thy holy prophets didst foretell the advent of his birth; and this to the end that he, who had been promised, having been long expected, might give great joy to the world when he should come in the fullness of time. 

Wherefore we pray and beseech thee, that thou, who didst not suffer thy creature to perish, because thou art truly compassionate and merciful but didst restore what was lost by the humble coming of thy Son, wouldst now so protect, so keep, so heal, so defend, so free, what thou has found and repaired and restored, that in that dread coming whereby thy Son shall come a second time, to judge those by whom and for whom he himself was judged, he may so find the creatures that he has redeemed, that he may eternally possess those whom he purchased with the price of his blood.

The Liturgical Year, Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

How should this solemn time (Advent) should be spent by Christians?

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The first week of Advent is underway.



Our candles in the window have been set on a timer, unbeknownst to me. Our bare tree is up to remind us of the Christ Child. Our family Advent plans have been set and most of our spiritual reading has been gathered.


But we’re not on point. My husband just blessed our Advent wreath this evening and we lit our first candle today. Our Christmas Novena was prayed by all in the home while two others helped their big sis with a new milestone — serving. We will start the Jesse Tree tomorrow and select the family ChristKindls once all of our children are home.



From there, we’ll continue to slowly work into our Advent plans in a manner that best suits our season of life and spiritual needs.


We do not follow a strict Advent schedule each day, perse. We have simply let our Advent devotions take root organically over the years.

My #1 tip is to assign specific devotions or activities to your children. Allow them to be responsible for making sure that your family adheres to your Advent plans.

This will help lighten your load and your children will most likely be one invested in the season.

We do not seek perfection. Our ultimate goal during Advent is to grow closer to Christ and purge sin.

Dom Prosper Guéranger tells us how this solemn time (Advent) should be spent by Christians.


“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…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.”

The Way of the Cross

by Filed Under: 11 November Saints, Advent, Christmas Novena, St. Andrew Leave a Comment

Below is a brief but powerful meditation inspirers by St. Andrew whose feast we celebrate today, November 30.

Father Francis Xavier Weninger, in The Livesthe Saints from 1876, writes the following reflection.

Saint Andrew manifested great joy on beholding the cross that had been prepared for him; he greeted it warmly, and embraced it lovingly. He wished not to be released from it, but prayed to be allowed to die on it.

You are not bound to a cross of wood like Saint Andrew, but the All-Wise sometimes lays a cross of suffering upon you, because He wishes to prepare you for heaven.

How do you regard your cross?

How do you carry it?

I fear to ask you how you greeted, embraced and kissed it.

Perhaps you have carried it, as Simon of Cyrene carried the Cross of the Lord, because you were forced, and could not help yourself. You have suffered only because you were obliged. You suffer murmuringly and complainingly, and perhaps even endeavor to free yourself from your cross by improper means.

Oh! how differently did Saint Andrew act. He esteemed himself happy, because he could die on the cross like his Saviour, and because he had heard, from the lips of Christ, that the way of the Cross is the surest road to eternal life.

You know all this; but you do not think seriously enough of it. In future, keep these truths before your eyes: first, the way of the Cross is the way to heaven; secondly, Christ died on the Cross for love of me.

Whoever rightly considers these two points, will in his sufferings, not give way to resentment, murmurs or complaints, but will bear them if not cheerfully, at least patiently.

Hence Saint Paul admonishes us, saying: “For, think diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners against himself, that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds.” (Hebrews 12)

Let us continue to mediate upon the life of St. Andrew throughout Advent as we pray the Christmas Novena in preparation for the Christ Child. .

An Advent PSA & Ways to Keep it Simple

by Filed Under: 11 November, Advent, Advent Planner, Christkindl, Christmas Novena, Jesse Tree 1 Comment

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.

Advent Plans 2020

by Filed Under: 11 November Saints, Advent, St. Clement Leave a Comment

This reflection on today’s saint (the 4th pope and saint from the Canon) is just what I needed to read as my husband and I finalize our Advent plans which always includes the spiritual & physical.

Today, has been set aside for my family to prepare our home for Advent, a soft prep for an even greater purge that we will embark on during Advent in preparation for the Christ-Child.

I have been prompted by the Holy Ghost to “lay everything on the line” specifically in regards to my physical wellness. The message is imprinted in my heart but my mental conviction has not caught up. I desire not to be held up any longer by my concerns about tomorrow.

I realize that there is a fine line between prudence and trust in His care & providence. I pray for His grace.

I fully understand that nothing on this earth can compare to the sufferings of Hell, purgatory, or that which Our Lord suffered for me (us).

This understanding of this reality is what compels me to push forward — to die to my flesh and glorify Him with everything I have.

Today’s reading is a consolation of sorts for me to keep going forward with our Advent plans.

“Did you observe how St. Clement encouraged himself and his fellow captives in the hard labor they had to perform?

To work for the sake of Christ, and to expect for one’s work an eternal reward in heaven, is surely enough to make all suffering and exertion sweet.

Every man is bound to work according to his station, and it is quite sure that we are in danger of losing our souls, if we do not work as we ought, but lead an idle, luxurious and sensual life.

One station, however, has harder and more troublesome work than another, and there are numbers of people who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow and have, day and night, hardly an hour for rest.

It is quite natural that these sometimes become impatient…

Their impatience goes so far that they become dissatisfied with God’s providence in their regard, and murmur against Him, curse their labor, or perform it unwillingly; and thus not only lose all the merits which they might have earned, but incur heavy responsibility.

I would ask such people to recollect, that their work, if performed with a good intention, in the grace of God and according to His will, will merit for them great glory in heaven.

They ought to arm, themselves against the impatience which sometimes rises in them, with the thought of the reward that awaits them in heaven; for God recompenses every man according to his work, as Holy Writ teaches us. Ought not every one to work with pleasure, when he expects an eternal reward?” -Father Francis Xavier Weninger, Lives of the Saints, 1876.

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