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     This weekend, after commemorating the Third Friday and Third Saturday of Late Advent, we commemorate the Fourth and final Sunday of Advent before heading into the stretch run to Christmas at the end of the week. For the liturgies, readings and meditations for this weekend, click on LITURGY

Friday December 18:
Third Friday of Advent

Violet vestments

First Reading: Jeremiah 23: 5-8
Psalms: Psalm 72: 1, 12-13, 18-19
Gospel Reading: Matthew 1: 18-24

Saturday December 19:
Third Saturday of Advent

Violet vestments

First Reading: Judges 13: 2-7, 24-25
Psalms: Psalm 71: 3-6, 16-17
Gospel Reading: Luke 1: 5-25

SUNDAY December 20:
FOURTH AND FINAL SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Violet vestments

First Reading: Isaiah 7: 10-14
Psalms: Psalm 24: 1-7, 10
Second Reading: Romans 1: 1-7
Gospel Reading: Matthew 1: 18-24

Monday December 21:
Final Monday of Advent

Violet vestments

First Reading: Song of Songs 2: 8-14
Psalms: Psalm 33: 2-3, 11-12, 20-21
Gospel Reading: Luke 1: 39-45

      For the special Novena Prayer for the days covered in this issue during this time of preparation in Late Advent and for the Christmas Novena, coinciding with the Third, Fourth and Sixth Days of Las Posadas in preparation for the Solemnity of the Nativity of Jesus, click on ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS NOVENA

ADVENT NOVENA PRAYER

    O Triune Divinity, we come to you through the intercession of Blessed Mary, ever-Virgin, and St. Joseph, her chaste, holy spouse. In this season of Advent we desire to obtain the grace of purity of intention, that through our obedience to Your Heavenly Will, we, too, can transform our poor, miserable lives into the resplendent stable at Bethlehem where You Only-begotten Son was born.
Through the intercession of Mary, and all the hosts of Heaven, we beseech You, through the merits gained for us by Jesus Christ, Your Only-begotten Son, to help us convert our hearts, to live the messages of Your Mother, and to ardently beseech You to bring about the Triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart now, that the Reign of the Sacred Heart might be upon the world.
Heavenly Father, we trust in Your goodness and beseech You to hear us, not because of our worthiness, but because of our willingness to be Your little children who kneel in adoration to their God. Come, let us adore Him!

PRAYER for December 18: Third Friday of Advent

   St. Joseph, your work has brought barely enough income for you and Mary, and you have made what you can from your carpenter's shop to provide for the care of the Child Jesus. You see that Mary is in good health and you are relieved, yet you, too, desired to provide for her. Help us, St. Joseph, to realize that God is our Father and desires also to provide for us His children, if only we allow Him. By our obedience may we shun the wickedness of the world, all its glitter and false promises, and rely only on our Heavenly Father for our every need.

PRAYER for December 19: Third Saturday of Advent

    Blessed Mother, the Baby stirs in your womb and you smile, knowing how near Heaven is to all the earth. You desired to share your joy with all, but kept silent, knowing the time had not yet come. Blessed Mother, through your intercession help us in these final days before the Feast of Christmas, to ponder in our hearts all of God's benevolence for us, and to proclaim proudly His Name and that we are His children in every aspect of our lives.

PRAYER for December 20: FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

    Heavenly Father, the angels trembled in anticipation of the great event which was but a few days away. You beheld your servants Joseph and Mary, and knew the difficulties they faced, and would face. Yet Your grace sheltered them, and You led them along the sure path. Help us to walk in the sure way which is always Your Way, that we may arrive at the Heavenly Bethlehem to adore the tiny Good Shepherd.

The earliest ecclesiastical novena of which the Church has on record is the Christmas novena, which commemorates the nine months during which the Christ-child was carried in the womb of His Mother and coincides with the 16th century Mexican tradition of Las Posadas. This Christmas Novena carries an Indulgence of 7 years once on any day as taken from the "Blessed Be God" Prayer Book, 1959.

PRAYER for December 18: THIRD DAY OF LAS POSADAS

    O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai, come to redeem us with an outstretched arm! (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be)

PRAYER for December 19: FOURTH DAY OF LAS POSADAS

   O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths, Whom the Gentiles shall seek, come to deliver us, do not tarry. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be)

PRAYER for December 20: FIFTH DAY OF LAS POSADAS

    O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be)

"Be not afraid. I am with you... Cling to Me by means of My Cross, by My True Presence in the Holy Eucharist."

      The reassuring words above were conveyed by the Risen Christ to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart on the Easter Sunday, 1993 in which Our Lord reiterates that His Blessed Mother's apparitions and messages are His gift of Mercy to His children because of Mary's asking. She also asks that all adore her Divine Son on bended knee in the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lady prefaces this in Message 322 on Holy Saturday in which she calls for Hope and equates her Divine Son's in the sepulchre to the Holy Mother Church residing in a "tomb" because of the heresies that are so prevalent. For messages 322 and 323 from Our Lady and Our Lord, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Messages Three Hundred-Twenty-two and Three Hundred-Twenty-three

(HOLY SATURDAY)

      Beloved Hidden Flower, today I call all of my children to Hope. Hope must be the plank upon which Faith is firmly set. In these hours my Sorrowful Heart was saddened beyond all human understanding, for as mother I felt the separation of my Divine Son Whom I had borne, nurtured and delivered in obedience unto the Father. My human heart grieved, but yet there was still His abiding Peace, for nothing could shake the absolute Faith and Hope and Love I cherished for God, Whose promises are never forgotten, always kept. And I kept prayerful vigil, ceaselessly begging the Father to bring to fruition all He had promised, that man might know the Truth by my Divine Son's Resurrection.

      Dear children, truly all those who are gathered beneath my Mantle are led by the Holy Spirit to recognize that the True Church is now entombed, as it were, sealed in by schism and apostasy. But you must persevere in your True Faith and hope without restraint. For from this time of tears, chastisement, persecution and great earthly upheaval, God's faithful ones shall hasten my Immaculate Heart's Triumph and thus bring the fulfillment of my Divine Son's Own Prayer.

      Pray! Pray! Pray! Seek the Holy Spirit, Whose Counsel shall fill you with infused knowledge. It shall keep you firmly anchored in the Truth.

      Be humble. Give every reverence to my Divine Son. Come to Him on bended knee, acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior. If you do this, my little ones, my Heart shall triumph sooner, and God's Purifying Justice shall come swiftly.

      I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!

(EASTER SUNDAY)

      O! Beloved Hidden Flower of My Mother's Immaculate Heart, today I so desired to give unto all of My children, my sheepfold, the glory of My Resurrection. So many of My little ones come to Me on this - the day of Glory, but they have spent no time with Me in My Sacred, Holy Passion. They do not understand because the evil one deceives them that they cannot partake of the Glory unless they, too, have walked the Way of the Cross with Me.

      I solemnly tell all that this day, because of the prayers given Me through all gathered beneath My Mother's Immaculate Mantle, that I have poured out torrents of graces upon the world. My Mother has come to be with Her little ones in their hearts, as well as in Her chosen places of apparitions. This I solemnly tell you is My Mercy given at My Mother's request that you might awaken to Her pleas and open your hearts.

      Children of My Sacred Heart, I died for Love of you. I rose for Love of you. I call you at every moment.

      Heed My Words, I, Jesus Christ, God and Savior, now give to all My faithful remnant the bitter cup of suffering. All who walk the righteous path of Truth shall be persecuted. You shall be slandered, accused of every deceit. In time many of you shall be driven from your parish communities because you will represent the Truth and the closed hearts of the people reject the Truth.

      Listen, O My children, for the Hour of Great Sorrow has already begun. Come now into the refuge My Holy Mother has prepared for you. Trust in Me for all things and be My humble, obedient children. I am God! I am King of Kings and I come now to claim My Kingship.

      Will you, my children, remain scribes and Pharisees who offer mock honors? Or will you, in pure love come and give all honor, praise and reverence to Me, your God and Savior?

      Be not afraid. I am with you. Yes, preserve Me in the Holy Eucharist and by Faith, Hope and Love bow before Me on bended knee. Thus will My Mother's Heart triumph sooner. Thus will the Justice be swift and bring to My faithful remnant Divine Knowledge of that which must be fulfilled - My Will be done on Earth as It is in Heaven!

      Seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The moment has come. Cling to Me by means of My Cross, by My True Presence in the Holy Eucharist. Then you shall fear nothing, but rejoice at the Providence of God for all creation.

      Dear children, I bless each of you. Grow silent within, for I speak to all of My children. Heed My Words. Listen to all My Holy Mother has said. The Hour has arrived. Love Me. Return love to Love at every moment and to you shall be given understanding which transcends the earth.

      Believe and trust. Hold My Mother's hand, for She is the New Eve, the Immaculate One, and I have given Her to you.

      Come now to My refuge. All shall be fulfilled!

     On December 18th of 1935 Pope Pius XI could see the rumblings on the horizon in Europe with Adolf Hitler making waves and thus, he issued his 14th encyclical entreating the faithful for prayers for world peace, just as Pope John Paul II calls for today between the US and mideast countries, specifically Iraq. For other time capsule events that happened in Church history on December 18th through December 20th, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES

Historical Events in Church Annals for December 18:

• 1352 A.D.
  
• French-born Cardinal Etienne Aubert becomes Pope Innocent IV, 199th successor of Peter and 5th in the Avignon line of Popes in exile in southern France. He would order the Spanish Cardinal Albornoz to restore order in the Papal States. A great lover of the arts and culture, he would build a surround wall around the papal palace to defend Avignon.

• 1947 A.D.
  
• Pope Pius XII publishes his 14th encyclical Optissima Pax, which prescribes public prayers for social and world peace.

Historical Events in Church Annals for December 19:

• 401 A.D.
  
• Death of Pope Saint Anastasius I, 39th successor of Peter. Elected on November 27, 399, his two year pontificate was marked by resolving the schism between Rome and the Church of Antioch. He strenuously fought the followers of immoral practices, maintaining that the Divinity was also hidden in material things. He also decreed that priests should remain standing during the Gospel.

• 1372 A.D.
  
• Death of Pope Blessed Urban V, 200th successor of Peter. This French-born pontif was elected on November 6, 1362. The sixth in the line of Avignon Popes in exile, he actually returned the papacy back to Rome but after three years of tumults and disorder, had no choice but to return the Holy See to Avignon. He hadded the third crown to the tiarra which signified imperial power. The other two crowns represent royal power and spiritual power.

Historical Events in Church Annals for December 20:

• 399 A.D.
  
• Death of Saint Fabiola, penitent and founder of Rome's first hospital. She repented of a sinful life after divorce and cohabitation with a lover, by donning sackcloth and standing at the gates of the Lateran until Pope Saint Siricus would absolve her.

• 1046 A.D.
  
• At the Synod of Sutri the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, German king removed Pope Gregory VI from the papal throne. He had been elected on May 5, 1045 and would die late in 1047. He took the place of Pope Benedict IX who was also forced to abdicate during these Dark Ages. Gregory personally led his army in protecting himself from invasion by Henry. To Gregory is attributed the forming of the first pontifical army.

• 1073 A.D.
  
• Death of Saint Domingo, Spanish abbot and monastery founder.

• 1935 A.D.
  
• Pope Pius XI issues his 25th encyclical Ad Catholici sacerdoti

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Click here to go to SECTION THREE or return toSECTION ONE or click here to return to the graphics front page of this issue.

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December 18-20, 1998 volume 9, no. 245   DAILY CATHOLIC