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Remembering Saint Hannah

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Meditation

Prayer was the first of Hannah and Elkanah’s duties. So often it is our last and most neglected. Prayer unites us to god himself in a communion of mind and heart. Prayer brings a confidence in knowing that all we ask for, the Lord will grant according to his loving plan of Divine Providence. This is the confidence which Christ bestows on us in praying the prayer that he taught us: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” The Father’s will may not always be clear to us but that should not inhibit our praise of his goodness. Prayers of praise constantly flow from the true believer’s soul.

Obtained from the “Magnificat” Advent Stations 2009; the 5th station “The Song of Praise of Hannah and Elkanah”



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Saint Ambrose

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Prayer of St. Ambrose

Lord, teach me to seek You, and reveal Yourself to me when
I seek You. For I cannot seek You unless You first teach me,
nor find You, unless You first reveal Yourself to me.

Let me seek You in longing, and long for You in seeking.
Let me find You in love, and love You in finding.

Amen.



Let’s get ready to celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas!!!

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Let’s get ready for a celebration of faith and hope!!!!

Tomorrow being the feast of St. Nicholas I do believe
we should turn our hearts to faithful traditions, something
to keep our minds busy and thinking of ways to help
someone who may have less then we do…


Let’s get cooking!!!

Recipe:
Mulled Bishops Wine

1 bottle claret
6 cloves
4 cinnamon sticks

Break cinnamon into small pieces. Simmer wine, cloves, and cinnamon for about 5 minutes. Strain wine. Serve Hot.

  • Dinner is served by candle light. It is good for all of us to have traditions and rituals in the home, and also to serve the same special “St. Nicholas Day Dinner” each year on this Feast. Here’s one idea:

 

Traditional St. Nicholas Day Dinner
4-6 lb. pork shoulder roast – stuffed with:

1/2 cup diced fresh cranberries, 1 apple, diced,

2/3 cup prunes cut into bits,

1/2 – 2/3 cup raisins.

Bake in oven for about 3 – 3 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

Or cook in crock pot all day slowly. (Serves 8)

Mashed potatoes and gravy
Vegetable
Dinner rolls


DESSERT: BLACK FOREST “GOOD WORKS” CAKE
Can be bought already made / or can be easily baked at home

– 1 roll refrigerated brownie cookie dough
– 1(21 ounce ) can of cherry pie filling
– 1/4 cup sliced almonds
– chocolate or fudge sauce

To make: divide brownie dough in half. Spread 1/2 in an 8″ round cake pan (greased). and the other 1/2 in a second 8″ round cake pan. (greased)

Bake as directed.

Cool both cakes. Place one cake on decorated plate.

Pour 1/2 of the thick chocolate or fudge sauce over the bottom cake and then cover with 1/2 the can of cherries.

Place other brownie cake on top. Refrigerate. Right before serving, pour remainder of Chocolate/fudge sauce over top. Cover with remainder of cherries and almonds. Serve with lots of whipped cream.!

Note – the reason for the cherries in the middle of the cake as well as for the fruit stuffing in the shoulder pork roast, is to symbolize the good works of St. Nicholas – some hidden from the eyes of men and some done openly. This cake serves as a reminder that our lives should be the same in this regard.


More recipes

Let us know how your dinner turns out!!!

St. John of Damascus

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Feast: December 4


Prayer

Dear St. John, intercede for us as we endeavor to influence our friends and neighbors to the ways of God and His Church. Pray that those of us who have wealth use it to serve God’s purposes. Pray also that those of us blessed with artistic skill use it to further God’s Church. And finally, pray that those of us blessed with children may follow the example of your parents and protect our children against the harmful effects of the culture of our own times. Amen.

Saint Lucy

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Let us prepare for the feast of St. Lucy, as we begin with her novena and then celebrate with the recipes linked below for her feast day. May we all be given the gift to truly see with the eyes of God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

click below for recipes
Novena
Prayer To Saint Lucy
(Feast – December 13)
SAINT LUCY,
Whose beautiful name
Signifies light, By the light of Faith
Which God bestowed upon you,
Increase and preserve
His light in my soul,
So that I may avoid evil,
Be zealous in the performance
Of good works,
And abhor nothing
So much as the blindness
And the darkness
Of evil and sin.

Obtain for me,
By your intercession
With God,
Perfect vision
For my bodily eyes
And the grace to use them
For God’s greater honor
And glory
And the salvation of souls.

St. Lucy,
Virgin and martyr,
Hear my prayers
And obtain my petitions.

Amen.

My Empty Manger…

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a journey through the season of Advent ….



My empty manger has become my empty heart. My heart is empty for the things I can not find, the things that I have hoped for, the things that I have prayed for, those that I have lost. My heart is empty because I have chosen to seek these things more than seeking the child Jesus.

How can I fill my empty heart?

How can I fill the manger within ME?





One way is to practice the presence of Christ in our everyday lives is through
contemplative prayer!

St. Teresa of Jesus, considers contemplative prayer one on one conversation with God. In order to do this I will need to find a place of quiet and allow this to be a gift to myself this season of Advent.

Please read the excerpts from the Catholic Catechism about this type of prayer. Contemplative prayer will lead you to a deeper recollection when receiving Our Lord in Holy Eucharist.





2711 Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we “gather up:” the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.


2712 Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more.8 But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his heart, for everything is grace from God. Contemplative prayer is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son.




A Time to Prepare ~ the Coming of Christ is at Hand!

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522 The coming of God’s Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the “First Covenant”.195 He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.

523 St. John the Baptist is the Lord’s immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way.196 “Prophet of the Most High”, John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last. 197 He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother’s womb welcomes the coming of Christ, and rejoices in being “the friend of the bridegroom”, whom he points out as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”.198 Going before Jesus “in the spirit and power of Elijah”, John bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom. 199

524 When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. 200 By celebrating the precursor’s birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: “He must increase, but I must decrease.“201

-Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, pp. 131-132

Preparing for the feast of St. Juan Diego

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Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548)
Saint Juan Diego
feast: December 9th

Prayer to St. Juan Diego


You who were chosen by Our Lady of Guadalupe as an instrument to show your people and the world that the way of Christianity is one of love, compassion, understanding, values, sacrifices, repentance of our sins, appreciation and respect for God’s creation, and most of all one of humility and obedience; You whom we know is now in the Kingdom of the Lord and close to our Mother; Be our angel and protect us, stay with us as we struggle in this modern life often not knowing where to set our priorities; Help us to pray to our God to obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit and use them for the good of humanity and the good of our Church, through the Heart of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Heart of Jesus. Amen.