Sunday, November 29, 2015

Project BLACK MAMBA: First Sunday of Advent

Today is the First Sunday of Advent: Advent-link & Wikipedia-link.

Otherwise, on 29 November we would remember Blesseds Denis of the Nativity, Priest, & Redemptorus of the Cross, Martyrs, O.C.D. (martyred 1638), martyred at the behest of the Dutch East India Company: Martyr-link Delta & Wikipedia-link Delta, Martry-link Romeo & Wikipedia-link Romeo.

Scripture of the First Sunday of Advent
Personal Reading
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter two (verses one thru twenty-three).

Mass Readings
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter thirty-three, verses fourteen thru sixteen;
Psalm Twenty-five, verses four, five, eight, nine, ten, & fourteen;
The First Letter to the Thessalonians, chapter three, verse twelve thru chapter four, verse two;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter twenty-one, verses twenty-five thru twenty-eight & thirty-four thru thirty-six.

Mass Journal: Week Forty-nine
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic catholic Institute
There is genius in Catholicism. The human heart yearsn for happiness, & God wants us to be hapy. But we only experience this happiness, & the fulfillment that accompanies it, when we are changing, growing, becoming more like Jesus Christ & through Him becoming (sic) the-best-version-of-ourselves. Catholicism is the dynamic lifestyle & learning system divinely designed to assist us in this transformation. I love the Church. To me, Catholicism is a gift that can never be fully appreciated, described, or understood,. But in order to even begin to appreciate Catholicism in all its beauty we must experience it. My travels have affirmed that people love the Church. The press may attack the Church, fallen-away Catholics may criticize it, & even practicing Catholics may ridicule it, but I firmly believe these are curious expressions of love. At the very least, they are expressions of a desire for the Church to be the beacon of light it should be in the world. Sometimes love goes sour, as it has for many modern Catholics in their relationship with the Church. When love goes sour, it is usually for one of four reasons: misunderstanding, indifference, selfishness,of the pride that makes a person unwilling to apologize or forgive. Sometimes it is a combination, & usually both parties are at fault to some extent.

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