Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel

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1 Advent Sunday December 1, 2013 Volume 1, Issue 13 Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel The Advent reath Advent begins today, and with it we start to think about the many traditions and customs associated with this and the ensuing Christmas season. One of these traditions is the Advent reath, a wreath of greenery adorned by a set of four candles, typically three violet-colored and one rose-colored to match the priest s vestments on each of the four Sundays in Advent. The wreath is set upon a table (especially the dining room table), on the family altar, on pedestals, an end table, etc., or it can be suspended by ribbons from the ceiling, such as from a light fixture. The candles can be long, slim tapers, small votives, or fat pillars. There can be pinecones and such adorning the greenery, but because Advent is a penitential season, it shouldn t be highly decorated with colorful ornaments. Our Lady of the Rosary 15 Pepper Street Monroe CT (203) Emergencies: (203) Fr. Adan Rodriguez (Pastor) frrodriguez@rosarychapel.net The circular shape of the wreath is a symbol of eternity, and the greenery symbolizes hope and renewal. The colors of the typically-used violet and rose candles symbolize penance and joy, respectively. Each candle also represents one of the four weeks of Advent, and one thousand years of the four thousand years that (at least metaphorically) passed between Adam and Eve to Christ s coming. The first candle also recalls the Patriarchs, the second candle recalls the Prophets, the third candle recalls St. John Baptist, and the final HOLY MASS Sundays: 7:00 & 10:00 am eekdays: 7:00 & CONFESSIONS Sundays 6:40 6:55 am 9:15 9:55 am eekdays 6:40 6:55am And by appointment HOLY ROSARY Sundays: 9:40 am First Saturdays: 8:45 am

2 CALENDAR DATE FEAST TIME INTENTION Sun Dec 1 Advent Sunday V 10:00 am (High Mass and Benediction) Missa pro Populo Mon Dec 2 St. Bibiana, VM R Michael Dolan, RIP Tue Dec 3 St. Francis Xavier, C Fr. Barnabas Keck, OFM, RIP Josephine atson, RIP ed Dec 4 St. Peter Chrysologus, BCD Dorothy Ann Albert Josephine atson, RIP Thu Dec 5 Feria V Inside Story Headline Special Intention for Vincent Ferro Holy Souls in Purgatory Fri Dec 6 St. Nicholas, BC Craig Richardson & Anita Sandburg Special Intention for Vincent Ferro Sat Dec 7 St. Ambrose, BCD Vigil of Immaculate Conception of BVM 8:45 am (Rosary) Robert Di Cecco, RIP Rita Dolan Sun Dec 8 Immaculate Conception of BVM Second Sunday in Advent 10:00 am Ellen Hall Missa Pro Populo MASS TODAY Advent Sunday 2nd Collect: In Honor of the BVM 3rd Collect: Against the Persecutors of Holy Church Preface: Trinity Please submit your Mass requests to Father Rodriguez via or in person, specifying the intention, whether the person is living or deceased, and if a specific date is required. To pray for the living and the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. Remember your loved ones by having a Mass said for their intentions. MASS NEXT SUNDAY Immaculate Conception of BVM 2nd Collect: Second Sunday in Advent Preface: BVM Proper Last Gospel: Second Sunday in Advent 2

3 candle recalls Our Lady. The Advent reath (continued) If colored candles are used, the violet candles are lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent, and the rose candle is lit on the third Sunday (Gaudete Sunday, when the priest also wears rose vestments at Mass), a day of rejoicing because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent and begin to anticipate Christmas. In any case, whether colored or white candles are used, one more candle is lit each Sunday at dinnertime, the progressive lighting of the candles symbolizing the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord s first coming into the world, and the anticipation of his second coming to judge the quick and the dead. The candles are kept burning throughout the Sunday supper, and then are immediately blown out afterward (candles can be replaced and greenery freshened as needed). At midnight on Christmas Eve, the Advent wreath is replaced by a white Christ candle that is suitably adorned with holly, or by being carved with symbols of Christ, etc. This Christ Candle is used until the Epiphany or Candlemas, depending on the family s particular Christmas customs. It is common to simply remove the violet and rose candles of the Advent wreath, and replace them with a centrally placed white candle, decorating the greenery and thus turning it into a Christmas wreath for use throughout the Christmas season. The Blessing of the Advent reath Before dinner on the Saturday evening before Advent Sunday, or before lighting it for the first time, the family assembles around the Advent reath. The father says the following versicle and all make the sign of the Cross and respond: V. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. R. ho hath made heaven and earth. The father then reads the following short passage from the Prophet Isaiah: Using holy water to bless the Advent reath before lighting it for the first time. ANNOUNCEMENTS Schedule Changes There will be no Mass on Monday of this week. Medical Bulletin e are happy to report that His Excellency Bishop Morello has left the hospital and is currently completing his recuperation at the house of his brother.. Christmas Sale e would like to thank all those who were involved in yesterday s Christmas Crafts Tag Sale for all their hard work in organizing, advertising, selling, and all the other many and often unseen tasks that helped make such an event possible. A more complete report on the Sale will be included in next Sunday s bulletin. Fundraising Committee There will be a meeting of the Fundraising Committee next Sunday, December 8, after the 10:00 High Mass. 3

4 Aspiciens a Longe from the Matins of Advent Sunday R. I look from afar, and behold I see the power of God, coming like as a cloud to cover the land with the hosts of his people: * Go ye out to meet him and say: * Tell us if thou art he, * That shalt reign over God's people Israel. V. All ye that dwell in the world, all ye children of men, high and low, rich and poor, one with another. Go ye out to meet him and say. V. Hear, O thou Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. Tell us if thou art he. V. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. That shalt reign over God's people Israel. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R. I look from afar, and behold I see the power of God, coming like as a cloud to cover the land with the hosts of his people: * Go ye out to meet him and say: * Tell us if thou art he, * That shalt reign over God's people Israel. 4 The Blessing and Lighting of the Advent reath... (continued) The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called onderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9: 2 and 6) The father then recites the following prayer over the Advent reath, and all present respond Amen. O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth thy blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from Thee abundant graces. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. The father then sprinkles the Advent reath with holy water. Saint Andrew Christmas Novena Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen. The Lighting of the Advent reath hile the blessing ceremony above can take place at any time. Once you are ready to light the first candle, the father leads the family or group in the Advent reath Prayer for the First eek of Advent : Let us pray. Stir up thy power, O Lord, we beseech thee, and come: that by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins and saved by Thy deliverance. ho livest and reignest, world without end. Amen. Then takes place the lighting of the first Advent Candle, which should be one of the three purple ones. By tradition, the youngest child of the family is given the honor of lighting the first Advent Candle. hile a novena is normally a nine-day prayer, the term is sometimes used for any prayer that is repeated over a series of days. The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is often called simply the "Christmas Novena" or the "Christmas Anticipation Prayer," because it is prayed 15 times every day from the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (November 30) until Christmas. The First Sunday of Advent is the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saint Andrew. The novena is not actually addressed to Saint Andrew but to God Himself, asking Him to grant our request in the honor of the birth of His Son at Christmas. You can say the prayer all 15 times, all at once; or divide up the recitation as necessary (perhaps five times at each meal). Prayed as a family, the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is a very good way to help focus the attention of your children on the Advent season.

5 Show Me Thy ays, Teach Me Thy Paths at what they mean, so that you can make this prayer your own during Holy Mass this morning. Place this fervent petition before God when the priest offers the gifts at the Offertory. Repeat it slowly and devoutly, as you look up to Our Lord at the Elevation. And, from your heart of hearts, whisper it once more to him at Holy Communion. Show me, O Lord, thy ways, and teach me thy paths. This is the first Sunday in Advent. Today marks the very beginning of the Church s liturgical year. The missal on the altar is open at the first page. Those of you who use a missal will have moved your Sunday ribbons to the front of the book, and with the priest, will have ushered in the new year with the words of today s Introit: Unto thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul : my God, in thee do I trust. Shew me thy ways, O Lord, and teach me thy paths. Holy Mother Church speaks for all her children with these words on this first morning of the ecclesiastical New Year. hat a touching picture we have of our holy Mother, the Church, as we see her kneeling at the threshold of the door that leads us into the New Year! It s as though we see her there on her knees at the portal, her eyes raised to heaven, her hands folded in prayer. Like a true mother she is unwilling to lead her children into the unknown ways and paths of a new year without first asking God to show the way. And like the good mother she is, she prays with her children and for her children. It is her first morning prayer at the beginning of the New Year. hat does Holy Mother Church choose out of all her many prayers to be the first morning prayer of the New Year? Show me, O Lord, she begs, thy ways, and teach me thy paths! How important then are these words! Let us take a look Show me O Lord, thy ways. hat are the ways of the Lord? They are the ways of the Ten Commandments, which we must observe and follow. hen we were baptized the Church said to us, as Our Lord himself said to the young man in the Gospel : If thou wilt enter life, keep the Commandments! O Lord, show me thy ways the ways of thy Commandments! That I may always walk in them during the year and not make what St. Augustine called big strides off the road. The way of the Commandments is the narrow way, as Christ expressed it, restricted and made narrow by the laws of God. It is the only way, however, that leads to heaven. If thou wilt enter life eternal, said Our Lord, keep the Commandments! If thou love me, keep my Commandments. There is no other way. Because strait is the gate, said Our Lord, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. They try to follow instead the broad way of sin that leads to perdition. Hence, keep the Commandments. 5

6 ALTAR SERVERS Saturday, December 7 David Bouton Sunday, December 8 10:00 High Mass Celebrant: Fr. Rodriguez MC: Christopher Mendes Th: James Morris Ac1: Paul Richardson Ac2: Sam Richardson Cr: Giovanni Linero Show Me Thy ays, Teach Me Thy Paths... (continued) Keep ALL the Commandments. God did not give us five or six or seven. He gave us ten. And he who transgresses one of them, is off the road just as well as he who breaks all ten. You don t have to commit a whole list of crimes in order to be sent to jail. They will lock you up even if you commit just one, if it s serious enough. So don t think you re doing okay if you keep most of the commandments. If you have contracted any sinful habits in the past, begin afresh now at the very beginning of this new church year. Take your axe to the very root of the tree, and root up all your sinful habits, every one. Just as Christ was the root of Jesse, a root which grew, and rose to reign over the Gentiles, so let him rise forth in you by your good deeds and your godly life. At times, these commandments may seem to be a very heavy burden. It may be very difficult to keep one or two of them sometimes. But remember the words of Our Lord. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. If you learn truly to love God, you will realize that it s so very hard after all to stop yourself from hurting him. Think of Our Lord on the Cross, in such pain, dying for you. Think often of this, and it will keep you from sin, keep you in the ways of the Lord. God doesn t ask the impossible, but by his Commandments, he instructs us to do what we are able, and to pray for what we are not able to do, that he may help us. After we have prayed Show me, O Lord, thy ways, the ways of his commandments, we say in the second place: And teach us thy paths. The paths of the Lord are the paths of perfection and virtue. e must practice these to be true Christians. As followers of Christ, we walk the paths trodden by Christ, pointed out to us by his word and example. alking these paths, these narrow footpaths, we steadily follow in the footsteps of the Saints that went before us, we try to walk in the very footprints of these Saints. Come, and follow me, says Christ. The Saints did follow him. And we follow him too when we follow the examples of the saints. They are so many. The Church s calendar, which begins today, present them to us day after day, reminding us of their names and heroic deeds. Learn of me, says Our Lord. I have given you an example. And Saint Paul says: Be ye imitators of me, as I am of Christ. And indeed Paul was Christlike. As were all the Saints. And we too must be Christlike, so that we too can become Saints. And how many of these Saints have walked in the bloody footprints of Christ up the road to Calvary! These crossbearers loved their crosses, and they prayed with St. Teresa of Avila: Allow me, Lord, to suffer or to die! The Saints suffered patiently, resignedly, lovingly, heroically, and their own crosses and sufferings purified their hearts and sanctified their souls. Follow in their footprints for suffering is a short cut to sanctity and you too will die a saint. hen you walk the royal way of the Cross, in the footprints of the Saints, you are Christlike. The Gospel for the first Sunday of the year is very similar to the one we had last week for the last Sunday of the year. The end times, and more especially our own end and last judgment. And again, we are asked to prepare 6

7 Show Me Thy ays, Teach Me Thy Paths... (continued) How wonderful and instructive, then, is the Introit of the First Sunday in Advent, the morning prayer of Holy Mother Church, at the beginning of her New Year. Let our response be generous and resolute: Show me, O Lord, thy ways, the ways of thy commandments. O Lord, direct my ways, guide my steps. I put my hand into yours lest I slip and fall into grievous sin. No mortal sin this year! I mean it! So help me God! And teach me also thy paths, O Lord, those little byways of perfection and virtue, proper and characteristic to my state of life. Teach me to accept and to love my crosses, that I may follow thee more closely. for that day. St. John Baptist said it best, and we shall be hearing his words a lot during Advent. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make straight his paths. But first, today, we need to identify those ways and paths, and the opening words of the year s liturgy helps us to do just that. Remember finally what ways and paths are for. They are not ends in themselves, but means to an end. Use the commandments, use the virtues, the graces and gifts you are given from God, in order to become make progress along the road to heaven, walking ever closer to him. For behold, he cometh. He is coming to meet us on the way. Advent is our time of expectation and looking forward. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and I promise you, you ll have something to look forward to. Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel operates a thriving parish, complete with full-time Catholic school for grades K through 12. Two Masses are offered daily, and various devotions and other ceremonies are provided during the course of the liturgical year. Our parish guilds offer wonderful opportunities to become more involved as your time and interests permit. e are always looking for volunteers to serve Mass, sing in the choir, or work in the church and on the property and grounds. The enthusiastic participation of our parishioners is one of the hallmarks of Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, and we welcome your support and talents. Newcomers are particularly welcome, and we invite you to introduce yourself to one of our priests. He will be able to answer your questions concerning the traditional Latin Mass and the crisis in the Catholic Church since Vatican II, and guide you towards a fuller understanding of what your own role should be in these difficult times in which we live. Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel enthusiasm. Come and be a part of this work, which was founded not so much by good Father Fenton in 1972, but by Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, when he gave the keys of his kingdom to St. Peter. This is none other than the Roman Catholic Church, and at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel we are proud to be an instrument for its continuation, and the preservation of its Faith and Liturgy. Our aim is to preserve the truth and beauty of our Catholic heritage. e invite all of you to participate in this our apostolate, and in particular by becoming shining examples of our true Faith by your everyday life, both spiritual and moral. God calls us all to perfection, and our role is to answer that call with all our love and 7

8 VISIT US ON THE EB For up-to-date information, such as last-minute changes to the Mass schedule, special prayer requests, and other breaking news, please refer to our website at: You will also find a wealth of information about Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, including our history, mission statement, guild activities, and school curriculum. e hope you will find our site a valuable resource, and will help us by sending your stories and photos of life at our chapel. A Message from the Pastor Last week we completed the Church s liturgical cycle, and today we begin a new one. As one year ends, another begins, and this cyclical aspect of the liturgical life reflects the mystical unity of the two natures of Christ, human and divine, coming together to form the one Saviour of mankind. I am the Alpha and the Omega, said Our Blessed Lord, the Beginning and the End. Let us look forward now to the future, in blessed company with Him who was, who is, and who is to come. Fr. Adan Rodriguez NOTICE TO NECOMERS Founded in 1973 in the wake of the disastrous Second Vatican Council, the mission of Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel is to maintain and restore as far as possible the traditional faith, values and liturgical practice of the Roman Catholic Church, and to provide a haven of sanctity where men and women of good will may grow in love for God and their neighbor. Please don t hesitate to introduce yourself and ask questions. After Mass come to the Social Hall, and join us for coffee and refreshments. e welcome Spanish-speakers, and confessions are heard in Spanish and English every Sunday and by appointment with the pastor. e hope your visit with us is a pleasant one, and we look forward to seeing you again and welcoming you as a member of Our Lady of the Rosary.