Denver Catholic

ADVENT I 3 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I NOVEMBER 26, 2014 says An Advent wreath is a simple and beautiful way for families to mark the weeks leading up to the celebration of Christmas and to foster an atmosphere of prayer in the home. Candles are lit progressive- ly each Sunday during Advent, which begins Nov. 30 this year, until all the candles are lit by the Sunday before Christmas. The lighting of the candles each week symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding the Lord's first coming into the world and the anticipation of his second coming to judge the living and the dead. Weeks one, two and four use purple candles; week three, known as Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday, uses a rose (or pink) candle. The purple candles symbolize the prayer, penance and preparatory sacrifices and good words undertaken during the season. The rose candle on Gaudete Sunday symbolizes a joyful celebration because the faithful have arrived at the mid- point of Advent and preparation for Christmas is nearly complete. A ceremony surrounding setting up an Advent wreath is simple and can be adjusted for varying age levels. Essentially, it begins the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent with the blessing of the wreath. The fol- lowing prayer may be used for the blessing: Father: 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 re- ceive from thee abundant graces. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Then before each meal during Advent, the family prays and lights the candles that corre- spond to that week. For more Ad- vent wreath prayers, visit www. catholicculture.org/culture/ liturgicalyear. For additional resources, such as parish-wide penance services throughout the archdiocese during Advent, visit www.arch den.org/christmas. BY KARNA SWANSON It's not easy to keep up with Pope Francis. Fortunately for those who can't spend multiple hours a day reading every word the pontiff writes and says, he tends to repeat himself, partic- ularly on his favorite topics. Just in the last month, as the liturgical year was coming to an end, and the thoughts of the faithful began to turn to Advent and preparation for the celebration of Christmas, the Holy Father returned to some of his favorite themes—Mary, humility and conversion. In a short letter addressed to the participants in a meeting of the Pontifical Academies on the Marian teaching of Bless- ed Paul VI, Pope Francis noted the blessed's "great love for the Virgin Mary." He noted that at the end of the Second Vatican Council, Paul VI commend- ed "the entire Church to Mary as the Mother of God and our spiritual Mother." In the same vein, Pope Fran- cis said that he also "entrust- ed the way of the Church to Mary's maternal and caring intercession" in his encyclical Evangelii Gaudium. "There is a Marian 'style' to the Church's work of evangeli- zation," the pope wrote in the letter. "Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary na- ture of love and tenderness." "In her," he continued, "we see that humility and tender- ness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong, who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves." Toward the end of October during one of the daily Masses at Casa Santa Marta, the pope suggested to those present that they pose to themselves the question: "Am I a Chris- tian of light or a Christian of darkness?" To answer the question, he said one could look to St. Paul who invited the Christians of Ephesus to be "imitators of God, as beloved children." He stressed to be "imitators" of God one must "walk in mercy, forgiveness, and love." In his homily Nov. 18, Pope Francis spoke of how the Christian must never be con- tent with where he is in the spiritual life, but rather must seek constant conversion. "As the Church is coming to the close of its liturgical year we are always invited to think about conversion," he said, noting that we often tell our- selves: "I do what I can, but I am at peace and do not want to be disturbed. I go to Mass on Sundays, I pray a few times, I feel good, I am in God's grace, I'm rich (and) I don't need to do anything." The pope said this type of Christian is content with appearances: "If everything looks good, I have nothing to reproach myself about: I have a good family, people do not gossip about me, I have every- thing I need." He encouraged the faith- ful to search for "something alive" within ourselves and to constantly seek to reawaken it so that we can advance "from appearances to reality" on our path of conversion. He encouraged the faith- ful in the last days before the beginning of Advent to think "very, very seriously about our conversion, so that we can move forward on the path of our Christian life." A few of the pope's favorite themes Catholic traditions: Advent wreath LIGHTSTOCK PHOTO then at this moment in histo- ry it's essential that the Church make serious efforts to reach people on their phones and mobile devices," Swanson said. "The Office of Communica- tions is in the process of doing just that as we develop more tools to communicate the message of the archbishop to Catholics in new and different ways. The TeleForum technol - ogy is an exciting first step that fits in perfectly with our overall strategy and vision for com- munications," she added. Regarding the first event, Swanson said to "expect a per- sonal message from the arch- bishop on his own encounter with Christ, and his desire for everyone in the archdiocese to have that same encounter." "The archbishop also wants to thank Catholics of northern Colorado for their dedicated service this year, and encour- age them to continue working as intentional disciples of Our Lord, Jesus Christ," she said. "And he will have the opportu- nity to personally wish every- one a merry Christmas." Swanson added that partici- pants will also have an oppor- tunity to leave the archbishop a Christmas greeting. All Catholics are invited to sign up for the archbishop's call by registering online at www.archden.org/christmas. The call will last from 45 min- utes to an hour. A recording of it will also be available on the website after Dec. 22. Julie Filby: 303-715-3123; julie.filby@archden.org; www. twitter.com/DCRegisterJulie TeleForum From Page 1 "ENTER THE MYSTERY" A live TeleForum event with Archbishop Aquila When: 7 p.m. Dec. 21 What: Outbound telephone call to Catholics, followed by Q&A and time for feedback Who: All Catholics are invited How: Sign up at www.archden. org/christmas Questions: Call 303-715-3230 or email info@archden.org PHOTO BY DANIEL IBÁÑEZ/CNA POPE Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square before the Wednesday general audience Oct. 29.

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