People often think Christmas lasts one day. While hints of the season incorrectly begin in association with the gift buying rush, once December 25 comes to a close the tree comes down and attention is focused elsewhere, wherever that may be.
Catholic Life
Pope Francis: The Eucharist is our Spiritual Lifeblood
The Eucharist is the spiritual life-blood of the Christian because in receiving it we consume the glorified body of the Risen Lord, whose life transforms us, elevates and empowers us to become like him. Pope Francis noted that in receiving the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, God communicates interior attitudes of holiness to us, infusing our hearts and minds with his own love and his own thoughts, through the wondrous presence of Jesus and the divine impulses of the Holy Spirit. Among these interior attitudes is “First of all docility to the Word of God.”
Faithful Observance of the Commandments
In order to pursue the good wholeheartedly, it is necessary to truly love the good, to see it as a highly desirable treasure. The ancient philosopher Plato understood that if we love the good, our emotions and dispositions will move toward it spontaneously and with a sense of delight.
The Catholic Church: Not an Endeavor of Human Origin
The plan of God cannot be undone. The words of Gamaliel in reference to the apostles, their successors and their mission in the Church, continue to echo throughout the centuries: “For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:38-39). The continuity and permanency of the Church cannot be explained in any other way but by her origin in her divine and human founder: Jesus Christ.
Advent: A Time To Seek Answers To Humankind’s Most Pressing Questions
If Advent is to open our minds and hearts to the Person of Jesus Christ, we must also acknowledge the importance of hearing the voice of Christ transmitted to the world through the teaching of the Church.