The word from the Promises of the Sacred Heart on which we will reflect for the next four weeks is "Consolation". The word comes from two Latin terms, con=with and solari=soothe, comfort. To be a consolation, a person must be able to stand with those needing to be consoled. In this season of Advent, we turn to two of our great examples of faith, Mary, the Mother of Jesus and John the Baptist to be our consolation.

Every year, the Third Sunday of Advent focuses on the person of John the Baptist. John is presented as an Old Testament figure, a stern prophet living in the desert announcing the Kingdom of God. John stood with his people, boldly proclaiming the message of the prophets and the need for repentance. John is a person of Advent, someone who is vigilant in watching and preparing for the Messiah and earnestly sharing God‘s message with others.

Around the Third Sunday of Advent each year we also focus on the person of Mary, celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mary is also in line with the great women of the Old Testament; like Hannah who praised God for the gift of her son, the future prophet Samuel, like Sarah who miraculously gave birth to Isaac, ensuring the continuation of the line of Abraham, like Mary‘s own kinswoman, Elizabeth who brought to birth John, the precursor to Jesus. Mary stands with us, her children, giving us strength to respond to God‘s Will and praising God‘s work in us. Mary is a person of Advent, earnestly conforming her will to the Will of God and vigilantly preparing for the birth of her son.

These two models, Mary and John, are people of consolation after whom we should pattern our lives. Like John, we acknowledge that there is one savior of the world, and it is not us! What a consolation that is! We accept his challenge to change the things that need to be changed in our lives so that we might truly be the holy people God created us to be. Like Mary, we actively support God‘s growth within us so that we reflect more and more the love of the one who created us.

At this time of the year, many of us spend time decorating the house, buying presents and preparing special holiday foods. We prepare for Christmas like no other feast in the year. But we are also involved in preparations for many different things and these preparations become an important part in our lives. In preparing for a test, we study the pertinent information. In preparing for a voyage, we pack clothing and articles we think will be necessary for the trip. In preparing for a presentation for work, we organize data and ideas and prepare charts or brochures. In preparing for a wedding or other celebration, we rent halls, hire caterers and bands, send out invitations and buy new clothes. In preparing for a new child, we paint a nursery, buy a car-seat, a crib, diapers and toys.

We always seem to be preparing for something. Most of our work of preparation is physical activity of some type. The preparation mentioned in today’s Gospel is both a physical and spiritual action. John the Baptist echoes the words of the prophet, Isaiah, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” Isaiah gets even more descriptive as he states that our preparations include filling in every valley and bringing down the mountains, very tough physical work for a people with no power tools.

So how do we prepare the way of the Lord? In physical ways, we prepare the way by works of charity and justice; when we feed the hungry and take care of the needs of those around us, when we visit the sick and act with kindness to the elderly, when we teach and support our children and when we speak well of our neighbor. In spiritual ways, we prepare the way through prayer and reflection; when we join the Church in its action of praise at Mass and in our own private devotions. We prepare ourselves spiritually through the attitude with which we enact every other action of our day, an attitude of humility and peace. The way is often difficult to prepare but we have many workers.

May this season of preparation bless you and your families with the Lord’s peace.

We have all had the experience of waiting. Whether it be at the supermarket, in the doctor’s office or on the freeway; whether for a check in the mail or a proposal or a vacation, for a child or spouse or friend, we have all sat, stood, paced, fidgeted, watched the clock or calendar, the front door or phone waiting. It would not be in error to say that most of us spend a large portion of our lives waiting.

Waiting can be frustrating, annoying, even infuriating but the way in which we wait for things says a great deal about the person we are. Think of the last time you waited in line for something. What did you do or say? How did the waiting affect your mood or your interaction with the people around you? 

This Sunday, we begin the Season of Advent, the liturgical season of watching and waiting. We begin in an unusual way this year by welcoming our new Missal in the English speaking world (for which we have been waiting for about 20 years). But like every Advent, the focus is on waiting. We don’t jump right to Christmas, department store decorations notwithstanding. There is value in waiting. A child is not born the day after conception. There is value in that time in the womb, not just for the growth and development of the child but for the bonding that occurs between parents and their new child. The final exam is not given on the first day of class. The teacher and students need to cover the course material so that the final can have meaning. There is always a value in waiting, even if it is sometimes difficult to understand.

Our focus word for the four weeks beginning last week is the word “Peace”. Peace is the object of patient waiting. God could have sent Jesus to save humankind the day after they were kicked out of Eden. But God knew that we would not understand the Peace he means for us unless we learned to wait. And so, we celebrate this season of waiting, hoping that the Peace of Christ might overwhelm the violence and disparity that we experience around us.

The line starts here. May our waiting bring us Peace.

In two weeks, Advent of 2011, the English-speaking world will welcome a new translation of the 
Roman Missal. The new English translation of the Roman Missal includes updated translations 
of existing prayers, including some of the well–known responses and acclamations of the people. 

What will change in the parts of the people 
in the revised Roman Missal?
There are some substantial changes to a number of the prayers and responses of the people during Mass. 

The first change that will be noticed in the people’s part comes  in the greeting. The priest greets the people five times during the Mass with the statement,  “The  Lord  be  with you.” Many of us respond to this greeting out of habit with the response, “And also with you.” and for many, this dialogue between the presider and the people became a rather informal greeting in the same vein as “Good Morning” or “How’s it going?” These greetings are actually very formal rituals that introduce us to a critical action during the liturgy, the Opening Rites, the proclaiming of the Gospel, the introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer, the Communion Procession and the sending forth. The Latin response, Et cum spiritu tuo, better translated in the new Missal as “And with your spirit” is a blessing being shared between the presider and those gathered to celebrate and acknowledges the presence of the Spirit of Christ who has brought us together and who presides at every Eucharist.

In the Preface Dialogue, the prayer at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, the new dialogue is rendered (changes in bold): Presider: The Lord be with you. People: And with your spirit. Presider: Lift up your hearts. People: We lift them up to the Lord. Presider: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. People: It is right and just. O ther changes in the people’s parts of Mass include the  Confiteor of the Penitential Act, the Gloria, The Nicene Creed, the Sanctus (Holy, Holy), proclamation of the Mystery of Faith and the Lamb of God. We will have trifold worship aids and our missalettes in the pews to help remind you of the new prayers.