We have the whole family here this weekend, to celebrate Anna's (Mrs T's) birthday. So I am not going to spend much time writing new posts. Instead, here is a re-cycled post from previous years, slightly adapted.
Whilst the experts on the Pray,Tell blog are quick to proclaim that Advent is not a time of penance, I demur.
Having discussed this over a few years with my friend the Part Time Pilgrim, we have made some progress. After a bit of to and fro, he explained that his concern with my position is that Advent should not be seen as the same as Lent. I agree: the two are different. Advent is a time of joyous preparation for the coming of Our Lord (memories of his first coming, and looking forward to his second, of course). But both of these considerations naturally lead us to listen to the words of St John the Baptist: Repent!
We think it important to keep our Advent Celebrations quite distinct from our Christmas Celebrations - though they are related, they are two different seasons of the Church's cycle, with different themes and moods.
So as ever, we will celebrate Advent by saying our prayers around the Advent Wreath, singing O Come O Come Emmanuel and having a reading as we add another character to our Jesse Tree. We will also say the wonderful collect from the traditional Roman rite of the Mass:
Arise in thy strength we beseech thee O Lord and come; from the dangers which threaten us because of our sins, be thy presence our sure defence, be thy deliverance our safety for ever more.
For those who love Latin, or those who fondly remember my introduction to Liturgical Latin, here is the collect in Latin. too:
Excita, quǽsumus, Dómine, poténtiam tuam, et veni: ut ab imminéntibus peccatórum nostrórum perículis, te mereámur protegénte éripi, te liberánte salvári.
The Marian Antiphon changes today from the Salve Regina to the Alma Redemptoris Mater, which we will sing until the Feast of the Purification (February 2nd).
Having discussed this over a few years with my friend the Part Time Pilgrim, we have made some progress. After a bit of to and fro, he explained that his concern with my position is that Advent should not be seen as the same as Lent. I agree: the two are different. Advent is a time of joyous preparation for the coming of Our Lord (memories of his first coming, and looking forward to his second, of course). But both of these considerations naturally lead us to listen to the words of St John the Baptist: Repent!
We think it important to keep our Advent Celebrations quite distinct from our Christmas Celebrations - though they are related, they are two different seasons of the Church's cycle, with different themes and moods.
So as ever, we will celebrate Advent by saying our prayers around the Advent Wreath, singing O Come O Come Emmanuel and having a reading as we add another character to our Jesse Tree. We will also say the wonderful collect from the traditional Roman rite of the Mass:
Arise in thy strength we beseech thee O Lord and come; from the dangers which threaten us because of our sins, be thy presence our sure defence, be thy deliverance our safety for ever more.
For those who love Latin, or those who fondly remember my introduction to Liturgical Latin, here is the collect in Latin. too:
Excita, quǽsumus, Dómine, poténtiam tuam, et veni: ut ab imminéntibus peccatórum nostrórum perículis, te mereámur protegénte éripi, te liberánte salvári.
The Marian Antiphon changes today from the Salve Regina to the Alma Redemptoris Mater, which we will sing until the Feast of the Purification (February 2nd).
Alma Redemptoris Mater
Alma redemptoris mater,
quae pervia caeli porta manes,
et stella maris succurre cadenti
surgere qui curat populo.
Tu quae genuisti,
natura mirante,
tuum sanctum Genitorem.
Virgo prius, ac posterius,
Gabrielis ab ore,
summens illud ave,
peccatorum miserere.
Mother of the Redeemer, who art ever of heaven
The open gate, and the star of the sea, aid a fallen people,
Which is trying to rise again; thou who didst give birth,
While Nature marveled how, to thy Holy Creator,
Virgin both before and after, from Gabriel's mouth
Accepting the All hail, be merciful towards sinners.
(Translated by Blessed John Henry Newman)
(For those who prefer a more contemporary sound, try The Dogma Dogs: It's Lent - but note that this is not for Liturgical Use!)
So today we will be out in the rain, collecting holly for the wreath, up in the attic looking for the advent calendars, Jesse Tree book etc, and I will be singing the Alma Redemptoris throughout the day...
Anna's Jesse Tree blog, means that Ant, when she and her husband, return home, and Bernie, when she goes back to her flat in Manchester, and Charlie, when he returns to University, can all be with us spiritually at the end of each day as we recall Salvation History.
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