Articles for Advent

  Book of revelation A great sign appeared – a woman clothed with the sun. and the moon was under her feet…. on her head a crown of twelve stars. The prophet Zechariah states that many nations shall join themselves to the Lord. They shall be his people. And God will dwell among you. Mary…

  Let’s make a quick return to that opening collect from Sunday, where we ask God to “remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.” I have always thought of this as a wonderful expression of our Advent longings, that we ask God to remove those things that keep us from receiving…

“I will” – “I do” – “I am” – “I am, with the help of God” Three responses we hear from the lips of those exchanging marriage vows and making the promises that come in the rites of ordination or religious profession. Today it is God making the promise – I WILL Fear not I…

  Almost from the beginning of Advent, we begin to hear again and again of the promises to Israel for deliverance. The prophecies of Isaiah speak eloquently to the promise of redemption: give comfort to my people; speak tenderly to Jerusalem, proclaim that her service is at an end; fear not, your God comes to…

  In 1854 Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a dogma of our faith, long-held sacred and celebrated over the centuries. Mary, the Immaculate Conception is Patroness of the Church in the United States, of our own diocese and the name of the Cathedral in Kansas City. The naming of two local…

  “A highway will be there, called the holy way… and on it, the redeemed will walk.” After Jesus cured the paralytic, the man picked up his mat and went home, praising God. During Advent, we focus on our journey to and with the Lord. We await Jesus’ journeying to us, the Lord’s coming. We…

  In the collect for today’s Mass, we pray: “Almighty and merciful God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet your Son.” An earlier version put it this way asking God to “remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.” Both versions get at something basic…