Father Chris Axline Video Chat - Nov. 25, 2022

St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church (Gilbert, AZ) Podcasts

Happy Advent!

Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s video. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It’s hard to believe that this weekend is the First Sunday of Advent, the start of a new liturgical year and the time of preparation for Christ’s coming. This is a fantastic season of hope and expectation and one of my favorite times of year. So, amidst the preparation for Christmas let’s not forget to prepare your heart, mind, and soul for the coming of Christ so that our joy may be full at His coming. Throughout each day in Advent, do something intentional to help both grow your faith and to become more aware of how and where Christ is present in your life.

Also, I wanted to announce that beginning this weekend, we’ll be bringing back the Precious Blood for distribution during Mass. I know this is cold and flu season but the chalice is optional, you don’t have to receive it if you don’t want to. While not necessary to receive from the chalice, the Church also teaches that receiving the Body and Blood during Mass is a more full sign of Communion. How the chalices will work is that we’ll have four stations available as you return down the aisles to your seats. After receiving from the rail, return to your seats as normal and on the way you’ll see the Extraordinary Ministers with the Precious Blood on your way back. I’m excited to have the chalices return.

Next, I want to thank you all for your patience as we continue improving our sound in the church. Thanks to an anonymous donor we’ve been able to add several more speakers in strategic locations, rewire our system through the ceiling, and purchase and install a new amplifier, some of which was done as recently as this week. Now we are working to balance the system for both sound and intelligibility so I thank you for your continued patience as we make these fine tuning adjustments.

Finally, I wanted to offer a short catechesis on the Advent Wreath. I’ll link to a summary article in the description, and our Flocknote. From what we can tell the Advent Wreath comes from Germany and although we don’t know exactly when it started, historical records do show that by the 1600’s the practice was widespread. Its circular shape represents God’s infinite nature (without beginning or end) and His Love for us without end. The candles symbolize Christ, the Light of the world coming into the darkness of sin and each has its own theme: hope, peace, joy, and love. So, as we get our Advent wreaths ready, let this visible sign remind us all that Christ comes to save us, and that His Love for us is too great to leave us in our brokenness. May the Light of Christ illuminate us all this Advent season and help us to turn away from sin and towards Your Merciful Love!

Let’s pray: “Dear Lord, please allow us to embrace Advent in the way the Church intends: as a way to prepare for Your arrival. May everything we do–every gift we send, every party we attend, every meal we share–remind us to prepare space in our hearts for You. Amen.”

God bless, Fr. Chris

Visit us: https://www.smarymag.org Donate online: https://membership.faithdirect.net/AZ754 To learn the History and Meaning, Colors, Symbolism, Themes, and More: https://hallow.com/blog/advent-candles-and-advent-wreaths/