The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Thanks for your Advent posts, Menagerie, and your other posts of faith throughout the year.
I was raised Catholic, was an altar boy, but haven’t been a practicing Catholic since my teen years when the lure of morning surfing nudged out going to church on hot summer days (we lived in a beach town)
So I had to look up Advent on the internets
” What Is Advent?
“Advent is a period of spiritual preparation in which many Christians make themselves ready for the coming, or birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Celebrating Advent typically involves a season of prayer, fasting, and repentance, followed by anticipation, hope, and joy.
“Many Christians celebrate Advent not only by thanking God for Christ’s first coming to Earth as a baby, but also for his presence among us today through the Holy Spirit, and in preparation and anticipation of his final coming at the end of the age.”
https://www.learnreligions.com/meaning-of-advent-700455
Thank you for that explanation Nim and also for the beautiful scripture, Menagerie. I am always so grateful for some sort of spiritually uplifting moment these days…
?❤️
I love Advent, just as I love Christmas. When my children were growing up we were, just like all families, so busy and so pushed for time. So many things demanded our attention. School plays, parties, frantic plans for childcare while the boys were out of school, decorating the tree, shopping, cooking.
Everyone used to say they were too busy to really enjoy Christmas, but I never believed that. Every year I chose to savor the season and the wait. No one is too busy to wait with intent and love and joy.
The same time exists whether you choose to use it with intent or not, and it passes at the exact same rate.
Choose joy, hope, faith, love.
This is a new song by Ingrid Andress — Hope you like it and may we always find Christmas ❤️??
Love it!
Beautifully said, Menagerie. Thank you.
test
Thank you for your wise words Menagerie. It’s not always easy to get amp’d up for the holidays (for some of us, it may mean painful memories of lost loved ones).
It’s a choice.
You can either be down in the dumps, or make the monumental effort to fight to find joy. It’s possible.
Test
Test
Such beautiful words Menagerie. Thank you, and bless you for all you do, and for your big heart.
Your words are so inspiring and timely. Thank you for sharing them with our community! God bless you and your family, and all members of our community. Our Nation has gone through many crises and always prevailed. The challenge upon us is most grave, and we appear to have let the enemy walk among us. BUT, we have God on our side! We will prevail.
?❤️
Excellent. Thank you. Most of us never bother to look up.
Thank you, Menagerie and nimrodman.
May God bless us all.
Amen.
While certainly not Jesus Christ Superstar…
this came to mind:
Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord from Godspell
I knew what Advent was when I was a Baptist. We lit candles before Christmas also.
Test
So lovely to start this morning, Menagerie! Thank you for grounding us all!
May the Lord bless us and keep us.
Amen.
LIKE
?
Amen!
?
Thank you Menagerie for the Gospel of Mark…Always loved the Advent Season…
Yes and Amen.
Amen
Amen
One of my favorite parts of Advent.
Hearing a priest say about the color of their vestments, “It’s not pink, it’s rose.”
Never met a single priest who didn’t say that! You’re right, it’s a fun part of the Catholic thing.
IN “The Glories of Mary”, a complete works of the spirituality of our Blessed Mother and her many interventions for us, her children, Father St. Louis de Montfort reported in one of the stories, that pink roses were Our Lady’s favorite…
I just had to throw that in. It is an old and huge, beautifully written book that all believers should read.
It’s so very good to hear from you, Menagerie, especially during the Christmas season. You are a blessing!
Thank you so much!
Like
Amen
A little information on where the song we most associate with Advent comes from. My heart surges each year when we sing this song on the first Sunday of Advent. Many churches sing it every week. This explains why the song is what it is, and where it comes from.
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-o-come-o-come-emmanuel
Definitely one of the most meaningful Christmas songs for me???❤️
Great site – Thank you ❤️
My mom’s favorite! Passed away 22 years ago!
Menagerie, Thanks for your article/information/reminder of/about Advent❣
Also, O Come O Come Emmanuel was always a favorite to sing. As a young child it just seemed so important and deserving of reverence. While I didn’t understand the true meaning…., the melody and the words were so moving; beckoning the feeling of struggle and the promise of joy.
Through the years it still manages to break air –especially when doing tedious chores .
Thank you for Lord Jesus, thy will be done.
…on the Earth as is in the Heaven…….
My family is more focused on Advent this year than ever before. ??❤️ Companion verses to yours, Menagerie ?
Luke 1:76-79
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.??❤️
So many wonderful scriptures to acquaint us with how FAR God went to reconcile us to Himself.
I pray for those who have not yet accepted Jesus as their Savior. May this be the year many find the truth and are liberated from slavery.
Being reconciled to God is the only way to truly find peace and be at peace. Until that occurs, we are struggling against God…just as Jacob was until God renamed him Israel.
test
Test
So beautiful, the words of the Lord through Mark. I have been reading the same story in Luke, our Sunday sermon will come from there. John the Baptist, was an important part of Christ’s life on Earth. Elizabeth must have been a great comfort to Mary.
Test
Allow me to add about 5 minutes of the most astonishingly beautiful, faith-filled music you will ever hear!
Os Iusti by the great symphonic composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
The text of the motet is two verses of Psalm 37, which is Psalm 36 in the Vulgata (Psalms 37:30–31). The text of the added verse is taken from Psalm 89 (Psalms 89:20).
Os justi meditabitur sapientiam:
et lingua ejus loquetur judicium.
Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius:
et non supplantabuntur gressus ejus.
Alleluia.
Inveni David servum meum,
oleo sancto meo unxi eum.
Alleluia.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.
The law of his God is in his heart:
and his feet do not falter.
Alleluia.
I have found David, my servant;
I have anointed him with my holy oil.
Alleluia.
Using only the “white keys” of a piano keyboard:
Let me recommend a musical tour of the Bruckner’s nine symphonies: as with all the great composers (there are so many at this point in History), they are a spiritual as well as an emotional, musical experience.
Thank you Ausonius
I have included that as well
I hope the response is good!
This was very beautiful, thank you.
No problem: if you have the inclination,enjoy the spirtual adyssey through his symphonic works (start with the First Symphony and follow his development chronologically) and other sacred compositions e.g. the Te Deum and Psalm 150.
Ausonius, for me this is a special and timely gift. Please lean in for some oxoxox.
Ah, shucks, Ma’am, twarn’t nuthin’ ! 😉
Beautiful. Thank you, Ausonius.
Thank you Menagerie
I have cross posted at https://freedomaustralia.freeforums.net/thread/530/second-sunday-advent
test
Col 1
15The son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16For by him all things were created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or peered: all things were created by him and through him,
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
I hold onto these verses, especially when it seems the sons of disobedience prevail.
God bless!
Praise Yah!
Psalm 68:4 (New King James Version)
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Extol Him who rides on the clouds,
By His name Yah, [a]
And rejoice before Him.
Footnote:
[a] As in Hallelu-Yah, i.e., Praise Yah!
I appreciate this post immensely.
Amen!
If you make a political comment it will be deleted. Go to the daily Presidential post.
A reading for today from 2 Peter 3:14 –
Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish.
“while you are waiting for these things…”
Yes, we must wait with an attitude of worship and expectancy…Aslan is indeed on the move!!
Isn’t it just so clear that people of faith will be the ones to save our nation? This website is undergirded by faith and prayer.
I’ve been lurking here for years and hope to contribute a thought once in a while. My respect for Sundance & Crew is beyond measure. I visit the Treehouse to maintain a sane perspective and to find out what is really behind the stories that make the news (and those that don’t).
Wishing all here a peaceful Advent. Austine Cleary Allen
Kilroy back, again. God Bless.
Test
This article gave me peace. Thank you
Though I am not a Catholic and so don’t observe the seasons such as Advent and Lent, I always really enjoy Menagerie’s faith-based posts – they bring a measure of peace and reflection into a hectic daily life. The beautiful pictures are just the cherry on top.
Decades ago, my small daughter and I were recruited to participate in an Advent Service, where each of 6 or so parishioners had to write down something completing the sentence, “Waiting for Christmas is . . . .” and then read it on cue during the service. My daughter – maybe 8 – wrote: “Waiting for Christmas is impossible.” which got a good laugh.
From faulty memory in that pre-internet time, I wrote down a partial misquote from a Federico Garcia Lorca play a line where one woman described her pregnancy to her sister as like “holding a live bird cupped in your hands, only more so.” I said that waiting for Christmas is like waiting for any birth, only more so.
This Advent, as we wait for Christmas to “come once more,” I feel we are also waiting for another birth, a re-birth of freedom from the tyranny of the Deep State, a new dawn of light dispelling the dark gloom of the Swamp and its Mockingbird Media, a renewal of the patriots’ oath to secure the blessing of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, and a renewal of our catechisms and faith in God, and of our roles as stewards in our generation of the foundational institutions of American society.
Thankful for Treehouse where truth and hope can always be found?
Beautiful. Thank you for this sharing of the Second Sunday of Advent.
I am so heartened to be sharing this blessed Christmas with all of you
Hubbs and I have been watching our current Lutheran service of our local church, live streamed every Sunday at 11. We have been attending for two years. (Lutheran. Both of us are members of the Methodist church, but the Methodist church has a weird pastor now [we are so petty, right?]) I have just as many friends at the Lutheran Church as the Methodist, so double good, and we give to both, it is worth it.
During this holy season of Advent, please pray for my mother, Dolores, age 88, living in a Pennsylvania nursing home, isolated and afraid, as she was diagnosed with COVID-19 this past week.
In November, the State authorized the transfer of COVID-19 positive patients from the local hospital into her nursing home for reasons the Secretary of Health purported were safe. That was three weeks ago. My mother had tested negative every week since the pandemic began, until now.
Please pray for her quick recovery because the monoclonal antibodies and Remdesivir treatments have not been made available by the State in the county where she resides.
Prayer offered.
Prayers of healing and comfort your mother, Julia.
Praying for healing.
Praying for your Mom.
Dear Julia, Praying for your mother, Dolores. God bless you and your family. Offered with love,,,
Praying for your dear Mom, Julia.
So thankful Gods mercy is new every morning. I no longer try to go back to sleep when I wake up a little early. Good time to have the necessary time to fellowship with him. Having a prayer warrior for a mother was a blessing. God Bless America
Thank you
Prefer BetseyBaby instead of Bette…Thanks for all you do and may God Bless America.
PEACE is the theme of the 2nd week of Advent. Wishing PEACE to all as we wait. “For to us a child is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6.
Test #3
“…… a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Imagine a world in which this was the most radical and unheard-of concept ever known.
May we, who have never experienced a world without the Christmas message of God’s Grace in, through and around our daily lives, never take it for granted.
Thank you Sundance, Menagerie, and all for a place where we aren’t censored for our beliefs.
You are terrific people! God, bless you all.
My favorite seasonal song is “An Advent Proclamation”
by Olaf G. Malmin. It joins lines from Isaiah and others
from John, with SATB cascades of Alleluias, a joyous
and uplifting piece for even modest choirs.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
The light has shined on the nations
who live in the shadow of death.
Arise, be clothed in light,
your light has come.
Alleluia!
Thought darkness covers the earth,
The Lord will shine upon you.
Alleluia!
Jesus Christ is the light of the world,
the light no darkness can overcome.
Let your light scatter the darkness,
and illumine your church.
(scores are $2.55 at http://www.lorenz.com; mentioned only
to avoid confusion with Hal Leonard published music)
May light scatter the darkness in our land as well.
Test
God bless you Menagerie for this beautiful post for Advent!
You inspired me to do this for our church’s Middle School and High School class! We are kinda Pentecostal and don’t normally celebrate Advent. But it is a beautiful thing to do. So I gathered the wreath, candles, and we read the Scripture and we talked about preparing our hearts and minds for the Holy Season of Christmas. Thank you!
Test
Thank you for that beautiful scripture, Menagerie and also Nim for that explanation.
Test
I just ran across the White House Advent Calendar and tho’t it belonged here.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/adventcalendar
Thank you for such great coverage Menagerie!