Skip to main content

Advent Series - December 1

Image
By

 

Advent Series- December 1

 (Note: The series is posted here for parents to share with their children- it was written for a young audience which accounts for its simple style)

The history of the world properly begins with God, our Creator, Who Himself has no beginning.
We have all heard the story of creation; how God created the world out of nothing in 6 days.
It is easy to remember what God created on each day, since the first 3 days and the last 3 days are related:
 
The Bible says, 'In the beginning, God created heaven and earth, And the earth was void and empty."(Gen 1:1-2)
On the first 3 days, God began by giving a form to His creation. 
The next 3 days God spent filling His creation,
Thus;
On Day 1 God created the light---on Day 4 He created the sun, moon and stars to shine with that light
On Day 2 God created the sky and separated the waters above from the waters below--Day 5 He filled them with the birds and fish
On Day 3 God created the land---Day 6 He filled the land with animals and man
On Day 6 God made the first man and woman; our first parents Adam and Eve.
We are all descendants of Adam and Eve.
God gave Adam and Eve everything to make them happy. His greatest gift to them was sanctifying grace; His own life in their souls. If they were faithful to God, God planned that they would have a happy life here on earth, followed by eternal happiness in Heaven.
God gave only one command for Adam and Eve to obey, and they did not remain faithful.
We all know what happened....the devil tempted Eve and she ate of the forbidden fruit, then she convinced Adam to do the same.
 
There are many lessons to be learned from the sin of Adam and Eve;
 
1)We learn the importance of keeping busy and avoiding the occasions of sin
2) We learn the importance of saying no to temptations right away (don't dialogue with the devil!)
3) We learn the importance of not becoming attached to ourselves and the things of this world- Eve disobeyed because she wanted to become like God, knowing good and evil.....how often does the sin of pride lead us to look at things we should not!
4) The importance of not giving in to the pressure of companions- Adam gave in to the pleadings of Eve and dragged the whole human race with him.
 
During Advent we make sacrifices in order to detach ourselves from the things of this world, so that we can grow closer to God.
By this we show God that we choose Him before ourselves.
We do not make sacrifices in order to be miserable, but rather to prepare ourselves for the best kind of happiness.....eternal happiness!
After their sin, Adam and Eve lost God's special gifts. They had to leave the garden of Eden. They had to suffer and eventually they would die.
The worst thing that happened (even worse than suffering and death) was that they lost God's life in their souls. The gates of heaven were closed.
God did not leave them totally hopeless, however. He promised to send a Savior, Who would come to make up for sin and reopen the gates of heaven.
This promise that God made is called the "Protoevangelium" or "first message"
In Genesis 3:15, God foretells the coming of Jesus and Mary when he told the devil, "I will put enmities between thee and the woman and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel."
It is interesting to note that when Our Lord spoke to Mary, He called her, "Woman"....because she is "The Woman" foretold in Genesis 3:15.
 
The whole Old Testament has as its central idea, the coming of the Savior, Who would restore the old friendship between God and man.
God foretells the Woman and her Seed crushing the head of Satan ....and we will see in the Old Testament, there is quite alot of head crushing going on! (and alot of women who do it, too!)
And each time it is a foreshadowing of our Redemption.
Everything in the Old Testament leads up to the sacrifice of Our Lord on the cross.
It is at that very moment we see the Woman and her Seed crushing the head of Satan on the hill of Golgotha, which means, "Place of the Skull"
We are in for some interesting days ahead!
From the creation of Adam to the coming of Our Lord there is about 4000 years.
The 4 weeks of Advent symbolizes these 4000 years of waiting for the Savior to come.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

De Veritate - St. Thomas Aquinas - What is necessary to believe explicitly?

By
I was recently introduced to a work of St. Thomas De Veritate ( Source ) in the course of an argument concerning the minimum content of explicit faith.  When I submitted the following quote as proof: Theological faith, that is, a supernatural faith in Revelation, is necessary, and this is an effect of grace (D 1789); nemini unquam sine ilIa contigit iustificatio (D 1793). As far as the content of this faith is concerned, according to Hebr. 11, 6, at least the existence of God and retribution in the other world must be firmly held, necessitate medii (by the necessity of means) with explicit faith. In regard to the Trinity and the Incarnation, implicit faith suffices. The supernatural faith necessary for justification is attained when God grants to the unbeliever by internal inspiration or external teaching a knowledge of the truths of Revelation, and actual grace to make the supernatural act of faith. Cf. De verite 14, I I.Ott - Fundamentals of Dogma p241 In response my opponent ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Can Catholics Pray with Protestants??? Part 2

By
 + JMJ While I have explicit permission from the Canadian, US and FSSPX.News sites, as a follow-up to Part 1, I am going to post here an article on the FSSPX.UK website to provide a bona-fide resource for other Traditional Catholics looking for the truth as opposed to just belief on this topic. FSSPX.UK: Matters arising – May We Pray with Non-Catholics? P^3 Matters arising : May we pray with non-Catholics? Rev. Nicholas Mary, C.SS.R. Fr. Nicholas Mary answers topical questions in the light of moral theology and canon law. Public prayer As always, before we can answer a question adequately, terms must be defined and distinctions made. The general principle is clear, as Cardinal Newman writes: From time immemorial, from the earliest ages, members of the Church have been forbidden  communicatio in sacris  [i.e. participation in religious rites] with those who were external to it. This prohibition is not intended as the expression of any judgment on this...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rome and SSPX - Version 2026 Part 2

By
 + JMJ Part 2 Detailed Synopsis and Timeline (ChatGPT) At this point, I took the shortcut of uploading all of my previous links and the latest SSPX and Rome links to ChatGPT. This way we’ll see how ChatGPT interprets the world as presented on the internet. P^3 Briefing Memo Subject: Rome–SSPX Relations and Planned Episcopal Consecrations (July 1, 2026) Prepared for: Ecclesial / Academic / Media Briefing Date: February 2026 Issue Overview The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has announced its intention to consecrate new bishops on July 1, 2026 , potentially without a papal mandate . The Holy See has acknowledged ongoing talks with the SSPX and stated its desire to avoid rupture, but has not granted approval nor outlined canonical consequences. The situation revives unresolved tensions dating to 1988 and raises questions about schism, authority, and doctrinal continuity. Background Founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the SSPX seeks to preserve pre-Vat...
Post a Comment
Read more

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

By
+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3
Post a Comment
Read more

Can Catholics Pray with Protestants??? Part 1

By
 + JMJ Can Catholics Pray with Protestants??? Part 1 Short answer is yes … but ... Introduction Like many Catholics, we have family members who have either lost the Faith or abandoned the Faith to join a protestant church. This brings up question of what can and can’t you do in your relations with them. The one that comes up is ‘praying’ with protestants, particularly at meals but perhaps other events. My goal today is the review the application of moral theology to this question and I have to admit that I used to believe that you can’t say grace with protestants, specifically my Sister, Brother-In-Law and nephews. Distinctions and the Truth are IMPORTANT! There is a difference between praying privately with protestants vs public prayer or worship. In the case of privately praying with protestants the litmus test is whether or not the prayers are heretical or if scandal is given. When acting as a Catholic, it is equally important that we act in accordance with the actua...
Post a Comment
Read more