Universal Children Day ~ 20 November

This day was established by the United Nations (UN) in 1954 to encourage understanding between children and promote children's welfare around the world. It is held on 20 November annually and UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, promotes and coordinates this special day, which also works towards improving children's welfare. On the same day in 1959 the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and in 1989 signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Loving God 

You have called us to work for true justice in our communities 

and to be messengers of freedom 

for all who are not treated as your children. 

Give us grace to put our faith into action 

to end the violence and cruelty that overshadows many children�s lives. 

Jesus taught us to welcome children and learn from them. 

May we use our imagination to put ourselves in children�s shoes 

and learn to teach and guide them with wisdom, 

gentleness and understanding. 

Let us treat each child as we would treat the Christ child. 

Amen

Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle ~ 2013

Andrew, son of Zebedee and the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the first called by Jesus to follow him as his disciple. St. Andrew was known for starting the Eastern Catholic Churches. Andrew is patron of Russia.

Andrew in tradition is believed to have died by crucifixion at Patras, Achaia in southern Greece where he was bound, not nailed, to an X-shaped cross, which came to be known as the Cross of St Andrew. It was done at his own request as he felt not worthy to be crucified on a cross like Jesus.

Novena to St. Andrew

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

(It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30 November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.)

Saturday, 30 November, 2013
St. Andrew, Apostle (Feast)

Reading

Romans 10: 9 - 18
9	because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10	For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.
11	The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame."
12	For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him.
13	For, "every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
14	But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?
15	And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!"
16	But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?"
17	So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.
18	But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."

Psalm

Psalms 19: 8 - 11
8	the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9	the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
10	More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11	Moreover by them is thy servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Gospel

Matthew 4: 18 - 22
18	As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19	And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
20	Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21	And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zeb'edee and John his brother, in the boat with Zeb'edee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
22	Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

St. Leonard of Port Maurice, OFM, Priest (Memorial)

20 December 1676 ~ 26 November 1751

Beatified on 19 June 1796 by Pope Pius VI

Canonized on 29 June 1867 by Pope Pius IX

Leonard was born in Port Maurice on the north-western coast of Italy and named Paul Jerome Casanuova. In 1697, he joined the Friars Minor and on 2 October 1697, he received the habit with the name of Brother Leonard. Leonard, was devoted and widely promoted the devotion of the Stations of the Cross. St. Leonard preached the Way of the Cross at missions for forty-three years and reportedly set up stations in 571 locations throughout Italy, including the Colosseum in Rome. The Franciscan Order celebrates his feast on 26 November.

Tuesday, 26 November, 2013
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, OFM, Priest (Memorial)

Reading

Daniel 2: 31 - 45
31	"In your vision, O king, you saw a statue, very large and exceedingly bright, terrifying in appearance as it stood before you.
32	The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs bronze,
33	the legs iron, its feet partly iron and partly tile.
34	While you looked at the statue, a stone which was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it, struck its iron and tile feet, breaking them in pieces.
35	The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once, fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer, and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36	"This was the dream; the interpretation we shall also give in the king's presence.
37	You, O king, are the king of kings; to you the God of heaven has given dominion and strength, power and glory;
38	men, wild beasts, and birds of the air, wherever they may dwell, he has handed over to you, making you ruler over them all; you are the head of gold.
39	Another kingdom shall take your place, inferior to yours, then a third kingdom, of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth.
40	There shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; it shall break in pieces and subdue all these others, just as iron breaks in pieces and crushes everything else.
41	The feet and toes you saw, partly of potter's tile and partly of iron, mean that it shall be a divided kingdom, but yet have some of the hardness of iron. As you saw the iron mixed with clay tile,
42	and the toes partly iron and partly tile, the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
43	The iron mixed with clay tile means that they shall seal their alliances by intermarriage, but they shall not stay united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44	In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever.
45	That is the meaning of the stone you saw hewn from the mountain without a hand being put to it, which broke in pieces the tile, iron, bronze, silver, and gold. The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future; this is exactly what you dreamed, and its meaning is sure."

Psalm

Daniel 3: 57 - 61
57	Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
58	Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
59	You heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
60	All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
61	All you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

Gospel

Luke 21: 5 - 11
5	And as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said,
6	"As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."
7	And they asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign when this is about to take place?"
8	And he said, "Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, `I am he!' and, `The time is at hand!' Do not go after them.
9	And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once."
10	Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
11	there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

The Three Advent

1. The advent which has already happened in historical time and space and which we now commemorate each Christmas, the one in which Christ entered the world through the womb of Mary to "seek and to save that which was lost".

2. The advent known as the "time of visitation" by which Christ is now present and active in each of our lives. Daily he is at work in us through grace to transform us into his image and likeness and to bring us salvation and healing from the sin, difficulties, sicknesses, and human frailties of our everyday lives.

3. The advent in which Christ will come to judge the living and the dead, and to take us to himself at end of times.

Bernard of Clairvaux

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

and in his word I put my hope. (Psalm 130:5)

Lord, let your Light shine upon us and fill our hearts with Joy ~ Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call to you,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
3 Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

4 Tremble and do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the Lord.

6 Many, Lord, are asking, �Who will bring us prosperity?�
Let the light of your face shine on us.
7 Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.

8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.