Day 4

The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo

Busy Catholic’s Online Advent Retreat

A Season of Praise

Day Four – Thursday, December 8

Praise God for Perfection

Today’s Reading

Brothers and sisters: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
…[H]e chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

(Ephesians 1)

Fr. Knight’s Reflection

   Can you believe you will get to heaven with an A+, that you will be as free of sin as if you had never sinned at all, from birth to death?

   The significance of Mary’s “immaculate conception” is that everyone reborn “in Christ” will have an “immaculate conclusion.” All our sins will not only be pardoned but “taken away”—erased from the record, as if they had never happened (see John 1:29).

   We need to praise God for our “immaculate conception” in order to appreciate Mary’s.

   Mary’s immaculate conception is more a promise than an exception. The Prefaces for the Immaculate Conception and Assumption call Mary “the beginning and image of your Church’s coming to perfection” as the bride of Christ and “our model of holiness” (see Ephesians 1:4 and 5:27). Everyone in heaven, without exception, is there with an A+.

   If we praise God for this often enough, we will begin to appreciate what it means. What we praise we appreciate.

   Then we will not settle for anything less than perfection. We will live to grow. Mary’s immaculate conception will be the pattern, the image, and the promise that inspires our life. We will try to be saints because we will have hope.

   But the first step is to praise.

Copyright by David Knight.  Used by permission of Twenty-Third Publications.

For Your Reflection or Discussion

Do you know loved ones who have died who have experienced the “immaculate conclusion”?  What prevents you from believing that this is your destiny too?

Daily Practice

Be aware that you are called to be perfect, which Jesus calls “whole.” Focus on one thing that prevents you from being more whole.

Advent Prayer

Father, all powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When he humbled himself to come among us,
he fulfilled the plan you formed long ago 

and opened for us the way to salvation.

Now we watch for the day,

when Christ will come again in his glory.

And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven

we proclaim your glory
and join in their unending hymn of praise.

Day 3

The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo

Busy Catholic’s Online Advent Retreat

A Season of Praise

Day Three – Wednesday, December 7

Praise God for Hope

ISAIAH 40:25–31; MATTHEW 11:28–30

Today’s Reading

To whom can you liken me as an equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things….

Why, O Jacob, do you say, “My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth.

(Isaiah 40)

Fr. Knight’s Reflection

   Don’t we frequently echo Isaiah’s complaint that “my way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? We don’t see God doing what we think he should, and we presume to sit in judgment on him.

   God answers by calling us to look at his mystery and history: “Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things… ‘Who is my equal?’ says the Holy One.”

   We need to look constantly at the mystery of God’s power and love made evident in his history with humans; we need to praise God for what he is instead of judging God for what he does. If we praise him we will appreciate him.

   Praise is the antidote for those “blinded by pain.” If we form the habit of praising God, we will have hope. And those who “hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”

   Those who have hope are able to endure. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Those who have hope can relax even under stress. Praise God for hope.

   “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains…My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1–2).

Copyright by David Knight.  Used by permission of Twenty-Third Publications.

For Your Reflection or Discussion

When have you been tempted to judge God instead of praising him?  Have you experienced how praise leads to hope?

Daily Practice

When your load is heavy, praise God for the part he is carrying.

Advent Prayer

Father, all powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When he humbled himself to come among us,
he fulfilled the plan you formed long ago 

and opened for us the way to salvation.

Now we watch for the day,

when Christ will come again in his glory.

And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven

we proclaim your glory
and join in their unending hymn of praise.

 

Day 2

The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo

Busy Catholic’s Online Advent Retreat

A Season of Praise

Day Two – Tuesday, December 6

Praise is Proclamation

Today’s Reading

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name; announce his salvation, day after day….

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what fills it resound….
He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy.

(Psalm 96)


Fr. Knight’s Reflection

  How do you experience Mass? As celebration? As immersion in awareness of a communal joy? The whole assembly should feel the Good News penetrating every pore in their bodies. We will, if we are saturated in praise.

  Everyone who has encountered Jesus Christ is charged to evangelize through praise: “Sing…bless…announce…cry out!”

  Everyone consecrated by baptism to be prophet, priest, and steward of Christ’s kingship is committed to “announce his salvation” with overwhelming enthusiasm—and to do it, first of all, at Mass.

  Every person in the pews is a “celebrant” at Mass. The priest at the altar “presides” over their celebration.

  Isaiah says, “Say” what you know! We experience truth in expressing it. We share truth in proclaiming it. “Speak,” Isaiah says. Proclaim; fear not to cry out; announce his salvation; tell…his wondrous deeds.

  Praise unleashes joy. What we praise we appreciate. What we appreciate we celebrate. What we celebrate we proclaim. Celebration is evangelization. It makes the Good News present in praise.

  Jesus said: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not…go in search of the stray?” If we make Mass an authentic celebration, we won’t have to search; the strays will come to us.

Copyright by David Knight. Used by permission of Twenty-Third Publications.

For Your Reflection or Discussion

What’s the most important thing you have celebrated or proclaimed in the past year? … since you graduated from high school?


Daily Practice

Be aware at Mass. Celebrate what you hear.


Advent Prayer

Father, all powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When he humbled himself to come among us,
he fulfilled the plan you formed long ago

and opened for us the way to salvation.

Now we watch for the day,

when Christ will come again in his glory.

And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven

we proclaim your glory
and join in their unending hymn of praise.