The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-11-28
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not said or sung. The solemn cele-
bration of marriage Chat is, with
Mass and Nuptial Blessing), is pro
hibited, from the beginning of Ad-
vent to the feast of the Epiphany in
cIusively. In the Advent Masses, the
Church uses purple vestments, the
color of which always symbolizes PEN
/ ance. Flowers are not placed on
the altar of the church, except on
the third Sunday of Advent, on which,
as it were, a slight CLEAN of joy is
permitted to shine through the gloom
of this penitential season. This day
is known as "Gaudete. Sunday" from
the opening words of the Introit as
of the Mass: ''Gaudete in Domino
."-"Rejoice in the Lord;
again, say, rejoice! Let your mod
esty be known unto all men; for the
] Lord is near"
The whole liturgy, in the Office as
well as in the Mass, is arranged to
] manifest the prevailing spirit of PEN
ance mingled with hope. And there
is marvellous beauty in the lam
guage which the Church uses during
this season in both parts of her sery-
ice. The Breviary is filled with eX-
pressions of longing and Of alteration
for "the Lord, the King that is to
come" The lessons read in Mathis
are taken from the book of the great
prophet of the Incarnation, Isaias,
who tells of the Man of Sorrows, sui
| fering for the sins of His people
who describes accurately the passion
and death of the coming Redeemer,
and foretells His final glory. They
remind us of the desire and expecta-
ton of the whole world that he prom
| Used Messias would come and save
mankind. They urge us, as they
urged the Jews of old to watchful-
ness, contrition and hope. In the
hymns of the Office, the Church ex-
presses her praise for the coming
Christ, and prays that He may en-
| tighten the world and prepare it for
His second coming. On the last
seven days before the vigil of Christ
mas series of sublime anthems is
used, in which the Church calls upon
the Divine Wisdom to teach us the
way of prudence; on the Key of David
to liberate us from bondage; on the
Rising Sun to illumine those who sit
in darkness, etc.
The Advent Masses.
The various parts of the Mass are
also appropriately chosen to express
the spirit of our holy Church during
the Advent season. The Epistles eX-
hort the faithful to "put off the works
of darkness and put on the armor of
light, because the Redeemer is near"
The Gospels speak of the Saviour COM
ing to glory, and describe the minis
try of st. John the Baptist, who pre-
pared the way of the Lord and made
straight His paths & A,s as.
Thus does the Church's liturgy take
us back, in spirit to the days when
the Messias had not yet come; and it
shows us that the same spirit of prep
aration of hope and prayer and PEN
ance, is as necessary now as it was
then; if we are to profit by the In
carnation of our Blessed Lord. We
are exhorted to prepare ourselves for
His coming into our hearts by His
grace, and for that other coming also,
when He shall appear again among
men-not obscure, helpless and lowly,
as at His birth in Bethlehem, but
coming in the clouds of heaven with
great power and majesty He,
shall come not as Saviour, but as a
Judge.
Such is the meaning and the teach
ing of the holy season of Advent;
such are the dispositions which it is
intended to excite in our hearts. And,
we'll has Gods holy Church manifest
ed her wisdom by giving up these
weeks of preparation for the feast of
Christmas, that when that great day
dawns we may comprehend more
clearly what God has done for us,
and what we should do for Him in
return for His mercy and love.