How might we best enter into this season of grace, especially the first half, which is something like an extended examination of conscience, before we start to focus on preparing for the celebration of Jesus’ triumphal Passion, Death and Resurrection?

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

Jesus’ prayer for the unity of all those who believe in Him is one that I fear many of us — myself very much included — do not usually take anywhere seriously enough. In His farewell discourses in John, the Lord’s motive for this unity is twofold: that the world will believe the Father sent Him and that the world may know that God loves them even as He does His Son (cf. John 17:11-23).

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

...the peace God and God alone can give and does give is able to calm our hearts and minds even when things all around us are on fire, whether literally or figuratively. The peace of Jesus can reign in us regardless of whether or not the circumstances of life or up or down.

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

As we turn the calendar and continue to read and watch stories of ongoing violence, wars, and division, let us call upon the intercession of Peter and Paul, and invoke the power of the Holy Spirit to fall upon us, that we may somehow further and advance the peace that only God can give and bring to the creature made in His image and likeness whom He so loves.

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

As we enter into this new year, mindful of the division, resentment, anger, enmity and more that are tearing apart the human race, let us call upon the intercession of St. Stephen and his friend and brother, St. Paul. May their powerful prayers help us to see one another as we should, as brothers and sisters.

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

Emmanuel doesn’t merely mean “God is with us,” as in “God is in our midst.” It means, “God is on our side.” He has come for us. Because for some unimaginable and unexplainable reason, the Creator of all that is is passionately in love with us! May the Holy Spirit overwhelm us anew in these holy days we are about to enter.

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

In these introductory verses to the Church in Rome, Paul tells us that the good news of King Jesus’ victory over the powers of Death and Sin had been promised previously through the prophets. There are scores of prophecies about what and how God is going to defeat these cosmic powers, but none of them just come out and say “God is going to become a man and rescue His creation.” We might be inclined to wonder why the prophecies are often so mysterious and confusing?

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

Generally speaking, the Latin word adventus means coming, or arrival. But there’s much more behind this word than meets the eye. You wouldn’t use it to describe, say, grandma coming for Thanksgiving (no offense to grandmas!). Adventus was an empire word. It had to do with a very specific ceremony in the Roman Empire.

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

Advent is a time to prepare ourselves to celebrate the single most important event in the history of the universe: God becoming man to rescue His good creation from cosmic powers we could never defeat on our own and thus reconcile us to Himself and one another. It’s also a time to prepare ourselves for the very real day when this God-man will return as triumphant King to definitively make all things new.

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo

This week, as we celebrate with family and friends – and remember and miss greatly those family and friends who once sat with us and are now waiting for us on the other side of the veil – it would seem that burying ourselves in various psalms of thanksgiving would be a most appropriate thing to do.

=======

Click To Learn More About ACTS XXIX

Support Thoughts from the Trailer with Fr. John Riccardo