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'I have often thought of, and meditated on, the holy eagerness of the patriarchs who so sighed for the coming of the Messiah; and I felt confused, and was, moreover, so penetrated with grief, that I could scarcely refrain from weeping, so much was I ashamed to see the tepidity and indifference of these unhappy days.

For who amongst us is filled with so much joy in the fulfillment of this mystery, as did the saints of the Old Testament, at the promises which so called forth their longing desires?

Many, it is true, may rejoice at the celebration of this feast; but I am much afraid that it is less on account of the feast, than through vanity.'

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

'Come, Thou, bread of angels and satisfy the cravings of my soul; come, Thou, glowing furnace of charity, and inflame my soul with the fires of divine love; come, Shepherd divine, and guide me; come, Eternal father, my hope, my life, my joy, and source of all my happiness; come, Thou dearest object of all my aspirations; come, Thou comforter of the sorrowful, light supernal of the soul; come, Thou, who art the solace and refreshment fo the weary; come to me, O Thou, for whom the nations prayed, and for whom the patriarchs sighed! come to me, O Thou, the desired of ages, joy of angels, glory of the heavens, supreme delight of the saints! come to me, for I yearn for Thee; come to me, for Thou hast transpierced me with the arrows of Thy love; come, delay not, for my heart waxes faint, and I feel that I cannot exist without Thee; come, O Jesus, I beseech Thee, come.'

St. Leonard of Port Maurice

The twofold coming of Christ

We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.

  In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the future.

  At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming he will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels.

  We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first coming we said: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. At the second we shall say it again; we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

  The Saviour will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom he was judged. At his own judgement he was silent; then he will address those who committed the outrages against him when they crucified him and will remind them: You did these things, and I was silent.

  His first coming was to fulfil his plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of his kingdom by necessity.

  The prophet Malachi speaks of the two comings. And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple: that is one coming.

  Again he says of another coming: Look, the Lord almighty will come, and who will endure the day of his entry, or who will stand in his sight? Because he comes like a refiner’s fire, a fuller’s herb, and he will sit refining and cleansing.

  These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus: The grace of God the Saviour has appeared to all men, instructing us to put aside impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly, and religiously in this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Notice how he speaks of a first coming for which he gives thanks, and a second, the one we still await.

  That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these words: He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

  Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For there will be an end to this world, and the created world will be made new.

St Cyril of Jerusalem

Excellent !

If I may, I'd like to add this one from St Alphonsus

"If we would please this Divine Infant, we too must become children, simple and humble; we must carry to Him flowers of virtue, of meekness, of mortification, of charity; we must clasp him in the arms of our love."

Amen! It reminds me of his Christmas carol.

Deo gratias for St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori.

The whole earth waiting, groaning, in anticipation..

How long, how long the wait..

And imagine. . being born in a time, before Christ!

I can only shake my head..

'After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother. Notice what Andrew said to him: We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ. Notice how his words reveal what he has learned in so short a time. They show the power of the master who has convinced them of this truth. They reveal the zeal and concern of men preoccupied with this question from the very beginning. Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to his appearing from heaven, rejoicing when he does appear, and hastening to announce so great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, of loving kinship and sincere affection.'

St. John Chrysostom

Happy Advent!

This has never crossed my mind before and now that it has I can only thank God for how truly blerssed we all are.
I can't even begin to imagine life without Christmas and the Divine Child with Mary and Joseph.
For this alone we should be constantly on our knees in thanksgiving that we were born in AD.

How truly blessed we are.  :harp: :angelbell: :violin: :principalities:

Remembering some past quotations for this coming Advent.  :D

Here again some quotes for Advent I would like to remind folks of. :D

Beautiful!  Thanks!

The following are from St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier's work for her daughters on Saints' Books (http://saintsbooks.net).

On Advent

ADVENT, my dear daughters, is a time of recollection, of salvation; it is a season of grace of which we must profit. From December 17 the anthems of the Office begin with, "O" to express adoration and love. Such were the sentiments in which our Blessed Lady passed the days preceding the birth of Our Lord. How ardently must she have desired to see this little Child Who was Himself the author of her days. She was in continual contemplation.

Jesus is born again in our hearts; let us adore Him as Mary did. I always look forward to this holy season and see it pass with regret. It suggests so many holy thoughts which nourish our souls; we may unite with the Patriarchs and Prophets in asking for the coming of the Messiah, that is to say, His coming into our souls. Let us listen to David praying for his coming one thousand years before His birth, and speaking to Him as if his eyes already rested on Him, and Isaiah, who seven hundred years previously, said of Him: He shall eat butter and honey, and from His mouth shall flow sweetness and goodness. Elsewhere it is said of the Messiah: Neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. Religious should follow His example in everything. Never should we speak loud in the novitiate nor in the regular places.

During this holy time, my dear daughters, we ought to meditate continually on the self-abasement of our God, we ought to excite in ourselves the same ardent desire for Holy Communion, that the Patriarchs felt for the coming of the Messiah, preparing ourselves for it by frequent and ardent ejaculations. In your different employments, and in the midst of all your labours you may occupy your minds with these thoughts. Those who are employed in washing the linen may longingly sigh after Our Lord, uniting the suffering they have to bear from the cold with that which He endured in the manger, where He had neither roof nor covering. I am sure, my poor children, that those amongst you who were washing the whole of yesterday in this bitter cold must have suffered much; but I am quite sure also that such a day, offered to God, will have been most meritorious, and I feel very certain that all our sisters who work so hard will escape a long purgatory if they are careful to do all with the intention of pleasing God.

Now is the time to choose with whom we will visit the stable of Bethlehem. You can select whom you will; some will ask the Shepherds to be their companions, others the Magi; for my part I confess that I always seek the company of the Shepherds; I dare not aspire higher. I dearly love those poor Shepherds who, immediately they were called, threw down their crooks and hastened to Jesus. They did not say, "Who will take care of our flocks? The wolves will devour them, besides we know not where we have to go." This is how you ought to act, my dear children, that you may find God Who calls you by the voice of your Superiors. We must obey without hesitation or delay. Ah! I much prefer little shepherdesses to queens who are not obedient.

MAXIM

You ought to make humility and poverty your chief study. These virtues belong particularly to the God of the Manger and the Cross.

Thanks for sharing this, Shin.  I pray for humility and love of holy poverty like Jesus and Mary had.

You're welcome!! :D

From St. Anthony of Padua's Sermons:

The rich and poor have met together: the Lord is the maker of them both. [Prov 22.2]

The poor man (human nature) and the rich (divine nature) are joined in Christ, that the poor man, bound by punishment and guilt, might be set free. Proverbs says of the riches of this rich man:

Length of days is in his right hand: and in his left hand riches and glory.
His ways are beautiful ways: and all his paths are peaceable. [Prov 3.16-17]

The right hand is that which gives, the left is that which lets go. The left and right hands of Jesus Christ are his two Advents. The first is denoted by the left hand, the second by the right. In the first, Christ had the riches of poverty and humility, which he displayed in our market-places for us to buy, for without them we cannot be rich. He displayed also the glory which is joy in tribulation and patience in persecution. The Apostles came to these markets, and there were enriched with wonderful merchandise, as they went forth from the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus. [Ac 5.41]

There is a concordance to this in Proverbs:

It is nought, it is nought, saith every buyer:
and when he is gone away then he will boast. [Prov 20.14]

If you mean to go to the market of tribulation, where true riches are sold, first see if you have in your heart’s purse the coin of patience and joy, to buy there. If not, I advise you not to go: you will come back empty-handed. If you are confident about the price, go and buy. You will not care if these riches are hard to get, if it is bitter to drink from the cup of tribulation. When you come back you will rejoice, because you will pass from the left hand to the right, wherein is length of days. It is said:

I will fill him with length of days. [Ps 90.16]
There follows: His ways are beautiful ways, etc.

Thanks, Shin, for the meditation.

I love this one.

Welcome to the forums Motto! Really glad you loved the quote!  :D

Hope you see you often!

I'm so thankful for landing on this forum. Thanks for the great share folks.

Welcome to the forums! I hope you have splendid time here!  :cheers:  :D

There's a lot of food for inspiration and meditation. Also there's a stop by for coffee thread where it can be great to talk about daily life and gardening.

This is very truly a great thread.  What a pleasure and inspiration to go back and reread.  Many thanks to all.  May I add, from this morning's prayer: Your light will come, Jerusalem; the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty, you will see His glory within you.

And many thanks for the encouraging words my friend.  :D

I don't feel deserving to bring this wonderful thread forward again, but I love it and no one objected last year.  May all readers and members have a blessed Advent.
When you consider the quotation about St Andrew, consider also if you will a small, beautiful stone church near the foot of the arch in St Louis, near the river, which houses a statue of St Andrew, terrible but powerfully impactful, depicting his torment and death by Persians.  Some call this a legend, even a myth, because they say it is not adequately documented in history, but I say it is a living testament to enormous Faith and courage.