WELCOMING JESUS WITH THE JOYFUL

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ANTIPHONS

Since the eighth century A.D., the O Antiphons have been said or sung after the Magnificat during Advent vespers in the seven days before Christmas. Each O Antiphon calls Jesus a different name inspired by Old Testament prophetic writings.

Each evening for seven nights, read the O Antiphons and re-flect on the questions below, either in prayerful solitude or with your family at the dinner table or during prayer time.

T he week before Christmas is bustling and

bursting with to-do lists. Last-minute

shopping, cookie baking, cleaning and

decorating help prepare our homes to welcome

family and friends. This year, let us also set aside

time to prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus with

the O Antiphons.

ADVENT

VERONICA SZCZYGIEL

is the assistant director of online learning at Fordham University’s

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December 17: O Wisdom … come to teach us the path of knowledge!Wisdom is understanding. How have I gained clarity this year? What do I still need to understand?

December 18: O Leader … come to rescue us with your mighty power!God leads us to redemption. Where is God leading me? How can I lead others to Christ?

December 19: O Root of Jesse’s stem … come to save us without delay!Roots are a tree’s foundation. How is God the foundation of my life? How can I make his roots stronger in me?

December 20: O Key of David … come and free the prisoners of darkness!Keys open doors. What doors has God opened for me? How can I open doors for others?

December 21: O Radiant Dawn … come and shine on those who dwell in darkness.Sunrises are full of promise. What is my hope for the upcoming year?

December 22: O King of all nations … come and save man!God is King of all nations, not just some. Where there is discord in my life, how can I promote unity and peace?

December 23: O Emmanuel … come to save us, Lord our God!Emmanuel means “God is with us.” Where is God working in my life? In what ways has the Lord saved me?

The O Antiphons encourage us to prepare patiently for a blessed, holy Christmas, because the best things are always worth the wait.

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Christollen Christollen CULTURE

MICHELLE DIFRANCO is a designer and the busy mom of three children.

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Sweetbread in honor of the Baby Jesus

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Christollen Christollen Among the many delicacies sold there, Stollen, or

Christollen is the most popular and goes back centu-ries to the market’s beginnings. The Christollen is a traditional sweetbread filled with raisins, nuts, candied fruits and spices, to name a few. The folded dough and oval shape of the cake-like bread, topped off with white icing or powdered sugar, symbolizes the swaddled Christ Child.

As we approach this season in which we celebrate God sending his only Son as the ultimate gift of his love, let us give thanks. Jesus, the fulfillment of God’s promise and the Light of the World, comes to us at a time when the days are short and the nights are long. He brings the light of God’s love into our world.

“Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!” (Ps 96:11)

Dresden, Germany, is, without a doubt, one of the most festive places to be

during the Christmas season. That is because it’s home to Striezelmarkt, one of the first Christmas markets, dating back to the early 1400s. Since then, hundreds of large and small markets have popped up to cover a “Christmas Mile” in the old city.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANE FOLKERTSMA

No yeast stollen 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour½ cup granulated sugar1 ½ teaspoons baking powder½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon cinnamon¼ teaspoon nutmegPinch of ground cardamom 1 stick unsalted butter (cold)1 cup ricotta cheese1 large egg1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract1 teaspoon lemon zest½ cup slivered almonds ½ cup golden raisins½ cup chopped dried or candied fruit

of choice Melted butter and confectioners’ sugar

(for topping)

Preheat oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large mix-ing bowl. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture to form fine crumbs. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, vanilla extract, lemon zest, raisins, dried fruit and almonds. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a light-ly floured surface and knead it until smooth. Roll dough into an oval shape (about 8x10 inches). Fold dough over (longways) until one inch from the edge. Press edge to seal and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown (and an inserted toothpick comes out clean). Transfer to a cool-ing rack. Brush with melted butter and generously sprinkle with confection-ers' sugar. Stollen will keep well for up to two weeks stored in an airtight container.

There are many variations of this sweet treat, and the good news is that you can quickly and

easily make your own this Christmas season!

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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom 15:13)

Advent is upon us. It is a time of waiting, anticipating, remember-ing and hoping. These reflections can be painful when we have lost someone close and are consumed with sorrow. Our churches prepare with joyful anticipation and yet, for some, sadness is very present. Scripture comforts us as we ask, How do we turn our ‘mourning into dancing’? (Ps 30:11-12)

Cultivate gratefulness. Bring the positive into focus. When my brother died of COVID-19, we were unable to be with him in his hospital intensive care unit or with his family who were at home and in quarantine. Instead, we re-mained grateful that his wife was allowed a visit and his priest could be present to pray and anoint him. We thanked God his parents had gone before him, as his sudden death would have been devastat-ing for them. Look closely to see God’s hand.

Start a new tradition (or change one). Many bereaved families who are anticipating – and sometimes dreading – holiday times have noted the challenge of most family traditions. One bereaved mother wrapped gifts for her son as she always had done and then enjoyed them around the tree until two days prior to Christmas when she took them to charity. Holding on and letting go are part of a healthy grief process.

Provide mutual help. Find solace in Matthew 5:4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Then, try to help another in a similar situation. (2

Cor1:3-4) Many years ago, and just a few months after we lost a child by miscarriage, our parish priest asked

me to visit another mother who lost her newborn son. Although I was hesitant, Father Nick persisted and remained hopeful we would bring comfort to each other and we did. Neither one of us wanted empty arms that Christmas, but God showed us that we were not alone in our suffering.

Hold onto hope. Eternal life with God gives us hope, therefore, let us not grieve those we lose without the hope God intends. “We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, to make sure that you do not grieve for them as others do, who have no hope.” (1 Thes 4:13) 

For those of us entering into Advent with heavy hearts, may we practice gratefulness, reach out to others who may be experiencing loss and hold onto God’s word with the hope of eternal life.  

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DR. LAUREL HILLIKER is a sociologist and the founder of Bearing Loss, Grief Education and Consulting, LLC. She teaches for the

University of Michigan-Flint in the Department of Public Health and Health Sciences

Approaching the holidays: Can Joy be present with Sorrow?

SPIRITUAL FITNESS

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T he sacred Scriptures teach us a great deal about the way God oper-ates in the world. Chief among these seems to be surprise. Scripture

teaches us to expect the unexpected when it comes to experiencing God. Norms and predictability are simply not applicable as God repeatedly shatters the limits of the narrow expectations of humanity.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ at Christmas provides a particularly spectacular case in point. There can be no greater illustration of the sur-prising and unexpected ways of God than that the Second Person of the Trinity became man and entered into our humanity. Again, God’s ways are not our ways. The story of our Lord’s Nativity presents a valuable lesson to us on the most appropriate response to such stunning inter-ventions by God.

THEOLOGY 101

DOUG CULP is the CAO and secretary for pastoral

life for the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. He holds an MA in

theology from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

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ZECHARIAH AND THE MAGI

Education at its best opens new worlds to us. If nurtured properly, learning can become a way of life as each new nugget of knowledge teaches us how much more there is left to be mastered. Of course, there is a shadow side as well. As St. Paul reminds us, knowledge can “puff up.” (1 Cor 8:1) Whenever we begin to think we know it all, the learning obviously stops and we begin the reverse process of closing in on ourselves. This is especially the case when it comes to the ways of God. God so utterly transcends our ability to understand that to think we know God is the great-est of self-deceptions. A seminary professor once said it best: “If you think you’ve got it, drop it, because it isn’t God.”

Consider Zechariah, a priest of Israel. The angel Gabriel appeared in the sanctuary of the Lord to Zechariah to announce the good news that his wife, Elizabeth, would conceive and bear a son. This son, of course, was destined to become John the Baptist. Zechari-ah’s first reaction was to question the veracity of the message as both he and Elizabeth were old and Eliz-abeth was barren. He simply could not bring himself to believe Gabriel because the angel’s message seemed to contradict what he knew to be P

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A Christmas Lesson – The unexpected ways of God

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the facts about reality. Perhaps, because he was a priest,

his disbelief and lack of trust in the truthfulness of God was all the more troubling to Gabriel who promptly announced that Zechariah’s speech would be taken from him until God’s plan came to fruition. The symbolism of this “punishment” is rather poetic. As long as the priest could not believe in God doing the impossible, he would not be allowed to speak about God to others.

Contrast this reaction with that of those other learned men, the Magi. The Magi were from a priestly caste in Persia renowned for astrology. They intently watched and studied the celestial firma-ment. They used their knowledge to interpret the meaning of the now-famous star of Bethlehem and, then, used it to search out the newborn King who slumbered be-low it. Imagine their surprise when they were led to a cave to behold a child surrounded by shepherds and animals. Rather than turning away and re-checking their coordinates, they immediately paid homage and presented gifts to this tiny King in the most unlikely of royal places. In other words, they did not allow their learning to close them to the wonder and mystery of God.

HEROD AND THE SHEPHERDS

When King Herod heard of the approaching birth of the King of the Jews, he immediately perceived a threat to his own standing. He was so concerned with himself that there was no room in his heart for the breaking in of the Divine Light. His reaction was not a question

of belief. On the contrary, it was precisely because he believed that he responded violently to the news. Rather than embrace what this event could mean for the people of Israel, Herod sought to contain the news and to destroy the child even when it meant ordering the massa-cre of all the boys under two years old in Bethlehem and its vicinity.

Meanwhile, the shepherds in the field responded to the angel’s unex-pected and startling announcement that “a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord” (Lk 2:11)

by hastily traveling to Jesus’ birth-place. Interestingly, upon seeing the child of whom the angel spoke, the shepherds “made known the message” they had been told to the amazement of all who heard. (2:17)

Not only did they believe the angel, but they joyously sought to share with the world the Good News they had received.

MARY AND JOSEPH

When Joseph found out his betrothed was with child, his first thought was of protecting Mary from shame. After the angel of the Lord appeared to him and spoke to him of the destiny of Mary’s child, Joseph responded obediently, taking “his wife into his home” and caring for both mother and child. (Mt 1:24)

Finally, Mary was also visited by Gabriel six months after Elizabeth, her cousin, had conceived John the Baptist. When Gabriel told her she, too, would conceive a child who would be called “Son of the Most High,” she, like Zechariah before her, questioned how this could be. (Lk 1:32) However, one gets the sense that it was with a great

deal more humility and innocence than with Zechariah’s questioning. When the angel explained to her how God would accomplish the miracle, Mary uttered the famous words, “Behold, I am the hand-maid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk

1:38) Mary’s faithful surrender to and complete trust in God literally changed the course of history.

AND FINALLY . . .

Each one of us must discover within our own hearts the truth of how we would and do react to the mysterious ways of God. The reactions of those closest to the Incarnation on that Christmas Day so long ago illustrate that while the way of faith, obedience and humil-ity leads to life, the way of disobe-dience, selfishness and arrogance leads only to death. The choice was theirs as the choice is ours.

Why does the priest wear purple vestments during Advent?

Purple vestments are worn during the seasons of Advent and Lent to signify preparation and penance.

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