Even though it has been over fifty years since the reform of the Church calendar, there is still some misunderstanding about the feasts the Church celebrates after Christmas.

Luke 2, 14: Gloria in altissimis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus voluntatis; Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. John 1, 14: Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis; And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Let your modesty be known to all men: for the Lord is nigh. Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing by prayer let your petitions be made known to God. Lord, Thou hast blessed Thy land; Thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.

During Advent I recommend that all of us read the first two chapters of the Gospel of St. Luke as a source for prayer and meditation. The key to opening the Sacred Scripture is to always keep in mind that what happened then is happening now.

Through it all we Catholics believed that Our Lady in her Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States, intervened on our behalf to bring us victory over the powers of darkness.