The Magnificat Advent Companion

[Katydid]

SUNDAY, December 4
Second Sunday of Advent
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 1:1-8
THE BEGINNING of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; / he will prepare your way./ A voice of one crying in the desert:/ "Prepare the way of the Lord,/ make straight his paths."

John the Baptist appeared in the deser proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside an dall the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leater belt around his waist.

He fed on locusts and wild honey.

And this is what he proclaimed: "One mighter than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Gospel of the Lord

[ALinChainz]

PARTY AT KATYS!

PORN AND DILDOS ALL AROUND!

MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THE GUESTBOOK!

[DrMaddVibe]

Nuttz!

[DrMaddVibe]

WWJD???

[rustoffa]

That fucking death metal rules!!!!

[Katydid]

I was down and ready to quit, but some things happened which gave me hope that maybe there was a light at the end of the long tunnel.

In a thread over in HitchWORLD a person named mcdixon smarted off at me. I said in an offhand way:

If you know a Timothy Dixon tell him I want my new $17. hoe back. When I went to TN I left it with him. He never worked in the flowers once in the 4 mo. I was gone, and he was a fake address in the computer.

A friend and I planted flowers in White Dove Chapel's two flower beds. Never expected much, they were full of crabgrass, bermuda grass and thorny weeds. White Dove feeds people free everyday. And gives groceries away every two weeks. Runs solely on donations. (It was a charity thing for us)

She never helped me once keep them clean of weeds, then he disappointed me too...

Anyway I told her I'd come and weed them. They were a mass of color and head high. (Some volunteer TommyToe Tomatoes came up too). And some that looked like marajuna, someone dug up and stole all them except two. They had 1 less leaf....They were a beautiful viney flower.

I got a piece of cardboard and a foot long 2x4 with a nail in the end from the trash and went to work.

As it turned out this past week when I went they had a card and money waiting for me. Said a lot of people were wondering who I was? And a stranger who walked in off the street and wanted to remain ANONYMOUS gave the pastor's wife the envelope with my name printed on it. And inside it said "For Flowers" and a generous donation. She ran over when I opened the card and money fell out, she acted so surprised and ...I was shocked.

Just want to say "Thank You."

I went out and pulled up all the dead flowers and shucked the seeds off and felt like a new person.

One other time something like that happened to me. I sing in Catholic Church Choir. I was telling about our Choir director, an old woman retiring and the whole choir quitting. I sang alone two Sundays with one member who played the old piano. We had a great organ and an old piano that wouldn't stay in tune. Like usual big mouth me was telling it all on a couple websites I belonged to.

The third Sunday a new Choir director was hired. He is from Armenia. He got his training at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. He knew the Monks who were killed in the insurgency when terrorists took it under seige during Arafat/ Sharon era. No one liked him because they couldn't understand his Armenian/English. And he played too rock and roll. He and I held hands and prayed and went out alone and sang. Suddenly people started coming from the audience, without choir robes and joining me. So that is how we got our new choir.

Then an anonymous donor bought us a new black Boston Grand piano that cost $45,000.

The UN invited us to come to Paris and sing in the World for Peace effort in Paris. Sang in various churches also. We were the only one in the USA invited. Were choirs from all over the world.

We got so many in choir, that we had to divide them up, got a Hispanic, Mong, Lahu, and we have a Teens choir with guitars, drums, horns and piano, a Contempory which I'm in. Kids choir, etc.

Had a Multicultural Concert, had a group of orphans from Rumania came. The Mong and Lahu dressed in their native costumes with the bangles all over and hats, etc.

CNN came and filmed it and played it on the top of the hour every year now.

This past year we were invited to competitions in Italy. Won third place internationally.

A huge church has invited us in a couple weeks to come there and do a concert. And as usual we will have our annual concert this week.

I couldn't afford to go both years to Paris and Italy. (I'm my sole support and barely getby) A skelton crew of us kept things going while they were gone.

He has since went back to Armenia and brought back a wife. They have a young son. His visa is running out, and we have been fundraising to help keep him here (a choir effort only). It will take about $25,000. for lawyers to keep him here. We have raised not nearly enough.

Anyway, why am I telling this in a website which hates me? Guess to let all of you know that you can't Keep a good Christian down.

GOD IS THE GREAT 'I AM' NOT THE 'GREAT I WAS.' (that's a religous song)

He is alive and well in Christians heart everywhere. Schools, businesses, government and all the rest may kick Christ out, but they will never kick him out of true Christians hearts.

[DrMaddVibe]

You're really a LOSER!

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by Katydid
I sing in Catholic Church Choir.

What's your fave hymn to sing? I personally love Ave Maria and would sing it, but alas, I am not well. You should pray for me Katy.

[Katydid]

UNTASTED COOKIES
Last Advent, while I was baking Christmas cookies with my children, I shared withthem some old world Advent traditions that I had read in a book baout Maria von Trapp (the real Maria, not the Julie Andrews version). When I told them that, in Maria's family, many cookies were baked during Advent, but none were consumed until Christmas, a small uproar ensued.

"How impossible, how unfair! The thought of baking cookies without tasting at least a few seemed cruel and unusual punishment, especially during the Christmas season. But it wasn't the Christmas season, I reminded my children. It was Advent.

As for children - indeed, for all of us - it is hard to remain in Advent while most of the rest of the world has been celebrating Christmas since the Halloween decoratons came down.

It helps during this time to reflect on the austere figure of John the Baptist. Scripture tells us that John was "clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist." He ate locusts and he avoided storng drink. John lived in anticipation of the coming of one greater than he.

His life shows us that it is worth it to wait for something. He points to Someone worth waiting for.

Lisa Lickona

Loving Father, fill all my expectation with your Presence and make my waiting an occasion of grace.

[Katydid]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
What's your fave hymn to sing? I personally love Ave Maria and would sing it, but alas, I am not well. You should pray for me Katy.

Hey Ally,
I'm sorry about saying how I felt the other night, but that's just me. I really don't know why I keep coming back and getting punished. I guess I figure that maybe if one person comes to know God as their personal saviour that all will not be lost.

Ava Maria is beautiful, and Christ does not like people scorning his mother. (He said that in his apparitons in Conyers, GA)

Sorry you are not well. I will pray for you; Please pray for me too.

And lms and her kids need our prayers too.

Dear God,
Please put your white light of protection around us. Please lead, guide, guard, direct and protect us now and always as the things of this world runs through our brains.

Please forgive us for the things we have done and the things we have failed to do.

Please help us to forgive, forget, and start over; because it is never too late.

God, thank you for the many blessings in our lives, and our family and friends lives.

Most of all thank you for creating us. Please help us to ask you to be our Father. And may Mother Mary be our mothers, and Jesus our redeemer. And the Heavenly hosts, angels and saints, please pray for us to God our Father.

Please heal our minds, bodies, hearts, and souls. And have mercy on us in all our ways.

Thank you for your unconditonal love.

These favors I ask in Jesus Name. Amen.

[Ally_Kat]

Mary's my girl. Deffy someone the Catholic girls should look up to

[ALinChainz]

Originally posted by Katydid
Hey Ally,
I'm sorry about saying how I felt the other night, but that's just me. I really don't know why I keep coming back and getting punished.

Please, you keep coming back because the negative attention you get here IS ALL YOU GET.

You love being a floor mat and punching bag.

A lying old hypocrite who wishes death on people in God's name and looks at porn and dildos, donates to the site and then threatens to have it shut down while stealing the rotharmy name in hopes of maybe someone will come to your sites.

They don't, your family kicks you out, so you come here.

Pretty fucking pathetic. A lying old hag who tried to get to adopt kids for the financial end of it.

Go to hell, you may as well get an early start.

By the way, typing out word for word out of a book is just like cutting and pasting, just the stupid , long way of doing it.

Hypocrite.

[Warham]

Such a lovely prayer session. I can feel the tears welling up.

[Katydid]

MONDAY DECEMBER 5
Monday of the Second Week of Advent

What We Need to Hear
The friends of the parlayzed man in today's Gospel went to great efforts to bring their friend to Jesus. When they were prevented by the crowd from approaching Jesus, they went up on the roof, removed the tiles, and let their friend down with ropes - no small task.

The first thing that Jesus said to the man was, "Your sins are forgiven." That probably wasn't what the man expected to hear, but Jesus knew that it was what he needed to hear.

God knows that sin can be even more paralyzing to a person's spirit than a physical injury can be to the body.

Advent is a good time to come to Jesus in the confessional and hear the words "your sins are forgiven." It is even better if we can bring our friends. The friends of the parlayzed man went to great efforts to bring him to Jesus, and they were greatley rewarded for their efforts.

Not only did they see their friend healed, their deed will be remembered throughout history.

They did not consider what other people thought of them.
They were not deterred by the crush of the crowd.
They were not afraid to remove obstacles.

Shouldn't we imitate their example?

Do we have friends who need to be healed and who cannot come to Jesus by themselves - who need a friend to bring them.

Reflections based on Luke 5: 17-26
Dale O'Leary


Loving Father, help me to become a true friend to others thorugh the forgiveness I received through your Son.

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by Warham
Such a lovely prayer session. I can feel the tears welling up.

wait til my meds kick in