R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

Ask God to teach you how to pray better. See in the Gospel today Mary the Blessed Mother journeys to visit her cousin Elizabeth. She is carrying in her womb Jesus, her Son, Savior of the World. She found this out through the message of an Angel while meditating in prayer. And her cousin Elizabeth, whom Mary visits, is also with child. She is in her sixth month. Elizabeth also was meditating in prayer, not only about Mary but also about herself, about these wonderous events taking place. Even Elizabeth’s child, John the Baptist, not yet born, kicked in her womb because his aunt, carrying Jesus, visited them. Note well that all three of them were meditating on what was going on.

Beginning with December 17^th, the Advent Masses and our Vesper service contain seven O Antiphons – seven refrains. Number One: O Wisdom, Come! Number Two: O Adonai, Sacred Lord, Come! Number Three: O Flower of Jesse’s Stem! Number Four: O Key of David! Number Five: O Radiant Dawn, Splendor of Eternal Light! Number Six: O King of All Nations, The Only Joy of Every Human Heart! Number Seven: O Emmanuel, God With Us, Who Sets Us Free!

These last few days are for us cold, snowy, and busy. Stop. Look. Listen. And meditate like the Virgin Mary, like her cousin Elizabeth, even like her child in the womb, John the Baptist. And try more than ever to capture in your life Jesus, Savior of the World, and Savior of your immortal soul, Who is O Wisdom, Who is O Sacred Lord, Who is O Flower of Jesse’s Stem, Who is O Key of David, Who is O Radiant Dawn, Who is O King of All Nations, and Who Is O Emmanuel, Who Is Coming on Christmas Eve. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

Monsignor Michael J. Cariglio, Jr., Pastor & Rector, Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Saint Anthony Parish

Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.

R. (4)  Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’“

First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, :Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,”  we have been consecrated
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.