Advent, Christmas and Liturgical Hymns

Introduction

With the beginning of Advent, a new liturgical year in the Catholic Church begins. In some Catholic countries, they call the liturgical year a Cycle. So if some countries call the present liturgical calendar as Year A, other Catholics have the tradition to call it Cycle A. (author's note: Spanish-speaking countries, as well as the Philippines and Portuguese-speaking Brazil use the term Year A, B, and C; while English-speaking countries and European countries use the term Cycle A, B, and C.) But both Year and Cycle mean the same: in Year or Cycle (A), the gospel of Matthew is mostly used in the regular Sunday Eucharists (with Lent and Easter season as exceptions); in Year or Cycle (B), the gospel of Mark is generally used; in Year or Cycle (C), it is the gospel of Luke that sets the thematic framework for the regular Sunday Eucharists.

Christmas hymn and a hymn in honor of the feast of the Holy Family

Below are two hymns related to this holiday season. The first is a Christmas hymn while the other is a hymn on the Holy Family with a focus on the person of St. Joseph.

Christmas hymn

The music accompanying the text of this hymn was composed by E. Elgar (1857-1934 A.D.).

Unto us a Child is given,
Christ our Savior bring release;
Counselor, Eternal Father,
God made man, and Prince of Peace.

Born of Mary, gentle virgin,
By the Spirit of the Lord;
From eternal ages spoken:
This the mighty Father's Word.

Love and truth in Him shall flower,
From His strength their vigor take.
Branches that are bare shall blossom;
Joy that slept begins to wake.

Praise the everlasting Father,
And the Word, His only Son;
Praise them with the Holy Spirit,
Perfect Trinity in One.

Hymn to the Holy Family

There are many hymns to the Holy Family. Here is one which features St. Joseph. The text and music are by Stephen Somerville, 1971, 1972 A.D.

Joseph of Nazareth, you are the man
Last in the line that rose from David, King,
Down through the royal generations ran,
And ends with Jesus Christ.

Gabriel from heaven came to Mary's side,
Came with the joyful promise of a King,
Came to you also, Joseph, to confide
That God conceived the Child.

Guardian and foster-father of the Christ,
Honor to you so chosen by our God!
Husband of Virgin Mary, you are first
To show us Christian love.

Memorial of Saints (December 18)

St. Flannan of Killaloe was a bishop of Ireland. Tradition says that he was a disciple of Molua - founder of the Killaloe monastery. Flannan made a pilgrimage to Rome where he was consecrated bishop by Pope John IV. He became abbot-bishop of Killaloe when he returned home from his pilgrimage in Rome. Flannan became an itinerant-preacher. The Cathedral at Killaloe housed his relics. The remote Flannan Islands off the coast of Scotland are named after him (died ca. 7th century A.D.).

Sts. Rufus and Zosimus were citizens of Antioch. They were brought to Rome with St. Ignatius of Antioch during the reign of Emperor Trajan - a reign that persecuted many Christians. Rufus and Zosimus were condemned to death and thrown to the wild beasts in the arena two days before the martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch (died ca. 107 A.D.).

St. Gatian was one of the six missionary bishops who accompanied St. Denis to Gaul. He preached in the area around Tours for 50 years and is considered the first bishop of that city. Nothing else is known about this Saint, except that he was one of the instruments by which the Christian faith was planted in what is now present-day France (died ca. 301 A.D.).

St. Winebald went to Rome where he studied for seven years. After a brief journey back to his native England, he returned to Rome to devote himself to a religious life. In 793 A.D., he went as a missionary with St. Boniface to Germany and worked in Thuringia, where he was ordained. His brother St. Willibald became bishop of Eichstätt. Also, together with his sister St. Walburga, they founded a double monastery at Heidenheim - a monastery which developed into a leading spiritual and educational center (died ca. 761 A.D.).

The Writings and Spirituality of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort

God Alone: The Collected Writings of St. Louis Marie de Montfort by Montfort Publications

This book is a rare find. It is valuable especially for those who are into Marian and Montfortian spirituality, like the members of the Legion of Mary and other mandated Catholic organizations with a devotion to the Blessed Mother.

"God Alone"

Montfort's spiritual experience led him to acclaim the spiritual truth that God alone is necessary for one's relationship with the world, with the flesh, and to avoid the temptations of the evil. This is not far from St. Teresa of Avila's spiritual intuition of "Solo Dios Basta" - 'God alone suffices'. This spiritual intuition of Montfort developed all the more when Montfort had a problem in relationship with his bishop who ordered him to pull down his project of building a Calvary of statues for the people he was preaching a mission to in France.

In the acclamation of "God alone", Montfort was taught to live a more spiritual and contemplative life according to the radical spirit of the gospel. A radical spirit which demands a radical response of being "not of the world". This tradition has always given life to those who enter, live, or have lived as religious - a life of complete surrender to God and his will.

Montfort and his writings

Montfortian writings have influenced the Church a great deal, especially in relation to Marian devotion. The spirituality has influenced Frank Duff, who founded the Legion of Mary in Ireland. It has also influenced St. John Paul II, who read Montfort's 'True Devotion to Mary', and made the consecration to Christ-Wisdom through Mary with the promise of 'Totus Tuus' [I am all yours and all that I have is yours]. Totus Tuus is the consecratory formula used in consecrating oneself to God through the hands of Mary. The process of going through this consecration is akin to the Jesuit pattern of making the Scriptures part of the spiritual journey. (author's note: St. Louis-Marie had studied under the Jesuits)

List of Montfort's writings published in this collection

Given below is a list of Montfort's writings published in this collection. The writings published are complete and would be very good for those who already have some introductory knowledge of Montfort and his writings. Although it takes time to really understand Montfort's writings, as one gets familiar with the context of his spirituality, the reader will ultimately understand the deep spirituality that Montfort has developed out of his love for God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. His deep love for God and Mary is very well rooted in all his writings: from his personal letters, his books and sermons, and even in the constitutions which he composed for the three congregations that sprang from his spirituality: the Montfort Missionaries, the Daughters of Wisdom, and the Brothers of St. Gabriel.

• Letters
• The Love of Eternal Wisdom
• Letter to the Friends of the Cross
• The Secret of the Rosary
• Methods for Saying the Rosary
• The Secret of Mary
• True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
• Prayer for Missionaries
• Rule of the Missionary Priests of the Company of Mary
• Letter to the Members of the Company
• The Wisdom Cross of Poitiers
• Original Rule of the Daughters of Wisdom
• Maxims and Lessons of Divine Wisdom
• Letter to the People of Montbernage
• The Rules
• The Covenant with God
• Saint Louis Marie de Montfort's Will
• Morning and Night Prayers
• Hymns
• Rules on Voluntary Poverty in the Early Church
• Four Short Meditations on the Religious Life
• Sermons
• Dispositions for a Happy Death

Wisdom in Montfortian spirituality

An important spiritual intuition of Montfort is his insight on Jesus as the Eternal Wisdom of God. This intuition has a basis in Scripture - especially in 1 Corinthians 1:23,

"but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength".

Montfort's basic spiritual intuition in his life and mission has this Scripture passage as his understanding that Jesus is the Eternal Wisdom of God who was incarnated in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and became man that we may be saved from our sins. It is this same intuition which led him to teach his followers that as Christ-Wisdom was incarnated the first time through Mary, so will Christ-Wisdom come again in the end times: through the Blessed Virgin Mary. And this is a mystery that cannot perceived as a specific time in the future, but which the Father in heaven alone knows.

The collected writings as a whole

This book would be of great value to those who have made their consecration to Jesus through Mary. For starters, reading the biography on Montfort and his letters are material enough to learn of Montfort's spirituality and his teaching. Those who want to deepen their spiritual life in the Catholic faith would find in this book a way of understanding their faith from the perspective of prayer, Marian devotion, consecration and mission.