Advent Holy Hour
Matthew 26:36-46
December 8, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are here\nthis evening for what we call a \u201choly hour\u201d. \nOne might ask we do we holy hours at all and why today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To understand\nwhy we do \u201choly hours\u201d at all we need to consider two things. First and foremost, it is rooted in the Real\nPresence of Jesus. Unfortunately, not\nall Catholics believe in the Real Presence. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We don\u2019t\nunderstand how the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of\nChrist. It still looks the same. The visible substance does not change but\nthere is a change in the \u201cessence\u201d of what it is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To believe in the Real Presence requires that we transcend the physical things we see in this world. For people that think science has all the answers that is hard. However, it is not impossible. I think of a man named John Polkinghorne. For 25 years he was a Quantum Physicist working on subatomic particles. Then he became an Anglican priest. People were very surprised. They actually asked how he could believe in God after his science work. His reply (he has written several books on faith and science) was that it what he saw in the subatomic particles that actually strengthened his faith. He saw order that could only come from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we can\u2019t see the change and scientists can\u2019t find any evidence of a change, then how do we know it has changed?\u00a0 The answer is found in the Bible, specifically the gospels.\u00a0 It is Jesus himself that says this is my Body\u2026this is my blood<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our belief in\nthe Real Presence is rooted in our faith in Jesus and his words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus,\nbelieving in the Real Presence of Jesus, we come tonight to be in his\npresence. We place the Blessed Sacrament\nin monstrance on the altar to help us center ourselves on Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The second\nreason we have \u201choly hours\u201d is also rooted in scripture. We hear it in the gospel I read. When Jesus went to pray in the garden, He\ntook Peter, James, and John with him, saying to them, \u201ckeep watch with me for one hour<\/em>.\u201d \nWe come to keep watch with Jesus this hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So why\ntonight? We come in our Advent\nseason. The word \u201cadvent\u201d means \u201ccoming\u201d. In this season we look forward to our\ncelebration of the First Coming of Jesus at Christmas as we anticipate the\nSecond Coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve\nprobably heard the terms \u201cFirst Coming\u201d and \u201cSecond Coming\u201d before. We know that the First Coming happened 2,000\nyears ago. We do not know when the\nSecond Coming will happen but we don\u2019t have to wait for the Second Coming to\nhave Jesus in our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus wants\nto be in our lives every<\/em><\/strong> day. This points\nus to what some come the \u201cThird Coming.\u201d \nJesus comes into our lives every day if we let him. We come tonight to let him into our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We do so with\nwhat some call the \u201cbells and whistles,\u201d namely incensing, traditional hymns,\nand Benediction. For those who don\u2019t\nknow what Benediction is, it is the blessing I will offer over you at the end\nwith the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What about\nincense? Where does that come from? <\/p>\n\n\n\n The word\nincense is found 141 times in the Bible. \nIt is often found worded as \u201cfragrant incense\u201d. Fragrant being a sweet aroma going up to\nGod. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The use of\nincense is directed by the Lord in chapter 30 of the Book of Exodus. Since it comes from the Lord, we know it is a\ngood practice. Seeing the smoke rise is\nalso a reminder of the burnt sacrifices offered for forgiveness, sacrifices\nthat no are no longer offered because Jesus made himself the perfect sacrifice,\ngiving his life on the Cross for our sins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can pray\nin various ways during a holy hour. We pray\nin two ways tonight. First, we pray Evening\nPrayer (Vespers) followed (secondly) by silence where you can pray quietly in\nwhatever way you choose. We are doing\nEvening Prayer as part of the Liturgy of the Hours, prayed by priests and\nreligious across the world every day. We\njoin in union with them as we pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As to the\nsilence, when I first started going to holy hours I expected something very\nprofound and just sat there expecting it, almost wanting to force it. My encouragement to you is don\u2019t force\nit. Let God be God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might\nchoose to pray your favorite devotion or those prayers you have known for\nyears. You might look at the hymnal and\nreflect on a reading or a favorite hymn. \nYou might just sit and listen to God in the silence. Don\u2019t pay attention to the distracting\nthoughts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you ever\njust sat with a friend without talking? \nDo the same for Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a moment,\nwe will continue with the rest of Evening Prayer and then we will have our\nsilence. We will maintain silence until\nabout 7 minutes before the end of the hour. \nGive this time to Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Advent Holy Hour Matthew 26:36-46December 8, 2019 We are here this evening for what we call a \u201choly hour\u201d. One might ask we do we holy hours at all and why today. To understand why we do \u201choly hours\u201d at all we need to consider two things. First and foremost, it is rooted in the …<\/p>\n