Your Sunday Sermon Notes: 4th Sunday of Advent

Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.

Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at the Mass for your Sunday obligation (jabbed or not!), either live or on the internet? Let us know what it was.

What was attendance like?

Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass.  I was getting reports that it is way up.

Any local changes or news?

And there’s this.

For those of you who regularly viewed my live-streamed daily Masses – with their fervorini – for over a year, you might drop me a line.  There are developments.  I think the video issues are pretty much sorted.  I still need audio solutions, since the room is pretty “hot”.  Wall hangings, maybe.

I have some written remarks about the TLM Mass for the 2nd Sunday of Advent – HERE

 

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12 Comments

  1. Mike says:

    Whoops. I commented on wrong post. Here:

    Homily was a long dive into canon law and why we should be patient, joyful, even in these times. All true, very true.

    Attendance was normal: about 40% of the church filled with devout TLMers. Schola was not large in number, but sang well.

    Reverence abounding.

  2. Prayerful says:

    News first.

    The administrator and now head of an Oratory in Formation first said the latest TC doc is unlikely to have an effect. Even before the Oratory, the diocesan TLM was a personal parish, although without the name.

    Basically the point was making a good Confession. Mortal sins should be numbered, if they are not, the validity of the Confession might be in doubt, while venial sins should not, to avoid scrupulosity.

  3. Kathleen10 says:

    A diocesan TLM. We were told we had nothing to worry about now or in the future regarding the communication from Rome. The bishop supports the TLM and is pleased with it and that’s that. We were asked to keep in mind that is not going to be the experience of others. We were told if we felt we needed to do something we might want to invite others to come with us to the TLM. Our Mass is so faithful and so beautiful, it is a pity we don’t have lots more people.
    We were reminded that John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord and we are to do the same, to be the one in people’s lives who invites them to know Jesus.

  4. summorumpontificum777 says:

    Also diocesan TLM… attendance a bit higher than normal probably around 200 people. Priest mentioned that the pastor asked him to assure us that he’s 100% behind the TLM continuing at the parish, and, as far as they know, the bishop is also supportive. It seems that the pastor has been joking around the purported prohibition on listing the TLM among the Mass times in the bulletin, and the pastor has some hilarious ideas for creative workarounds.
    Other than a few toadies like the bishop in San Diego, most of the clergy and the episcopacy seem to have no stomach for acting as Pope Francis’ enforcers on this issue

  5. JonPatrick says:

    We don’t have a parish TLM as our one priest already has 4 masses between Saturday evening and Sunday in our spread out parish (including one church for which he has to cross the border into Canada), however last year he instituted a Saturday morning TLM and recently announced that next year he plans to make it a sung Mass for the first Saturday of the month. Attendance at these Saturday TLMs has been gradually increasing.

    For our anticipated NO Mass for the 4th Sunday in Advent, he preached on how we need to prepare for the coming of the Lord by changing our ways and asking God for the graces to do this. As he does in just about every Mass he mentioned the importance of going to confession.

  6. JonPatrick says:

    By “parish TLM” I meant to say Sunday TLM as we obviously have the Saturday one.

  7. hwriggles4 says:

    Our parochial vicar is a younger priest in his early 30s who walks his walk. Our sermon Sunday at 5 PM Mass highlighted how Mary accepted a “yes” to carrying Jesus. Mary did this willingly. Mary didn’t do this for publicity, attention, etc. In today’s world I found that a good message.

    Attendance at this Mass was capped at 225 during the pandemic and since the summer attendance has increased. Our bishop reinstated mandatory Sunday obligation recently. I ushered this Mass and attendance was less than previous weeks but I attributed that to schools starting Christmas vacation and parishioners going to visit relatives (or going to the earlier Sunday morning Masses.

  8. Cafea Fruor says:

    Sadly I don’t really know what the homily was about, because I was really emotional last night, and something Father said early in the homily got me weepy.

    Attendance was honestly pathetic–maybe 40 people in a church built for several hundred. That has more to do, however, with the fact that the pastor changed the evening Mass to a praise-and-worship music Mass, and people don’t like the music, which isn’t even well sung for what it is. I don’t like it either, but I needed to because of the timing.

  9. Cafea Fruor says:

    Sadly I don’t really know what the homily was about, because I was really emotional last night, and something Father said early in the homily got me weepy.

    Attendance was honestly pathetic–maybe 40 people in a church built for several hundred. That has more to do, however, with the fact that the pastor changed the evening Mass to a praise-and-worship music Mass, and people don’t like the music, which isn’t even well sung for what it is. I don’t like it either, but I needed to because of the timing.

  10. Liz says:

    FSSP mass with a great young deacon preaching. These young guys are fearless and very encouraging to us. We have one priest and three Sunday masses. I was trying to imagine the amount of those three masses in one mass in our tiny chapel and couldn’t quite figure that out. God have mercy on us!

    We just are still within the Octave, if you will, (I don’t really know how that works but it hasn’t yet been a week) of celebrating our little chapel’s 100-year anniversary. Our wonderful bishop came and said a pontifical mass which was gloriously beautiful and majestic. He had just done pontifical vespers with seminarians the night before that mass and a pontifical rorate mass at the Newman center here with so many young people just the Saturday before that. I sat there at the anniversary mass feeling so grateful after such a lovely weekend and in thanksgiving to God for his many blessings and for such a courageous and wonderful bishop. But, oh boy, he must be hated by some. I mean I already knew that but I also realized that my family needs to pray for him more than ever. (My daughter reminded me that we need to pray for the pope now more too. It’s harder for me to say extra prayers for him and for his intentions but I know she is right. Sigh. So we will.)

  11. ajf1984 says:

    Reverent N.O. Mass at our usual parish. Very well attended, plenty of the large young families in evidence (including ours). Guest priest because our pastor had collapsed the day before–prayers requested!

    Homily focused on the need for us to bring Christ into the world following Mary’s model, that our “Yes” to God gives birth to Christ in our hearts similar to how Mary’s “Yes” brought Him into the world in flesh. Father also pointed out that the Visitation (from the Sunday’s Gospel) is the fourth-most represented image from the NT depicted in art (might have been fifth-most, tbh). Brought up the need for us to truly forgive those who have hurt us, to “bury the hatchet all the way,” not leaving the handle sticking out of the ground.

    A homily with plenty of short practical points to meditate on and bring into our lives.

  12. AutoLos says:

    Attendance at the 125-capacity SSPX chapel I’ve been frequenting was entirely over the top, as has been the case for all 3 Masses the last two years.

    Father praised St Joseph and the sufferings he went through for Our Lady and Lord. Since Bethlehem was St. Joseph’s hometown, he must have had relatives there to stay with. Even they rejected him when they saw his wife was about to give birth. He endured all this with dignity and meekness.

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