Advent 2020: 2nd Sunday

 "Come, let us adore the King, our Lord, who is to come."

December 6th: Feast day of St. Nicholas, Bishop and Confessor. Patron saint of children

From The Liturgical Year - Vol. I - Advent:

The Office of this Sunday is filled, from beginning to end, with the sentiments of hope and joy, with which the soul should be animated at the glad tidings of the speedy coming of Him who is her Savior and Spouse. The interior coming, that which is effected in the soul, is the almost exclusive object of the Church's prayers for this day: let us therefore open our hearts, let us prepare our lamps, and wait in gladness that cry which will be heard in the midnight: Glory be to God! Peace unto men!

Today the Church celebrates with joy the feast of the great Thaumaturgus Nicholas...he was permitted to be one of the three hundred and eighteen Bishops who proclaimed, at Nicea, that the Word is Consubstantial to 

the Father. The humiliations of the Son of God did not scandalize him. Neither the lowliness of the flesh, which the Sovereign Lord of all things assumed to himself in the womb of the Virgin, nor the poverty of the crib, hindered him from confessing to be Son of God, equal to God, Him who is the Son of Mary: and for this reason, God has glorified this his servant and given him the power to obtain, each year, for the children of the Church, the grace of receiving this same Jesus, the Word, with simple faith and fervent love...He befriended widows and orphans by money, by advice, and by every service in his power. So zealous a defender was he of all who suffered oppression, that, on one occasion, three Tribunes having been condemned by the Emperor Constantine, who had been deceived by calumny, and having heard of the miracles wrought by Nicholas, they recommended themselves to his prayers, though he was living at a very great distance from that place: the saint appeared to Constantine, and angrily looking upon him, obtained from the terrified Emperor their deliverance. Having, contrary to the edict of Dioclesion and Maximian, preached in Myra the truth of the Christian faith, he was taken up by the servants of the two Emperors. He was taken off to a great distance and thrown into prison, where he remained until Constantine, having become Emperor, ordered his rescue, and the Saint returned to Myra. Shortly afterwards, he repaired to the Council which was being held at Nicaea [325 A.D.]; there he took part with the three hundred and eighteen Fathers in condemning the Arian heresy [Arianism stated Jesus was not divine, and simply a created being]. Scarcely had he returned to his See, than he was taken with the sickness of which he soon died. 

From the 1894 Butlers Lives of the Saints:

St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Russia, was born toward the end of the third century. His uncle, the Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, ordained him priest, and appointed him abbot of a monastery; and on the death of the archbishop he was elected to the vacant see. Throughout his life he retained the bright and guileless manners of his early years, and showed himself the special protector of the innocent and the wronged. Nicholas once heard that a person who had fallen into poverty intended to abandon his three daughters to a life of sin [prostitution]. Determined, if possible, to save their innocence, the saint went out by night, and, taking with him a bag of gold, flung it into the window of the sleeping father and hurried off. He, on awaking deemed the a godsend, and with it dowered his eldest child. The Saint, overjoyed at his success, made like venture for the second daughter, but the third time as he stole away, the father, who was watching, overtook him and kissed his feet, saying: "Nicholas, why dost thou conceal thyself from me? Thou art my helper, and he who has delivered my soul and my daughters' from hell." St. Nicholas is usually represented by the side of a vessel, wherein a certain man had concealed the bodies of his three children whom he had killed, but who were restored to life by the Saint. He died in 342. His relics were translated in 1807, to Bari, Italy, and there, after fifteen centuries, "the manna of St. Nicholas" still flows from his bones and heals all kinds of sick.

Reflection - Those who would enter heaven must be as little children, whose greatest glory is their innocence. Now, two things are our to do: first, to preserve it in ourselves, or regain it by penance; secondly, to love and shield it in others.

There is more to the legend of St. Nicholas which you can read about at the St. Nicholas Center website.

Activities: 

• St. Nicholas stockings filled with chocolate coins, oranges/clementines, candy canes, book (preferably faith based), chapstick/lip balm, and little presents that fit into a stocking. Make and give your children St. Nicholas Coins. I bought and decorated a huge bag of chocolate Christmas coins from Oriental Trading Company with the decorative coin print out from here and here. You can also pick-up a bag of chocolate coins from the dollar store or your local grocery store for this activity. 
• Second candle of the Advent wreath.
• Bake speculaas cookies.

Epistle reading: Romans 15:4-13

For what things soever were written were written for our learning: that, through patience and the comfort of the scriptures, we might have hope. Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind, one towards another, according to Jesus Christ: That with one mind and with one mouth you may glorify God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, receive one another, as Christ also hath received you, unto the honour of God. for I say that Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: But that the Gentiles are to glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: therefore will I confess to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles and will sing to thy name. And again he saith: rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people. And again; praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and magnify him, all ye people. And again, Isaias saith; There shall be a root of Jesse; and he that shall rise up to rule the Gentiles, in him the Gentiles shall hope. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing; that you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Ghost.

Here, Christians, is your instructions; be patient, be firm in hope, and you shall delight in the God of peace who is coming to you. But take heed, you must have cordial charity one for the other; it is the mark of the children of God. The prophet tells us that the Messias will make even wolf and lamb dwell together; and now we have the Apostle showing us how this same Christ brings Jews and Gentiles into the one same family. Glory to this sovereign King, the powerful offspring of the root of Jesse, who now bids us hope in him! Listen to the Church, she again tells us that he is about to show himself in Jerusalem.

Gospel reading: Matthew 11:2-10

Now when John had heard in prison the works of Christ: sending two of his disciples he said to him; Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another? And Jesus making answer said to them: God and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in me. And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: What went you out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind? But what sent you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are clothed in soft garments, are in the houses of kings. But what went you out to see? A prophet? Yea I tell you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written; Behold I send my angel before my face, who shall prepare they way before thee.

Thou art He that was to come, O Jesus!