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Advent 2023 ~ begins Sunday, December 3 (Pope Benedict XVI, Seek That Which Is Above, 1986)

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— Tradition holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, as a child, was presented by her parents into the Temple. This feast commemorates the total gift that Mary made of herself: total dedication to God’s service and obedience to God’s will. In the Eastern Orthodox Church it’s known as The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos […]

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— Born into Hungarian nobility, St. Elizabeth (1207-1231) is remembered for her charitable works and tireless devotion in caring for the poor and the sick. After her husband’s death, she became one of the first Franciscan tertiaries of Germany. (art: “St. Elizabeth spinning wool for the poor” by Marianne Stokes)

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— During St. Leo’s pontificate, the Council of Chalcedon (451) defined Jesus Christ as one divine Person having two natures (divine and human), combating the Monophysitism heresy. St. Leo had written his Epistola Dogmatica (the “Tome” of Leo) to Patriarch Flavian of Constantinople, which was read and assented to by the Council Fathers.

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— The feast of the Lateran Basilica marks the dedication of the cathedral church of Rome by Pope Sylvester I. Its universal celebration is a sign of love for and union with the See of St. Peter. On the basilica, a Latin inscription reads, “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the […]

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— Today’s great feast honors all the saints now in Heaven… those who have been recognized by the Church as well as those who have not been canonized.