I celebrated Thanksgiving Day this year in Northfield with my family, enjoying delicious food together.
After spending many years in Italy, I have developed a newfound appreciation for Thanksgiving holiday. In Italy, it went largely unnoticed. I enjoyed assisting with the preparations, although my brother-in-law and his sister handled most of the cooking. Finally, we were able to gather around the table as a family. We shared numerous stories, some of which we hear every year.
Everything was ready, our prayer was sung, and then we sat down and feasted. We are currently in holiday mode once again, as we get ready for more occasions of thanksgiving with our loved ones and delicious meals. The Advent Season serves as a beginning, a sort of introduction to something extraordinary; an introduction that encompasses t
...he story we are about to share and hear once more. I am frequently taken by surprise by "the introduction" we hear during our Sunday Thanksgiving, our Eucharist. Our Missal for Advent contains two separate introductions.
The text in this passage will be heard on the last two Sundays of Advent. The prophets' oracles have all foretold him, and the Virgin Mother has longed for him with an indescribable love. John the Baptist sang of his coming and proclaimed his presence upon his arrival. By his gift, we are already rejoicing in the mystery of his Nativity, so that he may find us vigilant in prayer and jubilant in praising him. Over the years, prefaces have undergone significant revisions. Many of them are ancient texts. The oldest Roman Prefaces can be found in the Leonine Sacramentary, which is one of the Latin sacramentaries or
liturgical books in use from the fourth to the seventh centuries.
Many of these prayers are still in use today. The preface above clearly demonstrates two distinctive qualities that set apart the Roman Preface from similar parts in other rites - its brevity and its mutability. It is not often that we consider our Sunday prayers as relevant to our weekdays or other aspects of our lives. However, when learned and then heard in church on Sunday, these prefaces can assume a whole new and profound significance, whether recited by an individual or a whole family gathered together. Presented here is Preface I for the Feast of the Birth of Jesus. Through the mystery of the Word made flesh, a fresh radiance of your glory has illuminated our intellectual perception, enabling us to perceive God manifested and be enraptured by a love for imperceptible things.
Pay close attention to the prefaces in the upcoming Sundays as they will introduce you to the finest form of thanksgiving for the things that cannot be seen. Show your gratitude!
