Advent Sunday 2016

Happy New Year!

First Sunday

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the Church's liturgical calendar (often referred to as "Catholic New Year").

My Advent wreath is not the traditional kind, which are made of evergreen branches. It is a Celtic Advent Wreath that I purchased from Gloria Deo in Omaha several years ago.

In addition to the traditional colored candles, I also place a white candle in the center, to be lit on Christmas morning.

"Time for the Christmas decorations to go up!"

Hold your horses...there's no reason to do all of that the first day of the season...

Rivalry Weekend

Although it was relentlessly promoted as "Rivalry Week" in college football, my own rooting interests were mostly not facing opponents who were traditional rivals in the usual sense. Thanksgiving Weekend got off to a good start for me on Friday when
Air Force held on to win at home against No. 19 Boise State in part due to a thrilling goal-line stand late in the game. The Falcons are now 9-3 and a candidate for one of
the better bowl games.

No. 25 Navy traveled to Dallas to take on SMU and recorded a stunning 75-31 blowout. Now 9-2, the Midshipmen will face Temple in the American Conference championship game.

Boston College was also on the road yesterday, beating Wake Forest 17-14 for their sixth win of the season, making the Eagles eligible
to be selected for a bowl game.





Iowa State concluded a disappointing season with a loss at home to No. 18 West Virginia, while Notre Dame wrapped up 2016 by losing its traditional match-up with
No. 12 USC in Los Angeles.

My best friend Skip's No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions had a doubly good day, blasting Michigan State 45-12 before a delirious home crowd, and winning the Big Ten East championship when Ohio State defeated Michigan. Penn State, now 10-2 following their 8th straight win, will face No. 6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game.

No. 16 Nebraska suffered an embarrassing 40-10 blowout loss, which did my heart good even if it meant Iowa got the win. The hated Kansas Jayhawks got thumped 34-19 in their season finale by Kansas State.

"Your hatred of the Cornhuskers and Jayhawks is...disproportionate."

Respectfully disagree...

Reprieve

From the pen of Henry Payne, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary is located in Denton, Nebraska, roughly 75 miles southwest of where I live. It is one of two such institutions operated by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, and is devoted to The Liturgy of 1962 (also known as the Tridentine Mass).

Although the seminarians who attend will not take religous vows, they spend several years in intensive study, including the study and performance of traditional Church music.

In the spring of 2012 they released In Sæcula Sæculórum, an album of classic Gregorian chants and other sacred polyphony.

The album includes music from
all seasons of Catholic worship, including Advent, and features musical settings by masters like Christopher Tye, Jacques Arcadelt, and the incomparable Palestrina.

This music is what Mass sounded like when I was growing up, and hearing these loving, faithful renditions is spiritually refreshing.

Today's send-off is the seminarians' faithful rendition of "Rorate Caeli," a hymn usually associated with Advent, paired with some evocative images of  Tridentine services. Enjoy...