Advent Recollection for the Jail Guards and for our Inmates bothers and sisters (Surigao City Jail - December 04 and 05, 2009)

Advent Recollection

The word “Advent” is originally derived from the Latin word adventus which when literally translated to English means “arrival” or “coming into a place”. In the liturgical year, Advent is the season that precedes Christmas and is a time of spiritual preparation for the celebration of the Lord’s birth.

Purple – the primary sanctuary color of Advent.

1. penitence

2. fasting

3. royalty

- suffering (Lent season)

This point to an important connection between Jesus’ birth and death. The nativity, the Incarnation, cannot be separated from the crucifixion. Originally Advent was a time of penitence and fasting, much as the Season of Lent and so shared the color of Lent.

The Spirit of Advent

Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. It is that hope, however faint at times, and that God, however distant He sometimes seems, which brings to the world the anticipation of a King who will rule with truth and justice and righteousness over His people and in His creation.

Advent, we might say, is the season to prepare for that time when Christ will make all his greatest promises come true.

ADBIYENTO … paghihintay, pagbabalik-loob, kapayapaan

This season of the liturgical cycle is meant to prepare us for a very real event that still lays ahead — the Second Coming of Christ in glory. All things will be restored to perfect harmony, right will be triumphant, goodness rewarded, evil conquered forever, and we will live eternally in resurrected bodies

Application (for sharing)

1. In this season of Advent, what area of your life needs empowerment by the Holy Spirit of God?

2. Are you willing to offer or sacrifice yourself for the sake of God?

PREPARATION FOR CONFESSION

The Purpose of Confession

That reconciling of man to God is the purpose of Confession. When we sin, we deprive ourselves of God’s grace. And by doing so, we make it even easier to sin some more. The only way out of this downward cycle is to acknowledge our sins, to repent of them, and to ask God’s forgiveness. Then, in the Sacrament of Confession, grace can be restored to our souls, and we can once again resist sin.

What Is Required?

Three things are required of a penitent in order to receive the sacrament worthily:

1. Must be contrite - or, in other words, sorry for his sins.

2. Must confess those sins fully, in kind and in number.

3. Must be willing to do penance and make amends for his sins.