A Very Old Blessing
The source of the text is the Book of Numbers 6:24-26, where Aaron and his sons bless the Israelites with this blessing. The text of the blessing, in Hebrew and English:

• יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהֹוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
• יָאֵר יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
• יִשָּׂא יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם 

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee; The LORD make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

This is the oldest known biblical text that has been found; amulets with these verses written on them have been found in graves in dating from the First Temple Period (1006 BC-586 BC), and are now in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

St. Francis of Assisi chose this blessing to end Chapters. 

Divine Mercy Fraternity - Secular Franciscan Order - Vero Beach, Florida - November 2022 - page 2

Be Prepared!
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS

Jesus said (Mt. 24:37-44) "the Son of Man is coming at the time you least expect." For some, this day will be one of extreme agony—those are the people who will not ever be with Jesus. For all eternity they will be in Hell. For others, that day will be one of rejoicing. Of those some may find themselves in a place of purification for a short or long time, but they know they shall see God in all His splendor, some day when they leave Purgatory. Hopefully, many will immediately go to that place where they will see Jesus face-to-face and where they will be for all eternity (Heaven). God is a just judge but he will nonetheless separate the the good grain from the chaff.

If you are not in the "state of Grace" (have unconfessed mortal sins) you have the opportunity during Advent to repent, to seek rebirth in the Sacrament of Reconciliation where Christ's mercy and compassion is experienced as one seeks forgiveness. Be open to His Word and His Assistance. For those who are forgiven, the lights and sounds of Christmas will be beautiful. For those who do not seek absolution they will only hear noise. Be prepared! Use the Advent Season to get it all sorted out. I pray that you'll be celebrating Advent with your family, by praying with them each Sunday at the Advent Wreath.  

First Sunday of Advent

Advent is the time to let the light of the world shine in. It is a time of hope, of expectation as we watch the Christmas story unfold. During Advent we're introduced to a Woman, Mary, and to the Angel Gabriel who greets her with the words: "Hail, full of Grace! The Lord is with you." And Mary replied at the end of Angel Gabriel's message "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your Word." Mary was humble and obedient to God's Will.

As we experience with great hope the First Sunday of Advent and listen to the Gospel, we find that the focus is on the Second Coming of Jesus. The Gospel commands us to be vigilant because no one knows when the Second Coming will take place except God. This is like our death—death comes as a thief in the night. So we hope for the coming of Christ, we hope to spend eternity with God and we should use Advent to prepare. While it is true that the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is only required if a mortal sin has been committed, the Sacrament has an immense spiritual value. It is a vast source of grace and since we don't know when death comes, let us always be in the state of grace. The Blessed Virgin Mary at Medjugorje recommends that we go to confession once a month. During Advent it is certainly recommended to go to Confession as a suitable preparation for the Birth of Christ.

A daily or weekly examination of conscience will lead to a more meaningful reconciliation experience when one could identify trends in our life and behavior which can stand improvement. Then, also try to attend daily Holy Mass during this time of preparation and maybe try to make that a permanent part of your morning.

Do something meaningful for your family to remind them of the Advent season. Acquire an Advent wreath with four candles and light one each Sunday morning. Have a member of the family read a little prayer as the candle is being lit. Pray for the integrity of your family, for health, for anything that needs prayer. The old adage "Families who pray together, stay together," is true. Make prayer a regular occurrence in your family with your children (single people can join a prayer group or pray alone.) Prayer is a conversation with God!

In Advent frequently pray the Rosary, the weapon of our times, asking Mary our Mother to ask Jesus, her Son, to bless you and your family and to prepare you for the coming of the Lord, the Messiah. As Advent turns into Christmas, you'll want to take your family to Midnight Mass and watch the drama unfold in the Readings and Gospel that are read, and in your heart as you take it all in. We wish you a very special and blessed Advent season. 

Divine Mercy Fraternity - Secular Franciscan Order - Vero Beach, Florida - November 2022 - page 3

The Time of Eternity

At the end of this week, I will celebrate my 70th birthday (a dozen years ago), and usually when celebrating birthdays we think a little about eternity. Holy Scripture says, "Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong; Most of them are sorrow and toil; they pass quickly, we are all but gone." (Ps. 90:10) The aforementioned 70 years sort of flew by, especially the last eight where I got so busy with the web sites.

Many ask themselves, are we richer or poorer as the years go by? Well, financially poorer, definitely ... and spiritually richer, sure. Happier ... not so sure. It was great to be younger and to be healthier where I was able to do many more things. But overall, I have no complaints as it is all for Jesus, Mary, and St. Francis and those for whom I am praying. We can all offer our difficulties for intentions that need praying for, and those difficulties will become sweet roses. Yes, with thorns, but still enlightening.

The time we spend on earth is a pittance compared to eternity. One could say that the amount of time measured by this (-) dash, could represent our lifetime, and eternity is from here to the moon, and we'd still not even come close to what the difference really is. We are but a speck of dust in all creation but despite that, the Father in Heaven knows us through and through. He stands by us with His gifts of Grace and Love.

God has given us gifts of talent, kindness, material resources, yes even love, and we waste much time in our lives in not taking advantage of all these generous Gifts. It wasn't until my 46th year in life that I finally began to recognize my responsibilities as a Christian. That was the year when I returned to Church and to the Sacraments after a 22-year absence. As each year passed after that, I became more active and found a new relationship with our Lord which is now strong, thanks to His guidance and help.

If we are able, at the end of our lives (and, remember, we do not know when that will be), to gain a high degree of love of God through growth in grace, then "our cup will run over." (see Ps. 23: 5b-6, "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and love will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come)." When we die, eternity begins. Hopefully it will be an eternity with God, in God, rather than an eternity away from God.

Will Rogers was once asked: "If you found that you had only 48 hours to live, how would you spend them?" He replied, "One at a time." There is no other way in which our days and hours come to us. That is why it is so important to make the most of each hour of each day. Many of us waste time for a number of years, and then as we begin to realize that our life on earth isn't forever, we shape up. We go see the priest, make a fresh slate of our conscience, and as St. Francis was apt to say, "We begin again for until now we have accomplished nothing."

Using the present well, does not require heroics. It isn't necessary to perform miraculous feats, the more so because we aren't capable of doing this. If we are Catholics, we just need to do what is required of us, and if we do those things, along with charity, stewardship, helpfulness to others (remember, loving your brother or sister), possibly volunteering at the parish, etc., we do not even have to do anything extraordinary, and our lives will shape up and we will find the Presence of the Lord in our daily existence. St. Paul seems to have had this in mind when he wrote: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." (I Cor. 10:31)

Making the best use of time doesn't mean keeping very busy. It means using our time with some forethought, so that this time is used for the best of intentions, for God's glory. Peace!

Fred Schaeffer, OFS
August 24, 2010