Avoiding Babylon was started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these difficult and dark days, when most of us were isolated from family, friends, our parishes, and even the Sacraments themselves, this channel was started as a statement of standing against the tyrannical mandates that many of us were living under. Since those early days, this channel has morphed into an amazing community of friends…no…more than friends…Christian brothers and sisters…who have grown in joy and charity.
As we see it, our job here at Avoiding Babylon is to remind ourselves and those who enjoy the channel that being Catholic is a joyful and exciting experience. We seek true Catholic fraternity and eutrapelia with other Catholics who, like us, are doing their best to live out their vocation with the help of God’s Grace. Above all, we try to bring humor and joy to the craziness of this fallen world, for as Hillaire Belloc has famously said:
What if the most pivotal moment in all of human history took place not in a grand palace but in a humble village? Journey with us as we uncover the profound mystery of the angel Gabriel's visitation to Mary, a young woman of Nazareth, as recounted in the Gospel of Luke. Drawing inspiration from the insightful homilies of Bishop Jacques Bossuet, we explore the remarkable choice of Mary to be the mother of Jesus. This episode promises to enrich your spiritual practice and deepen your understanding of the Advent season through thoughtful meditation and reflection.
Join our reflective journey as we guide you through a serene meditation that invites you to embrace the mysteries of faith. With the guidance of Bishop Bossuet's writings, we'll contemplate the divine narrative and the humble beginnings of the Christmas story. Experience a renewed desire for Christ's coming as we offer a spiritual companion to enhance your Advent season. Whether you're seeking spiritual enrichment or inspiration, this episode provides a tranquil space to connect with the essence of Advent.
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Choir singing In tes peraveros. Advent from Bishop Jacques Bosway. If you haven't joined us up to this point or for some reason, this is the first one of these you watch these are. They come from a book called Meditations for Advent. The meditations themselves are taken from homilies by Bishop Jacques Benignier Bosway. You can find the book at Sophia Institute Press, amazon, lots of places. I put these up on YouTube, twitter, slash X audio podcast and Spirituous TV. Throw up an image on screen. You don't have anything to look at, you just listen.
Speaker 1:
We start with the prayer. Excuse me, we start with the prayer and then I'll get into the meditation. It is, since this is a Saturday, we have just one meditation today. So, yeah, let's get going. I'm going to throw up an image and we will start with our prayer In the name of the Father and of the and of the Holy Ghost.
Speaker 1:
Amen, jesus, my Savior, true God and true man and the true Christ, promised to the patriarchs and the prophets from the beginning of the world and, in time, faithfully bestowed to the holy people you had chosen. You have said by your holy and divine mouth this is eternal life, that they know thee, the only true God, in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Believing in these words and with the help of thy grace, I wish to be attentive to the task of knowing God and knowing you. So do I draw as near to you as I can, with a lively faith, to know God in you and by you, and to know him in a manner worthy of God, that is, in a manner that leads me to love and obey him, in accord with the words of your beloved disciple. He who says I know him but disobeys his commandments is a liar as well as your very own. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. To know you well, o my God and dear Savior, I wish always, with the help of thy grace, to contemplate you in all that befalls you and in all your mysteries and, at the same time, to know your Father, who gave you to us and the Holy Ghost that you both have. Amen. Meditation 11 the Angelic Salutation.
Speaker 1:
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. Luke 1. 26-27. As soon as we see, the angel Gabriel sent forth, we should expect some good news about the coming of the Messiah. It was Gabriel whom God dispatched to Daniel, the man of desires, to tell of the subsequent coming of the Holy of Holies, who would be anointed and immolated. Daniel 10-11 we have just seen him and his embassy to Zechariah. When we hear the sound of his name again, our desire for Christ should be renewed in heavenly contemplation.
Speaker 1:
It is neither to Jerusalem, the royal city, nor within the temple that makes it great, nor in the sanctuary, which is the holiest part of the temple, nor among the most holy exercises of a holy divine function, nor to a man as famous for his virtue as for the dignity of his office that the holy angel is sent this time. No, this time God sent Gabriel to a small village in Galilee, one of the least esteemed of the provinces, to the wife of a man who, as she did, truly belonged to the royal household but had been this was no Elizabeth whose virtue shone forth due to her husband's rank. It was not thus with the wife of Joseph who was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, the wife of an unknown artisan, of a poor carpenter. Ancient tradition teaches us that Mary too, earned a living by her work, us that Mary too earned a living by her work, which is why the most ancient of the fathers call Jesus Christ the son of a builder and a wagerer. This is not the wife of a famous man whose name was well known. She had been betrothed to a man named Joseph and her name was Mary, and betrothed to a man named Joseph and her name was Mary.
Speaker 1:
Concerning externals, then, this second embassy of the angel is much less illustrious than the other, but if we look more deeply, we will discover something much more elevated. The angel begins with these words of humble greeting Hail, mary, full of grace, hail that is most agreeable to God and full of His gifts. The Lord is with you and you are blessed, above all women. This discourse is in a much loftier tone than the one that was addressed to Zechariah. To him, the angel said Do not be afraid as to a man who has something to fear, and your prayers have been heard. Yet what is announced to Mary is something so sublime and excellent that she could not have asked for it in her prayers.
Speaker 1:
Mary, humble, hidden, small in his eyes, could not have begun to think that an angel would greet her, especially not with such noble words. It is humility that made her heart troubled. But the angel immediately said Do not be afraid, mary. He did not begin with those words, as we have seen him do with Zechariah, but her humility called forth his reply. Do not be afraid, mary, you have found favor with God. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.
Speaker 1:
Luke 1, 30-31. This miraculous conception will be followed by no less marvelous a birth. There are those who conceive but never give birth, who have only barren, fruitless thoughts. O my God, grant O Lord, that following the example of Mary, I too should conceive and give birth. And to whom should I give birth if not to Jesus Christ? My little children, said St Paul, I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you. Galatians 4.19.
Speaker 1:
As long as Jesus Christ, that is to say consummate virtue, be not in us, it is only a weak and imperfect conception. Jesus Christ must be born in our souls by true virtues and raised to maturity according to the new law of the gospel. O Jesus, your reign is eternal. Will I ever see it come to an end in my own heart? Will I ever cease to obey you After having begun according to the Spirit. Will I finish according to the flesh? Will I repent of having done well? Will I hand myself over anew to the tempter, after so many holy efforts to escape from his clutches? Will pride ravage the harvest that is so ready to be gathered in, harvest that is so ready to be gathered in? No, we must be one of those of whom it is written. Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6.9. And there is our meditation for today.
Speaker 1:
You know, I think we often talk about making Christ King, you know, of, of, of, of course, heaven, but of course over our whole world, and also King of our own hearts. I think oftentimes when, when I think on and meditate on the enunciation, when I think on and meditate on the enunciation, as we just did here. You know I don't know about all of you, but oftentimes I meditate upon Mary's fiat right, mary's fiat right, mary saying yes to God and submitting her will to his, and I think that's definitely valid to meditate upon with the annunciation here. But I like how this brings up not only submitting our will to God's right, but also that meditating on the enunciation is a chance to meditate upon God, upon Jesus being conceived and born in our hearts. Born in our hearts, that, just as Mary, who was a, a woman of low stature in a sense, who had to work herself to bring in money to the household, as Bishop Oswey shows here that's at least the traditional teaching Mary, who's someone as humble as that, literally conceive and give birth to christ in our hearts, um, that christ can be formed in us and by us. Um, you know, and when we say christ we really mean you know, as bishop persuade here says uh, consummate virtue, um virtue. So that's something new to meditate on for me, with the enunciation. So I appreciate that Tomorrow our meditation is on the virginity of the mother of God.
Speaker 1:
So that will be a good one, and yeah, it looks like at least. So one, two, one, two. So the next three meditations, so tomorrow and Monday, are on the virginity of the mother of God, on the handmaiden of the Lord and on the three virtues of the mother of God, on the handmaiden of the Lord and on the three virtues of the Annunciation, and then we move into some other stuff. So anyways, thank you for joining me on this Saturday. If you're watching on the day this comes out. We are just about a quarter through Advent now. We are a quarter of the way through these 40 meditations that we have, so I appreciate you all joining me. I hope you find these fruitful. I apologize that there was no interruption by Matthias this morning. That seemed to be popular yesterday. So thank you all. I hope you all have a great day. I hope you have a blessed day. Thank you and God bless, and I will see you tomorrow. Thank you for watching.
