First Sunday of Advent (A)

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The Unknown Day and Hour   Lectionary: 1 Reading 1 -  Isaiah 2:1-5 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 122: 1-9 Reading 2 -  Romans 13:11-14 Alleluia -  Cf. Psalm 85:8 Gospel -  Matthew 24:37-44 '... Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.' Introduction  As we gather on this First Sunday of Advent , we also mark the beginning of the Church’s new liturgical calendar and a four-week preparation period leading up to Christmas. The word Advent comes from either of two Latin words, which simply mean “to come” (Ad-venire) or “to arrive” (Ad-ventus), and as early as the fourth (4th) century, Christians have had this special time of preparation towards Christmas. Of course, Advent is not merely a countdown to Christmas; Even as we begin the material preparations for the social celebration of Christmas, the liturgical celebrations of these weeks invite us to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. But what does the co...
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Review: The Gospel of Thomas : A Spiritual Road to Wholeness, Peace, and Enlightenment

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The Gospel of Thomas : A Spiritual Road to Wholeness, Peace, and Enlightenment The Gospel of Thomas : A Spiritual Road to Wholeness, Peace, and Enlightenment by Joseph Lumpkin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Performance: **
Story: ****

Decent information if you are interested in Gnostics and how the Gospel of Thomas intersects with that tradition. Narration was soooo slow it was almost painful. Setting the playback speed to 1.25 helped a lot.

There really isn't enough of the Gospel of Thomas to justify an 8+ hr audio by itself; so the bulk of the book is actually dedicated to filling in context and history of gnostic tradition that is very helpful in understanding and interpreting what is actually in Thomas. Once the foundation is covered, each saying in Thomas is contrasted with gnostic and orthodox traditions, including similar passages in the official christian canon ... which was surprisingly interesting and not as far out there as I was expecting.

#TheGospelOfThomas #FreeAudiobookCodes

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