The word Advent comes from the Latin word ‘adventus’, which means ‘to come’. Advent has two purposes: it is a time for Christians to prepare for Christmas and a time to focus our attention on the expectation of the Lord's second coming in the last days. The date on which Advent begins varies from year to year. It is divided into four weeks and generally begins between 27 November and 3 December. At the beginning of Advent, last week was the new year of the Church, and now we are entering the new liturgical year, the D year.

During the Advent period, the Catholic Church uses a sign called the Advent wreath, made up of 4 candles lit on each of the four Sundays before Christmas. These candles represent the four weeks of ‘Advent’, with one candle lit each Sunday and the number of lights corresponding to the week. Three of the candles must be purple and the one used in the third week must be pink.

There are many ways to relieve the suffering of souls in purgatory. There are 3 that can be applied, namely self-inflicted torture and involuntary self-inflicted torture; our momentary sufferings will bring these souls eternal happiness. In addition, they are also helped by performing charitable works with courage, this is very necessary for the souls in purgatory, which will be like water or dew constantly falling on the suffering souls in purgatory, the place that compensates and alleviates their suffering and. is also beneficial to us. And the third and last offers a mass for their souls, according to tradition, a deceased priest thanked his fellow ‘Priest’. thanking him for his release, ‘thanks to the mass you offered, I have left purgatory and ascended to heaven, face to face with God, the one we once worshipped together’.

Christians believe that when the life of the flesh ends, there is life for the soul after death. But the soul won't be happy directly in paradise if there are still stains, so it has to be clean. According to the spiritual heritage of the Church's teachings, there is such a thing as purgatory. We're now in November, and this month used to be called the month of the soul, in purgatory. So we need to pray for the souls of our deceased loved ones to soothe them and help us who are still alive. There is the sharing and the teachings of the Saints and the prayers that can be made concerning purgatory.

The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth

At the end of its second General Assembly, held from 15 to 18 October 2024, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace sent a message to government officials at all levels, as well as to all Malagasy and all people of goodwill.

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Love and Salvation

Christmas is a great joy, because it is the love of God that has come to us, proclaims Fr. Bizimana Innocent, Provincial Superior of the Salesians Don Bosco of Madagascar and Mauritius, presenting his Christmas greetings. Salvation is accomplished, so life is not in danger of disappearing. It is this love and this salvation that we wish to fill our life so that we have peace.

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Zatti, our brother

The short film "Zatti, our brother" (Argentina, 2020) focuses on one of the most difficult episodes of his life. We are in Viedma, in 1941: at the age of 60, Zatti is forced to leave the hospital he has attended for decades. His faith and strength are tested.

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