Jesse Tree
This is the source of the name "Jesse Tree".
What is Isaiah 11:1? The Jesse Tree is named after Isaiah 11:1, which states, "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit".
There are this many candles on the advent wreath.
What is 4? And a white center candle for Christmas.
There are this many days in the Advent Calendar (including Christmas).
What is 25.
The tradition that involves a wreath of evergreen branches that holds candles which are lit progressively on each Sunday of Advent.
What is an Advent Wreath?
She is the cousin that Mary visited while they both were pregnant.
Who is Elizabeth?
A decorative tree that represents the family tree of Jesus Christ and the events leading to his birth.
What is the Jesse Tree?
The meaning and color of the second candle we light on the Advent calendar.
What is PURPLE? and What is PEACE? THis is also referred to as the Bethlehem candle and we remember Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem.
These are ways we can use an Advent calendar to prepare our hearts for Jesus.
Answers will vary, but some examples:
- say a prayer for each day we open on the Advent calendar
- do an act of kindness for each day we open.
This is the color of the altar and banners in the church during this liturgical season.
What is purple?
This is the the feast day of the Sunday before the First Sunday of Advent.
What is the Feast of Christ the King?
The Jesse tree also reminds us of these, the laws that God gave to Moses after the Israelites left Egypt.
What are the 10 Commandments?
The symbolism of the first purple candle lit on the first Sunday of Advent.
What is HOPE? It is also sometimes called the Prophecy Candle because we remember the prophets who foretold the coming of Jesus and gave hope to the Jewish people.
On this Holy day of Obligation, we remember that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin.
What is the Immaculate Conception?
The priest wears this color during the third Sunday of Advent.
What is pink?
Who are Cain and Abel? They were the sons of Adam and Eve. They inherited the sin of their parents and toiled as a result of it, growing crops and raising animals. And yet, God was with them and they obeyed the practice of offering a sacrifice to God in thanksgiving.
Since Cain worked in the field, he offered God some of his crop. Abel worked with the flocks, so he offered God his best animals.
Both were good sacrifices, but God was pleased with Abel and not with Cain because of Cain’s heart.
Where Abel approached God with humble, honest thanksgiving, knowing that all he was and had came from God, Cain approached God with pride.
And when God rejected Cain's sacrifice, Cain turned his anger upon his brother, and killed him.
Sin had entered the world and turned brother into murderer.
Abel, just like Jesus Christ, lost his life due to his righteousness, and still God did not forget His promise to be a loving Father.
He gave Adam and Eve another son, Seth, and did not strike down Cain. He punished Cain, but even Cain was not forgotten and abandoned by our loving God.
This is the father of Isaac in the Old Testament.
Who is Abraham?
Bonus points if you can tell what his name was before God changed it to Abraham.
The color and meaning of the third candle in the advent wreath.
What is PINK and what is JOY?
This candle is also sometimes called the Shephard's Candle because we remember the joy the Shephard's felt when the angels announced Jesus to them on Christmas.
On December 12 we celebrate this Feast in honor of the Virgin Mary.
What is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe?
This sacrament of healing allows us to confess our sins so that we can strengthen our bond with God.
What is Confession/Penance/Reconciliation?
God called this prophet to bring the Jewish people back to him after they were led astray to worship false gods.
Who is Elijah?
To convince the staying Jewish people that there was only one true God, Elijah challenged the priests of the false god to a contest. They built a stone altar and placed an offering upon it. Then, they were to call upon their false god to set the offering on fire. The priests of that false god prayed, but nothing happened.
Then it was Elijah's turn. Before starting, he dumped water on everything, to make setting the sacrifice on fire even harder. Then he prayed and immediately God sent fire from heaven. The entire sacrifice, and even the water around it, ignited. God had once again demonstrated that He alone is God and the people, once again, returned to Him.
This person was the father of King David. The prophets foretold that a savior was expected to come from David's family line.
What was Jesse?
The name we sometimes use for the third Sunday in Advent.
What is Guadete Sunday? "Gaudete" is a Latin word that means "rejoice"
The saint to whom the Virgin Mary appeared in 1858 in France with the message "I am the Immaculate Conception"
Who is St. Bernadette Soubirous?
What are the two comings of Jesus: His coming at Christmas and His coming at the end of time.
This woman we remember in the Jesse Tree was not born a descendant of Abraham. She was a foreigner who married a Jewish man who then died.
After his death, she continued to have great faith and to take care of her mother-in-law. Later, she remarried, had children, and went on to be a great-grandmother of King David, the line through which Jesus would enter the world.
The story of this woman reminds us that God has a special plan for each of us. so we should continue to have faith even when we face challenges.
Who is Ruth?