Advent Reflection Fourth Week

Today begins the last week of the Advent Season. The Advent season ends with the beginning of the Christmas Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve. If your household is like most households, the week will be filled with last minute shopping and Christmas preparations. It will include quick trips to the store for that one last present or food item. Extra time will be spent making sure that every nook and cranny in the house is clean. In our house there will be the anticipation of our children and grandchildren coming over for our annual family Christmas gathering and then attending midnight Mass. There will be food and treats to eat that are only made at Christmas time. Phone calls will be received from out of town relatives and call to others will be made. Though this last week may be busy it will be also be one filled with excitement and joy. The excitement and joy comes from the knowledge of being with those we love; our family and friends.

Those same feelings are also brought about by the remembrance that the birth of Christ is upon us. To keep this excitement building, do not let the last minute rush of the holidays tire us. Continue all the good works that were started at the beginning of Advent. This time of the year is also good time to recall part of the lyrics from the song God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen:

God rest you merry gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay, Remember Christ our Savior, was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan’s power, when we were gone astray.

Do not get dismayed if the hectic schedule created during the holiday season starts to overshadow the birth of Christ. Stop, rest, and take the time to contemplate the coming Christmas Season and what it means to the world we live in. Remember the birth of Christ and how it will lead us to his saving Passion. Christmas is the beginning of our journey to eternal salvation. May God bless you this Christmas and throughout the year.

Advent Reflection Third Week

The other day I stayed late at work. I spent about an hour just
tidying up some of the paperwork on my desk. By the time I left
the office, it was dark, damp and cold outside. I was tired, so I
was not in the best of moods. As I drove through my
neighborhood, I began noticing all the houses that were
decorated for the Christmas Season. Some houses had lighted
icicles. Others had multicolor lights, while others had both
lights and figurines in their yards. The decorations began to lift
my tired spirits. I recalled my childhood when my dad would
decorate our yard. Some years we would just hang Christmas
lights on the roof of the house. Other times, my dad would
decorate the bushes with lights, and in later years, he added a
manger scene to the yard. I remembered how excited I would
become knowing that Christmas was near. When my children
were small, we also decorated our house with Christmas lights.
I wanted them to feel that same joy I felt when I was a child.

The third week of the Advent Season proclaims joy. The
candle of the Advent wreath for this week is a different color.
The pink candle can almost be looked upon as the Christmas
lights for the Advent Wreath. Just as Christmas lights on a
house will remind a child that Christmas is near, the third, pink
candle of the Advent wreath reminds us to have hope and joy.
The Advent season is almost complete. The birth of Jesus is
near. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises made by God in
the Old Testament. He reminds us that God is always in our
midst. The Entrance Antiphon for the Sunday Mass is “Rejoice
in the Lord; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near. ” Keep those
words in mind as you continue your Advent prayers. Rejoice,
for the birth of Christ draws near.

Advent Reflection Second Week

Over the years my wife and I have made many trips to the grocery store. This is a weekly outing that started when we were first married. The reason we made these trips together has faded over the years. My wife will tell you that as newlyweds we enjoyed being together. I believe it had to do with her not being able to drive my car which had a standard transmission. Either way, it is a habit we have continued to this day. We have learned many things from each other during these trips to the store. We learned that creating a grocery list and keeping it current will save us money and time. I learned that you do not just throw items into a grocery cart. Each item has a certain place in the grocery cart. You never put cleaning chemicals next to the meats. Jars and cans are separate also, lest they be put in the same grocery bag at the checkout station. Nothing ruins a trip home from the store worse than a broken jar of pickles in the car. The years of shopping together has given us time to enjoy each other’s company, solve many problems and create many fun memories, just by walking the grocery aisles.

Advent is a great time to reevaluate our personal list; those things that are important in our life. Do we still need the same things that we put on our list years ago? Do we find that each week we spiritually still do not have all the things that our soul desires? Advent gives us an opportunity to add the things that we truly need on our list. The second reading for this Sunday tells us to discern what is of value. During Advent, use the extra prayer time to discern what God wants on our list and to ask God to help us organize and prioritize the daily events in our life. We should take off our list things that distract us from the preparation for the birth of Jesus. Advent is a wonderful time to review our life. Pray that this Advent Season is used as a time to keep in our life the good things we do and as a time to remove the things that will hinder us from receiving Christ with joy this Christmas.

Advent Reflection First Week

I have been asked to write a weekly Advent Reflection for our Church Bulletin. Here is the first week.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I went shopping for new Advent
candles. Now, this may not seem like such an important event,
but the problem is that only a smaller size candle will fit our
Advent wreath. This sometimes makes finding the correct size
in pink and purple candles a journey in frustration. This year
we were able to find the proper size candles in the first store we
visited. To celebrate this small success, we went to my favorite
deli and ordered some iced tea. While sipping our tea, my wife
and I began to plan our holiday season. We discussed where
we wanted to put the Advent wreath, when to set out the
Christmas decorations and even considered taking our
grandchildren to help us pick out a Christmas tree. After
laughing about what an adventure that would be, we moved on
to our spiritual plans. We decided when to gather around our
Advent wreath each day. We wondered if it would be possible
to have all our children together each week for an Advent
service either at the Cathedral or at our home. We talked about
the many events the Cathedral would be offering during the
Advent season, such as attending the Holy Hours, the Advent
Mission and the Penance Service, just to name a few.

I do not know if my wife and I will be able to attend every event
the Cathedral will offer or what my role as a Deacon will be in
those events. I do know that we will try to use this Advent
season as all should try, as a time to prepare for the birth of
Jesus. It is also a time of promise: the promise that the
darkness we live in will be lifted by the birth of Jesus. Advent is
just beginning. Now is the perfect time to plan how you will
prepare for the Christmas season. Advent gives us the
opportunity to crystallize our response to the celebration of the
birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago, the effect His birth will have
on us this Christmas, and what it will mean to us when He
comes again. May this Advent Season bring you comfort in the
knowledge that the darkness grows shorter and the Light of the
world is to come.

Internet Rules

I saw this post on a blog. It is about rules for using the Internet. I especially like the rule that states do not say anything on the Internet that you would not say to someone in person. Another rule is actually advice that I may try to adhere to. It recommends taking one day off from the Internet, preferably Sunday. So if you send me an email on Sunday I may not be reading it until Monday. Below is the link.

http://ericsammons.com/blog/2009/10/26/rules-of-engagement-for-catholics-on-the-internet/

Run with the Nuns

Tomorrow I will miss the Run with the Nuns. This is the third annual motorcycle rally sponsored by the Nuns. It will be the first one for me to miss. The after effects of my motorcycle wreck! I was hoping my bike would be fixed in time but it will not be ready until around noon. Donna and I have decided to attend a movie instead. God has given us something we normally do not have; a free Saturday morning. We are going to sleep in and just spend the morning together. Tomorrow afternoon we get back to our normal routine of household chores and Diaconate duties.

Our desire for God

Since we are all created by God there is a natural inclination toward God. We see this inclination acted out in nature. An example would be the salmon swimming up river to return to its home to reproduce. We have that same inclination for a relationship with God. We want to return to our creator, to feel his love for us. We often let outside influences effect us in our relationship with God. We should strip away the outside influences and open ourselves to God. God created us and wants us to return to him with all the wonderful gifts he has given us.