This page was last updated: January 9, 2012
Renewing our Faith Because We Have Seen Great Things
Yes, we have seen great things and experienced great events. God has once again reached out to touch us, to communicate with us, to remind us that He is sharing His life with us.Christmas' preparation Advent has come and gone but in its aftermath we have seen the coming of Jesus as a child through Mary's birthing as witnessed by Joseph, angels rejoicing, shepherds and the kings from the east. WOW! What more do we need to wake us up to God. His Salvation has arrived.We have seen great things and they have left us worshipping and nodding to the faith we have been given. Our nodding is humbling, restoring, It is all done in the silence within. The respectful awe builds us up and awakens the grace of thanksgiving for his Salvation. We recognize that the Sunday Eucharist is another venue when we experience a great thing - the whole person of Jesus residing in the Consecrated Host we take in. May this New Year of 2012 be the fulfillment of your dreams in concert with Jesus, the Savior. May it be filled with greater awareness, more happiness, more joy and more of Him who is so aware of you.to the experience of Advent. Along with Advent being a time of waiting for the Christ Child to come was the spiritual insertion that Christ would come again to draw us into His loving arms at the end of my life. This was not such a pleasing thought by any means. As life would have it, I was drawn deeper into this "mystery of life and afterlife. Aunts, uncles, parents of friends did go to their eternal reward. After I joined religious life with the Brothers of Holy Cross, mentors and friends also died. It seemed that each funeral added to the mystery of life after death.
Now in my senior years, after years of prayer - the connection with God the Father, Jesus and the Spirit - time spent in reading the Scriptures and faith-filled books, I now am coming closer to understanding this thing called "the end of life" life - the so-called Advent of Christ's coming. Some days it is more real than other days as aches and pains and changes in health occurs. The new mode of waiting for the coming of Christ takes on a new dimension. "Things end or at least change," sometimes abruptly, sometimes very subtly. Now in these days I await the coming of Christ as part of the plan of salvation. I no longer put this aspect of it all out of mind or fear as I used to consider it. Now there is an openness towards it. So the waiting for Christ - His Advent - has grown in my thoughts and spiritual life. Now my arms are open and I'm willing to receive Him as my eternal gift.May your Advent be a growth expenence that is joyful and full of great expectation!SOMETHING MORE - SOMEONE MORE
Discussions with people in the pews and with those in the market place show no marked difference when it comes to fulfillment. Some may say that they are happy with the way things are at home, in the work place but when you ask them if they are happy, they always seem to dither a bit and then say "I wish there could be something more in my life, something deeper and more satisfying." This speaks to me as I think about preparing for the experience of Advent. Often Advent has so often been a repeat of the same old, same old. It only differs on the days of the calendar. This year I want it to be truly different, more meaningful, something more than I experienced in the past.What can I do to insure that a meaningful Advent takes place? First I consider that Advent is not just a liturgical time of year. It is a retreat from the usual. Since retreats are for deepening a relationship with God, then I think, I must get to know God, Jesus and Holy Spirit better. It isn't God's fault that I do not experience real fulfillment in my daily life; it must be that something more must come from me. Second, what is that something more that is needed to know that Someone more? It is like dating or friendship. The basis is conversation - active listening to the one who attracts me. To describe it spiritual men or women would use the word prayer - that conversation with Jesus, God the Father or the Holy Spirit. What can you do during Advent?Active listening is tough. It is so much easier to talk. Practice silence. What do you hear in the atmosphere around you, from your own heart beat, from what your mind suggests. Then actually say something to Jesus, the Father, Holy Spirit, Mary, Joseph or your favorite saint. Then just listen in your own spirit. Surprise, surprise! There will be some kind of word you will hear and want to respond to. Now you have the key to prayer....and it is how you will learn that there is something more and Someone more who is interested in you!Happy finding something and Someone more!
Happy Advent and Christmas and all the days thereafter.
"WE HAVE SEEN GREAT THINGS!"
The Church’s liturgical year begins with the first Sunday of Advent.Advent begins on the Sunday nearest November 30th, which is the feast of St.
Andrew, and lasts until December 24th.
The word Advent comes from the word adventus which means “coming.” Advent is a season in the Church year
Advent is a season in the Church year when we remember how the Word of God
became human in the birth of Jesus at
Bethlehem, which we celebrate on
Christmas. During Advent we also reflect
on and celebrate how Jesus comes into our
lives and is present with us every day.
Advent is a time of hoping and working for a change of heart. We focus on being
more open to the love of God in our lives,
and the salvation offered through Jesus.
The Advent wreath is a tradition of the season. It is a symbol of our hope in Jesus
Christ, who is the Light of the world.
The circle and evergreens on the Advent wreath remind us of God’s
everlasting love which has no
beginning and no end.
The four unlit candles on the wreath remind us of the four thousand years
before Christ’s birth, a time of
spiritual “cold and darkness” as
humanity awaited the birth of the
Messiah. They also represent the four
weeks of Advent.
It is customary to use three purple and one pink or white candle on the
Advent wreath. The purple reminds us
of the need for sorrow for our sins.
The pink or white candle reminds us
of the joy and hope we share in Jesus,
the Light of the World, whose birth
we celebrate at Christmas.
Advent begins with the lighting of one purple candle on the first Sunday of
Advent. The pink candle is lit the third
week when the Advent focus shifts to
the special joy of the Christmas event.
The increasing light of each week
reminds us that Christmas is closer,
and Christ’s presence continues to
grow and brighten our lives. It also
reminds us that by being Christ’s light
today, we can brighten the “darkness”
we find in our lives in the world around us.
Advent—Did You Know?
