#and said 'now that my immediate family is catholic we celebrate advent'

[fictionadventurer]

It is so much fun watching Roseanna M. White be Catholic.

For one thing, she tells you cool history stuff about Christmas music.

[romancatholicreflections]

2nd December >> Daily Reflection/Commentary on Today’s Mass Readings for Roman Catholics on the First Sunday in Advent, Cycle C (Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28,34-36).

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everybody! Perhaps you think I am getting confused. This is not January 1 nor is it the lunar new year or the beginning of the Muslim year. Yet it is the beginning of a new year, the beginning of another Church year.

Last week we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday of the outgoing Church year. Today is the First Sunday in Advent and the beginning of a new Church year. It is also the beginning of a new cycle of prayers and Scripture readings, Cycle C. So, “Happy New Year to you all!”

Why are these four weeks before Christmas called “Advent”? The term comes from a Latin word (adventus) meaning ‘coming, arrival’. We immediately think it refers to the coming of Jesus at Christmastime and that is correct. But it is not the whole story. In fact, we can speak of three comings of the Lord and all are referred to in the Scripture readings today.

Three ‘comings’

The First Reading from the prophet Jeremiah refers prophetically to the coming of Jesus, our King and Saviour: “I will make a virtuous Branch grow for David, who shall practise honesty and integrity in the land.” That is the coming of the Child Jesus in Bethlehem, which we anticipate and prepare for in these four weeks. That is what we may call the First Coming.

The Gospel speaks in ominous terms of the end of the world and what we refer to as the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of time. “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

However, there is still a third coming which forms an important and indispensable link between the First and Second Comings. That is what is spoken about in the Second Reading. It is the welcoming of Jesus into our lives in the here and now. This is something which takes place every day. By it we both acknowledge the First Coming of Jesus in Bethlehem and prepare for the Second Coming at an unknown future date.

Why the end at the beginning?

It may seem strange to start the beginning of the Church year by speaking about the end of the world. Should we not rather be speaking about creation? Or at least about the beginnings of Christianity and the moment of Incarnation?

Our life in this world is a kind of journey or pilgrimage. In the Scripture and in life generally the beginnings and the past in one sense are not so important. These are happenings which have already taken place and there is nothing we can do to change them now. However, they have an importance in that they deeply influence what we are now – in both good and less good ways.

What is more important is that we should know where we are going and where our destination is. Why is that? Baseball immortal Yogi Berra put it rather well when he said: “You got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” When we decide where we want to go, it will influence what we do and it will guide our choices. If I decide I want to be an engineer or an architect, then I have to take certain steps and make certain decisions. If, on the other hand, I decide to be a monk or a hermit, then I will have to make quite different decisions and choices. I will not be looking back at where I came from but forward to where I am going.

Facing realities

The readings of today’s Mass urge us to face the realities of life. Many people want to enjoy their life but either of two things happens. Either they spend years of toil and energy trying to set up a situation where they can ‘enjoy’ but never actually reach their goal, or they ‘enjoy’ by actually escaping from the day to day realities through indulging in alcohol, gambling, drugs, sex, material indulgence or any combination of these. People, as the Gospel says, are coarsened “with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life”. Many of these cares are, if they could only realise it, of their own making.

What is our greatest enemy? Is it not having enough money? Is it people we see threatening our livelihood, rivals in work or business? Basically, our greatest enemies are fear and anxiety, especially about the future. Many of our choices and decisions are because of these fears and anxiety.

Reading the Gospel one would think we have more than enough to worry and be anxious about. “On earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the power of heaven will be shaken.” This is not just the future; these things are happening to people right now.

Stand erect

And yet, the Gospel says the reaction of the Christian disciple should not be one of fear. “When these things [the signs of the end times] begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.” It all depends on one’s priorities and attachments. If I am principally concerned about the value of my house, my job, my investments… then I have good reason indeed to be anxious when “that Day” comes.

A great deal of our fear stems from our wanting to manipulate the future and the world in which we live and realising that it is a very difficult thing to do. It is also a very unrealistic approach. It makes far more sense to come to terms with the realities which face us and find our happiness in those realities. There are some things, obviously, that we can change. If necessary, change them. There are many other things we cannot possibly change. The only choice is to accept them and live within the parameters they set for us. Wisdom, as they say, consists in knowing which is which. It is also a great source for peace of mind.

Living with uncertainties

When we take a bus or train we know our destination and we know, more or less, how much time we need to get there. But on the bus of life we also need to know our real destination and not just one we dream about. Unlike riding on a bus or train, we do not know how much time we have for the journey. For some it may be very long (90 plus years). For others it may be much shorter (30, 20, 10 years or even only a few months or weeks). Actually, the length of the journey is not important although we worry about it a lot. What is important is what we do during the journey.

On a bus or train, you have people who chat, some are studying the horse-racing or sports pages of the paper, others are apparently doing nothing or day dreaming. For many, the journey is only an unavoidable means to get to their destination and has no value in itself. Yet there are others who are fully aware of what is going as they ride. They are aware of their surroundings, of the people around them. They may admire the beauty of a morning sky or the loveliness of trees or buildings they pass on their way. The journey and the destination are part of one reality. The going is as important as the arriving and one contributes to the other.*

Awareness

In the journey of life, today’s Mass suggests our approach should be similar. If we want to celebrate the First Coming of Jesus and prepare for his Second Coming, then the way to do it is to be aware of his coming into every moment of every day.

The Scripture for today tells us that on the bus of life we should:

a. Be ready to get off the bus at any point, that is, be ready to meet the Lord whenever he calls us to himself, whether that be in the very near future or many years away. The important thing is: Be prepared.

b. Do not be afraid, do not worry. Fear, worry and anxiety do not solve any problems. Fear, worry and anxiety are about things which do not yet exist and most probably will never exist as we imagine them. As Fr Tony de Mello used to say: “Why worry? If you worry, you will die; if you don’t worry, you will die. So why worry?”+

c. Improve our relations with the people around us. A good life consists not so much in the kind of work we do or how “successful” we are but how we have related with other people – with family, other relatives, friends, colleagues and total strangers.

[torreygazette]

The Angelic Announcement is Ours

Weeks before Advent begins, I can see the slow kindling of the evening worship candles in my mind. It might seem funny to describe anticipating Advent weeks in advance when Advent itself is an anticipation of Christmas. But there it is, my cards are on the table. The white candles are easiest for me to imagine since I am never confident about the colors of the others—darn my “color deficiency.” The green wreathe surrounding the candles does not reveal its age in my mind, but it does when it finally is set out on the table. (Alaina might kick me for that.)

All of this is part of the great Advent tradition. It is something I look forward to with joy. But it is also particularly popular at the Torrey House. We turn off the lights and sing as the candle gets lite. The tiny face circling the wreathe as the darkest part of the house becomes bright. And then at the conclusion, the kids take turns every evening blowing out the candles after family worship (heresy to some, I know). Given the number of times our kids have climbed over chairs and tables it is amazing that we have no fires or facial burnings to report. Truly it is a blessed season. The weekly increased number of candles makes for more satisfied children but no fewer fears of a fire breaking out. And this chaos that is my children fighting to blow out their chosen candle, a visible reflection on the closeness of the Nativity appears.

You see, my eyes are not what they once were. It seems that no matter the size of the candle or the size of the text, my eyes struggle to read the Scripture verses during the first week of Advent. When a light dimmer is available, I will use it gradually less and less each successive week. By the fourth week, however, it seems like I can sit on the other side of the table and still read the Scriptures. The candlelight nearest the end of Advent accommodates my deficiency. Similarly, the Divine Light at the end of Advent is given because of human infirmity. The imagery and practical examples are not lost on me. The great dawning light of Jesus Christ slowly creeps into Advent until the point that it is begging us to acknowledge it and forgo the patient spirit of Advent.

This spiritual yearning that occurs the final days before Christmas reminds me of the carol “Stars of Glory.” Written by Catholic Priest Frederick Charles Husenbeth, the stars are asked to “shine more brightly” to “bring the hour that banished sadness.” The lights of heaven including the moon meant to rule the night (Gen. 1:16) are petitioned to bring about the day of “redemption down to earth.” There is an echoing call for the signs and wonders that accompany redemption:

Stars of glory shine more brightly,

Purer be the moonlight’s beam.

Glide, ye hours and moments lightly,

Swiftly down time’s deepening stream.

 Bring the hour that banished sadness,

Brought redemption down to earth,

When the shepherds heard with gladness

Tidings of a Savior’s birth.

As the weeks of Advent pass, anxiety grows. The practice of patience grows tedious. And no, I am not talking merely about the children’s attitude towards presents. But if Advent is a true season of waiting, then the eagerness to wake up in celebration of Christ’s birth should also increase. We are often tempted to relish the reality of Christ's birth without the waiting. And who can be blamed?

In the commercialized season of Christmas, waiting is difficult. Christmas seemingly begins immediately after Halloween. There are Christmas parties and carol sings that naturally emphasize and celebrate Christ's birth. Some practical measures need to take place to be patient during Advent. Songs like Husenbeth’s remind me there is wisdom in meditating on lyrics that petition the coming of Christ (e.g. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”). But what does it mean to petition the Lord for something that occurred two thousand years ago? For that, I believe we need to look at the Angelic announcement contained in the early portion of Luke's gospel.

In the Field

No Scripture story comes closer to the dawn of the new created age of Christmas than the Shepherds “keeping watch over their flock by night” (Lk. 2:8). Though chronologically after the birth of Christ in the Nativity story, the announcement of the newborn King has not yet occurred. The birth of Jesus Christ did not come with streamers, fireworks, and a light show that any passerby could see and experience. Ignoring the pending Angelic announcement, the birth of Christ is barely a whimper in disturbance to the flow of history. It is a dot on a very long Old Covenant sentence. But the night does come and the shepherds doing their thing do not know they are on the brink of history:

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” — Luke 2:8-15

This bright Angelic announcement is what typically comes to mind when we think about the birth of Christ. The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree is probably only trumped by Scripture in terms of association with this event. It's iconic. And yet, in the great scheme of things, the number of individuals made aware during this announcement was probably quite small. It was certainly small in comparison to the sleeping cities that surrounded the shepherds. The announcement itself was glorious, but the crowd was meager. The announcement truly contained “good news of great joy for all the people,” but it was not universally proclaimed. The shepherds acted on the unique event them. A special event in which "the Lord has made known to us" the birth of the King.

Many of us take for granted that after Advent comes Christmas. Heck, many who celebrate Christmas take for granted that Christ came down to earth for them. Nonetheless, we know when Advent will end. But for the Jews, awaiting the promised Messiah the wait seemed like it could last forever. And I imagine that we sometimes take for granted that we know Christmas will eventually come even if we merely twiddle our thumbs and play along with the church calendar. But I think this deprives us of petitioning God and meditating on His infinite mercy in revealing and announcing His Son. We assume the mercy of God proclaimed in Christmas.

But the truth is that while Christ came down for all men, He has not been revealed in the same degree to all men. The story of the shepherds reveals that to us in some small sense. Armed with this reminder, Advent can become a time of waiting and petitioning that the Lord would once again shine His light and announce His Son’s birth to us in our churches and homes. Yes, the Lord has been born—in our case two thousand years ago—but we are still dependent upon the ever new mercy of God to be familiar with our Savior. We are never too old, intelligent, or even "Christian" to become satisfied with the level of knowledge concerning our Savior.

And so, if we take this Angelic announcement for granted, we will almost certainly not respond with the vigor of the shepherds. Once again, I appreciate the vividness of Husenbeth’s words:

See the shepherds quickly rising,

Hastening to the humble stall

And the newborn Infant prizing

As the mighty Lord of all.

 Lowly now they bend before Him

In His helpless infant state.

Firmly faithful, they adore Him,

And His greatness celebrate.

One of the benefits of celebrating Advent is that it truly "puts Christ back in Christmas" in a way that arguing about Starbucks cups can never do. It's not merely the birth of Christ that gets emphasized, but the reminder that we are dependent upon the revelation of God about that very birth of Christ. And so, throughout Advent, we can eagerly anticipate "quickly rising" on Christmas morning. We can encourage our household to hasten "to the humble stall and the newborn Infant prizing."

There is nothing impious about the chaos of opening gifts. There is no shame in lazily staying in bed or getting up early strictly to fix a grand breakfast. When Advent is celebrated correctly, the whole heart is meditating on the magnificent glory of God. "In spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24), we "bend before Him" and "His greatness celebrate" by His grace. After four weeks of anticipation, the Angelic announcement is once again ours. And though while not as obvious or time-consuming, we certainly will all "adore Him," "the might Lord of all."

[romancatholicreflections]

10th December >> Sunday Homilies and Reflections for Roman Catholics on the Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

– 10-12-2017-

Second Sunday of Advent

Gospel Text : Mark 1:1-8 vs.1  The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. vs.2  It is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way.

vs.3  A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.

vs.4  And so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

vs.5  All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins.

vs.6  John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey.

vs.7/8  In the course of his preaching he said,

“Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals.

I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”

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We have four commentators available to choose from:

Michel DeVerteuil      Lectio Divina with the Sunday Gospels – Year B

Thomas O’Loughlin   Liturgical Resources for Advent& Christmas Years A,B, and C

Sean Goan                    Let the reader understand, The Sunday Readings for Year B

Donal Neary                  Gospel Reflections for Sundays of Year B

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Michel DeVerteuil Lectio Divina with the Sunday Gospels- Year A www.columba.ie

General Comments

On this Sunday and the next, the Church gives us John the Baptist as the model of the prophet calling people to move from the wilderness or place of despair to a state of hopeful and trusting expectation. He himself was someone who knew how to wait.

Like last week’s, this reading is from St Mark’s gospel; it should be read in sections. Omit verse 1 which is an introduction to the entire gospel of St Mark rather than to this part of it. In verses 2 and 3 you can focus on the fact that the story of John the Baptist was already written in the book of Isaiah, or you can look at the content of the verses. The first two lines are from Malachi, and the pronouns must be interpreted correctly: they are saying that when God is about to come into the life of a person or a community he always sends a messenger to prepare the way for him. In the next part of the prophecy be sure to interpret correctly the meaning of “cries in the wilderness” which means that God’s prophets always announce confidently to those who are in the wilderness that they must not despair, but rather act as if God’s grace will come to them at any moment.

Textual Comments

Verses 4 and 5 summarise the mission of John the Baptist who touches a community or nation so that the people commit themselves to a renewed life, recognising their former sins.Verse 6 speaks of the Baptist’s simple lifestyle, in sharp contrast to the extraordinary success of his preaching in the previous verses.In verses 7 and 8 we get a glimpse of the humility of John the Baptist, a model of waiting. John may have said these words at a time of triumph, showing that he did not let success go to his head, or when he was feeling frustrated and knew he must be content to wait for God’s moment of grace.

Scriptural Prayer Reflection

Lord, we celebrate today our conversion experiences: – we turned away from drink or something else that was destroying us; – we took up our courage after a bout of depression; – we moved from self-centeredness to a life of service. We remember with deep gratitude the messenger you sent before you who was to prepare your way: a sermon, a friend, one of our children, an illness. At the time, we were in a wilderness, drifting aimlessly, not going anywhere. then, as it is written in the books of the prophets, a voice cried out in our wilderness that we were not destined to remain forever, that we could expect a moment of grace.

Lord, we thank you for our John the Baptists: – a Life in the Spirit seminar; – a national leader; – a new parish priest or a new principal of our school. The whole community, all Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem, we made our way to him, we let ourselves be baptised in the river Jordan, reconising how we had become lazy, self-satisfied and grasping, and we put the past behind us.

We pray for those who have given their lives to making society more just and who at this moment find themselves becoming bitter and resentful, and are tempted to violence. Keep them humble like John the Baptist. Remind them that it is your sacred work they are doing, that they are unworthy servants, not fit to kneel down and undo the straps of your sandals. If they feel they are not achieving much, you are following them; if they feel powerless, you are more powerful. They baptise with water, but you will baptise with the Holy Spirit.

Lord, we thank you that in many countries today your church is bringing hope to the lowly, so that once again John the Baptist can cry out good news to those in the wilderness: – those who have failed so often that they have given up hope of bettering themselves; – those who have been written off as unemployable; – those who are being deprived of the minimum resources necessary for survival, announcing to them that they need not despair, but can be full of hope because they will now experience that you are in their midst and they are free, creative members of the human family.

Lord, we are anxious that all Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem should make their way out to us and be baptised, but we think it can be done through money or earthly power, forgetting that your prophets wear a garment of camel skin and live on locusts and wild honey.

Lord, there are many in our country who have lost hope. Say to all what you have said to us Christians – that we must not despair but must stay awake.

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Thomas O’Loughlin Liturgical Resources for the Year of Matthew www.columba.ie

Introduction to the Celebration

Today we move along our Advent journey towards our celebration of the Son of God entering our world, our humanity, and our community. On this Advent journey, our memory this Sunday concentrates on the figure of St John the Baptist: he went before the Lord and prepared his way and made his path straight. He is our model as witnesses to Jesus the Christ: we have to create a path for Jesus to enter our world and we have to remove the obstacles we place, both as a community and as individuals, to his being recognised in our world today.

Homily Notes

1. When we read Mark’s presentation of the ministry of John the Baptist we are confronted with his role as the one who preached ‘a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’. The immediate thought may be to take this as a cue for preaching the need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation or the need for individual confession. This has been a very common reading of the Baptist’s cry and has the effect of making Advent and Lent seem very similar in many places. However, this approach fails to do justice to the kerygma and obscures our understanding of the nature of the preparation Mark understood John to have carried out; and that preparation is a central part of the work of the gospel for Mark. So avoid in the homily any linking of this text with individual sacramental reconciliation or using it as a cue to draw attention to a Reconciliation Service that is scheduled for Advent.

2. The key element in John the Baptist’s preaching was the preparation of a new people, a distinct community, the Israel of the last times of the Day of the Lord’s [judgement]. This was not an individualist cleaning out of sins, each putting his or her house in order; but encouraging people to join a new society that would be able to withstand the coming judgement because of the purity of its observance of how the People of God should behave and live as a group. The event that marked one as a member of this new People, new group, was to be baptised by John. His baptism marked the border between being a member of the old community now destined for punishment because of its unfaithfulness to the Law (i.e. sin) and the new community that observed the Law with purity such that it could survive the Day of Lord. The important point to remember is that salvation is corporate, the forgiveness is corporate and the new way of living is corporate. We should think of John’s baptism as being more like the day novices enter a monastery, thus beginning a new community life, rather than in terms of individual ‘confession’. Or more metaphorically, it is all rowing in a lifeboat together rather than having individual lifebelts.

3. Jesus takes over from John the message of the new community of the Last Times, the New Israel with its twelve new foundation members: the Twelve. But unlike John, this new Israel is not the group that can survive the wrathful judgement, but the new People who can keep the Law in spirit and truth and who can rejoice because the Father loves them.

4. By contrast with the picture of the new People that is defined by Jesus’s baptism, i.e. our baptism, John’s community is but a forerunner, a foretaste, a dry run.

5. To welcome Jesus we must become the new community, the new People of God, the new Israel, the holy royal, priestly people of our baptism. This is the call of today’s gospel. But this means a whole new vision of what it is to be a Christian, and abandoning any notion that Christianity is a religion system for individuals or a salvation system for individuals.

6. So what actions is the community taking this year to help it realise its calling to be the new community that is ‘in Christ’?

• Has it any plans for a more perfect liturgical gathering?

In many places people still sit at the Eucharist using the individualist model of ‘getting Mass’: can people actually gather around the table so that it is clear that they are not just getting something but are at the Lord’s banquet?

• Has it any plans to have a programme of prayer which unites it in spirit when it is dispersed? The early Christians offered united prayer by all praying at the same times each day and fasting on fixed days. More recently Christians were united by the Angelus at fixed times. Can the community’s members agree to say the Our Father at a fixed time each day so that they are uniting in prayer even if not physically in the same place?

• Has the community any plan to grow in knowledge and awareness? Is there any plan to have a group that will study who we are as Christians or study how best to celebrate Christmas? Are there any ways of witnessing to the Christ and his message in the world in which we live?

• Has the community any plans to re-dedicate itself as a People, the new people, the people who are welcoming the Son of God into their midst? And, how would it do this? This act of rededication of the community could be an Advent reconciliation service, but if so then it has to have the community dimension foremost rather than the individual confession-absolution agenda.

• Has the community plans to act collectively to ease suffering, poverty, and injustice in our world? There is need to ‘get organised’ so that as a community we are making a difference and we are acting in a new way as a new people. You cannot be the New People if the group is still behaving in its way of life in the old way of injustice and exploitation. This new way of acting is essential if we are to be the people of the Christ, but it is not a substitute for renewing the liturgy, having a plan of prayer, and having an awareness of the need to fast as a community.

How will the community express its joyfulness and thankfulness for what it is? Will there be other opportunities to show that being a people is not just a collection of individuals, but being part of a society, a living entity? What activities can we engage in that will act as a glue between us and help us overcome the fragmentation that is such a part of modern western post-industrial living?

7. Advent poses us hard questions. Questions much harder to answer and do something about than those linked with the individualist notion of God-and-me that is inherent in’going to confession’. ‘Preparing a people’ is far harder task for the president of a community than many hours sitting in the confessional.

.

   It means getting there together

Sean Goan Let the reader understand www.columba.ie

Gospel notes

The consoling words of the first reading are read again in the gospel. Only this time the way being prepared is not the return journey from exile in Babylon but the path to our hearts as John the Baptist calls the people to repentance in preparation for the arrival of Jesus. Like one of the Old Testament prophets, John is radical in his commitment to his calling and the description of him as wearing camel skin clothing and eating locusts and wild honey echoes the portrayal of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:8. In the first century there were a variety of views as to how God would act on behalf of his people. Many hoped for dramatic intervention and stunning military victories, but John’s focus was on their need to repent, in other words to change their worldview and to live accordingly. In this way they would leave themselves open to what God would do through Jesus who, though more powerful than John, would come among them as a servant.

Reflection

The call to repentance lies at the heart of the Advent season. Like the people of John’s time we too long for a better world and a time when suffering will cease. However, such a change will not come by the waving of a divine magic wand. It will come when we prepare ourselves for it, when we open our minds and hearts to the gift that is offered to us at Christmas. It is not a call for sentimentality about the child in the manger, it a radical call to change and that is never easy. That is why Advent is such an appropriate time to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation. There we encounter the all-embracing love of God who never ceases to offer us new life and hope and who empowers us to be his instruments for change in a world torn apart by selfishness and greed. What better way could there be to prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness of our hearts?

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Donal Neary SJ Gospel Reflections for Sundays of Year B :Mark ww.messenger.ie/bookshop/

Weeks of Mercy

There’s a family expectancy on the air about Christmas, people looking forward to the celebration just now. Even if we dread bits of Christmas, and many do, we know that there is something very good about it.  We look forward to it, as we look forward to the visit of someone we love, or a holiday afterwards, or the break from work.

The people at Jesus’ time were like that – looking forward to the ‘one who is to come’.  It would all take time, and the last of the messengers was John the Baptist.  His mother would await his birth  with huge expectation.

He preached forgiveness. This is one of the special gifts of God, and one of the big celebrations of Advent.  We are a forgiven people, and we welcome the forgiveness of God in our repentance.  This means we are firstly grateful for forgiveness, that we do not have to carry forever the burden of sin, meanness and our faults and failings. God covers them over in mercy.  The second step of welcoming forgiveness is to try to do better in life – to move on from this sinfulness and meanness to a life of care, compassion, love and joy.  It is a call and a challenge to forgive others.

Advent is not complete without some admission of sin and our need for mercy. The parish celebrations of the sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation) in common or individually is step which makes our celebration of Christmas complete.

For this week:  say the angelus on wakening, at noon and at 6 p.m. May our good and gracious God have mercy on us all, forgive us our sinsand lead us to everlasting life.  Amen.

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