Search
From the Pastor's Desk: November 27, 2022
-
From the Pastor’s Desk: November 27, 2022
The first Sunday of Advent brings us to the celebration of the new liturgical year. As we begin this new journey of faith and discipleship, the church tries to make us more attentive to, hopeful about, and prepared for the moment of the great advent of God - the second coming of Christ, when human and cosmic history will have run its course in the timeless, eternal Kingdom is fully established. God will come to us, but we also must make our pilgrimage to God.
Advent, comes from the Latin word “adventus,” which means “a coming to”, and embraces four Sundays, beginning with that which is nearest to the feast of St. Andrew, November 30th . With the beginning of Advent, the spirit of the Church changes and is symbolized by the purple vestments and emblematic of penance in preparation for the great festival of our Lord’s Nativity. Advent begins a new year that offers a new start to live with and in Jesus. We have the option to become a testimony of His loving redemption, to share in it through who we are and what we do, and finally to recall our own eternal destiny. To grasp our attention and enter into a deeper meaning of this holy season, Advent begins with abrupt words from Jesus: "Be awake! Be alert!" To be alert amid the hustle of the sound of the secular "holiday season," Jesus' urgency may be just what we need to jolt us into Advent as the special time of preparation for Christmas.
Most people spend the time leading up to Christmas feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and stuck. Caught in the complexity and busyness of the holiday season, we end up striving for all the things that aren’t worth having. It’s no wonder the beauty, meaning, joy and life-changing power of Christmas has become lost!
Together with Dynamic Catholic, I want to invite every parishioner, friend and visitor of our parish to do something different. To reclaim the peace that can only come from simplicity this Christmas. Please join me to sign up for BEST ADVENT EVER and receive short, inspiring videos in your inbox every morning for free to help you focus your day on what matters most. The information on how to sign up are in the bulletin and on every platform of the social media of the parish. We’ve created not one, but TWO fantastic experiences for you this year. You can choose one or both, but one of these paths is perfect for someone in your life. So, share them boldly and journey toward a peaceful Christmas together!
So, dear friends, as we begin this holy season, we are confronted again with the question so vital for us Christians: what place do I give Christ in my life? Am I close to Him? In these short few weeks of preparation and anticipation for the coming of Christ in Christmas, we should let go of our cares and worries a bit and enjoy at least a few minutes each day the luxury of taking time to remember God’s faithfulness, to alert ourselves to the many blessings we have received and to recognize God’s love and care in our everyday busyness and concerns. In this time, we need to turn our hearts toward the Lord who especially now is “coming to us”. We must become vigilant to His presence, not only in our own little world but in the larger sense of our community and the Church. Our Lord is coming! Be watchful! Be alert!
“It is not particularly difficult to find thousands who will spend two or three hours a day in exercising, but if you ask them to bend their knees to God in five minutes of prayer, they protest that it is too long” – Wisdom of Fulton Sheen.
I pray and I wish each one of you blessed season of Advent. Please take to heart the opportunity given to us for the spiritual growth of Best Advent Ever.
Have a blessed Advent!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
