Pastor’s Potpourri
The season of Advent begins next Sunday, Nov. 27. There is more to Advent than wreaths and “OCome, O Come Emmanuel.” For example:
- If you would like to be a part of an Advent small faith-sharing group, there is a table in the Gathering Space where you can “sign-up.”
- Also in the Gathering Space beginning this weekend are some booklets for Advent Spiritual reading. Two of them, “Advent Today” and “The One Who Is to Come” are geared to adults. The other two, “Good News, Great Joy” and “Prepare for Joy” are for families with children to use.
- Commercialism: Every year we are urged to spend Advent shopping for gifts, food, cards, decorations, etc.
It seems that our economy’s health depends more and more on consumer spending before Christmas. Rather than rail against the inevitable and unavoidable, I suggest that we try to convert this to a good use. For example:
- Take home an Advent Coin Folder from the table by the stairs to the Upper Room. Put all those quarters you accumulate while shopping in it and return it after Christmas to the Church. We will turn the proceeds over to the St. Vincent de Paul Society for the poor.
- Take home an ornament from the Family Christmas Tree and purchase a gift for a needy family. The tree is going up next weekend.
- Deposit a toy in the “Toys for Tots” bins in the Church entry area
Quote for Thought:
“In the world of nature, Advent is marked in the northern hemisphere by the shortness of days that characterize the earth’s annual journey toward the winter solstice. Darkness increases. Many people feel ‘down’ during this period because of the lack of sunshine. Advent can be a time when parish folk struggle to remain centered and hopeful in their spiritual lives, as they work hard, are harassed by the mindless jolliness of the secular holiday craze and the days get shorter and shorter.
“In the light of all these external forces, the liturgies of the Advent season have a unique mission to the parish community. They offer breathing space. They invite us to prayer. They say, ‘Christ is our hope.’ The promise of Christ’s coming speaks to the longing heart and helps a people find its center in the midst of a welter of distractions. Because what the liturgy proclaims is true, it speaks in a powerful way...”
- Rita Ferrone, in Sourcebook for Sundays and Seasons 2006, Liturgy Training Publications, p. 2
Quote for Thought Lite:
“It’s easy to be an angel as long as no one ruffles your feathers,”