Advent in the next day or even same day world! (Thanks Amazon & UPS)
A season to prepare, Advent. I think most of us get too busy to take the time for it, yet it is essential to a meaningful celebration of Christmas! We have Amazon and UPS working together that we can order things from our phone anywhere and have them delivered almost anywhere the next day. We have fast food, express lunches and minute planners, (OK yes that shows my age) and all things to live in a same day world. Remember when 24 hour photo was a huge and not cheap solution. Even pictures are immediate. No waiting no anticipation and if we don’t like it, DELETE. Our immediate world is also a disposable world. This season is to fight the tenancy that even permeates our faith!
For those that are parishioners, this next part will be pretty much the same as what I have in this weeks bulletin. Sorry, but see if you can find the differences.
Happy New Year! The First Sunday of Advent, is also the start of a new Church year with Advent being a very short season of preparation.
Webster defines prepare as:
a : to make ready beforehand for some purpose, use, or activity-> prepare food for dinner
b : to put in a proper state of mind -> is prepared to listen
With Christmas having been out in stores for months now and many of our houses set up for Christmas we miss Advent, the first season of the Church Year. How can we maintain a sense of Advent and preparation in a world that wants everything now and has no sense of the rewards of delayed gratification? After all, our lives are in themselves a time of preparation, aren’t they?
To prepare implies a journey, getting ready for something that is not present to us yet. How do we step back, realizing that we know Christmas comes whether we do anything or not to prepare? We get rapped up in the parties and the lights and we lose that sense of waiting and preparing.
We are making changes to our Liturgy. The Mass parts will be different, the Apostles Creed will be used, we will have a quieter nature all to focus us on the season. The environment will help, but Advent is very short this year. Christmas Eve is the 4th Sunday of Advent, so no 4th week of Advent. We have 1.5 hours between masses to change everything over. St. Pius is having many events to help set the scene. We start with Rachel Dagget, a top Cutco rep and mother of ten, speak to us at our Meal and a Message. We will celebrate an Advent Reconciliation service and we have Breakfast with St. Nick to help focus on the religious aspects of who Santa really is.
Questions for meditation or prayer this Advent season?
- If today was my last day, what would I have to do or say?
- Pray to constantly be learning new things
- We can pray for Grace
- Pray for the ability to truly rest and especially rest in God
- Pray for humor and being able to laugh every day.
- (Got this from Pope) Pray for discernment.
- Pray to see the Spirit in all you do and all you encounter
Have an amazing Advent!