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The Gift of Advent

The Thanksgiving holiday is now behind us. I hope you all had a wonderful time with family and friends.

As a Christian people, we now look to the season of Advent, which begins this Sunday. The word “Advent,” of corse, means “coming.”

During Advent, we look for the Lord’s coming among us from two perspectives. First, we look to the Lord’s coming among us as we prepare to celebrate his birth into this world more than 2,000 years ago. But just as significantly, we also look for his final coming in glory at the end of our lives and the end of the world. Hence, the dominant themes for the season of Advent: Watch, prepare, vigilance, anticipation.

Advent is indeed a time to take the focus off ourselves and on to the Lord. Unfortunately, a quiet time like Advent is easily shouted down by the madness of a jump-started Christmas that puts all the focus on materialism and ourselves. These weeks before Christmas – the Advent season – are not meant to be a to-do-list. Rather Advent is a gift tied in purple ribbon. Unwrap it – It’s “just what you’ve always wanted!”

Confront your use and abuse of time. Create and jealously guard little pockets of quiet. Go for a walk in the crisp air. Sit with your address book; picture, pray for, and bless each person you cherish. Turn off the TV, listen to the first part of Handel’s “Messiah” and bask in its beauty. Be still. Know God.

This is the true spirit of Advent as we approach the great celebration of Christmas. Be watchful, vigilant for the Lord’s coming in the scriptures, prayer, your family relationships and encounters of all sorts. Keep your hearts and spirits open to the Lord who comes among us.

A blessed Advent To You All!

Fr. James Heithoff

Pastor

St. Patrick’s Catholic Church

 

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