Dear Parishioners:
We are now halfway through Advent. With the third week of Advent, we observe Gaudete Sunday – Rejoice! As I often tell children, this is the moment of a journey (to Grandma’s house, for example) when we realize we are going to make it. Just around the corner is the place of welcome where we can expect wonderful things – cookies in the cookie jar, delicious meals, and desserts (something new and different!) and the kinds of hugs that tell us we are special. We rejoice that God has chosen to come among us in the Person of Jesus Christ. He took on our human nature and forever re-directed the purpose of our very existence even in this world. Who we are is revealed to us in the Baby born in Bethlehem and laid to rest in the manger.
I want to thank all who participated in the Advent Penance Service this week. It is a truly a gift to be able to celebrate God’s Mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I hope every member of our parish family has had the opportunity to approach this awesome sign of God’s Living Presence in His Church. If not, recall that every Saturday at 4 p.m. the Sacrament is available. Be sure to give Jesus room to work on you this Christmas by cleaning your inner house! It is a gift to yourself and to the world, because it allows the Lord of Glory to be born anew in your own heart.
We are part of the Birth of Jesus. It is not simply an event of past history; rather, it is an event occurring in our history now. God has become one of us and His embrace of human nature continues the more we cooperate with grace. Don’t allow the current culture to keep you from the spiritual experience of Advent.
The Year of Prayer: Advent III Collect
We beseech thee to listen to our prayers, O Lord,
and by the grace of thy coming enlighten our darkened minds:
Thou who livest and reignest with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
May be said while lighting the third advent candle
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