With just a few days left to Advent, I'm wondering tonight how prepared are you for Christmas and what does this really mean? When we mention Christmas preparation most of us go through the holiday check list. We concern ourselves with the gifts we purchased or still need to purchase, which party will we attend or not attend, what will we prepare to eat this year, which house do we go to this year for Christmas day, when do we take the decorations down, or maybe do we still need to put them up? We get all caught up in how Christmas has become such a social event, more secular than ever and for many, more of a hassle than joy.
Yet I dare ask again; how prepared are you for Christmas. For the person who longs to grow and develop their relationship with Jesus, we can prepare in a much more meaningful way. This is why the Church celebrates and emphasizes Advent so much. Look inside most Catholic Churches today and there is no Christmas tree or Nativity scene, yet. Most are adorned simply with a beautiful Advent wreath, the fourth candle of which will be lit this Sunday. Advent, especially this last week of this anticipatory season, calls us to reflect, prepare and purify. Advent, especially this last week before Christmas Day, is a special and beautiful time to attend reconciliation. In just the next week, in all four corners of the world, millions of Catholics will seek this Sacrament, including so many who have been away from the confessional for years, maybe decades. The Holy Spirit moves in this Advent week ahead, as it always does.
Maybe this will be a beautiful week for you to join me and so many others in making a good confession before the great Feast of the Nativity, Christmas. And yes, perhaps it is not too late to do something else beyond the commercial. Seek out an opportunity to contribute to an effort that will brighten someone's holiday. Do you know someone spending the upcoming Christmas in a hospital, nursing home or shelter? What would a visit, or perhaps even a handwritten card or letter, do for their spirits. For me, I will visit with 40 men on the evening before Christmas Eve praying inside a small room in a large men's prison facility. And yes, maybe we can spend some time with family that we just are not as close to as we used to be. The gift of your presence is far superior to your presents.
I'm writing this on the Friday night before Christmas; one week away to the day. I had options tonight. I could have attended parties, gone to the mall or devour a platter of fudge. Instead, I prayed with tonight's evening prayer and read and re-read the Scriptures of this weekend's liturgy. It is the beautiful story from St. Luke of Mary and Elizabeth together, recognizing and acknowledging the coming of Jesus as a newborn babe. And I'm reflecting on the amazing moment tomorrow morning when my parish community distributes 600 toys, gifts and clothes to families struggling in these hard economic times. I can't wait for Christmas because I've learned so much about what it is and what it truly means in this past year. But I pledge to continue preparing in the hours and days ahead leading to the birth of the Lord. My prayer for all of you is that a spirit of preparation and joyful anticipation be yours in the days ahead.
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