Advent and Christmas Seasons
December 3, 2023
Jesus Christ: King of Kings and Lord of Lords ~
The national timetable for the holiday season goes something like this: Thanksgiving, then the day after; begin the month-long preparation for Christmas by shopping and decorating; then celebrate Christmas (mostly on Christmas Eve); then on December 26 start returning to normal. The point of all that fuss is family and the “holiday spirit.” Sound about right? Of course, that’s not what the Christian focus was or how Christians acted did prior to materialism becoming our national religion. Nor should it be our focus and practice today.
We are now in the season of Advent and shortly enough, the season of Christmas. Historically this time of year for Christians was a more deliberate, quiet, and peaceful time; not more hectic and stressful. A time in which Christians historically slowed down and simplified, becoming more mindful of the special, hidden, coming of Jesus Christ; and the time that follows with the baby Jesus, the Prince of Peace. It still can be, if we are mindful about the true nature of this special time.
Wars and the threat of them are breaking out around the world, the world’s economy is fragile and tottering, democracies are tottering too, climate change is wreaking havoc on ecosystems, abortion (baby killing) is a sacred right, as is pornography, fornication, adultery, sodomy and now transgenderism. The world has lost its peace because it has lost the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ: the Way, the Truth, and the Life. More news, music, shopping and fretting is not going to restore that peace or make anyone happier.
This Advent and Christmas season put the Prince of Peace first. Slow down. Make some changes. Make a point of less screen time and less focus on shopping and materialism, and more intentional about daily prayer, daily silent time, and daily spiritual reading. The ancient enemy already robs us of our peace; don’t add fuel to his fire this season by being frenetic. Slow down, get smaller, get quieter, get peaceful, get Jesus.
Let’s intentionally make daily time for Our Lord by consciously slowing down inside of ourselves through prayer and spiritual reading, with less time with the radio and TV on, and a lot less time on our smart phones. Here are some ideas that could be helpful, calming antidotes to the seasonal frenzy:
Spend more of the day with Jesus on your mind.
Establish time daily for prayer. Especially consider the Rosary, a great family devotion.
Start reading the Bible, or any one of those Catholic books you haven’t started reading or put down a long time ago.
Go to Confession at least once during Advent. On Thursday, December 21st, there will be eight priests here to hear Confessions for our annual Advent penance service. Between that opportunity and our normally scheduled Confessions, please make it a point to go. Reminder: Fridays from 4:00-5:15, Saturdays from 2:30-4:15pm, and on Sundays before the Masses from 7:45-8:15am & 10-10:45am. Please don’t wait to the last minute. Others have that idea too and many will lose out.
Attend a weekday Mass if you can. Monday through Saturday morning at 8:30am.
May Almighty God Bless You,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
