Advent 2010

Dear Friends,

The season of Advent is upon us! The weeks of Advent are weeks of joyful expectation as we prepare for the great feast of Christmas. These weeks before Christmas are very busy weeks. There always seems that there is a tremendous amount of things to be done and not enough time. These weeks invite us to set time aside each day and "be with the Lord." It doesn't have to be a huge amount of time, it might be only a few minutes each day as we go about doing all that has to be done.   

One of the main biblical figures throughout these days of Advent is John the Baptist. His message was challenging: "Prepare the way of the Lord"! Throughout these weeks we are asked to prepare the way of the Lord. How do we go about doing that in our lives? How do we prepare within our hearts the "way of the Lord"? There is no one way to prepare the way of the Lord. 

Each of us has to prayerfully reflect on how we go about in our life preparing the way of the Lord. How do we take the message of the Lord and make it a part of our lives? The themes of Advent are: JOY, PEACE, HOPE, and PEACE. How do we take these gifts of God and make them a part of our lives each day? How do we become a person of Christian joy? How do we become a person of peace? How do we become a person of love? How do we become a person of hope? How do we enflesh the gospel message? 

These days pass very quickly. There is a sense of urgency in the words of John the Baptist. He tells the people who come to listen to him not to delay in preparing the way of the Lord for the day of the Lord is so very near It will be John the Baptist who points the way to Jesus for many of his disciples. He urges them to look beyond him and see the one who truly is the "Lamb of God." He urges them to spend time with Jesus and listen to his words of the Kingdom of God. As John the Baptist spoke to his followers he also speaks to us throughout this season. He urges us not to delay. 

These are days of bountiful grace. As we begin a new liturgical year we are invited to immerse ourselves in the gift of God's abundant love. We are called to rejoice in the gospel message. We are called to take the message of this season into our hearts.

May these days of Advent be for each of us and our loved ones be filled with Joy, Hope, Peace,and abundant Love!

Peace,
Fr. Steve