Happy Advent Y’all!

Thanksgiving was just a few days ago. Black Friday was even more recent. And if you’re out and about, Christmas decorations – indicating immediate Christmas celebrations- have been going up since Halloween. For a whole lot of folks around us, and maybe for you too, Christmas celebration is front loaded, happening before Dec. 25th. That was how I grew up as a Baptist. Christmas was December, cuz there was no Advent season for Baptists. Now I guess that’s ok, and certainly we all have to navigate the way the world appropriates Christmas. Still, our Roman Catholic tradition gives us distinct seasons so we can immerse ourselves into the Mystery of our salvation, through Jesus Christ.

That means in Advent, we need to be awake, get ready, prepare the way, make straight the paths, ready our hearts and minds, wait in joyful hope, and be expectant for an arrival. We can figure that out, just by knowing the etymology of the word “Advent”. In Latin, the root words are “ad” = “to” and “ventire” = “to come”. For some folks, getting ready means buying presents, baking goodies, hanging lights, decorating a tree, unpacking ornaments and memories. And we can celebrate Advent with all this preparation. But spiritually, and faithfully, we also prepare our hearts and minds through prayer, devotions, sacred reading, prayerfully lighting candles around a wreath, charitable giving, inviting special people to our festive meals, and remembering how much God loves us to give us so great a Savior as His Son, Jesus Christ.

So, entering this season, let’s live in the world – watch an old favorite Christmas movie, shop a little bit, send out some cards, and enjoy some treats and parties. But let’s also live for heaven coming to earth, praising our God, recognizing He is Emmanuel – God with us, deepening our Faith, hope and love, and living with love for our God and charity for all people.

Again, happy Advent y’all! Let’s live it well.

Fr. Reynold