What better season to immerse ourselves in the joy of meeting Jesus, our Messiah, then Advent. In this holy season, we stop and reflect upon, anticipate and prepare for the miraculous moment when God became human, entering into the history of the world in a way that brought transformation and new life. Our liturgical practices help us recognize the wonder of God coming among us as a vulnerable, cherished baby, a member, like each of us, of the human family.
John the Baptist is the embodiment of this willingness to anticipate, receive and proclaim the Messiah who comes, and it is his story that will dominate the readings of Advent.
For John, nothing is more important then the task of exporting those around him to prepare for the Lord. He speaks to us as a "voice of one crying out in the desert", reminding us that there is no task more pressing or, for that matter, more wonderful than proclaiming the coming of the one who will offer baptism in Spirit and in fire.
It would be tempting for us to relate to John and the signs and symbols of Advent as if they are locked in time, part of a long ago, historic record. But Christian time is not time tied to calendars, clocks, planners or apps. .......Christian time are moments in time that are ripe and opportune; moments in time in which God stands ready to do something new.
With the beginning of every liturgical year, We bring ourselves to the symbols and stories of Advent with open hearts and readiness for something new to happen, to us and for the world around us.
Many thanks to Mary Dankert who has offered the Advent Wreath in memory of her husband Wayne.
Monday of this week is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, the first of the 12 to meet Jesus......Thursday is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, a native Spaniard and one of the founding members of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits...
Next Sunday at all of the Masses, Expectant Couples will be invited to come to the sanctuary for the Blessing of the Child in the Womb...
As a follow-up to last week’s report from the Finance Council of the Parish, I thought I would like to share with you some words addressed by Peter Steinfels, to his fellow parishioners at Ascension Parish....
“Every week we follow our habit of giving more or less the same amount. And whoever told us what that amount should be?
Maybe we learned from watching our parents put a dollar or five or ten in the collection basket. Maybe we started making our own contributions as kids or young adults. Maybe we’ve adjusted it a little over the years. But it is still just a habit.
What if we paid our electric bill or our rent according to habit? What if there were no prices that changed over the years on bread or cereal or Big Macs—but we just paid whatever we were in the habit of paying?
I’m an old guy, so I would still be paying around 30 cents for my subway fare or a quart of milk or a gallon of gas, or 6 cents for a postage stamp and a nickel for my newspaper—just the way I did in 1970. I would still be tossing a couple of bucks or maybe five in the collection basket.
When it comes to our support for our parish, we cannot go by habit any longer. Father Duffell and the Finance Committee have made some suggestions. One is to increase our weekly offering by $7. Another is to donate five percent of our family income to the parish. For a family with a total income of $50,000, that comes to about $50 each week.
That’s not unreasonable. But what if for starters we gave just half that much—2.5 percent of our total family income? $15 a week when the family income is $30,000. $25 a week when the total family income is $50,000. $50 a week when the total family income is $100,000. It would put our parish on a firm financial footing.
So that’s my closing plea. We have to break our old habits. We have to develop new habits, ones based on a realistic understanding of what is our responsibility for our parish.
Please pray about it, and God bless you in this Advent season.”
Thank you Peter for letting use your words....Thank you to all of you, the people of Blessed Sacrament, for your understanding and your love of the parish. As the Finance Council has suggested, hopefully each of us will be able to increase our weekly offering by at least 25% and hopefully too, many more will join me in being part of parish pay.
As Advent begins, I urge you to try to drop into the church each day for prayer.....the Church is open at 7am and during Advent Dianne will provide beautiful music from the piano....and if possible stay for Mass.....As every day we pray for peace .....Give peace O Lord, give peace we pray!