 I distinctly remember a few years ago when I looked a friend in the eyes over coffee just prior to Advent and said, “I’m so grateful that Advent is about to start - I’m ready for other people to be waiting, too.” The reality is that we spend a lot of our lives waiting - waiting for the light to turn green, waiting for a relationship to be mended, or waiting for the Lord to reveal more of His plan to us. The waiting is inescapable - and yet it is so easy to feel like waiting equals failure. Our world would have us believe a lot of lies about waiting - mainly that waiting means that God isn’t faithful, that He has somehow forgotten us. There have been so many times in my life where I have believed the lie that God is not faithful in the waiting - that the waiting is wasted. In a season of life that contains its fair share of waiting, I have had to remind myself again and again that He is in the waiting. As Christians, we know there is such a thing as waiting well— as not only seeking God in the waiting, but knowing that God is seeking us in the waiting. I’m sure that the relief that I experienced in that conversation with a friend a few years ago speaks a lot of truth about the ache of our own hearts - an ache that is lived out during Advent. The Church gives us the Advent season not only to prepare our hearts for the coming of our Lord at Christmas, but to also remind ourselves of the beauty in the waiting. The beauty of being a Christian is that we CAN hope in the waiting - we can hope in the waiting because we know Who we are waiting for. “Let us allow ourselves, then,” Pope Francis encourages, “to teach hope, to faithfully await the coming of the Lord, and whatever desert we might have in our life will become a flowering garden.” This Advent, I am going to breathe another sigh of relief and of gratitude that others are waiting with me, but that we have a God worth waiting for. May we as a Church wait hopefully for the coming of our Lord together, knowing that He is in the waiting. And may the desert of our waiting reveal to us, as Pope Francis said, a flowering garden this Christmas. *This is a repost and was originally published December 5, 2017.* AuthorLauren Scharmer is the director of a multi parish youth ministry program in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
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 When you turn on the radio any time between Thanksgiving and December 25th, you are bound to hear the nostalgic melodies, catchy rhythms, and modern remixes of Christmas music. The four weeks leading up to the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord are treated as a season of celebration, the most wonderful time of the year. Ironically, we forget that we’re still waiting! In order to embrace the anticipatory season of Advent, I am offering four hymns to add to your December playlist. The first song is “Save Us, O Lord” by Bob Dufford, S.J. This piece is based on Psalm 80, which petitions God to protect and restore his people. This psalm likely refers to the Babylonian Exile and how the physical distance from Jerusalem fostered a pining for proximity with God. It is from this position of great longing that the psalmist remembers the liberation of his ancestors from Egypt and consequently asks God to continue his saving work. During the season of Advent, we too experience a kind of exile. Looking at our world, it can seem as though God’s “vineyards are trampled, uprooted, and burned” (Save Us, O Lord, verse 3, by Bob Dufford, S.J.). While this dissatisfaction can be a cause of despair, it also serves as a reminder of the restoration promised to us. Just as the Israelites returned to Jerusalem after seventy years in exile, we too can be certain our redemption will come. The next song is “O Come Divine Messiah,” a French carol which continues with the anticipatory theme. This carol highlights the prophetic role of proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. The prophets arouse hope by not only acknowledging the weight of desolation but also by emphasizing the promise of consolation. This piece calls on Christ to bring about his promise to conquer suffering. This song is certain of Christ’s power to triumph over sadness, but it is also aware of the humility with which he embraced human nature. As we experience the stress that surrounds the preparation for Christmas, we can be assured that when we face difficulties, we are accompanied by a God who sympathizes with our condition and always reigns victorious. Good things come to those who wait. The Israelites truly believed in this. The song “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” a German hymn from the 16th century, refers to the covenant in which David was promised an heir whose kingdom would be without end. Although a millennium passed before the birth of Jesus, the Israelites waited for God. They trusted in his promise to come as Emmanuel, God with us. We too are reassured by God’s omnipresence. The Advent wreath is a common sight during this time, and the evergreen branches remind us that God is present in all seasons of our lives. As we near the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, we must remember the rose that never wilts: Jesus. No one received the hopeful message of the Messiah’s coming as well as Mary. In “Gabriel’s Message,” a Basque carol, we are reminded that waiting does not entail inaction. This piece narrates the Annunciation and particularly highlights how Mary responds to God’s will. The third verse observes that she “bowed her head, ‘To me be as it pleaseth God,’ she said, ‘my soul shall laud and magnify His holy Name’” (Gabriel’s Message, verse 3). Mary’s Fiat and Magnificat demonstrate the proper response in the season of expectation. We are to give God our yes every day with the goal of serving and glorifying him in all we do. Although we do not know the plan for all of our tomorrows, we cannot ignore the steps that can be taken today. These hymns call us to stop and ponder what and who we are waiting for. They remind us that we are awaiting the fulfillment of God’s kingdom where darkness does not prevail. The Scriptural basis of these hymns connect us to salvation history defined by the expectation of Jesus. We can learn from the Old Testament to hope in God’s promises and from the example of Mary to put our efforts toward building the Kingdom of God. As we prepare our homes for Christmas, let us prepare our hearts for the Second Coming by trusting in God’s saving power, carrying our crosses with Jesus, being aware of his presence, and acting in obedience like Mary.
 Every year, the calendar places two seasons side by side: Thanksgiving and Advent. For many of us, one day we’re gathering around a table filled with turkey and pie, and the next, we’re lighting the first candle of the Advent wreath. It can feel like a quick transition from gratitude to anticipation, but in the rhythm of our faith, these two moments can be connected. Thanksgiving, though a secular holiday, resonates deeply with us as Catholics. At its core, it’s about gratitude, a virtue central to our life with God. The very word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek eucharistia, meaning “thanksgiving.” When we gather for Mass, we give thanks for the gift of salvation, for God’s mercy, and for the daily graces that sustain us. So, as we pass the stuffing and share stories of gratitude, we are, in a sense, preparing our hearts for Advent’s invitation to make room for Christ with thankful & hopeful hearts. Advent is often described as a season of waiting and preparation. Preparing our homes, our hearts, and our lives for the coming of the Lord at Christmas. But this preparation isn’t meant to be rushed or frantic. Instead, it’s about making time and space for Christ to enter. And one of the surest ways to create that space is through gratitude. When we pause to name our blessings, such as family, friends, health, forgiveness, and even the challenges that have helped us grow, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness throughout the year. Gratitude grounds us in reality: that everything we have, even the breath in our lungs, is a gift. In a world that constantly tells us we need more, Thanksgiving invites us to say, “What I have is enough.” Advent, then, invites us to say, “And yet, I still long for more of You, Lord.” Thanksgiving orients us toward what has been given; Advent turns our gaze to what is yet to come. Gratitude and hope are two sides of the same coin. When we are thankful, we remember how God has provided in the past. When we hope, we trust that He will continue to provide in the future. The Advent wreath offers a simple but profound visual of this movement from gratitude to hope. Each candle brings more light into the darkness, just as each act of thanksgiving strengthens our faith in the promise of Christ’s coming. The first candle, the candle of hope, reminds us that we are a people who live between what God has done and what God will do. Thanksgiving helps us look back with appreciation; Advent helps us look forward with expectation. As we move from Thanksgiving into Advent, there are simple ways to let one flow into the other:
Thanksgiving and Advent together teach us to look back with gratitude and to look forward with hope. Both invite us to slow down, to notice the blessings around us, and to recognize the deeper longing within us. As Catholics, we don’t move abruptly from the Thanksgiving table to the Nativity scene. Instead, we journey through the quiet expectation of Advent, carrying with us hearts filled with thanksgiving. Gratitude opens the door; hope leads us through it. And at the end of this path, we find the greatest gift of all, Christ Himself, the one for whom we have been waiting, the one to whom we give thanks. Author
 Advent offers a time to live in the hope of Christ. Christ is our hope. The Incarnate Son of God came at the first Christmas in all humility and in the fullness of humanity. He will also come again at the end of time. During Advent we reflect on both realities. He is our hope for salvation and hope for our suffering world. We pray during Advent for Christ to come again in glory and in thanksgiving for his first coming, which opened the doors to salvation. It is a blessed and sacred time of hopefulness. It is also a time for us to grow more deeply in faith in Christ. We can simply move through the season of Advent with only an eye toward Christmas and miss the opportunity to deepen our life in Christ who is our hope. There are many resources that the Catholic Apostolate Center offers to enter into the season of Advent more fully. These resources are some of our most popular ones. We invite you to share them with others. In the United States, we are also celebrating Thanksgiving, a time of gratitude for what God has done for us. In some ways, it is good that this holiday comes near Advent so that we can also be grateful for the faith that we have and our hope in Christ. It is a season of giving, looking beyond ourselves to the needs of others. This time of year is a good one to revive faith and rekindle charity, not only in ourselves, but in those around us, because that is what apostles of Christ are called to do. May the charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank Author
 During this deep portion of Advent, the time of the O Antiphons, we await the celebration of Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord. Our Savior, the Prince of Peace, comes to us in humble poverty since there is no room for him in the inn (Luke 2:7). Jesus, who is love incarnate, is greatly loved by Mary and Joseph. They witness to us how to love the Son of God unconditionally. His love is infinite, more than we can ever fully comprehend. Yet, it is also intimate, loving us individually and unconditionally. In response to Christ, the Infinite Love, we are called to more. The best response to Christ’s love is showing love more fully to God and others. As we come near Christmas and then the end of another year, it is a good opportunity to consider the quality of our love. Is our love conditional, seeking something from the other person or from God or is it striving toward being unconditional? We can only answer this question after reflecting, which we are invited to in these waning days of Advent. In our reflecting, we can call upon the wisdom of God. “O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!” (O Antiphon for December 17) This path of knowledge is the way of love, a reflection of the infinite love of Emmanuel, God-with-us. May you have a blessed Christmas and a good New Year! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
There is just something about Advent with its joyful anticipation of Christmas, the rush of preparation - decorating, gifting, and writing Christmas cards - and holy waiting. We ponder, like Mary, the birthing of the Messiah in history, in our lives, and our future.
We can see the Christmas spirit in “the twinkle of an eye,” a person fully alive with the joyful anticipation of Christmas. When my family would gather for the holidays, there would be a lot of storytelling among the adults. Mom would say to me, from time to time, “this happened before you were even a twinkle in your father’s eye.” At the time, I was not sure what she meant, but I knew that twinkle - in my Dad’s eye over a job well done, carving the Christmas turkey, or preparing to host a party. I also noticed it in the Santa’s I saw, Fr. Jim preparing for Mass, or Sister Prudence teaching us our catechism. It was a sign that a person was fully alive, joyful, and expectant. The Church celebrates the Feast of Saint John the Apostle on December 27th, just two days after Christmas. Saint John, and his older brother Saint James, are the sons of Zebedee, a fisherman. He was one of the youngest of the apostles and he was the last apostle to die. Tradition credits him with the fourth Gospel, three epistles, and the Book of Revelation. I must confess, I have struggled with reading the Gospel of Saint John. At times, it is mysterious, tender, and baffling. Yet, it has always been a grace - deepening my faith and expanding my heart. As we celebrate Christmas - and we must remember it is a season that begins on Christmas Day and ends with the Baptism of the Lord (January 12th) - I want to take the time to pray and ponder the Prologue to the Gospel of John. It is just 18 verses but it is saturated with meaning that elevates the Birth of Jesus beyond the horizon of our awareness, even beyond the boundaries of our imagination. The story of Jesus born of Mary in a stable is found in the Gospel of Luke. Saint Matthew’s account stresses Saint Joseph, his dreams, the three “kings,” and the flight into Egypt. Saint Mark, like Saint John, begins with John the Baptist. Saint John, however, weaves a beautiful poem about who Jesus really is to introduce the testimony of the Baptist. Jesus is the Word of God and, from the very beginning, he was both with God and was God and through him “all things came to be.” Every thing, every one of us, was created by God through Jesus, the Word of God. (John 1: 1-3) Jesus is the light “of the human race,” enlightenment is found in him, and we who accept Jesus, believe in his name, are now children of God. (John 1: 4-5) In Jesus, the Word of God became flesh, dwells among us. In him and through him we see the face of God. (John 1:14-18) When Saint John ends his Gospel, he proclaims both the truth of what he has written, but also its limitation since, “there are also many other things that Jesus did … I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25). Hopefully, we will receive many wonderful and meaningful gifts this Christmas. The discipline of Christmas is to receive the gift. To recognize the gift given, the giver, and the completeness of the gift. In so many ways, I am still unwrapping the gift of my smartphone years after my wife, Barbara, gave it to me. As I unwrap the prologue to the Gospel of Saint John, I am struck by three amazing truths. First, all of us were created through the Word of God. Jesus himself participated in our creation. Our being begins in him and flows through him. Second, if we accept the gift of Jesus, and unwrap all of the gift, as we are able, we are no longer creatures. We are now children of God. Third, we have a light, a twinkle if you will, shining within us, “and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) The Gospel of John is a gift given to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift that takes time to unwrap. It is so much better than Christmas cookies because its goodness, its sweetness, does not go away. Indeed, the more we feast on its truth and beauty, the more enriched we are. We leave both satisfied and hungry for more.
Advent is one of the most important and joyful times for our Church. We are preparing for the birth of our Lord! While listening to Christmas music and baking cookies, I also am taking time to deepen my faith-life this Advent. This year, I am particularly drawn to thinking about Mary and Joseph and how they must have felt during this time.
Mary was a young woman who was told by Archangel Gabriel that she was pregnant and her child would be the Lord. For anyone else, this news would have been overwhelming and scary, but not for Mary. She gave her resounding “yes!” to Gabriel. Because she was born without original sin, she was free of fear and anxiety that sin can sometimes lead us to feel. She cast aside all doubts or fears she may have had and began to prepare to give birth to Jesus. How inspirational that is for us to hear! When things in life seem overwhelming or scary, we are called to look to the example of Mary and put our trust in God. We also see that we are all called to holiness by God, each of us has a vocation and are given the graces to live out this vocation throughout our lives. From the outside, Mary was just a normal girl living a normal life, but she was called to more from God. We are all called to more too, but are we listening to the call God is giving us, or are we ignoring it due to fear? Joseph is also an interesting example of remaining faithful during this Advent season. At the time that Mary found out she was pregnant, she and Joseph were betrothed, but not yet married or living together. Originally, when Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he intended to divorce her quietly, as he did not want to bring her shame. As it is written in Matthew, “Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ (Matthew 1:20-21). When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.” (Matthew 1:24). This is again another example of leaning on the Lord during difficult times in our lives. Joseph could have easily walked away from Mary, making her face the world alone during her pregnancy, but instead, he took his wife into his home and supported her. Joseph’s example also shows us to be supportive to those around us as you never know what people are going through. He shows us that through faith in God, we can accompany those who may be going through difficult times. Are we listening to those around us and lending a helping hand, or a listening ear? Or, are we blocking out the noise? If we choose to keep our ears open, you never know just who we might be listening to. For Joseph, he was accompanying Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Who might need accompaniment in your life? I also think about the Nativity story - Mary and Joseph wandering around trying to find a place to lay their heads for the night. On a dark night, the journey must have felt impossible for them. Joseph must have felt helpless as all of the nearby accommodations had no vacancies. Mary must have had some sort of anxiety that they would never find a place to rest. Yet, two people living normal lives are brought to a manger and that is where she gives birth. It is really inspiring when you think about it, that our Lord was born in a humble manger among livestock and hay. It reminds us that we do not need shiny expensive things to live fully through God. We just need to believe in Him and feel the love and support of those around us. That is what makes us rich, not any earthly belongings. As we continue throughout this Advent season and look towards the birth of Christ, let us all lean on the examples of Mary and Joseph during this time. Their witnesses of faith led them closer to Jesus during what could have been a very difficult time in both of their lives. Instead of turning away, they decided to embrace the call from God. How are we embracing the call we are receiving from God in our lives? I hope you all have a wonderful Advent & Christmas!
 When my husband and I named our youngest daughter Lucy Joy, she was born in the springtime, and we had not considered how special the middle of Advent would be for her as she grew older. The feast of St. Lucy takes place on December 13 and Gaudete (Joy) Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent, which is usually right around the 13th. So far in her short life, there has already been one occurrence of the feast of St. Lucy falling on Gaudete Sunday. Our family celebrated that day as her special day, Lucy Joy Day! According to Christian legend, prior to her brutal martyrdom, St. Lucy– whose name means light– would visit the catacombs in Rome to deliver food and supplies to Christians who were hiding there, wearing a wreath of candles on her head to light the way in the darkness. St. Lucy’s feast is celebrated in modern times, particularly in Norwegian countries, where special breads are made to mark the occasion. Ceremonies are held with young girls playing the role of St. Lucy, bringing light into an otherwise dark time of the year, especially in that part of the world. As a child, having been inspired by the American Girl doll Kirstin whose family celebrated St. Lucy’s Day each year, I remember waking up early one December 13th, placing a Christmas wreath from my family’s holiday décor on my head (thankfully, I left the candles off!), and making toast with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top, and delivering them to my sleeping family. Now as an adult, I have the opportunity to celebrate the feast of St. Lucy and Gaudete Sunday, which are only two days apart this year, by doing what I can to bring light and joy into the world, to my community, and to my family. With all of the darkness and sadness looming in our world, we, as Catholics, are called to do what we can individually to help those around us: by being a light to them and bringing our joy to them. This can be done in simple ways by giving someone a small token of our appreciation, saying “thank you” to someone who has assisted us, providing acts of service to those in need, listening to someone who is having a bad day, or praying for those who need it. As we head into the latter half of Advent and prior to our celebrations of Christmas, may we all find an opportunity to be a light and a joy to those around us. Let us follow the example of St. Lucy and bring our own light into the darkness of the world around us to provide respite, care, and our presence for those who need it most. Let us also live out the actions described in the scripture readings for Gaudete Sunday: shout for joy, sing joyfully, be glad, cry out with joy and gladness, rejoice, and preach good news!
We’re well into the first week of Advent, and if you’re like me, you’re probably sick of all the Christmas displays and music and consumerism that has bombarded our senses since November started. As an American, it’s always been easy for me to get pulled into the secular world’s excitement about Christmas, its eagerness to get started with all the partying, eating, gift swapping, caroling, and general Christmas cheer. But as I’ve deepened my faith as a Catholic, I have found that the more focus I put on Advent as a time of preparation for Christmas, the easier it is to block out the unending secular Christmas noise and ready my heart, my home, and my family for the coming of the Christ child.
For most people, the phrase “preparing for Christmas” probably evokes memories of setting up Christmas trees and hanging lights outside, wrapping gifts, or organizing the ideal Christmas classics playlist. And while those things certainly count as preparation for Christmas, won’t we suffer burnout—or what I have seen referred to as “the holiday hangover”—if we spend all of November and December with our house decked out for Christmas and with Christmas music playing all day long? I know I would. A few years ago, as I was researching Catholic Advent traditions that I could incorporate into my family’s liturgical life, I decided that I ought to shift our emphasis from when to set up the Christmas décor and instead focus on the spiritual longing and the growing excitement for the arrival of the Messiah. Traditionally and liturgically, Christmastide lasts many days—at the very least until the Epiphany, but usually until the Baptism of the Lord. Why not leave the Christmas celebrations until Christmastide and focus on the preparation during Advent? Israel spent countless years in hopeful anticipation of the savior—is it really so difficult for me and my family to spend four weeks emulating that same sense of joyful expectation? The Catholic Church has so many symbols and traditions from which we can draw to prepare our hearts and homes for Christ. In our house, we not only light the Advent wreath every night, but we darken the dining room lights in order to emphasize the light that Christ brought when he came into the world. We also recently implemented the Jesse Tree—a tradition I did not grow up with, but one that I have come to love because it condenses salvation history into a timeline that is easy even for my children to follow. We don’t listen to Christmas music during Advent, choosing instead to listen to Advent music. We read children’s books that discuss the animals’ preparing the barn before the Nativity, or the journey that Mary and Joseph took before Jesus was born. When we experience Advent in this way, the anticipation for Christmas builds with each passing week. As Christmas Day draws closer, we start baking and freezing the Christmas cookies to be eaten during Christmastide and to be given as gifts at Christmas parties. I take time to plan out special activities for us to do during the twelve days of Christmas, or special meals I know everyone will enjoy during that time. We pray the O Antiphons. We make or buy gifts for our loved ones, and we talk about how giving gifts to our loved ones is a reflection of the great gift of Jesus, who was given to us on Christmas Day. In this way, when we finally decorate the house on Christmas Eve, we are all practically bouncing with excitement—and not just about presents, but about the miracle of Christ’s birth. Our children’s—and our own—sense of wonder is bolstered and preserved by our not celebrating too early. By steeping ourselves in the history of the first Christmas and by maintaining that same sense of watchful hoping and waiting, we can more fully appreciate the wonder of the arrival of the promised Messiah. *This was originally published December 3, 2019*
 Advent approaches. How are we preparing ourselves for this season that can go by so quickly? We are given this time by the Church as an opportunity to slow down, reflect, and wait. At the same time, we are called to more in Christ. It is not a complacent time, but one of active waiting. We are preparing ourselves for Christ, but not simply through waiting for our remembrance of the Incarnation at Christmas. We are also called to examine our lives and see how we are living for Christ now. Our lives need to be aligned to what he wants of us, not simply what we want, how he wants us to give of ourselves, not simply receive. Advent helps us examine our intentions, our motives, our ways of living and see how they can be more Christlike. We can do this through being more intentional about our time with God and with others, aligning our hearts more closely to Christ. Rather than rushing these encounters, we are offered an opportunity to patiently be in them through our prayer and care. We at the Catholic Apostolate Center hope that you have a blessed Advent season. We have many resources that can assist you in using this special time well. May the charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 Advent, the word in and of itself instills hope and builds anticipation for greatness, joy and peace. What is it are we waiting for? It seems with the close of the year, we wait anxiously for those intimate times with our family and friends, a break from work and the routine and a time for closeness. Maybe, we are waiting for a Christmas party, presents and the holiday ambience. As a student, I always find it paradoxical that finals would be during the season of Advent. The hectic study and preparation of exams easily muddles the preparation I could be doing in my own heart for the King. The anticipation, the excess and busyness I find myself in reminds me of the Gospel story where the disciples forget the presence of the Lord in their midst: “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but [Jesus] was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, ‘Save us Lord; we are perishing.’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:23-26). Looking without eyes of faith, the disciples found themselves in a panic and disarray. With a focus on the storm and on the circumstance that assailed them, the disciples forgot the most essential truth that was right there with them on the boat: the Sleeping Christ. The answer to their cries for help was peacefully present in their situation ready to grace them with a great calm. What is it, again, that we are waiting for during this Advent Season? The gift we are waiting for is the sleeping babe, the sleeping Christ, in the manger. The Divine Son, who humbles Himself so greatly that He arrives in the stillness of night, in the quiet with shepherds and sheep alike. The Creator God comes in the stillness. What we are waiting for is the Prince of Peace. My own hurriedness in finishing all of my papers and exams, finding the perfect gifts for my friends and family, making travel plans and somehow finding time to stop and recognize where I am headed resembles the experience of the disciples. I am awaiting His peace, but my actions reveal otherwise. I must intentionally make the effort to stop and breathe in what I am truly searching for this December. May the anticipation throughout this Advent season bring us to stop and ponder the mystery of the Lord of the Universe resting in a manger who has come to encounter our hearts. May the peace of the Sleeping Christ invade our hearts, our minds, and our actions so we too may accept the true gift He wishes for us all this season: a great calm (Matthew 8:26). **This blog was originally published on December 12, 2015.** **This photo is from: https://thejesusquestion.org/2011/12/25/nativity-paintings-from-around-the-world/**
 On the cusp of Christmas, our lives can be so full of doing this and that. It is usually not a time of silence and contemplation. And yet, the most famous Christmas hymn is Silent Night. It is worth considering that night that we will remember in only a few short days. This period of Advent turns to looking closely at who the Savior is. Only through silence, in the midst of so much happening, can we recognize him. Pope Francis offers us these considerations: “We can ask ourselves: What place does silence have in my days? Is it an empty, perhaps oppressive, silence? Or is it a space for listening, for prayer, for guarding my heart? Is my life sober or filled with superfluous things? Even if it means going against the tide, let us value silence, sobriety and listening. May Mary, Virgin of silence, help us to love the desert, to become credible voices who testify to her Son who is coming” (Angelus, December 10, 2023). The questions asked by Pope Francis are good ones to meditate on in these last days of Advent. Entering into listening and prayer, we can hear God’s voice more clearly. The voice of the One who comes into the world as Prince of Peace and sends us forth to testify to the world our faith in him. May the Charity of Christ urge us on! The Catholic Apostolate Center team is keeping you in special prayer during the Advent and Christmas seasons. May you have a blessed Christmas and a faith-filled New Year! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
In Advent, we are asked to keep two themes of the season in mind: the birth of the Christ child and preparation for his arrival to Earth again to end time. These great events, that of God descending in human form to Earth to save us from our sins by his death and resurrection, and the end of time with his arrival through the second coming, are powerful and mystical events. I often forget to focus my thoughts on this period from just before Thanksgiving until just before Christmas begins. One way over recent years that has helped me remember this awe-inspiring season of hope and repentance is through listening to one of my favorite Advent hymns: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.
As a brief refresher, it is a song whose lyrics are based on the Divine Liturgy of St. James and has been used as a hymn in Greek since around the third or fourth century. Speaking about the awesome power of Christ and his gift to us through the Eucharist in vanquishing the powers of hell and bringing eternal light, this hymn was revitalized during the Oxford Movement of the 19th Century and adapted to English. For Catholics, we believe in the Real Presence, so our understanding and awe hopefully go much deeper when sung with lyrics such as: “King of kings, yet born of Mary, As of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords, in human vesture, In the body and the blood; He will give to all the faithful His own self for heav'nly food.” For me, this song about Christ Jesus descending and giving of his own life and blood for us – simply because he loves us – is a powerful and calming reminder of what Advent is really about. It is not just about Christmas, and the gift giving, or even just the celebration of Christ’s birth. His birth is not what saved humanity. It was his sacrificial death and gift of the Eucharist that provides us that opportunity to join him in heaven for eternity as fulfillment of the covenant between God and his people. In a season with some of the darkest and coldest days for us in America, a song like this helps us remember that even in our darkest moments, Christ is there as a hopeful light. While the season of Advent is wrapping up, I invite you to take a few moments during your busy season to reflect on the power and awesome love of God’s gift to us, and the preparations we need to make for his return.
 As we enter into the second week of Advent, I am drawn to reflect on Mary’s advent 2000 years ago. This period of preparation can be difficult to enter wholly into, especially in a secular world that desires to skip straight to Christmas, but one way to more fully experience the anticipation of Advent is to look to Mary. We can observe how to live out her anticipatory advent of bringing Christ to others in silence every time we receive Our Lord in the Eucharist. When Mary gave her ‘fiat’ at the annunciation, the Christ-Child was made incarnate in her womb, and she spent nine months silently bearing Christ within her and bringing Him to every person she encountered. How radical that intimacy must have been, to be the only soul on earth who knew Christ, the only one to match heartbeats with Him, to be the source of life for the savior of the world. And yet, this time of intimacy was one of great silence and humility. The Christ-Child in the womb did not make a sound, for the first several months there was little sign that Our Lady could take consolation in His presence besides the promises given to her during the Annunciation. In that silence the only way Our Lady could know her Son and King was through allowing herself to become so silent as to hear the heartbeat they shared. This silence leads to the humility of Our Lady giving all of herself to Our Lord, and this humility of laying her life down fully leads to her willingly bearing the persecution of her advent. In the greatest humility, Mary walked around Nazareth bearing the King of the Universe, and allowed assumptions of her character to be made. She did not make a scene with those she encountered, announcing loudly that she was the Theotokos, but rather allowed Christ to work in the silence, as seen in the narrative of the Visitation, when the child within Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy at an encounter with Christ. It is in all of these reflections that we as children of Mary learn how we are also supposed to live in advent. Like Mary, we hold the Christ-Child so intimately within our very bodies every time we receive the Eucharist. We get to experience our own advent each time Our Lord enters humbly into us – the simple veil of bread and wine mimicking the simple veil of infancy which hides, from those who do not hold Christ, the reality of His presence. We have nothing we could give our King that would be a worthy offering, so we offer Him our lives. We allow Him to transform us into living tabernacles, our breath becoming His breath, our steps becoming His steps. We carry Him in our hearts and through the silence of our witness, allow Him to encounter the people we meet. Through living our lives in recognition that we carry Christ in our hearts, we grow in desire to bring Him to those we encounter first before we bring ourselves, and we learn to live in a perpetual advent, like Our Lady, allowing Our Lord to become the source of life within us.
 There are many names for Mary, originating from different times and places around the world. Our Lady of Guadalupe stands out from the rest as she is the only one who is depicted pregnant. A doctor examined the image and determined that her stomach had the exact dimensions for a mother in her ninth month of pregnancy. So, it is particularly fitting that we celebrate her in Advent as we prepare for Mary to give birth to the King of kings. The four candles we light around the Advent wreath symbolize hope, peace, joy, and love. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, Our Lady of Guadalupe reflects the light of her Son. She radiates hope: Pregnancy brings hope because a new creation is made known. God could have chosen to save us in any way. Yet, He chose to be begotten in the womb of a young girl from a small town. One of my beloved theology professors says, “God became man so that He could have a mom!” How beautifully mysterious is that?! The Christ Child was hidden in a womb for nine months and then lived a quiet life at home with his parents for thirty years. He grew up alongside peers and shared in rich conversations with the people He encountered. He entered the darkness of human frailty so that He could bring the light of God’s promise. Winter can sometimes reflect the season of our mind, heart, or soul. We can feel hopeless; spring can feel far away. In 1529, the first Bishop of Mexico was beginning to lose hope. Human sacrifices in the area were impacting the hearts of the people he was trying to evangelize. He prayed that Mary would intervene and send him flowers from Spain to assure him that she heard his prayers. Three years later, Our Lady appeared to a peasant named Juan Diego. The bishop had difficulty believing the news, so Juan Diego asked for a sign from Our Lady to assure the bishop that his testimony was true. On the spot where Mary asked the bishop to build a church, Juan found dozens of roses that originated from Spain. Not only were these roses not from the area, but it was out of season for Mexico in December. She radiates peace and joy: When life gets chaotic, the arms of a loved one are especially comforting. Sharing an embrace with someone who truly knows and loves us gives us a sense of peace and fills us with joy. In sharing these very human experiences of loving care and consolation, we can be encouraged by these words that Our Lady spoke to Juan Diego: “Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest and dearest son, that the thing that frightens you, the thing that afflicts you, is nothing: Do not let it disturb you… Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more? Let nothing else worry you or disturb you.” In the rush of the world around us during these weeks leading up to the birth of Christ, we can gaze at the face of Mary, full of joyful expectation awaiting her Child. We can picture her cradling the baby Jesus in her arms and remember His presence with us means the best is yet to come. After all, Jesus Himself says in John 10:10, “I came that you may have life and have it more abundantly!” She radiates love: In this imagery of Mary as a mother, Isaiah 49:15 comes to mind: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, especially in the Americas, is due to the miracle of her apparition and her answering to the needs of her spiritual children. On the Cross, Jesus gave Mary to John and John to Mary. John as the “beloved disciple” represents all of us. We are invited to be childlike and purely offer ourselves to Mary as her children and receive the motherly love Mary wants to give to us. May you have a blessed Advent waiting in joyful hope for Mary to give birth to the savior of the world and of your heart. **This photo is from https://springfieldop.org/our-lady-of-guadalupe-the-maternal-face-of-god/**
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