December
2, 2007
In
Joyful Hope
Church
Decorations
Many thanks to Al Peck and the volunteers who put up the
Presepio in church again this year. Take a few minutes before or
after mass (or make a visit during the week) to see the journey of Mary
and Joseph to “Bethlehem” done in the Neopolitan style.
Thanks to Lorraine Sherman and the volunteers who decorated the church
for Advent. While the world has already turned on their bright Christmas
lights, we recognize that the great feast of Christmas is still yet
to come and we are warmed by the gentle glow of our advent candles.
A special thank you many of our
parish
teens who came out to help with the Presepio and the Advent decorating.
They made things much easier this year and had fun helping in the church.
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Past Columns:
November 25: And it was
just Monday
November 18: Religious Education
Week
November 11: We Did Good
November 4: Stopping in
Jericho
October 28: Heroes, Saints
& Souls
October 21:How Fast is God?
October 14: Who says thank
you?
October 7: Sacrament of
Charity
September 30: This Old Gazebo
September 23: Missing Sheep
September 16: Speaking English
September 9: He's baaaack!
August 26: The Narrow Gate
August
19: Comings & Goings
August 12: Mass Schedule
Change
August 5: Better Late Than
Never
July 29: Sunday in the Chapel
July 15: Celebrating Kelly
July
8: I'm so not dead yet
July 1: Worse than Raccoons
June 24:Sommertime
June 17: Celebrating
Fr Cine
June 10: When Nature Turns
June 4:Celebrating Father
Jim
May 27: Praying in Tongues
May 20: Making (up) the
difference
May 13: Loving our Mothers
May 6: About Father George
April 29: Hearing Voices
April 22:Three Stones
April 15: What a week!
April 8: Alleluia! Alleluia!
April 1: Holy Week
March 25: Climate Change
March 18: Take A Step
March 11: Cold Enough for
You?
March 4:Stocking the Shelves
Feb 25: Basket Case
Feb18: Ashes and Desert
Dust
Feb11: Get Ready, Get Set,
REST!
Feb.4: Lent Lurking
Jan.28:Catholic Schools
Week
Jan.21:Crying in Church
Jan.14: Love ahead
Jan.7: So How
Was Your Christmas?
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns from
2003
Columns from 2002
Over
the next few weeks, as we step into the season of Advent, the church teaches
us that we are to eagerly expect Jesus to come again soon. Since the “second
coming” didn’t happen in past Advents, we might have given
up this joyful hope that he will return again this year.
Don’t give up hope. You never know. After you leave church today
and return home, maybe Jesus will be there to see you. Since he hasn’t
done that yet, you might not expect him to be there today either.. But
he just might be there.
And what if he was? Would we do
anything differently because Jesus showed up in our lives? If yes, what
would we choose to do differently? [Pause here for a moment before reading
further and answer this for yourself.]
Advent is a time to expect Jesus
to come again soon. Perhaps he is waiting for us to make the changes we
thought of BEFORE he returns -- or even in order that he returns! In Advent
we often recall the saying from scripture “Prepare the way of the
Lord.”
I wonder if Jesus delays in coming
because he wants to give us enough time to be prepared. If that’s
so, then we can speed his coming by being better prepared. Now that’s
different from preparing for Christmas. Whether we’ve decorated,
baked, or wrapped has no bearing on whether Christmas will come. But Jesus
is not a date on a calendar. Jesus is the loving Lord who waits for us
to get ready. I suspect he is restless and desiring to come today, but
he waits so as not to catch us in a state of unreadiness. (Thank God!)
So our temptation might be to do
nothing but Christmas preparations. And that would be a shame since it
will delay Jesus’s coming again. Let’s do “Jesus preparations”
-- changing the things in our life that will make our world more ready
for Jesus to live among us again.
I’m excited about the likelihood of Jesus coming again soon. Are
you?
PS Speaking of "hope", Pope Benedict just released his second encyclical called "Saved by Hope"
Find it HERE