Hello out there! It's a little chilly outside right now but the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day!
I was invited to give one of the talks at an Advent Retreat yesterday. The topic / theme they asked me prepare for was "How Advent should "feed" our lives!" I prayed and wrote notes and prayed some more and looked up scripture and then God helped me put it all together! The retreat was wonderful and definitely, "Full of the Holy Spirit!" I decided I would tweak my notes a little bit and share the message with you.
I 've always thought about how Advent is a season of preparation. When we are prepared for something, a trip, a family gathering, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, etc. we are more at peace. At least I am. I like to have a plan A, B, C and sometimes I wish I had a plan D! Because you always have to be prepared for the unexpected!
It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away and then we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, just two weeks from today, Sunday, November 27th. Oh my goodness, how time flies.
I looked ahead in my Magnificat at the readings for the First Sunday of Advent. I'm going to read a couple of the scriptures from the morning prayers.
Romans 13:11-12
It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Wow! Throw off the darkness and put on the armor of light!
I love this time of year. I know that it can also be crazy, hectic, and stressful! But I have learned through the years to take things as they come. As you all well know, our plans, our ideas, our dreams, don't always work our like we had hoped, planned or prayed for.
But through all things, God is with us. So I want to share some memories and ideas that have helped me to grow in my faith, to be fed, during the season of Advent - a season of preparation.
My husband Jim and I have been married 39 plus years. This will be our 40th season of Advent. As I look back through the years, I see how my faith has grown. I now understand that the Season of Advent is not just about decorating our homes and buying gifts for Christmas but about changing our hearts and minds, about focusing on our relationship with God. What are some ways we can do this within our families and in our homes - in this world where everything is so commercialized?
First things first - Our lives are not Hallmark Movies! Oh, don't get me wrong, I like those movies. I like movies with a happy ending but those movies are entertainment, they're not real life. Our lives are complicated, some days are great, and somedays are not. And while some Advent seasons have been less complicated than others, the journey is different each year.
So what do we need to do to be "fed" during this season of Advent?
We need some really good road maps to guide us along the way. The Word of God feeds us. Instead of hollering out, "Hey Google, or Siri or Alexa" how about "hollering" out to God! I'm pretty sure everyone has a good Catholic bible or a regular bible - if not - get one! The "Magnificat" and "the Word among us" are both great daily devotionals! Pick which one works for you. They both have the Catholic Mass Readings for every day of the month and daily meditations. The Magnificat also has morning prayers, evening prayers, and stories about the Saints. There are also several aps for your phone; Laudate, etc. Begin your day with scripture! My husband is really good about this - he gets up really early and reads the daily Mass readings, prayers, and meditations from our Magnificat. Let me be honest - I'm not quite as diligent. But my day is better when I begin with the scriptures. Jim will say, "Sharla - make sure you read the meditation for today" or "Make sure you read the readings because there are some hard names in the first reading and you need to be ready!" (I'm a reader/lector at Mass) Thank you Jesus, for my husband, who helps keep me on track!
I am so thankful for my faith - and as a convert - I am so thankful for my CATHOLIC faith! I've learned through the years that making things more simple, and thinking about what really matters, has been a huge blessing for me.
Keeping things simple and focusing on what is important brings me peace and that peace "feeds" me.
Pick a couple of different nights and go outside and look up at the stars and the moon and reflect on God's creation. If your children or grandchildren are with you, they will love this. I love looking at the evening and night skies! Sun rises, sun sets, listening to birds singing, stop and find joy in the moment.
Count your blessings! Smile and give thanks to God! And share that joy with your family!
This is the time of year when many of us feel like "Martha" - Let's be like Mary, also!
Luke 10:38-42.
Mary and Martha. On their journey Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him to her home. She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord's feet and listened to his words. Martha, who was busy with all the details of hospitality, came to him and said, "Lord, are you not concerned that my sister has left me to do the household tasks all alone? Tell her to help me." The Lord in reply said to her: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things; one thing only is required. Mary has chosen the better portion and she shall not be deprived of it." Luke 10:38-42 (Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible)
It is important to prepare and get ready for family gatherings but if you take the time to be like Mary, also, you'll be much happier! Ask for help! Don't try to do everything by yourself. Use paper plates, plastic cups, and good plastic silverware. And if you don't have time to bake a pie from scratch - pop a frozen one in the oven! Or ask someone to pick one up from the bakery!
The following is part of a blog post I wrote two years ago, two days before Thanksgiving (11/24/2020): (And this was not our Thanksgiving get together - just a weekend before get together.)
I love having a full house. I have learned through the years to not stress so much about everything being perfect or whether our family traditions and meals look like the ones in the holiday magazines. This past Saturday night two of our children and their families were here. The total count including Jim and myself was fourteen! Our meal included; meat and or bean burritos, Queso, hot sauce and chips, jalapeno, bacon, and cream cheese wraps with or without dove - cooked on the pit. I had some pie crusts that needed to be used - melted butter, cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top and baked in the oven - a simple and yummy dessert! A pitcher of tea and a pitcher of lemonade, paper plates, plastic cups, and lots of napkins. I had a glass of wine!! A very loud and lively card game that involved spoons was played after dinner! I did not participate - I spent time with our younger grandchildren!
Our son and his family spent the night. We had a full house – kids asleep on the couches, and one on a cot. Every bed was occupied as well! I need more pillows! Jim got up early and fixed breakfast for everyone. I sat on the couch and colored pictures with two of my granddaughters. I added them to the pictures that had been colored the night before. As I’ve shared in previous posts – our seven year old granddaughter has leukemia –we were so thankful she felt well and enjoyed being with everyone. Sitting next to her and coloring pictures was definitely a “Mary” moment. I didn’t worry about what needed to be done – I just gave thanks and “chose the better portion.”
The pictures below are from that day two years ago, and also, the beautiful centerpiece for our kitchen table during Advent, and a picture of my little kitchen window above my kitchen sink!
Let's talk about the decorations - I love to decorate! I start on the First Sunday of Advent - And I make sure that our decorations stay up through the Epiphany (and sometimes longer!). Just a reminder, Christmas is not just one day! Advent is a season of preparation and Christmas is a season of thanksgiving and celebrations! As a convert to the Catholic faith, I didn't realize that Christmas was an actual season until I married Jim, a cradle Catholic!
Jim and I always bought live Christmas trees. We would all load up in Jim's truck and go as a family and pick out a tree! We wouldn't get them until about the end of the second week of Advent and then keep them up after Christmas day as long as we could. Anyway, when our first grandchildren were born we decided it was time to buy an artificial tree. Much neater and easier to keep the tree up until the end of the Christmas Season. I do miss the smell of a live Christmas - but I don't miss all those messy needles!
I like to get the tree set up the first week of Advent. Jim and I do this together. The past couple of years we only put the lights on the tree for the first week or so. I enjoy the simplicity of seeing the tree with just the lights. It's peaceful and I like to turn the tree lights on first thing in the morning when it's still dark outside. I'll get a cup of coffee and a little blanket and sit and look at the lights, drink my coffee, and pray. Peace and light - Yep, that definitely feeds me. (Remember, the theme of my talk was "How does Advent "feed" our lives.) I have some decorations that are very sentimental and I carefully unpack them and put them in place. I like to listen to Christmas music as I decorate. The grandkids will ask why I haven't decorated the tree yet - I tell them "It's not time."
I bought a little Nativity Scene for the kids to play with years ago - I always set it out and even though they are older now, I notice that they still move the little figures around. We set up a card table and put out a Christmas puzzle - they all like working on puzzles. I have Christmas coloring books and Christmas story books - getting ready for the birth of Jesus. We cut out paper snowflakes too! Gift wrapping idea: I've used the snowflakes as bows on the gifts before - and they work as the "to and from" name tags also!
I talked about the road maps we need to help on our Advent journey: The Catechism needs to be included with the bible and our daily devotional books and we need our rosaries! The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary guide us on a beautiful, faith filled journey. The five mysteries are all about the season of Advent and the season of Christmas. (I'll share the first three mysteries below).
The First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary is the Annunciation:
Luke 1:26-38
The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the
virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace!
The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and
pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you
will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God
will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house
of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with
a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child
to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth,
your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth
month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me
according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary is the Visitation:
Luke 1:39-43
Thereupon Mary set out, proceeding in haste into the hill country to a town of
Judah, where she entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. When
Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: "Blest are you
among women and blest is the fruit of your womb. But who am I that the
mother of my Lord should come to me?
And I have to include the next two verses - Luke 1:44-45
The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby leapt in my womb for joy.
Blest is she who trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled."
Don't you just love that? John the Baptist was leaping in his mother's womb!
attentively, hug often, weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice!
and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place
where travelers lodged.
(St. Joseph Edition of the New American Bible)
I pray that in our home we will always have room for the Holy Family, for
our Lord, Jesus Christ, and that not only will we have room for Him in our home,
but in our hearts, our lives, and not just during the blessed seasons of Advent and
Christmas, but every day of every year. Amen.
