From the Pastor’s Desk:
This weekend we celebrate the beginning of the season of Advent. A time of waiting in which we are to prepare ourselves to welcome once again the comforting mystery of the Incarnation and the light of Christmas, it is important to reflect on Christian hope. If I have ever needed a season of hope, this year is at the top of the list. Our life changed drastically nine months ago with the shutdown of our economy, followed by a gradual opening of much of our world. But it has come at a great cost, over 251,500 deaths here in the United States. For those families life will never be the same. Advent is a time to look to God with a renewed hope in the coming of Son, it is a hope that never disappoints. Optimism disappoints, but hope does not. In our troubled times that are violent, filled with anger, we have need of hope. We may feel discouraged because we are powerless and seems like there is nothing we can do. We cannot abandon our hope because God is beside us, God walks with us. God has not abandoned us, because God, with his love, walks with us. The birth of the Savior is the hope that pierces and ends violence and hatred. He brings joy, happiness and hope.
The decorating, the parties, the gifts, the cards we send, the special foods we bake; are all ways in which we may prepare to celebrate the birth of the Son of God. But this year these traditions need to be different, they need to be small family groups. As we have begun this new Church liturgical year, make the Eucharist a priority in your life, whether Sunday or one of the daily masses during the week. Only then can you/we put Christ first in your/our lives. Otherwise it is simply happy holidays, give me presents and get this silly tree out of the living room on December 26th. Without gathering around the Lord’s Table, without Christ in our lives on a regular basis, we really have nothing to celebrate on December 25th.
Just as our Advent prayers and Scripture readings are to prepare us for Christmas, so also should our Advent decorations lead us to the celebration of Christmas. The blue violet color of Advent can become the background for Christmas. Using ribbon or material shot through with gold can be enhanced in the Christmas season. The purples can be added to with golds or silvers. Greenery can be left unlit through Advent and then become aglow during the Christmas season. Regardless, as we celebrate Advent this year, we are called as God’s holy people to open our hearts, individually and communally to the reality of Jesus Christ.
In the Catholic Church before Vatican II, Christmas was the only time that Mass was allowed to be held at Midnight. This was because in the early church, it was believed that Jesus was born at midnight, although there has never been any proof of this! A lot of Churches have midnight services on Christmas Eve. This year St. Agnes Cathedral will have 3 Christmas Eve masses, followed by 3 Christmas day masses. It will enable more people to attend and still be social distanced. The parish has Advent Booklets to help you walk through the Season of Advent, and free 2021 Calendars, please pick them up at Church, chapel, or stop by the office.