In poverty, humility, simplicity, and in obedience to the will of the Father, Jesus was born. Let us take courage to reflect and contemplate the Christ Child during this season. Let us be thankful for the true gift of Christmas – “Christ is born for us”. The Word became Flesh and made His dwelling among us, (John 1:14). As we are in the spirit of celebrating the Light of Christ, may the Christmas lights motivate us to be a human light ourselves, casting out the darkness of sin and pointing to Jesus, the light of the world!
On the 1st Sunday of Advent, we launched our pastoral priorities for the year 2015 for: St. Joseph’s Church (Jesus: the Heart of the Family) and Risen Christ Church (Word of God: Centre of our Lives). Let us pray and make great efforts to achieve the core needs of our pastoral priorities for this coming year. On January 1, 2015, we celebrate the 48th World Day of Peace with the theme: “No Longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters”. God will ask each one of us: What did you do for your fellow brothers and sisters? So let us make peace with each person whom we have damaged due to pride and sin; let us build solidarity and fraternity through fresh hope and courage to live in the light of freedom.
LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST ENCOMPASS YOU AND
YOUR FAMILIES IN THE YEAR 2015!
There is now only one more Sunday left in
the Church’s calendar year before Advent and thereafter, only twenty-five
days until Christmas.
Advent and Christmas are fast approaching
and the best thing you can do is to prepare your heart and your soul so that
you don’t feel the “Holiday Burnout” when it is time to feast and celebrate the
Nativity of Christ.
In that spirit, the liturgy and the
readings at Mass will prepare you for Advent while also ensuring a deeper
meaning of the Christmas celebrations and a more fruitful time this season.
Advent is the time to prepare our hearts
for Christ and the celebration around His Nativity. In our modern era, the
secular celebration has overtaken both our own feast and Advent. The best you
can do for yourself is slow down and bring your own heart to a mode of penance and
anticipation before the Midnight Christmas Mass.
Advent and the Christmas season are
periods of grace. Let us welcome Baby Jesus not like people who are without
hope, but as a people full of joy. Do draw up your own prayer and meditation timetable
during this coming Advent. Allocate 15 - 20 minutes a day for yourself for this
and you will find you are more meditative and prayerful.
May Christ bless you all as we end our
liturgical year and fill your hearts with joy in the months to come!
The word Advent comes
from the Latin root, ‘adventus’ which means ‘coming’ or ‘arriving.’
There are four weeks in the season
of Advent, a time of preparation for the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, just as
Lenten Season is for Easter. Advent begins on the Sunday after Feast of
Christ the King and lasts until the Eve of Christmas. This period is again
divided into two parts:
First
Sunday of Advent till 16th December,
17th
December till 24th December.
Both parts express the preparation for
Christmas. However, the second part gives prominence to more intense
preparation. The Church invites every faithful to joyfully prepare for the
mystery of the incarnation and at the same time eagerly look forward to the
Second Coming of Christ.
On the first two Sundays the liturgy
stresses on the First and Second Coming of Jesus. Thus, the Church invites the
faithful to welcome the Saviour with fitting preparation. Therefore, on these
Sundays the readings are taken from Isaiah, the episodes of John the Baptist and
from the teachings of St. Paul regarding the Second Coming of Jesus. In the
remaining two weeks the Church wants the faithful to walk closely with Mary in
Her final days of the conception of the Word.
"Man has a noble task: That of prayer
and love. To pray and love, that is the happiness of man on earth.” St. Jean Marie Vianney.
Advent is indeed a time of preparation of
our hearts to receive the baby Jesus as our King on Christmas Day.
Prayer changes us. Prayer makes way for
the Lord to come into our hearts and draw us closer to Him. St. Paul told us
to, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this
is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Thess 5:16-18).
Part of increasing our prayer should
include celebrating the numerous feast days during Advent: December 6th is the
feast day of St. Nicholas. The first sign of Christmas decorations in our house
are put up on St. Nicholas’s feast day.
December 8th is the feast of the
Immaculate Conception. Don’t forget your Mother!
December 9th is the Conception by St. Anna
of the Mother of God. December 12th is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. There
are other beloved saints whose feasts fall during Advent (Sts. Damasus, Jane
Frances de Chantal, Lucy, Barbara, St. John of the Cross, Peter Canisius, John
of Ketty).
So we learn about them and honor them on
their feasts! December 8th is day of confession at SJC. This is also a
good time to go to confession to cleanse our souls with repentance and
forgiveness before receiving the Lord on Christmas Day.
We celebrate during the Christmas season
because it is a time of being with family, giving and receiving presents and
longing for joy and peace.
As you slowly add ornaments to your
Christmas tree and Christmas crib day by day and decorate your house to
emphasize the Light of Christ coming into your home, don't forget to read the
scriptures that are chosen for this season. These can be read daily and will
deepen our understanding of Advent and Christmas.
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