Dear Parishioners:

It is truly amazing! After Thanksgiving Day Mass, I hopped in the car with my parents and drove up to Houston to join my brothers, my sister-in-law, and my nephew in a Thanksgiving meal. The following day, “Black Friday” as they call it, we hit the stores along with the multitudes to look for good deals on Christmas gifts. What was amazing is how it seemed like someone had turned on the Christmas switch! All the music in the stores and on the radio was Christmas music! It never ceases to astonish me how this season has such an impact on our lives! And yet, as Catholics, we are called not to celebrate Christmas quite so early.

This Sunday, the readings are filled with themes of preparation and waiting. They speak of staying awake and being ready. We are just beginning the season of Advent and the focus of our minds and hearts should be on moving from darkness into light.

It is tempting for us to get carried away with the Christmas atmosphere since most of our secular world and people of other faiths celebrate Christmas prior to the actual day. This year, however, I would like to encourage you to enter into the spirit of Advent – that time of preparation for the Christmas season. Take time to prepare your hearts by sitting in watchful prayer. Take a stance that is more prayerful; a stance that looks with anticipation at the celebration of the birth of our Savior.

One of the best ways to do this is to incorporate the tradition of the Advent wreath in the home. Try making this a part of your prayer before meals or before you go to sleep. Gather around as a family to pray around the Advent wreath. Let the light of each candle symbolize the increase of light that comes into our hearts as we near the celebration of Christ’s light coming into the world.

If you don’t have an Advent wreath already, I invite you to make one. All you need to do is purchase a wreath, along with 4 candles (3 purple, and one rose colored). As you leave church this weekend, you will receive a book of prayers for the lighting of the Advent wreath in the home. This tradition was very meaningful to me as I was growing up and it helped us to be Christ-centered during a bustling season. Join me in practicing this very old tradition! Let the light of the Christ child increase in your hearts! God bless!

Fr. Paul