Dear Parishioners:
The Advent Season is well underway. It is the season to prepare prayerfully and joyfully anticipate the coming of Christ. How is your Advent going? Are you already seemingly too busy to slow down and prepare the way for the Lord's coming?
Hugo van der Goes depicted the journey to Bethlehem in his masterpiece, the Portinari Altarpiece (c. 1475)
All too often in Advent, the prayerful silence and the deliberate slowing down are on the list, but we don't get to them. We have too much shopping to do. Too many cookies to bake. Too many parties, lunches, and dinners to attend. Too many cards to write. It seems "Tis the Season to be Busy!!"
For many of us, this is one of our busiest times of the year. If you have kids, you're swamped with pre-Christmas concerts, school activities, and shopping. If you're a teacher, classrooms are filled with students who are desperate for the holidays. If you're a college student, you can barely see Christmas through the thick fog of papers and exams.
Even if none of these apply, the season is still packed with office parties, gatherings with friends, shopping, and decorating. Even in our parish and school, this is a busy time of year with gatherings, festivities, and concerts.
La Inmaculada Concepción, by Francisco Rizi, Museo del Prado, 17th-century, oil on canvas
We start this week with the Immaculate Conception Holy Day on Monday. It is a Holy Day of Obligation. Holy Day Masses for this important celebration are 7:30 am, the School Mass at 9:00 am, and 7:00 pm. Confessions will be heard at 6:00 pm on Monday.
On Tuesday, we invite all adult men of the parish to a Recollection for Men at 6:00 pm. This prayerful and fraternal time includes Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary, Prayer, Confession, Meditations, and a time of fraternity afterwards. It is a great way to take up the prayerful silence and reflection we are called to take up during Advent.
Also, this week we are preparing for the OLM School Christmas Pageant on Friday at 6:00 pm. It is always a outstanding evening of Sacred Christmas Music, and a living Nativity is also performed. With 271 students, this year's Pageant will be very joyous and most likely crowded. So please join us as we celebrate this Season of Advent with beautiful music. If you're coming, arrive early.
Also on this Friday, in Westerly, the OLM Adult Choir, under the direction of Mr. Henri St. Louis, will perform at a Concert to benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Westerly entitled "Christmas in Song". It begins at 5:30 pm at the Watch Hill Chapel. So if you're looking for a way to celebrate the season and help the poor, then make your way to Westerly on Friday.
It is a busy season in all kinds of ways. Such busyness begs the question: How do we slow down? While the world around us gears up for the secular Christmas with an overabundance of celebrations, shopping, and partying, how do we as Catholic disciples slow down?
We can slow down in many ways. Begin with more prayer and read the scriptures. Make a great effort to attend Sunday Mass, and consider attending Daily Mass. Go to Confession. Strive to be more generous, charitable, kind, and patient.
As we busy ourselves with other forms of preparation, we may feel we have no time for extra prayer or reflection on the real reason of the season. Too often, Advent preparation is too inconvenient, yet the Christmas story shows that Jesus doesn't come when it's convenient. Think of His mother! She was betrothed to be married, and becoming pregnant put her in immense danger. Think of the Wise Men! They had to travel for months to catch a glimpse of Jesus!
The truth is, we always have busy lives. Jesus won't wait. He came to earth when it was inconvenient, and He comes into our lives and hearts in the same way. His grace comes into our lives in the middle of the chores, the busyness, and the obligations of living in the modern world. Advent calls us to awaken to the Lord’s presence in our lives. Let’s prepare for Christ’s coming with an expectant hush, rather than a last-minute rush.
I am away at the Winter Meeting of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC. It’s Advent, slow down, be silent, and pray! Be well. Do Good. God Bless. Go Pats!