Happy New Year!
Err...um...well...happy new (liturgical) year.
There we go.
Oh yes, it's Advent. Light up that first purple candle and don your purple sweaters (or t-shirts if you live in the South), folks!
It's a busy season, that's for sure. No doubt about it. With the rush of the holiday shopping, it's hard to remember to slow down and think about the real cause for all this celebration.
Over the next week, I am leading 4 student retreats at our middle school campus. All of them have been designed with this in mind: keeping our eyes on Jesus and preparing our hearts for His coming at Christmas.
I'm pretty sure Advent is my favorite season - I remember how it was always a privilege to light the Advent candles on the family wreath and read the prayers each night at home. I absolutely loved the "live" Nativity show at the local Christian church (complete with animals). The songs at Mass always got me excited for Christmas too...
It's probably true that our culture has a part to play in making Advent my favorite season too - the Christmas tree lots (smell those evergreens!), the beautiful wreaths and lights, the holiday music, the flavors of peppermint and butter cookies...
It is time to ring in the new liturgical year...so let's get it started right!
remember the year we watched the live nativity show at least 3 times? ;) and got cookies and hot chocolate (i think)?
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