Saturday, December 18, 2010

Embrace the Final Week of Advent


Maybe I’m getting old…okay I am getting old.  This struck me the other day as I was driving into work and saw multiple people working feverishly on their smart phones while they were driving.

That sight got me to thinking about my younger years.  Back then the only way you received messages was via “snail” mail, an actual phone call (with phones that people used only in their homes), or a note that was folded into a triangle or square and passed around the classroom with great trepidation due to the chance of the teacher catching the contraband. 

Generally speaking one had to wait for such communication, usually with some type of anticipation, which added to the importance of each message.  Because of this heightened value we typically put thought into our messages – carefully crafting them in order to insure that our intended recipient received the proper message.

In our modern society we do not need to wait, as every method of communication is, for the most part, instantaneous.  Every message seems fueled by the desire for instant gratification with no sense of wonder, no paused moments full of anticipation.

One can see this same mentality during the “shopping season” which leads into Christmas.  How many Facebook statuses on Black Friday bragged “I went shopping…and bought things for myself?”  In a season (especially for the Christian) that is supposed to be fueled by the desire to give to others, we find an antithetical message of taking care of me first.  Again, no pausing and waiting with anticipation for what others may have sacrificed to buy or make for me…I’ll take care of it myself and allow the others to pile on that "holiday" at the end of the month.

Our faith, counter-culturally, challenges us to embrace the joy that can be found in anticipation.  This is the message of the Advent season.  Stop.  Listen. Be aware of God’s presence.  Wait expectantly for His coming among us again as we wait joyfully to celebrate the Incarnation when God “pulled back the curtain and revealed His love for the heart of man” (Chapman, Precious Promise).

It is not too late to embrace the spirit of this holy season.  It is not too late to shed the shackles of entitlement and instant gratification for the “yoke” that Christ offers us, which leads to rest and peace.   It is not too late to enter into Advent and wait with joy-filled anticipation for the gifts prepared for you, the most important of which is the gift of Jesus Christ, most powerfully manifested in the Eucharist, which is the Real Presence of Christ. 

May this embracing of the final days of Advent bring a greater awareness of God's grace in all our lives and a spirit of selflessness which is the true spirit of the Christmas season which will soon be upon us.

P.S. By the way there is a practical reason for showing some restraint when it comes to the addiction of texting and instant messaging while driving.  You will save your life and mine.



Michael Lavigne

Friday, December 17, 2010

Mission Minded


Not many of you know this about me, but when I prepared to enter religious life as a young adult, it was with the intention of becoming a missionary.  I had hoped to serve in Africa one day.

My dad traveled the world for his work and did not approve of this desire because of the great poverty he witnessed personally.  However, he loved Quebec and enjoyed his business trips there.  So, when I discovered the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary founded in Quebec, I enthusiastically showed him the booklet (making sure he did not see the pages about Africa and Haiti.)

After entering the community, which also embraced Brazil, I realized the Lord had something else in mind and I never served outside the country.  However, it was my goal to meet someone from every country in the world and reached 28 before losing count.  (I have many wonderful experiences and friends as a result!)
My other connection to the missions is my personal patron Saint, St Therese of Lisieux.  When studying at Providence College, my spiritual director and professor told me to research her life for one of my assignments.  As you know,  St Therese of Lisieux is the patron Saint of missionaries yet she was a cloistered nun!  So you see, you need not travel far to be "Mission Minded".
As the Director of Missions/CRS, I want to keep in touch with you because we are all called to be "Mission Minded" in our efforts to evangelize and catechize...  I want to continue supporting you in your efforts and ask for your prayers and support as I begin my new position.
For those who know me well... let me say... my joy for creativity and change is beginning to simmer....

God's Blessings for Advent and Christmas!

Ruth Oakley

Monday, December 13, 2010

The Spirit of Christmas


Here is a surprising little fact you may not know about the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas. St. Nick punched the heretic Arius in the face during the council of Nicea in 325 AD! Arius was asserting that Jesus was not God but only a prophet.
You can read about it in the following article…
So why do I share this with you? To encourage you to act violently against heretics? No! While St. Nicholas himself would not be proud of his actions against Arius, it is his zeal for the truth about who Christ is that is admirable. Jesus Christ is God, and God came to earth as a human, a baby in fact from the womb of Mary. This is the great mystery we celebrate at Christmas!
Pray for the intercession of St Nicholas, pray that you will have the faith to believe Jesus is God and that our world will see past the superficiality that often masks the true meaning of Christmas, that all will come to know and believe that Jesus is Lord! 
Joe Mailhot

Silent Beauty, Beautiful Silence


That’s what I get to look at every single morning.  Yep, pretty much amazing!  Every morning when I wake up I am seriously blown away by the awesome-ness of a God who created such beauty.  My life has been so full of peace since I moved here and I believe a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am surrounded by two things: beauty and silence.  Living alone in such a beautiful place has really turned into a personal retreat for me.  I wake up every morning to this breath-taking beauty and in the silence cannot help but enter into conversation with the God who made such beauty.

I’ve been reflecting on these two elements of silence and beauty.  In our culture today, we are surrounded by so much noise that silence often makes us uncomfortable.  We have developed an aversion to it.  With ever-increasing technology where people can get a hold of us whenever and however they wish, we rarely take time to separate ourselves from the noise surrounding us.  Interiorly, silence can be frightening because it is in the silence that we are often led to face those things inside of us that are not pretty to look at.  John Paul II spoke of man “deafening himself with noise” and being “unable to be silent for fear of meeting himself, of feeling the emptiness that asks itself about meaning” (Orientale Lumen, 16).  Compare this aversion to silence with the typical reaction we have to beauty.  Beauty is attractive, draws us in, captivates us.  We have a natural inclination to beauty.  A gorgeous sunset, snow-capped mountain peak, Mozart concerto, or a baby’s smile all leave us longing for more.  

I find the link between silence and beauty to be profound.  Beauty calls for silence.  A beautiful mountain vista leaves the viewer speechless.  Speaking in the presence of great beauty somehow seems out of place.  At the same time, silence is necessary to notice and truly appreciate beauty in the first place.  Beauty is often bypassed because of a lack of silence.  Silence allows us to truly immerse ourselves in beauty.  I believe there is an integral connection between silence, beauty, and conversion.  It is in silence that we are able to encounter God, who is Beauty itself, and that is where our hearts experience true and lasting conversion.

During this Advent season and what all too often becomes a hectic time of year, I encourage you to make time for silence in your life.  Sit for awhile and in the silence contemplate the beauty of our God become man in the person of Baby Jesus.  You may not have the vast expanse of ocean to look at out your front window, but if you take a moment to be silent, you’ll be able to see the greatest beauty of all: a loving God who humbled Himself and became man for us!  Let your heart be captivated by that beauty!

Sarah Houde

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Advent

Inspirational video regarding our focus during Advent. Be challenged. Refocus. Remember that God is loving you into existence each and every moment.  Be a conduit of God's love.