Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It is once again time for Advent, this is the new year for the Church. We get to start off another liturgical year within the Church with this Advent season. Advent is another preparatory season, one that we are preparing for the coming of our Lord and Savior. He came as a humble child, one that was reliant on Mary and Joseph to take care of Him. He is also relying on us to help Him to carry out His mission in this world and that mission is to show the love that God has for us.

This is the time of the year that many people call the season of joy. It is a time in which we are getting ready to celebrate Christmas. But it is still a time in which we prepare for Christmas and it is not the Christmas season within the Church. The stores are trying to push us to celebrate Christmas earlier and earlier because if we do, it makes more of a profit for them. You will notice that the churches are decorated in purple for the Advent season and then will be decorated for Christmas on Christmas Eve the beginning of the Christmas season and it will not end until January 6th on the feast of the Epiphany. The song the 12 days of Christmas is based on the 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany. In many cultures, most gifts were not given on Christmas day, most of them were given on the feast of the Epiphany, which is the day we celebrate the child Jesus being given the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of our Lord and Savior, but also, from Thanksgiving until about New Years, is a time in which many families get together to celebrate these holidays. These parties often require preparation as well; we clean the house just a little bit more, we get extra food to serve, we prepare special family dishes, the list goes on and on. Even though this time of year is busy with many things going on, I really enjoy this time because we get to celebrate quite a bit. I know that in my own case, my family does not get together near as often as we would like, and like we did in the past. My schedule is all over the place, and my sisters’ children are growing, and they are even becoming parents themselves. For many families these holidays, as well as weddings and funerals, are the only times they really get a chance to get together. It really is a wonderful season to be with families. So please take some time to ready your hearts for the coming of our Lord and Savior during this Advent season and remember, don’t get tired of Christmas, before we celebrate that great season of joy, and have a blessed Advent!

God bless,
Fr. Ken