Advent 2017

As we approach this Christmas, I'm reminded of a prayer I used to say every day on my way to work during the Christmas season. I would ask God, "Just for today, will you please bring us peace? Let the news stations be astounded because they don't have any bad news to report. Turn the hearts of all who hate. Change the minds of those who were going to hurt someone today." I never got my prayer answered, but I always wondered if somewhere, a violent act was avoided because God answered my prayer. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our entire world lived in peace? It has to begin with me. My struggle is dealing with our HOA board.  That seems silly, but in the extremely myopic world of local politics, I get very frustrated at the petty nonsense of some of the old people in our neighborhood. I don't know why I allow them to get to me, but I do. How can I hope for peace in the world when I can't even find peace in my own heart. So now, I'm praying for God to g...

This week's readings for Mass are from Isaiah and offer the most HOPE anyone could ask for.  "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse and from his roots a bud shall blossom.  The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him; a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding; a Spirit of counsel and of strength; a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD.  It goes on to say that the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together with a little child to guide them....The baby shall play by the cobra's den and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.  There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as water covers the sea.  Another reading promises a feast of rich food and choice wines and that he will destroy death forever.  The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces.  Today's readings say "A strong...

My first memory of hoping for something for Christmas actually was when I hoped for something for two of my sisters - Maureen and Maria.  I was probably around 6 or 7 and they were 12 or 13 - I could be off a little on my years.  Anyway - I hoped and asked Santa for ten-speed bikes for them. I wanted them to be teal colored - because the Miami Dolphins colors were so pretty and I thought teal was the prettiest color I had ever seen.  I don't know why it was so important to me that they go those bikes, but I hoped and hoped that they'd find them on Christmas morning.  We woke up and ... no bikes.  I was so sad for them.  Until a little while later, Santa, with his whimsical nature hid those bikes in the hallway.  They weren't teal, they were gold but I was so happy for them.  Although there were many Christmases after that, there are precious few of my own gifts that I really remember (other than my 12-string guitar) that made me as excited as I wa...

Advent is the time of yearning for Christ's birth. Last year, I wrote a Jesse Tree reflection to help me prepare for the coming of the Christ-child at Christmas. While at Mass yesterday, I noticed the four banners of Advent - Hope, Joy, Peace and Love.  I was inspired to reflect each week on one of the themes.  I'm going to try to write daily, at least during the week exploring different aspects of the weekly reflection.  There are many things to say about each theme and my prayer is that I will forge a closer relationship with Jesus as we get closer to Christmas.  In my family, our Advent preparation has always centered around our Nativity scene.  It's more like Bethlehem. It has about 50 pieces or so and each one has its own story.  When the kids were small, we would take turns reading each piece's story, then putting them into Bethlehem.  Each night, we would add pieces until Christmas Eve when the Holy Family and Jesus were added. Now, the children...