Advent message to my grandkids

01 December 2015, 07:17 PM

Three of the four live hours and hours away, so I don't see them in person very often. Every month I send them all a newsletter, however, which includes a "bird of the month" for them to learn about, something from my own earlier life, and a religious thought or two. This month I shared with them the following:

quote:
So let’s talk about Advent. That’s the Church season we’re in now, and it’s a special time of year for Christians. We remember that there were many countless years when people wondered what God was really like, and hoped and prayed that one day God would come to us as a human. Then Jesus was born, and he showed us through his life, death and resurrection who God is and how God relates to us — as love itself. During Advent, we wait for Christmas day and remember all the many years when people were waiting for Jesus. We let ourselves think about these things each day, and that will make Christmas more special.

What does Advent mean to you?

06 December 2015, 04:00 AM

That's a nice summary of Advent for your grandkids, Phil.

To me, Advent is about waiting. Waiting for God. But he is coming, coming, coming all the time - this is the great insight of Advent. So we are waiting for someone who is always already coming to us in every present moment, in still new ways.

I also like to listen to music, like Loreena McKennitt Christmas albums.

This Advent for me is all about St. Joseph. I'm praying with the first chapter of Matthew, contemplating Joseph, the man who says nothing in the Gospels, but his silence is so meaningful...