Anticipating Joy: 4th Week of Advent....

Hi all. It is indeed a good day to anticipate joy. ;-) This is what my overnight sounded like:

2 am: *dramatic sneeze*

2:02 am: *trip to bathroom*

2:03 am: *loud sneeze*

2:04 am: *coughing attack*

2:05 am: *back to bed*

2:06 am: *toss*

2:07 am: *turn*

2:08:30: *toss turn*

2:09 am: *trip to bathroom for water*

2:10 am: *rustling of warmer clothes being pulled on in bedroom*

2:11 am: *back to bed*

2:11:30: *coughing attack*

2:12 am: *light blares on*

To be clear, this was not me. It was my adorable, lovable husband. Who I am ever so glad packed up his pillow and went downstairs to cough for the rest of the night. :0 I felt bad for him, but it was rough going with all of the sickness symptoms. He was down there for about 5 minutes when we hear:

"Dad. COULD YOU COME IN HERE?!" The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, with that one and nighttime wakings.

#longsufferingsigh

At any rate, I'm alive, here, and ready to talk about our prompt for the 4th Sunday of Advent.

*beatific beam*

Paul reminds us we are called to be holy. What am I doing this Advent to draw closer to God and others?

My response to this is that I have tried to be more aware of my faith in the midst of daily distractions, particularly this past week. In the 'keeping it real' category is the fact that this Advent hasn't felt as special and set aside to me as it usually does. I've been getting a lot out of these weekly posts and the journaling prompts, but that's pretty much it. I have forgotten to light the Advent candles every single week except this past Sunday (and technically Henry lit them), and the kids have been taking the reigns with the Advent calendars. I haven't been consistent with my Advent devotional reading, and I didn't make it to the Advent Penance Service.

#epicfail

That being said, for the past week or so it has occurred to me how much my faith means to me. Things had felt a bit dry, which led to a sense of complacency. When I started thinking about making more of a structured effort to get to confession and pick back up Advent traditions, that sense of peace and solace washed over me again. I'm not completely back on track, but I feel connected again. I think that over the Christmas season all will be well again. I feel a lot better about everything. And Mass this Advent has been WONDERFUL, especially with Henry in his new role as altar server. *beams*

What are your thoughts on the prompt this week?

Anticipating Joy: 3rd Week of Advent...

Happy Wednesday everyone! I woke up this morning feeling decidedly less than 100% (never a good thing when your first thought as you wake is why your throat feels so weird :-/), AND we are under a lake effect snow advisory here in WNY starting at 1 pm EST. I'm thinking that I'm going to be leaving work early so that I don't have to drive home in the worst of it. And I also have to order a pair of snow boots. :-( My cute dress boots aren't going to cut it for all purposes this winter, that's for sure.

At any rate, I'm feeling slightly diminished, but in good spirits this Advent weekday in our third week. I enjoyed Mass very much this week, with the rose vestments on full display, and the kids bringing up their little Jesus figurines for a special Gaudete Sunday blessing. Speaking of, I just ordered each of them expansions for their nativity sets: the 3 Kings for Anne, and a Bethlehem Village Blacksmith Shop For Henry. Henry has quite a developed little town in his room each year during Advent and Christmas. :)

Henry's nativity scene

Expanding Bethlehem Village

All right, so what is our prompt for the week?

Isaiah encourages us to be strong and fear not when God comes. What weaknesses and fears block my acceptance of God in my life?

Well, for me, this is an easy one to answer: fear of change and the unknown. This has been a lifelong issue for me, and all of these years later, it is still omnipresent. The sweeping reading this week from Isaiah reminds me that is something that I need to continue to work on:

"Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God; he is coming to save you."

Isaiah 35: 4.

Forge on I must, and my very favorite intercessor for this intention is St. John Paul II. In fact, he may be one of my favorite saints of all time. He certainly faced a number of challenges in his life, and yet he always held to his motto of "Be not afraid." Sometimes we do not know what is coming, but we must hold on to the hope that God will see us through, no matter what it is. Letting go of that fear will lead to peace. I know this, but it sure is difficult to implement! I'm thinking that perhaps another attempt at reading his biography would be a worthwhile endeavor for Lent.

What are your thoughts this 3rd week of Advent, dear readers? What fears are holding you back on acceptance of God in YOUR life?

Anticipating Joy: 2nd Week of Advent...

Happy 2nd week of Advent everyone! I am feeling particularly joyful this week, and I think it's because Christmas is just a little bit closer. Or maybe it's because I finished my grading for the semester yesterday.

*trumpets blare!*

Never, in all of my years of academia, both as a student and librarian, have I EVER been happier for a semester to come to a close. Good grief!

At any rate, here we are nearing the halfway point of Advent. And I have my handy dandy journal prompt for us to delve into this week. Ready? Get your tea.

*pours*

John encourages us to change our lives to prepare for Jesus's coming. What changes do I need to make this Advent?

This week's gospel was the dramatic retelling of how wacky St. John the Baptist was living in the desert by himself, wearing some sort of camel hair garment (ouch! could you imagine sitting down in that thing?! :0) and eating locusts and wild honey. Confident and self-assured in his own eccentricity, John the Baptist was. ;-) And his message is quite bold:


"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

 "Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

Matthew 3:1-12

The message from these passages is clear to me: John does not want us to be passive Christians in our relationship with Christ, and in our example to others. We need to LIVE the Christian message. Although John did not shy away from shouting out provocative messages, I do not think he is telling us that we have to be in anyone's face loudly reciting the Gospel message. He wants us to be bold in our proclamation by example.

So what does this mean for my life? I am a Nervous Nelly. I should be constantly at peace with my faith and my Lord, and yet am I? I am not. :0 I am always frittering about to and fro, anxious about this thing and that. And why, and for what? This is a useless exercise, and no amount of self-awareness on this issue has ever effected a long term difference. But Advent and Lent always offer us a fresh start in terms of self-examination and spiritual goal setting. This week, I am going to try and take John's advice. I am going to adopt peace as my aspirational Advent goal, living that out within my own little universe, and passing it on to others where I can.

That is the change that I need to make this Advent. What is your Advent goal this week? What small thing can you do to change your life this Advent? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Anticipating Joy: 1st Week of Advent

Hello all, and welcome to week 1 in our series for Advent 2016: Anticipating Joy! There is no formal structure for these, it's just a place for us to leave our thoughts and aspirations for each week of Advent this year. I am using a few different Advent devotionals right now, including Advent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta: Daily Meditations, and Goodness and Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas. I have been enjoying reading them in the evenings, and have been using them to keep things in mind as I proceed about my days this Advent. I also purchased a copy of the Living with Christ Prayer Journal 2017, and I started it this past Sunday, for the 1st Sunday of Advent. This is not a daily journal, but a weekly one, corresponding to the Sundays of the liturgical calendar and the Mass readings. And it occurred to me that each entry has a little prompt for us to use in these posts. That's a yay! So I'm going to use those for this 4 week series. Let's get started with our first one!

Paul tells us to put aside godless ways and live in God's light. What attitude or action should I reject this Advent?

Don'cha love it?! I really like this little journal. There is also room to write down names to pray for that week, and there's a reflection to read. I live for this stuff. But back on track... For this prompt, I wrote down:disquiet/frenzied worry and anxiety. Frenzied is a word that I often think of when the holiday shopping/meal planning season comes to mind. And I really want to work to avoid that. I want Advent to be a season of contented, reflective contemplation, and anticipation of Christmas.

For the past 2 years, our priest has chosen to process into Mass during Advent without an opening hymn. He and the altar servers walk in in silence, and then take their seats on the altar to quietly pray for a few moments before Mass begins. I am loving this, and I think it feeds into the sentiment I described above quite well.

That is my goal for the week: To be internally quiet and peaceful, and not give into the chaos that emotional turmoil and anxiety bring. What is YOUR response to this Advent prompt? I would love to hear all about it in the comments!