November 28, 2018
Advent - Shopping
Dear Friends,
As we begin the season of Advent, I am offering a little advice about shopping.
Most of us, maybe all of us will buy some presents.
We will shop – either in a store or on the internet –
we will shop for a present or maybe many presents to give to others.
This can be a good and loving thing to do.
It can express something of what Christmas is all about – God giving us the present of Jesus.
My advice is this.
Also shop for a way for you simply to be present to God.
God is with us – God is within each of us.
Shop for one way that allows you to be present to God:
maybe by reading a passage from the gospel each day, or by praying the rosary or a decade of it each day, or by just being silent for five minutes each day, or by thanking God for one specific blessing or gift each day – these are just examples!
Shop for one way of being more presentto God and buy (do) that for yourself during this Advent (pre-Christmas) Season.
“The human condition has created the illusion that we are separated from God and that we must work to bridge the gap…And so to overcome our anxiety we acquire things. We amass possessions. Not so much because we like the possessions themselves, but because we like the feeling of possessing. It provides us with a sense of control – something that will give us the illusion of security and, at least for a while, mask the fear and want that haunt us deep within. Our adult security blankets are like an ever-widening moat that we dig around ourselves to keep the future at bay... We fear a future in which our happiness, security, and comfort are uncertain.”
From 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness by Joe Paprocki, D Min (Author, pastoral minister, consultant at Loyola Press).
[This is the first of four reflections for the Advent Season. See the next three weeks: Waiting on December 5, Giving on December 12 and Receiving on December 19.]
May the advent of Christ sustain our hope in this Advent Season and in all seasons.
Father Michael Schleupner
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December 5, 2018
Advent - Waiting
Dear Friends,
None of us likes to wait – whether at a traffic signal or in a supermarket line or for a table in a restaurant – wherever it is, we usually don’t like to wait.
Given this human reality, Advent is counter-cultural.
The Advent Scripture readings talk about the waiting in Old Testament times.
People waited for centuries for a Messiah, a Savior.
The Advent Scriptures also invite us to wait today –
not for a Messiah who has already come to earth,
but for the Christ who still comes to us.
We are to have a waiting stance or mindset, alert for Christ coming to us
in the unexpected kindness or wise advice of a friend,
in the faithful love or uplifting joy of our family,
in the sense of Presence when we are in church or receiving the Eucharist.
In these and many other ways, God comes to us.
We just need to be waiting for God,
and that waiting requires what all waiting does –
some stillness, some patience, and probably some silence.
“The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before…What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.”
From Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas by Jan L. Richardson (United Methodist minister, author, and artist).
[This is the second of four reflections for the Advent Season. See last week, November 28 for Shopping, and the next two weeks:Giving on December 12 and Receiving on December 19.]
May the advent of Christ sustain our hope in this Advent Season and in all seasons.
Father Michael Schleupner
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December 12, 2018
Advent - Giving
Dear Friends,
Most of us will give some Christmas gifts.
Moms and dads, boys and girls, grandparents, godparents, best friends, classmates, employers, employees, neighbors, parishioners, priests – practically all of us will give a gift to at least someone.
This gift-giving can be a wonderful thing.
It can be an expression of what Christmas is all about:
God’s giving of his love and his Son to us in the birth of Jesus.
With that in mind, I have one thought.
Let’s make sure that we really give of ourselves in some way here at Christmas. Let’s make sure we do this with at least the significant persons in our lives.
Each of us knows who those significant persons are for us.
This giving of ourselves may mean:
a non-cell-phone evening together, an unrushed phone call,
a leisurely dinner, a football game or a movie followed by conversation,
visiting an art museum, going to Mass,
baking a casserole together for a soup kitchen or even working there together –
the possibilities are many.
You will know what is appropriate for you and those in your life.
Give not just material or financial gifts,
but give of yourself and your time.
“Giving is very important: giving insight, giving hope, giving courage, giving advice, giving support, giving money, and most of all, giving ourselves. Without giving there is no brotherhood and sisterhood.”
From Bread for the Journey by Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996. Dutch Catholic priest. Professor, writer, theologian).
[This is the third of four reflections for the Advent Season. See the last two weeks: Shopping on November 28 and Waiting on December 5. Next week, December 19: Receiving.]
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December 19, 2018
Advent - Receiving
Dear Friends,
Our focus in the Christmas Season can be so much on giving that we just don’t think about the value of receiving.
Well, I guess it’s natural for us when we are children to be more focused on receiving, especially as we write our lists for Santa Claus.
But, as adults, we may forget about the value of receiving a gift from someone.
Our awareness of receiving is actually a gift to the other person.
It affirms their value and dignity – that they have something worth giving to us.
It might be homemade cookies or a pearl of wisdom for living our lives.
Let’s recognize the gift and receive it with sincere appreciation.
Our awareness of receiving also does something for us.
It may remind us of the truth that we are not complete in ourselves.
It may help us to realize that we are receivers and not just givers.
It may awaken us to the inter-dependency of all human beings.
So, this Christmas Season, let’s be conscious of ourselves as receivers, and not just as givers of gifts.
“Receiving is often harder than giving…But receiving is just as important, because by receiving we reveal to the givers that they have gifts to offer. When we say ‘Thank you, you gave me hope; thank you, you gave me a reason to live; thank you, you allowed me to realize my dream,’ we make givers aware of their unique and precious gifts. Sometimes it is only in the eyes of the receivers that givers discover their gifts.”
From Bread for the Journey by Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996. Dutch Catholic priest. Professor, writer, theologian).
[This is the fourth of four reflections for the Advent Season. See the last three weeks: Shopping on November 28, Waiting on December 5, and Giving on December 12.]
May the advent of Christ sustain our hope in this Advent Season and in all seasons.
Father Michael Schleupner
