Dear Friends,
This year Advent begins on December first, giving us a full four weeks to prepare for Christmas. Contrary to what we hear and see in the commercialized culture around us, Advent is a season of spiritual preparation – not of external decoration/shopping – for Christmas as the Jews longed for the Messiah. So the first question we need to ask ourselves is: how can we use these four weeks to prepare for a frenzy-free Christmas? Remember the visit of Jesus to the house of Martha and Mary in the gospel of Luke? Seeing the restlessness of Martha, Jesus told her: “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken away from her” (10:41-42). Try repeating this Bible verse as if Jesus is addressing you, and it will truly help you focus on what is important during this busy season. One way to focus on the meaning of this holy season is to choose some Advent spiritual practices. Some examples:
Family Bible Quiz: It will be an excellent Advent practice to do a Bible Quiz or Bible Trivia with your family. Here are five simple Biblical questions connected with Advent/Christmas:
1.) What does Jesus’ other name, “Emmanuel” mean?
2) What was Joseph’s first reaction when he discovered that Mary was pregnant?
3.) Why did Joseph and Mary go to the city of David?
4) How much older was John the Baptist than Jesus?
5) Which angel appeared to Mary?
Making such questions part of your family dinner table conversation will certainly have a very meaningful impact at your home.
Family Advent Wreath: It is a common practice for families to light Advent wreath candles at home. During each Sunday of the Advent season, we focus on one of the four virtues Jesus brings us: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. Others consider the lighting of the first candle to symbolize expectation, while the second symbolizes hope, the third joy and the fourth purity. Elsewhere in today’s bulletin there is a simple prayer that the family can do together while lighting the first candle on your Advent Family Wreath.
Follow the daily readings for Mass: Even though it is not possible for most people to attend the weekday Mass, everyone can read the daily scriptures and have a daily connection with the Word of God. You can easily access the daily readings from https://bible.usccb.org/
Follow our daily Mass from YouTube at night! It was very heartening for me to hear some parishioners tell me how they attend our daily Mass at night! Since they have to go to work in the morning, they access our live-streamed daily Mass at night from our St. Matthias Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/stmatthiassomersetnj. Jeff Beck who monitors the viewership of our live-streamed Masses, told me that there is a very significant increase in attendance after the updated media project with the new exceptionally clear screen.
Thus, let us enter into the spirit of Advent taking some concrete action plan for ourselves and for our family, so that we can experience a meaningful Christmas of the Lord touching us!
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal