Dear Friends,
As we head into the hectic time of year leading up to Christmas, the Church calendar gives us an opportunity to step back from all the busyness and take some time for prayer, reflection, and outreach.
Advent is a beautiful season of preparation for the great feast of the Nativity of our Lord and it is the perfect antidote to all the seasonal rushing, spending and partying.
As the COVID pandemic restrictions recede in our memory, it seems the world around us is more frantic than ever before, or maybe it just feels that way.
Advent asks us to slow down, to watch and wait. The readings point us to the coming of Christ – as a vulnerable baby in the manger at Bethlehem; his second coming in glory at the end of time; and his coming into our hearts here and now, in Word, in Sacrament, and in the people we meet each day.
We are asked to dig a bit deeper in prayer and reflection, to prepare a place for Him. And we are asked to really notice where we can bring Christ to others in loving service. Many parishes will have opportunities to donate food and other goods for Christmas hampers for the needy. Charities, like St Vincent de Paul, will have Christmas appeals for us to support. Here, at the Divine Word Missionaries, we are running our annual Christmas Calendar Appeal, to support our work in forming new missionaries and our missionary work in this Province, such as our ministry with our First Australians in Central Australia.
This Advent, I pray that we will all draw closer to our good God. Maybe it’s about taking an extra 10 minutes or half an hour for prayer each day. Maybe it’s drawing close to Jesus in the Eucharist or in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Maybe it’s listening to an Advent music playlist on the daily commute, or lighting the Advent candles at the family dinner table. Or maybe it’s visiting the elderly neighbour and taking her some of your home-made Christmas goodies.
May this Advent be a time of peace and an island of calm in our daily lives as we look with hope towards the wonder of Christmas.
Yours in the Word,
Fr Asaeli Rass SVD,
Provincial.
