Advent is next
I know alot people believe that after Thanksgiving comes the Christmas season but as a Catholic Christian for me the next season is Advent. Advent means coming. It reminds us we are waiting for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Christmas is a different season. That is why so many people years ago did not put their tree up until Christmas Eve because that is when Christmas started. Today, unfortunately, we end the season as soon as we get our gifts instead of beginning it. That isn't what Christmas is to be about.
The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ. In Dutch it is Kerstmis, in Latin Dies Natalis, whence comes the French Noël, and Italian Il natale; in German Weihnachtsfest.
In the early Church the feast was celebrated along with the Epiphany. But already in A.D. 200 St. Clement of Alexandria (150-215) refers to a special feast on May 20, and the Latin Church began observing it on December 25. The privilege of priests offering three Masses on Christmas Day goes back to a custom originally practiced by a pope who, about the fourth century, celebrated a midnight Mass in the Liberian Basilica (where traditionally the manger of Bethlehem is preserved), a second in the Church of St. Anastasia, whose feast falls on December 25, and a third at the Vatican Basilica. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm)
So, soon we will be starting our wonderful season of Advent as we prepare for Christmas and I hope to find some wonderful ways to express this season to myself, my family and in my blog.
Dear Lord help us to educate our family for your glory.
"Since parents have conferred life on their children, they have a most solemn obligation to educate their offspring. Hence, parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children. Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it. For it devolves on parents to create a family atmosphere so animated with love and reverence for God and others that a well-rounded personal and social development will be fostered among children. Hence, the family is the first school of those social virtues which every society needs."--Gravissimum Educationis (one of the documents of the Second Vatican Council)
Helping and Loving Our Neighbor
Corporal works of Mercy Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead
The Spiritual Works of MercyAdmonish the sinner
Instruct the ignorant
Counsel the doubtful
Comfort the sorrowfulBear wrongs patiently
Forgive all injuries
Pray for the living and the dead
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