How Catholic Families (Can) Celebrate Advent

Although my wife and I are now in Arizona – we used to live in Colorado and I received deacon formation at the John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization in Denver. In the campus chapel was this picture of Our Lady of the New Advent – Jesus blessing us from inside the icon image of His Mother Mary. This picture was in the sanctuary and it spoke so much of what we believe as Catholics – that Mary is the reason for the season of Advent because it is she that helps bring about the Father’s will. It is Mary who holds Christ as does a tabernacle. So, this is another way of saying, “Mary is the reason for the season.”

So if I put together a column about what Catholic families might do for Advent – one first statement of focus would be on Mary.  Last year at this time, I wrote a Catholic Family (Podcast) column on Las Posadas.
I’d like to repeat a bit of Las Posadas here again. Note in the explanation that the first name mentioned is Mary. You, dear Catholic parents can accomplish wonderful formation for your children if you let the ‘Spirit’ of the Advent season come alive in your hearts and in your home.

There is a tradition in Mexico called Las Posadas. There can be variations on how it is done – but the most common begins nine days before Christmas. These nine days symbolize the time it took for Mary and Joseph to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. For each of the nine days, the experience of Mary and Joseph looking for lodging at the inns of Bethlehem is reenacted. Participants are divided into two groups which are the ‘pilgrims’ and the ‘innkeepers.’ Pilgrims go from ‘house to house’ (or room to room in your home) carrying lit candles (or flashlights if that’s safer) and singing requests and looking for a room for the Holy Family. This can be done with your own musical ‘creation’ or I’m sure you can find words of a song that begs to be let in and given a room for shelter. At every inn or house the innkeepers refuse the pilgrims.  “No – no go away, into the night for we have no room for you at this inn!” This can be done dramatically or it can be done in song…. On Christmas Eve, the pilgrims are welcomed in at last. They enter and everyone joins in singing a joyful carol. Children and many adults love this festive teaching idea. Children are great at enacting what is part of our Biblical understanding of Christ being shut out. And it often forms a tradition that will endure for years and years – perhaps into generations in families.

Dad can be in one room and speak gruffly: “Go away, you have no money and there is no room here.”
Mom can be in another room as she sweetly sings ‘go away because it is too late and I can’t open the door.’ You can write your own songs or script as you wish. You and your children could act this out once a week – Sundays for example. There should always be an expectant Mary and husband Joseph in this play. In a small family, mom and dad could be the Holy Family and the kids could be the innkeepers.

Okay – some might say, “Well that’s fine and well for some families; our kids are too young or that wouldn’t go for that.” While I really wish you’d give it a try – how about a once-a-week family rosary saying the Joyful Mysteries together? You could write little plays – the Angel Gabriel coming to visit Mary and telling her she’s going to be the Mother of God. Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth; Elizabeth saying that she recognizes that Mary is going to be the Mother of the Savior. The birth of Christ with wise men and cattle coming to adore Him. Jesus being lost. Ooh – isn’t this scary? You could add lots of drama in this Mystery. But always, returning to pray the Our Father and the ten Hail Mary’s.

Finally – and this is so simple. Instead of setting up your complete Nativity set, here’s what some Catholic families do. Put the manger scene under the tree for Advent – except it should be without the Holy Family – obviously without Jesus present. Each Sunday – have a little Advent ceremony consisting of the following. Pick out an Advent song (O Come O Come Emmanuel, Ready the Way, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, etc.). Sing the song as you and the children light the next Advent candle. And as this is done, let one of the family members ‘move’ Mary (on a donkey) and Joseph closer to the Christmas tree.
Children love this visualization – an easy teaching method that Mary brings Christ to help make Christmas Day. And of course, on Christmas Day, before gifts are opened – Baby Jesus is placed in the manger with a little ceremony.

Jesus came to be the Christmas gift – Jesus gave Himself to the entire world. Your Advent practice might consist of some aspects of giving that involve your family. When Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit – the first thing she did was an act of charity! Mary went to visit her cousin. We know there are many seasonal programs… Coats for Kids, Christmas Giving Trees… If your children are old enough to help make cookies – don’t forget folks in a nursing home or a lonely widow down the street. If your church or community offers a Nativity Play – make sure to involve the kids or at least attend the play. In all of these, Mary, the Mother of Christ is the reason for the (Advent) Season. I hope your children hear this message.

And – may Christ come once again into your heart and into your home. An Advent spent with focus on Mary will most certainly prepare you for a truly Merry and blessed Christmas.

Blessings. Deacon Tom
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http://catholicmoments.com
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A Diaphanously Dressed Catholic Lady

Make no mistake… Deacon Tom does appreciate beauty! The beauty of the Mass and Eucharist… the beauty of God’s creation… and all too humanly I’ll add… the beauty of God’s creation of the opposite sex!

And so – a while back… on a nice summer day, I had a meeting at the parish office with a lady. I had only spoken to her on the phone. The subject of our meeting was that this lady wanted to secure a letter recommending her to another parish for this lady to be a baptismal sponsor.

When I came to the office – she was waiting. She was beautiful! Tall and slender and dressed in a diaphanous, filmy outer material which covered an attractive yellow print dress. She had long, very long, black hair and large dark eyes. She could have been a model – she certainly looked like one. (Almost as lovely as Allyson!)

Once into our meeting, she began to tell me how she was reared in the Catholic Faith and how it was important to her. She said she read the Bible just about every day… and she did pray every day. It sounded as if she would make a wonderful role model as a baptismal sponsor.

Now I happened to notice that she didn’t say anything about the Mass, so when I got the opportunity to ask about this, she became a wee bit emotional. Her eyes started to moisten as she admitted that her work (in a profession that does have off and on hours) kept her from getting to church as much as she should. But those other things… the Bible reading, the prayers… she even mentioned fasting. I certainly tried to be an understanding deacon as I looked at this diaphanously dressed Catholic lady.

Fade to black… and here comes a later, second session with this lady. It seems she and the other family members wanted to have the baptism at our parish rather than the previously discussed plan. It seems that the other parish wasn’t too welcoming because there is more to the story. The other (parent) family had some church-practice issues. And this proposed baptismal sponsor hadn’t told me everything. It came out that she had been going to another (non-Catholic) church pretty often. AND — she has been married twice, both times in civil marriages. She had never gotten an annulment of her first marriage.

I guess I was flabbergasted that I hadn’t found this out before. As gently as I could, I said it didn’t sound as if she was a practicing Catholic at all. Now I’ve done it. Now the diaphanous lady was really emotional and crying. Why was the church being so legalistic? What was she supposed to do? Stay in a first marriage where she was physically and emotionally abused? And no, she hadn’t been to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And what did I mean she shouldn’t be receiving the Eucharist?

All of a sudden – this model – this beautiful lady was pretty upset with the Catholic Church. It wasn’t loving like some other churches she had been to. Hadn’t Jesus already forgiven our sins?

Dear Catholic Family podcast friends… do you understand what has happened with a sizeable segment of our brothers and sisters who have created a homemade faith tailored exactly to their wishes and circumstances? No rules? No laws. No worries… be happy. Until the Church tries to say, “I’m sorry – that’s not being Catholic.”

Catholics come together each week… it’s not a choice. And in our brokenness and sinfulness – we worship together as family. We do our best to practice what the Lord and the Church teaches. When we fail, we go to Confession. We can’t make up rules like three year old children playing the game Candyland.

You may not know that there are people who practice this sort of Christian faith. But in any way – are you like the lady in the diaphanous dress? Have you created a sort of deodorized Christianity?

We need to pray. We need to evangelize. We need to give example and be willing to state with firmness what we believe… who we are. I’d like to hear from you. I really would.

Blessings. Deacon Tom

www.deacontomonline.com

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Passionate Christianity & Family & More

Recently, I had the honor — the pleasure to again join with Protestant pastors in the area where I live. I joined with them for prayer-before-breakfast, followed by a book-sharing discussion. The book is a provocative one that clergy everywhere would do well to look at — it’s called Un-Christianand written by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. At any rate, we finished our Christian clergy meeting with a business discussion of various pastoral and budget matters for this fellowship group.

These ministers are decidedly Evangelical as to style, including Baptists, Methodists, a Four Square Gospel Church and other faiths. I was the only Catholic representative. Morning prayer with these men is very ‘free-form’ — voicing expression of what is on their minds and hearts. We lifted up all area churches, programs for youth, those who are sick…. we prayed for America, for the elections, for elected officials, etc. There was prayer for our own sinfulness and failures. I find myself quite comfortable in this milieu — although you would guess it to be quite different than our Catholic forms of prayer… different of course than our worship in a liturgical setting.

Have you been around evangelical-oriented believers? I have read recently that the characteristics of these believers include the call for all to come to a conversion in their lives. (Seems to me that’s the way John the Baptist and Jesus started their missions!). Evangelical folks call for a renunciation of a passionless Christianity — do we not recall the words of Jesus about being lukewarm? Of course the Bible means a great deal to these folks — as it does or should to us.

You might ask why I bring this topic up on this Catholic Family Podcast venue? One of the Spirit-filled Protestant Churches in the Midwest would seem to be the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. (Which is not to be confused with the IHOP that many know after weekend Mass attendance!) The K.C. leader is Mike Bickle — and he has written about having a passion for Jesus. Here’s a quote from pastor Mike: “Passionless Christianity, so common today, is no threat to the devil. Focused on concepts and activities to the neglect of heartfelt affection and obedience to God, it brings no pleasure to God’s heart. It doesn’t bring pleasure (even) to the believer. But true Christianity sparks a flame in human spirit. It ignites the heart with holy fervency for Jesus.”

Did you catch those words about people having a ‘focus on concepts and activities?’ Hmmm… I sometimes feel that way about our churches. You know: we must have a women’s group… or we must have a men’s association. We need a director of religious education… Yes — these are important ideas in an organized parish or church. But if I said we had an opening for someone to lead a program called ‘Falling in love with Jesus all over again,’ I wonder who would show up? Who would want to volunteer?

The words from Scripture about being lukewarm come back to me often. It seems to me that many who are in parish organizations enter them because they have somehow become convinced that ‘organization’ is what the church is about. Well… call me evangelical…. or call me Charismatic… or call me anti-organization… what I sometimes wish to see is the spirit and zeal like that we often see in new parents. Brand new parents who are on fire with the potential of a new child God has given them. I’d like to see this in our Catholic worship… I’d like to see it in some of our church organizations.

I just read an article about a Catholic Church that doesn’t have pews or benches in part of the main area of the church. It’s carpeted and people can kneel or sit on their haunches during Mass. Some folks kneel, and during the Consecration, they bend at the waist and put their heads down on the carpet. Yes, I’ll bet it sounds strange to most Catholic folk… but where this action comes from is a passionate demonstration of the reality of Christ-present during the holiest of moments this side of eternity. In another church that I was a part of for awhile, I saw ladies who always… always double-genuflected — meaning they genuflected on both knees when they came into church or were leaving. Why? To honor God and to atone for those who don’t even bother to genuflect as they walk past the tabernacle or on entry or exit from pews. How does this make you feel?

Well — this isn’t a radical or veiled request to rip out the pews in our churches. No such thing! It’s a prayerful hope for some who read this to be inspired. To want to add passionate faith practice to their lives. And if they begin to do that, maybe this ‘exposed’ passion and love for Christ will carry over into passionate parenting and passionate caring for others. May any who heed this call recognize that the rewards for doing this are almost certain not to come in the here-and-now — but will come after the final curtain. That’s okay… it really is. Because passionate worship and the fire of real love is what awaits those who join the eternal kingdom that Jesus promised. (Note: I’ve already asked Jesus if I can be on the praise-team in the next life!)

Pastor Mike Bickle said that God intended our souls to be captured, consumed and enthralled with Jesus. Does your family worship and home life seem passionate and enthralling? How would you like a change? Tell Jesus you’d like to put your head down — maybe starting just a little bit during the consecration. Tipping your body toward his throne… his tabernacle. That might just start something new and passionate in your heart. Can I get an AMEN on that?

Blessings. Deacon Tom

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