Just because it’s Christmas
The Catholic Church has designated the four weeks preceding
Christmas as Advent, a time to “prepare the way of the Lord” for His coming as
our King and Saviour.
It seems fitting that Advent is the beginning of the
liturgical calendar, for it is a season of spiritual preparation marked by an
eager longing for the birth of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. There are age-old
Advent practices, some of which are mentioned in this FAITH FACT, which will
help children and families live closer to Christ. The practices are
time-tested and prove. A family’s strong and living faith will become their
heritage and a mode to reinforce the religious practices cantered in the
liturgy.
“When there are empty mangers to fill with straw for small
sacrifices, when the Mary candle is a daily reminder on the dinner table, when
Advent hymns are sung in the candlelight of a graceful Advent wreath, children
are not anxious to celebrate Christmas before time. That would offend their
sense of honour. Older children who make Nativity sets, cut Old Testament
symbols to decorate a Jesse tree, or prepare costumes for a Christmas play will
find Advent all too short a time to prepare for the coming of Christ the King.”
These are hopeful thoughts as we prepare to incorporate some of these
liturgical activities into our home life during Advent to enable us to truly
celebrate Christmas. It is a shame that many do not fast during Advent, because
without a fast there can really be no feast at Christmas. Traditionally, all
great feasts have been preceded by a time of fasting, which makes the feast
itself more joyful. Sadly, Advent today has supplanted by "the Christmas
shopping season," so that by Christmas Day, many people no longer enjoy
the feast.. Fasting and other forms of penance, such as prayer and alms giving,
help to purify our hearts and prepare us for the celebration of Christmas. The
Church especially encourages participation at weekday Masses during Advent,
because in the Eucharist we find the source and goal of our Advent preparation:
Christ Himself, whose sacrifice reconciles us with God.
So it seems many Catholics change there lifestyle for 24 days in December, they pray more often seeking help and guidance as they put their needs second for the purpose of helping others, in order to strengthen their faith and as an act of kindness and goodwill, so surely these small acts performed make a huge difference on the world, this is why December is seen as a time of harmony and love.
But, if our faith is strong enough to guide us through these 24 days of goodwill, then why don't we continue for the following 341 days? would is make the world a better place? in my opinion yes.
The simplest things can make the biggest difference, every Christmas at my school, in our religious classes we fill shoe boxes with gifts for a charity called Samaritan purse, this is a gift of love and gives hope to the developing world. The smallest item can put the biggest smile on a child's face. This is an example of helping others and making a difference, imagine if we could do this every month? image how many lives we could change?
God gave us Jesus as a gift, so that we could grow closer to God, and we should carry on the celebration and live out the teachings of the bible in every day that we live, as a thank you to god for giving us the greatest gift.
Faith and goodwill should be part of every day life, not just for Christmas.
A.S
