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The word “advent” comes from the Latin term adventus, literally meaning “coming to.” The four weeks of the season of Advent before Christmas create a unique season of hope-filled preparation for all of us in the Catholic Christian community — although it can easily be missed by society at large as simply an extended, early celebration of Christmas. True enough, Christ has come, and we should rejoice in His Incarnation every day of our lives. But Advent gives us all time for a prayerful “retelling” of the story of the “Hope of Israel.” We prepare ourselves for the commemoration of Christ’s coming in history in Bethlehem, His coming in mystery each day in the Church and the Sacraments, and His coming in majesty at the end of time.

The hauntingly talented novelist Flannery O’Connor died at the age of 39 in 1964. After her death, a journal she kept at age 21 was published. A journal entry referred to the slim crescent of the moon, the time during which we only see a sliver of the moon as it moves around the Earth. O’Connor poetically describes this phase as the shadow of the Earth blocking her from seeing the entire moon. This entry reflects her fear that her ego will be an all-consuming shadow, blocking light and good from entering her life.

The Lord said, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us” And I said “Here am I; send me. There is an oath that anyone entering any branch of the military takes.  It is the beginning of a long road to becoming a veteran. “I, John Doe, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to regulation and the uniform code of military justice, SO HELP ME GOD."

Dear Parishioners, As we celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week (November 6-12), it is inspiring to contemplate that God, our Creator, knows each of us personally and has a plan for our lives. The most important calling we have is to our vocation: marriage, the priesthood, consecrated life, diaconate, or some other path. To my dear friends in Christ discerning their vocation, I encourage you to focus on using your talents at the service of the Lord to become more like Him and bring Him to others. If you live more closely to Our Lord, in prayer and service, His will for your life will become clearer...

When I’m driving, the last thing I want is to have to take an out-of-the-way detour. When I see the orange signs and arrows, I often get frustrated. I just wanted to get to my destination as quickly as possible, and now I am being inconvenienced. Detours are typically unexpected inconveniences which may cause a speed bump in your emotions. They let you know the road you are traveling is no longer available. And now, because of the detour, we must go off the beaten path, take longer than we had wished to, and be inconvenienced in order to arrive where we had hoped to go. 

The other day I got into my car and noticed that the side mirror had collapsed. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to work properly. I fiddled with that mirror, pushed that mirror, pulled that mirror, and sought to maneuver that mirror for close to twenty minutes. I knew I couldn’t drive without a mirror to show me the cars behind and beside me, so I kept looking for a solution.