Long time... So Much Going On!

Finally... we have snow and cold temperatures. Brrrrr. There has been so many wonderful things going on. Thanksgiving was a blast with my Dad and some wonderful friends, the Lunsfords. Thank you for inviting us! I had the blessing of celebrating Mass at my parish of Saint Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church. This year, we had a nice turn out and the gift of the Eucharist for us all continues to bless us. People even brought some of the items that they would have at their Thanksgiving dinners, so I did a blessing for those food items.

Since Turkey Day, it has been wonderful entering into the Season of Advent. This past weekend, the Second Sunday of Advent has come and gone. I cannot believe how quickly it is all going. And, as most everyone around us are already celebrating Christmas, let's hold off a bit and wait to the actual day... DECEMBER 25TH! Remember that Christmas is a whole liturgical season which lasts from Vespers of December 24th and continues with the Traditional 12 Days of Christmas concluding with the Feast of Epiphany. Christmastide continues on until the beautiful Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 9th this coming year. I hope your Christmas trees survive this lengthy Season because we cannot just celebrate the gift from God - His Son Jesus Christ - in just one day. We continue to celebrate and give God thanks for loving us so much that He sent His only Son to be our Savior and Lord for an entire liturgical season.

Today, I am excited for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This solemn feast gives us so much hope as we are called to remain as immaculate as we can each and everyday. As I shared in my homily last night, we became immaculate in our baptism, so there is an opportunity for us to reflect and pray at the Baptismal Font. That place is where we became Sons and Daughters of God. The grace of the Almighty poured into our hearts and souls and forever we became different in the eyes of God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is our opportunity to frequently return to the grace of God and be restored to friendship with Him. I encouraged people with the idea of having "Immaculate Confessions" so that we can become more and more like Mary our Mother - the Immaculate one. Mary has played and continues to play such an important role in salvation. She is a model for us of how we are called to cooperate with God to truly fulfill our role as disciples of Jesus Christ. Here is a link to read and reflect upon some of the passages of Sacred Scripture that deal with Mary: http://www.picturingmary.com/about_virgin_maryA.php.

Enjoy these Advent days folks. Remember the more effort we put into preparing, the more we will get out of the Holy SEASON (not just one day) of Christmas. You are in my prayers. I will try to blog more frequently, especially since there are so many wonderful things going on. God bless you, those that you love and those that you are working harder than ever to love.