Christmas Sanity

" He sees you when you're sleeping".

Sleeping? Every women knows that at this time of year there is no sleeping,

or at the least, very little. There are to-do lists to prepare and revise, cookies to bake,

gifts to buy and wrap, sewing, holiday clothes to buy and keep clean, parties to prepare and attend, etc,etc,etc.

How? How do we fit in the reason for Christmas? How do we daily include Christ

in the celebration of His birthday?

Here is some food or cookies if you please, for thought.

As the flour is flying out of the mixer you turned on high, offer a prayer for 

for the farmers working hard to provide our food. Add the chocolate chips

with a prayer for the truck drivers delivering them to the store. Thank God for the creative minds of inventors for your stove and those new silicone gloves.

Shoved, bump, dirty look... Yep a prayer for that person to find peace.

An extra pair of socks for the needy would not break the budget, as you shop 

for those you love. Send those socks on their way with a prayer for a better life.

As you settle down on Christmas Eve, surrounded by the guardian angels in your 

house ( yes they are present). Thank them for their protection.

Christ is present everywhere. We need to acknowledge His presence and send others

some of His love from us.

Merry Christmas! I am praying for you.

Jeanne Link, chair MCWC

Come Lord Jesus, Come

We don't often stop to think of the conditions that our Lord was born into...at least I didn't, until I had a baby.  And then I thought about it.  A lot.

After a 20+ hour labor with my firstborn I started to think about what it would have been like to have given birth in a stable.  I, myself, am rather concerned with germs.  Now, even two years later I bring wet wipes with me everywhere, and whenever we come in from being outside our first stop is the sink.  I think the one thing my daughter is really catching onto is washing her hands...with soap, lots of soap.

So, I can only imagine the conditions of the stable when our Blessed Mother gave birth to our Lord.  He was born simply, in humility and with all the human emotion of a mother. I can imagine that there were all the normal fears that make a mother a mother...fear, anxiety, joy, hope...and that feeling of "just get here, already!"

This is a feeling that we should all have during Advent.  The joyful anticipation of meeting someone for the first time.  We might have a great relationship with our Lord, we might be really far away from Him, we might fall somewhere in the middle.  But no matter where you are, you have the opportunity to meet Him for the first time, all over again.

The Church celebrates the New Liturgical Year on the first Sunday of Advent so we can start over again, so to speak.  We can renew our relationship with our Lord and meet Him again in the most unassuming way: as a baby.  There is nothing intimidating about a relationship with a baby, they are loving, trusting, non judgmental and just genuinely enjoy your presence (perhaps a little too much when you can't put them down).

I think the Church in her wisdom gives us a way to connect with our Lord that is simple and nonthreatening.  He comes in innocence and humility to meet us where we are...all we need to do is joyfully anticipate His coming by inviting Him into our hearts with a simple prayer: Come Lord Jesus, come!!