Dear Parishioners,
I
have been ready to put up the white flag of surrender for decades now. Christmas is upon us already—at least
according to the American consumer mentality—and yet Advent has not even begun. Santa was doing his thing in
the mall for some time now. In fact, Thanksgiving
wasn’t even here yet. We just barely got
through Halloween (not to mention the Summer).
Advent. Why bother even to have such a liturgical
season? By the time the Christmas season
actually begins—according to the Church anyway—people are ready to take
down the tree and the decorations. Christmas is over psychologically. We will have been celebrating it for months now. Christmas parties were held. Gifts were purchased, then wrapped. Pollyannas (Secret Santa gifts) were exchanged. Christmas (holiday) shows and concerts were attended. Cards were sent and received. Cookies were baked. Stockings were stuffed. Traditional and not-so-traditional songs of
the season have been playing on the radio. Etc., etc., etc.
Then
Christmas actually arrives, and it’s all over by the next day. Let’s get to the retail stores to see if there
are any after-Christmas bargains. Maybe there are also some end-of-the-season deals online. And don’t forget we still have to return
those unwanted gifts.
It
is obvious who has won this battle. It wasn’t
the Church. Preparation for the Coming
of Christ? Yes, we may spot a few of
those Keep Christ in Christmas signs occasionally popping up on lawns or
displayed on the back of cars. But they
really don’t influence the vast majority of people. Perhaps, they may make some of us think a little,
but they probably won’t change the behavior of the typical consumer. Christ might have gotten an ever-so-slight
bit of attention in between Rudolph, Frosty, Santa, the Grinch,
Charlie Brown, Scrooge, Ralphie Parker (from the all-day
Christmas marathon “A Christmas Story”) and the host of countless others who
are “popular” and “new” and with whom I am currently too out-of-touch
to even name.
The Christmas season begins with the first Mass
of Christmas (Christmas eve) and extends to January 8, 2024—the Baptism of
the Lord. Advent originally had a penitential
nature, with a two-fold preparation
for the celebration of Christ’s Birth and in anticipation of His
Second Coming. There actually was fasting
involved at an earlier point in time. The
modern Advent wreath that many of us are familiar with in churches and in
homes is a rather recent development, being attributed to a 19th century German Protestant pastor.
Christ’s
Incarnation and Birth, next to His Death and Resurrection, is the most
significant event in salvation history for all humanity. God became one of us. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity
became a man. The Creator humbles
Himself, empties Himself (see Philippians 2: 6-11), to become a creature, a human. He allows Himself to suffer and die. All of this for us.
Jesus’
human beginnings sadly were met with little gratitude—no room in the inn. A
stable was provided. There was a feeding
trough for animals in which the Son of God could sleep.
Sadly,
I do not think the level of gratitude for all He has done has changed much over
time. It seems to be greatly overshadowed
by the materialism and consumerism that our modern Christmas has become.
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
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