Pro
Sanctity invites you to get ready for Christmas with Advent! Here
are….
1. Stop in your tracks - just for a
moment - and recall that Advent is a time of preparation:
a.
for celebrating the
incarnation,
b.
for the second coming of Christ,
and
c.
for making the incarnation of
Christ real in our lives.
2. A cardinal rule for Advent:
Resist celebrating Christmas until Christmas; use Advent to prepare for
it.
3. This week go shopping, not
Christmas shopping, but Advent shopping.
Advent Shopping
List
Four candles,
three purple and a pink
Evergreen
branches
Styrofoam circle
or a metal circle
(Hobby
store or make your own)
Ribbons or dried
flowers for decorating (optional)
All: I will plant in the wilderness the
cedar and the thorn and the myrtle and the olive tree. I will set in the desert
the fir tree, the elm and the box tree together, that they may see and know and
consider and understand together the hand of the Lord has done this, and the
Holy one of
Leader: O all you green things upon the
earth, bless the Lord.
All: Praise and exalt God above all
forever.
Leader: Let us pray. Bless this wreath, O
God that it may be a sign and pledge to us of your grace and our salvation; and
strengthen us in holiness for the coming of your Son, Jesus our Lord, who with
you in the unity of the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, world without
end.
4. Invite neighbors, friends, and
or family members to swap holiday special food recipes. Almonds, honey, spices
and candied fruit all have special meanings for the season. If each person tries
only one recipe, a new cross-cultural understanding of Christmas celebrations
might become established.
5. On December 16th,
when the O Antiphons begin, place a decorated Christ candle in the center of
your dining table. Symbols of the O antiphons can be painted on each day
with ordinary acrylic paint which works well on candles. (Join Pro Sanctity in
Elkhorn NEfor their Kick-Off the Novena Party on December 10, 2006. Pick up all
the plans for the Novena and O Antiphons)
6. Beginning assembling your home
crèche. Place the animals and shepherds, but Mary and Joseph with their donkey
might begin making their way across the living room. They came be moved daily if
you have a child or child like person in your home. Mary and Joseph should
arrive at the stable on Christmas Evening.
7. Ask around the neighborhood and
among your friends, “How do you celebrate Advent, Christmas, and the New Year?"
Many things you will learn will be from other cultures. Integrate something new
from another way of celebrating.
8. Go to the local public library
to find books on Advent/Christmas/Epiphany customs, as well as books of seasonal
stories and poems. Check the internet for a ton of ideas. Begin
your own collection and start some memories with an annual reading of a special
book or poem or reflection.
9. If you live with others, give
everyone a special task in preparation for a weekly Advent celebration and
something for Christmas.
10. A plum pudding or fruit cake or
friendship bread can be made at the beginning of Advent, with each person
“stirring in” a prayer. At Christmas dinner, a special blessing might be prayed
over the pudding or cake by each person you live with.
11. Evaluate your spending for
Christmas. Budget for all, keep it simple and remember the less
fortunate.
12. On Christmas Eve day, Advent
wreath candles can be changed to white and gold decorations can be added; the
Christ Candle can be lit. All other house hold decorations, including something
for the door, are put up on this day.
13. On Christmas Eve the tree can
be blessed and decorated. After Mass the Baby Jesus can be placed in the manager
while everyone sings a favorite carol. The star can be pinned up and the kings
can begin their “journey,” in order to arrive on Epiphany.
14. Christmas Day is an especially
good time to enjoy “sharing gifts and graces of the season” and to exchange
visits with relatives and friends.
15. On the 26th of
December, Saint Stephen’s Day, institute a variation on the English custom of
‘boxing.” This involves keeping a little box wrapped in Christmas paper, in
which some small change is put every day of the year. Each “Boxing Day,” the
coins are rolled in wrappers and given to an organization that will help those
poor who are forgotten after Christmas Day.
16. On the 27th of
December,
17. On the 28th of
December, Holy Innocents Day, a Christmas party and pageant might be planned.
Try role-playing the story of Herod from Luke’s Gospel, relying heavily on mime
and a narrator so nobody has to struggle to learn parts. You might want to make
a piñata, as they do in
18. Holy Innocents Day is also a
good time to reflect on how you can stop abortion and to support the dignity of
life at all stages.
19. On the 29th of
December the feast of St. Thomas Becket, pray Evening Prayer with others. Becket
was martyred during an evening vespers service.
20. On December 30th,
read a favorite Christmas story, such as “The Gift of the Magi” or Our Lady’s
Juggler. Make it a tradition.
21. On December 31st,
New Year’s Eve, make resolutions for your spiritual life. “This year I will try
to be a more loving person.” Reflect on what you liked about your Advent and
Christmas and decided on ways to celebrate upcoming sacred seasons and
holidays.
22. On New Year’s Day take time to
pray for peace. Invoke the intercession of Mary and reflect on how she was a
woman of peace. Join Pro Sanctity for a Midnight Holy Hour.
23. On January 2nd,
3rd, and 4th, which is still Christmas, do something for
the season: begin or add a paper chain of good deeds for the Christmas tree,
start making next year’s Christmas cards, make and set out luminaries (a Spanish
custom), get ready for a Twelfth Night Party, etc.
24. The evening of January
5th is the Twelfth Night, the eve of the feast of the Epiphany
(although in this country Epiphany is now celebrated on a Sunday). Place the Kings around your crèche. Then
celebrate their arrival with a party to conclude the party, share small presents
“from the kings,” which have been wrapped in gold paper.
25. On the 6th of
January, take down your tree and remove your decorations. The Christ candle
however should remain on display until February 2nd, the feast of the
Purification of Mary. This feast is also known as “Candlemas” because of
Simeon’s canticle that calls Jesus “light to lighten the
gentiles.”