Dear St. Philomena Parish Famiily,<\/p>\n
Blessings to you all this day\u2014I hope everyone enjoyed a great Thanksgiving. I enjoyed hosting my family\u2014through a few Masses, several family members commented on how friendly and welcoming the people are here. What a great gift! I was reflecting this week on the wonderful opportunity of being welcoming. Back when I was a chaplain on campus in Champaign, a young man wandered into the chapel at the beginning of a Mass. As I would come to find out later, he was a student from another country\u2026was feeling alone and unhappy\u2026wondering what his pathway in life should be. He had never had an encounter with Christian faith, let alone been to a Catholic Mass. What first caught his attention was the singing he could hear as he walked on the sidewalk outside. Thinking it sounded joyful, he decided to take a look inside. Quickly, he was greeted by a friendly usher who helped him find a seat. Soon, the person next to him realized he didn\u2019t know what to say or do\u2026next that person opened one of the missalettes and showed the visitor where we were\u2026and continued to help guide him through the Mass. It was the beginning of a great faith journey\u2014that next Easter the visitor became Catholic and was baptized at the Easter Vigil! I think the attentiveness and friendly welcome truly was an invitation to that young man that resulted in him finding Christ.<\/p>\n
As we are shifting into the second week, I pray that everyone has been enjoying a fruitful beginning to Advent. As mentioned last week, this Advent time of preparation is a gift to help us be ready for a wonderful celebration of Christmas. How did this last week go for everyone? If you are like me, you might have had several gatherings and celebrations on the calendar. Does anyone else feel like the week went by so fast? How do we make sure our Advent is on track? One of the symbols of this season which can help us pace our preparation is the Advent Wreath.<\/p>\n
Why do we use the Advent Wreath? According to the Book of Blessings, the \u201cAdvent Wreath is a traditional practice which has found its place in the Church as well as in the home.\u201d Usually, the Advent Wreath is a circle of evergreen branches into which are inserted four candles. \u201cAccording to tradition, three of the candles are violet and the fourth is rose\u2026The candles represent the four weeks of Advent and the number of candles lighted each week corresponds to the number of the current week of Advent. The rose candle is lighted on the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday. In addition to being a visual reminder of the season of Advent, the candles burn as a symbol of the \u201cLight of Christ\u201d being born into the world.<\/p>\n
Advent Wreaths fall into the category of things we use to help us gain a richer understanding of the mysteries we celebrate. Since people are a composite of body and soul, we have a deeper experience if a spiritual reality is accompanied by a physical one. Not surprisingly, this happens in all the sacraments. For example, in baptism the spiritual cleansing of the soul is accompanied by the physical pouring of water. So, similarly in Advent, seeing that there are \u201conly two more candles left\u201d helps us to better grasp that Christ is coming soon\u2014not only for Christmas, but also for the Second Coming when He will establish the Kingdom in full\u2026quite a bit more than just a nice decoration!<\/p>\n
Know of my prayers and blessing for this week!<\/p>\n
In Christ,<\/p>\n
Father Luke<\/p>\n
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