We are in the beloved season of gratitude now, and we look ahead to the day fast approaching when we commemorate the Father sending us His Only Begotten Son to be our Savior. Despite the deeply and undeniably religious meaning of this season, we tend to lose sight of what it’s all about. It is a cliché, but it bears repeating that Advent has lost its meaning in many people’s lives – and Catholics are not immune. There are the parties and the shopping, the wrapping and addressing, and the ubiquitous refrain: “I’m so busy – I just want the holidays to be over!” This sentiment is certainly not what the season should engender, and yet we allow ourselves to be consumed by chaos at a time when God wants to give peace to people of good will (which is, of course, all the time!). What can be done?
Gifts feature prominently during this time, and it all goes back to the memory of that One Gift that surpasses all others: Jesus Christ. He is the eternal Gift of the Father, the One Who has been given for our sake and for our salvation; God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16) to be our Redeemer; Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many, coming to serve and not to be served (Matt 20:28), so that by His wounds we may be healed (1 Pet 2:24). In the face of so great a Gift as Our Jesus, all distress melts away, and peace reigns in our hearts. But that peace is contingent upon our response; it is not enough simply to receive the Gift if we don’t respond to Him in-kind. Jesus teaches us that the true nature of man is the nature of a gift; as He is, so we are called to become – this is the measure by which we are measured. Just as it is the nature of God in Himself to be a Gift of love, we who are made in His image and likeness cannot be who we are made to be if we do not become a Gift of love in response. God has given Himself to us once and for all in Jesus Christ – He can give no greater Gift because He is the gift greater than which no other can be. He has given Himself totally, completely, unconditionally, perfectly, and with Him our hearts are full. For our part, we can only show our gratitude for this Gift by striving to become a Gift that keeps giving to God and to our neighbor. This is a fool-proof recipe for peace.
This Advent season, we should all consider what it means to offer ourselves to Jesus as a Gift on Christmas morning. Instead of getting carried away with all the hullabaloo that dominates this season, we should strive to keep our eyes fixed on the Advent of our God, the Son who rises in the hearts of those who love Him. To help with this preparation, I invite all of us to participate in what we are calling: “Be a Gift to Jesus”. As Saint John Paul II was fond of saying: “Man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of self”, and Pope Benedict XVI reiterated this same sentiment soon before his retirement by saying “One receives one’s life precisely when one offers it as a gift”. In a real way, we can only fully receive the Gift of Jesus by fully making a gift of our lives to Him, and this Advent opportunity is designed to help us as individuals and families to do just that. Together, we will seek His peace for our hearts, homes, parish, nation, and world; together, we will pray that His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; together, we will strive to become who we are created to be and who Our Jesus saved us to be. In the coming days we will send information to all parishioners in the mail, to begin our prayer on the First Sunday of Advent and guide us to the Feast of Our Lord’s Nativity. I hope and pray many will take part in what will by God’s grace be a spiritually renewing experience for all of us. Mother Mary, pray for us!
In other exciting news, this week you'll received an email with lots of great information regarding the parish. Included in that email were links to the new Mass setting we will begin using on the 1st Sunday of Advent, beautifully sung by our own Lindsay Osterholt – thank you, Lindsay! I know it’s tricky when we begin using new music, so please take some time to listen and “get an ear” for the setting; it’s quite beautiful and we will have it down in no time, and the Lord will certainly be pleased if we use some of our time during the week to better prepare to pray well at Mass on Sunday. Also included in that email was information about the financial status of the parish. There’s no doubt that we are incredibly blessed, but we also have room for growth. This information prompts an opportunity for us to consider what it means to respond as a gift to God by trying to be a gift to our parish through our generosity of spirit. There are challenges these days and in the midst of them there are temptations to hold back and close in on ourselves, but as Fr. Jacques Philippe reminds us, “it is not by focusing on what is wrong and living with spite, bitterness, and accusation that we will advance and solve the problems of the world and of the Church” (Philippe, God in the Present, 6). Rather, as our Savior teaches us, the solution to the weariness of our hearts and of our worlds is to go out of ourselves in an authentic gift of self, to “go where there is not love, and put love there” (St. John of the Cross). This is the gift we can give Jesus and one another this season. May God bless you in the week ahead and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
