We had 51 fewer people inside our church for Mass this past weekend, but it was 10 more than the week before.  Maybe the Omicron variant was a factor.  More likely, some parishioners were visiting relatives.  Strangely, the 4 PM Mass dipped under 200 for the first time since June 6th.

4 PM        180           0

6 PM        117           0

8 AM        146           0

10 AM      213           3

12 PM      238           2

     I'm available for confessions at our usual times on Mondays, 2-4 PM and 6-7 PM, and Fridays during the 3 PM Holy Hour.  During Advent, I will also be available before the 4 PM, 6 PM, 8 AM, 10 AM, and 12 PM Masses on the weekend.  I'll aim to be there from about 30 minutes before Mass until 5 minutes before Mass.

     My mother may have used the expression, "It's all Greek to me."  Well, Greek isn't that hard to learn.  It seems that way at first because the alphabet is different.  I only tried to memorize the Greek alphabet on Saturday by singing along with this video.  Once you recognize the Greek letters, then you can look at the New Testament in the original Greek and recognize some of the words because we have English words based on them.

     For example, consider the Greek word λόγος.  The letters are lambda, omicron, gamma, omicron, sigma.  The corresponding Roman letters are logos.  It means "word".  Our patron saint called Jesus by the name Λόγος (Logos) at the beginning of the Gospel of John.  Notice the lambda is capitalized.  Also note that the sigma looks different because it's the last letter of the word.  It's the only Greek letter that has three forms:  capital, lower case, and last letter of a word.  We're preparing to celebrate the Word (Λόγος or Logos) made flesh (John 1:14) at Christmas.

     Many English words have "logo" in them including "analogous".  We use analogies in order to understand more difficult things by comparing them to things we already understand.

     A tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean is given a name if a sustained wind speed of 39 MPH is reached.  Not all tropical storms become hurricanes (74+ MPH).  Not all hurricanes are devastating.  Any tropical storm or hurricane may cause damage but not everywhere.  A name is chosen based on most of the letters of the English alphabet, but some letters are skipped.  If they use up all the letters, then they start using the Greek alphabet.

     Analogously, I suggest something similar is happening with the naming of COVID-19 variants.  Most variants have names like B.1.1.529.  Only interesting ones are known by a Greek letter.  So, B.1.1.529 is now known as Omicron because it's interesting.  You could say it's reached something like tropical storm status.  So far, it's unclear if it'll reach hurricane status.  And if it does, it might only do so in Southern Africa.

     Once you learn the Greek alphabet, you may notice that the World Health Organization skipped the letters Ν (Nu) and Ξ (Xi) and picked Ο (Omicron).  Let's pray that the Omicron variant doesn't get anywhere near the status of the Δ (Delta) variant.  Rather, I'd like to see it stay smaller like the Λ (Lambda) and Μ (Mu) variants.

     The Omicron variant may not be your biggest concern.  It's not the world's biggest problem.  Sin is our biggest problem.  Lower on the list could be all the things that keep us busy as we get ready to celebrate Christmas.  During Advent, especially at the beginning, it behooves us to take a step back, be quiet for a few minutes, and pray to God.  We can tell Him all the things we have to do and all the people we want to see.  Then we can listen in silence.  We might be surprised by a sense of peace in the midst of challenges.  Advent is a season of waiting and hope.  It's good to discern what God wants us to do.  In general, He wants us to be with Him, to love Him and our neighbor.  We can ask Him what that looks like during this Advent.

     I've subscribed to Pray More Novenas for quite some time.  I've never done one of their retreats.  Even so, consider The Pray More Advent Retreat.  You can do it from home.  If anyone does do it, please let me know what you think about it.

     I plan to focus on the daily Mass readings during Advent for my own preparation for Christmas.  I invite you to join us at daily Mass.

     Other places where you can obtain good Catholic resources for Advent include EWTN, Dynamic Catholic, and Formed.

God love you,

Fr. Jim