Happy Advent! What a season! All the expectation! All the excitement! All the things! All the shopping! Wait. Things? Shopping? Noo! This season brings us so much hope for the future. We see it in the faces of our children. We see it in our family traditions. What are some of your favorite traditions? We love lights and cocoa...usually the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We love "what are you thankful for?" at dinner. Chili and tree night are a blessing. And our Lenten-Advent connection is to put prayer requests on our home altar so that we can pray for family, situations, guidance and each other.
My kids are all adults now. But as their work slows down during the holiday season, we can have a meal together. Thankful dinners still happen. Chili and tree night still brings laughter. Prayer requests are often sent via Messenger, but the sender is sure I will place them on our altar. And cocoa and lights still happens - sometimes with additional groups of friends, sometimes not. We love having others share our traditions.
Don't be afraid to replace things with moments. Don't be afraid to replace shopping with traditions. The PERFECT CHRISTMAS begins with each other. Building relationships and memories strengthens our hope in the future as we wait for the Lord. Advent!
In this month's issue of the E-News:
- Saint of the Month: St. Nicholas of Myra
- "Be the Light!" Project
- Your Catholic Home - Advent/Advent Wreath
- Events: Saint Nicholas Breakfast and Concert & Spaghetti Dinner
- FORMED - Catholic Netflix for the whole family
SAINT OF THE MONTH:
St. Nicholas of Myra
Ways to Celebrate this Patron Saint of whose feast day is December 6th
- Share the attached video with your children.
- Be sure to have the kids put their shoes out on Dec. 5th so that they can awaken on the 6th to some gold coins, citrus fruit and coloring pages or have them craft one of these: https://www.stnicholascenter.org/how-to-celebrate/resources/crafts/shoes-stockings
- Visit St. Nicholas Center for some additional great ideas to celebrate St. Nicholas at home with your family.
Advent Project: Advent giving for St. Vincent DePaul
Each week, we are asking that families bring specific to share with our community. There will be boxes in the education wing hallway for collection.
We hope your family will partner with us to Be a Light for those in Need!
YOUR CATHOLIC HOME:
ADVENT WREATH
Advent is upon us! Of course, one of the ways we celebrate Advent is with an advent wreath which helps remind us of the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Christ, Light of the World. With each passing week, you light more candles - one in week one, two in week two, etc. As the weeks progress the glow grows brighter to remind us that Christ is coming. If you don't have a real advent wreath, Catholic Icing has several homemade ideas. See more reflections and Advent ideas here!
The Brother Francis video is a lovely introduction to Advent. But even better, it has daily reflections for your family. Search Brother Francis Days of Advent Day 1 for the next video on YouTube.
UPCOMING FAMILY EVENTS
There are great options for couples, individuals and families. Two of our family highlights include:
Dec 3: 8:30 a.m.
Join us for breakfast, crafts and time with Saint Nicholas, himself. Register on our webpage.
Advent Concert/Spaghetti Dinner - We Prepare for You Lord
Friday, December 2nd at 6:15 and 7:30 pm in the Worship Space
This year's event will be held in honor of Tom Kaczmarek, who is leaving his position as our parish's Director of Music.
Tickets for the dinner can be purchased from the Knights of Columbus.