{"id":24116,"date":"2022-11-26T09:28:39","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T14:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=24116"},"modified":"2022-12-02T20:17:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T01:17:46","slug":"advent-first-then-christmas-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/advent-first-then-christmas-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent First&#8230; THEN Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large wpimg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/w_adventfirst-1024x439.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/w_adventfirst-1024x439.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/w_adventfirst-300x129.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/w_adventfirst-768x330.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/w_adventfirst-500x215.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/w_adventfirst-800x343.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/w_adventfirst-624x268.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/w_adventfirst.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A few years back I was having coffee with a friend in a family restaurant in town. In the back ground was the, oh so familiar tune of Jingle Bells, playing slightly louder than was comfortable. \u201cOh what fun it is to ride . . . \u201c This was followed by that new classic of recent years, Rockin\u2019 Around the Christmas Tree. . . \u201cOh Rock\u2019n around the Christmas tree at the Christmas Party Hop . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Somehow my \u201dholiday spirit\u201d sank pretty low. Why do they do that to us? Why do they start the Christmas music five weeks too early. Because it\u2019s beautiful; one of a kind music and fresh every year . . . for awhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you know the Church encourages us to avoid flagrant displays of Christmas prior to Christmas? Rather, she encourages us to enter into that beautiful and subtle season we know as Advent. Ask any expectant mother . . . we can\u2019t hurry the birth of the child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Advent gets us ready for Christmas. It builds expectation and longing. It makes us hungry for the Feast Day, increases our anxiousness to celebrate its power and beauty. The world would rather have Christmas without the wait. Sort of like the cake before the potatoes. Ever get sick of Christmas before Christmas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can we keep the proper order? Advent first, then Christmas? Here are some suggestions . . . and I mean suggestions. Each family has to make their own decisions here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"scripture wp-block-list\"><li>Christmas carols. You\u2019ll hear them everywhere, but fill your home with Advent music. Gregorian Chant has wonderful Advent hymns. (Google \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Advent+Gregorian+Chant&amp;newwindow=1\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Advent+Gregorian+Chant&amp;newwindow=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Advent Gregorian Chant<\/a>\u201d; you\u2019ll find beautiful restful music.<\/li><li>Greet people with \u201cHappy Advent\u201d, instead of \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d until the feast.<\/li><li>Let decorations be around the Advent Wreath with Advent colors of Purple and Rose.<\/li><li>Christmas Parties? Of course. But closer to Christmas please.<\/li><li>Keep Santa sightings to a minimum.<\/li><li>Advent is a season for Hope. Christmas is a season for Joy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I know this sounds \u201celitist\u201d and out of touch with the world around us. But try it. I think you\u2019ll find this slower pace and softer sounds starts an \u201cAdvent Spirit\u201d in you. One that will be ready to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the way, Christmas is celebrated for three weeks!! All the more reason to not be sick of Christmas before Christmas. I hope these beautiful Advent Days help your spirit to appreciate the small humble things that God will send you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Things like:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Seeing Christ in the young, the vulnerable, the poor.<\/li><li>Experiencing a desire to give and help situations that need a gentle touch.<\/li><li>Remembering times when you were helped by the unexpected kindness of others.<\/li><li>Moments of sadness and compassion for others (even strangers) in your daily travels.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style><div class=\"mwidth\"><div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe id=\"michael\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_XI-VD3qcrU\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Bless you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fr. Tim<\/p>\n<a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.holytrinityweb.com%2Fweekly%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F24116&#038;t=Advent%20First%E2%80%A6%20THEN%20Christmas&#038;s=100&#038;p&#091;url&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.holytrinityweb.com%2Fweekly%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F24116&#038;p&#091;images&#093;&#091;0&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.holytrinityweb.com%2Fweekly%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F11%2Fw_adventfirst-1024x439.jpg&#038;p&#091;title&#093;=Advent%20First%E2%80%A6%20THEN%20Christmas\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.holytrinityweb.com%2Fweekly%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F24116&#038;text=Hey%20check%20this%20out\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-linkedin nolightbox\" data-provider=\"linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.holytrinityweb.com%2Fweekly%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F24116&#038;title=Advent%20First%E2%80%A6%20THEN%20Christmas\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"linkedin\" title=\"Share on Linkedin\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/linkedin.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-mail nolightbox\" data-provider=\"mail\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share by email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Advent%20First%E2%80%A6%20THEN%20Christmas&#038;body=Hey%20check%20this%20out:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.holytrinityweb.com%2Fweekly%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F24116\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"mail\" title=\"Share by email\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/mail.png\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few years back I was having coffee with a friend in a family restaurant in town. In the back ground was the, oh so familiar tune of Jingle Bells, playing slightly louder than was comfortable. \u201cOh what fun it is to ride . . . \u201c This was followed by that new classic of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-column"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24116"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24181,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24116\/revisions\/24181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}