{"id":5965,"date":"2019-11-30T06:56:46","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T11:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=5965"},"modified":"2019-11-30T08:04:29","modified_gmt":"2019-11-30T13:04:29","slug":"ready-set-wait-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/ready-set-wait-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready, Set . . . . . Wait."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So here we go . . . the mad dash to Christmas. I\u2019m sure\nyou saw the pictures of people (perhaps you were there\nyourself) waiting in line to begin shopping.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the frenzy is the dismantling of the firewall around Thanksgiving. This holiday has traditionally been most pristine in observing family traditions — the parade, visits to grandparents, football, the table, the turkey, the prayer (\u201cokay everybody say what they\u2019re thankful for.\u201d) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not anymore. It\u2019s just like any other day now. \u201cStores\nare open for your shopping convenience. Get a head start\non your Christmas gift list. Have that turkey, then join us\nfor our huge holiday savings!\u201d One poor fellow was\nquoted in the paper, \u201cI know it\u2019s Thanksgiving but I have\nto buy my kids some stuff.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somehow we\u2019ve gotten things out of order. The tail is\nwagging the dog.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a remedy for this. It\u2019s called Advent. These next\nfour weeks are a time of waiting, reflecting, praying. It is\na time where, with God\u2019s humble birth soon to come, our\nhearts can soften and a freshness to life be restored. It is\na joyful time of expectation. Advent is sort of like that\nhappy buzz in the theatre while everyone waits for the\ncurtain to go up.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can you celebrate \u201cwaiting\u201d? What rituals help us understand \u201cexpectation\u201d? Advent helps us experience what we call \u201cless\u201d. Or another way to express it . . . \u201cwithout\u201d. Here are some suggestions to help your Advent waiting. (I don\u2019t mean to sound like a Grinch here but I think these will help prepare for the great Feast of Christmas). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Avoid the \u201cChristmas Specials\u201d on television . . . the ones that have Santa and huge happy endings with everyone singing and clapping. It\u2019s not Christmas yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Avoid listening to the popular carols (Jingle Bells, We wish you a Merry C, Joy to the World, Silent Night, etc.). Christ hasn\u2019t come yet. Handel\u2019s Messiah is great Advent music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSmall\u201d, \u201cQuiet\u201d, \u201cSlow\u201d are good. (Big, Loud, and Fast tends to get us tense and anxious.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Red and gold throughout the house says Christmas . . . try silver, blue and purple during Advent. I sound like Martha Stewart!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSecrets\u201d are great ways to prepare for the Christ Child. Do something really nice for someone. Do it in such a way that they will never discover you were the one who did it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lower your expectations. This will NOT be. .\u201cthe best Christmas ever!\u201d It will be good and holy in just the way God wants it to be for you . . . if you practice the Advent spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Teach the children\/grandchildren to appreciate the small and humble way God chose to come to us. Find some small little task to do with a child to \u201cget ready\u201d for the Feast. (Bring your child to church during the week; light a candle for someone they choose and say a prayer). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sadness often comes at Advent. We\u2019ve all suffered some loss that the season puts us in touch with. Let any Advent sadness we have soften our hearts for others. There is always someone who suffers more than me. Pray for them in the midst of your sadness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You are your best gift to others. You can bring a new freshness to your affection for people. Let yourself be renewed by the wonderful quiet and smallness of Advent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go slow. God bless you! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fr. Tim <\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So here we go . . . the mad dash to Christmas. I\u2019m sure you saw the pictures of people (perhaps you were there yourself) waiting in line to begin shopping. Adding to the frenzy is the dismantling of the firewall around Thanksgiving. This holiday has traditionally been most pristine in observing family traditions — […]<\/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-5965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-column"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5965","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=5965"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5974,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5965\/revisions\/5974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}