Every year, the Church offers us the gift of the Advent Season and the start of a new liturgical year. We are given a time of grace and preparation to receive Jesus in the manger of our hearts, to enter an atmosphere of peace and meditation on the great mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus in the world.
It is also during this season that we, as Christian stewards, are challenged to balance our time between devotion to reflection and prayer and the endless “to do” lists during the “holiday season.” This is why our parish uses this time of year as an invitation to renew our commitment to stewardship of prayer – to proceed a little more slowly and intentionally towards Christmas, to notice what God is doing in our lives and in the world around us, to help us be better prepared to welcome Jesus anew.
Please read the materials in this packet and reflect on the personal witness from Michael Molnar at all Masses on November 26 & 27. At all Masses on the weekend of December 3 & 4, we will be invited to make a commitment to enter more deeply into a spirit of prayer during this Advent and throughout the year.
We can begin this Season of Advent recommitting ourselves to a life of stewardship of prayer – the basis of all other facets of stewardship and the firm foundation which makes all things possible in our parish. Father Augustine and I invite you to experience anew God’s saving work in our lives and give thanks for all the ways he nourishes us. When we do so in a spirit of prayer, our hearts will find peace, and our lives will reflect more perfectly God’s love and grace active in our daily lives.