• First Sunday of Advent: HOPE
  

   

  This Sunday we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent and we begin a New Church Year! Certainly, new beginnings are always good, but, especially as we see the year 2020 drawing to a close! It has been a tough year filled with the unexpected and a lot of anxiety, and so, a new beginning offers us a new HOPE. What are some of the practical hope filled things we can do to spend this Advent well? Here are a few:

   

  First, we can “pray the pew”! In these next weeks (or weekdays) as we come to Mass and we see so many empty spaces due to covid, we can “pray the pew” – in other words, pray that these pews will soon be filled again! Pray that people we have not seen in-a-while will soon be back. Pray that new people may come. Pray that there may soon be an end to this pandemic which is keeping so many of us from Church. With HOPE, we pray to soon have our pews filled again!

   

  Second, Confession gives us the HOPE that we can start again with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Our Advent Day of Penance is scheduled for December 21 – that is the plan, but we know we can’t count on too many plans with the pandemic! Please give attention to announcements to find out schedule for confessions in this special time of HOPE for a new beginning.

   

  Third, let us give HOPE to those who are less fortunate than we are! Bring some food to the Food Pantry or drop it off in the back of the Church. This year, because of covid, we cannot give out Christmas gifts to the many families we help, but we are accepting “gift cards” which we are organizing to give to needy families! If you would like to offer HOPE to someone less fortunate you can drop-off a gift card at the office or put it in an envelope and drop it in the basket on Sunday. Advent is a time to share HOPE with others.

   

  Finally, have an Advent Wreath in your home and light it each night. The Advent Light is our greatest sign of HOPE – the Savior is born and lives among us in the Eucharist. We allow His light to shine in us so that we may bring HOPE to others (even to our family!) by the way we bring Jesus to them! We begin the season of expectation filled with HOPE! As missionary disciples let us share that HOPE with others in these next four weeks so we can be

  prepared for Christmas!

   

  God bless you!

  Fr. Pat